Blueprint - Rev Isaac Tan

𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲.

Luke, the author of Acts, records what the church should look like and how we ought to live as Christians. The blueprint follows the main parts of a ship: devotion as the hull, wonder as the engine, and submission as the rudder.

The church is like a ship meant to sail the seas, beyond the harbour, as Christ calls us to be fishers of men.

We’re given four key building blocks in our blueprint: to be devoted to teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. The word “devoted” means “persistent,” and it changes this list of four points from a checklist to a life motto — from a list of suggestions to an uncompromising blueprint to build our lives and our church.

However, even if we devote our entire lives to these, we can still miss the point if we do not have awe and wonder of God. The wonder of God comes through the Holy Spirit filling us, through the works done by the Holy Spirit.

The final point is submission. We see community and generosity in the early church. They were willing to submit to one another and to hold what they had loosely. They submitted to God and not to self.

The early church was not perfect, but they remained devoted and steadfast. And because they did, God used them to spread His gospel and glory. As a result, God changed the entire world.