REFLECT

REFLECT Up Close

Have you ever wondered why God worked so mightily in the past, but seemingly does little now? God is “same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So why the difference?

The answer lies in understanding how God worked in the past and why it did it. That’s where the first RENEW principle comes in: Reflection.

Reflection is a fundamental principle in the nature and structure of the church. Jesus established a firm foundation for His church by leading the disciples to reflect. After His resurrection, He opened the Scriptures to the disciples and explained everything pertaining to Himself (Luke 24:27, 44). He then spent forty days on the earth preparing them for church growth by further counsel from the Scriptures (Acts 1:3). Before His ascension, Christ “commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4, 5).

Reflection prepared the disciples for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Inspiration tells us, “In obedience to Christ’s command, they waited in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father—the outpouring of the Spirit. . . . As the disciples waited . . . they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief. . . .  As they meditated upon His pure, holy life they felt that no toil would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only they could bear witness in their lives to the loveliness of Christ’s character.” (Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 35, 36). Thus, the church was primed for rapid growth. Sincere reflection leads to repentance, confession, and a renewed zeal for the salvation of souls.

We must wait and reflect in order to understand the character of our Leader and grasp the principles by which He leads us. There are four key periods in church history that we need to reflect upon:

1. The Israelites at the time of the exodus
2. The founding of the early church in acts 1-12 (revitalizing)
3. The expansion of the early church across known world in acts 13-26 (replicating)
4. Early Adventism

Once we understand these time periods and learn the lessons they have to teach, we are ready to move forward in the power of the Spirit and grow the church the Lord’s way.

On the border of the promised land, Moses sought to encourage and inspire the children of Israel by reviewing how God had led them in the past (Deuteronomy 1:5, 6). Sister White profoundly stated, “In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history” (Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 31).

Through reflecting on God’s past teaching and leading, we gain an invaluable education that informs church organization, mission, and message. Paul exhorts us to “watch and remember” (Acts 20:31). This is not an occasional event; it’s a way of life for the church and vital to our success.

Reflecting requires us to:

• Study God’s successful movements of the past–the Exodus, the early church after Pentecost and the early Adventist movement.
• Identify the principles God used to help each movement grow toward His ideal for His church.
• Evaluate your church’s strengths and weaknesses in the light of these Biblical principles.
• Develop a passion for God’s church like the “zeal” Jesus had for God’s house (John 2:17).