End with the Beginning in Mind

End With the Beginning in Mind

Acts 2

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

In the business world there is a saying:  

Begin with the end in mind. 

(Popularized by the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).  

• Encourages individuals to envision their desired achievements or outcomes before starting a task.

• Focuses on having a clear destination to effectively plan and execute the necessary steps to reach it.

• Instills a sense of direction that aligns with set goals and established values to guide actions.

• Applicable across various life aspects: personal goals, education, project management, and business planning.

• Acts as a roadmap for decision-making, maintaining focus on long-term vision.

• Prevents distraction from short-term gratifications that do not align with primary objectives.

End with the Beginning in Mind

• As the world we live in becomes more like the first century, in order to win our world, the Church must operate in power and methodology like the first century.

• We must look back at the effectiveness of the early church and make it a vital part of who we are today.

How the early church was created and expanded:

Acts 1 - To the ends of the earth.

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2 - The Holy Spirit baptized the believers, Peter preached the Gospel, and 3000 were saved in a day.

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Acts 2 - The believers adopted a lifestyle that enabled them to preserve what God was doing and position the early Church for further growth…every day “those” were being saved.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 5 - A few short weeks later the Sanhedrin admitted that the apostles had filled Jerusalem with the Gospel.

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Acts 19 - Paul preached in Ephesus for two years… his ministry was so effective that the entire Roman province of Asia heard the word of the Lord (Asia, also known as Phrygia was a large area located in what is now western Turkey).  Scholars believe there were 80,000 or more followers of Jesus by the year 100 and by the year 200, the province of Asia Minor was largely Christian.

19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Romans 15 Paul preached himself out of a job.  He raised up ministry in a very vast region and was ready to do it again as far away as Spain.  

18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,

    and those who have not heard will understand.”

22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

How was this done and how do we intentionally normalize it into our life and experience in the Church today?

The rapid expansion of the church occurred through;

• Evangelistic outreach

• Healthy churches

Back to Acts 2

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

• Teaching.

• Fellowship.

• Breaking bread.

• Prayer.

• Awe at the works of God.

• Sharing with those in need.

• Broke bread in their homes gladness and sincere hearts.

• Praising God.

• Favor with all people.

• Evangelism.