The Devotion of the Church (Evening Service Devotional)

Introduction

Good evening, everyone! I’m glad you all can make it here this evening. Our text this evening is going to be in Acts 2:42-47.

Before I read the text for us, I wanted to give just a little bit of context. Let me give us a quick reminder about what’s happened so far in the Book of Acts.

Jesus has risen from the dead after his crucifixion. He’s spent additional time with the disciples and then he’s ascended up to heaven. Before he left, he promised the Apostles that the Holy Spirit would come and strengthen them for ministry. The Apostles waited and then it finally happened.

Peter and the other Apostles received the Holy Spirit during Pentecost. They were empowered and they went out and began speaking in tongues. Peter preached the gospel and three thousand came to faith and were baptized.

This group of believers, led by the Apostles, became the first Christian church. They were the first group of Christians who gathered together, who formed into one body together to worship the risen Jesus.

And in the verses we’ll examine this evening, we get a little glimpse into the way that the church lived their lives together. This might not be an exhaustive discussion of the way the first church functioned, but we get a peek at what was important enough for Luke to record.

This is what I want to do this evening. I want to read the text for us and then look at two things to note from the text that we can then apply to our lives. Let me read the text for us:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Let’s pray.

Okay, let’s start with my first insight for this text. Point one is that the church devoted itself to the teaching of the Apostles.

Point 1: The church devoted Itself to the teaching of the Apostles

We read in the first half of verse 42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching...”

The construction for the word “devoted” was written in a way that indicated an “active and ongoing devotion,” rather than a completed action. It is something that this budding church did as a regular thing.

What does this look like for us? How can we devote ourselves to the Apostles’ teachings?

I believe that the Apostles’ teachings have now been delivered to us in the Bible. It is in the Bible that we have, as Jude tells us in Jude 3, “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

It is in our Bibles that the Apostles have written down the Christian faith. That means that as Christians living in the 21st century, we must be devoted to the teachings of the Apostles by being devoted to the Word of God as it has been handed down to us.

So my question is, church, how are you devoting yourself to the Word of God? I think there are three things we need to do to be devoted to God’s Word.

The first is being devoted to the Word in reading the Word. That may sound like a no-brainer. But Christian, how often do you and I struggle with finding motivation to read the Bible?

And specifically, I would encourage that “devoting” yourself to the Word should be something you actually devote yourself to. It means to continue in, to busy yourself with, to persevere in. It means making it a priority in your life. Reading the Bible should something that mark our lives.

When a non-believer looks at your life, would they say of you, “This person devotes themself to reading the Bible”?

Secondly, being devoted to the Word means devoting yourself to the teaching and preaching ministry at Echo Church. It means sitting under the teaching authority invested in the elders of Echo so that you are hearing and learning from the Elders what the Word of God says.

That means regularly attending the Sunday morning service and the Sunday evening service and the Wednesday night bible study when you can.

Thirdly, being devoted to the Word means that we live out the Word. James tells us in James 1:22 that we are be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourself. The Word is meant to change us, to help us see who we really are and to see who Christ truly is and transform us more and more like Him. So live out the commands of Scripture. Think through how the Bible applies to your every day life.

Point 2: The Church devoted itself to each other

The same governing verb in verse 42, “devoted” is applied to fellowship. That is, the budding church devoted themselves to fellowship.

Several practical ways that the early church devoted themselves to each other are evident from this passage.

The first is that they spent time together. Everything about these verses point to a communal life spent with each other. Verse 46 said they did this, day by day. Church, we are a people called into a fellowship, meant to commune together. We are called to spend time together. Again, this might sound elementary but it’s also foundational.

With the advent of COVID, text messaging, social media, and everything else - it seems so much easier to communicate with each other without being together.

We see that they ate meals together. I would encourage us to have meals together! It’s a great way to force us out of our virtual lives into the real world. It’s a great way to be with one another. Go out to get lunch after church, invite each other over to dinner during the week.

Next, we see that they prayed together, which is at the end of verse 42. Praying together is important, church. God powerfully moves when the church gathers as a church.

In the context of the gathered local church, Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19-20 that, “if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

That’s what I love about evening service. We are able to pray together - to intercede for one another as a corporate body.

I also challenge you to come early on Sunday morning at 8:30 to pray for the gathering and for local churches.

I also encourage you to listen to and think clearly about the words that our volunteers pray from the platform on Sunday morning. When they pray, they are praying on behalf of the church.

The early church prayed together. They devoted themselves to it. Let’s do the same.

Next, we see that they also carried each other’s burdens. Look at verse 44-45. “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as and had need.”

The early church cared for one another by caring for each other’s physical needs. They sold their possessions to help other church members in their need! This is a type of self-less care that is befitting of Christians. I know many of you here have sacrificially loved other members by inviting them into your homes, spent money to buy meals, and more. I am encouraged by how this congregation has loved each other in this way.

Let’s continue striving all the more! Let’s keep showering one another with love and generosity as there are needs that come up.

Another way we see this fellowship and devotion to one another played out was corporate worship. We see that at the time, the early church attended the temple since they were still in Jersualem. For us, that means gathering on a Sunday morning. I know I just mentioned earlier spending time together and sitting under the word. That’s similar to this but not the same. Here, being devoted to one another looks like worshiping Jesus together! It means coming together to sing songs to Him and praise Him.

It means doing what Jason encouraged us from Hebrews 10:24-25 last time - to not neglecting the gathering. It means getting together and encouraging one another to strive towards Jesus.

Point 3: The result is an increase witness for the Lord

We see at end of verse 47, “…and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

First, I want us to see that the result of the first church’s devotion to the word and devotion to each other resulted in favor with the all the people. Non-believers in Jesus saw the way that these Christian lived their lives and it resulted in a favorable attitude towards these Christians.

They saw the way that these Christians devoted themselves to understanding and living out God’s Word. They saw the Christian’s love for one another. Jesus said to the Disciples in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus’ name is magnified when we demonstrate our love to each other!

This should be an encouragement, brothers and sisters. The way we intentionally love each other can demonstrate the gospel to a world that is hopeless. They have no conception of what it means to live with each other in this way. They can try to strive for some non-offensive, non-oppressive communal living utopia but it will never be the same as the Holy Spirit empowered, gospel-fueled, Jesus-glorifying way in which the church is able to love one another. They’ll see it and they’ll marvel. And God will bless that!

Secondly, we see that this resulted in God adding to their number - that is, new converts.

Now, notice first that it is the Lord who added to their church. This is not some full-proof church growth strategy. This is a result of the sovereign work of God, who alone saves.

But notice too that it is a result of their devotion to the word and each other. God blessed the fruit of their ministry. Their devotion resulted in favor which resulted in conversions. It is not either or - God working and we do nothing, or us working and by our own ingenuity we save souls.

No, the Bible’s testimony is clear. God works through us.

And this should be such an encouragement, friends. One of the ways we witness to unbelievers best, is by being the best disciples we can be. It means being a student of the word, being a doer of the word, and being disciples who love and care of one another by gathering together, loving each other, and worshiping Jesus together.

One of the ways in which we evangelize is by just being good disciples.

Let’s be good disciples together, church.

Let’s pray.