The Devoted Church

Introduction

Hello Valley Church Clinton! So great to see you all this morning as we continue our series about the church.

Today we’re going to be looking at Acts 2:42-47, so if you have your Bibles, please go ahead and get them opened to that passage.

Let’s pray as we get into our message today.

Well, here we are at the end of summer, school is back in, vacations are ending, our hearts are being prepared for fall sports and bonfires, fantasy football and flannel. Only to be crushed by another month of 100 degree days.

And I don’t know about you, but at least every summer as a kid I would get the chance to head over to Holiday World to ride roller coasters and chug my body weight in free soft drinks.

Holiday World is an interesting place, because it’s like an hour and a half ish away from here, and that means planning out how to ride every single ride on the way with my friends.

So, we would pull up the pre-printed map, and plan exactly how to conquer the entire park. Every ride was ours, the glory of completing the day would be had at 6pm when Santa Clause himself would usher us our of the closing park.

But, it almost never went that way. Because as soon as you walked through the ticket counter, a roller coaster called the Raven would rush by, seemingly right past your head.

You would see the Liberty Launch hissing up and down on the horizon as 60 people are flung 3 stories straight into the air, then dropped in a free-fall.

The entire atmosphere was surreal as a child. People screaming, the smell of sunscreen. Jingle Bells and the beach boys playing on repeat for some reason.

Quickly, the plan I made in the car was thrown out the window. I was so excited to ride whatever was in front of me. Every new ride was seemingly a life altering experience.

Eventually, we would stop to eat lunch, and I would just be so tired, but I would stop for a moment and just look around, and realize there was just too much to do in one day. I knew the day would end eventually, so often I would slow down and just enjoy the time with my friends.

And I think this similar experience happened to the early Christians in Acts. See, after Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven, the disciples went off to Jerusalem.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit, fire ascended on them, and they were able to preach and teach people from all over who were able to understand each in their own specific language.

Thousands of people were being saved and accepting the good news of Christ, the disciples were performing miracles and healings.

And that was their amusement park like experience. There were so many things going on, they had no idea what to focus on. It was one amazing thing after another, one life-changing thing after life-changing thing.

Eventually, the Christians, and the church as a whole, had to take a step back when all the flames dissipated, just to look at and appreciate what they were given, which was one another.

So, let’s take a look at Acts 2:42-47, let me read that for you.

Acts 2:42–47 CSB

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Okay, so the first thing we need to look at is this concept of

They Devoted

First question we need to answer: who are they?

Well, let’s simply back up one verse to Acts 2:41. This is what is says:

Acts 2:41 CSB

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

These people are they. Those who accepted the message, the good news of Christ, and were baptized.

These were the people in Jerusalem when Peter was preaching his famous message at Pentecost. They saw the fire come down on the heads of the disciples, heard about this guy Jesus who was dead but came back to life, repented and were baptized.

So they’re all in this new, excited state of being. They have a totally new perspective on life, they have a hope that simply didn’t exist before.

So it’s no surprise that they did this thing called “devotion”. They devoted themselves. They were ripe for it.

And the word “devotion” is a strong word. I think we all inherently know what it means, but it denotes loyalty. Habitual. Obedient. The latin word we get our english word from mean consecrate, which means to declare someone as sacred.

That means you don’t give it up when it’s inconvenient, or difficult, or annoying. It’s guarded.

And the things the earliest Christians devoted themselves to weren’t what you’d expect in a normal society who looked out for themselves. So let’s break them down.

The first thing listed is

The Apostles’ Teaching

I love this phrase so much that I’ve started replacing “I want to study my Bible” with “I want to devote myself to the apostles teaching”. Because that teaching is what actually started Christianity.

The teaching of the apostles wasn’t this doctrine, or how the Bible was put together, or a denominational preference.

The apostles teaching was the supreme, authoritative teaching of Jesus. These were the guys that spent time with Jesus. They knew Jesus, they knew His ways, and they knew his teachings. And Jesus himself commissioned them to spread the good news.

The cool thing about their teachings was the connection of Jesus to God, and that Jesus was the messiah. Listen to what Jesus confirmed with them after his resurrection in Luke:

Luke 24:44–49 CSB

44 He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day, 47 and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.”

The apostles had a clear understanding and authority of exactly who Jesus was.

And the reason everyone devoted themselves to their teaching is because what we believe about Christ defines us. It defines our church.

We can believe whatever we want about a lot of things. Authorship of a few books, baptist vs methodist, Calvinism, what songs to sing, the list could go on for hours.

What we can’t waver on is the person of Jesus Christ. If we are wrong about Him, we are wrong about everything. This is why the apostles spend so much time on talking about who Jesus was.

Just before our passage, starting in Acts 2:22, Peter lays out to the Israelites exactly who Jesus is.

Jesus was incarnated, so he could fulfill our half of the covenant. He died on the cross and achieved salvation. He resurrected, he was exalted to heaven, the throne, and sent the holy spirit.

He is Lord and messiah and reigns over his kingdom, right now. Jesus will come back, and everyone who calls on His name alone will be saved.

This is the teaching of the apostles. This was the big idea Peter was professing.

As AW Tozer famously writes,

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. A. W. Tozer

A. W. Tozer

What these early Christians thought about Jesus was everything. It was the most important and defining factor of their lives.

And this is so important because it informs how we live. It’s not a belief in mind, it’s a faith in heart. This is obvious, because the next devotion was

To the Fellowship

It wasn’t enough to merely believe in Jesus. There was another huge aspect of Jesus’ teaching that was unconventional. This is fellowship.

In our day, fellowship for the sake of fellowship is rare. It’s often accompanied by mutual interests, like a hobby, or maybe your job.

Not saying those things are wrong, But fellowship was more than that in the first century church. The greek behind the word is actually really straight forward, it just means “close association involving mutual interests and sharing”.

Especially in Acts 2:42, it means harmonious unity.

What’s interesting here is the concept of fellowship has been around since the beginning of time. Take a look with me at an example of a “fellowship offering” in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 24:3–5 CSB

3 Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. 5 Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.

So there’s this dual concept of offering sacrifices to God to atone for sin, then offering communal, fellowship sacrifices to connect and celebrate fellowship with both God and fellow man.

So, they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, which taught that Jesus was the final sin sacrifice, and to the fellowship. Do you see the connection that Acts is making?

This Old Testament fellowship offering was often voluntary, and in such, was relaxed. There was often a meal shared during this sacrifice. This was even often given at Jewish feasts and festivals, such as the Feast of Weeks, ie the Pentecost.

The early Christians knew that Jesus died as the final sacrifice, the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament.

And as a response, they fellowship. They came together, before God, as equals. They forgave one another, they shared with one another. They shared their things with one another. They helped the poor in their midst.

Acts 2:44–46 CSB

44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,

And before you ask, no this is not the beginning of Communism or socialism, but it’s a beautiful picture of selling everything that was extra in their lives for benefit of fellow brothers and sisters. They put their extras, their assets, their generational investments, in a lower tier than the needs of others.

If someone else was in need, that mean’t they were in need. Shared, mutual goals and interests. In Christ.

Of course, especially in this culture, there was a huge emphasis on shared meals. Fellowship primarily happened around the meals and feasts, which is why they also dedicated themselves

To the Breaking of Bread

Now, this could either mean communion, or the Lord’s supper, but it likely has a much broader sense.

And this, I believe, is proven with Acts 2:46

Acts 2:46 CSB

46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,

In eastern culture, food is a defining factor. Heck, just look around at our restaurants here. Where do you wanna go for lunch? Mexican? Chinese? Indian?

Food and shared meals bring us together. This is in our creation, in our nature.

Think about every family get together. Christmas, Easter, birthdays, the best food holiday of the year, Thanksgiving.

Every family reunion is centered around a meal. It’s where we can share a common need together - food. CEOs and janitors alike can share happiness over a greasy burger and canned mountain dew.

Conversations can happen over meals. You can have light hearted banter, and share life-crippling grief, over a meal. And it’ll feel normal.

It’s what family does. And it’s what we do here, as a church. As a family. We all come to the same table.

If you’re looking for something super practical to do, that models the early church, invite your fellow church people over for a meal. I’ve had the distinct privilege of being invited over to Mark and Sheri Trendelman’s house many times for small group, where they have the most wonderful spread of food every time.

Terrible for my diet, but heart warming and inviting. They care about me and my family, and we’ve had great conversations over those meals.

Better yet, invite your neighbors over. Sure, it may feel weird at first, but nothing brings people together quite like a shared meal.

The point here offering a shared experience where everyone is sharing life together as equals, at the same table. Invite people in, be vulnerable, and just wait to see what the Lord does with it.

Lastly, they devoted themselves…

To Prayer

Literally, this is to “the prayers”.

Now, we could spend another hour talking about prayer, and then we would have to come back for the next 52 weeks to only study prayer. It’s simple enough a child can understand it, yet many of us adults spend a lifetime trying to figure out what prayer is.

To sum up my position on prayer, it is where Heaven touches earth. It is where the presence of God can be encountered. It is where you can bring yourself to God, your whole, imperfect self, and God is gracious enough to not only let you live, but to listen, and actually do the things you ask.

Prayer was the cornerstone of the first century church, and remains to be the driving force of the church today.

They devoted themselves to the prayers.

This meant publicly. Communally. Yes there were plenty of times that Jesus would go out and pray alone. He commanded us go into our inner room and pray.

But Jesus, and the apostles, they prayed together. They did their Jewish prayers together. Daily, more than likely.

Praying in community opens up relationship that even a shared meal cannot. Coming before God with your brothers and sisters is extremely unique to Christianity.

Perhaps the best example of this is Leviticus 16, also known as the Day of Atonement. During this yearly festival, the entire nation of Israel would come together, confess sins before God, and offer sacrifices. This was meant to cleanse the community.

Communal prayer does similar things in the church today. In fact, prayer isn’t simply for intercession, or asking God for things, it’s designed to bring people back together in community with one another, then inviting God into that community as well.

Prayer isn’t just for us. Prayer has the power to change the world. Your prayer, to the one and only almighty God, can change the course of the universe.

One of my favorite lines in a recent song I listened to is “I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground”. When we lay our imperfections before God, our fellow man, when we admit to our brokenness and let our shield down, that is the picture of heaven.

That is what God wants. Karl Barth, perhaps the most influential Swiss theologian, writes this about prayer:

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.

Karl Barth

If we, the church, want to change the world. We must pray. We must pray together, in community. This is not optional.

Philippians 4:6–7 CSB

6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

We need to be known as a praying church. As a church not without sin, but without secrets. Constantly having hands clasped in prayer.

Now, the thing all 4 of these devotions have in common is the spirit of community. The spirit of looking around instead of down.

Here’s what we must preach and teach and master:

Less I, More We

We have a radical new life in Christ. We are mobile temples filled with the Spirit of God.

We must have loftier goals than padding our bank account, filling our homes with stuff, having the latest technology and investing in ourselves.

And here’s why:

Acts 2:37–38 CSB

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

They were pierced to the heart. They looked at their lives and realized that was something so much bigger to focus on. A Jesus-sized mission.

They repented and were baptized. As a community, into community.

Here’s my question of the morning - when is the last time you were pierced to the heart with the gospel?

Because in response to this gospel message, they devoted themselves to one another. To the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer. Together. This is the church. This is what we’re supposed to do.

And these 4 things aren’t something that can be achieved in a weekend service. They take dedication, long work, obedience. It takes years, decades, centuries.

What if the point of all these things is to slow down? Is to stop looking at our own navels, pause, and look around at other people?

Because devoting yourself to the teaching of the apostles takes a lifetime. Learning about Jesus and who He is takes your entire life. It forces you to learn, meditate, chew on material. Learn how to take the practices of Jesus and apply them to your life.

Fellowship takes intentionality and time. Friendships aren’t created over night. After meeting someone for the first time, you don’t develop trust or become best friends. Fellowship takes time, effort, and a denial of your own time.

Breaking of bread is the same way. Sharing a meal involves creating a meal, inviting people over, making your house presentable. Making and cooking a meal, especially with your friends or your spouse, is intentional slowing. Come try to make a meal with my kids and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

In our world of fast food and eating as a means of sustenance and convenience, a home cooked, shared meal is becoming a scarcity. And it shows.

Praying. Talk about slowing down. Instead of rushing into something, we stop and pray with our community. We slow, we ask God for direction. It’s a priority, not something we do after the fact.

All these are designed to help us look up. To slow down. To be intentional.

It’s the opposite of the amusement park. I see the roller coaster, I hurry and go get in line. I’m moving onto the next exciting ride even before I finish. Then, it’s the end of the day, the excitement is over, and it’s a memory.

Our lives are designed for intentionality. Intentionally living in community, and for others.

Eugene Peterson, in his book “Long Obedience in the Same Direction”, writes this:

“One of the immediate changes that the gospel makes is grammatical: we instead of I; our instead of my; us instead of me.” - Eugene Peterson

This is devotion. Devotion to others. Devotion to the church. For the long haul, long obedience in the same direction.

Christianity isn’t just something the disciples added to their lives. It was something that transformed their lives. They said no to the world, and said yes to valuing what Jesus valued.

They were pierced to the heart, and out of their pierced hearts flowed the compassion of Christ.

This is the Church. This is what we are to do. To devote ourselves to one another, and to Christ.

The world needs saving, and this is what we’re called to.

Lets pray.