Here we are, two weeks after Easter, the crucifixion is over, the resurrection is over, sort of. At least all the celebration is over, too bad for that. We have studied about the Road to Emmaus and the two men who met Christ there. Those two men that were quiet, and heartbroken and thought that they had lost all hope. But there, on that dusty road, on that long quiet walk, was the man they all had put their hopes on. And they and all of humanity were redeemed. Well, it is time to go on, go on with our lives, go on with our programs, go on with our work, and our play, and it is spring time, so we get into sports, soccer, baseball soon we all think about summertime, vacations and all that. (Pause)
Where did we leave our Savior? Along that road? Where is He? Is He is our life? Is He in everything we do? Is He a part of our existence, our breathing? Is He an integral part of our family and our thoughts? He is supposed to, we know that, but is He?
Our Scripture focus for today is found in the book of Acts, chapter 2. If you could turn to that page in your Bibles, we can read it again, together. Verse 42 begins, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”.
There we are! It is pretty plain if we truly expect to experience Jesus Christ in our life, if we truly wish to have Him be a part of us, our thinking, our family, our everything. If we truly want those miracles, those signs from God, those wonders that scripture speaks about, what are we to do? It looks to me, like two things! Only two things!
First, “they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching” and second, they devoted themselves to “fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer”. Did you know it was that simple? Did you know that those simple things affect everything in our lives? Did you realize that lives devoted to the teachings of Christ are changed forever? Did you know that God calls the followers of His Son, our Savior, to spending time together, eating together and praying together? His Word doesn’t lie, and it is easy to read, although I admit, we often forget to follow through after Easter is over.
But here we are, with those words right in front of us. God waiting on us like an child waiting for an ice cream cone. Wanting to see if we truly want Him to be a part of our life. Waiting to see if this year it is going to be different.
I admit, it took a while for the apostles to get the point. It took Thomas to see and touch the holes in his hands. It took the travelers hours to recognize their Savior as they walked and talked with Him. But what about us? We have the accounts of hundreds of people. We have the scriptures that have not been proven wrong in 6000 years or more! What is it that we need? Are we waiting for something different? Are we waiting for the pillar of fire in the sky? Are we waiting for darkness to come in the middle of the day? Because let me tell ya, if we are, we are going to be sorely disappointed if our lives haven’t changed on that day.
Do you want to see the signs and wonders that God’s Word speaks about? Well I think it is possible, even probable that those things do and can happen right in front of us. But wait, there’s more! Just like the commercial that sells you what ever it is that you think you need, at an amazing discounted price, but wait, if you act now, you get two for the price of one! Except in this case, the key phrase is “if you act now”. If we go back to that scripture verse, the order that things happen is very important. FIRST the believers of Christ devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles. And second, they devoted themselves to fellowship with each other. That means they spent their free time together. They laughed together, they ate together, they learned together, and they prayed together? And what happened? The signs and wonders, the healings, the miracles. The acts of God in their specific lives. God showed up.
In last week’s Adult Bible Study, I asked the adults if they have ever doubted that God answered prayers. I bet the kids have the same answer. Have any of you ever doubted that God was going to answer your prayer? I knew it. Well it turns out, we all doubt at some point. But we have reason to doubt, we have reason to believe that God may not give us what we asked for. There may be a number of reasons, maybe it just isn’t the right time yet. Maybe we aren’t ready for what we ask God to give us. And maybe, just maybe, God knows that we aren’t serious enough. He knows that if we get what we want, we will forget where it came from. After all, we do it all the time. We forget who gave us the paycheck don’t we? We forget who allowed us to wake up this morning. We forget who allowed us to get here safely to church today. And God knows it. So we see here, in Acts chapter 2, the order in which things are supposed to go.
God has already done His part up until this point in our scriptures. He sent His only Son to die for you and I, even though we didn’t deserve it. He forgave us, He redeemed us. What more should we be asking for, without some commitment in our lives? So here, we see the believers, we see people that are just like you and I. And we see them, doing their part, and being blessed wildly for it.
It goes on and on. This isn’t a one time deal. In Acts 4: verses 32-35 God’s Word goes on speaking to us, (pause) “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need”.
Are you starting to see a pattern here? It isn’t the possessions, if that is what you are thinking. It isn’t even the money that each believer gives. Those things are important, but in a way that is less obvious. The reason Luke points out these things as he was inspired to write the book of Acts is the 2nd of only two commandments that we were given by Jesus Himself. Do you remember? Love your God, and Love your neighbor as yourself. Well there it is. People were hungry, people were in need, so others filled that need. If they were cold, it was with blankets, if they were sick it was with medicine, and if it was bills it was with money, but in every case, the point is, they each cared more about those around them than for themselves. A odd thought in today’s world, don’t you think? Do we still wonder why we see those miracles, those signs and those wonders? Maybe, just maybe it is because we aren’t listening and following the teachings of the apostles. Maybe we aren’t fellowshipping together and praying together.
Maybe you have heard believers say the words, “God is a god of order, not of disorder”. Wouldn’t this be a good example? God went and thought of us, before Himself. He thought of you and I before His own Son. He gave us the perfect example. We didn’t deserve it, we surely deserve the consequences of our own sin. And yet, here we are, every one of us, forgiven, and redeemed. Restored to the good graces of our Creator.
And we are given the hints, he doesn’t even make us come up with the answer on our own. He gives it to us right there. In that verse we began with, Acts chapter 2, verses 42-47. We can go home and read it over and over, it doesn’t change. It has never changed. We are each called to fellowship, to spend time with believers, to eat with believers, to pray with believers. We are each called to serve each other, to think of each other before ourselves.
Let me leave you with this story, if I can get through it without crying. A heart surgeon was speaking with an 8 year old boy that he was preparing to do surgery on. “Tomorrow morning I'll open up your heart" the surgeon said to the 8 year-old-boy. "You'll find Jesus there," the boy said. The surgeon continued, "I'll open your heart and check the damage." "You'll find Jesus there," the boy said. "When I see the damage, I will suture you back up and then think about the next step," said the surgeon. "You will find Jesus in my heart because my Sunday school teacher told me so. She said it says so in the Bible. Besides that, our Sunday school songs say He lives there," said the boy. The surgery took place the next day. After the surgery the surgeon began to make notes of what he found. In his mind there was no hope and no cure. The little boy would die within a matter of months. The thought began to get to the doctor and all of a sudden the doctor shouted to God, "Why did you do this to the boy? Why can't he live a normal life? God spoke to the surgeon's heart and said, "The boy is a part of my flock and will always be a part of my flock. When he is with me there will be no more suffering and pain. He will have comfort and peace. One day his parents as well as you will join him and my flock will continue to grow." The next day the surgeon went to the boy's room and sat down with the parents beside the bed. In a moment or two, the boy opened his eyes and asked very quietly, "What did you find in my heart?" With tears flowing down his cheeks, the surgeon said, "I found Jesus there." (author unknown)
What would the surgeon find, if he opened your heart? Would he find that service to others? That commitment to learn God’s Word, to be with God’s people? Would he find evidence of giving to others? Evidence of love for others? Would He find (pause) Jesus there? I pray that he would. I pray that if at this very minute, those things aren’t in your heart, you do as the believers did a day or a week or a month or a year after their Savior was resurrected. They turned their lives in to God, and witnessed the blessings and miracles that God had waiting for them. Would you pray with me, that that is so with all of us as well?
Pray
