Devoted
#BecomingTheChurchHeIntends
NOW - I want to start off our conversation this morning with what is arguably one of the most powerful passages in the entire Bible about Jesus… who He is and what He accomplished.
It is found in Colossians chapter one.
SO… MGCC R U ready to hear some God-breathed words?
AND HEY... One more thing before I read these words.
WHAT IF – they really are true?
AND – what if you and I actually believed them?
(not just in our heads but with our hearts)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…this is the Gospel…– Colossians 1:15-23
This is… the what?
This is… The Gospel! (and what a Gospel, what good news it is!)
Prayer
OKAY MAPLE GROVE - let’s do this, 'Becoming The Church He Intended'…
AND LET ME – be clear… when it comes to the church that we are striving to become at 3210 Proffit road… what I want, what you want, what our culture demands is not and will not be what sets our course…
INSTEAD – it will be what He intends.
This morning we will unpack the final 6 verses of Acts chapter 2…
Six verses that tell us what those 3000 believers who…
• Saw the massive flames leaping down from the sky
• Heard the sound of a loud rushing wind
• Listened intently as Peter preached the Good news about Jesus (who He is and what He had accomplished)
• Were convicted of their sin and cried out to Peter what should we do
• Accepted Peter’s message about Jesus and repented and were baptized FOR the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the holy spirit…
YES – these final 6 verses tell us what these new believers did, what it was that they were committed to and the incredible results that followed.
UNDERSTAND - the first church was built on the things that pleased God most. AND IT - was their focus on these things that actually made them attractive. You know, I can’t read through the book of Acts without thinking, That’s a community of people I want to be part of.
I MEAN - what they were doing was unique. It was compelling in a way that nothing else in the world could rival.
IN FACT – it was something the world had never seen before.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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. – Acts 2:42-47
Francis Chan (Letters To The Church)
Absent from this account is any attempt on the part of the early Christians to conjure up some sort of powerful experience. They weren’t strategizing ways to get people interested.
After Jesus left them to return to His Father, they were gathering together to ask God to direct them and work through them: “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1: 14). It was in one of these gatherings that the Spirit of God descended on them and the entire Church was launched as they “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (2: 42).
No modern church-growth movement would take this approach seriously. Where’s the excitement?
Sure, these elements are the basic building blocks, but do you really think you can accomplish anything with just the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer?
After all, haven’t there been many who have chased this simple approach without experiencing the “awe” the early church felt?
No. There’s a keyword in this passage that separates the attempts of our modern church from the first church: devoted.
OKAY – let’s briefly jump out of this Chan quote…
NOW - the Greek word translated ‘devoted’ means to adhere to with strength… UNDERSTAND – this was not a casual loose connection… IT WAS - a firm strong, “ain’t no way I am even letting go of this thing” connection.
AND NOTE – the word is also in the present tense which means it was an ongoing, continuous action).
They were continually devoting themselves
QUESTION - who were they devoting?
UNDERSTAND – as much as we may want to… we cannot devote other people and other people cannot devote us…
CHAN…
In our impatient culture, we want to experience biblical awe without biblical devotion. At the core of our dysfunction is not necessarily style or structure but lack of devotion. So much of the discussion nowadays revolves around how to make the most of our Sunday morning services.
If people are willing to sacrifice ninety minutes a week, should we spend that time singing, preaching, or praying?
Should we meet in a large group or a small one?
These are all the wrong questions.
We should be asking why Christians are willing to give only ninety minutes a week (if that!) to the only thing that really matters in their lives!
So leaders work tirelessly to squeeze prayer, teaching, fellowship, and Communion into a ninety-minute service because they believe that’s all they have to work with.
While we can’t force people to be devoted, it may be that we have made it too easy for them not to be. By trying to keep everyone interested and excited, we’ve created a cheap substitute for devotion.
Rather than busying themselves with countless endeavors, the early followers devoted themselves to a few. And it changed the world.
It seems like the Church in America is constantly looking for the next new thing. We want to follow the latest trends of church growth, believing there is something we are missing. Once we add one more staff position or one more program, our churches will become healthy. It’s a never-ending game. Haven’t we tried that long enough?
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and]to prayer. – Acts 2:42
Brother and Sisters
Listen, Listen…
UNDERSTAND – if we (if you and I) leave this place this morning, ‘determined’ like those early believers to be devoted to…
the apostle’s teaching
and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread
and]to prayer.
MGCC, MGCC – if we would actually do (not just be convicted about) what they did…
THERE IS – a very high probability that we will experience what they experienced, a mighty movement of God where
#1The Lord adds to our number daily those who were being saved.
#2 Where this crazy selfless community is formed…
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
I. Devoted To The Apostles Teaching
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
To whose teaching?
UNDERSTAND
IF WE - we want to become the church (and people) that He intends we must be devoted to this book…
QUESTION – why was God able to do such unexplainable and extraordinary things in and through the early church…?
LISTEN – one of the core reasons was that…
THEY - were devoted to, the Word of God.
OKAY – I would like to ask 3 questions.
NOW - the answers are pretty obvious.
AND I THINK - that the answer the last two could possibly make some in this room a little bit uncomfortable….
BUT REMEMBER – as we have said throughout this series that for us to become the church He intends, it will require us to be open and honest about who and where we really are.
WHICH WILL – at times make us uncomfortable…
OKAY – R U ready?
Should a Jesus follower be devoted to the Apostle’s Teaching? yes/no
Is it possible to be devoted to the Apostle’s Teaching, if you hardly ever read the bible? yes/no
Are you devoted to the Apostles Teaching? Yes/no
NOW – I was going to put a scale for that last question…
YOU KNOW – one of those 1 thru 5 things.
BUT THEN – I realized that. We are either devoted or we are not devoted.
(like being pregnant)
How often Christians read the bible…
26% - 4 or more times per week
19% - once or a few times per week (usually at church)
26% - once or a few times a month
29% - rarely (4 times a year) or not at all
QUESTION – if we took that same survey right now in this room and were honest, how do you think our percentages would turn out?
NOW - if you have been around here for awhile you have probably heard me mention FCFH….
That stands for ‘Faith Comes From Hearing.’
It is a bible reading program (chapter a day, Sunday reflect and catch up) that is based on…
Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. – Romans 10:17
NOW - we began doing FCFH on October 24, 2011…
AND – I said we would keep doing it until the Lord returns.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…
Why? Because that teaching was/is the very words of God.
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. – 1 Thessalonians 2:13
QUESTION… have you ever heard the following Scripture before?
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16,17
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do. – Isaiah 55:10,11
YEAH – I am pretty sure that we have all heard those words before, but here’s the deal… Do we actually believe them?
LIKE – do we actually believe…
MGCC – if we really believed that this book (God’s Word) was that powerful…
Not only would we read these words but we would read them expecting them to have a life of their own and to accomplish all that God desires.
B/S – we hold in out hands one of the most powerful agents of change on the face of the planet…
CHECK OUT – these powerful words about this book from a really smart guy named NT Wright.
They are from his book, ‘Simply Christian…’
“Tragically, the history of Christianity is littered with ways of reading the Bible which have in effect, muzzled it.
The computer I’m writing on right now will do a thousand things, but I use it only for writing and for access to the internet and e-mail.
In the same way, many Christians – whole generations of them, sometimes entire denominations- have in their possession a book which will do a thousand things - not only in and for them, but through them in the world. And they use it only to sustain the 3 or 4 things they already do.
They treat it as a form of verbal wallpaper, pleasant enough in the background, but you stop thinking about it once you’ve lived in the house a few weeks.
It really doesn’t matter, that I don’t exploit more than a small amount of my computer’s capability. But, to be a Christian while not letting the Bible do all the things it is capable of, through you, and in you, is like trying to play the piano with your fingers tied together.”
“Equipped for every good work: there’s the point. The Bible is breathed out by God, so that it can fashion and form God’s people - to do His work in the world.
In other words, the Bible isn’t simply to be an accurate reference point, for people who want to look things up and be sure they’ve got them right. It is there to equip God’s people to carry forward, His purposes of new covenant and new creation.
It is there for people to work for justice, to sustain their spirituality and as they do so, to create and enhance relationships at every level, and to produce that new creation which will have about it - something of the beauty of God Himself.
The Bible isn’t like an accurate description of how a car is made. It’s more like the mechanic who helps you fix it, the garage attendant who refuels it, and guide who tells how to get where you’re going.
And where you are going is to make God’s new creation happen in His world, not simply to find your own way unscathed through the old creation.”
“The Bible isn’t simply a repository of true information about God, Jesus and the hope of the world. It is, rather, part of the means by which, in the power of the Spirit, the living God rescues His people and His world and takes them forward on the journey toward His new creation, and makes us agents of that new creation even as we travel.”
“Picking it up, you need to remind yourself that you hold in your hands not only the most famous book in the world, but one which has extraordinary power to change lives, to change the world. It’s done it before. It can do it again...”
AND LISTEN…
Here is what I want you to know about The Grove…As a church we are devoting ourselves to God’s Word. To the apostles teaching.
This book is our highest authority.
We are going to let this book…
• challenge and convicted us
• encourage and comfort us
• be over us and not under us
We are devoted to this book…It will be our map and our guide – our teacher and our corrector.
AND UNDERSTAND – as long as I stand up here as your pastor and teacher… I intend on continuing to lift up this book as the highest authority for our lives both individually and collectively.
YES - we are going to keep on striveing to be a church built on this book and what it says… Is that okay?
(Remember the grass withers and the flowers, but…)
NOW - don’t misunderstand me.
We’ll all follow imperfectly, right?
We’re going to run off the road from time to time.
We’re going to need to help each other and encourage each other.
But our commitment is that we are going to allow God’s Word to guide us and direct us…. to challenge and transform us.
So in Acts chapter 2 the church explodes (on) the Day of Pentecost. The Bible says that about three thousand people were added…added to…
That’s membership language.
Three thousand people were added to their number… and God added
To their number daily… and part of why that happened is that they were devoted to the word of God.
Devoted to the Apostles Teaching…
QUESTION – what do you intend to do to increase your personal devotion?
II. Devoted To The Fellowship
They devoted themselves to the fellowship…
They devoted themselves to each other.
UNDERSTAND – the early church knew that we are better together! T
HEY KNEW – that following Jesus is a team sport.
AND WHAT – an incredible team they were…
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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… - Acts 2:44-46
QUESTION – are you trying to ‘become who you were called to be’ on your own?
IT – will never work…
WHY?
BECAUSE – it’s not how God wired up the system…
It is not good for man to be alone… - Genesis 2:18
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up… Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. -Eccl 4:9,10,12
YOU SEE - following Jesus is a ‘we thing’
That is why we encourage everyone to join a life group…
UNDERSTAND – there are things that we need for growth that we just cannot get or do on our own…
LIFE GROUP – is a great place to live out the ‘one another commands of Scripture.
Serve one another Gal 5:13
Accept one another Rm 15:7
Forgive one another Col 3:13
Admonish one another Col 3:16
Bear one another burdens Gal 6:2
Be Devoted to one another Rm 12:10
Honor one another Rm 12:10
Strengthen one another Rm 14:9
Teach one another Rm 15:14
Encourage one another 1 Thess 5:11
Spur on one another Hebrews 10:24
Confess your sins to one another James 5:16
Pray for one another James 5:16
Restore one another Gal 6:1,2
Love one another 1 John 4:7
In his book The Connecting Church, Author Randy Frazee writes,
“The experience of authentic community is one of the purposes God intends to be fulfilled by the church. The writings of Scripture lead one to conclude that God intends the church, not to be one more bolt on the wheel of activity in our lives, but the very hub at the center of one’s life.”
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
- John 13:34,35
III. Devoted To Prayer
They devoted themselves to prayer…
UNDERSTAND - the church that we see in the book of Acts… was devoted to prayer…
• They prayed before the church was born and after God gave it birth
• They prayed with such power in Acts 4, asking God for strength and boldness in the face of persecution, that the building they were in trembled.
• Steven prayed while being stone to death.
• Cornelius prayed and God sent the Gospel to him
• Paul and Silas prayed in prison and an earthquake threw open prison doors and loosened chains.
• They prayed when they needed to make a decision, when they faced persecution and to ensure they stay tuned in and connected to God.
QUESTION - why do you think the early church was devoted to prayer? BECAUSE…
Prayer brings us into the Throne Room of God.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Heb 4:16
I MEAN – think about it… we have direct and open access to the Creator of the Universe.
Prayer connects us to the Power of God
What can prayer do? Anything God can do!
And what can God do? ANYTHING!
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. – James 5:16-18
• Moses prayed and the waters parted
• Joshua prayed and the sun stood still in the sky
• David prayed and the giant fell
• Esther prayed and her people were saved from genocide
• Daniel prayed and the mouths of hungry lions were shut
Without prayer they would fail to receive all that God wanted to give them
You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives… - James 4:2,3
UNDERSTAND – there are…
• Things that we will never have (individually and as a church)…
• Ways that God will never move in and through us
• Giants that will never fall
• Seas that will never part
• Victories that will never be realized
• Lost people who will never be found
• Trials that will not be over come
• Captives that will not be set free
All because we never asked…
NOW – back on May 11 we had a prayer summit at the church…
The focus was on becoming a praying church and ensuring that the Holy Spirit feels welcome each Sunday….
AND SINCE THEN – we have looked for ways to infuse prayer into our service…
III. Devoted To The Breaking Of The Bread
AND – what Luke is talking about is that they were devoted to celebrating the Lord’s Supper. NOW – we know that it’s not just a meal they are sharing because in the original Greek an article (the word the) is before the word for breaking and for bread.
YOU KNOW – As I reflected on this… they were devoted to the breaking of the bread… I was like… “Alright I so get the importance of adhering with strength – to the apostles teaching, to prayer and to the fellowship...
Those seem pretty obvious and essential.
Sure communion is important but is it – that important?
Why is it such a big deal?
Was it a big deal to Jesus?
YEAH – must have been. After all he took time out for it in the upper room shortly after washing the His guys feet...
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Jesus said that we are to do this in remembrance of me.
QUESTION – what do you think Jesus wants us to remember?
I believe among other things that that He wants us to remember…
How He lived… – humbly, purposefully, powerfully, passionately and relationally
Why He Died… - to set us free, to pay our debt, to destroy death sin and the grave, and to demonstrate God’s love
What He said… - I am the way, the truth and the life – It is finished – I am going to prepare a place for you
What He prayed…
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have love me. – John 17:20- 23
The first disciples devoted themselves to the breaking of bread, which in the New Testament refers to a shared meal in which they celebrated the Lord’s Supper.
Think of what this would have been like for them. Jesus had a profound impact on all the people in the early church. His sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent resurrection were real for them. They were misunderstood and opposed by the people around them; some were beaten or even put to death for following Jesus.
So imagine what it would have meant to them when they gathered with the few people who shared their mission and beliefs.
Imagine sitting around a table and sharing a meal with people who loved you unconditionally and whose lives had changed in the same way as yours.
As you gather, you can’t help but remember those who used to sit at the table with you but were killed for proclaiming His death. Some who gather with you have injuries and scars from the persecution.
You break the bread and eat it, remembering that Jesus had broken His body so you could find life in Him.
Imagine drinking wine with these fellow believers as you recall how His blood was shed. He did this for you so you could be cleansed and forgiven of all your sins.
Can you see how powerful this experience would have been for the church every time they gathered?
If Communion has become boring for us now, it could be that we’ve lost sight of the value of Jesus’ sacrifice.
When Communion feels like an obligation rather than a life-giving necessity, a serious heart scan needs to take place.
God wants us to love the Lord’s Supper so much that we feel as if we can’t live without it! Have you ever felt this way, or have you allowed the broken body and shed blood of Jesus to become just another theological concept?
God designed Communion to be an intimate act of remembering His flesh and blood. More than just an exercise of the mind, He wanted us to actually eat of the bread and drink of the cup. And Communion is not just about intimacy with Jesus; it’s also about intimacy with one another.
Remember that Jesus had just washed the disciples’ feet and commanded them to love one another just as He loved them. It was after this that He taught them to stare at His broken body and blood to remind them of how He loved them.
As we consider the cross and look around the room, we should be asking ourselves, “Am I willing to love the people in this room to that extent?” This probably sounds impossible to most churchgoers, yet it’s what Christ asks for.
Just imagine if the Church was made up of people who would literally go to the cross for one another. How could people shrug their shoulders as they witnessed that kind of love?
This is what unbelievers should see when they watch us break bread with one another. If Communion feels like a curious add-on to our church services rather than the very core of everything we’re about, then we’re missing the point of the Church. - Chan
And I love this quote by Alexander Campbell one of the founders of the Restoration Movement….
Upon the loaf and upon the cup of the Lord, in letters which speak not to the eye, but to the heart of every disciple, is inscribed, "When this you see, remember me."
Indeed, the Lord says to each disciple, when he receives the symbols into his hands, "This is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for you."
The loaf is thus constituted a representation of his body - first whole, then wounded for our sins. The cup is thus instituted a representation of his blood - once his life, but now poured out to cleanse us from our sins.
To every disciple he says, "For you my body was wounded; for you my life was taken." In receiving it the disciple says, "Lord, I believe it. My life sprung from thy suffering; my joy from thy sorrows; and my hope of glory everlasting from thy humiliation and abasement even to death."
Each disciple, in taking the symbols with his fellow disciple, says, in effect, "You, my brother, once an alien, are now a citizen of heaven; once a stranger, are now brought home to the family of God.
You have owned my Lord as your Lord, my people as your people. Under Jesus the Messiah we are one. Mutually embraced in the everlasting arms, I embrace you in mine;
thy sorrows shall be my sorrows, and thy joys my joys. joint debtors to the favor of God and the love of Jesus, we shall jointly suffer with him, that we may jointly reign with him.
Let us, then, renew our strength, remember our King, and hold fast our boasted hope unshaken to the end." "Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above."
To become the church He intended we MUST be devoted to the breaking of the bread…
Communion is a big deal.
That is why we do it every week at Maple Grove.
(But truth be told is doesn’t always seem like the big deal that it is)
MGCC - as we consider the cross and look around the room, we should be asking ourselves,
“Am I willing to love the people in this room just as Jesus loved me?” This probably sounds impossible to most churchgoers,
YET - it’s what Christ asks for.
I MEAN
JUST IMAGINE - if Maple Grove was made up of people who would literally go to the cross for one another.
How could people (the world) shrug their shoulders as they witnessed that kind of love?
They could not.
To become the church He intended we MUST be devoted to…
- The apostle’s teaching
- The fellowship
- Prayer
- And the breaking of the bread…
AND HEY… something hit me while working on this message….
And that is that we could substitute one word for all of the things we are to be devoted to… what is that one word? JESUS
They were devoted to Jesus. I MEAN – think about it…
• The Apostles teaching is about Jesus
• Our prayers are through the name of Jesus (he is our access)
• The Fellowship is centered and with Jesus
• And the bread and the cup represent Jesus.
YES – the Acts 2 church was devoted to Jesus… and the proof was their ongoing devotion to… the apostles teaching, the fellowship, prayer and the breaking of the bread.
