GET IN THE ZONE
Acts 2:42-47
April 17, 2005
Thesis: Only fully devoted disciples can discover their spiritual Sweet Spot.
The Zone.
It’s an extraordinary place. In baseball, when you enter the Zone in the batter’s box, you have no trouble getting a hit, because the baseball looks as big as a watermelon. Curt Schilling, pitcher for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, was in it last fall when the strike zone was as big as the side of a barn, and he was hitting his spots, winning two games and doing it with a ruptured sheath around his right peroneal tendon above his ankle, blood seeping through his socks.
In basketball, you’re in the Zone at the foul line when the basket looks like a hula hoop. In golf, every swing is effortless and every ball flies straight and true, and if you’re Vijay Singh you win 10 tournaments and almost $11 million.
According to college coaching legend Dean Smith, the Zone is “where time stands still and performance is exquisite.” Think of Barry Bonds hitting his 700th home run. Michael Jordan leading his team to six NBA championships. Tiger Woods swinging a club so well that he once held all four “majors” simultaneously. Lance Armstrong winning a record-setting sixth Tour de France. All of these athletes have found this magical place of optimal performance, also known as the Sweet Spot, the Flow or the Effortless Present.
All of these phrases describe a sporting phenomenon, but they’re also descriptive of a spiritual zone we can experience when the conditions are right. In today’s passage from Acts, the early church has clearly found the sweet spot of Christian living.
Listen to this:
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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.
If those Christians hadn’t found their spiritual Sweet Spot – if they hadn’t entered the spiritual Zone of optimal Christian performance, then who has?
But just what exactly is this place, and how do we get there?
There are disciplines that create the possibility that you, too, every once in a while, will get in the Zone, find the Sweet Spot, experience the Effortless Present that the apostle Paul calls, “walking in the Spirit.”
Richard Keefe, the director of sport psychology at Duke University, explores this phenomenon in a book called On the Sweet Spot: Stalking the Effortless Present (Simon and Schuster, 2003). He describes the Zone as a state of mind and body in which action and reaction seem to happen automatically, a state that people can enter while hitting a ball, playing a musical instrument, or even typing on a word processor.
According to brain-imaging studies, professional piano players don’t actually think about hitting the keys on the piano; instead, their brain neurons fire in areas associated with mechanical motion rather than consciousness. Great players — whether they are on the piano or on the basketball court — don’t have to think about what they are doing. They just do it.
Of course, no one can pick up a golf club for the first time and hit below par. Perfect practice makes perfect performance, which is why professionals build routine and repetition into their highly disciplined daily lives. “This is how the adage ‘practice makes perfect’ really works,” writes Keefe in his book. “The more you do something, the more the brain changes to devote its energy to that function.” The more you practice, the more you are training your brain neurons to fire in a way that creates flawless mechanical motion.
The Bible word for this is “devotion.”
Earlier we read Acts 2:43-47 and clearly these early Christians had entered the spiritual Zone of optimal Christian living. The question is: How did they discover that Zone? How did they find their spiritual Sweet Spot?
The Bible says, 42They devoted themselves…
The word “devoted” comes from a Greek word meaning “so adhere to, to be steadfastly attentive, to continue all the time and to persevere.” No one finds the Zone without being “devoted” to something. No one finds the Zone without persistence or practice. If it’s golf, you have to be dragged away from the practice range. If it’s basketball, you’re shooting hoops at midnight.
The early Christians were “devoted” to certain things and as a result they found their spiritual Sweet Spot. But what were those things that they were devoted to?
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
We Need to be “Devoted” to…
1. Discipleship
The first thing the believers devoted themselves to was “the apostle’s teaching.” In the beginning they had no New Testament. They had only the teaching of the apostles, which, of course, would one day come to make up our present day New Testament. So in essence they were devoting themselves to the scriptures – to the Bible.
How devoted are you to the Word of God? Is is something that you look at once a week on Sundays? Is it something that you use as a guide to making important life decisions? Do you live your life in accordance with the principles it teaches?
How devoted to the Bible are you? Do you study it for yourself? Do you read it on a daily basis? Do you have any special verses committed to memory?
The apostle Paul warned the Corinthians, “…hold firmly to the word … Otherwise, you have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:2).
The first believers weren’t content to know that they had been saved. They weren’t content in the knowledge that their sins were forgiven. They were determined that their conversion wasn’t going to be the conclusion, but the commencement of their spiritual lives. They were committed to growing and maturing in the faith.
Are you content with the way things are in your spiritual life? Or are you hungering and thirsting for more of God in your life? Are you just treading water spiritually or are you actively seeking to become more and more like Jesus Christ?
The first believers knew that to find the Zone, they would need to learn the fundamentals. The apostles were their coaches. And they were devoted to their teaching – they couldn’t get enough of it. They were devoted to being discipled by the apostles. And the early Christians couldn’t get enough of what they had to share. They were people of the Word — unabashedly and without apology.
2. Churchmanship
Next it says they were devoted to “the fellowship.” First, let me tell you what this doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that they were committed to just hanging out with each other. Or that they liked to have fun together. This phrase doesn’t even mean that they were committed to having fellowship with each other – as important as that it as we will see in a moment.
Notice it doesn’t say, “They were devoted to fellowship,” but “to the fellowship.” The use of the definite article in the Greek indicates that this dedication is to the assembly of believers – in other words to the Church.
You remember the first movie in The Lord of the Rings trilogy? It was called The Fellowship of the Ring. In that movie the Fellowship was a group of nine people/creatures (?) who were trying to destroy the evil Ring of Power. They were not called a fellowship because they hung out together (although they certainly spent a considerable amount of time together). They were not called a fellowship because they ate together (although the hobits certainly did enough of that). They were not even called a fellowship because they had fun together (although they did have some good times in between battles with terrifying creatures). They were called The Fellowship because they were a group united in a common purpose or mission. They were moving together in the same direction. They were working together toward a common goal.
Likewise the church is called The Fellowship because we are a group of individual united together by a common bond. Jesus prayed, “(may they) be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22b-23).
The church is called The Fellowship because we are united by a common purpose or mission.” Jesus said, “You will be my witness…to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
So, if “the fellowship” is a reference to the church, what does it practically mean to be devoted to the church? It means much more that simply to be devoted attendance for that in and of itself is not the purpose of the church. The purpose of the church is not just so that people will have some place to go on Sunday mornings. If that were the case there would be no need for the church because there are plenty of other place we could go and plenty of other things we could do.
To be devoted to “the fellowship” or the assembly or the church means to be devoted to the mission of the church – to be devoted to fulfilling the purposes of the church. It that you are a participator, not just a spectator. It means that you are a member, not just an attender.
3. Relationships
Then next thing that these first believers devoted themselves to was “the breaking of bread.” Now there is much debate among scholars about what this phrase means. Some hold that it is a reference to participating in The Lord’s Supper. While others believe that it was a love feast, which was a special meal shared in by believers to demonstrate their mutual love for one another, but wasn’t commemorative of the Last Supper. The term itself is ambiguous because it seems to be used both ways in Scripture. But either way the emphasis is on relationships.
When we celebrate The Lord’s Supper or Communion we are celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and the resulting spiritual communion that exists between the believer and his Lord as well as other believers. Elsewhere the Bible pictures the Church as a Body with Jesus being the head and each of us being individual members of that one Body. Therefore we are all in communion with one another in the Lord.
This kind of communion goes much deeper than mere potlucks or coffee and donuts. It is a celebration of the deep seated spiritual interconnectedness of believers.
They were people of Community. They hung out together, which no doubt was a source of strength, courage and support. They ate in each other’s homes. They sold their possessions and shared with each other. How strong is that!
They knew that in order to find the zone, they would need support from the community. So they ate together, prayed together, studied together, and no doubt began to observe the sacraments together.
4. Worship
The final thing that Luke tells us is that they were devoted to “prayer.” Actually the NIV is slightly, yet significantly inaccurate. The Greek is not generic and singular. The Greek uses the definite article – “the,” which is omitted by the NIV and many other translations. Furthermore, the Greek word for prayer is not singular, but plural. Therefore it should read, “they devoted themselves to … the prayers” as the more literal English Standard Version renders it.
Why does that matter? It matters because the literal Greek is clearly referring to formal prayers. Acts 3:1 says, “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer – at three in the afternoon.” We see that at first the believers continued to participate in these formal prayer services at the Temple along with the other Jews. Public prayers were offered at the Temple three times a day – at the 9:00 in the morning, at 12:00 noon, and at 3:00 in the afternoon. They also had their own formal times of prayer such as when the 120 gathered for prayer in the upper room (Acts 1:14-15) and when they gathered for prayer after being threatened with persecution (Acts 4:24) and when Peter was in prison (Acts 12:5).
Not only were these formal times of prayer, but it would also seem that they offered formal prayers during these times as opposed to extemporaneous prayers – prayers that are prayed without formal preparation. These may have been revisions of prayers found in the Old Testament in which case the old forms were not filled with new meaning. They also may have been based on the many New Testament prayers such as The Lords Prayer, Mary’s Magnificat, or Zechariah’s Song of Praise. Surely they also authored their own new prayers under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Whatever the case, it is clear that they were intentional about these times of prayer. Sometimes I believe Christians today have become casual about their prayer lives to the point of being irreverent. We choose the words for our songs carefully as song writers put much thought and prayer into the content of their lyrics. I try to put much thought into the wording of my messages so that they will be educational and inspiring. Why then don’t we put more thought into the wording of the prayers we pray? No, of course, prayer is not about formal words that sound right and make us look good or super spiritual. Its not that there is a right way to pray or a wrong way to pray. It is not that there are right words to use or wrong words to use.
But if you were going to meet tomorrow morning with the President of the United States concerning an issue that was near and dear to your heart, don’t you think you would choose your words carefully? Don’t you think you would plan out in advance what you wanted to say even if you didn’t stick rigidly to the script during the actual meeting? Of course you would. So why should we put more thought into a conversation with a dignitary than we do with a divinity?
Yes, we are to worship the Lord in spirit, but we are also to worship the Lord in truth – with thoughtfulness and intention. For the author of Hebrews said, “…let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…” (12:28).
Are you thoughtful when we gather as the church for formal times of worship? Or do you let your mind slip into neutral? Do you find yourself singing the songs by rote or are you thinking about the words that you are singing to God? I’ve heard it said that more Christians commit more sin during the Sunday morning song service than during the rest of the days of the week combined! Why? Because we sing words like: “I surrender all,” when the truth is we haven’t surrendered much of anything. We sing words like: “Change my heart, O God,” when in reality we just wish to be left as we are rather than go through the process of transformation. Are you aware of what you are singing? Are you aware of the what you are asking God to do in the songs you sing? Are you aware of the commitments that you are making to God through the songs that you sing?
How about the scripture readings and the sermon? Are you engaged? Could you tell someone later in the day what the message was about if you were asked? There is a fill-in-the-blank note taking guide inserted in your bulletin each week with all of the scriptures printed out so you really don’t have any excuse. At my last church someone once left their bulletin behind after our fellowship time was over. I happened to look at the note taking guide to see if it had been used and sure enough every blank had been filled in – with these words: “Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah.” In every blank. That will help to keep the pastor humble.
The point is this: Regardless of whether the pastor is “good” or “bad,” boring or interesting; I still have the responsibility to mentally engage the scriptures being studied. Even if I don’t get anything out of the sermon, I should get something out of the scripture.
Conclusion:
So we have seen that the early believers devoted themselves to discipleship, churchmanship, relationships, and worship. And these were not just theological truths that they gave mental assent too. These were commitments that radically impacted the way they lived their daily lives. In the verses that we at the beginning of the message we see these first disciples living out their faith in practical ways.
§ Discipleship
46aEveryday they continued to meet together in the temple courts.
§ Churchmanship
45b…they gave to anyone as he had need.
§ Fellowship
46bThey broke bread in their homes and ate together…
§ Worship
47a…praising God…
The result was that the church experienced phenomenal growth — as would any church that had Christians in this kind of a zone.
The problem is, of course, getting to a place where we can experience this kind of spiritual skill.
It’s not easy.
But it might be helpful to remember the Zone is a Spirit-generated state of mind and soul. It’s not about us “trying” to be better. When a person is walking in the Spirit, he or she doesn’t “think” about how the love comes, how the joy comes, how the service comes. When you’re walking in the Spirit it just comes together.
It’s just there, because the Spirit is within us, empowering us and moving us toward this spiritual level of life in which practicing God’s presence and experiencing God’s power, just seems to come naturally.
Visualize and practice. Then ask the Spirit of God to take over.
Soon you’ll be in the Zone.
Sources:
Scher, Jon. Review of On the Sweet Spot: Stalking the Effortless Present. Duke Magazine, March-April 2004, 54.
“The Effortless Present.” Homiletics, March-April 2005, 62.
Please email me if you use this message or an adaptation of it. Thanks!
steveamanda8297@hotmail.com
