Early Church Fellowship
I'm back again. I have the amazing privilege of getting to speak to you guys and getting to open up God's Word with you all. This morning, we're going to be in the Book of Acts. We're going to be focusing on chapter two, verses 42 to 47. And before we get started, I want us to pray and I want us to invite the Lord's blessing over this time.
And I want us to just even in the quietness of our own hearts, ask the Lord to speak to us, to ask Him to soften our hearts, to hear from His word, and to be moved by his spirit. Amen. So let's pray together.
"Jesus, we love you so much. You are so good and so perfect and so kind, or we do not deserve to get to meet together in a beautiful building like this, in safety, like this law. But you have given us the privilege to come together as the body of Christ. And we thank you, Lord. We know that we have brothers and sisters around the world who do not share this privilege. And so we want to we want to humbly and graciously thank you for your mercy that we get to come together. We pray that as your word is open First Lord, I pray that you would speak through me. Jesus, let it be your word and not my own. I pray that you would give me wisdom and discernment on how to speak and that your scriptures would challenge and convict and grow us as the body of Christ God, to pray that we would walk out of this room less like us and more like you, Jesus.
And that we would be excited to walk in the fullness of the goodness that you've called us to Jesus. We love you so much and it's in your name we pray, amen. Like I said, we're going to be in Acts chapter two, verses 42 to 47. And we are going to be looking at the beginning of the early church in the passages that we're about to read.
We're about to see the church take off and catch fire for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that we would specifically see how the early church fellowship with one another so that we can walk out of here and begin to grow and imitate the fellowship that we saw. And then we see in this early church congregation.
So that's the prayer. That's the goal. As we look at the early church, as we look at the church being founded, coming together, my prayer is that we would see how the fellowship, see how they connected, how they walked side by side, and that we would grow to be imitators of them as they were imitating Jesus, as they were imitating the apostles that we would learn from our early church brothers and sisters. Before we dive into the texts, something important to note is the backdrop of the verses that we're about to read with the context.
What happened just before the verses that we're about to read is Peter's sermon to the people at Pentecost. So if you've read the Book of Acts, you might know what I'm talking about. If you have and just so a quick refresher in the Book of Acts, we see the continuation of Jesus's ministry through the Apostles, and Jesus from the very beginning of the Book of Acts promises the disciples in Acts 1:8 that power would come upon them when his helper came to them.
And we see in the beginning of the Book of Acts the beginning of Chapter 2, the Holy Spirit comes into the room and it is like a great rushing wind. It fills the disciples with power. And then it says that tons of fire hovered above their heads as they went out into the streets and began to preach the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it says that all the crowds, foreigners from a bunch of different parts of the world who came together for Pentecost, who came together for this feast, speaking different languages, all heard the message of the gospel in their own tongue. They all heard the message of the Gospel in their own tongue, as Peter and the disciples faithfully preached the word.
And so after hearing the Gospel, after receiving crises, their Savior, this is what we see in verse 40. So verse 40, says this and with many other words, he, Peter, bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourself from this crooked generation, verse 41. So those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day about 3000 souls.
Amen. How about that for an evangelism sermon? 3000 people came to know Christ as their Savior. The disciples came, the apostles came. They preach the word and the power of the Holy Spirit. And people got saved. And then we see in verse 42, this is what they did. This was their response to coming to know Jesus as their Savior.
Look at verse 42 with me. And they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Before we go any further, there's just an important note that I want all of us to really pay attention to. Verse 42 starts, it says, And they devoted themselves Who is the they are the early church, but who specifically who's the they are the 3000 new believers, the brand new Christians, the brand new disciples and followers of Christ.
Were these people mature believers in the faith? Have they been in a relationship with Jesus for years and years and years? They just came to no crisis or Savior. And so I want to say before we go any further, the fruit of what we're about to read, the example of fellowship that we're about to see is the response of brand new believers.
They haven't been in the faith for years and years and years. They aren't the quote-unquote, really serious Christians. They weren't the really, really mature believers. They were new Christ followers. The reason that's so important is because the example that we're about to see in the model of church fellowship that we're about to read together is not just for people who are really, really mature in their faith.
The example that we're about to read in verses 42 to 47 is not an example only for apostles and pastors and elders to imitate. This was the response of new believers. They were in dwells with the Holy Spirit. They were baptized and this was their obedient response. This is what it says in verse 42, and they are the new believers.
And all of the believers at that time were continually devoted to the Greek word. There is Proskauer Tayo, which I probably mispronounced, but that's okay. And it means this, it means to persevere in anything, to continue steadfastly, to continue to do something with intense effort, and to persevere until the very end that they continued together. This morning, we are going to look at four observations for things that we can see in this passage for practices or characteristics of these new Christians, these new believers, and how they were continually devoted to pursuing these forward practices.
So that's it for practices we're going to look at this morning. And the first one that I want us to note. So they were continually devoted to the apostle's teaching. Look at verse 42 one more time, and they devoted themselves. They were continually devoted to the apostles, teaching these new believers person revered continue to the end. 4 to 4 persevered with great endurance in their pursuit of dedication to God's Word.
They, as the new beginnings of the church, were fully dedicated and continually devoted to the apostle's teaching. They knew the Word of God to be the living and active Word of the Lord. If it wasn't a dry book to be memorized, it wasn't just a teaching that they heard on a Sunday morning. No, it was the key to God and they devoted themselves to it.
The early church knew the importance of God's Word and they read God's Word together. They meditated on God's Word together in their homes, in the temple, and in their gatherings. Everywhere they went, they were devoted together to the scriptures. And just in case the passage you go, Man, what is what is the Apostles teaching? Well, to put it simply and it's in its clearest form, it is the messages of the Apostles about Jesus.
The Apostle's Teaching is the messages of the Apostles about Jesus, about the new life that we can have in Christ. It's their messages about the Spirit of God. And then, in its fullness, the teaching of the Apostles is all of what we know as the New Testament. They were continually devoted to the study, to the meditation, to the memorization, and to the enjoyment of all of the New Testament scriptures.
They knew that in God's Word, in the Scriptures were blessings. They knew that God's Word was the key to the fullness of life in a relationship with Christ. They knew that by meditating on and memorizing and remembering the promises of God, they would be able to walk in the fellowship that they had been called to by the blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This was their devotion. They were devoted to the Word of God. And we actually in here are so blessed. Church We are so blessed because not only do we have the individual teachings of the apostles, but we have the entirety of the canon of God's Word. We have all of the completeness of the Scriptures at our fingertips on our devices, on our phones.
I mean, you probably have more Bibles, and you have more access to Scripture than anybody in the early church could have ever imagined. We know that through the Apostle's teaching, those apostles referenced the law and the prophets, i.e. the Old Testament, the early church was constantly devoted to this word and is this what we are constantly devoted to?
Are we devoting our time to God's Word, both individually? Do I? Bobby Brown In my own time? Am I devoted to the study of God's Word for each of you individually, as a person in a relationship with Jesus? Are you devoted to the study of God's Word, to memorizing God's Word, to praying God's Word to to clinging to the promises of God's Word?
But more than that, because their devotion was in the community, it was a together devotion to the study of God's word. So here's my question, and this is where it might get a little awkward for some of us. Am I more excited to talk about God's Word with my brothers and sisters in Christ than I am to talk about anything else?
Is talking about Scripture with the body of Christ more natural than talking about sports? And I'm more excited to get into a conversation with my brother or sister in Christ and go, Man, what are you learning from the Bible? What is Jesus teaching you? Is that more exciting to me than talking about anything else? Because the early church was constantly devoted to the apostle's teaching.
They were excited about this word and they knew that in this word was life and this word was fellowship with the Lord that they had access to hear from God and they were madly in love with it. Are we as a church family devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to discussing it together, to memorizing it together, to praying through the word, to sharing the word together, to confront one another with the word, and to encourage one another with the word?
Is this something that we both as a whole congregation but as individual groups of the congregation? Are we devoted to the apostle's teaching? Let us be imitators of these believers as they meditated on, memorized, and got excited about the Word of God because this was their devotion. The second thing they were constantly devoted to so and they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and the fellowship.
Now, I want to quickly say about this word fellowship that we as the church can have this fellowship, and the fellowship that we're about to discuss is so much more than getting coffee and donuts together. Now. I love coffee. Ask anybody who knows me and I love donuts, but the fellowship that we're about to discuss, we need to be clear, is so much more than just getting coffee and donuts together that we, as the church, the body of Christ, have access to an intimate fellowship that is like nothing else that we can be connected in the body of Jesus in a supernatural way.
Really quick. The word fellowship here, its definition Is this the act of sharing in the activities or privileges of an intimate association or group, especially what we use? The word is especially used in the context of marriage and the church. Think about that for a second. This word in Greek for fellowship is most frequently used to describe marriage and the church.
The early church was devoted to an intimate one-body fellowship that was supernatural. The Greek word for here in Fellowship of the Greek word here for fellowship is amazing, even more so because this word is the same word that Apostle John uses to describe our fellowship with Jesus and with the Father. This word for fellowship is the same word used to describe our relationship.
I'll say one more time our relationship with Jesus and the Father, that the connection that is available to us with Jesus and with the Father. This church was devoted to being the Vatican did with each other. Is that amazing? Is that fellowship? Not like you're like, No, I want that. That sounds wonderful. And even more than that is in our world in need.
Seeing a church that is in that type of fellowship, like with the world will know us by our love. And this is the fellowship that our early church brothers and sisters were constantly devoted to. They were constantly to vote. This is not the quick snack small talk fellowship that we in America are so comfortable with. Fellowship to us is the TV's on.
Maybe we can say a few words. There's definitely plenty of food and that's the end of it. How are you doing? Good. Me too. Awesome, Nuff said. That is not the fellowship that the early church was constantly devoted to. It's not the fellowship that our Savior Jesus prayed that we would enjoy. Jesus in John 17 prayed. I pray that you all would be one as me and the Father are one.
The fellowship is radically different. That fellowship is radically intimate, radically connected, radically close. And it's a fellowship that is supernatural. It is a fellowship that is built on the blood, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we have access to it. But are we walking in or are we walking in it? Look at verse 44 really quick.
It says this and all who believed were together and had all things in common. First part there it says that they were together. The phrase they were together is in the imperfect tense, which means that they were continually or constantly getting together. It was never they were never finished getting together day by day. They got together again. And then the next day they got together again.
They were constantly striving to be together, constantly striving to be connected, constantly striving to be amongst one another. And then it says they had all things in common. One commentary pointed this out. And it like, I don't know how I wasn't thinking about it, but it just like smacked me. These people were all foreigners. Yeah, like a few days prior.
They didn't know each other. They had no relationship. Many of them came from other cultures. Other countries spoke different languages, and yet 44 says they had all things in common. Do we feel that way with our brothers and sisters in Christ? And I can tell you it was not all things in common because their cultures just kind of clicked.
No, no, no. It was all things in common because the most important thing to any of them was Jesus Christ. They had a oneness, a fellowship, a connection, a relationship that was built on the fact that, like Mitt, you were saved by Jesus, I would say by Jesus, too. Can you believe he died for the two of us?
And it's like, Come have dinner at my house. Come be in fellowship with me. Let's read the word together. Let's pray together. All right. Next week, you're going to be at their house. Awesome. We're going to go to this person's house and then I'm going to host. It was just mean. We just can't wait to be together so that we can talk about Jesus we can be excited about the Gospel so that we can make disciples.
It was a fellowship that was built on Jesus, built on our oneness in Jesus' name. Are we church walking in that oneness because we've been promised and this is going to sound crazy? We have been promised a fellowship, a connection, a closeness that is deeper than any human family can experience through the closeness and the fellowship of of the body of Christ has the potential to be so much deeper than any human family.
Yeah, and Jesus freely offers it to us, man. But are we constantly devoted to it? Because that's the language used here in the Book of Acts. They were constantly devoted. They didn't just and I'm just going to be clear, we're not going to accidentally stumble into this type of depth. No, we're not. This is a spirit-led, Holy Spirit empowered fellowship, that church we need to be praying for.
We need to be looking for. And it's going to get uncomfortable. I don't know if we thought about that, but it's going to get awkward and it's going to get uncomfortable, but it's built on something deeper than our hobbies. It's built on something deeper than the things we have in common. It's built on something deeper than shared love for Ohio State After Buckeyes event is built on Jesus, and he's the foundation of it and we have the privilege to walk in it.
The church is continually devoted to this fellowship and this fellowship causes them and catch this. This fellowship caused them to open their homes to one another and to sacrificially give to one another. Look at verse 45. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. Now, I'm not asking anybody to sell their car and give the proceeds to buy somebody else.
So one more. But I want us to really humbly look at this. They were hospitable. They were generous to, complete strangers and the only thing they had in common was they had been saved by Jesus. They were kind to one another. They were constantly striving to be together. It wasn't a once-a-week thing. It was, All right, we're going to meet at the temple and then we're going to your house afterward.
Awesome. And then tomorrow we're going to be at your house. And then tomorrow we're going to be at your house. And then in the morning, let's do breakfast and then I'll bring food and we're going to open up God's Word and we're going to pray together. And I'm inviting new people and we're going to love each other.
And you have a need because you're a foreigner in this land and you only brought enough for a short trip. Don't worry about it. I sold my stuff. I'm going to take care of you. You're going to stay with me. It was that type of fellowship. Yeah, it was that type of connection. The depth we as the body of Christ have access to is the oneness that we see between Jesus and the Father.
Supernatural. It's supernatural. It is supernatural. Does this describe our church? And I want to say I have experienced KAEMI and I have experienced this type of love and fellowship from many of you. You guys have loved us in a supernatural way, but this kind of love is the love that is going to shine in our community and be a light of the gospel to people who don't know Jesus.
Does this depth. Describe our church family. How are we constantly devoting ourselves to this fellowship One point is this and we've all got to keep us moving. They were devoted to the apostle's teaching, devoted to fellowship, and to the breaking of bread. They were constantly devoted to the breaking of bread. Two main ideas that are revealed here.
The first one is this, and it's the most clear they were devoted to the breaking of bread, meaning to the Lord's Supper, or as we know it, communion. They were constantly devoted to taking communion. Why? Because even though Jesus's death and resurrection weren't that long ago, chronologically, they desperately wanted to make sure that they did not forget Jesus's sacrifice.
They were constantly devoted to stopping and rejoicing and reflecting on the fact that this was Jesus's blood. This was Jesus's body, which was given to us. They stopped and they remembered. And as I was studying and I was I was looking. This also doesn't exclude breaking of bread meals together. I think it was both. And they constantly stopped and they reflected on the gospel.
They constantly stopped and they had a moment of confession, a moment of connection, where they said, Jesus, thank you for the body, thank you for your blood, which was given for us. They confess their sins and they went back in the right connection with each other. But for a lot of the time this practice came after they had a meal and so they were also eating meals together, connecting together, building relationships together, while also confessing sin together and reflecting on the gospel of Jesus together.
Now they were constantly devoted to the breaking of bread, constantly devoted to meditate on and to not forget Christ's gracious sacrifice for his sinful people. They rejoiced in that. And it says this in verse 46 and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they receive their food with glad and generous hearts. As they ate meals, they rejoiced in gladness as they consumed food together, they were generous gracious, and excited.
Whether they were in the temple or the home, they were stopping and reflecting on Jesus's mercy, Jesus's grace, and the gospel. Last point, and then I'm going to give you a word of encouragement and we're going to wrap up together. The early church was constantly devoted to the apostles, teaching to fellowship, to the breaking of bread.
The last part there in verse 42 and the prayers, they were constantly devoted to praying together. These prayers are both the everyday prayers that they experience and enjoy together in the body of Christ. But it's more than that. The fact that it says the prayers and the article coming before prayers shows that there was a specific ness, a worshipful nature of these prayers.
And we want to talk about that really quick. In verse 47, it says this praising God and having favor with all people. They were constantly stopping and praying together, praising God together, worshiping him, praying through his and their pursuit of what Jesus had for them. And it says that because of that, the Lord gave them favor with all people and added to their number day after day after day, they will know you are my disciple by your love.
And when we as the church love and and fellowship this way people will be knocking on the door. People will be coming, and going. What is going on? How are you all so connected? What is this fellowship you have? How do I get access to it? The Lord is the one who brought the numbers. The people were constantly devoted to the teaching of God's Word, the fellowship to the breaking of bread, and prayer.
So for us today, are we constantly devoting it? Is this our constant devotion? Are we pursuing this type of relationship in our churches? Are we? And I brought it up before. Are we praying to be sensitive to the Spirit to walk in this fellowship that God has called us to? And on one application that I want to bring up, I partially am getting to teach this message because in a week we're going to be starting our life group program and it's something that I and all of our church staff are so, so excited about.
And I want to quick John time make a concession. Can I make a concession? I got a thumbs-up from John. I'm going to concede something, you guys. Life groups are not what we see in chapter two verses 42 to 47, but it's a step of growth to help us get there. Yes, that is our prayer. That has been our prayer as we've prepared for life groups as we've met with the leaders we know.
And the reality is, I pray that we work life groups out of a job. I pray that we work and we get to a point where life groups are like, we don't even need that. We're already doing way more than that. But for now, in our culture, this is a step of growth. And we pray. And for you this morning, as you're looking at this type of connection and you say, I want to be a part of something like that.
I want to challenge you this morning to take a moment in prayer and go, do I need to be a part of a life group? Can I be a part of a group that is devoted to this type of fellowship? This is what our life group definition is. Life groups are intentional Life on-life discipleship groups focused on deep fellowship with God and community.
This is our goal to be a mutual disciple and to fellowship intimately with Jesus and with the body of Christ. And we want to invite you to be a part of that. And so if you this morning, want to pray, there are signups in the back. And before all of that, if you're here this morning and you're hearing about this fellowship and you're hearing about this level of intimacy, the start is knowing Jesus.
This fellowship is only possible when we're in fellowship, in relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you this morning, if you're hearing God's word and God is breaking your heart and you're going, Man, I need that relationship. I need that connection. We want to give you an opportunity to place your faith and trust in Christ to respond to the goodness of the gospel.
This morning, because God's Word is clear for God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And so if you this morning have never placed your faith and trust in Christ, we want to give you an opportunity to respond. And I'm going to have you in a moment, pray a prayer with me.
And I want to be so clear. This prayer can't save you. You can pray this prayer along with me, but if you're not believing it in your heart is not going to do anything. Prayer is just the expression of what Jesus is already doing in your heart. It's you confessing what the Lord is already doing inside. And so Church, would you go ahead?
I'm going to invite you to bow your heads. I'm going to invite you to close your eyes. And if you, for the very first time this morning, would say, I want a relationship with Jesus, would you pray this prayer with me? Lord, I know I'm a sinner, Jesus. I know that I've broken your law and that the consequence of my sins is death.
But Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of my sins, to rescue me from my iniquities. And the best I know how I ask you to help me to be in the right relationship with you. Lord Jesus, I believe that you're the Son of God, that you died on the cross for my sins. And that on the third day you rose from the grave.
And now the best. I know how I ask you to rescue me and to come into me and to bring me to newness of life and your name. I do pray a man before everybody lifts their heads and opens their eyes. If you this morning for the very first time, place your faith and trust in Christ. You said I want to be in fellowship with Jesus.
I've confessed sins. I believe in him. If you, for the first time this morning made that decision, would you go ahead and raise your hand? Also echoing Well, amen. Amen. Church. You guys can open your eyes. You guys can lift your heads. It has been a privilege getting to open up God's Word with y'all.
And I want us to just even in the quietness of our own hearts, ask the Lord to speak to us, to ask Him to soften our hearts, to hear from His word, and to be moved by his spirit. Amen. So let's pray together.
"Jesus, we love you so much. You are so good and so perfect and so kind, or we do not deserve to get to meet together in a beautiful building like this, in safety, like this law. But you have given us the privilege to come together as the body of Christ. And we thank you, Lord. We know that we have brothers and sisters around the world who do not share this privilege. And so we want to we want to humbly and graciously thank you for your mercy that we get to come together. We pray that as your word is open First Lord, I pray that you would speak through me. Jesus, let it be your word and not my own. I pray that you would give me wisdom and discernment on how to speak and that your scriptures would challenge and convict and grow us as the body of Christ God, to pray that we would walk out of this room less like us and more like you, Jesus.
And that we would be excited to walk in the fullness of the goodness that you've called us to Jesus. We love you so much and it's in your name we pray, amen. Like I said, we're going to be in Acts chapter two, verses 42 to 47. And we are going to be looking at the beginning of the early church in the passages that we're about to read.
We're about to see the church take off and catch fire for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that we would specifically see how the early church fellowship with one another so that we can walk out of here and begin to grow and imitate the fellowship that we saw. And then we see in this early church congregation.
So that's the prayer. That's the goal. As we look at the early church, as we look at the church being founded, coming together, my prayer is that we would see how the fellowship, see how they connected, how they walked side by side, and that we would grow to be imitators of them as they were imitating Jesus, as they were imitating the apostles that we would learn from our early church brothers and sisters. Before we dive into the texts, something important to note is the backdrop of the verses that we're about to read with the context.
What happened just before the verses that we're about to read is Peter's sermon to the people at Pentecost. So if you've read the Book of Acts, you might know what I'm talking about. If you have and just so a quick refresher in the Book of Acts, we see the continuation of Jesus's ministry through the Apostles, and Jesus from the very beginning of the Book of Acts promises the disciples in Acts 1:8 that power would come upon them when his helper came to them.
And we see in the beginning of the Book of Acts the beginning of Chapter 2, the Holy Spirit comes into the room and it is like a great rushing wind. It fills the disciples with power. And then it says that tons of fire hovered above their heads as they went out into the streets and began to preach the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it says that all the crowds, foreigners from a bunch of different parts of the world who came together for Pentecost, who came together for this feast, speaking different languages, all heard the message of the gospel in their own tongue. They all heard the message of the Gospel in their own tongue, as Peter and the disciples faithfully preached the word.
And so after hearing the Gospel, after receiving crises, their Savior, this is what we see in verse 40. So verse 40, says this and with many other words, he, Peter, bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourself from this crooked generation, verse 41. So those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day about 3000 souls.
Amen. How about that for an evangelism sermon? 3000 people came to know Christ as their Savior. The disciples came, the apostles came. They preach the word and the power of the Holy Spirit. And people got saved. And then we see in verse 42, this is what they did. This was their response to coming to know Jesus as their Savior.
Look at verse 42 with me. And they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Before we go any further, there's just an important note that I want all of us to really pay attention to. Verse 42 starts, it says, And they devoted themselves Who is the they are the early church, but who specifically who's the they are the 3000 new believers, the brand new Christians, the brand new disciples and followers of Christ.
Were these people mature believers in the faith? Have they been in a relationship with Jesus for years and years and years? They just came to no crisis or Savior. And so I want to say before we go any further, the fruit of what we're about to read, the example of fellowship that we're about to see is the response of brand new believers.
They haven't been in the faith for years and years and years. They aren't the quote-unquote, really serious Christians. They weren't the really, really mature believers. They were new Christ followers. The reason that's so important is because the example that we're about to see in the model of church fellowship that we're about to read together is not just for people who are really, really mature in their faith.
The example that we're about to read in verses 42 to 47 is not an example only for apostles and pastors and elders to imitate. This was the response of new believers. They were in dwells with the Holy Spirit. They were baptized and this was their obedient response. This is what it says in verse 42, and they are the new believers.
And all of the believers at that time were continually devoted to the Greek word. There is Proskauer Tayo, which I probably mispronounced, but that's okay. And it means this, it means to persevere in anything, to continue steadfastly, to continue to do something with intense effort, and to persevere until the very end that they continued together. This morning, we are going to look at four observations for things that we can see in this passage for practices or characteristics of these new Christians, these new believers, and how they were continually devoted to pursuing these forward practices.
So that's it for practices we're going to look at this morning. And the first one that I want us to note. So they were continually devoted to the apostle's teaching. Look at verse 42 one more time, and they devoted themselves. They were continually devoted to the apostles, teaching these new believers person revered continue to the end. 4 to 4 persevered with great endurance in their pursuit of dedication to God's Word.
They, as the new beginnings of the church, were fully dedicated and continually devoted to the apostle's teaching. They knew the Word of God to be the living and active Word of the Lord. If it wasn't a dry book to be memorized, it wasn't just a teaching that they heard on a Sunday morning. No, it was the key to God and they devoted themselves to it.
The early church knew the importance of God's Word and they read God's Word together. They meditated on God's Word together in their homes, in the temple, and in their gatherings. Everywhere they went, they were devoted together to the scriptures. And just in case the passage you go, Man, what is what is the Apostles teaching? Well, to put it simply and it's in its clearest form, it is the messages of the Apostles about Jesus.
The Apostle's Teaching is the messages of the Apostles about Jesus, about the new life that we can have in Christ. It's their messages about the Spirit of God. And then, in its fullness, the teaching of the Apostles is all of what we know as the New Testament. They were continually devoted to the study, to the meditation, to the memorization, and to the enjoyment of all of the New Testament scriptures.
They knew that in God's Word, in the Scriptures were blessings. They knew that God's Word was the key to the fullness of life in a relationship with Christ. They knew that by meditating on and memorizing and remembering the promises of God, they would be able to walk in the fellowship that they had been called to by the blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This was their devotion. They were devoted to the Word of God. And we actually in here are so blessed. Church We are so blessed because not only do we have the individual teachings of the apostles, but we have the entirety of the canon of God's Word. We have all of the completeness of the Scriptures at our fingertips on our devices, on our phones.
I mean, you probably have more Bibles, and you have more access to Scripture than anybody in the early church could have ever imagined. We know that through the Apostle's teaching, those apostles referenced the law and the prophets, i.e. the Old Testament, the early church was constantly devoted to this word and is this what we are constantly devoted to?
Are we devoting our time to God's Word, both individually? Do I? Bobby Brown In my own time? Am I devoted to the study of God's Word for each of you individually, as a person in a relationship with Jesus? Are you devoted to the study of God's Word, to memorizing God's Word, to praying God's Word to to clinging to the promises of God's Word?
But more than that, because their devotion was in the community, it was a together devotion to the study of God's word. So here's my question, and this is where it might get a little awkward for some of us. Am I more excited to talk about God's Word with my brothers and sisters in Christ than I am to talk about anything else?
Is talking about Scripture with the body of Christ more natural than talking about sports? And I'm more excited to get into a conversation with my brother or sister in Christ and go, Man, what are you learning from the Bible? What is Jesus teaching you? Is that more exciting to me than talking about anything else? Because the early church was constantly devoted to the apostle's teaching.
They were excited about this word and they knew that in this word was life and this word was fellowship with the Lord that they had access to hear from God and they were madly in love with it. Are we as a church family devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to discussing it together, to memorizing it together, to praying through the word, to sharing the word together, to confront one another with the word, and to encourage one another with the word?
Is this something that we both as a whole congregation but as individual groups of the congregation? Are we devoted to the apostle's teaching? Let us be imitators of these believers as they meditated on, memorized, and got excited about the Word of God because this was their devotion. The second thing they were constantly devoted to so and they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and the fellowship.
Now, I want to quickly say about this word fellowship that we as the church can have this fellowship, and the fellowship that we're about to discuss is so much more than getting coffee and donuts together. Now. I love coffee. Ask anybody who knows me and I love donuts, but the fellowship that we're about to discuss, we need to be clear, is so much more than just getting coffee and donuts together that we, as the church, the body of Christ, have access to an intimate fellowship that is like nothing else that we can be connected in the body of Jesus in a supernatural way.
Really quick. The word fellowship here, its definition Is this the act of sharing in the activities or privileges of an intimate association or group, especially what we use? The word is especially used in the context of marriage and the church. Think about that for a second. This word in Greek for fellowship is most frequently used to describe marriage and the church.
The early church was devoted to an intimate one-body fellowship that was supernatural. The Greek word for here in Fellowship of the Greek word here for fellowship is amazing, even more so because this word is the same word that Apostle John uses to describe our fellowship with Jesus and with the Father. This word for fellowship is the same word used to describe our relationship.
I'll say one more time our relationship with Jesus and the Father, that the connection that is available to us with Jesus and with the Father. This church was devoted to being the Vatican did with each other. Is that amazing? Is that fellowship? Not like you're like, No, I want that. That sounds wonderful. And even more than that is in our world in need.
Seeing a church that is in that type of fellowship, like with the world will know us by our love. And this is the fellowship that our early church brothers and sisters were constantly devoted to. They were constantly to vote. This is not the quick snack small talk fellowship that we in America are so comfortable with. Fellowship to us is the TV's on.
Maybe we can say a few words. There's definitely plenty of food and that's the end of it. How are you doing? Good. Me too. Awesome, Nuff said. That is not the fellowship that the early church was constantly devoted to. It's not the fellowship that our Savior Jesus prayed that we would enjoy. Jesus in John 17 prayed. I pray that you all would be one as me and the Father are one.
The fellowship is radically different. That fellowship is radically intimate, radically connected, radically close. And it's a fellowship that is supernatural. It is a fellowship that is built on the blood, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we have access to it. But are we walking in or are we walking in it? Look at verse 44 really quick.
It says this and all who believed were together and had all things in common. First part there it says that they were together. The phrase they were together is in the imperfect tense, which means that they were continually or constantly getting together. It was never they were never finished getting together day by day. They got together again. And then the next day they got together again.
They were constantly striving to be together, constantly striving to be connected, constantly striving to be amongst one another. And then it says they had all things in common. One commentary pointed this out. And it like, I don't know how I wasn't thinking about it, but it just like smacked me. These people were all foreigners. Yeah, like a few days prior.
They didn't know each other. They had no relationship. Many of them came from other cultures. Other countries spoke different languages, and yet 44 says they had all things in common. Do we feel that way with our brothers and sisters in Christ? And I can tell you it was not all things in common because their cultures just kind of clicked.
No, no, no. It was all things in common because the most important thing to any of them was Jesus Christ. They had a oneness, a fellowship, a connection, a relationship that was built on the fact that, like Mitt, you were saved by Jesus, I would say by Jesus, too. Can you believe he died for the two of us?
And it's like, Come have dinner at my house. Come be in fellowship with me. Let's read the word together. Let's pray together. All right. Next week, you're going to be at their house. Awesome. We're going to go to this person's house and then I'm going to host. It was just mean. We just can't wait to be together so that we can talk about Jesus we can be excited about the Gospel so that we can make disciples.
It was a fellowship that was built on Jesus, built on our oneness in Jesus' name. Are we church walking in that oneness because we've been promised and this is going to sound crazy? We have been promised a fellowship, a connection, a closeness that is deeper than any human family can experience through the closeness and the fellowship of of the body of Christ has the potential to be so much deeper than any human family.
Yeah, and Jesus freely offers it to us, man. But are we constantly devoted to it? Because that's the language used here in the Book of Acts. They were constantly devoted. They didn't just and I'm just going to be clear, we're not going to accidentally stumble into this type of depth. No, we're not. This is a spirit-led, Holy Spirit empowered fellowship, that church we need to be praying for.
We need to be looking for. And it's going to get uncomfortable. I don't know if we thought about that, but it's going to get awkward and it's going to get uncomfortable, but it's built on something deeper than our hobbies. It's built on something deeper than the things we have in common. It's built on something deeper than shared love for Ohio State After Buckeyes event is built on Jesus, and he's the foundation of it and we have the privilege to walk in it.
The church is continually devoted to this fellowship and this fellowship causes them and catch this. This fellowship caused them to open their homes to one another and to sacrificially give to one another. Look at verse 45. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. Now, I'm not asking anybody to sell their car and give the proceeds to buy somebody else.
So one more. But I want us to really humbly look at this. They were hospitable. They were generous to, complete strangers and the only thing they had in common was they had been saved by Jesus. They were kind to one another. They were constantly striving to be together. It wasn't a once-a-week thing. It was, All right, we're going to meet at the temple and then we're going to your house afterward.
Awesome. And then tomorrow we're going to be at your house. And then tomorrow we're going to be at your house. And then in the morning, let's do breakfast and then I'll bring food and we're going to open up God's Word and we're going to pray together. And I'm inviting new people and we're going to love each other.
And you have a need because you're a foreigner in this land and you only brought enough for a short trip. Don't worry about it. I sold my stuff. I'm going to take care of you. You're going to stay with me. It was that type of fellowship. Yeah, it was that type of connection. The depth we as the body of Christ have access to is the oneness that we see between Jesus and the Father.
Supernatural. It's supernatural. It is supernatural. Does this describe our church? And I want to say I have experienced KAEMI and I have experienced this type of love and fellowship from many of you. You guys have loved us in a supernatural way, but this kind of love is the love that is going to shine in our community and be a light of the gospel to people who don't know Jesus.
Does this depth. Describe our church family. How are we constantly devoting ourselves to this fellowship One point is this and we've all got to keep us moving. They were devoted to the apostle's teaching, devoted to fellowship, and to the breaking of bread. They were constantly devoted to the breaking of bread. Two main ideas that are revealed here.
The first one is this, and it's the most clear they were devoted to the breaking of bread, meaning to the Lord's Supper, or as we know it, communion. They were constantly devoted to taking communion. Why? Because even though Jesus's death and resurrection weren't that long ago, chronologically, they desperately wanted to make sure that they did not forget Jesus's sacrifice.
They were constantly devoted to stopping and rejoicing and reflecting on the fact that this was Jesus's blood. This was Jesus's body, which was given to us. They stopped and they remembered. And as I was studying and I was I was looking. This also doesn't exclude breaking of bread meals together. I think it was both. And they constantly stopped and they reflected on the gospel.
They constantly stopped and they had a moment of confession, a moment of connection, where they said, Jesus, thank you for the body, thank you for your blood, which was given for us. They confess their sins and they went back in the right connection with each other. But for a lot of the time this practice came after they had a meal and so they were also eating meals together, connecting together, building relationships together, while also confessing sin together and reflecting on the gospel of Jesus together.
Now they were constantly devoted to the breaking of bread, constantly devoted to meditate on and to not forget Christ's gracious sacrifice for his sinful people. They rejoiced in that. And it says this in verse 46 and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they receive their food with glad and generous hearts. As they ate meals, they rejoiced in gladness as they consumed food together, they were generous gracious, and excited.
Whether they were in the temple or the home, they were stopping and reflecting on Jesus's mercy, Jesus's grace, and the gospel. Last point, and then I'm going to give you a word of encouragement and we're going to wrap up together. The early church was constantly devoted to the apostles, teaching to fellowship, to the breaking of bread.
The last part there in verse 42 and the prayers, they were constantly devoted to praying together. These prayers are both the everyday prayers that they experience and enjoy together in the body of Christ. But it's more than that. The fact that it says the prayers and the article coming before prayers shows that there was a specific ness, a worshipful nature of these prayers.
And we want to talk about that really quick. In verse 47, it says this praising God and having favor with all people. They were constantly stopping and praying together, praising God together, worshiping him, praying through his and their pursuit of what Jesus had for them. And it says that because of that, the Lord gave them favor with all people and added to their number day after day after day, they will know you are my disciple by your love.
And when we as the church love and and fellowship this way people will be knocking on the door. People will be coming, and going. What is going on? How are you all so connected? What is this fellowship you have? How do I get access to it? The Lord is the one who brought the numbers. The people were constantly devoted to the teaching of God's Word, the fellowship to the breaking of bread, and prayer.
So for us today, are we constantly devoting it? Is this our constant devotion? Are we pursuing this type of relationship in our churches? Are we? And I brought it up before. Are we praying to be sensitive to the Spirit to walk in this fellowship that God has called us to? And on one application that I want to bring up, I partially am getting to teach this message because in a week we're going to be starting our life group program and it's something that I and all of our church staff are so, so excited about.
And I want to quick John time make a concession. Can I make a concession? I got a thumbs-up from John. I'm going to concede something, you guys. Life groups are not what we see in chapter two verses 42 to 47, but it's a step of growth to help us get there. Yes, that is our prayer. That has been our prayer as we've prepared for life groups as we've met with the leaders we know.
And the reality is, I pray that we work life groups out of a job. I pray that we work and we get to a point where life groups are like, we don't even need that. We're already doing way more than that. But for now, in our culture, this is a step of growth. And we pray. And for you this morning, as you're looking at this type of connection and you say, I want to be a part of something like that.
I want to challenge you this morning to take a moment in prayer and go, do I need to be a part of a life group? Can I be a part of a group that is devoted to this type of fellowship? This is what our life group definition is. Life groups are intentional Life on-life discipleship groups focused on deep fellowship with God and community.
This is our goal to be a mutual disciple and to fellowship intimately with Jesus and with the body of Christ. And we want to invite you to be a part of that. And so if you this morning, want to pray, there are signups in the back. And before all of that, if you're here this morning and you're hearing about this fellowship and you're hearing about this level of intimacy, the start is knowing Jesus.
This fellowship is only possible when we're in fellowship, in relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you this morning, if you're hearing God's word and God is breaking your heart and you're going, Man, I need that relationship. I need that connection. We want to give you an opportunity to place your faith and trust in Christ to respond to the goodness of the gospel.
This morning, because God's Word is clear for God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And so if you this morning have never placed your faith and trust in Christ, we want to give you an opportunity to respond. And I'm going to have you in a moment, pray a prayer with me.
And I want to be so clear. This prayer can't save you. You can pray this prayer along with me, but if you're not believing it in your heart is not going to do anything. Prayer is just the expression of what Jesus is already doing in your heart. It's you confessing what the Lord is already doing inside. And so Church, would you go ahead?
I'm going to invite you to bow your heads. I'm going to invite you to close your eyes. And if you, for the very first time this morning, would say, I want a relationship with Jesus, would you pray this prayer with me? Lord, I know I'm a sinner, Jesus. I know that I've broken your law and that the consequence of my sins is death.
But Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of my sins, to rescue me from my iniquities. And the best I know how I ask you to help me to be in the right relationship with you. Lord Jesus, I believe that you're the Son of God, that you died on the cross for my sins. And that on the third day you rose from the grave.
And now the best. I know how I ask you to rescue me and to come into me and to bring me to newness of life and your name. I do pray a man before everybody lifts their heads and opens their eyes. If you this morning for the very first time, place your faith and trust in Christ. You said I want to be in fellowship with Jesus.
I've confessed sins. I believe in him. If you, for the first time this morning made that decision, would you go ahead and raise your hand? Also echoing Well, amen. Amen. Church. You guys can open your eyes. You guys can lift your heads. It has been a privilege getting to open up God's Word with y'all.
Posted in Acts 2:42-47
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