Acts 2:42

This is the "they" of that action — the "they" who are continually devoting themselves. These are people who believe, who have been biblically baptized, and they belong. They belong to the King, but they belong to other people who also belong to the King.

Each and every one of us should not feel alone in this world. This is the "they." This is a plural "they." This is not a command to a singular "you," but this is a narrative in this verse where they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching. And it's not, "You are individually saved. You are converted." Now let's go off and throw you in the deep end and see how you can do. You're not individually separated from the world, left to see how you go. We learn how to make disciples. We learn how to bring each other around. This is the "they."

Not the world in general. Our church does not want to look like the world. We need to be not of the world, not conformed to the world and to its pattern, but to be transformed, right? By the renewing of our minds, we are separated. So when we come into this church and we follow the apostles' teaching and we do the things that this verse has said, this is something that is separate from what the rest of the world does on a regular basis. So we don't pattern our church and how we do things on what the world does or how the world sees as right. We do what God sees as right in His Word, and that's how we do things. This is the "they."

The word devoting — they were continually devoting. I want to go to the word devoting themselves. It's hard to separate both of these words, continually devoting, because you can't be devoted and not be continuous, right? And when you're continuous, you're going to be devoted to that because you're being continuous. So it's a continually devoting themselves here. So it's not a casual but a pressing-on phrase, which the early church did here. It is a giving of oneself, this word devote.

If you flip over in your Bibles to chapter 1, verse 14, the apostles led the charge in this. Verse 14 says, "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer." And it keeps going on there.

If you can flip back over now to chapter 2, verse 42 — it starts at the top. And the elders here at this church, all the way down to the fathers, we all need to be continually devoting ourselves to this — to the what. And we're going to get into the what here in part two. But the word continually is an emphasis on that. It is not a one-and-done salvation. This is a salvation that is a "know and go," right? It is almost like the apostles' teaching wrapped up into just a short phrase: yes, there's a knowledge, but it does not stay stagnant. This knowledge and this purity of regeneration carry a prompting to go forth and to follow what Christ has commanded. And so we are encouraged by this, by one another, as we are all looking at each other — saved and going.

When we think about this locker room mentality, right? When you're in the locker room prepping up for a game, you're looking around. And there's something similar that kind of happens here when we get into church, right? We're spiritually looking around. And it's very encouraging when we look around and see others who are barely making it to church. They're getting out of their car and it is extremely difficult for them to get from their door to inside this church. That is very encouraging, and we need to encourage each other and help each other along so they're not suffering. It's that locker room mentality — when you see other people pressing on, other people who are continually devoting themselves, not only to get in here to this church, but to all the what we're going to get into — that is very, very encouraging.

And so the first truth for this first part is: Christians must encourage one another. Christians must encourage one another. As a runner trains, we should, in this church, look to encourage one another in spiritual training. There will be high times of growth and excitement and rejoicing, but also there will be low times of pain, sickness, and despair. And just as with another runner in training, you don't let your fellow runner fall into the ditch, right? When you're training with them, you go into that ditch and you pick them up and you go on and you race together. This is the mindset of Christians in a church on how we encourage one another. We have this mindset where yes, there's a goal in mind and we're all trying to get there, but we need to help each other out and encourage each other along the way as we follow Christ.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." This race that is set before us is set before us by God. It is He who has set the race before us, whatever the race is. This is as many as He has called to Himself, who is calling right now and who will be called in the future. This is the church. This is the spiritual mindset on how we encourage one another in this spiritual race that we're on.

In Romans 12:10, — Romans 12 is a great passage, by the way. It speaks to believers within the church. When you're reading through it, you can sometimes miss it and think, "Oh, these are commands on how I should treat all people." But most of the commands in Romans 12 are about how we treat other believers within the church. Verse 10 says, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."

And when you're reading through that, I can't help but look around — I look at myself — and think, there are times where I am not easy to get along with. And the same with all of us. Some of us are extroverted, some introverted. Some of us have a talkative personality. Some of us just want to sit in the corner and hear the preaching, and that's great. But we need to be able to, in all of that, in all of those differences, recognize that we have the commonality of Christ. So bring on the differences, bring on the complement of everything. And let us lay aside all these encumbrances. You can see how sin can creep in there as we're thinking about each other, and we're maybe fighting for one another but sometimes fighting against each other. Let us keep focused on the goal set before us as a church, as we are continually devoting ourselves to this.

This devotion is to fellow believers. If you look there in Romans 12:4–6, it talks about how there are many members in the one body of Christ, but we don't all have the same functions. There is that context of fellow believers. And then verse 15 in Romans 12 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." I think a lot of us in this church — and when I say us, I'm saying that very carefully — I'm really thinking about a lot of you. A lot of you really do that verse very, very well. A lot of you rejoice with those who rejoice, and you weep with those who weep. I think that's one of the verses where I think we do very, very well. We can always do better, right? But we must encourage one another as we are continually devoting ourselves to the Lord.

Now I want to focus on the what. That's a lot about the action, a lot about this locker room mentality. The action is one of the most important things for a spiritual walk, right? When we read James, the action of doing something is very, very important, right? But we also need to know the what. And this second division is the what.

The what is: the apostles' teaching, and fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

First, the apostles' teaching. This is a fixed, absolute purpose. When we think about the apostles' teaching, it carries an enormous authoritative weight. This kind of teaching is not just any Aesop's fables that will make you warm and fuzzy. These are the apostles' teaching — commands to go forth and to do. These are teachings that are not of men. These are teachings that are not a tickling of the ears. This is teaching that is pleasing to God and not to man. In 2 Timothy 4:3, it refers to teachings like that — and it goes on, there will be a plethora of that. But we must ignore that and be continually devoting ourselves to the apostles' teaching.

The apostles were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, and it was the risen Christ who commissioned these apostles. And He promised that the Spirit would give them the words that they were going to need. And so everything the apostles wrote was Christ-focused and gospel-centered. There was a very similar format in what the apostles wrote — doctrine and teaching, followed by application. It was the know and go. There was an action. And so the early church here was continually devoting themselves to this authoritative teaching.

Next we have fellowship. The second what is fellowship. This is a social interaction where there is a joining of one another in what is common — fellowship with those who seek Christ as King, who recognize that we follow the apostles' teaching, that these are the things that we do. And so we also go back to that locker room mentality, where you come in and you assess your teammates' conditions. And you yourself may come to the church, or come into the locker room, with whatever situation you're in.

Right now our family has some sickness going around. But I would love for us to feel extremely comfortable no matter what — especially if you're sick. There are ways we can help each other out. And so we need to be even more welcoming, to be able to come as you are — however you are. Whether you had a bad day or just won the lottery or just lost your job, everything in between financially, emotionally, spiritually. You just got married or you just had a divorce. Whatever the case is, coming into the locker room is a must, right? This is the what. This is the fellowship that we are continually devoting ourselves to, whatever circumstance comes our way, through the good times and the bad times. We need to be able to share each other's personal joys and burdens.

The third what is the breaking of bread. And this is probably the what that helped me pick this verse to talk about today, because we're going to show that tonight. We're going to show how we are able to eat together. And as we're doing this, do not ignore what takes place. When we break bread together, keep your antennas up. What is happening during the breaking of bread? What is taking place? This is very important. We will have all taken the time to nourish our bodies with what is necessary. But it's also a time of peace. A time of, "Hey, I'm going to put everything else to the side. I'm going to eat with you." It's like — because you're important. This is important. What we're talking about is important. All of that is elevated in the conversation that takes place, the laughter, the hanging out, the quality time — just keep that in mind.

And as you're applying that today, think about the importance of it. I think we get this as Baptists especially. We do this quite often, and I think we can't forget it. We need to still be continually devoting ourselves to the breaking of bread.

And then the fourth and last what is prayer. This prayer is a spiritual awakening. This is a spiritual alignment with the Almighty. These are outward verbal expressions of what is in your heart. This is a gift God has given to us where He hears what you are saying. He hears and knows your heart. And so we should be continually devoting ourselves to this act of prayer.

This is a communication between the regenerate and the Creator. These are words of submission to His lordship where we are in adoration of His majesty. These are words of repeated repentance, a continuation of confession. We are saved and we are going, and in that going, we do it through prayer, right? We are continually devoting ourselves to submission to His lordship. We are repeating repentance, right? Because we constantly sin, don't we? Even though we're regenerate. But as Mike taught a few weeks ago, sin does not reign over us when Christ regenerates us. That was great teaching that we got from Mike.

There are also, when we pray, words of thankfulness, where we are acknowledging that it is God who gives. I don't know how the world thinks — who are they thanking when they're doing Thanksgiving? The only One who gives what is most important is the Almighty Himself. He is slow to anger and abounding in love. He is the One who is high and lifted up. He is holy. He is separate from the rest. And it is He who gives. And so through prayer we have these words of thankfulness, just acknowledging that — "God, it is You who gave me this. Thank you." Very simple. But these are words that God holds very, very dear.

And there are also requests and words of supplication, where this acknowledges that it is only God who can grant this. "God, I am asking You the impossible, but I know that You grant the impossible. I know that You are the God of miracles, and so I am asking You, God, with a humble heart, for" — fill in the blank. And God treasures these prayers.

And it is through these four whats of Acts 2:42 that God prescribes the way He exercises and gives His grace, right? These are acts of faith where we receive the apostles' teaching, we gather in fellowship, we break bread together, and we have prayer. These are acts of faith that we act out, and we receive grace in that way.

So this second truth for the what is: God gives grace to you through these ordinary means. God gives grace to you through these ordinary means. In John 15:5, Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

God doesn't give His grace to you because you're such a wonderful person. He doesn't look at me and say, "Caleb, you're just a great person, I'm just going to throw some grace on you." No — He gives it out of Himself. He gives it through these ordinary means within the church — the branches who are connected to the vine. The vine being Christ: the Logos, the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd. He is the resurrection. He is the gate. He is the Light of the world. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the true vine.

So as we try to go out and continually devote ourselves to these things — to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship of one another, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer — let's remember that we are all connected to Christ as brethren. He is our elder brother. He is the cornerstone against which all other bricks are laid, laid alongside.

Let me pray, and after I pray, Elder David will come up and lead us through the administration of the Lord's Supper. So as we do that, let's remember the person of Christ and the work He accomplished through His righteous life, His submissive death, His glorious resurrection, and what an amazing salvation we have because of what He has done.

Lord, thank You for Acts 2:42. Thank You for this example of how the apostles acted in Acts chapter 1 and how the church followed that example in continually devoting themselves to the plan that You have prescribed for us to do. Help us to know this and to go forth and obey. And we thank You for Your Son. In Jesus' name. Amen.