Acts 2:41-42. 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Well we made it to Pentecost Sunday and to the end of Eastertide. It’s been fifty days since Easter, and ten days since Jesus ascended into Heaven. The disciples have been waiting to see what God is going to do. Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would come, but will he actually arrive? And when will it all happen? Well he did arrive and Pentecost Sunday is when it happened. And on that day the church as we know it was born.
Acts 2 tells us that on the day of Pentecost 3000 people got saved. More people were saved in Jerusalem in that one day than in the next three years combined. It was truly a great work of God by the Spirit. We can only imagine the excitement (and the stress) the Apostles must have felt that morning as Church membership went from 70 to 3,070 in a couple of hours.
But now what?
What will the Apostles do with these new Christians? How will they teach them to follow Jesus? Acts 2 paints the picture of the church for us. What does a community of people that are filled with the Holy Spirit look like? It looks like complete and full devotion to one another – and they devoted themselves to the fellowship. It looks like wholehearted devotion to the church.
What is devotion? Devotion is a word that means that you are totally committed to something. You love it. You support it. Like being devoted to your family or to your favorite football team. If you’ve received Jesus, then you should want to be devoted to his church. Why? Because the church, like Christ himself, offers us everything our hearts need. Worship, love, peace, unity, purpose, support, and even sometimes physical help. God uses the church to give us all these things through Jesus.
But church life isn’t all about you getting what you want. Our hearts also need to learn to submit, give, care, listen, learn, compromise, fellowship, and be humble. This attitude should also be natural for those that are in Christ. Isn’t this the mind of Christ? The heart of Christ? The very life of Christ? And isn’t his life now in us, being lived out through us? Yes!
To live is Christ is to do life together with other Christians in unity, like being on a team. It meets our needs while teaching us to meet the needs of others. This is how we grow spiritually, as we learn to be part of this kind of community. A community that is devoted. Devoted to what?
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching – Are you devoted to learning the Bible?
They devoted themselves to… the fellowship – Are you devoted to being with other Christians?
They devoted themselves to… the prayers – Are you devoted to going to church to pray with other Christians?
What is the result of this devotion?
Acts 2:47. Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Having the Holy Spirit in you means he will never let you live alone, or try to do everything on your own. Life with the Spirit is always a life lived with others, just like the Spirit lives his life with the Father and the Son. Life with the Spirit is always life in a local church, sharing the word of Christ and the life of Christ. It is resting in God’s full devotion to us, as his Spirit changes us little by little until we are completely like Jesus someday.
You: What are you devoted to? A favorite team? A group of friends? Your family?
You in Christ: In Christ, you have been saved into the church. Does this change how feel about going to church?
Christ in you: What is one way you can be devoted to your church?
Prayer: Father, you gave us the Spirit so that we don’t have to do life all by ourselves. And you gave us the church for the same reason. Help me to be a good “member” of my church, helping others, encouraging others, and praying for others as I learn about you from your word. Amen.
TLICfamily 