DNA Study of Acts Part 2 (2:1-47): "Total Devotion" (Week of January 25-31, 2015)

DISCIPLESHIP

Focus Verse
Acts 2:42: “And they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer."

Bottom Line

Being a part of a local church requires more than just what we can get out of it. It requires devotion.

Tension

This idea of devotion is an incredible thought. It reflects the idea of covenant commitment that we find throughout Scripture, this thing that goes beyond promises and becomes a relational bond that surpasses any expectations. We see God enter into covenants with people throughout the Bible and we tend to see it as a "promise," but a covenant is not a promise because promises can be broken, and God always fulfills his covenant. 

Our culture has a hard time understanding this type of devotion to another person. Imagine, though, a mother’s relationship to her newborn child. Even though the child can do nothing in return, the mother’s bond and love for the child is too great to be offended. She will honor, protect, and look out for her child no matter what. It’s not about her, and she knows that. Another person’s life matters more than what’s in it for her. Our culture would be shocked and dismayed if the mother abandoned her child. This is an example of covenant devotion.

We rarely treat any areas of life like this, including the Church. We might not say it exactly like this, but we want to ask, “What’s in it for me?” We go to churches and immediately begin evaluating if it will “meet my needs” or “feed me.” Our focus is on how excellent the children’s ministry is, if the pastor’s sermon fed us or went deep enough, or if the music matched our particular taste. This is totally and completely understandable for a person who is not a follower of Jesus, but when we begin the Christian journey, we are supposed to move from consumer to contributor, from “me” to “we.” It’s not about me anymore. It's about us. More importantly, it's about Jesus.

Have you ever thought about how incredibly consumeristic we are when it comes to church? I think that if the people in these early days were to walk into one of our churches today, they might not even be willing to call us a “church.” After all, do we really understand what it means to commit ourselves to one another in this covenant devotion way, where the only expectation is on ourselves to love fully and give ourselves to our brothers and sisters in Christ through friendship, compassion, and prayer? I’m not sure how we can repeat what they did, but these early church believers got it.

Truth

Acts 1:8 is one of the most beautiful pictures of the local church. The sentence just before it describes a scene in which 3,000 people become followers of Jesus. Three thousand people! Can you even imagine that many people following Jesus for the first time all at once? And what’s the first thing they do? They “devote themselves.”

I think these four things were a picture of God’s dream for what the local church is meant to look like:

1. The apostles’ teaching. The first thing they devoted themselves to was the teaching of the early church leaders. It’s also important to note the context of what we’re suggesting here. These people didn’t have what we know today as the New Testament of the Bible. It hadn’t even been written yet! But the apostles were the initiators of the vision. They were the church planters (this is what apostolos meant: “sent one”) and their vision was new, raw, and challenging. These guys were saying things that the early church believers had never heard before. Now the fact that this verse says they “devoted themselves” to the apostles’ teaching is amazing to me. 

After years of teaching in ministry, I can tell you that this is not normal, and it really hits home for me personally. I can give you countless examples of friends of mine in ministry who have reached a point of disliking the idea of getting up to give messages on Sunday because the last thing anyone in their church is doing is devoting themselves to the teaching of the pastor. I know one guy who said he has gone for over a decade without preaching a single sermon that didn’t result in a nasty email the next morning. Sad? Yes, but that’s what makes this scene in Acts 2 so amazing. I would more likely expect that they would analyze, pick apart, and evaluate their leaders’ teaching until there’s nothing left but scraps. But these young believers didn’t do that. Instead, they were teachable. They were coachable. They weren’t fiddling with semantics and nit-picking. They wanted to grow. 

They weren’t blind followers either (the Bible teaches that early church believers would examine the Scriptures to validate the claims of the apostles, to make sure it was truthful), but they also weren’t looking to poke holes in the teaching of the apostles. Instead, they chose to follow Jesus by following the apostles, in the same way that Timothy followed Paul’s teaching. 

Something else that makes this scene is so beautiful is the fact that these 3,000 people were all just starting out in their faith. There’s just something about us when we first begin following Jesus that makes us more teachable. Over time, we lose the ability to learn and grow and develop and, sometimes, we sadly hide this under a mask of spiritual maturity. I think teachability is difficult. It takes laying down our pride. It takes setting aside our own opinions, sometimes, and a willingness to learn a new way. As long as a pastor or church leader isn’t in outright denial of the gospel that is taught in Scripture, we should always be looking to learn from them, especially if they are further down the road from us in their spiritual journey. 

2. Fellowship. The second thing they devoted themselves to was fellowship. They experienced a sort of depth of community that was rare. They were united around their common identity in Jesus and the new mission he had given them. They didn’t have to manufacture community, but I doubt it was totally effortless either. After all, if it was effortless then they wouldn’t have to devote themselves to it! Any time you enter into new relationships with people, you have to commit yourself to the relationship before the depth of community happens. It takes devotion. 

3. Breaking bread. The third thing these new followers of Jesus devoted themselves to was breaking of bread. Now, in a lot of church circles we have interpreted this to mean the Eucharist, or Communion, in which we drink wine and eat bread in memory of Jesus’ last supper. While the last supper was undoubtedly something they did in the early church, the emphasis on communion here was not necessarily so ritualistic. Instead, this emphasis was on the intimate, relational invitation to dine together. Somehow food breaks down barriers. It allows us to “let loose” with one another, take off the masks, and get real. I love how the early church was intentional about using food to make community happen. 

4. Prayer. These new followers of Jesus were prayer warriors. They didn’t see prayer as optional. They didn’t merely pray when they needed something. Once again, they devoted themselves to it. I imagine so much of the power of their relationships was driven by their prayer for each other. They had a mission now, to keep this movement of Jesus going forward. They wanted everyone to know the power that comes through Jesus. And they knew that prayer was the vehicle to tapping into that power.

Challenge

How do you need to devote yourself? Let’s ask this question based on these four areas:

1. The apostle’s teaching. Do you spend daily time reading the Bible? Weekly? Just occasional? How can you be more consistent in your devotion to what God has revealed about himself through His Word? How about the teaching of those God has place in leadership in the church? Are you teachable? How can you prepare your heart for learning new insights and ways of following Jesus through their teaching? 

2. Fellowship. Are you dedicated to contributing to your local church’s sense of community? In what ways do you encourage others to bare each others’ burdens? Are you kind, compassionate, and looking out for the people in your church community? What is one thing you can do today to contribute to the fellowship of your local church community? 

3. Breaking bread. Do you dine with other Christ followers? Do you invite them into your home or out for coffee or lunch? Are you committed to making your time with your church community the first thing on your calendar, or is it second priority? Who is a person or group that you can build into your relationship through breaking bread?  

4. Prayer. Do you pray often? When you pray, is your time spent praying for your needs or the needs of others? Do you pray for your leaders and others in your church community? How can you pray for them now?

Dream

Imagine what would happen if we all took action in these four areas? Don’t you think this would be a beautiful picture of the local church? At ECHO, our Microchurches are meant to reflect these four areas. We want all four areas to be included, celebrated, and lived out in our Microchurch communities. Just think of what would happen if we devoted ourselves to God’s Word, pursued relentless fellowship with each other (including meals together!), and prayed ceaselessly for our leaders and friends. It would be unique. It would be different. It would be beautiful.

NURTURE: GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What part of this devotional spoke to you the most?
• Why do you think the sort of devotion in Acts 1:8 is so hard? Why does it seem so much easier for new believers to have that type of commitment?
• What would it take for you to be committed to your church in the same way the early believers were committed to each other?
• What is one thing in your life that God wants you to change in the four areas listed in Acts 1:8 (teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer)?

ACTION: PLAN & PRAY

• What does your Microchurch have coming up that needs to be planned (in terms of Micromissions and Echo Parties)? Supplies? Deadlines? Who will do what?

Pray as a group for the following areas:

• Individual Growth: Pray for each other's areas of need for healing.
• Missionary Formation: Pray for each other to be missionaries to your mission field, bringing healing and restoration.
• Group Growth: Pray for the group's unity and dedication to your mission field.
• Mission field: Pray for your mission field, naming specific needs and people.