The early church had great devotion about their Christianity. In these verses are 9 spiritual disciplines that were practiced then:

1.        Doctrine

2.        Fellowship

3.        Breaking of bread

4.        Prayers

5.        Community

6.        Distribution

7.        Joy

8.        Praise

9.        Graciousness

 

 I want to speak briefly to you this morning on just four of these disciplines that I consider the deepest examples of devotion of that early church. We will look at four in the natural order of their presentation.

Devoted to teaching;

Devoted to the Breaking of bread;

Devoted to prayer;

Devoted to fellowship

 

1.        They were devoted to the teaching of the Apostles. The King James says that they “continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine…” the phrase; “continued steadfastly” implies a strong devotion to the apostle’s teaching.

 

Many of our modern churches have set aside doctrine as being of lesser importance today than it was 2000 years ago. They teach a more elementary or introductory level form of doctrine on Sunday morning leaving the more serious teaching for a midweek meeting. The thinking here is not entirely without merit because typically more unsaved people attend on Sunday than attend the midweek service.

 

The disadvantage is that many members attend both services and if only introductory types of messages are offered on Sunday morning we may be robbing those who are more advanced in their knowledge of doctrine to serve the need of those not as advanced. Heb 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

 

When folks who are more advanced arrive in the community and are searching for a church that serves up meat and find only milk, they may feel the need to continue their search for a church that will more meet their spiritual appetite. I can remember when I first started to attend church I did not know the difference between “beginning principles” and the meaning of “going on to perfection (maturity.”  It was not long, however, that I grew weary of simplistic sermons and yearned for something deeper – I began to hunger for more of the apostolic teaching. Notice Paul’s admonition in Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit.

 

 

2.        A Second characteristic of the early church was their devotion to the “Breaking of Bread.”

 

Acts 2:42And they continued steadfastly…in breaking of bread…We are to understand that the early church was devoted “to the “breaking of bread.” I believe that on each Lord’s Day Communion was taken. It is easy to see the recurring symbolism of the “breaking” of the bread as a reminder of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood as atonement for our sins, and to remember that He is coming again. Usually, as was the practice of the Jews and no doubt a common practice in the early church, that the bread was made in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one’s thumb, and as was large as a plated or platter. It was not to be cut, but broken.

 

3.        A Third characteristic of the early church was their devotion to Prayers. “And they continued steadfastly… in prayers.”

 

Praying in the early church was a clear demonstration of their reliance upon the Holy Spirit. It was evidence of their conversion from Judaism to Christianity. The Jews had a high spiritual conception of God compared to the nations around them. However, that conception usually centered on the energy or power of God and not on love, mercy, or grace. Seemingly, they had no conception of the Holy Spirit as the third person in the Godhead. They did not think of the Holy Spirit as a person at all, nor did they even for a moment believe that God could have a son. Even today they abhor the idea of the Trinity. The Trinity to the Jewish mind is blasphemy. Hear the Shema: Deut 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

 

                Prayer energizes the soul, by energize I mean that when we pray we should feel a nearness to God apart from anything else we may do, but prayer as Christ teaches us not only energizes the soul, but demonstrates the understanding that as children, our Father is God, so that when we pray we come as his child recognizing that all prayer is subject to God’s will (Matthew 7:1-11, 21-22).

 

                When we pray in earnest we employ the fullness of the Godhead: We address our prayer to God as Father, In the name of Jesus Christ as our Mediator; and our words are interpreted by the enabling grace of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

 

4.        Fourthly the early church was devoted to Fellowship.  And they continued steadfastly…in fellowship. I realize I have fellowship out of common order as it appears in your bible, but I do that for a reason. We may have not completely strayed from doctrinal teaching, or breaking of bread, or prayer, but we have certainly deviated almost completely from fellowship! 

 

J.I. Packer suggests that the loss of fellowship within the church is a major reason why the church is so weak. He says, I believe that one of the reasons why great sections of the modern church are so often sluggish and feeble, compared with our counterparts of one or two centuries ago, is that the secret of fellowship has been lost.

 

Look around you this morning. How much do you really know about the spiritual life of your brothers and sisters? When was the last time someone in our church came to you and inquired as to your walk with God? When was the last time someone came and asked if you would pray with them about a spiritual matter that was troubling them?

 

If a church is anything it should be to all that enter a safe harbor – a place where ships battered by the storms of life can tie up out of the wailing wind and find rest for their souls, and get refitted, etc., etc.. One of the spiritual disciplines, I’ve learned, that we neglect the most is the discipline of rest.

 

Mark 6:30-32  And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. Our church must provide that safe harbor.

 

Devotion for doctrine, breaking of bread, and prayer is very important, and we must in our passion experience fellowship as defined in the New Testament Church.

 

Do not confuse fellowship with socializing – they are not the same – they are similar, but not the same. When Christians socialize with one another the topic of conversation centers around life in general. We talk about the weather, our favorite sport team, the economy, warfare, disasters, and so on. The nearest we get to fellowship is when one of our own has a crisis in his or her life and shares it with us. The problem is that it is usually one-sided with the hurting brother or sister reveals their hurt, but typically, no one offers any comfort other than a hug or a look of compassion. Now sometimes that all we can do. But even a hug or a look of compassion and a “I feel your pain” is not enough – this is not fellowship. Fellowship can never be a party of one!

 

Five elements of fellowship that must be learned before it can be practiced in our church:

 

First, the Impossibilities of Fellowship: We must learn…It is impossible to have spiritual fellowship with another while rushing out the door of the church.

2.        It is impossible to have spiritual fellowship with another if we are interested only in ourselves.

3.        It is impossible to have spiritual fellowship with another if our heads are full of silliness giving no thought to the sermon just concluded.

4.        It is impossible to have spiritual fellowship with one another if we hold a grudge against anyone or a hang on to a perceived injustice committed against us.

5.        It is impossible to have spiritual fellowship if there is a lack of unity among us – we can be united in doctrine yet divided in relationships.

 

Fellowship requires Participation – In the Greek, the word Koinonia means fellowship. Koinonia literally means participation or sharing.  Fellowship does not mean sharing coffee and cupcakes, but o the “profound way the early Christians shared their time, their resources, and their lives with each other. We may have friends with which we share dinners and common enjoyments, but often these friendships are shallow in their depth. When it comes to spiritual matters some friends are of no help at all. On the other hand, brothers and sisters in Christ who share in their relationship with Christ may not be the best at the gift of gab over fried chicken, but who are willing to participate in sharing a biblical principle, precept, testimony that strengthen a hurting brother or sister. Proverbs 18:24 gives us a clue as to the type of person we really want to be around when we are being bloodied by the fiery darts of the wicked one — A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. I like the English Standard Version’s translation of this verse: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

 

Fellowship requires Communication – Communication in the Word also means sharing. Communication in this sense means to “partner” with someone – to share.

 

Gal 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.  Not everyone is advanced as some others when it comes to the knowing the Word of God. Those that are, however, need to be on the alert to spot someone who needs to know what God’s Word has to say about a particular spiritual problem they may be struggling with.

 

There are folks in our church whom God has prospered materially more than others. There are folks in every church that for some reason known only to God have not been materially prospered and could use some help. 1 Tim 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. God prospers folks in different ways. It may be that he has prospered you spiritually and if so then you must be ready to distribute a spiritual truth to help the hurting heart. And you must be willing to communicate that truth. The wealth that God has given you is not for you alone, but for the many whom God will send your way for help. You must be ready and willing to share – to communicate – to distribute your resources, monetarily or spiritually. Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Communication is sharing and sharing requires sacrifice, and sharing always involves some degree of pain – we must be willing to sacrifice if we are to have true fellowship with another Christian. Sacrifice some of your time; some of your learning; some of your resources – then you can have meaningful fellowship.

 

Fellowship requires Intimacy – This kind of intimacy is spiritual. There must be a common ground. A spiritual Christian cannot be intimate with an unspiritual unregenerate person – any effort to do so will fall on stony soil, for the Word of God is foolishness to the unsaved. Amos 3:3 asks, Can two walk together except they be agreed? Of course the answer is an emphatic no. If you have ever tried to be intimate in a spiritual way with someone who has simply rejected the spiritual overture you tried to give him, then you know what I mean. We are not talking here about getting into someone’s life so that we can have something to talk about with the gang over lunch – we are not talking about an eagerness to find that someone else is more miserable spiritually than we are. We are talking about an intimacy that is warm, sensitive, understanding and helpful.

 

Fellowship requires the willingness to risk – “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” is true in the spiritual realm of things as is it is in things of the world. “No pain, no gain,” is another saying we can apply to spiritual matters.

 

Helping people is risky business but risk is part of personal ministry. There will always be those who will not appreciate you or The Word of God. However, whatsoever ye do, do as unto the Lord and not unto man. Rom 14:7-8 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

 

Don Whitney writes in his great book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life and offers an account of what it is to risk and the rewards that follow: Being a rider for the Pony Express was a tough job. You were expected to ride seventy-five to one hundred miles a day, changing horses every fifteen to twenty miles. Other than the mail, the only baggage you carried contained a few provisions including a kit of flour, cornmeal, and bacon. In case of danger, you also had a medical pack of turpentine, borax, and cream of tartar. In order to travel light and to increase speed of mobility during Indian attacks, the men always rode in shirtsleeves, even during the fierce winter weather.

How would you recruit volunteers for this hazardous job? An 1860 San Francisco newspaper printed this ad for the Pony Express; “Wanted; Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk daily. Orphans preferred.”Those were the honest facts of the service required, but the Pony Express never had a shortage of riders. Anyone here who has never heard of the Pony Express? They were only in business for 17 months! Yet, who has not heard of the Pony Express?

 

Fellowship runs the risk of being rebuked, resisted, and even reviled. Matt 5:11-12 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

 

God wants us to be devoted men and women in our service to him. Serving God will never be at the top of anyone’s list unless they are willing to put it there. Be either hot or cold, but never lukewarm. 1 Pet 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. John 2:5 Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

  

To who are you devoted? To what are you devoted? You cannot say you are devoted to doctrine and despise the Lord’s Table. You cannot say you are devoted to the Breaking of Bread if you have no interest in Fellowship. You cannot say you are devoted to fellowship and hate prayer. And you cannot say you are devoted to prayer and do not pray.

 

And to you who profess Christ as your Savior and LORD – you cannot say you are devoted to Christ and walk in darkness. I John 1:6 — You cannot say that you are devoted to God and love Him while at the same time harboring hatred of your brother in Christ. I John 1:9

 

Rev 3:16-18 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

 

Amen.