acts chapter 2 is where we will
where we’ll begin and we will teach
today
in verse 41. this is after
uh peter just preaches the first gospel
message here’s what happens
those who accepted his message were
baptized
and about 3 000 were added to the number
that day
they devoted themselves to the apostles
teaching to fellowship
and to the breaking of bread and to
prayer everyone was filled with awe
at the many wonders and signs performed
by the apostles
all the believers were together and had
everything in common
they sold property and possessions to
give to anyone who had need
every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts
they broke bread in their homes and ate
together with glad and sincere hearts
praising god and enjoying the favor of
all the people
and the lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved this is the
word of the lord to us
and everybody said amen why don’t you go
ahead and take your seat
get comfortable at home don’t get too so
comfortable at home though that you
might fall asleep on us so
make sure you’re just a little bit
comfortable how’s that
all right so this morning we’re gonna
we’re gonna look at something we’re
gonna look at acts chapter two
and it’s interesting because we’re gonna
dig into those verses
but i always love this time of year i
remember years ago
when i uh when i was playing football
and still working out a lot and going to
the gym
regularly i we would basically go to the
gym
year round and i remember in january the
gyms were always
packed full the start of the new year
the gyms you couldn’t get on a machine
you were waiting in line but then we
would always say to one another just
wait
hang in there because by the end of
january most of these people aren’t
going to stick to it
they’ll quit they’ll give up so i want
to talk about something today
and i want to talk about this the power
of devotion
the power of devotion because we see in
these verses
that the early church devoted themselves
to something so
what is devotion what does that look
like so it’s i’m just going to begin
with my notes and then we’ll sort of
continue because i don’t want to get
ahead of myself
so i love this time of year and we’re
going to see how people’s
it’s this season you know second third
week into january
where those new year’s resolutions that
we made don’t seem like such good ideas
anymore but we also understand something
that the success of any resolution
whether it’s a new year’s resolution or
not
the success of it is determined by our
devotion to it
so our hope in any resolution any new
year’s resolution is this
will it bear fruit come on think about
this why would we make a resolution
you know early in the year i i
challenged our church to make some
resolutions for the coming year
and we said let’s pray together let’s
worship let’s attend
church let’s be committed let’s find
some things to really
give ourselves to and make resolution
resolutions too
but we also understand this why why make
a resolution
other than you want to see it bear fruit
in your life
come on if you’re committed to lose some
weight in the early part of this year
i promise you it’s going to take some
resolution it’s going to take some
devotion on your part
amen so why because you hope to lose
some weight
so there’s some fruit at the end of this
suffering
there’s some fruit at the end of this
devotion amen
so here’s what we see in acts chapter 2.
they devoted themselves they
gave themselves to something so we’re
going to look at acts chapter 2
and this really is the early church and
we’re going to see the power
and the importance of devotion and and i
think sometimes we
it’s not a new concept when we talk
about devotion
everybody understands what devotion
means anyone who’s had a modicum of
success
in any area of your life you understand
this it took devotion
you know i used to play professional
football well that took an element of
devotion
if you have a job that takes an element
of devotion if you have a family that
takes an element of devotion
amen so devotion isn’t a foreign concept
to us
but it is slightly foreign when we talk
about devotion to god
that’s a bit of a foreign concept and
now i hate to say this
but that can even be a bit of a foreign
concept in church
because sometimes we come to church kind
of with an idea
or we can come with an idea of like how
is this going to help me
come on pastor eddie help me have a
better life
well i think devotion always gives you a
better life
come on so the question is this what are
we devoted to
and i would argue that most of us are
devoted to something
so i think what what what the book of
acts lays out what what
luke lays out for us is what the
spiritual devotion look like
what does godly devotion look like what
can we expect what’s the
fruit from this so we’re going to give
ourselves something we’re going to
devote ourselves to something
but to what end and i think he does such
a great job
in a short little amount of verses and
says see
here’s the result so here we go
so as we look at acts chapter 2 we see
the early church
and the power importance of devotion and
let me say this about devotion
devotion positions us for growth
it positions positions us for change
so i love the word devotion i’ve never
struggled with that thought of devotion
i’ve sort of from a young age from an
early age i understood that
that certain things in my life would
require devotion
so it’s a bit in my dna to sort of be
devoted now
the downside of that is i i can be quite
focused and maybe
neglect some other things in my life
because i’m so single-minded at times
i think that’s a strength i also think i
got to be careful with that amen
so i think any strength the the weakness
of it is the opposite
so think about that for a moment so i
love this word devotion
and let me say this about devotion i
believe it’s a game changer in your life
i think devotion is the key to success
with your new year’s resolutions
i think devotion is essential in your
marriage
i think devotion to as a parent is
essential
devotion in your life is essential
devotion in church is essential
any area of your life that you long to
see more fruit
will ultimately require more of your
devotion
that’s that’s the short cause notes
version of it
so let me say this about devotion versus
good intentions
devotion is not the same as good
intentions i think
many times people who go to the gym and
sign up for the gym come january now
obviously we’re in covent so it’s
probably not the same
but in a regular normal year we know
that to be true
you know they have a good intention say
i want to start the year right
i want to get in shape i want to be
committed to to working out that’s good
it’s really good intention come on we
all agree
good intention is not the same as
devotion
see devotion will carry you through when
you don’t want to
devotion has the power to give you
strength when you really are
so sore tired frustrated that you’re not
seeing the results you need
devotion is what carries you through
that
good intentions you’ll just quit but let
me say this because i like people with
good intentions
many times people who have good
intentions are lovely people
they’re generally kind people they’re
amicable
but people with devotion that’s a
different breed
people devotion can be intense focused
determined come on let’s say let’s say
you
were so determined to get into shape
that you hired a personal trainer
now question for you would you
want your personal trainer to be devoted
to what your goal is or would you want
your personal trainer to sort of be
you know nice have good intentions for
you
but not really push you not structure
your workout
no the reason you hire a personal
trainer is you want someone to push you
you want someone to be there so they’re
going to say hey i’m going to see you in
30 minutes
our workout starts in 30 minutes you’re
like oh
i can’t let him down or her down i
better go that’s the point of a personal
trainer
so you have a trainer so they’re giving
you they’re inspiring you
but their devotion listen now their
devotion
has the power to inspire you come on
listen friends what you and i are
devoted to
has the power to transform the lives of
people around us
that’s the power of the church this is
what we saw
so when we’re talking about devotion
this morning luke is laying out for us
what the early church was devoted to
so devotion indicates something devotion
indicates
passion what you’re pursuing
the sacrifices you’re willing to make
your commitments
a giving of yourself entirely to
something
a drive to make it happen to see it
through
that’s devotion whenever i teach on
these verses and i
love these verses in acts chapter 2
because i believe this
is the church that god is building at
poor church
this is the church that burns in our
heart amen a devoted church
but devoted to what that’s the essential
so when we talk about these verses i can
never
run by and just read through that word
devotion
because it’s essential it’s a giving of
yourself to something
a commitment that is so deep that cannot
be
shaken it can be tested it can be tried
but it stays strong amen that’s the kind
of devotion that luke’s talking about
all right that’s my introduction for
today let’s get into these verses here
we go
acts chapter 2 verses
42. it says they devoted themselves
to four things if you’re a note taker
four
things the early church devoted
themselves to they weren’t trying to do
everything
but they did four things and they did
four things
well listen if you’re going to devote
yourself to something
don’t devote yourself to 85 things don’t
devote yourself to 15 other things
devote yourself to something that you
can really articulate
pinpoint and and look to so four things
now think about this the entire church
of jesus christ
was built on four things he said wow
how can that be well we’re gonna see
four things
so every church support church is really
built
on these four things amen
so they devote us as a church and as a
people we must have these spiritual
devotions
to bear spiritual fruit our devotions
position
us for growth and friends the more we as
a church
commit to these four things understand
these four things
let these four things not become theory
to us
but become life to us i promise you this
we will see the fruit we will see the
results
and it’s that’s not like some spiritual
formula
no that’s the result of devotion i
promise you
if you devote yourself to eating less if
you devote yourself to working out four
or five times a week
if you devote yourself to a good
attitude if you devote yourself to
health
you’re going to lose some weight and
feel better in the next two months
that is that is that a is that like oh
is that spooky no that’s reality
so in some ways what luke is talking
about
is so practical yet let’s never forget
there’s a spiritual power behind it
amen it’s super practical oh but
super spiritual so i love what luke does
he totally bridges the ultimate
practical
practicality of their faith with the
deep spirituality that only god can
bring
that’s what luke does in this amazing
way in six verses
i don’t even know how he does it well
maybe by the power of the holy spirit
here we go
are you ready so we see this devotion
it positions us for growth and growth
happens
in two ways in two places and you’ll see
this in your own life
you’ll and you will always see this in
the life of a church
so in the life of a growing church you
will always see two things happening
and you will see growth happening in two
places
always in a growing church the first
place you see growth happening
is internally people begin to long for
god’s word
people begin to be touched by god’s word
people begin to long to pray
they long to spend time together they
long to worship
they long to be at church they long to
be with one another
friends what’s happening an internal
growth is happening every time
come on now every time you see that
internal growth happens
the second thing that happens is
external growth is added
so and here’s why i think external
growth is added
because i think jesus is super
attractive
i think jesus is awesome so the more you
and i
recognize and realize wow jesus is
amazing
jesus becomes attractive to new people
people who are looking for something say
i don’t know what it is
but there’s something about those people
that’s attractive
now i hope it’s not just your pretty
face i hope it’s something deep inside
of us
i hope it’s the christ in us amen so
what happens
growth happens internally and then
externally because we want to reach we
want to
share with others what god has done
inside of us
and the truth is friends poor church is
in that season
i can see it i see we have a group of
people that are growing internally
there’s people who are excited about
christ excited about poor church
excited about worship excited about
prayer
look to care for one another and what
happens watch
god adds to that because now we have a
capacity
to care for more amen
here we go acts chapter 2.
so when this when the early church now
get this picture again because it’s
almost so amazing it’s hard to believe
the early church consisted of a hundred
and twenty people
peter preaches a message in acts chapter
two verse 41 says this
those who accepted his message were
baptized and about
3 000 were added to their number that
day
so what did they do what did this group
now of 3120 people do
well it says they devoted themselves to
something they
gave themselves to something what were
the four things they gave themselves to
what were they committed to what did
they pursue what were they passionate
about
here we go are you ready point number
one
they devoted themselves to the apostles
teaching that means friends they devoted
themselves
to god’s word that was their number one
devotion isn’t that isn’t that
interesting
and i don’t think that’s an accident i
think that’s 100
on purpose that the holy spirit made
that on purpose
luke saw the importance of it he says we
build our life
on devotion to god’s word
number one so let me ask you this
question
are you devoted to god’s word
are you committed to god’s word are you
pursuing god’s word
when you’re making decisions in your
life and in your family
is does god’s word get the last say
because that’s what matters friends
that’s commitment
that’s devotion to god’s word
so we’re committed to god’s word so to
have this spiritual devotion
we must come be committed to god’s word
why why do we preach the bible
because we believe it’s god’s word
to us now some people don’t necessarily
believe that
some people say yeah but the bible is so
good
it’s so helpful yeah it’s helpful
100 helpful but it’s more than just
helpful
say oh but it but it can teach me so
much about life yeah
it can teach you a lot about life but
it’s so much more than just a teacher
about life
friends this is what we believe
the words in the pages of this book
are inspired by god himself
god himself the holy spirit spoke to men
who wrote these words
so this is god’s word to us
amen so when we preach the bible
we’re preaching something that is so
outstanding
so amazing so magnificent that we’re
saying to the world
the god who made everything has
something to say to us
wow that’s why we preach the bible this
is why they were devoted
to the apostles teaching
so we preach the bible because we
believe it’s god’s word
we preach the word because jesus is both
savior and lord
in god’s word god’s kingdom is revealed
what is god’s kingdom
god’s way of doing things so if you’re
ever wondering
what to do in an area of your life
here’s the best thing i could say to you
find the answer in god’s word
say ah but i don’t know i’m not sure
what the answer is for my problem
yeah well look for it dig in
challenge yourself and if you can’t find
it go ask someone what they think god’s
word says about your situation
and i promise you god’s word has
something to say about what you’re going
through amen
the last reason we preach the word is
because the word
preaches jesus come on go in your bibles
to john chapter 1 verses 1 to 5.
the word preaches jesus
says this in the beginning was the word
and the word was with god and the word
was god
he was with god in the beginning isn’t
that interesting
so he was the was the jesus who was in
the first verse
so he was with god in the beginning
through him jesus
all things were made without him
nothing that was made that has been made
in him in jesus was life
and that life was the light of all
mankind
the light shines in the darkness and the
darkness
has not overcome it friends
why do we preach jesus because he is the
living
breathing word of god he is the son of
god and when you and i are in darkness
what does that darkness depict
a a lack of understanding a lack of
sight listen how many times have you
stubbed your toe
walking through your bedroom at night
because you can’t see anything
why because it’s dark the bible tells us
jesus
is the light of the world so we don’t
have to stub
our toe as we go through life come on
how many people understand what i’m
talking about you stub your toes
sometimes when you go through life
you go places you don’t need to go you
do things you don’t need to do and it
hurts he’s ouch
shouldn’t have done that but you know
what the beauty is
god’s word gives us light god’s word
gives us
perspective all right so here we go
second thing they devoted themselves to
they devoted themselves to the apostles
teaching second thing and to fellowship
if you’re here and have you all say
fellowship and to fellowship
what is fellowship fellowship is the
community
the community of faith coming together
enjoying god and one another
friends if you’ve experienced christian
fellowship in your life
you are blessed let me say this
if you have not yet experienced
christian fellowship
you are missing out true christian
fellowship
transcends age transcends race
transcends economic position transcends
um intellectual ability transcends your
degrees and your in your diplomas
transcends your position in society true
godly fellowship is something so
precious
so special so unifying so
intimate that you say oh i
want that that’s what the church
devoted themselves to they said we are
devoted to the word of god
but you know what it’s got to be
practical we’re devoted to one another
we’re committed to one another we’re
committed to this fellowship
this this place where god is
amen so they devoted themselves to this
fellowship
where am i in my notes here we go
fellowship is this coming together if
you have your bibles go to first
corinthians chapter 12
verses 12 to 14 and 25 to 27
look at this fellowship look what it
looks like just as the body though one
has many parts
but all its many parts form one body
he’s talking about the church
so it is with christ for we were all
baptized by one spirit so as to form
one body now look at this look at the
diversity
whether jews or gentiles slaves are free
and we were all given one spirit to
drink
just hold that verse there sorry mark
hold that verse there for a second
look at the diversity you see true
godly fellowship friends should be
marked by diversity
every church should be marked by
diversity
and diversity in a multiple of ways
diversity in age diversity and race
diversity and ethnicity diversity in our
economic position
diversity between between business
owners and
and people who who who can’t get by
the poor the wealthy those are the
that’s what the church should represent
that sort of diversity next verse mark
even so the body is not made of made up
of one part
but of many i love that let’s look at
this
so that there should be no division in
the body isn’t that good
so there should be no division so in the
body in
christian fellowship it’s not the time
to come up and say
i’m better than her how come she can’t
do that
come on she’s got to be better he’s got
to be a little more humble
no that’s not the place for that kind of
conversation in
christian fellowship we look for unity
we understand our need for unity we
understand our need for one another we
understand our need for christ and for
god amen
so so there should be no division in the
body but that its parts should have
equal concern for each other isn’t that
interesting
here’s the key to unity here’s the key
stop caring about yourself so much
come on that’s the key to unity the key
to unity is the church is
care more about someone else than you do
about yourself
and i promise you this the more you
start caring about other people
mark my words put it to the test
god will take care of everything that
you’re going through
and then you’ll be you’ll look back and
say what happened to that thing that was
so troubling to me
oh look what god did and you’ll be able
to have this hindsight this perspective
that it just overwhelms your soul
because friends we’re called to care for
one another amen
so there should be no division in the
body but it’s part of equal concern for
each other
next verse please if one part suffers
every part suffers think of that look at
that unity
every every part suffers with it if one
part is honored
every part rejoices with it so if you
have success
we celebrate your success but if you’re
going through a tough time
we go through that tough time with you
amen
is that is all the verses i gave you
there perfect all right
oh verse 27 yes now you are the body of
christ
and each of you is a part of it
we’re talking about fellowship they
devoted themselves
to fellowship so what does that mean in
order to devote yourself to fellowship i
said this last week
you cannot devote yourself to fellowship
and not
and not be in a church how can you say
i’m devoted to fellowship but i don’t
like those
those church people those church people
are the problem
well welcome to life of course i’m a
problem i’m a human being
who’s still in process i haven’t arrived
anywhere
nor have you but if we can understand
that i’m broken
you’re broken come on let’s go to the
one who can fix us both then we have
some fellowship in unity amen
all right i’m gonna keep going so true
bible fellowship
is a diverse community of believers that
are
full of god’s love for him and for one
another
and a unity is present because our sh
because of our
shared faith amen let’s keep going
i’m cruising through this morning here
we go
my page got turned on me verse 42 and
they devoted themselves to the apostles
teaching
to fellowship and to the breaking of
bread now the breaking of bread has at
least
two applications let’s go through both
of them quickly
to the breaking so they were devoted to
the breaking
of bread now i would say the first
application
is to receive the lord’s table to be
reminded of
at the lord’s table what what we do so
that’s the first breaking of bread that
they were committed to
that they devoted themselves to so to be
devoted to
to receive the lord’s table together is
what what does that do for us
well our need for god and our common
ground
is never more present prevalent than at
the lord’s table
we all come to the foot of the cross
empty-handed
the lord’s table dispels all hierarchy
in the body of christ
and the lord’s table reminds us they
were
all of us are on equal ground
amen that’s the power of the lord’s
table
the lord’s table is the place where you
and i realize and i say this almost
every sunday
i say when you receive the lord when i
give you the emblems
hold your hands like this and then i say
this that’s not holy or special
it’s a reminder we do this because we
want to
want to be reminded we come empty-handed
to christ so who gets the glory at the
lord’s table
christ so listen whether you’re a
preacher
whether you’re a pastor whether whether
you’re whether you’re a homemaker
whether you’re a business owner whatever
you are in life whatever your lot in
life is
listen friends we all come to christ on
the same level ground we’re
at the foot of the cross that’s what the
lord’s table reminds us of
so the lord’s table reminds us i’m not
better than you
you’re not better than me she’s not
better than him he’s not better than her
we all need christ so can you see the
logic
now of luke saying we are committed
to the breaking of bread we are
committed to the lord’s table this is
why at poor church we are committed
every week to receive the lord’s table
why
it reminds us we come empty-handed
and we’re all equal before god nobody’s
better
nobody’s more special no we don’t have
the super holys and the not-so-super
holys
no we’re all on a journey together amen
so that reminds us the worst of the
worst can come
and the best of the best can come and
guess where we all stand
at the foot of the cross holding hands
amen
that’s the power of the lord’s table
second application of breaking bread
is this they break bread together in our
homes
we have meals together we eat together
so what happens when you break bread
with people you get to know one another
a meal is this powerful way this
powerful ability
to help us let our hair down a little
bit have you ever noticed that
when you eat together you can just relax
a little bit more
we get to care for one another we get to
have
reconciliation if there’s if there’s a
problem
we can be recommitted to one another
over that meal
when we break bread in our homes we can
express hospitality
come on think about this when you break
bread in your home when you open up your
kitchen table
and invite people brothers and sisters
in christ
to your table something powerful happens
friends i believe
this i believe the breaking of bread is
a spiritual experience
as much as we receive the lord’s table
in church as spiritual
breaking bread in your home is a
spiritual time
it gives you a chance to share to care
to love to talk to fellowship
now think of this think of this if you
were to do that
and then invite in a couple of your
friends who don’t yet know christ
all of a sudden your table is this
beautiful place
and people who’ve not yet tasted and
seen that the lord is good
are tasting and seeing the lord is good
through you
your table is your mission ground man
your table is the place where people can
come to christ
your home your home is as much as a
temple in a church
as we have here at port church let your
life be the magnet for people amen
so let that happen in your world last
thing we we talked about this morning is
this
well last point they devoted themselves
verse 42 to the apostles teaching
to fellowship to the breaking of bread
and
to prayer isn’t that awesome i love it
i love the way luke structures this he
says you know what we’re committed to
god’s word
he says all but we’re committed to one
another
he says and when we’re committed to one
another we don’t just say it
no no we break bread together we remind
ourselves
he is our lord and savior and oh by the
way come to my house and let me feed you
some food
and let me get to know your loves and
cares and hurts and pains
and then he says this the last thing
they were committed to it’s no
accident prayer why
why prayer because as we’re committed
friends listen
when we’re committed to god’s word we
see something
god answers prayer
so we see this god answers prayer
and we also know this when we’re
committed to fellowship we’re getting to
know people and the more we get to know
people you know what you realize
they need help come on i mean that’s
insane
you need help i need help so then when
we break bread together we
feel that burden for one another we long
to care for one another in a practical
way
so what’s our expression prayer
friends it’s it’s imperative
it’s imperative that as a body of
believers
we pray for one another it’s imperative
that’s the fruit of this thing this is
what luke’s saying he’s saying
when you commit when you devote yourself
to the word
when you devote yourself to a fellowship
when you devote yourself to breaking
bread
and making your home available to others
i promise you this he says the next
thing is you’ll be devoted to prayer
because you’re going to hear and see and
feel
and carry the weight of somebody else’s
problem
somebody else’s struggle somebody else
is hurt and pain
and you know what you’re going to
realize i can’t fix them
i don’t have the answer i’m not their
savior
oh god help so-and-so
impact them and you’re gonna find
yourself praying not just when they’re
there
you’re gonna pray for them when they’re
not there
that is the church friends
that’s the church now let me say this
that’s the church that cannot be stopped
by stinking covid
can’t stop that church because that
church is eternal
that church is so spiritual but not in a
flaky way
no in the most practical of ways
they say we’re devoted to the word we
love the word we want to hear the word
preached ah but not just the word we’re
devoted to one another
because we understand god’s doing
something bigger than just what he’s
doing in me
god’s doing something in us you see if
you don’t realize
god’s doing something in us
church will be uninteresting to you but
if you realize
god is doing something in us
listen if you’re in poor church you
understand god’s
doing something in us that’s just a fact
i don’t even have to pray preach that
that’s not wishful thinking
i see it as a fact god is doing
something in us
and it’s exciting and it makes me want
to be with people more
it makes me want to have more people
come and experience what god’s doing
in us friends this
is what the church devoted themselves to
now let’s we can’t finish
but well we have to finish but i’m
saying we have to finish these verses
here we go let’s go
verse 42 look how it ends they devoted
themselves to the four things
the apostles teaching to fellowship to
the breaking of bread and to prayer
everyone was filled with awe at the many
wonders and signs performed by the
apostles
all the believers were together and had
everything in common
they sold property and possessions to
give to anyone who had need
look how practical needs are being taken
care of
verse 46 every day
come on everybody say every day every
day
every day they continued to meet
together
in the temple courts they broke bread in
their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere
hearts why
because the word of god was the word of
god is doing a work in them
the fellowship of the other believers is
drawing them
the need for one another is putting a
burden on our heart on their hearts
why so they’re driven to prayer
they’re driven to prayer they’re driven
to practical
love come on don’t tell someone you love
them
and be well and be blessed and be
dressed if you’re not willing to do
something
practical it’s just spiritual rhetoric
i can feel myself getting on a soapbox
there so i’m going to jump off
come on be practical with your faith
and i love this there’s such a
practicality friends
we have people who are lonely
what do lonely people need well let me
pray for them so they won’t be lonely
no you’re ding-a-ling they need you in
their life
come on they need suffice they need a
contact
that’s what lonely people need and we
know this is a fact
the more our world goes towards the
social media and such
the more lonely we become we are not
less lonely
we are not less lonely because you have
500 friends on facebook
you are more lonely and depends on who
you watch on facebook and listen to
you’re probably more depressed but just
remember
all those nice people posting those nice
things on facebook they’re posting the
one percent of their life
not the 99 you don’t get posts about
people putting their socks on in the
morning or brushing their teeth
no that doesn’t get likes but they’re
doing the same things you are
no they just like to post the things
that drop it look what i did today
i don’t even know i i’ve given up on
those things you fill it in there come
on
so prayer we pray for one another
because through god’s word we see god
answers prayer
through fellowship and breaking of bread
we know the needs of those people in our
community
prayer is an essential expression
of our love for one another an essential
expression verse 46
every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts they broke
bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts you know
what i love about that verse
this isn’t a community of believers this
isn’t a
church that was sunday church man this
was
church that was everyday church this was
church
who loved one another who cared for one
another
who were ready to say no this is my life
i’m devoted to this
i’m devoted to this and this is a church
who had room for
all sorts all types of people how big
is your world how big
how big are you how wide are your arms
are you ready to welcome in a whole
bunch of people that don’t look just
look like you
are you ready to welcome in people that
don’t have your experiences
your strengths your principles your
morals
but say hey come in come on let’s go
look to jesus
come on let’s hear about him let us love
you practically
let us pray for you come on most people
friends
they’ll welcome that well they may not
want your jesus right away
but they’ll want that they’ll want a
place where they’re welcomed
they’ll they’ll welcome a place where
they’re prayed for
they’ll long to come to your house and
have a meal with you they may not want
your jesus right away but they’ll want
that
see how smart luke was see what the
early church did
he said let’s be practical but let’s be
so
spiritual friends
there’s a constant balance when i finish
there’s a constant balance
between our spirituality and our
practicality
and if you watch the church watch the
general
church here’s what you’re going to see
the church jumps from
over spirituality to over practicality
and we say oh look look they’re doing
all those practical things and their
church is growing
yeah yeah yeah but look at this church
they’re doing all these all they do is
have 24-hour prayer meetings and look
how they’re growing
that’s unsustainable and that’s maybe
not
totally biblical look what luke does
he says no we are so rooted in our
spirituality we can’t be moved oh but we
understand it’s
so practical that we’ve married these
two beautiful principles
of super spear deep solid
rooted spirituality yet such practical
tangible face-to-face help and
and and connection that’s
who i’d long for port church to be amen
come i got to finish these verses and
i’m we’re going to pray
verse 40 uh verse 46 every day they
continued to meet together in temple
courts
they broke bread in their homes and ate
together with glad and sincere hearts
verse 47 i end here
praising god and enjoying the favor of
all the people listen listen you know
what happened
the community began to take notice of
their fellowship
wow and the lord
added to their number daily
those who are being saved
friends how how did that happen
oh rooted in solid
theology rooted in the word of god
rooted in deep spirituality oh
but so practical so practical
that we marry those two things friends
that is the church of jesus christ
i don’t want to be so spiritually minded
that we’re no earthly good
nor do i want to be so seeker friendly
and and practical
that we lose all sense of spirituality
no then we’re a club
if you just if you if you just focus on
the practical
you become a club if you just focus on
the spiritual
you become isolated you become fearful
actually
some of the most spiritual people in
quotes air quotes
spiritual people i know become fearful
of the world
no look what luke does he says we’re
spiritual
but we’re practical isn’t that beautiful
come on that’s who we long for poor
church to be
that’s our dream that’s our hope and may
our devotions
today be rooted in god’s word
in fellowship in breaking of bread and
in prayer