Some Things Never Change

Sang one of my wife's favorite songs.

And we didn't plan it that way.

My name is Vic Luken.

I was uh privileged to be the senior pastor here for 36 years.

Some of you asked some questions that make me think that maybe I should tell you a little bit about what's happening in our lives before we start.

For six of the last nine years, our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren have lived in Hawaii with the military.

So that's where we were part of the time.

Now they have moved to Abilene, Texas.

Abilene is not Hawaii.

But the grandchildren are the same, which is good.

And we still live in Grand Forks in the same house.

And you wonder, well, where are you on the weekends?

Because we don't see you here very often.

Well, the answer is that we have been ministering to four different churches since our retirement.

Churches much like your own that are looking for pastors.

Right now we've been spending about a year in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

So we get up early on Sunday morning, leave about 7:15 to drive to Detroit Lakes, be able to preach at the 10 o'clock worship service.

So if you don't see us, it's not because we don't like you.

It's because we're somewhere else doing some sort of ministry.

Well, that's for the people who wonder where we've been.

Some of you don't care.

So just forget everything else.

We're here today to look at God's word, and I'm going to pray that we might hear from Him this morning.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you that you have given us your word.

And we pray in the moments remaining that you will help us to understand it, to see how it applies to us, and maybe to poke our hearts a little bit in our relationship with you.

So we ask your leading, Lord, as we look into your word.

In Jesus' name, amen.

A man by the name of Buckminster Fuller is the author of Knowledge Doubling Curve.

And his research revealed that human knowledge used to double about every century up until 1900.

Then at the end of World War II, the time frame of human knowledge was reduced to doubling every twenty-five years.

Of course, some parts of knowledge double quicker than other parts.

But where are we now?

Well, current numbers show that all of human knowledge is doubling about once every thirteen months.

So whatever you knew last March is old hat today.

And if you were to believe the IBM paper that shows increasing computer speeds and storage combined with the internet, it's predicted that all of human knowledge will eventually double every twelve hours.

I am so glad I went to school when I did.

I didn't say that common sense has doubled.

I think somewhere after World War II, common sense got lost.

But we're living in a whirlwind of change.

Change has never been a favorite of mine.

I don't know about you, but change is certain.

Knowledge changes, our bodies change, friends change, family changes, culture changes.

Even the church, think of the changes that have occurred over the years here.

There's internet church now.

You don't even have to come to church.

You can find all these good services live from wherever they are in the United States and just stay home and stare at your screen.

That's something new that we didn't have to compete with as a pastor when I was here.

But change.

Even the great philosopher Martha Stewart said, when you're through changing, you're through.

And there's a certain amount of truth to that.

Not all change is bad.

Some things need to change.

But the trouble of it is we often try to change what we ought to leave and leave what we ought to change.

Well, I wondered, with all the change that we see around us, aren't there some things that are so important that they should never change?

So I went to the scriptures to look at some things in the early church that seemingly didn't change.

Things that the early church did consistently.

Now, don't misunderstand, the early church was facing massive changes.

They had a new apostle that replaced Judas.

They were in this new thing called the church.

No longer was God just working with the Jewish nation, but he was working with the church, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slave and free man.

The Holy Spirit, who in the Old Testament had come upon them to empower them, now was indwelling them.

And the church was growing by leaps and bounds.

One account that we have in our context of the passage today says 3,000 people had come to know the Lord.

So in this context, I found an interesting word that I want to share with you today.

To continue, to persevere in something, to busy oneself with, to be busily engaged in, to be devoted to, to spend much time in.

You get the idea?

Finally, there is something that doesn't change that the early church was doing.

So let's look this morning at this word as it occurs in the New Testament.

There's only ten times it occurs in the New Testament, six of them in relationship to the church.

So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

As we look at four things that the early church was continually devoting themselves, that didn't change.

242 says, and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

You say, of all the things that you could talk about today in the world and in the church and in the scriptures, you're talking about this verse?

Stick with me.

I think you'll see why it's important.

They were continually voting themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the word.

Why was it so important?

These were men who had lived with Jesus from the baptism of John until he ascended into heaven.

They knew the Old Testament predictions that had pointed to the Christ, and they had heard the Lord tell about them, and so they were familiar with them as well as all the stories and all the things that Jesus said.

They were eyewitnesses to all this.

Most importantly, they were an eyewitness of his resurrection.

When the New Testament books were chosen to be included in our Scripture, one of the main reasons a book was chosen was was it written by an apostle or one close to an apostle?

They recognized each other's writings as scripture.

But most importantly, Jesus had pre-authenticated their writings by giving these promises to guide them into all the truth, to teach them things to come, and to bring to their remembrance all that he had taught them.

The early church continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching.

Now note, the apostles themselves were men of the word.

If you turn with me to Acts chapter 6, this increasing number of new believers made it impossible for the apostles to minister all to these people, and so they selected men whom we called deacons to assist them so that the apostles, as they say, could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

That's the word, same word.

They could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

The apostles were ministers of the word, and they in turn ministered to people who were devoted to the word.

Now, just a thought, you have a search committee that's just been formed.

And you're looking for a certain kind of man, I assume.

Is one of these qualifications a man who is a minister of the word and prayer?

It seems to me by application that this might move up a bit in our list of qualifications for a new minister.

But now I want to confess something to you.

Do you struggle as I do with getting into the Word regularly?

Well, you say I, you know, I come to church when I can.

That isn't what I ask.

Do you get into the Word at another time other than on Sunday morning?

You know, I have found that for me, just sitting down and reading chapter after chapter, I can't do that.

Oh, I can do it, but you know what I'm saying.

I don't find the Lord ministers to me in just a continual reading chapter after chapter.

I like to take a topic or a subject and study what the scripture has to say.

What does the scripture have to say about work?

You know, one of our candidates is saying everything's going to be free.

Great.

Does the Bible have a philosophy of work?

What does the scripture have to say about some of these issues that, boy, diversity in the area of sexuality?

Does the Bible say anything about that?

I like to take the scriptures and study some of these subjects and see what the scripture has to say.

So I encourage you, you don't have to feel like you have to do it in a certain way or in the way that I do it, but are you devoted, as the early church was, to the ministry of the word, to the study of the word?

I like Acts chapter 17, because there were people in Berea that on Paul's second missionary journey, this is how they are described, they were more noble-minded, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

When you go home on Sunday, check the pastor out.

Are these things so in the scriptures that he said?

I love that verse.

I have a little pet thief that I'm going to probably make some of you upset about, but sometimes I think we study the Bible too much.

Now hear me out.

We study it too much and we apply it too little.

I'd like to see instead of a Bible study class, a Bible application class.

And the purpose is we're going to study the Bible, and when we come upon something that we should apply, we're going to sit around and say, how do we apply this?

And then this week is, we're going to do it.

Dr.

Ryrie, who was one of my seminary professors and was the author of the Ryrie Study Bible, and the notes, he didn't write the Bible, just the notes.

People used to ask him, Dr.

Ryrie, what's the most, the best translation that I should read?

Is it the NIV?

Is it the New American Standard?

Is it New American of 1901?

Is it the New English?

Which one is best?

And his answer was the one that you read is best.

And that's true.

This basic thing of being devoted to the scriptures, somehow we've lost it.

That we as believers sometimes don't even read the scriptures, let alone study them.

The early church persevered in the apostles' teachings.

Secondly, they continually devoted themselves to fellowship.

Fellowship takes place in our fellowship hall.

Well, it could.

It really means sharing in common or joint participation.

And the following verses give us five things that they did to fellowship.

Verse 44, it says, they were together.

Well, you can't fellowship if you're not together.

And yet, how much of our society draws us apart?

I remember Pastor Bob Solstrom a number of years came and he was determined to get us to be a fellowshipping church, to invite one another over.

When new people came to church, he would have them come over to their house.

He was setting an example of what we should do.

Fellowship, time together.

Secondly, they had all things in common.

That is, when people had needs, other people in the church stepped forward and say, here, I'll meet that need.

If it meant selling something to meet their needs.

Can you imagine a church influxed with 3,000 new believers?

Think there might have been a few needs for food and help?

Thirdly, they were continuing day by day with one mind in the temple.

Common mind.

Can you imagine?

All the believers agreeing about stuff.

And then they were breaking bread from house to house, taking their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart.

Common meals.

That's often what we think of fellowship is sitting around and talking, getting to know each other.

And then finally praising God.

Common worship.

Five things that were fellowship in the early church that I think are fellowship today.

Common time, common things, common mind, common meals, common worship.

Pretty difficult to do in our society.

It's difficult for me to fellowship with people I don't know.

You know, if I know somebody and I know they have needs, I much more readily respond with time and my treasure to help these people.

But strangers, I'm not so prone to do that.

The same thing could be said of praising God.

For me, worship comes out of hearing how God has worked in people's lives, and it's an expression of praise to God for what He's done.

But if I don't know these people or what God is doing, you know, in the old days we used to have testimony meetings.

Anyone have a testimony they'd like to share?

Sister Sally would stand up, yeah, I was sick with pneumonia and God raised me up, and we all said, Amen, and praise the Lord.

But we don't do that anymore.

We don't know what your needs are.

So what I'm trying to say is if it was difficult for me to get into the word, it's difficult for me to get into fellowshipping like the early church did.

But that leads us to a third thing that they were continually devoting themselves to, and that was communion with the Lord.

Breaking of bread.

You know, I look at communion as the Lord's opportunity to give us a spiritual checkup.

Because when we come together, we use these emblems of his broken body and shed blood to remember what Jesus did to make our relationship possible.

It's very visual.

But there's a second part of it, and that is to re-examine our hearts in relationship to the Lord, as far as our fellowship with him, and then with one another.

The Lord wants us to regularly gather, to remember him, and to examine our hearts toward him and toward each other.

Well, we do that, don't we?

We do that monthly.

You know, as a pastor, we often just stuck it on the end of the service.

Like, hurry up, we can get this done in ten minutes, and everybody can get off to the restaurant that they're looking for.

Spiritual checkout.

It's important to examine yourself in light of the Lord's sacrifice.

For us.

But like the first two, it isn't easy to do correctly.

These believers are looking more exemplary all the time.

But there's a fourth thing.

They were devoting themselves to prayer.

And this word that we're looking at is most frequently used in connection with prayer.

After the Lord ascended and the disciples gathered in the upper room, it says they were continually devoting, that's the word, themselves to prayer, Acts 1.14.

And we saw that the apostles, when they needed help, the reason was that they might give priority to devote themselves, that's the word, to prayer and the ministry of the word.

Later, Paul calls upon the church in Romans 12, 12 to be devoted to prayer.

In Colossians 4, 2, he tells the church, devote yourselves to prayer.

It's been said wisely so, I think, that sometimes it's more important to speak to the Lord about men than it is to speak to men about the Lord.

But whoa! If I had a hard time with getting into the Word, with fellowshipping with believers, with breaking bread in a right spirit, I fall flat in prayer.

I asked the first service, how many of you believe in prayer?

And everybody raised their hand.

I said, How many of you are happy with your prayer life?

Nobody raised their hand.

I know a way that will guarantee a small service.

Call a prayer meeting.

Prayer meeting was always the smallest service of the week.

I fall short with prayer.

I can suggest something that might help.

You might go to the Gospel of Luke because of the 14 times that was recorded Jesus prayed, eleven of them are in Luke's gospel.

Study when Jesus prayed.

Look at why he prayed and where he prayed and how he prayed.

And then follow his example.

You know, as I've gotten older, I've discovered what older people do late at night, and that is they don't sleep.

It's a great time to pray.

Do you have a time that you have set aside to pray?

I suggested that you might pray on your way to work, as long as you keep your eyes open.

The early church gave themselves to, they persevered in, they were busily engaged in, they were devoted to these changeless disciplines of the Christian life.

They really boil down to two.

Communication and fellowship.

Communication with God, God speaks to me in his word.

I speak to him in prayer.

Communication and fellowship with each other and fellowship with the Lord in the breaking of bread.

But as I studied this passage, I had several observations that led to some questions.

And so we'll finish with those quick observations and questions.

Look what Jesus says was happening from God's work or what God was doing with the church.

Look at verse 43.

And then verse 47.

And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Verse 47.

And having favor with all the people, and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

God was doing something.

Apostles were doing miraculous things.

And there was favor with all.

Can you imagine in our culture if the church had favor with all?

And the Lord was adding those who were being saved.

So I had a couple questions.

Are the Acts 242 things, those four things, are they desirable?

To devote ourselves to the word, to prayer, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread?

Are they desirable for us as believers?

I think they still are.

Is there a cause-effect relationship?

Because this is often how this passage is preached.

If we do these things, then God will do these things.

As if we can control what God decides to do.

Or is it the other way around?

Were these supernatural things of verses 43 and 47 the cause and verse 42 was the effect?

When they saw what God was doing, they devoted themselves to prayer and to study of the word and to fellowship and breaking of bread.

Another question I had is are the activities of 242 statements of fact?

Or are they commands?

Well the answer is they're statements of fact.

It's not saying do these things, it's saying this is what they did.

And so I want to know why they do them so devotedly?

Because I struggle with all of them.

And I would like to suggest an answer.

I'm not saying it is the answer, but it is an answer.

Could the things of verse forty-two be miraculous?

Just as much as verse forty-three and verse forty-seven.

God was creating a sense of law, and there were miracles happening, and the church found favor, and people were being saved, and the early church hearts were changed so much that they devoted themselves to these four things.

I would like to suggest that Acts 242 things are miraculous too.

To do them devotedly and consistently.

Sometimes I don't even want to do them.

So I have to start with my heart.

Lord, give me the desire to do these things.

Spiritual growth can't take place if you're satisfied with where you are.

It's when you realize you have a need that you begin asking God to give you the desire of your heart.

And Philippians chapter 2 for me was the clincher here.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Because you remember Philippians 2, the first 11 verses were familiar with the Kenosis passage where Jesus leaves heaven's glory, comes down to earth as a man, but not just an ordinary man, a servant, and he dies, but not just an ordinary death.

He dies the death of a slave.

And Paul said, Let this attitude be in you.

And consider others as more important than yourself.

And look out not just for the interests of yourself, but the interests of others.

And then that magnificent example.

That's the first eleven verses.

Verse 12 says this.

So then, my beloved brethren, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

He's not saying work for your salvation.

He's saying work it out.

Show your salvation by willing and doing God's good pleasure.

See, the danger of Acts 242 is that it becomes a list for us.

And we say, well, I've done this one this week, I've done this one, I've done this.

I must be doing pretty well.

I'm a pretty obedient Christian.

And we almost become proud in it.

And we think that doing these things will make us a New Testament church.

And the church today is full of secrets of success.

If we just do church in a certain way, then we'll be successful.

But I'm here to say that you can do all these things of Acts 242 and be spiritually dead.

Because apart from me, Jesus said, you can do nothing.

So Paul points out in Philippians 2 that working out our own salvation is not one of self-effort.

It is God who is at work in us both to will, that is to motivate us, to desire what He desires, and to work, that is to accomplish His good pleasure.

It wasn't just that the Church at Jerusalem did these four things, but how and why they were doing them.

They were doing them through the enablement of God that gave them the will and the power to achieve these essential, unchanging disciplines.

So begin by asking the Lord to change your heart, to give you a desire for these things.

And then secondly, take a step to do them.

Like so much of sanctification, it demands my participation with God's empowering.

I'm not commanded to do these things in Acts chapter 2, but I am commanded to do these very things in the rest of the New Testament.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

To study, to show myself approved, to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, to do this in remembrance of me, to pray without ceasing.

Howard Hendricks, one of the professors that has gone home to the Lord, used to say the Christian life is not difficult.

It's impossible.

The Christian life is the life of Christ lived through the believer by the power of the Holy Spirit as we obediently respond to the word of God.

So the outworking of the Christian life requires a response of obedience and faith.

I will to do this because God gives me the desire.

And I am motivated and empowered to do it through his strength.

I would, I know I'm going long, but somebody said, you know, Lucan, you got a reputation to keep up.

Stick with me just a few more minutes.

I would like to suggest, as you take the scriptures, that you ask yourself three questions as you read it.

What is it here that the Lord wants me to know?

What do I know?

And we're good at that because we usually say this is what scripture means.

We know this.

Okay?

Second question.

What do I feel?

What does he want me to feel?

Say, feel.

I was just reminded of that looking at Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

Israel is saying, God, you don't know my ways and you haven't met my needs for justice.

And God says, look at the stars.

I created every one of them, and I know each of them by name.

And you're worried that I don't know about what's going on with you?

That makes you feel the awesomeness of God.

What do I need to know?

What do I need to feel?

And lastly, what do I need to do from what I've read in the scripture?

We're looking for a pastor.

I want to be prepared for a new pastor.

To be spiritually where I need to be.

To desire what the Lord desires, and to do with his enablement what he wants me to do.

Think I can count on him to do his part?

First Thessalonians says, Now may the God of peace sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete or mature without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is he who calls you, and he also will bring it to pass.

Desire what he wants.

Lord, give me the desire to do what you want to do, and then the enablement to be what you want me to be.

Let's pray.

Oh Lord, may you change our hearts so that we long to hear from you through your word.

And we long to talk with you in our prayers.

Change our selfishness to be other centered, to love your family as you have loved us.

And Lord, may we learn to share in the fellowship of knowing and being known by you, our unchangeable Lord and Savior.

Amen.