God's Church - Acts 2:42

Well, welcome to the gathering of Redemption Church North

Ogden. Now I specifically said it that

way, the gathering of the church to to make a point because this,

this building, this wonderful blessing of a, of a building

here and even this service that we are are in now don't define

this church. Even the individual believers

here don't make this, this church.

So today we're celebrating our, our, our first year as a church.

And so we're going to take just a A1 week hiatus from our study

of the, the Gospel of Matthew that we've been in for the last

probably about six months now to we're going to take a hiatus

from that to, to remind ourselves of some important

points. And and I want to take a look at

at what does define the church then?

It's always me we on there we go.

So this is a this is a quote here from a book that that Eric

and John and I have been been reading from from Tom Hicks and

and the section on the church started off like like this.

And I and I really I, I went back and I read it several times

and I wanted to share with with you guys here.

It says the church is the bride of Christ joined to him in the

new covenant to receive all his graces, to grow in his likeness,

to worship and commune with him forever and ever.

When Adam sinned and the whole human race fell in Adam, God

could justly have left us to die in our sins, but instead He

graciously chose a particular people to bring back to Himself.

He did not merely choose individuals, but He chose those

individuals to be gathered into a people, His church, to bring

them back to Himself as a community of redeemed believers.

So this church is the gathering of the people who are committed

to each other in light of and within their relationship with

Jesus. It isn't, it isn't defined

simply by attendance to a service or, or you know, in a

building. It is the, it is the gathering

of believers with purpose. Now, our word church, you'll

hear this often from the Pope, but we like to talk about Greek

words and things like that. The, the, the word church comes

from the Greek word ecclesia, which specifically means called

out from. And it's, it's very importantly

making the case for the people who have been called out

different from the world. And, and that's who Christians

are by definition, followers of, of Jesus who are different from

the world, people who, who prioritize Jesus will and, and

Jesus desires above their own. And one of the reasons why I

want to be careful in communicating this is often I

think maybe we take a little bit too much liberty in our approach

to church. Common mistake that humanity

makes is to define and value something by the the way that it

influences their situation. In our sinful nature, we are

self focused beings. I think every one of us

understands that. So we can quickly form an

opinion about the value of church by our experiences there

rather than our purpose there. We can ask questions often

things like does the church fit my opinions and and does it fit

my beliefs and, or does it make me feel good?

Right. And because we often use this

incorrect yardstick to measure the value that we associate with

church, we often jump to the incorrect and quite frankly, the

unbiblical conclusion that church is optional.

Well, let me tell you, my friends, for the believer, it is

not optional. I'd be willing to bet that many

of us, if, if not all of us, if we're, if we're honest, have at

some point put significantly more importance on our

experience at church than we did on God's purpose for church.

Throughout the New Testament, we have nearly two dozen letters

written directly to the various church bodies, to collections of

believers, and even to individual believers.

And these letters are given to the churches to help them

understand how God expects us to approach our relationship with

Him through with other believers, through other

believers. In Second Timothy 3, starting in

verse one, going through through verse 5, Paul writes some words

of warning to the church. And at the heart of it, it, it

recognizes A facade, right? Like a, a fake front for those

Amelia always, you know, accuses me of using big people words, a

facade, you know, a fake front that that looks one way but but

really isn't. And it's speaking to hypocrisy.

And here's what it says in Second Timothy 3.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times

of difficulty. For people will be lovers of

self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient

to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable,

slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not

loving, good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit,

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the

appearance of godliness but denying its power, Avoid such

people. And that last verse that that

phrase in there having the appearance of godliness is is

talking to hypocrites that say that they are Christian but are

not and guys, this is a letter to the church.

He's he's talking to the church. These people are within the

church. When we read Colossians 416

says, and when this letter has been read among you have it also

read in the Church of the Laodiceans and see that you also

read the letter from Laodicea. See, these apostles were through

the divine Spirit of God, delivering direction to the

churches with authority, but not just to the churches that it was

addressed to. They clearly intended these

letters to be shared amongst all churches and used as guidelines

for their conduct. So we can also use these letters

to help us understand God's schematic, if you will, for his,

his church. And all too often these days

and, and really, you know, for the last two millennia, people

have felt at liberty to, to redesign and to, to re envision

the church ignoring the fact that that these letters were

given to us to to help us understand those God-given

guidelines. And Paul says as much when he

writes in his first letter to Timothy in in first Timothy 3

1 Timothy 3:14

verses 14 and 15. He says, I hope to come to you

soon, but I'm writing these things to you so that if I

delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household

of God, which is the Church of the living God, a pillar and

buttress of truth. And again, Paul isn't talking

about a physical building and yet he makes it clear that the

church is a pillar and and buttress of truth.

You know, pillar and buttress are are synonyms for supports,

right? Like those those columns that

you would see that would hold up a a roof.

And he's saying that the church supports the the truth.

Paul's right in this because he is keenly aware that people can

and will come to different opinions regarding how they view

church, what the responsibility is to the church, and why it

matters. Now maybe that seems silly to

think that people might come to church with the idea that they

can act however they wish or that that worship may be done in

whatever way suits them. But we've probably all seen

that. We've probably all seen many

times in one manner of another. Even with it laid out plainly in

Scripture, there are still often differing opinions about how

these things are carried out and and interpreted.

In fact, I mean, we, we see examples of silliness that

people bring towards their to towards church all the time.

We can see it on the Internet, the mockery that people make of

of this process. As I said, I think we often take

too much liberty in our approach to church and, and, and so I

believe that we should often look back to these epistles to

do a check up on ourselves and and ensure our ideas and

opinions are in line with Scripture.

And that's why we're doing it here on our, on our anniversary,

we before we launched, we spent weeks, months going through

these things of what a healthy church is, because we wanted to

plant a healthy church when we want to stay a healthy church

and we want to, to grow healthier as a church.

And then we want to spin off and, and, and, and send out

other healthy churches. So we want to do this, this,

this this review often as we as we as we continue to grow.

And I believe there is scriptural evidence that tells

us a lot about the makeup of church, what we should hope to

aspire to as a body of believers and and what God has planned for

his church. So today I want to start off

with a a passage that we see at the very beginning of the New

Testament church in the book of Acts that we just read from just

right before I came up here, part of what was read anyways in

Acts chapter 2 and it said it this is just verse 42.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We read 42 to 47, but verse 42 is what I want to focus on

today. It says, and they devoted

themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to

the breaking of bread and the prayers.

This passage, guys, is not describing life outside of the

church, but rather it's describing the life of those who

were a part of the church already.

And I, I want to work through this verse today as we continue

to, to define and grow as God's church, our, ourselves.

And I, I and, and I think that that's the, you know, the main

thing that we, we can pull out of this passage and others that

support it is that throughout Scripture, there is a

demonstrated devotion and, and commitment to worship, to

obedience and discipleship that Scripture calls the church to.

And God uses that devotion to grow his church.

But before we get into these 4 characteristics, let's define

that word, that word that we see in that passage, devoted, right?

What is devotedness? Well, here's what the here's

what the dictionary says. Devotedness is the quality of

being dedicated, loyal and committed to a person, cause or

activity, often to the point of placing their needs or interests

above 1's own. It implies a deep affection,

steadfastness, and an unwavering dedication as seen in a lifelong

commitment. That doesn't seem wavering it or

or short lived. That seems more than just a

passing interest that we would show in a right.

And let's remember that that Jesus at the time that this was

written, Jesus has has just been publicly beaten and crucified.

All of the apostles except John were later martyred for their

beliefs. These disciples in the early

church and Acts were not participating in their faith

lukewarm. They were devoted, it said.

So what were they devoted to? That's we'll get to hear the the

first point is they were devoted to the apostles teaching as they

wanted this teaching, they craved it.

Our Acts 2 passage that that we read comes right on the heels of

of the apostle Peter giving a powerful sermon at the end,

after he gives a sermon, people ask, well, well, what should we

do? And and Peter's response is

repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.

It's a question all of us have asked or will ask at some point

in our life when we hear the gospel is well, then what should

I do as a response to that? Repent of your sins and be

baptized. And, and after that, Peter goes

on and says, this is what being called by God.

This is what being set apart by God is and it says that about

3000 people were added to the church that day, added to the

body of of believer. So no wonder they were devoted

to the apostles teaching. They were teaching something

powerful. They were teaching the Bible and

the people wanted that. They wanted to hear God's word

and and Psalm 42 verses one through 2 says as a deer pants

for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you.

Oh God, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

See guys, we, we learn more about God by hearing from God.

And that's what this is. This is where we hear from God

about God. There's a recognition that there

is a supremacy of Scripture over our feelings, over our, our,

our, our opinions, even over the opinions of others over other

writings that are not Scripture. This is supreme.

Romans 10 verse 17 says so. Faith comes from hearing and

Romans 10:17

hearing through the word of Christ.

We pant like like a deer pants for, for water.

We pant for, for, for, for God. We thirst for, for knowing God.

And that faith in God comes from hearing the the message.

And the message is heard through the delivery of the word about

Jesus. And I believe biblical preaching

must be centered on Jesus because all of the Bible is

about Jesus. Now, of course, if you were to

go through and pick a, a specific verse or, or section or

something, it might be about a, an individual person or a group

or, or an event or something. But in context, within the

totality of the text, it is all centered on Jesus.

Now today's message is, is a topical message, meaning that,

that I've, I've developed this sermon on a topic that we as

pastors chose on, on, on the church, right?

As opposed to what we would generally prefer to do, which is

expository preaching, going verse by verse through God's

word and learning what and, and how God gave us the message in

context and not skipping over the tough topics or simply

making the message what we want it to be.

This was exemplified a lot for Eric the last couple weeks

preaching on, on, on murder and hatred and adultery and lust,

right? That those are those were heavy.

There was a heaviness about that.

And he didn't get to skip over it and make it be what he

wanted. He had to preach the truth.

What, what the gospel says. Now, let me just say, how can

how? Let me ask this rhetorical

question. But I'd like you guys to think

about this as you go about your week.

And I don't want to make anybody feel guilty if this is you, but

how can you be sure of what the pastor is saying?

What I'm saying up here is an accurate representation of the

scripture that I'm referencing. Unless you follow along in your

Bible, right? It would be very easy for me to

put anything I want up here. And if you're not in your Bible

reading and making sure that I'm saying it right or that I'm

representing it right, how can you hold me accountable and make

sure that what I am feeding you and your family is, is right?

Biblical preaching requires a high view of, of Scripture.

And if you've read our statement of faith and, and I hope you

have done that or I hope that you would make a time to do

that, you'll see that that it says the Scriptures are the

authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian life

practice and doctrine. And we would be the healthiest

if each of you had your Bible open today.

And we're following me in these passages and ensuring that the

pastor is properly handling the text.

We can't have a hands off approach to pastors.

Church has a responsibility to hold pastors to the standard

laid out in Scripture, both in qualification and in

responsibility. So part of this biblical

preaching, a part of the apostles teaching is

understanding that pastors have an important role.

In Ephesians 4 verses 11 and 12, it says, and he gave the

Ephesians 4:11

apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and

teachers to equip the Saints for the work of ministry, for

building up the body of Christ. Now that word shepherd, there is

the same word that's used pastor or overseer or elder, It's the

same, the same word there. And you know, Scripture says

that there are qualifications to be a pastor.

Are you familiar with those qualifications?

Again, just a rhetorical question to maybe think about

this week. Are you familiar with the

qualifications that you're supposed to hold me to that

you're supposed to hold John and Eric to that we find in

Scripture. Here they are first Timothy 3

verses one through 7 there this isn't the only place that they

are. This is just one of the places

that we that we find them in first Timothy 3 verses one

through 7 it says the saying is trustworthy.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer again, that's

shepherd pastor. He desires a noble task.

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach.

The husband of one wife, sober minded, self controlled,

respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not

violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of

money. He must manage his own household

well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive.

For someone does not know how to manage his own household.

How will he care for God's church?

He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with

conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that

he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

As this is important not just for the elders to know, but for

all of us to know, to hold them accountable to this standard.

Let me just a couple months back, we had vacation Bible

school here that, that we held here.

And I, I got to witness something and I shared this

with, with a couple of people. I, I actually pointed it out and

I got to watch John as, as I, I watched him maneuver through one

of his boys was just having a moment right as, as all of our,

our kids do. And I watched from across the

room. I told John this and I, I told

Noel this and I told a couple of people that day.

I said we're blessed. To be able to watch this and I

got to see him, sorry, John, to throw you out here like this,

but we got, I got to see him parent his child through a, a, a

little bit of a hardship, right? For a, for a small child, it was

a hardship for him. And I got to see him with

compassion and care. I got to see his shepherding

first hand. And I thought that was a

blessing to be able to watch, to be able to be in relationship

with each other, to be able to see this man exemplify the

things that we talk about, the things that we teach.

And it was my honor to be able to watch.

And I don't mean to embarrass him by that.

And I didn't know that I was going to get emotional about it,

but it was beautiful. And it's it's part of our family

to be able to be part of this, to grow from that.

OK, so we know what the qualifications are, but what's

their job? You ever wondered that what's

the job of a pastor? Well, in Hebrews 13, verse 17,

Hebrews 13:17

it's here's this passage that helps to to define to clear up

and define the roles of the pastors in in in one way.

And it says obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are

keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an

account. Let them do this with joy and

not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Now, I guys, I'll just tell you, I'm a guy who doesn't like

people telling me what to do. Some of you have experienced

this. Some of you have experienced

this today, and I'm sorry. Amen.

I said I was sorry, but we get to see this.

The, the our pastors are, are those who are going to stand in

front of our Lord and Savior and give an account one day for

their shepherding, for their watching over the souls in this

room. And that's hard work.

But it says here, let them do this with joy and not with

groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

So when a, when a pastor, when a shepherd comes and speaks to you

and speaks the gospel to you in whatever ways that you need to

hear, know that that's an act of love.

In Ephesians 4, that passage that that I, I, I mentioned just

a bit ago, it says also to, to equip the Saints for the work of

the ministry. And that work, that work of, of

the ministry can be divided up into, into two main categories,

discipleship and evangelism. Discipleship in a nutshell, is

our relationship with and to the body of believers.

And evangelism is sharing the gospel with the unbelieving

world. And we'll talk about this more

in our next point here, which is that what those first disciples

were also devoted to fellowship. Now, the Greek word that's used

here is the word Koinonia. We've mentioned this many times.

We'll, we'll mention it, you know, a million more over the

years. And, and Koinonia means the

close association between persons, emphasizing what is

common between them. So, So what is common amongst

those who belong to Christchurch?

Well, here at at Redemption, John shared this with me just

the other day. All of our different serve teams

and our and our, our areas of ministry, we have purpose

statements or mission statements so that we can be always

reminded why are we doing this? What is the specific goal of

this team of this area of ministry?

How do we honor God and serve other people in this?

And this is this was the one for our worship services that we are

in now. Is this to gather as the visible

church on the Lord's Day to glorify God and to encourage and

equip the Saints through the singing, reading, praying,

preaching and displaying of the Word?

See, there is intentionality and and purpose behind what we do

together. And not just at Redemption North

Ogden, but as the Universal Church has the big body of

believers, there's intentionality and purpose

behind our fellowship with each other.

What's common with amongst us is being a faithful follower of

Jesus, of being a Christian. But the fact is, according to

the Pew Research Center, I just, I just read this this week and

it wowed me. 63% of Utahns claim to be Christian.

Tragically, guys, that's not what Jesus says.

He didn't specifically talk about the state of Utah, but

here's what he said in Matthew 7, verses 21 through 23.

Matthew 7:21–23

And this is some people think that this is the scariest, one

of the scariest things, you know, in all of the Bible.

Here's what it says. Not everyone who says to me,

Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but the one who does

the will of the of my Father who is in heaven on that day.

Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name

and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your

name and then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart

from me, you workers of lawlessness.

Many people admire Jesus. Many people enjoy you know his

teachings. They they they read the Bible,

they they have bumper stickers about it.

Whatever they would say that they follow much of what he

says, but we don't get to pick and choose what we believe.

We don't get to redefine who Jesus is an equal but distinct

part of the triune God. Like like Eric mentioned in that

in that prayer a little bit ago, we don't get to indiscriminately

submit to some parts of God's word and then just throw out the

rest. We don't get to to add to it and

change the path and plan of salvation and cheapen his

sacrifice by elevating our works.

We don't get to do that. A true Christian is a person who

has has put faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus

Christ, including his death on the cross as payment for our

sins and his resurrection on the third day.

That's what's common between those in the church rather than

just at the church. Maybe that's not you.

In fact, maybe even hearing that and realizing that you fall in

the category of those people that Jesus is talking about in

this passage. Maybe maybe that's the first

time that you've ever heard that.

Maybe it scares you. Maybe it even offends you.

And I can understand that guys, but I can categorically tell you

that it would be far more offensive to you if I stood up

here and tickled your ears with a watered down message.

But please, please understand this, there is still time to

become part of Jesus Church. There is time to be part of the

bride of Christ. But the fact is, none of us know

how long we have here on earth. So I hope that you will make

this a priority of your life today because there is something

joyfully wonderful that we want you to be a part of.

If you were here with us a year ago, when, when we when we

planted, when we launched, you might remember that the that the

Apostle Paul used this word Koinonia a few times in his joy

filled letter to the church at Philippi that we studied for the

first like seven months that we that we were here.

He talked about that that word several times and and we see

that in in Philippians 1 verses 3 through 5, he says, I thank my

Philippians 1:3–5

God in all my remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine

for you all making my prayer with joy because of your

partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Now a partnership is the word Koinonia.

This like minded fellowship is something that Paul is

prayerfully thankful for. Guys, listen to this fellowship

with our church family is not a chore.

It is not something that we would choose to avoid.

It is a blessing. If we are in a place of

resenting the fellowship, then we're in a place of significant

spiritual need. In Chapter 2, Paul goes on and

implores the readers to recognize that their fellowship

with Jesus should be demonstrated outwardly amongst

them toward each other as well. In verses one and two he says,

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from

love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and

sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having

the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

So again we see Koinonia translated here as

participation. We are called to be living out

the example that we see in Jesus going on in Philippians 388

through 10. He says in order that I may gain

Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own

that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith

in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and

may share his sufferings becoming like him in death.

Paul goes he even goes so far as to proclaim that that

fellowship, this Koinonia I keep mentioning that they are called

to is so wonderful a thing to experience that he even desires

to fellowship with Jesus in his suffering and death.

So what does this devotion to fellowship look like in our busy

lives? Well, at the end of the the the

first point, I shared those two examples of what the the

shepherd and teacher is equipping us to do.

I said evangelism and discipleship.

Right now, those those two things are are utilized in our

fellowship. They're a big part of it.

Excuse me. Evangelism, as I said, is

sharing the gospel with the unbelieving worlds.

Now, if any of you have ever faced a, a daunting medical

diagnosis and had a doctor come in and say, hey, hey, we have a

really good chance of, of beating this right?

They, that doctor would have, they have some enthusiasm and

sharing the treatment plan with you because there's hope in it.

And then evangelism, we have a similar dynamic.

We are sharing the answer the the the treatment or the cure

with a sick world and we should be enthused about that.

Now I don't know what the actual stats are on how many people are

truly Christian in our in our community or or in our state or

in in that you know the whole world.

What I do know is that there are far too many that are not that

fact should break our hearts wide open.

People in your life, maybe in your home, in your the cubicle

next to you, the house crossed the fence.

People in your life that are desperate to hear the good news

of Jesus. And guys, if you if you use the

excuse of I don't know how to go and share it with them, then

fellowship with other believers. Be devoted to being equipped for

the work of the ministry and don't put anything.

Don't put anything else in a higher priority than being a

part of that Koinonia with the body of believers and with God.

Discipleship, as I mentioned, is our relationship with and, and,

and to the body of believers. Now, guys, this is where we get

to experience and demonstrate those characteristics that we've

seen in Jesus in his life and ministry and the things that

those characteristics about God that we see all through through

Scripture. We get to teach each other.

We get to come alongside each other as we experience life and

the and the stuff, you know, the stuff that comes with life.

We get to we get to give grace when it isn't deserved and we

get to be forgiven when it isn't owed to us.

We get to step in and serve other people and we get to tire

ourselves out. We get to wear ourselves out

completely working to, to to help each other.

And that is not a bad thing. All of this, all of this

experience with each other, being Christ's church, being his

body, allows us to add depth and context and, and, and clarity to

the characteristics in the example of Jesus.

We get to know him better ourselves.

So that's the point. All of this points back to Jesus

and our relationship with him. OK, Now besides being devoted to

growing together with other disciples is a devotion to one

of the ordinances that mark out being set apart.

And that's our Third Point here today, which is their devotion

to the Lord's Supper. Now we observe 2 ordinances here

at Redemption Church. An ordinance just simply being a

ceremony or a rule. I guess you could call those

those, those ordinances that we observe our baptism and the

Lord's Supper. Now we did a stand alone sermon

on each of these ordinances back in I think it was February.

You can go and find those those recordings of those sermons.

And I would recommend that you do if you have questions about

either of these two things. But in in our in our Acts 2

passage that we focused on today, it only mentions the the

disciples being devoted to the Lord's Supper.

So what's the deal with that? Well, as I mentioned, that

passage is describing those who were already part of the body

and, and you know, Eric has put it a couple of times before from

up here, he's explained faith and baptism is like a person

walking through the front door. And the Lord's Supper is the

family meal. Obviously you can't be a part of

a family meal if you're not part of the family yet.

Well, baptism is a ceremony that we do upon someone placing their

faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and

being born again. Scripture says for that new

believer to go and be baptized as a public declaration of their

new faith. That is the entry into the body

of believers, into the family. The Lord's Supper, then, is a

ceremony done for those within the body of believers.

So the Lord's Supper was first instituted the night before

Jesus was arrested and crucified, and he gathered

together with his believers to observe a Passover meal.

But he led them through something a little bit different

too. While they were eating, Jesus

took some some bread and he blessed it.

And he told the disciples that the bread signified his body

that would be given for them his his his body that would be

brutally ripped open and beaten. And they gave him wine to drink.

And he said, this wine represents a new covenant in my

blood, which is poured out for many.

And Jesus told them to do this in remembrance of him and his

sacrifice that he was about to make.

Now, this was hours before the crucifixion, so they couldn't

possibly comprehend the, the, the hatred and the violence that

they were about to witness. But but these were two very

tangible and visible examples of symbolism in the broken bread

and the and the blood red wine that Jesus told them to do.

To intentionally gather with other believers to hold these

representations in their hands and to reverently look back at

the single most horrific and and terrible and wonderful and

beautiful act that anyone would ever do.

And to remember that it was it was done for us, for those of us

who have entered into the body of believers to look back on an

act that was meant for for us. It was meant for to cover my

sins and and to also serve as a reminder of the peaceful and

safe perfect Kingdom that awaits us where we get to spend

eternity with our Savior. Guys, it would be irreverent to

bring people in to participate in this, that we're not yet

participating in the common faith.

John 635 Jesus talking and says, Jesus said, I am the bread of

life. Whoever comes to me shall not

hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

The disciples were devoted to the Lord's Supper because it

reminded them of their fellowship with Jesus and with

another, with one another in Jesus.

And so we get to our final point, the last thing that's

listed in Acts 242 that the early church devoted themselves

to, which was a devotion to prayer.

Excuse me. And and prayer is a little bit

different in, in each of these other areas.

We experience something from each other through our common

relationship with Jesus. And although there's there,

there is value to corporate prayer, right prayer meetings

and and prayer groups. We have a prayer group that

meets at at 9:30 every Sunday morning down the hall, which

you're invited to. I'd like to see you next week.

But but there's value to all of that that we can benefit from

because, you know, our, our our prayers are are US communicating

to God. They aren't a way though they

aren't a way to passively aggressively say things to each

other under the guise that we're talking to God, right?

I think we've probably all experienced that a time or two.

They aren't a means for us to to brag about our own holiness like

the the Pharisee praying on the street corner.

So we pray together as a body for each other.

But does God hear all of our prayers?

I might challenge your beliefs about prayer here.

And first, John, well, so, so let me just say this prayer is

only for those who believe that God is personal and who want a

personal relationship with him. Christians know prayer works

because they have encountered a God who who declares talk to me

and I will listen, right. And the apostle?

John confirms this in in first John 5 verses 14 and 15 says,

1 John 5:14

and this is the confidence that we have toward him that if we

ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that

we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Now, in itself, that passage might seem to suggest that God

hears the prayers of everyone. And, and, and to a point I'd

agree. He knows everything.

So he knows what you know, what your requests and your prayers

are. But first, John was a a letter

written to Christians. So where it says we, we should

remember that, that it's a letter to the church calling

them to refine their their theological understanding and to

heighten their devotional intensity.

In the book of James, that was that was also written to

Christians, but in the in the context of, of delineating

between those truly living for God and those who were living

like the world but weren't actually following Jesus.

So in in James chapter 4 verse 3, it says when you ask, you do

James 4:3

not receive because you asked with wrong motives, that you may

spend what you get on your pleasures.

In Proverbs 28, nine, it says if anyone turns a deaf ear to my

instruction, even their prayers are detestable.

So in in that first one in James 4/3 it it says that our prayers

might not be answered. And in this one in Proverbs 28

it it it says that that God doesn't necessarily enjoy your

prayers right If you are rebellious.

And then in Isaiah 1, verse 15 says the Lord says when you

Isaiah 1:15

spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you.

Even when you offer many prayers, I'm not listening.

Your hands are full of blood as the the early church was devoted

to prayer because they wanted their hearts to be in line with

Jesus heart like like that Psalm that I mentioned earlier that

said that there's that their their souls pant for God like a

deer pants for a flowing stream. Prayer is is our wrecked hearts

crying out to God for for what only God can provide through

humility, not pride, not because he owes it to us right, but

because it's only him who can give it to us when we recognize

that our hearts are are are wrecked.

And so in closing in John 17 immediately before Jesus was

betrayed by Judas and and arrested by the soldiers and the

and the Pharisees and the scribes, Jesus prayed this in

verse 11 of of chapter 17. He said, Holy Father, protect

them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that

they may be one as we are one. This is Jesus, this is the Son

praying to the Father, distinctly different, yet

absolutely unified in the Godhead.

And that the prayer that he prayed, this intercessory

prayer, meaning that it was on our behalf that Jesus offered

moments before dying for his followers, was for unity amongst

them in him. And after his death and

resurrection, his gift to his followers was the church body.

Now, as we read in that that first quote that I shared early

on in the in the the message, it said he graciously chose a

particular people to bring back to himself.

He did not merely choose individuals, but he chose those

individuals to be gathered into a people, his church, to bring

them back to himself as a community of redeemed believers.

So my hope for you today is that you see in scripture that that

the church is not a chore forced upon us.

It's not a man made institution designed to exercise sinful

power and position. You might have read in some meme

on Facebook or something like that.

It is a God-given opportunity to live out the ideals and and the

principles that Jesus demonstrated every moment of his

life and an invitation to grow closer to him, to his to his

glory and, and, and for our good.

And we primarily focused today on, on what the early church was

devoted to in our message from, from verse 42 in, in Acts 2,

right? But, but in our Scripture

reading before the message, it went on to describe what

happened as a result of that devotion.

And, and it it said, so this would have been verses 43

through 47, it said. And awe came upon every soul,

and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles,

and all who believed were together and had all things in

common. And they were selling their

possessions and belongings and distributing the the the

proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the

temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they

received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising

God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to their number day by day, those who

were being saved. So our challenge then is to step

up our, our devotion to the apostles teaching and to

fellowship and to the breaking of bread, the Lord's Supper.

We'll do this next week here on, on Sunday morning and and our

devotion to prayer, right. And historically, we see that

that that God uses that devotion to grow his church.

We are the bride of Christ. We should we should be preparing

ourselves for the the coming groom.

It's not about our, our programming at church or our

digital resources or, or having services that that you know,

resemble a concert or a lounge act at a casino.

So let's demonstrate to God and the world that we are set apart,

that we are devoted to God's will rather than ours.

And let's see if the Lord adds to our numbers day by day, those

who are being saved. Will you guys pray with me?

Lord, I thank you for your for, for your body of believers.

I thank you for the people in this room or that you that you

picked that you gathered together to live life together

in your name because of you in a way to the best of our ability

to to to demonstrate those characteristics, those traits,

those examples that we saw in you.

Lord I as we as we continue to grow and moving into our second

year and subsequent years. Lord, I I ask that you would

continue to grow us that you would continue to to have us

look to to be looking joyfully and and I thirstily.

I don't know if that's a word thirstily towards the apostles

teaching that we would that we would crave your word and we

would crave hearing the preached word on the Lord's day.

Lord, that we would look forward to the gathering, to the

fellowship that we get to experience with one another and,

and, and, and really truly the mess that comes with that

sometimes because it's in that mess that we get to experience

those, those things like grace, have forgiveness, like I

mentioned earlier, or help us to look forward to the breaking of

bread together to the communion of looking back at your

sacrifice that you did that you gave for us all those years ago.

And looking forward to the Kingdom that we have for so many

for eternity to look forward to. And Lord, as we, as we pray,

help us, Lord, to be in tune with you to, to bear our hearts

with you. We know that you already know

what's in our heart. But Lord, help us to come to you

in, in knowing that communication is an important

part of a relationship, Lord, that we want to develop the

habit of sharing with you what's on our mind, our struggles, our

fears, our concerns, our hopes, our dreams, whatever it is.

But in order to, to tell you, Lord, what we feel and what we,

what we worry about, and then preparing our hearts as we go

back to your word to hear from you, Lord.

And we, we just hope that that through all of this, you use us

as a body to grow your body that you would continue in, in

pleasant view in North Ogden in Utah to help us to have

influence, to be able to reach people and grow your Kingdom

just like those, those disciples got to experience that amazing

growth of, of, of numbers in those in those early days.

And we know it's not about numbers.

But Lord, we want as many people as possible to know you and be

in relationship with you. And so we give this service to

you and the future of this church to you in Jesus name,

Amen.