Devoted ... to the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42).

When it comes to sharing the Lord’s Supper there are a number of questions that can be raised.

What?

What is it that we are sharing?  Is this actually Jesus’ body and blood?  I don’t think that would make any sense.  Remember that Jesus was sitting in front of the disciples when He said, ‘this is my body’ and ‘this is my blood’.  They could see His body and they could see the elements and they knew that he was using these bread and wine as a picture of his body and blood.

That being said, just because they are only symbols of Jesus’ body and blood should not make our attitude towards this meal any less reverent.  In the context of church discipline, the Jesus who is always with us said that he is with them when two are three are gathered.  I think that we should see this as a special time before the Lord.

Who?

This is a believer’s meal.  This is for those who have been born again.  This is for those who are in a living relationship with Christ.  But the apostle Paul warns us to examine ourselves before we partake (1 Cor. 11:28).  Are we walking in obedience?

Now all of us sin.  If we say that we don’t we are not born again (1 John 1:8).  We fall every day.  But there is a great difference between wrestling with sin and living in sin.  If you are not truly seeking the enabling of the Holy Spirit to overcome your sin, if you are unwilling to let Jesus rule your sex life or your willingness to forgive, then don’t take the Lord’s Supper.  It is dangerous for you.  You might get ill or even die, as God lovingly disciplines you (1 Cor. 11:30).  Don’t take the Lord’s Supper if you are not serious about letting God change you.

How often?

We share it on the second Sunday of every month.

Mark Dever says that there is no prescription of how often it should be shared.  The impression I get from reading the New Testament letters is that they shared it often.  Maybe that is a discussion for another day?

When?

In Wexford Bible Church they do it in the middle of their services.  I like that.  I do think that we need to be wary of being too prescriptive in how we structure our services.  We do the Lord’s Supper at the end.  One thing that is really important however is that we don’t rush it.  I know I have been time conscious and guilty of moving too quickly through the Lord’s Supper.

Theological problems

As you can already see there is a lot of potential debate about taking the Lord’s Supper.  One of the huge issues concerns the nature of how a person is made right with God.  In Roman Catholic theology, grace is seen as infused.  That means that when you take the ‘sacraments’ you are receiving grace.  The hope then is that at the end of your life you will have enough grace to be considered right with God.  Therefore, when we say, ‘don’t partake in the Lord’s Supper if you are not yet a Christian, it can be confusing, because taking the Lord’s Supper is something that you do in order to become a Christian.’  It is a different way of viewing both grace and salvation.

We believe that grace is imputed.  That means that becoming a Christian is not a process.  There is a moment when you were in the dark and come into the light.  There is a moment when you are converted or born again.  At that moment you receive saving grace.  You are as right with God the second you become a Christian and you are having walked with Jesus for decades.  The apostle Paul describes a great exchange where, ‘God made him to be sin who had no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor. 5:21).

I want us to look in five directions as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper:

1.       Look back.  Each of the four gospels tells us that the last supper was a Passover meal.  At the original Passover a lamb was killed so that God’s people could be rescued from slavery.  Jesus is our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).  He dies so we could be freed from the power and consequences of sin.  Look back to that cross.  This is how we know what love is, Christ died for us (1 John 3:16).

2.       Look up.  I think it is important that we remember that the Jesus who is always with us is with us as we remember His death and that He takes this event very seriously.

3.       Look in.  Because this is such a serious occasion we look in.  We examine ourselves.  Are we willing to let Jesus challenge our tongue?  How do we speak to and about people?  Are we quick and ready to forgive?  Do we grieve when our gentleness not evident to all?  Do we hide our sexual sins, including what we look at with our eyes, or do we turn to others for help as we confess our sins to each other?  Are we asking God for opportunities to speak to the lost?  Are we asking Him to teach us to pray?

4.       Look around.  I know that after Covid we are all a bit more cautious about shaking hands and hugging, but I think it is really important that we are at peace with each other, and it is a good thing to greet each other by saying, ‘peace be with you.’

5.       Look forward.  At the last supper Jesus told the disciples that ‘I will not drink with you again this fruit of the vine until I drink with you in the kingdom of God’ (Matt. 24:29).  This meal is to fill us with hope.  One day we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever and we will share in the wedding feast of the lamb.  As we share ask God to help us overcome our doubts and be confident of this future.       

Baptism and Filling with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)

 Before John Piper preaches he often prays that God would give him prophetic insights that would drive the truth home for his listeners.  On one occasion this happened in a dramatic way.

John was preaching on small groups and was reminding the congregation of the fact that you can set up a small group anywhere.  He encouraged people to think about trying investigative Bible studies with their non-Christian friends.  Then, off script, he gave an illustration.  'You might even work on the 34th floor of the IDS tower.  Maybe you should call your people together and have a small group meeting.'

After the service a woman approached him and asked, 'why did you say that?'
It turns out that she worked on the 34th story of the IDS building and had been praying about starting a small group.

In my diary a number of months ago, I wrote in capital letters, ‘Pentecost’.  In think that Pentecost is one of the dates in the church calendar that we tend to ignore.  It may be that we see some of the things that are done in the name of the Holy Spirit and they seem a bit chaotic.  Maybe we know of the divisions that have occurred in churches over certain gifts of the Spirit.  While we do not want to act with disorder, churches that are cautious like ours can be in danger of quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19).

We are in a series on Acts and I want to look at what Luke’s two books—Luke’s gospel and Acts say about the person of the Holy Spirit.  As I studied this I realised how important this is for us as we seek to church plant over the next couple of years.  In Acts one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to equip the church for mission.

1.     1.  The Holy Spirit prepares us for mission

Back near the beginning of Luke’s gospel John the Baptist is baptising and he declares that while he was baptising with water there would come after him one who baptises with ‘the Holy Spirit and fire’ (3:15-17).

Later in Luke, after Jesus speaks of asking and receiving he teaches, ‘if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!’ (Luke 11:13).  We are to desire the Holy Spirit.

Jesus teaches the disciples that when they are under pressure the Holy Spirit will tell them what to say.  The person of the Holy Spirit is essential to the mission of the church (Luke 12:12).

Then, at the beginning of Acts, the risen Jesus tells the small group of Christians, ‘but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).  Again, we see that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is central to their mission.  Just notice how Peter, who denied Jesus, speaks courageously after Pentecost.

2.      2. Pentecost was a unique moment in God’s plan

On the day of Pentecost, a feast that took place fifty days after the Passover, there were Jews from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem.  The one hundred and twenty or so believers were gathered in one place.  ‘Suddenly a sound like the lowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them’ (Acts 2:2-4).

It is interesting that these tongues are slightly different from those that Paul writes about in Corinthians.  Those tongues in Corinthians needed someone with the gift of interpretation to understand what was being said—which would seem to suggest that they were not human languages.  Here at Pentecost people hear the Christians speaking in recognisable human languages.  It should be noted too that what is happening here seems to be a reversal of the curse after the tower of Babel.  After babel people were divided by languages.  Now they are being united.

After Peter speaks to the gathered crowd he tells them to ‘repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.  And you will receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).  Receiving the Spirit seems to be tied with becoming a Christian and there is no mention of the large group of new Christian speaking in other languages.

My understanding is that the day of Pentecost was a unique moment in the history of God’s plan, and that since then we receive the Holy Spirit when we become a Christian.  In other words, I am not looking for a separate event of being baptised in the Holy Spirit after you become a Christian.  I think that this fits with the fact that the New Testament letters don’t go on urging the Christians to seek a second experience of ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit.’  In fact, Paul writes to the Corinthians explaining that, ‘we are all baptised with one Spirit to form one body’ (1 Cor. 12:13a).

Some people teach that not only is baptism in the Holy Spirit is a secondary experience but that it is authenticated by the gift of tongues.  However, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was accompanied by tongues of fire and tongues that were actual languages.  Also, Paul clearly teaches the Corinthians that the gift of tongues, is not meant for all Christians.  In pointing out that different Christians receive different gifts that while to one person one gift may be given ‘to another the speaking of different kinds of tongues’ (1 Cor. 12:10).  Similarly, he asks, ‘do all speak in tongues?’  It is a rhetorical question, the answer to which is clearly ‘No!’ (1 Cor. 12:30).

But what about those occasions in Acts where being baptised in the Holy Spirit does happen as a second experience after conversion?  In Acts 8 we have what we might call ‘the Samaritan Pentecost’.  There Philip is speaking in Samaria, but the beliers do not receive the Holy Spirit until Peter and John come from Jerusalem and lay hands on them.  It seems that God was delaying the Spirit on this occasion for the sake of unity.  These were Samaritans—hated by the Jews.  This unusual event demonstrates that Samaritans will be accepted on the same basis as Jews.  Something similar happens in chapters ten and eleven, to show that gentile believers as to be accepted wholly into the church.  Chapter nineteen, with Paul in Ephesus, deals with a highly unusual people who had become believers through John the Baptist’s ministry and had not even heard of the person of the Holy Spirit.

 3.  But we must keep on seeking to be filled with the Spirit.

On the day of Pentecost, when Peter gets up to explain what was going on with people speaking in various languages, he begins by saying, ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people’ (Acts 2:17).  He is quoting the book of Joel.  The last days are the period of time from the resurrection of Jesus until the return of Jesus.  That means we are in the last days now. 

What can we expect during these last days?  ‘Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, you old men will dream dreams, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophecy’ (Acts 2:17-18).

In First Corinthians, Paul explains that prophecy will cease and tongues will be stilled when the completeness comes … when we see face to face … when we are fully known (1 Cor. 13:8-12).  I think this completeness refers to Jesus’ return.  So, we can expect to see such things now.

While the baptism of the Holy Spirit might refer to becoming a Christian, Paul told the Ephesians to keep on being filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18).  In that case that filling is associated with how we speak to each other.  Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit and faith—we should aim to be people who demonstrate the Spirit’s power over us (Acts 6:5).  That great encourager, Barnabas, was also referred to as being full of the Spirt and faith (11:24).

Remember too that the Holy Spirit in Acts is associated with power for mission.  When Peter and John told the church of the threats that had been made against them they all cried out to God in prayer and the Holy Spirit filled them, enabling the to speak the Word of God with courage (Acts 4:31).

Conclusions:

While we all might know of situations in charismatic churches where there was an element of craziness, Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that for most conservative church es is that we respond by quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19).  In the church at Corinth there was the misuse of the gift of tongues.  There were those who wanted to stop this misuse by forbidding tongue-speaking (1 Cor. 14:39).  In fact, Paul spoke of using the gifts with a sense of order and, most importantly, with an attitude of love.  One challenge I feel as we read about how are gatherings are to be guided by the Spirit is where Paul writes that, ‘when you come together, each of you has a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation’ (1 Cor. 14:28).  I think we need to find time to allow people share what God has been putting on their hearts.

I have said that in Acts the Holy Spirit is connected with mission.  This is so important as we think about church planting.  It was during a time of worship and fasting that the Holy Spirit told the leaders to put aside Paul and Barnabas for the work that He had called them to (Acts 13:1-2).  Luke says that when Paul and his team tried to enter Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus would not let them (Acts 16:7).  We want the Holy Spirit to close some doors so that we can be guided to where He wants us to go.  Paul also spoke about being compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22).  We want to use common sense when it comes to the mission of the church, but we must not only depend on common sense.  We need to pray, and pray together.

In 'God's Love Compels Us', Mack Stiles tells the story of Nastaran:

Nastaran is a good friend and colleague in ministry.  She's an Iranian who grew up in Tehran.  At seventeen, she was a good Muslim girl: she had never seen a Bible, never sung a hymn, and never been inside a church.  But one day, as she was taking a shower, she heard a voice say, "I am going to wash away your sin."

She didn't know who that was, so she went to the mosque and asked her Iman about the voice.  Her Iman said, "that was Jesus, he is the only prophet who talks that way.  Nastaran said, "Thank you,", and went home.  Not long after this, a woman came to Nastaran with the message of the gospel.  Nastaran was ready to hear, and received it with joy.  So started an amazing journey of faith and ministry, along with her husband, Yuna.'   

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance and filling to show us those we are called to reach and to give us the courage to speak to them with clarity and courage.    

Devoted to … the fellowship (Acts 2:42)

 

Devoted to … the fellowship (Acts 2:42)

Core statement: ‘God is glorified when a diverse people love each other well in Christ’.

Have you ever thought to yourself ‘what is the purpose of the church’?  I think that the purpose of the church is that we would display the beauty of Jesus.  This is done as diverse people love each other well in Christ.

There are many things that can divide us.  We could argue over political views and sports.  We have different tastes and styles.  But when diverse people who look different or are from different backgrounds love each other well in Christ then the world sees something of the beauty of Jesus in our lives.

In our church at Limerick Baptist we have people from over twenty nationalities.  In the last dozen years or so we have had people from over forty countries.  Then remember that within those countries are people from different tribal groups.  We also want to try and develop a church that appeals to all age groups and economic backgrounds.  Such diversity shows that God is faithful.

You see all the way back in Genesis (12:1-3) God made a promise to a man called Abram telling him that through his line all the nations of the world would be blessed.  Jesus was his descendent and sent His followers to preach the good news to all nations.  One day we will be gathered around His throne with people from every nationalist (Rev. 7:9).  Look around your church and see people who are from a different background than yours and that evidence that God is faithful to these promises.  Aim at, and celebrate, ethnic diversity.

One of the things that God put on my heart was the Biblical idea of bearing with each other (Col. 3:13).  Love bears all things (1 Cor. 13:7).  The fact of the matter is that bearing with each other takes effort.  I think that the opposite of bearing with one another in love is not just out-and-out hostility but simply keeping other people at a distance.  Note that ‘they devoted themselves’ to the fellowship.  It means to steadfastly continue.  It takes effort to devote yourself to people with a different sense of humour and different opinions.

1.       If we can learn to naturally about our faith we will see how much we have in common

Our reading takes place after the day of Pentecost.  That was a feast that took place fifty days after the Passover.  Jerusalem was full of people from all over the world.  There were Jews from many countries, and among them people who had become Jews from non-Jewish backgrounds.  In other words, these people were different from each other.  Then Peter preaches and three thousand are added to the church.  The church began in diversity.  Indeed, the book of Acts will deal with how Gentiles (non-Jews) become full members of the church.  Acts shows us diverse people loving to love each other well because of their love for Jesus.  Such a church displays the beauty of Jesus.

But you might think that given my cultural background and their cultural background, I don’t have much in common with that person in my church.  That is not true!  If you share a love for Jesus then you have almost everything in common with them.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a preacher in London in the second half of the last century.  London was full of diverse people and the church he pastored church attracted many visitors.  He used to go to his study after the service and invite anyone to join him there who wanted to talk about spiritual concerns.  He later observed, ‘when they came in, I knew them and they knew me.’  It was not that they had ever met before, but they knew that they were of the family of Christ.

Learn to talk naturally about your faith and you will see how much you have in common with other Christians.

2.        Love grows as we embrace vulnerability

Back to Genesis.  In the garden of Eden everything was good, except that it was not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18).  God in His kindness puts the lonely in families (Ps. 68:6).  Jesus identifies His people as brothers and sisters and mothers (Matt. 12:49).  You might not get on with your biological family and you might be single all your life, but God has given us each other to be family.  We need to do such family well.  I heard a church growth person say that church is not family, but that is not true, our brothers and sisters in Christ are our closest family.

Notice how this church in Acts loved meeting with each other.  They met in the temple and in each other’s homes.  Tim Keller suggests that they enjoyed being with each other so much that having to separate and go about the other routines of life were a bit of a pain for them.

There is a key to such community.  If we are going to have to be vulnerable.

I have this theory.  In Ireland, when we drive our cars, and we come to a blockage in the road where only one car can go, we would rather let the other person go rather than have them give way for us.  We like to be the person doing the favour.  I think the same thing can happen in our prayer life.  We would rather be the strong person who prayers for others than be the broken person that needs prayer.  But we all have vulnerabilities.  Don’t expect church to grow in depth if you are never willing to be weak!

You are not the only person in this church who struggles with anxiety or depression.  You are not the only person in this church who is worried about wayward children.  You are not the only person in this church who feels defeated by a besetting sin.  You are not the only person in this church who has health issues.  We all have burdens and fellowship will grow when we realise that we need each other. 

I have said to our prayer team, ‘if you are not willing to be on the receiving end of prayer then you are not ready to offer prayers to others.’  Jesus knew what it was to be weak.  He did not hide His tears.

3.       Fellowship is focused of Jesus

‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching’.  Those who had been with Jesus teach what was taught to them.  Jesus gave a gospel of love for sinful people.

‘They devoted themselves to the braking of bread’.  What was that about?  It was about Jesus.  They constantly remembered that Jesus’ body was broken on the cross so that we could be made whole again.

Jesus was the centre of their fellowship.  If you don’t know Him yet He invites you to experience His life transforming forgiveness.  He promises never to turn away who comes to Him (John 6:37).  No one is so together that they don’t need Him.  No one is so broken and messed up that He won’t have them. 

Conclusion

I want to finish with two quotes.

‘You can’t praise Jesus’ dying for you if you are indifferent towards His people.  You are not walking close to people if you keep His people at arm’s length.

‘If no one offends you, how will you show them grace?’  (Miquais Melo).

The church’s calling is to display the beauty of Jesus.  This is done when a diverse people love each other out of love for Him.

Devoted … apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42)

Captain Siva was a young man working as a pitot for Malaysian Airlines.  He was from a Hindu background.  While in a hotel in east Malaysia he had an urge to read the Gideon Bible in his room.  He began at Genesis and encountered a God who is our creator and who is personal.  He had never thought of God in personal terms before.

Over the next months he came across other Bibles and kept reading.  One text that stood out to him was when God says in Isaiah that it is abomination to worship idols.  As a Hindu he had worshipped many idols.

Then in the early hours of August 17^th 1980, as his wife was giving birth to their daughter Rachel, he prayed.  ‘Here I am in the middle of the night reading your word.  Are you speaking to me?’  He heard no voice but, in his heart, he knew God was saying to him, ‘I am your Father.’

As his daughter came into the world Siva declared, ‘as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’  He has been living for God ever since.

When we read the book of Acts we see that the word of God has a power all of its own.  ‘So, the word of God spread’ (Acts 6:7).  ‘The Word continued to spread and flourish’ (Acts 12:24).  ‘The word spread through the whole region’ (Acts 13:49).  ‘In this way the Word of God spread widely and grew in power’ (Acts 19:20).  One of the key themes of this book is that the word of God spreads with an unstoppable force.

In the sixteenth-century Martin Luther rediscovered the simple gospel of grace as he turned back to the word of God.  That discovery changed the face of Europe.   His sidekick was called Philip Melanchthon.  When Luther was asked how they made such an impact, he replied, ‘myself and Philip drank our beer, the word did the rest.’ 

The word is the foundation of the church

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.

We can see an example of the apostles’ teaching earlier in this chapter.  Peter got up and explained to a Jewish crowd that the scriptures pointed to Jesus.  He centred his words on the cross and the resurrection.  Then there was a response.

Paul would later be added to that unique group of first-century apostles.  He would sum up all that he taught by declaring, ‘we preach Christ crucified’ (1 Cor. 1:23).

Remember that this is Luke’s second book.  In his first, the gospel of Luke, the risen Jesus opens His followers’ eyes to see that all of the Bible points to Him, and in particular to the fact that He would die and rise from the dead (Luke 24:27 and 47).

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he declares that the church is God’s household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20).  Take away Christ crucified and you are undermining the very foundation of the church.  Everything is likely to collapse!

I remember reading about the Methodist church in Cuba.  While the Methodist church in north America and Great Britain are rapidly contracting, it is flourishing.  Reading that article, I concluded that churches which are truly healthy are those with a genuine openness to the person and work of the Holy Spirit and a glad dependence on the Word that He inspired.

The word is the food that sustains us 

Speaking to the elders at Ephesus the apostle Paul committed them ‘to the word of grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among the sanctified’ (Acts 20:32).  As we saturate ourselves in the word we will change and our fellowship will change.

I love what Paul said to the church at Thessalonica.  He spoke of the word which is at work in those who believe (1 Thess. 2:13).  The apostle Peter also spoke about the health that comes through God’s word.  ‘Like new born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you might grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good’ (1 Peter 2:2-3).  The writer to the Hebrews wrote that ‘the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart’ (Heb. 4:12).  It has often been said, ‘don’t just read the word, let the word read you.’  We mature in Christ as the Bible takes more of a hold on our minds.

The word is the focus of our mission

While it was the apostles who were uniquely given the message of Jesus that we record in our New Testament, it was not only the apostles who used in spreading the word.  That is a task for all of us.

In Acts 8, after Stephen has been martyred, all but the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  What did these ordinary Christians do?  ‘Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went’ (Acts 8:8).  Our job is to preach the word in our homes, our workplaces, our neighbourhoods and even on our holidays.  We all feel intimidated about that task, but remember what the Christians did when they were told that they might be persecuted if they spoke about Jesus.  They prayed, then they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with courage (Acts 4:31).

5 Challenges

1.       Sit under the word.  Martin Luther wrote to one of his opponents saying, ‘the difference between you and me is that you stand above God’s word and judge it, whereas I sit underneath God’s word and let it judge me.

We are far more shaped by our culture than we realise.  Indeed, our culture’s opinions change all the time.  There are things that our culture takes as normal that fifty years ago would never have been accepted.  There are things that our culture will believe in fifty years that would seem strange in our day.  God’s word is a standard that is eternal and unchanging.

Don’t be surprised when the Bible differs with what we would like to believe.  Don’t be ashamed to hold to truths that are unpopular.  Ask God to help us see things the way He sees them.

    Don’t just be sound and loveless.  When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth he addressed the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols.  There was a right and wrong in this issue.  Yet those who were right were looking down on those who were wrong.  Those who knew they had the freedom to eat such meet were judging those whose consciences were too sensitive.  So, he said that while knowledge puffs up love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1).  It is possible to have better theology than someone, but be walking further than God from them.  It can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting to argue about every secondary issue in the Bible while not addressing great failings in your relationships. 

3.       Get a balanced diet.  I am going to suggest that when preachers are sharing their text with the person organising the service they chose both an Old Testament and a New Testament reading.  When you read the Bible be confident to simply read the text as it is—it is clear enough to read without devotional aids.  However, at times, dig deeper.  Get a good commentary and see what can be learned by experts who know the original languages and who have a greater understanding of how the text fits into the Bible’s big picture.  Read on your own and read with other people—I love to hear of people reading books together, add into that time to read some of the bible together too.

4.       Read dependently.  One of the things that gives us assurance that we really are Christians is that we see Jesus in the Bible and we are willing to let the Bible leads us.  The truth is spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14).  You can not its facts without the Holy Spirit (James 2:19), but it is only the Holy Spirit who makes us live this way.  Pray before you read the Bible that your eyes and ears will be open.  Be open to the fact that the Holy Spirit will often underline verses to you and bring back biblical ideas to you mind (John 14:26).  

5.       Learn a gospel definition and pray for the opportunity to share it.  The whole of the apostles’ teaching can be summarised with, ‘I preach Christ crucified’.  How would you explain what Christ-crucified means in five sentences?  Figure that out and then pray that you will get opportunities to tell people what you believe.  

‘These are the ones I look on with favour; those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word’ (Is. 66:2).

 ‘The calling of Limerick Baptist Church is to display the beauty of Jesus as a diverse people love each other well in Christ, seek to become a house of prayer for the nations, building upon the foundations of God’s word as they constantly recall the death and resurrection of Christ.’

Devoted to ... the prayers (Acts 2:42)

The tenth mark of a healthy church

Myself, John and Edwin had a marvellous time in Cork a couple of months ago when we went to hear a pastor called Mark Dever.  Mark is the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, in Washington D. C..

Mark is one of these larger-than-life figures who is incredibly knowledgeable and brilliantly gifted.  He is also a man with very strong in his opinions.  We loved Mark and learned a lot.

Mark wrote a book entitled, ‘Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.’  Which includes an emphasis on things like expositional teaching, a biblical understanding of conversion and biblical church discipline. 

I heard Mark a couple of weeks later at the Irish Baptist Pastors’ Conference.  Again, he was excellent.

At Irish Pastors’ Conference I was browsing the bookstall when I heard one guy ask Mark a probing question.  ‘What would you say to those who criticise the nine marks book for not including prayer as one of the marks of a healthy church?’  I suspect I saw a little irritation on Mark’s face, who responded that prayer lay behind each of the nine marks.

I was tempted to call this sermon ‘The Tenth Mark of a Healthy Church.’

A house of prayer for the nations

We are looking at the church in Acts to help us think of our vision for Limerick Baptist Church.  Last time I said that the goal of our church should be to display the beauty of Jesus.  This, I said, was most effectively done when a diverse group of people love each other well in Christ.  ‘They devoted themselves to the fellowship’ (Acts 2:42). 

Now we see that they also devoted themselves to ‘the prayers.’ 

I want us to fulfil our calling to be a house of prayer for the nations (Is. 56:7, Jer. 7:11, Mk. 11:17, Mt. 21:13).  This ‘house’ is no longer a building, like the temple in the Old Testament, but a people, a household, a family.  ‘You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Pt. 2:5). 

Prayer is to be central to who we are as a church.

They devoted themselves to … the prayers

I just want to make a few comments on our reading from Acts before presenting five challenges.

‘They’ devoted themselves to the prayers.  They prayed together.  When Jesus taught the disciples to pray He began ‘our’ Father.  Look at the beautiful picture of Paul praying while under house arrest with those in Rome.  He writes to the Colossian Christians saying ‘since the day we heard about you we have not stopped praying for you’ (Col. 1:9).  Imagine those men huddled together praying for Christians in Colossae.  Paul and his helpers prayed together.  We don’t have a prayer life if we never pray on our own.  We don’t have a complete prayer life if we don’t pray regularly with others.

They ‘devoted’ themselves to the prayers.  As Eoin pointed out when he led a couple of weeks ago, being ‘devoted’ means to ‘steadfastly continue.’  Don’t lose heart.  Prayer can be a struggle.  We are living in a world filled with distractions and our attention spans are shrinking.  But our church will sparkle as we learn to pray well.

They devoted themselves to ‘the’ prayers.  Perhaps they observed the Jewish pattern of praying morning, noon and evening.  They set aside times to pray together.  They may have incorporated the Lord’s prayer, which by the second century was prescribed for use three times a day.  We need to have set aside prayer times, not only as a church, but as individuals.

Prayer is the lifeblood of the church

Acts is full of prayer.  ‘They joined together constantly in prayer’ as they waited for Pentecost (1:14).  They prayed before making decisions, like choosing the replacement of Judas (1:24).  They prayed when they were under pressure, and the Holy Spirit filled them so that they could speak the word of God with courage (4:31).  Deacons were appointed so that the apostles could devote themselves to the word and prayer (6:4).  They prayed over the deacons they appointed (6:6).  It was during a time of worshipping and fasting when the Holy Spirit guided their multi-ethnic leaders to set aside Paul and Barnabas for a missionary journey (13:1-2).  Prayer needs to be the lifeblood of our church. 

Prayer and the gospel

Let me briefly outline the gospel in terms of prayer.  Humankind was created for intimacy with God—to walk and talk with Him in a garden.  But we turned our backs on Him and wanted to be our own gods.  Therefore, the conversation became strained.  By nature we are now enemies of God.  Our hearts are naturally resistant to His love.  While many people pray, they tend to pray to a vague deity who simply exists to meet their selfish desires.

Jesus stepped into our world as a praying man.  He depended on His Father.  He taught us how to pray.  Yet as He died for our guilt it was as if His prayer was not answered.  ‘My God, my God why do you forsake me?’  God is under no obligation to listen to people who do not follow Him.  Yet as followers of Jesus we are invited to ‘approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).

Prayer is the great privilege of the Christian.  In fact, prayer is the air we breath to live the Christian life!       

5 Challenges to become a praying church

To help us become a praying church I want to give five challenges.

Increase the time of prayer during our meetings:

‘If local churches were to bow down before God every Sunday for ten or twenty or thirty minutes, what might God be free to do?’ (John Stott). 

My confidence in prayer during the service was damaged when I asked a teenager what she thought of church.  She said the prayers of intersession were boring.  But we don’t come to church to be entertained, but to encourage each other to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24).  As a house of prayer for the nations, prayer is a serious responsibility.

I would challenge those who lead the services to aim at fifteen minutes of praying during our meeting.  That’s not all in one lump of prayer, but spread out.  I would also say that we need to be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit by putting a time on how long we pray for.

Over the last couple of years, it seems like the times of intersessions have deepened.  It is clear that those who have been asked to pray are not simply praying off the top of their heads but have thought and prepared to led us in this part of our time together.

Change the direction of the meeting: 

We tend to work towards the sermon and finish quickly after the sermon.  However, we should respond to the preaching in prayer.  Teaching can fuel our prayers.  Prayer is possibly the most important thing we do as we gather.  We need to aim to start the sermon earlier and leave more time after the sermon to pray.

It can be hard to get out of the house in the morning, and it might be especially difficult to get here early if you have young children.  But I would love to see people gathering in the hall at 10:15 to pray for half an hour before we begin to welcome people. 

I also long for the day when it becomes quite natural for people to go to the prayer room after the service and receive the prayer they need to face the trials we all face.

Restore the Lord’s Prayer: 

When the disciples asked Jesus saying, ‘teach us to pray’, He gave us a model prayer.  That prayer should shape the way we pray.  I also think it is valuable to pray this prayer together.  I think that we should pray it from the screen so that those who are new to the faith don’t feel left out.  I also like praying it from the screen as I have often left out bits as I have led this prayer.

Last week I was preaching in another church.  The person who was leading led us in a Puritan prayer from a book called ‘The Valley of Vision’.  It was lovely!  When we did the Rooted course one of the things that people loved was to study church history.  It is wonderful to remind ourselves that we are a part of a family that has a long history.  While we do not pray to the saints of old, we can pray with the saints of old.  I think that we should also seek to find prayers from other lands so that we can pray globally.

Pray better during the week: 

In evangelical churches the tradition used to be that of a midweek prayer meeting.  In the later part of the last century these were replaced with home groups.  Small groups are good, and we encourage everyone to be a part of one.  But they need to be seen as prayer groups more than study groups.

Church’s like ours put a good emphasis on teaching.  But there can be a temptation to rush prayer in our small groups.  I am probably the most guilty of this.  I often let the study time run on and then just have us rap up in prayer. 

I would suggest that we work to make the prayer time the main part of our small groups.  Also, don’t just pray for the needs of those in your group but also the mission of this church and the mission global church.  Perhaps you could do things like having one person set aside to give updates on the persecuted church or outreach to the Muslim world.

If you haven’t attended one of the prayer evenings that Amy and Conor have been running I really would encourage you.  They will really encourage you.  This is something we want to grow and become a core part of who we are.

Be real and vulnerable:

Praying with people involves an atmosphere of grace.  We are called to confess our sins to each other, and then we get the beauty of assuring each other of God’s forgiveness.  We need to pray with people for help with those sins that seem to beset us.  But we will never feel safe to pray with people who seem always to be criticising.  Develop true friendship with gracious and loving people that you can pray with honestly and who can maintain your trust.

Conclusion

Over the last few years God has blessed us with growth.  We are at a point when I believe we are being challenged to take the next step.  But what does that next step involve?  I think that there are three things we need to do: define, refine and replicate.

Define:  Who are we as a church?  What are our values?  What do we think are the ingredients of a healthy church?  This series is a part of the defining process.  It is also a part of the refining process.

Refine:  How can we grow in health?  Where are we weak?  What do we need to do better?  This morning we are being challenged to answer the call to be a house of prayer for the nations.

Replicate:  The Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland sees itself as a church-planting network.  Once we have decided on who we should be as a church then we want to spread by establishing like-minded fellowships.  This will need to involve a lot of prayer.  We need to ask God to close certain doors and open others.  We need sanctified common sense that is bathed in prayer as we examine such questions as: Where is the greatest need?  Where do we already have people located?  How can we establish churches that are intimate and local?

So far, the mission statement we are working on looks like this: ‘Limerick Baptist Church seeks to reflect the beauty of Jesus as a diverse community of Christians love each other well and serve Him as a house of prayer for the nations.’