Let's Practice Together
Way, Truth, Life: Discipleship as a Journey of • Sermon • Submitted
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SERMON TEXT
Acts 2:42–47
SERMON FORM
Intro, 3 Points, Celebration
Intro
Making a decision to become a Christ-follower is a momentous moment in our lives. Whether it happened during a revival service, at a camp, as a child during VBS, at home after reading some scripture, or at a coffee house after a talk with a friend. Wherever you come to that moment, whenever it occurs in your life, it changes everything! When we accept His offer of grace, we are drawn into that relationship with our heavenly father. It is a glorious moment, and we can rightfully declare that we are a child of the King. It’s something worth celebrating! But there is far more to grace than a moment of acceptance - there is a lifetime of living for Jesus that follows!
We’ve all probably encountered the person that we thought had made a lifetime decision to follow Christ, but has since turned their backs on that calling. Years ago, a band by the name of Sweet Comfort Band had a song called “You Led me to Believe.” It was a song that lamented that the person that had led the singer to Christ, had since turned away. It is a haunting song, because it talks about this one that had been so strong that others followed in their footsteps to faith in Christ, but they didn’t believe in Him anymore.
It happens far too often. Somebody makes a commitment to Christ in some emotional experience, but when the initial excitement wears off, they are always seeking out the next high. Now, I believe in the highs - I love revivals, and I love family camp and retreats. We need those times from time to time, but then the revival services end, the family camp is over, and we come home.
When those highs are over is when we put down the true roots of our faith. If we are going to go strong and continue in the faith, we have got to put down deep roots through our day to day and week to week faithfulness practice of the faith. Years ago, there was a professional basketball player that gained a great deal of notoriety because when he was asked about practice, he went on a rant about talking about practice. Yep, we’re talking about practice this morning - we’re talking about how we practice the faith together. Because if we don’t put down strong roots in our practice of faith, we won’t be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy.
Point 1: No Reductions
We like it when we can reduce things to the one thing that works. But there is not just one thing that sustains the grace that God gives to us. Let’s look at some of the things that people try to reduce our faith to. Too often, we have reduced the practice of faith to that “one thing.”
For some it’s an experience: Experiences can be fantastic! I love some of the spiritual experiences that I have had. We already talked a little bit about retreats, revivals and family camps - some of my best experiences have been Sr. High Camps! I used to be the Sr. High Camp director - and before that I was a counselor for many years at that camp. I can go back to certain places and somewhat relive the experiences. Experiences are great - but if we’re not careful, we can become addicted to experiences - we find ourselves living from mountain top to mountain top - but there is a lot of living that happens between the experiences - between the mountain tops! If our life in Christ is only defined by experiences, we will inevitably have times between those experiences when we don’t “feel” God, and we might even doubt the validity of our experiences!
For others it’s behaviors: sure, we received grace as a gift, but now we need to put into place all the rules and behaviors. Grace was a freeing gift. Our rules become our constraints on sinfulness, which often leads to legalism. Legalism can’t sustain a meaningful journey of grace.
For some it’s about knowledge: we sustain our faith and grace by having the right knowledge. We spend our lives learning, defending, and arguing propositional truths. It’s about the right interpretation of the Bible, the right theological doctrines. Right knowledge without a right heart will leave us wanting.
For others it’s about being super-spiritual: we believe that if we just get alone, read our Bible enough, pray enough, and volunteer for enough ministries, that will do it. We attack our spirituality with the same vigor soldiers attack their training. We become obsessive about our quiet time. We beat ourselves up for perceived failures of discipline. Soon we’ll become defeated.
The truth is that there’s nothing wrong with any of these. Experiences are good. Rules can be used to create helpful boundaries, we need to know what we believe, and spiritual disciplines play an important role. But none of these alone is sufficient to sustain us in our walk with Jesus. What we DO need in our relationship with Jesus is to participate in the:
Point 2: Means of Grace
God continues to relentlessly pursue us even after we have given ourselves entirely to Him. This is not just a life of a couple of moments in time, as important as they are. We respond to God’s wooing and receive His saving grace. You may have given Him your all as we talked about last week and received His sanctifying grace. But that sanctifying grace is more than just a moment of time. It is a lifestyle - the Holy Spirit continues to probe and prod - am I holding anything back from Him? “Holiness,” Dr. Busic says “is to be set apart for a holy purpose and to be so filled with the Spirit of Jesus that our mindset, motives, and attitudes are Christlike.” Sustaining grace continues in our lives as we continue to cooperate with the cleansing grace of God by reordering our lives according to the means of grace that will encourage growth in our spirit.
• Means of grace is the way we describe the methods by which God’s grace continues to work in our lives. I want to clarify that this is NOT some kind of works righteousness. You cannot earn your way into heaven or into a right relationship with God. But there are things that we can do and that we can participate in that will help us to grow in Christ! If we are going to have a relationship - any relationship, really - there is effort that is required. What we are talking about is what is sometimes referred to as spiritual disciplines. There are some things we can do to help encourage our growth in a relationship. That is true of any relationship - including our relationship with God and our growth in holiness. I love the E. Stanley Jones quote that Dr. Busic refers to: “You cannot attain salvation by disciplines—it is the gift of God. But you cannot retain it without disciplines.” Dr. Busic says: “means of grace are conduits of God’s transforming grace—those activities that channel the activity of God to us in the journey of grace.”
What we are talking about are some things that we do individually and lots of other things that we do as a community of faith.
Individual works of piety: This is not a complete list, but this includes things like reading and meditating on the scriptures, prayer, fasting, sharing our faith with others, returning God’s tithe and giving generously.
Communal works of piety include: worship experiences, participation in the sacraments (baptism & communion), accountability, bible studies, prayer meetings, retreats, family camps, etc.
All of these means of grace work together to help us to grow in holiness. Done over time, these things work together to sustain us in our relationship and allow God’s grace to continue to work out within us.
Engaging in means of grace isn’t only personal devotional time—it’s also helping the needy and living accountably in spiritual friendships.
Point 3: The Practice of Nurturing Grace in Acts 2
Let’s turn to today’s text.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
From their most formative moments, the members of the early church instituted consistent communal practices that were necessary to shape and sustain their lives in Christ.
They are together.
They experience God together.
They meet regularly together.
They are vulnerable together.
They practice the faith together.
They learn together.
They witness together.
Celebration
Typically, on the first Sunday of the month, we celebrate communion together. Yes, I know it’s not the first Sunday of the month, but we celebrate this morning, recognizing that this practice together is a practice of recognizing God’s sustaining grace.
Communion is a call to regularly remember and participate in the grace of God that has claimed our lives. It’s done collectively, reminding us that together as a community we are dependent on the grace of God.
It’s an act of receiving. We don’t take the elements but must receive them, remembering that all of life is a gift.
The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.
The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.
All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.
In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:
We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.
On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Matthew 26:27–29, Luke 22:19)
And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.
By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Before the partaking of the bread, let the minister say:
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
Before the partaking of the cup, let the minister say:
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
After we finish at the Table, we turn toward the world with the gift of grace still fresh on our lips.