True Values: Commitment
Text: Acts 2:42
Introduction
1. What does it mean to be committed to something?
2. Webster’s Dictionary says that commitment is "the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled."
3. Perhaps we can look at it another way. There is a major difference between involvement and commitment? The best way to explain this is analogy between bacon and eggs. In bacon and eggs, the hen is involved but the pig is committed.
4. The Bohemian reformer John Hus was a man who believed the Scriptures to be the infallible and supreme authority in all matters. He died at the stake for that belief in Constance, Germany, on his forty-second birthday. As he refused a final plea to renounce his faith, Hus’s last words were, "What I taught with my lips, I seal with my blood."
5. The real question is how do we define commitment?
6. We need to ask the question today:
a. What is commitment?
b. To what should we commit ourselves?
7. Read Act 2:42
Proposition: We value commitment because it is what motivated the New Testament Church.
Transition: The first question we need to ask is...
I. What Is Commitment?
A. Devoted Themselves
1. To understand commitment, we must begin with a biblical definition of the term.
2. No one was more committed than the early church. Luke tells us that in the early church "All the believers devoted themselves..."
a. I would like to focus on the word "devoted."
b. The Greek word being translated here means "to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
c. This doesn’t sound to me like they took their relationship with the Lord casually.
d. Their relationship with the Lord was something that they continued to do with "an intense effort."
e. That means that no matter what they did for the Lord they poured all of their hearts into it.
3. Their devotion to the Lord and His church was not something that was second or even third place in their lives. It was the most important thing in their lives.
a. Exodus 20:2-6 (NLT)
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.
b. To make something more important than our relationship to God and our devotion to His church is nothing short of idolatry.
c. God will not accept second place in anything, and he must have first place in our lives.
d. If Jesus isn’t Lord of all, then he isn’t Lord at all!
4. Notice something else; it says that "all the believers" were devoted.
a. Typically, in most churches, 20% of the people do 80% of the work.
b. This is wrong! What it should say is that everyone in the church finds their place in the church and does their part.
c. 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT)
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
d. If one part of the body decides that I am not going to do my part, or I’m not going to show up today, then the whole body suffers.
B. Are You Committed?
1. Illustration: Twice in my ministry I have had people describe the church to me with alarming illustrations. One alluded to the church as a doctor’s care. "If you don’t like your doctor, you go to another one." The second compared the church to a fast food restaurant. "If you don’t like McDonald’s, you go to Burger King." Isn’t it said that we have reduced the church to convenience and cliché’s.
2. The biggest problem with the Church today is lack of commitment.
a. Recent surveys indicate that 80% of those who attend evangelical Christian churches say that the purpose of the church is for Christians to have a place to fellowship.
b. In other words, "Church is about me!"
c. No wonder we have Christians jumping from church to church.
d. No wonder we have reduced the church of Jesus Christ to cheap illustrations.
e. No wonder the church is shallow, unhealthy, and ineffective.
f. The church isn’t about me; it’s not about you; the church is about Jesus!
3. The reason that the Church struggles so much today is because of lack of commitment.
a. We can see this in the fact that on every given Sunday a third of the church is missing.
b. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
c. We can see this by the fact that fewer than 10% of Born Again Christians tithe.
d. A George Barna research report from 2000 indicates that less than 10% of Christians tithe.
e. We can see this in the fact that in the average church 20% of the people do 80% of the work.
4. Imagine what would happen if we learned the meaning of the word commitment.
a. Attendance would never be a problem because people would be compelled to be faithful to their church, and not go hopping from church to church looking for someone to tickle their ears.
b. Money would never be a problem because people would be faithful in tithing, and as a result, money would not be an issue.
c. Workers in the church would not be a problem because people would be standing in line for their turn to serve.
d. Evangelism would never be a problem because Christians would look upon sharing their faith as "I get to," rather than "I have to."
5. If we want what the early church had, then we need to start doing what the early church did.
a. The early church was successful because they were a devoted church.
b. The early church made a difference because they were a devoted church.
c. The early church saw miracles because they were a devoted church.
d. The early church experienced an out pouring of the Holy Spirit on a regular basis because they were a devoted church.
Transition: Now that we know that they were a committed church, let’s see what they were committed to.
II. To What Should We Commit Ourselves?
A. Learn
1. These new believers made four commitments; to learn, care, fellowship, and worship (Larkin, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Acts, 397).
2. The first thing on the list of things they devoted themselves to was the apostle’s teaching.
a. "This teaching was authoritative because it was the teaching of the Lord communicated through the apostles in the power of the Spirit" (F.F. Bruce, NICNT: The Book of Acts, 73).
b. If you recall, one of the directives that the Lord gave his disciples was "Matthew 28:20 (NLT) Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
c. Not only did they take a firm stand for Christ with the apostles, they also had a persistent desire for instruction (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
d. They had a hunger to learn more of God, and the best place to do that is in God’s written word.
3. This hunger to learn extended itself beyond the Jerusalem church as we can see in the writings of Paul.
a. To his young protégé, Timothy, he wrote, "2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT) Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth."
b. Later in that same letter, he told Timothy, "2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
c. Later in the same letter, he wrote, "2 Timothy 4:2 (NLT)
Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching."
4. Illustration: The Bible has often been described as ’Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth’ (B.I.B.L.E.) The Word of God is a road map of how to live life correctly.
5. It is hard to know God’s instructions for life if we do not read them.
a. Reading our bibles should be a basic a human need as eating, bathing, and brushing our teeth.
b. Reading our bibles feeds our souls. Even if we leave the house without eating breakfast, we should not leave the house without first feeding our souls.
c. We must be committed to God’s word.
B. Care
1. Another thing to which they were committed was caring for one another.
2. The phrase "breaking of bread," is seen by some to refer merely to the Lord’s Supper, however, since they would not be allowed to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in the Synagogue, they would celebrate in their homes and would include a common supper.
a. As such, they would be those in the congregation that had far less than others, therefore, those that had provided for those who had not.
b. In this way they cared for one another. They knew that they were in it together, so they took care of one another.
3. If you read further down you see that this is something that they lived by on a continuous basis. Starting in verse 44, it says "Acts 2:44-47 (NLT) And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."
a. Caring for one another wasn’t just a nice idea, but a way of living as well as a way of worship.
b. Illustration: In his book, The Yoke of Christ, Elton Trueblood quotes a letter from a school girl who probes the depth of her soul. She writes, "I’ve been thinking much this year about the importance of caring, of the passion of life. I’ve often realized that it takes courage to care. Caring is dangerous. It leaves you open to hurt and to looking like a fool. And perhaps it’s because they have been hurt so often that people are afraid to care. You can’t die if you’re not alive. And then who would rather be a stone? I have found many places in my own life where I keep a secret store of indifference as a sort of self-protection." That’s a penetrating insight -- a secret store of indifference. We’re to care, because Christ cared -- even though it means a cross.
c. If we are going to be a church that is committed to caring, then we have to care even when it is difficult.
d. We have to care even when others do not.
e. We have to care because Jesus cared.
C. Fellowship
1. A closely related concept is the idea of fellowship. "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship..."
a. Fellowship was experienced in the process of teaching. It was more than getting together. It was a partnership in the purposes of the Church and a sharing in its message and work (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
b. The word we translate fellowship is the Greek word koinonia, which is "an association involving close mutual relations and involvement (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
c. They were in it together. There was no us and them; there was just we.
2. Fellowship forbids an unattached Christian life.
a. Their fellowship is maintained because they "continue stedfastly" in the Scriptures and in worship.
b. An unattached Christian life is just impossible.
3. Christianity is first an individual matter, but then it becomes a social matter.
a. The Christian is attached to Christ individually, but he is also attached to other believers.
b. He walks with other believers in the Scriptures and in worship.
4. Illustration: Some of the most humorous and enlightening moments in our lives center around eating and drinking. Take for instance the interaction between a pastor and young boy in a certain congregation. It seems this particular congregation loved good fellowship and always served coffee after the sermon. One Sunday the pastor asks a little boy if he knew why they served the coffee. "I think," said the boy, "it’s to get the people awake before they drive home."
5. Fellowship is one of the signs of a healthy church.
a. A church where people cannot stand to be around one another is never a good thing.
b. A church where people would rather die then to sit next to brother so-in-so is not a healthy church.
c. You can be in a mega church with thousands of people, but if there is no sense of fellowship then something is wrong.
d. A church that loves to be together is a church where the Holy Spirit is moving and good things are happening.
D. Worship
1. A final thins that they were committed to was idea of worshiping together.
2. A key form of worship was spending time in prayer together. Luke tells us that "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
a. Prayer was as essential to their lives as breathing, eating, or walking.
b. Acts 4:24 (NLT)
When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
c. Acts 4:31 (NLT)
After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
d. Prayer "provides the key link between the exalted Lord in heaven and his body on earth, for by it he guides and strengthens his people" (Larkin, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, 397).
3. We should also notice that this was corporate prayer; not separate, individual prayer, but praying together as a church.
a. Also, notice that when they prayed together, they prayed out loud and simultaneously.
b. In Acts 4:24, notice the phrase "they lifted their voices together."
c. This wasn’t a situation where one person prayed and every one else sat there with the eyes and their mouths shut.
d. They all prayed out loud together.
4. Illustration: Billy Graham said, “Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask.” Have faith in the God of the dream; let’s ask God to bring the dream to completion. God’s answer is ready; it’s just waiting for our personal and persistent request.
5. For the Christian, prayer is not an option; it is a prerequisite.
a. Pray for strength
b. Pray for guidance
c. Pray for your leaders
d. Pray for the church
e. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven
Conclusion
1. Are you a committed Christian? If so, how committed are you?
2. What are you committed to?
a. Learning?
b. Caring?
c. Fellow shipping?
d. Worshipping?
3. God has called us all to make Him our ultimate commitment.
