True Fellowship.

They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42 NET

Who are the “they” Luke is referring to? All you have to do is look at the preceding verse to find out. “So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added” (Acts 2:41 NET). These were new converts to Christianity. Just after the miracle of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus, Peter had spoken to the crowd that had gathered. He presented them with the reality of their own sin and their need for a Savior. Then he shared the good news regarding Jesus Christ. “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 NET). And that one sermon resulted in 3,000 people accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

And these new believers were characterized by an excitement and fervor for their new-found faith. Luke describes them as having an ongoing devotion to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship with one another. As a result of the teaching they received and the fellowship they enjoyed, they regularly ate together and prayed for one another. It's important to remember that this crowd of new converts would have been made up of all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds. They had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and, as Luke indicates, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5 ESV). The text describes them as “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians” (Acts 2:9-11 ESV). This was a hodge-podge of people with different ethnic backgrounds who spoke different languages, and who suddenly found themselves sharing a new-found faith in Christ. Many of them would have been visitors to Jerusalem who had only intended to stay in town for the duration of the festival, but who now found themselves compelled to stay longer due to their unexpected encounter with Christ. They needed places to stay and food to eat. And Luke says, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing 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” (Acts 2:44-46 ESV).

Despite their differences, these people had a sense of community. Their faith in Christ bound them together. They had a shared hunger to learn more about Christ and so they listened intently as the disciples taught them the words of Jesus. They couldn't get enough. Luke uses the Greek word, proskartereō to describe them. It means “steadfastly attentive to.” They gathered together to enjoy fellowship with one another and instruction from Peter and the disciples. And they prayed. Luke doesn't tell us what they prayed for, but we have to assume that the content of their prayers ran the gamut. They most likely prayed for one another and for their lost friends and family members. They probably prayed for more converts, for God's provision of their needs, and for wisdom to know what to do next. Their worlds had been turned upside down and they would have been confused about what all this meant. But regardless of the content of their prayers, the fact is, they prayed – together. It was part of their fellowship together. It was a key element of their spiritual growth. Prayer is not just a private exercise, reserved for those moments when you can get alone with God. Prayer is to be a corporate and community experience. 

When we gather together as believers in Jesus Christ, we are to devote ourselves to prayer. We are to make prayer a part of our fellowship with one another. When we have fellow believers in our home, do we take time to pray? Do we share prayer requests with one another? Or do we simply spend our time talking about family, work, current events and other topics of interest? Our times together should be marked by prayer. Prayer invites God into our midst and reveals that we desire not only His power, but His presence. Prayer conveys our mutual dependence upon God. It is amazing to think how little we pray when we gather together with our believing friends. When we have people in our homes, we eat, drink, laugh, talk, and yet rarely take the time to pray for and with one another. We may pray over the meal, but we don't include God in our conversation. We don't invite Him into our circle of fellowship, acknowledging our need for Him and expressing our desire for Him.

It's interesting to note that the closing statement in chapter two of Acts is “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Could it be that this was in answer to their prayers? Because they gathered together, devoted themselves to learning more about Christ, shared all they had with one another and made prayer a regular part of their fellowship, God was growing their number. True Christian fellowship should always include prayer. Conversation about God will never replace conversation with God.

Hear Indiscriminately.

Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake  (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. – 1 Kings 8:41-43 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

It was Peter who wrote, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35 ESV). The apostle Paul seconded this sentiment when he wrote that God, “will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury … God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:6-8, 11 ESV). Solomon knew that God had chosen the people of Israel as His special possession. He was well aware of the fact that they enjoyed a unique relationship with God and were privileged to be called His people. But Solomon also understood that God was the God of all the nations. Their privileged position as His chosen people was in order that they might be a witness to the rest of the world. As they lived in obedience to God's commands and experienced His abiding presence and power, the nations around them would stand in awe and admiration. Long before the days of Solomon, Moses had told the people, “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8 ESV).

The relationship between God and His chosen people was not intended to be exclusive, but an example of what it meant for men to live in a right relationship with God. As those outside the nation of Israel watched God work among His people and act on their behalf. they would be intrigued and attracted. As they witnessed Israel's adherence to God's commands and jealously watched as He blessed them abundantly, some would find themselves drawn to Israel’s God. Converts to Judaism were a regular occurrence even during the days of Solomon. He knew that there were those from foreign lands who would turn to Yahweh, “for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm.” They would show up at the newly completed temple and pray to God, and when they did, Solomon asked that God would hear them indiscriminately. He knew his God to be accepting of all those who called on Him for His name's sake. Any who knew God to be the one true god and approached Him humbly and reverently would be heard by Him. But Solomon's request was based on his desire for God's glory and fame to be spread around the world and among the nations. He knew that when God heard and answered the prayers of even the non-Israelite, the news of God's gracious favor would spread. For Solomon this meant “that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel.” He wanted everyone to know, fear and worship God as he did. He desired for God to be known among the nations. His was not a biased and bigoted view that refused to share His God with others. He simply wanted the glory and greatness of his God to be known among all men.

It is interesting to juxtapose Solomon's outlook with that of the religious leaders in Jesus' day. They had become intolerant of and even hateful toward anyone who did not measure up to their exacting standards – Jew and Gentile alike. They looked down their noses at Jesus and the disciples. They despised the Romans. They treated the common people with derision. They were far more concerned with their own glory than they were with God's. Their reputations were far more important to them than His. Yet Solomon begged that God would hear the prayers of the foreigner indiscriminately and answer graciously and mercifully. Why? So that God's fame and glory might spread. Is that my desire? Do I want to see God's fame spread among the nations? Do I ask that God would hear the cries of all those who call out to Him, so that they might see the goodness and glory of God? Perhaps if we were more interested in God's glory being spread, we would care more interested in sharing the good news of God's grace among the nations. If we really wanted God's fame to fill the earth, we would more readily desire to see God's power to be revealed among all people. We would also want to see to it that we illustrated what it looks like to have the God of the universe intimately involved in the everyday affairs of life. We would want our lives to be a testimony to God's goodness, grace, and glory – “in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you.”

Re-enslaved.

Galatians 4:1-20

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (of should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? – Galatians 4:8-9 NET

Why would anyone who had been set free from slavery ever voluntarily subject themselves to it again? That is Paul's question in this section of his letter. He reminds the believers in Galatia that they were at one time slaves to the basic principles of this world. In other words, they had been subject to the sad state of affairs made possible by the fall. They had been under the constant influence and control of Satan, their own sinful flesh and the world. At one time they had been slaves to their so-called gods – gods that didn't even really exist. Theirs had been a pointless and hopeless existence attempting to search for release by turning to false gods that offered false hope. But Paul reminds them that "in the fulness of time" – at just the right time – God sent his Son to buy them freedom. Jesus Christ had bought them out of slavery and set them free. As a result, they were no longer slaves, but God's own children, adopted into His family. They knew the one true God and He knew them. But now, as a result of the influence of the Judaizers, these so-called Jewish believers who were attempting to convince the new converts in Galatia that they must keep the law and adhere to the rituals and requirements of Judaism, the Galatian Christians were becoming enslaved again. Paul accused them of "trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years" (Galatians 4:10 NLT).

Paul plead with them to live in freedom, not slavery. He begged them to not return to the same kind of slavery from which Christ had set them free. Paul's greatest desire was that Christ would be fully developed in their lives. But he knew that a return to those basic principles of this world would hinder their spiritual growth. Even as believers, we are all still under the influence of Satan, our sinful flesh, and the world. We can still fall prey to the temptation to earn favor with God through our own self-effort. The enemy would love nothing more than to enslave us again to a life of works and pride-based effort. He wants us to see God as a task-master who demands what we can't deliver. He wants us to live in fear of God, not as children, but as slaves. Satan doesn't want us to see ourselves as God's children, but as His powerless pawns, condemned to try to keep Him pleased in order to escape His punishment and earn His favor. But Paul won't stand for it. And while he can't personally visit them, he does the next best thing – he writes them and pleads with them. He speaks truth to them. He exposes those who would do harm to them. Because unless they learned to embrace their freedom in Christ, they would never truly grow in Christ. Those who see themselves as slaves will tend to live and act as slaves. But those who truly understand that they have been freed from the basic principles of this world will enjoy all that freedom brings. They will relish their status as children of God. They will take advantage of His indwelling Spirit and allow Him to do in them what they could never have done on their own.

Father, we live in a fallen world and we are surrounded by the basic principles of this world. Ever since the fall, mankind has been in a hopeless quest to rectify their relationship with You. They have been searching for You. They have been trying to figure out to fix all that is wrong with them and with the world in which they live. But You have provided the solution through Your own Son's death. You have set us free from having to search for a solution or from having to earn back Your favor. But it is so easy to fall back into that old mindset. It is so easy to think that nothing is free and we must do something to get You to love us. But it's all a lie. Keep us focused on the truth. Keep us aware of the fact that we are free in Christ. Amen.