Obeying & Praying!
FOLLOWING JESUS IN ACTS • Sermon • Submitted
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OBEYING
Acts 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
They obeyed their Lord’s commandment and returned to Jerusalem “with great joy” (Luke 24:52). It is likely that the group met in the Upper Room where the last Passover had been celebrated, but they were also found at worship in the temple (Luke 24:53).
Luke 24:52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.
GATHERING
13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
What a variety of people made up that first assembly of believers! There were men and women, apostles and “ordinary” people, and even members of the Lord’s earthly family (see Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). His “brethren” had not believed in Him during His ministry (John 7:5), but they did come to trust Him after the Resurrection (Acts 1:14). Mary was there as a member of the assembly, participating in worship and prayer along with the others. The center of their fellowship was the risen Christ, and all of them adored and magnified Him.
How easy it would have been for someone to bring division into this beautiful assembly of humble people! The members of the Lord’s family might have claimed special recognition, or Peter could have been criticized for his cowardly denial of the Saviour. Or perhaps Peter might have blamed John, because it was John who brought him into the high priest’s house (John 18:15–16). John might well have reminded the others that he had faithfully stood at the cross, and had even been chosen by the Saviour to care for His mother. But there was none of this. In fact, nobody was even arguing over who among them was the greatest!
The key phrase is “with one accord,” a phrase that is found six times in Acts (1:14; 2:1, 46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; and note also 2:44). There was among these believers a wonderful unity that bound them together in Christ (Ps. 133; Gal. 3:28), the kind of unity that Christians need today. “I do not want the walls of separation between different orders of Christians to be destroyed,” said the godly British preacher Rowland Hill, “but only lowered, that we may shake hands a little easier over them!”
It is not enough for Christians to have faith in the Lord; they must also BELIEVE IN AND RELY ON one another. To these 120 people (Acts 1:15) the Lord had given the solemn responsibility of bearing witness to a lost world, and none of them could do the job alone. They would experience severe persecution in the days ahead, and one of them, James, would lay down his life for Christ.
PRAYING
14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Prayer plays a significant role in the story of the church as recorded in the Book of Acts. The believers prayed for guidance in making decisions (Acts 1:15–26) and for courage to witness for Christ (Acts 4:23–31). In fact, prayer was a normal part of their daily ministry (Acts 2:42–47; 3:1; 6:4).
This is certainly a good lesson for the church today. Prayer is both the thermometer and the thermostat of the local church; for the “spiritual temperature” either goes up or down, depending on how God’s people pray.
For this group it was a time for praying together and standing together in the Lord. As they waited and worshiped together, they were being better prepared for the work that lay before them.
THE LEADING OF GOD:
THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’”; and “‘Let another take his office.’”
The Lord Jesus was no longer with them to give them personal directions, but they were not without the leading of the Lord, for they had the Word of God and prayer. In fact, the Word of God and prayer formed the foundation for the ministry of the church as recorded in the Book of Acts (Acts 6:4).
Peter has been criticized for taking charge, but I believe he was doing the will of God. Jesus had made it clear that Peter was to be their leader (Matt. 16:19; Luke 22:31–32; John 21:15–17). Peter was “first among equals,” but he was their recognized leader. His name is mentioned first in each listing of the Apostles, including Acts 1:13. So it was natural that Peter should take a leading role. Remember Spiritual Leadership is also one of God’s gifts to his people!
THE LEADING OF GOD:
THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
But should Peter and the others have waited until the Spirit had been given? We must not forget that the Lord had previously “breathed” on them and imparted the Spirit to them. John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.”
When the Spirit came at Pentecost, it was for the purpose of filling them with power and baptizing them into one body in Christ.
Also remember that the Lord had opened up their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). When Peter referred to Psalms 69:25 and 109:8, he was not doing this on his own, but was being led by the Spirit of God. These people definitely believed in the divine inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 1:16; and see 3:18; 4:25), and they also believed that these Scriptures had a practical application to their situation.
THE LEADING OF GOD:
THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF SELECTION
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
With all of that being said, you might ask, “But was it wrong for them to select a new apostle?” Some claim, “Well, Paul was the one who was really chosen by God to fill up the ranks. They chose Matthias and he was never heard of again!”
First let me say this, except for Peter and John, none of the original Twelve are mentioned by name in the Book of Acts after 1:13!
Secondly, Paul could not have “filled up the ranks” because he could never have met the divine qualifications laid down in Acts 1:21–22. Paul was not baptized by John the Baptist; he did not travel with the Apostles when Jesus was with them on earth; and, though he saw the glorified Christ, Paul was not a witness of the Resurrection as were the original Apostles.
Paul made it clear that he was not to be classified with the Twelve (1 Cor. 15:8; Gal. 1:15–24), and the Twelve knew it. If the Twelve thought that Paul was supposed to be one of them, they certainly did not show it! In fact, they refused to admit Paul into the Jerusalem fellowship until Barnabas came to his rescue! (Acts 9:26–27) The 12 Apostles ministered primarily to the twelve tribes of Israel, while Paul was sent to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:1–10).
No, Paul was not meant to be the twelfth apostle. Peter and the other believers were in the will of God when they selected Matthias, and God gave His endorsement to Matthias by empowering him with the same Spirit that was given to the other men whom Jesus had personally selected (Acts 2:1–4, 14).
It was necessary that twelve men witness at Pentecost to the twelve tribes of Israel. From Acts 2–7, the witness was primarily to Israel, “to the Jew first” (see Rom. 1:16;). Once the message had gone to the Gentiles (Acts 10–11), this Jewish emphasis began to decline.
When the Apostle James was martyred, he was not replaced (Acts 12). Why? Because the official witness to Israel was now completed and the message was going out to Jews and Gentiles alike. There was no more need for 12 Apostles to give witness to the twelve tribes of Israel. Besides, James didn’t desert his Apostleship, he remained faithful unto death!
Note that the believers prayed for God’s guidance before they “voted,” because they wanted to select the man that God had already chosen (Prov. 16:33). Their exalted Lord was working in them and through them from heaven. This is the last instance in the Bible of the casting of lots, and there is no reason why believers today should use this approach in determining God’s will. While it is not always easy to discover what God wants us to do, if we are willing to obey Him, He will reveal His will to us (John 7:17). What is important is that we follow the example of the early church by emphasizing the Word of God, prayer and the leading & empowering of the Holy Spirit.
With that dependence on the Word, Prayer and the Holy Spirit, the 120 believers turned their world upside down for Christ!
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