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Acts 1:12-26
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 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.1
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 headlong2 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.’
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.
[1] 1:14
[2] 1:18
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Our passage for the night is acts chapter 1 beginning in verse 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem. A Sabbath day's journey away.
Jeffrey Heine:And when
Speaker 1: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. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers. The company of persons was in all about a 120.
Speaker 1:And said, brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas. He became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. 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. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language, achil dama, that is filled of blood. 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.
Speaker 1:So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us 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. And they put forward 2 Joseph called Barsabbas who was also called Justice and Matthias. And they prayed and said, you, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these 2 you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place. And they cast lots for them and the lot fell on Matthias and he was numbered with the 11 apostles. This is the word of the lord.
Jeffrey Heine:Thanks be to god. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you that you are faithful to it. Lord, I pray that you would teach us tonight that we would hear from you because we are desperate to hear from you.
Jeffrey Heine:Lord, that you would confront us with your truth, that you would challenge us and change us and transform us to be more like your son, our savior. We pray these things in his name and for his name here and around the world. In acts and, and something that Joel brought up early on, early on or we're in chapter 1. So not not all that long ago. So hopefully you can remember this.
Jeffrey Heine:He he brought up the this question. He asked, you know, are we supposed to understand acts descriptively, like church history? These these things happened. Or are we supposed to really read it prescriptively? Like like this is something that we should see here today among us.
Jeffrey Heine:And and I think that that's a really important question, especially in something like acts, a question worth asking. And so really that's the way that we are going to walk through this tonight. We're gonna look at this descriptively, the events that took place, the church history side, this early church gathering, and what happened. And then we're also going to look at it prescriptively. What really applies today?
Jeffrey Heine:Now see, both of them matter today. Like, it matters what happened then, even though it might not feel like it. You know, you can't really read that utilitarian mindset. Like, okay. Which one am I?
Jeffrey Heine:Alright. Am I am I Matthias? Is that me? Or or am I this justice guy that just kind of gets, you know, shoved to the side? You know, which which one am I?
Jeffrey Heine:Because I I okay, I lost a job one time. Someone else was picked. Maybe maybe I'm Justice. Which I'm going with Justice as his name tonight. I mean, if you want to call him Joseph, that's cool.
Jeffrey Heine:But Justice, it's a it's a pretty solid name. Name that you don't really hear as much, naming your kid Judas. We're and so we're gonna spend some time talking about what happened with Judas, and then also what it what's happening here with the choice of a 12th apostle. And the way we're gonna do that, the way we're gonna walk through the descriptive side, we're gonna look at, first off, that what happened to Judas had to happen. What happened to Judas had to happen.
Jeffrey Heine:Secondly, the choosing of a 12th apostle, that must happen. Choosing a 12th must happen. And the third thing, that Jesus showing them who he has chosen that needs to happen. Jesus's choice of of who the 12th apostle is to be, They need to hear that from him, and so that needs to happen. And then we'll move on and look at the the prescriptive side of things.
Jeffrey Heine:So so where we are right now, the the ascension has occurred, and they are heading back to Jerusalem, the disciples. And the disciples, that's a large number of people. You you see in that upper room gathered together, you've got, a 120 people gathered together in this upper room. This this church gathering happening. And and it's really interesting because Luke is very emphatic about something in verse 14.
Jeffrey Heine:So if you look at verse 14 with me. After he lists all of the disciples that of the 12, which is now the 11, after he lists the 11, he says this in verse 14, All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. He's very emphatic about something there in verse 14, and that is this, unity. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together. See, this is this is important because if we can do a little bit of backtracking here into Luke's gospel, these disciples, the these these people that are now unified scattered.
Jeffrey Heine:They scattered. After Jesus was arrested, you know, you've got you've got Peter who denied him three times. They they scattered. And so what's really important is they're coming together and they are waiting for the Holy Spirit to come. As they're praying and eagerly awaiting that, we have to keep in mind the biographies of these guys.
Jeffrey Heine:You know, who are these people? The this 11, of the chief disciples, the closest, the inner circle, These are the ones that scattered. And so they're, especially among them, where where amongst that crew, they had, they'd come to know and and even care about this Judas guy. They had done ministry with this Judas, and he has betrayed not only Christ, but also them. And so the emotions, the the the fear, the confusion, is now they're told, Jesus says, I'm leaving.
Jeffrey Heine:And then they see him disappear. And they're told to go and wait. And so something that's happening here is is this reinstating, restoring these disciples as followers of Christ. And so they come together and they're unified in their prayer, and they pray together. It's not only the the 12 or the 11 at this point.
Jeffrey Heine:It's not only the 11, but it's other disciples, both men and women together unified. And then it moves into what we'll call the first movement. What happened concerning Judas? And Peter steps up. Peter steps up in in this crowd of people and he says, what happened to Judas had to happen.
Jeffrey Heine:There wasn't another option. And there are a lot of books and and essays and articles and schools of thought on Judas. Some paint him as just this embodiment of, the the Jewish rejection of Christ that maybe he was he wasn't a real person, but he was just he just kind of he's a character that embodies that rejection. And then others, they'll they'll think that, you know, there's the the divine bait and switch. He was crucified, and Jesus, you know, ducks out the back door, or or all these different, the gospel of Judas and things like that.
Jeffrey Heine:And really when all of that kind of gets put in its proper place aside, what we're left with concerning Judas is scripture. And so that's what Peter turns to. Not legends or rumors or gossip that's going on about Judas. He goes to the scriptures. He goes to the Psalms, and so he addresses the the gathering, with those words.
Jeffrey Heine:He looks to scripture and he says, brothers, verse 16, 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 rested Jesus. Now he does this. He does that. He he looks back to the Psalms and he does something that Jesus taught him to do. You know, going back to Luke's gospel again, in in Luke 2445, it talks about Jesus opening their minds concerning the scriptures, and those scriptures having to do with him.
Jeffrey Heine:And so as as Jesus opened Peter's mind to to conceive of these things, to see these things in scripture, he then puts that into practice. When he addresses them, this gathering of the first church, he doesn't say, alright. I've got a couple of really good ideas. If we could get a couple of programs together, couple of you all meeting up, you know, every so often or he he he doesn't come with those things. He comes with scripture and the and the way he addresses their fears and concerns, the way he addresses their confusion as one who was numbered with them, one that was a co minister with them.
Jeffrey Heine:This close person, Judas, who is betrayed Christ and them, he turns to the scriptures. And he says and and what a wonderful affirmation here of these scriptures. The Holy Spirit is the one who spoke. He spoke by the mouth of David. And so these scriptures that you hold, these are not just David's musings, his songs.
Jeffrey Heine:This isn't just a prayer book of the Bible. This this is the Word of God. The Holy Spirit has spoken through David, and when he did that, he spoke concerning Judas. And he alludes to, he quotes there Psalm 69, which we read as our opening scripture. But in this section, he he is he's drawing this connection to an enemy of Jesus, the righteous sufferer.
Jeffrey Heine:Now it's important to keep in mind that Jesus chose the 12. This this person that betrayed him, this person, that went for the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priest and, and turned him over to be killed. That Jesus knew that. Jesus knew that that would happen. Or as it has been determined, but woe to the man by whom he is betrayed.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus knew that Judas would betray him when he was chosen. Jesus even states that in choosing these 12 chief disciples that that Judas would be used in this way, that that Judas would seek as as he even says that a devil is among you in John 66. Let me read that. John chapter 6 verse 66. You know that troubles coming when you get to chapter 6 verse 66.
Jeffrey Heine:So, so here here it is, John chapter 6. And this is after, Jesus has been teaching, very harshly. You know, these people that had been following him because, oh, he gives out bread, and, oh, he, like, does all of these tricks. And so they're they're really fascinated by this Jesus. And then he starts preaching very harshly and about sin.
Jeffrey Heine:And so people are like, I've kind of had enough of this guy. Like, I've seen enough of the tricks. Uh-uh, I'm done. And so in verse 66, after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the 12, do you want to go away as well?
Jeffrey Heine:And Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the holy one of God. Verse 70, Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you? The 12. And yet, one of you is a devil.
Jeffrey Heine:He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For he, one of the 12, was going to betray him. Jesus knew it, and it had to happen. Going back to acts, verse 17. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, you have to know that they were shaken Because when they were all sitting around, at the Passover meal, in that upper room, and Jesus says, one of you will betray me. No one went, it's Judas. Like, nobody nobody knew, like, it's gotta be that guy. Like, he is he is a dirty scoundrel. Like that if there's gonna be somebody here, it's gonna be that guy.
Jeffrey Heine:No. They're the the first thing out of their mouth is, is it me? Is that gonna be it put fear in them. And so, when Jesus is betrayed, they feel deeply betrayed and confused. And so as as Peter is telling them, what happened concerning Judas, it had to happen.
Jeffrey Heine:But he was numbered among them. He was one of them. 1 of the 12. All 4 gospels, they they refer to him as 1 of the 12. I I mean, they make a point, like, to go out of the way.
Jeffrey Heine:He's not just this disciple. He's one of the 12 chief disciples, the inner circle. He shared in the ministry. He was on the inside. He was allotted that inner access.
Jeffrey Heine:It reminds me of, you you might have seen the the movie, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It's the extended title. And you get to see Robert Ford, who's brilliantly played. I mean, it's it's he's creepy in this movie, but but he becomes so close, to Jesse James. And he in after Jesse was killed by Robert Ford in his own home, shot in the back of the head, this song was written, 18/82, the ballad of Jesse James.
Jeffrey Heine:And one of the lines in it was even, he he ate, he slept in Jesse's bed and he ate from Jesse's bread. And he laid poor Jesse in his grave. A song was actually later done in the 19 thirties by Woody Guthrie, The Ballad of Jesus Christ. And and it mirrors this relationship. This person that was brought in to the inner circle, And at the end of the movie, Robert Ford is late.
Jeffrey Heine:He's assassinated himself. And and one of the last things said is no no eulogy, no funeral procession, no children named after him. No one paid 25¢ to stand in the rooms he grew up in. I mean, that's this Judas character. I mean, this this Judas that I mean, everything with him is just so that this that he was he hung himself, that, that he split open and his bowels gushed out.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, that's some we got some intense, you know, phrases there. I mean, if you if if you look online, itunes, this sermon is gonna be called he split open and his bowels gush out. I mean, because that's that's a that's a visual right there. And, and so we get this we get this view of Judas in this inner circle, and they are betrayed. Acts 428.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter prays in light of this truth that that God had planned this betrayal and this suffering in regards to the officials who condemned Jesus. And and he says these words, whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place, Whatever your hand, Lord, whatever your plan, Lord, predestined to take place. We see this again in Isaiah 53. It was the will of the Lord to crush him. Peter is reiterating this, that not only, did Jesus know about Judas betraying him, that he was the devil among them, it was the will of the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:It was his plan and his hand. But don't think that Judas was just an unwilling pawn in some divine plot. Yes. It was prophesied. But as John Calvin put it, Judas wasn't compelled by prophecy, but only by the malice of his own heart.
Jeffrey Heine:See, Judas had a choice and his heart chose betrayal. And this is, even alluded to in verse 18 concerning the field that he acquired. It was a field acquired with the reward of his wickedness. The field of blood purchased with the reward of his wickedness. So we must hold tightly in our understanding of the sovereignty of God displayed in the determined plan of God predestined this hand and plan.
Jeffrey Heine:And we hold tightly to the wickedness and responsibility of Judas's betrayal. And the way that Peter unpacks this and points to all of this is through Psalm 69, the righteous sufferer. And he says that Judas is that unrighteous enemy of the great righteous sufferer. David wrote the Psalm about one who would suffer greatly, but he would be the righteous sufferer. And the enemy is the unrighteous enemy.
Jeffrey Heine:And whereas in the Psalm, he's talking about this group of people. Peter sees this embodied in Judas. This is concerning Judas that Judas would betray. And in Psalm 69 says, may their camp be a desolation, May no one dwell in their tents. Peter sees this as a prophecy concerning Judas, his field of blood, his place of desolation.
Jeffrey Heine:And then he also sees in Psalm 109, that that's pointing to their present circumstance, which needs to happen. And that takes us to our 2nd movement. The choosing of a 12th apostle must happen. Let another take his office. Psalm 109.
Jeffrey Heine:It's another Psalm about vindication. And the psalmist cries out that the Lord would would vindicate the righteous sufferer, that the enemy would be punished. And, but you, you, oh my lord, deal on my behalf. And so there we see that this death of Judas is divine judgment. This isn't just simply regret and suicide.
Jeffrey Heine:This is divine judgment. One of many that we will see in acts. The enemy is judged and dealt with, and now another must take his position of authority. Look at verse 21 in Acts. Acts 1.
Jeffrey Heine:So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us. 1 of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. There needs to be a 12th apostle. There are many disciples, but there needs to be a 12th apostle. Jesus intends for the 12 apostles to be leaders of the restored Israel, to represent the 12 tribes established in gen Genesis, 49, which we looked at just a couple of months ago.
Jeffrey Heine:The sons of Jacob. Jesus says in Matthew 1928, Jesus said to them, truly I say to you in the new world, when the son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And these particular disciples, these chief disciples, Peter outlines a qualification. In in verse 21, he says, they would have to be there from the beginning as Jesus went in and out among them. From the baptism of John until the Ascension.
Jeffrey Heine:A man who is a witness to the resurrected Lord. And this is where, later we do see Paul use this kind of language to describe himself as as as an apostle, the apostle Paul. And that's because he saw the risen Lord, but he would not fall under these qualifications for the 12, the 12 apostles. Because he was not there from the beginning, the baptism of John until the Ascension. But he is an apostle in the respect of he he has seen the risen Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:Now we also, need to keep in mind that this doesn't need to happen again. In in Acts 12, James is executed and he is not replaced. This has a a particular purpose right here in Acts 1 as they are awaiting Pentecost, as they are awaiting the spirit to come to them. And so they outline this criteria for the, the 12th apostle. And then that takes us to this 3rd movement.
Jeffrey Heine:But they need Jesus to show them his choice. See, this parallels this this account parallels Luke 6 where Jesus has chosen the 12. The 12. And now they're saying, we need you to do that again. We know that that this needs to happen.
Jeffrey Heine:There needs to be a 12th apostle, but we we don't know who that is. So so they do the work though. Though. They do the work first with, putting forth and putting forward the these 2 men who fulfill the qualifications, then they do the other work, they pray. And so they need, they need Jesus to show them his choice.
Jeffrey Heine:Look at verse 23. And they put forward to Joseph called Barsavas, who was also called Justice and Matthias. And they prayed and said, You, Lord, you who know the hearts of all, show which one of these 2 you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go down to his own place, to go to his own place. That's that's emphasizing yet again this judgment. He went to his own place.
Jeffrey Heine:That's an eternal place. And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the 11 apostles. Again, just like in John 6 and in Luke 6, Jesus chooses the apostles. They pray for Jesus to show them. Show who you have already chosen.
Jeffrey Heine:Show what you have planned. The 2 men are proposed according to those qualifications, and they pray. And they pray probably in in an even more, emphatic manner because they've been betrayed before This is this time they're saying we need we need your help because you know hearts, Jesus. And and even in that prayer, they are addressing this prayer to Christ as they talk to him as as lord, they address him as lord at the beginning of of chapter 1. Then he's referred to as the Lord Jesus halfway through chapter 1.
Jeffrey Heine:And now again, they're saying, Lord, we need you, Jesus, to show us who you have chosen. This is the same verb having happening here. This of choosing as in Luke 6, when he says in verse 13, and when the day came, he called his disciple and chose from them 12 whom he named apostles. You know the hearts of men. This is another deep theological, truth here that you know the hearts of men.
Jeffrey Heine:This is this is acknowledging something that is referred to throughout the old testament. Only God knows the hearts of men. Only God knows that. And here they are testifying. Peter's testifying that Jesus knows the hearts of men.
Jeffrey Heine:And then they cast their lots. We don't see this practice again after this. After the Holy Spirit comes to to lead and to guide them, We we don't see this practice again. You might remember when we went through Jonah, a number of months ago, that there was the casting of lots there. And there there's even a proverb, Proverbs 1633.
Jeffrey Heine:The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. And so they cast a lot. It could have been a bag with, you know, 2 different colors, in there of coins or beads or stones, or maybe even, names written on there. And it was Matthias. He was brought in, never to be written about again, within the the holy scriptures.
Jeffrey Heine:But now there were a number of the apostles after this point. There shouldn't be any reason to, to think poorly of old Matthias. But there, there we have it. That's what happened. And so we benefit from knowing just the bare fact that that happened, that that occurred.
Jeffrey Heine:But there are also things that we can learn and apply today in our context because we're not looking for another apostle. And none of us could even be that because we haven't seen the risen Lord. We are disciples, apostles and disciples. Because that that primary reason for the apostleship was that they were going out with authority as witnesses to the resurrection. And this applies to us today.
Jeffrey Heine:We witness to the story of the resurrection, the gospel truth of the resurrection, and the ascension. And we carry that on. But but here we we move, to what we can learn for our context. And and one of the one of the primary questions that I that I like to ask whenever I'm reading any scripture is, first and foremost, what does this teach me about God? And this is a a simple question that really began, with with a new emphasis, in in starting to read these bible stories, to my little daughter.
Jeffrey Heine:And at the at the introduction of this Bible, Jesus storybook Bible, it talks about how this isn't about these characters, these Bible characters. It's not it's not a these heroes of the faith. It's not about what you need to do. It's about God and what he has done. And so now we can ask this question, what is this teaching me about who God is?
Jeffrey Heine:His attributes, his identity, his personality. What is he like? And there are 2 things that I'd like for us to pull out and to consider. First off, that God is faithful to his word. First, he's faithful to speak it.
Jeffrey Heine:He speaks through the mouth of David. He uses David to speak his word. And secondly, he's faithful to fulfill it. He speaks it and he does it. Peter is testifying to this.
Jeffrey Heine:He says, in this scene where we see what has happened and what needs to happen, all of this is going back to what God has said, and what God will do. And this is true for us today. That we would read God's word, not just to know things about the past, or to try somehow to determine the future, or to do a bunch of math to determine the future. Like, you know, I mean, the the yeah. So it's it's not it's not that, but ultimately that we would know and worship this God for what he has done, and what he will do, because he is faithful to his word.
Jeffrey Heine:We can come to his word seeking him and finding him faithful. He is faithful to his word, and we see this really exploding. If you would, flip we're we're gonna spoil a little bit, of a sermon that, is coming soon. But in chapter 2, look at verse 22. Chapter 222 of that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Jeffrey Heine:God raised him up, loosening the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. See, he Peter is again pointing to the Word of God fulfilled, Because it was not possible for anything else to happen. God said it. He spoke it, and it happened. And we join in not only trusting in that truth, but pointing to that truth for others to hear and see, to proclaim that truth.
Jeffrey Heine:He is faithful to his word. And secondly, he is faithful to his church. He's faithful as he brings up leadership, and as he guides his church. And this, this, this is a hard thing to hear because many of you, many of us don't. But God loves his church.
Jeffrey Heine:Many of us have a hard time with that. Mostly because we just see these churches. We see, like, some some church and and and we can be very critical of of how they do things or what's going on there. And and some of that's merited. Some of it is because there's false teaching happening or or or there's corruption happening, there's abuse happening, and and that criticism is valid and necessary.
Jeffrey Heine:But that criticism turns into cynicism, and we hate the church. If some of you talked about your spouses the way that you talk about the church, Your friends and your families would be driving you to counseling immediately. And yet we do that. See, God is faithful to his church because he loves his church. He has redeemed and he is redeeming his church because he loves his church.
Jeffrey Heine:And some of us have forgotten that. We think that it's okay to I I love Jesus, and then I have this church, and, as long as I've got the me and Jesus thing going, like, everything else is cool. And that's not okay. And that might be hard to hear, but it's hard to hear because it's true. Not simply because you don't like it.
Jeffrey Heine:God loves his church. Andy Byers, a local pastor here, he he wrote this book recently called Faith Without Illusions, and I wanted to read one one little passage about the church. He says, the church as an untidy conglomeration of imperfect people from all walks of life. The margin for human error in the church is quite high. We are a dysfunctional family of sinful siblings, repeatedly failing and injuring one another.
Jeffrey Heine:Thus, the descent into cynicism. It's it's a tough truth, but it's true. God loves his church, and he cares for his church, and we need to join in that love and that care. One of the ways that he is faithful to his church, is is in prayer. And that's one thing you're gonna see throughout the study of acts time and time and time again, is that during prayer in prayer, God moves mightily.
Jeffrey Heine:From Acts 1, the praying for the 12th apostle, Acts 4, praying for boldest boldness. Acts 6, choosing the 7 to serve. Acts 8, the spirit falling on Jerusalem believers. Time and time again, prayer is central as these believers interact with God. These acts of the apostles, as the book is called, these acts are tied to, synonymous with prayer.
Jeffrey Heine:And we too must join in that prayer. God is not an absent father. Sometimes we treat him like some deadbeat dad that we're trying to get child support from. He he is he is present, and he loves, and he cares. And and as he even says that why as a loving father would he would he withhold the spirit?
Jeffrey Heine:You know, a loving father, you know, he's you're you're not gonna ask for a fish and get a snake, and God is a loving father, is faithful in prayer. We eagerly await the return of Christ, just like these men and women, the 120. They eagerly await the spirit to come. And we join with the apostles. We join with these disciples lifting our voice as a witness to the resurrection.
Jeffrey Heine:And after they receive the promised helper, the one who would be with them and in them, They boldly go out. See this great necessity. We can learn from both the descriptive, what did happen, and the prescriptive, what what we are called into this proclamation to be witnesses, just as Jesus said in acts 1, that we would be witnesses throughout the world. That is the fulfillment of that great commission call, that we would join in and be witnesses to this resurrection story. Our God is faithful.
Jeffrey Heine:And I know that seems like a very simple truth, one that you've heard time and time again. And one of the problems that we have in church is that we come in thinking that we already know everything. But really this is a truth that we would all say that we believe, but we rarely live like we believe it. God is faithful in your confusion, in your fear. Just like the fear and confusion that these apostles felt as they were betrayed by Judas.
Jeffrey Heine:In your cynicism, in your anger, in your pride, God is faithful. And one of the reasons that we have to keep coming back together, week in and week out, is because we need to believe these things. And it's hard. And so we come to one another, we share in life together. We can remind one another of the gospel and that God is faithful.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's pray. Lord, again, we thank you for your word. We thankful that you are faithful to it. And we thank you that you are faithful to your church, the church universal, The church past and present and future, you are faithful. Help us to lay down our cynicism, to lay down our bitterness.
Jeffrey Heine:And that we would love the church as Christ loves the church. Lord, that we would trust you when you say things. Lord, that we would not try and make you look or think like us. We expend so much energy trying to do that. Or teach us teach us what it means to be a witness to the resurrection.
Jeffrey Heine:We pray these things in and for the name of Christ. Amen.