Committing ourselves to what matters

Introduction

Good morning LaFayette Baptist Family. It is so good to be here with you all today and celebrate this Lord’s day with you all, singing hymns to Him, learning of Him, and reading His Word, and praying together. Our passage today will be from Acts 1, Acts 1:6 and we will go to the end of the chapter, please go ahead and turn there in your bible’s and following along as we go through the message. In a few moments it will be on the screen for us to read from the screen together as well.

While you are doing that, let me tell you a story that is all to often real in the American household. It’s a story that was made famous by a song that was released in 1974 by the artist Gary Chapman, the song is Called “The Cat’s in the Cradle,” maybe you have heard of it. In this song and story, it depicts a man, a man with a family and job. This Job, or this pursuit of money perhaps, took the Dad away from his family often. In fact, it seemed to be the single most important thing in his life, preferring to go on business trips and chase “the good life” all the while, the son wants to spend time with his father, asking for chances to play catch and spend with his dad. The dad though, never did it with him, he spent time looking and being busy and important, which gained the admiration of his son which taught him and made him believe that “This must be what men do, I want to be just like my dad.” In time, as the boy grew up, he started to do the same things his father did. Late in his life, the father realized that he should have valued the things that mattered, like his relationship with his son, and wanted to fix it, but found that he had to well taught his son the wrong things to do and now it was to late. The dad didn’t commit himself to what mattered with his son and created another flawed clone of himself. This made me think of commitments as believers, what matters most, and was something I saw open itself up in the text this week. Let’s not be like that father, let’s be believers who do what really matters. So, this week’s sermon or main idea is Committing ourselves to what matters.

Scripture

If you would all please rise for the reading of God’s Word today. The words to the scripture will be on the screen, please read along with me as we are reading. When I am done I will say “this is The Word of The Lord” if you will all please respond with “Thanks be to God.” First, let’s pray. Father God, we thank you for who You are and what You are doing in us and in this place. We turn towards you today, as men and women, as your children, seeking You. May we experience You and come to know something more about You and Your will in our lives during this time in The Word together. Father, we ask that during this time You would take away any and all distractions that we may have, and that our attention would be laser focused on Your Word and what it means in our lives. We also ask that this word would live deep our hearts and minds deeply and that it would be a message that we keep, but not just for the sake of keeping to ourselves but with also sharing with others. We Love You Father, and thank you for the truth that is Your Word. Open our minds, hearts, eyes, and hands as we share it together today, it’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy name that I pray, Amen. 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.[c]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[d] 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.

Context

We begin this week with our next installment of our expository journey through the book of Acts. As we are finishing up chapter one this week, if you haven’t already please go ahead and read chapter 2 to prepare your hearts and minds for next week’s sermon. This week, we are moving into something new, that is, the last two weeks recounted or retold Luke’s restatement of what happened in His Gospel, now we are in a sense, “new text” when we consider that for much of history the books of Luke and Acts were often combined. To this point though, still not much time has passed. We still find ourselves with Jesus 11 remaining apostles and the disciples just after his ascension into heaven. Now, we find them in the “wait and see” phase that Jesus had placed them into. Even though much is recorded in this 10 day period (between the ascension and Pentecost) we still see and can perceive something that was important them and that are also important to us as believers today. What’s more for them, they lived in a time period that was filled with: false believers and teachers, power grabbing by officials, public executions, persecution, a need to “lay low” when you can for safety, and all the while the urge for revolution or revolt was in the air. So, watch for the similarities to them and us today, what’s the same? And how can we apply these same lessons to today.

Last week we looked at several important things leading up to this moment, important things that applied to the apostles then and the same apply to us today. First we took a look at the Father and His plans, that He knows them, and He is always working towards them; that can’t win every battle, but rather God wins every battle for you. Then we looked at the fact that The Spirit (They Holy Spirit) empowers our mission, which is to point others towards Jesus. Without reliance on Him, even our best efforts will fail. We need Him, as He empowers each and every one of us as a church family, working together to stay on tack/on mission. Then we looked at what the Apostles got to witness, that Jesus was lifted up into heaven, after His time on the Earth He returned to the Heavenly places, but know this, The Son will come back. Jesus will come back, we can bank on that, but in the mean time He has left us tasks to do. So, heed the words of Jesus, and fulfill his mission and commission on your life, to spread the kingdom of God in the way that He has gifted you. This was all under the main idea, that as Jesus ascends, our mission begins. Everything we do, both in church and in our lives should be about pointing others towards the risen Lord.

So, with those things in mind, let’s dive deep into this week’s text.

Message

Our First Point, The Church in Prayer

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.[c]

After watching Jesus Ascend on the Mount called Olivet (or the Mt. of Olives), we see that the apostles did exactly as their master (Jesus) told them to, returning to Jerusalem. One thing to know about the distance from the two (Jerusalem and Olivet) was that they were very near each other. In fact, the text says that they were only a Sabbath’s day journey away, meaning that it was a short walk, only around 1,000yds or 3,000ft or a little more than half a mile. Remember, the Jews had strict Sabbath laws (in this case how far away from your home your allowed to walk on a sabbath day), in this it serves as an example of how far away the two were from one another, so not far at all. Then it says they entered the upper room of where they were staying, which would have been the largest room and the one most commonly used for guests or large gathers (like our living rooms or dining rooms today).

Then, notice something, look at the apostles names. You will notice something very peculiar, the use of the word “and” between all their names. This would show a clear idea of pairing and to some degree partnership. You see they each have a partner or person they are paired with, outside of the fact that since Judas Iscariot is now gone and the number of apostles at this time was not even. It says that even the apostles didn’t do ministry on their own. They worked together, they had partners, they were part of one body all working together. This is something that Jesus taught them even when they were given great power by Christ, He sent them out together. You will recall in Mark 6:7 which says, “7 oAnd he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” Even then they worked together. Even now in acts, it seems that this lesson had continued. What does this say to us? It means the same thing. It means that each of us are to partner with other believers (which is one reason why we as a church family gather together in this place) to do and prepare for the work of the ministry, which central idea and theme should always be to point others towards Jesus. It means that we are better together, this was Christ’s design. There are no “lone wolf” Christians or ministers that are moving in The Spirit of following Christs teaching or commands on the subjects. Partnership can look many different ways, but without it, I would submit to you to take a step back and observe what you are doing. The same thing is true in our own faith walks, if we say we are believers in the Lord Jesus and remain away from a congregation of assembled believers for a long time to the point that it is a habit or your intent is to never return to a family of believers, either you have been seriously wounded by a church body or you were never truly a believer yet.

With that, what did the apostles do before they entered or started anything. What was the most important thing that they were doing? It says here that they were all in one accord together and devoted themselves to prayer. Wow, what a beautiful thing. Can you imagine being in any church body (big or small) that was like this? How do we get one accord, (and I’m not making any accusations at anyone right now) how do we all get on the same page? By doing the same thing the apostles did here, by coming together and praying often. Yes, prayer is perhaps the single most important practice in any believer’s faith life. This is the essential line, what connects us (the branches) to the main vine (Jesus). Without prayer being the dominant part of a believer or a church body, what shape is that person or church in? I can tell you in my own faith life, if I find myself out of prayer often, I find myself feeling spiritually dry. Why, because then (by my own choice) I made myself like a limb cut off from a tree, doomed to shrivel up and wither away, but if I come back God is gracious and loving to graft me back and sustain me. One thing is clear though, no great thing ever happens to a believer or a church body that doesn’t begin with prayer. So, believer, do you understand this? Do you need help with this? And if so, that’s ok, we all find ourselves there from time to time. If you need someone to talk to about this, I’d love to. Turn towards your risen Lord and repent from turning away from Him, He is lovingly and patiently waiting.

A Second Point, The Church in 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[d] 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.

In those days, meaning still in the 10-day period, while they were devoting themselves to prayer, it looks like they did other things together. What was this? Well, it’s clear that they were learning, teaching, and sharing The Word of God together, meaning they spent time in the Holy and precious scriptures and did their upmost to learn what it was saying to them and apply it. In this case, Peter rose and taught them (and remember at this point the apostles had the fullness of the scriptures revealed to them by Jesus) from Psalms 69 and 109 what it meant and how it applied to them in this particular instance. You can see here; Peter had a very high view of scripture and was himself an expositor preacher. In fact, this sermon had all the making of an expository sermon! It had a reading/proclaiming of the word, context, interpretation, and application for what it meant for them. In this case, it led them to selecting another to join in the apostolic ministry, which was then of only 11 members but would soon again (in just the next few verses) be 12.

Here, he taught from the word because He saw and recognized the authority in scripture and that it in it you will find wisdom that applies to your life and your circumstances. This was true for them, it was true for all the Christian Brothers and Sisters for all of history, and it remains true for us today. Peter preached not on his own authority, but from that of God’s through His Word to us. We don’t have any authority ourselves, rather God does and He provided His Word (The Bible) to us which is where any authority presented in any kind of teaching or learning we may do comes from. Without it, we don’t have a leg to stand on. So church as a whole and beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s devote ourselves not only to prayer but also to The Word of God, letting it shape our minds, our hearts, our intents, and everything we do. If we are going to do anything, let it be about God, who most often reveals His thoughts/commissions/lessons to us through His spoken and written word. Let the Bible be Your guide book for your life, make The bible your life manual. Let us be a Church that not only prays first, but then turns to the Word of God in all things. To God be the Glory.

The Next Point, The Church in Witness

’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.

Here we see the closing verses of this occurrence. After prayer and Peter’s sermon, they did what? They did what God revealed to them was the next thing for them to do! They prayed for what they were about to do and asked God to be on the whole situation and selection, and chose (in way that was a common decision making tool/way for the time) the next, the 12th apostle that would join them in that particular ministry. Also, don’t focus on the smallness or seeming meaninglessness of “casting lots” as we would think of “flipping a coin.” This was normal for jews of the era and we even see it done multiple times throughout the bible, including in proverbs 16, in Jonah 1; not to mentioned they asked God to take control of the lots. This fell to a singular person, who was Matthias.

One crucial thing to note though. The apostles did have a stipulation or criteria in order to qualify for this office. Remember they had 120 or more with them. This requirement was so crucial to them, that they didn’t put anything else before or after it. This was that this person had been with them from the beginning to the end. This person had to have been an eye witness of both Jesus’ Baptism by John the Baptist till the day Jesus Ascended. This left only two candidates, the lots were cast, and the man was chosen.

What does this mean to us? It means that our witness of Jesus to others is very important. It is crucial to our mission. If you know Jesus as The Christ, as Your savior, then you MUST go and share your faith with others in the way that suits your personal gifting and situation best. Some may go out and share on the street corners, some may go far away, some may go next door, others may support and help with financial gifts, others may be great prayer partners. Either way, we are all better together and are to work together and witness together. So, as we talked about in Sunday School, think and pray about what our next steps are together as a church body to reach the Lost for the Kingdom of God and The Glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It may be an old way, it may be a new way, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we are faithful to our calling and love our master (Jesus Christ) to do the work that He left for us until He returns. Beloved, won’t you do this? Won’t you join us? If your scared, that’s ok. I am too, in fact it’s a good thing that you are. Know this, you are not alone; we are a team, a family who was called together here for just such a time as we are in right now. I know that that through God we can and will do this together. To His Glory.

Conclusion

Beloved, let’s focus on and do these things together. Let’s be The Church in Prayer, Let’s aspire to be known as The Church in The Word, let’s all go together and do the mission and be The Church in Witness and commit ourselves to what matters.

To the non-believer or the unsure in the gathering with us today. Friend, let me speak to you directly. Thank you for coming and joining us today. But let me be clear, coming to church doesn’t save you. In fact, church is more of a training ground and place for believers I’ve also herd it called a hospital for sinners. This is where saved people are corrected and trained and lifted up. Coming here doesn’t save you. Only one thing does, that thing is place your faith in Jesus Christ to pay for your sin debt (which everyone everywhere has). Upon admitting that you are sinner and are in need of someone to save you from this impossible feat (paying for or atoning from your sin) and turning to Christ Jesus as the only one to pay it and endeavoring to follow Him for the rest of your life, this is what saves you. Christ saves You, not church attendance or good deeds. So, turn to Him today if you haven’t. If you need to talk more about this or have questions, I’d love to meet with you.

Let’s conclude. Brothers and sister, I love you all. If you need prayer or just someone to talk to, during our last song together, I will be here. Come up here if you need or come to the alter and pray on your own if you need. It is open. Also, after the song we will enter a time of sharing testimonies together and discuss plans/dates for VBS. Let’s pray. Father God, thank you for this message and Your Word today. May it fill every part of us and make us turn our every thought towards You. Move us father as only You can. Put people in front of us this week that we can share our faiths with. Make our love for you deeper and stronger each day. We love You Father and it’s these things we ask in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name, Amen.