The Early Church Believed part 2

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to church. We’re so glad that you’re here with us today whether you’re here in person or joining us online.

We started last week a new series on the Book of Acts with a series I’m calling, The Church: Then and Now. I started last week in Acts 1, where I told you that the Early Church Believed in Christ, His Promises, His Death, His Resurrection, and His Ascension to Heaven.

This week we’ll pick up in verse 12. I’ll read verse 12-14 to begin and we’ll read the remainder in a few minutes. This text picks up right after Jesus’ ascension into Heaven with the disciples standing around watching him disappear into the clouds.

Acts 1:12–14 CSB

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

[prayer]

I. They Believed in Each Other and Trusted Each Other

After Jesus’ ascension into the clouds, we get a glimpse of how the disciples interacted early on. This is where we get the names of the twelve disciples, though there were certainly more than twelve.

After Jesus made his final pronouncements—his final orders of preparation for the establishment of his church and the work that he assigned them—He told them… “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20b).

He had also promised them to send the Holy Spirit, telling them to wait in Jerusalem...

Acts 1:4–8 CSB

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

These are some of the most powerful verses in all of the Bible.

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples and told them to wait for it. We’re going to talk about that day of Pentecost next weeks.

But here’s what you need to take away from this passage we just read.

Jesus promised to equip us for the task of taking his message into the world. He did that by giving us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to be witnesses for Jesus to the ends of the earth. But it’s up to us to take action on that and do the work. The Spirit can’t make us do the work or want to do the work.

This is one reason we are promoting this God Loves You evangelistic event coming up. We want you to have the experience and learn how to share your faith. You might be surprised to learn that most believers in Christ have never shared their faith with anybody outside of their family or their church. We want you to have the opportunity to learn how to share your faith with others and we want to give you the opportunity to practice that.

This is part of discipleship. It’s part of Jesus command for ALL of his disciples.

In the coming weeks we are going to start seeing some of the people from the God Loves You Tour starting to show up in our church. We want to be welcoming to them and provide them with opportunities for discipleship and growing in Christ.

The disciples gathered together and prayed and waited for the Spirit.

You have the opportunity to gather together and pray and wait for new believers to come into your church. How will you receive them?

Will you be ready to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to them?

Will you show them how you have the Fruit of the Spirit and the character of Christ in your life?

Or will you tell them that they are sitting in your seat and glare at them until they move somewhere else?

So the disciples returned to Jerusalem together. Luke says that they...

Luke 24:52 CSB

52 After worshiping him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

These believers spent time together. They worshipped together. They worked out their differences together. And the phrase we see repeatedly in the Book of Acts is that they did it “with one accord.” That meant that they were tuned into each other and wanted to work in unity together.

Ephesians 4:4–6 CSB

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Let me tell you that the church that wants to be unified will be unified. And the church that doesn’t can’t be unified by any means.

But these believers were bound together in Christ and the shared experience that they had together in his death and resurrection.

II. They Believed in Prayer

Prayer was another critical part of the life of the believers in the Early Church. Let’s look at two passages from today’s text.

Acts 1:14–15 CSB

14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. 15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters—the number of people who were together was about a hundred twenty—and said,

Joe shared this verse at last week’s prayer meeting. He pointed out that Christian believers gathered everyone together rather than separating the male and female believers, the way the Jews did in Jerusalem. What I see here is that prayer was important to the believers in the Early Church. Prayer is a vital part of any growing church and praying together is a more powerful way to focus our minds in unity together.

We gather as a church on the first Sunday of most months to have a prayer meeting. I’m often surprised at how few of us are in attendance. For those of you who often tell me, “I wish we had more people here,” I would encourage you to join us at prayer meeting. Because together we can accomplish more through prayer than you might ever imagine.

There has never been a significant revival of any sort in any Christian church in history without a significant amount of prayer effort. So let’s pray together for our church and for our future together.

To loosely quote Warren Wiersbe, Prayer is both the thermometer and the thermostat of the church. The thermometer tells us what has already happening in the environment. The thermostat changes the environment.

As a church we can’t do much at all without prayer. But as a church we can do everything in God’s plan with prayer.

It was John Bunyan that wrote in his classic story, Pilgrim’s Progress, “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.” We’ll see all of this in the Book of Acts.

III. They Believed in God’s Leading

The Early Church depended on God’s leadership from the very beginning. However, now the Early Church found themselves alone and on point for leading a new movement. Jesus may not have been there to guide them and answer all their questions, but he had laid for them a foundation of the Word of God and had taught them to pray. And with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they were set for a movement to expand throughout the known world.

Looking back at our text, Peter stood up and took charge of the assembly. He told those gathered...

Acts 1:16–17 CSB

16 “Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David foretold about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

Peter began making the case for replacing Judas. But he began telling the assembly about a plot of land that Judas used his tainted money to purchase...

Acts 1:17–20 CSB

17 For he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” 18 Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages. He fell headfirst, his body burst open and his intestines spilled out. 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama (that is, Field of Blood). 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his dwelling become desolate; let no one live in it; and Let someone else take his position.

The reason for the naming of this field was that it represented the blood money that Judas accepted for handing Jesus over to the Pharisees. And act which led to Jesus’ death. The act also fulfilled the prophecy written in Psalm 109.

Peter continued with the call for new leaders...

Acts 1:21–23 CSB

21 “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of his resurrection.” 23 So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.

IV. Leading Well Depends on Prayer

At the end of our text, we find another passage on prayer. But it also includes a strange twist...

Acts 1:24–26 CSB

24 Then they prayed, “You, Lord, know everyone’s hearts; show which of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this apostolic ministry that Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias and he was added to the eleven apostles.

This passage starts out with prayer and then it moves to casting lots. This was a practice that was common in the Old Testament and became less common in the New Testament. We don’t know if it was like rolling dice or tossing out sticks or stones or even bones to read how they landed.

We do know that this practice was intended to bring understanding to the will of the divine. And we know that this was the last instance of casting lots mentioned in the Bible. It’s not a practice that continued and we don’t use it today. Don’t think that our business meeting in a couple of weeks will have us pulling out a Yahtzee board and some dice to figure out how we should answer some important business matter.

At any rate, we know that it isn’t always easy for us to discover what God wants us to do. However, we do know that if we are willing to obey him and wait for him, he will reveal his will to us.

John 7:17 CSB

17 If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.

It is only through prayer, understanding God’s will, and submitting ourselves to the unity of the body of believers that we can get to a point of knowing God’s will.

Conclusion

[altar call - pray for our church - pray for the lost - pray for those who are coming to our doors]