October 27, 2024. The Book of Acts - Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)

Welcome

Intro

Review Last Week

We began a Series on the Book of Acts.

Luke, the Author of Acts

began by making sure his readers were,

Certain of;

Jesus’ Ministry

His teaching and preaching

His miracles

His death burial and resurrection

Jesus came to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin

This was His primary mission

Jesus was then seen by 500 + people after His resurrection

speaking of the things of the Kingdom of God

The Holy Spirit’s Ministry

After Jesus had made His many appearances

and just prior to His ascension into Heaven,

Jesus gathers His followers together and says; “Wait! don’t run!”

Stay here in Jerusalem!

and wait for the Promise of the Father!

Soon, The Holy Spirit would come upon them and give them power!

Power to do what?

To be witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the Earth

And even now we know the

Certainty of the Apostle’s ministry

because people are still being witnesses to Jesus’ ministry with the power of the Holy Spirit

and people are still giving their lives to Christ as the Kingdom continues to grow.

Today we will continue our series on Acts

as we see how Jesus’ disciples responded to His commandment to stay in Jerusalem.

Pray

Acts 1:12–13 (NKJV)

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.

The Disciples returned to Jerusalem and stayed just as Jesus had commanded

This must have been a confusing and anxious time for the disciples

I wonder what the 3/4 mile walk back to the upper room was like?

Was this an exciting walk back or Was it a walk of silence?

Did they discuss what just happened?

Jesus was here talking to us one minute, and now He is gone.

What did He mean when He said the Holy Spirit would come upon us?

He said we will receive power? What will that look like?

And with this power, we will be witnesses to Him to the end of the Earth?

We’ve never been out of Jerusalem!

Who knows what that walk was like?

But what we do know is that even with all the confusion and anxiousness they were obedient

They stayed in Jerusalem, just as Jesus had commanded.

What a Great first lesson!

As we travel through the book of Acts together we will not only be seeing the Acts of the Apostles and the early church,

but will be looking for examples of how we the church,

are supposed to act as well.

The disciples did exactly what Jesus had asked them to do.

even though they may have not understood fully what would come next.

Why did they do this?

Can I suggest Love?

John 14:15 (NKJV)

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Love combined with the Certainty of Jesus’ resurrection, produced obedience.

Slide

Lessons from the Early Church

1. They Were Obedient

If we are going to be the church that continues to have an impact on the world around us,

we too, must be obedient.

To say we love Jesus, and not obey Him, is hypocritical.

Often, The reason that people are not interested in what we have to say about Jesus is because they can see our hypocrisy.

John Wesley , the leader of the Church of England in the 1700’s

declared that the world would be Christian were it not for the Christians!

This can certainly be the case.

The next thing we see the Early Church do is …continue with one accord

14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

To continue with one accord means that they, as disciples of Jesus,

moved forward with the same mindset.

That is the meaning here of one accord

Unfortunately, For us today, this can seem a little strange.

The Church…all having the same mindset?

How much greater the impact of the church today

if it could be of one heart and one mind!

All moving in the same direction, in spite of our differences!

Did you know, that when the church acts in one accord, that it is an answer to the Prayer of Jesus?

The Apostle John records this prayer of Jesus’ prior to His crucifixion

Jesus prays for three things

Himself

His Disciples

And Future Disciples

Look at how Jesus prays for Himself

John 17:1–3 (NKJV)

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.

3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Jesus had one thing in mind…glorifying the Father.

Glorifying the Father meant that Jesus was of the same mindset as the Father

Giving eternal life to as many as come to Him

What is eternal life?

That they may know God and His Son who He sent

I like God’s promise regarding those who come to Jesus

He promises eternal life to as many that will come.

There is no limit in eternity,

there is plenty of room.

The only thing that can limit a person from receiving eternal life

is their unwillingness to come.

Secondly, Jesus prays for His Disciples

John 17:15–18 (NKJV)

15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

Jesus was sent into the World to Glorify God

by making Him known

and that the world would know Jesus

And this is Jesus’ prayer for His first disciples

That they would also glorify God

by making Him known

and making Jesus known to the world

Thirdly, Jesus prays for future believers

John 17:20–21 (NKJV)

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

And what is Jesus’ prayer for all those who will believe in Jesus through the testimony of His original disciples?

That they may be one!

That they have the same mindset as that of the Father and Son

That they would also glorify God

by making Him known

and making Jesus known to the world

Slide

Lessons from the Early Church

1. They Were Obedient

2. They Were of One Mind

Today, We can certainly make church about a lot of things

many of which are good things.

However, as the church engages in many things,

the church can loose its focus and along with it; its oneness.

We now live in a church culture where disciples of Christ

simply don’t know the contents of the Bible…let alone follow it.

Without a solid grounding in God’s Word, believers are susceptible to doctrinal error and moral compromise.

Jesus said that believers are to be different than the world in which they live.

And His prayer was that they would be set apart from the world

by God’s Word, the truth.

If there is any one threat to the church’s oneness, it is this.

The absence of biblical understanding.

The lack of biblical understanding, undermines the Church’s ability to deal effectively with the issues of the day.

Such as social justice, sexuality and gender, marriage and abortion, just to name a few.

Understanding what God has to say on these issues

will be an answer to the prayer of Jesus

and keep the church moving along in one accord.

The next thing we see the Early Church doing is

Making decisions based on God’s Will

Acts 1:15–17 (NKJV)

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,

16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;

17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”

Have you ever read something in the Bible and later have God bring it you your memory?

This is what happened to Peter

Both Jeremiah the prophet and King David, inspired by the Holy Spirit

spoke regarding Judas,

the one who guided men to Jesus for 30 pieces of silver

Judas fulfilled the prophecies that someone would sell the Lord to His enemies.

and that the money would be used to purchase a field which would become desolate and be known as a field of blood.

The Apostle Peter also understood Psalm 69:25 & Psalm 109:8 to mean that after Judas’ defection, a replacement must be appointed to fill his office.

Acts 1:20–23 (NKJV)

20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’

21 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Peter initiated the search for a replacement based on his knowledge of scripture and had the desire to see God’s will carried out.

So we can add this to our:

Slide

Lessons from the Early Church

1. They Were Obedient

2. They Were of One Mind

3. They Made Decisions based on God’s Will

They then gathered the names of men who had witnessed Jesus’ ministry from the beginning up to the time of His death, burial and resurrection.

And they arrived at two choices

Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus

and Matthias

They were trying to make a good decision based on the scriptures,

but who to pick?

So, what do they do next?

Pray of course!

Acts 1:24–26 (NKJV)

24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen

25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”

26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Of course, without the seeking of God’s will

this could have been quite a dilemma!

One group could have said;

We like Joseph called Barsabas, surnamed Justus and believe he should be the one!

Others may have said; We think Matthias should be the one!

This may have happened, but they took it to prayer and asked God to reveal which of these two You have chosen!

And God did exactly that, He revealed to them who He had chosen, Matthias.

You notice that the bible doesn’t record any disgruntled church members or church split

It simply says; Matthias was numbered with the eleven.

But should we expect anything less from a church that is’

obedient to the Lord,

of One Mind

Making decisions based on God’s will

and Praying for God’s will to be done?

Conclusion

Slide

Lessons from the Early Church

1. They Were Obedient

2. They Were of One Mind

3. They Made Decisions based on God’s Will

4. They Prayed for God’s Will

So what exactly is “The Casting of Lots?”

Was Matthias truly chosen by Prayer or by rolling the dice?

The bible records the use of Casting Lots

And most of them ordained by God.

But this practice was also used in the Pagan culture as well.

For instance, the soldiers cast lots to see who would get Jesus’ clothing at His crucifixion.

The casting of lots was the practice of discerning answers from deities by the use of small objects and a jar.

The order that the pieces fall out of the jar determine what the will of the deity is.

When God ordained the casting of lots, It was used to discern the will of God.

So do we use lots today to discern the will of God?

Lots were used prior to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Mankind had the presence of God up to this point in church history

But not the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in order to make decisions according to the will of God

1 Corinthians 2:11–12 (NKJV)

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Next week we will be looking to that glorious day when God poured out His Spirit on those who call on the name of Jesus.

The day called Pentecost.

Pray