Preparation, Perseverance, and Prayer

The life of the Christian is magnified by Preparation, Perseverance, and Prayer.

1. There always must be a time of preparation for those that want to be obedient to the commands of Christ.

1.a Preparation v.12-23

The deciles were prepaid by walking with Christ and understanding the Scriptures.

1.b Patients

Obedience by those who have been prepared by Christ always leads to more patients.

The 11 plus the others.

2. If you are a true follower of Christ you will indeed preserver and be counted among his Church.

2.a Perseverance

The Replacement of Judas was not necessary because of his absences but because of his apostasy - not because of his death but his defection

The betrayal of Judas was not an accepted but part of the God Ordained plan for how Christ would accomplish is redemption.

Psalm 69:25 “25 Make their fortification desolate; may no one live in their tents.”

Psalm 109:8 “8 Let his days be few; let another take over his position.”

Psalm 41:9 “9 Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me.”

Mark 14:21 “21 For the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.””

John 6:70–71 “70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was referring to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray him.”

John 17:12 “12 While I was with them, I was protecting them by your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled.”

2.b Preservation of the 11

Those who are follower Christ are not reliant upon their performance but on Christ perfect power

Matthew 15:8 “8 This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

1 John 2:19 “19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.”

Romans 8:38–39 “38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Philippians 1:6 “6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 10:12 “12 So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.”

Hebrews 4:13 “13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”

3. The most predominant and unifying activity that takes place in the lives of the believers is prayer.

3.a Prayer V. 14, 24

Prayer-

Romans 12:12 “12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.”

Romans 8:27 “27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Ephesians 6:18 “18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.”

3.b Propositions

The checked the qualification and made proposition based upon the two proposed men.

1 Corinthians 9:1–2 “1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, because you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.”

1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.””

Proverbs 16:33 “33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

CAST LOTS-

Lots​ 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.

Roman Soldiers Divided Jesus’ Clothes and Cast Lots for His Tunic​ A fulfillment of Psalm 22:18, which predicts that the Messiah's garments would be divided and lots cast for his clothing.

The people cast lots to live in Jerusalem​ The returned exiles cast lots so that one-tenth of them would live in Jerusalem.