Are You Trusting Jesus?

NOVEMBER 21, 2021 STUDY NOTES ACTS 1:12-26 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES ARE YOU TRUSTING JESUS? INTRODUCTION Think about what the Apostles of Jesus had witnessed, the ascension of Jesus, Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. Heavenly messengers had appeared to them, Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; The Heavenly messengers gave them a heavenly promise, Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. The Apostles did not fully understand what they had seen and heard, but they did the right thing They did what Jesus had told them to do, obedience to God and His Word is always the answer Act 1:12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. Just prior to His ascension Jesus instructed them, Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. The disciples had faith in Jesus because Jerusalem was a dangerous place for Jesus’ followers Jerusalem is where Jesus was crucified, but they obeyed what Jesus had told them, Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. Jerusalem is where Jesus told His followers to go and they did not go in fear, they went rejoicing, Luk 24:52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: Their joy was because of their hope in a Living Lord, the One they must obey The same hope is ours today, Rom 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. We are going to see in the next chapter the results of obeying the commands of Christ It always pays to be an obedient child of God Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives had been in God’s plan throughout the past ages Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives are in the future and eternal plans of God The disciples went to Jerusalem, and entered into an “upper room” Act 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. The original reads, they went into “the upper room,” a specific upper room The “upper room” that had been an important place during the earthly ministry of Jesus The upper room is likely the same room where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, Mar 14:15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And the same room that Jesus appeared to the apostles after His Resurrection The upper room became the headquarters for the disciples as they waited for the promise There are 11 apostles listed, Judas Iscariot was no longer among them It is interesting that in the various lists of the apostles Peter is always mentioned first And when Judas Iscariot is mentioned, he is always last Despite the downfalls of Peter, he is still considered the leader and spokesman for the apostles Page 1 of 5 Being one of the three closest to Jesus, Peter, James, and John Comparing the lists, you will find that Judas (not Iscariot) is also called Thaddaeus Bartholomew is also called Nathanael These 12 men are sometimes called apostles and sometimes called disciples They are called the 12 apostles because they were directly called and taught by Jesus They are called disciples because they are the learners or followers of Jesus All NT believers within the current Church Age are called disciples of Jesus These followers of Jesus were of one mind, how important is that for the church today? Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. For a NT church to have a successful ministry it must be of “one mind,” which is unity “With one accord” was a musical term meaning to strike the note together “With one accord” was of importance to the first church, read Acts 2:1,46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25 Throughout the ages there have been too many church splits, split because of a lack of unity The early followers of Jesus were united through “prayer and supplication” They were not self-willed, selfish saints, seeking to satisfy only self Sincere prayer directs your attention to God’s will for your life and your ministry The prayer of supplication will direct your attention to the needs of others How important is prayer to our individual life? How important is prayer for one another? Ever have a day when you were upset about everything and mad at everybody? And you were taking it out on everyone that looked at you, especially those you love? Learn to do something, look in the mirror and say, “I need to pray for you,” and do it The members of the early church were of different personalities and different temperaments The Holy Spirit can unite people from all walks of life, uniting them into Christ Christians can disagree on some things and yet not be disagreeable, being of one mind The blessing of church unity is that God is pleased and glorified The early church continued in prayer, and they prayed in one accord The prayer of Jesus had been answered, just before He was crucified, He prayed, Joh 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: Notice that the women were not neglected, they too were praying and in one accord From the very beginning of the NT Church, women have been a strong part of its ministry This is the last NT mention of Mary the mother of Jesus, she is praying with the others She is in a prayer meeting with others praying to God and no one is praying to her Mary is not a mediator between God and man, there is only one mediator, 1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Mary is waiting for the promise of Jesus to be fulfilled in her life just like the others “His brethren” are the half-brothers of Jesus, born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus’ birth Evidently, they became followers of Jesus after His resurrection, previously they rejected Him What a 10-day camp meeting that was, 120 disciples praying together in one accord Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) “In those days” of prayer and supplication Peter stood as a leader of the apostles Thank God for Peter, he is an example for us, he is an inspiration for us What can we learn from Peter? First, Peter was not a perfect follower of Jesus Peter had failed in his promises and commitments to Jesus more than once But his past sins and failures had not put him on the bench never to serve Jesus again Peter had wept bitterly because of his sins, but he had stood before Jesus and said, I love you Page 2 of 5 And he heard Jesus say, “feed my sheep,” Peter accepted the Lord’s forgiveness (Jn 21:15-19) He went into action, he returned to serving His Lord, he was ready to speak for Jesus He put the past under the blood of Jesus, he put the future in the hands of Christ We can do it today, 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can walk in fellowship with God and with one another, 1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Don’t let Satan steal away your joy in Jesus and the rejoicing you share with your church family We must erase from our minds the sins that God has erased through the blood of Jesus We sing it, “There is power in the blood,” we must believe it and live it, listen to John, 1Jn 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. It is time for today’s church to rejoice, we can because scripture will be fulfilled Act 1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. We just answered the question, how important is prayer? It is important to our daily life Now the question, “how important is God’s Word to our daily life?” How important is the Bible to the daily decisions of our life? We must base our daily decisions upon what God has done, is doing, and will do in the future The only way we can do that is to learn our Bible by reading and studying the Bible It is easy to see that many today are not doing that, listen to them, watch them, you can tell Your life will tell others whether you are learning to live according to the Bible or not The decision of the disciples was based upon what they knew about God’s Word They knew the “scripture must needs have been fulfilled,” “must,” a divine necessity Which identifies for us two truths that are difficult for us to put together God’s purpose was fulfilled through the will of Judas, Judas made his choice Judas sinned against God, God was not responsible for his sin, Judas was fully responsible Judas was physically a member of the 12 apostles, but he was not spiritually a child of God Act 1:17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Judas was called to be an apostle, but he was never saved by grace through faith in Jesus Which Jesus knew, Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. Jesus knew the heart of Judas, He knew that Judas was of Satan, Joh 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him even though he was one of the apostles, Joh 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. Jesus knew the present state and the future state of Judas, Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. All scripture will be fulfilled, all will face the truth of scripture, all will be judged Act 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Verses 18 and 19 give us more information concerning the decision of Judas He chose to betray Jesus and then realized what a mistake he had made Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver to the priests and they used it to buy a field for burial Page 3 of 5 The money actually belonged to Judas, so he provided the money to buy the field Then Judas went out and hung himself, then somehow his body fell upon the rocks Which is explained in verse 18, he fell from hanging and his body opened-up in the middle The field was purchased with blood money and named “the field of blood” Act 1:19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. Act 1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Peter and the other apostles had an understanding from OT scripture And they put it together with something that Jesus had told them, Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. According to scripture there had to be 12 apostles at the time of the kingdom reign of Christ How did Peter know that Judas must be replaced? Jesus had instructed the apostles, Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Scripture spoke concerning Christ and His apostles, Jesus gave them their understanding, Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures So, who would be qualified to take the place of Judas? He would have to be an eyewitness of the earthly ministry of Jesus Act 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Some Bible scholars believe that Peter and the other apostles were getting ahead of God Because later Jesus calls forth Paul as an apostle But Paul did not meet the requirement of being with the apostles during Jesus’ earthly ministry Paul was not with Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry We need to keep in mind that Peter and the apostles were faithfully praying Through prayer they were reminded of scripture that must be fulfilled They were in fellowship with God and with one another, praying and seeking God’s will They turned it over to the sovereign choice of God There is nothing in the context of this passage that indicates they were making a mistake Whoever replaced Judas must be an eyewitness in-order to be a witness for Jesus Act 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. The candidate must be able to speak from his own personal experience concerning Jesus One who had witnessed the ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus NT believers now have a personal experience which allows us to be a witness for Christ We will see the truth of that personal experience in Acts 2, we have the evidence that Jesus lives We can be a witness for Jesus today, we must be a witness for Jesus today Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. Neither one of these two men are mentioned again in the NT But the same is also true of some of the other apostles of Jesus Page 4 of 5 Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, “They” could refer to all 120 followers of Jesus and not just the 11 apostles What a prayer meeting that must have been, they were honestly seeking God’s will It was a prayer meeting that included confession of sin and submission to God’s will Not only praying for personal need but also praying for the needs of others Praying for spiritual needs which involved worship and praise toward God And thanking God for all-of His blessings and praising Him for His promises Recognizing that God knew their hearts, He knows our thoughts and our attitudes Believing that God was going to answer their prayer, they knew He could and would Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. Judas died and went to Hell, he is still in hell today, eternally separated from God He did not go to hell because he committed suicide, he went to hell because he was not saved He did not lose his salvation, he was never saved, he chose his eternal place by denying Jesus Judas was not almost saved because he was an apostle, no one is nearly saved You are totally saved or totally lost, there is no in-between state Judas lived side by side with Jesus and went to hell As a lost person you can sit side by side with Christians in church and die and go to hell Judas listened to the Sermon on the Mount and died and went to hell You are in church today singing gospel hymns, hearing people pray, listening to a sermon But are you saved? If you died today, where will you spend eternity? Heaven or hell? Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Casting lots was an OT custom for determining God’s will (Lev 16:8-10; Num 26:55,56) But this is the last mention of it in the Bible, today it is not a NT practice We will learn why when we study Acts 2 It was Jesus who had chosen the 11 apostles, it stands to reason that He chose Matthias CONCLUSION Acts chapter 1 has prepared us for the truths found in Acts 2 The apostles were waiting for the Promise of the Father, He will keep His promise In chapter 1 we have read of the faith of the 120 disciples of Jesus We also read of the failure of Judas Iscariot, which left a vacancy among the apostles That vacancy was filled by Matthias, Judas had a reservation which has also been filled Which example do we want to follow? The disciples who were in unity, praying, and worshiping? The disciples who were in fellowship and feasting upon the scriptures, or Judas? Page 5 of 5