1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:07,040 Acts chapter 1, verses 12 to 26. Then the apostles returned to 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,800 Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,800 day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,880 upstairs to the room where they were staying. 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:23,400 Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:29,000 Thomas Bartholomew and Matthew James son of Alphaeus and Simon 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,360 the Zealot and Judas son of James. 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,920 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,000 the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. 10 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,200 In those days, Peter stood up among the believers, a group 11 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,560 numbering about 120, and said, Brothers and sisters, the 12 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,520 Scripture had to be fulfilled, in which the Holy Spirit spoke 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:01:00,560 long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as 14 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,640 guide for those who arrested Jesus. 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,680 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry. 16 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,040 With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,280 field. There he fell headlong, his body 18 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,840 burst open, and all his intestines spilled out. 19 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,920 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that 20 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,800 field in their language Akeldama, which is field of 21 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,600 blood. Four, said Peter. 22 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:29,720 It is written in the book of Psalms. 23 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:34,240 May his place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in it, 24 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,080 and may another take his place of leadership. 25 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,840 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who've 26 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,680 been with us the whole time. The Lord Jesus was living among 27 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,160 us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus 28 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,840 was taken up from us. For one of these must become a 29 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,440 witness with us of his resurrection. 30 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,200 So they nominated 2 men, Joseph called Boss Abbas, also known as 31 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:07,160 Justice, and Matthias. Then they prayed, Lord, you know 32 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,800 everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you 33 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:15,160 have chosen to take over this Apostolic ministry which Judas 34 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,760 left to go where he belongs. Then they cast lots and the lot 35 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,800 fell to Matthias. So he was added to the 11 36 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,200 apostles. Just to ask a question to get us 37 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,920 into this passage of how good are you at waiting for something 38 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:34,640 good? Maybe delaying bad things You're 39 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:37,720 very good at procrastination, people call it, But waiting for 40 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,960 something good? How good are you to waiting for 41 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,120 your birthday or for a holiday or a payday or a wedding or 42 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,920 whatever? For most of us, waiting for 43 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:49,640 something good is actually quite difficult. 44 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:52,320 We live in what's often called the instant gratification 45 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,960 culture. We want it and we want it now. 46 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,520 And when I was a kid, I would read the back of cereal boxes, 47 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,520 like things you could save up tokens and get a toy and allow 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,800 28 days for delivery. I mean, people below the age of 49 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,720 30, that's that crushes you. Like 2 to 3 working days is a 50 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:10,440 bit of an insult. Now. 51 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,120 Two to three working days, it's terrible stereotype of children 52 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,280 in the back, in the back of a car and a long journey. 53 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:18,680 Are we there yet? What they don't know is their 54 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,760 mother and father is secretly asking the same question and 55 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,120 anguish as the miles and hours go by. 56 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,160 Are we there yet? We are impatient people. 57 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:29,600 We live in a culture of impatient people. 58 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:35,320 But sometimes God tells us we have to wait for something good. 59 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,240 And wait was the command the risen Jesus gave his disciples 60 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,720 in our passage last week. Act One, verses 4 to 5, on one 61 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:47,480 occasion Jesus was eating with them. 62 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,520 He gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait 63 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,200 for the gift my father promised, which you've heard me speak 64 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,360 about for John baptized with water. 65 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,680 But in a few days you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 66 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:05,480 So in the past, we're looking at this morning Acts one, the 67 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,880 second-half, the disciples are waiting for the Holy Spirit to 68 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:11,280 come. And Jesus has been clear with 69 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,000 the disciples, the coming of the Holy Spirit is very, very good 70 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,279 news for them. The Holy Spirit, he's his 71 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,640 coming's been promised throughout the Old Testament. 72 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,120 The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus for his life and mission. 73 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:26,720 And now that same Spirit is going to come and empower the 74 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,240 disciples for their life and mission. 75 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,200 The Holy Spirit, he's, he's the power they need to live as Jesus 76 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:33,880 witnesses. But even more than that, the 77 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,440 Holy Spirit is a person. He's God himself come to live 78 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,520 with and in his people. The coming of the Holy Spirit is 79 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,160 really good news for God's people. 80 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:48,080 And next we we're going to see when he actually does finally 81 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:52,600 come on the day of Pentecost. But in the meantime, in this bit 82 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,080 of acts were in, the disciples have been commanded to wait. 83 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:02,440 And that this is sort of a strange, unique moment in church 84 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,440 history. So the reason Jesus has left his 85 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,920 disciples, he descended into heaven, and yet the Holy Spirit, 86 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,000 the one Jesus calls the comforter, has not yet arrived. 87 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,480 So unlike every follower of Jesus sitting in this room 88 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,040 today, the disciples read about here, They don't yet have God 89 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,480 the Holy Spirit living with them and in them. 90 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,000 Amazingly, when we read this, we're not in the position of 91 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:29,840 waiting for the Spirit to come. The Spirit has come. 92 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:33,560 He came at Pentecost, and he is now with every single believer 93 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,520 in Jesus in US and with us day by day. 94 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,200 So Luke is recording a unique moment in church history, an 95 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:45,400 experience in which we do not share if we follow Jesus. 96 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,240 And yet this section of Acts is still God's word to us. 97 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,320 So what's God saying to us through His word, by his Spirit, 98 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,520 through this unique moment in history? 99 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,280 Well, the early disciples are waiting for the Holy Spirit, 100 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:02,560 something we don't have to do. But what they do while they're 101 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,360 waiting is what Luke has to encourage us in because we had 102 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,360 the passage read out to us. Hope we spotted something. 103 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,920 Prayer is at the very heart of this passage. 104 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,400 It begins and ends with the disciples praying. 105 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,600 Look down at verse 14. Luke tells us they all join 106 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:25,560 together constantly in prayer. And then verse 24, then they 107 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:30,040 prayed together before selecting Matthias. 108 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:35,160 What Luke wants us to see in this passage is that a church on 109 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,280 mission with the risen Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit is 110 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:44,160 a church that prays. It's a church that prays. 111 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,240 A church on mission with Jesus is a prayerful church. 112 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:50,720 It's a church that knows we need God's help. 113 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:56,360 We need God to do what only God can do, which is save people and 114 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,880 transform lives through the power of the gospel. 115 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,920 It's a church that knows we cannot live as witnesses for 116 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,160 Jesus in our own strength. We can't do it. 117 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,800 We need God the Holy Spirit living in US, helping us. 118 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:13,840 We need to ask God to help us. And that's what the early 119 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:18,440 disciples get here. They pray together constantly, 120 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,440 says Luke. They pray as they prepare to be 121 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,920 sent out on mission by Jesus. So let's look at this passage 122 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,480 together now again, at the end of our passage last week, there 123 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,720 isn't. Jesus ascends to heaven. 2 124 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,640 angels appear and say he's going to come back. 125 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,720 But in the meantime, the disciples need to get ready for 126 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:40,320 the mission Jesus has given them. 127 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,320 So verse 12, if you look down, the apostles leave the area 128 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,240 around the Mount of Olives and walk back to Jerusalem together. 129 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,880 And Luke says, what's the first thing they do when they get to 130 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,600 Jerusalem? They pray together constantly. 131 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,720 Verse 14, They all join together constantly in prayer. 132 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,040 They are waiting patiently for God's Spirit to come and they 133 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,520 spend that time with God together. 134 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,440 Now, who are the they that is mentioned in verse 14? 135 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,320 Well, Luke tells us he gives us sort of a snapshot of this group 136 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,160 of believers at this unique moment in history. 137 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:22,120 We've got the 11 apostles, verse 13, the 11 men Jesus chose to be 138 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,040 with him just three years previously. 139 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,680 He starts with the two sets of brothers, Peter, James, John and 140 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,040 Andrew, and then Luke lists all of them here. 141 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,919 Interestingly, none of the other names apart from Peter, James 142 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:37,159 and John are mentioned again in the book of Acts, but still 143 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:40,440 they're here. In this moment Jesus, apostles 144 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,800 and of course the mathematicians among us realise actually why 145 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,320 are there just 11? We're going to be thinking about 146 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,200 that as Peter addresses the believers. 147 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:54,360 Second group the Luke mentions is the women, and that we think 148 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,040 is probably Luke referring to the women he's already mentioned 149 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,560 by name in his gospel. Women like Mary Magdalene, 150 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,560 Joanna, Susanna, these Roman mentioned back in Luke chapter 151 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,880 8. Women who helped support Jesus 152 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,480 and the apostles out of their own means. 153 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,160 These are women who were committed to Jesus, loyal 154 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,360 followers of Jesus. When all the male disciples ran 155 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,480 away, with the exception of John, these women were there at 156 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:22,760 the crucifixion. These were some of the women who 157 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,960 were the first witnesses of the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. 158 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,880 Luke values women highly throughout his gospel and act 159 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,480 because he knows Jesus values women highly and the women are 160 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,920 there at the heart of this community praying with the 161 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:42,160 others. But he does actually name one 162 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,160 woman in this list and it's just a beautiful little moment. 163 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,640 Actually, he mentions that one of the women with them is Mary, 164 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,120 the mother of Jesus. And again, if you look back to 165 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,600 Luke's gospel, Mary plays an important role in that gospel. 166 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,240 In Luke's gospel, we see the story of the first Christmas 167 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,000 largely through the eyes of Mary. 168 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:08,360 It seems likely that Luke knew Mary personally and had spoken 169 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,960 with her to find out what happened that first Christmas 170 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,120 when he was talking to all the eyewitnesses. 171 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,240 It's amazing to think that the young girl chosen by God to be 172 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:25,120 the mother of Jesus is still here 33 years later with the 173 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,440 early church praying and waiting for the Spirit to come. 174 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:37,480 The mother of Jesus is also a follower of Jesus, and again, 175 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,160 you sort of your mind races a bit. 176 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,440 So if Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus as his 177 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,880 probable, she's probably in something like her late 40s at 178 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,080 this point. She's probably living with John 179 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,960 the Apostle and his family. Remember that moment at the end 180 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,400 of John's gospel where Jesus hanging on the cross is caring 181 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,920 for his mother? He says to to John, behold your 182 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:00,840 mother. To Mary, behold your son. 183 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,440 So she's living with John the Apostle and his family. 184 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:09,400 But here she is encouraging and praying with the other 185 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:13,480 believers. She must be an amazing gift to 186 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,000 the early church. She had such unique insight into 187 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,880 Jesus character and faithfulness throughout his life and he or 188 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,840 she is praying alongside the other disciples. 189 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,000 This is the last time she's mentioned in the New Testament. 190 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,520 But what a gift Mary would have been to the early church. 191 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:36,360 And again, what a joy to Mary that alongside her we're told 192 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,560 that Jesus brothers we're praying, presumably including 193 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:43,040 James who went on to be a leader of the church in Jerusalem. 194 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,440 We're told in the gospels that during Jesus earthly ministry 195 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:46,880 his brothers didn't believe in him. 196 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,560 But that all changed when the risen Jesus appeared to James. 197 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:53,280 We read about that in one Corinthians 15. 198 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,760 And after that appearance, James and it seems others of Jesus, 199 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:01,040 half brothers, put their faith in Jesus and took their place in 200 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,560 the early church. This is a snapshot Luke is 201 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:06,480 giving us of this group of people at this particular moment 202 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,840 in time, and there are plenty of others that he doesn't name. 203 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,440 He says there's a group numbering about 120 believers, 204 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,120 followers of Jesus, who'd seen the risen Jesus and who together 205 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:21,520 were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come. 120 people, not a bad 206 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,040 number before Pentecost in some ways. 207 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,840 That's roughly the the size of of our church, sometimes 120 208 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:29,960 people. And they're waiting for the 209 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,000 coming of the Spirit, and they're praying as they wait. 210 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,680 Verse 14 in the original Greek is really strong, emphatic 211 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:43,240 language, literally, they continued steadfastly with one 212 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,240 mind in prayer. What do you do when you're 213 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:54,040 waiting for the Holy Spirit? You hold fast to each other, you 214 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,640 pray together, you encourage each other. 215 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,560 This is a picture of people united in drawing near to God, 216 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,480 persevering across those number of days. 217 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,120 They were waiting, hungry and recognising their need for God. 218 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:13,000 Prayer is at the heart of this passage, and before we step back 219 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,200 to think what that might mean for us and our life together, we 220 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,640 need to think about what part prayer played again at this 221 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,800 unique moment in church history with this unique group of 222 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,600 people, Jesus apostles. What were the apostles doing as 223 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,760 they waited for the Holy Spirit? Well, Luke tells that the 224 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:34,000 apostles prepared themselves for mission by restoring their 225 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:40,920 number to 12 so they'll be ready for when the Spirit comes again. 226 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:42,240 You look at the opening chapters of Acts. 227 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,160 So much of the focus Luke has is on this particular group of 228 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:49,280 people, the 12 apostles, and their unique, definitive role as 229 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,320 witnesses for Jesus. These are the people who are 230 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,080 entrusted with preaching and preserving the gospel of the 231 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:01,520 risen Jesus. But again, back in 13, Luke just 232 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:05,240 listed 11 apostles. Someone is missing. 233 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:10,720 Judas Iscariot, one of the original 12, is no longer with 234 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:12,720 them. And in verse 15, Peter, the 235 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,640 leader of the 12, stands up to acknowledge this and to help the 236 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,000 believers process what has happened among them. 237 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:25,560 Let me read verses 15 to 17. In those days, Peter stood up 238 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,280 among the believers, a group numbering about 120, and said, 239 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,560 brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, 240 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,480 in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David 241 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,160 concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested 242 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:44,480 Jesus. He was one of our number and 243 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:50,640 shared in our ministry. I want to suggest you can hear 244 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:56,040 something of the pain and even the disbelief in Peter's words 245 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,960 here. He was one of our number. 246 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:04,320 Judas shared in our ministry. Peter would have considered 247 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:10,880 Judas a friend, and yet he says Judas served as a guide for 248 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:15,440 those who arrested Jesus. And Luke tells us he was paid 249 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:20,360 for doing that. And what? 250 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,000 This would have been massively painful for the early church to 251 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:27,400 hear about and to process. And it's hard for us to get that 252 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:32,720 because our culture, the word the name Judas basically means 253 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,520 traitor, doesn't it? I mean, Judas, it's not a shock 254 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:36,160 to us. Oh, Judas. 255 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:37,280 He's the one betrayed. Yeah, because. 256 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,080 Because of his name, isn't it? But of course, the the name came 257 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,400 first before the betrayal. Then you hear people shout out 258 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,640 the name Judas as an insult. Whether it's a music concerts, 259 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,080 when a folk singer starts playing an electric guitar, 260 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,560 whether it's at political rallies when someone moves to a 261 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,360 different party, whether it's when a when a player argues to 262 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,520 transfer to another team before the end of the transfer window, 263 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,560 that name Judas gets shouted at people all the time as an 264 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,880 insult. We're not shocked by Judas's 265 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,520 betrayal. We need to see the early church 266 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:13,640 was for Peter and the other disciples right up to the events 267 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,480 of the first Good Friday. Judas was their friend. 268 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,880 He was one of their number. He was a leader in the church. 269 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,080 He had travelled with Jesus for about 3 years. 270 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,600 He was trusted by the disciples. He looked after the money, we're 271 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,040 told. Then suddenly at the end of that 272 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:36,760 time, Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of his enemies for 30 273 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:41,600 pieces of silver. This was a shock and this was 274 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:46,080 painful, and Peter wants to strengthen and encourage the 275 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,800 believers by helping them process what has happened. 276 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:57,160 Fast forward to today, and the sad reality is that Christian 277 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:02,680 leaders still fall. Christian leaders can still 278 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:06,920 betray Jesus through their actions, and when that happens, 279 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,200 it is deeply painful for the people around them. 280 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:16,040 Even the last 10 years, I can think of a number of prominent 281 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:21,760 Christian leaders who've either been removed from their posts or 282 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,599 after their death, been exposed as living double lives. 283 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:30,800 People like the evangelist Ravi Zacharias or pastors Mark 284 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,920 Driscoll Removed from posts. Steve Timmons. 285 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,440 Removed from posts. Mike Pilavacci, Different 286 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,200 leaders, different stories, different circumstances. 287 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:44,200 And yet when they fall, it hurts the church. 288 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,320 And it caused people to ask huge questions. 289 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:49,840 You know, why? What went wrong? 290 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,400 How could this have happened? How did none of us see this 291 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,040 coming? When we look at somebody's phone 292 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:56,760 and go, well, they did everything they say, is it all 293 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:58,120 wrong? Was it all a lie? 294 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,760 Does that mean any one of us could fall in the same way? 295 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,600 I want us to see those are exactly the sort of questions 296 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,080 the early church would have been asking here in Acts 1. 297 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,520 And that is why Peter stands up to speak in verse 15, to 298 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,680 strengthen and encourage the believers to help them process 299 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,440 what has happened, to grieve over and to trust in God's good 300 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,840 and saving purposes even in the face of human sin. 301 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,800 So what does Peter say to the early believers? 302 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,000 Well, the first thing he does is is he faces up to what has 303 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,680 happened. Yes, he spells it out. 304 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,440 He says Judas's betrayal was evil and ugly. 305 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,280 He doesn't minimize what Judas did or play it. 306 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,760 Dying Judas was one of our number. 307 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,480 He shared in our ministry. Yet in the end, he betrayed 308 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:47,840 Jesus and it was ugly. Peter and the other New 309 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,480 Testament writers are clear Judas wasn't a puppet. 310 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,920 He wasn't forced to betray Jesus by God or by anyone else. 311 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,840 In fact, right up to the end, Judas was given opportunities to 312 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:02,200 repent of his actions. Just one example in John's 313 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,800 account of the Last Supper in John 13. 314 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,720 There's that more where Jesus offers Judas a piece of bread at 315 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,440 the meal. And in 1st century Jewish 316 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,920 culture, to pass a morsel of bread like that was a sign of 317 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:18,160 honour and friendship. It's like Jesus making one last 318 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,840 gesture of love towards Judas, one last plea with him to step 319 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,160 back from what he was going to do. 320 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,160 But it feels to change Judas mind. 321 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:34,080 Judas walks out into the night and betrays Jesus, and verses 18 322 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,080 and 19 look records for us the terrible consequences of Judas's 323 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,360 betrayal. He ends up dead in the field his 324 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:46,360 blood money bought, a field known from that moment on as the 325 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:52,040 field of blood. Judas is a picture, a warning 326 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,200 sign of God's judgement. Here, Luke wants his reader to 327 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,080 see God's judgement is real and it is frightening. 328 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,840 Judas of betrayal was evil and ugly, Peter says. 329 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,920 Secondly, Peter has to assure these believers Judas of 330 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:11,360 betrayal didn't catch God off guard or thwart his saving 331 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:14,240 purposes. Again, Fast forward back to 332 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:15,520 today. Whenever a Christian leader 333 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,880 falls, it easily cast doubt on the whole Christian Church. 334 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,600 At least people think, well, maybe is God really able to keep 335 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:23,880 his promises? Maybe we're all just really 336 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:25,360 fragile. Maybe we can all just fall apart 337 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,600 tomorrow. But Peter is emphatic here, the 338 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,840 risen Lord is not defeated by human sin and rebellion, even 339 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,480 from those in leadership, and He will not allow it to prevent Him 340 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,520 and his saving purposes in this world. 341 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,280 So verse 20 Peter quotes from 2 Old Testament Psalms of David, 342 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,680 Psalm 69, Psalm 109. And remember, Jesus has just 343 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,760 spent 40 days with the disciples explaining to them how the whole 344 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,440 Bible points to him. What's the Bible on about Whip 345 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,520 Boa? I think it's what Chris said. 346 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:01,200 It's about him and these psalms, says Peter, they're about Jesus 347 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:06,960 and what happened to Jesus. And Peter says as tragic as it 348 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:10,560 is, the betrayal of Judas was the tragic fulfilment of 349 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,360 Scripture. Judas betrayal of Jesus didn't 350 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:17,880 catch God off guard. Jesus warned Judas repeatedly 351 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,440 against betraying him. He offered Judas that chance to 352 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:21,960 repent. But when Judas refused to 353 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,280 listen, his act of betrayal became part of our story of 354 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,840 salvation. Peter and Luke want us to know 355 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,360 Jesus saving purposes cannot be stopped. 356 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,720 They cannot be thwarted even by the ugliest of human sins and 357 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,840 betrayals. And in a fallen world where 358 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,480 Christian leaders still fall and where sin and selfishness still 359 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,760 permeate the church, that is good news to hold onto. 360 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,960 God is bigger than our sin. He is able to work out his 361 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:53,480 purposes. And the final thing Peter wants 362 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,800 the early believers to see in this situation is that Jesus 363 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:00,520 wasn't finished with the 12. Amazingly, Peter says Jesus, 364 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:05,080 he's not given up on us, even in light of our weaknesses. 365 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,880 And I love the fact that this is Peter saying this to the early 366 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:15,200 church. And Judas wasn't the only person 367 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,920 who betrayed Jesus in some way that night of the crucifixion. 368 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:23,120 Before the crucifixion, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times 369 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:27,080 to save his skin. He ran away weeping bitterly 370 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:29,640 that night. But then after Jesus rose from 371 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,240 the dead, Jesus forgave Peter and restored Peter. 372 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:37,000 And Peter knows from painful but glorious experience, Jesus 373 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,640 doesn't give up on people even in their sin if they come back 374 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,600 to him. Jesus had called on the apostles 375 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,640 to be his witnesses in the world and he was still committed to 376 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,640 those apostles in spite of their weakness and their foolishness. 377 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,200 So Peter says we need to replace Judas. 378 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,520 Why? We might think, well that's that 379 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:06,320 we need to remember that why Jesus chose 12 apostles in the 380 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,960 1st place. That number 12 is deeply 381 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,880 significant. The 12 apostles were meant to be 382 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:16,640 the leaders of a new restored Israel, just as in the Old 383 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,320 Testament it was 12 tribes of Israel. 384 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,040 Jesus deliberately chose 12 apostles to be the leaders of 385 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,600 his church, the new people of God, the church made-up of men 386 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,520 and women from ancient Israel like these first apostles, but 387 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,560 also men and women from every tribe and language and people 388 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,640 and nation. The 12 apostles are equivalent 389 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,000 to those 12 tribes of Israel. This is the new people of God. 390 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,120 These will be the leaders of that people. 391 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,440 And Peter says we need to replace Judas to be ready for 392 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,520 the coming of the Spirit. So Peter lists the 393 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,400 qualifications of an apostle in verses 21 to 22. 394 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:57,880 And they're, it's a pretty high bar. 395 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,720 He said they need to be with us the whole time, the Lord Jesus 396 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,880 living among us from John's baptism of Jesus up to the 397 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,280 ascension of Jesus. For one of these must become a 398 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,200 witness with us of his resurrection. 399 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,920 It's a high bar because these apostles are going to be the 400 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,040 guardians, the preachers, the preservers of the gospel of the 401 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,520 risen Jesus until the New Testament is written, until we 402 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,880 have that recorded for us. It's their gospel that's 403 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,840 preserved in the New Testament, and it's their gospel of the 404 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:30,080 risen Jesus that has the power to say of everyone who believes. 405 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,240 That's why these qualifications are so high and just in passing. 406 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:39,160 That's why in this sense, there are no apostles in this sense 407 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,160 around today. Now some church traditions do 408 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,720 have people named apostles in them, and using that title, they 409 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:51,520 usually understand an apostle to be a leader of leaders in the 410 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:55,320 church, someone senior to maybe elders and pastors, whose job is 411 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,160 to help and encourage elders and pastors. 412 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,040 And that is a great job for anyone to have. 413 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:05,640 But it isn't the same as a 1st century apostle because the 414 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,240 original apostles, Acts insists, were witnesses of the life and 415 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:11,560 resurrection of Jesus. They were the writers of the New 416 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,000 Testament and those entrusted with proclaiming and preserving 417 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:20,760 the gospel for us. So why does this matter? 418 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,080 Is this just a little bit of church history that some geeks 419 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,320 might enjoy but means nothing to the rest of us? 420 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:31,120 Well, actually, no. Put simply, we can thank God for 421 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,200 the apostles and the way they preserved and proclaimed the 422 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,600 gospel for us, and we can stay faithful to the gospel the 423 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,120 apostles preached. There's always temptations to 424 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:44,160 kind of change the gospel, tweak it, make it a little more 425 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,880 palatable. But the apostles lived and died 426 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:53,360 to preserve this gospel for us, because Jesus wants us to know 427 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,880 the certainty of who he is and all that he has done for us. 428 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,280 I love the way the apostle Peter describes the Apostolic Gospel 429 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,720 for us in two Peter 116 and 19. He writes for. 430 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,280 We did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you 431 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,320 about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we 432 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,480 were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. 433 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:20,000 We have this message as something completely reliable, 434 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,120 and you'll do well to pay attention to it as to a light 435 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,920 shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning 436 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,080 star rises in your hearts. I don't know about you. 437 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,960 There's not many things you can say are completely reliable in 438 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,160 this world. But the Apostolic Gospels, one 439 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,240 of them. And again this week, the events 440 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,040 of the last few days in our culture in the West, you just 441 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:48,280 see we live in a dark place with confusion and uncertainty and 442 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:53,720 division and anger and hatreds. We need this light shining in a 443 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,440 dark place. We need the gospel preached and 444 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,640 preserved by the apostles about the risen Jesus. 445 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,760 We need to dig deeply into it to stay faithful to and let it fuel 446 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:10,840 our worship of Jesus and our witness to Jesus as a church. 447 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,800 So just to wrap up what happens next, this process of restoring 448 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,480 the 12 apostles, only two men satisfy the criteria. 449 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,520 Peter sets out verse 23. There's Joseph called Barcebus 450 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,320 and also known as Justice and Matthias just in passing. 451 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,400 It's quite sad. This guy Joseph called Barcebus, 452 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,200 known as Justice, he gets three names, doesn't get chosen. 453 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,120 I'm always sad about that. This guy, he's just like, we 454 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:38,600 know it's you and that's a different Joseph. 455 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,160 No, it's not. You were called Barcebus and 456 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:43,840 Justice. Anyway, the believers then unite 457 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,520 together in prayer. Again, that theme of prayer, 458 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,840 asking God to show them which of the two men he had chosen. 459 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,880 Look down verse 24. Lord, you know everyone's heart. 460 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,240 Show us which of these two you have chosen. 461 00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,480 And you see, this isn't a democratic election. 462 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,320 It's not let's choose the more popular candidate. 463 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,920 It's not even a church member's vote like there's going to be 464 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:10,000 tonight at the September family meeting at six O clock till 465 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,800 7:30. If you're a church member. 466 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:17,760 Because after praying verse 26, the believers cast lots, a bit 467 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,120 like throwing dice and the lot fell to Matthias. 468 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:24,800 Now in the Old Testament, casting lots, a traditional way 469 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:29,000 of determining God's will. Proverbs 1633, the lot is cast 470 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,200 into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord's. 471 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,000 So we may ask, well, why are we bothering with a church vote for 472 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,040 a part time minister? Just throw some dice and find 473 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,320 out what happens. Well, we're not doing that 474 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,760 because for a number of reasons. One of them is actually this is 475 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,200 feels like a very much a one off in biblical history. 476 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:50,480 We need to remember this decision was made before 477 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,880 Pentecost, before the coming of the Holy Spirit, before we had 478 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,640 the whole New Testament with us. And today all believers have the 479 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,320 Holy Spirit and we're able to pray in the light of scripture 480 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:05,800 to ask God to show us his will. There are no further examples of 481 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,280 casting lots in the New Testament. 482 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,360 This seems to be a one off moment. 483 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,920 So for whatever reason they do this. 484 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,200 And Matthias is chosen 3 name, Joseph is not. 485 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:25,800 And we end this passage with the 12 apostles complete again, the 486 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,920 early church continuing and prayer together as they wait for 487 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:35,080 the Holy Spirit to come. And we'll see that event next 488 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,960 week. OK, I hope we've seen there's 489 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:40,920 lots of just unique moments in this. 490 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,600 This is not the world we live in in Acts chapter 1. 491 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,360 And yet, what does this passage have to say to us today as we 492 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:52,440 read it? I think it just has to say 493 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:58,240 prayer must be at the heart of every local church that is on 494 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:02,080 mission with Jesus. The picture we get here of the 495 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:06,320 early church is of a group who joined together constantly in 496 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,680 prayer. Why? 497 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,000 Because they know how much they need God, They know the mammoth 498 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,680 nature of the task in front of them, and they know they cannot 499 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,320 do it on their own. A church on mission with the 500 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,400 risen Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit is a church that 501 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,800 prays. So as we finish, how does this 502 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:32,200 passage encourage us to pray individually, but even more so 503 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,080 corporately together as a church family? 504 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,680 I think look at some beautiful pictures of prayer here. 505 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,400 What is prayer? Prayer is responding to God in 506 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,080 his words. I don't know how often you maybe 507 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:47,040 think I might pray and just the words don't come. 508 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:49,520 You just, your mind is blank, you can't think about it and 509 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:51,040 say, well, actually look at what the apostles do. 510 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,440 They pray in response to the word of God. 511 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,200 They look at these psalms and they pray in response to you 512 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,800 see, we speak to God in prayer because God first speaks to us 513 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,440 in his word. We speak to God in prayer 514 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,520 because God invites us to speak to him. 515 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,560 Prayer is always initiated by God. 516 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:09,280 He's the one who makes the first move. 517 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,880 We are responding to him. Again, the apostles, the early 518 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,800 church here, they're praying in response to the promises of 519 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,520 Jesus. And notice the fact that Jesus 520 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:21,800 promised something isn't an excuse not to pray. 521 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,320 We might say, well, well, Jesus said the Holy Spirit's coming. 522 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,040 Just chill out for a bit. Relax until he comes. 523 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:28,840 You, he's going to come. Jesus said he would. 524 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,960 But no, the early church says, we are praying to be ready for 525 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,040 that. We know that the Holy Spirit's 526 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,160 coming. Jesus told us we want to be 527 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,160 ready. Actually the promises of God 528 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,120 aren't somebody got we don't need to pray for actually an 529 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,800 encouragement to keep praying. God has promised this. 530 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:51,320 Let's keep praying for it. Unlike the apostles, A great 531 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:56,720 fuel for prayer is the psalms. Tonight at the following 532 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,840 meeting, we're going to start our our time just looking at a 533 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,160 Psalm together and thinking what does it tell us about who God 534 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:06,240 is, who we are, why we pray. Reading a Psalm helps us see 535 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,640 this is what prayer is like. I could be completely honest 536 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:11,040 with God. God is big. 537 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,880 He is strong. He is able to hear my requests, 538 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:19,240 my griefs, my questions, my joy. The Psalms run the whole gamut 539 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:22,120 of human emotion, and the Psalms give it an insight into the 540 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,240 intimate life of prayer that Jesus has with the Father that 541 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,600 we now can have with the Father. Prayer is responding to God in 542 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,440 His Word. That's a gift of my sabbatical 543 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,360 early on, an early, an older leader told me, just read a 544 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,480 couple of Psalms every day before you pray and just let 545 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:41,760 that fuel you. I can say it's been 546 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:46,040 transformative. Prayer is responding to God in 547 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,760 his Word and prayer is partnership with God. 548 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,040 Amazingly, in prayer, God invites his people to play a 549 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:59,240 part in his sovereign saving purposes in this world. 550 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:02,760 Again, we could just say, well, well God's going to do what He's 551 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:07,880 going to do, but no, God wants us to play our part in that. 552 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,440 In one sense, God doesn't need our prayers at all, but he wants 553 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,280 them because he doesn't need us at all. 554 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:17,400 But he wants us. He loves us. 555 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:22,520 He delights to partner with us. We are God's Co workers in his 556 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,720 mission and a huge part of that is when we pray to him. 557 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,920 Why would he want to miss out on that partnership? 558 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,560 And finally, I think Luke shows us prayer is intimacy with God. 559 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:38,560 And this is unique moment in history. 560 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,000 The disciples, Jesus has left them. 561 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,680 The Spirit has not yet come. You might think this is just be 562 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,120 one of the loneliest seasons they will ever feel. 563 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,160 What do they do? They they come together and they 564 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:53,800 pray and they remember who God is, who they are, that they are 565 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:58,160 loved by a heavenly Father who has sent his Son to live, die 566 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:01,120 and rise again. And for that group of people, 567 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,800 the Holy Spirit is coming and they encourage each other in 568 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,600 that. For Christians today, we say the 569 00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:11,159 Holy Spirit has come and we encourage each other in that. 570 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:15,000 God is now our Father. We cry ABBA Father, because the 571 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,760 Spirit has come. Jesus is our brother, our high 572 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:20,080 priest. We're united with Jesus because 573 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,760 the Holy Spirit has come. And the Holy Spirit helps us 574 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:24,400 when we don't know what to pray for. 575 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:29,360 He groans with us, helping us in our prayers. 576 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,920 This passage, with all its unique details, is at bottom 577 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,280 just a call for God's people to pray. 578 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,040 The book of Acts is, if you like, a school of prayer. 579 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,800 Every moment in this, every big turning point, you see God's 580 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,719 people praying. And that is an invitation and 581 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:53,880 encouragement, a spur to us. Will we pray together in the 582 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:58,360 months and weeks to come? Will we learn to join together 583 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:02,280 constantly in prayer? We do that in family meetings 584 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,440 like tonight, in home groups on Sunday mornings. 585 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:07,000 But maybe we need to think together. 586 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,040 Are there other ways we can encourage each other? 587 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,240 Whether we we use Sunday evenings more for for prayer, 588 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:15,320 online prayer meetings, praying in each other's homes, they'll 589 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,000 be setting apart a week of prayer in the near future, as we 590 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:22,000 have done in the past. The book of Acts says we cannot 591 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,920 live as witnesses for Jesus without God's help, without the 592 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,360 Spirit leading us, without a clear vision of Jesus. 593 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:33,360 And for that to come, we need to be a church that prays. 594 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:40,400 We're different to these apostles, this early church, 595 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:46,040 gloriously, the Holy Spirit has come, but we can learn from 596 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,080 them. They join together constantly in 597 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:50,680 prayer. May that be more and more a 598 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:54,360 description of our life together as a church family at Ave. 599 00:35:54,360 --> 00:36:07,600 Let me pray for us as we finish. Father God, we thank you that 600 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:13,040 you're not far off from us, that we are not cut off from you, 601 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,560 that Lord, you've come near to us in the person of your son, 602 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:20,960 You've come near to us in the person of your spirit. 603 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:25,680 And Lord, you want to partner with us. 604 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:30,480 Astonishingly, you want to call us your Co workers for your 605 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:35,600 saving purposes in this world. Would you encourage us in that? 606 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,320 Would each one of us want to play our part in that? 607 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:43,080 Knowing that this is not just an obligation or a duty, but an 608 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,840 opportunity to know more of your love and care for each one of us 609 00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:51,120 and for us corporately as a church, and an opportunity to 610 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:55,160 see you powerfully at work in and free us for your saving 611 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:59,480 purposes in this world. Thank you for those apostles who 612 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:04,880 prayed fervently 2000 years ago. Help us to see what you're 613 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:09,440 calling us to pray about and to join together in prayer about in 614 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:14,720 this coming season. In Jesus name we ask it Amen.