Bringing God Into Our Decisions
(Acts 1:15-26)
1. This was a very rough week for many people.
2. The Williams family had a traumatic time.
3. We had 8 surgeries in the church family within a 7 day period, all during one of our two busiest weeks of the year, camp time.
4. I have been through similarly hectic times before, although this is a record for surgeries.
5. During such times, a pastor has to make some tough decisions: where is my attention most needed? And, amazingly, it works out.
6. The bottom line is that we can only control so much.
7. The Apostles knew this; in out text, we find ourselves between the Ascension of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost.
8. Last week, I could not quite make it through the text, and I am not going to try to finish my message.
9. I do want to point out, however, that:
They PRAYED
Not NECESSARILY for the Spirit to come
• Christ died on Passover, rose on First Fruits, and Spirit would come on Pentecost whether they prayed or not; they prayed to prepare themselves…
• 10 day period…perhaps similar to the 10 Day period before another feast, Yom Kippur: "…the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance which culminate in the Day of Atonement…" Rabbi J. H. Hertz
• But to prepare themselves and to demonstrate that they recognized that God, and not they themselves, were in ultimate control.
Main Idea: Much of life is out of our hands, but our lives are greatly influenced by the choices we and others make.
I. How The Apostles ADJUSTED to the Judas’ Trauma (15-26)
1. The Apostles probably took it rough that one of their number had betrayed Jesus
• They had been together for roughly 3 years, the last year or more full time
• They traveled together, bunked together, ate together, taught together
• Judas’ was the treasurer, therefore trusted
2. When something is difficult to do, the temptation is to put it off; the secret to getting things do is to do the things you don’t want to do first…
A. They FACED the Ugliness of Reality (15-19)
1. This was the times in between the Ascension & Pentecost (10 days)
2. We should assume that Peter and the Apostles knew what they were doing
3. Perhaps Jesus instructed them to do this during the 40 days He taught them…
4. What Scripture had to be fulfilled?
Psalm 41:9 (of Ahithophel) “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”
John 13:18, “"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ’He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’”
Zechariah 13:4-17 is a prophecy about the rejection of the Messiah, His evaluation as being worth 30 pieces of silver, and the money being paid to a potter.
5. When Judas went to hang himself, he failed and his body fell into the field; the priests bought that field with Judas’ thirty pieces of silver, and it became a cemetery for strangers who died while in Jerusalem.
6. They did not go along with the trend to excuse people of their wrongs; circumstances may make it easier for us to make wrong choices, but we are still responsible.
7. Criminals in prison: the knife went in, the gun went off…
B. They TURNED to the Scriptures (20)
1. The prophecies and teachings of the Old Testament are still relevant under the New Covenant; all Scripture is supernaturally inspired by God – the NT is not more inspired than the OT, nor vice-versa.
2. Whether these verses were prophetic of Judas or simply teaching a principle (my view), they sought to find their guiding principles from God’s Word
3. Even the Apostles were accountable to the authority of God’s Word
4. No one is above the Scriptures, for to be above them is to be above God
C. They PROACTIVELY Addressed the Need (21-22)
1. They knew the job of an apostle and spelled out the criteria
2. This is why we do not have apostles in the same sense of the early church
3. Required to have been a witness to the risen Christ…
D. They CONSULTED God (23-26)
1. They did not leave God out of the equation
2. Human wisdom is not enough; we must be under the Lordship of Christ; that means submitting our ideas, plans, and dreams to Him!
3. Note what they did not to: they did not put matters up to a vote.
4. Why not? When you have competitive votes, you have winners and losers, and you divide a congregation.
5. There was a consensus that two men were equally qualified, so they prayed and did the equivalent of tossing a coin…Perhaps Jesus even commanded them to determine a successor for Judas this way?
6. If they had chosen either man, they were in line with God’s revealed will. In that they could not make a mistake from their end.
:Much of life is out of our hands, but our lives are greatly influenced by the choices we and others make
II. Principles for Us to APPLY
A. We Cannot CONTROL The Choices Others Make (15-17)
Wayne Hariston tells this story (Reader’s Digest)
My wife and I get along just great—except she’s a back-seat driver second to none. On my way home from work one day, my cell phone rang as I merged onto a freeway bypass. It was my wife. By chance, she had entered the bypass right behind me.
"Honey," she said, "your turn signal is still on. And put your lights on—it’s starting to rain."
1. Judas had his share of warnings, but he did not heed them
2. The Bible tells us that he was corrupt
3. John 12:4-6 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
4. Even communism and fascism could not control what people thought; you can force someone to profess faith in Christ, but you cannot make someone believe.
5. This is true in varying degrees with our children
-Dobson makes the point that our children cannot surrender their wills to Christ if they do not have a will of their own to surrender…
-As our children age, we go from control to influence until they are on their own, and then we can only offer to be advisors -- if they want us to.
-The transitions are rough…
B. Our Foolish Decisions Often Come Back to BITE Us (18-19)
1. Judas is, in a sense, an example of a principle we have all experienced; you make a horribly wrong choice, you regret it, but there is nothing you can do to fix it; it is too late. The damage is done.
2. Who has not been there and done that is some way?
3. When this happens, some people may think rubbing it in will help us learn; others try to tell us that it isn’t our fault when it is; best approach is the honesty approach: we asked for it, but I don’t have to either tell you that or deny that; I can, instead, sympathize with the sad consequences you bear despite the fact that you set yourself up for them
Instead of saying, "you made your bed, now sleep in it"
Or "You didn’t make your bed but you have to sleep in it as an innocent victim,"
We say,
"Sorry you have to sleep in it."
4. In the case of Judas, his choice was so evil (the Bible even says that Satan entered him) that there was no sympathy that could be extended to him…
C. We Have to ADJUST To Choices Others Make (20)
1. It is frustrating when others make foolish decisions that involve us. The parents (or lack of parents) some youngsters have is tragic; working for an unreasonable boss is a no-win situation. Having to jump through hoop after hoop and being ensnared in red tape drives us all crazy.
2. God made us to be family creatures and social creatures; in a sin-cursed world filled with fallen humans, we often do find ourselves victims to the whims or defects of others.
3. But the apostles set the tone: carry on.
D. We Should Make Decisions With GODLY Logic (21-22)
Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? According to an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it’s going. Because it can’t adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus.
• There are all sorts of schools of thought when it comes to trying to find God’s will for decisions we must make.
• Two scales: the intellectual (wisdom) and the mystical (subjective leading)
• Some people open their Bibles and where it lands
• Others see a verse that impresses them in their quiet time -- it may have nothing to do with the decision as far as a principle goes…
• Many simply make decisions based upon what they want, and then engage in spiritual lying, "The Lord led me…" Responsibility evasion
We see where the apostles started: with Biblical, logical criteria.
E. We Should Leave Room for God in the Decision PROCESS (23-26)
But that does not take us all the way in every situations. In this case, it was a choice of 6 of one and half a dozen of the other…
In many situations, it is best to wait: time will clarify matters. But sometimes we cannot wait. The time is at hand.
How to bring God into the process after we have used the principles of Scripture and wisdom….
1. Prayer
2. A tie breaker of some sort…
• a strong subjective impression you believe to be from the Spirit (after clearing with Scripture); the dangers here: emotional vs. spiritual
• godly counsel
• prayer
• instinct
• tossing a coin…
Much of life is out of our hands, but our lives are greatly influenced by the choices we and others make
