IMPORTANT PREPARATIONS CONCERNING CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Part 1
Acts 1:12-14
The preceding verses record the final conversation that Jesus had with His Disciples before His ascension. Jesus had chosen these men for a specific mission, soon that mission would commence. In these verses we find much information that is vital for the mission that Jesus has assigned to us as well. There are certain precautions and preparations that we must consider concerning our future ministry. Today I would like for us to consider “Some Important Preparations for Christian Ministry”. In verses 12-14 we will see that:
1. We Must Be Obedient
2. We Must Be Unified
3. We Must Be Prayerful
4. We Must Be Steadfast
- If we will do these things then we can be successful in our efforts concerning Christian ministry. Let’s begin with the fact that:
I. WE MUST BE OBEDIENT
v12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey.
The Disciples had received a clear command from the Savior; there was no doubt as to what He would have them do with the rest of their lives. These men were obedient to His command and the Church has been blessed as a result. Though there must have been sorrow at the departure of Jesus, at the same time the Disciples will filled with awe and joy as they witnessed His ascension. Luke describes this in more detail in the closing verses of his Gospel account:
Luke 24:51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
The Apostles journeyed about 1/2 of a mile from the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley back to Jerusalem. Luke says that this was “a Sabbath day’s journey”. This does not mean that it took the entire Sabbath to make this trip; it refers to the fact that this was the greatest distance a Jew would travel on the Sabbath day.
In verse 4, Jesus commanded the Disciples “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father” . That is exactly what they did; they returned to Jerusalem and remained there until the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost. As they waited, they “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication”
After Jesus’ departure, these men had a decision to make; if they had not obeyed fully then they would not have experienced the great things that God had in store for them. They were not impulsive; they did not go ahead and begin their ministry before the Holy Spirit had come upon them. If they had, they would not have been successful; in fact they would have done more harm than good.
These men did not give in to fear either; there may have been a temptation to return to the old life, to go back to what was easy and to escape the persecution of the Jews. Instead of doing this, they obeyed Jesus’ command to return to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. History would have been much different if these men had scattered and went their own way. Who knows what would have happened if they had not been together in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
Like those Disciples, Jesus has a plan for us and we must be obedient to Him, we must follow His direction as individuals and as a church. If we are not where God wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do, there will be serious consequences.
There is no way to know how many people have been reached for Christ as a result of the ministry of this church. Have you ever stopped to consider how many people would not have heard the Gospel if those faithful Christians had not planted this church back in 1912? Many of you were led to the Lord by someone in this church. Many of you have grown in your faith because of the ministry of Stockdale Baptist Church. We simply cannot measure the spiritual fruit that has been produced in this place over the years.
It is no secret that this church weathered some severe storms in the mid to late 90s. Have you ever stopped to think about what would have happened if the Devil had succeeded in destroying this ministry? From what I have been told there was a time when more people left this church than stayed. But God had a plan for this church and He put certain people in place to ensure that the ministry would continue. Because of their faithfulness, we are still here almost 30 years later and the work continues.
One example is Bro. Ed Heptinstall; Bro. Ed had retired after a long term ministry in Anniston and through a certain chain of events God sent him here and he led this church through some very tough times. Several people have told me that they believe that if it were not for Brother Ed, this church would not have survived. Just imagine what might have happened if he had been disobedient to the Lord and stayed in retirement.
Several of you left this church for a time and then God led you back to us. I have a similar story, there have been times when I tried to leave and times when others churches tried to come and get me. Through it all, God made it clear that the work was not complete and I had to choose whether to do what I wanted to do or be obedient to the Lord.
Many of you have wanted to leave, perhaps you even tried to leave, but God would not allow it; you remained faithful, you weathered the storm and the Lord has used you to reach people through this ministry. There are others who have never once thought about leaving. You have been faithful to the ministry and devoted to the Lord and countless souls have been reached as a result of your service. There is no way to know what would have happened if the faithful servants in this church had not been obedient to God’s will for their lives. The lives of many people would have been impacted by their disobedience.
The current state of this church proves that great things happen when God’s people are obedient to Him. However, I cannot help but think about what more could have been done if others had been as faithful as those that I have mentioned. You see, there are many others who ignored God’s will, they turned their focus away from Him, they went their way instead of His, and they have had a negative impact on this church and ultimately the Kingdom of God.
There are people who should be in attendance today who haven’t darkened the doors of this church in years. These people should not just be in attendance, they should be teaching classes, leading ministries, serving as deacons and even preaching the Gospel. But for one reason or another they disobeyed the Lord and neglected His call on their life.
There may come a time when you desire to leave this assembly and move on to another, (and there are times when that is completely in line with God’s will) but let me encourage you to make certain that it is what God wants and not what you want! If you are disobedient to God’s will, if you ignore His call on your life you will suffer, this ministry will suffer, and the Kingdom of God will be impacted in a negative way.
Look to the Apostles, they were faithful and obedient and God used them to accomplish great things for His glory. They didn’t do what they wanted to do, they didn’t do what was easy, they did what was commanded and the book of Acts tells of the fruitfulness that came as a result of their obedience. If we want to be ready for our future ministry, we must be obedient
- Not only were the Disciples obedient they were unified. This is vital to the success of any church, ours included. This leads us to the fact that:
II. WE MUST BE UNIFIED
v13 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. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
When the followers of Christ arrived in Jerusalem, they returned to the upper room where they were staying. Gathered in the upper room was Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the less, Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James. Along with them were Mary and the half-brothers of the Lord Jesus.This assembly likely included Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, the sisters Mary and Martha, and Salome and possibly some of the apostles’ wives.
It is interesting to note who was there and who was not present. This is the fourth (and final) time that the Lord’s Disciples are listed. On this occasion there is one notable omission, Judas Iscariot was not there. As the Disciples gathered waiting on the arrival of the Holy Spirit, Judas was in Hell! This reminds us that just because someone is numbered with the Disciples that doesn’t mean that they are genuine followers of Christ.
There are also some interesting additions to the congregation of Christ followers: Luke tells us that the brothers of the Lord were present. Mark 6:3 identifies these men as James, Joses, Judas, and Simon. Before the Resurrection, the half-brothers of Jesus did not believe in Him. (John 7:5) We are not given the details but something convinced these men that Jesus was the Messiah and they came to believe in Him. In fact, James eventually became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. This shows us that there is hope of salvation for those who do not currently belong to the Lord. Luke declares that as these believers were gathered together in “one accord”.
This phrase, which is found 11 times in the Book of Acts, is made up of two words that mean “same” and “mind.” The phrase speaks of people sharing the same mind or thinking like-mindedly. It does not refer to people who all think and feel the same way about everything, but to people who set aside personal feelings and commit themselves to one task—in this case witnessing to others about the Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV Study Bible, Full-Color (p. 6722). Thomas Nelson.)
Unity was an important part of the success of the early church and it is vital to the success of the church today. (Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!) We are blessed to experience great unity within our assembly. This is pleasing to God and it is something that He expects from His people. Jesus said to the Disciples “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)
If we are to be successful in our future ministry, we must possess love and unity. We cannot take for granted the unity that we possess; for this is something that the Enemy will seek to destroy if given the chance. If Satan can sow seeds of discord within this assembly, He certainly will. Therefore, we must never let our guard down. We must not become arrogant or complacent when it comes to unity within the church. As soon as we become distracted, as soon as this assembly becomes about us and what we want, trouble is imminent. Like the Apostles and the other Christians in the early church, we must make certain the Jesus Christ is our only focus.
There are two other preparations that we must make concerning our future ministry; like the brothers and sisters who were part of the early church, we must be prayerful and we must be steadfast. Throughout Acts there are many examples of the power of a praying church. If we truly want to be prepared for our future ministry for the Lord, then we must spend time together in prayer. Furthermore, as we make preparations for our future ministry, we must be steadfast.
The actions of those in the early church were not temporary, they continued to be obedient, they continued to be unified and they continued in prayer. God has a plan for the future ministry of this church, and this plan requires us to make some preparations:
1. We Must Be Obedient
2. We Must Be Unified
3. We Must Be Prayerful
4. We Must Be Steadfast
The Holy Spirit that moved in the lives of the Christians in the early church is still moving today. If we will take the proper precautions and make the proper preparations we can have an impact in the world today. I pray that you are willing to do this; I pray that we will do what is necessary concerning these “Important Preparations For Christian Ministry”.
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