PREPARING FOR A GREAT MOVE OF GOD
(Part 2)
Acts 1:12-14
(Antioch Baptist Church – Sunday March 2nd, 2025)
Last week we began to examine the final conversation that Jesus had with His Disciples before His ascension. Soon the mission that they had been chosen to accomplish would commence. However, before the work began there was to be a period of waiting. During that interim period the followers of Christ took certain precautions and made certain preparations for their future ministry. This passage contains information that is vital for the mission that Jesus has assigned to us as well.
I would like for us to continue to examine this passage and consider the thought “Preparing For A Great Move Of God” (Part 2). Last week we spent our time together looking at “Some Important Precautions Concerning Christian Ministry”. Today we will move further into this passage and examine:
SOME IMPORTANT PREPARATIONS
CONCERNING 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 for two millennia.
Though there must have been sorrow at the departure of Jesus, at the same time the Disciples were 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.
After the Ascension, 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 all those many years ago? Many of you came to know Christ because of someone associated with this church. Many of you have grown in your faith because of the ministry of Antioch Baptist Church. There is no way for us to accurately measure the spiritual fruit that has been produced in this church throughout its existence.
I am sure that there were times when some of you wanted to leave, perhaps you even tried to leave, but God would not allow it. Thankfully 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 even 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 remained instead of departing. 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
The Lord’s Disciples were obedient; moreover, this passage shows us that they were also unified. Unity is vital to the success of any church. This leads us to the fact that:
II. WE MUST BE UNIFIED
(v13-14)
When the followers of Christ arrived in Jerusalem, “they went up into the upper room where they were staying”. Gathered there 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 the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” It is likely that Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, the sisters Mary and Martha, Salome, and possibly some of the apostles’ wives were included in this assembly as well.
While we are informed of many who were in attendance, it is interesting to note who was not present there in the Upper Room. 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 says, “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.
As we prepare for a great move of God, we must follow the example of those in the early church and be obedient, we must be unified, and verse 14 shows us that:
III. WE MUST BE PRAYERFUL
v14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,
These faithful followers of Christ spent their time waiting on the Holy Spirit in constant prayer. This was not just something they did to pass the time waiting on the Holy Spirit. Prayer was a key element of the early church. All throughout this book you will see great things happening when God’s people pray together.
In Acts 1:24 the church prayed before choosing leaders. In Acts 4:29 after facing persecution the Apostles prayed for boldness. This prayer was answered - Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. In Acts 6-7 the Church prayed before choosing leaders and their prayer was answered and the church grew daily. In Acts 12 the Church prayed for Peter (who was facing a death sentence) and he was miraculously released from prison. In Acts 13 the Church prayed before setting aside Paul & Barnabas as missionaries and church planters and God answered that prayer and the church grew as a result. In Acts 16 Paul & Silas prayed at midnight in prison and God did amazing work that resulted in the conversion of their prison guard and his entire household.
There are many other examples here in Acts and throughout Church history 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. We must seek God’s will and His blessing; we must be in constant communication with Him. We can be assured that if we will pray He will answer. If we pray in unity, He will fill us with His spirit and move in a mighty way. If we will be obedient, unified and fervent in prayer then God can use us to influence this world for Christ. Amazing things will happen when God’s people pray together.
On the other hand, when we fail to pray, we are telling God that we don’t need Him. We are essentially saying we can do this on our own. When we have this mindset, trouble is imminent! The unity, obedience and prayer of the early church was a prelude to Pentecost. If we will be obedient, unified and prayerful, it may be the prelude to revival in this assembly!
Along with obedience, unity and prayer, the early church was steadfast; they were committed and consistent. This leads us to the fact that:
IV. WE MUST BE STEADFAST
v14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,
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. These Believers did not know how long it would be before the Holy Spirit would come upon them. Regardless, they returned to Jerusalem and waited in prayer until that promise was fulfilled.
I am excited about the future of this church, I feel like God is preparing us for something great; but it may not happen next week, next month or even next year. God’s timeline rarely lines up with our own, but we can be assured that His plan will be accomplished according to His divine timeline.
Knowing this, it is imperative for us to surrender to Him and remain faithful until the time that He sees fit to move. We must also realize that God is currently working among us in ways that we cannot see or understand. Therefore, we must be patient, devoted, and steadfast until that time. We should be faithful to focus on the Kingdom, share the Gospel with the lost, disciple those that we have, and trust God to bring the increase!
God has a plan for the future ministry of this church, and this plan involves some precautions:
1. We Must Not Be Distracted By The Unknown
2. We Must Not Forget The Source Of Our Power
3. We Must Not Neglect Our Responsibility
4. We Must Not Lose Our Focus
For us to be the church that God would have us to be there are not only some precautions, there are also some important 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. He has not lost His power. 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 to “Prepare For A Great Move Of God”.
One of the many wonderful benefits of the precautions that were taken and the preparations that we made by those Christians in Jerusalem was the rapid and substantial growth of Christ’s Church. The Apostles and other followers of Jesus were used by Him to take the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The Lord is still using His faithful followers to spread the Gospel all over the world today. Perhaps you are here and you have yet to surrender to Jesus Christ and trust in Him for salvation from your sins. It is important for you to comprehend the reality that Jesus is your only hope of eternal life, He has done everything that is necessary to secure your redemption. We would like to invite and encourage you to repent and believe in Him today.
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