Acts 1b - January 15, 2017 (1st string - ’08)
Turn with me this morning to Acts 1. We looked last week at the first few verses, and we were reminded that we need to be faithful in being a witness of what we know to be true. We want to start the year of recommitted to living in the present, embracing the opportunities before us, and looking for God to make this a great year as we seek to serve Him faithfully. We talked last week about how the disciples were standing around staring into heaven, and the message of the angels was to “get on with life” - we need to be busy doing the job God has given us: being faithful witnesses.
When I was in high school, there was a girl in my youth group, Jane Doe, who one week brought her boyfriend with her: John Smith. John was socially dysfunctional. But John got gloriously saved. When God saved John, God got 100% of John life. John changed many of his sinful behaviors. John started dressing up in 3 piece suits to go to public high school. John had terrible dandruff and terrible bad breath. And John did everything you’d think would drive people away from the Lord. John would preach in the hallways at his locker before and after school. But you know what? God used John to see many people accept Christ as Savior. Maybe because of John;s witness, maybe in spite of John’s witness, but God received great glory through John’s sincere witness. You don’t need to have all the answers, be a smooth talker, or have a flawless presentation - you begin sharing what God has done for you and let God take care of the rest. And God WILL accomplish amazing things, when we are faithful in doing our part.
Each of us can do a better job of being a witness for Christ. This morning we are going to pick up where we left off in chapter 1. Let’s begin reading at verse 12.
Read Acts 1:12-26 PRAY
This morning we want to take a few minutes to reflect on the disciples after the ascension and before the day of Pentecost. Jesus has told the disciples to wait at Jerusalem until they receive the Holy Spirit, then He ascended up into heaven. So while they are waiting, what takes place? Some great organizational ministry! And there are several lessons for us to learn from these verses that we might read right over. First,
there are many, many things that they did right that we can learn from:
* They acted in unity - vs. 14 tells us They all joined together. . . The KJV says These all continued with one accord. . . - as they go back to the city, they go back to the large meeting area where they had been staying. There was a mixed group here, the eleven remaining disciples are there, so is Jesus’ mother Mary , other women, Jesus’ brothers, and a group of about 120 other disciples. These disciples came from all different walks of life. Simon was a Zealot - a zionist who probably actively fought the Romans: Matthew had been a tax collector - a collaborator with the Romans - so there was a pretty natural tension between the two of them. James and John the sons of thunder are there. They probably were still being talked about for having had their mother ask Jesus for special preference for them. There were probably a lot of petty rivalries between the various followers - remember how as they travel together it seems that they frequently are arguing about who is Jesus’ favorite, who is the most spiritual of them, who will get to sit on Jesus’ right and left side in heaven.
But sadly, in churches today, we still see the same thing taking place. We come together as a diverse group - blue collar workers, white collar workers, some focusing on their IRAs and some focusing on their IOUs. Some active in ministry, and some simply warming the seats. And sadly, Satan loves to stir up contention between brothers and sisters in Christ. Satan tries to get us to look down on one another, impugn the motives of one another, think less of one another.
But that is NOT God’s will for us! What IS God’s will? Psalm 133 - How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Jesus prays in His prayer for the disciples in John 17 - My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. Colossians calls us to be united in love - a phrasing using the terminology of the disciples “mending their nets.” Philippians 2 calls us to in humility consider others better than yourselves.
So in spite of their differences, we see these disciples gather together in UNITY! Remember there is a difference between unity and uniformity. I’m sure they didn’t all feel the same about everything, but they chose intentionally to work together in unity and harmony. Whenever we have conflict with a brother or sister, it’s because we aren’t both keeping our focus on Christ. We can have disagreements and still have unity, but we can’t have disharmony and still have unity. The example of these early Christians is a strong one for us today: let’s live in UNITY! The second lesson they teach us is this:
* They prayed together about the situation - vs. 14 again, They all joined together constantly in prayer. They were not just sitting around waiting. They didn’t start strategizing trying to come up with their best plans for accomplishing God’s work. But rather they brought their situation constantly to God in prayer. Prayer prepares our hearts to receive the work that God wants us to be doing. Yes, the Holy Spirit was soon coming, but to prepare for receiving the Spirit, they are constantly in prayer. Yes, I believe that prayer moves God to act - but I also believe one of the key purposes of prayer is to change US so that we are ready for what God has in store for us. As we start out the new year, I would ask you, plead with you, to be praying faithfully - not just asking God for things, but taking time to listen, to hear what it is that God would say to you. Listen to hear how God may move your heart and lead you to action. In almost every chapter in Acts you find a reference to prayer, and the book makes it very clear that powerful things happen when God’s people pray. There is a church historian J. Edwin Orr who makes the claim, “no great spiritual awakening has begun anywhere in the world apart from united prayer—Christians persistently praying for revival.” When God wants to do something special in the world, he first gets his people to start praying. I have a great video in my office that talks about how God used prayer to initiate various great spiritual awakenings throughout history. A third lesson for us
* They applied God’s word to their decisions - as they considered their situation, they turned to the Scripture for guidance. And that principle holds true for us today as well. As we consider what God has in store for us, we always want God’s word to be that lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Yes, there are times we deal with issues that scripture doesn’t address - what color carpet should we get? - but we always want to look to God’s word for any light that it can shed on the decisions we make.
Peter stands up, and in verse 16 we see he says, Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas. What is he doing? He is using scripture to help them process everything that they have just experienced regarding Judas. Try to imagine what the disciples must have been feeling: great betrayal by one of their own. Judas was an intimate part of the group. He held leadership responsibility. When Jesus says at the last supper “one of you will betray me” they don’t start turning to one another saying, “I’ll bet it’s Judas - he never COULD cast out demons!” So when Judas betrays Christ, brings the soldiers to arrest Jesus, it surely must have caused great hurt and disappointment to all the other disciples. There must have been great humiliation, for verse 19 says, Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this. So to help them process how this could be - Peter points out that this was predicted by the scriptures. Judas’ betrayal didn’t surprise Jesus, but it was a great surprise and heartbreak for the other disciples.
So Peter points out the need to follow the scripture and choose a replacement for Judas. Verse 20 - May another take his place of leadership. They use God’s word to lead them in their decisions. Next,
* They did their homework - they want to choose a replacement for Judas, but not anyone could fill that spot. There were qualifications for the replacement for Judas. Vs. 21 - Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So to be one of the twelve apostles, they needed to find someone who met the qualifications. And so they narrow down the field to two qualified candidates: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. It wasn’t a popularity contest. It wasn’t about who had the most influence. It was about selecting the candidates who best fit the qualifications.
So why was it necessary to have a replacement? First, the OT called for a replacement. But one of the reasons why is seen in Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:28 - “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus said there would be twelve thrones for the disciples to fill. But I don’t believe Judas would not be one of those. Scripture seems to indicate that Judas went to hell when he died -- not because he committed suicide, but because he never had a heart belief, he chose to follow Satan. John 13 tells us that Judas was indwelt by Satan himself. So a replacement was necessary.
Another lesson we learn from these disciples is how they handle ministry. I would say,
* They involved “2nd String” players. In thinking about this passage, if I had asked you who Joseph Barsabbas was, would you have known? How about if I had asked you to tell me the names of the twelve apostles - would you give me the name of Matthias? Chances are, probably not. And yet these were key disciples - yet they never were in the limelight.
I’d like you to think back with me today to grade school. In my grade school, the game of choice on those hot spring days before school was out was kickball. The teacher would pick two captains, and then the task of choosing sides began. Normally the tall, strong, coordinated boys were chosen first. Then came the average boys and girls. Finally, there were just a few left. Then only two. Sometimes it came down to the last pick - Leroy. If it was a recess game, the captain whose turn it was to take Leroy would sometimes say, “We’ll take whoever comes next, and you can have Leroy.”
Now, let me ask you something. How does it feel to be unwanted? Were you ever there? For myself, I was one of the first to be chosen for kickball, but in college years, I was one of the last to be chosen for basketball. We all can’t be first string. Today, we see some men who “also” played. Men who were faithful, but who were what we might call the “second string” disciples.
In our passage today, we see the replacement of Judas Iscariot with Matthias. Matthias was a disciple of Jesus from the beginning, following even from John’s baptism, verse 22 tells us. But he is a disciple who is not in the “spotlight.” He was one of the “second string.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he was a lesser disciple or any less important, but he was not one of the disciples who we tend to focus on. In fact, verse 15 tells us there were 120 followers at Jerusalem there in the upper room. But we tend to focus on the familiar ones, often focusing on three: Peter, James, and John.
* They viewed ministry as shared ministry - look at verse 17 - Peter reminds the disciples that ministry is something that we share. We work together in ministry. Paul reminded the believes in 1 Corinthians 3 that we should not seek to build a following for ourselves; he didn’t seek to take the credit for what was done:
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. We need to understand that in the church the pastor is not here to do the ministry. Rather God calls the pastor to prepare the congregation to serve and minister. Eph 4:11 - God “gave some to be. . . pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Sometimes we think if any ministry needs done, we should call the pastor. That’s not God’s design.
If you have an unsaved co-worker, don’t call me to visit him. While I’m glad to go, and in fact, I’ll go with you, yet YOU are the one who will have the relationship with them to share the gospel with them. If you need help knowing WHAT to say, I’ll be glad to prepare you. But ministry is done by the congregation. We see that
* Faithfulness does not bring Fame - We find these disciples, along with the other 120, never getting recognized in the many miracles of Jesus. They were there; they watched; they served; they shared in ministry. But they didn’t get the recognition. And part of serving out of the spotlight means we need to be willing to serve even when we don’t get our name in the bulletin.
My first pastorate was in a church in PA that had name plaques on everything. Everything was dedicated to someone; and nothing could ever be disposed of, because it had someone’s name on it. Here at Bethel the elders have chosen NOT to recognize people with dedication plaques. Yes, those who serve WILL be rewarded, but not by being in the spotlight here on earth. Joseph and Matthias and many of the others are just as faithful as the 11 -- yet they never receive the spotlight in the scriptures.
* Those on the “2nd String” need to rejoice with those in the spotlight. Think with me a little. How do you think Joseph Barsabbas felt when Matthias was chosen as the 12th apostle? Our human nature would make us think that he might have been a little jealous. “Why was HE chosen? I’ve been as faithful as him!” But ideally the response should have been - “I’m really happy for him! This is a great honor for him.” On the other hand, how do you think Matthias felt about Joseph -- do you think he said “Good! That Joseph never was any good - I’m a lot better than he” -- or do you think he thought, “I wonder if Joseph is doing okay with this? I ought to give him some encouragement.”
As Christians, Romans 12 calls us, Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
How well do we celebrate the successes of others? Especially when their success means we stay out of the limelight? And on the flip side, how well do we do at considering the hurt and disappointment of others. How good of a job of offering encouragement do we do? And then the last thing we see here,
* They trusted God with the results - Yes, they cast lots, and no, we don’t need to flip coins today. But remember that this is before they receive the Holy Spirit. They did their part - they researched the candidates, but now they needed God to do His part and choose between the two. Notice the key reason - they needed to have the man who had a right heart before God. Verse 24 - Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen. They trusted that God would bring the right person into the position. The believers had found two people with suitable external qualifications, but those would be useless if the person’s heart was not right. Only God knows the hearts of people unerringly, so they ask his help.
The stage is set for Pentecost, for the promise given by Jesus to be fulfilled. The disciples are together, united in one mind. They are praying. They have filled a leadership position. They are ready. And God is about to do something astounding!
Let’s learn these lessons from the disciples so that we will be prepared for God to use us as well in amazing ways in the days ahead. Let’s pray.
