“Preparing to Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:12-26
Last week we began a study of the Book of Acts by noting five foundational principles on which Christ wanted to build his church. 1.) The Believers Message – Christ is Risen, 2.) The Believers Might – the power of the Holy Spirit, 3.) The Believer’s Mission – to establish the Kingdom of Heaven, 4.) The Believers Mandate – to make disciples and 5.) The Believer’s Motivation – the Lord is Coming Again.
All that follows in the book of Acts is the historical outworking of those five principles. The early believers did not yet have the promised power of the Holy Spirit and they were told to wait in Jerusalem until that gift was given. ...This second half of Acts 1 deals with the disciples period of waiting prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Note with me please five ways the disciples prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. I believe that this five methods can be utilized in our lives regarding a refreshing of the Spirit or personal revival.
I. THE DISCIPLES PREPARED TO RECEIVE
THE HOLY SPIRIT BY PRACTICING
SIMPLE OBEDIENCE vv. 12-14
“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. (13) 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.”
There are few things in this life harder to do than to have to wait. “We are people of action. So we expect action – immediately. The Spirit should come at once….Instead we find delay.
Sometimes we have periods like this in our lives, and they make tough going for us. These are often the hardest periods for us to live through. We want to do something. Or, what is even more significant, we want God to do something. When God does not do anything, we think, Things have gone wrong. Things should be happening if I really am a Christian and really am on track with God. That is not necessarily the case.
This period of waiting was not, however, a period of utter inactivity. It was a time of preparation, which is what waiting times are for. Sometimes in periods of waiting we can see the preparation. At other times we cannot. God is doing things in our lives that we cannot see or at least of which are unaware. Perhaps he is developing our character. We seldom see that, either in others or ourselves. ”
OBEDIENCE MAY REQUIRE THAT WE WAIT NOT THAT WE DO SOMETHING
In his final charge to the disciples before he ascended into heaven, Jesus had commanded the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for him to provide the power to evangelize the world. We find in verse twelve that the disciple did exactly what Jesus had earlier told them to do in verse four. They obeyed their Lord’s command and returned to Jerusalem, “with great joy” (Luke 24:52). There they again met in the upper room. Though it is only speculation I believe that this was the same Upper room in which the Lord ate the last supper with the disciples. The Greek text says, “the” upper room (Not just any upper room). If this conjecture is correct, it is beautifully fitting that the Holy Spirit was given in the very same room in which Jesus promised he would come. There is even a tradition that suggests that it may have been the home owned by Mary, the mother of John Mark, where Luke tells us the church met later on.
During this period of waiting, what amazing memories of the last two weeks must have flooded their hearts: the Resurrection of Lazarus, the Triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the last supper with Jesus, Jesus arrest, the unjust trial and agonizing death on the cross, the Earthquake, the terrible darkness, the temple curtain torn, hearts full of mourning, the disciples fleeing for their lives, the amazing news of Jesus’ resurrection, his talk with disciples on the Road to Emmaus, 40 days of wonder, his last words to evangelize the world, and then seeing the Lord ascend into heaven! Wow! So much had happened in those two months that your head would be spinning. What was next? What would God do, and what should they expect with this coming of the promised Holy Spirit?
They did not know how long they would have to wait., but wait is what they would do for as long as it took for the Lord to fulfill his promise. So they waited, day after day.
“The situations in which we learn most about obedience are those in which we cannot see why we are called to do what we are doing….If we are going through a period like that in your life, when you know what you should do but do not know why you need to do it, or if your are experiencing delay in God’s dealings with you and it seems that you are stuck in one spot and can’t quite get off it, learn that there is valuable preparation for future work just in remaining where God has put you. The action will come later.”
II. THE DISCIPLES PREPARED FOR RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT BY CONTINUING IN FELLOWSHIP
What a variety of people made up this first assembly of believers, whom Luke tells totaled about 120. There were men and women, the eleven surviving apostles and ordinary people and even members of the Lord’s earthly family, Mary the mother of Jesus is mentioned along with “his brothers.” (Incidentally, this is the last mention of Mary in the NT. We have no idea what eventually happened to her. The Roman Catholic dogma (canonized in 1950) that the mother of our Lord was "assumed" into heaven without dying, simply has no basis in fact. Mary was not miraculously conceived, since in Luke 1, she speaks of God as her savior, and since she was born a sinner we know that she eventually died, and in this case, she died in obscurity since nothing more is ever heard from her. In any case, her last recorded appearance in the NT, is here with the others, not being worshiped or adored, but instead worshiping and adoring her son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The others do not pray to her. Certainly there is no claim by her to be “the Mother of God.”
It would have been extremely easy to allow division to come into their midst at this particular moment. The members of the Lord’s earthly family could have claimed some special recognition, or Peter could have been criticized for his denial. Or Perhaps John could have reminded others of how he had stood faithfully at the foot of the cross and had been chosen to care for Mary the mother of Jesus. But they understood that it was not a time to ask, “Who is the greatest?” or “Who had done the most wrong during this time of testing?” It was a time for praying and standing together in the Lord. Luke tells us “these all continued with one accord.”
“I have always felt that Pentecost happened not according to a date on a calendar but in response to reconciliation among the disciples. There were deep tensions among them during and after Jesus’ ministry…Until they were together on their knees, fully open to God and each other, the Holy Spirit could not be given.”
The word translated “with one accord ” homothymadon, implied a togetherness that seems to go beyond mere assembly and activity to agreement about what they were praying for. There was among these believers a wonderful unity that bound them together in Christ. “What was the basis of their harmony? First, they loved Jesus – second, they loved each other – third, they had a great story to tell – fourth, they were willing to give their lives for the Gospel – fifth, they wanted to see Jesus again. Oh, that we might have that accord in all our churches today!”
The disciples knew that without the spiritual power promised from the Lord that it would be impossible to fulfill the Lord’s command to evangelize the world. So they stayed together and they waited, but they were not idle.
III. THE DISCIPLES PREPARED FOR RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT BY CONSTANT PRAYER v. 14
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,”
The narrative in Acts states that they continued in united prayer in the upper room. Let’s take a look at the word "Continued". The verb translated “continued” (proskartereo) means to be busy or persistent in all activity. Their prayer was persevering.
He had commanded them to wait for his to come and then to begin their witness. We learn, therefore, that God’s promises do not render prayer unnecessary. On the contrary, it is only his promises which give us the warrant to pray and the confidence that he will hear us and answer.
I think that it can be assumed that they prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Those who have studied the history of revivals in the church point out that they have always been preceded by times of great prayer by Christian people. It has not necessarily been a large number who have prayed, at least at the beginning. But there was always prayer as the people of God came together to ask for an outpouring of God’s blessings.
Almost all of you are familiar with the children’s book, entitled "The Little Engine That Could". You know the story I’m sure, how when the circus train broke down they asked all the passing trains to help them over the mountain. Each engine had an excuse. I’m too busy to help, I’m too important to help, I’m too old to help, but finally the little blue engine volunteered. But the blue engine looked too small, too weak, to get the circus over the mountain. The most famous part of this story is when the little blue train says, as he struggles up the hill, "I think I can, I think I can", until he makes it up to the top. This is what the Bible means when it says that they "continued" in prayer. There will always be an excuse not to pray. There will always be an excuse to give up praying too soon. Don’t give up, be like the little train. I will let you in on a secret for prayer. Don’t stop praying when it is hard to pray. You need to persevere until it is easy to pray! Like the little train, it is not until you feel the wheels start to roll easily down the hill and the wind blowing on your face that you should stop. The disciples didn’t stop until they heard a sound as a mighty rushing wind.
IV. THE DISCIPLES PREPARED FOR RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT BY STUDYING THE WORD vv 16-19
A. STUDYING THE SCRIPTURE FOR CURRENT NEEDS
As they waited the apostles undoubtedly had some questions about what God was doing in their lives. The joy of those gathered together was tempered by one sad reflection, the tragic defection and suicide of Judas. Perhaps they grappled with the question, “If Jesus knew everything from the beginning, why would he choose a man who would betray Him?” Knowing that everything Jesus did was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, they would naturally turn to Scripture for answers to the problems that confronted him.
When Peter spoke about the need to replace Judas, (v. 16) he began by quoting scripture; “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” Later Peter quoted two specific O.T. passages Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. this would indicate that Peter and perhaps the other apostles as well were studying the Scriptures in those days of waiting looking for answers to the problems that confronted them.
Luke parenthetically gives us an account of the fate of Judas in verses 17 through and 19 . “ for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.” (18) (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. (19) And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)
Some people are tempted to sympathize with Judas because they feel that he role was predicted and therefore (it is thought) foreordained. John Calvin, for all his emphasis on the sovereignty of God, declared, “Judas may not be excused on the ground that what befell him was prophesied, since he fell away not through the compulsion of the prophecy but through the wickedness of his own heart.” God did not force Judas into his betrayal against his will. Judas represents the greatest perhaps the greatest example of wasted opportunity in all of history.
B. STUDYING SCRIPTURE PREPARING FOR THE PROMISE
It would appear that during this time of waiting that the disciples also used the time to research what the Old Testament prophesies had to say about the Holy Spirit. This seems obvious for when the Holy Spirit did come and Peter got up to preach his first great sermon, he began with the most important text concerning the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, Joel 2:28-32.
Sometimes as Christians we say, “We want God to bless our church” or “We want God to bring revival to our church.” But if we are serious about wanting the blessing of God, if we are serious about wanting revival, we need to understand that the way that God blesses is through a study of his word. People must understand what God has written, believe it, respond to it and proclaim it to the lost of this world. If we find ourselves in a time of waiting or inactivity, we need to redeem the time, as the disciples did. We need to become better students of the word.
Two things go together in the Christian life; prayer, in which we talk to God and Bible study, in which God talks to us.
V. THE DISCIPLES PREPARED FOR RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT BY THE SELECTION OF GODLY LEADERS vv.21-26
Peter then lists the qualifications necessary for a replacement vv. 21-22. “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, (22) beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
First, they must "have been with us from the time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us [a Jewish figure of speech for an unhindered association], beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us." (vv. 21-22) Thus, to be chosen one must have been a follower of Christ from the days of John the Baptist until Christ’s ascension. Second, an apostle must have been an eyewitness to Christ’s resurrection.
This has great bearing on the idea of apostolic succession and the question of Biblical authority. First of all, this leaves out the likes of Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin, who while claiming the authority of apostles, meet none of these qualifications.
It should be noted that the apostles chose no new successors for themselves other than at this time, and there is no principle of apostolic succession in place in the NT. Here they were not replacing Judas because he died, but of his defection and the need for the Scripture to be fulfilled. When James is martyred in A.D. 44, the disciples do not name a replacement. The disciples are concerned with founding churches, ordaining deacons and elders who will lead the church when they are gone. Thus there is no support for the Roman Catholic idea of apostolic succession, that is, that the bishop of Rome, the Pope, is Peter’s successor as the head of Christ’s church.
They saw in the defection and death of Judas the need for the appointment of another apostle, they found the justification for it in the fulfillment of Scripture and they made their choice of Matthias by the casting of lots vv. 23-26. “And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. (24) And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen (25) to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” (26) And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
The text says that after praying “they drew lots” to determine between the two candidates that met the qualifications. Two things should be remembered about this practice. First, the drawing of lots was an accepted Old Testament practice. Secondly, this is the last occurrence in Scripture of this practice, since the coming of the Holy Spirit rendered it unnecessary.
“You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen” (v 24). Even in the casting of the lots, the disciples were recognizing that Christ was still in control of the establishment of His church. Peter calls Jesus the “kardiognosta” in verse 24, which means, the heart-knower! What is more, that description is modified by the Greek word “pantwn” which means “of all”. Jesus knew the hearts of every one of them.
Waiting does not mean that we should be inactive, doing anything at all. It does mean that when we are actively seeking a revival we wait for God’s timing, and if we are serious about wanting a revival, we must get ready for it. We must prepare. We must use the days of waiting wisely, believing that if we do, God will send the blessing that we so desperately need.
Conclusion
The disciples could gather in fellowship, they could pray, they act in unity, they could make decisions to affect the corporate life of the body, they could reminisce about the events of the recent past, they could encourage on another. But they need the power of the Holy Spirit to impact the world for Christ. For that they had to wait.
