WAITING TIME IS NEVER WASTED TIME
Acts 1:12-26
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James 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 with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
✒ We know that Jesus appeared to the disciples for 40 days between res and ascension.
✒ We know that the disciples waited 10 days until the day of Pentecost. They didn¡¯t know how long they had to wait - they just knew they were to wait.
THIS WAS NOT A TIME OF TWIDDLING THUMBS - they were actively waiting.
4 SPECIFIC THINGS WE KNOW THEY DID:
1. They got their marching orders - 1:6-8
2. They witnessed the ascension - 1:9-12
3. They gathered to pray - 1:13,14
4. They replaced Judas 1:21-26
There are similarities between Joshua/ Acts. That are subtle but there.
✖ both are bridge books to new experiences in the life of God¡¯s people.
✖ both contain commands to ¡®wait¡¯ and prepare themselves ¨C Joshua to take the land/ Acts to receive power.
Waiting time is not wasted time ¨C during my Sabbatical, it took me weeks to wind down, get still, quit pacing. I was so geared up ¨C I didn¡¯t know how to wait.
Churches don¡¯t wait well ¨C we always want something going on - we want to be busy. Churches are busier than ever - activities - ministries - programs ¨C and we aren¡¯t scratching the surface of fulfilling the Great Commission.
Not sure the avg. Xn has a clue why the church is here. If we are going to be effective - we need to find out how to measure effectiveness.
I. WE MEASURE OUR EFFECTIVENESS BY HOW WE ARE STACK UP TO ACTS 1:8
A. GOD¡¯S POWER IS AVAILABLE TO ALL.
We have all the power we need ¨C but we lack the dynamic.
We go in His authority ¨C He is the head of the church. Because of His power, we should never apologize. All the authority of heaven is behind us.
Matt 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, " All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
Some of us are like Barney Fife ¨C we¡¯ve got the badge/ gun - but we don¡¯t have a bullit.
We¡¯re to be like Sheriff Taylor - when we speak, people listen.
☻ We laugh at Barney because he¡¯s all talk & no action. Couldn¡¯t deliver the goods.
☻ We listen to Andy because he could back up his claims.
WORLD IS LOOKING TO SEE IF WE CAN DELIVER THE GOODS - ACTUALLY DO WHAT WE SAY WE ARE EMPOWERED TO DO.
Reality ¨C we¡¯re all Barney Fife ¨C left to ourselves, we fumble around and make a mess of things. We¡¯re a joke, apart from his power.
By the filling of the Spirit - we can walk our talk - meet our obligations - face any foe. We¡¯re connected to the Head who has ALL authority.
B. GOD¡¯S POWER IS WITHIN.
The H.S. invades our lives and moves in us w/ power.
If a church is dead ¨C dying ¨C it¡¯s because it has cut itself off from the head.
Anything God does in the church, He does it by His Spirit.
✒ No power if we¡¯re not surrendered to Spirit
✒ No power if we fail to obey the Spirit.
✒ No power if we try to add something to Spirit.
C. GOD¡¯S POWER DEMANDS ACTION.
God didn¡¯t send His Spirit so we could sit in church. Spirit is in us, we are empowered to live the life.
Someone has said the majority of Xns have never shared their faith.
We are capable of talking about anything that is important to us ¨C a passion for us ¨C a part of our lives. Sports/ Grandkids/ business ¨C but not about Jesus.
¡®witnesses¡¯ ¨C martyr - dying to our own agendas, ideas and living for His glory.
In Jerusalem ¨C where they had been scared/ failed.
In Judea - tough ground, rocky, not easy work.
In Samaria - world filled w/ prejudice.
II. WE MEASURE OUR EFFECTIVENESS BY OUR VIEW OF WHERE THIS WORLD IS HEADED. vs.11
They also said, " Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
Some folks want to talk about nothing but prophecy - use it to frighten people into the kingdom.
Early church lived with a Spirit of Expectancy but they didn¡¯t stare at the sky ¨C Paul rebuked a church that wanted to sit around waiting for the 2nd Coming - get to work!
A. HE PROMISED HE WOULD COME BACK. ¡®Let not your hearts be troubled ¨C we only use that at funerals, but it was a promise in the context of the Cross and the Coming Spirit. He¡¯s gone physically, but He¡¯s coming back.
¡®Will come in just the same way¡¯ - physical return of Christ. Left victorious over death, hell, grave. Will return triumphantly.
B. WE¡¯RE TO RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.
If I believe in His return, I won¡¯t think in terms of myself, I¡¯ll want to be a part of something bigger - eternal.
Churches are failing to connect w/ their members because their members are demanding programs for themselves instead of ways to touch the world.
Some Xns are failing to connect because they are consumed with End times - Study end times, you¡¯ll get confused ¨C are you an a-pre- or post millinialist?
Folks getting absorbed in end time charts and miss the point.
Stuart Briscoe - ¡°I don¡¯t believe God gave obscure prophecies so we could sit in holy huddles trying to make charts, dotting i¡¯s and arguing points.¡±
PURPOSE OF PROPHECY:
1. IT SHOULD CALL US TO HOLY LIVING. Live in light of His return.
2. IT SHOULD STIR US TO SHARE OUR FAITH. Jesus is coming back 1 millionth of a second after His work is complete.
REASON THE EARLY CHURCH PRACTICED DISCIPLINE - DEMANDED HOLINESS - THEY WERE LIVING IN LIGHT OF HIS COMING.
III. WE MEASURE OUR EFFECTIVENESS BY PRAYER. VS.13,14
Jesus was gone from their sight. He CAME in the fulness of time ¨C died when His hour had come ¨C rose according to the Scriptures ¨C ascended so the Spirit could come.
Left the Mount with the knowledge that Jesus was coming again. This wasn¡¯t the end.
There is a correlation between what Jesus ascended to begin and what he left us here to do.
➥ He ascended to begin his High Priestly work & His intercessory work.
➥ We are left to Intercede and to present to the lost the finished work of Christ for sin.
Jesus departed - it was imperative that he do so - so the Spirit could come and impart His life in the life of every believer. So we could live in resurrection power.
¡ô SPIRITUAL POWER IS ALWAYS TIED TO PRAYER.
¡ô A CHURCH NEVER RISES ABOUT IT¡¯S PRAYER LIFE.
Spurgeon - ¡°I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this, the measure of the intensity of your prayer.¡±
Prayer is my helplessness leaning on God¡¯s omnipotence.
PRAYER NEEDS TO HAVE 4 ASPECTS:
1. BROKENNESS - without Him I am nothing.
2. ANTICIPATION - I can¡¯t, but He can.
3. FAITH - what He promises, He will do.
4. OBEDIENCE - what He says, I will do.
THEY GOT DOWN TO BUSINESS ¨C THEY WENT TO PRAYER.
Any serious work for God must be birthed in prayer.
Prayer meeting is the least attended meeting in the average church ¨Cit is the WEAKEST aspect of the church, only thing we know to pray about are those who are sick, afflicted.
What were they praying for?
The same thing they were waiting for - the Spirit to come.
They were laying hold of God in prayer and asking heaven to come down - power to come down.
EVERY GREAT WORK OF GOD BEGINS IN PRAYER.
EVERY REVIVAL IN CH. HISTORY HAS BEEN BIRTHED IN PRAYER.
I¡¯ve served churches in 7 states ¨C only 1 had an Intercessory Prayer ministry.
The one thing the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to do, most churches don¡¯t do. They teach/ serve/ train/ disciple/ go/ give ¨C but where¡¯s the prayer life behind it all?
¡®continually¡¯ ¨C they were persevering. constantly diligent. This is not a passive word.
Luke uses this word in 2 other ways:
1. New believers who continually devoted themselves to the apostle¡¯s teachings. 2:42
2. Apostles who were determined to devote themselves to prayer and preaching of Word - 6:4
Rom. 12:12 - devoted to prayer
Col. 4:2 - devote yourselves to prayer.
¡®All with 1 mind¡¯ - together - 10X used by Luke - emphasis on the unity of mind/ purpose/ vision. Not that they were all just in the same room, but they were of the same heart. They prayed w/ 1 mind or purpose. Basis of unity is prayer.
120 gathered - quite a group - mentions 11 apostles, Mary, Mother of Jesus (notice they didn¡¯t turn to her for advise, comfort, wisdom, counsel) ¨C brothers of Jesus (who had rejected Jesus during his earthly ministry - recently converted.
IV. WE MEASURE OUR EFFECTIVENESS BY OUR COMMITMENT TO THE WORD. vs.15-26
15 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, 16 "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
Didn¡¯t form a committee - have a church conference - get out Constitution and By-Laws (which are man made documents that have no bearing on how a church is suppose to function 0- unless they are affirmations of the Word).
¡®The Scripture had to be fulfilled¡¯ ¨C
WHAT NOW? LET¡¯S SEE WHAT THE WORD SAYS ABOUT WHAT¡¯S GOING ON.
1. The death of Judas fulfilled the Scriptures. This was all part of God¡¯s plan. We¡¯ve not been caught off guard.
He quotes 2 specific references - Ps. 69:25 & Ps. 109:8
you never separate prayer and Bible Study. We talk to God & God talks to us.
Today, emphasis is on worship - often worship that does not make the Word central. When a church is full of the Spirit - when ministries are bathed in prayer ¨C the Word will be central.
Don¡¯t forget - the Scriptures were inspired by the Spirit they were waiting for.
CHURCH THAT LOSES COMMITMENT TO WORD WILL LOSE IT¡¯S WAY AND DIE.
Choosing of Mathias was based on prayer and following Scripture.
Some have questioned this act. They think Paul should have been the 12th ¨C shows they don¡¯t know their Bible. The requirement was that they had been with Jesus since the beginning and were witnesses of the resurrection. Paul didn¡¯t come on the scene until Chapter 9 of Acts.
Also, Paul never said he should have been one of the 12.
Tonight, we commissioned deacons - something we¡¯ll talk about in Acts 6.
We don¡¯t elect deacons - this is not a popularity contest.
We seek out men who meet the Biblical qualifications as best we understand them and commission them to serve.
Acts 1 ends with the disciples in prayer ¨C searching the Word and then acting on what God showed them.
They were His men ¨C it was His work - let Him decide.
Casting lots was common at that time and has an O.T. basis.
26X there are references to casting lots in O.T. -
Prov 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.
All things being equal - both being qualified - they recognized God was sovereign and this decision was the Lords. Didn¡¯t yet have the Spirit so they practiced an O.T. principle for decision making.
1:24 And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen
¡®Chosen¡¯ ¨C same verb is Acts 1:2 referring to Jesus choosing the Apostles.
Chosen for 3 purposes:
1. To plant churches. ¡®As you go....¡¯
2. To preach Christ.
3. To protect the church.
GOD WANTED ALL THINGS IN ORDER BEFORE THE SPIRIT CAME.
There¡¯s a reason God puts leaders in authority in the church. Some folks don¡¯t want authority- accountability - but it¡¯s part of God¡¯s plan to protect the body.
Acts 20:28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
You can measure your walk with God by how willing you are to be held accountable to Scriptural standards by those whom God has chosen to lead the flock.
