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Acts 1:12-26 "Continue in Prayer!"
"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. 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. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."
After Jesus was taken up, the disciples returned into
Jerusalem and Luke writes in his gospel that they were continually in
the temple praising and blessing God, (Luke 24:53) and here in Acts
that they continued in united prayer in the upper room. This is the
beginning point of any church. This is the first work. I also noticed
that they did not stop doing this after the coming of the Holy Spirit,
in fact the three thousand who joined the church on the day of Pentecost
also continued steadfastly in prayer, and continued daily with one accord
in the temple (Acts 2:42-46)
Let's take a look at the word "Continued". Because as I look
at our church I think this is one area in which we lack. Of the three
things the church was doing I think that we are doing pretty good in
two of them. We are united, by the love of Jesus Christ. I love to hear
that people in our fellowship are praying for each other, helping each
other, you can see the love of Jesus clearly in our church, we are called
to "love as Jesus loves". We also love to praise. It doesn't
matter if it is with organ at the Westin, or accapella in the park,
or with the guitar by the riverside or with the band here, we love to
praise the Name of the Lord! But when I look seriously at our church,
we lack prayer. I was convicted of this when the Korean church came
to visit. These Christians gather together every morning for dawn prayer.
They take an hour when they would be sleeping and commit it to the Lord.
And look what the Lord has done in that nation, not only do they have
over 40% Christians in a country that one hundred years ago was as spiritually
poor as Japan is today, they are sending missionaries all over the world.
Now I am not saying that we have to imitate the Koreans, but if we are
to follow the example of the early church, we must "continue"
in prayer. The word in Greek, means to be busy, or persevere. I must
confess that I usually am not "busy" when I pray. I usually
do not struggle to the finish. Maybe this is because my prayers are
not very long.
My son has a book, called "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.
"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, "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 hose who arrested Jesus; for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." (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. 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.) "For it is written in the book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it', and 'Let another take his office.' "
During the ten days while the disciples were waiting for
the Holy Spirit, Peter and others were searching the Scriptures, they
were looking for guidance from the Lord to help them explain what was
going on and what they should do. And Peter found in the verses above
that what had happened to Judas was not a surprise to God, that God
had known beforehand about it, and that God had planned for another
to take his place. But here is where we start to see the impetuous nature
of Peter. After getting this word from the Lord, Peter takes it upon
himself as the leader of the group to direct the choosing of the new
apostle. He says, "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied
us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 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. We need
to be very careful with "Therefore". God had revealed to Peter,
that He knew that Judas would betray Jesus, and that Judas would have
to be replaced, but God did not say that Peter needed to facilitate
this replacement. This was Peter's own deduction, Peter's "therefore"
Peter's reasoning. So Peter went ahead of God and led the group to pick
a twelfth disciple.
This mistake has been repeated so often in the history of the church
that we need to spend a little time on it. When we are talking about
guidance from God, there are three things that we have to get clear
on. The first is the what. In this case it was a replacement apostle
for Judas. Peter was partly right with this. But he added something
that God didn't require. Peter said that it needed to be someone who
had been a witness to the ministry of Jesus from the first. But if we
look in the very first of Acts, an apostle is one chosen by Jesus and
to whom Jesus has presented himself alive. Someone who had witnessed
the resurrection. It sounded very common sense to the disciples to let
a man with seniority have the job, but that was not what was important
to God. The second crucial thing is the who. Peter was partly right
on this too, he allowed God to choose. But I think God must have felt
a bit like I do on election day. Here in Japan and back in the States
we have just had elections. But I am always a little frustrated because
invariably I am only allowed to chose between two bad choices. This
is what Peter did to God. "And they proposed two: Joseph called
Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and
said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these
two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship which
Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. and he was numbered
with the eleven apostles." The third crucial thing that we need
to know from God is the when. On this one, Peter messed up. You see,
God had a person all picked out for the job, but the time was not yet
ripe. For by the end of the book of Acts, there are thirteen apostles,
not twelve. Peter did not know it, could not have known it, but God
had picked a man that the disciples would have never dreamed of. God
had picked a man that every one of them would have voted against. God
had picked Saul, the man who at that very moment was plotting how to
destroy the church, but who would meet the risen Lord Jesus on the road
to Damascus and become a witness to His resurrection, who would be chosen
as an Apostle by Jesus Himself. The man who would become the Apostle
Paul.
There is one more way Peter messed up. Jesus had commanded them to wait!
They were to wait for the Spirit. You see, Peter was still working out
of the flesh, his own thinking, his own strength. What a difference
between this time and the next time that Peter stands up to speak. The
next time Peter stands up, filled with the Spirit on Pentecost, three
thousand people would give their lives to Christ and the church would
be born! When I look at the ministry on Pentecost, the style is still
Peter. He is still bold, first to stand, first to speak. He is still
spouting Scripture, confident in the Word of God, but on Pentecost day
the power is the Holy Spirit. The what, who, and when are all in place.
Praise the Lord that we have the Holy Spirit. That the Spirit has been
poured out on all flesh, that we do have a counselor, a guide, to show
us what God's will is. Let's learn from Peter. Let's wait for the good
works that the Lord has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. We don't
have to manufacture things to do for God. No matter how spiritual they
seem, unless they are in done by His Spirit, in His time, in His way,
they are not of Him. Let's wait for the work of the Lord that is going
to go beyond what we are able to ask or even think. Let's wait and pray
and then be surprised by what the Lord will do.
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