Preached at Community
Christian Church
David P. Kautt
Sunday Morning,
September 22, 2013
Acts 1:12-26, “12 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. 15 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, 16 “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; 17 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.) 20 “For it is written in
the Book of Psalms:
‘Let his dwelling place be desolate,
And let no one live in it’;
And let no one live in it’;
and,
‘Let another take his office.’
21 “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.” 23 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.
Tick… Tick… Tick…
God’s time table. Tick…
Tick… Tick… God’s time table! Tick… Tick… Tick… So far, in our look at God’s ‘time table’, at
what He ordained and intended for the 10-day period between Jesus’ ascension,
recorded here in Acts chapter 1, and the Day of Pentecost, as depicted in Acts
2. So far, we have placed 4 ‘Bible Sticky
Notes’ on the picture screen of our minds.
4 Bible stick notes that summarize, at least a part of what we read,
learn and need to know from this important first chapter of the Book of Acts. Do you remember what they are? Let’s review them quickly, before we move
on.
First, there is the
sticky note that says, ‘Eleven Waiting’.
Since the eleven remaining
apostles didn’t have a window into heaven, a way to sort of look over God’s
shoulder at His time clock, and since Jesus had said to them, “You must wait…”
that’s what they did. They waited, they
obeyed Him, just like He wanted, and they waited! Tick… Tick…
Tick… Because of God’s schedule,
and even more, in order to receive God’s strength, they waited! Speaking of God’s strength and waiting on God’s
schedule, ever come across these words before?
Isaiah 40:28-31, “Do you
not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator
of the ends of the earth. He never grows
weary or tired; His understanding is never ending. He gives strength to the weary, and to Him
who lacks might He gives power. Even
youths grow weary and tired, and young men stumble and fall, but those who WAIT
on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like
eagles, they shall run and NOTE grow weary, they shall walk and NOT
faint!” Waiting on God is not just
because of God’s schedule! No! It’s in order to receive His strength!
The eleven waiting. That’s sticky note number one. Then, number
two. In Acts 1:13-14, we read
about how the eleven, the women, the mother of Jesus and the brothers of Jesus,
all 120 of them, were in unison – in Holy Spirit-oneness – praying. We don’t have time to explore it at this
point, but believe me, as we progress through our study of the rest of the Book
of Acts, you’ll see it! You’ll see that
when God’s people pray, when they take the things of earth to the door of
heaven, God hears! God
responds! God causes hope to be reborn
and sins to be forgiven! In unison, the
120 were praying, as they were waiting!
Prayer, humble,
surrendered prayer – what a way to align oneself with God’s schedule, and open
oneself to receive God’s strength!
Next, we have in Acts
1:15-17, the Brethren Meeting, sticky note #3.
The Church, the people of God, we’re not a CLUB, and even though I like
to use illustrations from the world of sports, we’re really not a TEAM
either. So, what are we? The brethren meeting. My loved ones, we are family! God is our Father, Jesus is our Elder
Brother, and the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, is the One at work in us,
who brings us together! The brethren
meeting. No! Those are not fighting words, they are FAMILY
words, precious, favorite, family words!
Then, one more sticky
note from last time - #4, ‘The Scripture Fulfilling’. When it comes to this Book, God’s Book, what
one word says it all? It is unbreakable! Heaven and earth shall pass away. Like grass and the flowers of the grass, all
flesh, all of us, will wither, fade and fall, but God’s Word, God’s unbreakable
word, will never pass away!
Tick… Tick… Tick… Well, that’s what our clocks and watches are
doing, aren’t they? And we have a couple
more of these Bible sticky notes to post.
So, we better get moving, right?
Acts 1:18-19, Bible
sticky note #5. Let’s read it again:
Acts 1:18-19, “(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.)
The fifth of our Bible
sticky notes has these three words written on it: ‘The Traitor’s Sinning.’ I don’t know if you have ever thought of
Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of our Lord as a sin, but, here it is – Acts 1:18 –
Peter calls it ‘iniquity’. So that none
of us gets confused, that’s just a fancy word for S-I-N, an old-fashioned word
that means UN-righteousness! And notice what else Peter says about the
traitor’s sin here. He says that with
the wages of it, the 30 pieces of silver Judas received as payment for his
dirty deed, He bought a field. Matthew
27:3-10 will give you the details, if you want to look it up. Through the wages of his iniquity, Judas
bought a field, his BLOOD MONEY purchased some real estate, the potter’s field,
which became a cemetery for foreigners.
But, listen, here’s the marvelous thing about all of this: through Judas
- the Betrayer bough property with his money – but Jesus, the Betrayed, our
Kinsman/Redeemer, bought PEOPLE. He
bought you and me with His blood! My
loved ones, do you realize what all of that is?
That is one of the most amazing examples of the APPARENT victory of a
man, an enemy of God, and of Satan, the evil one behind the Betrayer. This is one of THE MOST AMAZING examples of
an apparent victory of God’s enemies, turning out, actually, to be GOD’S
victory in the end! A victory that,
through Christ, you and I can share in, in the end! Praise the Lord! Akel Dama, the Field of Blood. That’s not the end of it, is it? No!
The fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, that
cleasning fountain is the end of it!
1) The eleven waiting,
2) were in unison praying, 3) the brethren meeting, 4) the scripture
fulfilling, 5) the traitor’s sinning.
That’s five of the Seven Bible Sticky Notes from Acts chapter one. Now let’s take a peek at #6. Acts 1:21-22, ‘The Apostles’ Defining’.
Acts 1:21-22, “21 “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.”
Because of the traitor’s
sin, because of his failure to REPENT of that sin and to flee to Jesus for
forgiveness of that sin; and, because the prophetic Scriptures in Psalm 69 and
Psalm 109 HAD to be fulfilled, Judas’ replacement is now up for
consideration. And two men, two
candidates, if you will, are put forth for consideration.
Now, here’s the key
question that relates to this Bible sticky note: ‘Why these two
men? Why Joseph Barsabas and Matthias,
and not two or three or five or twenty-five other men?’ The apostle’s defining. It all comes back to the DEFINITION; how the
term ‘apostle’ is defined. Look again at
verses 21 and 22, and say this with me: ‘I could never be an apostles based on
this definition.’ What is the
definition, found here in the text of Scripture, of an apostle? Number one, he must be a he. And, number two, he must have accompanied the
other hand-picked apostles all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out
among them, beginning from His baptism by John to the day when He ascended back
to heaven. I could never be an apostle,
not in this sense, at least, and never could you. Why?
Because what was required was FIRST-hand testimony. “We need a 12th man to be a witness with
us of Jesus’ resurrection,” Peter said.
And to be able to give FIRST-hand testimony, guess what? One must have had first-hand experience! Anyone here qualify? I know I don’t!
Nevertheless, wouldn’t
it have been neat to have been the one chose to take Judas’ place? Sounds really appealing, doesn’t it? Sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it? Chew on that for a moment, while you look up
Matthew chapter 10 with me. Matthew 10 –
what’s that chapter all about? Let me
give you another sticky note right here for free. Matthew 10 is the ‘Apostle’s Manual’. Everything you always wanted to know about
being an Apostle but were afraid to ask, is contained in Matthew 10. Wouldn’t it have been neat to be an
apostle? Matthew 10:16 – Jesus said to
His Apostles, His ‘sent ones’, “Behold, I am send you out as sheep among
wolves…” Verse 17, “you will be handed
over to councils and beaten in synagogues.”
Verse 18, “you will be brought before kings and governors.” Verse 21, “your brothers, your fathers, your
children, they will betray you so that you can be put to death.” Verse 22, “you will be hated by all men for
My name’s sake.” … I could go on, but I
won’t. Still thinking it would be neat
and exciting to be Judas’ replacement?
My friends, to be an Apostle, yes, to replace even the Betrayer, this would not be a life of trips to Six Flags and celebrity appearances on the Tonight Show! No! To be an apostle would have been the most demanding, the most difficult thing that any of these men had ever done! But… Stay with me. This is where this whole thing called Apostleship gets very, very interesting. Remember sticky note #1? The one about the eleven waiting? Why were they told to wait? Acts 1:4 and 8. Jesus told them to wait because God had PROMISED to do something for them, to give Someone to them! “Wait for the promise of the Father… [for when I send Him, when I send My Holy Spirit upon you…] you will receive POWER, divine strength, to do what would otherwise seem impossible!
My friends, to be an Apostle, yes, to replace even the Betrayer, this would not be a life of trips to Six Flags and celebrity appearances on the Tonight Show! No! To be an apostle would have been the most demanding, the most difficult thing that any of these men had ever done! But… Stay with me. This is where this whole thing called Apostleship gets very, very interesting. Remember sticky note #1? The one about the eleven waiting? Why were they told to wait? Acts 1:4 and 8. Jesus told them to wait because God had PROMISED to do something for them, to give Someone to them! “Wait for the promise of the Father… [for when I send Him, when I send My Holy Spirit upon you…] you will receive POWER, divine strength, to do what would otherwise seem impossible!
John 16:33 – Jesus
speaking to the eleven said, “In this world, as My witnesses, you will have
trouble! But, in Me, you will have
peace! So, be of good cheer! For, I have overcome the world!”
Boil it down with me,
will you? What is Jesus’ message to His
apostles? Trouble is certain! It is!
But, listen! SO IS VICTORY! Victory, in the end, for you, My witnesses,
is certain. So, don’t worry about what
to say when they drag you before kings and councils; My Spirit will give you
the words.
Matthew 18:18-20. Trouble is certain, but so is victory! So, don’t
worry that your enemies are thinking that they are somehow hiding their hatred
of you from God! They can’t hide
it! No!
He’s known it all along! And, in
the end, He will deal with it (Matthew 10:24-26).
You want to be an
apostle? Think again – trouble is
certain for every ‘sent one’. But,
that’s not all. So is victory! So, don’t worry if they kill your body! “Don’t worry if you lose your life for My
sake,” Jesus says! “Don’t worry! For in the end, you will save it! In the end, I will confess you before My
Father in heaven!
The definition of an
apostle. Two words, two seemingly
contradictory words: trouble/hardship/persecution, even death for Jesus’
sake. AND, victory! Victory!
So, my fellow ‘sent ones’, what?
So, preach openly (Matthew 10:7, 27).
So, minister generously (Matt. 10:8).
So, work trustingly (Matt. 10:9-13).
So speak, labor and give fearlessly (Matt. 10:26-31). Why?
For Jesus’ sake! Because you know
the Risen One. And, best of all, because
He, the risen King of kings, knows you!
