Acts 1:12-26- Discovering God's Will
God's Story Continued... • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsHow do we determine God's Will? What did the Apostles do, and how can we apply the principles found in this passage.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever wondered what God’s will for your life is?
My guess would be that we have all asked that question at some point. Maybe not necessarily asking it in the minute details of everyday life, but definitely when we come to more critical junctures in life.
Should I marry him or her?
Is it time for me to retire, and move into civilian life?
Should I take this promotion, that will demand more from me and my time and maybe even require a move?
What should we do about the kids schooling? Homeschool? Public? Private? Can we afford it?
Maybe you’re in college or a young profession, and you’re asking, “what career path is right for me?”
Maybe after last week’s sermon, you’re thinking, “Is God calling me to be a missionary? Move into fulltime Christian service?
Etc. etc. etc.
I don’t know what it is for you, but again I’d venture that for all of us at some point we’ve cried out, “LORD SHOW ME YOUR WILL FOR MY LIFE!” We are all familiar with that tension.
Tensions
Some in a sincere desire to please the Lord we walk in fear and anxiety viewing His will as a tightrope, and if we fall or mess it up, or choose wrongly, we’ve set things in motion that cannot be undone! In this view, any decision becomes a paralyzing decision.
Others swing to the other extreme, believing that God is too busy to care about the details of our lives so in essence we can just control our own fates an dmake whatever decisions seem best to us. But deep down, even hearing me say that you know there’s issues in this view.
Today we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that will aid us greatly in this issue. But I want to be clear:
We will not see a 5 step formula to guarantee God’s guidance. This isn’t some… “send in your best gift now, and God’s will will surely be clear in the coming days!” We don’t work our way into manipulating God’s direction for us.
So although not a PRESCRIPTIVE plan for discovering God’s Will, we will see Biblically based and time tested principles that will be DESCRIPTIVE as we seek to know God’s will for our lives.
Read
Read
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, 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.
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.
And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
“For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“ ‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and
“ ‘Let another take his office.’
So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Context
Context
Remember, the Book of Acts is showing us all that God continues to do and to teach through His People, the Church. People that are commissioned, and empowered by the Spirit to be His witnesses. And what we will see is that church isn’t something we attend, but a movement...
A movement led by Holy Spirit in absence of the physical body of Jesus. And this is huge for us to remember today because…
in Volume 1, these men had every step guided and directed by Jesus. They ate what he ate, slept where he slept, and traveled where He traveled.
But as saw last week: he’s gone now. He has ascended. So in his absence, How are they to discover Gods will? How are they to know what to do with their lives?
This is where we pick up today… jesus has just left. and what do we find the disciples doing… OBEYING WHAT THEY KNEW TO BE TRUE
Obey what you know to be true.
Obey what you know to be true.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
Jesus commanded them to stay in Jerusalem.
Luke 24:49 (ESV)
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 1:4 (ESV)
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
The word depart, implies that during this 40 day period they had been coming in going from Jerusalem. In fact, we see in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus appeared to them one time while they were out fishing on the Sea of Tiberias up in the region of Galilee.
But he orders them to stop, no longer. Stay in Jerusalem. He gives the Commission and the Provision, and then he ascends. Gone. Not to return until the end of the age. So what do the disciples do…
They don’t beat their heads against the proverbial wall, “What is your will.” They don’t go back fishing to get some clarity.
They simply obey the last command that Christ had given them.
The willingness to obey every command of God, is instrumental in discerning His will.
But you may ask… I don’t know what He’s asked me to do. That in and of itself isn’t clear to me.
Maybe confued about His will.
2. The Will of God
2. The Will of God
Hidden or Secret Will
Hidden or Secret Will
In any Systematic Theology you’ll see that His Hidden/Secret will includes hidden decrees by which he governs the universe and determines everything that will happen.
Ephesians 1:11 (ESV)
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Nothing happens outside of God’s will, but often he chooses not to reveal certain details of what He soveriengly decrees to do.
Consider the Apostles asking JEsus when the Nation of Israel would be restored! We looked at it last week, He rejected speculation on what was hidden and reminded them of what was revealed… their commission.
here’s the key: stop putting so much attention on to what HASN’T been revealed, and put your energy into obeying what has.
The Revealed Will of God
God’s revealed will, is what He has main plain in Scripture. We find this in His commandments, His decrees, His precepts.
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
He has revealed certain things, so that we may obey them.
We know it is God’s will to:
Love our neighbors
Bridle our tongues
act justly
love mercy
Walk humble.
Not to murder, steal, lie, slander, gossip or boast.
How? Because it’s clearly in His Word.
Instead of focusing on God’s hidden will, or when the Holy Spirit would come, when they’d be released from waiting to get going. they simply obeyed the revealed word of God.
So often, this is why we lack clarity in God’s will for our lives. We are focused on some hidden, futuristic will regarding a major life decision all while ignoring what His Revealed will clearly states.
It’s real simple, but rarely easy. God has clearly revealed His will to us, we just have to obey what we know to be true.
OBEY what you know to be true.
Thats what the disciples did. But secondly, they devoted themselves to Prayer.
Devote Yourself to Prayer
Devote Yourself to Prayer
Acts 1:13 (ESV)
And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying...
Acts 1:14 (ESV)
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer...
As they obeyed Christ’s command to wait, they spent that time in Prayer.
This wasn’t a passive waiting, but an active one. They turned their restless energy and adrenline pumping anticipation into prayer.
The Greek used indicates an earnestness, a persistence, a perseverance.
They were praying earnestnessly.
To these disciples gathered they must have remembered the teaching of Christ on Prayer:
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus had promised them the provision of the Holy Spirit, but before it came He commanded them to wait. So how did they spend their waiting… ASKING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT.
They must have remembered what they saw in the Jordan River the day Jesus was baptized:
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The Spirit was given to Jesus… as He was Praying. Jesus taught them to ask for the Holy spirit.
They obeyed, and they devoted themselves to prayer.
If I polled the room right now and asked if Prayer is an important spiritual discipline, we would all answer affirmatively. But many of us, if we were honest would admit that we struggle with it… why?
There are probably a myriad of answers to this question, but let me offer two that I believe our pertinent to us in 2022, in SE America.
We Depend Upon Self—
We view Prayer as a mountain to climb, a peak to be conquered, where we muster up some energy and start climbing.
But Paul Miller, author of “A Praying Life” writes, “Its not a mountain to climb, in fact it’s really more of a valley we fall into. Prayer comes naturally to those who realize how weak they are.”
Those gathered in the upper room knew how weak they were.
They had just deserted Jesus. Even thought they promised never too.
They just denied Jesus, even though they dramatically declared that it’d never happen.
They had just doubted Jesus, since they had watched him die.
They knew that they couldn’t depend upon self, but instead had to fall upon Him in their weakness.
Growing in prayer, is growing in our awareness and acceptance of our own weakness in comparison to His immeasureable strength.
We are too Busy--
We wear busyness like a badge of honor. How are you? “OH MAN, I’m so busy.” We are too busy to pray. But the discples weren’t. Even though they were given such a huge task.
They just spent 40 days with the RESURRECTED JESUS and He plainly told them that they would received the HOLY SPIRIT and they have a task to do. An enormous task! Take the message of the GOSPEL to the ends of the earth!
To accomplish a task like that, what would your first step be? Probably not to wait! Waiting is so hard.
So many of you hate waiting. You pick the shortest line at the grocery store and if you’re in the 10 items or less you’re for sure counting the items in the basket in front of you because they are holding you up!
You come to a redlight, and shift lanes quickly in order to get alittle closer to the start of the line.
We hate waiting. We pay for prime, and still get frustrated when it takes 24 hours for our item to be delivered.
We have microwaves that cook a 4 course meal in 3 minutes, and its still too long.
But you want to know the worst part about waiting?
When we have to wait for an indefinite amount of time! When there isn’t an end to the waiting. Jesus simply said,
for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
NOT MANY DAY. Is that like 1? 2? Maybe 5? It became 10. They were given an enourmous task, but their first step was to obey what Christ had revealed.
These disciples were given a task that would cost them their lives, but spent their first 10 days waiting in prayer. Given time to prayer.
Prayer requires taking some time. Slowing down. Unbusying your life in order to commune with God, grow in relationship to Him, and grow in dependence on Him.
But notice the second thing about their prayers…
They were praying in Unity
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
This is remarkable, because this group gathered here in this upper room was a hodgepodge of people.
Fisherman, children of nobles, prostitues, tax collectors, Jewish Radical Nationalists, and the mother of Jesus.
What could unify such a diverse group of people: nothing more, and nothing less than love of Christ poured out for all on the Cross.
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
It is Christ that unifies such a diverse group of people.
But they were also in unity be because they shared “one mind.” They were agreement in one singular purpose:
To live and love together in order to accomplish the Commission they had just received.
They saw themselves as being on the same team! Oh, how quick we are to view one another as enemies or opponents.
Marital conflict is best worked out when we put the issue on the table, and sit on the same side to address.
Church conflict is the same. We are going to see some serious church conflict in the Book of Acts.
So many think, “Oh if we could just go back to the simplicity of the 1st church, we wouldn’t have all these current issues.” REALLY? you know one guy lied in acts 5 and the pastor cursed him and he fell dead.
You want that here at CIty Center!?
But these were able to pray and seek God’s will in unity, becuase they were focused on what was primary.
Conclusion: It was while in prayer, that inspiration struck and they began to make moves in the direction of God’s will.
Are you praying? Are you seeking? Are you too busy? Are you too dependent upon self?
Slow down, get away, and better yet get away with others to pray for God’s direction.
But let’s look at where their prayer led them.
Study the Scripture
Study the Scripture
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
What Scripture
“For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“ ‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and
“ ‘Let another take his office.’
The evidence for replacing Judas was SCRIPTURE
Remember, God’s revealed Will is found in the pages of Scripture and the surest way for us to know God’s will for our lives is to immerse ourselves into the Bible.
They had just had their minds opened to the continuity and christology of Scripture, and what Peter says here is totally new vernacular for this group of disciples.
But we must remember, that Scripture isn’t some form of a magic 8 ball. There are wrong ways of interpreting and applying Scripture.
The story is told of a man who wanted to find out what God had for his future, so he closed his eyes, opened the Bible randomly, and stuck his finger on the page. He opened his eyes and read Matthew 27:5, “Judas . . . went away and hanged himself.” Not liking that answer, the man tried again. This time, his finger landed on Luke 10:37, “Go and do likewise.” Again, not liking that answer, the man tried again. This time his finger landed on John 13:27, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”
First, Peter had a right view of Scripture
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
The Scripture, although written by David or a variety of other men, is ultimately Inspired by the Holy Spirit.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
We come to Scripture to discern God’s will, because we believe IT WAS ACTUALLY WRITTEN BY GOD HIMSELF, BY THE INSPIRATION OF THE SPIRIT, utilizing the pens and personalities of His people.
Secondly, Peter didn’t just pull a singular verse out of context
but utilized the continuity of the entire Scriptures to draw His conclusion.
we see precedent for the replacement of Judas all throughout the history of Israel
Jesus called and selected 12 discples and appointed 12 apostles, with an eye to the 12 tribes of Israel, which descended from the 12 sons of Jacob. They were the 12 stars that make up the church’s crown (Rev 12) and for them Jesus himself designated 12 thrones (Luke 22:30).
Judas’ betrayal and subsequent suicide leaves a vacancy, and for a “New Israel” to be established they would need 12 to serve as the patriarchs of the church.
Secondly, He references the Psalms. Beginning with Psalm 69, and he didn’t pull this out of a hat. Psalm 69 was used 5x in the NT in reference to Jesus.
Jesus himself uses it in John 15:25
But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
thats 69:4
69:9 is used when Jesus clears the Temple stating,
His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Clearly using a variety of texts, the Apostles saw this Psalm as a foreshadowing to Christ, and in this Psalm the Psalmist is betrayed.
So with Psalm 109. A Psalm where the Psalmist is betrayed, where a wicked and deceitful mouth encircles him and accuses him.
May his days be few;
may another take his office!
So as they are obeying Christ’s commands, devoting themselves to prayer, and reflecting on the Scriptures they are granted insight into the Will of God that Judas must be replaced.
I’ll say it again, there is no surer way of knowing the Will of God than to cultivate a knowledge of who He is and what He wrote in the Scriptures.
But fourthly, what we see here is that the apostles Belonged to the church community.
Belong to the Church Community
Belong to the Church Community
God speaks through His People.
This wasn’t an individually driven event for Peter. They were gathered together, they were praying together, they were reflecting on the Scriptures together.
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,
They were the Church, gathered together in obedeience to Jesus, devoting themselves to Prayer, Studying the Scripture.
Who were they?
Well we have the 11, the original 12 minus Judas.
We have the Women
Many commentators believe this would have included the wives of the apostles.
But we know that a plethora of women accompanied Jesus throughout his earthly ministry, up until his resurrection.
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,
The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
But not to mention the Mother of Jesus was there too!
We also have his brothers and sisters. We know he had 4 brothers (Mark 6:3).
But his brothers and sisters formerly rejected Him and thought he was cookoo for cocoo puffs.
And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
For not even his brothers believed in him.
But here we see them gathered… obeying, and praying with one accord. What changed?
The Resurrection! 1 Corinthians 15:7
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
After the resurrection, James becomes the leader of the church in Jerusalem, and writes the book of James.
Jude or Judas his brother assumes the role of leading the church in Jerusalem after James is killed, and pens Jude.
So the church is gathered… filled with the disciples, the women, his brothers and sisters and numbers about 120 in all.
120 is significant
According to Jewish law 120 was the minimum number required to form a community or sanhedren with its own ruling council.
Luke’s point in signifying this number was to show that this was a new thing. A new community is being formed. The church!
But what I want us to see is not necessarily all the details that come with the numbers, but to point out WHO put forth the 2 to replace Judas.
It wasn’t a one man show. It wasn’t Peter saying, “Listen, I’m the leader here… here’s who I think meet the qualifications.”
And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.
THEY. The church. We discern and discover God’s will as we BELONG to the church.
And then finally, we see one last principle in our passage today. We must ultimately yield our own will’s to the Lord.
Yield Your Will
Yield Your Will
And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Now all of you want me to jump straight into LOTS, and I’ll explain that, but first notice how surrendered they were to the Lord.
They acknowledge that they were limited. It is the Lord that knows the hearts of all.
So often we can convince ourselves that what we are yielded, surrendered, don’t really have a dog in the fight. That we purely and genuinely just want what God wants, but ya’ll… our hearts are deceitful. We can convince ourselves of things out of our own flesh.
Like James warned we can have selfish ambition hidden in our hearts James 4:15-16.
We ask God for things… we ask Him for His Will to be clear, but often we do not receive… why!?
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
This is a reason we need the church. FOr an objective 3rd party to question us, challenge, us, and help us search out our own hearts.
Just as a dr. would be in malpractice if he tried to diagnose himself, so are we when we are left to ourselves and own devices to discern the motives of our hearts.
It is not us, but the Lord that knows our hearts.
So they pray, “which one do YOU.” They yield their wills, and surrender to His.
And they do this by casting lots!
Now before we condemn these 120 for Harry Potter esque witchcraft we need to turn to Scripture concerning the usage of Lots.
Lots were sanctioned in the Old Testament, and appeared in the NEW as well.
Lev 16:8— In order to determine which goat would be the scapegoat for Israel.
Num. 26:55— In order to determine land alottments in the book of Numbers
And Proverbs reads,
The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.
In the NT Lots were used to determine which priest would go into the Temple to burn incense (Zechariah, John’s dad)
And finally here in Acts lots were used to pick the 12th apostle.
What are lots?
Lots were widely believed to be marked stones placed in a jar, shaken out like Dice in order to decide. Like a coin flip. Or Drawing Straws.
But lots weren’t used as magic, but faith rested in the Soveriengty of God in choosing which stone was revealed.
“Show which one of these, you have chosen.” The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
So, as they obey, devote themselves to prayer, study the Scripture, submit to the community of the church, they yield their will and desire the will of the Lord in the working of lots.
But, this is the last time we see the use of lots in the Scripture. Why? Seems like a pretty good thing eh… so many of this in the tensions of our decision, yearning to know God’s will, wish we had lots.
To be honest, some of us still apply lots, or chance, by looking into signs of our circumstances.
Story of a young boy kicking a can of sprite.
But that isn’t how we are to discern God’s will any more. We don’t need to rely on chanc or casting of lots. Why? Because as we will begin to see next week, God has given us His Holy Spirit.
The Spirit who will lead us and guide us into all Truth.
As we study the book of Acts, we will see supernatural, and plain natural ways that the Holy Spirit leads us in decision making.
We will see the Spirit give dreams and visions (supernatural).
We will see the apostles in the Jerusalem council say, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...” (natural)
But the point for us today, is that just as the apostles were yielded to the will of God in the casting of Lots, we too must yield our wills, as we purely desire His own.
George Mueller… Christian evangelist and director of orphanages throughout England in the 1800s. Famous for his prayer life, and how he never made the. needs of the orphanage known to anyone other than God. He existed to show that God heard prayer and was moved by faith.
He wrote in an excerpt “How I Ascertain the Will of God.” And this quote is his first step.
I SEEK AT THE BEGINNING to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.
What about you?
Can you honestly say, “I don’t have a will in the matter?” I only want His will.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Their steady guidance provided by the physical person of Christ was no longer available, but in this passage we see that they weren’t paralyzed by this fact. They learned know and to follow God’s will for their lives.
Now as we move through the Book of Acts, especially beginning next week we will see that its the Holy spirit that guides, leads, and illuminates God’s will in our lives. But there are some principles we find here in our passage, biblical and time-tested principles, that if applied can greatly aid us in the discovery of his will.
Obey what you know to be true.
Devote yourselves to prayer.
Study the Scripture.
Belong to the Church
Yield to His Will.
Communion
Communion
I’d like to invite those who are serving our communion this morning to come forward. Now we are going to take Communion. Communion is a sacrament provided by Jesus, that we take in remembrance of Him. Communion is for those who profess faith in the Jesus, and believe in the truth of these elements represent: his body and blood broken and shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
Here’s how we are going to do it: we will pass out the elements, and I encourage you practically to select a cup first. Makes it a little easier. And as we wait for them to be passed out, Scripture would command us to “examine ourselves” so that we may partake in Communion in a worthy manner. We read,
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
So take some time to reflect on your life, and to remember the love of God demonstrated in Christ.Then I’ll come back up and lead us through taking it.
In Luke’s Gospel we read, “Then came the deay of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”
And when the hour came, Jesus reclined at table and said to his apostles, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you.
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, “this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Likewise the cup after they had eaten, and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is th enew covenant in my blood. Drink and do this in remembrance of me.
Let’s stand together and close our time with one last song of praise.