Acts of Prayer: Snapshots from the Prayer Life of the Early Church Snapshot 1, The Way Forward. Acts 1: 12-26

- Before we begin, I need for us to keep in mind something very important about the New Testament which is simply this: contrary to popular belief the early church was not the perfect church. On this side of eternity there's no such thing.

- The New Testament does not give us the ideal model for church life as some suggest or we often assume. No, the New Testament records the life of the church as it actually was in all its frailty and brokenness, as well as, all its unity and Spirit empowered words and works.

- The very reason that we have much of the New Testament is because of the imperfection, the sin of the church.

- The church in those days was very much the same as the church today. She may be broken and sinful, but she can also be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and bring much glory to God. That paradox is a sign of God's amazing grace.

- The church was and is made up of people capable of feats of triumph and tragedy.

- So as we begin to look at the prayer life of the early church that we find in the book of Acts, let's remember that these were real people bringing to God their real concerns about the life of the real church and the expansion of the kingdom of God.

- In Acts 1:12 - 26, we are about to look in on the church the same day that Jesus went back to heaven, Ascension Day, and examine what followed immediately afterward, especially their prayer life together:

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
13 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.
14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,
16 “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.
17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”
18 (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.
19 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.)
20 “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.’
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22  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.”
23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen
25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.  Acts 1:12-26 (ESV)

- For the next several weeks were going to be looking at some snapshots from the prayer life of the early church. My hope and prayer is that we as the people of God will take this examination very seriously and apply what we have learned to our lives and to the life of this church.

- Immediately after Jesus ascended into heaven, Luke tells us that the disciples walked the 15 min. they were allowed to walk on the Sabbath day from the Mount Of Olives back to Jerusalem.

- In his gospel following Jesus' return to heaven, Luke tells his readers that Jesus' disciples were "continually in the Temple praising God" and here in Acts, Luke tells his readers that they were constantly praying in the upper room.

- In the 24th chapter of Luke's Gospel and the 49th verse, Jesus commanded his disciples to remain in Jerusalem, saying, "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" Luke 24:49 (ESV).

- So far, Luke has given us a snapshot in the life of the church before Pentecost and he has shown us two simple things.

- First, Luke shows us that the 120 were obedient to the command of Jesus to stay in the city.

- Second, Luke shows us that in the 10 days immediately after Jesus ascended into heaven that the group of Jews who witnessed the resurrection were continually together and constantly in prayer both in the Temple and in the upper room.

- Were we to ask the question, "Why did Luke tell his readers the 120 disciples initially gathered to pray," then the simple answer we would have to say would be in obedience to the Lord's command to wait in the city for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

- Certainly, the 120 prayed that they would receive the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus.

- Now, what was happening during those 10 days from when Jesus ascended into heaven prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

- Prayer & worship aside, what was happening?

- Nothing. Without the Holy Spirit, nothing happens in the life of the church. We do not grow in our faith. The kingdom of God is not built up. No new believers were added in those 10 days.

- That is the single most important reason why I believe the church must persevere in prayer because without the Spirit of Christ we can accomplish nothing.

- The early church may not have been the perfect church, but the first thing they did, they did right. They stayed in the city. They waited for the Holy Spirit and they prayed.

- Verse 14 of our passage for this morning says that, "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer." Translation, the NLT says, "They all met together and were constantly united in prayer," and The Message says, "They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer."

- They were completely sold out to Jesus. They wanted to experience his kingdom power in their lives. They wanted to see God take the upside down world and turn it right side up again. And they wanted it badly enough that they remained together in prayer until God poured out the promised Holy Spirit upon them.

- They prayed as one with one mind, one heart, and one purpose.

- If we would learn the forward way, then the answer is to pray.

- Now, it was at some point during all this prayer and worship in the Temple and in the upper room that the church realized, "Hey! Wait a minute. We don't have 12 apostles anymore. We need to choose the 12th to replace Judas." Well, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but maybe it was, who knows?

- The point is that while the church was praying for the most important event, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they also needed to pray for something else, an important decision in the life and ministry of the church.

- It is significant that in these early days before the Spirit's coming that the church had approximately 120. That was the amount adult men required by Jewish law to establish a community.

- So the new community of faith needed to have an elder over every 10 men by law, but the church didn't just count the men, they also counted the women.

- Jesus had also appointed the 12 that they would one day judge the 12 tribes of Israel. Judas had to be replaced.

- Another thing we need to take note of here is the fulfillment of Scripture in relation to their prayer. The church sought to replace Judas also because, "the Scripture had to be fulfilled"(v. 16). As Luke recorded, "Let another take his office." Obeying the Scriptures was a very high priority for them as they sought to become the renewed people of God.

- Common sense also told the church that the apostolic replacement of Judas required someone who was an eyewitness of Jesus ministry and an eyewitness of his resurrection.

- So after coming up with two candidates, the church was not merely unable to choose between the two, but felt it was not their right because the choice of replacement of Judas belonged to Christ alone. Therefore, the church prayed together and cast lots with the lot falling to Matthias. They prayed and allowed the Lord to make the choice by rolling the dice, as it were.

- So the disciples went to the upper room, as well as the Temple, for the purpose of being united together in prayer as they waited for the Holy Spirit and sought the will of God in choosing Judas's replacement.

- In the 10 days that followed Jesus' departure to heaven, they were constantly spending time in the upper room in prayer and in the Temple praying and worshiping God.

- They understood that they needed to be totally dependent upon God.

- Are we in the place where we understand that we need to be totally dependent upon God?

- If we wish to see a renewed work of the Holy Spirit among us in our communities today then the answer is to pray.

- If we would learn the forward way, then the answer is to pray.

- In our modern world with our modern assumptions, too often our first response when dealing with the tragedies and seeking out the triumphs of this life is not prayer. Prayer has become a last resort so to speak.

- Because of the advancements of modern technology in every field of science, we feel like we can go about our daily lives completely independent of God, without having to turn to him in surrender and dependence.

- But the pendulum can also swing too far the other way. In seeking to be dependent upon God, quite often we fail to use the minds that we have received by not examining the Scriptures and not using common sense. We think prayer is all there is. Too often we conclude that prayer is the only answer when prayer itself is our relationship with God which helps us to arrive at the answer.

- If we would learn the forward way, then the answer is to pray.

- You see, prayer is not about getting answers; rather, prayer is about growing deeper in our relationship with God, centering our lives on him.

- Prayer is about moving forward in our life with God.

Never Found Time ~ Author Unknown

I knelt to pray but not for long. I had too much to do.

Must hurry off and get to work, for bills would soon be due.

So I said a hurried prayer, jumped up from off my knees,

My Christian duties now were done my soul could be at ease.

All through the day I had no time to speak a word of cheer;

No time to speak of Christ to friends, they'd laugh at me I feared.

No time, no time, too much to do. That was my constant cry;

No time to give to those in need--at last was time to die.

And when before the Lord I came, I stood with downcast eyes;

Within his hands he held a book--it was the Book Of Life.

God looked into his book and said, "Your name I cannot find,"

"I once was going to write it down, but never found the time."

(Tan, 7700, p. 1040)

- The early church understood that prayer was about moving forward with God in the life of his kingdom and in the life and work that he had planned for the church.

-The people of God today also need to hold that understanding.

- If we would learn the forward way, then the answer is to pray.

New Series Forthcoming!

I am starting a new series on Acts this coming Sunday called: Acts of Prayer, Snapshots of the Prayer Life of the Early Church. Look for the first posting on Monday.

December 11, 2011 The Purpose of Christmas, Part Three: "The Promise of Salvation and Redemption Fulfilled" Luke 1:67-79

My apologies at the lateness of this posting, DSL.

- So far in our Advent journey we have learned that, "God fulfills his promises in ways that defy human imagination," and also that, "All the promises of God find their Yes in Christ."

- Today, as we continue to think about the purpose of Christmas, we're going to take a look at the words of Zechariah and you may just be surprised by what we find there.

- This morning I want to ask a very similar question to the question I began with last week, which is: What is the significance of Zechariah's prophecy for Luke's readers?

- Now in order to answer this question we are going to have to explore Zechariah's prophecy.

- Several months before he prophesied, Zechariah had been struck dumb by the word of the Angel Gabriel because of his scepticism and doubt. Now, to the astonishment of his neighbours, Zechariah could miraculously speak and joyfully expressed the words which the Holy Spirit placed in his heart and on his mind.

- Speaking in the past tense, Zechariah refers to an event that has not yet happened while giving praise and thanks to God.

- Zechariah's words remind us that, "God fulfills his promises in ways that defy human imagination," and that, "All the promises of God find their Yes in Christ." His prophecy reminds us of these truths simply because his words are unexpected, unthinkable and they point to the fulfillment of God's promises in the Hebrew Scriptures which have and are already coming to pass.

- In a miraculous circumstances surrounding the conception and birth of his son, John, as well as, the soon to be born Messiah, God demonstrates his power, and according to Zechariah’s words, as well as, the rest of the prophecies, miraculous births are small potatoes compared to what God is about to do.

- That John is to be prophet of the Most High to go before the Lord and prepare his ways is most unexpected.  The people were expecting Elijah, not some Elijah "wannabe". But as Luke records for us, the angel Gabriel said that John "will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah" Luke 1:17 (ESV).

- It would be the preaching of John that would prepare the way for Jesus. John called for repentance and offered people the opportunity to publicly declare that they had changed their minds about their sins by being baptized, being immersed by John in the Jordan River. It was he who first preached the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

- While God is actively providing redemption, salvation, and deliverance, he is also actively extending his mercy and grace through the forgiveness of sins.

- While God is merciful, he is also holy and cannot simply ignore our sin. The debt of our sin must be paid because the wages of sin is death. From the beginning of the world, the consequence for not choosing life is simply death. Zechariah's words give us the smallest hint at how God will accomplish this. As verses 78-79 declare, "because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

- Whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high - this statement is not some insignificant phrase that we should simply gloss over and ignore. Rather, it is the key to understanding the purpose of Christmas.

- Zechariah's prophecy bears the influence of Malachi 4:2, "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings" Mal 4:2 (ESV).

- What we must understand about Hebrew prophecy is that it is most often communicated through poetry and poetry, of course, uses figures of speech, simile, metaphor, and the like and as such, must not be interpreted literally. The reader needs to discern or look for the meaning behind the text. This is quite the opposite of historic narrative which is designed to be interpreted literally. It says precisely what it means, whereas poetry does not say exactly what it means.

- While the sun is symbolic of light & life, light represents goodness or righteousness, as well as, healing and restoration. But the sun also represents the presence of God and, therefore, God himself.

- The prophetic promise from the lips of Zechariah that "the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" is a promise of divine visitation to give light to those in the dark, life to those in the shadow of death, & guidance to a life of peace. Because Zechariah's prophecy also mirrors the prophecy of Malachi it is also the promise of righteousness and healing.

- Zechariah mentions the sunrise and Malachi says the sun of righteousness will rise and I am convinced that these two prophecies point to the purpose of Christmas, which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead so that we can also have eternal life.

- Old Testament scholars will tell you that resurrection is not clearly taught in the Old Testament. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead while the Sadducees did not. Both were around during the ministry of Jesus, as well as, some time before and shortly afterward, and both were seen as legitimate expressions of the Jewish faith. So we may take it that while the concept of resurrection is not plainly present in the Old Testament the metaphors of Old Testament prophecy may be understood to imply the resurrection. In fact, that is how Jesus himself understood these prophecies and that is how the early church understood these prophecies.

 - What is the significance of Zechariah's prophecy for Luke's readers? The significance of Zechariah's prophecy for Luke's readers is the revelation that the Lord himself will visit them bringing the light of his redemption and salvation to those in darkness and death's shadow. The Lord himself will visit them bringing the light of his redemption and salvation to those in darkness and death's shadow.

-What is the purpose of Christmas? The purpose of Christmas can be summed up thus: The risen Son brings his light to those in darkness and death.

- We like to carry the title or name Christian. But that name carries with it an awesome responsibility because it means "little Christ." But as we prepare for Christmas what we really need to remember is that we are not just preparing for Christmas we are preparing for eternity and Jesus is coming again.

- Since the risen Son brings his light to those in darkness and death, then I am left with a question: what am I doing to bring his light to those in darkness and death? What about you? What are you doing to bring his light to those in darkness and death? What are we doing to bring his light to those in darkness and death?

- Because we belong to Jesus we have one task, bringing his light to those in darkness and death.

- The 18th century pastor, missionary, & evangelist John Wesley gave this bit of advice. "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can."

- The risen Son brings his light to those in darkness and death.

The Purpose Of Christmas, Part Two: "The Promise to Abraham Fulfilled" Luke 1:46-55

- Last time, in answer to the question, "What is the purpose of Christmas?" we talked about the promise of a son to establish God's eternal kingdom. We learned that God fulfills his promises in ways that defy human imagination. This week, as we continue to explore the purpose of Christmas, we're going to zero in on the significance of Mary's recitation, known as the Magnificat.

- Her song expresses her joy at the actions of God in her life not merely for her but for her people because of his promises.

- Why does Luke include Mary's Magnificat in his gospel, i.e., what is its significance to his readers? Let me suggest an answer: Mary's words point to Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.

- Now you might be wondering, "How do Mary's words point to Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham?" Well let's look at the last thing Mary said.

^{- 54} "He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers,
   to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

- So according to Luke, Mary believed that Gabriel's announcements to her and the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus' conception is God's help for Israel. She believed that God remembered his mercy. The promise of his mercy down through the centuries was a promise God first gave to Abraham to extend his mercy from generation to generation & through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.

- In these two verses, Mary is referring to the promises of God to Israel specifically to the historic promises of God to Abraham and to Abraham's offspring.

- Let's look at God's first promise to Abraham:

- ¹ Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
²  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
³  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen 12:1-3 (ESV)

- Notice the last thing God said to Abraham, "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." God's intention in calling out a nation for himself and setting them aside to be his people was for them to be the light of the world through whom all the families of the earth would receive the blessing of God.

- A little later on in Abraham's story, before God changes his name from Abram to Abraham, we read that Abram still has no children. Following the rescue of Lot and after receiving the blessing of the priest Melchizedek, Abram receives a vision from God and we find a frustrated Abram interacting with God.

- ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Gen 15:1-6 (ESV)

- Later on in the story, God makes a covenant with Abram and changes his name to Abraham. Abram means exalted father, but Abraham means father of a multitude. And God says to Abraham,

- ⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
Gen 17:7(ESV)

- sometime after the birth of Isaac, God commanded Abraham to take his only son into the land of Moriah and sacrifice him on the mountain that the Lord would show him. But God doesn't allow the sacrifice to be completed.

- ¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, ¹⁸ and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."

- Now, the average reader will assume that God was referring to Abraham's physical/biological descendents and that is how these verses would normally be understood. But as we read in the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians, we see that that is not how we are to understand God's promise to Abraham.

- ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed. It does not say, “And to seeds,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your seed,” who is Christ. Gal 3:16

- Since Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and since Christ is the seed/offspring of Abraham then all those who believe God will be counted as righteous and as Abraham's offspring through Jesus Christ. God's promises to Abraham are fulfilled through Christ.  Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son by faith is a picture of God's own willingness to give us Jesus, except that God went the whole way and allowed Jesus to die on a cross.

- Just as Abraham accepted God's word to him by faith, Mary also accepted God's word to her from Gabriel by faith. Not only is Jesus the offspring of Mary, but he is also Mary's offspring by faith. In the same way that God blessed Abraham with his son because of his faith, Mary also received the blessing of God and gave birth to a son through faith.

- What is the significance of Mary's Maginificat to Luke's readers?

- The significance of Mary's Magnificat to Luke's readers is that Mary's words point to Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. And not just God's promises to Abraham, but all of the promises of God.

- Remember what Mary said,

⁵⁴ "He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers,
   to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

- In remembrance of his mercy, God fulfills his promises to help Israel, promises which he gave to Abraham, his descendents and his offspring forever.

- Mary's words expressed her joy at the fulfillment of the promises of God as well as the fulfillment of those promises in her life, that she would be God's chosen instrument, the mother of the Messiah.

- Mary's words show us that she knew what we need to know, that the child in her womb is the fulfillment of all of God's promises.  Mary was looking forward to his arrival. Her son, who would soon be born, was the foremost thought in her mind. She was looking forward to his arrival with great joy.

- Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He is the fulfillment of God's promise to Eve that her offspring would crush the serpent's head. He is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that God would bless him and make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. He is the fulfillment of the promise of a prophet like Moses.

- Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to bear the sins of his people. He is the fulfillment of God's promise to restore Israel and his promise of light to the Gentiles.

- To Abraham, God promised to bless all the families and all the nations of the earth. 

- God has placed only one condition on the promise of his blessing, you must believe.

- All the promises of God find their Yes in Christ.

- As Mary thought about the promises of God, as she considered the word of the angel Gabriel, and as she visited with her cousin Elizabeth she was moved to respond to God in worship.

- As we consider the promise of Jesus to return, as we consider the words God preserved for us in Scripture, and as we experience the work of God in our lives and the lives of others we also must be moved to respond to our God in worship as we contemplate his promises to us.

- All the promises of God find their Yes in Christ.