A People Prepared: Living with Purpose

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0:00Amen. Hallelujah. It's great to see you all here today. Welcome to the house of the Lord. Welcome to new creation. Welcome to visitors and family, regular attenders, members. Welcome to all of you in the name of the Lord. God is great and greatly to be praised and he is here with us to feed us, to care for us. First, we are, this is now three weeks, our third week in this Acts sermon series, Acts 1 and 2. Three weeks of, I think, 7, 8, I forget. I'm calling it a people prepared because the first two chapters of Acts are all about preparation for what God has for his people, the mission that he has for them. Today we're going to wrap up Acts 1. So the three big themes of Acts, the kingdom of God, which is the place that we're in, the promise of redemption, which is the story that we're living in, and the reign of Christ, who is our ruler. These three themes in Acts are found throughout the whole book. So we've already seen this a little bit, and this is a big theme for today.

1:12In the kingdom of God, we're not spectators. We're called in, we're brought in, we're given a role to play in his kingdom, in his story. Have you ever, have you ever gone to a performance and only after you get there and it starts, do you realize that it's in one of these audience participation kind of performances where they want you to not just watch, but do something? It, I, I'm pretty sure I went to one or two of those at VCU when I was there. It catches you off guard. If you're like, if you're, if you just think you're going to go and eat your popcorn and watch something, um, and then suddenly they're like pulling people in from the audience, it, it's surprising, right? It catches you off guard. You might look for the exit. Um, uh, I think, I think we make the same mistake with the kingdom of God sometimes, that it's this really great movie that we're going to watch.

2:07roll credits and be like, boy, that was great. Um, but no, God is like, and you come on out and you come on down and pulling us into the story that he is writing. Um, today is about finding and embracing the role that God has given you in his story. The thing, the thing about this story is that God has not given us a full script. We, we, we learned that last Sunday, the disciples asked Jesus for the script. Basically, are you going to bring the kingdom in fullness now, Jesus? And he said, it's not for you to know. So God has written the story. There is a script, but he's only given us like an outline of it and a few key details along the way for us. Life in the kingdom of God is more like improv than it is acting in a, in a play or something. I don't know if any of you have done improv. I did, I, I, I did improv in high school, um, very briefly. Um, it was like a youth group activity. It was really, it was really fun and it was scary. Um, it, it, it's intimidating. Improv involves a lot of paying attention to what's going on around you. You're playing off of people. You have a general outline. You have a kind of a structure, a setup, but you're not, you don't have a script.

3:39There's a, there's adaptation. There's learning. There's risk-taking in improv. All of these themes are themes in the kingdom of God. There's adaptation, reading what's going on around you. Risk-taking. How, how are we supposed to do all this? How are we supposed to, because we would, if we're going to be pulled into God's story, we would like a script, wouldn't we? God at least do that for me, but that's not how it works. He pulls us in and now we are riffing. We're improv-ing with him. So we're going to see the disciples do just that in this passage. Okay. We're going to see them learn and take some big steps to start to embrace the role that God has given them. And we're going to learn from it today. So turn with me to Acts 1. Wherever you are today, just know that we serve a God who does not change. Okay. He is always faithful and truthful. His word is reliable. His work in your life is reliable. So let's listen. Let's pay attention. Let's learn. God is speaking to us today through his word. Let's hear. Acts 1, starting in verse 12 and going through the rest of the chapter. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day 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

5:44brothers. 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, a kodama, 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.

6:48So 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 Justice, 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 11 apostles. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, you do know the hearts of all. You know our hearts here right now. You know what we need to hear from you. You know the grace that we need, the call that we need, the push that we need, Lord. Lord, lead us forward. Help us to not sit on the sidelines, not be a spectator, but to step into the story that you are writing.

8:13That we would see you as Lord of our lives, not just Lord out there, but Lord in here for us. And that in doing so, Lord, we would more and more see how precious you are, how valuable you are, how worthy of worship you are, how wise and how caring you are. The more we follow you, Lord, help us to see all these things, to trust, to know that you have purposed good things for us. Salvation, everlasting life, peace and joy. So Lord, come and minister to us right now through your word, by your spirit. And we pray this Jesus in your name. Amen.

9:05Living with purpose. So last week, the disciples, the apostles asked for a schedule. Give us a timeline here, Lord, of the kingdom coming. And they were told no. And then Jesus left. He physically ascended and returned to the Father. So the disciples have no schedule and they have no physical presence of Jesus with them. They were being pushed out, I told you last week, pushed out of procrastination, pushed out of passivity. This, this withholding that Jesus had was meant to push them into further walks of faith. And evidently that lesson really worked.

9:52It really took hold. Because here we see them in this passage, really engaged, active, seeking. Now, this is an odd passage. Anybody, as I was reading it, think, hmm, okay. Why is this in here? I got to tell you, I love, I love passages like this one. Passages that I read. And I'm like, why is this here? Here's why. Because I believe, and I hope you do too, that God has a reason for every section, every book, every page, every word that he's given us. There is a reason for it.

10:36And with that in mind, it's actually kind of fun to dig in, assuming that there is something there for us to dig in and to find it, to learn from it. This is, this is a one-time event in the story of redemption. That's true, right? But it tells us something important. This is not just about how Judas was replaced. This is showing us how God's people find their role in God's story. It's giving us an example. Okay, so there's three ways, three things that the apostles, that the disciples, that the whole group does together to find their role. First thing is that they are unified in prayer.

11:26There's few things in our spiritual life that are as powerful and as neglected as prayer. The disciples found that out when they were following Jesus around. He sent them out and they came back and they were like, Jesus, there were some things we couldn't do. It didn't work like you said it was going to work. And he's like, you know what? There are some things that are so big and so strong that the only way that they're going to be overcome is by prayer.

11:55And surely they were thinking that right now because they've returned to Jerusalem, right? Jesus told them to do that. Go back to Jerusalem. Jesus said soon the next promise is going to be fulfilled. The promise of the Father, the promise of the Spirit being poured out. For once in their life, the apostles, the disciples, they knew exactly where to be and what was going to happen next, right? If there was any time that I would have been like, well, I don't have to pray. It would have been this time, right?

12:31But what do they do? They get back to Jerusalem and they immediately dive in to concerted collective prayer. They devote themselves to prayer. The disciples know this. God's promise doesn't discourage prayer. It fuels it. We pray because God told us that he will act. Because God told us that he loves us. Because he told us that his kingdom is coming. Prayer is an act of dependence and of faith in a good Father who loves us in Christ. We are depending on his goodness. We are faithfully walking out and believing his goodness when we pray and ask. And here in Acts 1, it's a particular kind of prayer. It's gathered prayer. It's the community of God praying together. The apostles didn't send everyone home for individual prayer time. Nor did they keep everyone else away and say, you know what?

13:35Leave it to us. We're the apostles after all. We'll take care of this. We'll pray. The praying group was big. It was diverse. Luke tells us that this group included women who were following Jesus. Luke has told us this before, that the company of disciples included women too. They're there. They're praying. Jesus's brothers are there, probably James. He later becomes a leader in the church in Jerusalem. This is a diverse group of people, 120. It says here, different people from different places and backgrounds, different roles, different responsibilities in the kingdom of God, but with one mind. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer. This is their unity among their diversity. It's their like-mindedness in prayer. With one voice, they're seeking God.

14:38This is the beginning of a pattern that we're going to see throughout Acts. The people of God are in need. They go and pray. They get blessed enormously by God. They go and pray. They get persecuted. They go and pray. They want to send out missionaries. They gather and they pray. Over and over and over. What are they praying for? Well, based on how God answers, based on what they do, it's safe to say that they're praying for him to prepare them for their mission, their role in his purposes. This is what a guy named Jack Miller described as frontline prayer. It's good to pray for what we need. Give us this day our daily bread, right? But frontline prayer at its core is thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom come, Lord.

15:40That's frontline prayer. There are many reasons for us to pray together, church. We sharpen each other. We inform each other. We encourage each other as we hear each other pray. But don't forget this. One of the reasons why we pray together is to get in sync together with God. Praying together, it strengthens and it deepens our unity and it directs all of that energy along the lines of the kingdom. You know, in a pool, if everybody can be in the pool moving, but if everyone's doing their own thing, there's no current happening, right? But if everyone in a pool starts walking or swimming, even just slowly in the same direction in a circle, this current starts to form, right? It doesn't take much, but you can feel it. That's what happens when we pray together. Thy kingdom come begins to direct our unified energy along the lines that Jesus is doing when he is unfolding his kingdom. Strong momentum in the kingdom of God. The church as a whole needs more of this kind of prayer. And so, let's start with us.

17:08Amen? Let's start with us. I'm calling for us to go after this. For all of our meetings to dedicate even more time for the prayer of thy kingdom come, to frontline prayer. Small groups, men's and women's groups, missions teams meetings, music team meetings. Anytime you are together with one another, pray. Pray thy kingdom come. Pray for our church. Pray for us to understand the will of God. For us to see how the kingdom is advancing and what he wants us to do. Pray that he would use us. Let's get that current moving more and more. I know it's already moving. I can feel it. Can you feel it? Let's get it moving more and more in this church. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. So, unified prayer is one part of finding our role and living with purpose in his kingdom. Here's the second one. We've got to be unified in prayer. We've got to be guided by scripture. How many people here know prayer changes things? How many people here know that one of the things prayer changes is us? One of the things that it leads to here is a change of conviction in the apostles. The group of 120 have been praying fervently. God, show us what to do. Prepare us. Lead us. And then in one of their meetings, Peter stands up. He's got something to say. Brothers, the scriptures had to be fulfilled. Now, this, don't miss this. Prayer has been their activity, but God's word has been their subject matter, their north star, their guidance, their wisdom. Peter isn't listening to his heart. He's not listening to his spirit. He's not

19:24listening to intuition. He is listening to scripture. Jesus had taught the disciples in the 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension. He taught them about the kingdom of God from the scriptures, how all of the scriptures pointed to him. He gave them the interpretive key to the Old Testament, how that law, the psalms, the wisdom literature, the prophets, even the historical narratives, all of it, they're all about him, the bringer of the kingdom. And now in prayer, they are applying that. They're searching it out. And this has led to an epiphany, to an aha moment about one of the most shocking things that happened when they were following Jesus. And that is Judas's betrayal. Judas was one of the men that Jesus had chosen. He was not just a hanger on or on the periphery. He was an apostle. He was given a special ministry. He was given close access to Jesus. He was given charge of the money that they had. His treason was scandalous.

20:52And surely it raised doubts in the disciples' minds. Did Jesus make a mistake? Did he choose the wrong guy? And Peter here is saying definitively, no. And he bases that on scripture. He brings up Psalm 69. That's the first quote in the passage here. Psalm 69. In this psalm, David is attacked and betrayed by a close companion. He asks God to intervene, to judge. May his camp become desolate, David says to God, about the one who betrayed him. And Peter draws the parallel to Jesus and what happened to Jesus. And he's not the only one to do it. This psalm is applied four times to Jesus in the New Testament. One of the times is by Jesus himself. They believed that scripture was God's word.

21:50Peter said the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David. You don't get much higher of a view of scripture than that. Is your view of scripture as high as Peter's? So Peter is relying on scripture to interpret his experiences rather than the other way around. He relies on scripture to interpret his experiences rather than the other way around. Follow Peter's example. And so they are assured. Yes, we see it. God's purposes will stand. Job had said to God, I know you can do all things and no purpose of yours can be thwarted. And now the disciples are saying that too. Even the betrayal of Judas was part of the story that God was writing. It didn't foil the plans of God. In fact, it fulfilled the plans of God.

22:50Because he was betrayed, Jesus became what? Our atoning sacrifice. The Savior. The Redeemer. So let me apply this to us. We too need insight on the unfolding work of God. We're not trying to unpack something like how Judas's betrayal fits into the narrative of God's work of redemption, right? But we have our own context, don't we? God's work among us in our lifetime. Since God's purposes can't be thwarted, let's ask, how is that purpose being worked out in my life? How is that purpose being worked out in your community, in this church? If his purposes will stand, then they must be being worked out. In all the lives of this room, we need to press in to find out. God, tell us the themes that are emerging from this story, and we use scripture to do it. This passage tells us this, you can't know the will of God without knowing the word of God. You can't know the will of God without knowing the word of God. If you are there, racking your brain, Lord, reveal to me your will, but you're not spending time in scripture, you'll never get there. Scripture reveals the work and the character of God, what he has done, what he's promised to do, and it's these contours and these themes that we're supposed to look for and search out in our life and in the world around us. That's exactly what Peter did. Listen, when people ask about knowing God's will, they're usually asking about some decision they have to make, and that's fine. It's good. It's good to want to seek God's wisdom for a big decision you have to make, but knowing God's will

24:53is not just about making decisions. It's about seeing things from his perspective, including you in your own story, the things that have happened to you, the highs and the lows, the things you've learned. God is writing your story, and it's part of his story, and we're meant to find those things together. It's about interpretation, interpreting our lives through scripture. Let me give you an example. In Genesis, when Joseph betrayed Joseph, suffering Joseph, who is now the second in command in Egypt, in the famine, when he is finally reunited with his brothers, the ones who betrayed him, the ones who almost killed him, the ones who disowned him, Joseph doesn't seek revenge. It's not even on his mind. Why? Because he saw God's hand in his story. He had searched it out, and he saw now.

26:05He said, brothers, I suffered greatly. Yes, I suffered because of you. But God knew what he was doing. God sent me here to preserve life, including your life. He has a whole different interpretation on what's happened to him, and you see what it's done to him. He's at peace with his brothers before they even know it. He's got to reassure them, no, I really don't want to get back at you. I'm at peace with this because I have seen how God has been working, how he has brought me to this point. He was working the whole time, and that's exactly what I'm calling you to do. See your life through the lens of scripture, through the contours of the story of God. Belonging to him means that your life sits within his work. And how are we going to know that story except knowing the word of God? We learned what he's done, what he's promised to do. We see our past, our present, and our future with more clarity.

27:12And we begin to see the work that he's doing around us, in our community, in our homes, in our church. And you know what? We bring all of that in when we pray together. You see how these two things are working together? Okay, there's one more part. After praying, unpacking scripture, praying, unpacking scripture, on and on it goes. They were called to be bold in obedience.

27:44Now here's where it gets kind of crazy. It's one thing to say, you know what guys, Jesus's betrayal was part of God's plan. It's another whole thing to say, you know what guys, scripture says we should do something about it. That's exactly Peter's conviction here. He says, the empty seat must be filled. Now let's break down briefly how he gets there. Remember what Jesus said to the 12 apostles. This is surely what Peter's thinking about. This is Matthew 19. Truly I say to you, in the new world, he's talking to the apostles. In the new world, when the son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. There's a lot we can unpack there, but I'm just going to focus on this. Jesus intended there to be 12. 12 thrones, right? The number 12 was deliberate. 12 leaders under the new covenant, just like there were 12 tribes in Israel under the old covenant. But Judas's apostasy puts that all in peril. What? Now there's only 11. Do we take the 12th throne and put it off the stage somewhere?

29:06Pretend like it never happened? No. Peter sees what to do and he sees it where? In scripture. Peter. Psalm 109. A close confidant to David betrays him. And David says, let another take his office.

29:33Peter uses that one verse to propose a solution to this. Someone has got to take Judas's place. But wait a minute, Peter. Jesus chose the 12 apostles. You want us to choose one? Isn't that kind of above our pay grade, Peter? This is where it gets bold. Peter says they must act to fulfill this, to fill this empty spot. They must fill the empty place. What a suggestion, right? But it didn't come out of nowhere, right? Peter is soaked in prayer. He's made the case from scripture. He's made it the case to people who have been praying. And they all agree this must be done. There must be 12. And the man to fill it must be someone who has witnessed Jesus's entire ministry. They put forward two men, Justice and Matthias, and then they cast lots. And now we're like, whoa, you lost me about the casting lots thing. It's strange, but it's biblical, okay? Go and read your Old Testament. Casting lots was one of the ways that God allowed people to seek his input in the Old Testament. Usually this was done by what is called the Urim and the Thummim. This is in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy. It's also in Samuel. These are divinely given tokens that the high priest would keep in the breastpiece of judgment.

31:03Right? They were the only legitimate means to seek a yes or no answer from God, apart from God speaking to them. If you want to know more about this, ask me. We'll go to the scriptures together, okay? But I'm kind of asserting now. You just have to trust me. But it's there in scripture. They're not making this up. This is not voodoo. Casting lots was a means that God had given his people to seek his will. Casting lots is about to go away. The spirit is about to come. They're going to make big decisions later and there's no casting lots. But for right now, it's a way to seek God's input. So like God's people did before them, they asked God to speak through the lots that they cast. And so in fact, Jesus did choose Matthias, just like he chose the other apostles. Okay, so we're not replacing apostles anymore. Soon we're going to nominate elders and deacons. We're not going to be casting lots to do that. Hallelujah. So once again, what does this episode teach us? So what, Pastor Joel?

32:12Thanks for breaking it down. What does it mean for us? It means the purposes of God call us into action. Once we have prayed and read scripture and discerned God's purposes and what it means for us, the time comes to boldly obey the Lord. The time comes to act. Love your neighbor. Do good and share what you have. Show hospitality to strangers. Through love, serve one another. Care for the poor. Confess your sins to one another. I could go on and on. All of these are merely good ideas until we actually do them. Which of these we do? To whom? With whom? Well, that's why we pray. That's why we read scripture.

33:05That's why we discuss and we pray more, right? But eventually we must decide to obey, to actually do something, to trust God is leading us and that he is going to get in our way if we're off course. We have to act. And sometimes it requires boldness, like in this passage. That was bold, right? What Peter suggested. I love to see when people do something bold and risky, simply because and mainly because they are envisioning the kingdom of God and hearing God call them into it. Boy, that is awesome. You know, Gavin couldn't find a speaker for the youth, for the youth retreat a couple of months ago. And then he said, you know what? I think I'd like to be the speaker. That's pretty bold. God showed up just like he did in Acts 1, right? Last or around last Christmas, Jose came to us and said, I want to bless people in Honduras. I want to go and deliver food and Bibles, pray for them and bless those communities that I know that I'm connected to. Do you, new creation, want to get involved in help, right? That's bold obedience. The houseman's volunteering with Kairos. Look, there's all kinds of bold obedience happening all around us in this church.

34:42Praise the Lord. But you see the point here, we have to eventually do something. Praying, reading scripture, it's supposed to lead us to bold action. Do we always get it right? Do we always know exactly what step to take? No, but we have to trust that God is leading us and that he'll get in our way if it's not the right thing to do.

35:08Bree's playing varsity volleyball right now. Go Dragons. And at home, they wear white. And before a serve, a parent of another player, I'll hear him shout out, big swings, white. Big swings, white. And I really like that. What I feel like he's saying is don't hold back.

35:38Go after the play. Dig in. Be deliberate. Take action. Big swings, white. Don't hesitate. Don't be timid. It's game on. It's about the service coming. Living with purpose means taking big swings. Big swings for the kingdom of God. Big swings for the honor of Christ and the exaltation of his power in our community. Big swings don't have to come with a title or a big noticeable role or an announcement in the bulletin. Big swings are any time we take a risk for following Christ.

36:22When you give your time, your energy, your money, all of these finite resources that you have. When you give it for the sake of somebody else, that's a big swing. When you do something risky or uncomfortable or awkward, the dreaded word may be dreaded for more generations than another. When you do something awkward, young people, for the sake of loving somebody else and for loving Christ and his kingdom, that's a big swing. When you die to yourself so that God is honored, that's a big swing. Which big swing should you take? Which big swing should you keep taking? There's a lot of them happening in this church. Well, that's why you read scripture. That's why you pray. That's why you seek the Lord. God leads. But remember, the moment always comes to actually do something. Ready or not, here it comes. Our call is to trust God to empower us and work through us and to redirect us if he needs to. And he will. If we're off course, he will. This is the gracious privilege that we have. Through faith in Christ, we are forgiven, we're redeemed, we're made new, we're called into his story, and we're given a role. Not given a script, but given a role.

37:55So children of God, live with purpose.