And after he had said these things, he was lifted
up while they were looking on, and a cloud received
him out of their sight. And as they were gazing
intently into the sky, while he was going, behold,
two men in white clothing stood beside them.
They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been
taken up from you into heaven, will come in just
the same way as you have watched him go into
heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from
the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered
the city, they went up to the upper room where
they were staying. That is, 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.
These all, with one mind, were continually devoting
themselves to prayer, along with the women and
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Let's pray. Father, I come before you. I thank
you for your word. I thank you for the worship
and the singing and the praise that we have heard
this morning. Lord, I thank you that we can gather
together as a body and we can worship Christ
Jesus for the work that he has accomplished and
the work that he has done on behalf of sinners.
We praise your name for that, Lord. We praise
your name for sending Christ into this world.
Father, I ask and I pray this morning. that in
this text we would be encouraged, that we would
be challenged, that we would be supported and
undergirded in our soul. Lord, that you would
use it to propel us into this world, to tell
people about Christ and to be obedient to his
mission. Lord, I ask that you would bless the
reading and the preaching of your word this Lord's
Day in a special way. special way. I ask this
in Jesus' precious name. Amen. You may be seated.
So just to briefly review where we're at in the
book of Acts. So far we have seen Christ come
and present himself to the apostles. We've seen
that he promised the coming of the Holy Spirit,
that the Spirit of God would come and baptize
the disciples. We have seen that they were given
a great commission to go into the world and to
preach the gospel, to proclaim Christ Jesus.
We see that Christ, after He gave His instructions,
was ascended and lifted up into the sky. A cloud
took Him, and the disciples stood there. Gazing
intently into the sky. Last week we talked about
really the human response to the ascension. What
that meant for the disciples and what they needed
to do. They needed to work. They needed to commit.
They needed to dedicate themselves. They needed
to go all in, put both feet into this mission
of proclaiming the gospel in the... So we saw
that this week, we'll see the disciples are in
this interesting time period. Jesus has ascended
and has removed his physical, his bodily presence
from them. They are waiting for the coming. of
the Spirit of God to indwell them and to empower
them and to equip them. So they're in this period
between those two points in time. They are awaiting
the time when they will start their mission.
They are waiting for the time when they will
begin to go into the world and proclaim Christ
and the church will be built up. They are waiting
for that period of time. Now, it's really important
that when we read verses 12 through 14, the upper
room and then returning to the city, that we
make sure that we read that in light of the ascension.
So this is really the second major event which
has taken place so far in the book of Acts. The
first is the ascension. The second is them returning
to Jerusalem after the ascension. So one of the
things that I love so much about expository preaching
is that you cannot separate the previous text
from the text in which you're preaching on. This
instructs us not just in preaching and teaching,
but how to study the Bible. How we are to look
at the context of what took place prior and what
is going on in the text you're studying and you're
looking at. So every single thing in verses 12
through 14, every single thing must be viewed
in light of the ascension of Christ Jesus. Their
returning to Jerusalem must be viewed in light
of... The ascension, Christ going and sitting
at the right hand of God. Their praying must
be seen in light of the ascension. Their gathering
together must be seen in light of the ascension.
We must always keep those closely related and
especially for our message today. So for those
of you who like to take notes, we'll be looking
at three primary points. The first is their return
to the city and the upper room. The second is
the unity of those waiting. And the third is
the activity of those who were waiting. So we
see in verses 12 through 13 that it says they
returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is near Jerusalem. And it was near Jerusalem.
It was a Sabbath day's journey away. Now he's
referring to the disciples who were just experienced
the ascension of Christ. So the disciples, which
are listed in verse 13, they return from the
Mount of Olives and they travel through Bethany
to Jerusalem. Now this is important because it's
a very familiar... path to them. It's a very
familiar walk, which they did very often with
Christ Jesus. And so they returned, the disciples
who Jesus handpicked, those who had experienced
firsthand His resurrection, His ascension, His
death. His life, those who were sitting under
his teaching and his instruction for three years,
those who lived and ate and breathed and talked
and walked with him, those apostles return the
Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, to the city. Now,
this scene, when it talks about a Sabbath day's
journey, it's not talking about... a time period.
It's talking about a distance. So really, it's
about three -fourths of a mile from the Mount
of Olives to Jerusalem. We don't know exactly
how far it was from the Mount of Olives to the
upper room where they were staying, but it's
somewhere under a mile in that range. So not
a long walk, but not just a short couple steps
either. Now when we look at this and we think
about this, what do you think? their conversations
consisted of on the way back to Jerusalem. What
do you think their mind was thinking of on the
way back to Jerusalem? What do you think was
rolling through their head? What was rattling
around up there as they were just experiencing
the ascension in Christ? lifting himself up,
defying gravity, going into the sky. Two angels
miraculously appear to them, say, why are you
standing in the sky? Why are you staring into
the sky? This Jesus is going to come just the
same way as he left. So these disciples returned.
What was going on in their head? What was going
on in their mind as they were entering the city
and going to the upper room? I'm sure Christ's
commands, which He just gave to them, were standing
out in their thinking. This mission, this great
mission that Christ has given us, this great
mission that we are to go and proclaim Christ
into all the world, to Judea and Samaria and
even the remotest parts of the earth. I'm sure
that was there. I'm sure they were thinking and
considering what exactly The ascension meant
for them the reality that Christ was no longer
physically, bodily present for them. They thought
they had to get back to Jerusalem immediately
because Jesus said not many days from now the
Holy Spirit will be poured out on you. So just
think about some of the things that were going
on in their head as they were heading that way.
The text clarifies. and says they entered into
the city. And think about Jerusalem. Think about
the upper room which they were entering into.
At one point in time, this city, Jerusalem, it
reminded them of defeat. After Christ's death,
they scattered and they ran. This city? This
is where Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times.
This is the very place. This is the same city
that crucified their Lord. This is the same city
in which they were threatened with persecution
and they were mocked for being his disciples
and followers of Christ. So they were entering
into this city. Had anything changed? Had anything
changed this time when they entered the city
from the last time when they entered the city?
Something drastic had changed. Now think about
the upper room. What did the upper room signify
to them? What experiences had taken place in
the upper room? What conversations had taken
place in the upper room? Now if this is the same
upper room, which is referred to several times
throughout the Gospels, which I tend to think
it is, then that means it would be the place
where Christ instituted the Lord's Supper. This
would be the same place where Christ washed His
disciples' feet in a humbling way as a slave
serving them. This is the very place where he
talked to them about going to the Father and
sending the Spirit of God. This is the very place
where he said he must go to the cross. The upper
room was also a place after Christ's death where
we find the disciples with the doors shut and
the doors locked. And Jesus miraculously appears
to them. Now remember in that scene, why were
the doors locked and shut? For fear of the Jews.
So this very place they were entering into was
a place where they were previously very, very
fearful. A place where they had closed themselves
off from the rest of the community. A place where
they had closed themselves off from the rest
of the people around them because they were deathly
afraid of what was going to come of them. Because
their Lord Jesus had been killed. But now we
see as they enter into the city, as they go to
that very same upper room, They no longer walk
into it and see the reminders of His death and
see the reminders of defeat and persecution.
But now, they walk into that city and every memory
that's triggered by every sight and every sound
and every smell they see in that city and in
that upper room, it reminds them of the great
victory which Christ has accomplished. It reminds
them that they are victors alongside of Christ
and that He has a plan and that He is working
it and it will continue and it will not be defeated.
So that's what it stands to them now. That's
what it means to them. It was no longer fear.
It was no longer fear that defined them and overwhelmed
them, but Luke 24... 52, where Luke concludes
his section on the ascension, it says that when
they returned to the city, it was not with fear.
It was not in discouragement. But how did they
return to the city? They returned to the city
with great joy. They returned to the city with
great joy. They entered into the same place where
Christ was killed. They went to the same room
which reminded them of the coming crucifixion
of their Lord and their Master and their Savior
with great joy because they knew the victory
which He had won for His people and the glory
which He had entered into when He ascended. So
no longer were they defined by fear. Fear of
what would come of them. Fear of persecution.
No longer were they defined by fear. But the
overwhelming event in their soul was now great
joy. It was great joy because of the work that
Christ had done and specifically because of the
ascension. This is what happens when you come
to the realization of who Christ is and what
His ascension means for the people of God. Great
joy is generated within your soul that you never
had before. Great joy flows from your soul because
of what Christ has done that you've never experienced
before. This is what happens when you realize
that your great king, that your master has defeated
death. Great joy comes as a result of that. This
is what happens when you realize that your great
king and your great master is seated on high
at the right hand of God in power and nobody
can touch him, nobody can stop him, nobody can
defeat him because he is ruling at the right
hand of God. You have great joy as a result of
that. If you're a believer in Christ, You should
have great joy and great confidence and great
boldness because Christ is reigning. Because
Christ ascended. Because He's not here with us
physically, bodily. He is ruling at the right
hand of God. That should give you great joy.
Christ being lifted up. And His ascension. It
did something to their souls. It did something
within them. It did something to their hearts,
to their thought process. It did something to
their mind. It did something to their unity.
It did something to each and every one of them
that was with Jesus and experienced Him. It did
something to them. It showed them that regardless
of what has happened, regardless of what is happening,
regardless of what's going to happen in the future,
you can have great joy because Christ has ascended
and he has seated at the right hand of God. You
can have great joy. So the ascension, I just
want to briefly cover a few points. Last week
we really did, we looked at the human response.
What they needed to do, they needed to work.
They needed to get on board with this mission.
They needed to be obedient to Christ's will and
not just love and adore him. But what are the
theological implications of the ascension? Because
remember, everything taking place here in this
scripture is in light of the ascension of Christ.
So first, we have to recognize the term or the
phrase, the right hand of God. The right hand
of God. We see in Psalm 110 .1. In Psalm 110
.1. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies. a footstool for
your feet. So sitting at the right hand teaches
us that there's authority, dominion, rule, and
reign involved. We also read in Ephesians 1,
starting in verse 19, and I'm going to read through
the end of the chapter. And whenever I'm reading
these, think of the ascension, Christ's rule,
His headship over the church, starting in verse
19. And what is the surpassing greatness of His
glory toward us who believe? These are in accordance
with the working of the strength of His might
which He brought about in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead. and seated him at his right
hand in the heavenly places. Far above, this
is Christ in his ascended and exalted glory,
sitting at the right hand of God. This is what
it's describing. Far above all rule and authority
and power and dominion and every name that is
named, not only in this age, but also in the
one to come. So Christ is... He is leaps and
bounds. He is so much higher than any other rule
or any other authority or any other name that
is in existence in this universe. He is that
much higher for this age and the age to come.
Verse 22, And He put all things in subjection
under His feet and gave Him as head over all
things to the church. which is his body, the
fullness of him who fills all in all. In Hebrews
chapter 1, we read that when he had made purification
for sins, he, being Christ, sat down at the right
hand of the majesty on high. So we see this phrase
of the right hand of God, power, and Christ being
seated, and Christ being at the right hand of
God. So four things regarding the ascension and
exaltation and Christ being in glory very quickly.
First, it means power and authority and dominion.
Jesus is not lacking in power, folks. Jesus is
not lacking in authority. He is not lacking in
dominion in this world or in the church. He is
omnipotent. He is all -powerful. All the power
that created the universe is in Christ. He has
all power. So He's not lacking power. That's
Christ. That's our Lord. That was the Lord of
the disciples who was sitting at the right hand,
who ascended to glory and is exalted. Second,
it means dignity and honor and prestige. Christ
has been given the glory he had with the Father
before the foundation of the world. The brightness
of his glory has returned to him and he sits
in glory. He is the most precious, the most prestigious,
the most dignified being in the universe. And
he has human nature. He has human nature. He
is our forerunner, sitting at the right hand
of God. He is the firstborn among many brethren.
He is our representative. He is our intercessor.
He is our mediator. So it means dignity, honor,
prestige. Third, it means rest in completion.
Christ ascending and entering into His exaltation
and glorious state and condition. He is resting
from his works of humiliation in this world.
He is resting from his personal, bodily, physical
works which he accomplished in this world for
atonement and for redemption and for salvation.
It's done. He said it's finished. He sat down.
It's done. It's complete. There's no more redemptive
work for him to accomplish and bring about. Now
it must be applied to his elect, to his children,
to his people. Third or fourth, it signifies,
and I think this is my favorite one, it signifies
kingship and rule. It signifies kingship and
rule. Jesus, who was lifted on high from among
His disciples and blessed His disciples, is king.
He rules and He reigns, not just in the church,
spiritually in the hearts and minds of believers,
but all things. All things. Christ is king. Christ
is ruler. So what are the implications of that
on the disciples in this text? What are the implications
of that on their lives? How did that affect them?
Won't that take away fear? Knowing who is sitting
on the throne? Won't that remove fear and discontentment
and discouragement from your life, knowing that
the King, Jesus Christ, who has all power and
all reign and all authority and all dominion
and is the most prestigious and the most powerful
being in the universe that spoke the world into
existence, is there and He loves you? Won't that
take away fear in your life, knowing that He's
in control? Knowing that he is king and he is
ruling and his plan is going forward as he desires
it to go forward. It's not messed up. It's not
going to fail. That will strip you of fear and
that will implant great joy within your soul
knowing that Christ reigns. It ought to. So how
does this affect your life? How does the risen
and the exalted and the ascended Christ affect
your life? How does it impact the way you live
in this life? How does it impact your home? How
does it impact your sharing the gospel with your
children? How does it impact the way you see
others? And the way you behave? How does it impact
your church? How does it impact your Christian
life? That's what it's got to come down to. Folks,
you do not have the authority in this life. You
do not have the power in this life. You do not
have the dominion and the reign and the rule
in this life. But you are a subject of the greatest
king in the universe and he does have the power.
And he does have the authority. And he does have
the ability to change your situation. And he
beseeches you to come to him. He can change those
things in your life because he is king. He can
affect. the direction of your children. He can
save your children. He can save your brother.
He can save your sister. He can save your mother.
You can't, but the king can. He is seated at
the right hand with power, with power. And it
should give us great joy. So these disciples,
they returned to Jerusalem. And they waited.
And they waited. So next, we're going to look
at the unity of those disciples who were experiencing
joy within their souls while they were waiting.
The text says in verse 14, they all with one
mind. They all with one mind. Now this will impact
praying, and this will also impact their joy
and their gathering. But I just want to look
on this idea of them all being present, and these
all with one mind. You would think with all that's
gone on in the lives of these disciples, All
that has gone on in the lives of these Jesus
followers in the first chapter of the book of
Acts. Think about the last month and a half of
their lives. I mean, just think about Peter,
okay? And think about the last month and a half
of Peter's life. A lot has happened, right? Think
about the things he has seen. Think about the
emotions that have... express themselves in Peter's
life. So there's a lot that's gone on. There's
been mixed emotions. There's been excitement.
There's been a flood of discouragement in the
last month and a half for them. But they didn't
break. They didn't fraction. They didn't come
into disharmony. There wasn't dissension. There
wasn't schism. There wasn't division. But the
text says that they were of one mind, that they
were unified, that they were in harmony with
one another. This word, one mind, it's a fascinating
word. It's used ten times in the New Testament.
And guess where all those occurrences are? In
the book of Acts. Every single time this word
is used, it's in the book of Acts. And so this
word or this idea of one mind or unity is a foundational
characteristic that is expressed over and over
and over and over in the book of Acts. It can
mean several different things. One mind, one
passion, one impulse. one accord. For instance,
whenever Paul would go into a city, many times
it said that the crowds in opposition rose up
with one mind against him. Or, on the other way,
all the people who were listening to the preaching
of the Word of God, they listened intently with
one mind. There was unity. They were working
as one. They were working as a single unit. How
were they united? How was it that they were unified
while Christ had ascended and they were waiting
for the Spirit of God? First and foremost, it
was because of Christ Jesus Himself. It was because
they had been with Christ. It was because He
ascended and they were with Him. He ascended
from among them. They had been around Him. They
had received His instruction. They had been picked
by Christ. They had been taught by Him. They
had been given commands by Him. So the primary
reason that they were unified is because they
all had one object which they loved. They all
had one singular object which was the focus point
of their life. Jesus Christ. Their lives revolved
around him, who he was, the work that he had
accomplished. Jesus was it for them. Christ is
not supposed to be a footnote in our lives. He
was not a footnote in their life. Christ was
very literally their life. Everything to them.
Their whole lives revolved around Christ. He
wasn't something on the side, separated, that
you pull in when he's handy. Their lives revolved
and centered around Christ Jesus. Second, they
were all being obedient. Think about it. Christ
gave them a command in Acts 1 -4, not to leave
the city. So they all, in obedience to Christ's
command, went to the upper room, went into the
city. They were being obedient. Third, they were
all believing and trusting in Christ's promises.
He promised that the Spirit of God would come
upon them in power. Every single one of them
that were there in that upper room, they were
believing that Christ the one who they love so
deeply, would follow through and come through
because he is the faithful God and send the Spirit
of God upon them. And at that time, they would
start their mission into the world. So forth,
they were all expecting to take part in the mission
of God. Every single one of them. Each of them,
not just a couple, not just one or two, but they
all had an expectation that they would do their
part, that they would participate. They had an
expectation that they would take part in God's
mission in this world. So that's what brought
them together. We could look at that and we could
say it this way. The unity... of the early church,
the apostles in particular, was based on their
understanding of who Christ was, what He had
done, and their dedication and their commitment
to obediently and faithfully fulfill His commands
and His commission in their lives. So really,
Right thinking about who Christ is and what He's
done. Theology. And commitment and dedication
to the mission that Christ gave to them. This
is what unifies people. This is what unifies
churches. This is what unifies Grace Fellowship
Church. Being obedient to Christ. Being faithful
to believe that Christ will do what he says he
will do. Expecting to take part in God's mission.
This could be summed up in faithfulness to and
commitment to and a good theology of the local
church. That could be applied to this text right
here, right now. Disunity or disharmony comes.
When people start to sidetrack from Christ's
agenda and Christ's purpose and Christ's will
in the life of the local church, disharmony,
disunity, fraction, division, schism comes when
people no longer remain committed to the mission
that Christ has given. Or when they start to
have a wrong thinking about who Christ is. All
of these things can bring about this harmony,
fracture, division. But you put those together
and you have a great force for the kingdom of
God. You have a unified group who revolve around
Christ. and what He's done. These are the traits
of the church in every age, regardless of the
time period. Faithful to believe in Christ's
promises, obedience to His commands, loving Him
and desiring Him and having Him the object of
your life and as your life, and expecting to
take part in the mission of God. These are characteristics
of a church in every age, regardless of the time
period. Now, this leads to certain activities.
And we see this in this text in verses 12 through
14. They didn't just sit around twiddling their
thumbs, but they did certain activities. We know
from Luke 24, verse 52, that they worshipped.
Christ. It says they worshipped Him. Then they
returned to Jerusalem. So this group of believers,
they worshipped Christ Jesus. They declared Him
as God because He rose from the dead and He ascended
and the Scriptures were fulfilled. He had saved
them and rescued them. He had worked in their
lives. He had spoken to them. And they worshipped
Him as God. Secondly, we also know from the end
of Luke's gospel that they were continually in
the temple praising God. So they were out in
public praising God continually in the temple,
thanking Him for the work that He had done, praising
Him for the redemption which He had accomplished.
And finally, the focal point of this text and
the activity which they did was they continually
devoted themselves to prayer. They continually
devoted themselves to prayer. So there's one
characteristic that we'll hone in real quick
is that it was a continual devotion. It was something
they dedicated themselves to. It was something
they committed themselves to, something they
kept coming back to. So when they were in that
upper room, they didn't just pray nonstop, but
they kept coming back to it. They intentionally
and proactively were there for the explicit purpose
of praying. Now what do you think that they prayed
for? I believe that they prayed out of the unity
which they had. They prayed because they prayed
for the coming of the Spirit. They prayed for
power to accomplish the mission. They prayed
that they would be bold and courageous in their
proclamation of the Gospel. They prayed for unity
among themselves. They prayed for open hearts
and open minds to receive the gospel of Christ
as they went forward. I'm sure they prayed for
humility. They prayed that they would be faithful
to Christ who has been so faithful to them. Now
why was this, do you think this prayer was any
different than the prayer they'd had before?
I think that this prayer had a special and a
unique and a new and a fresh boldness and confidence
to it. Because they knew that their Savior and
their Lord and their Master and their King was
interceding and He was fully in His office of
mediator for His people at the right hand of
God. The reality that Jesus taught them to pray
in his name. It's not just throwing his name
on things, but it's praying in his authority
on the basis of his work and who he is. They
went boldly to the throne of grace. They went
confidently, not because of them or who they
were or what they were about to do, but they
could go boldly and confidently before the throne
of grace and they could continually devote themselves
to praying because they were so confident in
the work that Christ had accomplished to bring
them closer and nearer to the throne. They couldn't
get to the throne room of God regardless of how
hard they tried on their own. But because of
Christ's work and because they knew He went and
He sat down, they could now boldly go to the
throne of grace and their requests and their
supplications would go boldly to the Father.
So they prayed with a fresh boldness and a confidence
and authority they did not have before. You know
what's amazing? We look at this text. And we
look at their return to Jerusalem in the upper
room and they have great joy. We look at this
text and we see the unity that they had. We see
what they were unified around. We see what they
did. We see that they worshiped. They praised
God and they prayed. You know what's amazing
about this text? In the 12th verse, of the first
chapter of the book of Acts, we already see the
formation of a local church. What are they doing?
They're worshiping. They're praising. They're
praying. They're gathering. of the local church,
the origins of Christianity, has a date, has
a time, has a place, has a location. And these
were the men and the women that grew out of.
We do not have to fear that the church will go
away because it will not. We do not have to fear
that God's mission will be stopped because it
will not. This church, I love it. This is what
we see in this book in the first chapter. It
wasn't flashy. It wasn't flashy. It wasn't fancy.
There wasn't even a big group of people. We see
that there was 120, but we see 11 disciples who
eventually became... The 12 again, they were
restored to their original number, which Jesus
chose. But these men and these women, they are
the seeds of thousands of years of the church
and thousands of years of people coming to Christ.
Do you know why? Because they'd been with Christ.
Because they were unified around Christ. Because
they were committed to worshiping Christ. Because
they were committed to praying in Christ's authority,
in Christ's power. Because they were committed
to praising God. The church doesn't have to be
big and fancy. The church has to be faithful.
The church has to be faithful. And that's what
we see in this book.