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Thank you for that good singing this morning.

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No, it's not the sound system, it's my cold.

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That's what you're hearing.

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And if I get too drippy, what I'm going to do is take this mic off and use this one.

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Alright? Fair enough.

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That'll help you out too.

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Acts chapter 1 today.

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We in the American culture may do some things rather well.

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But one of the things we do not do well is waiting.

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Most people have a difficult time waiting.

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It's a difficult, hard discipline.

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Whether it's waiting on the physician in his office,

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waiting on a traffic light, or waiting our turn in the registration line,

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it's hard for us to wait.

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How many of us have waited on a customer in the express lane

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while he or she wrote out a check,

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and all the time they're writing out the check we're counting how many items they have

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just to be sure that they haven't gotten over the limit, right?

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Because that makes us wait extra long.

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Some people even have a hard time waiting for the benediction.

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I can't understand that.

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But we have a hard time learning to wait.

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There's something about it that goes against the grain of our Western culture.

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We want what we want now, without having to wait.

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Jesus commanded his followers to wait.

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He told them to wait until they had received what was necessary

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for them to be effective witnesses.

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It is interesting that that did not seem to trouble them or perplex them.

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Part of that may be cultural.

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They accepted his word without complaint or question

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and waited in Jerusalem for those ten days from his ascension until Pentecost.

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But I notice also they did not waste time during those days of waiting.

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Somehow I think that we have the idea that waiting time is wasted time,

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and it does not necessarily have to be so.

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Those early disciples did in fact wait, but they did not waste those ten days.

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In fact, the period of waiting involved three actions

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which the Holy Spirit seems to deem worth our notice.

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We'll read about that as we begin in Acts 1, verse 12.

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Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,

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which is near Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey away.

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And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying,

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that is, Peter and James, or John and James and Andrew,

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Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,

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James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot,

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and Judas the son of James.

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These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer,

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along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.

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And at this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren,

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a gathering of about 120 persons who was there together,

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and said, Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled,

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it's the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas.

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Just in passing, would you notice that Peter does not attribute those words to David alone, but to whom?

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Right, to the Holy Spirit, indicating his conviction that the Bible is not merely the writing of men,

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but it is in fact the very Word of God Himself.

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He says, the Holy Spirit spoke concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

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For he was counted among us and received his portion in this ministry.

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Now Luke inserts this parenthesis.

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This man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness,

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and falling headlong he burst open in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out.

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And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem,

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so that in their language that field was called Chalcaldema, that is, field of blood.

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For it is written in the book of Psalms,

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Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no man dwell in it,

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and his office let another man take.

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It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us

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all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

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beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that he was taken up from us,

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one of these should become a witness with us of his resurrection.

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And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barcibus, who was also called Justus.

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Barcibus was his Aramaic name, Justus his Roman name.

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And Mathias.

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And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men,

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show which of these two thou hast chosen, to occupy the ministry and apostleship,

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from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

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And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Mathias,

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and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

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In this text that we have read, there are three actions that are worth our study,

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three actions that are important, that took place during those days of waiting in the Upper Room.

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The first action is the return of the disciples to Jerusalem, verses 12 to 14.

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Now, why did they return to Jerusalem?

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We've already suggested that it was to wait, because Jesus had commanded them to do it.

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But they were to wait there, in order that they might begin their witness in Jerusalem,

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as He had also commanded them.

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He said, You shall be witnesses of me, both in Jerusalem and Judea.

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And so they understood they were to wait for the Holy Spirit,

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and they were to wait to begin their ministry until the Holy Spirit came.

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The distance from the Mount called Olivet to Jerusalem is called a Sabbath day's journey.

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That's about two-thirds of a mile.

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The Mishnah, which is the first part of the Jewish Talmud,

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containing the traditional interpretation of the ordinances of the Old Testament,

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says that it was no more than 2,000 cubits, or about 1,000 yards.

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Apparently, they arrived at that figure by interpreting Exodus 16.29 in light of Numbers 35.5.

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In the first place, it says that they were to stay in their place on the Sabbath day.

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But in the second passage, it suggests that one's place might be up to 2,000 cubits away from his home.

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And so they used the one scripture to interpret the other and said,

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a Sabbath day's journey, you can stay in your place if you don't go more than 2,000 cubits away.

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So that became known as a Sabbath day's journey.

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Now, still today, of course, the Mount of Olives is where it was 2,000 years ago,

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and it's about that same distance from the top of the Mount of Olives over into the old city of Jerusalem.

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When they got to Jerusalem, they went to the upper room, not just a upper room, but the upper room,

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perhaps the same one as they used for the Last Supper and where Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection.

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Some conjecture, it may have been the house of Mary, John Mark's mother,

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where the early church gathered on some occasions as recorded in Acts 12 verse 12, where they prayed there.

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Such a room as this provided privacy in those days from the noise and the eyes of the crowds on the street.

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It was usually gotten to by an outside stairway that went up the side of the house.

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It was a room that the wealthy used as a living room.

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Sometimes it was rented out to others for various purposes.

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It was a place that was apparently used often for assembly, study, and prayer.

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And the text may suggest that this particular upper room was big enough for 120 people,

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if in fact there is not a change of locations in verse 15 as some think there may be.

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There in the upper room there was apparently gathered the nucleus of people who had followed Jesus.

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In fact, the roll call of them is given.

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It mentions the eleven.

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This is not the first time that Luke uses that particular phrase.

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He uses it in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24 verse 33.

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Of course, it refers to the eleven disciples, excluding Judas, those who were still with the Lord.

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Along with the eleven, there were the women.

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These women were probably those who followed Jesus throughout his three years of ministry.

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Some of them, being wealthy, even contributed to the support of Jesus and the disciples.

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It was these women, apparently, who were with the Lord Jesus even at the cross

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when his other disciples had forsaken him.

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And apparently they were, for the most part, from Galilee.

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Mary is mentioned.

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In fact, this is the last mention of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the Bible.

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It is peculiar to Luke, his interest in Mary.

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While she is mentioned elsewhere, Luke takes particular interest in her

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and devotes the better part of the first chapter of his Gospel to tell about her and her family.

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And about her words when she found that she was the chosen one of God to bear his son.

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You will notice that Luke is very sympathetic to Mary.

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And in fact, Luke is sympathetic to all of the women about whom he writes.

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In addition to these people, there were the brothers of Jesus.

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Now there are those who believe in the immaculate, or rather that Mary had no other children

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and was a perpetual virgin.

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And the answer to that is that is an error.

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She indeed did have other children with Joseph.

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And some of them are named in the Bible.

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Among them were Simon, Jude, Joseph, and James.

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There may have been more.

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These were the Uterine brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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And the Gospels record that in his earlier ministry, they did not believe in him.

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And in fact, on one occasion at least, it suggests that they thought he was crazy.

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That he was out of his mind.

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But now after his work at the cross and his resurrection, they had come to believe in him.

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And we notice in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that to James in particular, his brother,

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Jesus appeared after his resurrection.

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What did they do while they were waiting?

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Well, it's clear that they prayed.

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And what did they pray about?

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Well, we're not really told.

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However, it is unlikely that they prayed for the Holy Spirit.

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As they were praying, they undoubtedly were worshiping God,

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simply waiting for God to fulfill his promise of sending the Spirit.

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This worship developed out of a oneness of mind, you will notice in verse 14.

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Real prayer always does.

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Real worship always comes out of that same oneness.

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A church that is divided is a church that cannot worship God.

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Real worship comes out of the unity of God's people.

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And that's one reason it's so important that all of us preserve the unity in our church.

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Because only as we are one in mind and one in heart,

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are we able to really pray as a body of people and worship the Lord.

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That characterized those early disciples as they waited in the waiting room,

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the upper room in Jerusalem.

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A second activity I see is that of restoring a denier to leadership, verse 15.

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You will notice the phrase in verse 13, at this time or literally in these days.

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That is a phrase that Luke uses three times in the book of Acts.

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He uses it again in chapter 6, verse 1, and in chapter 11, verse 27.

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It seems to introduce three incidents which were self-contained.

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But he plugged them into the narrative at that point

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in order to give the action a certain flavor or an insight that he wanted to include.

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So this is unique, the way that Luke writes this.

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He says, in these days, this is something that took place.

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And Luke is the only one who records this.

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Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren.

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Now that's significant.

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That is significant.

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Because you see, it tells us that Peter, who had denied the Lord,

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was now restored, and not just restored into fellowship,

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but actually restored to leadership in the apostolic band.

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We can all recall the sad and predicted denial of Jesus by Peter.

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Jesus was speaking about what was to take place, and Peter said,

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Never, Lord, we will not allow that to happen.

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We will be with you to death.

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He spoke that a little hastily.

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For Jesus, I think sympathetically, looked at Peter and said,

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Before three o'clock in the morning, you will deny me three times.

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That must have astounded Peter with his rather brash personality.

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Him deny the Lord?

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And yet we know the record that, in fact,

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exactly as Jesus said it would happen, it did.

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And after his denial, Peter looked at Jesus, it says, in the courtyard.

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And Jesus glanced at Peter, and their eyes met.

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That's all it says, their eyes met, and Peter went out and wept bitterly.

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There's a lot of pathos in that.

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There's a lot of feeling in that, just a glance.

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But Peter knew that as he looked at Jesus,

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and Jesus looked at him, that Jesus knew all about what had taken place.

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And he was so crushed and so broken by his own failure,

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they went out and wept bitter tears of repentance.

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That's all we would know if we only had the Gospel of Luke,

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John records that out there by the Sea of Galilee,

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Jesus had a conversation, especially with Peter.

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He said, do you love me?

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Feed my sheep.

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And there he seemed to restore Peter in a very special, individual way

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to a place of usefulness and leadership among the apostles.

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But Luke doesn't record that for us.

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I think that this verse, verse 15, is Luke's way of saying to us

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that Peter had been restored.

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He is saying this one who did deny the Lord,

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and that I wrote about Theophilus back in the first volume,

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has now been restored because he stands up in the midst of his brethren

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to say something.

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By the way, before we attack Peter too harshly for being a denier,

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let us remember that he was not the only one,

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because Mark tells us that they all forsook him and fled

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at that moment in the garden.

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They all denied him, and in that they were not very much different

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than we are today.

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Isn't that true?

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For how many of us think that we would be strong,

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that we would be faithful to the Lord,

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and yet we have denied him too often when put to the test?

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So what Peter experienced is not that far from what you and I experience,

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unfortunately, from time to time.

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But Peter was restored and God used him.

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Now the third action is found in verses 16 and 26.

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The first action is the return of the disciples to Jerusalem.

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The second, the restoration of a denier to leadership.

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Action number three, the replacement of a defector by another.

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Judas was not just a denier, he was a defector, a betrayer.

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It was a concern of Peter's, apparently,

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to reconstitute the band of the apostles to the number 12.

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Undoubtedly, it was incomprehensible to him and to the others

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how Judas could have done what he did.

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After all, this was not too many weeks after that.

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It must have been difficult for them to try to understand

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how Judas, one of their own, could have actually come to their Lord

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and in the garden with a kiss betrayed him into the hands of his enemies.

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And then Luke inserts a word here,

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giving details that are not found anywhere else in Scripture.

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It emphasizes the awfulness of Judas' fate.

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Now if you read your Bible, you will notice that there is an apparent contradiction

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in these couple of verses with what is said in Matthew 27, verses 3 through 10.

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Now we're not going to take time to read that this morning,

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but I'm going to refer to it.

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This has been called one of the most serious contradictions

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in the whole New Testament.

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And there are those who claim that this is ample proof

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that the Bible is not inerrant.

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And they say that's not a big deal.

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We don't worry about it.

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Well, my friend, it is a big deal.

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For if the Bible can be found to be errant, it has no authority over our lives.

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I care not how you argue it.

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In the ultimate, the Bible loses its authority

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if in fact it contains contradictions and errors.

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Well, now here is an apparent contradiction.

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But please note with me that it is reconcilable.

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The two accounts can work together in at least one way,

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and maybe there's some other way that it actually happened,

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which we have not figured out.

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But here's how it could have happened.

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In the one place, it says that the chief priests bought the field.

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But here it says that Judas did it.

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So the question is, who actually bought the field?

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And the answer is that both things are true.

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The chief priests probably bought the field themselves in the name of Judas

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using the 30 pieces of silver which had belonged to him.

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For you remember that they threw it at his feet.

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And so as was sometimes done in that day,

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they actually picked up the money, and because it was blood money,

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they did not want it.

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It could not be brought back into the temple.

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They went out and bought the field in the name of Judas.

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That was a potter's field.

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What does that mean?

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Well, the potters would go to that area and dig up clay,

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which would be used in their pottery.

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And so it was a field that was full of pits.

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And therefore it was easy for what?

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For the burial of bodies.

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And so it was used for that purpose.

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It was called a field of blood because it was bought with blood money,

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but it's also suggested here that it may have had something to do

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with the rather ghastly thing that happened to Judas.

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And that brings us to the second question.

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How did Judas die?

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Because in Matthew it says he hanged himself,

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and here it says that he fell down on his face, hit his head,

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and with such a blow that he burst open in the middle,

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and these rather gory details are given about that.

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How did Judas die?

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Well, it was Augustine who suggested again that the reconciliation

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is not difficult, that both things actually happened,

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that Judas hanged himself, and for some reason,

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either because of the slippage of the rope where it broke

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or because perhaps his body hung there a while and it fell of its own weight,

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it did fall, and the result was this rather unsightly scene

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of him breaking open the middle and all of his insides bursting out

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all over the place.

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So actually both things happened.

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Now you say, well, why did one say one thing and one another?

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Well, perhaps it was because of the unique perspective they had.

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You see, Matthew was writing for the Jews,

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and to the Jews to record that he committed suicide by hanging himself was enough.

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To them, suicide was a heinous thing,

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and to just say that he had committed suicide was enough for the Jews

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to show that his end was a despicable, horrible end.

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That's all they needed to know.

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But Luke was writing for the Romans,

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and to the Romans, suicide was morally neutral.

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So what if you kill yourself?

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That was their perspective in their paganism.

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And so to emphasize the awfulness, not the neutrality,

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but the awfulness of Judas' fate,

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Luke chooses to inject these gory details

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to show them how the end was, or what the end was,

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of Judas, the betrayer.

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Now Judas' defection and his replacement

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was in accord with Scripture and the plan of God.

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In fact, it was even mandated by it, as Luke seems to suggest

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in verses 16 and 21,

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where it says in verse 16 the Scripture had to be fulfilled.

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The Greek word there was necessary that it be fulfilled.

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Verse 21, it is therefore necessary, same Greek word.

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So twice in this text, Luke underscores that his defection

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and his replacement are all in accordance with God's divine plan.

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So it was necessary to happen.

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And then they determine the replacement of Judas.

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And the qualifications are clear.

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He had to be one who was associated with the disciples

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during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ

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from the time of John's baptism until the time of his resurrection.

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Now why was that important?

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Well, the answer is that in this manner,

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the 12th apostle, like the others,

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was the guarantor of the gospel message.

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He was not just preaching a message that had been handed to him,

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but he could say by first-hand experience,

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I saw this, I saw that, I heard those words

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and declare the gospel in a very special way.

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Now notice how the decision was made

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as to who the replacement should be.

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So they put forward, that is, they proposed two men,

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Joseph and Matthias, and they prayed together

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and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men,

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show which one of these two, what?

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Thou hast chosen.

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So please notice that the disciples did not make the decision

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as to which was chosen.

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The Lord made that decision.

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They needed some way to know which of their group

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had been chosen by the Lord to become number 12.

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And the way that they chose was by lots.

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Now that is quite foreign to us.

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When we think of lots, we think of lotteries.

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They have nothing at all in common.

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Lots were used in that day by the Jews

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and throughout the Old Testament

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as a means of determining God's will.

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What may have happened here was that they took two stones,

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they wrote the names of each of these men on those stones,

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and then they put them in a basket.

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Shook the basket, and either someone recently pulled one out

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or one of them fell out.

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However, the first stone out was number 12.

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And that was the means, and it was the God-ordained means,

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by which He indicated which of the two had been chosen.

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The question sometimes is asked,

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well, did the disciples here act in haste in naming the 12?

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And the implication is, should they not have waited for Paul?

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Should he be number 12 rather than Matthias?

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And my answer to that is no, they did not act in haste.

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In the first place, you see, Paul could not have met

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the qualifications for this band of 12.

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He had not been with Jesus during the three years

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or so of his earthly ministry.

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He had seen Him in His resurrection glory,

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but he could not meet the basic qualification that was mentioned.

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Furthermore, Paul is identified in his ministry with the Gentiles,

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not with the Jews, primarily, and with the Church,

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and not with Israel, primarily.

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Although his ministry was in line with the 12,

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it differs from their ministry in its base and in its direction.

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And so I do not believe that Paul should have been number 12.

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He is unique and stands by himself as the apostle to the Church.

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There were 12 who had to be appointed, however.

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This was anticipated by the words of Jesus.

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He had mentioned them sitting on the 12 thrones in His kingdom.

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John, in Revelation chapter 21, talks about the beautiful new Jerusalem

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which we will live in.

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And he says the foundation of it are 12 precious stones,

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and the names of the 12 apostles are written on it.

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Obviously, Judas would not be included in that.

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Furthermore, there is a symbolic reason.

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12 was the symbolic number of fullness and completion to the Jews.

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In order for early Christianity to present itself as the culmination,

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completeness of Israel's hope,

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there had to be a 12-fold, not 11-fold, witness symbolically.

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To his credit, Peter came to realize this, probably as they prayed in verse 14.

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Peter knew the promises of God had to be exactly fulfilled,

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and therefore he suggested what he did.

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On the basis of the text, there are several observations that I want to make,

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and will be on our way.

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These observations, I hope, will be practical to our lives.

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Observation number one.

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Genuine faith produces an obedient response in our lives.

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We cannot separate faith and obedience.

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We sing the song, Trust and Obey,

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for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

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James says that faith without works is a dead faith.

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That does not rule out lapses, by the way,

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or periods of backsliding, if you want to call them that,

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or times of failure in our lives.

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It doesn't rule those out.

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But those times are not descriptive of most of our life.

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For the genuine Christian, his life is mainly characterized by obedience, not disobedience.

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Furthermore, those periods of lapses are not permanent in a genuine Christian.

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They are temporary.

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Either the Lord brings us out of them through discipline, or He takes us home to heaven.

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But they are temporary lapses.

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Genuine faith produces an obedient response in our lives.

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The mark of genuine conversion is obedience.

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And obedience is the condition of walking in fellowship with Jesus Christ.

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It was obedience that characterized those disciples and early believers as they went back to Jerusalem there to wait.

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Is your faith evidenced by your obedience?

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Is the genuineness of your profession underscored by the way that you live?

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It is not enough to have mere words to say, I believe.

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Somewhere there has to be fruit to prove it.

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00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:05,000
Do you have fruit in your life, good fruit?

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Or is your profession merely superficial?

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That is a question that all of us must ask,

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especially in the light of the stern words of Jesus when He said that in that day, the day of judgment,

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there would be those who would say to Him, Lord, Lord, did we not do miracles in Your name?

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00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:33,000
Jesus warned that in that day He will say, depart from me, I never knew you.

436
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:39,000
Genuine faith produces an obedient response in our lives.

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00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,000
It may be that you are in one of those periods of lapse today.

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Like Peter, will you be restored?

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That brings me to observation number two.

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A past lapse does not preclude future usefulness.

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And Peter is my example of that.

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00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,000
He had had a lapse, a serious one.

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But God used him again.

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I am so grateful that God is the God of new opportunities.

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And in that regard, I think of Jonah, who the first time the word of the Lord came to him ran away.

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But it does say, doesn't it, in chapter two, the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.

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Someone has said God is the God of second chances.

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00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:32,000
A past lapse does not preclude a future usefulness in the hands of God.

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Sometimes the consequences of our disobedience may limit the kind or extent of our service, but not total service.

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God does not have any permanent shelf space for His children.

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00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:55,000
You may have failed the Lord in a way that you think is very grievous.

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You feel that you are on the shelf now and forever.

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That is not so, my friend.

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If you will repent of whatever that disobedience was, God will delight in using you again.

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I am glad for that.

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As Dr. Sweetings said last week, the Christian life is a series of new beginnings.

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As I look back at my life, I could, I'm sorry to say, name literally thousands of new beginnings.

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So often Satan discourages us by saying, you failed, you're done.

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The fact is that all of us frequently fail, but it does not mean that we're done.

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It means that we have the opportunity to glorify God in that failure by confessing what we've done wrong

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00:35:52,000 --> 00:36:00,000
and coming back to Him and saying, Lord, I failed, I confess it, restore me to fellowship and use me.

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00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,000
Remember, a past lapse does not preclude future usefulness.

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00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:06,000
God still has a place for you.

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I don't care what it may be.

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I don't care how grievous it is in your sight or in the sight of other people or in God's sight.

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God is able to restore you and to use you.

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00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:21,000
Rejoice in that and claim it today if that applies to where you are.

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00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:30,000
Observation number three, just as God's sovereign purposes cannot be frustrated,

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so no person is a victim of them either.

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There are those who have claimed that Judas was but a helpless victim of a God who predestined him to that fate.

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And therefore Judas is to be pitied.

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00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:58,000
Well, he is in fact to be pitied, but God cannot be blamed for the decision that he made.

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We see here an example of God's sovereignty and human responsibility in a delicate balance.

474
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:16,000
God simply allowed Judas to follow the path of his own choices and wickedness.

475
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:25,000
Judas was not an unwilling victim manipulated as a puppet by God's predestination.

476
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:31,000
Yes, it was necessary that Jesus be betrayed by one of his own.

477
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:39,000
The scripture had to be fulfilled about that, but Judas cannot blame God because he's the one.

478
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,000
You say, well, couldn't God have stopped Judas?

479
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:43,000
Of course he could have.

480
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,000
Then why did he not?

481
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:51,000
To accomplish his own divine plan, which he ordered from the beginning.

482
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,000
That's why.

483
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:58,000
You and I today can be grateful for the sovereign grace of God,

484
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:05,000
which intervenes on our behalf on our rebellious journey toward hell.

485
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:09,000
Because if God did not, in grace, intervene in our lives,

486
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,000
all of us would still be on the way to that destiny today.

487
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,000
That is the divine sovereignty side of it.

488
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:24,000
Now each of us is responsible for making his own decision, as was Judas.

489
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:31,000
There is a wonderful and beautiful balance here which glorifies the sovereign grace of God.

490
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,000
One day there's going to be a man arise on the earth called Antichrist.

491
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:40,000
God has prophesied that he would come, and he will come.

492
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:43,000
But when he does, he will not be able to say,

493
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:48,000
I am predestined to this, and I am but a helpless victim of God's sovereignty.

494
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,000
Not so.

495
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:56,000
For what it is already prophesied he will do, he will do by his own choice,

496
00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:01,000
to accomplish his own sinful purposes.

497
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,000
Observation number four.

498
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:07,000
The divine direction is the privilege of God's people.

499
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:12,000
I'm not suggesting you go out and buy lots down at the five and ten store.

500
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000
I don't know if you can get them there.

501
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:19,000
You see, the casting of lots is not intended to be normative for this age.

502
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,000
It was peculiar to the Old Testament Jews.

503
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:27,000
Please keep in mind that in this part of Acts we are heavily into Jewish territory.

504
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:31,000
We are more and more going to make a transition out of this part of Acts

505
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:35,000
into the church and into the gospel going to the Gentiles.

506
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:38,000
But here it's very much still focused on Israel.

507
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000
It's all Israel, in fact.

508
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,000
They cast lots. That was Israel's way.

509
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:47,000
Today we have a better way of determining God's direction.

510
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,000
You see a better way?

511
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:52,000
It seems like it would be pretty easy to throw lots in a bag

512
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,000
and let them fall out and say, well, God wants.

513
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,000
Oh, no.

514
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,000
No, I'll tell you why.

515
00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,000
Today we have God's Word.

516
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:04,000
We have prayer and we have the indwelling Holy Spirit.

517
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:09,000
That's a lot better than to die or little stones

518
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,000
or whatever they may have used to determine the will of God.

519
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,000
You say, why is that?

520
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,000
Well, let me illustrate it this way.

521
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:23,000
There was a time when a ship captain would go out on his ship at night

522
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:27,000
and get out his little navigational instruments

523
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,000
and determine where he was.

524
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:33,000
And so from time to time he could make a spot check

525
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:36,000
and determine where he was on his map.

526
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,000
We don't do that anymore.

527
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000
You know why?

528
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,000
Because today we have very sophisticated guided systems.

529
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:54,000
Our modern jets have computers that lock on fixed objects or a signal,

530
00:40:54,000 --> 00:41:00,000
and those computers continually give minute guidance to that jet

531
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,000
as it flies through the sky.

532
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:07,000
Not a periodic check, but constant guidance and direction.

533
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,000
And you see, that's what we have today.

534
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,000
We don't need to make the constant check with the dice

535
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,000
or with the stones or the lots.

536
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:21,000
We have that constant direction of God in our lives by His Word,

537
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:26,000
by prayer, and by the Holy Spirit's voice within.

538
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,000
Are you listening to His guidance today?

539
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,000
That is your privilege as a child of God.

540
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,000
Do you want to know what to do, which direction to turn?

541
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,000
Listen.

542
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,000
God's not trying to keep a secret from you.

543
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,000
He delights to tell you.

544
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:46,000
Finally, observation number five.

545
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,000
And this is especially for those of you here who do not know

546
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,000
what it is to be saved.

547
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,000
It is possible to be numbered among God's people

548
00:41:56,000 --> 00:42:01,000
and yet not have a part with them in Jesus Christ.

549
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:06,000
You see, Judas was numbered among them.

550
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:09,000
He was for three years walking with those disciples

551
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:15,000
as they watched Jesus do His miracles and heard Him give His teachings.

552
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:23,000
He was numbered among them and yet He had no part with them in the Savior.

553
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:27,000
And I think of those church members who are numbered on the roles of churches

554
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:31,000
but who have no part in Jesus Christ.

555
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,000
Those people who are a part of something in name

556
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:38,000
but who do not know what it is to be saved.

557
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:43,000
Ultimately, Judas left his place among the disciples

558
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:50,000
to inhabit his place in shame and darkness and hell forever.

559
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:55,000
Tragic figure. Tragic figure.

560
00:42:55,000 --> 00:43:01,000
But no more tragic than that one whose name is on the church roll

561
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:04,000
and who's been through baptism or confirmation

562
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:09,000
or the rituals of the church or whatever.

563
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:13,000
And who leaves his place on this earth in death

564
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:18,000
only to find that his next place is not in heaven where he had hoped to go

565
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:23,000
because he was a church member, but in hell

566
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:26,000
because he had no part with the Savior.

567
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:32,000
That is an equal tragedy to that which Judas experienced.

568
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,000
If you do not have the assurance of your sins being forgiven,

569
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:41,000
if you do not know that you have a part in Jesus Christ and that you're saved,

570
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:45,000
then today you need to make sure about that.

571
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:50,000
Because, my friend, hell is filled with people

572
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:54,000
whose names were on church rolls

573
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:58,000
and who in this life performed all kinds of religious and good works

574
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:02,000
but who neglected the one simple thing they needed to do.

575
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:08,000
And that was to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ in their lives.

576
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:13,000
You still have time to do that, will you? Will you do it today?

577
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:17,000
Let's pray.

578
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:21,000
Father, I thank you for the power of your Word.

579
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:27,000
I thank you for what it teaches us and how it exposes our lives.

580
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:32,000
And even though this vessel has been weak this morning,

581
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:37,000
nonetheless, your power has been perfect in weakness.

582
00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:40,000
And Lord, all across this auditorium, you've said things to us.

583
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,000
We need to respond.

584
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:48,000
And I pray that as we sing this final hymn, you'll help us to respond

585
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:53,000
in a way that would be in obedience to your Word.

586
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:58,000
Help those who do not know Jesus to come today to receive Him.

587
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:03,000
And those of your children who are in periods of lapse and backsliding

588
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:09,000
to give back to that place of repentance and fellowship and usefulness again.

589
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:24,000
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.