The Church Needs To Be Faithful - Acts 1:9-14

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

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

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.

Luke 24:52

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.