A Broken Link and One Accord

Dear heavenly Father, we are grateful today that Jesus died

for us and that we have a right now, righteousness

good enough for the judgment day because of him. Now, Father,

our calling is to act that way. It is to

live out the truth you've given us, to not be

ashamed of it, and to help our friends and neighbors

and others come to know it. And thank you for

Jesus and the Holy Spirit guide us in our series

and book of Acts to know how that early church

grew and to emulated here in Jesus' name. Amen, you

know I have a sermon. It's really a Bible study today,

and I hope I didn't get out of hand with it.

It's a little longer, you can say, Amen, are Oh no, no,

what's the past. I'm doing it all right now. What

I want to do is if it gets too long,

when have you stand up and do calisthetics? And you

know what I mean. I'm just kidding. An anonymous person

of wisdom once said that the saddest thing about betrayal

is that it never comes from your enemies. It comes

from those you trust the most. Is that right Judas

betrayed Jesus Jesus, but he was not the first being

in the universe to betray Jesus. He's late in the game,

way back before the creation of the world. Jesus' closest

friend outside of God, the Father, God, the Son, and

God the Holy Spirit was an angel named Lucifer. Lucifer

was beautiful to behold, and the Bible evidence suggests that

God made him to look more beautiful than the pre

existing Christ. Christ has always been the humble one who

is God with us, like in Isaiah fifty three, like

a root out of dry ground. He has no form

or comeliness that we should desire him, and yet inside

of him is the beauty of God God with us.

Lucifer was the privileged one who was wise as a

created being, beautiful as a created being, but he was

not God. The Bible says he walked up and down

the midst of the stones of fire. He was an

Eden that has identified Asecra twenty eight as the holy

mountain of God, that is Heaven itself. Jesus called it

the paragot dice of God. In the book Revelation. Lucifer

had twelve gemstones of the high priest in his clothing

and he represented God to angels and to worlds when

he walked up and down the midst of the stones

of fire. The best evidence is that the stones of

fire represent planets that are swinging around suns that have

magneto spheares that have to be balls of fire within

beneath their crust to create the forest field so the

cosmic rays do not destroy life. He walked to and

fro in the planetary systems of the universe. Lucifer had

twelve gemstones. Why because he was the high priest as

a created being to represent God to the universe. But

all that wasn't good enough for Lucifer. Lucifer wanted more

than this. He wanted to take the place of the

pre existent Christ, who was eternal, who was part of

the hearted love of Eternity, who could only enter into

the counsels of God and to rise above the throne

of God as the ruler of Heaven itself. Jesus was

betrayed by Lucifer and the fallen angels when Christ was

Heaven's commander. Ever since, Lucifer has set his evil sights

to destroy both Christ and his people. Satan hates Jesus.

He always has since his rebellion, he will until he's destroyed.

He hates those who follow Jesus. Wherever someone looks to

self instead of God in Christ, the spirit of the

first betrayer is ready to man itselfess itself again. Now

Jesus called the twelve disciples, and he said that one

of them had betrayed him. What was the name of

the betrayer? You know the list of the twelve? What

was it Jesas? Does anybody know what Judas's name means

in Hebrew? It means praise, well done and so. But

instead of praising God, he was all about praising Judas.

Judas turned out to be a fan of Judas instead

of Jesus. Friend, God didn't put you in this world

to be important for your own reason's sake. We are born,

by the grace of God to be the children of

God for the praise and glory of God. And we

are to live for God and not ourselves, but for others.

And thus we're to be outer driven, not inner focused.

Judas got all this wrong because he was he liked Satan,

was more concerned with I, me and my than my

Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. John six seventy and seventy one.

Jesus answered them, did I not choose you the twelve,

and one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas,

the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve,

was to betray him. In Angel Realm, the dragon betrayed

the son of God, Michael, the ruler of the angel,

whose names the rule of the angels, whose name is

a question in Hebrew. Who is just like God? Who

is equal to God? Who is like or as God?

And the only answer is God. Christ was God in

creature form at the dawn of time. The first eyes

that Lucifer saw were Jesus' eyes looking back at him

as the covering cherub, the angel of the Lord. Who

is the Lord? And he says, so Jesus, Jesus has

always been this. When Jesus became human in form, Judas

became a devil on this side of the conflict. As

a human being, he adopted the attitudes of Satan. What

makes someone a devil? Jesus defined the devil as the betrayer.

Jesus chose twelve, but Judas chose Judas instead of Jesus.

It's possible go to church and choose yourself instead of Jesus.

When you choose yourself over Jesus in time, if you

keep at it long enough, you choose Satan instead of

Jesus in your life. Judas chose to be a devil

over time. Judas is in the Latin list of the

Twelve Disciples in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Christ did indeed

call him in the Four Gospels, though, Judas will be

remembered and defined for all time not as a disciple,

but as a betrayer. Judas is called the son of tradition,

the son of destruction, a title given to the antichrist

power of Daniel seven Dane eleven. As Paul describes the

medieval church state system of Rome in Second Thessalonians two, prophetically,

the medieval church state system of Rome has called that

in Second Thesestolians two because in the Book of Daniel,

the church gone wrong betray Christ. In the Middle Ages,

it forsook the Gospel, it turns its back upon the

Law of God. It persecuted the saints of the Most High.

The church system of the Middle Ages became the Harlot betrayer.

The Book of Revelation, the second Angel's message in relation four.

The Fourth Angel's message of Revelation eighteen allows no alliances

with Rome or her daughter's Why because the truth has

been betrayed, and when you betray the truth, you betray Jesus.

In the Bible, loyalty matters. So we are to separate

from that which distances us from Jesus. Friend, you may

occupy a position of extreme importance and trust in the Church,

But if you betray the truth, if you betray the Church,

and you put God's people at risk by your betrayal,

don't be surprised if you become a devil. In time.

God has called us to be strong links in a

chain of truth and to hold the manner high and

rite for our time. What I liked about the prayer

here this morning that Vernon had, She said that love

covers what a multitude of sins. When we love the brethren,

we care for the church, we advance the cost of Christ.

Our faults aren't as important as others. It this wonderful

element to the service. When Christ descended to heaven and

acts one, he left eleven disciples behind. Who would become

the eleven apostles of the early Church is that the

right number for the Christian Church eleven. No, he had

chosen twelve. Why because Israel was made of twelve twelve tribes.

You have twelve patriarchs before the flood. You will have

twelve foundations in the new Jerusalem. So there's a problem.

One was needed to restore the twelve because of the

broken link that was Judas. Jesus told them to go

into Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit before they

took the Gospel of the world. Sometimes we get so excited,

I want to get out and change the world, and

to A B and C and D, and we don't pray,

and we don't wait for the Holy Spirit before we act.

Look at Acts one verse twelveteen. Excuse me, Acts one

verse twelve, not twelveteen twelve. Then they returned to Jerusalem

from the mount called what what does it say in

your Bible? All of it? We talked about that last week,

the most important real estate in the universe where Jesus died,

which is near Jerusalem, A Sabbath day's journey away. And

when they had entered, they went up to the upper

room where they were staying Peter and John and James

and Andrew Philip and Thomas Bartholomew and Matthew, James the

son of Alpheus and Simon the Zeala, and Judas the

son of James. Kimberly, you did a great job reading

that Judas the son of James was not Judas is Scariot.

So are all Judas is bad? Yes? Or no? No?

It was a good Judas. So if you still want

to name your son Judas, make sure you're very clear

which one you're talking about. Is that fair enough? Eleven

disciples are here mentioned as one shy of twelve. The

last is the good Judas as one people with a

broken link that was Judas gone wrong, Judas of is Scariot.

They all committed themselves to prayer. Friend, when you have

been betrayed in life by an unfaithful spouse, by a

fellow worker, a family member, or a church member, or

just a friend, God doesn't call you to get even,

did you hear me? God calls you to pray. When

Job prayed for his three friends who lectured him long

about how bad he must have been to get sick,

that is when God turned his affliction around and restored him.

There is a power that happens when the church, or

individuals have been hurt deeply by another or by a group.

When they get on their knees and they seek God,

there is healing in prayer. And Job prayed for his

three friends who lectured him. God healed him. Bitter people

don't help other people. Bitter people hurt other people. The

cure for betrayal and lost is found in coming together

to pray for he will in purpose to serve others,

and to obey and glorify God. Acts one fourteen. All

these with one accord, devoted themselves to prayer together with

the women and marry the mother of Jesus and with

his brothers. And don't ignore verse fourteen. The context of

the eleven disciples journey to the Upper room in verses

twelve and thirteen, it's significant the eleven weren't the only

ones praying in that upper room. Jesus mother was there.

Does it matter when mothers pray yes or no? Tell

me two faint and amen for the amen? Does it

matter when brothers and sisters pray? Okay? Jesus' mother was there?

Think about this. Jesus won his brothers and they were

there also and committed. Women of God were there. This

was the same upper room where Jesus affirmed the New Covenant,

his blood for the many, and when he broke bread

and drank the Great Juice wine. On the night he

was betrayed. They went back to that room, to the

Holy Communion room, and they prayed. Jesus sent the eleven

and a few others into that upper room where Judas

went out, and we're Satan entered into Judas to betray Jesus.

So there's a lot going on in that room, a

lot of context to what's happening. They were not called

to focus on the betrayer, but they met to pray

for the broken link to be replaced, for power to

move to heal them, to heal the church, for the

future gospel mission and cause it was not about what

had happened to them. It's about what God would do

for them. And in this context, Peter stood up why Peter.

Peter had recently denied Jesus, and now Peter stood up

for Jesus, and the group leaders can now it's funny,

and Peter denied Jesus. He said, oh, I won't deny

you if you know, if the rest of them leave you,

I won't I'll be faithful. You ever said something like that?

Do you realize the Lord's promise in John fourteen one

to three is for Peter was right after that promise.

Let not your hearts be troubled. You be believing God,

believe also in me. Christ was there not to destroy Peter,

but to help him recover from his failure. Peter had

recently denied Jesus. Now Peter stood up for Jesus and

the group. So if you had a fail in your

life and you've let the Lord down, it doesn't take

long for the Lord to put you back in place

and for you to stand up for Jesus and testify.

Leaders can fail, and leaders can be restored if they

don't betray the master. Failure is not betrayal with Jesus.

Peter failed and Peter denied Jesus, But Peter came back

to Jesus. The Bible says in Luke twenty two to three.

Luke records that Satan entered Judas. Wow, that's the loaded language.

John thirteen twenty seven says the same. But John thirteen

thirty ads that he went out and it was night.

There was something different about Judas. Friend. When you lead

Jesus for Satan, it is night inside your soul. Peter

failed Jesus, but Peter didn't leave Jesus. Peter went out,

and Peter wept because he had let Jesus down, and

he'd even denied him with cursing. But Peter came back,

And what did Jesus do for Peter? Come on, He

forgave him and he restored him. What will Jesus do

for you? Exactly the same thing. So it is no

accident that Peter's the one who stood up in verse

fifteen to set things right. He is a privileged person

to speak about how God can fix things Acts one

fifteen and sixteen. In those days, Peter stood up among

the brethren. The company of persons was in all about

one hundred and twenty, and said, brethren, the scripture had

to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by

the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was guide to

those who rested Jesus, for he was numbered among us

and was allotted his share in this ministry. Peter spoke

to the one hundred and twenty people in the upper room.

My friends, think about this. The Christian Church God had

start with one hundred and twenty people praying to heal

the broken link of Judas and to move forward. That's

how the Christian Church began. So people say, well, you know,

if I had a three foulsand member church, I could

move the world. If I had a ten thousand group

and I could speak like Billy Graham to the masses,

I would make a difference. Friends, God started with a

small congregation of one hundred and twenty, and he transformed

the world within one century to where the Roman Empire

was Christianized and moving toward the distant lands. The Christian

Church got it start with one hundred and twenty people,

no doubt. The eleven apostles were joined by the seventy

apostles that Jesus had sent out, and by the Family

of Jesus and more. A core group there, not a

big one. It was the size of a small church

that God chose to honor with the power of heaven

to save the world. In one accord they met, Peter

immediately affirms that the Bible had predicted that Judas would

betray Jesus. I mean they were engaged in Bible prophecy

in that early church. They tracked Jesus' life prophetically, and

they drew attention to the scriptures that pointed to it.

Shouldn't the church on the eve of the Advent of

Jesus be just as engaged with Bible prophecy as we

see the signs of the times. David had predicted it,

who himself let God down, let the Lord down when

he sinned against Uriah with Bsheba. Yet so he was

an example of grace as well. But Judas was different

than David and Peter. Now take note of this. Judas

was not actuated by weakness as such. Judas was motivated

by Satanic desire, pride, narcissistic supply, and Judas chose Satan

over Jesus as his leader. Peter draws attention to the

fact that Judas was chosen as one of the twelve.

Why would Jesus choose Judas? He says he did friends.

God loves even the persons that betray him. He gives

everyone a chance to have a future. He is not

a favorite. He allowed it for a reason, just like

he created Lucifer knowing he would go wrong, because he

wanted Lucifer, if you had not gone wrong, to be

his eternal son as well. Peter draws attention to the

fact that Judas was chosen as one of the twelve,

and there was a problem. Judas was the broken link

for the new Israel that would be built upon the

foundation of the twelve Apostles in the Land of Prophets,

also as the book Revelation says. He continues in verse eighteen.

Now this man, that's Judas, bought a field with the

reward of his wickedness, that's what Peter says. And falling headlong,

he burst open in the middle, and all his bowels

gushed out. That's graphic. Isn't that graphic. That's graphic. Don't

make a movie of that. Just leave that alone. And

it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. So

the field was called in their language accaldama, which is Aramaic.

That is the field of blood. The field of blood

was the place where children were sacrificed to demons. That's

the field. It's in the valley at Henum, and that

is the place where Judas hung himself at last. That's

no accident. I'll say this because it's the truth. Any

minister of the Gospel who uses his influence or power

to perpetuate the death of children born or not yet born,

is just as much a tool of Satan as juwas

was He was hung on a tree in the valley

of Henim, where the children were sacrificed for centuries to devils.

Christ is betrayed, every is betrayed every time a little

child is sacrificed to Satan on the altar of convenience

or the altar of personal liberty and freedom, and a

child dies for such a stale and bad and evil

reason as that, That is Satan's alter always, because every

child is a gift from God, and every child is

precious to God for the future. Now, how many sins

can be forgiven? All sins? I have a little sister

who had an abortion when she was young. She wrote

the most beautiful poem about God's forgiveness. Well these days

I'll read it to you. But she has spent her

life making a difference for children. She is a precious

child of God, and one day she'll get that child back.

But friends, when she needed the right kind of encouragement

the Church of Strength to do the right thing, she

didn't get it. May God stand with us, You know

it takes a lot of courage for a girl who's

fallen into such a thing to raise a child. It

takes the support of the whole church, doesn't it. I'll

tell you I have no problem dedicating to baby the

Lord who survives a mistake like that, in praising God

for them right here. The early Christians would visit the

trash heaps of the Roman world and collect the babies

discarded to raise them for eternity. So should we, as

the good Samaritan of the world, Peter says, Judas bought

the field with the reward of his wickedness, same has

done today for profit. Many houses of healing gone wrong today,

many hospitals where they feel like it's profitable to take

the lives of children. It was thirty pieces of silver

he paid out for Jesus. Thirty shackles was the Old

Testament price paid for a slave in the Taur who

was killed by an animal thirty shekels. Judas betrayed Jesus

for the price of a slave to the real animals

who weren't beasts of burden, but who were Theologian types,

the scribes and the Pharisees, and the Judas type leaders

who would condemn and kill Christ. Instead of being a

slave of Jesus, Judas viewed Jesus as the inferior one

to his noble abilities. Judas thought Jesus fortunate to have

someone as talented as Judas in his team. Judas realized

too late that you can't manipulate Jesus because Jesus is

the lord in the relationship that matters. Judas left the

House of Christ for the field of Blood in the

valley of Hinnum, where they burn the trash. At last,

Peter continues, So Peter is very graphic in his picture

of where Judas ended up, and why verse twenty. For

it has written the book of Psalms. Let his habitation

become desolate, and let there be no one to live

in it, and his office. Let another take now Peter

is quoting here Psalms sixty nine twenty five. You can

write those in your notes and Psalms one hundred and

ninety eight. Now, by the way, what book have I

recommended to be read in this series along with the

Bible Actually Apostles by Ellen White. You won't get a

better book on the Apostolic Church and the Book of

Acts and the growth of the Church than that book,

so please interact with it. So I'm sixty nine twenty

five to twenty eight. Here is the passage he quotes.

Now he's quoting it from the Greeks of Tuagen of

his time. But I'm here with the English revised standard

to give you the sense of it. May there can't

be a desolation. Let no one dwell in their tents,

for they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and him

whom thou hast wounded. They afflict still more. Now Peter's saying,

this is about Jesus. They really gave Christ a hard time.

They hurt him, hurt him, hurt him verse twenty seven.

And to them, punishment upon punishment. You see the stone

you roll rolls back on you. May they have no

acquittal from thee. Let them be blotted out of the

Book of the Living. Let them not be enrolled among

the righteous and powerful. Passage that Peter draws from very

often in versus quote in the Bible, and its context

matters for the one who quotes it. He wants you

to look around in the other parts of the Bible

that he's quoting. So notice in verse twenty six it

says they persecuted the one whom God had chosen. It's Christ.

He was afflicted, and they did the afflicting, and they

kept on doing it. They wouldn't quit. Verse twenty seven

would indicate that Judas was blotted out of the Book

of Life, and he will not be enrolled in the

investigative judgment spoken of in Psalms eighty seven when the

peoples are enrolled at the time of the end and

Daniel seventh, when the books are open and Christ receives

his kingdom. In Revelation eleven, when the time comes for

the righteous dead to be judged, to give reward to

your service and the prophets, this verse is saying they

will not Judas will not be enrolled in the Book

of life. Have you ever heard of once saved, always saved?

You know, if you just say I believe you're saved forever,

that's not true. You're saved if you stick in there

with Jesus, weak though you be struggling, sinner, though you

be confessing through the day, you are His child. If

you don't leave Jesus, betrayal takes your name out of

the Book of Life. Peter saying that they betrayed him.

That Judas betrayed him, and this has consequences with God.

Peter also quote Psalms one hundred and nine, verse eight

in the Greeks of Duagan, which is the second third

century translation of the Old Testament, which speaks of the

betrayer having no children and no future as the curse

of God. Psalms one hundred nine, seven and eight. A

little further along, verse nine, let them be continually before

the Lord, that he may cut off the memory of

them from the earth, because he did not remember to

show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that

he might even slay the broken in heart. Listen, Christ

was broken in heart because he was betrayed, and Judas

didn't care. The Jewish leaders didn't care. Christ died of

a broken heart. In fact, based on the spear going

to his side, we know from physiology his heart exploded

when he said it is finished. How many people's heart explode?

Christ gave his heart for us. It exploded and blood

and water came out. Judas had no pity on Jesus's lord,

and he betrayed him to death. And Jesus died of

a broken heart because of Judas. Dear heart. God takes

record of those who maliciously persecute his people and who

would wound his church. You know, the Lord when he

met Saul who became Paul, on the Damascus road, he

knocked him off his horse with a blast of light

and said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Because

he was persecuting God's church. Dear heart, God cares about you.

He cares about his church. Jesus lives and brees within

the church. It's no small thing with God. When people

attack the church. It's better be a Peter or Paul

who lets the Lord down than a Judas who betrays

his people in the church. Take notice of the fact

that Peter is speaking to the group here. Jesus accepted

Peter back, yes or no, can I hear from you?

Did he absolutely? Will he accept you back when you

mess up? Absolutely, And he would have accepted Judas back

if Judas had gone out and wept like Peter did

over his sins with a broken heart in the right

kind of way. The right kind of broken heart that

feels sorrow for hurting Jesus is the kind of a

broken heart that keeps you with Jesus. We need to

have broken hearts every now and then because we let

the Lord down. It's a healthy thing. Judas brokenness was

only because Judas got hurt. Judas failed. Judas wanted to

manipulate Jesus. His scheming didn't work. He couldn't force him

to be the missile on his own terms. Jesus can

never be lord in anyone's life on their terms, because

you can only have a lord on Jesus' terms. He

is lord. That is why we call Jesus lord, because

he is so. What did Paul say in the Masks

the Lord wrote? He said, Lord, who are you? Now?

That's the good starting point. You may not know who

he is, but you can start missaying Lord, and that

gets you in the game. Jesus had other disciples than

the twelve. He had seventy and more. It seems he

wasn't limiting his group to twelve. He was expanding it

to reach the world. There were a few who were

not called at first, but who followed Jesus anyway because

they wanted to be with Jesus. Did you know that

there were people in Jesus' team that he did not

cause disciples, but they just hung around him, and they

went the distance to these committed people who were not

the first choices. Peter draws attention to them at last,

like extra jurors needed because of the broken link of

Judas and the Twelve. In a courtroom, you need extra

jeurers just sitting there observing, watching. Up to this point

in time, there's no mention of these extras and New

Testament Gospels at all, but here they're mentioned. However, they

were part of the faithful and committed team. They were

with the Twelve. They saw the same things and Acts

one twenty one. Peter is still speaking, to make sure

you turn with me to that verse x one twenty one.

So one of the men, so one of the men

who have accompanied us during all of that time that

the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Peter speaking,

beginning from the baptism of John until the day when

he was taken up from us. That's his ascension. One

of these men's must become with us. They witnessed his resurrection.

He's drafting someone. Friend. You may not be Jesus' first

choice in the church, but if you hang in there

with Jesus and you follow him faithfully, you listen to

the Bible preaching and teaching, you take advantage of your

opportunities to serve. You may maybe Jesus' second choice to

repair the damage of the betrayer and the broken link.

Jesus is not looking for superstars in his team. Jesus

is looking for faithful followers who love him, who are

willing to share what they have seen as followers of Jesus,

Verse twenty three. And they put forward too. Is that

what your Bible says? What does it say? There two

Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justice, and what's the

second one? Matthias? So Justice and Matthias, these are the two.

Just because they chose one in the end, does not

mean the other one was a bad choice. Are you

listening to me? Just because one is chosen doesn't mean

the other one it's not a good person. Take note

of that they put forward too choices good choices, and

it is an honor to be considered for the role

of leadership. Let's say you're you know, you're two or three,

and the church chooses one and the others aren't chosen.

That I mean they don't care about you. No, it

means they honored you because you were considered. I was

once considered to be a conference president in another conference

far from here, while I was here right here at

Reaching Hearts. God didn't choose me for that, And I said,

the better man is so and so. But was it

an honor to be considered? It's an honor to be considered.

So we should never go personal when we're not chosen.

But if we're honored in the selection, it means we

have value. When a person is not chosen, it's okay

to be a good follower, to support the leader, to

honor Jesus or his leadership as servants instead of leaders,

because Christ said I came to be a servant in

the church. What the church is suffering for in need

of servants. Leaders matter too. What the apostle does next

is partially good and partially not so good. They pray,

that's good, then they cast lots. Is that kind of

you know, it's a little different. If they had prayed

long enough, they probably would have not needed to cast

any lots. Right, what do you think? Well, think about

the thought. But the Lord winks at certain things when

his people are sincere and growing in so should we

we don't have to scandalize that second part. The Lord

overruled the spirit of prophecy tells us that the Holy

Spirit guided them in their decision for judas replacement, and

we should accept that Verse twenty four. And they prayed

and said, here's their prayer. Lord, Now that's a good

way to start your prayers, instead of saying, buddy, Jesus, friend, as,

how should we start our prayers? Maybe Lord or our

Father art in heaven. Respect who God is, respect the

role of Jesus and your prayer. Look, he has the

power you need him. Lord, who know us? The hearts

of all men, show which one of these two thou

hast chosen to take the place in this ministry, an

apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go. And what

does it say here, his own place, his own way,

his own place. Here Their prayer shows that what matters

most in leadership is not perfection, not natural talent, not

the best resume, and definitely not a feeling of entitlement

because you think you're gifted and that you're well educated

and you're much needed to help the church. That's not

what's going on here. What matters here is a good

heart and a good attitude to serve because you love Jesus.

God calls a man or woman who has a heart

for service and a heart for others to be leaders,

but he also calls servants to be that as well.

They have to have the same attitude, and so we

all share the desire to make a difference. When God

chooses leaders, when the Holy Spirit leads us to choose them,

not when we want to elevate someone. Leaders who are

willing not to lead if they are not chosen are

the best leaders. I once set before a conference administrator

and I told him that if a person is desiring

to gain the office in a conference executive role, they

probably shouldn't be there. And I saw him choke when

I said that, But I mean it. We should not

strive for these things. They should be granted as God

sees fit. And God chooses leaders when the Holy Spirit

leads leaders who are willing to make a difference because

they love the Lord Jesus. So two good men were

singled out that day, and God chose one to be

a leader, and he chose another one that wasn't chosen

to be a leader to make a difference. So both

were chosen acts one six, and they cast lots for them,

and the lot fell on Matthias. I'm sure Matthias was

wedding bullets and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.

I've got to live up to these guys and with

these choices, and with that prayer, the broken link was

healed by the addition of Matthias. Matthia's name in Hebrew

means does he boy know what the name Matthias means

in Hebrew? Gift of Yahweh. That's right, gift of the

Lord Yahweh. God gave Matthias to the church. He was

not the first choice, but he was God's choice. You

may not be the first choice, but you can be

God's choice as you make a difference. A good leader

is humble, who's willing to serve for the sake of

serving is a gift of the Lord for the church.

My father in law, many years ago, when we were

fighting for this building, and I saw Diana's dad get sick,

literally physically sick. His health was compromised to see us

through those days. I've shared this with you before. He

told me, He says, Mike, he said, you have got

to grow. You're not able to lead until you make

a decision in your life that you need to make

a decision you're willing to die to make this happen,

because if you're not willing to commit yourself at that level,

it's not the right thing. And that was one of

the best piece of advice I've ever been given. A

leader's role is to care for the flock so much

that he would give his life for the flock. Diana's dad,

who's a minister of the Gospel and a lot of

wisdom there. He never became a conference president. He was

a missionary. He was kidnapped by the PLO escaped. He

has a very amazing history and I sure hope we

can get enough details to write a book one day

about doctor John Green. But he served faithfully in the

mission field and then at Southern Abuenese University as an educator.

And now he's just dad, you know, And there's no

such thing as just dad. That's huge in our eyes.

The replacement of the one they left it betrayed. The

God named him gift from the Lord. Now, this all

happened because the eleven prayed. If they hadn't prayed, guess what,

no gift from the Lord. And because they came together

in one accord, God came to be with them. Look

at verse fourteen, all these with one accord. What does

it say in the Bible devoted themselves to prayer together

with the women? Did they keep the ladies out of prayer?

Jewish synagogue, you couldn't come in, you had to stay

at a distance, especially the temple. No, they brought him

in together with the women and marry the mother of Jesus,

and with his brothers, and one accord they all prayed.

The Greek word for one accord is homothumadon. This word

appears for the first time in Exus nineteen eight, and

write that down in the Greek Subtuagan Old Testament, that

was the Bible of the Early Church. So the Greek

translation of the Hebrew Bible where you see this word

homothumadad God is in Exus nineteen eight. So we should

look there here in Exus nineteen eight. Being in one

accord means being together of one mind to obey God.

That's what one accord means. Look at the verse Exus

nineteen eight. All the people answered together. That's Homothemidon and

the Greek translation of one accord, and said, all that

the Lord has spoken, what do they say, we will do?

And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

So what does one accord mean to God? It means

we will stick together to be obedient and faithful and

to serve the Lord no matter what. That's how they met.

That was the mindset of those people. That is what

one accord means, and that is the condition that is

needed for the Lord to answer our prayers for the future.

All that the Lord has spoken, we will do. God's

people at the end of time will be in one accord.

They'll be focused on obedience and faithfulness to the Bible

and the mission of the Gospel in all the world.

They will not be the largest church, but they will

be the remnant church, and they will follow God to

heaven and glory. They won't be sacrificing babies to demons

or breaking the Sabbath or any of the commandments of God.

They will be in one accord in the faith of Jesus.

They'll have the Father's name and the Lamb's name, which

is God's law, God's character, his everlasting Covenant written on

their foreheads as prophesied clearly in Revelation fourteen one solemn

Mount Zion a lamb and with him one hundred and

four thousand, having his father's name and the name of

the Lamb on their foreheads. They're with the Father and

the Lamb with their name, and so they are the

redeemed of God from the earth. There was one hundred

and twenty people, or there were one hundred and twenty

people in the upper room that follow Jesus. Is that

a lot? Not? Really? Did it matter? Oh? Might did

it matter? One hundred and forty four thousand is one

and twenty on steroids. It's also it's also a number

related to the numbers twelve and ten as factors. We

have some mathematicians with calculators here, Come on, pull them out,

all right, help me, because I don't want to mess

up in math. It is twelve square. What's twelve square

twelve times twelve? Come and help me. It's one hundred

and thirty four twelve scare square. There's twelve times twelve

times ten times ten times ten, which is ten to

the third power. Now, why is it ten to the

third power? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

with the ten commandment Law of God with the number

of twelve square for God's people everywhere is what that

final group will be. God's last people will be a

commandment keeping people symbolized by twelve and ten and three,

so God is three matters. Sister White calls the three

persons of the God had the hearted love of eternity.

She refers to the god Head as the heavenly trio

that possesses all the power in the guarantee of their

blessing that we can live the Christian life. Ten to

the third power shows that they have been baptized in

power by God, the Father, God, the Son God, the

Holy Spirit. Ten to the third powers a lot of

power to obey God It's infinite power. And they are

one hundred and forty four thousand because they are perfect

Israel twelve times twelve, which points to the whole world

harvest as Israel from every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue.

At the time of the end, Friend, what started in

that upper room will be finished in the proclamation of

the Three Angels messages in Revelation fourteen to the world.

This final group in Revelation fourteen will keep the commandments

of God. They will have the faith of Jesus. In

Revelation fourteen twelve, it says, here as the patience of

the saints, here are those who keep the commandments of

God and the faith of Jesus. And upon that verse

we should base our identity as Christians. But there are

more characteristics that stand out to me. In Revelation fourteen four,

they follow the Lamb wherever he goes. You know, what

good is it going to church if we're not a

christ centered church, If we don't follow Jesus in our thinking,

if we don't teach our children Jesus, that's worthless stuff.

They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. In this way,

they are not like Judas who tried to lead the lamb.

In Relation fourteen five, we see the results at the

very end, and what it means to follow Jesus. I mean,

we see the outcome of this. In verse five, it says,

and in their mouth no lie was found, for they

are spotless. How many of you like to be spotless

before God at the end of time? Okay, let me

just hang in with me a little longer. This passage

in Relation fourteen five is a direct illusion of the

not so minor prophet Zephaniah, we have read the book

of a little book. Okay, it's in the Old Testament.

It's also illusion to Isaiah fifty three. Want to focus

in Zephaniah. Zeph Andiah pictures God's people at the end

of time fleeing to Mount Zion for safety and refuge

from the enemies of God and pursuing them who are

pursuing them, destroy them. It's just like Revelation fourteen. You

have the mark of the beast. You have God's people

on Mount Zion. And he sees a people standing on

Mount Zion. That is the same group that John sees

as the one hundred and forty one thousand, a people

who will stand together for God in want accord no

matter what the world is doing. Now look at Zephaniah

three verse nine with me yea. At that time, God says,

I will change the speech of the peoples to a

pure speech. Now, when of the speech of the peoples

get messed up in the Old Testament, I'm quizzing you

tire of Babel, He says, I'm going to reverse the

tower of Babel, and i will change the speech of

the people's to a pure speech. Now that happened at Pentecost,

when the Holy Spirit was poured out. It wasn't a

bunch of gibberish that was confusing. Every man heard his

own languages, dialect in the Greek. What was being said,

it reversed babel. This is why the modern Chrismatic unspeaking

movement is more babele, because it's confusion. It is not

the real gift. Yet, at that time, I will change

the speech of the people's to a peer speech, that

all of them may call on the What the name

of the Lord I means anyone can be saved and

serve him with what one accord. When God calls you

to be a believer, he calls you to serve in

one accord. The Hebrew of Zephni three nine reads shack

him a god. Say that with me, shack him a god. Okay,

you're learning Hebrew. It's translate here one accord. That is

loaded language. It literally means shack him one Now why

is that here? Let me tell you a little bit

of backdrop as we finish up. This is a direct

allusion back to the time of Schech and Dina, when

outsiders were killed by Jacob's sons he had a whole

city wanting to join the holy people of God, and

they killed them. Isn't that evangelism kill the persons trying

to join the church go after the new believer. Shacham

loved Dina and he sinned. He lay with her and

with his father hey Mare. He asked Jacob and his

sons to make them one people by letting him marry her,

and they would become part of the nation. They get circumcised,

whatever it took themr and Shecham said that we will

be one people, a god, one people, we will be

a god. And then Simeon and Levi murdered them all

in a single day after they were circumcised. Awful story.

All the males were killed and Dina were taken out

of Dina the daughter was taken out of Shechem's house

because they had been together. Someone inside of her that

has been deduced by biblical scholarship. She had been and

the rabbis knew it. She had been living with Scham,

the text indicates, and all that was in the house

they took out, including the one inside. All the males

were killed in that city by two angry brothers who

couldn't imagine that God would accept them into his family,

to his church, the Holy Nation. These strange foreigners coming

in the Bible. Evidence is convincing that Joseph's wife Asanov,

is the lost daughter of Dina, reclaimed by Joseph as

a kinsman redeemer Potiphar, as a eunuch prince, he can't

have daughters. The Rabbis are almost universally an agreement on

this point, and I concur with them, and I've written

about this, and I've also preached about this here in

this pulpit. We know from the Book of Judges that

the descendants of Shechem survived in the land of Ephrim Manassa.

Joseph's children are identified as the descendants of Shechem. How

does this happen because they had to be related to Shechem.

Joseph's ancestral property given to him by Jacob bears this out. Now,

seventy children went down to Egypt to become the nation

of Israel, only sixty nine are accounting for direct by name.

There is a missing granddaughter. As you do the calculation,

that is not named Joseph's wife Asonov means to suffer harm.

It's a Hebrew name. It's not an Egyptian name. At

the end of her name Osonov Batpataferah. The awe that

we often say in the English is not translatable in Hebrew.

It is simply a letter attached to Potiphar to identify

who she is, and in Hebrew Gamatria it means seventy.

She's the one that was left behind. They sent her

away when that little girl was born, they sent her

to Egypt. In fact, the Old Testam indicates she went

over the Wall of sure when Jacob is disclosing this

to Joseph, she went to Egypt. See so Joseph wasn't

the first one they carted off. It was Dina's unnamed

daughter to Egypt. Joseph is the kinsman redeemer, just as

Judah was the kinsman redeemer for tomorrow. When Jacob met Joseph,

Joseph had said that God sent me here to preserve life.

He meant more than just the people God. Can you

think of a woman at the well of Shechem who

was an outsider that Jesus met the woman at the well.

See there's a lot in this. When Jacob met Joseph,

he had a mind to make things right for the

sin of the murder of Shechem, and aymore, and all

the males of that city that wanted to become one

with Israel. He gives that land to Joseph for his children,

so that the line of Joseph will embrace the world

that needs to be one with God's people. So, when

Zephaniah three nine says Shechem a God won accord. This

repeats the very words of Jacob to Joseph when he

gives the land of Shechem for the ancestral property for

Ephri Manassa, so that that name will live on in Israel.

Jacob is speaking to Joseph Genesis forty eight twenty two.

I'm read two translations, New King James version. Moreover, I

have given to you one poor and literally shake eem

a cod above your brothers, which I took from the

hand of the Emorite with my sword my beau Jesus

forty eight twenty two. Moreover, I've given to you, rather

than to your brother's one mountain slope, it says, but

it's shackem, a cod which I took from the hand

of the Emirites with my sword and with my beau,

the beau of Joseph of Jacob is called Joseph. The

ancestral properties come through the children born to Joseph. The

murdered ones live on through the grace of God to

receive the blessing and birthright of Joseph. God brought the

one hundred and twenty together in the upper room for

schem ahad homathumadon for one accord kind of prayer to

bring the outsider's in to save the whole world. For

Jesus to make his kingdom of second choices and mistakes

like Peter, so that one accord means something that is

the same reason. Friend, he has read the remnant church.

At the time of the end, there will be a

people of outsiders from all over the world who become

insiders with Jesus because they obey God, they keep his commandments,

they have the faith of Jesus, and they follow the lamb.

In one accord, let us purpose with a pure heart,

shack him a God, say it with me, check him

a God, humothemadon one accord, that we will live for

Jesus and love each other and serve in unity for

godly ends. God. Bless you, dear Father, God, Thank you

for Peter, who didn't leave you, who did not let

his failure prevent him from coming home and back to you.

We needed examples like Peter's, and we need examples like

Peter in our lives because we do the same. We

have and Father, thank you for David who did the same.

And thank you for Matthias. Even though he wasn't the

first choice, he was God's choice, and he took it

up and he joined the twelve. Father, Jesus is coming.

The devil hates the truth, he hates prophetic truth, he

hates the Gospel, he hates the Church. But Jesus loves

them all. So Father, may we take courage that we

are part of a gospel cause, that we are prophetic people,

and that we can share and help others come to Christ. Lord,

as I am this prayer, thank you for the teams

that go to the prison's ear, who are not here

from time to time, because they're there drawing men and

women to Christ. In these places, Lord, we have neighbors

who need the same, who will die eternally unless we're

bold enough to bring them church and share and grow

study with them. Take away the fear that would prevented

this from happening. Help us to share what we know

to the glory of God. Bless your people in Jesus' name. Amen.