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BETWEEN ASCENSION AND PENTECOST Acts
1:12-14 Acts
1:4-5 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this
command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father
promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with
water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy
Spirit." In
returning to Jerusalem the disciples showed their obedience to Christ.
Following the resurrection they were told to go to Galilee and they went
there. Seven of the disciples had a wonderful breakfast with the Lord on
the shores of the Sea of Galilee. There, too, Peter received his
commission to feed the flock of God. Now following His Ascension and
return to Heaven the disciples were faced with a different level of
obedience. This would also demonstrate their fearless faith. They were
to stay in Jerusalem to wait for God’s promise although they knew of
Jerusalem’s reputation. Jesus had said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the
one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How
often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Matt 23:37 NKJV "Upper"
refers to a comparatively spacious room reserved in Greek and Jewish
houses for the use of guests, or for special occasions. Upper rooms were
a kind of domestic chapel in many houses. There the family and friends
assembled to read God’s law, and to conduct religious affairs.
The
roll of names reminds us of how Jesus works. He works in the hearts of
individuals and knows each one by name. He then unites them by making
them members of His body Christian
unity binds people together around a common love. If you want to unite
people you must get them to love supremely your common object.
Christianity alone supplies someone whom all hearts can love supremely
and therefore it should unite people more closely than any other system.
Sin
had taken it’s toll of the original followers of Jesus. Judas is a
noteworthy noticeably absent. He was present at the last supper, perhaps
in this very room, but since betraying Jesus he had taken his own life Those
gathered are already demonstrating that they are triumphs of grace.
Peter is no longer fearful. Thomas no longer has doubts. There are women
here whose presence is specially noted and some of them are even named.
This is in strong contrast to Judaism which assigned to them a separate
court in the temple, and kept them apart from men in the synagogue. In
Christ there is neither male nor female. Christianity has raised woman
to her present position, and woman has often proved the most loyal to
the ONE who has made her what she is. In
the light of today’s attendance at Church there was a surprising one
hundred and twenty people present. All the Apostles were there. Are
modern elders and deacons as good an example? Other male members were
also present. Business or pleasure did not hinder them. Female members
were there, and to their credit, women still form a large proportion of
the attendance at prayer-meetings. They
were not only assembled in the same place and for the same purpose; but
there was a great unity amongst them. They were agreed in the blessings
they sought, and in the method of seeking them. They
Prayed It
would be great if all prayer-meetings were something like this. We must
go back to apostolic times for our models of devotion. Here we have a
model prayer-meeting. If the prayer-meeting is the thermometer of the
Church, then the first Christian prayer-meeting registers a high degree
of spiritual life existing just after the departure of Christ and even
before the gift of the Holy Spirit. They
Fellowshipped Peace
and unity prevailed in this gathering. The day of “murmuring” had
not yet entered the Church. (Acts 6:1.) Their strength lay in their
unity. A divided Church cannot continue long as a praying Church and a
praying Church will not be divided. God answers prayer when it is
offered by few or many "with one accord." The promise is
addressed to those who are agreed. They
do not seem to have followed any agenda but as they discussed their
situation by talking to one another and to the Lord they became aware of
a deficiency in the number of the Apostles. They also knew who the most
likely candidates were to fill the place that Judas had occupied in the
inner circle of the disciple band. But the final choice was down to the
Lord. Acts
1:23-26 The lot: The only
instance in the early Church of an appeal to lots occurs between the
departure of our Lord and Pentecost. The Church could dispense with the
lot after the coming of the Holy Ghost, who was to guide into all truth.
Through him we are encouraged to expect a right judgment in all things.
In the early Church the appointment of Matthias was considered to be a
divine appointment. The
lot as interpreted by ver. 24 and, by the word "fell", leaves
no doubt that the passage speaks of "lots" and not
"votes." The two people involved were standing, as far as we
can tell, on the same level spiritually. It was left for the Searcher of
hearts to show, by the exclusion of the human will, which of the two He
had chosen. The most usual way of casting lots in such cases was to
write each name on a tablet, place them in an urn, and then shake the
urn till one came out. Under
the Old Testament lots were regarded as divinely directed (Proverbs
16:33), and therefore conclusive (Proverbs 18:18). They distinguished
the scapegoat (Lev 16:8); they convicted Achan; they were used to
distribute the promised land (Num 26:55,56). Lots also assigned the
duties of the priests in the temple (1 Chronicles 24:5; 25:8; Luke 1:9).
There is no reason to doubt that this appointment was of God. The
Church was born at a prayer meeting, which should encourage us to
continue our prayer-meetings even when they are poorly attended with
little evidence of Holy Spirit power. The prayer-meeting is more than
the thermometer of the Church; it is the source of spiritual power.
There is as intimate a relationship between the prayer-meeting and the
outpouring of the Spirit as between the gathering of the cloud and the
downpour of the shower. Pentecostal revivals are always preceded by
pre-Pentecostal prayer-meetings. |