I'd like us to continue our study in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 1, reading from 12, that particular section in which we have the election of Matthias to the apostleship. I'd like to deal with it under three headings, the contradiction of perspectives, community of prayer, and the confirmation of an apostle. But if all that is a bit of a mouthful for you, let me give you perhaps some simpler pegs on which to hang what we are going to look at today in the book of Acts, and ask you this question. What are the three following items in common? Three categories there. The average Dutchman. Now I know that's going to get some people's attention at least. The average Dutchman, Daniel, and Jonah. The average Dutchman, Daniel and Jonah. We are in our study of the book of Acts in the period of time between the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost. And perhaps if you have read through this particular passage of scripture, you might wonder, why did God wait? What was the purpose of that? We are taught by our reading of scripture always to understand that there is a purpose behind everything that God does, even a purpose behind his inactivity. Why did God delay in sending forth of the Holy Spirit? After all, as we encounter that, and from our own knowledge of Scripture, we say surely the granting of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is of tremendous significance for the furtherance of the Kingdom. So why the delay? Well, I think as we look through this particular passage, the closing half of the first chapter of the book of Acts, before we get to the story that pouring out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we'll see that there were indeed some things that had to be accomplished before the Spirit could be poured out upon God's believing people. And the first thing that I think needed to be dealt with in the history of God's people at this particular juncture was a contradiction of perspectives. They had competing hopes for the future. When the Lord Jesus was still with his disciples on the earth, one of the questions, perhaps the last question that they ever asked before he ascended up was, well, are you going to return the kingdom now? In other words, are you going to stir up the nations in such a manner that the throne of David will be returned to Jerusalem and that Israel will be free at last from its Roman oppressors. They had a particular perspective which looked towards the establishment of a political kingdom. Now if you think that is something, well now we've outgrown such a naivety of view, then just ask yourself this question, to what extent perhaps do we fall into that trap when we think that the raising up of perhaps a Christian president, if we vote for the right objectives, we'll have the right people in the White House, the right people in Congress, the right people in the Senate, And then there will be a new golden age that will return. Is that really so different to what the disciples expected, hoped for, even anticipated when they asked Jesus the question, is it now that you are going to return the kingdom? Well, Jesus turns aside from that particular way. That's not how it's going to be. And though the idea, the concept may be tempting for us, That is not how the work of the Kingdom is to advance. Well, having seen what we might describe as a somewhat worldly attitude, thinking about this world is one that we should turn aside from. There is its mirror image, if you like, which we then also encounter in this opening chapter of the Book of Acts. there are the disciples standing on the Mount Olivet looking up into heaven, and their focus is upon the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if you and I had been there, I don't suppose for one minute we'd been any different to the disciples, but there is that expectation. Well, if we continue to look, perhaps he'll come back again, do a sort of a spiritual encore for the people of God. And so often we fall into that trap of thinking that All that we have to concern ourselves with is the spiritual, and we need not concern ourselves at all with the earthly. Well, of course we don't do that, because Jesus said that he was not going to restore the kingdom in Israel, not going to restore the throne of David to Jerusalem, and so we'll set our mind upon spiritual matters and we'll completely neglect any other aspect to do with this world. This is where your average Dutchman would come in and say, now here's something that I can give some advice on. If you object to a certain amount of stereotypical view of somebody from the outside, I would say, believe me, it's not an insult. I'd say your average Dutchman is immensely practical. Now, if you think that's being racist, well, come and see me afterwards. I just want to say, I love Dutchmen that are practical. Give them something to do and they want to do it. Well, you know, I think there must be some Dutch blood in Peter then, as he stood up before the congregation of God's people. He said that there are practical things we need to put in place. Because it's not about just looking at the world and being involved in the sphere of politics that the kingdom of God will come. And it's not merely by sitting back and waiting for God to do his thing. We'll pray and then we'll do nothing about it. Well, you know, that's not the pattern of scripture now, is it? We just have to look at Nehemiah. Pray to God and they posted a guard. They didn't just pray to God and say, well, now everything is done that I need to do. And neither did Peter. There was a work to be done. Jesus had ascended up into heaven and the church was to go and preach the good tidings, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there were certain things that needed to be put in place before the Holy Spirit came and was poured out upon the church. So there's a practical response. To look at matters and think, what do we need to do? And surely when the the Missions and Evangelism Committee of our own fellowship here. When they meet, one of the things that they do, I am confident, is that they always pray, but they don't spend all their time in prayer. They have to make decisions. What can we advise? What can we do in order to bring about the extension, the furtherance of Christ's Kingdom? Practical things, suggestions that are made in order to establish the Kingdom of God. Our perspective therefore, as we are corrected by scripture, is not to be pulled off either to one side or to the other, but to think biblically and have a biblical perspective. Now my second thing, community of prayer. They prayed for the Spirit to come. Why? After all, Jesus had promised that the Spirit would come. And surely if God is promising it, God cannot lie. He's not going to break his word. Therefore, we don't have to do anything. We don't even have to pray. If God has promised to send forth of his Spirit, we don't need to pray. Isn't there a certain degree of logic about that? God has promised to build up his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So all I need to do is just sit back and wait. Watch it happen. I need do nothing in particular because God's going to do it all. I don't even have to pray because God has promised. Well, such is the logic, perhaps, of the detractors of biblical Christianity. But not if we're following through what the scriptures actually reveal. And that's where Daniel becomes a pattern to us. Daniel had been reading his Bible. And in his Bible he had come to understand that the time of being taken into Babylon would come to an end after a period of 70 years, and it was just about the 70 years. And it was because he read that in his Bible that he turned himself to prayer, to fasting, covered himself in sackcloth and ashes, and then he opened up his voice in prayer, and it's recorded for us. in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 9. What is it that Daniel is saying? Lord, hear us, not for our sake. Not because we are good people. Not because we deserve to be heard. No. In fact, the leaders of the children of Israel, they've been sinners from the beginning. They've always got it wrong. But you're a God of grace. You're a God of mercy. You've promised in your word. And now I'm holding you to that word. God, hear my prayer. Do what you have promised. It was because God had promised that Daniel prayed. He didn't say to himself, well, God has promised and therefore I need do nothing. No, he said because God has promised. Therefore, I will pray. And that same spirit, which may be a contradiction of the logic of this world, but we find it in Scripture, it is because God has promised his blessing. that the people of God pray. Lord, fulfill your promises. Here's an aspect for us to focus in upon when we consider what God would have us to do. Are we to sit back and expect God to do it all? Or is there something for us to do? I think the book of Acts tells us. Although I'm not keen on the expression the Acts of the Apostles, one thing we can say about the Apostles is that they were never inactive. God had promised to extend his kingdom. But he ordains not only the ends, he ordains the means. And the means, one of the chief means, is through the prayers of God's people. There's a further aspect. They were together in prayer. They were together in prayer. Just the union of people of God in prayer. Don't underestimate that. I know that not everybody is available at 7 o'clock on a Thursday morning when we have our congregational prayer meeting. But if you are available, what a wonderful opportunity to be with the saints in order to pray for the furtherance of his kingdom. Don't underestimate the encouragement it is when the people of God come together for prayer. And they have it as with one heart, with one voice. Show your mercy. Extend your kingdom. Use the preaching of your word to build up the saints. Use the preaching of your words to draw in the unconverted that they might hear of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And that's what the early church was doing. They were gathering together in the course of the week. They were coming together and they were united in prayer. And God did remarkable things in and through them. But not just that they were united in prayer, they were persevering in prayer. Persistent. Even as Jesus had given disciples an encouragement, we said, think of prayer like this. like the widow who needed to get justice for her case and came persistently to the unjust judge. And the unjust judge gave her the judgment not because he wanted to see justice done, but because he basically wanted to get rid of her. She was a squeaky wheel. Well, if that is true when it comes to dealing with an unjust judge, how much more when When we come into the presence of God in prayer and ask for the Lord's blessing, do we think that our God in heaven is less inclined to hear our prayers than the unjust judge? Well, to ask the question is to answer it. But perhaps we should be challenged in our thinking. You do not have, because you do not ask. Well, there was a need amongst the people of God was the failure of Judas. Now, let me just deal with this matter very briefly, not because it particularly arises out of the text, except that Judas does get a mention and his failure gets a mention. But as I know, it has been said in some quarters that perhaps Judas made it to heaven. Not if you're reading scriptures. He's described as the Son of Destruction. So if you hear someone say, well, they think, they hope that Judas might be in heaven, I would say, dear friend, go back and read your Bible again. There is absolutely no hope, even from the lips of Jesus himself, and surely he ought to know. I have lost none of them whom you have given me, says Jesus in the high priestly prayer, except the Son of Destruction. But it left a gap amongst the people of God. The number of twelve disciples, twelve apostles, was not chosen at random, but to show continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament, between the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. So when Judas failed, he needed to be replaced. And so as we're examining this particular part of God's Word, we see the needs of the people of God. They were things that they had to learn, things, as it were, collectively that they had to learn, neither to be swayed by a desire for political success, nor to be so spiritually minded as to be no earthly good, but to be practical, to face the needs and to respond to them And so there is set before us how they went about in replacing Judas. And you might think, well, that happened long ago, and we don't have apostles, and we don't have apostles nowadays for good reason. And the very qualifications which we'll come to in a moment tell us why we do not have apostles. Well, what benefit is there to us? Much in every way, especially as in approximately a month, by God's grace, we'll be having our election for office bearers as we consider these things. Are there some patterns of the way in which the early church went about selecting office bearers that we could learn from? Well, perhaps the first thing that you're just saying is perhaps so obvious that we might pass over it without even particularly noting it. I'll use an illustration. You don't put a battery in a car. You're going to scrap. Well, why not? Because batteries cost money. And if you're Scottish or Dutch, then you're not inclined to put batteries in cars that you're about to junk. What's the point of this? The work of the kingdom was going to continue. And because they had a view to the advancement of Christ's kingdom, they said, we need to respond to the particular needs that we have. We need to replace the apostle. We need to have 12 apostles. There was a recognition, therefore, that the work of the kingdom, even though Christ had been removed from their midst, was going to continue and to advance. God was not done with this world. Although I said it a few weeks ago when we began our study of this book, I think it becomes clear if we're looking closely at the way in which the author, Luke, deals with the opening verses of the gospel that bears his name and the opening verses of the Acts that is a continuation of God's work. It is God's work, but that work is going to continue. And because it is going to continue, we go about the work of the kingdom in ways in which will advance that work. Even as we say that, and perhaps we can make that practical application, why do we continue to elect office-bearers? Because the work of the kingdom is still continuing. How do we know that the work of the kingdom is still continuing? Because Christ has not returned. It really is as simple as that. When the work of the kingdom is complete, Christ will return. And you will notice it when Christ returns. Every knee shall. Every tongue will confess. And we will do it gladly, rejoicing that Christ, our great Redeemer, has returned. The unconverted will be as those who are vanquished, but they will still bend the knee. They will still confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That day has not yet come. The kingdom continues to advance. And therefore, we follow in the pattern of the New Testament to appoint those whom the Lord has set before us to further the work of the kingdom, office bearers, pastors, and elders, and deacons. Well, how do they go about it? Well, the obvious thing, which perhaps has already been stated, not only that they came together for prayer in some general sense, that they made this particular matter inevitably a matter of prayer. But it wasn't just that they prayed about it, they also used something else, that their decision was informed by scripture. For it is written in the book of Psalms, may his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it, and let another take his office. When they were considering the matters that were set before them, what was most needful for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, they turned to scripture for their pattern. They said, well, what do we need to do at this particular point? What scriptures can we draw upon in order to guide us in our wisdom? Now, that in itself is instructive to us, surely. Here we have Peter, sometimes referred to as the first pope. And yet what Peter does not do is appoint someone else. He does not say, I have the authority to do this. So whether or not others might describe him as the first pope of the church, we have to say, dear friend, I understand your history and your tradition, but the scriptures just don't bear it out. There does seem to be occasions in which Peter spoke first before the other disciples. He is giving leadership, but the sole authority does not rest with Peter alone. What Peter draws to the attention of the assembled gathering is the Word of God. There must be a replacement, he says. There must be a prefect replacement. Why? Because Scripture tells us so. Let another take his office. Well, having established from Scripture, therefore, what it is that has to be done, there are then the qualifications. What our forefathers in the faith would have referred to as the good and necessary consequences. Could they appoint just anyone? Well, I'm sure already you are seeing some of the applications to our own particular needs as a fellowship. We're not appointing apostles because there are no longer men who are qualified to do so. But we are appointing the office bearers, which God has appointed for us as described in Scripture. We're appointing elders and deacons. Well, there's a practicality. What are the qualifications for the apostles? Those who had been with Jesus from the beginning. From the time of the baptism of the River Jordan right through the arrest, trial, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. In other words, somebody who knew the story was an eyewitness from the very beginning. And you may from time to time hear of somebody who will style himself an apostle, or see that perhaps on a church notice board, and again you say, you know, friend, please go back and read your scriptures. Hear the qualifications. Somebody who has been with Jesus and is an eyewitness from the beginning. That generation has long ago died out. It was a very small group to begin with. to continue the ministry and the apostleship. So, there was prayer. There was reflection upon Scripture. There was the practical working out by good and necessary consequence. That if the apostles were to be the foundation upon which Christ is going to build his church, there needed to be somebody who was familiar with Jesus from the beginning and was able to bear witness to that. Now there's a third element which sometimes does get mentioned as we consider these things, and that's the method by which they went about appointing a successor to Judas. They brought forward two names, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice, and Matthias. And they cast lots. Now in the Old Testament, of course, we get to the casting of lots. on various occasions, as a means by which the will of God was determined. And so they were following in an Old Testament pattern of using lots in order to determine an answer to a question. In this case, it was a question, do we have justice or do we have Matthias to replace Judas? Now, is that a method that we should be using for selection of office bearers for our own fellowship? Well, I'll tell you quite frankly and unashamedly that I don't think that it is an appropriate method for us today. We do it by the raising of hands, which is what Paul says to Timothy as far as raising up office bearers in the church. if not literally by the raising of hands, by a ballot. Not by putting every male member's name in a hat and just picking out one name and saying, now this person's going to be an elder. Why not? Well, quite simply, I think it's because we're doing it after Pentecost. And that should make a difference. The Spirit of God has been poured out upon us. And if you are a child of God, you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have the Spirit of God dwelling within you. And it would seem obvious, therefore, that if you lack wisdom, you've got two names before you, and you say, I lack the wisdom. Well, therefore, let the name be pulled out of a hat. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, a God who gives to all men generously. We'll give that wisdom which we need. It should be a matter of prayer and discernment. Who is the person most biblically qualified for the office? Let such a one be nominated. Let such a one be elected. So we don't put names on a hat. We do it by prayerfully considering the names that are brought before us, before the Lord, exercising our judgment, trusting in the wisdom which God has given us after we have prayed for it. Well, if God gives to all men generously, all I have to do is ask for wisdom. If I'm without wisdom, whose fault is it? It's not God's. And so they The saints, as they assembled long ago and wanted to replace Judas for good and necessary reasons, prayed, Lord, you know the hearts of all. You know the hearts of all. So as we go about that process of selecting office bearers, the question should be in our minds, Lord, You know the hearts of all. Help me to discern who would best serve the work of the kingdom. That would mean, therefore, that the basis on which the choice is made is not that we think it is that particular person's turn. Not because of any other, because he's a member of my family, or because he's not a member of my family. Lord, you know the hearts of men. Show me who you would have me elect to be a leader in this church. And that brings us in conclusion then to Jonah. Jonah is a strange prophet in so many ways. I have a degree of sympathy for him. The truth be told, I'd rather run off to sea than stand behind a pulpit. I'd rather be on a bridge of one of Her Majesty's warships, to be honest, than stand behind a pulpit. But seemingly the Lord had different plans for me. So Jonah ran away to sea, and for a time, he got away with it. It must have taken him at least some passage of time to get all the way down to the port and then off to sea. A day? Two days? A week? I don't know. But God loved Jonah too much to let him go. And of course, as you know the story of Jonah, Jonah returns and he goes to Nineveh. There he preaches a message. It's not a feel-good message, it's a message of God's judgment. It's a message which God uses to pierce the heart from the king down to the lowest in society. And they repent. They turn. And Jesus confirms that the Ninevites will go into heaven ahead of the Pharisees. Well, when we are at last ushered into the presence of our God, perhaps one of those with whom we will have a conversation in the centuries to come, will be a Ninevite that was there and heard the message of Jonah. Now, what's the point of making reference to Jonah? It is simply this, that the message was not preached by Jonah until Jonah got there. Well, that's obvious, isn't it? That God had a purpose to show mercy to the Ninevites, but it was only when Jonah, to use a colloquialism, got his act together and actually got to Nineveh. He had to get himself in the right place before God got the Ninevites in the right place. Now where does all this come together for advice, not for advice, but for biblical counsel, for ourselves to be encouraged in the word of God? The work of the kingdom is continuing. The kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to grow to the uttermost ends of the earth. men and women and boys and girls will be converted. God has not finished his work. He had not finished it in the days of Peter, and he has not finished it yet. And what should the people of God be about until Christ's return? But the very work to which he has called us. Not to be so engaged in the things of this world that we leave off spiritual matters and not to be so spiritually minded that we're not engaged in this world at all. But by prayer, by the reading of Scripture, by the application of God's word, by reasoning through the principles that are set before us in God's word, that we do God's work in God's way for God's glory. We come, therefore, to the book of Acts and we would inquire of the Lord, how might we be involved in our generation for the extension of Christ's kingdom? It will continue. It will grow. It cannot be stopped. The enemy of our souls desires to stop it. He's desired to stop it for the last 2,000 years and more. But he's utterly incapable of doing so. But here, Lord, let me be a part of that work, because you will advance your kingdom. The glory of Christ will continue to the end of the age. May God grant us prayerful wisdom, Bible knowledge, application of scriptural truth, that we might see the glories, good news of Jesus Christ, the salvation of souls by the preaching of Christ in our midst. And those who are as yet unconverted brought into the kingdom, that we would see God's glory in our midst. Let's pray together. Our gracious God and our Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for the leadership of Peter, for the prayerfulness of the saints. We thank Thee for their wisdom and knowledge of Scripture. We thank Thee for their application by good and necessary consequence. We thank Thee, Father, that Thou hast promised to us that if any man lack wisdom, let him ask. We ask, Father, grant to us wisdom as individuals, grant to us wisdom as a congregation, grant especially wisdom to the office bearers as they would lead, guide and direct the affairs of this church. Grant, O Lord, that we may see Thy kingdom extended, and to Thy name be all glory and honour and praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.