Now please turn with me to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1 verses 12 through 26. And it says this. 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. At this time, Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, a gathering of about 120 persons, were there together, and said, brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry. Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem, so that in their own language, that field was called hekeldamah, that is, field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his homestead be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it. Let another man take his office. Therefore, it is necessary that of the man who have accompanied us all the time, that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us. One of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. So they put forth two men, Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, you, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place. And they drew lots from them, and the lot fell to Matthias, and he was added to the 11 apostles. He who has ears, let him hear the word of God. Let's pray. Father, now we ask that by and through your spirit, you would illumine our hearts and our minds to the truthfulness of your word and that you would move us to a deeper love of the Savior and of your church. In Christ's name we pray, amen. We come now to the book of Acts, to this part where the events that occurred after the ascension and before the day of Pentecost If you recall, when we looked at Acts 1, verses 4 through 8, we saw that Jesus had gathered together his disciples, and he had given them a divine command. He had prepared them, all of his earthly ministry, for the Great Commission. And he gathers them, and he says, okay, I've prepared you, you're ready, now I need you to wait. Wait for what the Father has promised. which was the coming of the Holy Spirit. And at this time, as we saw the last time, Jesus ascended into his earthly kingdom, where he now sits as prophet, priest, and king. And this was a cause of great exuberance, great joy, great happiness among the people, among the apostles. It was a time of great joy, and Luke records that they left the Mount of Olives, in joy, great joy. And now, upon returning to Jerusalem, we find these men, chosen specifically by God, returning to the upper room along with the other disciples in preparation for their upcoming task of the Great Commission. Now, as we go through this passage, there's something that I really want you to look for. what I really want you to see, and that is the upper room example that we have of the early church. What did this meeting look like? What were these men devoted to? And to look introspectively at our own lives, what are we devoted to? both as a church, as a gathering, as a congregation, and as individuals. What are we devoted to? So picking up in our text this evening, in verse 12, we read that the disciples then returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, the Sabbath day's journey. So from the top of Mount Olive, you get an unrivaled and unparalleled view of the whole city. From here, the disciples could clearly see their first mission field. They could stand up on the Mount of Olives and look over the city and see, this is the mission field. This is where I will first begin proclaiming the gospel. And when the time is right, that's what they would do. They would proclaim the gospel to Jerusalem. Our text says that it was about a Sabbath day's journey from Olivet to Jerusalem. Now, a Sabbath day's journey isn't exactly the same as a day's journey. When we travel, we typically measure our trips in relation to the time it takes to get there. It may take an hour or two hours to get to a location. I can drive from my house to this church in about six minutes. Now, if I were to walk from my house to this church, it would take me an hour and 12 minutes. And if you haven't thanked God lately for vehicular travel, this is the opportune time. It's roughly a three-mile journey for me to get from there to here. But a Sabbath day's journey is measured in distance. And according to Jewish tradition, not scripture, a man could travel roughly 2,000 cubits on the Sabbath, which is roughly 1,000 yards or roughly a half to three-fourths of a mile without breaching this traditional law. And that's how they would often measure travel on the Sabbath. Well, the text says that as the disciples entered the city, they made their way directly to the upper room. There in Acts 1.13, it says, 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. Now this upper room was no doubt very special to these men. It was in this room that Jesus had gathered his disciples for Passover. It was in this room where Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. And it's also in this room where he would declare that one would betray him. And it's probably in this same room where the disciples gathered after the death of Jesus, and that's recorded in John 20, verse 19, says that they had locked the door in fear of the Jewish leaders. Thinking that they would soon share the same fate as their teacher, they huddled together to avoid certain death. And yet Jesus appears to them in this room, and he says to them, peace be with you. Now, can you imagine a more pertinent and timely word to receive when in fear for your life? These men were locked in this upper room, terrified, and the risen Christ appears to them and says, peace be with you. Now, this room had become their meeting place. In a sense, an early apostolic headquarter. It was this place of fellowship and communion that they would return to time and time again. And gathered here were all the apostles, along with others, which we'll look at in just a moment. But it's right here that I want you to notice the first character trait of the early church. Notice that the apostles were marked by obedience. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told them, wait. So what do the apostles do? They wait. They go directly to the upper room, they go into the city, they go to the room, and they wait. They don't go out on their own, they wait. To them was given the ministry of the proclamation of the gospel, of the good news, of the risen savior. They had been eyewitnesses of his earthly ministry. Peter, James, and John witnessed the transfiguration, where the glory of the Lord filled the place. They witnessed the crucifixion. They witnessed the resurrection. And they watched him ascend to his heavenly throne, to his cosmic throne. Now, the last thing they probably wanted to do was wait. After experiencing all those things, and having great joy after departing Jesus, the last thing they probably wanted to do was wait. And we see throughout the book of Acts of the urgency and the passion in which the apostles proclaimed the good news. It was an urgent message, and it was a message of passion for them, a message of zeal to proclaim this news. Now let me ask you, beloved, is there anything more important in this life than the proclamation of the gospel, of the person and work of the Savior of men? Is there anything more important than that message? You know, we think of the time in which we live, where it seems like our nation, our communities are crumbling around us and we see an abundance of wickedness rise up. Is there anything more important that we could possibly do? Anything more needed than this gospel proclamation and regeneration by the Spirit? Is there anything more desired by Christians? What do we desire more than to see men and women come to faith? Nothing. Do we devote our time to prayer and awakening? Do we pray for revival? And we know that revival comes by the preached word of God. You know, I remember my own conversion. I was sitting on my bed reading a book given to me by a friend. That book was called The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Now listen, if you haven't read that book, I encourage you, read something else. Don't read it. Go read Calvin. But you know, God used a text of scripture quoted in that book to bring about my conversion. Now, I don't remember the text. I really wish I did. But I do remember my first thought sitting on my bed, that I was a great sinner and I needed a great savior. And I received that that evening. And then the thought, this is news that everyone needs to hear. Everyone needs to hear this message. Now, at this time, I didn't immediately equate that with a life of ministry, though that would soon be impressed upon me. But it was the good news of the Savior that brought about my conversion, and I wanted the world to know. So I can imagine, maybe in a small way, to some extent what the apostles must have wanted to do as soon as they walked into the city. They were probably chomping at the bit to go out and to share this good news. Yet they waited. They were obedient to the command of Jesus. So let us take as an example that we too are to be obedient to the Lord. It is through the scripture that the Lord speaks to us. It is from the Old and the New Testaments where the word of God resides, and it's from those that we know how to live. You know, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question three asks, what do the scriptures principally teach? The answer, the scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man. You know, our obedience does not make us right with God. It is only the imputed righteousness of the Savior that can cause us to stand in the presence of a holy God. But our obedience is the Christian's reasonable service. And it's something that is born in us by the Spirit that we want to live a life in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. So we are to be obedient. And from this passage, we learn that the apostles were obedient. They waited. They obeyed. They listened to the command of Jesus. Well, secondly, from the text, we're told that when they came back to the upper room, they came back together as a group. Now we can often overlook something that may seem so minor as that, but they came back together as a group. Peter, John, and James, those who accompanied Jesus and saw the things the other nine did not witness, came to the upper room. It was Peter who gave the great confession of the identity of Jesus in Matthew 19. Jesus asks his disciples. Well, who do the people say that I am and they give all these different responses of everything that they've heard and Then he asks them he turns to them and said who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I am and Peter proclaims? You're the Christ the son of the Living God This is probably Peter's high point And to this Jesus says blessed are you Simon Barjona? Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." Peter is in the upper room. James and John, nicknamed the Sons of Thunder, because of their boldness, were in the upper room. The other nine, Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, they were all in the upper room. I've always felt a bit sorry for Judas, the son of James. You know, after the betrayal, it would be rather difficult to bear that name. But they were all together in the upper room. All those that Jesus had chosen as apostles were present. They were gathered together. No one went off and did their own thing. And though at one time they squabbled with one another who would be the greatest, and though these men were radically different from one another, It was Christ that had lived for them, Christ that had died for them, and Christ who had called them to himself. And when you think about it, that's really what we see in churches all across the world. You know, Christ brings together from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, people who are radically different from one another. The unlikeliest of people can be seen gathering together to proclaim the greatness of God. And we gather, and we do make this proclamation. We render due praise and honor to God, but not just that. As we gather, we gather for mutual encouragement. Beloved, do not think for a second that you can live the Christian life on your own. The importance of gathering as a church, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Do not think that by forsaking the gathering of believers that you will not suffer from it. You know, the author of Hebrews there in chapter 10, verses 24 through 25. You know, Hebrews is such a great book. It talks about the greatness of the high priestly reign of Jesus, all that he's done for sinners, for his people. Then it says, and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. All throughout scripture, we're told to lean on one another for encouragement, to exhort each other in love, to rebuke each other, to bear with one another in trials and hardships. And we're not to neglect it. We're not to think lightly of gathering. Don't withhold your presence from the gathering of God's people. So we see the importance of gathering, and we see here that they gathered together. Verse 14 gives us another trait of this early church meeting. Verse 14 says, 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. So what do we find them doing in the upper room? They're obedient. They come to the upper room. They don't go off on their own. They go up to this room. They gather together. What are they doing? What do we find them doing? They were of one mind. They devoted themselves to prayer. This is our example. But not just the apostles. We're told in verse 15 that there's 120 in total gathered here. This included women, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. And you know, this is the last mention that we have of Mary in scripture. And I think in light of all the controversy that's happened, especially with the Roman communion concerning Mary, this text becomes quite important. This is a very important text. The last time that Mary is mentioned in scripture, what do we find her doing? What is Mary doing here in this text? Is she receiving praise? Is she receiving veneration? Is she being worshipped? Is she receiving prayer? Is she interceding on behalf of the apostles? Is she interceding on behalf of the other 120? No. We are told by implication that she is a member of the first church and she is in prayer with the others. We find the mother of our Lord Jesus praying to her son. She is not a participant of prayer. I mean, she is a participant of prayer. She's not the object of it. She's not acting as a co-redeemer. She's not appropriating her abundance of righteousness to others. She is with the others as part of the gathered church, praying to her son. She's there with the brothers of Jesus, and these were the sons born of Mary that were familial to Jesus. We find them as part of this church. And this first group meeting that we find after the ascension of Jesus is here. They were meeting together, devoted to prayer. You know, they had already had the promise from Jesus that the Spirit would soon come upon them. They already knew what was going to happen in a few days. They already knew the coming of the Spirit upon them. Those events were foreordained to come to pass. But they did not use their time unwisely. Devoted to prayer. They continued in prayer. They gathered to pray. You know, the term rendered there for continuous means to be persistent in prayer, to remain in prayer, to occupy oneself diligently with prayer. It's to be consumed with prayer. And you know who they learn this from? Their teacher. They learn this from Jesus. Jesus persisted in prayer during his earthly ministry. said that he would sneak off from the crowds to pray. Before his crucifixion, we find our Lord Jesus praying. When Jesus cleansed the temple of commercialism, what did he call the temple of God? What did he call the house of God? Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus said, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer. But you are making it a den of robbers. devoted to prayer. For those gathered here in this upper room, they sought the Father's will and guidance. And in this early formation, they were gathered in unity, in one accord, one mind, praying. You know, this has always been the practice of the church. Paul exhorts us in Colossians 4 to devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. Exhortation after exhortation to be people of prayer. This is to be one of the main pillars of our faith, prayer. That we are to be marked as men and women of prayer. But not just prayer, unity in prayer. You know, prayer is both private and corporate. Privately, we confess our sins to God, and we pray for the things that we need. Corporately, we pray. It's what the church does. Every Sunday when we gather, we pray what? The Lord's Prayer. And in that prayer, we're asking in unison. We're praying as Jesus taught us to pray. We pray that his name would be hallowed, honored, and revered among the nations. We pray that his kingdom will continue to expand across the whole earth, and that he will call forth his elect from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. We pray that he will continue to provide for us, both individually and corporately as a church. We pray that he would protect us, that he would protect his church, that he would protect us from temptation. And we do this together as a church. You know, we think of prayer. What do we think of prayer? What is prayer? Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God for things agreeable to his will. In the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies. That's what prayer is. You know, Christians are marked by prayer. You know, when we feel as though we cannot pray, we must pray. When we cannot pray as we like, we are to pray as we can. I love how A.W. Pink spoke of prayer. Quote, prayer is not designed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of what we need, but it is designed as a confession to him of our sense of need, end quote. Does God know what we need when we pray? He does. But it's really our admission that we are needy, that we need his intervention. We're commanded to pray, and we love to pray. God knows our needs, but it is in prayer that we truly commune with Him, that we can seek Him, that we can confess our sins and confess our neediness to Him and our reliance upon Him. And this is the example that we have in the upper room, an example of prayer. Well, continuing on in our text, While everyone was gathered, verses 15 through 17 says, at this time, Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, a gathering of about 120 persons, was there to gather and said, brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was counted among us and received his share in the ministry. And I love how Peter begins this. He begins with a recognition of the nature of the relationship between those who are gathered. How does he address them? He doesn't say, subjects. He doesn't say, I am the rock. You must listen to me. Heed my words. What does he say? Brethren. He refers to them as brethren. They are all unified, they're all of one mind, all brethren in the Lord. And there is a real communion between those who are in Christ. There's a real, deep, lasting communion between brothers and sisters in the Lord. And there's real communion here between the apostles, between all the other disciples. And that's one reason why we can be so confident that the New Testament speaks with one voice, which really is the voice of the Spirit speaking through chosen men. Now, at one point in my life, I worked as a cell phone salesman. I was horrible at that job. But I would have to travel around the area, and I'd have to work in different locations and with different people. And all these people that I would have to work with, they all had different views of life, different paths that they've walked, and they all had different religious ideas. But there was one guy who attended a Bible college near here. And I was really excited when I found out that he was a Bible student. I thought, well, there's one guy that I can have real communion with, that I can talk to. And I was so excited about this. And we began talking about life and about theology. That's probably why I was such a terrible salesman. I was talking about theology at work. But from those early conversations, I realized quickly that he was theologically liberal, probably of the sort that Machen fought against, and certainly of the type that Paul fought against. One time we were having this conversation about the doctrines of grace, and I brought up Paul's arguments through the book of Romans. and the sufficiency of Christ's work, not the sufficiency of our own work, and that we are to rest in his finished work and not in our own. And I tried to explain the bankruptcy of the human condition. And we would talk for hours and hours about this. And I'll never forget this. In one of our conversations, he said to me, Well, I'm more of a James guy than a Paul guy. I prefer James as opposed to Paul. Now, he said that specifically to point out that he thought James was teaching in chapter two, salvation by faith and works. And that, of course, is heretical. But what was so striking to me in that conversation was the insinuation that the apostles taught in opposition to one another. This idea that there was competition between the apostles, and this apostle had one message, and this apostle had another message, and all these messages were conflicting with one another. Now Paul isn't here in the upper room, but we do know that he was extended the right hand of fellowship from Peter and the rest of the apostles. But even so, it's clear from this passage that there was complete union in mission and in doctrine and in purpose here in this text. There was no division. They were in union together. There was a brotherhood between them. even a spiritual brotherhood, as they were brothers in the Lord, they had been taught by the Lord the same message. And it was this same message that they proclaimed. And Peter stands up here in the midst of the brethren. And when he stands up, it's to address a matter of supreme importance. He addresses the first major scandal in the church that people would undoubtedly hear about. What was that? One of Jesus' chosen men had betrayed him, Judas Iscariot. Now from Peter's testimony here, this was not something that happened by accident. This wasn't something that just happened to occur. This wasn't something that God didn't know about. This was something that was decreed from the foundations of the earth and even prophesied here in our text from the mouth of David. And just in passing, it's worth noting as we look at this passage, that the one speaking in the prophecy mentioned here is who? The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David. It was the Holy Spirit speaking through the mouth of David. So you have inspiration of scripture. That scripture is God-breathed. That it is the very words of God through the mouth, through the agency of men. That brings up another good point. What do we find the early church doing? What do we find the upper room doing? What's the example for us? They had a devotion to clearly search the scriptures. How did they know that this was the fulfillment of what David had said? Well, they didn't have a good reference Bible with them. How did they know? They searched the Scriptures. They knew what the Scripture said. They were students of the Word. They had recognized that Scripture is the authoritative Word of God. And what did they do? They clung to that Word and they searched it. And Peter says that Judas had a share in the ministry. What ministry is that? The ministry of apostleship. Now, apostleship is distinguished from a disciple. What's the difference? The word disciple means learner, one who learns from a master. And at one time, all the apostles were learners. They were disciples of Jesus. The other 120 in the room were disciples. They had all learned from Jesus. But an apostle is someone who's commissioned as a messenger and as an ambassador personally by Jesus. Skipping forward for just a moment in our text, we learn of the requirement of being an apostle. How do you become an apostle? We're not taught that in seminary. There's no how to become an apostle class. But here we find out, how do you become an apostle? If you want to be an apostle today, how do you become an apostle? Listen to what Peter says. Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." So an apostle is one who accompanied Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. He was with Jesus at the time of his baptism, all the way until the time of his resurrection and ascension. Now, there's one exception, and that's Paul, who later becomes an apostle to the Gentiles. But the Lord Jesus did appear to him personally, and I have no argument against the Lord Jesus. But how do you become an apostle? Well, you had to be with Jesus. He has to call you. personally. Well, is there anyone who fits that bill? No. The office of apostle was tied to the apostolic age. They were to establish the faith. With Christ being the cornerstone, the apostles established the church. It was through these apostles that the Holy Spirit performed many signs and wonders and miracles in order to testify of the truthfulness of their message. And as the church began to be established, as churches started popping up and the testimony of their word was testified to by the Spirit, what do we see? Well, we see that signs and wonders began to cease even from them. So are there apostles now? Well, is there anyone in this room or anyone on earth, anyone alive now who was a witness of Jesus' baptism, his resurrection? No. Has Jesus appeared to any of us to appoint us as new apostles? No, and that certainly won't happen based on Hebrews 1. Everything is written and finished. If the office of apostle was to lay the foundations of the faith, if that's the point of apostleship, do we need another foundation laid today? Is there a need for another foundation? No. So there is no apostolic office today. But getting back to the scandal here that Peter's addressing, Judas has to be replaced. We need another apostle. And in Acts 1, verses 18 through 19, we read of Judas. Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all of his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem, so that in their own language, that field was called Hekeldomah, that is, field of blood. You know, all four Gospels identified Judas as the one who betrayed our Lord Jesus. Jesus himself acknowledges in John 6, verse 70, says, Jesus answered them, did I myself not choose you, the 12, and yet one of you is the devil? So this, again, didn't come as a way of surprise to Jesus. Though Jesus was counted as one of the 12, he would betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Now, as we read this passage in Acts, I want you to notice something. Look at the passage. There were actually two people in this passage who betrayed Jesus. Two people. Judas, of course, is the one mentioned that betrayed Jesus and handed him over to the guard. It says right there, Peter says, it was Judas who betrayed Jesus. What about the one who is talking about the betrayer? What about Peter? Did Peter also betray Jesus? It was Peter who denied Jesus three times before men. These two men, both Judas and Peter, betrayed our Lord in the final hours of His life. One handed Him over to the authorities, while the other denied Him before men. Jesus knew both would betray Him. As we've already seen, Jesus told them that one of the twelve was the devil. And at one point, He actually says to Peter, When Peter tries to rebuke him, when Jesus is talking about his upcoming death, what does he say to Peter? Get behind thee, Satan. When Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny him three times, what does Peter say? Though they will all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Now we can certainly love Peter's zeal, but we understand that Even we too can at times betray our Lord. So what's the difference between these two men? What's the difference between Judas and Peter? Both denied Jesus in his final hours. But I want you to notice how Jesus addresses each of these men. When speaking to Judas, what does Jesus say? What you are going to do, do it quickly. And Judas, being the son of perdition from birth, continues in his rebellion and betrays Jesus. Jesus lets him go. Jesus knew what Judas was going to go do. He says, what you're going to do, do it quickly. What does he say to Peter? Luke 22, verses 31 through 32. I love this verse. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded permission to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. And you, Peter, when once you have turned again, there's Jesus acknowledging that he's going to fail, when you turn again, Peter, strengthen your brothers, strengthen your brothers. So notice the acknowledgment that Peter would deny Jesus and that he would fall. But Jesus prayed for him. Jesus interceded and preserved him. And I love what we find Peter doing here in our text. What's he doing? Strengthening the brethren. He's doing exactly what Jesus had commanded him to do. You know, Jesus said in his high priestly prayer in John 17, When I was with them, I was keeping them in your name, which you have given me. And I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the scripture would be fulfilled." Why did Peter not fall away? Jesus kept him. Jesus preserved him. And Jesus left Judas to his wickedness. What about the difference in Peter and Judas themselves? What about in themselves? What do we know of Peter? Peter, upon betraying our Lord, was immediately filled with godly sorrow and repentance. Immediately he knew, as soon as he denied him that third time, he remembered the words of Jesus, and it broke his heart. And he turns back to Jesus, and Jesus restores him. He had true and godly repentance. Calvin said of repentance, true repentance is displeasure at sin, arising out of fear and reverence for God, and producing at the same time a love and a desire for righteousness. And this is what Peter had. Peter had true repentance. This is what we have. if we have been born again. We have a hatred of our sin. We have a desire to confess our sins. But not just that, we have a love and devotion for righteousness. And we will pursue that righteousness out of gratitude. But Peter turns back. You know, we don't cease to sin. We still sin. We will sin until we go and be with our Lord. We don't become perfect in this life, yet we have a godly displeasure of our own sin. We war with it, we put it to death, and we fear and revere the one who saved us. These are all marks which we have. Judas, on the other hand, had remorse. Not repentance, he had remorse. What did he do? He threw the silver back at the chief priests, who used the blood money to buy a field. And this is the same field in which Judas ran to commit suicide. Matthew 27.7 says of this field that it was used to bury foreigners. That's what this field was used for, to bury foreigners, to bury strangers to the Jews, those who were not of the fold of the Jews. As to the death of Judas, Some have thought that there would be a contradiction between this part and Matthew 27 5 which says that Judas threw the silver and he went off and he hanged himself. Well here in our text it says that he fell headlong and burst open in the middle. How are we to understand this? What really happened to Judas? Well, not to be too gruesome, Judas hanged himself, and after being there in the hot sun for a while, his body fell and burst open. How did Judas ultimately die? Gruesomely, tragically, without a mediator. He fell in a field reserved to bury strangers as a stranger to the promise. That's how Judas died, as a stranger to the promise in a field for strangers. Looking back at our text, Peter recognizes that this was prophesied by David and that there was a need to replace Judas, per the prophecy made through David, which said, let another take his place. And per the requirements which we've already seen, there were two men put forth, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice, and Matthias. Again, our text says that they were gathered in unison. And they prayed and said, there in verse 24, you, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show us which one of these two men you have chosen to occupy this ministry and this apostleship from which Judas turned aside from his own place. Here's one last lesson that we can learn from this upper room. A complete dependency on God. In prayer, in the reading of his word, a complete dependency upon God to provide for us. Peter says, you know the hearts of men. Well, the hearts of men are exceedingly wicked, but that's not what he means here. He means you know the intentions of these two men. You know what's in these two men. You know that they desire to do what is good. They desire to do what is godly. Lord, you choose. And the choice of Judas's replacement would not be left in the hands of human wisdom, but in divine appointment. The Lord knows the thoughts and intentions. Now, we don't know from our passage if there were others who were equally qualified, but these two men were the front runners. These two were put forth. And finally, in verse 26, the manner in which the replacement apostle is chosen It says, and they drew lots for them. And the lot fell to Matthias, and he was added to the 11 apostles. So you kind of read that and you think, oh, something amazing is going to happen. We're going to see this intervention of the Lord, that he's going to appear again, and he's going to point out the one that will replace Judas. It says they casted lots. You know, the lots were cast knowing that God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, and whatever the end result is, that is the Lord's decision. Proverbs 16, 33, the lot is cast in the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. They prayed, they examined these men, and they left the decision up to the providence of God. The lot was cast, Matthias chosen, and he joined the 11 as the 12th apostle, the replacement of Judas. And this is the last we hear of Matthias. This is the only time an apostle is ever replaced. Later in Acts 12, we'll look at Luke records the death of James. James is not replaced. After the work of these 12 men, the foundations are laid and apostleship ceases. So in conclusion, based on this upper room example, based on this early church meeting, I want to ask you, is this you? Is this you? If we were to take an example from this upper room, we would be brothers and sisters who strive for unity and peace within our own congregation. The vows that we took are to uphold the peace and the unity of the church. Is this you? When a new family joins our church, do we see it as an occasion to praise God that he's not only added to his fold, but added to us? Another family that we can love and encourage, and another family to love and encourage us. Is this us? Are we gathering together, are we forsaking the meeting of the saints? Are we gathering with intention to honor and glorify our Savior and to support each other? Is that our intention when we do come? If this were us, we would live lives of obedience to God out of thankfulness and reverence. We would be men and women devoted to continuous prayer, We would live lives marked by repentance. And though there is no apostleship now, we have elders who continue to teach us the word of God. Do we support them? Do we pray for them? Are we praying for more men to preach the word? Because by the preaching of the word, the spirit convicts and calls men out of their sin and misery into life. Are we doing that? So let this be an example of us, corporately, this is how we ought to be, but also individually. What are we to do? Search the scriptures, be devoted to prayer, in submission to apostolic authority found in scripture alone, united in thought and desire and in union with one another, meeting with one another for encouragement and support, and we're to live lives of repentance and obedience in reverence and fear of the one who redeemed us. That's our calling. How are we doing in that? Well, if you confess that you are doing poorly in that, you've joined the rest of us. So we ought to pray that the Lord would help us to be united as the upper rim. These things are to be evident in our lives. And Lord, we ask that he would please help us in this endeavor. Help us to live a life in a manner pleasing to him. Help us love one another. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for being able to hear your word. We thank you for your grace and mercy, and we pray that you would keep us in union and fellowship with one another. Help us to love you.