コミュニティと弟子訓練

Live Out Your Mission in Prayer (Acts 1:12~26)

2017.03.12Stephen Cha

Prayer prepares us to be the vessels through which the Holy Spirit does God's work. Like the 120 believers in the upper room, we should pray together, let God's Word renew our purpose, and seek His will with patience and perseverance.

Stand together before God in one accord (vv. 14)

The 120 believers waited in the upper room and prayed together with one accord, something the disciples had not managed at the last supper when they argued about who was greatest. Their prayer included the women who had supported Jesus' ministry, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his half-brothers, including James, who had once mocked him. As they prayed, they began to share God's burden for people who do not know Jesus and are living in sin. When we come before God with a heart like His, He prepares us to be the vessel through which He does new work.

Prayer renews our purpose through God's Word (vv. 16-20)

Peter did not respond to Judas's betrayal with a quick fix but with God's Word. He drew on the Psalms and on David's own experience of betrayal by a close friend, showing that what happened to Judas was part of what Scripture foretold. Through this Christ-centered view, the community saw that the vacant place had to be filled, because God is restoring a renewed Israel and building His kingdom. Time in God's presence corrects what is wrong in us and renews our minds to see what Jesus has done and is doing. As our purpose aligns with His, we begin to see our part in what God is doing.

Seek God's will and persevere in what He has shown (vv. 21-26)

The believers looked for someone who had been with Jesus from John's baptism through his resurrection, and they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. They then prayed, calling Jesus the Lord who knows the hearts of all people, and asked Him to make His choice known. The lot fell on Matthias. We should seek God's will with Scripture, sound judgment, and wise counsel, and pray over it for a long time rather than simply confirming what we already want. What God has clearly shown us in the light, we must not doubt in the dark; we should stick with it and persevere when problems come.

Be a prepared vessel for the Holy Spirit

Like a small boat with a sail set and ready, we catch the wind of God and are carried far beyond what we could ever do on our own. The Holy Spirit is moving among us and looking for people who are ready to be used for work we cannot accomplish alone. Jesus told the disciples to wait and pray, not only to grow in prayer but to become people God could use. Many have labored before us, moving rocks, digging, planting, and watering, so that we now see the harvest. God is doing this work through the faithfulness of His people, and we are invited to take part in it.

Apply to Life

  • Let us come together in prayer with one accord, sharing God's burden for those who do not know Jesus.
  • Let us open God's Word in our prayer and allow Him to renew our minds and align our purpose with His.
  • Let us seek God's will in our decisions through Scripture, sound judgment, and wise counsel, and persevere in what He has clearly shown us.
  • Let us set our sails and be prepared vessels that the Holy Spirit can use in His work.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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