Bible Study: April 21, 2021

Okay, well last week you will recall we spent the Bible study going over the end of the book of Luke. You remember that Luke wrote not only book of Luke but the book of Acts as well. We talked about what Jesus Christ would have done during those 40 days on earth between the time that he was resurrected and then ascended into heaven. We did go through some of the, I think, the first 11 verses of the book of Acts last week and talked about some things. But I guess before we begin, are there any questions or any comments or any discussion from anything that we talked about at all last week?

I see someone. Does someone have something? Okay. If not, let me pick it up where we left off. We left off in Acts 1 and verse 11, and you'll recall Christ was ascending into heaven as the disciples watched him ascend to heaven. The angel was there and they said, you know, why are none of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. And we turn to Matthew 24 where Jesus Christ talked about him returning to earth and that he would return to earth in the clouds. And as the angels told the disciples there, as you see him go, so when he returns to earth he will return the same way. In verse 12, it continues really the thought of verse 11. It says, then they, the disciples, they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, the Sabbath state journey. So we know where he ascended from. He ascended from Mount Olivet.

And of course, where we know the Bible tells us that when he returns, he will, his feet will stand on that day in Mount Olivet. So exactly what the angel said, exactly what they said is what will come about. Jesus Christ left from Mount Olivet to heaven. He is in heaven. When he returns to earth, he will come to, he will return to Mount Olivet. We may as well just go ahead and look at Zechariah to see that Old Testament prophecy. Shabbi, I have a question. Yes. What is your, what should I say, what's the right verb I should say? But anyway, what do you think about when it says a Sabbath day journey? I'm always baffled. Is it 10 miles, 20 miles? Because there's no conclusive evidence in the Bible that tells us how long it is. That was going to be a question. While since you've asked that before we go to Zechariah, you can, if you turn to Zechariah, anyone know what it is? I'm so sorry.

That's okay. That's okay. Actually, it's three kilometers. Three kilometers? And how far is three kilometers? About two miles, about 1.8 miles. Okay. Where is that in, where is that in scripture?

Where is that in scripture, Bob? It's not. I think you have to look at the commentaries. No, it's not. It's just in the commentaries. And you can actually do a, actually, a Google search for Jerusalem to the Mount Oliv. And I'll tell you, it's three kilometers.

And that's, and how they do that, because I read a little bit on that. And some, there is some scripture in the Old Testament. I didn't write it down. It talks about 2,000 cubits or something like that. And the Jews took that. And then they said, that's as far as you can travel on a Sabbath day. But it is coincidentally just about what it is, the distance between Jerusalem and Mount Oliv. Actually, there's a little bit. Some people say it's only about a mile. I did look up to see how far it is. But I'll trust Bob, and it's just between two and three miles from Jerusalem to Mount Oliv. So that's about what it is. So then we have to conclude that the statistic is from Jerusalem to Mount Oliv. That's the statistic in terms of measuring a Sabbath journey. I don't think they did that. I don't think they looked at that. No, I don't think they looked at the distance between Mount Oliv. I think they took, if you type in 2,000 cubits, Bible verse, it'll probably take you to the verse that they use. I just remember reading that, whether that is what they actually used to determine. I don't know, but it made sense to me that they would take something from the Bible. But in that verse that talks about it, it doesn't say that that's all you can travel. That's just the Jews who put that limit on what you can do on Sabbath. They put a lot of limits on what you could do that aren't in the Bible. They just used things from the Bible and applied them to what you could and couldn't do.

Okay, I think it's about 3,000 feet. Because the 1 cubit is about 1 and a half.

About what? About what? 3,000 feet. About 2,000 feet? 3,000 feet? 3,000 foot. 2,000 cubits is 3,000 feet. Oh, okay. That's what we have. So they're about 18 inches per cubit? Okay.

It's just small or 1 and a half feet.

It's a very short distance. Whatever it is. It's a short distance.

So the Jews... the Jews... yeah anyway. Okay, so that's kind of what when they would read that in Acts, they would have known exactly how far that is. And they knew where Monalah... well, I guess the Gentiles wouldn't have known, but they knew how far Monalah that is from downtown Jerusalem. Let's go to Zechariah 14 here and look at the prophecy in verse 4.

I guess let's begin in verse 3, because it kind of brings us into the time when when Christ returns and there's the battle, there's the battle of the nations that it talks about in Zechariah 4, but in Revelation as well, verse 3, Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of battle. And in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley. Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

You know, we read those words, and I know all of us have read those words many, many times, and we think of the time when Christ returns and this mountain just divides.

And, you know, but if we pause and think about it, the scene that that's going to be and the dramatic event that that will be, you know, if you go ahead and read in verse 5, it says, You know, and somehow some of God's people, whatever they're doing, they will flee through my mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Look it up. No one really knows where Azal is. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, the king of Judah. And so, you know, in that verse, we see people kind of, it's almost as if God is opening the way for people to leave Jerusalem and flee through that mountain that he's divided into. It's going to be a tremendous, a tremendous event that we can't even imagine. It's going to certainly, it's going to certainly rock the world. And tantamounts, whatever this earthquake was at the time of the days of King Uzziah, so we'll read through some commentaries to see what was that earthquake about. There's really not much record about it, but it says, since the Bible talks about it, it had to be of such consequence that a few hundred years down the road, people in Zechariah's time would have known exactly the magnitude of that earthquake and how devastating it was. I think what's interesting is the people fleeing through that mountain. And you know, there's another time that God delivered his people from wherever they were, you know, well, wherever they were, with their backs up against the Red Sea. And when they had their backs up against the Red Sea, and they were about to be captured by Pharaoh, he opened the Red Sea, and they fled through that Red Sea. So whatever is going on here in verse five, and the people who are going to flee through that mountain that God says, yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake, it's going to be, this time not the Red Sea, but a mountain that's simply, as Christ returns, he delivers those people and they flee through that mountain. It's going to be quite a thing to behold and quite a thing to see as God works his miracles or as Jesus Christ returns.

We know this is the time ahead of us because of the last sentence there in verse five. Thus the Lord my God will come and all the saints with you. So this is the time of Jesus Christ's return. We know that the dead in Christ rise first at the last trump. We know that from revelation that the the bride of Christ, the first fruits return with him. They will be on the Mount of Olives standing with him, and it says right here in Zechariah 14, all the saints will be with you. So these people of God, whoever is fleeing through the mountain, is another group of people. And I don't know if anyone's ever heard anything about that or has any ideas on it. I was thinking maybe it was the people that were in Revelation says has their robes washed wiped in the in the Great Tribulation or something like that. But you know we'll certainly know what those verses mean when we come to that time. We don't know exactly what they mean right now, but it is certainly talking about the time that Jesus Christ returns, which takes us right from Acts 1. Jesus Christ ascended and he will return in like manner. Any discussion on that or any comments? If not, we can go back to Acts. I just thought it was interesting to look at those verses and tie some of this in as we read through the verses. And again, as we read these things, the people who were standing there, as they were there on Mount Olivet and they heard the angels say that, they would have gone back in their minds because they knew the Old Testament so well that their minds would have been drawn to Zechariah 14. And his feet will return and he shall stand on that day and the Mount of Olives and the Mount shall cleave in two. So as they heard those words, they would have gone to that. And as we know the Bible better and understand that our minds would go to that too to see how the whole Bible fits together as God has laid out his plan for mankind.

So verse 12, we talked about a Sabbath day journey. So if we go to verse 13, the disciples...

Yes, yes, I was thinking when it said that what came to my mind was because you know the scripture says those who are alive and remain will be caught up. So we know some people would make it into the kingdom alive, but the other thought that I had was if you're alive and remain, you were caught up, then how could they be free in the valley at the same time? So it's just some thoughts that came to my mind. Yeah. Well, we know that some will be returning with Jesus Christ. We know some others will be there. Did someone have a comment? Others will be there who will have their who will still be in physical form. The spirits, those who have been raised to eternal life, will be there with Jesus Christ, but others will be there still in physical form that will be on earth at that time. Brother Shaby, before the second or before the second boy's pass in Revelation 10, is it 10? Or 11 rather, 11. There's a great earthquake that's not the one where Christ was his foot on Mount Olives, but there's people that remained in Jerusalem and in that vicinity who repented. Because it says in verse 13, the great earthquake in 10th of the city fell, and the rest were filled with fear and gave glory to God. So hence, at this point, there's repentance, and these physical people will be preserved for the millennia, for the thousand years. Very good, very good. And that's probably the group of people it's talking about that'll flee through that mountain when Christ returns. All fits together when you see the pieces of the Bible and understand the prophecy and how, you know, what God's plan is. Okay? I was also thinking what Javier said, but I was thinking at that point, if they would have repented and gave glory, at that point, maybe they may be conquered as part of the first fruits, but I really don't know.

No, they won't be part of the first fruits. The first fruits, yes, it talks about what happens to the first fruits, but that group is a separate group. Okay. Okay. Verse 13. So the disciples, so now they go back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, Mount Olivet. So when they had entered Jerusalem, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, and the names of the apostles that are left, the 11th that are left, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James.

So we learned something about the apostles there. We remember in Luke 24 from last week that they were gathered together in one room. And remember when the two men came back from Amaius when it had, when God opened their minds and they knew that they had been sitting at dinner with Jesus Christ, they went all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples who were gathered together in one room what they had seen. And they said, we should have known because he opened all the scriptures to us. We understand all those things now. So that's the room that they went back to. So the disciples, as they went through the trauma of Christ's arrest, crucifixion, death, and then the joy of knowing that he was alive and understanding the scriptures that had come to life for them, if you will, the understanding that they had, they all stayed together as one body. And they apparently were together all during that time and continued to stay together through the day of Pentecost that we'll come to in Acts 2. It's a very beautiful picture, if you will, of the unity of those who were bound by the Spirit at that time. Of course, all of Jerusalem was anti-Jesus. They wanted him killed. You know, the mobs were there saying, crucify and crucify and crucify him. They were initially, you know, daunted, probably afraid for their own lives.

Now they're bound together by the Spirit. And it kind of reminds you of Psalm 133 when it says, it's so good for brethren to dwell in unity because they were of one accord and one mind. It says that here in chapter 1, and as we get to chapter 2, God highlights that again as well. They were of one accord and in one mind. So they went back to this upper room where they had been staying. You know, however big that upper room was, it mentions the 11 disciples here in verse 13.

And that may be where they were staying. Someone this afternoon mentioned that the upper room might have been the top of a roof, you know, that sometimes they had. That was where they could gather a lot of people together because here in verse 14, we learned the number of the disciples who were banding together at that time. At verse 14, it tells us these all, okay, all the disciples, all the apostles there, these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.

So they went back to where it is Jesus Christ had told them, go back, wait in Jerusalem until the promise that the Father gave you of the Holy Spirit coming upon you, wait for it. So they went back and they did exactly what they should have done. They went back together and they prayed and they waited for God. They didn't tell you to take matters into their own hands and say, well, God must want us to do this. God must want us to do that. They listened to what Jesus Christ said, wait, wait for the promise that He will give you. They had no idea it was going to occur on Pentecost that the Holy Spirit would be given them, but they were waiting. But what they were doing while they were waiting was seeking God's will. They were all in one accord in prayer and supplication.

And it mentions the number of people that were there, you know, in verse 15, it says that there were 120 that were there, all of them that were there. When we go to chapter 2 and verse 1, the same all are together on the day of Pentecost. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. So we have 120 who are gathered together here, continuing in prayer and supplication after the ascent of Jesus Christ, doing exactly what Christ had told them to do, wait, wait in Jerusalem, tarry in Jerusalem until the promise comes to you. They were all there. And then on the day of Pentecost, they were exactly where God wanted to be. It was a 100% attendance rate at the day of Pentecost. Probably the only time in, well, you know, I don't know if we've ever had 100% of every people, everyone exactly where they need to be where God wants them to be on a holy day. But here on the day of Pentecost, the next two, all those people were there in one place, in one accord. It's a beautiful picture of what God's will is. And good for them that they all were there in Acts 2, and that none of them stayed behind. Just think what they would have missed if they had not been there on the day of Pentecost.

Yes, ma'am. What that reminds me of is the Feast of Trumpets in Nehemiah 8-1. They were all of one accord, as one man at the gate when they found that they were the people and they had disobeyed God's law. If you read Nehemiah 8-1 all the way to verse 3, it tells you they were one accord, they were like one man. It just reminds me of that beautiful picture as well. Yep. That's one of the, when God repeats things over and over, you see what is where a will is. All in one accord, in one place. That's what that he wants is his body together. Jesus Christ said it in his last prayer before he was arrested, right? My will is that you will all be one as he and the Father were one and the disciples and we were one. So, okay. So we've got in verse 14, then it starts telling us some of, we've got the 11 remaining apostles that are there. In verse 14, it says they continued there with prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.

So we know, we know, we would expect that Mary the mother of Jesus would be there. But when he says with the women, what would, who would you think maybe some of the women that were among that 120 that were gathered together would be? Maybe some, we probably, we don't know all of them, probably, but who might some of the women be there? Because it's noted that it's not just the 11 apostles, but it is Mary, women, and, and, and his brothers. Any thoughts on women that might have been there as part of that number? Maybe Martha could have been there.

Mary Magdalene. Yes. And even Martha, the latter. Yeah. This is Mary the mother of Jesus.

Absolutely. Yep. So there is, some of those, you know, some of those ladies that are mentioned as they were preparing the body too. Yes. Yeah. So not, not commenting necessarily on who the women were, but one of the interesting things I find about this particular passage of scriptures, not only how many witnesses there were that they call out, they, they talk about who some of the people were, but the fact that they use women, even whenever you see Christ being resurrected, it was a woman that went to the, and noticed first, right? And it was on the testimony of a woman.

And when we look at myths, because a lot of people like to say that this is a myth, you know, that Christ is a myth, women didn't have any credibility in those days. And, you know, it would not be, if you were trying to generate a myth, you wouldn't do it by the testimony of a woman. And furthermore, unlike so many different mythical stories out there, rather than just having an individual talk about something they witnessed or saw, you repeatedly see there were so many people there, so many witnesses, and here they were talking to an audience at the time when all of this would have happened, when these people had been alive, where they could have gone back and actually checked it for themselves. And I think sometimes when we read over these scriptures, we kind of miss that because so many people today attack this, like it's a myth, like it never happened, and so forth. But when you read the passage and realize what they're saying here, if any of these things were not true, it would have been easy to refute it in history, because of when these documents were written, and when these letters were written, and how they were written, the witnesses they used, so forth. It would have been so easy for anyone to go and just tear it apart, and yet you don't see anyone in history refuting these things. I just think that we can read over that sometimes and miss that. It's interesting. Yeah, and I think that's the reason that God put it in there. He specifically noted the women that were there, too. That were there. Interestingly, as I was reading through some of the commentaries on that person, the women, to see what they would say it is. They didn't have any insight. The one thing I thought that was interesting is that they said, probably, no one knows this, we know Peter was married, so likely his wife was there. We don't know how many of the other apostles were married, that their wives might have been there, too. Sometimes we think of all the apostles as just single, right? But their wives may have been there with them in that room, as well, because certainly they were an important part of their lives, just like our wives are such an important part of our lives today, too. So it kind of gives you a little bit of insight into what that group is and who was there. This is just speculation on my part. I have no way to prove it, but I found myself wondering if maybe the woman at the well might have been there among them, or even the woman who was almost stoned, who Jesus saved from being executed for her adultery. Could be. 120 is a really small number of people, but in another way it's a large number of people. When you think about how many extra, besides the 11 apostles, were there. And Mary, of course, the Christ's mother. So, brother Shabi, there's an account where Christ had 500 brethren. Yeah. Meet him at the mountain in Galilee. Right. And then also in John 18, is it 18? Yeah, where he pulled John, he pulled your mother, and mother he pulled your son. There's a few women mentioned there. One called Mary also. Cleopas, I don't know who Cleopas was, the wife of Cleopas. But to go with what brother Bin said, Paul says these things weren't done. We're not inspired to say these things weren't done in a reformer. Yeah. Yes, we do. We do gloss over those things a lot. One of the questions you brought up the 500 in 1st Corinthians 15 is, where were the other 380? Where were they on this day? Did they, what happened to them? Yeah, no one knows. It's mentioned there in 1st Corinthians 15, but there were 120 here on this day and then on the day in Pentecost. So, yeah.

Yes. Hey, Noah, you brought it up. You know, it says Mary, the mother of Jesus. Right. I believe this is probably the last time that Mary, the mother of Jesus, has ever mentioned the New Testament. You are absolutely right. You are absolutely right. It is the last time she's mentioned. Certainly she would have been there on the day of Pentecost, but her name does not show up in the Bible again after this. So, boy, they're still in your thunder tonight, Mr. Shavey. They're still what? They're still in your thunder tonight. Yes, they are. That's good. That's good. They're reading ahead and thinking. That's exactly what it needs to happen. But Mary, what happened to Mary is a fascinating, I don't know if it's fascinating, certainly not a fascinating study, but there's so many legends out there about what happened to Mary. The Catholic Church can spin legend after legend after legend about what happened to Mary, and they deify her, of course. So, you can read some of those legends and know they're absolutely false. Mary died, and just like everyone else who has lived and died, she's dead and buried and waiting for the return of Christ. Anyone ever hear anything, a really interesting legend about what happened to Mary? I mean, we know that Jesus Christ on the cross, He gave her to John. He said, you know, son, behold your mother, mother, behold your son. Again, we don't have any idea. We won't know until Jesus Christ returns. But I read one interesting thing of some of the things that I was reading and looking at what happened to Mary. Anyone ever hear anything that just kind of like was so different than anything you ever heard before?

Here's the one I read. Again, it kind of interested me because of what we know about Jeremiah and going with the king's daughters over to Ireland and everything. But one of the legends out there is that Joseph of Arimathea, some years down the road, took, do you remember who Joseph of Arimathea was? He's the one who went to Pilate and asked for Christ's body and put it in the tomb before the Days of Unleavened Bread began and that year he was crucified. Then he took Mary and that they went to England and that she and he both died in England and were there. And I read that and I don't know if it was a commentary or what I read that they had absolutely no explanation as to why you know why would they be in but that's one of the legends that are out there. And I thought it was interesting knowing we know about England and where the tribes of Israel are and knowing that Peter wrote to the lost tribes of Israel and everything that were abroad and knowing that Jeremiah traveled over there, took the king's daughters over there and then you have the throne that emanated from his transport that there's a legend out there that that's maybe where they were as well. I just thought that was fascinating. I don't know that. It's Mr. Shaby. Mr. Shaby, they're not even in the same time frame. Jeremiah and Mary are not in the same time. I know that. I know that. I'm not talking about that she went with Jeremiah. I didn't mean to say that. Joseph of Arimathea is what they said. Okay, I thought you said Jeremiah. No, no, no. In light of the fact that we know that Jeremiah went with the king's daughters, that he traveled over that area. Gotcha. That is that. I'm glad you clarified that. I didn't mean to mix centuries here of people. No, she wasn't. Mr. Shaby, not to cut off the point, but what mystifies me is that where was Joseph, you know, Mary's husband? Because we know the Jewish people always said, aren't you Joseph's son? But after that comment, we never heard a thing about Joseph. Even when he died that day, there was no mention of Joseph. And that always mystifies me. Where was Joseph all that time? I don't know. Well, we know he died. We know he died before. We don't really have a record at the end either. So, go ahead, Brother. Go ahead. Oh no, I was yeah, we keep talking over each other. Sorry about that. No, I was just gonna say, if you look up Glastonbury, England. Yeah, that's the point. Yeah, Glastonbury, it's a pretty common legend. And just like in Ireland, it's kind of known about Jeremiah. And it's interesting whenever you see these little legends that happen in these very specific localized places. You know, sometimes you wonder if there might be some truth there. But apparently in Glastonbury, it's kind of a well-known thing that Joseph over there, Matthew was there. And I've even heard legends that Christ himself visited.

And there was property bought, I think it's called the Doomsday Book or something like that of England, way back in the medieval times, where there was even a plot of land supposedly in the book, in the record from Joseph Faramathea. So it's a very interesting thing to think about. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Yes, sir.

In regards to Mary, when our Lord was on the stake and he committed her to John the Apostle, right? Right. We know of all the apostles, he lived the longest. He all lived Joseph at Amarthe. Right. Let me just say Joseph. I don't think he would have relinquished the responsibility to somebody else. Yep. Being commissioned personally. So I'm glad everybody's called it a legend.

No, no, no. They may have visited England. I don't know. Capaula, to know. All those places. We don't know. We don't know. But we don't know. Right. That's what I'm saying. It's just it's a legend and that's all it is. It's an interesting legend that it shows up in England. That's all. You know, the rest of the legends, one is good as another. We don't know. It won't know until later. So and the legends, the accounts that I read didn't indicate that it was like immediate, but it was years later. So, you know, whatever. But that's a thing. There's another legend that is speculation. Okay. Yeah. There's another legend that Joseph died early. After becoming one of Christ's disciples, during the Book of Acts, that he died early. He relinquishes riches and he died pretty early. Okay. Take it for what it's worth. It's just an interesting just an interesting thing. So, okay. Okay. Let's talk about Jesus's brothers. It's noted that his brothers are there, his physical brothers. Why is that? Why would that be mentioned there?

What went on there that they would they would mention Christ's brothers being there with among 120? Early it said he appeared to his brother. Yeah. But his brothers were not believers, right? They did not believe Jesus Christ, right? I think it's John 7. I think I wrote that one down. John 7-5. He had to do a personal appearance with his little brother to convince him.

Yeah. John 7-5 said even his brothers did not believe in him. So, what happened to the brothers is when they saw what happened to Jesus Christ, when they saw the resurrection, when they saw him, they became believers. How could you not, right? This is the Messiah, our brother who we grew up with.

You know, he was exactly who we were told he is, which is a good thing to know.

We talk about how many people have heard the truth over the course of history, but certainly, in America over the last several years, 80-90 years, that the gospel has been going out, and how many people have lost it, how many people have children who have grown up, who have left the truth. You do have to wonder as time goes on, and as we see prophecy fulfilled, and people look at and say, wow, exactly what the Bible said is the world is going to be like at the time before the return of Jesus Christ, we are headed in that direction, right? Everything is sizing up to be exactly the way Revelation talks about it being. How many of those people, too, will be able to come back and admit, wow, this was the truth? You know, maybe it provides a little bit of hope. You know, Jesus's brothers were there, so that's an encouraging thing. They believed when they saw what happened. Just out of a little bit of a side, anyone know what the minimum number of brothers and sisters Jesus Christ would have had? It kind of gives us that, and one place in the Bible. There's at least two sisters. At least two sisters, right? Because it mentions his sisters, so we know there's at least two. Yeah, four brothers. Yep, and four brothers. Matthew 13. Matthew 13 mentions four brothers, his four brothers, and two sisters. So we know he had at least six siblings. May have been more than that, but those are the the six that we know for sure of. So, okay, let's continue on here, then. So then in Acts 1 and verse 15, it says, In those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. Altogether, the names was about 120, and he said, Men and brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

Let's pause there for a moment. So, because we begin to see, you know, before the day of Pentecost, they're together. They're together. They're waiting for the Holy Spirit to come, just as Jesus Christ had said. But we see Peter stand up in those days. It wasn't the next day afterwards, but in those days that they were waiting, Peter stood up. And we could go back to, you know, Matthew 16 verse 18 when Jesus Christ says, you know, upon this rock, talking about himself being the chief rock, but you, Peter, the little rock, C-E-P-A-H, see if you'll be the little rock. Here's Peter that, you know, stands up, and he has an idea, if you will, of what they need to do.

But it's interesting the way he does it. It's not Peter's idea. Remember, they've been praying all this time. They've been looking for God's guidance. They've been waiting for the Holy Spirit. They've been doing exactly what Jesus Christ said. And then Peter stands up, and he has something that they need to do at that time. He bases it all on Scripture, though. And the Scripture that he bases it on is one that they all would have been, or two or three, that they all would have been familiar on with, but they couldn't possibly have known what that Scripture meant until God revealed it to them. In the aftermath of Christ's arrest and Judas's, you know, Judas's betrayal of him. So Peter stands up. It was Peter, if you remember, that when Christ asked them, well, who do you say that I am? And Peter said, you're the Son of God. And Christ said, you know, blessed are you, Simon, for God has revealed this to you, not man. So God did reveal to Peter something here that's going to provide them some direction, the one thing that they need to do before the day of Pentecost would come, as it mentions in chapter two. So Peter stood up and he talks about Judas. Men and brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke by the mouth of David concerning Judas. Well, we know David wrote many of the Psalms, and so it's going, it's the Psalms that he is referring to, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

So let's go back to Psalm 41. Steve, let's, yeah, let's look at Psalm 41. That's in the margins there. There's another one. As you turn to Psalm 41, there's one in Psalm 65 as well. Psalm 61 or Psalm 41. 7 to 9. Verse 9. 7.

Ah, yes. Oh yeah, okay, no, you know what? 65 is the different one I'm going to get to later. This is exactly where we need to be. Okay, verse 7 of Psalm 41. And you can, as you read these, you can see it fulfilled in the time of Jesus Christ and in His betrayal. All who hate me whisper together against me. Against me they devise my hurt. An evil disease, they say, clings to Him, and now that He lies down, He will rise up no more. In verse 9, it says, Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. Now, that Psalm was there hundreds of years before Jesus Christ's arrest, betrayal, death, etc. The apostles and the Jews who knew the Old Testament inside and out, they read that verse. Not one of them knew what that meant.

But God revealed to Peter that verse. That verse is talking about Judas. And as they looked, as they brought to memory, remember the God brings to our remembrance the things that are said.

You know, they remembered this verse, and He knew. This is God talking, this is talking about Jesus.

This one who ate my bread, He lifted up His heel against me. So, as He's talking, He's explaining to the people that are gathered there, 120. You know, this is what the Scripture says.

This is what Peter says. This is what I'm understanding from the Bible. Look at Psalm 41, verse 9. Let's read. Let's talk about that. All of them, and everyone, you know, led by the Holy Spirit, would get that understanding. It's just like when we read verses, we think, oh, we understand that. We see what it is. We see what that means. They would have done that. So, Peter had their attention as he begins talking, and the way he does it is with Scripture, always looking for God's guidance in His church, always looking for, you know, God to direct the paths. And as I say many times, you've heard me say, anything that we encounter in life, the answer is in the Bible. We just have to, we just have to search the Scriptures and ask God to show us what is His will. The way is there. And here it is as they go through this one exercise that they need to go through before the day of the Pentecost, so they receive the Holy Spirit, God is letting them see, after their prayer and supplication, this is the way. Here's Judas. He was numbered in verse 17 with us, and he obtained a part in this ministry. Jesus Christ, you know, chose 12 apostles. 12 apostles were there walking with them. Judas was part of it. 12 was the number that they had, and then he recounts in verse 18 a little bit of the history of Judas. You know, we all know it. He says, this man purchased the field with the wages of iniquity and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out. Well, we know the sad story of Judas. You know, he, you know, I look at him and he's just a really sad character. Sad is probably not the right word to use a sad character in history because he should have known what he was doing, but he's a testament to us and a reminder to us that we cannot have sin in our life that we don't overcome, that we would hang on to. Judas simply would not give up his love of money, and his love of money and his inability or his unwillingness to overcome that sin led to his death, and possibly his eternal death. You know, there's Jesus Christ said of Judas in his prayer in John 17, you know, as he's praying to God the Father, of all that you've given me, none is lost except the son of perdition. We can look at the word perdition a little bit and see where it else is used in the Bible, and you don't want to be, you won't want to be in the group that's labeled as a son of perdition when we see what perdition is. John, or not John, Judas, you know, Judas had this love of money. He simply did not, he simply did not, you know that as Jesus Christ worked with the disciples, and as they talked, and as they walked for three and a half years, he would have talked about money. He did talk about money. He talked about how you trust in God. You can't love God and money. You can't have two masters. You trust in God. It's nothing wrong with money. You use it for what it is. You enjoy the blessings that God has given you, but don't make it your priority in life.

Judas ignored all of those. It went right over his head. And Judas, when you think about what he did that night, you know, he went ahead and he sold Christ, if you will, for 30 pieces of silver.

He learned a terrible, terrible lesson, you know, that the money was absolutely not worth anything. When he saw what they were doing with Jesus Christ, you remember he came back and he threw the money at the Sanhedrin and said, you're condemning an innocent man. I don't want the money. But it was too late. He had already made the determination. And he had already looked Christ in the eyes, at the supper, that Passover supper, that last Passover, when Jesus Christ dipped that bread in and handed it to Judas. And he looked at him in the eye and Judas would look back at him and Christ said, what you do, do quickly. Now I would hope, I would hope that if I had allowed myself to be overcome or just that I, there's a sin that I wasn't overcoming and I was holding on to and just ignoring and denying that I had, that if I was looking Jesus Christ in the eye and I knew that he knew what I was about to do, that at that point I would break down and I would absolutely stay right there, break down, and confess to him what I was going to do and not do it.

Judas got up and he went and he betrayed Christ anyway. And that is, that is a dangerous thing that he willingly, willfully, and looking Christ in the eye, decided to leave that supper and betray his master. And so here in verse 18 we have the the awful, but you know, perhaps just aftermath of what his actions were. He was miserable. He didn't enjoy that money at all. His life was over at the time that he did that. The price of sin is enormous. The price of unrepentant sin is enormous. He went out, he hanged himself, and you know, as this verse indicates, someone either knocked him down after his hanging or he fell down, the rope got broken, and his body fell onto the ground, first open, and all of his insides came out. It's an awful, awful thing to have for a human to do. But that was Judas's legacy. He was one of the twelve, and we know that that had to happen to him. The scripture, you know, we just read verse chapter 41 verse 9. The prophecy was that that had to happen. Someone had to betray Jesus Christ. So it's a tremendous lesson to us. Don't let any sin be so important to you that you won't let it go. That you won't let it go. Always yield to God.

The aftermath and the consequences of sin are horrendous, and no matter what the short-term pleasure might be. But as Peter is talking here, yes, go ahead. You know, Judas is just like everybody else. He had a choice. When he looked Christ in your eye, he made the choice right then.

And the sad part is, you have the unforgivable sin. He rejected Christ to his face.

So, you know, that's one of the unforgivable sins in the Bible. Yeah. That's why I know there was a discussion this afternoon, and I think all of us, you know, in a way, we know God is merciful. But boy, when Jesus Christ called him the son of perdition, let's just look at a couple. 2 Peter 3 talks about perdition. And you're right. He looked Christ in the face and flat-out rejected him. At that point, he turned from him and went the other direction. You know, we have to look at what we're doing. He was there physically, face-to-face with him, but we can be guilty of the same things when we just simply go the other way and ignore the commands of God and ignore what God wants and just make our decisions and decide what we're going to do is best for us, and that's the way it's going to be. 2 Peter 3 verse 7 says, The heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire, until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Well, ungodly men. We have the word perdition. Perdition, I didn't write down, but it's kind of a final judgment. They're going to they're going to a place none of us want to be. It's also mentioned in Revelation 17.

Speaking of the beast power, Revelation 17. Yes, Mr. Shaby, you know we were talking about how how awful that was, but he had to do it. If he didn't do it, I mean if he would have changed his mind, then what would have happened? I know. That's the thing, right? That's when we look at Judas and say, well, he had to do it. He had to do it. So, you know, he had to do it. Yeah, I agree with you. We have we have those thoughts. You know, God knows exactly what was in his his heart. You know, I hear what you're saying. I hear what you're saying. Also, Mr. Shaby, it says the devil haven't entered into him. So I always wonder, did he make this decision all on his own, or did the devil just overtook him and possessed him? You know, those thoughts just come to mind, because if, as you know, as Fred said, if he didn't do it, then our sieve it would not have been betrayed. But I always wonder, was he coerced, like, even the garden where he actually liked her? So they said the devil haven't entered into this chariot. So. But how did the devil enter into Judas? Judas kept going down that road, right? He kept going up this temptation. And finally, just like Eve, who listened and listened and listened and finally made the choice to eat, Judas did the same thing. He kept, James 1 talks about how there's a temptation, then it develops into a desire, and pretty soon it develops into sin. So. It's like someone says, don't walk in the way of the ungodly, which is the devil. So when you keep walking that way, it's going to manifest in that way. No, I think all of us have had that thought, those thoughts about Judas. And, you know, what I say is God is the judge. He is his determination. He knows the hearts of everyone.

And, you know, he's merciful, but we also see what Judas did. We also see what Judas did. So, but God is his judge, whatever God does with him. Yeah, James, I think you're going to make a comment.

Oh, yeah. Well, we were just talking here about this, and my wife pointed out, you know, he was, when you think about the world Judas was in, everyone in the power establishment was looking for Christ. They wanted him. And when you think about Judas, when he started to change the perspective, because it's easy to kind of castigate him as a guy that we would, we're nothing like, that we would never be anything like. But when you start to think about the pressures he was under, he probably felt like he was going to be a hero for doing this, for turning him in. You know, if you listen to the power elements out there, the religious authorities of the time, they were all talking about what a bad guy this was. We got to get rid of him because he's going to destroy everything. You know, they were worried about their power. They were worried Rome was going to come back in and invade. You know, it's not a far stretch to see where Judas might have had loyalties to his country, loyalties to the religious establishment, whatever the case might be that kept talking to him, kept talking to him. And he let that, his political leanings, whatever it might be, overcome his loyalty to Christ. Rather than just being someone that was just fully betraying, I'm sure he worked it out of his mind that he was probably doing the right thing. No wonder we think about the environment he was in, and that just shows us how important it is to stay focused. I don't know if you know that he was doing the right thing, but remember he was deceived too. He thought all they were going to do was maybe just chastise Jesus a little bit. He had no idea that they were going to, that their mission was kill him. And you know, we gotta, we gotta watch out too, but we might find ourselves being pulled into the world a little bit. It might sound really good, really innocent, not a problem, but boy will we get involved in it. It's the end.

Mr. Shabir, I've heard people said he turned him in because of the miracles that he saw our Savior performed. So he believed, even if they had done something to him, he was able to get himself out of it. So some people say that as well. Mr. Shabir. Yes. A comment I'd like to make.

All right. It was just said that maybe the Pharisees and the leaders were afraid of him taking power, yet at the same time we know that the populace realized that he was not going to take power.

All right. They were waiting for him to take power. They wanted him to take power. That was an expectation of the apostles at the time. That was a holdover from many years going as far back as the Hasmoneans, that there would be someone coming to take power and to re-establish the kingdom of Israel. All right. So the apostles and those people expected the Messiah to come and do that, but they saw that in the end of it all that he was not going to. That was not his intended mission at that point in time. And maybe they turned it against him. They expected him to come and take it, and when he didn't, they thought he's not the guy we were waiting for. The man, the Messiah, we were waiting for. I don't know. But you're right. They all expected that he was going to be the king. So they were looking that way. Yes. Another way of looking at it, I'll go back to the kind of the avenue that you went down. Okay. The devil did approach him, and yeah, he hooked him. But here again, whose god was he worshiping? You know, we have the same problem today. You either go after celebrities, money, possessions, or whatever. Judas worshiped the money. When you have the wrong god, it's easy for the devil to start working on someone, and it's easy to make everything look like a goldmine on the other side. So basically, when he didn't have the right god in his heart, when he went down this road. Agreed. He was violating the first commandment. He had put god first at all. So he put money first. Okay. Okay, well let's say, there's a couple verses in Revelation. We won't take the time. We won't take the time to go, but you'll, you can go back to Revelation 17, 8, and 11. You'll see perdition mentioned there, too, where the beast power, and we know the beast power, or the beast is actually thrown into the lake of fire. So whenever you see perdition in the Bible and someone associated with it, it doesn't, it doesn't, you know, it does, it does mean something. So let's go back to Acts, though, and continue, continue in here. So we have, we have Peter. He's now, you know, he's telling the disciples, look, look what Judas did. This is what the scripture said back in Psalm 41. He's the one who betrayed our master. He's the one who sold him down the river. And in verse 19, you know, as he's recounting the history of Judas, he says, it became to known to all of those dwelling in Jerusalem. So that field is called in their own language. I don't think we can minimize, you know, there was no CNN, there was no MSNBC back in those days, but boy, I'll tell you, Jerusalem had to be on fire with the news that was going on during that time. The arrest of Jesus Christ, the crucifixion, the scourging, Judas, what happened to him, the resurrection. I mean, you didn't need, you didn't need TV or cable TV during that time. Everyone, everyone in that city knew something was going on, and they knew the stories that was going on. That's why when the men of Emmaus, when we read last week, asked Christ, where have you been? You don't know what's going on? And Christ said, well, what are you talking about? So anyway, the city was alive with all the stories of what was going on and all the facts that were there. And he says in verse 20, for it is written in the book of Psalms, let his dwelling place be desolate and let no one live in it, and let another take his office. So as Peter is making the case, again, he's taking it from the scriptures.

Now he, you know, again, they would have looked in Psalm 109, Psalm 109, verse 8. They would have known that Psalm better than you, the better than you and I do. Many of them could have just recited it for you. But not one of them understood or would have applied that verse until the time, my contention is, until God opens Peter's mind to say, this is what I want you to do. Judas was one of the twelve. He's gone. He betrayed the master. And in verse Psalm 109, verse 8, to begin at verse 6 and get the context here. So, set a wicked man, and you can kind of see, and if your Bible has these little stars, or if it's talking about Jesus Christ next to the verse, you can see where those are in Psalm 109. But in verse 6, it says, set a wicked man over him. Let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin.

Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let another take his office.

Well, you know, Peter, as God was leading him, said, Judas, we've got a vacancy. Christ appointed twelve apostles. His will was twelve apostles. Judas is gone. The Bible says, let us appoint, let another take his office. Again, before this, there isn't one person there, or without God's inspiration, would anyone have come up with that verse and said, let's do what they do next. And that is, choose someone to take Judas's office. And this is the one thing that God records for us, that he had them do between the time Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and when the day of Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit came to them. And it's notable the process they took.

They were with one accord. They were waiting for God. They were praying to God. They were waiting for his direction. And it came through Peter, through the Scriptures that were there, and they knew what to do. So he says in verse 21, Therefore of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. Well, you can see what their qualifications are. This is someone who has had to walk with us from the beginning. He couldn't have come a year and a half ago and started walking with us. He had to be there in the beginning with John, go all the way through the three and a half years with Jesus Christ. He had to be there to witness the crucifixion. He had to be there to witness the resurrection. He needs to be a witness. And it's interesting that even though he's going to fill the office of an apostle, you know, the one who's chosen, ultimately, we see in verse 26, we never really hear of him again. He wasn't appointed, you know, pastor of any churches. He wasn't appointed to do anything else. His whole responsibility was, as Peter said it, he needs to be a witness with us and he has to be with us from the beginning.

And so, in fact, in chapter 2, verse 32, as Peter's giving his sermon to the thousands that are gathered there in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, he says in chapter 2, verse 32, this Jesus God is raised up, of which we are all witnesses. So they wanted the 12 that were there, all of them were witnesses. Yes, he lived. Yes, this is what he said. Yes, he died. Yes, he was resurrected. Yes, we saw him. Yes, we know it's him. The whole nine yards, they could vouch for everything so that the truth was validated among the 12 of them. No difference as they were all led by the Holy Spirit and speaking the same thing.

So Peter lays out the qualifications, if you will, for this apostle that's going to take the office of Judas, and they propose to, it says. Let me pause. Where do you think they might... where would those two come from? There were 120 that were gathered there together in that room at that time. We talked about some of them who were there, you know, the 11 remaining apostles were there, Jesus's brothers were there, women were there, Mary was there. Who else might have been there of that time? Some that we have talked about, you know, not too long ago in a Sabbath service where Jesus Christ sent them out and gave them his power to preach the gospel to the cities that he sent them to.

Well, yeah, he sent 70 out.

Yeah, he sent 70 out. So back in Luke 10, you know, he sent 70 out of Mark. Matthew said he sent 12 out, and in Luke he sent 70 out. So Christ, Christ, you know, God the Father, through Christ, chose those 70. So perhaps, just perhaps, you know, they were looking at those 70 that Christ sent out because he probably had the same criteria. They were with him from the beginning, they had followed him, they were, and he knew that. Now that's speculation. The Bible doesn't say how they came up, but they proposed to. Joseph called Bar-Sabbas, who was who was surnamed, who was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed. You know, whenever we have a choice in God's church, remember we have a choice in God's church, we should always pray about it. We should always look to him and ask him, what is your will, as they do here. They prayed and they said, you, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two you have chosen. And it tells us, you know, that they were totally, totally looking to God as we should always look to God. You know, as men, you know, you can, people can fool me all the time. They can fool you all the time. We've all been victims of people who have misled us and looked one way, and then they turned out to be another way. And I'm not just talking about in the church, I'm talking about in the world. People can present themselves one way. God knows the hearts. And so what the apostles are saying is genuinely, who genuinely, you let us know, you know the hearts. There are, you know, verses in the Old Testament that talk about God searching the heart. Anyone throw out a couple verses to us that we can look at? Again, the apostles, they know the scripture as well, and they are looking to God who searches the heart. And those what we're about, what our intentions are, what our motives are, etc. Anyone got a verse we can throw out and look at here about that? I'll throw one out to start while you're thinking. Jeremiah 17. Jeremiah 17.

Verse 10 comes right on the heels of verse 9. A verse that we're all familiar with. Verse 9 is, well, read, that the heart is deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. Who can know it? Verse 10 says, I, I the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. God searches our hearts and knows what we're about. What are our motives? What are we thinking? What are we truly about? Are we just words? Are we really to the heart, following him, yielding to him, and seeking his will in our lives? I have a couple verses. Okay. Psalm 139 verse 23. Okay. Yeah, and then we have Romans 8, 27. Okay, that's in the New Testament. Very good. Yeah, and then we have Chronicles, 1 Chronicles 28. Okay, let's go back to 1 Chronicles. Okay. Let's play the New Testament.

That's what they were, as the apostles were talking that day. They would have, you know, as they all heard Peter say, and they prayed to God, you search the heart. You show us, you show us which of these men you want to be leading or to fill this office. In 1 Chronicles 28, you will probably be in, what, verse 9, Candace? 9, yeah. Okay. Here's David talking to Solomon. Says, as for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your Father, and serve him with a loyal heart, and with a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. Seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Yes. So, you know, so there's that. Candace mentioned, go ahead.

Do you need another one? Yeah, go ahead.

Revelation 2, verse 23. Okay. Let's go to Romans 8, 27. You mentioned that one. Yeah, I'm gonna show you. We see this theme, we see this theme, and he mentioned Psalm 139, verse 23. That's where David says, search my heart and see if there's any evil within me. David wanted to have a pure, clean heart before God, and he's asking him, search it and reveal to me if there's any hidden motives in me that I need to repent of and eliminate from my life. Okay. The New Testament follows with the same themes of the Old Testament. It is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Everything we find in the New Testament is there in the Old Testament as well, except that we have Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit in the Old Test in the New Testament, and now we live not just by the physical law, but spiritual as the will. So in Romans 8, verse 27, it's no surprise that we would see Paul mentioning the same thing. He says, likewise, in verse 27, verse 27, now he who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So God knows, you know, God knows our heart. You also mentioned Revelation 2 and verse 23. Yeah, let's look at that. And then, and if you have a few more, people can look, write those down, and we can, we can look at those later. Revelation 2. 23.

Revelation 2.23. This is the church of Thyatira. I will kill her children with death.

Okay, these are the ones who are apart from God. Speaking of this church, I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to your works. So God knows, you know, God knows what we're, we're about. And Mr. Shaby, when I read Revelation 2.23, it brings me back to the same issue we had with Judas. He searches the heart, and he recompenses according to our work. So if you could take solace that, he's giving me reward.

Well, give us, give us the reward. Well, he'll, he'll pay us for what we've done.

Right. So what he's, what he's, what he's, what he's doing.

Our thoughts and the whole nine yards, our whole being, not just our words. So, okay, so when the apostles were doing that, again, look at the way the church operated, we're going to see this even as we move into chapters 2345, how the New Testament church is, and what, you know, what, what they, what they did. You know, one of the things that I say, overlooked that I went over this morning, we got a little bit of time, we want to take a little bit, but, you know, we talk about disciples, we have disciples here that are mentioned several times in the book of Acts, we have apostles, we have disciples, you and I should look at ourselves as disciples. We are studying the word of God, and we should be disciples of Jesus Christ.

I wonder if we stop every, and remember what it means to be a disciple. You know, there's students, and when we're in school, we know what it is to be a student. We have a teacher, the teacher teaches us concepts, and we have to respond back on our tests what those concepts are. And, and we move on to the next grade, or the next class, if it's in college, or whatever, but every once in a while, we may come across a teacher, or a boss that we have, and we really, we really find ourselves, you know, that this, this person really has their act together, if I can put it that way.

I would like to be like him. I would like to handle things the way he is. Maybe it's someone that you've worked at. I would like to be like him. You know, back when all of us were in school, we used to read biographies of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, and there were character traits that you, you know, that you were taught that we should emulate in our lives. They don't teach that in school anymore. But people that you would strive to be like, and it's not just a matter of what they say and what they taught, but it was their full character that you were looking at.

What is it, what are they like? I want to be like them because they seem, you know, they, they are, they are the way we should be. Well, there is no one more than Jesus Christ who is our teacher who we should want to be like. And there are verses in the Bible that tell us what we should be keeping in mind as we're disciples, because he says what disciples do.

And in some verses he says, if you don't do this, you're not my disciple. Anyone think of any scriptures offhand that we could turn to and look at a couple of verses just here as we're talking about disciples, because we're going to see some of these things that Christ says here about disciples specifically as we move into Acts 2, 3, 4, 5, as we see that New Testament church begin.

Anyone have one they can throw out? John, what is the scripture you're looking for? Okay, I'm looking for something that says what it is, what it means to be a disciple. I've got some written down here. Let's go to Luke 6 and verse 40. I have one. Okay, let's look at that and then we'll hear what you had.

It's probably one of them that I've got written down here too. So Luke 6 verse 40, a disciple, that's you and me, right? Not a student. A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. So that means as we follow Jesus Christ, as we observe all things that he commanded, that we learn those things and we teach those things to those who he calls. We also need to look at the person Jesus Christ because we need to be like him.

And he taught us more than just with words. He taught us things, for instance, when he was willing to sit down with tax collectors and harlots and those people that the Jews would look at and said, what are you sitting down with sinners for?

There was no partiality in him. To him, he loved all mankind. God created all mankind and there was no this and that. He was there to be the Savior of all mankind. And so he was that way. He was well-liked. He was sociable with everyone. Remember the story of Zacchaeus? You know Zacchaeus come down. I'll sit with you tonight. He knew what Zacchaeus needed in order to turn to God.

So he became what other people needed to be so that they could turn to God. There's many things. If we study Jesus Christ, how he was with people, how he handled the situations, how he responded to the criticism that he had, how he responded even to the accusations that they were throwing at him when he was before Pilate, we begin to see, oh, this is what we need to be like.

When we hear his words, you know, I don't do anything. I don't do anything that the Father, everything I do is the Father gives me. Every word I speak comes from the Father. Total submission and total surrender to God.

And, you know, those are things that we can't develop all at once but study him. You know, that's what Luke 6 verse 40 says. Matthew 10 verses 24 and 25, I think, says about the same thing. A few little different words than that. Candace, do you have another one there? Yes, you remember I told you I love the book of John.

So John 13 verse 35. Very good. That's a good one. We all know that. We don't even have to turn there, right? By this will all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

And Mr. Shelby, you know what comes to my mind? When I look at that verse and I also correlate that to Acts that says we were of one accord and I look at us as one body now and I am saying we are so far from that. We don't love it. We don't love each other as he told us to love each other. Well, we've got a ways to go on that, right? I think I agree with you. We all like each other. We all love each other in our own ways. We all see each other as family. But what God is looking for, you know, is for us to be one.

And we've got, you know, we've got, but he will lead us in that, especially as we pray and ask him to mold us into who he wants us to be individually, certainly, but also as a group because he's working with his church and he has said what he wants his church to do. Let's look at Matthew 12 and verse 40. Verse 49 and 50. This is where he's talking about his mother and brothers, physical brothers, have come to him.

And someone says, they're waiting for you. And in verse 49, Christ stretches out his hands and he says, well, at first 48, he says, who is my mother and my brothers? Here are my brother and my brothers. You know, you can just see him looking at the people, his disciples that are gathered around him. Says, for whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

Whoever does the will of God in heaven, our job is to do the will of do God's will in every single aspect of our lives, to learn it, to repent of the ways we haven't been doing that, to adopt it and put it into our lives that they can become part of our very being. That's what he wants us, that's what his will is for us to do.

How about one more? So, looking at the time, let's look at Luke 14. And you can go through this, you know, type in disciple or what does it mean to be a disciple? You'll find several verses. You probably have some there. I'll give you a few more here as we head out. But let's look at Luke 14 because in Luke 14, he tells us some things that if we don't do, we can't be his disciples. In Luke 14 and verse 26, he says again, familiar words that we all have heard, we all look at.

But sometimes we have to stop and we have to kind of put ourselves into the context of what God, what Christ is saying here. If anyone comes to me and does not hate, and you know, word hate does not mean I despise my relatives, I don't want anything to do with them, I'm never going to talk to them. No, that is not absolutely not what Jesus Christ is talking about. He's talking about putting God first and loving him above everyone else. If anyone comes to me and does not love less his mother and father, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

He cannot be my disciple. He pretty much lays it out there. You know, when it comes to choice between what do what does my children want me to do versus what God says to do, I'm sorry, I've got to do what God says to do. That's who my priority is. If it comes between wife who says, let's do this and you know it's wrong, you think, no, I'm going to do what God said first. I love you, but I'm choosing and I will obey God first. He says even our own very, our very own lives. If God says, you know, lay down your life, probably everyone online right now would say, yes, we would do that.

You know, there may come a time when we will see, you know, if that's the case. But those are things that we need to develop over the time. Always putting God first and doing what his will is first, and that can be a very difficult thing. And many, you know, as you go through life, we say, well, I had to do this.

My family wanted me here. This is what I needed to do. You got to get to the point. If we are Jesus's, if we are Christ's disciples, we do what he says. First in verse 33, he says, so likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. Now, remember, remember in Matthew 18, where the young rich man came to Jesus Christ, and he said, what do I need to do to the Spirit eternal life?

Christ said, keep the commandments. The young man said, I've been doing those all of my life. And he said, one more thing, take what you have, sell it, and give it to the poor. And the very young man was wealthy, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. Verse 33 is not telling us that we need to do that, right?

God has given us, God has given us wealth. He's given us resources. He's given us things. He intends to enjoy, he intends us to enjoy those and, and everything. But how much do we love those? Would we be willing to give them all up, if God said? The young rich man, when it's put to him, was not. I can't separate from that. Would we be willing to? And that's part of what we can pray to God about and ask Him to give us that heart, to search our hearts.

Where are we with this? Not that anyone is saying, let's do it. Now, some of these things that we just talked about, we're going to see in that church, the New Testament church, did begin doing some of those things and giving up everything and everything. So we can be asking God, you know, what, where is my heart? What would I do? Help me to develop that heart that would be willing to follow you wherever you say to follow or do whatever you say and give up whatever I need to give up.

So it's a good prayer and God will bring us along that way and help us to understand, to understand what, what that means.

Let me give you a few more here. I've got John 8 31, John 15 8.

And that's about all I wrote down, but that's enough for now. I just wanted to kind of remind us, we're disciples. These 120 that were there in Acts 1 were disciples. They weren't just students being a disciple of God and Jesus Christ. It means much more than just knowing what He said. It's giving our lives to Him and yielding to Him.

Okay, let's go back to, let's go back to Acts 1.

Okay, so where were we? We were, okay. Oh, okay. Yes, we're in verse 24.

They had, they proposed to Joseph and Matthias. They prayed and asked God and said, you make the choice. You know the hearts of these men. Which one do you choose?

Which one do you choose to take the office that Judas himself, by his own choice, had vacated? Verse 25, show which of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell. Notice it was, you know, the same with us.

Judas is the one who made the choices that took him out of that office. The same thing with you and me. Jesus, Jesus Christ will never, He won't give up on us until we make the choice, and He knows that we've made the choice. We're not doing it. We're not doing it. We reject what you have to say, and we'll choose our own way. Choose which one to take part in this ministry, which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

That's it. That too is an interesting way that the Bible has, that He might go to His own place.

And I, you know, I look that up, and you can see what some of the Jewish writers say about that, and they talk about, you know, the, did I keep that? Let me see if I, hold on just a minute. Yeah, this might be it. Yeah, okay. This, this is, this is what the Barnes commentary talks about, when those words to His own place. They add a lot more into it, that, you know, but says the expression to go to His own place is one which is used by the ancient writers to denote going to an eternal destiny. And so he's got, you know, some words in that last sentence of what he wrote there, you know, that we would disagree with when he talks about abode and everything. But at the time of Judas's place, the determination on his life had been made. You know, when we die, those of us who God have called, who have repented, and who are following Him, the determination of our lives is made. Those who die in Christ will be resurrected first. When we die, God knows our hearts, He knows how we've lived our life, He's not going to be fooled. Those who die in Christ will be resurrected first. And those who have rejected Him will be resurrected to the resurrection of condemnation, as Christ says in John 5, 25, and 28. So His own place is indicating, you know, the decision has been made on Judas. He has gone to his own place, and we talked about that a little. We don't need to do, don't do, recite that anymore. But looking at what Peter has said here, he's talked about Judas, might indicate what, you know, what that own place is.

Someone this afternoon mentioned that they had heard that place could mean, like, kind of our place in, our place in eternity. You know, I guess it's the same thing. We, you know, I, there's a book of life, those who are written in the book of life will have life. Those, you know, the book of life is open now for those in the first proof that God is calling. The book of life is opened again in the second resurrection for those who will accept Christ. The book of life we have to be written in, that means we have to yield to God and follow Him to be written in the book of life, not in the book of life. The only other option is eternal death. So anyway, that's verse 25 and then verse 26. They cast their lots and you remember what lots were. Basically, you know, we kind of do a version of it today. They would have the general preponderance, if anyone has another idea what it is, but they would, on papyrus or whatever, indicate who theirs is. They would pull the lot out and whoever the lot fell to, that would be what, you know, that would be the chosen one. The Old Testament talks a lot about lots. You know, Numbers 26 talks about lots. You'll remember with Achan who we talked about in church not too long ago, you know, how they determined the house that had sinned and taken of the articles from Jericho that were forbidden, came down to it. Achan eventually, you know, had to confess to his sin. And well, one verse on lots, Proverbs 16. Proverbs 16. And what they were doing when they cast these lots was totally trusting in God. No, they didn't take the lots back out and count them like we might do today. We might throw a bunch of votes into a hat and whatever, and then take them out and say, well, whoever the majority is, they would pull one out and they had ultimate trust in God that whoever, whatever that lot said, that was God's will. That is ultimate trust in God. But that was, that was preceded with, that was preceded with with heartfelt prayer. Proverbs 16. No, I'm in Psalms. Proverbs 16 and verse 33.

The lot, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Eternal. It's every decision is from the Eternal. So they, they absolutely believed, and I believe God, you know, answered their prayers and their complete commitment to Him when they would cast these lots. So they cast their lots in Acts 1, 26, and the lot fell on Matthias. You know, we don't read anything else about Matthias in the New Testament. He was there and his job was to be a witness. And he, you know, he wasn't appointed. He, I'm sure he had things that we didn't do, but, that he was appointed to do, but his main thing was be a witness and to be that 12th person. And so Matthias was it, and he was numbered with the 11 apostles.

Now that's the end. That's the end of the apostles, except for one more apostle. Only one more apostle doesn't name in the Bible. Anyone know who that is? Got 12 apostles here. One more.

Jesus Christ is who? Jesus Christ. No. Paul. Paul, yes. Paul.

The last apostle. Yeah. So those are the only apostles. Apostles, it means he who is, he that is sent. Now we can kind of see that with what the apostles did. The other one that it gives us is he's an ambassador of the gospel. So with that, the stage is set for the day of Pentecost. The church or the 120 who are gathered there fulfilled their commission, if you will, before the day of Pentecost. They followed God's will. They were appointed the 12th apostle.

And when we come back, when we come back in two weeks, we'll, fittingly, we'll be right before the day of atonement, the day of Pentecost. And so we will begin Acts 2 in that timely matter on May 12 when we're back together again. So. Mr. Shave, you're referring to just the book of Acts because Christ is called our apostle in Hebrews 3 verse 1. I don't know if that's, if you're just referring to just in the book of Acts the apostles that are named because it says, for takers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession Christ Jesus. Okay, very good, very good. Okay. Apostle and high priest. Okay. I only had just one more thought also. I thought it was interesting about the lot being cast. And the word for lot is also used set, I guess, seven chapters later in Hebrews 8 when Peter was rebuking Simon Magus, and he tells him, you have no partnership nor lot in this matter showing that, you know, the lot, he has no apostle ship because the lot fell to Matthias and all that. And it's just further proof of how Simon Magus wanted to be on par with the apostles. And part of his rebuke from Peter was the fact that, no, you have no lot, and it's the exact same word used there in chapter one. Very good, very good.

Brother Shaby, there's, in Ezekiel, our Lord tells us that he has no pleasure in the death of someone who died there since. And he kind of says the same thing in Matthew 26, where he's talking about the person who would betray him. He said it would have been better if Judas was not born. So that even though Judas had, was going to do what he was going to do, God had no pleasure in that Judas would have to go to his place. Yes, I'm glad you brought that up. Remember what God's will is, that everyone would come to repent and say everyone would receive eternal life. So that's what he wants. It's us. It's us who make the decision not to follow him. So that's a good point. God loves all mankind, and he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, as Xavier said. So but it is part of his plan and part of his what we need to do. We believe that Jesus Christ is Messiah. We have to follow him. We have to do the things that he said, or we're fooling ourselves, and our actions be like what our words say.

Okay, anything else anyone? Any other discussion on anything?

Okay, well let me thank good to see all of you here tonight. It'll be in two weeks. We'll be together again when the next time we're together. It'll be a new link for the Bible study. I've expired the link that we've been using for the last several weeks. So on that Tuesday, May 11th, you'll get a new link. Throw away this link. It won't work again. So we have a new link on May 11th for the Bible studies at one and seven on that Wednesday. So I'll see some of you in Orlando this week. Remember Orlando 1130, Jacksonville one o'clock. And I guess that's it?

Okay, good night everyone. Good night. All right, thanks Rick. Appreciate it.