Let Another Take His Office

At first glance, our text for this message seems like a simple housekeeping matter—the kind of thing that happens at church business meetings when the officers for a new ministry year are appointed. In fact, the whole thing sounds just like churches throughout history: decisions were made about vision, situations in the church body were addressed, as a result a guy who was part of the church wasn’t anymore, and the leadership looked at some candidates to replace him, called a meeting, and picked one.

The situation described happened just as the church was being birthed in Jerusalem. The very first church in history was launched on the back of deception and betrayal. After Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples (about 120 of them) waited in the city for the promise of the Holy Spirit. While they waited, they took care of the one housekeeping matter: finding an apostolic replacement for Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Jesus just a few weeks before. But this “church business” was about much more than replacing a leader. At the heart of what was happening we see an eagerness to obey Jesus, a strong sense of oneness among the believers, a deep devotion to prayer, an attentiveness to the Word of God, and a clarity about the mission Jesus had given them. The appointment of Matthias was a critical moment for the soon-to-be First Church of Jerusalem.

While we won’t be appointing any apostles anytime soon (or ever), those underlying heart attitudes speak to the way every local church should conduct itself. There is a lot for us to see in this seemingly innocuous episode as we look at Acts 1:12-26.

Sermon Notes

The Book of Acts | Chapters 1–7
Let Another Take His Office
Pastor Todd Dugard
Acts 1:12–26

September 15, 2019

When I am ready for the Holy Spirit to move...

…I am eager to obey (v. 12)

…I am in one accord with fellow believers (v. 13–14a)

…I am devoted to prayer (v. 14b, 24a)

…I am attentive to Scripture (v. 15–20)

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…I am clear on the mission (v. 21–23, 24b–26)

2 Timothy 2:2