How Do I Make the Right Decision in Life? | Acts 1:12–26 | Kevin Queen

Well, good morning Crosspoint. Let's stand as we get ready to worship together. My name is Anthony We're so glad that you would join us this morning I want to say hello to our friends watching from God Behind Bars and our friends watching online Listen, let's go expectant into the throne room today I don't know if you know this but the God and creator of the whole universe Desires to meet you today. So all we've got to do is surrender and say Jesus. I want you That's some pretty good news. So let me ask you all this. You getting ready to worship today? Come on, y'all get ready to worship today. So let's do it. Come on Oh Y'all sing we gather we gather here to meet with God Y'all put your hands together So praise the one Come on keep the hands going Everybody hands up Bloodbath same Doors and bless his name. We are his houses people this church belongs to Jesus Hey, man, come on Rock Oh Here and now we pray Oh And all power all the authority all wisdom Dominion forever To one Lord Ah So lift up your hands you Wide the doors and bless his name. We are his houses people

this church We This church belongs to Jesus Lift Him up y'all Each time, Jesus be the name ever on my lips. It's sweet of every time that I call on it. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name that makes me cry holy. There is no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. See, you have been the friend who never left. And I won't forget your faithfulness. Jesus be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter. It's sweeter every time that I call on it. There's just something about your name, Jesus. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name that makes me cry holy. Oh, there is no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. Sing this song, faith. Oh, there's just something about the name. Jesus, that makes me cry holy.

There's no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. No other name. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. Oh, we lay our life down in praise. Oh, there's power in your name. Oh. Oh, so we speak your name, Jesus. I speak your name, Jesus. All authority is yours. Come on, church. Jesus, your name is like a morning light. The one the darkness can't deny. The resurrection and the life. Jesus, Jesus. Your name can save. Your name can heal. Your name can make the storm be still. You never fail. You never will. Jesus, Jesus. The bread of life broken for us. The wounded and the worthy one. The first and last and still to come. Jesus, Jesus. The king of overwhelmed and brave. The Lord who will forever reign. The name above all other names.

Jesus. Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory. Oh, Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory. Jesus. Oh, Jesus. My Jesus. That gives all the glory. Come on, church. Oh, Jesus, be the name. You get all the glory. You get all the glory. Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory. Oh. Oh, there's power in your name. There is power in your name. Come on, every voice. ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh Yeah ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh uh uh uh ♪ Yes, Jesus be the name ♪ Sing, Jesus be the name ♪ Jesus be the name ♪ That gets all the glory Oh, we lift you high. ♪ Jesus be the name You are, you are.

♪ Jesus be the name ♪ Jesus be the name ♪ That gets all the glory Come on, if you lift your hands this morning, just speak Jesus. If you need healing, if you need freedom, if you're praying for salvation, it's in the name Jesus. Come on, lift it to him. ♪ There's freedom in your name ♪ There's freedom in your name ♪ There's freedom in your name ♪ Holy, holy ♪ Salvation in your name ♪ Salvation Through the power of God. Jesus be. ♪ Jesus be the name ♪ Jesus be the name We lift our voice. ♪ Jesus be the name ♪ That gets all the glory We praise you here and now, Lord. We praise you here and now. The name of Jesus of all, of all other names, receive the glory. ♪ You're the Lord of all creation ♪ And still you know my heart ♪ The author of all creation ♪ You're the Lord of all creation

♪ And still you know my heart ♪ The author of salvation ♪ You loved us from the start We're waiting. ♪ Waiting here for you ♪ Crying praise ♪ And it's you ♪ We adore ♪ Singing hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ You're everything we promised ♪ Your faithfulness is true ♪ We're desperate for your presence ♪ All we need is you ♪ All we need is you, Lord ♪ We're waiting here for you ♪ With our heads ♪ Lifted high ♪ In praise ♪ And it's you ♪ We adore ♪ Singing hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah Come on, we're waiting on something or someone that you've been trying to get this way. All we need is you, Lord. We're waiting through a miracle. Come on, we're gonna sing this and praise God as we wait that His name would be lifted high

in our waiting. Come on, we sing. We're waiting, we're waiting for you, Lord. ♪ And hallelujah ♪ ♪ Waiting here for you ♪ ♪ With our hands, lift your hands, lift it high ♪ ♪ In praise, we'll praise you and it's you ♪ ♪ We adore you, sing it, hallelujah ♪ We're waiting here for you, Lord. We will praise you while we wait. Come on, church. ♪ Waiting here for you ♪ ♪ With our hands, lift it high, lift it high, lift it high ♪ ♪ In praise, and it's you we adore, we adore ♪ ♪ Sing it, hallelujah, sing it, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Ooh, yeah, sing it, hallelujah ♪ We're waiting here for you, Lord. Oh, we're waiting, we're waiting, we're expecting. We are hoping in you, Jesus. ♪ Ooh, yeah, sing it, hallelujah, sing it, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Ooh, yeah, we're waiting here for you, Lord ♪ With our hands, come on, church. ♪ Lift it high, lift it high, lift it high, lift it high ♪ And it's you we adore. And it's you we adore. Sing it, hallelujah, sing it, hallelujah. Ooh, yeah. We're waiting here for you, Lord. We're waiting here for you, Lord. Jesus, we are here for you.

We will wait for you, for your spirit to move, for your spirit to lead us, for your spirit to guide us, for encounters with the living God today, with the living word. Your spirit is alive, and we declare you are here. Your spirit is moving. Lord, that you would heal hearts. God, that you would give wisdom. Lord, that you would pour out your love, that you would lavish hearts with your love. That we would hear from you, that every person would hear the word that you have for them today. So would you just ask him, just ask God, God, would you speak to me today? Speak to my heart. Say the things that you know I need to hear. So God, we come with expectations. Give us eyes of faith to see what we're gonna do. In Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen. You have a seat church. It is so good to be together and to worship together, get into the word, and the spirit, worship together, get into the word and the scriptures. We are going through the book of Acts. It's the fifth book in the New Testament. If you've got a Bible, we'll be in Acts chapter one. And man, if you were here last week, you know Pastor James preached an incredible message. And really the question that he left us with is,

will you trust Jesus? Are you gonna trust Jesus? It was the question the disciples grappled with was, would they trust Jesus? Trust Him with their hopes and trust Him with their dreams. and trust Him with their future, not just our eternity. It's one thing we trust Jesus with our eternity, but will you trust Jesus today? Will you trust Him with your relationships? Will you trust Him with your reputation? Will you trust Him with your plans? And so that's the invitation that starts at this place of trust. And we looked at where the disciples were, where they trusted Him enough to do the last thing that He asked them to do. And the last thing He asked them to do was maybe the hardest thing that Jesus asked us to do. He said, I want you to go back to Jerusalem and wait. Very good. Wait. Wait for the power that's to come from on high. I want you to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. What I've got for you is so big that you can't pull it off by yourself. So I want you to wait for the Spirit of God. Wait for the Spirit to be poured out. And that's where we left off last week. And so the disciples say they are waiting together, which I believe that waiting is the hard work of faith.

Waiting is the hardest part of faith. And some of you know what I'm talking about because that's where you're at right now. You're waiting. You're waiting for a job or you're waiting for an opportunity or waiting for a promotion or you're waiting for a song that's on hold or maybe you're waiting for your heart to heal or you're waiting for a relationship for that special someone. Or maybe you're waiting for a house to sell or waiting for a diagnosis to hear back from the doctors. Or maybe you're waiting for the depression to lift. Or you're waiting to conceive or maybe waiting for an adoption. Maybe you're waiting for a court date. Waiting is the hard work of faith. Lewis Smedes, an author, he writes it this way. He puts it this way. He said, waiting is our destiny. As creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for, we wait in the darkness for a flame we cannot light. We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write. We wait for a not yet that feels like not ever. Does that feel accurate? Anybody else got something that they're waiting on? But even as we're waiting in life and what really I think what we can learn from these disciples who are waiting

is that in their waiting, that in their waiting like God was looking for people and I believe God's still looking for people who will wait on Him. God's looking for people who would wait. And so these disciples, they're waiting. What they teach us is that waiting is not a passive waiting. It's an active waiting, a confident, disciplined, expectant, hope-filled, sometimes painful clinging to God. And when we're waiting on God, we still have to make decisions. When we're waiting on God, we still have to make decisions. And maybe the most important decision that we make is the daily decision to say, Jesus, I'm gonna trust you even though my circumstances don't look like what I want right now. And even though they may never look like what I want, Jesus, I'm gonna trust you because you are good and I'm betting everything on you. Betting everything to follow you. So Jesus, I'm trusting in you. And even as we are clinging and holding on to God, even as we're waiting, we still have to make decisions. And we make decisions every day. And one study said that we make 35, the average human makes 35,000 decisions every day. That's exhausting to just read that. I just need a nap after reading that. I'm like, I don't know if that's true.

You ever read statistics, stuff like that, research? You're like, I don't know if that's true unless you go to the Cheesecake Factory. And you open that menu and you just knocked out 35,000 before the bread even came. But we make decisions. And even though we make a lot of decisions every day, not all decisions have the same weight. Like there are some decisions that we have that are critical decisions, that are tough decisions, that are life changing decisions, like where to go to school or what to major or what job to take or what neighborhood to live in or where to move. Where a lot of these decisions with a relationship or a situation with one of the kids, a lot of these decisions feel like, do I go to the left or do I go to the right? Like a lot hangs in the balance with these decisions. I was thinking, you know what? Making decisions is, well, that's leadership. That you're leading yourself. Like the hardest person to lead is yourself. And so you're leading yourself and you're like, what do I do with these decisions? That's leadership, that's life. Your life is a sum of the decisions that you make. You look at your life right now and you look back and you see your life is a sum. It's all the decisions that we make added up.

So today we're gonna look at the scriptures and we're gonna see the first decision that the disciples make after Jesus ascends. It's the first decision they've made without Jesus there. I mean, when Jesus is there, it's easy to make a decision. Just ask Jesus. Hey, what do y'all want for breakfast? Just ask Jesus. Where are we going today? Just ask Jesus. What are we doing tomorrow? Just ask Jesus. As a Jesus follower, as one of the disciples, it's easy to make decisions. You just ask Jesus, well, here they are, and Jesus has ascended, and now they're together, and they have to make a decision. And I believe that in it, there's gonna be a pathway, there's gonna be some principles, there's gonna be some things that help you in the decisions you have to make in your life. And then at the same time, for those that maybe you aren't a follower of Jesus, my prayer for you today is that for you, that you see that this decision to follow Jesus is the greatest decision of your life. It's the decision that manages all the other decisions. Because when you put your trust in Jesus, you are reconciled with a holy God. His spirit comes to dwell inside of you,

and now God's spirit leads us in the decisions that we make. And so I'm gonna give you some principles that will be helpful, but making that first decision is the most important decision. And then for those of us that are followers of Jesus, my prayer is that God would give us wisdom and that he would give us some real practical ways to make decisions in our lives, because spiritual maturity is the ability to make wise, faith-filled, spirit-led decisions. And my prayer is that God, that he encourages our hearts, he gives us truth to help us in trusting and making decisions today. So let's pick up in Acts chapter one, we're gonna look at verse 12, is where we're gonna start out. So verse 12, Acts chapter one. It says, then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called Mount of Olives, Sabbath day walk from the city. A Sabbath day walk was about three quarters of a mile. If you're a golfer, it's like two par fours, one par five, and a par three. So just some of you golfers just had a spiritual moment. So that's about how far it was. And when they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, and Simon, the zealot,

and Judas, son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Let's stop right there. So just to recap, I want you to see, Jesus said, I want you to go to Jerusalem and wait. And so what did they do? They did the last thing Jesus called them to do. Last thing that Jesus asked them to do. Listen, if we want to discern the will of God, we have to be obedient with the last thing he asked us to do is they were current in their obedience. They didn't just go, oh man, that was a great sermon, Jesus. And then everybody scattered into their, they obeyed. They obeyed the last thing that he said. And so then they came together and they were, it says that they were in the upper room, not in upper room, but the upper room. This is the upper room where Jesus, where they had the last supper. This is the upper room where Jesus washed their feet. This is the upper room where Jesus told them about the Holy Spirit that would be poured out. This is the upper room where they saw the resurrected Christ. Jesus came in, they were in there and said, look at my hands, look at my side. This is sacred space. This is a room and a place where they've had encounters

with Jesus where they're back in this upper room and they're waiting. In the next verse, Luke tells us that in Acts that there are 120 men and women. Now this is necessary that we understand that it is important that there were men and women there. And it was uncommon in the first century for a rabbi to have male and female disciples. Now you're gonna see two words. You see apostles and you see disciples. The apostles or the 12, the word apostle means sent ones. They're the 12 that Jesus sent. So they're the OG disciples. They're the original 12. The rest of the followers of Jesus are disciples. The rest of the 120, they're disciples. That word talmudim means students. So a rabbi would have students. So there were male and female, men and women, disciples. Now the women were there, some of the other women, and then you've got Mary. He says, Mary. And now the reason this is important is because Joel gives us the prophecy that when God pours out His Spirit, He'll pour out His Spirit on all flesh, on sons and daughters. So what you're seeing is a setup is happening for Acts chapter two. But Acts chapter one, it tells us who's there.

Mary is there. Now just side note, this is the last time that we'll see Mary in the New Testament. She's there in the upper room. And the brothers are there, the brothers of Jesus. Now the reason this is interesting is because if you go through the Gospels, you remember his brothers didn't believe, his siblings didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah, which we can understand. Because can you imagine how many times they heard the words, hey, why can't you be more like? I mean, they're, okay. So it's like, they, I mean, you remember back in Mark, they resented, they resented Jesus. Can you imagine if one of your siblings claimed to be the Messiah? You're like, you don't know my, okay. But can you imagine, like that's where they're coming. So they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. And then here they are, here they are with their lives. as followers of Jesus, what changed? What made the difference for them to go from the one that they resented, the one that they were ashamed of, where now they are followers of and they're willing to risk their life to be associated with, what's the difference? What changed? The resurrection.

They saw the resurrected Christ. So they saw Jesus, they saw him crucified, placed in a tomb, they saw him raised from the dead. And so now they're like, well, I guess he was right. Like, I guess he's right. He was raised from the dead. And so now they're willing to risk their lives to follow Jesus. So they're all gathered there. They're gathered there in the upper room. And Luke mentions 11 apostles, 11 apostles. He leaves out one, which one doesn't get mentioned? Judas. Judas isn't there because Judas didn't wait. He didn't wait on the Lord. He went forward with his own plan, which ended up being fatal for him. But this all sets up the problem. It all sets up a decision that needs to be made. So we're gonna read about that over the next 11 verses. So let's just read together. Verse 15, in those days, Peter stood up among the believers, a group numbering about 120. And he said, brothers and sisters, the scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as a guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.

With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field and he fell headlong. His body burst open and all of his intestines spilled out. It's very graphic. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this and they called that field in their language, Akodama, which is the field of blood. For said Peter, it is written in the book of Psalms, may his place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in it. And may another take his place of leadership. Therefore, it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time then the Lord Jesus was living among us beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. So they nominated two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justice and Matthias. And then they prayed, Lord, you know everyone's heart, show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry which Judas left to go where he belongs. Then they cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the 11 apostles. So here's the deal, set the stage. It's time for a decision. A decision needs to be made. Now, I want you to see, I want you to see the atmosphere.

I want you to see the vibe. I want you to see the environment of what's going on. It says that they were united together in prayer. There was this unity that came together in prayer. That word that's used for prayer is talking about supplication. It's talking about they were together. They were all pouring out their heart in prayer. It wasn't just one person up there praying. They were all praying. They were all pouring out their desperation. God hears desperate prayers and there's something that happens. There's something that happens when a group of people are united and pouring out their heart to God. That just precedes a move of God. You can go back and look at revival history. Great moves of God throughout history have all started with a small group of people praying. A small group of people who are desperate for God to move. And so they're together. There's a sense of unity that they have there in the room. They're united together, which is just as important because we can't reach a divided world with a divided church. And there is a unity that comes together in prayer. It's a diverse group of people. And we go back and we can look at the apostles. We can look at their lives.

We go, man, there are all kinds of, you got fishermen, you got blue collar, white collar, you got zealots, you got doubters, you got faith filled. You got a very, very diverse group of people. And then in the 120, but they came together. They were all together because their love of Jesus, because their love for Jesus and because their love for Jesus, they're pouring out their heart in prayer together. And there is this unity marked by prayer. And then Peter steps up and he addresses the group. Peter steps up. He's a natural kind of leader, but he's also a leader that God has been forming. Listen, before God makes a move, he makes a person. He makes a person and he prepares them for that move. And Peter has been prepared for this. Remember Jesus called Peter and Jesus instructed Peter. He taught him. He discipled Peter. Jesus rebuked Peter and he encouraged Peter. And he reinstated Peter after his failure. So whenever you find a list of disciples, Peter is always listed first, not just because he's a natural leader, but God has been making him and preparing him for this moment. And he steps up to lead. I love this definition of leadership. We're talking about Max Dupree.

He says, the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. And in between the leader is a servant. So once you see, that's what Peter's doing. He's not clamoring for authority. He's not scrambling for power or position. He's not looking for people to give him. praise, he's serving. And leadership, mature leadership is viewed as serving. That's what Jesus taught him. He's like, it's not to domineer over people, it's to serve. And one of the things that leader does is they go, hey, here's, they define reality, here's the problem. We only have 11, we need 12. And so he leads them, he presents the problem and he leads them and he leads them toward a solution. He said, we need a solution for what's going on. Well, what's the problem? We're down one and it's been 43 days. It's been 43 days since Judas is gone. Maybe you remember the story. Judas, he turned his back on Jesus, he betrayed Jesus. And then when the weight of his own decision was too much, he took his own life. And it is, it is horrible. It is, it is horrific. Suicide is one of the most heartbreaking decisions that anyone can make. And some of you know this firsthand.

In the first funeral I preached as a pastor, as a student pastor, it was for a 16-year-old in the community we were at who took his own life. He didn't have a church, didn't have a pastor. And I preached that funeral. One of the things I learned at that time was that it, that suicide, it doesn't end the pain, it takes the pain and multiplies it and spreads it to everyone who cares for that person. And I want you to know, if you're here today and you are struggling, you're not alone. As a church, pastors, our prayer team, we are here for you, we wanna stand with you, we wanna walk with you. There is always hope. There is always help. I mean, there's always hope because Peter, essentially, if you'll remember, Peter made the same decision Judas did. He betrayed Jesus, he denied Jesus. He left Jesus when Jesus needed him most. The difference between Judas and Peter is what happened after, after their failure, after their choice, after that decision. Judas ran from Jesus and tried to fix it himself. Peter ran to Jesus and experienced the grace and the mercy of God in the context of community. And here's what we gotta, we have to just be real honest. The fact is that there's not one of us who is beyond, who's beyond doing what Judas did.

It's why every day we have to make the decision that I'm gonna run to Jesus, I'm gonna go to Jesus, I'm gonna receive his grace, I'm gonna put him first in my life, I'm gonna receive his love for me. I'm gonna ask, is there any hidden sin in my heart? And I'm gonna confess it, and that was just that daily pursuit of him. Because we can't discern the will of God if we're living in denial about our own brokenness. If we're going to make decisions, we need the word. We need the word of God. What I find interesting here is Peter quotes two passages in the Psalms. Now, if you remember the gospels, Peter, every other time he opens it, like this is the first time we find him quoting scripture. Every other time he opened his mouth, he got in trouble. Every other time he opens his mouth, I mean, he is the patron saint of the foot and the mouth. Right, I mean, open mouth, insert foot. That's what Peter does, he just says stuff. But like here he is quoting scripture, and I was like, he sounds like Jesus. He said, it is written. That's what Jesus said. So like, he sounds like his rabbi. He sounds like Jesus. He's quoting scripture. I'm like, man, if we want to make decisions,

if we're gonna, we have to go back to the text. We have to go back to the word. The best way to get better at making decisions in your life is make the decision to get in the word of God every single day. We live in a crazy world. Anybody want to testify to that? This world is crazy. We need truth to anchor our lives in. If this is not what you're anchoring your life in, how will you know the will of God? Romans chapter 12 says it this way. It says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good and pleasing and perfect will. You see that word transform? That word transform in the Greek is where they get the word metamorphosis. This is how you transform. This is how you change. This is how there is this transformation that takes place in your life. It's that you're renewed in your mind that you take the truth of God's word and you replace the lies, the lies of the evil one, the lies of our past, the lies that other people have spoken over us. We need to replace the lies of it. Don't conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. A new way of thinking so that we can think God's will so that our thoughts, we can think God's will after him. If we want to know his will, we've got to know his word. It'll be in his word daily. Jesus said, I'll give you the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and he'll remind you what I've taught you. But how can he remind you of what you haven't been taught? So like we have to immerse ourself in the Word so that we can know when somebody says, hey, God told me this, we know, no, that wasn't God. And when somebody says, hey, I feel like God's leading me to leave my wife for a woman at the office. Nope, it's not God, but your midlife crisis is showing. Or when somebody says, hey, we're not married, but God told us we will be, so we're sleeping together. Nope, that's not God, that's your hormones, bro. Or when somebody says, hey, they're not a believer, but I prayed about it and God told me it's okay to date them. Nope, that's not God. That's you building a theology around what you already want to do. Here's what you see, God never contradicts His Word. But if we want to know God's will, we have to know His Word. And the best way to know God's Word is to immerse ourself in it every single day. And so Peter quotes the Psalms. He says, may another take his place of leadership.

Now, here's why this is important because in the Old Testament, the foundation for the people of God were the 12 tribes of Israel. Here we are in the New Covenant, in the New Testament, in the New Covenant, and the foundation are the 12 apostles. And so that's why it's important that they have another apostle. And so when we have a decision to make as a church or as God's people, we have a decision to make as a follower of Jesus, it's important that we go back to the Scripture. We ask ourselves the question, what does the Bible say? And it's also important that we do that in community so that we don't twist Scripture to try to make it say something that it doesn't say, so that we don't skip over the hard parts. Because it's not just what does the Bible say to me, or what does the Bible say to you? The question is, what does the Bible say? And how do we live that out together in the context of community? And the word and prayer is the key for the New Testament church. The word and prayer is the key for any church. It's like that the word is at the center and that we're a people of prayer. And so when we say, like when we have a decision,

we have a decision to make, it's important, first off, that we're current in our obedience. The second, that we lean into community with one another, that we get in the word, that we're in prayer. Next, we need what David Gutzig, what he calls sanctified common sense. I love that phrase. And some people don't know what that is, but that is wisdom. That is logical, practical, biblical application. It's knowledge applied to life. It's wisdom. Let's see, they didn't have, just when we don't have chapter and verse for something, we need sanctified common sense. That's what we see here. Verse 21, it says, he says, here's the problem. They got an empty seat. How do we know who to choose? Verse 21, it says, therefore, it's necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. So here's the deal. Okay, we've got 120 people.

How do we know which one? How do we know who to choose? And he goes, hmm. All right, here's the deal. It needs to be somebody who's been with us since the very beginning, been with us the whole time. And it needs to be somebody who was an eyewitness of the resurrection. Like there wasn't a chapter and verse for that. That's sanctified common sense. That if we're gonna have a witness, if we're gonna have a sent one, if we're gonna have another apostle, then they need to meet that criteria. And it's sanctified because they're walking in obedience, because they're in the word, because they're in prayer, because they're in community with one another, and they desire God's will. The Quakers had this practice for discerning the will of God and they called it like a Quaker circle, where they would pull together a group of people. So when somebody had a major decision to make, maybe it's a decision about work or decision about school, or maybe it's a decision about a family situation, spiritual decision. When somebody had a decision to make and they didn't know which way to go, they'd pull a group of godly people around in a circle. They would sit and let other people ask questions that would lead them to sanctified common sense,

that would lead them to discernment, that would lead them toward the best decision. Pray together. And in fact, this is why the Quaker oatmeal, you know, the lid is a circle. I'm just kidding, I made that part up, but it's true that they had a, the rest of it's true. All right, let's go back to the Bible. Okay, verse 23. So they nominated two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, known as Justice, and Methodius. by us and then they prayed. Now notice they prayed again. Remember that Jesus prayed before he chose his disciples. And so the disciples, they're just like, hey, let's just do what Jesus did. So they went and they prayed. If you're in leadership, one of the most important things you do is appoint leaders. Says that as a church, is why later on the Testament says, it says, don't be hasty in laying on of hands. And I used to think that like sometimes, well, do I touch them when I'm praying for them? What that means is they would put hands on somebody if they were appointing them to leader. So he's saying, hey, don't rush into appointing somebody into spiritual leadership. Make sure that their life bears out.

So we're not gonna make this hasty decision with that. And so one of the most important things we do is make decisions. So they're praying about it again. And then this is where it gets weird. I'll just tell you. It says, then they cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the 11 apostles. They cast lots, which essentially they roll the dice. They just roll the dice. It's wild as they do all the other things. They were current in their obedience. They pray, they're together in unity. They go to the word, sanctify common sense. And then they're like, eeny, meeny, miny, moe. And I think we look at this, we're like, really? But I think that for them, this was their dependence on God. They're like, hey, we've done everything that we know to do. God, we're gonna let you pick. I think this was their trust. Maybe they were thinking about Proverbs 16, 33. The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. And from the message version, make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say. So I don't think it was superstition. I think it was surrender. I think we're giving this to you.

Maybe you're sitting there listening and thinking, really, Kevin? Like, that's what we're doing. We're flipping coins in church. Yep, so when you leave today, we're gonna give quarters to everyone. It'll be your decision-making tool this week. I'm not suggesting that, but here's why I'm suggesting is that flipping coins would be better than the way that a lot of Christians make decisions. Because there are a lot of people who call themselves followers of Jesus that really, what are they following? They're just following my feelings, following my emotions, following my desires, following what the culture says, following what the world thinks, following what my lost friends think, following what will look good on the gram, following TikTok, following what helps my image, following what's cool or following what's easy or following what feeds the flesh. And there are a lot of people who are making decisions rather than seeking wise counsel. They don't get in the Word and they don't pray and they don't seek wise counsel. What they seek is validation. They seek for some people who will validate and affirm what they already wanna do and kind of keep going around until they get that.

And so if that's the case, then I would say, go ahead and flip a coin because at least God could tell you no to this. Making decisions is the most important thing we do in life. What's interesting is this was the last time that followers of Jesus cast lots. Acts 1 is the last time in the New Testament, the New Testament church that they cast lots. Do you know why? What happens in Acts 2? The Holy Spirit comes. They don't have to cast lots anymore because the Spirit leads us, the Spirit guides us, the Spirit directs us, the Spirit orders our steps. So now we have the Spirit to lead us so we don't have to cast lots anymore. Question, are we surrendered to the Spirit of God? I read about, Parker Palmer wrote a book, read it years ago called, something about your voice. Let your life speak. We talked about vocation and making decisions. And he talked about, he got an opportunity, an invitation to become a college president. He was in the running for a position and he talks about making this decision. And he gathered his own Quaker circle. He said he gathered together some wise people. He pulled them together and he asked them to help him discern. And they just started asking questions.

And one of the people in the circle asked the question, what do you particularly like about the idea of being the college president? And he said, he began to talk. And as he talked, he talked about all the things that he didn't like. And that person let him go on and on and on. And finally they asked him, they said, but what do you like about the idea? And he said that through that question, he realized that really he answered truthfully. He said, I like the idea of my picture being in the paper. And that person asked, don't you think that there's an easier way to get your photo in the paper? He said it was through that discernment process that he realized he really didn't want the position, he just wanted the title. When Ree and I were trying to discern God's leadership over our life and his call for us to cross point, to leave the only place that we'd known, to move to a city where we didn't know, didn't know people at church that we'd never even been to, we just knew God said, go. There's some people who thought we were crazy to leave, but we knew that God was calling us. And so we gathered together a Quaker circle. In a living room, we sat around and we gathered with people that we knew were Godly, we respected their faith, they had wisdom and we pulled them around,

they knew us and loved us and we shared the call story of what God had been leading us to do. And we let them ask questions. And we ended that time with them putting their hands on our shoulders and saying, we bless you and we send you. There's nothing like being sent. There's nothing like that you're making, knowing that you're making a decision that God has called you to make. And some of you, you're in major decision mode right now, left or right. And sometimes I even watch like with students, sometimes people just get overwhelmed and there's so much anxiety and just like, do I pick this school or that school? Or think about do I pick this major or that major? Going to think about making those decisions, those weighty decisions, do I marry her? Or do I marry him? These decisions that are made in life. And sometimes we can be overwhelmed and there can be so much anxiety. Listen, God is not wanting to torment you with decisions. He wants to lead you. He wants to guide you. And so don't forget the love of God. Don't forget that He loves you. And can I tell you this, that if you're walking with God, if you're walking daily with God in obedience, in current obedience, and if you're in His word daily,

and if you've got a community of faith around you, and if you're spending time in prayer, and if you're using sanctified common sense, you can take a next step. You can follow His lead and know that He is sovereign, which means He's powerful enough to get you where He wants you. His sovereignty is your sanity. And so you can rest in knowing that He'll lead. Or you can just wear the same thing every day like Steve Jobs. Remember the Steve Jobs story? Steve Jobs wore the same thing every day so that he didn't have to make the decision about what to wear. You remember this? He wore a black turtleneck, Levi's jeans, New Balance shoes, because he said he wanted to save his energy for more important decisions. I was reading an interview, Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, and Steve Jobs said, I'm about 50-50 on believing in God. He said, for most of my life, I felt there must be more to our existence than meets the eye. I tell you, that's the biggest decision you'll ever make in your life, what you do with Jesus, what you do with God. That's not a decision that you want to flip a coin on.

That's not a decision that you want to be 50-50 on. In 1 John, he says, I've written these things so that you might know you have eternal life. God wants you to know that you have eternal life. And how do we know eternal life? Through trusting in Jesus, for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever would believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life. God wants you to know it. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to have all the answers, just enough faith to take the next step and say, I'll trust you. You don't want to flip a coin over that. So today, if you've never trusted Jesus, the most important decision you'll ever make in your life, put your trust in Him and begin that relationship. If you're a follower of Jesus, if you've been following Jesus and you've got a major decision that you need to make, I hope that today you draw strength and courage, that you take heart, that your decision-making is rooted and founded in the love of God. And as a church, as a community of faith, like we will pray with you. We'll help you search it out in the Word. We'll encourage you. We'll pray for sanctified common sense, for wisdom. I just remind you of the sovereignty of God.

You know, there's a debate, and I'll finish with this. There's a debate over who is supposed to be the 12th Apostle. The debate, some people say, well, it was Matthias. And then other people say, what's the Apostle Paul? That maybe the Apostle Paul is supposed to be. be the twelfth apostle. And I think they're both right. I think Matthias was supposed to be the twelfth apostle. And I think the apostle Paul will remember that wouldn't happen for 15 years, 15 years. It'd be 15 years before the apostle Paul, before Saul became Paul, before Saul put his faith in Jesus and become Paul. So for 15 years, he needed somebody to fill the seat. God is sovereign enough to handle your next decision. He'll get you where he wants you to be. Just be in community, be in current obedience, be in the word, be in prayer. He'll give you sanctified common sense, and then you can trust his sovereignty with that. And so what I'd love for us to do, I'd love to pray with you, and then we're going to respond with a verse and a chorus of that song waiting here for you. We're going to respond, we're going to sing out and declare what's true, that Jesus, we're waiting on you like those apostles, like the disciples, like they waited in the upper room. We're praying, Lord, that you would give us what we need right now and pray with you. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it's truth. And if you just need to repent today, if maybe you've strayed from truth, maybe you just need to ask God, God, would you help me want to be in your word? Like even that's a grace. God, would you give me an appetite for your word? And that tomorrow morning, make the decision, I'm going to hang with you in your word, Jesus. God, I pray for those today that have never put their faith and trust in Christ.

If that's you, then I just want to invite you to stop flipping coins today to make a decision because God doesn't flip coins over his love for you. He loves you as you are right now, and he welcomes you into a relationship. You just pray something like this. Father, thank you for loving me, just whisper it. Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sin. I receive your forgiveness. I receive your grace. I receive your love. I turn from my sin, turn from my old ways, and I want to follow you. Thank you for saving me. God, I pray for those that made that their prayer. Would you give them courage today to tell somebody, somebody they came with or a prayer team down front, and then God, I pray for those who are wrestling decisions today. But if they need prayer, that you give them the vulnerability and the courage to do what we've talked about, to lean into you, but we are waiting here for you. In Christ's name we pray, in Christ's name we sing, amen. Would you stand with me, church? We are desperate for your presence, all we need is you, yes, we're waiting here for you. With our heads lifted high, yes. And it's you we adore, singing all the way through. Even in the waiting, we'll praise you. Even in the waiting, we'll sing alleluia. Lift your hands, lift your voice, sing alleluia. Sing alleluia. We surrender your heart, alleluia. We surrender your heart, alleluia. We're waiting here for you. With our hands, we'll sing it out

We'll praise, that it's you We adore you Singing hallelujah We're singing hallelujah Lift your hands, we're waiting here for you With our hands, we'll sing it out We'll praise, that it's you We adore you Singing hallelujah We're singing hallelujah We lift it all up We lift our voice to you, Lord Even in the waiting, Lord We sing, ooh Singing hallelujah We're waiting here for you With our hands, lifted high We'll praise, that it's you We adore you We're singing hallelujah We're singing hallelujah