In the sermon 'Chosen By God's Appointment,' Peter Allison explores the events in Acts 1 where Peter assumes a leadership role among the disciples following Judas' betrayal and death. The sermon highlights God's orchestration of events leading to Pentecost, emphasizing the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. It discusses the significance of the 120 names as foundational for the New Testament church, suggesting that they represent the establishment of 12 synagogues, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel. Allison underscores that Peter's actions were guided by Scripture, particularly Psalms 69 and 109, to fulfill the need for a new apostle, Matthias, to replace Judas. The sermon further delves into the imperfection of biblical figures and the significance of repentance and restoration, using Peter's own denial and redemption as an example. It concludes by affirming the church's foundation on apostles and prophets, Christ as the cornerstone, and the role of male headship in church representation.

Please turn in your copy of God's Word to Acts chapter 1. I'd like to begin reading at verse 15. At verse 15. So we continue the account in chapter 1 of God's preparation of His people for Pentecost in 50 days. Acts chapter 1 verse 15, And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, Altogether the number of names was about 120, and 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, for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.

Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so the field is called in their own language, Akhaldama, that is, field of blood. 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. 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." And they proposed to Joseph called Bar-Sabas, who was surname Justice, and Mathias. And they prayed and said, and Mathias prayed and said, O Lord, you know the hearts of all, show which of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

And they cast their lot, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." May God give us understanding to keep His law and obey it with our whole heart. Almighty Heavenly Father, please speak to us in Your Word this morning. Enable us to understand this message to us and sanctify my sinful lips that they may proclaim the Gospel of Your grace. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.

Well, in the past few weeks, we've seen Luke mention a number of details that tie the events in these 50 days from the resurrection to Christ's ascension. We've seen Him putting many details in here that tie to Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled or events or accounts that some might call just coincidences. But these details were ordained by God from before the foundation of the world. Things like the distance from the location of Christ's ascension and sprinkling of the heavenly ark being the same as the distance that the people followed the ark when they crossed the Jordan because they didn't know the way. When they crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land.

To the timing of His ascension forty days after His resurrection. To the fulfillment of these Old Testament festivals in this time in very exacting detail. And Luke records a few more details during the ten days of praying and waiting that happened in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. But this morning, we'd like to look at the very significant matter of there only being 11 apostles after Judas apostatized, betrayed Christ, and went out and hung himself. I don't know if we'll complete it this morning, but we will see.

Peter assumes a leadership role. In verse 15, Peter standing up with the eleven. Sorry, that's verse 15. In those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. Now this was not because Peter was in a position of greater authority than any of the other apostles.

Or because he was somehow more qualified, he certainly wasn't. Or because he was in some way more mature, or because he was in some way the vicar of Christ, as the Roman Catholics maintain. Actually, Peter was maybe just the opposite. He was the only other disciple besides Judas to deny Christ. And if you remember from when we studied that in Luke, he denied Him at least eight times.

And he denied Him even with an oath. But Peter repented. He was bitterly grieved at his betrayal. Christ forgave him and restored him. You see, God uses imperfect people in His kingdom.

There's a famous, well-known person today in the media that I was listening to talking about him starting to read the Bible. Now, he's somebody that's gone to church for probably most of his life, but by his own admission isn't very religious. But he started reading the Bible this year. And there were two things that he took away from it. He read the New Testament and he was I think reading up in the Old and he was somewhere in the Pentateuch.

Two things. One of those things was that he realized people weren't in charge. God was. But the other interesting thing he realized is He was stunned by how imperfect all the people in the Bible were. To the point where he said, these are people I don't know if I'd want to be friends with some of them.

And then he cited Abraham letting his wife go to Pharaoh. And he was just honestly shocked by this. But see, this is who we are. We're imperfect people. We're sinners.

Every one of us. There is something, almost every one of the men of God in Scripture, there is some often significant sin recorded of them. The difference in those of the Lords is there is genuine repentance and forgiveness in Christ. And so Peter repented. And Christ forgave him and restored him.

Christ told him when he predicted his fall, but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail, And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brothers." So he gave Peter a call there, a job to do, not because he was better than them, but because he was going to fail and be restored. And one of the ways that we can minister is in the ways that we have experienced grace in God redeeming our failures. In God redeeming our failures. So Peter is called to use his restoration as an opportunity to strengthen his brothers. He wasn't appointed over the other apostles.

Christ did say that He was a rock and on Him He would build His church, but that wasn't true of just Peter. So Peter doesn't have a unique position. In the Acts 15 assembly, though, he speaks, James appears to have been the moderator, at least he's the one that at the end sums up everybody's argument and presents the conclusion. So he took a leadership role there. And certainly Peter was an apostle who is mentioned later on in the book of Acts, but he's not over any of the other apostles in any way.

But He does, as He often does, He does speak first. And so He speaks up. He stands up in the midst of the disciples. And right after saying that he stands up in the midst of the disciples, it says that the number of names was about 120. It doesn't say there were 120 brethren or 120 disciples or people in the room.

As many translations change that. It says there are 120 names. These were the names of the people who would be the foundation of the New Testament church. And while everyone agrees that there are ten men required to start a church or a synagogue. There's quite a bit of diversity and disagreement on where that is established in the Scriptures.

So, one place that's pointed to is Ruth. Boaz, when he wanted to conduct this transaction and exercise his duty as the kinsman redeemer to take all of Naomi's inheritance, to buy it. It says that Boaz took ten men when he needed a body to witness this important transaction. Something that needed an assembly to make a ruling on. He took ten of the elders of the city and said sit down here.

So they sat down. And when the process had played out and the conclusion had been reached, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, these ten elders that he had specifically got by number, you are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was a limelight and all that was killings and malans from the hand of Naomi moreover Ruth Moabitess the wither widow of Malan I have acquired as my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance. So that the name of this dead man may not be cut off. And then we read that he says, you are witnesses. And then we read that all the people who are at the gate and the elders, these ten elders, said, we are witnesses.

The Lord make the woman who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, and the two who built the house of Israel, and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem." So, Boaz needed ten elders in order to ratify, in order to confirm this transaction, this process. This wasn't something done privately. This was something that was done publicly. And he got specifically ten elders, as well as any of the other people that happened to be gathered there. So that's one place people point to as this 10 coming from.

Another place is Genesis 18, where Abraham looked for 10 righteous men. And God promised to spare the city for 10 righteous men. Now, it wasn't just anyone that he was looking for. It wasn't just ten men, but it was specifically ten righteous men. And so some see this as the basis of ten men being needed to establish a synagogue, to establish a witness in a village.

Other people point to Exodus 18, where Moses chose leaders, remember, over the thousands, over the hundreds, and over the ten. So the ten was the smallest number that had a leader over it. And so it's the smallest unit represented. And so some see that as the basis for the principle that you needed ten men, ten households, in order to begin a synagogue. The 120 of them would represent the names of enough families to start twelve synagogues.

But I think there's a little bit more to this number. These people, these 120 people, and it's names because I believe they have put their names on a covenant. Remember Isaiah talks about this, and I'm not prepared, we don't have details to go into all that this morning, but Isaiah 44 talks about people, our children, growing up, and when the Holy Spirit falls on them, writing with their own hand that they are the Lord's. In other words, they are taking a covenant. They are writing out a covenant.

And I think this is part of what it means to come to the Lord's table, is that you are able to write out this covenant. And I don't say you have to be some age to do that, but you have to at least be old enough to understand what you are doing. That you are writing with your hand that you are the Lord's. And so these are the 120 people that have put their names to this covenant, and they are the beginning of this what I'll call the Kingdom. This represents the foundation of the Kingdom.

Remember at the Last Supper in Luke 22, Jesus told His disciples, but you are those who have continued with me in my trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The disciples, Jesus said, would receive a kingdom and they would be judges over the twelve tribes of Israel. Now this was not some far off future promise. The Gospels speak of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven over 80 times.

Jesus said more than once that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Not something decades or thousands of years in the future. In a few verses earlier, here in Acts 1 and verse 3, Luke says that Jesus spent the 40 days He was with them speaking about the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. So he's not talking to them here in this time. He has a few days with them.

This is when he's giving them their final instructions. This is when he's talking to them about the most important things and most important matters for them. And what is that most important matter that Christ is talking about. It's His Kingdom. It's the Kingdom that He said they would receive and they would sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes.

See, Acts is about the founding of this kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit being unleashed in a new way that Satan is now bound and no longer able to deceive the nations. And so this Gospel goes out by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's the power of the Holy Spirit that binds Satan. So I think these are 120 names. These are 12 synagogues, 12 churches that are being established now related to the 12 tribes of Israel.

In fact, in Revelation, we have a similar multiple of 12. There are the 144, 000 saints that are sealed. And Pastor Kaiser in his series on Revelation understood that to be the Jewish church. That these were the converts. These were the Jewish Christians.

And there were 12, 000 from every tribe. In other words, that was in 70 AD that this was around. And so this is the church then started with 120, 10 in each tribe, that now has grown to 12, 000 in each tribe, so that with the 12 tribes there are now, 12 times 12, 000 is 144, 000 that are sealed. And it goes through and lists all the tribes. Dan is omitted.

There were no, apparently, believers in the tribe of Dan. So I don't know if every single tribe is represented here, but I think that's a good likelihood. The disciples mostly were Galileans. But this foundation church is twelve churches, twelve synagogues that are representing the twelve tribes, and so there's ten from each. Now this I would point out is not the start of the church, obviously.

The seed of the church was planted when God called Abraham out of Erechaldees. The word that's sometimes used for church is ekklesia. And that's a compound word from the preposition eck out of, like Exodus, and Kaleo, which is to call. So the church is the ones who are called out. They're the ones God called Abraham out of Uruk-Haldi.

God called Israel out of Egypt, and He established that church that was planted in seed form when he called Abraham, he established it at Mount Sinai. You remember, it was then that God's Spirit fell upon the seventy elders, and they prophesied. Even some that were within the camp prophesied. And Joshua was a little concerned about that, that these people in the camp are prophesying, and Moses said, no, that's fine. I would that everybody would prophesy.

But that was the establishment of the organizational church. There was an organization attached to that church from that point forward. The establishment of elders. And so this church was formally organized at Mount Sinai when God ordained the seventy elders and put His Spirit on them. And That is the Church of Christ.

That is the Church of God. And God is going to graft in, Romans 11 tells us, God is going to graft in this New Testament church into that same olive tree. There is only one church. And God graphs this in. But the New Testament is a very significant development in God's church.

A very significant development. And the Bible tells us that this New Testament church was built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Christ being the cornerstone. And these 120 people are the first 12 churches that by revelation grow from 120 to 144, 000. That's basically 12 times 1, 000. And so Peter begins this speech then after this parenthetical comment that Luke adds that the number of names is 120.

And he says, men and brethren. Men and brethren. Actually, literally just men, brothers. There's no and in the Greek, or That's inferred. This is the first of some 14 times that this is used in the book of Acts.

This address. I don't think it's used anywhere else, but it's used in the book of Acts. And it shows that women were represented by male headship. Now why do I say this? Well, I think this is one of many places, not only here in Acts, but throughout the New Testament and throughout the Scriptures that teach what today would be called patriarchy.

And these types of verses are quite problematic for those who try to force the Scriptures into the current cultural sentiments of our day, or the current practice of the modern church today. Gordon Keddie and many other evangelical commentators say something similar, said that this address indicates an all-male gathering. Men, that word is the word for man, sometimes husband, brothers. But I think there's several reasons why This can't be true. First, verse 14, right?

The previous verse says that there were women in their midst, and specifically names one of those women. And then the next sentence says, Peter stood up and addressed this crowd that had women in it. Now, they were in here multiple days. I don't know if they were in there 24-7, but they were in there continually. It was an ongoing thing.

This is where they were going every day. If they weren't sleeping there, they were going there every day. So there were women. This crowd was continually there, and it was an ongoing activity, and so women would be present. Thirdly, Peter, it says, stood up in the midst of the disciples.

I think that's significant. Because in Acts, not in the Gospels, but in Acts, Disciples always refers to believers. It never refers to apostles as distinct from believers. Every place that I've found, and I may have missed one, but every place that I've found. And it uses the word a lot.

But every place I found, it's always referring to believers as believers, oftentimes distinct from the disciples or the apostles. For example, in Acts 11, it says that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. So this is a crowd of disciples, in other words, not apostles, there were more than apostles there, that we are explicitly told includes women, and yet he addresses them as men, brothers. And it's not like there's no word for brothers and sisters. There are several places that speak in the New Testament of brothers and sisters when both genders are to be distinguished.

1 Corinthians 7, But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. Or in James 2, if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and so on. So, it's not like there's not a word or that they don't talk this way. The New Testament does talk of brothers and sisters, but in this case, and in all these other cases, 14 other times, the church is addressed as men, brothers.

Now, some translations in their desire to conform Scripture to the dictates of our pagan culture translate that phrase, men, brothers, not phrase, two words, as brothers and sisters. That's not what it says. It's men and brothers. That would be the NIV, the Common English Bible, the Christian Standard Bible, the Bible League's Easy to Read Bible. I'll translate this, men, brothers, as brothers and sisters.

It's just not what it says. The New American standard, the NET and the RV just say brethren. But that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says men, brothers. You see, this is one of those many places in Scripture that teach male head of household representation, male head of household voting.

One vote per household. And this is why we practice what we practice. There are, of course, many other places that wouldn't base the argument just on this, But this phrase here that gives so many people so much trouble is actually very consistent with the rest of the New Testament and the Old Testament's teaching on leadership and representation in the church. The next detail that we see is that God speaks through the mouths of men. Men and brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas.

The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David. David wrote as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. But it's David's mind that formed the words that he wrote. It's events that were happening in David's life that he wrote about, things that happened to him. He writes from his own perspective.

He writes with his own innate gifts and abilities and ways of expressing things that were common or that were unique to Him in His experience. And yet, in addition to all of that, even though He is writing as a person from His own abilities, The Holy Spirit is speaking through him. So David is not passive. He's not just a mechanical human transcriber who the words are just going from God to his finger. But no, he is writing from his own experience and his own mind.

But Peter says the Holy Spirit is speaking through David's mouth. As a prophet, David wrote scriptures. And he wrote about things that were happening to him, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, he wrote prophetically about Christ, or in this case, about Judas. And so, I think the thing we need to see here is that Peter is acting in accordance with the Scriptures. Jesus did many things so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.

Or that which was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled. Jesus said, this is why I'm doing this. And Peter is following that example. He is taking his direction on what to do in the church from the Scriptures. He's not just making this up on his own, thinking, well, I think it would be good for us to have another apostle.

I think it would be good for us to have 12 apostles so that we have a nice number. No. He's taking His direction from the Scriptures. And the Scriptures that He points to are Psalm 69, 25 and Psalm 109, 8. He's taking His direction from the Scriptures as the Holy Spirit is illuminating those Scriptures in His mind.

In Psalm 69, David is praying imprecatory prayers for God to deliver him and destroy his enemies. And notice the plural. I'd like to read beginning in verse 19 from Psalm 69. David writes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you know My reproach, My shame and my dishonor, my adversaries, plural, are all before you. Reproach has broken my heart and I am full of heaviness.

I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none. And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. That their table become a snare before them and their well-being a trap. That their eyes be darkened so that they do not see.

And make their loins shake continually. Pour out your indignation upon them. And let your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their dwelling place be desolate. Let no one live in their tents." This psalm then ends with David's certain hope in God's preservation and victory.

He says, for God will save Zion and will build the cities of Jerusalem that they may dwell there and possess it. Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it." You notice David's concern here is not about himself. It's primarily about the preservation of the church. It's about the defeat of Christ's enemies. In that He was for Christ and doing His work, His enemies were Christ's enemies.

And that's the focus of His prayer. But you notice these are real enemies in David's life. He's writing about his own experience. And he's writing about enemies plural. And by the leading and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter applies this to Judas in the singular.

Peter explains that Jesus' demise was ordained by God and it was a fulfillment of David's prayer in Psalm 69. That was David praying to the Lord, this imprecatory prayer for the destruction of his enemies. And Peter sees this as applying to Judas. And that in Judas' demise, this prayer was answered. You see, we need to pray as David prayed.

We need to pray that Christ's enemies will be defeated, destroyed, removed from the face of the earth. Not so that we can live at ease and not be troubled by tyrants, but so that Christ is honored, so that His kingdom is established, so that the nations are discipled, so that the elect are gathered in and made into a people, zealous for good works, a peculiar people. Christ will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. And that victory began here with Judas. Peter recognizes that It is God destroying this enemy.

And Luke adds in here a parenthetical thought about the manner of Judas' death. He was filled with remorse, you remember, and he returned the money to the Jews that he had been paid for betraying Jesus as Peter describes what he did here. He said he became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. He became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. He's not personally the one who killed Jesus, but he is responsible because he was a guide to those who did.

But he got this money and he returns it to the Jews. He couldn't enjoy it. He couldn't take it and go off, retire somewhere and live on it. Why? Why couldn't he enjoy this money that he was paid for a very little thing?

It wasn't hard at all. Because God troubled him. And God refused to allow him to enjoy that blood money. And so he brought it back. He didn't want it.

And the Jews recognized this money as blood money. And they didn't want it in their coffers either. Interesting how wicked and unjust people cling to the outward form of justice. Why do tyrants bother with show trials? They know that just seizing people and doing away with them would be wrong.

So they go through these sham trials, like Sophie Scholl was arrested. She's a college student in Nazi Germany. She was arrested for passing out a piece of paper to other students on the campus. And they took her to this trial. And it wasn't anything about justice.

It was simply about an opportunity to rant about the glories of Hitler's Third Reich. And then they executed her. But why bother with the trial? Well, there's this urgency of the wicked to have some form of justice, even though it's grossly unjust. And so, Susan Lindauer is an example.

In our day, here, she faced a trial where the judge was asked to convict her on the basis of accusers, which was the government, stating that she was guilty of crimes against the people of the United States. No evidence, no specification of what she did, because it was all national security. A gross, unjust trial. The wicked. But Why even bother with a trial then?

If they're guilty just because you say they are, then why do you need a trial? But no, they want to have this trial. And so the Jews recognize this is blood money and they don't want it, and So they figure out, well, what are we going to do with it? Well, they buy a field for it to bury people in. And Luke goes on to record that this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity.

Now, it wasn't him directly, it was the Jews that did it, but it was his money. And then it says that, well, One of the Gospels say that He hung Himself. Luke just says here in Acts that He fell headlong, burst open in the middle, and all His entrails gushed out. Now, it's a very graphic, horrific death that happened to Judas. We don't know whether the body just hung there until it decayed or whether something happened, but Arius was an early church heretic who denied the deity of Christ, and that's a heresy that continues today in numerous cults and false religions such as Jehovah's Witnesses or Judaism or Islam, died in a very similar way.

And it was a very stark and dramatic reminder to the Church. He had just been reinstated by Constantine. He had been excommunicated rightly so for his Arianism. By his deception, he was reinstated by Constantine. And he was on a triumphant march to the church when he was seized with pain in the middle of this march, and he ran to some public bathroom, and he died on the toilet when all his intestines fell out.

And it was such a shocking, shocking thing that apparently nobody even touched Him for quite a long time. They just left the whole thing there. But they saw it as a very dramatic judgment from God upon Him. And it's identical with what happened with Judas. God is a consuming fire.

And those who reject His commandments and reject His law do so to their own peril. But Judas was somebody who was numbered with the brethren. Judas was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry. He's a reprobate. He's ordained for destruction.

Yet he is numbered with the people of God. He's numbered with the disciples and he had a part in their ministry with Jesus. See, the visible church is not composed only of regenerate people. Reprobate people in both the Old and New Testaments are said to be in the church. Ishmael was circumcised.

Esau was circumcised. Both profane reprobates. But they were in the church. Jesus talks about the wheat and the tares being in the church. Reprobates exist in the church today.

Even Satan, it says, can disguise himself as an angel of light. The demonic is very comfortable in the church. We only know reprobates when they leave the church. They go out from us, John says, because they were not of us. We only know when they apostatize.

We can't know people's hearts. We don't try to know people's hearts when they join the church. We can only see what people profess and see that they were outwardly living in accordance with that profession. We are to discern or judge those who profess to know Christ but deny Him by their deeds, but we are never presuming to know what's in someone's heart." So this should not be a big surprise for us if it turns out that there are reprobates in the church who go on to apostatize. Jesus picked a reprobate to be one of His twelve disciples.

Now the second psalm that Peter sees as giving guidance for what they are to do is Psalm 109. And this is another one of David's imprecatory prayers. For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause.

In return for my love, they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer." See, David is writing again about himself, but speaking prophetically of Christ. Thus, they have rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my love. Set a wicked man over him and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become a sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office.

Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." And out of that whole prayer, and I didn't read all of it, but I read some context, Peter takes the one sentence, let another take his office. And by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, He sees that and applies that to Judas and their current situation. You see how He's not just making things up here. He is going to the Scriptures to learn what to do and to be directed in what they ought to do as the foundation of the New Testament church. And he sees, let another take his office as the Holy Spirit teaching them and commanding them to put another person into Judas's office.

And then they go on to list the qualifications of the person that would hold that office. Jesus' public ministry is defined as beginning with His baptism by John. It was a baptism that set Him apart as a priest. Just like Aaron and his sons and the Levites were all set apart. They were consecrated through baptism in the Pentateuch to be the priests to God.

Well, Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi. And so he needed to be baptized. He needed to be set apart for his ministry. And when he went to John, remember to be baptized, John said, I'm a sinner. I need to be baptized by you.

Why do you want me to baptize you? And Jesus said, permitted at this time to fulfill all righteousness. He needed to be baptized to fulfill the requirements of the law to be our high priest. And so John baptizes him. Well, Peter points to that point as the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, going then to His resurrection.

From the 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." And so, these men, they were fallible men, they were sinners who fell and needed to repent and were forgiven by Christ and were used by Christ. These men looked to the Scriptures for what they should do and how they should govern in the church and what ought to be done and what ought not to be done in the church. They didn't look outside them. They didn't look to the culture. They didn't look to what everybody else was doing.

They didn't look to what it seemed expedient to them to do, but they looked rather to the Scriptures for their guide. And this is how we need to live, looking to the Scriptures to guide. Now, we're not going to finish this chapter here today, So we'll pause here in the middle of this process of establishing or putting another person into Judas's office. But may God bless to our hearing this portion of his word. Let us pray.

Gracious Father in heaven, we thank you that you have not left us without a guide, but you have given to us your word and You have given us Your Spirit, and You have given to us the form of sound words and these examples that have been written for our edification and our instruction. Lord, open our eyes that we may behold all the wonderful and amazing details in Your Word that are relevant to us. Help us Lord to rightly understand them and rightly apply them. Give to us that same spirit of the Bereans that searched your Scriptures to see if those things that they had heard were proclaimed by Paul were true. We ask, Father, that Your Holy Spirit would guide us.

That You would keep us from going, straying to the right hand or to the left hand. We ask that You would renew our zeal for Your kingdom and for Your glory. And that You would move us, Lord, to pray with fervency and urgency for the destruction of Your enemies, for the triumph of Your gospel, for the advancement of your kingdom. Lord, may this be our purpose, your glory in your kingdom. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.