Okay, we're gonna be in the Book
of Acts again this morning, and the last time we looked at the
Book of Acts, we spent some time on verse 11 and 12, 13, 14, and
primarily where the Lord was taken up out of their sight,
and the two in white came and said, why gaze you up into heaven?
This same Jesus, that was taken up from you in the cloud was
going to come in like manner. And a real promise to God's people
that the same one that they had been with, that had taught them,
that opened their eyes, that the same one is going to return
himself. And that there was things to
do besides wonder about him leaving and keeping that in mind, but
that they had some things to do that was left them to do,
and that they gathered together in Jerusalem, as it said there,
it says in verse 13 and 14, and they continued in prayer and
supplication, and they had together Mary, the mother of Jesus, and
his brethren, and so they There's a time period between when the
Lord was taken up and the time that the Holy Spirit was going
to come upon them, about ten days there until Pentecost, that
they were in prayer and they weren't just wringing their hands,
they were in prayer about these things to God that they knew
were in the works and were going to take place, this Holy Spirit
coming. So I'd like to look at verses 15 and following, but
in verse 15 of Acts chapter 1, in verse 15 and 16 it says, and
in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples
and said, the number of names together were about 120. Men
and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled,
which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning
Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. And a couple
of things, the ones gathered together, it says about 120 that
were there with them in this time period between Jesus ascending
up into heaven and the whole promise of the Holy Ghost was
to come at Pentecost. And it's 120 like-minded believers
that understood a few things and that they had seen the Lord
and been with him. And it said they'd been with
these, these had numbered with them from the time of the baptism
of John until he ascended. And were with him all that time
period and had those things in common. and weren't just lately
taggers on or what have you, but these are ones that had seen
the Lord himself and had been witness of these things and of
the miracles, of the things that he taught them that other than
when he had the 12 of them alone with him or individuals, there
was quite a gathering that they were in the midst of. And it
says in, And verse 16, it says, men and brethren, this scripture
must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth
of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them
that took Jesus. And we'll look at a couple of
places in the Psalms that he's referring to, but something that's
interesting here that Peter said, and he says, this scripture must
needs have been fulfilled. Excuse me. concerning Judas in particular,
but all the scripture that they had and that we can hold and
open and read must needs be fulfilled. Some of it, a lot of it has been
fulfilled in time, but all of the scripture that the prophets
and those of God delivered to men over time must needs have
been and must needs be fulfilled. And there are much to be fulfilled
yet, but as far as time goes, until the Lord come again, but
it said this was something that had to be fulfilled. There was
a purpose to this and God Being the head over his church determined
all things, and this was one of those things that had to be
determined and was determined and must have
been fulfilled. As surely as he had to go to Calvary and be the sacrifice
for his people, this was indeed foretold. And I'd like to look at a couple
of places that he is referring to in the Psalms, two of them that are pretty good,
extensive passages that speak into this. We're going to look
at parts of them, but in Psalm 69, and it speaks of the Lord
himself and those things that were to take place in a different
version than in Isaiah 53, but similar. It talks about those
things, and I'd like to look in Psalm 69. Starting with verse 21 and reading
down a bit, and this is part of what Peter's referring to,
the two Psalms. They gave me also, Psalm 69,
21, also gall for my meat and my thirst they gave me vinegar
to drink. Let their table become a snare
before them and that which should have been their welfare, let
it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that
they see not. Make their loins continue to
shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them and let thy wrathful
anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate
and let none dwell in their tents. And then turn over to Psalm 109.
Psalm 109. Let's back up to verse 1 of Psalm
109 and down a few verses. It says, Hold not thy peace,
O God, of my praise, for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth
of the deceitful are opened against me. They have spoken against
me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also
with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. For
my love They are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayers,
and they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Thou set thou a wicked man over
him, and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be
judged, let him be condemned, and let his prayer become sin.
Let his days be few, and let another take his office. And
these are two things that Peter is referring to about Judas in
the scriptures that this would take place and that there was
going to be one that would betray the Lord himself and beguile
to them that would take him and take him to crucify him for his
people. This, as he said, this must have
been fulfilled. This part must be fulfilled.
And so as they move on, there's more that to be fulfilled. And
verse 17 and down a few, it says, for he was numbered with us and
have obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field
with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst
asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it
was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch that the
field is called in their proper tongue, keldama, that is to say,
the field of blood. For it is written in the book
of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell
therein, and let his bishopric Bishopric, let another take."
And so as he says this, this was, and he said he was numbered
with us, and he indeed was numbered with them
and had part of the ministry as far as being physically there
with them, but It talks about, we're going to
look at a couple of verses, the end of Judaism, Potter's first
field, but he had part with them, he was numbered with them as
it says, but there was no grace in it for him. There was no part
that he had in Christ or what he taught or what he had for
his people. His name was not in the, and it's not in the Lamb's
Book of Life. Of that we can be pretty sure.
We're gonna look at a couple of verses here. In Matthew 27,
turn to Matthew, the book of Matthew, verse 27, or chapter
27, rather. Matthew chapter 27. starting with verse three of
Matthew 27. It says, then Judas, which had
betrayed him when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself
and brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests
and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood. And they said, what is that to
us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of
silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself.
And the chief priest took the silver pieces and said, it is
not lawful to put them in the treasury because it is the price
of blood. And they took counsel and bought
with them the potter's field to bury strangers in. Wherefore,
that field was called the field of blood unto this day. Then
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet,
saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of
him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did
value, and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed
me. tales of his inn and tales of
his hanging himself, of what would take place, and that they
did take that money and buy a field for it that was to bury those indigent ones in. And then back up to chapter 27. Chapter 27 of Matthew, and starting
with verse It started with worth 47. It talks about before that of
the Lord's betrayal. And in verse 47, it says, and
while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the 12, came, and with
him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests
and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave
them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. Hold him fast. And forthwith
they came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him.
And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then
came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. And, behold,
one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew
his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote
off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword
into its place, for all they that take the sword shall perish
with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray my Father, and ye shall presently give me more than twelve
legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures
be fulfilled that thus it must be? In that same hour, said Jesus
to the multitudes, are ye come out against a thief with swords
and staves to take me? I sat daily with you, teaching
in the temple, and ye laid no hand on me. But all this was
done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. Particularly here,
as Peter said later, as we see in Acts, that Peter said, and
as Christ says here, that these things were done, that the scriptures
must be fulfilled. And remember when the Lord was
speaking to them before and said what was going to happen to them,
they said, no, no, we won't let that happen. And again, as then
and here, he said, these things must, the scriptures must be
fulfilled. You can't, there's no going back
or short-cutting or not fulfilling the scriptures that must have
done that way for our benefit and for the church's benefit that these
be done this way as it says here in Matthew 26. In John Yeah, John chapter six, please. Turn with me to John chapter
six. And a couple of things pertinent
to this spot we're here. And these are things we know
and have read and have seen. But this is, I think, an appropriate
time to bring a couple of these things out. John chapter six,
starting with verse 70. Last couple of verses. And here it says Peter is answering and said,
and as he answers many times for the church, They did not have any place to
go, but the Lord in verse 69 actually says, and we believe
and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son of the living
God. And Jesus answered them, have
not I chosen you 12, and one of you is a devil? He spake of
Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray
him, being one of the 12. And that he had that part, he
was numbered with the 12. physically, and he had an appointed
purpose. He had a purpose that was determined
and appointed of God that he would be the one that indeed
did betray the Lord himself. In verse 25 of Acts chapter 1,
we'll get to that in a minute, but verse 25 says, They were looking to see which
one would replace him that we'll look at, and it says that he
may take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas
by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. and
remember that thought, but that he was part of the ministry and
apostleship. He was in amongst them in the
physical way. And again, as I said, his part
of that, there was no grace in Judas being part of the 12.
He had no part of it in that way, in a spiritual way, there
was no part of it. And he was not... He was appointed for that
purpose as a betrayer and he was not with them in part of
that ministry in that regard, in the spiritual regard, only
physically to do that purpose. going back into Acts chapter
1. So this had to take place. We
know it had to take place. The Lord said it. The prophets
said it from way back when. We have of the Lord's sacrifice
and being the lamb slain before the foundation of the world,
that we have record of from very early in the book of Genesis,
very early on down through. And then other places where it's alluded
to that he would be betrayed, and then in so many words it
says that. But in Acts chapter 1, verse
21, it says, of these men which have accompanied
with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among
us, beginning from the baptism of John unto the same day that
he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be witness
with us of his resurrection." And it says here, I guess there
are those that in time past thought and have a different opinion
whether this should have been done or not, how it was done,
or whether he should have been replaced or whatnot. It says
here in the scriptures that we read, it says in verse 22, it says that one
must be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
I don't think those were filler words that The author that penned the Acts,
I don't think there were some filler pages or words here, just
like the rest of scripture. It must be, it was ordained that
he would be replaced. And as it says, it must, one
must be done that. And from all the time that the
Lord went out and with them in and out and was with them. One
of those must be the one that had witness of these things that
was going to be witness of his resurrection of the Lord himself
and be numbered with the twelve. And it says they appointed to Joseph called Barsabbas, who
was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou,
Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these
two Thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry
and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he
might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots,
and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the
11 apostles. A couple of things that casting
lots before the Lord to do. This was not the first time that
that had taken place. That was something that the Lord
had others do in time past. That was how the scapegoat was
chosen by lot. And some other things that we
had that was how they were picked. That being said, both that scapegoat
and anything else that was chosen by lot, or Matthias chosen by
lot, that lot didn't just randomly come up. It wasn't flipping a
coin and sitting back and see how it may land of its own accord. God had Matthias, he was chose
out beforehand. That particular goat that was
taken, that was specifically picked that lot fell on him because
of God's hand doing that. It wasn't just one as good as
the other. There was purpose to all that
and purpose that Matthias was indeed was picked that it says,
Thou that knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these
two thou hast chosen. The lot fell on Matthias, as
it said. And they were recognizing that
was not just a flip of the coin. One is as good as the other.
Maybe in their sight, that was so, but for, oh, not only unto
God, Matthias is the one that was to pick that spot out and
be witness and preach and witness of the resurrection of the Lord
himself with the group. A couple of places, turn to 1
Samuel chapter 16 just for a minute. Okay, chapter 16. This is, we're
going to decide here who's going to be king to be anointed. Samuel's
going to, he's coming to pick which of the sons Jesse is going
to be anointed king. In verse 6 it says, 1 Samuel
16, And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked
on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel,
Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature,
because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man
seeth. For man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. And they looked
on several others along the way. And then verse 13, same chapter. Then Samuel took the horn of
oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. The spirit of
the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose
up and went to Ramah. And as the account goes, David
was kind of the run of the litter in some regards. He was the youngest
one out keeping the sheep. They brought in all the ones
that they, boy, these men could carry the job. And God said,
that's not how I look on it. And that's not how we look on
it. One of the things that, Robert Hawker said about having
this with Judas and then the replacement here, but he said
to remind the church ever that the people in the church, all
Israel is not of Israel. All of Israel by nation is not
all of Israel by heart or by God's people, and we don't know
the difference. Outwardly we can't often tell
the difference. And then one more spot. Turn to the book of Numbers,
chapter 4. Chapter 4 of Numbers. And this kind of came to mind. We'd been in this spot in Numbers. Norm's been bringing messages
for some time from the book of Numbers now. And they had all the different things
that they had to set up the camp when they were when they were
in the wilderness, and the tabernacle, and all the different things
that came into play with that, and how they were to set it up,
how they were to move it once it's furnished. And I'd like
to read Numbers 4, verse 16. could have been any of these
others, but this one in particular, and to the office of Eleazar,
the son of Aaron, the priest pertaineth the oil for the light,
and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the
anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of
all that therein is in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof. And
we had a couple of wonderful messages about God appointing
Eleazar to these things and what they meant and the importance
of that. No one else was given that job or these tasks. He oversaw these tasks and made
sure that they were done. It says here that he had pertaining to these things, oversight
of all the tabernacle. He had a lot of things to take
care of. But the point being here is God was the one that
appointed Eleazar to those tasks. He was chosen of God. It wasn't
just, again, by lot or by, well, what do you want to do? This
was God determined and appointed that man to those things. And
the same as with the same as with Matthias with the twelve. God had appointed him to that
purpose and to being numbered with them and it was not just
to fill in a blank that they had or make three even rows of
four or whatever to make up the twelve. There was a part missing
that was replaced by God to purpose, to
a purpose, and the purpose with the one that was there now was
not the same purpose as the one that he replaced. His purpose
now that he was put to there was to be a witness of our Lord
and Savior, of the resurrection and all those things that that
meant, and that was a point of God. This was not just a church matter or church business that
was taken care of, but this was an important matter. Whether men may agree with it
or not agree with it, the Scripture said it needed to be done and
it was done. I have a hard time when an argument
may be with plain scripture that is in so many words in black
and white. at least that men will say, well,
I don't know if that was really, if some of these things are right.
We have scripture that must be fulfilled and there's a lot of
plain things that we have record of. And as we move along in the
book of Acts, it gets past this spot here. God is doing some
miraculous things here. God the Father has been shown
forth in time past. God the Son was in their midst
and revealed to them that he was God Almighty and some of
the scriptures we have referring to that when he was here on earth. great works in John and other
places that speak of who he is to his people and who is indeed
the eternal God. And the Holy Ghost is going to,
as the Lord promised him, the Holy Ghost is going to manifest
himself in ways that hadn't been before. God's people, the Holy
Spirit was always given to God's people. when the new birth takes
place at whatever time period from Abel on down at least that
that same spirit is in God's people and part of God's people
and it's going to happen. But this part had to be taken
care of and those men did indeed recognize and take care of that
and Matthias was chosen of God and from that day forward there
was the twelve that were called apostles, but there was quite
a group of them that were men that were testifying and doing
the same things. They may not have been numbered
with the twelve, but I'm convinced that those 120 men that were
gathered together that were all witnesses of these things, they
were witnesses from that time forward. We're going to see some good
things as we look through the book of Acts over time, God willing. And with that, I'm going to say,
as our brother Mike Baker says, if the truth shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. And the Lord does that for his
people. Thank you, and we'll meet again.