We are not patient by nature. From birth, we desire instant gratification. At first, this is a good thing: as babies, we cry because something is needed right away, whether eating food or being burped or getting a dry diaper. But as we grow older, the need for the immediate meeting of our needs lessens—but our desire to have those needs met instantly doesn’t fade away so quickly.

      Because of our impatient nature, when we hear the word “wait,” we tend to cringe. Whether it’s waiting in line, waiting for our tax refund, waiting for Christmas morning to finally get here so you can open presents, waiting to hear if that college accepted you, waiting for the doctor to call back with your test results…whatever the case, we don’t like waiting.

      If you doubt this, just spend some time with a two-year old. I happen to have one of these magnificent creatures at my house, and Tricia and I have quickly found out that he doesn’t like to wait either. For instance, when we say the word ‘dinner,’ Ethan expects food on his plate—in that instant. When we say ‘outside’ he heads for the door, even if he’s still wearing his pajamas. And you can only imagine what happens if we accidentally say ‘cookie’ or ‘pancakes.’

      Now it can be somewhat cute when we see it in small children, but it loses a lot of its appeal in adults. Hearing a two-year old boy whine for dinner isn’t good, but it’s miles better than hearing a thirty-year old whine because he has to wait 25 minutes for the pizza delivery; or hearing a nineteen-year old whine because her cellphone isn’t letting her update Facebook right away; or hearing a sixty-year old whine because the newspaper isn’t on their front porch right at 6:00am.

      Well, you get the idea: waiting isn’t something we tend to do very well. And yet, that is exactly what Jesus tells His disciples to do. In Acts 1:4, He tells His followers to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit. The day of Pentecost is still about 10 days away, so this 10-day waiting period is going to be a chance for them to practice obedience to the Lord’s command. (Keep in mind that they didn’t know it would only be 10 days before the Spirit came. They were prepared to wait however long was necessary, and they were going to wait in the way that Christ instructed them to.)

      There are times in our Christian lives when we too are asked to wait. Perhaps God tells us that we will have to wait, and other times we might find out that we are already in a waiting period. Most of us don’t like that. We just want to get it over with; we want to get out of the waiting time and get things moving. But we will have times of waiting, whether we like them or not, so learning how to wait correctly is essential.

      Isaiah 40:30-31 tells us that: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” But how do we do that? How do we ‘wait for the Lord’ in a way that renews our strength?

      For the Apostles, waiting didn’t mean sitting around doing nothing. Waiting wasn’t to be confused with laziness or boredom. Instead, we see three things that Christ’s disciples did while they waited (and they are the same things we must do today). So, we can see how this passage teaches us that ‘waiting on the Lord’ involves: 

1. Devoting ourselves to prayer. [1:12-14]

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. 

      Jesus has just ascended into heaven and the apostles have heard that He will return. So what do they do in the meantime? They remember His command to stay in Jerusalem and to wait for the coming gift of the Father. [Acts 1:4]

      So the apostles get together with the women who followed Jesus around during His earthly ministry and some recent converts—the family of Christ. Remember that while Jesus was ministering and preaching, His own family was ashamed of Him. They thought He was crazy and saw Him as an embarrassment to the family.

      How do they go so quickly from distancing themselves from Jesus to joining with His disciples? Well, only one event has taken place during this time that can explain it: the resurrection of Christ. They saw Jesus die, then they saw Him alive three days later. That did something to them, didn’t it? Yes, it did. And it does the same thing to people today. When you are faced with the resurrection of Christ, when you are really faced with it, it changes you. You can’t be glib about things any longer, trotting along is a supposed blissful ignorance. No, you have to decide whether these things are false or true, and that decision means everything. Jesus’ own family thought He was insane, but after the resurrection, they saw Him as the true Son of God. They could no longer dismiss His claims or deny His power, so they declared His Lordship and joined those who followed Him.

      And what was this group of people doing? They were all in one accord. They had a singular focus and purpose. Jesus had instructed them to wait, so they decided to wait together. So they all agreed about one key thing: to devote themselves to prayer.

     They prayed for God to send His Spirit at the right time. They prayed for help to withstand persecution, they prayed for boldness in sharing Christ. They prayed for understanding as they studied the Scriptures. They prayed for more people to come to saving faith in Jesus. They prayed. They devoted themselves to prayer.

      Would anyone describe us in that way? If someone looked at this church, would they say that we were a group of people “devoted to prayer.” What about you as an individual? If the people you live with were asked to label your prayer life, would they even consider using the word “devoted”?

      What does being devoted to prayer even mean? Well, it’s not the 10-second prayer that God would make the traffic light change to green. Or the muttered-under-our-breath plea that our boss would stop being so mean to us. No, being devoted to prayer means that we rightly understand that prayer is not primarily about us. If our goal in prayer is always to have our circumstances change, we will inevitably be disappointed.

      So what should our goal in prayer be? To pray that God would glorify His name and magnify His Son in our lives—regardless of our circumstances. Of course, it’s not wrong to pray for our circumstances to change, but we must keep in mind that God’s primary purpose in our lives is not our comfort but our character. At its core, every true prayer echoes the prayer of Jesus on the night before He died: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” [Mt 26:39]

      Jesus was praying for His circumstances to change; He was sorrowful to the point of death according to Matthew’s gospel. He wanted things to be different. He wanted the cup to pass. But there was something He wanted even more; something He desired so greatly that He was willing to be “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” [Phil 2:8] He wanted the Father’s will to be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

      So when we pray, this is the same kind of attitude that we must have. We pray that God would heal our loved one, remove our own affliction, or change our surroundings, and we passionately plead with Him to do so. But we must always remember our place: we are not God. We do not know what is best for us (even when we think otherwise) and we do not have His perspective. We see brief moments, small glimpses of our lives, one minute at a time. But God is not confined to minutes or hours or days or weeks or decades or centuries. Past, present, and future are under His sovereign control. We trust Him to make “all things work together for good” [Rom 8:28] in our lives.

      You know, that’s a verse that gets quoted a lot—usually out of its proper context. Usually, people try to use it when things are going poorly for someone they know. They think it means something like this: “your life really is in a mess right now, and things are bad, but don’t worry, God can clean this up and someday bring something good out of it.” As if the best hope we have in times of difficulty is the Bible’s version of “one day you’ll look back on this and laugh.”

      Friends, not only is that the wrong way to read Romans 8, it’s an absolutely worthless thing to say to someone in trouble. If our only hope is that God can do some kind of patchwork repair job on the shambles our life is in, frankly that’s not a God worth worshipping, is it? How can we trust a God who claims He can use the evil of this world for His good, that can use the murder of His innocent Son to procure our salvation, and that has brought Christ back from the dead, if He doesn’t even have the ability to intervene in the day-to-day details of our lives?

      “But”, you say, “Romans 8:28 promises that all things will work for our good.” That’s true. But think of the context. First, there is a qualification: things will work together for the good only of those who “love God” and are “called according to His purpose.” This means that Christians are the only ones who can claim the promise of this verse.

      “But”, you say, “I am a Christian and I don’t see things working for good in my life.” This may also be true, but it is typically because we have misused the word ‘good.’ Remember, all things work together for good ‘according to His purpose.’ And what is His purpose? In the context of Romans 8, we see the answer very clearly: “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” [Rom 8:29]

      So the promise of this passage is that God will use every single thing in a Christian’s life; every painful circumstance, every betrayal of a false friend, every terrifying diagnosis, every rejection, every heartache, to make you more like Christ. That’s why God doesn’t always remove these things when we pray that He would. He won’t take them out of our lives because they are the very things He is using to accomplish His work within us. (also see Rom 5:3-5 and James 1:1-2)

      The apostle Paul, who wrote Romans, knew of this first-hand. He was afflicted with what he called a “thorn in the flesh.” We don’t know the specifics of what this trouble was, but we do know what God told him about it:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. [2 Cor 12:7-10]

      Amazing, isn’t it? Paul prayed that his circumstances would change. Three times, it says, he pleaded with the Lord to remove his trouble. But God didn’t. And Paul says that he trusts God to do what is in his best interest. In fact, he says that for the sake of Christ, he is content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. I wonder if our prayer lives reveal even a hint of that? Are we content to struggle, trusting God to work all things to make us more like Christ (who, as you will recall, also struggled quite severely)?

      We get a glimpse of this same idea in Daniel 3, as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were ordered to bow down to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar or face certain death in a fiery furnace. When asked if they really thought that their God could deliver them from such a fate, they said: “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” [Dan 3:17-18]

      God can save us, they declared. We know He has the power to do so, for He controls all circumstances. (And remember that these words were spoken by young men who had seen their nation conquered and been drug off into forced captivity in a foreign empire. Even those events, they rightly understood, were under God’s sovereignty.) But if God chooses not to save us, as is His divine right, that does not change His character or diminish His glory in any way. We will not trust Him less if calamity befalls us. Even death will not make us doubt the One True God.

      Do we pray these kinds of prayers? Are we willing to say, “Lord, I am facing a difficult time and my heart is anguished. I do not see Your hand or feel Your presence, and I am scared of what may happen. Lord, I pray that You, in Your almighty power, would remove this affliction and change my circumstances. But Lord, beyond all of this hurt and pain, I trust Your purpose and will for my life. My prayer is that You would make me more like Your Son, and if I have to continue suffering in order for that to happen, then I am willing to suffer. Lord, not my will but Your will be done.”

      That is what it means to be devoted in prayer. This is the kind of prayer the apostles were praying. They weren’t praying for the Pharisees to stop hating them, or for the Romans to pack up and leave; instead, they were praying for God’s Spirit, God’s wisdom, and God’s power to accomplish God’s purposes. They didn’t pray for persecution to stop; they prayed for boldness in the face of persecution.

      Is this the kind of prayer we have when we pray together? There is nothing wrong with praying for the sick and praying they would get well. But how often do we pray that God would help a person be prepared for death if they don’t get well? Do we think we are all going to live forever? Our prayers should include the desire that God might be glorified in the way His people die—that even as we face our own deaths, others would see Christ treasured and magnified in our lives.

      And maybe when we get together for our prayer service tonight, we should spend some time praying as the apostles did: not mainly praying for our circumstances to change, but praying for boldness to share the Gospel in times of trouble and power to proclaim Christ in the midst of our sufferings and hardships. To not pray as much for deliverance and to pray more for perseverance. That’s what it means to be devoted to prayer; to pray in the way and for the things that Scripture teaches.

      So waiting on the Lord means we must be devoting ourselves to prayer. But as we will see from the text, it also means that we must be:

2. Declaring the Scriptures. [1:15-20]

15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

      At some point during these 10 days, Peter addresses the group of believers there with him in Jerusalem. Luke tells us that it’s about 120 people, although it’s very likely that there were other believers in Galilee, where Jesus ministered most often. But this group consists of the apostles, the women who followed Jesus during His ministry, Jesus’ family, and others who were gathered together in one accord.

      We know that they were devoted to prayer, but we can also learn that they were dedicated in studying the Scriptures. We know this because we read about Peter using Scripture to explain what has been happening. And Peter’s reasoning in these things came from the logical and Spirit-led instruction of God’s Word. He wasn’t making this up as he went along.

      This means he (and the others) had to study the Old Testament. Of course since the New Testament hadn’t been written yet, to them they were simply studying the Scriptures. They were going back through all they had heard and read, asking God to reveal what had previously been hidden from their sight.

      This is the same thing that Jesus had done with the two on the road to Emmaus. We are told how “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” [Lk 24:26] That’s exactly what Peter and the apostles are doing, and at some point, it becomes clear that the Scriptures are speaking to them about the betrayal of Judas.

      Judas, as you will remember, was one of the original 12 apostles, handpicked by Jesus Himself. Jesus didn’t make a mistake in that, however, as we know that Judas was chosen because he was going to betray Jesus and that betrayal was necessary for Scripture to be fulfilled.

      So while it is true that Judas was numbered among the disciples, he traveled with them, he saw the same miracles…it’s equally true that he never trusted Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Judas is never portrayed as someone who truly places his faith in God’s Messiah (nor, it should be noted, as one who wants to). Rather, Judas is shown to be preoccupied with the present world. He can’t understand why Mary would waste a valuable perfume to wash Jesus’ feet. John even tells us that Judas, who was in charge of the disciples’ finances, was a thief: “having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” [John 12:6]

      Judas’ heart was clearly centered on this life. He wanted a Savior that could make this world a better place for him. He wanted a Messiah who would give him financial prosperity and an easy life. He wanted an imaginary Christ who will do whatever Judas wanted him to do. And that is not the true Messiah; that is not the Christ of God. Jesus Christ is Lord, and he cannot be lorded over by anyone.

      Disappointed and disillusioned by the apparent inability or unwillingness of Jesus to overthrow Roman occupation and free Israel, Judas betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. And we know what happened after that: Judas led them to Jesus. He knew where Jesus would be when a crowd wasn’t present, and he could easily identify Jesus, even at night (without the convenience of modern-day lights). He led them to Jesus, and then Jesus was led off to His mock trial and torturous death. But what of Judas?

      He felt remorse over what he had done (but not repentance—as he never sought forgiveness from God) and gave the money back. The chief priests said they couldn’t take the money back because it was ‘blood money’ (although they apparently had no qualms about arranging the murder of an innocent man) so they used it to buy a field. As it turned out, it was in this very field that Judas decided to take his own life. So the priests bought the field but they bought it with the money they had given to Judas which they never officially took back, so it was still ‘his’ money in an official sense.

      The details of Judas’ demise are a bit spotty: we know that he hung himself, but as Luke inserts into Peter’s teaching here in Acts, we also know that Judas fell off a cliff into the field and was disemboweled.

      At first glance, these might seem contradictory, but they really aren’t. It’s easily possible to believe that as Judas was hanging himself either the branch or the rope snapped and he fell to his death. Or that, as he jumped off the branch with the rope around his neck, the force of the fall literally tore him open. Or that after he hung himself, the hot Judean sun bloated his body over the course of several days, causing it to explode or causing the rope to dry out and break. It’s also entirely possible, if Judas hung himself right away, that the body remained hanging for several days since Jesus’ betrayal was at the time of Passover. No Israelite would touch a dead body during this time, because it would make them unclean and thus unable to participate in the festival. If Judas hung himself that very night, he would have been there for three or four days at the least—easily enough time for a rope or branch to fail.

      Of course, the main point isn’t how Judas died, or even that Judas died, but that Judas was not an apostle in the sense of the other 11. That left an opening that needed to be filled. Peter uses two passages from the Old Testament to point this out:

A) “May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it”

      This quotation is taken from Psalm 69:25. That psalm is one that describes David’s suffering and, very early on in the Christian church, was applied to Jesus and His suffering as well. In this psalm, David expresses personal suffering, prays for deliverance, and calls upon God’s righteous wrath against his foes. Both John and Paul make use of this psalm in their writings and apply it to the suffering of Christ.

      Because of that connection, it seems clear that even as David speaks of being betrayal and destruction at the hands of false allies he is also speaking of the role of Judas, in which he would betray Jesus and bring about His seeming destruction. Reading the entire portion of the psalm in context, we see that severe judgment and wrath await those it refers to.

      Peter, inspired by God, understands this as a reference to Judas, and from there, realizes that Judas has forfeited (by virtue of never truly having) the apostolic seat. His actions in the betrayal of Christ and his own suicide reveal that he was never a genuine apostle. Remember, this is Peter speaking. The same Peter who denied Christ three times. Judas wasn’t the only one to flee from Christ at the end; but Judas was the only one who did not return, killing himself instead of repenting and seeking forgiveness.

      So God has given Peter a little knowledge about betrayal and a little knowledge about being an apostle and a little knowledge about Christ’s identity and authority, and Peter gets the message. He understands that Judas was always a traitor and finally sees Judas for the impostor he was. Peter continues this idea by also quoting:

B) “Let another take his office.”’

      Because Judas was never really an apostle, they will need Christ to pick the twelfth and final member of the original apostolic circle. There are tasks, primarily of service and witness within the Christian community, that the apostles will be called upon by Christ to perform (see Acts 6), and therefore they must have the full compliment of 12, just as Christ had intended.         

      We’ll talk more about how they replaced Judas in a moment, but first notice what is happening here. Do you see what’s going on? There is a waiting period, where God’s people are commanded to wait for Him to act. They are waiting, but they aren’t being idle. They aren’t lazy or apathetic.

      Instead, Peter is devoted to prayer, asking God to make him more like Christ, and he’s studying the Scriptures. God then uses the Word to open Peter’s mind to connect dots and piece together things that he had never seen before. And what does Peter do? He declares these things! He tells them to others. He didn’t wait to be given the title of ‘teacher’ or take a spiritual gift assessment to see if he was capable; he simply took what God had taught him and taught it to others.

      This is what it means to be declaring the Scriptures. It means that we have to know the Scripture, which implies that we have to study the Scripture and seek to understand what it means and how it works in our lives. This is hard work. It is very seldom accomplished by coming and listening to a sermon, or sitting in a Bible study. It requires discipline and—to use a word we focused on earlier—devotion to prayer and the Word. We must intentionally work at learning the Scripture, intentionally work at understanding the Scripture, and intentionally work at putting the Scripture into practice in our lives.

      This makes sense when we think about it: if we want to be more patient, for example, we must learn how the Bible defines patience. We must learn why it is a fruit of the Spirit (see Gal 5:22-23) and why it is necessary for enduring suffering (see James 5:17-20). But then we must begin to practice patience. As we find ourselves in situations where we are tempted to be impatient or harsh—such as with our wives or children or parents—we are reminded by the Spirit of what we have learned and empowered by the Spirit to exercise patience.

      Now, if you are a person who has been doing that, and putting patience into practice for a long period of time, and someone says to you, “I wish I was more patient,” then you are able to declare the Scriptures to them.

      When someone says, “Why does the resurrection of Christ matter?” well, you can answer them, because you’ve thought about the resurrection and you’ve let the truths of it sink in to your soul. You’ve relied on the hope that the resurrection brings during times of despair and anguish, and so now you can declare the Scriptures to them.

      Clearly, the question for us this morning is: are we able to declare the Scriptures? Not “do you have the gift of preaching?” or “are you an evangelist?” but can you declare the Scriptures? You can, if you know them and use them. And if you can’t, then you know what you need to be doing in order to make it so—to correctly use the seasons of waiting that the Lord brings to you

      So waiting on the Lord means we must be devoting ourselves to prayer and declaring the Scriptures. Finally, as we will see, it also means that we must be:

3. Depending on Christ. [1:21-26]

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

      Choosing the apostles was Jesus’ prerogative. He chose the original twelve, including the one who would betray Him. But Judas was not replaced because of his death; he was replaced because of his defection. He betrayed Christ, proving that he was never part of genuine faith to begin with. Since Judas was not an apostle in the sense of the other 11, another man was needed for the job. This new apostle (and all subsequent apostles) must meet certain criteria: he must have genuine faith in Christ, he must not be a recent convert, and he must have been a personal witness of the resurrected Christ.

      All of these are true of the others who become apostles—Paul, Barnabas, and James, the brother of Jesus. But these criteria also help explain why there were no other apostles. The number of people who witnessed the resurrected Christ was around 500, but by the time Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church, some of them had already died. As that generation died out, there would no longer be any first-hand eyewitnesses of the resurrection—and since that is clearly an apostolic qualification, it follows that there would be no more apostles.

      When we see James, the brother of John, killed in Acts 12, there is never once any mention of finding a replacement for him. As each of these apostles are led away to their deaths, they understand that they were uniquely chosen for a unique role that will not continue. The rest of Scripture has been written, the miraculous signs that gave credibility to the infant Church are no longer needed as it grows, and the Gospel has extended to the Gentiles. The work of the apostles is nearing its end. That’s why, as Paul nears the end of his life, he encourages Timothy to preach the Word, teach sound doctrine, and “do the work of an evangelist” [2 Tim 4:5] but not the work of an apostle.

      But in this case—the case of Judas’ apostasy—a new apostle is needed. So the remaining 11 seek the Lord’s will and cast lots to determine who will be the twelfth.

      We must mention that casting lots is not a foolish thing for the disciples to do. First of all, it was a common practice of determining God’s will in the Old Testament. Secondly, they didn’t simply “roll the dice” and see what happened; they were devoted to prayer, remember? They sought Christ’s leadership in this, and we can be certain that it was Christ who narrowed it down to the final two and Christ who made the final choice.

      So why don’t we cast lots today? Because we have something far better—the indwelling Holy Spirit. When the apostles cast lots for Matthias, it was before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. We never see the practice of casting lots mentioned again in the New Testament, but we do see many references to obeying the Spirit, bearing fruit in the Spirit, and yielding to the Spirit’s influence in our lives. We don’t need to cast lots or draw straws or pray for dew on the ground anymore—we have the very Spirit of Christ residing within us who “intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” [Rom 8:27]

      We also have to keep in mind that every other church leader chosen in the New Testament is done so by people. It is clear that they are people who are under submission to the Holy Spirit and are seeking His leadership in these decisions, but the decisions are falling on them, not on casting lots.

      In fact, there are several passages in the New Testament that talk about how to go about choosing people to serve as deacons or elders in the church, and not one of them says anything about casting lots. And if we could think about this for a moment, none of them really have a lot to say about personality or skill or giftedness, either. What they are primarily concerned with is character. Skills are nice, and personality is fine, but these things don’t make someone qualified to lead God’s people. If we are picking pastors simply because we like the sound of their voice or method of delivery, or if we are picking deacons simply because they are here most Sundays or usually wear a tie, then we are a long, long way from the criteria the Bible stresses.

      Not only that, but we are in a very dangerous position for we are assuming (even if not actually saying) that we have determined a better method for selecting our leadership than the one God has provided. We are claiming—unbelievably!—that we know who should lead us better than God does. And if this makes you think of Israel’s request for a king, then you’re starting to understand the danger it poses.

      If you remember what 1 Samuel tells us, the people of Israel wanted a king. God told them that He was the only King they needed, but the people insisted. They wanted a king, just like all their neighboring countries had. So God let them have one. We are told that “there was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than [Saul]. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” [1 Sam 9:2]

      So Saul is the ideal choice for a king, right? He’s easy on the eyes yet towers over his enemies on the battlefield. Perfect! He’s just what Israel needed—except he wasn’t. His character was not right. Almost immediately, his reign was marked by deceit and disobedience. After a battle with Amalek, Saul blatantly disobeyed the command of God, then lied to God’s prophet in an attempt to hide his sin. As a result, Samuel tells Saul plainly: “You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” [1 Sam 15:26]

      Now, don’t misunderstand. I’m not suggesting that if they had just picked a better person then all their problems would have been solved. Israel’s biggest problem wasn’t that they wanted an earthly king, but that they thought they needed an earthly king to provide them peace and security. They failed to realize that they already had a heavenly King who is perfectly trustworthy and provides everlasting security.

      When Matthias is chosen to take the twelfth apostolic spot, it’s not because the church of Christ will crumble into ruins without him. It’s not because God requires twelve apostles for His plan to work; Christ is the one who builds His church. It’s not Matthias, or Peter, or Paul, or anyone else—Christ builds His church.

      Do you believe that? Truly? I think we would all claim to, but I have this sneaking suspicion that we don’t really believe it. I think we still expect our pastors to build the church. That’s why, when we interview candidates or begin accepting resumes, we say things like “must have a heart for evangelism” or “must be growth-minded.”

      Isn’t that silly? Any man who is a faithful follower of Christ is going to have a heart for evangelism and want to see the Church grow. So why in the world do we feel the need to say such things? Because we still cling to the foolish notion that if we just get the ‘right person’ in a position, then all will be well. If we just get the ‘right’ pastor or group of deacons or Sunday school teachers or children’s workers, then things will begin to grow and expand and we’ll see results. We’re no different than Israel. We are looking for a man to provide something that only Christ can provide.

      Clearly, there is much importance in picking qualified people to serve. We’ve already established that as a clear teaching of God’s Word. They must be sound believers, not recent converts, and display a consistent character that is in-line with God’s Word. None of these things are up for debate. But our leaders can never replace our Lord.

      Do you want this church to grow? Do you? Think before you answer, because if you really want this church to grow, you’re going to have to admit that only Christ can do it. And Christ will use your pastor and deacons and teachers to further this work, but He will also use you. He will require you to be devoted to prayer alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ. He will require you to study the Word diligently and declare the Scriptures to your children, classmates, and co-workers. And, above all, He will require you to depend on Him for growth—in you and in the rest of His Church.

      We don’t like to wait. (Some of you probably can’t wait for this sermon to be over!) But we must all go through seasons of waiting in our lives. When we are faced with such times, our choice will be to either waste them by complaining or complacency, refusing to consider prayer, Scripture, or our dependence on Christ.

      Or we can make proper use of our waiting. We can begin to devote ourselves to prayer, learn and practice how to declare the Scriptures, and—slowly but surely by the power of the Holy Spirit—depend on Christ.

      When your time of waiting comes, which will it be?