Title Me and My House/(Acts 1:15)
Content Among those who directly witnessed Jesus' ascension on the Mount of Olives, 120 returned to Jerusalem and went up to Mark's upper room. They remembered the Lord's command.
“They gathered together with the apostles and commanded them, saying, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me.’ John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1). :4-5)
Who were the 120 people who went up to Mark's upper room that day? It was the 12 disciples including Matthias, the 70 apostles, the family of Jesus, the women who usually followed Jesus closely, and a few others. Today, we would like to look at the story of a family who went up to a place of prayer together while waiting for the Holy Spirit.
“They devoted themselves to prayer together with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the brothers of Jesus” (Acts 1:14).
Mary is the mother of Jesus. Why did she go up to Mark's attic? Why were Jesus' brothers still there? What does the fact that the whole family was there together tell us?
1. Mary and Jesus' brothers also needed Christ.
Our faith begins with our confession of Jesus as the Christ by faith. After you are saved, you can confirm that Jesus is the Christian through faith. The deeper the conviction, the more our faith grows. But Mary in the text is a different case from ours. Mary is a woman who, through experience, is convinced that Jesus is the Christian.
Others point out that the life that is growing in them is having a fatherless child through an unclean thing, but only Mary knows that he is the Son of God. Genesis 3:15 says that the offspring of the woman will come and break the serpent's head, but Mary only knows that she is a life conceived by the Holy Spirit and growing in her.
Why did Mary go up to Mark's upper room? Because Jesus is the Christ, and Mary needed that Christ. What do you mean by needing Christ? In her own body, Mary gave birth to Jesus. It was because of the confession that Mary herself was a sinner possessing original sin and could only be saved through Jesus. Why were Jesus' brothers still there? It was because they also knew that they had to believe in Jesus, the Christ, rather than being saved because they were Jesus' brothers.
If Mary and her sister, who gave birth to Jesus in their own body, needed Jesus as the Christ, how would we be? We must not be shaken. There is no other way. The only way to salvation is through Jesus. Only Jesus is the Christ. Only by believing in him can you be saved.
2. They worked hard in prayer with the same heart.
Jesus' family was completely devoted to prayer. When can we devote ourselves to prayer at all? It's time to draw conclusions about your life. When we conclude our life through Christ, we pray according to the command to carry out God's work. You can do all you can to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to hold you. The Acts of the Apostles tells another example in which he devoted himself to prayer other than the text.
When Jesus was crucified, the disciples hid in the house because of fear. Even after witnessing the resurrection of the Lord, they went out to fish on the Sea of Galilee. However, after realizing the mystery of Christ, I was able to boldly preach Christ. Hearing Peter's sermon, people thought, 'What should I do?' and they beat their hearts. The number of disciples who believed in Jesus and were baptized on that day numbered three thousand. They were totally devoted to prayer under the apostle's teaching.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
No prayer at all is possible when we conclude with Christ. The 120 Mundo concluded their lives with Christ and devoted all their efforts to praying intensively without even going home for 10 days. Finally, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit filled the whole house where they were sitting, and they saw them splitting like tongues of fire and fell on each one (Acts 2:2-3).
I bless you in the name of the Lord that you and I can work together in prayer and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I pray that you and your family can conclude with Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit through all prayer.
3. There are families in which the whole family was fully responsible for God's work.
The 120 people in Acts 1 are those who have concluded that Jesus is the Christ. The entire family of Jesus was gathered there. Here we must find one prayer topic. “May our homes and families be used for Jesus Christ!” and pray.
In Genesis 6, we can see the fact that Noah's family carried out the gospel movement. All of Joshua's family were also involved in the Gospel movement. In the book of Acts, Philip's family was all involved in the Gospel movement. Philip had four daughters, and they all prophesied. Evangelical prophecy, the word of the Lord was preached. If any of you have a family with many daughters, do not be discouraged and pray to be used like Philip's family. The whole family of Priscilla and Aquila helped Paul and did God's work.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16).
:31)
If I believed in Jesus, my whole family should be saved because of me. Just as God wants me and my family to be saved, God wants me and my family to carry out the Christ movement. Our entire family should be used for the purpose of doing the Christ movement and the Gospel movement. What should be the purpose of marriage? Jesus Christ. Why do you have children? To do the work of Jesus Christ.
The whole family and the whole church must participate in this work of salvation that God wants. ① Noah's family
“But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall go into the ark with your sons, your wife, and your wives” (Genesis 6:18).
② Joshua's family
“If it does not seem good to you to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in the land in which you live. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24) :15)
③Jesus’ family
“They devoted themselves to prayer together with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the brothers of Jesus” (Acts 1:14).
④ Deacon Philip's home
“As the scattered people were going around preaching the gospel, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to the people. And they went out with a cry, and many paralyzed and lame were healed, and there was great joy in the city” (Acts 8:4-8).
“The next day he left and came to Caesarea, and went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven deacons, and stayed there, and he had four daughters, who prophesied as virgins” (Acts 21:8-9).
⑤ Priscilla and Aquila’s family
“I met a Jew from Pontus who was called Aquila, and Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. So he and his wife Priscilla had come from Italy, and Paul went to them” (Acts 18:2).
“Paul stayed a few more days, and then he said farewell to his brothers and was leaving for Syria by boat. Priscilla and Aquila were with him. Because Paul had an early vow, he had his hair cut at Cenchrea” (Acts 18:18).
“He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard it, they took him and explained the way of God in more detail” (Acts 18:26).
“Greetings Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3).
Let me conclude with the words.
What is the purpose of your family? To all of you who have already formed a family and are living as members of a family, what is the purpose of your family's existence? The family is the first institution that God established on this earth. Although the church was established by God, the origin of the family is older than the church. What is your home for, and what is happening in your home? What is the main topic of conversation at home? Is Jesus Christ really the master of your home?
Some of you are now of marriageable age and need to start a family. You are people who clearly have a will to marry. Then why do you want to get married? What is the purpose of marriage? What do you two get married to accomplish as one body? Are you getting married because life is too hard for you to live alone? Or do you get married to have children and carry on your lineage? Is racial preservation the only purpose of marriage? Surely they would get married, but wouldn't it be strange if they did it without a purpose?
The purpose of the family's existence is for the glory of God. Marriage must be done for Christ. It is to become one and to carry out the work of God, that is, the work of preaching Christ, with one power greater than the two. When you get married, you want to have many children. Because that is how many workers for Christ are born.
Islam produces many children through polygamy. Fertility is a policy of Islamic propaganda. We must not become polygamous or polygamous. However, we must have many children and nurture them as perfect servants of Christ.
Jesus' family realized the mystery of Christ and went to the place of prayer first to carry out the work the Lord entrusted to them. We put all our heart into prayer together. Everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit. It has become the most beautiful family that can handle the Christ movement.
What kind of home is your home? What kind of family do you want to become? I hope you build a family where Jesus is the master and the will of Christ is the purpose of existence. Please build such a home.
Today's text shows the model of the most beautiful family in which all families come to God for Christ's sake. I hope your home will be like this. I pray in the name of the Lord that we can become a blessed family in which everyone does their utmost with love and devotion for the Lord.