This is going to be our second week in the Adventures in Acts series that we're doing. I'll be handing out the lesson plan after the lesson, so please don't let me forget to do that. And then, well, I guess we'll just dive in. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for all the gifts that you've given us, Lord. All the blessings that we receive. Lord, we don't deserve them, but Lord, you seem to graciously give us so much. Lord, help us to honor you as we seek to learn from your word this during this Sunday school hour and then I pray for you to be with the rest of the day. We're going to have four services today. Pray for you to bless and be with all of them. Lord, we love you in these in the prayer. Amen. Amen. Alright, Acts chapter number one is going to be our starting point. It was our leaving off point last time. We we got through Acts one And at that point, we mentioned that the book of Acts kind of turns away now when Christ has ascended and the book turns to the, I guess, the adventures, you could say, of the apostles, the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles. And so we're going to start right where we left off in verse 12, and we're going to start right off with a thin ice subject, and then the ice will get thicker as we go. So that'll be a change of pace. But it'll all be Bible, I promise. So let's start by reading Acts chapter 1, verses 12 through 15. The Bible says here, Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, and Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelos, and Judas, the brother of James. How would you like to be the other Judas? You know, I mean, this is that name. Now, that name has been sort of tarnished. It's a little too late to to change that. Um verse fourteen, these all continued with one with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and with his brethren, And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of the names together were about 120. Now, I know that's starting a thought and finishing, but I wanted to get to that number 120 before we move on. So out of these four verses we've read, these 12 through 15, there are, I believe, four uh lessons for us to learn. Um at least four that I have noticed uh in my studies here uh for preparation for this. The first of this uh lessons is men and women both were present in the other room. say, well, well, duh. Of course, they were and some people, especially Baptists, tend to think that only men can be spiritual or only women can be spiritual. Uh you get these these side to side things and my experience with youth group. Uh most youth groups are probably 70, 60 to 70% girls that are faithful and that are at everything and doing doing the work and and being around and then there's the boys that are there because there's the girls there. Amen. Uh and so, you know, spirituality, even in churches, you know, of any age group, you look at many churches, and usually, it's not the men that outnumber the women in church services, it's the women that outnumber the men. So there are those that say that women are more spiritual, but then there are also those that say, well, the men are the preachers, the men are the leaders, the men are the, you know, fill in the blank, so men are more spiritual. I say yes to both. It depends on the woman, and it depends on the man. It's all an individual thing. I don't think that one gender or another is more spiritual. We do have different roles, though. And so, it's true, the Word of God prohibits women from pastoring and or usurping authority over men. We must always remember that men and women both can be disciples of Christ and indispensable assets to ministry. uh men and women may in some cases have different roles to play but we have the same savior and just because women are not to pastor or teach does not mean that they are not spiritual. Uh now, regarding women pastors, this has actually come up in conversation a few times lately. So, I have a list here and you'll get this at the end of class of of verses that have to do with the topic. We're gonna run some of these real quick just to to make the point because it'll come up again and then we're going to look at chapter three as well. I have several references here all of which you all of which have to be ignored if you're going to. sit under or be a a woman pastor. First Timothy chapter two and verse number eleven. Levin says here, let the woman learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Now, we're not going to dwell on all this tonight. So, I'm just going to show you these verses and then you can make up your mind. Do the, do, you know, with all these verses we're going to see, is it okay for women to be pastors? First Timothy chapter three and verse number two, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilance over good behavior, giving hospitality, apt to teach. That's kind of a hard one to get around and then let's do Titus chapter one. Titus chapter 1, a few pages over in your Bible, and verse number 5. For this cause, loved by thee in Crete, the dove should have set in order the things that are wanting and ordained elders in every city, as I have appointed thee. If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of right or unruly, for a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre, and on and on. But again, we see the husband, of one wife. We saw in first Timothy two uh silence and learning and subjection and then now in first Corinthians chapter fourteen, this is the granddaddy of of be careful when you read them versus uh first Corinthians chapter fourteen and starting in verse number thirty-four. Every now and then in youth group, I would do this as a as a uh sword drill cuz I knew some of the guys had this memorized It's like the Holy Spirit knew people are going to be like, wait, I don't agree with that. Verse 36, what? Don't you like that? You read the Bible and it's like he knows what you're thinking as you're reading. What? Came the word of God out from you or came it unto you only? If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. He states, if you are a spiritual man, you must acknowledge that what I'm saying is true. Now, all these verses, we're not going to preach on women in ministry tonight. I am thankful for the women that have been Sunday school teachers and nursery workers and many, many other things. My wife teaches. There's so much that women can do and do very, very well in ministry, but we're not going to talk about tonight. I just want to point out that Acts chapter 1, 12-15, men and women together made up that 120 disciples that were left after the crucifixion and ascension of the Lord. The woman pastor thing has become more and more of a problem lately as less and less men get interested in serving God. The women have stepped up and stepped in and they think that they're being heroic in that but they're actually ignoring scripture and so I would say that that is 100% wrong. We'll talk more about that a little bit. Prayer and supplication were made in that passage in Acts chapter 1. If you're not there, go and turn back there. In Acts chapter 1, they were making prayer and supplication. Now, that word supplication is a word that describes not just prayer, but earnest prayer. Prayer of urgency and intent. A very earnest, a very desired prayer is a supplication. We, you know, Christians, we pray every day, or at least we should, but not every prayer that we pray is an earnest request. Not every prayer is so dear to our hearts, so urgent in our minds, or so important to our lives, that it could be considered a supplication and you think about, you know, you go through your prayer list and there's certain things that you just kind of you pray on it and you keep going. You care about those things or you wouldn't be praying about them but then there's some things that you pray about that you just pour your heart out to god and that's that would be a supplication. Uh so, prayers and supplications being made to the lord uh in the upper room. Uh look with me at Acts Prayer is a very important cornerstone of the Christian life. Your Christian walk with God will be very sickly and weak if you don't have a good prayer life. Number five, we talked about the story a while back. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And we don't have time this morning, but if you remember, you read through the story, the chains fall off, the prison bars open, the angel of the Lord leads him out into the street. and he goes to one of the houses that they're praying at and the girl comes to the door and she's so excited. She leaves him at the door to run and tell everybody else he's there and they can't believe it and and they're just they're all there praying for Peter and Peter shows up at the door. God answers that prayer because the church was praying for him. Acts chapter sixteen verse number twenty-five. This one will be even more familiar to some. Acts chapter 16, verse 25. The Bible says, And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God. And the prisoners heard them. They had been arrested for preaching. And now they were praying and singing in the prison house. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loose. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep, And seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? So prayer again. is the starting point. Prayer is, in many stories in your Bible, where the story begins. It begins with somebody praying, and it ends with some miraculous, amazing thing, and I'm excited about looking at these stories later on in our study in Acts. Turn with me to Well, I'll just read it for you. 1 Timothy 2.8 says, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. James 5.16 says, confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. that that verse is so over quoted in this regard. They always they kind of seem to forget the righteous man part. Uh the effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much people pray two times and say, but what that verse of James said that, you know, there much would happen Yeah, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous person. There's a lot of qualifiers in that verse, but it is a very true statement. It does avail much. If you are fervently praying for something that is something that God would love to see come to pass, something that is in accord with God's will, and you are in a right relationship with the Lord, then he's going to answer that prayer. The answer may be yes, it may be no, it may be wait, but he's going to answer that prayer. Third thing that we notice in those first few verses we read in Acts chapter one is that the unity is prevailing. Those, they're all in one accord, the Bible says. They're in one accord in one place, praying and making supplication to the Lord in that Acts chapter one passage. That means they're all in agreement, they all have the same goals and desires, and the only way a diverse group of people can have that is if their unity comes from putting Christ above all else. If my goal in life is riches, and yours is fame, and another's is wisdom, then we are all on very different paths. Riches, fame, and wisdom are different things that we have goals of. If my priority in life, above any goal or desire, is to serve my Savior, and so is yours and in others, then regardless of our backgrounds or bank accounts or occupations, we can all have unity because the first and foremost thing in our life is Christ. You look around at some of these churches and you've got bank managers and custodians and you've got everything in between of what you would consider honorable jobs or dishonorable jobs, high-paying jobs, low-paying jobs. demographically conservative jobs or liberal jobs. You've got a mixture of everything in the church most often because the job is second to the Christianity. The occupation, the hobbies, the habits, the political parties, all of that comes behind Christian. If Christian is what is first in your life, then you can have unity with people that you would not expect to have unity with, because that is what is your... because your goal, your mind is Christ. Unity in the Church is actually a prayer of Christ right before His crucifixion. Turn with me to John 17. John seventeen. If you don't know it, John seventeen is an amazing chapter in our Bibles where Christ is praying and and he prays for us in John chapter seventeen specifically and it's just it's just a wonderful, wonderful chapter. I encourage you to read it. Study it and memorize it. John chapter seventeen and verse Christ speaking about his disciples, he says, They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That's you and me. People that shall, future tense, believe. That's us. We are those who, because of the apostles, because of their ministry, we have believed on Christ. So he's praying for us. Verse 21, that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me have I given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I am them, thou and me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. wants unity in the church. He wants people to be saved and be made part of the body of Christ. Christ in us, us in Christ. It's a beautiful picture of salvation and that unity of the church is an often, often commanded thing for the New Testament church. Um you you read you read the book of first Corinthians and and that church had a lot of problems but the problems in the in the Corinthian church mainly boil down to them not being able to get along with each other uh to them not being able to to work together and to do the things god wants them to do together. Uh there's divisions and strides and things in that church and it's a big mess. but if you look at, let's see, Romans chapter 15 will be our first one. We'll run some references here about unity. Romans chapter 15 and verse number six, Romans 15 verse six, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. One mind and one mouth. We have the same mindset and goal. We have the same proclamation. That's the church. The church's mind should be to glorify God. The church's mouth should be glorifying God. That is unity in the church. 2 Corinthians chapter 13. 2 Corinthians 13. I know we're turning a lot here, but it's a Bible study this morning a little bit. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11. 2 Corinthians 13, 11. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect. Be of good comfort. Be of one mind. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. You'd think everything would be covered under be perfect. He starts with, farewell, be perfect. That sounds like a parent leaving, you know, mom and dad leaving on a date or something. They tell their kids, hey, be perfect. Just, that's what it kind of sounds like to me. The Apostle Paul is sending his letter to the Corinthian church. He says, hey, You know, I'm I'm writing off here. I'm signing off but by the way, just just be perfect and part of how you be perfect. So, be perfect. Be of good comfort. Be of one mind. Um that's very important to the Christian life. Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one. A few more pages over in your Bible and verse number twenty-seven. Philippians one twenty-seven. Only, that's a very important first word, only let your conversation be as if we come with the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Again, unity in the church. over and over again mentioned in chapter 2 and verse 2, fulfill you by joy that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife of a lord, but loneliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. I've often said, if we could just sort of kind of follow the advice of Philippians two three, we have no more church for us. We we we would just eliminate that completely in the world over if we could just obey Philippians two three but that's not an easy verse to to obey. Our flesh doesn't like that verse. Um Romans fifteen five through seven say now the god of patience and consolation grants you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus that he may with one mind and one mouth glorify God even the father of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore receive you one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. If we will allow Christ's mind and Christ's will and Christ's desire to become our own, then it will be much easier for us to live in unity and work together for the gospel in unity. If the main thing is Christ in all of our lives, then we can agree, and we can move forward, and we can accomplish great things for the Lord. But if the main thing for your life is politics, and the main thing for your life is Christian living, and the main thing for your life is your job, then we're going to have some contentions and some strivings about what's important and what's not. uh but if everybody's first and foremost thing in their life is Christ and serving the lord, then we can have unity regardless of everything else. It's it's nice when all those other things come into play when you find people that that have more than just Christ in common with you and you're able to go out and go fishing and shoot the breeze and not get in a fight and all that but uh but the first and foremost thing for the church is to make sure that we are in one mind, one body, one one unity and the first and foremost thing in our lives. Philippians two five says, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. If we all have a mind of Christ, then we shouldn't have any problem getting along. But you all know, that doesn't always happen. Many of you have been through more than one church split, more than one falling out, and it just doesn't always happen. But where there's unity, God works. I believe every time you find unity mentioned in the New Testament, especially the book of Acts, you find people being together in one accord, one place doing something. Something amazing follows. Something good follows. So being in unity with the brethren is a very good thing. The last thing we find about that passage in Acts chapter one, we only read three verses, but the fourth thing we find is just that number 120. 120. We won't run all the references for time's sake, but if you were to look at Matthew chapter 4, Matthew chapter 9, Mark chapter 2, Luke chapter 19, you find multitudes multitudes, many, many times, following Christ. Multitudes listening to Christ. You find people tearing up the roof of a house to lower somebody in because they couldn't get to Christ for the press. There's just so many people. We know that Christ fed 5,000 just of men. We know he fed tens of thousands of people with the bread of the bishops. We know that so many people took part in and were benefited by his ministry. Can you imagine how many thousands he healed? How many thousands he cast devils out of? constantly doing all these things for everyone and and and most of the time, you find that we're multitudes in in regard to Christ. It is right around the time that he's healing people. So, that kind of brings in the multitude. So, some churches have figured that out and started uh some false things from that but um that were multitude multitudes were with Christ almost throughout his whole ministry. all the way. He's he's trying to get away from the crowd a lot of times. You find he goes off in a mountain alone to pray. He goes off away with just his disciples. He gets in a boat because he can't be on shore because they follow him. So, he gets in a boat and says, hi, he can't get me here. He just he just he he has to get away from people because they're always surrounding him and now, he has gone to the cross. He's been crucified. He's risen again. Been But now, when it comes down to being in this place, waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit, and he ascends and gets out of their view, now there's only 120. And if this was right after the crucifixion, I would understand it a little more, because he just got crucified, nobody knows what's going on, so there's only 120 of them left, but this is after he's been alive on the earth for 40 days, showing many signs and things, showing infallible proof that he was raised from the dead, and then he gives him commands and sends him back to heaven, and now we're down to 120. Seems like that number would have grown from the resurrection and all that happened, and it just goes to show you a few things, but one of the things that I think about when I see this situation in Acts is people like a savior they can see. Christ isn't on the scene anymore. He's ascended. He's at the right hand of his father. He's making intercession for us. He's no longer physically present. We like to be able to see someone and associate names and faces and say, that's who I'm following. That's why a lot of times you get preachers who fall in the trap of becoming the image of their minister. you get, you get people who, who refer to themselves as, and I won't use one of the names and I don't want to disparage anybody, but as, you know, so-and-so-ites, you know, like if you were following me, a Jeffite or a Linnite, you know, there's actually large swaths of people across this country that identify themselves not with Christ, but with some preacher. They say, well, I made blah, blah, blah. And they do it to explain this is what I believe, I get that, but, but, People like associating a person that they can see, an individual they can see, touch, feel, listen to in person. We like that. But a Savior that you cannot see, a Savior that none of us have ever seen with our eyes, that's a little bit harder for people to swallow. We like to be able to see something and grasp something and listen directly to someone, but now he's ascended. He's not unseen anymore in a physical body, and so we don't have that. And so I think that's part of the reason that there's only 120 left is, well, He's gone now. He's gone now. I don't have something that's tangible that I can hold on to and see, and He's not here healing people anymore. They like a Savior, people like a Savior who heals their bodies, but now Christ is in the business of healing their souls. Everybody likes the idea of, I have cancer. Let me go to this church service and and the preacher will wave his coat at me and my cancer will be gone. Those services are shams and and and many preachers who have tried that stuff have been arrested for fraud as they should be. That's not how it works anymore and and and so, you see these people that they they bring in, they fill stadiums. They fill thousands and thousands of people flock to and then they die of cancer a couple months later because they stopped taking their treatments because the preacher told them they were healed. Or the preacher blames them, says, you must not have had enough faith to be healed. Could it just be that the preachers are charlatan? People like something, people like the Christ that will heal their bodies. They're not as fond of the Christ that will heal their sin because they like their sin. You preach a Christ that is a healer. There's there's churches even in this area that I found out about that they preach physical healing and have healing services every now and then. Those churches are huge. You preach Christ like we do that, you know, you you may have a broken leg and that'll heal. You may have cancer and that may or may not go away but what you may need is is your sin to be fixed. People aren't as thrilled So, I think that's one of the reasons. People like a savior they can see. People like a savior who healed their bodies and they're not as worried about their sin. People like what's popular. They do. People like what's popular. Christ has been crucified and his followers have largely been scattered. The priests and all that have come up with that lie and paid off the guards that the disciples stole the body and so there you think about what the political and religious climate of the time was. Christ was not popular at that time. All those people that were for Christ while he was healing and preaching and teaching work for Christ on Calvary and even those that were that were there and saw him alive after he had ascended 500 at one time. Apparently, not all of them stayed true either. People like to follow what is popular. That's why a lot of times small churches struggle to grow because somebody comes and they may have great preaching, they may have great friendliness, they may have the right Bible, the right doctrine, the right music, they may have everything right, but somebody walks in and says, well, there's not many people here, I really want, I want somebody my age, I want somebody, you know, better looking, I want a church with, you know, a lot of people, a lot of things happening. And so, some small churches that have everything right, they can never really go anywhere. They struggle really hard to grow because people like what's popular, they come into a small group, they think, well, this must not be very good or very popular. I can go to the church down the road that has lights and fog machines and 2,000 people in service. And I'll feel like I'm part of something. And I'm glad that's not the way the Lord sees it. I'm glad that just a couple people can turn the world upside down. And so, it's not about what's popular, but yet, even subconsciously, sometimes you think, well, this is the more popular route, I'll go this route. And sadly, I think that's true for many people when it comes to Christianity, when it comes to the church they attend, the Bible they read, the music they listen to. They just kind of go with what everybody's going with instead of waiting and saying, you know what, what does the Bible say? What does God say about it? Alright, so now we come to Acts chapter 1 and verse 16. So, fourth verse for today. I would much rather be a part of 120 devout, faithful men and women than part of a multitude who would forsake Christ. I'd much rather be a part of that smaller crowd that's doing something for the Lord and faithful. Acts chapter 1 verse 16. Now, I'm still an immature boy, but when I was young and I read that verse, I was like, oh, that is cool that that's in the Bible. Now, I understand a little bit more of the depth of the meaning and all that, but the Bible's graphic. The Bible is honest. This is what happens to people who do what Judas did. They don't have a very good thing to look forward to. They have death. People that reject Christ, people that betray Christ and Christianity, it's it's sad that they think they're enjoying life and then that guilt and conviction hits and you got people that do what Judas did sometimes and and so Judas has done this verse eighteen verse nineteen it was known in all the dwellers of Jerusalem in so much that the field is called in their proper tongue uh at at Keltima 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 there in his bishopric let another take wherefore these men which have accompanied us uh all the time that the Lord Jesus went out in and out among us beginning from the baptism of John under that same day that he was taken up from us must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. So, now, essentially, they are saying we had twelve. We need to replace the one that fell away. We need to replace Judas. We need to have a twelfth witness of the resurrection. We need to have a twelfth apostle, if you will. There's a role that needs to be filled here. Why is this special? Why replace Judas at all? Why do we need that 12th number? Well, first of all, Peter answered the question in verse 20, where it's written in the book of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate, let no man dwell therein, and as Bishop Crick will have another take, he's referring to Psalm 69, 25 and Psalm 109, 8. The first reason Judas needed to be replaced was to fulfill scripture. you know, they had to fulfill scripture. The Bible said that somebody else was going to take his place, and so they needed to make sure somebody else took his place. I mean, it makes pretty good sense. There's another reason, though, that I think is even more interesting. In Revelation chapter 21 and verse 14, the Bible says, Now, if you can guess, we're in Revelation 21. This is New Jerusalem we're talking about. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. I mean, now we know the foundation of the church is Christ. He's the rock. He's the cornerstone. The chief cornerstone, sorry. He is our foundation. but god is going to take heaven. He's going to take that new Jerusalem and he's going to have twelve pillars, twelve foundations of that of that city and he's going to put the names of of imperfect sinful men there. That's amazing to me that he would the fact that he would allow people like us to be part of his ministry to be ambassadors in his behalf. I don't know if it's amazing but will have their names etched into the foundations of New Jerusalem. That's pretty cool. I don't think they want Judas' name there. least not Judas Iscariot or other Judas, you know, but Judas Iscariot, they don't want his name there. They gotta replace him. And so, this this man that they replace him with gonna have his name inscribed on that that pillar, that foundation of New Jerusalem. That's pretty neat. And and so, of course, that revelation was written after Acts one. So, it's not like they knew that this was gonna happen but but it is something that fulfills scripture once again. So, I want you to notice the qualifications. Next week, we'll finish up the chapter with the first miracle of the Bible, Bible age. We preached on that once and that's where we're gonna be next week with this lesson series. But the qualifications for this person that was gonna take the place of Judas, the first qualification I want you to notice because it goes along with what we talked about earlier is he had to be a man. He did. It's just you may not like it but that's what God said. Has to be a man. This point has been discussed already. Several women minister to to others, including Christ in the Bible. That word minister literally means served. We we we kind of misuse that word today. You know, we call somebody a minister and we think of that as a clergy, which I get it. That all works. But the word minister means servant. word minister means to somebody who has served and I've told people, I've had some people tell me before that there's a woman in in Matthew that that ministered the god uh ministered unto Christ and so they're it's okay to have women pastors and women deacons. There's a lot of things wrong with that statement. First of all, minister just means serve. It doesn't mean preach, teach, or hold a position in a church. Second of all, the still walking on the earth and and and so you gotta ignore a lot of Bible. You gotta just rip out pages of your Bible if you're going to be a woman preacher or sit under a woman preacher. It's not scriptural. Yes, they may be able to speak really well. Yes, they may be able to have some Bible knowledge but if they're sharing that from the pulpit over men, they are real popular. I know but uh but it's true. It's true. You cannot dispute that biblically. You can say, oh, oh, you can make a bunch of arguments but you can't make a biblical argument against it. The Bible is very clear about it and uh there's a reason for that. We've been talking about earlier. You know, men and women, we can argue about who's more spiritual. We cannot, you cannot argue which gender is more emotional. right? Some of you ladies are giving me the look like you'd be careful now including my wife but uh but it's it's true. Women tend to be more emotional and and men tend to be a little bit more literal and and you think god didn't know that god knew that and god decided I'd rather not have the emotional one be the head of the you know, the one in charge of the church and preaching the gospel. I'd rather be the one that's you know, whatever you want to label men but uh now, I don't know. I already spent too long there. We're we're not going to talk about that. It had to be a man. No woman was served by was called by Christ to be an apostle. Uh thus further proving the Holy Spirit's writings through Paul and others that in the verses previously we provided concerning women in Christian rules. It's it's wrong. Uh second thing was the last thing for for today. The other qualification this person had to meet was Faithfulness. Peter's very specific that no one would even be considered for the title of the 12th Apostle if they had not been with Christ from day one till that very moment. That's a pretty specific group of people. That makes you wonder how many people were following Christ when he left the baptism of John. It had to be more than 12 if they were going to say, you know, we need somebody from that original group to fit this bill. So, the prospect would certainly have to be someone who is a prime example of Christ's teaching in Luke chapter 9, where he says, and he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily. whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever will lose it like for my sake, the same shall save it. If you remember in John 666, the Bible says a lot of many of his disciples went back and walked with him. There are many places in the gospel story where if you were following Christ, you would have an where people tried to stone him and kill him, where he became unpopular, the crucifixion, people scattered but they came back together, and so there are many opportunities for these 120 that were remaining in that upper room, many opportunities for them to quit and say enough is enough. Many opportunities for them to be offended in his teaching and leave. Many opportunities for them to be offended by another disciple and leave. many opportunities for them to do exactly what a lot of Christians in churches do today and leave. But they didn't. This group of 120, Peter said, there needs to be somebody on this group that has been with us since day one of Jesus' ministry and a man that's been with us that long, pick somebody to fill this role. faithfulness cannot be understated. Faithfulness is so important in the word of God and so important in our lives and I hope it's important to you. I would assume so. You're the Sunday school crowd but I hope that you keep that faithfulness to the lord. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the book of Acts that we can study all these things. Lord, as we try to overview the book, I pray please help us to learn all that we can. to honor you with how we react to what we learn.