Let us all turn to the Word of God together, returning to that chapter you've been reading, Acts chapter 1. And while you're turning up the place, I'd like you to put a marker in this chapter for easy reference, because in the course of speaking this afternoon I may make reference elsewhere. And then we want to get back again to Acts chapter 1 without any difficulty. I'm delighted to be here on this very special occasion for celebration and thanksgiving. for these years when the Lord has been with you in the midst, in worship, in prayers and in witness. And we are encouraged in the Lord and we pray that your minister here will know the strengthening of the Lord as he pursues his ministry. In a way, we can recognize his anniversary as well and say thank you to the Lord for his loving kindness. So it's lovely to be here. to have the opportunity of bringing the word of God now and then in God's will tomorrow at the services. I hope you can come. And don't forget to come with prayer, with your expectations set upon the Lord himself. Well, let's make reference to the chapter we have been reading. We're going to look in particular the verses 12 through to 14. And as you can see, the words there are, Then returned they unto Jerusalem. So a number of them had been to the Mount of Olives, that mountain which is still there to this day, needless to say, outside the city of Jerusalem. the Mount of Olives, of historic significance in the Scriptures. And here in Acts chapter 1, a hallowed place, a place of much blessing, when the disciples there witnessed our risen Savior ascending into glory. And then, when He disappeared from view, They're sent back to Jerusalem. And verse 12 says, then returned they on to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. When they were come in, that is, when they got into the city, having descended the Mount of Olives, gone right down into the great Kidron Valley, and then made that somewhat precipitous ascent into the city of Jerusalem again. When they were come in, you see their first thought. They went up into an upper room. Very bold, both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Lotus, and Judas, brother of James. Then comes this very, very important piece of information. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. And with God's precious word opened up in front of us, let us just bide briefly and ask help from God even today. Lord, you pray, Lord, speak to me. Make thy word, on this anniversary occasion, make thy word to be the joy of my soul. Let me, just like those disciples of whom we're reading, enter into that city of peace, that dwelling place where in olden days the presence of the Lord was made known. Let us worship with thanksgiving at his feet. Lord, we thank Thee for today, for the health and strength we enjoy, the freedom, too, to be in the house of God. Take Thy holy Word. Our prayer is, in all simplicity, break Thou the bread of life to me. We thank Thee for all able to come. Especially do we thank Thee for those who know the Savior, who have endeavored By prayer and by faithful witness to go on with God, delight our souls in the Lord. Make this a special day. That's our prayer. And we remember the young and maybe some who are here visiting in the congregation. We thank thee that there is a portion for all. Each of us can say, in very truth, Lord, you have a word for me. Lord, you have a word for my soul. Give to me the hearing ear. Give to me the understanding heart. Let me seize on this word with gladness, as well as with understanding. Let the word of God become a mighty power for good in my life. Lord, we pray for those who are walking with God, who desires of the best of the blessings, We pray that you'll help them. And there may be some who have been cold in heart, have not been as close to thee over recent times. Perhaps someone's present today who's saying, I used to walk with God, now today I feel I'm backslidden, I feel I'm far away from God. Lord, it is with loving kindness, You've spoken to the backslider to make that the case today. And then we can't forget someone who doesn't know the Lord at all. A stranger to grace, a stranger to God. Oh, let thy word come with such clarity and power and even wisdom. Let that word be applied to the heart. Grant that there may be a newness today in that person's experience, whereby they have come from darkness into light and turned from sin and from Satan unto God. Lord, be pleased to save sinners too. Let us rejoice in thy nearness. Speak, Lord, to me and to all who have come. We do pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Here we are in this chapter one of the book of Acts, and you will know that this book is called the Acts of the Apostles for good reason, because that title tells you about the contents of the book. You've already been notified in the reading of the address that stands at the head of the chapter there in verse one. You see, this wonderful book of Acts is addressed to a man. And we are praying today that God might speak to us as individuals. Oh, we want the Lord to work on the congregation. But then it's all important for us to approach this service today as individuals as well. And to say, Lord, speak to me, not forgetting the others, but do come by and speak to my soul, Lord. And I think that I'm working on good grounds when I say, in reference to the book of Acts, the word is addressed to one man. And then through him it comes to the rest of us. Very often, Bible names have meanings, particularly those names in the Old Testament. And here, in the New Testament, there is this name, Theophilus. Its meaning is, one who loves God. Now, that highlights this book the importance of it, and shows us that it's directed to a man who loves the Lord. We could say that of every book in the Bible, particularly. These are God's words for God's people. And it's lovely to have a word from the Lord. If you love the Lord, if you know the Savior, you can clasp this word and hold it to your heart and say, this is a word for my soul. Theophilus. It's very remarkable that the former treatise that's mentioned here, as you can see in verse one, the former treatise. Most of you will know that the reference is to the gospel of Luke. And maybe with a marker in the place here next, you could turn to Luke's gospel and chapter one. And you can see there the words of introduction. Now, this is unique. I know we have the two letters to Timothy, and those two epistles are addressed to the one man whose name stands at the head of those letters, 1st and 2nd Timothy. But there is an element of uniqueness about this. In reference to the Gospel of Luke, here is the one gospel addressed to one man. And then threw him to the rest of us. And then the book of Acts addressed to the same man. And the unique point to me is that in reference to the gospel, there you have a gospel history given to Theophilus. Whereas in the book of Acts, we have a church history. And isn't it interesting to know that in these distinct messages from the Lord to his servant Theophilus, one who knows God and moreover loves God, here is a precious word from God. the glorious gospel, the gospel of Luke. And in Luke chapter 1 and verse 4, you read the purpose of that letter, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things. I want that to be fixed upon every heart. I want every soul present today, whatever your experience in the ways of the Lord, I want you to know the certainty. Oh, more than anything else, especially in these days of coldness and dearth, when many have forgotten God and turned away from Him, we need to know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed or catechized. And so Theophilus has a certain knowledge already of the things of God. He has been taught and taught with care and diligence. And that lies in the word instructed here, which gives us our word catechized. actually instructed in detail and instructed in a formal way, perhaps setting out the topics or the doctrines in the Word of God. Nevertheless, you want to know the certainty of those things. I wish that I could leave this pulpit and come right down to you personally in the service and say, now let me talk about your experience Have you come like Theophilus to know the Lord? And have you in a way been catechized even, catechized in the things of God? And do you now love the Lord? And can we improve in our position somewhat by knowing with more conviction than ever before the certainty of those things which we have been taught? So some of you can remember the days of childhood learning these things. Learning certain scriptures. Learning perhaps, if you use the catechism, details from that as well. But do you know the certainty of these things? That is what we have to contemplate here. To have that certainty grip these hearts of ours. And I feel that it is the Lord's purpose in having me here today to bring this to your attention. Because there may be an element lacking in your life, I don't suppose for an instant that anybody here doubts the scripture record. So I'm not coming from that direction. I'm going to accept that all who have come here know the importance of the Word of God and know about its divine origin. But having said that, I believe that there is more ground to be gained. by sensing with deepest conviction. This is the very Word, the God-breathed Word, the Holy Scriptures. You see, Theophilus, we have said certain things about him already. He knows the Lord. He loves God. Otherwise, his name wouldn't have been here in the record. How many are here today who love the Lord? whether male or female, yet in your own heart, in your experience, you can say, truly, yes, I thank my God, I know the Lord and I love the Lord. I wish we could declare it with more purpose. And yet on top of that, I have to say to the Theophilus character, listen now, that you may know the certainty of those things. So more than anything else, as you leave our fellowship this afternoon, I want you to go away with that deepening conviction, the certainty of the gospel record, the absolute, indisputable certainty of the gospel record. That's the effect of that message. And then when we come to Acts itself, this church history that we're talking about, see when The Lord comes by to speak. He puts our name on the message. I do believe that's one of the thoughts we've got to look at in Acts chapter 1 verse 1, the former treatise. When you got the gospel history, that was that you might know the certainty. No question on the Bible. We know we can say we affirm it solemnly, we affirm it joyously. This is the God-breathed Word. And we have a certainty about our research in Scripture and the way we pray about the Bible and pray that very Word into our hearts. I want you to have that conviction today, that God might make it a burning conviction. that God might even change your life because, oh, let's see, yes, all of us can benefit, all of us can make progress, great progress spiritually, and that's what we desire. Can we suggest here is the step you must consider today that with a newness about the certainty of the divine record, that might grip your heart. And here, When God gives you a message, he puts your name on it. I think we're justified in making that comment, too. That's the case with the gospel of Luke. That makes that gospel unique. In a sense, it's the only gospel of the four to carry a man's name as the recipient, and the book of Acts. So it's, on one hand, the gospel history, and on the other, a church history. That's the book of Acts. this man's name. What a privilege he has to say, if he could just picture him supposing he had the original manuscript in his hand, and he was saying, there it is, that's God's precious word for me. Do you see it? Do you see it there? I have my name on it. I want you to Have that in your heart and your thought today. I have asked the Lord to speak to me. Perhaps you're saying, I hope you are. I've asked the Lord to speak to me. And today, the word, the word that I have received has my name on it. My name. That makes it mine. So with that in view, I want to single you out in the service from all the rest and to say, here is God's precious Word, and it has your name on it. Is that not an indication the Lord's speaking to you? It certainly is. The Lord has your name on it. Well, we've spoken about the title then, The Acts of the Apostles. And that title very largely tells us about the contents of this book. We could go a little further speaking about titles and suggest an extension there. Namely, This book we're looking at here may be called The Acts of the Holy Spirit Through the Apostles, and that's a most appropriate title. I want you certainly to consider the book in that respect, not only The Acts of the Apostles, but most importantly, the acts of the Holy Spirit in the apostles and through the apostles. Because men and women, all the acts of the apostles would have been as nothing without the mighty presence and power of the Holy Spirit working among them, holding up His Word and blessing that Word to the hearts of men. So while we're focusing today on Acts chapter 1, We want to be talking and thinking about the acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles. But then we could look on the acts of the apostles in another capacity. And when we think of prayer, this book could be called the book of prayer because it's a chronicle of the early church at prayer. And that certainly focuses our attention. And we do well to think of those occasions in the book of Acts, although we're going to stay with chapter 1 for today as best we can. But the Holy Spirit has been pleased to bring together inside these chapters, in this inspired history, occasions when the people of God have turned to the Lord in prayer, sometimes the record of the prayer itself. At other times, it's simply a feature. There the people of God have gathered for prayer. And here we are in Acts chapter 1. There's a notification of a prayer meeting. Just turn to it, if you will, in your Bible. Here I have read the verses already. The man and woman coming back from the Mount of Olives in verse 12. Just let me summarize the verses now. Moving into verse 14, these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. So this is the first reference in the book of Acts of the assembly of the church. And it's a gathering for prayer. I put it to you, men and women, this is of the highest significance. The very first reference to the gathering together of God's people in this inspired history is all about prayer. There they have left the mind of orbs. Oh, what a scene of glory. broke upon their gaze there, and then their approach of the angel saying, why stand ye here? Why do you stand here gazing up into heaven as if there's nothing better to do? But get back to Jerusalem. Get back to the house of God. Get back to the assembly of God's people. Maybe you've been remiss in attendance. Well, is the Lord speaking to you there? Get back to the house of God. Get back in among God's people. And especially are we to notice here that the first assembly of God's people in the book of Acts is in reference to prayer. They have gone from the Mount of Olives, descending that mountain. Maybe you've been to Israel. It's important to be there. Perhaps you've even stood in the Mount of Olives, or you've descended that mountain. It's a privilege to do so, to go down toward the great Kidron Valley below you there. Here's what I want you to notice. Just look at verse 13. Remember verse 12, they returned, they went back to Jerusalem. And then verse 13, when they were coming, as soon as they got into the city, what did they do? What's the first thing? They went up to the prayer meeting. They went, there's that word went. You can add the preposition to it if you like, the word up. Because having gone down into the depths of the Kidron Valley, they now go up. And they went up into an upper room where they went to prayer. They went, that's what it says. They went to prayer. We have lots of Christians these days who never go near a prayer meeting. I can't speak for you, but I know in Northern Ireland, we have lots of Christians who don't just show up for the prayer meeting. We see them at other services. We're thankful for that. I'm very thankful. Oh, to have a delight in God's presence. Oh, to delight ourselves in being at the throne of grace. These people, they return to Jerusalem and the first thing, they could have gone home. If I use modern day thinking, they could have gone to the shopping precincts. No, no. The first thing with them, they're going to the place where prayers want to be made. Aye, let's go a little further. You see the names of some in attendance in verse 13. And the names have been read out to you already. So in that sense, you're familiar with them. But it's like a roll call. These men were there. Yes, Peter, James, John, Andrew, and so on. These are men to the fore in God's work. I make that point. Men to the fore in the work of God, and yet they're identified with attendance at prayer. Again, I come back to Northern Ireland because I can speak with some authority. Can't I? Could it be that in churches there, we might have men in prominence and never get near a prayer meeting? So, I say advisedly in this service, no matter what we're doing in the work, and even if we have prominence in the work, let us be identified with prayer, with the gathering of God's saints around the mercy seat. That's the stamp placed in this chapter. It's like a roll call. These men When they came back, they went up to the upper room. These are the men who went, among others. There's only one person missing. That man's dead. I refer to Judas Iscariot. Sad to say, When we talk about him, that man's in hell. He's a lost soul. He might have been among the saints. He might have been among God's people. Now he's lost in hell. And so if he had been alive, I don't think he would have been at the prayer meeting anyway by now. Because the treachery in his heart has been revealed. He has been found out. He has been shown up for what he is. This man lived for money. Sold his soul for money. And when you think about it, even the 30 pieces of silver alone, there's much more to be considered when we talk about the money than the 30 pieces. And even if it had been the 30 pieces only, it would have been a paltry sum for that man to go to hell for the sake of 30 pieces of silver, important as they were. And Judas would have grasped at them. But now, as he sees the horror of his crime, what he has done, He has lied, he has played the hypocrite, he has stolen from the bag, he has plotted the betrayal of the Savior, and not only so, giving him, our Savior, into the hands of the enemy, but he has actually conducted them to the place where the Lord would be found, the Garden of Gethsemane. And for a miserable sum, That man sold out his interest in heaven, ended up in hell, lost for all eternity. You could be among the noblest bond of saints and yet be lost. You could be here today and not be a Christian. You could have the Bible in your hands. There's the book. You may have the Bible in your hands and yet be a stranger to God and to grace. So I must ask you, is your name in the book? Is your name here? Could you be the recipient of the message? Could the warning be directed to you? That having come a certain distance, yet you have not come to know the Lord. So this man went to hell for nothing. Because in that fit of passionate renunciation, he took the 30 pieces and hurled them onto the ground in the presence of the priests and others, as if he wanted nothing to do with his crime now, nothing to do with the money. It's like saying the money was burning his hands, and he could not hold the money, and dashes those pieces upon the floor. It's as if the devil cheated him, sold his soul for the money, and at the end he got nothing. He went to hell for nothing. And that's the story of every lost soul. You went to hell for nothing. That's the tragedy of it. If you were lost today and headed for hell, why, it's got to be said, the devil cheats you out of everything. Everything you sold your soul for. And at the last, it has to be said, you went to hell for nothing. Reminding me of Jeremiah 17, verse 11. And the words are these, as the partridge sitteth upon the eggs and hatches them not, so he that getteth riches and not by right shall leave them, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and his end shall be a fool. How many there are in this country? who are intent on getting riches and not by right. I needn't elaborate because if I name ten ways in which some people hope in this country to get their hands on the riches and not by right, something crooked is going on there, some sort of scheme, some sort of wretched business is on foot. They get riches and not by right. That person runs the risk of this serious judgment. He shall leave them in the midst of his days, and his end shall be a full. Enough of that. Let's just look at the prayer meeting. Could we just speak about it here? This is a public prayer meeting. As you'll see, we have the disciples named in verse 13. Look at the words. You've gone through the list of names already. And then you come to verse 14, where further detail is given. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman and Mary. And then I abbreviate the verse, and his brethren, the brethren of the Savior. So this is a public prayer meeting, and there is a place for the Christian at the public gathering for prayer. Again, I come back to Northern Ireland just by way of illustration, of course. Nothing else, just an illustration. Somebody in Northern Ireland, a child of God, a Christian, say, well, I'm not move to go to the prayer meeting because I can pray at home. Of course you can. And certainly let it be said you ought to pray at home. It would be a dreadful thing. You're here today as a Christian and you don't pray at home. What a dreadful indictment that is. No, no, no. We're saying of course, of course you should pray at home. If you don't pray at home, you'll not pray well in public. goes without saying. There's public prayer and private prayer. The Christian needs the two, and you need the public prayer meeting where two or three are gathered together. That's public prayer, even down to the two or three. They're gathered together in my name, a gathering of Christians that could be in a car. parked at the seaside or elsewhere. And they're, oh, I have done this many a time. Some Christian friends and a man in the car, the driver or another friend in the vehicles said, I'm just very concerned about my brother who's been diagnosed with a serious illness. And I feel for him, and I say, well, that's just a prayer now. We're parked in a quiet spot, there's not a soul about. And what do we have? Three people, four maybe in the car. All of us who know the Lord, well, just a prayer now, specifically for your brother. And where two or three are gathered together, in my name, there am I, there am I, there am I in the midst. public prayer. And when we have public prayer, this is a public prayer meeting here in Acts chapter 1, because you have the 11 men mentioned in verse 13, and these women who are there, and Mary the mother of the Lord, present, and the brethren of Christ, they are also identified. So it's a public prayer meeting. And the best of people are there, God's people. Could I just show you this in the gospel of Matthew? If you turn to Matthew chapter 6, there'll be something here very familiar to you. If you look at Matthew 6 verse 6, and I'll read the words as you turn them up. And when thou prayest, here's a person at prayer. Thou shalt not be, as the hypocrites, verse 5 says, but in verse 6 in particular, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet. Now the closet stands for that room where you associate your devotional time. It's the room where you pray. It might be your bedroom. It might be another room in your home. And it's there that you take your Bible in a quiet hour and get alone with God. And that's called here your closet. And what are you to do? When you have shut the door, that's what's required. I would suggest you don't take the mobile phone with you. When you go in there, you shut the door. What's the idea? Well, you're shutting the world out. A world that clamors for your attention, a friend who needs you just at that moment. But wait a minute, you're going to talk to the Lord first. So could you be persuaded about this and you turn it off and close the door? Because that signifies you're just gonna shut yourself in with the Lord. And maybe for 15 minutes, and maybe for 30 minutes. But I say this, This is no three minute quickie in terms of prayer. Don't get me wrong. It's not wrong to pray for three minutes or two minutes or one minute. Certainly you can do that. But what I'm talking about here is a specified time, a time of devotion, a time you have set aside to talk to the Lord. Now, can I just talk to Christian friends here today Do you keep such a time? You say you don't know how busy I am. I'm certain you're busy, but you don't want to be so busy you have let these things crowd the Lord out of your life. Here you're shut in, close the door, shut the door. And specifically, I think everybody will agree with me here, isn't this the mind of the Lord? Isn't it so specific? You can't doubt it or question it or reason against it. Just shut that door. Shut the world out. Get alone with God. How many today, how many in this congregation now are getting that quiet time, that private time alone with God? Let me point out something. Oh, it touches on grammar, and grammar is a highly uncomfortable subject, an unpopular subject, but this is simple. You take verse six. Thou, that's the personal pronoun, just for a little bit of grammar thrown in, about a singular. This is an advantage we have in using the authorized version of the Holy Scriptures. Because many new versions, modern language versions, using the personal pronoun you, do not give the clearest message. Because thou is the personal pronoun, singular! A one-off, just you, you alone. Singular, thou. When thou prest, you're getting alone with God. You have your Bible. Tell me this, how long has it been since you've got alone with God? How long has it been since you, as a single person, You have gone into that room and shut the door. Do you know there are Christian people by the score, by the hundred, who know nothing of this as an experience? And that's sad, because plainly, you're outside the will of God. You've made a mistake. And I'm preaching this message today. Indeed, I asked the Lord for a word for today. So I didn't just elect myself to take this text and have this subject. I believe God has given me this word. And is it for you? Thou when thou prayest, Enter into that room, get alone with God, shut the door, pray to thy father which is in secret. This is a secret place. And thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Listen, it's no vain thing for you to start this business of seeking God. Get alone with God, get your Bible. This is the authorized version. A modern version might have something like you when you pray. And you wouldn't see that it's all to do with one person. In verse six, this is private prayer. This is praying at home. Men and women, this is praying at home. But are we praying at home? In Northern Ireland, there are people who make excuse to stay away, say, I could pray at home. But I believe in many, many cases, they're not praying at home either. And then you're left with a pretense. That's sad. Ah, but I said there's not only private prayer, but public prayer. And in Acts chapter 1, when all those names got together and the Lord speaks of this one and this one and these people being at the prayer meeting, that's public prayer. Praise God for that. The church at prayer, the first significant picture of the church, the assembly of the saints in Acts chapter 1, this inspired history. Is this the saints of God attending the hour of prayer, seeking God? Yes, that's a great thing. But there's also public prayer. Have you got Matthew 6? I say this is the advantage of the authorized version. One of the advantages is that it shows the difference between the one person, thou, just you alone, and the rest. might even be the rest in the family. You are getting alone with God. Dear friend, that's what you require. Get alone with your Bible and alone with God. Ah, but then there's also public prayer. I tell you what, if you've got Matthew chapter six, could you go down to verse nine? Yes, a little lesson in grammar again, but it's not too bad. A little drop of sugar makes the medicine go down, they say. But look at verse 9. After this manner, therefore, pray ye. We have left the thou singular and ye, that's plural. Thank the Lord for the old authorized version. You've got it right in this time, plural, public prayer. And you can see how the pronouns are plural from here on in reference to the Lord's Prayer, the prayer we call oftentimes the Lord's Prayer. Pray ye, plural. Again, our Father, plural. Singular would have been my Father. Oh yes, everybody here knows that. My Father. Singular, that's it. But it's our Father. The Lord's prayer is designed for the whole company, for the gathering. This is public prayer, you see. Private prayer, yes. In this chapter, also public prayer. May I say the two go together? Again, I'll be quick about this. Look at verse 11. It doesn't say there, give me. What does it say? Everybody knows. Verse 11, give us. Do we need to spell it out? No, we don't. We don't have to say this is plural. You're well aware of that. We have the singular, but we've also got the plural. I thank God, even in this respect alone, for the authorized version of Scripture. And again, verse 12, And forgive us, us, Or, plural again, plural, we could have said otherwise had it been private, forgive me for my sins. Oh yes, forgive me. We have to pray every day for the Lord to cleanse away the vileness of sin. Forgive me, Lord, for my indebtedness. as I forgive, but there all along it's plural. I won't press the point any further. It's clear, majestically clear in verse 12, the plural, forgive us. and again our debts as we forgive our debtors you see and verse 13 lead us oh you could pray lord lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil but oh it's us it's the plural it's the assembly it's the public assembly of god's people here now the point is not lost in us can we can we look now at this chapter, this portion in Acts again, and see the significance of this. Just some closing remarks. I think that it will help us enormously. If you look at verse 14 of Acts chapter 1, they continued in prayer, they kept at it. Sometimes we give up. We go to the open air service and then we give up. Perhaps it rained or maybe somebody was rude and you gave up. But I think there's a case for saying, Lord, can we continue? Can we get strength to go on, courage to go on? And when it comes to public prayer, the prayers of God's people, let us continue. We would have people in Northern Ireland say, I used to go to the prayer meeting. I used to witness. I used to read my Bible every day. I don't do it now. That would be immensely sad. You used to. There's an adult here in the meeting today. Maybe it's a mother. And you could say, when I was a young girl, unattached and no responsibility. I read my Bible. I prayed. I got alone with God. I used to do that. Today, can I bring you back to that? A man here, when I was a young man, I witnessed for the Lord. I was bold for the Savior. I dedicated my life, but what about today? Do you know you can come back, you can start again, to continue to press on with God. It's worthwhile. Praise God, didn't we read in Matthew, my Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee, shall reward thee openly. There's a blessing here, not to be despised. And with one accord, they were all united. That doesn't mean they agreed in everything. Even if we take a rundown of this service today, I hope you haven't disagreed with the preaching today. But we could disagree with a given interpretation of this verse or that word, just as the case might be. And that's not what it means here, one accord. It means that they had a singleness of purpose. They knew what they were about. They knew why they were praying. They had a goal to achieve. And men and women, we may have just thought about prayer in a kind of willy-nilly fashion, as if we were praying, but aimlessly, if that's the word for it. Could you have a look at this? They have a purpose and view. And with the woman there is Mary. Here's an illustration. Have you thought about Mary's age here? There's not a hint about it. It's not always the wisest thing to find out about a lady's age, you see. But put it this way. This is just a speculation, just an illustration. What age was Mary when our Savior was born? Let me just fix a number on it. I guess 20, let's suppose. Let's suppose she was 20 years of age when the Lord Jesus Christ was born. She could have been younger. Yes, she could certainly have been older. let's just fix in this for the purpose of the illustration because Mary, the mother of our saviors mentioned here, let's suppose she was 20. Now we know that our Lord Jesus Christ did not enter into his ministry, his earthly ministry until he was 30, 30 years of age. And furthermore, That ministry occupied, let's say, three and a half years. And now that we've come to Acts chapter 1, the Lord has risen and has ascended into glory. So 33 and a half years, putting the 30 years of ministry, the 30 years of age rather, when he entered into the ministry in the three and a half years, Those 33 years have gone by, or 34 years, just loosely, something like that. So if she was 20, back there when our Savior was born, a simple bit of arithmetic, isn't it? What age is she now at the prayer meeting? 54. She's a mature lady. We know from her history in the sacred volume here, we know she loved the Lord. We know she endeavored to believe God and she pondered the scripture. And now we see her here as a gracious lady of mature years. She's at the prayer meeting. That's good, that's creditable. Dear mother in this service, she's your example. Is there a mature Christian lady today? You haven't pulled your weight. You haven't really gone into it with all your heart and soul. And here's the Lord saying, look, Mary's there. It's 54 years of age. Let's just suppose this year. And she's at the prayer meeting still. I'll tell you this, there are people in this country and elsewhere throughout the world who believe that Mary is a mediator. That's a serious error. And I will say this to you, if ever it was God's purpose for Mary To be an intercessor for men, for women, for children. This is an ideal time. For here she is, of mature years. Here's a prayer meeting. Here is an opportunity to seek God. A time for intercession. And of all the places in the Bible, and this is the last time she's mentioned. This is the very last time she's mentioned. There would have been an opportunity here, given the circumstances, for man, for woman present that day to say, had she been supposedly the intercessor, the record would have said, and they prostrated themselves in tears on the ground before Mary and they said, Mary, and using some other very auspicious titles, Mary, intercede with God for us. Cry aloud unto God for us. Notice instead where our name appears. Do you see that all the apostles are mentioned first in verse 13? Do you see in verse 14 taking the order of the names with the woman, even the woman, the other woman? She doesn't have precedence over the woman. Now don't misunderstand me here. Mary is a very dear saint. She has been given the highest honor and the sight of God. And her name is not put in where it is to do her a dishonor, no, no. But knowing the weakness of God's people, their proneness to err and make a sad mistake, to give her a prominence that she never desired herself, a preeminence among God's praying people that she never possessed. But her name, when it comes to mention of the woman, her name gets in at the end. And had she been the intercessor, the great mediator between God and men, her name would have been up there at the top. She would have been first. That's not the case. How careful, how judicious the Holy Spirit has been in his care of the language of Scripture and keeping her name back so that erring saints will not give her undue prominence that She never intended that she would have nor did God purpose that she would have. So she's, I'm glad to say she's there praying, but just the same as the rest. And nobody's saying, oh, Mary intercede with God for us. That's not in the Bible. That's a form of religion. That's not in the book. And his brethren, we could have given you the names, four boys. If you're taking a note, it's Mark 6 and verse 3. But we'll not go to that now. I just want to round off what I'm saying. His brethren are mentioned. I'm glad to say these fellows would have been 25 years of age now, getting on for 30 years of age. Big fellows, possibly. And Mother has brought them to the prayer meeting. Isn't that lovely? They bring grown children. along to the hour of prayers at 54 perhaps, 54 years of age. And she has the boys, I would support of just using imagination. I hope it's sanctified imagination, big strapping fellas, just coming in to pray. There they're sitting with her, now at prayer. I love the Lord too. Everyone like a Theophilus. Are you in touch with God? Are you walking with God? And how can we apply this prayer? What is the one accord getting at? I think we can say, yes, they're all of one accord in regard to the appointment of a church officer. You can see Peter standing up there right after that, verse 15, and they have a man to choose. And Peter's actually praying there. He's saying, verse 24, they prayed, Lord, you know the hearts of all men, show weather of these two. So part of the business when they prayed there was to find out that man for church office. If this was a gathering of the congregation and you were to elect a new deacon, this would be a very appropriate message. I could say, look, here's the example. Peter doesn't say, I'm the infallible bishop. He doesn't say, I'm the superior bishop over all the church and I'll make the appointments here. No, he's among the company saying, Lord, would you show the right man? If your church was vacant, some of you are visiting maybe, you could perhaps say, Lord, show us the man. Let it be God's man. If it was the deacon to be elected, show us the right person. Thou knowest the hearts of all men. So being one accord in prayer, being one accord about choosing the right man. And furthermore, they were all of one accord out of missionary interest, for it says there in verse 8, unto the uttermost part of the earth. And it's nice to have a missionary interest. there they're one accord with prayer, asking God. And lastly, verse 8 also, they're saying, let the Spirit of God come down. Lord, our prayer is that there might be given to thy servants the enjoyment of power. What is this all about? The Holy Spirit coming down with power upon his servants. There is an experience, the fullness of the Spirit for service, so that whatever you're doing for the Lord, you're given special help by the Lord by being filled with the Spirit of God to do it. These are things here in the chapter. There's so much by way of blessing here. I thought today, those who are walking with God. I thought maybe there are some who used to walk with God, and I thought perhaps there are some here who don't know the Lord. Can I say today, as we prepare to close, if you're not a Christian, is this not the time when you should take that step and seek the Lord? If you're cold in heart and wayward and things have got into your life, other interests have taken over, is it not time today to get right back to square one and start again with the Lord? And for those of you who are pressing on with God to be encouraged much. Thank you for the opportunity. to bring the message today on this glad occasion. And we celebrate these years and offer the Lord thanks. We pray that God will bless His word even to your heart. Now, your minister will come to close the service.