INTRODUCTION
There are times when you know what God has said, but you are still waiting to see what comes next. That is where the disciples are in Acts 1:12–14.
Christ had given them a great mission. There was work ahead of them. But before they went out, there was something they were supposed to do. They were to remain in Jerusalem and wait for what Christ had promised.
And what did they do while they waited? They obeyed. They stayed together. They prayed.
That is the movement of these three verses. They returned, they remained, and they continued in prayer.
Acts 1:12 “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.”
Acts 1:13 “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.”
Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
These men knew there was something big ahead of them. But they did not run ahead. They did what Christ had already told them to do.
And that is where we need to begin.
I. THEY RETURNED IN OBEDIENCE — ACTS 1:12
Look again at verse 12.
Acts 1:12 “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.”
Notice that first word: “Then.” Something had just happened.
Christ had ascended. The disciples had received His instructions. They had been told about the work that was ahead of them. They knew that they were going to be witnesses. They knew there was a mission before them.
But what was the first thing they did? “Then returned they unto Jerusalem.” They went back where Christ had told them to be.
That seems simple, but that is obedience. Sometimes we want to know everything that is going to happen before we obey what God has already made clear.
We want the whole plan. We want to know how it is going to work out. We want to know what happens next.
These disciples did not know every detail of what was about to happen. But they knew where Christ had told them to be. So they went there.
That is a simple lesson, but we need it. Obedience begins with doing what God has already said.
You may not know what next month looks like. You may not know how some problem is going to work itself out. You may not know what opportunity is coming. But what has God already told you? Do that.
The disciples had been given a massive future mission. There was a world to reach. There was preaching ahead of them. There was ministry ahead of them. But immediate obedience came before future ministry.
They did not say, “We know we are supposed to be witnesses, so let’s just start doing whatever we think makes sense.” No. They followed the order Christ had given them.
There is a danger in getting so excited about what we want to do for God that we stop paying attention to what God has actually told us to do. These men did not run ahead.
Verse 12 says, “Then returned they unto Jerusalem.” They went where they were supposed to go.
And sometimes faithfulness is that simple. Do the next thing God has clearly told you to do.
II. THEY REMAINED TOGETHER WHILE THEY WAITED — ACTS 1:13
Now look at verse 13.
Acts 1:13 “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.”
They returned to Jerusalem, but their obedience did not stop when they got there. The Bible says they went into an upper room, “where abode” these men.
They stayed. They remained. Christ had told them to wait in Jerusalem, and that is what they did.
Now the Bible does not tell us that they were locked inside that room every second until Acts 2. The point is not the room itself. The point is that they remained where Christ had directed them.
There is a difference between starting in obedience and continuing in obedience. Anybody can get excited and start something. Can you stay faithful when you are waiting? Can you keep doing right when nothing dramatic seems to be happening?
That is where these disciples were. They had seen the risen Christ. They had watched Him ascend. They had heard about the work that was coming. And now they had to wait.
Waiting can be hard. We like movement. We like results. We like to see something happening.
But there are times when obedience means you do not run ahead. These disciples had a future mission, but they were not free to choose their own timing.
They remained where Christ had told them to remain. And their waiting was not laziness.
They were not sitting around with no purpose. They were obeying what they knew while waiting for what had not happened yet.
That is important. Waiting on God does not mean ignoring the things God has already given you to do.
You can still pray. You can still serve. You can still be faithful. You can still be where you are supposed to be. You can still do what Scripture says.
Sometimes people act like waiting means doing nothing. That is not what we see here.
They returned. They gathered. They abode. They continued. Their waiting was active obedience.
And notice something else in verse 13: they were together.
Peter is there. James is there. John is there. Andrew is there. Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James are there.
These were real men, named one after another, gathered together in the same place. They were not all going their own direction.
They stayed together while they waited. There is strength in that.
When you are waiting on what comes next, do not isolate yourself from the people God has put around you. These disciples had something ahead of them that none of them could accomplish alone.
And during this waiting period, we find them together. But verse 14 shows us that they were doing much more than merely occupying the same room.
III. THEY CONTINUED WITH ONE ACCORD IN PRAYER — ACTS 1:14
Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
This is the spiritual climax of the passage. “These all continued.”
They did not pray one time and quit. They continued. There was persistence here.
They were waiting, and while they were waiting, they prayed. That is a good thing to remember.
When you do not know everything that comes next, you can pray. When you know what God has said but you do not yet see how everything is going to unfold, you can pray. When you are waiting, pray.
And the Bible says they continued “with one accord.” They were together in this.
This is more than having the same address. It is more than sitting in the same room. They were united in what they were doing.
They had received the same instruction. They were waiting for the same promise. And they were continuing together in prayer and supplication.
That does not mean they had to have the exact same opinion about every possible subject. The verse tells us where their accord is being displayed: they are continuing together in prayer and supplication.
There is something powerful about a church praying together. Not just being in the same building. Not just attending the same service. Praying together.
Seeking God together. Bringing needs before God together. That is what this group was doing.
And notice who is there. Verse 13 named the eleven men. Verse 14 expands the picture.
There are women there. Mary the mother of Jesus is there. His brethren are there. And what are they doing? They are praying.
Mary is not presented as someone they are praying to. She is among those who are praying. The group is gathered with one accord before God.
Now we need to be careful about something. The passage does not say that their prayer caused what happened in Acts 2.
Christ had already given the promise before Acts 1:14. So the point is not that they prayed enough and finally convinced God to act.
The point is that while they waited for what Christ had promised, they prayed. That is different.
Prayer was not a way to manufacture the promise. Prayer was part of their faithful response while they waited.
And we can learn from that. Sometimes you cannot make the next thing happen. You cannot control every circumstance. You cannot force every door open.
But you can obey what God has already said. You can stay faithful. And you can pray.
These disciples had a tremendous work ahead of them, but before that work began, we find them together in prayer.
They were not passive. They were not running ahead. They were doing what they knew to do while they waited.
CONCLUSION
Acts 1:12–14 is only three verses, but there is a lot here for us. They returned. They remained. They continued.
First, they returned in obedience. Christ had told them where to be, and they went there.
Second, they remained together while they waited. Their obedience did not last five minutes. They stayed with it.
Third, they continued with one accord in prayer. They did not waste the waiting period. They prayed through it.
And maybe that is exactly where somebody is right now. You know what God has said, but you do not know what happens next.
Then obey what you know. Stay faithful where God has placed you. Keep doing what Scripture has already told you to do. And pray.
Do not run ahead of God. Do not use waiting as an excuse to become idle. Do not let uncertainty pull you away from prayer.
The disciples had a promise ahead of them, but they had obedience in front of them right then. So they returned. They remained together. They prayed.
We may not know everything that God is going to do tomorrow, but we have enough Scripture to know how we ought to live today.
Obey what God has said. Stay faithful while you wait. And keep praying.
