A Church that was grounded in the Word of God. Jesus Christ was born to be a King, and He will return as the King of Kings in the Kingdom of God. I must tell you that the most problematic passage in Acts 1 is the final paragraph which describes the selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle. John had earlier said of Jesus. If Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, then the Spirit is the sap equipping us for the Christian life. We can accomplish the work of God, and we can then be the firstfruits who follow the Lamb and who know their God and do mighty deeds and mighty exploits. You remember what Ruth said to Naomi when Naomi, in the book of Ruth, had lost her husband and children, and these two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, tried to follow her away from Moab, and Orpah decided to leave. The reason is that Luke ceases to use the termdisciplesto refer to the eleven or twelve in the Book of Acts. I began this lesson by suggesting that it is an example of a before and after presentation. Why does Luke spend as much time (12 verses) describing this one event as he does depicting the 40 days of our Lords appearances on the earth (11 verses)? Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. The church acknowledged the leading of the Spirit and laid their hands on these men, and then sent them off. As I got up this morning, prepared to come over here, go through the day, same things that will be in my mind tomorrow, and next Thursday, and a month from today. What they needed was power, power to proclaim the gospel so that men would believe and be saved. 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (2 Corinthians 3:4-11). No, He said wait till, wait in Jerusalem, and so they were there and they continued. Pentecost starts in a locked room with believers waiting. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. I don't think it was an intergalactic tour that He was on to get to the third heaven. I have my own Star Trekkian-type of way to imagine how Jesus ascended. John has another set of accounts, and then he kind of ends and he leaves it wide open. Because Ruth saw in Naomi, God, an example that she wanted to be a part of. 3. Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13) | Bible.org Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. We can internalize that and think that through. It wasn't there and so a lot had happened in that 50-day period that brought them to that morning of Pentecost. Well, the real answer is for you and I, the same things that are going through your mind right now, and my mind. The Holy Spirit would internally indict sinners regarding the righteousness of Christ because He cannot be seen any longer. 1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from childhood) and Saul. We are further told that the Great Commission was an order given to the apostles who Jesus Himself had chosen. 13 When they had entered Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. And then this dramatic miracle takes place, festive occasion. Pentecost is one of the Great feasts in the Eastern Orthodox Church, a Solemnity in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, a Festival in the Lutheran Churches, and a Principal Feast in the Anglican Communion. 4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. I think there are two things that are clear, and that should dominate our thinking. They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. They had a very life is now, living in the present mindset that this was all going to happen in their lifetime, which is something that pertains to every group of people from that time forward, that looking for the appearance of the Kingdom, the return of Christ. Our sins will find us out. Let me explain why I have reached this conclusion. So it's something for us to examine in our own way, see how much of that is being demonstrated in our life. That's the famous road to Emmaus experienced from the book of Luke, "and they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either." Furthermore, He no longer comes and goes but rather remains permanently. He now consistently refers to them asapostles.The termdiscipleis now employed when reference is made to new believers in Acts. And so they had become a part of something that again, they were still trying to understand. What was the doubt that was nagging away at them even as they saw Him, and even worshiped Him, knowing that they as they did know that He had died, and yet there was doubt? Maybe a few more decided to go to Jerusalem on Pentecost to see what was going on, and the town was bursting at the seams, and from all these nations that we're told about here and areas. He quotes Joel, he quotes Psalms and he gives interpretations upon those scriptures, here in chapter 1, no one had ever heard of before. Pentecost was unmistakable because of its three distinct phenomena, which served to make it perfectly clear that Jesus had indeed come to His people by His Spirit. But she said, "Go ahead Ruth, you go home too," and Ruth says, "Your God will be my God, wherever you go, I will go." It is the Word of God and it is the Spirit of God that did it for them, and will do it for you and for I today as we live our lives, as we go about our lives. And then even when we see in the days after Jesus' final ascension, a roughly 10-day period, when they came to make a decision to replace Judas, they read Scripture, they applied it properly, God blessed the decision. Our text also reminds us that whenever God commands us to do something, He will provide all that we need to carry out His command. And again, He gives, through Mark's account here, He gives the same commission to go. To seek this knowledge is to go outside the boundaries of their authority.4. And all the others came right in and were a part of it with him. Jesus had already gone back to Heaven so the disciples and new believers of Jesus were waiting to receive the Holy Spirit because that's what Jesus told them would happen. The Cross And Our Response to Trials (1 Peter 4:12-19), 8. This was something that was spiritual in nature, that bound them together and they prayed, they studied the Scripture, and they praised God, it says, and because of that, their example caused them to have favor with people and others were drawn to their example at that time. We can deal with them. The Feast of the Ascension ranks with Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost in the universality of its observance among Christians. I happen to think that they, no doubt during this period of time, as the days go on they talked and they read. They didn't believe that He had risen, they didn't believe that they had been seen, that He had been seen, and therefore, then they would not believe these eyewitnesses. And so I made a certain few inquiries, I got on the bus, didn't miss it. In Revelation chapter 14, we are given an image of the firstfruits, called the 144,000 in this part of the Revelation. It sounded like a very strong wind, and it looked like tongues of fire. Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarryor waitin the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. A firstfruit is one who follows Christ. Instead, He would come and go. "And He said to them, 'Thus it is written, thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and the remissions of sins would be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and you are witnesses of these things. Labor in the Word, meaning to read the Word, and to learn it, and to soak it in and drink it in; and to live the Word, this past year. Every generation of God's people have done that. And not for the reality that the 1st century world would have known and experienced, that other dimension. And you have to understand that and realize that, that's what they were doing during that period of time as well. PrivacyPolicyTerms ofUse. From this point on, with very few exceptions (Acts 14:14; 15:12, 25), it was always Paul and Barnabas, or Paul and Silas, orPaul and his companions.It was evidence of the Spirits working through Paul that seems to have triggered this exchange in roles of Paul and Barnabas. Let us seek to answer this question by observing what happened. The Jewish authorities of their day had a very thorough doctrinal review process and Peter's would not have passed, which is why they ran smack in trouble with the Jewish leadership from this point forward because they were applying new meaning to old Scriptures that no Jew had ever heard before. Jesus promised authority within the boundaries of what God purposed, because the coming of the Spirit was the promise of the Father (verse 4). 3You will note that I do not use the termdisciplesto refer to the eleven here, or the twelve elsewhere in Acts. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking? - United Church of God It's always fun to try to imagine how this happened. 5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? 7 He told them, You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. People need to see that Spirit within us. Based upon Pauls words in Ephesians 3, I am inclined to assume what a portion of this conversation may have been: 4 When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into this secret of Christ. When you read what Peter said about these prophecies from Joel and the Psalmstrust me, folks, Peter's sermon would not have passed doctrinal review by the Jewish doctrinal committee of that day. Q. It appears to me that this upper room may well be a place well known to the apostles, perhaps a room owned by someone close to Jesus. Before long (Acts 5:3-4), the Holy Spirit will be identified as God. We are no exception today, as we wait and look for the time when the Kingdom will be restored. Others have sought to justify this action on the part of the apostles. The NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, also known as THE NET BIBLE, is a completely new translation of the Bible, not a revision or an update of a previous English version. In the end, I think we must acknowledge that we must read between the lines a great deal to conclude that the replacement of Judas was wrong. A photo of the proverbial 90-pound weakling was followed by the after of an awesome, muscle-flexing Charles Atlas physique. They had come up against the two most powerful authorities of their day in their world. In the Great Commission of Matthew 28, Jesus claimed all authority, and He based His command to proclaim the gospel to all nations on this authority: 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up," and this is through the account here in Luke, then, would be the final bodily appearance of Jesus to them. The elixir, the antidote to our faith, to every one of our problems, if we could see a miracle; and we like signs, but miracles, well, they're a little harder to come up with. The Cross And Separation From The World (1 Peter 4:1-6), 7. Unmistakable. The mystery of this paragraph is to explain why Luke went to so much effort (and space) to describe an event which appears to have little impact on the events that follow Pentecost. Pentecost | Description, Observances, & History | Britannica She went and told those who had been with Him as they mourned and wept." 9He does not forbid taking any action until Pentecost; He merely forbids the apostles to leave Jerusalem (in carrying out the Great Commission) until after Pentecost. If we can make that decision and live with that reality that there is a God who lives, and before Him we stand every single day of our life and every major decision, every small decision of character, and the decisions that we make in the privacy of our own mind, and in our own actions that not everyone knows about, not even our mate, all are in accordance with righteousness and a desire for righteousness. By inference, this second volume is the account of all that Jesus continued to do and to teach, through His apostles. Originally, Pentecost was a Jewish holiday held 50 days after Passover. In verse 38, after everyone has calmed down, they realize theyve been involved and they were responsible for the death of Jesus. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Jesus was coming back, just as they saw Him depart. Shavuot | Definition, Meaning, & Facts | Britannica Again, what they thought that they were becoming a part of was a movement that was noble, that was good, there had been many movements of other Messiah-type figures at this period of time in Judea. Where do we go from here? In the midst of all of the gnats, let us not miss the camel of this text, namely that the Holy Spirit was soon (not many days from now, verse 5) to come upon them, empowering them to carry out the Great Commission. What is Pentecost? Why Does It Matter? - Mark D. Roberts And we can have the power to believe that, and to grow together and develop together as a bride of Christ, and accomplish His work and His purpose and His will.
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