Thus, the Pentecost is the culmination, the ultimate gift of Spirit, when the apostles get Him to such an extent and intensity that they can already be emboldened by Him to preach to all corners of the world, withstanding all calamities and opposing powers. And so two things create this vision and this mission. The appearance of Jesus' face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. It's an informed sermon. And when those come in, how do we process them? What did they do during that 10 days? He was just [snaps fingers] gone, He was there. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! "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. Historically, Pentecost ( Shavout) is a Jewish feast celebrating the giving of the Torah and the summer wheat harvest. Again, nothing like this had been a part of their frame of reference before. And you have to understand that and realize that, that's what they were doing during that period of time as well. Though a miracle had taken place in front of them, that still wasn't enough to remove the doubt and fear. Again, the answer is yes. So here's my answer to why the experience of the Old Testament saints is valuable for us today. He went on to show that, "It's not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. That's what this day is all about as a firstfruit. When people are filled with the Holy Spirit, they do not blink at evil. "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.". They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 19952023 All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@ucg.org. The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!. We just get a few snippets from the gospel accounts, at least, of this 40-day period. It is a remarkable period of church history, because right here we have a vision being fulfilled that Jesus Christ has for His Church. That Numbers 32 and verse 23, is correct. In verse 38, after everyone has calmed down, they realize theyve been involved and they were responsible for the death of Jesus. And if those are the weapons of our warfare, then we can handle them. The indwelling Holy Spirit was only sent after Jesus' resurrection. 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. Week 8 to Pentecost. And those days you didn't fear getting on a Greyhound bus, and you could go all over the country on a very cheap pass. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. And what happened? This morning let me close simply by returning to the Aswan High Dam for a moment. The Church was given favor, we're told, as they demonstrated these fruits and others were added. And I can't help but think that knowledge for its own sake or art for art's sake is a very callous and unloving motto. That's an important trait for a firstfruit, for a firstfruit to have in their life, and in their approach to life. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. And therein, lies a key to the understanding of what had taken place with these individuals here. A Second Wind: A Biblical Exploration of Gods Mind of Justice, The Essential Jesus (Part 17): The Resurrection of Jesus. The world sees a mechanical process of evolution and natural selection. I happen to think that they, no doubt during this period of time, as the days go on they talked and they read. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. And one set upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." And they're seeing that, and it's the final time. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and it appeared to them, divided tongues as of fire. I wonder if more people came to Jerusalem for Pentecost in that year because of what had happened 50 days earlier, plus three, and they had heard about that. Finally, please know the disciples did receive the Spirit when Jesus breathed on them BEFORE Pentecost (Jn. And as we've seen, even when they were confronted with the miracle of Christ's resurrection, and they recognized that they still had to deal with the hostility of the world around them, in a kind of a two-pronged government called the Roman Empire and the Jewish society, plus their own human nature, and themselves. And they chose Matthias by casting lots. A week later the disciples were together again. 60 seconds. But on the day when the reservoir poured through the turbines a power was unleashed that spread far beyond the few folk down river and brought possibilities they had only dreamed of. But by doing so, when you read the account, you understand that they knew the Scripture, and they applied Scripture to their choice and their decision to replace Judas. We live in the days that Isaiah (44:3) and Ezekiel (11:19; 36:26f. 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. He used Deborah and the tribe of Zebulun (the mountain may have been in their land) in the sermon. 2. Was Galileo expecting to see so many stars? Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. John the Baptist had promised: The one who comes after me "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Luke 3:16). After the disciples received the Holy Spirit, received Christ in them, they began to operate under the strength and ability of Christ in them. The world of the 1st century was very much tied into an awareness that there was a spirit world, and a lot different than even we today, we see a spirit world today in media and entertainment form. But the Christian ought to see the creative, imaginative work of God's Spirit. How was the Holy Spirit being seen (perceived) in Acts 8? Luke 24:53 says that the disciples stayed continually at the Temple praising God. Egypt's President Nasser announced the plan for construction in 1953. They didn't know. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! 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. He also is a residentfaculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. He greeted them Douay-Rheims Bible And when they saw Him they worshiped him. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And yet Peter does, and he gives a bold sermon. Instead of competing, the disciples were now cooperating. . The indwelling Spirit permanently dwells in the believer. These significant events from the life of Jesus are made easier to comprehend and better-illustrated thanks to the passages . They thought that the body had been ferretted away by the disciples, someone had stolen it. rev2023.3.1.43269. Some say that they wound up in the temple precincts; could very well be. and there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. It only takes a minute to sign up. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. An eyewitness account, there was a lack of belief that put them in the situation here that they did not understand and didn't believe that had actually happened. We are no exception today, as we wait and look for the time when the Kingdom will be restored. If you forgive anyone's sins, they will be forgiven. Psalm 104 celebrates the wonder and variety of all living things and says (vv. He greeted them and showed them his hands and his side. It doesn't lie within man's own power to risk his life and stand up for the truth of God and denounce sin. We often think a miracle would be just what we need. It is the ideal to which every subsequent church period has wished to be able to emulate, including ours today. 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. And there was fear of the unknown, of what was going to take place, fear of the future. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Of course, on the day that He died there had been an earthquake, the sun had turned to dark at midday, people had come out of their graves and it had set Jerusalem all abuzz. Jesus showed Himself for 40 days after the resurrection (Acts 1:3). Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking? So there was still this not fully developed confidence and faith in what had happened, and so He goes even further and asks for some food. Jentezen Franklin preached a sermon about scribes. So the Word of God is what Jesus took and explained, it is what the Church went to, to explain what was happening, and then, it is the Spirit of God. Did they experience fear, doubt, and disbelief as we sometimes do? Beginning with Easter Sunday (e.g., Luke 24:32,45) and most likely throughout the forty days before ascending, the Lord instructed and formed the Apostles in the Gospel. That's a little-understood part of what was taking place. They saw it in different ways and understood it completely different from anything from our frame of reference and they were ascribing, would have been ascribing then even to Jesus something that was not of God, which in itself can be a problem. Acts 1:8 is the vital point about Pentecost. Answer: In Luke 10:17, when the seventy came back from visiting the towns in Israel, they said, " Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name. All the gods of doubtand I say gods with a little g, because doubt, and guilt, and fear can really separate us from Godthe gods of doubt, and fear, and unbelief have all been shredded by Jesus Christ. 3. Hadn't He told them that He'd come back to life again? Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? I don't think it was an intergalactic tour that He was on to get to the third heaven. As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped corruption that is in the world through lust." And not for the reality that the 1st century world would have known and experienced, that other dimension. And this small group of people who had signed on to what they thought was a remarkable, gifted rabbi, and followed Him around and soon learned that they had fallen into something quite different than anything they could have ever imagined, as they witnessed miracles of loaves and fishes, and people being brought back to life, and dramatic healings. Evidently, God only gave a brief taste of prophetic powers to the seventy elders. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Surely for a Christian all study and all creative work must justify itself in terms of love. Far more people than they could have ever imagined and Peter gets up and gives the sermon of his life. The vision of the Church was coming together and the mission of the Church was being accomplished. On that day of Pentecost, people who had been doubtful were moved to speak powerfully, to repentance, to belief, and to action. And every breath you take ought to be a prayer of thanks that you live and move and have your being in the Spirit of God. The disciples had seen what would happen because Christ was arrested and had come before the high priest. Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. 145 views, 2 likes, 6 loves, 16 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Crossroads Baptist Church: Crossroads Baptist Church Live 02/05/2023 They got the courage and strength they needed and they came out of their hiding place, starting to proclaim Jesus's death and resurrection. He is author of. The hated Samaritans and the occupying Romans were both shown to be within the reach of the grace of God. Signs and wonders followed their ministration, and they were continually filled with [] In other words, Peter says, we have entered the last days: the Messiah has come, he has accomplished redemption on the cross, he has risen and ascended to the right hand of God, and the interval before he returns in glory will be marked by an incomparable outpouring of the Holy Spirit on men and women, old and young, slave and free, near and far. 1. Psalm 139:710 says, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? It goes on, "When He had spoken these things," in verse 9, "they watched and He was taken up in a cloud, received Him out of their sight. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? And this dramatic miracle, but beyond that, 3,000 people being added to the Church, and then a community being developed. 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. We are going to be taking giant steps toward creating that kind of Church that we read about here in the book of Acts, that has been imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit, and changes are being made. Seven weeks later, on the day of Pentecost, the risen Lord Jesus fulfilled the promise he had made in John 15:26namely, that he would send the Holy Spirit. Another reason, I suspect, is because they were overwhelmed with disappointment by Jesus' arrest. They were with Him and they asked Him in verse 6, "Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" Instead of conflict, they were now collaborating. Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. Christ in you, the hope of glory. So at 9:00 on Pentecost morning, while the disciples were praying, "a sound came from heaven like a rush of mighty wind . Then Peter preached a sermon and said, "This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel, 'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams'" (Acts 2:1617). Please take the Tour, see below, where you will find that in order to practice biblical hermeneutics we need a text upon which to practice the technique. And it just caused them to proverbially tear their clothes and rush at them and ultimately to the point of Stephen and they stoned him. Jesus continued: "Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. And He leaves them on the Mount of Olives, which is a very, very significant geographic feature there on the east of Jerusalem across from the city, and through the Kidron Valley and up on this Mount called Olives. Were on a mission to change that. But all of this in the midst of a troubled, terrified, frightened mindset that they were having to work through, during these days between the resurrection and Pentecost. The Spirit gives that courage. Even though they had seen miracles, again, another indication to us always to remember that miracles are important, miracles can be faith-builders, but miracles by themselves will not do it all. Think about that among our own relationships with each other. It goes on, "Jesus came and He spoke to them saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. I didn't know how to read a board to tell me these things. No longer did they flee like sheep without a shepherd. He had a lot to come back, he was at the back of the pack. Micah 3:8 says, "As for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin." 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Prior to Pentecost, the Apostles, though often zealous and willing to make sacrifices to follow Jesus, were also slow to understand and often confused. Not completely unraveled, but the doubt and the disbelief has an impact. We've just read it. People should see God in the firstfruits. But they did so no more." It was true then. 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. But the disciples didn't stop focusing on the Kingdom of God after Pentecost. Joh 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but . And because both were working together, the mission and the vision, there was a remarkable picture being described here by Luke, of the Church at peace. He spent days and days, and weeks and weeks doing that, bringing new dimension of understanding to the Scriptures that they had never had. When I got off the bus from my hometown, I was in this large room, this large terminal, it was as larger, even larger than this room here, which for me, from my small town was a pretty big thing to walk into, and I did, first time I had ever traveled. But after Pentecost the power of the Spirit spread out to light the whole world. To be candid, it does feel like a complete change of the subject. And it is also the mission of the Church, we see right here, it has begun. Again, I think that is an example of using an . Acts 2 How was Simeon able to have the Holy Spirit upon him prior to Pentecost? This was a healthy fear of respect and awe and wonder at now what had happened. Was the power they received in Matthew 10 different from the one they received in Acts 2? Praying a Scriptural Rosary is accomplished by praying a traditional Rosary and adding scriptural verses related to each mystery of the Rosary. And this express bus took Route 66 out of St. Louis all the way to Los Angeles, my first time to get on that fabled highway, Route 66.

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