and there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. Friday. Peter says, "Repent, believe, be baptized, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Christ in you, the hope of glory. These significant events from the life of Jesus are made easier to comprehend and better-illustrated thanks to the passages . A fellowship, a community, prayer, sharing food together, much like we do today. Learning and labor which do not lead people in love to God are not prompted by the Spirit of Christ. The vision of the Church was coming together and the mission of the Church was being accomplished. That is the vision that Jesus has for His Church as articulated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:16 Ephesians 4:16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love.American King James Version, and they had it at this moment. Would it make any difference for our lives today if we knew the answer? The Word of God. And I didn't know how to make a connection. 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. They understood their problem, in verse 38, "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" Now, it was all beginning to come together. He was just [snaps fingers] gone, He was there. I hope you share this world view with the OT saints: namely, that your conception as a person in your mother's womb was a sovereign act of creation by God's Spirit and that every breath you take now and every chemical transaction in the cells of your body is sustained every moment by work of the Holy Spirit. Jentezen Franklin preached a sermon about scribes. In Revelation chapter 14, we are given an image of the firstfruits, called the 144,000 in this part of the Revelation. I like that phrase. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Apparently not. You may find that without a specific text of scripture your question could be voted for closure as 'off-topic'. It's an interesting way that they did. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 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. . Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? And that power would be what would begin to banish the fear, the troubling, doubt, that they had, coupled with the Word of God that they were to have. Christ Is Risen - An Easter plan by Matt Maher, The Essential 100 Bible Challenge14The Cross Of Christ. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Thank you Mr. McNeely , for making Christ more real. They might have fidgeted a bit and wondered, "Well, should we go fishing?" You ever been in that type of situation where you don't know what to do next? I happen to think that they, no doubt during this period of time, as the days go on they talked and they read. The world sees a mechanical process of evolution and natural selection. The disciples had seen Jesus reach out across ethnic and religious divides birth in His parables and in real life. There are no more decisive turning points in redemptive history that must happen before Jesus returns to establish his kingdom. People should see God in the firstfruits. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So that when they came to that morning of Pentecost and this mighty event takes place, they were ready then to move into the experience provided, and that extra dimension of power that the Spirit of God would give them and did give to them, and Peter takes the lead to give the sermon of his life. Some say that they wound up in the temple precincts; could very well be. Before that the Holy Spirit came on people for specific gifts and purposes. 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. They sold their possessions, they divided among them, they shared among those who had need. He also is a residentfaculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. What are some tools or methods I can purchase to trace a water leak? And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.". And the people of God in this period are to be a people born of the Spirit, baptized in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit to bear witness to "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." He quotes Joel, he quotes Psalms and he gives interpretations upon those scriptures, here in chapter 1, no one had ever heard of before. Was Galileo expecting to see so many stars? This is the threefold commission that is given to this group of disciples where they are to be witnesses of Him in the city of Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samariathe wider region of the country, look at it as kind of the wider counties of the country of Israel at the timeand then ultimately, to the end of the earth, to take the Gospel and to be a witness of God, to do this. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. Let's go into Luke's account. Picture a huge dam for hydroelectric power under construction, like the Aswan High Dam on the Nile, 375 feet high and 11,000 feet across. All of these qualities are to the divine nature, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. When you look and you understand what was taking place, here are people who've been terrified, they had been doubtful, unbelieving to one degree or the other during this previous 50-day period. 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. The Spirit gives that courage. How could they have ever submitted to God's law and pleased himas many did, like Abel and Noah and Abraham and Moses and Rahab and Ruth and Deborah and David? Jesus was enveloped within a pillar of fire, but was not harmed. Sixth, OT believers experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit as a power to be bold in denouncing evil and declaring righteousness. A week later the disciples were together again. Matthew records that "when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. That they're not drunk, that this is of God. And over a three and a half year period they had had their lives transformed and then they'd watched Him die. Go, therefore, make disciples of nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded, and lo, I am with you, always, even to the end of the age.'" Apparently, two angelic figures appeared to them as the disciples were kind of watching Christ go. 145 views, 2 likes, 6 loves, 16 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Crossroads Baptist Church: Crossroads Baptist Church Live 02/05/2023 Is the promise of "power" in Acts 1:8 only for the apostles or for Christians in all ages? Best Answer. It did not become true after Jesus said that. From this point, they had only 10 days. It gives me a lot of encouragement, when I am called to go places where I feel insecure, to know that the Spirit is within to give me the words I need and that he is also already in the place where I am going to prepare the way and to hold me when I get there. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. He is author of. They got the courage and strength they needed and they came out of their hiding place, starting to proclaim Jesus's death and resurrection. They came together, in verse 1 of chapter 2, "On the day of Pentecost when it was fully come, they were with one accord in one place. People should see God in us. "Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13). And so it was very key that His final ascension would be from this mountain. Far more people than they could have ever imagined and Peter gets up and gives the sermon of his life. Third, the OT believers enjoyed the constant presence of God's Spirit. And we have by and large absorbed their mechanistic view of things. Having Peter's undivided attention, Jesus spoke of the eventual crossing of Peter's own finish line. Psalm 139:710 says, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Maybe they had their hands in their pockets kind of like this, thinking, "Wow, that was neat. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. The Christian aeon is a renewed order, a new creation. And then it came to an end, it came to a close. A survey of Old Testament spiritual experience is needed to wake us up to our privileges in these last days that were inaugurated at Pentecost. If you forgive anyone's sins, they will be forgiven. And if those are the weapons of our warfare, then we can handle them. Christ did not leave His disciples as orphans. The Feast of Pentecost, or Shavuot in Hebrew, was just starting in Jerusalem as the book of Acts begins. Some say apostles got Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. I wouldn't bother with the question if I didn't. A firstfruit is one who follows Christ. Doubt, some of them doubt, what did they doubt? 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. The world we grew up in and live in does not see things this way. Well, Pentecost is like the dedicatory opening of the Aswan High Dam. A: Yes, repeatedly Jesus assured them that although He would be put to death by His enemies, He would come back to life by the power of God. . 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. 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. The second obvious change in the lives of the disciples was in their spiritual strength. 60 seconds. "Standing with the Lamb on the Mount of Olives," in Revelation 14:1 Revelation 14:1And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.American King James Version, "144,000 with the Father's name written on their foreheads. LISTEN NOW. It was a mighty, powerful machine, the most powerful that the world in that day had ever seen. Again Jesus in John 15 talks about Spirit that he will send it, does this mean they yet had no Spirit upon them? And then there came a time, in verse 4, where they were assembled together with Him and He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, "You have heard from Me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.". And we can be about the work that we see that the Church did then and has always done, of taking the message of salvation and of repentance to life, to people who need that message. 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. The bonds of trust among the disciples were beginning to be frayed. (1 Cor., 148 pp., XI, 8-22). 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. So it's something for us to examine in our own way, see how much of that is being demonstrated in our life. We often think a miracle would be just what we need. 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. If we begin to look at one another as less than trustworthy, then that has other consequences in relationships, and that's taking place among the disciples here at this moment. Welcome to BH. But Thomas said, First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:24). It's always fun to try to imagine how this happened. What is "the gift" of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38? That's a little-understood part of what was taking place. And you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." These accounts of like what we have read in the gospels and others for a 40-day period. We have a very involved, and very good, and a very detailed review process at many different levels of our writings, of our speaking in the United Church of God today. They turned the world upside down because they fully understood two simple . The disciples stood gazing, and they didn't know what to do. Now all of a sudden, as Peter steps forward, and of course, you know the story of Peter. They were with Him and they asked Him in verse 6, "Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" But how could the various prophecies found in Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah be fulfilled if this were true? Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Fear not" (Haggai 2:5). ; 39:29) and Joel (2:28) prophesied and longed to see. Before or after this instance. This morning let me close simply by returning to the Aswan High Dam for a moment. This was a healthy fear of respect and awe and wonder at now what had happened. So if I can come back to the question that I asked, what was going through their mind on that morning of Pentecost? Egypt's President Nasser announced the plan for construction in 1953. They were looking for power from on high. 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. 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. More likely, the believers assembled in one . To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Again, nothing like this had been a part of their frame of reference before. I can't think about it more than five minutes without saying, "So what?" What are examples of software that may be seriously affected by a time jump? 7:50; 19:9). He said He wouldn't and He didn't, even though there was a moment in time when they thought that they were orphaned, as they stood gazing up and looking and wondering, "What do we do next. Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. We live in the latter days of the Spirit. Articles that are published in our magazine or scripting for our television programs goes through a very, very thorough review process. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. And I think there was and is today a special touch or filling of the Holy Spirit that elevates the work of an artist or a musician or a craftsman from mere technical skill to divinely empowered ministry that exalts God and builds faith. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to Gods law; indeed, it cannot. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. Praying a Scriptural Rosary is accomplished by praying a traditional Rosary and adding scriptural verses related to each mystery of the Rosary. Again, the answer is yes. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. 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. The Day of Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter in Western branches of Christianity. 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." . It was true then. So here are ten ways Old Testament believers experienced the Holy Spirit which in these "last days" of Pentecostal fulfillment ought to be enjoyed by the church. This is the dimension that was given on Pentecost, and what this day is all about for those of us who are the firstfruits. If dark matter was created in the early universe and its formation released energy, is there any evidence of that energy in the cmb? Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Or is this authority that I mentioned just about Jesus' own power he gave them and isn't about Spirit in themselves like when he said to Peter to cast net into water and pulled out much fishes? I kind of think that He kind of, you know, elevated, and rose, and they saw Him, and they saw Him and the clouds, and the clouds, and then all of a sudden just like that, [snaps fingers] He was gone, kind of like in a "Star Trek" just a flash of light. My Spirit abides among you. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! etc.'. Surely for a Christian all study and all creative work must justify itself in terms of love. And I sat, and I sat, and I thought somebody will come along and tell me what to do. Matthew 71:seventeen, XVII, 10-18, and on the Sabbath (beginning): Rome, 111:seventeen, XIII, 1-10. Put your hand into my side. The disciples had to walk a week away to get to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12). He greeted them and showed them his hands and his side. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love. However, of course, the apostles had smack of the Spirit even before, for even before Spirit was present in them to a certain degree and intensity; they possessed the Spirit-ual gifts even before the Pentecost, however the gifts of the Infinite Spirit are also infinite and at the Pentecost they got a greater share of this graceful infinity, so as to totally be absorbed in it. With a UCG.org account you will be able to save items to read and study later! They were alone. Luke 1:15 says that John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit from his mother's womband he got his head chopped off for denouncing Herod's unlawful marriage. But ten billion kilowatts were added to enable the church to take the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to every tongue and tribe and nation. What happens?". They need to see within us, Jesus Christ. Reading the Holy Scripture. And when they saw Him they worshiped him. 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. Our sins will find us out. Then I finally figured out, "Oh, I got to do this myself. 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. No, He said wait till, wait in Jerusalem, and so they were there and they continued. And it was the high priest and those people who had engineered His death, and they knew the power that they did have. Did they doubt themselves? How was the Holy Spirit being seen (perceived) in Acts 8? The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. The same Jesus who's been taken up will come in a like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Was the power they received in Matthew 10 different from the one they received in Acts 2? And this dramatic miracle, but beyond that, 3,000 people being added to the Church, and then a community being developed. Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation. answer choices. They weren't orphans, and we are not either in our life. ", A church begins to develop. And it is Christ in us that is that hope of glory. If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! 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