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. It is. Luke begins by informing his readers that the Book of Acts is the second volume of his account of the life and ministry of Jesus. As the story goes in Acts, just before his departure, Jesus reiterates to his disciples that they should wait for the Spirit. Pentecost comes from a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot. Doubt, some of them doubt, what did they doubt? The Holy Spirit designated Barnabas and Saul. 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. 28For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to usnot to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. Acts 2:1-13 records the events of this Pentecost, about 10 days after Jesus' ascension. There was doubt. He enjoys hunting, travel and reading and spending time with his grandchildren. He was just [snaps fingers] gone, He was there. We are told in verse 2 that Jesus gave orders by the Holy Spirit. It seems to me that these loyal followers of Jesus are at their finest in verses 12-14. "And fear came upon every soul," and this was a different type of fear. 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. 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. What Happened at Pentecost? It is available on the Internet at:www.netbible.org. Third, Luke makes it emphatically clear that the power to carry out the Great Commission is the power that the Holy Spirit will bestow (1:4-5, 8). Red flowers may adorn alters and other areas. 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. Then I finally figured out, "Oh, I got to do this myself. He now consistently refers to them asapostles.The termdiscipleis now employed when reference is made to new believers in Acts. We've just read it. 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. If Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, then the Spirit is the sap equipping us for the Christian life. By inference, this second volume is the account of all that Jesus continued to do and to teach, through His apostles. So, let's continue our Book of Acts Bible Study. They weren't orphans, and we are not either in our life. Because they were seeing Christ risen and they saw Him in a bodily form, but then they were attributing something different to that. 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. 4This is much like Adam and Eve, who sought knowledge outside of the boundaries of their authority. Our Lord gave His apostles the Great Commission, appointing them as witnesses of His resurrection, and as His ambassadors, to proclaim the gospel to all the world. A photo of the proverbial 90-pound weakling was followed by the after of an awesome, muscle-flexing Charles Atlas physique. They determined that others needed to be appointed to oversee this ministry. 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. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. A Church that was grounded in the Word of God. They left the selection of these leaders to the people, but they did set the qualifications. First, there was an unmistakable "sound like a mighty rushing wind" that "filled the entire house" where the believers had gathered. That's what this day is all about as a firstfruit. Pentecostal Christians believe in the direct experience of the Holy Spirit by believers during all of their services. This process will never be seen again in the rest of the New Testament. What's the next step?" 24 Then they prayed, Lord, you know the hearts of all. 19952023 All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@ucg.org. 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. We, again, don't necessarily always pause and think about this, in these hours and days following Christ's resurrection. Trials hit us that will shake our faith, test our faith. Now, it was all beginning to come together. And when they reached their decision, they made it clear that their decision was guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us give thought to the way Luke prepares us for what is yet to come. Peter's Life Before Christ. 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. I would suspect that it may have been during that 40-day interval between our Lords resurrection and His ascension. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Number one was the Roman Empire. I think it was because Jesus had revealed the mystery of the church to them. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Verse 41, "But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, 'Have you any food?'" 19 This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language they called that field Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his house become deserted, and let there be no one to live in it, and Let another take his position of responsibility. 21 Thus one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus associated with us, 22 beginning from his baptism by John until the day he was taken up from usone of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us. 23 So they proposed two candidates: Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus) and Matthias. The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of the grain harvest. This is what He does as He moves them through the Law of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets, and opening their understanding. That is what caused them to banish their fear, trouble, doubt, and unbelief: Christ in them through the Holy Spirit. Not many days, we would look at it roughly 10 days from that 40-day period. 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. During the Temple period, the first fruits of the harvest were brought to the Temple, and two loaves of bread made from the new wheat were offered . People should see God in us. ", A church begins to develop. Now it has become popular to carry this theme over to homes, where pitiful or plain houses are transformed into palatial homes. 12 Then when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was greatly astounded at the teaching about the Lord. In his last face-to-face meeting with the Ephesian elders, Paul spoke to them about their responsibilities as shepherds. 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." 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. They remind us that most of the twelve apostles disappear in Acts and the Epistles, and not just Matthias. Why are you standing around gazing? They were kind of like this, and like this. "And all who believed were together and they had all things in common. What we are seeing here is again, the power of the Word of God. Q. 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. And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.". He certainly became one of the boldest witnesses for the faith. 1. In Ephesians 2, Paul contrasts the Gentiles in their unbelief with the Gentiles as saints, now a part of the church. Pentecost is a special day for any Christian, but it is emphasised particularly by Pentecostal churches. First, I note the wording of the first part of verse 13: When they had entered Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs roomwhere they were staying(Acts 1:13a, emphasis mine). They didn't know. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. Thank you Mr. McNeely , for making Christ more real. Colossians 2:15, tells us that He disarmed the powers with His death. It is the ideal to which every subsequent church period has wished to be able to emulate, including ours today. Acts 1, consistent with the rest of the Book of Acts, reminds us that it is not about us; it is about God. 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. 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. 14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers (Acts 1:12-14). And I was going to go out to California, my first trip to California, visit my brother for about three weeks. Pentecost will instead be fulfilled at the Rapture of the Body of Christ The Mystery Age - One New Man, the Church, the Bride of Christ During the period until Israel does accept Jesus as Messiah to bring about His return, the time of preparation of a bride for Christ has been extended and the mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues. The disciples stood gazing, and they didn't know what to do. With a UCG.org account you will be able to save items to read and study later! What is Pentecost? After Pentecost, the selection of leadership (as well as the seeking of divine guidance) is heavily dependent upon the presence and power of the Holy Spirit: But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested,full of the Spiritand of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task (Acts 6:3, emphasis mine). I think there are two things that are clear, and that should dominate our thinking. They were with Him and they asked Him in verse 6, "Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" And He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.". "Pentecost" is actually the Greek name for a festival known in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks ( Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9 ). Acts 2:17-18 KJV [17 . This unique feast occurred 7 weeks after Passover (49 days), culminating with the actual feast on day 50 (hence, the New Testament term "Pentecost"). It would further seem that this is the room where the apostles had been staying the previous 40 days. As I was sitting there gazing around, nobody came. The Roots of Pentecost . My point here is that Luke links the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Lord in the Gospels to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church in Acts. I would like to look at Acts 1 in three segments: Verses 1-11 From Christs Resurrection to His Return, Verses 15-26 Filling the Vacancy left by Judas. The ministry of the Holy Spirit does not commence in Acts, it continues in Acts. Jerusalem was swelled with pilgrims, at this point in time, and this added to the drama of the moment.
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