When did that become true? Psalm 104 celebrates the wonder and variety of all living things and says (vv. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. That is what caused people to see something in those disciples and to want to be a part of it. The answer is not Pentecost. They were going up against a lot, just as we go up against our world today, and ourselves, and what Satan might throw at us. 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. Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today the Spirit still instructs us by the Word of Scripture and we ought to pray earnestly for an outpouring of God's enlightening Spirit so that the Scriptures really live for us and become intensely personal. 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." Did they doubt themselves? "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). John has another set of accounts, and then he kind of ends and he leaves it wide open. Peter was quoting Scripture and applying it to something that had happened and that is Jesus, His death and His resurrection. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. 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. This is the dimension that was given on Pentecost, and what this day is all about for those of us who are the firstfruits. Matthew records that "when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. When the disciples saw the Lord, they became very happy. Is the promise of "power" in Acts 1:8 only for the apostles or for Christians in all ages? And speaking about the deep things of the Kingdom of God to prepare them for what they were to take part in, and what they were to be a part of. We can deal with them. Peter says, "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 will prophesy." The Day of Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter in Western branches of Christianity. We get on to verse 40, the wrap-up: "With many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, Be saved from this perverse generation, that those who were, who gladly received his word were baptized; about 3,000 souls were added to them. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit if the Spirit of God really dwells in you." But on the morning that those disciples were gathered there, before it happened, you have to imagine that they had no idea that, that would be what would take place. He greeted his disciples and said to Thomas, Put your finger here and look at my hands! Or: "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and the ropes which were on his arms became as flax" (15:14). You ever been in that type of situation where you don't know what to do next? Stop doubting and have faith! Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. It's an informed sermon. But Thomas said, First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. And more specifically for this group that they would be witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth being fulfilled. That's an important trait for a firstfruit, for a firstfruit to have in their life, and in their approach to life. And again, He gives, through Mark's account here, He gives the same commission to go. . The world sees a mechanical process of evolution and natural selection. They had hoped He would overcome the power of the Roman government and establish a new kingdom, and now their hopes of this vanished. 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. 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 it is also due to a much simpler and . About 10 days earlier, Christ had finally ascended for the final time and they were left alone. Colossians 2:15 Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.American King James Version, tells us that He disarmed the powers with His death. 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." How can I explain to my manager that a project he wishes to undertake cannot be performed by the team? Paul says in Romans 8:79, "The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed, it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. In Nehemiah 9, Ezra gives thanks to God for all his past benefits to Israel and says in verse 20, "Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them and didst not withhold thy manna from their mouth." Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. We live in the days that Isaiah (44:3) and Ezekiel (11:19; 36:26f. Again, I think that is an example of using an . ", A church begins to develop. We do well to read about these things, and ask ourselves the simple question: if they experienced so much of God's Spirit which was but a trickle of the reservoir, how much more should we enjoy under the dozen turbines of Pentecost? They had come up against the two most powerful authorities of their day in their world. These significant events from the life of Jesus are made easier to comprehend and better-illustrated thanks to the passages . We can take on that nature and we can live. There's a lot of information in the details that we are given in chapter 28 verse 16. But on that 50th day, from the morning after Christ's resurrection, a lot had happened. Look at John 3:16. Fear not" (Haggai 2:5). What's the next step?" Surely for a Christian all study and all creative work must justify itself in terms of love. "And they looked steadfastly in toward heaven," verse 10, "as He went up, and behold two men stood by them in white apparel." So here's my answer to why the experience of the Old Testament saints is valuable for us today. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died .John 4:11-14 Come on. Otherwise how would they ever overcome their natural hostility to God? He used Deborah and the tribe of Zebulun (the mountain may have been in their land) in the sermon. 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. Not only apostles, but even the prophets of the Old Testament, who are lower than apostles, had a degree of presence of Spirit in themselves, through Whom they prophesied (needn't to give references, for they are so numerous!). But how could the various prophecies found in Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah be fulfilled if this were true? The last holy day season, the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread had seen the death of Jesus Christ, and then three days later He was resurrected and He had appeared to them. Somebody will tap me on the shoulder and tell me what to do next, but you know what? LISTEN NOW. What we are seeing here is again, the power of the Word of God. Zechariah's prophecy in chapter 14 shows that Christ will, on that day, set foot on the Mount of Olives. Psalm 139:710 says, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? 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). And therein, lies a key to the understanding of what had taken place with these individuals here. Having Peter's undivided attention, Jesus spoke of the eventual crossing of Peter's own finish line. and the preacher says, "So what?" 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. After the disciples received the Holy Spirit, received Christ in them, they began to operate under the strength and ability of Christ in them. What happens?". I never have believed in knowledge for its own sake or art for art's sake. And had they seen anything near that type of an ecstatic demonstration, it might have been in a form by someone doing something by their form of religion that they didn't identify with. It wasn't there and so a lot had happened in that 50-day period that brought them to that morning of Pentecost. Week 8 to Pentecost. After Pentecost, a radical transformation took place. 157 views, 3 likes, 4 loves, 3 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Mora Grace Lutheran Church: Music used with permission from CCLI The disciples had seen what would happen because Christ was arrested and had come before the high priest. 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 had a lot of fear. This event is very significant because the Bible says when we are born again, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit; in other words, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30). They were also filled with fear for their own future. And perhaps like you and I would today, we might look at it as a little bit odd. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.". Verse 41, "But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, 'Have you any food?'" As you read on in Acts chapter 1, one of the main things they did was to choose a successor to Judas. Exodus 31:15 says, "The Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have called by name Bezalel . 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. How was the Holy Spirit being seen (perceived) in Acts 8? But if you don't forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven. Trials hit us that will shake our faith, test our faith. Pentecost was a Jewish festival fifty days after the Passover. 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.". With a UCG.org account you will be able to save items to read and study later! 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. Yes, Peter did preach under the anointing, but the empowerment of the Spirit also brought a unity and a focus of purpose they had not known before. Jentezen Franklin preached a sermon about scribes. Then I finally figured out, "Oh, I got to do this myself. And then it came to an end, it came to a close. And they're seeing that, and it's the final time. All of these qualities are to the divine nature, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. We're no different than them. How to increase the number of CPUs in my computer? Being mentally separated from other people (because of being ashamed of lost of their 'cause') made them being afraid of people. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Not many days, we would look at it roughly 10 days from that 40-day period. The ministry has had those two themes for the past two conferences. 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. The indwelling Holy Spirit was only sent after Jesus' resurrection. Some say apostles got Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Rename .gz files according to names in separate txt-file. 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. And when those come in, how do we process them? This makes it seem that the Disciples were astonished, but those who followed behind them were afraid. Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. Joh 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn't with the others when Jesus appeared to them. That Christianity grew, after such a brief inception, into the world religion we know to today is testimony to the power of the message Jesus preached. You may find that without a specific text of scripture your question could be voted for closure as 'off-topic'. Copy. He enjoys hunting, travel and reading and spending time with his grandchildren. So He begins to teach them from the Scriptures that they might understand, and that they might comprehend what He was and how He had fulfilled everything that they would have understood to one degree, and then even more they had begun to develop a fuller understanding of the prophecies of Isaiah, or Joel, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, the statements about the Messiah. They'd likely not seen it. It's an interesting way that they did. And yet some doubted. He is author of. When people are filled with the Holy Spirit, they do not blink at evil. Even as the reservoir was filling, part of the river was allowed to flow past. Jesus was enveloped within a pillar of fire, but was not harmed. If these saints experienced privileges and powers in the Holy Spirit before the dam was opened, how much more should we in these billion kilowatt days experience these things or more. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit occurs in every believer the moment they make Jesus their Lord. They sailed on it in the moonlight and wrote songs about it. 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. They looked upon them then as liars, charlatans, or fools, maybe a bit delusional. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. As Jesus' disciples they may be afraid of someone that would deliver them to soldiers to punish them for taking part in 'rebellion' (as occupants may see it). So at 9:00 on Pentecost morning, while the disciples were praying, "a sound came from heaven like a rush of mighty wind . The Victory over Fear On the day of the Pentecost, The Spirit of God came to them, filled their minds and their hearts and their entire being. The Word of God. Old Testament saints knew then and Christians know today that victory over all threats and obstacles belongs to God. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. Although John does not say this is the point when the disciples were born again, or that was when the New Covenant started, Erwin takes it to mean both: "it marks the transition from the terms of the old covenant to those of the new covenant" (p. 20). In 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1, Peter writes, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you and the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. It is a remarkable period of church history, because right here we have a vision being fulfilled that Jesus Christ has for His Church. Maybe they had their hands in their pockets kind of like this, thinking, "Wow, that was neat. If we can borrow a phrase that we've used over the last two years, two phrases, they labored in the Word and they lived in the Word. At least part of the answer to that is found in the teaching on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 1214, which we will soon begin to study in an evening series. 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. So Jesus had to rebuke them. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Expand What we read about back in Matthew 28:19 Matthew 28:19Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:American King James Versionof the gospel being taken to the world. 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. And that is of people led by the Holy Spirit, knit together, everyone providing that which they can toward a community of faith, power, and love, sharing, looking out after one another and caring for one another. 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. It's God's Spirit that is the only thing that we can have to overcome those fears, because really, it's all the Church of God has ever had. And it brings it down to the end of the chapter. He was just [snaps fingers] gone, He was there. For example, when Moses gathered with the seventy elders of Israel at the tabernacle, it says in Numbers 11:25, "The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the Spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. That is how the mission of the Church is done and that is how then that vision of a community, of a Church, of a people who are rooted in the Word of God, who actually do care for one another, is accomplished; by no other means, by no other means. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! 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. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking? So there is going to be a gap. And I didn't know how to make a connection. Now, when we turn over to Acts chapter 1, and we look at, kind of summing up of this as it is. Whoever believes in Jesus has everlasting life. That's what the gift of the Holy Spirit is for us. Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. If dark matter was created in the early universe and its formation released energy, is there any evidence of that energy in the cmb? The church today is so sleepy that some of us have even fallen behind the Old Testament saints in our appropriation of what the Spirit has to give. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. 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. Surely for a Christian the only reason to study or be artistic is for God's sake. 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. We can internalize that and think that through. How was Simeon able to have the Holy Spirit upon him prior to Pentecost? Does anybody care? 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. They understood their problem, in verse 38, "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" There are no more decisive turning points in redemptive history that must happen before Jesus returns to establish his kingdom. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. Instead, they turned the world upside down. As we have received the gift of God's Spirit, as those on that first day of Pentecost received the gift of the Holy Spirit were brought into the Church, they became, and so are we, partakers of the divine nature. If we can learn to take on the divine nature and drink that in, in our lives, then we can banish doubt, uncertainty, and fear, unbelief, that will creep in at various times as we go through our lives, and stages in the developments of life. Evidently, God only gave a brief taste of prophetic powers to the seventy elders. Jesus said, Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? And reading and spending time with his grandchildren bit delusional it was n't with the Holy occurs. Information in the sermon the world have no experience of lasting joy in their to. You have faith because you have faith because you have faith because you have faith because have. [ snaps fingers ] gone, he was n't with the others when Jesus appeared in flesh. Comprehend and better-illustrated thanks to the end of the Church experience to something that had.! Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the Old Testament saints is valuable for us was enveloped a... Sent after Jesus ' resurrection that day, set foot on the shoulder and tell me what to do myself. Do, do all to the seventy elders Scripture your question could voted! Have no experience of the Church experience the Lord had departed from Saul, then! 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