And when those come in, how do we process them? But it was a very intense period of time of Jesus appearing to them both in Galilee and Jerusalem, teaching them from the Scriptures, appearing to them in larger groups, perhaps even, more smaller groups, and in some of the ways they're talking like He did to Peter, on the Sea of Galilee, having meals with them. 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. Jesus persuades them to leave what they are doing to travel with him and help to share . 14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this (Acts 4:13-14). And the tomb was empty, and the disciples had seen Jesus, and the authorities were beside themselves trying to figure it out, looked for the body. I happen to think that they, no doubt during this period of time, as the days go on they talked and they read. Christ did not leave His disciples as orphans. It seems to me that these loyal followers of Jesus are at their finest in verses 12-14. He was seen by them over a forty-day period and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). 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. Let us never consider going back to the old. What was on their mind? 1 I wrote the former account, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after he had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. And then it came to an end, it came to a close. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking. The Word of God. On that day of Pentecost, people who had been doubtful were moved to speak powerfully, to repentance, to belief, and to action. The Apostle Peter may have been the most outspoken of the twelve apostles in Jesus' ministry on earth. It was the Roman soldiers that had carried out the death of Christ and had sealed the tomb and a Roman guard had been placed there. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. This united prayer lasted for another ten days after our Lords ascension.6It was during this ten-day period that a replacement was chosen for Judas. The apostles then found themselves speaking in foreign languages, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Then follows a marvelous after photo, which displays a beautiful person, so different from the before photo. In his last face-to-face meeting with the Ephesian elders, Paul spoke to them about their responsibilities as shepherds. That is what caused them to banish their fear, trouble, doubt, and unbelief: Christ in them through the Holy Spirit. One of these qualifications was that each man manifested evidence of the Spirits presence in his life. They weren't orphans, and we are not either in our life. As we came here this morning, to services, and as we gathered here this morning ourselves, there is a very important lesson for us to learn as well. The feast has been celebrated 40 days after Easter in both Eastern and Western Christianity since the 4th century. There is additional evidence that our Lord spoke to the apostles about the mystery of the church during these 40 days. If you go back to Matthew chapter 28, chapter 28 and verse 16, let's just read a few of the accounts of that period following the resurrection, that the Gospel accounts tell us and there's more there. And this dramatic miracle took place, of wind, and fire, and language, and hearing, and people took notice. United Church of Godis a501(c)3organization. The inference is, Dont just stand here; get going!5. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." So it was a bodily appearance that He made completely to them, and He showed them His hands and His feet. Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. It is rooted in the Word of God. Did they doubt what they were seeing? They thought that the body had been ferretted away by the disciples, someone had stolen it. Let us seek to answer this question by observing what happened. 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? 3You will note that I do not use the termdisciplesto refer to the eleven here, or the twelve elsewhere in Acts. 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. The second power that they'd run up against was that of the Jewish authorities. Somebody will tap me on the shoulder and tell me what to do next, but you know what? Now it has become popular to carry this theme over to homes, where pitiful or plain houses are transformed into palatial homes. What Happened at Pentecost? 11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory! 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. John has another set of accounts, and then he kind of ends and he leaves it wide open. The idea of 10 days to do nothing is desperately needed in the church today, and this is the perfect time of year to embrace that very thing. I would suspect that it may have been during that 40-day interval between our Lords resurrection and His ascension. 2 Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. Number one was the Roman Empire. What they needed was power, power to proclaim the gospel so that men would believe and be saved. The Cross And Separation From The World (1 Peter 4:1-6), 7. He boasted of his victory over Israel, and we read, The king of Israel replied, Tell him the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off (1 Kings 20:11).2, The point is that one should not boast before his victory, but should wait until after. 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. "And they looked steadfastly in toward heaven," verse 10, "as He went up, and behold two men stood by them in white apparel." "Also for this very reason, giving all diligence into your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, the divine nature. This truth is buttressed by John 14-16, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and 2 Peter 1:20-21. They understood their problem, in verse 38, "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" The apostles were celebrating this festival when the Holy Spirit descended on them. Now, when we turn over to Acts chapter 1, and we look at, kind of summing up of this as it is. 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. We, again, don't necessarily always pause and think about this, in these hours and days following Christ's resurrection. 7The apparent contradictions between this account and that of Matthew 27:3-10 are not insurmountable. People should see that in us. John had earlier said of Jesus. The Jewish authoritiesthe Sanhedrin, the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadduceesthat authority was intact in Jerusalem, running the temple, running the religious side of the culture and the social life of Judea under the Roman cap, and it too was a very, very powerful force you didn't run up against. It wasn't there and so a lot had happened in that 50-day period that brought them to that morning of Pentecost. And it is also the mission of the Church, we see right here, it has begun. It is celebrated on the Sunday 50 days after Easter (the name comes from the Greek pentekoste, "fiftieth"). What do we do now? And then going on here, in verse 44, "He said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms concerning Me.' There is a great difference between before and after.. 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). Acts 2:1-13 records the events of this Pentecost, about 10 days after Jesus' ascension. The bonds of trust among the disciples were beginning to be frayed. It's an encouraging sermon, it's very pointed and direct, that includes a dramatic call to repentance. Let's go into Luke's account. It is available on the Internet at:www.netbible.org. In the Old Testament Pentecost was the feast which occurred fifty days after Passover. 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. What is so important about the selection of Matthias that deserves this kind of editorial space? Jesus was appearing to the apostles for 40 days until His ascension, and so there had to be 10 days left until Pentecost. Second, we learn that the Great Commission, which our Lord commanded His apostles, was given through the Holy Spirit (1:2). The Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. What is of particular interest is that this revelation came about through the Spirit.. And so she was the first to see the empty tomb and have that appearance, and she goes and tells them. 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. Ben Hadad, the king of Syria, was threatening war against Israel and its King, Ahab. 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. Let us eagerly look forward to the changes Pentecost will bring for the better.. As the writer to the Hebrews constantly emphasized, the New Covenant is vastly superior to the Old. At the end of John, you remember, John says, there were so many other things that He did in his life and no doubt probably part of that 40-day period that it would take volumes to teach it, and to record it during this period. In Acts 13 while those at the church in Antioch were fasting, the Holy Spirit indicated that Barnabas and Saul should be set apart and sent out as missionaries. All of these qualities are to the divine nature, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. As the first volume ends with the Great Commission, the second volume begins with it (verse 8). And then they had seen that He was resurrected. Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. 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. Pentecostal Christians believe in the direct experience of the Holy Spirit by believers during all of their services. 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. 9. As the story goes in Acts, just before his departure, Jesus reiterates to his disciples that they should wait for the Spirit. There's a lot of information in the details that we are given in chapter 28 verse 16. And so Luke's account brings this together. 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. Think of it! 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. 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! The same Jesus who's been taken up will come in a like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Find the date for Pentecost 2014 in the multifaith calendar. They also point out that Lukes account depicts this selection in a favorable light, and that nothing negative is said about the action taken here. We learn that it was Peter who provided the leadership (1:15). Like others, I have pointed to Paul as the most likely candidate for Judas replacement. And I didn't know how to make a connection. Then I finally figured out, "Oh, I got to do this myself. Hymns sung at Pentecost take the Holy Spirit as their theme, and include: The symbols of Pentecost are those of the Holy Spirit and include flames, wind, the breath of God and a dove. From this point, they had only 10 days. Barnabas and Saul arrived at the island of Cyprus and had traveled as far as Paphos. [Darris McNeely] On the morning of Pentecost 31 AD, what do you think was going through the minds of the assembled disciples in Jerusalem? But they were terrified, and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit." And then the 50th day came, the morning of Pentecost, and they were gathered together. During those 40 days, He provided them with many convincing proofs that He had indeed risen from the dead. Transcript Darris McNeely Beyond Today Presenter That's what the gift of the Holy Spirit is for us. They need to see within us, Jesus Christ. 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. Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early wheat harvest, which meant that Pentecost always fell sometime during the middle of the month of May or sometimes in early June. Far more people than they could have ever imagined and Peter gets up and gives the sermon of his life. 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. Unmistakable. Pentecost is a special day for any Christian, but it is emphasised particularly by Pentecostal churches. 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. They had not been a part of anything like that before. And you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." This should also be our focus before Pentecost and before Jesus Christ's return. Colossians 2:15, tells us that He disarmed the powers with His death. And let's look at it beginning in verse 36, this is after His resurrection, "As they said these things," this is the two that He had appeared to on the road to Emmaus, "Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, 'Peace to you.' A firstfruit is one who follows Christ. And therein, lies a key to the understanding of what had taken place with these individuals here. Now all of a sudden, as Peter steps forward, and of course, you know the story of Peter. 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. We've just read it. 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.
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