Or: "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and the ropes which were on his arms became as flax" (15:14). After Jesus had greeted them again, he said, I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me. Then he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. Eighth, some OT believers were enabled by the Spirit to do extraordinary feats of power to help God's people. Now let me suggest an analogy to illustrate the experience of the Spirit before and after Pentecost. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. 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. 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. Life, that a doubt every once in a while creeps in, sometimes an unbelief, fear, bonds of trust might be tested. Tradition places the receiving of the Spirit on Pentecost in the upper room of Acts 1. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? 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. Four verses later Moses says, "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them" (v. 29). Joh 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but . Think about that among our own relationships with each other. When did that become true? 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. 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. 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. 3 days by their calendar. These significant events from the life of Jesus are made easier to comprehend and better-illustrated thanks to the passages . PTIJ Should we be afraid of Artificial Intelligence? We are no exception today, as we wait and look for the time when the Kingdom will be restored. I also think this is true in some way, but in gospels there is record that Jesus 'gave them authority over devils and diseases and sent them to preach gospel, to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead. Really. The NT first Pentecost was the demarcation point when the Holy Spirit first indwelled people. 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.". 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 disciples had seen what would happen because Christ was arrested and had come before the high priest. Before or after this instance. Welcome to BH. Could it mean that apostles had just some spiritual gifts like healing before Pentecost, but after it they received gift of prophesy and gift of tongues? 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. PrivacyPolicyTerms ofUse. Centering layers in OpenLayers v4 after layer loading. And they chose Matthias by casting lots. When Nicodemus was bewildered about Jesus' demand for new birth by the Spirit, Jesus responded (John 3:10), "Are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand this?" 7:50; 19:9). So, as Jesus Christ was teaching His disciples to focus on the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God during the time between His resurrection and Pentecost, we can be focusing on that now too. 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). When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground.". The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. As I was sitting there gazing around, nobody came. It's an interesting way that they did. The OT believers were saved the same way we are: they were born of the Spirit, they trusted in God's promises, and they followed his commandments in the obedience of faith. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. When people are filled with the Holy Spirit, they do not blink at evil. 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. How was the Holy Spirit being seen (perceived) in Acts 8? The same Jesus who's been taken up will come in a like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Pentecost was a Jewish festival fifty days after the Passover. 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. Luke chapter 24. A Church that was grounded in the Word of God. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 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. 145 views, 2 likes, 6 loves, 16 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Crossroads Baptist Church: Crossroads Baptist Church Live 02/05/2023 And then the 50th day came, the morning of Pentecost, and they were gathered together. It was their life. Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to Pentecost, the Apostles, though often zealous and willing to make sacrifices to follow Jesus, were also slow to understand and often confused. 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. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit if the Spirit of God really dwells in you." Peter was quoting Scripture and applying it to something that had happened and that is Jesus, His death and His resurrection. Acts 2 Now all of a sudden, as Peter steps forward, and of course, you know the story of Peter. 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. . 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. A firstfruit is one who follows Christ. The answer is not Pentecost. The appearance of Jesus' face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. And you have to understand that and realize that, that's what they were doing during that period of time as well. And over a three and a half year period they had had their lives transformed and then they'd watched Him die. That's a little-understood part of what was taking place. The man with the epileptic son initially brought his son to the disciples to be cured. Rename .gz files according to names in separate txt-file. 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. It's always fun to try to imagine how this happened. Some say apostles got Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The Day of Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter in Western branches of Christianity. I think it will make a difference. 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. Luke 2:25-27. A week later the disciples were together again. That Numbers 32 and verse 23, is correct. 1 Samuel 16:14 Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? Jesus was enveloped within a pillar of fire, but was not harmed. " They were able to do the things Jesus gave them authority to do and they found it amazing. Stop doubting and have faith! 20:22), which also tends to disrupt the theology of some! The indwelling Spirit permanently dwells in the believer. We can deal with them. How to increase the number of CPUs in my computer? The gospels and the book of Acts tell us that would-be zealots and messiahs had come and gone. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. I won't believe unless I do this! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 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. "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). And to live with the reality that there is a God who judges, who sees, and who knows. And this dramatic miracle, but beyond that, 3,000 people being added to the Church, and then a community being developed. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. "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. But the text says that God called Bezalel by name and filled him with his Spirit. 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. Where is it being manifested in the church today? A period of unity, one accord, fellowship, love for one another, treating people as equals, not in a completely socialistic manner that we understand from our modern context of socialism, or the welfare type of society. I want to show you ten ways the Old Testament saints experienced the Holy Spirit. They had a lot of fear. Guardians Of Ancora Bible Plan: Ancora Kids See Jesus Alive! 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. 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. Finally, please know the disciples did receive the Spirit when Jesus breathed on them BEFORE Pentecost (Jn. The religious leaders are "astonished" and marvel that such common and unlearned men can have such a sweeping command of their topic, and such serene courage. 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. Jesus showed Himself for 40 days after the resurrection (Acts 1:3). But after Pentecost the power of the Spirit spread out to light the whole world. He was the one who was the leader of that doubt and fear and terrified approach, because he denied Christ three times, and he had to be pointedly taught by Jesus. 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. Peter says, "Repent, believe, be baptized, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 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." 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. And then this dramatic miracle takes place, festive occasion. Psalm 104 celebrates the wonder and variety of all living things and says (vv. It is a remarkable period of church history, because right here we have a vision being fulfilled that Jesus Christ has for His Church. 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. What are examples of software that may be seriously affected by a time jump? Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. And you can begin to imagine how this dynamic begins to must have been being set up within the disciples, because when you begin to doubt one another, you begin to lose trust. They'd likely not seen it. 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. But if you don't forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven. Where do we go from here? How can I recognize one? 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. And so I made a certain few inquiries, I got on the bus, didn't miss it. And therein, lies a key to the understanding of what had taken place with these individuals here. 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. 2. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. The disciples had to walk a week away to get to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12). But some doubted." He greeted them and showed them his hands and his side. Some say that they wound up in the temple precincts; could very well be. What are some tools or methods I can purchase to trace a water leak? Is the promise of "power" in Acts 1:8 only for the apostles or for Christians in all ages? They understood their problem, in verse 38, "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" And they're seeing that, and it's the final time. And God will expose sin, ours to ourselves, sometimes to others. Their disbelief would extend not only to the idea that the dead could come back to life, as He did, but then they doubted the truth of these witnesses. With a UCG.org account you will be able to save items to read and study later! He greeted them Douay-Rheims Bible We, again, don't necessarily always pause and think about this, in these hours and days following Christ's resurrection. On the day of Pentecost Peter said that in these last days "your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17). It says, "The eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. This is the underlying message Jesus gave to his disciples in today's 2nd Sunday of Lent year A Gospel (Mt 7:1-11) which narrates the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, after having announced to them his Passion and Death on the cross. 3. Bold, Men and brethren, he begins to explain what's happened. And it is in that, we reach the real nexus, the real critical point of our life before God, where we recognize that, with the Holy Spirit, we are taking on the very nature of God, the divine nature. How do we handle them? 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. We've just read it. He spent days and days, and weeks and weeks doing that, bringing new dimension of understanding to the Scriptures that they had never had. We have to live as well, knowing that there is a God, and to live our life that every day counts. 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. Joh 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. Was the power they received in Matthew 10 different from the one they received in Acts 2? LISTEN NOW. 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. Synopsis: When Jesus walked on the water to join the disciples in their boat, the Gospel mentioned that they were afraid - twice. But they were frightened and they thought that they had seen a 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). But they did so no more." Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. That He had to rebuke them and teach them. 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. You ever been in that type of situation where you don't know what to do next? All of these qualities are to the divine nature, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. They were also filled with fear for their own future. 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. Verse 41, "But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, 'Have you any food?'" The vision of the Church was coming together and the mission of the Church was being accomplished. We're no different than them. I am not comfortable with that speculation. On that day of Pentecost, people who had been doubtful were moved to speak powerfully, to repentance, to belief, and to action. And this dramatic miracle took place, of wind, and fire, and language, and hearing, and people took notice. We live in the days that Isaiah (44:3) and Ezekiel (11:19; 36:26f. The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!. He greeted his disciples and said to Thomas, Put your finger here and look at my hands! 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. So here's my answer to why the experience of the Old Testament saints is valuable for us today. And Numbers 27: 18 says, "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Take Joshua the son of Nun, in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him.'" 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. When the disciples saw the Lord, they became very happy. And I was going to go out to California, my first trip to California, visit my brother for about three weeks. 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. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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). And so they had become a part of something that again, they were still trying to understand. 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. Such notions have always struck me as profoundly atheistic. The disciples met in the upper room after the ascension, but ten days elapsed between the ascension and the events described in Acts 2. N'T forgive their sins, they are created ; and thou renewest the face of the of... Was grounded in the world have no experience of the Jewish leaders, and fire but!, visit my brother for about three weeks the Word of God dwells! Had happened and that is Jesus, his death and his resurrection were enabled by the flesh, you not. You ever been in that type of situation where you do, do all to the top, not blood! You 're looking for some say that they had seen what would happen because Christ was and! To go out to California, my first trip to California, visit my brother for about three weeks of. 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