Acts 2--"What do we do?"

Last time, I talked about how the Pentecost in Acts was the fulfillment of the Pentecost in Exodus. Pilgrims from all over the world had come to commemorate the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The worshipers were startled by the news that a sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire had fallen on a group of Jesus' disciples. This phenomena was like the fire and wind on Sinai!  Everyone had seen Jesus do miraculous things, his followers must be doing something amazing too.  The pilgrims ran to the site of the commotion to see for themselves.

When they arrived, they heard the sounds of praise and worship to God--in their own language! What a surprise for non-Jewish believers who had to learn the Hebrew language and customs to worship the True God.  Now God by His Spirit was welcoming them by speaking to them in the intimacy of their mother tongue! This supernatural language was welcoming the world to worship the God of the Hebrews.

At the height of their amazement, Peter stood up and addressed the crowd.
 Ac 2:16 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
 Ac 2:17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
 Ac 2:18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
 Ac 2:19 I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
 Ac 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
 Ac 2:21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'

The people listening had no doubt heard of the sun turning to darkness on the day of Christ's death, and now saw the tongues of fire.  They had heard of the wonders and signs of Jesus and His followers. 

Peter's sermon went on to explain:

 Ac 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--

 Ac 2:23 "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

 Ac 2:24 "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

After comparing Christ to King David's prophesies, Peter brought his message to this conclusion:

 Ac 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

The Bible says the people were "cut to the heart" and asked, "what do we do?"

This reaction from the crowd shows the greatest power the Spirit -- the ability to convict men's hearts of their need for God.

Jesus explained that part of the Spirit's work would be to expose the darkness in men's hearts in order to have them filled with Light:   Speaking of the Spirit, He said:   Joh 16:8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
 Joh 16:9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me;

Peter had good reason to use the passage in Joel as his text.  Prior to the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the passage in Joel urges radical humility and seeking God's forgiveness of sins:

 Joe 2:12 ¶ "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning."


 Joe 2:13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
 Joe 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly;

Even the newlyweds and infants were to be included in seeking God for mercy.   It was after this, or even in response to the coming Spirit outpouring that God did ama
zing works of restoration in the Jewish people in Joel's day. 

Knowing this scripture, the crowd around Peter that day and seeing the very demonstration of the Spirit in front of them, the multi-national crowd cried out with the only question that made sense--"What do I need to do to have God's Spirit, and His law, in my heart like these people!"

Peter's answer was simple:   

 Ac 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 Ac 2:39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Next time, we will take a journey on the meaning of the word "Repent"  and why it was a crucial step in people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

Peter's sermon

Joel two

John

Repentence required

The Mountain Speaks Again--Sinai fulfilled in Pentecost

Last time, I talked about how Jesus promised to send his followers the Holy Spirit from the Father.   The Holy Spirit would dwell in them, empowering them to carry on with the work of Christ.   Now I want to look more closely at what happened on the day of Pentecost.


Acts 2
 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
 (KJV)

Here was a room of people who were earnestly waiting for the Holy Spirit, a Helper promised by Jesus and sent from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Surrounding this room of Jesus' disciples was a whole city celebrating the holiday of Pentecost. What is Pentecost?

The day of Pentecost marked 50 days from the holiday of Passover.  Whereas Passover remembered the Israelite's deliverance from Egypt, Pentecost celebrated two things, the first harvest of the year and the day that Moses was given God's Law on mount Sinai.


Pilgrims came to celebrate this feast from all over the known world.  Often they came early enough for the Passover feast and stayed on for Pentecost, a month and a half later.   Luke tells us that these pilgrims were devoted to God.  This would suggest that they were well acquainted with story of giving the law on mount Sinai.

The giving of the Law, was the defining moment in making the Israelites more than a gang of refugees.  It set them up as God's peculiar treasure, His favored nation.   If you read the passage in Exodus, look miraculous presence of God. Here's how the first Pentecost looked:



 Ex 19:16 ¶ And when morning came on the third day, there were thunders and flames and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a horn sounding very loud; and all the people in the tents were shaking with fear.
 Ex 19:17 And Moses made the people come out of their tents and take their places before God; and they came to the foot of the mountain,
 Ex 19:18 And all the mountain of Sinai was smoking, for the Lord had come down on it in fire: and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a great burning; and all the mountain was shaking.
 Ex 19:19 And when the sound of the horn became louder and louder, Moses' words were answered by the voice of God.

So in the original Pentecost we have these elements:

When the disciples were in the upper room, look what happened --we had a rushing wind/trumpet blast, cloves of fire and people speaking the words of God. (Acts: 2:11)

No wonder so many people came running to see this phenomena --it was like a mini-Sinai all over again. 

Plus, if these Jews and Jewish proselytes knew the prophetic writings very well, they would have heard the story of Jesus' crucifixion and matched it with the passages of Isaiah 53.  They would also be looking for the promise of Jeremiah 31:

  Jer 31:33 But this is the agreement which I will make with the people of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my law in their inner parts, writing it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.

And this promise in Ezekiel:  

 Eze 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

 Eze 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

 Eze 36:28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

They were looking for the Day that God's Law would be put in men's hearts by His Spirit.  

So as the crowds of onlookers gathered to see the spectacle of this they expected to see something about the giving of the Law and God's Spirit!.

The writer of Hebrews compared the first Pentecost with the one in Acts: 

 Heb 12:18 ¶ You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind,

 Heb 12:19 And to the sound of a horn, and the voice of words, the hearers of which made request that not a word more might be said to them:

 Heb 12:22 But you have come to the mountain of Zion, to the place of the living God, to the Jerusalem which is in heaven, and to an army of angels which may not be numbered,

 Heb 12:23 To the great meeting and church of the first of those who are named in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of good men made complete,

 Heb 12:24 And to Jesus by whom the new agreement has been made between God and man, and to the sign of the blood which says better things than Abel's blood.

The difference is clear, this event in Acts signals a new way of knowing God, and having His Spirit make the law come alive in our hearts.  Because of Jesus' payment for sin, God can now dwell within men.  

Next time I want to share more about how people reacted to this "New Sinai" and what Peter told the crowd to do to gain this experience for yourself.   I will leave you will the urging of the writer of Hebrews--Listen to God! 

 Heb 12:25 See that you give ear to his voice which comes to you. For if those whose ears were shut to the voice which came to them on earth did not go free from punishment, what chance have we of going free if we give no attention to him whose voice comes from heaven?

Camping for an upgrade -- Acts 2

Image: live 10 news



 Ac 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Chapter one of Acts leaves us with a huddled group of Jesus' closest friends and relatives, waiting obediently for something--or Someone that Jesus promised would not only replace His own presence, but would enable them to broadcast the news of how all men could return to their rightful place with God. Soon world changing power was coming in the form of a Person, the Holy Spirit.

Like people in the 60's camping at Canaveral to see history rocketing into space, or( in our day), shoppers camping for days to be the first to own the next new iphone, God's "early adopters", the apostles, were camped together for the arrival of this Person of the Trinity.

What did Jesus tell them about the Holy Spirit that kept them in a room for a week, waiting? 

  

Jesus had first told the Jews celebrating Feast of Tabernacles that He could offer them unquenchable, living water for thirst souls.(John 7:37-39)  Luke the Author notes Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit.  He had also made mention of this soul-fulling water to the woman at the well in John 4. 

But at the end of his life,  he begins to unveil the mysterious member of the Godhead that would soon take His place on earth. He taught about the Holy Spirit during one of the most intimate times He had with his disciples--the Passover dinner talk  recorded in John 14-16

.

 He explains the coming transition in John 14:15-17, 25 &26

  "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--

  "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

  "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.

 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Later in the evening He describes the Holy Spirit some more:

 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

 "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 

 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;

 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;

 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.  ( John 15:26,27; John 16:7-15)

Reading these statements over carefully, we can learn why the disciples were to eager to wait for this promise of the Holy Spirit.  

The word Helper has a deeper meaning in Greek  Parakletos:  an intercessor, consoler, advocate, comforter. It is like Jesus asking the Father to send a lawyer, prayer partner, therapist, guidance counselor, and a warm comforting blanket for each believer in one package.

Image: Marvel 

I kind of think of how Jeeves in  the Iron Man suit does everything for Tony Stark: power, flight, logistics, weapons, communication, and personal advice.  The Holy Spirit's mission is to take Jesus and wrap us inside His nature, running all the "app"s of His Spirit inside our renewed spirits. 

Watch how Jesus describes the Holy Spirit's mission:  He is our personal trainer and teacher. He reminds us of what God and others have said.  He is truth and guides to finding truth, He communicates what God the Father is saying to us.  He glorifys Christ, taking our focus off of our problems and putting it on the One who can solve them. He is the transfer conduit of Christ's nature, forming Him in us.  

Next time.  I want to talk about how the Holy Spirit is activated and deactivated, and why we are given this powerful gift.  In the meantime, if you do not have this gift of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to ask God boldly for His Gift of the Holy Spirit.  He is anxious for you to open it! 

A week of waiting -Acts 1

I'm going to go through the book of Acts with my church this month, so join me if you wish.  I don't pretend to be an expert, but I do believe that the solution to our nation's problems (and the world) is a revival of the kind of Christianity that is found in this book.

The first thing I noticed in Chapter 1 is that Jesus was with his disciples for 40 days after His Resurrection, explaining the kingdom.  40 days!  I wonder what He said?

photo: fiveruk

The second thing I noticed is that the disciples were told to wait for the Promise of the Holy Spirit.
Some things about Him 1.  Jesus had to leave first (Jn 16:7)
                                       2. The Spirit would be a Comforter when Jesus left.(Jn 14:14:16)
                                       3.The Spirit would give them power--(Lk24:48)
                                       4.The Spirit would testify of Jesus ((Jn 15:26)
                                       5.The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (Jn 15:26)
                                       6. The Spirit would teach all things (Jn. 14:26)
                                       7. The Spirit would bring all things back to our remembrance (Jn 14:26)

So the Spirit that Jesus sent from the Father brought everything that Jesus was to them:
Comfort, the Power that did miracles and gave Jesus the stamina to endure the cross, A constant stream of Jesus' words, revelation of Truth, (Jesus said I am the Way, Truth and Life) Jesus the teacher, and a reminder of everything Jesus said or did.

The Spirit brings us Jesus--all He is and deposits Him inside our souls

So what did they do in the seven days?  What did they wonder?  They had asked if Jesus was setting up his earthly Kingdom and Jesus.  His answer was:  Never mind that, wait for my power and then get to work. They had seen Him leave-- which must have wrenched their heart enough to have angels come and tell them --Jesus is gone from earth--wait for the Spirit.

What did they do?  They prayed.  They prayed about what was to come.  They prayed to prepare another witness to do the job Jesus had told them to do.  They did not run out and start witnessing, they did not go their separate ways. It might have looked like it was all over, Jesus had left. But, they waited--and prayed.

I like to fix stuff, I like to make a list--put forth some effort, look up ideas on the Internet--fill up my time getting things done.  Waiting is frustrating.  But waiting plus prayer--that is what filled this week for the nucleus  of the church. Preparing for 300% growth.  Preparing for a life of power.

Waiting and prayer.  Power doesn't come without fellowship with the Lord.  His Spirit breathes on us when we pray.  Waiting seems like doing nothing, not trying.  It is foreign to our flesh.
Praying can seem vain.  But with prayer and waiting--we are prepared to see God work in new ways.

Questions to ask:
1. What am I waiting for?
2. What do I pray about?
3. Is there a gap between these things?
4. Do I have frustration because of something I am trying to make happen rather than wait and pray about it?
5. Is there any time in my life where I saw God use waiting and praying in my life?

Wait:  The word for "wait" in Acts 1:4 means "to stay around for".  For the disciples, it could seem like everything is over.  Their 3 year exciting ride with Jesus ended when He ascended.  Peter had already tried to take up fishing again before Jesus left!  It begs the question --why should we hang around?

Sometimes there are things in our lives where it feels like Jesus has left us.  We are just looking around but the old thrill is gone.  Or maybe it has gotten tough and making a quick exit seems like the best option.  Jesus said, "hang on, hang around--the best is coming." "Stay together, stay in prayer, don't give up."  God is about transforming us IN situations that seem empty.  God is also about transforming SITUATIONS if we wait and let him change us.   Get ready, pray and wait.