They thought that Jesus Himself didn't actually know that asleep people wake up? What does a search warrant actually look like? And so it was very key that His final ascension would be from this mountain. They were alone. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. 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. What is this gift of prophecy? . Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Jesus was crucified during the Passover celebration. Every now and then in extraordinary circumstances of need the Spirit enables ordinary Christians to perform amazing feats of rescue far beyond their ordinary capacitylike lifting a car off of a pinned husband or escaping from a raging rapist. He understood that, and again, He is just laying it out that they were troubled and there was doubt. Or is this authority that I mentioned just about Jesus' own power he gave them and isn't about Spirit in themselves like when he said to Peter to cast net into water and pulled out much fishes? 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. And what was the key to that? What are examples of software that may be seriously affected by a time jump? I happen to think that they, no doubt during this period of time, as the days go on they talked and they read. But Thomas said, First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. 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. That's a little-understood part of what was taking place. We just get a few snippets from the gospel accounts, at least, of this 40-day period. Those in the flesh are devoid of the Spirit and cannot submit to God's law or please God. Were on a mission to change that. We're no different than them. And so two things create this vision and this mission. The Spirit gives that courage. 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. Not completely unraveled, but the doubt and the disbelief has an impact. 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. 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. Thus, the Pentecost is the culmination, the ultimate gift of Spirit, when the apostles get Him to such an extent and intensity that they can already be emboldened by Him to preach to all corners of the world, withstanding all calamities and opposing powers. Surely for a Christian the only reason to study or be artistic is for God's sake. These were redeemed from among men being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. From the Day of Pentecost, when they had been baptized by the power of the Holy Spirit, they were equipped to go into the world. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. The world we grew up in and live in does not see things this way. Now all of a sudden, as Peter steps forward, and of course, you know the story of Peter. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 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.' Second, the OT believers experienced the new birth and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Friday. They understood their problem, in verse 38, "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" Christ in you, the hope of glory. 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. What's the next step?" 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). Welcome to BH. She went and told those who had been with Him as they mourned and wept." That is what caused them to banish their fear, trouble, doubt, and unbelief: Christ in them through the Holy Spirit. Centering layers in OpenLayers v4 after layer loading. I wouldn't bother with the question if I didn't. He quotes Joel, he quotes Psalms and he gives interpretations upon those scriptures, here in chapter 1, no one had ever heard of before. Thank you Mr. McNeely , for making Christ more real. Now, when we turn over to Acts chapter 1, and we look at, kind of summing up of this as it is. "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 Christian ought to see the creative, imaginative work of God's Spirit. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! When the disciples saw the Lord, they became very happy. 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. Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 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. Christ did not leave His disciples as orphans. A halo was seen glowing brightly above Jesus' head. It is rooted in the Word of God. Learning and labor which do not lead people in love to God are not prompted by the Spirit of Christ. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. This morning let me close simply by returning to the Aswan High Dam for a moment. I hope you share this world view with the OT saints: namely, that your conception as a person in your mother's womb was a sovereign act of creation by God's Spirit and that every breath you take now and every chemical transaction in the cells of your body is sustained every moment by work of the Holy Spirit. They gave him a piece of broiled fish and honey comb, He takes it and he sits down and eats in their presence. Some say apostles got Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 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. Everybody who gets up and gives a sermon in a congregation, that sermon before it's ever posted on a website, has been reviewed or at least approved by individuals within the congregation. We often think a miracle would be just what we need. 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. Stop doubting and have faith! 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.". Back in Mark's account, chapter 16 of Mark, we see that the same thing lingered among the wide group of people there. That's the famous road to Emmaus experienced from the book of Luke, "and they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either." The disciples had to walk a week away to get to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12). In the New Testament, Elisabeth, John the Forerunner's mother, was filled with Spirit as she saw the pregnant Virgin, and she prophesied immediately (Luke 1:39-41) and so did the old widow-prophetess Anna at vision of Jesus taken to the temple (Luke 2:36-38); John the Forerunner himself was filled with Holy Spirit from his childhood (Luke 1:15), and of course the apostles, even before the Pentecost, had a degree of presence of Spirit in them (at least no less than John the Forerunner), through which presence they could act miracles; they got even to a greater degree of intensity the gift of the Spirit, when Jesus - before the Pentecost - blew in them the Spirit and added to them (through this new dimension of the presence of Spirit) an ability to forgive sins (John 20:22). A survey of Old Testament spiritual experience is needed to wake us up to our privileges in these last days that were inaugurated at Pentecost. . But if you don't forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven. 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. But we do not debate and discuss biblical topics. It had been organized quite well and in that remote backwater of Judea, the Roman government kept things in order. But on that morning as they gathered, made their preparations, put on their clothes, walked to the location where they all were gathered, and they were about 120 disciples as chapter 1 of Acts tells us, they no doubt had a lot on their mind. When you look and you understand what was taking place, here are people who've been terrified, they had been doubtful, unbelieving to one degree or the other during this previous 50-day period. "Behold, He said, My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. But then two angels appeared and they said to them, in verse 11, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This is it. 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. The old creation had a sabbath, and the new creation requires a sabbath as well. Hadn't He told them that He'd come back to life again? A fellowship, a community, prayer, sharing food together, much like we do today. Consider this question, with what we have just read: how could people filled with doubt, even a measure of unbelief, fear, general fear, intense fear, heightened fear, abject fearfear takes many different forms and guises; sometimes we can control our fear, sometimes it overcomes us and we're just shaking in our bootshow could a people dealing with all of these emotions during this 50-day period of time be expected to do what Jesus told them here in verse 8, they would do, when they have problems figuring it all out at that particular moment? 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. Now, it was all beginning to come together. Psalm 104 celebrates the wonder and variety of all living things and says (vv. 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). Seventh, the saints of old experienced victory over fear by the presence of the Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit was only sent after Jesus' resurrection. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. " They were able to do the things Jesus gave them authority to do and they found it amazing. What was possibly on the disciples' mind the morning of Pentecost? Go, therefore, make disciples of nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded, and lo, I am with you, always, even to the end of the age.'" And yet Peter does, and he gives a bold sermon. We, again, don't necessarily always pause and think about this, in these hours and days following Christ's resurrection. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2. 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 then it came to an end, it came to a close. Acts 1:8 is the vital point about Pentecost. 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. This salvation experience comes before the . Any Israelite who has ever been saved had to be born again by God's Spirit. 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. Men being firstfruits to God 's sake is therefore now no condemnation for those are. What caused them to banish their fear, trouble, doubt, and unbelief: Christ in through... Things Jesus gave them authority to do and they found it amazing First, must... Were troubled and there was doubt not see things this way thought that Himself. 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