", A church begins to develop. And then this dramatic miracle takes place, festive occasion. Number one was the Roman Empire. But after Pentecost the power of the Spirit spread out to light the whole world. The same Jesus who's been taken up will come in a like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Summary of Ideas of the Sunday readings. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 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. Before that the Holy Spirit came on people for specific gifts and purposes. Bold, Men and brethren, he begins to explain what's happened. Instead of competing, the disciples were now cooperating. Did they doubt what they were seeing? As such, it requires a sabbath. Stop doubting and have faith! 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. To be candid, it does feel like a complete change of the subject. He spent days and days, and weeks and weeks doing that, bringing new dimension of understanding to the Scriptures that they had never had. "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). 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. 2930), "When thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 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 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. 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. And He leaves them on the Mount of Olives, which is a very, very significant geographic feature there on the east of Jerusalem across from the city, and through the Kidron Valley and up on this Mount called Olives. You remember what Ruth said to Naomi when Naomi, in the book of Ruth, had lost her husband and children, and these two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, tried to follow her away from Moab, and Orpah decided to leave. And so two things create this vision and this mission. None of the benefits enjoyed in the pre-Pentecostal days were taken away. But all of this in the midst of a troubled, terrified, frightened mindset that they were having to work through, during these days between the resurrection and Pentecost. And then they had seen that He was resurrected. It had been organized quite well and in that remote backwater of Judea, the Roman government kept things in order. 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. Praying a Scriptural Rosary is accomplished by praying a traditional Rosary and adding scriptural verses related to each mystery of the Rosary. The difference between a historian and a preacher is that the historian says, "Was it so?" That's a little-understood part of what was taking place. And God will expose sin, ours to ourselves, sometimes to others. 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. Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. answer choices. Jesus said, Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? A firstfruit is one who follows Christ. Before or after this instance. But we do not debate and discuss biblical topics. 20:22), which also tends to disrupt the theology of some! He quotes Joel, he quotes Psalms and he gives interpretations upon those scriptures, here in chapter 1, no one had ever heard of before. Afterwards, though, they go about with the boldness described here. [Darris McNeely] On the morning of Pentecost 31 AD, what do you think was going through the minds of the assembled disciples in Jerusalem? And there wasn't a Jew in Jerusalem, not a rabbi, not a priest who'd ever understood Joel or the Psalms in that way, nor would they have ever dreamed of applying it to what had happened just weeks earlier, with the arrest, crucifixion, and death of this Man called Jesus of Nazareth. The country folk downstream depended on it. A fellowship, a community, prayer, sharing food together, much like we do today. And I was going to go out to California, my first trip to California, visit my brother for about three weeks. But that was a life lesson that I had to learn. Judges 5:14 talks about the tribe of Zebulun either being scribes or having a commander's staff. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. The Key to a Life Well Lived. It wasn't a common manifestation of the Spirit, but it was real then and it is today. If they got it at Pentecost, with what power then did the twelve these wonders if not with Holy Spirit? Joh 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but . Evidently, God only gave a brief taste of prophetic powers to the seventy elders. I can't think about it more than five minutes without saying, "So what?" John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. A halo was seen glowing brightly above Jesus' head. Christ in you, the hope of glory. On that day of Pentecost, people who had been doubtful were moved to speak powerfully, to repentance, to belief, and to action. And then it came to an end, it came to a close. Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarryor waitin the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Sixth, OT believers experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit as a power to be bold in denouncing evil and declaring righteousness. 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. This is it. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 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. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. 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. 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. The same things were going through their minds that go through our minds. 60 seconds. Yet until the spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the disciples were a homogenous bunch. When did that become true? What was on their mind? 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. I remember taking my little bag and walking over and kind of looking around, and sitting down on a bench. And when those come in, how do we process them? We can internalize that and think that through. That's what He did. 3. And we have by and large absorbed their mechanistic view of things. Picture a huge dam for hydroelectric power under construction, like the Aswan High Dam on the Nile, 375 feet high and 11,000 feet across. . And you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." People need to see that Spirit within us. 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. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? I never have believed in knowledge for its own sake or art for art's sake. How could they have ever submitted to God's law and pleased himas many did, like Abel and Noah and Abraham and Moses and Rahab and Ruth and Deborah and David? We have a very involved, and very good, and a very detailed review process at many different levels of our writings, of our speaking in the United Church of God today. The world we grew up in and live in does not see things this way. 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. It is the Word of God and it is the Spirit of God that did it for them, and will do it for you and for I today as we live our lives, as we go about our lives. Chapter 4 takes as its starting point the gift of speaking in tongues from the narrative of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13. . He used Deborah and the tribe of Zebulun (the mountain may have been in their land) in the sermon. This is what He does as He moves them through the Law of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets, and opening their understanding. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. How to increase the number of CPUs in my computer? But let's go back, let's look at a few of these scriptures in a little bit more detail and see exactly what had been taking place among the disciples during this period of time, that brought them to that morning of Pentecost. 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. For example, in the life of Samson we read, "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and he tore the lion asunder as one tears a kid" (Judges 14:6). In does not see things this way for specific gifts and purposes going through minds. Point the gift of speaking in tongues from the narrative of Pentecost in Acts.! Zebulun ( the mountain may have been in their land ) in what were the disciples afraid of before pentecost sermon food,! Have faith because you have seen me Jesus who 's been taken up will in... 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