The Feast of Pentecost was one of three celebrations that brought the Jews to Jerusalem. It was a celebration of harvest and had come to be considered a celebration of the giving of the law (old covenant) on Mt. Sinai.
The Book of Ruth was traditionally read during this feast. (Can you say kinsman redeemer?)
The arrival of the Holy Spirit served as a completion of the new covenant made possilble by Jesus' birth, death and resurrection.
In Acts 1 Jesus told the his disciples to wait in Jerusalem and to "be his witnesses" throughout the world. The disciples obeyed and stayed in Jerusalem (What blessings have we missed when we don't obey?) And on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit "filled the whole house", they were filled, too.
God's usual amazing timing is evident because he was able to reach Jews from the entire known world with that single event. They came from all over to celelbrate the Feast of Pentecost. Luke tells us where they came from so we have a sense of how many different regions would be impacted by this.
When people began to question the source of this miracle, Peter stepped up and took the opportunity to explain what was happening. He quoted God's written word (Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 110:1) and told about the Word (Jesus).
Many (about 3,000 men) heard, repented, and were baptized. Then they became disciples and followed the apostles (24/7). They were "together and had everything in common". They met in the temple courts daily, ate together and praised God.
Is it any wonder that they enjoyed the favor of "all the people"? People were added to their number daily by the Lord.
We serve the Lord. Our efforts alone will never save people.
~Carolyn
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Book of Acts
Acts 1
We met this week to begin the study in Acts. I am looking forward to this study. As a group we discovered God in our walk through the Bible "Cover to Cover". Then, we got to know Jesus better in our study of John and "Dust of the Rabbi" study. Now it seems we will be meeting the third person of the Trinity--the Holy Spirit--in this study of Acts.
As we read through the chapters, take into consideration the following steps: read it, think it, pray it, write it down, live it, pass it on to someone else. I promise you there will be at least one verse that hits you in each chapter. Follow these steps as you ask the Holy Spirit to come and teach you. Use a dictionary, concordance, commentary or Internet Bible to help you dig.
Acts was written by Luke. Some like to call Acts a sequel to the book of Luke. It was written for his friend "most excellent Theophilus". (Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1) This is a title that a Hebrew would not use. He was probably a high-ranking Greek authority. It was to cement all that Theophilus had been taught about Christ. Being a Greek physician, Luke is detail oriented and writes 28 chapters for Theo. Luke is giving his evidence or witness about Christ.
I have to ask myself, how is my witness? Do I go to that much trouble to share my faith with others? Is there someone you could be sharing this study with, one on one?
This study promises to show how the apostles carried the Gospel to "Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth". (Acts 1:8) Note that the book is actually divided into travels to those actual areas.
Isn't it amazing that our little town in Florida could be considered "remotest part of the earth"?
In the first verse we meet Theophilus. This name means "friend of God". Does that sound familiar? (John 15:14) If we do what Jesus commanded, to love God and one another, we are considered His friends too. So the Book of Acts is a message to us as well.
One of our questions we battled over was about receiving the Holy Spirit. We understood that the disciples had experienced that already in John 20:22. 1 Cor 12:13 says we are baptized by one Spirit into one body. Jesus experienced it in John 1:29-34, Luke 3:16-17, Mark 1:6-12, and Matt 3:11-17. When you become a believer, you received the Holy Spirit. So...why this public display of the Holy Spirit?
Getting baptized is a public profession of the Christian faith. Could it be that this baptism of fire was also a public profession of the Holy Spirit? I'm open to discussion on this one!
Baptize means to immerse or saturate. Like a sponge, you have only to touch to see it is full of water. Is it obvious to others that I am saturated with the Holy Spirit?
Pentecost was 50 days after Passover. Jesus walked on earth after his resurrection for 40 days. (do a search in your concordance on 40 days--amazing things started after 40 days.)
That week was known on the Hebrew calendar as the "Feast of Weeks" or Shavuot. This occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. It is one of the shalosh regalim, the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals. On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot)
The word (Torah) was given to the people...wow. Jesus is the Word. (John 1:1)
Pentecost means "fiftieth day". It celebrates the Messiah sending the Holy Spirit to inaugurate the New Covenant and church age.
If you look in your concordance and do a word search of Spirit, you will find many attributes of the Holy Spirit. The one word I kept coming across was POWER.
When Luke recounts the ascension of Jesus, we see two white robed figures watching the apostles watch the sky. You know the angels are puzzled by us! They tell us that Jesus will return the same way--in the sky, on a cloud. We had a good chuckle when someone said it would be the Weather Channel, not CNN that would get the scoop on that.
They returned to Jerusalem. They were doing what they were being told--wait on God. And so they did...a 10 day prayer session with 120 people!
They also took care of some business and voted in a 12th apostle since Judas had committed suicide. They needed to represent the 12 tribes of Israel and obey scripture. So on a toss of the dice, Matthias was chosen. This is not an OK from God to gamble. It is the way that people ask for an answer from God, like a fleece. (Judges 6:37)
It had to be men who had seen the whole ministry of Jesus. It had to be first-hand witness accounts. No hearsay evidence! And there were just two that qualified: Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. I dare you to look up what those two names mean.
Again I have to ask. How firm is your witness about Christ? No, you don't have to be a Biblical scholar. All you are required to do is be like the apostles. Be ready to tell your first-hand account of what Christ has done in YOUR life.
Join us next Wednesday evening. Read Chapter 2 and be blessed. Don't forget the steps: read it, think it, pray it, write it down, live it, pass it on to someone else.
Notes from Carolyn: I had a couple of thoughts about "being filled" with the Holy Spirit: I once read Dr. Andrew Weil's explanation of how to take a deep breath. When most people are told to take a deep breath, they immediately inhale and take in more air -- on top of what's already there. If you want to take a really deep breath, first expell as much of the air out of your lungs as possible, and then breathe deeply.
How often do we do that with the Holy Spirit? We try to fit the Holy Spirit in among all of the other stuff. If we clear out the spiritual clutter, there will be a lot more room for the Holy Spirit (breath of God.).
In Ephesians 5, Paul says: 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
We all know how people act when they are "under the influence" of wine -- their mind, body and spirit are "directed" by the alcohol. In like manner the mind, body and spirit of the Christian is to be directed/controlled by the Holy Spirit.
We met this week to begin the study in Acts. I am looking forward to this study. As a group we discovered God in our walk through the Bible "Cover to Cover". Then, we got to know Jesus better in our study of John and "Dust of the Rabbi" study. Now it seems we will be meeting the third person of the Trinity--the Holy Spirit--in this study of Acts.
As we read through the chapters, take into consideration the following steps: read it, think it, pray it, write it down, live it, pass it on to someone else. I promise you there will be at least one verse that hits you in each chapter. Follow these steps as you ask the Holy Spirit to come and teach you. Use a dictionary, concordance, commentary or Internet Bible to help you dig.
Acts was written by Luke. Some like to call Acts a sequel to the book of Luke. It was written for his friend "most excellent Theophilus". (Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1) This is a title that a Hebrew would not use. He was probably a high-ranking Greek authority. It was to cement all that Theophilus had been taught about Christ. Being a Greek physician, Luke is detail oriented and writes 28 chapters for Theo. Luke is giving his evidence or witness about Christ.
I have to ask myself, how is my witness? Do I go to that much trouble to share my faith with others? Is there someone you could be sharing this study with, one on one?
This study promises to show how the apostles carried the Gospel to "Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth". (Acts 1:8) Note that the book is actually divided into travels to those actual areas.
Isn't it amazing that our little town in Florida could be considered "remotest part of the earth"?
In the first verse we meet Theophilus. This name means "friend of God". Does that sound familiar? (John 15:14) If we do what Jesus commanded, to love God and one another, we are considered His friends too. So the Book of Acts is a message to us as well.
One of our questions we battled over was about receiving the Holy Spirit. We understood that the disciples had experienced that already in John 20:22. 1 Cor 12:13 says we are baptized by one Spirit into one body. Jesus experienced it in John 1:29-34, Luke 3:16-17, Mark 1:6-12, and Matt 3:11-17. When you become a believer, you received the Holy Spirit. So...why this public display of the Holy Spirit?
Getting baptized is a public profession of the Christian faith. Could it be that this baptism of fire was also a public profession of the Holy Spirit? I'm open to discussion on this one!
Baptize means to immerse or saturate. Like a sponge, you have only to touch to see it is full of water. Is it obvious to others that I am saturated with the Holy Spirit?
Pentecost was 50 days after Passover. Jesus walked on earth after his resurrection for 40 days. (do a search in your concordance on 40 days--amazing things started after 40 days.)
That week was known on the Hebrew calendar as the "Feast of Weeks" or Shavuot. This occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. It is one of the shalosh regalim, the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals. On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot)
The word (Torah) was given to the people...wow. Jesus is the Word. (John 1:1)
Pentecost means "fiftieth day". It celebrates the Messiah sending the Holy Spirit to inaugurate the New Covenant and church age.
If you look in your concordance and do a word search of Spirit, you will find many attributes of the Holy Spirit. The one word I kept coming across was POWER.
When Luke recounts the ascension of Jesus, we see two white robed figures watching the apostles watch the sky. You know the angels are puzzled by us! They tell us that Jesus will return the same way--in the sky, on a cloud. We had a good chuckle when someone said it would be the Weather Channel, not CNN that would get the scoop on that.
They returned to Jerusalem. They were doing what they were being told--wait on God. And so they did...a 10 day prayer session with 120 people!
They also took care of some business and voted in a 12th apostle since Judas had committed suicide. They needed to represent the 12 tribes of Israel and obey scripture. So on a toss of the dice, Matthias was chosen. This is not an OK from God to gamble. It is the way that people ask for an answer from God, like a fleece. (Judges 6:37)
It had to be men who had seen the whole ministry of Jesus. It had to be first-hand witness accounts. No hearsay evidence! And there were just two that qualified: Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. I dare you to look up what those two names mean.
Again I have to ask. How firm is your witness about Christ? No, you don't have to be a Biblical scholar. All you are required to do is be like the apostles. Be ready to tell your first-hand account of what Christ has done in YOUR life.
Join us next Wednesday evening. Read Chapter 2 and be blessed. Don't forget the steps: read it, think it, pray it, write it down, live it, pass it on to someone else.
Notes from Carolyn: I had a couple of thoughts about "being filled" with the Holy Spirit: I once read Dr. Andrew Weil's explanation of how to take a deep breath. When most people are told to take a deep breath, they immediately inhale and take in more air -- on top of what's already there. If you want to take a really deep breath, first expell as much of the air out of your lungs as possible, and then breathe deeply.
How often do we do that with the Holy Spirit? We try to fit the Holy Spirit in among all of the other stuff. If we clear out the spiritual clutter, there will be a lot more room for the Holy Spirit (breath of God.).
In Ephesians 5, Paul says: 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
We all know how people act when they are "under the influence" of wine -- their mind, body and spirit are "directed" by the alcohol. In like manner the mind, body and spirit of the Christian is to be directed/controlled by the Holy Spirit.
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