Thoughts From Acts 2 - Part 3

 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

                    My friend and I walked into Lowes yesterday and he had a weed stuck to his shoe and he said, "I'm bringing in weeds to Lowes" to which I responded, "I thought we were supposed to be bringing in the sheaves." I'm not sure he got it nor would anyone under the age of 60 reading this, but there was an old hymn called "Bringing in the Sheaves" which compares evangelism to harvesting wheat. Pentecost was a religious celebration celebrating God's faithfulness to provide another good harvest and meeting their needs. July 4th is just around the bend and I think of that as the time when all the blackberries in the woods next to us are ripe. Currently you might find one ripe one among the bunch which is the "first fruit", and yes, the Israelites celebrated that too. Soon these branches will be teeming with purple berries ripe for the harvest. In a spiritual sense, Jesus rose from the grave on the feast of first fruits and Paul refers to Jesus as the first fruit. He had the disciples wait for the Pentecost when the ''sheaves" would be ready for harvest and then the Holy Spirit came down, and souls were harvested that day - 3000! Just as the Feast of Firstfruits was fulfilled in Christ's resurrection, so the Pentecost was fulfilled in the giving of the Holy Spirit. Now we await the fulfilling of the Feast of Trumpets at the rapture. This too was a religious feast based on the harvest which signified that the harvest was over so come on in. The trumpet blowing was like the dinner bell ringing to "come and dine". (another old hymn) We will be called up to the wedding feast of the Lamb as the bride of Christ on that day which we hope could be this year. Of course, believers have been saying that for 2000 years now but we are to live expectantly looking for his return and make the most of our time living like we'll only be here for a short while.

        Peter, once again used scripture, all they had was the Old Testament but as Paul said, "All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine..." The Holy Spirit softened their hearts, the Word pierced their souls, and they were convinced Jesus was the Messiah and that they were sinners. They turned to Christ for the forgiveness of sins and were baptized telling everyone that their sins had been washed away and they were identifying with Christ's going under and coming up a resurrected life. The Holy Spirit indwelt them too and they were born again.

       There are signs of revival happening around the world. Lord, may we see this kind of pouring out of Your Holy Spirit in our days and may we be involved in bringing in these sheaves!

Thoughts From Acts 2 - Part 2

 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Acts 2:13-21

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1Peter 3:15

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Heb. 4:12

I included the above two verses here because they are pertinent to the passage. As seen in the previous verses, the crowds heard the sound of rushing wind as the Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire on top of heads in the upper room. Maybe, as people were out and around at 9AM getting their morning breakfast or shopping or maybe even offering sacrifices at the temple, they heard a noise, saw where it was coming from, saw a mysterious glow coming out of the window and then saw a group coming out of the house excitedly speaking in all different languages. Crowds gathered around and Peter started speaking. I'm sure the Holy Spirit gave him the words to speak but yet I also think that during those times waiting in the upper room they had discussed the scriptures and how they had foretold what Christ had done. They probably had set the groundwork of how they would, as Jesus had commanded them in Acts 1:8 and the great commission, take the message to the people.

Now Peter, given a chance, first uses an ice breaker -"We're not drunk, it's 9AM", and then quotes Joel where he prophecies that a time is coming and has now come where the Holy Spirit will come on anyone who calls on the name of the Lord and they will be saved. He won't come and go and just come to Jewish prophets, priests or kings but will be for young and old, men and women, slaves free, Jews or gentiles - everyone who cries out to Jesus, "Save me from my sins." We tend to make it more complicated than this. As Third Day once sang, "Cry Out to Jesus".

We will see in the upcoming verses also the use of scripture in evangelism, and we see it here, too. As Hebrews 4 says, there's a power in God's word that pierces into the soul of man. Our words and reasoning go into the ears and into the brain to cogitate, but when you read the Bible it has power to go from the brain to the heart of a person which is hardened supernaturally by the Devil. This all sounds mystical and magical but it's true. Why do you think your Bible says "Holy Bible" on the cover? "Bible" means "book". "Holy" means "other". It's a book like none other because it's alive with Holy Spirit power. Evangelism without scripture can work but so can an unplugged electric knife.

 Memorize the Roman's Road of Bible verses or key passages for evangelism. Be prepared and ready so you know what to say when given the chance.

Thoughts From Acts 2 - Part 1

 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”  Acts 2:1-12

     I remember being with some Assemblies of God teens up north at a lake and the discussion turned to tongues. I had never spoken in tongues and they were amazed and somewhat aghast. They gathered around me to pray, and nothing happened. At a later date, another Charismatic friend who I got together with and prayed on a weekly basis prayed for me to receive the gift of tongues. Once again nothing happened. They would say that I resisted the Holy Spirit and maybe they're right because I really didn't want it. For one, it would mean my cessasionist framework of understanding scripture was wrong and secondly, I really didn't want to be babbling in a non-sensical language.

       Whether tongues are for today or not, I yet remain to be convinced but here in this passage, language of angels is not going on. What we see here is religious people gathered together for a yearly pilgrimage according to the rules of the Old Covenant, and they were about to be introduced to the prophesied Messiah who fulfilled the Law and turned religion into relationship. But in order to do that, they needed to hear it in their own language. God gave those in the upper room the gift to speak in languages they didn't know.

       A friend of mine who is a pharmacist, was on a medical mission trip where at one moment he had no interpreters and he needed to convey instructions on how to take this medicine that was essential and dangerous if you took too much. He found himself communicating with the man in an unexplainable way. His wife witnessed it and she said, "How did you do that?" He replied, "I don't know." That's the kind of tongues I want! That's the kind of tongues they got.

      One more thought before I move on, 15 years ago I read a book about a mission plan where you could just train locals and send them out rather than the $70,000 a year cost of sending an American missionary who were unfamiliar with the land, culture, and language. This was especially effective in India. I mentioned it to David Crane, an American missionary to Kenya while I was over there, and he was familiar with the book. His take was that when the Massai see a white man drive through the tundra to their village in a Toyota and preach to them in their language, it brings crowds from everywhere and makes an impact that no indigenous person could have made. They come to see the white man who speaks Massai. That certainly is what's going on here. There's the spectacle not of dust and rumbling of the Toyota engine but rather the noise of the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit and there were Galileans speaking in Arabic, Swahili, Aramaic, Greek, Coptic, and every other language assembled. People rushed to the spot and were ready to hear what the fisherman from Galilee who spoke their language was about to say.

       May we, like Peter, through the empowering of the Holy Spirit use every opportunity where we've got a crowd assembled to tell the good news of Jesus in words that make sense to them.

Thoughts From Acts 1 - Part 4

  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. Acts 1:21-26

the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev. 21:10-14

       Acts is a difficult book to apply to our lives because it's difficult to know how much is prescription and how much is description. What I mean is should we pray about decisions then roll dice and go with it? I guess the Urim and Thummim were something like that but that was before the Holy Spirit lived in people. Should they have added a twelfth apostle to replace Judas or let God replace him with someone "abnormally born." Will Matthias' name really be etched into the foundations of the New Jerusalem? I guess he played as big a role as James son of Alphaeus or James the Less, but I would almost expect to see Paul's name amongst the other 11.

       Sometimes I think Acts is a book describing the fledgling church taking off in spite of a bunch of numskulls not because of. Yes, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and He was guiding them, but just like today in our churches, a lot of it is trial and error. My wife is constantly saying about our church's plans, "That will never work!" Although that pretty much is her first response to everything, in her defense she does see the whole picture while a group of men in charge often don't. I see Peter leading business meetings in that sort of light - the blind leading the blind. Suddenly an impulsive fisherman is being a moderator of a meeting.

      It's interesting to note that some had been with Jesus from the start but weren't added to His 12. Why 12? Why not, "OK, you are all my disciples, males, females, everyone who is following me."? Numbers are significant to God. That's one thing I always liked about math - there was one right answer just like reality. Jesus is the only way, the only right answer. Things like literature, philosophy, etc. had answers that could all be correct no matter how diverse. God wanted twelve disciples and that was it. I don't know why but He has a reason. The latter part of Exodus spells out the exact dimensions that God wanted everything in the tabernacle to adhere to. If you continue to read about the New Jerusalem, all its dimensions are spelled out. Why? When you read about the temple at the end of Ezekiel, there are cubit measurements galore. Why? I don't know but numbers are significant to God.

      History tells us certain things about Matthias that he ministered in Judea and Turkey and was probably stoned to death and then beheaded. So you want to be a disciple? It reminds me of when the disciples James and John asked to sit next to Jesus in His kingdom and His answer was classic - "Those seats are taken but you will suffer like me." Not much of an incentive to disciplehood but when you think about eternity and having your name etched on the foundations of the New Jerusalem, it's a small price to pay. What legacy are you trying to leave? Are you after comfort, safety and ease or are you ready to say, "Here am I, pick me"!

Thoughts From Acts 1 - Part 3

  In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’ Acts 1:15-20

Even my close friend,
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned against me. Ps. 41:9

If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship Ps. 55:12-14

 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord. Zech. 11:12,13

May their place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents. Ps.69:25

May his days be few;
    may another take his place of leadership. Ps.109:8

In the previous passage we saw the prophecy around 500BC given that Jesus was coming back someday as the King of the World arriving on the Mount of Olives. Today, Peter quotes 2 of the at least 5 prophecies about Judas, some going back to 1000BC.

Out of all the Holy Books written, what makes the Bible unique? There are so many factors but the one that stands out to me is the prophecy in it. If it is claimed to be written by God inspiring human authors, then since God is outside time, we would expect the Bible to be outside time, and it is. What do I mean by that? Imagine a blimp over the Macy's Day parade. The occupants would see the beginning of the parade and the end of the parade all at the same time. That's like God being outside time. The blimp occupants could tell the onlookers at 26th street what is happening at 72nd street, 42 blocks before it reaches them. That's the Bible. David writes in the year 1000BC what Judas is going to do in 32AD with such detail that it can't be denied. Then Zechariah writes in 500BC things that will happen in 32AD and as we saw previously, things that will happen that haven't yet! And unlike today's charlatans, all the prophecies are true.

In our day, we have seen certain prophecies being fulfilled, the main one being Israel re-formed as a nation. I believe most of the others we will not be privy to as we are going to be raptured before the Antichrist coming on the scene and all the end-times prophecies, but one thing's true - they will happen because the God who sees the end and the beginning at the same time, has told the authors of the Bible what to write down. I may be sitting at 2026 but there's something coming in 2072, 46 years down the line that He has already seen coming. I'm overwhelmed to think that He calls me His child. What an amazing God!

Thoughts From Acts 1 - Part 2

 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:9-14

                                     500 years earlier Zechariah wrote

"3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.6 On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name."

       The angel said to the disciples to stop staring into Heaven, Jesus is gone. But He isn't gone for good - He's coming back at a later time to be King over the whole earth. The disciples, as seen in the previous verses, thought Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, was going to set up His throne now but now they are finally going to realize there are two comings of Jesus - one to die and save (the Lamb) and one to conquer, punish, and reign (the Lion).

      We still await the second coming 2000 years later and the angel would tell us the same thing - be encouraged, Jesus is coming back and we win! In the meantime, though, meet together, pray together and then get out there and reach the world for Christ. How much time do we spend praying together? It makes no earthly sense, but I'm convinced that from my experience of personal revival with power from on high, that meeting together for prayer will be what changes the world. It's not hiring firms to come up with a marketing and growth plan, it's not bringing in special speakers to draw people in, it's groups of 2-4 meeting at 6AM to pray for 45 minutes before the day starts. I dare you - do that for a year and see what happens!

Thoughts From Acts 1 - Part 1

 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:1-8

        When Jesus died on the cross He exclaimed, "It is finished." What was finished? The redemption of mankind by His death on the cross for us who by faith receive it. It's sort of like when our last child moved out we could say "we're done." But were we? Only that part of raising children was finished. Now we are involved in training grandchildren.

       Luke starts out with saying that in his previous book he documented what Jesus began to do and teach. Obviously, when Jesus cried out "It is finished" only that part was - he is still at work today doing and teaching. It's cool to think that when Luke penned this 2000 years ago, he was foreshadowing that Jesus would be doing through you and me and teaching you and me today. As I demonstrate and speak Christ to my hometown, Knoxville, Memphis, Atlanta, California and in September, South America, I through the Holy Spirit am continuing the work of Christ.

       Unlike Muhammed, Buddha, and others who are in their tomb, Jesus is alive and still working, and it's a good thing because in our own power we would mess everything up. The disciples, after spending three years being taught by Jesus, still didn't get it. They still thought that Jesus came to deliver them from the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom, the very thing He wasn't doing. No wonder he replied something like, "wait for Pentecost to go out and speak because without me living in you, you will get it all wrong."

      I pray today on our 45th anniversary in Memphis that Jesus would continue to work through my wife and me. He's only just begun.