The document summarizes Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts chapters 1-2. It discusses how Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come and empower them. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples as tongues of fire, allowing them to speak in other languages. About 3,000 people responded to Peter's message and were baptized. The receiving of the Holy Spirit fulfilled Jesus' promise and allowed the disciples to be powerful witnesses for Christ.
Preached Sunday Evening at the Merritt Island church of Christ
http://MIchurchOfChrist 5/21/2017
Adapted from Tommy Peeler's 2017 Florida College Lecture.
2012.03.04 - The Word of God on the first Sunday of the Lent, of the right faithBilly Dean
„Oh, I am coming from the Father as word on earth to teach the man what fast means, what church means, what salvation means and that he may know these things from Me.”
Preached Sunday Evening at the Merritt Island church of Christ
http://MIchurchOfChrist 5/21/2017
Adapted from Tommy Peeler's 2017 Florida College Lecture.
2012.03.04 - The Word of God on the first Sunday of the Lent, of the right faithBilly Dean
„Oh, I am coming from the Father as word on earth to teach the man what fast means, what church means, what salvation means and that he may know these things from Me.”
2018.04.01 - The Word of God for the people of old IsraelBilly Dean
„I am telling you all these written from the book to remind you of the Father and of the Son, Who were speaking and working the creation and then all things. And God’s Trinity appeared to Abraham under the oak ...”
The Word of God for the people of old Israel (2018.04.01)Billy Dean
„... it is written to be fulfilled at this time His coming on earth under the name of the Word of God, (Apoc. 19/13), the Lord clothed in a cloud of word speaking to the earth.”
Preached at Merritt Island 7/30/2017 AM Lesson
http://michurchofchrist.org
Adapted from C. G. "Colly" Caldwell's lecture, "Here Am I, Send Me" delivered at the 2006 Florida College Annual Lectures.
2018.04.01 - The Word of God for the people of old IsraelBilly Dean
„I am telling you all these written from the book to remind you of the Father and of the Son, Who were speaking and working the creation and then all things. And God’s Trinity appeared to Abraham under the oak ...”
The Word of God for the people of old Israel (2018.04.01)Billy Dean
„... it is written to be fulfilled at this time His coming on earth under the name of the Word of God, (Apoc. 19/13), the Lord clothed in a cloud of word speaking to the earth.”
Preached at Merritt Island 7/30/2017 AM Lesson
http://michurchofchrist.org
Adapted from C. G. "Colly" Caldwell's lecture, "Here Am I, Send Me" delivered at the 2006 Florida College Annual Lectures.
When, because of your faith in Jesus, have you done/said something which got you into trouble with those in authority? What happened? When was the last time you felt like you were under some kind of attack or in some sort of crisis? How did you handle it? How does this account of Peter’s and John’s refusal to cow to the pressure, and later persecution, of human authorities encourage you?
Mr. Henry Sike, Professor of Oriental Languages at Cambridge, first translated and published this Gospel in 1697. It was received by the Gnostics, a sect of Christians in the second century, and several of its relations were credited in the following ages by other Christians, viz., Eusebius, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, &c. Sozomen says, he was told by many, and he credits the relations, of the idols in Egypt falling down on Joseph, and Mary's flight thither with Christ; and of Christ making a well to wash his clothes in a sycamore tree, from whence balsam afterwards proceeded. These stories are from this Gospel. Chemnitlus out of Stipulensis, who had it from Peter Martyr, Bishop of Alexandria, in the third century, says, that the place in Egypt where Christ was banished is now called Matarea, about ten miles beyond Cairo; that the inhabitants constantly burn a lamp in remembrance of it; and that there is a garden of trees yielding a balsam, which were planted by Christ when a boy. M. La Crosse cites a synod at Angamala, in the mountains of Malabar, A.D. 1599, which condemns this Gospel as commonly read by the Nestorians in that country. Ahmed Ibn Idris, a Mahometan divine, says, it was used by some Christians in common with the other four Gospels; and Ocobius de Castro mentions a Gospel of Thomas, which he says, he saw and had translated to him by an Armenian Archbishop at Amsterdam, that was read in very many churches of Asia and Africa, as the only rule of their faith. Fabricius takes it to be this Gospel. It has been supposed, that Mahomet and his coadjutors used it in compiling the Koran. There are several stories believed of Christ proceeding from this Gospel; as that which Mr. Sike relates out of La Brosse's Persic Lexicon, that Christ practised the trade of a dyer, and his working a miracle with the colours; from whence the Persian dyers honour him as their patron, and call a dye-house the shop of Christ. Sir John Chardin mentions Persian legends concerning Christ's dispute with his schoolmaster about his A B C; and his lengthening the cedar-board which Joseph sawed too short.
The risen Christ is the Conqueror, the Exalted One, the Lamb of God, the great High Priest, and the coming King. Demonstrations of power, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the transformation of lives give evidence to the risen Christ. Let have more of these!
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1. Pentecost
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
Acts 1 v4-14
4
And being assembled together with them, He (Jesus) commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the
Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5
“for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying,
“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7
And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons
which the Father has put in His own authority. 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.” 9
Now when He had
spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10
And while they
looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11
who also said, “Men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in
like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” 12
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near
Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. 13
And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying:
Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the
Zealot; and Judas the son of James. 14
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and
Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
The disciples were to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. They had already undergone 3 years of training in the
ministry of Jesus Christ. They were not yet to proceed without the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were
already aware of the word which Jesus spoke to them John 14 v15-18 15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17
“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. 18
“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14v25-26 25
“These
things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26
“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. John
15v26-27 26
“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. 27
“And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the
beginning.
In the Old Testament, when God delivered His people the Jews out of Egyptian bondage, He led them by day in a
pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire Exodus 13v21 21
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of
cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
His presence was also with them in the tabernacle (the dwelling place made by the Israelites according to the
specification given by God to Moses) Exodus 29 v43-46 43
“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the
tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. 44
“So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also
consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. 45
“I will dwell among the children of Israel and will
be their God. 46
“And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt,
that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
God’s people were to follow Him. God always planned to live amongst His people. We see in the Gospels that Jesus
lived amongst His people, and that He promised to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit to live with us and in us (see John
14v17 above).
We see in the above scripture in Acts that this was the point where Jesus was taken back up to be with the Father, and
that they were to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. This pattern is consistent throughout all scripture.
God dwelling with us, and now God dwelling inside of us. Colossians 1v27 27
To them God willed to make known
what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
At this point we see the disciples returning to the upper room and continuing with one accord in prayer and
supplication (petitioning). It is in the same vein that we should pray, petition and wait upon the Lord with great
expectation for the outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon us.
In Acts 1v8 above we see that the receiving of the Holy Spirit brings POWER. But for what reason? To be
WITNESSES for Jesus Christ to ALL THE EARTH. There is purpose in the anointing. We cannot be complacent.
This power is needed because God said they were not to leave Jerusalem until they had received this anointing.
2. Acts 2 v1-21
1
When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. 3
Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every
nation under heaven. 6
And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone
heard them speak in his own language. 7
Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all
these who speak Galileans? 8
“And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9
“Parthians and
Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10
“Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11
“Cretans and Arabs—we hear
them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12
So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one
another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13
Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” 14
But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed
my words. 15
“For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day (9AM). 16
“But this is what was
spoken by the prophet Joel:
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.
18
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
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.
21
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.’
Acts 2v36-41
36
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ.” 37
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and
brethren, what shall we do?” 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. 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.”
40
And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41
Then those
who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is with power. The people began to speak in other tongues (not to be confused with
praying in tongues – our heavenly prayer language). We know that the power of God was with those who were
baptized, to do the very same miracles which Jesus performed. We can see this in Acts 3 v1-10 1
Now Peter and John
went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2
And a certain man lame from his mother’s
womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those
who entered the temple; 3
who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4
And fixing his eyes
on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5
So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from
them. 6
Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7
And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and
ankle bones received strength. 8
So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking,
leaping, and praising God. 9
And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10
Then they knew that it was he
3. who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what
had happened to him.
Was the power to do the above miracle from Peter? Lets see what Peter says about this Acts 3 v11-12 11
Now as the
lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called
Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12
So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel
at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
Peter points to Jesus Christ Acts 3v16 16
“And His name (Jesus’ Name), through faith in His name, has made this man
strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the
presence of you all.
Peter is saying that it is not because of ‘Peter’ that this man is healed. It is because of Jesus Christ that this man is
healed. Peter by faith in the Name of Jesus Christ spoke healing over this man, and the Holy Spirit living in Peter
(God with us and in us) performed the healing according to God’s will. And this very faith which Peter has, has its
source from Jesus Christ in the first place. Hebrews 12v2 2
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God.
God’s plan includes purpose for you and me
God wants to use us in a mighty way for His kingdom purposes. He has given to those who receive Him, the Holy
Spirit. He has promised that he will never leave nor forsake us Hebrews 13 v 5(b)-6 For He Himself has said, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you.” 6
So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do
to me?”
His plan includes you receiving the Holy Spirit, for He wishes to dwell with you and in you.
His plan includes you stepping out in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, and speaking the Word of God to a dying
world. Jesus is the Word, and standing on scriptures in faith literally moves mountains Mark 11v22-23 22
So Jesus
answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be
removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done,
he will have whatever he says.
Sanctification – As can be seen from Acts 2v38 above “Repent…”, and from Acts 2v40 “Be saved from this perverse
generation”, it is clear that we are to live lives of purity before the Lord. We are to separate ourselves from the
contaminants of the world system, and seek the Lord’s face earnestly.
There was an eagerness, an expectation, which the disciples had when waiting for the Holy Spirit. They were in one
accord, in unity, in prayer, in supplication. This expectation of the move of God leads to revival. Let’s get serious
with God.
LORD BRING REVIVAL!!!