What Makes Jesus Unique? No one else made the claims that He did, He is alive...............



All the great religious leaders of history have one thing in common: they are dead. Only one man has risen from a grave never again to taste death. Jesus Christ died, was buried, remained in the grave for 3 days, then was raised to life again.

Jesus is unique. He is the only one proven to be the Son of God because God validated His Kingship and accepted His payment for our sins all with one incredible stroke: He raised Jesus from the dead!

Paul opens his letter to the Romans with this evidence about who Jesus is:
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4

Because Jesus Christ is very much alive, five things are true right now that wouldn’t be true if He were just another dead religious leader like Confucius, Mohammed or Buddha.

Because Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive…Prayers are answered, We can talk to Jesus 24/7

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He had a paper and pencil and he said, Talk! How can I say anything? Then he said, Thank you, and closed his book and walked away. He never questioned me again, and they sentenced me to three years in the labor camp. Actually it was over three years when they released me.

When I was in the barber shop in the prison, the guy who cut my hair -- a spy -- said, We already have four people sentenced to death. You are one of them, we will execute you. They put me in a place, and outside my room there was some clean water, so every day I did my laundry and I washed and took a bath. Every time I heard an engine noise, I put on my clothes because I knew they were coming to execute me. I was ready. Every day I make this preparation. When they wanted to execute someone, they would have some police in uniforms with white gloves and handcuffs. They took out those prisoners, who never came back.

One day the uniformed police came with their white gloves, opened the gate and came into our room. They called my name. I thought, This is the time of the Lord. So I got up and followed them out the gate. There were two gates. I can see the outer gate. Eight police were with me. I walked with the police to the room of the prison chief.

They told me to squat on a rock. One soldier said it was his first time to execute a prisoner. At the right side of the execution ground was a meeting room and the officers were holding a meeting. I talked to a prisoner and he said, No weapon can hurt me. I am with supernatural power. After he said this, they executed him. Just shot him in the head. Blood everywhere!

One of the officers said to me, What do you want to say? The days they executed prisoners they have a loudspeaker. People came to watch the executions. He said, Well, this group is waiting for you. What do want to say, you have to say it now. I said, I have nothing to say.

I felt very sorry for him. I felt I owed him the gospel. But because I have no word to say, he came from his chair and grabbed my wrist. Then he put his hand on my heart to see if it was still beating. He was very angry because he assumed I was going be very scared. Then he sat down. I experienced death. Every day we go through death to allow the death of Christ to live in our life. After a couple of times of this kind of imprisonment and death threats, they finally said, This mans a real Christian. Thank you, Lord!

May the Lord use you (Open Doors) to cooperate with the house churches of China so we can expand and do our mission into the world. And China has opened up. In the 1940s China had a gospel team who had a vision to bring the gospel from China to the Northwest then to the Eastern world to Jerusalem. In 1984 we already sent our colleagues, a few dozen, to the Northwest of China to spread the gospel among the minority. And in the recent house church movement a lot of churches are sending out missionaries to Northwest of China.

To obey Gods word is to submit to Matthew 8 and to bring the gospel to the ends of the world. To bring the gospel in China, out of China and into Jerusalem -- until the numbers fulfilled and when the church is prepared, then we can go to see Jesus.

This kingdom belongs to the Lord and the Lord will reign forever. Until that time the Lord will dry our tears. He will allow us to stay in front of the throne of God and receive his glory. The suffering that we have is only temporary. In the future, we will see forever glory.

Romans 12:1 is a Scripture to encourage the church of China, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices. Holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.

1
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
2
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
3
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
© 1923. Ren. 1951 Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188

All rights reserved. Used by permission.
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is one of our most popular hymns. It was written by Thomas Chisholm his friend William Runyan composed the music. It serves as a testament to God’s unchanging nature and emphasizes His faithfulness. The lyrics, deeply rooted in Scripture like Lamentations 3:22-23 have earned it a place in hymnals across all denominations like the Baptist Hymnal and United Methodist Hymnal.

Chisholm was an ambitious Methodist minister who faced numerous trials in life, from health to financial struggles. Yet through it all, he continuously saw God’s faithfulness. This outlook was reflected in his hymns; even after leaving his congregation due to declining health, he wrote nearly 1,200 poems throughout his life. Many of these became published hymns reflecting elements of traditional hymns while celebrating God’s enduring love.

The captivating tune FAITHFULNESS transcends congregational settings and resonates within popular culture. It quickly became an unofficial theme song for Moody Bible Institute after Runyan shared it there.

Eventually drawing the attention of evangelist Billy Graham, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” reached global audiences through crusades during the 1950s. Showcasing Chisholm’s emphasis on God’s unwavering commitment to us, this timeless work continues to be one of the most loved songs celebrating divine assurance today.


A Simple Observation of Jesus...Date:12/27/20

Series: Matthew...Passage: Matthew 26:17-25

Speaker: BJ Chursinoff

There are places in the Bible that give us a sneak peek into the life of Jesus and allow us to see the various ways He interacted with people. When given this kind of access, we would do well to pause and observe what God is really like. Be careful, though - if you spend enough time looking at the Saviour, you just might end up having your life changed forever!

If you have your Bible and I hope you do, please take it and turn with me to the book of Matthew, Chapter 26, verses 17 to 25, and be our text for this study. And as you find your place, let me read our passage for us, Matthew. Twenty-six starting in verse 17. Now, on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus the same. Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?

He said, going to the city to a certain man and saying to him, the teacher says, My time's at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them. And they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined that table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him, one after another, Is that I Lord?

He answered he who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The son of man goes as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Judas would betray him, answered. Is that I, Rabbi? He said to him. You have said so. And so our scene here is taking place on a Thursday and Jesus is going to die on the very next day, but for now, he's celebrating Passover with his disciples.

If you're unsure what Passover is, it is the feast, is the celebration that the Jewish people observe, observed every single year to commemorate the time, the event when God delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. At this point in history, they had been celebrating the Passover every year for centuries.

Up until this point in this text, in this scene, we get a sneak peek into this particular Passover meal that Jesus was able to experience with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion.

Now, my hope for this message is a simple one, is I hope this will be a simple message. I'm going to make three simple observations of this text and those simple observations are enough to teach us the challenge, to encourage us as we continue to follow Jesus as his disciples today.

And so here's an observation. No one is actually going to be the first to fill in on your outline. Jesus had access to this man's house, Jesus had access to this man's house. Let's take a look again at Verse is Verse is, 17 to 19. One more time says now, on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, where will you have us prepared for you to eat the Passover? He said, going to the city to a certain man and saying to him, The teacher says, My time is at hand.

I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover.
That's what we're seeing here, is that Jesus is basically commandeering this man's house, kind of like the way a police officer commandeers a civilian's car in an emergency. And if you spend any time on Netflix watching any kind of police, television shows or movies, you know what this scene looks like. A police officer is chasing down a suspect in the street and the suspect is getting away. And then the police officer jumps in the middle of the street and and stops a moving vehicle, flashes the badge and says, excuse me, ma'am, I need your car right now.

This is a police emergency. And then usually they give the car and the police officer pursues the suspect. Oh, Jesus, Jesus is kind of doing the same thing with this man's house. Jesus sends his disciples to this man's house and they tell this man that Jesus needs to use his house. Because they want to celebrate the Passover together. Now notice what the man doesn't say to the disciples. He doesn't say, you know what, I would love to help you and Jesus out, but I have plans already four miles from my house tonight.

I got dinner plans. I got guests coming over any moment now. And so if you want to come back tomorrow, you can use it or come back the day after that. And I can maybe, maybe fit you in. But I would like to use my own house this evening. This man doesn't say that now. Matthew doesn't tell us the exact words the man says in response to the disciples requests, but we know that he agreed to their request.

This man, this unnamed man in Matthew's gospel defers to Jesus request and lets him and his disciples use his home to celebrate the Passover together that night. This is such a great picture for us, this serves as a great example for you and me question.

How would you respond if Jesus did this to you? What if he asked to use your house? What if he asked for something else, would it be asked for anything else? What would you say to Jesus if Jesus revealed to you that he wanted to have something from your life?

Does Jesus have access to any part of your life that he wants to use?

Think about everything in your life, both physical and non-physical things. I'm going to list a whole bunch of them and think through these things as you hear them. Think about your house, your car, your clothes, your food, your money, your family, your friends, your job, your hobbies, your time, your energy, your will, your sexuality, your relationship, your truth, your plans, your successes, your failures, your dreams, your fears.

Think about it all. Now, ask yourself this question. If Jesus ever came to you and asked you to give him any one of those things.

What would your response to him be? Yes, Jesus, you can have whatever you want, whatever I have in my life is totally at your disposal. Take it all, take whatever you want, whenever you want. Or Jesus. I'm sorry you can't have that thing. I know you've asked me to give it to you, but I don't want to give it to you. I want to keep it. I want to use that one thing that you've requested.

I want to use it for my purposes. And I want to use that one thing the best way that I see fit. What does a readiness, a readiness or a willingness to give anything to Jesus reveal about a person's heart?
And on the flip side, what does a refusal to give something to Jesus reveal about a person's heart?

See, this is the first and simple observation I want to make with you. Jesus had access to this man's house. Now, simple observation number two is going to be the second fill-in on your outline, Jesus enjoyed a meal with his disciples. Jesus enjoyed a meal with his disciples. We see this in verse 20 again says When it was evening, he reclined at a table with the 12. On this night, Jesus and his disciples sat around the dinner table and enjoyed a meal together eating together is a timeless expression of friendship, hospitality, conversation, laughter, crying, trust, knowing one another, love, peace, and joy, all can be experienced when we break bread with one another.

This is what we need to see happening in our text. There is a friendship around this table now. Who's this friendship between? Well, there are 12 regular Joes. And then there's God. In this picture, we see regular people enjoying friendship with the God of the universe. Now, how how did this happen? How did the disciples ever get to the place in their lives where they got to have and enjoy a privilege like this? Remember, they didn't seek Jesus out.

They didn't have to earn a spot with him. They didn't have to win a contest. Some of you may have heard of the TV show American Idol.

Well, there wasn't any reality show back then called Jerusalem Disciple, Jesus didn't gather a bunch of potential disciples together to make them battle each other to see who would come out on top.

He didn't have a contest to determine who helps the poor, the best, who preaches the best who fasts the best, or who endures persecution the best. No, there was no contest to see who was the best qualified to be at the table with Jesus.

Do you remember how they got there? There, there, there. Right now, by way of his invitation and his invitation, Jesus wanted them around the table with him. The disciples were only there that evening because three years earlier, Jesus invited each of them, each of them to follow him, and they took Jesus up on his invitation.

Now, do you know that this is what God offers everyone in the world? Everyone is without exception. He offers them a seat at the table with him.
In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John records Jesus saying these words of revelation. Chapter three, verse twenty.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone here is my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me. If anyone responds to God's invitation, God will come in and eat with them. God will be your friend. When you share the gospel with people, Christian, do you share this vital piece of information with others when you share the gospel? I hope you include the contents of the gospel.

The news of the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the son of God who did all of that to pay for our sins.

I hope you include something about the free gift of eternal life that was purchased at the cross.
I hope you will include the call to repent of sin and to place all trust in the finished work of Jesus alone. I hope you include all of those things, but when you tell people the good news when you share the gospel, I do. You tell people that God has made a way for them to become his friend.

The point of the gospel is a relationship with God. That's what our sin kept us from. Jesus is a friend of sinners, and he died for our sins so that he could remove our sins completely and totally from us.

And he made a way. He has made a way for anybody to come into a relationship where they can know God and enjoy God as a personal friend. That's what he died to offer us. That's good news.

As disciples of Jesus, we do a lot of things, we learn his word, we obey his word, we tell others about his word, and we spend our entire lives doing these things.
Dr. Fengmin Wang...Taiwan..........
This was my first time to lead online discussion groups for the healing course. I always liked face-to-face human interaction, so I was worried about how online discussion would go before it. Since August, I have led three online discussion groups, one from Taiwan, another from Shanghai group, and the other from Singapore. Each group and I meet once a week online.

After we started, to my surprise, everyone was very open to sharing in spite of not knowing each other before. We were both comforted and encouraged when recalling and sharing how God healed our bodies and minds in the past.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yea and forever. Our faith was stirred up and our minds strengthened when we reread the Bible verses in the journals. Our understanding of the Bible verses and stories was deepened through learning from each other’s viewpoints and testimonies. All the members from these three groups told how they looked forward to having the meeting online every week. Then I realized what made these meetings so special was because of God’s presence with us online.

During these months, my eyes were very dry and had a tingling feeling. However, I was fearless and believed they would be healed by God. One day I was so focused on worshiping with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes at the end of worship finding out that all the tingling was gone. The pain has never come back again. Before the online discussion was dismissed, we would pray for each other.
Some participants also shared that their coughs were gone quickly. Our participants supported each other not only in prayers but also in actions. Owing to they were all professionals, some needed to travel to another city for business and did not want to miss even a discussion meeting.
The others from the group showed great understanding and support by postponing the discussion meeting. They also expressed it would be a pity if this course came to an end. Now four more people enrolled in this healing course after they heard our participants’ sharing in their fellowships. So, we will start a new group even before we finish the first three discussing groups. I have more confidence to work with this type of online discussion group now because I see the wonderful things He has done through this. He can do what He wants to do. He is merciful and worth being praised.

Books of the Bible
Bible Prophecy Update (12.7.2020)...Date:12/5/20...Speaker: Jeff Thompson

In this special update, Jeff discusses the current state of the world and shares some Biblical insights to help Christians make sense of everything that's going on. We'll touch on COVID-19, climate change, the looming global debt crisis, the Great Reset, the United Nations Agenda 2030, and more, and highlight some important things for Christians to remember in the days ahead.

If you find this video useful, please share it!

The Great Reset (World Economic Forum):


United Nations Agenda 2030:


Full List of Agenda 2030 Indicators:


Hey, everybody, I wanted to do something a little bit different with this video. This is not a normal Bible teaching message. This is something much more informal.

I wanted to address the fact that if you haven't noticed, there's a whole lot going on in the world right now. And as I read what Christians are posting on social media and I listen to questions, there's there's so much confusion still. There are so many conspiracy theories out there. There's so much that we know is going on.

But we can't quite decode we can't quite make sense of.
And so I wanted to make a video that I hope will be helpful to you as you take a look at the world around you and seek to understand biblically what's going on.

I want to be very clear. This is this is not a Bible study. Again, these are some of my own personal insights, thoughts opinions, and views based on what I see. But looking with eyes that have spent a lot of time studying eschatology, a lot of time studying biblical prophecy.
So with everything I teach, as we often say, don't believe it because I say it. Check for yourself. You pray, you discern, you get into the scriptures and you come to your own conclusions.

But I can tell you this, this video is going to give you some very, very interesting things to talk about with your friends and your brothers and sisters in the Lord and your small group.

So let's talk about conspiracies.
Let's talk about what is going on in the world right now.
And when I thought about things to cover, the very first thing that you need to understand as a Christian is that Satan is running the show on Earth right now.

Let me say that again, Satan is running the show on the earth right now. When the Lord created man and woman, he created Adam and Eve. He gave them he gave Adam what was essentially the title deed of the Earth. He gave Adam rule and charge over the Earth to steward the Earth. Adam had that authority.

However, when Adam and Eve sinned, they transferred they gave up that title deed to Satan and Satan held the deed to the earth and had authority over the Earth.

When Jesus came to the Earth, died, and rose again at the resurrection, he took back that title deed from Satan. Jesus now holds it. However, Jesus has not yet cashed it in, so to speak. He holds it, but the scroll has not been opened yet.

The title deed has not been opened yet because as soon as Jesus reclaims the earth, the opportunity for people to join the family of God, the opportunity for people to be saved will be over.

That door will close. The apostle Peter puts it like this.
He says The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness, but his long-suffering taught us his patience toward us. Why? Because he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

So Jesus is not yet cashing in that title deed to the Earth because he wants to give more time for people to turn to him and be saved.
So for now, even though he doesn't hold the title deeds, Satan is still running the show on Earth.
And if you've never heard this before, you're probably thinking, where's that in the Bible?

Jeff, that doesn't seem very biblical. Well, it's in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, which record the famous Temptation of Christ. Perhaps you recall the interaction from Luke, Chapter four verses five through seven.

It says then the devil taking him, that's Jesus up on a high mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment in time. And the devil said to him, to Jesus, all this authority I will give you and their glory for this. Listen to me. This is what Satan says to Jesus.

He says, for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours.

And Jesus doesn't say, don't be ridiculous, Satan, you don't own the world, you can't make that offer. I already own it anyway. Your offer is meaningless.
He doesn't do that.

Jesus responds to Satan's offer seriously, because it's a serious, legitimate offer, because at that moment in time, Satan did indeed own the kingdoms of the world. In John 14 30, Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world.

John the Apostle declares, Long after Jesus returns to heaven, the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
And in Second Corinthians four, again, long after the resurrection, our brother Paul speaks about those whose minds the God of this age has blinded the God of this age.

And here's what that means in terms of the world's power structure.
I want you to imagine this will use some some really nice conspiratorial imagery. OK, we'll imagine a pyramid. And then just the way it is on the American one dollar bill, imagine the top of the pyramid, the cap of the pyramid separated from the rest of the pyramid. And we'll say that this pyramid represents the world's power structure.

And however you view the world, we all understand that at some point there is a top to the pyramid.
There is a group of people who make the biggest decisions on Earth who are calling the shots and earthly politics and industry and things like this.

And so whatever you believe, let's call that group at the very top, the elite. Now, if you don't believe in conspiracies at all, then you believe that these are essentially just heads of state that are as high as the power structure on earth gets.

That's fine. That's cool. If that's what you believe, that's who is at that level.
They're part of what we'll call the elite. If you believe in conspiracies at this level, at the top elite level, then let me show off my conspiratorial bona fides here a little bit.

If you believe that's the Illuminati, the Bill de Bergers, the Trilateral Commission, the UN, the deep state, the World Economic Forum that gathers in Davos, the world banking families, the Merovingian bloodline, the lizard people, whatever you think, whatever you buy into, you believe that they're at the top and they're part of the elite. What the Bible tells us is that whoever those people are.

Above them is actually another level that's not where the power structure ends, you get to the top of the pyramid. That's not where the power structure ends.
You have to cross over into the spiritual world to get to the next level, because at the next level, above those people is Satan, the God of the sage, the one who holds the world system under his sway.

That is what the Bible teaches, that Satan is ultimately at the top of the world's power structure.
And so the people at that elite level, whether they realize it or not, are ultimately under the influence of Satan.

We need to understand that according to the Bible, anyone who does not belong to Jesus is under the influence of Satan. They are susceptible to being used by him for his purposes.
That's scriptural. That's biblical.
But Satan is currently restrained to a degree, there's a reason that that's not just total hell, Satan is restrained to a degree by the physical presence of the church on the earth because the church is made up of men and women is full of the Holy Spirit.

Everywhere there's a Christian, the Holy Spirit is there. And so the Holy Spirit is all over the Earth, inside believers and in acts.

In chapter two, when God gave the Holy Spirit to the church, the church was deputized, so to speak, by Jesus to resist Satan's schemes on the Earth. And in second Thessalonians two seven. It all comes together as the apostle Paul declares The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

And ultimately in that verse, when we're talking about he who now restrains, we're talking about the fact that Jesus has placed the church on the earth.

And so the question becomes, is there a coming time when that restraining force of the church, is there a coming time when scripture says that that restraining force of the church is going to be removed from the earth so that lawlessness will no longer be restrained?

Yes, there is at the moment of the rapture, the church will be removed from the earth and the restraining presence of the Holy Spirit and believers across the world will suddenly be dramatically diminished.

And Satan will not be restrained the way he is right now in this church age.
That is why the Rapture will be shortly followed by the rise of Antichrist.
It will only be possible when the restraining force of the church is removed from the earth. And so what I want what I really want us to understand is, is the implication of Paul's phrase. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

What Paul is saying is that Satan has been trying to lay plans for a very, very long time, even when Paul was writing this in the first century, he was saying Satan is already at work trying to work his plans that will facilitate the rise of Antichrist when he has opportunity.

He's been working on that for a long time now. The church is not going to be on the earth when the Antichrist rises to the fore.
Paul tells us that in Thessalonians.

But we will be here for many of the preparations that will precede the emergence of the Antichrist. And we will likely be able to see recognize and identify some of those preparations. I heard one pastor put it this way.

He said, you know, that when you see Christmas decorations in Costco, it's almost time for Thanksgiving.
Here's the idea, when we see preparations for the Antichrist being established and made across the Earth, we know that the rapture is almost here.

That's the that's the biblical side of things.
And I really want to share with you some of my own personal observations about what's going on in the world right now.

As I said, I'm not saying thus say if the Lord, that is a very serious thing to say. And I'm not saying that these are just my observations.
You can consider them for what they're worth, but I hope they'll be helpful to you.

I believe that Satan is a globalist. If you don't know what a globalist is, a globalist is someone who has a political and sociological philosophy that the whole world should essentially be one community.
They're in favor of things like open borders, essentially a one world system of governance, a one world currency, so that the whole world can be one true global community.

That's what a globalist is. We don't need to have individual identities as countries. We need one global identity. And I believe that Satan is a globalist for one simple reason.

He wants to unite the world, the world system that he is currently ruling over.
He wants to unite the world in rebellion against God. The interesting thing is that in Satanism and in the Satanic Bible and in the writings of lead Satanists like Aleister Crowley, you find that Satanism isn't really about worshipping Satan. Satanism is about worshipping yourself. Do what thou wilt. This shall be the whole of the law that is satanic theology in a nutshell.

It's about finding the God in you and learning to live out your desires so that you are God. That is the essence of Satanism because that is the essence of Satan. That's what got him thrown out of heaven, his desire to be God himself, to be equal with God.

And I believe that Satan truly desires globalism, grab a hold of our planet so that the whole world can be united in secular humanism, the exultation of self, and the rejection of God.

And I say this because firstly, in the Garden of Eden, this was his appeal to Eve, wasn't it?

Eat the fruit, then you will be what, like God.
But even more compelling when the world's first civilization begins to emerge in Mesopotamia, in Babylon, specifically, Satan stirs up the first Antichrist Nimrod to attempt to lead all of human civilization in the pursuit of self, this secular humanism, this paganism.

But that's really about the worship of self, he says. Let us build a tower, the Tower of Babel. And his whole idea was, let's unite the world in the pursuit of self and the rejection of God.

And if you know the story, then you know what happens in Genesis 1. God comes down and he confuses the speech of people by creating different languages and different ethnic groups, and they're scattered across the world.

But do you remember what Nimrod tried to do? When all the world was living together in the same place, when they were all one community, Scripture says that the people got together and said, come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.

It all sounds so wonderful, doesn't it? We can reach our human potential. Let's be united. Let's move into a new age of enlightenment, a new age of fulfilling ourselves. But then God comes down and he breaks all that up because at the center of it is this satanic philosophy of self-exultation and turning the self into God.

And ever since then. I believe that Satan has been waiting for the time when he could once again rally humanity together under one leadership in the pursuit of this humanist philosophy.

The problem is people have been scattered and Satan's plans have been hindered. But this is why we saw the League of Nations as soon as Satan could do that, then that was followed by the U.N. when he could do that, then by the EU, Satan was always doing the best he could to build a globalized society with what he had available.

But what Satan has really been waiting for and needing is technology. Satan has been waiting for international travel to become the norm. He's been waiting for more trade alliances between countries. He's been waiting for a worldwide system where you could disseminate information and mislead the entire population of the world by controlling the information that they receive.

He's been waiting on the Internet. He's been waiting for mass surveillance to be possible. He's been waiting for communication to increase. He's been waiting ever since Babul for the infrastructure to truly implement globalism yet again and try and turn the whole world into what he tried to make Babylon in Genesis 11. And in case you're not picking up on what I'm putting down. I think his wait is over. The wait is over, and so now the question really becomes, if you're Satan, how do you get the world to buy into globalism?

How do you get the world to buy into the idea of becoming one of giving up personal identity, national identity, and personal individual freedoms, and going to a one-world currency?
How do you how do you get people to give this stuff up?

I mean, some some countries that would be easy, because in Third World countries, you're only offering them the potential of something better.

But first-world countries, nationalistic first-world countries that have an independent streak, well well, they're a real problem because they value personal freedom and personal freedom is antithetical to globalism. So what do you do?

You have to attack the concept of nationalism. And that's really what we've seen in the media over the past few years, haven't we?


We've seen this rhetoric develop where if you're a nationalist, then you're a Nazi. If you're concerned about your personal freedoms, then then you're a nut job.

This is the emerging narrative, but it's still not enough. We see that in America right now, don't we? You know, 50 percent of the population still hasn't bought into that idea of becoming essentially a more socialist state.

And so not everybody is on board with the idea, and the problem is in some of these countries, you can't just take everybody's rights because they might rebel could be a real problem.

And what you're doing suddenly has to become revealed as being brutal rather than enlightened.
So you can't just take everybody's rights and freedoms, you have to make them give them to you. Now, how in the world do you do that, how do you make people who value individual rights and freedoms give you their rights and freedoms? It's really not that difficult. It's been done in history over and over and over again. And we saw it happen after 9/11, didn't we, when even those who value freedom were willingly giving it away because they were scared?

And they were offered the promise of safety in return. See, that's how you do it. If you can create fear and then offer security in exchange for freedom, most people will take that deal all day, every day.

That's what happened with the Patriot Act after 9/11, and things like intimate body searches became the standard protocol at airports, we got to do it, got to stop the terrorists. Well, I'm scared. So I'll let you invade my personal body space. The Patriot Act led to things like mass surveillance of citizens, which was later exposed by people like Edward Snowden. People were scared, they said, go ahead and do it, just keep us safe now, hang with me because I'm going somewhere with this.

In First Thessalonians five, Paul is writing specifically about the day of the Lord.
It's a term that applies to the whole coming season when God will judge the Earth, including the tribulation.

And here's what Paul says about that time. Listen to this. Paul says, for when they say peace and safety. Peace and safety. Then sudden destruction comes upon them. Paul tells us that the rapture and the tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist that whole day of the Lord is all going to unfold in a time when people are crying out for what?

Peace and safety. And I think that's because this global system of governance, this infrastructure out of which Antichrist will emerge, can only be implemented and created when there's an atmosphere of fear where people are crying out for peace and safety, give us peace and safety. And I suspect their fear is what will be used to create this new version of the world.

Now, keep following me down this train of thought. If the goal is to create global governance, that's the goal, and if the way to get there is by creating fear, that makes people willing to give up their rights because people are crying out for peace and safety, then the fears that you create, the fears that people have, will need to be global in nature.

They will need to be existential threats. Are you tracking with me?
If you want to bring the whole world under global governance, you have to create fear on a global level.
And when I look at the world. I can't help but notice, and I have for a few years now. We have three major existential threats that are all global in nature and are all being pushed in our faces at the same time, the obvious one right now is covid-19. The second is climate change, and the third is the imminent global debt crisis. I'm not going to get into details about any of those, but I hope what's obvious is that none of those things are conspiracy theories.

You can Google any of them.

They're well-established. They're very real. They're being discussed in all the mainstream circles. But what I want you to picture in your mind right now is a Venn diagram that has those three circles that overlap in one place. And each of these circles represents one of these three things.

You've got three circles, you've got covid-19, you've got climate change and you've got the global debt crisis and where they overlap.
This is where they all create existential fear. For the whole world. And the question, of course, is what is their purpose, what is the ultimate purpose of all this fear? And I believe it's to create a world system that will facilitate the rise of the Antichrist in the very near future. But to bring it down, how are we going to get there?

We're going to create a more globalized society across the world. That's what all of this is for.
It's to create the fear that will overlap and create enough fear that people will be willing to accept a new version of the world, the world's economy, the world's industry, the world's civil liberties, the world's borders, all of these things now, all of these things are real. But there's something very interesting about each of them. You see, the debt crisis has been known to be coming for decades. It's not something that emerged out of the blue.

And we're like, whoa, we blinked. And suddenly the whole world's in debt. The world economic system since the early 20th century. Has been on course to get us to where we are right now, a situation where the world is unsustainably in debt, where countries are trillions of dollars in debt in a hole so deep they cannot possibly dig themselves out. We've known for a very long time this is where this is going and no country has changed course.

Why is that? Why is that? And then we get to climate change and covid-19 both real things, but both, quite simply, extremely inflated and extremely exaggerated and constantly pushed in our faces.

There's a reason why Al Gore can make entire documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth, where every single prediction fails to come true.

And yet he's still considered an authority to speak on the subject of climate change.

There's a reason why people just ignore facts like the environmental damage caused by producing the batteries for electric cars and the environmental damage caused by disposing those same batteries when they die out in seven to 10 years.

There's a reason why nobody wants to look at that information. It's because there's something bigger, there's an influence behind the scenes driving all of these things, and when you get to countries that have a more independent streak, there's even smaller circles in this Venn diagram, things like racial issues and police shootings, all these things, they all overlap to create fear and to create the impression that the whole world is in imminent danger and it's falling apart and something has to change.

Now, that's where they all overlap.
And what's very interesting. Is that we now seem to know specifically what is in those overlapping areas? Yes, we know it's to set up the infrastructure for the emergence of the Antichrist, but I would suggest how we're going to do that is actually out in the open.

Now, if you haven't heard, it's called the Great Reset. It's called the United Nations Agenda 2030. And please understand, that these are not things spoken about in whispers.
These are terms being spoken about by heads of state publicly right now. You can go on to the World Economic Forum's website and read the entire proposal for the great reset.

You can go on to the United Nations website and read about the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the 230-something parts of that proposal. These are not conspiracy theories.

These are absolute facts out in the open for anyone to read, being pushed by heads of state simultaneously because these overlapping, existential global threats are all creating fear and this feeling that things need to change right now.

And this is what's being proposed to bring about those changes, the Great Reset and United Nations Agenda 2030.

Together, they envision a massive restructuring of the global community economically, socially, and politically. As I mentioned, these are wide out in the open. You can go check them out for yourself.

And I'm sharing this video because I don't want to just add to the noise. I don't want to just do a new update on who we think the Antichrist could be every week.

But I don't want to add to the noise or the panic, but I'm doing this video because I think it could be helpful. And I think that these things are potentially imminent. I think we're going to see a lot of movement on these specific issues next year in 2021.

And I'm sharing this because as Christians, we need to know how we should respond to all of this.
Firstly, we need to not get angry at people. We need to not get angry at people.

Listen, the idea that your local health authorities are knowingly part of a grand conspiracy is simply ridiculous. There are too many people involved for that to be kept secret. You can't run a conspiracy with that many people.

But as we talked about earlier, anyone who does not belong to the kingdom of God, who's not saved is susceptible to the influence of Satan. And so Satan is able to make things like closing churches but keeping bars open.

He's able to make that make sense in the minds of local national and international health authorities.
He's able to make it seem like a good and considerate, compassionate, logical scientific idea. This is why Paul told us to remember that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.

Don't get mad at people, don't rage on social media. And listen, if you're concerned enough to speak out, then you should be concerned enough to pray. Because your prayers are going to make a whole lot more difference than ranting on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram ever is, there's also no point ranting at people.

There's no point.
And by the way, Paul's commands to honor and pray for our leaders still apply.
We may not be able to always obey our leaders, but we're still required by scripture and by the Lord to pray for them to honor them, and to watch the way that we speak about them publicly.

You know, I see a lot of churches and pastors who are talking about how the church needs to not meet.
We need to not gather because it could damage the church's reputation in the community and we need to keep our neighbors healthy.

Listen, those are good things, they're good things, OK, they really are, but they're not the most important thing.

The most important thing is to remember that the church has got to be clear about this. The church does not exist first and foremost for us. Most of us are clear on that, but I'm going to say something now where the church is very confused much of the time. Neither does the church exist, first and foremost for our community. Do you understand that the church does not exist first and foremost for the lost? The church exists first and foremost for Jesus.

The church is the bride of Christ, that is the identity of the church.

And so as the church navigates these times, there are a lot of questions we should ask. But the one at the top, and we should not be confused about this, the one at the top, the most important question is what does Jesus want us to do?

What does he want us to do in our daily situation, in our corporate gatherings, in response to restrictions? What does Jesus want us to do? The first question is not what our community thinks we should do.

The first question is not what do our health authorities say we should do, the first question is not even what's best for my health. Do you want to know what's not good for your health gathering as the church in a country where being a Christian will get you murdered?

Where it's a capital offense that's bad for your health, and yet this weekend, Christians all over the world in places where they could be killed for loving Jesus will gather together as the church, even though they are risking their health in a far more serious way than we ever will with covid-19.

The question is not what our community thinks, what are health authorities say we should do what's best for our health. Those are all questions that, yes, we should consider. But above all of the above, all of them is the question, what does Jesus want us to do? And that will be the question tomorrow, next week, next month, 10 years from now. If the Lord tarries, that is the question. How do we discern the answer?

We stay in the word of God. We pray we fast.
We do our best to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
And I need to let you know, Christian, that in the days ahead, what God will ask you to do will probably not line up with what you want to do if you have a very independent and contrarian streak, as I do.

You may find that Jesus is going to ask you to comply and obey civil orders much more than you would like you to.
You might find that Jesus will tell you, no, you need to stay home. You need to meet online for several months.
You might not like it, but that may be what Jesus will ask you to do. If you're conflict-averse and you care deeply about being at peace with everybody.

Listen, you may find Jesus asking you to engage in civil disobedience much more than you would ever like. But here's the big thing I want us to remember. When the church is making decisions corporately and individually and as families. What Jesus wants is at the top of the list, always, no matter what, no matter what. Christian, we need to also understand that the rapture is God's promise to remove his church before he pours out his wrath upon the Earth.

The rapture is not God's promise to remove his church before the Constitution gets shredded the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is radically revised or before society takes a significantly darker turn in terms of civil liberties.

God doesn't say I'm going to rapture my church before your country embraces communism under another name. It's not what the Bible says. Do you know that living in a time and place where Christians are not persecuted is a historical exception in the church age?

As always, every Christian needs to be ready to live for Jesus to preach, Jesus to go to prison, for Jesus, to suffer for Jesus and to die for Jesus. The rapture is not to deliver the church from persecution. It's to deliver the church from the wrath of God. Jeff, this is some scary stuff. Here's what Jesus told his disciples when he was talking to them about the difficult days that would lie ahead for his followers, Jesus said, see that you're not troubled.

For all these things must come to pass, all these things must come to pass over and over again in scripture, the command, not the suggestion the command appears, do not be afraid.

Do not fear.
Do not fear. Why? Because Jesus also said, I'm with you always, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. I talked about that diagram earlier with the pyramid where you have the elite at the top and the dividing line into the spiritual world and then Satan above them.

But don't ever forget. And there's someone else even higher over everything is Jesus over everything is Jesus. And listen, there's an elite class in the world that is playing chess while the rest of us are playing checkers, Satan's playing on a level above them.

But listen, Jesus. Jesus is working things on a level we can't even fathom. Everybody thinks they're making their own choices, but the Bible says man makes his plans, but the will of the Lord prevails.

What Jesus has written about biblical prophecy is not a plan, it's not a prediction he hopes will come true, it is future history. Not one word that the Lord has spoken will fail to come to pass, his word will never return void. What he has spoken will happen with absolute certainty and the final chapter of the Earth.

And the ages to come are already written. You can read about them in the word of God. The ending is certain church.
We are getting so close, we're getting so close. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Don't don't get distracted. Don't get distracted. No matter what happens, we belong to Jesus, we live for Jesus if you're not doing that. Get serious about the Lord, get serious about the Lord, make up your mind now, make the decision now that you're following him no matter what, no matter where it leads, because the king is coming and he's coming soon.
God bless.
Getting Ready
Date:5/22/22

Passage: Acts 1:12-26...Speaker: Jeff Thompson

As the followers of Jesus wait in Jerusalem to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, Jeff highlights two vital ingredients that always precede a powerful move of God - obedience to Jesus and prayer.

Luke's Gospel tells us that when Jesus appeared to his disciples following his resurrection, he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. What a credible Verse what is it like to have Jesus just open your mind to understand the Scriptures like that? In an instant, they could connect the Jesus ending in front of them to all the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. In a moment they understood why he had to die on the cross and why his resurrection had changed everything. Reading from Luke 24, beginning in verses 46, it's on your outlines.

He that's Jesus also said to them, this is what is written. The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead. The third day and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what my Father promised.

As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered. The word literally means clothed with power from on high. After spending 40 days making appearances on the Earth as the risen Savior, Jesus led his disciples up the mound of Olives, a Hill just outside Jerusalem to the east. Acts chapter one, verses four and five tell us that Jesus repeated his instructions. It says while he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Father's promise, which he said, you have heard me speak about for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.

When we reach Acts chapter 2. Next week, we're going to learn what precisely this baptism of the Holy Spirit is. But Jesus makes it clear in Acts chapter in verses eight that it will give them power to travel throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth. Preaching the Gospel as eyewitnesses to the resurrection, Jesus then physically leaves the Earth, ascending back to Heaven where he currently resides. And with that, his earthly mission, the Incarnation was completed.

Verse twelve picks up the moment after the disciples lose sight of Jesus as he disappears into the clouds. Open your Bibles. Let's take a look at verse twelve together in Acts 1. It says; Then they return to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. That's about 1 km away.

It's just outside of the Eastern side of Jerusalem. When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. The disciples were already staying in Jerusalem because they were there to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, which commemorated the giving of the Law to Israel by God at Mount Sinai. We studied that when we went through the Book of Exodus. For those of you who are with us, the upper room mentioned here could be the upper room where the Last Supper took place.

And it could be where Jesus appeared to his disciples on resurrection day. Some speculate it could be above the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. But there's no way to know if any of those theories are really true, and it doesn't affect the narrative whether or not they are. Verse 13 continues and lists the names of the eleven surviving disciples Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, the son of Elfius, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. It says Judas the son of James so we don't confuse this Judas with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders.

He's also more plainly referred to in John 14/22 as Judas, not Iscariot, and I'm sure he had to say that phrase only about a million times over the course of his life.
I would have just changed my name, to be honest. Verse 14 they all were continually United in prayer, along with the woman, including Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Verse 15 will tell us the number of those present for this gathering of what would shortly become the first Church was around 120 people. So, let's look at who was included in that.

I put this on your outline too. We know that the remaining eleven of the twelve disciples were there. It mentions the woman. This would have included Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, the dear friends of Jesus, Salome, and others. Some of these women had followed Jesus from Galilee down south to Jerusalem for the Passover where he was crucified.

They supported him with their finances. They helped feed him, and his disciples served however they could and were the first witnesses to his resurrection. It says, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there as well, and I love that the word shows us what Mary was doing following the ascension. We don't find the disciples gathered around her praying to her or saying, can you get a message to Jesus for us? We find her among the disciples of Jesus, praying and worshiping him.

She is Jesus' disciple first and his mother second. Jesus is her God first and her son second. This is the final picture of Mary that Scripture gives us. Praying with the disciples as a disciple of Jesus, Jesus' brothers were technically half-brothers as they were the biological offspring of Joseph and Mary. Mark six three tells us they were named James, Joseph, Judas, another one, and Simon which was likely as little as eight months before.

This time, Jesus and his brothers were sarcastically telling him that he should do his miracles in front of a larger audience because they didn't even believe that he was actually doing miracles. They didn't believe the reports. And yet here they are, worshiping him and praying to him. What happened? The resurrection happened when the brother you watched die on a cross appears to you in a resurrected body, and speaks with you in front of other witnesses.

It causes you to pause and say, I might need to reevaluate my perspective on whether or not my brother is in fact, God. They changed from skeptics who viewed Jesus as a mentally disturbed embarrassment to the family, to fully devoted followers willing to die brutal deaths for him rather than recant their testimony that he had risen from the dead. It's one of the great apologetic evidence for the resurrection, the change in the behavior and perspective of the brothers of Jesus. If you're going to claim to be the Son of God, there is going to be no one harder to convince than your brother, okay? It's just the way it is.
Oh, really? You're the Son of God? Now, is this a trick just to get out of doing chores?

James would become the first leader of the Jerusalem Church and write the epistle that bears his name.
Judas, the brother of Jesus, would write the Epistle of Jude. There were also some there who had been part of the group of 70 disciples that are mentioned in Luke chapter ten. And there were probably some other odd male and female disciples of Jesus whose names we don't know. Luke's Gospel tells us that after watching Jesus ascend back to heaven, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
Jesus tells his disciples to return to Jerusalem and await the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So that's exactly what they do. Between meals, these 120 followers of Jesus gather to pray in the upper room and worship God at the temple. Now, as an aside, why did they go to the Jewish temple? It's because they understood that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.

So, understand this for Jesus, Jewish disciples, and all of these people are almost certainly Jewish. So, for Jesus's, Jewish disciples, Christianity is just the continuation of Judaism for them at this point, they don't see it as a new religion. That's why they're in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. And that's why when they want to worship God, they go to the temple. If you ask them, what are you?

They would have said, We're Jews, we're religiously Jewish, and we worship and follow the Jewish Messiah, who was prophesied in the Jewish scriptures by Jewish prophets. Throughout the Book of Acts, we will see Christianity emerge and separate from Judaism, as most Jewish leaders and people reject the gospel message that Jesus was his Messiah. But at this point, the word Christian didn't even exist, and the followers of Jesus were still religiously Jewish in their minds. When you study Church history, you will find prayer at the center of every great move of God. Wherever revival has exploded, it has been preceded by a powerful prayer movement.

And so I want us to notice that before we get to Acts chapter two before we get to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we see a prayer movement taking place among the followers of Jesus. In his great high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed for his future Church. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me so that they may be one.

As we are one, I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Where does genuine unity in a Church come from? How do you get it?

Unity is produced when people submit to God and his word and gather to pray. When we gather to pray, when you gather with God's people to pray, His Spirit begins to bind your hearts together. Supernaturally. It's a work of God and of His Spirit. In that prayer, time is when God births the kind of love for your brothers and sisters that we're going to read about in the Book of Acts.

It's the kind of love that you can't stir up yourself. You can't hear a message on this on a Sunday and say, that's it, I'm deciding to love my brothers and sisters. Flick the switch. You can't do that because you don't even have that kind of love within yourself. It comes from the Lord, it comes from his Spirit.
Jesus tells his disciples to return to Jerusalem and await the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So that's exactly what they do. Between meals, these 120 followers of Jesus gather to pray in the upper room and worship God at the temple. Now, as an aside, why did they go to the Jewish temple? It's because they understood that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.

So, understand this for Jesus, Jewish disciples, and all of these people are almost certainly Jewish. So, for Jesus's, Jewish disciples, Christianity is just the continuation of Judaism for them at this point, they don't see it as a new religion. That's why they're in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. And that's why when they want to worship God, they go to the temple. If you ask them, what are you?

They would have said, We're Jews, we're religiously Jewish, and we worship and follow the Jewish Messiah, who was prophesied in the Jewish scriptures by Jewish prophets. Throughout the Book of Acts, we will see Christianity emerge and separate from Judaism, as most Jewish leaders and people reject the gospel message that Jesus was and his Messiah. But at this point, the word Christian didn't even exist, and the followers of Jesus were still religiously Jewish in their minds. When you study Church history, you will find prayer at the center of every great move of God. Wherever revival has exploded, it has been preceded by a powerful prayer movement.

And so I want us to notice that before we get to Acts chapter two, before we get to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we see a prayer movement taking place among the followers of Jesus. In his great high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed for his future Church. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me so that they may be one.

As we are one, I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Where does genuine unity in a Church come from? How do you get it?

Unity is produced when people submit to God and his word and gather to pray. When we gather to pray, when you gather with God's people to pray, His Spirit begins to bind your hearts together. Supernaturally. It's a work of God and of His Spirit. In that prayer, time is when God births the kind of love for your brothers and sisters that we're going to read about in the Book of Acts.

It's the kind of love that you can't stir up yourself. You can't hear a message on this on a Sunday and say, that's it, I'm deciding to love my brothers and sisters. Flick the switch. You can't do that because you don't even have that kind of love within yourself. It comes from the Lord, it comes from his Spirit.

It can only be accessed. It can only be stirred by the Spirit of God within us. And he chooses to do it where people gather to pray and then that unity and that love that grows. Here's the incredible thing. It actually empowers your prayers.

It creates this incredible, glorious circle of unity being birthed, love for the brethren being birthed, which makes you pray more effectively and more passionately and stirs you to pray even more. And this is how these prayer movements happen. People who just want to see God move, gather and pray and find the Spirit of God joining them together in the kind of agape love that can only be found in the Lord. And as they speak out, as they pray out loud, as they gather together to pray, all the different divisions and all the different strata and tears among the body of Christ become level at the feet of Jesus, the ground becomes even. And that is when we become brothers and sisters.
When the ground becomes level because God is doing something among us. Collectively. This dynamic is what Jesus is talking about when he says, Guys, when two or three of you gather and agree in prayer, I'm with you in a different way to the way that I am with you all the time. It's different. I move differently.

I do a different work when you gather together and agree in my name. So would you write this down? When believers who are submitted to God's word pray together. The result is love and unity. The result is love and unity, which must necessarily precede the revival or removal of God.

Otherwise, it cannot be sustained. It cannot hold itself now because it makes sense in terms of flow. We're actually going to look at verses 18 and 19 first and then come back to verses is 15 through 17. In verses 18 through 19, Luke gives us some details about the fate of Judas Iscariot. Haven't seen this one in a lot of kids.

Bibles now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages. He fell headfirst, his body burst open and his intestines spilled out. Lovely. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field was called Hakaldama. That is Field of Blood.

What a beautiful story. These events are documented in Matthew chapters 26 and 27 and there appear to be contradictions between the accounts. But as is always the case with Scripture, the two accounts harmonize. When you begin to investigate the specific details, you'll recall that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders in Jerusalem for a fee of 30 pieces of silver. The amount of compensation the law demanded to be paid to a slave's owner by the one who caused their death.

This money is what verse 18 refers to as unrighteous wages. After Jesus had been arrested, Judas felt guilty about betraying innocent blood. Now please understand it is possible to feel guilt and remorse without repenting. Guilt and remorse are not the same thing as repentance. They can lead to repentance or not.

You can feel overwhelmed by your conscience and remain steadfast in your refusal to submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Such was the case with Judas. He threw the money back at the religious leaders and then hung himself in a Potter's field. Unbeknownst to Judas, the priests took the money he threw at them and later used it to buy that very field as a burial place for the unclaimed dead. They did that because they felt it would be morally wrong to put the money in the temple offering due to it being blood money.

That's how hypocritical and spiritually dead the religious leaders were. They felt the money was tainted but didn't feel any conviction over the fact that they were the ones who had tainted it by using it to bribe Judas to arrange the murder of Jesus. Eventually, Judas's hanging body swelled, fell out of the noose, and hit the Rocky ground where it burst open in the graphic fashion described in verse 19. As a result, people in Jerusalem came to call the place Field of Blood. That's the backstory of Judas's death.

I'm so glad I could build you up in your most Holy faith this evening and what a bleak picture it paints for us. The very place where Judas took his life was paid for literally by the blood of Jesus and the blood of Jesus has paid for everyone's sins. If you're here today, the blood of Jesus has paid for your sins. Yet many will choose to be their own God instead and therefore choose to pay for their sins themselves.
Many will die their own God and realize when it's too late that you cannot save yourself. And then they will go to their own place in the Lake of Fire for eternity. Whoever you are, the blood of Jesus has paid for your sins. It's been done for you. Scripture says he died for you while you were dead in your sins.

The only question is whether you will turn to Jesus, say thank you, and receive him into your life as your Lord and Savior. If you will eternal life will be yours. It'll be yours. It's a staggering thing to think about what Judas saw and heard. He spent three years with Jesus watching the miracles, hearing the Son of God teach on the Word of God.

He heard the Word of God expound on the Word of God. He was one of the Twelve, and yet he hated the Romans more than he loved Jesus. He loved money and power more than he loved Jesus, and as a result, he lost everything. No wonder Jesus called him the Son of Perdition, which means Son of waste. With that context regarding Judas in place, let's return to verse 15.

It says, in those days. So, while they were waiting in Jerusalem, per Jesus' instructions, Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters. The number of people who were together was about 120 underline 120 and said, brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled, that the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of David, foretold about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was one of our number and shared in this Ministry. Now jump down to verse 20, for it is written in the Book of Psalms. Let his dwelling become desolate, let no one live in it, and let someone else take his position.

Some of the Psalms are known as Messianic Psalms. Many of them were written by David and they were written centuries before Jesus was born on the Earth. As a man, David was writing about his own life and experiences, but unbeknownst to him, he was also serving as a type of Jesus, meaning that what David was writing applied not only to his own life but also served to prophetically point ahead and apply to the coming Messiah, who would be Jesus. There are aspects of David's writing and life that prophetically parallel the life of Jesus on the Earth. Peter quotes from two of these Psalms and applies them to Judas' betrayal of Jesus.

His first quote is from Psalm 69:25 and the second is from Psalm 109, verse eight. Psalm 69 is clearly Messianic. Psalm 109 focuses more on a specific betrayer of a righteous man, which is obviously Judas more than it does the Messiah. But if you study Psalm 69 on your own this week, you'll find it fascinating to just try and pick out all the details in there that apply to the life of Jesus. Prophetically.

The word office that is quoted by Peter is the Greek word "episcopen". It means "position of Overseer", "position of verse is". Peter references these two prophecies written by David in the Psalms. And he says, guys, David was writing prophetically about Jesus and Judas, and these prophecies give us direction as to what must be done. Next, we need to replace the member of the twelve who betrayed Jesus.

And Peter suggests this for a few reasons. First of all, most importantly, God prompted him to do it. God prompted him to do it. God is in control. Secondly, Peter suggested this because at the beginning of our study, I referenced from Luke's Gospel where it told us that Jesus appeared to his disciples following the resurrection and he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And Peter suggests this for a few reasons. First of all, most importantly, God prompted him to do it. God prompted him to do it. God is in control. Secondly, Peter suggested this because at the beginning of our study, I referenced Luke's Gospel which it told us that Jesus appeared to his disciples following the resurrection and he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

We see the effect of that here. Peter has had these Psalms stored up in his mind for years. He's a good Jewish student. He's memorized the Torah. He's memorized probably most of the Old Testament.

But when Jesus opens his mind to understand the Scriptures, suddenly the dots start connecting between Jesus and his death and life and the cross and resurrection. All the dots start connecting between what has just happened over the past three years and all of these Old Testament prophecies and Peter. Peter can now see it. He can now discern the connection. So Peter speaks up because he believes these scriptures reveal the actionable will of God now.

Thirdly, Peter does this because he understands on some level that Jesus is establishing his Church around this time. He doesn't know what's about to happen in Acts chapter two. But he understands Jesus is going to establish his Church because Jesus had spoken about it during his Ministry to Peter. He doesn't understand all the details, but he understands that just as Israel was established on the twelve tribes of Israel, Jesus is going to establish his Church on twelve disciples. Two additional observations on Peter's words in these verses.

Peter also uses these Psalms to explain to the other disciples that Judas' betrayal had always been part of God's plan. It had been prophesied for centuries. Can you imagine the astonishment that would have gripped the disciples when they began to connect the dots with Peter, ending them and realizing that Jesus's past is in absolute control of everything that had happened down to the smallest detail. This wasn't a plan that had been derailed. This was the plan before the foundations of the world.

No aspect of the cross had been a tragedy. It was a triumph, a staggering Symphony of scandalous Grace conducted at every measure by the Lord Jesus. I also noticed that Peter teaches the concept of the divine inspiration of Scripture. When he says - and underline it if you haven't - "the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David", I love that phrase. In other words, the Holy Spirit, Peter says, inspired David to write those Psalms just as he inspired the over 40 men who wrote all the Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:16 plainly declares, "All Scripture is inspired by God." The interesting thing is that if you look at the original Greek of 2 Timothy 3"16, the word "all" means "all". It means "all". All Scripture is inspired by God.

So, if you ever find yourself in a Church or a Bible study where people want to claim that certain parts of the Scriptures are not inspired, leave, leave. Because once you decide that you can choose which parts of the Bible should be considered divine, you're playing God. You're saying, I'm going to be the editor of the Word of God.

Not good. And the evidence of that will be revealed when the version of God that you end up with happens to share all of your preferences and opinions. It's amazing how that happens. In verse 21, Peter reveals the criterion that Judas's replacement would need to meet to verse is a witness along with the rest of the 12th. It says this in verse 21.

Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time, the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us. From among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of his resurrection. So, to be one of the Twelve, to be the replacement for Judas, or to just be any member of the Twelve, you had to have been present for the entire duration of Jesus' Ministry, witnessing his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, his miracles, his teachings, his crucifixion, and death. You had to encounter Him in the days following his resurrection and see him ascend back to heaven. By the way, this is why it is not an error that Paul was not chosen as the replacement.

Paul was not an eyewitness to the Ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus for those three years and he could not. Therefore, the verse is a witness to the way Jesus intended. The Twelve to Paul did not meet the criteria. Jesus wasn't looking for the twelve best Apostles or the Twelve most famous. He was looking for twelve witnesses to the entire Ministry of Jesus and his death, resurrection, and ascension.

Paul had a unique calling in Ministry that was different, a special Ministry to the Gentiles. Verse 23 So they proposed two Joseph called Barsabus, who was also known as justice and Matthias. Then they prayed, You, Lord, know everyone? S hearts. Show which of these two you have chosen to take the place in this Apostolic Ministry that Judas left to go where he belongs.

Then they cast lots for them and the lot fell to Matthias and he was added to the eleven Apostles. They pray they ask the Lord to lead them, they cast lots, and they add Matthias to the 12th. And I know the casting of lots of things seems really weird, but it was a common way of seeking the Lord at that time. Those of you who were with us when we studied Exodus, chapter 28 may recall the Urum and Thummim used by the high priest. They were likely black and white stones of identical size, stored in a little pouch, and if you wanted to ask the Lord a yes or no question, you would pray and then the priest would pull one out and this would reveal the will of God.

Really, coveting lots was essentially a way to do the same thing when the high priest wasn't available. It was a common enough occurrence that Solomon wrote in the Book of Proverbs, that the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. This was not a haphazard way of discerning God's will. The disciples carefully determined the qualifications of any potential replacement for Judas, whittled it down to two candidates that were endorsed by the rest of the group, prayed and asked the Lord to reveal his decision, and then cast lots. They did the best they could based on what they knew to do at the time.

After they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which will come up next week in Acts Chapter Two. The followers of Jesus will never again cast lots because the Church will have the Holy Spirit to verse as a guide for future decisions of importance. Because we know God is sovereign, we can trust that God ensured the outcome he wanted when the stakes were high. God wasn't in heaven going well. I kind of had a different candidate, but I guess it's too late now.

It's going to be a super bummer if I have to go down there and be, like, wrong, it's him. It's inconceivable to suggest that this was somehow an oversight by God. He chose Matthias as surely as he chose the other eleven, and Matthias was by no means a lesser member of the twelve than any of the others, and the fact that we don't find them mentioned again in scripture doesn't change any of that. Heaven forbid we mistake notoriety for effectiveness and Ministry. The name Matias means gift from God.
Beyond that, we don't know anything about him with certainty, as he's never again mentioned in the Scriptures. There are some details, but they can't be verified. I'll share them with you. Eusebius, the fourth-century Christian historian, wrote that Matias was part of the group of 70 disciples referenced in Luke Chapter Ten. Church tradition holds that he became a missionary to the Ethiopians, where he was martyred, or that he traveled to Damascus and later died in Judea, or that he ended up spending most of his time in Jerusalem, where he died.

We just don't know. Also, according to Ezabius, Philip's daughters told Papius that Joseph called Barcelos, who was also known as justice, once drank snake venom when challenged by unbelievers and remained unharmed. I don't even understand what that story means. I mean, they set down a shot of snake venom in front of him, and they're like, we don't believe you're from God. And he's like, how about now?

It's just a really odd bit of Church history. But I guess in that moment, the Holy Spirit is like, do it, do it, drink it. He's like, all right, let's go. That's all we know about the other guy. With Matias selected, the twelve was reconstituted and everything was ready for the birth of the Church, which would follow shortly.

You know, it's incredible. When we're making a big decision or facing a challenge of some sort in our lives, we'll wrestle with it internally. We'll talk to our spouse about it. We'll read a book about it, we'll Google it. We are so reluctant to ask our brothers and sisters in the Church to pray with us.

Some of us will even ask people to pray for us, but we don't want them to actually do it immediately if they're like, Well, let's pray. We're actually like, oh, no, I meant like, you pray for me when I'm not here so that we don't have to do it together. Do that. But most won't even do that. If you were coveting a curriculum to teach Christianity to a new believer, you would learn how to pray with other Christians in kindergarten.

Hear me on this. You would learn how to pray with other Christians in kindergarten. It's that elementary. It's that foundational. And yet, let me be honest with you.

Most of the time, in my experience, the people who seem to understand this kindergarten-level aspect of Christianity are those who come from a deep, deep place of brokenness or new believers or have coveted out of addiction, where they've just got over whatever this thing called embarrassment is. They'll seek out people to pray with them. But our middle-class or upper-class Christians, us more experienced Christians, I hear a constant stream of news. Oh, so and so is really struggling with this. They're going through a hard time.

Oh, so and so is making a huge life decision. They're just trying to figure out what to do. But most of the time they don't share it at all. And the Church just learns about it after the fact. Most of the time, what never comes back to me is, oh, this person is looking for brothers and sisters to pray with them.

And our actions reveal one of two things. Number one, we don't actually believe that praying with our brothers and sisters accomplishes anything, or we believe that keeping up appearances is more important than unleashing the power of God over our lives that is released through praying with our brothers and sisters. Those are the only two options you're making a big decision. You're struggling with something and you're not asking your brothers and sisters to pray with you. Either you think prayer does nothing or you think keeping up appearances is more important.

Heaven forbid I look like I need God. Heaven forbid. The Bible says if we're struggling with sickness, we should call the elders to lay hands and pray for healing. The Bible says if we confess our sins to one another, we will be healed. The Bible says that if two or three gather together and agree in the name of Jesus, he's there.
Paul wrote, So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individual members of it. If you get this, if you are seeking brothers and sisters to pray with you about major decisions and struggles in your life, praise God. You're doing well.

But I have to ask this as an elder, why does it seem like I constantly hear reports of people wrestling with big decisions and facing challenges but not asking anyone to pray with them? Not picking up the phone, calling somebody and saying, I need you to pray with me for a few minutes, not grabbing somebody after the service and saying, Pray with me. I'm dealing with some stuff. Do we not believe that we have a God who hears we have a God who loves us? Do we lack the humility to just get over ourselves and actually admit to another human being that we need God?

Because news flesh. We desperately need God. We desperately need Him to help us. And there is no great move of God that is going to happen in your life or in this Church that doesn't involve you being willing to publicly admit that you need Jesus. It's not going to happen.

Apart from that, there's no version where that happens and you get to stand in the back keeping it all together and just bootlegging off. A move of God caused by the prayers of other people doesn't happen.

If you are facing a significant decision, if you are facing a challenge or a struggle, whatever it is, do not leave here without asking somebody to pray with you. If you do leave without asking somebody to pray with you, just know this and let me offend some people for a Godly reason. You are not a mature follower of Jesus yet. I don't care how long you've been going to Church. If you haven't learned how to ask your brothers and sisters to pray with you, you are not a mature believer, yet you're fooling yourself.

This is Christianity one on one. This is foundational. It's elementary. Scripture says God resists the proud but gives Grace to the humble. He gives Grace to the humble.

Would you write this down? God moves when his people pray together. God covets when his people pray together. We pray every Sunday in this gym at 04:25 P.m.. Come to Church early and pray with us.

Make it a priority. Be here. Be here. Bj leads a prayer meeting every other Friday evening. If you want to learn more about that, talk to him after the service.

Now look at verse 15 again, because there's something I want us to notice. If you haven't underlined it yet, I want you to, it says. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. Altogether, the number of names was about 100, and 120 underline 120. Now, Jesus likely had some followers elsewhere.

For example, most Bible scholars believe that Jesus appeared to the 500 as described in One Corinthians, five, six in Galilee. Jesus had only commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem a few days ago, so there would not have been time for someone to make the journey back to Galilee, gather the followers of Jesus who were there, and bring them back to Jerusalem. But this number 120, is still staggering because it was Pentecost, one of the major annual feasts of Israel, and it was Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish world. Don't forget that when Jesus died, a bunch of people rose from the dead walked out of their graves, and went back to their families. I'm pretty sure they had something to say about Jesus.

Jesus had taught and worked miracles in Jerusalem. And yet after three years of God in the flesh, walking and ministering among them, there are 120. That's it, 120. You've got the twelve, the 70 disciples from Luke, ten, the woman, and maybe a few more. That's it.
That's all decades later, the Church would number in the millions. That happened for two reasons. Number one, God worked a miracle. The Church was and is a miracle. But secondly, those 120 people, to a man, to a woman, were willing to die for Jesus not once, but every single day.

They were ready to lay down their lives daily for the cause of the gospel and for the glory of Jesus. I believe Jesus is still looking to work miracles in his Church, and he's looking for men and women who are willing to die for him every day. He is looking for churches where people gather to pray. He is looking for churches where people have actually figured out how much they need him. And he's looking for churches where people are willing to Orient their entire lives around the gospel.

My prayer is that he'd find that here. And my prayer is that if you haven't thrown yourself into that mission along with us, that you will.

There's one more thing I want to highlight today. Bj alluded to it briefly last week.

And man, I know I'm going hard today, but I'll tell you why I'm going hard, because we're going to reach Acts chapter two next week. And all through the Book of the Book of Acts, there's going to be these incredible deep things of God, these deep moves of God. And everyone gets excited about them. And Christians talk about them, and they talk about how excited they are. But we need a reality check before we go forward with that, because next week, God's going to send the baptism of the Holy Spirit to this group of believers, and they will be transformed into the Church.

They will be clothed with God's power, and they will never be the same again. But in order to receive that baptism and power, they had to obey Jesus.

They had to exercise simple faith and obedience to Jesus command to return to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. They had to literally obey that in the Christian life. Hear me on this. It is impossible to grow into the deeper things of God apart from obeying God. And yet believers try to do it all the time.

Imagine your walk with Jesus, your faith journey as a straight and narrow path. At specific points, Jesus will put an obstacle in your way. And the only way through that obstacle will be to trust and obey Jesus. And until you choose to trust and obey him in that specific area, with that specific issue, your faith journey will become stationary. It will become stationary and stagnant.

But let me tell you what the overwhelming majority of Christians do is we fool ourselves. We deceive ourselves in two ways. First way we do it is we convince ourselves that we've just climbed over the obstacle. I didn't have to deal with it. I just climb right over it and carry on my mercy seat.

The truth is that we haven't. We're just pretending the obstacle isn't there. We're in denial. We haven't moved an inch. The second way, we deceive ourselves and this one man.

This is what we're at risk of. In a Church that loves the Bible the way we do and teaches verse by verse. We fool ourselves by continuing to add to our intellectual knowledge of God. That's how we fool ourselves, right? And we convince ourselves that we're growing in our faith journey because, oh, yeah, I'm really growing because I'm learning all these new things.

But you're not actually growing. You're just adding mental intellectual knowledge. There's nothing going on here. You're stuck in the same place because you're actually refusing to obey Jesus. But you keep diluting yourself into thinking that because I'm ending intellectual knowledge, I'm becoming more like Jesus.

Except you're not. And the people closest to you know it, and they can see it because you can't fake becoming more like Jesus for very long. I think I've got up to about 2 hours, and then it all just falls apart for me. You can't fake becoming more like you just can't keep it up. But we say, oh, yeah, come to Church, listen to Bible studies.

Add to my knowledge, add to my knowledge. I'm growing in my faith journey. No, you're not. You're just getting smarter. You're just learning more intellectual knowledge and trivia and history about the Bible.

But you're not actually becoming more like Jesus because you cannot grow. You cannot be sanctified to a greater degree while saying no to God. We deceive ourselves. Oh yeah. Making great strides in my faith journey, are you?

Are you? How ridiculous would it have been for someone who heard Jesus say, Return to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to respond by saying, oh, I want the deep things of God. I hunger for the deep things of God. But I'm going to go back to my home in Capernum. It would be ridiculous because that person's actions would not be lining up with their words.

It would be ridiculous because they would be claiming to want more of Jesus while simultaneously refusing to obey Jesus.

Let me be real here. Far too many Christians claim to want more of Jesus while simultaneously refusing to obey Jesus. Oh, I want more of Him. Well, this is what he wants you to do. Not going to do that, but I want more of Jesus.

Let me push some buttons.
I don't like to sing when the Church gets together, so I just stay silent. But I want the deep things of God. I'm not comfortable praying out loud with other Christians, but I want the deep things of God. I'm not willing to ever admit weakness or fear or failure to another believer. I'm not willing to admit or ask for help, but I want the deep things of God.

I know I'm being harsh to my spouse. I know I'm walking in bitterness, but I want the deep things of God. Just hunger for them. I don't go to home group because I don't feel like I get enough out of it hasn't even crossed my mind that maybe I should go to bless somebody else. And maybe it's not actually all about me.

I know Paul devoted an entire chapter One Corinthians Twelve to explaining how desperately I need my brothers and sisters. I know that Jesus great high priestly prayer in John 17 was for unity in the Church, but home group is not just for me, but I want the deep things of God. I know that God calls me to trust him with my finances and give sacrificially to his Church, but I'm not going to do that. But please don't take that as a sign that I'm not interested in the deep things of God. I'm all about the deep things of God.

Can't commit to serving a Church 2 hours every three weeks. It's just too much of a commitment. I know that means the most faithful members will just have to do more, but I'm okay with that. And please know I want the deep things of God. I can feel people thinking like, oh, that's typical.

That's all the Church wants. They just want your money. They just want you to serve and come to their services and programs. It's so much worse than that. Those things are the bare minimum.

We actually want you to devote your entire life, every day completely to Jesus. We actually want you to view everything you have as belonging to the Lord. But instead, most of the time we find ourselves trying to convince believers to do the bare minimum. But I want the deep things of God.

We're fooling ourselves acting like clowns some of the time. Instead, most of the Western Church seems to believe that by doing the bare minimum to show some evidence of Salvation, they're radically laying down their lives for the gospel. The Church is nowhere near all she could be because far too many believers refuse to obey the simple commands Jesus has already given.
I want a grad level course in Christianity. I want the deep things of God. You got to pass kindergarten first. We're having some trouble down here. Oh, but I'm really advanced.
I can skip those grades. No, you can't. No, you can't. Then you're just a fool among grad level students. Grow up in Christ.
Grow into maturity by saying yes to the Lord, by obeying the things you know he's already called you to do.

What are you even praying for? To discern the will of God for your life if you won't even obey the things he's already told you to do? What are we doing? I'm so excited about the Book of Acts to learn about the deep things of God. Are you ready for the deep things of God?

Are you? Or are we just going to be adding intellectual knowledge while we go through this? I have no interest in making you smarter. None. I mean that.
I'm so done. I am so done with playing Church. So done. I got no interest in that. None.

I told some dear friends the other day, I don't need friends. I need brothers and sisters. I can go to a gym and get friends. I need the Church. I want the Church to be all that it can be.
And I want to be part of that Church. And here's the thing. If you're offended by anything I'm saying, it's because you're not doing it. If you are, you're out there going, Amen. You're like, Kyle, you're like, this is hilarious.

If you're out there, you're mad at me or you're like, I am so tense right now. It's because this applies to you. And if I'm offending you by calling you to follow Jesus, we might need to have a conversation about what Church is. I can't believe I went to Church and they told me I should be obeying Jesus. Who does that guy think he is?

That's kind of what we do here. That's kind of what we do.
I want to be with people that want to follow Jesus. Whatever he wants, whatever it looks like I'm in. You need to know that this Church. You're my ride-or-die. This is it.

'Til Jess comes back to the end of the world, we're in it together. Some of you are like, "Is this where he reveals the compound they just purchased?" No, I'm not going there. Although I know at least half of you would be like, "I wish you would." but that's not where I'm going with that. Listen, Church - the deep things of God are not for the best, the brightest, the wealthiest, or those who've been going to Church for the longest amount of time. The deep things of God are for those who are willing to obey Jesus. Would you write that down? The deep things of God are for those who are willing to obey Jesus. When I say, I'm done playing Church, this is what I'm talking about.

There are Christians all over the world, have been Christians for decades, and they're stuck in kindergarten. They're flunking the test 40 years later, still won't do it. And there are Christians who have been Christians less than a year. And they're flying through the grades not because they're smarter, but because as soon as they learn that Jesus has asked them to do something, they're like, yes.

When Jesus says, hey, I need to ask, they're like, yes, whatever it is, I don't care. Whatever it is, yes, I'm in man. That should be an encouragement to you wherever you're at. The deep things of God are for those who are willing to obey Jesus. That's who they're for.

And we want the deep things of God in this Church. And so we're determined to obey Jesus, whatever that looks like. If there's an area of your life where you're not obeying Jesus and you know it repent and start coveting him, it's that simple. If you don't, your spiritual growth will become or has been for years, stagnant. You might grow in intellectual knowledge, but you will not grow in Christ likeness.
You won't actually become more like Jesus. You won't mature. The deep things of God are for those who are willing to obey Jesus. Listen, some of you have no idea the miracles that God wants to work in your life that are being held back by your disobedience. There are miracles that God wants to work in lives in this room that are being held back by disobedience.

Hear me on this. Obedience is the action of faith. Obedience is the action of faith. And the Word says that without faith it is impossible to please God. And without faith, we limit the power of God in our lives.

Remember when Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth and he said he could not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith?
Faith is not a feeling. It's not just a mindset. It's not just a belief. Faith is evidenced in obedience to Jesus. So don't delude yourself saying, "I'm a great man or woman of faith."

If you're not willing to obey Jesus, the person who has faith says, "Even if I don't understand it, even if it's scary, even if it's intimidating, even if it's hard, I'm willing to do it because I am a follower of Jesus. And so, where he leads, I follow." That's faith. Obedience is faith in action. Let me ask the worship team to come up. Let's pray together.

Would you buy your head and close your eyes?

Father, thank you so much for sending Jesus to take our place on the cross, to die in our place to pay for sins that we might be forgiven. And we know that it doesn't end there. You're the source of abundant life. And Jesus, you sent your spirit so that we could walk in that abundant life day by day. Lord, I pray that we would not play games with you, whether we're a new Christian or have been following you for decades.

Lord, if there is anything that you're calling us to do in obedience to you that we are not doing, would you show it to us clearly? If you haven't already done that during this time, would you illuminate it in our minds that we might repent and begin to obey you whether the issue is big or small? Jesus, we love you and we trust you. When you look at Gospel City Church, we want you to find people that are all in for loving you, serving you, whatever that looks like. Jesus, give us that heart.

Give us the heart that gripped 120 in that upper room where they were just so consumed with you. They were just so in love with you that you just eclipsed everything else in their lives. We want to love you like that, Lord, and we don't want to learn our way through the Book of Acts so that we can become smarter or no more Bible, trivia, or history. Lord, we want to learn what it means and what it looks like to follow you completely in practicality to be a Church that is sold out completely to you. So, we ask for what we know you already desire.

Lord, we ask that you would stir us to pray. We ask that you would bind our hearts together in genuine unity. Lord, we ask that we would be a Church that openly confesses to a man, to a woman, that we desperately need you. We desperately need you, and we don't care who knows it. And Lord, I pray that there would be people here today who would reach out and ask a brother or sister to pray with them today, that they might experience the promise of your word, that you give Grace to the humble.

So, Lord, would you pour out your Grace on your people as we believe in faith that there will be people in this room repenting people in this room asking for prayer? Lord, do it. Pour out your Grace upon us. Lord, make us the Church that you want us to? To be?

That you might be blessed? That you might be pleased? Because you deserve? Nothing? Less?
Than our whole hearts? And our whole lives? Jesus? Nothing less? You are so?
Worthy? God.
Pentecost...Date:5/29/22
Passage: Acts 2:1-13 ..Speaker: Jeff Thompson

Jeff walks through the miraculous events in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, explains the differences between being saved, regenerated, and baptized with the Holy Spirit, and discusses what happened when Jesus breathed on the Disciples in John 20:22.

Well, do you know that every single person is a theologian? Every single person, whether they're a Christian or not, every person is a theologian because theology is your set of beliefs about why the world is the way it is, why reality is what it is. So, everyone is a theologian. Some are terrible theologians, some are more informed theologians, some are less informed theologians. But today, especially as it is every time we gather in the Word. But today especially, we want to grow in our theology and understanding of the Holy Spirit. And that's what we're going to be doing this week and next week especially as well. And this is a theme that's going to come up a lot through the Book of Acts. So as always, let's just take that posture of asking the Lord to grow our understanding by the power of the Holy Spirit as we get into the Word today. Acts Chapter two is a monumental chapter in the Bible. It documents the birth of the Church and the moment the Holy Spirit entered the followers of Jesus for the first time. The contents of this chapter are, whether you know it or not, incredibly controversial within evangelical Christianity.

The issues raised in Acts Chapter Two have split churches and even denominations for over a century. Here at Gospel City, we are not committed to any denominational position. Our goal always is to discern what the word of God says itself as best we can. We belong to a denomination, but we don't hold any specific piece of theology because our denomination does. We are part of the denomination. We are because they hold a lot of the same theology that we do as well. But our goal is simply, what does the Bible say? What did Jesus want us to understand by it? And that's our goal today in Acts Chapter Two. So, we genuinely endeavor to leave our biases, our desires, our opinions at the door when we approach the Scriptures. And if we ever must change our theology in an area where we realize we've been wrong, we will, because the word of God has authority over all of us. So, we're going to work through Acts Chapter Two over the next couple of weeks methodically doing our best to bring clarity while being honest. When we run into mystery and ambiguity in today's message, each subject I discuss is going to build upon itself.

In other words, we'll need to understand each subject before we move on to the next. And this will continue into next week's study. So, if it ever seems like I'm taking a wild left turn, just hang with me because my reasons will be clarified later in the study. And if we discuss anything that raises questions for you, just know there's a good chance I'll address them in next week's study. But you can also write any questions you have about the Holy Spirit on your connection card, and I'll be able to see them before next Sunday as well. So don't miss next week. Do not miss next week. It's going to be an amazing week of Church together. So, let's start by talking about what it means to be saved. Write this down. It's your first filling. To be saved means to be rescued from eternal death by faith in God. To be saved means to be rescued from eternal death by faith in God. It is the gift of Salvation earned by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But how were people saved before the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? How were Abraham and Moses and David saved?
Why does the word Salvation show up over 100 times in the Old Testament? They were saved just as we are today by faith. They were placing their faith in God and trusting that he would provide a means of Salvation in the future. We are saved by placing our faith in God and trusting that he has provided a means of Salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Their faith was in what God would do. Our faith is in what God has done before the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The spirits of all those who died with their faith in God descended to the paradise side of Hades, where they waited for the day when God would provide payment for their sins, allowing them to ascend to the presence of God in heaven. Jesus alludes to this reality in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16. They could not yet ascend to heaven because their sins had not yet been paid for. That moment arrived when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. And at that time Jesus led all those old Covenant Saints out of Hades and into the presence of his Father in heaven.

Interestingly, the disciples were almost certainly saved under the old coveting. During the Ministry of Jesus, they unquestionably demonstrated faith in God and belief that he would send a Messiah. But most compellingly during his Ministry, Jesus speaks about them as though they are saved. In Matthew 12:47 to 49 - all the verses today will be on your outline, hence the double outline - we read, "Someone told him..." Someone told Jesus, "'Look! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside waiting to speak with you.' He replied to the one who was speaking to him, 'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?' Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here, are my mother and my brothers.'" Jesus refers to the disciples as "my brothers." They were not his biological brothers. Jesus referred to the reality that they were part of his heavenly Father's family before his death and resurrection. To be saved is to be part of the family and Kingdom of God. It is to be rescued from eternal death and delivered into eternal life. But being saved did not, on its own, back then, result in any fundamental earthly change to a person. Let me explain.

Their flesh would still be corrupted by sin as ours is, but their spirit would still be dead because of sin. And trying to follow God and walk in his ways with a corrupted body and a dead spirit was incredibly difficult, to say the least. It required extreme discipline, focus, and diligence, and almost nobody was able to do it under the Old Covenant for a lifetime. That's why we see Godly men do some very ungodly things across the pages of the Old Testament, David clearly loved the Lord, seemingly from the time he was a child. But his life was marked by some absolute train wrecks of sin and terrible judgment. And you can say the same thing about almost every central Old Testament character except Joseph and Daniel. And I'm not talking about sins before they were saved and placed their faith in God. I'm talking about catastrophic sins like murder and repeated adultery after serving the Lord for years and seeing him work incredible miracles. Part of the reason for that trend in the Old Testament is the reality that while those men were saved, they could not be regenerated. Regenerated this is your next feeling.

To be regenerated is to have the Spirit of God join himself to your dead spirit and bring it to life with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, transforming your body into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Let me say it again. To be regenerated is to have the Spirit of God join himself to your dead spirit and bring it to life with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, transforming your body into a temple of the Holy Spirit. When you've been regenerated, you are connected to God in a completely new way because your spirit is now as much his as it is yours.
Why does the word Salvation show up over 100 times in the Old Testament? They were saved just as we are today by faith. They were placing their faith in God and trusting that he would provide a means of Salvation in the future. We are saved by placing our faith in God and trusting that he has provided a means of Salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Their faith was in what God would do. Our faith is in what God has done before the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The spirits of all those who died with their faith in God descended to the paradise side of Hades, where they waited for the day when God would provide payment for their sins, allowing them to ascend to the presence of God in heaven. Jesus alludes to this reality in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16. They could not yet ascend to heaven because their sins had not yet been paid for. That moment arrived when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. And at that time Jesus led all those old Covenant Saints out of Hades and into the presence of his Father in heaven.

Interestingly, the disciples were almost certainly saved under the old coveting. During the Ministry of Jesus, they unquestionably demonstrated faith in God and belief that he would send a Messiah. But most compellingly during his Ministry, Jesus speaks about them as though they are saved. In Matthew 12:47 to 49 - all the verses today will be on your outline, hence the double outline - we read, "Someone told him..." Someone told Jesus, "'Look! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside waiting to speak with you.' He replied to the one who was speaking to him, 'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?' Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here, are my mother and my brothers.'" Jesus refers to the disciples as "my brothers." They were not his biological brothers. Jesus referred to the reality that they were part of his heavenly Father's family before his death and resurrection. To be saved is to be part of the family and Kingdom of God. It is to be rescued from eternal death and delivered into eternal life. But being saved did not, on its own, back then, result in any fundamental earthly change to a person. Let me explain.

Their flesh would still be corrupted by sin as ours is, but their spirit would still be dead because of sin. And trying to follow God and walk in his ways with a corrupted body and a dead spirit was incredibly difficult, to say the least. It required extreme discipline, focus, and diligence, and almost nobody was able to do it under the Old Covenant for a lifetime. That's why we see Godly men do some very ungodly things across the pages of the Old Testament, David clearly loved the Lord, seemingly from the time he was a child. But his life was marked by some absolute train wrecks of sin and terrible judgment. And you can say the same thing about almost every central Old Testament character except Joseph and Daniel. And I'm not talking about sins before they were saved and placed their faith in God. I'm talking about catastrophic sins like murder and repeated adultery after serving the Lord for years and seeing him work incredible miracles. Part of the reason for that trend in the Old Testament is the reality that while those men were saved, they could not be regenerated. Regenerated this is your next feeling.

To be regenerated is to have the Spirit of God join himself to your dead spirit and bring it to life with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, transforming your body into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Let me say it again. To be regenerated is to have the Spirit of God join himself to your dead spirit and bring it to life with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, transforming your body into a temple of the Holy Spirit. When you've been regenerated, you are connected to God in a completely new way because your spirit is now as much his as it is yours.
This was impossible for Old Covenant Saints because God's presence and spirit cannot cohabitate with sin. But when Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, he made a way for those who placed their faith in him to be made righteous, making it possible for the Holy Spirit to join himself to our dead spirit, bringing us to life with the abundant life that is found only in God. Regeneration is a onetime event. That's why Jesus described it to Nicodemus, who was already saved as being born again.

Regeneration is irreversible. God's spirit is now bound to ours, which is why Two Timothy 213 declares, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Once you've been regenerated, God's spirit will never leave you because his spirit can't leave you. His spirit is so inexorably bound to yours that separation is impossible.
That's why Paul tells Timothy, God can't deny you or abandon you any more than he could deny or abandon himself. God has adopted us. He has brought us into his family by joining his spirit to ours. He has put his spiritual DNA in us. If you could draw a spirit sample the same way you can draw a blood sample and run a spiritual DNA test the way you can run a physical DNA test. The doctor would say of you and me, the results show you are clearly a son of God. You are clearly a daughter of God. It's in your DNA. Isn't that just incredible? It's incredible. You don't have to hope that God will stick with you.

He can't leave you because he is part of you.

And in a mystical way, he has made you part of him. This is what Paul writes about in Romans Eight when he says, you received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba Father, the Spirit himself, testifies with our Spirit that we are God's children. And if children then also heirs, heirs of Christ, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ. Regeneration binds our Spirit to the Lord, brings us into his family, makes us his child, and establishes our relationship with our loving heavenly Father. You cannot be born again, You cannot be born again and then be unborn again, again.
Regeneration is an irreversible one-time event. Before the death and resurrection of Jesus, people could place their faith in God and be saved, but they could not be regenerated. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, every person who places their faith in him is saved and simultaneously regenerated. Let's talk about some of the benefits of regeneration. In John 16, Jesus told his disciples, "It is for your benefit that I go away because if I don't go away, the counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you."

He's speaking of the Holy Spirit, and he makes an astounding claim. Jesus says, "It's better for you to be regenerated and have the Holy Spirit than to have me in the flesh on the Earth." Why? Because when Jesus was on the Earth in a human body, the presence of God was confined to the geographical location of the body of Jesus. But when he sent them the Holy Spirit, his presence would be with them in all places, at all times, in all circumstances. That is what you call a benefit. We are regenerated. We have God's spirit in our lives forever and always.
No matter what, we are always connected to God. I shared that regeneration makes us a child of God. It places us in his family and puts us in a relationship with our loving heavenly Father. In Ephesians 113, Paul wrote, when you believed at the moment you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. The seal that Paul is referring to is the seal an owner would place on his cargo before he shipped it. He had a Signet ring that he would push into hot wax on his cargo and the only person who could claim the cargo when it reached its destination was someone who had the same Signet ring.
Paul says, "Listen, when you put your faith in Jesus, you're saved. You were regenerated, you were sealed. The Holy Spirit is God sealing, marking us as his property, and guaranteeing that death cannot claim us. Instead, our journey will end with Jesus claiming us and keeping us with him for all eternity." I also mentioned that his spirit brings our dead spirit to life, giving us a spirit that now desires the things of God, the best things for us. Now our spirit still has to battle our sinful flesh, but praise God, at least now we have a spirit that loves and desires the truth. There are other benefits to being a temple of the Holy Spirit. In that verse in John 16 that I read, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the counselor. And later in that same chapter, Jesus tells his disciple, when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify me because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you. When we need wise counsel, The Holy Spirit is available to us when we need to understand the word of God. The Holy Spirit helps us when we need to hear from God. The Holy Spirit speaks to us. The Holy Spirit is available to help us think and process with a heavenly mind rather than an earthly mind. Instead of having our thoughts only filtered through our sinful flesh, we can now actually choose to have them filtered through the mind of Christ. And not only is the Holy Spirit available to counselors with knowledge, but he's also available to counsel us with comfort. In Philippians Four, Paul writes, don't worry about anything. Instead, in everything through prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit urges us to bring our worries and our burdens to our Heavenly Father in prayer. And when we do, the Holy Spirit comforts our hearts and our minds with the supernatural peace of God.

In John 16:8, Jesus tells us more about the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, saying, when he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment. In the Church age, the Holy Spirit is always working on unbelievers. He is continually working to convict them of sin and reveal their desperate need for forgiveness and the righteousness of Jesus to commit the only unforgivable sin. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to reject the Holy Spirit when he convicts you and reveals your need of Jesus to you it's unforgivable because you cannot be saved. Apart from accepting the invitation of the Holy Spirit to be saved in the believer's life, the Holy Spirit also convicts us of sin. When we grieve the heart of God by choosing sin over him, the Holy Spirit convicts us that we might be drawn back to Christ, repent and experience his forgiveness. The Holy Spirit convicts us that we might live free in Christ rather than return to the slavery of sin. These are just some of the most notable benefits of being regenerated. Being Born Again in First Corinthians 1:2, Paul shares two verses that bring clarity to what is going to happen on Pentecost in Acts chapter two.

It's on your outline again, One Corinthians 1212, Paul says, for just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many are one body, so also is Christ. The body Paul is speaking of here is the Church. He goes on and says, for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves are free, and we were all given one spirit to drink. It's clear and scholars agree that Paul is not speaking of water baptism because he says, we were all baptized by one spirit.
It's on your outline again, One Corinthians 1212, Paul says, for just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many are one body, so also is Christ. The body Paul is speaking of here is the Church. He goes on and says, for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves are free, and we were all given one spirit to drink. It's clear and scholars agree that Paul is not speaking of water baptism because he says, we were all baptized by one spirit. Paul describes a baptism not done by men, but by the Holy Spirit. And here's the real key. It's the word all. Paul writes, we were all baptized by one spirit and we were all given one spirit to drink. And as you Greek scholars know, the original meaning of the word all is all. That's right. Paul emphatically States, this is the key. Paul is saying that every member of the Church, every person who is part of the family and Kingdom of God, every believer, every Christian has been baptized by the Spirit. To say it another way, write this down.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus, then you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. And that points to the baptism of the Spirit being a type of synonym, another way of referring to regeneration, another way of referring to being born again. They're all the same thing, and they're all referring to the moment when the Holy Spirit enters a person's life, joins their dead spirit, and brings it to life with resurrection power, regeneration, being born again, being baptized by the Holy Spirit. It's all a simultaneous event. In Acts chapter one, verses four and five, right before Jesus ascends back to heaven, he repeats an instruction to his disciples. It says, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Father's promise, which he said, you have heard me speak about, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days. Jesus was telling them to wait for the Holy Spirit, who in just a few days would regenerate them and make them born again. And Jesus refers to this glorious transformation as being baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is going to take place on Pentecost in Acts chapter two.

The disciples will become the first men and women to be born again. This is why the Scriptures never instruct us to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Did you know that we're commanded to repent. We're commanded to believe in Jesus. We are commanded to be baptized with water, but we are never commanded to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because if we repent and believe, we are automatically baptized with the Holy Spirit as we pick things up in Acts chapter two, verse one. The disciples of Jesus have been saved under the Old Covenant, but they haven't been regenerated, and they are now following Jesus final instructions by waiting in Jerusalem to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Born again, regenerated, verse one. When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Pentecost means 50th. It's the New Testament name for the Hebrew Feast of Weeks, also known as the Feast of the Harvest, celebrated 50 days after Passover. The purpose of this feast was to commemorate the giving of the Law, the time in history when, after freeing them from slavery in Egypt, God met with Israel at Mount Sinai and gave them his commands through Moses, most famously, the Ten Commandments.
And these Commandments would form the basis of Israel's Covenant relationship with God. These Commandments laid out how Israel was to live and function as God's people, as individuals, families, and as society. It was a special revelation from heaven, a sacred dispensation remembered at the annual feast of Pentecost at Mount Sinai. Pentecost inaugurated the age of the Law in Acts chapter two. Pentecost will inaugurate the age of the Church. The 120 disciples of Jesus who were in Jerusalem for Pentecost are all together in the upper room praying and worshiping God as described in Acts chapter, verses 14- 15, we read suddenly a sound underline the words sound. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. Understand this. It's not a violent rushing wind. It's a sound like that of a violent rushing wind as they're praying. Suddenly the roaring sound of a mighty wind fills the room. Verse three. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on underlying each one of them. Each one of them. Before the Ministry of Jesus began, John the Baptist appeared at the Jordan River in Bethubara and began preaching a message of repentance, calling people to prepare their hearts for the imminent arrival of the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the Lamb of God, who would be Jesus.

And all the way back then, John told the crowd this. He said, I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who's coming after me is more powerful than I. I'm not worthy to remove his sandals, he himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. John the Baptist was prophesying about the events we read in Acts chapter two. Now why fire appearing above everyone's heads? Let me share a couple of observations. Bible students will likely be aware that fire often represents the righteous judgment of God in the Scriptures. And so I suggest that what we have here is in some ways a picture of God's judgment coming upon every believer in the upper room. And yet they are not consumed, they don't die. Why? What's changed? Well, the blood of Jesus has covered their sins, so God's Spirit, including his righteous judgment, can rest on them without consuming them. Because their spirits are spotless, they've become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The Old Testament also records instances where God's presence appeared as fire. I think of the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites at night throughout their wilderness wanderings.

The Word says that God's presence came down in fire on Mount Sinai at the time of the first Pentecost. Exodus 20 417 says, the appearance of the Lord's glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. I think of the time God appeared to Moses in the burning Bush in Exodus chapter three. The miracle that astounded Moses and drew him to the burning Bush was that it was burning, yet it was not consumed. And as he approached, what did the Lord say to Moses? He said, Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is Holy ground. God said, My presence is here, therefore this place is Holy. On Pentecost, the presence of God didn't appear in a Bush. It came upon believers, and the message this time was, My presence is in you, therefore you are Holy. That's the miracle of the gospel. It transforms our spirits from cemeteries into temples of the living God. The phrase Each one of them is so important because the primary reason for this visual manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit is to make it evident to everyone that the same thing was happening to everyone.
Nobody could say it happened only to the uppercase D disciples, not the lowercase D disciples. Nobody could say something more powerful happened to the men than happened to the woman. The tongues of fire made it clear that the Holy Spirit was doing the same work in every person who had placed their faith in Jesus, binding them together on equal footing in unity as the Church by giving them the same Holy Spirit, the tongues of fire. Write this down. The tongues of fire showed that the Holy Spirit was being given equally to each member of the Church. It was being given equally to each member of the Church. Verses four, same theme continues. Then they were all underlying, all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, different languages, as the Spirit enabled them. Those in the upper room are praising God when they are regenerated, when they're born again, when they're baptized with the Holy Spirit, they continue praising God as it happens. But their speech suddenly and miraculously changes into different tongues. Different languages. They don't know the word says they were being enabled by the Spirit to do this.

If you come from a charismatic or Pentecostal Church tradition, you'll be familiar with the issue of whether these different tongues are earthly languages or a heavenly language. And if you've never heard that, then you're like, wait, what? We're not going to get into that question today. We are going to get into it next week. But for today I want us to focus on the effect of these different tongue. So let's keep reading. In verse is now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. So religious Jews from all over the world had made the journey to celebrate Pentecost in Jerusalem. So the city was packed with hundreds of thousands of visitors from different ethnicities and cultures who spoke different languages. When the sound, the sound of the believers in the upper room praising God. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded and amazed saying, look, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia Pontus, in Asia, Phrygia and Pamphilia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Sierraine.

Visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts, Cretans and Arabs. Underline this we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues. The word tongues there means literally languages in Greek. Those from countries to the west would have spoken Greek under the Roman Empire, while those from the Parthian Empire to the east would have spoken Aramaic. But it seems the 120 were praising God in more specific local dialects than those Empire wide languages, as the 120 would have likely been well acquainted with Greek and Aramaic. People passing by the upper room are amazed for two reasons. Firstly, they're amazed to hear such a large group 120 praising God in their native tongue. Some of these native dialects were only spoken in an incredibly small geographic area. The equivalent I think in our context would be like if you take a look at one of the First Nations bands that has their own language and at their peak there were a few thousand who spoke this language. It would be like that type of thing, somebody from a group that size going into Jerusalem and seeing 120 people praising God in their own language, they're astounded.

Secondly, they're amazed. We're told to see that they were Galileans. Now we don't know what the visual giveaway was, but somehow they could tell by looking at them, they were Galileans, and you might recall that Galileans had a very peculiar accent. It was what betrayed Peter to the servant girl the night that Jesus was arrested. And the Galilean accent seems to have been considered very unsophisticated. I was trying to think of a good comparison, and the only one I could think of was the way that someone might view a Northern British accent. I don't know if you watched any British TV shows, but there are somewhere there's characters from Northern England and Charlene, and I have the subtitles on speaking English. We can't understand anything that they're saying at all. It's like an assault on the ears. And yet those passing by the 120 hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God with perfect fluency in their local dialect. This would be like, I don't know if you can imagine an accent from Newcastle in Northern England in your head, but this would be like hearing 120 geordis from Newcastle praising God in flawless French or Italian.

It would just be, what in the world is going on? Based on the text, it doesn't seem that those who are passing by are picking out the odd voice in their tongue from the 120. It seems from the text that each person is hearing the whole group praising God in their native language. It says we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues. Now, whatever the specifics may be, this is clearly an astonishing miracle. The house with the upper room would have been in the Eastern part of Jerusalem, close to the Mount of Olives.
That means the streets would have been narrow. Later in this chapter, Peter is going to preach to thousands in response to what has happened. Given the logistics of space and the number of people involved, it seems likely that at some point the 120 moved out of the upper room to a larger outdoor area, where they continued praising God. Possibly one of the courtyards around the temple somewhere that could support an audience of thousands.
In verse twelve we see God using this astounding phenomenon to arouse the curiosity of those in Jerusalem in preparation for Peter's sermon, which will be delivered beginning in verse 14.

Verse twelve reads that the crowd was all astonished and perplexed, saying to one another, what does this mean? God does this miracle to get the crowd's attention and clarify that something supernatural, something miraculous is taking place. And when we reach verse 14, we'll see the same Holy Spirit that has gathered this crowd prompt Peter to preach to this crowd in verse 13. But some sneered and said, oh, they're drunk on new wine. Those who have no interest in the truth are generally unable to recognize it even when it's right in front of them. Such was the case with the religious leaders who accused the Son of God of being possessed by the devil. Some who witnessed this miracle quickly dismissed it as drunken chaos, though nothing could have been further from the truth. At Babel, the Lord divided humanity into ethnic groups with different languages, and he did this because United humanity was only using their unity to dream up even greater acts of evil and rebellion against God. So, divisions were created by the Lord to limit humanity's potential for wickedness. But when Jesus sent his Church, the Holy Spirit, on Pentecost, something began to change.
God said, when my Spirit is in you, though I can bring you together across ethnicities, across cultures, across languages, around the cross, around the gospel, and the result won't be greater wickedness. When my Spirit is in you, the result will be greater righteousness as you come together. And as we learned in our study of revelation, when Jesus returns to rain on the Earth for the duration of the Millennium, he will restore a common language. Because again, no more will it be used by man to dream up greater acts of evil, but it will be used for greater righteousness. Now we need to backtrack one more subject we need to hit on today as we work our way this week and next week through Acts chapter two, we need to backtrack a little bit to clear something up. In the chronology of events in the Bible, Luke 24 and John chapter 20 described Jesus' first post-resurrection appearance to the disciples. It was resurrection Sunday, but they didn't know yet that Jesus was alive. The disciples are sheltering in place in the upper room, undoubtedly trying to figure out what to do next. They're terrified that the same religious leaders and Romans who conspired to murder Jesus are conspiring to murder them.

Jesus appears out of thin air in their midst in his resurrected and glorified body to prove he's not an apparition. He invites them to touch him, and he eats food in front of them. In John chapter 20, we read that Jesus said to them, again, Peace be with you as the Father has sent me. I also send you. After saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. Naturally, the question arises, well, hang on a minute. In Acts one five, Jesus tells his disciples to wait in Jerusalem to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. John chapter 20 takes place weeks before Pentecost. So what's going on here when Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, Receive the Holy Spirit? I came from Church traditions that taught regeneration and the baptism of the Holy Spirit as separate events, and they would teach that the disciples were regenerated when Jesus breathed on them and baptized by the Holy Spirit in a separate event on Pentecost. Again, the problem with that is One Corinthians 12/12 and 13, which we read earlier, where Paul tells us explicitly that all believers have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, making it clear that regeneration and baptism by the Holy Spirit are the same events.

We also noticed that all the 120 in the upper room have the same experience on Pentecost, right? It's not like the eleven disciples who were breathed on by Jesus weeks earlier have a different experience from the rest of the 120 because they've already been regenerated. All 120 have the same experience in Acts chapter two. They're all regenerated, born again, baptized by the Holy Spirit together at the same time by design so that it would be clear that the Church is being birthed at that moment. But the question persists, then what was Jesus doing when he breathed on the disciples on Resurrection Day? Well, both Luke 24 and John 20 record things that Jesus said in the upper room when he appeared to the disciples on Resurrection Day. Not everything recorded in both Gospels is the same. None of it contradicts. It's just like if you had two witnesses to a conversation and you said, I want you to write down the three most important things from this conversation. They might not write down the same three things, but that doesn't mean that either of them is lying. It just means they noticed different things. That's the case in Luke 24 and John 20.
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bcjenny

somewhere in B.C., British Columbia, Canada

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