No Holding Us Back

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NO HOLDING US BACK

Acts 2:22-28

22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'  

NIV

 

Peter is quoting David to prove what he just said. But before he talked about Jesus being alive, Peter makes sure to remind them that God sent Jesus for the express reason to go to the cross. Peter states that it was God who handed him over to them and with the help of wicked men, the Romans, for in the sight of God, all men who refuse to accept Jesus are classified by God as wicked. Of course, the Jews that handed him over to the Romans would be seen as wicked as well. It is interesting that Peter says that in death there is agony. The Greek word translated here as agony, means pain, as in the pain of childbirth, but this Greek word is also akin to the word for grief. Combining this we would understand that death holds pain, agony, and grief. Other translations use pains, horrors, pangs, and agony. The idea is that death is not a pleasant experience if one is held within its grip or held in the grave. But by the power of God, Jesus was loosed from the pain of death. The grave could not hold him because God raised him up to life. Once again, we understand the Jews, which would have included David, believed the spirit of a dead person hung around for three days and in that time the body would not start to decay. We see that when Jesus raised Lazarus, his friend, from the grave, Lazarus had already been dead for four days, and Mary knew that he already had an odor for he had begun to decay. David knew that Jesus’s body would not decay for God did not abandon him either on the cross or in the grave. This gives us great hope, well actually the great assurance that God will not abandon us to the grave either, and we will not see decay. Peter is going to explain all this next so will wait for that. But for now, we have that great assurance that our Savior lives, that we serve a living Savior who is in the world today, although in the physical sense he sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, the point is Jesus is not in the grave. David makes the point that it is God who made known David’s path in life and it is God who fills David with joy in his presence. First, we also know that God will make known to us our path in life, we only have to listen and follow where he leads us. Second, we also know that there can only be joy in the presence of God. As we have God, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are forever, all the time, in the presence of God, and we know that one of the fruit the Spirit manifests within us is joy. So, we come back to the fact that God will always be with us, and that includes the moment of our last breath, and we will leave this corruptible body behind as it will become incorruptible and imperishable. We cannot fully grasp how all that works, considering that even as believers we are stuffed into a coffin or cremated and filled into an urn. But with the power of God, all things are possible, and we will be with our Lord when we leave this place, for death cannot hold us, we will not be held back.

Poured Out

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

POURED OUT

Acts 2:17-21

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

NIV

Just one more thing about this quote Peter used in his Sermon to the crowd that had gathered because of all the disciples speaking in all those different dialects. Well, maybe a couple of things. First, we who are filled with the Spirit will prophesy. This would mean the Spirit will inspire our words at times. We do believe we can hold back that Spirit, which we are warned not to quench the Spirit. Sometimes it looks as though the church, in general, has done just that so the spirit of man can have more to say than the Spirit of God. Nevertheless, man cannot do what only God can, and someday God is going to reveal his power in a way no one can refute. We may not understand just how the heavens will display blood and fire and billows of smoke, but it is going to happen. The thing is that this is not going to be a local event, such as the storms are today. The whole world from New York to Los Angeles and on to Beijing and around to Moscow and Paris, as well as down under in Sydney, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro. Every eye will see this, depending on the time, some will see the sun become dark, no light upon the earth or the moon will turn to blood. Then, whoever is still alive is going to go through the most horrible experiences which are all outlined for us in the vision or revelation of Jesus Christ that was given to John. We have nothing to worry about whatsoever because we have already called on the name of the Lord and we have already been saved. We will witness this coming great and glorious day of the Lord, but we will be looking from a different perspective than all the world who has rejected his name. However, in calling on the name of the Lord, it should also mean the promised Spirit is dwelling within us and that would also mean He will and does manifest His gifts in our lives, which included those Paul lists in this letter to the Corinthians. All these are from the same Spirit and are for the common good. They are a message of wisdom, knowledge, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discerning between spirits, tongues, Interpretations, and prophecy. We would think if men do not quench the Spirit so that their spirit can have its own way, we would see the power of the Spirit manifested in the children of God today, for the Spirit has not left us, nor has He forsaken us, but He is a gentleman and will not force Himself upon us. We must be willing to submit to every aspect of God, including having the Spirit poured out upon us. So, how do we handle this in this modern church, especially in those denominations which are not what we would consider accepting the doctrine of Pentecostalism? Do we say we believe in the gifts of the Spirit, but just do not allow the Spirit to manifest them? In order words, we believe in the gifts, we just do not practice them. It is puzzling in some sense. Many denominations speak of the power of the Spirit in the believers' life, empowering them and leading them into all truth. They mention the fact the Spirit brings his fruit and gifts to the believer.  What should we do? How do we live according to the truth, if we do not see His fruit or His gifts? It is puzzling. Still, he has been poured out. 

The Last Days

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE LAST DAYS

Acts 2:14-21

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'  

NIV

Having considered the fact that Peter was filled with the power of the Spirit and boldly proclaimed this truth, we need to ponder on his sermon. First, we should examine just what is meant by “In the last days”. In Greek, it reads “In the final days”, however, in all the other translations we have, they use last days. Although the last days, do work well, we prefer to see them as the final days. Now, what exactly are the final days? Because Peter referred to Joel and that what Joel prophesied, starting with, "In the last days” and Peter was making the point that what had just happened, was because it was now in the last or final days. Then we would have to believe the final days started on that day of Pentecost when the Spirit came into the house as a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire settled on each of them and they all began to speak a different dialect. We also have to believe that because days are still occurring, that is the “Last day” has not come yet, that we are living in the final days. This would mean that God has and is pouring out his Spirit on all people, which would include us, especially because we are His people since we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So, we have the Spirit of God poured out on us, and therefore it would only seem right that there should be some evidence. Peter gives the proof of God pouring out his Spirit because of all the believers speaking in dialects, tongues, or languages from all over the nations. If those who propose that evidence stopped with the disciples and it is not for today, then they must believe the last days are over, and we all are living in the days after the last days, and then we would have missed it all and are left to our own, without God, without Jesus, and without the Spirit. We simply cannot accept that theology, for we know the Spirit because He dwells within and we feel his presence and experience His influence, His leading, and inspiration. In addition, we know for a fact that the “Last Day” has not yet arrived, so we have to know that we are living in the “Last days” the “final days”, however long a period of time that is, only the Father knows. He will determine whenever the “Last days” finish with the “Last Day” when all things on earth with end, and all people will be judged according to their deeds. Whether they accepted or rejected Jesus is the only deed to be judged and rewarded for. In the meantime, we rejoice in having the Spirit poured out on us because we live in the “Last days” 

The Power of the Spirit

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

Acts 2:13-21

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'  

NIV

Peter, filled with the Spirit, being one of those who were speaking in other dialects now took advantage of, through the inspiration and power of the Spirit, stood with the eleven and raised his voice. Before we get into the beginning of Peter’s most excellent sermon, which did not come from many hours of preparation, but simply was empowered by the Spirit, we should consider just that very thing. Although we would have to say that Peter did spend some three years in seminary, so to speak, with the greatest teacher ever known to man. Peter was filled with many experiences that he was an eyewitness to and so with that, he had much to draw from as the Spirit gave him the power to say. Is this not our story? We do not have the eyewitness experience with Jesus as Peter did, but we do have years of experience being filled with the Spirit, as well, as somewhat of a knowledge of the scripture. Although we have enough to know all about Jesus and what happened to him and who he is and what he did for all of us. Sometimes we want to consider all the rules and regulations that we as Christians are supposed to pay attention to. We spend time making lists of things we should not be doing, and we think our goodness is dependent on the number of good deeds that we do. We know the gift of God is free and we cannot earn it, and some would say that we do these good things out of love for the Lord. However, as we will examine in more detail the sermon of Peter, he warned the people about living in a corrupt world and their only hope was to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and then they would receive the gift of the Spirit. This would be just as Peter and the others received this gift of the Spirit as promised by Jesus. We need to be living more in the Spirit so that all we know, all our study under the teaching of Jesus will be brought to our attention so we can boldly stand under the influence and power of the Spirit and proclaim the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

Bewildered by Praise

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BEWILDERED BY PRAISE

Acts 2:5-12

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

NIV

These are fifteen different regions, each with its own language and because of the power of the Spirit, men who normally speak the dialect of Galilee. We think it is interesting that most of these men that were in Jerusalem from all over the nations were devoted Jews. These men from all those other nations most likely spoke Hebrew originally, but either adopted the native tongue of the nation they now lived in or had created a combination of some form of Hebrew combined with another dialect, or simply had their own dialect of Hebrew. We are not sure these Galileans spoke a different language, as the Greek word here is dialektos, which is clearly where we get the English word dialect. It could mean language, but considering all that heard these Galileans were God-fearing Jews who, although they may have adopted a new language, would be familiar with Hebrew. Nevertheless, the point is the power of the Spirit enabled uneducated men, who were looked down upon, as we have references to, such as can anything good come out of Nazareth. This should also give us a clue as to what it means about being Pentecostal or accepting the power of the Spirit in the modern church with the evidence of other tongues, or another dialect. The point here is that when this happens it will and should be an act of giving praise to God. Paul made this very clear that tongues is man talking to God, and someone must be able to understand what was said, to interpret those words or dialect that were praising God. Prophecy, on the other hand, is God talking to man. If someone speaks what they think is the interpretation and starts with something like, “This is what the Lord says” they are not interpreting what was said by the person speaking some dialect. Everything is done through the power of the Spirit and this day he caused the men from Galilee to praise God in fifteen different dialects they did not know. This is but one demonstration of what the power of the Spirit can do and to think that we have that same Spirit dwelling within us. Should we not feel His power coursing through us? Could we have suppressed His power, wanting to exert our own pitifully weak power? That would be absolutely stupid to think our power is capable of doing anything. Jesus said that apart from Him we can do nothing, so why would we not want the Spirit to manifest all his power in and through us, showing his gifts to the world, using his gifts to lead us into a living praise that will bewilder all men, enough to gather to see and hear what we have to say. 

The Arrival

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE ARRIVAL

Acts 2:1-4

2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

NIV

The Day of Pentecost, fifty days after the feast of the first fruits which from our understanding was the Passover meal during the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. Again, depending on how we count the days, after his resurrection he spent forty days showing himself to many people, then after his ascension, it was either those nine or ten days the one hundred and twenty were all together and they cast lots after prayer, selecting Mattias to replace Judas. Now the fiftieth day arrives and here comes the promise. The Spirit Arrives and he does so in style with a sound from heaven. The best that Luke can describe it is as it sounded like a mighty rushing of wind that filled the whole house. It is interesting that most of us see the effects of the wind outside as we stand in the stillness of our home, looking out a window. But here the wind came into the house, filled it, which must have been almost terrifying, but at the same time miraculous. Then as this wind was swirling around a fire came with it and was again lapping around like flames usually do, separating into various points, and this fire separated, and as it is described a small portion of the fire sat upon each person’s head. Their hair was not set on fire, the flame or lips, or tongues of fire simply rested on them. However, the Spirit, who is one of the three of the Godhead, who is omnipresent came upon or entered to dwell within each one of them. The result was each one of them began to speak a language they had not learned, or knew, at least that is the best way to explain it. Therefore, the people of today who are called Pentecostals believe in the doctrine of Glossolalia or speaking in tongues. There is a great divide among modern Christians over this doctrine, some accepting and some rejecting it. The division is centered around whether this was just for the disciples at that time or that it is for the church throughout all the ages. The problem with wanting it to only be for those of that time and then it stopped is that then we have to examine every act within the Bible and determine if it stopped and when it did and what is still in effect for us. Could that mean salvation was just for them then and not for us now? If we believe one thing is for all people in all times, then we should believe all things are for all people in all times and that would mean we believe that once we have been baptized in or by the Spirit, all his gifts and fruit are to be manifested in us. This would include all His gifts, not just a few, so speaking in tongues should be one of the gifts of the Spirit which is evident in the church today. We simply have to accept His arrival in our lives. 

Let the Lord Choose

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LET THE LORD CHOOSE

Acts 1:15-26

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry." 18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.'   21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." 23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

NIV

Even before the Spirit comes upon them, Peter seems to be taking a leading role. Of course, he was the one who when asked by Jesus, when they were in Caesarea Philippi, as to who do you say I am, Peter said that you are the Son of the Living God. Jesus made the statement when he was still called Simon, that his name would be Peter and upon this rock, he would build his church. Peter was also one of the three that Jesus took with him up the mountain when he was transfigured. There is so much more we could recount about Peter that would seem to point us to him being one of the more outspoken and having leadership qualities. We also know that After the Spirit it was Peter who stood up and preached a great salvation message and thousands accepted the Lord that day. Therefore, it would be fitting that Peter was the one who pointed out the scriptures about Judas and the fact they needed to replace him because Jesus had chosen twelve and now there were only eleven. It is interesting this was a very important choice and they did not want to act on their own, so they prayed. It is also interesting they already knew from their spending those years with Jesus that he was the Son of God and he was divine and all-knowing, for their prayer including or that was the extent of their prayer. “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two men who you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs”. That was it, short and sweet and to the point. They did not thank God for the day, or the night, or the Stars in the sky, or for blessing them, or anything to do with anything else other than the need at hand to choose one of two men who were proposed because they too had witnessed all of the time of Jesus’s ministry. These two had been with Jesus from the beginning to the end. They wanted Jesus to choose which one it would be. It is interesting they then cast lots. Not sure exactly if that is like voting, or more like tossing dice. The Roman soldiers cast lots for the robe of Jesus, that was not a vote, but some form of who gets the shorter straw, or throwing sticks on the ground, or maybe even like drawing stones from a hat, so see who gets the white stone, from among all black stones. It is a sort of a game a chance, but they could not depend on themselves to make the choice, so this gave the Lord the control as to whom the lot fell. This should give us the clue that we too should not be making any important decision without conferring with the Lord. Once again, we do not need to pray for everything and anything else other than for the choice that is before us. God is not impressed with our fancy or the number of words we can say in prayer. In fact, Jesus talked about the Pharisees who stood on the streets so as to be seen and heard by men. Jesus went on to say that we should not go on babbling like the pagans because they think they are heard because of their many words. We believers may have been caught up in this type of thinking that if we use a lot of words, we are considered a good prayer. We think maybe it would be better to simply pray for the one need at hand and leave it at that, short and sweet. God knows the rest.