[Linux4christians] Monday - Acts 2:1-2:41

Sun Oct 9 20:52:54 EDT 2011

    Monday

      *Acts 2:1-2:41*

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

2:1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in 
one place. 2:2 Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from 
heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 2:3 And 
tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on 
each one of them. 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and 
they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.

2:5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing 
in Jerusalem. 2:6 When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in 
confusion, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 2:7 
Completely baffled, they said, "Aren't all these who are speaking 
Galileans? 2:8 And how is it that each one of us hears them in our own 
native language? 2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of 
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, 2:10 
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and 
visitors from Rome, 2:11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs -- 
we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has 
done!" 2:12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one 
another, "What does this mean?" 2:13 But others jeered at the speakers, 
saying, "They are drunk on new wine!"

Peter's Address on the Day of Pentecost

2:14 But Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed 
them: "You men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and 
listen carefully to what I say. 2:15 In spite of what you think, these 
men are not drunk, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 2:16 But 
this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:

2:17 '/*And*/ in the last days /*it will be,*/' /*God says,*/

'/*that I will pour out my Spirit on all people,*/

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

*and your old men will dream dreams*.

2:18 /*Even on my servants,*/ /*both men and women,*/

*I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy*.

2:19 /*And I will perform wonders in the sky*/ /*above*/

/*and miraculous signs*/ /*on the earth below,*/

*blood and fire and clouds of smoke*.

2:20 /*The sun will be changed to darkness*/

and the moon to blood

/*before the great and glorious*/ /*day of the Lord comes*//./

2:21 /*And then*/ /*everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be 
saved*//./'

2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man 
clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and 
miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you 
yourselves know -- 2:23 this man, who was handed over by the 
predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him 
to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. 2:24 But God raised him up, having 
released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for 
him to be held in its power. 2:25 For David says about him,

'/*I saw the Lord always in front of me,*/

*for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken*.

2:26 /*Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;*/

/*my body*/ /*also will live in hope,*/

2:27 /*because you will not leave my soul in Hades,*/

/*nor permit your Holy One to experience*/ /*decay*//./

2:28 /*You have made known to me the paths of life;*/

/*you will make me full of joy with your presence*//./'

2:29 "Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather 
David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this 
day. 2:30 So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God /had sworn 
to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants/ /on his throne/, 
2:31 David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the 
Christ, that /he was neither abandoned to Hades/, nor did his body 
/experience/ /decay/. 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all 
witnesses of it. 2:33 So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and 
having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has 
poured out what you both see and hear. 2:34 For David did not ascend 
into heaven, but he himself says,

'/*The Lord said to my lord,*/

"/*Sit*/ /*at my right hand*/

2:35 /*until I make your enemies a footstool*/ /*for your feet*//./"'

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God 
has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."

The Response to Peter's Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to 
Peter and the rest of the apostles, "What should we do, brothers?" 2:38 
Peter said to them, "Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive 
the gift of the Holy Spirit. 2:39 For the promise is for you and your 
children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will 
call to himself." 2:40 With many other words he testified and exhorted 
them saying, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation!" 2:41 So 
those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three 
thousand people were added.

      Prayer

Lord, You offer blessings and gifts, sometimes people accept them -- 
often many do not. May I accept the wisdom of your indwelling Holy 
Spirit and receive what You offer as an equipping for service to You.

      Summary & Commentary

The Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, and perhaps many or all of the 
other 120 members of the close-knit group of believers who had been 
gathering at the upstairs room. They were in a public area surrounded by 
"Jews from every nation under Heaven" as well as non-Jewish converts to 
Judaism, Cretans, and Arabs who had gathered for the celebration of 
Pentecost.

Verse 2:4 is very clear that when the Holy Spirit came upon them they 
spoke in "other languages" and 2:8 that those languages represented the 
native tongues of people in the crowd.

The curious among them wondered what it could mean, the unteachable 
among them jeered and accused them of being drunk - though such a claim 
had no relevance to the evidence at all.

Peter declared to those gathered for Pentecost that not only were they 
not drunk that they were fulfilling prophesy from Joel and Jesus.

Many people responded repentantly to Peter's message and about three 
thousand were baptized. [It is worthy of note that vss 2:40-41 include 
the text ""Save yourselves from this perverse generation!" So those who 
accepted his message were baptized," another clear statement of the 
large invitation and the voluntary choice of individuals.]

      Interaction

        Consider

God chose to bring the Holy Spirit upon the believers in the presence of 
non-believers across many ethnicities, nationalities, races, and 
religious traditions.

        Discuss

There was a fundamental difference between the scoffers and those who 
sought truth, and the resultant understanding of those seeking truth vs 
the blindness of the others. Have you observed the same divergent 
response among modern listeners?

        Reflect

Reflect upon the various teachings about "speaking in tongues" and how 
this text only addresses the miracle of a capacity to share the truth of 
God in a foreign language previously unknown to the speaker - but native 
to his or her listener. It does not say here that a "heavenly language" 
does not exist, it merely excludes this specific text from support of 
such a "gift".

Reflect also upon the various teachings as to how one comes to the final 
moment of saving faith, some which claim all will be saved, others which 
claim only those predestined will be saved, and yet another claim that 
only those who persist in "good works" will be saved -- this text says 
otherwise -- that those who heard God's truth and believed came forward 
to be affirmed and baptized. [Note: It is not the baptism that saved 
them but their acknowledgment of God's truth and their willing 
submission to it.]

        Share

When have you been among a group of people who experienced the same 
event yet interpreted the meaning of the differently?

      Faith in Action

        Prayer:

Today I will ask the Lord for the boldness to share His story with 
someone who is teachable but unfamiliar with the language and message of 
the Bible - perhaps they have never heard or have only heard man-made 
religious distortions or the lies of the Enemy. I will also prayerfully 
seek an opportunity to share with a fellow believer something new that 
God has revealed to me that previously seemed like a foreign language 
but now is clear.

        Action:

Today I will step-put in faith and with the boldness and clarity of the 
Holy Spirit to be His instrument of hope and of truth.

        Be Specific ______________________________________________________

    Tuesday's text will be:

      *Acts 2:42-47*

-- 

Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you,
Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!
David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com
Bible Resources: http://bible.org
Teacher's Verse: John 7:16
Defend free speech or lose your freedom.
I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.thelinuxlink.net/pipermail/linux4christians/attachments/20111009/20df62f9/attachment-0001.html>