02 Acts Chapter 2

Acts 2:1-4 Pentecost Arrives

Acts 2:1-4 MKJV And in the fulfilling of the day of Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly a sound came out of the heaven as borne along by the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (3) And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed; and it sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Pentecost is a Greek word signifying the 50th part of a thing, or the 50th in order and was a Jewish feast held fifty days after the Passover. It was also known as the “Feast of Weeks” or the Feast of Harvest”. (Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:10, Leviticus 23:17, Leviticus 23:20; Numbers 28:27-31.) The festive season from Passover to Pentecost was a bit like Chinese New Year or Thanksgiving to Christmas/New Year. Everyone went home for it and Jews from all over the Roman Empire were gathered in Jerusalem.

“And in the fulfilling of the day of Pentecost” - the fifty day Pentecost feast season was at its climax. It was also the prophetic fulfillment -as all the traditional Jewish Feasts are fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

“they were all with one accord in one place.” There is great power in prayerful unity gathered in one place. In 1980 I attended a large Christian gathering called Expo 80 in Brisbane Australia and as thousands of Christians from various denominations prayed together I had a vision of the heavens opened and a demonic attack against the city, in the form of a black cloud, being driven out. When pastors of many denominations pray together and repent together revival often follows. Books have been written on this principle by people such as George Otis Jr. and Ed Silvoso and Stuart Robinson’s wonderful article Praying The Price of Revival is available at http://www.aibi.ph/prayer/payprice.htm

We cannot dwell in division and disunity and then expect revival. The church has to be a place of prayer for all nations, and a habitation of angels and the Holy Spirit - spiritual beings who are easily offended by carnality, worldliness and strife.

God comes into the midst of sincere obedient believers who are united in prayer and tender of heart and who expect Him to turn up in their midst. We must expect God and wait on God and cry out to Him believing that He will send revival. The revival came both as a inward personal work and an outer visible manifestation. Anyone with ears to hear and eyes to see could observe the mighty rushing wind and the tongues of fire. This was not just a private mystical moment that you could later say “did that really happen”, it was tangible, physical, observable evidence of the Presence of God. The actions of God can be made visible. Yesterday our two kittens, a male Mozzie and a female Crystal had their “little operations” and were rather sore and sorry. Crystal, the female cat was avoiding both us and Mozzie the male cat and was walking along the foot of the bed looking quite miserable as my wife and I went to sleep. So I raised my left hand towards Crystal and prayed “the love of Jesus upon you” for about two minutes. Crystal stopped and turned, faced my hand then walked straight up to me, curled up on the bed and went contentedly to sleep. My wife watched this and said that “a cylinder of smoke” went out of my hand towards the cat while I was praying but was not there after I stopped praying. The smoke Minda saw was a visible manifestation of the spiritual power of praying the love of Jesus. It is a small but significant thing and may help you understand the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost.

“And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed; and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” It was a universal experience, each of them got a tongue of fire upon their head, and all were filled with the Holy Spirit, and all began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. True revival comes to all who are in fellowship just as the Spirit fell on all the seventy-two elders appointed by Moses so it fell on all the 120 in the Upper Room. The Holy Spirit did not fall upon the High Priests or the scribes or the Pharisees or the so-called spiritual experts. The Holy Spirit is not confined to the lines of ecclesiastical rank or procedure. Rather the Holy Spirit falls upon the meek and humble and faithful saints who seek the Lord.

Finally the Holy Spirit directed the entire experience “as the Spirit gave them utterance”. We do not have to limit the Holy Spirit or tell Him how to behave; He is God, He is holy and He is extremely intelligent and He tells us how to behave! The Holy Spirit is not a force that must be channeled, rather He is God, and He gives utterance according to His will and His order. You can trust God the Holy Spirit to wisely direct your ministry and to order your worship, just as you would (I hope) trust Jesus to do so if he were in your midst.

Acts 2:4-13 The Gift of Tongues

Acts 2:4-13 MKJV And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (5) And dwelling at Jerusalem there were Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. (6) But this sound occurring, the multitude came together and were confounded, because they each heard them speaking in his own dialect. (7) And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Behold, are not these who speak all Galileans? (8) And how do we each hear in our own dialect in which we were born? (9) Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, (10) Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, (11) Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking the great things of God in our own languages. (12) And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying to one another, What does this mean? (13) But others mocking said, These men are full of sweet wine.

There are some that say that Pentecost was a miracle of hearing, because each heard them speaking in his or her on dialect. However verse 4 clearly says: “and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The disciples were actually speaking “other languages” under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

God can give us supernatural linguistic ability in the tongues of men and of angels. Tongues is a wisdom gift - it is knowledge you did not have before - knowledge of Elamite or Parthian or whatever - and godly wisdom is the biblical sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Two incidents from my early Christian life and ministry may illustrate this. The first was when I was at bible college and was in a small group with a Korean brother who burst into passionate prayer in his own language and I suddenly understood every word that he said - even though I do not know a word of Korean. The second incident was in late 1986 when I spent a couple of months teaching Isaiah at the Gogodala Christian Training Center in Mapodo in the remote Western Province of Papua New Guinea. In just three weeks I picked up the complex Gogodala language enough to produce my lecture notes in it. It seemed to almost “beam into” me. I became temporarily fluent in the language and then promptly forgot it and today all I can say is “Nagala” which means hello.

God the Creator has access to the language centers of our brain - which He demonstrated at the Tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11. God can confuse our languages on one hand or help us to understand them and speak them on the other. The missionary task of the church requires linguistic ability, which God can give us by the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. Tongues is not just a nice worship experience, it is also tool for spreading the gospel.

There are also worship tongues and prayer tongues for communicating with the unseen realms - see 1 Corinthians 14:1-40. My own prayer language sounds like a Melanesian language but I have never identified it as a particular language group. I only use it for private worship and for intercession. As I said before tongues is a wisdom gift and at Pentecost the wisdom was displayed in two ways: a) knowledge of foreign languages and b) knowledge of the glory of God and how to proclaim it. Tongues is not spiritual folly and it should not be seen as foolish (e.g. those who said “they are full of sweet wine”).

True tongues are wise and indicate that we are receiving knowledge from God about Himself and about the larger world (in this case a language of the world). Thus the tongues-speaker should demonstrate godly wisdom. The spiritual fruit of godly wisdom was the hallmark of selection of the first deacons in Acts 6:1-15 and a mark of people who were recognized as possessing ‘a spirit of the gods’ such as Joseph, Solomon and Daniel. Godly wisdom is also part and parcel of what we intuitively call “sainthood”.

All spiritual gifts should be used in love and lead to an integrated personality full of wisdom and truth. In a few cases tongues can be demonic and disturbing. Tongues that do not glorify God or produce wiser saints need to be tested. God even tells us to test the spirits. (1 John 4:1-4)

Finally tongues should not be used divisively. As an inter-denominational missionary I often do not disclose the fact that I speak in tongues, and I only use my gift in circles where it is readily accepted and will not cause confusion or discord. There is nothing wrong in restraining a spiritual gift out of love or out of concern for the body of Christ. This is still a delicate thing in many circles and I would not injure the faith of any.

Acts 2:14-21 This Is That

Acts 2:14-21 MKJV But Peter, standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men, Jews, and all who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. (15) For these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day. (16) But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: (17) "And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (18) And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy. (19) And I will give wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious Day of the Lord. (21) And it shall be that everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." No spiritual experience is self-interpreting. Experience must always be interpreted by Scripture -and Scripture by experience. (If your bible interpretation ends up with the world being flat then you need to check your Scriptural interpretation against reality.)

Christianity is neither all mysticism nor all pragmatism. I like to say that sane faith is mystical pragmatism and combines direct experience of God with hard-nosed reality testing. Pentecost seems all mysticism, all tongues and fire and prophecy but Peter does not stand up and say that he heard voices - rather he speaks from Scripture.

Peter first corrects the wrong interpretation by referring to the obvious facts: “For these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day.” The probability of mass drunkenness at 9am is very low. Maybe there is another explanation / interpretation. Peter then gives it to them: But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: "And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.”

“This is that.” This experience is that Scripture, that prophecy, that moment in history. Ninety-nine percent of the time people make such identifications they are wrong. Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ, Jesus will return in 2000, the Millennium Bug is the beginning of the Tribulation. The Jehovah Witnesses, I believe, have finally given up on end-times date setting. Go to any psych ward and you will find people who believe they are Jesus or Satan or one of the two prophets of Revelation 11:1-19. But Peter was correct! This was the prophecy come true; this was Joel’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon “all flesh” - old men, young men, women and male and female servants. This was the spiritual gateway to a new era of Holy Spirit power. So sometimes we can get it right. Why then do we most often get it wrong? There are two main reasons that I find. The first is what I call “unverified cut-and-paste theology and philosophy”. This is where the only reference point is a holy book or books and quotes from these books are taken out “cut-and-paste” fashion and assembled into theories about reality without ever going out and checking on reality to see if things are actually so. People who conclude that everyone MUST be healed by prayer are in such a camp, as are cultists and flat-earthers. The prosperity gospel is also in this category because if it were ever tested against reality it would be found to be most utterly wrong. But it sounds good and it cuts-and-pastes quite well. The second reason is almost the opposite it involves almost cutting and pasting reality to fit Scripture. Instead of saying the world must fit the Bible like the flat-earthers do, they say the Bible must fit our world and our concerns. It takes our current reality so seriously that it assumes that the Bible must be speaking about Iraq or Russia or Microsoft or whatever and that our nation e.g. the USA and Britain must be in there somewhere with a central role. We assume that the Bible is about us and that if we use the Bible Code and find our name in the equidistant letter spacings we will have discovered a great secret. The first error constricts reality (to that of the texts) and the second error constricts God’s actions (to our concerns). Perhaps this is because on one hand we want to have reality tidily explained by our theory and on the other we want to also be the center of reality and of God’s actions. But God will remain God and He will leave us puzzled and bewildered and humbled.

How then can be saved from error when like Peter we say: “this is not X, this is that - it is Y”.

Look at reality: Has the Holy Spirit actually fallen on a large number of people? (which had rarely, if ever, happened since Moses’ day).

Look at the Scripture: Is there a Scripture that predicts or explains the Holy Spirit falling on a large number of people?

Look at the spiritual timing: Does the Scripture fit in with these days and times “in the last days.”?

Look at the fruits of the interpretation: 3000 people saved in one day and a vibrant spiritual community established. This last is important - if the interpretation produces rogues and shysters and cults and quacks - then very probably it is not from God.

Acts 2:16-18 A Prophetic Church

Acts 2:16-18 MKJV But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: (17) "And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (18) And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy. The Holy Spirit is not just a fuel additive; rather the Holy Spirit is essential for the proper ethical development of the conscience of the Church into a godly prophetic community.

Pentecost is a fulfillment of the prophesy of Joel and Old Testament prophets were “enforcers of the Covenant” to borrow a term from Gordon Fee. So when Joel says “And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” he was not merely stating that “they will have ecstatic experiences”, rather he is also saying that “they will become morally insightful and have well developed consciences that accurately hear and understand the will of God.” When people claim to be prophets, yet are morally willful and spiritually insensate, they are false prophets. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy (Revelation 19:10) and a true prophet will walk in the teachings and testimony of Jesus and thus “sound like the Sermon On The Mount”. That said prophecy is not to be lightly dismissed, the New Testament church is clearly prophetic right from the start and continues to be so even in some of the worst churches such as Corinth. For a full article on the nature of NT prophecy go to: http://www.aibi.ph/aibi/prophecy.htm

Lets go back to the statement in Revelation 19:10 “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Thus witnessing to Jesus and being a living testimony to Him is central to New Testament prophecy. This testimony is to have profound moral impact:

1 Corinthians 14:24-25 MKJV (24) But if all prophesy, and some unbeliever or one not instructed comes, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all. (25) And so the secrets of his heart become revealed. And so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

Thus the result of NT prophecy is to be a powerful testimony to Christ leading to a repentant world and the growth of the Church. Which is why Paul was so keen for Christians to have the gift of prophecy (see 1 Corinthians 14:1-40). Thus the focus of prophecy in the average Christian church should not be Iraq, the Middle East or the USA - but rather Christ, the human heart and repentance and faith.

Now prophecy is not the same as preaching, the Pharisees preached, but they did not prophesy. The prophetic gift flows from directly hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and in speaking His Words with His timing. (see 1 Corinthians 2:9-16) It is not just expounding knowledge, it is speaking from God and with words given by God.

1 Corinthians 2:13 MKJV (13) These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The phrase “but which the Holy Spirit teaches” implies that there is a learning process and as anyone who has sincerely tried to hear from God will tell you, that learning process takes many years for most people. We are in the process of redemption and our minds and consciences are in the process of renewal and we “see through a glass darkly” and know imperfectly (1 Corinthians 13:12). Thus while Christians can claim to have heard from the Holy Spirit they cannot claim perfect knowledge. The days of writing Scripture are over. As our conscience is renewed we begin to hear from God more clearly and can prophecy with greater power, accuracy and anointing. The Spirit-filled conscience is essential to the true understanding of Scripture (which will otherwise appear as folly) and is the guide that allows us to “walk in the Spirit” and be “led by the Spirit”. (1 Corinthians 2:14-15; Galatians 5:16-18; Galatians 5:25)

Joel’s prophecy indicates that all Christians will be able to receive wisdom from God without any need for a human mediator, they shall hear directly from God through prophesy, dreams and visions: “I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (18) And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy.” The apostle John also says that the Holy Spirit enables Christians to receive wisdom and knowledge directly without a human teacher:

1 John 2:20 MKJV But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

1 John 2:27 MKJV But the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as He has taught you, abide in Him.

Thus the gift of the Holy Spirit should enable believers to hear from God and receive the testimony of Jesus and live in repentance and faith, walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit via His deep anointing in our renewed and redeemed minds so that we “have the mind of Christ” and understand the things that He has prepared for those that believe. (1 Corinthians 2:9-16)

Coming back to my opening statement: “The Holy Spirit is not just a fuel additive” - we have to go beyond the view that the Holy Spirit is desirable because He will enable us to have “an international ministry” or some such thing. The Holy Spirit has three primary tasks - to love us into maturity (Romans 5:5, Ephesians 3:14-21); to reveal godly wisdom to us (1 Corinthians 2:9-16), and to empower us to be witnesses to Jesus (Acts 1:8) and in the end the Holy Spirit should build us into wise, loving empowered communities of grace who hear directly from God and have Christ-like consciences.

Acts 2:19-21 An Age Of Wonders And Salvation

Acts 2:19-21 MKJV And I will give wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious Day of the Lord. (21) And it shall be that everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Peter announces the Church Age, which would begin in prophecy and end with the moon becoming as blood. In between there would be: wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The Church Age was meant to be extraordinary, an age of salvation and miracles, but we have settled for “just ordinary”. There is little that happens in churches today that did not also happen in temples and synagogues before the advent of Jesus, before the power of the cross and before the new life of the resurrection and the demon-breaking power of the ascension of Jesus Christ.

Surely Jesus did not come to build more synagogues? Did Jesus die just so we could have more sermons and lectures and ethical harangues and rules and nice songs and heart-warming rabbinic stories? Is the new life just another moral change, like going to Alcoholics Anonymous? Does not it sound more plausible that God sent His Son to bring miracles and signs and wonders and an age full of Spirit and power and glory and salvation?

If what we have now is what God intended then Jesus did not need to die on the cross. The synagogues and temples would have made people just as good and just as happy as the average Christian church does today. Perhaps more so.

Jesus was not like Buddha. Jesus was much more spectacular. He did miracles all the time. He introduced a Kingdom of God in which spiritual power was freely available to all who asked for it and the apostles could, years later, write down promises about moving mountains with perfect truthfulness and equanimity.

Part of the reason I am doing this series in Acts is to arouse a burning thirst for a better way of being Christian. We have lost the supernatural life of Christ in our midst. What will it take to get it back?

Miracles seem to have been common in the early church - even in the most backward of churches such as the Galatians: Galatians 3:2-5 MKJV This only I would learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing of faith? (3) Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now perfect yourself in the flesh? (4) Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it is even in vain? (5) Then He supplying the Spirit to you and working powerful works in you, is it by works of the law, or by hearing of faith?

We have grieved, quenched and injured the Holy Spirit in our midst, we have exalted man and diminished Christ, we have loved the world and spurned the cross. We have let our disillusionment and our doubts overwhelm our faith in God and we have lived as selfish individuals instead of in loving Spirit-filled communities. The fire and thunder are gone and Musak and elevator music fill quiet respectable sanctuaries.

No-one would bother to persecute the average American or Australian or English church. It threatens nothing, it does nothing, it accomplishes next to nothing. Apparently it costs $300,000 to add a single baptized believer to a church in the USA. Enormous effort, zero result. In the last few years 5 million Christians in the USA have gone from “active” to nominal Christian or unbeliever status. Where is the power, the sacrifice, the zeal, the faith?

We have turned Christianity into another “seven steps to personal success”. We have focused it on ourselves and on our desires. We have fed the flesh and starved the Spirit. Where is our inheritance in God, and in His power? Where is the fire of Pentecost? Where is the promise of Joel? “And I will give wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. “

Acts 2:21 All Who Call On The Lord Are Saved Acts 2:21 MKJV And it shall be that everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This promise of Joel about abundant salvation was not an accidental statement of Peter’s and was no isolated text, in fact it became a cornerstone of Paul’s basic gospel outlined in Romans 10:1-21:

Romans 10:9-13 MKJV Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. (11) For the Scripture says, "Everyone believing on Him shall not be put to shame." (12) For there is no difference both of Jew and of Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him. (13) For everyone, "whoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved." This verse tells us that salvation is abundant, easy, free and instantaneous. This is confirmed a few verses later on where it says: Acts 2:41 MKJV Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And the same day there were added about three thousand souls.

Thus Christian salvation is not some long arduous costly penance in sackcloth and ashes. Neither does Christian salvation involve saying hundreds of Masses or thousands of rosaries and prayers to dead saints.

Salvation in the Day of Pentecost involved: repenting, believing/gladly receiving his word, calling on Jesus and being baptized in His Name and receiving the Holy Spirit. This all happened without any formality, without any sacrifices, or any money being exchanged, or any priestly rituals by men in long robes. It was free, it was abundant, it was instantaneous, it was powerful and it was informal lay preaching by a Spirit-filled fisherman.

Christian salvation does not involve an eight-fold path or a long course in theology. Christian salvation is as simple as: “And it shall be that everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Salvation is very simple: I have a cousin who was saved at eighteen months when he kept putting a gospel tract in the washing machine (a wordless book with black, red, and white pictures of the heart) and when his mother (my aunt is a child evangelist) asked Jeremy why he kept doing this he replied “I want a clean heart”. He called on the name of the Lord and was saved! I have seen people who could not read saved, and people with no education saved, and tribal people in remote areas of the world saved. In Muslim lands new believers cannot ever attend a church - but they are still saved. Some of them have never seen a bible but have met Christ in dreams and visions and perhaps through preaching - and yet they have called on Him and been saved.

Such a person knows little about the historical Jesus and nothing about the Trinity. Such a person is saved because their human spirit calls out to God and desires relationship, and asks forgiveness and wants to receive God’s love through Christ, in the name of Jesus.

Salvation does not require money, knowledge or rituals. It does require repentance and faith and a calling on the powerful name of Jesus and a reception of the Holy Spirit. The name of Jesus has real power. You can test the incredible power of the name of Jesus by using it to rebuke a demon - the demon obeys. The name of Jesus has power and authority and brings healing and salvation and deliverance. The name of Jesus is the doorway to the presence and power and healing and salvation and love of God. John 10:9 MKJV I am the door. If anyone enters in by Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The abundant, free, easy and instantaneous salvation of Acts has been made out to be narrow, costly, hard and gradual in many quarters. It is not in the interest of ecclesiastical power to have salvation too freely available! But this is what Jesus says about the nature of salvation: Matthew 11:28-30 MKJV Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. The apostle John confirms this lack of complexity: 1 John 5:3 MKJV For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.

People are saved simply by calling on the name of Jesus - and not by adhering to any ecclesiastical system. There is a very common notion that salvation comes from joining a spiritual organization, then agreeing to its tenets, then conforming to its practices and receiving the approval of the priest or guru or senior pastor, which may or may not be dependent on paying a tithe. The person receives spiritual approval and emotional assurance of heaven in return for what the organization deems to be “good behaviour”. This is a travesty of the gospel!

Salvation is not the same as approval by clergy. Salvation is approval by God because you have called on the name of His beloved Son who died for you to reconcile you to God.

Salvation is abundant, easy, free and instantaneous and is offered through believing the preaching of the gospel. Baptism is your way of saying that you have repented and believed and now wish to be immersed in God and have called on the name of Jesus into which you are baptized. And all the aspects of salvation - healing, deliverance, emotional restoration, breaking of habits, healing of memories and so forth are in the same mold - that is they are abundant, easy, free and instantaneous and are obtained by calling on the name of Jesus. You probably find that last sentence to be quite outrageous - you may have had a habit or an illness for years. You may have often “prayed about it” and it has not moved.

Try this: Call out earnestly and personally to Jesus as earnestly and personally as the blind men on the road to Jericho, then be still and silent and wait for Jesus to turn up, and command this habit/illness/problem to be gone in His name. I have often seen amazing things happen on the spot when this is done.

Acts 2:22-23 The Predetermined Plan And Foreknowledge of God

Acts 2:22-23 ISV "Fellow Israelites, listen to these words! Jesus from Nazareth was a man accredited to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you, as you yourselves know. (23) This very man, after he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

“Jesus of Nazareth” - that was His name among the people in Jerusalem, He was not yet known as Jesus the Christ. There is no hint of His deity in this passage, Jesus is “a man accredited to you by God”. Peter starts with what they can believe and leaves the deeper theological insights until after conversion.

Jesus was not accredited by the scribes or by the Temple authorities but by God and the method of His accreditation was not a diploma - but “miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you.” The servant of God must first of all be accredited through the Spirit of God, without that ordination is meaningless. I have known an unconverted Baptist pastor. These are fairly rare but this man had such abilities and political skill that he sailed through the ordination process. But he was of course a disaster in the ministry. Human accreditation is fallible, some good folk are rejected and some terrible folk are ordained. The true accreditation is from God.

Now this accreditation is not just a sense of being called, or a warmed heart, or a desire for ministry. The accreditation is the demonstration of godly spiritual power and the ability to bless others through the Spirit. The accreditation of an evangelist is significant numbers of converts, of a pastor - clear spiritual growth, of a teacher - people learning and being discipled, of a healer - the raising up of the sick; and so forth. There must be results. Under normal circumstances a minister with no results is suspect. (This does not apply to new works in difficult places.)

“As you yourselves know” - Jesus accreditation by God was publicly observable, it was obvious. One look at Jesus was enough - his godliness was evident. And ours should be too. True saints are holy on sight, they glow.

“This very man, after he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God,” Now comes the difficult bit - can God plan a gross injustice? Can the murder of a man as innocent as Jesus be part of the predetermined plan of God?

Either answer presents significant problems. If you say “yes” God plans the murder of innocent people - you have a big problem. If you say “no” then the martyrs die outside of God’s plan. Was the cross an evil accident of chance or was it planned by God? If it was planned by God is He still a holy and moral God?

It helps if we see the whole picture. That not only the cross was planned by God, but also the resurrection, ascension and glorification of His beloved Son and His return in glory. In other words God had no malice towards Jesus. He was not acting brutally towards an innocent man - even though He allowed Jesus to suffer greatly.

We have to look at our life and sufferings as a whole, with glory in view.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ASV (16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; (18) while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Sufferings work glory. Thus by allowing Jesus to suffer, He allowed Jesus to come into a great weight of glory. At a human level it was an injustice but on a spiritual level it was an opportunity for great gain.

God is always trying to bless the righteous and sometimes trials are the greatest blessings of all (though I do not enjoy them and protest as much as anyone, if not more so). Therefore we rejoice…. (see Romans 5:1-5, 1 Peter 1:6-8 etc)

God weaves our lives into a rich tapestry and some threads are sorrows, but they are temporary and joy is always the final state of the Christian - and Jesus knew that because “for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross..”.

Hebrews 12:1-2 MKJV Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

You may suffer a terrible wicked injustice in this life that scars you and tears your soul. It may be as demonic and hateful and cruel as the Cross. You may be delivered to be crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. And yet it may well be part of God’s will for you. If it is, you will come into great glory as a result. This is not an abstract thing - researchers tell us that 150,000 Christians are martyred every year - and in the last days the Devil will make total war on us.

It is crazy to desire such a thing - even Jesus prayed that the cup would pass from Him. No sane person wants to suffer. But in the end we trust God and say “Not my will but Thine be done”. God’s plan is complex and has some very deep valleys and we may have to walk through them. Even in the midst of insane cruelty God is in charge and His plan is working for our ultimate good and our deepest joy. This is the “patient endurance of the saints”. (Revelation 14:12)
Acts 2:23-32 The Incorruptible Christ

Acts 2:23-32 MKJV this One given to you by the before-determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by lawless hands, crucifying Him, you put Him to death; (24) whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. (25) For David speaks concerning Him, "I foresaw the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand, that I should not be moved. (26) Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad; and also My flesh shall rest in hope, (27) because You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your holy One to see corruption. (28) You revealed to Me the ways of life. You will fill Me with joy with Your countenance." (29) Men, brothers, it is permitted to say to you with plainness as to the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (30) Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne, (31) seeing this beforehand, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor would His flesh see corruption, (32) God raised up this Jesus, of which we all are witnesses.

Apparently the rabbis of New Testament times had great difficulty with this passage (Psalms 16:1-11) about David not seeing corruption and made up implausible explanations - such as David not being affected by insects during his life. Peter thus gets a high level of audience attention by referring to Psalms 16:1-11 and then explaining the inexplicable - by referring to Christ.

“That of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne.” Jesus was a descendant of David and as such was born in the city of Bethlehem, David’s hometown. On one hand Jesus was a lowly carpenter, on the other hand He is of the royal line. This is a bit like the recent discovery by some genealogical researchers that apparently the ‘true king of England’ is an Australian stock and station agent! (This takes too long to explain). Jesus was hidden royalty and the rightful heir to the throne of David.

“Men, brothers, it is permitted to say to you with plainness as to the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.” It was clear that David was dead and that his mausoleum as a feature of Jerusalem then, though it has now been lost. This refutes some liberal scholars who maintain that David and Solomon never existed. David’s tomb is also mentioned by Josephus and by a Rabbi Benjamin.

Peter’s main point is two fold - a) Jesus was holy and innocent b) This meant that death could not hold Him and so He had to rise from the dead. This applies to us also, because we are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, we are innocent, and death will not be able to hold us, and we will also rise from the dead on the Last Day.

“of which we all are witnesses.” The whole 120 had seen Jesus after He rose from the dead - some individually and others presumably as part of the 500+ that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. The resurrection of Jesus was a visible and verifiable demonstration of God’s power and the fulfillment of Psalms 16:1-11.

“You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your holy One to see corruption.” Other than the resurrection, there is a general spiritual principle here - that Christians may “go down to Hades” for a while, but they always come out. God does not abandon us to the natural processes of decay and the consequences that flesh is heir to. We will rise from the dead, and we will also rise from the midst of calamity and misfortune.

Psalms 34:19 KJV Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

“You will fill Me with joy with Your countenance.” The final lot of the Christian is always joy, whereas the final lot of the wicked is torment (Isaiah 66:24). We will see God face to face, know His love and experience great joy. Joy is a big part of the gospel and the result of its proclamation. The New Testament is full of rejoicing saints:
Acts 8:7-8 MKJV For out of those having unclean spirits, many came out, crying with loud voice. And many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. (8) And there was great joy in that city.

Thus God leads us through Hades to a place of great joy in His Presence. If you have been a Christian long enough you will have experienced this in many “little things”. The problem at work resolved, the last minute financial provision, the anguish at exam time - and at the end the gladness. We keep coming back to a place of joy - because that is the natural resting place of the Christian soul.

According to one ancient historian David died on the feast of Pentecost back in His time, so there is no small coincidence in Peter preaching about David on this day nearly a thousand years later after David’s passing. The spiritual realm is vast and complex and tantalizing -as the glimpse during the Transfiguration when Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses, indicating they were very much alive in the spiritual realm and were still potent spiritual beings. In the spiritual realm innocence breaks the bonds of death, life triumphs and joy explodes.

Acts 2:32-36 The Exalted Christ

Acts 2:32-36 MKJV God raised up this Jesus, of which we all are witnesses. (33) Therefore being exalted to the right of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you now see and hear. (34) For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he says himself, "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand (35) until I place Your enemies as a footstool to Your feet." (36) Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

These five verses are absolutely packed with profound theological statements:

1.    God has raised Jesus from the dead.

2.    Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God.

3.    Jesus received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father.

4.    Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in visible and audible manifestations of grace.

5.    Jesus has been made both Lord and Christ.

6.    Jesus will be at God’s right hand in Heaven until all His enemies have been subdued under His feet.

7.    The Jews had crucified Jesus, who was now their exalted Messiah.

Thus their response of “What then can we do to be saved?” was perfectly understandable. More on that tomorrow. The point of today’s study is this - Jesus is not wearing a beard and sandals any more. He is the mighty Son of God, in Heaven, at the right hand of the Father and pours out the Holy Spirit on His Church.

Jesus is exalted:

Ephesians 1:20-23 MKJV which He worked in Christ in raising Him from the dead, and He seated Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, (21) far above all principality and authority and power and dominion, and every name being named, not only in this world, but also in the coming age. (22) And He has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, (23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Given that Jesus is no longer walking around Galilee and preaching from fishing boats and on mountains - how do we relate to Him? We relate to Him in at least four ways: a)As Lord - we receive and believe His teachings, obey His commandments and do His work. b)As Christ - as the anointed one, out who pours out the Holy Spirit, and performs healings and miracles in the midst of His Church. c)As High Priest - who has passed through the heavenlies and understands our weakness and gives grace and help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:12-16) d)As Son Of God - as deity, as God, as part of the Trinity, to be worshipped and adored and who will return in power and glory.

What are some of the things that Jesus is doing at the moment?

-He is upholding all things by the word of His power. (Hebrews 1:1-3) -He is holding all things together. (Colossians 1:15-20) -He is interceding for us. (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34)

-He is pouring out the Spirit upon all flesh. (Acts 2:33) so that He might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:10) -He is loving the saints into maturity. (Ephesians 3:14-21) -He is sanctifying believers and preparing the Church to be His bride. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Thus we need a clear vision of Jesus as He is now - as the risen exalted One who is both Lord and Christ. This is a bit more difficult to relate to than Jesus of Nazareth the carpenter, rabbi and prophet. Yet once grasped this vision can transform your life and the life of your church. Jesus is not a remote prophet dwelling in history a long time ago, He is a mighty ever-present and all powerful being who can dwell in your church and in your life.

Jesus wants to “fill all things” with Himself (Ephesians 4:10) and He started pouring out that infilling on the Day of Pentecost.

Because Jesus is no longer localized that pouring out can now occur at any place on the globe and at any time in history including right now.

(For more on this see Juan Carlos Ortiz’s excellent book “Living With Jesus Today. )
Acts 2:38-41 The Gift Of The Holy Spirit

Acts 2:37-41 LITV And hearing, they were stabbed in the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men, brothers, What shall we do? (38) And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, each of you on the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. (40) And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. (41) Then truly the ones gladly welcoming His Word were baptized. And about three thousand souls were added that day. The question is “Men, brothers what shall we do”? They were pricked to the heart by the fact they had crucified the Messiah. Peter’s reply is actually quite complex:

1.    Repent.

2.Be baptized 3.Each one of you 4.On the name of Jesus Christ 5.For the remission of sins 6.And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit 7.This is a promise to you and your children, near and far as many as the Lord shall call.

Firstly these verses definitely calls on all Christians ‘each one of you’ to be baptized, and if you have not been baptized, please do so immediately, in simple obedience to the word of God.

Secondly we clearly have a “salvation package” here that was all meant to happen in one day - repentance, faith, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. Verse 41 indicates that they were baptized that day - there was no delay. The Church of Christ and a few other denominations practice immediate baptism and I believe that is scriptural as we also see it in the case of the Ethiopian eunuch. (Acts 8:38) The salvation package culminates in receiving the Holy Spirit - and in this case they would have expected receiving the Holy Spirit to include the gift of tongues and prophecy - because that is what the Holy Spirit “looked like” on this occasion. It is also what it looked like at the house of Cornelius and on a couple of other occasions. The Holy Spirit was received in such a way that was observable to an outsider - and this generally was both visible and audible. (see also Acts 8:1-40; Acts 17:1-34; Acts 18:1-28)

Receiving the Holy Spirit was a certainty - “each of you”…“you shall receive” …”this is a promise”. Thus this power was not just for special revivals now and then in Church history - it was for all believers from the moment of their new birth in Christ!

However receiving the Holy Spirit was not ‘automatic”, in Samaria it was delayed until the apostles got there and in Ephesus it only came after they had been baptized in the name of Jesus. For many people receiving the tangible real power of the Holy Spirit has been a second experience some time after conversion. In my life there were a number of steps. Firstly I was definitely and clearly born again and received peace, understood the Scriptures and began to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. This was the Spirit in me. Then there was a deeper work of sanctification and empowerment after a revival sermon when I gained the power to witness and became a bold Christian, this was God’s Spirit upon me in power. It is after this that I knew would end up in Christian work.

Quite soon after this, through Campus Crusade I learned about how to have a daily infilling of the Holy Spirit and how to walk in the Spirit and have self-control and a sound Christian life. Then seven years later I spoke in tongues and twelve years after that I started finding myself healing people in Jesus’ name. Thus there has been a continual growth in my relationship with the Holy Spirit. I do not think that anyone else has to follow these same steps. However I do think that all Christians should seek the indwelling, infilling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. The salvation package is not just a remission of sins package, though that is very important. It is also a receiving of the Holy Spirit.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is for everyone, as many as the Lord shall call, both far and near, indeed it is for “each one of you” - not just charismatics and Pentecostals. This is not a denominational thing - it is a God thing! Do not be deterred (as I was for many years) by the irrational behavior of some who claim the Spirit. As I have repeatedly said, God is intelligent and expects us to behave intelligently also (if we are to be in His image)- and He gives us wisdom for this purpose. The Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom - not of folly, He is a Spirit of holy order, not of fleshly disorder.

Receiving the Holy Spirit in power can be different from His quiet inner dwelling after conversion. If you are a Christian, and Christ dwells in you, you have the Holy Spirit within you. However you may not yet have Him upon you in power for ministry and witness. You should seek this. It is not dangerous or crazy. God is good and only gives good gifts to His children:

Luke 11:9-13 CEV So I tell you to ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. (10) Everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches will find, and the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. (11) Which one of you fathers would give your hungry child a snake if the child asked for a fish? (12) Which one of you would give your child a scorpion if the child asked for an egg? (13) As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.

Whatever your theology or your denomination I ask you to do what Jesus says in this passage - ask, search, knock. God wants you to have a deeper relationship with God the Holy Spirit and will pour His Spirit out if you ask Him to - it’s a promise for each of you!

Acts 2:42-47 The Spirit-Filled Community

Acts 2:42-47 MKJV And they were continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, and in fellowship and in the breaking of the loaves, and in prayers. (43) And fear came on every soul. And many wonders and miracles took place through the apostles. (44) And all who believed were together and had all things common. (45) And they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. (46) And continuing with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food with gladness and simplicity of heart, (47) praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

These verses are worth meditating on - they indicate what true revival looks like and give us a high calling to aim for in our fellowships.

These things are purely the products of a powerful move of God. No program can bring Christians to the point of gracious united communal living or of many miracles or of abundant joy or of favor among all the people.

Man simply cannot create these things - they are a product of the Holy Spirit, obedience and prayer. The true transforming power in the Church is not the latest book or song or video (though these things have their place and are often blessed by God) but rather is God Himself.

We need to have God turn up. We need God to lead us into repentance and joy and faith and love and Christian community.

Many churches run very well without God turning up. They are nice and pleasant and function like the Jewish synagogues of old, with good teaching etc. But Jesus did not die in order to establish more synagogues.

Jesus died in order to create something that was not merely human. Jesus lived a supernatural life and He died so that we could have access to His supernatural life. The Church is “supposed to be” a Spirit-filled community of believers with supernatural powers living a life of amazing love in complete holiness. For a moment that existed in Jerusalem; it has also existed among the Moravians in Herrenhut and at various other times and places of revival in Church history. Occasionally the Church does get it right. And all the times when the Church has got it right it has been in much prayer.

Revival should result in a self-less, harmless, generous community. While people remain individuals they become God-centered and not self-centered. The words I, me and mine will get used less often. Possessions are held lightly. Grace matters more than gold.

Sharing is a sign of maturing love. It is one of the main things we expect from our children as they mature. A child who will not share with his brothers or sisters is considered morally deficient. And so it should be among brothers and sisters in Christ:

Acts 2:44-46 And all who believed were together and had all things common. (45) And they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. (46) And continuing with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

Acts 4:32 And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. And not one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own. But they had all things common.

Mature Christians are filled with love and generosity. They are not greedy, covetous or selfish. They have a highly developed sense of compassion, are sensitive to the needs of others, hearken to the voice of the Spirit and obey the clear and commanded will of God. The Holy Spirit will never produce people who are greedy for more and more of the world’s goods for themselves.

Covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5) and the only way out of idolatry is worship of the one true God. Which is why they “met in the Temple” and “were continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, and in fellowship and in the breaking of the loaves, and in prayers.” Spirit-filled worship will help people to be God-centered and not self-centered and thus assists them in fulfilling the commands of Christ.

“Praising God and having favor with all the people.” Praise lifted the community up to a higher plane of living. It made them observably better so that others gave them favor. They were positive folk, happy folk, grateful, joyful and worshipful. People liked them and liked being around them and were glad to join them. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Jesus gave us a new commandment “love one another”. This differs from “love they neighbor” because your neighbor could be quite distant. “Love one another” means communal love - form a community and love one another. That is what they did in Jerusalem - they lived together and loved one another in the power of the Holy Spirit.