Acts Chapter 2 is always a very exciting chapter. The disciples are dramatically changed from fearful victims to bold leaders, all by the power of the Holy Spirit. This gives hope to us who know the fear of speaking to others and urges us on to cry out to God and ask for his Holy Spirit to fill us and give us boldness to be witnesses who testify to others about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I always try to picture this scene and it seems that the disciples go from being huddled together inside a house to being out in a public area where they are speaking in the new languages that the Holy Spirit gave them that they didn't know previously. They were speaking in these languages and "declaring the wonders of God".
It strikes me that some mocked them as we will always have opposition and mocking when following Christ. But Peter didn't let that stop him, it didn't make him angry at them and he didn't just ignore them. But rather he addressed everyone, got their attention and said that they were incorrect in their wrong understanding and told them the truth about Jesus Christ and what was happening to them by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The next thing that spoke to me was Peter's statement in verse 29 about David's tomb being here and that David was dead and still in the tomb. This is in contrast to the tomb of Jesus. The empty tomb was then and is today a powerful evidence that Jesus is risen from the dead and He Is Alive!!
Verses 38 and 39 are ones that I've quoted many times - in fact just last night as I was talking to my daughter about getting ready for baptism :) They are foundational in that they provide the clear beginning steps of coming to Jesus Christ - 1) Repent - turn from sins 2) Be baptized - in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins 3) receive the Holy Spirit. And the great news is that this promise is for us, our children and those who are far away - all whom God calls!
Finally, we have the pattern of life in the early church - devotion to (devotion being key) 1) Apostles teaching 2) fellowship - being with each other 3) breaking of bread - eating together 4) prayer - the foundation of the church. The Holy Spirit was showing signs and wonders, miracles the pointed to the fact that Jesus is alive. They all joined together and supported each other, provided for each other, ate together, prayed together and God met with them and gave them favor and added to their number those who were being rescued from their sins and brought to life in Jesus Christ!
Let us also seek God in earnest prayer, waiting and crying out for his Holy Spirit and may we be filled with boldness and the power of God, as God himself, the Holy Spirit, fills and lives in our hearts and lives and changes us into his witnesses and his servants to a world around us that is dying in sin and hopelessness.
Amen!
Pastor Nathanael
Thank Pastor Nathanael for the comments, which help me understand the verses more clearly.
ReplyDeleteFrom verse 38, I learn the beginning steps of coming to Jesus Christ: 1) repent of sins, 2) get baptized, and 3) receive the gift of Holy Spirit.
I can confess my sins easily but it is harder for me to repent of my sins completely, especially I cannot submit myself to God in every aspect. I sometimes trust in my own ability and experience to solve the problems, or do something according to my own will. In addition, I am bonded to the results: I feel good if the results are as I expect, while disappointed if not. I forgot to ask directions and help from God, and didn’t do the things according to His will. I know I should submit myself to God, and then I may receive the Holy Spirit, and rejoice in our Lord’s grace and mercy.
I am also thinking about “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (verse 40). Following Jesus Christ and being faithful to Him, I can stand firmly when temptations come in my way.
Verse 46: “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts”. I think this Bible reading group is one of the ways that we meet together daily. We share the thoughts and words that God speaks to each one of us while we are reading.
Yes, I'm glad that it is being helpful to you. It certainly challenges me and I also enjoy and am encouraged by the comments from each person.
DeleteAs I was reading the description of The Fellowship of the Believers, it struck my heart.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the picture of sharing and loving each other, I was feeling joy/ happiness/ peace. So I wanted to go into that picture and be like that.
How can we be like that? That might be possible when we let down ourselves and put God at the First in my life and following God’s direction.
When we have pride and trust in ourselves, we’ll make our own idol and try to keep them, resulting in separation from God and believers.
Yes, it is a beautiful picture. I have experienced times of very close fellowship like this and want to continue in growing deeper together in Christ Jesus. You are right about the pride. It often separates us. When we are able to be completely open and honest and share what is really happening in our lives and support one another in prayer and in giving to one another it is a beautiful thing.
DeleteI also enjoy this Bible reading group and find that it is a way to stay connected. A church is to be a family - brothers and sister in Christ, "continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship..." I have missed a lot of Sundays because of my work schedule, and I felt more connected when I first moved down than I do now. Thankfully, I will be able to change to a "floating" schedule in approximately two weeks, which means I will not have to miss any more Sundays!
ReplyDeleteWe are happy that you will be able to join us more often but we certainly understand about the work schedule. We've been praying with you that God would open up your schedule and are very happy that he is answering!
DeleteI need more boldness and experience in witnessing. When I first moved to Norcross I was pumped up about establishing relationships with all my neighbors as an avenue to later share my faith. Three and a half months later, that hasn't happened beyond a couple feeble attempts. I work all night at my two jobs, sleep most of the day, and then spend a couple of hours with my family. I am blessed to be able to openly witness and talk to others about Jesus at my job! But, I have been haunted by a few "what ifs" while out in public - times where I was disinterested or in too much of a hurry, and may have missed an open door.
ReplyDeleteAmen! I need more boldness in witnessing as well. It urges me on to pray for more of the Holy Spirit and take advantage of the opportunities for the "next time. I've been working on some surveys that I've found to be a helpful initial touchpoint. I'm using them first at work and then will distribute them to the church. Remember that your family are your first disciples, so never feel bad about putting the time that you have first into them, because that is your first priority (after Jesus of course). We can talk more in the future, but I think that the Saturday afternoon movie days and other such events (that both you and Hanjun have held) are a great venue to be inviting neighbors to.
DeleteI was amazed by the description of the Holy Spirit coming to the disciples in Chapter 2. They all felt a physical shaking of the house and saw a common vision of the tongues of fire falling on them, and they began to speak in other languages that they did not know. I've heard of God doing things like this in other situations where people are gathered together and praying for the Holy Spirit too. I've been in situations where I felt like the Holy Spirit was there, and I've even seen a prayer meeting where many people are speaking in tongues, and I also felt free to speak in tongues after praying to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. But as far as I know there was no confirmation that the speaking was intelligible to anyone--there was no interpretation that I know of. So I have felt more doubt about this experience in recent years, and haven't tried to speak in tongues in a long time.
ReplyDeleteI think an important aspect of speaking in tongues in this situation is that were many people in Jerusalem around the house who heard the sound of them praising God and telling of his miracles. And each person heard them speaking in his own native language. This seems like the gift of interpretation at the same time--the disciples were speaking a language they did not know, and at the same time many people were hearing the words in the language they most understood. Many people could recognize this as a miracle and demonstrating the power of God, while others mocked them and thought it was because they were drunk!
I think it's astonishing that no matter how strong the sign of God's presence is, people who do not want to know God and come into the light will find some way to explain it away. They say that God could have easily done this or that or prove his existence and presence, but they are unwilling to accept the clear signs that he has already given.