WEBVTT 00:00:05.099 --> 00:00:07.820 Well, here we are another week, another episode 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:11.339 of the Semi -Seminarian. This is a continuation 00:00:11.339 --> 00:00:13.740 of our Bible study series, which we're calling 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:16.620 the Bible for Grownups. In this episode, we're 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:19.019 looking at part two of our study of the Acts 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:22.000 of the Apostles. Tonight, our talk is entitled 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.480 The Roof. The roof, the roof is on fire. We're 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:29.160 going to be looking at the significance. of the 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:32.100 Pentecost action, the descent of the Holy Spirit 00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:36.280 onto the people that we find in chapter 2. I'll 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:44.420 see you on the other side. So in order to wrap 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:45.659 up on time, I'm going to go ahead and get started. 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:52.479 This is session 2 of our study on Acts of the 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.369 Roof. The roof is on fire. And we're going to 00:00:56.369 --> 00:00:59.289 actually begin the study on Acts chapter 2 by 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:01.689 looking in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy. 00:01:01.750 --> 00:01:04.109 So if you see your sheet there, if you want to 00:01:04.109 --> 00:01:07.290 go ahead and get to Deuteronomy 26 and wait for 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:10.890 me, I'll catch up with you guys. So last time 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:13.590 when we were together, we looked at the first 00:01:13.590 --> 00:01:16.209 chapter of Acts, and we found ourselves right 00:01:16.209 --> 00:01:19.650 at the end of that chapter with the 11 disciples, 00:01:20.090 --> 00:01:23.409 apostles, now picking a replacement for Judas. 00:01:24.010 --> 00:01:26.450 And we will recall, this is going to be important 00:01:26.450 --> 00:01:29.810 not only through that lesson, but also through 00:01:29.810 --> 00:01:31.909 this one too, that there was something that was 00:01:31.909 --> 00:01:35.329 very, very important to the disciples in picking 00:01:35.329 --> 00:01:40.590 that replacement. And they had two things that 00:01:40.590 --> 00:01:44.209 they wanted to look for. One, they decided that 00:01:44.209 --> 00:01:46.950 the apostle, the replacement, should have been 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:49.590 with them the whole time. And been with them 00:01:49.590 --> 00:01:53.430 the whole time was actually defined. by Peter 00:01:53.430 --> 00:01:56.450 by saying that there's a beginning, and that 00:01:56.450 --> 00:01:59.890 beginning is Jesus' baptism, and then there's 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:03.469 the resurrection or the ascension at the end 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:06.730 of his earthly life. So there's a start and there's 00:02:06.730 --> 00:02:08.870 the beginning, the start and the end, if you 00:02:08.870 --> 00:02:11.909 will, for someone that's been with us for the 00:02:11.909 --> 00:02:14.229 whole time. There's two things that are in common 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:17.870 with each one of those signposts. The first one 00:02:17.870 --> 00:02:21.229 is that there's a witnessing of heaven by witnesses. 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:24.909 In the baptism by John the Baptist, the heavens 00:02:24.909 --> 00:02:27.849 open up, the spirit descends upon Jesus as a 00:02:27.849 --> 00:02:30.770 dove. And then, of course, after the resurrection, 00:02:31.509 --> 00:02:36.490 the eyewitnesses discovered, witnessed the heavens 00:02:36.490 --> 00:02:39.870 opening up during the ascension. The other thing 00:02:39.870 --> 00:02:42.710 that those two events held in common was that 00:02:42.710 --> 00:02:45.810 not only was it witnessed and participated in 00:02:45.810 --> 00:02:50.009 by the 12 apostles, but also it was witnessed 00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:53.960 by other people. So they could spread this news 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.860 of the resurrection as it being an event, as 00:02:56.860 --> 00:02:59.340 it being eyewitness testimony, and it's something 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:01.479 that not only they and their close circle of 00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:04.639 friends saw, but other people saw as well. That 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:08.620 eyewitness testimony, part of it, was super, 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:12.199 super important. Because the apostles, we're 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:15.560 going to find, are going to start the early church, 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:20.199 the Christian movement, not just on faith. Not 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:22.759 just on something that a book told them to believe 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:25.879 in. They're going to begin the Christian faith, 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:31.379 the worship of Jesus, on an event. An actual 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:34.259 event that's backed up by eyewitness testimony. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.500 So tonight we're going to look at chapter 2 of 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.620 the Acts of the Apostles. And this is going to 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:42.680 deal with another one of these Jewish festivals 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:46.439 that's called the Feast of the First Fruits. 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:50.629 It's also known as Pentecost. And the timing, 00:03:50.650 --> 00:03:53.289 just to remember to put ourselves in the time 00:03:53.289 --> 00:03:56.810 frame here, the timing is going to be Passover 00:03:56.810 --> 00:04:02.710 plus seven sevens. So 50 days, 49 days plus the 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:08.610 day of Passover. That day is is Pentecost. And 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:12.669 people will return back just a couple of months 00:04:12.669 --> 00:04:16.509 after the Passover festival. They'll return back. 00:04:16.949 --> 00:04:20.949 to offer their first fruits offering. And the 00:04:20.949 --> 00:04:24.170 reason why I want to start off in Deuteronomy 00:04:24.170 --> 00:04:27.490 is I want to get a Jewish understanding of this 00:04:27.490 --> 00:04:30.250 festival before we look at the Christian significance 00:04:30.250 --> 00:04:35.509 of Pentecost. Because I think that we find in 00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:37.810 the Bible stuff that, man, that sure is really 00:04:37.810 --> 00:04:40.769 coincidental, and we realize that it's not coincidence. 00:04:40.810 --> 00:04:43.860 It's a pattern of God's behavior. that shows 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:46.439 us something about what we can trust about God 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:48.839 and the way he's acted in the past, and God can 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:52.259 act in the future. So I believe that there are 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:54.220 some distinct parallels that we can draw between 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.660 the Jewish celebration of the festival of first 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:00.680 fruits and the Christian celebration of Pentecost. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.399 So beginning with the first verse of the 26th 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:09.040 chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses writes, When you 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:12.040 have entered the land the Lord your God is giving 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:15.300 you as an inheritance and have taken possession 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:19.060 of it and settled in it, take some of the first 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:21.199 fruits of all that you produce from the soil 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:24.879 of the land the Lord your God is giving you and 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:28.079 put them in a basket. Then go to the place the 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.439 Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:34.160 name and say to the priest in office at the time, 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:37.959 I declare today. To the Lord your God that I 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.120 have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:46.779 to give. Verse 4. The priest shall take the basket 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:49.319 from your hands and set it down in front of the 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:52.180 altar of the Lord your God. Then you shall declare 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:54.899 before the Lord your God. You're going to say 00:05:54.899 --> 00:06:00.139 this out loud. My father was a wandering Armenian. 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:08.970 What? What's an Armenian? Syrian, okay? Same 00:06:08.970 --> 00:06:11.449 thing. These are just different names of the 00:06:11.449 --> 00:06:15.029 same thing. This is going to be modern -day Syria 00:06:15.029 --> 00:06:21.009 or northwest Iraq or northwest Babylon at that 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:27.149 time, Mesopotamia, okay? And I said Armenian, 00:06:27.290 --> 00:06:33.629 and it should be Armenian. So let's go down this 00:06:33.629 --> 00:06:37.399 rabbit hole, okay, about Armenians. These Jewish 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:41.360 people are declaring that I, just because I don't 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.180 like saying that word, let's say Syrian because 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:44.959 it's the same word. It's easier for us to say. 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:49.980 So this is someone that comes from Syria or northwest 00:06:49.980 --> 00:06:55.000 Babylon. And so we're declaring as Jewish people, 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:59.699 my father was a wandering Syrian. Now, I want 00:06:59.699 --> 00:07:05.060 you to turn to Genesis chapter 24. Not too far 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:10.019 away, all the way on the left -hand side. In 00:07:10.019 --> 00:07:15.100 the 24th chapter of Genesis, we find the patriarch 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:22.959 Abraham, and Abraham is now in Canaan. Specifically, 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:29.040 he's in Hebron, which is south of Jerusalem, 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:34.430 and would have then been called Philistia. or 00:07:34.430 --> 00:07:37.329 Philistia. Today we would call that Palestine. 00:07:38.110 --> 00:07:42.449 So he is in the land of Canaan, land that today 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:46.029 is not Israel, but is in Palestine, the city 00:07:46.029 --> 00:07:50.610 of Hebron on the west bank of the Jordan. So 00:07:50.610 --> 00:07:54.350 Abraham's here, and Sarah, his wife, has died, 00:07:54.490 --> 00:07:59.709 and he is very old. So chapter 24 of Genesis 00:07:59.709 --> 00:08:03.100 says, Abraham was now very old. And the Lord 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:06.459 had blessed him in every way. He said to the 00:08:06.459 --> 00:08:09.579 senior servant in his household, the one in charge 00:08:09.579 --> 00:08:13.100 of all that he had, put your hand under my thigh. 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:16.879 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.540 and the God of earth, that you will not get a 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:23.319 wife for my son from the daughter of the Canaanites, 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:29.459 among whom I am living. But you will go to my 00:08:29.459 --> 00:08:34.519 country. and my relatives to get a wife for my 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:40.899 son Isaac. Skipping down to 15, this servant 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:45.960 has now made his way to this area of northwest 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:50.179 Babylon or Syria. Before he had finished praying, 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:53.659 Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:59.340 She was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah. 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:02.690 who was the wife of Abraham's brother, Nabor. 00:09:03.649 --> 00:09:09.509 So who's Bethuel? Bethuel is Abraham's nephew. 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:16.149 We are in the northwest portion of Iraq. We are 00:09:16.149 --> 00:09:19.769 north of what we call today the country of Israel, 00:09:19.990 --> 00:09:23.190 kind of up where it starts to touch where Turkey 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:25.149 would be, if you have the Middle East map in 00:09:25.149 --> 00:09:31.210 your head like I do. ancestral home of Abraham. 00:09:31.830 --> 00:09:36.070 We find Abraham, Genesis finds Abraham in the 00:09:36.070 --> 00:09:41.029 city of Ur of the Chaldeans. But this is his 00:09:41.029 --> 00:09:45.009 ancestral home. So this servant has left Canaan, 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:49.129 Hebron, and gone northward, north and eastward, 00:09:49.149 --> 00:09:53.309 to northwest Babylon, back to where Abraham originally 00:09:53.309 --> 00:09:58.960 was from. He has found his nephew, Bethuel, And 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:02.820 Bethuel has a daughter. That daughter is Rebekah. 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:10.399 Okay? He is an Aramean. Later, Isaac's son, Jacob, 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:16.600 would return back to this area. It's called Padah 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.320 Aram, where he married Leah and Rachel. They 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.519 would be the daughters of Laban, who again was 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:28.840 identified as an Aramean. So Abraham, Isaac, 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:35.240 and Jacob were all wandering Syrians. But this 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:39.159 verse in which we profess of our father is speaking 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:43.700 specifically about Jacob. Why? Well, Deuteronomy 00:10:43.700 --> 00:10:50.960 continues. So flip back to Deuteronomy 26. Deuteronomy 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:56.590 26 and 5. and he, the wandering Syrian father 00:10:56.590 --> 00:11:00.990 that I have, and he went down into Egypt with 00:11:00.990 --> 00:11:04.289 a few people and lived there and became a great 00:11:04.289 --> 00:11:08.529 nation, powerful and numerous. That's Jacob and 00:11:08.529 --> 00:11:11.470 his offspring, right? It's the result of Joseph 00:11:11.470 --> 00:11:14.870 and his divine placement in the Pharaoh's household. 00:11:16.590 --> 00:11:21.309 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:31.000 us to hard labor. Then we cried out to the Lord, 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:33.559 the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:35.799 our voice and saw our misery, toil, and oppression. 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:38.500 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:41.279 hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.179 and signs and wonders. He brought us to this 00:11:44.179 --> 00:11:46.700 place and gave us this land, a land flowing with 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:50.039 milk and honey. And now I This is the continuing 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:52.019 of this professment you would make in front of 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:54.799 the priest. And now I bring the first fruits 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:59.980 of the soil that you, Lord, have given me. Place 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:02.240 the basket before the Lord your God and bow down 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:05.399 before him. Then you and the Levites, that's 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:08.259 the priests, and the foreigners residing among 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:11.139 you shall rejoice in all the good things the 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:13.539 Lord your God has given you and your household. 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:17.990 Okay, so in regular person words, So we can all 00:12:17.990 --> 00:12:21.149 understand this. What are they celebrating at 00:12:21.149 --> 00:12:26.809 First Fruits? Or this Pentecost festival? They're 00:12:26.809 --> 00:12:30.370 celebrating the fact that God had made a promise 00:12:30.370 --> 00:12:34.549 to them, right? And that promise had been fulfilled. 00:12:35.409 --> 00:12:39.490 The produce of that land, this agricultural produce, 00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:43.629 of the land that God gave them is proof that 00:12:43.629 --> 00:12:47.330 God had fulfilled his end of the bargain. Even 00:12:47.330 --> 00:12:51.610 in times that you relate in the words you say, 00:12:51.690 --> 00:12:55.590 even in times where things didn't go well, God 00:12:55.590 --> 00:13:00.450 says, I still promised you blessing. I still 00:13:00.450 --> 00:13:04.509 promised you deliverance. God is saying through 00:13:04.509 --> 00:13:09.929 all of this, I am always faithful. I've made 00:13:09.929 --> 00:13:14.000 a promise to you, and I've kept it. And your 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.120 recognition of my sovereignty as God is a portion 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:21.740 of the first harvest of the land I have provided 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:26.000 you. And when we think about the conversion of 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.019 the first souls on this day of Pentecost, we 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:33.279 might equate that to the first harvest. That 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.519 God is again proving His faithfulness to the 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:41.620 human being. That the story of the Bible is in 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:46.889 fact A story of God and His creation and how 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:50.789 God time and again creates a way that we might 00:13:50.789 --> 00:13:54.110 come in contact with Him even when we choose 00:13:54.110 --> 00:14:00.190 the other choice because of His love. And so 00:14:00.190 --> 00:14:04.629 the festival of first fruits, I think, has a 00:14:04.629 --> 00:14:09.409 very real symbolic connection to what we'll see 00:14:09.409 --> 00:14:14.580 as Christian Pentecost. Okay, so having said 00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:17.139 that, let's look at Christian Pentecost. Let's 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:19.340 look at that day. So we're going to begin in 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:26.340 the second chapter of Acts, verse 1. When the 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:30.580 day of Pentecost came, they, now this is going 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:33.940 to be all of the apostles and then their followers, 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:37.779 they were all together in one place. Tradition 00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:41.789 tells us that this is still the upper room. perhaps 00:14:41.789 --> 00:14:46.450 of John Mark's mother's house. And suddenly a 00:14:46.450 --> 00:14:49.990 sound like the blowing of a violent wind came 00:14:49.990 --> 00:14:53.230 from heaven and filled the whole house where 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:56.350 they were sitting. And they saw what seemed to 00:14:56.350 --> 00:15:00.429 be tongues of fire that separated and came to 00:15:00.429 --> 00:15:04.830 rest on each one of them. All of them were filled 00:15:04.830 --> 00:15:07.909 with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other 00:15:07.909 --> 00:15:12.549 tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now, Luke, 00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:17.789 the historian here, is overlaying these events 00:15:17.789 --> 00:15:21.470 in the second chapter of Acts with the ancient 00:15:21.470 --> 00:15:24.990 stories of the people of Israel. Not only as 00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:29.590 a literary device, but to show us the consistency 00:15:29.590 --> 00:15:35.529 of God. Think about this. If God brought order 00:15:35.529 --> 00:15:40.830 out of chaos, then we should be able to see God 00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:44.169 acting and working in an orderly way with us, 00:15:44.269 --> 00:15:47.970 in a way that seems to make sense and follow 00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:52.289 a pattern. That's what order out of chaos would 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:55.769 mean. He would be working and interacting with 00:15:55.769 --> 00:15:59.929 us in an orderly way. And when we can see that 00:15:59.929 --> 00:16:04.129 pattern in our lives, if we recognize it, it 00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:07.659 can actually form. one of those foundations of 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:11.000 faith that we need. Because if we can see God 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.220 acting in a consistent and faithful way, not 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:17.279 only through our lives, but throughout the whole 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.220 of the Bible, then we can anticipate and expect 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:24.840 and trust that he will act in the same orderly 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:29.919 way in the future. So the Holy Spirit has come 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:33.700 to the individual, and it's represented by wind, 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:40.340 Here and fire. Okay? Now, rhetorically, where 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:43.379 do we find other stories, perhaps, in the Bible 00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:46.240 of wind and fire? Remember, I'm looking for patterns 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.799 here, okay? So skip back to another book that 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:56.139 Moses wrote, Exodus. And I hope that as I go 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:58.259 through these, I hope that you'll see the magic 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:01.019 eye of it. As you stare at this a little bit 00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:04.150 longer, and then all of a sudden, I think it'll 00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:06.009 pop out and all of a sudden you'll see the fish 00:17:06.009 --> 00:17:09.690 swimming in the whatever, right? So Exodus chapter 00:17:09.690 --> 00:17:17.349 3, verse 1. We find Moses tending the flock of 00:17:17.349 --> 00:17:21.630 Jethro, his father -in -law, who was a priest 00:17:21.630 --> 00:17:26.250 in Midian. And he led the flock to the far side 00:17:26.250 --> 00:17:29.089 of the wilderness and came to Horeb. That is 00:17:29.089 --> 00:17:31.710 a mountain that will later be called Mount Sinai. 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:35.000 The mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.299 appeared to him in flames of fire from within 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:42.740 a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:45.680 fire, it did not burn up. So Moses thought, I 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.980 will go over and see this strange sight, why 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:53.599 the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:57.619 that he had gone over to look, God called to 00:17:57.619 --> 00:18:03.609 him from within the bush. Moses. Now, while we're 00:18:03.609 --> 00:18:08.910 in Exodus, skip to Exodus chapter 40. And we 00:18:08.910 --> 00:18:11.089 are going to begin looking at the first verse 00:18:11.089 --> 00:18:13.849 of Exodus chapter 40. And while you're flipping 00:18:13.849 --> 00:18:16.190 there, let me kind of set you up where we're 00:18:16.190 --> 00:18:19.509 at in the story. We have got to the point now 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:23.569 where the people of God are in the wilderness 00:18:23.569 --> 00:18:27.849 and it is time for God to instruct Moses on how 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:32.670 to build the movable tabernacle. Okay, so he's 00:18:32.670 --> 00:18:35.450 telling him how it's supposed to be done and 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:38.910 he's now commanding him to do it. Okay, so Exodus 00:18:38.910 --> 00:18:43.089 chapter 40 verse 1 begins this way. Then the 00:18:43.089 --> 00:18:46.170 Lord says to Moses, set up the tabernacle, the 00:18:46.170 --> 00:18:48.170 tent of meeting on the first day of the first 00:18:48.170 --> 00:18:50.529 month. Place the ark of the covenant law in it. 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:53.869 Shield the ark with a curtain. Bring in the table 00:18:53.869 --> 00:18:56.910 and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in 00:18:56.910 --> 00:18:59.920 the lampstand and set up its lamps. Place the 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:02.319 gold altar of incense in front of the Ark of 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.579 the Covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:08.660 of the tabernacle. Now, skim down to verse 33. 00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:14.180 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:17.319 and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.720 to the courtyard. And so Moses finished his work. 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:26.779 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:30.900 the glory. of the lord filled the tabernacle 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:36.660 the presence of god as indicated by this cloud 00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:43.740 or smoke has filled filled the tabernacle okay 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:47.619 moses could not enter the tent of meeting because 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:49.480 the cloud had settled on it and the glory of 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:52.200 the lord filled the tabernacle in all of the 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:55.240 travels of the israelites Whenever the cloud 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:57.579 lifted from above the tabernacle, they would 00:19:57.579 --> 00:20:00.900 set out. But if the cloud did not lift, they 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:04.140 did not set out until the day it lifted. So the 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:07.640 cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.720 day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:15.279 sight of all the Israelites during their travels. 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:21.240 Now, I want you to skip to 2 Chronicles. And 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:23.359 while you're getting there, I'm going to tell 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.599 you about one of the things that we see when 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:31.539 we see this, the Hebrew word is Shekinah. Shekinah, 00:20:31.539 --> 00:20:33.839 which means the physical manifestation of the 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:38.720 glory of God. God's presence on earth. In essence, 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.259 we have an earthly realm and a heavenly realm. 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:46.240 And where those two realms intersect, where heaven 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:50.230 and earth meet, These are the moments where we 00:20:50.230 --> 00:20:53.569 see the manifestation of God's glory through 00:20:53.569 --> 00:20:58.910 wind, through fire, smoke, or cloud. In these 00:20:58.910 --> 00:21:02.750 moments where heaven and earth overlap, there 00:21:02.750 --> 00:21:09.089 we find God's presence. In the incident in Exodus 00:21:09.089 --> 00:21:14.569 chapter 40, this intersection is that movable 00:21:14.569 --> 00:21:18.160 tabernacle, right? That's where the cloud of 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:23.119 God filled the movable tabernacle. That was the 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:27.500 place where the heavenly realm intersected with 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:31.660 the earthly realm. Now, once the people get settled, 00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:36.059 it's time to build an actual building this time. 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:39.660 2 Chronicles describes the building of that temple 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:44.630 by David's son Solomon. And we are now looking 00:21:44.630 --> 00:21:48.630 at the dedication or the consecration of Solomon's 00:21:48.630 --> 00:21:52.450 temple, here by Solomon. In 2 Chronicles, and 00:21:52.450 --> 00:21:54.130 I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you to go to chapter 00:21:54.130 --> 00:22:00.390 7. In 2 Chronicles 7, verse 1, Scripture says 00:22:00.390 --> 00:22:04.549 this, When Solomon finished praying, fire came 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:07.769 down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering 00:22:07.769 --> 00:22:12.190 and sacrifices. The glory of the Lord filled 00:22:12.190 --> 00:22:16.470 the temple. The priests could not enter the temple 00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:19.190 of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled 00:22:19.190 --> 00:22:24.829 it. When all of the Israelites saw the fire coming 00:22:24.829 --> 00:22:27.589 down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, 00:22:27.670 --> 00:22:30.130 they knelt on the pavement with their faces to 00:22:30.130 --> 00:22:33.390 the ground and they worshiped and they gave thanks 00:22:33.390 --> 00:22:37.609 to the Lord saying, He is good. His love endures 00:22:37.609 --> 00:22:41.809 forever. What do these events have in common? 00:22:42.269 --> 00:22:46.529 These events have in common the tabernacling 00:22:46.529 --> 00:22:52.670 of God with his people. Now, we use that word 00:22:52.670 --> 00:22:56.869 tabernacle to think of a place, a structure, 00:22:57.130 --> 00:23:02.869 a building, some sort of holy structure. But 00:23:02.869 --> 00:23:05.589 that's actually not what the word tabernacle 00:23:05.589 --> 00:23:09.519 means. The word tabernacle actually means to 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:14.200 dwell with. In the very first chapter of John, 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:17.599 when John is explaining in the beginning about 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:21.079 the Word and the flesh, he says in the 14th verse, 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:26.500 and God dwelt among us. John 1, verse 14. You 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:28.359 don't have to turn there. I'm just quoting it. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:33.640 John says, God coming to the earth. Dwelt among 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.460 us. The word dwelt there in the gospel account 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:41.599 is the word tabernacle. Or in English, tabernacled. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:48.319 It's the place where heaven and earth meet. Here 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:56.420 in Acts, verse 4 of chapter 2, we read that all 00:23:56.420 --> 00:24:02.960 of them, all of the individual people, had the 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:07.579 fire above them and were filled with the Holy 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:13.079 Spirit. In each one of them individually, the 00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:17.500 Spirit of God didn't tabernacle in a place, be 00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:21.700 it temporary or permanent, but He tabernacled 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:27.160 within us. We can see the consistency of God's 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:30.359 actions here, right? God comes to the earth. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:34.539 From the heavenly realm, and that manifestation 00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:38.400 is through wind or fire or smoke or cloud, the 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.700 way that we can perceive it, right? The difference 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:46.799 is in the Old Testament, God chose to dwell in 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:50.660 a place for the benefit of the people. And under 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:54.099 the new covenant, God has decided to dwell within 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:58.720 the people. And so when we read of the people 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:02.160 with the... Tongues like fire above their head. 00:25:02.619 --> 00:25:07.579 That's why we're having that. That's why we have 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:11.440 that as an image. That's God showing us something. 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:15.480 That's God tying us back to those ancient stories 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:21.019 of the Israelite people. Continuing on in Acts 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:29.000 chapter 2, verse 5. Now, they were staying in 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:33.279 Jerusalem. There were staying in Jerusalem. God 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:35.480 -fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:39.799 They have returned back to the festival of first 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:42.420 fruits or Pentecost. Now, if you were with us 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:45.059 when we talked about the coming of people to 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:49.640 Passover, and we said that scholars have determined 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:52.359 that the city of Jerusalem may have swelled to 00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:54.299 three times its normal size during Passover. 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:58.589 The festival of... Pentecost is not that big. 00:25:58.769 --> 00:26:02.890 But still, it's going to swell to probably double 00:26:02.890 --> 00:26:08.769 its size. There are people everywhere. And so, 00:26:08.930 --> 00:26:13.190 they're from all over the place. And when they 00:26:13.190 --> 00:26:18.549 heard this sound, the wind rushing through, they 00:26:18.549 --> 00:26:22.640 came together in bewilderment. Because when this 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:28.400 all happened, they began to hear each one in 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:32.460 their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:36.059 they asked, aren't all these who are speaking 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:38.559 Galileans? Now I want to pause right there for 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:42.480 a second. How would they have known that? Because 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:45.180 they're hearing in their own language. It's not 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:48.039 that they're hearing Aramaic, unless of course 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:51.799 Aramaic was their own language. And if they were 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:55.400 speaking Aramaic, then they maybe would have 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:57.680 been able to assume that they were Galileans. 00:26:58.019 --> 00:27:02.700 Because Aramaic was the dialect of Galilee. Perhaps 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:06.640 it was their dialect. One of the scholars that 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:10.960 I had read for the study in Matthew had indicated 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:14.660 that Galileans had, I guess, the Galilean dialect 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:17.670 of Aramaic. I think you guys may remember me 00:27:17.670 --> 00:27:19.849 saying this is particularly annoying to people. 00:27:20.289 --> 00:27:23.630 And so much so that Galileans weren't allowed 00:27:23.630 --> 00:27:26.329 to read the proclamations in synagogue. People 00:27:26.329 --> 00:27:28.170 just didn't like to hear the way they talked. 00:27:29.089 --> 00:27:32.130 So it could have been their dialect, maybe their, 00:27:32.170 --> 00:27:36.019 what do we call it, their accent. Even though 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:38.240 they're hearing their own language, maybe they're 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:40.720 hearing it in an accent that sounds strange to 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:43.140 them. Perhaps it's that. Maybe it was how the 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:45.960 Galileans dressed. Remember, these guys are all 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:49.299 fishermen. They're country bumpkins. Maybe it 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:54.279 was the way that they dressed. We don't really 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:58.160 know why it was so clearly stated, aren't these 00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:03.500 guys Galileans? Although an interesting thought. 00:28:04.650 --> 00:28:07.150 That is not backed up by Scripture, but an interesting 00:28:07.150 --> 00:28:10.089 thing to think about is maybe some of these people 00:28:10.089 --> 00:28:14.049 did know Him. Remember, it's just been a couple 00:28:14.049 --> 00:28:15.950 of weeks since all the brouhaha went down at 00:28:15.950 --> 00:28:20.269 Passover. Remember how famous, how popular Jesus 00:28:20.269 --> 00:28:23.309 was when He came in to celebrate that Passover. 00:28:23.589 --> 00:28:26.509 It wouldn't be completely out of the realm of 00:28:26.509 --> 00:28:30.650 possibility that the people calling out the Galileans 00:28:30.650 --> 00:28:33.730 here might very well recall a few months ago. 00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:38.579 When these guys were with Jesus, maybe that's 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:41.140 a part of the story. Again, there's no backup 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:42.940 to that. I'm just saying it's an interesting 00:28:42.940 --> 00:28:48.039 thing to think about. So continuing on with Acts 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:51.720 here, then how is it that each one of us, if 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:53.779 they're Galileans, how can we be hearing in our 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:56.839 native language? And then Luke has a timeout 00:28:56.839 --> 00:28:59.460 here and starts just in the middle of this story 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:02.960 that's really spectacular. He just starts laying 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:06.359 out. a geography lesson about the people that 00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:09.019 are there. He says the Parthians, the Medes, 00:29:09.019 --> 00:29:12.720 the Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:17.900 Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phygeia, Pamphylia, 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:21.400 Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors 00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:24.859 from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, 00:29:25.660 --> 00:29:32.380 Cretans from Greece, and Arabs. Luke doesn't 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:35.319 have to tell us this. Luke doesn't have to tell 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:39.500 us anything. So why would he stop the middle 00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:42.339 of this fairly exciting narrative and list all 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:45.500 of this out? I believe it's to indicate to us 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:49.319 that in this moment when the Holy Spirit comes 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:52.980 upon these individual people and the fruit of 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:56.279 the Holy Spirit begins to spread, As they hear 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:59.039 each one of their languages being spoken, what 00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:03.559 this list of people represents is basically the 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:07.500 whole known world at the time. Now, it doesn't 00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:11.299 include Chinese or Russians or whatever, South 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:15.140 Americans, because that part of the world wasn't 00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:18.140 known then in the first century. But in the first 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:21.180 century, this basically... When Luke writes this 00:30:21.180 --> 00:30:23.480 out, he's saying to the first century reader, 00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:27.380 somebody from everywhere was here. There were 00:30:27.380 --> 00:30:30.819 people from the whole world here. And we hear 00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:33.500 them declaring the wonders of God in our own 00:30:33.500 --> 00:30:36.559 tongues, amazed and perplexed. They asked one 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:40.579 another, what does this mean? Some, however, 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:43.940 made fun of them and said, they've had too much 00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:50.839 wine. Sweet bear wine. And then Peter stood up 00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:53.799 with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed 00:30:53.799 --> 00:30:56.859 the crowd. Fellow Jews and all of you who live 00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:59.619 in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. Listen 00:30:59.619 --> 00:31:02.119 carefully to what I say. These people are not 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:05.339 drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:07.779 morning. And I'm sure people probably went, ah, 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:09.839 right, yeah, because they'd be day drinking, 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:16.099 right? They're partying all night. No, Peter 00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:20.039 says, no. This is what was spoken of by the prophet 00:31:20.039 --> 00:31:23.480 Joel. Oh, wait. Oh, yeah, because we're Jewish. 00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:26.380 We know this, right? We don't. But the Jewish 00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:28.720 people would have went, oh, okay. And he just 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:30.579 straight up quotes from Joel's prophecy here. 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:34.559 The second chapter of Joel's prophecy. In the 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:37.220 last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:40.420 on all my people. Your sons and daughters will 00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:43.220 prophesy. Your young men will see visions and 00:31:43.220 --> 00:32:09.599 your old men will dream dreams. Now, there's 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:13.579 three options here. Either Joel is talking about 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:18.640 an event that... had happened, or Joel is talking 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:22.740 about an event that will happen, or Joel is talking 00:32:22.740 --> 00:32:27.680 about an event that is happening right now. Is 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.839 Joel's prophecy, is what he's talking about in 00:32:30.839 --> 00:32:34.240 these last days, is this something that in the 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:37.440 chronology of the Bible, is it something that 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.799 had already happened? Is it something that will 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:42.099 happen? Or is it something that is happening? 00:32:42.670 --> 00:32:46.109 As Peter is speaking Joel's prophecy. That's 00:32:46.109 --> 00:32:49.789 my argument. That this is about right now, Peter 00:32:49.789 --> 00:32:53.549 is saying. And if you go back, go home and read 00:32:53.549 --> 00:32:56.730 and start back at Joel, beginning of Joel. Joel 00:32:56.730 --> 00:33:00.190 is, there's a famine in the land and the people 00:33:00.190 --> 00:33:05.849 have just suffered a plague of locusts. The reason 00:33:05.849 --> 00:33:08.269 why they're suffering the drought and the locusts 00:33:08.269 --> 00:33:11.369 is because the people of Israel have turned away 00:33:11.369 --> 00:33:15.619 from God. And in the very first part of the explanation, 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:19.460 in chapter 1, this is chapter 2, but in chapter 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:23.039 1, Joel actually says something to the people 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:28.619 of Israel. He says, you drunkards, wake up. Arise. 00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:35.259 Put the wine down. I think Peter knows his Bible. 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:37.799 And given the fact that they had just made the 00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:39.819 comment about being drunk at 9 in the morning, 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:44.000 This is tying all of that in. If you memorized 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:47.079 Joel as a kid, you might have chuckled whenever 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:50.099 he starts reading Joel 2 because we just accused 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:52.259 those guys of being drunk and went, oh, yeah. 00:33:52.460 --> 00:33:55.339 I remember from when Joel had that problem with 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:58.039 the locusts. The other thing I think is interesting 00:33:58.039 --> 00:34:02.640 is, and I've done about a full day of research 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:05.619 on this to finally decide where I'm coming down 00:34:05.619 --> 00:34:07.900 because I think the last time I had mentioned 00:34:07.900 --> 00:34:11.650 that this event, It's happening in the spring 00:34:11.650 --> 00:34:17.369 of 30. I've changed my mind. I've changed my 00:34:17.369 --> 00:34:22.230 mind because even though Isaac Newton came up 00:34:22.230 --> 00:34:27.630 with April of 30, there's a better theory out 00:34:27.630 --> 00:34:34.230 there. There's actually a theory that the crucifixion 00:34:34.230 --> 00:34:40.780 of Jesus happened on April 3rd, 33. And the reason 00:34:40.780 --> 00:34:43.780 why that is there is because astronomers have 00:34:43.780 --> 00:34:46.840 gone back and have actually showed that at 6 00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:51.300 .02 p .m. there was a lunar eclipse. That as 00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:53.619 the sun was beginning to set and the moon began 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:57.800 to rise, the moon would have filled like blood. 00:34:58.480 --> 00:35:01.920 So if he would have been crucified at 3 p .m. 00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:05.440 and sent to the tomb at 6 p .m., it would have 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.880 actually been at a time where astronomers have 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:11.710 been able to indicate, that in Jerusalem at 6 00:35:11.710 --> 00:35:14.809 .02 p .m. there would have been a lunar eclipse, 00:35:14.909 --> 00:35:17.590 a partial lunar eclipse that would have made 00:35:17.590 --> 00:35:21.070 the moon red. That event would have occurred 00:35:21.070 --> 00:35:26.889 on April 3rd, 33. So he could also be saying, 00:35:27.030 --> 00:35:30.269 remember whenever all that hubbub happened with 00:35:30.269 --> 00:35:33.329 Jesus and we had the blood moon? That's coming 00:35:33.329 --> 00:35:36.809 from Joel too. What he's doing though, Peter, 00:35:37.369 --> 00:35:39.690 He's quoting Joel 2. I think those are a couple 00:35:39.690 --> 00:35:42.829 of interesting theories. But what Peter is actually 00:35:42.829 --> 00:35:46.309 doing is he's trying to explain the phenomenon 00:35:46.309 --> 00:35:50.250 of speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit has descended 00:35:50.250 --> 00:35:53.369 into the individual. The individual as a human 00:35:53.369 --> 00:35:55.530 being now acts differently than the human being 00:35:55.530 --> 00:35:58.670 has acted in the past because now the Holy Spirit, 00:35:58.730 --> 00:36:01.829 the intersection of earth and heaven is now here, 00:36:01.969 --> 00:36:06.269 not in a building. And as we begin to speak in 00:36:06.269 --> 00:36:09.130 tongues, I think Peter, whenever he uses Joel's 00:36:09.130 --> 00:36:11.829 prophecy to say that our sons and daughters will 00:36:11.829 --> 00:36:14.530 prophesy, that young men will see visions and 00:36:14.530 --> 00:36:17.670 old men will dream dreams, right? And he'll pour 00:36:17.670 --> 00:36:21.489 out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. 00:36:21.710 --> 00:36:24.909 Peter is pulling it out from Joel here. This 00:36:24.909 --> 00:36:29.050 is promised already to us from God. We shouldn't 00:36:29.050 --> 00:36:31.429 be surprised. We certainly shouldn't be thinking 00:36:31.429 --> 00:36:34.000 these guys are drunk. Because if you know Joel 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:37.000 the way I know Joel, and I know you do, then 00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:39.380 you would have already known. This was prophesied. 00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:44.579 It was promised to us. Peter's also saying that 00:36:44.579 --> 00:36:51.480 what we're seeing, right, that is proof of God's 00:36:51.480 --> 00:36:57.340 order through chaos. So he continues on. Fellow 00:36:57.340 --> 00:37:01.599 Israelites, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:04.119 was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, 00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:08.340 wonders, and signs which God did among you through 00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:11.840 him as you yourselves know. This man was handed 00:37:11.840 --> 00:37:15.059 over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge, 00:37:15.159 --> 00:37:19.840 and you, with the help of wicked men, put him 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:23.179 to death by nailing him to the cross. But God 00:37:23.179 --> 00:37:26.079 raised him from the dead, freeing him from the 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:28.900 agony of death because it is impossible. For 00:37:28.900 --> 00:37:32.880 death to keep its hold on him. David said about 00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:35.800 him, I saw the Lord always before me because 00:37:35.800 --> 00:37:38.260 he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. 00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:41.280 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. 00:37:41.300 --> 00:37:45.019 My body also will rest in hope. Because you will 00:37:45.019 --> 00:37:47.500 not abandon me in the realm of the dead. You 00:37:47.500 --> 00:37:51.449 will not let your Holy One see decay. You have 00:37:51.449 --> 00:37:53.690 made known to me the paths of life and you will 00:37:53.690 --> 00:37:57.309 fill me with joy in your presence. By quoting 00:37:57.309 --> 00:38:01.429 this psalm here, and I believe this is the 110th 00:38:01.429 --> 00:38:06.050 psalm, I think. Peter is drawing the people's 00:38:06.050 --> 00:38:10.329 attention just like he does to Joel. This is 00:38:10.329 --> 00:38:12.670 something that should not catch us by surprise. 00:38:13.469 --> 00:38:16.929 We were told long ago that God was going to work 00:38:16.929 --> 00:38:21.690 in our lives in an unusual way. What's so unusual? 00:38:22.329 --> 00:38:25.849 Jesus died, the Messiah died, and death couldn't 00:38:25.849 --> 00:38:29.449 hold him. Usually people die and they stay dead. 00:38:29.730 --> 00:38:34.530 But Jesus didn't stay dead. God's already told 00:38:34.530 --> 00:38:38.449 us he's going to act in this unusual way. But 00:38:38.449 --> 00:38:41.210 let's pause here for just a moment and let's 00:38:41.210 --> 00:38:45.070 give Peter his right due. Because how long ago 00:38:45.070 --> 00:38:50.190 had it been since Peter... had denied knowing 00:38:50.190 --> 00:38:55.170 Jesus to a little girl? Fifty days. A couple 00:38:55.170 --> 00:38:57.949 of months. A month and a half. Two months. Right? 00:38:58.650 --> 00:39:01.730 How long ago had it been that Peter didn't even 00:39:01.730 --> 00:39:06.090 have the guts to go and see Jesus die because 00:39:06.090 --> 00:39:09.650 he was scared he might be next? A couple of months. 00:39:10.949 --> 00:39:16.170 In a few weeks, here he is standing amongst thousands 00:39:16.170 --> 00:39:21.420 of people in Jerusalem. and saying, you did it. 00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:27.280 You killed him. Something is different about 00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:30.460 Peter. And that should be encouraging for all 00:39:30.460 --> 00:39:33.340 of us. Because no matter how much you've screwed 00:39:33.340 --> 00:39:36.780 up in the past, I might have kicked Peter off 00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:41.159 the team. Jesus made him the quarterback. When 00:39:41.159 --> 00:39:43.820 the power of the Holy Spirit begins to work in 00:39:43.820 --> 00:39:47.539 us, it can, and not always, but it can work. 00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:54.199 So Peter, in this newfound spirit, says, fellow 00:39:54.199 --> 00:39:56.900 Israelites, I can tell you confidently, he's 00:39:56.900 --> 00:39:59.719 not going to let the David thing go. He says, 00:39:59.739 --> 00:40:01.559 I can tell you confidently that the patriarch 00:40:01.559 --> 00:40:06.579 David died and was buried, and his tomb, it is 00:40:06.579 --> 00:40:12.539 here, in this town, to this very day. But, he 00:40:12.539 --> 00:40:15.980 was a prophet, and he knew that God had promised 00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:19.300 him on an oath, That he would place one of his 00:40:19.300 --> 00:40:22.699 descendants, Isaiah chapter 11, one of his descendants 00:40:22.699 --> 00:40:27.519 on the throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke 00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:30.159 of the resurrection of the Messiah. That he was 00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:32.480 not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:36.300 his body see decay. God has raised Jesus to life. 00:40:36.860 --> 00:40:41.579 And, here's the big part, and we are all witnesses 00:40:41.579 --> 00:40:50.460 to it. We all saw that. Exalted to the right 00:40:50.460 --> 00:40:52.699 hand of God. He is received from the Father, 00:40:52.820 --> 00:40:55.320 the promised Holy Spirit, and has poured out 00:40:55.320 --> 00:41:00.400 what you now see and hear. For David did not 00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:03.159 ascend to heaven, and yet he said, the Lord said 00:41:03.159 --> 00:41:06.780 to my Lord, talking about Jesus, sit at my right 00:41:06.780 --> 00:41:08.880 hand until I make your enemies a footstool for 00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:12.980 your feet. Therefore, let all of Israel be assured 00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:20.150 of this. God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, 00:41:20.230 --> 00:41:25.869 both Lord and Messiah. When the people heard 00:41:25.869 --> 00:41:30.710 this, they were cut to the heart and said to 00:41:30.710 --> 00:41:35.010 Peter and the other apostles, brothers, what 00:41:35.010 --> 00:41:39.429 shall we do? Peter replied to them, repent. Now 00:41:39.429 --> 00:41:42.820 when he says repent here, he's not saying, Turn 00:41:42.820 --> 00:41:45.800 away from your sin of gambling. I mean, you might 00:41:45.800 --> 00:41:49.139 be, but Peter here is saying, change your mind 00:41:49.139 --> 00:41:52.019 about what you thought a couple of months ago 00:41:52.019 --> 00:41:55.539 about Jesus. Because Jesus isn't in that grave 00:41:55.539 --> 00:41:58.219 where they laid Him. And we are all witnesses 00:41:58.219 --> 00:42:02.300 to it. Repent and be baptized. Every one of you 00:42:02.300 --> 00:42:04.059 in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness 00:42:04.059 --> 00:42:07.320 of your sins. And you too will receive the gift 00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:10.000 of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:13.059 your children and for all who are far off, for 00:42:13.059 --> 00:42:16.840 all whom the Lord our God will call. With many 00:42:16.840 --> 00:42:19.219 other words he warned them and he pleaded with 00:42:19.219 --> 00:42:22.579 them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. 00:42:23.539 --> 00:42:26.460 Those who accepted his message were baptized 00:42:26.460 --> 00:42:30.079 and about 3 ,000 people were added to that number 00:42:30.079 --> 00:42:32.539 that day. I think that's an average Sunday probably 00:42:32.539 --> 00:42:40.030 for Life .Church. 3 ,000 people. 3 ,000 people 00:42:40.030 --> 00:42:46.150 in Jerusalem who had heard of or witnessed the 00:42:46.150 --> 00:42:51.969 life or the acts or the deeds of Jesus. 3 ,000 00:42:51.969 --> 00:42:56.469 people, and don't miss this, 3 ,000 people who 00:42:56.469 --> 00:42:59.949 could have at any time during Peter's speech 00:42:59.949 --> 00:43:04.130 said, time out. I would like the crowd to follow 00:43:04.130 --> 00:43:07.849 me because I can show you where he's buried. 00:43:08.840 --> 00:43:12.239 This wasn't years ago. This was two months ago. 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:17.280 Time out. I can take you to the place where I 00:43:17.280 --> 00:43:22.920 know his body is. No. In the very city where 00:43:22.920 --> 00:43:25.780 Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, over 00:43:25.780 --> 00:43:30.780 3 ,000 people said, we believe. And 3 ,000 people 00:43:30.780 --> 00:43:34.059 joined the church on day one and were baptized. 00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:36.780 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' 00:43:36.940 --> 00:43:39.769 teaching. and to fellowship, to the breaking 00:43:39.769 --> 00:43:42.710 of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with 00:43:42.710 --> 00:43:45.250 awe at the many wonders and signs performed by 00:43:45.250 --> 00:43:47.110 the apostles. All the believers were together 00:43:47.110 --> 00:43:49.969 and had everything in common. They sold property 00:43:49.969 --> 00:43:52.369 and possessions to give anyone who had need. 00:43:52.789 --> 00:43:55.150 Every day they continued to meet together in 00:43:55.150 --> 00:43:57.510 the temple courts. They broke bread in their 00:43:57.510 --> 00:43:59.650 homes and ate together with glad and sincere 00:43:59.650 --> 00:44:02.789 hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of 00:44:02.789 --> 00:44:05.789 all the people. And the Lord added to their number 00:44:05.789 --> 00:44:10.360 daily. Those who are being saved. And that's 00:44:10.360 --> 00:44:20.039 chapter two. Well, there you have it. I hope 00:44:20.039 --> 00:44:23.539 that that was illuminating and educational for 00:44:23.539 --> 00:44:26.880 you to listen to as much as it was for me to 00:44:26.880 --> 00:44:29.860 prepare for. Hey, before I let you go, if you 00:44:29.860 --> 00:44:32.420 like what we're doing here at the semi seminary, 00:44:32.460 --> 00:44:35.469 and I'd ask that if you would. If you could make 00:44:35.469 --> 00:44:37.530 sure to subscribe to the podcast, that way you'll 00:44:37.530 --> 00:44:41.230 be notified when we upload new episodes. Also, 00:44:41.349 --> 00:44:45.030 however it is that you listen to this podcast, 00:44:45.130 --> 00:44:47.829 if you could take the time to rate and review 00:44:47.829 --> 00:44:51.130 the podcast, we'd greatly appreciate it. It helps 00:44:51.130 --> 00:44:54.570 get the word out to new folks. Anyway, I will 00:44:54.570 --> 00:44:57.510 see you next week as we continue on in our study 00:44:57.510 --> 00:45:00.650 of the Acts of the Apostles. And until then, 00:45:00.710 --> 00:45:02.750 be blessed and be a blessing.