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Tag: Holy Spirit

What is Pentecost? (Part 2)

(This is a continuation of a study about Pentecost. You can find the first part here.)

Peter makes an argument that would be specifically aimed now at the Jewish population, which would likely be the majority of the listeners. He is pointing to the history of Israel’s kings and the promise God made to David that one of his descendants would be forever on the throne.

Acts 2:22-28-  “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,

 

“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

 

Notice the confidence of his words. This was God’s definite plan and foreknown! This was not random, not the act of man against God outside of God’s will. This was a necessary thing so that God could offer salvation and righteousness to our broken world. 

Acts 2:29-36- “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and whose tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

 

“‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

Let us not forget that the 11 apostles had spent three years with Jesus and were direct witnesses not only to the miraculous resurrection but also to all the acts of Jesus done within the community, whether healings, teachings, or other miracles.  And so once again Peter says with complete confidence:

 

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

In the same way, we can have confidence of God’s saving work in our lives as we consider the things God has done for us. Although we have not seen Jesus directly as the apostles did, our personal testimony is a powerful tool given to us in order that the gospel message will continue to spread. Peter’s words are pointed, especially calling out the Jews desire to crucify Jesus. And we see a beautiful repentant response from the crowd.

Acts 2:37-41- Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.


All people will respond to the gospel message. This is why we share the gospel with others, because we know the power it holds and the need everyone has (the promise is for you, your children, all who are far off, EVERYONE!) But we are not responsible for how people respond. As we see in this moment, though, we know what is required for those who will accept the Spirit’s conviction, the same thing that Jesus told before He ascended- make disciples and baptize them in my name.

And we finally get to the description of the church and the wonderful plan and blessing it is for believers to gather-

Acts 2:42-37- And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number m day by day those who were being saved.


We do our best to follow this model of gathering at Grace Life, recognizing that our modern context means some logistical aspects of this list look different today than in Jesus’ time. But we see important threads for the church here.

We devote ourselves to teaching. God’s word is at the center of all we do, as we know it is our authority on life. We also know that it’s not just a sterile pursuit of knowledge that we are called to, but recognizing that God’s word applies to every situation we will face.

We devote ourselves to each other. The awesome part of the local church is that it is a unique and diverse gathering, all centered around the commonality that only the Gospel can provide. We look different, we have different likes and dislikes, but we put aside those differences in order to glorify God together and encourage one another.

We devote ourselves to frequent gathering. Although we may not all be able to gather daily as the early church, we set aside Sunday mornings and an evening each week for LifeGroups because we know that we need to be around other believers. Some of us work at the same place or live in the same neighborhood and can spend more time together. It’s because we know the value of staying connected to the family of God.

We devote ourselves to prayer. We pray together whenever we gather. We pray for each other as we get into the messy details of life, knowing that we all have struggles. In todays’ world, we have phones that we use to text and call one another in order that we can lift one another’s names before the Lord and know that others are doing the same for us.

So as we consider Pentecost, let it be a reminder of both how powerful the Holy Spirit is and what our calling is as a church.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Ben

What is Pentecost? (Part 1)

This Sunday, May 28th, is when we recognize a special day known as Pentecost. This celebration lands seven Sundays after Easter, and Acts 2 provides the story of how this Jewish festival moved into the Christian tradition. Over the next couple weeks, we will walk through the account of Acts 2 and see what happened and what it means for us today. But before we get there, what is Pentecost?

The word “Pentecost” comes from a Greek word meaning “fifty days.” This was counted out from Passover as a set of seven weeks containing seven days, with the 50th day being the day of the celebration. We see the Old Testament tradition of the Feast of Harvest (or sometimes the Feast of Weeks) explained in detail in Leviticus 23, along with other celebratory days. 

Leviticus 23:15-21- You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the Lord. And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

In the New Testament, we know that Jesus and His disciples celebrated Passover the evening before Jesus was crucified. And in Acts 2 we read what happened that first Pentecost after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection:

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

We see in verse one that the believers are gathering. This tracks with the observance of the Feast of Weeks. But this celebration would be quite different than anything these Jewish believers had experienced before. Imagine the scene as described!  Growing up in the Midwest, the sound of a mighty rushing wind means there’s a tornado and it’s time to hunker down. I doubt this would be the thought of the early church, though, as the most recent tornado in Israel was in 2006. But if that’s not surprising enough, there was also a light show! The entrance of the Holy Spirit is a wild and powerful display of God’s power. Did they know this was the Holy Spirit in the moment? Possibly. We know that Luke is writing this letter with the intent of seeing the Spirit entering the scene:

Acts 1:1-8- In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,  until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Following the timeline, Pentecost comes within a few days after Jesus ascends. So likely the anticipation of the coming Spirit would be on their hearts and minds. And we also know Jesus had mentioned the Spirit to come before his crucifixion:

John 16:7-15- Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.


We see a clear description of the Spirit’s effective work in the life of the believer in this description. The Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. This is why we share the gospel, because the calling out of sin shows our desperate need for salvation. Accepting Christ as Savior brings us to righteousness, because no one will avoid the judgment of the Father.

We also see the Spirit guides us into truth. He is the direct line of communication from the authority of Jesus and the Father. We don’t have to guess or figure out on our own what it is God wants for us, because His Spirit dwells in us and helps us to interpret His Word and produce fruit that glorifies Him. Continuing on, we see the inception of an incredible work of the Spirit:

 

Acts 2:5-13 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all those who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

 

Two important things to note here: First, the speaking of tongues here is used for the telling of the mighty works of God. This miracle is outward minded and tied directly to Jesus’ call to action of sharing the gospel to all nations. Second, some of the hearers rejected the message.  Although we will see Peter address this in the next verses, it should not surprise us that the Gospel message has a negative reaction from the world. It is easy to look at the natural world and try to find a simple explanation. But the work of the Spirit is a spiritual work, not a natural work.  And so Peter delivers a message in order to clarify exactly what is going on.

Acts 2:14-21- But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

Notice that he is addressing everyone, not just Jewish people. He continues:

For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Peter is using Old Testament prophecy to point out what is happening is not a random act but instead is exactly what God had planned! And if this is true, then the events that had happened in the past couple of months are also vitally important to understand. So, only 50 days since Jesus died, Peter explains clearly the action of the Gospel story.

In the next installment, we will look at the rest of his sermon and see what response came out of this allocation of the Spirit into the lives of believers.

Pastor Ben

Developing an Intentional Prayer Plan

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed preaching through Romans 8 and the recent focus on prayer has been especially helpful to my own soul. The last few weeks have been a reminder to me of the power and necessity of prayer in the life of the Christian and I want us to dive deeper into the gracious gift of prayer. It’s why I love this quote from the German reformer Martin Luther:

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” 

Do we not understand theologically what Luther is saying? Then why is it practically such a chore to pray? Why is it that many of us can’t remember the last time we breathed a prayer? We know we are to pray (and pray without ceasing as Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5), yet we do not pray. To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule. It is a failure to treat God as God. 

Is our struggle to pray due to wrestling with God’s sovereignty over all things? Do we say “What is the point of prayer if God is sovereign?” I’d argue that when we fully understand the sovereignty of God, as it is recorded in Scripture, then the natural response is not prayerlessness, but rather genuine life of prayer. Is our struggle to pray due to a lack of desire to pray or not knowing what to pray? 

What if we, with sincere hearts, asked the same question the disciples asked Jesus in Luke 11: “Lord, teach us to pray”. From this simple statement the disciples both acknowledge the sovereignty of Jesus (“Lord”) and they recognize the immense need to commune with God in prayer (“teach us to pray”).

What is prayer then?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines prayer as “is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies”. 

A few weeks ago, I defined prayer as a continual, intimate conversation with God that is grounded in knowing who He is and that what He has said from His Word is true. 

We could continue to define prayer but no matter how we define it – Biblically of course – it must always lead us back to actually spending time in prayer.

It’s why I want to encourage you to take the time and develop an intentional prayer plan.

Like any good goal, developing a plan helps us see that goal come into fruition. Want to lose a certain amount of weight? You need to develop a plan that includes working out and eating healthy. Want to save for a future purchase? A budget is the plan to help you accomplish that goal. We use plans all the time to help us accomplish goals and establish new rhythms and developing a plan to help you be intentional in prayer is worth considering.

Take the time to answer these questions and enjoy how the Holy Spirit strengthens you as you spend more time in prayer.

Determine when you will pray.

The heart of a believer who prays without ceasing understands the need for an intentional time of prayer daily. It is good to pray at meal times, in the car when you see an accident, when you head into a meeting, or when you are prompted to pray when talking with someone. It is also good to pray when there are no other distractions or responsibilities. It is good to have time just between you and God.

While the Bible is not dogmatic on when you should pray, the Bible speaks on the importance of speaking to God first thing in the morning, even before you speak with anyone else.

“O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” – Psalm 5:3

Your plan might require you to adjust your morning routine by getting up earlier or spending time in prayer instead of scrolling social media. Your plan might mean you take your lunch break in the car and spend a portion of that time praying. Maybe you take the first 15 minutes of your kid’s nap time to pray, and then go take a nap yourself!

 

Determine where you will pray.

I recently mentioned my Prayer Chair ™ in a sermon, not realizing how much time I spend in that chair. It’s a chair in my office that faces two windows and is at a table. There is no work at the table and I can’t see my normal desk. It’s really only me, my Bible, and a few pens. It’s here where I spend my intentional time in prayer.

You don’t necessarily need to have a Prayer Chair ™ in an office, but you need to have a certain location where you pray and the people in your house know that is where you go to pray. Jesus speaks to the importance of a prayer closet in Matthew’s gospel account.

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6

Determine where your prayer closet will be. Maybe it’s in the garage or out on the porch or maybe it’s a walk around the neighborhood. Wherever you decide to pray, know that wherever you are, you are meeting with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He hears your prayers!

 

Determine what you will pray.

This may seem like a strange determination but knowing what you will pray is key to intentional praying! Many of us determine the time and the location, but then we sit down to pray and find out we don’t know where to start. There’s a host of helpful tools to help you know what to pray, but the most practical comes from Jesus himself.

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” – Luke 11:1–4

We can see Jesus’ model prayer and establish four key points that you can implement in your intentional prayer time. The four points make up the acronym A.C.T.S.

 

Adoration: Acknowledging who God is and understanding His Holy character.

Take the time in your prayer by praising God for who He is! Need a start? Pray through Colossians 1 or Ephesians 1.

 

Confession: Acknowledging you have sinned against God’s Holy character.

Take the time to confess your sins specifically, not generally. Need a start? Pray through Psalm 51.

 

Thanksgiving: Acknowledging God’s goodness towards you flows from His Holy Character.

Take the time to say thank you to God for all that He has done for you. Need a start? Pray through Psalm 34.

 

Supplication: Requesting from God, in accordance with His will, what you need to reflect His holy character.

Take the time to take your requests to God. He loves to hear His children come to Him with their needs. Prayer is taking everything that is on our heart to God. 

In Romans 8:15, God’s children cry out to God the Father. “Crying out” to our Father in Heaven represents both the crying out of “Dad, help I’m hurting” and the “Dad, come look at how awesome this lego house I built is!” It’s the crying out of both pain and praise. 

When we turn to the Lord, we trust that even when we are not praying the Lord’s will for us, the Holy Spirit Himself is interceding for us, because He knows perfectly God’s will for us. 

 

Determine to pray.

Finally, an intentional prayer plan requires us to actually pray and commit to praying! The plan becomes meaningless if we don’t actually implement it. And one of the surest ways an intentional prayer plan is derailed is through the excuses we create.

Being too tired, not having enough time, being too busy, too much noise, or even not knowing what to say are all excuses that we need, no, we must eliminate them. We make time for what we deem important, even when we are too busy and have little time. We carry on conversations with other people while our kids are around all the time. I could keep going but you see what I’m trying to say. Any excuse is a poor excuse for a lack of praying. 

So determine to pray. Determine to spend a designated time in a designated place with just you and the Lord. Take your heart to Him. Hear him speak to you from His Word. And go to Him in confidence, knowing that you are no longer condemned, but you are now His child whom He longs to talk with.

 

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt