Phish Bowl Ministries
May 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
To the Saints behind and outside the wall: I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ pray that you will listen to the call of the Holy Spirit on your life; the return of our Lord Jesus the Christ is coming soon. Father God has work for you to do; souls need your help in healing. We need to open our heart, our homes and our hands to get to the work that we are called to do. How clearly the depravity and self centeredness of the world looks through the bars of prison. How many years I was lost in the church playing Christian instead of pursuing the Kingdom to come. I was pursuing worldly and selfish treasures which I will testify, if God desires can be gone in a flash of an eye. Do not think that God is OK with your disobedience because He is slow to wrath. This is His loving mercy! Have you become deaf to the Word that is preached to you every Sunday? You are not innocent, I was not innocent. We turn a blind eye to the suffering around us and at the same time look Jesus our Christ in the face and tell Him 100 reasons why we could not help. I tell you the truth, we are not innocent! Grace does not give us the right to sit on the sideline; this is not a spectator sport. We act like arm chair quarter backs watching the Sunday game. Get up! Getting into the game is what matters! How can you run a race from the bleachers…I don’t know! I tell you this because I truly love you, my beloved. I so badly want God to open a door so I can shout, “Repent…repent”! Jesus will meet you even in the pit! The Holy Spirit will counsel you in the pit. There is time for you to turn to God’s way. I beg you dear Saints…the time is short.
Now to the Church doing God’s work; stay faithful and don’t lose focus. I too run this race daily with you my brothers and sisters. There have been some concerns about the work of Phish Bowl behind the walls; worthy is our LORD. Yes, it is true that the coffee shop and food kitchen have been closed temporarily due to rules of the program pod in which I live (Mental Health). I tell you the truth; they can and will kick you out of the program for buying a soda pop for someone. They are trying to do so to a brother as I write this copy. Oh to obey God or yield to the authority God has put over me. What a tight rope we walk. However, I will not lie: I can not refuse basic needs as it would be a greater sin to let a fellow human go without a Bible or hygiene than to yield to that authority. We will continue to walk side by side with any man whom god brings to my door step; healing them with the Word of God. Since moving to this pod, I have been scouting out a small group of believers to start a weekly Bible study based on the “The Walk of Repentance”. As for the family of Phish Bowl in the free world, there will be no change. This ministry letter will continue as long as our Lord wishes this message to be told, even though I foresee a time when it will be written underground. Thank you all for your concern. Remember our Lord is on His throne and I’m His servant; His will is my life. For the faithful suppliers of Phish Bowl Coffee House, the soup kitchen and hygiene cabinet are well supplied. Thank you for your love gifts. Your faithfulness at a time like this shows your love for our Lord and that I do not alone. Instead, as Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us:
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Blessed is His name for He is my comforter and supplier; worthy of all worship!
Now back to Acts. I do hope that last month’s copy fed you with thoughts about your walk and your church. Does it look lie the Acts 2 church? If not, have you asked your pastor why? This is the example that the Holy Spirit set down! If you’re in an Acts 2 church, ask how you can get plugged into this fellowship and start living a full life for Jesus!
A walk about in Acts 3:1-4:37. (NKJV)
Many times when I start a study as I’m reading through the passage, I make mental notes of things I wish to stop on for a thought. Now for your sake the Holy Spirit only gives so much room each month for teaching. Also I am limited to a couple of commentaries: A Jewish roots of Acts book and my trusty sword, a NKJV study Bible which was given to me by my spiritual father, Pastor Kevin. I love to dive deep into the Word, looking at some of the things we glance over quickly. I so wish I had the internet to see what our fellow teachers have found to pass on to you. Let’s start off with just reading God’s Word without me getting in the way. Then I will just highlight some points.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." 4:1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 "But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.' 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. 36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Here is how the Holy Spirit has put it on my heart to break this into bite size teachings. This month 3:1-11; June 3:12-26; July 4:1-31 and August 4:32-37. At this time line it looks as though we will be in Acts for all of my prison time!
Sometime after the day of Pentecost, perhaps as much as a couple of years later (Doctor Luke does not tell us), we pick up at Peter and John going to the temple. In my opinion, the reason that this is included is a three fold purpose. First, the Apostles are ordained by God with power to take this message to the world (See Acts 2:42 “The Apostles Doctrine”); second, just like Pentecost, this message of the Christ has the power to save (Acts 4:4) “However many of those who heard the Word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5000”; third, is not as clear, but I still see it, Peter publicly denied Jesus three times in front of some of these men. Now we see him publicly proclaim his faith in this Jesus: first at Pentecost (Acts 2:14), second at Solomon’s porch (Acts 3:12) and thirdly when He answered the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:5). After this, we will see a very bold Peter in the work of the Lord as a preacher and spokesman of the early church. (Things to look up: a résumé of Peter, usually paired with John, healed others [Acts 3:1-10, 5:15]; raised Dorcus from the dead [Acts 9:36-42]; imprisoned frequently [Acts 4:3, 5:18, 12:3]; gave passionate sermons to religious authorities [Acts 2:14-39, 4:5-12, 5:29-32]; given a vision in which he was commanded to take the gospel to Cornelius---gentiles [Acts 10]; wrote 1st and 2nd Peter and, by church tradition, was crucified upside down for his faith and outspoken testimony of Jesus the Christ).
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
According to Josephus, the priests at the temple “twice each day offered daily animal sacrifice required by the Law of Moses” [see Numbers 28: 1-8] and also referred to in Judaism as the Talmud (A book of Jewish law, the collection of ancient Jewish writings that forms the basis of Jewish religious law, consisting of the early scriptural interpretations Mishnah (the primary body of Jewish civil and religious law, forming the first part of the Talmud) and the later commentaries on them). It seems clear that in these early stages of the Church, the Apostles and other believers (who were all Jewish) continue to observe the set times of worship in the Jerusalem temple.
Acts 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple
It was not surprising to find poor and crippled people begging for a handout near the temple. It was a good spot; no self-righteous member of the Sanhedrin could be seen publicly ignoring the poor. Charity is one of the central principles of Biblical and Jewish practice. “For the LORD your God is the God of gods…He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing [Deut 14:29]. It was also written to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him [Isaiah 58:5-8].
In the Tobit (a book of the Roman Catholic Bible and the Protestant Apocrypha that contains the story of Tobit) it is recorded: Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. If thou hast abundance, give alms accordingly. If thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little, for thou layest up a good treasure for thyself (Tobit 4:7-11).
Here are some fun facts per Jewish tradition:
· A poor person is considered poor who has less than 20,000 barley grains; a man with more is not entitled to the “poor man’s tithe” or charity.
· Women take precedence over men in receiving alms.
· Poor relative are taken care of before strangers.
· A traveler in a foreign town who is out of funds is considered to be poor and may take aid.
· A man is still eligible for charity if he possesses household goods which he could sell but needs in order to maintain himself.
· But a man who refuses to use his own means to support himself or family is to be ignored.
· The principle consideration in giving alms is not to shame the recipient; the most valued form of charity is that which is conducted “in secret”.
· There was to be no shame attached to being poor. A man was considered to be a “good man” if he did everything he could do to avoid receiving charity. Rabbi Akiba charged his son Rabbi Joshua…”treat your Sabbath like a weekday rather than be dependent on man.”
Now I know some are saying enough with all this Jewish stuff, we are the church. Oh my beloved, you should have never asked since the New Testament has so much more to say about the poor!
· James 1:27 “undefiled religion before God…is this: to visit (take care of) orphans and widows in their trouble”.
· Romans 12:13 “distributing to the needs of the Saints, given to hospitality”.
· 1 Timothy 3: one of the requirements is “hospitable”.
· Revelation 2:8-11: The Smyrna church receives praise from Jesus because of their work even though they are poor.
· Galatians 2:10: going to see and talk to Peter, James and John (who blessed) Paul’s and Barnabas’ ministry to the Gentiles, only desired that they would remember the “poor” which they were eager to do.
Mt 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'
It must be said…I must say it, if only it doesn’t drop on deaf ears and blind eyes: Today the organized church has wealth. I suppose that if one could put together all of the holdings of all the churches, groups, denominations, and non-denominations across our country alone, we would find the church wealthier than any other organization around. Yet, we ask why the Church lacks power: Why we don’t see revival! It’s because the world does not see Christ’s love through His church. What they see is us fighting over words and tradition ready to cut down our brothers and sisters over things that don’t really matter. All that matters are the who, what and when of Jesus the Christ and Neighbor.
Mt 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
I want to make something very clear: In no way am I condoning compromise. “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie”. ---Adrian Rogers
The Word tells us “truth in love” and this is what I’m calling for, not tolerance for sin. If Phish Bowl had a choice, it will always be willing to receive the world’s disapproval instead of our Lord’s disapproval! This Jesus who died on the cross for our sins is the same Jesus who gave us the Bible. God’s Holy Word does not condone sin! Jesus clearly said in John 14:15 “If you love me, then keep (obey) my commandments.” If we truly believe God, we must also believe and practice His Word, and not just the parts that appeal to our way of thinking.
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." “In the name of Jesus Christ” is not some kind of magic word that if we speak them over something, God must do it. So many times I hear a man tell me, “I pray in Jesus’ name but nothing happens”. Jesus is not a genie in a bottle! I know right now some are about to rip this teaching up, but please hold on for just one more passage: Mt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' If you are still with me, and I pray you are, the two things I want to look at are: 1. Three times this group tells Jesus; “Lord, Lord. We did this or that in your name”. 2. Jesus tells them He did not know them, but He gives us the key “He who does the will of My Father in heaven”. It is not the words at the end of the prayer; it’s your walk coming into the prayer.
At the end of Acts 3:6, Peter even tells us “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk”.
At times in Scripture, I love hidden pictures for us to find:
v1: at the temple (doing God’s work)
v6: the man got up and walked (faith)
v7: took him by the hand (Holy Spirit & healing)
v8: entered the temple…praising God (Came into the family, worshiping God)
v9: All the people saw him walking (a life change)
v10: Then they knew (used his testimony to bring others to Jesus)
What else can be said? Worthy is our Lord of all praise. I know how much I love this time together with you and God’s Word. Each time it strengthens my walk behind the wall. Blessed be His name. I will pray to the Father to guide you as time will get darker in this world as the time grows near. I pray you are a lighthouse for the lost to come to. “Good Phishing”.
Updates:
I have a new cell and new cellie with good old friend and brother in Christ, Randy. Please keep in prayer this union of two brothers shining in the pod for the LORD!
No baseball this year for me. I will not set any goals for this summertime; just to enjoy the sun.
Work: Keep us in your prayers. The tanks are done now and we are hoping for a contract.
An old street friend has contacted me. I cannot give any details. Please pray as we walk through the door of restoration.
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
A ministry of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Tim’s address as of April:
Timothy N. Tice
132753 (FCF) 6 lower G19
Canon City, CO 81215
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
From the Editor
To all of you who read this blog, I owe an apology. I have not been posting Tim's letters do to an email "snafu" that kept me from getting them. This is the electronic age we live in and with junk mail folders in my Outlook program, it seems that my well meaning computer was diverting the letters to my junk folder.
So...I have posted all back letters in order for you to read.
Again - my apologies...
Steve Bauer
So...I have posted all back letters in order for you to read.
Again - my apologies...
Steve Bauer
April 2011
Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ and the Brother behind the wall: to the Saints in God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the promised Holy Spirit; grace, peace and mercy be upon you.
When I started this study in Acts so many months ago, there were a couple of verses that I really wanted to teach on. Now if I was a topical teacher, I could spend months just teaching my pet peeves and driving home the points of Christianity upon which I want to focus. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us we need to be “Rightly dividing the word of Truth”. We can do this by studying the complete word of God, both the old and the new Testaments and as my spiritual Father does and my forefathers did, I prefer to teach the Word of God chapter by chapter and line by line. In this way, I get out of the way of God and He teaches His message and I don’t try to teach my agenda, allowing the Holy Spirit to be Himself in each of your lives. In teaching this way, there are times when I will come across things which “I” just don’t want to teach on; such as I Corinthians 7 “Principles of Marriage”. Being an adulterer, I have to teach from the perspective of my sin and not from the victory over the flesh. The natural man tells me, “Oh, Tim, there is so much in the Bible to teach…leave this to someone else.” The spirit man will tell you that after teaching about marriage and my fall from grace, that not I, but the Spirit through me was able to touch brothers and sisters in a way that someone who had not gotten trapped by pornography and sexual sin could not do. The only way to be a full Christian is to know His complete word, not just our doctrine or denomination, but His Word. In doing this, we will come across a chapter or verse that challenges our thinking of the walk and will mold us into the image of Christ.
This month is not one of those hard, get out of the way teachings; it has been called the blueprint of the New Testament church and when you read books, sometimes it will be referred as the “Acts Two Church”. It is one of the cornerstones of Calvary Chapel Distinctives as well as a big part of the Phish Bowl message. Now, the good news! I’m not going to teach as big of a chunk of Acts as I did last month. We are going to touch on Acts 2:40-47. Yes, this is not a misprint. Only 7 verses! I do have a strong opinion on this and the 2011 church getting so far away from Acts 2:42.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their 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.
Saints, I so love these verses and until you get to worship in a prison church, you don’t know what you’re missing. I could try to write about the fellowship in the prison church family and how deep it is, but to tell you the truth, you will never get it unless you come and experience it in prison. Just ask a prison missionary or a prison chaplain who volunteers his time day after day and week after week.
The response to Peter’s sermon that we covered last month was tremendous and it created needs and responsibilities. The Apostles had the duty of training these new believers and bringing them into fellowship as one. This was a four step process which I have a hard time finding in the church outside the wall today. I see crazy pastors teaching on their personal soap box week after week which causes division. Churches that will not fellowship with the church across the street, the family of believers that only get together on Sunday morning for an hour, and when the pastor announces a “prayer meeting”, only 2 or 3 show up. This couldn’t be farther from the Acts Two blue print.
So, let’s start by looking at each one of these four steps. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine”. Paul gives us some insights to his teaching in Acts 20:20... “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And in the letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel (good news), I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” Now I know a couple of you are going to tell me “I walk as Jesus did, not Paul.” OK. Let’s go to Luke 24:13-27: Luke 24:13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" 19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see." 25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (NKJV).
Let’s read that again beginning at “Moses and the prophets, he expounded (taught) to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself”. Jesus decided how and what to teach and that was Him. Now it does not say for a fact, but I can imagine Him going through all of the feast days and showing how they pointed right to Him, the Prophet wrote about this or that…it was Him. He was speaking of Himself.
What we are being taught here in Acts 2:42 is that the remaining eleven apostles with the 120 disciples (from Acts 1:15), began to teach these new believers. They passed onto the Jewish believers a full account of Jesus’ life and His teaching. This would have included much of what is recorded in the four gospels. In addition to this, they would have helped provide a new perspective on the Old Testament, explaining how Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecies. As we go through the Bible from the old to the new, we can see how important it was for these new believers and churches to be taught the different subjects and at times their insight on upcoming issues in the church. This is why the Bible has the writings of Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude and the writer of Hebrews, to guide us, “the Apostles teach”. Side note: I am a full gospel teacher, teaching from both the Old and the New Testaments. We don’t want to throw away the Old Testament; we need it all to be completely formed into the image of Christ.
Acts 2:42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship…” The Greek word translated “fellowship” means sharing in the lives of other believers. As we continue on in Acts, this training will include issues about coming together as one—the Jewish believer and the Greek believer. These hours would have most likely been spent discussing what was being taught to them by the apostles, encouraging and challenging each other and enjoying one another in the family bond that the Spirit was creating among the new church. As we further study God’s Word, we will see that “fellowship” manifested itself as love; love for one another, love for their neighbors and in sharing with the poorer brothers and sisters of this new community.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread…”
(Breaking of bread is daily and not just on Sunday morning.) I went to church this morning and grabbed every commentary off of the shelf and read about “breaking of bread”. I found this: Lord’s Supper, love feast, banquet of the many and on and on. So, I went to prayer and meditation. Here is what I can share with you. This expression refers to both the sharing of ordinary meals together, furthering their fellowship, and to remembering the significance of the death of the Messiah, by celebrating what came to be known as the “Lord’s Supper”. It is not one or the other; it is both at the same time. If you don’t agree, ask yourself this question: Acts 6:2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables (italics mine). We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word… So, if it is not both, why did they need to get Stephen with the other six to handle this business so they could spend their time teaching? I will add this not to avoid giving everyone a voice… Some very old men of great teaching do like to pound home that this did not indorse “Communal living”. I can also see these same wonderful men calling for the closing of the houses in California that are a part of our Calvary Chapel history. I have a different opinion that is colored by the family of believers here in prison and our daily walk.
Acts 2:42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” God tells us “if my people will seek my face…” Is the church today afraid of prayer or have we just lost faith in it? I’m just asking the question because most of the time, all I hear is prayers to get me out of this, I need this, fix all the things that I have messed up. Why don’t we seek His face and His will for our lives instead of using prayer time to tell God how we think our life should be, or using it as a good excuse to gossip, wrapped in a prayer request, of course.
It seems like the first Christians spent much time before the Lord in prayer. They prayed privately and also prayed together as a group. Some commentaries pointed out that some maintained the Jewish pattern of setting aside three times a day for focusing on prayer. If we close our eyes, we can see the new church praising God as well as asking Him for guidance and for boldness in proclaiming the gospel.
As for verses 43-47, I was going to expound on this, but my heart tells me that if you don’t understand these verses just by reading them, then I need to pray for you. All I have to do is to listen to all of the reasons which people give for not giving as we live in big houses, drive fancy cars and eat out 5 times a week, as our pastor tries to keep the door open, so it’s clear…I’m not asking for anything. Some wonderful saints supply what you are unable to and God has always made sure that Phish Bowl Coffee House has what it needs. But, have you asked the pastor of your church, “Are we meeting the bills, or is there a family in our church that could use some help”? No…we are more like Daffy Duck with the Giant Pearl: “It’s mine…mine…mine.”
Apostles Doctrine: 2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Fellowship: Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Breaking of Bread: Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Prayer: 2 Chronicles 7:14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Did I not tell you in the beginning that I have some hard held beliefs when it comes to this verse by verse way of studying? We here in prison study the word daily, hold each other accountable, break bread daily, pray many times throughout the day, and go to the yard and laugh and cry with each other. I have been blessed to have had this training. Oh, without the chains, I wish you too could experience how deep the fellowship really can be when the world is not the point. And when knowing Christ is all...a doulos.
When I started this study in Acts so many months ago, there were a couple of verses that I really wanted to teach on. Now if I was a topical teacher, I could spend months just teaching my pet peeves and driving home the points of Christianity upon which I want to focus. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us we need to be “Rightly dividing the word of Truth”. We can do this by studying the complete word of God, both the old and the new Testaments and as my spiritual Father does and my forefathers did, I prefer to teach the Word of God chapter by chapter and line by line. In this way, I get out of the way of God and He teaches His message and I don’t try to teach my agenda, allowing the Holy Spirit to be Himself in each of your lives. In teaching this way, there are times when I will come across things which “I” just don’t want to teach on; such as I Corinthians 7 “Principles of Marriage”. Being an adulterer, I have to teach from the perspective of my sin and not from the victory over the flesh. The natural man tells me, “Oh, Tim, there is so much in the Bible to teach…leave this to someone else.” The spirit man will tell you that after teaching about marriage and my fall from grace, that not I, but the Spirit through me was able to touch brothers and sisters in a way that someone who had not gotten trapped by pornography and sexual sin could not do. The only way to be a full Christian is to know His complete word, not just our doctrine or denomination, but His Word. In doing this, we will come across a chapter or verse that challenges our thinking of the walk and will mold us into the image of Christ.
This month is not one of those hard, get out of the way teachings; it has been called the blueprint of the New Testament church and when you read books, sometimes it will be referred as the “Acts Two Church”. It is one of the cornerstones of Calvary Chapel Distinctives as well as a big part of the Phish Bowl message. Now, the good news! I’m not going to teach as big of a chunk of Acts as I did last month. We are going to touch on Acts 2:40-47. Yes, this is not a misprint. Only 7 verses! I do have a strong opinion on this and the 2011 church getting so far away from Acts 2:42.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their 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.
Saints, I so love these verses and until you get to worship in a prison church, you don’t know what you’re missing. I could try to write about the fellowship in the prison church family and how deep it is, but to tell you the truth, you will never get it unless you come and experience it in prison. Just ask a prison missionary or a prison chaplain who volunteers his time day after day and week after week.
The response to Peter’s sermon that we covered last month was tremendous and it created needs and responsibilities. The Apostles had the duty of training these new believers and bringing them into fellowship as one. This was a four step process which I have a hard time finding in the church outside the wall today. I see crazy pastors teaching on their personal soap box week after week which causes division. Churches that will not fellowship with the church across the street, the family of believers that only get together on Sunday morning for an hour, and when the pastor announces a “prayer meeting”, only 2 or 3 show up. This couldn’t be farther from the Acts Two blue print.
So, let’s start by looking at each one of these four steps. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine”. Paul gives us some insights to his teaching in Acts 20:20... “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And in the letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel (good news), I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” Now I know a couple of you are going to tell me “I walk as Jesus did, not Paul.” OK. Let’s go to Luke 24:13-27: Luke 24:13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" 19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see." 25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (NKJV).
Let’s read that again beginning at “Moses and the prophets, he expounded (taught) to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself”. Jesus decided how and what to teach and that was Him. Now it does not say for a fact, but I can imagine Him going through all of the feast days and showing how they pointed right to Him, the Prophet wrote about this or that…it was Him. He was speaking of Himself.
What we are being taught here in Acts 2:42 is that the remaining eleven apostles with the 120 disciples (from Acts 1:15), began to teach these new believers. They passed onto the Jewish believers a full account of Jesus’ life and His teaching. This would have included much of what is recorded in the four gospels. In addition to this, they would have helped provide a new perspective on the Old Testament, explaining how Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecies. As we go through the Bible from the old to the new, we can see how important it was for these new believers and churches to be taught the different subjects and at times their insight on upcoming issues in the church. This is why the Bible has the writings of Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude and the writer of Hebrews, to guide us, “the Apostles teach”. Side note: I am a full gospel teacher, teaching from both the Old and the New Testaments. We don’t want to throw away the Old Testament; we need it all to be completely formed into the image of Christ.
Acts 2:42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship…” The Greek word translated “fellowship” means sharing in the lives of other believers. As we continue on in Acts, this training will include issues about coming together as one—the Jewish believer and the Greek believer. These hours would have most likely been spent discussing what was being taught to them by the apostles, encouraging and challenging each other and enjoying one another in the family bond that the Spirit was creating among the new church. As we further study God’s Word, we will see that “fellowship” manifested itself as love; love for one another, love for their neighbors and in sharing with the poorer brothers and sisters of this new community.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread…”
(Breaking of bread is daily and not just on Sunday morning.) I went to church this morning and grabbed every commentary off of the shelf and read about “breaking of bread”. I found this: Lord’s Supper, love feast, banquet of the many and on and on. So, I went to prayer and meditation. Here is what I can share with you. This expression refers to both the sharing of ordinary meals together, furthering their fellowship, and to remembering the significance of the death of the Messiah, by celebrating what came to be known as the “Lord’s Supper”. It is not one or the other; it is both at the same time. If you don’t agree, ask yourself this question: Acts 6:2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables (italics mine). We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word… So, if it is not both, why did they need to get Stephen with the other six to handle this business so they could spend their time teaching? I will add this not to avoid giving everyone a voice… Some very old men of great teaching do like to pound home that this did not indorse “Communal living”. I can also see these same wonderful men calling for the closing of the houses in California that are a part of our Calvary Chapel history. I have a different opinion that is colored by the family of believers here in prison and our daily walk.
Acts 2:42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” God tells us “if my people will seek my face…” Is the church today afraid of prayer or have we just lost faith in it? I’m just asking the question because most of the time, all I hear is prayers to get me out of this, I need this, fix all the things that I have messed up. Why don’t we seek His face and His will for our lives instead of using prayer time to tell God how we think our life should be, or using it as a good excuse to gossip, wrapped in a prayer request, of course.
It seems like the first Christians spent much time before the Lord in prayer. They prayed privately and also prayed together as a group. Some commentaries pointed out that some maintained the Jewish pattern of setting aside three times a day for focusing on prayer. If we close our eyes, we can see the new church praising God as well as asking Him for guidance and for boldness in proclaiming the gospel.
As for verses 43-47, I was going to expound on this, but my heart tells me that if you don’t understand these verses just by reading them, then I need to pray for you. All I have to do is to listen to all of the reasons which people give for not giving as we live in big houses, drive fancy cars and eat out 5 times a week, as our pastor tries to keep the door open, so it’s clear…I’m not asking for anything. Some wonderful saints supply what you are unable to and God has always made sure that Phish Bowl Coffee House has what it needs. But, have you asked the pastor of your church, “Are we meeting the bills, or is there a family in our church that could use some help”? No…we are more like Daffy Duck with the Giant Pearl: “It’s mine…mine…mine.”
Apostles Doctrine: 2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Fellowship: Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Breaking of Bread: Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Prayer: 2 Chronicles 7:14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Did I not tell you in the beginning that I have some hard held beliefs when it comes to this verse by verse way of studying? We here in prison study the word daily, hold each other accountable, break bread daily, pray many times throughout the day, and go to the yard and laugh and cry with each other. I have been blessed to have had this training. Oh, without the chains, I wish you too could experience how deep the fellowship really can be when the world is not the point. And when knowing Christ is all...a doulos.
March 2011
I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ, to the Saints: A day can make a difference! Since I have been in this facility, I’ve been in cell house 7. As I have said before, I live with 248 of my closest friends (L.O.L.). With that said, because of all the noise, it has been hard to set time aside on a regular basis. Well, I was moved last month (February) to a new unit; a 30 man pod. So in many ways, Phish Bowl Ministries will look different. In C.H. 7, there are so many new men weekly; there is a lot of work to do. There are many men to check in on to see how their day went. The night before the move, my house was backed up three deep. To look out the door and see two men waiting to talk was cool and trying at the same time. (All I could hear from my cellie Frankie was him yelling “Next”!) Now our Lord is moving me to a new season. To me, the big difference will be having the time to read more, but time will tell us what God’s plans are. As you know I look to see where He is working and I join Him, instead of telling God, “I’m here---now work”. So on to a new land, new home, new fellow countrymen, and all in less than one hour. In this world there is not time for long good-byes.
If you remembered from last month, we are going to cover a big part of Acts 2 this month. Twenty-seven verses. I have so little to update you on and my as my desire is to always put God first, let’s move right to the study.
Acts 2:14-41, Study of God’s Word. “Peter Stands Up and Preaches the Gospel”.
Acts 2:14 “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.”
I love it! Peter, the first disciple to recognize the truth about Jesus, was also the first to bear witness of Him. (Mt 16:13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.")
Ac 2:15 "For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
The ‘Third Hour’ was nine o’clock in the morning. This accusation that the apostles were drunk with “sweet wine” carried serious religious implications, more so at 9 A.M.! We don’t see Peter defending himself, as Rabbinical Law required, but instead of focusing on himself, he points right to Jesus. We will see him use three passages from the Old Testament demonstrating that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, that He would rise from the dead, and that He would be exalted to the right hand of God. He will proclaim that all three have been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
Acts 2:16 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
Peter now quotes the Book of Joel (Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 32 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.) Something to be said here; when this was recorded, Luke used the Greek translation of the Old Testament…the why I don’t know; just food for thought.
Acts 2:17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.
Peter tells them what they are witnessing is nothing less than the outpouring of the Holy Spirit predicted in Joel. The coming of the Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the last days and the new covenant blessing for those who put their faith in Jesus. All flesh both Jew and Gentiles will be saved. Now the time has come that God will speak to and through all who would come to Him (not just Levi Priests or Prophets).
Acts 2:19 “I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.”
I don’t think that anyone would claim that on the day of Pentecost, the moon turned to blood. When Christ was crucified, the sun was darkened for three hours, but not on the day of Pentecost. Dear Saints, Joel 2:28-32, has not been completely fulfilled to this day. Joel has a lot to say about the Day of the Lord. In three chapters of the Book of Joel, the Day of the Lord is mentioned five times. Joel speaks about the fact that it is a time of war and of time of judgment upon the earth. (Sounds like the 11 o’clock news to me).
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'
Joel’s prophecy is not one of utter gloom and despair. It holds out the bright hope that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…Praise God Our Father.
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know_”
Why did Peter separate “miracles”, “wonders” and “signs”? Well, in my understanding, the three have different purposes. Jesus did miracles of healing to prove who He was, wonders were performed to get the attention of His hearer and still He did certain things that would be signs. All to show the Jew that God has come as man.
Acts 2:23 "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put 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.
This is not contrary to God’s program. This is not something that took God by surprise. However, Peter makes it clear that this does not release men from their responsibility. There is no use in our arguing about who was responsible for His death. You are, and I am. It was for my sins and for your sins that He died. In John 10:17-18 ("Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.") Jesus said “…I lay down my life…no man takes it from me…this commandment have I received of my Father”. Do note on the first day of the church age, in the first sermon preached, what is the theme? It is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus the Christ.
Acts 2:25 "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of joy in Your presence.'”
I’ve been sitting here reading this in both Acts and from Psalm 16:8-11 pouring over commentaries. I could write 5 Phish Bowls and do two Sundays and still not cover it fully. So, here it is in a nut shell: Joel prophesied that the Spirit would come; Jesus fulfilled that promise when He sent the Spirit (John 14:16: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--). If Jesus was dead, He could not have sent the Spirit. Therefore, He must be alive. To go one step further, Jesus could not have sent the Spirit unless He ascended as Lord to Heaven. Therefore, Jesus is both our Master and our Savior.
Acts 2:29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.”
As for David, the Jewish historian confirms that David’s tomb was still present in Jerusalem in the first century and Peter freely points this out. No where in Acts did Luke tell us where this is taking place. We might have a clue here! I found a note that at the temple courts, there was a platform for sages. Thinkers and prophets could have an opportunity to address the crowds and J. Vernon McGee tells of when he was at the temple area, he could point his finger up to the top of Mt. Zion where David is buried. So, I know that David was not talking about himself, but of Someone whom I know, Someone who did not see corruption, but was raised from the dead.
Acts 2:30 "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”
What is Peter talking about? His sermon is about the resurrected Christ. Is that not the message?
Acts 2:32 "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.”
“We (the apostles with the 120) witnessed”: This little line is so big. We in the Western world overlook it. We in prison know how witnesses in court can not always tell the truth. But, by Jewish law there was a legal standard for being a witness. (See the Halakhah). “A witness may not testify to things of which he has no personal knowledge, nor may he testify regarding what he has heard from other people however true and trustworthy their account may appear to him”. If this little, not unheard of statement were untrue, the Sanhedrin would have pressed criminal accusation against Peter and the other 120. The law also required two or three witnesses to verify what was being reported. Peter continues:
Acts 2:33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, 35 till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand”. Peter goes on to tell us that Jesus has ascended to heaven and once again argues that this was in fulfillment of prophecy, citing Psalm 110:1 (A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."). Peter now understands the Psalm as the LORD said to my Lord, as God speaking to David’s Lord, that is, to Jesus.
Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
This is so cool! This Jesus is our Lord and He’s our Christ (Messiah). As Messiah, He is the fulfillment of Israel’s expectations for a descendant of David to come and sit on the throne as Lord; Jesus is at the right hand of God and is Sovereign. (Pow! Add to that!)
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
“Cut”. Luke uses a term that literally means, “to be stabbed, as with a knife”. It was used to express deep regret and this message brought conviction.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”
“Repent”: This became the central call of early Christians. Repentance (metanoia) involved a radical change in a person, his convictions and life’s direction. No longer a life centered on self and sinful pursuits, but now embracing the will of God and His priorities. “Baptized”: I’m standing at a fork in the road looking at great teachings and trying to form a thought. First, as I study the Old Testament and the Jewish root of Christianity, I have to start here. There are many examples of Ritual washing of oneself in Rabbinical law: to enter the temple, to have a change of status. Gentile converts to Judaism were required to be purified in a ritual bath. However, all this ritual bathing would only be temporary and would have to be repeated. Now Peter tells us to be baptized in Jesus, this time in to the new covenant and the gift of the Holy Spirit. I find this practice going way back in Judaism and in the early church. Fun fact time: There were many places in Jerusalem where these new believers could have been baptized. A number of ritual baths were located within the walls of the temple as well as the temple mount. There were also six large pools mentioned by Josephus: The Pool of the Towers, the Strouthion Pool, and the Sheep’s Pool (Bethsaida), the Serpent’s Pool, Solomon’s Pool (the Pool of Siloam) and the Pool of Israel. So to end this thought…Paul, in Romans 6:3-4 (“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”), identifies baptism with Christ, and not the water itself, is symbolizing a participation in Christ’s burial and resurrection---the basis for forgiveness of sins. I was baptized by Kevin just before going to prison, but in no way am I teaching you that you must be baptized to be saved. Salvation is in Christ only.
It was written in Isaiah 37:19: “Peace, peace to those far and near”. As Peter said 2000+ years ago and exhorted his listeners to repent. That message is true today; each person has to make a decision to turn to God in faith. Then God will forgive your sins and declare you righteous because of what Jesus has done on the cross.
In closing, three thousand souls responded to Peter’s sermon that day. Now the apostles had a responsibility of training this large group and bringing them into this new fellowship. Next month we are going to dive into what the church is to look like. Acts 2:42 has been called the model by many theologians and a big part of the blue print of Calvary Chapel in Loveland and Phish Bowl Ministries. Thank you for taking the time to study with me. I look forward to next month’s teaching. May our Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
(Left)This is a picture of the Jordan River where many pilgrims currently come to be baptized. (Right) This is a picture of a Mikvah in Qumran, Israel near where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.
Feb 2011
I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ must start off with this: Wow! How time flies when you’re doing time and have work to do! It seems just like yesterday that I was sitting here on my bunk with commentaries, notes and Bibles spread all around getting ready to write you beloved Saints. I do enjoy this time together. It is right up there with my 20 minute weekly phone calls to Pastor Kevin. As I write I think of you all and at the end before mailing off my chicken scratch to Barb, I pull out the mailing list and read each one of your names and stop to pray for you all and your loved ones. Many times this leads to a rabbit trail of many thoughts and a boat load of prayers.
I try to leave up-dates for last, but this is an up-front praise report! So much work! Thank you all for your prayers for the boys of fiberglass! We are making our second fish tank. I don’t know any of the who’s or what’s, but I was told that the tanks are for a church which is going into the fish farming business. The why….well that is out of my pay-grade. What I can tell you is this: we start at 0700 and get done at 3:00 p.m. Somewhere in between is well, madness, organized by two good team trainers and a group of men who really want to make a difference. Please continue to pray for the team leaders as I serve and lead as a man of God. As anyone who has worked with me before knows, I can have an over-the-top personality. Please thank our Lord for this job and His continued provision.
So, if you get it, I’m worn out and a week late in getting this to Phish Bowl Headquarters, i.e. editor Barb. (Editor’s note: I too am getting this out later than usual due to family being here from out of town. Please forgive my delay). Some months it is like I have too much time and other month’s too little time. This month, I don’t know where the time went.
Acts Chapter 2: 1-13
Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. The day of Pentecost: The term “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word Pent ē kostē, which means “fiftieth”. This is one of the three major Jewish festivals; the other two are the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. It refers to the fiftieth day after the Passover festival when the Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks which was the annual Harvest festival.
Leviticus 23:15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the LORD. 18 'And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 19 'Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 'The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 'And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
Deuteronomy 16:9 "You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 "Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 "You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 "And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. NKJV
It is also recorded that Pentecost was known as “First fruits of the Wheat Harvest” and “The Day of First fruits”. All Jewish males were required to attend in Jerusalem (Deut 16:16). It occurred in early summer after the conclusion of the grain harvest. During this harvest celebration the Jews brought to God the first fruits of their harvest in thanksgiving. This was a joyous occasion. Later Jewish tradition associated this festival with the giving of the law at Sinai.
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. I can’t help but associate the Spirit here with two Biblical symbols. First: In Ezekiel’s vision of the valley filled with dry bones, the life-giving breath of God came as a wind and made these dead bodies live again. (Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."'" 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' 12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'“) Jesus Himself described the coming Holy Spirit as a wind: John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Second, during the Exodus, God appeared to Moses as fire. In Exodus 3:2-5 as a burning bush and again on Mount Sinai, the Lord “descended on it in fire” (Exodus 19:18) (Exodus 3:2-5: And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” In Exodus 13 “the Pillar of fire” is described).
I think that Luke is careful to point out that the Holy Spirit came both in wind and fire.
Acts 2:4: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. There are two things here that I also want to look at. One, “Filled with the Holy Spirit” and two, “speak with other tongues”. I have said it before when researching something that is in the Bible it seems like no one is on the same page. But, I can clearly see that one thing is in agreement. Most everyone that I read will tell you they’re right and everyone else is wrong and will say it with deep conviction, backed by a collection of carefully picked verses. So, here is what I can tell you. The promise of the Holy Spirit being sent to us has been fulfilled. Acts 1:4-5: “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 1Co 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
As for tongues, the word translated as tongues here is the Greek word for “known languages”. “As the Spirit gave them utterance”. These apostles were from Galilee and they couldn’t speak all of these other languages, but, they are speaking them now because the Spirit gave them utterances.
Food for thought: If the Passover speaks of the death of Jesus Christ, then we should also believe that the Feast of Pentecost represents something too. We learn from I Corinthians 5:7… “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” The Passover has been fulfilled in the death of Christ and the Feast of First fruits have been fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ. Keep in mind that Pentecost was a time to give thanks to God for what He had done. Could we then say that this Pentecost is the Holy Spirit bringing the first fruits of the work of the cross to God?
All I really know is this: Five minutes before the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, there was no church. Five minutes after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, there was a church. I know there is so much more to this, but to be honest, I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth and don’t want to be a part of divisive teaching. So we should move on.
Acts 2: 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Jews from all over the Mediterranean would come to this festival. It is recorded that the population of Jerusalem would swell from about one hundred thousand residents to around a million residents. Some would stay in private homes or even in the many inns, but still with so many, the majority would camp within the city walls and even outside of the walls.
Acts 2:6: And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and was confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. If we look back at verse 4, it says “began to speak with other tongues”. Now, here in verse 6, it says “heard them speak”. Believe it or not, half of what I read says that they were talking in others’ languages, and still there is a school of thought that would tell you that they only heard it in their own language. J. Vernon McGee asks this question: “Was the miracle that broke down the language barrier in the speaking or in the hearing?” I think that the real point is that God made a way for all to hear the message…He will always make a way.
Here are some cool facts: Since the time of Alexander the Great who spread Greek culture all the way to Mesopotamia, Greek was the official language. Official documents and letters were written in Greek from countries as far apart as Persia (Iran) to Spain and North Africa to Gaul (modern day France). So most of these men spoke a local language, including Greek.
Acts 2:7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 "And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? The majority of Jesus’ followers at this point were from Galilee, where He had spent most of His time in His earthly ministry. Most Jewish Galileans spoke both Aramaic and Greek and some also spoke Hebrew.
Acts 2:9-11: "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 "Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 "Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." Now what I want to look at here is not so much Luke’s list of the countries from which many Jewish pilgrims came. I will add this note I found in the Jewish Roots of Acts: Luke’s list of nationalities reflects the three main groups which surrounded Eretz Israel, with Jerusalem lying in the center. The sons of Shem to the East, the sons of Ham to the South, and the sons of Japheth to the North and West. But what I’m really looking at is “both Jews and proselytes”. For some reason to me this line, “visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes” just stands out to me. When I started to look this at this verse, it is either not covered or everyone reads the same dictionary and copied it! This is a translation of the Greek word prosēlytoi, from which we get proselyte. For a male Gentile to become a proselyte, he was required to be circumcised, perform a baptismal rite or purification and offer a sacrifice at the Jerusalem temple.”
Let me try to piece together some points. It seems like it does not just center on the Jews, but also the “ends of the earth”. Luke might be directly associating Jesus’ command to His disciples to witness “to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” and then to the “remotest part of the earth” “from every nation under heaven”. The distinction between Jews and proselytes in regards to Rome may be because of the importance Rome plays in the later chapters of Acts as well as Paul’s ministries to the gentiles.
Acts 2:12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" 13 Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." Can I tell you that I really enjoyed studying about these verses? In some ways it is not earth-shattering stuff, but on another level it is. “New wine” as it is translated here is the word for “sweet wine”. Here is something I learned during my studying. The Bible talks of three kinds of wine: New wine; old, or best wine; and sweet wine. Here in Acts, it is sweet wine, not new wine. So the question is what is the big deal? So…here’s to the what is the big deal:
New wine: More like grape juice or a less intoxicating drink; a daily drink, a mixture of water & wine.
Old (best) wine: Hebrew: Aluntit or Greek: Oinanthē was used in medicinal purposes and because it had time to “mature” (it was usually stored being submerged in water until it had fully fermented. It was more intoxicating. It was used many times as a way to show honor to someone or even wealth and status.
Sweet wine: Mentioned here it was also known as “honeyed or spice wine---i.e. wine which had been sweetened with honey and pepper. To bring it into today’s context, we would call this a cocktail (i.e., Long Island Ice Tea, Piña Colada or even a Margarita…a party drink!). When researching this “sweet wine” I found some fun facts that I would like to pass on:
• It was considered at the time that a person could tolerate as little as a quarter log (1/6th of an Italian liter) before getting intoxicated.
• Strong warnings against and graphic descriptions of the effects of overindulgence are found throughout Jewish literature (Rabbinical Law).
• A Juridical (relating to law) distinction is made between the man who is tipsy and the man who is drunk or intoxicated.
• Although he who is tipsy may still pray, the drunkard’s prayer is considered to be an abomination or as one who serves idols.
• Similarly, a priest who has drunk a fourth of a log of wine was disqualified from Temple service.
• While an Israelite was disqualified from giving judgment on the same amount.
• An insult: “One of three things is true of that man: Either he lends money upon interest, or he raises pigs, or [he] is drunk with (sweet) wine.”
OK as always, I hope you all take some time to dive into God’s word and find some of the hidden, fun facts. I encourage you all to research the Bible. You will find teachers that will agree with me, but still many good teachers have other views and that is OK. This dialogue is what helps us grow as brothers and sisters in Christ. We will stop here this month. Next month, Peter will answer these men and he will give the first sermon in the church age. We will be covering Acts 2: 14-41. It will be the biggest Phish Bowl to date. But, it must be taught in one serving. I will do my best to be reminded to feed the flock with a spoon, not a bull-dozer. Oh my beloved! Blessed be the Lord our God, because He has heard my voice as I cry out to him on behalf of all you Saints. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. I ask you all to pray that I’m the guiding light in this dark land that will lead men out of hopelessness into a loving relationship with Jesus the Christ, through the Holy Spirit, for the Glory of our Heavenly Father.
I try to leave up-dates for last, but this is an up-front praise report! So much work! Thank you all for your prayers for the boys of fiberglass! We are making our second fish tank. I don’t know any of the who’s or what’s, but I was told that the tanks are for a church which is going into the fish farming business. The why….well that is out of my pay-grade. What I can tell you is this: we start at 0700 and get done at 3:00 p.m. Somewhere in between is well, madness, organized by two good team trainers and a group of men who really want to make a difference. Please continue to pray for the team leaders as I serve and lead as a man of God. As anyone who has worked with me before knows, I can have an over-the-top personality. Please thank our Lord for this job and His continued provision.
So, if you get it, I’m worn out and a week late in getting this to Phish Bowl Headquarters, i.e. editor Barb. (Editor’s note: I too am getting this out later than usual due to family being here from out of town. Please forgive my delay). Some months it is like I have too much time and other month’s too little time. This month, I don’t know where the time went.
Acts Chapter 2: 1-13
Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. The day of Pentecost: The term “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word Pent ē kostē, which means “fiftieth”. This is one of the three major Jewish festivals; the other two are the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. It refers to the fiftieth day after the Passover festival when the Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks which was the annual Harvest festival.
Leviticus 23:15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the LORD. 18 'And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 19 'Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 'The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 'And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
Deuteronomy 16:9 "You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 "Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 "You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 "And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. NKJV
It is also recorded that Pentecost was known as “First fruits of the Wheat Harvest” and “The Day of First fruits”. All Jewish males were required to attend in Jerusalem (Deut 16:16). It occurred in early summer after the conclusion of the grain harvest. During this harvest celebration the Jews brought to God the first fruits of their harvest in thanksgiving. This was a joyous occasion. Later Jewish tradition associated this festival with the giving of the law at Sinai.
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. I can’t help but associate the Spirit here with two Biblical symbols. First: In Ezekiel’s vision of the valley filled with dry bones, the life-giving breath of God came as a wind and made these dead bodies live again. (Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."'" 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' 12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'“) Jesus Himself described the coming Holy Spirit as a wind: John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Second, during the Exodus, God appeared to Moses as fire. In Exodus 3:2-5 as a burning bush and again on Mount Sinai, the Lord “descended on it in fire” (Exodus 19:18) (Exodus 3:2-5: And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” In Exodus 13 “the Pillar of fire” is described).
I think that Luke is careful to point out that the Holy Spirit came both in wind and fire.
Acts 2:4: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. There are two things here that I also want to look at. One, “Filled with the Holy Spirit” and two, “speak with other tongues”. I have said it before when researching something that is in the Bible it seems like no one is on the same page. But, I can clearly see that one thing is in agreement. Most everyone that I read will tell you they’re right and everyone else is wrong and will say it with deep conviction, backed by a collection of carefully picked verses. So, here is what I can tell you. The promise of the Holy Spirit being sent to us has been fulfilled. Acts 1:4-5: “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 1Co 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
As for tongues, the word translated as tongues here is the Greek word for “known languages”. “As the Spirit gave them utterance”. These apostles were from Galilee and they couldn’t speak all of these other languages, but, they are speaking them now because the Spirit gave them utterances.
Food for thought: If the Passover speaks of the death of Jesus Christ, then we should also believe that the Feast of Pentecost represents something too. We learn from I Corinthians 5:7… “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” The Passover has been fulfilled in the death of Christ and the Feast of First fruits have been fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ. Keep in mind that Pentecost was a time to give thanks to God for what He had done. Could we then say that this Pentecost is the Holy Spirit bringing the first fruits of the work of the cross to God?
All I really know is this: Five minutes before the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, there was no church. Five minutes after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, there was a church. I know there is so much more to this, but to be honest, I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth and don’t want to be a part of divisive teaching. So we should move on.
Acts 2: 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Jews from all over the Mediterranean would come to this festival. It is recorded that the population of Jerusalem would swell from about one hundred thousand residents to around a million residents. Some would stay in private homes or even in the many inns, but still with so many, the majority would camp within the city walls and even outside of the walls.
Acts 2:6: And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and was confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. If we look back at verse 4, it says “began to speak with other tongues”. Now, here in verse 6, it says “heard them speak”. Believe it or not, half of what I read says that they were talking in others’ languages, and still there is a school of thought that would tell you that they only heard it in their own language. J. Vernon McGee asks this question: “Was the miracle that broke down the language barrier in the speaking or in the hearing?” I think that the real point is that God made a way for all to hear the message…He will always make a way.
Here are some cool facts: Since the time of Alexander the Great who spread Greek culture all the way to Mesopotamia, Greek was the official language. Official documents and letters were written in Greek from countries as far apart as Persia (Iran) to Spain and North Africa to Gaul (modern day France). So most of these men spoke a local language, including Greek.
Acts 2:7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 "And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? The majority of Jesus’ followers at this point were from Galilee, where He had spent most of His time in His earthly ministry. Most Jewish Galileans spoke both Aramaic and Greek and some also spoke Hebrew.
Acts 2:9-11: "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 "Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 "Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." Now what I want to look at here is not so much Luke’s list of the countries from which many Jewish pilgrims came. I will add this note I found in the Jewish Roots of Acts: Luke’s list of nationalities reflects the three main groups which surrounded Eretz Israel, with Jerusalem lying in the center. The sons of Shem to the East, the sons of Ham to the South, and the sons of Japheth to the North and West. But what I’m really looking at is “both Jews and proselytes”. For some reason to me this line, “visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes” just stands out to me. When I started to look this at this verse, it is either not covered or everyone reads the same dictionary and copied it! This is a translation of the Greek word prosēlytoi, from which we get proselyte. For a male Gentile to become a proselyte, he was required to be circumcised, perform a baptismal rite or purification and offer a sacrifice at the Jerusalem temple.”
Let me try to piece together some points. It seems like it does not just center on the Jews, but also the “ends of the earth”. Luke might be directly associating Jesus’ command to His disciples to witness “to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” and then to the “remotest part of the earth” “from every nation under heaven”. The distinction between Jews and proselytes in regards to Rome may be because of the importance Rome plays in the later chapters of Acts as well as Paul’s ministries to the gentiles.
Acts 2:12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" 13 Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." Can I tell you that I really enjoyed studying about these verses? In some ways it is not earth-shattering stuff, but on another level it is. “New wine” as it is translated here is the word for “sweet wine”. Here is something I learned during my studying. The Bible talks of three kinds of wine: New wine; old, or best wine; and sweet wine. Here in Acts, it is sweet wine, not new wine. So the question is what is the big deal? So…here’s to the what is the big deal:
New wine: More like grape juice or a less intoxicating drink; a daily drink, a mixture of water & wine.
Old (best) wine: Hebrew: Aluntit or Greek: Oinanthē was used in medicinal purposes and because it had time to “mature” (it was usually stored being submerged in water until it had fully fermented. It was more intoxicating. It was used many times as a way to show honor to someone or even wealth and status.
Sweet wine: Mentioned here it was also known as “honeyed or spice wine---i.e. wine which had been sweetened with honey and pepper. To bring it into today’s context, we would call this a cocktail (i.e., Long Island Ice Tea, Piña Colada or even a Margarita…a party drink!). When researching this “sweet wine” I found some fun facts that I would like to pass on:
• It was considered at the time that a person could tolerate as little as a quarter log (1/6th of an Italian liter) before getting intoxicated.
• Strong warnings against and graphic descriptions of the effects of overindulgence are found throughout Jewish literature (Rabbinical Law).
• A Juridical (relating to law) distinction is made between the man who is tipsy and the man who is drunk or intoxicated.
• Although he who is tipsy may still pray, the drunkard’s prayer is considered to be an abomination or as one who serves idols.
• Similarly, a priest who has drunk a fourth of a log of wine was disqualified from Temple service.
• While an Israelite was disqualified from giving judgment on the same amount.
• An insult: “One of three things is true of that man: Either he lends money upon interest, or he raises pigs, or [he] is drunk with (sweet) wine.”
OK as always, I hope you all take some time to dive into God’s word and find some of the hidden, fun facts. I encourage you all to research the Bible. You will find teachers that will agree with me, but still many good teachers have other views and that is OK. This dialogue is what helps us grow as brothers and sisters in Christ. We will stop here this month. Next month, Peter will answer these men and he will give the first sermon in the church age. We will be covering Acts 2: 14-41. It will be the biggest Phish Bowl to date. But, it must be taught in one serving. I will do my best to be reminded to feed the flock with a spoon, not a bull-dozer. Oh my beloved! Blessed be the Lord our God, because He has heard my voice as I cry out to him on behalf of all you Saints. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. I ask you all to pray that I’m the guiding light in this dark land that will lead men out of hopelessness into a loving relationship with Jesus the Christ, through the Holy Spirit, for the Glory of our Heavenly Father.
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