Acts 1:26 – 2:41

Acts 1:26 cast lots to determine the new apostle ?

casting lots (“Urim” and “thrum”) two stones

prov 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

established way to determine God’s will in a gray area (not clearly defined in scripture)

casting lots never seen after this verse, why ? (they have the Holy Spirit who will guide them in all truth)

John 16:12-15

what is an Apostle ?

original apostle, sent out one, from Christ

those who create new ministries, missionaries, (country or culture)

Acts 2

birthday of the Church

what is pentecost ?

pentecost = one of 3 celebrations that jews were required to enter the temple

Pesah (Passover)

• Celebrates the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt,
• and beginning of the new planting season after the winter rains in Israel, since it falls in the early spring.

Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks) (pentecost= 50 days after passover)

• Biblically, this is solely an agricultural celebration. 
• Falling seven weeks after Passover, which places it occurs at the time of the late spring harvest.

Sukkot (the Festival of Booths).

• Celebrates the wandering of the Israelites in the desert for 40 years, when they had to rely only upon God for food and protection.
• also celebrates the last harvest festival before the onset of the winter rains in the land of Israel (grapes and olives)

festival of booths is mentioned in John 7 (in verse 1, jesus just finished his 6 month “retirement ministry” (see Mark 7-9) (to focus time with his disciples and ministering without making an untimely grand entrance ), his non-believing brothers are challenging him to go the the feast, He goes in secretly, then midpoint, suddenly appears in the temple teaching and amazing the pharisees who sought to arrest and  kill him (16 So Jesus replied, “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me.)

37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 38 let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive; for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.)

John 7“How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” (verse 15) peaking about Jesus

13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and discovered that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this (Acts 4:13-14).

Peter speaks by this same power in Acts 2 to the crowd  verse 14-36

Peter is quoting Joel 2

peter does not respond with “we are just doing what we have always done”

he has a clear answer, an explanation

(last days has been 2000 years so far = first coming to second coming)

tongues from an apostle (then or now)

• understandable language
  • can be understood
  • communicates knowledge of God

Tongues without apostolic authority 1 Cor 14:22-25) get the attention of outsiders *sign for unbeliever 

• tongues requires a translator
  • speaking to God not to men

go into all the world

3000 where added to their number

(many more would have returned to their lands and families)

what was Jesus’ commission to fulfill once they had the Spirit ?

what if they come to you ?

what if those got the truth and took it back with them ?

what if there was a way to reach and impact people who were not staying here, but returning to another culture or country and let them take the gospel back ? (could this be an outreach opportunity?  perhaps finding a way to teach exchange students the gospel?)