In this enlightening episode of Classic Christianity Radio, join Bob George as he delves deep into the powerful events surrounding the day of Pentecost. We explore the apostles’ journey from witnessing Jesus’ ascension to the miraculous day when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, empowering them to speak in various languages and share the Gospel without barriers. Discover the essence of living a life led by faith as Bob highlights the apostles’ transformation and their missions which were instilled by the Spirit’s indwelling power.
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George. Bob’s clear, timeless teachings on the complete forgiveness and unconditional love of Jesus Christ will transform your life as you learn about God’s amazing grace. Let’s join Bob as he teaches us from God’s Word.
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So this is where all of this started. So John baptized with water, so in a few days you’ll be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So they, and there’s the apostles, they met together, and they, the apostles, asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel? Still didn’t understand that this was only the suffering Messiah at that time. The reigning Messiah is coming later. You see, the reigning Messiah is going to be the one that comes back at the end times and ushers in his thousand year millennial reign. It’s not here yet. But they didn’t know that, but they were still asking a question. So he said to them, well, it’s not for you to know the times and dates. The father is set by his own authority. He kind of he doesn’t poopoo the question. He just says it isn’t for you to know. It’s just plain not for you to know. People ask me on the radio that, and I just say, it’s just not important. What’s important is how you live in your life today. That’s what’s important. You’re walking by faith in Christ, not what’s going to happen in the future and end time stuff. End time stuff is end time stuff. I tell people at my age, I’m in end times. And so it says to him, it’s not for you to know the times or dates the Father has sent by his own authority, but… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and in essence ultimately to the ends of the earth. And then he was taken up before their very eyes and the cloud hid him from their sight and they were looking intently into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white beside them said, Men of Galilee, Why do you stand here looking up in the sky? Guys, can you imagine that event? Of standing there and the final words of Jesus to you. And all of a sudden see him just disappear into the sky. You’re standing there looking at him. He says, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This same Jesus. this one that you just saw and was with, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go to earth, go to heaven. He is coming back the same way he went up. So guess where he’s coming back to? Washington, D.C.? I don’t think so. Israel. Israel. That’s why today Israel is the focal point of the entire world. All this war that we have is over this tiny little nation called Israel. How did God preserve these people? Back in those days there were Amorites, Zebutites, all those tights were back there. Have any of you ever known a Zebutite or an Amorite? Have anybody ever knew one of those? but you can spot a Jew on every street corner in the country. How did he preserve them? Why did he preserve them? Why are they all over the place? I quite frankly believe that the reason that the Jewish people are so set in financial acumen and are in points of financial benefits is Is that is totally God given to preserve them. Because they’re not going to preserve a country. Unless they got finances. And that’s why they are successful as they are. In many cases. Financially. But they’re here. And they’re there. And when Jesus comes back. He’s coming to their country. As he left. I’m coming back. Same place. He’s going to park his self there. Now. After that, they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives. That’s where Jesus left them, and that’s where he’s coming back. He’s going to plant his feet right there. It’s an event that’s going to occur. It was a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. And when they arrived, they went upstairs to a room where they were staying. So evidently the 12 disciples, or by then the 11, were staying there. in some room, some place, and those present, and he names who they are. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. And they all joined together constantly in prayer along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Now in those days, we’re told, that Peter stood up among the believers, a group numbering about 120, and said, Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David, considering Judas, who served as a guide for those who arrested Jesus, and he was one of our numbers and shared in this ministry. He’s got to be replaced. In other words, Peter was saying, God gave us 12 apostles, and now we only have 11, so we need to have another one. With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field where he fell headlong. His body burst open and all of his intestines spilled out. And everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field their language in Aramaic, the field of blood. Let’s call that to this day, to this very day. For said Peter, it is written in the book of Psalms, may his place be deserted forever. And let there be no one to dwell in it. May another take his place of leadership. Now therefore, we’re told, it was necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord was with us and went out among us. That was one of the criterias for being an apostle. Are we familiar with what apostles are? That was a man that had been with Jesus, just like it said, from the beginning, from John’s baptism of Jesus. Now, once again, guys, so that we get this clear, why did John the Baptist baptize Jesus? What did Jesus say? Okay, I’ll tell you. John the Baptist said, the one who sent me to baptize told me. that the one on whom you see the dove descend, that’s the Messiah. So God sent John the Baptist to baptize people, this ceremonial washing, and identify people with that washing as being identified with Jesus, the one who took away your sins. But Jesus was baptized by John, as John said, in order to identify him to Israel. So you can kind of imagine, guys, the exciting ministry that John the Baptist had. Every time he dunked somebody in water, is this the one? And you also understand why he said when the old self-righteous Pharisees would stand out there watching, you guys may as well go home, you bunch of white wall sepulchers. For sure, you’re not the Messiah. But he knew that every time he baptized someone, that could have been the one that God identified. Right? But that’s how he identified. And so it said it was necessary for one of those men to be with us the whole time, beginning with John’s baptism to the time Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must be a witness with us of his resurrection. So they proposed two men, Joseph, called Barsabbas, known as Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed… Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs. And then they did something real biblical. They cast lots. The lot fell to Matthias, and he was added to the 11. Now, guys, do you suppose that’s the way God chooses people, is let’s cast lots? But that’s about as good as we can come up with. Now, do you ever hear of this guy again? Any place in the scripture? No. Who do you hear about? The Apostle Paul. So God was saying, guys, you don’t choose an apostle by casting lots. I’ll choose the apostles just like I chose you. And it was the Apostle Paul that was chosen. Now, in the days of Pentecost, and guys, by then you’re talking about about all of these early meetings is the first forty days and now the day of Pentecost is ten days after the forty and so Pentecost is the word for five or fifty and that was fifty days after the death burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus that this event was going to take place where God is going to come and permanently indwelt his body and now we’ve got those ten days later and so it tells us the day of Pentecost came and they were all together in one place now guys go right back up for a minute with me to verse 26 they cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias and so he was added to the eleven eleven men now when the day of Pentecost come they so who is the they they now the twelve men it’s not a room full of people it’s not like you see in the pictures of all these people in his upper room with things over their head twelve men they were all together in one place and suddenly a sound like a blowing of violence wind came from heaven and filled the house where they who’s the they The men were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of who? Them. All of them, the men, were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. Now guys, we’re told… that there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. It was a celebration where the Jews came from all over. They were scattered, and they took upon the language of wherever they grew up. They were still a Jew, but they didn’t speak Hebrew anymore. They spoke like Chinese or whatever else it might be. And look at what it says here. They heard the sound. The crowd came together bewildered because each one heard them speaking in their own language. Now, utterly amazed, they ask, are not all of these men who are speaking Galileans? Now, I wonder why they said that. What kind of a part of the country was Galilean? Was that an intellectual center or was that an agricultural center? It was an agricultural center. That was a place where farmers were. That was a place you probably kind of made fun of. Oh, those are those farm farmers. Kind of like being an Aggie. Not all these people, are they not Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hear them in his own language? Parthians, Medites, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Pygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Christians, Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own language.
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Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? Some people made fun of it and said they’ve had too much wine. You’re drunk. But you see, guys, think about it for a minute. If any of you have had the experience of going into foreign countries and ever teaching in foreign countries. I’ve gone in there, and you have to use an interpreter. And so what you do is you stand up, and you’ve heard people do that, and you give a little sentence, and then they tell them what you’ve just said, and so you talk a little bit more. I hate it. I hate it. I really despise it because you can’t have a clarity of thought. You’re interrupted all the time by someone interpreting. And you don’t have a clue what they’re interpreting. When I went to Russia and we were announced the day I arrived at Amy’s little village where she was raised, people were waiting on us. They heard we were coming and asked me, and I was speaking at a tent meeting that night. and I got up and started teaching in English, and there was the interpreter, and of course Amy was there, who knew both Russian and English, and she said, he didn’t say anything you were talking about. He didn’t have a clue what I was saying. If a person doesn’t understand this message, he’s not going to interpret it properly. They don’t know what you’re doing, so he’s just going to interpret it in light of his understanding. And so interpreters… can dissuade you. And so I believe that the reason that God gave the gift of languages to those apostles on that day with people of all different cultures was to escape translators. And say, no, I’m going to give this message direct in their language direct, but I’m not going to use a translator. I’m going to cause you to be able to speak their language. And I’m going to give it direct from me through you to them in their language so that they can understand the grace of God. It was a great miracle that was done that day. As the people say, these people are not educated people. Don’t they come from an area that they’re just fishermen? How are we hearing them speaking in our own language? They’re not educated people. And yet we hear them proclaiming what? The goodness of God in our own language. It’s amazing, isn’t it, guys? So it’s said that they’re staying in, that all of these people were in Jerusalem, and they asked whether they had too much wine. And then Peter stood up with the eleven. So who were the people who were speaking these languages? The eleven. So Peter stood up with the eleven. Because that’s who had the fire on them. And that’s who they were given the gift of speaking languages that they had not learned to the apostles because the apostles were the final authority on the word of God and the meaning of the word of God. And they would remain so until the day of their death. Whenever there was a discussion about what does this mean to The apostle was the one who determined. And when the final apostle died, that was the end of apostleship. But before they died, this book was written. The New Testament was written. The New Covenant was written. So we were not left without a message. Are we together? In order to write, to be a writer of this New Testament, you had to be an apostle or an amanuensis of an apostle, meaning a secretary. A person who would write down what you were dictating to them. And that’s why we have this book today. It was not written by just any Johnny-come-lately. It was written by men… who had been with Jesus, who were indwelt by the Spirit of God, and who was told what to write by the Spirit of God. Apostles. Now there aren’t any more apostles. You have people who say, I’m an apostle, and say, no, I’m sorry. Sorry, you’re not. I’m sorry. Well, what’s an apostle? It’s the husband of an apostle. I don’t know what… But people will claim an apostle. And I’d like to know who called them and who named them apostles. But there are people today who claim to be prophets. What do you need a prophet for? Now again, guys, think it through. I have in my hands what God wanted me to know in this book. In the New Testament. New covenant. New instruction from God. Right? Jesus told his apostles, I will cause you to remember everything I’ve said to you. And what they do when he recalled it, wrote it down. That’s why we have God’s word today. Not in our translation, but in the original Greek manuscripts that has now been translated. And so Peter stood up with 11 and he raised his voice and he addressed the crowd. Fellow Jews and all you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this. Listen very carefully to what I say. These men, not men and women, these men, these 12 men, the only ones that were indwelt at that point by the Spirit of God, the only ones who were given the gift of those languages, 12 of them, These men are not drunk, as some of you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning. I like that. If it’s a little later, maybe so, but not nine in the morning. But he said, no, what you’re seeing taking place here is spoken by the prophet Joel. In the last days, God says, I’ll pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions and the old men will dream dreams. And even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. What’s prophesy mean? Proclaiming the word of God. I’ll show wonders in heaven above and signs on earth below. Blood and fire and billows of smoke. Has that occurred yet as far as we know? I don’t think so. The sun will be turned to darkness, the moon to blood. Before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. Now he’s talking about not only that day. But the day Jesus is going to return. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Men of Israel listen to this. Now guys this is the apostle Peter. Who prior to the day of Pentecost. The day when the spirit of God came to permanently indwell him. And to give him power. They were in hiding. Remember when Jesus appeared to them over those 40 days and they were in hiding, scared to death of the Jewish leadership, petrified, thinking they were going to get killed by them. Now he’s out proclaiming to those very people that they were living in fear, saying, you guys killed Jesus. What in the world’s the difference? The Holy Spirit of God living in you. Who gave you what? Power to do what? Be his witnesses. Men of Israel, listen to this. This man, a man accredited by God to you by miracles and signs and wonders, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and the foreknowledge. And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing to a cross the But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. He says, David spoke about him. I saw the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body will also live in hope because you will not abandon me to the grave. nor will you let your Holy One see decay. Did Jesus ever see decay? No. You have made known to me the paths of life, and you will fill me with joy in your presence. Brothers, let me tell you, I tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet. And he knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on the throne. This verse is talking about Jesus, not David. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ. And that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. And God has raised this Jesus to life. And we’re all witnesses to this fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit. and has poured out on you what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore let all Israel be assured that this God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart. You can imagine if you were the ones who were standing there a few days ago, crying, crucify him, crucify him, denying that you believed in him, laughing at him, mocking him, and now recognizing I just was mocking God. I was partly responsible for the killing of the Messiah. He said their hearts were absolutely broken. And so he said, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter, brothers, what shall we do? When I first learned and when you first learned that you were a sinner, which you knew, but I didn’t know that Christ died to just pay for me. If I’d have been the only person on the face of the earth, I had sins that had to be taken away. I did not have a clue. that there was a consequence to sin called death, and that I was dead spiritually. I did not have a clue that I was dead. I knew I was a sinner, but I didn’t have a clue that I was dead. Did you? And when I heard that I was not only a sinner, but I was dead to God, not dead physically, guys, but when the life of God is no longer in me, then I’m dead to God. I’m dead to what vacated me. And you realize that I’m not functioning with God living in me. I’m functioning with a knowledge of God, but I’m not functioning with Him living in me. And you realize I’m alone. And I wasn’t made by God to be alone. Because God in me is indispensable to me. And I wasn’t made to live alone. I was made by God to be indwelt by God.
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Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
