ACTS 2:1-4 - Corps Notes - October 16, 1975
ACTS 2:1-4 October 16, 1975 Turn tonight to Acts chapter 2, regarding the most momentous occurrence in all history until the present time. Perhaps the greater will be the return. Perhaps we have not as fully appreciated as we should the greatness of Acts 2 because it hasn’t cost us very much to get to the knowledge of it. The experience on the day of Pentecost was so absolutely cataclysmic and here it is written in just four verses. Only God could have had holy men of God write it in such an abbreviated form. There is absolutely no parallel in all history or all literature that equals the greatness of these truths in Acts 2. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God as workmen. Many times when I get Into the Word to teach it I feel totally inadequate to handle the greatness of God’s Word. Yet, somebody has to do the best they can with it. I always feel that way with Acts 2. I’ve taught this many times as you know, and we wrote our heart out on the book in “Receiving the Holy Spirit Today on this chapter. Acts 2:1 “And” = conjunction. The experience of the new birth on the day of Pentecost follows immediately with Matthias being numbered with the 11 apostles. I shared some things on the tape tonight that bring me almost to the point of believing that this which occurred here in Acts 1:26 was just the night before the receiving of the fullness early the next morning. Whether that’s true or not, I can’t prove, but it’s the last thing that was done before the receiving of the fullness of the spirit on the day of Pentecost. Tying this together with “and”, which I believe would stand the test of all the Greek texts, makes it very significant for me -Matthias numbered with the eleven apostles – “and” - I don’t believe they did this trip in the morning. I do not believe they did the selecting of Matthias in the morning because the first hour of prayer would not have been apropos for the occasion. Just not quite like I would like to feel it would be because in the
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that. But they are simply reminding God of what His promises said, and as they reminded God they reminded themselves. Acts 4:29 “behold their threatenings” - Don’t you think that God had noticed it? Sure had. (When you remind your earthly father it blesses you too.) “servants” - bond slaves I told you they were committed; “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (verse 20) They had reached that point of no cop out, no back-up, no flipping out; just stand. - “speak Thy word” - The very thing that got them in trouble, they’re believing more for now. It was - the boldness of speaking forth the greatness of God’s Word that brought them in front of the Sanhedrin. And when they come back to this occasion that we are reading about, they talk to the Lord, and the one thing that they asked for is the same thing that got them into trouble in the first p1ace. You’ve either got