Gtcotr/ws052224
I believe most Christians, especially those in the western Gentile Church world, fall short of appreciating their connection to the Jewish faith and practice of the Old Testament. It is simply not taught in many Churches. Jesus was a Jew, and His whole life experience surrounded Him attending and participating in the Jewish Synagogue on a weekly basis.
Jesus left us a good example to follow by serving in what today we would call Church as a matter of His personal commitment. The Bible specifically says that it was His custom and practice to attend services at a Synagogue wherever He happened to be on the Sabbath. (Luke 4:16)
Overlaying the life of Christ on the life of a Believer in Jesus today would reveal the importance of raising our children to go to Church each Sunday by modeling both a personal conviction and a personal commitment to organized, corporate worship, prayer, and the preaching of the Word. This He did with a group of other people who were also committed to Church.
When Jesus turned 30, He chose to become a Rabbi and He began teaching a small group of followers which He personally invited to join Him. Many others also gathered to Him wherever He went and loved to listen to His sermons. He always gave the glory to God, prayed for the people, and helped to meet their current needs.
Jesus became so popular with the common people that it made the religious political leaders jealous and so they began looking for ways to stop Him. The Pharisees were the ruling party of the day, and they took the lead in a national attempt to hinder the growth of His group, damage His credibility, and destroy His influence. Nothing they tried against Jesus worked and so they finally decided to hire unscrupulous men to testify in court against Jesus in hopes to obtain a guilty verdict and stop Him once and for all.
As you know, Jesus was crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb just before sundown marked the beginning of the Feast of Passover that year. The moon was a full moon, just as it always is on Passover, and just as it is outside this evening. The Jewish Feast of Passover began at sundown on April 22, 2024, making the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus on the morning of the third day following. The two-day celebration of the Feast of Pentecost this year will be observed by the Jews on June 11th. It will check one more box on God’s prophetic countdown to the return of Christ.
Today we sit in a historic time between the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ. During the first 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people and interacted with His disciples, teaching them the things they would need to continue His ministry to a lost and hurting world. He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from on high which would be activated in them by the person of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 24:49)
Finally Jesus led His 11 Disciples out of the city to the Mount of Olives, which is located in what we now call East Jerusalem. The spot was only a stone’s throw fromthe Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus had prayed “not My will, but Thine.” There Jesus gave what Luke recorded as His last words just prior to His ascension into heaven:
Acts 1
7 And Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
From that point on, the Church began to meet and organize themselves so they could make disciples, wait on God, and take care of any business at hand. And, the Church has been meeting and organizing so we cancontinue the work left to us by Jesus ever since.
Let’s take a closer look at the experiences of the early Church so we can better understand what our mindset and our mission should be today. Remember, it is not for us to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own hand, but we have received the Holy Spirit and are called to be witnesses for Christ in our hometown, our surrounding communities and states, and even unto the ends of the world.
Acts 1 NKJV
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
12 ¶ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
15 ¶ And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,
16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;
17 “for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”
18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.
19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’
21 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 “beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen
25 “to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”
26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
All of this was done in preparation for receiving the Holy Spirit’s power from on high so that they could begin their first mission outreach to the city streets of Jerusalem.
What was promised to the Apostles was an impartation and an activation of the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit so that they could fulfil their mission to speak on behalf of God, bear up under persecution, cast out devils, and pray for miracles, signs, and wonders to be done by faith in the name of Jesus.
Having believed the words of Jesus, 120 followers waited for baptism of fire which He promised would come. While they waited, they:
Of course, they were waiting on the return of Jesus, and here we are today … still waiting and still carrying out the great commission of Christ.
Next week we will continue surveying the early Christian experience by taking a look at Acts, chapter 2, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I expect this summer to be a summer filled with the manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Church On The Rock. Signs, wonders, and miracles are still activated through faith in the name of Jesus. I look forward to seeing you here
