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Lesson 8

The Apostles’ Non-Identity Crisis

Acts 4:13-31

As I think back on all the places I have been and the people I have met I do not remember if ever someone asking me, who are you? To be honest I have not been very good at going any deeper than the superficial questions dealing with weather, etc. I usually ask where do you work or what do you do for a living? From where do you come? What is the origin of your name?, etc. It is as I equate who they are with what they do etc. which has nothing to do with who they really are or what they believe.

In the church we have tendency to do exactly the same thing. We seem to assume that because a person has been attending for a long time that he or she is a member and have been saved. Very seldom do we ask the question, who are you in Christ? What is your true identity?

We have social security cards, driver licenses, credit cards, birth certificates, and passports that are use to identify us in this world system.

1. How does this compare to how we are viewed as followers of Christ?
2. Who is perceptive enough in the body to recognize that we belong to Christ?
3. What does this say about how well we know those in our church community?

This lesson could have also titled, “Who is on trial anyway?” It is clear that the council was on the defense. They did not know what to do with these men who closely identified themselves with Jesus. It was not long in the discussion before the Jewish leaders recognized this fact.

1. 13

Three things confronted the council concerning the events that had just occurred.

1. It says in vs. 13 they observed the confidence of Peter and John. If it was so obvious to them what was the source of this boldness? How did this differ from the picture we get of the Pharisees and Sadducees who initiated the inquiry?
2. The leaders based their lifestyle on salvation based on the law. Of course the Pharisees prided themselves on trying to keep the law perfectly.
3. Paul explained it in 2 Timothy 1:12 where he says, “I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” With this kind of guarantee it should not surprise us that these men displayed such confidence in the face of possible persecution.
4. The second thing we see in this verse is that the Jewish leaders determined that the two were uneducated and untrained. What did they mean by drawing this conclusion?
5. Their mannerisms and speech would have given them away. There certainly were not in leadership roles in Judea.
6. Although every Jewish boy would have had at least and elementary education and would have been taught the law, these men obviously had not gone through the Rabbinic system.
7. The final piece of the puzzle that they “began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” What were the characteristics that would have identified them as disciples and apostles of Christ?

Some questions that we might ask based on the above:

1. How did Jesus and His followers teach? Matthew 7:29, Mark 6:2 and Luke 2:47 are just three verses that may give us a clue? If all teaching was done as having authority what was the basis for that authority?
2. What would the Rabbinic system have taught them?
3. In what ways was the time spent with Jesus superior to the teaching of Rabbis?
4. What usually brought on the confrontation in most of the discussions between the religious leaders and Jesus?
5. How did this differ from what Jesus shared with the common people?

Vs. 14

Whatever case council may have thought they had against the apostles unraveled with the presence of the man who had been healed. Why was he there in the first place? Remember this trial occurred the following day. Two possible ideas might be put forth

1. The man had been arrested at the same time. What would have been justification for such an act?
2. They assumed that he was one of the apostles since he was clinging to them as they entered the temple grounds.
3. It was done in order to keep the man quiet.
4. He came early the next morning to once again to be with Peter and John. What does this say about the man?
5. He did not lack courage.
6. He was truly thankful for what God had done in his life.
7. He wanted to be identified with the men and their message.
8. He would be willing to come to their defense if necessary.

What we do know that his presence caused the Jews to change their plans. They must have seen him at the temple gate and could not deny that the man had been healed. Rather than being on the offensive they were now on the defensive. What do people do when they are backed into a corner as these men were?

Vs. 15-22

In these verses we see the strategy of the leaders and the response of the apostles. First let’s look at the actions taken by the council

1. They went into a closed door section.
2. Why could they not just make a decision based on the facts before them?
3. What did they hope to accomplish by further discussion?
4. They came up with a plan. It was composed of the same old ideas that result when man refuse to listen to the truth. What was the strategy they planned to use? What was their ultimate goal?
5. There was to be first a warning given to them.
6. When they confronted the apostles a command was given for them to no longer talk about Jesus.
7. Finally they threatened them but let them go. They could do no more at this time because everyone was praising and worshipping God having seen the healing of the cripple.

Why did the strategy of the council fail? How could it have succeeded? We need only to look at the answer the apostles gave. During this whole session before the council there is only the record of Peter and John speaking one time. It is found in vs. 19-20. What they had to say cause further threats to be spoken but also led to their release. Upon hearing these uneducated men speak the so called men of God were left with no answer. Should not the words spoken been from their mouths? How is it that it was left to Peter and John to utter what they needed to say? These two verses should set the standard of how the church should deal with the accusations and threats of the world. The apostles could not stop speaking because they had a message to share.

Vs. 23-31

Upon their release the apostles shared the news with the church.

1. What was the response as they reported all that had happened?
2. How did they see what had just taken place as a fulfillment of Scripture? See vs. 25-29
3. Instead of shrinking from the task ahead of them what did they ask as they prayed?
4. What was the result?

When placed in circumstances that may lead to a ridicule of your faith how do you respond? There may be more but two different options have been described for you. You can either submit out of fear to the innuendos or outright threats or you can respond as the apostles did to the council. It is important not only for the strengthening of your faith to be able to answer but also to say I indentify with the Savior of the world and therefore cannot be intimidated.

How can we go about making sure that know who has authority over our lives and with whom we identify? One way is for to be aware of what others believe. It is not possible to live in a cocoon and be able to give an answer for the hope that is in us. We must understand that the world is hostile to Christianity. How many of us know how to refute the smallest argument of a non-believer. The apostles spent three years with Jesus. We can only become strong as we spend daily time in God’s word, truly seeking to hear what He has to say to us. Each of us waste at least a few minutes each day that could be used in meditating on God’s word.   They knew that what was happening was a part of God’s plan. In what ways do we see the events going on around us in the same light?

We see in the lesson for today that upon their release that desired to share the good news with fellow believers to strengthen them. In what ways have we spoken positive life-changing words to someone in our fellowship?

Finally, we need to ask, is our prayer life like what we see in our study today? In their prayer what are some of the things that we might pray about that would give us a new perspective of what God would have us to do? In our prayer time this week we might work on one element of their prayer whether it is for confidence, healing or boldness in witnessing and just wait to see how God might answer.

All of these are needed if we are to be identified as belonging to Christ. Others must see our confidence, likeness to Him and the knowledge of Him that confounds the world.

Lesson 7

Authority Questioned

Acts 4:1-12

Over the years I have tried to understand and deal with the issue of authority. There have been times when I lost respect for people in positions of leadership because of the decisions they made and the way they treated the people who worked under them. Maybe, in all of this, there was somewhat of a sense of rebellion on my part because I had a different view of what the qualities of a person in charge of others should be. Those in leadership, in my opinion, should be men with a servant/ Leadership mentality and not that of a ruler.

Someone asked the other day how much authority does the Southern Baptist Convention, national or state, have over Bethany Place? The answer to that question is that each church in the SBC is autonomous and self governing. If that is true, who then has the authority to lead each of these churches? Primarily, Bethany Place has been a staff led church with the congregation involved in voting on almost all decisions.

In our present situation we might ask ourselves some questions.

1. How have we found this method of governance to work out in the life of the church?
2. How should we determine who it is that has the authority to make decisions for us that have an impact on our lives and the life of the church?
3. What are the qualities we should seek in the person who is called to have authority?

Let’s take a moment to reflect on what we have already studied that sets the stage for our look at the events in chapter 4.

1. The apostles spent 7 days in prayer and becoming of one mind. Chapter 1
2. The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost. Chapter 2
3. Peter preached his first sermon. Chapter 2
4. Three thousand became new believers. Chapter 2
5. The early Church began to be discipled by the apostles. Chapter 2
6. They began to form community. Chapter 2
7. Signs and wonders were being performed. Chapter 2
8. The lame man was healed. Chapter 3
9. Peter preached his second sermon within the Temple grounds in Solomon Portico. Chapter 3
10. In both of his sermons, he exposed the participation of the religious leaders in the death of Christ who Peter now shared as the resurrected Savior of the world.

In chapter 4 we see the opening volleys in the ongoing conflict between two different views. On the one side were those who practiced a form of Judaism entirely based on the law and the followers of Jesus Christ. This was the crossroad at which choices had to be made. Everything hinged on the understanding of the source of authority in one’s life, the law or Christ. The narrative found here clearly shows us the position that the apostles had taken.

Acts 4:1-3

Immediately following these events the apostles were arrested.

1. Who composed the group that arrested the apostles?
2. What do we know about them?
3. What was the reason these leaders put them in jail overnight?

Acts 4:4

Even though the religious leaders responded in a negative way to the teaching of the apostles an additional five thousand souls were added to the church.

1. How is it that the people heard what the apostles had said and the leaders misunderstood?
2. What was the major difference between the people and the leaders?
3. Why did the event that was taking place on the temple grounds bother them so much?
4. If the temple was God’s house, who had a right to preach and heal on the grounds?

Acts 4:5-7

As the apostles were brought before the council they were asked a very important question. It was, “By what power, or in what name have you done this? What were they really asking? We see by the answer that the apostles gave that the real questions were:

1. Who gave you the right to go about healing and preaching?
2. What is the source of your authority?

Before we continue on with the apostles answer let us go back into Matthew to see how Jesus responded to a question much like the one being asked in this chapter in Acts. When asked about His authority he did not answer them directly but asked them about their understanding of John. If they did not accept John they certainly would not believe Him. (Mt. 21:23-27) In the last chapter He tells the disciples, that all authority had been given to Him. He then gave them the commission to make disciples. (Mt. 28:18) Unlike the Jews the apostles heard what Jesus was telling them before His crucifixion and resurrection.   Now, under the authority of Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit they could answer the religious leaders.

They in Acts 4:8-10 shared in a very definitive way the role that Jesus played in the healing.

1. They took no credit for the healing. It was not in their power to perform such a feat.
2. They identified the source of the healing. It was the very man they had crucified the Messiah of Israel, the one called Jesus the Nazarene.

Acts 4: 11-12

1. By using the Scripture out of Psalm 118:22 what was Peter saying to his audience?
2. What does the last verse say about Christianity?
3. In what ways does this verse reinforce what John wrote in 14:6 of his gospel?

This lesson has been all about recognizing Christ’s authority. There are certain characteristics that must be recognized as inherent in the relationship each of you have with Christ. Possibly you have found in your own walk that it is sometimes more difficult to accept the truth than all of the lies with which the world is constantly bombarding you. To come to the realization that it is only God’s word that is infallible, inerrant and holds all truth you must totally submit your will to the authority of Christ. There are certain facts that are explicit in the text that the writer has shared with us.

1. Man is limited in what he can accomplish in his own strength.
2. There are certain things that can only occurred when you are empowered by the Holy Spirit and are acting in the name of Christ.
3. Jesus was raised from the dead after being crucified by those who opposed Him.
4. Only in Christ can man achieve eternal life. There is no such thing as universal salvation. It is the exclusive right of God to give it to whom He chooses.

Only by consciously accepting the above can you say that you are truly living under the authority of Christ.

Although each of you is called to make disciples, there are those who provide the leadership to equip the church for the ministry and provide the means for spiritual growth. (Eph. 4:11-12) This attitude is reflected in the way you view those to whom God has given the responsibility to lead the church. The questions that each of you must answer, as you deal with this whole issue of authority are:

1. In what ways is it evident to the world that Christ is truly living in you and through you?
2. What evidence is present that He has completely authority over your will?
3. How does your life reflect what you have read in Acts 4:12 and Matthew 28:18?

The world is observing your actions to determine under whose authority you act and speak. You will either answer by acknowledging by your words and actions that you are living out the commands of Christ, or, you have decided to live according to the world’s standards. It is really your choice.

Remember we always do things in the name of some cause, organization, or person. Everything then hinges on the understanding of the source of the controlling factors in our lives. How are we to deal with this whole issue? Here are some thoughts

1. Evaluate everything in the light of Scripture. Our lesson today gives us a picture of how the apostles were able to answer the question of the Jews in light of the commands given to them by Jesus, the Word of God. We can do the same.
2. Even though we don’t hear it much anymore, the statement, “What Would Jesus Do?” is still a true test for us before saying anything or taking action.
3. Remember that “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
4. Do not let the distractions of the world that creep into our lives and the church cause us to lose focus of the task we have been given according to the commands of Jesus to make disciples.

Next week we will look at the actual interrogation by the Jews. Think as you prepare for our time together about the question, “Who was actually on trial?”

Lesson 6

Healing Power of Christ

Acts 3:1-26

Over the years I cannot even number the opportunities that I have missed to share Christ with those who needed Him in their lives. I remember one young man who committed suicide. I had known him from my days at DuPont and then worked with him at another industrial plant. I never shared with him the good news about Jesus. When we talked the conversation was about business. I think of all the times I have passed people even within the walls of the church and had no idea was going on in their lives. Those are chances that will never come my way again. I have been guilty of deliberately ignoring people with whom I did not want to get involved? The question I must face is what if someone had treated me that way and I had never heard the gospel? Where would I be today?

We have to realize how crucial the answer to those last two questions is for each and every one of us.  Knowing this to be true, how then can we be so unaware of the spiritual needs that are all around us? We might ask, when have we missed those times when God may have brought someone into our presence and we did not respond with the good news? How many times have we passed someone in the hallway and not even seen them or acknowledge them in any way? There is hardly a Sunday that goes by that God does not bring someone new into our midst. How are they treated? Do we even know that they are there? In what ways do we take the time to make them welcome without being prompted? How often do our guests get away without someone at least introducing themselves and saying how glad we are they are there? Why does this happen? In our workplace, schools, clubs, sports venues and churches how do we ignore certain people not wanting to get involved in their problems? They may be the very ones who respond to the gospel if we took time to share?

In verse one it is written that Peter and John were going up to the temple for one of the times of prayer. These occurred at 9 AM, 3 PM and sunset.

1. What does this show us about the attitude of the early church towards Judaism?
2. How did the apostles picture themselves at this point?

As they were getting ready to go into the Temple they came upon a man who had been placed at the gate called Beautiful in order to beg. (Acts 3:2)

1. Why was he set in that particular place
2. Where was his spot located in relationship to the Temple? He was in the Court of the Gentiles. The gate to which we referred was located at the entrance to the Court of Women?
3. What does this say about how Judaism would have viewed him?

He began to ask Peter and John for alms. (Acts 3:3) In the next verse Peter and John stopped and responded to the man. (Acts 3:4)

1. Why did they pay attention to this particular beggar?
2. If there were other beggars in the area what did they see in this man that was missing in the others?
3. Why did they speak as they did?
4. In what way may they have sensed that he needed more than a few coins?
5. What was this whole episode about anyway?
6. How was this event somewhat like the one we find in John 9:1-41

Like the narrative in John 9 this event was not about the apostles, even though a healing took place, nor the man, although God loved and showed great compassion toward him, but for the glory of Jesus Christ.  The apostles saw beyond the asking of alms to the deeper need this man had. They met that need by first showing that God truly had power over the physical limitations he had.

Even though Peter reached down and pulled him up. It took real faith to believe that with that helping hand he could stand on legs that had not supported him his whole life. (Acts 3:6-7) Those truly healed like this man receive something far more important than the regaining of physical strength.

1. What did the man truly need to happen in his life?
2. What evidence is there that he received what he needed?
3. What was the result of his display of a new found faith?
4. How did his actions and words affect those who saw what was taken place?

This man experienced a whole new relationship with the Father as was evident by the walking and jumping and lifting of praises to God. Immediately the people in the court of Gentiles recognized him and understood some marvelous had happened. (Acts 3:8-10)

1. What doors did the healing open for the apostles?
2. In what ways could this opportunity been squandered?
3. How did the apostles handle the situation?
4. Who was to get the glory?
5. Why did the man continue clinging to Peter and John?
6. How could have his action been misunderstood by the people?

The apostles began to share what they knew was the truth. They remembered that it is only by Christ that man is made whole. We are only the messengers of that fact. Peter seized the chance and immediately launched into his second sermon. He very quickly dispelled any idea that the people might have that he and John had the power to heal anyone. He pointed out that the God of the living Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (See Matthew 22:32) is He who has glorified His Son Jesus Christ. Once again they are confronted with the fact that they had a part in rejecting and killing the One through whom this healing had taken place. (Acts 3:13-26)

As in his previous sermon who brings the people to the point of making a decision.

1. How did he accomplish this?
2. What evidence did he give to bring them to making a decision to follow Christ?
3. How did his approach differ from the way we sometimes try to witness to the lost?
4. Why is it so difficult for us to follow this way of presenting the evidence of Christ?

He laid out very clearly for the people who Christ was.

1. The prophets had prophesized about His suffering.
2. Moses spoke of the prophet who would be like him and must be heard.
3. God even told Abraham that it would be through his seed that the whole world would be blessed.

The consequences of his sermon will be seen in the next chapter.

It is important that you become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit when He brings before you one who may have a hidden need life the cripple in our story. You will notice that one of the critical pieces that must never be missing from your witnessing is an understanding that Jesus is the fulfillment of all Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore it is important that you spend time in God’s word every day.

God will provide opportunities for us to share who He is to a world that is lost and dying. He often will bring those hurting individuals right into our midst. Each and every Sunday there are probably those come through the doors of Bethany Place that you do not know. One of the easiest ways to begin practicing the lessons that we have learned from what we have studied today is to look around for those guests and go to them and genuinely tell them how glad you are that they are there. Who knows but just that one word of encouragement may be what they need for that day. We can go even one step further and get their name and telephone number and call them during the week. We have no idea what this would do for the church.

Lesson 4

The Urgency of the Gospel

Acts 2:1-36

Me

For years I have had a real interest in Biblical prophecy. During the 70’s and 80’s there were a number of books out predicting the end of the age. Two of those which that fueled my desire to know more what going to happen in the future were written by Hal Lindsey. They were “The Late Great Planet Earth” and “There is a new world coming”.   Both of these, along with other writers, said that the world going to end in the 80’s then almost for sure by the year two thousand. Well here we are in 2010 and we are still here. What finally made me take a step back and evaluate the predictions was a radio program that was telling how a particular pope was going to impact the world and play a part in prophecy. The only problem was that the pope had died six weeks prior to the broadcast.

How did all of this impact me? When I was caught up in reading about the 2^nd coming of Christ and all that meant, I was passionate about sharing what I had learned. There was a great urgency in telling people because I did not want them to be lost and face the tribulation and judgment. Sadly, I do not talk about this subject much anymore although I see as rapidly moving to a time when all of the events in Revelation could occur.

We

I don’t know how you feel about our present condition, but I sense that we in the church have lost our passion for telling others about Jesus. If this is true what accounts for this condition in most congregations? What has caused us to lose the passion that it takes to win others to Christ? When was the last time that any of us shared our faith with anyone? There was a statistic out sometime ago that said that it took about one hundred people to bring one person to Christ? How can this be true of us? Could it be that we have become dull in our belief that every human being who is without Christ will face judgment or that we have plenty of time because He is not going to return for a long time? The Verse in 2 Peter seems to reflect these attitudes. Of course Peter is speaking of mockers of every age. What is said could just as easily include some of us. It says, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep all continues just as it has from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4) What can we learn from the events that took place on Pentecost about two thousand years ago?

God

In chapter 2 we are going to be looking at the events that occurred on the Day of Pentecost and how it impacted the people there in Jerusalem.

Before getting in the text let us look at some of the background of Pentecost and its significance to the Jewish people.

1. It occurs 50 days after Passover
2. It is also called the Feast of the Harvest of the Fresh Fruits.
3. It was one of the three times a year that all Jewish males were required to come to Jerusalem and make offerings from the harvest. The other two are the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, beginning right after Passover, and the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the final harvest season. (Exodus 23:16-17; Deuteronomy 16:16)

That brings us to the actual passage.

This whole chapter gives a picture and understanding why Jesus came. (Gal. 4:4) It was to provide salvation for every person willing to accept who Christ was and what He had done for them. (2 Cor. 6:2) The question is how do we get there? The truths of God work towards that moment. The Bible is the tool.

Acts 2:1 begins very simply. It says, “When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place.” Nothing in this verse would indicate the extraordinary events that were about to occur. As we have seen before once again the disciples were gathered together.

1. What does this say about what has already taken place in their lives?
2. How easy would you find it to spend 47 days together as they had done?
3. What do you think would have happened by the end of that time?
4. What made the difference in their lives?
5. Who would have thought that their world was about to be totally changed forever?

By the end of verse four we see the reason for all that they had experienced.

Suddenly, it happened, the promised Holy Spirit had come, tongues of fire resting on each of them. The place was shaken by a strong wind, a description of the Spirit. (Acts 2:2-4)

1. Why was it necessary for the Spirit to manifest Himself in such a way?
2. What was the result of these extraordinary events?
3. What was the significance of all the different nationalities coming together when they heard the commotion?
4. In what way do you see that it was important these events took place on this particular day?

There are two references in this chapter of the speaking in tongues, those which were not their native language of Aramaic. These first in verse four occurs immediately upon receiving the Holy Spirit. The second takes place in verse 6 as all the people coming running to see what is going on. (Acts 2:4,6)

Does it not seem reasonable that the same Holy Spirit who was going to give the Apostles the word to speak when they were brought before governors and kings would have the power to give them the ability to speak in other languages they had not learned? (Matthew 10:18-20; Acts 2:4, 6-12)

God made it simple for the Apostles. They may not have been ready to take on Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the rest of the world. God took care of the problem. He brought Jews from many nations to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Harvest. (Acts 2:5-11: Ex 23:14-17, 34:22-23)

On the day of Pentecost we find men, who fifty days earlier were huddled together fearing the authorities speaking of the “mighty deeds of God.” What a transformation the Holy Spirit brought about in the lives of people who allow Him to empower them. (Acts 2:11)

The people were there. The Holy Spirit had empowered the apostles. Now what was the message going to be that God wanted the people to hear? Under these circumstances what would you say?

The message Peter shared was taken from Joel 2:28-32 which spoke of two aspects of what would happen to the Jews at some point in history. Both of these related to the Jewish idea of the Day of the Lord. That day would be a time of

1. God’s judgment
2. God’s restoration of the Jewish people as a sovereign nation.

If this was true then what kind of judgment and restoration was he talking about? Even though the apostles believed in the imminent return of Christ, which makes the preaching of the gospel an urgent matter we know that it did not occur as they expected. From our perspective we know that the last days to which Peter referred certainly could not have been physical. The Jews and most of the rest of the world were under Roman domination which would not end for about 300 years. So what were the day of restoration and the last days to which he refers? The passage in Joel ends with a perfect lead in to what Peter wanted the people to understand. It says, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32) From the words that follow we can see that Peter and the other apostles wanted to leave no doubt in the minds of the people the source of this salvation.

Immediately Peter moves from Joel’s statement into the affirmation of Jesus as the Savior. It does it by once again telling the narrative of Jesus’ ministry, His miracles, His death at the hands of the Jews and His resurrection. (Acts 2:22-24)

Secondly he looks to the writings of David as he acknowledged the One to come as his Lord. (Acts 2:25-28). Peter then uses David’s own words found in Ps. 16:10 to talk about the eternal nature of the One to come. His argument was if Jesus did not see decay as David did then the one who would sit on David’s throne forever could not be David but someone else. That person in the words of Peter was Jesus. (Acts 2:29-36)

What was the response to this powerful sermon? After hearing Peter speak, there was no question in the minds of those present on the day of Pentecost that Jesus was raised from the dead. We are told that “they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37) Just by reading these words we can see the profound impact that what the apostles had had on the people.

We may miss the urgency which brought them to this point, but the understood their part in the death of the Messiah and that brought about an eternal separation from God and they could not live one moment longer with that knowledge. Thus we hear once again with all the desperation that must have been in those words, “Brethren, what shall we do?” If we had been there, and in a way we can, what would have been our response?

Peter had the solution to their problem. It was the simple message. He said, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38) He follows up that statement with, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” (Acts 2:40)

The harvest on this day of Pentecost was 3000 souls. They received the word they had heard and were baptized.

You

In the discussion above we saw how important it was in the minds and hearts of the apostles to share the good news that God had brought to them.

1. If we compare Bethany Place with what took place on the day of Pentecost how would you rate the fervor they possessed to evangelize the lost?
2. What do you consider is the most urgent thing upon which we must focus at a church?
3. In what areas of our church do you believe that there is enough of a spark that can be fanned into a flame?
4. How committed do you think we are to accomplish the task of reaching the lost?
5. What evidences is there that this is true?

It is important that you answer these questions not just for yourself but for the whole church body. Your commitment and attitude towards the task set before you will determine if God will bring a harvest beyond your wildest dreams.

We

How do we get there? One suggestion would be to look at what has already been studied in chapters 1 and 2 and take the time over the next week to look at some areas of a few areas of your life(as expressed in the questions below) then sit down and write about them.

1. In what ways may my actions, agendas, attitudes or words possibly be a hindrance to the advancement of God’s kingdom?
2. In what ways has my vision been too limited in allowing God to use me?
3. In what ways do I want to either become or regain an urgency to proclaim God’s good news to those with I come in contact?

To Come

Next week we are going to look at the church that heard, was pierced to the heart and saved. The exciting things done in response to the gospel will be our focus. The question that will be answered is what did this new church look like?

Lesson 3

When Decisions Really Count

Acts 1:15-26

Me: Example.

The times when I have made the worse decisions have revolved around job selections. The one that stands out above all others is the time I went to work for an insurance company. I started right before my wife and I got married, so I was very, very young. Soon I discovered that it was the wrong choice of careers for me. It is a fine business for those for whom it is a good fit. The problem was that I am an introvert. Being an introvert and being in sales is not a good match. What was the real problem? I did not seek God’s direction when taking such a position. If I had listened to Him I would waited for the jobs that were best suited to who I am.

(Teacher) This is the place for you to use your own example.

We:

Ask for examples of those times that the class truly sought God’s direction and others when they tried to go out on their own. Then ask, what were the results of the two different choices?

God:

This passage involving the selection of Mathias almost seems out of place in the sequence of events in the last seven days before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Luke, however inserts it here as a good reporter or historian would do because it was relevant to the apostles. This event like all of the ones found in the book of Luke and the early part of Acts would have been related to him by those who had been eye witness participants. In order for there the accurate account that he had promised in his first book, he included even events like this one that occurred during the seven days the disciples were together without commentary.

In verse 15 we read, “At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren.” It should not surprise us that Peter was the one to take the lead in selecting the man to replace Judas as one of the twelve. Over and over again he had been the one to be the spokesman not for himself only but the other disciples as well. To see this pattern let us look at some examples.

1. His confession in Matthew 16:16.
2. Speaking out at the transfiguration Matthew 17:4
3. During the last supper John 13:6-8, 36-37
4. Overconfidence that he would not deny the Lord Matthew 26:33-35

Beginning in verse 20 Peter moves from describing what took place in regard to the actions to the actions that needed to be taken because of the void left by Judas. At this point we might ask, what was the basis of what Peter was proposing as a solution to the situation which was before them? The approach he used was to refer to Scripture for answers. We find He used three different passages. Each one dealt with different aspects of Judas’ betrayal and demise. In each of them he saw a prophetic message that he interpreted to be written for this occasion.

1. His betrayal and death found in all four of the gospels. The most detailed one concerning the consequences of his betrayal is found in Matthew 27: 3-10. Peter includes the references to the 30 pieces of silver, his death by impalement and the purchase of Potter’s field found in Zechariah 11
2. The future state of the family of the betrayer. Psalm 69:25
3. The actual replacement of Judas as another was to “take his office.” Psalm 109:8-9

One additional Scripture that may have come into play as the discussion took place is found in Matthew 19: 28. Jesus promised, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” If would seem logical if there were to be twelve thrones there had to be twelve apostles.

There some questions that arise as we look at these verses:

1. Were these Scriptures truly justification for the decision by the disciples to replace Judas? Why or why not.
2. Were they looking for Scripture to confirm what they had already decided that may or may not apply to the situation at hand? What are we able to learn from the answers to the first two questions?
3. What do you think about the timing of the decision?
4. Was that decision made under the direction of the Holy Spirit or man taking matters into their own hands?
5. In what way did the personality of Peter influence the decision? Remember the Scriptures discussing his impulsive nature.

Believing that he had presented a valid argument for the need for another disciple Peter, in verses 21-22, moves very quickly into what he believes are the qualifications that the new apostle should possess. They were very simple and straightforward.

1. It should be one who had been a follower from the time period of Jesus’ ministry beginning with His baptism by John.
2. He had to one who had seen the risen Lord.

Generally speaking unless these cover a greater depth than is revealed here there are some things to be considered.

1. There is no mention of others being a part of the private teachings to which the original disciples were exposed.
2. There were times when Jesus travelled alone with the twelve. A couple of examples are the trips across the Sea of Galilee and when He specifically pulled them aside away from the others for instruction. Even the Sermon on the Mount was primarily meant for the close circle of disciples.

Since there is no objection by any of the disciples present as Peter speaks, they then select two men who they believe have the characteristics needed for the task ahead. Having chosen the two (see vs. 23) Mathias and Barsabas, they then go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to show which of the two men they have already selected should be the new apostle. It is interesting that up until now it appears that God had been completely left out of the whole process, but now they want His approval. (vs. 24) Going even further they believe they have to explain to God why they decided on these two men. The text gives the appearance that God needed this information before voting on one or the other.

They then used a method we might view as chance to determine that God had indeed selected Mathias to join the twelve. They cast lots. Before proceeding let’s take a look at this practice of casting logs. There was a long standing tradition among the Jews of casting lots when important decisions were to be made. Several references can be found dating all the way back to Moses. Here are a few:

1. Leviticus 16:8 speaks of choosing between sacrifices.
2. Moses instructs the people to divide the land by lots. (Numbers 33:54; 34:13; 36:2)
3. Joshua follows the instructions of Moses in determining the inheritance of the tribes of Israel. (Joshua 18:6)
4. We see Saul using this method to determine the guilt of either him or Jonathan. (1 Samuel 14:41-42)

If this method was used over and over what was it? The Jews would take small rocks and write on them whatever was to be decided, such as a name in the case of the division of the land, and put them in some kind of container and dump them out one by one. It is important to note that following the above use of lots there is no further mention of the practice in the Bible. After the coming of the Holy Spirit the church depended on prayer and the guidance received from Him in making decisions.

In light of all we have discussed concerning the events in this passage there are a few final thoughts that come to mind.

5. What does it say about the patience of those who were waiting for the Promised Holy Spirit?
6. How did the casting of lots affirm the decision?
7. What are some of the facts that tell us that this was a decision that did not necessarily have to be made at this time?
8. What do we know of Mathias from this point on in History?

Some have suggested that the disciples jumped ahead of God and that Paul was really the apostle that God chose to continue the proclaiming of the Gospel. Of Mathias very little is known about his life from this point on. He is never mentioned in the Bible beyond Acts 1:26. It is believed that he went to Ethiopia to preach and was martyred in about 80 A.D.

You.

One of the lessons that is revealed is how easy it is to focus on priorities that are not in the best interest of the church. Have there been times in your life when you have possibly not made the right choices or got ahead of God while trying to make a decision? Possibly, like just most of us, you wanted to have things happen according to your own timetable. Some of were turning points in your life and might include choosing

1. The right school
2. Type of studies
3. The right mate
4. The right job
5. Where to live
6. To have or not have children
7. The church to which I can become committed

The question that comes to mind as you think about each of these is how much of a role did God play in the decision process? Were you like the disciples and took a path they thought was right?

Further as you have become involved in the life of the church, what about those things that you have supported? For an example on what basis have you selected those who were to be in leadership roles? Have you truly spent time in learning about their:

1. Giftedness
2. Length of time they have been a follower of Christ
3. Personality
4. Integrity
5. Passion to serve

These are just a few of the areas that are important in considering a person for service. The one thing that should never be done is to feel there is a need to just fill a position.

We

How can we move beyond the sometimes superficial and speedy decisions we make?

1. Spend as much time as needed in truly praying specifically about the matter before us. We are to stay focused and wait on God for the answer.
2. Search God’s word for clear guidance. This means that we do not try to make it fit what we want to do but the direction He wants us to take. This approach will eliminate “proof texting.”
3. As we pray and study and then come together as a church we must be willing to make our desires secondary to the greater advancement and growth of God’s church.
4. We are to encourage those around us to discover their giftedness
5. We need to keep our eyes open for those who have already displayed wisdom, integrity godliness and proven dedication to place them in leadership roles for the furthering of God’s kingdom.

If we do these things we will not become sidetracked, but will remained focused on the task that God has placed before us.

Lesson 2

Unity in the Church

Acts 1:12-14

Recently a number of youth gave testimony to what God had done in their lives at a youth camp. As they shared it brought back memories of a retreat in which I participated some 37 years ago. It seems that some things never change. Both groups went into their time away fragmented and some did not even know what they believed about God. During the time together I saw lives changed and brothers united who had been at odds with each other for years. There were those who found their faith for the first time and others who reaffirmed what they believed. It certainly reminds me of what took place in the time after Jesus ascension when the disciples truly came together and became a unified body.

If you would stop and think each of you have probably found yourself in similar situations like:

1. Been left out of some club or group you wanted to join.
2. Being chosen last or not picked at to be on a some team on the playground. The most humiliating part of this process is one person saying to the other person “you take him we don’t want him he does not play well.”
3. Finding yourself in a place where groups, better known as cliques have already been established. There has been many a person, especially youth, who have left the church for this very reason. (Give the class the opportunity to share their experiences.”
4. Actually found yourself in a place where everything just seem to come together for those who were part of a meeting, retreat, conference, worship time etc.?

(A Possible Exercise to emphasize the point of unity) Divide the class up into groups of its own choosing. Make sure that the groups either have 3 or 5 members depending on the number in attendance. After the groups are formed ask the following questions:

1. What guided you to the group of which you are a member?
2. How would you feel if you were asked to leave the group and join another one?
3. How open would you be to discuss your feelings in another group?
4. How does this exercise help us to understand the how difficult for an organization to become unified?

(God)

If there was one thing that Jesus sought for His disciples was unity. Up until the point of His ascension He had been the unifying person around whom all of the disciples had rallied. Now He was gone. So now these men would have to work together in a way they had never experienced before. They would have the Holy Spirit and each other upon whom they have to rely for strength, courage and accountability. Before we look at Acts 1:12-14, let’s go back to John and pick up some of the thoughts that Jesus expressed concerning, not only His disciples, but us as well.

1. Jesus said to His disciples during the last supper, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” He then continues to clarify what He was saying to them, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
2. Speaking of the vine and the branches, Jesus emphasized that they must as He said, “Abide in Me, and I in you.   As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4) Jesus was speaking of the collective you, telling the disciples that their unity was dependent on their relationship with Him.
3. Then from the high priestly prayer in John 17 we find these words:
4. “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” (Vs. 11)
5. “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those who believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one; even as You, Father are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may know that You sent Me.” (Vs. 20-21)
6. We will look at two final verses before we leave this chapter. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them that they may be one, just as We are one, (Here it is) that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You loved Me.” (Vs. 22-23)

Luke 24:52-53 and Acts 1:12-14 give us a picture of what the disciples did after the ascension. Luke says, “And they, after worshipping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising God.” In the Acts account we are told that all of the disciples returned to the city and “went up to the upper room where they were staying.” It then says, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.” Looking at these two passages there are a couple of questions that need to be asked

1. What are some the things that would indicate that the disciples realized that they really did need to wait for the Holy Spirit?
2. What did the disciples not do during the seven days?

Now to Acts 1:12-14.

The first thing we are told that they returned to the upper room where they had been staying during their time in Jerusalem.

1. What was the significance of the upper room? The last supper had taken place there.
2. We are not given the location, so where was this room? It was probably at the home belonging to Mary, John Mark’s mother.
3. What two activities took place during their time their? We are told that they became of one mind and that they prayed.
4. What was the one factor that enabled them to become of one mind?

These are important questions. We will address the last one in more detail. First, there is a question that needs to be answered. What did take for the disciples to reach the point of being of one mind? We must understand that before any group can become of one mind they have a common focus, goal, passion or desire. For the disciples they could unite their hearts around Jesus Christ even though they were all so totally different from each other.

One thing that we are told was that they spent the time in prayer. The King James translation added the word supplication to the word prayer. This means that all the forms of prayer took place within the gathering of the more than 120 people who had come together.   While we know it was a time of intense prayer, it very well could also been a time of cleansing and confession.  Peter, for example, may have shared his failure to acknowledge Christ on the night of His trial.  James and John certainly had to ask forgiveness for ambitious plan to be in the highest positions in the new kingdom they expected Jesus to establish. Thomas may have confessed his shame for doubting the testimony of the other disciples the first time Christ appeared among them following His resurrection (John 20:25).  The disciples may even have apologized to the women for not believing their good news when they returned from the empty tomb (Luke 24:11).  Whatever took place during that week, we know that it transformed a band of scared and dejected followers of the human Jesus into men and women who were cleansed and ready to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.  It was only when the disciples were emptied of themselves that they were ready to be filled with God’s power for spreading the Gospel.

1. What evidence do we have that the disciples achieved this position?
2. Were the disciples ready for the Holy Spirit at that time?
   Members of Bethany Place could benefit from a similar experience.  Are you willing to come together for a time of prayer, reconciliation and humbling ourselves before each other and God. It will necessarily be a time of vulnerability and admission that we have sometimes tried to force the church into accepting our agendas. Only by doing this can we expect to be of one mind, focused on the purpose for which God has called each of us to be here.

As I shared above I have been part of a group whose members had bonded through prayer and confession.  The retreat had led to a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit among members of the group, some of whom gave their lives to Christian service.  We have seen how God can still move in the lives of a church as again we reflect on the testimony given by our young people.

Let’s talk about how we can make this happen for the entire Adult Bible Community and the whole church. When this happens we will see how God will use this church.

Are you and I interested in experiencing such an encounter with God?  What are we willing to sacrifice to make it happen?

Additional Questions:

1. What does it take for a people to be unified?
2. Why is unity so difficult?
3. What does it mean for a group to have unity?
4. How did the disciples achieve being of one mind?
5. What does it take for focus not to be on your own agenda but the right thing?
6. What was some of the baggage that the disciples had to discard before the coming of the Holy Spirit?

Copyright

November 2, 2010

Richard T. Lipscomb

Lesson 1

Preparing Disciples for Missio

Acts 1:1-11

For the next month we will be discovering the truths found in Chapter one of Acts. The question may be why do we need to spend so many weeks on just the first chapter? During this time we will determine the readiness of the disciples to carry out the mandate of Jesus to carry the gospel to the world and how they reached the place that they could serve God. The questions to be answered during these weeks, “Were they ready” and “How do we come to that perspective?” Let’s get started.

There have been times when I thought I was prepared to handle a certain job or situation. When I actually began to perform the task I discovered that I still had much to learn before becoming proficient. There have been times when there was a period of anxiety making me wonder if I could actually do the job. Fortunately these times passed quickly.

1. What are some occasions when you have been in the same situation?                                               2. Based on the opening verses of Acts I, were the disciples ready to take Christ’s gospel to the world?

Acts 1:1 Luke tells us the reason he has written this account. He says that it was, “about all that Jesus began to do and teach.” From the time we see Jesus calling His first disciples until he ascended into heaven this teaching had continued. At what point were the disciples fully prepared? Since Luke is picking up on the events that took place after the resurrection there are certain questions that need to be answered.

1. After His resurrection why was it necessary for Jesus to spend the additional forty days on the earth?
2. What was accomplished during this time with the disciples?
3. If it was to give the disciples their final marching orders why had the things they had experience before Christ crucifixion been enough to prepare them to make disciples throughout the known world?
4. What was missing that they needed this additional instruction?

Before proceeding to the next verses in the chapter, we will discover some clues of the readiness of the twelve we will mention a few incidences that occurred prior to the crucifixion and the first days following the resurrection. We will not go into a great deal of detail but they will give us a clear picture of the mindset of the men at critical time.

1. The ambition of John and James (Matthew 20:20-23)
2. Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he saw Him with his own eyes.   (John 20:24-25)
3. Peter and some the others went fishing (John 21:3)
4. Even on the last night before the death of Jesus, Phillip still did not know who Jesus was.     (John 14:8-9)
5. Peter was not completely sold out to Jesus. His love expressed towards Jesus was weak when compared to the unconditional devotion he would display later. (John 21:15-17)

These are just a few of the examples that show us the mindset of the disciples some even after the resurrection.

Acts 1:4-5

There was to be one more event in the lives of the disciples to prepare them for witnessing to the world. Jesus tells them, “not to leave Jerusalem.” It is in that city that “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.”

1. What was Jesus telling them?
2. Why was important that they remain in Jerusalem?
3. What does it tell us that they needed to be ready to witness?

Acts 1:6

“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “’Lord is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

This verse proves that the disciples were still expecting Jesus to take on the role of an earthly king and restore Israel to her former glory.  Jesus, however, had told them several times that His kingdom was already in place at the time of the Resurrection and that it was not of this world.  He had also spent forty days after His resurrection training them to realize, through His appearances and disappearances, that He was with them even when they couldn’t see Him–a feat that would have been impossible prior to His resurrection.  Therefore, He gently reprimands them in Acts 1:7, saying, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.”  In other words, He tells them, “Stop worrying about God’s business!”

They still did not get it. He had told them that His kingdom was not of this world. They had forgotten the prophecies of Matthew 25 about the destruction of Jerusalem. Peter did not remember what Jesus had said about his own death. (John 21:16-19)

1. Were they ready?
2. What did this say about their focus?
3. Were they really thinking about Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the rest of the world?

Here was another issue that Jesus had to handle before His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Speaking as plainly and emphatically as he could he told them it was none of their business. These were God’s responsibilities not theirs. He had already told them in Matthew 25: 36, “But of that day (His second coming) and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” He then goes on to tell them what they are to do. He said, ”When the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

After that He ascended into heaven leaving them to wait for the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:9-11)

Why was the ascension so important in the lives of the disciples?

1. It helped to bring closure to Christ’s earthly ministry.
2. The disciples could now focus on the future and not keep holding onto the past when they relied on Jesus who led them wherever they went and protected them from all harm.
3. The promised helper, the Holy Spirit would now come Who would guide them in the days to come.
4. He could not come back to receive His kingdom if He did not go away.

As we finish, we want to allow you a time to examine yourselves to see if any of the characteristics that hindered the disciples up to this point are true of you. In the same way that the disciples could not move beyond where they were without the empowering of the Holy Spirit, is there anything that may keeping Him from guiding you to the ministry to which God has called you?

Copyright

November 2, 2010

Richard T. Lipscomb