It Doesn't Get More Exciting Than This (Walk Thru the Bible Week 47)

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Welcome to Walk Through the Bible, Susan Michael's 12 month journey through the most exciting

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book on the planet.

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It will transform your life one page at a time.

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Be sure to subscribe for future episodes that will ignite your faith and bring your Bible

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to life.

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Now, let's join our host, Susan Michael.

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Well, hey there.

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You know, if I had to pick what I think is the most exciting week of our entire year

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long walk through the Bible, it would be this week.

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We are going to be reading and discussing three of the most exciting portions of Scripture

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and a whole lot more.

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So first, welcome to everyone.

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This is week 47 of our year long walk through the Bible.

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This week we are reading in our daily Bible the dates of November 19 through 25 or the

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pages 1477 to 1512.

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So as we get started, let's first review what we talked about last week.

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We closed last week with the burial of Jesus.

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It looked like it was all over.

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The one who had been called King of the Jews was laid into a tomb and it was all over.

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His disciples didn't know what to do or what to think.

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And then our first most exciting event this week, of course, is the resurrection of Jesus.

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And he then appeared on the earth for 40 days.

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Now I just want to point out here that Jesus didn't appear on earth as a ghost or as a

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spirit, but he was a resurrected physical body.

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It's something that we've never seen or touched or we don't understand.

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It's a resurrected body.

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He ate.

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He allowed them to touch him and to touch his wounds, to see his wounds.

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So it was truly a manifestation that mankind really had not seen before.

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And I just want to say that as we are going to all be resurrected and have resurrected

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bodies, in heaven it says that we are there from every top tribe and every tongue worshipping

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before the Lord.

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So that means that even in our resurrected bodies we will retain who we are, our ethnicity,

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which tribe we came from, which people group, which language group.

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And that means that Jesus' resurrected body also retained his ethnicity.

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He had been born a Jew and as a resurrected, his resurrected body was still the Jewish

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Savior who had died on the cross and had the wounds to prove it.

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Now during the 40 days that Jesus was on earth, he told his disciples what their commission

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was to do, what their next steps were, what their commission was, what we call the Great

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Commission.

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And I loved it in the Daily Bible because in the Daily Bible the Great Commission in

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all three Gospels was put right there together.

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So you could read the Great Commission in Matthew which said, go and make disciples and teach

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them to obey.

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And the Great Commission, according to Mark, was to go of course and preach and whoever

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believes will be baptized.

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And he went on to describe, these signs will accompany those who believe.

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They'll drive out demons, they'll speak in new tongues, they'll pick up snakes, not

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be hurt by deadly poison, they'll lay hands on the sick and they will be healed.

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So Mark went farther than Matthew and described what these disciples should expect to encounter

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when they go forth in the Great Commission.

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And then Luke, his emphasis in the Great Commission was that it would be repentance for forgiveness

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of sins, that they were to preach repentance and to be forgiven for their sins.

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So it's interesting, now there's one other verse that we read actually earlier on and

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that was in Matthew 24, verse 14.

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And it's actually my favorite when it comes to describing the Great Commission.

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And this is what it says.

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And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations

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and then the end will come.

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So I want to point out here that what they're being told to preach is the gospel of the kingdom.

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What is the gospel of the kingdom?

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Well, it's the good news.

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Gospel means the good news, that's the translation of in Vigelion, I think is how you pronounce

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it.

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It means the good news.

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So it's the good news of the kingdom.

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What kingdom?

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Well, the kingdom of God.

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And as Jesus went forward, he preached the kingdom is at hand.

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And so the good news of the kingdom is that the kingdom is at hand and that we can enter

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into that kingdom now.

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But also it is a coming kingdom.

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Get ready, as Luke said, repent, be baptized for your sins.

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The kingdom is coming.

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That's the good news.

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And then it says that this gospel will be preached to all the nations and then the end

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will come.

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So I'm going to come back to this a little bit later.

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So Jesus is spending 40 days on the earth, he gives the disciples their directions, the

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great commission, what they are supposed to do.

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I want to point out that to the gospel of John also makes a very special point to let

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you know that Jesus had performed many other signs that were not recorded in the book of

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John or in any of the gospels.

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And John 20, he says, but these were written that you may believe that Jesus is Messiah,

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the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

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So John is saying not everything is written in this book, but I picked what you need to

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know to believe who Jesus was and is and how that you may believe and receive eternal life.

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And in the next chapter, John 21, he said, Jesus did many other things.

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If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not

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have room for the books that would be written.

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So John wanted to make sure you knew these stories are just the tip of the iceberg.

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Jesus did and said so much.

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I'm so thankful that we have recorded what we do have recorded in the gospels.

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But it does make me curious to know what are all the other stories?

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Who are all the other people that he touched?

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What else did he do and say while he was here?

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And this brings us to our second most exciting event, I think, in the Bible.

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And we read it in Acts chapter one and two.

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So Acts is written by Luke.

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It's actually to be a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, but it's where we begin now

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to talk about the Acts of the early church.

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And in the beginning of Acts, Luke says here that he says, starting in verse three, part

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three, he appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

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On one occasion while he was eating with them, he gave them this command, do not leave Jerusalem,

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but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

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For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

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So, Jesus spent 40 days with them teaching them about the kingdom of God, how I wish

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I could hear all of that teaching about the coming kingdom of God.

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But he tells them, wait in Jerusalem and you're going to be baptized with the power that you're

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going to need to carry out the commission.

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So then verse six, then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time

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going to restore the kingdom to Israel?

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And he says to them, it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set

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by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and

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you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of

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the earth.

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Let's back up.

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After Jesus has been teaching the disciples for 40 days about the kingdom, what is the

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burning question on their mind?

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Are you now going to establish the kingdom?

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Are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?

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So obviously Jesus' teaching about the kingdom included a restored kingdom of Israel.

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And you have to understand throughout the Old Testament, the kingdom of Israel under

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the Davidic kingdom was actually considered the kingdom of God.

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It was a kingdom under the Lordship of God and they went into sin and they lost it.

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But their understanding of the kingdom of Israel was that it was the kingdom of God

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on earth and they're saying, are you now going to restore the kingdom?

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And Jesus does not rebuke them.

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He doesn't correct them and he doesn't contradict them at all.

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He says, sorry, but it's not for you to know the time.

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Instead, you're going to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to go forth and carry out

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this commission.

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So then it says that after he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes and a

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cloud hid him from their sight.

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They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going.

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When suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

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One of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky?

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This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way

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you have seen him go into heaven.

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So Jesus spent 40 days teaching about the kingdom.

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They asked, so are you now going to restore the kingdom?

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And he says, no, the time isn't now.

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The time is for you to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and be witnesses unto me throughout

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Jerusalem, Judea, and to the ends of the earth.

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And I just want to point out here that the disciples are saying, is it now time to restore

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the kingdom to Israel?

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Which is Israel's specific calling.

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Israel's calling is to be the mediator of God's redemptive plan for the earth.

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So through them he carried out the covenants and through them he's going to carry out

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the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.

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That is Israel's calling.

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Now he tells them the timing isn't for you to know on that.

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But the timing now for the church's calling, you as the church, is to be baptized in the

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Holy Spirit and go out as witnesses to the ends of the earth.

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So that's the calling on the church.

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And here in this piece of scripture we see the two callings up beside each other.

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And that means that someone that comes along and tries to say that the church has replaced

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Israel in the plan of God doesn't understand the calling on Israel and the Jewish people

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and the calling that's on the church.

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There's two very different callings and we see them here in this scripture.

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Two are very, they're both very essential.

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They're both critical.

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They're both very exciting.

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But they are slightly different.

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Now Jesus is then taken up into a cloud and they say you will see him return as you've

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seen him go.

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And that is our basic and fundamental belief in the return of Jesus.

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This is what the angels are talking about.

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So I find this to be a very exciting piece of scripture that kind of helps bring the

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pieces together.

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But that leads us up to the third most exciting portion of scripture which we also read this

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week.

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And that is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those disciples and the early church.

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Let's read about it in Acts chapter 2.

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When the day of Pentecost came they were all together in one place.

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Suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole

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house where they were sitting.

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They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of

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them.

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All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the

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Spirit enabled them.

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Now they were staying in Jerusalem God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

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So let's talk about this.

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Point number one.

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Where did this happen?

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Well many people think that the day of Pentecost happened in the upper room and the reason is

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because Acts chapter 1 closes with them in the upper room.

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Acts chapter 2 opens then here on the day of Pentecost.

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But the problem with this event taking place in the upper room is the fact that they were

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able to speak to like all of Jerusalem from there and all of these Jewish people were

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gathered there and heard them.

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That would not have happened in the upper room.

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So let's look closer at the text.

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When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place and suddenly a sound

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like a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house where they were sitting.

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Well where would they have been gathering on the day of Pentecost but the temple?

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The day of Pentecost was one of the three great feasts of Israel.

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They would have been gathered in the temple and when it says that the spirit, the sound

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of this wind filled the house where they were, well in Hebrew the temple was commonly called

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the house, Hibayah.

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And so it could be that this is referring to the temple.

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And it says that they saw over tongues of fire on each one of them and then they began

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to speak and it says now there were staying in Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every

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nation under heaven.

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So why is that?

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Because it was the day of Pentecost.

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What is the day of Pentecost?

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In Hebrew it's called Shavuot which means weeks.

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And the idea is this, on Passover you begin counting, the day after Passover, you begin

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counting 49 days which is 7 weeks.

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Shavuot, weeks, 7 weeks.

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When the 7 weeks are complete the very next day is the 50th day and that is the day for

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the celebration of the harvest.

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Now let's back up.

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You have Passover and then the first Sabbath after Passover and the very next day is considered

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the feast of first fruits and that's when they wave the very first offering of the grain

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harvest.

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Then they count 50 days and on the 50th day is when they celebrate the grain harvest.

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So it is taken 50 days for it to mature and this is the celebration of the harvest.

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In Greek it's called Pentecost which means 50th.

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So it's the 50th day after Passover.

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And Jews come from all over the world just like they do for Passover, the first feast,

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Shavuot or Pentecost the second feast and Tabernacles the third feast.

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So there were Jews in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven it says.

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And therefore when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples who were gathered together in

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one place in the temple praying it was spread about throughout Jerusalem.

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Many Jews saw this and wondered what in the world is going on because we're here from

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every nation we hear all these languages.

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What is going on and at that point is when Peter stands and he preaches this magnificent

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sermon, I believe they're right in front of the temple or right inside the temple gates

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to all of these Jews who were gathered.

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And it says that in that day 3,000 were baptized and added to the early church.

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Now where would they be baptized?

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Well right outside the temple they have uncovered today archaeology has uncovered many baptismal

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what are called mikvah and they were the baths for ritual purity before you'd enter the

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temple area.

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And then down the hill was the big pool of Siloam that's where many people would go and

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dip in the waters to be ritually pure to enter the temple.

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So there was plenty of space and plenty of baptismal waters to baptize these 3,000 people

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and add them to the church that day.

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All that would have happened right there at the temple.

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Now this is exciting.

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The Acts goes on to describe the early church and those first few days and weeks and they

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were in unity and they were praying for each other and going from home to home and they

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shared everything in common and it was just the highlight really of the early church.

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And then we have the story of the martyrdom of Stephen and you're going to be reading

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it I'm not going to tell the story but it's after this that there's great persecution

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upon the early church and it actually begins to be scattered out of Jerusalem.

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But getting a little bit ahead of the story here but that's the sequence of our story

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this week and the highlight of our three events being the resurrection of Jesus, his great

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commission to the disciples and this understanding the future of the kingdom coming to Israel

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and the future of the message of the kingdom that the church is taking place to the world.

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And then the third great event being the baptism of the Holy Spirit there on Pentecost.

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So as we close today I just want to point out something that's even more exciting.

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A little detail in the these three threads of story.

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What are the odds that Jesus would die on Passover that he would be resurrected three

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days later on the day of the first fruits, the festival of first fruits and that the

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Holy Spirit would be poured out on Pentecost or what's known in Hebrew as Shavuot.

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I was reading an article by a writer just this week and I don't know if he made up

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the number or if he somehow calculated it but he said you know it's like one in 48

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million.

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What are the chances that these events would take place on these dates.

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So Jesus died on Passover at the very day and the very time when the lambs were being

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sacrificed in the temple for the Passover meal that was to take place that night.

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The historian Josephus said that at the time of Jesus during Passover there were like

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250,000 lambs that were sacrificed.

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That is a lot of lambs.

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That is a huge operation and at the very time that that's taking place Jesus dies on the

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cross just hopskipping a jump away actually on the same mountain range as the temple just

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over sort of on the edge of it.

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And on that day that Jesus died on the cross of course the sky turned dark and the temple

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curtain was torn from the top down that the way was being made clear between God and man

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that the curtain was being done away with.

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That all happened on the day that the Jewish people were carrying out the sacrifice to

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atone for their sins, to cover for their sins.

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Of course in remembrance of the Exodus out of Egypt when God had them to kill a lamb

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and to put the blood of the lamb on their doorsteps and on their doorposts.

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And by doing that then the curse passed over them and they stayed safe.

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And Jesus' blood spilled on the cross that day so that you and I can apply that blood

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spiritually over our lives and we can come into the protection of God and that way is

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being made open for us through the blood of Jesus on that very day.

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But then that he is resurrected three days later and he told the disciples that it would

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be three days.

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This was prophesied that it would be three days.

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Well it just so happens that on that year that three days meant he was resurrected early

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on Sunday morning the day after the Sabbath and that week the day after the Sabbath was

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a, I should say every year, the day after that first Sabbath is the festival of first

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fruits.

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It just so happened that year that the day of first fruits was the third day.

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And so Jesus is resurrected on that day the first fruits and the apostle Paul said in

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1 Corinthians 15, 20 to 23 now he said, But Christ has indeed been risen from the dead

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the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep for since death came through a man

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the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man for as in Adam all died so in Christ

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all will be made alive but each in turn Christ the first fruits then when he comes those

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who belong to him.

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What happened on the festival of first fruits and then what is the chance that even after

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those two events that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit would have happened on the festival

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of the harvest and you know just as I explained Shavuot or Pentecost is 50 days after Passover

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when they've been preparing the harvest waiting for the harvest the grain harvest and it also

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though was a celebration of the giving of the law at Sinai because 50 days after the

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Israelites had the Exodus out of Egypt is when the law was given to them in Sinai so

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this day is also the celebration of the giving of the law at Sinai so the Holy Spirit is

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poured out and begins the harvest of souls that's going to continue throughout the

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earth and the Holy Spirit is poured out to write the law on our hearts remember the new

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covenant was going to write the law not on tablets of stone like in Sinai but this time

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it was going to be in our hearts so that we would be guided by the Spirit we would be

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guided to obey the Lord by the Holy Spirit and this happened just on that celebration

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now what are the chances it was all by divine design now let me close I want to read again

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a scripture I read earlier because I want you to hear it now in this context Matthew

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24 14 and this gospel of the kingdom which is this coming kingdom of God will be preached

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in the whole world this is the church's commission as a testimony to all nations and then the

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end will come that is the day that the angels told the disciples he's going to come back

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just as you saw him go and the apostle John saw this and wrote about it in his great vision

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called Revelation the last book of the New Testament one of the very last chapters chapter

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21 this is what John saw then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven

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and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea I saw the holy city

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the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed

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for her husband and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying look God's dwelling place

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is now among the people and he will dwell with them they will be his people and God

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himself will be with them and be their God we are to go forth and to preach this day

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is coming the kingdom of God is coming to earth this is the day repent be baptized become

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a part of the kingdom today so that you will be a part of this glorious return of Jesus

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and the establishment of the kingdom here on on a new earth as a new heaven and new

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earth this is our commission friends so I want to close today by recommending to you

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a little booklet it's actually a small book it's a pretty quick read but one you're

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going to want to study it's called Israel and the great commission this little book

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will tie all of this together for you the calling on the church the calling on Israel

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and how it all comes together here in the great commission than the preaching of the

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coming of the kingdom so I'm going to give you a link to this book in today's show notes

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I pray that you will enjoy reading about these three amazing events this week and until next

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week be blessed God bless

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we hope you have enjoyed this episode of out of Zion with Susan Michael be sure to subscribe

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to out of Zion now on Apple podcasts cpn shows dot com YouTube or wherever you like to listen

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and learn out of Zion with Susan Michael is a production of I see J USA all rights reserved.