Sunday
Morning Bible Study
July
23, 2017
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Ruth Ann. She’s here! Born on Wednesday morning.
Ask the Pastor – if you have questions you’ve always wished you could ask
the pastor, write them down on a card and drop them into the Agape Box, or hand
them to me. We’ll also entertain
questions on Thursday Night if we have time.
Movie Nights – Movies meant to give you reasons why we believe.
Coming Sundays: Next Week Samy Tanagho, then Daniel Grant, then we start
the book of Proverbs.
Luke told us what Jesus’ main purpose was in life:
(Luke 19:10 NKJV) for the Son
of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
He would do this by dying for our sins.
We saw Jesus arrive in Jerusalem on the previous Sunday, Palm Sunday, to
the shouts of an adoring crowd, crying “Hosanna”.
By the following Friday morning Jesus had been arrested, tried, and
crucified.
He was buried in a borrowed tomb on Friday afternoon.
Early Sunday morning, some women went to the tomb, found the stone rolled
away, the tomb empty, and two angels told them that Jesus had risen from the
dead.
Later that Sunday, Jesus appeared to:
Mary Magdalene
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus
Peter
The disciples gathered in the upper room.
24:44-48 The Great Commission
:44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were
written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms
concerning Me.”
must – dei –
it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper
be fulfilled – pleroo
– to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full; to render full, i.e.
to complete; to fulfil, i.e. to cause God’s will (as made known in the law) to
be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to
receive fulfilment
the law – nomos
– anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a
command
the prophets – prophetes
– in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things;
one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly
declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning
future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God
and to human salvation; the OT prophets, having foretold the kingdom, deeds and
death, of Jesus the Messiah.
the psalms – psalmos
– a striking, twanging; of a striking the chords of a musical instrument;
of a pious song, a psalm
:45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the
Scriptures.
opened – dianoigo
– to open by dividing or drawing asunder, to open thoroughly (what had been
closed); to open the mind of one, i.e. to cause to understand a thing; to open
one’s soul, i.e. to rouse in one the faculty of understanding or the desire of
learning
understanding – nous
– the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding
and those of feeling, judging, determining; the intellectual faculty, the
understanding; reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual
truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things,
of recognizing goodness and of hating evil
that they might understand – suniemi
– to set or bring together; to put (as it were) the perception with the
thing perceived; to set or join together in the mind; i.e. to understand: the
man of understanding; implies a native insight, knowledge gained through the
five senses
the scriptures – graphe
– a writing, thing written; the Scripture, used to denote either the book
itself, or its contents; a certain portion or section of the Holy Scripture
:45 He opened their understanding
We could say, “He opened their minds”.
Lesson
Taught by God
We talked a few weeks ago about how the Scriptures are impossible to
understand correctly when you are an unbeliever.
(1 Corinthians 2:14
NLT) But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from
God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for
only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
Yet when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, we now have the “equipment”
needed to learn from God.
At this moment there are all sorts of images, sounds, and data zipping
through the air around us. Unless we
have appropriate TV receiver, radio, computer, or cell phone we won’t be able
to receive any of it.
(John 14:26 NLT) But when the
Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will
teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
The apostles were specially taught by God.
We want to pay attention to what the apostles taught.
It was part of the early church:
(Acts
2:42 NLT) All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and
to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
We have a record of what the apostles taught in the New
Testament.
Jesus had opened their understanding.
Some churches will go beyond the
apostles, and make the church fathers that followed the apostles to have as
much weight as the apostles.
We can learn from
the church fathers, but I’d be cautious about giving them the same authority as
the original apostles.
We too can be taught by God.
Just not at the same level as the apostles.
Paul prayed for the Ephesians that…
(Ephesians
1:18 NKJV) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know
what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints
Warning:
Some people take this concept and
think that they can make the Scriptures mean whatever they want it to mean.
Peter wrote,
(2 Peter 1:20 ESV) knowing
this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own
interpretation.
Scripture was written with specific
words and meant to have a specific meaning.
You can see a lot of strange stuff
being taught from the Scriptures regarding the Second Coming of Christ.
Be careful about
getting your eschatology from the internet.
I stumbled onto a
website the other day that had people making the strangest comments on it,
sharing their theories about the antichrist as if they were absolute truth.
The comments I was
reading were two years old. I wonder if
some of these knuckleheads still hold to their crazy ideas now that they
haven’t come to pass.
Let me give you some tips.
In the movie “Karate Kid”, Daniel-son wants to learn karate from Mr.
Miyagi. Yet at the beginning all it
seems Mr. Miyagi is doing is having Daniel do tedious chores like waxing his
car and painting his fence.
Video: Karate Kid –
Lessons Come Together
The things I want to share may sound basic or even
pointless to you, but until you start to practice them on a regular basis, you
will struggle in what it means to be taught by God.
Pray before you read.
Ask God to teach you.
Read the whole book
The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible.
The more you read and understand the whole of the Bible,
the better equipped you will be to understand the parts.
I’d like to challenge you to read the Bible in a
year. And then do it again. And again.
Don’t worry about not understanding everything. Keep a file open in your head called “waiting
for further information”. You will find
that the more you read your Bible, the less things there are left in that file.
Older brothers
Don’t be afraid to ask questions from those are a little
older in the Lord than you are.
A young fiery preacher named Apollos had to be pulled
aside by two of Paul’s friends (Aquilla and Priscilla, Acts 18), and get some
of his doctrines straightened out.
Sometimes you can find these “older brothers” in a
commentary.
Fruit Inspection
In warning about false prophets, Jesus said,
(Matthew
7:16 NKJV) You will know them by their fruits.
Whether it’s a teaching from someone on the internet or
some crazy idea you’ve got from reading your Bible, don’t be afraid to ask the
hard question:
What happens when I live my life this way?
Do I become a hateful, angry person?
Paul told us why he wrote his letters:
(1
Timothy 1:5 NLT) The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled
with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
Paul wrote,
(2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) For
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.
Is my life marked
with holiness?
Peter was writing
about the Second Coming when he wrote,
(2 Peter 3:11 NKJV) Therefore,
since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought
you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
:46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
:46 it was necessary for …
Jesus now does for the apostles what we saw Him to earlier in the day with
the two fellows on the road to Emmaus.
(Luke 24:27 NKJV) And
beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Since we spent a bit of time on
this two weeks ago, I’d just prefer to point you to my notes online if you want
to explore further some of the Old Testament prophecies that showed that it was
indeed necessary for Jesus to die and rise from the dead.
Jesus used the Old Testament to
show three things (all infinitives) – that He had to die, that He would be
raised, that a message should be preached (v.47).
it is written – grapho
– to write, with reference to the form of the letters; to write, with
reference to the contents of the writing
it was necessary – dei –
it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper
This word is going to be followed
with three verbs of what is necessary, what is necessary “to do…”
to suffer – pascho
– to be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible
experience, to undergo; in a bad sense, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight
This is the first “infinitive”
Christ – Christos
– “anointed”; from chrio – to
anoint
to rise – anistemi
– to cause to rise up, raise up; to rise, stand up
This is the second “infinitive”.
:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His
name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
should
be preached – kerusso
– to be a herald, to officiate as a herald; to proclaim after the manner of
a herald; always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority
which must be listened to and obeyed; to publish, proclaim openly: something
which has been done; used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters
pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by the apostles and other
Christian teachers
In the Greek, this is the third
“infinitive”.
The message we have is not our own
message. We are simply heralds of the
King. We simply have His Message to tell
the people.
name – onoma
– name: univ. of proper names; the name is used for everything which the
name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind
by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority,
interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.
repentance – metanoia
– a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has
formed or of something he has done
remission – aphesis
– release from bondage or imprisonment; forgiveness or pardon, of sins
(letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty
nations – ethnos
– a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together;
a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus; a tribe, nation, people
group; in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans,
Gentiles; Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians
beginning – archomai
– to be the first to do (anything), to begin; to begin, make a beginning
:47 repentance and remission of sins
This is Luke’s record of what we call “The Great Commission”.
Matthew has a little fuller
version:
(Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV) —19 Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
I used to think that this was only
something commanded of preachers until I looked a little closer and realized
that all the things Jesus commanded the apostles, they were to pass on to us as
well.
Lesson
Our Message
Luke says our message has two parts to it.
Repentance
We often think of “repentance” to mean “stop sinning”.
And that’s certainly a part of it, but the concept goes a
little deeper than that.
repentance – metanoia – a
change of mind
Away from sin
Repentance means to change the way you think about your
sin.
(Matthew
9:13 NKJV) …For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance.”
Repentance means that you realize that your sin is wrong,
and that you need help.
Toward God
Repentance isn’t just turning away from something, but
turning to something. It’s about turning
to God. Paul talked about…
(Acts
20:21 NKJV) …repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are travelling down the road of sin in your life,
repentance doesn’t just stop heading towards “Sin City” and then heads just
anywhere (like heading towards “boy scout city”)
It means you make a complete turn around and start heading
towards God. It means you get on the
path God wants for you.
It means you start trusting in Jesus.
Produces change
Though metanoia
is a change of mind, it’s a change that’s so deep that it leaks out into the
way you live.
John the Baptist said,
(Matthew
3:8 NKJV) Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance
People around you won’t know of your repentance because
you go forward at a church service, or even because you tell them you’ve
changed.
They will know you’ve repented because your life will
begin to actually change.
Forgiveness (remission of sins)
remission – aphesis (“let
go”) – release from bondage; forgiveness or pardon
This is what happens when you turn to God in repentance and faith.
He forgives your sins. He lets it
go. He no longer holds your sins against
you.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
He is faithful in that He will let it go if you will
confess.
He is “just” because His Son Jesus has paid the penalty
for our sins by dying on a cross in our place.
Jesus paid our debt.
Our message is about repentance and forgiveness.
Our sins are the great wall that
keeps us from knowing God.
When God forgives
our sins, the wall comes down and we can know and enjoy fellowship with God.
(Psalm 103:12 NKJV) As far as
the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Our message is: “Turn to God and be forgiven”
Is that Good News or what? The word “gospel” means “Good News”
:48 And you are witnesses of these things.
:48 witnesses of these things
witnesses – martus
– a witness. This is where our word
“martyr” comes from.
We talked about this last week.
The apostles would be the primary witnesses of His death, resurrection, and
teaching.
Jesus made sure they had irrefutable proof of these things before He ascended
into heaven.
Luke recorded how Jesus prepared these “witnesses” for what was up ahead…
(Acts 1:3 NKJV) to whom He
also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs,
being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God.
24:49-53 The Ascension
:49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city
of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
:49 the Promise of My Father
Jesus is talking about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
I send – apostello
– to order (one) to go to a place appointed; to send away, dismiss
the Promise – epaggelia
– announcement; promise; the act of promising, a promise given or to be
given; a promised good or blessing
tarry – kathizo – to make to
sit down; to sit; to sojourn, to settle, settle down
endued – enduo – to sink into
(clothing), put on, clothe one’s self
power – dunamis – strength,
power, ability
high – hupsos
– height; of place, heaven
:50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and
blessed them.
led … out – exago
– to lead out
Bethany – Bethania
– “house of dates” or “house of misery”; a village at the Mount of Olives,
about two miles (3 km) from Jerusalem, on or near the normal road to Jericho
he lifted up – epairo
– to lift up, raise up, raise on high
blessed – eulogeo – to praise,
celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a thing with solemn
prayers; to ask God’s blessing on a thing
:50 He led them out as far as Bethany
Video: Bethany Map
Bethany is a village located on the Mount of Olives, two miles east of
Jerusalem.
It’s where Martha, Mary, and
Lazarus were from.
It was about 2 miles from Jerusalem
on the road towards Jericho.
:50 He lifted up His hands and blessed them
As I’ve been learning about Church History, I have found it amazing that
the church will argue about all sorts of things.
One church split occurred in England over whether the priest was to “bless”
his congregation with two fingers raised, or three.
Though we don’t have a record of the blessing Jesus pronounced on His
disciples, I think there’s a slight chance it might have been the one from
Numbers 6:
(Numbers 6:24–26
NKJV) —24 “The Lord bless you
and keep you; 25
The
Lord make His face shine upon
you, And be
gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His
countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’
What about the hands?
Leonard Nimoy based
the greeting on what he saw growing up in the Jewish synagogue.
The Jewish priests would pronounce this blessing in a manner similar to
Spock’s “live long and prosper” gesture.
:51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from
them and carried up into heaven.
he blessed – eulogeo
– to praise, celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a
thing with solemn prayers; to ask God’s blessing on a thing
parted – diistemi
– to place separately, put asunder, disjoin; to stand apart, to part,
depart
carried up – anaphero
– to carry or bring up, to lead up
:51 carried up into heaven
Luke tells us in Acts:
(Acts 1:9 NKJV) Now when He
had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud
received Him out of their sight.
Lesson
The Ascension
We call this event the “Ascension”
Jesus died, and rose from the dead, but He’s still alive today.
He’s alive and well in heaven.
This was a fulfillment of an important prophecy:
(Psalm 110:1 NKJV) The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right
hand, Till I make
Your enemies Your footstool.”
This is Father God talking to David’s “Lord” (Jesus).
This speaks of Jesus being in the most exalted place in
the universe, sitting at the right hand of God.
He will be there until He returns and sets up His kingdom
on earth.
What is Jesus doing in heaven?
He’s praying for us.
(Hebrews 7:25 NKJV) Therefore
He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.
When you put your
trust in Jesus, Jesus will make sure you make it into heaven because HE is
praying for you.
The ascension is also tied to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day
of Pentecost.
The night before He died, Jesus told the disciples this:
(John
16:7 NKJV) Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I
go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I
depart, I will send Him to you.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He spent forty days appearing to the
disciples and teaching them before ascending into heaven.
Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out.
:52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
they worshipped – proskuneo
– to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the
Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with
the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or
prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to
express respect or to make supplication
returned – hupostrepho
– to turn back; to turn about; to return
joy – chara
– joy, gladness
great – megas
– great
:53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
continually – dia
pantos – constantly, always, continually
the temple – hieron
– a sacred place, temple
The temple of Jerusalem consisted
of the whole of the sacred enclosure, embracing the entire aggregate of
buildings, balconies, porticos, courts (that is that of the men of Israel, that
of the women, and that of the priests), belonging to the temple; the latter
designates the sacred edifice properly so called, consisting of two parts, the
“sanctuary” or “Holy Place” (which no one except the priests was allowed to
enter), and the “Holy of Holies” or “the most holy place” (which was entered
only on the great day of atonement by the high priest alone). Also there were
the courts where Jesus or the apostles taught or encountered adversaries, and
the like, “in the temple”; also the courts of the temple, of the Gentiles, out
of which Jesus drove the buyers and sellers and the money changers, court of
the women.
praising – aineo
– to praise, extol, to sing praises in honour to God
blessing – eulogeo
– to praise, celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a
thing with solemn prayers
:49 tarry … power from on high
endued – enduo – to sink into
(clothing), put on, clothe one’s self
Jesus told the apostles to not leave town until they had received God’s
power, which is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Luke told us why Jesus wanted them to wait for the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit.
(Acts 1:8 NKJV) But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of
the earth.”
The Holy Spirit would give them “power” to be the “witnesses” God wanted
them to be.
The Greek word for “power” (dunamis)
comes from the Greek word “to be able”.
We often hear about the power as “dynamite”, but I think
it’s better to think of it as “dynamic”.
The Holy Spirit gives you the ability to do all that God
wants you to do. He gives you the
ability to live for God and serve God.
Lesson
Wait for it
tarry – kathizo – to sit; settle down
What Jesus is talking about here is something different than being born
again.
When you became a believer, the Holy Spirit came to be inside you.
When Jesus talks about this “Promise” of the Father, He’s talking about the
“baptism” of the Holy Spirit, or the “filling” of the Holy Spirit.
A person is like an empty glass.
When you become born again, God puts water in the glass.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is when God keeps pouring
water into the glass and the glass starts overflowing, getting everything
around it wet.
We need God’s help in our lives.
We need the ability to say “no” to temptation.
We need the ability to get over our reluctance and share Jesus with our
friends.
How do we receive this power?
Jesus told His disciples to wait for it.
Illustration
When you check in at the doctor’s office, they tell you to
“have a seat” in the “waiting room”.
I think one of the least exciting things about going to
the doctor is having to sit in the “waiting room”.
Sometimes you only have to wait for a few minutes, but
sometimes you have to wait for an hour or two.
I remember taking my boys to the pediatrician, and waiting
for two hours with three little boys.
You have to learn a few parenting tricks to keep everyone sane, like
playing “I spy with my little eye”.
Yet you do it because it’s worth the wait. There is great benefit to seeing the doctor,
whether it’s medicine for an ear infection, or advice after a checkup.
It hasn’t been easy for David and Sarah to wait for Ruthie
to be born. Especially when she was 9
days late. But she’s every bit worth the
wait.
Learn to wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus also said,
(John
7:37–38 NKJV) —37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of
living water.”
Thirst.
You need to know that you need the Holy Spirit.
Illustration
Last year’s movie “Hidden Figures” follows the story of
three black women in the south who helped NASA in the beginning of the space
program. They were mathematical and
engineering geniuses. They did things that nobody thought they could do.
Here’s a clip where one of the gals is asking a judge to
allow her to attend classes at an all-white high school so she can become an
engineer.
Video: Hidden Figures – Make You
The First
Maybe you think that you’d never be able to be a bold
witness for Jesus.
Maybe you think there’s no way you will ever be able to
conquer a certain sin in your life.
Without God’s help, without the power of the Holy Spirit, you
may be right.
I’m not saying that the Holy Spirit is a racist white
judge, but He is like that judge in that He has the power and authority to
“make you the first”, to help you do things you didn’t think possible.
The question is, how bad do you want it? How thirsty are
you?
You also need to come to Jesus and receive it (drink).
Believe
We receive the work of the Holy Spirit by faith.
It’s okay to have people lay hands on you and pray over
you, but you still need to believe if you want to be filled.
The Holy Spirit wants to empower us.
He wants to help.
We need to wait on Him.
We need to be thirsty.
We need to believe.