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Hillside O’Malley SDA Church

Acts

David Shin

Acts: Baptized By the Spirit

Acts: In the Upper Room

Acts: United at Pentecost

Acts: Filled with the Holy Spirit

Acts: Daily in the Spirit

Acts: Empowered by the Spirit

Acts: Seeing Through the Spirit

Acts: Transformed by the Spirit

Acts: Priesthood of All Believers

Acts: The Holy Spirit Our Greatest Need

We are continuing in our series of messages from the book of Acts, and on the screen I have a timeline of events that took place leading up to the day of Pentecost.

He was raised from the dead, which coincided with the feast of the wave sheaf offering.

The book of Acts tells us that he was on this earth for 40 days with the disciples, and on the fortieth day, he went to heaven.

The disciples spent 10 days in the upper room praying for the Holy Spirit, and on the day of Pentecost, which is 50 days after the Wave Sheaf Offering, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples there in the upper room.

And as we begin our study for today, I want to invite you to open your Bibles to Psalm 133.

This is a psalm that is a description of the anointing of Aaron at the inauguration of the earthly tabernacle.

Aaron was the first high priest, and before he began to perform the duties of the high priest, he was anointed and in Psalm 133 verse 1, notice how this Psalm begins.

We will come back to this later in our study, but just take note in our minds how Psalm 133 begins.

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in what?

It's interesting in Psalm 133 as it begins there's a, just this wonder at the beauty of how God's people can dwell together in unity.

Then it goes on, verse 2, It is like the precious oil upon the head running down the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing forevermore.

Take out your study guides if you have not already.

It's an outline of today's presentation and study.

It is like the precious oil upon the head running down the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down the edge of his garments.

Before he began to perform the duties of the high priest in the Old Testament, he was anointed.

There was significant oil that was administered during this anointing.

The oil ran down his head, if you can imagine it, down his beard, and there was so much oil that it began to drip down the edges of his garment upon the ground.

This was at the inauguration of the earthly sanctuary, and Aaron was anointed as high priest Aaron Was a type of Christ who is the high priest and in the book of Hebrews?

You have this description of Jesus being anointed.

But to the son, he says, "'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

"'A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.

Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you, the Son, with the oil of gladness more than your companions." Here's a description of the anointing of the Son of God.

In the book of Hebrews, if you read it, there is a theme that emerges throughout the book of Hebrews, a better sacrifice, a better sanctuary, a better high priest, a better promise.

That is the theme of the book of Hebrews.

And if you go to Hebrews 8, verse 1 through 2, you have this description of the high priest.

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying.

We have a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man.

But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which is established upon a better, or which was established on better promises.

You see that theme emerging, better promises, better covenant, a more excellent ministry.

Jesus is not only the Lamb of God, he's also functioning in heaven, according to Hebrews, as The high priest in the sanctuary, according to Hebrews 8, which the Lord erected and not man.

Now it's interesting because Jesus went to heaven 10 days before Pentecost, and on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out.

There's An interesting description in the book Acts of the Apostles that ties this all together, Christ's ascension to heaven was the signal that his followers were to receive the promised blessing, for they were to wait before they entered upon their work.

When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, this is after his ascension to heaven, he was enthroned amidst the adoration of angels.

As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which he had with the Father from all eternity.

The Pentecostal outpouring was heaven's communication that the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished.

According to his promise, he had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to his followers as a token that he had, as high priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth and was the anointed 1 over his people." When you put this all together, Jesus went to heaven at the ascension and they had an inauguration of Jesus as the high priest and he was anointed, I believe with oil.

And as that oil, like in the inauguration and the anointing of Aaron, ran down the head of the Son of God, and down his beard, and down his garments, I believe that some of that oil fell from heaven and was baptized with fire and fell on the disciples, the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost.

When you weave Scripture together, during those 10 days, there was a ceremony taking place in heaven where the heavenly sanctuary and the heavenly high priest, Jesus, were going through an inauguration before the commissioning of Jesus as the high priest for you and me.

Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 2 as we look at the day of Pentecost.

While this inauguration is taking place in heaven, as Jesus is being anointed, and when that anointing ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended to a small group of believers, men and women, in the upper room.

Acts chapter 2 verse 1, When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with 1 accord in 1 place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven.

Notice the location from which this sound is coming.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues of fire, and 1 sat upon each 1 of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And you know the story in the book of Acts.

They go out from the upper room and literally turned the world upside down.

3000 people are baptized in 1 day and the church grows exponentially.

Now just as a side note, there's some confusion in the Christian community as to what these tongues were or what the gift of tongues were.

Now, if you go to Acts 1, verse 8, you see the manifestation of these tongues.

Acts 1, verse 8, and how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born?

So the gift of tongues is the gift of languages.

The Holy Spirit was given to the disciples so they didn't have to spend time learning new languages.

The gospel is able to go to the world in a very short period of time because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, specifically the gift of languages.

There's a lot that we can focus on in this reflection of Acts chapter 2, but I wanna hone in on this theme that seems to emerge in Luke's writing of the book of Acts.

And I have this in your study guide, both from the New King James Version and also from the New International Version, so you can see just a little bit of a different translation in relationship to this theme.

And it's found in Acts 1, verse 14, these all continued with 1 accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Acts chapter 2 verse 1, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with, what does it say?

Let's look at it from the New International Version.

They all joined together constantly in prayer along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

In Acts chapter 2 verse 1 from the New International Version, when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in 1 place.

You can see this theme emerging over and over and over again, that the disciples, the women, and the brothers of Jesus were gathered together in the upper room and they were not only 1 physically in 1 place, 1 location, but they were also 1 in spirit and in purpose.

The Holy Spirit fell upon the church, not while they were out there individually doing their own thing, but they were together.

And that's how and when the Holy Spirit came upon God's early church.

This is a point that we cannot miss, That the prerequisite, or I should say 1 of the prerequisites to receiving an outpouring of the Holy Spirit is unity.

That's 1 of the prerequisites to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples were not out there doing their own thing.

They were together in a community of faith, united with 1 purpose and 1 vision to take the gospel to the world.

And we have this theme emerging, you can see it there in your study guide.

If we want to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we must, what does it say?

If we want to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we must press together.

I wanna read a few quotes from the pen of Ellen White.

I actually borrowed the term press together from her.

In union there is strength and victory, in discord and division there is weakness and defeat.

Moving on, the power will be given proportionate to the unity of the members and their love of God and for 1 another.

In other words, little Unity, little power.

The power will be given proportionate to the unity and love of the members.

Let them keep their bond of union unbroken, pressing together in love and unity, encouraging 1 another to advance, each gaining courage and strength from the assistance of others." This is not in your study guide, but I put it here on the screen.

This is from Michael Green in reflection on unity in the book of Acts.

Wherever there are human beings, there is the danger of disunity.

But 1 of the ways in which the church is intended to demonstrate its heavenly origin is by its unity.

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Series

Acts

Acts: United at Pentecost

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

Acts: Baptized By the Spirit

40m

Acts: In the Upper Room

44m

Acts: United at Pentecost

39m

Acts: Filled with the Holy Spirit

42m

Acts: Daily in the Spirit

41m

Acts: Empowered by the Spirit

40m

Acts: Seeing Through the Spirit

38m

Acts: Transformed by the Spirit

31m

Acts: Priesthood of All Believers

33m

Acts: The Holy Spirit Our Greatest Need

35m

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