The Book of ACTS

Part Three

Please make sure that you read part one and part two before you continue.

We will be covering Acts 1: 20 - 26 in this teaching and a short introduction to Acts 2: 1 - 4. This will conclude Acts chapter 1.

For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. -- Acts 1: 20

If you remember, from Acts 1: 19, the subject was concerning Judas. The subject of when Judas died has been misunderstood for centuries and yet, here it is, in plain simple English. The argument that Judas killed himself after he returned the 30 pieces of silver is a severe misunderstanding and mistranslation propounded by major religions. As you will see in the remainder of this chapter in Acts, Judas killed himself AFTER Jesus Christ’s ascension.

In verse 20, Peter was preparing the about 120 disciples for the replacement of Judas, to let another take Judas’ leadership position. If Judas had left or killed himself long before, why would the apostles just now, decide to replace him? Or if Judas had killed himself before Christ’s ascension, why wouldn’t Jesus have carried out the prophecy of Psalms and have named a replacement himself? However, when we realize that Judas was with them at the ascension, the replacement of Judas at this time fits perfectly. Judas was replaced after the ascension and before Pentecost. Within a few days after he left their company on the day of the ascension, he killed himself. Natural man does not study God’s Word like we do here and therefore you have nothing but error due to guesswork. The Word of God as originally given to man was perfect. Let me give you a literal translation of two Scriptures in II Timothy that are relevant to this subject matter.

All scripture [without exception] given by inspiration of God [God-breathed] and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, which is instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished [perfected] unto all good works. -- II Timothy 3: 16, 17 Literal translation according to usage.

Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, -- Acts 1: 21

Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. -- Acts 1: 22

Let me explain these two verses to you more fully. The major requirement was not that the one replacing Judas need to have actually witnessed the crucifixion; nor was it that he be from a certain area, of a certain lineage, or have a certain amount of money or influence. Neither was the man’s good works the credentials. The major requirement was that Judas’ replacement be a disciple who had been with Jesus from the time of Jesus’ baptism by John through his ascension, a witness of the resurrected Christ.

And they [the 11 apostles] appointed two [made to stand], Joseph called Barsabus, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. -- Acts 1: 23

The ballot came down to two people who were to replace Judas – it was either going to be Joseph or Matthias. The Scripture is self-explanatory.

And they [the 11 apostles] prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether [if either] of these two men thou hast chosen, -- Acts 1: 24

That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. -- Acts 1: 25

I am going to bring up a very important principle here. When you have an important decision to make, or even one that’s not that important, the first place you should go is to God in prayer and ask Him what is the right decision. Now you tell me, in this world, how many people actually do this? And then we wonder why the world is in such a messed up state right now. Every time someone goes to something else besides God for decisions, it is idolatry. Simply put, is putting something before God Almighty. There is one thing that God does not put up with and you will pay the price – that is idolatry.

Getting back to Scripture 24 and 25, you can clearly see that they gave God the glory. They said to God that He knows the hearts of all men and he does. God can read your mind, but the devil cannot. We are fortunate for this or we would not have a chance to prosper and live the more than abundant life if Satan could read our minds. That is why we have to watch our confessions. The enemy does not know what you are thinking unless you tell him. The 11 apostles even explain to God things pertaining to Judas that God already knew. They simply gave God the greatest amount of respect and honor that they possibly could. Remember, that if you do this and some situations, you may not get an answer from God. This does not mean that God has forsaken you or doesn’t care to answer you. God knows whether or not you are going to make the right decision, so he may not say nothing. But in a much worse scenario, you could be out of fellowship and God then cannot speak to you. Just get back in fellowship as soon as possible. Let us now go to the last Scripture in Acts chapter 1.

And they gave forth their lots [ballots]; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. -- Acts 1: 26

As I said previously, 11+1 = 12. Now I am going to briefly get into Acts chapter 2, verses one through four. The great day of Pentecost is explained fully in these four verses. I want you to be able to understand why I went into parts one, two, and three of acts chapter 1. The next four verses in chapter 2 are the climax or conclusion of everything we have studied in these three parts. You can see how the apostles were preparing for the day of Pentecost and also how they listened to and obeyed what Jesus Christ told them before he ascended concerning how they should prepare for this great day. Remember, this was the first time that a person can become born again of God’s spirit. Because of our believing which is not up to par by any means, we actually have great power to do anything that Jesus Christ did and to do even more. We can get people born again of God’s spirit. Jesus Christ could not do that because it was not available at that time. Here is a brief summary of Acts 2: 1-4

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they [the 12 apostles] were all with one accord in one place. -- Acts 2: 1

They were all with one accord in one place. This is the principle that it is explained in Corinthians. Let all things be done decently and in order. The apostles were all quiet and they were decent and they were in order. If you ever go into some church or fellowship and the room is partly a mess, you know right then and there that this fellowship is not of the true God.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house [the temple was often referred to as the house] where they were sitting. -- Acts 2: 2

That sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind is similar to a figure of speech. You may remember that back in the Gospels Jesus Christ told them to breathe in and out heavily. This is what that rushing mighty wind was in this verse. It was the apostles following Jesus Christ instructions as how to receive the Holy Spirit. Much of this act was being done to help relax the person who was to receive holy spirit. Why did I not capitalize Holy Spirit in the previous sentence? Let us see how sharp some of you are. It is because it was the gift of Holy Spirit – it was not the giver. That is the only way we can sensibly discern whether Holy Spirit is God himself or Holy Spirit is God’s gift to man. It is not that difficult. I read recently about an idiot who was trying is very best to make these teachings look foolish. He had no grounds to stand on and of course not of them were biblical in nature. He just decided he was right and everyone else was wrong. You are going to meet these people in your time and he enemies going to attempt you and is going to deceive you. But remember the spirit of God in Christ in you is always greater than any devil spirit in the world today. And don’t you forget it. I thought of writing something to this person and telling him what a damn fool and idiot he was. But you see, that would not be worth it. Because that is what the devil wants you to do. He wants you to waste your time. It says in the Bible that if you are to make a blow to somebody, make the blow count. This person is not worth wasting anyone’s time with. And I don’t need to shake you up, because I know you are strong, but there are many, many, people like this in the world today. The devil knows his time is short and he’s using all the power that he has. When his time is over, he burns every day. He goes out of his way to agitate me because of these teachings. You know what I do? And I don’t recommended to do this by any means. When he agitates me, I call him over to my computer and I say watch this Satan, and I started the teaching. You see that teaching is a blow that counts. Okay I am not shadowboxing. The Word of God is the only thing that defeats the enemy.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. -- Acts 2: 3

It was not fire that appeared over the apostles, it was a certain shape that appeared to be like fire. This is another area where the counterfeits teach you the counterfeit Word of God. Why do you think I’ve studied so hard all of my life? Because the Word of God rightly divided, without any guesswork, saved my life. There were amazing thing is that when on in this day of Pentecost which we can refer to as phenomena. There were also a couple of miracles that took place, which we can discuss in the next teaching. The day of Pentecost is severely misunderstood by conventional churches and counterfeit ministries, which are all over the world – don’t try to deny it. You have now learned that Word of God rightly divided. You are special to God and no one is more special than you are. We are all equals, we must stick together, and we must be of one mind and of one purpose.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost [holy spirit], and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit [God] gave them utterance. -- Acts 2: 4

Now some people downplay speaking in tongues. There is more power in this manifestation than the human mind can accommodate. I have been in high-pressure situations and sometimes I have placed myself in dangerous positions. All that I needed to do was to speak in tongues quietly to myself and I would be delivered from that situation. You can believe it or not – you have free will.

Now once people became born again and were filled with the holy spirit, what is the very first thing that they did? They spoke in tongues as God gave them utterance. Every born again believer – a person of body soul and now spirit, can speak in tongues by their own free will. You can start and stop whenever you want to. There is no possession here, that is from the other god. What you speak is God’s business, that you speak is your business. On the day of Pentecost, there was in amazing miracle that took place regarding the subject of speaking in tongues. I am going to keep this teaching a little bit short for change and I would like to get into Acts chapter 2 in a similar manner that we did in chapter 1. This is called working the Word of God. It is called rightly dividing the Word of God. It is called studying the Word of God. It is called renewing the mind to the Word of God. That is where your power comes from. The more you renew your mind and act on the Word of God that is rightly divided, the more power you will have in your life and the more of your prayers will be answered.

God bless you. I love you all. Will be back.

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