People and the Apostles; Today, We Have His Gift of the Holy Spirit

People and the Apostles; Today, We Have His Gift of the Holy Spirit

MESSAGE SUMMARY: Repentance is a turning away from evil. In Luke 24:15, Jesus appeared again after His resurrection: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.". Most Christians around the world see Easter not as one day but as the Season of Easter, lasting fifty days. During this Season of Easter, Jesus appeared many times to many people, including several encounters with His disciples and the Apostles along with an appearance to a group of more than five hundred people. On the fortieth day, Jesus ascended into Heaven. After Jesus Ascension, He appeared to Saul, who became the Apostle Saul, on Saul’s trip to Damascus.

Beginning in Luke 24:36 (“Luke’s Great Commission”), Jesus opened the Apostles minds spiritually to the Gospel; and the Gospel is summarized in “five truths” – the Gospel is a: 1) “double historical event” – Jesus death and His Resurrection, which really happened; 2) “double proclamation” – repentance (the Gospel demand) and forgiveness (the Gospel offer) of sins will be preached in His name; 3) “double reach or focus” – the preaching of the Gospel was to begin in Jerusalem with the Jews, but it was to be extended to all nations; 4) “double validation” – validated by the prophecies of the Old Testament and the Apostles’ witness through their writing of the New Testament; and 5) “double sending” – Jesus promised the sending of the Holy Spirit to His Apostles, and the sending of the Apostles to the nations of the world in the power of the Holy Spirit..

If Jesus was speaking to His Apostles in Luke 24, what is He saying to us, His modern-day disciples, about two thousand years later? Jesus is telling us, today, the same thing that He told His Apostles in Luke 24!

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus’ name, amen.     Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. John 1:12f

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 24:36-49; Psalms 119:18-20; Romans 1:16; Acts 1:8.

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WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Are Given the Incredible Gift of the Holy Spirit - “your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way’””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/

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