Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180044A
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00:30 Hello and welcome to the 3ABN "Sabbath School Panel"
00:33 We are in the middle of our study on 00:35 "Oneness in Christ," we're in the Fourth Quarter. 00:37 I'm Jill Morikone and I'm delighted that you have 00:40 taken time from your day to open up God's word 00:43 and study with us. 00:44 We are in Lesson #5 which is on... 00:46 "The Experience of Unity in the Early Church." 00:50 We'll be spending most of our time in the Book of Acts, 00:53 talking about the early church 00:55 and the unity that they experienced. 00:57 I want to introduce our panel to you at this time... 01:00 On my left is Pastor John Lomacang - Good to be here; 01:02 Pastor John Dinzey - A great blessing to be here; 01:05 Shelley Quinn - Love it; 01:07 and Mollie Steenson - Joy to be with you. 01:10 It's a privilege to share with each one of you. 01:12 We've been journeying through this Quarter together, 01:14 and have been learning a great deal. 01:16 And, before we go any farther, I always like to open in prayer. 01:20 WE always like to open in prayer, 01:22 and Pastor John Lomacang, would you pray 01:24 for us here? Sure. 01:25 Loving Father in Heaven, As we open Your word, 01:28 we pray that You'll open the hearts of our listeners 01:30 and our viewers - that this program, Lord, will plant 01:34 within them the Living Word, that will not just be an 01:37 intellectual exercise revealing information, 01:40 but that all of this information, through our 01:42 intellect and our lives, that Jesus might be revealed. 01:46 In Your name we pray... Amen, Amen! 01:49 If you would like your own copy of the Quarterly, 01:52 "Oneness in Christ," you can always visit your local 01:55 Seventh-day Adventist Church; they have Sabbath School 01:59 study classes every Sabbath morning and they would be 02:01 delighted to give you a free Quarterly or you can go 02:05 to the website: ABSG.Adventist.org 02:09 and you can download your own copy. 02:11 And that stands for Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventist.org 02:17 and we'd love for you to follow along with us 02:20 as we journey through this Quarter. 02:22 As I mentioned, we're talking about "The Experience 02:24 of Unity in the Early Church," meaning the early 02:27 Christian Church in the Book of Acts. 02:30 And if I were to ask you, as a panel, 02:32 was there unity among the apostles, among the disciples? 02:36 Would you say, "yes" or "no," 02:38 was there unity among the disciples? 02:39 Before the Holy Spirit came? Laughter... 02:43 That is a qualifier, exactly! 02:45 If you think before, there was definitely no unity, 02:49 before the death of Christ, before their conversion, 02:52 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit... 02:54 On the day of Pentecost, we could say 02:56 there was no unity. 02:57 In fact, they often argued over "Who would be the greatest." 03:03 I can see them now in my mind's eye...toiling up some 03:06 dusty road in Galilee arguing 03:09 who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom 03:11 that Christ is about ready to set up; 03:14 trying to keep the lesser important people away 03:17 from Jesus - that would be maybe the children or women, 03:21 and they tried to keep the important people around Jesus. 03:23 Mark 9:33-34.. "Then He (meaning Jesus) came to Capernaum. 03:31 And when He was in the house, He asked them, 03:33 "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 03:37 But they kept silent, for on the road they had 03:39 disputed among themselves who would be the greatest." 03:43 Not only did they argue over who would be the greatest, 03:45 they wanted the top place in the kingdom that Christ was 03:49 going to set up. 03:50 Remember in Matthew 20, the mom of James and John, 03:53 the sons of thunder, went to Jesus and said, "I want 03:56 one son on the right hand and I want one son on the left hand." 04:01 (but the disciples, the rest of them, they wanted 04:03 that place too) because in verse 24 it says, "When the 04:06 ten heard about it or when they heard what mama had asked, 04:09 they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 04:13 Verse 28... Jesus reminded them, "The Son of Man did not come 04:17 to be served, but to serve and give His life 04:20 as a ransom for many." 04:23 Still, at the Last Supper, just before Jesus' death, 04:26 they were still unwilling to serve. 04:29 And Jesus, at that point, took the place of the sermon. 04:33 But after Christ's death and resurrection, after Pentecost 04:38 took place - a radical change took place in the lives 04:40 of the apostles. 04:42 There was unity - where before there was jealousy and division. 04:46 There was courage - where before there was fear. 04:49 There was purpose - where before there was emptiness. 04:53 There was unselfishness - where before there was self-seeking 04:58 and self-serving. 04:59 This radical difference came about as a result of the 05:02 outpouring of the Holy Spirit and their conversion. 05:05 We're going to talk about that this week; 05:07 the preparation for Pentecost, the outpouring of 05:10 the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, characteristics of the early 05:14 church, the generosity of the early church and the greed 05:17 that took place within the early church as well. 05:21 Most importantly, we will look at unity as a result of an 05:26 experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. 05:29 Jesus said in John 14:6... "I am the way, the truth 05:32 and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." 05:36 Our memory text is Acts 2:42: It says, "And they continued 05:42 steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 05:45 in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." 05:48 Now on Sunday, we look at: "Days of Preparation" 05:51 which is really the preparation for the outpouring of the 05:54 Holy Spirit which was to take place there at Pentecost. 05:57 And, we know that before Jesus died, He promised, didn't He? 06:00 ...that he was going to send the Holy Spirit. 06:04 John 16:7, He said... "Nevertheless, I tell you 06:07 the truth, it is expedient (it is to your advantage) 06:12 that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper 06:15 (parakletos, the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; 06:19 but if I depart, I'm going to send Him to you. 06:22 Again in John 14:26, he says... "The Helper, the Holy Spirit; 06:26 whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you 06:30 all things, and bring to your remembrance all things 06:32 that I said unto you." 06:34 So before He died, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit 06:37 was going to be given to the disciples in great measure. 06:41 Now let's look at Acts 1, we're going to spend the 06:44 balance of our time in Acts 1. 06:46 Acts 1:5... This is after the crucifixion, after the 06:49 resurrection, this is actually just before the ascension, 06:53 right before Jesus returns to heaven. 06:55 In Acts 1:5... He promises the Holy Spirit again. 06:59 He says, "For John truly baptized with water, 07:01 but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit 07:04 not many days from now." 07:07 And then in verse 8, he says... "You shall receive power 07:11 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall 07:13 be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea 07:17 and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 07:21 In Acts 1:8, Pastor John, I see three elements 07:24 of Christ's mission. 07:25 The first is the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is 07:28 foundational to any mission. 07:31 They were going to receive power when the Holy Spirit 07:34 came upon them. 07:35 So the power comes as a result of the Holy Spirit. 07:38 Power is needed to witness, to stand, to endure persecution, 07:43 to spread the gospel, to reflect Jesus and power is also 07:46 needed from the Holy Spirit for us to walk in unity 07:49 as brothers and sisters, not only the early 07:52 Christian church, but us as Christians 07:54 today in the last days. 07:56 The three elements of Christ's mission is the Holy Spirit, 07:59 it's foundational with any mission. 08:01 #2... Personal experience. Personal experience is 08:05 best for any mission. 08:06 We see that in Acts 1:8, it says... "You shall receive 08:09 power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 08:11 and you shall be witnesses to me." 08:14 Now the word in Greek for witnesses is an eye or an ear 08:18 witness, so in other words, they're going to share 08:21 their personal experience... what they have seen 08:25 and known of Jesus - that's 08:27 what they're going to share with someone else. 08:29 And the third is the evangelistic plan we see 08:31 here in this verse and that is really laid out 08:33 in the entire Book of Acts. 08:35 First, they go in Jerusalem, at home, right? 08:37 Then they go to Judea and Samaria and they spread out 08:41 in the community to those around them... 08:43 Then it goes to the uttermost parts of the earth. 08:45 So let's look at the preparation for Pentecost. 08:50 There was preparation that took place before the outpouring 08:53 of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost 08:54 that Pastor John is going to talk about. 08:56 And we see that preparation take place 08:58 in the Upper Room experience. 09:01 This is Acts 1:12-14, I'm going to be talking about five keys 09:08 to preparation for Pentecost. 09:11 Five keys to preparation for the 09:12 outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 09:14 We're in verse 12... "Then they returned to Jerusalem 09:17 from the mount called Olivet..." 09:19 Now they returned actually from the ascension of Jesus. 09:21 He has just gone up into heaven and immediately 09:24 they came to this Upper Room. 09:26 "They returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet 09:28 which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. 09:31 And when they had entered, they went up into the 09:33 upper room where they were staying; Peter, James, John 09:36 and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and 09:39 Mathew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; 09:43 and Judas the son of James. 09:44 These all continued with one accord in prayer and 09:47 supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, 09:51 and with His brothers." 09:53 So the first key for preparation for Pentecost - actually is not 09:57 mentioned in those verses, but I'll read you another one 09:59 where it is mentioned and that is time. 10:01 They did not enter the Upper Room and then in 30 minutes, 10:06 they were ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit... 10:09 it took time. 10:10 Act 1:3 says that Jesus was seen by them - how many days? 10:14 Forty days before the ascension and then we know Pentecost 10:19 took place 50 days after Jesus died - so that means there's 10:23 the space of 10 days, right? that this Upper Room 10:26 experience took place. 10:28 So it takes time in order for us to come together in order for 10:34 all of these keys to be in place before the 10:36 Holy Spirit is poured out in abundance. 10:38 #2... It takes unity - did you notice that? 10:41 It said in verse 14... "These continued with one accord." 10:45 Now the word in Greek for one accord comes from two words... 10:49 the word "same" and the word "passion." 10:52 That means they had the same passion - the same desire. 10:58 We call it, in English it's translated 11:00 "in one accord," but it means the same thing. 11:03 They're united in that mission, united in heart, 11:05 united in ministry, in purpose in their objective. 11:10 #3... Is repentance and forgiveness. 11:14 Now the Bible does not specifically state it here, 11:17 but you cannot come into unity with someone if you have 11:20 aught against them. That's right. 11:22 In other words, if I have an issue, which I don't, 11:25 but if I had an issue with Pastor John, 11:27 it would be hard for me to be in unity with you. 11:29 We would need to come together and I would need 11:31 to say "I'm so sorry" for whatever I did or whatever 11:34 I said and when I did that, that would bring us back 11:38 into unity with each other again. 11:40 And so that repentance and that forgiveness had to take 11:43 place - not only them confessing any sins before 11:46 God, but to each other, and saying "I'm so sorry 11:50 I hurt you in this area." 11:51 "I'm so sorry for what I did in this instance," 11:54 that is important in order for unity to take place. 11:57 We know that sin brings separation from the Father, 12:00 you know, in Genesis, at the fall, we talked about it 12:02 in an earlier lesson - sin brought fear and guilt 12:06 and separation from the Father. 12:08 And so in order for us to be restored and brought back 12:11 into that one accord, that unity, we need that 12:15 confession of sin and that repentance in order 12:18 to come back together. True! 12:20 Now #4 is prayer! Verse 14... 12:23 "They continued with one accord in prayer and supplication." 12:27 Any true revival is preceded by prayer. 12:34 America's prayer meeting is what they it - it took place 12:38 in 1857 to 1858. 12:41 There was a gentleman by the name of "Jonathan," 12:43 who decided he was going to institute a weekly 12:46 prayer meeting for businessmen. 12:47 It was to be a one hour prayer meeting, 12:49 and he set the first date which was September 23, 1857. 12:55 The first one-half hour - nobody showed up. 12:57 Now if it were me, I would have gone home. 12:59 Oh, no one showed up, but he persisted. 13:02 The second half hour, 6 men straggled in. 13:06 The next week, 20 people came to pray. 13:10 The week after that, 30 people attended. 13:13 Now by early November... this began September 23, 13:17 remember was his first day? 13:18 So by early November, it was not even two months later 13:21 200 people attended the daily prayer meeting. 13:26 By the following April which was what.. 6-7 months later, 13:30 10,000 people gathered daily in New York City for prayer. 13:36 Not all at Jonathan's site, but they gathered 13:39 throughout the city for prayer. 13:41 And it's estimated that one-million individuals 13:44 were converted in the space of 2 years - as a result of 13:47 one man who decided to pray. Amen! 13:50 #5... Praise and worship. 13:55 So key #1... Is it takes time. 13:57 #2... It's the common unity in one accord. 14:00 #3... Is confess sin, repent, come together. 14:03 #4... Is earnest, fervent prayer. 14:06 #5... Is praise and worship. Now we don't see that in Acts, 14:09 but in Luke 24:53, this is right after the ascension 14:14 of Jesus, Luke said they were continually in the temple 14:18 praising and blessing God. 14:21 I want to close with a quote... 14:23 this is from "Acts of the Apostles," p.36-37... 14:26 "As the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, 14:30 they humbled their hearts in true repentance 14:32 and confessed their unbelief. (now this is waiting for the 14:35 promise of the Holy Spirit) As they called to remembrance 14:38 the words that Christ had spoken to them before His 14:41 death, they understood more fully their meaning. 14:44 They reproached themselves for their misapprehension 14:48 of the Savior... Oh, if they could but have 14:50 the past three years to live over, how differently 14:53 they would act. But they were comforted 14:56 by the thought that they were forgiven and they 15:00 determined that, so far as possible, they would atone 15:03 for their unbelief by bravely confessing Him before the world, 15:07 putting away all differences, all desire for supremacy, 15:11 they came close together in Christian fellowship." 15:15 And that experience preceded 15:17 the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pastor John. 15:20 Wow, wasn't that wonderful? Amen! 15:23 You have laid a very good foundation. 15:24 Thank you so much, Jill. 15:26 And now we begin where we go to Monday... 15:29 "From Babel to Pentecost" 15:32 Now a lot of times, we say "Babel," 15:34 but it's actually "babble" because it's confusion, 15:38 and I'd like to begin in the Book of Acts 2. 15:42 The essence that really grabbed me in this lesson is 15:47 we talk about Babylon or "babble-on." 15:53 I want to just kind of break it down... 15:54 Babylon which is really a babble-on because 15:58 when you go from Babel to Pentecost, there are some 16:01 similarities you had. 16:04 At Babel there was a false unity; 16:07 at Pentecost there was a true unity. Ooo, that's good! 16:12 And so what I want to look first - I want to read Acts 2:1, 16:17 and we're going to come back to it in just a moment, 16:19 but Acts 2:1, the Bible says... "When the day of Pentecost 16:24 had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 16:30 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven 16:34 as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house 16:38 where they were sitting." 16:40 Now look at the first parallel here, look at the first 16:42 comparison or the contrast. 16:45 Babel, they were trying to reach up to heaven; 16:48 on Pentecost something came down from heaven. 16:52 In Babylon there was a false unity, they were in one accord, 16:59 but for the wrong reason. 17:00 On Pentecost, they were in one accord for the right reason. 17:04 In Babylon, they didn't trust God; 17:07 On Pentecost, that's all they did was trust God. 17:12 In Babylon, they were building their own 17:15 method of salvation; on Pentecost, they were 17:18 proclaiming the right method of salvation. 17:21 Babylon - there were people that God did not fill with 17:24 His Spirit; on the Day of Pentecost, they were filled 17:28 with God's Spirit. 17:29 And the multitudes on the day of Babylon, 17:33 the multitudes are being broken up; 17:37 in Pentecost, the multitudes were coming together. Yes 17:40 So many similarities, so many contrasts between Babel, 17:43 I'd say Babel in Pentecost or babble in Pentecost 17:47 because we have Babylon and so we won't 17:50 say "Babel-on," so Babel, Babel, Babel, 17:53 it's Babel all the way through. 17:55 That's why the Day of Pentecost is so significant because 17:57 there was a mighty outpouring on the Day of 18:02 Pentecost that could not happen through the artillery 18:07 of humanity - it had to be the artillery of heaven. 18:10 In the Old Testament times, Pentecost, as we know, 18:13 was one of the major feasts. 18:15 It was the best time of the year for the Pentecost. 18:19 It was the best weather, so it was the most attended. 18:21 So when the Lord chose the Day of Pentecost 18:23 to pour out His Spirit, He knew that that was going 18:26 to be the most attended... the feast of the year, 18:29 the Feast of Pentecost. 18:30 It was after the Passover, and what came in after the 18:33 Passover was the Feast of Tabernacles also 18:36 after the Passover. 18:38 You had the Passover, you had also the Day of 18:42 Atonement, then you had the Feast of Tabernacles, 18:45 then you had Pentecost. 18:47 Pentecost - the best weather of the year. 18:50 But what I want to point out are some things in the Bible 18:53 in Genesis - I made these statements, 18:56 but I want to give you the Scriptures for them now. 18:58 Let's go to Genesis 11, and we're going to see 19:02 the unity both false and true that existed in the Bible. 19:06 and then we're going to see why it's so vitally important 19:09 to have true unity and the only 19:11 way that it can be accomplished. 19:13 In Genesis 11, let me see, Mollie could you read verse 6? 19:18 Genesis 11:6. 19:20 Genesis 11:6... This is from Babel, 19:24 from Babel, Tower of Babel. Babel. 19:27 "And the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one 19:30 and they all have one language, and this is what 19:33 they begin to do; now nothing that they propose 19:37 to do will be withheld from them." 19:40 Exactly, so I use the phrase, "When you pursue your own 19:44 course, you run your own course, 19:47 and you have your own finish line." 19:48 So the Lord said, "They have a purpose and nothing that they 19:52 purpose to do is going to be withheld from them." 19:55 It's kind of - I think of maybe one of the lessons in the past 19:57 we talked about consequences. 19:59 Whatever they decide to do... "Whatsoever a man soweth, 20:02 that shall he also reap." 20:04 Shelley, now let's look at the contrast. 20:06 This is way back at the Tower of Babel. 20:07 Let's look at the similarities, it continued, Daniel 3:7. 20:12 Daniel 3:7... This spirit that came into being 20:19 on the other side of the flood continued to 20:22 manifest itself all along and the Day of Pentecost was 20:26 a breaking of that predominant spirit. 20:30 Daniel 3:7..."So at that time, when all the people heard 20:37 the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony 20:41 with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and 20:44 languages fell down and worshipped to the gold image 20:48 which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up." 20:50 Okay, now... let's go to Revelation 14. 20:54 So that is what they sought to do... wait, wait before we go 20:57 to Revelation 14, let's go to Revelation 17. 21:00 Jill, if you have Revelation 17:13 and then Pastor Dinzey, 21:05 I'm going to have you go to Revelation 14... 21:07 But I want you to notice what we just pointed out... 21:09 You have both coalitions representing Babylon. 21:12 In the very beginning, all the people got together, they 21:14 one language, Babylon now in the days of Nebuchadnezzar; 21:18 all the nations, all the languages - they fell down to 21:21 worship - it was once again under the spirit of Babylon. 21:24 Now we're going to see what that spirit is. 21:26 In the last days, it's going to manifest itself again. 21:29 Revelation 17:13... "These are of one mind, and they will 21:33 give their power and authority to the beast." 21:35 Notice from the beginning, then to the Kingdom of Babylon, 21:38 then to spiritual Babylon, there's a unity that exists, 21:41 that God is not a part of and it's all about the mind. 21:44 Whatever they determined in their mind, and you'll 21:47 find out later, in the very same passage of Revelation 17, 21:51 that God put it in their minds to fulfill His will 21:56 because He wanted to rid the earth of that spirit... 21:59 which now takes us to Revelation 14. 22:01 Go to Revelation 14, we'll see how God is going to do that. 22:05 Revelation 14:6... "Then I saw another angel flying in the 22:12 midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach 22:16 to those who dwell on the earth; to every nation, 22:19 tribe, tongue and people." 22:21 Okay, that's the first message, but now I want to hit it. 22:23 I want to show you where God comes into it now. 22:25 Verse 8... I'm just going to pass verse 7, go to verse 8. 22:28 "And another angel followed saying, "Babylon is fallen, 22:31 is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations 22:34 drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 22:38 Notice - Babylon in the beginning - distrust on the 22:40 other side of the flood; Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar's 22:43 day - spiritual Babylon in the end time, 22:46 the Lord says - "It's coming down, it's coming down." 22:49 "It is fallen." 22:50 And the Day of Pentecost was the infusing of the power 22:55 that started the dismemberment, the deconstruction, 23:00 the - what's the word... that when they get that big old... 23:04 the demolition of Babylon began on the Day of Pentecost. 23:09 But here's how the devil tried to misconstrue 23:11 what happened on the Day of Pentecost... 23:13 Now we know, Acts 2- let's go there, Acts 2. 23:18 We know that they got together and the Jews, out of every 23:21 kingdom under heaven, heard the message, 23:24 and it says in verse 6... "And when this sound 23:27 occurred, the multitude came together and were confused." 23:31 Babylon tried to find its way in and confused! 23:34 Because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 23:38 It was a day where confusion was dissipated! 23:40 The Lord said, "It sounds confusing, but the attempt 23:43 of Pentecost is to remove confusion, 23:45 and when you go on, you have all the nations 23:47 represented there, verse 8, verse 9, verse 10, verse 11, 23:52 but verse 12 says, "So they were all amazed and perplexed 23:56 saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" 23:59 And others mocking, in verse 13, 24:01 said, "They are full of new wine." 24:03 But as you go further in the narrative, 24:05 you see that they all discovered what God had 24:08 done on that day; here it is... 24:10 Let's go to Acts 2:17 and here's the fulfillment of that day. 24:16 You have that verse, verse 17. 24:17 "It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, 24:19 that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh. 24:22 Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 24:24 and Your young men shall see visions, your old men 24:26 shall dream dreams." 24:27 Exactly, so the Day of Pentecost, the Lord was 24:29 bringing the last days to a culmination by the work 24:32 He started on the Day of Pentecost. 24:34 He poured out His Spirit as Joel the prophet 24:37 said in Joel chapter 2, is going to happen. 24:39 So Babylon in the beginning, Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar's 24:43 day, Babylon at the very end, and God brings it all together 24:47 and says, "I have not only a message for the whole world, 24:50 but to get the message to the whole world, 24:52 I gotta bring unity - that's what Pentecost brought. 24:55 It brought unity, it brought the power of the Holy Spirit 24:58 and today, the message of the Three Angels is only 25:02 possible because the power released on the 25:05 Day of Pentecost is now active in the last three messages. 25:09 Thank you so much, Pastor John, what an incredible study! 25:12 Right now we're going to take a short break, 25:14 and we'll be back in just one minute. |
Revised 2018-10-31