Amazement: Part 1

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:7

Amazement: Part 1

by Robert T. Cooper

Nothing much seems to amaze people any more. Even technological innovations are expected 3 or 4 times each year. We have raised the bar so many times and it is so high that average has become a failure.

Even the word “amazing” has been cheapened, along with “awesome” and a host of other words that used to be superlatives. There simply aren’t any true superlatives left.

So, what is called amazing today? Something having to do with mazes. A reality show, The Amazing Race. Even though the song “Amazing Grace” is still popular, folks no longer contemplate that grace and why it was called amazing all those years ago.

Still the crowd that came from at least 15 nations, and each one heard the 120 speaking in his own language, was amazed, but not by what you might think. They were amazed that those they heard speaking the languages were all Galileans.

You have to understand, Galileans were not the sophisticated city folks of Judea. They were good ol’ boys and girls from the country up north. Why, they may have been Jews but they lived on the far side of where the (pesky) Samaritans lived! Just about everyone in those days could speak Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin, and Koine Greek at a minimum. But the heart languages of people from all those 15 countries? A Judean might have learned one of those languages, but no one could imagine a circumstance in which a Galilean would.

Those foreign visitors on Pentecost didn’t know what we have perhaps learned: God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are. (I Corinthians 1:27 – 28) Amazing!

So don’t look down on those who seem foolish, weak, lowly, despised, or nothing. God is just likely to use those folks to accomplish His purposes.

Please comment on experiences in which God used the foolish, etc., to accomplish His purposes. Personal illustrations are welcome.

Magnetic Racket

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:6

Magnetic Racket

by Robert T. Cooper

There is just something about the sound of a crowd of people all talking simultaneously that is magnetic. If it is on wheels passing by, heads turn. If it is around the corner, one can hardly help going to see what all the hub-bub is about.

That is what happened on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit fell on the 120 in the prayer meeting. They all starting speaking in at least 15 foreign languages. Many could not converse with their immediate neighbors. Perhaps it was like a party game in which everyone started going around looking for others speaking the same language, forming groups on that basis.

But it was also like Babel in reverse. So one can imagine the variety of subjects for conversation. Most of all they wanted to excitedly express to one another the wonder of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and to discuss what might be next.

But then the crowds who were attracted by the racket started showing up. Have you ever been in a foreign country and suddenly across the way you heard someone speaking your native language? You could pick it out of all the clamor. And you were attracted to it. You just had to meet that person and find out how they happened to be in the same location as yourself.

Not that all these Jews didn’t know what they were all doing in Jerusalem for this feast. But there was obviously something unusual going on. The crowd wanted to ask about it, and the 120 were eager to tell them about it.

Perhaps where you are there aren’t any foreign speakers who need to hear the Gospel in their native languages. But there are all kinds of barriers to people hearing the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit uses us to cross those barriers, cultural and otherwise, so that people have a chance to place their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. People need the opportunity to hear and to accept the Gospel.

Are you ready to be used by the Holy Spirit this way?

Talk about experiences you may have had sharing the Gospel across barriers. We are interested in your stories.

Spiritual? God-fearing?

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:5

Spiritual? God-fearing?

by Robert T. Cooper

When I was in seminary, many years ago, I did a mission trip to Salt Lake City. There I learned about a group of people known as “Jack Mormons.” To my understanding, these were people who when asked claimed to be Latter-day Saints, but never attended services and didn’t keep any of the Mormon rules such as the Word of Wisdom.

Such a phenomenon is not all that unusual. Amongst Christians, there are huge percentages of people who claim to be believers, even born again, but who never attend services and never do anything that smacks of Christianity, such as pray or read the Bible. We might call them backslidden and suspect they have never been converted.

There are Muslims who are cultural Muslims only and are not seriously submitted to Allah. Amongst Jews, we have what is termed secular Jews; that is, they claim Jewish ethnicity, but not Jewish religiosity. Even amongst religious Jews, strict Jews might question the commitment of many who identify with Reformed Judaism.

Then we have the modern phenomenon of people who say they are not religious, but consider themselves to be very spiritual. But for the life of me I cannot figure anything that marks many of them as being spiritual at all. I don’t have the foggiest notion what they mean. Perhaps they simply don’t want to be self-identified as being non-religious.

In biblical Judaism, there was a group of Gentiles identified as God-fearers. These were people who fully worshipped Jehovah, but had not converted to Judaism. For example, Cornelius was a God-fearer. But there was also a group of Jews identified as God-fearers. They were devout and godly in character; they observed the commandments. Of course, all such Jews would be in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

But what about us? Would we self-identify as being God-fearers? Would others identify us as being devout and godly in character?

How do you self-identify, and what do you mean by those descriptors?