The Day of Pentecost

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:1

The Day of Pentecost

by Robert T. Cooper

For most of my life, so far as I can remember, I have known that Pentecost was the 50^th day (hence the name Pentecost) of which Easter was the 1^st. I have known it as the day the Holy Spirit descended on believers in Christ. I have known it is considered to be the birthday of the church.

I have also known that it was related to a Jewish observance connected to the harvest. But I knew little else. So I decided to do some research. Let me share some of what I found.

When our Jewish friends observe Shavuot, it is the feast or festival we and they know as Pentecost. It seems that the entire 7-week period from Easter to Pentecost is a season of harvest with the barley harvest occupying the early part of that period and the wheat harvest occupying the latter part of that period. Shavuot is also the day on which it is reckoned that Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai.

One interesting side note is that Shavuot is observed on Pentecost Sunday only by Israeli Jews and by Reformed Jews. Other Jews around the world observe Shavuot on both Pentecost Sunday and Pentecost Monday. One tradition is that during synagogue service the morning of Pentecost Sunday, a liturgical poem is read immediately prior to the Torah reading. This tradition has been in place since about a.d. 1100, and so was not observed by Peter and company on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. A second tradition connected to synagogue service is the reading of the book of Ruth: it is read by Israeli Jews in the service on Pentecost Sunday; it is read by Jews around the world in the service on Pentecost Monday.

Since 1533, there is all-night Torah study leading up to Pentecost Sunday. One might remember that the study of the book of Joel had been part of the preparation of the Christian believers immediately prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.

Two other Jewish traditions are the consumption of dairy products and the use of greenery for Pentecost decorations in both synagogues and homes.

Let me close by returning to the thoughts connected with the wheat harvest. Because Pentecost celebrated the wheat harvest, while the Temple was standing, there were two loaves of bread offered that day. This was the context in which Jesus made His “I am the Bread of Life” sermon.

We believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must remember that while bread gives life to the body, Jesus as the Bread of Life gives eternal life to the spirits of His people. As it is important for us constantly feed our bodies, it is even more important for us to constantly feed on Jesus.

In the comments section, share how you go about feeding on Jesus.

Then They Prayed

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:24

Then They Prayed

by Robert T. Cooper

There was a need in the church. They examined the options and came down to one of two choices. In this case, there was a need for a single person. They came down to one of two people to fill the need. Then they prayed.

How often in church business do we never get around to praying more than a “God bless this business” opening and closing prayer? It is shamefully too often. Churches nowadays don’t have many real prayer meetings on their schedules anyway. But the church business meeting should be one of the prayingest meetings of all!

So when they got to the point of praying, how did they begin their prayer? “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.” Did you catch that? They began with praise, but not just with any old praise. They began with praise that was specific to the business decision at hand. The Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. Face it, if in your church business meetings you want to vote for God’s will to be done (on earth as it is in heaven), then you would do well to pause before the vote and praise God in terms specific to the business decision at hand.

Finally, they were ready to pray, “Show us which of these two you have chosen.” You do understand that God is quite capable of answering, “Neither.” He did so on several occasions in Scripture. He is also quite capable of answering, “Both.” But if you have been seeking the Lord up to this point and have concluded that it is one or the other of the options on the table at the present time, then God will do just what you have prayed. He will show you which of the two He has chosen.

There are often things that need deciding in a church. Next time consider doing it this biblical way.

Has your church ever prayed like this right before a vote in a business meeting? Could your church do so in the future? We welcome your comments.

Church Government

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                Acts 1:23 – 26

Church Government

by Robert T. Cooper

Who gets to decide what in a local church? My background is with churches with congregational polity, but I know someone who is taking classes to join a church with a different polity. A recent lesson he took referred to the Jerusalem Conference and concluded that the local congregation doesn’t get to decide everything.

So when we come to Acts 1:23 – 26, we find a situation in which everyone agreed a person needed to be selected to replace Judas as an Apostle. It seems from the context that the entire congregation was permitted to nominate candidates, but only two were nominated. And then rather than the entire congregation voting, lots were cast. They didn’t think of it as gambling; they thought of it as allowing the Lord to decide the selection. Do any churches make decisions that way in modern times? I don’t know of any.

Still, as a believer I have confidence in the Lord, that however any local church makes decisions, He is in charge of the outcome. He moves in people’s hearts to vote one way or another. He places words in people’s mouths according to His intentions. He causes ballots to be counted or left uncounted in various ways. When we fully trust in the Lord to bring about the result He desires, we can be confident that He does.

What is the voting polity of our church? What is the biblical basis of that polity?

Someone to Follow You

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                Acts 1:15 – 22

Someone to Follow Youby Robert T. Cooper

In Terry Brooks’ novel, Bloodfire Quest, an ancient person has selected one of the heroines for a quest. Brooks has this ancient to say, “The elders of a species always measure the fitness of the young to take their place.”

I don’t know how old you are, but I am now in my sixties. As my life has gone by I have worked in lots of places and volunteered in lots of places. It has sometimes been my concern as to who could take over when the time came for me to leave. It has sometimes been my concern as to who could simply cover if I had to be out for whatever reason. My philosophy was that things should be able to continue without me as with me.

I have spent my life investing in others, discipling others. It has always been an honor when some person would permit me to invest in his or her life. Now as I get older, I am concerned with leaving a legacy of even more dedicated followers of Christ. I don’t simply want someone to replace me; I want to leave a whole host of people to carry on where I eventually leave off.

The time came quickly and unexpectedly when the Apostles felt the need to replace Judas Iscariot, who had committed suicide. They wouldn’t continue to add Apostles throughout time. It was done just this once. But there has been a need for the church to continually have leadership.

The Apostles looked around to see who was prepared to step into the gap. They proposed two people who fit the bill, but one gets the idea there were even more that might have met all the qualifications. Jesus had done well anticipating the need and seeing that there were people prepared. Of course, the Lord made the final choice.

The point for us is that we ought to anticipate the need for additional leaders when we pass from the scene. We ought to be seeing that there are people prepared.

In the comments, please share whether you are investing in the lives of those who might possibly replace you, if necessary. What are you doing to prepare them?

Anything But Solitaire

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                Acts 1:12 – 14

Anything But Solitaire

by Robert T. Cooper

In Christianity we put a lot of emphasis on making a personal, individual decision of your own for Christ. Yet when one reads the Bible, one gets the idea that while I have to decide for Christ myself in order to be saved, Christianity is not supposed to be an individual affair.

In the 21^st century one constantly runs into people who claim to be Christians, but they live their lives as individuals and not in intentional, continuing fellowship with a group of fellow believers. This is not the Bible way.

Looking at Acts 1:12 – 14, we see that the apostles, who had been together for the ascension of Jesus, stayed together as they returned to Jerusalem. They were all staying together in an upper room (probably the same place the Last Supper had taken place, probably the home of John Mark’s family). To emphasize the group nature, the passage lists the names of the Eleven. It is emphasized that they all prayed together. It even mentions additional people, men and women, who took part as they all prayed together.

Now is it possible that God has directed one or more people of your acquaintance to not join a local church? I suppose so. It is not my place to judge. Those people are accountable to the Lord, not to me.

Yet that would seem to be the exception, not the rule. Since we are to study together, to pray together, to be in fellowship with one another, to break bread with one another, since we are to form ministry-evangelism groups together, since there are no “lone ranger” Christians in the Bible, it seems that most all of us should be active in the fellowship of a local church.

With respect to being part of a local church, please leave a comment as to how God led you to your current situation.

Don’t Forsake the Assembly

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:6

Don’t Forsake the Assembly

by Robert T. Cooper

I’ve been hurt at church and by church people. It seems that many of the people I talk with have had hurtful church experiences. There are even those who say the election of President Obama to a second term is the direct result of so many having been hurt by church people. When we began the church of which I am a part, one of its distinguishing characteristics was (and is) that it is a church for people who have been hurt by churches.

Lots of people will not attend church services because of those hurts. Others will not attend because they have simply allowed themselves to become too busy with other things in life they deem to be more important. Some people don’t see what the big deal is; they believe one can be a fine Christian, or at least a fine person, without the commitment.

Acts 1:6 deals with a special time in the lives of the Apostles. Jesus had risen from the dead. He was meeting with them frequently to give them final instructions. The Apostles didn’t realize the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth would not take place in their near future. They didn’t realize Christ’s Ascension was to come before Pentecost. They were simply fixated on continuing to meet with Jesus and with one another as often as possible.

After the Ascension, 120 disciples set up an around-the-clock prayer meeting. They kept the meetings they had with Jesus before His Ascension going. Jesus was no longer meeting with them in the flesh, yet they knew they were supposed to keep on meeting. After Pentecost, the meetings continued. Many of the meetings were regularly scheduled meetings—at the Jewish prayer hours and at set times between the prayer hours. Many of the meetings were spontaneous as they kept inviting one another to spend time with each other—for the Teaching of the Twelve, for fellowship, for meals, and for prayer.

As the decades went by it became evident that some people were not keeping up with the meetings. Perhaps they were hurt. Perhaps they were overscheduled. Perhaps they were frightened by the persecution that came their way. In fact, the unthinkable happened. Some people were getting to where they didn’t attend any of the meetings at all. Using the terminology of the author of Hebrews, they forsook the assembly.

I know how it is. The situation is such that if something were to happen to my current church or if the politics there drove me away, I don’t know that there is any congregation left in our county I might attend. It would be hard to find a place where I might fit in with the fellowship.

And yet I need to continue meeting with believers. There is a special sense in which “where two or three are gathered” Jesus continues to participate in meetings of believers in ways beyond the manner in which He meets with individuals. It isn’t just me; all believers need to participate in the life of a local congregation.

Questions: Have you ever been through a period of your life in which you didn’t meet regularly with a local church congregation? Why do you think it is so important for disciples to meet together? What can you do to prevent yourself from dropping out?