Lex Talionis

Lex Talionis. Just saying sounds like justice - is sounds just.

Lex Talionis - is a biblical principle that means punishment must be in proportion to the crime.

Leviticus 24:17–20 (ESV)

Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is challenging they way people think.

He does it with the

Beatitudes

Salt and light

You are the light of the world?

What WE do matters?

Law

Anger

Lust

Divorce

The value of Yes & No - Your WORD…

He is challenging the accepted norms.

Matthew 7:24 (ESV)

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…

Matthew 5:38–42 (ESV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

This is what you thought - An eye for an eye. Seems fair, seems just.

But this is what I say - turn the other cheek - go the extra mile.

Lex Talionis is like a beautiful house built on a flawed foundation.

Matthew 5:43–47 (ESV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Matthew 5:45 (ESV)

…so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

Sons of a father means we are like our father.

We need to love our enemies because we were once enemies of God and he loved us.

Romans 5:10 (ESV)

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son

Lex Talionis - Law of Retaliation

Lex Fidei - Law of Faith

Matthew 5:48 (ESV)

48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Lex Perfectionis - Law of Perfection

What does that mean to be perfect?

Greek word - teleios

Mature, complete, fully developed.

Matthew 7:24 (ESV)

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…

Promise Keepers

Beatitudes

Salt and Light

Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.

Anger

Lust

Marriage & Divorce

Matthew 5:33–37 (ESV)

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Title Screen

Matthew 5:33–37 (ESV)

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn…

Matthew 5:34 & 37 (ESV)

But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all… 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Jesus is saying that anything more than a simple yes or no - comes from evil.

Matthew 5:33–37 (ESV)

…Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black…

Look at all these levels.

Heaven

Throne of God

Earth

God’s Footstool

Jerusalem

Your Head

Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Lust

Matthew 5:27–30 (ESV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Love is the desire to benefit others, even at the expense of self.

Lust is the desire to benefit self, even at the expense of others.

Mission Frontiers

1. Over 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites.

2. There are around 42 million porn websites, which totals around 370 million pages of porn.

3. The porn industry’s annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined. It is also more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

4. 47% of families in the United States reported that pornography is a problem in their home.

5. Pornography use increases the marital infidelity rate by more than 300%.

6. 56% of American divorces involve one party having an “obsessive interest” in pornographic websites.

7. 70% of Christian youth pastors report that they have had at least one teen come to them for help in dealing with pornography in the past 12 months.

8. 68% of church-going men and over 50% of pastors view porn on a regular basis. Of young Christian adults 18-24 years old, 76% actively search for porn.

9. 59% of pastors said that married men seek their help for porn use.

10. 33% of women aged 25 and under search for porn at least once per month.

11. Only 13% of self-identified Christian women say they never watch porn—87% of Christian women have watched porn.

12. 55% of married men and 25% of married women say they watch porn at least once a month.

13. 57% of pastors say porn addiction is the most damaging issue in their congregation. 69% say porn has adversely impacted the church.

Your eye can not CAUSE you to sin.

Your foot does not CAUSE you to sin.

So what does CAUSE us to sin.

Sin is a heart issue.

Psalm 119:9–11 (ESV)

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

10 With my whole heart I seek you;

let me not wander from your commandments!

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Anger

Matthew 5:21–26 (ESV)

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Jesus is saying two things.

This is NOT what saves you.

This IS how you should behave.

Ok so lets look at this text with that understanding.

Matthew 5:21 (ESV)

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’

So he starts with what they and we already understand - murder is wrong.

Matthew 5:22 (ESV)

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Being angry with your brothers, insulting others and calling someone a fool - carries the same penalty as murder.

Rev 21:8 clearly says that all liars will end up in the lake of fire.

So is it ever ok to tell a lie?

Well, if we focus on the letter of the law - 8th commandment - vs the heart of the law then we will certainly believe that a lie under any circumstances is a sin.

What if I told you I have 11 verses marked in my Bible where lies and/or deceit were used in a positive context? Did you know that? That is just 11 that I have found - there may be more.

James 2:25 NLT

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.

Joshua 2:4–6 (ESV)

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know (lie) where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out (lie #2). I do not know where the men went (lie #3). Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them (big fat hairy lie).” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

I get that I am running the risk of being accused of saying - that is it ok to lie. I am not saying that.

People accused Jesus of breaking some of the laws, like harvesting on the Sabbath and healing or working on the sabbath.

Matthew 12:1–8 (ESV)

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:23-25 (ESV)

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

Be reconciled to your brother. Jesus said, I desire mercy - not sacrifice.

The Law #3

Romans 6:1–2 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

We should not continue in sin.

We died to sin.

We tend to think one of three ways:

We think Culturally (the way everyone else thinks)

We think Religiously (the way we assume God thinks)

We think Biblically (meaning we can support a belief with clear scripture)

I want to answer two questions:

Are we truly free from the law?

How do we define what is right in the eyes of God without the law?

Romans 7:1–3 (ESV)

Or do you not know (I love that phrase), brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?

2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

“We will either die to sin or we will die in sin”

Romans 7:4 (ESV)

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Romans 7:24 (ESV)

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Romans 7:25 (ESV)

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

There is therefore (for this reason) now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For what reason - is there now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The reason is - we died to the law. We are not under that contract any more. That is the reason there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:2–4 (ESV)

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

How do we define what is right in the eyes of God without the law?

If you’re legalist - this is incredibly hard.

If your a loyalist - this is incredibly easy.

A legalist measures things by the letter of the law.

The loyalist however looks at the heart of the law. For the loyalist - love is the motivator - not legality.

John 14:15 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

When love is your motivator - you don’t look for what you can get away with. You desire to separate yourself from anything that displeases the one you love.

One of the most important ways we determine what is right and wrong in the eyes of God is through the totality of scripture.

1 Timothy 1:8–10 (ESV)

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

“The biggest problem for many Christians today is the know only Sound Bites and know little of Sound Doctrine.”

You will never truly know the difference between right wrong with just sound bits from the Bible. You need to get into sound doctrine.

The Law #2

Matthew 5:17–20 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

That is more or less the heart of what we covered in detail last week. But lets look closer at this:

Matthew 5:19–20 (ESV)

19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Kingdom of Heaven

The word Therefore

The word Exceeds

All of these, I think, can change the understanding of what is being said here. Let’s start with the Kingdom of Heaven.

The kingdom of Heaven:

Matthew is the only writer to use the phrase - The Kingdom of Heaven.

Luke 6:20–23 (ESV)

(Jesus) said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Obviously very similar message as he gives in the sermon on the mount - this is not Luke giving a different description of the same event - but this is Jesus using the same kind of message only it is Kingdom of God vs. Kingdom of heaven.

My personal interpretation of this is that Jesus is Not saying in this passage, that if you want to be great in the kingdom of heaven - be the best at keeping the commandments.

Revelation 20:4 (ESV)

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed…

Daniel 7:27 (ESV)

And the kingdom and the dominion

and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;

his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,

and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

I find that when ever you are struggling with a passage of scripture the most important thing to focus on is context. The context is the key.

The words therefore and exceeds I believe explain what is really being said.

Matthew 5:17–20 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

19 Therefore (FOR THAT REASON) whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For that reason — what reason? The reason is — The law is not abolished…

Matthew 5:20 (ESV)

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus did NOT see the scribes and Pharisees as righteous.

Matthew 23:1–3 (ESV)

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

The 6 times he says

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!“

He calls them blind guides and blind fools!

He calls them whitewashed tombs, full of dead peoples bones.

He says they appear righteous on the outside - but inside they are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Then look at what he says…

Matthew 23:33 (ESV)

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

That is the point - the whole point. Everything about this points to the reality that faith in Jesus is our only hope righteousness, and of salvation.

The Law

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So let’s jump into our key text which is

Matthew 5:17–20 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

But we are not going to avoid it - we are going to learn it.

This section is what I would call the unreachable standard. Really it is chapter 5:17-48.

Matthew 5:17 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets…

Matthew 5:17 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:18-19 (ESV)

18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The iota was the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet

Dot - is from the greek word Keraia - which means the smallest part of the letter.

Matthew 5:20 (ESV)

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:20 (ESV)

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

But the law is fulfilled. In Jesus.

Galatians 3:24–25 (ESV)

24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Useful - Works

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NLT)

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

Matthew 4:23–5:1 (ESV)

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

Matthew 7:28–29 (ESV)

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 5:13 & 14 (ESV)

13 - You are the salt of the earth

14 - You are the light of the world

These are HUGE statements.

Both of these elements are things you and I never think much about.

We don’t even know what a shortage of salt could be like. In fact our culture is suffering from too much salt.

The average American eats 8 pounds of salt a year

An interesting article.

“The quiet pandemic caused by consuming too much salt”

Americans consume an average of 1.5 teaspoons of salt a day, That’s 50% more than the government’s recommends for the general public and more than twice the the recommended amount by American Heart Association. Consuming too much sodium causes as many as 100,000 deaths each year in the U.S. and $20 billion in health-care costs. The Global Burden of Disease study estimates that high sodium intake causes between 1 million and 5 million deaths per year globally.

Matthew 5:13–16 (ESV)

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Article from Wayne Wright - Making Life Count Ministries

What did Jesus mean by salt losing its saltiness?

“The salt in those days was not refined like the Morton Salt we have today, but was a poor quality rock salt. Salt in Israel came from the rock salt found by the Dead Sea. Because it was crudely gathered, earth and other impurities were collected with it into a bag. If the salt got wet and dissolved, the insoluble bits of rock would remain. It didn’t take much moisture to dissolve the salt and leave behind a bag of useless tiny stones.”

“Once most of the salt content was lost it was no longer useful. However, it couldn’t be tossed into a garden or a field because the remaining salt would ruin the soil. The best place for it to be disposed of was in the street, where it was ‘trampled underfoot’ by pedestrians.”

Un-salty salt was useless. It was worse than useless - it was dangerous to the soil.

Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Happy #2

Matthew 5:3–12 (ESV)

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So lets ask two questions;

What is the kingdom of heaven?

What does it mean to say it is theirs?

There is a heavenly realm that is eternal where Jesus is next to the Father

Acts 7:55–56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 3:21; Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:33...

Matthew 4:17 (ESV)

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus is saying that the Time of Repentance is NOW because the place of the Kingdom is here.

Jesus is that place.

“Jesus is the Kingdom of Heaven being established on earth.”

Jesus is literally the way you and I inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

That is why - HAPPY are the poor in Spirit those who KNOW they need Jesus - because theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

They are heirs to the Kingdom. In other words - this is your kingdom. You don’t own it - but your are in it.

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:11–12 (ESV)

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Some key words in there are Falsely, and On My Account.

Our goal should be to

Recognize our need for him - for ours is the Kingdom of God

Regret our past sin and turn from it - we will be comforted

To be humble and gentle for we will experience peace

To hunger and thirst for righteousness for we will be satisfied

To be merciful For we will receive mercy

To pure in heart for we will see God

To be a peace maker not a peace taker - for we will be called children of God.

Acts 5:40–41 (ESV)

when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

Pentecost Sunday

Today is Pentecost Sunday… And I feel strongly we are to stay in the passages we are currently studying for the message time. But I would not want to let this special day get past us without talking about the significance of it.

Today s a great day! But do you know how great? Do you know what that means? ... John the Baptist...

Matthew 3:11 (ESV)

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Many of you have been baptized in water - and you should be. If you have not been baptized in water - why not? The word Baptize or Baptiso means to immerse. To completely submerge - now we easily get that when it comes to water… Right? Now imagine that experience - with The Spirit of God.

I want that! Do you? To be totally immersed in God’s Spirit.

On the Day of Pentecost - right after Jesus was resurrected - on that day prophecy was fulfilled.

Joel 2:28–29 (ESV)

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Acts 2:16 (ESV)

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel

Acts 2:1–4 (ESV)

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Utterance:

apophthengomai speak out; declare

ApothhhhhhNayGoMy

There are two big mistakes we make when it comes to Pentecost -

We make it all about speaking in tongues.

We make it not at all about speaking in tongues.

The concept of speaking in tongues should NOT make you uncomfortable.

The only reason things make us uncomfortable is because we do not understand them. And we tend to avoid things we do not understand.

Can I give you some advice - when it comes to the things of God, don’t avoid what you do not understand, study until you do understand. Seek to understand. God is not afraid of your questions.