Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1909-01-07
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INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM.
MENTS FOR JANUARY 10.


MENTS FOR JANUARY 10.
Subject: The Descent Of the Holy
Spirit, Acts 2:1-21 Golden
Text, John 14:16. 17-Commit
yerses2-4-Exposition Of Lesson.
TIME.-Sunday, May %, A. D. 3d.,
9 a. m. PLACE.-An upper Dom
in Jerusalem.
EXPOSITION ]. The Disciples
Filled With the Holy Spirit, Ia. The
disciples had been hidden not to de-
part from Jerusalem. but to wait for
the promise of the Father, the bap-
tism with the Holy Spirit Och. Ia.
s.. They had faithfully obeyed this
command. After the ascension of
Jesus they had returned at once to
Jerusalem (1:12) to wait Gods time
and Gods blessing. The following
days had been spent largely in pray
err (1:14). Those were not wasted
days. More was accomplished in the
ultimate outcome than if they had
snsnt those days in preaching. Though
they continued steadfastly" in pray
or (l:14, r.. W the entire time was
not spent in PRAYER (ch. 1:15-26;
Luke 24;53). There was absolute
unity in their prayer, it vas with
one accord" Their minds we're all.
united in one thing, 'the promise Of
the Father" the baptism with the
Holy Spirit tLu. 11:13; Ac. 4:S1; 8:
15-17). They did not regard the pos
tive promise of Christ (1:5) as re-
~lieving them from the necessity of
prayer, but as an incentive to and a
foundation for prayer. The women
were there as well as the men (ch.
1:14). Ten days passed without an
answer. The day Of P~entecost, the
day Of first fruits" the gathering
Of the church (Lev. ~23:15-21) came
at last. Not till that day could the
Holy Spirit be given. Now that Pen
tecost has come no one needs wait ten
DAYS for the baptism with the Holy
Spirit. There is no record OF any watt
ing since Pentecost tsee oh. 4:31: 8:
1917; 9:17-22: 1914; 1916. The
~l1ever's birthright through the cru
cited. risen and ascended Christ Tvs.
33, 39), and the moment the condi-
tons are fulfilled this blessing will
be ours. II we have to wait, the diff
hculty is with us, and not with God.
It Is because we have not met the
conditions. The. disciples seemed to
have been expecting the promise that
very day, they were together in one
place" (R. W. 1t was at or before 9
In the morning ". 15). They were
of n accord (cf. 1:13, IA; 2:46;
4:24. 80: 5:12). This unity doubt
less had much to do with the bestow-
al of the gift, and the absence of this
unity has much to do with the failure
of many churches to-day to receive it.
T~hesblessing came Suddenly at the
last (cf. oh. 1925, 20; Nal. 81:
Luke 2:13). There was not a mo-
ment's warning. There was a roar as
of a hurricane. Emphasis is laid
upon the fact that this sound came
from heaven. It is wind from heav-
en-" we need. We have too much wind
OF another sort. On another occasion
the place where they even gathered
together was shaken (ch. Add.
This sound filled all the house." The
disciples were sitting" not kneeling
in prayer as they are so often repre-
sented. There was not only wind
from heaven, but fire as we'll (cf.
Matt. 3:11; Is. A; Jer. 1920. The
fire was in the form of tongues, the
new power was to manifest itself in a
tongue of fire granted to them ".
~. The tongues parted asunder (R.
W or porticned themselves out to
leach one of them" Peter only is
made prominent in the story that fol-
lows, but each n of them received a
tongue of fire. The tongues of fire
rested upon the women as well as
Dol the men (cf. also VS.. IT. 18).
The blessing was not to the church
as a body, but to leach one of them"
as individuals. "They we're all filled,
with the Spirit" This is a fulfllment
of oh. 1:5. So the expressions filled
with the Spirit" and baptized with
the Spirit are practically synony-
NOUS. The expression used here
brings out the thought that the Holy
Spirit takes complete possession of
the faculties. The immediate result
was they "began to speak with other
tongues" (cf. Oh. 10:46; 1850.
II. The Multitude Amazed. 5.11.
The noise of the wind from heaven
was heard~by the multitudes without
". 6, r. W. TheyWushed together
to find out what it meant. The multi
tudes always gather when the Spirit
comes upon Gods people. The disci-
pies began to speak to them of the
mighty works Of God. Each n
heard them speaking in his own Ian
guage. The effects were startling and
various. They were ''confounded,',
amazed" they ~"marveled" and
were perplexed." Some thought the
disciples were drunk. Others "gladly
received the word,"an were bap-
TIED. The conversions were very
numerous and very thorough Tvs. 6,
Z, II, IS, 81, II, AZ, A, 45). SINH
lar and equally varied effects follow
to-day when men and one are
filled with the Holy Spirit and speak
as the Spirit gives them utterance.
These Spirit-flled men and women
did not talk much about themselves.
but about "the mighty works of Cod"
". III. The mighty work of God
that they especially emphasized was
His raising Jesus Christ from the
dead Tvs. "a, 32). The Spirit-illed
man is quite likely 70 be much occu-
pied with the resurrection of Christ
(cf. Oh. 1915; As, 10, 81, 33). That
some attributed the state of the disci-
pies to intoxication is not strange. for
b effect of both wine and Of the
~ In - ~