Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective here is Gideon Levitan.

Gideon Levytam: Can we please turn to Acts chapter 2 and I would like this ministry meeting to finish with the second chapter and to see the result of the first message that the church, the assembly, the congregation preached in the city of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. The result of the first preaching that the apostle Peter Shimon Petros have preached to the Jewish people who came from many countries on the feast of Shavuot, the feast of Pentecost, the feast of weeks. And what a wonderful message Peter have preached to these many Jewish people that were there when they have seen what have happened when the Holy Spirit of God when came and formed the body of Messiah.

And so we read today from chapter 2 and verse 37. And please follow with me. I'm going to read to the end of the chapter to verse 47. And so we read now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles men and brethren what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah for the remissions of sins. And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

And with many other words did he testify and exhort saying save yourselves from this untoward generation. And they that gladly received his word they were baptized. Or in Hebrew we call it And the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need.

And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added unto the church, unto the assembly, unto the Kehilla such as should be saved. And that's the conclusion of Acts chapter 2 the last verses. Now brothers and sisters this is so beautiful and so interesting as we study the book of Acts because really what we really see here in those verses we see not so much even the acts of the apostles but what we really see here in these chapters the acts of the Holy Spirit of God in the lives of many.

First of all from among the nation of Israel in these chapters, later on from among the Samaritans and later on from the Gentile world, we see the acts of the the Holy Spirit of God, how the Holy Spirit of God is working in lives of individuals and bringing them to the knowledge of Yeshua our Lord Yeshua Ha Mashiach Jesus our Lord and our Messiah. And here in these last verses of chapter 2 verses 37 to 47 we see clearly what happened about 2,000 years ago in the city of Jerusalem. Well remember it was earlier verses where we have read that what Peter did in the proclamation of the gospel he preached simply the person and the work of Yeshua the Messiah.

When the gospel is being preached we have no other message to give. We have no other message. We don't give a message of a certain denomination. We don't bring a message about certain great men, great leaders. We bring and we are responsible like Peter to bring the simple message of the gospel concerning the person of Yeshua the Messiah. His perfect life, his obedience to God, his ultimate death for us on the tree, his burial, his resurrection and ultimately his ascension and he's coming again in a soon coming day. This is what Peter have done. He's preached to them Yeshua from Nazareth in verse 22.

He spoke about his death in verse 23. He spoke about his resurrection in verse 24 and so on. And he brought the Old Testament the Tanakh, the Psalms before the nation, before the people whom he was speaking with. He brought the word of God in the midst of the people. And so as he was preaching to the nation, you remember what he said to them in verse 36? Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made that same Yeshua whom ye have crucified both adorned that his Lord and Mashiach this is Messiah and Christ God who have sent the Messiah had made him Lord and Messiah.

While the nation as a nation have refused to accept him in his first coming but God have declared to the world and here to the nation of Israel that he is both Lord and the anointed one. The word for Lord by the way the word adorn here mean that he's Lord of the life of mankind. The Messiah means that he's the answer for the need of men. Men need a savior, need a Messiah and he is God's provision for mankind. It's not different today. Today if anybody going to come to God he must come on a basis of the finish work of the same one that was from the city of Nazareth rejected by men, the same Lord Jesus the Messiah.

So you know what happened? The proclamation of the message Peter did not trust himself. Peter trusted that the spirit of God that just came and formed the body of Messiah that this same Holy Spirit will be the one who will convict. And look what we see here in verse 37 the Holy Spirit of God touched their heart pricked their heart. You see it says here in verse 37 when they heard this they were pricked in their heart. This is exactly what the spirit of God has to do in every individual's life. The spirit of God have to touch their heart.

We cannot make somebody change. We cannot change the heart. The Holy Spirit of God has to change the heart. So there was a preaching of the word. They heard the word of God that that tells us what Romans 10 teaches us that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans chapter 10 and verse 17. So they heard the word verse 37 and they were pricked in their heart. They were convicted. They recognized that there is a problem in their heart, that they rejected the Messiah, that he was the one who loved them and gave himself for them and their heart was moved.

The Lord touched their heart. The Holy Spirit of God touched their heart and then it said and they said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles. By the way you can see from this verse that even though Peter was the one who spoke for the disciples and for the apostles but all the people, all the Jewish people who gathered there for the feast of Shavuot did not only ask this from Peter but they spoke to all the apostles. and they said to them men and brethren what shall we do? You see they shared this with all the apostles and they said to them men, they called them men and they called them brethren.

Now of course they were their brethren as Jewish they were their brethren in the flesh. They were their Jewish brethren. Even though they were not yet saved, they were not yet forgiven, they haven't yet accepted the Messiah into their heart but yet they asked their brethren the apostles, they asked to them what shall we do? Now this question at least twice it is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament in the Brit What shall we do? I want us to see this. There's a person who asked what shall I do? In a wrong way, had a wrong motive.

And then there's another person who asked the same thing what shall I do? But he had the right motive. Go to Luke chapter 10 for a moment. In Luke chapter 10 you remember the story that Yeshua was telling to the people whom he was communicating there in chapter 10. Of course he was sharing with the leaders of Israel. He was telling them certain things and so on. But you notice it says there that the certain lawyer he was studying the Pharisees' law. And this certain lawyer, he stood up and he tempted the Messiah and he said master what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Now here's a wrong motive. You cannot ask the Lord or ask the people of God what should I do if your motives are wrong? Here's a man who was a lawyer and his motives were really wrong. He really was not intending to turn to God. He was really not intending to be brought to Yeshua the Messiah. He was asking the Lord by desiring to find fault in the Lord Jesus the Messiah tempting him. What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And you notice to him Yeshua answered to him what is written in your law?

And this man tried to justify himself. He wanted to gain life on a basis of his works. And Yeshua had to correct him. And Yeshua had to show him that there is nothing that he can do in order to earn eternal life. There is nothing that he can do. So his motives were wrong. He sought to tempt the Lord. He sought to cause the Lord Yeshua to stumble and to fall and the Lord exposed him with the reality of his heart. That's the one man. But there is another man that we find him this time in the book of Acts as well in Acts chapter 16.

And this is if you turn with me to Acts chapter 16 and look at the verses there and especially in verse 30 of Acts chapter 16 it was the jailer that held earlier the apostle Paul and Silas. And you remember this jailer who had them in jail at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang songs to God and the prisoners heard them and you remember suddenly there was an earthquake and the foundation of the prison was shaken immediately and all the doors were opening in a miraculous way. The doors were open and everyone's bands were loose.

And that jailer was shaking with fear. He was really troubled now. He really realized that there is the power of God and these men Paul and Silas were men of God. So he came trembling. Notice that? He says here in verse 29 and 30 then he called for light and he sprang in and he came trembling and he fell down before Paul and Silas and he brought them out and he said to them what must I do to be saved? Here's another man who was trembling before God with the fear of God at this moment because of what have occurred there in a jail where they were in Philippi and this Philippian jailer was sincere in his request what shall I do?

And they had to tell him believe on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and you shall be saved. There's nothing you can do but there's a responsibility that the person have is to believe in what Yeshua, what the Lord Jesus the Messiah have done and to accept him, to embrace him into one's heart. So there is one man who asked what shall I do? But he was not real. He was not genuine. That's the lawyer. There was another man who asked what shall I do and he was real. He meant business. He really was trembling before the Lord, before God as he was speaking to his servants.

And here again now we don't have an individual here but we have a multitude of Jewish people who came to celebrate the feast of Shavuot. And they came to Peter and they spoke to the apostles and they said to them men and brethren what shall we do? You know this is something that every person need to come to that point that he or she ask this question. God here I am. I've seen you've spoken to me. Your spirit of God touched my heart. I've heard the word of God. I've heard the message of the gospel.

What I need to do now? God show me. Lord show me what I need to do. And look what Peter says. Peter speak the to these Jewish men and women in the city of Jerusalem. He gives them the facts. He doesn't ask from them to do anything in order to earn salvation but he gives them the simple facts. He said to them in verse 38 two things he tell them. Number one repent number two be baptized. Now unfortunately in many circles as far as I understand many individuals at least taught and maybe some still do teach that in order to be saved it's not only that you need to repent and believe but you need to get baptized.

And this is as far as I'm concerned, as far as I understand from the scripture it's not correct because baptism on its own does never save a soul. Water baptism is a testimony to the identification with the death and the burial of Yeshua the Messiah. It doesn't save but a saved individual in obedience to the Lord would get baptized in identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. But what is essential and notice the difference it began first of all with the necessity of repentance. Oh I tell you brothers and sisters this is so hard for the human race to repent.

The Greek word here for repentance is which means to have a change of mind. That's what it means. Metanoia in the Greek simply means to have a change of mind. To change your mind about God to change your mind about yourself to change your mind about your ways of life, to change your mind is to take 180° and to change in direction. You cannot do it on your own but you need to have this desire and a change of mind. You see the problem in general in the whole human race is the problem with men do not want to recognize that he or she are simply falling short of the glory of God.

That all have sinned and come short of God's demand from the human race. And the natural man think that he is sufficient. I can accomplish something on my own. I can do something on my own. And here Peter saying to these Jewish people who came to celebrate listen you have to have a change of mind. And specifically by the way because of the text here because he was writing to and speaking to the Jewish people there in the city of Jerusalem is the change of mind towards the person of Yeshua the Messiah. And I would like to remind you brothers and sisters that these individuals that were here in Acts chapter 2 were part of the greater nation of Israel who did not acknowledge that Yeshua was the Messiah.

The leadership did not recognize So it is important to understand that baptism is important not for salvation but as a testimony of identification with the Lord Jesus the Messiah and his death, burial and resurrection. And so he used the word baptism. Now I want us to understand that it's not like today. When a Jewish man in first century had been baptized or we call it in Hebrew baptism was connected or identifying with something that was going to happen or a certain leader or what he's teaching. When they were called to baptize there they were identifying publicly before their own nation with the rejected Messiah the Lord Jesus himself.

For those early believers it meant for them rejection by their people dispersion by the nation looked at them as those that we call them or destroyed being called today those that are not recognized among the nation because they believed that Yeshua was the Messiah. Baptism for first century believers were not like today. Today somebody accept the Lord he or she are saved and you know they can get baptized 3 months later, 6 months later, 1 year and so on. And it's become like a nice celebration where we are enjoying to see a person get baptized.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levitan. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry write to Holy Scriptures and Israel box 1411 Niagara on the Lake Ontario L0S 1J0 or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program visit holyscripturesandisrael.com.

God bless you. Shalom Shalom.