In our forensic study of the early church, we are examining the first weeks after Pentecost. With the mindset that the return of Jesus was imminent, the decision was made by the apostles to start home groups. There was a lot of logistics that needed attention since the day when 3,000 converts were added.

Most of these new Christians came from other nations and had no homes in the Jerusalem area which could be utilized. The apostles and the 70 others functioned as pastor/teachers as they went from group to group, repeating what Jesus had said and done. None of the Gospels or epistles existed at this point and the foundational teachings of the New Testament were spread by word of mouth.

Up to this point, there had been no further clashes with the ungodly Jewish leadership. Caiaphas and the rest of the vermin were certainly aware of the people joining the Galilean movement on the day of Pentecost, but had yet to take action against them.

This was going to change when Peter and John visited the temple for prayer and encountered a lame man. The man had been unable to walk since birth and the Holy Spirit prompted Peter to speak healing to the man and the miracle was instantaneous. The incapacitated man was thrilled to gain the use of his legs after four decades.

The formerly lame man’s jubilant cries of praise to God caused a great commotion since he was known by many as the lame beggar. The fact that he now stood and walked around caused quite a stir and many questioned what happened. Peter began to preach to the huge crowd that had gathered to watch the lame man walking and leaping. In short, some 5,000 Jewish men were convicted by the Holy Spirit and chose to accept Jesus as their Messiah.

These two supernatural actions of the Holy Spirit were like poking a hornet’s nest and it did not take long for the priests and temple guard to question what was going on. The wickedness of these men was reflected in their decision to jail Peter and John so that they could be prosecuted the next day.

Lucifer witnessed these two events with sickening dismay. This was obviously a move of God. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual power associated with this event in each human was unlike anything seen thus far in history of mankind. The Godhead had never possessed men and women before and the Kingdom of Satan obviously needed a new form of attack. The war between the Church and the Devil which began some 2,000 years ago is still raging!

Print out the sermon outline and let’s examine the Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John S. Torell