Memory Text: Acts 2:2-4 KJV “2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”

Sunday, April 23 Faith and the Promise
Acts 1:4-5 KJV “4 And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
Acts 1:5 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Christ baptizes with the Holy Ghost, for the destruction of sin, the illumination of the mind, and the consolation of the heart.
John 14:16-26 NKJV “16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—— 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 ¶ "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 "At that day you will know that I [am] in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. 25 ¶ "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
John 16:7-13 NKJV “7 ¶ "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now. 13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority], but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
How can we personally cultivate faith so we can receive the Holy Spirit?
Deuteronomy 4:9 MKJV “Only take heed to yourself and keep your soul carefully, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. But teach them to your sons, and your sons’ sons.”
Psalm 119:1-2 Holman “1 ¶ How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the law of the LORD! 2 Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart.”
Colossians 3:1-2 Holman “1 ¶ So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.”

Monday, April 24 Waiting as Preparation
What was the key element that helped the disciples to be ready?
Acts 1:14 Holman “All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.”
Acts 1:14 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES With one mind; unitedly; unanimously. There were no schisms, no divided interests, no discordant purposes. This is a beautiful picture of devotion, and a specimen of what social worship ought now to be, and a beautiful illustration of Ps 133:1-3. The apostles felt that they had one great object; and their deep grief at the loss of their Master, their doubts and perplexities, led them, as all afflictions ought to lead us, to the throne of grace.
What had caused dissension among the disciples in the past?
Mark 9:33-34 KJ21 “33 And He came to Capernaum; and being in the house, He asked them, "What was it that ye disputed among yourselves on the way?" 34 But they held their peace, for on the way they had disputed among themselves as to who should be the greatest.”
Luke 22:24 KJ21 “And there was also a contention among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.”
Luke 22:24 COMMENTARY THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL They thought that Jesus was about to set up his kingdom, and began at once to contend for the chief places. Jesus rebukes this false ambition in much the same manner as he had previously.

Tuesday, April 25 The Pentecostal Fulfillment
Acts 2:1-2 God’s Word to the Nations “1 ¶ When Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Passover, came, all the believers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly, a sound like a violently blowing wind came from the sky and filled the whole house where they were staying.”
Acts 2:2 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES From heaven. Appearing to rush down from the sky. It was fitted, therefore, to attract their attention no less from the direction from which it came, than on account of its suddenness and violence. Tempests blow, commonly, horizontally. This appeared to come from above; and this is all that is meant by the expression, "from heaven." How do these texts help us understand what was spiritually taking place?
Exodus 23:16 NIV “"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.”
John 4:35 NIV “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

Wednesday, April 26 Heaven and the Outpouring
Acts 2:22-35 KJ21 “22 "Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate will and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. 24 But God hath raised Him up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David speaketh concerning Him: ‘I beheld the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope, 27 because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance.’ 29 "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn an oath to him that from the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, 31 David, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ that ‘His soul was not left in hell, neither did His flesh see corruption.’ 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore, being exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he himself saith, ‘The LORD said unto my Lord, "Sit Thou on My right hand 35 until I make Thy foes Thy footstool."’”

Thursday, April 27 The Gift of Language
Acts 2:5-15 NKJV “5 ¶ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 "And how [is it that] we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 "Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 "Cretans and Arabs——we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" 13 Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." 14 ¶ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 "For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is [only] the third hour of the day.”
Acts 2:6 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY Speak in his own language. Of the foreign country in which he had been reared.
Acts 2:5 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Use may naturally suppose that, as soon as any person presented himself to one of these disciples, he, the disciple, was immediately enabled to address him in his own language, however various this had been from the Jewish or Galilean dialects. If a Roman presented himself, the disciple was immediately enabled to address him in Latin-if a Grecian, in Greek-an Arab, in Arabic, and so of the rest.
Acts 2:7 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY The title “Galilaeans” seems to have been used scornfully, because the inhabitants of Galilee lacked culture. It was all the more surprising, therefore, to find men of Galilee fluently speaking foreign languages.
How does this text help us understand the text above?
Mark 16:17 NKJV “"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.”
Mark 16:17 COMMENTARY BY WILLIAM BURKITT Yet observe, That all the miracles which they had power to work, were healing and beneficient; not terrifying judgments, but acts of kindness and mercy. It was our Saviour's design to bring over persons to Christianity by lenity, mildness, and gentleness, not to affright them into a compliance with astonishing judgment, which might affect their fear, but little influence their faith: for the will and consent of persons to the principles of any religion, especially the Christian, is like a royal fort which must not be stormed by violence, but taken by surrender.