INTRODUCTION:

A person can find a lot of teaching and revelation on the times when Christ was on the earth, walking with His disciples. The Gospels are full of the teachings and summaries of the signs and wonders. What would be exciting is to know is what He did after His resurrection, and the power that was revealed to those that He appeared to.

SHOW NOTES:

• Over a period of three and one-half years, the disciples walked with Jesus, witnessed many signs and wonders, and were taught many things, but they didn't seem to understand in many ways.

• After He arose, He sent them to the upper room, some 120 believers, saying, “You are not ready.”

• Receiving the Holy Spirit was the turning point when the disciples were enabled to receive what Christ was saying.

• His appearings over those 40 days after He rose reached thousands, and it empowered the disciples to become dynamic witnesses.

QUOTATIONS:

• He (the Father) wants to bring us into His likeness by virtue of His Son, the firstborn of many brethren.

• Most people when they talk about Christ, always talk about the time before the resurrection—His three and a half year ministry and the disciples walking with Him.

• For me personally, I would rather be there that 40 days after His resurrection and sit before a resurrected Lord: sit at His feet and receive the impartation and teaching from Him—must have been tremendous.

• Honestly, I think the day of Pentecost wasn't for the disciples; it was for the multitude. It was like an explosion of the Holy Spirit; there was a power in what they were moving in, which obviously they did not have before.

• They were eyewitnesses to Christ's resurrection. He appeared to them over and over again. Those appearings set in motion the great thing we know as the Church.

• The key to the salvation is His resurrection. Without resurrection, no power. There's no glory. There's nothing but death. The resurrection was the key to Him being the Son of God and to Him fulfilling everything that He had come for.

REFERENCES:

Matthew 28:6-7

He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold I have told you.

Luke 24:49

And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Acts 1;3

To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

John 14:16-17

“I will ask the Father , and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth , whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

Acts 2;17

“ And it shall be in the last days, “God says, “that I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Acts 2 :41

So then those who had received His word were baptized: and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

TAKE AWAY;

The power of the resurrected Lord was demonstrated over 40 days. In that time He taught keys about the Kingdom of God and opened up a new level of life for us who believe. Christ prayed for us to be able to follow Him in His ascension, where He is, we are to be also.

Dale:

Jesus Christ, our risen Lord is the testimony of the Father's plan for us. Can you imagine the magnitude of what He did? He having offered one sacrificed for all our sins. That tells me where God's focus is. He wanted to get our sins out of the way because He wants to create us. He wants to bring us into His likeness by virtue of His son, the firstborn of many brethren.

One of the things that I am constantly amazed at is when Christ was crucified. Prior to His ascension, we know the story that He told the 120 to go to Jerusalem and tarry in the upper room. Scriptures talk about the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecost.

Christ brought and imparted to them the Holy Spirit. How did Peter get up and speak just a few days after Christ's crucifixion and set the world on fire?

Ron:

Most people, I think when they talk about Christ, they're usually and the disciples; they always talk about the time before the resurrection. So they're talking about, His three and a half year ministry and them walking with Him and everything that He did, the miracles and everything that He said.

I was thinking about that and I thought. Okay, so Christ is crucified, and then He's resurrected and He begins to appear to these disciples. But He doesn't just appear, He begins to teach them. He begins to speak about the things of the kingdom of God. One of the first things that Christ says to them is He breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit.

I believe that they did receive the Holy Spirit at that time, and that's what enabled them then to receive what He was saying. To understand by revelation what He was saying, because He was teaching them about the Kingdom of God. It says that He did many convincing proofs so that He didn't leave a doubt in their minds of who He was.

So for me personally, I would rather be there that 40 days after His resurrection and sit before a resurrected Lord; sit at His feet and receive the impartation and the teaching from Him must have been tremendous for those guys.

Debbie:

I wonder why they didn't record any of that.

Ron:

It's really interesting. The thing about it is you see the evidence of that teaching at the day of Pentecost. You see the evidence of the impartation on the day of Pentecost. There was an explosion of the Holy Spirit. Honestly, I think the day of Pentecost wasn't for the disciples. It was for the multitude. They had received the Holy Spirit, so it wasn't like they needed the Holy Spirit.

It was like an explosion of the Holy Spirit where it just drew everybody in and they begin to speak. Well, we know with tongues and Peter stood up and spoke a word that imparted and brought thousands in. , There was a power in what they were moving in, which obviously they did not have before. A lot happened between His resurrection and His ascension.

Dale:

It was power endued from on high.

Debbie:

Yeah. ,

Dale:

That's what He did prior to the day of Pentecost, is He communicated that power to all those who would listen. A number of people that He appeared to before His ascension, several hundred; that He appeared to.

But on the day of Pentecost, several hundred turned into thousands. Another thing that the disciples did, they were eyewitnesses to Christ Resurrection. He appeared to them over and over again. Those appearings set in motion the great thing we know of the church; He built right there on that day. And how it was expanded and is grown based upon their witness. They saw Him, they touched Him, they listened to Him. They even sat down and ate together.

Debbie:

The key to the salvation is His resurrection. Without resurrection, no power. There's no glory, there's no, there's nothing but death. The resurrection was the key to Him being the son of God and to Him fulfilling everything that He had come for.

He was seen by His disciples. And by many others after His resurrection is an awesome witness to confirmation of His resurrection. He came to bring us life and that more abundantly. The lordship of Jesus Christ is based on his resurrection really.

Dale:

Christ prayed for us to be able to follow Him in His ascension. That is phenomenal, and I'm not sure how many people know that? Christ asked the Father that we might follow Him. What a Lord we got. He's out there drawing us, going to the Father and asking on our behalf that we join Him. We do the same for one another. Our heart before the Lord is we all be glorified together.