Peter's House

What started off as a progressive study/sermon, keeping in time with the time after the 'Passion Week' of
Christ, His death, Resurrection, and Ascension; the study/sermon turned to Jesus' disciples, who they were
and about them. Peter and John, the beloved disciple, got the first series picking up at the end of the Gospel of
Luke, and moving into the Acts of the Apostles.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a
violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to
be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you
who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as
you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "'In the last days,
God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will
see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my
Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before
the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.' "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed
over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by
nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it
was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my
body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see
decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' "Brothers, I
can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he
was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his
throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the
grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted
to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what
you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit
at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' "Therefore let all Israel be assured of
this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far
off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with
them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and
about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:14-41

Peter had just asserted himself to the position that Jesus' had appointed, ordained, and empowered him to.
The Church was birthed and anointed with the Holy Spirit that day. "Every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved.'

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. Now a
man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to
beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for
money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his
attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I
have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him
up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he
went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. Acts 3:1-8

Once again, the Peter theologians depict as impetuous, undisciplined, and a motor-mouth, defends himself
with yet another powerful message from the heart of God as he says, 'Men of Israel, why does this surprise
you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be
killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and
Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him
from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was
made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to
him, as you can all see. "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is
how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent,
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Act 3:12-19
And another 5000 was added to the church that day. This Peter, when push came to shove, when the heat was
on, when the ruling authorities were attempting to censor what he was doing 'In the name of Jesus', he was
quoted as saying, 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we
cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.' Acts 4:19-20.

Even though persecuted, whipped and beaten, arrested and thrown in jail, Peter and John stood in their faith,
acting on the Word deposited in them; and upon release from jail, they taught and prayed with others. They
taught, 'They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.' "Now, Lord, consider
their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal
and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After they prayed,
the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the
word of God boldly. Acts 4:28-31. The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the
people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade, more and more men and women
believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and
laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds
gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and
all of them were healed. Acts 5:12-16

Their callings to Jesus are all recorded in the 4 gospels. The next day John was there again with two of his
disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him
say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will
see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed
Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah"
(that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John.
You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.
Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about
whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! Can anything good come
from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said
of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael
declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." John 1:35-49

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening
to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their
nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore.
Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put
out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night
and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they
caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other
boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon
Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all
his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So
they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11

While the calling of Matthew is basically the same through out each gospel, I chose Mark's for his use of
Matthew's given name. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth.
"Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. Mark 2:14. The remaining gospel seem silent
on the calling of the other disciples other than his naming them as listed here in Matthew 10:1-4; He called his
twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James
son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James
son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. I would present this
idea that would suggest the calling of the others as well as those not listed, Andrew told his brother; Phillip
told his friend, Nathaniel; John, probably being a disciple of John the Baptist as Andrew and Philip, prepared
his brother James; Levi would have spoken to his brothers Thomas and James, who in turn would tell his son,
Thaddaeus. I would believe the pairing of the twelve proved unmistakable when you compare the gospels
(Luke's gospel is the only one out of step and only in this pairing); Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip
and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James and Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, that
these men are paired with friends, brothers, and sons, with the exception of Simon and Judas, whose only
linkage seems to be the possibly of being both from historical Canaan.

Still in all of this, these twelve were no more different than you or I. Just as we are given the choice that Jesus
offered each of them, 'Follow Me', these twelve made the right choice, and their lives and the lives of all others
were changed dramatically by those events. They followed in the steps of the 'Judges' God would raise up and
empower to rule ancient Israel. These twelve, as us, took from the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the
blessings bestowed upon them, the love and the forgiveness offered them, the power granted unto them from on
High, believed and stood upon them and their promises, and turned the world upside down (These that have
turned the world upside down are come hither also, Acts 17:6). They were constantly aware of the fact that 'God
was WITH them', 'in them', and 'upon them', wherever they were. What they received from Jesus in John 20:22
when He breathed on them, what they received from the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-4, radically
changed each of them, as it will us also; and transformed them into the persons God created them and us to be,
'For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for
us to do.' Eph 2:10