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Caption transcript for Much Like Peter: “Tongues of Fire” (7/9)

• 00:01 David Hart: Shalom, hello again. On today's program, a Galilean fisherman speaks to the crowds in the Temple courts, but he
• 00:11 had help from the Holy Spirit. That's coming up next on "Our Jewish Roots," with Bible
• 00:14 teaching by Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
• 00:19 narrator: Sunrise on the Galilee.
• 00:22 Simon Peter prepares his nets for a day at sea.
• 00:25 Much like the sea, Peter was unpredictable, calm and steady,
• 00:31 and then, in an instant, tempestuous.
• 00:35 As we reflect upon the Lord's most intriguing disciple,
• 00:39 we can see ourselves because we too have been broken
• 00:43 and then restored.
• 00:46 We too, in so many ways, are much like Peter.
• 00:56 David: Thank you for joining us today; I am David Hart.
• 00:58 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
• 01:00 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Jeffrey Seif.
• 01:01 David: So much of our series takes place in the Galilee,
• 01:04 but right now in today's program we're going to
• 01:07 Old City Jerusalem, correct?
• 01:09 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, it's just great to go to the Holy Land.
• 01:12 Kirsten: It is, and today we see that Peter boldness come alive.
• 01:17 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Transformation.
• 01:18 You know, he's a new guy. Got the Holy Spirit in him.
• 01:20 He's a different kind of character.
• 01:22 Kirsten: Transfiguration, transformation, a lot of big
• 01:25 words, but it's a simple life but God used it mightily.
• 01:29 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, yes, yes.
• 01:31 Kirsten: David and I love going to the Old City on our tours and
• 01:34 the Jerusalem stone, that golden stone, is so beautiful, but we
• 01:39 try to think if those stones could speak and tell their
• 01:43 story, they surely would talk about Messiah's time in
• 01:47 that ancient city, but I know for sure they'd speak
• 01:51 about the day when Peter was bold and the Holy Spirit
• 01:56 spoke through him and 3000 were saved.
• 02:01 Let's see what happened.
• 03:50 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I can't tell you when we're going to see
• 03:52 him, but I can tell you that we all can experience him.
• 03:59 The reason why I say that is because in the book called Acts,
• 04:05 Acts of the Apostles--and frankly, I don't think it's
• 04:07 a very good name for the book.
• 04:09 I say that because it doesn't record the acts of the apostles;
• 04:13 it records some of the acts of Peter, a lot of the acts of
• 04:19 Paul, but really, it speaks of the acts of the Spirit working
• 04:24 through individuals whom we refer to as apostles.
• 04:28 You know the story, I imagine, in the 2nd chapter of
• 04:31 this book that we call Acts.
• 04:33 We're told that the talmidim, that the disciples
• 04:37 were gathered together.
• 04:38 And then in chapter 2, verse 4, we're told that they were
• 04:42 "filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit."
• 04:47 This happened on a day called Pentecost, which I should say,
• 04:51 by the way, most Christians think is a Christian holiday
• 04:55 because of the Christian event that happened on that day.
• 04:58 But before it ever was a Christian holiday,
• 05:01 it was a Jewish holiday.
• 05:02 In fact, Pentecost is just a Greek word for 50 days.
• 05:05 It is a holy day that Jews know as Shavuot: shavua, week;
• 05:12 shavuot, weeks; the Feast of Weeks, 47 weeks and a day;
• 05:17 50 days, Pentecost in the Greek, is a Hebrew holiday that
• 05:21 commemorates, interestingly, in Judaism, the day when Moshe
• 05:25 Rabbenu, when Moses, was up on Mount Sinai and he came and he
• 05:29 delivered the luchots, the tablets.
• 05:32 It's the birthday of the Older Testament economy.
• 05:37 Interestingly, on this day, it's the birthday of the Newer
• 05:41 Testament's economy, that is, the outpouring of the Holy
• 05:45 Spirit, inasmuch as Moshe Rabbenu came down from the
• 05:48 mountain with the tablets, with the luchots,
• 05:51 with the commandments.
• 05:52 Here, the Lord comes down with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, the Holy
• 05:56 Spirit, and we're told in verse 4: "They were all filled
• 06:01 with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues."
• 06:05 It's a fascinating story, by the way, and you know from
• 06:09 other readings in the Bible, this is what it's all
• 06:12 about at the end of the day.
• 06:14 In the Gospel of John, therein Jesus speaks of being
• 06:18 born again in the 3rd chapter.
• 06:20 And ask what that's all about.
• 06:21 It's born of the Spirit.
• 06:24 We'll look a little more deeply at it.
• 06:26 If you're not familiar with it, I beckon you to do so, because
• 06:29 when push comes to shove, the experience with Jesus is less
• 06:34 about going to a catechism class in a denomination; it's more of
• 06:38 being born anew and being regenerated, and when people
• 06:43 are regenerated, there's changes, there's power,
• 06:47 there's dunamis in the Greek.
• 06:48 There's something that happens internally, and it happened to
• 06:52 these disciples back then and it can happen to us today.
• 06:57 ♪♪♪
• 07:03 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I could, and perhaps I should, but I won't.
• 07:08 What I could do but what I won't do is spend too much time
• 07:11 talking about doctrine, worthy as it is in its own right to
• 07:16 talk about the doctrine and the Holy Spirit.
• 07:18 But the reason why I don't want to, is I'm more apt to focus on
• 07:22 the transformative effect that receiving the Holy Spirit
• 07:27 has on a person's life.
• 07:29 And I mention that because we see that at play when we look in
• 07:33 the literature, and I think it's so important not just for a look
• 07:37 at the book which I've alluded to and which I'll look at it
• 07:41 again, but I think it's important because you, me, we,
• 07:44 need transformation, that is, change.
• 07:48 There really is something inherently powerful with the
• 07:51 Holy Spirit and it's evidenced not just in what Peter says
• 07:57 but in the fact that he's doing the saying.
• 08:01 I mention that because in Acts chapter 2, the once-sheepish,
• 08:06 fearful, denying Peter, he's emboldened to speak now.
• 08:13 We're told in verse 14 that he stands up and then
• 08:16 he raises his voice.
• 08:19 That is, he who was disinclined to be associated with Jesus for
• 08:25 fear of the crowd earlier, now speaks boldly publicly.
• 08:29 That, itself, evidences something that has changed
• 08:34 within the man the constitution.
• 08:38 We look at ourselves and see our own human foibles and
• 08:41 we see 'em in others as well.
• 08:43 Could it be that people really can change, and the answer to
• 08:48 that question is yes.
• 08:52 Because of the agency of the Holy Spirit, when people reach
• 08:55 up to God, he reaches down to us and he's in the
• 08:59 business of changing people.
• 09:02 Our constitutions can be transformed.
• 09:05 In fact, the word "trans" is a Latin prefix for cross.
• 09:09 You have a flight, a transatlantic flight,
• 09:12 it crosses the Atlantic.
• 09:14 There's something inherent in the gospel that precipitates
• 09:17 some translation, some movement, into something else, a newer,
• 09:23 a better, and more powerful way of being.
• 09:27 That's not something that Peter experienced, that's not
• 09:30 something that you could experience if you're
• 09:32 here in the Holy Land.
• 09:34 Yes, Peter got it, yes, I have it here, but
• 09:36 you can have it there.
• 09:38 Whoever you are, wherever you sit, whatever your life is all
• 09:41 about, I want you to know that the Pentecost in Acts chapter 2,
• 09:46 yes, it can happen in you.
• 09:49 ♪♪♪
• 09:59 ♪♪♪
• 10:05 David: Our resource this week: Three beautiful magnets of
• 10:07 Jerusalem, featuring photography by our own Kenneth Berg.
• 10:12 These magnets are a wonderful addition for your
• 10:14 refrigerator or filing cabinet, and a great reminder to
• 10:17 pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• 10:21 When you contact us, ask for a copy of this series on DVD
• 10:24 for yourself or to give to a loved one.
• 10:27 Call 1-800-WONDERS or visit us at LEVITT.COM.
• 10:35 David: "Our Jewish Roots" is more than just
• 10:37 a television program.
• 10:38 See what you are missing on our social media outlets.
• 10:42 Kirsten: On Facebook and Twitter, you'll find our daily
• 10:45 "Name of God" devotional, current news articles,
• 10:48 the Bearded Bible Brothers, and more.
• 10:51 David: On our YouTube channel, you'll find Faith Foundations,
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• 11:00 Kirsten: Or find everything on our website, levitt.com.
• 11:03 David: We invite you to keep in touch and join us
• 11:05 on social media.
• 11:09 David: We've been so blessed for the last 6 years to be
• 11:12 taking tours in the fall and the spring to Israel.
• 11:15 We ask our pilgrims when we go, "What is your favorite
• 11:18 moment of going on a trip with us?"
• 11:21 And without a doubt, they say, "Going to the Sea of Galilee."
• 11:26 It really is life-changing.
• 11:27 It's one of our favorite places to go.
• 11:29 This whole series is about the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias.
• 11:33 We would love for you to join us on a tour.
• 11:36 I think it will be one of your favorite places also.
• 11:38 Dr. Seif teaches there in this whole series.
• 11:41 We're singing there.
• 11:43 Kirsten: I was gonna say, it's so beautiful and peaceful.
• 11:46 It's hard to explain.
• 11:48 You will feel it and you will feel his peace when you're on
• 11:53 that body of water and in that land; it's amazing.
• 11:56 I just wanna let all of you know, if you have missed any
• 12:00 of our programs, we have some friends that recently
• 12:02 found out about what we do and they said, "We're loving
• 12:05 watching your old series."
• 12:07 You can go to levitt.com and click on--if you click on "TV,"
• 12:12 well, everything probably below me right now is
• 12:14 showing you how to get there.
• 12:15 And you can watch past series.
• 12:17 And that costs nothing.
• 12:19 It costs production a lot of money to put together,
• 12:23 but it's free for you.
• 12:24 If you see value in what we're bringing to you on a weekly
• 12:28 basis, would you consider becoming a regular
• 12:31 supporter of our program?
• 12:33 We would say to you "Toda raba," which is Hebrew for
• 12:36 "Thank you so very much."
• 12:39 David: Yes, we continue now with our story of Peter.
• 12:41 It's the Feast of Shavuot, Pentecost, and we find him
• 12:45 sharing his faith with others who wanna be baptized and
• 12:48 learn more about their place in the kingdom of God.
• 12:51 Here we go.
• 12:53 [Peter speaking in Hebrew]
• 14:03 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: There's a reason why I turned and
• 14:06 walked toward the camera.
• 14:09 I wanted to illustrate what Peter says when the crowd says,
• 14:14 "What shall we do?"
• 14:17 He said, "Repent."
• 14:20 Now, the word "repent" in Hebrew, "teshuvah,"
• 14:23 means to turn.
• 14:25 It's as in to change your direction, that is to say,
• 14:29 I opted to take a course toward the camera.
• 14:34 Repentance harks to turning and focusing on someone,
• 14:39 that is, the Lord.
• 14:41 The Greek word "metanoia" says much the same.
• 14:44 It means in that case, however, meta, change; noia or noesis,
• 14:48 which means mind.
• 14:50 But the term in the Hebrew, I think, is more descript.
• 14:54 In Acts 2, you know, Peter is there, speaking on Shavuot, on
• 14:59 Pentecost, and we're told, interestingly, in verse 37,
• 15:04 people that heard his message, "they were cut to the heart,"
• 15:09 that is, something internal to them presented a kind of
• 15:14 desperation that something needed to be done.
• 15:18 This is less than responding to Jesus for a felt need, help for
• 15:23 a relationship or help with an addiction.
• 15:28 While all that's there, it's less coming to Jesus to get help
• 15:33 with something in life, as much as it is turning with the
• 15:38 realization there's something inherently wrong in life.
• 15:41 And one is minded to turn the direction toward the Lord.
• 15:46 That's what he says.
• 15:47 They say, "What should we do?"
• 15:49 And he says teshuvah, or change your direction.
• 15:53 We know the word "repent."
• 15:55 And, by the way, there's a lot of chutzpa in this, it takes
• 15:58 guts to speak to people this way but, as I mentioned
• 16:02 in a previous segment, filled with the Holy Spirit,
• 16:06 this man had guts.
• 16:07 "Peter said to them," in verse 38, "Repent, and let each of
• 16:11 you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for
• 16:16 the removal of your sins."
• 16:18 Or in the classical expression, "Repent and be baptized."
• 16:23 Now, by the way, baptism itself, people know of it from the
• 16:27 Christian tradition, but baptism predates it.
• 16:31 That is, the mikvah or the ritual bath was employed
• 16:35 in Judaism before the advent of Christianity and
• 16:38 it still is to this day.
• 16:41 If someone is encouraged to become Jewish and they go
• 16:46 through the conversion process, at the tail end of it,
• 16:49 there's the mikvah.
• 16:50 It's a complete baptism.
• 16:51 It's not a sprinkling.
• 16:53 They go into the mikvah a Gentile; they come
• 16:55 out of the mikvah a Jew.
• 16:57 They're born anew, to use the classical Jewish language.
• 17:02 This expression of going into the water and people present
• 17:05 with their dirt and they come out a clean kind of person, that
• 17:08 itself is symbolic of what happens to a person when,
• 17:12 in fact, they do repent.
• 17:15 Now, here in Israel and, of course, I'm coming
• 17:18 to you from the Holy Land.
• 17:19 Here in Israel, people come and there's a number of things they
• 17:22 wanna see and a number of things they wanna do.
• 17:25 Oftentimes, one of the things they wanna do is to be baptized
• 17:29 in the Jordan and I've done it on many an occasion, by the way.
• 17:33 I like to do it in the Hebrew. I'm there with people.
• 17:36 [speaking in Hebrew]
• 17:41 "I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son
• 17:44 and the Holy Spirit."
• 17:46 It's an exciting moment for people to be baptized
• 17:49 in the Jordan River.
• 17:50 It's an exciting moment when anyone changes the
• 17:53 trajectory of their life.
• 17:55 What's exciting is because people can immediately
• 17:59 have a transaction.
• 18:00 People come laden with guilt, with burdens of sin.
• 18:04 They come to the Lord, and can drop that on the quick.
• 18:07 They turn to the Lord, forgive--
• 18:11 They turn, they receive forgiveness, the newness of
• 18:14 life, the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.
• 18:18 They exchange their selfish, self-centered life for a life
• 18:23 with a focus on the Lord.
• 18:25 They become part of a new family, born anew, a faith
• 18:27 community, new friends, new ways of being.
• 18:31 The Lord puts a new song in their mouth.
• 18:34 There is so much that can happen, and it happens when
• 18:37 people do what Peter says here: when they repent and are
• 18:42 baptized in Jesus's name.
• 18:45 We're told here, as we go on that day, interestingly, in
• 18:48 verse 41, that "three thousand souls were added."
• 18:54 That's a pretty good altar call, what do you think?
• 18:56 Three thousand.
• 18:57 That number's not coincidental.
• 18:59 I mentioned at the outset that Pentecost itself is a Greek word
• 19:05 for a Hebrew holiday that in Judaism commemorates the day
• 19:08 when Moshe Rabbenu, when Moses comes down from Har Sinay, from
• 19:12 Mount Sinai, with the luchots, with the tablets.
• 19:15 And in chapter 32, verse 28, of Exodus, we're told when they go
• 19:20 down there, there's a golden calf and those that were
• 19:23 responsible for it were summarily executed as a result.
• 19:28 Three thousand, we're told, were executed on that day.
• 19:33 That is, they lost their life on Pentecost One.
• 19:37 Here in Acts chapter 2, when it's all brand new, Peter gets
• 19:42 up and speaks and what happens?
• 19:44 Three thousand people come to life.
• 19:48 Those numbers are not coincidental.
• 19:51 I think it's fascinating.
• 19:53 The Old Testament and the New Testament are genetically
• 19:55 connected, and it's all about God reaching down
• 19:58 to people like me and you.
• 20:01 Do yourself a favor.
• 20:03 Do what Peter said to do: repent and be baptized.
• 20:07 There's a whole new life waiting for you.
• 20:11 ♪♪♪
• 20:21 ♪♪♪
• 20:27 Kirsten: Ooh, I like bold Peter.
• 20:30 And here he is, filled with the Holy Spirit,
• 20:34 and 3000 came to faith.
• 20:37 That number is extremely significant, isn't it?
• 20:41 It goes all the way back to Moses.
• 20:42 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, on that day, Pentecost, in the
• 20:44 Older Testament, 3000 people were slain in the
• 20:47 golden calf incident.
• 20:49 I think God's keeping the books.
• 20:51 Kirsten: I like that, because here's the thing: I don't think
• 20:53 the church, the church as a whole, references that.
• 20:58 We think, "Oh, it's the birth of the Christians at--
• 21:02 in Pentecost and 30-- 3000 were saved."
• 21:06 They don't get the reference to Moses and the number.
• 21:09 It is very significant, I believe.
• 21:12 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, I'm pleased that people are turned
• 21:13 on to Jesus and have had an Acts 2 kind of
• 21:15 experience and appreciate it.
• 21:17 But as a Bible college seminary professor, I've always been
• 21:20 keen on wanting people to discover the Jewish roots of
• 21:23 the Christian faith and there is a little bit of a
• 21:26 disconnect there, to put it mildly.
• 21:28 Kirsten: Right, and then--but this number is very significant:
• 21:30 3000 lost, 3000 saved.
• 21:33 It's kind of like the new covenant God's bringing in
• 21:37 his people back.
• 21:38 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, that's just one of a number of
• 21:40 things in the text that I think are not accidental.
• 21:42 Kirsten: I like that. We like bold Peter.
• 21:45 We also like gentle giants.
• 21:47 And we've connected with someone, his name is
• 21:50 Daniel Carmel; I think of him as a gentle giant in this world.
• 21:55 He is a believer in Messiah.
• 21:57 He's as Hebrew and Israeli as you can get.
• 22:00 He is a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.
• 22:03 And David, you just recently had a time to chat with this
• 22:07 gorgeous human being, Daniel Carmel.
• 22:12 Daniel Carmel: And by then I was already a boat captain.
• 22:14 I used to work in Haifa Port before that.
• 22:16 And so I started looking for a job on the lake, and
• 22:19 the only job I could find was on the wooden boats
• 22:21 of the Sea of Galilee.
• 22:23 And the wooden boats of the Sea of Galilee, actually, we
• 22:29 are--99% of our work is with Christian believers.
• 22:33 And from that I started knowing Yeshua, you know?
• 22:41 Groups are coming with pastors, teachers, preachers, so I was
• 22:46 exposed to the Word of God day by day by day, hallelujah.
• 22:51 And many people told me about Yeshua.
• 22:53 Many people prayed for me.
• 22:54 And most of all, I could feel the presence.
• 22:59 And then, 5 years after I came over here, I just woke up
• 23:01 with great love to Yeshua, hallelujah.
• 23:04 David: So, our whole series is all about Peter, and even
• 23:09 in this series, I love to just be reminded of what Peter went
• 23:14 through in the Bible that we can take for ourselves.
• 23:18 Anything that Simon Peter might relate to you in your life?
• 23:23 Daniel: Yes, well, I'll tell you what, one of the chapters
• 23:25 I really love is John 21.
• 23:29 And in John 21, when Peter, you know, went back to fishing,
• 23:35 he was doing things by--on his own, you know,
• 23:40 decisions, his own mind.
• 23:43 And casting the net all night long, you know?
• 23:48 And then, Yeshua came and said, "Cast your net on the right side
• 23:51 of the boat," and then he caught so many fish, 153 actually.
• 23:59 And for me, it's really, you know, it's a proof that we can
• 24:09 never do anything on our own mind and trust ourselves.
• 24:14 Only by the Word of the Lord.
• 24:16 David: Amen, thank you for your testimony.
• 24:20 It was brief, I know there's so much more,
• 24:21 but you're an encouragement to us in
• 24:24 the Christian community, in the Messianic community.
• 24:27 Let's end with a song together.
• 24:29 Can you start us? Let's sing this.
• 24:31 ♪ Bless the Lord, O my soul ♪
• 24:35 ♪ O my soul ♪
• 24:39 ♪ Worship His Holy name ♪
• 24:44 ♪ Sing like never before, O my soul ♪
• 24:51 ♪ I worship Your Holy name ♪♪
• 24:59 David: On our tours to Israel, one of the highlights for
• 25:02 everyone that joins us is being with Daniel Carmel
• 25:06 on his Faith Boat.
• 25:08 It's life-changing for us, for you.
• 25:11 Join us. Please join us.
• 25:13 Think about joining us on a tour to Israel.
• 25:14 It will change your life.
• 25:16 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You know what really inspires me there?
• 25:19 And I've seen the sticks and the bricks, and I love going to the
• 25:21 Holy Land and seeing the sights, but I kind of feed off the
• 25:25 faces of those that see it for the first time.
• 25:28 To see them come alive,
• 25:29 there's something about that that resonates with me.
• 25:31 It gives me a little joy and spark that
• 25:33 wouldn't otherwise be there.
• 25:35 David: It's our 11th time and we still have that spark.
• 25:37 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, I'm over 50.
• 25:39 I go there to film, principally.
• 25:41 I do bump into the tours every now and again, but I just love
• 25:45 the inspired faces, I really do.
• 25:47 Kirsten: And it was a treat for us to be able to sing
• 25:48 a little bit with Daniel Carmel.
• 25:50 Just a little bit. But, gosh, his soul.
• 25:53 That's what you experience in the Holy Land.
• 25:56 It changes your life, even just a simple boat ride;
• 25:59 it can change it up.
• 26:01 David: Yes, we're not through with this series.
• 26:02 We've got one more.
• 26:03 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Ah, we've got programs to come,
• 26:06 and we'll do it next week.
• 26:07 Until then, shaalu shalom yerushalayim.
• 26:11 David: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• 26:14 ♪♪♪
• 26:23 ♪♪♪
• 26:33 ♪♪♪
• 26:43 ♪♪♪
• 26:53 ♪♪♪
• 27:03 ♪♪♪
• 27:13 ♪♪♪
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• 28:04 ♪♪♪
• 28:14 ♪♪♪
• 28:24 ♪♪♪