It is an overstatement to call these entries sermons, but these are the basic thoughts that I feel each passage is intended to communicate. If I were preaching each Sunday, this is the way I would divide the passages and the main ideas that would be involved. Remember, the Bible is a story book, not a dictionary or encyclopedia. This is the part of the story that explains the transition which takes place at the time when God sent His Son in fulfillment of His promise in Genesis 3:15 which inaugurates the New Covenant which He had promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34.
May 17, 2020 Acts 3:1-26
The setting is the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of prayer. The people were Jews who were familiar with the scriptures and were practicing them according to the teaching they had received from their leaders. This was a very normal setting, one that was experienced three times daily. Jesus had indicated that the fulfillment of the commission He had given His followers would begin here, in Jerusalem.
The event recorded here begins very normally with a lame beggar asking alms of them that entered the temple. Simultaneously another very familiar event takes place. Peter and John, continuing the practices associated with the temple, were about to enter the temple for prayer at a scheduled time when saw the lame beggar and initiated a conversation with him. His expectation was that they would give him alms but Peter explained that they had nothing of that sort for him, but told him to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Then the unusual begins. The lame man is helped to a standing position by Peter and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened, and he leaped up and walked praising God. It is interesting to note that he made the association between “Jesus Christ of Nazareth” in whose name the healing took place and “God” whom he was praising. The people observing the event, however, knowing that he was the lame beggar, were filled with wonder and amazement.
As Peter observed them gathering in Solomon’s porch and expressing their wonder, he recognized an opportunity too great to pass up and broke into a sermon. He explained that it was not by their power or holiness alone that this thing had happened rather the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of “our fathers” had done this to honor His Son, Jesus whom they had crucified and whom He had raised from the dead. It was through faith in Jesus’ name that He had made this lame beggar strong and had done it in their presence as a fulfillment of prophecy given by God through their own prophets.
There is nothing here that would cause us to expect healing to happen on a regular basis. God did it at this place at this time to honor His Son before this very crowd that was responsible for His crucifixion. They had been unable to prevent Him from fulfilling His mission. There is, however, something we should note; it was through faith in His name that made the lame man strong.
What meaning did this have for the people? It was a lesson in dealing with spiritual lameness. If they would place their faith in Jesus, repenting of their sins, they would be converted, their sins would be blotted out and they would experience times of refreshing from His presence with them. Just as the lame beggar was prevented from entering into worship by his lameness, they had been prevented from true worship by their spiritual lameness—unrepented, therefore unforgiven sin. Just as faith was instrumental in his physical healing, so faith would be instrumental in their spiritual healing.
This was no new message. It had been preached to them through their prophets and promised to them through God’s covenant with Abraham. It was God’s blessing upon them that Jesus had been raised up to turn every one of them from their sins. This offer of salvation was made to them first and it was now their turn to act with bad consequences associated with a wrong decision as well as good consequences associated with a decision for Christ. He had been able to heal the lame man, He would certainly be able to heal them.
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May 10, 2020 Acts 2:41-47
At verse 41 we come to a strategic transition. We are now operating under the New Covenant which was inaugurated by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. He has left the earth to go to the Father and prepare a place for His followers for whom He has promised to return, and, in His absence, the Holy Spirit has come upon them.
Based on His last words to them, they are to be preaching the gospel throughout the world and being His witnesses wherever they are. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:21; Acts 1;8) Jesus had told them and it is recorded in Matthew 24:14 that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” So, their mission has become our mission and will continue to be the mission of Jesus’ followers until His return. It is significant, then to observe how they went about obeying His commission for it will serve as an example for those of us who follow as we continue what they started here in the book of Acts.
In this passage, v. 41-47 of the second chapter of Acts, we see several principles put into action. Notice that we are only observing principles and not giving particular attention to each action that they took. That is an important approach to studying the passage, but for our purposes today, we are only taking the overall view.
I see here four basic statements. The first is the word “continued” in verses 41 and 46 which indicates their determination to hold to the pattern established by Jesus both in what they taught and what they did. If we learn nothing else from this study, it will be worth every minute we spend learning this. Basically, the church is Jesus’ body, the vehicle through which He ministers today, just as His physical body was during His presence here. If then, He is the head of the church and we are His body, we should first seek guidance from Him rather than from our own intelligence and experience. The New Testament should be our guide for all we believe and do. That was their approach even though they did not have the New Testament scriptures. They had those who had learned from Him through face to face teaching as well as His examples, plus the Holy Spirit whose job it was to “teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)
Next, I see that teaching was of high priority to them and what they taught is significant: Rather than teaching their own ideas about what was important, they were passing on what Jesus had taught the apostles. They were teaching new believers what they had been taught. The Bible is to be our basic curriculum for teaching spiritual truths. One thing that has been of concern to me over the years and in various churches and settings, is that most Bible study has been a study of what someone has to say about the Bible rather than studying of the Bible, the actual text of scripture, as the Holy Spirit gives enlightenment.
The third thing I see here is that they engaged in fellowship. It occurs to me as I study this passage that their fellowship involved personal interaction which served both spiritual and physical needs by providing both spiritual and physical nourishment. The word “continued” and the fact that they sold their possessions and goods to help one another according to their need convince me that fellowship was significantly more intense than most of what I have observed during my lifetime. They were living under adverse circumstances; their leader having been recently crucified by their neighbors. There were many things which could have occupied their time and attention, but they were devoted to following Jesus’ command and the apostles’ teaching. As we move through the book of Acts, we will see what it cost them to hold this pattern of living which centered on being Jesus’ witnesses this way.
The fourth principle I see here is that they worshipped. The primary statement in this regard is that “they continued daily with one accord in the temple” but it is strongly associated with fellowship. Worship for them seems to involve both what they did in the Temple and what they did outside of it. This brings to mind that the Greek words translated “worship” are also translated “service” in other places. The idea is that to serve God is to worship Him and to worship Him is to serve Him. Christianity is not a passive status that we have with God, it is a dynamic relationship which we have with Him in which obedience is imperative. (John 14:15, 21, 23) We have described for us here in this passage the basic principles which guided the early Christians in their daily lives. We would do well to consider how an account of our guiding principles would compare and what adjustments we should make.
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May 3, 2020 Acts 2:1-41
In the final words of his gospel, Luke recorded Jesus saying, “behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” In the second chapter of the book of Acts he records the event to which Jesus was referring and people’s reaction to it. From there he goes on in the following chapters to describe the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth as Jesus’ followers move out in obedience to Him.
In the opening 4 verses he described the actual event of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. Verse 1 tells of the environment into which He descended and in its context Jesus disciples are identified as the recipients of God’s promise of power from on high. Verse 2 describes the auditory aspect of His coming. The visual aspect is described in verse 3 and the spiritual aspect in verse 4. When God delivered His promise to Jesus’ disciples He did so in a very public, very observable, very believable way, not only for the disciples, but also for people of other cultures and languages. His presence and involvement would also be observable as He ministered through the disciples as they went forth.
In verses 5-13 Luke described the amazement which existed among those who were present when the Holy Spirit descended which included speakers of other languages, both Jewish and Gentile. All observed the event and all were amazed by it. It is interesting that even with their different backgrounds, they all recognized that what was spoken was “the wonderful works of God.” (v. 11) Yet, they said, “one to another, What meaneth this?”
It is significant for us to note that while it was to the disciples to whom He appeared and whom He filled, the event was observed by a multitude of people from a wide variety of political, cultural and religious backgrounds who were all amazed by it and although they didn’t all understand the language they recognized it as the “wonderful works of God.”
Verses 14-41 describe the preaching of a sermon by Peter which is significant both in its occurrence and its content. Going back to the 16th chapter of Matthew’s gospel we find a conversation between Jesus and His disciples in which Jesus said to Peter, “thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” A proper understanding of the context of that statement indicates, I believe, that Jesus is by the words “this rock” identifying the revelation and proclamation of Himself as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” as the foundation upon which His church would be built.
Pentecost is often referred to as “the birthday of the church”. The “promise of my Father, the power from on high” to which Jesus referred point to the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It was upon the occurrence of this event that Peter preached this sermon which Identified Jesus Christ as “approved of God” and made “both Lord and Christ” by God. This is the foundational message upon which the church would be built and we see that beginning to take place with the response of the hearers in verse 37.
The response of many of the hearers, “being pricked in their heart” was to ask the question, “what shall we do?” The asking and answering of that question involves the work of the Holy Spirit and is both the foundation of the church and the entry point of one’s personal salvation. Peter’s response was twofold as was the promised outcome of taking that action. They were told to “repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” An individual response of turning from sin and entering into an obedient relationship with Christ which was witnessed by baptism is the standard action to be taken by anyone desiring salvation. Upon repenting and submitting to believer’s baptism one is promised “the remission of sins and . . . receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” When this takes place one is added to the church, the body of Christ. (v. 41)
That day “about three thousand souls” were “added unto them”. While this marks the termination of the sinful life style and entrance into an eternal relationship with God and Christ, it is only the beginning of a life obedience to Him. Verse 42 says, “they continued.” Here in the New Testament we have three levels of information to help us interpret Jesus’ teachings. We have what He said, what His disciples did about what He said, then what they taught their followers to do about what He said. We even have a little glimpse into what their followers did about what they were taught. This statement here in verse 42, “they continued” introduces us to the account of how His followers acted on what He had taught them and how they responded to it for the “they” included the early converts.
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April 26, 2020 Acts 1:15-26
What we have here at the end of the first chapter of Acts is a record of the last official act of Jesus’ disciples prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church on the day of Pentecost. What they undertook to do was to choose a replacement for Judas which they understood that they were to do based on Psalm 41:9; 69:25 and 109:8. Peter, and apparently the other disciples as well, understood these to be referring to Judas and that they were responsible to fill his position among them. His “bishopric” does not describe an office of the New Testament church, rather it describes his function as an apostle.
Once again, I remind us that this a historical narrative, therefore it serves as an example for us of something about which we have direct teaching elsewhere. The example is that of principles for choosing church leaders. We also have the example in the sixth chapter where the first men were chosen to serve as deacons and we have the direct teaching in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 as well as other brief passages.
The principles that we have here are seen in what they did (verses 15-26), who did it (verse 15), why they did it (verses 16-22) and how it was done (verses 23-26). In terms of principles that we are to follow, I see five which tell us: These principles should be applied by a healthy church (v. 15), that we should have a biblical basis for doing it (v. 16-20), that we must have qualified candidates (v. 21-23), they should be carried out in a spirit of prayerful seeking of the Lord’s will (v. 24-25) we should employ a procedure over which only the Lord can control the outcome (v. 26).
The apostles and other disciples were “in one accord” and prayerfully seeking the Lord’s will. (v. 14) If they were not in good spiritual health, they would either not have been able to hear what the Lord was saying or would not have been obedient to do it. A church in poor health choosing a new leader has a low chance of choosing a good one.
Any church looking to appoint a new leader should recognize that Christ is the head of the church and should seek His guidance regarding qualifications and procedures for doing so. Too often, however, churches look to the business world to determine how they go about choosing their leadership and try to implement those techniques in the church.
Candidates for church leadership should be biblically qualified for the office and such qualification should be attested to by the membership. First Timothy 3 and Titus 1 identify two offices of church leadership and provide the Lord’s standards by which they should be qualified.
The membership should approach their responsibility in this matter in a spirit of prayerful consideration of the Lord’s desire and His oversight of the procedure.
Verse 26 tells of their using lots for determining which of two qualified candidates to appoint. Some people gasp at this thought, but why? We have no control over the objects being cast, whether it be stones or dice. There are various means employed today in the selection of church officers but whatever means is used it should be something the outcome of which we have no control over. It seems to me that congregational voting by secret ballot accomplishes this. There may be some in the congregation who are not spiritually in tune with the Lord’s leading or who are voting for one simply out of friendship or relationship, but the Lord can control the outcome if these principles are followed.
In many churches today there are many offices and many sets of qualifications. Since the Lord is the head of the church and we are His body I am personally convinced that we would do well to hold our number of offices to the two described in His word and hold the qualifications to those set forth in His word, the pastor and deacons. The many responsibilities for which the numerous offices are generally established can be overseen by the pastor or one of the deacons utilizing the specialized abilities of others working as a committee which itself may have certain members designated for specific responsibilities. But according to this example the offices of leadership should be filled utilizing principles laid out in scripture: A spiritually healthy church
A biblical basis
Qualified candidates
A prayerful spirit
A procedure whose outcome only the Lord can control.
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April 19, 2020 Acts 1:12-14
The first chapter of Acts, one of the most significant chapters of the Bible covering the ascension of Christ and the initial acts of those with whom He had sent His final years and with whom He left the mission that He had come to accomplish, (1:1) is perhaps the most neglected. Our focus tends to begin at chapter two with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and this is truly a significant event as Jesus had warned the apostles not to begin the ministry that He had commissioned them to do until He had come.
In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” There is no scripture that is only historical narrative. There is a lot of history that is not recorded in the Bible, but what is recorded is for some reason other than a history lesson. The first chapter of Acts is there for one or more of the following reasons: doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness and is for our benefit.
What I see here is the eleven surviving apostles responding to Jesus’ commission regarding their witness and the spread of the gospel. I particularly like Mark’s version of it, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Since there are still “creatures” to whom the gospel has not been effectively preached, their commission becomes our commission. Throughout the book of Acts, we see what the apostles did, but here in chapter 1 we see their thinking relative to what they were about to do. Therefore, I conclude that the first chapter of Acts, although historical narrative, is to benefit us by providing an example of how we should think as we approach our portion of the mission.
Verse 14 makes a very intensive statement regarding the attitude with which the apostles, and other disciples, approached their responsibility as followers of Jesus. Luke wrote sort of a verbal sandwich here. He begins by identifying the key participants, those who had been directly taught by Him over a period of nearly three years in a virtual laboratory. Next, he states what they did, then closes the sentence with another list of people. What is the purpose? I believe it is to identify the intended recipients of the Great Commission, to make it clear that this is not just an apostolic mission. It is still a somewhat limited group, but that changes dramatically with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
“These all” . . . ” with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” Having identified the apostles and stated what they did, he finishes taking attendance by adding, “with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.” This is not just an historical record, but indication regarding the carrying out of the Great Commission by those who were directly taught by Christ. What the apostles did, other disciples joined in doing as equal participants, both male and female, more mature believers and new believers such as Jesus brothers.
“continued” There are two verbs used in the original language to express this concept. The first is typically translated “were” and the second indicates a strong inclination in a particular direction that has already been established. A literal translation would go something like “were strong toward.” They weren’t just continuing in the same direction in which they had been nudged by Jesus but were determined to continue working in that direction.
“with one accord” This expression emphasizes the extent to which they were mutually determined to pursue that for which Christ had pursued them. This is a very intensive statement but does not simply indicate highly motivated people. They were committed to moving forward together even though they had different backgrounds, personalities, desires abilities and many other differences. Rather than allowing these differences to divide them their determination was to use them to broaden their effectiveness.
“in prayer and supplication” Even though they had had the best teacher they could possibly have had in preparation for this mission, they acknowledged that in order to be successful they needed to stay in communion with Him letting Him know their needs and asking Him to fill them. (John 15:16)
In addition to this historical example of how the Great Commission is to be carried out, we have the direct teaching of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Ephesians 4:1-16. As we read the Bible, we need to see the flow of the story, acknowledge the different kinds of literature employed and particularly to acknowledge transitions. For example, the New Testament conditions don’t begin until the crucifixion of Christ which inaugurated the New Covenant and the mission of the New Covenant doesn’t begin until the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Throughout the gospels Old Testament conditions, which had begun with the Mosaic Covenant at Mt Sinai, prevailed. Jesus introduced the New Covenant conditions in His Sermon on the Mount, but they were not yet in effect.
A major transition is recorded for us in the opening chapters of Acts, but we need to be sure that we see it beginning with chapter one. I love this chapter! We get an inside look at the men Christ chose to initiate the spread of the gospel following His departure. They were, just as we are, ordinary men with an extraordinary enablement—the Holy Spirit.
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April 12, 2020 Acts 1:9-11
Here in verses 9-11 of the first chapter of Acts we have one of my favorite short passages of scripture. The event recorded is extremely significant but plainly recorded. The scene is this: Jesus and His disciples are together on the Mount of Olives and He has been talking with them very briefly about the future. He has reminded them of the coming of the Holy Spirit, which would be taking place in just a few days, refused to give a specific answer regarding the time of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, and reminded them of their assignment regarding the spread of the gospel.
“When He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” That’s it. He’s gone. They shouldn’t have been surprised because He had told them that He would be leaving “to prepare a place for” them and that He would return for them. There was no elaborate ceremony or public gathering, just a few close friends, a reminder of some important things and He’s gone. Now what?
Oh, yes. Then Luke records that there were two additional men there. I understand them to be angels. This is similar to what they had experienced at the empty tomb. Their role here is simply to ask a question and make one simple statement. “Why stand ye gazing up into heaven.” “This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
It is significant to note that He was “taken up”. He had been “sent”, now He is being “taken up”. His entire mission was designed by the Father and carried out according to His plan with the Father’s involvement. Jesus ascension to the right hand of the Father is at the focal point of everything between “in the beginning” of Genesis 1:1 and “it is done” of Revelation 21:6. He had completed the mission He was sent to do and He was taken up.
Now what? And what interest do the angels have in it, they bring no new information? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and He created two different types of beings to inhabit them. He created angels to inhabit heaven and humans to inhabit earth. Why this involvement of angels in the affairs of men? That is a good question. I know it is a good question because God spent about 1500 years and employed over 40 writers to give us the Bible to answer it.
The answer was finally revealed to the apostle John and is recorded in Revelation 4. John was being shown “things which must be hereafter”. Why must they be? Because that is God’s purpose for having created the heavens and the earth and they can only take place once Jesus’ disciples have completed their mission “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”.
Both angels and humans are active in the worship scene of Revelation 4. The angels are singing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” That has been their observation of God during the time of their existence. The humans, represented by twenty-four elders, sing antiphonally, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” That has been their observation of God during the time of their existence.
Things which must be hereafter! That is the whole point of human and angelic history. God is producing righteous people with whom He will live eternally and who will worship Him along with the angels. That is, if the disciples whom Jesus has left behind do what He left them to do. As I read this passage here in Acts. It seems to me that the angels are perhaps here out of a personal interest rather than on a mission from God. They are anticipating that eternal worship which can only take place once the disciples have done their job (Matthew 24:14) and they are just standing here looking up into heaven as though they have nothing better to do.
Everything is now in their hands and the angels are concerned. Well they might be, for they have seen the kind of men they are. They are all descendants of Adam and sinners as he was. They remind the disciples, “this isn’t the end, it’s a beginning. He’s coming back!” Although Luke didn’t record it, they were probably thinking, “and things won’t go very well if you just stand there gazing into heaven.”
God’s eternal purpose is at a critical juncture here. He has provided the fulfillment of the promise that He had made in Genesis 3:15 and now the story must be told by those who have already experienced its redemptive power to others who may experience the same if they will believe (Romans 10:13, 17). This must continue until all who will believe have come to belief.
The message for us is the same as it was for them: “Why stand ye gazing up into heaven. This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Where the disciples stood on that day, we stand today, between Jesus’ ascension and His return. The angels in heaven are encouraging us on so that we can stand together with them before the throne singing, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for they pleasure they are and were created.”
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04/05/2020 Acts 1:6-8
Jesus and His apostles were together in Jerusalem awaiting “the promise of the Father”, the coming of the Holy Spirit. They had spent the last 40 days together as Jesus spoke to them “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” which Luke described as including “beginning at Moses and all the prophets . . . expounded unto them, in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.” He indicated that “all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.” Matthew recorded that He spoke to them of “that day and hour” of His return urging their readiness.
Being aware of His pending departure and return and their connection with Old Testament scriptures which must be fulfilled, It seems very natural, then, that they would be wondering, “wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” an event about which they were certain but a time of which they were not certain.
His response to their question was, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” In His conversations with them in Matthew 24 and 28 He had taught that the fulfillment of this mission would continue to the end of the age, or until His return.
Throughout scripture, God has made it clear that He desires to dwell among righteous men. He created man in righteousness and will him to righteousness if he will but believe. The New Covenant, which God made with Jesus and inaugurated with His sacrificial death, is now in effect and with it some changes particularly regarding the Holy Spirit’s role. Prior to this the Holy Spirit was only active within certain believers on certain occasions.
In responding to the apostles’ question, Jesus presented the plan which is to be carried out between the time of His departure and His return. It focuses on salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10) which comes through the hearing of the word of God (Romans 10:17) for anyone who responds by calling upon Him for forgiveness of sins (Romans 10:13). This process requires a preacher which God has provided in those who have already placed their trust in Him for salvation (Romans 10:14-15).
The mission for us is to be witnesses unto Jesus unto the uttermost part of the earth. This mission must be completed prior to Christ’s return to establish His eternal reign (Matthew 24:14). We will face opportunities disguised as obstacles. Jesus had previously taught that we must, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Jesus indicated that toward the end of this age some terrible things shall come and the present time sounds a lot like His description of those days but these are not those days. Nation rising against nation, famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, even the Corona virus and the restrictions imposed upon us to slow its spread are only a foretaste of those days and should be taken by the church as a wake up call to get up and get to work on fulfilling the great commission.
With the widespread impact of the Corona virus and the changes that are being made some permanent changes will take place in our society. The job you return to when this is over will not be the job you left a few weeks ago. The financial stability we have experienced will no longer be the norm. The attitudes of our friends, neighbors and co-workers will be different. Some businesses will fail and others will experience significant changes. Some churches will fail due to financial troubles. Churches and pastors will lose credibility. The technology which is presently seen as a God send for allowing us to keep in touch with each other will not keep us spiritually challenged and growing (Hebrews 10:24-25). Some of our friends and neighbors have been shocked into the reality of the insecurity of lost man while others have hardened themselves to spiritual reality.
God is still producing a righteous people with whom He will spend eternity. He will do so through the preaching of the gospel by people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The reliable repository of truth will be believers who demonstrate God’s redeeming work through changed lives — the kind of change that unbelievers will recognize as genuine and know that they need in their lives. They will find truth on the local level where they can see it in action, in the workplace where the stability provided by the Lord’s involvement in the believer’s life is visible, the neighborhood where needy people are being ministered to, in personal relationships where the grace of God is seen at work.
The end is not yet, but we must engage in end times responses. Paul, writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, advised Timothy, “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:13-17)
From here on in true believers must, having been warned by the present pandemic, practice what the Bible teaches, and be effective witnesses unto Christ. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar or a skilled orator. Just be a faithful fisherman, or tax collector, or whatever you are, wherever you are. Jesus left the mission in the hands of twelve ordinary, blue collar men with only three years of training and nearly two thousand years later it continues to grow.
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03/29/2020 Acts 1:1-5
The writer of the book of Acts is Luke, the doctor. In his opening comments he addresses Theophilus and refers back to what he had written in the gospel that bears his name then connects that with things that have happened since. What he is doing is saying that these things I am about to write took place as a result of what “Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which He was taken up”.
In verses 2-5 he lists the sequence of events that led up to what will be recorded in the book. First, Jesus, “through the Holy Spirit, gave commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen.” This was dealt with in his gospel and those of the other three gospel writers. Next, since His resurrection, Jesus had spent forty days with that same group of men. During these days He demonstrated by many certain proofs that He was alive. This is a very critical element of the book of Acts because Jesus had promised that He would be resurrected and the fact that He was is convincing proof that He was truly who He had said He was. Both Matthew and Luke recorded His promise (Matthew 20:19; Luke 24:7) and Paul would later write that Jesus was, “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4) The boldness and tenacity with which the apostles carried out their mission may be explained by their experiences of these forty days between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
Also during these forty days, Jesus spoke to them, “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” If I am understanding it correctly, “the things” that are referred to here are recorded in each of the gospels and we refer to them mas “the great commission”. They were to take the gospel to the farthest corners of the world.
This, then, is the set-up for what he records Jesus as having said in verses 4 and 5 which is basically a command to wait for one more essential element. The first element was His foundational teaching of the apostles during His lifetime, then, His demonstration of life, and His discussions relative to “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Even though they have been thoroughly instructed by a master teacher and authority on the subject, they are not yet fully equipped.
The final and critical element in the preparation of Jesus’ apostles and the rest of His disciples, was yet to be accomplished. It would come as no surprise to them for the Father had promised it and Jesus had taught them about it. Jesus said, “ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” (1:5) Luke records that event in chapter two of Acts and Jesus had more to say about it in verses 7 and 8 of chapter 1.
At this point, however, I think we should pause and consider how we are to understand the book of Acts. It is a historical narrative, not direct teaching so we are obviously not to “wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirt”, but since the great commission extends, “even unto the end of the age” and since the narrative tells of the carrying out of the great commission by those of Jesus followers who had been taught directly by Him, we take it as exemplary of how we are to proceed in our fulfillment of the great commission in our day and how we are to instruct those who will be following us.
From what Luke wrote here in these opening verses we know that the Lord intends for the fulfillment of the great commission to be accomplished according to His teachings in the gospels, the things He discussed with them during the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension, and at the direction and with the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Of His conversations with the apostles during that forty day period referred to in verse 3 we have only the great commission which is recorded in each of the gospels (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:21-23) and here in Acts 1:8, so it was of extreme importance to Him and for them.
Notice that they were never told to be creative, contemporary or comfortable. He very clearly taught, and their obedience clearly indicates, that He expects it to be done His way. The apostles were every bit as human as we are. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.” Let’s see how they handled the issues that they experienced and how it is exemplary for us. We have the same teaching they had plus we have their example. We should be able to do It at least as well as they did.
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03/22/2020 Introduction to the book of Acts
It is my plan to prepare and post a fresh sermon here each week. It will be in written form therefore kept short so you will be able to read it in one sitting. The structure of this website is not well suited to this but I prefer to spend my time producing the payload than creating a better vehicle. If it seems to be desirable I will try to be available on Sundays to exchange texts with you. You may get my contact info off my facebook page. Otherwise you may try using our BLOG.
Every time we receive information, we must determine its meaning and whether we realize it or not there are certain rules we follow in order to arrive at a correct understanding. For example, we need to take into account the time, place, circumstances and origin of the information. The Bible is no exception to this practice so since the Bible is our source of information let’s get the picture of what it is that we are considering.
The book is called the Holy Bible so we understand that it claims to be a book about things pertaining to God. The first two chapters deal God’s creation of “the heaven and the earth.” The next to last chapter begins by saying that, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” Everything between deals with things pertaining to that realm and what it is that causes the passing of the old and creation of the new.
One basic thing that we need to know about God is that He desires to live among and have fellowship with the kind of people He created—righteous people. The first three chapters of the Bible actually provide the foundation for understanding all that follows. Here we see God’s authority established—He is the creator and sovereign of everything within the realm of heaven and earth—His relationship with man—creator and commissioner (1:26-28)—and how He deals with man’s disobedience.
When He placed man in the garden of Eden He instructed Him that, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (2:17) In chapter three verse 6 they ate of it thereby forfeiting their righteousness. The critical issue now is, “how will God respond?” Unlike most human parents, GOD RESPONDED IN GRACE NOT ANGER. This is a very critical point in the Bible story because this is consistently God’s response to man’s sin (unrighteousness). This point is consistently made through chapter 11—with Cain in chapter 4, at the time of the flood in chapter 6, with Noah following the flood in chapter 9, and with mankind in chapter 11.
At chapter twelve God starts moving toward fulfillment of 3:15—the provision of a deliverer—and continues on this theme throughout the Old Testament. But there is no suitable candidate to be found among men—Adam’s descendants.
As we move into the New Testament Jesus appears on the scene and proves to be a sinless, therefore suitable, deliverer. Throughout the gospels He is seen living a sinless life, laying down a new body of truth for life under the New Covenant and dying a substitutionary death for all who will receive it by faith.
It is at this point that I would like to begin our study. In the beginning God created the entire universe in which we live and He created the first pair of humans. They were created with the ability to reproduce “after their kind” and with the ability to make decisions, both good and bad. In the third chapter of the Bible they made a bad decision disobeying God and suffering the consequences. They forfeited their righteousness breaking fellowship with God. The rest of the Bible deals with those consequences and how God dealt with them. Ultimately, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the consequences of man’s disobedience and promised to accept His payment for all who would believe in Him.
While here Jesus chose twelve men who we refer to as apostles and spent considerable time with them teaching them about life under these new conditions. In addition to these twelve He commissioned all who believe in Him saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
So, this is the setting for the book of Acts. God’s eternal program involving mankind has come to this critical juncture. He has provided the means by which man may enter into a righteous relationship with Him if he will take Him at His word an act upon it. For that to happen, however, two things must take place. God must draw that one to Himself (John 6:44) and that one must hear the message relating thereto and call upon Him for salvation). (Romans 10:13, 17) It is saved man’s God given responsibility to proclaim that news to others, all of whom may be forgiven of their sins (unrighteousness) and be restored to fellowship with God if they will believe.
In the book of Acts we will be seeing their faithfulness, methodology, obstacles and results. These are examples of things for us to follow, to avoid and to anticipate. Please continue to join us each week and see how this unfolds.
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