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Paul and Barnabas said, it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

  Good morning. The Jews were upset and Paul and Barnabas said, it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. Throughout Acts Paul seemed to always go to the Jews first. It was only after they refused to listen that he went to the Gentiles. Notice that it says that they judged themselves unworthy of eternal life. When you hear the word and refuse to accept it, you are the one that judges yourself unworthy of eternal life; it is not the one giving the message of salvation that judges. Paul quotes scripture, I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring salvation to the end of the earth. When the Jews, including the apostles, read that, they thought it meant the Gentiles would become Jews. When the Gentiles heard this, they said, shut the front door! Actually they begin rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been ...
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herefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses

  Good morning. Paul continues with his message (remember that the pastor says that he does not give sermons – he gives messages). He talked about God fulfilling His promise to the children of Israel by raising up Jesus from the dead. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses. This is not the kind of message that they had been hearing all of their lives. They had been hearing that it is through the law by which one is perfected. This however struck a chord with them. As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Many of the Jews followed them, and Paul and Barnabas kept urging them to continue in the grace of God. It does not say whether or not they led them in a prayer for salvation. The next Sabbath nearly the whole city asse...
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They took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead

  Good morning. After the incident with the magician, Acts now denotes it as Paul and his companions, instead of putting Barnabas first. It says that John leaves them and returns to Jerusalem. They reach a place and enter the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sit down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it. Wow, what an opening! Like Stephen did, Paul begins with the children of Israel in the land of Egypt and what God did for them. He continues on until he gets to King David. From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. John admitted that he was not the One who was coming. To us the message of this salvation has been sent. For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utteran...
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But the magician was opposing them, seeking to turn him away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, you who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

  Good morning. They found a magician, a Jewish false prophet who was with the Proconsul, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But the magician was opposing them, seeking to turn him away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said (remember – whenever it says that someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, they usually say something right afterward), you who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness (whee doggies Paul, that’s quite a mouthful), will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Of course by now the magician is thinking sticks and stones… Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time. And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. So it was not just useless words that Paul was uttering – ...
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There were a group of prophets and teachers gathered together there. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them

  Good morning. Barnabas and Saul are back in Antioch. There were a group of prophets and teachers gathered together there. It does not say which ones were which, or if all of them were both. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. First notice that this was a group of leaders gathered together and not the entire church. It does not say why they were fasting. It could have been that they were seeking to hear from the Lord and He spoke, or that may have been totally unexpected. God specifically called both Barnabas and Saul to an important task. It does not say whether or not they already had heard from Him within their hearts, but usually a person has an indication of their calling before an audible word of the Lord comes to them. They didn’t just say, goodbye, have a good trip. Even after hearing from the Lord, they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and sent t...
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And so when the servant girl said that Peter was at the door, they told her, you are out of your mind! Even though she kept insisting that it was so, they kept saying, it is his angel

  Good morning. And so when the servant girl said that Peter was at the door, everyone said, thank God our prayers have been answered - Peter is here! Wrong. They told her, you are out of your mind! Even though she kept insisting that it was so, they kept saying, it is his angel. But Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. Why were they amazed? After all they had been praying for his release. Sadly that is the way too many Christians are today. We pray for something, but we don’t really believe it’s going to happen. Then Peter told them what had happened and left. When daylight came, everyone at the prison was discombobulated (always wanted to use that word legitimately in a sentence). King Herod interrogated the guards and said tough beans old man. No, he had them executed. He was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They were afraid because their country was fed by the king’s country. As he was giving a speech, the people began fl...
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The iron gate that leads into the city opened for them by itself, and the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod.

  Good morning. On the very night when King Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. Talk about rescue coming just in the nick of time! And what was Peter doing - moaning and groaning? No, he was fast asleep. We don’t know whether or not he knew he was about to be executed. However, King Herod had just put to death James the brother of John, so it was highly probable that Peter would be too. An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shown in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, get up quickly. And his chains fell off his hands. Peter followed the angel even though he did not know that what was being done was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. The iron gate that leads into the city opened for them by itself, and the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel ...
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