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 appo...
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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 assembl...
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 utterances...
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 – they h...
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 them ...
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 flatte...
Merry Christmas! I hope you have a really great one with friends and family. This is from a previous Christmas. The following is without comment. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at the statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "how can this be, since I am a...
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 and re...
Good morning. Some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. We will hear of Agabus again at the end of Acts. When God tells you something, you should act upon it. They didn’t sit around saying oh woe is us; we need to save up all of our money that we can to take care of ourselves when the famine comes. Instead, they collected money to send for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. They sent the collection with Barnabas and Saul to the elders in Jerusalem. Notice that Barnabas is mentioned first. There will come a time later when the order is reversed. Acts now talks about Herod the king. According to my Bible this is not the same Herod who participated in the crucifixion of Jesus. He is the grandson of the King Herod who put to death the babies in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. He had James the brother of John...
Good morning. So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. Of course the gospel was to go to the Jews first. Even Peter’s experience did not convince them to also preach to the Gentiles. However there were some that came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks (people who lived by Greek customs and culture) also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. This was just like Peter and John coming to Samaria after they heard of the people there becoming believers through the ministry of Philip. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he encouraged them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. A large number of people were brou...
Good morning. They heard them all speaking with tongues; so Peter said, surely no one can refuse the water for those to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he? As we will see in a minute, this was a very big deal for the Jews. He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Hopefully you have been shielded from this; but there is a big controversy among some people about the formula for baptizing someone as far as into what name you baptize them. One would think that everyone would be excited about this happening when the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. When Peter came to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. Seriously? The Gentiles had just received salvation, and all they can think about is Peter eating with uncircumcised men? So Peter told them all that had happened with Cornelius. And...
Good morning. And he ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Jesus did not take this assignment upon Himself; it was predetermined by God before the beginning of time. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. Remember that it said earlier that there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. OK so next Peter led them in prayer, and then gave an invitation for all to come to the altar. No, it was totally out of his control. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. If it had been left to Peter, this probably would not hav...
Good morning. Peter’s response: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality. As I said before, sadly people do not understand that in the modern world. They seem to think that their group is preferred over another group. Applying Paul’s comments to the church at Corinth to the church universal, there are not many rich, wise, etc. among you. That’s because they tend to think that they’re better than others. It’s hard to trust in God when you trust in yourself. Peter: but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all – you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was...
Good morning. So the men told Peter about Cornelius who was righteous and God-fearing who was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for Peter to come to his house and hear a message. So he invited them in and gave them lodging. They went to Caesarea where Cornelius was waiting for them with his relatives and close friends. Thank about it: Cornelius had no guarantee that Peter was coming; yet he was so confident that he brought together those that mattered to him; for he wanted them to also hear the message of salvation. Would we do that, if we were in his shoes? When Peter entered, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. Peter told him to stand up; I too am just a man. You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him (it is this very issue that got Peter in trouble later); and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. It is too bad that throughout the ages since then that people have not...
Good morning. We saw last time that Peter was very religious. He had never eaten anything unholy or unclean. That is the way Christians are sometimes. They have to have some set of rules to follow, so that they will know that they are doing what they’re supposed to do. Some even have a checklist: read my Bible ✅ , prayed ✅ , gave my tithe ✅ , etc. The easy/hard part of living the Christian life is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will lead you to do everything on the checklist and then some. But there are times when He will have you do something completely off the list, and if you’re not following Him, you’ll miss out on what God wants. The vision of the sheet with animals on it happened three times and then was taken up into the sky. Of course Peter was wondering what this was all about. About this time unbeknownst to Peter, the men from Cornelius arrived at the house. They said they were looking for him. The Holy Spirit said to Peter, three men are looking for you. Go d...
Good morning. We left Cornelius with the angel visiting him. And just like we would do if we saw an angel, he said, what’s up dude? Hardly – being much alarmed (just like we would be), he said, what is it, Lord? Your prayers and gifts have ascended as a memorial before God. Just how long he had been praying and giving gifts, we do not know. We also do not know what he was praying about; but considering what will happen shortly, it was probably about how to know God. It is a lesson for all of us, to keep praying and giving even when we don’t see the answer right away. Send some men to Joppa for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; for he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea. (this is why Peter stayed where he was not too far from Caesarea - about 30 miles away). After explaining everything to them, he sent two of his servants and a devout soldier to go get Peter. In verse two it had said that Cornelius was also devout. The soldier would have be...
Good morning. So Peter just healed a paralyzed man. In a nearby village, there was a disciple who did many deeds of kindness. She fell sick and died. They sent word asking Peter to come quickly. When he arrived, they showed him all the clothing that she had made while she was alive. Peter sent them all out (like Jesus would do), knelt down and prayed. He then said to her body, Tabitha arise. She opened her eyes. It became known all over the area, and many believed in the Lord. Again, miracles bring people to the Lord. Peter stayed there many days with a tanner named Simon (which was also Peter’s name). As we will see in a little while, it wasn’t just that Peter was there for her to be raised from the dead and minister to the people in the area. God had something else momentous for Peter to do, and he needed to be in the area. There was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion. Even though he was a Roman soldier, he was a devout man and feared God with all his household, a...
Good morning. And Paul was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. He was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic (Greek speaking) Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. Sometimes people have a violent reaction when they are confronted with truth that goes against things they have believed all their lives. But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they continued to increase. The last sentence makes you wonder did they send Paul away to protect him or so that he would stop stirring up trouble where they lived? Now that Paul is out of the scene, the book of Acts shifts emphasis. As Peter was traveling throughout all those regions, he came down to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man who had ...
Good morning. All those hearing Paul continued to be amazed, and were saying, is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them back bound before the chief priests? But he kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived in the city by proving this Jesus is the Christ. When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him. If you read in the book of Galatians, there Paul is saying that the many days was three years, part of which was spent in Arabia, after which he came back to the city. Their plot became known to him. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket. When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. That is the same re...
Good morning. Jesus’ reply to Ananias: go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name‘s sake. He doesn’t say when He was going to show Paul what he would suffer. Was it before he started or during his accomplishments? If God told us that we were going to do something great for Him, but along with that would come very great suffering, would we still accept the assignment? Ananias went to the house, and after laying his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is one of the few places where someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, but does not say that they said something immediately afterwards. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;...
Good morning. The last we saw of Saul/Paul was in conjunction with the stoning of Stephen. I don’t know how much later this was. Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was approaching the city, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, why are you persecuting Me? Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do. The men with him heard the voice but did not see anyone. He could not see, and the men with him led him by hand into the city. He was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. There was a disciple in the city named Ananias; The Lord said to him get up and go to the street called Straight (it went strai...
Good morning. When the eunuch asked Philip of whom does The Prophet say this – of himself or of someone else, it was the perfect opening to witness. Beginning from this scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water. Remember when we started this passage that we said this was a desert road. There just “happened“ to be some water available exactly when it was needed. What prevents me from being baptized? This next verse is not in the earliest manuscripts; the King James version did not use the earliest; it used what was available. Phillip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found him...
Good morning. When the apostles had finished their task in Samaria (the city), they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. One would think that after the great revival that Philip had in Samaria that he would’ve made camp there for years; but God had another idea. An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. (this is a desert road). So he complained about having to give up his successful ministry – wrong! He got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. What is really interesting about this is that there was an Ethiopian eunuch who helped the prophet Jeremiah when he was imprisoned in a deep hole in the ground. It was almost like God was ...
Good morning. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. It does not say that they spoke with other tongues, but how else would he know that they had received the Holy Spirit? Remember that I said he did not ask for the ability to perform miracles which he saw Philip do; but he is wanting the ability to impart the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. But Peter said to him, may your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity. But Simon answered and said, pray to the...
Good morning. Well, what happened in Samaria, did not stay in Samaria 🙃 . When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Two things here: first, is it saying they did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, or that they had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit? Unless someone has a dramatic change in their lives, it is impossible to tell whether or not the Holy Spirit dwells in them. The baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues would be evidence that they had received Holy Spirit. The second thing is; why didn’t Philip pray for them to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit? It is possible that at that time they did not realize that a “layman“ could pray for people to receive. Remember that they were probably skeptical that Samaritans could be saved. This way the apostles would see that it did happen. For He had not fallen upon any of th...
Good morning. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them. This is the area where Jesus had the discussion with the woman at the well. Remember from Acts 1:8 that after Jerusalem, Samaria was mentioned. Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews and considered more or less half Jews. A lot of the Jews of the northern kingdom were taken away and replaced by others who were not Jews. They intermingled with the Jews that were living in the northern kingdom. Even though Samaria was not far away, the disciples had not come there to preach the word before this. The disciples may have even thought that it was impossible for them to get saved, just like the Gentiles. The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. Even though he was “just a deacon”, God worked through Ph...
Good morning. Remember that Stephen had said that he had seen Jesus standing at the right hand of God. But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Lord, do not hold this sin against them! That’s not what most people would say – they would say get them Lord! Having said this, he fell asleep. That is how the Bible describes Christians dying – falling asleep. Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. On that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And so finally they began doing what Jesus told them to do in Acts 1:8 - they became witnesses in Judea and Samaria. Until this da...
Good morning. Stephen continues for a long time telling the story of Moses. This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. (remember that the people asked John the Baptist if he were The Prophet). He continues on to David and Solomon and the building of the temple. Throughout all of the history of Israel that Stephen just talked about, the people did not fully follow God for very long. You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Come on Stephen – enough of this warm and fuzzy talk. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it. (in other words he’s talking about good Friday and Easter). When they heard this, t...
Good morning. They couldn’t refute what Stephen was saying so they did what people do today when they have no good response to the truth – they secretly induced men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. If you have no answer against the truth, you bring in a great lie to oppose it. And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to Stephen and dragged him away and brought him before the council. They put forth false witnesses who said, this man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us. And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the council saw his face like the face of an angel. The high priest said, are these things so? He was probably expecting a simple yes or no; but what he got was an earful. He begins with Abraham when he was first called by God to go to t...
Good morning. The congregation selected seven men to be what we now call deacons. My Bible says that they all had Greek names. Remember that they were to take care of the Greek widows. One of them was Stephen, who would soon be martyred. Another was from Antioch, which is the city from which Paul and Barnabas were sent out. A third one of the seven was Philip, through whom later great signs and wonders would be performed in Samaria. They didn’t just vote for them and immediately put them into office. They brought them before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. As a deacon, he wasn’t just a glorified janitor. But some rose up and argued with Steven. When you’re doing God’s work, it bring...
Good morning. When we think about the early church, we tend to think that everybody was perfect; they knew all there was to know about the Christian life; and everything was love and harmony. But in reality that was not the case – it was O.J.T. Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews (they were born outside of Israel and spoke the Greek language) against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. In the Christian life, this is where the rubber meets the road. It’s easy to be spiritual when miracles are happening daily. It’s much harder to be spiritual when we have to interact with other believers. Of course today they would be accused of being racist. So the 12 summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, it is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Just like in churches today, especially smaller ones, the pas...