Good morning. The Jews replied, we have neither received
letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and
reported or spoken anything bad about you. That was good. They did not have any
preconceived notions about him. Thank goodness they did not have cell phones
back then. They could judge for themselves based on what he said. But we desire
to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to
us that it is spoken against everywhere. They came back another day, and Paul
explained to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to
persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the law of Moses and from the
prophets, from morning until evening. Just like all the places that Paul went,
some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.
Paul finished his presentation by saying, the Holy Spirit rightly spoke through
Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, you will keep on hearing, but will
not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart
of this people has become dull… Therefore let it be known to you that this
salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen. As
everywhere else he witnessed, that statement evoked a strong response from the
Jews. He stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all
who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. And that is the end of the book of
Acts. Father thank You that You give us opportunity to witness wherever we are.
Help us to be sensitive to those opportunities and to take advantage of them.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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