Clarifying The Message

Clarifying The Message

Book of Acts Chapter 15

We will see today that Satan had so far not been able to stop the spread of the "Gospel". Just as God uses people to spread the "Gospel", Satan will use everything in his means including people to hinder the spread of the "Gospel"!

AND, there will always be those who stand in front of open doors just to block the way of others from coming to the Lord!

We must remember what Jesus told to the Philadelphian church:

Rev 3:8 says "behold, I have set before thee an [open door] that no man can shut"

We cannot ever allow those false brethren, who are amongst us, to stand in front of that door!

God has already given us all this command:

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

We do not need any other command to make us move in obedience of this command to witness.

If this means we must go without the support of our local church then we must still go!

We also have this warning to the church:

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, [and not after Christ].

God has given us the only the means of salvation.

We must beware of anyone adding to or subtracting from, God's plan of salvation!

This is the main thing we must insist on!

The Bible says:

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

All other matters must be left it the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

And, the Holy Spirit will always lead us to Jesus.

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send [in my name], he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, [whatsoever I have said unto you].

So let's begin:

*****Act 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

The question we need to answer within ourselves is whether Christianity is merely an extension of Judaism or a New Dispensation that has taken its place.

We do not have to guess!

Jesus had these words to answer this question for us:

Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the [new testament in my blood], which is shed for you.

So who were these certain men?

The Bible teaches us:

Gal 2:4 And that because of "false brethren unawares" [brought in], "who came in privily to spy" out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, "that they might bring us into bondage":

These were Christians in name only!

These men were not brought in from any of the established church!

They were brought in to the Christian brotherhood to which they did not rightfully belong!

These were really some evil Jews, Satan's messengers, trying to hinder the spread of the "Gospel"!

*****Act 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

These men were called "Judaizers" who became a real problem to the early church!

This is a form of legalism, and legalism is still prevalent today in many places of worship!

The Bible is specific:

Eph 2:8 [For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God]:

Eph 2:9 "Not of works", lest any man should boast.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The church of Antioch of Syria, which was a mission minded church, this church decided that it would be best for a council of the apostles and the elders of the church in Jerusalem to provide the guidelines. Remember the New Testament had not been written at this time.

We now have the completed Word of God and it is the Word of God that has replaced any need for apostles, and any need for further councils. The Bible is our counsellor!

But remember the New Testament that we have is the same as the doctrine of Jesus that He gave to the apostles!

Eph 2:20 [And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone];

Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

*****Act 15:3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

Notice "it was the church that wanted answers" and it was the church at Antioch that decided it would be best to send Paul and Barnabas and "certain others that believed as Paul".

The Apostle Paul knew the old Mosaic system better than most other men and who better to seek the answers to these questions!

We can determine that the early church certainly wanted to go in the direction set forth by Christ Jesus.

They did not want to make up their own rules or their own doctrine!

AND, Old Testament tradition has no place in the New Testament Church!

The Apostle Peter wrote:

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1Pe 1:19 "But with the precious blood of Christ", as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

1Pe 1:21 Who "by him" do believe in God, that raised "him" up from the dead, and gave "him" glory; that your faith and hope might be "in God".

Just what is the "Gospel" the "Good News"?

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you [first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins] according to the scriptures;

1Co 15:4 And that [he was buried], and that [he rose again the third day according to the scriptures]:

If Jesus Christ did not do these things then there can be no salvation for anyone!

Paul did not miss this opportunity to tell the Phoenicians and the Samaritans, that even the Gentiles could be converted and this brought great joy unto all the "true brethren" that heard this "good news".

You see the "Gospel" would not be believable if it did not include "whosoever" will believe!

*****Act 15:4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, "they were received of the church", and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.

This group of believers from Antioch were first received by the believers of the Church at Jerusalem.

We must always welcome our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter where they come from.

Only then was there a meeting with the Apostles and the elders of the Church.

BUT, before any questions were asked, a report of how the "Gospel" was spreading was first made.

Paul told them of the wonderful things that had happened in Galatia.

In Galatia "they did not know anything about Mosaic Law", they just believed in the work of Jesus Christ!

You see God must first get the glory!

It was not what Paul had done.

It was not what Barnabas had done.

And it was not what the sending church of Antioch had done.

IT WAS WHAT GOD HAD DONE WITH THEM ALL!

It takes the entire Body of Christ to spread the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 12:5 So we, being many, "are one body in Christ", and every one members one of another.

And then Paul explained it had nothing to do with Judaism or the Laws of Moses.

All true believers understand this!

*****Act 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

Why is there always "a certain group" of people that have to have things their way?

Any believer that has been converted to the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ "must" release themselves to Him!

Some of these were men who felt that Christianity was just an extension of Judaism and they were severely wrong!

Christianity is not the extension of Judaism, Christianity is the fulfillment of the Word of God.

These were people who wanted to add something to the "Gospel".

But the only way to approach the Lord Jesus is by "Faith"!

In John 14:6, Jesus says, He is the only way to Heaven and we must believe Him!

God only has one question for all of us:

God ask, "What are you going to do with my Son Jesus"?

We must answer this question before we die a physical death!

Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

*****Act 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

The answers could not come from the public or from that certain group of men, who wanted things their way.

The answers had to come from the Apostles of Jesus and the church elders and the Body of Christ.

This was an important issue that had to be resolved or the early church would fail.

God had already said that this was impossible!

*****Act 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago "God made choice among us", that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

We now see the rest of the lesson that the Apostle Peter had learned from his time spent with Simon the tanner and Cornelius and his vision.

Let's look at how God had used Peter already:

1.) God had chosen Peter to present the "Gospel" to the Gentiles, ["Note" Cornelius and his family and some others].

Act 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

2.) Jesus had given Peter the keys to the Kingdom to build the Church on the "Rock of Jesus":

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

3.) Peter had opened the door of "faith" to the Jews:

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

4.) Peter had opened the door of "Faith" to the Samaritans:

Act 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

Peter had made it very clear that all these had been saved by the hearing and believing of the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ.

AND, None of these things had anything to do with the Mosaic Laws or any other man-made laws!

*****Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

God had made it very clear "by sending the Holy Spirit" to the Gentiles just as He had done on the day of Pentecost to the Jews.

God was truly no respecter of persons!

The message was to "whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ"!

The message was not to "whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and obey the Laws of Moses" or any other man-made laws!

*****Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

It is by "faith" that the heart is purified!

Not by works!

Not by ceremonies!

Not by traditions!

You see we are all sinners and saved only by the "Grace" of God!

1Co 6:11 And "such were some of you": [but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God].

There is no other means of salvation!

Salvation has been about "faith" from the time of Adam!

Salvation has never been about any law!

Rom 4:16 Therefore "it is of faith", that "it might be by grace"; [to the end the promise might be sure] to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

*****Act 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of "the disciples", which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Why do people, even in our day tempt God, by trying to add works to His plan of salvation and just as bad, why are there those that tempt God by taking away the blood, or the virgin birth or the bodily resurrection or the truth of the cross or anything else from the Lord Jesus Christ?

It was a fact that not one Jew, but Jesus, was ever able to keep all the Laws of Moses!

We see that the Apostle Peter stood boldly with the Apostle Paul and Barnabas!

How can this world associate Peter with any of the false doctrine of Rome and read these scriptures?

*****Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [we shall be saved, even as they].

Notice that Peter says the Jew will be saved just like the Gentiles are saved!

Peter does not say the Gentiles will be saved just as the Jews!

The Gentile never had the Law and are saved by "faith" in The Lord Jesus Christ which brings the "Grace" of God!

The Jew will also be saved just as though they never had the Laws of Moses, "by faith" which then brings "Grace"!

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is the gift of God]:

It is a "GIFT" that cannot be bought by any means!

Skip to verse 14 to the words of Paul:

*****Act 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, "to take out of them" a people for his name.

We see that this verse makes no mention of circumcision.

This verse also indicates that the saving of Gentiles was part of God's plan from the beginning, in fact before the beginning!

We know that "whosoever" believes will be saved BUT this verse indicates that only a portion of Gentiles will be believers, taken out of a large group of Gentiles, not all.

It is not that God would not save them all, but that most Gentiles will still reject the truth of the "Gospel".

Jesus had said:

Luk 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, [until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled].

The time fulfilled would be the end of what we call the "Church Age".

Again Paul explained it like this to the Jewish believers:

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in".

The Apostle Peter added:

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1Pe 2:10 Which in time past [were not a people], "but are now the people of God": which had not obtained mercy, "but now have obtained mercy".

The time of the Gentiles is slowly coming to an end! AND "after this", God says:

*****Act 15:16 "After this" [I will return], and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

This the prophesy of Amos 9:11-12.

In other words after the time of the Gentiles, the Church Age is over, The literal kingdom of Israel, "on this Earth", will indeed be restored under the Messiah, at the second coming of the Lord to this Earth.

The Church composed of Jews and Gentiles will already be "Raptured" out of this Earth when Jesus comes in the clouds as a thief.

*****Act 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

These are things that the rest of the world will take notice of after the "Rapture" of the Church.

Today, God is calling out a people, which is the Body of Christ.

After the Rapture of the Body of Christ there will be a great many turning to the Lord during the terrible time of the tribulation period:

*****Act 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

God had revealed all these truths gradually to the world through His prophets, BUT now we have the entire Word of God which explains these things to us all.

BUT, this has been God's Plan from the beginning of Genesis 1:1.

*****Act 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

James, the half-brother of The Lord says, that since it is evident that this was God's plan from the beginning, "it would be foolish of them" now to hinder God's plan by insisting the Gentile should follow Jewish practices and traditions!

*****Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

James added that the Gentiles "could have a better relationship to their Brother Jews and have their greater respect" IF:

1.) If they avoided food used in idolatrous practices of false religion.

2.) Rejected food that came from strangled animals.

"When an animal is strangled, some of the blood will stay in the animal and could make the meat unfit to eat".

Every hunter knows to get a clean shot to keep the animal from being in a panicked state.

3.) Refusing to consume blood as food.

God had given this command before the Laws of Moses were ever written. Genesis 9:4 says that, Blood is used to make atonement for the "soul" and blood must be poured out before God.

Jesus shed His own blood on Calvary's Cross. To drink of any blood, showed no respect for God's Word!

4.) Abstain from sexual immorality.

God has also commanded this from the beginning. BUT the world has never considered this to be sin.

And even less in our day!

But God says to keep our bodies pure. God has called us to be a clean and a holy people.

1Th 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

These were things that would allow the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians to grow in harmony and these things pleased the early church.

Paul later wrote:

Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, [that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way].

*****Act 15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

Act 15:23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:

We can see that it took a compromise on both the Jew and the Gentile in order for there to be harmony in the early church.

Though we can never compromise on the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be aware of cultural differences of the Body of Christ and all strive to be in one accord with all our brothers, no matter where they are located:

Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, "that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind".

*****Act 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: [to whom we gave no such commandment]:

Those Judaizers that had shown up in Antioch of Syria had not been sent by the church in Jerusalem!

James also realized the turmoil that false doctrine could bring to the Church!

False doctrine could subvert the soul of the believer making them useless witnesses for the Lord!

James had finally understood the message of the Lord Jesus Christ, with whom he had spent so many years not understanding.

*****Act 15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, [to send chosen men] unto you with our "beloved" Barnabas and Paul,

Act 15:26 [Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ].

Things can happen when the local church is in one accord but even greater than that is when the entire "Body of Christ" can be in one accord.

Those Judaizers were considered to be deceivers.

"Chosen men", these are men who chose to serve the Lord but also chose to not try to profit from their opportunities!

These two men would confirm the written letter sent from the Apostles and the Church at Jerusalem to those at the church of Antioch in Syria.

Barnabas' name is mentioned first because he is the elder of Paul and more well known at the church in Jerusalem.

AND, the sufferings of Paul and Barnabas was recognized by the early church.

*****Act 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.

Judas: Not a whole lot is known of Judas accept he is later called a prophet, which probably means he was preacher.

After preaching in Antioch for awhile he returned to Jerusalem.

It is possible that he was a family member to Joseph Barsabas who was one of the two selected by the apostles to replace Judas Iscariot.

[Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.]

Silas: Silas became well know because he chose to travel with Paul on his mission trips. He is later known as Silvanus.

This does not make one man greater than the other because we know the Holy Spirit is the one that must guide all our lives.

*****Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

Act 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

We can see that we must allow the Holy Ghost guide us in every decision we make and we must follow His lead!

These things that are mentioned were given so that the Gentiles would not cause the Jews to fail.

Gentiles are never required to meet any demands of the Mosaic system, but they are to exercise courtesy to those that do!

And no one is to commit fornication, which is sexual behavior outside of marriage!

But it can also include placing an Idol before the Lord!

*****Act 15:30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:

Act 15:31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

These things that happened to the early church are written for us that we learn from them and not make the same mistakes.

We are never to become stumbling blocks to believers in our own place of worship but also to those of another culture!

There is only one means of salvation and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)

But problems and differences of opinion are best brought before the church and be based on the Word of God and quickly resolved.

Most church problems are not caused by doctrinal differences but from headstrong leaders, or headstrong followers.

Listen to the prayer of Jesus:

Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, "but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine".

Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, "but for them also which shall believe on me through their word";

Joh 17:21 "That they all may be one"; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

It is when the entire "Body of Christ" is in one accord that the Church will have it's real power in this world.

But this must happen in every local church at one time.

We cannot separate ourselves by denominations!

Every group of believers may be diverse but we must use this as a tool to make a unified church and this begins with Jesus and the work He did on the Cross.

If we cannot get to the Cross THEN we cannot get together.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus-----Sweetest name I know!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Preeminence Of The Gospel

The Preeminence Of The Gospel

Book of Acts Chapter 14

We already know that not everyone who hears the "Gospel" will believe it's "life giving" message.

AND, non-believers will not sit back and allow Christianity to take over, what they see as their world!

Christians should seek every way to spread the truth of the "Gospel" but Christians should not avoid politics.

We saw a pattern in chapter 13 of a sending church that we should follow even in the day we live now. But we also saw a pattern of the actions of non-believers that also continue and are getting worse.

First non-believers will dispute the truth of God's Word "then" they will bring legal action against those that live by God's Word.

Paul and Barnabas had some success in Cyprus but that same success had not come in Antioch of Pisidia. A group of jealous and zealous Jews had stirred up the people.

Again as we still see today non-believers will stir up "women of power" and "politicians" in deceptive ways! Paul and Barnabas were forced to leave Antioch of Pisidia for other places but now we will see a change.

The people of Antioch of Pisidia, had deprived themselves of an opportunity to hear the "Gospel" and be saved!

There were some who did believe and were left behind and it was these who would start a church in Antioch of Pisidia.

Christian brothers and sisters can still have joy in the midst of this turmoil.

Chapter 13 ended with these words:

Act 13:51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.

Act 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

Let's begin:

*****Act 14:1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

(Show Map)

Iconium was a large city about 90 miles east of Antioch of Pisidia. It is still an important place called Konieh. Iconium was a province of Galatia at this time.

We might ask our selves if Paul was turning to the Gentiles, why then would we see him always beginning at the synagogue of the Jews?

This was the place where the leaders of Judaism gathered but this was also a place where spiritual matters where discussed.

In most cases this would also be a place where intellectual and affluent people would gather but there was also another reason!

Paul later wrote to the Romans:

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

That word Greek "meaning Gentile" as opposed to the "Jew".

Paul also wrote these words:

Rom 10:12 For there is "no difference" between the Jew and the Greek: for "the same Lord" over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Paul knew the difference between the two, but in the eyes of God, the Gospel must be preached to the lost, "whosoever" they are, because this is the real command of Our Lord!

*****Act 14:2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against [the brethren].

Notice that word "Brethren".

Here again we see the results of the preaching of the "Gospel".

First there are many that will believe and be saved and in turn there will be those unbelievers that stir up trouble for God's missionaries.

*****Act 14:3 Long time "therefore" abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Act 14:4 But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

At Antioch, Paul and Barnabas had been expelled from not only the city but the entire area but this had not happened so far at Iconium.

Paul and Barnabas abode in Iconium for a long time! The longer they stayed and preached the more divided that city became.

Some of these Gentiles held with the Jews, and part of the Gentiles held with the Apostles. These non-believers out numbered both the Jews and the Brethren and it is still this way today.

*****Act 14:5 And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

That word "assault" means this divisiveness of the multitudes came to such a point that they turned and came upon Paul and Barnabas intending to them harm. In fact if they could have gotten their hands on Paul and Barnabas they intended to stone them to death.

This of course meant that it was the Jews who led this assault. "Legally" these Jews could not do anything so they chose to do things "illegally"!

*****Act 14:6 They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:

Act 14:7 And there they preached the gospel.

These cities that are mentioned are in the area called Galatia in the days of Paul but we now know this area as modern day Turkey.

Notice that Paul and Barnabas were not intimidated by the opposition to the Gospel and we cannot be either.

This is a lesson every believer needs to learn. Though we get discouraged from time to time we cannot be intimidated by this world we live in. We must keep busy spreading the "Gospel" in every way that we can!

We have no control of the results! The results are in God's hands and in the hearts of all those that hear the "Gospel"!

God's message has not and does not change no matter the opposition to it!

*****Act 14:20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

Before we get to this verse God had healed a lame man through Paul in verse 11.

These people of Lycaonia had mental pictures of their false gods and all of a sudden they believed that Paul and Barnabas were those gods and began to worship them.

We can see that they also were expecting their false gods to come to Earth as men. They were and still are expecting a false messiah and we know that this will also happen. We call him the Antichrist.

Jupiter was a Roman false god, and would be the same as "Zeus" to the Greeks. Mercury was another Roman false god would be the same as "Hermes" to the Greeks.

These people had been taught that these pagan gods had once appeared before men and they thought that they had returned.

It does not take much to convince an unbeliever of a false messiah!

Paul told them that their gods were vain and non-existing!

He told them that what they considered as works of their false gods were actually only natural forces that were under control of the true Living God.

These people would have to be taught "Creation" by God's Word in the Book of Genesis.

We find that the modern church is still confused about creation and fail to preach Genesis as the truth and it is the truth.

Our world was created in 6 days just as God said and is only about 6000 years old.

When we witness to the lost, we must have a clear understanding of "Creation" according to the Word of God.

We cannot be swayed by the false science of "Evolution" nor any of it's teachings of an old Earth.

These evolutionists will do anything in their feeble attempt to prove the Book the Genesis to be wrong. In fact when they cause doubt, they have already succeeded!

God had winked at this false worship for a while because these people had seen the evidence of the true God and had been taught lies.

BUT, now was time to hear the truth of the "Gospel" and "Creation".

We are wrong when we do not teach Jesus from the beginning and in every book of the Bible.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world "are clearly seen", being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; [so that they are without excuse]:

Men who cannot realize that "Creation" did not happen by accident have closed their mind, that God gave them, to the truth.

It takes a closed mind and blinded eyes to believe that everything in this world we live in happened by accident.

Every accident I have ever seen brought destruction and not life!

We saw Satan and the enemies of the Gospel have traveled more than a 100 miles to try to stop the spread of the "Gospel" and attempted to murder Paul, which brings us to the verse we are on now.

We should not miss this for the miracle that it was.

We know that Paul later wrote these words:

2Co 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) [such an one caught up to the third heaven].

2Co 12:3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

2Co 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

2Co 12:5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

2Co 12:6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

If Paul was caught up to Heaven, it did not happen on the Damascus road.

It is quite possible that this was the occasion of Paul's vision. It is very possible that Paul was stoned to death and God brought him back to life.

It is also very possible that a young Timothy was one of those that stood around Paul that day.

2Ti 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

And Paul tells us all that it is going to get worse than it was this day in Lystra:

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

We can see the truth of this in the day we now live!

Paul and Barnabas and some other believers then left and went to Derbe.

*****Act 14:21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

What we see in this verse is that "Doctor Luke" did not give any details of opposition in Derbe.

AND, We do believe that Gaius joined Paul at this time:

Act 20:4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and [Gaius of Derbe], and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Paul and those with him, then went back to to all those cities they had been run out of and gave them additional proof of the "Gospel" by the Word of God.

This was a time of establishing the local church in each area.

These places needed to be organized in order to continue in the faith.

*****Act 14:23 And when they had "ordained" them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

The Greek word used for "ordained" in this verse means that they elected the leaders of the local church by a showing of hands.

In other words they had a church meeting and they voted. These elders could have been teachers and leaders but they were not Pastors. They were organizing the local body of Christ and we know there are no unimportant parts of this body.

The qualifications for these positions are given in the Book of Timothy:

1Ti 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

1Ti 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

1Ti 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

1Ti 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

1Ti 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

We should notice that to be "the husband of one wife" would by these words of scripture eliminate "all female" church elders!

It is God Himself who calls His pastors, "not the church" and it is the Holy Ghost who distributes the gifts to each believer and no one else!

We can also see that the Apostle Paul was "a church planter" and though he tried to strengthen each local church, they would have to depend on God to lead them!

*****Act 14:24 And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

Act 14:25 And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:

Act 14:26 And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

Act 14:27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

Paul and Barnabas had retraced the steps of their missionary journey.

They preached in each local church and established each one.

They were eyewitnesses to the power of God in the lives of these Gentiles.

AND, They now had returned to the church that had sent them out and supported them and gave them a full report.

We are now witness to the first missionary conference in the New Testament!

Notice how it was God who got the "Glory". They rehearsed "all that God had done", because we can be God's messengers BUT it is God's Word that does all the work of Salvation.

Then it is each individual who must believe!

Salvation is still a personal, "one on one" relationship with the Lord!

The Church at Antioch of Syria became the first headquarters for missions and there have been many since that time.

In fact every group of believers that gather together as the "Body of Christ" should be a headquarters for missions!

AND, If we cannot have joy in the good news of God's work, then how can we call ourselves Christian!

This is the mission of the every local church to send God fearing men and women out into the world to spread the "Gospel".

In return everyone that is sent out needs to report back on the things that God has accomplished!

A church that does not support missions that spread the "Gospel" of "the Lord Jesus Christ" have little need to exist!

A church that spreads any other message is a house of Satan!

Jesus gave us this command:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mat 28:20 [Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you]: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

If Jesus did not teach it, then we should not teach it!

We have a "completed" copy of the Word of God. We are not to add words to it and we are not to take away any words from it!

*****Act 14:28 And there they abode long time with the disciples.

We can be sure that much had been learned from this first mission trip and plans were made for another.

Paul and Barnabas had shown that access to the Savior was as free to the Gentiles as it was to the Jews and this would continue to cause disagreements in the early church.

The first trip lasted for about two years and it would be another two years before another would begin.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Pattern Of A Sending Church

The Pattern Of A Sending Church

Text Acts 13

We find as we get further into the Book of Acts that the "Gospel" is finally moving. It is easy to say that the Church at Jerusalem was holding things up but we cannot blame anything on a building nor entirely on a group of people until we accept the blame on ourselves also.

We should all ask ourselves "are we being obedient to God's command"?

The "key" to the Book of Acts is still Acts 1:8:

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

This command given by Jesus was not to a building or a gathering place called a church, BUT to each individual that has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior!

It was to begin in Jerusalem then all Judea, on to Samaria, and then to the uttermost places of this entire globe we live on, called Earth.

We will see that the Body of Christ that was located and that gathered at a place at Antioch of Syria, finally understood, "with the help of the Holy Ghost", what God meant about spreading the "Gospel"!

What we may not realize it but at this time but Antioch of Syria was one of the largest cites of the known world. It's population was near that of Rome and even Alexandria of Egypt.

Though the title missionary is not found in the Bible it is clearly understood and "it can be said", that at Antioch missionaries were sent out, sponsored, and supported by a group of believers in a local church.

Those that had gone out from Jerusalem had done so, because of persecution!

We can also see that the church at Jerusalem was not considered to be a home church but that all houses of God are on the same level of equality!

This group of believers in Antioch of Syria. gladly accepted the task of sending God's Word out to the world!

This is the same task that every group of believers have, no matter their location, on this Earth!

Let's begin:

*****Act 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

We should notice immediately that the church at Antioch, is a "whosoever" church.

We have Barnabas from Cyrus.

We have Simeon who was a black man but also a teacher in the early church.

We have, Lucius from Cyrene, who is listed in the Book of Romans as a kinsman to the Apostle Paul. This could mean that he was of the tribe of Benjamin or possibly some closer kin.

We have Manaen who had been in the company that traveled with Herod Antipas who was the governor assigned by Rome and who had beheaded John the Baptist.

And not the least of them but we also have Saul, already at this time considered at least a teacher of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

*****Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, "the Holy Ghost said", "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them".

Notice, these men were already busy. They were already serving the Lord and committed to His Word at this time!

They were committed to fasting and prayer!

We don't hear a whole lot about fasting in the modern church but maybe we should!

Fasting is giving something up for the Lord! It is more than just missing a meal, though nourishment is the means for this flesh we live in, to live.

Jesus said:

Luk 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Jesus sent the devil packing with these words, SO, we we can certainly send the devil packing by fasting along with our prayers!

Satan hates to see anyone give up anything for the Lord, because he used to get all that affection when we were all out in the world with him.

1Co 6:11 "And such were some of you": but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

It is only when we are already busy about the work that the Lord has given us to do, that the Holy Spirit will come calling for His special work.

When we just sit around waiting on something from the Holy Spirit, our wait will be long and He will not be forthcoming unless in chastisement!

The Holy Spirit calls people who have proved themselves to be in God's Army by being on the front lines!

We can also see that there was no guessing as to what the Holy Spirit was saying. The Holy Spirit had already been working on Paul and Barnabas for the work He was calling them to do!

*****Act 13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

The Holy Spirit is very clear when He calls, but we should still pray and fast to get His latest instructions!

Paul and Barnabas knew what they were to do, but the entire "Body of Christ" must also get involved!

When the church sent them out for God's work, "they knew they would have to provide as much as they could for them".

The first thing they needed was prayer but they would also need to meet their physical needs!

"To be sent" also means to carry the message of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

"To be sent" also means that there would be some accounting of these men that were sent.

"To be sent" also means that there would be some accounting of those that sent them!

This whole church at Antioch, was behind this action and not just Saul and Barnabas!

You know we have two men, Nathan Sears and Scott Davis, that were sent out from our church that we totally support but sometimes that support is not enough because we get lax in giving for them.

*****Act 13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

Act 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

Seleucia was the seaport of Antioch but it was about 15 miles from the city limits.

Cyprus is an island and it was the native land of Barnabas.

Salamis was on the eastern coast of Cyprus and the chief city of Cyprus at that time.

Cyprus was about 130 miles by sailing ship from Seleucia.

We might not understand all we need to know about John Mark at this time but what we do know is that he was probably an eyewitness to the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

SO, His information to Paul would be firsthand, eyewitness information.

Cyprus was a good choice because it was the native land of Barnabas and also of Manaen.

AND, we can also know that the Holy Spirit would have already been working in Cyprus.

There were many Jewish synagogues located there, because Rome did allow freedom of religion for many years, at least until Christianity began to grow and spread!

In a lot of cases, without those "certain" Jews from Jerusalem causing problems, these synagogues welcomed Paul and this also gave he and Barnabas access to the Gentile population!

Skip down to verse 26

*****Act 13:26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

It is best to keep in mind though we call these missionary journeys of Paul and Barnabas they were much more than hasty dashes from one city to the next.

When the Apostle Paul entered a city he established a foundation for a local church. He only moved to another city when he came under pressure from the local authorities or by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Barnabas was with Paul throughout this entire first journey, BUT John Mark had departed when Paul and Barnabas left Cyprus.

This first journey had begun with success, but there was some unexpected trouble from a sorcerer. These men were just magicians as we have in our day but these men were counted as "wise men" in most cultures of this time.

What did God say?

Pro 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

We may not know why John Mark departed from them but the Apostle Paul was not impressed much with him at this time.

AND, Mark did not return to Antioch of Syria but went back home to his mother in Jerusalem.

Paul later changes his mind about Mark and he makes that clear in his epistles.

At the time of this verse Paul and Barnabas had arrived in Antioch of Pisidia which is an entirely different place than Antioch of Syria.

Paul would usually try to to begin his ministry in the local synagogue, if one was available.

Paul had a never ending burden for his people and he usually always found at least some of them that were ready to hear the Word of God.

*****Act 13:29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

Act 13:30 But God raised him from the dead:

Paul presented the ministry of Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy that it was!

Paul used the same Old Testament scriptures that these people had a copy of, and preached Jesus to them.

Paul appealed for them to avoid the error that Jerusalem had made, by rejecting Christ Jesus.

But Paul emphasized to all of them, that those in power at Jerusalem had done all these things, BUT "God had raised Jesus from the dead" which was the fulfillment of prophecy of the Messiah!

Jesus' life as a man in the flesh was taken away from Him and He certainly died!

Jesus was taken off that cross as a dead man!

Jesus was buried as a dead man!

And even in death the flesh of Jesus was not allowed to see sin! He was only in that grave for 3 days and not 4!

But as God, "He could not be held in a man's grave", because God the Father raised Him from the dead by the Power of the Holy Spirit!

The Bible says:

Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

And:

Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

You see God had also promised that "He would swallow up death in victory"! (Isa 25:8)

God had also said that His redeemed, would live together with the dead body of Jesus which did rise from the dead. (Isa 26:19)

And Job said:

Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

This is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

*****Act 13:31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ "was the great proof" of His being the true Son of God with power!

The resurrection "was the fulfillment" of all that was written about Him.

The resurrection "was His confirmation" that the Bible is the true Word of God and cannot be denied!

*****Act 13:32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

Act 13:33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, {Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee}.

We should see that the prophecy of the second Psalm (2:7) is specific when it says that Jesus was "begotten" at His resurrection and not at His birth!

This term is used 15 times in the New Testament and can also be used to describe the "Rapture" of the Church!

1Jn 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him "that begat" loveth him also that "is begotten of him".

And the Apostle Peter:

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath "begotten us again" unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Another thing we should not miss in this verse is what Paul says:

He uses the words "the second Psalm".

This teaches us that the division of at least the Psalms, then was "not done" many years later by Bible scholars but were already done in the day of Apostle Paul.

*****Act 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

Act 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Notice Paul was not preaching a deliverance from Rome.

Paul was preaching a deliverance from sin!

Paul was preaching that Jesus was the expected Messiah!

Paul was preaching that those highly revered Laws of Moses could not justify anyone from sin!

Paul was preaching that not just Jew and Gentile but "whosoever" would believe these things could be justified from all sin forever!

Paul was preaching the "good news", the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

"Justification" is an act that only God can perform and this was the method God had chosen!

It is God's "plan" and not for us to question His plan!

The Jews were taught that God justified the righteous and punished the wicked BUT the "Gospel" says that God will justify "the ungodly" who will put their faith in Jesus Christ "because there are no righteous" people on this Earth!

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

NO Law can ever justify the sinner!

Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Paul closed his sermon with a word of warning, He said these words from God:

Act 13:40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; (Habakkuk 1:5)

Act 13:41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, "though a man declare it unto you".

*****Act 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

Notice it is always the same, some believe, some do not believe, and some are curious enough to want to come back.

Jesus explained this to the Apostles:

Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Mat 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

Mat 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

Mat 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Some were persuaded to continue in God's Grace. And from where comes God's "Grace"?

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, "but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ".

2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and "in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ". To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

When we can be persuaded of this fact of "Grace" we can then, get on that path of righteousness:

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

*****Act 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

We can see that there was much discussion of Paul's message. BUT, The topic of that discussion was the Lord Jesus Christ.

*****Act 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

These Jews here were those same Jews who were zealous of Judaism.

As we go through the Book of Acts we will see this group over and over again trying to stop the spread of the "Gospel".

Jude the half-brother of the Lord Jesus wrote these words about this group of non-believers.

Jud 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

They were extremely jealous. They had not seen this much interest in the God of the Hebrews and were certainly not willing to share Him with all these Gentiles.

They regarded the Law as the standard of salvation and would not agree to any other means.

The Apostle Paul was preaching blasphemy in their eyes!

*****Act 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Paul informs this entire congregation that he was being obedient to the Word of God.

AND, Paul later wrote to the Romans:

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

When we reject the truth of the "Gospel" we are saying that we are unworthy of God's "Grace"!

When we refuse the free gift of God's "Grace" then we have rejected the results of that "Grace" which is eternal life!

It was Jesus Himself who said to preach the "Gospel" to the Jew first but He then said go to the uttermost parts of the world which included "whosoever" would believe.

*****Act 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

It was now time to fulfill the prophecy of the Old Testament:

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

We will see this pattern develop and continue even in our day. There are many Jews who have come to the knowledge of the saving "Grace" of the "Gospel".

This will continue until the "Church Age" has been completed and God will then turn His attention back to the Jew.

Paul would continue to plant churches until God called him home.

We see that Paul and Barnabas played a great part in taking the "Gospel" to the Gentiles but more important "they were sent by the Holy Ghost"!

We will continue to see that there is no power on this Earth that can stop the spread of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

But we can also see that Satan, the Devil, will not cease to hinder God's Word even though he cannot ever prevail!

We are on the winning side if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Act 13:49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Power Of Prayer

The Power Of The Praying Church

Book of Acts Chapter 12

In today's lesson we will see what happens as Satan loses one battle after another in trying to stop the Church.

The persecution of the Church began immediately after Pentecost. Christ Jesus had been persecuted and He had said all of His followers would be persecuted.

There is no doubt that we can expect persecution from false religion because Satan tries to hide the truth of God from all false religion!

Most all mankind, if not all, are seeking a god in their lives.

Most of mankind has moral values and they realize that plants cannot have moral values and though animals can show signs of affection and a degree of learning they also do not have moral values.

If man is then the highest level of life then most people believe that there must have been a Creator, a God!

The others just reject the truth!

Satan has taken advantage of these thoughts in all of mankind and uses all his power to try to stop the truth of God.

In Jerusalem the persecution of the Church began with the religious leaders who instilled a hatred of Christianity into most all Jews. They had failed and now the Church had expanded outside Samaria and was making it's way to the uttermost parts of this world.

But now another enemy comes on the scene. Government officials had been used by these religious leaders to aid in this persecution but now an evil ruling government took it own it's own to try to stop the spread of the Christian Church.

All during this period of persecution it seems that the Apostles had been exempt but that was about to change.

If we believe in "types" then we should be aware that these things are happening before our eyes even in America and in a great part of the world.

We have one truth that we can place our faith in and these are the words of Jesus Our Lord:

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; [and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it].

And God also says:

Isa 54:17 [No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper]; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

This the truth of the Bible.

The "strength" of the Church and the "Power" of the Church comes through "Prayer" and we can see this again today. We have a God that listens to His people!

Let's begin:

*****Act 12:1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

This Herod was Herod Agrippa 1. He was the grandson of Herod the Great who was ruler when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and had murdered all the babies up to two years old.

Herod the Great had even murdered Agrippa's own father Aristobulus. It was this Agrippa's sister, Herodias who had married within the family to his and her uncle Herod Antipas who had murdered John the Baptist.

And it was the son of this Herod, Agrippa II and his sister Bernice, who also later witnessed the trial of Paul before Festus, before Paul was sent to Rome. He also had another sister named Drusilla who was married to Felix who had kept Paul in prison in Caesarea for so long a time.

Herod Agrippa I would do everything he could to make himself popular with the Jews to help him maintain his influence in Rome.

The Pharisees had a special admiration for this man so he decided to do away with the leaders of the Church.

*****Act 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

James became the second recorded martyr, after Stephen, in the New Testament and the first of the Apostles to die for preaching the Word of God.

This James was the older brother of the Apostle John and we already know he preached vigorously and could stir up a commotion with his boldness.

Mar 3:17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

James was beheaded which was one of the four capitol punishments of the Jews and considered to be the most shameful and the most disgraceful. This beheading was usually reserved for deceivers and all the Apostles were considered deceivers by the Jews.

Jesus had told this James that he indeed would suffer from the same cup as He!

Mar 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

Mar 10:39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

*****Act 12:3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

This was all the encouragement that this Herod needed to proceed in murdering all the Apostles! If the murdering of James made them happy then surely by killing Peter would delight them even more. We can see that this King Herod fed off this feeling of power over the people.

God permitted the killing of James and God permitted the arrest of Peter. They placed Peter place under heavy guard but Herod knew he needed to wait until after the festival of unleavened bread was complete before he killed Peter.

The last time Peter had been arrested he had miraculously escaped, so this time 16 soldiers were assigned to watch Peter around the clock with two soldiers being chained to him at all times. There was no way for Peter to escape this time, or so they thought.

Of course this observance of "Easter" was a day that the Christian church observed, as the Jews still observed it as "Passover".

We could ask ourselves why James had to die and not Peter, but all we can say is that it is still God's plan and it is He that sits on the throne!

It is the throne of Heaven that is in control and not any throne that is on this Earth, just as we will witness one day soon when the Anti-Christ tries to sit on the throne of Jesus.

*****Act 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: [but prayer was made without ceasing] of the church unto God [for him].



We must never under estimate the "power" of the praying church! Notice, it was not time to have just a general prayer in the church. It was time to have a specific prayer for the Apostle Peter, that he would be released and be able to continue in God's work.

We will see that there is an obvious relationship between the prayer for Peter's release from prison and the angel's releasing him.

This prayer was probably not made in a single gathering place because of fear after James was killed but they gathered in homes and in little groups, each group praying earnestly and from the heart and without ceasing.

This prayer was specifically for Peter!

*****Act 12:6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

We can see that there was no way for Peter to escape by any, so called, normal means.

But we can also see that Peter was asleep. We will see that the Apostle Peter was sleeping so soundly that the angel had to awaken him by punching on him and lifting him up.

In spite of his circumstances and knowing he was to executed on the following morning, Peter had the peace of a man who knows that Heaven is his home and he was about to go there. This is the peace of God that we all should have.

The Bible says:

Psa 121:7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

Psa 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

And God tells each of us these words:

Psa 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for so he giveth his beloved sleep].

God tells us that it is foolish to worry about our circumstances. We should be resting for the work ahead.

Remember, Peter had also been promised by Jesus, that he would live to be an old man:

Joh 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: [but when thou shalt be old], thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Now we might not know how old that would be but Peter was not that old at this time!

*****Act 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

What are some of the things that angels do?

1.) They minister to God the Father.

2.) They ministered to Jesus Christ, God the Son.

3.) They minister to every believer:

a.) They can offer physical protection:

Psa 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

b.) They can help provide a need in times of peril as they did to Elijah:

1Ki 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

1Ki 19:6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

c.) They can offer encouragement as they did to Paul:

Act 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

Act 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

d.) They can give us direction as they did to Philip:

Act 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

And as they had to Cornelius about Peter:

Act 10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.

e.) Angels may one day carry us home to Heaven:

Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and [was carried by the angels] into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

f.) And in this lesson we see they assist in answered prayer!

But Angels will one day also minister to all unbelievers!

Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Mat 13:42 [And shall cast them into a furnace of fire]: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

In order for Peter to be saved, from this peril, he had to do what this angel told him to do!

*****Act 12:8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. [And so he did]. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

Even in the middle of a miracle, we are expected to be civil and do the things that we can do. Peter needed to dress himself and put on his own shoes because it was time to get out of jail.

We are to do the things God has given us power to do and God will do the things that we are powerless to do!

And then we are to obey "the one" that God sends!

*****Act 12:9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

Peter felt like he was having a dream and that dream came with a vision.

His chains had just fallen off.

The soldiers were not aware of anything that was happening.

Locked cells and gates were just opening up.

Unbelievable things were happening that could not be explained so Peter felt that they must not be real.

*****Act 12:10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.

These two wards were places inside the prison where guards were stationed and that iron gate was the entrance, or in Peter's case, the exit from that prison where he had been kept.

Prisons were not outside the city walls at this time!

These gates just opened on their own. They did not have to open for the angel, so they were opening for Peter's escape.

This angel did not leave Peter until Peter knew which way he could go to escape and it was at this time that Peter realized he had been saved from death!

*****Act 12:11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

Peter knew he had been delivered from the hand of Herod and from the Jewish leaders.

Peter was no longer confused!

Peter knew that his own people the Jews had expected him to be murdered just as James had been.

BUT, even the government could not stop what God had in store for Peter.

AND, the "power of prayer" is a force that is also unstoppable. These are lessons that we all seem to have forgotten.

The Bible says:

Psa 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

Psa 41:2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: [and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies].

*****Act 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

This probably a Mary we have not yet met, and more probably, a sister to Barnabas we have just recently met.

When Peter had gained control of his senses, he realized that his brothers and sisters may be gathered together and most probably in a place familiar with them all.

Peter knew this place and this family very well and had led Mark to the Lord:

1Pe 5:13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; [and so doth Marcus my son].

This was most likely the same upper room where they had been praying on the day of Pentecost.

The same room where they had observed the Lord's Supper with the Lord.

It is very possible that Mark and even Barnabas had been in that house with them both of these times.

*****Act 12:13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.

Act 12:14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.

It is most probable that while this church, that met in Mary's house was still praying, the answer to their prayer had appeared at the door!

Rhoda was so overwhelmed that she neglected to open the door, though she recognized the voice of Peter.

Peter had to keep knocking while the church could not believe their prayer had been answered.

*****Act 12:15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.

Act 12:16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.

They had been praying earnestly but they had no faith that their prayer would be answered.

This a great lesson for us all!

There are indeed guardian angels assigned to each believer:

Psa 34:7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

These people knew that Peter was not to be executed until the Passover or after it, so they were not referring to this as Peter's spirit or the ghost of Peter.

And this could not ave been an angel or he could have walked right on in that house.

The lesson we learn here is that though they believed in fervent prayer, they had their doubts that God would answer such a prayer.

The Bible teaches us:

Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, [Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief].

When we doubt that our prayers will be answered then most times they will not!

As a child of God the Father, He has given us the "power" to come directly to His throne at any hour and with any need.

We are wasting our time and His time if we do not believe that Our Father can do the impossible, as this simple illustration we are given in this passage!

Remember Herod had murdered James, the brother of John.

He had intended to do the same to Peter.

The early church was driven to it's knees and God, not only answered their prayer and released Peter, but God began to turn the tide against this Herod and these Jews.

More than just saving Peter happened that day because of prayer!

The Bible says:

Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. [The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much].

In other words there is endless power in the fervent prayer of "faith"!

*****Act 12:17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord

had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he

departed, and went into another place.

The Apostle James was already dead, so this James was the half brother of Jesus, and even at this time this James was taking more responsibility in the church at Jerusalem and this James was also the writer used of the Holy Ghost to write the Book of James!

Peter disappears for a period of time at least until after the time of Herod's death.

We will see very little of Peter throughout the remaining chapters but we will begin to see a whole lot of the Apostle Paul.

We know that Peter gathered his wife and went on the road preaching the gospel:

1Co 9:5 Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, [and Cephas]?

In fact Peter is on the short list of some that preached to the church of Corinth after it was established:

1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; [and I of Cephas]; and I of Christ.

The Bible does not give us any evidence that the Apostle Peter ever visited Rome, and in fact, if Peter had establish a church in Rome then the Apostle Paul would not have had his yearning to go to Rome:

There is proof of this:

Rom 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, [lest I should build upon another man's foundation]:

The Bible encourages us to be in earnest prayer for those Christians locked up for preaching the "Gospel" and to have enough faith that God will use these people to grow the church.

Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, [as bound with them]; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Prayer can change lives and it is vastly important that we realize the power of prayer!

Herod who was the ruling government was shaken up by what happened!

The military was shaken up and blamed and at least 16 soldiers who then lost their lives!

Herod commanded a great search be made, but Peter could not be found!

Herod decided it would be best if he left Judea and he went back to Caesarea but he could not hide from God and in a short time his own life was ended because he did not give God the glory!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Progress Of The Gospel

The Progress Of The Gospel

Book of Acts Chapters 10-11

Before the Book of Acts turns it's attention to the Apostle Paul, we get to see the Apostle Peter again.

God has clearly revealed the direction the early church was to take!

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

There is no power in any house of God without "Born Again", "Holy Ghost Filled" believers!

There is no power in the child of God without the Holy Ghost who indwells each believer!

We will see the Apostle Peter complete three things in this study.

Peter will show his God-Given power to heal the sick.

Peter will show us his God-Given power to raise the dead.

Peter will shows us his God-Given power to lead the lost to the Lord, so they could be saved by the "Grace" of God.

So what is God's greatest miracle?

First none of things theses happened without the power of God.

Everyone that is sick, will again get sick.

Those that were raised from the dead in Bible times had to die again.

Then the greatest miracle must be Salvation!

Salvation will lead us to a place where there will be no sickness and there will be no death but only a place of eternal life!

Let's begin:

*****Act 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,

We should not miss the fact that Peter was on his own missionary journey.

Act 9:32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.

Peter had traveled from Jerusalem to Lydda. As one would travel to the city of Joppa a city on the Mediterranean coast some 30 miles of Jerusalem they would first pass through Emmaus, 7 miles from Jerusalem and then on to Lydda which was 9 miles from Joppa.

While in Lydda Peter had healed a man named Aeneas who had been so sick that he could not get out of his bed for 8 years. That's like going to Hospice care and healing someone who could then go back home.

Many in Lydda, which were mostly Jews came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

This same area is known as Sharon and the phrase "the rose of Sharon" comes from this area of Israel. Of course we know that the true "rose of Sharon" is Jesus Christ our Lord just as He is the "Lily of our valley"!

While Peter was in Lydda, he and his ministry was known in Joppa, he was called to Joppa for an emergency. Peter found a grand old lady of Joppa called Dorcas which means "gazelle" but her real name was Tabitha.

This grand lady of the city of Joppa was raised from the dead:

Act 9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Peter then stayed in Joppa for a period of time in a house of a man named Simon, who was a tanner. Not many Jews would have stayed with a tanner because a tanner had to deal with dead animals which made him unclean in the eyes of the Jew.

Peter was in this place as our lesson unfolds today.

Caesarea was also located on the Mediterranean Sea and was about 70 miles from Jerusalem. This city was built by Herod the Great in honor of Caesar Augustus.

This city was used as the capitol city and the seat of civil government of Rome while they ruled Judaea. Cornelius was an actual Roman Centurion and we can tell by the phrase "the Italian Band".

Roman citizens and Roman governors would be protected by Roman soldiers collected out of Italy. A Centurion would normally command 100 soldiers.

*****Act 10:2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

Cornelius was truly a man who had forsaken Roman idolatry and the false religion in which he had been raised as a child. He had come to fear the only true God, who is the God of Israel. Cornelius had even brought up his family in the fear of the God of Israel.

Cornelius gave charitably to the Jews, and Cornelius prayed to God "alway", which means he prayed continuously.

In the following verses we can see that Cornelius was praying for a closer walk with God!

*****Act 10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.

Act 10:4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

Don't you just love the fact that God and all His angels in Heaven know your name. You know if Cornelius lived in America today, he would have pass as a Christian and he would be persecuted by the masses for the way he lived.

He was a military officer, a man of influence, and the foundation of his home.

God had made Himself known to him but he had never heard the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

There are so many that live in our world today in this same position waiting on someone to come by and tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

It is believed that this event took place 10 years after Pentecost. We can only know that God has His own plan and it is His plan that works.

But what we see is that when the time came the Holy Spirit began His work on Cornelius and He responded knowing He was meeting the Lord.

In the sense of the Law, Cornelius had been offering a sacrifice that was well pleasing unto God, an odor of sweet smell.

His prayers and his sincerity had won the ear of God!

"But", All men shall be accountable to God by Jesus Christ.

He is the only Judge who can Justify each believer!

It is those that believe in His name that can rest assured that there will be no further condemnation!

*****Act 10:5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:

Act 10:6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.

Another great thing about our father in Heaven is that, He always knows exactly where we are located at all times. Peter was doing a work in Joppa.

BUT, this was Peter's training ground and he had not yet realized it.

It was 30 miles from Caesarea to Joppa and those messengers started that same evening. The business of a tanner would not be hard to find because of the smell and would always be by a large source of water.

The main thing we can see in Cornelius is that he knew his religious devotion was not enough to save him!

Salvation cannot ever be of works!

Those that are satisfied with their good character will still not get into Heaven because they have no concept of their own sin and of God's "Grace"!

AND, Cornelius needed someone to tell him these things!

*****Act 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

Act 10:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

Before Peter could lead the Gentiles to the Lord, he needed a little more training. God had to prepare the already Apostle Peter for this work.

The message of the Gospel and God's "Grace" is the same and will never change but as we carry God's message to the lost we must have a better understanding of them.!

What we will see in this passage is that most of the barriers to us being true witnesses for the Lord, are within our own selves.

The Apostle Peter had the right message!

He was at the right time and the right place!

BUT, Peter had lived the life of an orthodox Jew all his life and the Law of Moses was a great wall between the Jew and the Gentiles!

We know that this wall was removed at the cross!

Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus [ye who sometimes were far off] are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

God had declared that there was no difference between the Jew and the Gentile:

Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Notice God knows exactly what it will take to reach each of us in any situation!

Peter was hungry, so God used food to teach Peter a great spiritual lesson.

Peter would also get a first hand lesson on what Jesus had taught him earlier:

Mar 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

*****Act 10:14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

The first thing we should see in this verse is that if Christ Jesus is truly Our Lord then the answer "no" cannot exist!

When we say "No" to The Lord then we are not recognizing Him as Our Lord!

This is a contradiction in words!

Jesus teaches us all this truth:

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

It is a fact that food can cause us many problems but the food we eat CANNOT change our relationship with Our Lord!

After these things were over, Peter was still wondering what had just taken place but as we see God's timing is always perfect and those messengers from Cornelius had just arrived.

*****Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

That voice that Peter had heard said "What God has cleansed, thou call not thou common" and this was repeated 3 times.

As far back as King Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament, we can find the phrase "nor respect of persons" referring to the Lord.

And the exact truth is:

Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

Every person on the face of this Earth stands at the same level before the justice of God and there are no exceptions!

We are all in need of the salvation that can only come through Jesus Christ!

All mankind have the same Creator, and all men need the same Savior, this is the Word of God that is given to us all or to "whosoever" accepts the truth of the Word of God!

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

That wrath will come to it's entirety at the Great White Throne Of Judgment!

*****Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Before Christ, the Gentile nations were "aliens" from the commonwealth of Israel.

Before Christ, the Gentile nations were "strangers" from the covenant promises to Israel.

Before Christ, the Gentile nations had no hope, and were without God in this world.

Before Christ, there was the Law, but it is Jesus Christ that brought the "Grace" of the Almighty God to every creature on this Earth!

From the very first day of Adam, Our God has required "faith" and after "faith" comes then the "Grace" of God can be shown by Christ through the preaching of the "Gospel"!

God does not honor works as a means of salvation!

But God does honor works that come after faith in those that fear Him! He is the true God of Creation, and the true God of the Bible!

Cornelius had understood the preaching of John the Baptist according to verse 37:

Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

We will see many other times in the Book of Acts that the preaching of John the Baptist had reached many places outside of Jerusalem.

Yet salvation can still only come through Jesus Christ as we will see in our lesson!

*****Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Peter begins by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter begins by preaching the facts!

You see it took a great power and a great victory to break Satan's tyranny over the bodies mankind.

Luk 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, [whom Satan hath bound], lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

It took great power and a great victory to break Satan's tyranny over the souls of mankind.

2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

This is the greatest evidence of the truth of the Gospel and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy:

Isa 49:25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

*****Act 10:39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Act 10:40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

Jesus had been crucified before the entire world and these things were not hid from the public nor from the Roman army. It was the Jewish leaders that had tried the Lord and it was Rome who had crucified Him.

This was not superstitious reverence but "witnessed", and "historical" facts!

It was the Apostles and the followers of Christ who were "eye witnesses" to the resurrection and the days that followed Jesus until He ascended into Heaven, which they also wirnessed.

And there had been many other infallible proofs given to them.

And many prophecies fulfilled:

Hos 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

Hos 6:2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, [and we shall live in his sight].

*****Act 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi are just a few of the prophesies we are familiar with but John wrote in the Book of Revelation that Jesus was the Spirit of Prophecy.

Peter said this is who Jesus is. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Anointed One sent from Heaven!

*****Act 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

Just as soon as these that heard Peter, believed, and the Holy Ghost interrupted this meeting:

Peter later explained it like this, he said:

Act 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

Just as the Holy Ghost had fell on those 120 in that upper room on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost fell on this meeting with Cornelius.

Peter was not able to finish his sermon this day, enough was said, because salvation comes to those that believe in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The early church now had Jews, Samaritan, and Gentiles and it was time to go to the uttermost part of the earth.

The key to these things is for every "Born Again" believer to reproduce himself through another lost soul and to produce fruit!

*****Act 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

These are the Jews that were with Peter that day.

It is hard for us to realize the great barrier that existed between the Jew and the Gentile that day but we must realize that war and foreign domination can cause hate. It was the Jews that had brought forth the Word of God and they simply could not believe that Gentiles could be saved. They were enemies to the Jew and certainly, they believed that no Gentile deserved to know their God.

Peter went to where ever God sent him and he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to "whosoever". This was his job and it it God who calls those to Himself who will be saved.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God [by faith in Christ Jesus].

Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

After salvation comes baptism and after baptism comes the work of telling others about Jesus!

Questions?

Let's Pray!