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Category: Acts for a 21st c. Church

Acts of the Apostles + a History of Christ’s Church

Acts of the Apostles 1-28

Acts of the Apostles:
+ The first century Church SHARED Christ while suffering severe persecution.
+ Luke records a historic account of the Church which gives 21c Christians a context to SHARE the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Read more about the Early Church & add your COMMENT on Scripture.

ACT now.

+ SHARE the Gospel history witnessed in the CURRENT chronological SERIES from ACTS of the APOSTLES.

The Gospel: Preached by Stephen

Acts 6: Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number…

The multitudes were now part of the way and living as disciples of the risen Christ Jesus. The twelve Apostles (with Mathias appointed to replace Judas) need the help of others. They appointed deacons – seven more men fully filled with the Holy Spirit to serve as additional leaders.

… and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,

and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

When God multiplies the numbers and faith of believers, without fail opposition to God will test the faith of believers. The truth of our witness by the Spirit will convert the enemies of Christ to trust in His overflowing love.

9 Then some … rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

11 Then they secretly instigated men… 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses…

15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Filled with the Power of the Holy Spirit, Stephen now preaches to his false accusers the gospel of Christ Jesus.

Acts 7

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran.

And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.

6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.

Israel, the Hebrew people, chosen by God, were proud of their heritage through Abraham.

Again, remember that Joseph, son of Israel (Jacob) became a savior to his people by bringing them into Goshen of Egypt as sojourners.

Stephen continues with Joseph’s story and their history in Egypt, which every Jew knew so well from scripture:

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

God used Moses to save Israel. God gave the Hebrew people the Law through Moses. These are the first five book of Scripture.

Moses, even more than David, is revered by the Jews. Yet hear what Stephen points out about the relationship of the Hebrews to Moses and scripture from Moses to point to this parallel to Christ Jesus.

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’

41 … And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven…

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness… 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua…

… So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’

Yes, we are proud of our great houses of worship, aren’t we?

So were the Jews of the first century proud of the Temple Herod built, the Temple where they worshiped Abraham and worshiped Moses and worshiped David and worshiped their long-established traditions…

Are we so different?

Yet Stephen, by the Power of the Holy Spirit, quotes scripture reminding us that GOD is the Creator and has no need of any house of other provision of man. (This is from the Prophet Isaiah.)

Steven then reminds his accusers, who have rejected Christ Jesus, of their sordid history of opposing the will of God:

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.

As your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

Are you so caught up in ‘church’ that you forget Jesus?

Can you be so stiff-necked and uncircumcised in your heart and ears that you resist the gospel of the Holy Spirit being preached from the pulpit and written before you in a dust-covered Bible?

Could you be just as one who stood by while Stephen preached the gospel?

What must YOU do?

REPENT! and be changed permanently by the Name of Jesus Christ.

Do not resist the Holy Spirit.

You with ears to hear and eyes to see Scripture, hear and see the Gospel.

May 17, 2014
The Gospel: Preached by Peter

“Listen carefully, all of you…

Acts 2:

Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. [That is, 9 a.m.]

16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

The Spirit echos God’s voice through the Prophet Joel.

IF God speaks to us through the Prophets of the Old Testament, do we then seek to understand how God warns us even now of the refinement to come?

Peter spoke to these men of Judea of what is written in the Prophets centuries earlier. By the Spirit, Peter then preaches the Gospel: Jesus IS the fulfillment of scripture. He IS the Messiah of God!

“LISTEN,” Peter instructs. This moment in the spectrum of God’s eternal time is important to your eternal soul. You know the scripture… (Do you?) … here is how God the Father used Jesus the Son as the Sacrifice for our sins.

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words:

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Peter is saying through the Spirit, ‘YOU crucified the Very Son of God!’ Yet even though you did, it was God’s plan. AND God raised Jesus from death!

IMPOSSIBLE; yet NOT for GOD.The SON of GOD cannot be held even by death.

Peter then continues by the Spirit to point to the proof of Scripture, referring to David from a Kingdom a thousand years earlier.

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

THINK about this, Peter instructs. David predicted this of Jesus, his descendant.

34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

Jesus frequently referred to himself as, ‘Son of Man;’ literally meaning a ‘son of Adam.’ Jesus, through the womb of Mary (God incarnate) was a son of man, just like me… just like you.

Jews (like us, so often overlooking our sin and remembering only the heritage of our forefathers) often referred to themselves as: Sons of Abraham, or Sons of Moses, or Sons of David.

Many of us are proud of our heritage of birthright. We hide our heritage that SIN came into this world as Sons of Adam.

Jesus came into the world so that we might have a new heritage to a sinless second Adam.

Remember: ‘Israel is God’s new name for Jacob. Remember: ‘Judah’ is a son of Jacob (not just the place of Jerusalem). Peter speaks to these CHOSEN men as chosen followers of the Living God. Peter preaches why WE, chosen by God, must bow down to Christ Jesus, the ONE risen from death by God the Father.

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

What will YOU DO, to make Jesus your Lord?

(It is not enough just to say so, while you continue to live in the ways of the wickedness of the world.)

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

We are sorry that Jesus had to go to the Cross for our sins. What must we do?

“Repent and be baptized…”

Repent: to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

Baptized: the act of baptizing produces a permanent change…

Have you truly repented of your daily sin?

Have you been ‘permanently changed’ in the name of Jesus Christ?

What must you do?

May 16, 2014
Fire of the Holy Spirit

Acts 2: When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

(It has been fifty days, nearly two months since the crucifixion and resurrection.)

2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

The Apostles are in a room, worshiping, sharing in a feast to the Lord. The sound of ‘a rushing mighty wind’ comes from heaven.

Is it just a storm outside?

It would be of little note if the wind beyond the windows were not a mighty rushing wind.

Does your heart tremble in awe at the sound of a mighty rushing wind? … the gathering of clouds into a powerful storm?

Not only is this mighty wind beyond the walls of the place where the Apostles are gathered; the rush of the mighty wind filled the entire house!

A hurricane, a cyclone has filled the house; yet the walls have not crumbled and the house is not consumed.

Would you not fear for your life?

NOT the Apostles. These had worshiped the risen Lord who had been taken up into Heaven, even upon a cloud. No doubt, the Lord would speak to each Apostle.

Would Jesus say, “Peace?” Would He say, “Do not fear?”

3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Mighty Breath of God passes through the house of worship and breathes the fire of God into those present!

The Apostles had witnessed many times the intimacy of the relationship of God the Father with their friend and Lord, Christ Jesus.

How had Jesus always been able to know the will of God the Father?

Through prayer and the Holy Spirit, a conversation of intimacy with God.

Now each Apostle was filled with the same Holy Spirit descended on Jesus when John baptized Him in the Jordan.

The Apostles receive the baptism of the fire of the Holy Spirit!

Now, each is equipped to take the Gospel into any part of the world. Soon after their encounter they speak to men in crowds who hear an Apostle speaking as if in their own language.

How can ten men of ten different languages stand and hear one Apostle speaking, each in his own language?

With God all things are possible.

By the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues – a miracle possible only through God – the intimacy of the Holy Spirit makes possible an intimacy with the risen Christ Jesus.

Acts 2:5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together…

Note that others outside the room where the Apostles were gathered heard this mighty sound and came to see what it was that caused such a mighty wind.

… and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Besides the evidences of this day of Pentecost, the Apostles would demonstrate more miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles now taught with the Power and Authority of the Living God, through the free gift of salvation given through Christ Jesus, our risen LORD!

May 15, 2014