Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: acts

  • The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

    Imagine having been given a tremendous responsibility to write the Holy Scrolls of God! Imagine Christ Jesus, risen King of all creation having instructed you to record the Gospel of the Cross and Resurrection for God’s Holy Church.

    Why was a Scribe so highly regarded? Few men (and only the learned) could read and write the Holy Word of God.

    Jesus had spoken with the authority of a Scribe, even as learned one teaching from a Higher Authority.  Perhaps less than five men in one hundred of those who heard Jesus teach could read. And perhaps only a dozen among a thousand could write down the words of Jesus in any language.

    For the Apostle John to have been given by Christ the very Word of Revelation (above); for the Apostle Matthew, a lowly (but literate) tax collector to have been given the charge to record the Gospel; for Luke, a doctor to the Apostles and follower of the Way to be given the charge to write down the Gospel being preached to all the world and in his most literate meticulous medical way to record the record of the Acts of the Apostles: these from the Throne of the Lord carry tremendous responsibility and eternal consequence of getting it right.

    In the Name of God, the Gospel Truth must be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

    By witness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Gospel truth is Good News we can take to the bank of eternity.

    The first Scroll of Luke (the Gospel of Luke) begins in this way from the witness given to him at many different times, by eye witnesses of Jesus:

    Luke 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

    Dr. Luke has recorded the events leading up to the Cross and resurrection.  Now in the Acts of the Apostles Luke will relate the journey and witness of the Apostles taking the Gospel into all the world.

    To be continued…

     

  • Christians: Servants in Prison Singing

    Christians: Servants in Prison Singing

    What must I do?

    By the Power of the Holy Spirit, preach Christ crucified and praise Jesus as your risen Lord.

    Acts 16
    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Paul and Silas in Prison

    16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

    18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

    Remarkable! Paul recognizes the power of a spirit of evil which lives in the body of this woman fortune-teller. A spirit has knowledge and power over her flesh. Yet the spirit subservient to Satan must respond to the command of Christ.

    19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers…

    22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.

    23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

    The light of Christ frees a woman from satanic sin. And the reward for these Christians?

    A brutal beating and imprisonment in a dark cell as punishment.

    The Philippian Jailer Converted

    25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

    Phillipi jailerYou and your Christian friend are beaten severely. You are both thrown in a dark prison cell unjustly. You sing praise to God! Answer? An EARTHQUAKE!

    Maybe God will just let you die now. Maybe God will bring the stones down on you and end your pain and misery.

    NO.

    The trembling earth and falling stones settle into something quite unexpected: a jailer, fearing for his life because you may have escaped and he, instead, could be executed.

    27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

    28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

    29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.

    Only GOD could do a work like this!

    30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

    31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

    I believe in the Lord Jesus. May my wife and our household be in His hands. (This is my personal prayer & witness.)

    32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

    33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

    I have witnessed the Power and mercy of Christ.

    What must I do to be saved?

    You with ears to hear, hear the voice of our Lord and Savior,  Christ Jesus.

     

  • What Must I Do?

    What Must I Do?

    So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

    Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” – Acts 9:6 NKJV

    Have you had a personal encounter with the Living God?

    Saul, an enemy of Christ, religious zealot and persecutor of true followers of the Way (the Apostles and others) encountered the risen Christ. Saul was a stumbling block to those who would claim Jesus as our Lord and our God.

    Saul of Tarsus’ encounter with the risen Christ is no less significant than an earlier encounter of Moses with God in the burning bush. This man, a leading disciple of the Temple is zealous for God; yet before this personal encounter Saul was galvanized against the risen Jesus, God Incarnate.

    Saul comes to the unknown: as Moses approached the unknown and as we each approach God in faith; for God has drawn us into His Presence. We have come from our place of complete understanding onto the Holy ground of marvelous mystery.

    God IS. Jesus IS.

    Now what must I do?

    Saul had asked the risen Jesus at this moment the obvious question: NOT just, ‘what are you?’, but, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

    Saul had finally bowed down in humility to Jesus Christ, Son of God. Saul in worship finally bowed down in humility as we we all must at the moment we encounter Jesus as ‘our Lord.’

    Acts: 9:4 ESV And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

    5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”

    And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

    “Who are you, Lord?”

    Is that what you ask of Jesus now that you have met Him?

    Lord, ‘kyrios’: This ‘relationship‘ between Jesus and a ‘Christian’ believer and follower is used over 100 times in the Acts of the Apostles. This relationship of Jesus as Lord is to show you, dear brother or dear sister in the Lord, and to show me Who Jesus IS and who we are to become in our relationship to Him as our Lord.

    Outline of Biblical Usage
    he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord
    the possessor and disposer of a thing
    the owner; one who has control of the person, the master
    in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor
    is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master
    this title is given to: God, the Messiah

    Before we bowed down to Christ as our Lord we were stumbling blocks to those who would believe, yet witnessed in us how Christ was NOT our Lord.

    Do you, who believe in the resurrection of Christ Jesus now ask: “What must I do?”
    • Jesus was: before He was born of Mary.
    • Jesus was: before He was crucified on the Cross
    • Jesus was: as He appeared in His broken flesh to the Apostles
    • Jesus was: when you were born
    • Jesus IS: in this very moment and place
    • Jesus IS: when your flesh must die
    • Jesus will BE: in the resurrection of souls for ALL time and eternity!

    What must we do, Lord?

    The answer of Christ is as individual and personal as our new relationship with Jesus as our Lord.

    For Saul who would become known as Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, the answer was clear and specific:

    Acts 9:6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

    7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

    9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

    When we first encounter our risen “Lord,” we may also be blind. We will be told what to do.

    IF Jesus is your Lord, take HIS hand and allow your new Lord to lead you into the city of faith.