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Tag: prayer

Constant Faith: They lifted up their voice to God
When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
ACTS of the APOSTLES (Peter & John) 4:23 NASB20

Constant companions of the Church

We might easily dismiss the community to which John, Peter and the forty-plus year old healed man return.

ACTS of these men at Solomon’s Portico in the Temple had gotten them arrested by Jerusalem’s highest authorities. Yet because so many had witnessed the healing of this lame man, the three return to the growing ‘community’ of believers who have become the constant companions of the Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem. The authority of Jerusalem’s leaders has been overruled by the mighty acts of God!

Apostles, Disciples & Community

As we reminded ourselves previously when these three men sat in prison overnight: Peter, John and others had also been disciples of John the Baptist. It is a TEACHER/STUDENT relationship in the faith. Rabbi, some called Jesus; while others called Him Master, acknowledging their humble servant-role of the religious student learning Scripture from God’s teacher.

The Twelve APOSTLES now have disciples; that is, followers who become a constant community in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
ACTS of the Apostles 2:42 NASB20

ἴδιος – idios

Luke’s description of these men and women to whom Peter and John return with their witness barely touches the surface of its depth in our English translations, but let’s take a brief look at ACTS 4:23:
- And being let go, they went to their own company.. KJV
- they went to their own companions.. NKJV
- Peter and John returned to the other believers.. NLT
- .. went back to their own people.. NIV
- they went to their friends.. ESV
- Peter and John went to their fellow believers.. NET
- they came to their own company.. ASV
- .. unto their own friends.. YLT
Do you get the idea?

The KJV translates Strong’s G2398 in the following manner: his own (48x), their own (13x), privately (8x), apart (7x), your own (6x), his (5x), own (5x), not translated (1x), miscellaneous (20x).

The Twelve Apostles with hundreds of disciples in Jerusalem now kept in constant community with one another.

In his Gospel Luke records:

Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own^G2398 homes and followed You.”
Luke 18:28

It is personally possessive; a constant reminder that turning to follow Christ Jesus both costs us and comforts us.

John reminds us in his Gospel:

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own^G2398; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
Gospel of John 15:19 – Jesus’ possessive claim of believers as the Lord assured His Apostles prior to His Sacrifice

Constant communication in the Spirit

And being let go, they went unto their own friends, and declared whatever the chief priests and the elders said unto them, and they having heard, with one accord did lift up the voice unto God..
ACTS of the Apostles 4:23-24a YLT

LET US THANK THE LORD OUR GOD FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF OUR FRIENDS PETER AND JOHN TO OUR COMMUNITY OF FAITH.

Shout praises to the LORD for the Power of the HOLY SPIRIT who secured their release unto us.

Let us give thanks to God for His mercy.

Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
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‘Why were the nations insolent,
And the peoples plotting in vain?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
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Be saved from this perverse generation!

Appeal of the Apostle Peter on Pentecost just days earlier – Acts of the Apostles 2:20

Psalm 2:
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from the Hebrew Hymn Book (so to speak)
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Why are the nations restless
And the peoples plotting in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed
..
Serve the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For His wrath may be kindled quickly.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
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Constant Praise, then Prayerful Petition

The LORD God has saved our friends for this moment, returning their lives safely to the company of believers.

But what next?
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Why DO the nations rage?
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To be continued…
November 17, 2021
Acts of ALL with one accord
The Holy Spirit Promised

While he waswith them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise.
Acts 1:4a CSB

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 CSB

9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.

Pretty EXCITING AND AWESOME STUFF!

Luke begins ACTS with Christ Jesus taken up into heaven, then ‘two men in white’ (we know they are angels) ask:

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?
This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:11 NASB

https://talkofjesus.com/acts-of-the-holy-spirit/

AWESOME! JESUS ascending..

AND angels…

What could possibly be next?

Ten days of the Apostles we may have missed

As Christians, now that we have begun Luke’s prologue in Acts and read his account of the AWEsome ascension of Jesus into the clouds, we can hardly wait for the powerful bestowing of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem.

BUT WAIT! Like you I was ready to read ahead to the anointing of the Apostles by the Holy Spirit and the beginning of their ‘acts,’ Then I thought about those TEN DAYS (more than a week) between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost. (I had always merged these two amazing events together in the historical timeline I conceived in my mind.)

Of course the eleven Apostles would have rather fled to their homes from the relatively remote Mount of Olives just a stone’s throw from the walls of Jerusalem; but now the Lord Jesus has commanded them to wait.

So what happened while the eleven Apostles waited?

Luke tells us (and we may have matter-of-factly dismissed it).
Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem..

Luke records those present:

11 Apostles (by name)
‘the women’
Mary, the mother of Jesus (the last mention of Mary by Luke)
Jesus’ brothers (Jude & James, but not named here)
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying, that is, Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Acts 1:14 KJV

ὁμοθυμαδόν – ‘with one accord’

We will soon see this again in Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles, so lets take a quick look at his description of this gathering.

ὁμοθυμαδόν
- with one mind, with one accord, with one passion
A unique Greek word, used 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to “rush along” and “in unison”. The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ’s church.
Outline of Biblical Usage – G3661 – BlueLetterBible.org

Christ Ascends

WAIT in Jerusalem

& then Pentecost

Our glance at this scene in a first century upper room in Jerusalem will look different from famous paintings of the Italian Renaissance or an illustration from our Children’s’ Bible.

We observe eleven Jewish men (the Apostles), a large group of women (some wives of the Apostles) plus more followers and witnesses to the risen Christ Jesus, including our Lord’s mother and brothers.

All these were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer.. (Acts 1:14a NASB)

A Crowded upper room: Christians ALL with one accord

The Apostle Peter is about to speak to those present.

But as we have noted of these past ten days, MANY have gathered in this upper room in Jerusalem.

These men and women from many places throughout the Empire had witnessed the cruel crucifixion of Jesus. Yet now they have obediently returned to the same Jerusalem which had crucified their now-risen and ascended Christ Jesus.

Jesus’s promise has not yet been fulfilled; so as commanded, they ALL WAIT.

At this time Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters
(a group of about 120 people was there together),
and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David..
Acts 1:15-16a NASB

One Hundred Twenty (120) with one accord (all together)

The Apostle Peter addresses well over a hundred men and women in this room.

And ALL have been together praying with one accord. (See all the instances Luke uses this to describe these saints of the early Christian Church.)

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord G3661 in one place.
Acts 2:1 KJV – Strong’s G3661 linked

Is your Christian gathering of 120 like this?

Here is how the first century Church ‘acted:’
- And they, continuing daily with one accord G3661 in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart
- ..they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, G3661 and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
- And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord G3661 in Solomon’s porch.
But I’m getting ahead of myself in Luke’s ACTS of the Apostles (and others).

NEXT: Peter’s speech to the 120
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To be continued... 
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September 27, 2021
Return Journey of a Church from Prison to Paradise
We began from a dream of beloved relationship in a sinless paradise. But then our security met with unexpected interruption when our eyes opened to a scene east of Eden.

There we discovered dependence on prayer and seeking the Lord’s direction.
- What if there is no escape from this misdirected chaotic place, even from a prison of isolation not of our making?
Our own prayer as one after God’s own heart longingly pleas:

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
Psalm 25:16

Prayer, and then.. ?

Jesus illustrates how prayer’s persistent knocking will guarantee relationship with our loving Heavenly Father.

I illustrated what it must have been like for our beloved friend David who awake to the knock of a friend.

Loneliness in the Solitary Confinement || Distanced from Friends

Luke || on the Lord’s Prayer
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You may read it again in the link above.
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Luke does not tell us anything from Jesus’ parable about the man who journeyed many miles to meet his friend late in the day. But you know him.

Most know Luke’s second scroll from which today I will take our illustration of a pilgrim with frequent traveler credentials.

Acts of Good News

He had an encounter with with the Risen Christ Jesus, then journeyed the rest of his mortal life from place to place teaching the Gospel to beloved friends in distant lands.

Saul of Tarsus – Breaking through Social Boundaries
- How can we be in relationship with our beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord when we will not break the virtual bonds of artificial relations?
Saul of Tarsus was a socially connected leader of traditional religion and traditional values imprisoned by his zeal for righteousness of others; that is, until the Lord Jesus called him along a road to Damascus as an Apostle.

Paul preached the Gospel from prisons to public squares.

Acts of the Apostles:

Saul (Hebrew name) or Paul (Greek name) encountered more social distancing by way of imprisonment and avoidance of former friends determined to kill him than any of us ever will. The instances are too numerous to mention here.
- [They] instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. – 13:50
- .. the crowds .. stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. –14:19
- [leading businessmen of the town] .. seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities… But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.. – 16:19b,25
||| — A.D. 2021 — | | | – Now what?

Prayer to the Father.
the Lord Jesus taught us that
Read God’s Word and open your heart to the Holy Spirit.
Reach out to fellow believers in faith, as so often the Apostle did by letter from prison.
and finally,
when you are released from your prison,
like Paul:
GO to those brothers and sisters,
who with you are members of Christ’s body the Church, beloved friends on a journey who love you and embrace the Good News.
Paul calls himself ‘a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.’ + Romans 1:1

He confesses that he is ‘called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.’ 1 Corinthians 1:1
- Are you willing to be a slave of Christ rather than a leader of the worldly?
- Like Saul of Tarsus can you admit that your own zealous works are nothing without confirmation of the will of God?
The Apostle writes a second time to the Church at Corinth:

Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!
2 Corinthians 10:1

We should be so meek and gentle as Christ in our love for each other and also with those distanced from genuine relationship.

It’s more than just virtual Good News.

Walk in love as Christ has walked with us, releasing us unchained from the prison of our loneliness east of Eden.

Amen.

Will you encourage a prisoner?

Won’t you imitate Paul and take just a moment to add your brief letter?

It’s simple to encourage a brother in the Lord by way of your comment below.

Like the Apostle, I hope to greet you in person once we are released.

Christ’s servant,

Roger @talkofJesus.com
January 15, 2021