Intro to Acts Chapter Twelve

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/31/2018 10:13 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Acts Twelve

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 12:1-25

            Message of the verses:  “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. 2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.

    5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. 6 On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." 9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, "It is his angel." 16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren." Then he left and went to another place. 18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

    20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.”

            In John MacArthur’s last chapter in his first volume on the book of Acts he entitles the chapter “The Folly of Fighting God,” and as one reads through this chapter they can understand why he chose this title of Acts chapter twelve. 

            True to the title that John MacArthur give this chapter he writes in his introduction to Acts twelve about how fighting against began with angels and with men and then goes on to talk about different men who fought against God and of course lost.  We know from the study of Scripture that the angelic fight against God began when Lucifer who was the highest of all created beings rebelled against God.  In both Isaiah and Ezekiel we see part of the story of how Lucifer began his battle against God by rebelling against Him and then one third of the angelic realm followed him as seen in Rev. chapter 12 and verse 4 “And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”  Man’s rebellion against God began in the garden of Eden when the forbidden fruit was eaten by both Adam and Eve which caused every person who was born of the seed of man to be born with a sinful nature and thus the fight was on and is still on this day.  Solomon writes about the hopelessness of fighting against God in Proverbs 21:30 “There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against the LORD.”  How foolish it is for man who is impotent to battle against God who is omnipotence, it is like throwing eggs against a wall as all will crushed and broken.

            In his introductory commentary MacArthur mentions men like Friedrich Nietzsche, Sinclair Lewis, and Ernest Hemingway, who all hated Christianity thus hating God, and all wrote against Christianity in their books and all died either by taking their own lives or being a drunken or went insane.

            We know the story of Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and how he fought against God and caused Egypt to fall from any significant power even losing all their first born through the last plague that God put against them.

            John MacArthur writes “In the New Testament era one family of rulers stands out in the battle against God:  the Herods.  The patriarch of the family was known in all modesty as Herod the Great.  He ruled Judea from 47 B. C. to 37 B. C.  Then, having been dubbed ‘King of the Jews’ by Antony, Octavius, and the Roman Senate, he ruled all of Palestine from 37 B. C. until his death shortly after Christ’s birth (Matt. 2:15).”

            He goes on to write about how Herod the Great killed his wives, his mother and three of his sons, and the last son he killed five days before he died.  Now the Herod in this chapter was Herod Agrippa I and he reigned from A. D. 37 to A. D. 44, and he was the grandson of Herod the Great.

            The Herod in this section of Acts 12 was on shaky ground with the Romans and one of the ways to find favor with the Jews was to kill some of the leaders of those who were Christians the hated sect of the Jews.  Herod killed James who was the brother of John and was about to kill Peter.  Herod’s ploy was successful in killing James as it did please the Jews.  This was done “during the days of Unleavened Bread” which was the weekly feast following Passover.  We see that Peter was in prison and was to be killed after the feast and while in prison he was guarded by “four squads of soldiers.”  If we go back to Acts 5:19 we read “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out,” this speaks of the Apostles who were also let loose from prison.

            Now if we go back to the 21^st chapter of John we see a promise that Jesus gave to Peter on how he would die for the cause of Christ and it was by crucifixion and so I think that because of that promise that Peter was able to sleep the night before he was to be executed by Herod.

            Now before I quote the last paragraph from MacArthur’s introduction, something that I usually do to show the direction the chapter goes, I want to remind you once again that we live in a world where conflict goes on continually.  Paul writes “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).”  Our battle is something that goes on as soon as you become a believer in Jesus Christ, so I have found that there are especially two things that all believers should know about.  The first one is to know the attributes of God so that you can know who the God you worship, the God who saved you really is.  Next we are to know our enemy and what he is trying to do to all believers and what we can do according to Ephesians chapter six to be protected against these battles we go through.  You have to realize that you are in a battle first of all and then realize what to do about it.

            John MacArthur writes “Three reasons for not fighting God stand out in Acts 12:  God’s power cannot be contested, His punishment cannot be avoided, and His purposes cannot be frustrated.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Moses” (Exodus 17:11-14).

Today’s Bible question:  “What happened when Paul and Silas were in prison?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/31/2018 11:33 AM

Antioch's Generosity (Acts 11:27-32)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/30/2018 1:21 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                       Focus:  The Generosity

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 11:27-32

            Message of the verses:  “27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. 30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.”

            I think that one of the indications that a person’s heart has been changed by the Lord Jesus Christ as salvation is priorities in their spending and giving habits will change and that is what we will be looking at in this last section of verses from Acts chapter eleven.  We first of all see the problem that is about to come upon this section of the world, and that is that according to some prophets coming from Jerusalem that there will be a famine “all over the world.”  John MacArthur writes “The term ‘prophet’ refers not to an Old Testament figure such as Isaiah or John the Baptist but to the preachers of the New Testament (cf. 1 Cor. 14:32; Eph. 2:20).  ‘One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world.’  Like the apostles, the prophets were not a permanent order.  Having fulfilled their foundational purpose, they gradually faded from the scene, to be replaced by the evangelists and pastor-teachers (Eph. 4:11).”

            According to Josephus this all took place in the reign of Claudius in A. D. 41-54, and the years A. D. 45-46 saw great famines in Israel. 

            I think that this section reminds me a bit about what happened during the time of Joseph while he was in Egypt, and during that time just like this time the Lord used these difficult circumstances to bring glory to His name.  We see the generous response of the people in this new Gentile church as they “determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.”  Once you become a born-again believer you realize that you don’t really own things, but that you are a steward of things owned by God and so when difficult situations happen like this the Lord wants believers to help others out and then if circumstances are reversed they will in turn help you out.  However the real reason for doing this is to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

            John MacArthur concludes this section which concludes this 24^th chapter in his commentary by writing “The final stage in the Lord’s command recorded in acts 1:8 had been reached.  The church, originally Jewish, had expanded from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and to the Gentiles in the remost part of the earth.  The church at Antioch, begun in this chapter, was to play a leading role for several centuries.  But of all its honors, one stands out:  it was the church that the apostle Paul pastured from which he was called by the Spirit to launch his missionary journeys (Acts 13:1ff.).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Just as the Lord’s plans were being accomplished from the “Great Commission” in the churches as we have seen in the last quote from John MacArthur, so His plans for individuals within His church are being fulfilled just as He has planned.  God is all powerful and sometimes in my life I tend to forget that.  As we read in the book of Genesis about His creating the stars from “Gen. 1:16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.”  It is almost like an afterthought as we read “He made the stars also.”  Look up in the night sky on a clear night and you will be able to see the power that the Lord demonstrated when “He made the stars too,” and remember that He is in control of your life and all the issues that you are facing.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord with the issues that are going on in my life at this time, as I realize that He never makes any mistakes, that He loves me, and that His plans for my life are perfect.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach Me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jude” (Jude 1).

Today’s Bible question:  “What man won a war by holding up his hands?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/30/2018 1:55 PM  

 

 

PT-2 "The Growth" (Acts 11:22-26)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/29/2018 7:59 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  PT-2 “The Growth”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 11:22-26

            Message of the verses:  “22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

            Once again I want to look at the reputation that Barnabas had as we look the last part of verse twenty-three where we read “and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.”  What a wonderful thing to do to encourage believers, and in this case new believers to remain true to the Lord.  Every pastor desires to see spiritual growth to young believers in the Lord, and a person may be five years old and be a young believer or they could be 90 years old and be a young believer in the Lord, but in either case both are new in the Lord.  John MacArthur writes “The apostle John wrote, ‘Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father (1 John 2:24).  ‘If you abide in My word,’ Jesus said, ‘then you are truly disciples of Mine’ (John 8:31).  It is through the Word that the Holy Spirit, the resident truth teacher (1 John 2:27), instructs believers.”

            As we have been following the progress of the churches growth throughout the book of Acts from the first day of the church we see Luke continues to give up to date accounts of the growth of the church as seen at the end of verse twenty-four “considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.”  He does not give numbers any more but does show his readers that the Spirit of God is working to bring about new birth in the church.  Because the harvest was growing at a rapid pace Barnabas decided to go and find Saul so he left for Tarsus to find him in order to help disciple these new believers in Antioch.  John MacArthur writes that it was a difficult task for Barnabas to find Saul as the Greek word Anzeteo (to look for) “suggests a laborious search on Barnabas’s part.  The Greek lexicographers Moulton and Milligan said anazeteo is used ‘specially of searching for human beings with an implication of difficulty.’”

            We see in verse twenty-six that Barnabas did catch up with Saul and he brought him to Antioch.  These were two gifted men who worked together well in the spread of the gospel, especially on the first missionary trip, and also in the teaching at Antioch.  They stayed together teaching this church for a entire year in order to meet with the church to preach and teach them.  I have to say that it is with great pleasure that I go to a church that going on 200 years has preached the Word of God, however there are far too many churches today that do a poor job teaching the Word of God or perhaps don’t even bother teaching it at all.  When we studied the sixth chapter of Acts we saw that because of the growth of the church that the first deacons were used to wait on tables to feed widows in order for the apostles to continue to teach the Word of God to the new believers. 

            At the end of this section Luke adds the historical footnote that “the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”  John MacArthur writes “The term means ‘of the party of Christ’ and was used in derision.  Peter encouraged those who suffered ‘as a Christian,’ to ‘not feel ashamed, but in that name [to] glorify God’ (1 Peter 4:16).  What was a term of derision, through, soon became a badge of honor to the early church.  The historical Eusebius relates the account of the martyr Sanctus, who replied to all his torturers’ questions simply, ‘I am a Christian’”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the reasons that I write these Spiritual Diaries is to make sure that I stay in the Word of God each day in order to learn from His Word through the power of His Spirit.  I put them onto my blogs praying that the Spirit of God will take what He has taught me and pass it on to those whom He moves to look at these Spiritual Diaries.  Part of my prayer each time I place these Spiritual Diaries onto my blogs is that the Spirit will use them to glorify my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to bring about new believers and to cause believers to grow and also if revival is needed that the Spirit will use these Spiritual Diaries to accomplish that too.  I continue to pray that the Spirit of God will send these Spiritual Diaries around the world and it is my pleasure each day as I place them onto my blogs to see the countries that the Spirit of God has sent them that day. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Spirit of God will continue to use these Spiritual Diaries to bring honor and glory to the Lord each day as people read them, and that He will receive all the glory.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Timothy” (1 Timothy 1:1-2).

Today’s Bible question:  “What new testament writer described himself as ‘The servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James’?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/29/2018 8:38 AM

PT-1 "The Growth" (Acts 11:22-26)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/28/2018 10:55 PM

My Worship Time                                                                               Focus:  PT-1 “The Growth”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 11:22-26

            Message of the verses:  “22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23  Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24  for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

            The salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch or the salvation of Cornelius and his household did not prepare the Jerusalem believers for the widespread Gentile conversions in Antioch.  However “the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem” and after hearing that news the sent Barnabas off to Antioch, and as we will see Barnabas was the right man to head off to Antioch as he would encourage this brand new church.  We can see from these verses that the Holy Spirit was at work in the lives of the Gentile church in a way that few thought possible or even dreamed would happen.

            Now speaking of Barnabas we first meet him in the 4^th chapter when he sold some land and gave the proceeds to the Apostles in order to help those in need in the new church that began in Jerusalem.  Next in chapter nine we saw Barnabas encourage those in the Jerusalem church to see Saul of Tarsus after he became a believer, and thus Barnabas was known as the “son of encouragement.” 

            As mentioned Barnabas was the perfect choice to send to these new believers in Antioch as it would not have been a good idea to send a person who was rigidly legalistic, which probably had not been good for these new believers.  Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew as seen in Acts 4:36-37. He would not be perceived as an outsider but as one of them, and this was important for their growth in the Lord.

            Once Barnabas arrived “Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.”  In the 3^rd chapter of John Jesus told Nicodemus “"8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’”  This is exactly what happened to this new church in Antioch, even though it could not be seen the Spirit of God was working in the hearts and minds of people in Antioch.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Nazareth” (John 1:46).

Today’s Bible question:  “To whom did Paul refer as ‘My own son in the faith,’?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/28/2018 11:19 PM

The Genesis of the Gentile Church (Acts 11:19-21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/27/2018 8:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  The Genesis

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 11:19-21

            Message of the verses:  “19 So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”

            What we are looking at in this passage is what happened after Acts 8:4 “4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”  After Stephen was stoned many of the believers in Jerusalem left, which as we mentioned earlier that they should have left on their own in order to fulfill the great commission that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 28 along with Acts 1.  Now remember that this persecution was caused by Saul of Tarsus and as a result of this persecution there were many souls who heard the Word of God and were saved.  We see in verse nineteen the places that these persecuted believers went to, and then in verse twenty-one we see that not only was the Word of God being taught to the Jews, but also to the Greeks, and when the Bible speaks of Greeks it can also mean Gentiles. 

            John MacArthur writes “Being Greek-speaking Jews, from predominantly Gentile areas, they were more open to preaching to Gentiles than the native Palestinian Jews.  Through their efforts, the first Gentile church was born.”

            Antioch was a major ancient metropolis; in fact it was the third largest in the Roman Empire next to Rome and Alexandria. Like many cities in the Roman Empire Antioch had much sinfulness that went on their including pagan worship and sexual immorality.  Like most cities that the Gospel went to in the early days of the church it was certainly needed in Antioch. 

            We see in verse 21 that the “hand of the Lord was with them,” and as a result of this many turned to the Lord.  In my Sunday school lesson this week on the church at Philadelphia there is a statement in it that is similar to this statement from verse 21 and that is that the Lord opened a door for the gospel to be heard.  My point here is that it is the Lord who opens doors to people’s hearts as seen in this letter to Philadelphia along with what we read in verse 21 where His hand was with those who were preaching the gospel.  John MacArthur writes that in the OT when we see this statement “the hand of the Lord” it means two things:  “First, it spoke of God’s power expressed in judgment (cf. Ex. 9:33; Deut. 2:15; Josh. 4:24; 1 Sam. 5:6; 7:13).  It also referred to God’s power expressed in blessing (Ezra 7:9; 8:18; Neh. 2:8, 18).  In this case it was related to God’s blessing, so that ‘a large number who believed turned to the Lord.’  Again, as in almost all places where Jesus Christ was being preached, the response was great…People not only ‘believed intellectually but also ‘turned’ from their sins ‘to the Lord’ (cf. 1 Thess. 1:9).  As always, believing is inseparable from repentance manifested in a changed life.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Continue to trust the Lord that His hand will be on me as He leads people into my life so that they can hear the gospel message.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15).”

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Elkanah” (1 Samuel 1:8).

Today’s Bible question:  “Nathaniel asked if any good thing could come out of what city?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/27/2018 9:15 AM

The Groundwork (Acts 11:1-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/26/2018 10:51 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  The Groundwork

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 11:1-18

            Message of the verses:  “1  Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." 4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, 5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, 6  and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. 7 “I also heard a voice saying to me, ’Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 “But I said, ’By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 “But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ’What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ 10 “This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11 “And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 “The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 13 "And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ’Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14  and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ’John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?" 18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’”

            It looks to me like the news traveled very fast from Caesarea to Jerusalem as to what happened to Peter, and of course not all of what happened was reported by these people, and so Peter takes the time to report exactly what had happened in the case of the first Gentiles coming to know the Lord as their Savior and Lord. 

            The problem with the Jewish people who were believers when it came to what should happen to a Gentile who became a believer was that they thought that they first had to become a proselyte, that is become Jewish and then become a Christian afterwards.  However this is not the case as a Gentile could receive Christ in the same way that all of the Jewish believers received Him, and that is by grace through faith.

            Peter did not want to get into a heated debate with these believers and so he simply recounted exactly what had happened from his vision, to the vision of Cornelius and also mentioned those who accompanied him when they went to Caesarea.  He concludes his defense with verse 17 “17 “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?’”

            I have to admit that one thing that I am not sure of, which is new to me as I studied this passage is the kinds of animals that Peter was told to kill and eat.  Perhaps the animals that he saw were both clean and unclean according to the Jewish Law, and if that is the case then it makes sense to me as both Jews and Gentiles can receive Christ as Savior. 

            After Peter’s accusers heard this account they calmed down, especially after learning that the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentile believers in the same way as the Jewish believers at the beginning.  Not only did they calm down but were rejoicing that the Lord had saved Gentiles too.

            John MacArthur concludes “This was the beginning of the divine effort to lay the groundwork for the first Gentile church.  At least seven years elapsed from Pentecost until the founding of that church at Antioch.  There were several reasons for that delay.  First, apostolic authority had to be established.  It took time for the believers to become grounded in the apostles’ teaching (cf. Acts 2:42) and for the development of leaders.  During those seven years, the apostles laid the doctrinal foundation for the church.  Second, individual believers needed to be brought to a sufficient level of maturity before they could be sent out.  Immature believers would not make effective missionaries.  Third, it took time to tear down the long-established walls of prejudice.  That was startling to be achieved (cf. Ga. 2A:11-14), so the time was right to give birth to the church in a Gentile land and to move to the last phrase of our Lord’s plan for evangelism—‘to the remotest part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Patience is something that was needed as far as all of this process to take place, and patience is one of the most difficult things to have, that is why the statement “Patience is a virtue.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to cause me to trust His timing for what He is doing in my life, and not be in a big hurry.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Cast not your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Am I not better to thee than ten sons’?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/26/2018 11:26 AM

Intro to "The Gentile Church" (Acts 11:1-30)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/25/2018 10:36 AM

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Intro to “The Gentile Church”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 11:1-30

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." 4  But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, 5  "I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, 6 and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. 7 “I also heard a voice saying to me, ’Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 “But I said, ’By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 “But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ’What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ 10 “This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11 “And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 “The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 13  "And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ’Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ’John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?" 18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."

    19  So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23  Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

    27  Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. 30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.”

            It is not often that I copy and paste an entire chapter from a NT book onto my Spiritual Diary, but when we look at the first eighteen verses of chapter eleven we see that it is pretty much a review of what happened in chapter ten, and then the chapter moves on to talk more about how the Gentile church got started, for the rest of the book of Acts is mostly about the Gentile churches that began during this first century AD.  We also move from Peter, the apostle to the Jews, to Paul, the apostles of the Gentiles. 

            The news that the hated Gentiles were included in the church actually reached Jerusalem before Peter got there and as we read the first part of this chapter we can see that at first this certainly was not welcome news as there was still much prejudice and hatred between the Jews and the Gentiles.  This news sent shock waves through the Hebrew Christian community and it was so significant that Dr. Luke, moved by the inspiring Holy Spirit repeats what had happened to Peter as we mentioned earlier. 

            John MacArthur writes “That unusual repetition marks the event as one of unique significance.  Christianity was not to become merely another sect of Judaism.  Had that happened, the Lord Jesus Christ’s great commission (Matt. 28:19-20) would never have been carried out.  Unlike Israel before her, the church would not fail to channel the blessings of God’s grace and forgiveness to the world.

            “The church’s outreach to the Gentiles was thus a crucial step in the outworking of God’s redemptive plan.  That outreach, which began with Peter’s ministry to Cornelius and his household, now continues with the founding of the first Gentile church.  Having moved from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria, the gospel was about to take its final, yet still ongoing, step to the ‘remotest part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).

            “The founding of this first Gentile congregation unfolds in four states:  the groundwork, the genesis, the growth, and the generosity.”

            Lord willing we will look at “The Groundwork” in our next SD as it will cover the first eighteen verses, and as mentioned the review of what happened with Peter and Cornelius.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God had always had a plan for the church from eternity past.  His plan has always included the Gentiles being a part of it.  Jesus stated in John 10:16  "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.’”  I am thankful that I am a part of the “other sheep” that Jesus spoke of in John 10:16.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to lead me and to guide me as I live for Him, praying that He will soon come back for His church.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Water” (Luke 3:16).

Today’s Bible question:  “What did Jesus teach regarding pearls?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/25/2018 11:09 AM

Symbolic Confession; Sweet Fellowship (Acts 10:46b-48)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/24/2018 10:14 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Symbolic Confession

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 10:46b-48a

            Message of the verses:  “Then Peter answered, 47  "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" 48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”

            In our SD from yesterday I mentioned that once a person has become born-again there are a number of things that happen to that person all at once, including being baptized by the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of God takes this new creation from the world’s system and places them into the Body of Christ.  Now as we look at our verses for today the first thing that Peter says after he knows that they have become true believers is “surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized.”  Baptism follows conversion, and baptism always follows conversion, so when you read about babies being baptized you have to realize that this is not the Biblical way of doing things.  I will have to admit that it was a little over four years after I became a believer that I was baptized as there were reasons as to what it took that long, including being baptized in a swimming pool by a friend of mine who was a part-time pastor.  Once I realized that I needed to join a Bible believing church I had a meeting with the Pastor at our house in which I had seven questions to ask him, and depending on how he answered my questions would have determined whether or not I would have joined that church.  My wife was already a member, and so this was a very important meeting for me.  The Pastor’s answers went along with the answers to my questions and so I was thankful that the Lord had taught me from His Word things that were important for me to understand as a new believer.  My wife’s first question after our meeting, as she was not there, was about me being baptized.  The correct answer was for me to be baptized by the Pastor of this church to show my obedience to the Lord and also to become a member of this local body of believers.  Baptism always follows conversion is something that all believers need to realize as this is what happens in the Scriptures.

            Peter’s entire argument on having Cornelius baptized, along with all who had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ’s provision for their salvation was that they had received the Holy Spirit, so the next step was baptism.  John MacArthur writes “Baptism thus plays no part in salvation.  Through it, believers publicly confess in symbolic fashion the inner transformation of salvation.  Rather than do it himself, Peter wisely ‘ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ’ by the Jewish Christians who accompanied him.  He thus involved the Jews in this momentous reality, knowing they would then be even more willing to support it.  Peter could anticipate the reaction when he reported back to Jerusalem, wand wanted all the support he could muster.”

Sweet Fellowship

            Acts 10:48b “They then asked him to stay for a few days.”

            I have to say that if I was in the shoes of Cornelius and had experienced what he and some of his family had just experienced, that I would have asked Peter and his friends to stay with me for a while to learn from him, to talk to him about those three years that he had walked with Jesus, saw His miracles, and just spent time with Him while He was on planet earth.  The desire to participate in Christian fellowship is a wonderful part of being a believer and it shows that a person truly has become a true believer in Jesus Christ.

            John MacArthur concludes his 23^rd chapter from his commentary with the following works:  “This epochal chapter has witnessed the inclusion of Gentiles as equals in the church.  The last barrier has fallen.  Peter later described this great experience in Acts 15:7-8: ‘7  After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 "And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.’  The way was thus opened for the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world through the tireless missionary efforts of the early church.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I think back on my early years of being a Christian, actually the first four years, I can only praise the Lord for teaching me Biblical things from His Word or else I could have gotten myself off the beaten path and ended up not following the Word of God as God has and continues to teach me.  Even though everyday seems to have its battles to fight, in the end following the Lord is the only way for me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to study God’s Word each and every day, to follow what He teaches me and to remember that the war has already been won.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Because he disobeyed God at Meribah-Kadesh” (Deuteronomy 32:48-52).

Today’s Bible question:  “With what did John baptize?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/24/2018 10:50 AM

Spiritual Power (Acts. 10:44-46a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/23/2018 9:26 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: Spiritual Power

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 10:44-46a

            Message of the verses:  “44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God.”

            This passage kind of reminds me of what happened to Daniel when in the ninth chapter of his book, while he was praying and asking the Lord what was going to happen to the nation of Israel that Gabriel came and interrupted his prayer to give him the answer.  In verse 43 of Acts 10 Peter was preaching and telling Cornelius and his family how they could be saved, and it must have been at that exact moment that they all accepted the forgiveness offered to them by the Lord and so “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.”  We have mentioned “sign gifts” that happened to a believer once they became a believer in the early church.  One of these sign gifts was that people spoke in tongues.  When the apostles preached on Pentecost believers began to speak in tongues, then the same with the Samaritans, and then later on when a group of believers who had only heard of John the Baptist hear the whole gospel they too began to speak in tongues.  Now that the Gentiles became believers they too began to speak in tongues.  Later on this would not be necessary, but everyone who becomes a believer is given an effectual call by the Holy Spirit, and once they accept Christ as their Savior they are baptized in the Holy Spirit at that exact moment as they are taken out of the world’s system and brought into the body of Christ, the church.  Believers are to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit in order for power to live the Christian life, and they are also sealed with the Holy Spirit as a down payment from God, a promissory note from God that they will end up in heaven to be with the Lord forever.  New believers do not understand all that happens to them when they become a believer and so they have to study the Word to understand all of these things that happen to them.  I have to say that it took me many years to understand all of these truths, but the Lord was and still is patient with me as He teaches me from His Word each day.

            John MacArthur writes “Acts 8 does not establish the norm for receiving the Spirit.  If believers were always to be saved and then later to receive the Spirit, why did Cornelius and the others receive the Spirit the moment they were saved?  The view of some that they were already saved and this were simply the occasion of their receiving the Spirit, why did Peter preach the gospel?  Why did he not instead give them teaching on how to receive the Spirit?  The Spirit’s coming required no petition, no confession, no water baptism, and no laying on of hands.  He came as they listened and believed.  That is clear from Peter’s inspired testimony in Acts 11:17 that God had given them the Holy Spirit, ‘after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.’

            “There can be so such thing as a Christian without the Holy Spirit, since He is essential to the Christian life.  The Holy Spirit grants power to witness (Acts 1:8) and pray (Rom. 8:26).  Through His ministry comes assurance of salvation (Rom. 8:16), since by Him believers are ‘sealed for the day of redemption’ (Eph 4:30; cf. Eph. 1:13).  He is the ‘pledge of our inheritance’ (Eph. 1:14) and also our teacher (1 John 2:27).”

            AS we look at verses 45-46a we see that Peter was amazed that this happened to the Gentiles.  It is a good thing that Peter brought six brethren from Joppa with him as they too witnessed what happened to these Gentiles after hearing the message of salvation. 

            This passage does not show that speaking in tongues is normally to be expected with the coming of the Holy Spirit.  There are those who believe this today and have caused a great deal of trouble for believers today.  Believers today have the entire Bible and can read and be taught in good Bible believing churches and so there is no need for these “sign gifts” to be used any more.  When vacationing in Florida a few years ago my wife and I ended up in a “Charismatic” church and witnessed people walking barefoot up the isles playing tambourines and chanting.  This went on for about 45 minutes and then there was a sermon that lasted less than 20 minutes.  It was all about feelings. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Thirty-nine years ago today my wife, son and myself were on a long journey together.  Our son was born 39 years ago today and was born with a hole in his heart and a hole in a valve.  We all went through a lot together with him as six months later he had the first of two operations on his heart the last came in early May of 1981 where the Lord used doctors to care for his heart.  God was with us every step of the way and taught us much as we went through this difficult path.  He and his wife now have three children of their own, the middle one just got baptized last Sunday, and the younger one has just accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.  God is so good to our family and I am so thankful for His goodness.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord that the circle will not be broken as there is one more grand-child and one daughter to be saved in our family.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “a letter.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Why was Moses not allowed to go into the land of Canaan?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/23/2018 10:18 AM  

PT-2 "Salvation Presented" (Acts 10:34-43)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/22/2018 9:50 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-2 “Salvation Presented”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 10:34-43

            Message of the verses:  “34 Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. 36 “The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all) - 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40 "God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.’”

            Whenever Paul would go into a Gentile town he first looked to give the message of salvation to the Jews who were there “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  When Jesus was about to leave in a cloud to go back to heaven He told His disciples “6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’”  You see the order of who was to first receive the message of the gospel, and now Peter understands that it is time for the Gentiles to receive the gospel as we mentioned earlier that both he and Cornelius were made ready through the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter to give out the gospel, and Cornelius to receive it.  The gospel is the same for all who have heard and received it no matter where they are from.

            Caesarea was the seat of the Roman government in Judea and so when Peter tells Cornelius all that happened to Jesus Christ while in Jerusalem, how He suffered and died and then rose again this was not something that was not new to him.  Peter begins with the baptism of John, the forerunner of Jesus Christ and then goes on to speak about the things that Jesus did those three years that Peter was with Him.  Peter was affirming that all the things that the people of Caesarea had heard about Jesus was true, especially the raising of the dead after three days in the grave.

            Peter wanted to make sure that Cornelius head that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was true as there were some during that time who did not believe this to be true, similar to some who do not believe it in this day.  Paul points out this truth and the need to hear this truth in the 15^th chapter of 1 Corinthians.  Peter points out that no all had the privilege of witnessing the resurrected Christ, but he had and not he is passing on this truth to Cornelius and those who were with him.   

            “42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”  Peter points out the marching orders of those who were apostolic witness, that is to tell others about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation through Him.  Peter then ends by talking about the prophets who had written about what was going to happen to Jesus Christ before it actually happened.  As a part of my devotions this morning I read over the 22^nd Psalm and in this Psalm you see that David wrote about crucifixion years before it was even invented as a form of capital punishment. 

            Peter gives out the gospel to Cornelius in these verses and in our next SD we will begin to look at the response to what Peter spoke to them. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15).”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to get me back on my feet after having a tough time with the flue for a few days.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Priscilla” (Acts 18:2).

Today’s Bible question:  “What does “epistle” mean?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/22/2018 10:22 AM