New Testament, Acts, Bible Study: Acts, Church History Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Bible Study: Acts, Church History Fritha Dinwiddie

THE BOOK OF ACTS

#000                                                THE BOOK OF ACTS                                                                

Scripture  The Book of Acts                                                                                              Orig. 10/5/1986

Church Training Study, First Baptist Church, Bernice, LA

Keywords:        Book of Acts

Introduction                1:1-14

            Prologue          1:1-5

            Ascension        1:6-14

I.                    The Spread of the Gospel in Jerusalem and Judea, 1:15-8:3

A.                 The appointment of Matthias, 1:15-26

B.                  The Day of Pentecost, 2:1-41

C.                 The earliest Church, 2:42-47

D.                 Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (A lame man healed), 3:1-4:22

E.                  The life of the earliest community, 4:23-6:7

1-       Spirit-empowered witness, 4:23-31

2-       Contrast in heart-yielding (Barnabas + Ananias/Sapphira), 4:32-5:11         

3-       Signs and wonders, 5:12-16

4-       Conflict with the Sanhedrin, 5:17-42

5-       Internal dissension and its resolution, 6:1-7

F.                  The martyrdom of Stephen, 6:8-7:60

1-       His arrest, 6:8-15

2-       His witness, 7:1-53

3-       His death, 7:54-60

G.                 Persecution and dispersion of the Church, 8:1-3

II.                 The Spread of the Gospel in Samaria, Galilee, and the  Coastal Regions, 8:4-11:18

A.                 Phillip in Samaria, 8:1-25

B.                  Phillip and the Ethiopian, 8:26-40

C.                 Saul’s conversion, 9:1-30

1.                   The vision, 9:1-7

2.                   The coming of Ananias, 9:8-19

3.                   Ministry and opposition in Damascus, 9:20-25

4.                   A beginning from Jerusalem, 9:26-31

D.                 Peter at Lydda and Joppa (Two miracles), 9:32-43    

E.                  Peter and Cornelius, 10:1-11:18

1.                   Cornelius’ conversion at Caesarea, 10:1-48

2.                   Peter’s defense before the Jerusalem church, 11:1-18

III.               The Spread of the Gospel in All the World: Antioch and Beyond, 11:19-15:35 

A.                 The early Gentile Church in Antioch, 11:19-26

B.                  Saul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem (An offering for the Church), 11:27-30      

C.                 Persecution by Herod Agrippa I, 12:1-25        

1.                   Death of James and imprisonment of Peter, 12:1-5

2.                   Peter freed, 12:6-19

3.                   Death of Herod, 12:20-24

4.                   Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch with Mark, 12:25       

D.                 The first missionary journey, 13:1-14:28

1.                   Sent out by the Antioch church, 13:1-3

2.                   Itinerant missionary, 13:4-14:28

a)                   Cyprus, 13:4-12

b)                   Antioch of Pisidia, 13:13-52

c)                    Iconium, 14:1-7

d)                  Lystra, 14:8-20

e)                   Antioch in Syria, 14:21-28

E.                   The Apostolic Council , 15:1-35

IV.               The Spread of the Gospel in All the World:  Around the Aegean Sea, 15:36-21:16

A.                 The second missionary journey , 15:36-18:22   

1.                    Asia Minor and Cyprus, 15:36-16:10

2.                   Macedonia, 16:11-17:14

a)                   Philippi, 16:11-40

b)                  Thessalonica, 17:1-9

c)                   Berea, 17:11-13

3.                   Achaea, 17:14-18:17

a)                   Athens, 17:14-34

b)                  Corinth, 18:1-17

4.                   Return to Antioch via Ephesus, 18:18-22

B.                  The third missionary journey, 18:23-21:16

1.                   Galatia and Phrygia, 18:23

2.                   Apollos meets Aquila and Priscilla, 18:24-28

3.                   Paul in Ephesus, 19:1-41

a)                   Paul baptizes followers of John the Baptist, 19:1-7

b)                  Ministry in Ephesus, 19:8-20

c)                   Future plans, 19:21-22

d)                  Demetrius stirs mob, 19:23-41

4.                   Paul in Macedonia and Achaea, 20:1-5

5.                   The return from Philippi to Caesarea, 20:6-21:14

a)                   At Troas, 20:7-12

b)                   Itinerary continues, 20:13-16

c)                   At Miletus with elders from Ephesus, 20:17-38

d)                  The travels continue, 21:1-7

e)                   At Caesarea, 21:8-16

V.                 The Spread of the Gospel into All the World: From Jerusalem to Rome, 21:17-28:31

A.                 Arrival in Jerusalem and riot against Paul in the Temple, 21:17-39

B.                  Paul arrested and imprisoned, 21:36-26:32

1.                   Arrest in Jerusalem, 21:36-22:29

a)                   Paul’s defense before mob, 21:36-22:23

b)                  Paul’s witness, 22:6-21

c)                   Paul imprisoned, 22:22-29

2.                   Paul before the Sanhedrin, 22:30-23:11

3.                   Paul moved to Caesarea because of a plot against his life, 23:12-35

4.                   Jews accuse Paul before Felix, 24:1-9

5.                   Paul’s defense before Felix, 24:10-23

6.                   A convenient season, 24:24-27

7.                   Jews accuse Paul before Festus, 25:1-7

8.                   Paul appeals to Caesar, 25:8-12

9.                   Paul before Herod Agrippa II, 25:13-26:32

C.                 Paul goes to Rome, 27:1-28:32

1.                   Voyage and shipwreck, 27:1-44

2.                   On Malta, 28:1-10

3.                   Voyage to Italy, 28:11-13

4.                   Journey to Rome, 28:14-16

5.                   Paul under house arrest (speaks to  Roman Jews), 28:17-29

Conclusion

            Paul Witnesses Unhindered, 28:30-31

 

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New Testament, Acts, Bible Study: Acts Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Bible Study: Acts Fritha Dinwiddie

THE KINGDOM:  SPECULATION OR ARTICULATION

#834                    THE KINGDOM:  SPECULATION OR ARTICULATION

                                                                       

Scripture  Acts 1:1-11                                                                                                 Orig. 10/6/1986 

Passage: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

 

Purpose: Continuing the study in The Book of Acts marking the continuing presence of Christ as guide for the disciples.

 

Keywords:        Bible Study

 

Timeline/Series:           Acts

 

Introduction

            Christian  Faith and Natural Science is a book written about thirty years ago by Karl Heim partly to express his disdain for the contemporary role of the church.  He wrote, “The church is like a ship on whose deck festivities are still kept up and glorious music is heard, while deep below the water line a leak has been sprung and masses of water are pouring in, so that the vessel is settling hourly lower, though the pumps are manned day and night.”

            Jesus knew such rebukes of unbelief would come.  To that end, He admonishes his church to move out on the real mission with which He has left us.  The angelic charge might well be restated:  “Why stand ye gazing? Get down where the danger is!  Stop the leak!  Dispose of the waters!  Turn your attention to that which is  your real purpose!”

            So, these last days are spent vitalizing the disciples for what [lies] ahead.  The gospel is complete.   The “good new” really is!  And in their hands has fallen the task of breaking through the barriers  of human hindrance so that all the world may come to know what the gospel is.

            For hundreds of years, the Hebrews have speculated incorrectly about the Kingdom  of God.  Now, the believers in Christ, armed with the fuller insights of gospel meaning are to articulate this redeeming message far and wide.

 

I.          For Three Unbelievable Exciting Years, the Mentor  of this Movement was Jesus.  V1, “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and to teach.”

            Strong link to Luke’s gospel.  (Sequel.)  You were told of Jesus before, you will be told no less here.  Former told of the Christ alongside.  This would tell of the Christ within.  The former introduces Jesus’ disciples. We learn of the progress of most; the despair of one; the enlistment of many new ones.  The former declares his birth/life/death, now we will see death conquered, the human spirit sanctified.  Here is an extension  of all that Jesus “began.”  King/Kingdom.

 

II.         Now, We Notice His Presence with Them.  V3, “To whom also he showed  himself alive.”

            Two things stand out here.  He commands them not to leave Jerusalem.  He commands them to await the “promise” of the Holy Spirit.  These are simple men, getting away from the scene of these events would be natural to them.  They have seen political power break in and debilitate their band.  They’ve seen Jesus abused, crucified.  They’ve felt the longing of loss, grief.  They’ve seen one of their own betray Him.  They’ve experienced the ascension, and heard Jesus talk about His kingdom, a kingdom of control of men’s hearts.  And, He will tell them of a world to reach.  We will deal with the “promise” later.

            First, we must view this contrasted baptism.  V5, “John baptized with water.  Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”  John,  himself, describes his baptism.  Luke 3:16-17; Matthew 3:11f;  Mark 1:7.  “I baptize with water (unto repentance—Matthew); he baptizes with the Holy Ghost.”

            Isaiah 44:2-5 [pour water on the thirsty land]. Joel 2:28-29 [pour out my Spirit on all people].

            All these gospels have associated his preaching with repentance, and this with baptism.  In fact, he refuses baptism where repentance is not clear (see Luke 3:7), which tells us what he thought about efficacy (weren’t saved by baptism).  Baptism was for those who gave evidence of repentance. 

            Being in Christ meant more than being in a state of repentance.  That, but more.  Gift  of the Holy Spirit (Ghost) is associated with Christian baptism but not dependent upon it: Acts 19:1f, Ephesus/disciples/without Holy Spirit/John’s baptism; I Corinthians 12:13, “by one spirit all baptized into one body.”  We will see diversity in baptism sequence: Samaria (Acts 8:15)—Spirit/laying on of hands; Caesarea (Acts 10:44f)—before baptism, without laying on of hands; Ephesus (Acts 19:1f)—after baptism, laying on of hands by Paul (with a prior baptism). 

            Finally, considering “baptism in fire”: (Luke 3:16, Matthew 3:11, not Mark 1:8, not Acts 1:5,11,16); John tried to be discriminating (Luke 3:7 and Matthew 3:7).  He would fail (Acts 19:1). The Spirit is perfectly discriminating if His fire does not fail.  Symbol used is that of wheat and chaff, the latter destroyed.

 

III.       Now  We Can Turn Back to God’s Promise.  V4, “Wait for the promise of the Father.”  V8, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses, Jerusalem/Judea/Samaria/uttermost.”

            The ascension has been a unique witness.  Only Luke records it.  He records it Luke and Acts.  Jesus is not leaving them to the work alone.  And, He is going to return: He conquered incumbent religious system; He overcame an all-powerful political state; He defeated the cross; He is not dead but alive. 

            John Masefield’s drama, The Trial of Jesus1, Longinus/Procula.  “Do you think he is dead?” “No, lady, I don’t.” “Then where is he?” she asks.  “Let loose in the world, Lady, whether neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.”

            He is with them by means of the Holy Spirit.  He is coming again to establish His rightful reign over His kingdom: Settles their priorities; establishes that God has His plan (“Wait in Jerusalem until”); this waiting is not passive but positive, not weakness and fear, but courage and trust are in the offing.

            A word must be spoken about the kingdom.  V6, “Lord, do you now restore the kingdom to Israel?” Undoubtedly, forced a change in concept.  Yet, still Judaism was kingdom as religion was nation.  The kingdom was not one of lineage, but of faith and obedience: empowered by Holy Spirit; witness to the ends of the earth; not fleshly ambition but spiritual mission.

 

IV.       The Next Scene is That  of Parting.  V9, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.”

            Remember, there are many barriers to be crossed: Geographical—Rome had the gospel when Paul arrived; Religious—this very false concept of kingdom; National—“to the Jew first, but also”; Racial—a world in which there are Samaritans/Gentiles/Pagans/light skin/dark skin.

            He leaves with them a necessary assurance:  Final commendation; certification of His life; promise of His return on time—God’s plan will confront no surprises; they would not go where He was not with them; they would be happy to remember Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst (time or place) of them.”

 

V.         And the Final Scene is One of Praying.  V14, “All continued with one accord  in prayer.”

            They returned from Mount of Olives to Jerusalem.  Those present are identified—disciples (apostles), brethren (adelphos), the women and Mary the mother.  They went to the “upper room.”  ???Home of John Mark, Acts 12:12.

 

Masefield: https://allpoetry.com/John-Masefield

 

1 Masefield, J. (1925.) The Trial of Jesus. William Heinemann, Ltd.

 

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New Testament, Acts, Obedience, Witness, Commitment Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Obedience, Witness, Commitment Fritha Dinwiddie

THE LAST WORDS OF JESUS

#258                                        THE LAST WORDS OF JESUS

                                                                       

Scripture  Acts 1:6-11, NIV                                                                                       Orig. 10/15/1961

                                                                                                                     Rewr. 1/1975; 12/2/1988

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage: Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

 

Purpose: Preaching to my people early in Advent season of the need to commit ourselves to Christ that the world may come to know that He is Saviour.

 

Keywords:        Christ, Saviour             Obedience                   Witness            Commitment

 

Timeline/Series:           Early December          

 

Introduction

            Of the several history books I have in my library, there is one on the U.S. presidents.  It is a paper-back, and the content relative to each of these men is kept deliberately brief, yet some fascinating data is included.

            One of the most interesting segments of the book is found in the index, dealing with the last words spoken by these great Americans.  It probably revealed the character of these men better than any other individual event.  Several used that time to speak lovingly of their wives.  Not a few left messages for posterity that addressed some unfulfilled challenge.  For them death had come too soon.  Others left commentary on their own character by speaking contemptuously of one of their contemporaries.

            Many of us carry etched in our own memories “the last thing” someone said to us.  It may have been the word of a loved one lost to death.  Or, it could be no more than the statement of a friend who has departed on some extended journey.  Perhaps few other things draw the intensity of interest like the last thing that someone says.

            How can it be a bad idea, then, to examine the last thing Jesus said?  That doesn’t make it any more important, but it is deserving of our special attention.  If we are interested in “last words” from “important” people, then this text should speak volumes to us.

            Jesus’ cousin John advised the people to hear Jesus. He himself baptized only with water.  Jesus would baptize with “fire.”  A noteworthy doctor named Luke spent much time telling of the miraculous deeds done by Jesus.  An angel visitor, finding the disciples fussing over Moses and Elijah, instructed them to “hear” Jesus.  His mother said what few mothers would dare to say, “Whatever he says to you, do it!”

            So, look with me this morning at the “last” word of Jesus.  It is still time to “hear” him.

 

I.          It Was a Word Denoting Privilege.  V7f, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.  But you shall receive [power]. . . .”

            There were things that were perceived as not in their best interest.  The burdensome gift of foreknowledge for instance:  A desire to know the future is still problematic?  How much proof do we need that Jesus was all he claimed to be?  As Christians, are to walk by sight, or by faith?  Indeed, we do know the answers to such questions:  Our interest is not eternal, our interest is material—we want what will help outwit the other side.  It still is not in our best interest to know what the plans of God are.

            We are quick enough to claim our privileges, but on our own terms, which, of course, God has not promised.  Psalm 103:17, “The mercy of the Lord  is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him.”  The Hebrews perceived of the kingdom in political terms:  God would invade history in a holocaust of power; their people would hold upper hand. 

            Jesus’ attitude of the kingdom was somewhat different.  We know it best from “Lord’s Prayer.”  “Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.”  It is for us to yearn for God’s will among men as it surely is among the angels. 

            It is our privilege, brethren, to receive what God wills to provide.  We are to be open and receptive.  We must distinguish between preoccupation and privilege.  C.S. Lewis depicts the sorrows into which Christ continually comes with his “land of Narnia” where “It was always winter, never Christmas.”

 

II.         It Was a Word Declaring Power.  V8, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you.”

            O, for the reality of such power.  Need I remind you that electrical energy existed from the dawn of time.  Harnessing that power did not arrive until the 19th Century.  Atomic power arrived a century later.  Brilliant scientists are seeking now new ways to harness the sun’s power.  The lights shining so conveniently above us now will be seen as necessities when we return to this place in the evening.  The power awaits only the flick of a switch.

            Such power in the spiritual plain was always the work of God.  It appeared.  It vanished; totally at the discretion of God.  Say at Gideon’s rout of Midianites; Judges 6:34, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet.”  Seen also in its negative aspect.  Isaiah 63:10, “They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit: Therefore he was turned to be their enemy.”

            But  in this New Testament day, the power has come, and it has come for God’s own people.  John 14:16, “I will pray the father and  he will send.”  John 14:26, “The comforter which is the Holy Ghost, will teach you all things and remind you of what I said.”  John 16:13, “When the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you to all truth.”

            You see, it is an intentionally narrow kind of power.  Our freedom  in Christ is not for what we want.  Our freedom in Christ is for what we ought.  Through 12 chapters of Acts, the world was virtually untouched by gospel.  But Peter’s experience in a dream of clean/unclean food changed all.  Acts 11:9, “What God has cleansed, call not common.”

            This one concept of power changed the ending of the Book of Acts.  Acts 28:31, “Proclaiming the Kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.” Akolutōs [Greek: freely, without hindrance].

 

III.       It Was a Word Documenting Purpose.  V8b, “. . . and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” 

            So, we are to be in fact what we are in purpose, witnesses.  What the church was not before Peter’s Joppa experience, what they clearly have become according to the text cited (Acts 28:31), we are to be today as well.  From the Greek martus, from which comes martyr:  A martyr  is not so much one who announces some intention, but one who when the time comes, has put first Jesus.

            What is important if one would be a witness?  We witness to what we know by faith.  John Bunyan tells  of a time in his adult life when a lack of certainty worried him.  He knew Jews, Moslems, who were satisfied that their religion was best.  He became a witness when he put away “I think so” and was able to declare, “I know.”

            We witness, not only in words, but by deeds as well.  The story of India’s Mahatma Ghandi tells of a man intrigued by Jesus Christ, but skeptical because of Christians he had known.  The real witness is one who pays no regard to the price that must be paid.  On Earlham College campus in Richmond, Indiana,, is a building with a great lobby.  Over the fireplace is a quotation said to be from the log of one of the ships which brought Quakers to America.  It reads, “They gathered sticks and kindled a fire, and left it burning.”

 

Conclusion

            Man tells of loss of son, and of people suddenly reluctant to talk about him.  He wanted friends to talk about this special person.

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New Testament, Acts, Church History Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Church History Fritha Dinwiddie

THE BOOK OF ACTS

761                                                 THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                                       

Scripture Acts 2:1-38, NIV                                                                                          Orig. 10/5/1986

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

 

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[a]

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[c]

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’[d]

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “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.

 

Purpose:          To continue a chapter by chapter study in the Book of Acts having a particular reference to the first Christian apology, and its basis in today’s culture.

 

Introduction

            We cannot give Simon Peter credit for coming up with the idea of preaching a sermon for the purpose of conveying an idea.  We know that Jesus preached both to His disciples and to the assembled multitudes.  Unquestionably, preaching as a vehicle for the conveyance of ideas, probably dates back to man in pre-history.

            Peter was, however, the first Christian apologist.  As far as our records  indicate, he was the first to use preaching as a means to defend what he, himself, had been taught by his teacher, who, of course, was Jesus.  The term “apologist,” as we use it, does not mean to “make excuses for,” but rather, “to defend.”  His interest is not in the formulation of his own ideas, but to set down in precise terms, the “truth” as taught by his teacher, and why it is right.

            In light of this, preaching has not really changed over these nineteen hundred, plus, years.  If it is true preaching, it is not the formulation of one’s own ideas, but rather, the setting forth of the truth taught by another, by Jesus.  As in Peter’s day, its influence and its power rests on the empathy of the hearer.  The one who listens, or hears, must be “tuned in” to the speaker, or it is without effect.  Rollo May, a Christian psychologist, in his book The Art of Counseling1, adds a helpful word.

            It is in this profound and somewhat mysterious process of empathy that understanding, influence, and the other significant relations between persons takes place.  Thus in discussing empathy we are considering not only the key process in counseling, but the key likewise to practically all the work of preachers, teachers, and others whose vocations depend upon the influencing of people.

 

            It was in the same context that when Isaiah preached it seemed that it was God, Himself, who stood on the podium.  His words speak with measured clarity.  “’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord: ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.’” Isaiah 1:18.

            [illegible] . . . Christian treatise.  It may help us to define what our basics really are.

 

I.          There is First, the Announcement of the Day of the Lord.  V16f, “But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”

            A couple of things are cleared up for us in Peter’s call to order:  (1) That Peter spoke for all of them, not just himself. (2) That he speaks in defense of Pentecostal integrity, because the believers are here wrongly accused.  You may be interested to know that “utterance” v4, and “said” v14, are the same word.  The Spirit gave the people “utterance” at Pentecost and they spoke in tongues.  He gave Peter “utterance” and he spoke.

            Take a moment also to imagine the scene at Jerusalem.  It was hardly nine o’clock in the morning, people were just beginning to stir, when something electric happened in the vicinity of Herod’s Temple.  People then were as hungry for excitement as today.  In moments the word had spread through the narrow streets, and throngs of people had arrived.  Thus the scene of accusation of drunkenness, and Peter’s defense.

            Peter cites the Old Testament scriptures of the Prophet Joel to identify this scene with prophecy.  Joel 2:28-32.  It expresses a longing for a time when God will pour out His Spirit on His people, not on a few exceptional individuals—that had happened again and again—but on all of His people. 

            Verses 19-21 speak of cosmic disturbances and seem to have no direct link to Pentecost.  But Joel affirms that this outpouring of the  Spirit is a sign of the end-times.  Peter so completely agreed that he substituted “in the last days” for “afterward.”

            The early church lives out its mission in the arena of expectation of Christ’s return.  They are days when circumstances of end-times are apparent; when the Kingdom of God already exists; when the victorious Christ rules; when whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.  Victorious faith in this 20th century as well, will exploit this expectation of return.

 

II.         Peter’s Sermon is Secondly, the Affirmation of the Basic Facts of Jesus’ Life.  V22f, “You men of Israel, hear what I have to say.  Jesus lived among you, he died because of you and for you; but He lives, because God invested Himself to you in Jesus.”

            Jesus’ Hebrew connection is established—unquestionably a Jew, Galilean from Nazareth; a worker of miracles, by birth linked to the miraculous.                                                           

            Jesus’ ministry not only declared the work of God, but had become the most noteworthy item in Palestine.

            V29, As He was born in the Determinate Counsel of God, as He ministered in the Determinate Counsel of God, He also died in the Determinate Counsel of God:  His death not a surprise to God; it was clearly the will of God; it was a death by crucifixion; but the agent for that death was the stubborn remorselessness of God’s own people.

            Peter goes on to make clear that this Jesus whom they killed is not dead, but rather alive:  Alive at the direct intervention of God; alive because death could not subject Him to itself; alive because it was not possible for Jesus to be other than what God intended from the first.

            Let no doubt persist.  The early church looked upon the crucifixion, not as the cruel, unjust, judicious murder that it was, but a part of the plan of God.  Had they not heard Jesus Himself say, “you are so foolish, so slow of heart to believe?  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to have entered His glory?” Luke 24:25-27.

 

III.       Thirdly, This Sermon Attests to the Superiority  of Christ over the Law. V29f, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.”

            As Peter has included a link to the Prophets, now he points the people to the writing of Israel’s most illustrious son, King David.  Behind what he says is the superiority of life over death, and that Christ is alive and David is not.  While Psalm 16, quoted here, is a breakthrough for faith, David does not fulfill what he wrote.  Up until David, the people believed only in a shadowy half-life in a place known as Sheol.  Hades is the Greek form.  It is not Hell.  David believes in Psalm 16:10 that God will not “abandon.”  Jesus is the means of deliverance to “life.”

            For the first time He is called Christ.  Not a title.  Greek form of the Hebrew for “Messiah.”  Peter had declared it before (Mark 8:29), “You are the Christ,” but before Gethsemane and Pentecost, he did not know what it meant.  Jesus forbade them to use the term before, but now there is an empty tomb, there is . . . Messiah … Christ.

            All Rome had to do to quell the Christian revolution . . . all the Sanhedrin had to do to still the voices of the disciples forever was to produce the body of Jesus, but they could not.  “Christ is alive.”

 

IV.       One Thing More Remained for This Keynote Message of the Christian Era, to Attempt to Call People to Decision for Christ.  V21, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  V36, “Let all the house of Israel know . . . [he is] both Lord and Christ.”  V38, “”Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

            Let all men know the vitality and the integrity of the preached word, and it stands unchanged today.  If you want to stand guilty before God, jeopardize the ministry of the one who preaches Christ in wholeness.  When you stand to tell him how to preach, and what to say, and how to live, then be prepared to accept the responsibility that he has on his shoulders:  That is not to say that he does not value your concerned counsel, but be sure that yours is not an attempt to demean his labors.

            Every born again Christian has a deep-rooted responsibility to work with their pastor to encourage responses to the invitation to people to trust Jesus.

 

Conclusion

            Many of us remember the news reports out of Hitler’s Germany during the Second World War.  We saw the thronged multitudes.  We heard the fanatical “Seig Heil.”  And the response came in menacing unison, “Seig Heil.”

            But let us all remember that there is a louder chorus to be heard, and no words throughout time and eternity are a more menacing threat to the powers of darkness in the world.  Hear the call to faith of the early Church, “Christ is Risen,” and hear the contemporary response, “He is risen, indeed, Hallelujah.”

 

Links

May:    https://www.rollomay.net/

 

1May, R. (1967). The Art of Counseling. Abingdon Press.

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New Testament, Acts, Church History, Bible Study: Acts Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Church History, Bible Study: Acts Fritha Dinwiddie

INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF ACTS

#833                                 INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                                       

Scripture  Acts 1:1-8, NIV                                                                           Orig. September 29, 1985

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage:  In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

Purpose: Beginning a study for Church Training leading my people to a deeper comprehension of The Book of Acts.

 

Introduction

            By way of beginning, we need to face up to purpose.  Why did Luke write Acts?  The best evidence suggests that  he did.  And, we can conclude that the book was written shortly before or after Paul’s death  in Rome, about 58 or 59 A.D.

            So, WHY did he write?  To depict “Acts of the Apostles.”  That is the title by which it is best known.  Or, is it the book that declares the Holy Spirit’s life and work as the gospel declares the life and work of Jesus?  Perhaps there is some other purpose.  For instance, the revealing of the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome; or, a book seeking to reconcile rivalries between different factions of the church.

            Better understood, it is all of these things, but only to a limited degree.  These are supplemental purposes.  Its major focus  has to do with expansion.  Partly, the expansion that carries the gospel across geographical barriers; but even more, the author depicts how Christianity broke through the imposition of limitations placed upon it by people locked into a narrow, self-limiting culture.  It is about how the gospel took on the character of its [founder], and not of His disciples.

            The story begins in Jerusalem.  It ends 28 chapters later in Rome.  The passage was not easy.  Many changes are observed.  Leaders come into view, remain for awhile, and often are heard from no more.  The foundling church appears, descriptions of it, single it  out for what it is: a very human inducement to faith.  The most obvious change is cultural.  The book opens on a Jewish prayer meeting.  None but Jews are there.  It closes with a chronicler of the gospel, incarcerated, but proclaiming an “unhindered” gospel to all who come to hear.

 

I.          What are the arguments for Luke’s authorship?

            Both ACTS and LUKE [are] dedicated to Theophilus.  Luke 1:3/Acts 1:1.  Acts opens speaking of former treatises. 

            Similarity in style/phraseology/medical jargon. 

            Luke is known to have traveled with Paul.  Acts 16:10/20:6 “We” passages.

            Rule out Silas (16:19) and Timothy (20:4-5).

            Christian tradition accepts Luke as author.

 

II.         What can we conclude about the date?

            Outset—Christ is with disciples prior to His ascension (30-40A.D.).

            Conclusion—Paul arrives in Rome.  Dated by mention of political figures (Acts 25:13, Agrippa, Festus/Felix). Sometime between 58 and 63 A.D.  Luke was undoubtedly with Paul:  II Timothy 4:6, “I have fought the good fight”; II Timothy 4:11, “Only Luke is with me.”

 

III.       What more needs to be said about purpose?

            “Acts of the Holy Spirit”—but not to the degree that gospels are about Jesus.

            “Acts of the Apostles”—a factor, but not definitive.  Even Paul is left inconclusively a Roman prisoner.

            “Acts of the Ascended Christ”—1:1, “all that Jesus began to do and teach.”  A direct reference to the “former treatise” (gospel).

            The book of gospel initiative.  1:8, “Ye shall receive power . . . and ye shall be my witnesses . . . .”  28:31, “boldly and without hindrance . . . preached.”

 

IV.       Defining the key thought. 

            Verse 1:8, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and . . . .”

            The key in outline:

            1          Introduction

            2-7       Witness in Jerusalem

            8-12     Witness in Judea and Samaria

            13-28   Witness to the uttermost.

 

V.         The two-part breakdown of the book.

 

Part I (1-12)

In Jerusalem

Peter most prominent

From Jerusalem to Judea/Samaria

Geography—Palestine (Jew/Gentile)

General rejection by Jews

Peter imprisoned (12:3)

           

Part II (13-28)

From Antioch

Paul most prominent

From Antioch to Empire

Geography—Mediterranean (Jew/Gentile)

Rejection by Jews of dispersion

Paul imprisoned (28:16)

 

VI.       Peter and Paul in parallel consideration.

INCIDENT                                         Peter                            Paul    

1-First Sermon                                     2:14f                            13:16

2-Healing of lame man                        3:1f                              14:8f

3-Dealing with a sorcerer—Simon       8:9                               13:8f—Elymas

4-Influence--shadow                            5:15                             19:12f—high priests

5-Laying on of hands--Samaritans        8:17                             19:6—pagans

6-Worshipped—Cornelius                   10:25                           14:11—Lystra

7-Raised from the dead—Tabitha        9:40                             20:9—Eutychus

8-Imprisoned—Herod                         12:3                             28:16—Nero

 

 

                                                                                                           

 

 

 

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New Testament, Acts, Repentance, Salvation, Sin, Witness, Revival Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Repentance, Salvation, Sin, Witness, Revival Fritha Dinwiddie

THE FIVE “R’s”  OF A WINNING WITNESS

#509                             THE FIVE “R’s”  OF A WINNING WITNESS

                                                                       

Scripture  Acts 1:8, NIV                                                                              Orig. 6/30/1968 (12/1976)

                                                                                                                                 Rewr. 1/11/1987

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

 

Purpose: To observe Witness Commitment Day, and to call my people to a deeper understanding of their need to express their faith in regular witness.

 

Keywords:        Conversion      Repentance     Salvation         Sin       Witness            Revival

 

Introduction

            We are beginning to receive information from the Internal Revenue Service.  We are getting tax booklets that define our responsibility.  We may be getting reminders that there is additional material that we may order to assist with everything but paying our taxes.  This material is a witness to us that tax-time is here again.  Once a year we are affirmed as dues-paying citizens of a free republic, the greatest country of all.  None of us want to be anywhere else.

            When we fill out that tax form in a few weeks, the form itself will be a witness.  It will witness our material well-being, or lack of it.  It will also be a witness to the level of our faith.  Do we take God’s Word seriously?  Do we give earnest consideration to the blessings that  have come to us from God?  It also may witness whether we are honest persons or not.

            An IRS deputy tells of an occasion which he was witness to in pursuit of his job.

            “Some guy with an income less than $5,000 claimed he gave $624 to some church.  It was within the 20% limit, but it looked mighty suspicious.  I dropped in on the guy and asked about his return.  I thought he’d become nervous like most of them do, but not this guy.  He came back at me about the $624 without batting an eyelash.

            “‘Have you a receipt from the church?’ I asked, figuring that would make him squirm. ‘Sure,’ he said, and he went off and brought the receipt.

            “Well, he had me.  One look and I knew he was on the level.  I apologized for bothering him. . . .  [As I was] leaving, he invited me to his church.  ‘Thanks, but I belong to a church myself.’  The he said the strangest thing.   ‘Excuse me,’ he said, ‘that possibility hadn’t occurred to me.’

            “As I rode home, I kept wondering what he meant by that last remark.  It wasn’t until a Sunday or so later, when I was in church and started to put my usual dollar in the offering plate that it came to me.”  (Pulpit Helps—1/1977)

           

            We are witnesses, you and I.  We need to renegotiate the terms of our witness, and offer a more positive face to unbelieving friends and acquaintances.  To that end I share “The Five ‘R’s’ of a Winning Witness.”

 

I.          Realize—that Man in His Natural State is Separated from God.

            The Old Testament concept of sin is shared by those who knew its power, and the grace of God’s forgiveness.  Psalm 32:1 (David), “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”  Proverbs 11:3 (Solomon), “The perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.”  Isaiah 59:2 (Isaiah), “Your iniquities have separated between you and God.”

            These were men who had walked under the heavy burden of personal sin, but who had experienced God’s forgiveness.  Realizing that through which they had been, they were bound to witness to others of the way out.

            This ancient concept of sin, and separation, was not altered by the teaching of Jesus, nor by the instrumentality of the church.  John 3: 19 (Jesus), “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”  Luke 15:17f  (Jesus), Parable of prodigal son/loving Father.  Romans 3:23 (Paul), “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  And, risking misunderstanding here, I remind  you that Jesus knew about sin from personal experience.  Hebrews 4:15 reminds us “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  He knew that sin separated.  That was reason enough to dread the cross.

 

II.         The Next “R” is to Recognize that We Cannot Save Ourselves.

            A story was told in “Reader’s Digest” a while back entitled “The Trail.”  It was the story of a man who went back to a wilderness trail that he had traveled with his wife.  He was in a state of agitation because of her death.  She had been killed in a needless accident.  While on the trail, there came a sudden worsening of the weather, and he suddenly became resigned to his own death on the trail, rather than to struggle to safety and survival.  Suddenly, as his strength was ebbing, he heard a cry for help.  Managing the strength to reach the victim, he found a boy injured in a snowmobile accident.  He cared for the boy through the night, and with daylight, managed to get the boy to safety.  Visiting the boy in the hospital he  heard him say, “‘Thank you for saving my life.’ I did not say so to him, but it was he who saved my life.”

            How often has the word of a friend turned us from despair to destiny?  Why should it seem so unbelievable that God chooses to arrange our salvation through another?  John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me.”  Ephesians 2:5, “Even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ.”

 

III.       Next Comes Repentance.  I John 1:9, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin.”  Luke 13:3, “Except ye repent, ye shall all . . . perish.”

            We must not overlook any important aspect of repentance.  One can easily claim to be a Christian:  Brought up in home/church; taught the language; participate in the extraneous.  With glibness we measure ourselves by our functions rather than scripture.  We may even know 4 Spiritual Laws.  Can we point to an experience of “repentance” with life-changing emphasis?

            Nothing brings sin home to us like repenting of it.  It’s like living in a house with dirty windows, refusing to go outside because it looks so dismal.  Finally, being forced out, we discover that the bleakness is over us, not the world.

 

IV.       Hence Comes the Two-Fold Stage of Request and Receive.

            No because of what we are, but because of what God is that they can’t be separated.  To come to His altar, to seek His grace, . . . is to receive His bestowal.  Romans 10:13, “For whoso shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.”  John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them God gives the power to become His children.”

            We must be reminded where that altar is:  Not the place where we stand, [but rather] a place for which we are reaching.  Just as marriages are not sanctified by a place, but by a vision for which we are reaching, by two who together are seeking the will of God in communion with each other.

            May it be stated as simply as ever it can be, “to seek . . . is to receive.”  The burden that is upon the preacher is that of proclaiming unadulterated truth with simplicity.  The story is told of Andrew R. McCheyne:  Talking with a fellow preacher he asked what he had preached the Sunday before.  “That the wicked shall be turned into hell.”  McCheyne replied, “Were you able to preach it with tenderness?”

 

V.         Finally, is the Certification that the Believer Rejoices in His Salvation.

            To hear gladly is to believe gladly. Mark 12:37, those who heard Jesus “heard him gladly.”  Likewise, those who believe in Jesus, “believe in Him gladly.”

            The very word “gospel” is from a Greek word meaning “good news.”

            Christmas brought and brings a proliferation of the word joy, in a form that rolls out as “jolly.”  Anyone can be jolly: the clown beneath his external hilarity .. . , even Santa Claus, behind grandfatherly beard, and pink cheeks—may be grieving to death or loneliness.  But Christian  joy is something else—not a mask (Mardi Gras) or cloak (expensive furs); it is an inner presence that no misfortune can conceal.

 

Conclusion

            A message preached years ago carried a story of an event of early WWII vintage.  Protectionism was running scared, especially on the West Coast.  Threats were seen everywhere.  A bottle washed ashore.  Inside, a message, but sun and salt had bleached the words.  Suspicion developed immediately.  FBI, and Secret Service were called in.  Every skill applied. Finally, “two quarts of milk, no cream.”

            What is the real message, told by our inner lives, though we try to conceal it from the world?  What kind of witness do you want to be?

 

McCheyne: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/he-died-early-in-the-smile-of-god

 

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New Testament, Acts, Obedience, The Holy Spirit Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Obedience, The Holy Spirit Fritha Dinwiddie

EARTHLY SECRETS OF HEAVENLY GLORY

#258a                           EARTHLY SECRETS OF HEAVENLY GLORY

                                                                       

Scripture  Acts 1:1-11, NIV                                                                                       Orig. 10-15-1962

                                                                                                                                 Rewr. 9-21-1979

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage:  In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

 

Purpose:  To call my people to consider the high and glorious calling that is ours in Christ Jesus.

 

Introduction

            An unusual change takes place in the lives of the people most closely associated with Jesus.  Two different artists or interpreters of the scenes could have interpreted them  in widely divergent ways.

            In the upper room in Jerusalem on the night after Jesus died at Calvary, a small group of men cower behind a bolted door.  Fear is the most apparent emotion and it hangs like a specter of this scene.  Along with this fear, there is the desperation of beaten men whose fondest hopes and aspirations have failed to materialize.  They sit in silence, stunned that they could have been so deluded.  They were too heartbroken to speak, too anguished of soul to pray.

            We cannot follow these men, step by step, over the next few weeks; we can only meet them again and discover the radical change that has come  over them.  It is unquestionably the same men.  But they are men who are alive again.  They are not skulking behind closed doors.  They are out in the streets of the city.  They have suddenly become absolutely fearless, and deliciously happy.  They are no longer moping about in the circumstance of unfairly deluded men.  They have become men who are totally committed to a cause.

            It is not what happened  in history that changed these scenes, and their interpretation.  It is what happened in the lives of these men and others.  John Masefield’s drama, The Trial of Jesus1, puts things in perspective for us.  The Roman centurion, Longinus, who was in command of the soldiers at the cross, brings a day’s end report to Pilate.  After the report, Procula, Pilate’s wife, begs the centurion to tell her how the prisoner died.  He satisfies her request, and she then asks, “Do you think he is dead?”

“No, Lady,” answers Longinus, “I don’t.”

            “Then where is he?” she asks.

            “Let loose in the world, Lady, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.”

            “Earthly Secrets of Heavenly Glory” must always begin, not with historical evidence, but with personal encounter with the living Christ.

 

I.          Consider First the Documentation of Power. V8, “But ye shall receive  power.”

            It was a mistaken notion about power that had controlled this nation from the very first.  They rightly fancied themselves a special people.  Moses came out of the desert with a special sense of mystery about him.  It was as if he had become the messenger to the elite of earth.  Exodus 7:16, “The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee,” he said to Pharaoh.

            They wrongly concluded that what made them special was in themselves, that God had looked the wide world over, and He had concluded that His best bet lay with them.  This was certainly the view of the Samaritan woman who encountered the Christ.  “How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?” John 4:9, Living Water.  It appears that it was this very attitude with which Jesus was dealing when the Scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign. Matthew 12:39, “No sign shall be given, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas.”  You wrongly follow the word of man.  Your need is the word of God.

            You see, what God was after was  not a people with sufficient power to accomplish His design; but rather a people with sufficient commitment to allow the flow of God’s power.  John 8:32, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  Prisoners are “set free,” and following their own chosen path, are imprisoned again.  God offers the “freedom” which sustains itself because it is in Him.

            The power was promised.  It was promised to those who belonged to God by virtue of the activity of Jesus.  It belonged to all alike who would claim it.  The subject of Jesus’ teaching during  these days was “the kingdom” (V3).  The Hebrews had conceived of this “kingdom” in political terms.  Jesus proclaimed it to be a spiritual entity.  Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  The kingdom of God on earth consists, as it does in heaven, of people yielding their will to God’s will.  It is done in an act of personal submission; it is more difficult in society’s “be me”; almost impossible for  the social elite.

            The power is available, but only within the kingdom:  Only through Jesus; only to accomplish God’s will in your life; only by waiting for the Holy Spirit.

 

II.         Consider, Next, the Declaration of Privilege.  V8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you.”

            The power of God, always in the world, is made available to the world by the Believer, who has been empowered by the Holy Spirit, who has been given by Christ.  The Holy Spirit is not the end result; he is not the prime mover; he is the means chosen of God.

            All of the contemporary expressions of power have always been in the world.  It was the 19th century before electrical power was harnessed.  Men knew of petroleum for centuries before the first barrel was pumped to the surface, refined, and awaited the invention of the automobile.  We are even now struggling to know of other energy reserves always in the world, not yet sufficiently understood.

            The Holy Spirit is the privilege accorded to every believer.  This has always been the way that God has chosen to work with and through His people.  Just before Gideon’s rout of the Midianites with 300 men, we discovered Gideon’s secret.  Judges 6:34, “The spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.”  It is pictured also as a self-limiting power if we reject it.  Isaiah 63:10, “They rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”

            It is then, within the limits of God’s will that the Holy Spirit is free to impose Himself in our lives.  He is free, not to aid us in doing what we want, but what we ought.  There is a 1st and 20th century parallel.  The Holy Spirit was committed to God’s program of world evangelization.  The early church managed to get through 12 chapters of the Book of Acts before they had resolved the matter.  Acts 11:9, “What God has cleansed call not thou common.”

            Make no mistake about it, God’s purpose is unchanged.  Hear it ringing out in the words of Margaret Clarkson, and set to music by John W. Peterson, “So Send I You.”

 

So send I you to labour unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing.
So send I you to toil for Me alone.

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
Over wandering souls to work, to weep, to wake,
To bear the burdens of a world a-weary.
So send I you to suffer for My sake.

So send I you to loneliness and longing,
With hart a-hungering for the loved and known,
Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one.
So send I you to know My love alone.

So send I you to leave your life's ambition,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labour long, and love where men revile you.
So send I you to lose your life in Mine.

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, though it be blood to spend and spare not.
So send I you to taste of Calvary.

As the Father hath sent me, so send I you.

 

III.       This Brings Us Finally to Consider, the Dividend of Purpose.  V8, “And ye shall be my witnesses . . . unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”

            Martin Luther: “A Christian is an utterly free man, lord of all, subject to none.  A Christian is an utterly dutiful man, servant of all, subject to all.”2

 

Conclusion

            Karl Heim, in his Christian Faith and Natural Science, degrades the message of the contemporary church, and bears a  negative witness to the world.  He writes, “The church is like a ship on whose deck festivities are still kept up and glorious music is heard, while deep below the water-line a leak has been sprung and masses of water are pouring  in, so that the vessel is settling hourly lower, though the pumps are manned day and night.”

            The two men standing by at the ascension of Jesus spoke rather sharply to His disciples as they stood there that day, “Why stand you here gazing? Man the pumps! Stop the leaks! Dispose of the waters! Turn your attention to that which is your real purpose!”

            It begins with faith in Christ.

 

Masefield: https://allpoetry.com/John-Masefield

 

1 Masefield, J. (1925.) The Trial of Jesus. William Heinemann, Ltd.

2 Luther, M. (1970.) Three Treatises, Fortress Press.

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New Testament, Acts, Pauline Epistles, Ephesians Fritha Dinwiddie New Testament, Acts, Pauline Epistles, Ephesians Fritha Dinwiddie

A COVENANTED  PEOPLE

#635                                        A COVENANTED  PEOPLE

                                                                       

Scripture  Acts 6:1-8; Ephesians 5:13-16, NIV                                       Orig. September 5, 1976

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage:

Acts 6

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”  This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen Seized

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.

 

Ephesians 5

13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

 

Introduction

            Have you ever considered the diversity of backgrounds from which the apostles came.  Several of them came from a background of having been commercial fishermen.  That is somewhat to be expected when Jesus began his ministry in Galilee.  Others, however, represented other trades.  There probably were farmers, such as farmers were in Galilee.  There were tradesmen.  One could not find an abundance of formal education, but what they lacked there, they made up for in determination and common sense. 

            As different as they were in social grace, they were even more different in personality.  Phillip was this kind of fellow you remember, who tried to calculate the cost of feeding the thousands on what mental computer he did have.

            Matthew was the most typically human.  It didn’t matter to him where his livelihood came from, so long as it came.  The scripture is strangely silent on whether his wife had anything to do with it.

            Simon Peter?  I think he did not readily understand himself.  Available immediately to any cause he considered worthwhile.  He had the knack of wanting to wade in and bash a few heads if it took that to accomplish his purpose.  If his motivation flagged, however, then he was going to be the first one out the back door.

            Time doesn’t permit further discussions of these man-like creatures with whom Jesus labored.  A brief look at the one area of their lives in which they were in total agreement, may be helpful.  Someone has put together a survey on how they died.

·         John—extreme old age in Ephesus

·         Peter—crucified by Nero

·         Andrew—on a cross  in Achaia

·         James—thrown from a pinnacle of the temple

·         Bartholomew—flayed alive in Armenia

·         James the Elder—beheaded at Jerusalem

·         Thomas—with a lance at Coromandel

·         Phillip—hanged in Hierapolis

·         Matthew—by sword in Ethiopia

·         Thaddeus—shot with arrows

·         Simon—on a cross in Persia

·         Judas—hanged himself

 

The only thing that brought unity to the diversity of their lives was Jesus.  To have walked with Jesus made them fearless patriots of His cause.  When we have a source, there is a danger that the further we get from that source, the less able we will  be to comprehend it.  It becomes of fundamental importance, that we let this SOURCE continually manifest HIMSELF through our

lives as different as they are.

 

I.          The Day of Vision Brings Insight into the Things that Separate Us.

            Acts 6:1, “There arose a murmuring because of these neglected widows.”  Ephesians 5:13, “All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light.”

            We have spoken before of the two kinds of murmurings: There is the murmuring of the malcontent; there is also the murmuring of concern.  The Greek seems to call to mind a more private rather than a public outcry.

            Vision has its beginning, does it not, when we acknowledge our problems and begin to deal with them in light of faith and reason.  The first practical solution to that ancient problem  in the church at Jerusalem was a [recognizing] of responsibility.  And please don’t make the mistake of assuming that it called for a separation of laity and clergy: The greater the depth of spiritual energy to be exhausted, the more necessary for that person to commit himself to prayer;  it became a vital spiritual responsibility for every believer to support the active ministries of others in prayer.

            It is more than a question “Do you pray for your pastor?” that I raise this morning.   Do we pray for those around us?  Do we pray for our deacons, or do we just throw barbs or murmurings at them?  Do we pray that Sunday School teachers will be able to communicate the love of Jesus through what he or she does?

            With what power the Word of God separates the eternal and the variable. The eternal, you remember, is what we are by virtue of the Word; the variable is what we do with what we are.  It is the eternal which must address itself to the variable, and not the other way around.  Ephesians 5:13, “Whatsoever doth make manifest is light”—that which brings openness and honesty.  In the church, neither our organizational structures nor our moral [prohibitions] are to be considered eternal unless they are given credence by the Word of God.

            In the world, the believer is to put his confidence in that only that comes under the scrutiny of the Word.

 

II.         A Day of Visitation.

            The leadership of God—the seven were called out not by the apostle but by the multitude of believers:

·         Concern about church program—support it or change it

·         Concern about the inactive

·         Concern about the lost

·         Concern about our own lives.

 

Every person in his place (Nehemiah 4; Acts 2:1).  Henry Drummond told the story of shipwrecked men adrift on the great ocean in a small boat.  After several days they were growing weaker.  In the night, [they saw] the masthead of a ship. [They] had a lantern but only one match, slightly damp.

            I have on the corner of my desk a stack of cards (200)—Soul-Winning Commitment Cards.  If one of ten had kept that pledge we would have baptized 50 or more.  We say mean things about draft card burners but we have burned our commitment cards.  God’s promises are not written and signed.  Our promise need not be written to be kept.

            An endeavor of cooperative faith reaches across membership lines—man in town unreached because he overheard a fellow church member make an unchristian remark about him; it reaches across church lines; across denomination lines.

 

III.       A Day of Victory

·         And the Word of God increased

·         And the numbers of disciples multiplied

·         And priests were obedient to the faith

·         And Stephen did great wonders, a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost

 

Closing

            We are familiar with the unfortunate expression “a cross I must bear.”  Yet these words are spoken with dismay, perhaps even discontent.  The vision, visitation, and victory I have spoken of this morning have to do with our [bearing] a cross.  But this cross is a burden as wings are a burden to a bird, or as sails are a hindrance to a ship.

 

 

 

Drummond

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/death-of-christ-like-henry-drummond-11630651.html

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GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT—What Baptists Believe

#792                                             GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

                                                       What Baptists Believe

                                                                       

Scripture  Luke 3:16; Acts 2:33, NIV                                                                             Orig. 3/6/1983

                                                                                                                                Rewr.  3/23/1988

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage:

Luke 3

16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.

 

Acts 2

33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

 

Purpose:          In a message accentuating Baptist Beliefs, here calling attention to the person and work of God the Holy Spirit.

 

Keywords:        God, Sustainer Series, Baptist Beliefs               Holy Spirit                   Trinity

 

Introduction

            Grady Welch, our Director of Stewardship for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, used to tell about a church down in one of our CenLa parishes that discovered oil on its property.  I went through that parish last week and saw some of those wells pumping still.  The church was just a small one as numbers go.  And even thirty years ago, the return would be considerable.  A hasty business meeting was called, and the membership closed except to the families of members who might come on profession of faith. They were going to divide the income among themselves, and didn’t want people to join expecting to get in on the spoils.

            William Temple long before had written well relative to the church and its relation to community.  “The church exists primarily for those who never go near it,” he declared.  How sad it becomes when a church exists to pay tribute to itself.  It exists to exist.

            As God the Son came into the human picture to intercede with God the Father for our salvation, even so, God the Holy Spirit came, following the human Jesus in a renewed display of Spirit presence.  His purpose was and is to magnify the work of Jesus in the world.  His work inside the church must be mutually directed toward those who are outside the church, and never can be exclusive of them.

            Dr. James Stewart wrote, “When a church is not worried about those who never go near it, . . . that church may be flourishing, but it is certainly not Christian.”  This message deals with the place allowed the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

 

I.          We Must First Acknowledge the Scriptural Declaration of God the Holy Spirit.

            I remind you that the Holy Spirit is spoken of as God in the Scriptures.  Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira.  Acts 5:3,4, “Ananias, . . . you have lied to the Holy Spirit . . . .  You have not lied to man but to God.”  Wrong done to men.  Wrong done to the faith.  But chiefly, sin against God. 

It is positively asserted also.  I Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”  Hieron is the temple precincts.  Naos is the place where God and man come face to face.  Before Christ only the designated priest could enter.  The believer is where lost people encounter God.

I remind you as well, that the Holy Spirit is given the attributes of God. We know that God is life.  Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free.”  We know that God is truth.  John 16:13, “When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you to all truth.”  We know that God is love.  Romans 15:30, “I urge you brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit . . . (pray) for me.”

And I remind you that the Holy Spirit is assigned the works of God.  The work of God in creation:  Genesis 1:2, “The Spirit of God was brooding upon the face of the waters.”  The work of God in undergirding Christ:  Matthew 12:28, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God has come.”  The work of God in redemption:  John 3:5, “Except a man is born of . . . the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”  Titus 3:5, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  The work of God in renewed faith: Romans 8:11, “He who raised Christ from the dead . . . will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

 

II.         We Must then Understand that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person of the Godhead.

            He is more than just a positive influence.  It is true that the word for spirit is the same as for “wind, breath,” and as such is a [gender-neutral] word.  But references to the Holy Spirit find this [gender-neutral] word accompanied by a masculine pronoun.  John 16:13, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”  As with other references where the Holy Spirit is intended:  John 14:26, “The comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . he will teach  you all.”

            The Holy Spirit is never referred to in Scripture as an “it,” nor must we.  He is a person.  He has personality.  We perceive of mind, will, even emotions.  Intelligence—I Corinthians 2:10f, “The Spirit searcheth . . . the deep things of God.  The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit.”  Will—I Corinthians 12:11, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing . . . as  he will.”  Emotions—Romans 15:30, speaks of the “love of the Spirit”; Ephesians 4:30, calls attention to the fact that he can be “grieved.”

 

III.       Finally, We Must Grasp a Personal Relation with the Holy Spirit.

            He is a seeking, searching agent for God even in man’s lost estate.  Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the . . . renewing of the Holy Spirit.” 

            Thus, the Holy Spirit is the major influence both before and after conversion.

            The Holy Spirit comes into our lives at the time that we receive Christ as Lord.  Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”  There must be genuine repentance—not guilt for getting caught; not a tear-jerking confession at impressing someone; [but] repentance before God.  There should be a covenant of trust that eventuates in baptism.  [In] this interwoven tapestry of faith, repentance, remission, trust, baptism, there is the assuring gift of the Holy Spirit.

            There are yet other applications of the Holy Spirit’s influence.  The above is the “gift” of the Holy Spirit.  There are also “gifts” of Holy Spirit: Romans 12:5, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ . . . having then, gifts according to the grace given”; Hebrews 2:4, “distributing the gifts of Holy Spirit."  And there is the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit; this is the mellowing of our lives, growing in Bible knowledge and Christ-likeness.

            During a time of rowdiness in our convention, an evangelist (James Robinson) wrote to [the] Baptist Message (3/1983) a letter of apology for verbal attacks he had engaged in on those who disagreed with him.  “My eyes were distracted to focus more on the cancer in Baptist life than the cure.”  “I’ve become more concerned about my own sin than the sin of others.”

            The “filling” of the Holy Spirit is an imperative of faith.  Ephesians 5;18, “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be ye filled with the Spirit”: Submission to His authority; few are full—it is complete submission; the Holy Spirit’s work is to magnify Christ—to be full of the Holy Spirit is to be full of desire to praise and honor our Lord.

 

Conclusion

            Dr. F.B. Meyer gives a classic example of the work of the Holy Spirit.  The young daughter of a prominent individual had started to take piano lessons.  The parents of the little girl fussed over her even though her playing was more painful to non-family members than pleasurable.  They would allow her to invade the gathering of their friends to “play" for these guests.  Some started looking for excuses to get away early before the little girl started.

            On one occasion, an eminent pianist was present.  Instead of leaving, as some did, he took a place on the bench by the little girl.  He began filling the void of the child’s discordant notes.  In fact, it turned into very beautiful music.  People who tried to leave were returning.

            After a few minutes at the piano, the musician led the little girl around the room to receive the thanks and the praise of the other guests.  So said Dr. Meyer, “The Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities.”  (Romans 8:26)

 

Alternate Conclusion

            I read someone account of Will Campbell’s story in Brother to a Dragonfly1, of the Easter chicken.  An acquaintance bought a purple chicken for his little girl at Easter. She loved it, for a little while.  Then the chick began to feather out.  Underneath that purple down, began to appear little pin feathers, and they were not purple, they were red.  It was an awful picture, and the little girl no longer found it appealing.  So, the chick went out in  the chicken yard.

            But there it was out of place.  Some of the purple still showed.  The other chickens knew it was different.  It became this man’s parable of the church.

            For a while, the other chickens resisted this one.  They pecked it, chased it over the yard, generally, made its life miserable.  At first the chick didn’t fight back.  It was the new kid on the block.  But even before all the purple was gone, the chick was bigger and stronger and knew that feed went to those who struggled for it.  It just became like all the other chickens.

            His point was, “Who needs an Easter chicken?” Or, “Who needs the church?”

            But Preacher Campbell tried to point out that it was good because it still laid eggs.  “Yeah, Preacher Will.  It lays eggs.  But they all lay eggs.  Who needs an Easter chicken for that?  And the Rotary Club serves coffee.  And the 4-H Club says prayers.  The Red Cross takes up offerings for hurricane victims.  Mental Health does counseling, and the Boy Scouts have youth programs.”

            The underlying question came clearly through.  The parable was contemporary.  “What unique thing does the church do?”

                                                                                    Don M. Aycock, Symbols of Salvation2

 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________

 

 

Temple: https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/about-the-foundation/archbishop-william-temple/

 

Campbell: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Brother-to-a-Dragonfly

 

Aycock:  https://www.amazon.com/Symbols-salvation-Don-M-Aycock/dp/0805451900

 

 

1Campbell, W. (2018). Brother to a Dragonfly.  University Press of Mississippi.

 

2Aycock, D.M. (1982). Symbols of Salvation.  Broadman Press.

 

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THE TRUE MEANING OF PRAYER

#781 & 781a                        THE TRUE MEANING OF PRAYER

                                                                       

Scripture  Luke 18:1; Acts 4:31, NIV                                                                          Orig. 4/16/1980

                                                                                                                                Rewr.  9/23/1987

                                                                                                                                                          

Passage:

Luke 18

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

 

Acts 4

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

 

Purpose:  Beginning a series on the subject of prayer using John Bunyan’s seven-fold description of prayer.

 

Keywords:  Prayer

 

Timeline/Series:           Prayer 

 

Introduction

            Christians the world over are familiar with the name of John Bunyan.  Almost without exception, however, we associate him only with Pilgrim’s Progress, and are totally unfamiliar with his equally heartening book on prayer, Prayer,1 where he gives us one of the significant definitions of prayer, and his seven-fold prayer concern.

            “Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to His word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God.”

1.       Prayer is sincere.

2.       Prayer is sensible.

3.       Prayer is the affectionate pouring out of the soul to God.

4.       Prayer is through Christ, and in the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

5.       Prayer is for such as God has promised.

6.       Prayer is for the good of the church.

7.       Prayer is submission to the will of God.

 

I.          Prayer is Sincerely Pouring Out One’s Soul to God.  Acts 2:46, “They . . . did eat their meat  with gladness and singleness of heart.”

            Few things in our lives make a difference like deeds done either with or without sincerity.  It is New Testament simplicity.  Romans 12:9, “Let love be without dissimulation.”  I Corinthians 10:21, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils.”  It was vital to the sense of the supper: I Corinthians 5:8, “Let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity.”  Leaven achieved taste, but it represented artificiality.  Relation to God was to disdain such misrepresentation.

            On the day before Passover, the Jews were to light a candle and ceremoniously begin a search for anything that might spoil the dough.

            Even so, sincerity is an integral part of prayer.   Psalm 66:17-18, “. . . If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  Jeremiah 29:12-13, “Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  When Nathaniel came to Jesus, John 1:47, “Behold an Israelite, in whom is no guile.”

            Sincerity is simply being the same in a darkened corner alone where none can see, that we are before the face of all the world.

 

II.         Prayer is Sensibly Pouring Out One’s Soul to God.  Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication . . . , let your requests be made known unto God.”

            Sensibility understands life’s pressing needs.  Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”  There is a time for want of mercy.  There is a time for stating confession.  There is a time for a bold word of intercession.  Few have not prayed for Christianity. 

            There is a time for a joyous declaration of thanksgiving.  Daniel 9:4, “And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession.”  Genesis 32:11 (Jacob), “Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother.”  Psalm 95:2, “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving.”

                                                                                                                                                        

781a   

Romans 8:26-27, 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

 

III.       Prayer is Affectionately Pouring Out the Soul to God.  Matthew 6:21, “Where  your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  Colossians 3:2, “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”

            Things done out of love bring satisfaction: God, family, occupation, avocation.  Psalm 42: 1, “As the hart panteth after the  waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”

            To thus view God, in prayer, with devotion is to pray to one who loves, and who will perform to our good.  Daniel 9:18b, “. . . We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.”  Romans 10:11, “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”  Isaiah 66:13, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.”  Jonah 4:9, “Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?”  V11, “Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city [without] discernment?”

 

IV.       Prayer is Pouring Out the Soul to God through Christ and with Assistance of Holy Spirit.

            We have established the following:  Sincerity, Sensibility, and Affection.

            Now the believer addresses God where He has made Himself the most vulnerable.  It our sin that constitutes the communication gap.  But the sinless Son has the Father’s ear.  Matthew 18:20, “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I.”  John 14:13, “Whatsoever ye  shall ask in my name, that will I do, [to the end that] the Father may be glorified in the son.”

            Daniel grasped this special efficacy.  Daniel 9:17, “O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, . . . for the Lord’s sake. . . .”  v19, “O Lord, hear, . . . for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”  Romans 10:1, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”

            To claim Christ’s name before God is to claim His blood, is to claim His righteousness, is to claim  His victory over sin,  is to claim His intercession in our behalf.  Ephesians 1:6, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

A newspaper article datelined Birmingham told of a little four-year-old boy taken in a stolen car.  Asleep on back seat, parked in front of Women’s Hospital, the car was taken.  A few hours later, the car was recovered but not the boy.  Police speculated the thief abandoned.  A disabled vet was searching near the site.  On the porch of a deserted house he saw bundle of rags.  Stopped, on crutches in semi-darkness, the bundle moved, showed fear.  But the man called the lad’s father’s name, and told him he was taking him to his daddy.

 

V.         Prayer is the Pouring Out of the Soul to God for Such Things as He has Promised.  Psalm 37:4, “He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

            The Character of the Promiser:  Hebrews 10:23, “For He is faithful that promised.”  For the sake of His own word.  For our sake of redeemable humanity.

            The Content of the Promise: II Peter 3:13, “We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”  It states His integrity.  It qualifies the human search.

            The Certitude of the Promised:  I John 2:25, “This  is the promise that He hath promised  us, even eternal life.”

 

VI.       Prayer is the Pouring Out of the Soul to God for the Good of the Church.

            Jesus prayed for the church.  John 17:9f, “I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.

            Paul uses prayer in this sense.  Philippians 1:4f, “. . . Prayer . . . for your friendship in the gospel . . . being confident . . . that . . . he will perform it.”

            We must pray similarly.  Romans 15:30, “. . . Strive with me in your prayers to God for me.”

            We must not presume some divine accountability.  God’s will is for our own good.  Satan is working to disallow His will.

 

VII.      Prayer is Pouring Out One’s Soul to God, Submitting to the Will of God.

            Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done.”

            I John 5:14f, “This is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will,  he heareth us; and if we know that hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

 

Links:

 

https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/prayer-by-john-bunyan/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPrayer%20is%20a%20sincere%2C%20sensible,to%20the%20will%20of%20God.%E2%80%9D

 

1Bunyan, J.  (2022). Prayer. Banner of Truth, Puritan Paperback Series.

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