PT-2 "The Sign" (Acts 3:1-8a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/29/2017 8:21 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  PT-2 The Sign

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 3:7-8a

            Message of the verses:  We continue to look at this main section “The Sign” in today’s SD by looking at the last two aspects of this miracle.

IT WAS INSTANTANEOUS

“7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.”

            This miracle that was done to this beggar happened right away, there was no stages to it as there were at times when Jesus did miracles when He was on the earth, although most of His recorded miracles were also instantaneous too.  One has to think about what happened to make this man be able to walk for the first time in his life as whatever was wrong with his body was instantaneous made well by the Lord.

            John MacArthur writes “The genuine gift of healing, in contrast to the alleged healings of today, resulted in immediate cures.”

IT WAS COMPLETE

“8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping”

            Peter did not have to manhandle the beggar to get him to his feet as he just took him by the hand and as the beggar felt the strength come into his feet and ankles he was able to jump and you could really say he was jumping for joy and entered the temple with Peter and John.

            MacArthur concludes this section:  “The four characteristics of this miracle provide a checklist to screen all alleged miraculous healings.  A healing that fits the true biblical pattern will stem from God’s sovereign choice, it will be done to glorify Jesus Christ, it will be instantaneous, and it will be complete.  Needless to say, the so-called instances of healing claimed by modern ‘healers’ do not meet those criteria.”

            I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that God still heals people but there are no “healers” like in the early days of the book of Acts.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “30 pieces of silver” (Matthew 27:3).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said “"Sir, come down before my child dies."”

Answer in our next SD.    8/29/2017 8:42 AM

The Sign (Acts 3:4-8a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/28/2017 9:47 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                                  Focus:  The Sign

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Acts 3:4-8a

            Message of the verses:  “4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!" 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping.”

            John MacArthur begins his commentary on this section by stating that there are four aspects of this miracle that are noteworthy:  “it was unexpected, it was done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was instantaneous, and it was complete.”  Now we will look at the first two aspects of this miracle in our Spiritual Diary this morning and then look at the final two in our next SD.

IT WAS UNEXPECTED

            This section covers verses 4-6a which are seen at the top of the page.  What we are looking at first here is the word in the Greek for “fixed his gaze upon.”  This word is Atenizo and MacArthur states that it “is the same word used in 1:10 to describe the apostles’ intense gaze at the ascending Lord.”  This must have been some gaze that they used to look at this man if it is compared to seeing our Lord ascend into heaven.  Next we see that this man was told to look at them (Peter and John).  The beggar though that he was going to get some money from these two men and was probably excited about this prospect, but his excitement would be even more intense after he receives what they have for him. 

            MacArthur concludes this section:  “Like all of God’s works, this miracle was based on God’s sovereign will.  There were hundreds of other beggars in Jerusalem, many of them undoubtedly crippled as well.  But it was this man that God sovereignly chose to receive healing.  Expecting only some money to help momentarily ease his desperate situation, the beggar instead received far more than he would have ever dreamed.”

IT WAS DONE IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST

“In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk! (Acts 3:6b)

            When I look back at all the people that Jesus healed during His three year ministry I know that there must have been thousands healed from various difficulties and surely not all of them are mentioned as John states at the end of his gospel.  Perhaps this man had heard of Jesus, but had no reason to believe on Him because he was still crippled.  Perhaps this man had heard that Jesus had been executed as being a blasphemer, and so he had no reason to believe on him, but now he will hear His name as Peter uses His name in order to heal this man.  MacArthur writes “In the name of means by virtue of Christ’s character, authority, and power.”  We looked earlier at “Jesus Christ the Nazarene” as we saw it was a common designation of our Lord which was used during His earthly ministry.  We looked earlier also at praying in the name of Jesus when we studied the gospel of John noting that by doing this when we are praying about had to be in His will, and Peter surely knew that it was in the will of our Lord to have this man healed and we will see why as we move forward in this third chapter of the book of Acts.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am coming to realize that the things I pray for have to be in the will of our Lord, realizing also that He is the One who is in control of all things including the things that I pray for.  God is not my personal “Jeanie” but I am His seeking to do what He desires me to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  As I begin to prepare for teaching the book of Revelation in our Sunday school class I trust that I will be humble trusting the Lord to show me the things that He wants me to bring out from this wonderful book that will bring glory to my Lord.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The Pharisees” (Luke 11:43).

Today’s Bible question:  “What was Judas paid for betraying Jesus?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/28/2017 10:17 AM

The Scene (Acts 3:1-3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/27/2017 10:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                               Focus:  The Scene

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                           Reference:  Acts 3:1-3

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.”

            I want to begin with just a reminder of who Peter and John were.  Before they met Jesus they worked together in a fishing business, but when they met Jesus the left their nets after He called Him and began to follow Jesus.  They were close friends and were a part of the inter-circle of our Lord’s disciples.  What we see here in Acts 3 are these two men going about the business of the Lord after He went back to heaven as seen in Acts chapter one.  I want also to mention that the first part of the book of Acts we find Peter as the main character as Jesus had promised this to Him when he walked with Jesus. 

            John MacArthur writes “The imperfect tense of the verb translated ‘were going up’ suggests it was their custom to go to the temple frequently (cf. 2:46).  The ‘ninth hour, the hour of prayer’ would be three in the afternoon according to the Jewish reckoning, which counted the hours from sunrise.  Psalm 55:17 mentions the three hours of prayer, the other two being in the morning (the third hour) and at noon (the sixth hour).  The ninth hour was also the time of the evening sacrifice, when the daily temple crowds would be at their peak.”

            As we read this section we see that as these two men were going to the temple they encountered this man who was lame from his mother’s womb, he was always lame, similar to the man who was born blind that Jesus healed in John chapter nine.  This man was a beggar who sat near the temple in order to have people give him money.  I suppose that many Jewish people would do this as they thought this would please the Lord and perhaps allow them to get into heaven, but perhaps some of the people did it out of love for the Lord.  Now the temple treasury was near where he would be sitting and so people would come prepared to give money as they came into the temple.  John MacArthur writes “The ‘Beautiful Gate’ inside the temple mount area on the eastern side, separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Women.  Like the other gates, it was large and ornate.  According to the Jewish historian Josephus, it was made of Corinthian brass, and was so large it took twenty men to close it.”

            So we see this lame man was in the right place to receive money from those who went into the temple, but I don’t think he was expecting what Peter and John were about to give him which we will see more about in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Two wagons and four oxen” (Numbers 1:7).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who loved the best seats in the synagogue?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/27/2017 11:18 PM

PT-4 "Intro to Acts 3:1-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/26/2017 9:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  PT-4 Intro to Acts 3:1-11

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 3:1-11

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!" 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.”

            We continue to look at biblical understandings of the apostolic healing ministry and we begin this SD with reason number four that John MacArthur writes about which is “in almost every recorded instance of the gift of healing in Acts, it is unbelievers who are healed (3:1-11; 5:15-16; 8:7; 19:11-12; 28:8).  (Whether or not Aeneas ‘[Acts 9:33-34] was a believer is difficult to determine due to the brevity of the passage.  However the description of him as ‘a certain man,’ rather than a believer or disciple [cf. Acts 9:36] suggests he was an unbeliever.)”  There may be one exception that is found in Acts 20:7-12 “7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." 11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.”  This truly looks to me like this boy was a believer as we look at verse seven where we see that the breaking of the bread refers to the Lord’s Supper and he took part in that so this is why it is believed that he was a believer, for according to 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 only believers are to partake in the Lord’s Supper.

            I mentioned that in other passages that Paul did not use his gift of healing on believers and I will give a couple of examples of this.  “Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20).”  “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments (1 Tim. 5:23).”  I remember my first Pastor that I sat under after becoming a believer and he always said that if you have Timothy’s stomach you can drink Timothy’s wine.

            Now we also talked about whether or not God heals not and stated that He truly does heal, but that there are no more gifts of healing like that which was given at the beginning of the Church age.  God heals in response to the cries of His children when He determines that it is in His will.  I remember a lady in our former church who was probably the godliest woman that I have ever met and a short time after her retirement she went to be with the Lord.  People prayed for her to be cured, and she stated that she did not feel that the Lord was done with her, yet He was and she went to be with the Lord. 

            John MacArthur states “It is an unfounded assumption without biblical support that healings should be expected as commonplace in the church.  Never in all history has there been a time of such healing power as exhibited by Christ and the apostles.  There is no time before or since when God manifested such prolific healing miracles.  It was rare before the ministry of the Lord and the apostles and equally, if not more, rare since…

            “In Acts 3:1-10, the Holy Spirit selects one of the ‘many wonders and signs’ mentioned in 2:43 as an illustration.  This astounding miracle of healing a man lame from birth gathers a curious crowd and prepares them to hear Peter’s sermon.  It also confirms that Peter and John represent God.  The record of the lame man unfolds in three events:  the scene, the sign, and the sequel.”

            We will begin to look at the “scene” in our next SD which covers the first three verses of Acts chapter three.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that the Lord continues to heal people in His will, knowing that His will is perfect even though many times we don’t understand it while we are on earth, but will understand it once we see the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord as I finish up my teaching on the parable of the “unrighteous judge” in our Sunday school class tomorrow and then begin to prepare to begin to teach from the book of Revelation next week.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question “Obadiah.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What did Moses give the sons of Gershon?” (This has to do with the moving of the pieces of the Tabernacle.) 

Answer in our next SD.  8/26/2017 10:07 AM

PT-3 "Intro to Acts 3:1-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/25/2017 11:00 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  PT-3 Intro to Acts 3:1-11

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 3:1-11

            Message of the verses:  1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!" 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.”

            In our last SD we began to look at “A biblical understanding of the apostolic healing ministry includes the following points.”  We then looked at the first point and in today’s SD we will continue looking at these points beginning with point number two.

            “Second, Satan and his demonic hosts can produce counterfeit healings.”  These healings that they do are not only in what we would call false religions, but also in the guise of Christianity.  The Lord Jesus warned that this would happen in what we call his Olivet Discourse that is actually found in three places but we will look at Mark 13:22 “for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.”  In our study of the book of Revelation we saw recorded there false miracles done by the false prophet.  Let us look at what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 2:9 “that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.”    Matthew 7:22-23 we Jesus say “22  "Many will say to Me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”  As we look at those last two verses we can conclude that God is not involved in, nor does He approve of, everything done in His name.  We can pray in Jesus’ name, but if we are not praying for something that is in the will of our Lord and brings honor and glory to our Lord we cannot expect an answer.  God certainly does not desire testimony from demonic sources as we saw in our study of the gospels when we saw the demons stating that Jesus was the Holy One of God, Jesus rebuked them and told them to be quiet.  Paul and Silas refused to allow a demon-possessed girl even to testify to the truth that they were God’s servants “16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.” 

            John MacArthur writes that “Believers must constantly be aware of the danger of satanic deception.  Paul warned the Corinthians of that when he wrote regarding some of the false teachers of his day:

‘13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.’

Satan is perhaps even more dangerous in his subtlety as a wolf in sheep’s clothing than as a roaring lion.”

            We will look at John MacArthur’s third reason in conclusion and then try and finish up our into in our next SD.  “Third, contrary to the teaching of many today, the early church was not a miracle-working church.  Rather, they were a church with miracle-working apostles.  The gift of healing in the early church was limited to the apostles and their close associates in ministry.  When they disappeared, so did the gift of healing.”  I believe that when MacArthur speaks of the gift of healing he is talking about people who had that gift, for we know that God still heals people.  I mentioned that my friend told me a long time ago as we were talking about this he told me that God heals you every time but the last time.  I have to agree with that.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Peter” (Luke 24:12).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which book sets forth the exultation of the Edomites over Judah at the time of the fall of Jerusalem (586 B. C.)?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/25/2017 11:25 AM

 

PT-2 "Intro to Acts 3:1-11"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/24/2017 10:02 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  PT-2 Intro to Acts 3:1-11

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 3:1-11

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!" 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.”

            As we look at these first eleven verses of Acts chapter three we see that there was a miracle done through the Apostles which caused a man who was unable to walk to begin to walk.  We have been looking at false teachers in our last SD and will continue to do so in this SD because it is important to know that there are false teachers today that say that they can heal people and people line up to get near them and also to empty their wallets to support these false teachers so it is good to know the real from the false.

            John wrote in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

            Jesus recognized the responsibility for God’s messengers to have His teaching accredited by His works.  John 10:25 states “Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.”  Now remember in the 12^th chapter of the book of Matthew that the Pharisees stated that the miracles that Jesus did were done in the power of Satan.  Now of course this did not go over well with our Lord whose miracles were done through the power of the Holy Spirit and so He told them that "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven (Matthew 12:31).”  This was very serious to our Lord and it is very serious still to our Lord today as there are many false teachers out there today who give people just enough truth so that they will believe the lies that they are teaching which will cause them to miss heaven and end up in hell if they don’t understand the lies they are being taught are actually lies.

            I have written in earlier Spiritual Diaries that in the infant stages of the church that the Lord gave the apostles sign gifts to validate that what they were teaching them was true.  Jesus did the same thing in His ministry.  After a while, after the Bible was completed all the truth we need is found in it.  Paul wrote in one of his letters about a friend of his who was with him who was sick and almost died and he was thankful for prayers that were prayed for him.  My point is that Paul had been used by God to perform many miracles and yet he could not heal his sick friend during the later stages of his ministry. 

            John MacArthur writes on this subject:  “The miraculous sign gifts included the gift of healing (cf. Matt. 10:1) exercised in this passage.  This is one of many healings done by the apostles (cf. Acts 2:43), selected for its impact and connection to Peter’s inspired sermon.  Unfortunately, there is much confusion about that gift.  Many today claim to possess or have access to that gift.  Their so-called healings run the gamut from psychological ploys to outright fakes to demonic activity.  A biblical understanding of the apostolic healing ministry includes the following points.” Now MacArthur makes a number of points to help us understand the apostolic healing ministry which we will begin to look at this morning and then continue in our next SD.

            We have talked earlier that many alleged healings are fraudulent in our world today, as they were earlier and these so called faith healers are called charlatans and do tricks to convince people that they have healed someone.  I have to say if this gift was really from God as they say it is why don’t they go into the hospitals and heal everyone there.  Sometimes these fake healers will have people in their audience who pose to be sick and then are healed by the fake healer just to make people think it is real. 

            MacArthur adds “A related category of ‘healings’ involves cures of psychosomatic illnesses.  Since such imagined diseases can produce symptomatic illnesses having no physical, organic cause, their cure is not an illustration of the gift of healing.  Jesus and the apostles healed those afflicted with physical ailments, such as blindness, deafness, and paralysis, and organic diseases, such as leprosy.  The cure of those conditions and others like them however, is beyond the reach of contemporary faith healers.”  Think about the man who was born blind in John chapter nine and what Jesus did to heal his blindness.  He put mud on the man’s eye and told him to go and wash it off in a certain pool of water.  What Jesus actually did was to give him new eyes that he could see out of as the eyes he had never worked at all so he needed new eyes.  This was not problem for our Lord at all as He was the One who made the first man out of the earth.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Midian” (Judges 7:15).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which disciple went into Jesus’ tomb?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/24/2017 10:43 AM

Intro to Acts 3:1-11

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/23/2017 9:46 AM

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  Introduction to Acts 3:1-11

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 3:1-11

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!" 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.”

            As we begin this introduction of these verses I have to say that it will probably take a few days to do as the introduction in MacArthur’s commentary is fairly long as this is an important subject that we are about to look at.

            I have to say that there are times when I realize that the Lord is using me to do things that I am not sure what He is doing.  In my other Spiritual Diary this morning which is found on my other blog that can be read when one goes to www.2twokens.blogspot.com and follow the directions when you get there, that I have begun to look at 2 Peter chapter two which speaks of what can be called as heretical preachers.  In his introduction John MacArthur quotes 2 Peter 2:1-21 stating that this section of Scripture is the most scathing denunciation of heretical preachers found in the Word of God.  Both 2 Peter and Jude deal with false teachers and false preachers in their writings.  Jesus also dealt with this subject in Matthew 7:15 “"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  We will also look at Matthew 24:24 “"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”  Paul calls them “savage wolves” when he was addressing the church leaders at Ephesus in Acts 20:29.  Titus 1:10 says “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision.”  2 Cor. 11:13 states “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”  He writes to Timothy in 1 Tim 4:1 and 2 Tim 3:8 “1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” “8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.” 

            Now to close this first introductory on these verses I will quote that rather long section from 2 Peter 2:1-21, reminding you also that over the next few weeks on my other blog site I will be going over those verses.

“1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8  (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, 13 suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; 15 forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16  but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet. 17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. 18  For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, 19  promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21  For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jonah” (Jonah 3:4).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where were the people from who fought against Gideon?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/23/2017 10:16 AM

They Were a Growing Church (Acts 2:47c)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/22/2017 11:31 AM

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  They Were a Growing Church

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 2:47c

            Message of the verses:  “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

            As we look back at the things that we have been looking at, that is the qualities of the first church we can understand why it would be growing.  Nothing like this had ever been seen in Jerusalem before and people were drawn to it.  Now as we carefully look at what this verse says we see that it was the Lord who was adding to their number, and God was using the members in the church to accomplish this as they were telling others about the Lord.  Let’s compare this section with Acts 5:14 “And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number.” 

            John MacArthur writes “The imperfect tense of the verb translated ‘was adding,’ along with the phrase ‘day by day,’ indicates that people were continually being saved as they observed the daily conduct of the believers.  So united, joyful, and Spirit-filled were they that their very existence was a powerful testimony to the truth of the gospel.  True evangelism flows from the life of a healthy church.”

            He concludes this chapter by writing “This brief glimpse of the first fellowship gives valuable insight into what makes a healthy, growing church worthy of the name.  The proper devotion of the duties of the Sprit produces the proper character, which in turn produces a powerful and saving impact on sinners.”

            As members of a Bible believing church we have the duty to go out and seek those who are lost, we are to trust the Lord to lead us to those who will listen to the truth of the Bible and will then confess their sins, and then turn to the Lord for salvation.  It is my prayer each and every day that people who read these Spiritual Diaries who are in need of salvation will come to know the Lord as their Savior.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “They brought two young pigeons, the offering of the poorest” (Luke 2:24).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown’?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/22/2017 11:46 AM

They Were an Attractive Church (Acts 2:47b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/21/2017 7:18 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  PT-2 They Were an Attractive Church

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Acts 2:47b

            Message of the verses:  “and having favor with all the people”

            I thought for today’s SD that I would give the quote from Aristides who was the second century philosopher who wrote on the early church.

“Now the Christians, O King, by going about and seeking, have found the truth.  For they know and trust in God, the Maker of heaven and earth, who has no fellow.  From him they received those commandments which they have engraved on their minds, and which they observe in the hope and expectation of the world to come.

For this reason they do not commit adultery or immorality; they do not bear false witness, or embezzle, nor do they covet what is not theirs.  They honor father and mother, and do good to those who are their neighbors.  Whenever they are judges, they judge uprightly.  They do not worship idols made in the image of man.  Whatever they do not wish that others should do to them, they in turn do not do; and they do not eat the food sacrificed to idols.

Those who oppress them they exhort and make them their friends.  They do good to their enemies.  Their wives, O King, are pure as virgins, and their daughters are modest.  Their men abstain from unlawful sexual contact and from impurity, in the hope of recompense that is to come in another world.

As for their bondmen and bondwomen, and their children, if there are any, they persuade them to become Christians; and when they have done so, they call them brethren without distinction.

They refuse to worship strange gods; and they go their way in all humility and cheerfulness.  Falsehood is not found among them.  They love one another; the widow’s needs are not ignored, and they rescue the orphan from the person who does him violence.  He who has gives to him who has not, ungrudgingly and without boasting.  When the Christians find a stranger, they bring him to their homes and rejoice over him as a true brother.  They do not call brothers those who are bound by blood ties alone, but those who are brethren after the Spirit and in God.

When one of their poor passes away from the world, each provides for his burial according to his ability.  If they hear of any of their number who are imprisoned or oppressed for the name of the Messiah, they all provide for his needs, and if it is possible to redeem him, they set him free.

If they find poverty in their midst, and they do not have spare food, they fast two or three days in order that the needy might be supplied with the necessities.  They observe scrupulously the commandments of their Messiah, living honestly and soberly as the Lord their God ordered them.  Every morning and every hour they praise and thank God for His goodness to them; and for their food and drink they offer thanksgiving.

If any righteous person of their number passes away from the world, they rejoice and thank God, and escort his body as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby.  When a child is born to one of them they praise God.  If it dies in infancy, they thank God the more, as for one who has passed through the world without sins.  But if one of them dies in his iniquity or in his sins, they grieve bitterly and sorrow as over one who is about to meet his doom.

Such, O King, is the commandment given to the Christians, and such is their conduct.  (The Apology of Aristides, translated by Rendel Harris [London: Cambridge, 1893]).”

MacArthur adds “With all of that virtue to commend them it is small wonder they were an attractive church.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “About 3,000” (Acts 2:41).

Today’s Bible question:  “What sign of the poverty of Joseph and Mary was there in the temple service?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/21/2017 7:43 AM

 

They Were an Attractive Church (Acts 2:47b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/20/2017 9:53 PM

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  They were an Attractive Church

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Acts 2:47b

            Message of the verses:  “and having favor with all the people”

            “The dynamic corporate life and spiritual character of the church had great impact.  Two features of that impact appear in this verse.”  We will look at the first feature in this SD which is “They were an Attractive Church.

            It was their duties and their character which granted them “favor with all the people.”  These people were still going to the temple to worship at this time and no one at this point was bringing  persecution on them, that would come later.  I have to say that I spent about six months studying the 17^th chapter of John, which was Jesus Christ’s High Priestly prayer and when you look at the unity that this early church had we can see that this was an answer to His prayer in John 17.  “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me (John 17:21).”

            In his commentary John MacArthur quotes a man who was a philosopher named Aristides who lived in the second century and he wrote about how the early church found favor with the common people.  I am not at this time going to quote this as it is rather long, but perhaps I will do it on another day as it is late at this time and I have had a very long day.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “A pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26).

Today’s Bible question:  “How many people were added to the believers on the day of Pentecost?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/20/2017 10:19 PM

IT was a Joyful Church (Acts 2:46b-47a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/19/2017 10:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  It was a joyful Church

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 2:46b-47a

            Message of the verses:  “with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God”

            John MacArthur writes “It comes as no surprise that a unified, miraculous, sharing church was also a joyful church.  Agalliasis (gladness) is the noun form of the verb agalliao, which means ‘to rejoice.’  One of the key reasons for that joy was the ‘sincerity of heart’ they manifested.  Aphelotes (sincerity) appears only here in the New Testament.  It literally means ‘simplicity’ and derives from a root word meaning ‘free from rocks,’ or ‘smooth’ (A. T. Roberson, Word Pictures in the New Testament).  There were no stones of selfishness in their hearts.”

            There are a couple of things that I would say as a result of reading this portion of MacArthur’s commentary and the first is that I really like when he goes into more specifics of what different words in the Greek language mean.  Next I want to say is that whenever I look at a word that is only used once in the New Testament then that also is something that interests me.  The last thing is that sometimes when I look at a Greek word’s meaning I sometimes get baffled as to why it is translated into English the way it was.  Never would have thought that “sincerity” would be the Greek word for rocks.  “46 Day after day they met by common consent in the Temple; they broke bread together in their homes, sharing meals with simple joy (Phillips).”  “From a compound of 1 (as a negative particle) and phellos (in the sense of a stone as stubbing the foot) (Greek/English Dictionary).”  

            Now we want to look at the first phrase of Acts 2:47 “Praising God.”  I looked up this verse in my Amplified version of the Bible and it begins with these words “Constantly praising God,” so we can see that the praising of God that these people in the early church did was not something that they only did on Sunday or when they met but it was daily in their lives.

            The question is how do we praise God and John MacArthur states “To praise God is to recite His wonderful works and attributes.  The goal of the first fellowship was to exalt the Lord, and that produced true happiness.”  MacArthur goes on to write “Those who glorify themselves and seek the preeminence will never know lasting joy. Joy comes to those who give God glory.  Paul expressed that truth to the Philippians when he wrote, ‘If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose’ (Phil. 2:1-2).” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In my devotional that I read this morning I read something about love as this month’s devotional are all from 1 Corinthians 13.  John MacArthur wrote in that devotional about the difference between selfishness and love, similar to the statement that he made in this section we are looking at as I have highlighted it.  He compared the difference of what Adam and Eve did in the garden when they sinned as they were looking for independence from God which ends up to be selfishness.  We are all born with that sin nature which even after we have been born again we have trouble doing things that the Lord has commanded us to do.  Jesus on the other hand was never selfish as we can see from Philippians chapter two.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to be more like Jesus Christ so I can be less selfish.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Rome.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What did Lot’s wife become?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/19/2017 11:28 AM    

A Sharing Church (Acts 2:44-46a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/18/2017 10:12 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  A Sharing Church

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 2:44-46a

            Message of the verses:  “44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together”

            I wish to quote John MacArthur here as I mentioned something about these verses in our introduction to this section that he happens to agree with.  “In these early days, before strife and divisions affected the church ‘all those who had believed were together.’  They possessed not only a spiritual unity but also a practical oneness.  That they had ‘had all things in common’ does not, as some imagine, indicate communal living.  The first Christian fellowship was not a commune, nor does the passage offer support for such a notion.  The family, not the commune, is the basic social unit in God’s design.”  This being true it is no wonder that the devil is causing so much trouble for families in our country today.  The family is suppose to be on man and one woman having children, children who know from birth that they are either a little boy or a little girl, and for those who are confused about this all they need to do is look at their birth certificate.

            An example of what was going on in this first church can be seen in the different feasts that Israel had when many thousands of families came to Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts.  There was never enough room for them in the inns of that day and so they would stay with other families who lived there in Jerusalem and they would share food and lodging with these families.

            What we talked about in our introduction to verse 44 was that this was not a primitive form of communism as some have believed it was and this “is evident from the imperfect tense (denoting continuous past action) of the verbs translated ‘selling and sharing’ (cf. 4:34).  They did not at any point sell everything and pool the proceeds into a common pot.  Such a principle for Christian living would have obviated the responsibility of each believer to give in response to the Spirit’s prompting (cf. 1 Cor. 16:1-2).  Further, it is clear from verse 46 that individuals still owned homes.”  What happened was that people who had land were selling it to get money in order to help those who were in need as seen in verse 45.  This was done because of the love that people in the early church had for each other not because they had to do it, but because they desired to do it. 

            The sharing of material possessions was not the only thing that was going on as verse 46 speaks of spiritual things that were going on as they would meet in the temple for spiritual teaching, as they were hungry to hear what the Word of God had to say to them.  Not so sure that people have that same hunger in our world today as it seems like other things seem to get in the way.  Now as far as meeting in the temple that all ended in 70 A.D. when it was destroyed by the Romans. 

            John MacArthur writes “The phrase with one mind again expresses the unity the first fellowship experienced.”  He is speaking of the spiritual aspect in that statement.

            They not only meet in the temple, but as verse 46 also states the meet in people’s houses “and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together.”  This refers to having the communion service in the homes.  John writes the following in 1 John 3:16-18 which shows why this all happened in the early church as seen in our verses from today:

“16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is all about love, the love that the Holy Spirit gives to all who belong to the Lord. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Be open to that love that the Spirit has given to me and use it for the cause of Christ.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Bernice” (Acts 25:13).

Today’s Bible question:  “The Jews were under the rule of what nation during the time of Christ?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/18/2017 10:42 AM

It Was a Miraculous Church (Acts 2:43b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/17/2017 9:36 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  It was a Miraculous Church

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 2:43b

            Message of the verses:  “and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.”

            God was using the spiritual gifts that He had given to the apostles to do wonders and miracles for the purpose of causing people to turn to the Lord as seen in Acts 9:35.  I have mentioned in an earlier SD that the Lord gave what is called “sign gifts” to believers as the church began in order to call people to Himself, and once the Bible was completed then these sign gifts were no longer needed for people had the entire Word of God to see the way of salvation and spiritual growth.  I realize that there are people today that still believe in healings, and I also believe in the fact that God heals people too, but I don’t believe in what is called “faith healers.”  When I first became a believer I spoke to the man who was my mentor and he told me that God heals you every time but the last time when as a believer you go to be with the Lord.

            Now as we look back at the gospels we see that our Lord did His miracles for the same reason.  Jesus says the following in John 14:10-12,

“10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.  12  "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”

            John MacArthur writes “The ability to perform miracles was not given to all, but was limited to the apostles and their close associates (such as Philip; cf. Acts 8:13).  The writer of Hebrews said,

‘3 How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.’

“God attended the preaching of the apostles with miracles to confirm that they were indeed His messengers.  With the passing of the apostolic age, and the completion of the canon of Scripture, the need for such confirmatory signs ended.  Today we can determine who speaks for God by comparing their teaching with God’s revelation in Scripture.” 

            As we look at when a person comes to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord so that they can have their sins forgiven and promised to one day be with Him in heaven we see the greatest miracle that God continues to do each and every day of the church age.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to trust the Lord to continue to show me many wonderful things from His written Word in order to bring glory to His name.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to seek wisdom from the Lord in order to bring glory to His name as I teach Sunday school this coming Sunday on a different topic other than John 17 which we finished last week.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jerusalem” (Acts 25:9-11).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who was King Agrippa’s lady companion?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/17/2017 10:01 AM