"Intro to Acts 9:1-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/23/2017 10:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Acts 9:1-31

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 9:1-31

            Message of the verses:  We will not look at all of the 31 verses in this SD as that would be a very long quotation but will just look at the introduction to these verses as we look forward to looking at the story of Saul of Tarsus who becomes the main character in the last half of the book of Acts.  John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary on Acts “The Transformed Life,” and like me I hope that you will enjoy and learn from this very important section of Scripture.

            In his introductory comments on this section of Scripture John MacArthur writes briefly about John Newton, Mel Trotter, and Augustine, giving testimony of how these men came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  All three men had very sinful beginnings and all three men after they were saved did great work for the Lord.  Mel Trotter was a drunk who lived in Chicago and was such a drunk that when his daughter died he stole the shoes she was to be buried in so he could pawn them to by drinks.  He went to the Pacific Garden Mission one night and became a believer.  Our radio station use to have a program from that mission and they told stories of men who came their and became believers.  There was a man in the church I use to go to who wrote the story of how his father became a believer after going to prison, and that story was played on the Pacific Garden Mission’s radio program. 

            There were many people like this who came to know the Lord after a sinful past and then went on to do the work of the Lord, but Saul of Tarsus is the most famous of all as his story of conversion is given three times in the book of Acts, and it begins in Acts chapter nine.  The last time we saw Saul was at the death of Stephen and in the first verse of chapter eight we read “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”  The rest of chapter eight as we have seen is about Philip, but Luke brings up Saul, who would become a great friend of his and Luke would become a partner with Saul who became Paul in the remaining books of Acts. 

            John MacArthur writes this brief summary of who Saul is in the following paragraph:  It is fitting that such a unique individual would have a unique conversion.  “Saul was by birth a Jew, by citizenship a Roman, by education a Greek, and purely by the grace of God a Christian (cf. Phil. 3:4-9).  He was a missionary, theologian, evangelist, pastor, organizer, leader, thinker, fighter for truth, and lover of souls. Never has a more godly man lived, except our Lord Himself.”

            As is my custom to quote from the last paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary to help us see where we will be heading, so I will do so at this time:  “From the dramatic story of Saul’s conversion emerge seven features of the transformed life:  faith in the Savior, fervency in supplication, faithfulness in service, the filling of the Spirit, fellowship with the saints, fervency in speaking, and fearlessness in suffering.”  We will begin looking at the different parts of “Faith in the Savior” in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Leah” (Genesis 29:25-28).

Today’s Bible question:  “What epistle is warning against the false teachers, libertines and antinomians of that day?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/23/2017 11:17 AM  

"The Proper Response" (Acts 8:36-40)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/22/2017 9:24 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-1 “The Proper Response”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:36-40

            Message of the verses: “36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 37 [[And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."]] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.”

            We are looking at the last of the three main points from this last section of Scripture found in the Acts chapter eight which speaks of the salvation of the eunuch, and as we have learned it contrasts the eunuch’s salvation with the false claims of what happened to Simeon in the early part of chapter eight.  We will be looking at faith, confession and then rejoicing as we make our way through these verses. 

            John MacArthur writes “The Spirit’s preparation and Philip’s presentation combined to produce the proper response on the eunuch’s part.  That response was threefold: faith, confession, and rejoicing.”

FAITH

““36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’”

            We don’t know the exact words that Philip spoke to the eunuch, but from the text that we have we know that he spoke of faith and baptism because of what the eunuch said in this verse.  I remember the first pastor that I sat under after I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord and he use to use this passage to talk about baptism.  The word baptism is a transliteration from the Greek: “baptizo” and the word means to dip or immerse, so it has nothing to do with sprinkling as we see in verse 39 that “they came up out of the water.”

            After hearing about his need to be baptized after he became a believer they came upon some water, a pool or stream in the desert that at the right time they came upon it in order for this man to publicly testify to his salvation, his saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We can see another example of the sovereign’s Spirit’s control of the events that are taking place.

 

CONFESSION

“37 [[And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."]] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.”

            John MacArthur writes “The oldest and most reliable manuscripts do not contain verse 37, which should be omitted from the text.  Still, something like that confession must have occurred. Coming to the water, the eunuch ‘ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him.”

REJOICING

39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.”

            When we read here that Philip was snatched away this is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened as seen in the Word of God.  “12  "It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth (1 Kings 18:12).”  “16  They said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send’ (2 Kings 2:16).”  These two verses speak of Elijah.  Now we will look at Ezekiel “12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, "Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His place.’”  “14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the LORD was strong on me.”  “3 He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located (Ezekiel 2:12, 14; 8:3).”

            We have mentioned that the eunuch was certainly not the only one traveling as there was a caravan who was with him as an important man like this would not be traveling alone, especially in a remote area like they were in.  With this said we can conclude that by performing this wonderful miracle that the Holy Spirit did that He would have confirmed to this entire caravan that Philip was indeed the Spirit’s spokesman.

            Joy is the mark of true believers, and I have to say that joy and happiness are not necessarily the same for we read in Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  These highlighted words do not mean that Jesus was happy, but He was indeed joyful.  Jesus knew that after His suffering that many would come to believe in Him as their Savior and Lord, and He also knew that because of His suffering and death that He would have fulfilled the plan that the Father had for Him to do.  Remember when Jesus was a 12 year old boy in the temple He told his mother that He had to be about His Father’s business and then just before He died on the cross He stated “It is finished.”  That word in the Greek is the word teleo tel-eh’-o” and this word means to pay in full, and this word was stamped onto a letter given to a prisoner when he was released from prison as he had paid the dept.

            John MacArthur concludes this section by writing “Luke does not give us the subsequent history of the Ethiopian eunuch.  According the church Father Irenaeus, he became a missionary to the Ethiopians.  What is clear is that the Spirit’s preparation, coupled with Philip’s presentation, produced in him the faith that does save.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I trust that the Lord will in future times give to me the opportunity to tell others about Jesus Christ, and that I would be read to do so with the confidence that the Spirit of God has given me a divine appointment.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will work out some difficulties that are going on in my life at this time.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Mount Hor” (Numbers 20:25-26).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who did Jacob marry before being allowed to marry Rachel?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/22/2017 10:15 AM 

"Salvation Must Center on Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:35)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/21/2017 10:09 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  Salvation Must Center on Jesus Christ

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Acts 8:35

            Message of the verse:  “35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.”

            I want to say first of all that this SD will be a short one as we will finish up the last main point with this SD.  It seems to me that this section from John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Acts is a bit different than the rest of it as far as how he separates the verses.  What we have been looking at as far as the second main point is the proper presentation of the gospel message.

            I have mentioned that the sermon that we read about in the 24^th chapter of the gospel of Luke, that even though we don’t get to read all that Christ had to say, is the sermon that I would have loved to be there when Jesus spoke it to the two disciples while they were on the road to Emmaus.  What we see in verse 35 of Acts chapter eight is a verse that is similar to what happened in the 24^th chapter of Acts as Philip “beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.”  We don’t know exactly what other verses that Philip used to preach Jesus to this man, but I would have to think that he used some of the exact verses that Jesus used when speaking to the disciples as He was preaching about the Messiah, which of course was Him.

            As far as an OT passage there is probably no better place to begin preaching Jesus than the latter part of Isaiah 52 all the way through chapter 53, which is where this eunuch was reading when Philip came upon him. 

            John MacArthur writes “A gospel presentation, to be effective, must clearly and comprehensively present the Person and work of Jesus Christ.  Perhaps the reason some reject Jesus is that He has not been presented well enough for them to understand who He is and what He has accomplished.  To proclaim to others what Christ has done in our lives is important, but the biblical truth about Jesus Christ is the essential message the sinner must hear.  As Paul wrote to the Romans, ‘Faith comes from hearing…the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is not only good to tell others the truth of who Jesus is and what Jesus did, but it is good for me to continue to read and study what Jesus did so that it makes me better prepared to answer questions that people I run into can understand the truth about Jesus.  On this note I want to say that this past year (2017) I have been beginning my day by doing my Spiritual Diaries and then after prayer time I have been reading a devotional from a Bible that I got in the mail last year, and the Scripture reading from this Bible that one has to read each day takes you through the OT once and the NT along with the book of Psalms two times.  I have to say that this has been a challenge to keep up with it.  What I do is actually listen to the Bible from a DVD that I have.  This coming year, Lord willing, I want to go slowly through the Gospels along with the book of Psalms along with doing my Spiritual Diaries each day so that I can focus more on Jesus Christ.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Peter” (John 13:8).

Today’s Bible question:  “Name the mountain where Aaron died.”

Answer in our next SD.

12/21/2017 10:33 AM

"Salvation Must Center on Scripture" (Acts 8:30-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/20/2017 9:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus: Salvation Must Center on Scripture

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:30-34

            Message of the verses:  “30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. 33 “IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH." 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?’”

            I have mentioned that I have read this passage many times, and now that I am studying it here in a more indebt way I have come to the conclusion that this was a God thing, not that I had not thought of that before, but as you look at each section you realize that it had to be God who put all of this together, for if He had not planned each and every detail of this then it would not have happened.  Philip was in Samaria preaching the gospel and then we see Peter and John come to lay their hands on the believers so they would receive the Holy Spirit, and then after this the Holy Spirit sends Philip to a certain road, a road that seems to be on that is not traveled on very much and what does he find?  He finds a chariot with and important person ridding in the chariot.  Now I have to believe that this was larger than one person driving a chariot, but was an entourage with this man from Ethiopia.  Why were they traveling on this road that was not traveled on very much?  Again it was a “God thing.”  How did they just let Philip get into the chariot without being searched or spoken to?  Same answer.  Why was this man reading a portion of Scripture that is a prophecy of the coming Messiah, and not only that but one of the main prophecies of His death?  Same answer.  Why did the man not protest when Philip asked him “do you understanding what you are reading?”  Same answer. 

            Philip has the eunuch’s attention now and perhaps this man is beginning to understand that his quest to understand who God is and what He is all about is going to be answered from this man who just happened along the way and decided to jump up into his chariot. 

            It was a practice to read out loud in this time period so Philip was able to hear what this man was reading, thus the question “do you know what you are reading?”  At this time the eunuch invited Philip to come and sit with him.  Can you imagine the thoughts that were going through Philip’s head at this time?  I have mentioned in other SD’s that there is nothing more exciting and worthwhile than to get a chance to share the gospel with someone, especially when you begin to realize that you are involved in a divine appointment, which is what Philip was involved in at this time. 

            The eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53:7-8, and this passage puzzled the eunuch and so he asked Philip “of whom does the prophet say this?  Of Himself, or of someone else?”  His confusion is understandable as even today when Jewish people read this passage they do not believe that Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, but think it speaks of the nation of Israel.  When one looks at what happened to Jesus, and compares it to this passage along with what David wrote in Psalm 22 there is no doubt that they both speak of Jesus Christ.

            In the same way that his Lord, Paul, Apollos, and Stephen knew the Scriptures, so Philip did, and this should be true of every born-again believer as we should be able to tell the gospel story well enough to be able to led a sinner to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.  All we have to do is know the truth of the gospel, as it is up to the Holy Spirit of God to give the call of salvation to the sinner in order for him to accept the forgiveness that Jesus Christ offers.  One thing that seems to lacking when giving out the gospel message is that there is a need of repentance, agreeing with God that we are sinners and are in need of forgiveness.

            John MacArthur writes: “An effective presentation of the gospel must be based solidly on Scripture.  The use of personal testimony, stories, tracts, and other tools is no substitute.  For Scripture alone is ‘the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (Rom. 1:16).  The power is in the word. 

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

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord as I prepare to teach Revelation in our Sunday school class.

Memory verses:  Philippians 4:1, 8 “1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and my crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”  8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Corruption” (Acts 13:34).  The word “decay” is used in the NASB as both words speak of our Lord’s body not decaying as He was raised from the dead in three days.

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said, ‘You shall never wash my feet’?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/20/2017 10:25 AM

"The Submissive Will of Philip" (Acts 8:27a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/18/2017 10:26 AM

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  “The Submissive Will of Philip”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:27a

            Message of the verse:  “And he arose and went.”

            One has to be willing to be used by the Lord.  Paul speaks of this in 2 Timothy 20-21 “20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”  God uses holy tools to do His work.

            As we have been looking at the life of Philip we have seen that he is such an instrument, one that was used by God as he did not hesitate, but “arose and went.”  Philip was actually leaving a thriving work in Samaria; however he obeyed the voice of the Spirit and left.  MacArthur writes “By willing obedience he became the means by which God saved the eunuch.”

            We now move to the next main point “The Searching Worship of the Eunuch” and this will cover Acts 8:27b “and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,”

            As I first look at this Eunuch I find he desired to worship, and also he must have been a trustworthy servant of the queen of Ethiopia as she let him go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.  We do not know how this man came into contact with Judaism for the Scripture does not reveal that to us.  Ethiopia was south of Egypt and was actually on the outskirts of what was the known world at that time. Now as far as the word Candace, this was not a proper name, but an official title, similar to Pharaoh or Caesar.

            This Eunuch has a vast hole in his soul as it was his desire to get to know the One true God.  I have to believe that the Spirit of God put that in his heart, and now the Spirit of God was about to use Philip to tell him how to fill that void that was in his heart.  As this man left Jerusalem, because of the spiritual state it was in at that time this void was still there.  Now the term eunuch was also used of Potiphar in Gen. 39:1 in the LXX version of the Old Testament.  We are not sure if he was a true eunuch of not, but if he was he could not enter into the Temple in Jerusalem.  My thoughts are that he was not a “true” eunuch as we have to believe that he was a proselyte. 

            John MacArthur writes:  “God’s sovereignty in salvation does not obviate man’s responsibility.  That God rewards the seeking heart is the clear teaching of Scripture.  In Jeremiah 29:13 God said, ‘You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart,’ while in John 7:17 the Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.’  The eunuch is a classic example of one who lived up to the light he had. God then gave him the full revelation of Jesus Christ through Philipp’s ministry.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that the Lord used His Word along with a desire that I had for some time to understand the truths of salvation.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To continue to trust the Lord to give me wisdom to teach the book of Revelation in our Sunday school class.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “That food would be available and sold the next day.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “What was Jairus’ occupation?

Answer in our next SD.

12/18/2017 10:59 AM

PT-2 "The Sovereign Work of the Spirit" (Acts 8:25-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/17/2017 9:01 PM

My Worship Time                                              Focus:  PT-2 “The Sovereign Work of the Spirit”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Acts 8:25-26

            Message of the verses:  “25 So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.  26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.)”

            In our last SD we only looked at the introduction to these verses and so in today’s SD we will look at these verses.

            In verse 25 we see that the two disciples, Peter and John left Samaria and headed back to Jerusalem, and as they were on their way back they were preaching the gospel to many of the Samaritan villages on their way.  I suppose that seeing the results that Philip had they were then encouraged to stop and preach in the different towns along the way back to Jerusalem.  Perhaps God not only did a work in the hearts of the Samaritans, but also did a work in the hearts of Peter and John, something that as we continue to look at Acts we will see more of.

            Verse 26 moves back to talking to what was going on with Philip, as Philip hears a message from an angel of the Lord who tells him to “go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.”  As we will look at who Philip will meet on this road we can be sure that the circumstances that were to lead to the eunuch’s salvation were sovereignly and also specifically arranged by the Spirit of God. 

            John MacArthur writes “Gaza was one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath.  Old Gaza had been destroyed early in the first century B. C. and a new city was built nearer the coast.  A road from Jerusalem to Egypt, however, still ran through the ruins of old Gaza.  Luke’s footnote that this is a desert road underscores the strangeness of the Spirit’s command to Philip.  There were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, and the Spirit commands Philip to take the one that was seldom used (Simon J. Kistemaker).  It is possible to translate the Greek phrase kata mesembrian (toward the south) ‘at noon’ (I. Howard Marshall).  That rendering would ‘make the divine command to Philip all the more unusual and perplexing:  at noon the road would be deserted of travelers because of the heat’ (Marshall).”

            As we look at these directions that the Holy Spirit gave to Philip we have to believe that who he found would not be some kind of accidental encounter.  I have to say that this is what is called “A Divine Appointment,” and I can truly say that there is nothing that thrills my heart more than having a divine appointment with some sinner whom God has brought into my life in order to tell them about their need for the Savior.

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

Today’s Bible question:  “What prophecy did Elisha make regarding food after the Syrians had besieged Samaria for a long time?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/17/2017 9:21 PM 

Intro to Acts 8:25-40)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/15/2017 10:05 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Acts 8:25-40

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference: Acts 8:25-40

            Message of the verses:  “25 So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. 26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. 33 “IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH." 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 37 [[And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."]] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.”

            John MacArthur entitles this 20^th chapter in his commentary on the first twelve chapters of Acts “The Faith that Does Save.”  We will be looking at the introduction to these fifteen verses in our Spiritual Diary today.

            I have been studying the Old Testament since around 2005 as I looked at each verse and one of the things that I saw while studying it was that Israel pretty much failed to do what God called them to do.  God did not intend for them to be a reservoir, storing up divine blessings for them, but God wanted them to tell others of His goodness and His salvation, He wanted them to be a funnel through which all of those wonderful blessings could be dispersed to a lost and dying world.  As I have been going over the seven churches in the book of Revelation in order to teach about them to our Sunday school class I have found out that many of those churches were doing the same things that the nation of Israel did, and that is to reject God’s teachings and sin against Him.  This is the very thing that caused God to set Israel aside in order to bring punishment to them, and as I look at the Words that Christ has for several of these churches I see that Jesus Christ was about to punish them. 

            In his introduction to these verses John MacArthur writes about this problem that Israel had and says that first of all Israel became a separatistic nationalism that wanted no contact with the Gentile nations.  He points out that when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh that he went the opposite direction and after spending three nights in the belly of a large fish, he finally went to Nineveh, and after they believed in God it saddened the heart of Jonah. 

“1 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. 3 “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life’ (Jonah 4:1-3).”

            MacArthur writes “The other extreme was that of compromise.  Influenced by the surrounding nations, Israel frequently fell into pagan idolatry.  An idolatrous Israel had no message to give to the idolatrous Gentile nations around her.  By the time of Jesus, the worship of pagan idols was gone, disappearing for the most part after the Babylonian Captivity.  It was replaced, however by a corrupted form of Judaism that advocated salvation by works.”

            Now in keeping with the seven churches in the book of Revelation that I mentioned there was much idol worship still going on in the cities that these churches were and it was a consistent temptation for those who went to those churches to fall back into the worship of idols or to offer a sacrifice to Caesar in order not to be persecuted.  There may not have been idols in Israel, but there were idols in the nations that surrounded them.

            Now since the failure of Israel God cut a new channel through which His blessings could reach the world and that new channel of course was the church.  We have been following the growth of the church in our studies of the book of Acts and we have seen that the church has made its way from Jerusalem to Samaria where the gospel was preached and sinners were saved.  We have noticed that the church at this time was all Jewish, but now it has first of all gone to Samaria we see that this group of people was saved, and now in our verses for this morning we see that there is a Gentile person involved.  This man was what we would call a “big shot” with the Ethiopian queen, and so the gospel would first penetrate the souls of the great African continent.  We have been looking at Simon in our last few SD’s, and saw that his salvation was not genuine, but this man’s salvation was truly genuine.

The Proper Preparation (Acts 8:25-28)

            John MacArthur writes “Genuine saving faith demands the proper preparation.  In the parable of the sower, only the good, properly prepared soil brought forth the fruits of salvation.  The text indicates four features which prepare the soil of the eunuch’s heart.”

            As we begin to look at these verses in the last part of this eight chapter of Acts we will begin by looking at verses 25-28 which speaks of the proper preparation.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I never want to be like Jonah and not have a desire to tell someone about the salvation that only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to work on the Sunday school lesson for this up-coming Sunday.

Memory verses:  Philippians 4:1, 8 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.  8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Cherith” (1 Kings 17:5-6).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who was the wife of Zechariah?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/15/2017 10:53 AM

"A Wrong View of Sin" (Acts 8:22-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/14/2017 9:40 AM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  “A Wrong View of Sin”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:22-24

            Message of the verses:  “22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." 24 But Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.’”

            It seems to me that Peter had great insight into what was going on in the heart of Simon for the first thing that Peter did was to say to Simon that he needed to repent, and perhaps because of his background in being a magician he did not realize what Peter was talking about.  Repent (metanoeo) involves turning from sin to God.  One has to realize that they are a sinner before they repent; one has to be convicted by the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner, and as I read this passage I don’t believe that Simon understood or was convicted by God’s Spirit.  Peter tells him “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”  John MacArthur writes “The phrase gall of bitterness is very strong.  Chole (gall) refers to a bitter ingredient or bile.  Coupled with pikria (bitterness), it conveys an extremely bitter, harsh, and distasteful condition.  It vividly pictures the reality of one in the bondage of iniquity.  Sin is a harsh taskmaster.  Proverbs 5:22 warns that ‘his own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin.’”

            Let us look at the next statement from Simon “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”  I believe that if Simon wanted to repent he would have gotten down on his knees and cried out to the Lord, for Peter had just said that he was in need of repentance.  It seems that all he wanted to do was escape the temporal consequences of his sin, but true repentance, however, consists of more than just being sorrowful as was the case with Judas.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10,

“9  I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

            MacArthur concludes “Simon had a wrong view of self, of salvation, of the Spirit, and of sin.  All that added up to a faith that did not save.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Sin is very serious, and understanding that when I sin I must turn from it and claim the forgiveness that the Lord has for me as seen in 1 John 1:9. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to trust that the Lord will give me wisdom as I continue looking at my Sunday school lesson for this week and also what I have planned for next week’s special Christmas class.

Memory verses:  Philippians 4:1, 8 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”  8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jesus” (Matthew 4:19).

Today’s Bible question:  “By what brook did the ravens feed Elijah?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/14/2017 10:13 AM

PT-2 "A Wrong View of the Spirit" (Acts 8:14:19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/13/2017 10:13 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-2 “A Wrong View of the Spirit”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:14-19

            Message of the verses:  “14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’”

            I have written that in times past when I studied this passage I was not entirely sure if Simon was a believer or not, after all Philip was the one who Baptized Simon, so he must have thought that he was a believer.  I have come to believe that Simon was not a believer and what we read beginning in verse 17 where we see that Peter and John were laying hands on the new believers we begin to see the true colors of Simon as he offered money to the disciples to be able to do what they were doing.  Now money can cause a person to do things that they certainly would not do before offered money, and yet Peter and John would have none of it.  My friend tells me that when you look at colleges like Harvard and Yale who started out as Christian schools were probably offered money from some rich people who were not believers and once that happened these rich people began to put their un-Scriptural influence on the school and that was the beginning of their downfall. 

            These new believers were probably speaking in tongues to show that they were truly believers as this was a part of receiving the Holy Spirit in the early church, and this impressed Simon.  Philip had impressed him but now John and Peter overwhelmed him.  Simon then said to Peter and John that he wanted this power to be able to lay hands on someone so they could receive the Holy Spirit.  Now we must remember that Simon was a magician and we mentioned that magicians from time to time would give others magicians money to understand their secrets they had to do tricks and so Simon thought he could buy this from Peter and John. 

            John MacArthur writes “Nothing God has, however, is for sale—certainly not the Holy Spirit!  Indeed, there is nothing sinful men have to offer Him.  Salvation and spiritual blessing He pours out freely to His children.  In Isaiah 55:1 God cries out, ‘Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.’  Yet countless thousands, ignorant of that fact are striving desperately and futilely to buy God’s blessing.”

            Peter tells him “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!  You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.”  MacArthur adds “Peter was irate, as his inflammatory prose indicates.  The literal meaning of the Greek text has been softened by most translations.  J. B. Phillip’s rendering, “To hell with you and your money!” conveys the actual sense of Peter’s words.  Simon’s view of the Spirit as a commodity to be bought and added to his repertoire was utterly and blasphemously wrong, and betrayed his lost condition.”  “20 But Peter said to him, "To hell with you and your money! How dare you think you could buy the gift of God for money! 21 You can have no share or part in this matter, for your heart is not honest before God (Phillips).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I was living in Hawaii one of my friends that I meet there told me that I was gullible, and I suppose that at times I am as I look at this passage before studying it like I am now I was gullible to think that Simon was a believer.  My thoughts are if he would later become a true believer we would have found out about it in the Bible.

                My Steps of Faith for Today:   “I’m putting on the belt of truth.  I ask You to make it very clear to me what I am to accept into my life and what I am to reject.  Help me to see clearly the motives of others as they deal with me and converse with me.  Let me walk in Your truth, making decisions and choices according to Your plans and purposes for my life.” 

 

Memory verses:  “Philippians 4:1, 8 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.  8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Mary Magdalene” (Mark 16:9).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

12/13/2017 11:01 AM

 

"A Wrong View of the Spirit" (Acts 8:14-19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/12/2017 3:10 PM

My Worship Time                                                              Focus:    “A Wrong View of the Spirit”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:14-19

            Message of the verses:  “14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’”

            In these verses we see that the apostles came down to Samaria in order to do three things, once they heard that there had been some Spiritual fruit in Samaria.  I want to say first of all that there was great hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans and so this probably came as a surprise to the apostles, although it should not have for they were all with Jesus when the woman at the well became a believer and she was from Samaria.  The apostles came first of all to help Philip with the spiritual fruit that he had begun.  Next they wanted to give apostolic sanction and blessing to Philip’s work among the Samaritans.  Lastly they had come to make sure that the Holy Spirit had come upon these new believers.  I go back to a passage in the book of Matthew 16:19  "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."”  Jesus as far as I can tell, gave Peter the ability to see to it that believers would be saved through his preaching, and this passage in Acts has always kind of confused me as to why Peter did not lead these people to the Lord, but I believe that when he came down to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit that this answered my confusing.  In chapter ten we will see that the first Gentiles were saved through Peter’s preaching, and in chapter two we saw that Peter’s preaching caused the first Jews to be saved and become members of the church.

            I know that some believe that the Holy Spirit comes on a person after they are first saved, but that is not the case, for this was an isolated instance just as we will see later on when Paul runs into people who believed on Jesus because of John the Baptist baptism.  Romans 8:9 tells us “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

            John MacArthur writes:  “Why did the Samaritans (and later the Gentiles) have to wait for the apostles before receiving the Spirit?  For centuries, the Samaritans and the Jews had been bitter rivals.  If the Samaritans had received the Spirit independent of the Jerusalem church, that rift would have been perpetuated.  There could well have been two separate churches, a Jewish church and a Samaritan church.  But God had designed one church, in which ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female,’ but ‘all (are) one in Christ Jesus’ (Gal. 3:28).

            “By delaying the Spirit’s coming until Peter and John arrived, God preserved the unity of the church.  The apostles needed to see for themselves, and give firsthand testimony to the Jerusalem church, that the Spirit came upon the Samaritans.  The Samaritans also needed to learn that they were subject to apostolic authority.  The Jewish believers and the Samaritans were thus linked together into one body.

            “Today, believers receive the Spirit at salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13).  There was no need for delay after Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, and Old Testament saints were already included in the church.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Two farthings [two cents])” (Luke 12:6).

Today’s Bible question:  “When Jesus rose from the dead, to whom did He first appear?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/12/2017 3:37 PM

"A Wrong View of Salvation" (Acts 8:12-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/11/2017 11:34 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  A Wrong View of Salvation

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:12-13

            Message of the verses:  “12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. 13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.”

            We are looking at what happened when the Spirit –Filled Philip was preaching and people were being saved through believing that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, the Savior, and as they repented of their sins and believed they were baptized.  Sometimes when we think of how a person is saved, the process that he goes through we forget that repentance is a part of that process, for without a person knowing that they are a sinner, and then they will never believe that they need a Savior.  Now as we look at this section it seems that Simon was more interested in the outcome of what happened when Philip was preaching than looking at his own life, realizing that he was a sinner.

            Verse 12 shows us that Philip’s message consisted of two parts, the kingdom of God, and this refers to God’s sovereign rule over the sphere of salvation that is entered by those who belong to Him through faith in His Son.  Next we look at the second part “The name of Jesus Christ and this symbolizes all that Jesus Christ is, so first Philip’s message was about the realm of the saved, and then he zeroed in on the truths about who the Lord Jesus Christ is, as He alone provides entrance into that realm.  The result of his preaching was “the people believed and were being baptized, men and women alike.”  This is what Simon seems to be fascinated by as he saw many people being saved.  He saw things similar to what the Pharisees and other rulers of Israel saw, and that was Jesus was becoming more popular and they were losing their popularity, same now with Simon. However we read that “even Simon himself believed; and after begin baptized, he continue on with Philip.”    John MacArthur writes “First, he wanted to sustain contact with the people following the preacher.  By joining Philip’s movement, he went where the action was and kept his opportunity for influence alive.  Second, ‘as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.’  He had, so to speak a professional interest in finding out the source of Philip’s amazing powers.  Third, as his later conduct shows, he wanted to figure out how to acquire that power for himself.  Magicians often sold each other their tricks and incantations.”

            Baptism does not save a person, however baptism is a picture of what happens to a person when they are saved.  Baptism pictures the death burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I was baptized three times, but only one time was it the biblical way to be baptized when I joined my first church after I was saved. 

            “Simon’s view of salvation was purely ritualistic, external matter, and additional act in his life instead of the total transformation of his whole person on the inside (2 Cor. 5:17), writes John MacArthur.  Once a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ they will begin to produce fruit in their lives, and producing fruit is how one can tell that a person has become a believer.  I have quoted Ephesians 2:8-10 in many of my Spiritual Diaries and will do so once again here “8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Verses 8-9 tell how a person was saved, and verse ten tells us what a person will do after he becomes a believer.  Not all persons’ who are baptized are true believers, and another thing that is important to know is that a person is only to be baptized after he or she becomes a believer, as sprinkling a baby after they are born certainly does not save them.  The word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word and it means to dunk, or put under.  Baptism is not sprinkling for sprinkling does not describe what the word means.  “Not to be confused with 9:11, bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words.  Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptized’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptizing the vegetable, produces a permanent change.

            “When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. #Mr 16:16. ‘He that believes and is baptized shall be saved’. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough.  There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!”  This article came from my Greek/English dictionary.” (Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989).

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test?”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give me wisdom to understand what I am to teach concerning the church of Thyatira this coming Sunday.

Memory verses:  Philippians 4:1, 8 “1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”  8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “His thigh went out of joint” (Genesis 32:25).

Today’s Bible question:  “How much did five sparrows cost?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/11/2017 12:14 PM 

PT-3 "The Wrong View of Self" (Acts 8:9-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/10/2017 8:42 PM

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  PT-3 The Wrong View of Self

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:9-11

            Message of the verses:  “9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10 and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, "This man is what is called the Great Power of God." 11 And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.”

            We have been talking about pride in our last SD, and we have seen that this man Simon who was a magician was very proud, and so I want to begin this SD with a parable taught by our Lord which shows us that the proud cannot be saved.

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ’God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ’I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.’”

MacArthur adds “It is only those with the humility of little children who are fit to enter the kingdom (Matt. 18:2-4).  In one of the most powerful invitations to sinners, James wrote,

“6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

“Only the humble, aware of their inadequacies and shortcomings, have that sense of lostness that drives them to God.  It is the poor in spirit, not the proud in heart, who experience saving faith (Matt. 5:3).  Nothing short of a true estimate of one’s wretchedness, and a broken and contrite heart coupled with longing for forgiveness, prepare the soul for salvation.”

            My take on this is that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, and do not believe that He came to earth to save you and then you feel the Spirit of God tugging at your heart, please listen to Him as He is calling you to salvation and you must accept this call.

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

Today’s Bible question:  “What happened to Jacob physically in his wrestling match with the angel?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/10/2017 8:57 PM