Intro to Productivity (Acts 5:33-52)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/21/2017 9:08 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Productivity

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 5:33-42

 

            Message of the verses:  “33 But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. 35 And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. 36 “For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 “After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. 38  "So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; 39  but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God." 40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

 

            Since we are following the outline in the commentary of John MacArthur in these Spiritual Diaries I wanted to brief you on what we will be looking at in the upcoming Spiritual Diaries.  This very long portion of Scripture, at least longer than we are use to be looking at, will actually finish up chapter five in the book of Acts.  I mentioned in the “focus” portion that this is an introduction to these verses as there are what I like to refer to as “sub-points” that appear under this main point of “Productivity.”  We will be looking at “Violent Hostility,” “Tolerant Indecision,” and “Saving Acceptance” in the days to come with the second sub-point of “Tolerant Indecision” taking up the most time to look at.  I have said a lot of times the statement “this is one of my favorite portions of Scripture” and when we look at the Pharisee name Gamaliel and how he handled this situation here it is a favorite section to me.  Gamaliel as we will learn was the teacher of Saul of Tarsus who became the great apostle Paul and the second section of the book of Acts which speaks of the ministry to the Gentiles, Paul is the main human character.  The Holy Spirit is probably the main character in the book of Acts as some have called this book the “Acts of the Holy Spirit,” and that is something that I cannot disagree with.

 

            The following is a quote from John MacArthur as he introduces this last main point from his commentary to us:  “The concluding verses of this chapter give the productive results of the evangelism of the pure, powerful, persecuted, persistent church.  Although to some it was brief, Peter’s sermon to the Sanhedrin was powerful and convicting.  He charged them with rejecting and executing their Messiah, and hence being in rebellion against God.  He did not play on their emotions or soften the confrontation, but presented the truth.  Conviction that leads to salvation can only take place when the Spirit of God (cf. John 16:7-11) uses the facts of the Word of God to produce repentance in a person’s heart and mind.

 

            “To convicting preaching there are but three possible reactions:  violent hostility, tolerant indecision, or saving acceptance.  This passage illustrates them all.” 

 

            I wanted to take the time to quote John 16:7-11 as was mentioned in this quote:  “7  "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8  "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9  concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10  and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11  and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the Holy Spirit as He is probably the most unheralded Person of the trinity.  I am thankful for the effectual call that He gave to me for salvation, I am thankful for the fact that He dwells in me, I am thankful for the fact that He teaches me from His Word, and I am thankful for, and perhaps mostly thankful for His longsuffering with me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord that what I teach in our Sunday school class tomorrow will be useful for the cause of Christ and bring glory to Him, and I trust that the Spirit of God will lead me in my teaching of the introduction to the seven churches found in Revelation 2-3.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Ester” (Ester 2:8-9).

 

 Today’s Bible question:  “What Hebrew measurement was the distance from the elbow to the end of the middle finger (about 18 inches)?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/21/2017 9:34 AM

 

Persistence (Acts 5:29-32)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/20/2017 9:41 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                              Focus:  Persistence

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 5:29-32

 

            Message of the verses:  “29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. 30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."”

 

            When we were studying the 4^th chapter of Acts we look at a verse that is similar to verse 29 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge (Acts 4:19).”  Once again we see Peter place the Sanhedrin in opposition to God.  Now we mentioned that the priests were made up of the Sadducees who did not believe in miracles or angels and this comes in direct opposition of what the apostles have done through the power of the Holy Spirit which was miracles and also the fact that Jesus arose from the dead goes against their beliefs and so the truth was staring them right into the face and they refused to see it.

 

            Once again we also see that Peter accuses this group of Jewish leaders with the death of Jesus Christ, and with good reason for they were the ones behind having Jesus put to death.  Yes you can blame the Romans and you can also blame mankind for whom Christ died for, but this group of men were the ones who kept pushing for the death of Christ and Peter reminds them of it.  John MacArthur writes “Diacheirizo (put to death) appears only here and in Acts 26:21.  It means ‘to put to death with one’s own hands.’  Far from backing off, Peter intensifies his accusation of the Sanhedrin.  He had previously charged the Jewish authorities with responsibility for Jesus’ death (2:23-34, 36; 3:13-15; 4:10).  Now he insists they are as guilty as if they had killed Him with their own hands.  They had not merely put the Messiah to death, but to the shameful death of ‘hanging Him on a cross’ (cf. Deut. 21:23).”

 

            Peter goes on telling this group of Jewish leaders that this Jesus whom they had as much killed with their own hands is the One whom God raised from the dead and then set Him at His own right hand in heaven.  John MacArthur writes on the word “Prince” “archegos (‘Prince’) refers to the originator or pioneer of something (cf. it use in Heb. 2:10 and 12:2).  Here it describes Jesus as the source of eternal life (cf. Acts 3:15) and is closely connected with the term ‘Savior.’  He came to grant ‘repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.’  Repentance from sin is an integral part of saving faith, not a human work added to it.  The apostles’ claims to be witnesses to and proclaimers of the momentous events of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection were never disputed by their opponents.  And not only were they witnesses, but ‘so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.’  Two interesting points are made here.  First, the saved are described as ‘those who obey Him.’  They are characterized by obedience (cf. Romans 1:5; Heb. 5:9), which is synonymous with saving faith.  The verb used is peitharcheo, which means ‘to obey one in authority.’  Salvation is surrendering in obedience to the authority of Jesus Christ as Lord.  Second, the Holy Spirit is given to every saved person at salvation (Cf. Acts 2:4; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 12:13).  So Peter makes obeying God and the gift of the Holy Spirit synonymous with saving faith.”

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “In his own house” (2 Kings 21:23).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “What Jewish girl became a Persian queen without the king knowing she was a Jew?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/20/2017 10:10 AM

 

PT-3 "Persecution" (Acts 5:17-28)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/19/2017 8:35 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-3 Persecution

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 5:17-28

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 18 They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, 20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." 21 Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. 22 But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, 23 saying, "We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside." 24 Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this. 25 But someone came and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!"  26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned). 27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us."”

 

            We begin by looking at the fear of the captain and his officers as they went to go and get the gospel preaching apostles who were preaching in the temple in the early morning hours when they thought that they should have been in jail for that is where they left them the night before.   One can only imagine the thoughts that went through the minds of these men as they were probably wondering how the apostles got out of their jail, and wondering if they go to arrest them what the people would want to do to them, perhaps even stone them and so they acted very causally not wanting to feel the wrath of the crowd.  Now as far as the apostles I am sure that they remember how Jesus acted when He was arrested and so they probably knew that this was going to happen and went quietly with the officers.

 

            Now back at the council where they stood the day before they were once more being asked questions by the high priest.  Their crime as the high priest pointed out was speaking in the name of Jesus Christ.  This indictment was brought up earlier back in chapter four and they told the Jewish leaders that they were to obey God rather than man as they were on a mission from the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel and were not going to stop when these leaders told them to stop.  Once again we see that the leaders were upset because the apostles were saying that it was because of the leaders that Jesus was put to death “intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”  Well my first Pastor use to say “if the shoe fits put it on,” and in this case the leaders should have confessed of putting Christ to death, repented and ask the Lord to forgive their sins, but we know that this was not about to happen.  Let me quote what Matthew writes in Matthew 27:25 “And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!"”  This exactly what is happening to these men but they must have forgotten saying this.

 

            John MacArthur concludes by writing “Conspicuously absent from the high priest’s charges is any mention of the apostles’ escape from prison.  Since the Sanhedrin could not explain that miracle, they simply acknowledged it and ignored it.  Their minds made up, they had no wish to be confused by the facts.  They ‘loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil’ (John 3:19).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Last night at our prayer meeting which begins with a message and the message for the last year or so has been on holiness and our pastor spoke of holiness and faith.  As we look at the passage we have been looking at for the last three Wednesdays we see that the apostles were living a holy life as they were obeying what the Lord desired for them to do and they were also living by faith as they trusted the Lord in circumstances that they did not totally understand.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord even in times when I don’t understand what He is doing.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Mary” (Luke 1:46-47).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “Where was Amon when his servants slew him?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/19/2017 9:01 AM

 

PT-2 "Persecution" (Acts 5:17-28)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/18/2017 9:14 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-2 Persecution

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 5:17-28

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 18 They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, 20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." 21 Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. 22 But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, 23 saying, "We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside." 24 Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this. 25 But someone came and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!"  26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned). 27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us."”

 

            The first thing I want to write about is what the angel told the Apostles, that they should go back to the temple and once again begin to tell the people the truth about Jesus Christ, telling them the gospel message.  I wonder what was going through the minds of the Apostles at this time.  I wonder if they started to talk to one another about the danger of doing what the angel told them to do.  At any rate they were going to go right back to the temple and once again teach the people as we read “Upon hearing his” words, “they entered into the temple about daybreak, and began to teach.”  So that is where we find the Apostles, doing what the angel told them to do and the Sadducees had no idea at this time that they were out of jail.

 

            Next in our verses we see that the high priest and his associates were gathering together to find out what they were going to do with the Apostles, as this happened the morning after they were put into the public jail.  They wanted to talk to them and so they sent for them, but to their surprise they were not there.

 

            Now it was the Levites who were the temple police and they gave the report that all was well in the jail, the doors were locked securely and nothing unusual could be found, but the Apostles were not there.  All were greatly perplexed about what was going on.  Do you think that perhaps the Sadducees may have thought for a moment that perhaps an angel let them out of jail?  I kind of doubt it.

 

            John MacArthur writes “Already at their wit’s end as to how to stop the spread of Christianity, the harried Jewish authorities wondered what was going to happen next.  As their efforts proved futile, their panic and alarm mounted.  The apostles were openly flaunting their authority.  They were powerless to stop the spread of what to them was the worst heresy imaginable and the greatest threat to their own credibility.  People from all over the region were thronging Jerusalem to witness firsthand the miracles done by the apostles—miracles the Sanhedrin still refused to believe.”

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:40-41)

 

Bible question for today:  “Who said ‘My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced to God my Savior’?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/18/2017 9:33 AM

 

PT-1 Persecution (Acts 5:17-28)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/17/2017 9:07 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-1 Persecution

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 5:17-28

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 18 They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, 20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." 21 Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. 22 But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, 23 saying, "We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside." 24 Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this. 25 But someone came and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!"  26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned). 27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us."”

 

            John MacArthur writes at the beginning of his commentary on this section “A pure powerful church will inevitably provoke a hostile reaction from the satanic world system.”  I have been thinking about that thought for some time now and the way that I have been thinking about it is trying to make things simpler in this complicated world we live in.  First thing that I realize is that God is in control, that God has a plan for the world that He created, and that God has a plan for every believer who has been saved by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some people may think that God is not in control of everything that goes on in this world, but my thoughts are that if God is God then He is in control.  Next we know that Satan hates believers and will do anything that he is allowed to do to them to cause them to stop walking with the Lord Jesus Christ, and persecution is one of the ways that he does this, but as mentioned, only if God allows it.  In the case of this section we read that the Jews were actually jealous over what the Apostles were accomplishing and so they wanted to stop them from preaching in the name of Jesus.  This early church was making waves in the world system and it was not going un-noticed by this world system, notably the unbelieving Jews. 

 

            Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  Peter as he reflects on the persecution that he went through wrote “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God (1 Peter 2:20).  Next we look at 1 Peter 3:17 “For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”  And next 1 Peter 4:14 “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

 

            We read the following from the lips of our Lord in Matthew 5:10-12 “10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  John 15:17-20 has some similar things that are also said by our Lord “17 “This I command you, that you love one another.  18 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ’A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”  Let us also look at what Paul wrote in Romans 8:17 “heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

 

            The early church in Jerusalem was striving to do the things that the Lord desired for them to do and as mentioned the enemies of our Lord did not like what was going on for after all there had been at the last count in Acts over 5,000 people who have come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, and then the next count we give did not even have a number, but said that there were many people being saved each day and because of this we read in verse 17 or our text for today:  “But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.”  I want to talk for a moment about this word jealousy, “an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy,” is the last description of this word in my Greek/English dictionary from my Online Bible program.  In studying the attributes of God I have found that “Jealousy” is one of God’s attributes, but when we think about God being jealous we have to remember that God is first of all holy and also perfect and so if one of God’s attributes is jealousy that jealousy is perfect.  God does not want anyone to worship anything but Him and He has that right because of who He is.

 

            We are not really sure who the high priest was at this time as it could have been Annas as seen in 4:6 or Caiaphas as he was in office until A. D. 36.  We remember both of these men from the trials of our Lord.  Whoever it was he was a member of the Sadducees as all of the high priest of that time period were, and the Sadducees did not believe in any angels, or any after life, or certainly no resurrection from the dead.  Not sure why they were even doing what they were doing.  However they were committed to maintain the status quo and to put it in terms of today the Apostles were upsetting the apple cart and these people did not like it.  They were afraid of a new Jewish sect beginning in Jerusalem, which would then take power away from them and they were doing everything in their power to stop it so they put the Apostles in jail, in the public jail where the common prisoners were held. 

 

            Let’s look at one more thought and that is that Satan’s opposition backfired and this provided for God to display His power:  “an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison.”  This is not the only time when we will see this happen in the book of Acts.  Now this is indeed ironic since the Sadducees denied that angels even existed.  After they were released the angel told them to “go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life” which refers to the gospel.  “Holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain (Philippians 2:16).”  “1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life- 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us- 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete (1 John 1:1-4).”  MacArthur adds “The good news we proclaim is that Jesus Christ came into the world to give abundant and eternal life to the spiritually dead (cf. John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 1 John 5:20).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Thinking about the mission of the church which is spreading the gospel as these Apostles were doing in the early church along with those who had been already born-again that has to be my mission too.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will be with the situation that my wife and my daughter are involved in today, that He will work it out for their good and for His glory.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “With a true heart, in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).”

 

Today’s Bible question:  “When Andrew met Jesus, what did he tell his brother Simon?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/17/2017 10:49 AM

 

Power (Acts 5:12a, 15-16)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/16/2017 9:01 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                                      Focus:  Power

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Acts 5:12a, 15-16

 

            Message of the verses:  “And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people…15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. 16 Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”

 

            We talked in an earlier SD about how verse 15 picks up the thought from 12a as there was a parenthesis which described the purity of the church in verses 12b-14.  We talked about the purity of the church in our last three verses and the reason that the early church grew was because it was a pure church.  They were a clean channel through which the power of God could flow. 

 

            Now we come to the subject of sings and wonders once again, something we have already discussed in earlier SD’s.  Signs and wonders were to point out spiritual truth and another reason they were done was to confirm the apostles’ claim to be messengers of God.  John MacArthur writes “With the passing of the apostles from the scene and the completion of the canon of Scripture, the need for miracles vanished.  They were not intended to be an ongoing part of the life of the church but a unique ministry of the apostles.  In fact, in 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul wrote, ‘The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.’  In keeping with the unique ministry, Luke carefully notes that it was ‘at the hands of the apostles that the many signs and wonders were taking place among the people.’  As noted in the discussion of Acts 3:1-10, the early church was not a miracle-working church—it was a church with miracle-working apostles.”

 

            In Acts 4:29-30 we read the prayer that was prayed by the apostles which God has been answering “29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus."”

 

            Perhaps we can see that this time period of the early church age came to a peek of having the apostles through the work of the Holy Spirit perform these signs and miracles as we read “to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.”

 

            MacArthur concludes “The stir caused by the massive number of the apostles’ healings was not limited to Jerusalem.  Additional ‘people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirit; and they were all being healed.’  This is the first record of the church’s influence spreading beyond Jerusalem.  They were beginning to fulfill the Lord’s charge to be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem but also ‘in Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that as I read and study the book of Acts that it teaches me to understand the truth of signs and wonders, and as I have read through the book of Acts on many occasions I have noticed that these signs and wonders diminished because the church age was established.  I am not saying that God does not heal people today because as my friend told me a long time ago that God heals you every time except the last time when, if you are a believer He takes you to heaven to be with Him.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to give me wisdom to understand what I am to talk about for our next Sunday school lesson.  Things are a bit up in the air at this point so I do need wisdom.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “700.”

 

Today’s Bible question:  “How shall we draw near to God?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/16/2017 9:39 AM

 

PT-3 "Purity" (Acts 5:12b-14)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/15/2017 6:53 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                             Focus:  PT-3 Purity

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Acts 5:12b-14

 

            Message of the verses:  “They were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. 13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. 14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number;”

 

            John MacArthur writes the following about the commitment to holiness that this early church had:  “Uncompromising commitment to holiness characterized these believers—not the fearful commitment of self-righteous legalism but on springing out of love for the Lord.  They were a fearful group, and that kept those who loved their sin away, and those who wanted forgiveness for sin near.  That stands in sharp contrast to the masses of uncommitted, even unsaved, people that feel comfortable in the church today.  The failure of churches to preach holy living, and to discipline those who don’t live that way, allows sinners and hypocrites to remain in the church, convoluting its direction, sapping its power, robbing it of purity and marring its testimony.  Men may build their churches with a tolerance for sin, but the Lord builds His among people who love holiness and hate and expose sin.

 

            “Jesus demands a high level of commitment for those who would follow Him.  In Luke 9:57-62 He had the following dialogue with some would-be followers:

 

‘57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." 61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."”

 

“In Matthew 10:32-39 He added,

 

‘32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35  "For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36  and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

 

“The Lord Jesus Christ wants total commitment.  Only those who are willing to forsake all, including sin, and lose their lives in submission to Him, are worthy to be His followers.  A church made up of such people will be a pure church, with a powerful testimony to the world.”

 

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

 

Today’s Bible question:  “How many wives did Solomon have?”  (Way too many)

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/15/2017 7:08 AM