After much discussion!

Acts Chapter ch 15

The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
What question??
After much discussion, Peter got up…
Here we hear first hand that ‘discussion’ was vital in the role of making decisions. There was not a vote, not a one man decision, but a discussion which led the way for wisdom to be gained and consensus sought. We have so much to learn… but often I think we are just too busy.

This is such an important discussion that went on back in the very early days of the young church about AD 50.

This is a discussion about the ‘condition for entrance’ not about negating the laws or books of the Old Testament.

From verse 13 we have James speaking the Bishop of the Jerusalem church. His knees are said to have been as hard as a camel’s through continual prayer. He was also a zealous adherent to the Mosaic Law, in his own person. Yet when we focus on James words we learn why he is in agreement with Peter….15:13-21

It is fulfilment of Prophecy. A new age has begun in the life of Christ. We are still part of that age, in deed we maybe at the end of that age, but we do not know. All we should know is that Christ is as much desiring that we ‘seek the Lord and bear his name’ today as back then in AD 50.

Consider

Acts Chapter 13 and 14

"Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!...

I wanted this to be studied on a quiet day because it is here that Acts takes a turn. From now on we begin to hear about Paul and how the gospel makes its way to Rome.

As we are unlikely to have a quiet day I think I will just encourage you to read this passage and:

a) consider the sermon: 13:14-52 as three sections:

16-25 - Preparation

26-37 - Declaration

38-52 - Application

what does this passage now say to you?

b) mark out what you find stands out. Questions, words, phrases, ideas, conections….

Here are some of mine
9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,… (I remember my own experiences of the Holy Spirit)

38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. (Again Paul is not negating the Law)

26 "Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, (So Gentiles did enter the speaking areas within the Temples)

45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. ( here marks the beginning of the Jews marked anger toward Paul)

A dream?

Acts Chapter ch 11:19 - ch12

Suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself
Shock and surprise! This passage always makes me laugh. Imagine Peter realising that he had not been dreaming, he really was standing in the streets, thankfully with his clothes on. So he goes to the house of Mary where they don’t even open the door just get excited within! ‘Peter’s at the door’ the overjoyed servant girl exclaims, without opening it!

12:7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
12When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"

The Keys to Heaven

Illusionarycontructs

Acts Chapter ch 10-11:18

Peter's Vision
This is a long passage but as it is all one section worth reading as one. Peter was told he was the rock on which the Church would be built. Also that he would be given the keys of Heaven. Here is the passage:

17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

There is much discussion about what is meant by Peter being the Rock and having the Keys to Heaven and that what is meant by him ‘binding or loosening’. I just wonder if in Acts we discover an explanation, what do you think?

Is it that Peter was shown the vision of the unclean animals so that he would then be able to make the decision to follow Christ’s desire to enter the home of this Gentile and begin the loosening of the restrictions which kept the ‘unclean’ out of Jewish faith system? Is it that Peter was given the strength to return to those in Jerusalem and explain so that they would ‘praise the Lord’ and give the Gentile believers their blessing?

What do you think?

learning to walk and share

learning to walk and share!

Acts Chapter 8 and 9

J. Hudson Taylor began to minister in China in 1857. He met many who had been seeking for a long time, as had their fathers. ‘How long have you known about this news in your country?’ he was once asked. Hudson admitted that England had known for many centuries. ‘My father died seeking, why didn’t you come sooner’.

Throughout these two chapters there is a strong theme that people are seeking truth. Paul was a Jew who sought God. Simon the Sorcerer was a man who sought power, but he recognised the power of God. The Ethiopian was seeking God. Many say that this seeking has died in recent years, perhaps that is true, but it is God who stirs the hearts of those who are ready to listen and it is God who places his word or messenger in the right place at the right time.

Another theme that runs throughout these chapters is the work of the messenger that God equips and then uses to share his good news.

It has been pointed out that God rewards faithful work with more faithful work. Philip had worked faithfully in Samaria and was taken to a quiet road in Gaza. He was possibly wondering why he had been taken from a busy area to a lonely road, but then this one individual was precious enough to deserve God’s divine action and his love to bring Philip to him to share the message and understanding of Scripture. It is hard to imagine the importance in the fact that God would have placed Jesus on the cross and allowed him to give his life for just one person, but here we get a glimpse.

God interacts in such a way as to take Philip to share with the enuch that he may be baptised. We do not learn whether the Holy Spirit came upon the eunuch but when Philip is taken away from him the eunuch obviously continues on his journey with reassurance and I am sure that God did not let his discipling end there!

I think the message of these passages for me is for us to be willing to study the Scripture and ask questions ourselves so that we are ready to speak to others when God opens the doors and provides opportunity. That we are prepared to share what we have learnt and walk alongside who ever God places us with.

Stone me

Acts Chapter 7:9 – end

Reading Acts we have to bear in mind that the speeches concerned Jewish thought so when we engage with the text we can learn lots about Jesus and the foundation of our faith.

These speeches may mean nothing to a congregation of seekers now. Of course there will always be those who will learn, engage and understand the historical relevance, but the impact and proof would not amount to the same as it did for the Jews with their belief and understanding of their history and its significance to the Messiah coming.

It was and is important however that the time line is laid out, that the basics were shared - so that we can all know and understand how things have fitted together. Stephens’s speech does this.

No doubt this is a Loooong speech. Not as long as some sermons we’ve been to though so read on!

Notice that Stephen’s speech does not end with a pardon. It does not offer hope and stone me the listeners did not like it. Perhaps a lesson to be learnt is that we all need hope, we all need a light to walk toward when we face a dead end.

Stephen

Acts Chapter 6-7:8

– This is another favourite section of Acts for me. Stephen, a man chosen to wait on tables - blows out of the window our modern conception and division of ministry and labour!

The problem: some were being neglected and so a solution had to be found. The leaders used great wisdom and in doing so did not allow division (or Satan) a foothold in the fellowship. Unity needed to be maintained, love and fellowship needed to be nurtured.

It is interesting that the Apostles studied the situation and recognised that if they were busy serving tables they would begin neglecting their duty of prayer and ministry of the word. And this deficiency would certainly have allowed space for more problems to develop. Men from among the disciples were to be chosen by the disciples. I think it is important to notice that it is the fellowship who are asked to discern those who should take on the new responsibility. No agenda’s are being followed here, simply a building up of the people of God.

When any fellowship faces problems it is also faced with opportunity.
Stephen was full
Full of the Holy Spirit 6:3,
Full of wisdom 6:3, 10
Full of faith 6:5
Full of power 6:8

In Scripture to be full means to be ‘controlled’ by. (Wiesbe p430)

Alexander Maclaren who wrote an Exposition of Scripture in the 1800s has some encouraging words for us:
He reflects that fullness is a growing fullness, that our spirits are infinite and are capable of indefinite growth …

‘the possible growth of a created spirit that is in touch with God, and is having itself enlarged and elevated and ennobled by that contact. The vessel is elastic, the walls of the cup of our spirit, into which the new wine of the divine Spirit is poured, widen out as the draught is poured into them. The more he is capable of possessing the more he will receive.’ (p205)


Through Stephen we hear of how God was using his people to love, share, teach and bless. The comments that he was full become literal as he stands in front of his accusers and stands in the name of Jesus.

I pray that we are all able to be as busy with our daily duties and as successful in them as Stephen and also able to be filled with the Holy Spirit that we be become wise and full of wisdom, power and faith. AMEN