Acts 13. Shaking off the Dust.

This week we studied Acts 13.

( v 1-3) The chapter begins in Antioch, where a few of the church leaders and prophets assembled together for a time prayer, fasting and worship. During this time of worship, the Holy Spirit called for Saul and Barnabus to be sent out to minister. It's interesting that the church is given direction as they pray, fast, and worship Him.

(v 4-12) Saul and Barnabus were sent out by the church in Antioch, and traveled to Salamis, where they preached God's word in the Jewish synagogues. John Mark also joined them.

They went on to Pathos, a city on the west coast of the island of Cyprus. The proconsul of the Jews, Sergius Paulus, asked for Saul and Barnabus to teach him the Bible. Sergius was an intelligent man and a member of the Roman government. He was powerful and had great influence. A sorcerer named Bar-Jesus tried to come against Saul's teachings, but Saul full of the Holy Spirit, rebuked him. Saul also pronounced physical blindness upon the man, as a means of God's judgement. It was at this point, the Proconsul believed in God. :)

From Pathos, they traveled up to Perga which is modern day Turkey. John-Mark left Saul and Barnabus and decided to go home.

(v. 14-43) The two men traveled to Pisidium Antioch, where they entered another Jewish Synagogue. Saul stood up in the synagogue and began preaching a sermon to the congregation. Saul spoke regarding the children of Israel, the time period of the prophets and of Jesus' life and ministry. In his survey of Israel's history, Saul appealed to both the Jews and the Gentiles, as he addressed both types of people in his opening sentence. Many Gentiles were attracted to the teachings of Saul and Barnabus, and invited them to return the next Sabbath day to continue to share the message. .

(v. 44-52) Almost the entire town came the following Sabbath to hear Saul and Barnabus continue in teaching. Immediately, the Jews became jealous of crowds which followed. In their jealously, the began gossiping and speaking against the teachings of Saul and Barnabus. But, Saul and Barnabus grew bold and spoke against the Jews by quoting the prophets and how the gospel, which was given to the Jews, was rejected, and then given to Gentiles. The Gentiles were greatly blessed and many people were saved and the church spread throughout the region. Saul and Barnabus were eventually forced to leave the region, but they shook the dust from their feet. They left with joy and the Holy Spirit!

Thoughts:

I find it interesting that God gave the early church of Antioch direction through prayer and fasting. I also I love that Jesus didn't leave the Gentiles out. He made it clear that the gospel was to be brought to them as well. It is sad that the Jews didn't accept Jesus, but it fulfilled prophesy. I also was blessed that they shook the dust off their feet, and left with joy regardless of the opposition of the Jews. They were on a mission and were interested in the people with an open heart. They didn't waste their time or energy on those who were not open to the gospel. They also left with joy because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The joy of the Lord was their strength.

Acts 12. The Power of Prayer

Acts 12

Peter's Miraculous Escape From Prison

1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 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!"

15"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.
18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Herod's Death

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply.

21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

Tonight we are going to be studying Acts 12 at Women's Bible Study. I am excited because I have missed a few weeks and I am glad to catch up. I was reading this Chapter and I was blessed by several things.

1.) In the previous chapter, Peter shared his vision from God regarding the Gentiles and how he was no longer to call anything "unclean" which the Lord has made clean. The believers in Antioch were the first "Christians.

2.) In Chapter 12 King Herod desired to persecute the Christians and had James put to death. Once he saw this pleased the Jewish leaders he also had Peter imprisoned.

3) The church prayed for Peter during the time of his arrest. God miraculously answered their prayers by sending an Angel of the Lord to wake Peter up inside his prison cell. Peter was asleep with chains around his wrists and surrounded by many guards. Upon the entrance of the Angel, a light shone inside the prison cell and Peter's chains were removed. The Angel then proceeded to escort Peter out of jail, past 2 guard stations. They approached the iron door which mysteriously opened, letting Peter and the Angel out of jail. As they were walking down the block together, the Angel disappeared. This is amazing! It sounds like something out of a movie....

Also, Peter was unsure what was happening to him and mistaked this for a vision. He was not aware this was actually taking place.

4) The power of prayer is displayed in Chapter 12 as the church was faithful to gather for pray during a time of persecution. James had just been killed and now Peter was arrested. They were probably filled with fear wondering what Herod would do next. I wonder what would have happened to Peter, had the church not been praying at Mary's house? This is an example of the power of prayer and how we need to perserve when praying for our leaders, family and friends. The miracle we are waiting for may be right around the corner......

5) Herod's pride was his demise. Herod made decisions based upon the approval of the Jewish leaders and had a great ego problem. The people praised him and he was killed because he accepted the praise. This is a reminder regarding the power and deception of pride.

Acts 8-9 The Early Church and Saul's Conversion

Last night in bible study we studied Acts chapter 8-9.
These two chapters were action-packed and I took home a lot of key insights. God's word is so exciting!

Observations

Chapter 8 (v. 1-8)
The church was persecuted in Jerusalem and was scattered into all Judea and Samaria. Saul continues to persecute the church and Stephen was buried after being martyred. The scattered church continued to preach the gospel and the church grew. Phillip taught in Samaria, performed signs and healed many - crowds began to follow him.
(v. 9-25)
Simon, a sorcerer, was practicing magic and the people of Samaria began to follow him. The disciple named Phillip began to rise up and start preaching the Word which then began to attract people to him, even Simon the sorcerer. Then crowds got saved and were baptized, including Simon. Once the apostles in Jerusalem heard about the people getting saved, John and Peter were sent to help out. Then they laid hands on the converts to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Simon wanted this "power" and thought he could buy it - Peter rebuked Simon.
(v. 26-40)
Phillip was told by the Holy Spirit to go minister to a Ethiopian (Eunuch) man who was trying to read the Bible (Isaiah 53) but could not understand it. Phillip did as he was asked and baptized the man and explained to him the text. Philip then was mysteriously "taken" by the Holy Spirit as soon as the Ethiopian was raised in the water.

Chapter 9
(v. 1-30) Saul was on his way to Damascus to continue to persecute the Christian church. Saul has an encounter with God, and was blinded for three days. Saul went to the city as was instructed by God. Simultaneously, Ananias a disciple, was told about a vision Saul was experiencing and was to go lay hands on his eyes that he may see. Ananias was frightened however because of Saul's reputation.

"But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." (Acts 9:15)

Ananias went and healed Saul's eyes and Saul immediately began to preach God's word. People were leery of Saul because they knew of his reputation for persecuting the church. The Jews sought to kill Saul but he was able to escape. Saul went to be with the disciples in Jerusalem, but they were scared of him because of his past. Barnabas (Son of Encouragement) stood up for Saul and convinced the disciples that he a changed man and all was well. Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, continued to preach and debate with the Grecian Jews but the Jews wanted to kill him because of his over-zealousness.

Thoughts and Findings

I love how Phillip jumped in and started preaching God's word despite Simon's magic nonsense. The people were looking for somebody to follow and they turned from Simon to Phillip and in turn were saved. This is an example of how the power of God is faithful to show up no matter what is going on. It is also interesting how Peter was able to see Simon's motives and discern they were not good. Simon wanted to buy what only God can do.

I also thought it was key that John and Peter were sent to the new converts to pray that they would receive the Holy Spirit. They not only prayed, but they laid hands on them. This illustrates the need of being filled with the Holy Spirit over and above being saved. A person can be saved but they must also be baptized with the Holy Spirit in order to receive God's power to ascertain not only the Scriptures but for everyday victory. Phillip was also obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit to take the Jerusalem road down to Gaza, to minister to the Ethiopian Eunuch. He baptized him and led him to the power to be able to dissect the scriptures for himself. This man no doubt took the message and spread the good news to his hometown, and so the early church grew. :) May we be obedient as well to go where God instructs us amd minister to those who need God's Word.

I was amazed as we went through these chapters because Saul's (Paul) life is of particular interest to me. Paul was completely turned around by the power of Jesus. It is amazing to think that God can take a man who was completely against God's Kingdom and turn him around by no real choice of his own. Saul was the son of a Pharisee, trained under the great Gamaliel, (the leader of the Pharisees) and a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul was zealous in whatever he did, whether preaching God's word or plotting to have Christians killed. God, for some reason, saw Saul and chose to do great things through him as he was later thought to be "The Founder of the Christian Faith". Paul is no doubt a hero as his zealousness seemed to carry him throughout his life no matter the situation.
But God also explained to Ananias in Acts 8 that not only was Saul to bring God's word to the Gentiles and people of Israel, but he was also to suffer for the Lord as well. Ouch. And did he ever suffer. Paul went through incredible trials and tribulations to follow the Lord and carry out his God-given mission.

"We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. " 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. " 2 Corinthians 11:24-28