Acts 15:6-11 The New Has Come!

Acts 15:6-11 The apostles and elders met to consider this question.  After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.  He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?  No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Paul, Barnabas and others from the Antioch church went to Jerusalem to discuss with the church leaders whether people needed to be circumcised to be followers of Christ. In Judaism circumcision is necessary to be accepted by God: this cutting of the flesh is a sign of being God’s people. Circumcision separates the Jews from all the rest of people in the world. In Paul and Barnabas’ ministry, they were not requiring circumcision as a step in being separated from the people of the world as believers in Christ as the Messiah. This caused some of the Judaic Christians to be concerned about the purity of their ministry. For they taught the grace and mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ and his works. For the Judaic Christians, the law and circumcison were endemic in their view of God. Paul and Barnabas did teach circumcision but it was a circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh. They evaluated no one by the outward sign of circumcision. This sign of the flesh meant nothing to them; only the condition of the heart, changed by faith IN CHRIST, was the theme of their ministry. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) Paul emphasized the new creature, born IN GOD through faith alone. He was not in the remodeling mode of making the Jews or anyone better by being more zealous to laws and regulations. As Peter before him discovered, God affirms his own by giving them the Holy Spirit. Peter found this out in the house of Cornelius the centurion. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. (Acts 10:44-46) Believing and trusting in Jesus as the Son of God changes the heart, brings the Holy Spirit to the souls of men and women. Real circumcision or separation to God as his own people is established in the heart, not in the outward flesh. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. The Gentiles who were once not God’s people were now being called in these latter days to his household. “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. (Isaiah 65:1) Paul and Barnabas were ambassadors to these people who had not been called, but are now called in these latter days. Through his Son Jesus Christ, God was reconciling the whole world to himself. This mystery hidden in God’s heart from the beginning of time was now being activated through the disciples, going throughout the world, preaching the Good News that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God will receive the circumcision of the heart, placing them in God’s kingdom forever. Nevertheless, this Good News of enduring change in the hearts of all people through faith in Jesus Christ alone was being challenged by the Judaic Christians. 

The law and its regulations were always on trial in Jesus’ ministry. The teachers of the law followed Jesus from place to place. They did not appreciate that Jesus did good works on the Sabbath. He and his disciples were too active on the day of rest. Jesus, every day was constantly healing people; the Sabbath was no exception. Because of this fact, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were present with Jesus on the Sabbath, listening to him minister in a synagogue. A man with a deformed hand was also in the synagogue. Because Jesus was constantly healing people, his critics anticipated that Jesus would probably heal this man. John wrote, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25) The enemies of Jesus were expecting Jesus to heal this man. Jesus knew why these men were there with him in that synagogue. HIs critics were there to condemn him if He healed this man who had lived with his deformity all his life. This could be considered a set-up by God. Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.”So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them,“I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.  ”He did so, and hishand was completely restored. (Luke 6:8-10)By healing this man on the Sabbath, Jesus was demonstrating that God is always working, always doing good to people, even on the Sabbath. If an earthquake hit Jerusalem on the Sabbath, the people rightly would flee, carrying their belongings. God allowed good or necessary activity on the Sabbath when it meant survival or restoration. “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?  In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.  And he also gave some to his companions.  ”Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man (enjoyment), not man for the Sabbath (enjoyment).  So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:25-28) The Sabbath was a time to reflect on God’s goodness, his mercy and grace to humans, not a time to be bound by law and regulations. The Sabbath was made so that men and animals would not have to work seven days for their living, but that this day was one for them to reflect on God’s mercy and love for them, a time of rest and restoration. Jesus became the Sabbath to people in reality. He is the freedom from work; He is the grace and mercy of God. This was the message of Paul and Barnabas to all people. Believers did not need the sign of circumcision to be right with God. They did not need obedience to the Sabbath regulations; they only needed faith in Jesus Christ and his works. The cross ransomed all believers from their bondage to sin and to the works of the flesh. They were free from the cumbersome burden of the law.

Peter in defense of Paul's ministry asked these Jews who claimed circumcision to be a necessary act of salvation, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? This yoke of the law was heavy and not even the Pharisees or the Sadducees were able to fulfill the law in their lives. Jesus called them hypocrites, for their hearts were cold to the grace and mercy of God; yet they bound the people with the heavy burden of the law and its regulations. John the Baptist knew the condition of the Israelites’ leaders by calling out for them to repent. He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10) Now in the above focus, we see Peter pleading for the wholesome message of Jesus alone, not laws and regulations that even the leaders of the Jewish community could not satisfy. Paul knows in his journey through the Gentile communities that God did not discriminate between the law bound Jews and the lawless Gentiles. As Peter said,He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. Paul and Barnabas’ ministry affirmed that God was in the saving business, Jew and Gentile. He was giving all who put their trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the eternal Holy Spirit. They saw the fruit of their ministry; how happy the Gentiles were to know they were part of God’s family. These two disciples suffered much to bring this message of eternal life to the Greek communities. But their suffering was worthwhile because many were coming to the true knowledge of Jesus being the Lord of all people. Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17) The law was given to Moses to release the people from their bondage of sin, but the law could not change the heart. The law demanded a lifestyle, a way by actions to please a righteous and holy God. But man’s sinful nature was unable to appease a holy God by his actions alone; he needed a complete transformation, a new beginning, a new life, and only Jesus could bring that to him. In Jesus' discussing the necessity of a new life with Nicodemus, Jesus says,“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered,“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”(John 3:3-8) Peter is telling the Jerusalem council that as in Jesus’ words, wind blows wherever it pleases.Paul has seen the wind of the Holy Spirit fall on many new believers. As with Jesus’ ministry, these believers will show God’s plan. They will be people of power, possessors of the Dynamo of God. If God does not discriminate, why should men by placing the burden of works on them. LET THEM BE FREE TO DO THE WORKS OF GOD IN THIS WORLD.  Amen!  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm,then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)  

Acts 15:1-5 Final Solution

Acts 15:1-5  Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.  This news made all the believers very glad.  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

Once again we see the devil’s work in the Pharisees.  Even though some of them now believed that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God, they also championed the law as THE WAY to please God.  This opposition to the purity of faith in Jesus Christ alone as the message of salvation troubled Paul and Barnabas.  They had just traveled over one thousand miles to tell people of every kind that Jesus was the ONLY WAY to earn God’s favor.  They were always under the threat of persecution and death in their journey.  This Good News that Jesus Christ has made a way for all men and women to obtain eternal life was central to all they taught in every community.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)  Many in these Greek communities accepted this message of eternal life for them as precious as gold and silver, but others, especially the Jews, found this message to be abhorrent to Judaism and to their lifestyle.  For them, Moses’ law was paramount in knowing God, no other avenue to God is needed, only obedience to the law makes people right with the Eternal Creator.  Now, the disciples supposedly home with believers who accept Jesus and the cross as the only way to God, find themselves attacked by Jewish believers who are still entangled with the idea of obedience to the law.  Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  Paul and Barnabas had faced too much violence and threats of death in the Greek communities to allow these supposed believers to corrupt the truth of the Good News.  This perversion of the THE WAY brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  The Holy Spirit had exposed Paul to the mystery of salvation that was hidden in God’s heart from the very beginning.  Paul was not going to back down from the truth the Spirit had shown him: all people can be right with the Creator through faith in Christ’s works and not by their own effort or works.  As a learned Rabbi he understood how Abraham was right with God.  What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?  If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.  What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  (Romans 4:1-3)  Abraham had not been circumcised when he first received God’s promise of blessing to him.  God’s blessing came to him not because his flesh had an outward sign of being sold out to God but that his heart was right with God.  Abraham believed God would fulfill his words to him, a necessary component in knowing God.  Paul and Barnabas now face criticism by these pharisaical believers for not stressing circumcision as the way to being right with God.  But Paul and Barnabas would not recant their message of faith alone in Christ, for they believed strongly that Abraham’s faith in God’s words are the key to knowing God, and that same faith is necessary in all believers.  Abraham was fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”  The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.  (Romans 4:21-25)

Paul understood that God from the very beginning wanted a Father’s relationship with his created.  Adam and Eve were made to be a blessing to God.  They were to have faith in God’s words, trust him as a child would trust his father.  But they broke that relationship of trusting the goodness of the Father’s words; they chose their own direction in life.  Paul in his ministry declares the necessity of people to believe and trust God’s words about redemption and eternal life.  He ministers about Jesus, Son of God, coming to earth to connect people to their Creator.  Jesus  pays the price for men and women’s rebellion to the authority to God.  This rebellion is sin and it has separated men and women from a righteous, holy, eternal God.  But because of the grace and mercy of God, Jesus becomes the ransom paid by God to deliver men and women out of their darkness, their captivity to sin.  No man or woman can boast about delivering himself or herself from the captivity of sin.  Salvation from sin comes to mankind because of the grace and mercy of God.  The death of Jesus on the cross demonstrates God’s love for men and women; God’s Son pays the complete price for the sins of all people.  However, if we won our personal redemption through law, we could boast about it.  But Paul counters this self-willedness of men and women to earn their place of righteousness by their own efforts by talking about boasting.  Where, then, is boasting?  It is excluded.  Because of what law?  The law that requires works?  No, because of the law that requires faith.  For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.  (Romans 3:28-31)  The Jews who troubled the believers in Antioch opposed this belief of faith in Jesus as the only way to God.  They claimed works has to be part of the redemptive plan.  We see the opposition to the disciples in Jerusalem with the same message of works.  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”  They adamantly opposed the purity of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ and his works.  Jesus knew well the hypocrisy of these Pharisees.  He castigated them, criticized the way they lived, called them hypocrites, even said their father was the devil.  Paul says that a person who is truly circumcised is one who has a circumcised heart, whether he is a Jew or a Gentile.  Outward circumcision means nothing.  A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.  Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.  (Romans 2:28-29)  A major problem with circumcision and the law is that salvation is placed in the hands of humans and not in the purview of God.  He alone is good, not men or women.  If He alone is good, He alone knows how to make a sinful creation good and that comes from his works and not mankind’s work.  Paul and the early church were now being troubled by this adverse idea to the pure gospel of faith.

As we see Jesus riding on a colt into Jerusalem, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:  “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  (Luke 19:38-40)  Jesus knew who he was; He was the Son of God.  He knew absolutely the rocks would cry out praise to him if the people would not.  For the Creator God is the receptor of all praise of everything He created.  Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women old men and children.  (Psalm 148:7-12)  Everything that ever was created will praise the Lord; the rocks were created so they too would praise the Lord.  Jesus knew there is continuous praise to God from all the natural elements of the world and the heavens; the stars sing God’s praise.  So, He knew the rocks would cry out praises if humans would not.  But then we see Jesus weeping for Jerusalem.  Most of Jerusalem rejected Jesus as being the Messiah, the Prince of Peace.  Jesus knew their rejection of him as the Messiah would cause them much pain and calamity in the future.  He knew the Romans would come and demolish Jerusalem, killing thousands of them, leaving the resting place of God, the Temple, in total ruin, not one stone on top of another.  He understood much blood would be shed in that Temple before it is destroyed.  All of this would happen only thirty years after his death.  Therefore, Jesus wept.  The leaders in Jerusalem were holding adamantly to their way of worshipping God: the law.  The law was not bad, for it reflected the holiness of God.  In fact it was perfect in revealing God’s perfection, his absolute righteousness.  But the complete fulness of the law was bound up into two laws: love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly, love others as you love yourself.  These two tenants of the law escaped the Pharisees' way of living.  They lived lives disciplined to the law, but they did not feature love and mercy in their lives.  Jesus wept because they had not accepted the peace and mercy that He came to give them.  He was the Messiah, He was the Son of God, and He did come to give them release from their bondage to outward rules and regulations.  Paul’s ministry of Jesus alone was given to him by God.  God promised him on the road to Damascus that he would teach Paul many things, the mystery of salvation, hidden from the world from the beginning of time.  Paul was faithful to his message even though it brought him many threats of death.  We found in the last century, the Nazi government sought the final solution to what they considered the Jewish threat to the world; of course the final solution was extermination.  The devil’s solution to everything is death.  But Paul came to bring another final solution and that was life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)  Paul dedicated his life to this final solution.  He encourages us to do likewise, Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  (1 Corinthians 15:56)  Dear friends around this breakfast table, nothing you do for Christ is ever wasted.  Even under stress as we see in our above focus, Paul and Barnabas were zealous in defending the truth of the word of God.  No matter where you are in life, happy or sad, defend the gospel.  Be happy you have breath to voice the truth to the world.  Live in God’s will not your own will as Adam and Eve did.  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)  Rejoice today that you have the message of life and not of death.  The true FINAL SOLUTION is Jesus Saves, the opposite of death.  

   

 

 

  

   

Acts 14:21-28 Light of Life!

Acts 14:21-28  They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples.  Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.  “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.  Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.  After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.  From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.  On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.  And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

After escaping death by stoning in Lystra, Paul has a successful ministry in Derbe: won a large number of disciples.  After Derbe, he and Barnabas decided to finish off their first missionary trip by going back through these dangerous communities of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, to strengthen the new converts in those areas.  In these communities of trials and persecution, they encouraged the body of believers to be true to their new found faith.  As they journeyed back to Antioch of Syria, they ministered on the truth of the gospel to every community they traveled through.  Paul and Barnabas established dozens of churches in their 1,200 mile missionary trip.  Even though they faced much physical danger, they were faithful in spreading the Good News to the lost wherever they traveled.  Paul had seen a great light on the road to Damascus, a light greater than the sun, a light of purity and holiness.  This Light gave him a commission: to go into all the world, ministering the name of Jesus Christ as the Light of the world.  As Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12)  Paul and Barnabas had gained this Light in their lives by faith; they understood their souls would never die, for the eternal Spirit of God lived in them.  They knew Jesus’ resurrection was the precursor of their own resurrection into eternal life. They too as Jesus did would take this journey from physical death to eternal life with God.  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  (John 11:25-26 KJV)  These disciples were willing to face persecution and even death for the marvelous truth of life everlasting.  They went into dangerous communities, exposing themselves to hostile men and women who were adverse to the Good News and its message of eternity with the God of creation through faith in Jesus Christ.  For Jesus’ followers, the cause of Christ was greater than the security of their lives.  They would willingly die for this message of eternal life for all men and women who would accept the Good News.  Some in these Greek communities were freed from their Egypt, a place of bondage and hardship.  However, most were content to remain in their Egypt, their dark lives of trials and captivity to sin.  Consequently, these sin-bound people were opposed to the Light that Paul and Barnabas were ministering.  As Paul and Barnabas journeyed back to Antioch of Syria, they reminded the converts of these newly established churches that traversing the wilderness after escaping the captivity in Egypt and the hold of the devil on their lives is not an easy journey.  Often the wilderness can be a sparse and hot place with long days, full of trials and hardships, persecutions and threats of death, but they should keep their minds on Canaan, the end of the journey.  Both of these disciples were good examples of believers fastening their minds on the Promised Land and the subsequent glory they will receive in heaven.  Paul and Barnabas were willing to suffer for the CAUSE OF CHRIST.  Regardless of the cost, they brought the Good News, the Light of God, to a desperate, dark, and dying world. 

Jesus in his ministry to the Jews in Israel often found himself in the midst of a desperate people, people who needed an answer in their lives.  At times He attempted to move away from the clamor of the people.  But the people would follow him, constantly monitoring where He was or where He was going to be.  On one of these occasions when Jesus and the disciples felt a need for finding solace for themselves, they got into a boat, seeking a place away from the crowd.  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.  But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things.  (Mark 6:32-34)  Even though Jesus was tired and needed rest, He saw the large crowd that met him in this solitary place.  These people had spent a lot of physical energy and their time to meet with Jesus and his followers.  Jesus had compassion on them because they were desperate for a shepherd, someone who would lead them by still water and into a green pasture.  They needed an overseer, a guide, a comforter, an exhorter, a lover of their souls, so they followed Jesus and listened to his words.  Paul and Barnabas were for many a Jesus in their lives.  These two men claimed to know God and the truth of people’s existence.  Many of the people in these Greek communities were desperate to find the meaning of life.  They were frustrated with their lives that existed on a treadmill of futility.  Even though the two disciples often were upset with the opposition they faced in these Greek communities, they landed the boat and presented the Shepherd who said, “Whosoever will may come."  Jesus came to deliver people from darkness and captivity.  He cast out demons from those who were oppressed by evil spirits.  He healed the blind, the lame, the sick.  He raised the dead and proclaimed the gospel to the poor.  Paul and Barnabas did likewise in these Greek cities.  They shepherded the tired, the weary, those who needed a doctor.  As Jesus, they did those good deeds even though they had a target on their backs, placed there by the devil and his cohorts.  Jesus said of these people that were in opposition to the Good News that their father was the devil.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  (John 8:44)  These enemies of Jesus were also the enemies of the two disciples.  As with their desire to murder Jesus, they wanted to kill these two disciples who were followers of Jesus.   Paul and Barnabas carried the news of Jesus to the Greeks.  They traveled many miles to deliver the gospel to them.  In their travels they were never outside of danger; they lived in fear of being killed in and out of these towns, for it was a danger for strangers to walk from city to city in those days.

After Jesus had delivered Legion from his many demons, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee back to his home area.  The throng of people gathered around him immediately as he landed.  They came to him with their many requests, pushing and shoving to get near Jesus, beseeching him for answers in their lives.  One of the first to greet him was the leader of the synagogue, Jairus.  Being the leader of the synagogue, Jairus was was an important member of the community.  He told Jesus of his young daughter’s illness.  He asked Jesus to come with him to his home, believing Jesus can heal his sick daughter.  Jesus asgreed to his request.  On the way to Jairus’ house, Jesus felt the Spirit of God going out to someone who had touched him with faith.  This is the same faith that Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, David and the  prophets had in God’s goodness and love towards them.  Jesus turns around to see who possessed this foundational faith in God, this same faith that great men and women in the Old Testament had in the God of creation.  “Who touched me?”  Which one of you possesses the faith of the forefathers, those who believed the Father God is good and merciful, full of enduring love?  Which one of you touched me with that kind of faith?  Jesus turned around, seaching with his eyes for a man or woman in the crowd with the faith of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob.  He did not see Moses, Joshua, David or one of the prophets in the crowd; He saw only a little woman who had a chronic bleeding issue for twelve years.  The Spirit of God, the active power of God, went out to her and healed her.  She was a nobody, not the leader of the synagogue or someone important in the community.  She was a desperate woman who believed God is good, and if she could only touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she would experience the goodness of God.  This was the message Paul and Barnabas were preaching to the Greeks: reach out and touch the goodness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  You do not have to be famous or important in this world; you even might be an uncilized Greek bound by sin, but Jesus is available to you.  Eternal life is yours in Jesus.  Accept him as your redeemer and God will honor you above the angels, you will exist in the throne room of God forever.   This is the message Paul and Barnabas taught, a message of purity and redemption.  Even today, the crowd might be in your way.  The devil’s temptations might be enticing, disrupting your intention to accept the gospel wholeheartedly, but press in regardless, push your way to Jesus.  In this story, we find Jesus completing his walk to Jairus’ house.  Jairus’ young daughter had been pronounced dead.  The mourners in Jairus' house ridiculed Jesus when He said, she is not dead, but asleep.  They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.  But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.  Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.  Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.  (Luke 8:53-56)  We see this day that the Good News came to the woman who had a bleeding issue because she possessed the same faith of the patriarchs and the prophets.  Later that day, the twelve-year-old girl received life again because of the touch of Jesus in her life.  As children of the living God, we also have heard Jesus’ words to us: My child, get up!  Eternal life is ours because of the cross.  Paul and Barnabas traveled over a 1,000 miles in their first missionary trip to tell people to "get up”.  Faith in Jesus is the redeeming work of God.  We know Jesus IS ETERNAL LIFE.  John says it so clearly,  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning THE WORD OF LIFE.  THE LIFE appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you THE ETERNAL LIFE, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  (1 John 1:1-2)  Jesus has come--Eternal Life has come to all people who put their trust in the works of Jesus Christ.   Paul and Barnabas were willing to give their lives for this message.  We too have that same message: Christ, the Light of the World has come.  Come and hear the Good News!  

Acts 14:8-20 The Light Has Come!

Acts 14:8-20  In Lystra there sat a man who was lame.  He had been that way from birth and had never walked.  He listened to Paul as he was speaking.  Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”  At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.  When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”  Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.  The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.  But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this?  We too are only human, like you.  We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.  In the past, he let all nations go their own way.  Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”   Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.  Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.  They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.  But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.  The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

In the above focus, we see Paul and Barnabas in Lystra, a day’s walk from Iconium.  The disciples journey to Lystra because of the persecution they faced in Iconium.  In Lystra the Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that a lame man had faith to be healed.  There sat a man who was lame.  He had been that way from birth and had never walked.  He listened to Paul as he was speaking.  Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”  This man’s condition was very serious for it was from birth.  The Lystra community knew well of the lame man's condition.  When they saw the man healed by the prayer of Paul, the Lycaonians became very excited, understanding this healing was a supernatural act.  Being very religiously oriented the Greeks in Lystra thought Paul and Barnabas were gods.  When Paul looked at the shrines and idols in Athens, he said of the Greeks that they were very religious.  I see that in every way you are very religious.  (Acts 22:17)  The Greeks in Lystra assigned Paul and Barnabas the names of  Zeus, and Hermes.   They commenced to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods who came down to earth to visit their community.  The priest of the temple of Zeus brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.  This worshipping of the disciples, believing them to be mythical gods, stresses Paul and Barnabas greatly: they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this?  We too are only human, like you.  Even so, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.  This clamor of devotion to the disciples went on for some time until some Jews from Iconium arrived with a different version of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry. They had walked twenty miles to Lystra, to bring this message of dissention to Lystra.  Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.  Their hatred of Paul and Barnabas caused these Jews to follow the disciples from city to city.  The Jews from Antioch had walked over a 100 miles to bring this discord to Lystra.  These contrary Jews to the message of the Good News illustrate well what Jesus said about these Abraham’s descendants.  I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers.  Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.  (Matthew 23:34)  The Jews of Antioch and Iconium’s intense hatred of Paul and Barnabas caused them to pursue the disciples from town to town.  In Lystra, they thought their mission of stamping out the Good News from the lips of Paul was finally over.  The people in Lystra stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.  Paul was so thoroughly beaten that he lay seemingly dead, probably bringing much satisfaction to those Jews who were chasing him from city to city.  But  Paul was not dead.  God protected him, allowing him to survive this wicked act of stoning.  He got up and went back into the city.  

In Rome, we hear Paul’s frustration about the Jews; their unwillingness to accept the Good News that the Messiah has come to them in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:“‘Go to this people and say,“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.  ”For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’  Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”  (Acts 28:25-28)  Paul’s intense love for his own people to hear the Good News is revealed clearly in that he willingly ministered in the synagogues, exposing himself to much criticism and many threats.  Paul understood well that his ministry in the synagogues would rouse up opposition to him and Barnabas.  Paul’s anguish over his people not willing to open their hearts up to the message of salvation is best expressed by him in Romans.  I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race.  (Romans 9:1-3)  Paul, as Moses and Jesus before him, was willing to give up his life for his enemies.  Paul's willingness to be away from God forever for the cause of his beloved Jews could not happen, for he had already died with Christ and possesses eternal life.  Moses’ led a rebellious people out of Egypt, thwarting God’s wishes for them, following other gods rather than THE ETERNAL CREATOR.  Moses also as Paul would give up his place with God for the salvation of his people.  We see In Paul’s time many Jews in these Greek communities, shying away from the light of God, unwilling to take the Good News into their hearts.  Many in Israel followed Jesus while He was on earth.  They were astonished by the depth of Jesus’ words and the miracles He performed.  However, Jesus assesses many of them as following him for the bread and fish He provides for them at times.  For many of them, their temporal needs were primary in their lives.  However, Jesus came not to feed them but to restore them to his Father by giving himself as the living bread on the cross.  To have eternal life, they would have to drink of his blood and eat of his flesh.  They would have to forsake their way of living and turn to Jesus as their Messiah with their whole mind, spirit and soul. They needed to know Jesus as their Messiah.  For Jesus is the complete message of God to the world.  “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12)  Turning to Jesus and repenting of their rebellion to God would expose them to the brilliant Light that Paul met on the road to Damascus.  Paul knew this Light would lead them out of their blindness into eternal life with God.  Through and  IN JESUS, they would shed their hatred, lust, and Godlessness.  Their destructive nature, their violence would turn to peace and love. God would be in their lives through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, known as being born-again.  

The Jews of these Greek cities knew their God that they served as a God of love and mercy, yet they wanted to kill Barnabas and Paul, the messengers of Good News: God’s grace for all people.  Jesus in the scene of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery portrays God’s mercy and love for all people.  These men wanted to know what Jesus would do to her for the sentence of adultery is stoning.  Jesus, knowing the law, should have pronounced the judgement of stoning on her.  However, Jesus knew of himself that He was the completeness of all the law.  He alone satisfies every requirement of the law.  He also knew He would lay his life down for the sins of this woman.  Knowing the sins of these men who also need forgiveness of their sins, he merely says, Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.  (John 8:7)  In the focus for this morning, we know these men who were chasing Barnabas and Paul from city to city also needed their sins to be forgiven.  But their hearts were hardened against God’s mercy; they knew only the harness of the law.  Therefore, they were harassing the disciples, not out of caring for the essence of the law, but out of their own discernment of the law.  But the fulfillment of the law says something different. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.  (Matthew 22:37-40)  Jesus is the fulfillment of the law; for as God is love, so is Jesus the Christ: He is love.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  (John 4:16-18)  The men pursuing Paul and Barnabas were very zealous. They feared that the disciples' teaching would distort Judaism and lead the people away from God.  But the fulfillment of the rigidness of the law without God’s nature of love and mercy would destroy men, not bring them to God.  Jesus could have said, go ahead and stone this sinful woman, destroy her for that is God’s desire for her.  Instead, He avoids the sentence of death upon her sin and says to the men, if you have not a blot of sin on your life, stone her.  Jesus did not come to destroy life, to condemn people of their sins and carry out the subsequent penalty of death.  He  came to deliver all humans out of the grasp of the devil.  He came to bring freedom to all people from the darkness of Egypt.  The truth of eternal life is in the hands of Jesus.  By hearing his words and by being obedient to the words of Jesus, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.  (John 8:32)  The slavery in Egypt is gone; a new life is to be lived, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (John 8:36)  This is the message Paul preached from city to city.  His love was so great for the people, he was willing to endure stoning so that some would be saved from the judgment of God.  Darkness hates this message of freedom, so darkness chased after them from city to city.  But the message to us today is still the same, no matter whether darkness is pressing upon us.  God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  (1 John 5:11-12)  We who are around this breakfast table rejoice in that Good News, let us be emblematic of that wonderful news of grace to the world.  We need never walk in darkness, for the Light has come!  

   

  

    

    

    

  

 

    

Acts 14: 1-7 Let Everyone Dance!

Acts 14: 1-7  At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.  There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.  But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.  So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.  The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.  There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.  But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel.

Paul and Barnabas, after two difficult weeks of ministry in Antioch of Pisidia, left that area and walked 96 miles to Iconium, a three or four day journey.  In Antioch they were threatened with death so they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to the people of that city.  The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.  But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city.  They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.  So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium.  And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 13:49-52)  As these two disciples journeyed inland in Turkey, their hearts were filled with joy, for the word of the Lord had been spread through that whole region.  Even though they left with a target on their backs: the threat of death by stoning, they knew they had fulfilled the will of God in that part of Turkey.  They went away from Antioch of Pisidia with glad hearts, experiencing Jesus’ words, Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  (Matthew 5:11-12)  First in Cyprus, then in Antioch of Pisidia they were participating in Jesus’ commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel.  Now after being threatened with death, they were going to Iconium to deliver the salvation message that Jesus the Messiah has come to earth to redeem men from their sins.  Both Jews and Gentiles in these communities where they had ministered had accepted this message of the Good News, but there were also people in these areas opposed to their ministry.  Many Jews were fervently marshaled against the gospel.  Jesus said about them, The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”  (Matthew 21:42-44)  Those who should have been the builders of the knowledge of God and his redemptive plan were dead-set against the salvation message that Jesus is the Messiah.  Paul would continue to preach in the Jewish synagogues, but the message of the Good News spread like wildfire in the Gentile world.  Many Gentiles gladly accepted this message of redemption, and as a congregation of believers they became a nation bearing the fruits of it.  People of all kinds would accept the wonderful message of being born again, having eternal life with God through faith in the substitutionary work of the cross of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus said about the tenants who were initially chosen as caretakers of his vineyard: their betrayal of the owner of the vineyard would bring horrible judgement on them, grinding them into powder.  As Stephen said at his stoning, “You stiff-necked people!  Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised.  You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!  Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?  They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One.  (Acts 7:51-52)  Paul on that day of Stephen’s stoning was part of the stiff-necked people.  He threw his lot in with the murderers of Stephen.  But his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus changed him completely.  He was no longer a tenant of betrayal but became a caretaker of the vineyard for the glory of the owner: God.

Jesus, the Good News, was born into a world racked with sin and chaos.  It was a world with sinful people, as in Noah’s time: every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  (Genesis 8:21)  Even God’s chosen, led out of slavery in Egypt by miraculous events, crossing the Red Sea on dry land, failed to be obedient to God.  On Mount Sinai they were given the perfect law of God, but they carried idols of other gods in they satchels.  In the Promise Land, as we read in the book of the Judges, we find the Israelites unfaithful to God.  Why were these people who had seen God’s marvelous work of deliverance from slavery not faithful?  They lacked faith because even in the best of men and women, humans are lawbreakers, for they possess the DNA of Adam and Eve.  The Jews were religious at times, faithful at times, but inconsistent in their service to the One and Only True God.  They were like sheep who have chosen their own pasture.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.  (Continued below)  Because of such rebellious behavior, they needed a true and faithful Shepherd.  Jesus came to be that Shepherd.  However first he had to pay for their sins of disobedience, for God demands total allegiance.  Jesus came to place men and women in right standing with a righteous God, carrying the people’s sin to the cross: but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:6)  Paul is preaching this Good News of redemption in the communities of the Greeks.  These Gentiles were not chosen initially to hear the message that Moses received about God on Mount Sinai, wrapped in the Law.  Now Paul is talking about Jesus who has satisfied all the requirements of the law.  He is ministering about the circumcision of the heart: obedience to the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, not through works.  In a Jewish synagogue, Jesus read a passage from Isaiah:  The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.  (Isaiah 61:1-3)  We see Paul and Barnabas as oaks of righteousness.  They are fulfilling Jesus’ mission on earth by proclaiming the good news to the poor.  They are healing the brokenhearted.  They are setting people free from their captivity to Satan.  They are telling Jews and Gentiles that Christ has come to bring great favor to them, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  To deliver this redemptive news of Christ to the Jews and the Gentiles, they faced much adversity.  To combat this adversity from some in Inconium, Paul and Barnabas performed many miracles to substantiate what they were saying about Jesus Christ.  Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.  As with the world today, when people are overlaid with great darkness because of the devil’s hold on them; they often need signs and wonders to confirm the reality that there is a God in heaven and that He sent Jesus Christ to deliver them from their captivity to sin.  Many times in lands that are controlled by cults that worship many gods, God comes to people with miraculous signs, dreams, trances and visions.  God’s love for all people is so fervent that He will reveal his existence to those who call out to him in earnestness.  He stopped Paul, a radical Pharisee, on the road to Damascus by blinding him with a great light.

Now in Iconium we see great resistance cropping up.   There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.  The disciples are now aware of this threat so they leave the area to go to Lystra, 20 miles away, a good day’s walk.  The message of salvation has taken root in Iconium, now for the disciples it was time to move on.  The struggle for existence will always be in Paul’s life.  At first he was with Barnabas, a fellow Jew, and then later he would journey with Silas, a Gentile.  But always there would be a target on his back.  Zealous people who were adverse to the Good News would plot and scheme to kill Paul.  He never knew safety from these haters.  They jailed him, beat him with rods, stoned him.  He was never out of harm’s way absent from these communities either.  For in between these Gentile cities there were gangsters and robbers who might accost him, stealing from him and abusing him.  He also faced natural disasters such as drowning at sea or in rivers.  Paul’s life was always precariously lived.  Jesus promised his disciples that their lives would always be on the line from persecution and even death.  I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)  These disciples knew the resurrected Lord, but still to follow Jesus unreservedly was a difficult assignment.  Peter complained about that when Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep.  Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.  Then he said to him, “Follow me!”  (John 21:17-19)  With such a prognostication about his life, Peter wanted to know about John’s future.  Is he also going to be treated so terribly when he is old?  But Jesus told him not to be concerned about what might happen to John but to be concerned only about his life.  And his life should consist of following Jesus to the end.  As with all Christians we are buried IN CHRIST and we live IN CHRIST.  We will dance the dance Jesus made for us and we will sing the song he has prepared for us to sing.  We are his vessels as long as we live.  No other tune will we dance to or sing.  We know as children of God as we progress through our lives, the sweetness of Jesus’s voice as we dance.  His closeness, his song in our ears brings the warmth of love to us.  And someday as this earth passes from us, we will be present with God and his beloved Son.  Nothing we can think of is better than to be in the household of God.   Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.  Lord Almighty blessed is the one who trusts in you.  (Psalm 84:10-12)  Friends around this breakfast table as we look at each other, we know we will be present with the Lord.  Our faces might be glad or sad now, but one day all trials of this earth will disappear, tears will be wiped away, and joy will radiate our faces.  We love the account of Paul and Silas in jail.  Everyone in the jail heard them singing praises to God when they were chained in the depths of a jail.  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  (Acts 16:25)  Are we singing this morning, even in chains?  Or do we feel we are chained to a wall in an everlasting prison?  Dear ones, hear the redemptive music God is singing even when you despair.  Dance with him.  Paul had to hear that music or he would have quit many times.  But the music is always playing for you--the dance is always on.  As Jesus would say, You who have ears, hear the voice of God and his songs.