Acts 26: Paul is Called Crazy for his Beliefs

Paul is standing before another judge and he give his defense. This time he tells the entirety of his testimony, how he was once like his accusers, persecuting Christians because of what they believed. He explains that he met the risen Jesus as he was walking towards the city of Damascus.
He then points out how the Old Testament said that the Messiah would suffer and rise again, as he begins to try to convince his new judge to put his faith in Jesus.
At this time he is accused of being crazy. This is the point where Christians are always thought of as crazy. The resurrection to some is an insurmountable issue holding them back from the Gospel. "When people die, they stay dead" they might say. Well the truth is that God is stronger than that. God could bring his Son back from the dead, and he did. We are not crazy, but by faith, we believe this truth, and we tell it to others in the hopes that they will also believe. If we are called crazy because of this belief, so be it.

Acts 25: The judges do not know what his crime is.

Yet another individual hears the case against Paul and they hear his defense. Once against this is an opportunity for Paul to present the gospel.
The Jews just want him to be moved to Jerusalem so that they can ambush and kill him on the way. They realize that in a fair trial he would win and not be executed.
Festus, his judge, realizes that the main different boils down to weather Jesus is alive or not, and does not fully understand why that would be a crime.
Paul appeals to Caesar for his trial, and Festus brings in another man just to figure out what to write to Caesar concerning him.
God is working behind the scenes to insure that the Gospel is spread.

Acts 24: Paul Defends Himself.

Paul is put on trial. The prosecution arrived and gave their statement.
They said that Paul stirred up trouble everywhere he went. (Which is only true because they chased him around stirring up trouble against him)
They also said that he defiled the temple. (Which he did not do)
They also accused him of being the "ringleader of the sect of nazarenes." (They were right that he was one of the leaders of Christianity at the time.)

In his response he focus on what he does believe.
He says that he believe in the God of their fathers, that the prophets spoke of. And he says he does what he does in good conscience due to the fact that he believes the just and the unjust will both be resurrected.
The idea behind what he is saying is that the just will be resurrected for eternal reward in heaven, and that the unjust will be resurrected for eternal damnation, and Paul wants to be in the just category. He does also admit to being a follower of "the way". But he argues very strongly that this does not contradict the Old Testament, that God-fearing people will believe in "The Way". His reason for saying this is because Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Paul is arguing that he is in the right, and that since the messiah has come all Jews should believe as he does.
After this Paul was held in prison because the governor was hoping to get money from him, but he had ample opportunity to speak with the Governor concerning what he believed.

Acts 23: Paul is Smart

Sorry that I forgot to update four 6 days. It will not happen again.

Paul has been arrested for preaching the gospel. He is brought before the Sanhedrin, the council of Sadducees and Pharisees that rules in religious matters over the Jewish people.
When Paul realizes that both groups of people are there he uses it to his advantage. They do not agree on much in the way of doctrine.
PHarisees believe in angels and resurrection. They are literalists, where as the Saducees do not believe in these things.
So Paul brilliantly brings up this issue so that the two groups fight amongst themselves so his trial cannot proceed.

AFter this some of the Jews try to ambush him but God foils their plan.
Paul in the end of this chapter is sent to the governor of the area so that he can be tried. His accusers will get an opportunity to say what he did and he will get a chance to defend.

As we continue to follow that life of Paul we will see that God uses this situation for his Glory and so that the gospel can be spread.

Acts 17: The Bereans

Some people argue and ignore the gospel, and even react violently to it.
Other accept it.
The people from the city of Berea are a model for us all.
When we hear teaching in church or some other Christian we should just not openly accept it we should instead check with the word of God to make sure that what we have heard is true.
The Bible is our foundation and it tells us everything we need to know about God and living the Christian life.
The Bereans according to verse 11 because "they received the word with all eagerness examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."
They did not take Paul word for it, but they listened to what he had to say intently and checked with the word of God to make sure he was right.
I tell you this, any Pastor or preacher would be very happy to hear that this is what you are doing with their sermons, and you would also be blessed by doing it, because it would put you into deeper study of the Bible.

Acts 16: Singing in Prison

Paul and Silas are arrested as they continue on their missionary journey. They are then thrown into prison.
What would we do if we were in their position?
We would probably complain, moan, call out to God and ask him why, but this is not what they were doing.
They were singing praises to God. They were worshiping God as they were in prison.
This shows tremendous faith. They were praising God because they knew he was in control. They knew that no matter what God was there, whether they stayed in prison or were freed, or even if they were to die, they rested in the love and sovereign will of God.
God does in the end release them from jail, and because they do not run away, and because they were singing as they were in prison they are able to tell the Jailer himself about Jesus.
They celebrate in the midst of a trial and because of this they are able to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 14: Sorry I skipped it.

So I did acts 15 on the 14th, and I am doing Acts 14th on the 15th to catch up. It seems as if I momentarily forgot how to count

The crowd of people in the town of Lystra appear to be a very fickle group.
Paul heals a lame man, who has been unable to walk since birth, and they want to sacrifice a bull to him and worship him as a god. Paul and Barnabas are able to stop them before they are able to sacrifice the bull. This is in direct contrast to Herod who accepted worship as a god and was struck down by God because of it. The Jews from two cities that Paul had already been too followed him to Lystra to stir up trouble. They succeeded. Paul, just shortly after he was almost worshiped as a god, was dragged out of the city and stoned. They left him for dead, though he gets up and walks back into the city.
The Gospel is offensive to some and causes them to react harshly and negatively. Others respond in a manner that accepts the truth of the Gospel. This is still true today.

Acts 15:Salvation by Grace Confirmed

It seems as if it did not take very long before false teachers sprung up in the church. Paul and Barnabas meet people claimingto be Christians but teaching that you must be circumcised. Circumcision was a Jewish ritual put in place by God in his Covenant with Abraham, it was to show that the Israelites were different and set apart.
These people were saying that faith is not enough, that works were necessary.
But Peter, when all their was a big council on the matter had this to say in verse 11 "But we will be saved through grace just as they will."
The truth is only grace can save us not any works that we can do.
In the end the council determines that they should refrain from imposing the ceremonial law on the Gentile converts and only require them to follow a few specific rules, and even those are not an issue of salvation but of fellowship.
In the global church today there are people who had to salvation. Saying you have to do something ceremonial, they might say you have to be baptized or walk an aisle at the end of a sermon. The truth is you must repent of your sins and believe on Jesus, and then by grace you will be saved.

Acts 13: Success and Persecution on the First Missionary Journey

At this point the church in Jerusalem led by the apostles have recently learned that the Gospel is for all people and not just the Jews. The Holy Spirit tells them to send out Barnabas and Saul (Also named Paul) so that they can spread the Gospel to other regions. Paul and Barnabas then become the first missionaries. They go to Cyprus first, which is an Island off the coast of Greece. Then onto Antioch. They go to the Jews in Antioch believing that they should begin with the Jewish population in each location.
The major point of the sermon by Paul is that Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection is a key point for the Christian. It is also one that many people refuse to believe just like in this chapter.

Acts 12: Rescue and Punishment

Peter is arrested, but he is not held long. An angel frees him, though he is left standing at the door to a house where the church is meeting because of a young girls excitement over Peters escape. No Jail can hold the servants of God if God still has work for them to do. God is in control of such things and He lets them go as He pleases.

Herod is punished. Herod is the king of Israel. Really he is a Governor who governs the province under the Roman emperor. Someone calls out that his voice is not the voice of a man but of a God. He does nothing to deny this statement so God strikes him down. God is the only God and making any claims to the same is a dangerous business. So in what we do we should point to God and bring honor and glory to him rather than ourselves.

Acts 11: Called Christians

Up until this point people looked at the early Church as a radical Jewish sect. But it seems at this time in Antioch the church stood out. But notice it doesn’t say “they called themselves Christians” but that they were called Christians there for the first time.
Why is this important?
1. It means they were different.
If they were living the same lifestyle as everyone else, they would not of deserved a name that distinguished them from everyone else. They were different in how the lived.
2. Christ was their central focus.
They were called Christians because Christ Jesus was there main focus. It is similar to in the past when Christians were called “Jesus Freaks” (It is not just a song...) because they were crazy about Jesus. These peoples central focus was Christ.
The question we have to ask ourselves is would we be called Christians if that name wasn’t around? Would we be associate with Jesus Christ by how we live our lives and by what our central focus is? Or are we only called Christians because we call ourselves Christians?

Acts 10: The Gospel For All

Up until this time, outside of the Ethiopian Eunuch, the people who had responded to the Gospel were either Jews, or Half-Jews.
The Jews were set apart to God. They were supposed to be different so that they would be a testimony of God before all the other peoples so that those peoples would also turn to God. But the Jews ended up looking at their differences with pride. They would not associate with any Gentiles, not eat with them or stay in their houses.
It actually takes a dream from God for Peter to understand that the Gospel is for all, but he in the end does understand this.
We need to be careful that we do not make the mistake of thinking that the Gospel is for us but not for them. Whoever "them" may be.
Regardless of race or nationality that Gospel should be proclaimed to all. So lets spread the goodnews of God to all people, not to just a select few.

Acts 9: God Chooses Saul, and He Can't Do Anything About It.

Saul was a man who was persecuting the church. He had some measure of authority and seems to have been one of the men in charge at the stoning of Stephen. He gets permission to go to the city of Damascus to imprison and persecute more Christians. But something happens on his way. He gets blind sided by Jesus. A bright light shines down on him and he talks to Jesus face to face. God has chosen him for a specific purpose and chooses to show him grace.
He changes his name to Paul and tells him that he will be a witness for God. Much of the rest of the books of Acts follows Paul. He is used by God to spread his message.
But for a moment look at the conversion of Paul. Paul is stopped b God in a miraculous way. Paul is rebelling against God, persecuting his church, and God intervenes and changes him, in a single moment. Paul doesn’t seem to have a choice. Left up to Paul, he would of continued to persecute the church. But God decides he wants something different for Paul. I say all of this because our conversions are the same. Left up to ourselves we would have nothing to do with God, but God decides to change us, and decides to give us grace. And ultimately, there is not anything we can do to stop the grace of God.

Acts 8: Through the Persecution the Gospel Spreads

Before Jesus left he told the disciples that they were going to be witnesses for him not just in Jerusalem but in the surrounding areas, and to the end of the world. Up until this point in the book of Acts they have been solely in Jerusalem. But because of persecution the Christians are scattered and begin to spread the gospel to the surrounding area.
The Gospel begins to spread to Samaria. And two of the Apostles travel their to check out whats going on. An individual attempts to buy the power of giving the Holy Spirit. This early in the church someone is already attempting to use it for their own personal gain.
Also in this chapter we see the propagation of the Gospel to a man from Africa. Phillip is given the opportunity to tell a Ethiopian man about Jesus from the book of Isaiah once against showing that the entire Bible is about Jesus.
It is a tremendous comfort to know the God uses bad things for goods purposes like he did with the persecution of the early church.

Acts 7: The First Martyr's Last Speech

Stephen in the last chapter was chosen to be one of the deacons. He was telling others about his faith and was soon arrested for it. When placed on trial he is given an oportunity to defend himself, and begins talking about Abraham and the begining of the nation of Israel. He does this for two reasons.
1. He shows that Israel has continually rejected God and his Prophets.
2. That the entirety of the Bible was leading up to Jesus.

He concludes by telling the people who have put him on trial that they are just like their ancestors, they killed Jesus whome God sent.
Telling his accusers this did not hel his case, they became very angry and stoned him. But to the last moment Stephen was a good witness for Jesus saying in verse 60 “ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Stephen is the first erson to be killed for his belief in Jesus.

Acts 6: Serving Widows

Often times in American culture we treat out elderly as outcasts. There is a focus on the young being important. The aged are often mocked for being out of touch, and treated as useless. This makes no sense, since the aged are often wiser than those having youth, and much can be learned from them. It is also not biblical, we need to be taking care of our elderly as is done in this passage.
There is a little strife in the church at this point. Apparently the Jewish Christians are overlooking the feeding of the Greek Christians’ Widows. This was a big problem that the Apostles took seriously. They stated that it is not what they should be focused on, but they realized it was important. So they elected 7 people called deacons to take care of the Widows in the church.

Saturday Video: Trip Lee Invasion

Acts 5: A Biblical Horror Story

Ever tried to lie to God? A couple observations:
1. It doesn’t work. (God is omniscient.)
2. It is dangerous. (God is all-powerful.)

These two things are something that the early church figures out rather quickly at quite a cost to a couple among them.

They sell their field and give some of the money to the church, which is not a problem. The problem is that they wanted people to think that they were giving all of the money to the church. They attempted to deceive the Apostles and God.

The problem with their plan was that God still knew. In verse 3 the Bible says, “Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?'”
God knew, and God revealed it to Peter.

The second problem with their plan shows the power of God. Verse 5 says, “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” God killed him for his deceit. His wife dies shortly after her husband because of the same deceit.

Acts 4: Under Arrest

There are many places in the world where preaching the name of Jesus will still get you arrested. Here in this passage the Apostles get arrested for healing a man and preaching in the name of Jesus. The church, newly founded, is facing persecution. When the men are arrested, they are told to not speak about Jesus anymore.

Their response is short and to the point: “But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges!'"

They essentially say, “Should we listen to you or God?” This question has an obvious answer; we are to listen to God.

This might not seem important, but a day may come when even in America we are told we must not tell others about Jesus. But we must do what God says not what man says.

Acts 3: The Gospel Displayed

Peter and John healed a man in the name of Jesus. They used this miraculous occurrence as an opportunity to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.

I want you to see that all of the parts of the Gospel are in this passage. Paul is very specific; he tells them that they killed Jesus. Peter also says that God raised Jesus from the dead. In verses 18-19 Peter says, “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.”

Peter defends his statements using the Old Testament, showing that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. He then calls for the people to repent (turn from their sin and turn to Jesus). If they do this their sin will be forgiven; their sin will be blotted out.

Peter says this to the people responsible for the death of Jesus. How great is the grace and mercy of God that even those people were offered forgiveness!

Acts 2: The Miracle of Pentacost

The disciples seem to have been waiting for the Holy Spirit. Their teacher (Jesus) has left, thought he promised to send the Holy Spirit, and so they were waiting. Pentacost is 40 days after Passover, which is when Jesus died. So this chapter takes place forty days after the death of Jesus and Peter’s denial of Jesus three times.  Here, a miraculous event takes place. More than one actually.

The first being that the disciples, speaking in their language, are miraculously understood in a different language. This caused the Gospel to spread rapidly since people were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentacost though they lived throughout the Roman Empire.

The second being that Peter is a changed man.  He was previously denying Christ but is now preaching the gospel and calling on all men to believe in Jesus. This life change is due to being radically changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 1: Jesus' Final Commission

The book of Acts is about what happens to the followers of Jesus after he ascends into heaven. The first chapter begins with Jesus’ final command to his disciples.

Jesus says in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus promises to them that they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and when they are empowered they will be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

There is a progression in the locations.  It would be like saying, "You will be a witness for me in Williamston, and in all Martin County and Pitt County, and to the ends of the world.”

If we believe in Jesus, we are empowered by the same Spirit, and we should be a witness for Him!