Tag Archives: Jesus

Acts, Bible Studies

Acts 4 Truth and Power

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We saw earlier in Chapter 2 the “acts” the early church was engaged in, in Acts 2:42 it says (paraphrasing) they continuously devoted themselves to the apostle’s doctrine, to fellowship, breaking bread, and to prayer.

Here, we can see for characteristics the early church exhibited:

  • Boldness – To Preach under duress
  • Urgency – Not waiting for someone else
  • Obedience – To God
  • Courage – Knowing whom to fear.

 

Acts 4:1 In the gospels, the primary opponents of Jesus was the Pharisees, fundamentalists, traditionalists. In fact, many Pharisees are converted, (Saul for instance).The Sadducees vigorously opposed the resurrection, they had their own concept of truth. In could care less, very liberal, love peace, be nice and so on.
Acts 4:2 Why are these groups upset about the Resurrection of the dead? 

A) The Sadducees didn’t believe in it.  (Mat 22:23).  The Sadducees appear to be skeptics, using the pretense of religiosity as a device to dominate and aggregate political power.

 

B) The Apostles usurped the priestly function of being teachers, as were the Sadducees. Like the Sadducees, their power was in their teaching magisterium, not unlike Roman Catholicism, and gnostic cults that gain power by persuading people to follow them because of their revelations.
Acts 4:3 Recall this began around 3 in the afternoon. They had probably been there some time
Acts 4:4-6 They heard the Word, right on! Mat 16:18 shows us the need to allow Jesus to build His church.Annas was deposed by Rome in 25AD although president of the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas was his son-in-law, although it is quite possible the body considered Annas the real high priest.  It’s a bit odd, as Numbers 3:10 called the position to be for life.
Acts 4:7 Consider the ones asking the question, the same ones two months previous who questioned Jesus.
Acts 4:8 And now, the old weak Peter is about to read these same guys the Riot Act. So instead of being by the enemies fire in intimidation, he is lit by the fire of the HS.And when we are on fire, we will inevitably find ourselves under fire, (Eph 6:10 ff)
Acts 4:9 Look at Peter, wow, what a change!
Acts 4:11 Psalm 118:22. – We are called living stones, and we are being quarried here in the quarry, being perfectly carved together. This is a basic tenet of life, and there is going to be chafing and hurting, etc. as we are sanctified. This is our preparation.And now Peter nails it to the wall as the rejected cornerstone, Jesus, Dan 2:34-35, 45
Acts 4:13 Right on! What a parallel to today, with our apostate seminaries. But the key is being with Jesus. And just been, but are with Jesus.Moses spent time with God. Woe Moe, your face is aglow! But look at Moses. The way to put down the Law is to spend time with Jesus, then we have the authority to lay down the Law. We must be glowing.And time spent with Jesus, in prayer and in the Word, gives us the confidence borne of the Holy Spirit. Don’t leave home without it.
Acts 4:14-18 A wonderful apologetic argument. And the man healed stood with Peter and John. The only true test of friendship is staying there in the breach when the chips are down. And we can evaluate our friendship with Jesus when the same circumstances happen. We are the lame man, will we stand by the Lord as this lame man did?But as we see,. this argument  had no documented effect on these leaders. Miracles do not make converts, they bring one to a decision.
Acts 4:19 Here is the exception. In most other things,  we are to obey our God-appointed rulers. Here, since they oppose God’s orders Mat 28:20-21, they ought to be and were in fact, opposed.
Acts 4:20-24 Would to God that I could not stop talking about Him.  How is this?
Acts 4:25-29 Psalm 2:1-2
Acts 4:34-37 Lev 27:16

Memory Verse:

Acts 4:12“ – And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts, Bible Studies

Acts 2 – The Day of Pentecost

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This is the beginning of the Church. The real transition from the Old to New Testament, as we shall see.

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The Day of Pentecost

Acts:2-1 Here then are the essential elements the church then and now should be mindful of:

  1.  The day is fully come. The Holy Spirit, God the ply Spirit moves sovereignly as the Father directs. His timing is always precise and on time. We often feel there is nothing happening, a gap, or supposed silence befalls us, as it did for those 120, or the 430 years between Malachi and John the Baptist. Not a half measure, our heavenly Father  is precise in His timing. It is our act of worship/faith to accept this and anticipate something far beyond our own expectation. The word used is meant o be understood filled up completely, or fulfilled.
  2. The word used to describe one accord in the King James and NKJV is the word  ὁμοθυμαδὸν homothymadon, with a single mind. They were all in agreement and single minded about obeying Jesus and awaiting the Holy Spirit. Any thoughts otherwise were not publicly entertained, or subsumed to the unity of the group. This is an imperative for the church. We must seek the Father’s will if the Holy Spirit can work within us unimpeded by pettiness, distractions, or unreigned pride.
  3. They were gathered together in one place. (Can’t think of the meeting together passage. In other words, they were not scattered across in individual places, but come together (as shown in the previous chapter, to pray. Mat 18:20)

 
Acts 2:2-4 This giving of the Holy Spirit is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Mat 3:11 Mark 1:8 & Luke 3:16,  Luke 11:13. John 7:38 & 39 Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as rivers of living water. John 20:22 was an advance of this baptism. We receive the baptism of the Spirit when place our faith in Jesus Christ. It is not now something we wait on, it is an accomplished fact.It differs with having the Spirit come upon us. These occurrences we seek for daily. This amounts to a yielding to the Spirit and asking for his will in our life. Waiting on the Spirit now consists to yielding to His timing, and being in tune with Him not to get ahead or lag behind.

 

Sometimes we can only see this in hindsight. This is the relationship of faith in the believer, to step out, not desiring a “fleece” – some sign that we ask of God as to direction, but rather stepping out KNOWING that if the doors are open we go through. And usually, they do. If not, then we chalk the experience up to a no, or wait, I have something better response from our Heavenly Father.

 
Acts 2:4 Now, having been filled with the Holy Spirit, they begin speaking in tongues, (here languages), as directed by the Spirit. These are not “unknown tongues”, they were known by the people they were speaking to, as the list following showed, they were unknown only to the Disciples!There is a place for unknown tongues. But what is being exercised here is The Holy Spirit “what to speak in that hour, to quote Jesus. Luke 12:12
Acts 2:5-13 Part of the Holy Spirits exquisite timing is the gathering of all Jewish men who were able to Jerusalem for three feasts,  Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, (Shavout), and the Feast Tabernacles (Succot). All faithful Jewish men attended these. And they did so via the excellent roadways of the Roman Empire. So that when the church was born, all the conditions were there to allow it to expand rapidly far & wide, as desired by God.Of course that rapid spread would never be or is now, without scoffers, those who lok for a miraculous sign, obviously one here, or those who see this as foolishness. 1 Cor 1:18-21

 

The countries themselves form a compass around Israel on the Mediterranean.

 

It was common practice of the day at Synagogue, to include a reading of the mighty works of God; the Red Sea crossing, leading out of Egypt, and other victories given the Jews. In fact, it is often our most powerful testimony, to speak of the mighty works of God in our own lives. They may dispute the Bible, or the Gospel, but they cannot refute your personal testimony!

 

Peter’s Potent Portion

 

Acts 2:14-16 He starts the (2nd) greatest sermon ever by dismissing the mocking by refuting the accusation: this was not 21st century America were bars and liquor stores are open at 6 in the morning. It was unheard of to be drinking at 9 in the morning (the third hour).  1 Th 5:7 supports this. Drinking was a nighttime activity for that culture.Rather, he wants to ratchet up this crowd out of the earthy, crowd mentality, to a much higher plane. And he does it the same way we do, appeal to Scripture, appeal to the Bible. Don’t justify it, let it do it’s own work as Isaiah quotes Isa 55:11 and 2 Tim 3:16
Acts 2:16-21 Quoting Joel 2:28-32, Peter shows they assembled that the moment they are witnessing is a direct fulfillment of Scripture, as great as to being a witness to Neil Armstrong’s setting foot on the moon in 1969! To their as yet not believing eyes, they witnessed the power of the Spirit, which needed to be explained to them, as any good pastor should do.Peter ends the opening part with a Biblical call to salvation.
Acts 2:22-28 Now he quotes Psalm 16:8-11 in an apologetic to show how the plan of God was also freely carried out by their own people. They themselves knew Jesus. It also shows very clearly that the sovereignty of God is in no way at odds with the free will of mankind. They are not in opposition, as this passage clearly shows.Authentication:

Authentication is the way we show we are the person we say we are to someone who doesn’t know us. Almost all of us use passwords or scanners, etc. to prove who we are to people who don’t know who we are. This is precisely why Jesus performed the miracles, many unique, restoring vision (John 9:32) to authenticate He was who He claimed to be,  so that if you chose (choose now) to reject that claim, you did(do) so willfully ignoring the facts.

The Scripture Peter quotes he explains:
Acts 2:29-36 Peter sets up that the person David was talking about was not David, but one of his descendants v30, the Messiah V31. Peter shows now that Jesus is that Messiah spoken of by David.He then reiterates that is was not Davis in the passage, but Jesus, and then convicts the crowd of being participants-in-fact of that unjust  murder, to which God turns into His most glorious act, the salvation of the world!
Salvation

My Hope America – Billy Graham

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Bible Studies, Devotion, Hebrews

Hebrews Chapters 8 & 9

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Bible Study Made  Simple
Title – A Better Ministry A Better Covenant
Teaching – God’s Revelation to Man Shows His great Mercy Towards Us in the High Priesthood of His Son
Simply Broken Out  Summary / Thoughts

Heb 7:26-28 A reminder from Ch 7 that our High Priest is superior by His nature, not just office. How is it that Jesus is perfected? Isn’t He already perfect, as the 2nd person of the Trinity? Hint: Heb 2:10
Heb 8:1-6 The idea presented here is that what we see is only a crude physical manifestation of a reality beyond sin-degraded physical/mental/spiritual capacity. The progression begins in the Old Covenant (Old Testament), manifest in the New Testament through the revelation of Christ, and perfected when we enter into glory, where we can then fully appreciate the reality.This does not just apply to the Temple, although it is an excellent example to illustrate this revealing process,  but our spiritual growth (sanctification) works the same way. Another  example is the revelation of God’s character. Jer 31:34 quoted later in this chapter.
Heb 8:7-12 This revelation about His character includes His foreknowledge that the first covenant would fail because it was made with people who fail (sin) and needed rescue. It was never the intention to be able to “earn a ticket to Heaven” based on keeping the Law.Note that this is a covenant given plainly to the Jews. It is a clear OT/NT reference to a promise my by God in the OT and re-iterated here in the NT, also in Romans chapter 9, and by Paul in Romans 11:1-5, 25.At this point, in verse 11, Bible teachers will be out of a job. Your servant will go fishing.
8:13 This may well be an allusion, a hint of things to come, in the destruction of the Bible shortly after the writing of the book. 2 Cor 5:17

 

Heb 9:1-5 Again foreshadowings of the reality which is ChristHeb 8:7, but the substance is Christ Col 2:17Let’s take a stab at meaning and symbolism: Can it be that the Tabernacle now in Heaven, once on earth, is a type of Christ? Consider its elements:
It was on earth with the Jews, it is now in Heaven as is our Lord.
The golden altar of incense signifying how Christ ever lives to make intercession for us
It is covered around gold over wood, the living Christ in the flesh, wrapped in the majesty of gold.
The golden jar of manna is Jesus, the Bread of Life
The budding rod of Aaron is the symbol of Godly authority
The tables of the covenant are the perfection of the Law solely observed by Christ.
Heb 9:6-7 Once again, the writer drives home the point that the covering sacrifices and rituals are no longer necessary; the work was finished on the cross. “Te telesti” John 19:30. The human condition is such that we tend to fall away from relationship to ritual, in our personal relationships (can anyone say Facebook?), and in our worship, (do you sometimes go through the motions during worship or reading the Bible?). God understands this, and calls us out of ritual back to relationship through pursuing and heeding what He has to tell us through His written document.
Heb 9:8-10   This speaks as the Tabernacle was still standing, and previously that the Old Covenant was about to be done away with, signifying perhaps the imminent destruction of the Temple.People try to tear down the goodness of the Law and the Bible mockingly by pointing out obscure parts of it like two different kinds of cloth were not to be interwoven.The Law had three parts, the moral law (for instance, the 10 Commandments  eco 20:1-ft, Lev 19:18), civil law (for instance Lev 25:8-55 ), and ceremonial law (for instance Exo 25:10). This passage testifies that the ceremonial part of that law is about (and now is) done away with.
Heb 9:11-14 So, what ARE the “good things to come?Jesus entered, He offered, He obtained. What are the differences between He and the OT high priest?The annual sacrifices were a reminder to the people that they were sinners, who needed continual sacrifices to cover their sins. When Jesus comes, not only is the sin taken away, but our consciences are cleansed.
Heb 9:15-22 Titles of the Holy Spirit (see below)Testaments is best understood as a will. A will doesn’t take effect until somebody dies.
Heb 9:23-28 The shadows, the copies are the inferior representation of the actual, which is Jesus in Heaven, not high priest in tabernacle.

 

The Tabernacle of Moses

Memory Verse – One verse you have set to memory.“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” – Heb 9:27

Application – How will you live out what you have learned?
I will look to see where my life has become ritual and turn back to relationship.

Bible Studies, Jesus

Jesus and the Curse of Jeconiah

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God was fed up with the behavior of the Kings of Judah. Jeconiah was to be the “end of the line” as far  as God was concerned. Jeremiah the prophet, a contemporary of King Jeconiah (also called Coniah), prophesied thus:

“”As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.””
– Jeremiah 22:24-25

But God wasn’t finished with Jeconiah. He continued:

Michelangelo, lunetta, Josiah - Jechoniah - Shealtiel
Michelangelo, lunetta, Josiah – Jechoniah – Shealtiel

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David,  or ruling again in Judah.’ ” – Jeremiah 22:30

As Chuck Missler remarked, Satan and his angels must have been howling with delight, for God cursed the very line through which the Messiah would come. How rash could He be? After all, He promised David an eternal house (sometimes called the Davidic Covenant by people with black robes and those funny white collars, but I digress…):

When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.”

“He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with

michelangelo_david_head

the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.”
“Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” -2 Samuel 7:12-16

God had cursed the Davidic line after promising to David an eternal house. The consternation that ensued caused some to believe that his repentance and pious life caused God to relent of the curse:

“Jehoiachin’s sad experiences changed his nature entirely, and as he repented of the sins which he had committed as king he was pardoned by God, who revoked the decree to the effect that none of his descendants should ever become king… It was especially his firmness in fulfilling the Law that restored him to God’s favor.”

-The Jewish Encyclopedia entry for Jehoiachin, available at: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8543-jeconiah

We must certainly respect the Encyclopedia, but respectfully disagree, as there is no Biblical record of God’s relenting of His curse, for we must hold Scripture above human-inspired writings.

Well then we’re still left with a problem, aren’t we?

Yes, God was fed up with the behavior of the Kings of Judah. Jeconiah was to be the “end of the line” as far  as God was concerned.

So, God brought the lineage of the kings of Israel to an end. At the end of the Book of Kings, we read thus:

Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army was scattered from him. Then they captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed sentence on him.  – 2 Kings 25:1-6 (NASB)

Now the Holy Spirit does not mince words, or add unnecessary detail. Pay close attention to the time hack:

…ninth day of the fourth month. In the the Hebrew calendar, the date is significant.

Tisha Bav

Observant Jews observe fast days throughout the year. The Jewish Encyclopedia lists these  twenty six fast days on its site. One of them is the ninth day of the fourth month, Tisha Bav. The reasons stated on the Encyclopedia are:
“…it was decreed that Jews who went out of Egypt should not enter Palestine; the Temple was destroyed for the first and the second time; Bether was conquered (under Bar-Kochba and his unsuccessful 2nd revolt against the Romans in rev, and Jerusalem plowed over with a plowshare.”

So then the date, Tisha Bav, the ninth day of the fourth month is the date of calamity for the Jew. and not just Biblically. The Jews were expelled from Spain on Tisha Bav, the Holocaust is commemorated on Tisha Bav. The Jews also remember several programs under the Crusade on this day.

Back to our story, Jeconiah’s son Zedekiah fared poorly. He was captured, his family slaughtered before his eyes. Worse than that, it was the last thing he ever saw. His eyes were gouged out, he was put in chains, and hauled off to Idol City (aka Babylon), fulfilling a queer prophecy of Ezekiel , prophesied the whole sorry story:

“Say, ‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.’

“The prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out. He will cover his face so that he can not see the land with his eyes. I will also spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there.” Ezekiel 12:11b-13

But God

But God promised David (and Solomon) that the Messiah would be through the the line of David:

 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.” 2 Kings 7:12.

See also Psalm 89:20-ff.

End Game

Reading through the lineage of Matthew, we see that Jesus comes through the family line of Joseph, his legal father. That fatherhood goes straight back to David, giving Jesus legal title to the Throne of David. But the curse of Coniah (as God refers to him back in Jeremiah’s prophecy (thanks to Let us Resaon) because God didn’t want the prefix Ja- , (God) abasing Him, the curse is a blood curse, not a family curse.

How can that be? A blood curse but not a family curse? Consider Mary’s genealogy. Her blood goes all the way back to David, but not through Coniah. That line of kings were descendants of Solomon’s son Rehoboam (Mat1:7). Mary’s was through another son of Solomon, Nathan, who was not a part of that curse (Luke 3:31).

And so, there really is only one way to resolve the blood curse placed on Jeconiah, ah Coniah, and yet allow Jesus the legal ad royal bloodline to ascend the Throne of David forever. And we worship.

Why do these things matter? They matter, perhaps, because a lot of times, God doesn’t make sense. If you know God’s telling you something that doesn’t make sense, it could be a matter of perspective, or faith. God will come through on His promises, every last one, in inscrutable detail, although perhaps not the way you or I think they should.

Bible Studies, Hebrews

Hebrews Chapter 2

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Title – Two or three summary encapsulations of the chapter
We share a common humanity with Jesus with respect to the angels. His emptied humanity, suffered for us and was tempted, and this brought about salvation. That commonality extends into being able to be a priest for us since He can relate.

Teaching – What does it say? A paragraph breakdown summarized by a single sentence.

The best man for the priest job is One who is like us by choice and willing & able to save.
PassageSummary / Thoughts

Heb  2:2, Acts 7:53
Heb 2:2-3  If the old Law was important to avoid death, then the New Law authenticated by Christ and the miracles showing that authentication (signs, wonders, and gifts)is even more important in the age of grace. John 1:17 1 John 1:1-4
Heb 2:5  The world to come will be ruled by humans, who are now less in rank than the angels, but we don’t have a grasp on the way things will sort out in Christ’s millennial reign on earth.
Heb 2:5-8 quotes Psalms 8:4. The general gist here is that there is order ad ranking amongst humans, angels, and God; this passage seeks to give order to it. This was an echo of the command given in Gen 1:28
Heb 2:9-10 This goes hand in hand with the “emptying out” Jesus did in Phil 2:7-8. He, like we, were demoted below angelic stature for a while, but…
Heb 2:11 Since He (Jesus) is a man, we are then brothers, provided our trust and faith is in Him.
Heb 2:14-18 We have no more fear of death unlike angels, and since like us, can be a priest for us having suffered.

Personal Meaning – How do you interpret the significant passage(s)

My God is not a far off, hands off, unrelating God. He’s been in my shoes

Memory Verse – One verse you have set to memory.
Heb 2:18 – For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. NASB

Application – How will you live out what you have learned?

I’m going to call on Him when I need Him!

Bible Studies, Hebrews

Hebrews Chapter 1

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This is an example of one way to study the Bible. Probably not the best, the only, or anything else, but it does help me get “off the dime” when undergoing serious study. I was shown it at a College Bible study some years ago. Hope you like it.

I intend to post these in this form.

Chapter Summary Bible Study Method
Title  – Two or three summary encapsulations of the chapter

Jesus – God’s best final revelation and His supremacy to angels

Teaching –  What does it say? A paragraph breakdown summarized by a single sentence.

The chapter says thAt Jesus is the best revelation we get on this side of eternity because he not an ordinary angel messenger, but the saving Son of God.
Passage Summary / Thoughts

Hebrews 1:1-4, use Luke 20:9-18 as an illustrate God the Father’s assignment of Jesus as His final, best spokesman.
Heb 1:3  the glory of God is His salvation, in Yeshua, His Son, whose name means God is my salvation.”
Heb 1:4  name: Jesus’ essential person, that is the second person of the Trinity as opposed to the lesser angelic Sons of God (Job 1:6)  or adopted human (Gal 3:26, 4:6)
Heb 1:5-10 quotes Psalms 2:7, and 2 Sam 7:14 among at least 11 other Old Testament quotes. This is strong evidence suggesting the intended audience of the letter was the Jewish Christian
Heb 1:14 Appears to support the idea that we do have “Guardian angels.” 

Personal Meaning –  How do you interpret the significant passage(s)

op. cit. (see above)

Memory Verse –  One verse you have set to memory.

Heb 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. NASB

Application –  How will you live out what you have learned?
Tell others that Jesus is a saving God.