Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180029A
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00:31 Hello and welcome to another "3ABN Sabbath School Panel"
00:34 I'm Jill Morikone and we are so excited that you have 00:37 taken time from your day to sit down us as we open 00:40 up the word of God and study together. 00:43 We are on the third lesson of of this quarter 00:46 on the Book of Acts and I don't know about you all, 00:49 and you at home, but I've already been blessed 00:52 by this study together. 00:53 I want to introduce our panel to you at this time... 00:55 Sitting next to me, Pastor John Dinzey, 00:58 Sister Mollie Steenson, Sister Shelley Quinn, 01:01 and Pastor CA Murray, and it's a privilege 01:03 to open up the word of God with each one of you. 01:06 I feel almost as if I'm sitting at your feet as you share 01:09 on each one of your days and just learn what God, 01:13 through His word is going to share. 01:15 So we are excited about the lesson today. 01:17 Before we go any further, we want to go to the Lord 01:20 in prayer and ask for His anointing as we open up 01:23 His word and Mollie, would you pray for us today? 01:26 Holy Father, We come before you in the 01:28 name of Jesus. Lord, we praise You and 01:30 we thank You for Your presence that we sense 01:33 so strongly here. 01:34 Thank You Lord for sending Your Holy Spirit 01:36 to give us the power to bring forth Your word, Father, 01:41 that it will go forth and it will accomplish 01:43 what You would have it accomplish. 01:44 Now Lord, we commend our lives into Your hands; 01:47 we commend everything that You would have us say or do 01:50 into Your hands and Lord, to the best of our ability, 01:53 we yield to You that we'll just be vessels of honor 01:56 in Your kingdom today. In Jesus name... Amen 02:00 Amen, we're on Lesson #3 02:02 of our study of the Book of Acts. 02:04 "Life in the Early Church," and I just want to 02:06 encourage you... You can go to the website: 02:09 ABSG.Adventist.org 02:12 and you can download your own copy 02:15 of the "Adult Bible Study Guide" or we just call it 02:18 "The Sabbath School Quarterly, 02:19 and you can follow along with us. 02:21 That website once again is: ABSG.Adventist.org 02:28 and you can follow along or we always encourage you 02:31 here at 3ABN to visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 02:35 and they will give you a quarterly, will welcome you in 02:39 to study of the word of God of the Book of Acts. 02:41 If you think about the Book of Acts, it really follows 02:45 the 30 years following Jesus' resurrection and ascension 02:49 to heaven, that was in AD 31, and it goes all the way 02:53 to the expansion, really the explosion 02:56 of the early church - through the end of Paul's 03:00 first imprisonment which would be AD 62, so it covers those 03:04 30 years of pivotal church growth and church history. 03:07 The Book of Acts - really you can divide into eight 03:11 different sections and the first section, 03:13 the first three lessons we have been studying 03:15 to me fall under the first section, 03:17 that is "A Church is Born." 03:19 We look at Jesus ascending to His Father. 03:22 We look at the disciples in the upper room praying 03:25 for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 03:27 We look at Pentecost and what took place there. 03:30 And what the new church structure looked like, 03:34 and the early growth of the church. 03:36 Part #2 is - "The Church is Persecuted and Grows" 03:41 In that section, we look at "Stephen and Phillip," 03:43 and the "Conversion of Saul of Tarsus." 03:47 The third section is "Peter and the Beginning 03:50 of Gentile Christianity," and the gospel as it began to 03:53 go to the Gentiles." 03:55 And then, of course, we have "Paul's First Missionary 03:57 Journey" - that's #4, then we have 04:01 "The Jerusalem Council," it's called in Acts 15 04:05 where the issue of the Gentile 04:07 Christians need to be circumcised?" 04:09 And then the next section would be "Paul's Second 04:11 Missionary Journey," then "Paul's Third 04:14 Missionary Journey," and the final section is 04:17 "Paul's Final Journey" as he went from Jerusalem, 04:20 Caesarea and then all the way to Rome as a prisoner. 04:23 It's kind of the breakdown of the eight sections 04:26 of the Book of Acts and right now, this week, 04:28 we're looking at the Early Church. 04:30 Last week, we talked about Pentecost and Peter, 04:32 and that sermon and 3,000 people being added to the church. 04:37 My day is Sunday, we will look at teaching and fellowship, 04:40 but before we do that, we always like to read 04:42 our memory text together. 04:44 So our memory text is found in Acts 2:46-47. 04:49 Let's read it and you at home, read with us as well. 04:52 "Every day they continue to meet together in the temple courts. 04:58 They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad 05:02 and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor 05:07 of all the people." 05:09 Now my day on Sunday, we're really going to look at 05:12 the details of the early Christian Church or you say 05:16 the characteristics that comprised the believers there 05:20 right after this great sermon Peter preached 05:23 and the birth of the new church. 05:24 That's found in Acts 2. 05:26 We want to encourage you to turn to Acts 2. 05:28 We're looking at 42 through 47. 05:31 Before we read that, you know when I was growing up, 05:34 I always thought that the church in Acts 2 was to be a 05:38 type of symbol or a type of prototype for what the church 05:43 down through the ages is supposed to look like, 05:45 and I still believe that. 05:46 Having said that though, as I studied a little deeper, 05:50 the church in Acts 2 had a need for some maturity 05:55 as well and you can see as we go through the Book of Acts, 05:58 you can see the church maturing as it were. 06:01 If you think about there were 120 believers in the upper room 06:05 and then Peter had the great sermon and 3,000 were baptized. 06:09 So what does that mean? 06:10 That means less than 4% of the church at this time, 06:14 in Acts 2:42, were mature Christians of any sort. 06:18 Less than 4% had come through Jesus' crucifixion, 06:22 and the resurrection and ascension. 06:23 Now maybe they had observed it from a distance, 06:26 but they weren't Christians at that time. 06:28 Less than 4% had really sat underneath the teaching 06:32 of Jesus while He walked on this earth. 06:34 And so in the early church, we will see here that they 06:37 gathered DAILY for study which is incredible! 06:40 As we go later throughout Acts, we begin to see that 06:43 they gathered weekly on the Sabbath and you can see that. 06:46 We see this early church here is dependent, 06:50 not dependent, but they get everything from the apostles. 06:54 As we move into Acts 6 and beyond, 06:56 the leadership is spread out from the apostles 06:59 then it moves to deacons and others within the church. 07:02 We see the church here selling possessions and placing 07:06 proceeds at the apostles' feet. 07:08 Later in Acts 6, they develop a better way of distribution 07:13 of those who had money to those who need it, 07:16 and had needs within the church. 07:18 We see here that the church is still comprised of 07:21 Jewish people and not only that, they believed it was 07:23 to be composed of only Jewish people. 07:25 Later, as we go through Acts, we see that 07:28 the gospel is to go to the Gentile world as well. 07:32 We see here that the church is well-respected and esteemed. 07:36 Later, the church is going to be persecuted. 07:40 So you see what happens as we progress 07:42 through the Book of Acts. 07:43 Let's look at the eight characteristics 07:45 of the early church... 07:47 Those eight characteristics are found in these verses. 07:50 We at Acts 2, we'll start on verse 42... 07:54 "And they continued... ... now they is the 3,000 people 07:57 who were just baptized, that is the verse before 08:00 the 3,000 added to the 120 believers in the upper room... 08:04 ...and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' 08:07 doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread 08:10 and in prayer." 08:12 Now right there in that first verse, 08:13 we have four characteristics already of the early church. 08:18 It says, "They continued steadfastly." 08:20 Steadfastly in the Greek means to continue to do 08:23 something with intense effort; to devote oneself to; 08:28 to keep on; to persist; to give constant attention to something. 08:32 So I think Luke is telling us that the disciples, 08:37 the new believers, the church, were not just... 08:40 "Okay, they're giving themselves to Apostles' doctrine, 08:42 just a little bit of Bible reading and just a little bit 08:45 of spending time in the temple, and just a little 08:47 bit of fellowship," but it says "steadfastly, they devoted 08:51 themselves to this. 08:54 They were focused, Brother Johnny, on this mission. 08:57 So what were the eight characteristics 08:59 that they were so focused on? 09:00 First it says, "In the apostles doctrine." 09:04 Now "doctrine" can mean several different things. 09:06 In this instance, it's referring specifically to 09:08 the act of teaching or instruction. 09:12 So they devoted themselves, as it were, sitting 09:15 underneath the tutelage of the apostles - who were 09:19 much more mature Christians who had come through 09:22 that journey with Jesus and sat at His feet, 09:25 who had experienced that outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 09:28 So the teaching, as you look through the Book of Acts, 09:31 the teaching in Peter's sermon in Acts 2; 09:33 the teaching in Stephen's sermon in Acts 6 or is it 7, 09:38 7 I believe; the teaching of Paul's first recorded sermon, 09:42 in Acts 13... they all center on Jesus; Jesus' life, 09:46 Jesus' ministry, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, 09:51 and the life ministry, death, burial and resurrection 09:54 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 09:56 So, the new church focused on, of course, many other 09:59 doctrines, but specifically on the Lord Jesus Christ. 10:03 The 2nd characteristic besides focused on the 10:06 apostles' teaching is fellowship. 10:08 They continued in fellowship. 10:11 The word for fellowship is "koinonia," 10:14 and that means "a joint participation, 10:17 an intimate bond of fellowship." 10:20 Have you ever noticed that you can have brothers and sisters 10:23 in the church that you feel closer connected with them 10:27 than maybe even blood family than people who 10:31 you are actually related too? 10:32 What is that? That's "koinonia." 10:35 That is this intimate fellowship that comes as the result of 10:39 the same focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, 10:42 the same mission, the same goals, 10:45 the same unity in the church, so the early 10:47 Christian Church had koinonia, they had fellowship 10:51 with one another. 10:52 The 3rd characteristic it said, "In the breaking 10:54 of bread," and then you see this as well down in verse 46. 11:00 It talks about "They broke bread from house to house." 11:03 So Luke breaks it down even more at that point. 11:05 I think the breaking of bread, now of course, we know this can 11:08 symbolize communion and the breaking of bread, 11:11 but I think in addition to that, it symbolizes 11:14 they actually went to each other's homes, 11:16 and they shared meals together, that was that "koinonia" 11:20 as it were, not only the spiritual fellowship, 11:23 but physical fellowship as well. 11:26 You ever notice when you go to someone's house to eat, 11:28 you get to know them a lot better - you know, 11:30 you just find out who they are and how they live. 11:33 It's much more intimate than just passing in the church. 11:37 So they had that breaking of bread together. 11:40 The 4th thing is prayers, "They continued steadfastly 11:43 in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, 11:46 and in prayers and I think this referred to both private 11:50 and corporate prayers... they continued in that. 11:53 Next verse, verse 43... "Then fear came upon 11:56 every soul, and many wonders and signs were done 12:00 through the apostles." 12:02 Now the fear in this case meaning reverent awe 12:04 came upon people and why did this reverent 12:07 awe come upon them? 12:08 Little wonder, I mean - can you imagine if you lived in that 12:12 time and the... you know, there was big news 12:15 about Jesus being crucified, and then just a few days 12:18 later, 50 days right? ... the outpouring of the 12:21 Holy Spirit and to see that take place...when they had 12:26 never seen something like that take place before. 12:28 So people were amazed at what was going on and then miracles 12:32 and signs and wonders began to happen. 12:35 In Mark 16, we won't look it up, but if you look it up, 12:38 Mark 16:17-18, this is just after Jesus' great commission 12:42 in Mark... "Jesus says, "And these signs will follow those 12:46 who believe: In My name, they will cast out demons; 12:49 they will speak with new tongues; 12:51 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything 12:54 deadly, it will by no means hurt them; 12:56 they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover." 12:59 So the miracles and signs that took place, I know 13:02 Brother Johnny will talk about one of those miracles 13:04 taking place in the New Testament Church. 13:07 The 6th characteristic is in the next verse, 45, 13:11 "and sold their possessions and goods and divided them 13:13 among all as anyone had need." 13:15 So they shared things in common. 13:20 When someone had a need, they sold that property, 13:24 possession whichever they had and shared it with 13:26 those people in need. 13:28 #7, Next verse, "So continuing daily with one accord 13:33 in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, 13:35 they ate their food with gladness and simplicity 13:37 of heart, praising God and having favor with all 13:40 the people. And the Lord added to the church daily 13:43 those who were being saved." 13:45 So #7 is they prayed to God, they were joyful in 13:49 their Christian experience. 13:52 And #8, there was consistent growth from the Lord. 13:55 The Lord added daily to the church 13:57 those who were being saved. 13:59 So when I think of the early church, 14:00 I see a joyful people, willing to learn and be taught 14:04 from the word of God and the apostles. 14:06 I see a loving, caring people who enjoyed fellowship 14:10 with each other and freely shared with those in need. 14:14 I see a holy people who spent time in 14:16 prayer and praise to God. 14:19 And finally, I see a humble people through whom God 14:22 could work miracles and grow the church into a mighty 14:25 army that could change the world. 14:28 And Johnny! Amen, praise the Lord! 14:30 Well, I have the joy of talking about Acts 3, 14:34 or at least some portion of it. 14:36 And so this is what we call "Monday's part" 14:41 in the Sabbath School Lesson, and again, we encourage you 14:44 to download the Sabbath School Lesson - it is absolutely free, 14:47 or you may want to visit one of the 14:49 Seventh-day Adventist Churches to get one and they will be 14:53 glad to share one with you. 14:54 And so I would like to read to you from Acts 3 14:58 because this is a WONDERFUL story and now Acts 3 15:02 begins with Peter and John went to the temple 15:06 at the 3 o'clock hour to pray, and, of course, this indicates 15:11 that they continued following some of the things 15:13 they were doing before. 15:14 The early Christian Church followed many of the things 15:17 that were done - it was a good practice to go 15:19 to prayer at 3 o'clock at the temple. 15:21 So, this opportunity, when they went, there was a man 15:27 sitting by the door asking for alms, asking for 15:32 some type of help because of his condition, 15:36 and I love this story. 15:39 And I would like to begin reading to you in verse 3, 15:42 who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, 15:45 asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, 15:49 with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 15:52 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive 15:55 something from them... Oh, these guys are gonna help me. 15:58 And then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, 16:03 but what I do have, I give you: 16:06 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 16:11 WOW, what a message he received, better than any amount of 16:16 money he could receive that day, "In the name of Jesus Christ, 16:19 rise up and walk." 16:21 Boy, I wonder what he thought when he heard that. 16:24 He said, "Wait a minute, he's just asking me to "get UP." 16:28 And so this is a marvelous thing, let's continue reading. 16:31 "And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, 16:34 and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 16:38 So he leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple 16:44 with them - walking, leaping, and praising God. 16:47 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 16:50 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms 16:54 at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple; 16:55 and they were filled with wonder and amazement 16:57 at what happened to him." 17:00 And this is a marvelous miracle, one of the miracles that really 17:04 kind of caught the attention of some of the leaders... 17:08 And so there are some things that we need to learn from here, 17:12 and I have to kind of hurry because time seems to 17:14 go on high gear when you're talking about the Lord. 17:17 In verses 12-26, we see an outline of the message 17:24 that Peter gave because people saw this miracle, 17:27 and then they were all looking at them amazed, 17:30 and you know, there's a tendency for that sometimes... 17:33 when somebody preaches or God uses somebody for a miracle, 17:36 that people begin to think, "That person is special, 17:39 that person," and so some glory begins to go to the person 17:43 and if that person is not centered in the Lord, 17:45 some deviation from the Lord will take place. 17:49 BUT, notice what Peter said in Acts 3:12... 17:54 "And when Peter saw it, he responded to the 17:58 people; "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? 18:01 Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power 18:05 or godliness we had made this man walk?" 18:09 And so he begins to preach to them a sermon... 18:13 The God of Abraham and Isaac, by Jesus Christ... 18:17 that's how this man is walking... through Jesus Christ, 18:20 the power of Jesus Christ. 18:21 And he tells them that you have crucified Him and God the Father 18:26 raised Him from the dead and so 18:28 we have here some powerful things. 18:30 I'm just gonna go through some of the verses... 18:32 In verse 15, he says, "And you killed the Prince of life, 18:35 whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses." 18:38 In verse 18, he says, "But those things which God hath foretold 18:42 by the mouth of all his prophets...notice this... 18:44 that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled." 18:48 In verse 19, he says, "Repent therefore and be converted, 18:51 that your sins may be blotted out." 18:53 Look at verse 21, "Jesus Christ who was at the right 18:56 hand of the Father, whom heaven must receive until 18:59 the times of restoration of all things which God has 19:02 spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets 19:04 since the world began." 19:06 Verse 22, he takes him to Moses, 19:08 "For Moses truly said to the fathers." 19:10 And verse 24, "Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel 19:15 and those who follow, as many as have spoken, 19:17 have foretold of these days." 19:19 So what does Peter do? 19:21 Peter puts them on the firm foundation of the 19:23 Holy Scriptures, helps them to understand what has happened 19:27 is a fulfillment of prophecy and he is building on 19:32 truth that they already knew. 19:34 And I want to say that in every age, 19:36 there's an unfolding of truth. 19:38 And I say, "An unfolding of truth," because this 19:41 is what was really happening. 19:43 Jesus Christ came, lived a perfect life, died on the cross 19:48 for us and rose again from the dead to become our High Priest. 19:53 And this is a message that was building on what the 19:57 Jews already had. 19:59 God had told them to build a temple. 20:00 God had told them about the animal sacrifices, 20:03 and this is what now... remember, 20:06 John the Baptist says, "Behold the Lamb of God which 20:09 taketh away the sin of the world." 20:11 So, messages were being given to them so that they understood 20:15 there is coming an unfolding of truth because in every age, 20:20 there's an unfolding of truth. 20:21 It doesn't change the truth from the past. 20:24 It builds on it! Amen! 20:26 See, that's what we have today. 20:28 There's an unfolding of truth that had built on the old truth, 20:32 but it makes it brighter, makes it a more complete message. 20:38 And this is what we have... Jesus Christ came, 20:41 lived a perfect life, became the Lamb of God, 20:45 was crucified, rose again, and now He is 20:49 ministering in heaven as our High Priest, 20:51 and this is what the Jews had to understand 20:54 from the sacrificial system, that Jesus Christ 20:57 would be their High Priest. 20:58 Now, there were some points to the message that 21:01 Peter gave and this is what has characterized 21:03 a lot of the preaching of the early Christians... 21:05 #1, Jesus was the suffering Messiah, Acts 3:18. 21:09 God had resurrected Him. Acts 3:15 21:11 Jesus was exalted in heaven. Acts 3:13 21:16 He will come again. Acts 3:20 21:19 And #5, Repentance is necessary for the forgiveness of sins. 21:25 And so this is what the message that the disciples were giving. 21:30 And, of course, as you continue reading in the New Testament, 21:34 you see later that the Book of Hebrew comes and it's just 21:39 an unfolding of truth and it's a marvelous, marvelous 21:43 message for each and every one of us. 21:45 So, what do we preach today? 21:49 Today, we have to give the same message... 21:52 Jesus Christ is the Messiah; Jesus Christ came, 21:56 lived a perfect life, died for us and He is our 22:01 High Priest in heaven; and Jesus Christ 22:05 is coming again. 22:06 These are the elements of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 22:08 and Jesus Christ is always in the center of all the doctrine. 22:12 Amen! Amen! If Jesus Christ is not in the 22:15 center of your doctrine, then you have to look 22:16 at that and ask yourself, "Is it founded on 22:19 the Scripture, because when you look at the Scripture, 22:21 it all points to Jesus as our Messiah, our wonderful 22:25 High Priest. 22:26 And so, I want to encourage our viewers to continue 22:30 to search the Scriptures; in them there is truth 22:33 for life; in them there is truth that we need 22:36 for today and I want to quote from a book by 22:42 Sister Ellen G. White, "Gospel Workers," p. 156-157 22:46 In this paragraph it talks about the Three Angels Messages 22:51 and it says, "The great center of attraction, Christ Jesus, 22:55 must not be left out. 22:56 It is at the cross of Christ that mercy and truth 23:00 meet together and righteousness and peace kiss each other. 23:04 The sinner must be led to look to Calvary with the simple 23:07 faith of a little child. 23:09 He must trust in the merits of the Savior, accepting 23:12 His righteousness, believing in His mercy." 23:15 And so, the Christian Church was... I want to add this too 23:19 because the Christian Church was started by Jews. 23:23 God used the Jewish people to start the Christian faith, 23:27 and it is really a building on something that God 23:32 had already taught the Jewish people - that were supposed to 23:35 be a light to the world. 23:37 And we want to leave this message with you because 23:41 the disciples preached this message, 23:44 we must continue preaching this message and Jesus said, again, 23:47 "And this gospel of the kingdom must be preached 23:49 in all the world for a witness unto all nations, 23:52 and then the end shall come." Look at what's going on... 23:54 It is easier to preach the gospel now than ever. 23:57 What are we doing right here? 23:59 We are preaching the gospel to radio and television, 24:01 and the internet - millions of people 24:03 can watch at the same time. 24:05 The message is going forth and prophecy is being fulfilled. 24:09 Amen, Amen, Amen! 24:10 You know, Johnny, the most amazing thing about truth 24:13 ... now you said it - Truth builds on prior truth. 24:18 Truth doesn't do away with past truth. 24:20 But you know what truth will do? 24:22 Exposed past error. Exactly! 24:25 And you know, that's what when Christ came, 24:28 and the true gospel was being taught, past error was 24:32 being exposed and that's what the people didn't like 24:35 was for past error... Yes 24:37 Now today, I've got Tuesday, 24:40 and it's, "The Rise of Opposition." 24:43 Let me ask you this... When someone is experiencing 24:49 great success, what does it seem like 24:53 always arises in that? 24:56 Opposition! It's going to be opposition. 24:59 The devil doesn't like it. 25:01 But what is that opposition usually triggered by? 25:04 I'm going to use the word "jealousy." 25:06 Yes, okay - the opposition came - now this is 25:10 going to surprise us all... from the Jewish leaders, 25:14 the religious folk, the high priest and his associates 25:19 most of whom were Sadducees. 25:21 The high priest was also the president 25:25 of the Sanhedrin Council. 25:27 Now, we're going to talk about the Sanhedrin Council and we 25:31 will do that several times in this study this quarter, 25:34 and Sadducees and Pharisees, and so I wanted to just 25:39 kind of lay a little picture of something that we would 25:42 understand - well, here in the United States anyway. 25:45 The Sanhedrin is kind of like our Supreme Court. 25:49 The Sanhedrin was to the Jewish faith - was kind of 25:52 like our Supreme Court. 25:54 The Sadducees and Pharisees were kinda like 25:57 Republicans and Democrats. 25:59 Now do Republicans and Democrats ever cross swords? 26:03 Do they ever agree on anything? 26:04 Well see, the Sadducees and the Pharisees 26:06 didn't agree on a whole lot either. 26:08 And the high priest was the president of the 26:12 Sanhedrin Council... so that's kind of what 26:15 we're talking about here, okay. 26:17 The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection, 26:22 and Peter and John's teaching. 26:24 What were they teaching? 26:26 The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and that just 26:29 disturbed them greatly. 26:30 The Pharisees... I believe you mentioned once CA, 26:35 that there were about 6,000 Pharisees in a population 26:40 of about 30,000 people, so that would make 26:42 one-fifth of the population were Pharisees. 26:45 But now that was more like the general populace, 26:47 am I right in that? In Jerusalem. 26:49 In Jerusalem, yes. 26:51 Now the Sadducees, they were more the higher echelon, 26:54 maybe that's what they were. 26:57 Okay, so we see that opposition is coming, 27:01 and I wanted to start reading. 27:03 I'm going to start in Acts 4, we'll start with verse 1. 27:06 It says, "Now as they spoke to the people... and what we're 27:10 talking about here is Peter and John as they're 27:13 speaking to the people. 27:14 The priest, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees 27:18 came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught 27:22 the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 27:27 And they laid hands on them... that doesn't sound like 27:31 something I would want to happen to me... 27:34 and put them in custody until the next day, 27:37 for it was already evening. 27:38 However, many of those who heard the word believed; 27:42 and the number of the men came to be about 5,000." 27:47 So, is the early church receiving great success 27:52 at the preaching of Peter and John? 27:55 Of course it is... why? 27:56 Because they're preaching the word of God. 27:58 All right now, verse 5... "And it came to pass, 28:02 on the next day, that their rulers, elders and scribes, 28:06 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and 28:11 Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the 28:14 high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem... 28:17 Now listen to this... and when they had set them 28:20 in the midst, they asked, "By what... and here is a clue, 28:26 by what power or by what name have you done this?" 28:31 You know what they're interested in? 28:32 That power... they're interested in the power. 28:35 Their concern was the power because 28:38 if they have power and you don't, what do they want? 28:43 They want that power, and if you can't 28:46 control it, what do you want to do? 28:48 You want to kill it! 28:49 Okay, now chapter 4:8... "Then Peter... and I just love 28:56 Peter... here he goes again, filled with the Holy Spirit 29:00 said to them... now he's talking to the religious 29:04 leaders, he said to them, "Rulers of the people 29:07 and elders of Israel, "If we this day are judged 29:11 for a good deed done to a helpless man... now what 29:15 are they talking about here? 29:16 It's that lame man, isn't it, Johnny? 29:19 That went jumping and dancing and praising God 29:23 right in the temple. 29:25 "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a 29:29 helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 29:33 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel 29:38 that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth... 29:41 now look who he's talking to, whom you crucified 29:45 ... but who God raised from the dead, 29:48 by Him this man stands here before you whole. 29:51 This is the "stone which was rejected by you builders, 29:57 and which has become the chief cornerstone." 30:00 Peter did not mince words, he laid it out for them. 30:04 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other 30:10 name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved? 30:15 Now verse 13, "Now when they saw... now who is the "they?" 30:21 It's the leaders, it's the Sadducees, the Pharisees, 30:24 the high priest - when they saw the boldness of 30:28 Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, 30:32 and untrained men, they marveled. 30:35 And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 30:39 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, 30:43 they could say nothing against it. 30:46 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the 30:50 council, they conferred among themselves, 30:52 saying, "What shall we do to these men? 30:55 For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done 30:59 through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, 31:03 and we cannot deny it. 31:04 But so that it spreads no further among the people... 31:08 what's their objective? So that it spreads no further 31:12 among the people, let us severely threaten them 31:15 that from now on they speak to no man in this name. 31:20 So they called them and commanded them not to speak 31:24 to or teach in the name of Jesus." 31:28 Now we're going to see the rest of that story in just a minute. 31:30 But right now, I want you to go to Matthew 10. 31:35 Matthew 10, we're going to start with verse 16... 31:38 Jesus calls His twelve apostles together and gives them 31:43 power to minister and some instructions. 31:45 So this is Matthew, before Jesus is exalted, He gives 31:50 instructions to the apostles. 31:53 So he says, "Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst 31:57 of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless 32:01 as doves. But beware of men for they will deliver you up 32:06 to councils and scourge you in their... what's that next word? 32:09 Synagogues. Synagogues! 32:11 Now is this people outside the church or inside the church? 32:15 Inside the church. Outside the church they 32:16 didn't have synagogues. 32:17 Jesus is warning them about the religious folk... 32:21 saying, " You will be brought before governors and kings 32:24 for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 32:27 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how 32:31 or what you should speak; for it will be given to you 32:34 in that hour what you should speak for it is not 32:38 you who speaks, but the Spirit of your Father 32:41 who speaks in you." 32:43 So let me ask you this... 32:46 What did those religious leaders really fear? 32:49 It wasn't James and John, was it? Not James and John, 32:53 John and Peter... It wasn't them because 32:56 what they said about them is, "We perceive them to be 32:59 uneducated and untrained men." 33:02 So they were out to destroy something, to stop something. 33:06 Their fear was for the message and the power that 33:10 went with that message. 33:12 They feared the message of a risen Savior, 33:15 and they feared the people changing their allegiance 33:19 from them to the message of our Lord and Savior 33:22 Jesus Christ who brought them HOPE for a future, 33:27 and deliverance - the opposition was about power... 33:31 Who had the power over the hearts of the people. 33:34 They were trying to protect their power... 33:38 that's called self-protection. 33:40 Now this is Peter and John's final words... 33:45 Acts 4:19-20, "But Peter and John answered and said to them.. 33:49 talking to the religious leaders, "Whether it is right 33:53 in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, 33:56 you judge. For we cannot but speak the things 34:00 which we have seen and heard." 34:02 Amen, amen and amen! 34:04 Oh I love their BOLDNESS! 34:08 I think you got a little Peter in you too, 34:10 a little cayenne as CA would say. Ha, ha, ha. 34:14 Okay, I have Wednesday's lesson, and this is a story that 34:21 in many people, it raises eyebrows, and some people 34:24 are concerned about. 34:25 So we're going to be talking about Ananias and Sapphira. 34:28 I'd like to back up just a little in Scripture, 34:30 and give you some context. 34:33 In Acts 4:32 is where we'll begin... 34:36 "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart 34:40 and soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things 34:43 he possessed was his own, but they had all things in 34:46 common. And with great power the apostles gave witness 34:49 to the resurrection of the Lord. And great grace 34:53 was upon them all. Nor was there anyone 34:56 among them who lacked; for all who were possessors 35:00 of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds 35:02 of the things that were sold, and laid them at 35:04 the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each one 35:08 as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also 35:12 named Barnabas by the apostles which is translated 35:15 "Son of Encouragement," a Levite of the country of 35:19 Cyprus, having land, he sold it, he brought the money 35:23 and laid it all at the apostles' feet." 35:27 So the generosity of Barnabas is being brought out there, 35:31 but this was a voluntary action, it was not 35:35 compulsory for them to do this. 35:37 Likely they believed that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 35:42 meant that Jesus' second coming was going to be 35:46 soon and they knew that God would provide everything 35:49 that they needed - that's what they believed. 35:51 But as you said, the opposition had started 35:54 from without and so these people were taking care of one another. 35:59 So Acts 5:1... now just remember this, this is an abbreviated 36:06 account - when you think you've got 30 years in these 36:09 few chapters of Acts, everything is an abbreviated account. 36:14 So Luke is going to tell us about Ananias and Sapphira. 36:18 "But a certain man, Acts 5:1, a certain man named Ananias 36:23 with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession and he kept back 36:26 part of the proceeds. His wife also being 36:30 aware of it and he brought a certain part 36:32 and laid it at the apostles' feet. 36:35 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart 36:39 to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price 36:44 of the land for yourself?" 36:45 So what happened here is the Holy Spirit is revealing 36:50 to Peter that there is a conspiracy because 36:54 Ananias and Sapphira are coming forward and they're 36:57 acting like - "We're giving it all, we're giving it all, 37:01 we're so sacrificial." 37:03 And they were doing it, you know, trying to 37:06 get the acclaim and you can read in the story, you know 37:10 they wanted to be seen as generous. 37:13 But Peter recognized... first let me say this... 37:18 Can Satan tempt the hearts of believers - - or fill 37:22 the hearts of believers? 37:24 Obviously he did here, he filled their hearts with 37:26 pride, deceit, duplicity, and so what happened... 37:32 Peter recognizes their hypocrisy, and you know, 37:37 I have to say that hypocrisy is the sin of... 37:41 hypocrisy is still a cancer in the church today, 37:46 would you agree? Yes 37:48 So here we've got... they're trying to do something 37:53 and make it look like something else. 37:55 The Holy Spirit leads Peter, and we've got to 37:58 make this point... God knows everything we do. 38:01 You know, I hear people talking about "secret sins, 38:04 secret sins," there's no such thing as a secret sin. 38:08 Psalm 69:5 says, "O God, You know my foolishness; 38:13 And my sins are not hidden from You." 38:15 So continuing in Acts 5:4... Here he had said to them, 38:22 "Why has Satan filled your heart so that you lie 38:26 to the Holy Spirit, hold back part of it," 38:28 And in verse 4, he said, "While it remained, 38:31 was is not your own? And after it sold, 38:33 was it not in your own control?" 38:36 There was no requirement for the couple to give all 38:38 of the proceeds, whatever belonged to them was theirs. 38:43 It did not belong to the church, but after they sold 38:46 the proceeds, it was up to them to decide what to do... 38:49 So their sin wasn't in keeping part of the money, 38:53 their sin was in lying about it and pretending to give it all. 38:58 So continuing in verse 4... Oh this is important. 39:02 "Why had you conceived this thing in your heart? 39:06 You had not lied to men, but to God." 39:11 I think this is a very important text about the 39:14 Deity of the Holy Spirit when he says, "You've not lied 39:17 to men, but to God," and he has already asked him, 39:21 Hey, why are you lying to the Holy Spirit? 39:25 "Then Ananias, verse 5, hearing these words, 39:28 fell down and breathed his last." 39:30 So great fear came upon all those who heard these things." 39:34 See the stunning result of their hypocrisy... 39:39 They were immediately struck down. 39:41 We'll see his wife leaves as well. 39:43 And, you know, perhaps it could have been 39:46 psychological fear that, you know, the exposure 39:49 that overcame him perhaps, he could have had a 39:51 heart attack, but no less it was ordained of God 39:54 because we're going to see this repeated in just a moment. 39:57 God was surgically removing the sin of hypocrisy 40:03 because this could have affected the entire 40:06 new community and undermined the Holy Spirit's 40:09 work in the early Christian Church. 40:11 So this is an exceptional case of swift, divine judgment. 40:18 It reminds me of Acts 12:23 where King Herod was 40:22 being hailed as God and he did not give God the glory 40:29 and he also keeled over. 40:32 But it was unique circumstances, judgment came 40:40 because they lied to the Holy Spirit and to the church, 40:43 and here God is working all these miracles... 40:46 I mean, we're seeing the presence of God 40:49 in such a major way that I think God had to show them 40:53 right away - sin has consequences. 40:58 So it says in verse 6... "And the young men arose 41:01 and wrapped him up in linen... wrapped him up would be 41:06 the linen grave clothes... carried him out and buried him. 41:08 Now it was about three hours later when his wife 41:10 Sapphira comes in, not knowing what happened 41:12 and Peter asks her, Hey, what's going on? 41:17 Or she asks is what happened and Peter answered... 41:20 "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" 41:22 And she said, Yeah, that's how much we sold it for. 41:25 And you know what happened? 41:27 Here she is, she's a co-conspirator 41:29 getting caught in the same lie as her husband. 41:32 And Peter says, "How is it that you have agreed 41:35 together to test the Spirit of the Lord?" 41:37 Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband 41:41 are at the door, and they will carry you out." 41:43 That's the shortest Jewish funeral there ever was, right? 41:47 It was just three hours later, but immediately 41:51 she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. 41:54 And the young men came in, found her dead, 41:56 carried her out, they buried her by her husband." 41:59 So Peter has explained her sin as the same as the husband. 42:07 It's lying to God, to the Holy Spirit who is God. 42:11 It is hypocrisy and he later wrote in 1 Peter 4:17, 42:17 "It is time for judgment to begin at the house of the Lord." 42:22 I think judgment begins here because God didn't want 42:26 this new church to be infected with hypocrisy. 42:30 So "great fear," verse 11 says, came upon all the church 42:35 and upon all who heard these things." 42:37 So the church was in fear, the city was in fear, 42:41 the power of God... and this is not all the 42:43 details - perhaps God gave them a chance to repent, 42:49 but we gotta know that sin is serious and their sin 42:53 was from totally selfish motivations, 42:56 it was deliberate, it was calculated and they were 43:00 trying to get prestige, popularity and influence. 43:05 But you know we have to remember this... 43:07 Peter also wrote in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack 43:13 concerning His promises, as some count slackness, 43:16 but He is longsuffering toward us, not willing that 43:21 any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 43:25 So God is gracious and His punishment is often 43:29 delayed in His patience. 43:32 But here's a quote from the Quarterly... 43:35 "The bottom line is that, from the beginning to end, 43:38 they had acted sinfully, and sin is a serious matter 43:41 in God's eyes, even if He does not always punish it 43:45 immediately. In fact, that punishment is often deferred 43:50 should constantly remind us of how gracious God is." 43:59 Well done Shelley. Amen! 44:01 And it leads into Thursday's lesson which is 44:05 "The Second Arrest." 44:07 I want to read something from the Sabbath School Quarterly, 44:13 I'm going to step back for just a moment. 44:14 It says, "If the apostles could be used to bring God's 44:18 judgment on sin, as in Ananias and Sapphira' s 44:21 case, they could also be used to bring God's grace on sinners." 44:27 This dunamis that was given to them was a power to 44:33 keep the church pure. 44:35 We need to remember this is a pure institution. 44:40 This is the "white horse" of Revelation 6. 44:42 Before the red horse, the black horse, the pale horse, 44:45 this is a church that has moved forward 44:48 conquering and to conquer. 44:50 These are people who are on fire for the Lord. 44:54 They are zealous for the Lord. 44:56 They are sharing things, they're seeing miracles happen. 44:59 God is guiding His church and it's a wonderful institution... 45:04 There is "koinonia" which is fellowship. 45:06 There is "diakonia" which is teaching and doctrine. 45:09 They are married together, preaching is going on. 45:12 Teaching is going on and daily people are coming to this 45:16 new institution. 45:17 They are coming to church, they're coming to the Lord. 45:19 Now, of course, 1 Peter 4:12, tells me, 45:22 "Think it not strange concerning 45:23 the fiery trial which is to try you." 45:25 You know, something good is going on to somebody 45:28 who has a problem with that. 45:30 So, the Jewish leaders as Mollie well said, 45:34 and we've all sort of brought this out, really had a 45:37 problem with what was going on. 45:40 And if you can't join it, you try to kill it. 45:44 But there's such energy and such love... 45:47 You know 1 John 1:7 comes to me... 45:50 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, 45:53 we have fellowship." 45:55 You know, that's what you got and the blood of Christ 45:57 cleanses us from all sin." 45:58 And that's what's happening in this church. 46:00 There is elan There is cache. 46:03 There is this love; there is this oneness; 46:05 there is this unity; there is this growth, 46:08 and this would have been a wonderful time 46:11 to be a member of the church of God. 46:13 And there is this constellation of miracles, you know. 46:18 Let's go to Acts 5, I want to read verses 12-16... 46:23 I won't have time to go through all of this... 46:25 I'm going to read a little quickly... 46:26 Acts 5:12, and I'm in the New King James... 46:29 "And through the hands of the apostles, many signs of 46:32 wonders were done among the people. 46:35 And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. 46:38 "We're together in this thing," yet none of the rest 46:42 dare join them, but the people esteemed them highly." 46:46 We'll get to that in just a moment... 46:47 The believers were increasingly added to the Lord, 46:50 multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought 46:53 the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds 46:57 and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing 47:01 by might fall on some of them." 47:03 Now that was a "belief," like the angel troubling 47:05 the water," it was that kind of thing. 47:07 It was a belief, it wasn't really so. 47:09 But they believed that if the shadow of Peter 47:11 could pass on them, they would be healed. 47:12 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities of 47:16 Jerusalem bringing sick people and those who were 47:20 tormented by unclean spirits and praise God, 47:23 they were all healed." 47:26 So there was attention to this powerful preaching a 47:30 co-respondent healing ministry that could not be denied. 47:34 You've got a person who is lame one day and tomorrow 47:37 he's walking, something is happening. 47:38 You can't deny that, he is blind one day, 47:40 and the next day he is seeing, something is happening 47:43 that could not be denied. 47:44 And Acts 5:16 tells us... "They all were healed." Amen! 47:48 Here is another incidence of the Lord performing 47:53 specific miracles to launch the gospel. 47:57 God was confirming this new movement 48:01 with signs and wonders and it had to be 48:04 because there were those of the sect of the Sadducees, 48:07 of the sect of the Pharisees, who simply would not 48:09 accept this new faith. 48:13 So now, they get a bunch of people to tell a bunch of lies, 48:20 and they're thrown in prison for the second time. 48:24 Now this is what you gotta love... 48:26 This just shows you that God will take care of His people. 48:30 When the angel escorts them out of prison, 48:34 he doesn't say - "Get out of Dodge," he says, 48:38 "Go right back to the synagogue and continue preaching." 48:42 Now that's - to use a Jewish word we were talking 48:44 about a little before the show, that's "chutzpah." Yes 48:46 Yeah, you gotta have nerve... "Let's go right back 48:48 to the synagogue and start preaching again." 48:51 And so when they go to the jail to find them, 48:54 the doors are locked, the guards are there, 48:56 everything is as it was before, so they should be in their cell. 49:00 Well, they went to cell, nobody's there. 49:02 Well where are they? They're in the synagogue, 49:05 and they're preaching... 49:06 "Well, didn't we tell you not to preach 49:08 anymore in this name?" 49:10 And one of the very first texts I learned, Acts 5:29... 49:13 "It is better rather to obey God rather than man." 49:17 That's right. Amen! So they're preaching 49:18 in the power of the Lord, and, of course, 49:20 the Sadducees - these are the priestly elite, 49:25 these are the true aristocrats, making a little more money, 49:28 Want a little more detente with the Romans. 49:30 These are the guys that are at the top, 49:32 don't believe in miracles, don't believe in divine 49:36 interposition - they don't believe in miracles, 49:39 they don't believe in angels, and don't believe in 49:42 the resurrection. 49:43 And when you have these kinds of miracles, 49:45 you gotta have all three. Yes! 49:48 Somebody got them out of that prison; 49:49 somebody got them back to the synagogue, 49:52 and the prison is still locked, so there's a miracle there, 49:55 you know, and it had to happen at the hand of an angel. 49:57 So you're kind of anti-Sadducee. 50:00 That's very sad-you-see, well you didn't get it... 50:02 Laughter...Anyway, this sure is very sad... 50:06 But what is interesting is that it begins to dawn 50:10 on many of these Jewish leaders, there must be something 50:13 behind this, you know, there must be something behind this. 50:17 We need to be careful and so in Acts 5:34 and on, 50:22 Gamaliel begins to speak. 50:23 Now Gamaliel, interestingly enough, is a well-respected 50:26 Pharisee, but he's part of the Sanhedrin, so there were some, 50:31 Mollie, Pharisees among that group of church leaders 50:35 called "the Sanhedrin," and I thought your 50:39 allusion was very, very well. 50:40 That it's kinda like a... you're in there for life, 50:43 they don't change, you gotta be a father 50:45 or you gotta have children, you gotta have a male heir. 50:47 Just a long list of things before you can become 50:49 part of that group, but Gamaliel is 50:52 well-respected and he speaks up for that, 50:57 in fact and says, "You know, there's gotta 51:00 be something going on here." 51:02 We have had many people over the past, 51:05 and I won't read it all because I'm looking at my 51:07 time here... who made themselves 51:10 out to be something, who developed among 51:12 themselves a little following, but when they passed on, 51:17 so did their following pass on. 51:19 So we've had people over the years who have pretended 51:23 to be something great, and their greatness, 51:26 and their following, their haverim died with them. 51:30 So we need to be careful because if this Jesus "thing" 51:37 and I'll use that terminology, is nothing, it will die, 51:40 but if it is of God, we don't want to be in a 51:44 position of standing against a movement of God. 51:49 So the Spirit is working even there and they were ready 51:53 to put Peter to death, Herod had already killed James, 52:01 and he realized that the Sadducees, Pharisees more 52:04 likely liked that, kind of curry favor... 52:07 "So now let's put Peter to death," 52:08 but God wasn't ready for Peter to die. 52:10 So the light is going on in Gamaliel's mind at least, 52:13 "We better be careful here because something is working 52:16 behind this that's not normal and not usual." 52:21 Did Herod kill James or was that 52:22 John the Baptist is what you're saying? 52:24 No Herod killed James. Did he kill James? 52:25 I was thinking... Yeah, you got several Herods. 52:27 I thought it was Herod Agrippa. 52:29 You got several Herod Agrippa's too, by the way. 52:31 Agrippa I, there are two Agrippa's. Yeah, Agrippa I. 52:33 It was Agrippa I. 52:34 So he did that in killing James and now 52:39 he wants to take on Peter, but the Lord is 52:43 not ready for Peter to go. 52:45 So the light comes on and they realize that we need 52:50 to be careful, so they changed their plan. 52:52 And it's that way, if something is of the Lord, 52:56 God is going to take care of His own. That's right. Amen! 52:58 You know, and we even can see that then and we can see it now. 53:01 If it's of God, God is pretty good at being God. 53:06 He does this very, very well. Praise the Lord! 53:08 He has done it well for 7,000+ years, 53:10 so we can rest in Him that even though there is trouble, 53:14 we know that the program of God, the church of God 53:17 will go on conquering and to conquer. Amen! Amen! 53:20 Amen, thank you so much pastor. 53:22 You know, when I think about the apostles in particular, 53:26 at the early church - you think about Peter and John, 53:29 and what they were like at Jesus with the crucifixion. 53:33 And you think about them being afraid 53:35 and how they turned and fled. Yes! 53:37 And the difference in them here in the early church, 53:40 that difference is the work of the Holy Spirit. Amen! 53:43 The Holy Spirit took men who were afraid, wanting to hide, 53:49 and made them bold to stand up and to speak for God. 53:53 It's an incredible thing, the early church, 53:55 to see the miracles taking place, the preaching, 53:58 and the fellowship, and praise the Lord! 54:01 My heart and soul has been encouraged just hearing 54:04 the lesson and what we want to do at the end is we'll 54:06 go down and give each one of you a couple of moments 54:09 to share a closing thought about your day, Brother Johnny... 54:12 Well this - some call it a new faith, but it's really 54:18 an unfolding that has taken place. 54:22 When you look back in the beginning, Adam and Eve, 54:27 there was just a certain amount of truth that they 54:28 were able to comprehend. Absolutely! 54:30 Jesus, Himself, said to the disciples, "I have many 54:32 things I want to share with you, 54:34 but you cannot bear them now." 54:35 So God does not show truth that the people are not ready for, 54:39 and the time had come to reveal to them that all of these 54:42 shadows of sacrifices all pointed to Jesus' crucifixion. 54:47 Absolutely! Amen! Thank you. 54:48 And you know, I shared about the rise of opposition, 54:51 but what did the rise of opposition want? 54:54 What was it opposed to? 54:55 It was opposed to the success of this early church, 54:59 and so sometimes opposition isn't a bad thing. 55:03 Sometimes that opposition... because what did the 55:06 opposition do to the early church? 55:08 It forced it to continue to grow and what is it... 55:12 "Sometimes the purest water is that water that forced 55:16 through solid rock?" 55:18 Sometimes just the resistance that we get makes us stronger. 55:22 You know, a butterfly that's in a cocoon - if you open up 55:27 that cocoon and let that little butterfly out, 55:29 is it ever going to be a beautiful butterfly? No. 55:31 How many of you want to be a beautiful butterfly? Amen! 55:34 We may have to go through some opposition, 55:36 but we will persist, and "He that endures 55:39 to the end, shall be saved." 55:42 I just want to make a point to what Johnny is saying 55:44 because you're on my favorite topic - is that all of God's 55:48 covenants are just a progressive revelation of His plan of 55:53 salvation - each one builds on the others, 55:56 so you're very accurate in what you're saying. 55:58 My day I guess with Ananias and Sapphira, the one thing 56:04 that I would say is - just remember there are no 56:06 secrets sins, God knows it all. Amen! 56:10 Amen, I want to make up a quick correction because 56:12 Herod did kill James, that is found in Acts 12, 56:16 but it happened a little later after Peter's second 56:19 time in prison - Peter spent a lot of time in prison. He did! 56:23 Several times... Yeah several times in prison. 56:24 But Herod did kill James in an attempt to 56:28 curry favor with the Jews, 56:29 and tried to kill Peter, but again, he was let out of prison. 56:35 But I think the overall point is this - that God takes care 56:37 of His own and God takes care of His church, 56:40 and we have NO fear because we know that the Lord 56:44 is the head and we can follow Him in safety and in confidence. 56:47 Amen! Amen, thank you so much Pastor CA, Shelley, Mollie, 56:51 and Brother Johnny, thank you for sharing your 56:53 heart and from the word of God. 56:56 It's incredible to me to see how God had His hand 57:00 over the brand new baby church, as it were, 57:03 and how He grew that church and poured His Spirit upon it, 57:07 and as it multiplied, the members multiplied 57:10 and the gospel was spread around the world... 57:12 That is a picture of what He wants to do with the church 57:16 in these last days. 57:17 He wants to pour His Spirit out upon each one of us 57:21 that the gospel can go to the world. 57:23 We will see you next time as we look at the life of Peter. 57:27 Join us then... |
Revised 2024-07-22