Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180032A
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00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:24 Our study today is, The Book of Acts. 00:29 Hello and welcome to our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:33 Thank you for joining us today. 00:34 What a privilege it is for you to allow us 00:37 to come into your homes. 00:38 And today we're going to have great study. 00:40 We've been studying the book of Acts, but particularly 00:43 today, the ministry of Peter. 00:44 Now Peter is one of my probably all time favorite 00:47 characters in the Bible. 00:49 Probably because I can identify with him quite a bit. 00:51 If you're honest, you probably can too. 00:54 But today we're going to have a great study. 00:57 But I'd like to introduce our panel. 00:59 Sister Mollie Steenson. 01:00 Now these folks are regulars on here. 01:02 You all are regulars; probably don't need the introduction. 01:05 But I'll do it anyway. Sister Shelley Quinn. 01:07 Sister Jill Morikone. 01:09 And pastor and brother C.A. Murray. 01:11 We're glad that each of you can be here today. 01:14 I don't know about you all, but are you as excited 01:17 as I am about studying the book of Acts, 01:19 and particularly the ministry of Peter? 01:23 To me it's an incredible, he's an incredible guy. 01:25 So what I thought I would do, actually, 01:27 was just give a little bit of his background first 01:30 before we actually go into our Sabbath school. 01:33 We're going to do a little Sabbath afternoon, 01:35 and then Sunday. 01:36 But I'd like for you to, let me give you some of these things 01:39 you may know or may not. 01:41 I had to do a little bit of background study on it. 01:43 So find out first of all, Peter the disciple was a fisherman 01:47 known as Simon Peter. 01:48 But his father was Jonah. We find that in Matthew 8:14. 01:52 John 1:40 tells us that his wife's name was unknown. 01:58 We know he had a wife, but it's unknown. 02:00 And we know that because he did something 02:02 he shouldn't have done that most married guys 02:05 would know better to do. 02:06 When the mother-in-law was sick, he invited all the 02:08 disciples over to the house. 02:10 That's probably not one of the wisest things that he did. 02:13 His brother is Andrew, we find in John 1:40 here. 02:17 He's first mentioned in Matthew 4:18. 02:21 And his final mention is 2 Peter 1:1. 02:24 Now the meaning of his name, "Simon," means, hearing. 02:28 Right? 02:30 But, "Peter," means, rock, in the Greek. 02:32 "Cephas," means, rock, in Aramaic. 02:34 Now the frequency of his name, he's mentioned 183 times 02:39 in the New Testament. 02:40 So he's a very important figure. 02:43 And we'll find him as one of the leaders, 02:46 mains leaders, of the apostolic church. 02:48 This is a young, new, growing, we'll call it a movement, 02:52 to take the gospel of the kingdom into all the world. 02:56 So to me, this is great. 02:57 Now again, I mentioned his occupation was 02:59 a fisherman and a disciple. 03:01 Birthplace, I think it's, you can help me, Bethsaida 03:05 in Galilee. 03:06 I've got a bunch of theologians here. 03:08 The tradition says that he died in Rome. 03:11 So I'm not sure we confirm that. 03:13 But it seems, and also we told that he was 03:15 baptized upside down. 03:17 ~ Crucified. - Crucified, I'm sorry. 03:20 He was crucified upside down. 03:21 Now why was that? 03:23 I've been told, and you all correct me if this is not right, 03:26 but he really didn't feel worthy to be crucified as Jesus. 03:31 Now crucifixion is probably, there's no worse way, 03:35 no more humiliating way to go out of this life 03:40 maybe than crucifixion. 03:41 We think of the cross as something wonderful 03:44 and great, but when you look at it in the physical terms, 03:47 this is what the governments did to the vilest offenders, 03:53 the vilest sinners, the worst people. 03:55 The ones that Jesus was hanging with on the cross. 03:58 You know, murderers, thieves; these people. 04:01 But to be crucified was bad enough. 04:04 But Peter says, this is the converted Peter 04:08 that we'll be talking about a little bit later, 04:10 he says, "I don't feel worthy to be crucified normally. 04:16 Crucify me upside down." 04:18 That's an amazing trait. 04:20 Especially when we find out where he's from. 04:22 So the important fact of his life, 04:24 he was one of the chief apostles 04:26 and was the author of two New Testament books. 04:29 He also traveled from Jerusalem to Rome, 04:33 many places in between. 04:34 Lydda, Joppa, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth. 04:38 So he's a man on the move quite a bit. 04:40 And part of that, after his conversion, was teaching 04:43 and instructing others about this new found faith 04:48 in the Lord Jesus Christ, and righteousness by faith, 04:50 and that the gospel is to go to the whole world, 04:52 not just to the Jews. 04:54 So again, this is going to be a great study today. 04:58 And I'm looking forward to hearing what 04:59 each of you have to say. 05:02 Now Peter and his brother Andrew, they were fishermen 05:04 on the sea of Tiberius, which normally 05:06 we call the Sea of Galilee. 05:08 And the first meeting with Simon, I thought it was 05:11 interesting, that Jesus says, He's going to call him, Cephas. 05:14 Does anybody know what Cephas means? 05:16 - Pebble, little rock. - It means a rock. Okay. 05:19 A pebble, she says, or a rock. 05:20 But it wasn't until the second call that Simon Peter actually 05:25 left everything to become a disciple. 05:26 And you know the story. 05:28 That Jesus wanted to go talk to the multitude, 05:31 and He asked him, "Can you take Me out on the boat, 05:34 on the ship, so I can be back from the 05:37 people and talk to them?" 05:38 Well after the talk, He says, "Take Me out a little farther, 05:41 let's do some fishing." 05:43 And of course, you know, here's Peter. 05:45 And Peter, with his personality, he's like, 05:47 "Lord, there's no fish out there. 05:49 We have fished all night, there's nothing there." 05:51 Jesus says, "Well let's," basically, "let's try it anyway. 05:54 Let's go out and see." 05:55 And you know the story. 05:57 The nets were so full they began to break. 05:59 And he had to call James and John, another boat next to them, 06:02 to come and help. 06:04 It's then Peter really realized, "This is the Master. 06:07 I need to follow Him." 06:08 But I think what we really want to cover here today, 06:12 and you all will do the rest of it, but I want to talk about 06:15 the difference in Peter. 06:17 I'm going to call it the before and the after. 06:20 Because you see that Peter did some amazing things. 06:24 He, first of all, was willing to leave everything. 06:27 Now here's a man who knew nothing about Christianity, 06:29 as far as I know. 06:30 But when he met the Master, he says, "I want to follow." 06:33 So just the fact that he was willing to give up his business, 06:37 give up everything, travel with Jesus, 06:39 that's a great step. 06:40 But what we find, even though he was with Jesus 06:44 for three years plus, he was never really converted. 06:49 Now you would think, being with Jesus you would be converted. 06:54 But Jesus, as you know, said, "I'm praying for you. 06:57 And when though art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 07:00 But what I see in him is in all of us today. 07:03 And I'd like us to get this point. 07:04 Just because we say we follow Jesus, 07:07 and even baptism, doesn't get us to where... 07:11 We start as a diamond in the rough. 07:13 ...doesn't get us to be that perfect diamond. 07:17 It's steps called sanctification. 07:20 So if we look at Peter's life, we see him doing some really, 07:24 we would call, ridiculous things, but he wanted to do 07:26 everything in the flesh. 07:28 And so, okay, you know the story of the Garden of Gethsemane 07:32 and the soldiers, the high priest soldiers come to get Him. 07:35 And what does Peter do? 07:37 Pulls out a sword, right, and he's willing to kill somebody. 07:40 Maybe a bad shot or maybe God didn't allow it, but he 07:43 just cut off the man's ear. 07:45 But he's like, "Lord, I'm going to be with You. 07:47 I'm for You. I'm here." 07:49 So he's a disciple, but he still is in this unconverted... 07:53 How many of us are disciples, we believe in Jesus, 07:56 but we're still literally not converted? 07:59 So now we have him going a little farther, and we see him 08:02 progressing in his relationship, we think, with the Lord. 08:06 And so finally he goes forward. 08:08 But then we see him, this temper and his pride, 08:12 which always gets to him. 08:13 So finally they get to Jesus, and Jesus is speaking to them, 08:18 and He tells them what's going to happen. 08:19 "The Son of Man is going to have to die. 08:23 But in three days I'll rise again." 08:25 And He says something really important. 08:27 He says, "Peter, upon this rock I will build My church." 08:31 So it occurred to me, Peter probably thought, 08:36 as the Catholic church does today, 08:38 "Hey, my name is Peter. That's a rock. 08:41 He's going to build this church on me. 08:43 Wow!" 08:45 I'm mean, I don't know. 08:46 I'm just looking at this guy who is all gung-ho, we'll call it, 08:49 and all excited and very emotional. 08:51 And anytime something needed to be done... 08:54 When Jesus was in the water, you know, and he said, 08:57 "Is that really You? 08:58 If it is, let me out there." 08:59 You didn't hear the other disciples, 09:01 "I want to walk on the water." 09:02 But again, he looked down. 09:05 Because he's so self-reliant. 09:07 And I think some of us today are exactly that same way. 09:10 We so rely on ourself. 09:12 So now we have Peter. 09:15 And Jesus says, "Upon this rock I will build My church." 09:19 And Peter is thinking, "Apparently, wow, 09:22 He's building that on me." 09:25 But then he says to Jesus, "Well come over here just a second. 09:27 I need to tell you something. 09:29 This is never going to happen to You, Lord, when I'm around. 09:33 Because I'm going to see that this is not going to happen." 09:37 And then Jesus says something very strong. 09:41 He says, "Satan, get thee from Me." 09:45 "Get thee behind Me, Satan." 09:47 He literally looks at Peter and says, 09:51 "Get thee behind Me, Satan." 09:52 Now what a shock to Peter. 09:54 And maybe a shock to those who look at Peter as, 09:56 you know, "upon this rock," they look at him as 09:59 the very church, that, you know... 10:02 This is what the Catholic church, for instance, 10:04 says Peter is the rock the church was built upon. 10:07 But no it wasn't. It was Jesus Christ. 10:09 He's the solid rock. The only rock. 10:12 So what we find out is, even at that point... 10:15 But here's the beauty of it. 10:17 Jesus could look at Peter and say to Him, 10:22 "You're going to do great and mighty, marvelous things 10:24 when you come in My name." 10:26 He could see him after his conversion. 10:30 Peter didn't even know it. 10:32 So even at this time he wasn't converted. 10:34 So we continue the story of Peter. 10:37 But again, he shows himself at every hand 10:40 wanting to do something. 10:42 But what he had mostly, and I think it's so important 10:44 for us today, is he loved Jesus. 10:46 ~ Amen. - He had a love for Jesus. 10:49 But it was not until when? 10:51 Until Pentecost when after Christ's death, burial, 10:56 and resurrection, and the Holy Ghost at Pentecost 11:00 was poured out, and when he received that 11:03 and began to teach it, we begin to see miracles. 11:06 These miracles happen. 11:08 The same thing in Lydda, in Joppa. 11:10 We see him going and healing. 11:13 Raising the dead, healing the sick. 11:18 We have Dorcas, we call her, I think, Tabitha. 11:22 He did that miracle. 11:23 And told everybody in the room, "Just leave. 11:25 Just leave. 11:27 I have something that I want to do." 11:29 And he literally had the faith and the confidence 11:31 to look at that dead body and say, "Tabitha, awake." 11:37 It says she opened her eyes and sat up. 11:40 When you look at that man, you remember the man that was 11:44 let down through the roof, he couldn't get to Him. 11:47 Healed him. Raised him. Literally healed him. 11:50 Then He raised the dead. 11:51 All of these things and these signs begin to follow 11:55 once they did what? 11:56 Once they really submitted, committed to Jesus their lives, 12:00 and then said, "Lord, send me. I will go." 12:03 They're willing to go, but they had to ask for the anointing 12:07 of the Holy Spirit. 12:08 So today what we're going to be finding out... 12:11 And I see the same parallels, Mollie, today, 12:14 as I did in the church of old. 12:17 We're a movement, we call us here in the Seventh-day 12:19 Adventist church; we're a movement. 12:21 But sometimes we just are, I guess, we don't have vision. 12:27 We're not looking forward to the end result that 12:31 Jesus is coming back for a purified bride 12:34 and a purified church. 12:35 So we get caught up in the things around us 12:38 and we start worrying about me, myself, and I. 12:41 All of these things. 12:42 And we need to look back to Acts. 12:44 We need to look back to Pentecost. 12:46 And we should be looking forward to the second coming. 12:49 How did this church grow? 12:52 When they all came together in one accord. 12:54 So the devil is out to steal, kill, and to destroy. 12:57 He knows a house divided against itself can't stand. 13:00 So today let's take, let's learn from the book of Acts, 13:06 from the ministry of Peter and the others. 13:08 We're going to be talking that, you know what? 13:10 We've got a great future ahead of us. 13:12 Jesus is coming very soon in the clouds of glory. 13:15 He's willing to take every one of you, and me, 13:18 in our sinful state, looks like there's no hope for us. 13:23 He doesn't see us as that diamond in the rough. 13:25 He can see us for what we will be. 13:28 Sons and daughters and heirs to the throne. 13:31 And to me, that's an amazing thing that God can look down 13:34 on this earth to fallen man, and He can use fallen man. 13:37 Never be discouraged. 13:39 No matter what happens to you, there's nothing so bad that 13:42 you've done God can't forgive it. 13:44 There's nothing so small that He doesn't hear your request, 13:47 because He lends an ear. 13:49 So I'm encouraged by Peter, to find out 13:52 here's a man who is just like me in so many ways, 13:55 made so many mistakes, 13:56 but after his conversion he became a solid rock, 14:01 a foundation for the apostolic church 14:04 that now begin to go out into all the world. 14:07 ~ Amen, amen. 14:09 Well I get to continue, Danny, on Monday to look at another 14:13 experience in Peter's life. 14:15 I'm looking at an experience that Peter has 14:19 that really changed him. 14:20 And this is at Cornelius's house. 14:23 So I want you to go to Acts the 10th chapter. 14:27 And at this time Peter is in Joppa. 14:31 And he's staying with a tanner, and the tanner's name is Simon. 14:36 Meanwhile, we've got two things going on here together. 14:40 Over in Caesarea which is about 25 miles away 14:45 from Joppa, there lived a Roman centurion name Cornelius. 14:52 He and his household were devout worshipers of God, 14:56 though they had not yet formally adhered to Judaism. 15:00 Meaning that Cornelius was, here's the terminology, Shelley, 15:05 he was an uncircumcised Gentile. 15:07 That's what he was called. 15:09 But God gave, here's the beauty of the story, 15:13 He gave this uncircumcised Gentile a vision. 15:18 So let me read that vision to you. 15:20 That's Acts 10:3-8. 15:23 "About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision 15:28 an angel of God coming in and saying to him, 'Cornelius!' 15:33 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, 15:36 'What is it, lord?' 15:37 So he said to him, 'Your prayers and your alms have come up 15:42 for a memorial before God. 15:45 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon 15:49 whose surname is Peter. 15:52 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, 15:54 whose house is by the sea. 15:56 He, being Peter, will tell you what you must do.' 16:01 And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, 16:04 Cornelius called two of his household servants 16:07 and a devout soldier from among those 16:10 who waited on him continually. 16:12 So when he had explained all these things to them, 16:17 he sent them to Joppa." 16:19 Now Cornelius has just sent three of his men to Joppa. 16:23 What are they going to do? 16:25 They're going to tell Peter to come to Cornelius's house. 16:29 Now Peter was a devout Jew. 16:31 Can we say Peter was a pretty devout Jew? 16:34 Danny, this is after Pentecost. 16:37 This is after Peter has been filled with... 16:40 Remember that sermon that he preached 16:42 on the day of Pentecost? 16:43 He's a powerful man of God. 16:46 And the Jews didn't associate with uncircumcised Gentiles 16:50 if they could help it. 16:52 It was unlawful for a Jewish man to keep company with 16:57 or go to one of another nation. 17:00 Peter is having a paradigm shift. 17:02 Can we say that for a fact? 17:05 But now Peter has a vision from God too. 17:08 Isn't God good to intervene on our behalf? 17:11 That's Acts 10:9-16. 17:15 It says, "The next day..." 17:18 This is the next day after Cornelius had his vision. 17:22 The next day, as they went on their journey 17:24 and drew near the city, Peter went up on the 17:27 housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 17:29 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; 17:32 but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 17:36 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet 17:40 bound at the four corners descending to him 17:43 and let down to the earth. 17:45 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals 17:48 of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, 17:52 and birds of the air. 17:54 And a voice came to him, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' 17:59 But Peter said, 'Not so, Lord! 18:02 For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.' 18:07 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, 18:11 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.' 18:16 This was done three times. 18:19 And the object was taken up into heaven." 18:22 Now let me ask you this. 18:24 Let me ask you great theologians here. 18:27 Do you think Peter's vision had anything to do with food? 18:30 ~ Absolutely not. ~ No. Not at all. 18:31 Not at all. 18:33 It was about people. 18:35 The vision was to remove the error Peter was living under 18:41 and open Peter up to receive all nations, kindred, 18:46 tongues, and people as God's loved children. 18:50 It was to remove his bias. 18:53 Now do you remember Paul? 18:55 Paul and Peter had something very much in common. 18:58 They had been raised under the Jewish system. 19:02 And this is all they knew. 19:03 And it was truth to them. 19:06 So they weren't doing anything that they didn't feel 19:09 that was what they were supposed to do. 19:12 But what they believed was skewed. 19:17 And so because their belief was skewed, 19:20 God is setting about the process to bring their belief system 19:26 in line with the Word of God. 19:29 God told Cornelius to invite Peter to his home. 19:34 Peter's view was that if he entered Cornelius's house 19:39 and fellowshipped with him, he would be defiled 19:44 and become unfit to worship in the temple 19:47 or to come before God's presence. 19:49 That is what he had been taught his whole life. 19:52 This is significant to him. 19:55 This is vital to him. 19:56 To be, as it were, excommunicated 20:00 from the presence of God? 20:02 That is significant. 20:03 But in a vision from God, God is telling him to do something. 20:08 And you know there has got to be conflict, 20:11 a conflicting thought. 20:12 Uncircumcised Gentiles were segregated, they were shunned, 20:18 and treated with contempt. 20:20 They could have no part in God's blessing. 20:24 But that a Gentile, an uncircumcised Gentile, 20:31 here we've got somebody, Cornelius, that even God says, 20:35 "Your good works are coming up as a memorial to Me," 20:38 and gives him a vision. 20:40 So this whole concept that they would have no part 20:44 in God's blessing was incompatible. 20:47 It was diametrically opposed to what Jesus' death on the cross 20:53 accomplished for all mankind. 20:56 It took time, but over time. 20:58 Thank God, God didn't get in a hurry with us. 21:01 He's patient with us. He loves us. 21:03 He takes us step by step. 21:05 Over time, this erroneous teaching was being corrected. 21:10 Now it started here with Peter concerning the Gentiles. 21:17 We've already seen where Paul had his experience too. 21:21 So these early pillars in the apostolic church, 21:24 God had to begin with them. 21:26 Because they're the teachers. 21:27 It was like the Ethiopian said to Philip, 21:31 "How am I going to understand if I don't have somebody 21:34 to explain it to me." 21:36 So God started changing the hearts of these apostles 21:43 in the early church so that they would teach a clear message. 21:47 A message that would penetrate the heart 21:50 and remove all doubt. 21:51 Error was being replaced with truth. 21:58 You know, I'm going to say this, and you may think 22:01 this is a controversial statement. 22:04 But more than likely, every one of us 22:06 have some error in our heart. 22:08 I doubt any of us have arrived yet. 22:12 The sin isn't that we have error in our heart. 22:17 The sin would be if truth comes and we reject truth. 22:20 So truth is being poured out. 22:22 I've got to hurry here. 22:24 When Peter arrived at Cornelius's house, 22:28 he told the people who had gathered there... 22:30 Now let me read this to you. I want you to see this. 22:33 Go to Acts 10:28. 22:36 This is so beautiful. 22:38 Because this vision from God had given Peter 22:43 a whole different mindset. 22:46 He'd had a total paradigm shift. 22:49 What he believed one day, 22:52 he believed totally different the next day. 22:55 Why? Because God had touched his heart. 22:57 Look at this Acts 10:28. 22:59 "Then he said to them..." 23:01 Now this is at Cornelius's house 23:04 where they had all gathered together. 23:06 "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company 23:11 with or go to one of another nation. 23:14 But God has shown me that I should not call 23:18 any man common or unclean." 23:20 The vision had to do with mankind, with humanity. 23:24 Alright, one last scripture in Acts the 10th chapter. 23:30 "Then Peter opened his mouth and said, 23:32 'In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 23:37 But in every nation whoever fears Him 23:40 and works righteousness is accepted by Him.'" 23:44 This is the theme that runs throughout the whole Bible. 23:48 And here is it in a little nut shell. 23:51 It's not by race. It's by grace. 23:54 Amen and amen. Thank you, Mollie. 23:56 This was just beautiful. 23:58 Well I have lesson six, which is for Tuesday. 24:02 And the title of this lesson is, The Gift of the Spirit. 24:07 But what I'd like to do is just set the stage for a second 24:10 and talk about how the Holy Spirit is given today. 24:15 Jesus said in John 7:37-39 that those who yearn for God, 24:21 those who thirst for God, will be given the Holy Spirit. 24:25 He says, "If anyone thirsts, let him come after Me and drink. 24:29 And He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 24:32 out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 24:36 And it goes on to say, "This He spoke of concerning the Spirit." 24:40 So the gift of the Spirit comes to those who are yearning 24:45 for God and trusting in Him. 24:48 Obviously we know that Romans 12:1-2, 24:51 which is one of ours, that it's a matter of yielding, 24:55 submitting yourself to God, 24:57 consenting to His leading, if you will. 25:01 And then Acts 5:32 says that... Let me just read this. 25:06 It says, "We are His witnesses to these things, 25:09 so also is the Holy Spirit whom God gives 25:13 to those who obey Him." 25:16 So there's something about, you know, there's so many 25:21 questions about the baptism of the Holy Spirit 25:23 or being filled with the Holy Spirit. 25:25 But what I wanted to point out is, God's Spirit was already 25:28 working with Cornelius and is household 25:32 before Peter ever showed up. 25:34 The Scripture says he was a devout man, that he feared God. 25:38 It said that he gave alms to the poor. 25:41 And he and his whole household were generous-natured people 25:45 who were fearing the Lord, it says. 25:48 So I wanted to establish this, that there is no set order 25:54 given in the Scripture for receiving the Holy Spirit. 25:58 Let me run through that quickly. 25:59 Acts 2:38, when Peter is preaching to those 26:03 who he's holding accountable for the death of Jesus, 26:06 what he says to them is, "Repent, every one of you, 26:09 be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ 26:12 for the remission of your sins..." 26:13 And it's the name of Jesus and His blood that remits the sins. 26:17 "...and you shall receive the Holy Spirit." 26:19 So the order sounds like, repent, be baptized, 26:22 then you're going to receive the Holy Spirit. 26:24 But in Acts 8:14-17, the Samaritans had already been 26:30 baptized in the name of Jesus. 26:32 They hadn't yet received the Holy Spirit. 26:35 We've got the Jews going out, or Peter and... 26:38 Who was it? Peter and John who went out. 26:41 And they laid hands on them. 26:46 But I believe it's because they, as amazing as it was 26:50 uncircumcised Gentiles, the idea that these Samaritans 26:55 who they thought their religion was so twisted that 26:59 they had ruined Judaism, and they considered them dogs, 27:02 this was a sign for the Jews that went out. 27:07 Paul received the baptism of the Holy Spirit 27:11 before he was baptized in water. 27:14 And now let's get to Acts 10:38. 27:16 Cornelius and his household, while Peter is telling them 27:21 about the powerful life and death and resurrection 27:25 of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard. 27:29 So it's on Cornelius and the whole household. 27:32 "And those of the circumcision..." 27:34 See, Peter took six of the Jewish brethren, 27:38 the Jewish Christians, down with him. 27:40 He knew he was going to get some push back on this. 27:43 So he took six with him. 27:45 And it says, "Those of the circumcision who believed 27:49 were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because 27:52 the gift of the Holy Spirit had been 27:54 poured out on the Gentiles also. 27:56 For they heard them speak with tongues magnifying God. 28:01 And Peter says, 'Can anyone forbid water, 28:04 that these should not be baptized who have received 28:07 the Holy Ghost as we have?' 28:09 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus." 28:12 Then he stayed on for a few days and taught them. 28:15 This was the first time that one of the apostles from Jerusalem 28:18 had gone out to a Gentiles house. 28:21 And unlike the Hellenistic Jews who lived away from the temple, 28:26 they were much more quick to accept uncircumcised Gentiles 28:32 into the fellowship. 28:33 But boy, the Judean Jews, ick. 28:36 Because they actually believed that you had to become Jewish 28:40 to become a Christian. 28:41 They thought you needed to be a Jewish proselyte 28:43 to become a Christian. 28:45 So the gift of tongues, speaking in other languages, 28:49 was so amazing as a sign for the Jewish Christians 28:55 that had come down. 28:56 And it just showed them that salvation, 29:00 that God has no favorites, that He's got no prejudice, 29:05 and salvation belonged to both Jews and Gentiles. 29:08 So, we know... 29:12 Oh, let's go to, I've got to skip half my notes, Acts 11. 29:17 Let's look at verses 1-18. 29:20 So Peter is there, he's witnessed this, 29:23 he's had these guys with him. 29:25 Now he goes back to the Jerusalem church 29:28 to give the report. 29:29 "And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, 29:31 those of the circumcision..." 29:32 Those circumcised Jews that had been converts. 29:36 "...say to him, 'You went in to uncircumcised men 29:41 and you ate with them!'" 29:44 They were more upset that he had violated one of 29:48 their traditions than they were worried about 29:52 people coming to the Lord. 29:54 "So Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning..." 29:59 He's telling his vision of the sheet. 30:01 And he says, "I heard a voice saying to me, 30:03 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' 30:05 But I said, 'Not so, Lord!'" 30:07 Wait a minute. 30:08 This is some time after Jesus died. 30:11 He walked three and a half years with Jesus. 30:13 And now the Lord is saying, 30:16 "Rise up and eat of these unclean things." 30:18 And he says, "You know I've never eaten anything unclean. 30:20 Not even until this day. 30:21 I haven't put anything unclean in my mouth." 30:24 "But the voice answered me again from heaven, 30:27 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'" 30:30 You know what this reminds me of? 30:31 The story in Jeremiah 35 where God told the prophet Elisha, 30:37 He says, "Go to the Rechabites." 30:40 And He said, "You bring them into the prophets apartment 30:45 there at the synagogue, you give them wine to drink." 30:50 What! Why is He doing this? 30:53 It was because God knew they wouldn't drink of that wine. 30:56 And He was going to hold them up as an example 31:00 of faithfulness in obeying the rule. 31:04 Because they said, "No, our father said that, 31:07 you know, we should never drink wine." 31:08 And then God turns around to the guys and says, 31:10 "Hey, look at the Rechabites. 31:12 They still do what their father says. 31:14 But I keep talking to you, and you men of Judah 31:16 and you men of Jerusalem, you're persistently disobeying." 31:20 So Peter finally understood the vision. 31:23 And as you said, Mollie, he says, "Ah, You know how 31:29 unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with 31:31 or go to one of another nation. 31:34 Oh, but God has shown me that my prejudice is nothing but pride. 31:39 He's trying to get the pride out of me. 31:41 Because He has shown me that I should not call 31:45 any man common or unclean." 31:47 Let me tell you something. 31:49 And I want to look straight into the camera, 31:50 straight into your eyes when I say this. 31:53 And that is that prejudice is nothing but pride. 32:02 Listen to what I'm saying. 32:04 Prejudice is nothing but pride. 32:07 You think you are better than somebody else 32:10 if you're prejudice. 32:11 And pride is the original sin of the devil. 32:15 This is where it all started. 32:17 So please, if you feel prideful in your heart, 32:21 go before the Lord and ask Him to forgive you. 32:24 So now in Acts 11:15. 32:27 He's still talking to the Jerusalem group. 32:32 He says, this is Peter, "'As I began to speak, 32:34 the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as it had upon us 32:38 at the very beginning. 32:40 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 32:43 "John indeed baptized with water, 32:46 but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 32:50 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us 32:54 when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, 32:57 who was I that I could withstand God?' 33:02 And when they heard these things," oh, these prideful men, 33:06 "they became silent; and they glorified God..." 33:11 He silenced their arguments. 33:13 He silenced their foolishness. 33:16 "...they glorified God, saying, 'Then God has also 33:20 granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.'" 33:26 Amen. Thank you so much, Shelley. 33:28 Isn't it incredible what God wants to do in our lives? 33:31 He wants to take the gospel to the Gentiles. 33:34 And at home you might be saying, 33:36 "I was never even raised a Christian. 33:38 I don't know anything about Jesus." 33:40 The gospel is for you. 33:42 But not only that, He wants to take the gospel 33:45 to those of us who were raised in the church 33:47 and knew all of those doctrines and beliefs to follow 33:50 but never met Jesus. 33:52 And so, no matter what camp we find ourselves in, 33:55 the gospel is for us. 33:56 And that's the beauty of this. 33:58 Well my section is Wednesday, The Church in Antioch. 34:03 And at this point, Luke kind of interrupts his account. 34:06 He's been talking about Peter, 34:08 and the ministry and the work of Peter. 34:10 And right now he does like a digression. 34:12 And he talks about the work going forward to Antioch. 34:17 The work with Barnabas and Saul in Antioch. 34:20 So my section is Acts 11:19-26. 34:25 Let's pick it up in verse 19. 34:27 "Now those who were scattered after the persecution 34:30 that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, 34:34 and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only." 34:39 So remember at the stoning of Stephen, 34:42 that was the end of Acts 7, the beginning of Acts 8 34:46 what took place. 34:47 There was a great persecution that arose in Jerusalem. 34:50 And the believers were forced to flee from Jerusalem. 34:54 I think this is part of God's plan, Acts 1:8. 34:57 They were suppose to spread the gospel 34:59 in Jerusalem, and then Judea, and Samaria, 35:01 and to the uttermost parts of the earth. 35:03 So while it wasn't God's plan for Stephen to be stoned, 35:06 at the same time God used a bad experience 35:09 and the persecution that arose for the spreading of the gospel. 35:13 So this is actually several years after that time, 35:17 because in just a moment we see that Saul comes and joins it. 35:21 But we know that Saul wasn't even converted 35:23 at the stoning of Stephen. 35:24 He was one of the ones who held the coats 35:26 for the ones who were doing the active stoning. 35:30 Then he was converted some time later. 35:32 He went to Damascus. 35:33 He spend three years in Arabia. He came back. 35:36 So we're at least three years, four years, 35:38 after this has occurred. 35:40 So the brethren have scattered. 35:42 And you notice their preaching the Word not to everybody. 35:45 Did you notice that? 35:47 They preached the Word only, Pastor C.A., to the Jews. 35:51 Because that's what they thought. 35:53 It was suppose to only go to the Jewish people. 35:55 Now let's look at verse 20. 35:56 Verse 20 begins with, "But..." 35:58 And I like that because it means something different 36:01 is about ready to happen. 36:02 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, 36:06 who, when they had come to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists, 36:10 preaching the Lord Jesus." 36:13 Now we've been talking throughout this study that 36:15 the Hellenists are Greeks. 36:17 They're Greek speaking Jews. 36:19 We know that Barnabas was a Hellenist. 36:22 We know that Saul of Tarsus was a Hellenist, 36:24 because he was born in Tarsus. 36:27 He was not a native of Palestine, as it were. 36:30 Now these people were from Cyprus and Cyrene. 36:34 So they are not native of Palestine. 36:37 But they're preaching the Lord Jesus. 36:38 Who are they preaching it to? To the Hellenists. 36:41 Now wait a minute. 36:42 How can Hellenists, Greek speaking Christians, 36:45 preach the Word to a Hellenist? 36:48 Wait a minute, it seems like there's something wrong 36:50 here with this picture. 36:51 I would submit to you that the Hellenists they were 36:53 preaching to in this case were Gentiles. 36:56 They're not Jews at all. 36:57 They are Greek speaking, but they are Gentiles. 37:00 You can see that because the previous verse what does it say? 37:03 They spoke to no one but Jews only. 37:06 Then it says, "But..." 37:08 So if I were to say, "I'm going to the store, Shelley, 37:11 but you stay home," what does that mean? 37:13 Are you coming to the store with me? 37:15 No, you have to stay home. 37:16 You're doing something different, entirely different. 37:19 So if they were preaching to Jews only, 37:21 but now they're preaching to Hellenists, 37:23 the Hellenists cannot be the Jews. 37:25 Because the Jews, they were preaching to before. 37:27 So in this case, they were preaching to Gentiles. 37:31 Verse 21, "And the hand of the Lord was with them, 37:34 and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 37:38 Then news of these things came to the ears 37:40 of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas 37:44 to go as far as Antioch." 37:45 Now we know Antioch was the capital city of Syria. 37:49 And their population was probably between 37:51 three hundred and five hundred thousand people at this time. 37:53 It was a big city. 37:55 It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire. 37:58 The first being Rome, the second being Alexandria, 38:01 and then Antioch. 38:02 So this is a large city. 38:04 And if you look at a map, like Jerusalem would be here, 38:06 and you go straight north 300 miles, you come to Antioch. 38:11 So it takes a little while for the news to get out, 38:13 I would think, from Antioch all the way down to Jerusalem. 38:16 "Hey, you know what? 38:17 There are some Gentile Christians. 38:19 There's something going on. 38:21 We need to send one of the brethren to check it out." 38:24 So they sent Barnabas to them. 38:28 And now Barnabas comes. 38:29 Verse 23, "When he came," when Barnabas came, 38:32 "and had seen the grace of God, he was glad..." 38:37 Don't you love that? 38:38 He didn't discourage them. 38:40 He didn't say, "Now I don't know exactly what you all have been 38:43 doing preaching to these Gentiles." 38:45 He was glad. 38:46 "...and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart 38:49 they should continue with the Lord." 38:51 To me, one of Barnabas' greatest gifts 38:54 is knowing and recognizing gifts in other people 38:58 and pushing them to the forefront. 39:01 He's kind of an unsung hero of the New Testament. 39:04 But he recognized, "Wow, God is doing amazing things." 39:07 And he encouraged them. 39:09 We know in Acts 4:36, Barnabas is known as 39:12 the son of encouragement. 39:14 So what happens next? 39:15 Verse 24, "He was a good man," talking about Barnabas, 39:19 "full of the Holy Spirit and of faith." 39:22 The word for, "full," in Greek, "pleres," means, 39:24 full, completely abounding in. 39:27 So Barnabas was completely filled up with the Holy Spirit. 39:31 He was completely filled up with faith. 39:35 And what happens next? 39:37 "A great many people were added to the Lord." 39:38 Now at this point I might be saying, 39:41 "Okay, many people are coming to God. 39:43 The Jerusalem church sent me here. 39:45 Everything is going well. 39:47 I'm going to consolidate my leadership." 39:49 But instead, what does he do? 39:51 He sends for someone else to come join him in the work. 39:55 The next verse, verse 25, 39:57 "Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul." 40:01 And he had, remember, met Saul when he first came to 40:04 meet the Jerusalem brethren after his three years in Arabia. 40:07 And Barnabas is saying, "Here is someone who can 40:10 join me in the work. 40:11 Here is someone with gifts and abilities. 40:13 And I want to bring him to join me here in the work." 40:17 And so he brought Saul. 40:18 Now Tarsus is 100 miles north of Antioch. 40:21 So he went north again, brought Saul, and came back. 40:24 "And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 40:26 So it was that for a whole year they assembled 40:29 with the church and taught a great many people. 40:32 And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." 40:37 The first place they were ever called Christians 40:39 was right here in Antioch. 40:41 And Antioch became, as it were, an important center 40:44 for the apostolic church. 40:46 Of course, Jerusalem was. 40:47 But for Paul's ministry especially. 40:50 Each one of his three missionary journeys, 40:52 he departed from Antioch, from that place. 40:55 These are my five takeaways from this 40:58 passage here in Scripture. 40:59 Number one, acknowledge God's supremacy and sovereignty. 41:04 Remember in verse 19 when the believers were scattered 41:08 because of the persecution. 41:10 They could have thought, "I'm going through trials, 41:12 I'm going through hardships. 41:13 I've no idea what God is doing." 41:16 Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13, 41:19 "You can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." 41:23 The Jerusalem believers thought it was the end of their 41:25 hopes and dreams, and everything, to be persecuted 41:28 and driven out from Jerusalem. 41:30 But that was God's means of spreading the gospel. 41:33 So you might be going through something today, 41:35 and it seems like, "I'm being persecuted, 41:38 I'm in oppression, I'm in a bad place." 41:40 Acknowledge that God is sovereign. 41:42 Acknowledge that even in the midst of that stuff 41:45 He can do something beautiful. 41:47 He can work to spread His work. 41:49 Number two, accept the priesthood of all believers. 41:53 Everyone is called to preach and teach and share the gospel. 41:57 Not just the leaders. 41:59 Because you notice, who first planted the church in Antioch? 42:02 We don't even know their names. 42:03 They were from Cypress and Cyrene. 42:06 Then the brethren got hold of it 42:07 and they sent Barnabas and Saul. 42:09 But the first people were even people 42:11 we don't even know their names. 42:14 So we might be saying, "I have to be a Rafferty to preach." 42:17 Or a Batchelor, or a Bohr. 42:18 None of that matters. 42:20 God calls each one of us to share the gospel. 42:23 Number three, look for the good in others. 42:26 That's what Barnabas did. 42:27 He saw the good that was happening there in the church 42:30 and he decided to support it and encourage it. 42:34 Number four, realize that God alone gives the increase. 42:39 We're called to speak, to preach, to live, to share Jesus. 42:42 But God is the one who brings the increase. 42:46 And finally, recognize when you need help. 42:51 Barnabas went to get Saul and bring him to help 42:55 the church and the work there. 42:56 Someone with different gifts or different abilities. 42:59 Someone who can walk along side you and carry the ministry 43:02 even farther than you ever could. 43:05 So what an incredible lesson that I see here in this church. 43:10 The first place they were ever called Christians is 43:13 we see the growth of the apostolic church 43:15 here in Antioch. 43:17 - Pastor C.A. ~ Well done, well done. 43:19 Great things done at Antioch. 43:21 I am on Thursday's lesson, Herod's Persecution. 43:26 We move now to Acts chapter 12. 43:28 We're going to read the first five verses, 43:30 and then we'll launch out. 43:32 The Bible says, Acts 12:1, "Now about that time 43:38 Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass..." 43:42 And this harass is no light trifling. 43:46 This is a heavy word up to and including death. 43:49 "...some of the church. 43:51 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 43:54 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, 43:57 he proceeded further to seize Peter also. 44:01 Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread." 44:04 So we're at Passover time. 44:06 "So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, 44:10 and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, 44:15 intending to bring him before the people after Passover." 44:19 Now these Herods were political operatives. 44:21 So he knew the time. 44:22 He didn't want to do anything during Passover 44:23 for the would not have gone well with the Jewish people. 44:27 Verse 5, "Peter was therefore kept in prison, 44:31 but constant prayer," praise God, "was offered to God 44:35 for him by the church." 44:38 I want to take just a moment and give you just a little 44:40 historical perspective on the Herods. 44:43 Because we hear these names so very much. 44:45 There are a lot of Herods. 44:46 Three of them dealt directly with Christ's life. 44:48 There were six in total that the Bible sort of deals with. 44:52 And there's an easy way to sort of remember 44:53 what Herod is what Herod. 44:56 Herod the Great, the grandfather of them all, 44:59 that's the Christmas story Herod. 45:01 That's the one that the wisemen went to seeking Jesus. 45:04 That's Herod the Great. 45:05 And they knew something was wrong, 45:06 so they went back another way. 45:08 That's Herod the Great. 45:10 His son, Herod Archelaus, was on the throne 45:14 when Joseph and Mary were coming back, 45:17 and instead of going to Bethlehem 45:19 they went to Nazareth because they feared him 45:21 because he too was a trickster. 45:24 You've got Herod Antipas. 45:27 This is the one that Jesus called, that fox. 45:29 That fox. 45:31 And, "fox," is an interesting term. 45:33 It means, trickster, but it also means, 45:35 in modern terminology you could say, that small fry, you know. 45:38 He thinks he's a big guy, but he's really kind of a small fry. 45:41 Kind of a minnow in a big pond. 45:43 So Christ said, "Go tell that fox," that small fry, 45:45 that little minnow, "that he's not all that he thinks he is." 45:49 He, of course, killed John the Baptist. 45:53 Herod Philip, his brother, ruled north of Galilee, 45:58 built Caesarea Philippi. 45:59 Now what is interesting, Herod Antipas, Herod Philip 46:03 were married to Herodias. 46:07 They shared the same wife. 46:09 Herodias not only was wife of them both, 46:11 she was niece of them both. 46:14 So the tightness of the intermarriage. 46:16 So when Herod Philip went to Rome, Herodias left Philip, 46:22 moved in with Antipas. 46:24 And this, of course, was what John was railing against 46:27 when, at the suggestion of Herodias, Salome danced. 46:32 And of course, they got together and Herod Antipas, 46:37 so aroused by this young lady, 46:40 "Anything you want you can have." 46:41 And of course, her mother said, 46:42 "Ask for the head of John the Baptist." 46:44 Now we've got Herod Agrippa. 46:47 This is the Herod that we're dealing with now 46:49 that is reaching out to please the Jews 46:54 by assassinating Christians. 46:56 He, of course, is followed by Herod Agrippa II. 46:59 He was on the throne during the trial of Paul at Caesarea. 47:04 So we've got six Herods. 47:06 They were not Jews, by the way. 47:08 They were Edomites, or Edomiter; desert people, they were Arabs. 47:11 But they practiced Judaism because it was convenient. 47:16 You know, these are political operatives. 47:18 They'll do whatever needs to be done to get the job done. 47:22 Sometimes they killed for Jews, 47:25 sometimes they killed Jews themselves. 47:27 But the Herods did whatever was necessary 47:31 to get the job done, and what was expedient. 47:35 They found, Agrippa found that executing James 47:40 pleased the Jewish leaders. 47:42 So now he reaches out to take care of the big fisherman. 47:48 He wants to put Peter aside. 47:50 He puts him in prison. 47:51 He remembers, this is interesting, he remembers 47:55 what happened in Acts chapter 5 47:57 the last time Peter was in prison. 47:58 You know, they took him from the temple, 48:01 put him in prison, came back the next morning, 48:05 doors locked, guards standing in place, no Peter. 48:08 Well, where's Peter? 48:09 In the temple preaching right where he was before. 48:12 And they said, "Didn't we tell you not to preach in this name?" 48:14 Of course, we get the famous statement in Acts 5:29, 48:17 "It is better, rather, to obey God rather than man." 48:20 So he remembers that just normal prison work 48:24 is not going to hold Peter. 48:25 So he puts him in the deepest part of the prison, 48:29 four squads of soldiers, two chained one on each arm. 48:34 You know, he's got this guy locked down, or so he thinks. 48:37 Because he wants to silence Peter. 48:40 You know, Danny, we see here the evolution spiritually of Peter. 48:44 When we started, this was a guy whose mouth 48:47 runs at 78 and his brain working at 331/3, you know. 48:51 He's not going to do this, he's going to do this. 48:53 But now he is growing in the Lord. 48:56 And you can tell a lot about a person by the friends he keeps. 48:59 You can also tell a lot about a person 49:01 by the enemies that they have. 49:03 And Peter is picking up some enemies 49:04 in some very high places. 49:06 He's got Herod who wants to silence him. 49:08 And he's got a Jewish community that also wants to silence him. 49:11 But the common thread that we've all seen 49:14 over the last several weeks is that these men 49:17 are filled with the Spirit of God. 49:19 When Christ said in Acts 1:8, "I'm going to give you power," 49:23 He meant, "I'm going to give you the ability 49:26 to do what you have to do to move this church forward." 49:28 So here we have Peter, another man, 49:30 filled with the Spirit of God. 49:33 So, he's chained. 49:36 The angel comes in, taps him on the shoulder, 49:39 and says, "Get up quickly." 49:40 The chains fall off. You've got two soldier there. 49:42 The chains fall off, the doors open, he comes out. 49:47 And they are praying at John Mark's mom's house. 49:51 They are praying, praying, praying for Peter. 49:53 Praying for Peter. 49:54 And the story is really kind of cute here. 49:56 Let me just go to something here in the lesson 50:00 before we sort of tidy this up. 50:01 I'm looking at my time. 50:03 "Because James' execution was effective and fulfilling 50:06 Agrippa's agenda, he planned to execute Peter." 50:08 So he wanted Peter gone as well. 50:11 "Peter was arrested and delivered to four squads 50:14 of four soldiers each..." 50:15 Four squads of four soldiers each. 50:19 "...to guard him, one squad for each of the 50:22 four watches of the night." 50:24 So they're changing soldiers. Nobody is getting any sleep. 50:27 Nobody is going to nod. 50:28 We've got four squads of four soldiers. 50:31 "Peter had four soldiers at a time with him: 50:34 he would be chained to two soldiers, one on each side, 50:38 and two would guard the entrance. 50:41 Such extreme precaution was certainly taken 50:44 to try to avoid what had already happened 50:47 to Peter and John some time before." 50:49 And of course, that's Acts chapter 5. 50:51 So this is an exciting story because God is going to let 50:54 Herod know, "You can't keep My people down. 50:57 You can't hold the work of God back." 51:01 So no matter how much you chain, 51:03 the grave couldn't hold Jesus, and four squads of four soldiers 51:07 can't hold Peter either. 51:08 So it's a wonderful story. 51:11 So the Bible says the night before he's waiting for 51:13 Passover to be over so that, you know, things are down. 51:16 Plus the crowd is not so big because the Passover 51:18 crowd has left. 51:20 He intends to bring him out the next morning. 51:24 And the Lord chooses that night to deliver him, you know. 51:27 Eleven o'clock, 11:59:59 Peter is coming out. 51:32 It's a wonderful story. And they're praying. 51:35 Now here's the cute part, as we look at a little bit later on. 51:40 Rhoda is with the group. 51:43 And they're praying for Peter. 51:45 And Peter comes, and we find that he comes to the house. 51:51 And let's look at Acts chapter 12 and verse, 51:57 I'll do this very quickly, 13. 51:59 Let's look at this. 52:01 "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, 52:03 a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 52:05 When she recognized Peter's voice..." 52:07 So she knew who he was. 52:08 "...because of her gladness she did not open the gate, 52:12 but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate." 52:16 So she's so excited that she doesn't connect the dots. 52:20 She running in to tell them, "Peter is here! Peter is here!" 52:23 But the Bible says Peter keeps knocking. 52:24 He's like the Lord, he keeps knocking. 52:26 He doesn't knock and leave. He keeps knocking. 52:28 And they come and realize that she's not out of her mind, 52:32 but that their prayers have been answered. 52:34 So Peter has been delivered. 52:37 Now here's the question I want to ask 52:39 in the last few seconds that are allotted to me. 52:41 James was not delivered. 52:44 Peter was delivered. 52:46 Is that a commentary on James or Peter? 52:48 It is not. 52:50 God takes care of His people. 52:51 There are many, many, many who have sacrificed for the Lord. 52:55 And then every now and again God chooses to hold up a trophy 52:58 to say that, "I can do this." 53:00 God is God. 53:02 You know, had He not delivered the Hebrew boys 53:03 He still would have been their God. 53:05 They said, "Though He slay me," Job said, 53:07 "yet will I trust Him," you know. 53:08 The Hebrew boys said to Nebuchadnezzar, 53:11 "If we die in this, we're not going to bow down." 53:13 So our job is to stand for Christ, whatever happens. 53:19 Even if our life is cut short, those who live in Jesus 53:23 will die in Jesus, will also live again. 53:26 I did 117 funerals several years ago. 53:28 And at every funeral I said the same thing. 53:32 Death in Christ is not such a bad thing. 53:34 Better to die in Jesus than to live without Him. 53:38 ~ Amen. Thank you so much. 53:40 This has been really an eye opener for all of us. 53:44 And it's so neat to be able to study 53:45 together and hear each of you. 53:47 I know, Mollie, you said some really neat things. 53:50 Of course, the gospel is for everyone. 53:52 And you said it's grace and not race. 53:55 And so that includes all of us when you put it like that. 53:58 And Shelley, you said something similar. 54:00 But you talked about receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. 54:03 But you also said that we should... 54:07 Prejudice, I think you said, I wrote that down, is pride. 54:12 And so pride, of course, pride goeth before a fall. 54:15 But it's what Satan really had in heaven. 54:17 So what we're finding out is that 54:20 God has people in all churches. 54:21 And maybe sometimes we're too quick to judge other people 54:25 because they're not just like us. 54:27 So I think the lesson, and some of you watching 54:29 who are maybe not of our faith, you're saying, Oh, those..." 54:32 Last Sabbath I turned on another gospel channel, 54:37 and the man said, "I want to give you some information 54:39 on Seventh-day Adventists. 54:40 They're a cult," he said. 54:42 "And so we have this DVD you can order." 54:44 Of course, you know I'm still in Peter's process, 54:46 so I emailed him, I got the email address, 54:49 and said, "I'd be happy to talk to you about this, 54:51 you know, any time you want to." 54:52 And come and visit, and what have you. 54:54 But what we're finding is, we tend to judge each other 54:57 if someone is not like us. 54:59 And so, Jill, you told us we really should recognize 55:02 the gifts and the good in other people. 55:06 And we also should acknowledge God and His 55:08 supremacy and sovereignty. 55:11 And so, then C.A., just as we're all happy and getting 55:15 everything, you know, all excited, you remind us 55:19 that being a Christian... 55:20 I don't know if this is politically correct. 55:22 We use to say, being a Christian is not for sissies. 55:24 But being a Christian comes with a price to pay. 55:29 But these men were now willing to pay that price. 55:34 They weren't of their own strength. 55:36 And again, we go back to Peter and how bold he was 55:39 and, you know, how physical he was. 55:42 But then after this true conversion, 55:44 how he acted totally in the Spirit. 55:47 How he rightly represented Jesus Christ and how humble he was. 55:53 And yet, you know what? 55:54 He went from boldness in the flesh to boldness in the Spirit. 55:58 So there's nothing here that says that we need to 56:02 back away or be afraid, or whatever, 56:05 because this world is just temporary. 56:07 And we're just strangers here. 56:09 We're just passing through, the old song says. 56:12 You know, this world is not my home, 56:13 I'm just passing through. 56:16 My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. 56:18 The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, 56:21 and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. 56:24 So hopefully that's each and every one of us. 56:27 We want to thank you for joining us on the Sabbath School Panel. 56:30 Again, if you don't have the Sabbath School 56:35 lesson, you can get it. 56:37 Can somebody have the address where to get it? 56:46 But the best way is to actually visit your 56:49 Seventh-day Adventist church. 56:51 We know that there are people there who are praying 56:54 that you will come and meet with them 56:56 and literally abide with them. 56:58 And it can kind of be like the book of Acts. 57:00 We can get together, be in one accord, 57:02 and ask God for an anointing of the Holy Spirit. 57:05 God has great, and mighty, and marvelous plans for you. 57:09 And remember, when you come in the name of the Lord 57:11 you no longer come as yourself. 57:14 You can come like David did against Goliath. 57:16 And guess what? You know who won that battle. 57:18 But we encourage you to come in the name of the Lord. 57:21 Once again, thank you for joining us. 57:23 And we'll see you next week once again at our 57:26 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. |
Revised 2024-07-22