Acts 11

ACTS 11

v. 1-3 Peter faces the storm of criticism
Peter is moving into a new realm of spiritual revelation the other believers have yet to experience and do not understand or believe to be valid.

It is an unfortunate reality that as we move into greater revelation in the Holy Spirit, those who have not had the same experience will criticize!

God is not interested in comforting the comfortable! He loves to upset the ‘status quo’ in order to produce in us a deeper sense of awe and greater dependency upon Him!

v. 4 Peter explains what has happened

v. 5-17 Recap and conclusion

Peter defended his activities by describing his ministry experience rather than by arguing theology.

The glory is in the story!

Peter’s most convincing argument is that the new Gentile believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues. (vs. 17)

v. 18 The criticism becomes acceptance which leads to praise

v. 19-21 Application of revelation

19 – Initial target: Due to persecution in Jerusalem, the church spreads the Gospel to Jews in Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch.

Antioch was the capital of Syria. Third largest city of Roman Empire, approximately 500,000 people. Antioch was in modern-day Turkey and now carries the name Antakya. (See map) Wealthy commercial city filled with beautiful streets and marvelous architecture. About 25,000 Jews lived there. The Gentile part of Antioch had fallen into moral degradation. This was due in part to the large numbers of people held in demonic bondage to worship of Diana and Apollo.



20 – Second target: ‘to the Greeks also…’

21 – Results:
1. “The Lord’s hand was with them…” – signifying supernatural power from God! See Acts 4:30, 13:11
2. Great numbers turned to the Lord

Acts is broken up into three sections that fulfill Jesus’ prophecy in Acts 1:8

Part 1: Acts 1-6 – To Jerusalem and Judea
Evidence of supernatural power: 2:4, 43, 4:30, 5:12

Part 2: Acts 6-8 – To Samaria
Evidence of supernatural power: 6:8, 8:6

Part 3: Acts 9-28 – To the ends of the earth
Evidence of supernatural power: 9:33-34, 40-41, 15:12

v. 22 Barnabus sent to investigate

v. 23 Barnabus gives his blessing based upon the evidence

v. 24 Barnabus joins in the work

v. 25-26 Barnabus gets Paul to join with him in the work

v. 26b “Called Christians” for the first time
A term of derision from the Romans.
Literally means ‘little Christ’
Only used three times in the New Testament (9:26, 26:38, 1 Peter 4:16)

Easton’s Bible Dictionary: “the name given by the Greeks or Romans, probably in reproach, to the followers of Jesus. It was first used at Antioch. The names by which the disciples were known among themselves were "brethren," "the faithful," "elect," "saints," "believers." But as distinguishing them from the multitude without, the name "Christian" came into use, and was universally accepted.”

v. 27 Prophets from Jerusalem arrive on scene
Spiritual gifts are in full bloom and functionality

Gift of prophecy – 1 Corinthians 12:10
Office of prophet – Ephesians 4:11

v. 28 Specifics of the prophecy

v. 29-30 Response to the prophecy

Acts 10

ACTS 10

The Tale of Two Visions

MEET CORNELIUS – v. 1-8

v. 1 Caesarea - a city on the shore of the Mediterranean, on the great road from Tyre to Egypt, about 70 miles northwest of Jerusalem, at the northern extremity of the plain of Sharon. It was built by Herod the Great (B.C. 10), who named it after Caesar Augustus. It was the capital of the Roman province of Judaea, the seat of the governors or procurators, and the headquarters of the Roman troops. It was the great Gentile city of Palestine, with a spacious artificial harbor. It was adorned with many buildings of great splendor, after the manner of the Roman cities of the West.

v. 1-2 Cornelius
What did he do?
What was his ethnicity?
What was his character?

God-Fearer: When they went to synagogue meetings, the God-fearers had to meet in a separate place. They could not enter the worship area of the synagogue itself because they were Gentiles, and as us, were regarded by the Jews as unclean. John Stott says: “It is difficult for us to grasp the impassable gulf which yawned in those days between the Jews and the Gentiles. No orthodox Jew would ever enter the home of a Gentile, even a God-fearer, or invite such into his home.”

v. 3-6 Cornelius’ vision
When did it happen?
What does this say about Cornelius’ priorities and passions?
Who was in the vision?
What did he say?

v. 7-8 Cornelius’ response
What specific things did Cornelius do in response?

PETER’S TRANCE – v. 9-16

v. 9-10 Peter experiences a trance
What is going on in Peter’s life just prior to this?
Fasting removes obstacles to hearing the voice of God.

v. 11-12 Specifics of the trance

v. 13 Instructions

v. 14 Peter’s initial response
Why would Peter respond this way?

v. 15 Instructions and explanation
What does this mean?
What did it mean to Peter the Jew?
What does it mean to YOU the American?

v. 16 A third time
Why repeat it so many times?


THE APPLICATION

v. 17-20 Immediate Application
What was it in this case?
When God grants revelation, keep watch for what happens next!


THE VISIONS COLLIDE

v. 21-23 Peter goes to Joppa

v. 24 Cornelius prepares for Peter’s visitation
What does Cornelius do in preparation?

v. 25-28 Equality in Christ
What does this do for Peter? For Cornelius?

v. 29-35 God does not show favoritism

v. 36-43 Sharing the Gospel

v. 44-48 Pentecost comes to the Gentiles!
This is the ultimate example of God’s acceptance. The Holy Spirit comes into the lives of the ‘unclean’ and purifies, fills and empowers them!


“If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found, and if you make them put their cigarette out to hear the message they will be thinking about only one thing:
‘When can I get another cigarette?’”
Neil Cole Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens

Acts 9:19-31

Acts 9:19-31

The Life of a New Believer
19b - Intentional discipleship
20 - Immediate ministry involvement
21 - Authentic results

Why is it vital that the new believer immediately be discipled and involved in ministry?

What kind of church environment can provide this?

What are the results seen in Paul’s life?

22 - Growing in power
See Galatians 1:11,12
- Proving that Jesus is the Christ – How?

23-25 - Prophecy fulfilled – see 9:16

Three-year gap between verse 25 and verse 26
Galatians 1:15-18 – Was Paul preaching to the Arabs?

Back to Jerusalem
26-28 - Stuck between a rock and a hard place

The Jews saw Paul as a traitor
The Believers saw Paul as an untrustworthy persecutor

Barnabas – ‘son of encouragement’ validates Paul to the believers.

Trouble, again
29-30 - See Acts 22:17-22

“Paul recognized that the gospel was ‘for the Jew first’ (Romans 1:16), but he never did particularly well in evangelizing Jews. He was called as an apostle to the uncircumcision, and this word of Jesus in the Temple was a further confirmation of that call.” – C. Peter Wagner

Say goodbye to Paul for 10 years!

Church growth without Paul
31 - It seems that the Jerusalem church was better off not having Paul there than having him there on this early visit. Why would that be?

Acts 9:32-43

Acts 9:32-43

Healing the Lame and Raising the Dead

The emphasis shifts from Paul to Peter

v. 32 Lyyda – a Jewish town in the region of Benjamin. Located between Jerusalem and Joppa

“saints” – a church had been established in this town. Possibly by Philip.

HEALING THE LAME

v. 33 Aeneas in Lyyda – paralyzed for eight years

Is this a healing – or – a miracle?

See 1 Corinthians 12:9 & 10

v. 34 The miraculous healing

What is Peter’s approach?
What doesn’t he do?
How could Peter be so bold?

v. 35 Results

Is ‘all’ to be taken literally or figuratively?

People movements towards Christ are not that uncommon in other parts of the world.

A tiny village in Bhutan turns to Christ

What's a missionary to do when God says "go", but the government says "no"? Gospel for Asia missionary Benita listened to God, and thanks to her faithfulness there are nine new Christian households in Bhutan.

Benita and fellow missionary, Rana, were working with believers in a fellowship group Benita had planted in a southern Bhutan village. Both of these women sensed a strong burden to share the love of Christ with the people in a tiny neighboring village. There are only nine families in this next-door village, but reaching out to them would not be simple. Benita and Rana's activities had already drawn the attention of local government officials, who had the two women arrested.

The Gospel is perceived as a threat to the country's majority Buddhist religion, and even to its indigenous identity. Freedom of religion is written into the country's laws, but Buddhism is the official, recognized state religion, and it is illegal for a Buddhist to become a Christian. It is illegal to build a Christian church, and Christians are only allowed to practice their faith at home. Christian missionaries are barred from entering Bhutan.

Benita and Rana were released from police custody with strict orders to stay out of the neighboring village where they so desperately wanted to share the Gospel. Government officials continued to harass the women, who reluctantly made the decision that it was time to discontinue their joint ministry. Benita continued to serve the small fellowship in Dagana. Rana headed west, back to her home state of Samtse in southeastern Bhutan. In spite of the trials, God blessed each woman's individual ministry.

Benita and Rana continued to be burdened for that one small village where they were now forbidden to travel. The two women continued to lift the village up in prayer, seeking a way to share the Gospel with these nine households.

In October, Benita decided that she had waited long enough. She boldly sneaked into the village, where she was met by shocked but excited faces. These villagers were ready to hear about Jesus! For two days Benita shared the Gospel with these nine households. Every single person in the village received Jesus as their Savior during those two days! More than 25 are following up with public professions of their new faith.

That may sound like a small thing, but in a country that has only an estimated 3,000 Christians, it can be considered a major victory for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. GFA's Bhutan leaders ask for prayer for the spiritual nourishment of these new believers who do not have a pastor to shepherd them. They also ask for prayer that God will continue to use Benita and Rana in their individual ministries.

Source: Gospel for Asia - http://www.gfa.org/

Key: The deeds of Peter demonstrated in a very public manner the power of God.

RAISING THE DEAD

v. 36 Joppa – a city of Jews in the region of Dan about 30 miles north west of Jerusalem. The preeminent seaport of Judea.

Tabitha/Dorcas – a very godly and widely respected Christian woman who was active in ministry to the poor.

v. 37 Died

v. 38 The believer’s in Joppa sent for Peter who was in Lyyda, a distance of about nine miles.

Why did they send for Peter?

v. 39 A scene of grief and mourning.
v. 40-41 Peter sends everyone out of the room following the example of Jesus when He raised Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37-40).

Knelt and prayed – why?

Gave a direct command – why?

She gets up and Peter takes her to the believers.

v. 42 Results of the miracle

What do we learn from seeing the dead raised?

1. Raising the dead is a Christian ministry – Matthew 10:8

2. Raising the dead is only a partial victory over death.

3. Satan is ultimate cause of death – Romans 6:23

4. Death is not a part of God’s original intent for humans and it is not a part of the fullness of the Kingdom of God – 1 Corinthians 15:26, Revelation 21:4

5. Raising the dead is a ‘sign’ of the Kingdom of God

6. The ultimate purpose of raising the dead is salvation – Acts 9:42

Acts 9:7-20

ACTS 9:8-20

Review
ß 1-2 Saul’s intent
ß 3-5 Christ’s intent
ß 6-7 Christ’s instruction


v. 8-9 Blindness

“What a reversal of events! Paul, who desired to dash the believers to the ground, is lying face down on the ground. He, who wished to bring prisoners bound from Damascus to Jerusalem, now is led as a prisoner of blindness to Damascus… He, who came to triumph over the Christian faith, now submits to the Captain of the faith.” – Simon Kistemaker

v. 10 Meet Ananias
ß “disciple”
ß “highly respected” – see 22:12

v. 10b-12 Ananias’ vision

ß What does the simple fact that Ananias had a vision tell you about Ananias?
ß Specifics of the vision:
o Place
o Person #1
o Person #2
o Activity of Saul
o Expectation of Saul

ß The Bible speaks of over 50 different people receiving visions!

ß God STILL speaks and communicates through visions!
o Acts 2:17
o Joel 2:28
o Vision – ‘horasis’ – an appearance divinely granted in an ecstasy or dream.

ß Are we listening?
o Isaiah 28:27
o Isaiah 50:4-5
o Isaiah 30:18-21


v. 13-14 Ananias’ initial response


v. 15 Christ’s instruction

ß “my chosen instrument…” – Christ’s selection
ß “to carry my name…” - Christ’s pre-eminence
ß “before the Gentiles… kings and people of Isreal…” – Christ’s purpose

v. 16 Christ’s warning

ß 1 Corinthians 4:9-13
ß 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, 12:10

v. 17-19 Ananias encounters Saul

ß “placed his hands on Saul” – Mark 16:18
ß “Brother Saul” – Acceptance
ß “see again” – Healing
ß “be filled with the Holy Spirit” – Empowerment

ß What had Paul been doing for three days that helped to prepare him for this?
o See vs. 9 & 11

ß “baptized” – Paul identified with the very Body of Christ that he had been trying to destroy!

v. 19b-20

ß “several days with the disciples in Damascus…”
ß What do you imagine happened during that time?
ß “At once he began to preach…”

Acts 9:1-6

ACTS 9:1-6
Saul meets Jesus

v. 1 & 2
Saul has become a full-time persecutor of the Messianic Jews, even to the point of traveling to Damascus (approximately 100 miles) to reign in and arrest any Jews from the Jerusalem area.

“The Way” has become a common descriptive term for the earliest Christians.
(See Acts 19:9, 23, 24:14, 22)

His desire is to arrest and return them to Jerusalem, where the Sanhedrin had jurisdiction and the ability to punish.


v. 3-5 The Damascus Road Meeting

The story of Paul’s conversion is told three times in the book of Acts:
9:1-6
22:6-16
26:13-15

Paul’s conversion is an awesome display of God’s power in human affairs.
The display includes:
ß Supernatural light
ß Vison
ß Falling under the power of the Spirit
ß Hearing (audibly) the voice of God
ß Spiritual rebirth

SUPERNATURAL LIGHT

A visible manifestation of the glory of God!

Matthew 17:2

Pastor Jack Hayford tells the story of early in his ministry at Church on the Way, when he was struggling with a complacent congregation of about 100 people and then one Saturday he went into the sanctuary alone and saw it filled with a silvery mist. He says, “No earthly dust had the glowing quality that this mist possessed as it filled the whole room, even where the sunlight was not shining.” God had filled the sanctuary with His glory and a church growth phenomenon began that has built the Church on the Way to be one of the most influential churches in America. (See Glory in Your House, Jack Hayford ©1991 Chosen Books)

2 Corinthians 4:4-6
When a person comes to experience the light of Christ, suddenly we have a desire for others to experience Him too!

See John 8:12, Matthew 5:14-16


VISION: Seeing the Risen Christ!

Acts 9:17 has Ananias speaking prophetically about Paul’s encounter.

9:27 ‘seen the Lord’

1 Corinthians 9:1

1 Corinthians 15:8

Acts 22:17-18


FALLING TO THE GROUND

The phenomenon of falling to the ground under the power of the Holy Spirit has become quite common in today’s churches. It is also known as ‘resting in the Spirit’ or being ‘slain in the Spirit’.

In my limited experience, I have come to discover that when this happens, it is a time of intense love accompanied by an overwhelming sense of the Holy Presence of God.

Think about it this way: When a person is being touched by the Power of Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe – doesn’t it make sense that there would be PHYSICAL manifestations of that touch?

John the Apostle’s experience:
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” Revelation 1:17


“I lay on my face, a quivering mass of adoring jelly. I, therefore, am unable to dismiss what I see of certain phenomena in the present, or what I read about in the past.” John White When the Spirit Comes in Power, InterVarsity Press ©1988

Revelation 5:8, 14, 7:11, 19:4, Psalms 72:11, Matthew 2:11, 1 Chronicles 29:20,
2 Chronicles 7:3, Psalms 95:6

HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD (Audibly) 9:4-5, 22:7, 27:14

The voice of God was clear enough to quote directly!
The voice of God was spoken in Paul’s language. If someone asked Paul why he became a missionary, he could easily say: “Because God told me to!”

God still speaks today. He has not been silenced. He has not gone mute. He loves to talk to His children.

Even a man as conservative as Dr. Henry Blackaby – a Southern Baptist – said in his book Experiencing God that: "If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience."

The point is this: All believer’s should be able to discern God’s voice – whether it is audible or not! And, if you cannot, there is no need to be ashamed, or to feel guilty, but, there is need to improve your intimacy with Him!

That said, there are times that this can be abused. People with pure motives, or not, can misunderstand and/or misappropriate what they believe is God speaking. Therefore, when one says: “God told me…” you had better be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that God did indeed tell you!

Again, I refer to the wisdom of Jack Hayford:
“As I say, ‘God spoke to me,’ I am being even more specific than referring to general revelation or to private inner impressions. I reserve these words intentionally for the rare, special occasions when, in my spirit, I have had the Lord speak directly to me. I do not mean, ‘I felt impressed’ or ‘I sensed somehow.’ Instead, I mean that a given moment, almost always when I least expected it, the Lord spoke words to me. Those whose have been so distinct that I am virtually able to say, ‘And I quote.’” Glory in Your House, Jack Hayford ©1991 Chosen Books


The Spoken Word of God is not equal to the Scriptures. In fact, all spoken words must be tested by the Scripture.

Here’s a three-stage filtering process:

Stage One: Was it a true word? Did the person hearing from God confuse a personal thought with the voice of God? Was more emotion than revelation involved? Each one should be humble enough to admit that these are always possibilities.

Stage Two: Was the impression accurate? Even if the words were correctly heard, care needs to be taken in extracting the meaning, especially when the word is in poetic or parabolic form.

Stage Three: How is it to be applied? Should all, or any, of what God has said be communicated to others? If so, to whom? What is God’s timing for the application?


SPIRITUAL REBIRTH

v. 5-6 The question: “Who are you, Lord?”

Saul says: “Lord” because there is no question in his mind of the superiority of whoever it is that is talking with him. The only question is that of identity. And Jesus’ response is precisely what Saul needed to hear: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Acts 8:26-40

ACTS 8:26-40

v. 26 Angelic Revelation

Angels are God’s messengers, sent to give instruction. In this case, the instruction to Philip is extremely specific!

It’s important to know that when you are dedicated to doing God’s will, He is more than able to provide you with all the specifics you need, exactly when you need them. See Acts 16:6-10

How do angels bring revelation?

The desert road that Philip was sent on was desolate and empty. In fact, there was another road to Gaza that went through more populated areas – which seemed to be the more likely and ‘natural’ course to take. But God has an ‘divine appointment’ for Philip on the less traveled passage.


v. 27 Obedience before Appointment

What does Philip DO? Why is this important?

Meet the Appointment:

Ethiopian – Ethiopia, a northern Africa country, was considered to be one of the meanest and most brutal nations on earth.

Eunuch – Not necessarily physical, ‘eunuch’ was also used to describe a person given the role of ‘head of the household’ or ‘steward of the house’.

A person of great authority.

Spiritually hungry. Possibly a convert to Judaism.


v. 28 Reading Without Understanding (also v. 31)


v. 29 Spirit direction

v. 30 Looking for the connection point

v. 31 “How can I understand?”

See Romans 10:14-15

v. 32-33 Isaiah 53:7-8

Why didn’t the Ethiopian understand this verse?

What does this verse really mean? And, how would it lead to sharing the Gospel?


v. 34-35 The Gospel made clear


v. 36 What prevents me?


v. 37 Why is verse 37 missing?

What is the prerequisite for baptism?

v. 38 Mission Accomplished

v. 39-40 Spiritual Transportation and Further Expansion