Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....6/10/19
We continue our study of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles...
This week we look at...Acts 9
One of my favorite hymns contains this lyric....Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind but now I see.
I wonder, what makes us think we’re so special that God would save a wretch like you/me but not a wretch like someone else? That He’d rescue us by grace, yet His grace is insufficient for the really bad and undeserving people around us.
Terry and I plan on going back to the Holy Land next year and if I have been reminded of anything over the days I have spent in Israel, it’s been that God so loved the world (that’s you, me, and everyone) that He gave His only Son to die on a cross to pay for our sin to rescue us from the dominion of darkness so that He can bring us into the kingdom of His Son in whom we will find redemption and forgiveness.
Daily in Israel I was reminded of how a holy, loving God is in relentless pursuit of His creation to draw us all to Himself no matter what tribe, nation, or ethnicity we might be from – and no matter how indifferent or hostile we might be to Him.
Several weeks ago we started a series of teachings in Acts about the unstoppable movement of the Holy Spirit and His impact upon our lives as God’s church.
In this series we’ve discovered the ministry and growth of the church has never been, nor will ever be, a work of the human ingenuity, effort, or ability, but solely the work and influence of the Holy Spirit In fact, what’s clear in Scripture is that anything built on the ingenuity or ability of man, while it might look glitzy and glamorous – will neither last nor matter.
Just as it is w/ the church as an Unstoppable work of the Holy Spirit, we find in the story in Acts 9 that salvation too is absolutely and completely a Divine work of God thru the ministry of the H.S. to draw people into relationship to God thru the atoning death of Jesus.
This truth is beautifully expressed by Paul in Ephesians 1 where he explains to us that from the beginning salvation was PLANNED by the Father, PURCHASED by the Son, and is being PRESENTED and PRESERVED by the Holy Spirit.
Remember what Peter so boldly and clearly said in Acts 4...
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man by which we must be saved.
Meaning Jesus is God’s one solution to the problem of sin – He is the answer! But based on what happened on the day of Pentecost, and what happened on the day Peter and John healed the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate, the essential element empowering this message was the Holy Spirit.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31
If you read the entire account of Peter and John healing the crippled man, and the Divine appointments of declaration that resulted in 2,000+ people coming to Christ in spite of numerous spiritual and physical attacks – you see clearly that it was the work of the Holy Spirit and not Peter or John.
So my point is...It’s not you or me, but God in us working thru us in the ministry of the Holy Spirit who empowers the truth.
The unstoppable force behind the unstoppable message of the Gospel is none other than the Holy Spirit abiding in our lives. God puts Himself there the moment we receive Christ as our Savior. Ephesians 1:13 tells us that He is a deposit in our lives not only guaranteeing our salvation, but empowering us to live this thing called the abiding life of Christ.
What does this mean?? Salvation has nothing to do with us except that we believe. Instead, salvation is a work of God EXPRESSED by the Father, EMBODIED by the Son, and EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit. So while Jesus paid it all, it is the Holy Spirit who is the unstoppable force who confronts, convicts, convinces, and converts. God can save anyone! He can rescue the best or worst of humanity – including the Herod’s, Hilter’s, and the Hussein’s.
Don’t believe me…lets look, this week at Acts 9 and witness together the amazing and powerful grace of God – for if God can rescue a religious zealot, terrorist like Saul, then He can save anyone. This text answer (3) big questions...
How Lost is LOST?
Have you ever thought about how lost is lost? To be lost means you can’t find your way. It means you’ve gotten yourself into a desperate situation in which there’s no way out and you need someone to step in to help. LOST!
Spiritually speaking, to be lost is to be separated from God and incapable of finding your way back to Him. As we’ve learned from the parable of the Prodigal Son, it doesn’t matter how rebellious/religious you might be or how close or far you are to the Father – you’re still lost!
Paul was lost with a capital “L”. Quite simply, he wasn’t a very nice guy. Yes, he was religious, but he had missed the truth. And despite how brash and bold he was in his faith, he considered it his life mission to exterminate this infestation known as the “Way” no matter by what means were necessary.
A ...He was a Religious ZEALOT
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the 8th day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church… Ph. 3:4-6
To the church at Philippi, Paul shares his resume. He told them before Christ he was one bad hombre.
Saul was so feared, when God came to Ananias, he questions if God’s got the right guy. In vs. 26, we find that the other disciples were so terrified of Paul and his reputation, at first they wouldn’t let him play in their sandbox.
B...He was a Remorseless MURDERER
When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. Acts 7:54-58
Paul might not have thrown a pebble, but you can be sure he was an instigator and an accomplice in Stephen’s death. You can be sure he enjoyed every second of Stephen’s death. He was complicit; and Stephen’s blood was all over his hands. And I’m willing to bet Stephen wasn’t the only follower who died in the presence or at the hand of Saul of Tarsus.
C...He was a Relentless TERRORIST
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 9:1-2
Paul wasn’t interested in taking prisoners... he wanted to rid the world of these “little Christ”. Much like what we see terrorists doing around the world today, there was a conviction in his heart that Christianity must be stopped and eliminated with no memory of its existence. That’s what terrorists have been doing in the Middle East. They want to re-write history as if it never existed. That’s Saul. He was on a mission of terror.
But then he had a close encounter w/ the unstoppable force of the H.S. of God that turned his life inside out and right-side up. Let’s pick up his story in vs 3.
How are the Lost FOUND?
As he neared Damascus on his journey suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling w/ Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
The lost are found the same way – by the grace of God in Jesus alone. It’s by His wounds we’re healed.
Did you know Paul’s conversion is no more spectacular than your conversion? Do you know why I can make such a statement? Because for anyone to be saved and rescued from their sin it requires a miracle of God! It requires Divine intervention.
No matter how lost a person might be by human standards, nothing that’s dead can bring itself to life apart except by a miracle of God. And without Christ, we’re all dead in our trespasses incapable of saving ourselves. This is why God entered time and space in the person of Christ – to offer Himself as a satisfying sacrifice, to make atonement for our sin.
For any person to become aware of such grace requires the revelation (rhema) of God. It requires we have our own Damascus Road encounter. No, we might not hear an audible voice like here in Paul’s case, but we do have to be confronted by the H.S. to hear at least the still small voice of God in our soul that’s just as powerful and loud as the voice Saul heard.
Similarly, we might not see a blinding light that causes us to lose our sight, but instead, we must see the Light of God’s grace in the wake of our sinfulness that allows the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual sight – causing us to do as Paul did... open our hearts to receive Christ as Savior.
We all come to Christ the same way – thru Christ by invitation of the Holy Spirit – when He confronts us, convict us, convince us, and convert us into relationship w/ God. No one comes to the Father less the Spirit draws him.
How do the Found FOLLOW?
Whether we’re talking about Ananias, Paul, or any of us, the reality is the same: We follow through abiding and responding to the will of God found in the Word of God revealed by the Spirit of God. In considering Ananias, we get a picture.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he replied. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here w/ authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” So Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so you may see again and be filled w/ the Holy Spirit” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized…
Ananias is an example of an abiding follower. He easily recognized/responded to the voice/call of God – My sheep hear my voice and follow me.
As a result of living in Christ, God gave Ananias a Divine appointment. READ THIS CAREFULLY – this is important. When you live an abiding life, God directs your steps so every appointment is a Divine appointment. But when you walk by flesh instead of by faith – it’s all a spiritual crapshoot. So it is critical we learn how to follow God under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
The found follow in the same way they’re found – by responding to the leading of the H.S. This can be a great challenge for many of us today because many of us have grown up in a church tradition or environment that’s been reluctant to embrace the Holy Spirit. We’re not always comfortable when the Holy Spirit moves. To be honest, there are some in the faith who give the impression the emotion of the Spirit is greater than truth, but that’s not true. Jesus told us clearly in John 4 that we’re to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
These two items aren’t contradictory but compulsory. We can’t have one without the other. They go hand in hand. Like a plane. Who’s going to board a plane with one wing? No one! Why? Because we all recognize that a plane requires 2 wings, equally balanced and operable to get a plane in the air. To get our faith airborne, it requires a balance between the emotion of the Spirit and the truth of the Word.
The Christian life and church work only when we learn how to walk in alignment with God under the influence and in submission to the Holy Spirit in the abiding life.
I saw this illustrated in the Biblical Gardens at Yad Hashmona in Israel as we walked through the vineyard. The statement of Jesus to the disciples was so clear...
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
No branch can produce fruit unless it’s connected to the vine. It shoots forth, growing to maturity, to produce fruit. When we’re in Christ, the Holy Spirit flow into and thru us evidenced by this fruit...
How’s this possible? I read a story I think answers these questions about a guy attending a Ministries class at Hannibal-LaGrange College in MO,
He wrote: When I got to class, everybody was doing their last minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with us before he gave out the test. We went through the review, most of it right on the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing I had never heard. When questioned about it, he said these points were in the book and we were responsible for everything in the book. We couldn’t really argue with him.
Finally, it was time to take the test. The professor instructed the class to leave the tests face down on the desk until everyone had one – and only then would he tell the class to start. When the class turned the exam, every answer on the test was filled in! At the bottom of the last page the class found the following statement: "This is the end of the Final Exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an ’A’ on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get an” A”. You have received this grade not because of what you’ve done, but because of what’s been done for you. It’s called GRACE."
Have a gloriously Graceful week. I love you all!!
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
Obstacles
The Obstacle in Our Path In ancient times...a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This week we look at Pauls Letter to the Ephesians......
Who wrote the book?
For a brief time at the end of his second missionary journey, and then for more than two years on his third missionary journey, Paul ministered to the church at Ephesus (Acts 18:18–21; 19:1–41). During his time in this city that housed the famous temple to the Greek goddess Artemis, Paul saw many converted to faith in Jesus Christ and many others who opposed his preaching in the synagogues and homes. One prominent silversmith, Demetrius, who made implements for the worship of Artemis, found his business suffering greatly because people were converting to Christianity. The ensuing near-riot led Paul to leave the city, but only after the apostle had done much to stabilize and grow the Christian community there.
Where are we?
Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon, as he sent all three letters by the hand of Tychicus, accompanied by Onesimus (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7–9; Philemon 1:10–12). It was during this time that Paul sat in Rome undergoing his first Roman imprisonment (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1), making Ephesians one of the four epistles commonly known as the Prison Epistles. The others are Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
Why is Ephesians so important?
Second Corinthians and Galatians abound with personal touches from Paul, either about his own life or that of the recipients. Ephesians, on the other hand, stands at the opposite end of the spectrum as one of Paul’s most formal letters. While Galatians offers instructions particularly important for those churches overrun with legalism, Ephesians deals with topics at the very core of what it means to be a Christian—both in faith and in practice—regardless of any particular problem in the community.
What's the big idea?
Paul divided his letter to the Ephesians into two clear segments; applying the truths of the first makes possible the actions and lifestyle of the second. Paul spent the first three chapters of the letter discussing God’s creation of a holy community by His gift of grace in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The members of this community have been chosen by God through the work of Christ, adopted as sons and daughters of God, and brought near to the Father through faith in His Son. All people with this faith—Jews and Gentiles alike—were dead in their transgressions and sins but have been made alive because of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
While Paul was not responding to a particular theological or moral problem, he wanted to protect against future problems by encouraging the Ephesians to mature in their faith. So after laying out profound theological truths in the first half of the book, Paul made his purpose clear: he expected that this community of faith would walk in accordance with its heavenly calling (Ephesians 4:1). As a result of the theological realities Christians accept by their faith in God, several practices should follow in their relationships within the church, in the home, and in the world.
How do I apply this?
The book of Ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist. However, Paul presented the gift of God in Christ and the benefits we receive so clearly that we cannot help but ask ourselves if our lives reflect that reality as they should.
How have you grown in your Christian life since you came to faith in Jesus Christ? The latter half of Ephesians makes clear that spiritual growth occurs primarily in community with others, iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). Your Christian “walk” (in other words, your daily life) is to be characterized by unity, holiness, love, wisdom, and perseverance in spiritual warfare.
Maturity yields benefits in believers’ moral lives, but it extends far beyond that as well. Increased maturity benefits the community at large, leading us as Christians to present a more consistent witness to the working of God in our lives as well as protecting us from the harmful divisions and quarrels that have plagued so many communities throughout history.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou