THEY TOLD EVERYBODY!

Acts 13:42-44, 48, 52

    “As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.  And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.  The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

    “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

    “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

            I’m preaching through the Acts of the Apostles and in my study I’ve noticed a number of things that have struck me differently than they have before.  I’d like to share some of these with you for your own reflection beginning with the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia.

            Upon arrival in Antioch the apostles attended the synagogue meeting and as was the custom the visitors were invited to share some word of encouragement with the people.  Paul stood and preached a powerful sermon showing how God was at work throughout Jewish history in preparation of the coming of the son of David, the messiah.  He preached that the forgiveness they sought but could not obtain under the law could be theirs through the Savior, Jesus.  This message met with a welcome reception and many of the people of the synagogue begged Paul and Barnabas to come back on the next Sabbath and tell them more.

            I’m amazed at what we read in verse 44, “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.”  How is it that “almost the whole city” showed up at the synagogue on the second Sabbath to hear the apostles?  There is only one possibility.  Word of mouth.  The people who were in attendance on the first Sabbath could not stop telling everyone they met about the message the two visitors brought!  There must have been an astonishing enthusiasm about these people because their invitations resulted in a massive crowd the next Sabbath!

            Sadly, the Jews were filled with jealousy when they saw the size of the crowd and all the Gentiles who were at their synagogue.  They began “to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” (v. 45).  As a result Paul and Barnabas announced that they were turning to the Gentiles because it had been prophesied that they should “bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (v. 47).  This caused the Gentiles to begin to celebrate and rejoice in spite of the Jews!  All those who were chosen for salvation believed!

            The Jews continued to incite opposition to the apostles and they ended up having to leave the region.  But as they left the new believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

            My reflections are centered on what happened between the two Sabbaths and the fact that these new believers were able to spread the word to so many people in just six days!  They must have been so excited to hear about a Savior who forgives their sins!  Their enthusiasm about this good news must have been so great that it overcame any hesitations they might have had about sharing it with people!  Their joy must have led them to talk about it everywhere they went!  Even when their teachers were driven out of town they continued to be filled with joy and filled with the Holy Spirit.

            Am I filled with such joy and enthusiasm about my salvation?  Am I this excited about what God has done in my life?  These questions have caused me to do some serious introspection.  How gracious God has been to me!  How amazing that he has given me forgiveness and salvation!  I have also begun to pray differently.  “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and let him have full control of my life in such a way that I will overflow with joy so that I cannot help but tell others what you have done for me!”  

WHAT DO I OWE?

 

 

Romans 13 

Just a couple of observations comparing Romans 13:1-7 to 13:8-10.  Paul is finishing up a section in which he teaches believers how we are supposed to live our lives.  We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God (12:1).  We are to avoid conformity to the world (12:2).  We are to humbly see ourselves as fitting into the body of Christ as people with certain gifts along with other believers with other gifts (12:3-8).  The rest of chapter 12 lists a number of proper attitudes and behaviors for Christian people.

Then we come to chapter 13 where we ought to regret that someone decided it would be a good idea to insert chapter and verse divisions in the Bible!  Paul continues with the big picture of Christian living.  This time he is talking about Christians in relationship with secular government.  It is a well-known passage.  We are supposed to live as faithful subjects to the government over us.  We are not to be rebellious or resisters.  He gives us a short list of what we owe to the government.  “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (13:7). 

At this point we are not only frustrated with the people who inserted chapters and verses, we are frustrated with the modern Bible editors who think they are doing us a favor by putting a new heading between verses 7 and 8!  The ESV editors put in “Fulfilling the Law Through Love.”  The NIV editors bring us “Love, for the Day Is Near.”  It seems rather obvious to me that Paul puts no break in thought here.  He has just finished talking about what Christians owe to the government.  Now he is talking about what we owe to individual human beings! 

The thought has been, “Pay what you owe!”  That thought continues, “Do not neglect to pay the people around you what you owe them!  You have an ongoing debt of love that you must not fail to pay!”  He simply states that half of the law of Moses addresses interpersonal relationships and that law is fulfilled by loving our neighbors!  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (13:9).

Unfortunately, too many Christian financial advisors have put the sole emphasis of this passage on the opening phrase of 31:8, “Owe no one anything…”  They say, “There you have it!  You are not supposed to go into debt.”  Then we miss the mark entirely!  What Paul is actually saying is, “You have a debt that can never be paid off.  This debt is the debt of loving your neighbor.  Do not neglect your payments on this debt!”

So we should come away from this passage with one simple question, “Am I keeping up with my payments on the debt of love I owe them?  How am I loving them?  How am I showing them the love of God?  How am I living out my Christian witness through love?”

MY SHEPHERD

Psalm 23

I would like you to try something with me!  Before you read beyond the paragraph break below, go get a piece of paper and a pen.  Then read Psalm 23 again and this time do your best to read it with “fresh eyes.”  Then pause and reflect on the work of a shepherd.  Try and think of as many things as you can that the shepherd does for his sheep.  Write them down on your piece of paper.  Take your time.  Try to meditate on David’s word picture, that the Lord is his shepherd.  Here is the list I jotted down last night:

Guides

Protects

Heals

Directs

Leads

Reassures

Fights

Serves

Feeds

Refreshes

Dies

Searches

Provides

Disciplines

Strengthens

Knows

Preserves

Loves

Nourishes

Calls

Restores

Finds

Ministers

Comforts

Renews 

Now, look at your list and think about how our Lord has acted as your shepherd and give thanks.

RAGING PRIDE

2 Chronicles 26

At our men’s Bible study this week I mentioned that I had just read the story of King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26.  Immediately two of the men responded, “Oh yeah!  He’s the king who was struck with leprosy!”  Maybe I should not have been surprised that they remembered this fact about one of the ancient kings of Judah.  When I think of Uzziah I think of the prophet Isaiah.  He had his vision of Jehovah “in the year that King Uzziah died” (Isaiah 6:1).  Uzziah’s is a tragic story.

He became king of Judah when he was sixteen years old.  “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.  He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.  As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success” (vs. 4, 5).  He was victorious in wars against the Philistines and the Arabs.  The Ammonites paid tribute to him.  Uzziah tore down cities and rebuilt them.  He fortified the city of Jerusalem and built war machines that could shoot arrows and sling huge stones.  He had a massive army.  And he was a farmer who “loved the soil” (v. 10).

Then we read the fateful verse…”But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall” (v. 16).  Somehow Uzziah thought it would be a good idea for him to go into the temple and burn incense on the altar.  Try and picture this!  A middle-eastern potentate entered the temple of his God intending to offer incense.  Who is going to stop him?  The priests of Jehovah were courageous.  Azariah and 80 other priests went into the temple and confronted the king!  They told him what he already knew.  The offering of incense was reserved for the priesthood alone!  They urged him to leave the temple.  What he was doing was sinful and he would face God’s anger. 

But King Uzziah would not listen.  Instead he became angry at the priests.  How angry did he become?  He was raging at the priests in the temple in front of the altar of incense!  As he was raging at the priests “leprosy broke out on his forehead” (v. 19).  The priests were horrified!  They “hurried him out.  Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him” (v. 20).  The king suffered with leprosy the rest of his life!  He was separated from other people.  He could never enter the temple again.  His son governed in his absence.

How much does God hate the sin of pride?  Here was a king who served him faithfully for years!  Here was a king whom God had blessed richly!  But he took his eyes off the Lord just long enough to begin thinking he was pretty special.  Pride only needed a tiny foothold.  It led him to think more highly of himself than he should have.  It made him desire to do things he never should have attempted.  It seized his heart and he would not listen to God’s priests.  If he had only listened!  If only he had put down the censer and left the temple!  If there had been just a shred of humility remaining he would have paid heed to the counsel of the priests and he would have been spared.

But many of us know how sneaky pride is.  We don’t notice when it first enters our hearts.  The very nature of pride deceives us because we don’t notice it growing.  We just think we deserve all the things we desire.  God gives us people in our lives to lead us away from pride; our wives, our friends, brothers and sisters from church.  But if pride has gained a grip on us we resent them and don’t listen.  Pride leads to destruction.  Pride goes before a fall.  Just check out the stories of King Nebuchadnezzar and King Herod Agrippa.

Oh that God would keep us from this insidious sin!  May the Holy Spirit’s voice be heard and cause us to turn from pride!  And may we learn to listen to those around whom God has given us to coax us in the right direction!