Monday, December 16, 2013

Acts 22

I am unworthy to Preach and you are unworthy to hear the truths of God and I pray Gods mercy on us as we enter into this Holy thing.


 

  1. Christ is the holy standard of true religion which men must look to for salvation.
    1. Lifted up as the snake on the pole of Moses Numbers 21:8
    2. Noun/Nominative/feminine/Singular.
    1. The Way
    2. The Truth
    3. The Life
      1. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou shouldst pursue; the truth which thou shouldst believe; the life which thou shouldst hope for" (Thomas a Kempis, "Imitation of Christ," iii., 56)
      2. Colossians 3:12 12Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
      3. 2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds.
      1. What are these weapons?
        1. humility
        2. gentleness
        3. forgiveness
        4. Beauty
        5. Sacrifice
        6. Service
        7. submission
    1. Christ is our only defense Acts 22:1

      If he is not yours before God then you have none- self-defense is a self-righteous action. 1 John 2:1b But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

      1. Defense-
        1. True – protects truth
        1. Legal sense- Paul before the crowd
          1. Witness against him
          2. His people who he loves
            1. Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
        2. For the purpose of preserving his life
          1. The Jewish system was not a religious institution separated from legal systems of justice. It includes all of them in one. "Under Roman law they were restricted from executing"
        3. Our only real defense is our testimony- What we have seen and heard
          1. Acts 4:20
          2. 1 john 1:33 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
          1. False = protects self
        4. Self-justification- (self-righteous) what we do in pride defending our honor and name.
        5. Discounting others
        6. Sidestepping responsibility
        7. "Judging others by their actions but myself by motivations"
        8. Philippians 2:5-8 5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
      2. Religion
        1. Flesh-superiority, I'm better than someone.(driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life) dominion over others, I'm better than you. 2 Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
        1. Lineage/Pedigree; Acts 22:3 I'm made of the right stuff
          1. John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies-
        2. Education; Acts 22:3.b =I know more than you
          1. Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness."
            1. Scribes- lawyers/teachers of law
            2. Pharisee- Holy separatists who tended to lean more on tradition.
        3. Commitment –Zealous; Acts 22:3-4 I care more than you do
          1. Matthew 23:13 "Scribes and Pharisees" "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
          1. Spirit - Be fruitful and multiply subduing the earth- dominion over self(self-control) For all have sinned and fallen short/there is none righteous no not one/
        4. you are better than no one.
          1. All we like sheep have gone astray Isaiah 53:6
          2. The heart of man is desperately wicked Jeremiah 17:9
          3. There is none righteous no not one Romans 3:10
          4. What do you have that you did not receive 1Corinthians4:7
        5. Initiated by God; Acts 22:6
          1. John 6: 37,44,65
            1. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
            2. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day
            3. 65 And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
          2. What do you have before God
            1. This is an unspeakable gift, It is holy ground
            2. Do you stand here ok, because your dressed right?
            3. Because you have the right beliefs?
            4. Because you do the right things?
            5. No a thousand times no!, you are prone to blindness and ignorance. Delighting in fabricated realities and the àTHE LORD OF ALL calls you!


               

          3. Titus 3:5 He saved meà
            he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life
        6. Broken by God; Acts 22:10 "What shall I do"
          1. We don't get this.
            1. Not a calm conversation
              1. Reality shaken
              2. Blind
              3. In the dirt
              4. A desperate plea, realizing that before God he is completely upside down, the fabric of his life is undone- Praise God
          2. Peter to the crowd= Acts 2:36-41 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." 40And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.


             

          3. Peter to the Jailer= Acts 16: 30Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." –


 

  1. Does this jailer respond, believe? – cleans, feeds, baptized, rejoices
  1. Context of God= (Jesus had just fed the 5,000)

    John 6:25-29 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." 28Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

    1. Was Paul believing?
  1. Confirmed by God; Acts 22:6-14
    1. Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
    2. God changes your affections
      1. (this is recreation) 2 Corinthians 5:14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.-
        1. You can't do this
        2. He does this in you
        3. Do you see it? You can live for Him
      2. Titus 3:5 by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,


 

  1. Where does the church get Legitimacyà where do you get it?
    1. If we say the wrong things we go terribly wrong. It's the motivating factor for falsehood in culture
    1. Government- an eye towards favor and empowerment for personal gain
    2. Friends- peer influence, fear of man
    3. Family – ancestor worship
    4. Academia- compromising with theories and destroying the foundations
      1. There are themes of secret knowledge, superiority, Insider-ism
      1. We are Legitimate in Christ alone. Sanctification gives Christians a taste for the things of God.
    5. Idioms and do you want heaven?
      1. They don't have the stomach for it – can't stand it
      2. Having a taste for it. It's your desire
    6. Seal of the Holy Spirit
      1. Touched by God ones
      2. Brothers of the mark of God
      3. Recreated and righteous
        1. 2 Corinthians 1:22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
        2. Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
        3. Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
        1. The intended outcomes are LIFE
      4. Why do you matter in life
        1. The son of God shed his blood for you
          1. Sweat at the garden,(luke22:44) flogged and crown(John 19:1-2)

            "They crucified him"(Luke23:33)

            --John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. (7times)

          2. Romans 3:25 Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood
          3. Romans 5:9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.


             

      5. Why should you try in life
        1. God's gift to you is your talents and abilities
        2. Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
        3. Matthew 25 – parable of the talents- the sovereign hand of God
          1. Mind, strength, spirit, abilities
      6. What is at stake in life
        1. All Your jurisdictions entrusted to you by God
          1. Jurisdiction =simply areas of responsibility, influence, control
          2. Sluggard – proverbs He who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys (18:9)
          3. Father- Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children
        2. Family, friends, co-workers, talents, abilities, possessions…the future culture of this earth.
        3. A world changing influence on culture and people – relationally.
      7. What is the risk of life
        1. IT WILL COST YOU ALL=no problem; your focus is Christ
          1. Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ


 

Conclusion

John 6:16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

à When your seas of life are rough, remember Jesus says "it is I do not be afraid."

The religious fervor was about pedigree, status, and lineage. Not about the God of creation. Who is he? The Jews were not afraid of hurting outcasts who threatened the foundation laid by tradition as opposed to Christ. God had other plans and he shakes the world of Saul. Blinding him Jesus gives him sight, humbling him Jesus raises Saul up. Jesus reaches into the life of a man and chooses to shake him loose from the social construct that held him, this prisoner and property of Satan has been purchased and given a job to do. That job would cost him everything. You could say a lot to a Jew but apparently gentile was just too much.


 

This book is a smorgasbord of life! Of freedom and atonement, it is about propitiation, Jesus paid it all. It's about imputation Jesus the Christ took all your filth and placed it on himself not as a garment but as his own and now dear children of god, he places what was his, and that perfect pure precious thing is yours, you can never add to it, anything you place on it hides it's beauty!


 

What's your religion? Snappy saying and quotes! "It's not religion it's relationship" then we strangle our brother with a man centered doctrine based on the traditions of men. You say not me. Many things are in a man's jurisdiction but not a churches law. The church of god is not specific it's broad, love God love your neighbor was the law and you are not saved by following them, you are free in Christ to live in them with a tornado of grateful joy in your soul, Christ died to set you ablaze with the fire of the spirit that can never be put out, then we in our religious zealousness spend our time pouring cold water on our brother. In the name of love we quench their flame and bind their conscience. If we get nothing from this passage it is that we are born man centered and only the miracle of God can set us free. Most of church history is one bucket of cold water after another. Satan does not mind our churches but he cannot stand that holy flame.


 

Instead of critiquing, condemning and crucifying one another, let's be crucified with Christ, no longer living that we might love one another.
Posted by BWorel at 5:19 AM 1 comments
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