Spiritcode

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR 

We are continuing in the narrative of Silas now becoming Paul’s partner instead of Barnabas as Paul goes on his second missionary journey back to Lystra and Iconium 

We now read in Acts Chapter sixteen and verse one that Paul and Silas go to Lystra where they meet a new Christian named Timothy, who had a Jewish Christian mother and a Greek father. Paul was so impressed with Timothy that he asked him to join them on their journey.
They set off together and tried to go into Asia Minor but the Holy Spirit told them not to, so they travelled through Galatia deciding to head north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Holy Spirit said no. Paul then had a vision in a dream where he saw a man over in Macedonia in Greece, pleading with him, ‘Come over here and help us’, and it became clear to Paul then that God was sending them to preach the Gospel in Philippi, a Roman colony just inside the Macedonian border. When they got there, they preached to some women by a riverbank where they would come to pray and worship God each Sabbath. One of the women was named Lydia from Thyatira, who was a purple cloth merchant and who opened her heart to all that Paul was saying. She became baptized along with all her household and asked Paul and the others to stay at her house as her guests. 

Then one day as Paul and all the others were heading down to have prayer beside the river, they met a demon-possessed slave girl, who was a fortune-teller that earned a lot of money for her managers, and she followed along behind Paul shouting, “These men are servants of God, and they have come to tell you how to have your sins forgiven”. She did this for a few days until Paul became so distressed with this that he turned and commanded a religious spirit to come out of her, and when it left, her managers realized that their hopes of wealth were now shattered. These influential managers grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the judges at the marketplace for upsetting the Roman peace. The judges ordered them to be stripped and beaten with whips, then thrown into prison, and the jailer was threatened with death if they escaped, so he put them into the inner dungeon with their feet shackled to the ground. 

Just before midnight, Paul and Silas decided to sing praises to the Lord, and the other prisoners were listening, and suddenly at the midnight hour there was a great earthquake; the prison was shaken to its foundations, all the doors flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open, and assuming that his prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul yelled to him, “Don’t do it! We are all here!” Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lamps and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and begged them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and your entire household.” Then the jailer took them to his home quarters and cleaned up their whiplashed backs. Paul then told him and all his household the truth of the Gospel and the jailer believed - and he and all his family were baptized. He provided a meal for all of them, and they joyfully praised God together as believers that very night. 
The next morning the judges sent police officers over to the jail to order the jailer to let them go, so the jailer told Paul they were free to leave, but Paul would have nothing of it. He explained that if they had been publicly beaten and jailed without trial as Roman citizens there was no way they were going to leave secretly, so he demanded that the judges come themselves and release them. The police officers reported this to the judges, who feared for their lives when they heard Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, so they came to the jail and begged them to go and brought them out publicly, pleading with them to leave the city. Paul and Silas then returned to the home of Lydia, where they met with the believers and preached to them once more before leaving town, knowing that this would have made the local Christians feel more secure after they had left the city.

There is a lesson of faith we can learn from this account of Paul and Silas as they were in chains in the prison cell at the midnight hour. The way they acted teaches us about how to respond when we are in circumstances that are beyond our control. It is about expecting the unexpected by trusting God that he is supernaturally at work for us. Paul had firmly set his heart on doing the best that he could to fulfill what God wanted him to do on this journey and he had been guided by the Holy Spirit as he went forward. Twice he had decided to go in a certain direction, and he was told by the Holy Spirit in some special way not to go that way. He was even given the dream of the man from Macedonia, and all this would have given Paul great reassurance. 

So it would have been logical for Paul to think that by going to Philippi as he was directed by the Holy Spirit that everything would fall into place when he got there and that there would be a move of God for the salvation of the people. But God had a number of unexpected surprises waiting for him. This is the first lesson that we can learn – we cannot presume that God will give us a magic carpet ride into seeing his supernatural work in action – there will be trials of faith and patience.

For example, the way this worked out for Paul was that things went pleasingly well for a while as Lydia gets saved and baptized and then more people get touched by God and then suddenly everything starts to go shockingly bad. It couldn’t have gone worse for Paul and Silas to end up being arrested and whipped and imprisoned and shackled in chains against a wall, and perhaps awaiting a death sentence.

Then after learning about trials of faith we can learn another lesson from Paul and Silas. For us it would be like everything going so bad that the midnight hour arrives where things could not become any darker, and where grimly ask ourselves ‘what do I do now? - there seems to be no hope’ But the lesson to learn here is that that this is when we should have the most hope. This is when there’s nothing we can do but be still and see the salvation of our God. This is where we move away from being conscious of what the world is doing to us and move towards being conscious of what God is doing for us. This shift of our thinking is vital for any faith transformation of our soul. 

If Silas would have asked Paul that question – ‘what do we do now?’ he would have heard only one answer. Paul would have said ‘There’s only one thing to do Silas – we start praising the Lord because only he can do the supernatural work to get us out of this – so let’s just praise the Lord with all of our hearts – Hallelujah!’
Paul knew that God wanted to show them his sovereign rule over everything that was happening and to show them his mighty acts in their midnight hour. Paul would have been reminded of Moses at the Red sea and Joshua at the walls of Jericho, and David telling his soul to magnify the Lord in his fear and distress.  
And finally, there are a number of Scriptures that mention the midnight hour and its end time significance about the darkest hour having to come before a new dawn can break. 
We will look at three of these Scriptures (among a number of others) where the the midnight hour Scriptures always fall into one of these these three contexts, which are a)Times of judgement between good and evil, b) a bride being prepared for her bridegroom and c) times of shakings where prisoners get set free from darkness and find salvation.

The first example of a midnight hour situation is in Exodus chapter twelve when God pronounces judgement and says that at the midnight hour he would pass through the land of Egypt and strike all the firstborn in the land and execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt.

The second example of a midnight hour situation is about the time when some bridesmaids go to sleep while the bridegroom is being delayed, and at midnight a cry is heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Some of the bridesmaids have no oil in their lamps and can’t go out to meet him but the wise ones do – speaking of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. (Matthew 25:6)

The third example of a midnight hour situation is the one that we have just read about in the book of Acts with Paul and Silas where God supernaturally sets people free from bondage and where they can sing ‘my chains fell off I’ve been set free I once was blind but now I see’.

We do not know the times and the seasons of God but there are certain times in history when the times are the darkest and God gives the world its warnings, and he gives his Church his message of hope for setting people free. We are certainly in a dark time of history and God is bringing many things of the world into the light for them to be seen and judged for what they are. He is also encouraging his church to become more pure of heart and prepared as a bride for his Son. He is also bringing light into the darkness for the blind to see and he is shaking all things and opening prison doors for spiritual chains to fall off people so that they can be set free.

 

GOD ISRAEL PAUL US

GOD  ISRAEL  PAUL  US 
We saw in the first part of Acts fifteen from verses one to eighteen last week how James interpreted the prophecy of Amos concerning the rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David. That prophecy foretold the future history of Israel and also that there will be a restoration of the house of God’s presence in the earth called the Tabernacle of David – and also called the church of the firstborn by Paul in Hebrews. This would be a place of faith in Christ in the liberty of the Spirit for all of mankind that would now be gathered to God from all over the world.

I now want to comment on Acts 15 from verse 19 to verse 30. (The Scriptures are at the end of these notes). After James had declared the prophesy of Amos concerning the Tabernacle of David he speaks on behalf of the Jewish elders and apostles including Paul and Barnabas, to the congregation, and he summarises the decision of the council regarding salvation as being through grace and faith in Christ and that they should not make the Gentiles obey the Jewish laws. However, he made two exceptions that concerned the Jewish food laws, and it was only later on that Paul was able to teach and to guide both Jewish and gentile Christians on how to honour God in these issues according to their faith and also to their conscience before God. Paul explained it was about loving one another and being sensitive to not offend the conscience of others who are weaker in their faith. The story continues from verse 30. 

Paul and Barnabas leave Jerusalem along with Silas and Judas and report to the Christians in Antioch about the results of the council and their new freedom in the faith, because of the prophecy of Amos. Everybody in Antioch was happy with that, and it was decided that Judas and Silas, who had stayed for a while and had strengthened the church there with powerful preaching, should be sent back to Jerusalem. But Silas decided to stay on in Antioch (vs.34).

Paul then suggested to Barnabas that they should go back to Turkey and visit the cities where they had preached before and see how the new converts were going. Barnabas agreed with this and said that he wanted to take John Mark with him, but Paul disagreed because he thought that John mark had let them down by deserting them in Pamphylia earlier on. Their heated contention over this was so great that they parted company from that time on. Barnabas took John Mark with him to Cypress while Paul took Silas with him to Syria and Cilicia to strengthen those churches, and the Antioch church blessed their journey.

There is another account of this story which fills in some gaps. Paul writes his personal account in the Book of Galatians about his time at the council at Jerusalem with James which we have just read about. His account starts in Galatians two from verse one through to verse eleven. He was certainly not impressed with some of the legalistic church leaders. ‘They tried to get us all tied up in their rules, like slaves in chains. But we did not listen to them for a single moment’, And the great leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching.’  He ends his account of the council meeting by saying ‘they shook hands with Barnabas and me and encouraged us to keep right on with our preaching to the Gentiles while they continued their work with the Jews.’ 

He then continues from Galatians 2:12-20 recounting how that a little while after that council meeting, when he and Barnabas were back in Antioch Peter visited the Antioch church and seemed to join in and approve of the freedom of their faith, until when later on some Jewish Christian friends of James also visited the church. Peter then stopped eating with the gentile Christians for fear of what they would tell James because of his ruling about Christians having to obey Jewish food laws, and this behaviour of Peter highly offended Paul. 

It is interesting that this account of Paul’s of the council meeting and Peter’s visit to Antioch soon after and his offensive legalistic behaviour was not mentioned by Luke in this chapter of Acts. Perhaps he refrained from mentioning it out of respect for Peter, even though he does mentions in Acts 15 the disagreement of Paul and Barnabas. This is what Paul wrote about Peter’s visit.
Galatians 2:12-20 When Peter came to Antioch I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. For when he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians who don’t bother with circumcision and the many other Jewish laws. But afterwards, when some Jewish friends of James came, he wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these Jewish legalists, who insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation, would say; and then all the other Jewish Christians and even Barnabas became hypocrites too, following Peter’s example, though they certainly knew better. 

Paul continues his rebuke of Peter and Barnabas in Galatians 2:14
‘When I saw what was happening and that they weren’t being honest about what they really believed and weren’t following the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Though you are a Jew by birth, you have since discarded the Jewish laws; so why, all of a sudden, are you trying to make these Gentiles obey them? You and I are Jews by birth, not mere Gentile sinners, and yet we Jewish Christians know very well that we cannot become right with God by obeying our Jewish laws but only by faith in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And so we, too, have trusted Jesus Christ, that we might be accepted by God because of faith—and not because we have obeyed the Jewish laws. For no one will ever be saved by obeying them.” 

Paul continues to contend with Peter and Barnabas about their disappointing behaviour in front of the Christians in Antioch and concludes by saying,
I am offending God if I start rebuilding the old system I have been destroying of trying to be saved by keeping Jewish laws, for it was through reading the Scriptures that I came to realize that I could never find God’s favour by trying—and failing—to obey the laws. I came to realize that acceptance with God comes by believing in Christ. I have been crucified with Christ: and it is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who lives in me.’

Paul’s teaching allowed the Gentile world to hear the full Gospel of grace and truth, not only regarding the freedom from the shackles of legalism and Jewish tradition, but to give us entrance into the life-giving Spirit of Jesus. This is the faith we contend for, as the goal of our faith - the salvation and healing of our souls and our living in the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

(before I finish I have more to say about … )We will read again the prophecy of Amos that James declared to the Jewish Christian leaders in Jerusalem concerning rebuilding the Tabernacle of David.  
Acts 15:16 ‘I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the LORD who reveals his plans made from the beginning.
When James quotes Amos he is saying that there will be a restoration of the house of God’s presence in the earth called the Tabernacle of David. This would be a place of faith in Christ in the liberty of the Spirit for all of mankind that would now be gathered to God from all over the world. He says that the rejection of God by Israel in the days of Amos is the same as their current rejection of Jesus. Mankind was now being welcomed to dwell with God in this new spiritual house called the Tabernacle of David until Jesus would return to the earth.   

Jesus also said this prophetically about Israel and about us ‘I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and I am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must also bring them in, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:14
This prophecy of Amos goes on to speak about the scatterings of Israel as a nation and also speaks about a permanent final regathering of Israel (verses 11-15). There were two scatterings since Amos – one was when Israel was taken captive in Babylon for seventy years and then regathered, as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. And the last scattering was when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD - not long after James makes this declaration. Isaiah also prophesies about two regatherings since Amos, and that Israel would not remain scattered but finally be gathered again ‘a second time’ (the final regathering actually occurred in 1948). 

We will read the prophecy of Isaiah. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria and from Egypt, and from Pathros and from Cush and from Elam and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. 12. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:11-12 (AV)

The nation of Israel was re-established in 1948 with Jews being drawn back to Israel from all over the world and has remained and prospered miraculously against impossible odds – and is there to stay until Jesus returns. We are witnessing this phenomenon at this moment as uncomfortable as it is to see Israel in Old Testament warfare again, but I pray that Hamas will return the hostages and that innocent lives will be spared on both sides, and I pray particularly for Israel the prayer of Paul’s from Romans 9 that all Israel will come to salvation through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 15:18-40 That is what the Lord says, who reveals his plans made from the beginning.
“And so my judgment is that we should not insist that the Gentiles who turn to God must obey our Jewish laws, except that we should write to them to refrain from eating meat sacrificed to idols, from all fornication, and also from eating unbled meat of strangled animals. For these things have been preached against in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”
Then the apostles and elders and the whole congregation voted to send delegates to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas.
This is the letter they took along with them:
“From: The apostles, elders and brothers at Jerusalem.
“To: The Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. Greetings!
“We understand that some believers from here have upset you and questioned your salvation, but they had no such instructions from us. So it seemed wise to us, having unanimously agreed on our decision, to send to you these two official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. These men—Judas and Silas, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ—will confirm orally what we have decided concerning your question.
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden of Jewish laws on you than to abstain from eating food offered to idols and from unbled meat of strangled animals, and, of course, from fornication. If you do this, it is enough. Farewell.”
The four messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the Christians and gave them the letter. And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read it.
Then Judas and Silas, both being gifted speakers, preached long sermons to the believers, strengthening their faith. They stayed several days, and then Judas and Silas were encouraged to return to Jerusalem taking greetings and appreciation to those who had sent them. But Silas decided to stay on in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas also stayed on at Antioch to assist several others who were preaching and teaching there.
Several days later Paul suggested to Barnabas that they return again to Turkey and visit each city where they had preached before, to see how the new converts were getting along. Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul didn’t like that idea at all, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. Their disagreement over this was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and, with the blessing of the believers, left for Syria and Cilicia to encourage the churches there.

 

FREEDOM OF FAITH

FREEDOM OF FAITH 
Acts 15:1 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers that unless they adhered to the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision, they could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas argued and discussed this with them at length, and finally the believers sent them to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local men, to talk to the apostles and elders there about this question. 4. Arriving in Jerusalem, they met with the church leaders and Paul and Barnabas reported on what God had been doing through their ministry. But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and be required to follow all the Jewish customs and ceremonies.

This was a history changing moment – The first great Church Reformation - from one Covenant to another. The biggest issue for the Jewish Christians was that Gentile Christians should get circumcised, as that was the seal of the Hebrew Covenant through Abraham - but the sign and seal of the New Covenant through Jesus was the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of liberty and freedom (Ephesians 1:13). 

6. So the apostles and church elders set a further meeting to decide this question. After long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you long ago to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles so that they also could believe. God, who knows men’s hearts, confirmed the fact that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he gave him to us. He made no distinction between them and us - he purified their hearts through faith, just as he did ours. And now are you going to correct God by burdening the Gentiles with a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? Don’t you believe that we are all saved the same way, by the grace of the Lord Jesus?
There was no further discussion, and everyone now listened as Barnabas and Paul told them about the miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles, and when they had finished, James took the floor. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people called by his name (Christians). And this fact of Gentile conversion agrees with what the prophets predicted from the prophet Amos: 
‘I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, all the Gentiles who are called by My name (Christians), says the LORD who does all these things.'

God had told Amos in his day that because of Israel’s rejection of God they would be judged and here James is likening Israel’s rejection in the days of Amos to Israel’s rejection of Jesus at the current time and he is saying that the rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David signifies the rest of mankind being now invited to become God’s people in the earth. 
Gentiles were coming into God’s new Spiritual House of the Church – a new temple or tabernacle, and the Church would soon become a totally Gentile Church for a determined period of history, as quoted by Jesus ‘until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled’ (Luke 21:24 – in troubled times), and also quoted by Paul ‘My brothers I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: a partial blindness has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And then all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, (Romans 11:25) 
Israel is back in their physical territory today (in ongoing conflict) but they await God’s time to be brought into his spiritual territory of faith. We are in the same waiting time now, but it is for God’s final number of Gentiles to be saved. Only God knows that time.

When we read of how the Tabernacle of David was set up in First Chronicles Chapter fifteen, it was simply a tent on top of Mount Zion and it became the dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant, which had always represented God’s abiding presence among the nation of Israel. The Ark of the Covenant was first fashioned in the wilderness at God’s command and was placed in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle of Moses. However, when Israel sought to presumptuously use the ark to their own ends by taking the ark into battle, they soon learned that they had violated God’s order concerning the holiness of God’s presence, and the ark was lost to the Philistines and the glory departed from Israel. (1 Sam 4). Saul then became king and had ignored the ark all through the time of his reign. (1 Chronicles 13:2-3). 
The Philistines, enemies of God, found that the ark brought judgements upon them and not blessing. They cast off the ark and sent it to the people of Beth-shemesh, and further judgement came upon the people there. The ark was then discarded at Kiriath-jearin, where it remained for 20 years. (1 Sam 5 - 8). After this time, David prayed that he might find place for the ark I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Psalm 132:4)

“And David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord unto his place, a tent on Mt Zion, which he had prepared for it. “So the leaders of Israel took the Ark to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the blowing of horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on the harps and zithers. But as the Ark arrived in Jerusalem, David’s wife Michal, the daughter of King Saul, felt a contempt for David as she watched from the window and saw him dancing like crazy (1 Chron 15:1). Michal rebuked David for this and he said ‘I did this before The Lord who chose me above your father (Saul) and I was celebrating before the Lord’. Michal was judged by God for this.
The ministry of praise and worship at this time was released in a measure never before seen in Israel. It was at this time that most of the Psalms were written, from which we sing many songs of praise and worship. David took the holiest of all things - the ark of the covenant, the presence of God in the Holy Place of the tabernacle of Moses, into his Tabernacle/tent on top of Mt Zion. 
This means that the tabernacle of David was a temporary dwelling place for God until another dwelling place was fully prepared – the temple of Solomon. There would be no going back to the Tabernacle of Moses from the tabernacle of David. So when James quoted Amos saying that the Christian Church would now rebuild the Tabernacle of David he was prophesying that a new era of time had now begun for the Church to express the freedom of faith that flow from the indwelling presence of The Lord. 

We are now in that era as the church that is purposed to live with a conscious sense of the presence of God expressing the freedom and liberty of the spirit like David did. We remain in this expression of the freedom of faith until we dwell together in the new eternal Tabernacle of God in Heaven. ‘And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people…for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21:3,22) 

Paul tells us that we are the Church of Mt. Zion where David’s tabernacle dwelt. He tells us that we are not at Mt. Sinai which speaks of the Law and blood sacrifices. Paul is saying that this Church is a Heavenly Church on earth living in the power of God’s Spirit and in communion with the saints in Heaven.  But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the gathering of enumerable celebrating angels; and to the church of the Firstborn enrolled in Heaven - So see to it that you obey him who is speaking to you from Heaven. (Hebrews 12:22) 
Many Protestant churches say the Apostles' Creed, saying that they believe in the communion of saints, which is understood to mean the whole community of faithful followers of Christ, living and dead, past, present and future.
The spiritual dwelling place of God in the earth is his church who live by faith. We are no longer bound to the traditions and rituals of man but released into the freedom of the Spirit (some Christians appear to think that embracing Jewish culture and tradition makes them more like Jesus – not so), and even though there can be outward Christian practises, these practices are not holy of themselves. These practices can only describe the work of God within our hearts of faith, like baptism and Communion where we bring to remembrance our oneness of a shared life with Jesus, and life-giving works of faith -like worship and prayer and the teaching of the word and our discipleship of following Jesus as the church of the firstborn, which is why Paul goes on to say.
‘So see to it that you obey him who is speaking to you from Heaven. (Hebrews 12:25) 
This encourages us to know that Heaven is always waiting to speak to earth, and no person can speak to us from Heaven other than Jesus. So let us expect to hear him speaking to us in our daily lives. That is why the Holy Spirit was sent, to tell us what Jesus is saying to us.

THE FIVE SENSES OF THE SPIRIT

THE FIVE SENSES OF THE SPIRIT 

Just as we have five physical senses we also see those senses mirrored spiritually as spiritual senses of blessing and faith. The eyes of the Lord go to and fro…I have stretched out my hand to you…These Old Testament sayings were from a pure Spirit God without a body (Yet to come in the form of Jesus)

THE SENSE OF SMELL 
Philippians 4:18 I have received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
2Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are dying on the inside (perishing).
The sense of smell is linked to the part of the brain called the olfactory system which affects our emotions and our memory. The blessing of God to us through the spiritual sense of smell is through adding a richness and a depth to our spiritual perceptions and our remembrance of certain occasions. The Bible says that our praise and prayers rise up to him like a sweet incense whereby we can bless God (Psalm 141). 

He is also blessed when we give to another person sacrificially and bless them in some way in their time of need as Paul was blessed by the Philippian church. That brings Heaven’s sweetness to the earth. Paul also says that God is blessed by the fragrance of Christ living through us that in certain ways touches the lives of people whose souls are being saved, and also in other ways touches those who are dying on the inside as we speak life into the death of their inner lives, in order to draw them into life. 

THE SENSE OF SIGHT
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Jesus is telling people here that when people have a blameless heart of trust in the truth of God being with them in every circumstance of their lives, that they will see God in those things even if those things are difficult and problematic. This allows people to live in the hope of God working all things together for good and not giving up in despair that he has overlooked them or forgotten them.

THE SENSE OF HEARING
Romans 10:17 faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2Corinthians 10:5 bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Hearing is not just a function of knowing what a person is saying, but it is an acknowledgment of who is saying it, and having a willingness to let what Jesus says to guide our lives and transform us.

THE SENSE OF TASTE
Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. 
When we taste of the spiritual things of God that have uprightness and wisdom and mercy that he has prepared for us to eat and drink of, they bring about fulfilment and strength in our spiritual lives. We might have appetites for things that are not good for us but the things that God has prepared for us are always good and they are what we will begin to develop a hunger and thirst for. Our hunger for righteousness means that we want our will and our choices to be in alignment with the wisdom and knowledge of God. Our thirst for righteousness is for our heart and emotions to be in alignment with the desires of his heart for truth and love and mercy, and that means being satisfied with his hearts desires for us not just being gratified in our souls by what we can get for ourselves.

THE SENSE OF TOUCH
Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
Habakkuk 3:4 He had power flashing from His hand, and in his hand was the hiding of his power.
When the people drew near to Jesus to be close to him they were being drawn into the presence of God, and being in the presence of God brings about the touch of God. God wants us to know that he has his hand upon our lives, and the Jesus releases the power and the love and the healing touch that is hidden in his hand. So today… Let us draw near to God with a true heart and full assurance of faith… and let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, and let us not neglect our gatherings together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:22-24)

 

 

DEATH TO LIFE

DEATH TO LIFE

Paul and Barnabas continue on their journey without John Mark, and they travelled down to Iconium and preached in the synagogue there, and many of the Jews and the Greeks believed.

ACTS 14:1. At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went together to the synagogue and preached with such power that many—both Jews and Gentiles—believed.
We will read a little further on (vs 21 below) that when Paul returns to Iconium on a later journey he finds that Timothy was one of the first fruits of that original ministry in Iconium, where Timothy lived with his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. (Acts 16:2, 2Tim 3:10)

4. But the Jews who spurned God’s message stirred up distrust among the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas, saying all sorts of evil things about them, but the Lord proved their message was from him by giving them power to do great miracles. But the people were divided.
And when Paul and Barnabas learned of a plot to incite a mob of Gentiles, Jews, and Jewish leaders to attack and stone them, they fled for their lives, going to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding area, and preaching the Good News there.

There did not seem to be a definite strategy of the spreading of the word of God. It was what it was, so they were led by The Holy Spirit to the surrounding regions in Lystra and Derbe. God was not going to allow severe persecution to stop his purpose and power from happening no matter what appeared to be happening to them - as we shall shortly see in a most dramatic and compelling way. 

In the meantime…
8. At Lystra they came upon a man with crippled feet who had been that way from birth.
He was listening as Paul preached, and Paul looked intensely at  him and perceived  he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him, “Stand up!” and the man leaped to his feet and started walking!
The witness of faith – This is an example of how faith meets faith. Paul firstly had faith that the power of God was present and active. While he was looking at that crippled man with eyes of faith, that man was looking to God with eyes of faith. Their faith met and God knew the man’s prayer and Paul spoke God’s answer - and the man stood up and walked. The same thing happened to Jesus when a woman was looking to Jesus in her need believing she could be healed and reached out and touched his garment, and faith met faith. Jesus felt the healing power flow from him to the woman – faith can perceive faith.

When the listening crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted (in their local Hittite dialect), “These men are gods in human bodies!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Jupiter, and that Paul, because he was the chief speaker, was Mercury! The local priest of the Temple of Jupiter brought them cartloads of flowers and prepared to sacrifice oxen to them at the city gates before the crowds.
14. But when Barnabas and Paul saw what was happening, they ripped at their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, “Men! What are you doing? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, 
16 who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own way. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” So Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them!

The myths and legends of the Greek gods were all about strange ‘beings of renown’ who assumed human form whenever they wished and visited the earth. This was also a belief amongst the Egyptians and also the Hindus. (See Gen 6:4)

Paul was preaching here to people of an ancient culture, so they spoke about the God of Creation who controlled all the elements of the earth and worked them together according to his design and purpose. This was different to preaching to Jews, where he would speak about the Jewish patriarchs like Abraham and Moses and David, reminding them of their covenant as a Nation with God. His emphasis here to these pagans of Lystra was similar to how he preached to the Greeks in Athens on the Hill of Mars. (Acts 17) where he spoke about the God of creation who determined the boundaries and bloodlines and appointed times and purposes of all the nations of the earth.

19. Yet only a few days later, some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium (where they had fled from) and incited a mob of people to stone Paul to death. They then dragged Paul out of the city deeming him to be dead (nomizo – to deem something to be what it appears to be - the rule of action prescribed by reason - it is what it is). 20However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up (anistemi - to raise up from the dead – as it was said of Lazarus and Jesus ) and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21. After preaching the Good News there and making many disciples, they returned again to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, where they helped the believers to grow in love for God and each other. They encouraged them to continue in the faith in spite of all the persecution, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations. 
Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church and prayed for them with fasting, turning them over to the care of the Lord in whom they trusted.

24. Then they travelled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia, preached again in Perga, and went on to Attalia. Finally they returned by ship to Antioch, where their journey had begun and where they had been committed to God for the work which was now completed.
Upon arrival they called together the believers and reported on their trip, telling how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles too. And they stayed there with the believers at Antioch for a long while.

Looking at that stoning to death event again… nomizo and anistemi in verse 19.
This could have been the time that Paul left his body, as he recounts later in a letter to the Corinthians. ‘This boasting is all so foolish but let me go on. Let me tell about the visions I’ve had, and revelations from the Lord. Fourteen years ago…
(This event in the Book of acts was around the time between 39 and 44 AD and when he wrote the second letter to the Corinthians it was around 56 to 58 AD –so there’s fourteen years in there somewhere) 
… I was taken up to heaven for a visit. Don’t ask me whether my body was there or just my spirit, for I don’t know; only God can answer that. But anyway, there I was in paradise, and heard things so astounding that they are beyond a man’s power to describe or put in words (and I am not allowed to tell them to others). 
On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me in my life and my message.
I will say this: because these experiences and revelations were so tremendous, God was afraid I might be puffed up in pride by them; so I was sent a messenger from Satan as a thorn in my flesh, to hurt and bother me and pierce my pride’ (2 Cor 12:1-7).

So for Paul he would have understood that the power of Jesus was not only about resurrection – it was about death and resurrection. Just because someone believes in the doctrine of resurrection it does not necessarily mean that the power of resurrection is flowing in that person’s life. That power is expressed in us when we are challenged to die to something that we realise is working death in us. We can choose to die to what that is in our body and soul and rise up in the life of Jesus working in us.

When Jesus died on the cross he knew that he would be resurrected and he told people. Jesus did not and could not fight for his life on the cross. He had always surrendered control over his own life overcoming the struggle of the soul and the spirit and we see his willing surrender in the garden of Gesthemane, and he stayed alive until the life of his spirit left his dead body. He committed his spirit into his Father’s hands and when he had done that he was resurrected. His body was raised up (anistemi)on the third day but he was given resurrection life in his spirit when he committed his spirit into the Father’s hands. 'into Your hands I commit My spirit (paratithemi – to place alongside). His life was not lost but placed alongside Father’s life.

The spirit life of humanity was joined to the resurrection life of God through Jesus.
Colossians 3:3 you are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 
How can Paul say ‘you are dead’? – How can he say ‘dead to sin and alive to God’ (Romans 6:11) It is because Jesus became our death and our resurrection – all we do is receive repentance to life and have faith in his life working within us. It is called the simplicity of Christ – so simple yet such a hidden mystery! ‘hidden with Christ in God’ but waiting to be found …whoever loses his life for me and because of me will find it. (Matthew 16:25) 

That is something that has already happened and yet it is waiting to happen.
That is a mystery of something hidden waiting to be revealed. 
It means that what is waiting for us is to place our spirit in faith alongside the Spirit of God (paratithemi) and our spirit comes alive and out into the open. Our death is dying to the life of our soul being in control and our spirit is set free into resurrection life. The hidden life can be found and our faith releases it.

 

Believing In and believing On

BELIEVING IN AND BELIEVING ON

Arriving at Acts Chapter thirteen we find that from this point on, Paul’s missionary journeys become the key feature of the Book of Acts. He was commissioned to do thos buy the leaders in the church at Antioch.
Acts 13:1 The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophets and teachers, such as Barnabas, Simon, (nicknamed Niger the black one), Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch (syntrophos – a step-brother), and Saul. One day as they were all praying and fasting and waiting for guidance, the Holy Spirit spoke to them: "Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do. 

Setting off on their appointed mission they sailed first to Cypress where Barnabas was from, and we read earlier in Acts chapter 4 that he had sold some land in Cyprus and given the proceeds to the church in Jerusalem. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogue and preached. John Mark who went with them as their assistant was the son of Mary whom we saw in the last chapter – she owned the home where all the believers were praying for Peter to be released from prison. John Mark was also the nephew of Barnabas.
Afterwards they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos where they meet a Jewish counterfeit prophet named Bar-Jesus. His name in in Greek was Elymas which means a wizard or sorcerer. He had attached himself to the Roman Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding who invited Barnabas and Paul to visit him, because he wanted to hear their message from God. But the sorcerer Elymas interfered and urged the Proconsul to pay no attention to what Paul and Barnabas said, trying to stop him from trusting the Lord.

Vs.9 Then Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, glared angrily at the sorcerer and said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never end your opposition to the Lord? And now God has laid his hand of judgment upon you, and you will be stricken with blindness for a season”.
Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. When the Proconsul saw what happened, he believed and was astonished at the power of God’s message. It is interesting to note that Elymas who was a Jew and a sorcerer and a false prophet warranted the judgement of being stoned to death according to Jewish law. For some reason, most probably political, this man had not come under Jewish judgement - but he was dealt with directly from God for opposing God’s message to the Proconsul Sergius Paulus, so Paul sees the first fruits of the gospel to the Gentiles on this first missionary journey in the conversion of the Roman Proconsul. 

Vs.13 Paul and those with him left Paphos by ship for Sia Minor (Turkey), landing at the port town of Perga. It is here that John Mark departs from Paul and Barnabus and returns to Jerusalem, where his mother and family lived. 

After John Mark left, Barnabas and Paul went on to Antioch, a different Antioch - a city in the province of Pisidia, and on the Sabbath they attended the service in the synagogue. 
After the usual readings from the Books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of instruction for us come and give it!” So Paul stood, waved a greeting to them and began. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and all others here who reverence God, let me begin my remarks with a bit of history.

When Paul is invited to speak to the Jews in their synagogue, he brings the same kind of message that Stephen brought when he was stoned to death in front of Saul. It is also similar to what Peter did when he preached the gospel. The pattern they used was to remind the Jewish people of their history and to highlight certain points which prophesied the coming of Jesus as saviour, to die for us and to rise from the dead.
He then further convicts them about Israel being the fulfillment of many other prophecies concerning their condemnation of Jesus, and their rejection of him as their Messiah. Paul also powerfully emphasises the significance of Jesus burial and resurrection, just as Stephen and Peter did in their testimony to the Jews.

The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the Word of God, both Jews and many Gentiles. But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were jealous, and cursed and argued against whatever Paul said.
Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, 
Vs.44“It was necessary that this Good News from God should be given first to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and chosen to deny eternal life—well, we will offer it to Gentiles as a light to them, to lead them from the farthest corners of the earth to God’s salvation.’”
Vs. 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as believed were ordained to eternal life.

No one can ordain or appoint someone to live something out of their heart unless they truly believe it - then they ordain it for themselves. The word in Greek for ordain is - tasso - "to place in order, arrange,"… e.g., whether being appointed by someone to do a task, or being appointed by God or though others to perform a ministry or to commit oneself through one's own responsibility or authority. But in this case it means to commit oneself through one's own responsibility or authority – to fulfill a life purpose.
After Paul continued to preach with emphasis about believing in the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus, many Jews chose to remain in denial, but those who truly believed the message chose to build their lives upon this and to live within the resurrected life of Jesus. 
What does it mean to believe? Everyone believes in something – its their reality.

Paul and Stephen and Peter made the resurrection paramount as a stunning event which was to change all of history and its subsequent universal reality. But if this truth is going to shape the spirituality and philosophy of our human thinking and behaviour it needs to be embraced individually in all of its beauty and power. It must not remain as a footnote of history that is recited and quoted and even supported by other historical writings as if it was enough to just believe it happened. The truth of the resurrection is that the resurrected life of Jesus is alive in me and wants to be expressed through me.

Many Christians and churchgoer’s have believed IN the resurrection, but that is not the same as believing ON. Last week this got me thinking and praying.
Why should a preposition make a difference?
Believing IN is essential, and it comes first. It means accepting something as true and not denying it. The Greek word is en. If you believe in something you can at least receive something from that truth or ideology and even make it a very important thing IN your life.
John 3:15 So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Believing ON. The Greek word is epi, a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition. It means to superimpose one’s life upon someone or something as a belief system – I can believe in many things but what I believe on will shape my life. It is something we merge into with our life and it merges into us and lives out through us. It is not used in the Gospels. It only starts in the Book of Acts and continues through in the epistles – a different kind of believing.
Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,

We are essentially spirit beings, and we must accurately and faithfully believe from our spirit which is created in the image of God in eternity. Our spirit was created as our uniquely and individually designed self. Our spirit contains our mind that can receive truth from God and our heart that receives faith to believe ON him.

We express that spirit life through our souls, and our spirit is able shape our souls. But our souls are also formed as the expression of emotional responses to what happens around us and by other belief systems and ideologies and imaginations that make an impression upon us. These soul activities can drive our decision making and shape our character. 
But our soul should not be running our life – Our spirit was created for that - to take the lead in our life and it has the responsibility to ordain itself to the truth about eternal life above any other belief system or ideology.
The soul also expresses the God given gifts and talents and unique personality that God created in our spirit, but our soul’s emotions can drive us into wrong thinking and wrong choices. The word emotion means ‘to emote’ or to move us into action and a disordered soul leads to disordered action. If the soul takes the lead it causes us to overloaded with the burdens of all the distress and suffering that we experience in life.
Our focused purposeful spirit was created to take the lead in our life and it has the responsibility to ordain itself to the truth about eternal life above any other belief system or ideology.

When our spirit takes the lead, it desires to follow a greater leader that is held in our highest regard. Our spirit wants to be one with the ideas and desires of that leader. That leader is Jesus. Our human spirit deep down longs to be understood and to be revealed to others as being real and believed in, and it longs to be that person to those whom it loves and wants to be with - to bless and strengthen their lives, and to be glad to be alive.

Let your spirit take leadership over your soul today – coming alive and teaching the soul what to believe – have the soulish belief systems or ideologies to stand aside for your heart of faith in the spirit. You can ordain yourself to expressing through your soul life that comes from your spirit. Otherwise your soul will chew you up instead of allowing your spirit to grow you up. Rather than trying to add more years to your life – add more life to your years. You will live better and longer.

David led with his spirit in bringing God’s blessing upon his soul Psalm 103.
Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His goodness to you: He forgives all your failures, heals all your afflictions, redeems your life from destruction, and crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

 

 

 

INNER RESURRECTION POWER

INNER RESURRECTION POWER

Continuing in the Book of Acts Chapter eleven we see in verse nineteen the great changes to the church in Jerusalem because of the persecution of the church.
Acts 11:19 The believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 
That time of persecution prompted an outreach of the Gospel from Jerusalem into the Roman Empire. When some of the Jewish and Gentile disciples travelled to Antioch and began sharing the message of Jesus with the people there the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas, a Hellenist from Cyprus, to Antioch to investigate and provide support. Antioch was a prominent cosmopolitan city in the Roman Empire and a cultural melting pot with a diverse population - and Barnabas the bridge-builder helped in bringing unity between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile believers in Antioch and providing teaching and discipleship to the new converts. 

Barnabas knew he needed Paul to help establish and grow the church, because he knew that God had given the ministry of the Gospel for the Gentiles to Paul, so he took the journey of over five hundred Kilometres to Tarsus in Syria where Paul lived. They returned together to Antioch, where they spent a year together teaching and ministering to the growing congregation, and it was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus Christ were first referred to as "Christians". 

In Acts 11:27-30 we read that about this same time some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem, and one of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the entire country. So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their poorer fellow Christians in Jerusalem to help out, and they sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.
We now move on to Acts Chapter twelve.

Acts 12:1 That's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He killed James, John's brother with the sword. When he saw how much it raised his popularity with the Jews, he arrested Peter too - all this during Passover Week - and he had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public execution after Passover. All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jail, the church prayed for him most earnestly.

James’ death served as a rallying point of prayer for the believers, inspiring them in their faith. In the sovereignty of God it was not time for Peter yet - he was imprisoned, and the chapter goes on to describe a miraculous event which highlights the unceasing intervention of God in ruling over the affairs of his Church. 

While Peter was sleeping in the prison, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. The angel struck Peter on the side and woke him up, instructing him to get dressed and follow him. The chains fell off Peter's wrists, and the angel led him past the guards and through the locked gates. 

Just as James’ laying down his life for God is a symbol of Jesus laying down his life for us as the Passover Lamb, Peter's escape from imprisonment could be seen as a symbol of resurrection - Jesus emerged from the tomb, Peter emerges from the prison. Both of these apostles were willing to fulfil to the utmost the words of Jesus. 
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16:24)

What we find is inner resurrection life

Meanwhile, back at the house of Mary the mother of John Mark, many believers were fervently praying for Peter’s safety, aware of the danger he was in. 
As Peter followed the angel, he thought he was experiencing a vision rather than reality. They passed through the city streets until they reached the house where the believers were praying. Peter knocked on the outer door, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. She recognized Peter's voice but was so overjoyed that she left him standing outside and rushed back to tell the others that Peter was at the door.

But they wouldn't believe her, dismissing her report. "You're crazy," they said. She stuck by her story, insisting. They still wouldn't believe her and said, "It must be his angel." All this time poor Peter was standing out in the street, still knocking on the door. Finally, they opened up and saw him—and went wild! Peter put his hands up and calmed them down. He described how the Master had gotten him out of jail, then said, "Tell James (the other James – the brother of Jesus) and the brothers what's happened." He left them and went off to another place for safety.
At daybreak the jail was in an uproar. "Where is Peter? What's happened to Peter?" When Herod sent for Peter and they could neither produce him nor explain why not, he ordered their execution: "Off with their heads!" Fed up with Judea and Jews, he went for a vacation to Caesarea.

Peter leaves the pages of the book of Acts at this point except for one mention in Chapter fifteen. After this chapter the Book of Acts deals with the missionary journeys of Paul

Acts 12:20-23 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon because of their appeal for food supplies. So the people sent a delegation to make peace with him because their coastal cities were dependent upon Herod’s inland fields in these times of famine. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. The people knew they had to flatter him and gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a disease because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died. 
We again see the unceasing intervention of God in ruling over the affairs of his Church in miraculous mercy and in judgement of evil. 
At one time the mother of James and John had asked Jesus if her sons could sit on his right and left hand in his Kingdom and the Bible says that Peter was indignant at those two brothers for thinking that. But Jesus said that was not his place to decide that question, but he did ask the twelve disciples if they were willing to drink the cup of his suffering that he would drink of, speaking of his laying down his life for us on the cross (Matthew 20:20). They all said yes, they were willing - and we read here in the Book of Acts that some years later (between 41AD to 44 AD), at the Feast of Passover James drank from that cup of suffering that Jesus spoke about. 

We have been given the same words of Jesus that James and Peter were willing to fulfil – to deny ourselves for Jesus’ sake and take up our cross. Theirs was a dramatic fulfillment of this and has been immortalised in Scripture, but ours, while being worked out in a less spectacular way in our everyday lives releases the same resurrection power of Jesus.

We have been given the risen life of Jesus within us to live out from. Jesus does not dwell within us as a bystander. Jesus wishes to express the beauty and strength of his glorified spiritual human self through our spiritual human self. Our soulish self can easily have rule over us and choke off the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, which is the love and peace and joy that harmonises our entire being with the Being of God. 

This is what denying our self means – it is for his sake, not only for our sake. Self-denial should not be reduced to some kind of unnecessary self-depriving virtue signal that we can proudly congratulate ourselves for – No, we ask for our soulish life to stand aside for our spiritual life in Christ to come alive in us, and we need God’s help to do that and it is the desire of God’s heart to do this for us and with us, as the Bible says ‘Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “the Spirit that he has made to dwell in us yearns jealously for us”? (James 4:5).
And this cannot happen on the run – we need to be still and know that he is God – God within – who waits patiently for us to give him our time – time for our heart and mind to get to know him personally – not just read about him or hear about him in sermons.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon :: August 1855 - Morning Reading
"Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide." — Genesis 24:63
Very admirable was his occupation. If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable association and more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms for them. We would all know more, live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone with God. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere. When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed.

Christian Meditation is an act of faith with a purposeful intention – giving thanks for being in the loving presence of God and that Jesus is now powerfully at work for our good in the unseen realm. This purposeful movement of our faith gradually overrides the random emotional agitation and distracting thoughts and impulses of our soulish mind. This makes room for our spirit to be open to hearing what Jesus may be saying to our hearts and minds. This results in a steady growth of faith, and over time it results in our soul becoming more responsive to God and less reactive to everything that happens in our everyday situations.

 

Repentance to Life

REPENTANCE TO LIFE 

Acts 11:1 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, 3saying, “You went to be with uncircumcised men and ate with them!” 4But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning,

Peter then tells them in the next seventeen verses about his visit to Cornelius and the message of God’s reconciliation of the whole world in Christ.

I would like to focus on a significant statement made by the Jerusalem Christians in Acts Chapter eleven when they recognised God’s work of salvation for the household of Cornelius through the message of Peter – ‘18When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’ (NKJV)
The Jewish Christian leaders were initially hesitant about including Gentiles in the Christian community as many believed that Gentiles may need to fully convert to Judaism before becoming followers of Jesus. And now they have evidence from Peter that Gentiles have been included in God’s gift of ‘Repentance to life’ in Christ, going beyond John the Baptist’s repentance from sin. Repentance develops may I say evolves and advances us from one stage to a higher stage.
Never seen this repentance to life before but always wished it was there! Well it is.

‘Repentance from sin’ in the Old Testament challenged a person to recognise their sinfulness and to seek with all their will and determination to turn away from sin and to obey God’s Commandments and be devoted to him. Israel wasn’t able to obey the Commandments in their own strength, but God had provided the offering of blood sacrifices for them to receive forgiveness and mercy for their sins. Sin then sacrifice sin then sacrifice and on and on.

But since the Holy Spirit has been sent into the world for everyone it has become his work to now bring everyone to the awareness of the need of turning from sin and unbelief (repentance from sin) and receiving mercy and forgiveness through the work of Jesus on the cross, But the Holy Spirit’s work is also to turn us to living a life with Jesus (repentance to life). And Jesus promised this to the world.
I will send the Helper (The Holy Spirit) to you. And when he comes, he will convict (challenge) the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement (John 16:7)

There are three stages of the work of the Helper here – sin, righteousness and judgment.
That Scripture speaks of the ceaseless tugging of people away from sin by the Holy Spirit in contesting our independent mindset of human resistance to God - and everybody is affected by this inner spiritual struggle in their souls whether they understand what is going on or not. This struggle manifests itself in the world in a multitude of inner emotional conflicts and external relational conflicts and bodily feelings of unrest and multiple conditions of disorder.

In stage one here of convicting us of sin the Holy Spirit shows us where our struggle of resistance is, and we can now be in the light and no longer in the dark. And those who are in inner conflict may now be granted repentance to the acknowledging the truth (2Timothy 2:24). When we acknowledge this truth about ourselves we find a new freedom in our soul from the cycle of confusion of sin/sorry sin/sorry to be now led into the next stage of empowerment of repentance to life.
Stage two in the Scripture above also tells of the Holy spirit’s work of challenging us about righteousness which is finding grace to walk in God’s ways. We can now have assurance that ‘the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1). This a new spiritual energy at work in us since Jesus went to be with the Father motivating our hearts desires to live above the human energy of sin and separation from God. 
Stage three in that Scripture also speaks of being challenged and assured about the fact that the ruler of this world (the devil) has been judged. We can overcome the powers of darkness that seek to rule over the human soul. This is the assurance and confidence that darkness and sin and confusion will no longer have the rule over you Sin need never again rule over you, for now you are no longer judged by the law where sin enslaves you, but you are free to give yourself to being under the empowering grace and mercy of God. (Romans 6:14)

The New Testament Gospel message calls for a deeper repentance than just a ‘repentance from sin’. It calls for ‘repentance to life’, which is taught in all of the epistles, and it teaches it as living in the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
That repentance leads to a transformation of one's entire life, resulting in a new way of living in alignment with the requirements of God's Commandments (Romans 8:2-4). 
which are now written in our hearts. This is the New Covenant life offered to us through Jesus Christ which works in us a complete change of heart and mind that leads to a life lived in devotion to God.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my ways (Ezekiel 36:26).

The life of Jesus works in us to change the desires of our new heart so that we may now ‘not sin’. 
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the appeasement for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world ‘(1John 2:1). 
We are always being challenged in the New Testament to abide in this state of ‘repentance to life’ and to abide in his life. And it manifests itself in our souls as a freedom from our inner spiritual struggles of human resistance to God and into a peaceful and ordered life in the healing of our souls. Peter proclaims this as the goal of your faith the salvation/healing of your soul (2Peter 1:9). 
But we are not just like sick patients sitting around waiting to be healed – we participate in the healing process of our souls through faith.

In searching for the word repentance (metanoia) in all of the epistles I found it occurred only five times. On each occasion it was talking about turning to life and overcoming sin.
Romans 2:4, 2 Timothy 2:24, Hebrews 6:1, Hebrews 6:3, 2 Peter 3:9.

In Acts Paul urges the Greeks (and the rest of the world) to repent into the life of God through Jesus.
‘He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’ as even some of your own writers have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 
The times of ignorance (before the Incarnation of Jesus) God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, (Acts 17:26)

God wants everybody to know what is on offer through the life of Jesus Christ.
I came upon some notes made by Spurgeon in September 1855 on ‘Repentance unto life’.
And I thought it was a better summary than what I could come up with for what I have shared today.

We are this morning to give a very careful and prayerful attention to the "repentance" which is "unto life” as the act of salvation of the soul, the germ which contains all the essentials of salvation, which secures them to us, and prepares us for them.
By "Repentance unto life," I think we are to understand it as repentance which is accompanied by spiritual life in the soul, and ensures eternal life to everyone who possesses it. "Repentance unto life," I say, brings with it spiritual life, or rather, is the first consequent thereof. There are repentances which are not signs of life, except of natural life, because they are only effected by the power of the conscience and the natural voice speaking in men; but the repentance here spoken of is produced by the Author of life, and when it comes, it begets such life in the soul, that he who was "dead in trespasses and sins," is brought alive together with Christ;

 

God’s Work of Reconciliation

GOD’S WORK OF RECONCILITION 
The Book of Acts continues in Chapter nine describing the growth of the church and the work of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the Apostle Peter.

Acts 9: 31. Things then began to go peacefully in the churches throughout all of Judea and Samaria. The churches began to grow and multiply, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. So the Apostle Peter began to travel throughout the regions roundabout.
He miraculously brings healing to a bedridden paralysed man and he then travels to Joppa and raises a woman named Dorcas from the dead. Peter then stayed on at Joppa for many days in the house of Simon the tanner.
The ministry of Peter continues into Chapter ten.

ACTS 10:1 A Centurion named Cornelius, had a vision in which he saw an angel of God who said to him, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 
Meanwhile Peter was praying on a rooftop and received a vision of a sheet containing animals, reptiles and birds and he was told by God to kill them and eat them. But Peter said ‘No Lord’ our Jewish laws declare these animals as unclean.
15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 

Peter was then told by the Holy Spirit that the messengers from Cornelius had arrived to ask him to come to the house of Cornelius the Centurion, and the next day Peter went with them to Caesarea. As Peter entered the home Cornelius fell at his feet to worship him. But Peter explained that he was just a man like Cornelius himself and even though he believed that he should not be entering the house of a Gentile, that God had told him that he ‘should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean’.

Cornelius told Peter that God had spoken to him through an angel who directed him to call for Peter to come and he then said to Peter. ‘Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”
34 Then Peter replied, ‘I see very clearly that God shows no discrimination or favouritism towards anybody regarding nationality or ethnicity, but everywhere on earth he accepts those who fear him and do what is right…Peter goes on to say.
36 This is the message of the Good News given to the people of Israel - that there is peace with God (eirene – a joining with God) through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 
42 And he has ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all - of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives (actively takes hold of) forgiveness of sins through his name.”44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 

Peter had just heard things come out of his mouth that he had never said before and never even thought of or believed before. In fact, just two days before he had thought and believed just the opposite, but he had now just witnessed the evidence of God reconciling the whole world to himself and inviting humanity into the saving work of Jesus for their lives. 
Peter had participated in the astounding message of ‘God’s Work of Reconciliation’.
2 Corinthians 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 we implore you on Christ's behalf, ‘be reconciled’ to God.’ 
Peter did not know that work of God as the message of Reconciliation and he didn’t ever teach about it as that, because that was the revelation that God gave to Paul as the foundational truth of Jesus bringing oneness with himself to all of humanity as ‘Christ in you the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)’.

The word Reconciliation in the Bible is katalasso – that means a mutual change of two things to make one new thing. The supernatural miracle of God’s act of reconciliation for us is that he caused both himself and us to experience a change of Being. God became one of us – forever – now as the risen Christ in Heaven, and he has made us one with him within our hearts to become ‘partakers of his divine nature escaping the corruption that is in the world through sinful desires’ (2Peter 1:4).
We are in him, and he is in us - We are reconciled. 

Paul was the only Apostle that taught this, and it is not mentioned in the letters of any of the other Apostles, because Paul was set apart to bring that truth to the world of the non-Jews. The Gentile world had never been taught of the prophetic Scriptures and the understanding of the knowledge of God. Humanity in Adam was alienated from the life of God and ignorant of its truth - humanity was hostile to God (Romans 8:7).

Paul was sent to proclaim God’s remedy for this hostility of ours.
‘For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life’ (Romans 5:10). 
There needed to be a reconciled humanity in the earth before people could receive this great salvation that comes through a life yielded to the Lordship of Christ. 
2 Cor 5: 14. We have concluded this: that one man has died for all of humanity, and all have died (with him); and he died for all so that those who live (with him) might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was resurrected.

While Reconciliation is for everyone, without faith it can get twisted into a weird kind of universalism, because reconciliation deals with the here and now salvation of our soul in this life – not just an opinion of who is going to heaven and who isn’t. The multitude of opinions regarding the words universalism and predestination (both not mentioned in the Bible) dare us to judge people’s eternal future and we are warned to not judge in these things (Romans 2:1) because Jesus is the One appointed to be the judge of all. When Jesus was judged by the Jewish leaders he said woe upon you, religious leaders—hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden but ignore the weightier things—justice and mercy and faith. (Matthew 23:23).
We are not to speculate on unfounded fringe issues but to build on a sure foundation of Gods saving work of justice and mercy through our faith and our faithfulness. 
Isaiah 45:22 look to me and be saved all the ends of the Earth.

Reconciliation also reflects Paul’s revelation of being ‘chosen in him before the foundation of the world’ (Ephesians 1:4), which tells us that we were chosen in the last Adam (Jesus) before the first Adam started to breathe - God had rescued us before we even fell - we were found before we were even lost. And we also need to know that God holds us to account to not neglect such a great salvation. We had nothing to do with God’s work of Reconciliation and had no say in it. Jesus invaded the world of Adam and did something for us behind our backs that we weren’t even aware of. It is only by faith that we can discover that we have been reconciled to God and can obey his word to ‘be reconciled’. 

Sin was Adam’s work, and we didn’t have any part to play into what Adam did to us either. We weren’t there and had no say in it, we just inherited it and trudged along with it. ‘Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed onto all men, for all have sinned’. (Romans 5:12)
We had an inheritance in Adam - Mankind had inherited a distorted conscience - the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – a knowledge limited to our self-centred perspective of what life was all about. 
That was our life in Adam – and we didn’t need faith to walk that life. Our lack of trust towards God was too great an obstacle for our hearts to reach him. God had to reach us by putting away our estrangement from him and to bring peace and oneness with himself through Jesus. It had to be all his work. 

We now have an inheritance in Jesus – a life in Christ – a life that allows us to live above sin – and we need faith to walk that life.
Therefore, we need to be told we are forgiven, and that we need no longer be separated because of the feelings of guilt and shame about our sinful behaviour, which makes us hide from God and cover up in front of each other. We need to have a new mindset – metanoia – which means repentance, that acknowledges that God is not at odds with us, and we no longer need be at odds with him (now reconciled). 

Paul is telling us that our total life experience is to be one of seeing ourselves as being part of the very life of God, and an extension of his life into this world. We are also told by Paul to become the messengers of Reconciliation, which means that when we present the Gospel, we present forgiveness of sin first and then oneness with God (God’s work of Reconciliation) and then the saving work of our souls through the life of Jesus within us and then the impartation of his life into our world around us. All this requires a radical new mindset (repentance) which brings about a radical new life of faith. 

OR the message of condemnation - Repent from your sins (God hates sin) – say the sinners prayer – ask God for forgiveness so you don’t go to hell – Invite Jesus into your life because he died for your sins - stop sinning – pray - read your Bible and go to church.

Sovereign over us

SOVEREIGN OVER US

The book of Acts is officially called the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, but many say that it could be renamed as ‘The Book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit’, because it was God acting sovereignly through the Holy Spirit in people who had yielded their will to his will for their lives.
In Chapter nine we saw the sovereign work of God in changing the entire purpose of Paul’s life and bringing him into the eternal purpose of God. He heard the words of a messenger called Ananias who was told to tell Paul ‘how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake’ (Acts 9:16). Paul accepted the things that befell him as being ordained of God and he aligned his will accordingly, and he saw the will of God being done on earth as it was in Heaven as God reordered him and his world around him. 

We read on in a few verses later in Acts chapter nine how Paul straightaway confronts suffering and adversity in the attempts of people to persecute him and take his life.
22. But Saul became stronger and stronger, and confounded the Jews in Damascus as he debated with them, proving that Jesus was indeed the Christ Messiah 23. Many days after this, the Jews conferred together and decided to have him put to death. But Saul found out about their plans to ambush him, that they waited in the city gates day and night to take his life. 25. One night the disciples took him and helped him to escape, lowering him down through the city wall in a basket.

It was God’s will to keep Paul alive despite the will of the would-be assassins.
And it goes on, with Paul even receiving rejection from Christians and further attempts by assassins to kill him.
26. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to link up with the disciples but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27. But Barnabas took him under his wing and vouched for him before the apostles and told them how the Lord had appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. He told them how the Lord had commissioned him and how courageously he had preached Jesus at Damascus. So Paul became one of them in his comings and goings in Jerusalem.
29. He preached confidently in the name of Jesus and debated powerfully against the Hellenists, who then began planning how to execute him. 30. The apostles and disciples were aware of this, so they brought him down to the port at Caesarea and sent him off, back home to Tarsus.

Even though Barnabus endorsed Paul as being commissioned by the Lord on the road to Damascus Paul was not commissioned by the other apostles at this time for any special mission. When Paul writes his letter to the Galatians he introduces himself as Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead (Galatians 1:1). And as we see later in his letter to the Galatians, that he was led to be alone with Jesus for three years and not receive teaching or counsel or revelation from any other person.
Galatians 1:16 I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him fifteen days.

He is telling us that the Gospel he received was not from a human source – he did not confer with the other apostles, or anyone else. He went to Arabia, into the wilderness area east of the Jordan and down past Mt Sinai and toward the Red Sea area, and he received revelation from Jesus for three years. (It is conceivable to compare these three years with the three years that the other apostles spent with Jesus on earth). 
Paul would have fully understood how Jesus had lived his own earthly life, in asking his Father to reveal his will and his ways to him and his timing to him, for all that he did on earth. Jesus himself said I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of my Father who sent Me (John 5:30)

Paul would have realized that his own life had been repurposed and was being led by an unseen hand into unplanned events and confrontations, and protected and kept alive and provided for among people whose lives were also being guided by a Sovereign God.
Ever since that meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus it was clear to Paul that everywhere he went Jesus was there, and that everything that happened to him was something that the Father had arranged, and that things that were said to him were things he was meant to hear, even though the circumstances were often difficult or threatening.  He simply knew that things came to pass that he would never have expected to happen if he was totally in charge of things.

Paul would also have understood the quandary of God’s sovereignty and our own free will, because before he met Jesus and received the Holy Spirit, he had chosen to do whatever his conscience told him was right in his own sight and he had no perception of the sovereignty of God in his life. It was only in retrospect that he would have understood that God’s hand was always upon his life in all of his struggles between the good and evil within him.  He knew God in a different way now and faithfully yielded his will to God’s will and he could now witness the wonder of God’s sovereignty. 
An unbeliever would say you were mad to believe in such a wonder as God’s sovereignty. 

Paul was now in a different world, where laws of cause and effect are radically different. Paul had given himself to the will of God, and we know the way he was now thinking after receiving his life changing revelation from Jesus. 
He knew that by placing his life in God’s hands for the Father’s will to be done that he was a partner with Jesus in bringing God’s Heavenly Kingdom order into the earth.
Paul never claimed to have become perfected in this pursuit but said that he was always pressing toward that mark (Philippians 3:14).

When people pray ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven’ they may sincerely believe in that as a possibility that might happen someday, but not believe for that to become a living reality in the here and now humdrum of their lives. 
Paul knew what he meant when he prayed that prayer.

The world’s culture, especially in these days tells us to make our own plan and own it and work hard and it will deliver.
Many Christians believe that they can claim any Scripture and own it and believe hard and ask God to do it and he will deliver. 
That is understandable if we put things in the category of standard cause and effect. 

But Paul sees a greater mystery of God’s sovereignty sitting above this limited concept, 
and I know people in the business world and other areas of the work force who do make plans, but they put them in God’s hands seeking to align them with the order of his Kingdom – and they do work hard – and they see God sovereignly at work in their work.  
And I know people who pray to God in their need and surrender their prayer into his hands for his will to be done and they give thanks, and they see God sovereignly at work in their lives.

Paul was later to write about this mysterious way of life in his letter to the Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.
(In Christ we were destined to fulfill the plan of God, who accomplishes everything according to his design). 
[BTW – predestination is about purpose, here and now - not about going to Heaven or hell (Romans 9)]

Father God, the divine overseer of our lives - sovereign over us – is able to work all things together for his will to re-order and direct our lives in his way and in his time. 
He provides for our natural and spiritual needs in bringing his design for our life to pass.
and your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things (natural and spiritual needs of our soul). But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:32–33, ESV) 
Let us look at what that Scripture is saying. It is telling us that our Heavenly Father knows all about the burdened fretting of our soul and as our Father he invites us to trust him for his provision and to align our thinking and believing in his timing and his way of reordering our lives - seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness – in alignment with his ways. 
This also means inviting his correcting of us when we get off course.

We can believe that God has a sovereign plan for each of our lives that is based on his infinite wisdom, love, and purpose. God's providence involves his ability to orchestrate events and align them with his divine plan for our ultimate good as his children. 
Romans 8:28 – All things work together for good for those who love him and are invited to live according to his purpose.
Romans 12 :1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your which is your reasonable service  (logikos latrea – Logical way to serve him)
We can pray and seek God's guidance in our lives knowing that God actively listens to our prayers and intervenes in response to them. While his ways may not always align with our human expectations, we trust that his intervention is always for our spiritual healing and growth and blessing.
Miracles of timing and seeming coincidence will occur as instances of God's direct intervention in the natural order of things to bring about surprising wonders. These miracles are signs of God's presence and power, confirming his mercy and faithfulness to His children. We grow in faith through this and in commitment and in inner peace.