Tag Archive | acts of the apostles

Acts 8 – are you tuned to the right frequency ?

Sep16

Good evening y’all. Today we are studying chapter 8 of the book of Acts.

In this chapter we see Saul persecuting the church and in spite of the persecutions we see how the church is progressing.

Below are few points I got from the chapter.

Be blessed 🙂

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– Even though they were faced with persecution, and as a result got scattered all over the world, the believers still continued to preach about Jesus. They made sure that wherever they found themselves, they spoke about Jesus: even if it lead to persecution.
I ask myself, “what am I doing with Jesus?” Am I keeping Him to myself; or am I living my life in such a way that it preaches Jesus to those around me?

– The believers were so full of the Holy Spirit such that their lives made an impact everywhere they went. They felt the impact and the presence of God through Phillip in the city. Verse 6 – 8 says : 

“Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed.  So there was great joy in that city” (NLT).

I want to be full of the Holy Spirit. I want His full reign in my life so that my life can be impactful and lead others to Jesus.

– The gift of God cannot be bought, and that’s why it’s a gift. Simon assumed he could buy the gift. What amazed me about him was that he had accepted Jesus in His life but he didn’t fully understand what he had accepted and his past was still following him. I can see why Romans tells us to renew and be transformed cos it’s possible to proclaim Jesus yet our past still has a hold on us.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12: 2 NLT)

– Simon’s motive was wrong for wanting the gift. He wanted to be famous again, since he used to be famous and performed miracles before the apostles came.
What is our motive for the things we desire? Do you want the best voice so that the crowd can applaud you and praise your voice, yet your worship has not touched God at all (your heart was far from him and  it was all a show)? Let’s check our motives today. I’m reminded of Psalms 19 : 13- 14 and Psalms 139: 23 -24

“Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
    Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
    and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth
    and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer”  (Ps 19: 13 -14 NLT)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Ps 139: 23-24 NLT)

– Phillip was obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He was instructed to go somewhere and he left immediately without hesitating.  Phillip’s job was to help the eunuch understand the scripture, thereby leading to his salvation. Do we yield to the Spirit’s leading or do we choose to do things our way? Are we sensitive enough to hear His voice?  My Pastor said something that stuck with me: ” … Just as you have to tune your radio to the right frequency in order to get the station you want, it’s the same with us and God. We have to tune our ears to His frequency so that we constantly hear from Him”.

– The Eunuch had a open heart to learn. He desired to to know more about the Messiah and God sent him help. This shows that if we truly seek God, we will find Him. He will always reveal Himself to us.

Prayer:
Dear Lord thank You for today. We thank You for Your Holy Spirit. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will fill us afresh; we pray for grace to be courageous and bold; we pray for grace to yield ourselves completely to the leading of the Holy spirit; and that our ears will be constantly tuned to You. Please remove anything in our lives that will hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name we have prayed. Amen

Thanks for joining. Pls feel free to share your thots on the chapter 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Acts 7 – Stephens Message…

Sep15

Good afternoon y’all.  Today we are studying chapter 7 of Acts.

Be blessed 🙂

I found an article by Stephen J. Cole on chapter 7 which explains how we can apply this chapter to our lives. Excetpt below

– WE SHOULD GUARD AGAINST PRESUMING ON GOD’S GRACE BY FALLING INTO A PATTERN OF SIN.

Paul tells us that Israel’s history should be a warning to us not to crave evil things as they craved, nor to be idolaters, as they were, nor to act immorally, nor to try the Lord, nor to grumble as they did (1 Cor. 10:6-10). It is a gross misunderstanding and misapplication of God’s grace to presume that we can go on sinning and just keep on claiming His grace. As Paul puts it in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be!” Jude 4 warns us about “ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” In Titus 2:11-12, Paul shows us the proper response to God’s grace. He says that it instructs us “to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.”

– WE SHOULD GUARD AGAINST GOING THROUGH THE OUTWARD MOTIONS OF WORSHIP, WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM GOD.

Like Israel, we have had great spiritual privileges. We live in a nation founded upon biblical principles. We have a history of great spiritual opportunity. We have the Bible in our language in multiple translations. We have freedom to worship without persecution. We can hear the Bible taught on Christian radio or through many other resources. And yet it is easy to fall into the trap of going through the outward motions of Christianity, but not walking in reality with the living God. The building that we meet in is not God’s house. Our bodies are the temple of the living God, and so we must walk in holiness before the Lord, beginning in our hearts. To offer worship to God when we have not repented of our sins is an offense toward Him (Mark 7:6-8, 20-23).

– WE SHOULD IMITATE STEPHEN BY BEING MORE CONCERNED ABOUT BEARING WITNESS TO THE TRUTH THAN ABOUT OUR OWN PROTECTION.

As I said earlier, Stephen does defend himself with this sermon. He shows that he reverenced God, he thought highly of Moses, and he did not speak against the temple or the law. But his main thrust was not to defend himself, but to bring God’s truth to bear on the consciences of these hypocrites. He identifies with them repeatedly throughout the sermon. Eight times (7:11, 12, 15, 19, 38, 39, 44, & 45) he refers to “our fathers.” But when he gets to the pointed application at the end, he shifts to “your fathers” (7:51, 52). He isn’t speaking with polite generalities that no one would connect with their own behavior. He wants them to feel the guilt of their terrible sin of murdering Jesus. Only when they have been convicted in their hearts will they see their need for God’s forgiveness and salvation.
While we should treat each person with grace and tact (Col. 4:6), we also should not be so nice, focusing only on God’s love, that the person never comes under conviction of sin. Until a sinner feels the weight of his guilt before a holy God, salvation is a nice idea, but it’s not a crucial necessity. Often we back off from the hard aspects of the gospel because we want people to think well of us. But we have not proclaimed the gospel if we avoid the subjects of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

(Stephen J Cole, Lesson 18: Stephen: the message, http://www.bible.org)

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day 🙂

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***With God all things are possible***