April 7, 2024 Speaker Randy Meyer Let's open in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for another day of your grace and mercy. We pray for the many people of the congregation who are having health issues. We ask that you comfort them and that your will be done in their lives. We ask for open hearts and minds as we study your word, rightly divided. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.
We're supposed to open today with an overview of the scriptures, overview of the Book of Acts. And we'll get to that in a moment. I always like to tell a little story before we start. And it's good to see Hunter here because he always gets a chuckle out of it if nobody else does, so. This is a short introduction actually into Luke, the physician. And I have to come clean here, if truth be told, I did steal this from Kevin Sadler. So if there's any complaints about this, you know who to talk to, okay? He's got some good stories. A man went on an overseas business trip on an airplane obviously, and on the ride back he became ill. Arriving at home, he immediately checked into a hospital. The doctor performed a barrage of tests on him. The man was exhausted after the tests, and he fell asleep in his room. He awoke to the phone ringing at his bedside. It was his doctor. He said, I have some bad news for you. The man says, oh, no. What's wrong with me? The doctor says, you have a very rare and contagious disease. The man says, well, what are you going to do to help me? Says, well, we're going to put you on a strict diet. And the man says, well, is that going to cure me? He said, no. But the diet will consist of pizza, quesadillas, and one other thing, pancakes. Quesadillas, pizzas, and pancakes. And the man says, well, what is that going to do for me? And he says, well, sir, at this point, that's the only food we can slip under the door. So that is our introduction. It brings us from one doctor to another. The physician in the story, and Luke himself is also a physician, as we know. He's the author of not only the Book of Luke, but also the Book of Acts. The book of Luke is basically based on the son of man, that is his subject. Luke 19:10 says the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And Luke 1.3 talks about how Luke wrote the book to Theophilus. Acts 1.1 also says it's a continuation of the book that he wrote to Theophilus. The account in Acts covers a period from, according to the dates that are in the Bible, that I have, the Scofield Bible, from 33 AD until 65 AD. Some people tell you it's a 40-year period, and that's fine. I won't argue with that. The dates in Scripture are not always dead on, that's for sure. During Paul's house arrest or his first imprisonment in Rome, which was 63 to 65, it's believed that at that point is when Luke wrote the Book of Acts. He spent a lot of time with Paul during his missionary journeys. And in the last Book of Acts, you don't have to turn there at this point, the last Book of Acts, chapter 28, verse 16, It says, and when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. So when he got to Rome for his first imprisonment, obviously Luke was with him, because he uses the pronoun we when we came. If you scroll down to 2830, it tells you that Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came unto him. And obviously, Luke was with him for those two years. That's when Paul wrote the Prison Epistles, and that's when, supposedly, Luke wrote the Book of Acts. In Acts 16, just read a couple verses here for you. Acts 16 verse 9. And here again, he is with Paul. Verse nine says, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him, saying, come over into Macedonia and help us. Verse 10 says, and after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia. So once again, Luke is with him at this point in time. Flip over one page. They're in Philippi at this point. Chapter 17, verse one. It says, now when they had passed through Epipholis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews. Here he uses the pronoun they, meaning not Luke going to Thessalonica, but Paul and Silas, and possibly Timothy at that point. Colossians 4:14 is where Luke gets his special name from Paul. Colossians 4:14, as he's writing, he says, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you, which means once again, Luke was with Paul when he wrote the epistle of Colossians in Rome. And when Paul ended up in Rome in his second imprisonment, where he stayed until his death, 2 Timothy chapter four, you look at verse 10 and 11. He says, for Demas, one of the people that was originally with him, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. And he says, only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is profitable for me for this ministry. So Luke once again stayed there until his death. Maybe he's the one that took care of his body at that point in time. ED66 is when that book was written. And I think it's very interesting. I'm sure everybody has read this a few times. Second Corinthians, chapter 11. And I'll just read three verses here, 24 to 27, 2 Corinthians chapter 11:24 to 27. If you ever wonder why Luke was with Paul, this might explain some of it. Verse 24, of the Jews five times received I 40 stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day have I been in the deep. And journeying is often in perils of waters by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness, painfulness, in watching is often in hunger, thirst, fasting is often in cold and nakedness. Ever wonder why he had Paul, the physician, with him? Not only for fellowship. but for spiritual help. That's why he calls him the beloved physician. I'm going to touch on a few things in the Book of Acts. I'm trying not to step on too many people's feet here, because there's other people that are going to be going through the Book of Acts. But there's certain things that I think need to be told. Number one, as far as the Book of Acts is concerned, preconceived ideas, tradition, theology have steered many people astray when it comes to the understanding of the Book of Acts. Colossians 2:28 says, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of man, rudiments of the world and not after Christ. If you look up the word philosophy, this is in the very old dictionary, it says it is a search for truth through logical reasoning rather than through logical reasoning. Philosophy is a theory. That's what it boils down to. We all know what a theory is. We've heard of the theory of evolution for how many years that's been pounded down our throats. And it's spoken of like that as truth. And after you hear theology and traditions for many, many years, they do become truth. It's taught continually in our schools as truth. Propaganda minister of Nazi Germany back in the 1930s is quoted as saying repeated lies to the ignorant masses become truth. And that has a lot to do with evolution. It has a lot to do with the Book of Acts. Always remember 1 Corinthians 14, 33. It says, God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. is a simple question. and I'll see if anybody has the answer that I have here. What is the theme of the Book of Acts? Anybody? Amen. Give that man a cigar. That is exactly what it is, the fall of the nation of Israel. Acts is the bridge between prophecy and mystery. We've talked about dispensations. There's seven, eight dispensations. That's a way of dividing up scripture and showing you how mankind fared as the Lord dealt with them. You have time past, time present, time future. That's another way of dividing up the scripture. There's nothing wrong with that. But in the Book of Acts, I think what's especially needed is the difference between prophecy and mystery. That's how scripture should be divided when you get to this area of the book, because Acts is a bridge from the four gospels to the Book of Romans. If you do not have the Book of Acts in between, you have no clue how you got to the Book of Romans. 2 Timothy 2:15, as everybody knows, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Why is this passage in scripture? I think one of the reasons it's in scripture is because many people wrongly divide the word of truth. And when it comes to this book, that's not good. Division in scripture from the first verse in Genesis chapter one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. If you go to the last book in the scriptures, Revelation, chapter 21, it says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. So how did we get from he created the heavens and the earth to I need a new heaven and a new earth? Obviously, the answer is somewhere in between. And we have the same thing in the book of Acts. Gospel accounts in the first part of the book of Acts deal with the twelve apostles. After that, the only time we hear of any of the twelve is their encounters with Paul. He was introduced at the end of chapter 7 when he was called Saul and he held the clothes of those that stoned Stephen. The book of Acts is a continuation of the four gospels in the earthly ministry of Jesus after his ascension. John 17:18 says, as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world, meaning the twelve apostles. So there's your continuation. They're sent because Christ was crucified and put in exile. And at that point, the twelve apostles were sent out to continue the same message. Too many pages here. So basically, what were the marching orders of the 12 apostles? There are technically, and I'm sure you could find more passages, but basically if you get into the four gospels you're going to find one in each and you're going to find it in the book of Acts. We'll read those over quickly. Matthew 28. And we'll just read two verses there, 19 and 20. Matthew 28:19 and 20. And in each of these, he's talking, obviously, to the 10 or 11 apostles at that time. Judas, obviously, was gone and Matthias had not been selected yet. Matthew 28, verse 19, it says, "'Go ye therefore and teach all nations, "'baptizing them in the name of the Father, "'and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, "'teaching them to observe all things whatsoever "'I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you, "'even until the end of the world.'" Turn a few pages to your right to the Book of Mark. Chapter 16, and we'll just read a couple verses here. Mark 16:16. Maybe we should go to 15. Chapter 16, verse 15. And he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth in his baptize shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. You go to Luke chapter 24. Leave me, there is a meaning behind this madness, okay? So bear with me. Look chapter 24 and we'll just read two verses, 47 to 49. And Jesus says, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my father, but tear ye in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. Go to John chapter 20. We'll hit all four of them. John chapter 20, we'll read two verses. John chapter 22 verses, we'll read 21, 22 and 20, excuse me, that's three verses, so much for my math education. Verse 21, then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto you as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said unto them, receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. Sound familiar? There is a religion who does that. Let's go to Acts chapter one. This is a continuation closer to what we read in Luke chapter 24. But once again, this is Luke writing verse eight, chapter one, verse eight. And he says, but you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, in Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Now, after reading those five accounts, There are a number of questions that should be asked. First and foremost, did any of these five teach no difference between Jew and Gentile? Not that I saw. Do any of them mention salvation by grace through faith in the shed blood and the resurrection of Christ? Not at all. Does it mention one baptism, one body, and that we are made one with Christ? Does it proclaim a heavenly position and prospect for us as believers? And last, does it mention the mystery kept secret since the world began? These five points are part and parcel of the body of Christ, the church of today, the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. That is where we are in this day and age. And you cannot find that in the gospels, you cannot find that in the early part of the book of Acts. Okay, so on through the Old Testament scriptures. in, I don't know if I should go here yet or not. Okay, let's, Acts chapter seven, and this is something I'll be talking on later, so I'm not stepping on anybody's toes here. This is something I'll cover in a few months. But Acts chapter seven, Stephen gives a history of the nation of Israel to tell you how they got to the point where they're at. And. 752. Chapter seven verse 52. Stephen goes through the history, he gets fed up with the council that he's talking to, and in verse 51 already he says, You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. And verse 52, Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? They have slain them which showed before of the coming of the just one, which is Jesus, of whom you have now been the betrayers and murderers. So God the Father sent the prophets to Israel because of their disobedience and their idolatry. They basically killed them or imprisoned the prophets, John the Baptist probably being the last one. Then he sent Jesus, his son. They crucified him, put him in exile. So who is left? Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Turn to Luke 23. Look 23 and we're going to read a couple of verses here. When Jesus is on the cross, before he died, verse 33, chapter 23, verse 33, what does he say? When they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him. The malefactors, one on the right and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. In essence, he is giving Israel another chance. They killed the prophets, they killed Jesus. Now the Holy Spirit is coming, so they're getting another chance. And in Acts chapter one verse eight, which we just read, the Holy Spirit will be sent to you, wait in Jerusalem for him to come. And one page over once again in the book of Luke, verse 49, says, behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high from the Holy Spirit. So you have it from Luke there and in the book of Acts. Okay, so remember one thing. The body of Christ, the church of today, is a mystery kept secret until revealed to the apostle Paul. Romans 16, 25, and Ephesians chapter three. That's where the mystery is talked about. Acts chapter two talks about theology, tradition, and philosophy as people proclaim Acts chapter two, the beginning of the church of today. We flip to Acts chapter 2, and we're going to backtrack again. But. Acts chapter two and. Let's go to verse 15. Okay, so the 11 apostles at this point, take that back, 12 apostles at this point, Peter stands up with the 11, and they're all speaking in different languages so they can communicate with the different dialects of the Jews that are at this location. And he says, verse 15, "'For these are not drunken as you suppose, "'seeing it is but the third hour of the day,' "'which would have been nine o'clock.' But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. So if it's spoken by the prophet Joel, is it prophecy or is it mystery? It's prophecy, obviously. Even I knew that. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. and on my servants and on my handmaids I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy I will show wonders in heaven above, signs in the earth beneath, blood, fire, vapor of smoke the sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved this is all predicted it's in the book of Joel Let's flip back there for a second so you can see that. You probably have read it before. Go to the Book of Daniel. Everybody knows where that is. Joel can be hard to find. Go to the Book of Daniel, the last chapter, and turn about six, seven, eight pages to the right. And you'll find the Book of Joel. He says, this is that was spoken of by the prophet Joel. And if you go to chapter three. Are the pages stuck together here? Chapter 2, pardon me. Joel chapter 2 will start at verse 28. And this is back about 800 BC based on the dates in scripture. And he says, it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Younger men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids, in those days will I pour out my spirit. I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, fire, pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before that great and terrible day of the Lord, which is the tribulation. So this is all prophecy. what Luke is talking about in the book of Acts. It's all prophecy. It cannot be the start of the church of today because that is the mystery kept secret since the world began. And at the day of Pentecost, once again, this is a Jewish feast day. The body of Christ made up of Jew and Gentile could not start on a Jewish feast day. Go to Acts chapter 2 once again. And just look at who is he addressing here. Acts chapter 2, verse 22. You men of Israel. Slide down to 36. 2:36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God had made that same Jesus who you crucified both Lord and Christ. And in this book, you are seeing Israel being condemned for the murder of Christ. We look at the cross not as conviction, but as salvation. So how can this be our message for today? Eternal or one page, still in Acts chapter two. This is how Luke describes the quote, Church of Pentecost. See how many of you fill these conditions. Acts chapter two, we're going to read 42 to 47. And they, the people, the Jews, continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. Fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together and had all things common. And sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily, as should be saved. That word church, as everybody probably knows, is ecclesia. And in this particular section, unfortunately, it's translated church. You use that same Greek word, ecclesia, and you go into the Book of Acts, where Paul is surrounded by a mob, they are also called an assembly. And that's the exact same Greek word, ecclesia, it's translated assembly. So when you see the word church, take a good look at the context around it, because this is not the church of today. Okay, as we just looked at, the body of Christ, the church of today is made up of Jew and Gentile. Acts two only deals with Israel and the Jewish people. Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. Just for, everybody's read these already too, but we're gonna flip to them anyway. Second Corinthians chapter five, just read a couple verses, I won't go through the whole dedication here. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5. Second Corinthians chapter five, I'll just read 18 and 19. It says, all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To it that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Through those passages, how many times do you see reconciliation or reconciling? Four times in a couple verses. That is our ministry for today. We are to be out reconciling unbelievers into the body of Christ. That's our job as ambassadors in verse 20. To be reconciled, you first have to be alienated. The Gentiles were alienated in Genesis chapter 12 when God chose Abram out of all the nations. He's his people, the Jews are his people. That's where the Jews originated from. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, that's the generation where the Jews came from. So the question is, where did Israel get alienated? The Gentiles are alienated. When did that happen to Israel? Because to form the body of Christ, they have to be cast aside. You cannot be reconciled until you're alienated. Turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter three, we'll read a couple verses here, start in verse nine. Romans chapter three, verse nine, and I'm picking up in between here, so, what then are we, the Jews, better than they, the Gentiles? It says, in no wise, for we have before proved both Jew and Gentile that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understand it, there is none that seeks after God. You go across the next column to verse 22. The righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So here in Romans, Paul is telling you the Jews are no better than the Gentiles. We're on the same level at this point. So somewhere in between, Israel had to be set aside. Over to the next page, chapter three, we'll just read 29 and 30. And Paul says here, is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Seeing it as one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. So it doesn't sound like there's a difference. So this leads us to when was Israel alienated? Go back again, the prophets were sent by God the Father. They rejected him. They killed him. They imprisoned him. The Father sent Jesus. He was crucified. He is in exile on the cross. He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And he gave them another chance. So the Father sent the Holy Spirit. Go to the book of Matthew for a moment. Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, we're going to read 10 verses here, maybe 11. Start in verse 22. And they brought to Jesus one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb, and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed and said, is this not the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, who is Satan. So they're telling him that he's casting out devils by the power of Satan. Verse 25, and Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, every kingdom divided itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he's divided against himself. How shall then his kingdom stand? And if I, meaning Jesus, by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. Verse 28, but if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. And this is where I'm trying to get to, verse 31. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. So they are claiming that his miracles and wonders were done by the power of Satan. The Holy Spirit was doing those miracles and wonders. And they're claiming that he is Satan. That is blasphemy against who the Holy Spirit truly is. Turn forward to Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter five, the headline here is the first deacons. They've been called other things, but we'll leave it at that. Acts chapter six, did I say five? I'm sorry, Acts chapter six. Acts chapter 6 and verse 5. They chose Stephen, they chose seven men here. It says, in the saying, please the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Okay, so he's filled with, he's full of the Holy Spirit. Go down just a little bit to verse 8. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. So he's doing the same thing Christ did on Earth. Verse 10, and when the council members were unable to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. Okay, so Paul, or excuse me, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit and basically telling them many things that they cannot refute. Verse 15, and all that sat in the council looking steadfastly on him saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Turn one page over to chapter seven. And in Acts here, chapter 7, once again, Stephen is going through the whole history of the nation of Israel. We pick up in verse 51, 7:51. And he says, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. He's talking to the Jews, the leaders. You do always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. We read this earlier. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? They have slain them which showed before of the coming of the just one, of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers who have received the law by the dispensation, excuse me, the disposition of angels and have not kept it. Verse 54, when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart. They gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being once again full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. And they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord. They cast him out of the city, stoned him. The witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul. They stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. He kneeled down, cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. When he said this, he fell asleep. So Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, tells them at this point that Jesus is now standing at the right hand of God. That is judgment. You go back to the Old Testament, anywhere where Jesus stood or anywhere where they called on him, arise, O Lord, deliver us from our enemies. He was standing. That's judgment coming and the Jews understood that and they were cut to the quick at that point in time, seeing Jesus standing. And this basically, if you look back to what we read in Luke 23, this is what's called the unpardonable sin. We'll go into this more at a later time. But this is the unpardonable sin. This is the third strike against Israel. God gave them another chance. Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. They were given another chance. To God, this is the basically final straw in the nation of Israel at this point. I think we all understand that the book of Acts is transitional. It's progressive revelation as is the entire word of God. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 21:1, there is a change. As Robert Anderson is quoted as saying in his book, Silence of God, this, the stoning of Stephen, is the secret crisis in the history of Israel. Acts chapter eight, the Jews are scattered. The only ones that stayed according to scripture were the 12 apostles. They're the only ones that stayed. Acts chapter nine, why is Paul saved at this time? If God is still dealing with Israel, Why does he save Paul at this time on the road to Damascus? Now the Jews and Gentiles alike can be reconciled to the body of Christ, the church of today, which started with the conversion of Paul. There is no point in Paul being saved at this time if Israel was still God's chosen people. This, I believe, is the start of the body of Christ and what many have called the dawning of a new dispensation. The church can't start without Paul. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the time and place to worship and study your word. We thank you for the many blessings. and your promise of eternal life through the redemption that we have in our Lord and Savior. We pray all these things in the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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