King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, November 18, 2021
Chapters: Acts Chapters 3-5
Message: In The Name of Jesus Christ
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today I started to think about what Gideon said when God came to him and told him that He was going to use him to free the people from the oppression they were facing, [Judges 6:12-13 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.]
Sometimes when you read about all the miracles that Jesus performed on the people when He was here in the flesh and what the Apostles were able to do while they were hear and wonder where all the miracles are now. We have questions like, why are babies dying from diseases and the elderly turning into babies? And then God so conveniently brought me to this passage.
[2 Corinthians 4:14-18 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.]
The grace of faith is an effectual remedy against fainting when we are faced with pain and suffering. And of course, we are also reminded by God, [Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.]
As we continue in the reading of the Book of Acts, Luke, gives an account of what took place after that amazing night of Pentecost. The Apostles wasted no time in preaching the Gospel, while Peter and John, were heading up to the temple, they passed by a beggar sitting by the gate, which was called Beautiful.
[Acts 3:1-7 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.]
[In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.] You see, none of the miracles that the people witnessed the Apostles doing were done in their own power, it was all in the name of Jesus. In fact, Peter goes on to point this out when all the people that knew this man was walking in the Temple with them.
[Acts 3:8-12 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. 12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?]
[why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power] Think about it, there are just as many people who see these miracles and dismiss them as being some kind of illusion as there are who believe that mankind can do them in their own power. While praise God that He does send doctors and nurses who are able to understand how the human body works and perform life saving procedures and surgeries to help people live longer, but none of it is even possible without God. Remember what Jesus said, [John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.]
God, will use these miracles on the lost to bring them to His Son, and sometimes it does works. All the people who watched this man sitting by the gate every day walking and leaping through the temple were naturally amazed and wondered how he was walking. Peter, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, reminded them of what the chief priests and elders did to Jesus, and that the mans faith in Him is the only reason why he was walking.
[Acts 3:13-16 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. 14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. 16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.]
[his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong,] This man believed in Jesus and it was his faith in Him that healed him of much more than his infirmity, his soul was healed as well. The ignorance of the Jews had been shown by Peter, but had no way pardoned them for their sins. He urges them to repent, to have a complete change of heart and mind and then they will be pardoned
[Acts 3:19-21,25-26 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.]
[when the times of refreshing shall come] Jesus, did what the Law could never do, it freed the sinner from the constant fear that breaking one command would send them to hell. I remember growing up with this fear, and how refreshing it was to know that I was not counting on my own works to save me, I am saved only by the grace of God, through my faith in His Son, as is the rest of us who believe as I do. Praise God! Now, as you can imagine, things did not go over too well when the priests and all those men who were actually responsible for Jesus being crucified heard that they were talking about Jesus.
[Acts 4:1-7 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?]
[Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed;] This is proof that they can try to stop people from preaching the Gospel, but they cannot atop people from believing. Peter, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, told them exactly by what power healed the man.
[Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.]
[by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified,] Can you imagine the crowd shouting and cheering when Peter said this? If that is not a straight forward and blunt way of preaching the Gospel, I do not know what is. The Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, we must have faith in all that He is in order to be made whole, even through our infirmities. Now, we do know that God does not miraculously cure everyone so that all believe in Christ, sometimes, He actually keeps them in their infirmities to show others that it is Christ inside them that makes them whole, [2 Corinthians 12:8-9 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.]
Well, the crowd may have been cheering, but these men were not, they thought they were rid of the name of Jesus, and actually demanded that they never speak of His name again.
[Acts 4:13-17 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. 17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.]
[perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,] Really? They were the ones who were unlearned and ignorant. If they would have just listened to what Peter was saying and understood what the purpose of the man being able to walk for the very first time was for then they would have seen what every believer does, their Saviour. And I do not know about you, but I would love to see five thousand people open their hearts to Jesus. They may have threatened the men to stop talking in the name of Jesus, but there was nothing they could do, the miracle itself was proof. That was when Peter and John said a prayer before going any further.
[Acts 4:23-25,29-31 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.]
[grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,] We, who are saved, have the witness of Christ within ourselves, and that means that we can do nothing, but speak of the things He has done in this life from the time He saved us. We are automatically wired through the Spirit that lives inside us to speak of how Christ saved us, and nothing can stop us from teaching that truth, [1 Corinthians 2:11-13 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.]
[the place was shaken…and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,] This was not the Apostles as they had already received that Holy Spirit, although they fully used that power that night. This was the other people in the room who believed, they became preachers of the Gospel, speaking it with great freedom, and without fear, not only privately, in their community, but publicly, in the Temple as well. With the power of God upon them they knew they could take on the whole world and not be afraid of what man could do to them because He was right there with them. Jesus, gives us that same power, [Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.]
Speaking of being content with the things that we have, many times we start to question where the miracles are when we are not content with what we have. Remember in yesterday’s reading when we read how some of the people were selling things, including land and giving the money to the Apostles to help with their ministry? [Acts 2:43-46 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,]
While it was not necessary for them to sell what they no longer needed and give all the money, this was what they decided and it was merely an act of gratitude to help the missionaries in their mission. To prove this, there was a couple Ananias and Sapphira, they were about to learn the hard way that it is not how much or what you give it needs to be sincere and honest.
[Acts 5:1-5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.]
[sold a possession, And kept back part of the price,] There are so many people who misinterpret what this was all about. They were not told to sell their land nor to give all the money that they received for it to the Apostles. Instead they wanted to be show offs and say that they gave all the money and that was why Peter said this, [Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost,]
They thought to deceive the Apostles, but what they ended up doing is exposing their heart, the Holy Spirit having discerned to Peter what was truly in the heart of Ananias and his wife, who was confronted as well.
[Acts 5:8-11 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.]
[ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?] This proves that we are all responsible for our actions, even if led by spouses or loved ones. Ananias, had the power to give what he wanted, if he said he was only going to give a portion of the money than God would have been fine with that, but he lied and said that what he had given them was all the money from the sale and Sapphira agreed to it and lost her life too. It was not about what they gave, or even how much, it was their unbelief that brought them to their death, [1 Chronicles 29:9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.]
[great fear came upon all the church,] This was not the same fear as when you fear God, they were afraid that the same thing was going to happen to them if they did one thing to go against the Apostles. While quite a few did convert many did not because of what they saw that day.
[Acts 5:12-15 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. 13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. 14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) 15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.]
[at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.] Seriously? Peter, was not Jesus, and even the woman with the issue of blood believed by faith that she needed to at least touch the hem of His coat to be healed. This is why God does not give us these kind of powers, it gives glory to the people and not Him, [Acts 17:29-30 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:]
No one has the right to make us hide the truth, we might face some persecution for our faith, but in the end, it is God that we have to face for any wrong decision we make going against His Word. The rulers demanded that Peter and John stop telling the people the Gospel, but that did not stop them from continuing their mission, even if that meant they got arrested for it. However, something incredible happened that night, an angel showed up and there were right back in the Temple.
[Acts 5:19-21,27-28 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, 20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. 21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, 28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.]
[filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.] Were these not the same people who said, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” when Pilate tried to convince them not to have Jesus crucified? [Matthew 27:24-25 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.]
Do not let the religious world fool you, they know that the miraculous things that happen come from God, but because they want power and control themselves they will hide it from those who are ignorant to this truth. Why? If they follow Jesus they will lose money, fame, and everything else that comes along with. At this point, from the Day if Pentecost, about eight thousand souls were saved, and the Pharisees and Sadducee’s were not pleased at all, in fact, they arrested Peter and John, finally a Pharisee stood up and boldly admitted that they had no grounds to accuse them.
[Acts 5:30-34,38-39 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. 33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. 34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.]
[if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it;] Do you see that? They did not want to be guilty of putting Christ on the cross, even though they knew very well that they were responsible for it. And they certainly do not want to be responsible for the fallout of what happens when the truth comes out and thousands of souls being cast into hell because of their false doctrine. Let me tell you, there is no greater power than the power of the name of Jesus Christ who lives inside His believers, [2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Acts 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving me life, and for giving me eternal life through my faith in the great sacrifice that You made in sending Your Son to save me. Not by my own works am I saved, but by Christ’s finished work on the cross, am I saved. I can do nothing in this life that will ever have any value without Christ, but I can do all things through Christ who is the very power within me to do them. I am a witness of the amazing life that can be lived while I am here, and the proof is just how much You have turned my life around since dedicating my life to You. Jesus, All I need to ask You for is for You to shine Your Light on me so that others can see You through me, and want to know what You have done for me. I pray this, in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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