http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%209-10&version=ESV
Saul is confronted by the Lord and then retreats to pray. Notice the progression of events - God summons and then man responds. God then moves in the heart of another of His servants and Ananias ministers to Saul. Although he was frightened of the persecution of Saul, Ananias listened to God's voice and healing came to Saul. This is the first example of God approaching the otherwise unapproachable. Who would have thought that the condemner of the Way of Jesus would become the chief apostle to the Gentiles?
We also see that Saul is told he will suffer from the beginning. He will appear before kings and preach to Gentiles, but there will be pain and torment along the way. This clearly shows that following Jesus is not a road to material success and worldly pleasures. Suffering is promised to all of God's children, but He who is in us is greater than the world. Remember, God is Light, God is Love, and God is Life, as the Apostle John continually reminded us in his first epistle and which Pastor Riggle helped us to see in the recent sermon series.
In chapter 10, we see that the Gentiles are now accepted into the ranks of believers and that God's Spirit was offered to them just as to the Jewish believers. There now was truly no separation between Jew and Greek as the Gentiles could now enter into God's Presence. Christ ripped the temple veil in two when He surrendered His Spirit and Acts 10 ushers the Gentiles into the Holy of Holies via Christ's sacrifice and blood.
Just as these chapters show that God is not a respecter of persons and shows no partiality, so we too must be willing to share the treasure entrusted to us. Are we like Ananias and Peter who questioned before responding to God's call, do we follow wholeheartedly from the start, or do we simply turn our backs on God's prompting?
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Give continuous praise for Pentecost. We now have the Holy Spirit and the church.
ReplyDelete**Just a comment for some of the subject matter yet to come in Acts---->We often hear that we are in the "end times". It is something to ponder indeed;however, as we see with the first chapter in the Bible, God's timing is not fathomable to us humans. For this reason, I have always dismissed the rumors of us living in the end times. Also, my trepidation stems from the fact that the end will not begin(Tribulation) until the Gospel is spread in a much more comprehensive and all-encompassing manner than it is now. Additionally, many countries' governments currently block the spread of the Gospel.
**I feel it is very necessary for me to share the following with whomever may read this blog---->I participated in a year-long study of the Revelation of Jesus (per John) which was taught by Dr. Jim DeLoach.
***Dr. D may have some inside information. For those of you who do not know of him(or not much of him at any rate), he is not only a Biblical doctor but is also somewhat prophetic. The concept may cause hesitation per the fact that in today's world, there are so many "alleged" prophets and biblical scholars who are out of control and operate or feed off of the ignorance of others. **Well, Doctor DeLoach knows the head Rabbi of Israel. This man would be the one who knows the construction plans of the new temple about which the Bible discusses. The Rabbi was asked by Dr. D if he thought that we may see sacrifices in the new temple within his lifetime. His response was that he gets a very strong feeling that this will happen during his son's lifetime.
**Scholars say that upon the completion of the new temple's construction, things will begin to rapidly move in the direction of the tribulation and of the 1,000 year earthly reign of the Lord on this earth, etc.
Just wanted to share that...
Peace and love!
In continuation, Jesus also said(paraphrase) NOT to try to predict when HE will return;therefore, the signs(HE said to look for them) and the lack of understanding HIS time-frames all seem to make things difficult as far as trying to assign any mark of measure.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is all part of HIS mystery. Also, if we have learned anything about the fact that it is impossible to please GOD without faith, then perhaps the virtue of patience is one of the greatest aspects of said faith.
Have a great one!!!