DON'T CALL ON HIS NAME IF YOU DON'T KNOW HIM

PROCLAMATION

“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul … Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of The Lord Jesus, saying, ‘We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.’  And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.  And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?’  Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”  Acts 19:11-16 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that while Paul was in Ephesus, he met twelve disciples of John, the baptizer, and baptized them in the name of The Lord Jesus.  He laid his hands of them and they received The Holy Spirit. (Acts 19:1-7)  The Lord God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.  Even the handkerchiefs that he had touched cured the sick. (Acts 19:11-12)  Seven Jewish exorcists tried to copy Paul and invoke the name of The Lord Jesus to call out the evil spirits from demon-possessed individuals.  However, the evil spirit turned on them, and beat them severely.  This became known all throughout Ephesus and the name of The Lord Jesus  feared and held in high honor. (Acts 19:11-20)  About the same time a silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines for the goddess Diana, caused a riot when he told the people of Ephesus that Paul had discredited their goddess Diana by turning the people to Christ. (Acts 19:23-29)  Only after the town clerk spoke did the angry crowd quiet down. (Acts 19:30-41)

 

APPLICATION

If you do not know Jesus, The Christ, or The Lord God, it is not wise to call on His name.  If you are non-believer, you should only call on Him to confess your sins and to ask Him to come into your life as your personal savior.  Otherwise, you probably should not call upon his name.  The Lord God is not to be played with.  Unfortunately, today many people who do not have a relationship with Him use His name in their casual conversation and in profanity.  We are not to use the name of The Lord God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)  If you are not going to reverence Him, or ask Him for salvation, then you should not talk about Him, or try to invoke His powers.  These seven men learned that the hard way.

LET US BE CONSIDERATE WHEN WE SHARE AND HELP

PROCLAMATION

“And a certain Jew named Apollos … an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures … was instructed in the way of The Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of The Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.  And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue;  Whom when Priscilla and Aquila heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.  And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia … he helped them much … For he mightily convinced the Jews … showing by the scriptures that Jesus was The Christ.”  Acts 18:24-28 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that in Corinth, Paul met a Jewish believer named Aquila and his wife Priscilla.  Because Aquila was also a tent-maker, Paul stayed with them. (Acts 18:1-4)  After a year and a half, Paul left Corinth (Acts 18:11) for Syria and Aquila and Priscilla accompanied him.  However, when they arrived at Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila and went on alone. (Acts 18:18-19)  It was here in Ephesus that they met Apollos, a Jewish believer, who was knowledgeable in the scriptures, but he only knew of the baptism of John.  Priscilla and Aquila had learned about Jesus, The Christ, from Paul when he stayed with them.  They took Apollos aside and privately they shared with him what they knew about Jesus, The Christ.  They helped Apollos, who was already an eloquent speaker, to become more knowledgeable when he spoke and more vigorous in his debates with the Jewish opposition. (Acts 18:24-28)

 

APPLICATION

None of us knows everything, especially about Jesus, The Christ.  Those who heard the apostles preach learned a lot, and those who hear the Man of God preach today can learn a lot.  Those who also read and study The Word of God regularly will learn even more.  However, when we share that which we know with others, we should be very careful regarding how we share it.  The goal is to help edify others, not to put them down publicly or in private.  The purpose is not to show off how much we know, but to enhance the knowledge of others.  Every serious and knowledgeable Bible student is not necessarily a good teacher.  If we cannot help someone with what we know, then our knowledge is useless.  Let us learn how to be considerate when we help others and not do it just to show off.  We should always “THINK” before we speak and make sure that what we say is “Truthful, Helpful, Insightful, Necessary, and Kind.”  It is not always what we say that hurts others, sometimes it is how we say it that is hurtful.  Be considerate.

 

BECAUSE OF THE LORD GOD WE LIVE MOVE AND EXIST

PROCLAMATION

“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;  As certain also of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ ”  Acts 17:28 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that Paul and Silas had to leave Thessalonica after they preached that Jesus was the Messiah.  The non-believing Jews had formed a mob there and were looking for them, so they fled. (Acts 17:1-10)  They went to Berea, but the non-believing Jews from Thessalonica heard that they were preaching there, and they went to Berea and stirred up the crowd against them. (Acts 17:10-15)  Paul then went to Athens and noticed that the city was full of idols and he was disturbed. (Acts 17:16-18)  While there he found an altar with the inscription, “To The Unknown God”, and he preached to them about Him. (Acts 17:22-23)  While he was speaking to them, he said that it was because of The Lord God that we live, move, and have our very being. (Acts 17:24-28)  Paul told them that God was not made of gold, silver, or stone, and He was not made by the hands of man.  He now demands that those who worship those idols repent and worship Him.  He said Christ whom God raised from the dead will return and judge the world. (Acts 17:29-31)

 

APPLICATION

There are a lot of intelligent and well educated people who believe in scientific things, but they do not believe in Jesus, The Christ, or His death, burial, and resurrection.  They do not believe that God created the earth and all things therein. (Revelation 10:6)  They do not believe that man was made from the dust of the earth and God breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)  It is not our place to convince them to believer in God, we are only to tell them about Him.  The Holy Spirit of God will convict, convince, and convert them as He see fit.  Believers know that it is because of The Lord God that we live, move, and have our being.  When we die, our soul will return to The Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) and our bodies will return to the dust of the earth from which it came. (Genesis 3:19, Psalm 104:29, and Ecclesiastes 12:7)  Our bodies are just the house that we live in while we live on earth.  When we die our souls will not die.  The will return to The Creator, and be judged, and will spend eternity with Him or somewhere else. (Matthew 25:46)

 

 

PRAYING AND PRAISING GOD CAN CHANGE THINGS

PROCLAMATION

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken;  And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed.”  Acts 16:25-26 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that when Paul and Silas came to Lystra they met a young disciple named Timothy, of a Jewish mother and a Greek father, who the believers spoke well of. (Acts 16:1-2)  Paul circumcised him and he traveled with them from town to town. (Acts 16:3-5)  When they came to Troas, Paul had a vision telling him to help the people of Macedonia. (Acts 16:9-10)  When he arrived in Macedonia he met Lydia, a wealthy woman who worshiped God.  He baptized her, and he and Silas stayed at her house. (Acts 16:13-15)  One day, on their way to the place of prayer, they met a female slave who had a spirit within her by which she predicted the future.  Her owners earned a great deal of money from her fortune-telling.  For many days she followed them around shouting, “These men are servants of The Most High God …” and annoyed Paul so that he called the spirit out of her. (Acts 16:16-18)  This upset her owners who lost their hope of making more money through her.  So they had Paul and Silas arrested.  Because of the charges which they brought against them, they were stripped, beaten, severely flogged, thrown into prison, and put in the stocks. (Acts 16:19-24)  While in prison the prayed and praised God, and suddenly their chains fell off and the prison doors flew open.  However, they did not leave the prison.  When the jailer saw what had happened, he drew his sword to kill himself because he thought all of the prisoners had escaped.  Seeing him, Paul shouted, “Do thyself no harm; we are all here.” (Acts 16:27-28)  When the jailer saw that they all had been freed, he asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Then he led them out of the prison and brought them to his house.  There Paul and Silas spoke The Word of The Lord to all that were in his house, and the jailer and his whole household were saved. (Acts 16:27- 34)

 

APPLICATION

We are encouraged to always pray (Luke 18:1) and His praise should always be on our lips. (Psalm 34:1)  However, when things appear to be at their worst, that is the time when we should pray and praise The Lord anyhow.  The Lord God can make a way out of no way.  There is no problem or situation that is so bad that God cannot fix it.  Remember, we cannot have a testimony without first going through a test.  Trust in The Lord.  Pray until something happens.  We should praise Him in the midst of our storms because all things work together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) 

 

 

DISAGREE WITHOUT BEING DISAGREEABLE

PROCLAMATION

“And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, ‘Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we preached The Word of The Lord, and see how they do.’  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.  And the contention was sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other;  and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed for Cyprus;  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.”  Acts 15:36-41 (NKJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that when Barnabas and Paul left Antioch to begin their first Holy Spirit directed missionary journey, John Mark was with them as their helper. (Acts 13:1-5)  However, when they sailed to Perga in Pamphylia to continue their journey, Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. (Acts 13:13)  The reason why Mark left them is not recorded.  Paul and Barnabas continued teaching and preaching, and a large number of people turned to Christ.  This angered the Jewish religious leaders who eventually caused them to be run out of town. (Acts 14:1-28)  The brethren from Judea were teaching that circumcision was required for salvation and there was a dispute among the disciples on this issue.  Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them and the church sent them to the elders in Jerusalem to settle the matter. (Acts 15:1-2)  At the end of the debate it was decided that circumcision was required for all men. (Acts 15:4-25)  They returned to Antioch, delivered the message from the elders, and continued to preach and teach, then decided to revisit the churches they had established.  Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them, but it is clear that Paul felt that Mark had deserted them, and he did not want to take him on another journey.  The disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over Mark was so sharp until they parted company and went on separate missionary journeys in different directions.  They did not split the church in Antioch where they were like “co-pastors”.  They both continued to do the work of The Lord but with different travelling companions for their second missionary journey. (Acts 15:36-41)

 

APPLICATION

Unfortunately, from time to time, believers will disagree with one another.  Usually these disagreements are about something other than The Word of God.  The Christ-like way to handle such occasions is to disagree without being disagreeable.  Non-believers will judge all Christians by the behavior they see exhibited by believers.  Young and new believers can be negatively impacted by their observation of “heated” disagreements between believers.  It is not good for us to cause “young believers” to stumble because of what they see or hear from believers. (Matthew 18:6)  We should not tear the church apart because of our human differences and disagreements.  There is plenty of work for all of us to do in different venues.

 

 

BELIEVERS MUST ENDURE MANY HARDSHIPS

PROCLAMATION

“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch; Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”  Acts 14:21-22 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that Paul and Barnabas preached so effectively in Iconium that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. (Acts 14:1)  But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the people so that the city was divided.  There was a plot to stone them, but they fled to Lystra. (Acts 14:2-7)  In Lystra, Paul healed a man who was lame from birth and the people thought that they were gods and wanted to offer sacrifices to them. (Acts 14:8-18)  Some of the Jews who came from Antioch stirred up the people, won over a large crowd and they stoned Paul and left him for dead. (Acts 14:19)  The next day Paul and Barnabas left for Derbe. (Acts 14:20)  After preaching there and turning a large number of people to Christ, they left and retraced their steps and went back to the cities of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. (Acts 14:21-22)  After they had ordained elders in every church, they went through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.  They preached in Perga, a city in Pamphylia, and then went down to Attalia and from there sailed to Antioch. (Acts 14:23-26)  Upon arrival in Antioch they gathered the church together and reported on all that The Holy Spirit of God had accomplished through them with the Gentiles. (Acts 14:27-28)

 

APPLICATION

It is not easy to be a Christian.  There is a price to be paid for being a believer and following Christ.  Jesus, The Christ, said that we must take up our cross and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23)  Implying that we suffer if we are to follow Him.  He also said that we would be hated among men for His sake. (Matthew 10:22, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17, and John 15:18)  However, if we endure the hardships in this life, we will be rewarded in the next life. (Matthew 5:10)  So, keep the faith, we may suffer now but joy is coming. (Psalm 30:5)

 

 

BELIEVERS ARE FORGIVEN

PROCLAMATION

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.  And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses.”  Acts 13:38-39 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that The Holy Spirit directed Barnabas and Saul, who is later called Paul, to leave Antioch and go to Pisidian Antioch by way of Cyprus. (Acts 13:1-13)  There, on the Sabbath, they went to the synagogue and sat.  After the reading of the law, the leaders of the synagogue asked them to speak. (Acts 13:14-15)  Paul stood up and preached the gospel, and he ended with the above two versus. (Acts 13:16-39)  Afterwards, he was asked to speak again on the next Sabbath and Jews got jealous when almost everyone in the city gathered to hear him preach.  The Jewish leaders stirred up some of the honorable men and women of the city and they led a mob against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the city. (Acts 13:42-50)

 

APPLICATION

Those of us who believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ, are forgiven of all of our sins, past, present, and future.  We are no longer under the Law of Moses; we are under the grace of God.  This forgiveness of sin applies not only to the Jewish believers, but to the Gentile believers also. (Acts 13:46-48)  The Law of Moses cannot save anyone.  It only serves to reveal our shortcomings.  Only those of us who are covered by the blood of Jesus can be saved.  We can have all of our sins forgiven if we confess them. (1 John 1:7-9)