August 01, 2020, Psalms 142, Acts cont...

Psalms 142

A maskil of David.

When he was in the cave. A prayer.

I cry aloud to the Lord;

I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.

I pour out before him my complaint, 

before him I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, 

it is you who watch over my way.

In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me.

Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;

no one is concerned for me.

I have no refuge, 

no one cares for my life.

(It may not be the reality.....but sometimes we can feel alone. Sometimes even when people are in your corner or at your right hand as the passage says; you can still be alone because no one will care for you like God. When your soul needs help your friends can listen but they cannot save you.)

I cry to you, Lord;

I say, You are my refuge, 

my portion in the land of the living.

Listen to my cry, 

for I am in desperate need;

rescue me from those who pursue me, 

for they are too strong for me.

Set me free from my prison. 

That I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me

because of your goodness to me. 

Acts

Chapter 8

Stephen has been stoned;

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

Something to think about....

1. Did any of the believers do wrong for this to happen?
2. Did any of the Apostles do wrong for this happen?

My answer:

No. They were doing signs, wonders, and miracles. The believers were working together. Things were going great and something bad happened not for punishment but for the good of others. (they had grew to about 3,000 to 4,000 people) Stephen's death caused an uproar.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

 The devil knows no gender

Saul went after both men and women.

They killed Stephen and now they have the courage to go after the rest.

Saul placed them in a physical jail however in the psalms 

David said, set me free from my prison (another Saul chased him)

Rescue me Lord...he prays.

Philip in Samaria

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Question:

Do you think the persecution is deliberate? Do you think God is moving the gospel? 

Have you ever experienced so much persecution you had to flee from the city you were in?

Have you ever experience so much persecution from a person or place you had to leave your home. 

Most of us have not experience that level of persecution. 

But they did not give up they continue to preach in the places they fled too. Persecution split them up but they can still convert and preach in a new place. 

The persecution pushed them into the right place to continue preaching. Things were going well and it was time move on. 

Sadly in order to move sometimes prosecution moves them to new places...

Saul pushed David for three years but David arrived to the place where God wanted him to be. He may have sat in a cave crying to God but eventually he gets to the right place. 

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 

(Once again in the book of Acts signs and wonders get the people attention; but it also brings persecution; signs is proof that God is real. If they were just preaching with no signs and wonders I don't think no one would care because they would not see evidence that God is real. 

For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. 

Simon the Sorcerer

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced Sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention. 

They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. 

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them;

I had a conversation with a friend and I asked them is it possible to be a believer and not have the Holy Spirit? 

What do you think?

I think it is possible; and God has a time for you and everyone else to receive his gift. Just because  you believe does not mean you have a new spirit yet!

Just like me I think most people think when they join a Church or believe they get everything in a tinkle of the eye. But I want to add that the disciples walked with Jesus for three years before they received the Holy Spirit. They walked close with him they did not perform signs and wonders until later. Jesus did everything. In this passage it is a little faster for the new believers but it maybe a wait. 

What if God wants to teach you first. But there's a pressure to pretend but the disciples made lots of fumbles before they were apostles.

They simply had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money, and said, Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. 

(Strange thing to say: Who in the world would try to buy a ministry gift, I think he wanted to make money! Why does he want to buy it? Then it makes me think he is going to use it wrongly.)

Peter said answered: May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money. You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. 

Then Simon answered, Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me. After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in may Samaritan villages. 

 I wonder was God proud of Peter and John, and the other disciples, when they learners they were confused. They told the Lord many times who can handle your sayings, and there was times they really did not understand what Jesus was talking about, Its so funny how God changes people. Peter took on a big role. In the opening of acts it says Peter stood up to address the crowd. He just took the role and it was suitable to him. 

Have an awesome day!