June 22, 2014
Scripture:
Let’s turn to a few verses about the life of the Lord in Mark 1:40-42. Here we are reminded of what we were: darkness and sin. This leper, a picture of sin, is at a distance and unable to cure himself. His condition was one of death. He saw the Lord as one who could heal him. We’ve been reminded, “That He might sanctify it and cleanse it” Read v. 41. The Lord didn’t have to touch him, but He was willing to become like the leper to cure him. Read vv. 41b - 42. Surely we can be thankful for the cross. We are cleansed and made fit for heaven. Well may we praise Him for what He has done!
Hymn 327 - When mothers of Salem
Prayer
Today we are going to continue with the book of Ezra. They had built the foundation for the temple, but then they stopped building for 15 years. God sent the prophet Haggai to encourage them to continue building the temple.
Ezra 5:1 - 5 & Ezra 6
The work on the temple began again. When they heard of the work, certain governors came and asked the Israelites who had given them the permission to build. The governors sent a letter to King Darius to ask if the Israelites had permission to build the temple. Darius had to check to see if Cyprus had given permission. If he had, they would still have permission to build, since the law of the Medes and Persians never changed. To find this out, they needed to look in the house of scrolls. Today, it is so easy to search for things: all you need to type it into your computer. The Bible is God’s record of things that happened during that time. Darius did find the scroll about the temple in Jerusalem; it even had instructions on how to build the temple. Darius agreed with the scroll and even provided material for the temple and animals for offerings, he also asked them to pray for the king and his sons. No one could hinder the building of the temple. God had provided and protect them. Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” George Muller ran an orphanage and many time they would thank the Lord for the food that they didn’t have yet, knowing He would provide it.
The letter came back; they continued to build the temple and finished it. It took them 20 years, but they finally finished it. God used prophets to encourage them to continue to build. Once they finished it they had Joy. Joy stands for Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
Acts 14
We continue with Paul on his first missionary journey. Here he and Silas have moved on to Iconium from Antioch. As was their custom, they went to preach in the synagogue. Romans 1:16. The Jews got first chance at the gospel, but both Jews and Greeks believed here in Iconium. Not all of them did, though, and those that didn’t believe stirred up persecution.
The Jews liked to have the spiritual priority, as they had for hundreds of years. They are God’s chosen people, but so is each and every Christian!
The persecution didn’t hinder Paul and Barnabas, and they spoke boldly in Iconium for a long time. II Timothy 1:7-8. They spoke of grace, which was different from the law that these people were used to. Along with the preaching, God allowed them to do miracles as a witness that what they were saying was true. That may have been an evangelical advantage that we don’t have, but we have the advantage of having the whole Bible. God used these miracles to validate the truth of grace during this period. We don’t have miracles, but we do have the record of them, and that can be a validation for us.
V4. The word of God divides. Don’t think that you’ll have no opposition as a Christian! Satan is good at dividing. We know that God’s “word is truth”, but way back in the garden of Eden Satan was saying, “No, it’s not.” He made Eve question what God had said.
Some people planned to kill Paul and Barnabas, but they heard of the plans and fled to Lystra and Derbe. To them, it was a new area to preach the gospel to.
Here again, they were enabled to do miracles. There was man that had never been able to walk who somehow came to hear Paul preach. Such a man would stand out in his community, and his healing would be quite a testimony. Now, it’s never recorded that Paul preached faith healing. According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 he preached a simple gospel. That’s what this man heard. Paul saw him and could somehow tell that he had the faith to be healed. Loudly, so that all could hear, he told the man, “Stand upright on thy feet.” And he leaped and walked! Notice the basis for it, though: faith.
We don’t ever here about this man again, but the rest of the people were so deep in paganism that they thought the gods had come down from heaven looking like men. They called Barnabas Jupiter; and Paul Mercurius, because he did the most talking. They had a priest, and almost worshipped and sacrificed to Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas heard about this, and—with consternation—ran among the people and just barely stopped them. They were continuing the vanities that they had been preaching against. They implored the people to turn from these vanities to the living Creator of heaven and earth. God had allowed them to walk in their old ways until this point, but now had new ways for them to walk in.
It must have been hard to pioneer the gospel like this, but we might have it harder today. God was opening up Gentile hearts here, but it’s harder to preach to atheists who have hardened their hearts against God.
Hymn 10—Faith is a very simple thing
Prayer