August 24, 2014
Scripture:
Let’s turn to 1 John 2. I was thinking of verse 13, where you get the 3 stages of Christian growth brought out. I am thinking especially of the last part. Isn’t it precious, that blessed knowledge and what it brings us into, not as mature Christians, but as babes in Christ! We can know the Spirit because we have been filled with the Spirit. We can say, “Abba, Father.”
323 - There’s a friend for little children
Prayer
Ezra 8:24-36
Last time, we read about Ezra traveling from Babylon to Jerusalem. But before they left, they had a time of prayer. Ezra was a bit nervous: there were robbers on the road that they would travel and he would be carrying the gold, silver, and vessels the king had sent for the temple. They wanted to be sure to have God’s protection.
Ezra assigned twelve people to carry those treasures. He told them, “watch ye and keep them.” This was important, because when they got to Jerusalem, they would be weighed before the chief priests and Levites, to make sure nobody had stolen anything.
This protection of what God had given them might remind us of the parable of the talents. We all know the parable of the talents: the master is going way, so he gives one servant five talents, the next servant two talents, and the last servant one talent. The first two doubled their talents, but the third one just hid his in the ground. In this parable, the master is a picture of Jesus, and the servants are a picture of us, and the talent are like the abilities that Jesus has given us. We need to use our talents wisely, for God’s glory. If we do this, we should hear the Lord say, “Well done” when we come to the end.
We don’t hear a lot about the trip from Babylon to Jerusalem, but we know that the Lord protected them from the robbers. When they got to Jerusalem, they weighed the gold, silver, and vessels and wrote an account. Then they had a time of offerings. They offered burnt offerings, which were worship to God, and sin offerings, which were atonement for their sins. In these two offerings, we see something that benefits God, and something that benefits man. None of these Jews would have been born there in Jerusalem (they were all born in captivity), but they all rejoiced to see the Temple. Previously, we read about how the King sent a letter with Ezra to be delivered to the governors and now we read that it was delivered.
The Israelites were on a journey, as is each of us: a journey through life. We need to be faithful to the Lord.
Acts 16:34-40, 17:1-9
Last week we read about Paul helping the demon-possessed damsel. Darby says that she was announcing Paul and his companions as “servants of the most high God” but really, these men were servants of the Lord. An evil spirit wouldn’t call Jesus “Lord”, though. That’s why Paul was grieved; he was a servant of the Lord. This girl was also distracting people from Paul’s message by focusing them on Paul himself.
Darby also mentions that there seemed to be a focus on households once the Gospel started going out to the Gentiles. First we had Cornelius and his household, then Lydia and hers, and then the jailer’s. Christian parents certainly desire the salvation of their families, so it’s wonderful to see the importance that God puts on households.
Now that the system Grace has been implemented, we find that salvation is the new basis for eternal life. No one in the Old Testament ever asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Back then you needed to keep the laws in order to live. Now salvation had come, and Paul could clearly say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
Paul and Silas had been treated roughly, beaten, and then thrown in jail. The next morning the magistrates sent sergeants to the jailor saying, “Let those men go.” You’d think Paul and Silas would be happy to go, but Paul took a bold stand. They had rights as Romans that these magistrates didn’t know about, and had violated. They had been condemned publicly, and now Paul asked for a public release (v.37), which might have included a public admission of wrong treatment. When the magistrates heard that Paul and Silas were Romans, they were afraid of what they might do. They came to the prison and begged them to leave.
So Paul and Silas left prison, and went to Lydia’s house.You would have thought that they were the ones that needed comfort, but instead we find them comforting the brethren! Having done that, they left town, and we move on to chapter 17.
Some places that Paul and his companions traveled to were noteworthy, but others they just passed through. That’s sad to read, because there were people in those cities that needed the word of salvation, but might not have responded to what Paul preached. These cities may not have had synagogues, but when we get to Thessalonica, there is a synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went to speak there.
Thessalonica was an eventful place, and in 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul explained to the Thessalonians what he didn’t do (vv.3–6—these verses show us the responsibility that Paul felt being trusted with the Gospel) and what he had done (vv.7–8). We often can’t grasp how much Paul loved the people he ministered to from the book of Acts. Although there was much contention in Thessalonica, Paul was as gentle as a nurse with the people.
In the synagogue, Paul reasoned with the Jews out of the Scriptures—not about the Scriptures, notice, as we are apt to do with other religious groups. We need to have our beliefs based in Scripture. It’s important to have a “thus saith the Lord.” We need to read and search the Scriptures to know what they say. We need the Bible to know what we believe, and why we believe it. Also, those looking for the truth need Biblical answers to their questions, and we need to be ready to answer those questions.
Acts 17:3 tells us what Paul was trying to persuade the Thessalonians of: that Christ had to suffer and rise again, and that Jesus was the Christ. Our eternal salvation rests on those blessed facts!
Hymn 180 - Whom have we Lord but thee?
Prayer