Tag: Acts 13

Manual for Life

Old Testament: Leviticus 18 & 19

Poetry: Psalm 40

New Testament: Acts 13

Leviticus 18-19:

Have you ever felt like or heard the expression as you are trying to navigate through life, “Oh boy!  I sure wish there was a manual for life!” Or perhaps, “Couldn’t someone write a manual for life for dummies?” After reading the book of Leviticus, it’s impossible to return to this way of thinking because there it is, plain as day, rules to live by.  Not just rules though, specific instructions on how to live life without sin and how to please the Most Holy, One and Only God whose name is Jehovah! Even though these valuable instructions were written long  ago, there they stand, perfectly applicable to the here and now and somehow perfectly suited to our day and age.  What a God to create and not leave us without instruction!

Leviticus 18:1-5:”And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, I am Jehovah your God.  After the doings of the land of Egypt (America, Russia, China, insert your land here and it’ll apply), where in you dwell, shall you not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall you not do: neither shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am Jehovah.” 

Next Jehovah God gives specifics about avoiding sexual sins and how to deal with our nakedness.  A very specific and thorough list, so we make no mistake and do not give ourselves permission to sin in this way.  In chapter 18 verse 22, “You shall not lie (to have sexual relations) with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Verses 24-25: “Defile not you yourselves in any of these things (again long list in previous verses-read for yourselves): for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomits out her inhabitants.” There are quite a few more verses that warn the children of Israel (which children you are, if you believe in Jesus Christ-because you are then Abraham’s seed and grafted into the family tree. See Galatians 3:29 and Romans 11:11-32). 

Leviticus 19 continues on to describe the conduct and expectations of the people of God.  Much of this section reiterates the 10 commandments.  I had a Christian friend say to me last year that she was teaching the children’s fellowship that they no longer have to fulfill the 10 commandments of the law, because she believed we are no longer under the law. My insides were set on alarm and my eyes widened. Then her own son replied, “But, we should, right mom?” When Christ fulfilled the law and commandments, the law was not abolished; but rather, we were set free from sin so that we could fulfill the law! It gladdens our Father God’s heart for us to love him with our everything and to demonstrate our love for God by loving one another.  How can we know what love is without instructions? God declares of himself that he is love (1 John 4:16). He ought to know what love is and how to be holy and without sin. An exhortation to live by is in Leviticus 19:2b: “You shall be holy: for I Jehovah your God am holy.” Following God’s instruction manual will liberate you to be holy and to love more. 

Psalm 40:

“I waited patiently for Jehovah: and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my foot upon a rock, and established my goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Jehovah. Blessed is that man that makes Jehovah his trust, and respects not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Jehovah my God, are your wonderful works which you have done and your thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be recounted in order to you: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; mine ears have you opened; burnt offering and sin offering have you not required. Then said I, Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, o my God: yes, your law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Jehovah, you know. I have not hid your righteousness within my heart: I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation: I have not concealed your lovingkindness and your truth from the great congregation…”

Oh to have the heart of David and of Jesus Christ, our forerunner! Let us not conceal the word! Let us not hide what is righteous! Let us do what is right and show others what God has done by delivering us out of the miry clay of our sins! We will be happy if we trust in Jehovah and do what is right.

Acts 13:

The gift ministries of a prophets and teachers:

Acts 13:1-3: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” (Right here there were 6 prophets and teachers recorded).  “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”

A prophet is one who speaks for God or receives information from God for the people.  They speak on God’s behalf to the people. A teacher is one who expounds and conveys what God has said and what has been written in God’s word. Both gift ministries are gifts to the church to build up the people and to keep the people of God growing and on God’s track.  They are gifts to the body of Christ until we all come into the full measure of the fullness of Christ. 

People may not always like a prophet or a teacher; but nevertheless, they are God’s gift to the church until Christ comes in his kingdom.

In chapter 13 we have Barnabas and Saul separated unto specific work for them to do.  Each prophet/teacher prayed and fasted asking God’s direction and afterwards received word from God and sent these two men on their way to do what God would have them do.  

On his way, Paul first addresses a false prophet (someone not sent from God, who is not doing God’s will) and Paul being filled (filled to overflowing in the Greek text) with the holy spirit, set his eyes on the false prophet, rebukes him and blinds him! Paul made full proof of his ministry right there! Next Paul preaches on the first Sabbath and in essence rebukes the Israelites for not seeing the Christ coming and how Jesus fulfilled just what was prophesied that he would fulfill.  Then Paul preached to them the forgiveness of sins through believing Jesus Christ and that they can be justified from all things.  Paul warned the Israelites not to miss the boat and then comforted the proselytes (Gentiles who believed).  Paul continued to preach there until “the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.”

There are still prophets/teachers in the body of Christ today.  You may see them doing these specific things as seen here.  Being filled to overflowing and performing the works of God, rebuking, preaching, warning, comforting and continuing.  If you are a prophet, keep doing it! If you see a prophet/teacher, thank God for them and heed them! If you feel you want to serve in this capacity, pray and ask God for the gift that can benefit the body and meet with other prophets/teachers so you can learn and grow and fulfill God’s will for your generation.

-Cindy Abbott

Reflection Questions

Is there someone in your life or at work or school who would benefit from learning the instructions in Leviticus 18 and 19?

Can you sit and appreciate all the thoughts that God is having about you this very minute? Thoughts of peace, thoughts of love, thoughts of longing for your fellowship? 

Can you tell someone who is suffering and in a horrible pit how God delivered your soul and can deliver them as well?

In what ways have you seen God demonstrate his love for the body in your area through the men and women who chose to serve as prophets and teachers?

Has God called you to this gift ministry? Will you answer the call?

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New Testament in Context

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 5 & 6

Poetry: Proverbs 19

New Testament: Acts 13

The entire Bible can be traced back to Genesis 3 where we see the fall of man from the paradise that God had desired for His creation. From this foundation we can then add Genesis 12 where God calls Abraham and gives his descendants the promise of a future land and nation. And in chapter 49 of Genesis, we see God promise a leader through the line of Judah. Throughout the Bible we see common themes continually come back and connect to these three promises. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy focus on the establishment of the people into a nation with a complete constitution. The book of Joshua tells the tales of battles fought to conquer the land. And the books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the restoration of the nation of Israel to the land after the exile. And the other books follow a story of attempts to find a leader who is good enough to sit on the throne forever. 

In chapter 13 of Acts, Paul uses a very similar tactic of preaching the gospel to the Jews. The Jews would have understood the promises of a land, nation, and a leader, and they also knew that they were ultimately waiting for the leader — the Messiah. Therefore, Paul presents the history of the Israelites starting with when God led the people out of Egypt and going through the period of the Judges and then Kings. 

Paul highlighted a couple leaders in his overview, but they all turned out to be sinful. Even seemingly good men who sat on the throne made mistakes that did not reflect the leader the world needed. Another problem with these leaders is that they all ended up dead. Paul brings up this point in verse 36-37 when he says, “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.” He does this to clearly contrast Jesus from the other leaders that the Jewish people adored like David. His purpose was to convince them that the Jesus they killed was the Messiah because God raised Him from the dead so that he would not see decay. Paul knew that the best way to prove this to the Jews was to use scriptures like Isaiah 55:3 and Psalm 16:10 to make his point. He also mentions that Jesus was seen by many witnesses after God raised him from the dead. 

Throughout his sermon to the Jews, he makes a clear distinction between God and Jesus. For example, he states that God was the source of the power that raised Jesus from the dead. He also uses the titles of Father and Son to describe the relationship between God and Jesus. 

The result of this sermon is that many Jews and Gentiles received Jesus as the Messiah. They asked Paul to return and preach again the following Sabbath. But the message also faced opposition by the Jews who were jealous of Paul’s preaching and his popularity among the crowds. In response, Paul goes back to Isaiah and quotes 49:6 in order to prove to the Jews the prophecy of the Gentiles being included into the promises of God. This sermon caused even more persecution for the early church but nonetheless the truth was spread throughout the entire region and both Jews and Gentiles came to believe in Jesus. 

-Makayla Railton

Reflection Questions

  1. What does this tell us about the importance of the Old Testament as the context for the New Testament?
  2. Would you say that you have a good understanding of the Old Testament? Or is this something that you could spend more time studying?
  3. Why do you think some of the Jews accepted the truth of Paul’s sermon while others became jealous?
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Gaining God’s Guidance

Acts 13

I am continually amazed at the way God directed the steps of the apostles through the direction of His Holy Spirit in the days of the formation of the early church. The apostles had the message to share that through Jesus there was forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to the Father. They were given the opportunity to share this message in very public places and many came to believe in Jesus. Can you imagine speaking in one place and then being asked to speak again the following week and almost the whole town shows up?

We as Christians have been given the same message to share – that there is forgiveness for sin through Jesus Christ resulting in reconciliation with our heavenly Father God. This is the greatest message of hope there is. Do we share it as often as we can? Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were asked to share and a whole town full of people showed up and came to believe! We realize that the apostles were filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do amazing things, and make amazing inroads in the gentile world for the gospel of Christ to be shared and accepted. If we want to be successful like they were notice what they did at the very beginning of Acts chapter 13 – the men fasted and prayed for direction and it was given to them.

As we attempt to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world do we go about it in our own way or in God’s way. Do we remember to pray for God to lead us by His Holy Spirit to know where and when we are to share the message? Do we ask for the opportunity to share and do we ask for the correct words to say as the opportunity presents itself. The apostles were successful in their mission to share the gospel in Antioch because they had prepared the way ahead with prayer, and diligence to listen to where, and when God was directing them to speak. All of this leaves me wondering – would we be much more successful in our sharing of the Gospel if we spent more time in preparation with prayer and listening for God’s directives? Give it a try and see what happens!

-Pastor Merry Peterson

Pastor Merry Peterson lives in Ontario, Canada and pastors at Freedom In Christ Church.

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 2 Samuel 7-8 and Acts 13

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Sent and Thankful

Acts 13 2

Acts 13

“The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit…” Acts 13:4
Is God calling you? When’s the last time you’ve looked and watched somebody go on a missions trip? Go up front at church and speak? Or teach a class? Do you ever think ‘I should be doing that.’ Maybe God is calling you to do that. When have you ever allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to you and send you out to do God’s work? God has equipped and called each and every one of us to go do great things for the glory of His Kingdom. Nothing brings more joy than recognizing the purpose that God has made you for. Heavenly Father, help me to open my mind and heart to where You are calling me.
Open your ears and heart and listen for God’s voice in the less obvious places.
Acts 13:13-52
“We tell you the good news.  What God promised our fathers, he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” Acts 13: 32–33
I have served in many churches throughout the United States. I have been blessed to go out and have many chances to work with youth and adults alike. To see ministries started, buildings put up and peoples’ lives changed.  But for me nothing compares to watching someone who serves the Lord. Men and women from our congregations serving me, helping, guiding  me.  Missionaries since Paul and Barnabas have risked their lives to spread God’s word in my place. Pastors and teachers have come before me and expressed their faith so that I could have a chance to know the LORD.
And Jesus died on the cross for my sins.   Nothing I can do can compare with these sacrifices, and spreading God’s word is a way for me to remember my blessings and express my thanks.
Lord, show me where I can serve you and give me the strength to respond. Help me to express thanks for others’ sacrifices through action.
-Andy Cisneros