study #2

Bible Journey         

 

LESSON 2

 Continue Acts 5: 17-42 (beginning at 34) ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. ³⁵Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. ³⁶Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."  ⁴⁰His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  ⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴²Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. New International Version

 

Yesterday, I completed the study through verse 33, now to continue.

 

I love this part of the story because it just goes to show you never know where help may come from. Gamaliel was a Pharisee, there is no indication that he was Christian or even in sympathy with Christianity. But he was well known, respected and loved among the Jews of his day. He was a kind man who did not regard Greek culture as sinful. He was one of the very few Pharisees who was given the highest title “Rabban.” When he died it was said, “Since Rabban Gamaliel died there has been no more reverence for the Law; and purity and abstinence died out at the same time.”  We hear this name later in the writings of Paul, for this is who he studied under (Acts 22:3). As a Pharisee, Gamaliel would have believed in fate and free-will, that all things were in the hand of God and yet that man was responsible for his actions. Therefore, he stopped the mob rage towards the apostles based upon the fact that they must be careful just in case this was from God and not man. He quotes two examples of false leaders that came to nothing and reminds them if this Jesus “sect” is not of God it will blow over. As we can see 2000 years later, it really was from God or it would have flickered and gone out long ago. In our own situation, there may be times when new and innovative teachings come to our churches. When these come, rather than attack them, maybe we need to allow time, thought and God to sort through them. It could be they are from God and not from man. We must never be closed minded to new ideas but weigh them with prayer and patience. It does not mean we must accept them but, chances are, if they are of human origin they will die out. Our preferences and opinions must take a back seat (not to say they aren’t legitimate) they just have to be in the back ground. God may be doing a new thing and if so…don’t we want to be in on it?

The rulers then have the apostles flogged. I never realized the intensity of a flogging until I saw the move directed by Mel Gibson called “The Passion.” I have a new respect and attitude when I see in scripture that Jesus or other believers were “flogged.” That means these guys were half beat to death and this segment of scriptures ends with them rejoicing after a flogging and going right back to the temple courts and/or houses to PREACH. How can this be???? Truly, they show no thought of self, simply consumed with the risen Savior. We must ask ourselves, are we consumed with the risen Savior? Would we risk life and limb to proclaim what we have seen and heard concerning Christ? Would we rejoice upon receiving the 39 lashes (which incidentally was known to kill some) and consider it something to praise for just because we tasted some of Jesus same suffering? Just where does my love and loyalty lie?

Information obtained from: “The Acts of the Apostle’s” by William Barclay and “All the Men of the Bible” by Herbert Lockyer

4/11/07

Hello Everyone,

     Here in at our local flock, there are five staff members that gather weekly to pray over, discuss, tear apart, and feed on the text for Sunday. On Monday we talked about this being my weekly Bible study. We feel it will help our congregation come in better prepared to hear what God has to say on Sunday.

     RULES of the studies. These studies are not for me, they are for us as we journey together in life. We are not lone rangers but a community just trying to understand and better know God. The studies will contain questions, these are not necessarily for you to answer back to me BUT for you to take your time, contemplate with God and honestly answer for yourself. NOW, anytime you want to comment back to me please feel free!!!! I love it and if it is general I enjoy sharing it with everyone else. If it is personal I will dialog only with you. I don’t put your name on it so you can be very non-threatened and open, for general comments/questions. Please, NEVER, feel like you must agree with me, many don’t and that’s really okay, I’m not God (thank goodness). J

     If you miss a study you can log into my blog at Harrisonvillenaz.org. I attempt to keep at least four studies there all the time. I really thrive on this and I am so glad you are taking part. I do want you to know if at anytime you don’t want these studies just let me know, it won’t hurt my feelings. Now may the Lord bless us as we look at His revelation of Himself to us.

Blessings, Nancy

 

Bible Journey         

 Acts 5: 17-42 ¹⁷Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ²⁰"Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."  ²¹At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.  When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, ²³"We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside." ²⁴On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.  ²⁵Then someone came and said, "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people." ²⁶At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.  ²⁷Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸"We gave you strict orders not to

teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."  ²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."  ³³When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. ³⁵Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. ³⁶Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."  ⁴⁰His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  ⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴²Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. New International Version

 

Vs 17 “Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.”

     This was not the first arrest of the apostles they were arrested back in 4:1-4. They were forbidden from proclaiming Christ it didn’t work!

     Who are the Sadducees? This is one of the religious parties that existed among the Jews in the days of Christ and the early church, but exercised comparatively little influence among the people. They were the wealthy, aristocratic and Hellenistic (influenced by Greek culture after Alexander the Great had been through the region). Their origin is uncertain, but it is to be seen in the period in Jewish history between the restoration of the Jews (536 BC) and the fall of Jerusalem 70 AD. The Sadducees had a number of distinctive beliefs, contrasting with the Pharisees: 1) They held only to the written law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy) and rejected any traditions.

2) The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the body, personal immortality, and retribution in a future life. They believed that the soul died with the body. 3) They denied the existence of angels and spirits. 4) They believed that there was no need of divine providence to order their lives. That they were master of their own destinies and that the doing of good or evil was entirely a matter of free choice. NIV Bible Dictionary, page 884

     It makes sense that these folks would be jealous of Jesus and His disciples. They were attracting the crowds, the Sadducees cash cow. If the people began to follow the teaching of the disciples the hierarchy of the day would crumble and since they were at the top, the fall would be hard. So, they arrest the apostles and put them in the public jail (vs 18). Obviously, God had other plans since he sent an angel, who successfully breaks them out of jail (vs 19). Then sends them right back to the temple courts (vs 20) to tell about this new life. Can you see the humor all over this… the Sadducees don’t believe in angels – angels rescue, the Sadducees work at the temple – the apostles go right back into their lair, the Sadducees don’t believe that God intervenes in our lives and these apostles are teaching about new life in Christ… I’m really am sitting here chuckling. If this doesn’t convince you that the Lord has a sense of humor just look at the duck billed platypus.      

     We see in the next few verses the Sadducees come together, in full pomp and circumstance, send for the apostles only to discover no one can find them. The jail is secure and the apostles are MIA. Then all of a sudden somebody hollers, “There they are in the temple court teaching.” Who ever this informant was it had to be either a tattle tale or someone who’s jabbing at the Sadducees. (Maybe it was one of the Pharisees, they didn’t get along with each other.) So, the Sadducee police go gather up the disciples and bring them in. Note that they do it nicely (vs 26) because the people love the apostles and the guards are afraid of the people, do I detect a cowardly lion in the midst?

    I see a big contrast here, in verse 21, we see these nobody apostles after being in jail go right back to the temple courts in obedience to what the angel said and Jesus commissioned them. If the disciples were afraid we see no evidence of it, only obedience. Contrast the temple guards, who were soldiers, possibly thugs and they are afraid or the church crowd. Hummmmmm…

     This could teach us a couple of things. First, the apostles had experienced a resurrected Jesus. They touched Him, they ate with Him, and they walked with Him, then, watched Him ascend into the clouds. They had direction and commands from the Lord. They had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They had experienced and seen miracles. NO WONDER they weren’t afraid. Those soldiers were just doing their job, for bosses who looked down on them and might fire them any day told to arrest these preachers who the people loved. NO WONDER they were scared of the crowd. So, what does this say to us? What’s our fear factor when it comes to God things, are we afraid to speak out or live a certain way? Could it be we haven’t really met and know the one who is resurrected? We don’t know what the Lord’s direction is?  We haven’t experienced the Holy Spirit or ever seen a miracle? Why the fear?

 

²⁷Having brought the apostles; they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."  ²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³²We are witnesses of these things,                                                                        

and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."  ³³When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

     This is pretty amazing. How quickly people forget sin. These were the very people who had Jesus arrested, hauled to Pilate, and crucified. The very people who called out in Matthew 27: 25 “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” Now they act like it’s the disciples themselves blaming them and they had nothing to do with it. Amazing! Yet this causes me to look at my self. How many times have I said something that hurt someone and the next time I see them I act like nothing has happened? Or was part of bad decisions and then blamed those very decisions on someone else? Amazing!

    We then come to Peter’s incredible reply, “we must obey God rather than men!” may this be our cry! Let us learn all we can about God and follow it. May we look for His approval rather than any human? May we be more concerned with how the Savior feels than any one else.

    Now, again I am struck by the humor in this passage. Peter reminds these leaders that they are the very people who killed Jesus who would not settle for a flogging but insisted on crucifixion (hanging on a tree).  The very ones who tore their garments, spit on and hit Jesus when he made the statement “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One” (Mark 14: 62). It reminds me of finding the five year old with cookie crumbs around the mouth, the broken cookie jar near by and when asked did you get a cookie they act like they don’t know what you’re talking about… “Me, not me.”

     Now, Peter uses these very words again but in the same breath offers forgiveness, which they ignore or don’t even realize. Instead, the rulers become furious and want to kill them. In my experience I have often seen people become angry, defensive, belligerent, etc. when Jesus, repentance, forgiveness begins to be discussed. It is so much easier to be defensive than to look inside at ourselves, our own failures, loneliness, emptiness and admit we need God. As you sit in front of your computer, with no one else around, can you take a moment and pull down the walls, the anger, the hate and really talk to the one who made every effort to bring peace to you? Or would you rather murder Him or the messenger?

“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen!” (Jude 24-25 NIV)

 

Lesson #12

Is our final lesson and we’ve been saying it aloud (when possible) since we began. Let’s say it one more time.

 

   Jude comes to an end with PRAISE!! Here in these last two verses of this incredible letter we see God is able! How often do I end my conversations about God with praise?

      God is able to keep us from slipping, the Greek word is aptaistos. It is used both of a sure-footed horse which does not stumble and of a man who does not fall into error. To walk with the Lord is to walk safely. Recently, on a board retreat, I had the pleasure of learning to repel off the side of a rock wall properly. Back in the seventies I experienced this in a most dangerous and improper method which I will not detail here, since my Mother may be reading and would have a heart attack. By repelling properly, I was attached with strong ropes, pulleys and a harness; I was given instruction from two skilled mountaineer’s one from the top and one below. As I began to go over the edge I cried out “Belay (safety) on,” resistance was applied by the person at the bottom. My feet stayed secure, they did not slip, and even though my heart was pounding, I knew I was safe, sure footed and had no trouble descending down the side of a drop off! God keeps us from slipping, He is up above and down below, He knows what’s going on, He’s experienced, He “knows the ropes”, we really can trust Him. If we are depending on Him our feet will not stumble, even during the “over the edge” times. Have you ever felt like you were slipping over the edge, with no safety mechanism? What happened in those times did you lean into the Lord? Or crash to the bottom?

    God is able to make us stand blameless in the presence of His glory. The word used here is amōmos. This is a sacrificial word; and is commonly and technically used of an animal without spot or blemish fit to be offered to God. The amazing thing is when we surrender ourselves totally and completely to God, His grace makes us that pure sacrifice for Him. I meet far too many people who have difficulty with this concept. They really struggle with seeing themselves as God sees them, pure and whole because of Jesus. That is why Jesus died, that is why His blood was shed - to reconcile us to God, to make us righteous, to give us new life and to restore us to wholeness. And that, my dear friends, is how God Almighty looks at you and at me, think about it…NO WONDER JUDE PRAISES!

   God is able to bring us into His Presence jubilant, overjoyed, and triumphant. By the work of Jesus Christ, we know that we can go to God with all fear and shame banished. Through Jesus, God the stern Judge has become known to us as God the loving Father. Jude purposely attaches the word Savior to God here. So we end with the great certainty that in this world we live in the love of God and in the next we go to that love. To steal a phrase from Max Lucado, “No Wonder They Call Him Savior.” Resources: “The Letters of John and Jude” by William Barclay, information on repelling from Derek & Rhonda Coulter

 

 

Nancy Cantrell,

Associate Pastor

Harrisonville Church of the Nazarene

 

Study #11

“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen!” (Jude 24-25)

 

Lesson #11

Vs 20-23 (Revised Standard Version)

But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And convince some, who doubt; 23 save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Vs 20 -23 (The Message)

But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

    Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.

 

Jude contrasts the behavior of the faithful with that of the opponents. Here he describes the characteristics of the faithful.

     The faithful build up life on the foundation of the most holy faith. The life of the Christian is found, not on something which we manufacture but on something we have received. The faith first came from Jesus to the apostles, the apostles to the church and now the church to us. We are community, as Christians we are sooooooo much bigger than self, our opinions, our belief systems, etc. Where have I received what I believe?

    The faithful are people of prayer. The essence of Christianity is our total dependence on God, and prayer is acknowledging that dependence. We must pray, we must take everything to God because without Him we are nothing. How often do I go through the day without seeking God’s help? And when we pray we pray in the Holy Spirit, in other words our human prayers will be selfish and blind. It is only when the Holy Spirit takes full possession of us that our desires are purified and our prayers are right. Have I surrendered every part of my life to the Holy Spirit?

     The faithful keep themselves in the love of God. Jude uses wording here to remind his readers of the covenant relationship between God and his people as described in Exodus 24: 1-8. That covenant was two sided, God would be God to his people and they would love and obey Him. Love and obedience cannot be separated! Do I ever express love for the Lord and then willfully act in disobedience?

    The faithful wait with expectation. We know that Christ’s purpose for us is to reconcile us in this life and bring us into eternal life with God himself. Do I realize the abundant life Christ promises now and the eternal life to come?

    As Christians we have a binding duty to reach out to anyone that is lost, regardless of who they are, where they are, what they have done, etc. Jude gives us three examples.

“Those who doubt” These folks flirt with falsehood. They are attracted by wrong teachings and they believe error. They hesitate when given truth. We must urge them into truth with patience and love. We must be ready to defend the faith and give a reason for the hope that is in us. Can I describe out loud the hope that is in me? We must ban all arrogance and intolerance from our approach to others. I really do attempt not to get on a soapbox but I hate people who argue the faith as “my way or the highway.” As Christians we really do believe “no one can come to the Father except through the Son” but do we express that in love through invitation or are we in fighting stance?

      We must be ready to speak in time. We must be ready to “snatch them from the flames.” This phrase particularly interests me because I’m a volunteer firefighter. As firefighters we train for, but pray that the day never comes, where we pull up on a fire and have someone trapped inside a building. But on that day there is no doubt that we will walk into those flames. But we don’t do it blind or unprepared! We will go because we have prepared: hours of training; bunker gear; fire trucks; breathing apparatus; hoses; axes; water; on and on the list goes. We will take all of that knowledge and all of the equipment possible and only then plunge into the burning house to search, find and then literally drag that person to safety. I had to stop typing for awhile, for I am so overcome with conviction. Do I really go after the lost this way?? Do you?? What if I saw my family members or friends or children or whomever in a burning house would I stand by and let them burn? Lord, help us to see those who don’t know you as victims trapped in a burning building. And by that I don’t just mean hell, if people don’t know Christ, they don’t know true peace, contentment, wholeness in life, much less eternal things. Have I spent hours in training (the Word and prayer) do I possess equipment (the church) so that when I go in to rescue I am not burned? Do I realize even with everything done right when fighting a fire it can still be risky, therefore, we must have great courage? Lord, help me and those who read this study to really evaluate our attitude toward the lost, our time spent in preparation, and our courage to “snatch them from the flames.”  Amen.

     When we think in these terms that last phrase in verse 23 makes perfect sense, “hate the sin but love the sinner.” We are never to hate the sinner, no matter what the sin, that can be very difficult. As a matter of fact without God, it is impossible. We must also remember that it is sin that causes all the pain, sadness, hate, war, bad in our world, not God? Have you ever heard someone say God caused (something cruel)? We must remember that all evil and bad is in and part of our world because of sin, period. Even when God may take us to the woodshed, it’s because of sin. Do I really hate sin? Don’t answer that too quick…

 

 

Nancy Cantrell,

Associate Pastor

Harrisonville Church of the Nazarene