A World Turned Upside Down.

Those Paul visited in various cities received him and the message he had to bring in different ways. Some received the word skeptically, others readily. It’s the same today isn't it? Not all people receive the word of truth in the same way.

As Paul continued on, city after city, acceptance by some while others sought his harm intent on stopping him from continuing to 'turn the world upside down' -

Act 17:6  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also

- Turning the world upside- down.   People like things to remain familiar, when introducing change there is often a belief that the world as we know it is turned upside down and inside out. After thousands of years with rituals given by God to Moses, those rituals were now being tossed aside, why? Because the reason for the rituals had transpired, the GREATEST, the ULTIMTE sacrifice had been made and any ritual sacrifice for sins after that were meaningless. It was time to comprehend that the prophecies had been fulfilled and as a result a change in behavior was expected.  You could do something for years knowing it's all in preparation for something else to take place, and then lose sight that a change is supposed to come. You get set in your ways, in your routine, in your way of thinking. When change comes and you're reminded that it was always supposed to be that way, you may not want to hear that truth, you may just want things to go back the way they were.  When our worlds are turned upside down it's not always a welcomed, pleasant thing to experience. Yet, if we only want to follow truth then we have to recognize change is often necessary.  For all of us waiting and longing for our Savior to return to take us to heaven with Him, we have to realize right now that it will call for a very drastic change to all we know.  There will be nothing in our possessions that will come with us to heaven, we won't have time to pack for this trip, we won't have time to say good bye to anyone. When we are called by our Savior we won't even want to pack or say good bye to everyone- because those going to heaven with our Savior will have been longing for that day of the greatest change ever. Our treasures are in heaven and we will be going to our treasures- the greatest treasure - Christ Himself! 

Having their world turned upside down by the truth is a great thing, yet so many fought against the truth and the change it meant to bring to their lives.  How many today fight against truth that calls for change in their lives? Way too many.

Paul went to the next city and there were 'more noble' people in this city than another. Whey were there 'more noble' people in this city? Because they RECEIVED THE WORD WITH ALL READINESS OF MIND AND SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY MAKING SURE ALL THEY WERE TOLD WAS THE TRUTH.

They wanted truth! Their desire for truth led them to search for it!  Because of their search for the truth MANY believed!

The truth is there, right there in the word of God and we shouldn't be afraid to take any truth a person would have us believe and weigh it against the evidence in the scriptures.   May we ever seek truth!

All through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior now and forever!!!!!!! God's will be done!

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 

Act 17:12  Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. 

Act 17:13  But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. 

Jesus wants us to believe in prophecy.

Paul used the old testament (scriptures) to reason with the Jews and I'm sure many others.  When you want to bring truth to all you meet you will repeat yourself over and over because the truth won't change. You may alter your way of presenting the gospel and you may vary in which parts you preach, but ultimately you will always go back to the basics of the truth.

Sharing the good news of the gospel, bringing the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord is something we must do as the Holy Spirit leads us. We must use the scriptures just as Paul and Silas used them.

Yesterday we listed a lot of old testament scriptures about Jesus, the same scriptures the disciples used, and some of the same scriptures JESUS HIMSELF used.  Prophecies predicting Jesus were unveiled, all of them coming to pass, every single one! The Bible prophecy is true. I can't help but stress this point because so many just don't realize how we exist in prophecy, how our lives are affected by Biblical prophecies.  When our Savior tells us to watch and pray throughout His word we are watching for prophecy to be fulfilled. Jesus predicting the end of this world. Jesus predicted His return. Do you believe in Jesus? If you do believe in Jesus you have to believe in prophecy and its fulfillment. You have to believe in the return of Jesus Christ. You have to believe in the end of this world. So why do we shy away from prophecy? We say it's too confusing to really study or even believe. We say if God wanted us to comprehend it then He would have made it easy to understand. We say we don't really need to study any more prophecy, just the prophecy of our Savior returning.  To shun any prophecy is to run the risk of closing our minds to truth and when we close our minds to truth we are turning away from God and He will allow our spiritual sight to grow dim and even allow us to go spiritually blind if that is was our actions are revealing what we truly desire.  Truth isn't always easy, sometimes it is extremely difficult to accept truth, but if God knows that truth is what we really want, then we will come to know that truth no matter how hard it is to believe.

Those Paul and Silas were talking to reacted in the following way--

Act 17:4  And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. 

Act 17:5  But the Jews which believed not…

SOME believed.

Devout Greeks a GREAT MULTITUDE.

Chief women a lot.

Jews believed not.

Even though they were given all they needed, all the truth revealed through prophecy, not all believed.

I like to hope that I would have been among the believers but I'll never know. However, I can be among the believers today, in my time.  I can read the scriptures old and new, I can pray, I can watch and all through the grace and mercy of our Savior I will believe.

What will you do? Would you choose to know ALL truth as it is in Christ, or just some of it?

God bless and keep us all!

Paul Used Prophecy.

Act 17:1  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 

Act 17:2  And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures

Act 17:3  Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 

Verses from the scriptures-- perhaps verses Paul and Silas used as they REASONED with the Jews in the synagogue.

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

Num 21:6  And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 

Num 21:7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 

Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 

Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken

Joh 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Act 3:22  For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 

Act 7:37  This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 

Psa 16:9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 

Psa 16:10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption

Psa 132:11  The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

Isa 40:10  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 

Isa 40:11  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 

Isa 50:6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Isa 52:13  Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 

Isa 52:14  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 

Isa 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 

Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

Isa 53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 

Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 

Jer 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 

Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

Jer 33:14  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 

Jer 33:15  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 

Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 

Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 

Mic 5:3  Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 

Mic 5:4  And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

*******

Because the scriptures had been FULFILLED in Christ, Paul could point to them and then Jesus' ministry and ultimate death on the cross.  To be able to point out prophecies and then their fulfillment is a huge deal. Prophecy is given to us for a reason.

One of the biggest reasons for prophecy is for us to be able to comprehend the truth of the scriptures.  When my sister and I went to prophecy lectures back in 1982 we couldn't believe how so much prophecy had come to pass in our history. Knowing the prophecy had come true on so much led us to believe that nothing could stop the rest of the prophecies from coming to pass. 

I've studied prophecies several times over the last few years and I'm sure I'll study them again- LORD WILLING. We do still have prophecies left to unfold and we will be living in unfolding prophecy at the very end, and all those who are alive when Christ returns will live through it. It'll be too late if the end comes to pass and in the very end people are hoping for understanding then. The time to comprehend is now. 

Paul used prophecies and through the Holy Spirit many believed the truth He unveiled. We need to unveil the truth as well, as Christ allows.

More tomorrow by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!  NOW and FOREVER!

The Scriptures.

Paul a pattern for us of the longsuffering of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's not lose sight of this as we continue to study more of Paul's ministry.

Chosen by the Lord specifically to bring the good news of salvation to others, Paul lived to this end. Recovering from his whipping and imprisonment, Paul traveled onwards.  It was Paul's manner to enter the Jewish synagogue when he went to a new city. He'd enter on the Sabbath days and he would talk with the Jews there. Paul knew the scriptures very well, he'd studied them from his youth. He would reason with the men OUT OF THE SCRIPTURES. Paul didn't just go in and tell the story of Jesus Christ, he presented facts from the very scriptures these men believed and followed.  The only scriptures Paul had were what we call the old testament.  Do you remember these verses-

Luk 24:15  And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 

Luk 24:25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 

Luk 24:26  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 

Luk 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 

The prophet spoke- and it was recorded in the scriptures.  Jesus himself began at MOSES and ALL the PROPHETS and expounded to them in ALL the scriptures the things concerning HIMSELF.

Eye opening revelations for so many to be able to hear exactly where the scriptures they held to be HOLY, to be TRUTH, to be GOD'S WORD to them- revealed Jesus Christ to be their MESSIAH. 

Paul would go to the SCRIPTURES to REASON with these men. Paul didn't hold up some scroll written by an apostle, he didn't tell them what he thought, he went to the SCRIPTURES.  Do we go to the scriptures? Are they relevant to us today? We get so focused on the newer scriptures we may seem to neglect the older scriptures but it is in the older scriptures where Paul found the Savior, in it in the older scriptures Jesus Himself revealed the prophecies of His coming. The gospel was preached with a mingling of the prophecies and the revelation of the fulfillment of those prophecies. The new scriptures are the writings of those fulfilled prophecies and prophecies for the future.  The scriptures- old and new- are both HOLY, given to us by the HOLY SPIRIT.  Paul used, them and we NEED to use them as well.   All by the grace and mercy, the will of our Lord and Savior now and forever! All in His most amazing LOVE.

Act 17:1  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 

Act 17:2  And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures

Paul and Silas freed.

Act 16:35  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. 

Act 16:36  And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. 

Act 16:37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. 

Act 16:38  And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. 

Act 16:39  And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. 

Act 16:40  And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. 

The day dawned after such an exciting night. The horror of being whipped and imprisoned didn't keep Paul and Silas from praying and singing praises to God. Then a powerful earthquake shook the jail so that the doors and chains both broke so that the prisoners were capable of escape. Having believed the prisoners gone the jail keeper was about to end his own life but Paul stopped him letting the despondent man know they were still there, they hadn't ran off. The man was so amazed and grateful he couldn't help but believe in the truth of what the disciples stood for. The man took Paul and Silas to his home and after talking to the family all of them believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and longed to be saved. Taking them to be baptized that very hour the disciples were then invited back to the jail keeper's home where they were fed well and kept safe.

When the DAY came the magistrates sent the sergeants to the jail wanting the men freed. The jail keeper told Paul and Silas this but Paul didn't want to be sent off in secrecy. Paul told them they were beaten in public, condemned, and they were Romans, and they were imprisoned. If the magistrates wanted them to leave they had to come and get them out themselves.

Now the sergeants were afraid because those they'd beaten and imprisoned were Romans.

Obviously the Magistrates were afraid too because they quickly came and removed them from the prison and asked them to leave the city.

Paul and Silas weren't there to make trouble, on the contrary they wanted the gospel to reach all that it was possible to reach and the gospel did not advocate violence at all.  They left the prison and went to another Christ follower's house and visited with their friends and were comforted and then they left the city.

Paul and Silas wanted to share Christ with everyone as God led them to do so. It didn't matter to them what hardships, what sufferings they had to endure. They would DIE for their beliefs.  They would suffer severely for their faith.  WE have to comprehend the reality of this and not just believe we aren't to suffer for our beliefs. If God doesn't call you to suffer for your faith that's wonderful, I’m not saying everyone is called to suffer the same. But we KNOW if we are going to follow Christ we are called to live for Him and if we are living for Him and NOT for the world - there will be sufferings. If we are speaking truth to others as God directs us then we will suffer because the majority of people will not believe in truth. Spiritual suffering, physically suffering, we will suffer and may GOD help us to endure and count any and all suffering as joy, just as Paul did.

Please, Lord, please we would be YOURS! All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Now and Forever!

Suffering Salvation.

Act 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 

Yesterday we studied the above- The prison jailer was shocked to discover all the prisoners were still in their cells without any shackles or doors to hold them. This man was so shocked he knew that what Paul and Silas were guilty of was false, that their praying and singing and all they were as disciples of Jesus was true. Going from a hairsbreadth from committing suicide to asking the disciples what he must do to be saved, this man was converted to follow Christ!

Act 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 

Act 16:32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 

Act 16:33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 

Act 16:34  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. 

Amazing! Simply amazing! They told the man to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, him and his house, his family.  Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to the jailer and his family and then they went to the river and washed the blood from their bodies and then baptized the jailer and his family, all in the same hour. AMAZING! The power of the Holy Spirit at work, the wonder of the gospel of our Savior!

The jailer then brought them all back to his house and fed them, rejoicing, believing in God- all of them!

Such an amazing conversion.  Paul and Silas were whipped and imprisoned, could it have been solely for the ultimate salvation of the jailer and his family? Paul counted all his hardships as joy, he knew God had a reason, a purpose for ultimate eternal good in all He allowed.

Paul suffered so much, as did many followers of Christ.

Are we to suffer? When we suffer can we count it joy? Does God have an ultimate purpose for our agonies? Can we trust Him towards that end? Can any suffering we undergo be worth it all for the salvation of a single person?

God's will in all things! We would be tremendously blessed if anything we do brings a single person closer to our Savior and His amazing love.

May God use us, all in HIS LOVE!

Act 16:35  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. 

Act 16:36  And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. 

Act 16:37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. 

Act 16:38  And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. 

Act 16:39  And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. 

Act 16:40  And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. 

Paul- beaten and jailed, continued to do God's will.

When in prison do you imagine a lot of those imprisoned long to break out of their confines? There have been numerous tales of jailbreaks, and attempted jailbreaks, it truly is a common theme. My faulty logic tells me that most prisoners don't wish to escape so much as they wish they could get out of jail legally so they can go back to their lives without fear of be apprehended for escaping. Of course, I'm thinking with a twenty-first century mind, not one 2000 years ago.  Would the time make a difference, I imagine to some degree. Still and all, a lot of prisoners may take advantage of a jailbreak if it were made easy enough for them to get away, right? In any case, Paul and Silas, whipped and in chains, imprisoned in the local jail were singing songs of praise to God and praying when SUDDENLY there was a huge earthquake! This earthquake was so great that the very foundations of the prison were shaken and IMMEDIATELY all the door of the prison were opened and all the shackles loosed. Just take a moment and picture it all. The chaos of it all but also the quickness of it all happening. The prison keeper was sleeping when it happened and it woke him. Instantly he saw the prison doors were all open and the greatest of despair overtook him. It was his job to keep the prisoners from escaping and if he hadn't been sleeping but awake when it happened he may have been able to  keep the prisoners from escaping! They were all gone and he was to be held accountable. He knew that his punishment would be humiliation and death and something broke inside him. He would kill himself before he faced the awful knowledge what he'd allowed to happen.  Positioning the sword to slice into his own body he was about to plunge it into himself when he heard a prisoner cry out to him-  "Do yourself NO harm for we are all here!"  Paul saw the keeper's intent and did not want the man to end his own life.  He could have said nothing and let the man kill himself and then escaped but that was not what God willed. Allowing someone to hurt themselves will forever be wrong when we have it in our power to help them.

The prison keeper called for a light and quickly ran into the cell area. Shaking violently from his near suicide he fell down in front of Paul and Silas. Rising up again, he brought them out of their cell and said- "Sirs, what must I do to be saved."

More on this tomorrow by the GRACE and WILL of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! NOW and FOREVER!

Act 16:26  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 

Act 16:27  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 

Act 16:28  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 

Act 16:29  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 

Act 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?