The Gospel Message Acts 13:26-39 Lesson for December 2-3, 2017 Theresa Morgan

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1 The Gospel Message Acts 13:26-39 Lesson for December 2-3, 2017 Theresa Morgan The Book of Acts is the indispensable line between the Gospels and the Epistles and it renders the sacred truth and the incontestable proofs that Jesus is the Christ. Acts also records the apostles fulfillment of the Lord s commandment in Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Most believe that Luke is the author of the book. It is our only record of the birth of the Christian church and its expansion across the entire Mediterranean region. Acts introduces us to the Holy Spirit and His ministry after the resurrection. I love the way our Overview of Acts describes His ministry. The role of the Holy Spirit moves from promise to presence and from occasional intervention to permanent indwelling and directing. Where Jesus once taught and directed the activity of the disciples, Spirit guides their movement and gives them power in their ministry (John 14:16-17; 16:5-16; Luke 24:45-49; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 5:32; 13:2, 52; 16:6-7). As we focus on Acts 13:26-39, my prayer is that we will walk away with a renewed joy about the Gospel Message and that we will give shouts of thanksgiving for the sacrifice that our Lord made for us. Let s paint His Story on the canvas of prophecy. You may ask Why is fulfillment of prophecy important? One of the reasons that it is essential is because it serves as a tool to identify those who falsely claim to be the Messiah. God gives us a definitive guideline in Deuteronomy to identify false prophets Deuteronomy 18:21-22 You may say in your heart, How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Below I have listed some of the men and women who have claimed to be the Messiah 1. The most recent article which was written in July 2017 in the National Geographic Magazine 2 is

2 about Alvara Theiss. According to the report, sometime in 1979, while Álvaro Theiss was fasting, he came to believe that he was Jesus Christ reborn. As you look at the list below, you may recognize some of the names of who has claimed to be the Messiah Sun Moon, Jim Jones, and David Koresh. Although I hesitated to include this partial but long list, I thought it was important for us to know as Christians that false prophets are still trying to deceive the world today. 20TH CENTURY John Hugh Smyth-Pigott ( ). Around 1890 Smyth-Pigott started leading meetings of the Agapenomite community and recruited 50 young female followers to supplement its aging population. He took Ruth Anne Preece as his second wife, and she had three children named Glory, Power and Hallelujah.[10] By 1902 his fame had spread as far as India, from where Mirza Ghulam Ahmad warned him of his false teachings and predicted his miserable end. The house which may have belonged to Smyth-Pigott in St John's Wood was visited by John Betjeman in his film Metro-land. It is built in the neo-gothic style. It is currently the home of the television presenter Vanessa Feltz and was previously the home of Charles Saatchi.[11] Smyth- Pigott died in 1927 and the sect gradually declined until the last member, sister Ruth, died in 1956.[12] Her funeral in 1956 was the only time when outsiders were admitted to the chapel.[13] Haile Selassie I ( ) did not claim to be Jesus and disapproved of claims that he was Jesus, but the Rastafari movement, which emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s, believes he is the Second Coming. He embodied this when he became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, perceived as confirmation of the return of the Messiah in the prophetic Book of Revelation 5:5 in the New Testament, who is also expected to return a second time to initiate the apocalyptic day of judgment. He is also called Jah Ras Tafari, and is often considered to be alive by Rastafari movement members.[14] Lou de Palingboer ( ), the founder and figurehead of a new religious movement in the Netherlands, who claimed to be "the resurrected body of Jesus Christ". Ernest Norman ( ), an American electrical engineer who co-founded the Unarius Academy of Science in 1954, was allegedly Jesus in a past life and his earthly incarnation was as an archangel named Raphael.[15] He claimed to be the reincarnation of other notable figures including Confucius, Mona Lisa, Benjamin Franklin, Socrates, Queen Elizabeth I, and Tsar Peter I the Great.[16] Krishna Venta ( ), born Francis Herman Pencovic in San Francisco, founded the WKFL (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love) Fountain of the World cult in Simi Valley, California in the late 1940s. In 1948 he stated that he was Christ, the new messiah and claimed to have led a convoy of rocket ships to Earth from the extinct planet Neophrates. He died on December

3 10, 1958 after being suicide bombed by two disgruntled former followers who accused Venta of mishandling cult funds and having been intimate with their wives. Ahn Sahng-Hong ( ), a South Korean who founded the World Mission Society Church of God in 1964, who recognize him as the Second Coming of Jesus. The World Mission Society Church of God teach that Zahng Gil-jah is "God the Mother", who they explain is referred to in the Bible as the New Jerusalem Mother (Galatians 4:26), and that Ahn Sahng- Hong is God the Father.[17] Sun Myung Moon ( ), believed by members of the Unification Church to be the Messiah and the Second Coming of Christ, fulfilling Jesus' unfinished mission. Church members ("Unificationists") consider Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, to be the True Parents of humankind as the restored Adam and Eve.[18][19] Jim Jones ( ), founder of Peoples Temple, which started off as an offshoot of a mainstream Protestant sect before becoming a personality cult as time went on. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Akhenaten, the Buddha, Vladimir Lenin, and Father Divine in the 1970s.[20] He organized a mass murder suicide at Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978.[21] He shot himself after the murders were done. Marshall Applewhite ( ), an American who posted a Usenet message declaring, "I, Jesus Son of God acknowledge on this date of September 25/26, 1995:..."[22] Applewhite and his Heaven's Gate religious group committed mass suicide on March 26, 1997 to rendezvous with what they thought was a spaceship hiding behind Comet Hale Bopp.[23] Yahweh ben Yahweh ( ), born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr., a black nationalist and separatist who created the Nation of Yahweh in 1979 in Liberty City, Florida. His self-proclaimed name means "God, Son of God". He could have only been deeming himself to be "son of God", not God, but many of his followers clearly deem him to be God Incarnate.[24][25] In 1992, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison.[26] Laszlo Toth ( ), Hungarian-born Australian who claimed he was Jesus Christ as he vandalized Michelangelo's Pietà with a geologist's hammer in 1972.[27][28] Wayne Bent (1941 ), also known as Michael Travesser of the Lord Our Righteousness Church. He claims: "I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined."[29] He was convicted on December 15, 2008 of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2008.[30] Ariffin Mohammed ( ), also known as "Ayah Pin", the founder of the banned Sky Kingdom in Malaysia in He claimed to have direct contact with the heavens and is believed by his followers to have been the incarnation of Jesus, as well as Shiva, and the Buddha, and Muhammad.[31]

4 Mitsuo Matayoshi (1944 ), a conservative Japanese politician, who in 1997 established the World Economic Community Party based on his conviction that he is God and Christ, renaming himself Iesu Matayoshi. According to his program he will do the Last Judgment as Christ but within the current political system.[32][33] José Luis de Jesús Miranda ( ), Puerto Rican founder, leader and organizer of Growing in Grace based in Miami, Florida, who claimed that the resurrected Christ "integrated himself within me" in 2007.[34] Inri Cristo (1948 ), a Brazilian who claims to be the second Jesus reincarnated in 1969,[35] Brasília is considered by Inri Cristo and his disciples as the New Jerusalem of the Apocalypse. Thomas Harrison Provenzano[36] ( ), an American convicted murderer who was possibly mentally ill. He compared his execution with Jesus Christ's crucifixion.[37] Shoko Asahara (1955 ), founded the controversial Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo in He declared himself Christ, Japan's only fully enlightened master and the Lamb of God. His purported mission was to take upon himself the sins of the world. He outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a Third World War, and described a final conflict culminating in a nuclear Armageddon, borrowing the term from the Book of Revelation 16:16.[38] Humanity would end, except for the elite few who joined Aum.[38] The group gained international notoriety on March 20, 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. He has been sentenced to death, and is awaiting execution. David Koresh ( ), born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco, Texas, though never directly claiming to be Jesus himself, proclaimed that he was the final prophet and "the Son of God, the Lamb" in In 1993, a raid by the U.S. BATF, and the subsequent siege by the FBI ended with Branch Davidian ranch burning to the ground. Koresh, 54 adults and 21 children were found dead after the fire extinguished itself.[39] 21ST CENTURY Apollo Quiboloy (1950 ) is the founder and leader of a Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He has made claims that he is the "Appointed Son of God".[43] Alan John Miller (1962 ), more commonly known as A.J. Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness elder and current leader of the Australia-based Divine Truth movement.[44] Miller claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated with others in the 20th century to spread messages that he calls the "Divine Truth". He delivers these messages in seminars and various forms of media along with his current partner Mary Suzanne Luck, who identifies herself as the returned Mary Magdalene.[45]

5 David Shayler (1965 ) is a former MI5 agent and whistleblower who, in the summer of 2007, proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. He has released a series of videos on YouTube claiming to be Jesus, although he has not built up any noticeable following since his claims.[46][47][48] Maurice Clemmons ( ) an American felon responsible for the 2009 murder of four police officers in Washington state, referred to himself in May 2009 as Jesus.[49] Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (1990 ). In November 2011, he fired nine shots with a Romanian Cugir SA semi-automatic rifle at the White House in Washington D.C., believing himself to be Jesus Christ sent to kill U.S. President Barack Obama, whom he believed to be the antichrist.[50][51] THE TRUE MESSIAH Jesus is the only one to fulfill every prophecy that was written about Him which gives us confidence that He is the true Messiah and our salvation is secure. Jesus, Himself reinforces the necessity of fulfilling prophecy as Redeemer when he meets with the disciples after His resurrection in Luke 26:44-49: He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. Jesus points to prophecy when He was on the Emmaus Road with the two disciples: 25 He said to them, How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Our passage this week looks at four (4) areas of prophecy about our Lord and evidence of its fulfillment as part of the Good News. Condemnation Acts 13:27 tells us that the first fulfillment was condemnation. For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the [a]utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

6 The Gospel tells us that because He was condemned, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. Romans 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [a]in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. You and I can walk in freedom because Christ suffered the condemnation that we deserved. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy through condemnation. My prayer is that we will not live our life feeling condemned but will experience the abundant life that He came to give us (John 10:10) Death Acts 13:28 - Although Jesus was found without guilt, the rulers asked for permission to put him to death. The rulers thought they were controlling the execution of Jesus, but it was Jesus who gave up His spirit after Scripture was fulfilled. John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, I am thirsty. 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Because of His death, the enemy is powerless and we are set free from the fear of death and no longer subject to its slavery. Hebrews 2:14-15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. When we experience the passing of family or friends from this world, we are told that we do not grieve as those who do not have hope because Jesus has conquered death. 1 Thessalonians 4:12-14 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep [c]in Jesus.

7 Resurrection Acts 13: 29 - But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. They laid Jesus body in a tomb that was cut out of rock. BUT according to Acts. 2:24, God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Did you know that we have access to the same power that God exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead? Ephesians 3:18-21 has been one of my favorite prayers because it is so rich with blessings that our Father has in store for us through the Gospel. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Let me encourage you to pray this scripture as you expect to see the resurrection power of God. Freedom Acts 13: Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed [u]through the Law of Moses. Jesus has fulfilled the great prophecy that you and I read in Isaiah 6:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the [b]afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners I am sure that many of you heard the news that Leonardo da Vinci s painting, Saviour of the World, sold for $450,312,500 on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at auction. The price, which includes a buyer s premium, makes it the most expensive painting ever sold at auction, BUT what Jesus did for us is priceless and a price tag cannot be put on His sacrifice. Lord for saving us! Thank You

1. Firstly, we expect Jesus to be a long time coming. Some people think, It s been 2000 years there s your proof He s not coming

1. Firstly, we expect Jesus to be a long time coming. Some people think, It s been 2000 years there s your proof He s not coming Location: St George (Show day no Begonia) Page: 1 of 12 We ve been working our way through Matthew for a while now for over a year, and even though it s been a fair while, we ve actually been pressing