ACTS EVERYONE NEEDS TO LEARN TO SEE F. Michael Slay A DEEP Study The Fellowship of Ailbe
Man s fallen nature is vividly on display in this section. Even the apostles have their laughably clueless moments. Some folks need, and get, a serious attitude adjustment. We re pleased to provide the DEEP studies in PDF format at no charge. We hope you will find them helpful and encouraging as you press on in your journey toward spiritual maturity in the Lord. The Fellowship of Ailbe offers many opportunities for training, prayer, personal growth, and ministry. Please visit our website at www.ailbe.org to discover the many other resources available to serve your needs. This includes many email newsletters such as our worldview study ReVision, our devotional newsletter Crosfigell, and the DEEP. We are a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. Our goal is to promote revival, renewal, and awakening, following the teaching of Scripture and the example and heritage of our forebears in the faith. T. M. Moore, Principal tmmoore@ailbe.org Thank you. Copyright 2018 F. Michael Slay The Fellowship of Ailbe www.ailbe.org All scripture references are noted. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV stands for the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2
1 Acts 12:12-17 (ESV) When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, You are out of your mind. But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, It is his angel! But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Tell these things to James and to the brothers. Then he departed and went to another place. Is Rhoda a hoot, or what? Oh, what I wouldn t give to see the look on Peter s face as he stands there waiting for everyone to come to their senses and open the door. After all he s been through in the last few hours, he s got to be wondering what the Lord is teaching him this time. Maybe the Lord is teaching Peter what He s teaching us. These early Christians, all great fathers of the faith, can t believe that God has answered their prayer. Peter s standing at the door but they insist it must be something else. What s up with that? Are these simply people who don t believe that God answers prayer? That doesn t make sense; they ve witnessed countless miracles. Why did they pray in the first place? This is a perfect example of how the insanity of sin is not completely erased by the Holy Spirit. Yes, these folks know that God answers prayer. Yet, in the heat of the moment their faith gets neutralized, and their reflex is to act like He doesn t. This is systemic. It s how we re wired. We learn the truth about who God is and how He acts, but when things get too exciting, we forget it all. You do it. I do it. They did it. So, take heart. You re not the only one who crumbles under pressure. But the amazing thing is that God uses sinners like us to do great things. The folks in today s passage go on to turn the world upside down. Despite their limitations, they served, and they grew. God does great things through us, not because of us. Are you bored? Is your reaction to this devotional, OK, but how about doing some great things through me? If so, you re not alone. But understand that you advance in baby steps. God isn t going to toss you into a situation where you d be out of your depth. Great things happen while you re doing little things. So spend some time thinking about your future. In what direction does the Lord want you to grow? Ask Him to call you to something that s within your reach. Note: this may be something surprisingly menial. Remember, God invented deacons to wait on tables. 3
2 Acts 12:18-23 (ESV) Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, The voice of a god, and not of a man! Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. The Jewish historian Josephus recounts the same action, but includes some extra details. And presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place, and another from another (though not for his good), that he was a god; and they added, Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature. Upon this the king did neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery. A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, I whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was called by you immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. Antiquities 19:8.2 (345-347a) His flatterers didn t just call him a god; they made specific reference to immortality. That made his punishment apt. But it s curious that Herod instantly figures out that this isn t just random; he calls it providence. He s not a believer but he can feel the weight of God s judgment in more than just his stomach. He gets it, a bit late, but he still gets it. This shows how no one is ever really that far from an instant conversion. That s a recurring theme in Acts. Some, like Saul, get to live out great destinies. Others, like Herod or Ananias and Sapphira, are only object lessons. You never can tell who s going to be next. One thing we often do wrong is assume that we know what God should do. So we spend most of our prayer time telling him. We need to reverse that. We can t ask God to reveal what he s going to do next that s way above our pay grade but we can ask for guidance about what we should do. Ask the Lord to direct you to pray for a specific person s salvation. Try not to pick the person yourself. Hold nominations open for as long as you can. 4
3 Acts 12:24-13:3 (ESV) But the word of God increased and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Why are they fasting? Is fasting the key to what happens next? The Bible doesn t say. All we can tell is that fasting was important to these prophets and teachers and that the Lord acted powerfully in response to this fast. Nowadays Christians rarely fast, though Jesus assumed that we would. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:16-18 Fasting doesn t make you a super-hero; it s simply a bigger commitment than just praying. For example, fasting takes longer. Praying for an hour is significant, but fasting for an hour isn t even fasting. That s just not eating long enough that it s safe to go swimming. Every Wednesday, I join a group to pray for an hour. That actually took some getting used to; it s not easy to stay focused for that long. But, over time, this weekly tradition has proved its worth. We need to take our going before the Lord to the next level. He honored Daniel s fast. He honored Jesus fast. He honored this fast at Antioch. There s something to this. I know people who have had major prayers answered after praying and fasting. You don t have to fast for forty days like Jesus did, but you should fast some. A simple day fast (skipping breakfast and lunch) can be useful, but that s a lot to ask on short notice. A planned day of prayer and fasting is more like it. Seek the Lord s will on this. Consider a Saturday of prayer and fasting for your whole church, followed by a fellowship meal. Or maybe God wants you to do something else. Find out. 5
4 Acts 13:4-12 (ESV) So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time. Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. So, what exactly did Bar-Jesus do wrong? The proconsul, Sergius Paulus, had summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Bar-Jesus was with the proconsul, and opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. This means that as Paul and Barnabas presented the gospel, Bar-Jesus made counter-arguments. We don t know whether he argued against the deity of Christ, or against the resurrection, or what. But whatever Paul and Barnabas said, he opposed it. Do not underestimate how serious a sin this is. He s being an agent of the enemy. So Paul really lets him have it but in a remarkably merciful way. Bar-Jesus s blindness is only temporary; it may even have been designed to teach him to see. It definitely taught the proconsul to see, as he was instantly converted. Bar-Jesus isn t mentioned anywhere else in scripture, so we can t say for sure if he ended up seeing the light, but Paul s punishment gave him a fair shot at it. And notice how similar this is to what happened on the road to Damascus. Surely Paul was aware of that when he struck Bar-Jesus blind. Thus, whether or not Bar-Jesus was eventually converted, that seems to have been Paul s goal. Paul never forgot that he was once an agent of the enemy too. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:43-44 What an intimidating challenge the command, Love your enemies, is. We don t have all the tools Paul had, so we can t use things like temporary blindness to give them a clue. But we do have the main tool the one mentioned in Matthew 5:44. We can pray for them. So, do pray for your enemies. And pray for the enemies of Christ. Specifically, pray for the people who are persecuting Christians around the world seriously. 6
5 Acts 13:13-17 (ESV) Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it. So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. The rulers of the synagogue didn t make an open invitation to everyone in the room; they sent a message directly to Paul to deliver a word of encouragement for the people. They had to know who Paul is. And the audience is obviously mainly Jewish. Otherwise, how could Paul say, The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt. So, why would they invite such a controversial figure to address the congregation? Opposition to Paul by Jews frequently got nasty. That ends up happening here too. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. Acts 13:50 So why do the rulers of the synagogue invite controversy and conflict into their midst? Did they not see it coming? Are they just foolhardy risk takers? Or are they incredibly open minded and courageous? None of the above. Their actions make perfect sense when you consider how news traveled back then. In a largely illiterate society, without electronic (or even printed) communication, news was carried from town to town in the memories of people who traveled on foot or by donkey. Everything was literally hearsay; news was typically imprecise or even inconsistent. So the rulers of the synagogue jumped at a chance to hear, first hand, what all the ruckus was about. They didn t have enough information to foresee a violent reaction. Today s news can be too much information. If it bleeds, it leads. The news isn t designed to inform; it s designed to make money (which is a must nowadays). They don t broadcast things we need to know; they broadcast things that ll capture eyeballs. * In a sense, it s not all that different from pornography. We, like Paul, have some useful information to transmit. Our error is being too anxious to transmit it. Yes, it s life transforming and, yes, it s free. But we still need to wait for a cue. Paul got a clear invitation to share the gospel. Think about timing. God is in command and we shouldn t jump the gun. * Weather forecasts are an exception. They do inform. 7
Questions for reflection or discussion 1. Do you set goals for yourself? What things work best? 2. Have you ever asked for, and received, guidance from God? 3. Have you, or someone you now ever done a serious fast? What happened? 4. Ever seen an enemy convert? How did it happen? 5. Are you sick of the news? Or do you find it addictive? How are you choosy? Items for prayer: 8