They Preached The Gospel

Although Iconium was a trouble spot for the Apostle Paul and his traveling companion Barnabas, it was just a speed-bump compared to what was coming.  If you must face danger, you might as well go ahead and walk right on into the lion's den.  In this case it would be the synagogue of the Jews.

Paul and Barnabas were on a mission.  It didn't matter to them if the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and turned their minds against them.  They came to do one thing ... they preached the Gospel.

Iconium was a prosperous town, but much smaller than towns like Ephesus or Smyrna with their urban culture being more Greco-Roman.  Small towns were most likely to have a more rural society.  And of course, being smaller, Paul and Barnabas would undoubtedly have drawn more attention preaching the Gospel than in a larger city.

They came to preach the Gospel, the good news about Jesus to anyone who would hear; and evidently many heard and believed, both Jews and Gentiles which caused the people in town to be divided over their preaching.  (Acts 14:1-4)

Under law, city magistrates could only quell disturbances by legally banning Paul and Barnabas from the city.  But the Jewish and Gentile rulers together formed a plot to stone them to death before they were banned from town.  As long as it was only opposition to their preaching, they would stay ... but death was another thing. 

Being made aware of the situation, they made their escape to Lystra, a neighboring town ... where more trouble awaited them. 

"And there they preached the Gospel."  (Acts 14:7)

The Gospel ... many who hear the good news find only salvation ... which is of all things considered, the utmost of importance.  But when Paul preached the "the Gospel" here in Lystra ...

Acts 14: 8-10 ... "There sat a certain man, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked.  The same heard Paul speak; Paul stedfastly beholding him, perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said in a loud voice, 'Stand upright on your feet,' and he leaped and walked."

This may have been in a marketplace or just a street corner as was the custom of speakers and philosophers to gather listeners wherever they could.  The scripture doesn't say if this was a place the lame man may have been brought each day to beg, as was the case of the lame man that was healed at the temple gate with Peter and John. 

Let's look at this a little closer.

Here's a man who "sat" ... meaning his usual posture, because his feet were useless to him, a cripple from birth, entirely deprived of the use of his feet.  He was totally helpless to walk under his own power.  His spiritual condition is not mentioned ... other than, he had faith to be healed.

Where did this man's faith come from?  When we think of preaching the Gospel, usually salvation, the forgiveness of sin through the death of Jesus on the cross comes to mind.  But here ... salvation isn't even mentioned.

Is there a truth in the preaching of the Gospel that many believers miss by only receiving salvation?  What else is in the Gospel?

This lame man heard Paul speak, and while speaking, Paul "stedfastly beheld him" or steadily watched the lame man.  Was it the man's attention in hearing, or perhaps any gestures he made towards Paul ... or as the Arabic version adds to this scripture ... "he cried unto Paul" ... that allowed Paul to perceive he had faith to be healed.

It's my opinion that the Holy Spirit was at work in Paul's life.  Secondly ... it is also my opinion that Paul didn't speak only about salvation in the Gospel that he preached.

The Apostle Paul preached life, and life more abundantly in Jesus.  What did Jesus do more than anything else during His ministry?  He healed people.  Paul made healing part of the "Gospel" he presented to this lame man.  Then Paul perceived that ... "he had faith" ... or possessed faith in his heart and soul to be healed.

Where did this faith for healing come from?  Faith comes by hearing the Word, so healing must have been talked about by Paul as much as salvation.  This man needed healing.

Healing, like salvation should be part of the Gospel.  Jesus always responded with ... "I will" ... when answering those who asked Him for healing. 

So, if healing is not for today ... when did the Gospel change?

Paul's disciples believed in prayer and healing.  Certain Jews from Antioch and Icomium, who had tried to stone Paul earlier, followed him to Lystra; and this time actually stoned him to death, and then dragged his body out of the city and dumped him there as a dead man.  (Acts 14:19)

After they left, Paul's followers gathered around him, prayed over him the prayer of faith, and "he rose up" and came into the city, but left the next day.  (Acts 14:20)

Paul and Barnabas were on a mission.   They came to do one thing ... they preached the Gospel.

The whole Gospel ... including the power to heal.






Note ... In 2nd Corinthians 12:2-4, Paul speaks of where he was during the period of time he was lying dead after the stoning.  (I posted "Paul's Thorn in the Flesh" which covers this event, if you are interested.  Check the Blog Archive ... July 2011.)


Blessings ...  

Faith Comes By Hearing The Word

It's got to be pretty simple for me to understand it.  Simple and right to the point.  The Apostle Paul said this in the middle of his discourse to the Christian Jews in Rome ...

Romans 10:13-14 ... "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?"

Romans 10:17 ... "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

This is in that old archaic King James English which isn't simple enough for me.  Faith comes by hearing?  I hear a lot of things.  In fact, most of what I hear seems to take "faith" from me, not build it up.

This scripture reads a little better in the Amplified Bible.  It puts it this way ... "So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself)."

Okay, let me try to define what it is that one needs to hear to receive the "faith" that is spoken of ... what ever this faith is.

I found some interesting word meanings for this scripture in the original Greek that it was translated from.  The Greek always adds more clarity.

The word "faith" used in this scripture is "pistis," pronounced (pis-tis, just like it's spelled) and means ... persuasion (a particular belief), conviction (an opinion), or credence (believing something is true.)  By extension, it usually means ... religious belief.

All my life I've heard people quote this verse of scripture as proof that the only way to increase "faith" in your life is through the Word of God.  The kind of faith they are speaking of is faith that is a verb ... describing an action, state, or occurrence ... like moving a mountain or believing God to heal. 

This is not the direction I was taking this post, but since I'm here, let me say ... when Paul is speaking about hearing, he is referring to, "the word of faith which we preach" in (verse 8), and he continues with, "how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard, without a preacher" in (verse 14).

The "faith" that he speaks of in verse 17 ... (if read in context) ... is plainly speaking of "the Christian faith" one receives through hearing the preaching of the Word.  That's how most people come to accept Jesus as the Lord of their life.  It's from hearing the Word of God being shared that this ... "persuasion, conviction or credence" develops into a "religious belief."

The primary meaning of "faith" that comes from hearing the Word of God preached is the new birth; this type of faith is a noun ... used to identify a class of people ... your religious belief, as one of many in the Christian faith.

But the secondary meaning, which I also agree with, is ... if you want to grow your faith into mountain moving faith ... that too also comes from not only hearing but reading the Word of God for yourself.

Okay, continuing with the original Greek of verse 17 ... "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

"... faith by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  Notice that the word "by" is used twice.  But they are two different words.

Faith by hearing ... is "ek ex" ... denoting the point or origin that action begins.  That's why the translators added the word "cometh" to show that this kind of faith isn't something we are born with.  It's something we receive.

Hearing by the word ... is "dia" ... denoting the channel through which faith is brought.  It's through preaching the Word of God.  In this scripture, it is by hearing the preaching of the ... "utterance of God" ... that is the channel through which "faith" reaches the soul and heart of man. 

"... the word ..."  One of the first Greek words I was exposed to many years ago was this Greek word ... "rhe'-ma" ... meaning simply, "an utterance spoken," by anyone. 

This word "rhe'-ma" in Romans 10:17 is not to be confused with "log'-os" found in John 1:1 ... "the Word was God."  The word "log'os" is similar to "rhe' ma" ... but means "something said" ... including thought, motive and reasoning behind what is said.

Some people get all bent out of shape if you don't use these two words correctly.  I can barely speak good old American, so guess what ... "an utterance spoken" and "something said" ... to me is the same thing.  I'll let God sort it all out.  He knows what my heart is trying to say anyway.

Paul talked about "faith" in Jesus.  Faith as a verb or a noun ... does it matter?

Faith the verb, is believing.  Faith the noun, is your belief.  Either way, faith will be the result of hearing the Word of God ... if the hearer believes the report.

The question is not only have you heard ... but have you believed?     

From David's Rooftop

In my last post I spoke about how David would get up early in the morning and seek the presence of the Lord.  He said in Psalms 5:3 ... "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."

From scripture we know that David would go up to the rooftop of his palace home in the cool of the evening ... perhaps to be alone or meditate and pray.  It's just conjecture on my part, but the rooftop may have been one of his favorite places to spend time with the Lord.

In my mind's eye ... I can see David going there early in the morning, and I can also hear him cry out to God the very words of this Psalm.  I can also see him standing there, arms wide open, looking up saying, "Here I am Lord, looking up to You."

The rooftop, with a gentle breeze blowing would be cool early in the morning.  Sunrise and the dawn of a new day.  Morning on the rooftop was no problem.  Evening on the rooftop was different.

In the mornings, David would look up towards Heaven.  At dusk, in the evenings ... the problem was David wasn't looking up.  Instead he was looking at the beauty of another woman from his rooftop.

David, the same man who wrote ... "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" ... did want the forbidden.  He also wrote ... "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."  The problem is, our enemy is always around, watching and waiting for the right time to place the forbidden in front of you. 

But what about God?  It seems as though God also places choices in front of us daily.  Of course it could just be how life works.  Either way we do choose, don't we.

As far as man is concerned, choice started with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.  God placed two special trees in the garden ... one was the Tree of Knowledge and one was the Tree of Life.  The command was ... "Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge, but you must eat from the Tree of Life."  The Tree of Life was their life source.  It kept them alive, and would have forever, had they not been driven away from it after they sinned.

Ancient Hebrew writings teach that the Tree of Life stood directly beside the Tree of Knowledge in the midst of the garden.  In fact, some of these writings suggest that these two trees grew from the same root.  This of course cannot be proven.  But, since all life comes from God, could not this common root represent the fact that all life … whether it produces good or evil … has its life source rooted in God?

If the ancient Hebrew writings are correct ... because both of these trees were located "in the midst" of the garden; in order for Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Life, they would have to come near to the Tree of Knowledge, close to the forbidden fruit … the only tree they were commanded not to eat from.  They would have to … confront it … each time they went to the Tree of Life.  If God placed this choice before them, should I conclude that He may also do the same with us?

So this leads me to ask ... how many times did David, on his rooftop in the evening, confront the forbidden fruit he saw with his eyes when he looked down instead of up to the Lord.

The rooftop may have been a place where David found spiritual food on the table the Lord prepared for him as he said in his Psalm.  Early in the morning and also in the cool of the evening he met with the Lord ... until ... one evening he looked away.

I don't know if the enemy of his soul set him up, or whether it was allowed by God as a test like Job went through.  It's too late now ... it happened.  A choice was made.  The enemy was present, even at the King's banquet table full of the Lord's blessings. 

This should give us pause to consider the wise counsel that Solomon, David's son gave in Proverbs 4:23 ...

"Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."   (Amplified Bible)

Well said Solomon ... but even you had trouble doing it. 

         

In The Morning

Just three words from three verses.  But they have meaning.  They speak of morning ... and a cry or a plea unto the Lord.  It's what I do every day.

Every day, the first thing I try to do in the morning before climbing out of bed is to  consider the Lord.  But then as I do ... a whole bunch of other thoughts flood my mind about the coming day.  What's the weather like?  What should I do first?  So then, I must tell myself, all in good time ... but first the Lord.

These three words ... in the morning ... come from King David, who was once just a simple shepherd boy, whose heart always looked to the Lord.  I desire to have that kind of heart.  He writes in Psalms 5: 1-3 ...

"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.  Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct [my prayer] unto thee, and will look up."  (King James Bible)

I must point out that the two words in brackets, [my prayer] have been added to the Scripture taken from the original old Hebrew scrolls by the translators for clarity.  But that's okay ... David was speaking of prayer.  His voice in the morning, at least this particular morning, was a prayerful cry as he looked up to God at the start of his day.

Let's examine this scripture a little closer. 

"Consider my meditation" ... David is asking God to hear what he is going to say after he meditates with a moment of reflection or thought ... which he doesn't say what that might be in these first three verses.  Whatever it might be, David is saying to the Lord, consider ... meaning, be attentive to it and understand what he is about to say.

"Hearken unto the voice of my cry" ... Listen, attend to, give heed to my cry.  Throughout the Psalms, David often gives a "cry" for help unto the Lord.  And that's not a bad idea either.  When he says he gives voice to his cry, what he is saying is, he calls aloud ... just as he used to hear his sheep's bleating as they followed after their shepherd.

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning" ... This sounds as if David has confidence that God hears his morning cry unto his Lord.  Shouldn't we then also have this same confidence that God will hear us in the morning?

"I will direct my prayer unto thee" ... There is purpose to David's cry.  He doesn't just speak words unto the wind.  He directs his words to God.  The word "direct" in Hebrew, (as I understand it) is "aw-rak"  and means ... to arrange and put in order.
    
I had to smile when I read the first meaning of this word.  It's ... "to set in a row."  My first thought was, I wonder if this is where the phrase, "putting your ducks all in a row" came from?

I have a hard time trying to articulate to the Lord just what it is I'm trying to tell Him or ask of Him.  Maybe David didn't have that problem ... perhaps he was better than I am at putting my words in order, arranging them to make sense.  I'm not always grammatically correct as you can tell from my writing.

But, I have also found out that God can understand what I am trying to say ... as long as my heart is doing the speaking and not just my head.

And then David says ... "and will look up."  Honestly, I don't get too excited about the original meaning of this phrase.  It means to ... "peer into the distance."  The next two meanings are better ... by implication they can mean, "to observe and await."   Usually after we pray, we just wait.

But it's the third description that sets my spirit free.  This is how I see David.  When he looks up, it is to ... "behold, to keep the watch, to wait for, and the last one ... to look up well."  The word "well" speaks of ... intimately, closely and profitably.

David's cry ... in the morning ... at the break of day, was to draw as intimately and as close to his Lord as possible.  All those mornings in the fields as a shepherd boy must have helped shape David's heart like the heart of his Shepherd, his Lord and God.  He never saw the Shepherd of his soul with his physical eyes.  But he did say ... "in the morning, I will look up ... well."  That's to God.

So ... even though I don't get up at dawn, at the first light of day like I used to when I was younger; now when I rise in the morning, I want my first thoughts to be about the Lord and His goodness and mercy which gives me another day to walk with Him ... intimately, closely and profitably.

From the 23rd Psalm, the best known and most beloved of all of David's writings ... not every morning, but often these select words come to mind in the morning ... "He restoreth my soul, I will fear no evil, I shall not want, my cup runneth over, and goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  

"Those that seek me early shall find me."  (Proverbs 8:17)

So Easily

"So easily."  These two words came to my mind today.  By themselves they don't mean very much.  But they are part of an important phrase in a verse of Scripture. 

Usually it's not a good idea to do what I'm going to do ... but, I'm going to take one part of a verse containing these two words out of their scriptural setting.  I feel the setting and context they are in ... except for one point ... won't be needed with this subject matter.  I don't believe by doing so, any harm will come to the Holy Scriptures. 

These two words, "so easily" are embedded as a figurative implant right in the middle of Hebrews 12:1 ...

"... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us ..."

Notice I have highlighted in bold print only these two words.  But actually, every word probably needs to be in bold print.  The words I extracted from this verse of scripture, could become one of the most important words of instruction that ... all believers ... need to receive for themselves and follow.

Let me start with this one point that the author of Hebrews portrayed for us in the setting of this chapter ... we are in a race.  But I don't run as much or as fast as I used to.  I'm down to a walk now days.  Even so, I'm still headed for the finish line.

The first thing we are instructed to do is to ... "lay aside every weight" ... which means any burden you carry or anything that becomes a hindrance to you.  Before a race, a runner lays aside, or as it means here, he "casts off" and removes anything which would impede his effort to win his race. 

Whatever it may be, we are exhorted to lay it aside.  What do you carry around with you?  The responsibility to feed your family, lingering childhood hurts, guilt, fear of disease or looming death.  Perhaps being worried or fearful concerning things about the welfare of your children or grand-children.  That hits real close to home with me.

Next it says to lay aside ... "the sin which doth so easily beset us." 

Notice it doesn't say, "if" you have sin.  The author of Hebrews is being honest with you.  Be honest with yourself.  We sin.  And some sins, beset us easier than others.  There is something born naturally in our flesh, some natural tendency or propensity, a disposition to behave in a certain way, a strong inherent inclination to yield to whatever personal temptation you were born with.

By ... "the sin which doth so easily beset us" ... we need to understand that sin to be, the one to which we are most prone, or to which we are most exposed, from habit or circumstances.  And it may be more than one.  Also, be it what it will, if a man's sin remains unsubdued, it will hinder him from running the race, and it can even take away his motive for running the race.

Vincent's Word Studies says the word "beset" as translated, is a good rendering meaning ... to surround.  Vincent gives the example how sin can easily encircle and entangle the Christian runner, as if it were a long, loose robe clinging to his limbs, which causes him to stumble.

So, we know there are two things to be cast off ... every weight or burden that would occupy our heart causing us to take our eyes off the finish line. 

And then there's the sin problem. 

Every man has one or more weak points in his character where he is exposed to sin.  Each one of us have certain problems, things, or should I just say it ... sins ... that we struggle with.  Repented of and prayed over; yes ... and yet there they still are.  Washed by the blood of Jesus?  Yep, you sure are.  If you have tried to cast them off by yourself, tried to lay them aside on your own ... you've probably failed.  Let Jesus help empower you to do it. 
 
I'm not sure how many times I have quoted Nicholas Herman, the seventeenth century Carmelite monk from French Lorraine, known as Brother Lawrence ... but I'm going to again.  Concerning this very subject, he spoke some words of wisdom 400 years ago when he said ...

"We should seek to learn the sins that do most easily beset us and the times and occasions, when we do most often fall."

Know who you are and what you are.  I know faith teachers don't like it when I say we are just saved sinners trying to keep our bodies of flesh under control ... but that seems to be the truth.

I believe Paul speaks to this when he said in Romans 7:24 ... "O wretched man that I am."  And in the same vain, 1st Peter 4:18 reads ... "And if the righteous scarcely be saved ...?" 

Can we "lay aside" the weight and the sin we carry?  We are told to, aren't we.  To do that we must follow the directive given in Proverbs 4:23 ...

"Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."  (Amplified Bible)

Blessings dear ones ...