stoneshms.jpg - 54764 Bytes
Our Priority,

Our Philosophy,

Our Position,

Our Programs,

Our Physical LocationOutside Links-

Baptist Bastion,

Books and Bibles Online,

HomeSchool Sailor,

Fundamentally Basic,

Religions & Cults,

More Christian ResourcesSupported Missions,

Other Missions,

World Church DirectoryRecent Additions to Our Site
Home PageSermons in Type,

Sermons on Tape,

Doctrinal WritingsOur Pastor,

Our PeopleAsk the Pastor,

Pastors Pen Online,

Memorization,

Daily Devotions
galley.gif - 2962 Bytes
......................
Ask the Pastor
......................
red_tri.gif - 202 Bytes Pastor's Pen
......................
Memorization
......................


Quick Links
clear.gif - 808 Bytes
clear.gif - 808 BytesOur Priorities
clear.gif - 808 BytesOur Constitution
clear.gif - 808 BytesOur Pastor
clear.gif - 808 BytesOur Programs
clear.gif - 808 BytesOur Location
clear.gif - 808 BytesOur Missionaries

......................
Favorites
clear.gif - 808 Bytes
clear.gif - 808 BytesGoogle Search
clear.gif - 808 BytesAsk the Pastor
clear.gif - 808 BytesDoctrinal Writings
clear.gif - 808 BytesFresh Supplies

......................

Thank you for visiting. Please send spiritual comments to Pastor's Pen

......................

Please e-mail all other comments to WindJammer

......................

Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
clear.gif - 808 Bytes
clear.gif - 808 Bytes clear.gif - 808 Bytes
Pastor's Pen - November 17, 2007
clear.gif - 808 Bytes pp.gif - 1611 Bytes clear.gif - 808 Bytes

November 17, 2007

Acts 11-13
Click above for full KJV Online

Thought for the day: previous - - - - - - - - - - - - next
Following Scripture Verses
Click above to go directly to TFD


Acts
Chapter 11
  1. And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
  2. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
  3. Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
  4. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
  5. I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
  6. Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
  7. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
  8. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
  9. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
  10. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
  11. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
  12. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:
  13. And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
  14. Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
  15. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
  16. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
  17. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
  18. When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
  19. Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
  20. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
  21. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
  22. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
  23. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
  24. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
  25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
  26. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
  27. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
  28. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
  29. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
  30. Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.


Back to Top


Acts
Chapter 12
  1. Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
  2. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
  3. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
  4. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
  5. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
  6. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
  7. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
  8. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
  9. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
  10. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
  11. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
  12. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
  13. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
  14. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
  15. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
  16. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
  17. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
  18. Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
  19. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
  20. And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
  21. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
  22. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
  23. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
  24. But the word of God grew and multiplied.
  25. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.


Back to Top


Acts
Chapter 13
  1. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
  2. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
  3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
  4. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
  5. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
  6. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
  7. Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
  8. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
  9. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
  10. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
  11. And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
  12. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
  13. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
  14. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
  15. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
  16. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
  17. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
  18. And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
  19. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
  20. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
  21. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
  22. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
  23. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
  24. When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
  25. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
  26. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
  27. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
  28. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
  29. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
  30. But God raised him from the dead:
  31. And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
  32. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
  33. God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
  34. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
  35. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
  36. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
  37. But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
  38. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
  39. And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
  40. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
  41. Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
  42. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
  43. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
  44. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
  45. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
  46. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
  47. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
  48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
  49. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
  50. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
  51. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
  52. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.


Back to Top


Thought for the day:
You may click on verses for Scripture


 After the death of Stephen there was a great persecution of the saints in Jerusalem. Because of this the believers scattered throughout the surrounding cities and countries. As they went, they preached the Gospel. This in and of itself is marvelous for two reasons. First of all, it would seem that people who were on the run would not have or take the time to preach. They would normally be more concerned about security, finding employment, and acquiring the items necessary to provide for their families. Yet that is not what happened here. In addition, since these people were fleeing because of their Christian testimony, it would seem logical that they would not go to the next town and immediately announce that they were Christians! However, it seems clear that past persecutions and potential persecutions did not stop these people from boldly proclaiming their faith in Christ and the need of those around them to receive Him as well.

 Most of this initial witnessing was to the Jews. Even some believing Jews struggled with the idea that Gentiles could be saved. However, some began to understand that salvation was for all, and they included Gentiles in their outreach. In Antioch many were saved, and as the reports of revival returned to Jerusalem that church sent Barnabas to Antioch to see for himself what the Lord was doing there. There are two items about Barnabas and his ministry in Antioch that we need to notice. First of all, let's look at the character of Barnabas himself. We saw in Acts 4 that he was a generous man who sold property and gave all of it to the Lord's work. Here some more of his traits are revealed. Verse 24 tells us that "he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith". Here are three characteristics of a man that can be used mightily for the Lord. He was said to be good, and the word used there implies an intrinsic goodness. In other words, he didn't just do good things, but he was a good man inwardly as well. He was a sinner just like every other man, but his conversion had changed not only his actions, but his heart as well so that Luke could write under the inspiration of God that he was "good". His second trait was that he was full of the Holy Ghost. It was not that he possessed more of the Holy Spirit than other men did, for all men get all of the Holy Spirit that they ever will at the point of salvation. However, the Spirit clearly had more of Barnabas than He does of most men. Barnabas was being led by the Spirit, and was responding to the Spirit's direction in his life. He was not grieving and quenching Him, but rather obeying Him. The final trait that Barnabas had was that he was full of faith. We are not speaking of saving faith here, but rather of a faith in the promises of God that allows the believer to follow the Lord completely and trust that whatever He decides is right. Barnabas believed what he was teaching, and believed that God would be faithful to His Word. I'm sure that these three traits allowed Barnabas to be used effectively for the Lord. Perhaps we should exam ourselves to see whether or not these traits can be found in us.

 The ministry of Barnabas in Antioch was very simple, but very revealing. According to verse 26 he, and later Paul with him, assembled with the church and taught the church. In verse 23 we see that he exhorted the church, and the theme of his message was that the church people should hang onto the Lord as tightly as they could and not let anything come between them and Him. This is the pastor's job. He is supposed to meet with the church, which certainly implies that the church is present when it is supposed to assemble. Then he is to teach the church what the Bible says. He is also to encourage the church through whatever means necessary to abstain from sin and walk in close fellowship and obedience to the Lord, not just outwardly, but from the heart. Look at what happened when the pastor taught and exhorted and the congregation assembled and listened. According to verse 24 many people got saved, and according to verse 26 the believers started living in such a way that they were referred to as "Christians" which means "followers of Christ".

 This sounds like a great church to me. People are getting saved, and believers are living like Christ. Perhaps if pastors decided to live, believe, and teach like Barnabas, and church members decided to assemble and learn like those in Antioch, Biblical Christianity could see a great revival.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery

 previous - - - - - - - - - - - - next



Return to Top
Return to The Pastor's Pen
Return to The Galley
His Majesty's Service
Home of Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
clear.gif - 808 Bytes