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In Acts 14:16, Paul continues to speak following, these astonishing reactions to his preaching. God has let the nations go their own ways, but in the world there has always been a witness to His Goodness. God has given you rain. God has given you crops and food and JOY. Paul speaks about our Creator God. There is no other book in the world where such a succinct accurate explanation is given. There is no other book which gives us an accurate detailed reliable account of Creation.

Let me share this personal comment with you. For over 20 years I have studied the…  ( Click for more )

We are reading in Acts 14, where Paul preaches in Lystra and there is a man sitting there listening to Paul preaching - a man who is a cripple. He has never walked.

Paul saw faith growing in this man. Faith was transforming him. Paul reached that point where he called out - "Stand up on your feet!" - and, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, "the gods have come down to us in human form." This was not a strange concept to these people. This was part of their culture. They gave them names of Greek gods, and…  ( Click for more )

We read in Acts 14:8 that following the uproar in Iconium, Paul and Barnabas moved on to Lystra. No matter how arduous the ministry was, they never considered giving up. There was no 'burn out' with these apostles. They were soaked and saturated in the anointing power of the Holy Spirit. Now if there is 'a secret' that is it.

As you go through these studies, let me ask you - are you soaked and saturated with the anointing power of the Holy Spirit? It was 36 years ago that I experienced the risen and living Jesus baptising me in the Holy Spirit…  ( Click for more )

Acts Chapter 14. Paul and Barnabas are apostles - men sent by Jesus Christ - as missiles of the Holy Spirit - targeting sin, sickness and darkness - and the devil - and seeking to meet the many needs which faced them.

These disciples of Jesus are leaders who are exercising an apostolic ministry. Apostles are important men in the Church of Jesus Christ - they are like architects. They help build The Church. They are concerned with the overall design of the Church. What is God using you to build for Him? Or what is He presently building in your personal life?

The…  ( Click for more )

There were times when Barnabas and Paul had to move on because some people wanted to kill them and their work for God was not over. In Acts 13,14, they are experiencing what Jesus said His disciples would face, and this is never easy. This is not nice and some may even recoil from the very thought of physical suffering, but in our world today, many thousands of men and women are suffering sorely because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Learn about some of the things they are going through.

There were occasions when people sought to kill Jesus and He just quietly slipped away,…  ( Click for more )

We are in Acts 14 and we have been reading of Paul and Barnabas being opposed and persecuted as consequence of their ministry in the Name of Jesus and in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Prophets - preachers - persecutors - will all one day appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.

What we have done in this situation with people like that around? Run away and give up?

Paul decides to remain a little longer and to preach boldly for the Lord, and Jesus honoured this decision by giving them power to do signs and wonders.

Iconium was divided in the same…  ( Click for more )

We have been reading in Acts 13 of Paul and Barnabas preaching and ministering at Antioch in modern day Turkey. People came to believe in Jesus Christ, and others caused trouble and pain for these apostles. Yes, there was a harvest, but there was also strong opposition and they had to move on to Iconium, and there, these two men of God return to the synagogue and speak about Jesus Christ to those gathered.

They were so effective that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against…  ( Click for more )

Acts 13:50. Paul and Barnabas have been preaching and speaking with people in Antioch in modern Turkey. We have the content of his message as he spoke about Israel, Jesus and then directly to those individuals present. Some warmed to The Word and came to believe.

But opposition arose. Paul and Barnabas have only been there for ten days or so and opposition arises, not because of what was preached but on this occasion, because of jealousy, and the popularity of Barnabas and Paul. Persecution was stirred up, and Paul and Barnabas are expelled from this region. …  ( Click for more )

In Acts 13:42, after Paul had preached at length and we have the content of his preaching there was a positive response. We would like to hear you again on this next Sabbath. Come again. We invite you to speak further. These people were interested.

There was much conversation, and discussion. Paul and Barnabas urged them to continue in the grace of God. Here from the very start we see how disciples are taught to persevere. Perseverance is mentioned early on in Paul first outreach.

Verse 44. There was quite an attendance the next Sabbath, and the main…  ( Click for more )

We begin in Acts 13:24. Before the coming of Jesus Christ, John preached repentance and baptism. These are two vital areas where faith and salvation are concerned. No matter how powerful and effective a ministry John had, he was not the promised one. John pointed to the One who was to come after him - namely Jesus.

This message of salvation, of being rescued from sin, is to us and for us - Jews and Gentiles.

Paul speaks in this passage about Jesus being executed, referring to the cross, and this whole activity being illegal. But God raised Jesus Christ from…  ( Click for more )

We were reading of how Barnabas and Paul on this first mission - this first outreach - this first venture into totally fresh territory for Jesus Christ - preached in Pisidian Antioch, and from Acts 13:16 we are given the text and content of Paul's message.

We have what God gave him to proclaim - the first vital elements - when preaching in a Jewish setting - in the synagogue - but with Gentiles present too - people like us who realised the Jews had something of God which was real. These Gentiles are interested, hungry and seeking God. Verse 19. Paul begins by speaking…  ( Click for more )

Acts 13. Antioch, in central Turkey, was on the main road from Europe to Asia. On the day of worship, these two men of God, Barnabas and Paul, looked for the place where the Jewish people would be meeting to worship and to read The Word of God.

These two men go into the synagogue to worship and pray and hear God's Word. They go to the place, which had rejected Jesus. The Jews may have rejected Jesus. They may have rejected what God was doing in the world, but God had not rejected them, and God will never reject them. Paul and Barnabas are a sign of this.

Every…  ( Click for more )

We are in Acts 13 and studying the strategy of Paul and Barnabas as they were thrust out into modern Turkey by the living God. They are preaching and sowing seed just as Jesus Christ did and Jesus commanded them (and us too) to do.

On the Cross, when Jesus Christ hung and died, no more meaningful seed has ever been sown, and what a harvest three days later when this same Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And what a harvest some seven weeks later when 3,000 people came to believe that He was the Saviour, the Lord, the Son of God. It is the Risen Jesus who says to His disciples…  ( Click for more )

We are reading Acts 13, where we left our missionary friends, Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus.

Now, they sail north from Cyprus, over to the mainland, to Perga, and then they travel up-country and inland to Antioch in Pisidia. The Name of Jesus Christ is about to be preached and proclaimed, where it has never before been preached.

We call Paul and Barnabas 'missionaries'. The word missionary means "sent one" from which we get 'missile'. They are missiles - Christian missiles - missiles sent in the Love of God into the world.

The Word also means - "to send…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 13:9, we read of Saul being filled with the Holy Spirit as he confronts Elymas who is opposing Saul. Elymas had been involved in the occult. Knowing how to be filled with the Holy Spirit is so essential for all types of ministry in The Kingdom of God, and if we are filled with The Holy Spirit there is no room for other things to get in.

Saul looks Elymas straight in the eye - "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right. You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery!" That is plain talking. It also happened to be true. "The hand…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 13 we read that Saul and Barnabas travelled across Cyprus to Paphos, where they are invited into the governor's palace, and Sergius Paulus, a wise man, desired to hear The Word of God.

What a door of opportunity - but they also ran straight into trouble. The two often go together.

A sorcerer - a spiritualist - a false prophet - a renegade Jew - called Elymas - had the opportunity of obeying God. He knew something of the Word of God, but he opposes the men of God, and tries to obstruct Barnabas and Saul.

He wants to keep the preachers away from the…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 13, Saul and Barnabas, having been called by God and set apart by the fellowship at Antioch, sail for Salamis in Cyprus. They have young John Mark with them as an apprentice. This became the normal pattern. Two men go out together to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach the Word of God, and they take a younger man with them so that he can observe and learn from the more mature men of God. This is how we learn to minister.

We can learn some things in the Colleges and Universities, but normally we only begin to learn how to minister in the love of Jesus…  ( Click for more )

A Famine of the Word of God (Amos 8.11-12)

Amos' preaching proved too much for Amaziah, priest of Bethel. In fact he was so disturbed that he "invited" Amos to leave the country. Hear his words to Amos: "Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread and there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the royal residence." (Amos 7.12-13).

But Amaziah was not the only one who did not appreciate the message that Amos had for Israel. The greedy men of Israel observed the feast days and the Sabbaths,…  ( Click for more )

We have spent some considerable time looking in detail at the significance of these five men spending time Worshipping, Praying and Fasting in the opening words of Acts 13. There is good reason for doing so because God speaks, and that Prayer Meeting becomes a major turning point for the local fellowship at Antioch and also for the Church of Jesus Christ - and ultimately for the world. These men knew when to say 'NO' and when to say 'YES'.

When a group of spiritually minded people meet to do business with God, anything can happen. Also, we need to be reminded that…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 13 we continue to study various aspects of leadership and how men of God respond positively to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Saul was under the authority of the other elders. Saul was submitted to the authority of the others.

Nobody is allowed to run around the Church of Jesus Christ doing what he or she wants. We are subject to those over us. That is why some rebel. Some want to do what they like, when they like, and at a time that suits them. The Church of Jesus Christ allows no such selfishness. We come under the authority of Jesus, as we place ourselves…  ( Click for more )

We are spending time studying leadership as we read these opening words in Acts 13.

Consider for a moment Moses in the wilderness, leading two and a half million men and women and children for 40 years, being led by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. When you see the pillar move - you move.

Can you imagine Moses thinking or even saying, "Lord, can You not just tell me Your Plans for the next month? Lord, show me Your Diary! And the reply comes, "No - just keep your eye on the pillar." He is led safely and securely - sheltered by day…  ( Click for more )

Through prayer and fasting these five spiritual leaders in Acts 13 become more sensitive to the prompting and leading and guidance of The Holy Spirit. God wants to direct The Church in a very specific way at this time. These men of God knew how to control their appetites and their physical desires. They were strong enough to control themselves. They were not men who could be easily influenced by external situations and circumstances. They were not men who were easily influenced by flimsy fashions and changing ideas and ideologies and philosophies.

They knew how to…  ( Click for more )

When these five leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ in Antioch, in Acts 13, meet together in worship, prayer and fasting, God speaks, saying, "Send out two of your best men into the world. Release two of your men. Yes, I know you only have five - release two - let them go - don't hold on to them." That is very seldom easy.

They were hearing from God as they worshipped and fasted and prayed, and they shared what they heard, and they did what God asked them to do.

This is how The Word of God flows into the world. We come to hear what GOD has to say, and then…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 13 we read of five men, meeting in Antioch. They are leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ in Antioch. They are pastors - elders - overseers - bishops - all the same word. These 'titles' are interchangeable in the New Testament. Now to understand this is vital. A Pastor is an Overseer - an Elder and Bishop - or, a Foreman.

Resulting from misunderstanding and inaccurate translation and use of words we have constructed denominations. This is not a minor matter. It is not some superficial issue.

These five men are praying and fasting - five men from very…  ( Click for more )