For years and centuries, the enemy of souls has sought to manipulate the minds of mankind so that they worship and honor creatures more than the Creator. (Romans 1:25) The Apostle John in his first epistle chapter two verses 16 writes to us that the pride of the world does not come from the Father. (1 John 2:16) Today we must be aware that the enemy comes with the same intentions of confusion and manipulation, but with different strategies. When our Lord Jesus Christ was in the wilderness, the enemy came to Him and offered Him the kingdoms of the earth and Jesus. Using the Word “it is written,” confronted Satan and temptations. The moment and time in which we live today is manifested with a generation that moves with shows, lights, and smoke screen. (Luke 4:5; 7) People in their existential need, empty hearts, who are not satisfied with anything, in short, far from God, are continually looking for the next icon to whom to give glory rather than give it to the Creator of all. Through the Word today we will see how Paul and Barnabas focus on their call to share the gospel, how they respond to a need, and see how the apostles handled the situation at the time when the people tried to worship as gods. In other words, how the people confused the messenger with the message. The question we must answer is why they confused the messenger with the message. Why couldn’t they see it? How does this apply to us when we are the messengers or, when we are the ones who receive the message?
Not long ago I discovered that I am a highly sensitive person (HSP)[1] which means I process information and experiences in a different way than most people.[2] I am a deep thinker and tend to linger on things that I’m experiencing, often responding internally in an emotional way. Though it may not be apparent, I am deeply moved by these experiences and respond emotionally. At times things can be overwhelming. According to statistics one in five persons are born this way[3], and about fifty percent are men.[4] It feels weird for a me to realize this because it goes against the traditional view of men. We are told that men are rational and not emotional. Men don’t express feelings. Man don’t cry and if they do, they don’t do in public ever. When was the last time you heard a man asking another, “How are you feeling today?” We have been conditioned to avoid this. As much as we want to say that this is ok to ignore how we feel, we know it isn’t. We don’t have to believe this cultural idea. This is a genetic and innate trait according to those who have done the research.[5] However, this doesn’t mean that only this particular group is emotionally expressive.
When I learned this, it helped me understand myself, the way God has designed me. One of my favorite books in the Bible since I was young is the book of Psalms. It is now clear why. I believe David, the courageous king warrior who when he was young killed Goliath the giant, who wrote most of the Psalms which where songs and poems to God, was a highly sensitive person. I have no real evidence, but this is what I think from my reading the Psalms many times.
David wasn’t afraid to express his feelings and emotions to God. Here are few examples of the many found in the book of Psalms.
In Psalm 56:8 he says, “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded everyone in your book.” (TLB). David cried a lot, especially when he was in difficult situations. He trusted God would deliver him.
In Psalm 42:5 David tells himself the state of his inner being, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” He is expressing his depressive mood and directs himself to God who can give him hope. In Psalms 143:4 David says, “my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.” In verse 7 he says, “my spirit fails!” David expresses his feelings to God and calls on God to answer him quickly.
Being sensitive, taking things to heart and expressing our feelings as a man isn’t something that we should feel ashamed or restricted because of cultural expectations. After all, we are humans made in the image of God; we reflect his emotive attributes not just the rational ones. This is how God has designed us and we should feel free to express our heart in the presence of others who are close to us and/or before God. What we feel and express may not always be correct, but it isn’t wrong when we admit them to God. King David did, and so should we.
[1] Called Sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) in the research. See https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1135440/full
[2] According to Elaine N. Aron author of The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms you”. The traits are depth processing, overstimulation, empathy and sensing.
[3] The Handbook for Highly Sensitive Persons by Mel Collins.
[4] See “Tips for highly sensitive men” Esther Bergsma is the author of The Brain of the Highly Sensitive Person which deals with the research done on the way the brain works in HSPs.
[5] See https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1135440/full
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How to deal with these difficult situations? In today’s passage we saw that even though the church, the Christians, had already enjoyed some time without being persecuted for their faith, this was not the case with some of them. During the persecution instigated by Saul or Paul, the entire church had fled except for the apostles. They stayed in Jerusalem. But all was not well for everyone, especially for Jacob and Peter. In this passage we look at how God gives us His security during difficult times whatever they may be, and of any size. There are three assurances that He gives us.
The Lord has begun to form a multi-ethnic and multilingual church. But this is the beginning. The task of taking the gospel is not just to those here and the county who need to listen and re-listen until God touches them and brings them to his feet (as there are some of you this morning that’s still resisting the call of salvation) but to the ends of the earth. The church, which is us, must be obedient and take this message to these people. The question should not be, “Is it me Lord?” But “Where do you want me to go Lord and when?” We are all called to go and make disciples.
How did Christianity (the movement of Christians who carry the message of salvation everywhere they go) or the church born (and grown) outside the confines of Judaism and spread to other ethnic groups? What does it teach us in our work as messengers of Christ? What does it teach us as a church here? There are five elements that helped to give birth and form Christianity.
It’s normal when we think about those who need to know Christ, to think about the people who are in our circle or who are in our culture. It is difficult to think of others who are in other countries that we do not know.
The truth is that the gospel, the good news of Salvation in Christ began with the Jews. Our Lord, who was a Jew, came to His own but his own did not receive Him as their Messiah or Savior. It was after the Lord rose from the dead and ascended to heaven that his disciples announced this good news to the Jewish people. And the church was born. The early years it was mostly a church composed of Jews. Up to this point, the Gospel has been officially presented only to Jews, half Jews (the Samaritans of Acts 8) but not to Gentiles. But this changes after this passage.
What this passage teaches us is that the gospel is for everyone regardless of ethnic, cultural, or linguistic background. Everyone needs to hear the good news of salvation. Peter, as the leader the Lord chose to help found the church, receives a mission from the Lord in an extraordinary way. This mission involves a Roman centurion to whom God has manifested Himself so that he can hear, receive, and believe the gospel. This will open the doors of the gospel to everyone regardless of ethnic, cultural, or linguistic background.
As we learn from Peter doing the work of God, let’s ask ourselves, “Am I doing the work of God?” It doesn’t have to match Peter’s exactly. Another question related to this can be, “Am I hindering the work of God?” This can also be happening. In our previous study we looked at Saul’s conversion and the impact it had on the church. While he goes to train, the focus is once again on Peter. We will see Him actively doing God’s work. Jesus told Peter that He would give him the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 16:19). This meant that Peter would be a key person in the establishment of Christ’s church. It was Peter who preached to the Jews at Pentecost in Acts 2 and who confirmed the Samaritans in Acts 8 as part of the church. In this passage we find him dealing with three specific people: Aeneas, Dorcas, and Cornelius. The latter is very significant because it deals for the first time with Gentiles receiving the gospel. After this the church will be established and Peter will no longer be the key figure in the book of Acts.
A muchos de nosotros nos desanima ver el estado de nuestro mundo, especialmente en referencia al mal. A nuestros ojos, parece que el mal va de aumento. Por donde quiera que miramos, hay maldad y parece que aumento más y más. Esto nos puede llevar a deprimirse, a ser negativos, y tener malas actitudes. El pesimismo puede llegar a apoderarse de nosotros.
Esto nos lleva a mucho a orar “Venga tu reino”. Deseamos que el Señor venga a reinar y establezca la justicia divina. Lo que vivimos nosotros no es tan diferente a lo que experimentaron los que escucharon al Señor cuando anduvo predicando. Israel esperaba al Mesías que les rescataría de la opresión de los romanos. La historia de Israel está repleta de opresión y destierro debido a su desobediencia. Cuando el Señor vino y se presentó como el Mesías, El Salvador de Israel, no fue recibido como tal. Los seguidores comunes, le seguían por los milagros que hacía pero no porque realmente creían que era el Salvador.
Esto llevó al Señor a compartir historias o parábolas que enseñan sobre su reino durante ese tiempo hasta que se establezca. Este tiempo es el tiempo llegó a ser el tiempo de la Iglesia. Este tiempo durará hasta que se cumpla el tiempo de los Gentiles (Rom. 11:25)
¿Cuánto tiempo debemos esperar hasta que el Señor venga y establezca su reino? No lo sabemos. Pero debemos entender lo que el Señor enseño acerca de su reino. En este pasaje encontramos tres de las ocho parábolas sobre el reino que Dios que nos enseñan lo que está sucediendo actualmente hasta que venga sea completamente realizado.
La primer historia o parábola sobre el trigo y la cizaña nos muestra como el reino de Dios opera dentro de un mundo malvado y cómo separará los creyentes y los no creyentes cuando el Señor venga a juzgar el mundo. La segunda sobre el grano de mostaza nos muestra sobre su crecimiento progresivo y la tercera sobre la levadura sobre la influencia subversiva del reino de Dios. El reino de Dios no es insignificante. El reino de Dios está activo hoy en la vida De la Iglesia de Cristo. Entender lo que está sucediendo nos dará esperanza, ánimo, y seguridad hasta que el Señor venga.
Saul, a man who was committed to destroying the Lord’s church, has just been transformed by the power of the risen Christ. He has now been commissioned by the Lord to be His apostle, His servant, His instrument in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus.Here we see his beginning as a servant and proclaimer of Christ.
Saul’s transformation will remind you how God transformed you and how he has called you to fulfill his calling by living a life obedient to Him. God wants to use you to help other believers, especially those who have little faith to establish, encourage, and disciple them.
I was reading this morning Psalm 103 and since it is Father’s Day, verse 13 called my attention. It says,
“As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”
Here is a comparison that we often find in Hebrew poetry. The fact that a father shows compassion called my attention. The word “compassion” can mean tenderness, love or kindness. It is obvious that the passage doesn’t intend to say that all father’s are compassionate, kind or tender. But it does focus on a father who is compassionate, tender, loving and kind. In a patriarchal society such as the Hebrew culture the father had an important role in the family as we can see in the Old Testament. It was a family-centered culture. The father took seriously his God-given role. They were to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord (see Deut. 6). Their role as a father required them to model for them what it meant to fear God. A God-fearing father would understand that his role was also to be a compassionate, tender, loving and kind. He knows his children will make mistakes. Children will make mistakes and since the father knows his children well, he will have compassion on them. Not once but many times. Yes, there is a role a father has in discipline but never to the expense of being compassionate, tender, loving and kind. A good father, a God-fearing father, knows this well. This requires that he not only learns how compassionate God is, but also to know all his children well. This requires spending intentional time with them. A father may do everything help his children be what God wants them to be and yet not have these results. But this shouldn’t make him less compassionate.
God elevates this type of father as one worthy to compare the way He responds to those who fear him. God knows we all are frail and need his compassion. There lies our motivation to be a compassionate father.
I am enjoying this book and agreeing with it (like "yes!", "write on"...laughing that Jesus wouldn't get hired because he was single...silly but prob would be true). There are some parts that uses particular language to describe leadersh...
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