Lesson 351

(Lesson 351)(07-31-12) Acts 5:1-11, "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things."

This lesson deals with those so small minded as to try to deceive God. Just as Ananias and Sapphira, there are millions, claiming the Christian mantle today, who seem to have forgotten that God is omniscient, He knows every thing that happens, everywhere in the universe at any given nano-second. NO man/woman will EVER be able to deceive Him.
There are those who try, in their daily dealings with others, to do the same thing Ananias and Sapphira tried. As Ananias was told, he was NOT required to give all he had, he could have kept half, or all of it. No problem! The sin was NOT in the amount he gave the sin was in the deceit, he wanted to leave the impression that he was doing more than what he actually did.
That practice, sadly, is alive and well today. Many "good Christian people" want to leave the outward appearance that they are true blue super glue, but in reality they are filled with guile, consciously,and daily, they conspire to deceive others while trying to deceive God Himself.
If one can live with the "little white lie", one can just as easily be persuaded to tolerate the great lie.
Matt. 22:37-39, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
If we simply accept God's saving grace, put Him first in all things, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we'll never have to want for anything. ~

Lesson 350

(Lesson 350)(07-30-12) Acts 4:29-37, "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.] And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,] Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet."

In this lesson, the Apostles prayed for strengthening after which the ground shook. They then established a Christian commune, each surrendering everything they owned, and dividing the goods as they were needed.
The key to the success of this first commune, was it's common want to serve the purpose of the gospel of our redeemer.
There is much political discussion today about whether or not we as Christians, should be our brother's keepers, and whether we should give of what we have to support the needs of those less fortunate. As it pertains to those of us who are indeed Christian, we, by this very lesson, are indeed our brothers keepers. (The lame man healed by the Holy Ghost through Peter and John is an excellent example.)
Jesus said that our giving would cost us nothing but would only increase our wealth, He promised that those of us who give all will receive one hundred times what we gave. Mark 10:29-30, "And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."
Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if there were enough concentrated fervent prayer so as to make the ground to shake?~~

Lesson 349

(Lesson 349)(07-29-12) Acts 4:21-28, "So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."

Seeing that the miracle, Peter and John, through the power of the Holy Ghost, had performed (Causing the lame man to walk), could not easily be explained away, and finding no other fault with them, the Jewish leadership finally decided to threaten the Apostles then allow them to go free. After seeing the power of God at work through Jesus crucified, the people celebrated, praising God, and uplifting the name of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.~

Lesson 348

(Lesson 348)(07-28-12) Acts 4:13-20, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

The Jewish leadership, fearing that the divine message of Peter and John would lead to the loosening of their grip on the Hebrew nations, plotted how they would rid themselves of the Apostles before they could spread the good news of redemption by the grace of God.
They referred to Peter and John as, "unlearned and ignorant men", yet they greatly feared the power of the Apostle's message, and marveled at the awesome power, demonstrated through them, by the Holy Ghost.
They ordered Peter and John to stop preaching the name of Jesus Christ, to which the Apostles answered, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
Although some of us who attempt to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ may be deemed "unlearned and ignorant", we all should be even more determined and continue to "speak the things" that Peter and John spoke.~

Lesson 347

(Lesson 347)(07-27-12) Acts 4:5-12, "And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

In this lesson, members of the Jewish leadership question Peter and John about how, and by what power they had healed the lame man. Peter told them the power came from the very Jesus they had crucified, "by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole."
Peter, denouncing Jewish law and tradition said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."~

Lesson 346

(Lesson 346)(07-26-12) Acts 4:1-4, "And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand."

This short lesson demonstrates the beginning of the oppression suffered by the early Church at the hands of the Jewish hierarchy. Because of the miracle they had performed, these disciples were locked up overnight. The harassment would become much worse as those who believed began to spread the gospel of Christ Jesus through the tribes of Israel.
It is amazing that in one day, in one reasonably small place, simply by demonstrating one miracle of faith, five thousand souls were saved.
Imagine what we could do today if all of us who believe had the strength of faith that those disciples had, and would take the time to spread the good news of redemption through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, the operations of God.~

Lesson 345

(Lesson 345)(07-25-12) Acts 3:24-26, "Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."

In this very short lesson, there is some very important information. Note, again, that Peter is speaking only to a Jewish audience, "Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." We see here that the gospel was plainly intended for first the Jews, "Unto you first", and then to all of mankind.
Notice too that herein, for the first time during the construction of the biblical record, people other than Jews are mentioned as receivers of the gospel, "And in thy seed shall all the KINDREDS OF THE EARTH be blessed.".
The Apostle Paul had not, at this point, made his appearance in the bible record. As all of us, who have made any attempt at studying the bible, now know, Paul was personally appointed by Jesus Himself to deliver the gospel to the Gentiles, Acts 6:46-47, "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. 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.."
The Gentiles are among, "the kindreds of the earth, who shall be blessed by the coming of Jesus Christ through His Hebrew heritage.
This mention, "in thy seed", allows for the coming of Paul, seeing that he too, was a Jew, a "seed" of Abraham.~