{"id":21043,"date":"2022-04-11T22:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T05:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts_12_11-25-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-04-05T22:52:58","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T05:52:58","slug":"acts_13_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts_13_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater is He who is in You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 13:1-12 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 13:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 13:1 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0 The church at Antioch had a team of prophet-teachers who spoke to the congregation.\u00a0 Notice the diversity on this teaching team: Barnabas was Jewish but grew up in Greek-influenced Cyprus, likely making him a \u201cGrecian Jew\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Simeon, scholars say, was probably black.\u00a0 Lucius was from Cyrene (North Africa).\u00a0 Manaen grew up with King Herod Antipas the tetrarch, which meant he probably came a very wealthy background and was older.\u00a0 Saul, of course, was a \u201cHebrew of Hebrews\u201d (Philippians 3:5) but was also well traveled and from Tarsus (modern day Turkey). \u00a0\u00a0God loves diversity.\u00a0 In fact Jesus\u2019 Church is the largest and most racially, ethnically and culturally diverse family that has ever existed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 13:2 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 2:\u00a0 It was in an environment of worshiping the Lord and fasting that this team of leaders heard the Holy Spirit tell them to send off Barnabas and Saul for a new assignment.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0If you want to hear the Holy Spirit speak, make room for Him through worship and fasting.\u00a0 When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also,\u00a0notice in this passage the power of being intimate with God<\/strong>. Because Barnabas, Saul and their friends valued intimacy with God, they spent time worshipping, praying and fasting (v1). When they were intimate with God through worship, prayer and fasting, that’s when they could hear the Holy Spirit’s voice leading them (v2), have courage to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading (v3), teach and proclaim God’s Word (v1, 5), confront evil and engage in spiritual warfare (v9-11) and lead people to saving faith in Jesus Christ (v12). It all flows from being intimate with God.\u00a0I pray that you would protect your time with God, because your effectiveness as a leader and your security as a Christian flows from your intimacy with your Heavenly Father.<\/strong>\u00a0May you find a way to spend good quality time with God and find Him speaking to you as you worship Him, still yourself in His presence and meditate on His Word.<\/p>\n

\n
Acts 13:3-4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.<\/em>On verses 3-4:\u00a0 Verse 3 says that this team of prophet-teachers sent off Barnabas and Saul.\u00a0 Verse 4 says that the Holy Spirit sent them off.\u00a0 It was both.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you are sent off officially by your church on a ministry assignment, you want to see it as both your church family sending you off and the Holy Spirit sending you off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Also, when you\u2019re making an important decision, take the time to draw near to God and seek His guidance.Acts 13:5-8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-8:\u00a0 According to the New American Commentary, Jewish diviners were looked upon favourably by some Roman officials, who trusted in their powers of divination as well as their knowledge of religious matters due to their Jewish heritage.\u00a0 This diviner called Elymas (and also called Bar-Jesus) is described by Luke as a trickster and a false prophet (v6).\u00a0 Apparently by the time Luke wrote Acts, the word \u201csorcerer\u201d had taken on a negative connotation and had become synonymous with \u201ctrickster\u201d or \u201cdeceiver\u201d, which is why Luke explains his use of the word in verse 8 (\u201cfor that is what his name means\u201d).\u00a0 When the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus asks to hear the preaching of Barnabas and Saul, Elymas tries to discourage him and turn him away from hearing the gospel.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you\u2019re trying to share the message of Jesus with others, do not be surprised if you face opposition.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 13:9-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“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. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-11:\u00a0 Saul, also called Paul, stands up to Elymas\u2019 attempts to lure the proconsul away from the Gospel.\u00a0 \u201cFilled with the Holy Spirit\u201d (v9), Paul boldly calls out Elymas on what he is doing, proclaims that Elymas will go blind temporarily, and Elymas immediately goes blind.\u00a0 In so doing, Paul shows that the power of the Lord is greater than whatever power Elymas was ascribing to.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0The devil is a trickster, a deceiver and an enemy of everything is right.\u00a0 Still, the power of Jesus is greater than the power of the devil and the occult.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 13:12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 12:\u00a0 What convinced the intelligent proconsul to believe in Jesus?\u00a0 It was a combination of solid teaching about Jesus plus seeing the real life power he saw coming from a relationship with Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0May our words and our actions together establish for others a convincing case for the reality that Jesus is alive and that believing in Him is the best thing a person can do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, I declare that You are Lord of all, that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to You.\u00a0 So though I face opposition in my attempts to share Your message with others, may I not be discouraged knowing that greater is He who is in me than He who is in the world.\u00a0\u00a0 Also, thank You that You love diversity and that Your church is the most diverse family in the world.\u00a0 So may I love every person in the skin they\u2019re in and no matter where they come from.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 13:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 13:1 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verse 1:\u00a0 The church at Antioch had a team of prophet-teachers who spoke to the congregation.\u00a0 Notice the diversity on this teaching team: Barnabas was Jewish but grew up in Greek-influenced Cyprus, likely making him a \u201cGrecian Jew\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Simeon, scholars say, was probably black.\u00a0 Lucius was from Cyrene (North Africa).\u00a0 Manaen grew up with King Herod Antipas the tetrarch, which meant he probably came a very wealthy background and was older.\u00a0 Saul, of course, was a \u201cHebrew of Hebrews\u201d (Philippians 3:5) but was also well traveled and from Tarsus (modern day Turkey). \u00a0\u00a0God loves diversity.\u00a0 In fact Jesus\u2019 Church is the largest and most racially, ethnically and culturally diverse family that has ever existed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Acts 13:2 (NIV)
\n2\u00a0\u00a0While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
\n\u00a0
\nOn verse 2:\u00a0 It was in an environment of worshiping the Lord and fasting that this team of leaders heard the Holy Spirit tell them to send off Barnabas and Saul for a new assignment.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0If you want to hear the Holy Spirit speak, make room for Him through worship and fasting.\u00a0 When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21043"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21063,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21043\/revisions\/21063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}