Acts 11:19-12:25 - Outline

Sun Jan 22 11:18:50 PST 2012

“*TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE” MINISTRIES*

*Jim & Marie Watt*

*Tel: 253-517-9195 - Email: jmbetter at gmail.com*

*Web: www.2rbetter.org*

January 22, 2012

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*APR 16 - ACTS 11:19-12:25 - CHURCH: INTENSIFIED TROUBLE*

 *1. 11:23-24 (11:19-24) BARNABAS: STRENGTHENS WORK AT ANTIOCH. “Barnabas,
when he came and saw the grace :of :God, was glad; and he exhorted all to
cleave unto the purpose of their heart in the Lord: 24 because he was a
good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith: and a large crowd was
added to the Lord” (NNT). *What an unusual gifting to the church! Father,
Barnabas was from You in Christ. We bless you for this! *Hallowed be your
:name.*

 *2. 11:25-26 BARNABAS: SEEKS THE HELP OF PAUL. “And he went forth to
Tarsus to seek for Saul; 26 and having found him, he brought him to
Antioch. And it came to pass, both that even for a whole year they were
gathered together in the church and taught a large crowd, and that the
disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” *Now here was a wise
and unselfish action on the part of Barnabas! May we too emulate such
wisdom! *Your :kingdom come.*

 *3. 11:28 (11:27-30) AGABUS: ACCURATELY INFORMS OF COMING FAMINE. “And one
of them Agagus by name stood up and signified by the Spirit that a great
famine would be over all the inhabited earth: which came to pass in
the daysof Claudius.”
*Here is another one of Your giftings, Father. We bless you for Agabus too.
You do *all* things well: You give us just the ministries we need and just
the appropriate time! *Your :will be done, As in heaven, so on earth.*

 *4. 12:5 (12:1-19) PETER: SUPERNATURALLY DELIVERED BY ANGEL. “Peter
therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the
church unto :God for him.” *What exciting and traumatic days were there for
the early church! How Sovereignly and powerfully You worked, Father! But
You are no respecter of *times* or places, and will do *yet more* at the
end of the age. *Our :daily :bread Give us this day!*

 *5. 12:23 (12:20-23) HEROD: JUDGED FOR PRIDE BY ANGEL. “And
immediately theLord's angel struck him, because he gave not :God the
glory: and he was
eaten of worms, and expired.” *My glory I will *not give* to another: this
is what You have said, O Jehovah Father! O let us hear this warning, and
not be as Herod and Hezekiah (2 Chr. 32:31)! *And forgive us our :debts, As
we also have forgiven our :debtors.*

 *6. 12:24 WORD OF GOD: ITS INCREASE! “But the word of the Lord grew and
multiplied.” *What an encouraging word! When we work with and under Your
leadership, Father, then we see *Your* results. You in Christ do
*all*things well. When we do
*our* thing, we get but meager results. We choose to do *Your thing*! *And
bring us not into temptation!*

 *7. 12:25 BARNABAS, SAUL AND JOHN MARK. “And Barnabas and Saul returned
when they had fulfilled their ministration Jerusalemward, having taken
along John :surnamed Mark.” *How good it is that the various city churches
sent relief to one another in times of need! We have no doubt that
*You*inspired this Father, for you are aware of
*all* things! *But deliver us from the evil one!*

 *NOTE**: 12:11 (12:1-19) PETER ACKNOWLEDGES GOD'S DELIVERANCE. “And when
:Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know truly, that the Lord has
sent forth his :angel and delivered me out of Herod's hand and from all the
expectation of the people of the Jews.” *This was a most supernatural
deliverance. These things are always common through You Father, when our
faith is high.

 The Book of Acts is often titled by scholars as follows: “The Book of the
Acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles: specifically Peter and Paul.”
It's long - but accurate and descriptive. It also brings out clearly to us
the 3rd Person of the Tri-unity of the Godhead. We see Him in a true
function in 2 Corinthians 13:14 - *“The grace (CHAris) of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love (aGApe) of God, and the fellowship (koi-noNIa) of the
Holy Spirit be with you all.”*

 It is proper that Paul should end this letter with this ascription to the
Holy Spirit. For all through 2 Corinthians and the Book of Acts we see
Fellowship or koi-n*o*NIa exhibited! Notice in Acts 2:42 that one of the
four main practices of the early believers from the example of the
apostles, was their fellowship or koi-n*o*NIa! It was the Holy Spirit
through the apostles setting forth this example to the early church. No
wonder Jesus told the 12 that it was *better* for Him to go away - so that
the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, would *then* come to take
His place. And he added - *“It is better that He be in you - than I be withyou!”
*

 So those who wish they lived when Jesus walked on earth are missing
something! We today - are better off than those - for we like the apostles
now have the privilege of the Holy Spirit *in* us - as they!

 “Rees Howells, Intercessor” by Norman P. Grubb - sets forth the unique
ministry of the Holy Spirit following the Ascension of Christ. Then look at
Romans 8:26-27 (8:26-30) *“And in like manner the Spirit also helps our
:infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself
intercedes mightily for **us **with groanings unutterable; **27** and who
searches the hearts knows what **is** the mind of the Spirit, because he
intercedes for **the** saints according to God.” *This is a window of
insight for us to see the inner working of the Holy Spirit within the life
of each believer.

 And what can enhance the working of the Holy Spirit within our lives? Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:18-19 (14:1-19) *“I thank :God I speak with a
tongue **more than you all**: **19** but in church I would **rather** speak
five words with my :understanding that I might instruct others also, than
ten thousand words in a tongue.” *Paul in his private devotions spoke
*more*in a tongue than any other believer. Smith Wigglesworth of
England followed
his example in the last century. But in church meetings Paul preferred
edifying the congregation through words from his understanding. In 1
Corinthians 14:2 Paul explains that who speaks in a tongue *speaks to God*,
not men - and such communication from the human spirit is speaking *
mysteries*!

 Some 27 times in the NT this word “mystery” appears. It takes revelation
of the Spirit to perceive and understand these mysteries - and those who
use a tongue in their private devotions - greatly enhance their ability to
more completely understand the many NT mysteries!

 Some will undoubtedly say - “But I don't see such gifts for today, not for
me in particular.” I understand this is the teaching we receive in most
Evangelical churches. *But* - does such teaching truly accord to what the
Bible itself is teaching? I have copied out the NT in English and Greek a
number of times, and completely outlined it sentence by sentence -
gathering these summaries into paragraphs and sections or chapter
equivalents. And truly, I have found that we should let the Bible mean what
*it* wants to mean (not necessarily church teaching) - and let God say what
*He* wants to say! To check the Greek Aorist tense for “gave” and “set” in
Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28 completely settled this problem for
me, and I believe can do the same for any other sincere and diligent
seeker. From a sincere friend - who desires to be truly helpful to all
fellow-believers.

 And finally - our Psalm for the day: *106:23 (106:1-48) GIVE THANKS TO THE
LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD” (ESV). “Therefore he said he would destroy them - had
not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his
wrath from destroying them.” *Who has ever thought that intercession was
dispensable? Prayer *counts*! Intercession *works*! Father, work in our
hearts the truth that You are a *great* God, and that You work through us
abundantly above all we can ask or think when we pray, and allow the Holy
Spirit to intercede through us! *Hallowed be your :name!*

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