Acts 6

Scripture reading (2 Cor 3:1-3, and 1 Peter 1:24 Isaiah 28:13)

1 Are we beginning to ?a?compliment ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, ?b?letters of praise to give to you? Or do we need to get letters of praise from you?

2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

3 being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, ?1??a?cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ?b?the living God, not on ?c?tablets of stone but on ?d?tablets of ?2??e?human hearts.

Isaiah 28:13

Then the word of the Lord came to them:

“Law after law, law after law,

line after line, line after line,

a little here, a little there,” n

so they go stumbling backwards, (because the Jews in the Northern Kingdom were negative to the Word)

to be broken, trapped, and captured. O (prophecy of the Northern Kingdom Israel being captured by the Assyrians, due to there rejection of the Word of God)

\

All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory u like a flower of the grass.

The grass withers, and the flower drops off,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Please open the word of the Lord to Ephesians chapter 6.

We are going to mention a lot of scripture tonight, as we do every night. I may mention a lot of scripture in passing to further illuminate what we are studying, and I may mention some scripture in passing because we have already studied it before

So here is a list of all the scriptures mentioned tonight in case you want to go over these passages at home for your own private study.

Scriptures mentioned tonight; 2 cor 3:1-3, 1 Peter 1:24-25 Eph 6 10-20, 1Cor 3:3-4, 1Peter 2:1-5 Hebrews 6:1-3, 2 Tim 2;14-15 2 Tim 4:2-3 1 cor 3:11-15, Acts 4:32-37, Acts 5:1, Acts 5:41, Acts 6:1, John 21:15-19, 1 Peter 5:2

I think that's all of them.

Review

Last time we asked the question, Are you dangerous to the enemy? We studied last time that we are in a war. Turn to Ephesians Chapter 6.

What an awesome subject Eph 6 the Armor of God.

We went over this because we were studying on how Peter and the Apostles after being whipped and then thrown into jail, could felt lucky that they had the opportunity to go through that experience. Acts 5:41

Most Christians would have moaned and complained but the Apostles at this time had reached a stage of Maturity where they were Spiritual Giants. And all this is made possible by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Put into action “The sword of the Spirit” application of the Word of God.

So Peter and the Apostles stood with Boldness (Eph 6:19 is the boldness Paul prayed for and asked others to pray for, for himself while in prison)

So Peter and the Apostles stood with Boldness, when asked to leave and not preach the good news of Jesus Christ. And even after being whipped and thrown into jail, they were back in the temple proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. They were dangerous to the enemy because they were utilizing the full Armor of God. They were soldiers for Christ prepared for battle. How many christian soldiers are prepared for battle today?

Just as it is important to compare scripture with scripture. It is also important to understand the historical background of the passage. As we mentioned last time the Apostle Paul is using military language here. We also mentioned that the military that was around during the time he lived was the Roman solider.

So turn with me to Ephesians Chapter 6.

Belt of Truth-Bible Doctrine “The great Stabilizer”

Practical Military Purpose

This was a very important piece to the Roman Soldier's armor. The Roman soldier put around his waist a very wide belt which was the holder for a lot of equipment. There was a loop, for example, for the different swords. Other loops held ropes and a rations sack. When the legions conquered a city, the soldiers would empty out the ration sack to make room for gold, jewelry, and other loot they picked up. There were loops on the belt for darts. The belt was tied in several places to stay in place, so that no matter how the soldier moved about, fell down, climbed hills, etc., the belt was always in place with weapons at the ready. If the belt were not on straight, then everything would be out of place for the soldier. This would cut down his efficiency in battle and may even cost him his life.

Spiritual Application- The Christian has the word of God available to support him through life. We asked the question last time, are you dangerous to the enemy? Remember Jesus said in Revelation 3 to pick a side. He would rather you be hot, or cold but not lukewarm. So just as the solider relied on his belt to stabilize the rest of his heavy armor. So the christian needs to rely on the word of God to stabilize him through his christian walk. How many time do you go through the word of God? If you don't how would you know the proper way to pray? We mention last time that domestic harmony was essential to an effective prayer life. How many Christians know about that? How many Christians are going to the battle unarmed? How many Christians even know we are in a battle. I understand that witnessing to the loss in important, however it is equally important that we grow in the word.

Turn to 1 Peter 1:24:25-1peter 2:5

24 For

All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory u like a flower of the grass.

The grass withers, and the flower drops off,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. v w

There are a lot of Christians that have a misunderstanding of Heaven. They invison us singing and maybe even telling Jesus for eternity how much we love him. However I want you to reflect on what the scripture just said. God's word endures forever. We aren't going to somehow quit learning when we get to heaven. Some Christians believe we are just going to “arrive” and know it all. But that would make us God?

For

All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory u like a flower of the grass.

The grass withers, and the flower drops off,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. v w

And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.

The Living Stone and a Holy People

2 So rid yourselves of a all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. b 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, c so that you may grow by it in ?your? salvation, d 3 since you have tasted e that the Lord is good. f g 4 Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God h through Jesus Christ.

Now compare that to 1 cor 3

3 Brothers, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. a 2 I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet able to receive it. In fact, you are still not able, 3 because you are still fleshly. For since there is envy b and strife c d among you, are you not fleshly and living like ordinary people? e 4 For whenever someone says, “I’m with Paul,” and another, “I’m with Apollos,” f are you not ?typical? men? g

So the Peter is pointing out what is really important in this life. Spiritual food, that will lead to growth in your salvation. Salvation from what? Not from hell, that was settled at the cross. Remember Jesus said “It is finished” It is Salvation from the Power of sin in ones life. Now lets read 1 Cor 3 again.

3 Brothers, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. a 2 I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet able to receive it. In fact, you are still not able, 3 because you are still fleshly. For since there is envy b and strife c d among you, are you not fleshly and living like ordinary people? e 4 For whenever someone says, “I’m with Paul,” and another, “I’m with Apollos,” f are you not ?typical? men? g 5?ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

American Standard Version. 1995 (1 Pe 2:5). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Apostle Paul was addressing the Corinthian Church when he wrote this letter. He is annoyed because he has to continue giving them basic teaching because the Corinthian Christians couldn't digest anything more advance. He believed there was no reason that these believers should still be infants in the word.

However sin has kept there church immature, stuck as spiritual babies. When interpreting a passage in scripture there is several things a good teacher will do.

1.Exegete. This means he will Try look at every word a try to understand if that is exactly what was meant. He may no Greek, or Hebrew, if not he may have to use the resources available to him.

2. Compare Scripture with scripture.

3.Place himself back in the time it was written. Not in a way where he questions the word of God. Like “Of Paul just said this because he was racist, or sexist, So not to do that but to understand there customs. For instance when looking at the armor analogy of Eph 6 it is important to look at the Roman Solider armor because that is what was common at the time.

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In both 1 Corinthians 3, and 1 Peter 1:24:25-1peter 2:5 Both Peter and Paul use an infant analogy. The analogy of breast-milk is timeless. However we still must compare scripture with scripture and these two passages aren't the only time that infancy or childhood is used as an analogy in the New Testament.

Paul uses the same infant analogy with regards to the christian church in 1 cor 13. 1?When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.

American Standard Version. 1995 (1 Co 13:11). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

He then said that when the Church grows out of its infancy stage then they have to put away infant toys. I'll let you read for yourself in 1 cor 13 8-10 what infant toys Paul was referring to.

1 Peter 1:24?For, All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falleth: 25?But the word of the Lord abideth for ever. And this is the word of good tidings which was preached unto you.

American Standard Version. 1995 (1 Pe 1:24). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

So If you leave with nothing else tonight, consider what the word of God talks about as temporary, and what the Word of God views as permanent.

Now ask yourself, where I attend church, what does my church view as being it's biggest priority? 2 Timothy 2:14-15,

Now, Pretend Paul was here today, what would he say about the current state of the Christian church?

Would he believe the majority of the Christian church is dangerous to the enemy? Prov 4:2, 2 .

I believe we have a huge amount of Christian churches that, whether they know it or not; are keeping there congregation in spiritual diapers. However I also believe that the congregation wants it that way. Peoples attention span is so short. People want to be entertained. We as a society have forgotten how to think.

Complex Spiritual Teaching causes us to think. However that requires work. That requires study time, and dare I say? Opening our Bibles and reading them at home, not just at church. However that is exactly what God wants.

Turn to Hebrews 6:1-3

Now don't get lost trying to understand the whole chapter. The point I was trying to make is the Author of Hebrews is urging his readers to press on past the elementary teachings of Christ. Then he lists the elementary teachings. I wonder if the “Elementary teachings” are even being taught in most Christian Churches. As we studied before in the 15th and 16th century very few people owned a bible. They depended on their Priests to teach them about the scriptures. Today you can get a bible on your phone, and still very few Christians even bother reading it.

I had a person at work tell me one time. “Jeremy I really enjoy going to church on Sundays.” I asked why? Well Wednesdays are ok but that's bible study night. And I have a hard time following. (1 Peter 5:1-2, John 21:15-19) Every time the preacher stands (or in my case tonight sits) behind the pulpit they should be having BIBLE STUDY NIGHT!!!. Enough of the easy breast-milk sermons. Feed the congregation meat until they throw It up and feed them some more. Why the heck did God go through the time in inspiring these men of God to put together the Bible (what Paul calls the Perfect in 1 cor 13) just so it can look pretty on a bookshelf?

There is 66 books in the bible how many have you studied? Well you here are studying one. For three years!! The book of Acts. And that’s ok. I'm all for technology but you know what? I quit using power point slides. One reason is that it causes your audience to become lazy. Read your own darn Bible. If you don't have one, pick one up at any local Hotel. The Gideons give a copy for free.

I run into those Christians that say well I'm saved, so that’s good enough

Turn to 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

Belt of Truth-Bible Doctrine “The great Stabilizer”

Practical Military Purpose

This was a very important piece to the Roman Soldier's armor. The Roman soldier put around his waist a very wide belt which was the holder for a lot of equipment. There was a loop, for example, for the different swords. Other loops held ropes and a rations sack. When the legions conquered a city, the soldiers would empty out the ration sack to make room for gold, jewelry, and other loot they picked up. There were loops on the belt for darts. The belt was tied in several places to stay in place, so that no matter how the soldier moved about, fell down, climbed hills, etc., the belt was always in place with weapons at the ready. If the belt were not on straight, then everything would be out of place for the soldier. This would cut down his efficiency in battle and may even cost him his life.

Spiritual Application- The Christian has the word of God available to support him through life. We asked the question last time, are you dangerous to the enemy? Remember Jesus said in Revelation 3 to pick a side. He would rather you be hot, or cold but not lukewarm. So just as the solider relied on his belt to stabilize the rest of his heavy armor. So the christian needs to rely on the word of God to stabilize him through his christian walk. How many time do you go through the word of God? If you don't how would you know the proper way to pray? We mention last time that domestic harmony was essential to an effective prayer life. How many Christians know about that? How many Christians are going to the battle unarmed? How many Christians even know we are in a battle. I understand that witnessing to the loss in important is equally important that we grow in the word.

Breastplate of Righteousness- “Sanctification phase 2-Power over Sin in this life”

Practical Military Purpose

The Romans had the ideas for armor design which provided light weight combined with ease of movement and protection from blows. This breastplate was attached to the belt by leather thongs passed through rings on the bottom to keep it solidly attached. It was anchored to the belt, and it was above the belt. Note: the belt had to be put on first, then the breastplate. One key area the Soldier's breastplate protected was the heart. While the heart is the one key organ responsible for sending blood through our circulatory system to keep us alive, our spiritual lives can deaden if our hearts are not right with God!

2 So rid yourselves of a all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. b 2 Like newborn infants, desire the unadulterated spiritual milk, c so that you may grow by it in ?your? salvation, d

Feet Fitted with Readiness-Gospel of Peace

Practical Military Purpose

Some historians credit footwear as one of the greatest reasons why the Roman Army was so victorious over its enemies. The Roman Soldier was equipped with footwear that had spikes on the soles which provided them a strong enough stance and balance that gave them a superior posture in battle on hills and uneven terrain. In martial arts, the stance is the most important move and is what is practiced first, for from the basic stance are all manners of kicks and punches launched!

Spiritual Application- We can stand with a firm posture. Because of all of the spiritual advantages we have available to us because of the gospel and that gives us peace. (We are Justified Romans 5:1, declared Righteous. Romans 5:17, We are Reconciled to God. Romans 5:11. We are declared Heavenly Priests offering heavenly sacrifices. 1 Peter 2:1. (please turn there) compare that to what we went over in 2 cor 3)

Shield of Faith-Faith Rest

Practical Military Purpose

The Romans had a long, rectangular, knees-to-chin shield which protected from arrows and spears and could be knelt behind during an arrow barrage. It was quite a bit heavier and clumsier that the smaller Greek circular shield; but there was a series of exercises, a manual of arms, designed to give the soldier flexibility and strength in the use of the shield. Groups of soldier who were besieging a town could form close together and hold their shields over their heads to make a huge circle to protect the group from fiery arrows.

Helmet of Salvation. The helmet protected the head of the Solider, just as the truths of our deliverance from the penalty of sin through faith alone, the deliverance from the power of sin through K+B+A, and future deliverance from the presence of sin should protect our minds from the chaos of the devils world.

Sword of the Spirit Is the Holy Spirit working within do will and to do his good pleasure. .

Care of the Widows.

In Acts 4:32. The Christians had everything in common. (Meaning they didn't view their possessions as their own. They all shared everything. In the beginning stages, they were all positive to Doctrine.

Then you will notice that in Acts 5:1 Annanias and Saphira (while attempting to Barnabas offering in Acts 4 36-37. Sold their possessions and made it look like they gave all of their profits to Peter. We all remember what happened as a result of that. Annanias,and Saphria, were taken out of this life, by the means of the Sin Unto Death.

Acts 6:1 It's worth mentioning again that this Sin Unto Death is the maximum punishment a Believer can receive in this life. Being viewed as useless in the battle. The commander in Chief calls the Carnal Believer (whose heart is hardened to doctrine.) home.

So this community where everyone positive to doctrine. And is of “One accord” didn't last long. In Acts 6 that's all over. Notice what it says. There is murmurings. Murmurings from the Greek speaking Jews, against the Hebrew speaking Jews, over how their widows were being neglected.

So Satanic division had successfully infiltrated the church. With relation to the details of life. Notice something in the first part of Acts 6:1. The early church was growing. And touching on something that we mentioned on last time. The early church was becoming a threat to the enemy. So that's when you see a Satanic roadblock placed in the early churches path. Today Satan doesn't even have to bother, you see today's church, and pastor don't share the same concern that the 12 Apostles did at this time. Read with me Acts 6:2

Acts 6:2 So the complaints from the Greek Jew, against the Hellenistic Jew had made it's way to the 12 Apostles, and notice their response. “It's not right that we should have to forsake the studying of the Word of God to serve tables.” How many Pastors today share that concern? Quite the opposite. They are more concerned with Church growth, counciling, marketing, being an official organizer, worship leader, ect. However God the Holy Spirit reveals through Luke in Acts 6:2 that the Apostles should be spending their times studying. The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy the Pastor to do precisely the samething in

2 Timothy 2:14-15 Please turn there. (empty speech verse)

2 Timothy 4-3 (forsaking sound doctrine verse)

Avoid useless arguments. He is addressing the church so this could include arguments about non essential theology, or what the menu should be for the church luncheon. Avoid useless arguments, and empty speech.