JESUS today YOU will SAVE me.
Eat This Book
Read Proverbs Chapter 18
Acts 17
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
14 And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
33 So Paul departed from among them.
34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
Verses 22-23 MSG “So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.” Many still do not know about our God; so, we must take every day and every opportunity (Western Day) to introduce Jesus to them.
27. His purpose in all this was that people of every culture and religion would search for this ultimate God, grope for Him in the darkness, as it were, hoping to find Him. Yet, in truth, God is not far from any of us. Voice
Jeremiah 29:
11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. KJV
We should never stop searching for God. Being filled with His Spirit doesn’t mean the search is over; on the contrary, the more we have of Him, the more we want of Him and the more we know of Him, the more we want to know…the search never ends.
This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn’t live in temples built by human hands. He doesn’t need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn’t far from any of us, and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. “We are his children,” just as some of your poets have said.
Acts 17:24-25, 27-28 CEV
31 Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.
22
Standing in the midst of the court, Paul delivered what has come to be known as the Mars Hill address. It must be remembered in studying this address that he was speaking to Gentiles , not to Jews. They did not have a background in the OT so he had to find some subject of common interest with which to begin . He began with the observation that the Athens was indeed a religious city was well attested by the fact that it was reputed to have more idols in it than men! When he thought of the idols he had seen, Paul was reminded of an altar with this inscription to the unknown god . He found in that inscription a point of departure for his message. The apostle saw in the inscription the recognition of two important facts. First the fact of the existence of God ,and second , the fact that the Athenians were ignorant of Him. It was then a very normal and natural transition for Paul to enlighten them concerning the true God . As someone has said ,he turned the wandering stream of their piety into the right channel.
A.L.M.A.S.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
We as the church can not contain God within the four walls of a building. We have to take the Gospel to the highways and byways to compel those that will come to come. We can not afford the opportunities to pass us by. Jesus is the way the truth and the life of all men. We are not our own.
We have to gain passion and boldness for the things of God and his kingdom. We can not wirship ignorantly, without knowledge and understanding we are simply spinning our wheels. We have to work out our own salvation.
We must preach repentance and save whomsoever will, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!
Lord allow me to be an instrument of praise, of wisdom, and of knowledge.
I love thy Kingdom!
Amen!
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things
If I’m ever found guilty of anything, I want it to be that I preached Christ and turned my works upside down. What a legacy to leave… There is change everywhere you go, you are either stirring people up by what you preach or your being accused of it. That’s the will of God, is for every place we go to stir up and cause change through the inspiration of the Holy ghost
Acts 17 :24 25 [Amp] The God Who produced and formed the world and all things in it, Being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in hamd- made shrines. [25] Neither is He served by human hands, as through He Himself Who gives life and breath and all things to all [ people]. [Isa.42:5] This says God the Lord , He Who created the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, He Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. God gives a freedom to praise and worship him . A freedom to build a relationship with him. A freedom to shout out his name and declare his gospel to this world. God this first everlasting father that loves you and protects you and watching over you. I remember what he brought me out of. Thank you Jesus for saving me.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three. Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures
(3) opening and alleging that Christ must. Needs have suffered and risen again….
————-
3 days, two weeks, a month, 2 years……
is there a time set?
I do t think so, Holy God, instruct us, give us the wisdom and strength to keep on pereceiviting in prayer and supplications for our loved ones, that they may understand the gospel and come to repentance 🙏
Act 17:19-21
These people got together and asked him to make a public presentation over at the Areopagus, where things were a little quieter. They said, “This is a new one on us. We’ve never heard anything quite like it. Where did you come up with this anyway? Explain it so we can understand.” Downtown Athens was a great place for gossip. There were always people hanging around, natives and tourists alike, waiting for the latest tidbit on most anything.
22-23 So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.
The crowd was there. They gathered together actually just gossiping. So Pail boldly walked tight into their circle of talk and began to explain who Jesus was. He did not begin by judging them but made a statement if his amazement iof their shrines. What a spring board to begin with. Complementing and then he began to share the Good News ofwho Jesus was. He was sensitive he took notice of what was around him and then presented truth. Some rejected others accepted. God has just called us to spread His Word. Walk right into the midst of people yes just like some thought Paul was wacky but others listened. There are multiple opportunities to share Jesus will we be the one ? Will we walk across the room to make an impact. He had called us all to go will we ;will I answer the call?
iLove the Kingdom
Act 17:11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
Act 17:12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
What are the keys to adding more believers to the church? The answers are found in the above scripture.
*Teach the Word (HBS)
Notice the scriptures say, “they listened eagerly to Paul’s message”.
*Find People who will Listen
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
*Find People who are hungry for Truth
They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
The results are as follows:
12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
Believer’s were added…lots of them!
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
I remember the second or third NAYC we went to was themed “Upsidedown.” Upsidedown here means to make an uproar, to stir up, excite, unsettle. And it all begins with us as individuals. There was four highlights to this NAYC theme. We have to start with ourselves by turning our own lives upsidedown. We gotta stir up the faith within us; we gotta daily stir up the spirit! Once we get revival in ourselves, we gotta turn our churches upsidedown and by doing that, we also have to turn our cities upsidedown. Its revival time! It’s time to cause an uproar and stir up what’s been settled for too long. And once we get our cities, along with the whole body of Christ we can turn this whole world upsidedown! But we gotta be excited, we gotta be stirred up, we have to want to see His Kingdom come, and we have to be willing to work! Let’s go in Jesus Name!
Acts 17:27, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”
St. Matt. 7:7, “… seek, and ye shall find;…”
Deut. 4:29, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”
Jer. 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers.
As always some will believe some will not. The bottom line is, if we can give the Word, they will listen and decide to believe or not. People are willing to listen, but they aren’t willing to commit. Its takes obedience and discipline to serve God.
5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
When reading the chapter today, I couldn’t get past how they were “moved” with envy. Thinking, how does anyone allow themselves to be moved with such strong jealousy. So I searched and read some articles about envy.
Part 1
“Envy exposes your deepest desires. Why does Envy want what another person has and why does it want that other person not to have it? Because that advantage the other person has, that possession or money or skill or character quality or whatever it is, exposes what you really want. It shows what brings you joy, what you value most, where your heart loyalties really lie.”
Envy doesn’t lie. You can’t deny the gut feeling of jealousy.
The Jews were so full of envy it moved them to ACTION.
Part 2
“When you spend time with Envy, you experience sorrow in another person’s joy and joy in another person’s sorrow. You mourn the good the other person experiences and find joy in their pain. What you cannot enjoy for yourself, you believe that no one should be able to enjoy. When you are consumed by Envy, when you are losing that competition you’ve created, the way you respond is then to try to bring the other person down. You cannot get to his level, so you try to destroy him and bring him down to yours.
Just think of Satan. Satan is proud and wants to be worshipped in place of God. He saw that God created beings in his own image and likeness and he saw Adam and Eve walking and talking with God, loving and worshipping him in every word and deed. He became envious of God because he wanted that worship for himself. So he acted out by corrupting these people, turning their hearts away from God and toward himself.
Dorothy Sayers says it well: “Envy is the great leveler: if it cannot level things up, it will level them down … rather than have anyone happier than itself, it will see us all miserable together.” I know that misery far more intimately than I care to admit.”
To sit here and say that we never get jealousy, will be a lie. We all get jealous of something or someone. Materialistic, skill, or appearance. As the article said when we allow the jealousy continually build, we will then be MOVED with ENVY.
There’s an alternative, always.
2 Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
We can be moved by Envy or the Holy Ghost.
Don’t aim to bring someone down due to your insecurities and envy, rather allow the Holy Ghost in you build one another up!
1 Thess 5:11 “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
Very good word!!
Excellent!
Thank you!
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
What do we give to a God who has everything…..He created the Heavens and the Earth. All the earth is His and the fullness thereof. He gives and takes away the life of men. What can we give Him? We can give Him relationship. Relationship with men and women is why we were created. He desired, longed for someone to want to spend time in His presence, undisturbed, uninterrupted, undistracted, just worshipping Him. That is the best gift to give a God who has everything.
19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
These people remind me of the scripture in Ephesians 4:14 that we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine… . But Paul knew the scriptures to show who Jesus was and the prophecies concerning as well as the teaching and miracles that he did. People may be searchimg from one doctrine to another but when they hear truth and mix their faith with the word they can totally put their trust in the one God of this world. We must go and speak or teach what we know.
THY KINGDOM COME
SEEK AND FIND
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
What a faithful and powerful gift to search the scriptures daily. It grieves my heart that some people view our commitment at The POFW to participate in the Chapter of the day Blog as an assignment rather than an opportunity.
Each day we are presented the opportunity to “search the scriptures” and “BELIEVE” the things are so in HIS Kingdom. Revelation of JESUS, HIS Love, HIS Power and HIS Ways are found in the scriptures. This fact alone should invite and inspire every Born Again Believer to desire to search the scriptures every day.
The apostle Paul declared his desire:
Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
That I may KNOW HIM. Searching the scriptures is the absolute best way to KNOW HIM that we may experience HIM through Prayer.
May JESUS release to HIS Church a deep desire to SEEK AND FIND JESUS through the scriptures in these last days.
iRepent
iPraise
iPray
iWork
iGive
iReap
iGo
iBlessYouInTheNameOfTheLordJESUS
But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, and Jason has received them as guests! They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king — Jesus! ” The Jews stirred up the crowd and the city officials who heard these things.
Acts 17:5-8 HCSB
When listening to this chapter in this translation, I was struck with the similarity of the enemy’s devices in Paul’s day to what he is doing in our own. If the enemy cannot win by reasoning with sound doctrine, he will incite a mob to riot. If the enemy cannot sway popular opinion with calm and fair tactics, he will incite a mob to riot. If the enemy cannot manipulate to get his way with lies, he will try to intimidate with fear by using a mob to provoke violence.
We have seen a lot of mob rioting in the last few years in the form “protests.” They have protested police, political parties, the president, and Christians. They form a mob to try to bring down every form of authority that opposes their own views and lifestyle. Just last month, in Austin, TX, ONE NEWS NOW reported the following news story:
“LGBT, Antifa Demand Texas Church Leave Over Sexuality”
“Militant and Marxist protesters from LGBT and Antifa groups gathered to shut down a Christian megachurch in Austin, Texas,…reportedly demanding that its members renounce their biblical views on sexuality while condemning the church’s support of biblical marriage between one man and one woman. …An ultra-left news site heralded the protest as a new civil rights movement as it took to social media to show masked Antifa and LGBT activist demonstrators waving rainbow flags while yelling out virulent chants at worshipers walking into the church’s auditorium.”
Unfortunately, this type of mob intimidation could come to our city or our church next. Christians could soon be faced with persecution we never imagined possible in our country. We must be about our Father’s business while it is day, for the night is coming when no man will be able to work.
“The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories. This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”
ACTS 17:24-28 AMP
He is Creator, we are creation and we were created to seek relationship with Him. He does not hide from us, He is always near. It is in Him we find life, it is through Him that we are fully known. He even calls us His own. And all He wants in return is for us to seek relationship with Him!
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
The drift and scope of Paul’s preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our redemption for us; and he must needs have risen again, because he could not otherwise apply the redemption to us. We are to preach concerning Jesus that he is Christ; therefore we may hope to be saved by him, and are bound to be ruled by him. The unbelieving Jews were angry, because the apostles preached to the Gentiles, that they might be saved. How strange it is, that men should grudge others the privileges they will not themselves accept! Neither rulers nor people need be troubled at the increase of real Christians, even though turbulent spirits should make religion the pretext for evil designs. Of such let us beware, from such let us withdraw, that we may show a desire to act aright in society, while we claim our right to worship God according to our consciences.
I learned that a great storm went in the prison and all of the prisoners got out and the guard drew his sword to kill himself but the disciples said no were still here and the guard got saved and his family
Praise God
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Jesus is just a prayer away. The answers to our prayers are also in His word. If we want to find Him, we need to seek Him with all of our hearts.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Acts 18
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
There is coming a day when all eyes shall seeHim coming. There is a day that we will all be judged, and saved. Thank you Jesus for your saving Grace.
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
This sounds to me as if all the leaders are crying out, “hell help us because all heavens broke loose.” They account that this Jesus they teach of has turned the world upside down. When things get stirred up unfavorable things can come to the surface, such happens here. They recognize that these people are different and don’t fit into the box they know religious traditions to be. Their is so much more to God and they miss it totally and resist the truth. To win a resistant person takes patience, and allowing them time to gradually trust God and believe in the things he reveals to them bit by bit. The world will reject us because of the name of Jesus, it’s not us they reject but Jesus himself who set us. We keep going to reach those who will surrender to Jesus.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
Acts 17:27-28 KJV
When seeking for something you have to work for it. We h w to work to be close to Jesus we can’t just sit and wait on the Lord. Then the following scripture says it right after when we find him “for in him we live” there is life in Jesus but it’s not gonna be handed to us. Lead by example!
“God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn’t far from any of us,”(Acts 17:27 CEV)
God has never left us nor forsaken us he has always been there waiting for us to seek him. He’s never too far to help his children.
Acts 17:27,28 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us : For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Therefore all must repent and turn to Him, because the resurrection and a judgment are coming.
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Colossians 1:17 And He is before all things, and by him all things consist.
2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
The best way to prove the truth is with the Truth itself, the Word of God. That is why we must study to show ourselves approved. We need to know His Word and be ready to use it.
Thank you Jesus!
“But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.”
Acts of the Apostles 17:5 NLT
We shouldn’t be jealous of the Ministries God has given to others . It isn’t right to have jealousy that can lead into speaking bad about the person who God has stabilized in that ministry. We must be careful.
James 3:14-15
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
Acts 17:11-12
The only way that we are going to know the truth is if we examine the scriptures. If we dont know the truth then how can we share the truth. We must study His Word every day.
When we see people living in sin it should stir us to action.
16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Our love for people and the soul of mankind should not allow us to watch people travel a roaring leading the wrong direction and not come to their aid. Their lack of relationship with God should stir us into action and with wisdom lead them to Him.
14 And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
No Lone Rangers.
Silas and Timothy were left together, for many purposes; accountability, safety, are just two.
No man is an island, he needs help, and that cannot happen when there is a Lone Ranger.
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
Something must stir up inside of us when we see idols in our city, in our neighborhoods, in our kids schools, in our homes, in our family, etc. An idol doesn’t necessarily mean a statue that you worship but whatever you put before God. In this city we have many evil spirits that need to be bound and the only way to bound it must be by prayer. How can we bind something if we don’t intercede and fight this warfare spiritually. We can’t let these idols rule over us but destroy these idols. These idols that are taking the place of God.
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
There has been a rise in catholic apologist. Debating with “evangelicals” defending there religion and false doctrines. This is were the catholic religion got its roots, from there idol worship. It was an attempt of Constantine to bring peace between the pagan religions and Christianity of the time. It was his attempt to make both side happy, not accomplishing nothing but confusion and turmoil.
But like Paul says, at one point your ignorance was overlooked, but now he COMMANDS all people everywhere to repent.
To all that worship idols, REPENT!
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
Acts of the Apostles 17:16 NLT
When we look around our city do we just beebop through or do we see with spiritual eyes the bondage that this city is under? Idolaty, lust, fornication, addiction… Are we moved to pray? To claim this land and fight for it in the name of Jesus?
“So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.”
Acts of the Apostles 17:22-23 NLT
Once we have experienced and know who God is we will never be the same. Paul helped these men see the true Light of God. I’m so thankful for people like Paul in our day. I pray for more to step out and be the Light
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;