Something Greater

Fleeing Idolatry, Fearing God "I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.' We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example...

Bitter Jealousy and Selfish Ambition "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. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." James 3:14-16 (ESV) Bitterness and selfishness are two inescapable evidences of a heart that is controlled by Satan . Satan is able to influence and deceive human hearts , appealing to their natural self-love, making them believe that their carnal, selfish desires are paramount, above the needs and concerns of any other person, including the God Almighty Who created and sustains them by His general mercy. Appeals for assistance from others and opportunities for self-advancement all are filtered by the natural man's filter, often producing a false appearance of an attack or a threat to the natural man's desires. The demon-control...

SPIRITUAL POWER "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 POWER: "Dynamis", force, specially, miraculous power; from "dynamai" (to be able or possible COME UPON: "Eperchomai", to supervene, i.e. arrive, occur, impend, attack, (figuratively) influence; from "epi" (upon) and "erchomai" (to come or go) WITNESSES: "Martys", a witness END: "Eschatos", farthest, final (of place or time); from "echo" (to hold) WHAT DO YOU THINK? To this point the disciples had not experienced the indwelling Spirit of God. Why not? And what would change not many days later when they would? Why would God delay sharing His Spirit? Was there some change required in the lives of the disciples? The primary purpose of the indwelling Spirit of God was to empower Christians to b...

RESTORATION "So when they had come together, they asked him, 'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'" Acts 1:6 RESTORE: "Apokathistemi", to reconstitute (in health, home or organization); from "apo" (off or away) and "kathistemi" (to place down (permanently) and "histemi" (to stand) The Greek word for restore meant to reconstitute, a rebuilding of something that once stood. The word carries the idea of placing something that will stand permanently. The early Christians expected Jesus to destroy the ruthless, godless rule of the Romans, bringing the nation of Israel back to its former glory as a world power. WHAT DO YOU THINK? What biblical evidence can you remember that describes the nation of Israel as a world power? The last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament foretells of a day of victory and vengeance by God against all unrighteousness: "For behold, the day is coming, burn...

PROVEN ALIVE "He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." Acts 1:3 (ESV) SUFFERING: "Pascho", a sensation or impression of pain; same as "patho" or pentho" (seen in empathy, pathetic, sympathy) PROOFS: A token, or criterion, of certainty KINGDOM: "Basileia", royalty, rule, or realm; from "basis", a pace (as in walking) WHAT DO YOU THINK? In what ways does the action of walking support the idea of a kingdom or royalty? What proofs do we see immediately after the tomb was found empty? "While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." Luke 24:4-6 (ESV) "But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stoopin...