P
Pastor Eric
Guest
Shalom,
Act 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. KJV
I love the KJV! When I first came to CHRIST it was the only acceptable Bible you could read (not said in jest!) There are times however when I find that in using it I simply miss what is trying to be said. This is a classic example of that.
Look with me at the same verse in the NASB?
Act 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
As I look back and compare the two there is no problem in understanding that the same point is made in the KJV but as I first read the KJV account I simply glossed right over this!
I know you are not Paul! You have not been given a direct vision of CHRIST along with the mission to convert the world to CHRIST even at the risk of your own life in foreign lands. At least most who will read this have not! But to some degree you have!
Act 20:18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,
Act 20:19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;
Act 20:20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,
Act 20:21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 20:22 "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
Act 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. NASB
What is the title of this book? My Bible and I assume yours, refers to it as "The Acts of the Apostles". This is obviously an account in the life and witness of the Apostle Paul. Paul was not with the other Apostles when Y'SHUA uttered the "Great Commission.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Neither were you, yet Paul accepted it. Steven accepted it even though he was not considered an Apostle. Junia, a woman, accepted it and was accounted for it as an Apostle (Rm 16:7). Why? Why would these and many others accept it even if it were to cause them to be imprisoned or killed? Why would people still risk their lives to talk about a dead man?
Paul told us why he did it!
Act 20:22 "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, NASB
In the Book of Luke we see another account of why Steven and Junia might have been compelled to do the same!
Luk 19:11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
Luk 19:12 So He said, "A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and {then} return.
Luk 19:13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business {with this} until I come {back.}'
Luk 19:14 "But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'
Luk 19:15 "When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.
Luk 19:16 "The first appeared, saying, 'Master, your mina has made ten minas more.'
Luk 19:17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.'
Luk 19:18 "The second came, saying, 'Your mina, master, has made five minas.'
Luk 19:19 "And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'
Luk 19:20 "Another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief;
Luk 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.'
Luk 19:22 "He *said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?
Luk 19:23 'Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?'
Luk 19:24 "Then he said to the bystanders, 'Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'
Luk 19:25 "And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas {already.}'
Luk 19:26 "I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Luk 19:27 "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence." NASB
We have no account to tell us whether they were there or not when this was taught but they did receive the SPIRIT of the teaching. That is to say that the Great Commission was so real in the lives of the Apostles at this point that certainly this compulsion to spread the Gospel came alive in the SPIRIT with those to whom they came into contact with at a latter time.
Right before Steven was stoned to death we read this of him;
Act 7:55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
Act 7:56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." NASB
Notice that in verse 55 it reads that he was "being full of the HOLY SPIRIT"
After HIS death and resurrection Y'SHUA in speaking with HIS Disciples stated;
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Shortly after this HE stated;
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Then HE was received into Heaven. Shortly after this we see in the beginning of Acts 2 the outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT on the Disciples and we see Peter, in particular, move from being the one who ran from being exposed as a Disciple of CHRIST at Pilates Temple to becoming the one who boldly proclaims CHRIST as the MESSIAH! Peter went from being afraid of men to being filled with the boldness of YHVH to fear no man. He understood what we read before in the parable;
Luk 19:26 "I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Luk 19:27 "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."
Read carefully verse 26! Remember that each of these were initially given at least one mina. SPIRITually at least each of them had been given their knowledge of CHRIST. Each had received the promise of their salvation in the form of the mina but this one did nothing with it and even it was taken away! Does this ring true in your SPIRIT or have you been so conditioned by "Religious doctrine" that you are having problems swallowing the thought that if you don't Do something with your salvation that you will lose it! If this is a problem for you then look at this;
Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
The infamous church at Laodicea! They were secure with their salvation yet YHVH said HE WILL spue or vomit them out! You may have received your salvation but if you don't do something with it you will lose it! That is a promise from YHVH!
Remember our text verse?
Act 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
Why would Paul not consider his of any account?
Why would Peter stand up before the men who had gone before Pilate and successfully argued to have the MESSIAH killed and proclaim that man to be the MESSIAH?
Why would Steven proclaim Y'SHUA to be the MESSIAH to the point of his death?
Why would Junia, a woman in a "Men's Club" society proclaim this man to the point where she was counted with the men as an Apostle?
Why?
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
When you received the work of CHRIST into your life you were born of the SPIRIT but as we saw with the church at Laodicea this is not enough! Have you received the power spoken of in Acts 1:8? Have you received a baptism in fire that will compel you beyond the fear of any man? Have you received a seperate infilling of the HOLY SPIRIT that impowers people beyond human reason? Then how many minas do you have?
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Act 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. KJV
I love the KJV! When I first came to CHRIST it was the only acceptable Bible you could read (not said in jest!) There are times however when I find that in using it I simply miss what is trying to be said. This is a classic example of that.
Look with me at the same verse in the NASB?
Act 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
As I look back and compare the two there is no problem in understanding that the same point is made in the KJV but as I first read the KJV account I simply glossed right over this!
I know you are not Paul! You have not been given a direct vision of CHRIST along with the mission to convert the world to CHRIST even at the risk of your own life in foreign lands. At least most who will read this have not! But to some degree you have!
Act 20:18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,
Act 20:19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;
Act 20:20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,
Act 20:21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 20:22 "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
Act 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. NASB
What is the title of this book? My Bible and I assume yours, refers to it as "The Acts of the Apostles". This is obviously an account in the life and witness of the Apostle Paul. Paul was not with the other Apostles when Y'SHUA uttered the "Great Commission.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Neither were you, yet Paul accepted it. Steven accepted it even though he was not considered an Apostle. Junia, a woman, accepted it and was accounted for it as an Apostle (Rm 16:7). Why? Why would these and many others accept it even if it were to cause them to be imprisoned or killed? Why would people still risk their lives to talk about a dead man?
Paul told us why he did it!
Act 20:22 "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, NASB
In the Book of Luke we see another account of why Steven and Junia might have been compelled to do the same!
Luk 19:11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
Luk 19:12 So He said, "A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and {then} return.
Luk 19:13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business {with this} until I come {back.}'
Luk 19:14 "But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'
Luk 19:15 "When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.
Luk 19:16 "The first appeared, saying, 'Master, your mina has made ten minas more.'
Luk 19:17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.'
Luk 19:18 "The second came, saying, 'Your mina, master, has made five minas.'
Luk 19:19 "And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'
Luk 19:20 "Another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief;
Luk 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.'
Luk 19:22 "He *said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?
Luk 19:23 'Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?'
Luk 19:24 "Then he said to the bystanders, 'Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'
Luk 19:25 "And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas {already.}'
Luk 19:26 "I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Luk 19:27 "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence." NASB
We have no account to tell us whether they were there or not when this was taught but they did receive the SPIRIT of the teaching. That is to say that the Great Commission was so real in the lives of the Apostles at this point that certainly this compulsion to spread the Gospel came alive in the SPIRIT with those to whom they came into contact with at a latter time.
Right before Steven was stoned to death we read this of him;
Act 7:55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
Act 7:56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." NASB
Notice that in verse 55 it reads that he was "being full of the HOLY SPIRIT"
After HIS death and resurrection Y'SHUA in speaking with HIS Disciples stated;
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Shortly after this HE stated;
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Then HE was received into Heaven. Shortly after this we see in the beginning of Acts 2 the outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT on the Disciples and we see Peter, in particular, move from being the one who ran from being exposed as a Disciple of CHRIST at Pilates Temple to becoming the one who boldly proclaims CHRIST as the MESSIAH! Peter went from being afraid of men to being filled with the boldness of YHVH to fear no man. He understood what we read before in the parable;
Luk 19:26 "I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Luk 19:27 "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."
Read carefully verse 26! Remember that each of these were initially given at least one mina. SPIRITually at least each of them had been given their knowledge of CHRIST. Each had received the promise of their salvation in the form of the mina but this one did nothing with it and even it was taken away! Does this ring true in your SPIRIT or have you been so conditioned by "Religious doctrine" that you are having problems swallowing the thought that if you don't Do something with your salvation that you will lose it! If this is a problem for you then look at this;
Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
The infamous church at Laodicea! They were secure with their salvation yet YHVH said HE WILL spue or vomit them out! You may have received your salvation but if you don't do something with it you will lose it! That is a promise from YHVH!
Remember our text verse?
Act 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
Why would Paul not consider his of any account?
Why would Peter stand up before the men who had gone before Pilate and successfully argued to have the MESSIAH killed and proclaim that man to be the MESSIAH?
Why would Steven proclaim Y'SHUA to be the MESSIAH to the point of his death?
Why would Junia, a woman in a "Men's Club" society proclaim this man to the point where she was counted with the men as an Apostle?
Why?
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
When you received the work of CHRIST into your life you were born of the SPIRIT but as we saw with the church at Laodicea this is not enough! Have you received the power spoken of in Acts 1:8? Have you received a baptism in fire that will compel you beyond the fear of any man? Have you received a seperate infilling of the HOLY SPIRIT that impowers people beyond human reason? Then how many minas do you have?
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: