Year 2 Day 28
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:12-13 Genesis 3:1-9 Message - Alan Burke Today we continue on in Mark’s gospel but as we do so we go back to the book of Genesis. You may wonder what Genesis has to do with this passage, yet what takes place here in Mark and what took place in the garden was a trial of obedience. The first man Adam was tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent in the paradise of Eden and Jesus the second Adam was tempted by Satan in the barren, desolate wilderness. Let’s start with Adam, he was created by God in His image, with the ability that he needed to do what God required (God... made man upright. Eccl 7:29), he had the ability to refrain from sin, he did not have to sin, Satan could not make him, he was not deceived the apostle Paul tell us (1 Tim 2:14), he knew that Satan was tempting him to do something he ought not to do. Adam was surrounded with abundance and God told him, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (Gen 2:16). That of course included the tree of life that was also there (Gen 2:9), and since we know that God had freely offered and it all was very good (Gen 1:31) there was no need for Adam to go against God’s word. He was warned how failure to obey would result in a terrible penalty, that of death, for the day he should eat of it he would surely die. The death that God spoke of here was a warning to Adam that the consequence was that of physical as well as spiritual and eternal. We know what happened, Adam gave into the temptation before him and right now we face this terrible penalty, we will all physically die no matter how we pretend that it’ll never happen to us or sanitise our hands and we are born spiritually dead in our trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1). Now think of those verses in Mark, two of them. Jesus after his Baptism was at once’ or ‘immediately’ driven out into the wilderness (depending on what translation you have before you) driven out by the Spirit to the wilderness. The wilderness portrayal in scripture is that of an evil, desolate, wasteland, a hostile environment, a dark place that is the opposite of Eden where the first Adam was tempted. This place where Jesus was led immediately and was the opposite to what God intended for his people. Unlike Adam who was surrounded by the beauty and abundance of Eden and lost, Jesus faced Satan in a place of curse and would come out the other side victorious. Jesus would continue to face temptations throughout his life here on earth yet he was victorious throughout, he was sinless unlike you and I, but on the cross he became sin for us. The apostle Paul explains to us what happened because of Adam’s trespass and Christ’s obedience in Romans 5; 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (ESV). Jesus was the second Adam, he was the true and better Adam, he did what Adam did not so we might know life through his obedience and through faith in Christ alone we are made righteous. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q40 What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience? The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law. (Rom. 2:14–15, Rom. 10:5)
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Year 2 Day 26
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 14v8-18 Message - Scott Woodburn In Acts 12 a crowd gathers and declares Herod to have the voice of a god and not of a man. If you remember the story then you will know that Herod didn't do anything to change their opinion. Those who oppose Christ, those who are anti-Christ, happily receive the worship and adoration that is due to God alone. As Paul and Barnabas minister in Lystra they heal a man who had never walked in his life. He had been crippled from birth (v8) but at Paul's command he sprang up of the ground and started walking (v10). Needless to say the crowds were amazed and declared boldly that the gods had come down to earth in the form of Paul and Barnabas (v11). They named Barnabas, Zeus (the Greek god of the sky and thunder) and they named Paul, Hermes (the Greek god who acted as a messenger of the gods) (v12). Even the priest of Zeus was convinced and he brought gifts to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas (v13). I'm sure such adoration was all very flattering but Paul and Barnabas didn't fall into Herod's trap. He was delighted when told how god-like he was but Paul and Barnabas were distraught. They tore their garments in frustration and ran to tell the crowd that they were only men just like them (v15). Even in the midst of the idolatry Paul faithfully proclaimed the Word. In the past God had allowed the nations to walk in their own ways (v16) but even back then the rains from the sky and the fruitful seasons acted as a witness that there was indeed a God (v17). The Lystrans owed the Lord God almighty their praise and Him alone. Sadly even with words of warning Paul and Barnabas could barely stop the people from making a sacrifice to them (v18). John Calvin famously wrote that "the human heart is a perpetual idol factory." In other words we constantly make "gods" who receive our attention and who get our worship. For one man nothing is as important as his career. Another individual lives for pleasures of the flesh. Another gathers wealth and prosperity. Still another rests in self-righteousness. Our hearts deceive us, only Christ is King. Today we mourn alongside our Monarch as she attends the funeral of her beloved husband Philip. I was amazed in the past week when I read that a tribe in Vanuatu will also mourn the Duke. For them Prince Philip was the physical representation of an ancient warrior leader and his spirit will now return to the island of Tanna. This is simply a tragedy. Once more, only Christ is king and everyone will stand before Him. As the world looks to these shores today and mourns the death of a war hero and national servant, I pray that the Gospel of Christ will ring out and be preached clearly. From shore to shore and from sea to shining sea may the nations hear what has been written in this short devotion. Only Christ is king and He alone is able to save to the uttermost all who call upon Him. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q39 What is the duty which God requireth of man? The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will. Year 2 Day 25
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:11, Genesis 22:2,13 Message - Alan Burke The heavens were torn open, the Spirit descended like a dove and then a voice from heaven declared "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (ESV). This announcement from heaven confirms what Mark had told us about Jesus in verse one that this gospel is the good news about Jesus the Son of God. But before we think of this announcement we think of another beloved son. The son of Abraham, Issac. God tested Abraham, telling Abraham to take his son, his only son, Isaac whom he loved and sacrifice him (Gen 22:2). Some call it barbaric, heinous, but it was to give us a picture of what God himself would do. As they went Issac asked where is the lamb for the sacrifice and Abraham answered that God himself would provide the lamb and indeed God did. Not in the ram caught in the thicket (Gen 22:13), rather his beloved sinless Son who was sacrificed for our sin. Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb. He is unlike anyone else who has ever lived, many titles are used in the scripture, Abraham was a friend of God (Isa 41:8), Moses a servant of God (Deut 34:5), Aaron was a chosen one of God (Ps 105:26), David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14), and Paul was an apostle (Rom 1:1). Only Israel (Ex 4:23) and the king as Israel’s leader (Ps 2:7) had been called God’s Son before. But where Israel failed, Jesus takes Israel’s place. This announcement does not teach us that Jesus became the Son of God at baptism, for there was never a time that he was not as John’s Gospel makes clear (Jn 1:1), rather it is the announcement of what already was and is and ever more shall be. Here in these verses all three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt are present and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19). All three persons all play a part in salvation that is freely offered to sinners and this inauguration event declared to those watching on and ultimately the world that Jesus the Son of God, that he had come and he was here to fulfil all righteousness to bring salvation. This was the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ, that would see him die as the sacrificial lamb, making atonement for our sin. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q38 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection? At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, (1 Cor. 15:43) shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, (Matt. 25:23, Matt. 10:32) and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God, (1 John 3:2, 1 Cor. 13:12) to all eternity. (1 Thess. 4:17–18) Year 2 Day 24
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 14v1-7 Message - Scott Woodburn As we make our way through the book of Acts we can be incredibly thankful for the spread of the Gospel. Paul's first missionary journey continues and he finds himself in the city of Iconium. Iconium is today called Konya and is in the great nation of Turkey. The men entered the city and set about preaching in the synagogue (v1). Their preaching was powerful, so much so that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles believed. Yet the place where the Gospel is preached and believed, always comes under the scrutiny of Satan. In Iconium some unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas by poisoning their minds against the traveling preachers (v2). As I've said before in these devotions, Satan rarely rolls his tanks up to the door of the church. He operates in the shadows, in the carpark, in emails and text messages. In Iconium the words of the Jews against the preachers of the Gospel became like poison in the minds of the Gentiles. Eventually the opposition was so bad that a group tried to mistreat and stone Paul and Barnabas (v5). The men had to flee the city and went to other places where they continued to preach Christ (v7). It should be no surprise that from rotten little acorns great poisonous oak trees grow! I wonder how often the work of the Gospel has been hindered in our churches by words of whispered poison? I wonder how many brothers and sisters have wept through the night because of untruths that have been spoken against them? I wonder how often our chats fall into gossip and slander rather than encouragement? Many years ago in a land far, far away I sat in a home and tried to counsel an individual whose words against another person had become poisonous, public and divisive. My memory of that day has largely gone but I do remember utterly failing in changing the person's mind. They didn't want to hear an alternative and they refused to believe that their "enemy" wasn't actually the worst person in the world ever. They wouldn't hear of forgiveness, they didn't want any reconciliation and sadly the poison continued to seep out into the fellowship. Brothers and sisters I beg you to remember that we are not our own! We belong to Jesus Christ and He has not called us into cliques, camps or factions. The words we speak about one another can build up or they can destroy. The poison that leaves our lips into the ears of another has the potential to destroy the work of the Gospel and make no mistake they can impact another mentally and emotionally, opening the door to depression and many other troubles. As our garden centres and coffee shops open, may we be wise to the enemy. As we sip our lattes and eat our scones, may we not slip effortlessly into sinful slander and persuasive poison. If the Gospel is preached in your church then make no mistake, your fellowship will be a target for Satan. Don't offer him any help with a few quiet words in the carpark or grumbling or discontent in Dobbies. "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." (Colossians 4v6) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q37 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection. Year 2 Day 23
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:10 and Isaiah 64:1 Message - Alan Burke In these verse we are given three signs that confirm who Jesus is, the first is heaven being torn open. This is a picture of the sky opening, being ripped apart, darkened room, open the curtains and reveals so much more, this is a revelation of God. We need to go to the book of Isaiah here as those who were gathered from Judea and Jerusalem would have been familiar with how the prophet is moved to instruct God’s people on how to pray for demonstrations of God’s saving power and in this, with eloquence Isaiah pleads with God to make His presence unmistakably clear; he says "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down…”(Isa 64:1). Rend, tear, the same meaning. The heavens being torn open here is a revelation for all who had eyes to see, hearts to understands. This great tearing open of the heavens at the baptism of Jesus is the moment that they the people of God had been waiting for, the Messiah had indeed come and was being revealed to them, and to the world in an unparalleled manner. This is the announcement of God’s saving activity. This imagery of being torn is used in one other instance in Mark’s Gospel, one that no doubt that we are familiar with as the temple curtain (Mk 15:38) is torn in two from top to bottom. In both cases these are barriers being removed between God and man, barriers being torn open, torn apart, supernatural in their occurrences that reveal Jesus as the Son of God. A tear in the curtain at his death at the crucifixion signified that he accomplished his ministry and a tear in the heavens at his baptism signified the beginning of his ministry, this is the glory of the incarnation that God revealed himself to us. The barriers are torn down and torn open, and God is now in our midst. At that moment the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove which marks the beginning of a new creation, the coming of the Spirit signifies a news creation a turning point in the history of salvation, this was a new beginning. Before we go any further, I want to draw something to your attention, in Mark’s Gospel there are only six references from beginning to end about the Spirit. Yet three of them are here in chapter one at the beginning, verse eight which we thought about last week, verse ten that we have just thought about, and verse twelve that we will think about next week. Half of the references to the Spirit in this opening chapter. Why? Because Mark wants to make it clear to us, right from the beginning that the Spirit is essential in the ministry of Jesus, and that Jesus when his work here is done will give the Holy Spirit to those who are his. And there is something significant that happens here, this new beginning matters, this start of the ministry of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit matters, as Jesus at his ascension would give us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us (Acts 2). No longer do we need to go to the temple in Jerusalem which was signified was the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, instead the Spirit of God dwells in the believer, as we are baptised by the Spirit. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q36 What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification? The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’ s love, peace of conscience, (Rom. 5:1–2,5) joy in the Holy Ghost, (Rom. 14:17) increase of grace, (Prov. 4:18) and perseverance therein to the end. (1 John 5:13, 1 Pet. 1:5) Year 2 Day 22
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 13v44-52 Message - Scott Woodburn As a preacher when you are invited back to speak it is a tremendous encouragement and so Paul and Barnabas accepted the invitation to preach again on the next Sabbath day. Amazingly, this time round, almost the whole city gathered to hear Paul preach (v44). Unfortunately this news didn't go down too well with everyone. Out of jealously many Jews began to contradict Paul's preaching and to verbally abuse him (v45). Paul's response to their antics is powerful. He tells his critics that the Gospel came to them first as "was necessary" (v46a). God had not forgotten the Jewish people. Christ came first to the Jew and so the Gospel was preached among the Jews before it went anywhere else. But the Jews have forcefully pushed the Gospel aside and therefore they have deemed themselves unworthy of salvation. So the Gospel will now go to the Gentiles. The Lord has set Paul apart for this work and Isaiah 49v6 (v47) is fulfilled. Salvation will be brought to the ends of the earth. The Gentiles rejoice at this news and as many who were appointed to salvation believed (v48). Indeed the Word continued to spread throughout the region (v49) causing great joy among the disciples (v52). The Jews however stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas which resulted in them being driven out of the district (v50). The men respond by shaking the dust off their feet (v51). What did Paul and Barnabas mean by such an action? To shake the dust off your feet was a sign of judgement. Paul was saying to his critics that no trace of his ministry would be left, even the dust from his feet would be left behind. The Apostle was signifying that his critics had heard the Gospel, they had rejected the Gospel and the responsibility for their condemnation was their own. It has always been this way. To some the Gospel is the sweetest of honey upon the lips. To others it is disgusting, an offense, a disgrace. It is imperative that we listen well to the Gospel. To repent and believe the Gospel is the required response which will see you rejoice in the heavenly courts for eternity. To hear it and reject it will see you damned to the horrors of hell. So one and all...hear this...Christ died for sin and was raised again to life for our justification. Here is the Gospel. Heed it and believe it, lest you too find yourself with nothing but dust. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q35 What is sanctification? Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. Year 2 Day 21
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:9 and Matthew 3:14-15 Message - Alan Burke Think of the announcement of Gabriel to Mary that she was highly favoured (Lk 1:28), the birth of Jesus announced to the shepherds (Lk 2:8-20), a couple of years later the visit of the wise men (Mt 2:1-12), the young Jesus getting left behind at the temple (Lk 2:41-52), Mark tells us nothing of this. He simply passes over thirty years of Jesus life because he doesn’t want to preoccupy us with the details about the circumstances for Jesus' birth and background. What Mark wants to do is to take us to the good news, to Jesus and this seminal event in everything that unfolds. This is Jesus’ transition into public ministry that would end in his exhalation seated on the Father’s right hand that would also be his coronation, but only after his humiliation on the Cross dying for the sin of those who he came to save. These three verses that tell us of the baptism of Jesus act as the starting point for the ministry of Jesus, as the heavens were torn open, the Spirit descends into him and the Father declared from heaven that this is this is my Son whom I love. Think back to v4, John was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but Jesus was without sin (Heb 4:15). Jesus who was without sin, went to be baptised with a baptism that was of repentance for the forgiveness of sins but he was without sin, why is Jesus baptised if he is sinless? In Matthew 3:14, we are told that initially John tried to deter Jesus. John understood that Jesus who came before him was the one who would baptise with the Holy Spirit, the one who he was not worthy to untie his sandals, but then in verse 15, Jesus replies “Let it be so now (speaking of baptism); it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness”. To fulfil all righteousness, Jesus was doing this, was being baptised, he who was without sin, to fulfil all righteousness, and that righteousness is that of obedience. Jesus received baptism so that he might render full obedience to the Father. In order to secure a perfect righteousness for us, to bring salvation for sinners, Jesus had to keep every stipulation the Lord has given His people. God sent John the Baptist, the last prophet to command the Jews to be baptised in preparation for the arrival of His kingdom, so Jesus, as our Savior, had to keep that command. In everything single thing he did, Jesus was keeping the law of God perfectly, this is called his active obedience. It was not enough for Jesus to suffer and die as the substitute for sinners, the atonement provides for our forgiveness, which is of course necessary, but the Lord demands more than a clean slate from us, rather what is required is perfect obedience, active obedience to every jot and tittle of the law. Here in his baptism Jesus is humbling himself by entering the ranks of sinners, by identifying with them. Do we get the sheer gravitas of this, of what Jesus was doing by identifying as a sinner. The Son of God who was with God and was God, the second person of the Trinity, who helped set the stars in their place, and he identified with us sinners, and he died in our place that we might live. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q34 What is adoption? Adoption is an act of God’ s free grace, (1 John 3:1) whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God. (John 1:12, Rom. 8:17) Year 2 Day 19
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 13v13-43 Message - Scott Woodburn Long ago I heard the advice that if your sermon could be preached without offense in a mosque or synagogue then perhaps you didn't preach Christ. I think there is wisdom in such a statement. We declare Jesus to be fully God, fully man and yet without sin. Such a statement cannot be accepted by a devout Jew or Muslim. Paul was encouraged to preach in the synagogue (v15) and was certainly not going to remove Christ from his message. Paul loved the Jewish people and longed for them to be converted (Romans 10v1) and therefore he took every opportunity to preach Christ and Him crucified. I've made the case consistently that the church didn't begin at Pentecost and that the Gospel was from the beginning. We see that again in Paul's sermon. He takes his listeners from Egypt to the wilderness to the promised land (v17-19). He reminds them of the time of the judges until the coming of the prophet Samuel (v20). Next the people asked for a King with a man called Saul taking the throne before the Lord raised up David (v22). Paul wasn't showing off here. His purpose wasn't to dazzle the synagogue with his knowledge of the Old Testament. Instead he tells these people that from the offspring of David, God brought a Saviour called Jesus to Israel (v23). The way was prepared for Christ by John the Baptist who knew that he was unworthy to untie Christ's sandals (v25). The Christ arrived but His own people did not receive Him (v27). He was found innocent before Pilate but was condemned anyway (v28). He was crucified and placed in a tomb but was raised by God on the third day (v29-30). Jesus then appeared to the disciples who now act as witnesses to the people (v31). As far as Paul was concerned all of this was Gospel...it was good news (v32) and in Christ Scripture is fulfilled (v33). Jesus is the begotten Son as foretold in Psalm 2. Therefore Christ wasn't created but instead He was and is of the same substance as God. The blessings promised to David have come in Christ (v34) as Paul quotes from Isaiah 55v3 and as Jesus' body was placed in a tomb, He did not see corruption (v35). Psalm 16v10 has been fulfilled. Christ's body did not decay, it did not decompose, He did not see corruption. The same could not be said for David. He died and his body saw corruption (v36) but in Christ the true King has come. In Jesus there is forgiveness of sins and anyone who trusts in Him will be set free from the demands of the law (v38-39). Paul's message caused a great stir in the synagogue. The people wanted to hear more and asked Paul and Barnabas to return on the next Sabbath day (v42). I'm sure the response was an encouragement. Paul had warned that any failure to respond would bring judgement as foretold by the prophet Habakkuk (v41). I would imagine that nothing in Paul's sermon would be new to us. I trust that everything he proclaimed has been proclaimed in Edengrove and will be again. Yet today let us respond to it once more. The extraordinary good news of the Gospel has come to these shores and our hearts. How do we respond? Praise God today that every single one of His promises is yes and amen in Jesus. The Old Testament foretold Him, the New Testament shows Him and today we praise Him. Thanks be to God! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q33 What is justification? Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone. Year 2 Day 18
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:5-8 Message - Alan Burke John preached a ‘baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. There were many who came to hear him, those from all over the countryside even the big city Jerusalem (5). If this was today John would be filling stadiums if it weren’t for social distancing, but he was directing all who came to hear him in the message he proclaimed of one more powerful than him and the thongs of his sandals he was not worthy to untie (7). It may be lost on us, but most peoples feet were minging in John’s day, open toed sandals, with dirt, sweat, undoing sandals and washing the feet were duties not of servants but of slaves, no Jew would have done this for another Jew. And yet John a Jew is not worthy to untie his sandals He wanted those who came to hear him, every single person who heard the message he proclaimed to look to Jesus, rather than draw attention to himself, he wanted people to know Jesus, he exalted the saviour not himself. Have we thought about that? What it means to exalt our saviour, is that our focus, is that what we point people to, the greatness of our saviour? Is that the point of everything we are to do, in how we love one another, is that what we do when we worship, or have we fallen into the trap as the world around us where we make it about ourselves, what we get out of christianity, about our felt needs, we make our organisations as a church our priority rather than worship and pointing people to our saviour. That is our task, one preacher put it this way… “we are poor beggars telling other beggars where they can find bread.” Thus, we must continually point beyond ourselves to Christ, refusing to puff ourselves up but submitting wholly and eagerly to Him as the only Savior. In ourselves, we are nothing. Christ is everything. Ultimately John’s baptism was only a sign of the promises but he spoke of one who would baptise with the Holy Spirit it is that of his presence with those who have repented. Water baptism is the sign of the promise, but the Holy Spirit baptism is that of is presence This is not a second blessing, about spiritual gifts in the life of the believer, it is about the presence of God. Baptism is insufficient if it is merely an outward right, it is a sign of the promise but unless it is accompanied by true faith by the sovereign work of the Spirit in changing our hearts and granting us faith. We need the work of the Holy Spirit within us to be born again, to be saved from our sin and it is through the one who John pointed to, the one more powerful than he, Jesus Christ that there is salvation applied to us by the Holy Spirit. Let us thank God for his work in us by baptising us with the Holy Spirit. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q32 What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life? They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, (Rom. 8:30) adoption, (Eph. 1:5) and sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them. (1 Cor. 1:26,30) Year 2 Day 17
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 13v4-12 Message - Scott Woodburn In this country we love Biblical names for our children but draw the line at naming our sons Jesus. Yet if you have a son called Joshua then you have actually given him the name of the Lord. Over the years our western tongues have taken Christ's name and pronounced it as Jesus. However on the streets of Jerusalem Christ's name would have been pronounced "Yeshua" the equivalent of Joshua. As Barnabas and Saul make their way to the island of Cyprus they are not there for a holiday. They preached the Gospel in the synagogues of the Jews with John's help (v5). This isn't the Apostle John but rather John Mark who assists Saul on his travels. As they reach Paphos they face opposition from a Jewish false prophet with the extraordinary name of Bar-Jesus (v6). Luke isn't telling us here that this man was related to Christ, instead when we come across "bar" in the Bible it means "son of". So the father of this false prophet was called Joshua or Yeshua or as we pronounce it - Jesus. His other name was Elymas (v8) which means "wise" but he was in reality a dangerous fool. Elymas Bar-Jesus was seeking to stop the preaching of the Gospel. A Roman government official by the name of Sergius Paulus was an intelligent man and he wanted to hear the word of God preached (v7) but Elymas did his best to keep him away from the faith (v8b). We've heard a lot of names in this devotion and for the first time we hear that Saul is also called Paul. Saul was a Hebrew name and Paul was its Roman equivalent. So as the Hebrew convert called Saul preaches to the Gentiles, he uses his Roman name Paul instead. Paul looks at Elymas and denounces him powerfully (v10). He calls him a son of the devil, an enemy of righteousness, a liar, a villan and someone who seeks to make crooked the straight paths of the Lord. Immediately Elymas is struck blind. The Lord closes the eyes of His opponents and opens the eyes of His people. Sergius Paulus is astonished at the teaching and is saved (v12). As we reflect on Saul, Paul, Elymas, Sergius, John Mark and Barnabas we remember that there is a name greater than them all. Jesus is the name above all names and there is no other name by which we must be saved. Remarkably the one who receives Christ by faith is given the right to be called a child of God. Elymas may have carried the name of his father who had his name in common with the Lord, but Elymas was actually a child of the devil - spiritually blind and seeking to lead others astray. May the Lord give us eyes to see the enemies of the Gospel and the courage to oppose them, may the Lord open the eyes of the spiritually blind in our churches and communities and may the Lord open our mouths so that we can declare the mighty name of Jesus! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q31 What is effectual calling? Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel. |
Alan
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