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John Wesley · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Wesley put it likewise: Jesus! The name high over all, In hell, or earth, or sky; Angels and men before it fall, And devils fear and fly. Notice how the Lord turned the tables on Satan and used all of this for the furtherance of the Gospel. I once heard a very wise woman say that Satan often overreaches. He attacks us so fiercely that he unwittingly drives us straight to God. It happened in this case. The slave owners were so upset at having lost the girl’s clairvoyant abilities that they dragged Paul and Silas before the magistrates, had them flogged and fastened in the innermost cells of the prison. But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. A terrific earthquake rocked the prison, and the doors flew open. The prisoner’s chains fell off. The chief jailer cried out in alarm, but Paul reassured him that everyone was safe and still in place. "What Must I Do?" Calling for lights, the jailer fell trembling before the preachers and asked one of the most famous questions in New Testament history: Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Paul said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved and your household. The simplicity of his answer reflects the simplicity of the Gospel. We come to Jesus Christ in simple faith and pray something like this: Dear Father, I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again to give me forgiveness of sins and eternal life. In that he gave himself for me, I am now giving myself to him. Be my Savior and Lord from this moment forth. Paul Harvey once told about a little boy who caught birds and kept them in a sack. One day an old man met him along the pathway. The man heard pitiful sound of wings slapping the inside of the sack and a hopeless, pathetic sort of chirping coming from within. "Whatcha got in the sack?" asked the old man. "I’ve got a sack full of sparrows!" said the little boy. "What are you going to do with them?" asked the man. "I’m going to take them out of the sack one by one and tease them, pull a feather out now and then, and then I’ll feed them to the cat." "How much do you want for the whole sack?" asked the man. The boy thought about it and finally told the man, "Two dollars." "Done," said the old man. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the two dollars, and gave them to the boy. Taking the sack, he opened it, suddenly exposing it to the rich sunlight. One by one, the birds struggled toward the opening and jumped out, free, liberated, flying into the sky. And so it happened one day that God met Lucifer with a huge bag. Inside the bag were the most helpless sounds of life struggling to be free. "What have you got in the bag?" asked God. "People," said Lucifer with a smirk. "And what will you do with them?" "I will torment and oppress them one by one, and when they are all worn out with trials, I will throw them into hell." "And what will you take for all of them?" "Your only Beloved." "Done!" said the Father. And he reached down to earth and gave us the gift of his Son. Have you trusted him? Have you given him your life? Sir, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved and your household. Acts 16:17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” KJV Acts 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. NET Acts 16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." GNT Acts 16:17 αὕτη κατακολουθοῦσα τῷ Παύλῳ καὶ ἡμῖν ἔκραζεν λέγουσα, Οὗτοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι δοῦλοι τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου εἰσίν, οἵτινες καταγγέλλουσιν ὑμῖν ὁδὸν σωτηρίας. NLT Acts 16:17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved." ESV Acts 16:17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." CSB Acts 16:17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, "These men, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation, are the slaves of the Most High God." NIV Acts 16:17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." These men: Ac 19:13 Mt 8:29 Mk 1:24 Lu 4:34,41 bond-servants Da 3:26,28 6:16,20 Jon 1:9 1Pe 2:16 of the Most High God Ge 14:18-22 Ps 57:2 78:35 Da 4:2 5:18,21 Mic 6:6 Mk 5:7 Lu 8:28 proclaiming to you the way of salvation Act 16:30,31 18:26 Mt 7:13,14 22:16 Mk 12:14 Lu 1:77,79 20:21 Joh 14:6 Heb 10:19-22 Acts 16 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DEMONIC "ENDORSEMENT" OF PAUL'S MINISTRY! This has to be one of the more ironic passages in all of the Bible, for a woman enslaved to demonic forces is actually crying out that Paul and those with him were proclaiming the way of salvation! Following after Paul and us - Following after is in the present tense indicating she "tailed" Paul's party everywhere they went in Philippi! She kept crying out, saying - Crying out is the verb krazo is not a whisper but a loud cry so all could have heard her and in the imperfect tense indicates she was crying out over and over. You can picture the chaotic scene and imagine Paul's blood pressure beginning to slowly rise with each one of her hoarse cries that sounded like the cries of a raven! Listen to the irritating cry of these ravens and imagine this following you everywhere you walked! These men are bond-servants of the Most High God - Again it is fascinating that she is echoing orthodox theology! These men were not their own but those who had given themselves to the service of their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Robertson on Most High God - Pagan inscriptions use this language for the Supreme Being. It looks like supernatural testimony like that borne by the demoniacs to Jesus as "son of the Most High God" (Luke 8:28. Cf; also Mark 1:24; Mark 3:11; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:41, etc.). She may have heard Paul preach about Jesus as the way of salvation. Bondservants (1401)(doulos from deo = to bind) (Click additional notes on doulos) was an individual bound to another in servitude and conveys the idea of the slave's close, binding ties with his master, belonging to him, obligated to and desiring to do his will and in a permanent relation of servitude. In sum, the will of the doulos is consumed in the will of the master. A bondservant is one who surrendered wholly to another’s will and thus devoted to another to the disregard of his own interest. Paul and Timothy were not their own but had been bought with the price of the blood of Christ. They were now the property of our Lord Jesus Christ and were His slaves exclusively. No man can serve two masters (Mt 6:24-note). Paul and Timothy had been slaves of Sin (see note on "the Sin") by their birth into Adam's likeness, but now they are slaves of Christ by their new, second birth. They had no will of their own, no business of their own, no time of their own and were acting for their Master, Christ; dependent upon Him and obedient to Him. The Most High God (cf Ps 78:35, Da 5:18+) is the Hebrew name El Elyon which connotes God's sovereign control over all history. In short, the demonically inspired cries of this woman were "spot on!" Related Resource: El Elyon: Most High God - Sovereign Over All NET Note postulates (I am not sure this is accurate) "Her expression the Most High God might have been understood as Zeus by the audience." Henry
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Wesley: The Complete Writings, which is available from bookstores or libraries. Several biographies have been written, including Susanna Wesley by Arnold Dallimore. Spend time in prayer today for the generation following you, and seek to model the kind of life-changing faith of Lois and Eunice through the grace of the Holy Spirit. J C Philpot - "And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily." Acts 16:5 Oh what an inestimable mercy it is for a man to know the truth for himself by divine teaching and divine testimony; to have it applied to his heart by a gracious influence and a heavenly power, so as to know for himself what salvation is, whence it comes, and above all to enjoy a sweet persuasion that this salvation has reached his heart! He will then know where to go in the hour of trouble, to whom to resort when sorrow and affliction come into his house, or illness or infirmity shake his tabernacle. He will not be a stranger to the throne of grace, nor to the sweetness of the covenant ordered in all things and sure. But there will be given him from above, out of the fullness of Christ, such grace and strength as will support him in the trying hour. It is by these gracious dealings upon his soul, that a believer becomes "established in the faith." No, the very storms through which he passes will only strengthen him to take a firmer hold of Christ, and thus become more established in the faith of him. It is in these storms that he learns more of his own weakness and of Christ's strength; more of his own misery and of Christ's mercy; more of his own sinfulness and of super-abounding grace; more of his own poverty and of Christ's riches; more of his own desert of hell, and more of his own title to heaven. Thus he becomes "established in faith," for the same blessed Spirit who began the work carries it on, goes on to fill up the original outline, and to engrave the image of Christ in deeper characters upon his heart, and to teach him more and more experimentally the truth as it is in Jesus. Acts 16:6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; KJV Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, NET Acts 16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. GNT Acts 16:6 Διῆλθον δὲ τὴν Φρυγίαν καὶ Γαλατικὴν χώραν κωλυθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος λαλῆσαι τὸν λόγον ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ· NLT Acts 16:6 Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. ESV Acts 16:6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. CSB Acts 16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia. NIV Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. NAB Acts 16:6 They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. NJB Acts 16:6 They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, because they had been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. GWN Acts 16:6 Paul and Silas went through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia. NRS Acts 16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. YLT Acts 16:6 and having gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, Phrygia: Ac 2:10 18:23 region : Ac 18:23 1Co 16:1 Ga 1:2 3:1 2Ti 4:10 1Pe 1:1 forbidden : Ac 16:7 10:19 11:12 13:2-4 20:28 2Ch 6:7-9 Isa 30:21 Am 8:11,12 1Co 12:11 Heb 11:8 Asia : Ac 19:10,26,27 20:4,16 2Co 1:8 2Ti 1:15 1Pe 1:1 Rev 1:4,11 Map of Second Missionary Journey Acts 16 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE HOLY SPIRIT "SHUTS THEIR MOUTHS" They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region (Find these locations on this map) - They had been in the cities that Paul and Barnabas had visited on the first missionary journey (cf Acts 15:36+), the city furthest north being Antioch of Pisidia (Antiochia Kaesareia on the map), and it was presumably from this city that they trekked into neighboring region of Phrygia and Galatia. Passed through (went through)(1330)(dierchomai from dia = through + erchomai = come, go) means to go through, to pass through, to move through an area ("When they had gone through the whole island" = Acts 13:6; Jesus "went about doing good and healing" = Acts 10:38; Paul "went about preaching the kingdom" = Acts 20:25, cf Acts 8:4, 40, 17:23; "they began going throughout the villages" = Lk 9:6; Jesus "passing through Jericho" = Lk 19:1; Jesus "was passing between Samaria and Galilee" = Lk 17:11; All Luke's uses of dierchomai - Lk. 2:15; Lk. 2:35; Lk. 4:30; Lk. 5:15; Lk. 8:22; Lk. 9:6; Lk. 11:24; Lk. 17:11; Lk. 19:1; Lk. 19:4; Jn. 4:4; Acts 8:4; Acts 8:40; Acts 9:32; Acts 9:38; Acts 10:38; Acts 11:19; Acts 12:10; Acts 13:6; Acts 13:14; Acts 14:24; Acts 15:3; Acts 15:41; Acts 16:6; Acts 17:23; Acts 18:23; Acts 18:27; Acts 19:1; Acts 19:21; Acts 20:2; Acts 20:25; Phrygian...region (see note) was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia (see location in central Turkey). NET Note on Galatian - "Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor (North Galatia), or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch (South Galatia). The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies." (NET Note) As Kenneth Gangel says "It is useless to ponder how the Holy Spirit conveyed this message." (Ibid) Having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia - How the Holy Spirit forbade Paul, Silas and Timothy is not specifically stated. The phrase the word in this context indicates the Gospel. Somehow the Spirit told the missionaries not to preach the Gospel in these regions at this time. However God had not forgotten about the lost souls in Asia (see "Asia" in the red area on this Map) for these regions would later have churches in several cities including Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Colossae, Sardis, Pergamum, and Thyatira. For now that "door" was closed to Paul. Note that by using the name Asia Luke was NOT referring to the continent of Asia as we know it today. NET Note on Asia - "Asia"; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. (see red area on this Map) Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. Forbidden (Hindered, prevented) (2967) (koluo from kólos = docked, lopped, clipped, kolazo = curtail) means to cut off, to cut short, to weaken and generally to hinder, to prevent, to check, to restrain or to forbid by word or act. The idea is to cause something not to happen. To hinder means to make slow or difficult the progress of something by interfering in some way with the activity or progress thereof. In short koluo means to make it difficult for someone to do something or for something to happen in this case to preach the Gospel. At times the Spirit says "NO" so He can lead us to a greater ministry for Jesus. THOUGHT - Forbidden is a fascinating example of the "divine passive," which Luke clearly relates to the effect of the prohibitive effect of the Holy Spirit. One wonders how many times we experience "divine passives"? Or how many times we refuse to pay attention to the Spirit's still small voice in His "divine passives?" Oh my! Dear Father in Heaven, give us ears and hearts like young Samuel who finally recognized Your voice exclaiming "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10). Amen. F B