Wednesday 091725
Acts 9:15 ‘…But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…’ AKJV
Ephesians 2:8 ‘…For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God…’ AKJV
Romans 10:9 ‘…that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…’ AKJV
Jesus, Guide me as I teach this lesson from Your Word. I love You Jesus. Amen.
The Bible verses we’re going to use this morning are:
Luke 22:36; Ephesians 6:17, 6:13-18; Luke 22:36, :38-39; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16; Acts 9:15, 13:9.
So, I was watching the new, fifth (5th) season of the series, the CHOSEN.
I think I like the series so much because I am able to physically see, with my own eyes, what is written in the Word of God.
So, last night, I think it was episode 3, as Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table, celebrating the last supper, Jesus tells the apostles how they needed to start arming themselves with swords.
I had never heard of such a verse before.
Luke 22:36 ‘…Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one…’ AKJV
Jesus is telling His disciples at the last supper, to arm themselves … ?
Those apostles sitting at that table I would gamble all the money I could find, but I would bet that they were shocked at what was coming from Jesus’ mouth.
Can you just imagine … ?
But for us today in the 21st century, we have been given the entire Word of God, so we can at any time, get out our Bibles and search for any Scripture we desire.
Ephesians 6:17 ‘…And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…’ AKJV
In our Bibles, in Ephesians 6, Paul writes of the armor that God has given us; to equip us so we can battle the evil found in this world, so we will be able to keep our eyes focused on Him.
Ephesians 6
vs13 ‘…Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand…’
vs14 ‘…Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness…’
vs15 ‘…and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace…’
vs16 ‘…above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked…’
vs17 ‘…And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…’
vs18 ‘…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…’ AKJV
Over my many years of studying with y’all, I have done numerous studies on this armor that God is offering us.
Out of all of the different pieces of armor, the sword (the Word of God), is the ONLY offensive protection, that He has given us.
God wants us to arm ourselves with the knowledge of what has been written in the Word so that we will know when we are being lied to.
Return with me back to the book of Luke. Jesus just told the apostles to sell what they had buy themselves a sword … let me show the verse again to you.
Luke 22:36 ‘…Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one…’ AKJV
The apostle Simon the Zealot (nicknamed Z), left the table and returned with two swords he already had, hidden, in his possession.
Luke 22
vs38 ‘… And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough…’
vs39 ‘…And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him…’ AKJV
Jesus wasn’t telling His apostles to arm themselves with ‘swords’ … He was telling them to arm themselves with the Word.
The apostles couldn’t run down to the Dollar General on the corner and buy a copy of the Bible, like we can today.
Jesus had realized the men, did not understand.
I believe Jesus was telling us, today; we are to arm ourselves with what has been written in the Word.
We shouldn’t just own a copy or copies of the Bible and leave them lying around our house collecting dust, we should search and study the Word of God so we can protect ourselves for what dangers are out there wanting to fight against us, and I’m talking about Satan always fighting against us.
We have people today, they go to church every Sunday morning, some even go every Sunday and Wednesday nights; these people walk into their church building with a Bible in their hand, and they come in and sit down.
When they’re seated, they’ll notice Bibles on the seats right next to them or under the seats in front of them.
But in most services, these Bibles are not even opened up and read from.
If they are opened, they are opened to a part of Scripture that has been meant for us to see, but it has never been intended for us to follow.
2 Timothy 2:15 ‘…Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth…’ AKJV
The apostle Paul wrote to teach us that we are to be wise enough, to know where in the Bible we can read the Truth for our ears to HEAR and read the words in the Bible that were given to earlier generations, thousands of years before us.
2 Timothy 3:16 ‘…All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…’ AKJV
ALL Scripture, the entire Bible has been given to us so we can learn from what has been written in the Word of God, but NOWHERE are we told we were to FOLLOW all the Scripture written in the Word.
What gets to me, is when a person will hear me make that statement, right away they’ll state how they’re not going to listen to me, and they’ll use ALL Scripture …
Okay, well why then why don’t you USE ALL SCRIPTURE?
Why do you leave out Acts 9:15?
Acts 9:15 ‘…But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…’ AKJV
This verse, in fact, the entire chapter of Acts 9, is of the ascended Jesus Christ coming back down to this earth and CHOOSING Saul of Tarsus to teach the entire world what God wants for us to know so we can attain Everlasting Life in the presence of Jesus Christ.
The ascended Jesus CHOSE Saul, but just think how many out there today won’t even read from the thirteen (13) books Paul wrote for us.
Here is another important verse and footnote also found in the book of Acts.
Acts 13:9 ‘…But [a]Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Him, looked steadily at Elymas…’ AMP (Amplified Bible)
FOOTNOTE
[a] Saul was the apostle Paul’s Jewish (Hebrew) name. As his ministry to Gentiles began he became known by his Roman (Latin) name, Paul.
There is much foolishness in this world today.
Remember, when Jesus came to this earth during His earthly ministry, He was very disappointed with the religion of that day.
Why are there so many that don’t see the same thing that is going on today in our man-made churches.
There is ONE God, how can their be thousands of different denominations celebrating different gods?
Always remember, there is only ONE book of Truth.
Our Bibles today are available in many different versions, in many different languages.
I don’t believe there is only one version any better than another, if there was, I’m positive God would have told us what that version was.
I do believe though that we should read and compare our versions with others to make sure we are reading what God wants us to HEAR.
Keep your Bibles open and continue to study the Word of God.
Make yourself aware so that you will know what God is trying to tell you, stop listening to a man in a building preaching that he is the only one that understands the truth.
If he was the only man that knew, God would have told us in His Word of this man’s gift.
Open your Bibles and listen to God Himself speak to you.
Let the Holy Spirit dwell in your presence.
I’ll be back next Wednesday.
I love ALL of y’all.
I am InHIM.><)))o>
Jesus, bless those that are studying in Your Word this morning. Keep them strong and keep them hungry to find out more secrets in Your Word. I love You Jesus. Amen.
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