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If you have a question for Dave and Tom to address in a future Contending for the Faith, stay with us, we will have our contact information at the end of the program. You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Now our final segment:
UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts, here again are Dave and Tom:
This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the Book of Acts Chapter 27, and I’ll pick up with Verse 38. “And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.” Now prior to that, Paul has instructed those aboard the ship, which were going through a really heavy storm, it was about to break up. They had put soundings out, trying to find out how close to land they were, and they were getting close. Paul had them all enjoy a meal, amazingly, and Dave, they were, you know you don’t think about this, at least I didn’t think about it, they are 276 souls on this ship, quite a few. But God had told Paul that he was going to protect them all if they obeyed his instructions.
Dave:
Right.
Tom:
So again, Verse 38: “And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.” Obviously, the lighter the ship, the closer to shore it was going to be able to carry. “And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.” I assume this means that they found a place in which the ship could get closer to the land. Verse 40: “And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoisted up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.” Verse 41: And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.” Now Dave, my wife and I used to have a sailboat before we had kids, it was a pretty good size, 35 feet, so we’ve been in some big seas, but this is scary stuff. We’ve never run aground or been stuck in the rocks, but I can imagine what it was like, pretty frightening.
Dave:
Yeah, and I don’t know that all of them can swim, but if they will follow instructions—
Tom:
As they were told, instructed by Paul.
Dave:
—everyone will be saved.
Tom:
And Dave, not just the weather and their situation, but there was more danger involved. Verse 42: “And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.”
Dave:
You know, it’s a big responsibility to take a group of prisoners all the way to Rome . And I think in those days you were accountable.
Tom:
Right, with your own life, just like the Philippian jailer
Dave:
Right, right. No point in him waiting for Rome to kill to him, might as well take his own life because obviously the prisoners had fled, but they had not. And the soldiers, can they take a chance? Everything Paul has said has come to pass. Yes, but this could be our heads, let’s kill these prisoners so none of them can escape.
Tom:
Verse 43: “But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.”
Dave:
Exactly as God had said and now are they going to run away, these prisoners? It seems to me enough soldiers there to keep them in a little herd that they are guarding. I don’t know where they would go. They don’t know what island this is, how far it is from some other land.
Tom:
But I’m sure they are pretty exhausted.
Dave:
And they hadn’t had much to eat; they had just eaten after fasting for many days. So, it came to pass, they escaped all safe to land. Let me just take a quick look here, because this is only one account. Listen to what Paul says, he’s telling what he has suffered for the sake of Christ.
Tom:
Where is this?
Dave:
This is 2 Corinthians Chapter 11, and he’s talking about false prophets and false apostles. They are leading people astray, and then he says Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. And his ministers pretend to be ministers of righteousness, so this is related to what we were talking about. There was an enemy who wants to deceive, and the contemplative movement and the Emerging Church is putting Christians right in harms way. It’s making it possible for Satan to do that. But then Paul says you know these guys are bragging, they are great apostles, and so forth, and he says: “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they the ministers of Christ? He says, I speak as a fool, I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes (that is, with a cat o’ nine tails being scourged) above measure.” He says, “I can’t even count them, I can’t even remember how many, maybe hundreds, above measure. In prisons more frequent.” He says, “I’ve been to prison more than any of these guys, in deaths oft.” Well, he faced death, and of course, he was stoned at one time, they took him up for dead. “Of the Jews give times received I forty stripes save one.” He’s got 39 stripes five times, and supposedly, 40 would kill you. “Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned,”—and now this is what I was thinking of—thrice I suffered shipwreck. He’s only telling us of one, but he was shipwrecked 3 times, the apostle Paul. And then, he says, “A night and a day I have been in the deep, nothing under me, I just had to swim for it for an entire night and a day until I was rescued.”
Tom:
Can you imagine the conversation he has with the Lord? Lord, what am I doing here? Forgive me for that, but the thought does come to me. But knowing Paul, from reading, I’m sure his communion with the Lord was—it wasn’t just, Lord, help me, help me, help me! I’m sure he had wonderful communion with the Lord.
Dave:
He rejoiced, and if we went to Philippians, which we don’t have time for, but there he says—well, he’s writing to them from prison, and he says: “My God shall supply all your needs.” And here’s a man—well, he talks about he learned to be abased and how to abound, how to be full, to be empty, how to be hungry, and then he comforts them. “My God shall supply all your needs, through his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And we’re certainly seeing evidence of this, I mean, what a life Paul lived, what a man of God he was, and he was given the privilege of passing on most of the New Testament to us. Well, the gospels are quite lengthy, but most of the epistles, most of the teaching came from Paul, which he says he received directly from the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and this is one of the great proofs of the resurrection. Paul was one of the great proofs, because there is no way to explain how he knew what the apostles knew because they had been with Christ. He never had, he was not even at the Last Supper. And Paul writes in 1 Corinthians:11:23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:” and so forth. And he tells what happened the Last Supper, he wasn’t there! Now how are you going to explain that? There is no other explanation except he must have met Jesus Christ, the resurrected Lord because he specifically says, I did not go up to those who were apostles before me and say, Hey guys, I think I’ve become a Christian, I’d like to be able to preach this gospel but I could make some mistakes—Peter, help me out! James, help me, give me a quick course in Christianity. He knew more than they knew, and he had never sat down with Christ during his lifetime along with them, one of the great proofs of the resurrection!
Dave and Tom will take up their discussion on the topic of salvation next week; we hope you can join us. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.
The apostle John in Revelation 17 describes in detail characteristics of a beast which comes in the last days. Virtually all attention these days is focused on the coming Antichrist, but he is only half the story. Many are amazed to discover that that same passage reveals another mysterious character at the heart of prophecy, a woman who rides the beast. Who is this woman? John depicts her as a false church which will be a partner of the Antichrist. Tradition says she is connected with the Church of Rome, but isn’t such a view outdated? After all, today’s Vatican is eager to join hands with Protestants worldwide. We are told the Catholic Church is changed, or has it? In, A Woman Rides The Beast , prophecy expert Dave Hunt sifts through Biblical truth and global events to present a well defined portrait of this woman, and her powerful place in the Antichrist future empire. Eight remarkable clues in Revelation prove the woman’s identity beyond any reasonable doubt. Was John describing the Church of Rome? To answer this question, Dave has spent years in historical research, primarily from Catholic sources, and provides indisputable documentation.
Video host and author and lecturer Dave Hunt: There’s over 500 pages and about 800 footnotes, I think, of documentation that will surprise, perhaps, even Catholics, as well as non Catholics, as to the official teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Its history, what it really has stood for and stands for today. I’m not making it up; I think it is worth while, I think it is something you need to read.
A Woman Rides The Beast , the book and the video are available from The Berean Call, information on how to order in just a moment. And now to tell you more about our ministry, here’s TBC Executive Director Tom McMahon: The name, The Berean Call, is taken from the Book of Acts chapter 17, verses 10 and 11, where we find the apostle Paul entering the synagogue in the Greek city of Berea after he had just come from Thessalonica. To these Bereans he preached that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah sent from God. They were commended for being noble, or fair-minded, not only for their willingness to hear what Paul had to say about the matter, but more specifically, because they searched the scriptures daily to find out whether or not what the apostle was saying was found in God’s Word. That’s what we hope to encourage through this ministry. Our mission is to alert believers in Christ to unbiblical teachings and practices impacting the church. We want to exhort believers to give greater heed to Biblical discernment and truth regarding what they are accepting as spiritual. We hope to supply those who profess to be Biblical Christians with information and material that will encourage the love of God’s truth. Hopefully, we can help mobilize believers in Christ to action in obedience to the scriptural command to earnestly contend for the faith found in Jude 3. And finally, our prayer is that we can be used of God to stimulate Christians to look to the Bible alone as their rule of faith, authority and practice in living lives pleasing to our Lord and Savior.
Gary :
We offer a wide variety of teaching materials that will help you expand your knowledge of God’s Word, from books and tracts to audio and video recordings, CD-ROM, our website and much more. For a complete list of materials, or to get a copy of today’s broadcast, write to us at POB 7019, Bend , Oregon 97708 . Call us at our toll free order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org . If you would like a copy of this broadcast on compact disk, ask for Program #0408, and be sure to mention the call letters of this station. Get a pen or pencil ready; we’ll repeat our contact information in just a moment.
Next week, we continue our series of programs addressing the latest spiritual phenomenon called, The Emerging Church, and: “How do we achieve union with God? In Religion in the News, Sunday school for atheists, we’ll take a look at that story and address the question: What are indulgences? We hope you can tune in. If you have questions or comments about this program, we urge you to contact our offices. Search the Scriptures Daily Radio Ministry, is made possible by God’s grace, your prayers, and your financial support. I’m Gary Carmichael, and for Dave, Tom and everyone here at The Berean Call, I would like to thank you for joining us, and invite you back again next week. In the meantime, if you desire to know God’s truth, search the scriptures daily. You’ve been listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. For more information about The Berean Call, write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708, call us toll free at our order #877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org . Join us again next week for Search the Scriptures Daily, featuring Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon.
