UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts. Here again are Dave and Tom:
Tom:
We are in Acts Chapter 12, we are going to pick up with Verse 19. “And when Herod had sought for him, (him, being Peter, who was in prison, and really a tight guard around him, yet an angel appeared to Peter and delivered him from prison.)
Dave:
Did his shackles fall off, or is there a lock opened?
Tom:
No, Herod wasn’t real happy about this, and it says: “Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down to Judea to Caesarea, and there abode.” Verse 20: “And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and having made Blastus, (there’s a name, Dave, interesting) the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”
Dave:
Tom, it’s a pretty horrible thing to say but that’s what happened to him. It’s just a case of a king, though he was kind of a small time king under the Romans, but still, he was elevating himself as God.
Tom:
Yeah, he had a full time ego, didn’t he?
Dave:
He sure did. Life and death meant nothing to him. He could just snuff people out at a whim. He’s acting like he’s God, like he’s in charge of not only his own life but thousands of others. He has robbed God of his glory. You know, God doesn’t always do this sort of thing, just like God doesn’t always release you miraculously from prison. He didn’t do that every time Peter was in prison. He didn’t do it for Paul---well, he did it once for Paul when they were praying and singing praises to God, and the prison was shaken and the doors were opened, remember? That was in Philippi in Acts 16, we haven’t gotten there yet. But this is horrible judgment from God, and the way it happened I don’t think anyone could deny this is the hand of God, God is doing this. These people are flattering him, this is a lesson to them as well. Jude talks about, those who hold men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. See, I’ll flatter you, maybe you’ll let me on your TV show, or maybe, you know, give me some little benefit. So these people are flattering this guy---oh, it’s the voice of a god, not of a man. They are flattering him, not because they really believe that, but so they can get some benefit. Tom, as the Bible says, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. You know, I can remember, as a boy---we need to have a little homey stuff in here once in a while, don’t we, Tom?
Tom:
Sure, Dave, and we just got into baby doll Jesus, you know, come on!
Dave:
I remember as a boy the fellowships that I attended they believed in women’s head covering. It wasn’t a bushka, like the Russian Orthodox.
Tom:
Or a veil, I remember in Roman Catholicism.
Dave:
No, it was a hat, and I mean they vied with one another to see who had the most beautiful hat. You know, when we moved to Europe, in 1966, the first time, well, Ruth will tell you, my wife Ruth, among all the luggage we took was a huge hat box. Ooooo, she had some fantastic hats in there. And I can remember driving home, I had a sister who was four years older, and maybe some of her girl friends were in the car with us, or the women. Oh, at Sunday dinner, and you should hear their remarks about other ladies’ hats. But, you know, derogatory remarks, but they would never say that face to face. So they would say, oh, wow, what a beautiful hat! Oh, wow, it’s just--- And Tom, it’s like these people, they don’t mean it, they mean this is the voice of a god, and this guy has been mean and nasty to them. But they’re flattering him, okay. You can’t believe everything people say, all the compliments. So Tom, we don’t care--- I mean it’s very nice that people compliment us. It’s to the glory of God that someone has benefited from a book that we have written or a newsletter. But you know, the same person that compliments you today may curse you tomorrow, because men are not reliable, they change their minds. So that’s what’s going on here, the big ego is being fed by the people and God says, Look, I’ve had enough of this!
Tom:
You know, Dave, God doing this, he picks, as we’ve been saying for the last couple of weeks, he picks and chooses his spots for effect. I’m thinking of Annanias and Saphira, God to get our attention. But all of these things demonstrate the character of God. In other words, God is going to deal as he dealt with Herod who killed James, who tried to kill Peter. God is a vengeful God, he is going to take care of these things. You know, I just went through the Book of Revelation, and you see God is going to deal with those who take the lives of the saints, the martyrs, and so on. But it’s going to be in his timing. And if he did it continually just as within the church, if he dealt with sin like the sin of Annanias and Saphira, who would be left? But it still is a deterrent, it still tells us his standard and what he expects.
Dave:
And one day he is going to execute complete justice. Hitler didn’t get his fully, you know, committed suicide. What an incredible guy, but he is getting it now and he will suffer for ever, for all eternity. Well, immediately, wow, it was fast, the angel smote him. But notice the next Verse 24, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” The enemies are falling by the wayside, but the word of God is growing and multiplying. And then it says, “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, (back to Antioch, where, remember, the disciples were first called Christians. It was the first non Jewish congregation up until that point the Christians were Jews. Most Jews don’t realize that the first Christians were Jews. They think that Christianity is anti Jew, anti Israel, and that’s not true.)
Tom:
Jesus was a Jew, you have to ----------it there.
Dave:
Right. “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.” So they’ve come back to Antioch in the next chapter, and the next chapter is going to talk about the word of God growing and multiplying, because---can I just move along just a little bit here?
Tom:
Go for it!
Dave:
“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said(the Holy Spirit) Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where unto I have called them.” That’s a lesson for us to learn. Are you called into the ministry? Well of course every Christian is to be a witness for Jesus Christ. Jesus said to his disciples, Go into all the world and preach the gospel. So, and we just read it back here. They were scattered at the persecution that followed the death of Steven, and they didn’t go into caves and holes in the ground. It says they went everywhere preaching the Word.
Tom:
Dave, this calling, you know, a sad note here. We just finished a video on psychology and the church. Now, those who would want to go into the mission field, most mission agencies require that they go to a psychological counselor to get an evaluation. What kind of calling is that?
Tom:
Well, you take a psychological test, and none of them work.
Tom:
Right, they are bogus, completely bogus.
Dave:
Tom, they are as bogus as the Rorschach ink blot.
Tom:
Which is a complete fraud.
Dave:
And yet over a million people a year take that.
Tom:
So, what ever happened to calling, Dave? What ever happened to the call of God to enter in the mission?
Dave:
Well, Tom, it doesn’t happen the way it did here. These are the elders, they are praying and fasting and God speaks to them and says, Separate Barnabas and Saul, I’ve got a ministry of them. And I guess we will have to come back and get to that ministry.
Dave and Tom will resume 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.
For nearly two thousand years the church of Christ has provided comfort and counsel to believers experiencing mental, emotional and behavioral problem by using the teachings of the scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit until psychology and psychotherapy arrived on the scene. Contemporary Christianity has embraced this science so-called. In the last fifty years multitudes of pastors have added clinical counseling degrees to their theological credentials. Psychological theories have been preached so often from so many pulpits that they are accepted without question by increasing numbers of Christians as biblical doctrines. The Christian church of the United States has become a major referral service for clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. Is there something wrong with this picture? Join host, T. A. McMahon, in this new ground-breaking documentary from The Berean Call: Psychology and the Church, Critical Questions, Crucial Answers. Also, contributing to this latest TBC production are Dr. Martin Bobgan and Deidre Bobgan from Psychoheresy Awareness Ministries, Dr. Tana Dineen, author of, Manufacturing Victims, and Dave Hunt, author of Judgment Day. Executive Director of The Berean Call and co-author of, The Seduction of Christianity, Tom McMahon: For years believers, both pastors and those in the pews, have been intimidated by the pseudo science of psychological counseling, and the result has been they have backed away from their God-given mandate to minister to one another. My hope and prayer is that this video will expose the myths of psychology and encourage the church to return to God’s way of counseling through his Word, by his Holy Spirit and with the help of fellow believers in him.
This powerful DVD is now available from The Berean Call---Psychology and the Church, Critical Questions, Crucial Answers. Information on how to order in just a moment.
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Next week we will continue our series of programs based on Dave Hunt’s latest book, Judgment Day, and Seven reasons the Jews have sole claim to Israel. In Religion in the News, Selling your soul on e-bay, we’ll take a look at that story and address the question: Does God hear everyone’s prayers? 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 to tune in again next week. Until then, if you desire to know God’s truth search the scriptures daily. For more information about The Berean Call write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708. Call us toll free at our order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org.
