Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

2 - Theophilus

How far did God have to go to reach you? Some of us came to Him quickly and easily as children, others not until late in life. But taking that first step toward God was not the end of the matter. However and whenever we came to Him, as life progressed, we found that holding on to Him is a challenge. Events happened that caused us to question God’s goodness or power. Doubts arose about the historical truth of what we had embraced. People argued with us or ridiculed us for our childlike trust until we felt foolish for believing things we couldn’t “prove.” And if that weren’t enough, at some point we found our obedience to Christ got us in trouble. To remain loyal to Him cost us something that mattered to us. We had to let go of something or someone in order to hold on to Him. And the more we became aware of the world’s genuine hostility toward our faith, the more we understood that real persecution might be a price we’d have to pay. So, our walk with Christ not only started with a choice to believe, it has required many choices to believe along the way.

These first few verses of Acts remind us that God doesn’t abandon us to struggle alone with these issues. His Holy Spirit is always with us to refresh our faith, but He also sends us people to come after us when we wander and stand beside us when we’re weak. Amazingly, Luke wrote the Book of Acts to strengthen the faith of one man.

1 - Preparing For Acts

Welcome to the Book of Acts! Today we begin an adventure. We will regularly be traveling back in time, nearly 2000 years, to watch our forefathers and mothers live out their faith. Many of them actually knew Jesus. They had watched Him minister and had listened to Him teach. And what we read in this book is their obedience to what they heard Him tell them to do. He had been a good teacher, and they loved Him. They had watched Him ascend into heaven. They believed in Him. So when He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit, they waited. When He told them they would do the same kinds of ministry as He had done, they did. They stood in the same place in the Temple where He had stood, and taught and healed the crowds just as He had. They gathered in homes to eat together, discuss the Word and pray just as they had done with Him traveling through Galilee and Judea. He assured them that after He ascended He would still be with them, so they continued to expect Him to lead them as their Lord. When He said He would send them to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even the remote parts of the earth, they went.

As we read Luke’s historical account of the first 30 years of the Church, the example of these early believers continues to challenge us. Indeed, the Book of Acts has often been used in the past to inspire revival. Sooner or later someone reads the book and asks, “Why don’t we do those things anymore?” And if they refuse to listen to the excuses someone always supplies, they’ve taken the first step toward a fresh move of God.

God’s strategy to win the world

God’s strategy to win the world can be put into two words: multiply Jesus. Like seed in the hand of the sower, He said He would take Spirit-filled men and women and scatter them everywhere. Jesus would be their Head, and they would be His Body. So Jesus’ ministry would not end at His ascension but shift into high gear. No longer would Jesus be limited to being in one place at a time. Now His people could carry Him everywhere.

52 - Removing the Veil

A profound inner change takes place when a person is born-again. Not only are our sins forgiven, but our spiritual capacities are radically increased. After being born-again a person is not the same person as they were before (2Co 5:17). This does not mean that all our attitudes and behaviors are instantly “Christ-like.” But our potential to become Christ-like has changed dramatically. Probably the best word to describe our new condition is “freedom.” A born-again person is finally free—free to see and hear a whole new world they hardly knew existed before. And most importantly, free to draw close to God because God is the source from which flows all the resources we need.

 

In today’s lesson we’ll start by watching the transformation Moses underwent as he drew close to God. We’ll also notice the strange response he met with when people saw that transformation. Then we’ll turn to a passage in Paul’s letter in which he explains the spiritual meaning of this event and we’ll learn why we are now free to draw near to God until we too shine with His glory.

 

Read: Exodus 33:17–23; 34:5–8, 28–35; 2 Corinthians 3:4–18

51 - The Book of Life

As Moses interceded for his rebellious nation he made a remarkable statement. He told the Lord that if He would not forgive Israel for its sin of worshipping the golden calf, he wanted his own name removed from God’s book. His words surprise us and make us want to ask, “What book?”, because up until now the Bible has not mentioned such a book. But Moses had a level of relationship with God which involved deeper levels of communication than anyone else in the Old Testament. So there were things in the spiritual world he knew and saw for the first time. In this case he confidently mentioned a book in which God recorded the names of those who belonged to Him. As we’ll discover in our study today there were other prophets who came after him in the Old and New Testaments who acknowledged the existence of this book. As we survey their words an amazing picture emerges. There is indeed a book called the “Book of Life” and whether or not our names are written there makes all the difference in the world. First we’ll examine more closely the nature of this book and then we’ll review the necessary steps to ensure that our names are also recorded there.

50 - Waiting For Jesus

Humans can live without food much longer than without water, but to survive 40 days without water is inconceivable apart from a miracle. When Moses failed to return from Mt. Sinai the nation naturally assumed he had died, either from thirst or possibly he’d been burned to death by the fire which still could be seen on the mountain’s peak (24:17,18). Considering themselves leaderless they turned to Aaron who had been left in charge and demanded he make an idol. They were unnerved by this invisible God. They wanted something they could see. It’s hard to explain why they would so flagrantly overturn a covenant they had made only weeks earlier. And for Aaron to enable their rebellion by carving the image of an Egyptian god is a level of cowardice on his part that is simply shocking. Without a doubt he feared for his life as he faced the mob. To have refused may have meant he would have been beaten or executed, but his cooperation made it sadly evident he had no intention of dying for his faith.

 

In today’s lesson we’ll discover the similarities between Israel waiting for Moses to return and believers today waiting for Jesus to return. Surprisingly we can face some of the same temptations they did. So we’ll listen to biblical advice that will help us wait without losing hope.

49 - The Anointed Church

Oil had been used symbolically since at least the times of the patriarchs. In Genesis 28:18, 22 (also: Ge 31:13; 35:14) Jacob poured oil on a stone which had been his pillow during a vision of God. In this way he acknowledged that the place was filled with God’s presence. Elsewhere in the Bible the “anointing” with oil is used as a symbol of receiving the Holy Spirit (1Sa 16:13; Ac 10:38; 2Co 1:21, 22; 1Jn 2:20, 27). Priests, prophets and kings were “anointed” with oil (Ex 40:15; 1Sa 16:13; 1Ki 19:15, 16) to signify that God had set them in a special place or function, equipped them for His service, and empowered them by placing His Spirit on them (Douglas, J.D, ed., The New Bible Dictionary, Erdmans, 1962, on “anointing,” p 39). The word “anointed” means to apply an “ointment” or oil-based solution to a person or object. When used this way the oil represents the presence of the Holy Spirit coming upon and remaining on the person or object. In order to provide a special anointing oil for the priests and tabernacle the Lord instructed that aromatic oils from certain spices be mixed into a gallon of olive oil. This would produce a lovely smelling oil that left a lingering fragrance. His recipe called for four spices: myrrh is a scented resin from a desert shrub; cinnamon is a brown spice we are familiar with today; and cane and cassia are scented spices from India. If the recipe meant 50 pounds of dry powdered spices were added to a gallon of olive oil the result would have been a thick paste. So when the reference is made in verse 25 to a “perfume mixture” we are being told that a perfumer boiled the sweet-smelling essences out of this amount of spices and mixed the perfume into the olive oil. The tent, all its articles of furniture and utensils, along with Aaron and his sons were to be anointed with this special perfumed oil. This action invited the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit and set apart those people and objects as “holy” (Ex 40:9-15, Lev 8:10-12).

48 - Morning and Evening

Jesus Christ has called us to be priests of God. So, as we read the instructions for the priests of Israel we find many basic principles which apply to us today. In fact, we discover that each article of the priests garments, each form of their worshipful service and each object in the tabernacle holds a remarkably clear prophetic meaning. Over the past weeks we’ve looked at the ark of the covenant in the Holy of holies, and the altar and laver in the courtyard, but today we’ll focus on a small object in the large court of the tent (“the holy place”) which was only 18 inches square by three feet high. It was called the “altar of incense” and in spite of its small size it was actually the high point of all priestly service, for it was the place where they would daily fellowship with God in prayer. The ark of the covenant represented the heart of God Himself and was the place where His presence dwelt in power. But everything else in the tabernacle complex was meant as a means to prepare people to come to this little altar. In the same room with it were two other symbols meant to remind the nation of the promises of God. On the north side was a table with 12 large loaves of bread, one for each tribe. By this table God was promising He would always provide the resources needed by His children. He would give them their “daily bread.” On the south side was a seven-branched lampstand. These lamps burned constantly as a promise that God would always light the path of His people, seven days a week, giving them revelation of His will and Word.

 

We’ll begin today by looking at the prophetic meaning of the altar of incense and then reflect on how God wants us to pray as New Testament believers.

47 - Understanding Repentance

The subject of repentance tends to bring to mind certain troubling questions. We’re always grateful to hear the truth that God forgives us when we repent, but somewhere in the back of our minds questions may lurk about certain sins or passages of Scripture we’ve read which may have left us confused. Last week we asked the questions: What is repentance? How does God convict us of sin? And, if Christ died for me, why do I still need to repent? But this week we’ll look at some of the troubling questions that may come to mind when this topic is discussed. Our goal in exploring this subject further is to prevent the enemy from stealing our confidence in the power of Jesus Christ to forgive us. Frankly, there is nothing more important if we are to be bold in our prayers, step out in ministry or find the true inner peace we long for. Knowing the answers to the questions we’ll address today will help to prevent us from becoming either careless about our sins or overwhelmed with guilt.

46 - Understanding Repentance

Beginning at the moment a child first recognizes right from wrong each of us enters into a lifetime of choices: choices whether or not to tell the truth when the truth will get me in trouble; choices to be generous or selfish; choices to indulge harmful bodily impulses or control them; choices to let my temper flare or control it; choices to play by the rules or break them; choices to promote myself or others. Over time, my choices in these and other areas fall into habitual patterns which deepen until my essential character is formed. If I choose to repeatedly violate my conscience I become a person lacking integrity and the personality God intended for me withers and distorts. If I choose to repeatedly obey my conscience I instead become a person of high integrity and my God-intended personality emerges. This conscience, when healthy, is my ability to hear the inner promptings and warnings from God. Its voice grows stronger or weaker, louder or quieter, more calloused or more sensitive with the passing of time.

 

The Christian life begins with the decision to stop resisting the voice of God which has been speaking to us through the promptings of our conscience. Awakened by the Holy Spirit to the wrongness of my previous course of life I choose instead to submit future decisions to God. I pledge to choose obedience over rebellion, and to repent as soon as I recognize I’ve failed.

45 - The Day of Atonement

Sometimes God’s grace may seem too good to be true. Our ears hear sermons and songs about His forgiveness, but doubts still linger in the back of our mind. Is that really the way God is or are people merely telling me what they hope is true? Maybe these promises of mercy have been taken out of context and really don’t mean what we think they mean. After all, it’s hard to believe anyone could forgive and forget things as awful as the ones I’ve done. So, as we look at the events which took place on the Day of Atonement those doubts should be answered once and for all. Using very powerful symbols God declared He would accept a substitute’s death, rather than punish those who repent and trust Him to forgive. That day declared that their  sins would be “ransomed” and “carried away.” And when we turn to the New Testament we see that Jesus Christ was the One to whom those prophetic symbols pointed. The blood of bulls and goats was never intended to pay the debt humans owe to God (Heb 10:4). They were meant only as symbols reminding Israel that a day was coming when Someone would die for them, and also giving them the opportunity to hear and believe afresh. They became a focal point for Israel’s faith… just as the bread and cup do for us today.