Acts 1

Thursday Evening Bible Study

September 5, 2013

Introduction

Baptism.

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?

The book was written by Dr. Luke, a man who became Paul’s traveling companion somewhere around Acts 16:10.

We know this because Luke stops writing about “them” and starts writing about “us”.

The gospels are the accounts of Jesus’ ministry on the earth.

All four gospels take us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The book of Acts starts by telling us what happened after the resurrection.

Tonight and next week we’ll see the birth and early days of the church in Jerusalem. We’ll follow Peter around for a while and then Luke will switch and follow Paul the apostle around until the end of the book.

The book starts around 33 AD and ends around 60 AD.

If you stick with the study, we’ll try and also give you hints where in the history some of the various letters of the New Testament were written within the context of Acts.

The book of Acts has a more complete title “The Acts of the Apostles”, but it might be better to call it “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”, an account of the work of the Holy Spirit through the church.

We’re going to see that this is really important to remember. These are things that God is doing through the apostles and the church.

1:1-8 The Spirit Promised

:1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

:2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

:1 The former account

This is Luke’s Gospel.

:1 O Theophilus

This is the same person (or individuals) that Luke wrote his gospel to:

(Lk 1:3 NKJV) it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,

Who was Theophilus?

His name means “lover of God”.

It has been suggested that Theophilus may have been a Roman official, since the title “most excellent” (Luke 1:3) was usually associated with this.

Others have suggested that perhaps Luke was writing to the generic believer, the average “lover of God”.

:1 all that Jesus began both to do and teach

The gospels only give us a record of the things that Jesus “began” to do.

The implication is that Jesus’ continuing work and teaching would be recorded by Luke in the book of Acts.

And Jesus is still at work today.

:2 given commandments

Jesus commanded things like:

(Jn 13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

One of His last commandments was:

(Mt 28:19–20 NKJV) —19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

:3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

:3 by many infallible proofs

infallible proofs – tekmerion – that from which something is surely and plainly known; on indubitable evidence, a proof

Professor Thomas Arnold, for fourteen years the headmaster of Rugby, author of the three-volume History of Rome, and holder of the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. This great scholar said,

“I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.”

If you want to start to dig into the evidence, check out our study from Easter morning, 2003 on the church website. Even better, pick up a copy of Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict.

:3 forty days

Don’t think that Jesus just appeared for an hour or two. He appeared many times over a period of forty days.

Paul wrote,

(1 Co 15:5–8 NKJV) —5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

:5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

:5 baptized with the Holy Spirit

Jesus compares being baptized with the Holy Spirit with John baptizing with water.

John the Baptist said,

(Mt 3:11 NKJV) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The word Luke uses twice in our passage is baptizo - to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk); to overwhelm

John the Baptist baptized people by immersing them in the Jordan River.

I don’t think he “sprinkled” them, first, because that isn’t the meaning of baptizo, but secondly, if he only sprinkled them, why do it in a river, why not carry around a bucket of water?

Jesus is the one who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, as John baptized with water.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is about being immersed in the Holy Spirit.

We will be talking much more about this on Sunday as we look at the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Let me just say a few quick things:

There are many terms used interchangeably in the book of Acts for this experience.

Here it’s called the “promised of the Father”.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The filling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).

The Holy Spirit coming “upon” someone.

I believe it can be an experience that is separate from salvation.

Some people are baptized in the Spirit when they get saved, but for others it happens later.

It can (and should) happen many, many times in the life of a believer.

The chief sign that a person has this baptism of the Holy Spirit is not whether you speak in tongues, but whether you have God’s power at work in your life.

:4 wait for the Promise

After Jesus’ death, the disciples had been up to Galilee, but now are back in Jerusalem and Jesus tells them to stay there and wait.

Chronology

Jesus died on the Passover, Friday the 14^th of Nisan

He rose again on the third day, which would have been Sunday the 16^th of Nisan, and the forty days would have started at that time.

During the forty days, the apostles went from Jerusalem, north to Galilee, then back to Jerusalem again.

The Holy Spirit will come on the day of Pentecost, which takes place 50 days after Passover.

That means that from the time that Jesus is speaking until the Holy Spirit comes, it will be something around 7-8 days.

They’re going to be waiting in Jerusalem for about a week.

Lesson

Wait for it

I do not believe that Jesus’ encouragement for the disciples to wait is some sort of formula that we all must follow to be baptized in the Spirit, but it is still very good advice.

To be honest, part of Jesus encouraging the fellows to wait may have to do with the timing, so the Holy Spirit would come on the appropriate holiday, Pentecost (still about a week away).

The Bible says a lot about waiting.

(Ps 27:14 NKJV) Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

(Is 40:30–31 NKJV) —30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we miss some of the things that God is wanting us to see and do.

Illustration

A pilot shared this experience he had flying his Cessna 172:

I flew over to Pontiac one day that summer to see a friend. The ceiling was very low when I started back, and once again clouds closed in on me. In trying to ease myself below them, I lost control of the plane. It stalled, and I found myself in a spin. I pulled back on the control yoke with all my might, but I couldn’t budge it. Plowed fields were whirling up toward me, and I realized there was nothing left to do but pray. I released the controls, closed my eyes, and folded my hands under my chin:

“Father in Heaven, please help me” I began, and I felt a miraculous change take place. The spinning stopped and suddenly the plane was flying level again.

Great advice when we’re in a tail spin: release the controls, close our eyes, and pray.

-- from Tom Monaghan, Pizza Tiger, New York: Random House, 1986, p. 130.

:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

:7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

:6 will You …restore the kingdom

There used to be a day when Israel had been its own independent nation with its own king.

The promised Messiah was the one who was supposed to reestablish this kingdom of Israel.

(Is 9:7 NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Before Jesus died, His disciples were vying for spots of influence in the coming kingdom. James and John had said,

(Mk 10:37 NKJV) They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”

To the disciples, they are beginning to think that this must be that time.

:7 It is not for you to know

In other words, “not yet”.

God’s plan was for the kingdom to be a bit bigger than the disciples had imagined. There were still a LOT of people to get saved first (including us).

(2 Pe 3:9 NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

We may wonder why Jesus doesn’t come tomorrow, but that’s because there are more to be saved.

And that means there is work to be done, work that requires that people be brought to the Lord.

:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

:8 power – dunamis – strength, power, ability

We often hear preachers tell us that the word “dynamite” comes from this word.

And to be honest, the word is many times translated as “miracles”, “mighty works”, or “power”.

But the root of this word is

dunamai – to be able

I think it’s important to understand that this is a very common word, of the 210 times it’s used in the New Testament, it’s translated simply “can”, “cannot”, “may”, “be able”, or “able” 203 of those times.

I’d like to suggest that we think about the “dunamis” in this passage as “ability”.

Yes, the apostles will be “able” to perform miracles.

But here in context, they will “be able” to be witnesses.

For us, we need “power” for a lot of things.

On Sunday we talked about the work of the Holy Spirit in making us “holy”.

We need the “ability” to do the right things.

:8 you shall be witnesses

witnesses - martus (our word "martyr") - a witness, to give testimony to what you’ve seen.

A witness simply tells others what Jesus has done in your life.

It's not a witness's job to get a person saved, it's simply their job to give their testimony.

But if a person pays attention to your testimony, and responds to the work that God is doing in their heart, then they receive salvation from God.

Lesson

Ability to witness

The filling of the Holy Spirit is like a hand filling a glove.

Illustration

If I was to take a glove and command it to play my keyboard, frankly I’m not going to hold my breath.

It doesn’t have the “ability” (dunamis) to accomplish it.

But if my hand “fills” the glove, then whatever my hand does, the glove does to. Or pretty close. The glove won’t do as good as just my hand…

Yet suddenly my glove has the ability to play the piano, just like my hand.

When the Holy Spirit fills our lives, we are “enabled” to do whatever the Holy Spirit wants us to do.

Jesus said,

(Jn 15:26 NKJV) “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

When the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, they will be “able” or have “power” to be witnesses, because the Holy Spirit has come to be a witness of Jesus.

In fact, the grammar here is not that Jesus is commanding the disciples to be witnesses, but He’s simply stating the fact that in the future they will be witnesses.

We’ll see this immediately in the book of Acts.

When Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, he stands up to explain what has happened to the crowd, and 3,000 people get saved (Acts 2:41)

Keep in mind, this is Peter, who had denied the Lord when confronted by a young servant girl, now boldly witnessing to the rulers!

This shows us that it really was the Holy Spirit at work, and not just that Peter was a bold, eloquent preacher!

Do you have a desire to tell others about Jesus Christ?

You need the power of the Holy Spirit.

You can’t be a witness without it.

Illustration

A garage man in Mangum, Oklahoma, answered the distress call of a woman motorist, whose car had stalled. He examined the car and informed her that it was out of gas. “Will it hurt,” she asked, “if I drive it home with the gas tank empty?”

What a silly question!

Yet we can’t be a witness for Jesus without the Holy Spirit either. The car won’t even start.

:8 Jerusalem … Judea and Samaria…

Play Jerusalem and beyond map clip

Jerusalem - the capitol city, the place where they were right at that moment.

Judaea - the southern portion of Israel, the area surrounding Jerusalem.

Samaria - the area to the north of Judaea, where the half-breed Samaritan people lived.

Uttermost part of the earth - just as it sounds, everything else in the known world.

We see here an outline to the book of Acts.

Acts 1-7, the gospel goes throughout Jerusalem.

Acts 8-12, the gospel spreads into Judaea and Samaria.

Acts 13-28, Paul begins his missionary journeys and the gospel goes even as far as Rome.

Lesson

Pattern for growth

I think this is a good example of how ministry grows.

It starts at home.

For us in our personal lives, healthy growth begins at home.

Be careful about getting stars in your eyes about following the Lord while you are neglecting your family. Jerusalem is home.

It works itself further out.

The first couple years as a church, we didn’t do a lot of things outside of Fullerton.

Now, even though we are a small church, our ministry affects places like Mexico, Hungary, South Africa, and Russia.

1:9-11 Jesus Ascends

:9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

:9 He was taken up

As the disciples are watching, Jesus begins to rise off the ground and keeps going until He goes right up into the clouds.

Lesson

The Ascension

There are reasons why He went to heaven.

He now is in heaven praying for us.

(Heb 7:25 NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

His ascension is tied to the coming of the Holy Spirit.

(Jn 16:7 NKJV) Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

His ascension is connected with gifts of the Spirit.

(Eph 4:8 NKJV) Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

:10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

:10 two men … white apparel

These are angels, not disco dancers.

:11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

:11 will so come in like manner

He ascended in the clouds, He’s coming back in the clouds.

(Mt 24:30b NKJV) …and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

1:12-14 Upper Room Prayer

:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

:12 mount called Olivet

Play Olives map clip

The Mount of Olives is across the Kidron valley from Jerusalem.

:12 a Sabbath day’s journey

Jewish tradition held that this distance was 2,000 cubits (or, 3,000 feet), a little more than half a mile. (based on Num.35:4-5 and Josh.3:4)

The Mount of Olives is about a quarter of a mile to the east of Jerusalem.

I wonder if this means that this happened on the Sabbath?

:13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.

:13 Peter, James, John …

There are just eleven disciples. Judas is dead.

:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

:14 the women and Mary …

This wasn’t a “boys only” club.

:14 with His brothers

At one point, we know that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5). They do now.

(Jn 7:5 NKJV) For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

:14 continued with one accord in prayer

continued - proskartereo - to be devoted or constant to one; to persevere and not to faint

Lesson

Persevering prayer

Things happen when God’s people pray. Good things happen when God’s people “continue” to pray.

We see this word (“continue”) used several times in connection to prayer:

(Ro 12:12 NKJV) rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

(Col 4:2 NKJV) Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

The idea is that we need to keep praying, and not give up so quickly.

Illustration

A duck walks into the 7-11 store. He looks around, then goes up to the clerk and asks, “You got any grapes?” The clerk says, “No, we’re a convenience store, and we do not carry grapes.” The duck says “thank you,” and leaves.

About an hour later, the duck comes in again and asks, “You got any grapes?” The store clerk says, “No, I already told you, we have no grapes.” “Thank you,” says the duck, and he leaves again.

Well, a little while later, the duck walks in again, and again he asks for grapes. The clerk then says, “No, we don’t have any grapes, and if you come in here and ask me again, I’m gonna nail both your little webbed feet to the floor!” The duck then leaves the store.

About an hour later, the duck walks in again! This time, the duck asks, “You got any nails?” The clerk says, “No, we don’t carry nails, we’re a convenience store, not a hardware store!” came the reply.

Then the duck asks, “You got any grapes?”

If a duck can persevere with a 7-11 clerk, can’t we persevere a little more in prayer with our God who loves us?

:14 with one accord

We know that the Honda car company dates back to the 1^st century because they were all in “one accord”.

Lesson

The Spirit and Unity

There could have been divisions already.

Jesus’ family could be stepping up, claiming that they should be more important.

John could be stepping up to take the lead, since he was entrusted to care for Jesus’ mother.

The disciples could be arguing again over who is the greatest.

But instead, there was unity.

And the Spirit is coming.

I see a parallel to this in Psalm 133

(Ps 133 NKJV) — A Song of Ascents. Of David. 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

When we learn to get along in unity, it’s like the anointing on Aaron, the HOLY SPIRIT flowing upon us!

And that’s what’s going to happen to the disciples in a few days!!!

1:15-26 Choosing Matthias

:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,

:16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;

:17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”

:16 Scripture had to be fulfilled

Peter doesn’t see Judas’ betrayal as some sort of a tragic accident, but that it was all in God’s plan. (like Ps. 41:9)

David wrote of it:

(Ps 41:9 NKJV) Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.

:18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.

:19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)

:18 purchased a field

Matthew (27:3-8) tells us that Judas took his thirty pieces of silver back to the priests, and they didn’t want it because it was “blood money” so they bought the field as a place to bury poor people in.

(Mt 27:3–8 NKJV) —3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

:18 falling headlong

Matthew records that Judas “hung himself” (Mat. 27:5)

(Mt 27:5 NKJV) Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

We think that what happened was that Judas went to hang himself, the rope broke, and he fell into the field and burst open (lovely picture, huh?).

Charles Ryrie: "Probably due to Judas's ineptness in trying to hang himself"

Matthew simply dwells on the hanging.

Luke, being a good doctor, tells us about the guts.

:20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’

:20 it is written

Peter stitches together several Psalms (Ps. 69, 109) to come to the conclusion that they need to pick a twelfth apostle.

These Psalms seem like an odd choice to pick from until you realize that he’s chosen psalms that deal with “those who hate me without a cause” (Ps. 69:4) and those who “rewarded me evil for good” (Ps. 109:5).

(Ps 69:4 NKJV) —4 Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.

(Ps 69:25 NKJV) —25 Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents.

(Ps 109:5 NKJV) —5 Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

(Ps 109:8 NKJV) —8 Let his days be few, And let another take his office.

:21 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

:22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

:22 one of these must become a witness

The Greek text here starts with the word dei, which means “it is necessary”, “it is right and proper”.

Peter sees a distinct need for there to be a twelfth apostle, a twelfth witness to the resurrection.

Perhaps it had something to do with the things Jesus said, like:

(Mt 19:28 NKJV) …you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And since it was clear that Judas wasn’t going to be one of the guys on the thrones, there needed to be another. But there’s more to it …

What’s Peter doing here?

He’s been reading the Scriptures, and has come to the conclusion that they need to replace Judas. And it’s not that bad of a conclusion!

Is this wrong?

Some say they are making a mistake, because Paul should be the “twelfth” apostle.

They say that Matthias is never heard from again.

But for that matter, neither are any of the twelve except for Peter, James, and John.

They say that the disciples should have waited for the Holy Spirit.

But God never indicates they made a mistake.

In fact, later on in Acts 6:2, it simply refers to “the twelve” as if they’re a whole unit (and Paul isn’t saved until Acts 9).

:22 beginning from the baptism of John

This was what the apostles considered as qualifications to be an apostle – someone who had been with them from the beginning who could be a witness with them of the resurrection.

We have what the early church considered a requirement for being one of the twelve apostles.

They are those who have been with Jesus from the baptism of John, witnesses of the resurrection, right up to the time of Jesus ascending into heaven.

Lesson

Are there apostles today?

1) No.

Not in the narrowest sense of using the word, not to be one of the “twelve apostles”.

No one alive today can fill these qualifications.

2) Yes.

The word “apostle” simply means “sent one”, “delegate”, “messenger”, and it is used to describe many other people, including:

Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Andronicus and Junia (Rom 16:7), Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25), Paul uses the phrase “all of the apostles” separately from the twelve (1Cor.15:7)

:23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

:23 Joseph … Matthias

There's a lot of conjecture as to who these men were, but basically we don't know a thing about them.

:24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen

:25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”

:26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

:26 they cast their lots

Lesson

Is "casting lots" okay?

To the Jews the lot did not suggest gambling, but it was the O.T. method of learning the will of God.

They had two nominations, and had to decide between the two.

There is a Scriptural foundation for casting lots:

(Pr 16:33 NKJV) The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.

Before you go out and start deciding everything by casting lots, keep a few things in mind:

1.The two men nominated had already met some pretty good qualifications (it's not like they were choosing from the crowd at large).

2.They had Scripture to prompt their choosing.

3.They prayed and trusted God to work.

Also note - After the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, we see no more instances of the church using "lots" to decide God's will!

:20 it is written

Lesson

Live by the Scriptures.

You may find fault with them for “casting lots”, but I love that they based their decision on the Scriptures.

God said to Joshua,

(Jos 1:8 NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Illustration

As I looked out into the garden one day, I saw three things. First, I saw a butterfly. The butterfly was beautiful, and it would alight on a flower and then it would flutter to another flower and then to another, and only for a second or two it would sit and it would move on. It would touch as many lovely blossoms as it could, but derived absolutely no benefit from it.

Then I watched a little longer out my window and there came a botanist. And the botanist had a big notebook under his arm and a great big magnifying glass. The botanist would lean over a certain flower and he would look for a long time and then he would write notes in his notebook. He was there for hours writing notes, closed them, stuck them under his arm, tucked his magnifying glass in his pocket and walked away.

The third thing I noticed was a bee, just a little bee. But the bee would light on a flower and it would sink down deep into the flower and it would extract all the nectar and pollen that it could carry. It went in empty every time and came out full.

Are you a butterfly, a botanist, or a bee?

Sink deep into God’s Word. Go in empty and come out full.