Acts 13:49-50 (4/17/24)

Benham Brothers

Studies Download App

Acts 13:49-50 (4/17/24)

Spirits Use People

April 17, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Acts 13:49–50

* God uses people to accomplish His will on the earth.

* He uses both good and bad people.

* Satan uses people to accomplish his will on the earth.

* He uses both good and bad people.

* Backstory - Jesus was off the scenes and now the growth of the church was the responsibility of the apostles.

* Paul and Barnabas were preaching like crazy!

* Jews and Gentiles were getting saved by the droves.

* vs 49 - “The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.”

* Through their witness the kingdom of heaven was advancing forcefully against the kingdom of hell.

* Then something happened:

* vs 50 - “But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.”

* A “God-fearing” person who’s a “leader” is a Christian Influencer!

* The Christian Influencers of the day were now on the wrong side of God’s Kingdom expansion!

* We need to always remember the four spiritual players at work here.

* Revelation 17 shows us:

* Dragon - Satan himself.

* Beast - Antichrist spirit (any idea that stands against God).

* Babylon - (PEC) Political, Economic, Cultural system of the Beast.

* The goal of Babylon is to turn people away from God.

* Harlot - Religious system of Babylon that gives credence to the Beast.

* The only way people will desire Satan’s way more than God’s way is if there is a religious system that legitimizes it.

* That’s what happened here in Acts 13.

* Satan needed good-hearted Godly people to buy into his lies and hinder God’s work.

* Note - These influencers were first convinced by the “religious” leaders.

* “…the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women…”

* What are our pastors teaching us today?

* How do we make sure we don’t get used by Satan?

* 1) Wrap knowledge around our zeal.

* These influencers certainly had a zeal for the Lord, but they didn’t have knowledge.

* They needed a Biblical worldview to filter the lies being spoken into their ears.

* We need to “study” Scripture to be intimately familiar with the truth.

* We need to study it through the lense of a battle.

* 2) Look and listen for the spirit behind what’s being said or done.

* EX: Jesus with Peter.

* EX: Stanley - teaching Christians to stay out of the “hot topic” issues.

* “If you need an enemy to prop up your leadership, you’re not leading.”

* People clapped - but the Bible is a book about God’s enemy.

* 3) Ask God what He thinks.

* Then pause and listen.

* 4) Sit under leaders with a “Fatherly” spirit (and Motherly).

* They’re willing to talk about all things.

* They teach about boundaries.

Jeremiah 42:13-17 (5/1/24)

May 1, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Jeremiah 42:13–17

- Craig Groeschel has some great teaching about momentum. - Newtons law of momentum – an object in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force. - Momentum is something we should always have in our lives in business. - If you have momentum, you should keep it unless you do something to kill it. - Four factors that kill momentum: - When things get difficult, we default to doing what’s: - Safe - Easy - Known - Comfortable - This is what many in Israel were faced with after their friends were deported to Babylon. - Nebuchadnezzar let many of them stay in the now Babylonian-controlled Israel. - But there were threats from the surrounding nations, and the people were scared. - Being in the center of danger in the middle of God’s will is the best place to be. - Jesus said “I send you out as sheep among wolves.” - Jeremiah gave them this word: - vs 9-12 - “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land.” - If you’ve been following the Lord and delighting in Him, then wherever you are is your Promised Land. - It may not be pleasant but stay there. Don’t leave. - God will show you when it’s time to go. - You'll know it's time for a move when the doors open easily and you don't have to push. - Faithfulness where you are paves the way for you to be faithful where God will take you. - God outlined what would happen if they chose to go to “greener pastures.” - vs 13-17 - “But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God 14 and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ 15 then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, 16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die.” - God was very clear about what would happen if they didn’t stay put. - But a false prophet arose (in chapter 43) and told the people that Jeremiah had prophesied a lie. - They liked the easier message, so they chose disobedience, and it cost them dearly. - Note - run from the prosperity preachers! - So here’s the question for you - what is your Egypt? - What is your default when things get tough? - You need to define it so you can overcome it. - EX: You know you need to lose 50lbs, so you start eating the right way and you feel momentum. - Then it gets really hard. - What habits do you default to at that point? - Write them down, then define new habits you’ll do whenever you want to default back to those. - If you go back to them, you’ll lose your momentum! - EX: I defaulted to ice cream, so I replaced it with dark chocolate. - EX: Buddy struggled with porn, so he replaced it with holding the Bible. - Don’t default to what’s safe, easy, known, or comfortable or you’ll lose momentum.

Psalms 119:23-24 (5/1/24)

May 1, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Psalm 119:23–24

* "Meditation is to your inner person what digestion is to your body." —Warren Wiersbe * Your body must process food to extract nutrients, which fuel and repair your body. * Your brain must process thoughts to extract truth, which fuels and repairs your soul. * Meditation Definition: * “think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.” * “to think deeply or carefully about (something).” * Satan wants you to clear your mind so it stays empty. * God wants you to clear your mind so He can fill it! * This is why you must meditate on God’s Word. * Truth will fill you and fuel you. * vs 23 - “Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.” * David cultivated a practice of meditation. * Few things are better than timely advice in a situation where you desperately need wisdom. * This is the beauty of reading God's Word every day. * Just watch how you will read something on the very day you need it most - something will just pop off the page and explain things in a way you didn't see before. * You may have read the verse 100 times before but now that you're in a new situation you see it differently and it really speaks to you. * The result: * vs 24 - “Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.” * This is how God's Word becomes our delight - we realize that what we're reading has the answers to ALL of life's issues. * It's literally the road map to living life to the fullest. * David meditated before he experienced delight. * When you meditate you think deep, and when you think deep patterns begin to emerge. * This helps you process through situations so the next time they come up you have a plan in place to get through it in power! * So don’t just read the Bible, meditate on it and watch what happens.

Jeremiah 36:7 (4/24/24)

April 24, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Jeremiah 36:7

* A merciful mindset positions us for favor with God. * If one of my kids shows mercy to their brother or sister, it makes me want to reward them! * God feels the same toward us. * James 2:13 - “For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who is not merciful…” * Jesus shows us this with the woman caught in adultery. * They wanted judgment, but Jesus taught mercy. * But He didn’t lower the standard to show it - “Go and sin no more.” * Two OT prophets - Jonah and Jeremiah. * Jonah - got mad at God when He showed mercy to Ninevah. * He wanted justice for the people, not mercy. * God did not like that. * Jeremiah - he had to deliver a harsh message to the king who had imprisoned him. * Look how he responds as he asked his assistant Baruch to carry a message to the king: * vs 5-7 - ““I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.” * Jeremiah shows us the power of a merciful disposition. * Jeremiah 51:8 - “Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.” * We should want our enemies to experience the mercy of God. * Not because they deserve it, but because God showed us mercy when we didn’t deserve it. * This disposition will keep us from getting bitter an angry toward others. * And it will keep us from falling prey to James 2:13!!!!