Acts

The acts of the Holy Spirit.

1: 4. “Wait for the promise of the Father.” Tarry at a promise till God meets 3’ou there. He always returns the wa3’ of His promises.

The promises of God are the moulds into which we pour our prayers.

1:11. “In like manner.” Hence we may expect that
Jesus will come — (1.) Personally.
(2.) Visibly.
(3.) In the clouds.

2: 1. Pentecost was the birthday of the Holy Spirit whose dispensation will close at Christ’s second coming. The Holy Spirit was present before, but not incarnate in the Church, just as Christ was ever present, but not incarnate.

3. “Fire.” Fill the cup with incense, and load the altar with odorous wood, but fire is still needed to send out fragrance. So the preacher’s talent, genius, and other gifts need fire from above, before they can achieve results.

8. When God set forth his fiery law (Deut. 33: 2), He proclaimed it in one tongue; but the story of grace was told in the language of every nation under heaven.

21. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is remarkable that though more than a million Jews perished during the siege of Jerusalem, no Christians perished; for they withdrew to Pella, on the approach of the Roman army.

23. The Jews nailed Jesus on the cross and so sent Him to heaven, and now they go about the streets selling old clothes.

2: 37. Threefold result of being filled with the Spirit: —

Pricked in their heart. Acts 2: 37.

Cut to the heart. 7: 54.

Turned the world upside down. 17: 6.

41. The first time the law was preached three thousand were killed. Ex. 32: 28. The first time grace was preached three thousand were saved.

47. “Added to the Church.” See Acts 5: 14; 11: 24. “Added to the Lord,” because the Church is the body of Christ.-

3: 2. Almost all the alms of the world are administered

at the gates of the temple, by them that go up to the temple at the hour of prayer.

21. “The times of restitution of all things.” The earth restored to man by re-genesis. The body “” the soul by resurrection. The soul “” God by regeneration.

4: The Name of Jesus: —

V. 7. By what name have ye done this?

V. 10. By the name of Jesus Christ.

V. 12.” There is none other name under heaven

given among men, whereby we must be

saved.”

31. Hugh Latimer was ordered by Henry VIII to apologize for a too plain sermon he preached. But he was sent by a higher King and repeated the sermon.

5: 31. As a Prince, Jesus gives repentance;

As a Saviour, He gives remission of sins.

6: 5. Six good things about Stephen: —

(1.) Full of faith. V. 5.

(2.)” the Holy Ghost. V. 5.

(3.) “” power. V. 8.

(4.) Full of irresistible wisdom and energy.

V. 10.

(5.) Full of sunshine. V. 15. (6.) An intrepid witness for God. Chap. 7.

15. Three men in the Bible whose faces shone: Moses, Jesus, and Stephen.

Dr. Bonar once said:” Did you ever notice, Brother Whittle, that when the Jews accused Stephen of blasphemous words against Moses (v. 11), the Lord lit up his face with the same glory with which Moses’s face shone?”

7: 2. Stephen only preached this one sermon that we know of, but out of his death came Paul, the greatest preacher since Christ.

23-36. Eighty years of training for forty years of service. 50. There are few death-bed scenes in the Bible.

7: 60. “) Augustine says the Church owes Paul to the pray- 8:1) era of Stephen.

27. The story of a man who was wrong and knew it; who was set right; and gave evidence of being right (vs. 36, 39, rejoicing).

9: 3. Four recorded visions to Paul: —

(1.) For bis conversion. Acts 9:3, 4. (2.) For his work. Acts 16: 9. (3.) For his strengthening. Acts 18: 9. (4.) For his preservation. Acts 27: 23, 24.

11: 1. Israel is God’s first-born, but the (lentiles are his second-born.

26. “Called Christians.” Not in derision, but by God’s providence. The Church is Christ’s body, and the body of a man goes by the same name as the head. Col. 1: 18, 24.

A dead church is like a dwarf with fine, large head but crippled body.

15: 11. Saved by grace. Acts 15: 11.
Stand in grace. Rom. 5: 2.
Grow in grace. 2 Peter 3: 18.

18: 9. Dr. Bonar used to say that the “man of Macedonia” turned out to be a woman; see v. 15.

Suppose Paul and Silas had been ordered east in stead of west, these lands of ours would have been what India and Africa now are, and missionaries from there would be bringing us the goapel.

13. Paul was not a man who was a devout worshiper in Jerusalem, but who, when he came to Philippi, spent his Sabbaths as the Philippians did. Out of Paul’s steady-going habits came this story of grace and salvation.

16: 14. Attention, humanly speaking, is the avenue by. which the Lord Jesus enters into the soul. If you had listened with attention and intention for five minutes to the poorest preacher you ever heard, you would have been converted.

15. First the heart, then the home. “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there.”

31. Believing on Jesus or in Jesus is a great deal more than believing about Jesus.

17: 22. Paul’s sermon on Mars’ Hill: —

God is Creator, Ruler (v. 24); independent (v.
25); approachable (v. 27); immanent (v. 28).
True worship (v. 25).
God’s bounties to man (v. 25).
Gracious privilege or command (v. 27).
Wrong views of God (v. 29).
Repentance commanded (v. 30).
Universality of sin (v. 30).
Day of judgment (v. 31).

Idolatry is falsely directed worship, yet it bears witness to the ineradicable needs of humanity.

28. “For we are also His offspring.” A poet’s sentiment — a preacher’s theme.

Men talk of “universal brotherhood’’ and reject the God and Father of us all.

30. The more a man is troubled about sin now, the less he will be troubled by sin hereafter.

17: 31. The world is redeemed by believing on the Sou of man. and hereafter the world will be judged by the Son of man.

A sad conclusion: — Some mocked, v. 32;
some procrastinated, v. 32;
but some believed, v. 34.

18: 9. The Lord sees and knows you, especially if you are

weak and fainting.

19: 18, 19. Fruits of the revival:” Many that believed came

and confessed and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together and burned them lpefore all men.”

25. Demetrius cried up the goddess Diana, but it was her silver shrines, not her temple, he so much adored.

20: Tears of personal suffering. V. 19.

“” pastoral solicitude. V. 31.
“” friendly sympathy. V. 37.

26: 18 God first forgives; then He gives.

A perfect man has three eyes: —

1. The eye of sense.

2. The eye of reason.

3. The eye of faith.

Every7 animal has the first; every man has the second and third; but only the regenerate man uses the third to see the things of God.

The gospel gives sight, light, liberty, pardon, heaven.

The sinner is disinherited, but Christ restores him. 26:28. “Almost.”

Almost hot is lukewarm. Rev. 3: 16.
Almost a child is a bastard.
Almost sweet is unsavory.

28: 30. The Bible has little to say about the endings of its heroes, but much about their beginnings. Of. Moses, Paul, Peter. We know nothing of the end of Jeremiah, etc., etc.