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A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold is as pictures of silver.(Prov.25:11) It is so important to speak the right words to people at the right time to produce the right results. When you think of apples of gold in pictures of silver, then you are thinking of wealth and excellence. When we speak wisdom into the lives of others we are making them wealthy. Therefore we must seek God for He is the source of all wisdom and He will give us just the right words needed at the right time.
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#Of this man's seed hath God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus: Acts 13:23
The Messiah would come through the seed of David, and He would be called Jesus, a Savior, for He would save His people from their sins. He would be called Emmanuel as God with us. Satan tried to blot out that seed many times by having the Jews destroyed in the book of Esther but through the providence of God He saved them and we celebrate the day of Purim to account for this great salvation of the Jews. Hitler tried to destroy the Jews in the Holocaust, but God used the Allied army to destroy Hitler. So Jesus is indeed the Savior and not of the Jews only, but the Gentiles also. For He came unto His own, and they received Him not, but to as many as believed on His name did He grant them to be sons of God. Since Paul is to be the apostle to the Gentiles, he wants them to know the gospel was preached to the Jews first, then the Gentiles. Paul knows that this gospel to the Jews was a stumbling block, and thence God would use the Gentiles as that wild Olive shoot to evangelize the whole world. I praise God that my heart's desire is for Israel to be saved and they will when the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy in chapter 9 is fulfilled. Right now the Jews will be under the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles will come to an end.
#And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Acts 13:22
David indeed was a man after God's own heart, and though Saul was removed for his disobedience in I Sam. 15 by saving wicked Agag, and not destroying the Amalekites. cause partial obedience is total disobedience. Saul never repented of his sins, thus the kingdom was removed from him, and given to David. While David was not perfect, he did repent of his sin of adultery, and murder in Psalm 51, and Psalm 32. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. ( I Kings 11:4) So we see that David handed a united kingdom to Solomon, his son, but Solomon because of his many wives turned his heart after many gods in his old age because it was not perfect with Jehovah God, as was the heart of David his father. Perfect means mature in faith, and David was mature in his faith as a man after the heart of God. We see David did indeed do all the will of God the Father, and while he did sin he was quick to repent. Then God restored the joy of his salvation. Psalm 139 says search me O God and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. That is what we must do when we repent, as only God can search us by the power of the Holy Spirit and lead us in the way everlasting.
#And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward, they desired a king and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. Acts 13:20,21
Paul goes on to explain the period of the judges, which was a very perilous time in the history of Israel, which lasted for 450 yrs. until God anointed the prophet, Samuel. So the people wanted a king and God gave them Saul, who was head and shoulders above all men. His father was Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, and he reigned for forty years. So the people were very inspired by the sermon of Paul, knowing that he was surnamed Saul, and also of the tribe of Benjamin. So Paul gave his pedigree in Phil. 3 how that he counted all these things but dung, that he might win the excellency of Christ. We cannot get to heaven based on our genealogy, but only by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not by works lest any man should boast. Eph.2:8,9
#Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. Acts 13:16
Paul is giving his sermon as a visiting apostle so he arose among the Greek custom, as among Jews it was customary to sit among Jews than to stand among the Greeks. He is in the midst of Jews and devout Greeks who were very learned, so he has to be careful how to command their attention. These devout Greeks had departed from idols unto the living God. So he does a short recapitulation of the glorious history of the Israelites to secure the Jewish audience talking of David their favorite King, then he talked about the promised Messiah. This was very important to captivate the audience and keep them in awe of the blessed Redeemer. In the Seminary we are taught to give the title of our sermon, then expound upon it in a short manner so as not to lose the congregation. This is what Paul is doing and he is a master at it being trained under Gamaliel. He starts by talking of our fathers as they dwelt in the land of Egypt and with a high arm brought them out of it. Then he talks about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land by lot. This is a mighty sermon and we preachers can learn a lot about hermeneutics by studying Paul's style of preaching. Seven in the Bible is the number of completion, so when God destroyed seven nations, He completely delivered them and that is the lesson that we learn from God is when we pray to Him we are completely delivered. So whatever your problem cries out to God for salvation, and by the blood of Jesus, He will save you to the uttermost.
#But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Acts 13:14,15
Paul and the company departed from Perga, then they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and sat down. This was customary of Paul to do this on the sabbath day showing his respect for the sabbath and then after doing that he read the law and the prophets to the rulers of the synagogue. Then the rulers sent unto them saying Ye men and brethren: if ye have any word of exhortation for the people say on. This is just what Paul wants to hear, for he is full of the Holy Spirit and willing to preach the gospel to them. Paul was on fire for the Lord and we too need to be on fire for the Lord always ready to give a reason for the hope within us. In a world of bad news, there is good news, in that while we were sinners Christ died for us. This is how to encourage those in the world who have no hope that there is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.
#Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. Acts 13:13
Paul and his company have loosed from Paphos, having done the will of the Lord there, so they came to Perga in Pamphylia. This was an Asiatic city, and John Mark departing from them returned to Jerusalem. We do not know why he did that, perhaps he was afraid of some danger there among the Gentiles, so he wanted to be with his Jewish brothers in Jerusalem. Paul is adamant about this and will have a falling out about John Mark in Acts 15:39 Paul does not like to be crossed up, as he pointed out about Demus has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Jesus told us the story in Luke 17:32 to remember Lot's wife, as she turned back and became a pillow of salt. When you put your hand to the plow and look back you are not worthy of the Kingdom. This no doubt had to be the reason for Paul's concerns about John Mark leaving them on their missionary journey for Jerusalem.
#And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and darkness and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Acts 13:11,12
Paul told Elymas, behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee because he did not repent of his sin of sorcery. And he was blind, not seeing the sun for a season when immediately a mist fell on him and darkness. He went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. We do not know how long a season was, maybe three months was how long the judgment of God was upon him. Nowhere else in the Bible does it tell us that he finally repented, but the deputy who saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. This tells us it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord. So if you are doubtful of scripture, then take heed to what happened to Elymas who failed to believe the word of the Lord. I thank God that the deputy had saving faith because he believed in the doctrine of the Lord. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thine house.
#Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Acts 13:9,10
Saul has his name changed to Paul, this is because the Romans know him by that name so he is now the Apostle Paul to the Gentiles. So Paul sets his eyes on Elymas the sorcerer, and warns him to repent of perverting the right ways of the Lord. This apparently did not happen, so Paul is going to be forced to punish him with blindness for a season. We too need to beware of false teachers by reading the Bible every day, and pray to the Holy Spirit so that we will be guided in all the ways of the truth.
#And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus: Acts 13:6
When Saul and Barnabas had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, who was a Jew named Bar-Jesus. Sorcery is going to be an end-time plague as the book of Revelation 9:21 said they would not repent of their murders, sorcery, thefts, and fornication. It is amazing that Barjesus is a Jew, like Judas Iscariot, who was a false prophet and he betrayed the Lord. This Barjesus will have his name changed to Elymas the sorcerer. The sin of sorcery involves witchcraft and drugs. It has an etymology from the Greek word Pharmicai which we get the English word Pharmacy. So we see the apostles had to deal with this with Simon the sorcerer who tried to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit with money, and Peter told Simon to repent or he would perish with his money. So how do we know when we are in contact with a sorcerer? They are covetous and deal with the occult. So when you find someone like that you need to stay away from them. II Tim 3 tells us they will have a form of godliness, but denying the power; from such turn away. Paul is going to deal with this Elymas the sorcerer in a mighty way by smiting him with blindness for a season. We do not have the gifts of an apostle, so we have to rebuke them by the power of the Holy Spirit and turn away from them.
#And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews and they had also John to their minister. Acts 13:5
Barnabas and Saul took every opportunity to preach the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews in Salamis, which was about fifty miles away from Seleucia. And they had John Mark as their minister, as Col. 4:10 tells us he was a relative of Barnabas, so that would explain why he was invited to minister with them. Saul is going to stir up the Jews with his preaching of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The gospel was to be preached to the Jews first, then also unto the Gentiles. Later when Saul has his name changed to Paul, he would be charged with preaching the gospel to the Gentiles mainly. Peter and Paul would later clash over some of the Gentiles' foods that they would eat, which was not acceptable for the Jews in Gal. 2, as Peter was enjoying some ham which the Jews did not eat, so he did it when the Jews were not present. This caused Paul to have to rebuke Peter for his hypocrisy. Today the churches are so multicultural that this issue hardly ever comes up anymore. I thank God that I ministered in Houston, Texas which is the most diverse city in the United States of America. So preaching the gospel here you will reach many cultures. So we can fulfill the great commission of taking the gospel to the whole world here.
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