Tag: The Helper

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ACAD – Helper: Acts 14

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual to the synagogue. They spoke so well that a great many Jews and Greeks believed. But some people who did not believe excited the others and turned them against the believers. Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time and spoke bravely for the Lord. He showed that their message about his grace was true by giving them the power to work miracles and signs. But the city was divided. Some of the people agreed with the Jews, and others believed the apostles.

Some who were not Jews, some Jews, and some of their rulers wanted to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death. When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they ran away to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the areas around those cities. They announced the Good News there, too.

Paul in Lystra and Derbe

In Lystra there sat a man who had been born crippled; he had never walked.As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he believed God could heal him. So he cried out, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like humans and have come down to us!” Then the people began to call Barnabas “Zeus”[a] and Paul “Hermes,”[b] because he was the main speaker. The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was near the city, brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes. They ran in among the people, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing these things? We are only human beings like you. We are bringing you the Good News and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past, God let all the nations do what they wanted. Yet he proved he is real by showing kindness, by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right times, by giving you food and filling your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

Then some evil people came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him and dragged him out of town, thinking they had killed him. But the followers gathered around him, and he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

Paul and Barnabas told the Good News in Derbe, and many became followers. Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, making the followers of Jesus stronger and helping them stay in the faith. They said, “We must suffer many things to enter God’s kingdom.”  They chose elders for each church, by praying and fasting[c] for a certain time. These elders had trusted the Lord, so Paul and Barnabas put them in the Lord’s care.

Then they went through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had preached the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia. And from there they sailed away to Antioch where the believers had put them into God’s care and had sent them out to do this work. Now they had finished.

When they arrived in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas gathered the church together. They told the church all about what God had done with them and how God had made it possible for those who were not Jewish to believe. And they stayed there a long time with the followers.

Footnotes:

  1. 14:12 “Zeus” The Greeks believed in many false gods, of whom Zeus was most important.
  2. 14:12 “Hermes” The Greeks believed he was a messenger for the other gods.
  3. 14:23 fasting The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done sometimes to show sadness and disappointment.
New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Helper: Acts 11

Peter Returns to Jerusalem

The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that some who were not Jewish had accepted God’s teaching too. But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some people argued with him. They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not circumcised and ate with them!”

So Peter explained the whole story to them. He said, “I was in the city of Joppa, and while I was praying, I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a big sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came very close to me. I looked inside it and saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ But the voice from heaven spoke again, ‘God has made these things clean, so don’t call them unholy.’ This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back to heaven. Right then three men who were sent to me from Caesarea came to the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to go with them without doubting. These six believers here also went with me, and we entered the house of Cornelius. He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and invite Simon Peter to come. By the words he will say to you, you and all your family will be saved.’  When I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Since God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I stop the work of God?”

When the believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing even other nations to turn to him and live.”

The Good News Comes to Antioch

Many of the believers were scattered when they were persecuted after Stephen was killed. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch telling the message to others, but only to Jews. Some of these believers were people from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to Greeks,[a] telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. The Lord was helping the believers, and a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.

The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch always to obey the Lord with all their hearts, and many people became followers of the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time.

About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, “A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food to eat.” (This happened when Claudius ruled.)  The followers all decided to help the believers who lived in Judea, as much as each one could. They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea.

Footnotes:

  1. 11:20 Greeks Some Greek copies read “Hellenists,” non-Greeks who spoke Greek.
New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Helper: John 15

Jesus Is Like a Vine

“I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing. If any do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you. You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father. I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love. I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy.

“This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father. You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. This is my command: Love each other.

Jesus Warns His Followers

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world, so you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. If people did wrong to me, they will do wrong to you, too. And if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours, too. They will do all this to you on account of me, because they do not know the One who sent me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me also hates my Father. I did works among them that no one else has ever done. If I had not done these works, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen what I have done, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that what is written in their law would be true: ‘They hated me for no reason.’[a]

“I will send you the Helper[b] from the Father; he is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me, and you also must tell people about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Footnotes:

  1. 15:25 ‘They . . . reason.’ These words could be from Psalm 35:19 or Psalm 69:4.
  2. 15:26 Helper “Counselor” or “Comforter.” Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.
New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Helper: John 14

Jesus Comforts His Followers

Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”[a]

Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father, too. But now you do know him, and you have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

Jesus answered, “I have been with you a long time now. Do you still not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you don’t come from me, but the Father lives in me and does his own work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done. I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

“If you love me, you will obey my commands.  I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper[b] to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he lives with you and he will be in you.

“I will not leave you all alone like orphans; I will come back to you. In a little while the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live, too. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and that you are in me and I am in you. Those who know my commands and obey them are the ones who love me, and my Father will love those who love me. I will love them and will show myself to them.”

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you plan to show yourself to us and not to the rest of the world?”

Jesus answered, “If people love me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine; it is from my Father, who sent me.

“I have told you all these things while I am with you. But the Helper will teach you everything and will cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.

“I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going, but I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you should be happy that I am going back to the Father, because he is greater than I am. I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it happens, you will believe. I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father, so I do exactly what the Father told me to do.

“Come now, let us go.

Footnotes:

  1. 14:4 You . . . going. Some Greek copies read “You know where I am going and the way to the place I am going.”
  2. 14:16 Helper “Counselor” or “Comforter.” Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.

New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Helper: Psalm 115

The One True God

It does not belong to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to you
    because of your love and loyalty.

Why do the nations ask,
    “Where is their God?”
Our God is in heaven.
    He does what he pleases.
Their idols are made of silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
    They have eyes, but they cannot see.
They have ears, but they cannot hear.
    They have noses, but they cannot smell.
They have hands, but they cannot feel.
    They have feet, but they cannot walk.
    No sounds come from their throats.
People who make idols will be like them,
    and so will those who trust them.

Family of Israel, trust the Lord;
    he is your helper and your protection.
Family of Aaron, trust the Lord;
    he is your helper and your protection.
You who respect the Lord should trust him;
    he is your helper and your protection.

The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
    He will bless the family of Israel;
    he will bless the family of Aaron.
The Lord will bless those who respect him,
    from the smallest to the greatest.

May the Lord give you success,
    and may he give you and your children success.
May you be blessed by the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

Heaven belongs to the Lord,
    but he gave the earth to people.
Dead people do not praise the Lord;
    those in the grave are silent.
But we will praise the Lord
    now and forever.

Praise the Lord!

New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Helper: Psalm 121

Photo: LaShawnda Jones for Spirit-Harvest.com
Photo: LaShawnda Jones for Spirit-Harvest.com

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.