Can God Help Me If I Am Surrounded By Enemies? (Christian Sermons Book 5)

As Paul was directed to Rome by the Lord himself in Acts Paul fulfilled Christ's mission given in Luke In contrast to Jonah, who was running from the Lord and imperiled the safety of the ship, Paul was obedient to the Lord and saved the lives of all on board! There is a lesson here: Malta is an important aspect of the narrative, for the natives there representing the Gentiles were receptive to Paul's mission.

Publius, the chief man of the island, became a convert and the first Bishop of Malta.

This is in contrast to the Jews of Rome, who, while individually may have been responsive to the Word, as a group rejected Paul's message. The climax occurs in Rome, when Paul, after continued rejection by the Jews This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know - 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

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And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.

Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, 'Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.

From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household. I also will remove you beyond Babylon. They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53 you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.

And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. For His life is removed from the earth. Of himself or of someone else? What prevents me from being baptized? Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God. They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. Then Peter answered, 47 "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?

Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

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These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man's house. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. They kept saying, "It is his angel. And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie. We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.

And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her! Therefore come out now and go in peace. But let them come themselves and bring us out. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.

Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say? He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And they were accompanying him to the ship. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And now David feels abandoned as moves to a new location that is very foreign to him.

David wrote Psalm 13—how to overcome the feelings of despair, abandonment and loneliness when we are in a very dark situation that seems hopeless. Look there with me and note the very first verse:. I deeply learned that lesson at 27, feet while flying home from a Shepherds Conference in Los Angeles. Through that harrowing experience I gained an unforgettable insight.

Having heard the preflight safety lecture dozens of times, I started to read and ignored it, never thinking about anything other than what I needed to do before landing in Tulsa. Initially, this particular flight seemed uneventful. An empty seat beside me became my desk, and as the world slowly drifted by outside my window, I worked. After a bit, clouds began to darken the sky, so I turned on the light and kept studying. An announcement to fasten seatbelts appeared ordinary, not at all uncommon. Suddenly, the plane did its first roller coaster move; it quickly dropped and then immediately went straight up like an elevator.

When a very hard jolt knocked open a few overhead compartments and belongings fell out, scattered cries of fear could be heard from all over the cabin. From that moment on this unexpected twist captured my rapt attention and all I thought about was this: Who, exactly, is up front flying this plane? How much experience do they have? How skilled are they in thunderstorm management?

What tremendous lesson did I learn on that flight?

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Who even thinks about the pilot until the weather gets rough? And then we want to know: Who is steering this careening machine? The pilot instantly becomes very important because our safety is in his hands! The same is true in life. But let the rough family times, the roller coaster ride of our emotions, the crash of our finances, or the plummet of our health come—THEN the Pilot captures our rapt attention. Psalm 13 appears to reveal what was happening to David after he fled Gath but before all his friends arrived at the cave, which is 1 Samuel As he ran for his life, he felt abandoned by everyone—including God.

As a pastor, biblical counselor, and a follower of Christ for over forty years, I am convinced abandonment feelings are very common among believers. What are some causes of such cave times?

When A Christian Offends

Wayward children can cause immeasurable pain to believing parents. Cave times usually make us feel depressed and all alone. Because others no longer seem as supportive or as friendly, an abandoned feeling leads into the downward spiral of thinking: No one cares for me! Like David, we may then conclude: God has also abandoned me!

Why do you suppose this is? We are not surprised to hear an unbeliever say that. But if any of us should admit to such feelings, many of our friends would look askance at us, shake their heads, and wonder whether we are Christians.

Thankfully, David talked about his painful loneliness. In the first two verses David expressed the depths of his soul in four cries of anguish. Each cry reflects something from his background, and is a figure of speech called erotesis —asking questions without waiting for or even expecting an answer. This is often a sign of deep emotional stress. His four cries also represented a second form of speech called anaphora —when the same word is repeated at the beginning of successive sentences. David cried in anguish as he asked God four times: The opening words in Psalm His confessions sometimes strike a chord in our own hearts:.

Everyone had left David: With every fiber of his being, David felt dejected and abandoned. Reality and perception both deeply influence our lives. Every part of my life is troubled and is suffering from a lack of Your blessing! How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?

He had ruminated so long on disaster after disaster that he was feeding on the dark thoughts of hopelessness. Here are some common causes:. A person with a very emotional temperament. There are two main groups of personalities: Can you tell which best describes David? He had unbelievable temperamental feelings prone to discouragement. In his monumental book, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure, Lloyd Jones writes in the opening pages: There is no such thing as a good or bad temperament.

The truth of the matter is that God designed us all as beautiful, spiritual snowflakes; no two people are exactly alike. A person with an acute physical weakness. A plunge into disquieting thoughts and emotions can be caused by illness. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest evangelical leaders of the last century, suffered from severe bouts of depression. Why would such a spiritual giant, such an incredible expositor, such an extraordinary writer and pastor have severe bouts of paralyzing depression?