Acts 15 13 14 A Divine Visitation by

Acts 15: 13 -14 A Divine Visitation by Bob De. Waay April 26, 2020

God’s Visitation Makes a People Acts 15: 13, 14 (NKJV) And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. § The dispute came from those who wanted to make Gentile converts obey Moses (vss 1, 5) § This is not James the brother of John (Lk 5: 10) but James the half brother of Jesus Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 2

Testimony of the Mighty Deeds of God Stopped the Debate Acts 15: 13 (NKJV) And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: “Silent” was also used in Luke 9: 36 where God stopped a discussion with a definitive answer! § When God acts to make a people for Himself, we must listen (Deuteronomy 27: 9) § It is not time for dissention (Acts 15: 2, 7) when God has clearly spoken and acted § Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 3

Peter Explained a Visitation of God Acts 15: 14 a (NKJV) Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles… “Declared” is exe_geomai which is used 5 times in Luke/Acts out of 6 in NT (other is John 1: 18) § “Visited” is episkeptomai which is used in Luke 1: 68; 1: 78; and 7: 16 (previews of salvation) § Luke 19: 44, uses the noun in “day of visitation” § Genesis 50: 24, 25 promise that God will “visit” § Exodus 3: 15, 16 link the Name and visitation § Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 4

A People for The Name Acts 15: 14 b (NKJV) to take out of them a people for His name. This is an Exodus motif: Luke 9: 31 speaks of Jesus’ “exodus” that He would accomplish! § See Exodus 6: 7 where God takes a people § Ezekiel 34: 11 LXX God promises to seek out His sheep and “visit” episkeptomai § In Acts 18: 10 God told Paul “I have many people in this city” § Now Gentiles are included in the visitation § Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 5

Echoes From the Burning Bush Exodus 3: 14 -15 (NKJV) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. ” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you. ’ Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations. ’” § Context: the burning bush (Exodus 3: 1 -13) Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 6

The Exodus Visitation Exodus 3: 16 (NKJV) Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; God’s visitation meant salvation for Israel and judgment on Egypt § The visitation of God in Christ makes a new Exodus which means salvation for all who welcome Him and judgment on all who reject Him § Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 7

The Lord’s Supper Everyone is now invited to turn on their own video camera as we share in Communion together. (optional) To do this, on your screen, find the small “start video” camera icon and click on it. (Your audio will still be turned off). If you can’t see other people on your screen, you will also need to find the Gallery View icon (looks like a grid) and click on it. Gallery View will show a grid of people instead of just the speaker. We will wait for about 30 seconds to allow people to turn on their cameras. Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 8

The Lord’s Supper 1 Corinthians 11: 23 -26 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me. ” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying , “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. ” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you the Lord’s death until He comes. Gospelproclaim of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 9

Benediction Gospel of Grace Fellowship ggf. church 10