Sunday_Service

Good Morning, Praise the Lord! Thank God I am alive! I welcome all of the saints- all the unsaved, all the visitors- all the return visitors- all of the staff- all of the prayer warriors, all my loved ones, and everyone who is part of the Church or anyone just lead to come here to worship the Godhead with the truth in heart, not in the flesh- I have no notes and just trying to write with the inspiration of God and Christ. Welcome to our 293rd Service of The Church Ministries. No one understands - no one ever will, what I had to go through this week. God knows, and no- He did not cause it- it was probably my own sin. Or satan got in there through the cracks. The picture it kind of looks like me praying on the same cliff, but the background islands are not the same. It looks like the same area I used to pray at- when I was able to walk up and down to that area. But I know God does not cause trials or pain, many people still blame God for everything, as I prayed to Him just a moment ago I know He is in tears over Haiti, one fact He didn’t cause it- satan was the one that seeks, kills, and destroys- not any of the Godhead. Were do people get their information from, do they right there own bibles? “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet (peradventure-(perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” [Rom.5:1-11] “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” [Rom.6:16] I hope you all understand this verse, I hope you understand that you are slaves to anyone you obey? You can either be slaves to sin and die, or you can be obedient slaves to God and God accepts that. You don’t want to be slaves of the devil do you? All your going to do is end up in hell, and that my friend is no picnic. That is what this verse is saying, very simple and to the point. God loves us he wants us to have a relationship with Him, and if we do He will be with us, love us, and help us, and we will be counted righteous. “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” [Rom.6:17-22] Let me explain this too, remember when you were young you were slaves to sin and didn’t even know it. It happened to me, I could have ended up in hell for the things I did, I didn’t realize I was a slave to sin, so when I got born again, I was automatically freed from the old master, sin you didn’t even think about goodness, I am using this slaves and masters so you can understand, so you were once slaves to sin, but that is over, you must be slaves to what is good and holy. What kind of harvest did you reap when you were into sin? And what was the result? You know in your heart it wasn’t good. You might even feel ashamed of what you did and who you served and didn’t even know it, what did it bring death and a fruitless harvest, so now you are free from sin and with God, obedient to God because you love God and He gives you the righteousness and the eternal life with Him. Now I hope you understand all of that, God is love and so many people today are blaming God for everything that happens bad. That hurts Him- and I don’t get anything, or any points for my daily performance, I just want to explain to you all - Jesus freed us from sin, as the others in the courtyard of the temple, 2000 years ago- they said we were never slaves, and Jesus was trying hard to tell them that they were slaves to sin, and all they wanted to do was stone Him when he tried to explain to those workers and head Pharisees and scribes, when is someone going to point out the Good News, or preach the Gospel the way it should be? For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Eph.2:8-9] We and most of our staff, and prayer warriors and our loved ones have been meeting here for the intro and being I had such a hard week I can only blame myself because I didn’t have enough time to talk to God. Plus the fact when things I thought went wrong or satan whispered into my ear making me think things were wrong- I just didn’t have enough faith in the Godhead and I worried myself sick, and had to walk and walk and walk, and I had to suffer more and more pain, So my friends let us all come to the truth and praise the Living God, all the other religions don’t have a savior that lives and their book or whatever is not alive or like a mirror looking at your new spirit to give you the knowledge of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that leads us to righteousness.

You know I have all the gifts and all the love for others, at least I think I do. I am just going to get out and drive, it is stupid for me not to, here I am with an old truck, that at least runs, and people just hurt me, they think I am some kind of nut walking down the street pulling this bright blue suitcase with wheels. Now you should here the responses, and now I just don’t feel right not driving. Do you know I wasted a few bucks on one of those things you can wheel and put your stuff in it and carry it at an angle and my truck sits in the driveway? I felt good when I bought it, and someone said well you will never get a ride with that, I said who cares no body stops anyway. Just imagine a guy who has dressed from a suit and tie, to a religious man, to a man with fatigues, to a man with plane solid color dress- army- navy- or marine- type clothes, back to my jeans and a shirt-hitch-hiking with a cane- disabled and no one gives me a ride. So I just got this blue thing- and as I walked up the hill and the ground changed from smooth to rocky- to grated- and bumpy, it really was not worth it- it was a little better walking through town- but my back pack by the second or third day was killing my shoulders, and forget my lower back, I have tears under those sunglasses, at times when I have to do banking or by groceries I carry a back pack- that is with nothing but bank book stuff in it, and stuff that I would need- aspirins, Band-Aids, my wallets, etc., now I had to stop and stand up the thing- and now it was effecting muscles along the top of my back, dragging this thing, I didn’t have the weight, but the pulling was almost just as bad. Plus the people would not move for me with a cane no less, why doesn’t anyone pick me up with nothing but a cane? There has been many people that have saved my life just giving me a ride, and not even knowing it. I mean for real. When I start tripping or stumbling that is when I am exhausted, and too tired, some times I feel as if I am cursed, when a man can’t go out two days in a row and this week was forced to walk like 3 days in a row, and a few blocks Monday that is 4. People just don’t realize, that I am not driving for "their sakes" not mine. I am legal to drive but I just don’t want to hurt someone else, my own doctor tells me to drive. I am going to drive, it was my own choice stoping me from driving. It is very un-confortable for me to sit, for a long period. And most of people don’t even know why I am even out there walking. I should be calling meals on wheels or something like that- but that is the way I am. I said to one of my staff maybe this is the wrong place to have a mission, nobody even cares for others here, maybe my whole idea is wrong in the first place, here I come 5,000 miles like a missionary and talk to a handful of people mostly second hand store owners or workers. I had the credit the strength- people wanted to help donate things that they had to much off, then I was built like Rocky or bigger, 23 years pumping iron. on and off, and I was writing letters and answering adds and trying to find a place on the bottom floor and then when things seamed like it was rolling along- then I got sick, I picked up an unknown infection from another hospital, but nobody can understand that, but you can see the infection plane as day- inside my mouth, and then I lost all my weight- all my strength, my immune system went down, and now I am a bag of bones, I want to cry every time I take a shower- sore and in pain, but I am still keeping this church or as the IRS calls it a Public Charity going, I worked out in the "Y" {Young Mens Christian Association} for about the last five years before I came here, I always had a bible a christain book with scriptures and all kinds of helping hands books, and inbetween sets I wouldd talk to many people, when they built the new one I would say hello to maybe 200 people a day- and ministered to many -out of that same day, Some times people ministered to me, we all need the word and that gentle touch of care from someone. Anyway sorry I went off on a rabbit trail- So that same person said this is the exact place for a mission because no one cares about others. It just seems around here, not to be a judge -I am just hurt, I want to help so many others and have all these talents to run a mission that is just slowly wasting away. What do I do? "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." [Matt.13:15] God wants to heal all of us and if you don't have anyone to preach the gospel to you- you feel empty inside. I am just broken hearted, my heart is not hardened, just broken, I should be happy and joyful and be praising God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit all the time. God has a plan for me, I feel it, but He knows the time and His timing is perfect and He will open the doors that can’t be shut and the doors that can be opened, my faith should rise to the top of the hill by the letters I get. I ran into my old friend that had a military clothing store with some used and some new stuff, plus back packs etc, I had the one he gave me and he said it is still holding up? And he gave me lots of stuff, and things I paid for was practically nothing- we were good friends, but he closed his store - he has some big time government job, helping people, he is a good man, and was a great friend, I was broken to see him close and be gone. In the beginning I had a prayer ministry and I got a letter from someone they kept for 3 years- and sent that and a response- just the other day I found it, I cried for complete joy- some of the letters just hit me right in the heart and they have been so awesome I just cry for joy.- These are like presents wrapped up and as I open them I just fall apart, one woman that is a head of a ministry keeps sending wonderful letters of care and compassion to like give me that drive to keep going, and I just found them- I need to write her back and tell her what kind of kindness she has given me to go on with a full heart. Sometime back in September or before my email went to sending 3,4,5, times a message, so I figured out that I have to use the web mail and I have been so sick just to do the sermon and by Wednesday I am able to start deleting mail that I know is junk or spam and I have to keep the % down or the mail will bounce, and they will not send the important mail, and there is other reasons that I can’t figure out why they don’t go through or they bounce back to the sender, and plus the staff I have to keep in touch with and what I did was start backwards from when the email went crazy, back lets say from, I lost a whole month somewhere because someone gave me the wrong info, so about October then I started going ahead page by page and I still have over a thousand I have not even looked at and about 700 I have not even seen, and then I spent days deleting 3,4,5, of the same messages, on my own computer those are in a pile of 9,000 emails but there are no doubles anymore, another woman has mailed me prayer requests and responses since we started the Church, her husband also sends out a newsletter that I want to keep. Plus we belong to 20-30 other ministries, plus there are people using our sermons and prayers which I laid out for everyone to use for free- which makes me feel good and also that still may or may not operate like a “piggy back” missionary type concept. Like I said before your daily performance does not make any difference with God you don’t get any points or any extra love. It is how you have the relationship and how much time you spend with God and study the word like a mirror- because knowing Christ is knowing the word, and to know what you have in your new spirit on conversion when you read the word, there you regain the same gifts as the apostles, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” [1Cor.13:1-3] “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” [1Cor.13:8-12] These are the scriptures that people interpret as there is no miracles, or no one can do any supernatural things to heal people or raise the dead or just be given knowledge like knowing someone’s name and what kind of injury or problem they have, you see people tend to believe the wrong things- if you don’t believe you don’t receive, I didn’t believe I could heal people- but when I saw a burn of boiling hot jelly drip and spill over someone’s arm and the skin started to get red and peel and I put my hands around that burn and a few seconds later- it was gone. Then I knew. At the present time we are men looking at puzzling reflections in the mirror, we have never seen our real face and we have never seen God face to face. The bible is like a mirror of the word, the word is Christ. When Christ returns the reality of Christ will be face to face, at this time all we know is a fraction of the truth, but the time will come when I shall fully know it as fully as God knows me. If people new the power they have they would all be Christians, if you see someone raised from the dead on a street corner how many people that saw the true act; would become believers? I have read about Gandhi and it was a mess, how he was treated and he was an amazing man with many qualifications, he was thrown off a train holding a first class ticket and asked to move to third class, he was ordered off a stagecoach to stand on the running board while some European man got his seat, he had close to or over 3 million people who followed him and he read the bible and liked and talked about the sermon on the mount and he believed in Christianity more then all the other religions and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi- one day he went to a Christian church, to worship and maybe be born again- I won’t say what kind- they would not let him in because he was black and they did not speak to him as a human being, he said something like "I would have became a Christian if I meet one". The whole country of India probably would have been Christian but because of one elder in a church at the door and there were more to make him exit the grounds. This is Christianity? This is how a Christian talks to someone?I can tell you many stories of Christian churches, remember I hitch-hiked everywhere, I missed North Dakota, New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan and Alaska, the big churches are not worth going to, the smaller ones you have more of a chance of finding a spirit filled blessing, People are supposed to be preaching the Good News the Gospel not the Bad News, and the Law.

The law is to put fear into you and makes you serve God out of fear. God wants you to serve Him in Love, not fear. What happened? Well this is the Church I explained last week about the church and most every week the same- this time- I will put in the whole chapter in- I would like to put it into one of my older translations but that would not be a public domain:- “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. {Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,} and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, (what shall we do)? Then Peter said unto them, {Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost}. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about "three thousand souls". And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” [Acts 2:1-47] I had to fully put the whole chapter in I might add the 1st chapter where Jesus tells them all to wait for the power to come forth and the main thing is that it is a continuation from the book of Luke written by our friendly physician Luke, I feel it is a Bridge of the Gospels to the Epistles. Plus the fact the Holy Spirit is mentioned over 50 times in the KJV= as the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, The Spirit, Baptism with the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and being led by the Holy Spirit. This is the true Church this is what we should all be doing following the great commission and doing for others which so much has changed and if the things that you do daily does not count as any prayer or movement of God this is the true Church, it is what you do for others that counts, like I said last week that most of the church buildings were the homes of the people. We are taught missionary principles, how to defend our faith, The Person, and the people- and the work combined with The Holy Spirit, and Christian Preaching, this is the church and we are the bride of Christ and we should know what we are doing to others and how to treat others I should not be standing on the street let alone even walk a block without someone offering me a ride, I should be offered a ride before I even cross the street. If a man is up in age and walking with a cane you have to help that man, you can’t just ride by and make believe he is not there, or is completely be ignored at a light were I am two to three feet from the driver, that is not even civilized, plus the fact you can see grocery bags and a back-pack you should be able to assume that this man needs help and time after time I walk up that hill by the time I enter my home I am soaked through- where I have to remove all my clothes and put on dry clothes- and that only happens the last 1/8th of a mile. They should ask how I am doing or ask if I needed help, I never myself came across a man hitch-hiking with a cane before and I drove a van 6,000 miles and hit all the National Parks and places to go because this was my second or even third trip in some areas, and picked up every hitch-hiker along the way, I think my count was about 32 I figured much more but that was it. It was a great part of my life. I loved to go to the Parks and camp out there. I have seen a lot of things and I learned a lot through people. I played my guitar and sang around the campfire, telling stories, and spreading Christian love, and meeting new people from all over the world.

Let us get technical- the title "Acts of the Apostles" (Greek Πράξεις ἀποστόλων Praxeis Apostolon) was not part of the original text. It was first used by Irenaeus late in the second century. Some have suggested that the title "Acts" be interpreted as "The Acts of the Holy Spirit" or even "The Acts of Jesus," since 1:1 gives the impression that these acts were set forth as an account of what Jesus continued to do and teach, Jesus himself being the principal actor

The word "Acts" denoted a recognized genre in the ancient world, "characterizing books that described great deeds of people or of cities." There are several such books in the New Testament apocrypha, including the Acts of Thomas, the Acts of Andrew, and the Acts of John.

Modern scholars assign a wide range of genres to the Acts of the Apostles, including biography, novel and epic. Most, however, interpret it as history.

Others have also suggested that the book of Acts may have been written as a legal document written in defense of Paul of Tarsus, for his trial in front of the Emperor in Rome, an event mentioned in the Book of Acts itself.

The author of Acts likely relied upon other sources, as well as oral tradition, in constructing his account of the early church and Paul's ministry. Evidence for this is found in the prologue to the Gospel of Luke, wherein the author alludes to his sources by writing, "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word." Some scholars theorize that the "we" passages in Acts are just such "handed down" quotations from some earlier source who accompanied Paul on his travels.

It is generally believed that the author of Acts did not have access to a collection of Paul's letters. One piece of evidence suggesting this is that, although half of Acts centers on Paul, Acts never directly quotes from the Pauline epistles nor does it even mention Paul writing letters. Discrepancies between the Pauline epistles and Acts further supports the conclusion that the author of Acts did not have access to those epistles when composing Acts.

Other theories about Acts' sources are more controversial. Some historians believe that Acts borrows phraseology and plot elements from Euripides' play The Bacchae. Some feel that the text of Acts shows evidence of having used the Jewish historian Josephus as a source (in which case it would have to have been written sometime after 94 AD) For example, R. I. Pervo dates Acts to the first quarter of the second century.

Traditionally the book of Acts has been dated in the second half of the first century. At one extreme, Norman Geisler dates it as early as between 60-62. Donald Guthrie noted that the absence of any mention of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 would be unlikely if the book were written afterwards. He also suggested that since the book does not mention the death of Paul, a central character in the final chapters, it was likely penned before his death. Guthrie also saw traces of Acts in Polycarp's letter to the Philippians (written between 110-140) and one letter by Ignatius († before 117) and thought that Acts probably was current in Antioch and Smyrna not later than circa 115, and perhaps in Rome as early as circa 96. Another argument used in favor of a 1st century origin of Acts is the suggested absence of clear references to Paul's Epistles.[citation needed]

On the other hand, the lack of a mention of the destruction of Jerusalem is also used as an argument for a later date, well beyond 70, while the prologue to Luke's Gospel itself implies the dying out of the generation of eyewitnesses as a class. The Tübingen school and its heirs suggested a date in the early 2nd century, partially on observing traces of 2nd century Gnosticism, "hierarchical" ideas of organization, and in light of the relation of the Roman state to the Christians[citation needed], though William Ramsey used the latter instead to suggest an origin prior to Pliny's correspondence with Trajan on the subject in the year 100.

A small indicator about the earliest possible date may be in Acts 6:9 which mentions the Province of Cilicia. The Roman province by that name had been on hiatus from 27 BC and re-established by Emperor Vespasian only in 72 AD.

Parallels between Acts and Josephus' The Wars of the Jews (written in 75-80) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94) have long been argued. Several scholars have argued that Acts used material of both of Josephus' works, rather than the other way around, which would indicate that Acts was written around the year 100 or later. Three points of contact with Josephus in particular are cited: (1) The circumstances attending the death of Agrippa I in 44. Here Acts 12:21-23 is largely parallel to Antiquities 19.8.2; (2) the cause of the Egyptian pseudo-prophet in Acts 21:37f and in Josephus (War 2.13.5; Antiquities 20.8.6); (3) the curious resemblance as to the order in which Theudas and Judas of Galilee are referred to in both (Acts 5:36f; Antiquities 20.5.1).

The place of composition is still an open question. For some time Rome and Antioch have been in favor, and Blass combined both views in his theory of two editions. But internal evidence points strongly to the Roman province of Asia, particularly the neighborhood of Ephesus. Note the confident local allusion in 19:9 to "the school of Tyrannus" and in 19:33 to "Alexander"; also the very minute topography in 20:13–15. At any rate affairs in that region, including the future of the church of Ephesus (20:28–30), are treated as though they would specially interest "Theophilus" and his circle; also an early tradition makes Luke die in the adjacent Bithynia. Finally it was in this regions that there arose certain early glosses (e.g., 19:9; 20:15), probably the earliest of those referred to below. How fully in correspondence with such an environment the work would be, as apologia for the Church against the Synagogue's attempts to influence Roman policy to its harm, must be clear to all familiar with the strength of Judaism in Asia (cf. Rev 2:9, 3:9; and see Sir W. M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches, ch. Xii

Like most biblical books, there are differences between the earliest surviving manuscripts of Acts. In the case of Acts, however, the differences between the surviving manuscripts are more substantial. The two earliest versions of manuscripts are the Western text-type (as represented by the Codex Bezae) and the Alexandrian text-type (as represented by the Codex Sinaiticus). The version of Acts preserved in the Western manuscripts contains about 10% more content than the Alexandrian version of Acts. Since the difference is so great, scholars have struggled to determine which of the two versions is closer to the original text composed by the original author.

The earliest explanation, suggested by Swiss theologian Jean LeClerc in the 17th century, posits that the longer Western version was a first draft, while the Alexandrian version represents a more polished revision by the same author. Adherents of this theory argue that even when the two versions diverge, they both have similarities in vocabulary and writing style—suggesting that the two shared a common author. However, it has been argued that if both texts were written by the same individual, they should have exactly identical theologies and they should agree on historical questions. Since most modern scholars do detect subtle theological and historical differences between the texts, most scholars do not subscribe to the rough-draft/polished-draft theory.

A second theory assumes common authorship of the Western and Alexandrian texts, but claims the Alexandrian text is the short first draft, and the Western text is a longer polished draft. A third theory is that the longer Western text came first, but that later, some other redactor abbreviated some of the material, resulting in the shorter Alexandrian text.

While these other theories still have a measure of support, the modern consensus is that the shorter Alexandrian text is closer to the original, and the longer Western text is the result of later insertion of additional material into the text. Already in 1893, Sir W. M. Ramsay in The Church in the Roman Empire held that the Codex Bezae (the Western text) rested on a recension made in Asia Minor (somewhere between Ephesus and southern Galatia), not later than about the middle of the 2nd century. Though "some at least of the alterations in Codex Bezae arose through a gradual process, and not through the action of an individual reviser," the revision in question was the work of a single reviser, who in his changes and additions expressed the local interpretation put upon Acts in his own time. His aim, in suiting the text to the views of his day, was partly to make it more intelligible to the public, and partly to make it more complete. To this end he "added some touches where surviving tradition seemed to contain trustworthy additional particulars," such as the statement that Paul taught in the lecture-room of Tyrannus "from the fifth to the tenth hour" (added to Acts 19:9). In his later work, St Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (1895), Ramsay's views gain both in precision and in breadth. The gain lies chiefly in seeing beyond the Bezan text to the "Western" text as a whole.

It is believed that the material in the Western text which isn't in the Alexandrian text reflects later theological developments within Christianity. For examples, the Western text features a greater hostility to Judaism, a more positive attitude towards Gentile Christianity, and other traits which appear to be later additions to the text. Some also note that the Western text attempts to minimize the emphasis Acts places on the role of women in the early Christian church.[citation needed]

A third class of manuscripts, known as the Byzantine text-type, is often considered to have developed after the Western and Alexandrian types. While differing from both of the other types, the Byzantine type has more similarity to the Alexandrian than to the Western type. The extant manuscripts of this type date from the 5th century or later; however, papyrus fragments show that this text-type may date as early as the Alexandrian or Western text-types. The Byzantine text-type served as the basis for the 16th century Textus Receptus, the first Greek-language version of the New Testament to be printed by printing press. The Textus Receptus, in turn, served as the basis for the New Testament found in the English-language King James Bible. Today, the Byzantine text-type is the subject of renewed interest as the possible original form of the text from which the Western and Alexandrian text-types were derived.

Acts tells the story of the Apostolic Age of the Early Christian church, with particular emphasis on the ministry of the Twelve Apostles and of Paul of Tarsus. The early chapters, set in Jerusalem, discuss Jesus' Resurrection and Great Commission, his Ascension with a prophecy to return, the start of the Twelve Apostles' ministry, and the Day of Pentecost. The later chapters discuss Paul's conversion, his ministry, and finally his arrest and imprisonment and trip to Rome.

Why has the church changed so much, after so many years it is like that childrens game called telephone- you speak a sentence to the person next to you and then that person says what he thinks he heard and after about 10 people it is entirly different from what was said to the first person. “For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” [Matt. 13:15] “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Here is another scripture that is translated wrong, everyone thinks the Holy Spirit is going to convict you of all kinds of sins you do and you won’t get your prayers answered and God will not here you, there are so many excuses today about these verses. This is in the last few hours and Jesus is telling his disciples that he is going to die and the disciples are all wondering what did we loose? Did we follow this man to watch him die, what was the purpose- the disciples started getting self-centered, they were more worried about themselves then Jesus, and he told them at least 7 times he is coming back. They had know idea what was going to happen.

7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. [John 16:7-11] Read over these carefully

{7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: So right away they or people think that the Spirit is going to judge them for all their sins. But Jesus lists them each- what He is going to do, so many people feel this way, it is only verse 9 - he will reprove the world of sin, (9Of sin, because they believe not on me; ) this is the only sin he will reprove the one where they don’t believe in Jesus, he then is saying we all become righteous because the day is coming when I come back and I go to the Father you will all be known as righteous men. That to is one of the gifts because in the same chapter when you all become new people you receive the new spirits in your hearts 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. [1Cor.5:17] Has not been written yet but it will be- after Pentecost and the beginning of the church- and the bridge to the Epistles, now in the same chapter -For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [2Cor.5:21] and the only judgment will be satan and he is already judged, and when Jesus goes to hell for 6 hours he turns that place upside down and takes back the dominion of man, as long as we don’t yield to him. Like we learned before who ever you yield to that is your choice life or death if you yield to satan you will give him power to mess with your life, if you are a servant of God you will have life eternal. 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. Satan is the only one that is going to be under judgment, because it lists right here he is judged already. And you will be righteous. Remember what we talked about and the list of these 5 scriptures: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. [Rom 6:16-18] See how it fits together, I am tired my brothers and sisters like I said earlier I walked to far and too many days I have to stop. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: [Gal.3:13] And with your new spirit you get as a gift all 9 of the fruit see fruit- singular- one- so all go with you. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. [Gal.5:22-23] “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” [Col.3:15] So remember that you will flow in the gifts of the spirit, and we have God being led to have this peace of God rule in your life! “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” [Rom.14:22-23] “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” [Rom.15:4] “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” [Rom.5:7] “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” [Rom.15:14] “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” [1Cor.1:7-9] “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” [Eph.4:23-24]