10/03/2025 – “Devoted to the Word of God” / “We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And what they said please the whole gathering.” Acts 6: 4-5 / Commentary attached
“While the spirit-filled events of Pentecost and the resulting ministry were extraordinary, the apostles and their followers did not begin saying afterward, Well, now the Spirit of God teaches me; therefore I don’t need to listen to anybody else. Instead, when filled with the Holy Spirit, they were all ears for the authoritative preaching and teaching of God’s word. This teaches us an important lesson: the Spirit of God always leads the people of God to devote themselves to the word of God.
This is why the book of Acts is full of the centrality of preaching. The apostles recognized that God’s supreme instrument for renewing His people in the image of His son was and is through His word, as His Spirit works through it. Here in Acts 6 we see an example of the priority and protection the apostles gave to those called and equipped to teach. The apostles recognized the sobering importance of being entrusted as servants to bring before the people the very words of God Himself.
The Old Testament books refer to the ‘oracles’ of the prophets; this word can also be translated as ‘burden’ (see, for instance, Isaiah 13:1, KJV). It describes a weight upon the heart and mind that comes about because of the awesome responsibility of speaking God’s truth to people. Back in the nineteenth century C.H. Spurgeon acknowledged this burden by declaring his pulpit be be more influential than the throne of the king of England, for he brought a message from the throne of God to that pulpit and delivered the truth of Christian doctrine.
We must pray for and protect those called to teach the truths of Scripture, whether a congregation, or to little children, or in any other context. It is no small thing to stand regularly between a holy God and His people, declaring His word. It is a heavy burden as well as a wonderful privilege.
In addition to praying for our teachers and preachers, we must also be humble and eager to sit and learn under the authoritative teaching of God’s word. Such an example of devotion was set by the early church in their dedication to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). Contemporary devotion ought to look the same; we must be committed to teaching that is based on the New Testament truths revealed to the apostles and built upon the foundations of Old Testament doctrine. We must not be spending all our time snacking on the fast food of box sets that soak up our time, TV networks that confirm what we already think, and books or video games that offer escape from the real world. Instead, we need to feast on the word of God. Let that be your spiritual food and you will find each day that the Spirit of God leads you deeper into the truths and the joys within it.”
Psalm 119: 81-96 (*)
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(*) – These verses may portray a worldly scene that is even more evil than what we currently face. Example: “They almost ended my life on earth, but I did not abandon Your precepts.” (verse 87). With regard to end times, I am a historic premillennialist, not a premillennial dispensationalist. Translation: I don’t buy into the “rapture”, even though I acknowledge it could be inferred in scripture. But for those of you that do believe in the rapture, I sure hope you are right. But be prepared, I submit that verse 87 is not too extreme today for Christians in Nigeria, to name just one country among many. We were born for this time; failure to “stand fast” is not an option. Let us pray and trust in the perfect plan of the LORD!
Here is the commentary in “The Apologetics Study Bible” for Psalm 119:
“Ps 119. This, the longest psalm, is a meditation on the word of God in its many forms and functions. The entire psalm is alphabetically arranged (acrostic). The first stanza is labeled alef because each of the eight verses starts with a word that begins with that letter, the first of the alphabet. The second stanza follows with the same arrangement using the second letter of the alphabet, bet; the rest of the psalm follows the same pattern through the alphabet. The second stanza follows with the same arrangement using the second letter of the alphabet, bet; the rest of the psalm follows the same pattern through the alphabet. This scheme certainly aided in memorizing the meditation (a ‘mnemonic’ device); but it also was a way of ordering the thoughts to provide a complete meditation on the word of God — the ‘ABCs’ about the law of the Lord. Commentators have called the composition of psalms of this type ‘learned psalmogrpahy’, that is, inspiration combined with intense scholarship and literary skill.”
Soli Deo Gloria!