“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their habitations. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

It is no accident that we live when and where we do! God has placed everyone in the world according to His perfect plan!

What we learn from acts 17:26-27 about WHEN, WHERE, and WHY we live on earth:

• God created all people from one man, Adam. “From one man he made all the nations.”

• To fill the earth. “That they should inhabit the whole earth.”

• He appointed when they should live. “He marked out their appointed times in history.”

• He appointed the exact places where they would live. “The boundaries of their habitations.”

• For His stated purpose of reaching them for Himself. “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

And, He even created us with certain abilities and talents to enable us to do His good work

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

Jesus had a wonderful way of cutting to the chase and making what’s most important simple to understand. Even when it came to matters of the religious law. The following is an occasion where He did this.  

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28 NIV)

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” (Luke 6:26 ESV)

 Love and pray for them

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44 NIV)

Bless them

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” (Rom. 12:14 ESV)

 “…if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Rom. 12:20 ESV)

 For your blessing and reward is from God

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” (Prov. 25:21-22 ESV)

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9 ESV) 

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” (Luke 6:38 ESV)

 God will deal with your enemies in due time 

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Rom. 12:19 ESV)

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Psalms 1:1-6 ESV)

 Therefore…

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:21 NIV)

“When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7 ESV)

Quote:

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” - Jesus

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 ESV)

 Faith comes from hearing the Word

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17 ESV)

Hear the word of God, keep it, and you will be blessed!

“But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” - Jesus (Luke 11:28 ESV)

 The Word of God is at work 

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thess. 2:13 ESV)

The Word is living and active

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12 ESV)

 The Word is able to build you up

“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32 ESV)

 Quote:

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” - Jesus

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” (Phil. 4:4 ESV)

Rejoice - to be animated with gladness; to experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be delighted; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; To exult.

We have much to rejoice about!

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11 ESV)

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zeph. 3:17 ESV)

 Fullness of joy in Jesus

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11 ESV)

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV)

Therefore…

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” (Psalm 16:9 ESV)

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 ESV)

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isa. 61:10 ESV)

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Rom. 12:12 ESV)

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (Col. 2:7 (NLT)

 Overflowing with God’s truth

While working at a vendor booth at a business conference a few years ago a person in the booth next to me gave me a compliment. He said he noticed that words about God and Scripture just seemed to roll off my tongue. He said he was a brand new Christian and hoped he could do that someday. I thanked him and told him that I hadn’t noticed that I was doing that (and I really hadn’t noticed). I told him that as he grew in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, he would simply overflow with it. In other words, what your heart and mind is filled with, you will be naturally talking about. If you abound with it you will run over with it. 

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37 ESV)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13 ESV)

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45 ESV)

Therefore…

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,” (1 Thess. 3:12 ESV)

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45 NIV)

A closed mind doesn’t see 

Before I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ I didn’t understand Scripture. I was completely blind to it. Even though a few people attempted to tell me about what the Bible said, I couldn’t see it. I thought it was foolishness. The Bible explains it clearly:

“But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.” (1 Cor. 2:14 ANOC) 

Suddenly I was interested

After I received the Lord everything changed for me regarding the Bible. Suddenly I was interested in it and could understand what God was saying to me through His written Word. It was like a veil had been removed from my eyes and I could see. 

 When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed

 “But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:14-18 ESV)

 Therefore…

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Cor. 19:5 ESV)

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2 ESV)

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isa. 26:3 ESV)

“And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.” (Luke 5:5-7 ESV)

Miraculously filled to the point of breaking

It’s interesting, how in the above passage, Simon’s net was miraculously filled to the point of breaking, so he signaled to his partners in a nearby boat to come and soon their nets were full also to the point of breaking. The second boat benefited from partnership with Simon and completely shared in his blessing. 

It’s not you!

I went into full time ministry as the executive director of Whatcom County Youth For Christ during the Jesus Movement that started in the late 1960’s early 1970’s. All my meetings were jam packed and many people responded to the invitations to trust in Christ. I saw amazing results all around me but I took it all for granted at the time. It was so easy and wonderful! I fully expected it to continue forever with the same kinds of amazing results. I hadn’t any concern that it would end someday. Then, I received a phone call from a local pastor who asked to meet with me. He told me he was a long time pastor and wanted to tell me something important. So I met with him. He said, “Mike, I have noticed the crowds at your events and have been very happy to see so many young people responding and making commitments to Christ! That is so wonderful, but, I want you to understand something very important—It’s not you! What you’re experiencing here is a special move of the Holy Spirit that you are fortunate enough to be sharing in. God is doing something amazing and you just happen to be present and receive His blessing in it. One day, however, the crowds may no longer be there, but, if and when that happens, remember what I said, ‘it’s not you!’” He then gave me some advice. He told me that if I wanted to continue to be successful in ministry in the future, I should look around carefully and find out what God is actively doing—where His mighty hand is at work—and then get involved and partner with it. Then, I would continually be a part of what God is doing and what He is blessing. I took what he said to heart and did what He said! I got involved (partnered) with ministries that were obviously being blessed such as the Billy Graham crusades that came to our area and the Promise Keepers rallies, just to name a couple of them. And, yes, I have been truly blessed as a result! Just like those fishermen who had partnered with Simon, my “nets” have been been miraculously filled!

Therefore…

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13 ESV)

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38 ESV)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Eph. 3:20 ESV)

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 ESV)

Prayer is powerful 

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16 ESV)

Ask in His Name with faith

 “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14 ESV)

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6 ESV)

 Pray about everything 

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 ESV)

 God will help you pray correctly 

 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Therefore…

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7 ESV)

“Pray without ceasing,” (1 Thess 5:17 ESV)