S3E340 – Acts 21-22: What To Do

Transcript Podcast Introduction This is Gospel Saturday and we’ll read Acts 21-22. I’m calling today’s episode “What To Do.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Gioele Fazzeri on Unsplash Comments on Acts 21-22 Thoughts on Acts 21 In today’s reading, we get a bit of a travelogue of part of Paul’s journey, and the part that I would like to bring to your attention is when they arrived in Caesarea. They stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist. He, by the way, is the same one who baptized the the eunuch in chapter eight of Acts. We’re told that Philip had four unmarried daughters who were what we might call today “P.K.s” or “preacher’s kids”, and they also proclaimed God’s message. How blessed Philip was, that his kids loved the Lord as much as he did. In addition to raising his kids to know and serve God, he was evidently an effective messenger of the Gospel because there was a thriving community of believers in Caesarea. We know this because when Agabus prophesied and delivered the message from the Holy Spirit that Paul would be bound hand and feet in Jerusalem, a group of them begged Paul not to go. And this is what I think we should consider today. These good and loving people, who cared so much for Paul that they begged him not to go where he would be harmed, were asking him to turn away from what God had called him to do. Did you notice that? Their motives were good, in that they did not want to see their friend and in some ways, their pastor, come to harm. And their pleadings were effective enough that they broke Paul’s heart. He agonized with them, and maybe was even a bit tempted to heed their cries. However, his reply to them revealed an even higher and better motive. “I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” His aim was to follow God’s leading. The Holy Spirit’s message to Paul through Agabus was not to dissuade Paul from continuing on, but to prepare Paul for what lay ahead. God wanted Paul and the other believers to know that when he was bound and delivered to the Gentiles, it was all part of His plan. And their response was what I hope ours is when we face difficult times, “May the Lord’s will be done.” There really is no better way to live than this. May the Lord’s will be done. Thoughts on Acts 22 One of the aspects of God and Christianity that some non believers have a really hard time reconciling is forgiveness, especially that of particularly heinous crimes. And on one level, I understand the difficulty. Today, we read of Paul’s confession to the Lord that he had been responsible for the arrest of believers, and even held the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen to death. But in spite of those terrible crimes, Jesus forgave Paul and even made him one of the linchpins of the church. We cannot explain completely the depth of God’s love for us, or His enormous capacity for forgiveness, but we do have ample evidence of its reality. If not in Paul, then in each one of us. None of us is deserving of the gift of grace that God offers, but offer it He does. If we will accept it, He takes the pieces of our broken lives and creates something so much more that we could have ever thought possible. I’m sure it never entered Paul’s mind that he would play the role that he has in human and church history. I wonder what God will do with your life. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 21-22 GNT Support This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB – 0:00We do have plenty of evidence for the reality of that forgiveness. INTRO S12E339 – 0:11Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and this is Gospel Saturday. We’ll read Acts 21 and 22. I’m calling today’s episode “What To Do”. Before we begin, if you’ve not yet sent that email with your thoughts on whether you think I should keep the Lifespring Family Audio Bible going in some form after this season is over at the end of the month, or if you have another idea for a podcast that you’d like me to do, how about pausing the show right here to do that. I want to hear from you even if you’ve never written to me before. Send that email to st**************@***il.com and in the subject line put “THE NEXT STEP”, very important “THE NEXT STEP”. The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e339. Let’s get started. ACTS 21 (GNT) – 1:09Acts, chapter 21. (1) We said good-bye to them and left. After sailing straight across, we came to Cos; the next day we reached Rhodes, and from there we went on to Patara. (2) There we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia, so we went aboard and sailed away. (3) We came to where we could see Cyprus, and then sailed south of it on to Syria. We went ashore at Tyre, where the ship was going to unload its cargo. (4) There we found some believers and stayed with them a week. By the power of the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. (5) But when our time with them was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, together with their wives and children, went with us out of the city to the beach, where we all knelt and prayed. (6) Then we said good-bye to one another, and we went on board the ship while they went back home. (7) We continued our voyage, sailing from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the believers and stayed with them for a day. (8) On the following day we left and arrived in Caesarea. There we stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen as helpers in Jerusalem. (9) He had four unmarried daughters who proclaimed God’s message. (10) We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. (11) He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied up his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.” (12) When we heard this, we and the others there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. (13) But he answered, “What are you doing, crying like this and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” (14) We could not convince him, so we gave up and said, “May the Lord’s will be done.” (15) After spending some time there, we got our things ready and left for Jerusalem. (16) Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and took us to the house of the man we were going to stay with—Mnason, from Cyprus, who had been a believer since the early days. (17) When we arrived in Jerusalem, the believers welcomed us warmly. (18) The next day Paul went with us to see James; and all the church elders were present. (19) Paul greeted them and gave a complete report of everything that God had done among the Gentiles through his work. (20) After hearing him, they all praised God. Then they said, “Brother Paul, you can see how many thousands of Jews have become believers, and how devoted they all are to the Law. (21) They have been told that you have been teaching all the Jews who live in Gentile countries to abandon the Law of Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or follow the Jewish customs. (22) They are sure to hear that you have arrived. What should be done, then? (23) This is what we want you to do. There are four men here who have taken a vow. (24) Go along with them and join them in the ceremony of purification and pay their expenses; then they will be able to shave their heads. In this way everyone will know that there is no truth in any of the things that they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in accordance with the Law of Moses. (25) But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent them a letter telling them we decided that they must not eat any food that has been offered to idols, or any blood, or any animal that has been strangled, and that they must keep themselves from sexual immorality.” (26) So Paul took the men and the next day performed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the Temple and gave notice of how many days it would be until the end of the period of purification, when a sacrifice would be offered for each one of them. (27) But just when the seven days were about to come to an end, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul. (28) “People of Israel!” they shouted. “Help! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching everyone against the people of Israel, the Law of Moses, and this Temple. And now he has even brought some Gentiles into the Temple and defiled this holy place!” ( (29) They said this because they had seen Trophimus from Ephesus with Paul in the city, and they thought that Paul had taken him into the Temple.) (30) Confusion spread through the whole city, and the people all ran together, grabbed Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple. At once the Temple doors were closed. (31) The mob was trying to kill Paul, when a report was sent up to the commander of the Roman troops that all of Jerusalem was rioting. (32) At once the commander took some officers and soldiers and rushed down to the crowd. When the people saw him with the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. (33) The commander went over to Paul, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked, “Who is this man, and what has he done?...