Dear Student of the Word,
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were restful and enjoyable and that 2012 is off to a good start for you. I also hope that your New Year's' goals and resolutions included something that will take you deeper into God's word. As we continue our study of Acts, this week we look at Paul's address to the Ephesian elders when he informed them that they would see him no more. This week I wrote in part four of this seven-part installment:
Study Twenty-Six, Part Four
4 Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying good-by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home. 7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.
21:4 – This is an interesting verse, for it seems to say that the Spirit was warning Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Perhaps the Spirit was simply warning Paul what was ahead in Jerusalem, and it was the disciples who were urging him not to go. The Spirit does speak through other believers, but it is always the job of the recipient to judge the message to determine the meaning and relevance. There are two tendencies with prophecy: one is to accept it without judgment and the other is to reject it outright. Both are wrong. Prophecy is to be carefully considered and only accepted when it bears witness with the recipient’s spirit. Here is a quick reference to Paul’s instruction on prophecy in the church:
Do not treat prophecies with contempt (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39-40).
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said (1 Corinthians 14:29).
21:5 – The believers didn’t exist in large numbers in many of the towns mentioned in Acts. Here we see that whole families escorted Paul out to the ship, kneeling to pray on the beach. This probably wasn’t a large crowd. Yet look how bold and open they were to kneel down in public to pray. You have probably watched Muslims kneel down to pray in airports or Jews praying in public, standing and rocking back and forth from the waist up. When you see these folks doing what they do without being self-conscious, it perhaps makes you think of what Jesus said:
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels (Luke 9:26-27).
How bold are you to publicly demonstrate your faith in Jesus?
21:6&7 – It’s almost like Paul is on a farewell tour of the local churches as he goes to Jerusalem to face his trials and hardships. The Spirit gave him some measure of joy to see the saints before he entered into the next chapter in his ministry, which would take him to the Roman government It was like the Spirit wanted Paul to see firsthand the fruit of his past labors, perhaps as an encouragement for what was about to come. It’s important at times to review what the Lord has done in your life and how He has used you. Someone once recommended that every person have an “atta boy (or girl)” file—a place where you can put stories, reminders and letters that tell how the Lord used you for good.
Do you have an “atta boy” file? What do you do to encourage yourself when you’re down? Have you done enough to warrant an “atta boy” file? If you don’t have one, why not consider starting one, or doing something to keep track of how the Lord has used you for His purposes.
As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished volume of The Faith Files.
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2012 TRIP TO ISRAEL: Time is running out for those who would like to go to Israel this coming May. I am attaching the brochure below, but if you are even remotely interested, I need to hear now so I can have the airline save space. The dates are May 19-29. Drop me an email at [email protected] or respond to this post as soon as possible, and then consider joining me for the trip of a lifetime!
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