The crowd that wanted to kill Paul begin to cry out,  to throw off their clothes, and throw dust in the air.  These sound like the actions of a mob, not the actions of God's people.  The chief captain ordered Paul to be brought into the castle and be examined by scourging.  In other words, he was to be whipped to get answers that he had already given.  The chief captain was trying to maintain order no matter the truth or the cost to maintain the peace.  Too often people today are willing to compromise the truth in order to maintain peace, especially if a large group is creating problems.  Still, no matter how large or wild the group gets, we can never compromise the truth of the gospel to maintain peace with the world.  Paul then asked a simple question in Acts 22:25.  As they were binding him to scourge him, he asked, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?"  Sometimes, our best course of action is to simply remind people of who we are.  Paul was not a Egyptian as some had said, nor was he just a Jew.  He was a Roman citizen and had certain rights.  We should not be ashamed to claim the rights our citizenship brings us.  Even if an angry mob threatens us, we are still endowed with certain rights, and we should make the most of them.  The chief captain asked Paul if he was a Roman and Paul answered yes.  The chief captain said he had purchased his freedom with a great price, but Paul said he was born free.  Those who were to examine Paul immediately left, and the chief captain was afraid, because he had bound a Roman.  God sent the ideal person into this situation, a man who was a Jewish Christian and a Roman.  When God sends us to a particular place, we can be sure He has sent the best person for the task.

In Acts 22:30, Paul was freed from his bonds the next day.  The chief captain wanted to know what the Jews were charging him with.  He had arrested Paul, was going to scourge him, had kept him bound overnight, and now he wanted to know what Paul had done to deserve this treatment.  We can hope if we as Christians are accused of some wrong that those who are in power over us will get the facts before acting.  He called the chief priest and council in and set Paul before them.  He realized it was a religious question and brought the parties together to resolve it.  We would do well to come together in an orderly manner to discuss differences instead of resorting to mob tactics.  In Acts 23:1, Paul addresses the chief priest and council with respect.  I might have let anger rule, but Paul acted as a Christian should, even if they had badly mistreated him.  He addressed them as men and brethren, and said he had lived his life in all good conscience before God until this day.  It would be wonderful to be able to make the same statement, and it be true.  In his Jewish belief Paul was zealous and devoted to God through the Law.  After his conversion, he was zealous and devoted to God through Christ.  In verse two, the high priest told those standing next to him to hit him in the mouth.  They were still wanting to act in a violent manner, which is not how God expects His people to act.  When we disagree with people about Christ, we need to act out of love instead of hate.  Paul responded God smite you, you whited wall.  He basically called the high priest a hypocrite, not from anger but holy zeal or righteous indignation.  When the people of God begin to act outside the will of God, we have a right to feel righteous indignation toward them, but not hatred.  Paul was also warning the high priest that God would judge him.  He was going to judge Paul about following the Law while himself was having Paul smitten against the Law.  That would be a good discription of a hypocrite.  When Paul was told that the man was the chief priest, he said he didn't know and that it was wrong to speak evil against the ruler of the people.  Yet, if someone has to tell us that a person is a leader of God's people because his actions do not reveal it, then we, like Paul, might see their hyprocracy.

In Acts 22: 12-24, Paul continues to share his testamony.  We may not know every theological answer, but we always known our testamony.  In Damacus, a devout man according to the Law, having good report with all the Jews, came to Paul (Saul).  He told him to receive his sight.  To have physical sight restored is a great thing, but the real good news for Paul was that he had received his spiritual sight.  We need to pray that our spiritual sight will never dim.  After his sight was restored, Paul was told that he had been chosen by God to know His will, see that Just One, and hear His voice.  Then, in verse fifteen, Paul was told, "For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard."  Again, we need to be ready to share with the world what God has done for us, and we need not tarry.  Notice that was the next question to Paul.  Why are you tarrying?  Be baptized, washing away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.  Again, baptism did not wash away his sins, or ours, but calling on the name of the Lord did.  Then, when he came to Jerusalem and was in the Temple praying, he was in a trance.  He saw Jesus saying to him to make haste and get out of Jerusalem, because they wouldn't receive his testamony concerning Christ.  If there comes a time when we need to move on because people will not hear our testamony concerning Christ, He will let us know.  Until then, we are to witness to all men.  Paul reminded God of what he had done to Christians, imprisoning them, and even holding the coats of those who had stoned Stephen.  Like Paul, we may at times feel the need to remind God of all the bad things we have done to excuse following His will.  Paul did not surprise God by telling Him what he had done, and neither will we.  Paul was then told to depart, that God was sending him to the Gentiles.  Then, the crowd that was listening lifted up their voices and called for his death.  They were willing to listen until what Paul said went against what they believed.  People may listen to us today, until what we proclaim, Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, Lord, goes against what they want to believe.  Then, they may act as Paul's audience did and say kill him.  Even so, we must stay true to our faith.

In Acts 22:1-11, Paul answers the question of who he was as he gives the people his testamony.  We should always be willing and ready to share our testamony with anyone, especially if they are accusing us of working against God.  He spoke to them in Hebrew, which surprised them.  He told them who he was by birth, a Jew born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.  He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers. He was a strict fundamentalist. He was zealous, as were they that day.  Knowing the correct teaching and being zealous is not enough if we stop short of the full revelation of God,  which came through Christ.  He persecuted Christians even to death, bringing men and women bound to Jerusalem.  The high priest, and the elders could vouch for him, since he had gotten letters from them persecute the Christians at Damacus.  Sometimes, even those who are falsely accusing us can vouch for who we really are.  Then, he told them about his experience on the road to Damascus.  He saw a bright light and heard a voice.  We may not have seen a bright light, and the voice might not have been audible, but as Christians, somewhere we had to have heard God's voice calling us.  We cannot just suddenly decide to be a Christian.  We must answer God's call to us.  We cannot just compare religions and decide that Christianity is the best for us.  We must be called to God by God through Christ.  This is what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus.  He encountered Christ, and it changed him forever.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are never the same again.  We are His, bought with His blood and sealed with His power.  The Voice asked him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutist thou me."  Paul asked Him Who he was, and He said, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom thou persecutist."  Every Christian has had to answer that question at some point.  Who are you?  We either accept that Jesus is the Christ, or we continue persecuting Him.  Paul was asked what he was to do, and was told to arise and go to Damascus and he would be told.  He was led blind to Damascus.  We have to act in faith sometimes without knowing everything that is going to happen, being blind to the total picture, but trusting God to lead us to where He wants us.

While Paul was being led into the castle bound, he asked if he might speak to the chief captian.  He did not demand to be released or to be heard.  If we are falsely accused, our best hope is that someone will listen to us reasonably.  The chief captain asked Paul if he could speak Greek, and then asked if he were not the Egyptian who had days before caused an uproar and led four thousand murders into the desert.  The religious leaders had falsely accused Paul of being guilty of religious heresy, but by now he was being accused of political crimes.  In a mob, the truth often gets pushed aside.  The political leaders had bound Paul and brought him into the castle without really knowing who he was.  If we are going to make charges against a person, we must insure that what we are accusing them of is true.  If we are joining a group in action against a person, we need to at least know who they are and what they are supposed to have done.  Paul told the chief captain that he was a Jew, a citizen of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.  He simply told them who he was.  Sometimes, the simplest thing we can do is tell people who we are.  Often, we go through a list of things and somewhere in the list add Christian, but we really should start with that and then add anything else.  Paul had not ceased to be a Jew, but was instead a Jew who accepted the Messiah.  When Paul raised his hand the mob that had been trying to kill him grew silent.  There must have been something commanding about the presence of Paul.  I think it was God's power shining through him.  When we allow God to have complete control over our lives, even in the worst of times, He can silence the mobs around us.

After the Jews seized Paul, they were going to kill him.  While they were doing this, word went up to the chief captain that all the city was in an uproar.  They were acting as a mob, and the legal authorities soon heard about it.  Their anger kept them from acting rationality, much less as we would expect the people of God, as the Jews had always been, to act.  We today can never afford to be caught up in religious or even political ferver that goes against what God teaches us.  We should always pray before we act.  The Jews may have seen themselves as God's people, but the had not sought His guidance.  When the chief captain heard what was going on, he immediately took soldiers and centurians and ran down to them.  The people then stopped beating Paul.  I do not remember anywhere in the Bible where it teaches that if someone is doing something against God that a mob is supposed to beat them to death.  Personally, I think even the act of stoning, which was stated as a punishment for some sins, should have been done with sadness and not anger.  After the chief captain took Paul, he had him bound with two chains and demeaned to know who he was and what he had done.  Paul had been told by the Holy Spirit what awaited him in Jerusalem, and now it was happening.  He had been beaten and now he was in chains.  If the Holy Spirit truely reveals to us what is going to happen in our life in the future, we can be sure that it will happen if we are obedient.  In answer to who Paul was and what he had done, the mob gave different answers, so the chief captain had him taken into the castle.  When he was on the stairs, he had to be carried by the guards due to the violence of the people, who were crying away with him.  They still wanted Paul dead without answering about who he was and what he had done.  A mob mentality really never looks for answers, only for what it wants.  If we are confronted with a situation that seems to be bringing dishonor to God, we need to prayerfully get the facts, individually and as a group, and seek God's guidance in the situation.

Paul agreed to the purification ritual.  He took the men the next day and purifying himself with them entered the temple, signifying the days of purification until an offering could be giving for each of them.  We must realize that we cannot purify ourselves before God.  The only purification of sin is faith in Christ.  Neither can we buy purification from sin, for ourselves or for others.  Then, when the seven days were nearly ended, the Jews saw Paul in the temple and laid hands on him.  The plan of the elders was to make Paul more acceptable to the Jewish Christians.  How they figured this would make him acceptable to the non Christian Jews is hard to understand.  In Acts 21:28, they cried out, "Men of Israel, help: This man that teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the Law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place." (KJV)  They said he brought Greeks into the temple because they had seen him in the company of Trophimus, an Ephesian.  It does not say they saw them in the temple, but they supposed Paul had brought him in.  Paul found himself where the Holy Spirit had warned him he would be.  The plan the elders made to have Paul accepted by following teachings other than the gospel failed.  The same will be true anytime we attempt to keep the world happy by changing the gospel.  The failure may not be immediate, but it will be certain.  The city was moved and the people ran together and grabbed Paul and brought him out of the temple and closed the doors.  If they couldn't keep the undesirables out, they would just keep everybody out.  May we never feel so threatened by anyone or any group that we close the doors of the church to keep anyone from getting in.  Evidently, the Jews felt that Paul, or what he was teaching, was more powerful than God.  Otherwise, they would have known that if he were teaching lies, they would pass and Paul would be forgotten.

The elders asked Paul to do as they said.  There were four men that had a vow, so Paul was to take them and purify them and himself.  I do not see where they told Paul that this was what God had instructed them to do. They had a plan to placate the Jewish Christians.  Notice also that Paul had not made this vow, whatever it was, but he was being asked to act as though he had.  I believe that if this were what God wanted Paul to do, then the Holy Spirit would have already led him to this decision.  We can never let others dictate what actions we are to take for God.  They did not say that there was a problem with the Jewish Christians and they needed Paul to pray with them for a solution.  In Acts 21:23, they simply said do this that we say.  Before God speaks to other Christians about what He wants us to do, He will speak to us first.  Otherwise, we will have to go through someone else to find God's will for us.  As a Christian, no person or organization, even a church, stands between God and us.  Now the elders said this was to be done to show that Paul was not against the Law of Moses, but much of the reason was to make it easier for them to accept Paul openly without offending the Jewish Christians.  Again, the problem for me is to say that there are two types of Christians, Jewish and Gentile, and that different rules apply to the two groups.  Today it would be like saying there are American Christians and all other Christians and that we have different requirements to live by than every other Christian does.  The Jewish Christians seemed to still see themselves as separated from the Gentile Christians.  Paul agreed to their request.  We know he said he was made all things to all men that he might reach some (1 Cor 9:22), so some would say he was correct in doing this.  Personally, I believe the elders should have already been working to correct this problem by holding to the truth of the gospel, that all that is required for salvation is believing that Jesus Christ is all that is required for salvation.  Then, Paul should have confirmed that teaching.  We cannot add to what is required for salvation.

In Acts 21:19, we are told that Paul saluted the elders and told them what particular things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.  We are told when they heard what had been accomplished through Paul's ministry, they glorified God.  Whenever we hear people being saved, we should always glorify God, no matter who they are.  The elders glorified God, and added a qualifier.  They asked Paul to look at the many thousands of Jews who believed and they were zealous of the Law.  They were upset that Paul taught that circumcision was no longer required.  We are told the Law was given to point us to God and to show us our inability to be saved by the Law.  Christ came to set us free from the Law by His giving Himself in our place.  Circumcision was a sign identifying a person as one of God's chosen people, but the new sign was the cross of Christ.  The elders at Jerusalem had already said that circumcision was unnecessary (Acts15:10)and was a burdensome yoke, but some Jewish Christians were still unwilling to accept this.  Since there were thousands of them, the elders were worried how they would receive Paul.  The elders then stated that Paul had taught that circumcision was unnecessary, though they themselves had agreed with the truth.  If Christians today start to add requirements for salvation more than believing that Christ died for our sins and salvation comes only through belief in Him, we need to stand firm against that teaching.  It does not matter how many thousands of professing Christians say otherwise.  The elders should have been working to correct the Jewish Christians belief instead of attempting to make Paul more acceptable to them.  An example today is that some people teach that you must be baptized to be saved, and this leads to infant baptism to ensure their salvation.  We cannot support this belief just because thousands or millions of people believe it.  Baptism is a sign of obedience to Christ after salvation, but it in no way is a requirement of salvation.  We must follow what the Bible teaches if we are going to be a follower of Christ and work to correct errors people attempt to add as a requirement for salvation.

In Acts 21:15, we see that Paul and his group took up their carriages and came to Jerusalem.  Certain of the disciples of Caesarea went with them, and there was with them an old disciple named Mnason, with whom they were to lodge.  Even though they tried to talk Paul out of going, they were now there with him.  Sometimes, we may only be able to support God's workers with prayer, but sometimes we may be able to go with them.  When they got to Jerusalem, the brethren received them gladly.  The following day, Paul went them to see James, and all the elders were present.  Paul was not attempting to slip into Jerusalem nor was he ignoring those Christians and their leaders who were already at work there.  We need to always be bold in our work for the Lord and we need to always work with our fellow Christians.  Though we must be bold, we must never be boastful.  Paul did not come into Jerusalem as though he were better than other Christians.  He went to them and reported what things God had wrought by his ministry among the Gentiles.  Notice he did not say let me tell you what I have done, but instead what God had done through him.  If we ever take the emphasis off what God has done and put it on what we have done, then the glory goes to us.  There are times today when preachers or evangelists, while seeming to give God the glory, seem to somehow keep the emphasis on themselves.  Paul did not go boasting about what he had done, but about what God was doing in the world around him through his ministry.  Paul told the elders of his work with the Gentiles.  This was what had the Jews so upset to start with.  Still, even with all the warnings of trouble awaiting him in Jerusalem, he stayed true to his call.  We can never be successful in doing God's will if we try to placate the world.  If we attempt to appease the world, then before long, there will be no difference between the Christian and the lost of the world.  Instead of turning the world upside down for Christ, we will turn the gospel into a powerless belief.

In Acts 21:8, Paul and those with him separated from those they had been traveling with and went to Caesarea.  There they entered the house of Philip the evangelist and stayed with him.  Philip was one of the first seven deacons, but had then been called to be an evangelist.  We may start serving in one role in the church and know that is what God has called us to do, but that doesn't mean we may not be called to another role.  A teacher may feel the call to preach or a pastor to missionary work later, but that does not mean the first calling was wrong.  Paul himself went first to the Jews before being sent by the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. Philip had four daughters who prophesied.  We aren't told any more about their ability than the statement, but since it was mentioned, it had to have been a real talent or ability that they had.  We may want to discredit women in the work of the church, but that is not really what the Bible teaches.  We are told there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female in the eyes of God.  In Joel 2:28, we are told, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions," (KJV).  Then, after they had been there many days, there came down from Judea a prophet named Agabus.  He took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet and said, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."  Again, a warning to Paul about what awaited him in Jerusalem.  Even if we know before hand that following God's plan and purpose for our life is going to lead to hardship, possibly even death, we must press on.  Paul was not going blindly to Jerusalem, but he was going with his eyes wide open to what awaited him.  We must be no less faithful.  His friends once again, instead of praying for him to be strengthened in his call, begged him to abandon it.  It was not safe.  When someone tells us that they know beyond a doubt what God wants them to do, whether we think it is safe or not, may we always pray for them to be strengthened in their call.  If Paul had listened to his friends, we might know very little about him today, because he would have been following the world and not God.  When they could not disuade Paul, they said,"The will of the Lord be done."  That should always be our first statement.

In Acts 21:1-7, Paul and his group sailed to the island Coos.  We must remember that Paul could not go to a travel agent and set up his itinerary for travel.  He was dependent on finding a ship sailing in the direction he was going.  He could not say that the ship needed to stop at a particular port.  From Coos, they sailed to Rhodes, then to Patara.  They were moving steadily toward their destination.  Too often today, if it seems that if we are going to have trouble or be uncomfortable in going where the Lord wants us to go, we decide that God must not have wanted us to go.  We are not called to private plane travel and the most expensive hotels.  We are called to follow no matter the cost.  If we begin to think we deserve so much more than those we are called to witness to, then, in my understanding of God's calling, we are missing the real purpose of the gospel.  Paul travelled as He found passage and stayed with the people.  At Patara, they found a ship sailing to Phenicia, passed Cyprus without stopping, and came to Syria, landing at Tyre.  The ship was to unladen there, but Paul was still on schedule.  He had time to visit with the disciples there.  The gospel was spreading, and this group of disciples were not some Paul had witnessed to.  We are never alone in our work for God, yet we should all be working together.  They were there for seven days, and the Holy Spirit revealed to the disciples there the trouble that awaited Paul and they tried to persuade him not to go.  We must never attempt to keep people from going where God is sending them, even if God reveals to us that trouble awaits them.  Still, the next day, when Paul was to depart, these disciples, with the wives and children, accompanied him to the ship.  They knealt down on the shore and prayed together.  Even if we know that someone is going to a place where trouble awaits them, we may warn them, but ultimately we must support and pray for them.  Paul and his group sailed to Ptolemais, where they saluted the brethren for one day.  The disciples at Tyre had returned home after seeing Paul off. They  were not called to Jerusalem, but had a ministry at home.  We must serve where God sends us, even if it is to just go home and continue to witness there.

In Acts 20: 25-37, Paul says a personal farewell to the elders at Ephesus.  He said that among them all, among whom he had preached the kingdom of God, would see his face no more.  He knew where he was going and what he faced.  We can never let feelings for a particular church or group of Christians keep us from going where God sends us.  Paul said he was pure of the blood of all men.  He had faithfully proclaimed the gospel to all that he encountered, so the destination of their soul was in their hands.  If God gives us an opportunity to witness, and we don't, then we cannot claim to be pure of their blood.  He then challenges them to take heed of the flock that God had placed them over and to spiritually feed them.  Christ had purchased them with His own blood.  Whether we are a preacher, teacher, or just a follower, we need to be spiritually fed and to spiritually feed others.  It is a life long requirement, since we are bought by the blood of Christ.  Paul warned them of wolves coming that would not spare the flock, and some would come from within the church itself.  We don't have to look far to realize that this is true today.  Paul said he reminded them of this day and night for three years, with tears.  We need to be broken hearted when we see the church attacked, especially from within.  He commended them to God and to His grace, which would build them up and give them an inheritance among all who were sanctified.  There is no better place for us to be than commended to God.  He will seal us to Himself for eternity.  Paul said he took no man's silver or gold or apparel.  He supported himself by his own hands.  He wasn't saying a preacher should never be paid, but that a preacher should never preach just for the money.  If a church is bigger and the salary is greater, that is not a reason to move.  He also reminded them that Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  After he had spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all.  What a great way to leave, in communion with God and each other.  We should always be in prayer for one another, whether in sadness or joy.  They cried, hugged his neck, and kissed him.  We might hug and shake hands, but they were letting him go.  Their tears were more because they would never see him again, but they accompanied him to the ship.  We may be sad to see a preacher go to another field, but we must accompany them to the ship, or however they are traveling.  We must never selfishly stand between a person and God's will for their life.

Paul told the elders that he had kept nothing from them that was profitable to them.  We need to share with others everything  we know about being a Christian.  We don't need to keep any part of the truth of God to ourselves.  Paul shared these things with them publicly and from house to house.  If the gospel is to be effective in bringing people to Christ, then it must be shared publically.  If Christians are to grow in Christ, the gospel must be taught from house to house.  Paul testified to both the Jew and the Greek repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.  This can be our only testimony, that we repented of our sins and accepted salvation through Christ.  He is our Lord Jesus Christ.  Though we come to him through a personal relationship, He does not belong to any person or group of people exclusively, not even Christians as we belong to Him, and not Him to us.  Christ is not to be hoarded as mine, but to he shared as ours.  In Acts 20:22,23, Paul said, "And now, behold I go,  bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there.  Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflications abide me." (KJV) How many of us would be in a hurry to go where God was sending us if we were told continually by the Holy Spirit that bonds and afflictions waited for us there?  Paul said none of these things moved him, and he didn't count his life dear unto himself.  His life belonged to Jesus, and he would follow His leadership even if it cost him his life.  We need that same commitment today.  Sharing the gospel under the leadership of the Holy Spirit should be more important than even our life.  We need total commitment to Christ.  Paul wanted to finish his course with joy.  Even with the bonds and afflictions that awaited him, he wanted to finish his course with joy.  The gospel should always bring us joy, even if we are called on to suffer or even die sharing it.  Paul's ministry was form the Lord Jesus.  Paul was not just going where he wanted to go.  He was going where God sent him.  Our ministry, our purpose in the church, must be from God.  We must never just decide what we will, or won't do.  Paul did this to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  He didn't earn salvation, but it was a gift from God by His grace toward mankind.  The same is true for us.  We are His by His grace and our acceptance of the gift of salvation through our faith in Him.

In Acts 20:16 through the end of the chapter, after stopping at Miletus, Paul sent for the elders at Ephesus to come to him.  He didn't want to go to Ephesus since he could not stay with them.  If we feel or know that anything is going to tempt us to delay what God has directed us to do, we need to avoid it.  Paul had a great love for the church at Ephesus, but he was being called by the Holy Spirit to Jerusalem.  We may have a great love for a church in a particular area, but if God is calling us elsewhere, we need to move on.  When the elders came, Paul reminded them of how important they had always been to him.  From the first day he came to Asia, he had been with them through all seasons.  He hadn't just passed through and forgot them.  We have homecoming services at churches today to spend time sharing what the church there has meant to us.  Still, unless it is our home church, we have to go back to where God currently has us serving.  Paul knew he had to move forward, and so do we.  If we are members of a particular church, it needs to be because God has called us there.  When God's people get serious about serving Him where He places them, then worship will naturally overflow.  Paul told them that he served the Lord with all humility of mind, with many tears, and temptations, which befell him by the laying in wait of the Jews.  We see too many preachers today who serve with pride in themselves instead of humility in Christ.  How long has it been since we have shed tears over the church?  Due to the threats of the Jews, Paul could have been tempted to give up, but he never did.  If we feel threatened for exercising our faith, we should do as Paul did and keep on witnessing.  The perceived threat of possible punishment is often enough to silence us.

Paul was planning to leave the next day, and to prepare, he was preaching to the disciples.  If we were planning to leave the next day, we might figure we had done all we could do and be packing or sleeping.  Paul, knowing his time was limited, was still witnessing and edifying the Christians there.  He was still preaching at midnight.  We sometimes call a preacher long winded if he preaches for over thirty minutes.  Our mind tends to drift away to what we are going to eat or anything other than what is being said.  Paul was still preaching at midnight.  The upper chamber where they were gathered was lit with many lights.  They weren't trying to hide their worship service.  We are called to be a light to the world, and we cannot do this by hiding from the world.  There was a certain young man named Eutychus sitting in a window who did what many of us might have done.  He fell asleep.  It says that this was because Paul's preaching was long.  Like the disciples in the Garden, Eutychus couldn't stay awake.  I don't know what this says of Paul's preaching.  Maybe he wasn't entertaining or enthusiastic enough.  Eutychus fell from the third loft and was taken up dead.  We are told in Acts 20:10 that Paul went down and fell on him, embracing him, and told the people not to be troubled for his life was in him.  Then, Paul went back up to where he had been preaching and broke bread and ate and continued in discussion with the disciples until dawn.  We might have broken up the meeting after this accident, but Paul continued to make the most of the time he had left with them. Then, Paul departed.  They brought the young man alive to the disciples and they were greatly comforted.  We might hang around a little longer to hear everybody praise us for what we did.  Paul had departed, because the glory belonged to God Who had raised the boy up.  They departed by ship for Assos, planning to pick up Paul who went by foot.  They picked up Paul and sailed to Mytelene, then the next day to Chios, the next to Samos.  They tarried at Trogillium, then the next day went to Miletus.  Paul was on his way to Jerusalem.

Paul and his fellow disciples sailed from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread.  This does not mean that Paul was bound by Jewish laws and traditions, but was given as a reference to the time he was travelling.  In his epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote that Christ is our passover and the Christian life is our  unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:7,8).  We need to remember daily that Christ died so that if we believe in Him death will pass over us.  This does not mean that this body will not die, but it does mean that ultimately death will have no dominion over us.  It took five days sailing to reach Troas.  They rejoined those who had gone before them and stayed there for seven days.  When the disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread, Paul preached to them.  They gathered on the first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath, for the same reason we do.  It was the day of the resurrection of Christ.  They gathered to strengthen one another, as should we today.  They broke bread, or observed the Lord's supper, a reminder of what He had done for all mankind.  Though Christ died for everyone, for those celebrating the Lord's supper, it should be a remembrance of what He did for them personally.  Christ can never be an impersonal Savior.  How often do we observe the Lord's supper with our mind on everything except His sacrifice for us.  I will confess I sometimes find myself thinking more about not spilling the cup than about His spilled blood.  We need to insure that nothing is in the way of our obedience to His will when we observe the Lord's supper.  They were now ready to hear Paul preach.  They weren't there to be entertained, but to hear the word of God proclaimed.  As I have mentioned before, and will mention again, church is not a place of entertainment, but a place of worshiping God.  When we gather in His name we are walking on Holy Ground, because He is with us.  Though we don't worship the building, we must show reverence to God when we gather to worship Him.  All the things of the world need to be set aside.

Before we move ahead with Paul, I am going to discuss a few things that I feel as Christians we must understand.  First, the Bible is not a history book, a science book, or even a poetry book.  It is the written word of God that He uses to help us better understand Him and our relationship to Him.  Scientists would say the Bible is a myth that cannot be proven to be true.  They also say that the South Pole just recorded its highest level of CO2 in four million years, which is highly provable, since they have evidently had a CO2 guage there for that long.  We believe the Bible by faith in God, just as those scientists believe their conclusions by faith in science.  Next, God is the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of the world.  Again, we either believe this by faith in God, or we deny God.  We cannot create our own middle ground.  Third, the only way to salvation is to be born again through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.  If that makes us narrow minded in the eyes of the world, so be it.  We cannot change what God ordained simply to be seen as tolerant by the world.  Fourth, I hear people talk about how much God hates a particular sin, usually not their sin, and how anytime something bad happens to those that are guilty of that particular sin that God is punishing them.  In the Bible, when God was punishing people, He let them know.  Seldom do we hear what a great sin it is to not keep the Sabboth day Holy or to not use God's name in vain, yet that those come before before not committing murder or adultery.  I guess I will meddle a little here, but how many of us who do not work on Sunday  (our Sabboth) do things that require others to work on Sunday?  Taking the Lord's name in vain is not using profanity, unless we add God's name to it, but it is professing to call on God when we don't really expect Him to hear or act.  Again, to meddle, my personal belief is one of the greatest examples of using God's name in vain is Oh My God.  Even non Christians use it, even abbreviate it to OMG, but really aren't using it to call on God or to glorify.  So, does God hate sin?  Yes.  Does He hate some sin more than others?  No.  Is He sitting back waiting to punish one group of sinners more than others?  No.  Christ came to redeem all sinners, even those committing "bad sins" and our hearts should be broken anytime a sinner dies unsaved.  Yet, too often Christians seem to feel "they" got what they deserved and God was behind it.  We, as His followers, can never be justified in feeling this way.

In Act 20 Paul continued on his journey to Macedonia.  He waited until the up roar died down and called the disciples together and embraced them before departing.  He had not gone into the theater, but he didn't leave until the threat was over.  We cannot stand for God and run from the world.  While Paul passed through those parts, he gave them much exhortation.  Paul couldn't jump in his air conditioned car and zip from point A to point B.  Travel was slow,but he used the time to call people to Christ.  We can get so caught up in our fast paced world that we have no time to call others to Christ.  Paul then arrived at Greece.  He was there for three months, and though we aren't specifically told so, we can be certain that he was proclaiming the gospel.  The Jews were still trying to stop him.  We are told that when he was about to sail for Syria that they laid wait for him, so he decided to return through Macedonia.  Paul's goal was Jerusalem and ultimately Rome so he avoided a confrontation and chose a different route.  We may sometimes have to do things a little differently than we figured as we follow God's leadership, but we must always be moving toward the goal He has set for us.  Accompanying him into Asia were Sopater of Berea, Aristarcus and Secundus from Thessolonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timotheus, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.  Matthew Henry says that some would say that the gospel would have spread faster if they had split up, but among other things they were learning from Paul.  Sometimes, we need to gather together to learn from and strengthen each other.  Paul spent a lot of days preaching and teaching by himself, but he recognized the need to train others.  When someone surrenders to the call to ministry today, we must do our best to help them be prepared.

Though they were not the ones stirring up trouble for Paul and the other Christians, the Jews finally got involved.  We are told they drew out  Alexander from the multitude, the Jews putting him forth.  He beckoned them with his hand and was going to make his defence.  Remember, there was a lot of confusion and the people were trying to figure out why they were there.  In the midst of confusion and uproar today, someone may be put forth to give an answer as to what is going on, but they may find that when people realize who they are and what they represent they no longer are willing to listen.  This is what happened when the crowd realized Alexander was a Jew.  Whatever Alexander was going to say, most likely against Paul, the worshippers of Diana knew the Jews opposed all idolatry, so they didn't give him a chance to talk.  For two hours, we are told in Acts 19:34, they cried out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."  Even when people are unified in their opposition to Christianity, they do not always listen to each other's religious beliefs.  Then a town clerk appeased the people. In Acts 19:35,  he said, "Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of Ephesus is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?"  Since his claim was the image fell from heaven, it was not made by man.  When we hear of religion based on books or images or anything else that fell from heaven, we can be sure it is false.  The clerk told them that since these things could not be spoken against, they shouldn't do anything rash.  They had nothing to accuse Gaius and Aristarcus of.  They had not robbed churches or blasphemed Diana.  He told them that if Demetrius and the craftsmen had a problem, let them take it up with the courts.  He also said if they had any other complaints, it would be settled in lawful assembly, or they could find themselves answering for the uproar, then he dismissed the assembly.  The people may have been proclaiming the greatness of Diana, but they were more concerned with the power of the government.  As Christians, we must always put what God teaches above what the government teaches if there is a conflict with the two.

The silversmiths accomplished what they wanted by claiming Paul and his associates were bringing dishonor to Diana.  They caused confusion and an uproar in those around them.  We don't have to look far today to see that some people will attempt to discredit or destroy Christians because of their gods.  Some even destroy those of their own faith because they believe these others are not being faithful enough.  If they truly believed that their gods were the true ones, their faith should not be threatened by someone preaching Christ, just as our faith should not be threatened by someone proclaiming another god.  In the confusion, the followers of Diana caught Gaius and Aristarcus from Macedonia, companions of Paul, and brought them into the theater.  This was not a place of entertainment, but a place of judgment.  Paul would have gone after them, but his friends stopped him.  Paul was the real focus of their anger.  We are told a chief of Asia, a friend of Paul's, also asked him not to go.  Acts 19:32 states that the assembly was confused, not knowing why they had come together.  We often see the mob mentality today, with people caught up in the crowd but not really knowing why they are there.  We can get quite a mixture working together against Christians, with humanists, agnostics, atheists, and other religions combining in their opposition to Christ.  We have already been told that those who are not for Christ are against Him.  There really can be no neutrality.  Though Paul would have willingly been in the midst of the confusion, he listened to his friends and trusted God to be with them.  We cannot be in every battle the world wages against Christians, but we can be sure God is.  No matter the outcome, if we remain faithful to Him, we win.

There was a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made a lot of money making silver shrines for the goddess Diana.  Diana was supposedly the goddess of the hunt and later of fertility and childbirth.  Demetrius became concerned about people becoming Christians, because he knew it would affect his business.  He brought together other silversmiths and reminded them that they made their money from people worshipping Diana.  His concern was not really for the worship of Diana, but for his business.  He saw that he could not make money making idols or shrines for the followers of Christ.  Today, there are people who make money off religious artifacts, such as idols or books, who don't really care about whether the god these are supposed to represent exists or not.  Still, if their income is threatened, they can become very vocal.  In Acts 19:26, Demetrius told his fellow craftsmen that not only in Ephesus, but throughout Asia, Paul had persuaded many people to turn away from Diana, saying there were no gods made by hand.  When we become Christians there is no room for idols in our lives.  He then told them that not only was their craft to be set to naught, but he finally mentions the effect on Diana.  She would be despised and her magnificence destroyed.  He evidently had little faith in the power of Diana.  If someone proclaims another god or goddess today, we as Christians can be sure they will never destroy the magnificence of Christ.  Even though their concern was for their income, they stirred the people up by proclaiming the power and greatness of Diana.  People today who make money off idolatry are never going to tell people that if people turn to Christ that they are going to lose money.  They will try to keep people confused so that people don't turn away from their idols and the income continues.

Acts 19:20, tells us that the word of God grew mightily and prevailed.  Those who had accepted Christ had their lives changed, and they shared what had happened.  People today may argue with us about the Bible, but they cannot argue our personal relationship with Christ and the change it brings to our lives. Paul at this point proposed in the Spirit to go to Macedonia and Acacia and then to Jerusalem.  After that, he proposed to go to Rome.  Matthew Henry states basically that some see purposing in the spirit to mean Paul had decided himself but hadn't told anyone his plan.  Others, of whom I am one, believe that Paul was led by the Spirit to do this.  Knowing Paul as we do from everything so far, it would seem that he would not make plans without feeling the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  When we make our plans today, as Christians, we must insure that they are based on the leadership of God, and are not just our plans.  Paul sent Timotheus and Erastus to Macedonia, but he stayed in Asia for a season.  We could say that since he didn't go immediately that Paul was just planning these actions himself, but I believe that he knew what the Holy Spirit was leading him to do, but the time was not yet at hand.  There may come a time in our life as a Christian that we know beyond a doubt that God is calling us to a particular place for a particular purpose, but know just as surely that we aren't to go yet.  We must never try to rush God in His plans for us.  The other half of that truth is we must never try to delay God in His plan for us.  In order to be successful at this, we must have a close, personal relationship with God and trust Him to make His will known to us.  We can never afford to tell God what we are or are not going to do for Him.  I hear Christians, even preachers, say they could never go to a particular place so they are sure God would never call them there, because they would be unhappy.  Again, we cannot follow God and tell Him where He can lead us.

After the men who had falsely claimed to be casting out demons in the name of Jesus were run out of the building, wounded and naked, it was well known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus.  The result was that fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.  These men had attempted to do something in the name of Jesus without knowing Him, to prove that He was no more than any other man and to profit from this.  Instead, God was magnified.  If we today claim to be doing something in the name of Jesus, but either don't know Him personally or have not made sure that what we are doing is His will, then we will fail ultimately.  We can at times add "in Jesus' name" in an attempt to validate our plans.  God's  will is the only thing we can ever truly do in the name of Jesus, and then we must have faith in His ability to give us the power to succeed.  Many of those who believed came and confessed and showed their good deeds.  The made their faith public.  We need to let the world know that we are Christians, both by our words and our actions. These men who had attempted to use the name of Jesus for their own purposes were making money supposedly telling people their future.  The result of their failure was that people believed and those who had believed in curious arts brought all their books and burned them.  These curious arts were sorcery, witchcraft, astrology and anything else claiming to be a way to know or control the future.  When we become a Christian, the Ouija board and astrological charts need to go.  Burning insured no one else would be led astray by them.  The value of the books was about fifty thousand pieces of silver.  They were heavily invested in these curious arts, but they willing gave it all up for Christ.  We must never value things of this world, especially things that we know are wrong, more than our relationship with Christ.  We might say they could have sold the books and used the money for good, but they would have been leading others astray.  If we destroy something that would be a stumbling block to others coming to God,it will never be a waste.

In Acts 13:19, there were certain vagabond Jews who decided they world cast out demons in the name of Jesus.  These were really Jews in name only who went around the country making money from telling fortunes and prophesying.  There are people today who are Christians in name only who attempt to use Christianity to make money.  For example, some people go to church because it is good for business or their image, but have no real desire to follow God's will.  These vagabond Jews took it upon themselves to call over those with evil spirits.  They were going to cast them out in the name of the Lord Jesus, Whom Paul preached.  They did not know Jesus as their personal Savior but only knew what Paul preached.  We may know everything that has ever been preached or taught about Jesus, but until we have a personal relationship with Him, we had better be careful about claiming to do anything in His name.  It states that their were seven sons of Sceva, a Jew and the chief of priests, who did this. Being the sons of the chief of priests did not keep them from trying to profit from their religion and attempting to discredit Paul.  Matthew Henry points out that if they could do what Paul did without believing it would show that there was nothing to following Christ.  I know I stated in an earlier post that there was no example in the Bible of there being a great struggle when an evil spirit was commanded to "come out in Jesus name" and that is still true.  Doing anything in Jesus name is more than throwing the phrase in as we are doing  it.  For something to be done in Jesus' name means there has to be a personal relationship with Him, it must be His will for it to be done, we must have faith in His ability to do it, and God must get the glory.  The evil spirit told them that "Jesus I know,and Paul I know; but who are ye?"  Then, the man possessed of the evil spirit jumped on them and ran them out of the house naked and wounded.  If I see a movie or a book being promoted where a demon is overpowering a professed man of God, I know at least two things.  The first is that I am not going to watch or read it, because it is blasphemous.  The second is that the "man of God" is either has very little faith and is acting under his own power or has no faith at all.  When a Christian acts in God's name and under His power, there is no battle.  The victory was won on the cross.

In Acts 19:8, we find Paul once again going to the synagogue, for three months, boldly disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.  When we encounter someone who is wrong in their understanding of the kingdom of God, we need to be bold in our attempt to correct them.  Paul was not disputing just to tell them they were wrong, but to persuade them of the truth of Christ, the only way into the kingdom of God.  Many of them didn't believe and spoke evil of that way, Christ, so Paul departed from them.  He gathered with the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.  He continued to proclaim Christ there for two years, so that everyone that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jew and Greek.  When Paul proclaimed the gospel and a church was established, it wasn't a building, but a group of believers who gathered in homes, schools or wherever they could find. When he went back to visit, he didn't go looking for a building, but for a group of people.  A church is not a building but a group of believers.  In Acts 19:11-12, we are told that God wrought special miracles by the hand of Paul.  Paul did not do the miracles, but God did through Paul.  The people around had so much faith in what Paul was proclaiming that they brought handkerchiefs or aprons of sick people to him and the sickness or the evil spirits left them.  Paul did not ask them to do this, nor do we see where he promised that they would be cured.  Even though they were bringing physical items to Paul, they had to believe in the divine power of God through Christ for the miracle to occur.  I say this because Paul was proclaiming the power of the resurrection of Christ, and he was there to glorify Christ, not Paul.  People have always tended to want some physical representation of God, from the golden calf in the days of Moses, to the Temple, or any other part of Creation that they see as representing God.  We must remember that God is not contained in His handiwork, but dwells in the heart of His people.  We cannot decide that God is going to work a miracle through us.  God worked special miracles by the hand of Paul.  Paul did not perform the miracles nor did he claim to.  Miracles only occur through the power of God and to bring people and honor to Him.

In Acts 19, while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper coasts and came to Ephesus.  He had told them he would visit them again, and he did.  There, he found certain disciples.  As the gospel spread, it became more normal to find believers, but they didn't always understand the full gospel.  We can encounter people today who profess to be believers, but when we discuss Christ with them they really don't understand Who He is.  They have a semblance of the gospel, but not a true understanding.  I have heard some people say that they are Christians but are not born again.  You cannot be one without the other.  Paul asked these disciples if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed.  They replied that they had not so much as heard there was a Holy Ghost.  Matthew Henry in his commentary says that it is as impossible to be saved without the Holy Spirit as it is to be saved without Christ.  When we are saved through Christ's sacrifice, we are indwelled and empowered by the Holy Ghost.  If someone says they are saved but don't know anything about the Holy Ghost, or Spirit, then we need to ask them as Paul did whose name they were baptized in.  In Paul's case, they said in the name of John.  Paul reminded them that John had said that his baptism was a baptism of repentance as they awaited the One Who would come after him, Jesus Christ.  They believed Paul and accepted Christ as their Savior and were baptized.  We are told there were about twelve of them.  In Acts 19:6, it says, "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied." (KJV)  Did Paul transfer the Holy Ghost on them by laying his hands on them?  No, they had just accepted Christ and been baptized, so they were now filled with the Holy Ghost.  We cannot transfer the Holy Ghost from us to anyone else.  As it states, the Holy Ghost came upon them.  Why?  Because they accepted Christ as their Savior.  When we do one, accept Christ, the other occurs at the same time, being filled with the Holy Ghost.  It would indeed be strange for Christ to save us but leave us without the Comforter He promised to send. They prophesied, or proclaimed what they now understood, that Jesus Christ was Lord.  They spoke in tongues, which means they were able to reach out to people of other nations with God's word.  I consulted with Matthew Henry again on this, and this was his interpretation.  Since God is not the author of confusion, He bestows gifts upon us to bring unity in Christ.  I use the Matthew Henry commentary because it has been in existence since 1721, and has been widely accepted since then.

After Paul got to Antioch, he spent some time there.  It does not specifically say that he was preaching the gospel, but I think we can safely say that is what he was doing.  Again, he was on his way to Jerusalem, but he was sharing the gospel as he went.  We are called to share the gospel as we go.  As we move about in the world, we do not need to separate witnessing from regular life.  Witnessing should be our regular life.  Paul then traveled all over the country of Galatia and Phrygia, in that order, strengthening the disciples.  Again, after we reach someone with the gospel and they become a Christian, we need to strengthen them in their life in Christ.  Even those who have been Christians for years sometimes are in need of strengthening.  We can become complacent or disheartened at times and need a fellow Christian to lift us up. In Acts 18:24, we are told of Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, who had come to Ephesus.  He was an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures.  He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit, and he spoke and taught diligently the way of the Lord, but he only knew the baptism of John.  He was still looking for the Messiah to come.  Here in the Bible belt as we are sometimes called, there are a lot of people who know about Jesus, but they do not know Him as their Savior.  Some may know what the Bible says better than about anyone, but they do not believe it is real.  Some may want to accept parts what they Bible teaches, but not all.  They may be in need of an Aquila and Priscilla, who, when they heard Apollos took him aside and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.  Notice, they took him aside.  We don't need public confrontation but private consultation when we hear someone who is witnessing without knowing the whole truth of the gospel.  Their concern was for Apollos to know the truth of Christ.  Apollos received their correction of his understanding and went to Acacia.  The brethren had sent a letter to the disciples there to receive him.  Apollos helped those there which had believed through grace.  We weren't told why Paul brought Aquila and Priscilla with him, but we see the results.  Paul was not alone and neither are we.  Acts 18:28 states about Apollos: "For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ." (KJV)  If we encounter someone who is witnessing, but we realize they don't know the truth of Christ, we need to draw them aside and expound to them the way of God more perfectly, so we can have an Apollos out witnessing with the whole truth.

When Paul left Corinth, he sailed to Syria.  He took Aquila and Priscilla with him.  Paul had shorn his head in Cenchera, due to a vow that he had made.  We are not told what this vow was, but it was important to Paul.  We may be around people everyday who have made a vow to God and not know it, but hopefully they will take any vow made to God with the utmost sincerity.  When Paul got to Ephesus, he left Aquila and Priscilla there, but he went to the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.  Even as he had shifted his emphasis to the Gentiles, he had not given up witnessing to the Jews.  Again, if a particular group does everything they can to stop us from reaching people with the gospel, we cannot give up on them.  The Jews were God's chosen people to represent Him in the world, and when the Messiah came, they failed Him.   By salvation through Christ, we are His chosen people to represent Him in the world today, and hopefully we will not fail Him.  The people in the synagogue wanted Paul to stay longer, but he consented not.  That was a change for them to want him to stay, but he said he needed to keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem.  We must never let seeming success and the desires of others keep us from following God's leadership.  Paul did tell the people there that he would come to them again, God willing.  As God's people, any promise we ever make must be made based on the will of God.  With his promise, Paul left Ephesus and sailed to Caesarea.

In Acts 18:12, the Jews were after Paul again.  We are told that they made insurrection and brought Paul before Gallio, the deputy of Acacia.  They brought Paul before the judgment seat.  They couldn't stop him from preaching with religious threats, so they went to the governments official.  We can be certain that those who oppose Christ will do anything to stop His word from being preached, even if it means allying themselves with people they don't really like.  They charged Paul with teaching people about God contrary to the law.  As Paul was about to answer, Gallio told them that if it was about words and names of your Law, look unto it.  If they had been able to charge Paul with lewdness or riotous behavior, then Gallio would have judged him, but he no longer judged religious matters.  If we are ever brought before government judges, let us make sure that the only thing that they can accuse us of is preaching the gospel.  Remember God's promise to Paul, that he no harm would come to him while he was here.  Usually, after failing to get satisfaction from the governmental officials, the Jews would beat and threaten Paul.  In verse 17, we are told the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue and beat him before the judgment seat, and Gallio cared nothing for the matter.  We have God's chosen people dragging Paul before the civil authorities and flailing to have Paul stopped, beating their own religious leader.  We can be sure that the failure of the world to stop the spread of the gospel is going to be frustrating for them, and at times they may even fight amongst themselves.  Paul continued to preach in peace for some time.  We can rest easy in God's promises, just as Paul did.

As Paul changes the emphasis of his ministry, I will take this time to review a little.  When I started this blog, I stated the purpose to be an exploration of what it means to be a follower of Christ in today's world.  I really wasn't sure what direction it would take, but pretty soon was led to the Book of Acts.  I believe a good way to learn how to be a follower of Christ is to look at how the first Christians did it.  With Stephen, we see that we should be willing to give everything, even our life, for Christ. That is real commitment.  We see often that the early Christians were of one accord, and we must be also.  We see that they met each others needs, and we can do no less.  We see with Paul (Saul) that a personal encounter with Christ changes a person, and no matter how bad they may have been, when they accept Christ as their Savior they are totally forgiven.  As His followers, we are a new creation.  With Peter, Paul, and many others, we see that following Christ is not always easy in worldly terms.  We are called to take up the cross daily.  We see with Peter that God is not a respecter of persons and now with Paul that we are all one blood.  Christ did not come to save a particular group, but to save all mankind.  We must reach out to everyone with a Christ like love.  There is no room for hatred in a follower of Christ.  We see with Paul's sermon on Mars Hill that God is the Creator of all, He makes Himself known and is always near, and He doesn't live in temples made by hand.  To be His followers, these are not possible truths, but they are the truth.  We see that Paul went first to God's chosen people, the Jews, and they mostly rejected his preaching and attempted to shut him up.  If we are going to follow God, we must accept everything He tells us.  We cannot pick and choose.  Christ was not, and is not today, Who they wanted Him to be.  We must be careful not to attempt to change Christ into what we want Him to be.  He is not our personal avenger, our money in the bank, or our Sunday Savior.  He is our crucified, resurrected Lord and He calls us to follow Him to the cross daily.  It is my prayer that someone out there is getting some good out of this, but I know I am.  If you have been reading and have been getting something worthwhile out of this, I would invite you to share it with others.

After Paul told the Jews in Corinth that he had shared the gospel with them and they wouldn't listen and he was going to the Gentiles, the first place he went was to the house of Justis.  He was a believer whose house joined the synagogue.  Paul did not give up on Jews being saved.  He simply changed his focal point to the Gentiles.  If a group of people as a whole refuse to hear the gospel, we cannot give up on the whole group.  We may change our focus, but we must still pray that the gospel will take root in them.  Although Paul said he was going to the Gentiles, the first we know of to accept the salvation of Christ was the leader of the synagogue,  Crispus, and all his house, and many Corinthians, and were baptized.  Again, even though some mocked and some waited to hear more, most importantly, some believed.  We are but messengers, and as Paul would say later, God gives the increase.  In Acts 18:9, God spoke to Paul in a night vision, telling him to not be afraid, but to speak and hold not his peace.  I am not sure how God speaks to other people, but for Paul it was often in a night vision.  For me, it is a still, small voice deep within my soul.  I have never heard an audible voice as Paul did on the road to Damascus, and it is not a shout, but there is never a doubt in my mind that it is God.  He does speak to others differently, but the key is to know His voice when He speaks.  One thing we can be sure of, if it is God's talking to us, He will never tell us to do anything that goes against His nature.  So, if we feel we are being told to hate or kill, for example, that is not God speaking. Then, He told Paul that He was with him and would keep him from harm, because He had  many people in that city.  Paul stayed a year and a half, teaching them God's word.  Wherever we are as God's followers, we can rest easy because He is always with us.  During the beatings, imprisonment, and now a time of peace, one thing never changed- God was with Paul.  When we are following God's will, no matter the circumstances of life, He is with us.

In Acts 18: 1-7, Paul is in Corinth, having left Athens.  Silas and Timotheus rejoined him there.  They were still a team, even though they had been separated for a time.  Paul did not just sit back and wait for them.  He continued to preach the gospel, again first in the synagogues.  When Paul got to Corinth, he met a Jew named Aquilla, born in Pontus, and recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla.  They had left Italy because Claudius had ordered the Jews to leave Rome.  We have little experience in having to uproot from our homes and leave the country, but millions today face that way of life.  We need to have a Christ like compassion for them.  Paul himself was homeless at this time, but since Aquilla and he were both tentmakers, Paul stayed with Priscilla and him.  Today, we may have an opportunity to have a travelling evangelist need to stay with us, and if so, hopefully we will welcome him.  As he usually did, Paul went to the synagogue every Sabboth and persuaded with the Jews. After Silas and Timotheus joined him, Paul was pressed by the Spirit and testified that Jesus was Christ.  When the Spirit presses us to an action, we must respond, whether what we are led to do will be popular or not.  In Paul's case, it wasn't popular.  It says they opposed him and blasphemed.  Paul shook his raiment and told them their blood was on their hands, since he had proclaimed the gospel to them and they didn't believe.  If we are faithful in witnessing to the lost and they don't believe, their blood is on their own hands.  Paul changed his emphasis from the Jews to the Gentiles.

In Acts 17:30, Paul got to the heart of the matter.  At one time, God had left them in their ignorance.  That is not to say that God ignored the world for a time, but that the time had not been right for the Messiah to come.  People have always known enough to find God, but when Jesus came into the world, God revealed Himself completely.  We today have the the written word, the Bible, but more importantly we have the living Word, the Holy Spirit, to witness to us.  Again, even with the worst of sinner, God is not far off.  Then, Paul told them that God had appointed a day when He would judge the world by the righteous of one man, Jesus, and His death, burial, and resurrection.  I am glad that God is not going to judge me by my righteousness, but instead by my relationship with Jesus.  His righteousness covers all people, but only becomes valid when we enter into a personal relationship with Him.  If I am dying of thirst, and someone places a cup of water in front of me, it is real.  Still, it only does me good if I drink it, which is to have a personal relationship with that water.  Those around Paul were dying of a spiritual thirst, and he set the Living Water before them.  Some mocked Paul about the resurrection or the dead and some said they would hear more another day.  The Living Water was there, but they chose not to drink. Still, some stayed with Paul and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.  All those there heard the same message.  Some mocked, some waited, but some believed.  We cannot dwell on those who mock and delay.  We can only celebrate when even one person believes.

As Paul continued to preach to the people at Mars Hill, his third statement was that God is not worshipped by men's hands, since we can give Him nothing that is not already His.  God not only expects a tithe on everything He has blessed us with, but He also expects us to realize that the other ninty percent is His also.  We can give Him nothing that is not already His, but He blesses us with all that we have.  Next, Paul said God made one blood of all nations of men that dwell on the face of the earth. He has determined the times and boundries of there habitation.  This is in Acts 17:25,26. When we start to feel that we are better than other people or other nations, remember that God made one blood of all nations.  We make a lot of borders.  North and South Carolina are redrawing theirs in Janutary, moving some families from one state to the other.  These families have to legally redefine who they are because of an invisible line.  When those borders make us feel superior to others, remember that God made us all one blood.  God did all these things that we might seek after Him.  He is never far away, even in places that do their best to not only deny Him but to try to eradicate Him.  In Acts 17:28 Paul said,"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring." Then, in verse 29, Paul said since we are the offspring of God, we shouldn't think the Godhead could be contained in gold, or silver, or stone fashioned by men.  He is a living God Who dwells in His followers.  We, as His people, can never worship the things of this world and worship God at the same time.

Remember the Epicureans and Stiocs didn't believe in superstition, so the first thing Paul said to them was that he saw that they were a superstitious bunch.  "Ye men of Athens, I perceive in all things ye are too superstitious. (Acts 17:22)  He saw a statue inscribed To The Unknown God.  They were trying to cover their bases.  I once saw a cross hanging over a statue of Buddha, and the person who set it up said they weren't sure who was right, but they wanted to be safe either way.  People were searching for the God then, and they are searching now.  Paul told them he had good news for them.  The One they ignorantly worshipped, Paul declared unto them.  He started by declaring God to be the Creator of all things.  Even those who profess themselves to be atheists cannot, I believe, really deny some power had to be behind creation.  The more vocal they are about their belief, I think, the more they know they are wrong.  Why be concerned about something that doesn't exist?  Next, Paul said God was the Lord of all the heavens and the earth and did not dwell in temples made with hands.  When we build ornate houses of worship, we say that God deserves the best, but usually there is a lot of comfort built into it for us.  We seem to be moving Christianity more and more into the confines of the church walls.  We once baptized in creeks and ponds for all the world to see, now we baptize in the church building for Christians to see.  We once had dinner on the grounds for the world to see, and now we have dinner in the building for us to see.  We are not called to be builders of great buildings for God, because as Paul told the Athenians, God does not dwell in buildings made by hands, because everything is His already.  We are called to be fishers of men.  Really, it would seem that if we wanted to help build a building or go fishing, if we were honest, most of us would go fishing, so we need to be spending more time fishing for men.  I am not saying the building, the meeting place of God's people, identified as such in the community, is to be neglected, only that if we are spending more on it than on outreach, then our priorities may be wrong.  All the buildings will one day be left behind, but the soul of every person will last for eternity, so that is our mandate: to reach the lost before it is to late.

Even as they called Paul a babbler, he met them where they were.  We are told they took him and brought him to Aeropagus, and asked him, "May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest, is?" "For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean." Acts 17:19,20  We are then told that Athenians and strangers spent their time in nothing else, but to tell or hear something new, and they heard Paul, even though they called him a babbler, had something new to tell them.  Many people today want nothing more than to hear the latest idea to improve their life.  They spend most of their time, and often a lot of their money, trying to find something that will bring happiness and purpose into their life.  When that fails and someone tells them of some great new plan, they jump on board, only to be disappointed once again.  If we attempt to share the gospel with them, they may call us babblers, or worse, but we, like Paul, must try to meet them where they are.  We must look for a way to make the gospel understandable for them.  Even though the gospel message is very simple, until a person accepts it through a God given faith, it is just babbling.  Paul did not take offence at their actions toward him, and neither can we.  He looked at who they were and for the best way to reach them, and God gave him a way.  We must never be upset if people call us names because we are Christians, but must rely on God to provide us a way to witness to them.

In Acts 17:16, we are told as Paul waited in Athens,his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw a whole city given to idolatry.  He was not stirred to anger, but to compassion.  When we see the world today given to idolatry, we need to be stirred in our spirit with compassion.  Paul disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, and with devout people, and in the market place daily with those he encountered.  It is not enough to only witness in the church.  We need to witness daily in the world.  Paul had already been beaten more than once, thrown into prison, and threatened every where he had been recently, but he was preaching in the market place.  We often hear someone say that they are a Christian, but they aren't a religious fanatic.  It is time we become Christian fanatics.  I think we can safely say that Paul was one.  When he saw a city lost in idolatry, he was moved with compassion to share the gospel with them.  Now, we may say that we don't share the gospel more often because we don't want to look like a nut by being to vocal about our faith.  Look how Paul fared.  In verse eighteen, certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers he encountered said "What will this babbler say," and others said, "He seemeth a setter forth of strange God's," because he preached Jesus, and the resurrection.  Basically, they were saying that they wanted to see what this nut had to say.  To them, he was babbling foolishness, but at least they came to hear.  The lost in the world will never hear the gospel if Christians don't proclaim it in the world.  We need to worry less about where we cannot share the gospel and spend more time sharing it where we know we can.  The Epicureans believed in humanism and the denial of all religious superstition and divine intervention.  They believed that pleasure and the absence of pain were the highest goals.  The Stoics believed in denying all emotional feelings, that everything was based on logic, and would have classified religious feelings as false.  So their understanding of Paul would have been that he was a babbler.  Humanism and logic are nothing new, but we need not fear nor surrender to them.

Paul was brought to Athens by those who had gotten him out of Berea.  They also sent word for Silas and Timotheus to join him there.  We have not heard much about Timotheus since they started on their journey, but he was still with them.  When we are doing God's work, people may not know our name as well as others, but that doesn't mean that what we are doing is unimportant.  We know the names of very few of the first century Christians, but we see the results of their work anytime the gospel is proclaimed today.  If not for all the unknown Christians in the first century, and every century since, continuing to spread the gospel, the church would not exist. Outside forces can never destroy the church, but the apathy of the Christians can.  If at any point in time we fail to reach the next generation, there will be no church.  So, our greatest concern should not be what the world may do to us, but instead should be what we are going to do for the world.  Paul and Silas were accused of turning the world upside down for Christ.  We need to be accused of the same thing.  It is not enough to sit back and say the end is near and we will win.  We need to be spreading the gospel so that the lost can win today by accepting the salvation of Christ.  The first century Christians thought Christ would return soon, as has every generation since.  It gave them a sense of urgency to proclaim the gospel so the lost might be saved.  We need the same urgency.  Any time we begin to rejoice at the death of any lost person, no matter how bad they may be or how much they may have hurt us, we have lost sight of who we are as God's people.

The rulers of the city were troubled by these charges.  It would be like a group of people dragging us before a policeman today and telling him we had been plotting treason, which defying Caesar amounted to.  In Acts 17:9, it says they took security of Jason, and the other, then let them go.  I guess we would say they were bailed out.  The brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas that night.  Remember, the religious leaders came to Jason's house to arrest Paul and Silas, but they weren't there.  Sometimes, it is better to move on to be able to continue to proclaim the gospel.  I'm sure that everyone had prayed about the situation before making the decision.  Whether we stay to confront or move on to another area should always be a decision made after praying to know God's will.  Paul and Silas went to Berea, where they again went to the synagogue.  Acts 17:11, says the people there were more noble than those at Thessolonica.  They received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures to see if they were so.  If someone comes to the church preaching something we are not sure about, then we must search the Scriptures to make sure.  We may want to believe it, but we must make sure the Scriptures support it.  Many believed, also honorable women who were Greeks, as well as many men.  When they honestly searched the Scriptures, they found the truth and believed.  The Jews at Thessolonica were not through making trouble.  When they heard that Paul and Silas were in Berea preaching Christ and people were believing, they sent people to stir up trouble.  We have lawsuits filed in schools today by people who don't even live in the area to stir up trouble for Christians.  We should not be surprised by things like this.  It has been going on since Christ came, and will continue until He comes again.

There were always unbelieving Jews, and they were always ready to cause trouble for the early Christians anyway they could.  It is sad that God's chosen people caused as much or more trouble for the early church as did the lost world.  What is really bad is that they would always find other people, in this case certain lewd fellows of a baser sort, to ally with.  Those who were supposed to represent God to the world were instead envious of the Christians and joining with the world to destroy them.  As His followers, we can never afford to be envious of other Christians, and we can certainly never join forces with the world to destroy them.  They went to Jason's house looking for Paul and Silas.  They assaulted the house, but didn't find them.  There is no indication that they were authorized to do so, but that did not stop them.  Since they couldn't find Paul and Silas, they took Jason and certain brethren and dragged them before the magistrates.  What was their charge?  These that have turned the world upside down have come hither also.  Will we ever be changed with doing the same thing?  Then, Jason was accused of receiving them, and that they violated Caesar's decrees by proclaiming another king, Jesus.  May we ever be accused of proclaiming King Jesus.

Paul and Silas left Phillipi, passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, and came to Thessalonica.  There was a synagogue of the Jews there.  Paul still went to the synagogues first, so he went to this synagogue three Sabboths straight, reasoning with them out of the Scriptures.  Paul going to the synagogue, the center of worship for the Jewish people, would be like us going to the church, the center of Christian worship, today.  He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.  If we see something being taught in the church today that we know is not Biblical, then we need to reason with the members there out of the Scriptures.  Paul only had the Old Testament, but he opened it and alleged that Christ must suffer and be raised from the dead, and that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 17:3)  Some of the Jews believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and a multitude of devout Greeks, and many of the women.  The gospel has always been a dividing point.  Those that believe are set apart from the world in their relationship to God, to other believers, and to the lost.  We were never separated in the sense that we are to withdraw from the world, but that we are to go boldly into the world.  We have to be grounded enough in our faith in God and proclaim His word.  Too often today, we seem to withdraw in fear believing that what the world teaches is more powerful than the word of God.

After Paul and Silas had their wounds treated and had been fed, the keeper of the prison rejoiced and praised God.  He had been ready to kill himself shortly before, and now he was rejoicing.  Having our sins forgiven and becoming a part of the family or God should always take us from despair to hope.  We should rejoice every day at the love and mercy that God has shown us.  The next morning, the magistrates sent the sergeants with word to let them go.  When the keeper of the prison told Paul the magistrates had set them free and told them to go in peace, we might think Paul and Silas would have been gone immediately.  Paul said in Acts 16: 37, "They have beaten us openly uncondemned being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay, verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out."  The way that seems to reward most quickly, freedom from prison in this case, may not be the best way.  Paul and Silas could have gone quietly on their way, but they had been treated unjustly and wanted that publically acknowledged.  When the magistrates heard that Paul and Silas were Romans, they were afraid.  They may have been in charge of the beating and imprisoning of Paul and Silas, but now they did what Paul told them to do.  They came and besaught them, and brought them out, and desired them to leave the city.  I don't see where they ordered them out.  Even if it might be easier to just go quietly, we must always stand firm for what is right.  Paul and Silas went to the house of Lydia, saw the brethren and comforted them, then departed the city.  People had seen them beaten and thrown in prison, so Paul and Silas wanted to assure them that they were all right.  When something bad happens to a Christian, it should affect all the Christians who know them.  When the situation is resolved, that Christian should first make sure his fellow Christians know.

Paul and Silas we're freed.  After being beaten and falsely imprisoned, God had set them free.  That would probably be my understanding in that situation, and I would be out the door.  The keeper of the prison thought they were gone and was ready to kill himself.  He was responsible for keeping them in prison and there was no allowance for failure.  He thought they were gone.  Just before he killed himself, Paul spoke.  In Acts 16: 28, Paul told the keeper of the prison not to harm himself, for they were all there.  Sometimes what would seem the best course of action, in this case fleeing to freedom, is not God's plan.  Paul and Silas still had someone to witness to there and the next day.  The keeper of the prison called for a light, and finding Paul was telling the truth, he fell down before Paul and Silas and had them brought out.  Then, we get the good news of the earthquake.  It was not that Paul and Silas were set free, but that the keeper of the prison asked in verse30 what he must do to be saved.  We need to always look past what is seemingly best for us and see what is best for lost people around us.  Paul shared the gospel with the man, and he and all his household were saved.  Having been ready to kill himself shortly before, after accepting Christ as his Savior, the keeper of the prison washed their wounds and then was baptized.  He then took them to his house and feed them, rejoicing and believing with in God with all his house.  Paul and Silas looked beyond what seemed to be the answer to prayers, freedom, and saw the real answer, another opportunity to witness.  We need to always make sure that we look beyond what may seem to be God's answer to prayers and insure that we are not missing the real answer.  What seems best for us may not be best for the spreading of the gospel.

The multitude rose up against Paul and Silas and the magistrates tore off their clothes and beat them.  Again, when we are doing God's will, we will face opposition from the world.  We sometimes hear people talk in church about what they will never be stopped from doing for God, but then out in the world they are silent.  If our faith is strong enough, we won't just talk among ourselves about how firmly we will stand for God.  We  will proclaim it to the lost world, even if it costs us.  Paul and Silas were beaten with many stripes and thrown into prison.  The jailor was charged with ensuring they didn't escape, so he placed them in the inner prison and put their feet in stocks.  Maybe if we endure these things, we can write like Paul.  Then, at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises, and the prisoners heard them.  They were doing what God wanted them to do where God wanted them to do it, and were beaten and thrown in prison.  That hardly says that being obedient to God means we are going to be happy and prosperous and that God doesn't want us to suffer and be unhappy.  We have at times so watered down the gospel that if the pew is too uncomfortable we look for a church where they are more comfortable.  If we were beaten and thrown into prison, would we be praying and singing praises to God at midnight?  Do we even sing praises to God if we can't find a parking spot?  When we cannot rejoice in the Lord during small annoyances, we will never stand firm if real trials come.

When Paul and Silas began to affect the income source of the masters of the damsal
they cast the spirit out of, they were angry.  Their concern wasn't for the damsal, but for the money she would no longer bring them.  If we, as Christians, begin to cost non Christians money, they are going to be mad.  If we are doing God's work and following His direction, we cannot let that stop us.  Her masters caught Paul and Silas and brought them before the magistrates.  I never said that if we were doing God's work that when we made people mad that there would never be consequences.  Notice that Paul and Silas were not accused of costing their accusers money, but of stirring up trouble.  They had followed Paul and Silas several days,with the damsal calling attention to them and herself with no problem, but as soon as Paul and Silas started costing them money, they were trouble makers.  They were accused of teaching customs that were unlawful for the masters to receive or observe, being Romans.  This is a strange charge, since the Romans worshipped about every god, known or unknown.  Still, the crowd rose up against them, and the magistrates had them stripped and beaten and thrown into prison.  Paul and Silas had followed God's call to Macedonia after being prevented by the Holy Spirit from going some places they had desired to go, and were beaten and imprisoned for their obedience to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Again, we are never promised that things are going to be easy.  We are simply to follow where God leads and be obedient to His direction.  We must never turn back because things are to hard.

In Acts 16:13-18, Paul and Silas are preaching in Philippi on the Sabbath and went down to the river where prayer was wont to be made.  They talked to a woman who resorted there.  They crossed a cultural barrier by talking to a woman.  Sometimes, we may have to cross cultural barriers to witness to people.  We might even have to talk to an Arabian person.  A woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, from the city of Thyratira, who worshipped God heard them preach.  The Lord opened her heart and she believed the gospel.  It is not enough to just worship God.  We may believe many things about Him that make us worship His existence, but until we open our hearts to a personal relationship with Him, we are lost.  The Jews worship God, but they reject the Savior.  After Lydia was baptized, and her household, she constrained them to abide with her.  Now, I don't think she tied them up, but she just really wanted to have them as her guests.  How often do we constrain the preacher to abide with us?  Then, they encountered a damsal with a spirit of divination, who made her masters much money by soothsaying.  She was a fortune teller who made money for those who owned her.  There are many people today who make money the same way, and unfortunately some Christians spend money on them.  She followed them many days, saying, "These men are servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." (vs 17)  Now, she wasn't doing this to get people to accept what they were saying, but more to mock them.  Paul had enough after a few days, and commanded the spirit in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and he did the same hour.  I do not find any example in the Bible where there was a great battle when a spirit or demon was cast out.  When Jesus, or those acting in His name commanded the spirit or demon to come out, they had no choice.

Paul, Silas and Timotheus set sail for Macedonia the next day.  They went through Samothracia and then Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony.  Having felt called to Macedonia, and without any specification as to where in Macedonia, Paul and his group went to Philippi.  If we feel called to country to preach the gospel, and we don't know exactly where in that country, we would do well to go to one of the chief cities.  While on the subject of being called to a country, we as the church, have almost made a call to a mission field a secondary requirement. Someone may feel led, but before they are sent, certain criteria must be met.  First, they must have the right educational requirements to even be considered.  Most of the disciples would never have met the requirement.  Second, they must learn the language.  I know it is important those we are preaching to understand what we are saying, but again, most of the disciples would not have qualified.  Then, they must commit for a specific period of time.  Philip would have never met the Ethiopian eunuch under this criteria.  Those three criteria are pretty much a must, and if the person feels called, that is a plus.  If we look at the early disciples, they were led by the Holy Spirit, and when they were led to go, they went.  We see no example of them saying that as soon as they had everything right they would go.  Philip went the desert and Paul,Silas and Timotheus went to Macedonia without question or delay.  We need to be the same way.  When the Holy Spirit directs us to go, then we must go and rely on God to equip us for the mission.