Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / October 19 - Acts 21

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October 19 - Acts 21 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it is Sean. Here it is Thursday.
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  It is the 19th of October. Thanks for clicking play.
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  Great to have you with me as you and I are going to read well the
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  first of a few chapters that run on into each other and today,
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  well today is the Super cliffhanger.
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  Today ends in a very unsatisfactory spot and in fact
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  this is quite the form of cruel and unusual treatment.
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  When This is where we're going to have to put down the book of
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  Acts for this week right on this cliffhanger when the the action
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  is happening and Paul opens his mouth to speak and we are
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  whisked away. Whisked away by the end of the
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  chapter. So this is the the start of this
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  fantastic series of events. Paul is 1 gutsy dude and this is
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  beautifully captured by Luke as we see how he engages that part
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  of the world with the truth of Jesus message, even when it is
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  very, very unpopular. So let us enjoy this together.
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  Let's read Friends Acts Chapter 21.
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  After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed
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  straight to the island of Koz. The next day we reached Rhodes
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  and then went to Patara. There we boarded a ship sailing
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  for Phoenicia. We sighted the island of Cyprus,
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  passed it on our left and landed at the harbour of Tyre in Syria,
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  where the ship was to unload its cargo.
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  We went to shore, found the local believers, and stayed with
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  them. A week.
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  These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that
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  Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.
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  When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire
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  congregation, including women and children, left the city and
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  came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed and set
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  our farewells. Then we went aboard and they
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  returned home. The next stop after leaving Tyre
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  was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and
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  stayed for one day. The next day we went on to say
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  Surya and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of
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  the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.
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  He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
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  Several days later, a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of
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  prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul's belt,
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  and bound his own feet and hands with it.
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  Then he said, the Holy Spirit declares so.
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  Shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in
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  Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.
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  When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul
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  not to go on to Jerusalem. But he said, why all this
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  weeping? You're breaking my heart.
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  I'm ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem, but even to die
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  for the sake of the Lord Jesus. When it was clear that we
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  couldn't persuade him, we gave up and said the Lords will be
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  done. After this we packed our things
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  and left for Jerusalem. Some believers from Caesarea
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  accompanied us and they took us to the home of Nathan, a man
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  originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers.
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  When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem
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  welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us
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  to meet with James and all the elders of the Jerusalem church
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  were present. After greeting them, Paul gave a
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  detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the
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  Gentiles through his ministry. After hearing this, they praised
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  God. And then they said, you know,
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  dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed?
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  And they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.
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  But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that
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  you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to
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  turn their backs on the Law of Moses.
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  They've heard that you teach them not to circumcise their
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  children or follow other Jewish customs.
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  What should we do? They will certainly hear that
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  you have come. Here's what we want you to do.
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  We have four men here who have completed their vow.
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  Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification
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  ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually
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  shaved. Then everyone will know that the
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  rumours are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish
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  laws. As for the Gentile believers,
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  they should do what we already told them in a letter.
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  They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from
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  consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from
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  sexual immorality. So Paul went to the temple the
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  next day with the other men. They had already started the
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  purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when
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  their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for
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  each of them. The seven days were almost ended
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  when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple
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  and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, yelling.
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  Men of Israel, help us. This is the man who preaches
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  against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey
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  the Jewish laws. He speaks against the temple and
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  even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.
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  Earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus,
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  A Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into
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  the temple. The whole city was rocked by
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  these accusations and a great riot followed.
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  Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the temple and immediately
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  the gates were closed behind him.
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  As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of
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  the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
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  He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran
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  down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander
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  and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.
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  Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two
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  chains. He asked the crowd who he was
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  and what he had done. Some shouted one thing and some
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  another. Since he couldn't find out the
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  truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul
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  be taken to the fortress. As Paul reached the stairs, the
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  mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their
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  shoulders to protect him, and the crowd followed behind,
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  shouting Kill him, kill him. As Paul was about to be taken
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  inside, he said to the commander.
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  May I have a word with you? Do you know Greek?
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  The Commander asked. Surprised.
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  Aren't you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and
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  took 4000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?
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  No, Paul replied. I am a Jew and a citizen of
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  Tarsus in Sicilia, which is an important city.
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  Please let me speak to these people, the commander agreed.
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  So Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be
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  quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped
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  the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language.
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  Aramaic, our Lord, the hutzpah of this
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  man, to be so bold as to speak your message in the midst of
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  this crazy persecution of Him, thank you that your message is 1
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  so worth sharing. I pray that you would grow our
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  faith that this message of your love and your transformative
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  grace in our lives would seep deeply into our hearts and
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  change us from the inside out. And that your message and your
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  way would transform not just ourselves, but our societies.
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  That our world would be a place where your kingdom's priorities
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  would be given the light of day, where your message of mercy and
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  inclusion and grace could be a dominant voice, even if just for
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  a moment. Lord Jesus, may your will be
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  done here as it is in heaven. We just lift up each other in
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  our Christian walk and the societies in which we live.
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  That you would have your way, Jesus, that you would come in
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  power, and that your presence would make known your love for
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  all people. We pray All this in your mighty
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  name, Jesus. Amen.