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The Book of Acts Like You_ve Never Seen Before · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: Everything was about to change. The disciples had walked with
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Speaker 1: Jesus for three years, watched him die, and witnessed his resurrection,
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Speaker 1: But now something bigger was coming. The small group of
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Speaker 1: followers was about to become something the world had never
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Speaker 1: seen before, a movement that would spread across nations and
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Speaker 1: change history forever. This is the story of how it
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Speaker 1: all began in the busy streets of Jerusalem, where ordinary
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Speaker 1: people became extraordinary through the power of God. After his resurrection,
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Speaker 1: Jesus spent forty days with his disciples, teaching them about
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Speaker 1: the Kingdom of God and preparing them for what was
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Speaker 1: coming next. In the first chapter of Acts, we see
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Speaker 1: Jesus gathering his followers one last time. The disciples were
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Speaker 1: curious about when Jesus would restore the kingdom to Israel,
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Speaker 1: but Jesus had something different in mind. As recorded in
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Speaker 1: Acts one four to five, Jesus told them, do not
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Speaker 1: leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised,
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Speaker 1: which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized
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Speaker 1: with water, but in a few days you will be
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Speaker 1: baptized with the Holy Spirit. The disciples didn't fully understand
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Speaker 1: what this meant, but they trusted Jesus enough to wait.
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Speaker 1: Then came the moment that would change everything. Acts one
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Speaker 1: nine to eleven tells us what happened next. After he
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Speaker 1: said this, he was taken up before their very eyes,
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Speaker 1: and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were
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Speaker 1: looking intently up into the sky as he was going,
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Speaker 1: when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them,
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Speaker 1: men of Galilee. They said, why do you stand here
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Speaker 1: looking into the sky. This same Jesus who has been
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Speaker 1: taken from you into heaven will come back in the
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Speaker 1: same way you have seen him go into heaven. The
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Speaker 1: disciples stood there, probably feeling confused and maybe a little scared.
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Speaker 1: Their leader was gone, taken up into the clouds, but
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Speaker 1: they had his promise. Something powerful was cut and they
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Speaker 1: needed to wait in Jerusalem for it. They returned to
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Speaker 1: the city with mixed emotions, not knowing exactly what to expect,
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Speaker 1: but holding on to jesus words about the gift that
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Speaker 1: was coming back. In Jerusalem, the disciples gathered in an
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Speaker 1: upper room to pray and wait. There were about one
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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty believers there, including Jesus's mother, Mary and
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Speaker 1: his brothers. But there was a problem. They were missing
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Speaker 1: one of the twelve apostles. Judas had betrayed Jesus and
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Speaker 1: then killed himself, leaving only eleven of the original twelve.
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Speaker 1: Peter stood up among the group and addressed this issue
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Speaker 1: in Acts one sixteen to seventeen. He said, brothers and sisters,
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Speaker 1: the scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy
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Speaker 1: Spirit spoke long ago through David, concerning Judas, who served
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Speaker 1: as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one
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Speaker 1: of our number and shared in our ministry. Peter knew
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Speaker 1: that the group of twelve needed to be complete for
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Speaker 1: what was coming. Peter continued in Acts one twenty quoting
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Speaker 1: from the Psalms. For it is written in the Book
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Speaker 1: of Psalms, may his place be deserted, let there be
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Speaker 1: no one to dwell in it, and may another take
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Speaker 1: his place of leadership. The scriptures themselves pointed to the
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Speaker 1: need for a replacement. They decided to choose someone who
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Speaker 1: had been with them from the beginning, someone who had
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Speaker 1: seen Jesus entire ministry and witnessed his resurrection. Acts one
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Speaker 1: twenty one twenty two shows their criteria. Therefore, it is
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Speaker 1: necessary to choose one of the men who have been
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Speaker 1: with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living
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Speaker 1: among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when
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Speaker 1: Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these
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Speaker 1: must become a witness with us of his resurrection. Acts
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Speaker 1: one twenty three twenty four shows us how they made
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Speaker 1: this important decision. So they nominated two men Joseph called Barsabas,
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Speaker 1: also known as Eustace and Mattias. Then they prayed, Lord,
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Speaker 1: you know every one's heart. Show us which of these
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Speaker 1: two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry,
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Speaker 1: which Judas left to go where he belongs. They cast lots,
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Speaker 1: which was a common way of making decisions in those days,
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Speaker 1: trusting that God would guide the outcome. Acts one twenty
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Speaker 1: six tells us the result. Then they cast lots, and
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Speaker 1: the lot fell to Matthias, so he was added to
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Speaker 1: the eleven apostles. Now they were twelve again, complete and
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Speaker 1: ready for whatever God had planned. Fifty days after Passover
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Speaker 1: came the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Jerusalem was packed with
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Speaker 1: visitors from all over the Roman Empire who had come
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Speaker 1: to celebrate. The disciples were all together in one place,
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Speaker 1: probably still in that upper room when something incredible happened.
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Speaker 1: Acts two one A four describes this moment when the
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Speaker 1: day of Pentecost came. They were all together in one place.
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Speaker 1: Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind
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Speaker 1: came from heaven and filled the whole house where they
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Speaker 1: were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of
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Speaker 1: fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
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Speaker 1: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and
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Speaker 1: began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them.
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Speaker 1: Imagine the scene, a sound like rushing wind filling the house,
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Speaker 1: flames of fire appearing above each person's head, and then
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Speaker 1: these simple fishermen and ordinary people began speaking in languages
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Speaker 1: they had never learned. The noise was so loud that
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Speaker 1: people from all over the city came running to see
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Speaker 1: what was happening. Acts two five D eight tells us
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Speaker 1: about the crowd's reaction. Now there were staying in Jerusalem,
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Speaker 1: god fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they
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Speaker 1: heard this sound, A crowd came together in bewilderment because
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Speaker 1: each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly Amazed,
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Speaker 1: they asked, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans, then
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Speaker 1: how is it that each of us hears them in
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Speaker 1: our native language? The miracle was incredible. Acts two nine
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Speaker 1: eleven lists the places these people came from. Parthians, Medes
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Speaker 1: and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
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Speaker 1: Phrygia and Pamphilia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Syene.
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Speaker 1: Visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans
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Speaker 1: and Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God
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Speaker 1: in our own tongues. People from all across the known
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Speaker 1: world were hearing the disciples speak in their own languages
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Speaker 1: about the wonderful works of God. Some were amazed, but
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Speaker 1: others mocked, saying in Acts two thirteen, they have had
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Speaker 1: too much wine. This was the moment Jesus had promised
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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit had come with power. When people started
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Speaker 1: saying the Disciples were drunk, Peter knew he had to
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Speaker 1: explain what was really happening. This was the same Peter
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Speaker 1: who had denied Jesus three times just weeks before, but
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Speaker 1: now he was filled with the Holy Spirit and ready
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Speaker 1: to speak boldly, Peter stood up with the other eleven
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Speaker 1: apostles and raised his voice to address the crowd. In
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Speaker 1: Acts two fourteen to sixteen, he began, fellow Jews, and
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Speaker 1: all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain
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Speaker 1: this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These
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Speaker 1: people are not drunk as you suppose. It's only nine
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Speaker 1: in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by
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Speaker 1: the prophet Joel. He then quoted Joel two twenty eight
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Speaker 1: thirty two about God pouring out his spirit in the
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Speaker 1: last days. But Peter didn't stop there. He went on
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Speaker 1: to tell them about Jesus. In Acts two twenty two
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Speaker 1: twenty four, he said, fell, oh Israelites, listen to this.
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Speaker 1: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to
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Speaker 1: you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did among
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Speaker 1: you through him. As you yourselves know, this man was
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Speaker 1: handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge.
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Speaker 1: And you, with the help of wicked men, put him
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Speaker 1: to death by nailing him to the cross. But God
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Speaker 1: raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony
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Speaker 1: of death. Because it was impossible for death to keep
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Speaker 1: its hold on him. Peter supported his message with scripture,
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Speaker 1: quoting Psalm sixteen about God not letting his holy ones
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Speaker 1: see decay. Then he made his main point in Acts
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Speaker 1: two thirty two to thirty six. God has raised this
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Speaker 1: Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
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Speaker 1: Exalted to the right hand of God. He has received
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Speaker 1: from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured
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Speaker 1: out what you now see and hear. For David did
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Speaker 1: not ascend to heath, and yet he said, the Lord
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Speaker 1: said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until
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Speaker 1: I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: let all Israel be assured of this. God has made
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Speaker 1: this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Messiah. Peter's
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Speaker 1: words cut straight to their hearts. Acts two thirty seven
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Speaker 1: shows their reaction. When the people heard this, they were
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Speaker 1: cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
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Speaker 1: other apostles, brothers, what shall we do. Peter's answer was
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Speaker 1: simple and direct. Acts two thirty eight thirty nine records
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Speaker 1: his response, repent and be baptized every one of you
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Speaker 1: in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
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Speaker 1: your sins and you will receive the gift of the
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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children,
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Speaker 1: and for all who are far off, for all whom
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Speaker 1: the Lord our God will call. The result was amazing.
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Speaker 1: Acts two forty one tells us the those who accepted
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Speaker 1: his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added
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Speaker 1: to their number that day. In one day, the small
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Speaker 1: group of one hundred and twenty believers became over three thousand.
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Speaker 1: The church was born. What happened next was beautiful. These
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Speaker 1: new believers didn't just go back to their normal lives.
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Speaker 1: They formed a completely new kind of community. Acts two
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Speaker 1: forty two describes what they did. They devoted themselves to
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Speaker 1: the apostles, teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread,
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Speaker 1: and to prayer. This wasn't just a once a week meeting.
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Speaker 1: Acts two forty six. Forty seven shows us how they
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Speaker 1: lived every day. They continued to meet together in the
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Speaker 1: temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate
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Speaker 1: together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying
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Speaker 1: the favor of all the people. And the Lord added
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Speaker 1: to their number daily those who were being saved. But
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Speaker 1: there was something even more remarkable about this community. Acts
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Speaker 1: two forty five tells us all the believers were together
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Speaker 1: and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions
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Speaker 1: to give to anyone who had need. Nobody was forced
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Speaker 1: to do this. They did it because they loved each
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Speaker 1: other and wanted to make sure everyone had what they needed.
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Speaker 1: Acts two forty three also mentions that everyone was filled
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Speaker 1: with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by
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Speaker 1: the apostles. Miracles were happening regularly, and people could see
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Speaker 1: that God was truly at work among these believers. The
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Speaker 1: early Church wasn't perfect, but it was powerful. They shared
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Speaker 1: their lives, their meals, their resources, and their joy. People
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Speaker 1: in Jerusalem could see the difference, and many were drawn
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Speaker 1: to join them. Every day more people were being saved
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Speaker 1: and added to their community. This was something completely new
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Speaker 1: in the world, a group of people united not by
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Speaker 1: race or social status, but by their faith in Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: One afternoon, Peter and John were going up to the
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Speaker 1: temple for the three o'clock prayer service. At the temple
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Speaker 1: gate called Beautiful, they encountered a man who had been
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Speaker 1: lame from birth. Every day people carried this man to
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Speaker 1: this spot so he could beg for money from those
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Speaker 1: entering the temple. Acts three three five describes what happened
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Speaker 1: when he saw Peter and John about to enter, he
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Speaker 1: asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as
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Speaker 1: did John. Then Peter said, look at us. So the
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Speaker 1: man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
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Speaker 1: The man expected money, but he was about to receive
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Speaker 1: something far better. Acts three six to seven continues, Then
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Speaker 1: Peter said, silver or gold I do not have, But
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Speaker 1: what I do have, I give you in the name
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Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ of Nazareth way walk. Taking him by
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Speaker 1: the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the
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Speaker 1: man's feet and ankles became strong. The healing was immediate
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Speaker 1: and complete. Acts three eight tells us he jumped to
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Speaker 1: his feet and began to walk. Then he went with
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Speaker 1: them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God.
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Speaker 1: This man, who had never walked in his life, was
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Speaker 1: now leaping round the temple, unable to contain his joy.
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Speaker 1: Everyone who saw him was absolutely amazed. Acts three nine
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Speaker 1: to ten says when all the people saw him walking
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Speaker 1: and praising God, they recognized him as the same man
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Speaker 1: who used to sit begging at the temple gate called beautiful,
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Speaker 1: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what
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Speaker 1: had happened to him. They healed man clung to Peter
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Speaker 1: and John, and a crowd quickly gathered around them. In
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Speaker 1: Solomon's Colonnade. Acts three eleven tells us while the man
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Speaker 1: held on to Peter and John, all the people were
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Speaker 1: astonished and came running to them in the place called
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Speaker 1: Solomon's Colonnade. The people were astonished and couldn't understand how
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Speaker 1: this miracle had happened. This was the perfect opportunity for
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Speaker 1: Peter to speak again. Seeing the amazed crowd, Peter seized
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Speaker 1: the moment to tell them about Jesus again, but this
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Speaker 1: time he started by making sure they understood that he
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Speaker 1: and John hadn't healed the man through their own power.
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Speaker 1: Acts three twelve thirteen records how Peter began, Fellow Israelites,
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Speaker 1: why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at
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Speaker 1: us as if by our own power or godliness we
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Speaker 1: had made this man walk. The God of Abraham, Isaac
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Speaker 1: and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his
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Speaker 1: servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and
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Speaker 1: you disowned him before Pilot, though he had decided to
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Speaker 1: let him go. Peter didn't hold back. He told them
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Speaker 1: exactly what they had done to Jesus. Acts three fourteen
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Speaker 1: to fifteen continue news, you disowned the Holy and Righteous
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Speaker 1: One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
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Speaker 1: You killed the author of life, but God raised him
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Speaker 1: from the dead. We are witnesses of this. Then Peter
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Speaker 1: explained how the healing had happened. In Acts three sixteen,
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Speaker 1: he said, by faith in the name of Jesus, this
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Speaker 1: man whom you see and know, was made strong. It
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Speaker 1: is Jesus name and the faith that comes through him
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Speaker 1: that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
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Speaker 1: But Peter didn't just accuse them. He offered them hope.
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Speaker 1: Acts three seventeen to eighteen shows his compassion. Now, fellow Israelites,
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Speaker 1: I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.
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Speaker 1: But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold
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Speaker 1: through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.
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Speaker 1: Then came the invitation. Acts three nineteen twenty shows his heart.
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Speaker 1: Repent then and turn to God so that your sins
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Speaker 1: may be wiped out. The times of refreshing may come
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Speaker 1: from the Lord, and that he may send the messiah
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Speaker 1: who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. Peter also
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Speaker 1: explained that what was happening had been predicted by the prophets.
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Speaker 1: In Acts three twenty two to twenty three, he quoted Moses,
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Speaker 1: for Moses said, the Lord your God will raise up
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Speaker 1: for you a prophet like me from among your own people.
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Speaker 1: You must listen to everything he tells you. Any One
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Speaker 1: who does not listen to him will be completely cut
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Speaker 1: off from their people. The message was clear. Jesus was
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Speaker 1: the fulfillment of everything God had promised through the prophets
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Speaker 1: from the very beginning. While Peter was still speaking to
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Speaker 1: the crowd, trouble arrived. Acts four one too tells us
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Speaker 1: the priests and the captain of the temple, God and
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Speaker 1: the Sadducees came up to them while they were speaking
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Speaker 1: to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles
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Speaker 1: were teaching the people proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of
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Speaker 1: the dead. The religious leaders were upset for several reasons. First,
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Speaker 1: Peter and John were teaching without their permission. Second, they
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Speaker 1: were preaching about Jesus, whom these same leaders had helped crucify.
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Speaker 1: And third they were teaching about resurrection from the dead,
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Speaker 1: which the Sadducees didn't believe. In Acts four three shows
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Speaker 1: what happened next. They seized Peter and John, and because
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Speaker 1: it was evening, they put them in jail until the
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Speaker 1: next day. The first persecution of the church had begun,
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Speaker 1: but even being arrested couldn't stop what God was doing.
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Speaker 1: Acts four four gives us an important detail, but many
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Speaker 1: who heard the message believed, so the number of men
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Speaker 1: who believed grew to about five thousand. Even with their
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Speaker 1: leaders in jail, the church kept growing. The word of
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Speaker 1: God was spreading and nothing could stop it. The next day,
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Speaker 1: Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin, the same
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Speaker 1: group that had condemned Jesus. Acts four five to seven
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Speaker 1: describes the scene. The next day, the rulers, the elders,
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Speaker 1: and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas
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Speaker 1: the High Priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
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Speaker 1: and others of the High Priest's family. They had Peter
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Speaker 1: and John brought before them and began to question them
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Speaker 1: by what power or what name did you do this?
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Speaker 1: This was Peter's moment. The same man who had denied
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Speaker 1: Jesus three times was now standing before the most powerful
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Speaker 1: religious court in Israel. But this time was different. Peter
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Speaker 1: was filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to speak
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Speaker 1: the truth. Acts four eight to twelve records his bold response. Then, Peter,
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Speaker 1: filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rule and
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Speaker 1: elders of the people, if we are being called to
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Speaker 1: account to day for an act of kindness shown to
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Speaker 1: a man who was lame, and are being asked how
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Speaker 1: he was healed, then know this you and all the
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Speaker 1: people of Israel. It is by the name of Jesus
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Speaker 1: Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised
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Speaker 1: from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
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Speaker 1: Jesus is the stone you build as rejected, which has
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Speaker 1: become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else,
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Speaker 1: for there is no other name under Heaven given to
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Speaker 1: mankind by which we must be saved. The religious leaders
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Speaker 1: were amazed at Peter's boldness, especially since they knew he
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Speaker 1: was an ordinary fisherman without formal religious training. But they
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Speaker 1: couldn't deny the miracle. The healed man was standing right
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Speaker 1: there with them. The early church was experiencing incredible growth
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Speaker 1: and unity. People were shared everything they had, and the
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Speaker 1: love between believers was something the world had never seen before.
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Speaker 1: But this beautiful picture was about to be disrupted by
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Speaker 1: a tragic event that would show everyone just how seriously
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Speaker 1: God took the purity of his church. A man named
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Speaker 1: Anonius and his wife Sapphira owned some property. Seeing how
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Speaker 1: others were selling their possessions to help the community, they
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Speaker 1: decided to sell their land too, But instead of giving
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Speaker 1: all the money to the apostles like others had done,
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Speaker 1: they kept some for themselves, which wouldn't have been wrong
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Speaker 1: if they had been honest about it. The problem was
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Speaker 1: that they lied about it, pretending they were giving everything
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Speaker 1: when they weren't. Acts five one two tells us what
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Speaker 1: happened now. A man named Anonius, together with his wife Safira,
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Speaker 1: also sold a piece of property with his wife's full knowledge.
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Speaker 1: He kept back part of the money for himself, but
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Speaker 1: brought the rest and put it at the apostles feet.
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Speaker 1: They wanted to look generous and spiritual like the others,
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Speaker 1: but they also wanted to keep some money for themselves.
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Speaker 1: When Anonius brought the money to Peter, something amazing happened. Peter,
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Speaker 1: filled with the Holy Spirit, knew exactly what Anonius had done.
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Speaker 1: Acts five three four records Peter's confrontation. Then, Peter said, Anonius,
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Speaker 1: how is it that Satan has so filled your heart
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Speaker 1: that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have
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Speaker 1: kept for yourself some of the money you received for
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Speaker 1: the land. Didn't it belong to you before it was sold?
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Speaker 1: And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal?
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Speaker 1: What made you think of doing such a thing. You
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Speaker 1: have not lied just to human beings, but to God.
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Speaker 1: Peter made it clear that Anonius didn't have to sell
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Speaker 1: the land, and even after selling it, he could have
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Speaker 1: kept whatever amount he wanted. The sin wasn't in keeping
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Speaker 1: the money, It was in lying about it. He was
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Speaker 1: trying to deceive the Holy Spirit himself. The consequences were
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Speaker 1: immediate and shocking. Acts five five to six tells us
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Speaker 1: when Anonaius heard this, he fell down and died, and
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Speaker 1: great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then
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Speaker 1: some young men came forward, wrapped up his body and
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Speaker 1: carried him out and buried him. Anonaeus died instantly, right
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Speaker 1: there in front of everyone. About three hours later, Saphira
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Speaker 1: came in, not knowing what had happened to her husband.
22:39
Speaker 1: Peter decided to give her a chance to tell the truth.
22:42
Speaker 1: Acts five seven eight shows this moment. About three hours later,
22:46
Speaker 1: his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter
22:50
Speaker 1: asked her, tell me, is this the price you and
22:53
Speaker 1: Anonius got for the land? Yes? She said, that is
22:58
Speaker 1: the price. Saphira had the opportunity to be honest, but
23:03
Speaker 1: she chose to continue the lie. Peter's response was swift
23:07
Speaker 1: and sobering. Acts five nine ten records what happened. Peter
23:13
Speaker 1: said to her, how could you conspire to test the
23:16
Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord? Listen, the feet of the men
23:19
Speaker 1: who buried your husband are at the door, and they
23:22
Speaker 1: will carry you out. Also at that moment, she fell
23:27
Speaker 1: down at his feet and died. Then the young men
23:31
Speaker 1: came in, and, finding her dead, carried her out and
23:34
Speaker 1: buried her beside her husband. The impact on the church
23:38
Speaker 1: was profound. Acts five eleven tells us great fear seized
23:44
Speaker 1: the whole church and all who heard about these events.
23:47
Speaker 1: This wasn't the kind of fear that destroys, but the
23:51
Speaker 1: kind of reverent fear that brings wisdom and purity. Everyone
23:55
Speaker 1: understood that God was holy and that lying to him
23:59
Speaker 1: had serious consequences. Despite the sobering incident with Anonius and Sapphira,
24:05
Speaker 1: God continued to work powerfully through the Apostles. The fear
24:09
Speaker 1: that had come upon the church didn't stop the miracles.
24:14
Speaker 1: It actually seemed to make them more powerful and meaningful.
24:19
Speaker 1: Acts Five twelve gives us a summary of what was happening.
24:23
Speaker 1: The Apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people,
24:27
Speaker 1: and all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade,
24:32
Speaker 1: the same place where Peter had preached after healing the
24:35
Speaker 1: Lame Man, became a regular meeting place for the growing church.
24:39
Speaker 1: The respect people had for the Apostles was incredible. Acts
24:44
Speaker 1: five thirteen tells us no one else dared join them,
24:48
Speaker 1: even though they were highly regarded by the people. People
24:52
Speaker 1: recognized that something holy and powerful was happening with these believers,
24:57
Speaker 1: and they didn't dare to pretend to be part of
24:59
Speaker 1: it unless they were genuinely committed. But this respect didn't
25:04
Speaker 1: stop people from wanting to be healed. Acts five fourteen
25:09
Speaker 1: sixteen describes the amazing scenes that were taking place. Nevertheless,
25:15
Speaker 1: more and more men and women believed in the Lord
25:17
Speaker 1: and were added to their number. As a result, people
25:21
Speaker 1: brought the sick into the streets and laid them on
25:23
Speaker 1: beds and mats, so that at least Peter's shadow might
25:26
Speaker 1: fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds
25:30
Speaker 1: gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick
25:34
Speaker 1: and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them
25:38
Speaker 1: were healed. Can you imagine this scene. People were so
25:41
Speaker 1: desperate for healing that they would lay sick family members
25:45
Speaker 1: and friends in the streets, hoping that even Peter's shadow
25:49
Speaker 1: would bring healing as he walked by. And the incredible
25:53
Speaker 1: thing is that it worked. Everyone who came was healed,
25:57
Speaker 1: not just some of them, but all of them. The
26:00
Speaker 1: power of God was so strong through the apostles that
26:03
Speaker 1: even Peter's shadow could heal people. This wasn't because Peter
26:07
Speaker 1: himself was special, but because the Holy Spirit was working
26:11
Speaker 1: through him in such a powerful way. People were coming
26:16
Speaker 1: from towns all around Jerusalem bringing the sick and demon possessed,
26:21
Speaker 1: and none of them went home disappointed. Word about these
26:25
Speaker 1: miracles spread quickly throughout the region. The church was growing rapidly,
26:30
Speaker 1: and the religious leaders were becoming more and more concerned
26:34
Speaker 1: about what was happening. The very people they had tried
26:38
Speaker 1: to stop were now performing miracles that no one could deny.
26:43
Speaker 1: The religious leaders had had enough. The apostles were becoming
26:48
Speaker 1: more popular than ever, and their message about Jesus was
26:52
Speaker 1: spreading throughout Jerusalem and beyond. The same Sadducees who had
26:57
Speaker 1: arrested Peter and John before decided it was time to
27:01
Speaker 1: take more drastic action. Acts five seventeen eighteen tells us
27:06
Speaker 1: what happened. Then. The High Priest and all his associates,
27:11
Speaker 1: who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were
27:14
Speaker 1: filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them
27:17
Speaker 1: in the public jail. This time it wasn't just Peter
27:21
Speaker 1: and John. They arrested all the apostles. The religious leaders
27:25
Speaker 1: thought that by locking them all up, they could finally
27:28
Speaker 1: stop this movement, but they had forgotten something important. The
27:33
Speaker 1: same God who had raised Jesus from the dead was
27:36
Speaker 1: still at work that night, something incredible happened. Acts five
27:41
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty describes the miraculous rescue. But during the night,
27:47
Speaker 1: an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the
27:50
Speaker 1: jail and brought them out. Go stand in the temple courts,
27:55
Speaker 1: he said, and tell the people all about this new life.
28:00
Speaker 1: Of the Lord came and opened the jail doors. Not
28:03
Speaker 1: only did he free the apostles, but he gave them
28:06
Speaker 1: specific instructions about what to do next. They weren't supposed
28:10
Speaker 1: to hide or run away. They were supposed to go
28:13
Speaker 1: right back to the temple and keep preaching about Jesus.
28:17
Speaker 1: The apostles obeyed immediately. Acts five twenty one tells us
28:22
Speaker 1: at daybreak, they entered the temple courts as they had
28:26
Speaker 1: been told and began to teach the people. When the
28:29
Speaker 1: High Priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin,
28:34
Speaker 1: the full assembly of the elders of Israel, and sent
28:37
Speaker 1: to the jail for the apostles. Picture this scene. While
28:41
Speaker 1: the religious leaders were gathering for their important meeting to
28:44
Speaker 1: deal with the apostle problem, the apostles were already back
28:48
Speaker 1: in the temple teaching the people. The very men they
28:52
Speaker 1: thought they had safely locked away were free and preaching again.
28:57
Speaker 1: The confusion that followed was almost comical. Acts five twenty
29:01
Speaker 1: two twenty four describes what happened when the guards went
29:05
Speaker 1: to get the prisoners, but on arriving at the jail,
29:08
Speaker 1: the officers did not find them there. So they went
29:12
Speaker 1: back and reported, we found the jail securely locked, with
29:16
Speaker 1: the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them,
29:20
Speaker 1: we found no one inside. On hearing this report, the
29:24
Speaker 1: captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were
29:26
Speaker 1: at a loss, wondering what this might lead to. The
29:30
Speaker 1: jail was still locked, the guards were still at their posts,
29:34
Speaker 1: but the prisoners were gone. No one could explain how
29:38
Speaker 1: it had happened. The religious leaders were confused and probably
29:41
Speaker 1: a little scared. If these men could escape from a
29:45
Speaker 1: locked jail, what else might they be able to do.
29:48
Speaker 1: Then some one came with news that made everything even
29:51
Speaker 1: more confusing. Acts five twenty five tells us then some
29:55
Speaker 1: one came and said, look, the men you put in
29:58
Speaker 1: jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.
30:01
Speaker 1: The escaped prisoners weren't hiding. They were right back where
30:05
Speaker 1: they had been arrested, doing exactly what they had been
30:09
Speaker 1: told not to do. As the church continued to grow rapidly,
30:14
Speaker 1: new challenges began to emerge. With thousands of believers now
30:18
Speaker 1: part of the community, organizing daily life became more complicated.
30:23
Speaker 1: The apostles were trying to handle everything, preaching, teaching, healing,
30:28
Speaker 1: and making sure everyone's needs were met, but they were
30:31
Speaker 1: getting overwhelmed. A particular problem arose that needed immediate attention.
30:38
Speaker 1: Acts six point one describes the issue. In those days
30:42
Speaker 1: when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews
30:47
Speaker 1: among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows
30:51
Speaker 1: were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The
30:54
Speaker 1: Greek speaking Jewish believers felt that their widows weren't getting
30:58
Speaker 1: fair treatment compared to the Hebrew speaking Jewish widows. This
31:03
Speaker 1: was a serious problem that could have divided the church.
31:06
Speaker 1: The apostles knew they needed to address it quickly, but
31:10
Speaker 1: they also recognized that they couldn't do everything themselves. Acts
31:15
Speaker 1: six two to four shows their solution. So the twelve
31:19
Speaker 1: gathered all the disciples together and said it would not
31:22
Speaker 1: be right for us to neglect the ministry of the
31:24
Speaker 1: Word of God in order to wait on tables brothers
31:27
Speaker 1: and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are
31:31
Speaker 1: known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We
31:34
Speaker 1: will turn this responsibility over to them and will give
31:37
Speaker 1: our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
31:41
Speaker 1: This was a wise decision. The apostles recognized that both
31:45
Speaker 1: preaching the eye Word and caring for people's physical needs
31:49
Speaker 1: were important, but they needed to focus on what God
31:53
Speaker 1: had specifically called them to do. They asked the community
31:57
Speaker 1: to choose seven men who were full of the Holy
32:00
Speaker 1: Spirit and wisdom to handle the food distribution the church
32:04
Speaker 1: like this idea Acts six py five to six tells
32:08
Speaker 1: us what happened next. This proposal pleased the whole group.
32:13
Speaker 1: They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of
32:16
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, also Philip Procorus nicanor Timon Parmenas, and
32:22
Speaker 1: Nicholas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these
32:28
Speaker 1: men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands
32:30
Speaker 1: on them. It's interesting to note that all seven men
32:34
Speaker 1: chosen had Greek names, which suggests they were from the
32:38
Speaker 1: group that had been complaining. This showed the wisdom and
32:42
Speaker 1: fairness of the apostles they made sure the Greek speaking
32:45
Speaker 1: believers felt heard and represented. The result was exactly what
32:51
Speaker 1: they had hoped for. Acts six seven describes the outcome.
32:55
Speaker 1: So the word of Gods spread. The number of disciples
32:59
Speaker 1: in Jeruss increased rapidly, and a large number of priests
33:03
Speaker 1: became obedient to the faith. When the apostles were freed
33:07
Speaker 1: up to focus on preaching and the practical needs were
33:10
Speaker 1: being met, the church grew even faster. Even some of
33:15
Speaker 1: the priests, the very people who had been opposing them,
33:18
Speaker 1: began to believe in Jesus. This was an important moment
33:22
Speaker 1: in the early Church because it established the principle that
33:25
Speaker 1: different people have different gifts and callings. Not everyone needed
33:31
Speaker 1: to do everything, but everyone could contribute their unique abilities
33:36
Speaker 1: to help the church grow and thrive. Among the seven
33:40
Speaker 1: men chosen to serve tables, one stood out in a
33:44
Speaker 1: remarkable way. Stephen wasn't content to just distribute food. He
33:48
Speaker 1: began to perform incredible miracles and preach with amazing power.
33:54
Speaker 1: Act six eight tells us now Stephen, a man full
33:58
Speaker 1: of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs
34:02
Speaker 1: among the people. Stephen had been chosen to wait on tables,
34:07
Speaker 1: but God had bigger plans for him. He was full
34:10
Speaker 1: of grace and power, and the miracles he performed were undeniable.
34:15
Speaker 1: People through out Jerusalem began to hear about this man
34:18
Speaker 1: who had started as a food server but was now
34:21
Speaker 1: doing the same kinds of miracles as the apostles. But
34:24
Speaker 1: with great power came great opposition. Acts six nine of
34:28
Speaker 1: ten describes what happened. Opposition arose, however, from members of
34:33
Speaker 1: the Synagogue of the Freedmen, as it was called, Jews
34:37
Speaker 1: of Syrene and Alexandria, as well as the provinces of
34:40
Speaker 1: Cilicia and Asia, who began to argue with Stephen. But
34:44
Speaker 1: they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit
34:47
Speaker 1: gave him as he spoke. These were educated, experienced religious
34:52
Speaker 1: leaders from different parts of the Roman Empire. They thought
34:57
Speaker 1: they could outsmart this simple deacon, but they were wrong.
35:01
Speaker 1: When Stephen spoke, he was filled with the Holy Spirit
35:04
Speaker 1: and his wisdom was beyond anything they had encountered. They
35:08
Speaker 1: couldn't win the arguments, so they decided to try a
35:12
Speaker 1: different approach. Acts six eleven fourteen shows us their dirty tactics.
35:19
Speaker 1: Then they secretly persuaded some men to say we have
35:23
Speaker 1: heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
35:29
Speaker 1: So they stirred up the people and the elders and
35:31
Speaker 1: the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought
35:35
Speaker 1: him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses who testified
35:39
Speaker 1: this fellow never stop speaking against this holy place and
35:43
Speaker 1: against the Law, for we have heard him say that
35:45
Speaker 1: this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change
35:50
Speaker 1: the customs Moses handed down to us. When they couldn't
35:53
Speaker 1: defeat Stephen in honest debate, they resorted to lies and
35:57
Speaker 1: false accusations. They bribed people to life lie about what
36:00
Speaker 1: Stephen had said, claiming he had spoken against Moses and God.
36:04
Speaker 1: This was a serious charge that could result in death
36:08
Speaker 1: by stoning. But even in this dangerous situation, God's presence
36:13
Speaker 1: was evident. Acts six point fifteen gives us an amazing detail.
36:20
Speaker 1: All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen,
36:24
Speaker 1: and they saw that his face was like the face
36:26
Speaker 1: of an angel. Even his enemies could see that there
36:29
Speaker 1: was something different about Stephen. His face glowed with the
36:33
Speaker 1: presence of God, just like Moses's face had glowed when
36:37
Speaker 1: he came down from Mount Sinai. Stephen was about to
36:41
Speaker 1: give the longest speech recorded in the Book of Acts,
36:45
Speaker 1: and it would be his last. But before he spoke,
36:50
Speaker 1: everyone in that room could see that he was a
36:53
Speaker 1: man filled with the Holy Spirit. Standing before the same
36:57
Speaker 1: court that had condemned Jesus. Stephen given a chance to
37:01
Speaker 1: defend himself against the false charges. But instead of just
37:04
Speaker 1: defending himself, Stephen used this opportunity to preach the most
37:09
Speaker 1: comprehensive sermon about God's relationship with Israel that we find
37:14
Speaker 1: in the New Testament. The High Priest asked him in
37:17
Speaker 1: Act seven, one are these charges true? What followed was
37:22
Speaker 1: an incredible journey through Israel's history, starting with Abraham and
37:27
Speaker 1: going all the way to their current situation. Stephen wasn't
37:32
Speaker 1: just defending himself. He was showing them how they had
37:35
Speaker 1: consistently rejected God's messengers throughout history. Stephen began with Abraham
37:41
Speaker 1: in Act seven two to three. Brothers and fathers listened
37:45
Speaker 1: to me. The God of Glory appeared to our father
37:49
Speaker 1: Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived
37:53
Speaker 1: in Harn. Leave your country and your people, God said,
37:57
Speaker 1: and go to the land I will show you. He
38:00
Speaker 1: then traced God's dealings with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph,
38:05
Speaker 1: showing how God had always been faithful even when his
38:08
Speaker 1: people faced difficulties. He talked about Moses and how the
38:13
Speaker 1: Israelites had rejected him initially, just like they were now
38:16
Speaker 1: rejecting Jesus. Acts seven thirty five makes this connection clear.
38:21
Speaker 1: This is the same Moses they had rejected with the
38:24
Speaker 1: words who made you ruler and judge? He was sent
38:28
Speaker 1: to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself through
38:31
Speaker 1: the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. Stephen
38:34
Speaker 1: also talked about the Tabernacle and Solomon's temple, but he
38:38
Speaker 1: made a crucial point in Acts seven forty eight fifty however,
38:43
Speaker 1: the Most High does not live in houses made by
38:46
Speaker 1: human hands. As the prophet says, heaven is my throne
38:51
Speaker 1: and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house
38:54
Speaker 1: will you build for me, says the Lord? Or where
38:56
Speaker 1: will my resting place be? Has not my hand made
38:59
Speaker 1: all these dings? Then Stephen got to his main point.
39:03
Speaker 1: He looked directly at his accusers and said in Acts
39:05
Speaker 1: seven fifty one fifty three, you stiff necked people. Your
39:09
Speaker 1: hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like
39:13
Speaker 1: your ancestors. You always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there
39:17
Speaker 1: ever a prophet? Your ancestors did not persecute. They even
39:21
Speaker 1: killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One,
39:24
Speaker 1: And now you have betrayed and murdered him, You who
39:27
Speaker 1: have received the law that was given through angels, but
39:31
Speaker 1: have not obeyed it. Stephen wasn't pulling any punches. He
39:35
Speaker 1: told them directly that they were just like their ancestors,
39:38
Speaker 1: who had always rejected God's messengers, and now they had
39:42
Speaker 1: killed the ultimate messenger, Jesus himself. The reaction was explosive.
39:48
Speaker 1: Acts seven fifty four tells us when the members of
39:51
Speaker 1: the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their
39:55
Speaker 1: teeth at him. They were absolutely enraged by Stephen's words.
40:00
Speaker 1: But Stephen wasn't looking at them any more. Acts seven
40:03
Speaker 1: fifty five to fifty six describes what Stephen saw. But Stephen,
40:08
Speaker 1: full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and
40:11
Speaker 1: saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the
40:15
Speaker 1: right hand of God. Look, he said, I see heaven open,
40:19
Speaker 1: and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
40:22
Speaker 1: of God. In his final moments, Stephen received a vision
40:27
Speaker 1: of Jesus in heaven standing to welcome his faithful servant home.
40:33
Speaker 1: This was too much for the religious leaders. Acts seven
40:37
Speaker 1: fifty seven to fifty eight shows their violent response at this.
40:41
Speaker 1: They covered their ears and yelling at the top of
40:44
Speaker 1: their voices. They all rushed at him, dragged him out
40:47
Speaker 1: of the city, and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the
40:51
Speaker 1: witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young
40:53
Speaker 1: man named Saul. Here we see the introduction of a
40:56
Speaker 1: young man named Saul, who would later become the Apostle.
41:00
Speaker 1: He wasn't throwing stones, but he was in charge of
41:03
Speaker 1: the execution, watching over the coats of those who were
41:07
Speaker 1: Even as he was dying, Stephen showed the same spirit
41:11
Speaker 1: as Jesus. Act seven fifty nine sixty records his final words.
41:16
Speaker 1: While they were stoning him. Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive
41:20
Speaker 1: my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord,
41:26
Speaker 1: do not hold this sin against them. When he had
41:29
Speaker 1: said this, he fell asleep. Stephen died praying for forgiveness
41:33
Speaker 1: for his killers, just as Jesus had done on the cross.
41:37
Speaker 1: Stephen's death marked a turning point for the early Church.
41:40
Speaker 1: Up until this time, the persecution had been relatively limited
41:44
Speaker 1: to the Apostles, but Stephen's martyrdom unleashed something much more
41:48
Speaker 1: widespread and violent. Acts eight one tells us what happened immediately,
41:56
Speaker 1: and Saul approved of their killing him. On that day,
41:59
Speaker 1: a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem,
42:03
Speaker 1: and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
42:08
Speaker 1: The same Saul who had watched over the coats during
42:11
Speaker 1: stephen stoning now led a systematic campaign to destroy the church.
42:17
Speaker 1: Acts eight two three describes the scope of this persecution.
42:21
Speaker 1: Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him, But
42:25
Speaker 1: Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house,
42:29
Speaker 1: he dragged off both men and women and put them
42:31
Speaker 1: in prison. This wasn't random violence. It was an organized
42:37
Speaker 1: effort to completely eliminate the Christian movement. Saul was thorough
42:41
Speaker 1: and ruthless. He went from house to house searching for believers.
42:46
Speaker 1: He didn't just arrest the men, he dragged away women too.
42:50
Speaker 1: Families were torn apart, and the church in Jerusalem was decimated.
42:56
Speaker 1: The believers who had lived together in such beautiful community
42:59
Speaker 1: now fleeing for their lives. But God had a purpose
43:03
Speaker 1: in this persecution. Acts eight four reveals the unexpected result.
43:08
Speaker 1: Those who had been scattered preached the Word wherever they went.
43:12
Speaker 1: The persecution that was meant to destroy the church actually
43:16
Speaker 1: spread it far beyond Jerusalem. The believers didn't just run
43:21
Speaker 1: and hide. They kept preaching about Jesus wherever they ended up.
43:25
Speaker 1: This was exactly what Jesus had told them would happen
43:29
Speaker 1: in Acts one eight. He had said they would be
43:31
Speaker 1: his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends
43:36
Speaker 1: of the earth. The persecution forced them to move beyond
43:40
Speaker 1: Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria, fulfilling jesus prediction. The irony
43:47
Speaker 1: was incredible. Saul thought he was destroying Christianity, but he
43:52
Speaker 1: was actually helping it spread faster than it ever had before.
43:56
Speaker 1: Every believer who fled Jerusalem became a missionary, carrying the
44:01
Speaker 1: Gospel to new places and new people. One of the
44:05
Speaker 1: believers who were scattered by the persecution was Philip, one
44:10
Speaker 1: of the seven deacons who had been chosen to serve tables.
44:14
Speaker 1: But like Stephen, Philip's ministry went far beyond food distribution.
44:18
Speaker 1: When he fled Jerusalem, he went to Samaria and began
44:22
Speaker 1: preaching there. This was significant because Jews and Samaritans had
44:28
Speaker 1: hated each other for centuries. Most Jews wouldn't even travel
44:32
Speaker 1: through Samaria if they could help it, But Philip went
44:35
Speaker 1: there and began telling the Samaritans about Jesus. Acts eight
44:39
Speaker 1: five to six tells us what happened. Philip went down
44:43
Speaker 1: to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
44:48
Speaker 1: When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed,
44:52
Speaker 1: they all paid close attention to what he said. The
44:56
Speaker 1: Samaritans were amazed by Philip's message and the mirror he performed.
45:01
Speaker 1: Acts eight seven to eight describes the incredible results, for
45:06
Speaker 1: with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many
45:10
Speaker 1: who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was
45:14
Speaker 1: great joy in that city. Not only were people believing
45:18
Speaker 1: in Jesus, but they were being freed from demons and
45:21
Speaker 1: healed of physical ailments. The whole city was filled with joy.
45:26
Speaker 1: Even a man named Simon, who had been practicing sorcery
45:30
Speaker 1: and amazing people with his magic believed and was baptized.
45:35
Speaker 1: Acts eight thirteen tells us Simon himself believed and was baptized,
45:39
Speaker 1: and he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs
45:43
Speaker 1: and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard
45:47
Speaker 1: about what was happening in Samaria, they sent Peter and
45:51
Speaker 1: John to investigate. Acts eight fourteen to seventeen describes their visit.
45:57
Speaker 1: When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that samr had accepted
46:01
Speaker 1: the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
46:04
Speaker 1: When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there
46:08
Speaker 1: that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy
46:12
Speaker 1: Spirit had not yet come on any of them. They
46:15
Speaker 1: had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
46:19
Speaker 1: Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and
46:22
Speaker 1: they received the Holy Spirit. This was a crucial moment
46:26
Speaker 1: because it showed that the Gospel was truly for everyone,
46:30
Speaker 1: not just Jews. The same Holy Spirit that had come
46:33
Speaker 1: to the Jewish believers at Pentecost now came to the Samaritans.
46:38
Speaker 1: After this success in Samaria, Philip received a very different
46:44
Speaker 1: kind of assignment. Acts eight twenty six tells us now
46:47
Speaker 1: an Angel of the Lord said to Philip go south
46:51
Speaker 1: to the road, the desert road that goes down from
46:54
Speaker 1: Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip was told to leave the successful
46:59
Speaker 1: revival in Samaria and go to a desert road. This
47:03
Speaker 1: must have seemed strange, but Philip obeyed. Acts eight twenty
47:07
Speaker 1: seven twenty eight describes who was on that road. So
47:11
Speaker 1: he started out, and on his way he met an
47:14
Speaker 1: Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the
47:18
Speaker 1: treasury of the Kandace, which means queen of the Ethiopians.
47:23
Speaker 1: This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on
47:26
Speaker 1: his way home, was sitting in his chariot reading the
47:29
Speaker 1: book of Isaiah the Prophet. This Ethiopian was a high
47:33
Speaker 1: ranking government official who had been to Jerusalem to worship.
47:37
Speaker 1: He was obviously seeking God, and he was reading from
47:40
Speaker 1: the Prophet Isaiah. As he traveled home. The Holy Spirit
47:45
Speaker 1: told Philip to go near the chariot, and Philip heard
47:48
Speaker 1: the man reading aloud. Acts eight thirty thirty one shows
47:52
Speaker 1: Philip's approach. Then Philip ran up to the chariot and
47:56
Speaker 1: heard the man reading Isaiah the Prophet. Do you understand
48:00
Speaker 1: and what you are reading? Philip asked, how can I
48:03
Speaker 1: He said, unless someone explains it to me. So he
48:06
Speaker 1: invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The
48:10
Speaker 1: Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah fifty three, the passage about
48:13
Speaker 1: the suffering servant. Ax eight thirty two thirty three quotes
48:17
Speaker 1: what he was reading. He was led like a sheep
48:19
Speaker 1: to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer
48:23
Speaker 1: is silent, so he did not open his mouth in
48:26
Speaker 1: his humiliation. He was deprived of justice. Who can speak
48:30
Speaker 1: of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.
48:35
Speaker 1: The Ethiopian asked Philip who the prophet was talking about
48:39
Speaker 1: himself or someone else. This gave Philip the perfect opportunity
48:43
Speaker 1: to explain the gospel. Acx eight thirty five tells us.
48:46
Speaker 1: Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and
48:49
Speaker 1: told him the good news about Jesus. The Ethiopian believed
48:53
Speaker 1: immediately and wanted to be baptized. Acts eight thirty six
48:57
Speaker 1: thirty eight describes what happened. As the they traveled along
49:01
Speaker 1: the road. They came to some water, and the eunuch said, look,
49:05
Speaker 1: here is water. What can stand in the way of
49:07
Speaker 1: my being baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot.
49:12
Speaker 1: Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,
49:15
Speaker 1: and Philip baptized him. After the baptism, something amazing happened.
49:20
Speaker 1: Acts eight thirty nine forty tells us. When they came
49:24
Speaker 1: up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord
49:27
Speaker 1: suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see
49:30
Speaker 1: him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however,
49:34
Speaker 1: appeared at a Zotus and traveled about preaching the gospel
49:38
Speaker 1: in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Philip was
49:43
Speaker 1: supernaturally transported to another location, and the Ethiopian went home
49:47
Speaker 1: to Africa, probably taking the Gospel with him. Through persecution,
49:52
Speaker 1: God had scattered his people, and now the Gospel was
49:55
Speaker 1: spreading to Samaria and even to Africa through just one
49:59
Speaker 1: of bee Dan deacon who was willing to leave his
50:02
Speaker 1: successful ministry and go to a desert road. Saul of
50:07
Speaker 1: Tarsus was the most feared enemy of the early Church.
50:11
Speaker 1: He had watched Stephen's execution with approval and then launched
50:15
Speaker 1: a violent campaign to destroy every Christian he could find.
50:19
Speaker 1: He was intelligent, educated, and absolutely convinced that he was
50:24
Speaker 1: serving God by persecuting these followers of Jesus, But God
50:29
Speaker 1: had very different plans for this young Pharisee. Acts nine
50:33
Speaker 1: one to two shows us Saul's state of mind. Meanwhile,
50:37
Speaker 1: Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.
50:42
Speaker 1: He went to the High Priest and asked him for
50:45
Speaker 1: letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he
50:48
Speaker 1: found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men
50:52
Speaker 1: or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
50:57
Speaker 1: Saul wasn't satisfied with persecuting Christians in Jerusalem. He wanted
51:02
Speaker 1: to hunt them down wherever they had fled. Damascus was
51:06
Speaker 1: about one hundred fifty miles north of Jerusalem, and Saul
51:10
Speaker 1: had heard that many Christians had escaped there. He got
51:14
Speaker 1: official letters from the High Priest giving him authority to
51:17
Speaker 1: arrest any followers of the Way, as Christianity was called
51:22
Speaker 1: and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial. Saul was
51:26
Speaker 1: like a bounty hunter tracking down believers with the full
51:30
Speaker 1: backing of the religious establishment. The journey to Damascus took
51:35
Speaker 1: several days, and Saul was probably planning his strategy the
51:39
Speaker 1: whole way. He had no idea that he was about
51:42
Speaker 1: to have an encounter that would completely change the direction
51:45
Speaker 1: of his life and the history of the world. Acts
51:49
Speaker 1: nine three four describes what happened as they approached Damascus.
51:54
Speaker 1: As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light
51:59
Speaker 1: from heaven fled lashed around him. He fell to the
52:02
Speaker 1: ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul,
52:06
Speaker 1: why do you persecute me? A brilliant light, brighter than
52:11
Speaker 1: the midday sun suddenly surrounded Saul and knocked him to
52:16
Speaker 1: the ground. Then he heard a voice speaking directly to him.
52:21
Speaker 1: Saul was confused and terrified. Acts nine five to six
52:25
Speaker 1: records his response, who are you, Lord? Saul asked, I
52:30
Speaker 1: am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. The Lord replied, now
52:34
Speaker 1: get up and go into the city, and you will
52:38
Speaker 1: be told what you must do. The voice identified itself
52:42
Speaker 1: as Jesus, the very person Saul thought was dead and
52:47
Speaker 1: whose followers he was trying to destroy. This was the
52:50
Speaker 1: moment everything changed for Saul. He realized that Jesus was alive,
52:55
Speaker 1: that he really was the Messiah, and that by persecuting
53:00
Speaker 1: Christians he had actually been persecuting Jesus himself. The man
53:04
Speaker 1: who had been so confident in his mission was now
53:07
Speaker 1: face to face with the risen Christ. The physical effects
53:11
Speaker 1: of this encounter were dramatic. Acts nine seven to nine
53:14
Speaker 1: tells Us. The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless.
53:18
Speaker 1: They heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul
53:22
Speaker 1: got up from the ground, but when he opened his
53:25
Speaker 1: eyes he could see nothing, so they led him by
53:28
Speaker 1: the hand into Damascus. For three days, he remained blind
53:32
Speaker 1: and did not eat or drink anything. Saul's companions heard
53:36
Speaker 1: the sound but couldn't see what Saul was seeing. They
53:40
Speaker 1: had to lead this proud, independent man by the hand
53:43
Speaker 1: into the very city where he had planned to arrest Christians.
53:48
Speaker 1: For three days, Saul sat in darkness, fasting and praying,
53:52
Speaker 1: trying to process what had happened to him. The persecutor
53:55
Speaker 1: had become the persecuted, and he knew his life would
53:59
Speaker 1: never be the same. During those three days of blindness,
54:03
Speaker 1: Saul had time to think about everything he had done.
54:07
Speaker 1: He probably remembered Stephen's face shining like an angel, and
54:12
Speaker 1: Stephen's prayer for forgiveness. Even as he was being stoned,
54:16
Speaker 1: he might have thought about all the families. He had
54:18
Speaker 1: torn apart the believers, he had imprisoned, the fear he
54:22
Speaker 1: had caused throughout the church. The weight of his actions
54:26
Speaker 1: must have been overwhelming. But God wasn't finished with Saul yet.
54:31
Speaker 1: He had a plan to restore this broken man and
54:34
Speaker 1: use him in ways that no one could have imagined.
54:38
Speaker 1: While Saul was sitting in darkness, God was preparing someone
54:42
Speaker 1: to help him. In Damascus lived a disciple named Anonius,
54:48
Speaker 1: not the same Anonius who had died for lying to
54:51
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, but a different man with the same name.
54:55
Speaker 1: This Anonius was about to receive one of the most
54:58
Speaker 1: challenging assignments anyone could imagine. Acts nine ten twelve describes
55:05
Speaker 1: what happened in Damascus. There was a disciple named Anonius.
55:11
Speaker 1: The Lord called to him in a vision. Anonius, yes, Lord,
55:15
Speaker 1: he answered. The Lord told him go to the house
55:18
Speaker 1: of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man
55:21
Speaker 1: from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying in a
55:25
Speaker 1: vision he has seen a man named Anonius come and
55:29
Speaker 1: place his hands on him to restore his sight. God
55:32
Speaker 1: was asking Anonius to go find the most dangerous enemy
55:35
Speaker 1: of the church and help him. This must have seemed impossible.
55:39
Speaker 1: Anonius knew exactly who Saul was and what he had
55:43
Speaker 1: come to Damascus to do. Acts nine thirteen to fourteen
55:48
Speaker 1: shows Anonius's very reasonable concerns. Lord Anonius answered, I have
55:55
Speaker 1: heard many reports about this man and all the harm
55:58
Speaker 1: he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem, and
56:01
Speaker 1: he has come here with authority from the chief priests
56:05
Speaker 1: to arrest all who call on your name. But God
56:08
Speaker 1: reassured Anonius and revealed his amazing plan for Saul. Acts
56:13
Speaker 1: nine fifteen sixteen records God's response, But the Lord said
56:18
Speaker 1: to Anonius, go, this man is my chosen instrument to
56:22
Speaker 1: proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and
56:26
Speaker 1: to the people of Israel. I will show him how
56:29
Speaker 1: much he must suffer for my name. God had chosen
56:32
Speaker 1: Saul the persecutor to become his messenger to the Gentiles.
56:37
Speaker 1: Anonius obeyed, even though it must have been terrifying. Acts
56:41
Speaker 1: nine seventeen Tutor eighteen tells us what happened when he
56:46
Speaker 1: found Saul. Then Anonius went to the house and entered it,
56:50
Speaker 1: placing his hands on Saul. He said, brother, Saul, the
56:53
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road. As
56:56
Speaker 1: you came here, has sent me so that you may
56:59
Speaker 1: see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately,
57:04
Speaker 1: something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could
57:07
Speaker 1: see again. He got up and was baptized. Noticed that
57:11
Speaker 1: anoneus called him brother Saul. This man who had been
57:15
Speaker 1: the Church's greatest enemy was now welcomed as a brother.
57:19
Speaker 1: Saul's sight was restored, he was filled with the Holy Spirit,
57:24
Speaker 1: and he was baptized. The transformation was complete. The persecutor
57:29
Speaker 1: had become a believer. Acts nine nineteen to twenty shows
57:34
Speaker 1: us what happened next, and after taking some food, he
57:37
Speaker 1: regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples
57:42
Speaker 1: in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the
57:45
Speaker 1: synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Instead of
57:49
Speaker 1: arresting Christians, Saul immediately began preaching about Jesus in the
57:55
Speaker 1: very synagogues where he had planned to find believers to persecute.
57:59
Speaker 1: The reaction was exactly what you would expect. Acts nine
58:04
Speaker 1: twenty one tells us all those who heard him were
58:08
Speaker 1: astonished and asked, isn't he the man who raised Havoc
58:12
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem? Among those who call on this name? And
58:15
Speaker 1: hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners? To
58:18
Speaker 1: the chief priests. People couldn't believe what they were hearing.
58:23
Speaker 1: The man who had come to destroy the church was
58:26
Speaker 1: now preaching for it. But Saul wasn't just making an
58:30
Speaker 1: emotional decision. He was convinced by the truth. Acts nine
58:34
Speaker 1: twenty two says. Yet Saul grew more and more powerful
58:37
Speaker 1: and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that
58:41
Speaker 1: Jesus is the Messiah. Saul used his extensive knowledge of
58:45
Speaker 1: the Hebrew scriptures to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.
58:49
Speaker 1: The same intelligence and education that had made him a
58:52
Speaker 1: dangerous persecutor now made him a powerful preacher. However, this
58:58
Speaker 1: dramatic change made Saul many enemies. Acts nine twenty three
59:04
Speaker 1: to twenty five describes what happened after many days had
59:09
Speaker 1: gone by. There was a conspiracy among the Jews to
59:12
Speaker 1: kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night.
59:16
Speaker 1: They kept close watch on the city gates in order
59:19
Speaker 1: to kill him, but his followers took him by night
59:22
Speaker 1: and lowered him in a basket through an opening in
59:25
Speaker 1: the wall. The Jewish leaders in Damascus were so angry
59:29
Speaker 1: with Saul's conversion that they plotted to kill him. They
59:33
Speaker 1: watched all the gates of the city so he couldn't escape,
59:36
Speaker 1: but the believers helped him escape in the most undignified
59:40
Speaker 1: way possible. They lowered him over the city wall in
59:43
Speaker 1: a basket at night. The proud Pharisee, who had entered
59:47
Speaker 1: Damascus with official letters now had to sneak out like
59:50
Speaker 1: a fugitive. This was just the beginning of the sufferings
59:54
Speaker 1: that God had told Anoneus that Saul would endure. The
59:59
Speaker 1: man who had once been respected by the religious establishment
1:00:03
Speaker 1: was now rejected by them. The man who had once
1:00:05
Speaker 1: been feared by Christians was now protected by them. Everything
1:00:10
Speaker 1: in Saul's life had been turned upside down. While Saul
1:00:13
Speaker 1: was beginning his new life as a believer, Peter was
1:00:16
Speaker 1: continuing his ministry throughout the region. The persecution that had
1:00:21
Speaker 1: scattered the believers from Jerusalem had also spread the Gospel
1:00:25
Speaker 1: to new areas, and Peter was traveling around to encourage
1:00:29
Speaker 1: these new churches and see what God was doing. Acts
1:00:34
Speaker 1: nine thirty two to thirty four tells us about an
1:00:38
Speaker 1: incredible miracle that happened in the town of Lydda. As
1:00:43
Speaker 1: Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the
1:00:46
Speaker 1: Lord's people who lived in Lydda. There he found a
1:00:49
Speaker 1: man named Eneus who was paralyzed and had been bedridden
1:00:54
Speaker 1: for eight years. Eneus, Peter said to him, Jesus Christ
1:00:59
Speaker 1: heals you, get up and roll up your mat. Immediately,
1:01:03
Speaker 1: Eneus got up. This miracle was similar to what Jesus
1:01:07
Speaker 1: had done many times during his earthly ministry. Inaeus had
1:01:11
Speaker 1: been paralyzed for eight years, completely helpless and dependent on others,
1:01:16
Speaker 1: but when Peter spoke to him in the name of
1:01:18
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, he was instantly healed. Not only could he move,
1:01:23
Speaker 1: but he had the strength to get up and roll
1:01:25
Speaker 1: up his own mat. The impact of this miracle was
1:01:29
Speaker 1: immediate and widespread. Ax nine thirty five tells us all
1:01:33
Speaker 1: those who lived in Lidda and Charon saw him and
1:01:36
Speaker 1: turned to the Lord. The healing of Eneus caused a
1:01:39
Speaker 1: revival in the entire region. People who had heard about
1:01:43
Speaker 1: Jesus but weren't sure if he was real now had
1:01:46
Speaker 1: undeniable proof of his power. While Peter was still in Lidda,
1:01:51
Speaker 1: he received an urgent message from the nearby town of Joppa.
1:01:56
Speaker 1: Acts nine thirty six thirty seven explains what happened in Joppa.
1:02:02
Speaker 1: There was a disciple named Tabitha in Greek, her name
1:02:05
Speaker 1: was Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping the poor.
1:02:10
Speaker 1: About that time she became sick and died, and her
1:02:13
Speaker 1: body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Dorcas
1:02:18
Speaker 1: was a beloved member of the church in Joppa. She
1:02:21
Speaker 1: was known for her kindness and generosity, always helping those
1:02:25
Speaker 1: in need. When she became sick and died, the whole
1:02:28
Speaker 1: community was devastated. But they had heard about what Peter
1:02:32
Speaker 1: had done in Lydda, and they wondered if maybe he
1:02:34
Speaker 1: could help. Acts nine thirty eight thirty nine describes their
1:02:39
Speaker 1: desperate plea Lidda was near Jopper, So when the disciples
1:02:44
Speaker 1: heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men
1:02:47
Speaker 1: to him and urged him please come at once. Peter
1:02:51
Speaker 1: went with them, and when he arrived, he was taken
1:02:53
Speaker 1: upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him,
1:02:56
Speaker 1: crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that
1:03:00
Speaker 1: Dorcas had made while she was still with them. The
1:03:03
Speaker 1: widows showed Peter the clothes that Dorcas had made for them.
1:03:08
Speaker 1: This wasn't just any woman who had died. This was
1:03:11
Speaker 1: someone who had spent her life serving others. The robes
1:03:14
Speaker 1: and clothing were evidence of her love and generosity. The
1:03:19
Speaker 1: widows were weeping not just because they had lost a friend,
1:03:23
Speaker 1: but because they had lost someone who had cared for
1:03:26
Speaker 1: them when no one else would. Peter was moved by
1:03:31
Speaker 1: their grief, but he also remembered what Jesus had done
1:03:34
Speaker 1: when he raised people from the dead. Acts nine forty
1:03:38
Speaker 1: forty two tells us what happened next. Peter sent them
1:03:41
Speaker 1: all out of the room. Then he got down on
1:03:43
Speaker 1: his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, Tabitha,
1:03:48
Speaker 1: get up. She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she
1:03:52
Speaker 1: sat up. He took her by the hand and helped
1:03:55
Speaker 1: her to her feet. Then he called for the believers,
1:03:58
Speaker 1: especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This
1:04:03
Speaker 1: became known all over Jopper, and many people believed in
1:04:07
Speaker 1: the Lord. Peter followed the same pattern that Jesus had
1:04:11
Speaker 1: used when he raised Jyrus's daughter from the dead. He
1:04:14
Speaker 1: sent everyone out of the room, prayed, and then spoke
1:04:18
Speaker 1: to the dead woman. When Dorcas opened her eyes and
1:04:21
Speaker 1: sat up, Peter helped her to her feet and called
1:04:24
Speaker 1: everyone back in to see that she was alive. The
1:04:28
Speaker 1: news of this miracle spread throughout Jopper and beyond. People
1:04:32
Speaker 1: who had never heard of Jesus now wanted to know
1:04:35
Speaker 1: more about him. The resurrection of Dorcas was proof that
1:04:38
Speaker 1: Jesus had power over death itself, and many people believed
1:04:42
Speaker 1: because of it. Acts nine forty three tells us that
1:04:46
Speaker 1: Peter stayed in Jopper for some time after this. Peter
1:04:51
Speaker 1: stayed in Jopper for some time with a tanner named Simon.
1:04:56
Speaker 1: This detail might seem unimportant, but it's actually signi. Tanners
1:05:01
Speaker 1: worked with dead animal skins, which made them ceremonially unclean.
1:05:05
Speaker 1: According to Jewish law, most religious Jews wouldn't even associate
1:05:10
Speaker 1: with a tanner, let alone stay in his house. But
1:05:14
Speaker 1: Peter was already beginning to learn that God's kingdom was
1:05:17
Speaker 1: bigger than the Jewish ceremonial laws. While Peter was staying
1:05:21
Speaker 1: with Simon the tanner in Jopper, God was preparing him
1:05:25
Speaker 1: for the most important breakthrough in the early Church's history.
1:05:29
Speaker 1: Up until this point, the Gospel had been preached primarily
1:05:32
Speaker 1: to Jews and Samaritans, people who were at least connected
1:05:36
Speaker 1: to the Jewish faith, but God wanted to show that
1:05:39
Speaker 1: the Gospel was for everyone, including gentiles who had no
1:05:43
Speaker 1: connection to Judaism at all. About thirty miles north of Joppa,
1:05:48
Speaker 1: in the city of Caesarea, lived a Roman centurion named Cornelius.
1:05:53
Speaker 1: Acts ten one to two describes him. At Caesarea, there
1:05:57
Speaker 1: was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was
1:06:00
Speaker 1: known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family
1:06:04
Speaker 1: were devout and God fearing. He gave generously to those
1:06:07
Speaker 1: in need and prayed to God regularly. Cornelius was not
1:06:12
Speaker 1: a Jew, but he was what was called a God fearer,
1:06:16
Speaker 1: a gentile who worshiped the God of Israel without fully
1:06:20
Speaker 1: converting to Judaism. He was a good man who tried
1:06:23
Speaker 1: to live according to God's laws, gave money to help
1:06:26
Speaker 1: the poor, and prayed regularly, But according to Jewish thinking
1:06:30
Speaker 1: at that time, he was still an outsider who couldn't
1:06:33
Speaker 1: be fully accepted into God's people. One afternoon, Cornelius had
1:06:39
Speaker 1: a vision that would change everything. Acts ten three to
1:06:43
Speaker 1: six tells us what happened one day at about three
1:06:47
Speaker 1: in the afternoon, he had a vision. He distinctly saw
1:06:50
Speaker 1: an angel of God who came to him and said Cornelius.
1:06:54
Speaker 1: Cornelius stared at him in fear. What is it, Lord,
1:06:58
Speaker 1: he asked. The Angel answered, your prayers and gifts to
1:07:03
Speaker 1: the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
1:07:07
Speaker 1: Now send men to Jopper to bring back a man
1:07:09
Speaker 1: named Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying with
1:07:13
Speaker 1: Simon the Tanner, whose house is by the sea. God
1:07:18
Speaker 1: had noticed Cornelius's prayers and generosity, and he was about
1:07:23
Speaker 1: to answer them in a way that Cornelius never could
1:07:26
Speaker 1: have imagined. The angel gave him very specific instructions, send
1:07:31
Speaker 1: men to Jopper to find Peter, who was staying with
1:07:34
Speaker 1: Simon the Tanner by the sea. Acts ten seven to
1:07:38
Speaker 1: eight shows us Cornelius's immediate obedience. When the angel who
1:07:43
Speaker 1: spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his
1:07:47
Speaker 1: servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.
1:07:51
Speaker 1: He told them everything that had happened and sent them
1:07:53
Speaker 1: to Jopper. Cornelius didn't hesitate or question what he had
1:07:58
Speaker 1: been told. He sent three men on the thirty mile
1:08:01
Speaker 1: journey to find Peter. The next day, while Cornelius's men
1:08:05
Speaker 1: were traveling toward Jopper, Peter was having his own vision.
1:08:09
Speaker 1: Acts ten nine two to ten sets the scene about
1:08:13
Speaker 1: noon the following day, as they were on their journey
1:08:16
Speaker 1: and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof
1:08:19
Speaker 1: to prey. He became hungry and wanted something to eat,
1:08:23
Speaker 1: and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into
1:08:26
Speaker 1: a trance. What happened next challenged everything Peter believed about
1:08:30
Speaker 1: clean and unclean foods. Acts ten eleven two to fourteen
1:08:34
Speaker 1: describes the vision he saw heaven opened and something like
1:08:38
Speaker 1: a large sheet being let down to earth by its
1:08:41
Speaker 1: four corners. It contained all kinds of four footed animals,
1:08:45
Speaker 1: as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him,
1:08:49
Speaker 1: get up, Peter, clear and eat surely not, Lord Peter replied,
1:08:55
Speaker 1: I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. This vision
1:08:59
Speaker 1: was shocked king to Peter. As a devout Jew, he
1:09:02
Speaker 1: had never eaten any food that was forbidden by the
1:09:05
Speaker 1: law of Moses. The sheet contained all kinds of animals
1:09:09
Speaker 1: that Jews were not allowed to eat, pigs, shellfish, and
1:09:12
Speaker 1: other creatures that were considered unclean. When the voice told
1:09:17
Speaker 1: him to kill and eat. Peter's immediate response was to refuse,
1:09:21
Speaker 1: but God wasn't finished with the lesson. Acts ten fifteen
1:09:25
Speaker 1: to sixteen continues, the voice spoke to him a second time.
1:09:30
Speaker 1: Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.
1:09:34
Speaker 1: This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken
1:09:38
Speaker 1: back to heaven. Three times God showed Peter this vision,
1:09:42
Speaker 1: and three times Peter refused to eat, but the message
1:09:46
Speaker 1: was clear. God was declaring these foods clean. While Peter
1:09:50
Speaker 1: was still trying to understand what this vision meant, Cornelius's
1:09:54
Speaker 1: men arrived. Acts ten seventeen nineteen tells us while Peter
1:10:00
Speaker 1: was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men
1:10:03
Speaker 1: sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and
1:10:06
Speaker 1: stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon,
1:10:09
Speaker 1: who was known as Peter, was staying there. While Peter
1:10:12
Speaker 1: was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, Simon,
1:10:17
Speaker 1: three men are looking for you. The Holy Spirit told
1:10:21
Speaker 1: Peter to go with these men without hesitation. Acts ten
1:10:25
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three shows what happened. So get up and
1:10:28
Speaker 1: go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for
1:10:31
Speaker 1: I have sent them. Peter went down and said to
1:10:35
Speaker 1: the men, I'm the one you're looking for. Why have
1:10:38
Speaker 1: you come. The men replied, we have come from Cornelius
1:10:42
Speaker 1: the Centurion. He is a righteous and god fearing man
1:10:46
Speaker 1: who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy
1:10:49
Speaker 1: angel told him to ask you to come to his
1:10:52
Speaker 1: house so that he could hear what you have to say.
1:10:55
Speaker 1: Then Peter invited the men into the house to be
1:10:58
Speaker 1: his guests. Though these were gentiles, Peter welcomed them into
1:11:03
Speaker 1: the house. This was already a big step for a
1:11:07
Speaker 1: Jewish man. The next day, Peter went with them to Caesarrea,
1:11:12
Speaker 1: taking some other believers with him as witnesses. When they
1:11:16
Speaker 1: arrived at Cornelius's house, they found that he had gathered
1:11:19
Speaker 1: his family and close friends to hear what Peter had
1:11:22
Speaker 1: to say. Acts ten twenty five twenty six describes their meeting.
1:11:26
Speaker 1: As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell
1:11:29
Speaker 1: at his feet in reverence, but Peter made him get up.
1:11:33
Speaker 1: Stand up. He said, I am only a man myself.
1:11:37
Speaker 1: Peter had to stop Cornelius from worshiping him. This shows
1:11:41
Speaker 1: how much respect Cornelius had for Peter, but also how
1:11:44
Speaker 1: Peter was learning that God's power worked through ordinary people.
1:11:49
Speaker 1: Acts ten twenty eight shows that Peter finally understood what
1:11:53
Speaker 1: his vision meant. He said to them, you are well
1:11:56
Speaker 1: aware that it is against our law for a Jew
1:11:59
Speaker 1: to assas, associate with, or visit a gentile. But God
1:12:02
Speaker 1: has shown me that I should not call anyone impure
1:12:05
Speaker 1: or unclean. The vision about food wasn't really about food
1:12:10
Speaker 1: at all. It was about people. God was teaching Peter
1:12:14
Speaker 1: that he doesn't consider any person unclean or unworthy of
1:12:18
Speaker 1: the Gospel. After Peter baptized Cornelius and his household, words
1:12:23
Speaker 1: spread quickly throughout the church. When Peter returned to Jerusalem,
1:12:28
Speaker 1: he faced some serious criticism from the Jewish believers, who
1:12:32
Speaker 1: couldn't believe he had gone into a gentile's house and
1:12:35
Speaker 1: eaten with them. Acts eleven one three describes the confrontation
1:12:41
Speaker 1: the apostles and the believers. Throughout Judea heard that the
1:12:45
Speaker 1: gentiles also had received the word of God. So when
1:12:49
Speaker 1: Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
1:12:54
Speaker 1: and said, you went into the house of uncircumcised men
1:12:58
Speaker 1: and ate with them. This was a big deal in
1:13:02
Speaker 1: the early Church. These Jewish believers had accepted Jesus as
1:13:06
Speaker 1: their Messiah, but they still believed that gentiles needed to
1:13:09
Speaker 1: become Jews first before they could become Christians. The idea
1:13:14
Speaker 1: that gentiles could be saved without following Jewish laws was
1:13:18
Speaker 1: revolutionary and threatening to them. Peter could have gotten defensive
1:13:23
Speaker 1: or angry, but instead he carefully explained everything that had happened.
1:13:28
Speaker 1: Acts eleven four to ten shows how he started his defense.
1:13:33
Speaker 1: Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story.
1:13:37
Speaker 1: I was in the city of Jopper praying, and in
1:13:40
Speaker 1: a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like
1:13:43
Speaker 1: a large sheet being let down from Heaven by its
1:13:45
Speaker 1: four corners, and it came down to where I was.
1:13:49
Speaker 1: I looked into it and saw four footed animals of
1:13:52
Speaker 1: the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. Then I heard
1:13:56
Speaker 1: a voice telling me get up, Peter, kill and eat.
1:13:59
Speaker 1: I replied, surely not, Lord, nothing impure or unclean as
1:14:03
Speaker 1: ever entered my mouth. The voice spoke from heaven a
1:14:06
Speaker 1: second time, do not call anything impure that God has
1:14:10
Speaker 1: made clean. This happened three times, and then it was
1:14:15
Speaker 1: all pulled up to heaven again. Peter told them about
1:14:19
Speaker 1: his vision in detail, making sure they understood that this
1:14:23
Speaker 1: had come from God, not from his own ideas. He
1:14:27
Speaker 1: explained how confused he had been by the vision, just
1:14:30
Speaker 1: like they were confused now. Then he told them about
1:14:33
Speaker 1: Cornelius's vision and how the Holy Spirit had directed him
1:14:36
Speaker 1: to go with the men. Acts eleven, eleven, and fourteen
1:14:39
Speaker 1: continues his account. Right then, three men who had been
1:14:44
Speaker 1: sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where
1:14:46
Speaker 1: I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no
1:14:49
Speaker 1: hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went
1:14:53
Speaker 1: with me, and we entered the man's house. He told
1:14:57
Speaker 1: us how he had seen an angel appear in his house.
1:15:00
Speaker 1: Say send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter.
1:15:04
Speaker 1: He will bring you a message through which you and
1:15:07
Speaker 1: all your household will be saved. Peter made sure to
1:15:11
Speaker 1: mention that six other Jewish believers had gone with him
1:15:15
Speaker 1: as witnesses. He also emphasized that Cornelius had received a
1:15:20
Speaker 1: vision from an angel, making it clear that God was
1:15:24
Speaker 1: directing these events. But the most convincing part of Peter's
1:15:28
Speaker 1: defense was what happened when he started preaching to Cornelius
1:15:32
Speaker 1: and his household. Acts eleven fifteen, who was seventeen, describes
1:15:37
Speaker 1: the climax of his story. As I began to speak,
1:15:41
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come
1:15:43
Speaker 1: on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the
1:15:46
Speaker 1: Lord had said, John baptized with water, but you will
1:15:50
Speaker 1: be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So if God gave
1:15:54
Speaker 1: them the same gift he gave us, who believed in
1:15:56
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that
1:15:59
Speaker 1: I could stand in God's way? This was the key argument.
1:16:04
Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit had come upon these gentiles in exactly
1:16:07
Speaker 1: the same way he had come upon the Jewish believers
1:16:10
Speaker 1: at Pentecost. God himself had shown that he accepted these
1:16:14
Speaker 1: gentiles without requiring them to become whose first How could
1:16:18
Speaker 1: Peter argue with God? The response was immediate and profound.
1:16:23
Speaker 1: Acts eleven eighteen tells us when they heard this, they
1:16:26
Speaker 1: had no further objections and praised God, saying, so, then,
1:16:30
Speaker 1: even to gentiles, God has granted repentance that leads to life.
1:16:36
Speaker 1: The Jewish believers realized that God's plan was bigger than
1:16:39
Speaker 1: they had understood. The Gospel truly was for everyone, not
1:16:44
Speaker 1: just for Jews. This was a turning point in the
1:16:46
Speaker 1: history of the Church. From this moment on, the Church
1:16:50
Speaker 1: began to understand that Christianity was not just a Jewish sect,
1:16:54
Speaker 1: but a new way of relating to God that was
1:16:57
Speaker 1: available to all people, regard regardless of their ethnic or
1:17:01
Speaker 1: religious background. The persecution that had scattered believers from Jerusalem
1:17:07
Speaker 1: continued to bear fruit in unexpected places. Some of the
1:17:11
Speaker 1: scattered believers traveled north to the great City of Antioch
1:17:14
Speaker 1: in Syria, about three hundred miles from Jerusalem. Antioch was
1:17:19
Speaker 1: the third largest city in the Roman Empire after Rome
1:17:23
Speaker 1: and Alexandria, and it was a place where many different
1:17:27
Speaker 1: cultures and religions mixed together. Acts eleventh, nineteen twenty one
1:17:33
Speaker 1: tells us what happened when the Gospel reached Antioch. Now,
1:17:36
Speaker 1: those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke
1:17:39
Speaker 1: out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus,
1:17:43
Speaker 1: and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however,
1:17:49
Speaker 1: Men from Cyprus and Syrene went to Antioch and began
1:17:54
Speaker 1: to speak to Greeks, also telling them the good news
1:17:57
Speaker 1: about the Lord Jesus. The Law's hand was with them,
1:18:01
Speaker 1: and a great number of people believed and turned to
1:18:04
Speaker 1: the Lord. At first, the scattered believers only preached to Jews,
1:18:08
Speaker 1: just as they had always done, But some believers from
1:18:12
Speaker 1: Cyprus and Syrene began doing something revolutionary. They started preaching
1:18:17
Speaker 1: to Greeks as well. These weren't God fearing gentiles like Cornelius,
1:18:23
Speaker 1: but pagans who had no connection to Judaism at all.
1:18:27
Speaker 1: The results were amazing. Large numbers of Greeks believed in
1:18:32
Speaker 1: Jesus and turned from their pagan religions to follow him.
1:18:36
Speaker 1: Word of this remarkable development reached the Church in Jerusalem,
1:18:41
Speaker 1: and they decided to send someone to investigate what was happening.
1:18:44
Speaker 1: Acts eleven, twenty two to twenty four describes who they sent.
1:18:50
Speaker 1: News of this reached the Church in Jerusalem, and they
1:18:53
Speaker 1: sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what
1:18:57
Speaker 1: the grace of God had done, he was glad and
1:19:00
Speaker 1: encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with
1:19:03
Speaker 1: all their hearts. He was a good man, full of
1:19:06
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of
1:19:09
Speaker 1: people were brought to the Lord. Barnabas was the perfect
1:19:13
Speaker 1: choice for this mission. His name means son of encouragement,
1:19:17
Speaker 1: and that's exactly what he was. Instead of being a
1:19:21
Speaker 1: critical or suspicious of what was happening in Antioch, he
1:19:25
Speaker 1: rejoiced when he saw how God was working. He encouraged
1:19:29
Speaker 1: the new believers to stay faithful to the Lord, and
1:19:32
Speaker 1: even more people came to faith under his ministry. But
1:19:36
Speaker 1: Barnabas realized that this growing church needed more help than
1:19:41
Speaker 1: he could provide alone. He remembered a certain former persecutor
1:19:45
Speaker 1: who had become a believer and was somewhere in the region.
1:19:49
Speaker 1: Acts eleven, twenty five twenty six tells us what Barnabas did.
1:19:53
Speaker 1: Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and
1:19:56
Speaker 1: when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So
1:20:00
Speaker 1: for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the
1:20:03
Speaker 1: church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were
1:20:06
Speaker 1: called Christians first at Antioch. Saul had been in his
1:20:10
Speaker 1: hometown of Tarsus for several years since his conversion, probably
1:20:14
Speaker 1: preparing for ministry and learning to live as a believer.
1:20:18
Speaker 1: Barnabas brought him to Antioch, and together they spent a
1:20:21
Speaker 1: year teaching the rapidly growing church. The believers in Antioch
1:20:27
Speaker 1: were so different from anything anyone had seen before that
1:20:31
Speaker 1: people needed a new name for them. They were called Christians,
1:20:36
Speaker 1: meaning followers of Christ for the first time. This was
1:20:39
Speaker 1: significant because it showed that Christianity was becoming recognized as
1:20:44
Speaker 1: something distinct from Judaism. These believers weren't just Jewish converts
1:20:49
Speaker 1: or god fearing gentiles. They were people from all backgrounds
1:20:53
Speaker 1: who had been transformed by their faith in Jesus Christ.
1:20:57
Speaker 1: The church in Antioch also became the first to send
1:21:00
Speaker 1: organized relief to other believers. Acts eleven twenty seven to
1:21:05
Speaker 1: thirty describes what happened during this time. Some prophets came
1:21:10
Speaker 1: down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus,
1:21:14
Speaker 1: stood up and through the spirit, predicted that a severe
1:21:17
Speaker 1: famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened
1:21:21
Speaker 1: during the reign of Claudius. The disciples, as each one
1:21:25
Speaker 1: was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and
1:21:28
Speaker 1: sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift
1:21:32
Speaker 1: to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. When the believers
1:21:37
Speaker 1: in Antioch heard that there would be a famine in Judea,
1:21:40
Speaker 1: they immediately took up a collection to help their fellow
1:21:43
Speaker 1: believers in Jerusalem. This showed the unity and love that
1:21:47
Speaker 1: existed between these different churches, despite their different backgrounds and locations.
1:21:54
Speaker 1: Around this time, the Church faced a new wave of persecution,
1:21:58
Speaker 1: but this time it came from the political authorities rather
1:22:02
Speaker 1: than the religious leaders. Herod Agrippa the Fiend, the grandson
1:22:06
Speaker 1: of Herod the Great, had become king over Judea and
1:22:10
Speaker 1: was trying to gain favor with the Jewish people by
1:22:13
Speaker 1: persecuting Christians. Acts twelve one two describes what happened. It
1:22:19
Speaker 1: was about this time that King Herod arrested some who
1:22:23
Speaker 1: belonged to the Church, intending to persecute them. He had James,
1:22:27
Speaker 1: the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
1:22:30
Speaker 1: James was one of the original twelve Apostles, part of
1:22:34
Speaker 1: the Inner Circle that had been closest to Jesus. His
1:22:38
Speaker 1: execution was a shock to the entire church. James was
1:22:42
Speaker 1: the first of the apostles to be martyred, and his
1:22:45
Speaker 1: death showed that following Jesus could cost everything. But it
1:22:49
Speaker 1: also demonstrated that the church would continue even when its
1:22:53
Speaker 1: leaders were killed. The gospel message was bigger than any
1:22:56
Speaker 1: one person, even one of the original twelve. When Herod
1:23:01
Speaker 1: saw how much the Jewish people approved of James's execution,
1:23:05
Speaker 1: he decided to arrest Peter as well. Acts twelve three
1:23:09
Speaker 1: four tells us when he saw that this met with
1:23:11
Speaker 1: approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.
1:23:17
Speaker 1: This happened during the festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him,
1:23:21
Speaker 1: he put him in prison, handing him over to be
1:23:23
Speaker 1: guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended
1:23:28
Speaker 1: to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
1:23:32
Speaker 1: Peter was heavily guarded. Sixteen soldiers were assigned to watch him.
1:23:37
Speaker 1: Herod planned to execute Peter publicly after the Passover festival,
1:23:41
Speaker 1: probably expecting the same positive reaction he had received when
1:23:45
Speaker 1: he killed James. But the Church wasn't just sitting back
1:23:49
Speaker 1: and accepting this persecution. Acts twelve five tells us so
1:23:53
Speaker 1: Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly
1:23:57
Speaker 1: praying to God for him. While Peter was in chains,
1:24:02
Speaker 1: the believers were on their knees crying out to God
1:24:06
Speaker 1: for his release. The night before Peter was scheduled to
1:24:09
Speaker 1: be executed, God answered their prayers in a dramatic way.
1:24:13
Speaker 1: Acts twelve to six to seven describes what happened the
1:24:17
Speaker 1: night before Herod was to bring him to trial. Peter
1:24:20
Speaker 1: was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and
1:24:25
Speaker 1: sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly, an angel of
1:24:29
Speaker 1: the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell.
1:24:33
Speaker 1: He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quick,
1:24:36
Speaker 1: get up, he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
1:24:39
Speaker 1: Even facing execution the next morning, Peter was sleeping peacefully.
1:24:44
Speaker 1: This shows the incredible peace that God gives to those
1:24:47
Speaker 1: who trust in Him, even in the most difficult circumstances.
1:24:51
Speaker 1: But God wasn't going to let Peter die. He had
1:24:54
Speaker 1: more work for him to do. Acts twelve eight ten
1:24:58
Speaker 1: continues the amazing story. Then the angel said to him,
1:25:02
Speaker 1: put on your clothes and sandals, and Peter did so.
1:25:07
Speaker 1: Wrap your cloak around you and follow me, the angel
1:25:10
Speaker 1: told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but
1:25:13
Speaker 1: he had no idea that what the angel was doing
1:25:17
Speaker 1: was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision.
1:25:21
Speaker 1: They passed the first and second guards and came to
1:25:24
Speaker 1: the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for
1:25:27
Speaker 1: them by itself, and they went through it. When they
1:25:30
Speaker 1: had walked the length of one street, the angel left him.
1:25:34
Speaker 1: Peter thought he was dreaming or having a vision. The
1:25:38
Speaker 1: whole thing seemed too incredible to be real. But when
1:25:42
Speaker 1: the angel left him standing alone on the street, he
1:25:45
Speaker 1: realized that God had actually delivered him from prison. Acts
1:25:49
Speaker 1: twelve eleven to twelve shows Peter's reaction. Then Peter came to
1:25:53
Speaker 1: himself and said, now I know without a doubt that
1:25:57
Speaker 1: the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me for
1:26:00
Speaker 1: from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were
1:26:03
Speaker 1: hoping would happen. When this had dawned on him, he
1:26:07
Speaker 1: went to the house of Mary, the mother of John
1:26:10
Speaker 1: also Nucolt Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
1:26:14
Speaker 1: Peter went to the house where he knew believers would
1:26:16
Speaker 1: be gathered, the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark.
1:26:20
Speaker 1: These believers had been praying all night for Peter's release,
1:26:24
Speaker 1: but they were about to discover that sometimes God answers
1:26:27
Speaker 1: prayers in ways that are almost too good to believe.
1:26:31
Speaker 1: When Peter arrived at Mary's house, he found believers gathered
1:26:35
Speaker 1: there praying for him. What happened next was almost comical.
1:26:39
Speaker 1: Acts twelve, thirteen fifteen describes the scene. Peter knocked at
1:26:43
Speaker 1: the outer entrance and a servant named Rhoda came to
1:26:47
Speaker 1: answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was
1:26:51
Speaker 1: so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed,
1:26:54
Speaker 1: Peter is at the door. You're out of your mind,
1:26:58
Speaker 1: they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so,
1:27:02
Speaker 1: they said it must be his angel. The believers had
1:27:06
Speaker 1: been praying for Peter's release, but when their prayers were answered,
1:27:09
Speaker 1: they couldn't believe it. Rhoda was so excited that she
1:27:13
Speaker 1: forgot to open the door, and when she told the
1:27:16
Speaker 1: others that Peter was there, they thought she was crazy.
1:27:19
Speaker 1: They even suggested that it might be Peter's angel. Apparently
1:27:23
Speaker 1: they found it easier to believe that Peter was dead
1:27:26
Speaker 1: and his angel was visiting them than to believe that
1:27:30
Speaker 1: God had actually freed him from prison. Acts twelve, sixteen
1:27:34
Speaker 1: seventeen shows what happened next. But Peter kept on knocking,
1:27:39
Speaker 1: and when they opened the door and saw him, they
1:27:41
Speaker 1: were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to
1:27:45
Speaker 1: be quiet, and described how the Lord had brought him
1:27:48
Speaker 1: out of prison. Tell James and the other brothers and
1:27:51
Speaker 1: sisters about this, he said, and then he left for
1:27:55
Speaker 1: another place. When they finally opened the door and saw
1:27:59
Speaker 1: Peter standing there, alive and free, they were amazed. Peter
1:28:04
Speaker 1: quickly told them what had happened and asked them to
1:28:06
Speaker 1: tell James, the brother of Jesus, who had become a
1:28:09
Speaker 1: leader in the Jerusalem Church, and the other believers. Then
1:28:13
Speaker 1: he left town, probably realizing that it wouldn't be safe
1:28:17
Speaker 1: for him to stay in Jerusalem. The next morning, there
1:28:20
Speaker 1: was chaos at the prison. Acts twelve, eighteen nineteen tells us.
1:28:25
Speaker 1: In the morning, there was no small commotion among the
1:28:27
Speaker 1: soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After Herod
1:28:31
Speaker 1: had a thorough search made for him and did not
1:28:33
Speaker 1: find him, he cross examined the guards and ordered that
1:28:37
Speaker 1: they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea
1:28:42
Speaker 1: and stayed there. Herod was furious that his most important
1:28:46
Speaker 1: prisoner had escaped. He interrogated the guards, but they had
1:28:50
Speaker 1: no explanation for what had happened. In his rage, he
1:28:54
Speaker 1: had them executed, even though they were not responsible for
1:28:57
Speaker 1: Peter's supernatural escape. This show who the kind of man
1:29:01
Speaker 1: Herod was cruel and quick to blame others for things
1:29:04
Speaker 1: beyond their control. But God wasn't finished dealing with Herod.
1:29:08
Speaker 1: The King had killed James, tried to kill Peter, and
1:29:12
Speaker 1: executed innocent guards. His pride and cruelty were about to
1:29:16
Speaker 1: catch up with him in a dramatic way. Acts twelve,
1:29:19
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three describes Herod's final downfall. He had been
1:29:24
Speaker 1: quarreling with the people of Tire and Sidon. They now
1:29:27
Speaker 1: joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing
1:29:33
Speaker 1: the support of Blastos, a trusted personal servant of the king,
1:29:37
Speaker 1: they asked for peace because they depended on the King's
1:29:40
Speaker 1: country for their food supply. On the appointed day, Herod,
1:29:45
Speaker 1: wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered
1:29:48
Speaker 1: a public address to the people. They shouted, this is
1:29:52
Speaker 1: the voice of a God, not of a man. Immediately,
1:29:57
Speaker 1: because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel
1:30:01
Speaker 1: of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten
1:30:04
Speaker 1: by worms and died. Herod was having a dispute with
1:30:07
Speaker 1: the cities of Tire and Sidon, and representatives from these
1:30:11
Speaker 1: cities came to make peace with him. On the day
1:30:13
Speaker 1: of the meeting, Herod dressed in his finest royal robes
1:30:17
Speaker 1: and gave a speech from his throne. The people, trying
1:30:20
Speaker 1: to flatter him and win his favor, shouted that he
1:30:23
Speaker 1: spoke like a God, not a man. This was Herod's
1:30:27
Speaker 1: fatal mistake. Instead of rejecting their worship and giving glory
1:30:31
Speaker 1: to God, he accepted their praise. The same God who
1:30:35
Speaker 1: had sent an angel to free Peter, now sent an
1:30:38
Speaker 1: angel to strike down Herod. The proud king who had
1:30:41
Speaker 1: thought he could destroy God's Church, was eaten by worms
1:30:45
Speaker 1: and died a horrible death. The contrast couldn't have been clearer. Peter,
1:30:51
Speaker 1: who was humble and gave glory to God, was miraculously
1:30:55
Speaker 1: delivered from death. Herod, who was proud and accepted worship
1:30:59
Speaker 1: that belonged only to God, was struck down and died
1:31:03
Speaker 1: in agony. Acts twelve twenty four gives us the final
1:31:06
Speaker 1: summary of this period. But the Word of God continued
1:31:10
Speaker 1: to spread and flourish. Despite persecution, imprisonment, and execution. The
1:31:17
Speaker 1: church kept growing. Herod's attempts to destroy it had failed completely,
1:31:22
Speaker 1: and God's kingdom continued to advance. This period in the
1:31:26
Speaker 1: church's history showed several important truths. First, following Jesus doesn't
1:31:31
Speaker 1: guarantee an easy life. James was killed while Peter was rescued,
1:31:35
Speaker 1: and both were faithful servants of God. Second, God is
1:31:40
Speaker 1: in control even when things look hopeless. He can open
1:31:44
Speaker 1: prison doors and strike down kings. Third, the Church is
1:31:48
Speaker 1: bigger than any individual. It continued to grow even when
1:31:52
Speaker 1: its leaders were killed or imprisoned. And finally, God will
1:31:56
Speaker 1: judge those who oppose his people and his purposes. Its
1:32:00
Speaker 1: pride led to his destruction. The Church had survived its
1:32:04
Speaker 1: first major political persecution and had learned that no earthly
1:32:08
Speaker 1: power could stop the spread of the Gospel. The stage
1:32:12
Speaker 1: was now set for the next phase of God's plan,
1:32:15
Speaker 1: sending the Gospel to the ends of the earth through
1:32:18
Speaker 1: the missionary journeys that were about to begin. The church
1:32:22
Speaker 1: in Antioch had become a powerful center of Christian activity,
1:32:27
Speaker 1: with believers from many different backgrounds worshiping together. It was
1:32:32
Speaker 1: here that God chose to launch the first organized missionary
1:32:35
Speaker 1: effort to carry the Gospel beyond the immediate region around Jerusalem.
1:32:41
Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit was about to use this diverse church
1:32:45
Speaker 1: to change the world acts thirteen one three tells us
1:32:49
Speaker 1: how it all began. Now in the church at Antioch,
1:32:53
Speaker 1: there were prophets and teachers Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius
1:32:58
Speaker 1: of Serene, Manighan, who had been brought up with Herod
1:33:02
Speaker 1: the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord
1:33:06
Speaker 1: and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me,
1:33:11
Speaker 1: Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have
1:33:13
Speaker 1: called them. So, after they had fasted and prayed, they
1:33:17
Speaker 1: placed their hands on them and sent them off. This
1:33:21
Speaker 1: was a remarkable moment in church history. The Holy Spirits
1:33:25
Speaker 1: specifically called Barnabas and Saul for missionary work, and the
1:33:29
Speaker 1: Church responded by commissioning them through prayer and fasting. Notice
1:33:35
Speaker 1: the diversity of the leadership team. They came from different
1:33:38
Speaker 1: countries and backgrounds, showing that God's Kingdom truly was for
1:33:43
Speaker 1: all people. The two missionaries, along with John Mark as
1:33:48
Speaker 1: their helper, sailed first to the island of Cyprus, which
1:33:52
Speaker 1: was Barnabas's homeland. Acts thirteen four to five describes their arrival.
1:33:57
Speaker 1: The two of them, sent on their way by the
1:34:00
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there
1:34:04
Speaker 1: to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the
1:34:08
Speaker 1: Word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with
1:34:12
Speaker 1: them as their helper. Their strategy was clear. They went
1:34:16
Speaker 1: to the synagogues first, where they could find people who
1:34:19
Speaker 1: already knew the Hebrew scriptures and were expecting a Messiah.
1:34:24
Speaker 1: This approach would become Paul's standard method throughout his missionary journeys.
1:34:28
Speaker 1: As they traveled across Cyprus, they encountered both success and opposition.
1:34:34
Speaker 1: Acts thirteen six to eight describes a significant confrontation. They
1:34:39
Speaker 1: traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.
1:34:43
Speaker 1: There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named
1:34:46
Speaker 1: bar Jesus, who was an attendant of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus.
1:34:51
Speaker 1: The Proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul
1:34:56
Speaker 1: because he wanted to hear the word of God. But
1:34:59
Speaker 1: Elimus the sorcerer, for that is what his name means,
1:35:03
Speaker 1: opposed them and tried to turn the Proconsul from the faith.
1:35:08
Speaker 1: Sergius Paulus was the Roman governor of Cyprus, and he
1:35:12
Speaker 1: was genuinely interested in hearing about Jesus, but bar Jesus,
1:35:17
Speaker 1: also called Elamus, was trying to prevent him from believing this.
1:35:21
Speaker 1: Sorcerer saw the missionaries as a threat to his influence
1:35:24
Speaker 1: over the governor. Paul's response was swift and powerful. Acts
1:35:29
Speaker 1: thirteen nine to eleven records what happened. Then Saul, who
1:35:34
Speaker 1: was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked
1:35:38
Speaker 1: straight at Illymus and said, you are a child of
1:35:42
Speaker 1: the devil and an enemy of everything that is right.
1:35:45
Speaker 1: You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.
1:35:48
Speaker 1: Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord.
1:35:52
Speaker 1: Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You
1:35:55
Speaker 1: are going to be blind for a time, not even
1:35:58
Speaker 1: able to see the light of the sun. Immediately, mist
1:36:02
Speaker 1: and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking
1:36:06
Speaker 1: some one to lead him by the hand. This is
1:36:08
Speaker 1: the first time Luke calls Saul by his Roman name Paul,
1:36:12
Speaker 1: which he would use from this point forward. The miracle
1:36:14
Speaker 1: of Eleimus being struck blind was similar to what had
1:36:18
Speaker 1: happened to Paul himself on the road to Damascus, showing
1:36:21
Speaker 1: God's power over those who oppose his message. The result
1:36:26
Speaker 1: was exactly what God intended. Acts thirteen twelve tells us
1:36:31
Speaker 1: when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for
1:36:34
Speaker 1: he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. The
1:36:38
Speaker 1: Roman governor became a believer, showing that the Gospel was
1:36:42
Speaker 1: penetrating even the highest levels of Roman society. From Cyprus,
1:36:49
Speaker 1: Paul and Barnabas sailed to the mainland and traveled to
1:36:52
Speaker 1: Pisidian Antioch, a different city from the Antioch where they
1:36:57
Speaker 1: had been commissioned. Here Paul preached one of his most
1:37:00
Speaker 1: important sermons, recorded in Acts thirteen to sixteen forty one.
1:37:05
Speaker 1: He traced the history of Israel from the time in
1:37:07
Speaker 1: Egypt through King David, then proclaimed that Jesus was the
1:37:11
Speaker 1: promised descendant of David, who had been raised from the dead.
1:37:14
Speaker 1: The response was mixed but encouraging. Acts thirteen forty two
1:37:18
Speaker 1: to forty four describes what happened as Paul and Barnabas
1:37:23
Speaker 1: were leaving the synagogue. The people invited them to speak
1:37:26
Speaker 1: further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the
1:37:30
Speaker 1: congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts
1:37:35
Speaker 1: to Judaism followed. Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them
1:37:39
Speaker 1: and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
1:37:42
Speaker 1: On the next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to
1:37:45
Speaker 1: hear the word of the Lord. The interest was so
1:37:48
Speaker 1: great that almost the entire city came to hear them
1:37:52
Speaker 1: the following week. But this success also created problems. Acts
1:37:56
Speaker 1: thirteen forty five forty six tells us when the Jews
1:38:00
Speaker 1: saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began
1:38:04
Speaker 1: to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.
1:38:07
Speaker 1: Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly, we had to
1:38:11
Speaker 1: speak the word of God to you first. Since you
1:38:13
Speaker 1: reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life,
1:38:18
Speaker 1: we now turn to the gentiles. This became a pattern
1:38:23
Speaker 1: throughout Paul's ministry, initial interest from both Jews and Gentiles,
1:38:28
Speaker 1: followed by jealousy and opposition from some Jewish leaders, leading
1:38:32
Speaker 1: to a greater focus on reaching gentiles. Paul quoted from
1:38:36
Speaker 1: Isaiah forty nine to six to justify this strategy. I
1:38:40
Speaker 1: have made you a light for the gentiles, that you
1:38:43
Speaker 1: may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. The
1:38:46
Speaker 1: results among the gentiles were remarkable. Acts thirteen forty eight
1:38:52
Speaker 1: forty nine reports when the Gentiles heard this, they were
1:38:57
Speaker 1: glad and honored the word of the Lord, and all
1:39:00
Speaker 1: who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of
1:39:04
Speaker 1: the Lord spread through the whole region. Many gentiles believed,
1:39:09
Speaker 1: and the Gospel spread throughout the entire area, but opposition
1:39:13
Speaker 1: continued to grow. Acts thirteen fifty fifty two describes how
1:39:19
Speaker 1: the missionaries were forced to leave, but the Jewish leaders
1:39:23
Speaker 1: incited the god fearing women of high standing and the
1:39:26
Speaker 1: leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against
1:39:30
Speaker 1: Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region. So
1:39:33
Speaker 1: they shook the dust off their feet as a warning
1:39:36
Speaker 1: to them and went to Iconium, and the disciples were
1:39:40
Speaker 1: filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Even though
1:39:43
Speaker 1: they were driven out of the city, Paul and Barnabas
1:39:46
Speaker 1: left behind a group of joyful believers who were filled
1:39:51
Speaker 1: with the Holy Spirit. The persecution couldn't destroy what God
1:39:56
Speaker 1: had started. In Iconium, they experienced similar success and opposition.
1:40:04
Speaker 1: Acts fourteen one to three tells us a Iconium, Paul
1:40:08
Speaker 1: and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There
1:40:11
Speaker 1: they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews
1:40:14
Speaker 1: and Greeks believed. But the Jews, who refused to believe,
1:40:18
Speaker 1: stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against
1:40:22
Speaker 1: the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there
1:40:26
Speaker 1: speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed his message of
1:40:30
Speaker 1: grace by enabling in them to perform signs and wonders
1:40:34
Speaker 1: despite opposition. They stayed for a considerable time and saw
1:40:39
Speaker 1: God confirm their message through miracles, but eventually the division
1:40:43
Speaker 1: in the city became so great that they had to flee.
1:40:46
Speaker 1: Acts fourteen five six describes their escape. There was a
1:40:51
Speaker 1: plot of foot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with
1:40:54
Speaker 1: their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them, but they
1:40:57
Speaker 1: found out about it and fled to the Likeaonian cities
1:41:01
Speaker 1: of Listra and Derbe, and to the surrounding country. In Listra,
1:41:05
Speaker 1: Paul performed a remarkable miracle that led to an unexpected problem.
1:41:10
Speaker 1: Acts fourteen eight two ten tells the story. In Listra,
1:41:15
Speaker 1: there sat a man who was lame. He had been
1:41:17
Speaker 1: that way from birth and had never walked. He listened
1:41:20
Speaker 1: to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him,
1:41:24
Speaker 1: saw that he had faith to be healed, and called out,
1:41:26
Speaker 1: stand up on your feet. At that, the man jumped
1:41:30
Speaker 1: up and began to walk. D healing was so dramatic
1:41:37
Speaker 1: that the crowd thought Paul and Barnabas were gods. Acts
1:41:40
Speaker 1: fourteen eleven to thirteen describes their reaction. When the crowds
1:41:45
Speaker 1: saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language,
1:41:50
Speaker 1: the gods have come down to us in human form.
1:41:53
Speaker 1: Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because
1:41:57
Speaker 1: he was the chief speaker the price east of Zeus,
1:42:00
Speaker 1: whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and
1:42:04
Speaker 1: wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd
1:42:07
Speaker 1: wanted to offer sacrifices to them. Paul and Barnabas were
1:42:10
Speaker 1: horrified by this response. Acts fourteen fourteen Tut fifteen shows
1:42:15
Speaker 1: their reaction. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard
1:42:19
Speaker 1: of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into
1:42:22
Speaker 1: the crowd, shouting, friends, why are you doing this? We
1:42:26
Speaker 1: too are only human like you. We are bringing you
1:42:29
Speaker 1: good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things
1:42:33
Speaker 1: to the Living God who made the heavens and the
1:42:36
Speaker 1: earth and the sea and everything in them. They desperately
1:42:41
Speaker 1: tried to stop the people from worshiping them, explaining that
1:42:45
Speaker 1: they were just ordinary men bringing a message about the
1:42:49
Speaker 1: true God. But the crowd was so excited that they
1:42:53
Speaker 1: could barely restrain them from offering sacrifices. Then the situation
1:42:59
Speaker 1: completely reversed. Acts fourteen, nineteen twenty tells us what happened.
1:43:04
Speaker 1: Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won
1:43:08
Speaker 1: the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside
1:43:12
Speaker 1: the city, thinking he was dead, but after the disciples
1:43:15
Speaker 1: had gathered around him, he got up and went back
1:43:18
Speaker 1: into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left
1:43:21
Speaker 1: for Durbom. The same crowd that had wanted to worship
1:43:24
Speaker 1: Paul as a god now stoned him and left him
1:43:27
Speaker 1: for dead. This shows how quickly public opinion can change
1:43:31
Speaker 1: and how dangerous missionary work could be. But God protected
1:43:35
Speaker 1: Paul and he was able to get up and continue
1:43:38
Speaker 1: his ministry. After preaching in Derby and making many disciples,
1:43:43
Speaker 1: Paul and Barnabas made the dangerous decision to return through
1:43:47
Speaker 1: all the cities where they had been persecuted. Acts fourteen
1:43:50
Speaker 1: twenty one to twenty three explains why they preached the
1:43:54
Speaker 1: gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples.
1:43:58
Speaker 1: Then they returned to Little extra Iconium and Antioch, strengthening
1:44:03
Speaker 1: the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.
1:44:07
Speaker 1: We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom
1:44:11
Speaker 1: of God, they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for
1:44:16
Speaker 1: them in each church, and with prayer and fasting, committed
1:44:19
Speaker 1: them to the Lord in whom they had put their trust.
1:44:23
Speaker 1: They risked their lives to return and strengthen the new believers,
1:44:28
Speaker 1: appointing leaders and encouraging them to stay faithful despite persecution.
1:44:33
Speaker 1: This shows the heart of true missionary work, not just
1:44:37
Speaker 1: winning converts, but building strong churches that can survive and grow. Finally,
1:44:43
Speaker 1: they returned to Antioch, where their journey had begun. Acts
1:44:46
Speaker 1: fourteen twenty six town twenty eight describes their homecoming from Attalia.
1:44:52
Speaker 1: They sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed
1:44:56
Speaker 1: to the grace of God for the work they had
1:44:58
Speaker 1: now completed. On a ride there, they gathered the church
1:45:02
Speaker 1: together and reported all that God had done through them,
1:45:05
Speaker 1: and how he had opened a door of faith to
1:45:07
Speaker 1: the Gentiles, and they stayed there a long time with
1:45:12
Speaker 1: the disciples. The first missionary journey was complete, and it
1:45:17
Speaker 1: had been a remarkable success, despite persecution and hardship. Churches
1:45:22
Speaker 1: had been planted throughout the region, and many Gentiles had
1:45:26
Speaker 1: come to faith. The door to the non Jewish world
1:45:29
Speaker 1: had been opened wide. The success of Paul and Barnabas's
1:45:33
Speaker 1: missionary work among the Gentiles created a serious theological crisis
1:45:39
Speaker 1: in the early Church. Jewish believers had always assumed that
1:45:43
Speaker 1: Gentiles would need to become Jews first before they could
1:45:48
Speaker 1: become Christians. But now hundreds of Gentiles were believing in
1:45:52
Speaker 1: Jesus without being circumcised or following Jewish laws, and the
1:45:56
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit was clearly working among them. The conflict came
1:45:59
Speaker 1: Toad when some Jewish believers came to Antioch and began
1:46:04
Speaker 1: teaching the Gentile converts that they needed to be circumcised.
1:46:08
Speaker 1: Acts fifteen one to two describes the problem. Certain people
1:46:12
Speaker 1: came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers.
1:46:16
Speaker 1: Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses,
1:46:20
Speaker 1: you cannot be saved. This brought Paul and Barnabas into
1:46:24
Speaker 1: sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas
1:46:27
Speaker 1: were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up
1:46:30
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
1:46:35
Speaker 1: This was not a minor disagreement about church practice. It
1:46:39
Speaker 1: was a fundamental question about the nature of salvation. Were
1:46:43
Speaker 1: gentiles required to become Jews in order to be saved
1:46:47
Speaker 1: or could they be saved by faith in Jesus alone.
1:46:51
Speaker 1: The answer would determine the future direction of Christianity. When
1:46:55
Speaker 1: Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem, they were warmly received
1:46:59
Speaker 1: by the Church and the apostles. Acts fifteen three four
1:47:03
Speaker 1: tells us the Church sent them on their way, and
1:47:07
Speaker 1: as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how
1:47:12
Speaker 1: the gentiles had been converted. This news made all the
1:47:16
Speaker 1: believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were
1:47:20
Speaker 1: welcomed by the Church and the apostles and elders, to
1:47:23
Speaker 1: whom they reported everything God had done through them, But
1:47:27
Speaker 1: not everyone was pleased with their report. Acts fifteen five
1:47:31
Speaker 1: describes the opposition. Then some of the believers who belonged
1:47:35
Speaker 1: to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said
1:47:38
Speaker 1: the gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the
1:47:42
Speaker 1: law of Moses. These were Jewish believers who had been
1:47:47
Speaker 1: Pharisees before their conversion, and they couldn't accept that gentiles
1:47:51
Speaker 1: could be saved without following Jewish law. The apostles and
1:47:55
Speaker 1: elders met to consider this question carefully. Fifteen six to
1:48:01
Speaker 1: seven sets the scene. The apostles and elders met to
1:48:06
Speaker 1: consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and
1:48:10
Speaker 1: addressed them, brothers, you know that some time ago God
1:48:15
Speaker 1: made a choice among you that the gentiles might hear
1:48:18
Speaker 1: from my lips the message of the Gospel and believe.
1:48:23
Speaker 1: Peter reminded them of his experience with Cornelius and how
1:48:27
Speaker 1: God had clearly shown that he accepted gentiles without requiring
1:48:31
Speaker 1: them to be circumcised. First Acts fifteen eight tot eleven
1:48:35
Speaker 1: records his powerful argument, God, who knows the heart, showed
1:48:39
Speaker 1: that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,
1:48:43
Speaker 1: just as he did to us. He did not discriminate
1:48:46
Speaker 1: between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now, then,
1:48:51
Speaker 1: why do you try to test God by putting on
1:48:53
Speaker 1: the necks of gentiles a yoke that neither we nor
1:48:57
Speaker 1: our ancestors have been able to bear. No, Oh, we
1:49:00
Speaker 1: believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus
1:49:03
Speaker 1: that we are saved, just as they are. Peter's argument
1:49:08
Speaker 1: was brilliant. God himself had shown that he accepted Gentiles
1:49:12
Speaker 1: by giving them the Holy Spirit. To require circumcision would
1:49:16
Speaker 1: be to test God by adding requirements that he hadn't imposed.
1:49:21
Speaker 1: Even Jews were saved by grace through faith, not by
1:49:25
Speaker 1: keeping the law perfectly. Then Paul and Barnabas told their story.
1:49:29
Speaker 1: Acts fifteen twelve tells us the whole assembly became silent
1:49:33
Speaker 1: as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the
1:49:37
Speaker 1: signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
1:49:42
Speaker 1: The miracles God had performed among the Gentiles were clear
1:49:45
Speaker 1: evidence that He was working among them. Finally, James, the
1:49:51
Speaker 1: brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem Church, gave
1:49:55
Speaker 1: his verdict. Acts fifteen thirteen eighteen records his speech. When
1:50:00
Speaker 1: they finished, James spoke up, brothers, he said, listen to me.
1:50:05
Speaker 1: Simon has described to us how God first intervened to
1:50:09
Speaker 1: choose a people for his name from the gentiles. The
1:50:13
Speaker 1: words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as
1:50:16
Speaker 1: it is written. After this, I will return and rebuild
1:50:20
Speaker 1: David's fallen tent its ruins. I will rebuild, and I
1:50:25
Speaker 1: will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek
1:50:28
Speaker 1: the Lord, even all the gentiles who bear my name,
1:50:32
Speaker 1: says the Lord who does these things things known from
1:50:36
Speaker 1: long ago. James showed that the inclusion of gentiles had
1:50:41
Speaker 1: been predicted by the Old Testament prophets. This wasn't a
1:50:45
Speaker 1: new idea, it was part of God's plan from the beginning.
1:50:49
Speaker 1: Acts fifteen, nineteen twenty one gives James's conclusion. It is
1:50:54
Speaker 1: my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult
1:50:57
Speaker 1: for the gentiles who are turning to God instead dead.
1:51:00
Speaker 1: We should write to them, telling them to abstain from
1:51:04
Speaker 1: food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat
1:51:09
Speaker 1: of strangled animals, and from blood. For the Law of
1:51:12
Speaker 1: Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times,
1:51:16
Speaker 1: and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. James's
1:51:20
Speaker 1: decision was wise and practical. Gentiles didn't need to be
1:51:24
Speaker 1: circumcised or keep the entire Law of Moses, but they
1:51:28
Speaker 1: should avoid certain practices that would be particularly offensive to
1:51:32
Speaker 1: Jewish believers or harmful to their own spiritual lives. The
1:51:38
Speaker 1: council wrote a letter explaining their decision. Acts fifteen twenty
1:51:42
Speaker 1: three to twenty nine contains the text the Apostles and Elders,
1:51:46
Speaker 1: your brothers, to the gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. Greetings,
1:51:53
Speaker 1: we have heard that some went out from us without
1:51:55
Speaker 1: our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what
1:52:00
Speaker 1: they said. So we all agreed to choose some of
1:52:03
Speaker 1: our men and send them to you, with our dear
1:52:05
Speaker 1: friends Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives
1:52:09
Speaker 1: for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we
1:52:13
Speaker 1: are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of
1:52:16
Speaker 1: mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the
1:52:19
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with
1:52:21
Speaker 1: anything beyond the following requirements. You are to abstain from
1:52:27
Speaker 1: food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of
1:52:31
Speaker 1: strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well
1:52:35
Speaker 1: to avoid these things farewell. Notice that they said it
1:52:40
Speaker 1: seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. They
1:52:44
Speaker 1: recognized that their decision was guided by God's Spirit, not
1:52:47
Speaker 1: just human wisdom. When the letter reached Antioch, the response
1:52:52
Speaker 1: was overwhelmingly positive. Acts fifteen thirty thirty one tells us,
1:52:57
Speaker 1: so the men were sent off and went down to Antio,
1:53:00
Speaker 1: where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
1:53:03
Speaker 1: The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
1:53:07
Speaker 1: The Jerusalem Council had settled one of the most important
1:53:11
Speaker 1: questions in church history. Christianity was officially recognized as being
1:53:16
Speaker 1: for all people, not just Jews. The gospel could spread
1:53:21
Speaker 1: to every nation without requiring converts to first become Jewish.
1:53:25
Speaker 1: This decision opened the door for Christianity to become a
1:53:29
Speaker 1: truly global religion. After the Jerusalem Council, Paul was eager
1:53:34
Speaker 1: to continue his missionary work. He suggested to Barnabas that
1:53:39
Speaker 1: they returned to visit the churches they had planted on
1:53:43
Speaker 1: their first journey, but a disagreement arose that led to
1:53:47
Speaker 1: a permanent separation between these two longtime partners. Acts fifteen
1:53:53
Speaker 1: thirty six to thirty nine describes what happened. Some time later,
1:53:58
Speaker 1: Paul said to Barnabas, let us go back and visit
1:54:01
Speaker 1: the believers in all the towns where we preached the
1:54:04
Speaker 1: word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.
1:54:07
Speaker 1: Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them,
1:54:11
Speaker 1: but Paul did not think it wise to take him
1:54:14
Speaker 1: because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not
1:54:17
Speaker 1: continued with them in the work. They had such a
1:54:20
Speaker 1: sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and
1:54:26
Speaker 1: sailed for Cyprus. John Mark had abandoned them during their
1:54:30
Speaker 1: first journey, and Paul didn't trust him to be reliable
1:54:33
Speaker 1: this time. Barnabas, true to his encouraging nature, wanted to
1:54:37
Speaker 1: give Mark a second chance. Neither man was necessarily wrong,
1:54:41
Speaker 1: but they couldn't agree, so they went separate ways. Acts
1:54:46
Speaker 1: fifteen forty forty one tells us what Paul did. But
1:54:51
Speaker 1: Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to
1:54:55
Speaker 1: the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia,
1:54:59
Speaker 1: strengthening the Paul chose Silas, one of the leaders from
1:55:03
Speaker 1: Jerusalem who had helped deliver the council's letter as his
1:55:07
Speaker 1: new partner. As they traveled through the region, they revisited
1:55:11
Speaker 1: the churches Paul had planted with Barnabas. In Listre they
1:55:15
Speaker 1: met a young believer who would become one of Paul's
1:55:18
Speaker 1: closest associates. Acts sixteen one, Ti three introduces him. Paul
1:55:25
Speaker 1: came to Durbey and then to Lystra, where a disciple
1:55:28
Speaker 1: named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a Believer,
1:55:32
Speaker 1: but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra
1:55:36
Speaker 1: and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take
1:55:40
Speaker 1: him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because
1:55:43
Speaker 1: of the Jews who lived in that area, for they
1:55:46
Speaker 1: all knew that his father was a Greek. Timothy had
1:55:50
Speaker 1: a Jewish mother and Greek father, making his religious status
1:55:54
Speaker 1: unclear to many Jews. Paul had Timothy circumcised not because
1:56:00
Speaker 1: it was required for salvation, but to remove a potential
1:56:03
Speaker 1: barrier to ministry among Jews. This shows Paul's practical wisdom.
1:56:10
Speaker 1: He was willing to make cultural accommodations when they didn't
1:56:14
Speaker 1: compromise the Gospel. As they traveled, they tried to enter
1:56:18
Speaker 1: Asia Minor to preach, but God had other plans. Acts
1:56:22
Speaker 1: sixteen sixty eight describes their frustrated attempts. Paul and his
1:56:26
Speaker 1: companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galicia, having
1:56:31
Speaker 1: been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word
1:56:33
Speaker 1: in the province of Asia. When they came to the
1:56:36
Speaker 1: border of Mesia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the
1:56:40
Speaker 1: Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to, so they
1:56:43
Speaker 1: passed by Mesia and went down to Troas God was
1:56:47
Speaker 1: directing their steps even through closed doors. He wanted them
1:56:51
Speaker 1: to go west to Europe, not east into Asia. Introus,
1:56:55
Speaker 1: Paul received a vision that would change the course of
1:56:58
Speaker 1: world history. Acts sixteen nine to ten describes this crucial moment.
1:57:04
Speaker 1: During the night, Paul had a vision of a man
1:57:06
Speaker 1: of Macedonia standing and begging him come over to Macedonia
1:57:10
Speaker 1: and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we
1:57:14
Speaker 1: got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that
1:57:17
Speaker 1: God had called us to preach the Gospel to them.
1:57:20
Speaker 1: This is the first time Luke uses we in his narrative,
1:57:24
Speaker 1: indicating that he joined Paul's team at this point. The
1:57:28
Speaker 1: vision of the Macedonian man was God's call to bring
1:57:32
Speaker 1: the Gospel to Europe for the first time. They sailed
1:57:35
Speaker 1: to Macedonia and went to Philippi, a major Roman city.
1:57:40
Speaker 1: Act sixteen eleven to thirteen describes their arrival from troas
1:57:45
Speaker 1: we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace,
1:57:49
Speaker 1: and the next day we went on to Neneapolis. From
1:57:52
Speaker 1: there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the
1:57:55
Speaker 1: leading city of that district of Macedonia, and we stayed
1:57:59
Speaker 1: there several days. On the Sabbath, we went outside the
1:58:03
Speaker 1: city gate to the river, where we expected to find
1:58:06
Speaker 1: a place of prayer. We sat down and began to
1:58:10
Speaker 1: speak to the women who had gathered there. Philippi apparently
1:58:14
Speaker 1: didn't have a synagogue, so they found a group of
1:58:17
Speaker 1: women who met by the river for prayer. Among them
1:58:21
Speaker 1: was a woman who would become the first recorded Christian
1:58:24
Speaker 1: convert in Europe. Acts sixteen fourteen to fifteen tells her story.
1:58:32
Speaker 1: One of those listening was a woman from the city
1:58:34
Speaker 1: of Thyatia named Lydia. A dealer in purple cloth, she
1:58:39
Speaker 1: was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart
1:58:42
Speaker 1: to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members
1:58:46
Speaker 1: of her household were baptized. She invited us to her home.
1:58:50
Speaker 1: If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said,
1:58:54
Speaker 1: come and stay at my house, and she persuaded us.
1:58:59
Speaker 1: Lydia as a successful business woman who dealt in expensive
1:59:03
Speaker 1: purple cloth. When she heard the gospel, God opened her
1:59:07
Speaker 1: heart to believe, and she and her entire household were baptized.
1:59:11
Speaker 1: She then insisted that Paul and his team stay in
1:59:14
Speaker 1: her home, showing the hospitality that would characterize many early Christians.
1:59:19
Speaker 1: But there ministry in Philippi soon led to trouble. Acts
1:59:24
Speaker 1: sixteen sixteen eighteen describes an encounter with a demon possessed girl.
1:59:29
Speaker 1: Once when we were going to the place of prayer,
1:59:32
Speaker 1: we were met by a female slave who had a
1:59:34
Speaker 1: spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a
1:59:39
Speaker 1: great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling.
1:59:41
Speaker 1: She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, these
1:59:44
Speaker 1: men are servants of the Most High God, who are
1:59:47
Speaker 1: telling you the way to be saved. She kept this
1:59:51
Speaker 1: up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that
1:59:54
Speaker 1: he turned around and said to the spirit, in the
1:59:57
Speaker 1: name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out
1:59:59
Speaker 1: of her. At that moment the spirit left her. The
2:00:03
Speaker 1: girl had been following them around shouting about who they were,
2:00:06
Speaker 1: even though what she said was true. Paul didn't want
2:00:09
Speaker 1: testimony from a demon. When he cast out the spirit,
2:00:12
Speaker 1: the girl was freed, but her owners were furious because
2:00:16
Speaker 1: they had lost their source of income. Acts sixteen, nineteen
2:00:20
Speaker 1: twenty one shows their reaction. When her owners realized that
2:00:24
Speaker 1: their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul
2:00:28
Speaker 1: and Silas and dragged them into the market place to
2:00:31
Speaker 1: face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said,
2:00:35
Speaker 1: these men are Jews and are throwing our city into
2:00:39
Speaker 1: an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for US Romans to
2:00:43
Speaker 1: accept or practice. The real issue was money. They were
2:00:48
Speaker 1: angry about losing their profitable fortune teller, but they made
2:00:52
Speaker 1: it sound like a matter of public order and Roman law.
2:00:56
Speaker 1: The crowd joined in the attack, and the magistrates had
2:01:00
Speaker 1: Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into prison. Acts Sixteen
2:01:05
Speaker 1: twenty two to twenty four describes their harsh treatment. The
2:01:09
Speaker 1: crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and
2:01:13
Speaker 1: the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.
2:01:17
Speaker 1: After they had been severely flogged. They were thrown into prison,
2:01:21
Speaker 1: and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When
2:01:24
Speaker 1: he received these orders, he put them in the inner
2:01:27
Speaker 1: cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. Instead of
2:01:30
Speaker 1: being discouraged by their suffering, Paul and Silas did something remarkable.
2:01:35
Speaker 1: Acts sixteen twenty five tells us about midnight, Paul and
2:01:39
Speaker 1: Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
2:01:42
Speaker 1: other prisoners were listening to them, even with their backs
2:01:45
Speaker 1: bleeding and their feet in stocks. They were praising God
2:01:49
Speaker 1: and encouraging each other. Then God intervened in a dramatic way.
2:01:54
Speaker 1: Acts sixteen twenty six two to twenty eight describes what happened. Suddenly,
2:01:58
Speaker 1: there was such a violence earthquake that the foundations of
2:02:02
Speaker 1: the prison were shaken at once. All the prison doors
2:02:05
Speaker 1: flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up,
2:02:11
Speaker 1: and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew
2:02:14
Speaker 1: his sword and was about to kill himself because he
2:02:17
Speaker 1: thought the prisoners had escaped, but Paul shouted, don't harm yourself.
2:02:21
Speaker 1: We are all here. The earthquake was so powerful that
2:02:25
Speaker 1: it opened all the doors and broke everyone's chains. The
2:02:28
Speaker 1: jailer assumed the prisoners had escaped and was about to
2:02:31
Speaker 1: kill himself rather than face the punishment for losing his prisoners,
2:02:36
Speaker 1: but Paul stopped him, showing that he and the other
2:02:39
Speaker 1: prisoners were still there. Acts sixteen twenty nine to thirty
2:02:43
Speaker 1: one shows the jailer's response. The jailer called for lights,
2:02:48
Speaker 1: rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He
2:02:52
Speaker 1: then brought them out and asked, sirs, what must I
2:02:55
Speaker 1: do to be saved? They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus,
2:03:00
Speaker 1: and you will be saved, you and your household. The
2:03:04
Speaker 1: jailer had seen God's power and wanted to know how
2:03:07
Speaker 1: to be saved. Paul and Silas gave him the simple answer,
2:03:11
Speaker 1: believe in Jesus. They spent the rest of the night
2:03:15
Speaker 1: explaining the Gospel to him and his family. Acts sixteen
2:03:20
Speaker 1: thirty two thirty four describes the beautiful result. Then they
2:03:25
Speaker 1: spoke the word of the Lord to him and to
2:03:28
Speaker 1: all the others in his house at that hour of
2:03:31
Speaker 1: the night. The jailer took them and washed their wounds.
2:03:36
Speaker 1: Then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The
2:03:40
Speaker 1: jailer brought them into his house and set a meal
2:03:42
Speaker 1: before them. He was filled with joy because he had
2:03:46
Speaker 1: come to believe in God. He and his whole household.
2:03:50
Speaker 1: The same man who had put them in stocks, was
2:03:53
Speaker 1: now washing their wounds and feeding them. His entire family
2:03:57
Speaker 1: believed and were baptized that very night. Joy filled the
2:04:01
Speaker 1: house as they celebrated their new faith together. The next morning,
2:04:05
Speaker 1: the magistrates sent orders to release Paul and Silas, probably
2:04:10
Speaker 1: hoping to quietly end the incident, but Paul had a
2:04:14
Speaker 1: surprise for them. Acts sixteen thirty five thirty seven tells us.
2:04:18
Speaker 1: When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to
2:04:21
Speaker 1: the jailer with the order release those men. The jailer
2:04:25
Speaker 1: told Paul, the magistrates have ordered that you and Silas
2:04:29
Speaker 1: be released. Now you can leave, go in peace. But
2:04:33
Speaker 1: Paul said to the officers, they beat us publicly without
2:04:37
Speaker 1: a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw
2:04:40
Speaker 1: us into prison. And now do they want to get
2:04:43
Speaker 1: rid of us quietly? No, let them come themselves and
2:04:47
Speaker 1: escort us out. Paul revealed that he and Silas were
2:04:52
Speaker 1: Roman citizens, which meant they had been illegally beaten and imprisoned.
2:04:57
Speaker 1: Without a trial. This was a serious violation of Roman
2:05:00
Speaker 1: law that could have severe consequences for the magistrates. Acts
2:05:06
Speaker 1: sixteen thirty eight forty describes the magistrate's frightened response. The
2:05:12
Speaker 1: officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard
2:05:16
Speaker 1: that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.
2:05:20
Speaker 1: They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison,
2:05:24
Speaker 1: requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas
2:05:28
Speaker 1: came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house
2:05:31
Speaker 1: where they met with the believers and encouraged them. Then
2:05:35
Speaker 1: they left. The magistrates were terrified when they learned they
2:05:39
Speaker 1: had illegally treated Roman citizens. They came personally to apologize
2:05:44
Speaker 1: and escort them out of prison, then asked them to
2:05:47
Speaker 1: leave the city. Paul and Silas visited the believers one
2:05:51
Speaker 1: more time to encourage them before leaving. The church in
2:05:55
Speaker 1: Philippi would become one of Paul's most beloved and faithful congregateations,
2:06:00
Speaker 1: supporting his ministry financially and spiritually for years to come.
2:06:05
Speaker 1: What had started with opposition and imprisonment had resulted in
2:06:09
Speaker 1: a strong church that included people from very different backgrounds. Lydia,
2:06:14
Speaker 1: the business woman, the jailer and his family, and others
2:06:18
Speaker 1: who had come to faith from Philippi. Paul and his
2:06:23
Speaker 1: team continued their journey through Macedonia and Greece. They preached
2:06:28
Speaker 1: in Thessalonica and Berea, where they saw many people believe,
2:06:32
Speaker 1: but also faced continued opposition from jealous Jewish leaders. Eventually,
2:06:38
Speaker 1: Paul made his way to Athens, the intellectual center of
2:06:41
Speaker 1: the Greek world, where he preached his famous sermon at
2:06:45
Speaker 1: the Areopagus. But it was in Corinth, a major commercial city,
2:06:50
Speaker 1: that Paul would spend an extended period and establish one
2:06:53
Speaker 1: of his most important churches. Acts eighteen one to three
2:06:57
Speaker 1: describes his arrival. After this, Paul left Athens and went
2:07:01
Speaker 1: to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a
2:07:05
Speaker 1: native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with
2:07:08
Speaker 1: his wife Priscilla. Because Claudius had ordered all Jews to
2:07:12
Speaker 1: leave Rome, Paul went to see them, and because he
2:07:16
Speaker 1: was a tent maker as they were, he stayed and
2:07:19
Speaker 1: worked with them. Achilla and Priscilla had been forced to
2:07:22
Speaker 1: leave Rome because Emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from
2:07:26
Speaker 1: the city. They were tent makers, the same trade that
2:07:30
Speaker 1: Paul had learned, so he stayed with them and worked
2:07:34
Speaker 1: to support himself. This was Paul's normal practice. He worked
2:07:39
Speaker 1: with his hands so he wouldn't be a financial burden
2:07:42
Speaker 1: on the churches he was planting. Acts eighteen four to
2:07:46
Speaker 1: six tells us about Paul's ministry strategy in Corinth. Every
2:07:51
Speaker 1: Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews
2:07:55
Speaker 1: and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul
2:07:59
Speaker 1: devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that
2:08:04
Speaker 1: Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed Paul and
2:08:09
Speaker 1: became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and
2:08:12
Speaker 1: said to them, your blood be on your own heads.
2:08:16
Speaker 1: I am innocent of it. From now on, I will
2:08:19
Speaker 1: go to the gentiles. Paul followed his usual pattern of
2:08:22
Speaker 1: starting in the synagogue, but when the Jewish leaders rejected
2:08:26
Speaker 1: his message and became hostile, he turned his focus to
2:08:30
Speaker 1: the gentiles. This wasn't because he didn't care about Jewish people,
2:08:35
Speaker 1: but because he recognized that God was opening doors among
2:08:39
Speaker 1: the gentiles. Paul found a strategic place to continue his ministry.
2:08:44
Speaker 1: Acts eighteen seven eight describes what happened. Then Paul left
2:08:49
Speaker 1: the synagogue and went next door to the house of
2:08:52
Speaker 1: Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader,
2:08:57
Speaker 1: and his entire household believed in the Lord, and many
2:09:00
Speaker 1: of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
2:09:04
Speaker 1: Paul moved his meetings to a house right next door
2:09:07
Speaker 1: to the synagogue, which must have been somewhat provocative, but
2:09:11
Speaker 1: the strategy worked. Even Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed,
2:09:15
Speaker 1: along with his entire household. Many other Corinthians also came
2:09:20
Speaker 1: to faith and were baptized. The success in Corinth was encouraging,
2:09:25
Speaker 1: but Paul faced the same fears and discouragement that any
2:09:28
Speaker 1: missionary would experience. God gave him a special vision to
2:09:32
Speaker 1: encourage him. Acts eighteen nine eleven records this important moment.
2:09:37
Speaker 1: One night, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision.
2:09:40
Speaker 1: Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do not be silent,
2:09:44
Speaker 1: for I am with you, and no one is going
2:09:47
Speaker 1: to attack and harm you, because I have many people
2:09:51
Speaker 1: in this city. So Paul stayed in Corinth for a
2:09:54
Speaker 1: year and a half, teaching them the word of God,
2:09:57
Speaker 1: God's promise of protection, and the assurance that he had
2:10:00
Speaker 1: many people in Corinth gave Paul the confidence to stay
2:10:04
Speaker 1: for eighteen months, longer than he had stayed anywhere else
2:10:09
Speaker 1: on his missionary journeys. This extended time allowed him to
2:10:13
Speaker 1: thoroughly ground the new believers in their faith. During his
2:10:17
Speaker 1: time in Corinth, Paul faced one more legal challenge. Acts
2:10:21
Speaker 1: eighteen twelve and seventeen describes what happened while Gallio was
2:10:26
Speaker 1: proconsul of Achiah. The Jews of Corinth made a united
2:10:30
Speaker 1: attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment.
2:10:34
Speaker 1: This fellow, they charged, is persuading the people to worship
2:10:37
Speaker 1: God in ways contrary to the law. Just as Paul
2:10:42
Speaker 1: was about to speak, Gallio said to them, if you
2:10:46
Speaker 1: Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime,
2:10:51
Speaker 1: it would be reasonable for me to listen to you.
2:10:54
Speaker 1: But since it involves questions about words and names and
2:10:57
Speaker 1: your own law, settle the matter. Your sae I will
2:11:01
Speaker 1: not be a judge of such things. So he drove
2:11:04
Speaker 1: them from the court. Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes,
2:11:09
Speaker 1: the synagogue leader, and beat him in front of the proconsul,
2:11:13
Speaker 1: and Gallio showed no concern whatever. Gallio, the Roman governor,
2:11:18
Speaker 1: refused to get involved in what he saw as a
2:11:20
Speaker 1: religious dispute among Jews. This was actually a significant legal
2:11:25
Speaker 1: precedent that protected Christianity as a legitimate religion throughout the
2:11:30
Speaker 1: Roman Empire. The Jewish leader's plan backfired and they ended
2:11:36
Speaker 1: up being driven from the court themselves. When Paul finally
2:11:40
Speaker 1: decided to leave Corinth, Aquilla and Priscilla went with him.
2:11:44
Speaker 1: Acts eighteenth, eighteen to nineteen tells us Paul stayed on
2:11:48
Speaker 1: in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers
2:11:52
Speaker 1: and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquilla.
2:11:57
Speaker 1: Before he sailed, he had his head cut off at
2:12:00
Speaker 1: century A because of a vow he had taken. They
2:12:05
Speaker 1: arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquilla. He
2:12:09
Speaker 1: himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. Meanwhile,
2:12:14
Speaker 1: in Ephesus, where Aquila and Priscilla had remained, an interesting
2:12:18
Speaker 1: situation was developing. Acts eighteen twenty four two to twenty
2:12:22
Speaker 1: six introduces us to Apollos. Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos,
2:12:27
Speaker 1: a native of Alexandria came to Ephesus. He was a
2:12:31
Speaker 1: learned man with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures. He
2:12:35
Speaker 1: had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and
2:12:38
Speaker 1: he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately.
2:12:43
Speaker 1: Though he knew only the baptism of John, he began
2:12:46
Speaker 1: to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquilla
2:12:50
Speaker 1: heard him, they invited him to their home and explained
2:12:54
Speaker 1: to him the way of God more adequately. Apollos was
2:12:57
Speaker 1: passionate and knowledgeable, but his understanding was incomplete. Priscilla and
2:13:03
Speaker 1: Aquila took him aside and taught him about baptism in
2:13:06
Speaker 1: the name of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2:13:09
Speaker 1: When Paul finally arrived in Ephesus, he found some disciples
2:13:14
Speaker 1: who had the same incomplete understanding. Acts nineteen one to
2:13:19
Speaker 1: seven describes this encounter. While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul
2:13:25
Speaker 1: took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.
2:13:29
Speaker 1: There he found some disciples and asked them, did you
2:13:32
Speaker 1: receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, no,
2:13:37
Speaker 1: we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.
2:13:40
Speaker 1: So Paul asked, then, what baptism did you receive John's baptism?
2:13:46
Speaker 1: They replied. Paul said, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
2:13:51
Speaker 1: He told the people to believe in the one coming
2:13:53
Speaker 1: after him, that is in Jesus. On hearing this, they
2:13:58
Speaker 1: were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When
2:14:01
Speaker 1: Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came
2:14:05
Speaker 1: on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There
2:14:09
Speaker 1: were about twelve men in all. Paul spent over two
2:14:12
Speaker 1: years in Ephesus, and the results were extraordinary. Acts nineteen
2:14:17
Speaker 1: eight to ten tells us Paul entered the synagogue and
2:14:21
Speaker 1: spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the
2:14:24
Speaker 1: Kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate. They
2:14:28
Speaker 1: refused to believe and publicly maligned the way, so Paul
2:14:32
Speaker 1: left them. He took the disciples with him and had
2:14:36
Speaker 1: discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went
2:14:40
Speaker 1: on for two years, so that all the Jews and
2:14:43
Speaker 1: Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the
2:14:46
Speaker 1: word of the Lord. The revival in Ephesus was so
2:14:50
Speaker 1: powerful that miracles became commonplace. Acts nineteen eleven to twelve
2:14:55
Speaker 1: describes these extraordinary events. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
2:15:00
Speaker 1: so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him
2:15:04
Speaker 1: were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured
2:15:07
Speaker 1: and the evil spirits left them. Even items that had
2:15:11
Speaker 1: touched Paul were bringing healing to people. But this power
2:15:14
Speaker 1: also attracted attention from those who wanted to use it
2:15:18
Speaker 1: for their own purposes. Acts nineteen thirteen to sixteen tells
2:15:22
Speaker 1: a humorous but sobering story. Some Jews, who went around
2:15:26
Speaker 1: driving out evil spirits, tried to invoke the name of
2:15:29
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. They
2:15:33
Speaker 1: would say, in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches,
2:15:37
Speaker 1: I command you to come out. Seven sons of Skiva,
2:15:42
Speaker 1: a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the
2:15:46
Speaker 1: evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul, I
2:15:50
Speaker 1: know about, but who are you. Then the man who
2:15:54
Speaker 1: had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all.
2:15:58
Speaker 1: He gave them such a beating that they ran out
2:16:01
Speaker 1: of the house naked and bleeding. This incident had a
2:16:04
Speaker 1: profound impact on the city. Acts nineteen seventeen twenty describes
2:16:09
Speaker 1: the result. When this became known to the Jews and
2:16:12
Speaker 1: Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear,
2:16:16
Speaker 1: and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in
2:16:19
Speaker 1: high honor. Many of those who believed now came and
2:16:24
Speaker 1: openly confessed what they had done. A number who had
2:16:27
Speaker 1: practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.
2:16:32
Speaker 1: When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total
2:16:36
Speaker 1: came to fifty thousand drakmas. In this way, the word
2:16:40
Speaker 1: of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. The
2:16:47
Speaker 1: revival was so complete that people burned their expensive magic
2:16:51
Speaker 1: books publicly. Fifty thousand drakmas was an enormous sum, roughly
2:16:56
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty seven years wages for a common worker.
2:17:00
Speaker 1: This showed how serious these new believers were about turning
2:17:04
Speaker 1: away from their old practices. After more than two years
2:17:08
Speaker 1: in Ephesus, Paul felt led to return to Jerusalem, even
2:17:12
Speaker 1: though he sensed danger awaiting him there. As he traveled
2:17:16
Speaker 1: through Macedonia and Greece one final time, he made a
2:17:20
Speaker 1: decision that would lead to one of the most emotional
2:17:23
Speaker 1: scenes in the book of Acts, Acts twenty thirteen to
2:17:27
Speaker 1: sixteen describes Paul's travel plans. We went on ahead to
2:17:33
Speaker 1: the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going
2:17:36
Speaker 1: to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because
2:17:40
Speaker 1: he was going there on foot. When he met us
2:17:42
Speaker 1: at Asos, we took him aboard and went on to
2:17:45
Speaker 1: Mitilein the next day, we set sail from there and
2:17:49
Speaker 1: arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over
2:17:53
Speaker 1: to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Melitus.
2:17:58
Speaker 1: Paul had decided to say past Ephesus to avoid spending
2:18:02
Speaker 1: time in the province of Asia, for he was in
2:18:04
Speaker 1: a hurry to reach Jerusalem if possible by the day
2:18:08
Speaker 1: of Pentecost. Paul was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,
2:18:11
Speaker 1: but he couldn't bear to leave the region without saying
2:18:14
Speaker 1: good bye to the Ephesian church leaders, so he sent
2:18:18
Speaker 1: for them to meet him in Miletus, about thirty miles
2:18:21
Speaker 1: south of Ephesus. Acts twenty seventeen to twenty one begins
2:18:25
Speaker 1: Paul's farewell address from Melitus. Paul sent to Ephesus for
2:18:30
Speaker 1: the elders of the church. When they arrived, he said
2:18:33
Speaker 1: to them, you know how I lived the whole time
2:18:37
Speaker 1: I was with you, From the first day I came
2:18:39
Speaker 1: into the province of Asia, I served the Lord with
2:18:42
Speaker 1: great humility and with tears, And in the midst of
2:18:45
Speaker 1: severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents, you
2:18:49
Speaker 1: know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that
2:18:52
Speaker 1: would be helpful to you, but have proclaimed it to
2:18:55
Speaker 1: you publicly, and from house to house. I have declared
2:18:59
Speaker 1: to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to
2:19:01
Speaker 1: God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
2:19:06
Speaker 1: Paul reminded them of his ministry among them, how he
2:19:09
Speaker 1: had served with humility, tears, and perseverance despite opposition. He
2:19:15
Speaker 1: had held nothing back, teaching them everything they needed to
2:19:18
Speaker 1: know about following Jesus. Then, Paul shared something that must
2:19:22
Speaker 1: have shocked them. Acts twenty twenty two to twenty four
2:19:27
Speaker 1: reveals his sense of destiny and now, compelled by the Spirit,
2:19:33
Speaker 1: I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen
2:19:36
Speaker 1: to me there. I only know that in every city
2:19:40
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are
2:19:43
Speaker 1: facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me.
2:19:48
Speaker 1: My only aim is to finish the race and complete
2:19:52
Speaker 1: the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task
2:19:55
Speaker 1: of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Paul
2:20:00
Speaker 1: knew he was walking into danger, but he was determined
2:20:03
Speaker 1: to be faithful to his calling. He considered his life
2:20:07
Speaker 1: worth nothing compared to completing the mission Jesus had given him.
2:20:12
Speaker 1: Acts twenty twenty five to twenty seven contains Paul's sobering prediction.
2:20:18
Speaker 1: Now I know that none of you, among whom I
2:20:20
Speaker 1: have gone about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again. Therefore,
2:20:25
Speaker 1: I declare to you to day that I am innocent
2:20:28
Speaker 1: of the blood of any of you, for I have
2:20:30
Speaker 1: not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
2:20:34
Speaker 1: Paul believed this would be the last time he would
2:20:37
Speaker 1: see these beloved friends. He wanted them to know that
2:20:41
Speaker 1: he had faithfully preached everything God wanted him to teach them. Then,
2:20:46
Speaker 1: Paul gave them their final charge. Acts twenty twenty eight
2:20:49
Speaker 1: thirty one records his passionate appeal, keep watch over yourselves
2:20:53
Speaker 1: and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has
2:20:56
Speaker 1: made you overseers. Be shepherds of the Church of God,
2:20:59
Speaker 1: which he taught with his own blood. I know that
2:21:02
Speaker 1: after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you
2:21:06
Speaker 1: and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number.
2:21:09
Speaker 1: Men will arise and distort the truth in order to
2:21:12
Speaker 1: draw away disciples. So be on your guard. Remember that
2:21:17
Speaker 1: for three years I never stopped warning each of you,
2:21:20
Speaker 1: night and day. With tears. Paul warned them about false
2:21:24
Speaker 1: teachers who would try to deceive the church. Some would
2:21:27
Speaker 1: come from outside, but others would arise from within their
2:21:30
Speaker 1: own leadership. They needed to be constantly vigilant to protect
2:21:35
Speaker 1: the flock. Acts twenty thirty two thirty five concludes Paul's speech. Now,
2:21:40
Speaker 1: I commit you to God and to the word of
2:21:43
Speaker 1: his grace, which can build you up and give you
2:21:45
Speaker 1: an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have
2:21:49
Speaker 1: not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves
2:21:54
Speaker 1: know that these hands of mine have supplied my own
2:21:57
Speaker 1: needs and the needs of my companions. When everything I did,
2:22:01
Speaker 1: I showed you that by this kind of hard work
2:22:04
Speaker 1: we must help the weak. Remembering the words the Lord
2:22:07
Speaker 1: Jesus himself said, it is more blessed to give than
2:22:11
Speaker 1: to receive, Paul reminded them that he had worked with
2:22:15
Speaker 1: his own hands to support himself and even help others.
2:22:19
Speaker 1: He quoted words of Jesus that aren't recorded in the Gospels.
2:22:23
Speaker 1: It is more blessed to give than to receive. The
2:22:27
Speaker 1: farewell was heart breaking. Acts twenty thirty six thirty eight
2:22:32
Speaker 1: describes the emotional scene when Paul had finished speaking, He
2:22:38
Speaker 1: knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all
2:22:41
Speaker 1: wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved
2:22:44
Speaker 1: them most was his statement that they would never see
2:22:47
Speaker 1: his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
2:22:51
Speaker 1: These leaders, who had worked closely with Paul for over
2:22:54
Speaker 1: two years, were devastated by his departure. They knew the
2:22:58
Speaker 1: dangers he faced and feared they would never see him again.
2:23:03
Speaker 1: Their tears and embraces showed the deep bonds that had
2:23:06
Speaker 1: been formed through ministry together. Despite warnings from the Holy
2:23:10
Speaker 1: Spirit and prophecies about the dangers he would face, Paul
2:23:14
Speaker 1: was determined to go to Jerusalem. Acts twenty one ten
2:23:17
Speaker 1: fourteen describes one final attempt to dissuade him. After we
2:23:22
Speaker 1: had been there a number of days, a prophet named
2:23:24
Speaker 1: Agabus came down from Judea coming over to us. He
2:23:28
Speaker 1: took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it,
2:23:31
Speaker 1: and said, the Holy Spirit says, in this way, the
2:23:35
Speaker 1: Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this
2:23:38
Speaker 1: belt and will deliver him to the Gentiles. And when
2:23:41
Speaker 1: we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with
2:23:44
Speaker 1: Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered,
2:23:48
Speaker 1: why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am
2:23:52
Speaker 1: ready not only to be bound, but also to die
2:23:55
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. When
2:24:00
Speaker 1: he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said
2:24:03
Speaker 1: the Lord's will be done. Agabus performed a symbolic act,
2:24:08
Speaker 1: using Paul's belt to bind his own hands and feet,
2:24:11
Speaker 1: showing exactly what would happen to Paul in Jerusalem. But
2:24:14
Speaker 1: Paul refused to be deterred. He was ready to die
2:24:18
Speaker 1: if necessary, for the sake of Jesus. When Paul arrived
2:24:22
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, he was warmly received by the church leaders,
2:24:26
Speaker 1: but they had concerns about his reputation among Jewish believers.
2:24:31
Speaker 1: Acts twenty one to twenty twenty four describes their suggestion.
2:24:35
Speaker 1: When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said
2:24:38
Speaker 1: to Paul, you see, brother, how many thousands of Jews
2:24:41
Speaker 1: have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
2:24:45
Speaker 1: They have been informed that you teach all the Jews
2:24:48
Speaker 1: who live among the gentiles to turn away from Moses,
2:24:51
Speaker 1: telling them not to circumcise their children or live according
2:24:55
Speaker 1: to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly
2:24:59
Speaker 1: hear that you have come, so do what we tell you.
2:25:02
Speaker 1: There are four men with us who have made a vow.
2:25:05
Speaker 1: Take these men join in their purification rights and pay
2:25:08
Speaker 1: their expenses so that they can have their heads shaved.
2:25:11
Speaker 1: Then every one will know there is no truth in
2:25:14
Speaker 1: these reports about you, but that you yourself are living
2:25:18
Speaker 1: in obedience to the law. The Jerusalem leaders asked Paul
2:25:23
Speaker 1: to participate in a purification ceremony to show that he
2:25:27
Speaker 1: still respected Jewish customs. Paul agreed, hoping to remove any
2:25:32
Speaker 1: misunderstanding about his ministry, but the plan backfired. Acts twenty
2:25:37
Speaker 1: one twenty seven to thirty describes what happened when the
2:25:42
Speaker 1: seven days were nearly over. Some Jews from the province
2:25:45
Speaker 1: of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up
2:25:49
Speaker 1: the whole crowd and seized him. Shouting, fellow Israelites, help us.
2:25:53
Speaker 1: This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our
2:25:56
Speaker 1: people and our law and this place. And besides, he
2:26:00
Speaker 1: has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.
2:26:04
Speaker 1: They had previously seen Trophemus the Ephesian in the city
2:26:07
Speaker 1: with Paul, and assumed that Paul had brought him into
2:26:10
Speaker 1: the temple. The whole city was aroused, and the people
2:26:14
Speaker 1: came running from all directions, seizing Paul. They dragged him
2:26:19
Speaker 1: from the temple and immediately the gates were shut. Jews
2:26:22
Speaker 1: from Asia, who knew Paul from his missionary work, saw
2:26:25
Speaker 1: him in the temple and falsely accused him of bringing
2:26:28
Speaker 1: gentiles into the restricted area. The crowd became a violent mob,
2:26:34
Speaker 1: dragging Paul out of the temple and trying to kill him.
2:26:37
Speaker 1: Roman soldiers intervened just in time. Acts twenty one thirty
2:26:41
Speaker 1: one thirty six describes the rescue. While they were trying
2:26:46
Speaker 1: to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman
2:26:49
Speaker 1: troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
2:26:53
Speaker 1: He immediately took some officers and soldiers and ran down
2:26:57
Speaker 1: to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and
2:27:00
Speaker 1: his soldiers. They stopped beating Paul. The commander came up
2:27:04
Speaker 1: and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with
2:27:07
Speaker 1: two chains. Then he asked who he was and what
2:27:11
Speaker 1: he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing
2:27:15
Speaker 1: and some another, and since the commander could not get
2:27:18
Speaker 1: at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that
2:27:20
Speaker 1: Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps,
2:27:25
Speaker 1: the violence of the mob was so great he had
2:27:27
Speaker 1: to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed
2:27:30
Speaker 1: kept shouting get rid of him. Paul was rescued from
2:27:34
Speaker 1: the mob, but arrested by the Romans. As they carried
2:27:37
Speaker 1: him up the steps to safety, he asked permission to
2:27:40
Speaker 1: speak to the crowd. Acts twenty two one two begins
2:27:44
Speaker 1: his defense. Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.
2:27:49
Speaker 1: When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they
2:27:52
Speaker 1: became very quiet. Paul told his story in Aramaic, the
2:27:57
Speaker 1: language of the people, which got their attention. He described
2:28:01
Speaker 1: his Jewish upbringing, his persecution of Christians, his conversion on
2:28:06
Speaker 1: the road to Damascus, and his calling to preach to
2:28:09
Speaker 1: the Gentiles. The crowd listened until he mentioned his mission
2:28:13
Speaker 1: to the Gentiles. Then they erupted again in anger. After
2:28:18
Speaker 1: multiple trials and appeals, Paul finally exercised his right as
2:28:22
Speaker 1: a Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar
2:28:26
Speaker 1: in Rome. Acts twenty seven one to two describes the
2:28:31
Speaker 1: beginning of this momentous journey. When it was decided that
2:28:35
Speaker 1: we would sail for Italy. Paul and some other prisoners
2:28:38
Speaker 1: were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged
2:28:42
Speaker 1: to the Imperial Regiment. We boarded a ship from Adramytium
2:28:46
Speaker 1: about to sail for ports along the coast of the
2:28:48
Speaker 1: province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus,
2:28:53
Speaker 1: a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. Paul was traveling
2:28:59
Speaker 1: as a prisoner, but he wasn't alone. Luke was still
2:29:03
Speaker 1: with him. Noticed the we passages, and Aristacus, a faithful
2:29:08
Speaker 1: companion from Thessalonica, had also joined them. The centurion Julius
2:29:14
Speaker 1: was in charge of transporting the prisoners to Rome. The
2:29:17
Speaker 1: journey began well, but as they progressed, the weather became
2:29:21
Speaker 1: increasingly dangerous. Acts twenty seven, p. Ninety to eleven describes
2:29:26
Speaker 1: the growing concern. Much time had been lost and sailing
2:29:30
Speaker 1: had already become dangerous because by now it was after
2:29:34
Speaker 1: the day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, men, I
2:29:38
Speaker 1: can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous
2:29:40
Speaker 1: and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to
2:29:44
Speaker 1: our own lives also. But the centurion, instead of listening
2:29:48
Speaker 1: to Paul, followed the advice of the pilot and of
2:29:51
Speaker 1: the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable
2:29:55
Speaker 1: to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on,
2:29:59
Speaker 1: hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a
2:30:02
Speaker 1: harbor in crete, facing both southwest and northwest. Paul, experienced
2:30:09
Speaker 1: in travel and perhaps guided by the Holy Spirit, warned
2:30:13
Speaker 1: that continuing the voyage would be dangerous, but the ship's
2:30:16
Speaker 1: officers and the centurion decided to risk it, hoping to
2:30:20
Speaker 1: reach a better harbor for the winter. Their decision proved
2:30:24
Speaker 1: to be a disaster. Acts twenty seven thirteen to twenty
2:30:28
Speaker 1: describes the terrifying storm that followed. When a gentle south
2:30:33
Speaker 1: wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity, so they
2:30:36
Speaker 1: weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of crete. Before
2:30:40
Speaker 1: very long, a wind of hurricane force called the northeaster,
2:30:44
Speaker 1: swept down from the island. The ship was caught by
2:30:48
Speaker 1: the storm and could not head into the wind, so
2:30:51
Speaker 1: we gave way to it and were driven along. As
2:30:55
Speaker 1: we passed to the lee of a small island called Cowder.
2:30:58
Speaker 1: We were hardly able to make the life life boat secure,
2:31:01
Speaker 1: so the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.
2:31:05
Speaker 1: On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard
2:31:08
Speaker 1: with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared
2:31:12
Speaker 1: for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally
2:31:16
Speaker 1: gave up all hope of being saved. The storm was
2:31:20
Speaker 1: so severe that they couldn't see the sun or stars
2:31:23
Speaker 1: for days, making navigation impossible. They threw cargo and equipment
2:31:28
Speaker 1: overboard to lighten the ship, but nothing seemed to help.
2:31:32
Speaker 1: Everyone on board gave up hope of survival, but Paul
2:31:36
Speaker 1: had received a message from God. Acts twenty seven twenty
2:31:40
Speaker 1: one to twenty six records his encouraging words. After they
2:31:44
Speaker 1: had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up
2:31:48
Speaker 1: before them and said, men, you should have taken my
2:31:52
Speaker 1: advice not to sail from crete. Then you would have
2:31:55
Speaker 1: spared yourselves this damage and loss. But Now I urge
2:31:58
Speaker 1: you to keep up your courage, because not one of
2:32:01
Speaker 1: you will be lost. Only the ship will be destroyed.
2:32:05
Speaker 1: Last night, an angel of the God to whom I
2:32:08
Speaker 1: belong and whom I serve, stood beside me and said,
2:32:11
Speaker 1: do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar,
2:32:15
Speaker 1: and God has graciously given you the lives of all
2:32:18
Speaker 1: who sail with you. So keep up your courage, men,
2:32:22
Speaker 1: for I have faith in God that it will happen
2:32:24
Speaker 1: just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground
2:32:28
Speaker 1: on some island. Paul's faith stood in stark contrast to
2:32:34
Speaker 1: every one else's despair. God had promised that all two
2:32:38
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy six people on board would survive, even
2:32:41
Speaker 1: though the ship would be destroyed. Paul's confidence in God's
2:32:45
Speaker 1: promise gave hope to the desperate sailors and passengers. After
2:32:49
Speaker 1: fourteen days of being driven by the storm, they finally
2:32:52
Speaker 1: approached land. Acts twenty seven thirty nine forty four describes
2:32:58
Speaker 1: the dramatic ending. When daylight came, they did not recognize
2:33:03
Speaker 1: the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach,
2:33:07
Speaker 1: where they decided to run the ship aground if they
2:33:09
Speaker 1: could cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea,
2:33:13
Speaker 1: and at the same time untied the ropes that held
2:33:16
Speaker 1: the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind
2:33:20
Speaker 1: and made for the beach. But the ship struck a
2:33:22
Speaker 1: sand bar and ran aground. The bow stuck see fast
2:33:28
Speaker 1: and would not move, and the stern was broken to
2:33:31
Speaker 1: pieces by the pounding of the surf. The soldiers planned
2:33:35
Speaker 1: to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from
2:33:37
Speaker 1: swimming away and escaping, but the centurion wanted to spare
2:33:41
Speaker 1: Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan.
2:33:45
Speaker 1: He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first
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Speaker 1: and get to land. The rest were to get there
2:33:51
Speaker 1: on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In
2:33:54
Speaker 1: this way, everyone reached land safely. The ship was destroyed
2:33:58
Speaker 1: exactly as Paul had predicted, but every single person survived.
2:34:03
Speaker 1: The centurion Julius, who had come to respect Paul during
2:34:07
Speaker 1: the voyage, prevented the soldiers from killing the prisoners. Some
2:34:11
Speaker 1: swam to shore, others floated on pieces of the broken ship,
2:34:15
Speaker 1: but all two hundred and seventy six people made it
2:34:18
Speaker 1: safely to land. They discovered they were on the island
2:34:21
Speaker 1: of Malta, where the local people showed them extraordinary kindness.
2:34:26
Speaker 1: Acts twenty eight one to six describes their reception. Once
2:34:31
Speaker 1: safely on shore, we found out that the island was
2:34:33
Speaker 1: called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built
2:34:38
Speaker 1: a fire and welcomed us all. Because it was raining
2:34:40
Speaker 1: and cold, Paul gathered a pile of brushwood, and as
2:34:44
Speaker 1: he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out
2:34:47
Speaker 1: by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the
2:34:50
Speaker 1: islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said
2:34:53
Speaker 1: to each other, this man must be a murderer, for
2:34:57
Speaker 1: though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has
2:35:00
Speaker 1: not allowed him to live. But Paul shook the snake
2:35:03
Speaker 1: off into the fire and suffered no harm. Even after
2:35:06
Speaker 1: surviving the shipwreck, Paul faced danger when a poisonous snake
2:35:10
Speaker 1: bit him. The local people first thought he must be
2:35:13
Speaker 1: a murderer being punished by the gods, but when he
2:35:16
Speaker 1: suffered no harm, they changed their minds and thought he
2:35:20
Speaker 1: was a god himself. Paul spent three months on Malta,
2:35:25
Speaker 1: during which time he healed many people and preached the gospel.
2:35:29
Speaker 1: Acts twenty eight eleven to sixteen describes the final leg
2:35:33
Speaker 1: of his journey. After three months, we put out to
2:35:36
Speaker 1: sea in a ship that had wintered in the island.
2:35:40
Speaker 1: It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the
2:35:43
Speaker 1: twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse
2:35:47
Speaker 1: and stayed there three days. From there we set sail
2:35:50
Speaker 1: and arrived at Regium. The next day the south wind
2:35:53
Speaker 1: came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.
2:35:56
Speaker 1: There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us
2:35:59
Speaker 1: to spend and a week with them, and so we
2:36:02
Speaker 1: came to Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard
2:36:05
Speaker 1: that we were coming, and they traveled as far as
2:36:08
Speaker 1: the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us.
2:36:11
Speaker 1: At the sight of these people, Paul thanked God and
2:36:15
Speaker 1: was encouraged. When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed
2:36:18
Speaker 1: to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
2:36:21
Speaker 1: Paul's long and dangerous journey to Rome was finally complete.
2:36:26
Speaker 1: Believers from the Roman Church came out to meet him,
2:36:29
Speaker 1: encouraging his heart. After all he had been through. In Rome,
2:36:33
Speaker 1: he was given the unusual privilege of living in his
2:36:36
Speaker 1: own rented house under house arrest, where he could receive
2:36:40
Speaker 1: visitors and continue his ministry while awaiting his trial before Caesar.
2:36:46
Speaker 1: The Book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome still
2:36:49
Speaker 1: preaching the gospel even as a prisoner. His journey from
2:36:53
Speaker 1: persecutor to missionary to prisoner demonstrates that God can use
2:36:58
Speaker 1: anyone and any circumsant dances to accomplish his purposes. The
2:37:03
Speaker 1: Gospel had now reached the capital of the Roman Empire,
2:37:07
Speaker 1: and from there it would continue to spread to the
2:37:10
Speaker 1: ends of the earth. If this journey through Acts has
2:37:14
Speaker 1: encouraged your faith or helped you understand God's word better,
2:37:18
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Speaker 1: share your participating in the same mission that started in Acts,
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Speaker 1: spreading the good news to the ends of the earth.
2:37:53
Speaker 1: Thanks for watching and remember the story of Acts. Continues
2:37:58
Speaker 1: through us to day. God is still writing his story
2:38:03
Speaker 1: through ordinary people who are willing to say yes to
2:38:06
Speaker 1: his extraordinary call.