Latest / Journey Elgin / Journey Through Scripture- Acts 15-18
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: Hey, it's good to see you today. My name is Philip Thomas, Pastor of Journey here in Elgin, Texas, and this is our journey through Scripture. As again, we're continuing continuing to go through Scripture in a chronological order as for as best we can. So on Tuesday we talked about James. Now we're getting back into Acts and looking at Paul's second missionary journey. So we're going to be in Acts chapter 15, the end of chapter 15, ⁓ through the first part of chapter 18. So What we have ⁓ here is the ⁓ Paul's second missionary journey ⁓ it's getting started. ⁓ they're in ⁓ chapter fifteen, starting in verse thirty-six. And what you have is you have Paul and Barnabas, and they were gonna go up on the journey together, ⁓ but Barnabas wanted to bring Mark. Well, if you remember, Mark had turned back ⁓ in the first missionary journey, and so Paul was kind of done with him. ⁓ Barnabas ⁓ wanted ⁓ ⁓ John to come and there actually became became serious contention. It says verse thirty nine. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. Now this is interesting and and in some ways it's encouraging, you know, 'cause it's very easy for us to get frustrated ⁓ with the divisions and con ⁓ you know that we see within churches and things like that. That's going to happen. There is going to be a certain level of that because we are all still human and fallen and so there's still going to be controversy and contention that does arise. ⁓ now how we handle it, ⁓ we we may not do that well and what it's over ⁓ also makes a big difference. ⁓ but we see this early on. Okay. So ⁓ the the judgment here is not who is right or who is wrong, ⁓ but that we see contention ⁓ exist from the very beginning. So ⁓ the ⁓ Barnabas takes Mark and they go a different direction. ⁓ Paul ⁓ gets Silas ⁓ and they first start off going to the same churches that they had been at ⁓ and just strengthening them. It says in verse forty one. And they went through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches. ⁓ and ⁓ and then basically what they did is they got on the Ignatian way, which that was kind of the the main road that went east west from Rome all the way ⁓ down I I believe it went to Antioch basically. ⁓ but it it was it for that day it was very modern and a very safe or as safe as you can get form of travel ⁓ in that day. So basically they just started going down that road. ⁓ and what's cool is you could actually do this today. It's kind of on my bucket list. I would love to go ⁓ through this part of of Greece and the Macedonia area and all of that and and actually see and and walk on the Ignatian way, ⁓ where Paul walked. ⁓ and so he and Silas are going in B ⁓ chapter sixteen and they ⁓ get to ⁓ Lystra and Iconium and they ⁓ excuse me, spit it out, Philip. They have meet Timothy. I'm I'm sorry, I'm kinda looking ahead and getting some names all jumbled. So they they meet Timothy. Well Paul clearly sees something in Timothy and ⁓ Timothy obviously wants to go with with Paul. So ⁓ what's interesting and jumped out to me is says verse three, Paul wanted him to ⁓ go with him and he took him and circumcised him ⁓ because of the Jews who were in that region. ⁓ for they all knew that his father was Greek. Now this is is very interesting because again, Paul has stood up saying that you don't have to be circumcised in order to be part of the faith. But it's interesting that he encourages Timothy and that Timothy is obviously willing ⁓ to do this. And it it's kind of one of those things that maybe Paul is is trying to find out the best way to reach people, right? that okay, if this is going to be a hang up, even though it shouldn't, it's not a valid hang up for people, they they should not expect ⁓ Timothy to get circumcised. But if he does get circumcised, if that gives him more opportunity to reach people for Christ, maybe it's worth doing. I think this is just a an interesting perspective and for us to think about, you know, are are there things that we we can do that are not sinful or not rebellious against God, ⁓ that that we don't have to do, but we do them in order to reach people for Christ. Right? ⁓ yeah, I I think there's there's something to to think about there. ⁓ then as you continue on in chapter sixteen, ⁓ you have ⁓ Paul that they're trying to determine where to go and they're seeking God's will and they feel like the spirit is closing doors. But then Paul actually has a a vision Of a man in Macedonia saying, Please come ⁓ to us. And so they decide that's where they're going to to go, and that's where they're going to ⁓ follow. And so then you get to Philippi, so that's one of the main ⁓ cities. It was a very prominent city. and ⁓ Silas and Timothy and Paul ⁓ find a woman named Lydia there. Lydia becomes a a follower. ⁓ and Paul and Silas and Timothy begin staying with her. ⁓ and then ⁓ they're ministering and and they would go to the synagogues and so they'd be at these places for for weeks at a time, right? Sometimes for years at a time. I believe they're in Corinth for over a year. ⁓ and so during that time you're going to, you know, probably cause cause some controversy. Well, one thing that happened. ⁓ was there was a slave girl who was possessed, says verse sixteen of chapter sixteen, the slave girl girl possessed with a spirit of divination. So you know, we're not gonna get off on the the tangent of possession, but ⁓ it is very real. ⁓ I believe that you can be possessed today. I think most of what people consider, you know, may think of possession is is mental illness. ⁓ but demonic possession is real because demons are real. And so they the demon was giving this girl the ability ⁓ to kind of do fortune telling. Well, she brought in money for her handlers. ⁓ and so whenever Paul he c he kinda it says he's greatly annoyed. I love that. Says he's greatly annoyed, he turned and said, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And the spirit left. Well, that ticked off ⁓ the girl's ⁓ masters. And so they ⁓ dragged ⁓ into the market place and I thought it's interesting what they accused them of, verse twenty. They brought to the to the magistrates and said, These men being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city, and they teach customs that are not law for ⁓ law for for us being Romans to receive or b or observe. They didn't care about any of this stuff while Paul and Silas had been preaching for the weeks before. The moment they ⁓ took took some of their income away ⁓ everything changed. But notice that the argument is not over the event that actually happened. It's over something else. It's misdirection in order to get Paul and Silas put in prison. And so not only did they throw them in prison, but they beat them, ⁓ put them in stocks. ⁓ they were in the ⁓ jail and they began praying and singing ⁓ hymns and suddenly there was an earthquake and all of their stocks just fell off. ⁓ I This is a great story. The jailer, ⁓ he basically thinks ⁓ I'm done for because, you know, he he wakes up, sees all the doors open, and he's about to kill himself ⁓ because he didn't want to deal with the w what the magistrates would do and Paul decides to say, No, we're we're still here and the jailer actually becomes a Christian because of this. ⁓ isn't that that really, really cool. And ⁓ so then they they let them go. ⁓ and they hear that they are Roman citizens, and this worried them ⁓ because they had put them in jail without fair trial, which you could to non citizens. ⁓ but Paul and Timothy and Silas ⁓ were Roman citizens, ⁓ and so they just said, Get out of the city, please, leave us alone, and you know, let's avoid any more trouble. So then chapter seventeen, you get to Thessalonica. Talks about how Paul goes to the synagogue there and he begins to to teach and preach and try to convince, ⁓ showing from the Old Testament how ⁓ God worked through Jesus. and of course ⁓ there were those who believed, but many who did not. ⁓ and there was a a guy you see, ⁓ guy named Jason, ⁓ that Paul was staying with, and ⁓ it says ⁓ verse ⁓ six ⁓ of chapter seventeen. But when they did not find them they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city. These ⁓ the these who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them and these are all acting contrary to the dec decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, ⁓ Jesus. ⁓ so isn't it interesting how the the even the Jews who are ⁓ against Paul will will use the ⁓ the secular laws ⁓ in order to ⁓ get rid of Paul and Silas and of course Jason now gets caught up in that as well. ⁓ so Paul and Silas went away at night to Berea. ⁓ so now they're having to travel not on the safe roads, but they're traveling by night. ⁓ they go down to Berea, begin preaching there, then some of the Jews from Thessalonica actually come and stir up trouble there. ⁓ and so Paul ⁓ is sent away to to be protected, but Silas and Timothy stay ⁓ in Berea. And this is when Paul ends up in Athens. ⁓ I encourage you to read there, starting in verse 16, ⁓ that ⁓ Paul goes into Ap Athens. This was a very ⁓ scholarly ⁓ place. They debated a whole lot, and ⁓ this is where ⁓ Paul goes to the Areopagus. And he debates the Epicureans, who basically said the goal of life is pleasure, and the Stoics, who were on the complete opposite end, ⁓ and he shares the gospel message with them and has limited success, but success ⁓ nonetheless. ⁓ verse 32 of chapter 17. and when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, We will hear you again on this matter. So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed among them Dionysus, the Ariopagite, and a woman named Demarius. Remembering this is where Paul ⁓ looks at all the different statues, and there's a statues to an unknown God. And he says, I recognize that you're religious, ⁓ but you're you're religious to and is focusing you on things that are not true. Let's focus on the things that are true. And some believed, and some many did not. ⁓ but that doesn't mean that you don't speak the truth. ⁓ then you have chapter eighteen where ⁓ Paul goes to Corinth and he meets up with ⁓ Aquila and Priscilla and they ⁓ are provide support to him. They are ⁓ tent makers and Paul begins working with them ⁓ and then they they begin ⁓ sharing the the gospel message. This is interesting, kind of Paul kinda has a shift here, verse six. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, Your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. For now on I will go to the Gentiles. So at this point, Paul kind of changes his focus a little bit. You know what? I'm not going to spend time trying to reach ⁓ the the Jews who are hard headed. ⁓ I am going to focus more on the Gentiles. ⁓ verse nine, Now the Lord spoke to Paul at night by a vision, do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent, for I am with you and no one will attack you to hurt you, for I I have many people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. So this is not easy, this is dangerous what Paul is doing, but God gave him the strength and the reassurance to stand up and continue to spread the gospel message. no matter the cost and I think we can learn something from that ⁓ in our day and age. All right. So we are going to stop there. ⁓ but but go ahead and start reading First Thessalonians and we will we'll probably we'll see if we can make it through all of First Thessalonians. ⁓ but we'll see you on