Today’s Bible Translation
Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 21-22 GNT
Associate Producer
Anonymous, Michael Haner
Podcast Introduction
It’s Gospels Saturday. We’ll continue in the book of Acts with the reading of chapters 21 and 22 I’m calling this episode “Following God’s Will.“
Summary
In Acts 21, we learn about part of Paul’s journey, particularly when he arrived in Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist. Philip had four unmarried daughters who also proclaimed God’s message. What a blessing it is to have children who share one’s faith. Philip’s effective Gospel ministry had led to a thriving community of believers in Caesarea. When Agabus prophesied that Paul would face harm in Jerusalem, some believers in Caesarea begged Paul not to go, out of concern for his safety.
In Acts 22, we see the theme of forgiveness. Paul confessed his involvement in the arrest of believers and the stoning of Stephen, heinous crimes. But Jesus forgave Paul and used him significantly in the church. This forgiveness challenges non-believers and believers alike to grasp the depth of God’s love and capacity for forgiveness.
Listen to the episode for more!
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The Team
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
Michael Haner: Podcasting 2.0 Chapters
Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Scott Snider: Show Art
Jason Paschall: Show Art
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney: Newsletter Publisher
Transcript
Transcript not yet corrected.
Steve Webb 0:00
It was all a part of his plan.
Steve Webb 0:03
If you’re looking for the Lifespring!, One Year Bible, you have come to the right place podcasting since 2004. I am your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb. It’s gospel Saturday, and we’ll continue the book of Acts with the reading of chapters 21 and 22. The website is Lifespringmedia.com. and I’ll have contact information at the end of the show. Before we read, let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time together around your word. I pray God that as we read you would bless us teach us today we pray in Jesus name, amen. Okay, are you ready, beloved, let’s begin.
Steve Webb 0:41
Acts chapter 21. We said goodbye to them and left. After sailing straight across we came to cos the next day we reached Rhodes and from there we went to Patra. There we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia. So we went aboard and sailed away. We came to where we can see Cyprus and then sailed south of it onto Syria. We went ashore it tyre where the ship was going to unload its cargo. There we found some believers and stayed with them a week. By the power of the Spirit. They told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But when our time with them was over, we left and went on our way. All of them together with their wives and children went with us out of the city to the beach, where we all knelt and prayed. Then we said goodbye to one another and went on board the ship while they went back home. We continued our voyage sailing from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the believers and stayed with them for a day. On the following day, we left and arrived in Surya there we stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen as helpers in Jerusalem. He had four unmarried daughters who proclaimed God’s message. We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. He came out to us took Paul’s belt, tied up his own feet and hands with it and said, This is what the Holy Spirit says, the owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand them over to the Gentiles. When we heard this, we in the others there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But he answered, what are you doing crying like this and breaking my heart. I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem, but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus. We could not convince him so we gave up and said May the Lord’s will be done. After spending some time there we got our things ready in left for Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Surya also went with us and took us to the house of the man we were going to stay with Mason from Cyrus who had been a believer since the early days. When we arrived in Jerusalem, the believers welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us to see James and all the church elders were present. Paul greeted them and gave a complete report of everything that God had done among the Gentiles through his work. After hearing him they all praised God. Then they said, Brother Paul, you can see how many 1000s of Jews have become believers, and how devoted they all are to the law. They have been told that you’ve been teaching all the Jews who live in Gentile countries to abandon the law of Moses telling them not to circumcise their children, or follow the Jewish customs, they are sure to hear that you have arrived, what should be done, then, this is what we want you to do. There are four men here who have taken a vow, go along with them and join them in the ceremony of purification and pay their expenses, then they’ll be able to shave their heads. In this way, every one will know that there is no truth in any of the things that they have been told about you but that you yourself live in accordance with the Law of Moses. But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent them a letter telling them we decided that they must not eat any food that has been offered to idols, or any blood or any animal that has been strangled, and that they must keep themselves from sexual immorality. So Paul took them in and the next day performed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the temple and gave notice of how many days it would be until the end of the period of purification, when a sacrifice would be offered for each one of them. But just when the seven days were about to come to an end, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple. They stood up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul, people of Israel, they shouted help. This is the man who goes everywhere teaching everyone against the people of Israel, the law of Moses in this temple. and now he has even brought some Gentiles into the temple and defiled this holy place. They said this because they had seen Trophimus from Ephesus, with Paul in the city, and they thought that Paul had taken him into the temple. Confusion spread through the whole city and the people all ran together, grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. At once the temple doors were closed. The mob was trying to kill Paul when the report was sent up to the commander of the Roman troops that all Jerusalem was rioting at once the commander took some officers and soldiers and rushed down to the crowd. When the people saw him with the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul, the commander went over to Paul arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked, Who is this man? and what has he done? Some in the crowd shattered one thing, others something else. There was such confusion, the commander could not find out exactly what had happened. So he ordered his men to take Paul up into the fort. They got as far as the steps with him, and then the soldiers had to carry him because the mob was so wild. They were all coming after him and screaming kill him. As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort, he spoke to the Commander, may I say something to you? You speak Greek to you, the commander asked, then you are not that Egyptian fellow who some time ago started a revolution and led 4000 armed terrorists out into the desert. Paul answered, I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city, please let me speak to the people. The commander gave him permission. So Paul stood on the steps and motion with his hand for the people to be silent. When they were quiet. Paul spoke to them in Hebrew,
Steve Webb 6:15
Acts chapter 22. My fellow Jews listened to me as I make my defense before you know, when they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even quieter, and Paul went on. I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in silicea, but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the law of our ancestors, and was just as dedicated to God as all of you are, who are here today. I persecuted to the death, the people who followed this way, I arrested men and women and threw them into prison, the high priest in the whole council can prove that I am telling the truth. I received from them letters written to fellow Jews in Damascus. So I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished. As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday, a bright light from the sky flash suddenly around me, I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord, I asked. I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you persecute. He said to me, the men with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, What shall I do, Lord, and the Lord said to me, get up and go into Damascus. and there you will be told everything that God is determined for you to do. I was blind because of the bright light. and so my companions took me by the hand and led me into Damascus. In that city was a man named and and is a religious man who obeyed our law and was highly respected by all the Jews living there, he came to me stood by me and said, Brother saw, see again, at that very moment I saw again and looked at him. He said, The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will, to see his righteous servant, and to hear Him speaking with his own voice, for you will be a witness for Him to tell everyone what you have seen and heard. and now why wait any longer, get up and be baptized, and have your sins washed away by praying to Him. I went back to Jerusalem. and while I was praying in the temple, I had a vision in which I saw the Lord and he said to me, hurry and leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your witness about me. Lord, I answered, they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you. and when your witness Stephen was put to death, I myself was there approving of his murder and taking care of the cloaks of his murderers. Go, the Lord said to me, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. The people listen to Paul until he said this, but then they started shouting at the top of their voices away with him, kill him, he’s not fit to live. They were screaming, waving their clothes and throwing dust up in the air. The Roman commander ordered his men to take Paul into the fort, and he told him to whip him in order to find out why the Jews were screaming like this against him. But when they had tied him up to be whipped, Paul said to the officer standing there, Is it lawful for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried for any crime? When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked him, What are you doing? That man is a Roman citizen. So the commander went to Paul and asked him, tell me, are you a Roman citizen? Yes, answered Paul. The commander said, I became one by paying a large sum of money. But I am one by birth, Paul said that once the men who were going to question Paul drew back from him, and the commander was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen, and that he had put in and chains the commander wanted to find out for sure what the Jews were accusing Paul of. So that Next day he had Paul’s chains taken off and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to meet. Then they took Paul and made him stand before them.
Steve Webb 10:08
In Acts 21 today, we got a bit of a travelogue of part of Paul’s journey, didn’t we? and the part that I’d like to bring to your attention is when they arrived at Surya they stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist. and he, by the way, is the same guy who baptized the unit in Chapter Eight of x. We’re told that Philip had four unmarried daughters who were what we might call today, P K’s or preachers, kids, and they also proclaimed God’s message. That’s pretty awesome that his kids love the Lord as much as he did. and in addition to raising his kids to know and serve the Lord, he was evidently an effective messenger of the gospel because there was a thriving community of believers their ancestor, Rhea, we know this because when Agabus prophesied and delivered the message from the Holy Spirit that Paul would be bound hand and foot in Jerusalem, a group of those people begged Paul not to go in this is what I think we should consider today. These good and loving people who cared so much for Paul that they begged him not to go where he’d be harmed. We’re asking him to turn away from what God had called him to do. Did you notice that their motives were good, and that they didn’t want to see their friend and in some ways their pastor come to harm, and their pleadings were effective enough that they pro Paul’s heart, he agonized with him, and maybe was even a bit tempted to heed their cries. But his reply to them revealed an even higher and better motive, he said, I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem, but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Wow. His aim was truly to follow God’s leading the Holy Spirit’s message to Paul through Agabus was not to dissuade Paul from continuing on, but to prepare him for what lay ahead. God wanted Paul and the other believers to know that when he was bound and delivered to the Gentiles, it was all a part of his plan. and the response was what I hope ours is when we face difficult times, maybe the Lord’s will be done. There really is no better way to live than that. and then in Acts 22, one of the aspects of God in Christianity that some non believers have a really hard time reconciling is forgiveness, especially forgiveness of a particularly heinous crime. and on one level, I understand that difficulty. But today, we read of Paul’s confession to the Lord that he had been responsible for the rest of believers. and he even held the cloaks of those who stoned Steven to death. But in spite of those terrible crimes, Jesus forgave Paul, and even made him one of the linchpins of the church. There’s no way we can explain the depth of God’s love for us or his enormous capacity for forgiveness. But we do have plenty of evidence for the reality of that forgiveness. If not in Paul, then in each one of us, none of us deserves the gift of grace that God offers, but he offers it anyway. If we will only accept it, he takes the pieces of our broken lives and create something so much more than we could have you ever thought possible? I’m sure it never entered Paul’s mind that he would play the role that he has in human in church history. What will God do with your life? Like the song says, I can only imagine Are you willing to unconditionally say to the Lord, may Your will be done in my life? What do you think? Let me hear from you send a Boostagram or call the Lifespring family hotline or go to the comments page or write an email. I’ll tell you how to do all those things at the end of the show. Tomorrow will be epistle Sunday will read the book of Second John.
Steve Webb 13:56
I have two associate producers to thank today. Anonymous came in with their weekly $33.33 cent donation. Thank you anonymous. God bless you. and Michael Haner came in with his weekly $7.77 cent striper donation. Thank you, Michael. God bless you. and Sister Denise came in with 13,341 sats 13 341 She said, I’m trying to show number Boostagram Hope this works. God bless you all. Well, thank you, Denise. It worked. God bless you. Beloved, are you receiving value from the Lifespring! One Year Bible? Well, if you are receiving value, you know what to do. Go here for details.
Jingle 14:36
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Steve Webb 14:38
I’ll thank you and I believe that God will bless you.
Steve Webb 14:44
Our next time of prayer together will be Sunday. So if you have a praise report or a prayer request, please send it to me. I’ll pray for you in my quiet time and I’ll share it on the show
Steve Webb 15:06
Thanks to the team: Sister Denise Michael Haner Scott Snider, Jason Paschall and sister Brittaney. Jason Paschall. Did today’s show our beloved thank you for spending time with me today. I’m thankful for the time you give me until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb bye
Steve Webb 15:30
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai
