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Acts 22:6-11: ‘Suddenly’…again!

^“6 ‘About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, “Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?” ⁸ ‘“Who are you, Lord?” I asked.  ‘“I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ ‘“What shall I do, Lord?” I asked. ‘“Get up,” the Lord said, “and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.” ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.” NIV UK

Here is another of those ‘’suddenly’’ moments in ‘Acts’ (see for example 2:2; 12:7; 16:26). Things can change rapidly with God’s intervention.

You may be praying for someone, and they seem so hardened against the gospel. Don’t despair of anyone. The Lord has His own ways to meet people, to speak to them, to stop them in their tracks and turn them around. Furthermore, it can all occur so ‘’suddenly’’ that you think, ‘Where did that come from?’ Even though you have been praying about it (or him, or her) you get a glorious shock!

There is a mystery about God’s personal dealings with individuals, but there is no doubt that He meets with people and turns them around. It seems that those with Paul to some extent shared the experience, but there is no record that they too were converted.

For our part, we should not give up on anyone, but keep praying.God may change the world through someone on your prayer list.

 Acts 22:1-5: The powerful weapon of personal testimony.

^“1 ‘Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defence.’  ² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.  Then Paul said: ³ ‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.” NIV UK

The repetition of Paul’s testimony in the book of ‘Acts’ is significant. His conversion was a key moment in the history of the church. It is clear that he was an educated man; a deeply religious man, and an angry man. He hated the church and opposed believers. Yet he was converted.

The story of your conversion is unique to you. Don’t doubt for one moment that it is a powerful God-given weapon in your armoury. Pray for opportunities to use it, and look for them. Paul told his story on a number of occasions

In the eighteenth century, two young men in the swim of society, Gilbert West and Lord Lyttleton, went to Oxford, and they agreed to research two key points of Christianity with the clear aim of proving them false. One of them, Gilbert West, would study to prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead; the other,George Lyttleton (the first Baron Lyttleton) would aim to prove that Saul of Tarsus was never converted – that he did not become the apostle Paul. Each determined to do a thorough job, taking a year to establish his case. However, as they went about their serious business, they eventually concluded that Christianity was true and became Christians. West eventually wrote ‘Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.’ Lyttleton wrote a lengthy text entitled ‘Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul.’

In 1761, Lyttleton wrote these words to West: ‘Sir, in a late conversation we had together upon the subject of the Christian religion, I told you that besides all the proofs of it which may be drawn from the prophecies of the Old Testament, from the necessary connection it has with the whole system of the Jewish religion, from the miracles of Christ, and from the evidence given of his resurrection by all the other apostles, I thought the conversion and apostleship of Saint Paul alone, duly considered, was of itself a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity a divine revelation.’

In chapter 22 Paul gives the before and after pictures. On the face of it, you might say he was not a likely candidate for conversion, but such is the power of God.

David Pawson was speaking at a youth club one night. When he came home his wife asked him how he got on. ‘There’s hope for two of them,’ he replied. ‘They got angry!’

Acts 21:37-22:2: Paul the master-communicator.

^“37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, ‘May I say something to you?’  ‘Do you speak Greek?’ he replied. ³⁸ ‘Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?’  ³⁹ Paul answered, ‘I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.’  ⁴⁰ After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: 22 ¹ ‘Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defence.’ ² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:”

It’s good to learn from others. As a preacher, I want to glean as much as I can from other speakers. I need to be a life-long learner. Here I feel I am sitting at the feet of a master-communicator, and I learn at least four lessons from him:

• Dispel myths (38, 39). People can easily believe all kinds of rubbish about Christians and the Christian faith. We need to try to sweep these silly ideas out of the way as much as we can – if it is possible. Even if you’ve tried to live an exemplary life, the devil, who is a ‘slanderer’, may succeed in throwing some mud at you that sticks. Your reputation may have become unjustly tarnished. So deal with those misconceptions if you can. It doesn’t guarantee you a successful hearing, but don’t let unnecessary clutter remain in the way, if you can do something about it. ‘…the mob lives on ‘’suppose’’ and not fact.’ Warren Wiersbe: ‘With the Word,’p.723
• Show courtesy to all (37, 39b,40a). I hear nothing but respect in Paul’s tone as he addresses ‘’the commander.’’ In fact, it is thought that a secondary reason for the writing of ‘Acts’ may have been to show that there was nothing subversive or seditious about the Christian faith. Paul was a good citizen of the Roman Empire. (Incidentally, don’t you hear that same respect in his address to fellow-Jews in (22:1). Wiersbe points out that ‘…it takes tact to have contact’;
• Be brave. Had I been Paul, I think I would have been quite happy to be whisked off into the safety of the barracks; but the apostle saw an opportunity to testify, and he seized it. May God fill us with such courage;
• Know your audience (21:40-42). As we have observed before, it’s important to start where people are and to speak in terms they can understand. Paul clearly established a rapport. Building that bridge never guarantees you a favourable response, but it is so important to try to construct it.

Acts 21:30-36: Danger man.

^“30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹ While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. ³⁵ When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. ³⁶ The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Get rid of him!’ ” NIV UK

Paul found himself repeatedly ‘’in danger’’ (2 Corinthians 11:26)). This was one of those many occasions when his life was on the line. It didn’t prevent him daring greatly for the gospel however, as we shall see.

Stories like this should encourage us to be brave, and entrust our lives to God. He can rescue; He is able to protect. We may be surprised when we see where deliverance comes from.

It wasn’t yet time for Paul to die.

‘I am immortal until all God’s will for me is done.’

Acts 21: 27-30: ‘Fake news.’

^“27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, ²⁸ shouting, ‘Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.’ ²⁹ (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)  ³⁰ The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.” NIV UK

I was thinking how prejudice tends to misrepresent people. Paul’s words and actions were portrayed in a negative light. Sometimes, the things a person says or does are maliciously used against them. Somebody puts a distorted spin on their words and deeds, because they don’t like them. Or they don’t like what they stand for. So, don’t rush to conclusions. Examine your motives. Be careful about what you say. A rumour is not like butter; as someone said,once you have spread it you can’t unspread it! Don’t repeat ‘fake news.’ A lie is never more palatable than when it is wrapped up inside a lot of truth. We are drawn to the truth and swallow the falsehood with it.

If you honestly examine your heart, you may find that you want to misrepresent them; that you want to ‘’kill’’ them; and there is more than one form of ‘killing’. You can kill a reputation just like that; and lies have influence. Read today’s passage and tell me they don’t.

PRAYER: Lord, I confess that at times I have thought wrong things about others. Please forgive me for lies I have believed, and spoken. Only you know the truth about each person, and I am no-one’s judge.

Acts 21:20-26: Avoiding unnecessary offence.

^“20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. ²¹ They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. ²² What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, ²³ so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. ²⁴ Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. ²⁵ As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.’ ²⁶ The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.” NIV UK

When I read the story of ‘Willow Creek’ church in Chicago, I was struck by their commitment to dismantle every unnecessary barrier that could lie in the way of a person coming to faith. I believe there is a similar lesson here. On the face of it, this could look like compromise. However, I believe it’s about Paul not wanting to be a stumbling block to anyone. Where a point of cardinal doctrine is at stake it is our duty to be inflexible; but where it, isn’t there is room for manoeuvre. We must never compromise truth, but in our practice there may be concessions we can make that will help people move towards Christ.

‘’To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.’’ (1 Corinthians 9:20a)

 Acts 21:17-21: An instrument in the hands of God.

^“17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. ¹⁸ The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.  ²⁰ When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. ²¹ They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.NIV UK”

If you should be (apparently) very successful in the work of God, never forget that you are just an instrument in the Hands of a Master-Musician. The beautiful notes produced by your life are the product of His breath. Even if your successes should seem small, never lose sight that these are God’s achievements in and through you.

‘’What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.’’ (1 Corinthians 3:5-7).

‘’For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience – by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God – so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ…’’ (Romans 15:18, 19).

Paul spoke about God ‘’had done among the Gentiles through his ministry’’ (19) and the result was that God was ‘’glorified’’ (20). This is what we are after in Christian service. At least, it ought to be.

‘…as it is written, ‘’Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’’ ‘ (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Acts 21:7-16: Your will be done.

As you travel through life, there will be times when you want to see something happen, or, as here, you will face a scenario you really don’t want to happen. However, as the inevitable begins to dawn, it is good and right that we should kneel with Jesus in our lesser ‘gardens’, and say, ‘Not my will but yours…’ God is sovereign; He is good all the time, and, ‘we weep over blessings clothed as sorrows.’

Did Philip’s single girls ever have to say ‘’Let the will of the Lord be done’’ (14b) regarding their single state? I don’t know, of course. The Bible doesn’t tell us, so it’s not important to know. Still, I wonder all the same. I find verse 9 fascinating. There’s so much more I’d love to know about this dad and his girls and their home life. What had happened to their mum? Was she still around? She’s not mentioned.

What the passage clearly does show is the value of prophetic ministry, and the importance of being open to it, even while we acknowledge the need to be discerning.

‘Agabus joined the happy party, with prophecies of peril ahead, but these only served to bring out the courage of the apostle. His purpose was inflexible. An unseen hand was beckoning; a Voice which only he could hear was calling. He had no doubt as to God’s purpose and went straight forward, though he was not insensible to the love and sympathy of friends.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’,p.497.

‘’Pursue love, and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy’’ (1 Corinthians 14:1)

Acts 21:1-6: Homing instinct.

‘After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ² We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. ³ After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. ⁶ After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.’NIV UK

‘’And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days’’ (4a)

‘’When they were released, they went to their friends…’’ (‘’own people’’) (Acts 4:23).

We are living through days, in the church, where Christians don’t seem to value (or prioritise) fellowship quite so much as in the past. Actions speak louder than words, and I feel the haphazard attendance patterns of many contemporary Christians are saying something. I heard recently that a leading Christian statistician has recommended that, in assessing church attendance, we should no longer do so in weekly, but in monthly terms. People are more likely to count regular church involvement as turning up every three or four weeks.

For Paul and his colleagues, fellowship with ‘’their own people’’ clearly mattered. Surely, where the church is under pressure, Christians highly prize opportunities to get together?

When you’re on holiday, or away on business etc, is it a priority for you to seek out some ‘’disciples’’ and worship with them? Do you look for the church in that locale – see what you can offer it, and what it can offer you? Or do you ‘play truant?

There is such mutual benefit in Christian fellowship. Each one has something to give, and something to receive. The disciples of Christ in Tyre spoke into Paul’s life. They may have slightly misunderstood what to do with the message, but there is no doubt that they were hearing from God.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Builder of the church, help us to see your church through your eyes; to value the church as you do.