Author: missionspaul

Declare loudly what you know

Acts 28:20 “For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

Paul found that within his limitation he had opportunities of being certain of the need for the gospel.

What is the ‘hope of Israel’? Paul on trial before Agrippa says in 26:6 “And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.” It is Jesus, He is the hope for Israel. The Message says “It’s because I believed it and took it seriously, committed myself heart and soul to what God promised my ancestors”

When the Church is contained, its voice can still be heard. How does the suffering Church carry on when the enemy presses in on them? I have seen it but Revelation 12:11 says “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” If you are limited today, pressed down and contained you need to declare loudly what you are certain of.

Written perhaps only 100- 200 years after Paul’s speech in his trials:

I believe in God, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

That’s what I’m certain of. This is what is of most importance. It is Jesus.

Battling with circumstance for the calling on your life.

Acts 28:19 “The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people.”

Because they did that

I had to do this

But not for the reason they think.

 

They objected because they wanted to see Paul put to death.

Paul had to appeal to Caesar using his Roman citizenship which gave him the right to do so.

The reason being was not to better himself or even preserve his life so that he could enjoy it but because Paul was called to take the gospel to Rome.

 

Because they did that

I had to do this

But not for the reason they think.

 

What has happened to you? What stands against you? (For Paul it was the Jewish mob) For me it is ….

Are you now even more determined that you are willing to change? Are you compelled to take the opportunity to reposition yourself? (For Paul it was his citizenship ticket to Rome) For me it is ….

What is of utmost importance to you that means you will not let go of it? (For Paul it was the gospel) For me it is ….

 

It doesn’t matter if people understand you now, they will later.

 

 

Examinations

Acts 28:18 “They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.”

I have never met anyone who likes examinations.

Whether that be an exam regarding a subject of learning or a driving test perhaps we enter into those arenas with nervousness that at that moment we will forget everything we have learned and fail the test.

But then there is the examination like what Paul faced. This was not a test about his learning but about his conduct and outlook. Man scrutinising man. The Romans had been handed a list of accusations of Paul and they were looking deeply at each one. To fail this examination would have meant death by the hand of the Jews. Paul was not guilty he had done nothing wrong.

In the year 2001 I had been taken to an employment tribunal by a member of my staff who was bringing a false charge against me because I had no other option but to remove him from office. The scrutiny I faced was something I had never experienced in my life before. After 9 months of the case continuing the day came when the judgment was passed. It was that I had done nothing wrong and the case was dropped. I remember walking away from the court that day and how my feelings were mixed with relief and thankfulness but a whole lot of relief too.

We know that one day we will be examined by our God. The judgment seat of Christ will be where we give an account for our lives here on earth. How we lived our lives, how we loved others and Him. Whatever happens on that day (and I hope no one is behind me in that queue listening to my examination!) we know that there will be no death as a punishment. We will survive that examination because of the sacrifice of Christ and how much more will we rejoice and be thankful for the shed blood of Jesus on that day!

But we know there is another examination for those who have rejected Christ. Our task on this earth is to make sure we do everything to let people know that they do not need to take this examination. That today they can opt for the examination that guarantees freedom with no death. Amen!

 

Open doors for the gospel

Acts 28:17 “Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.”

It was during his time under house arrest, chained to a guard that he wrote Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon.

However you may describe your situation, chained or confined, you can find a way to overcome that limitation. Paul couldn’t get to the synagogue or the marketplace to preach but that didn’t stop him, he called his audience to him. He found a way, he found the open door for which he asked his friends to pray for, Colossians 4:3.
Maybe we should be less concerned about open heavens and more concerned about open doors. Open heavens are sometimes for stationary people not going anywhere. Open doors are for people on the move, crossing borders, moving out and into enemy territory.

Open doors come through prayer. Paul writing from his limitation doesn’t pray to be released from prison but instead asks his Colossian friends to “pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah “(Colossians 4.3).

Open doors can be found behind closed doors. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he makes it clear that the gospel had spread because others were praying for open doors: “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advancement of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is for Christ. Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly” (Philippians 1.12-14). What appeared, on the surface, to be a “closed door” for Paul (his imprisonment) had actually turned into an “open door” for him to preach Christ among the authorities and guards who held him, to the Jewish leaders he invited to the house and it also gave confidence for his brothers to preach Christ fearlessly on the outside.

You will continue to have seasons of limitations but it will be the opportunity for you to discover what an open door really looks like.

I am here but I don’t live here.

Acts 28:16 “When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”

It was during his time under house arrest, chained to a guard that he wrote Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon.

He knew where he was physically, there was no doubt in his mind, as we see when he wrote to Philemon v9 “Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—“

You may know where you are today. You can describe your condition and the place where you have ended up in life. It may not be where you would have chosen. You may have hoped for better things. It can be a lonely place when there are more years of life behind you than in front of you and the signs of any progress are extremely limited.

This is where I am. However, it is not where I live.

Paul was actually not under Roman guard, he was not under house arrest, contained, limited, not free to travel like he had been, restricted from reaching the many churches that he still wanted to reach. He was not at that place. Paul saw it differently, Ephesians 1:3; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12 …

“I am limited under Roman guard but that is not where I am living my life.”

“I am blessed in the heavenly realms.”

“I am seated with Christ.”

“I am making the wisdom of God known.”

“I am fighting unseen powers.”

Get new revelation today on your position. Wherever you have landed, no matter how difficult, this is not where you live.

 

It can start well …

ACTS 28:15 “The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they travelled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.”

Several years earlier Paul had written to the believers in Rome, “… since I have been longing for many years to visit you … Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea … so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed.” (Romans 15)

The Forum of Appius was a market town and the Three Taverns was a lodging place approximately 49 miles outside of Rome, a resting place before entering the city which was approximately a day’s journey.

The believers of the church in Rome who Paul had written to were now receiving Paul with great honour. Their action was similar to that of a king who would be welcomed outside the city and then brought into it. Paul thanked God and was encouraged.

Things would change though. People do change.

By the time of Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome these are his words, “At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them” (2 Timothy 4:16). As he stood before Nero the church under great persecution deserted him, just as they did Jesus.

Hold praise lightly because persecution and hardship can change all of that. The encourager can be silenced so we need to find a way to engage with life with all that is thrown at us without the encouragement to sustain us.

The Pentecost of Rome

Acts 28:14 “There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.”

Having spent a week with fellow believers they arrive on the outskirts of Rome, probably by foot.

It had been quite a journey! Many thought they would never make it and at one point they had given up all hope of being saved from the treacherous journey at sea. They were shipwrecked and they had been completely lost not knowing where at all they were. Alongside this Paul had to cope with a snake! However, Paul had a promise that he would be here, in Rome. “And so we came to Rome.”

And so God will bring you through.

And so God will cause you to overcome.

And so God will open doors for your destiny.

Here you are in x (your Rome).

It is the place of your surrender, where you will give your all to Him who called you and you will do it for the gospel and your love of people.

Here are some facts regarding Rome at that time:

Population: approximately 1 million

A multi-ethnic city: with Italians from various districts plus people from Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Judea, Persia, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, Gaul, Germany, Brittania and elsewhere.

Religion: The entire Pantheon of Roman gods, numerous Greek deities, some Asian, Persian and Egyptian deities.

 

The above is what Paul dreamed of. It is a definite reminder of the gathering of the harvest of people who needed to know the good news: the Pentecost of Jerusalem.

(The word Pentecost means fiftieth. 50 days after the feast of Unleavened bread is the Jewish Pentecost, a feat of the grain harvest thanking God for His provision. It was the day when the Spirit came on the Church and at least 3,000 of the travelling pilgrims into Jerusalem were saved in one day).

This was another Pentecost for Paul where the opportunity was simply too great to miss. He was in Rome where he could reach many, where the people were ripe for harvest. May we venture into our cities and towns with such joy of opportunity and gospel determination for souls to be saved that today indeed becomes another Pentecost!

 

The speed of the Spirit

Acts 28:13 “From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.”

This large ship reaches Puteoli within 2 days. Luke is telling us the reason why they got there quicker than expected is because of a southerly wind.

The wind can certainly slow you down if it is coming against you.

But the moment you are aligned with the wind then that is when you will experience a quickness, a surge, a moment within the momentum that speeds everything up.

Some people work for years and years and do not see what others may see in a few years. Is it a tactical reason? Is it better leadership? Maybe it is being aligned to the Spirit and experiencing the speed of the Spirit. The Spirit can be quick! He can advance the vision forward at such a rate of knots that it looks like you have been doing the job for many more years than you truly have.

We need to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25) and sometimes He moves very quick indeed.

Get ready today!

The pressure of preventing speculation

Acts 28:12 “We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.”

They decide to stop over in the capital city of the island of Sicily for 3 days. Nothing else is mentioned other than that. Everything is speculation.

Why did they stop here and what happened?

Nothing is provided.

So we speculate. Commentators do so. They talk of how strong the church in Sicily is, how they see Paul as the founder and it all stemmed from the 3 day visit all those years ago. Paul must have been permitted to wander the island with the gospel as he did in Sidon.

But it is speculation.

It must be because they were waiting for the right wind to sail or perhaps because they were unloading and loading cargo. Maybe it was simply because it was like a normal service station on the motorway on the journey to Italy.

We struggle with bare facts. We would rather not know anything than just some small aspects of someone’s story. We need to know why they did what they did, the logic behind the decision and perhaps we just need to know other people’s business.

We all know times when there has been a course of action taken or we have made decisions and we either cannot announce to the world the reason because of determining factors that need to be kept quiet. That can be difficult.

So people speculate.

Speculations lead to theories which are passed down generationally that become history.

Perhaps we need to allow more things to just hang in the air and to wait for any revelation that might come later. To do so without speculation or feeling a burden to tell the world the detailed reason.

Who is up front

Acts 28:11 “After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.”

Castor and Pollux were twin gods believed to help shipwrecked sailors and who brought favourable winds to those who sacrificed to them.

But Paul knew who was actually up at the front – it was the God who “got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm” (Matthew 8:26).

Castor and Pollux are depicted in art as helmeted horse-men.

But Paul knew who was actually up at the front – it was the God who gives “… the horse its strength or clothes its neck with a flowing mane …” (Job 39:19)

Castor and Pollux were believed to help Roman soldiers on the battlefield and each year there would be an annual elaborate parade through the streets of Rome where each rider would wear whatever decorations they had earned.

But Paul knew who was actually up at the front –  it was the God who “always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Castor and Pollux in the many myths surrounding them die in battle but Castor goes to Hades and Pollux being so devastated at not being with his brother offers to lose his own immortality to be with Castor.

But Paul knew who was actually up at the front – it was the God who is “…the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)

Castor and Pollux were placed by their father, Zeus, as stars in the universe and in the constellation Gemini they are seen as the brightest stars.

But Paul knew who was actually up at the front – it was the God who “is the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)

Know today that it is God who is leading you, nothing and no one else, no matter how it seems, your God is in charge and in control!