Category: Devotions

WAIT is a YES

Acts 18:19 “They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.”

In Acts 16:6 Luke writes, “Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.”

The verse in Acts 16 tells us that Paul most probably wanted to preach in Asia but the Spirit said NO. The major city of Asia was Ephesus and although Luke doesn’t mention it, Paul would have wanted to go there as it was the commercial and cultural centre for that region.

In today’s verse, Luke writes, “They arrived at Ephesus.” The Spirit presumably said YES.

The point is this: timing. We must understand the timing of God.

The Spirit saying NO may actually be saying WAIT. HOLD ON.

How many times do people rush into what they think is what they or God wants for their lives? They jump through the NO or they become so frustrated with the WAIT that they GO.

WAIT may feel like a NO but it is a YES but not now.

Paul had to wait 2 years but he finally arrived in Ephesus.

Are you prepared to WAIT for the best? Or do you want things NOW?

You see, WAIT is a YES so long as you can submit to the NO.

Get your hair cut!

Acts 18:18  “Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.”

Paul decided he would take the Nazirite vow for a period of 30 days in which one of the things he had to do was not to cut his hair during that time (Numbers 6:1-21). This vow was for those who wanted to give time to draw closer to God, for the separation of their life from the pressures of the world and to give oneself wholly to the Lord. After 30 days their hair would be cut and presented at the temple as an offering in the fire.
The Apostle Paul had decided to take this vow. But why?
Let me offer some thoughts from this verse and then tell you why now is the time for a hair cut.

1. Paul stayed in Corinth and living in such wickedness warranted the need for separation to God.

Sometimes to remain in a situation you have to re-consecrate yourself to God to give you the strength to do so.

2. Paul made some strategic decisions and that happened during his time of consecration to God. He would leave Silas and Timothy behind to train leaders and the church whilst he would take Priscilla and Acquilla and go to Syria.

Sometimes you have to know when to leave and who to leave behind. Not everyone can come with you but everyone needs to feel they are fulfilled in the purposes of God. If you leave then make sure those who are left are fulfilling their calling.

Sometimes you have to appoint new people to be your accompanying partners. This can be difficult if you are used to having certain friends who have walked your path for many years with you.

3. Paul sailed from Cenchrea, an important harbour at the time, the place where a church had been planted and where one of the deaconesses, Phoebe, would deliver a letter to the Roman Church (Romans 16:1). Paul decided to end his vow at the place where he would literally distance himself from others.

Sometimes you need to get to the place where it is going to happen. Every chapter needs a new page. Many long for their destiny but don’t make the effort needed to get to the place where they will see what they long to see.

Paul had his hair cut. The vow of commitment had been made. His hair was just a sign of what had happened within. He cut his hair but his heart remained consecrated to God. We need to remind ourselves that our consecration to Christ is certain and for

Commitment, strategy and destiny are all found within consecration. If you have been through this then that is why you can get your hair cut today!

Avoid a beating

 

Acts 18: 17 “Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.”

Sosthenes had taken over as the Jewish leader from Crispus and was one of the many who had brought the accusation of Paul to Gallio.

Gallio drives them all out of the court and there on the streets the anti-semitists jump on him and it all becomes a very sad day.

The measure you use will be measured against you.

If you are an accuser, trying to bring people down, if you are a divider amongst people, you may feel justified it matters not, there will come a day when all that you heaped on others will be heaped upon you.

How you treat people really does matter.

It matters obviously for the person you deal with.

But it matters to your own destiny too.

As you know in these daily blogs I am very honest and at times vulnerable. I say this to qualify what I am about to write as I do not want to appear I have all this perfected. There are many times that through my tiredness and lack of thought I have not dealt with someone in the way I should have done.

However, yesterday I received an email about a matter. It was an email full of anxiety and stress about a certain situation:

“……Please forgive me…. I will not blame you if you feel my credibility is in question now…. “

I replied immediately, “Be at peace … It was a genuine mistake which you will rectify …But thank you for how you have expressed yourself in this email …Be at peace and be blessed”

It was so easy to write that. Being nice is easy. Being gracious costs but it is not complicated.

The persons response was delightful, free, forgiven and happy!

Today I can walk confidently in that if I get beaten up it won’t be as a result of me beating someone else up. I am using the correct measures. I am doing it for others and I am doing it for myself.

Sometimes you can avoid being beaten up.

The courtroom is clear!

Acts 18:16 “So he drove them off.”

Gallio had heard enough and he cleared his courtroom of these Jews who were bringing their accusation against Paul.

The accuser of your soul will keep trying to bring you to the court of justice before God.

He will not let go of your past. He has a record of every event in your life, underlines your failings, he highlights your sins. He reminds you of these things you want to forget. He is the accuser of the present: “Call yourself a Christian?!” He is the accuser of your future: “You’re a loser, a failure, you will never accomplish anything!”

But friends the truth is just like Gallio kicked out the Jews, Jesus has dealt a blow to the accuser!

Jesus, is your refuge, He is the Word of God who is living, active, sharper than any double-edged sword. His blood has freed us from all our sins (Rev 1:5).

The courtroom is cleared, can you hear the announcement?

I am reminded of the story of the Japanese soldier on Guam who stayed in hiding until 1972 because he could not believe the good news of peace. The war was over in 1945 but he could not believe Japan would have surrendered.

Who are you going to believe?

You will behave what you believe.

You will believe what you listen to the most.

The accuser is out to destroy you. He will remind you continuously of how disqualified you are.

And yet our Lord Jesus has driven him off!

The courtroom is clear!

Sort it out!

Acts 18:15 “But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law – settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.”

I can still hear my mother shout at my brother and I, “Sort it out yourselves.” It was music to my ears because we had one way of doing that and it was to go upstairs on my bed and box it out. My brother always held back a little as from an early age I have worn glasses and he knew he would be in trouble if they broke. I capitalised on this. He would often ask me to take them off but I wasn’t stupid.

I no longer sort things out that way but I often look back and smile at the fun times we had.

One of the difficult tasks as Missions Director is receiving the cries of help to intervene between 2 opposing sides. I have had quite a few. It still surprises me how the Church manages so easily and so often to fall out with itself. The difficulty comes because like Gallio I do not know “words and names and your own law.” I do not know their language, the history of the names being mentioned and their cultural practice and known behaviour. I am always tempted to say, ‘sort it out yourself, don’t involve me.’

Maybe today you wake up and there are unresolved issues and disagreements.

Needless separation can happen because it isn’t sorted out.

The real problem is when the opposing sides are so offended that they want to sort each other out and not the matter. In fact the matter not only lies unresolved it becomes forgotten under a barrage of abuse, hurt and bitterness.

Welcome to the Church.

The Jews wanted rid of Paul, that’s how they wanted the matter settled. There would be no uniting.

To sort it out means:

• There has to be understanding of the other position.
• Identifying what is the real issue amidst many little unimportant issues.
• Judgment and punishment is not the goal.
• There has to be gracious giving.
• Often there has to be a win-win situation so that both parties feel heard and appreciated.

Maybe today those 5 points will help you sort it out once and for all.

Nonsense

Acts 18:14 “Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, ‘If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanour or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you”.

Don’t believe everything. Nonsense is all around you.

There was no crime. This was nonsense (see the Message).

For the on-looker it is nonsense:

We will never know what Paul was about to say but it would have been a defence of what Gallio saw were charges of nonsense. It was another Jewish squabble. Bickering that he didn’t want to be involved with.

Paul opened his mouth but no words were needed. God was using Gallio to speak and his voice carried a greater authority. In 2001 standing in a court of an employment tribunal as a staff member was bringing his charges against me I heard the words, “There is no case to answer.” It was the end of over a year of nonsense.

For the grieved it is nonsense:

The next time we are tempted to carry a personal grievance maybe we need to step back and ask is this just nonsense? Get the big picture, invite someone in. Is this serious? Many times all that has happened is that we have been offended. Feelings are there to be hurt and if they get hurt then it shows you are not dead. This is good news. So get over yourself you are not that important. This is a rule I try to live by.

For the accused it is nonsense:

Gallio was saying in effect “Paul be quiet, this is nonsense, I will deal with it.” He didn’t say that but you can see why I think this way. Have you ever received a letter or an email (accusations are often done not face to face!) of grievance? As you read the message all you can see are the words ‘Disappointed’, ‘let me down’, ‘you have failed’. Sometimes these brave people do pick up the phone. I remember a phone call I took in 1996. I had just announced I was leaving my church to go to Pastor another one. A really lovely lady, a faithful member and servant of the church called me and all I can remember is the many expletives in what she said! I have never heard so many in one sentence. She was offended that we were leaving the church. It is okay not to defend yourself. It is okay to open your mouth but not say anything. It is okay to look at the charges and think this is nonsense.

Maybe today will be a day of nonsense and that is okay! Enjoy!

Offence

Acts 18:13 ‘This man,’ they charged, ‘is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.’

Was it the law of Moses or the Roman law that they demanded justice of Paul?

Luke doesn’t say, though we could presume that because they had appealed to the proconsul that they were saying Paul was breaking the Roman law by encouraging people to worship other gods without its permission.

The law of the land should be kept.

But of course we know the hidden agenda of the Jews wanting to stop Paul. This was all about the fact that Paul was telling the Gentiles they didn’t need to be circumcised to be accepted by God. It offended the circumcised.

Here are five thoughts on offence from this verse.

• Offence will cause you to distance yourself from the person concerned. “This man” had a name which they were fully aware of.
• Offence will cause you to accuse.
• Offence will cause you to exaggerate. Paul wasn’t doing what they said he was doing.
• Offence will cause you to hide what you are secretly offended about.
• Offence will cause you to try and drag more people into the offence.

When unity is wrong

Acts 18:12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment.

As I write this morning I am thinking of a situation recently that was similar to this verse. A group of people united in their campaign against their fellow colleagues with wagging fingers and cursed tongues. This year I have heard so many of these stories. My sadness is because these stories are of the Church.

In agreement.

Joined together.

Dwelling in unity.

Moving forward in battle.

Carrying a shared purpose.

Seekers of justice.

They were so right.

But they were so wrong.

Be careful who you agree with and who you are against.

Unity is no sign that God is blessing.

What campaign are you supporting?

Is anyone going to get hurt?

Friends with issues will do you no good.

You are not the judge.

So.

Acts 18:11 “So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”

God had told Paul that He was with him so to carry on speaking.

So. The result of. The outcome of God being with you is that you can do anything.  God is with you.

So, I can stay.

So, I can go.

So, I can speak even if people don’t want to hear.

So, I can pick myself back up again.

So, I can rely on His grace even with a thorn.

So, I can come through a storm.

So, I can live even though I am trapped in a prison.

What would you say knowing God was with you?

So …..

Even if it doesn’t look like it, the Lord is in control.

Acts 18:10 “For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

Paul is in the worst place on earth, Corinth. There was no city like it for its wickedness. ‘To live like a Corinthian’ had become a Greek saying meaning to live a life of debauchery and drunkenness. On the hill of the Acropolis overlooking the city was the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Every night the 1,000 temple prostitutes would descend on the city. It is difficult to understand how horrible this city was and Paul was there.

Paul presumably had been thinking of leaving and who can blame him?

The Lord speaks to him and tells him to stay and informs him of something he didn’t know because he was yet to see it, “I have many people in this city.” The Lord was saying not that there were already Christ followers but that there were many people who would become so. This was the right place to be and that Paul was safe in His presence for He was in control even in the darkest time.

How I wish my old friend, Burnett, knew this.

In the city of Ndola, Zambia there is today a large warehouse full of scrap car parts. Outside in the courtyard lies piled up cars with parts taken from them rusting away in places. It is quite a successful business. But it used to be a church building. I visited the building in 2015 with my friend David Tinnion hoping to meet our mutual friend, Pastor Burnett. We had opened this church in the year 2001. Today it is a junkyard. The story is that the Church dwindled to nothing, Burnett became a ‘Corinthian’, his wife contracted HIV by him and died. He continued his wild living and was known as the drunk Pastor walking the streets of Ndola menacingly. He was found in a ditch in the city in 2007 and no one went to his funeral.

I cannot express the sadness we felt as we stood in that scrapyard in March 2015. Why do I tell you all this?

Behind what had been the stage and the pulpit hung a bible verse. Burnett had hung this up on the open day in 2001 as a prophetic message. It was on the exact same sheet of card. It says this:

‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ Acts 18:9-10.

How I wish Pastor Burnett had taken these verses to his heart. How I wish when the difficulties of ministry were before him that he focused on the presence of the Lord in his life. If only when he had wanted to give up he didn’t and he continued to speak. When people walked away from him and his heart was breaking he could have believed that others in the city would come to him and that he would make new friends, but he didn’t. In the darkest of times for his life when perhaps he wasn’t being the best Pastor, husband and father, he could have known the Lord was still in control. But he died in a ditch on the side of a road. That is how he ended his life.

Today we wake up to the results of the general election. As I type this it looks like we have what we call a hung parliament. Deals will be done today. I don’t think I will go on facebook, I am not sure I can be bothered to read anymore opinions. I think I will just be thankful that whatever happens now I know the Lord is in control of the villages, the towns, cities and the nations, including mine.

Whatever you are facing today and wherever you may be and for some you may think you are living in a Corinth. You don’t have to become a Corinthian and you don’t have to leave the city and abandon your purpose. The God you worship is in control and He is with you.