Thoughts From Acts 19 - Part 1

 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.  Acts 19:8-16

    I don't like to reminisce a whole lot because when I look back on my life I think of all the bonehead things I've done and I'm so glad that's behind me that I don't want to go there. The ironic thing is I'll probably look back on this present time 10 years from now and not want to go here. There used to be an old bumper sticker that said PBPGIFWMY, which was code for "Please be patient God isn't finished with me yet." One of those moments was around 1990. Orel Hersheiser had won the World Series with a record setting year and had boldly proclaimed Christ throughout. I had just read his book and felt like I knew him. Actually, we were even in the same family as Brothers in Christ. Therefore, I wrote him a letter and said I'd like to meet him, and we'd be in Atlanta for his game against the Braves and asked if he'd leave me 2 tickets. Obviously when I went to Will Call, I got the answer, we know Orel, and we know his family, but we don't know you. Oh, the shame. See why I don't reminisce? I'm the world's biggest buffoon. The only reason I share this story is because I know no one reads this and because the seven sons of Sceva did it 2000 years before me.

       The sons of Sceva knew all about Paul, they knew all about Jesus and His power and authority, but they didn't know Jesus. There are churches all through Memphis today and people gathered in those churches that know all about Jesus but aren't in His family. They don't know Him personally and someday when they stand before Him, He will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." There are seminarians throughout the world learning about the Bible but never letting it come alive to them. How can we know him rather than just know about Him? People would say there's an 18-inch difference between the head and the heart. To know Him is to receive Him into your heart. My wife and I were just dating until the day that I said that I loved her and didn't want to live without her. I asked her to become my wife. Marriage is a picture of Christ and His church. We need to say to God, "I want you to have my heart" and He will take it. He'll come inside and the powers of Hell will say, "Paul I know and Jesus I know and, oh oh, you are with them!" Do you know Jesus? Does He know you?

Thoughts From Acts 18 - Part 3

  Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. Acts 18:24-19:7

       I've got a theory on who wrote the book of Hebrews and when I looked it up, I'm not the only one. Adolf Von Harnack proposed it in 1900 and Ruth Hoppin developed it extensively. Wish it was like Spurgeon, John McArthur, or R.C.Sproul but sadly Harnack and Hoppin. I'm going to give some reasons why Priscilla wrote the book of Hebrews.

       First of all, no one knows who wrote it. That in and of itself makes female authorship credible. No one would have canonized a book written by a female in those days. You say, "What about Ruth and Esther?" Either Samuel, Mordecai, Nehemiah or Ezra but not Ruth or Esther. Many women throughout history have been ghost-writers in order to get their books published. I'm not saying she was a ghost-writer because then a male author would be attributed and it sounds like a deceptive way to get a book in the Bible, but the whole female credibility principle carried over to the early 20th century. I think the book was circulating around to the churches and was so inerrant and helpful that it was just accepted as a church father writing, although because of its unknown authorship it was one of the last books to be canonized.

      Second, A lot of people point to Paul as the author because it contains content and phrases that he has used in other epistles. This also would suggest Priscilla because she spent years learning from Paul on a daily basis. She learned so much that a learned scholar like Apollos sat in deference and was instructed on the difference between Old Testament salvation and New Testament salvation, freedom versus law. That is the crux of Hebrews and she thought, if Apollos needs to understand it, other people must be confused, too and judging from the beginning of chapter 19 she was right. Did you know that the epistles are placed in the Bible from longest to shortest? If the church fathers really thought Paul wrote it, they would have placed it after Corinthians. They didn't think he wrote it and neither do I.

    Lastly, she did travel during her lifetime and had connections in the growing churches. She certainly had opportunity to send letters that would be received gladly and with authority because she and her husband were known to be Paul's "right hand 'men'." Like Luke, Paul's traveling companion, their words would have carried weight. Luke got canonized, why not Priscilla?

  

Thoughts From Acts 18 - Part 2

 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 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.” 16 So he drove them off. 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.18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.  Acts 18:12-23

     What do unbelievers think about religious people? Probably about as much as Gallio did. "I've got my life to live and my job to do and you guys can just do your thing and don't bother me. You guys just argue about the Bible and meanwhile I'll live in the real world. If in some way it affects my "real" world then I will deal with it." The fact that when it came to violence against Sosthenes, which did enter into the realm of his duties to squelch and he did nothing, shows his utter disdain for faith - "Let them eliminate themselves. Let them fight it out, it doesn't concern me."

        I was at a stop light in Memphis recently and there are always beggars at this intersection. The man in front of me rolled his window down and pulled out a cigarette and lit it and gave it to the guy. You'd think he won the lottery the way his face lit up and his bad dentition showed. I had a pack of peanut butter crackers to give him, but he turned that down with disgust. It got me thinking that if I went to the liquor store and bought those $1 whiskey bottles that they sell on airplanes for who knows how much, I would give them such happiness, and they would love it because that's what they want money for anyway. So, I bought 5 of them. (I can go into liquor stores in Memphis because nobody knows me) They sat in my glove compartment for the opportune time and when it came, I couldn't do it. I ended up throwing them out. Why? I got to thinking, what disdain am I showing for this guy. I'm in effect saying, "Here, go ahead and destroy your life, I don't care. I'll even make it easier for you."

        This is the disdain Gallio showed to people of faith. The Democrats won the mid-terms and people are posting on Facebook, "They're going to shut down churches, etc." No, they aren't. Politicians are happy when we are in the churches and arguing with other Christians about theology because it keeps us out of their business. They have disdain for us. Even Trump was just using us to feed his narcissism and it's naive to believe otherwise. Gallio's life won't always go well just like the Philippian jailor who had a crisis and needed God. Let's show love, be good citizens, respect the government and be there when the collapses in life happen because it's then that faith can make an in-road. They didn't show disdain for faith and prayer when 9/11 happened.

Thoughts From Acts 18 - Part 1

 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. Acts 18:1-11

 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ Ezek. 33:1-6

        I've got to think that Paul, as familiar as he was with the Old Testament or Testament (they didn't have the New Testament yet just like Home Alone is not called Home Alone 1,) knew of Ezekiel 33 and recognized that he was the watchman warning of impending judgement. He had previously said that the judgement for worshipping things other than the one who made them all would be carried out by Jesus who He resurrected from the dead.

      Today, I was approached while walking to my AirB&B by a man who had a flat tire and was short $15. He seemed legit, pointed to the car and his wife who was having surgery at the hospital that day so I gave him a 20 and told him I do it because Jesus told me to give to anyone who asks. Now I've been approached at least 5 times in my life for the flat tire ruse, I'm sure they take credit cards for tires, and although this guy seemed more legit than any other time, he probably scammed me. Or did he? Was he scamming me or Jesus if everything I own belongs to Jesus - actually I don't own anything, I'm just managing His money. It's one thing to scam me, it's another thing to scam the one who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart and will judge rightly. So I just turn it over to Jesus and don't stress about it.

      Jesus is the judge. The first time He came to die and forgive and serve and save. The next time He will come riding a horse with judgement in His hand and it won't be good for all those who have usurped His throne. Like Ulysses came to judge those who had contempt on His hospitality and his bride, He will come with judgement in hand. We know this to be true so we are "watchmen", right? We are responsible for warning people, yet we allow them to live in rebellion without telling them for fear of rejection, mockery, or just being accused of self-righteous judging. We will have to answer for this at the Bema seat and although we won't incur wrath, we won't hear "well done my good and faithful servant." I don't know about you, but I want him to say, "well done, Jim".