ACTS 17-22 THE SPIRITS CONTINUED WORK2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 17-22 The Spirits Continued Work

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014. We are here in the book of Acts. We'll be looking at chapters 17 through 22 this evening as we review the chapters that we read this week going through the Bible in three years.

The book of Acts is written by a man named Luke who also wrote the gospel of Luke. And he was not an eyewitness as far as the life of Christ is concerned. He compiled reports, he interviewed eyewitnesses and put together the gospel of Luke.

And then he did the same with the book of Acts until about chapter 16, which is where we left off last week, where he joined with Paul on the missionary journey. And so we're looking at, you know, his account of things that he was seeing take place and recording as they went along and were ministering in these ways.

He wrote this book probably around 63 AD, which is, as far as the timeline is concerned, where the book of Acts ends with Paul in prison in Rome waiting to appear before Caesar. And that's where the book of Acts ends because probably that's when he wrote it. And so that's all that had happened up to that point.

And so it covers about 30 years from 32 AD. You can see this on the timeline here. And 32 AD is when Jesus was crucified, when he was resurrected. And then 63 AD, which is the end of the book of Acts, we're looking at about a 30 year span of time and looking at all of the things that the Lord was doing in the early church and establishing the church in those first 30 years.

In our chapters this evening, we're looking at Paul and his second missionary journey. We're jumping in to the middle of that. And then we'll also go on to see him complete his third missionary journey and head down to Jerusalem. And so we'll be looking at about, I think about seven or so years of history as we look at our chapters this evening.

The geography of Acts is pretty basic. You have Jerusalem there in the bottom right. That's where the book of Acts started. And then the gospel began to spread further and further and went up to Antioch, which is up there. And that's where Barnabas went. He got Saul and said, you got to be part of this work that God's doing. And then Saul and Barnabas were sent out and the gospel began to spread even further. And then heading into the end of the book of Acts, it's going to spread all the way to Rome as Antioch.

Paul goes to Rome to appear before Caesar and to share the gospel with him. Well, as we get into chapter 17 this evening, we're just want to review chapter 16 very quickly because we're jumping right into the middle of his second missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas were sent out the first time in Acts chapter 13. They went around and then they came back and reported what God did. Uh,

Later on, they were going to go out again, but they had the disagreement between them about John Mark and whether or not he should be part of the trip. And so Barnabas went his way and then Saul went this way.

He went from Antioch there on the right up through Cilicia hitting Derbe and Lystra. He then went up. He tried to go into Asia, tried to go into Bithynia, but the Lord said no. And so he went to Troas and God gave him a vision to go to Macedonia. And so he went over to Philippi and we saw him there last week in chapter 16 ministering to Lydia and her household, the Philippian jailer, because Paul was imprisoned and they were getting saved. And so God was doing a work in

And now as we go into chapter 17, we're picking up where that left off. They just get out of prison and now they're moving on to the next spot as we get into chapter 17. So chapter 17 verse 11 is the key verse. It says, these were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

And so it's talking about the mentality or the attitude of the people who are receiving the word and comparing two different locations and their reception of the word. We'll talk about that as we get to it in the passage. But in verses 1 through 4,

We have Paul preaching in Thessalonica. And so he leaves Philippi because of the imprisonment, the persecution that's going on there. So he leaves Philippi and he goes down to Thessalonica. And he follows his normal pattern there. He goes to the synagogue in verse 1.

And he spends three Sabbaths with them and declaring the truth of Jesus Christ. Now it's pretty amazing because you have this church now in Thessalonica that's established over this three week period. And then later on Paul is going to be writing 1st and 2nd Thessalonians to encourage the church that was established there.

It was kind of interesting to imagine. Can you imagine planting a church, establishing a church in three weeks? You know, I mean, that's pretty radical work that God was doing as he is going. Now, this wasn't by design. It wasn't like Paul had the three-week plan to start a church. But there in Thessalonica, well, there was another issue and he's going to be driven out of the city. And so he made the most of his time and in three weeks,

There was a church established there by the Apostle Paul. Well, then in verses 5 through 9, we see that the Jews gathered a mob. It says that the Jews who were not persuaded by Paul became envious because so many people were converting. So many people were believing the gospel that they were upset. And so they gather this mob and they start to, you know, cause some trouble and

They hold a guy named Jason responsible for Paul and demand that he make a deposit, you know, as security that nothing else is going to happen. And so as a result of this, the brethren send Paul from Thessalonica to Berea. And he's there for a little bit, but then more trouble happens. And so then he's sent from Berea to Athens there in verses 10 through 15. Verse 10 tells us that he's sent away by night.

Now, I think these are interesting to consider because when I think of the Apostle Paul, I don't think of him like sneaking away at night. You know what I mean? Like, I just think of him as this bold guy, you know, fearless, you know, don't worry about any kind of danger. But there's also some wisdom in play as, you know, he is moving from place to place and as there is this turmoil within the cities. And so they send him away at night and

when it's not easily visible and he's able to get away from Thessalonica and then he goes to Berea. Now as he goes to Berea, this is where verse 11 comes in. It tells us that the Bereans, those who were in that city, were more fair-minded or more noble-minded than those who were in Thessalonica.

Explains that because they received the word with all readiness. But they took it another step. And they searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. And I think this is important for us to think about and consider for ourselves. That the Bible commends those who hear the word and receive it with readiness. That's good. That's what the people in Thessalonica did.

But the Bereans took it that extra step. And so it describes it as being more fair-minded or higher up, more noble or more honorable to receive the word with readiness and then verify in the scriptures that those things that you heard are true.

And I think it's an important encouragement for all of us to verify what you hear. Check it out in the Word of God. Don't just take somebody else's word for it. Even if, you know, it's your best friend or your husband or someone that you really like or you trust, you know, verify it yourself. You need to check it out and make sure that it lines up with what the Bible says. And so they receive the Word.

And not in a skeptical way like, ah, I don't trust you. I'm not going to believe you until I see it for myself. But wow, that's amazing. Let me double check, you know. And so just getting in and checking out and making sure that what you receive, because the things that you receive, you're going to be basing decisions upon and your life is going to be built upon. And you want to make sure

that that is in line with the word of God and not somebody's, you know, opinion or somebody's twisted doctrine. You want to make sure that it's right with what God has said.

Well, there in Berea, in verse 13, it tells us that Jews came from Thessalonica and stirred up the crowd. So the people who ran him out of Thessalonica now came to Berea and stirred up another crowd and ran him out. And so Paul now is sent down south to Athens, and he is waiting there for Timothy and Silas to catch up with him. But as he waits for them, he begins to minister in that area. In verses 16 through 21,

It tells us that Paul reasoned in the synagogues there in Athens. I think verse 16 is interesting. It says, Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. And then verse 17 says, Therefore he reasoned with them in the synagogues.

The prompting or what prompted him to minister in the synagogues was a provoking of his spirit. And this is important because as he's looking around at what the city is doing and their worship of idolatry, it's stirring up within him distress.

He's distressed over the lost condition of the people around him. And then, therefore, he reasons in the synagogues that this ministry is...

It's brought upon him by this stirring up or this provoking within him when he sees the need of the people and the lost condition of the people. And I think this is important because we want to make sure as far as our ministry is concerned and what we're involved in, that we are involved in things that God has stirred up within us. That it's not something that we've just thought up ourselves or that we're trying to do in our own strength.

But really we want to be open for God to show us the conditions of people, the needs of people, and for him to give us a burden that we would be provoked within and then therefore reach out and love on people and share with them and encourage them and minister to them.

Well, in verse 19, it tells us that they take Paul and bring him to the Areopagus saying, may we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak. And so as he's reasoning with them, the philosophers in Athens, they were famous philosophers in Athens, they hear about this message and

And so they say, hey, can you come to our arena, our theater, and share with us this new doctrine that you're bringing? And so Paul in verses 22 through 34 shares with them and speaks to them the gospel. He says, the one that you worship without knowing, him I proclaim.

Paul starts out ministering to this group. He's speaking to this big group of philosophers who love nothing more than they spend all day just talking about new ideas and discussing these things. And Paul introduces, you know, his message by saying, I perceive that you are very religious. I think it's interesting here. Paul uses some tact, right? This is really important.

He uses some tact. He says, hey, I've been looking at what you guys are doing and I can see that you guys are very religious. Kind of, you know, opening them up to what he's about to share. And then in verse 23, he goes on to say, he says, as I was walking around, I saw this altar that you have with the inscription, to the unknown God. And then notice what Paul says at the end of verse 23. He says, therefore...

The one whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.

Paul does this beautiful thing here where he opens up gently. He opens up in a way that's tactful in that, you know, they're receptive to what he's saying. And then he takes something that they know that they don't know. He takes something that they're familiar with, but they, you know, confess their ignorance with it as far as this worship of the unknown God. And he says, I want to fill in the gap here. And this is the God I want to proclaim to you.

I think this is a great picture for us, for ministering to people wherever they're at. That is, we can, you know, take elements of what they know and use that as a bridge to tie into the gospel message. Sometimes, I think we kind of come across this way. You believe that? You're a dummy. Why would you ever believe that? You know, that's not the best way necessarily to, you know, share the gospel with people.

but instead Paul, you know, tactfully kind of works it in and connects it so that he then is able to talk about Jesus. Now that doesn't mean we water down the truth. He went to the gospel and he talked about Jesus. He talked about, you know, his death and resurrection. And so he didn't water down the message, but he also didn't tell them they were, you know, fools or

and stupid and you know those kinds of things you know he he led them into the gospel message with things that they were familiar with well the result was that some mocked and some believed and that's the truth that's what's going to happen whenever we have opportunity to share with others some are going to mock and some are going to believe

Well, the geography of Acts chapter 17, we picked it up in Philippi where Paul was at with Lydia and the jailer there. But then he leaves in chapter 17 and heads over to Thessalonica. He spends three weeks there and then he goes to Berea. He spends a short time there and then he goes down to Athens and that's where he preaches to the philosophers.

Well, that brings us to chapter 18 now. Verse 26 is the key verse. It says, so he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. This is talking about a man named Apollos, and we'll talk about that at the end of this chapter. But verses 1 through 3, we see Paul working with Aquila and Priscilla.

And so we're introduced to this couple that Paul meets there. And as he meets with them, well, they find out, hey, we're the same occupation. They're all tent makers. And Paul, as he was traveling from place to place, sometimes he had support from some of the churches that had been established.

But many times he provided for himself. And so he worked as a tent maker and he would make tents and sell them. And that would pay for his needs. And then he would be able to minister in the area. And so Aquila and Priscilla have the same occupation. They're solid believers. And they become an important part of God's work in encouraging Paul and being with him. And then later on discipling Apollos.

So now they're in Corinth, which is a huge commercial city. It's a huge city and there's, you know, markets and markets and markets. It's a great opportunity as far as, you know, selling tents and that kind of thing. But also, of course, with all the selling and commerce that's going on, there's lots of people around. And so Paul is going to be ministering in Corinth for quite a while. In verses 4 through 11, many Corinthians believe and are baptized. And

And so Paul is ministering to, first of all, the Jews as he usually does. He's in the synagogues. And as they rejected, in verse 6, he says, all right, I'm going to the Gentiles. And it's funny, you know, it's kind of this grand announcement. All right, you rejected. I'm going to the Gentiles. And he walks out of the synagogue and he walks into the house next door and he starts teaching there. The school of Tyrannus, or the home of justice actually, is where he went to, which is right next door.

And so that was now the base of his ministry. So he's just ministering right next door to the synagogue as he continues there in Corinth. There's lots of people that believe as a result of his ministry. Even Crispus, who was the synagogue ruler, believed, it tells us in verse 8.

In verse 10, we see that God speaks to Paul. The Lord speaks to him and says, hey, keep up the good work. I'm with you. I have many people, you know, in this city. They're not going to harm you. And so the Lord comes and brings him comfort. I think this is really cool because

Prior to this, we see Paul run out of city after city after city. And now this time the Lord says, okay, Paul, I want you to put down some roots here. You're going to stick around here for a while. I've got a lot of people here. You don't have to fear and think that you're going to be run out of town. You can plan to stay for a while and minister to the people of Corinth. And so it tells us in verse 11 that he stays in Corinth for about a year and a half and

and he's ministering to them. I think this is interesting because Paul is willing to invest time in a location. As we look at the maps, you know, of him and all the different places that he ministered to, that wasn't what he would have charted out ahead of time. He wasn't thinking, all right, I'll spend three weeks here, then I'll go over there, and I'll spend four weeks there, and I'll spend three months over there.

Paul went from city to city to city because of the persecution, because he was run out of the city. But when there was an opportunity for him to stick around, like Corinth, then he's able and he's willing to invest the time in the location. His goal wasn't necessarily to hit as many towns, you know, as fast as possible, but he was establishing believers. And wherever he was, that was what he was about, establishing believers, sharing the gospel.

In verses 12 through 17, the Jews bring Paul to the judgment seat. So even though he's established there in Corinth, there is some opposition and they try to bring him to judgment here in verses 12 through 17. But Galio, the judge, is just like, ah, you guys are talking about your laws and stuff. I don't care about that. Get out of here. And so he just dismissed the case altogether. He didn't worry about it.

Well, then in verses 18 through 23, Paul returns to Antioch. He takes Aquila and Priscilla to Ephesus and stops there for a short bit. But then he goes on back to Antioch. And then as he stays there for a little bit, then it tells us in verse 23, then he gets on the road again and continues on ministering to people and begins his third missionary journey.

In verses 24 through 28, we take a little sideline from Paul and we look at Aquila and Priscilla and their encounter with a guy named Apollos.

This guy, Apollos, he comes into town in Ephesus, where they're at, and he's talking to people, and he's sharing with them, and Aquila and Priscilla hear them. In verse 26, it says, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, and when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

I think this is really amazing and something for us to consider because here you have Aquila and Priscilla who hear this guy that they, you know, they're just hearing him for the first time. They're just meeting him that day.

And he's sharing a message in the synagogue and they realize, wow, this is a good message, but there's a little bit more that needs to be shared. There's a little bit that's missing from his message. And so these two, this couple, pull this guy aside and they spend some time with him and disciple him so that he knows the truth of God. It says they explain the way of God more accurately to him.

So that he had the complete now, the complete word of God or the complete gospel message. I think this is key for us to consider because, well, Priscilla and Aquila are not apostles. They're not the Apostle Paul. You know, they're not one of those who were with Jesus. They're, well, they're a couple who believe in Jesus. They're solid believers. And they take this young guy, Apollos, under their wings and disciple him. You know, ministry happens when

by the body of Christ. And this couple, these solid believers, are looking at this situation and they're helping Apollos reach his potential as far as what he could accomplish for the Lord. They're equipping him and building him up and helping him go forward in his relationship with the Lord and in his ministry to people. It's a good model for us to follow. And I would encourage you

You know, husbands and wives or whether you're married or not. But you have been walking with the Lord. And there's people around you who have been walking with the Lord for less time. And so you have an opportunity then

To spend some time with them and explain the way of God more accurately. That you shouldn't think, and we can't think, you know, that's somebody else's responsibility. Or, you know, that's the pastor's, that's what they're for. Yeah, but you know, the real ministry that takes place is, this is part of it. Sharing from the pulpit, that's part of ministry. But the majority of ministry happens...

With you guys. The majority of ministry happens as you guys minister to one another. As you follow the example of Priscilla and Aquila. And see people who are in need. And reach out. Spend time with them. Disciple them. Build them up. And help them accomplish the work that God has called them to. And so even if you're a tent maker. Like Aquila and Priscilla. Uh.

you have a great opportunity to affect the kingdom of God and to affect, you know, the people around you by spending time to minister to them and disciple them. And so a great example for us to consider for ourselves here. Well, the geography in Acts chapter 18, we pick it up with Paul in Athens. He heads over to Corinth. It's about 50 miles away. And then he takes a boat over to Ephesus, spends a couple days there, drops off Priscilla and Aquila, and then

Heads back to Antioch. He lands in Caesarea and then goes up by land up to Antioch and spends some time there at his home church in Antioch. But in verse 23 it tells us then he's right on his way again. So he begins his third missionary journey there in verse 23 as he heads out up through Galatia and spends some time continuing to minister the gospel there.

in his next missionary journey. So here's an overview of Paul's second missionary journey. So this is all, you know, the geography from Acts 16, 17, and 18. It took him about three years to go from Antioch through Cilicia and then, you know, all the different places he went. He covered in that time period about 2,221 miles. Now,

this is the measurement, you know, just from point to point. So the actual roads he would have followed, you know, probably would have been a lot more. It would have been more, probably around 25 to 2700 miles. And so a great distance that he traveled. And as I was considering this and, you know, putting this together, thinking about trying to travel, you know, two to 3000 miles on foot or on boat,

You know, I was thinking that we need to know that it is worth it to do this. That if the Lord gives you a ministry of walking to the other end of the United States to share the gospel along the way, it's worth it. You know, this is not something that we would kind of typically think of or we would attempt to do. But if God tells anybody to spend the next three years walking around a couple thousand miles walking

And sharing the gospel. It's worth it. It's worth it to invest that amount of time. It's worth it to invest that amount of effort. To provide those expenses. You know. To change life and whatever is needed. In order to make that happen. It's worth it. To accomplish what God has called you to do. And so that's what Paul is doing. This isn't just you know. That he likes to travel. And so you know. He just got to see some cool places. And share the gospel along the way. No.

But the Lord called him to this. And it's valuable. It's worth it. No matter what. If God calls you to something, it's worth it. Even if it's at great expense or if it's a great distance or a long ways away, it's worth it. Well, that brings us now to chapter 19. Verse 10 is the key verse.

It says, and this continued for two years so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. In verses 1 through 10, Paul finds some believers in Ephesus and he lays hands on them and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. He finds some believers who are gathered together. It says that there's about 12 of them.

But as he's hanging out with them, he realizes, you know, there's something missing from your life. You guys are disciples. You believe in Jesus. But you're not quite there. There's something, there's an element that's missing in your walk. And so he says, did you guys receive the Holy Spirit? And they said, no.

Holy Spirit. We've never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. And so then he, you know, shares with them the full message of what Jesus came to accomplish. Not only to die upon the cross for our sins, but also to send the Holy Spirit upon his disciples. And so they receive that. They're baptized in the name of Jesus. And in verse 6 says,

Paul lays hands on them and it says that the Holy Spirit came upon them. They're filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit at that time. Well, then Paul continues on in verse 8 to minister in the synagogue for three months.

He spends some time ministering to the Jews. As usual, they reject what Paul is sharing. And so then in verse 9, he goes to the school of Tyrannus and ministers the gospel there for the next two years. And so he spends a good amount of time here in Ephesus ministering first to these 12 guys, then ministering in the synagogues, and then ministering at the school of Tyrannus to the people as a whole.

In verses 11 through 20, we have an interesting account of some Jewish exorcists who try to use the name of Jesus in their exercising of demons. And so they attempt, they, you know, try to command Jesus and then, or try to command demons in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches. So they're not believers, but they're trying to use the name of Jesus. And so they're trying to use the name of Jesus.

Now, when it comes to things of spiritual war, we do need to call out, you know, on the name of Jesus and speak in the name of Jesus. But you need to understand, there's power in the name of Jesus for those who know him. And so, when you encounter these kinds of situations where there is real spiritual battles going on, maybe demonic oppression or even demonic possession, these are real things, they do happen.

And so we will encounter these things from time to time. And you need to know that there's power in the name of Jesus. But you have to know him. You have to have a real relationship with him to be able to have power in his name. You can't say, you know, in the name of Jesus whom Jonathan told me about.

You need to be able to say, in the name of Jesus, whom I know, my Savior, my Lord, in the name of my Jesus, I speak to you. And so it's power in the name of Jesus for those who know him. Well, then in verses 21 through 41, there's an uproar in Ephesus. The city gets really worked up as they start to lose business there.

in the idolatry business. In verse 27, it says, so not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed whom all Asia and the world worship. And so this guy who makes idols is trying to stir up this mob, this uproar, because they're losing business. And so they're not able to make

you know, the idols and the money that they were making when they made the idols. The temple of Diana, which was a Greek god that they worshipped, and that temple was in Ephesus. That was, you know, the funds were low because people weren't investing because they were getting saved and turning away from those things. And so there's this great uproar and the city gathers together and they're chanting, you know, great is Diana. But then, you

The city official comes and he calms the people down. He says, look, Rome's going to get upset if we're rioting like this. And so he dismissed everybody. And so they dispersed at that point. And so now Paul is going to move on from Ephesus and continue on into some other regions.

So in Acts chapter 19, you just really have one location. That's Paul as he goes through Galatia. Then he goes to Ephesus and he spends about three years there ministering to them. And it tells us that the word of the Lord grew mightily as he did.

Well, I wanted to take a minute to talk about the empowering of the Holy Spirit as we see this account in the first few verses of chapter 19 where Paul finds these disciples. They don't know about the Holy Spirit. He talks to them about the Holy Spirit. He lays hands on them and it says that the Holy Spirit came upon them.

And we talked about this at the beginning of the book of Acts. And it's appropriate to remember, you know, what those things were that the Lord began to show us here in this book. And that is that we as believers need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And I use the word empower because I think it helps kind of unify the different ways that this experience is spoken of in the scriptures.

In Acts chapter 1 verse 5, Jesus tells his disciples that you will be baptized with the Spirit. And then in verse 8, as he's still talking to them, he says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And so as he's telling them about what is about to happen when the Holy Spirit comes, he describes it as being baptized with the Spirit, and he also describes it as the Holy Spirit upon you.

Well, then when the event actually happens in Acts chapter 2 verse 4, it tells us that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And so these three terms are all speaking of the same event. So what I refer to as the empowering of the Spirit is also known as the baptism of the Spirit.

the filling of the Spirit, or the Holy Spirit upon you. And these are the same thing that is the Holy Spirit empowering a person to be a witness to Jesus and to fulfill the work that God has established for you. Now there's a difference between the empowering of the Spirit and the indwelling of the Spirit. And so we know that as far as indwelling is concerned,

When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. When you're born again, you also may receive at that same time the baptism or the filling or the empowering of the Holy Spirit. That sometimes happens when you're born again. Sometimes it doesn't though. And so like we see here in Ephesians or in Acts chapter 19 with the Ephesian guys here, they had believed but later on they received the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is received automatically. That is, you don't have to ask for it. There's not something special you do. When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. The empowering of the Holy Spirit, we see throughout the book of Acts that the instruction is given to ask for the Holy Spirit. There's this request. Even Jesus taught us in Luke chapter 11 to ask and the Father will give you the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit seems to be a permanent condition. The Bible refers to it as being sealed by the Holy Spirit. It's our guarantee of salvation. And so there's this permanent condition that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you. He doesn't come and go. It's not sometimes he's there, sometimes he's not. It doesn't depend on how good you are each day. But he permanently dwells within you if you have believed in Jesus Christ.

The empowering of the Spirit, though, is a repeated action. That is, we continue to request that God would fill us with His Holy Spirit. As Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 5, he commands us to be filled with the Spirit. And it means to continually, to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit finally is primarily for work within the believer. The Holy Spirit's working within you to make you more like Christ, to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

The empowering of the Holy Spirit is primarily for reaching unbelievers. It's to help you, to empower you, to accomplish the mission that God has given to you to make disciples and to serve Him in the way that He has called you to. And so there's differences between the empowering and the indwelling. The main point being...

That this is something that God wants us to continue to request, to continue to ask for, to continue to confess our need to be filled and strengthened and empowered by the Holy Spirit because we are called to be witnesses to the world around us and we cannot do that in our own strength.

And so this evening, I'd like to encourage you and remind you of your need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And we'll come back to that at the end of our time together as well. But let's move on now into Acts chapter 20. Verse 24 is the key verse. He says,

Here Paul continues on from Ephesus and he goes quickly through a few areas. He journeys to Greece and then back to Troas.

And so he spent some time in a couple of different areas there, but he's kind of moving quickly at this time. He doesn't really set camp like he spent three years in Ephesus. You know, now he's moving from place to place pretty quickly. Now, what's interesting as you look at verses 1 through 6, there's a lot of details there, a lot of, you know, small cities that are mentioned, locations and distances. And as you look at the book of Acts, there's a lot of this kind of detail. Now,

Luke records for us, you know, travel times between two points and how long it took and how long it would take by boat. And he records a lot of detail, which as you study it, you'll find is amazingly accurate.

Even as he's going from place to place and he mentions different rulers, he mentions the right names who were there at the right time. He refers to them according to the title that's appropriate for their region because as he went from place to place, rulers and authorities went by different titles. For example, if I began to talk to you about the Queen of America, you'd recognize right away something's wrong, you don't know what you're talking about.

because we don't have a queen in America, right? And so different areas have different titles for their rulers and leaders. And Luke has this amazing accuracy, which we would expect, you know, being there and also being inspired by the Holy Spirit. But it's important to point out

There was a guy about 100 years ago now, Sir William Ramsey, who was an atheist and he decided to disprove the Bible using his parents' wealth. And so he went attempting to disprove the book of Acts because he figured there's so much detail here, it'll be easy to disprove.

And as he set out to do that, he instead became a believer because he found all of these places just like Luke described. All these distances away from each other just like Luke described. And so I just pointed out to remind us that we can have great confidence in the word of God. These things are not just stories or fables, but they're actual places, actual events, and these things actually occurred.

Well, then in verses 7 through 12, Paul speaks all night in Troas. He's on the way. He's on mission. And so he doesn't want to stick around. And so he packs, you know, everything into one night. And he just teaches all night long. And of course, this is where we see the guy fall asleep and fall down dead. And then there's this great miracle as Paul brings him back to life. And from this, I think we learned some really important truths. Number one is...

it's normal for pastors to teach for a really long time. So that's pretty normal, okay? Secondly, it's normal for people to fall asleep when the pastor preaches for a long time. So we're normal. I just want to say that, okay? Verses 13 through 38 now, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders.

These verses record some powerful last words as Paul ministers to the leaders from the church of Ephesus. He'd spent three years there. He's been away for a couple months. He's on his way, you know, now to Jerusalem. He's probably not going to see them again. And so he gives them this kind of farewell address.

And he shares with them, he says in verse 26, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Paul says to the Ephesian elders, hey, I was there in Ephesus for three years and I shared with you the whole counsel of God's word. So I've given you the truth. I'm innocent because I've given you the truth. If I had held back some of the truth, if I had held back some of God's message, well, then I would be guilty because that's what I'm sent out to do. But I'm innocent. I've shared with you the whole counsel of God.

I think it's interesting, and the Lord was kind of encouraging me this week as we were going through this, that he spent three years in Ephesus, and in that three years, he went through the whole council with them. And in a similar fashion, he has called us, and we're finishing up this year, the Bible in three years. And so in this three-year time period, we're going through the whole council of God together. I think it's really great, and I want to encourage you to stick it out.

As we head now forward from the book of Acts, we'll be heading into the epistles and then Revelation. And I encourage you to finish strong as we continue to work through the Bible together.

Well, he also warns them in verse 29 and 30. He says there's going to be wolves who come in and try to, you know, disrupt and cause problems within the church. And then he also says men from among you. So people within your ranks. Some of you elders, you're going to turn away and try to bring people after you. And there's going to be this problem. And so he's warning them. He's also mourning over the reality that these things will happen.

In verse 32 he says, Paul loved these Ephesian elders. He loved the church in Ephesus.

But he knew that he was called to move on. And so he delivers them. He entrusts them. He says, you know, God's able to take care of you. And he's going to minister to you. He's going to meet your needs. The God of all grace. Yes, there's going to be wolves and trouble and difficulties. But I'm entrusting you to God. And he is able to build you up.

And to give you an inheritance. He's able to do the work in you. And so I'm entrusting you to God. While I have to head on. And I'm not able to be here with you.

Great words, touching words as Paul says his goodbye here to the Ephesian elders. It says that when he had said all these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all and they wept freely and fell on his neck and kissed him. And so there's this great emotion being displayed as he heads on. I think Warren Wiersbe said something interesting here. He said, one day your life will end and you will have to give your farewell speech to

Can you look back without regret and look ahead without fear? When you finish your race, or will you finish your race with joy even while others are weeping? Great example here in the Apostle Paul in pressing forward to do the work of God and having, you know, looking back and say, I've been faithful to do what God called me to do there in Ephesus.

Well, the geography here in chapter 20, Paul was there in Ephesus. He goes up north to Macedonia, as you see the red arrows there. Then he goes down to Athens or the area of Greece. Then he goes back up the same way and then to Troas. And now he's working his way back to Jerusalem.

chapter 21 verse 32 it says he immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them and when they saw the commander and the soldiers they stopped beating paul he here in chapter 21 now paul is making his way back to jerusalem but as he does the believers along the way are pleading with paul to not go to jerusalem

He lands in Tyre, which is north of Israel, and he meets with the believers there, and they plead with him, don't go, don't go. He goes down to Caesarea, working his way down to Jerusalem, and the believers there say, don't go, don't go. There's a prophet named Agabus who, you know, binds himself with Paul's belt and said, the owner of this belt is going to be bound in this way. And so in verse 12, it tells us that they pleaded with Paul not to go. But

But then verse 13, I love Paul. He says, It's interesting because the Holy Spirit was revealing what was going to happen to Paul. And Paul says, it's worth it.

It's worth it to travel 3,000 miles by foot to share the gospel. It's worth it to be bound, to be put to death, to deliver the gospel message and to fulfill the commission that God has given to me. He says it's worth it. I'm ready. Yeah, I know what's going to happen. The Lord's been showing me. The Holy Spirit's been revealing it. But that's where God's called me to go. And it's worth it. I'm going to go.

Well, he arrives in Jerusalem in verse 15 through 25. The elders ask Paul to join in a ceremonial vow with four guys. The elders of Jerusalem are trying to prevent a big commotion because, you know, the people have heard about Paul and they've been taught that Paul is teaching things that he's not teaching. And so there was this misinformation going around. And so they say, well,

Join up with these four guys. Be with them in their ceremonial vow. And that way people can understand you haven't forsaken your Jewish heritage. And you still honor those things. And so they're attempting to avoid this. But it didn't work. And so they tried it. But still there was a great commotion. And there's going to be this trouble. I think it's important to see here that it's good to take steps.

to make peace and try to avoid offending people. But there has to be balance. You can't have peace at all costs because then you're going to change the message. You're going to, you know, allow compromise. You're going to put up with things that are not right. So it's not peace at all costs. And it's also, you know,

it's not offense without care. Like, I don't care if I offend anybody. I'm just going to do whatever I want. No, that's not right either. We kind of got to find the middle. And so Paul, you know, agrees. Hey, I'll participate in this vow. It's consistent, you know, with my heritage, with my culture, with the word of God. You know, it doesn't violate any of those things. And so I will be part of this. But even, you know, still people were offended by him. And so in verses 26 through 30,

You see Jews from Asia stir up the crowd and they seize Paul. And so they begin to beat him. The Roman commander hears about it. In verse 31 through 36 he comes in and chains Paul.

And as he's taking him out of the crowd, Paul asks the commander if he could speak to the people there in verses 37 through 40. So they're beating him. The Roman commander, you know, saves him essentially. And he says, can you give me an opportunity? I want to speak to the people that were just beating me in this way. Well, here's the geography in Acts chapter 21. He left from Miletus where he was meeting with the Ephesian elders and sailed back with a couple stops all the way to Tyre.

And then from there worked his way down by land to Caesarea and then Jerusalem. And that's where he is captured. And that concludes his third missionary journey. So this is the third time he went out from Antioch. He went up through Galatia and Asia. By the way, when we refer to Asia in the Bible, we're not referring to the continent of Asia, like where China is. It's also known as Asia Minor. And so it's right here in the Mediterranean Sea.

in Europe. And so he spends three years in Ephesus and then goes around to Macedonia and Greece and then makes his way back to Jerusalem. This time, this journey takes about four years. Three of those years are in Ephesus and he travels about 2,500 miles. Again, you'd want to round up some because the actual roads that he would follow would add quite a bit of distance. Well, the final chapter for this evening is Acts chapter 22.

And in verse 22, it says, In verses 1 through 11, Paul is speaking to this multitude and he says, So Paul, as he has this opportunity to share with this crowd, what does he share? He shares his testimony.

We see consistently Paul sharing his testimony throughout the book of Acts. It's a powerful tool that we have, our testimony. He shares it several times and in each way he's talking to different people or each time he's talking to different people. And so he emphasizes different elements. You know, he modifies it to make it appropriate to the people that he's speaking to. And so as he's speaking to them, he's talking about his roots. He says, look, I persecuted...

way you know the the truth uh the the one who is uh proclaimed as jesus christ i persecuted those followers of jesus and then there was this appearance as the lord appeared to me and spoke to me and there was this bright light and i had to be led into damascus and then ananias he was a a faithful jew

And he came to me and came to me and told me to call on the name of the Lord. And then as I was spending some time with the Lord in the temple, in verse 17 through 21, Jesus spoke to me and said, I will send you to the Gentiles. And so he's just sharing with them his journey, how the Lord brought him to where he's at, helping them understand, helping them, you know, along the way to see how God was working throughout.

But as he mentioned the Gentiles and being sent by God to the Gentiles, this upset the Jews. They were not big fans of Gentiles and they had a lot of difficulty with them. And so they said, no, this is wrong. And they began to, you know, go crazy. And the commander said, what is going on? Why are they so upset? And so he commands that Paul be scourged.

In order to find out what he said, you know, why this caused them such great commotion. But in verse 22 through 30, you can see that Paul is spared from scourging because he is a Roman citizen. And so his citizenship spares him from scourging without a cause. And so this is where we leave him. Now we're going to go on and, you know, the reading in this week.

to see Paul on trial. He's going to be having more opportunity to share and then ultimately he's going to appeal to Caesar and that's going to get him to Rome to share the gospel there. Well, as we finish up this evening,

I just want to go back to this theme that we see throughout the book of Acts, and that is the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Now this is, you know, a list of some of the verses that we've covered over the past few weeks as we've looked at the book of Acts and the working of the Holy Spirit. And we see from the very beginning, the church is all about the work of the Holy Spirit. And it's about the empowering of the Holy Spirit. And as we pick it up in our chapters from this week, in Acts chapter 18 verse 5, we

It tells us that Paul was compelled by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. And so because Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, he was compelled by the Spirit and

To bring the truth to the Jews. Again, as we talked about earlier, that this was a work that he was, you know, that the Lord was doing in him. The Holy Spirit was provoking in him, compelling him, you know, pushing him towards the work that God had called him to. I would ask you to consider, are you ever compelled by the Spirit? Do you know what that's like?

To be compelled. To have that burden from the Lord. Because that's part of what the Holy Spirit does in us. And as we're filled with the Holy Spirit, there's going to be these times where He compels us. That there's this urgency. That there's this, you must. You know, that wells up within you. Not a heavy weight, you know, someone telling you what you must do. But within, you have this great compelling that goes on. And you know, I must. I must.

do what God has called me to do. I must minister to that person, share with that person, pray for that person, love on that person, or whatever it is that he's called you to do. Now, being compelled by the Spirit, please understand, doesn't mean automatic success.

Because in the next verse, 18.6, it tells us that they opposed him and blasphemed. And he said, okay, I'm not going to the Jews no more. I'm going to the Gentiles. And so he was compelled by the Spirit. He shared the truth even though they would not receive it.

Well, then in Acts chapter 20 verse 23, Paul says that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city that chains and tribulations await me. And you see that throughout his final trip to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit's speaking to him. Through different ways, through different methods, through different people, the Holy Spirit is speaking to him. And it's another thing for us to consider. Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you?

Is the Holy Spirit giving you truth, giving you insight, giving you direction? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you? Because as the Holy Spirit is at work, he's going to be speaking. And sometimes he tells us what's ahead. Sometimes he tells us what to do. But there's this testifying of the Holy Spirit that goes on when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then in Acts chapter 20 verse 28, he's speaking to the Ephesian elders. He says, "...take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers."

So you can see the work of the Holy Spirit here in these chapters. Speaking and testifying, compelling, but also appointing. The Holy Spirit had appointed these overseers and given them this call to fulfill this role within the body of Christ. And the Holy Spirit will do the same in us because we all have a role to fulfill in the body of Christ. And so there's these appointments that he makes here.

And he, you know, sets us up and puts us in certain roles and enables us to complete those roles. And so I'll end with what Paul asked in Acts chapter 19 verse 2. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Ronnie's going to come up and they're going to lead us in this last song. And as they lead us in this song, I want to encourage you

To ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Richard and Janine are going to be up here in the front. And Harvey's going to be up here in the front too. And they're just going to be available for you guys. If you need prayer, you want to just say, yeah, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Would you lay hands on me like Paul laid hands on the Ephesian guys? You know, I want to receive what God has for me in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is not a one time thing but something that God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit continually. And so it's appropriate. And be led by the Lord. If the Lord's testifying to you, hey, stay right there and you pray and receive the Holy Spirit right here where you're at. Or if he tells you, hey, go up and have them pray for you. Then be led by the Spirit in that. But let's take this time.

to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that He would then compel us to do the work of God, that He would speak to us and give us insight into what He wants us to do and appoint to us the role within the body of Christ that He has set apart for us. And so let's seek the Lord and ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.