Acts 21:7-16
English Standard
Version (ESV)
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at
Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and
stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to
Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the
evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He
had four unmarried daughters, (who prophesied. 10 While
we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus
came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and
bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, This
is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver
him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When
we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to
Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing,
weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned
but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And
since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will
of the Lord be done.”
15 After these days we got ready and went up to
Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went
with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with
whom we should lodge.
Today it seems like churches want
to go to the structure of the early church.
I have heard so many sermons on the structure of the church, such as
elder rule or congregational rule. Another hot topic is whether women should be
considered for leadership positions or where is the place of women in the
church. All of these sermons are based
on the New Testament early church and how our structure should be like it. This passage gives me a clear picture of how
we should model after the early church and it has nothing to do with the
leadership of the church.
Paul knew people everywhere because he had
traveled everywhere. When he arrived in
a city the Christians were there to greet him and give him a place to
stay. It wasn’t just because Paul had
been there before but because he invested his life into each person that he met
and was faithful in every city that he was placed. What would our churches be like today if we
would invest in the lives of strangers who come into our city bringing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ? What would
happen if we would join them in spreading that Gospel?
As Paul traveled on he went to
another fellow proclaimer of the Gospel.
An evangelist named Philip. This
man had four daughters who were not married but who prophesied. They were serving the Lord as did their
father. It is obvious he was an upright
man as he had raised his daughters in the Lord.
How are we doing at that in the church today?
There was a prophet who showed
Paul exactly what the Lord had said about his future if he went to
Jerusalem. This was not news to Paul, he
knew his destiny in that city but it was a sign to others as to what he was
going to face. But take a special look
at what the church did, they gathered around Paul and they wept and asked him
not to go. When he told them that he was
ready, they accepted the will of the Father and they supported his
actions. Some even went as far as to
travel with him.
The early church had a leader in
Paul who was always ready to do the will of the Father even when he knew it
would bring pain upon him. How many of
us are ready for that in our own lives? If
we know trouble is ahead we tend to back off rather than plunge forward. We tend to shy away from the difficult tasks
that may cause us to have to give up family time, or the comforts of a quiet
home.
What are we doing church? We need to wake up and serve our Lord. We need to strive to be men and women of God
not a bunch of people trying to decide who should be leaders and who shouldn’t. The Israelites fell into this same bottomless pit
when they insisted on having a king to rule over them. God did not want them to have a king because
He wanted to be there King. In the same
essence the Lord wants to be the leadership of our church and He wants the
church to be working to serve Him. He
doesn’t want us debating where God gifted this person or that but wants us to
be of one accord. He wants us to be
hospitable not hostile. He wants us to
realize that God is the One and only one that can decide how He will use people
for His service and it is up to us to, seek the will of the Father, and be
encouragers and supportive of both men or a women who have been called to serve
the Lord.
As you seek Him today, think
about your place in the church today and ask the Lord how He would have you
serve Him. He will open up the doors of
opportunity to those who have the desire to serve. It is not about a position it is about
serving Him with gladness no matter what the circumstances.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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