The Double Blessing

Acts 21: 1-6

“1 When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 When we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. 3 We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4 We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed   6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.”

The people that Paul met on his way to Jerusalem warned him not to go to Jerusalem, 

Paul, himself, knew that he would suffer and would be imprisoned there, yet he was willing to go because he trusted that God was leading him and would continue to lead him until the end. 

Paul’s attitude was “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)

This is the double blessing that Christ offers us; the blessing in this life of knowing and serving the one true God,  and the blessing after death of everlasting life in the presence of God.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Discipleship

Acts 20: 29-38

“29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.”

Paul, knowing that imprisonment and suffering awaited him in Jerusalem, and that he would never return to the churches he founded, was worried about them.  He warned all the elders of Ephesus not to be misled by false teachings or false leaders.  He asked that they remember the words and teachings of Christ.  Before he left them they prayed together.

From Paul’s last words to the church at Ephesus we learn that Christian discipleship means that 

1. we are life-long students of Christ’s life and His teachings, so that we cannot be mislead with false teachings; 

2. we are people of service who put the needs of others before our own, reaching out to the least, the last and the lost; 

3. We are people of prayer who are moved, changed and empowered by the presence and grace of God.

4. and we are people who love God and others, who show our love through our words and deeds.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Challenges

Acts 19:28-34

“28 When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travel companions. 30 Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; 31 even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The struggles, conflicts and persecutions of the early church were monumental.  According to Luke, Christianity was “spoken against everywhere” (Acts 28:22).  Yet the faith continued to spread and grow in number.   

People like Paul, Barnabas, and Silas who, grounded in the teachings of Christ, allowed themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit in the founding of churches across the known world, were the vessels that God used in His plan for the redemption of the world.

The Church has faced challenges throughout its history.  During each struggle, God prevailed through people of faith, who incorporated the teachings of Christ into their lives, who heard the voice of God and responded.  

The challenge the Church faces today is no different.  The solution lies with people of faith who are filled with the Holy Spirit, living out the teachings of Christ, who allow themselves to be used by God to do His will.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Decision

Acts 19:23-27

“23 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. 24 A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. 25 These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. 26 You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”

Several times a year, the Ephesians hosted month-long celebrations in honor of their fertility goddess, Artemis.  There was music, theater, banquets, athletic contests, and even death matches. These festivals attracted many visitors, and, of course, huge sums of money.  The temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Demetrius was a silversmith who had a very lucrative business making silver shrines of Artemis for people to buy for their own personal use.  He and others who made money from the Artemis trade felt threatened by Paul’s preaching against false gods because their business and the very belief in the goddess that brought them their business was threatened by Paul’s message of the one true God.

The good news of Christ strikes at the very heart of worldly concerns forcing us

 to make a decision between the gospel and the world, between the one true God or the false gods of our own making.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Trusting Others

Acts 19:21-22

“21 Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.”

With the urging of the Spirit, Paul planned his next trip (through Macedonia, Achaia and on to Jerusalem).  He sent two of his trusted helpers ahead to work out a lot of the details and to pave the way for his arrival.

Paul understood that Timothy and Erastus had a relationship with God and were being led by the Holy Spirit as he himself was.  Paul trusted these two men because of their relationship with God.

It is impossible for one person to do all the work that God offers us.  We have to involve other people.  To do this we have to trust God and know that He is working in and through others the same way that he works in and through us.

“and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.” 2 Timothy 2:2

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Resistance

Acts 19:8-10

“8 He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.  11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.”

Paul’s gospel message encountered resistance wherever he preached.  Ephesus was no different.  Paul had to leave the synagogue in which he spoke for three months because of this resistance.  Yet, God continued to lead and work through Paul and many people were converted to the faith.

When we encounter resistance in our lives we often become angry, or discouraged.  We may even want to give up, thinking, “It’s not worth it.”

Paul once wrote that he had learned to be content in any situation (Philippians 4:11-13).  No matter the outcome, no matter the obstacle, Paul knew that God was with him and that he was doing God’s will.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Rejecting the Holy Spirit

Acts 19:1-2

“1 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.”

The question that always crosses my mind when I read this is, “how could a person come into the faith without knowing about the Holy Spirit?”  

But then I remember a Barna survey that revealed that 58% of people who call themselves Christians today do not believe that the Holy Spirit exists.  (https://www.barna.com/research/most-american-christians-do-not-believe-that-satan-or-the-holy-spirit-exist/)

A majority of Christians have heard about the Holy Spirit and have rejected the Holy Spirit.  This is worse than not knowing.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians believers, “Never quench the spirit.” (1Thessalonians 5:19). 

By rejecting the Holy Spirit, we reject God’s guidance, insight, and discernment.  We reject God’s power in our lives.  We reject the fire and the energy of God. 

By rejecting the Holy Spirit, we reject the hand of God.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)