A Trip to Remember

Acts 13:4-12

A trip to remember, have you had one of those?  Jan and I were going to backpack over Germany for my fiftieth birthday and then on to Austria and ended up in Lake Como in Italy, then returned to Germany to fly home.  We had not made reservations for the Germany part of our trip because it was the end of October; to our amazement we spent most days looking for a room for the night, and one night we ended up sleeping on the train beside four young girls from Japan.  We awoke the next morning in Dresden, East Germany and were told to stay on the train if we hoped to return to W. Germany.  We missed much that could have been enjoyed, but it became a trip to remember and most of the things we feared were forgotten and it has many special memories for us.

Do you recall how Barnabas, and Saul who can now be referred to as Paul, were set apart for a new work and the Holy Spirit sent them on a trip to remember?  They left and went down to Seleucia and then on to Cyprus and proclaimed the gospel in the synagogues of the Jews.  They also had John Mark with them and as they reached Paphos they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.  Now let’s take up Dr. Luke’s account of what took place; “He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.” (Acts 13:7-8 ESV)

Have you ever been put into a similar situation by the Holy Spirit, if so, did you remember that it was God who sent you to the person and it will be God who gives you the boldness to speak the truth in love.  If you are filled as Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, you will trust God to speak through you and God will give the victory.  But if you are acting in your abilities only, you may find yourself running for cover, as did the seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva.  You may want to read that account in Acts 19:11-16, a good reminder of our abilities outside the will of God. 

But as stated, Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, and what does that mean?  In Bob’s logic it is simply listening to the Spirit, and obeying what He tells you to do.  This is Dr. Luke’s version; “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. (Acts 13:9-12 ESV)

The question I hope you are asking is how can I listen to the Holy Spirit with all the noise and my busy life?  Shall we let Jesus answer your question: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”(John 14:20-21)  And Jesus also followed that up with these words, “ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 ESV)  Could it be that we who go by the name Christian have no understanding of the word “Nothing”?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice