From
Acts to Revelation
Part
52 – Paul Continues On
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
Last week we talked about the water baptism
of John for repentance, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (or being baptized
into Christ).
This week, we will take a look at how Paul
continues his missionary trip, traveling to another
Synagogue, where he stays for three months,
trying to convince them of the Gospel.
Afterwords, Paul takes his Disciples to
another town, where they end up staying for two years, where he continued to
preach and teach the Gospel.
Today, we will see how some people, even
after being shown the truth, with scriptural back-up, still deny it.
There is no shortage of stubborn people,
and no shortage of people who chose to remain ignorant.
People who refuse to listen to the truth,
always have a reason. And that reason is always prideful, selfish and self-centered.
Today we will see that when someone is
willfully ignorant, we are to move on, simply because there is always another
place, another person, who is ready to hear the truth.
We will also see, that despite the
rejection of truth, Paul continues to share the truth with those who will
listen.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 19:8-10
8 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.
a. Paul
spoke for three months in the Synagogue
i.
This was longer than his usual stay in a
Synagogue
b. Paul
argued about the Kingdom of God.
i.
Arguing here means persuading and disputing
falsehoods, not fighting.
ii.
Paul brought reasonable proofs from the Old
Testament Scriptures to show that the Kingdom [ruled authority] of God is
revealed in Jesus.
iii. And
Jesus is now ascended to the Right Hand of the Father and seated at the
father's Throne.
a. Acts
2:29-31 “29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell
you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is
here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and
knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his
descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to
come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to
the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.”
c. However,
some became obstinate, or stubborn.
i.
They refused to believe
a.
They rebelled against the Gospel of Christ.
ii.
They publicly maligned & rebelled
against the Gospel of Christ.
II.
THE CHURCH
a. So Paul
left them.
i.
He broke with another Synagogue because of
their denial.
b. Paul
took the Disciples with him.
i.
Seeing their stubbornness, Paul takes the
Disciples with him.
c. And had
discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
i.
Scholars believe that this was a lecture
hall of a Greek Philosopher
III.
THE STRUGGLE
a. This
went on for two years.
i.
Paul spent a total of three years in
Ephesus, (Acts 20:31) two of them preaching and teaching here in
the lecture hall.
b. The
Jews and the Greeks living in the province of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.
i.
This doesn't refer to every single person
hearing the Word, but rather to people from all walks of life, and from
surrounding areas.
c. Paul
continued preaching and teaching there, where he was accepted.
CONCLUSION
We see in scripture today, that sometimes,
despite all of our efforts, some people choose to remain willfully ignorant of
the truth.
Scripture tells us that if someone refuses
to listen, we are to dust ourselves off, and move on.
We are not to waste time on those who do
not want the truth, because time is short, and there are many out there who are
ready to hear the Truth.
We also see that, Paul was
fulfilling his calling to preach and teach the Gospel. And although the people
were stubborn and refused to accept the truth, Paul did not take that
disappointment with him, nor did he become discouraged, simply because
regardless of who did or did not accept the Truth, Paul was still serving the Lord,
and his calling.
We too need to stay diligent,
getting past those who refuse the truth, dusting ourselves off, and continuing
to serve the Lord in the manner in which He has called and enabled us.
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