FINDING YOUR PLACE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 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. 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.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Acts 19:8-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

God will always put you where He wants you to be.

It’s a tried and true axiom for anyone to follow. All you need to do is trust God in every way in life and commit yourself to follow His lead.

As we look at the Book of Acts and the Gospel work of Paul and other apostles, we see this axiom executed to perfection. When God’s salvation-sharing messengers traveled, there were places they allowed to go while God forbade others. There wasn’t necessarily any reason given for why some locations were in play and others not but our Lord isn’t required to offer up any justification. He is God and when He calls us to do something in His name, we are to do it. Period.

The apostles got this, particularly Paul who did the most journeying of anyone, embarking on my one, not two, but four missionary journeys. As we turn to our passage for today, we find him in the midst of his third.

You’ll recall from yesterday’s message that Paul is in Ephesus, a return trip after visiting the church there on his second missionary journey. The believers had begged Paul to stay during his first time there but he knew the Lord had something else in mind and so he shared his desire to return if it was God’s will for that to happen. His return during the third missionary trip showed that God did indeed for him to go back.

Paul went right to work, engaging a group of approximately twelve men and providing instruction on what constituted a proper baptism, a baptism by way of the fire of the Holy Spirit. By the time he finished, the men indeed received the gift of the Spirit and began to prophesy and speak in tongues. It had to be an incredible boost for Paul and we read where he gained a lot of momentum from it, going to the synagogue in Ephesus and speaking boldly for three months as he argues “persuasively about the kingdom of God.”

Everything seemed perfect until some of the Jews “became obstinate”, refusing to believe while publicly maligning the Way. It seemed that it was time to move on and we see where this was God’s plan for Paul.

For the scriptures tell us that Paul left the synagogue in Ephesus, taking “the disciples with him” to the “lecture hall” owned by a Greek man by the name of Tyrannus. The scriptures tell us very little about the man but he obviously was friendly to the cause of Christ as he allowed Paul to hold daily discussions there for an entire two years. That’s a very long time but it was the Lord’s will for Paul to be there that long “so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia” could hear His Word, the Word of the Lord.

God had Paul right where He wanted him to be and it was very obvious. For we read where the Lord used Paul to perform “extraordinary miracles”.

How amazing were these miracles?

So amazing that people were cured without even having to come to Paul.

It was true. All Paul had to do was touch something like a handkerchief or apron and when that item was taken to the sick, they were cured and any evil spirits within them were driven out. Yet again, Paul had found his place and he did so because he submitted to go where the Lord asked him to go to do what the Lord wanted him to do.

As we go forth to carry out the work Christ called us to do, let us follow Paul’s lead and fully submit to the leading of our Lord and the fulfillment of His purposes.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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