BOOK
BY BOOK BIBLE STUDY
larrydalexanderbiblestudies.blogspot.com
BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday February 26, 2017
PAUL GOES TO MACEDONIA, GREECE AND TROAS
Acts 20:1-12
In Acts 20 Luke rejoins the journey after
being left at Philippi for a while. Here, following the riots at Ephesus, Paul sent
for all the believers and encouraged them to stay strong in the LORD JESUS. He
then bade them farewell and left for Macedonia. Along the way Paul and his
entourage stopped to encourage many other believers, whom, they were perhaps
seeing for the final time.
Now headed for
Jerusalem, still being compelled by the HOLY SPIRIT, Paul and his crew travel
down to Greece where they would abide for three months. After hearing of a plot
by anti-CHRIST Jews to kill him, Paul made the decision to return back to
Macedonia, instead of following his original plan to sail back through Syria.
Several men who were
traveling with Paul, namely Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus of
Thessalonica, Gaius, Paul’s close friend from Derby, Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus,
from the Roman province of Asia, all went ahead to Troas to wait on the rest of
the crew, until the Passover season had ended. As soon as the Passover season
ended, Paul and the rest of the crew boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia,
and made the 150-mile voyage, arriving in Troas, five days later. They remained
there in Troas for seven days (Vs.1-6).
In verse 7 of this
chapter of Acts, we see the first clear reference in Scripture of Sunday (the
“first day of the week”) being used as a Christian day of worship. Here we see
the believers engaging in the observance of “the LORD’s Supper” (Holy
Communion). On that occasion Paul preached a long sermon that lasted until
midnight. In fact, it was so long that a young man named Eutychus, who was
sitting on the window sill, fell asleep, and then, fell three stories to his
death from the window.
Seeing what had just
happened, Paul stopped preaching and ran down stairs, bent over the young man’s
body, and then took him up in his arms, before replying, “Don’t worry, he’s
alive”. Paul then, without the crowd knowing it, miraculously revived the young
man and sent him home alive and without injury. The rest of the people were
relieved that the young man was OK, and they followed Paul back upstairs, where
they continued their Communion Services, and Paul continued his sermon.
PAUL MEETS WITH THE EPHESIAN ELDERS
Act 20:13-38
In Acts,
chapter 20, verses 13-38, Luke gives us a very vivid description, in the person
of the Apostle Paul, of a man who is truly satisfied at how his ministry was
coming to a close. Here, he lets us in on Paul’s farewell address to the Elders
of the Church at Ephesus. They had come down to meet him at his request, in the
port city of Miletus (30 miles from Ephesus), near the end of his third
missionary journey. It is here, in this book of Acts, that we find Paul’s only
recorded address to the Church.
In verses 18-21, Paul speaks of his past
with great satisfaction and contentment, as he reminds the Elders of the
consistency in his message to all people, urging them to turn from sin, turn to
GOD, and to maintain their faith in our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.
In
verses 21-32, Paul speaks of his fearless confidence in the future, despite
warnings from the HOLY SPIRIT, in city after city, that only jail and suffering
lies ahead for him. And finally, in verses 33-35, Paul speaks of his lack of
envy toward others, and how he has always worked to earn his own way, and, how
he has always supplied the needs of others who were with him. He goes on to
quote the words of JESUS, when HE said, “It is more blessed to give, than to
receive”.
This particular passage (Acts 20:17-38)
serves to remind us, once again, what Christianity, or, the inviting of CHRIST
into our lives, has to offer to us. It offers us “freedom”, in the purest sense
of the word, because it frees us from the four things that most separate us
from a right relationship with GOD;
·
First, it frees us from “Self”. We become
our own worst enemy when we try to do things within our own strength, apart
from GOD.
·
Secondly, it frees us from “Other People”.
The worldly person imprisons himself by being envious of what others have, and
is overly concerned about what others will think and say about them from a
worldly, materialistic, or physical standpoint.
·
Thirdly, when we receive CHRIST, HE frees us
from “the dominion of Sin”.
When we choose GOD’s
salvation through CHRIST, we no longer have to let sin
dominate our lives. We then have
additional power to overcome the gravitational
pull of this world, through the help of
the HOLY SPIRIT, WHO will abide in us.
·
And finally, we become free from “fear”.
We no longer have to be afraid, because we are then, no longer walking alone,
but rather, we are walking with GOD.
“The Christian Hope”, has, throughout the
history of the Church, served as motivation to make life on earth conform more
fully with the Word of GOD, just as it was presented to us by JESUS CHRIST,
during HIS three-year earthly ministry. And it is a life-changing thing, when
we get to know, and, become accustomed to practicing GOD’s “Holy Directives”.
Every time another human being chooses to
go the way of CHRIST, there’s a great “cheering section” in Heaven comprised of
all the angels, and all the great men and women of Faith who are mentioned in
Hebrews chapter 11. They are all looking down on us, eagerly watching and
waiting to see how we fare in this great “Christian Race” that is personified
in our own personal “Christian Walk”.
They’ve already handed off their batons to
our ancestors, and they in turn, have handed them off to us. We should take
care as not to drop these life-changing batons, and if you do, we must pick
them up quickly, and then, continue on your way. We must continue to stay faced
in the right direction, as you press on by faith, into the unknown, where JESUS
is.
It is the person who is willing to travel
into the unknown, armed only with their faith in CHRIST, who will, in the end,
see GOD. And always remember to encourage other believers along the way, and
also, remember that every time we drop off a piece of the baggage, that is our
sin, our race becomes just that much easier to run.
When Paul finished speaking to the Elders
of Ephesus in nearby Miletus that day, he knelt down and prayed with them. They
all wept aloud and embraced Paul farewell, and they were an emotional bunch,
sad most of all, because Paul had expressed to them the probability that they
would never see him again, on this side of Heaven. And they continued to weep
as they accompanied Paul back down to a waiting ship.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official
Website
