{"id":21457,"date":"2022-05-02T22:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T05:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts_19_13-27-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-04-26T23:22:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T06:22:37","slug":"acts_20_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts_20_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Quick to Show Compassion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts\u00a0 20:1-12 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi\u00a0 GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 20:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 20:1 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0 When all the chaos and upheaval in Ephesus (see Acts 19) had died down, Paul meets with the Christians in Ephesus (possibly in a secure hiding place) and encourages them before leaving for Macedonia.\u00a0 This might have been the last time that Paul saw most of the Christians in Ephesus.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Whether it\u2019s your family, your church, or a team that you lead, when the people you are leading have just experienced a traumatic or distressing event, it helps for them to gather together and to hear encouraging words from their leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 20:2-3 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece,
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-3:\u00a0 Despite the plots that were on his life, Paul continues to go around encouraging people (v1-2).\u00a0 Likewise,\u00a0no matter what trouble you may be going through, God gives us the ability to be an encouragement to others through our words, our actions and our example when we fix our eyes on Jesus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 20:4-6 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-6:\u00a0 Notice that Paul was accompanied by such a diverse, multiethnic team: guys from different places like Berea, Thessalonica, Derbe, Timothy from Lystra, and guys from province of Asia.\u00a0 It\u2019s a reminder that\u00a0the kingdom of God is a diverse family, in fact the largest and most ethnically, culturally, socially, economically, racially diverse family that has ever existed or ever will exist<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When I was getting married, it was a slightly surreal experience to see different people I had befriended in the different cities I had lived in all coming together in one place to be with me and Sharleen.\u00a0\u00a0 I wonder if that\u2019s how Paul felt as different friends he had made and disciples he had led all come together to accompany him to Troas.\u00a0 The purpose of this coming together was not for a wedding.\u00a0 Rather, according to scholars, they came together for the purpose of delivering a special offering for the church in Jerusalem, as churches from the different regions were sending representatives with offering money to pool together as a thank you gift to the church in Jerusalem (see Romans 15:25-27).\u00a0 \u00a0If that is the case, we can learn from this that when we receive spiritual blessings from others (as the Gentile churches in Achaia (Corinth), Asia (Ephesus), Macedonia (Philippi) and other places), it is appropriate to return the favour in some way, even materially.\u00a0 As Romans 15:27 says, \u201cThey were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.\u201d\u00a0 In other words,\u00a0don\u2019t just be a spiritual consumer who gets from others; give thankfully from what you have to bless in return those who have blessed you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(By the way, who is \u201cwe\u201d and \u201cus\u201d in verses 5-6?\u00a0 That would include Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, and other teammates of Paul who had been waiting in Philippi for further word from Paul on where they would meet (v6).)<\/p>\n

Acts 20:7-12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!”
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-12: What\u2019s the lesson here?\u00a0 Don\u2019t fall asleep when your pastor is preaching a sermon!\u00a0 I\u2019m kidding.\u00a0 Sort of.\u00a0 But what impresses me about Paul is that Paul\u2019s first instinct wasn\u2019t to come down hard on Eutychus for falling asleep in his sermon, saying, \u201cServes him right for falling asleep.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you get for loving your own comfort more than your spiritual growth.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Who knows?\u00a0 Maybe Eutychus had worked a long day and was dog tired.\u00a0 Maybe Eutychus became drowsy in such a hot room full of lamps, people and no A\/C.\u00a0 Maybe Eutychus had given his seat to someone else and the window was the only place where there was room to sit.\u00a0 In any event, instead, of judging Eutychus as his first instinct, Paul compassionately (and literally!) came down (three floors) to Eutychus\u2019 level, fell on him, and embraced him back to life.\u00a0\u00a0Instead of being quick to judge the Eutychus\u2019s in our lives, like Paul may we be quick to show compassion and life-giving love as our first instinct.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy Spirit, thank You that as followers of Jesus we get to belong to the most diverse family that has ever existed or ever will exist.\u00a0 May I not be quick to judge others but quick to show mercy and compassion, because that\u2019s what You did for me.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi\u00a0 GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 20:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 20:1 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.<\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0 When all the chaos and upheaval in Ephesus (see Acts 19) had died down, Paul meets with the Christians in Ephesus (possibly in a secure hiding place) and encourages them before leaving for Macedonia.\u00a0 This might have been the last time that Paul saw most of the Christians in Ephesus.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Whether it\u2019s your family, your church, or a team that you lead, when the people you are leading have just experienced a traumatic or distressing event, it helps for them to gather together and to hear encouraging words from their leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21457"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21460,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21457\/revisions\/21460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}