Day 327 (Acts 15-16) - Year 6
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Hey, bible readers, i'm trolly couple and i'm your host for the bible recap.

Before we popped over to the book of Jacobs's last, James, paul and barnabas had just arrived back from their first missionary journey in the church at anio. C was celebrating with them. They've been there for a while, and today some guys from jerusalem up for a teaching trip, and guess what, they're teaching circumcision.

They start all the drama back up again, saying people have to convert to judaism in order to convert to Christianity. Polar baraba push back. They're already been down this route about a decade earlier.

They make a trip back to jerusalem and hopes of dealing with that once and for all. When they arrive, we find out who is behind this circumcision requirement to ferries. These are beliefs who are ferraris, though, according to fifteen, five people who have the holy spirit isn't IT his job to teachers and help us with unity? Yes, he totally does that.

But like with most things, change happen slowly, not immediately. It's often when we look back over the course of years that we see the fruit. By the way, paul is a ferry acy too, but he obviously disagrees with this ferry.

Y in jerusalem m, while they're debating this, Peter says, hey, remember when this all started? Remember how god used a duo like me to preach to the gentiles? Remember how those uncircumcised people received the holy spirit in a way that was so obvious and evidence that none of us could deny IT.

It's clear that god doesn't make a distinction between you and gentile. He knows all hearts, and he cleans the gentiles hearts too, by saying he requires them to be circumcised. You're doing two very foolish things.

You're keeping a burden on them that none of us have been able to bear anyway. And you're also testing god because he's made himself clear. Knock IT off.

All who are saved are saved through his Grace alone, not by keeping the law. Vin Jacobs class James pipes up and says, Simon reported the same thing as Peter, but this isn't a new idea. Even the prophets ams talked about this like eight hundred years ago, god has called him by his name.

According to ams, their relationship with god is intact. So what we should be concerned with, our things that disrupt the harmony of our relationships within the church, circumcision isn't on that list. Our code of conduct should be about creating unity in the family of Christ.

Let's figure out what those things are. This sounds like a great idea to the apostles. So they hold a meeting called the jerusalem council to decide what to require of genes.

It's important to point out that this list isn't given us a way to obtain rightfulness. It's given as a way to make sure things go smoothly as the church start to be filled with people from all different cultures. So the main question is, what are the cultural deal brokers in our worship?

If we can set those things aside, they won't have the opportunity to cause division in the church. Those things are eating things, sacrifice to idols, eating blood, eating things that have been strangled and sexual morality at large. These are all things that gentle culture were engaged in and even used in their worship.

The jerusalem cil is trying to figure out how to honour god and live together in harmony. So a gentle ordering, a medium refine while he's having dinner with his jewish brother in Christ just can't happen. Not if harmony is the goal.

So the jerusalem council concludes that the only parts of their culture, new converts have to lie down are the ones that conflict with Christ in the unity of his body. And the only culture they have to pick up is the culture of Christ ed in his kingdom, not judis m the spirit doesn't homage nize he unifies. When the church reads this letter from the council, they're thrilled.

Next, polin barnabas decide to visit the churches they met and planted on their first trip barn. Navis wants to bring his cain john mark, but apparently something happened during that first trip when he left early back in x thirteen. We don't know what cause that rift, some thins since you left around the time they went to the gentile regions, he may have felt uneasy about IT regardless at this point, apparently doesn't trust him and refuses to travel with him again.

But look at god, he uses that division to prompt multiplication, because now there are two missionary trips going out, politics, silence and vara bus takes john mark. But if that makes you a little sad, don't worry, this story isn't over in libra, which is in modern day turkey. Paul and silas meet with a gun, intimidating.

He's have jewish half greek. He in paul hit IT off. So paul bites to join the trip.

But then paul does something totally unexpected. He has timidly circumcised. What wasn't paul the one who just argued against this? Here's what I love about paul.

Remember how he started going by his latter name so that he wouldn't defended gentle. He was called to minister to how he tries to be all things to all people in removing any potential speed bumps for the gasp. That's what he's doing here with timmy.

He knows Timothy will be preaching to juice. And paul has seen first hand held the jews reject uncircumcised people, so he's taking away any opportunity they might have to discredit Timothy message. All their steps are carefully directed by the holy spirit envisions, go here, don't go there.

And we may wonder why, but all we can do is, guess IT reminds me of how jesus did this a few times too, the way he waited for lasers to e. He healed the woman with the blood disease while the little girl was dying. By the way, this is also where we find out for the first time that luke is on this trip too, because he starts saying we instead of the looks like we have an eye witness, they had to Philip, where they meet a lot of people.

Power later write a letter too, also known as the book of Philippine. So pay attention to these people because we'll see them again. Later, they ran into a woman's player group and mida woman named elidia, who, by the way, is from the very city paul wanted to go to.

But the holy spirit said, no. They start talking to the woman. And lida is intrigued.

First, fourteen says, god opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by paul. God is the one who made her interested in in receptive to their message. And we see a domino effect in her whole family.

They all get babe tied that same day in invitation to stay at their house. When they go back to the player spot later, they encounter a demonized girl who is in slave, because this demon can tell people about themselves in their lives, which is a big money maker. Of course, this demon also knows the message of jesus.

And one good way for a demon to discrete and disrupt that message among the people is by attaching a demise girl to SHE claims. They serve the most tight god. But to a community that doesn't know yeah way, this is most likely making the locals think they worship the great god.

Zoos paul commands the demand to come out. And when IT does, her masters are furious. They do a citizen's arrest and accuse the guys of disturbing the piece.

They get beaten and thrown into prison for setting a girl free, kind of like jesus. But they never wait to jail sense. They sing him and pray, and everyone is listening.

Then all of a sudden, there is an earthquake that opens all the doors. But the prisoners are apparently so captivated by the message that they don't even leave. The jailer wants to end his own life at the side of the open doors.

But paul is like, hey, buddy, we're all still here is okay. The jailer is abstract. He asked how to be saved, and they tell him, well, first you have to get circumcised.

Then there's this whole list of rules to follow. No, they say, believe in the lord sus and you will be saved. But IT believe. This echoes what jesus said in john six, when the crowd asked him, what must we do to be doing the works of god? And she's a said, this is the work of god that you believe in him, whom he has sent.

On one hand, this seems really freeing, no long list of laws, but on the other hand, belief seems I can even harder work, right? Have you ever tried to make yourself believe something i've never succeeded at, that I can much more easily give ten percent of my income and rest on saturday. How do you believe something? Remember, lidia? Remember how god opened her heart? He does the doing he initiated, sustains IT info, fills IT IT.

Turns out bait is just another one of his gifts to us that we give back to him. And thank god, because if I have to figure out how to believe something and Better off with the list, paul in silence s preached to him in his whole family, and the all believe in, rejoice in our baptise. That night he treats their wounds.

They eat dinner together, and then they go back to prison. They were willing to sacrifice their freedom for the jailer's life because they knew had be killed if they disappeared. Fortunately, the magistrate orders them to be set free and even apologises to them.

Wow, I had one million ty god shots today, but here's the one i'll share in fifteen nine. Peter says, god cleanses our hearts by faith. God uses faith like I use a mister clean magic, a racer, or like a silver Smith uses a furnace.

It's a perjuring fire that purified hearts and refines them. Doesn't the presence of a godward faith in your heart time to drive out all the things need to go? Praise god.

He's the active agent in there, and he's where the joy is. Tomorrow will be starting the book of coalitions at six chapters long. We're linking to a short video overview in the show notes.

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