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by Sandy Shaw
Acts 23:23. What an upheaval in the middle of the night - to rouse 470 soldiers so quickly - and the horses - all to keep safe a servant of the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ. God is going to protect this man, Paul, because he had work to do elsewhere - this time in Rome.
The servant of the Lord Jesus Christ is a very important person. He is regarded by the Father and by the Holy Spirit as someone very precious. For that man or woman the blood of Jesus Christ has been shed.
Paul had been under considerable pressure. He was in a highly vulnerable situation, and Jesus intervenes again to encourage him and protect him, so that he eventually might reach Rome and preach and witness and teach there, in due season. It did not happen immediately.
There comes a point where we see everything in the light of The Kingdom of God, and everything else takes a secondary role - a lower priority - and things that used to be so important suddenly fade and sometimes even vanish - as we are no longer so interested in these activities. That can be one way of measuring spiritual maturity.
In these Chapters, we see Paul in various dangerous situations. Sometime he faces the situation, and sometimes he escapes to avoid the danger. What is the guiding principle? He lets Jesus decide when he is to face certain situations, and when to avoid dangers. Jesus will make it very clear at times. He will show you which battles are worth fighting and which obstacles He would have you avoid and by-pass.
There are no rules. Jesus does not offer us rules - but a relationship - and some people are quite shocked when they realise that the Christian Faith is not based upon rules and regulations and laws - and doing this, but not doing that. Jesus has made it clear on this occasion. Paul your work for ME in Jerusalem is over - I want you in Rome - and I will get you to Rome MY WAY. That can be hard - letting Jesus work through us His Way.
It is good to be able to hear the Voice of Jesus, and to recognise the prompting of the Holy Spirit - in the quieter times of life - so that when a crisis arises - we know and recognise immediately when Jesus is speaking to us - and what HE is saying - calming - guiding - encouraging- directing - leading - ministering to us. There is no one single way in which HE speaks. It can be directly - or through His Word - or by a word of prophecy - or HE reveals something in a vision. We learn now how to recognise His Voice - developing the listening ear - and whatever HE says, OBEY HIM!
In this case - verse 25 - guidance happens to be accompanied by a covering letter - explaining fully why this decision has been made. Now that does not always happen, but there should be some supportive material.
This may all seem very basic but there is a degree of spiritual maturity here to which God would have us aspire.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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