The Warning

If you have a mission to accomplish, and you are warned that it is possibly dangerous, what do you do?

We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home. When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we greeted the believers and stayed with them for one day. The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to us and took Paul's belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, "This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, "The Lord's will be done." After these days we got ready and started to go up to Jerusalem. - Acts 21:3-15

In order to appreciate what may be going on in Paul's head here, we need to remember who these people are who are giving him a warning.

Philip the evangelist is one of the seven who were chosen to become deacons.

They were given this mission of serving the widows and orphans, providing food and assistance, because the apostles needed to focus on spreading the Word.

So, here we are, later on, with one of the deacons, Philip, who is living in Caesarea in Samaria and has a family.  And it just so happens that the Holy Spirit has been busy in this family, giving the gift of prophecy to his four unmarried daughters.

Now we don't know what the daughters said to Paul, but we do know that a visitor, Agabus, who had been mentioned earlier in The Acts Of The Apostles, comes and gives Paul a warning from the Holy Spirit.

All of them there tried to convince Paul not to go to Jerusalem, and that made Paul angry.

Paul saw himself as one of the apostles, even though he came along later and met Jesus only through a vision and conversion experience on the road to Damascus.

So, you could say, Paul had something to prove.  His mission was to spread the word, like the apostles who came before him, and like them, he knew he would be placing himself in harm's way.

Therefore, Paul had no choice but to ignore the warning and press onward.

For us, there can be a message in this.

It is about how strongly we commit to our ministry and how dedicated we are to our mission.

We will encounter obstacles, and those we love will warn us.  Those warnings may even come from the Holy Spirit who guides us.

In the end, though, it is our decision.  God has given us the will to choose.  

From time to time, God will warn us of the consequences of our actions, but it is up to us to decide for ourselves whether the mission is of greater importance to us and to God.

And whatever we decide, the Spirit will guide us.

More to come...