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Pastor Lud Golz
Pastor Lud Golz

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  Home | Transcript Archive | May | May 30, 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

We have looked at an event that took place in Caesarea as recorded in Acts 10. This Roman fortress and city is mentioned a number of times in Acts.  

In chapter 21 Paul passes through Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem. He stays in the home of Philip the evangelist. While there the prophet Agabus visited and warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem. He feared that it would not go well with him there. Paul brushed off the warning, went to Jerusalem and sure enough a riot broke out and he was taken captive by Roman soldiers.
 
Shortly thereafter he was whisked off to Caesarea where he spent three years in prison. During that time he had a number of significant opportunities to witness to royalty, but most of the time was spent in seclusion.
 
During one of his defenses it appeared that he was not going to win and be released so he appealed to Caesar in Rome. He had this prerogative, since he was a Roman citizen. 
 
I don’t know if he had any second thoughts about resisting the warning not to go to Jerusalem. But he had a goal to go to Rome. He wrote in Romans 1:13, “I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now).” Again in Romans 15: 23, “Since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain.”
 
He planned to do this after his visit to Jerusalem. Imprisoned in Caesarea for three years his plan was finally fulfilled, but in ways he had not planned or anticipated. Proverbs 16:9 explains, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
 

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