Rejoice in Truth! Priscilla and Sapphira’s God Stories

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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast where you will always hear a good

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story to encourage and inspire you in your walk with the Lord.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader here at Somebody Cares America International,

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author and traveler on this journey of faith.

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You probably know by now that I always ask my guests what woman of the Bible has inspired,

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encouraged, or taught her something.

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But what about you?

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I'd love to hear what woman of the Bible has helped you in your walk of faith.

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So email me at hergodstory@sombodycares.org and tell me why.

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I just might read it in a future episode to encourage others who are listening.

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Remember email me at hergodstory@sombodycares.org.

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I have another question for you.

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What is truth?

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That's the question Pilate asked when he was interrogating Jesus.

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Jesus had just said an astonishing thing.

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Let's read it from John 1837.

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You are a king then, said Pilate.

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Jesus answered, you say that I'm a king.

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In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.

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Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

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And then Pilate asks rhetorically, what is truth?

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If you have read the book of John, you might recall that Jesus said, I am the way, the

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truth, and the life.

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No one comes to the Father except through me.

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Which was recorded in John 146.

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So right there we have an answer for Pilate, Jesus is truth.

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But that opens the door to a lot of questions, doesn't it?

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R.C. Sprule, a great theologian, said, truth is defined as that which corresponds to reality

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as perceived by God.

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If we agree with R.C. Sprule, which I do, that closes the door to the whole notion of

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personal truth or subjective truth that's so prevalent in the world today.

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If you think about it, the notion of personal truth and subjective reality is unnerving

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and completely illogical.

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That would mean that nothing is true and everything is true, which cannot be.

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I know this is heady talk for a podcast that's supposed to be about God's stories, but I've

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said all that to lead into the stories of two women in the New Testament, Priscilla and

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Sapphira.

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Through their stories, we're going to take a look at how knowledge of the truth should

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impact our lives.

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Priscilla and Sapphira were both believers and members of the early church during the

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time of the Apostles, somewhere around 30-50 AD.

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If you remember anything from your world history, you might recall that this was during the

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time of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.

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There was a lot of resistance and even persecution of Jews and Christians during that time, which

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comes into play particularly in the life of Priscilla.

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But let me not get ahead of myself.

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Let's examine Sapphira first. Sapphira and her husband Ananias came to cry soon after

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the resurrection of Jesus.

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They lived in Jerusalem and were part of the gathering of believers that included Peter,

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John, James, Barnabas, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and others who had known Jesus well.

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It's very likely that Sapphira had personally heard Jesus while he was on earth.

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So she and her husband had every opportunity to take in powerful teaching and apply it to

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their lives.

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In those early days, Acts 4.32-37 records that all the believers were united in heart

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and mind and they felt that what they owned was not their own.

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So they shared everything they had.

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The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and God's great blessing

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was upon them all.

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There was no needy people among them because those who owned land or houses would sell

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them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

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For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas, which means

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Son of Encouragement.

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He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.

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He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.

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Pretty amazing to think about.

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Believers there in Jerusalem willingly gave sacrificially what they had so other believers

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would not lack what they needed.

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They were living out the teachings of Jesus who had come to testify to the truth.

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The truth affected both their attitudes and their actions.

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If you read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, you'll quickly see many of the truths that they

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were living out.

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For instance, Acts 6.3-4 says, when you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know

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what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret.

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Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

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The key phrase, when you give to the needy.

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Verse 19-21 says, don't store up treasures here on earth where moths eat them and rust

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destroys them and where thieves break in and steal.

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Store your treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not

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break in and steal.

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Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

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Verses 31-34 says, don't worry about these things saying what will we eat, what will

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we drink, what will we wear.

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These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all

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your needs.

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Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and He will give you everything

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you need.

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Jesus talked about a lot of things while He was walking on the earth.

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He was teaching us how to live in the kingdom of God.

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Mark 1-15 records Jesus saying, the kingdom of God has come near, repent, which means

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change course, and believe the good news.

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And often in his parables, Jesus started by saying, the kingdom of God is like this or

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that.

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So in his Sermon on the Mount and many other times, Jesus taught us how to live when we're

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citizens of the kingdom of God.

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If we go back to R.C.

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Sprule's quote, Jesus was giving us a glimpse of God's reality, which is truth.

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Now back to Sapphira.

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Acts 5 verses 1-11 tells her story.

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She and her husband Ananias own some property.

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Like Barnabas, they sold it, decided to give some of the proceeds to the apostles for the

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needs of those in the church.

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Nothing wrong with that.

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The problem was, they lied about what they were doing.

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Ananias brought some of the money to the apostles in front of a lot of the other members of

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the church and claimed he and Sapphira were giving the full proceeds from the sale of

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the property.

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It was a bold-faced lie.

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They kept some of the money back.

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Now they had every right to keep however much they wanted, but they lied about it.

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They wanted to look good in front of the apostles and the others in the church.

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They were not living according to the truths taught by Jesus.

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Instead they were following Satan, who was the father of lies, in trying to deceive their

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brothers and sisters for some personal gain of prestige.

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This was in the fledgling days of the church and God did not want seeds of deceit planted

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in the church.

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So he revealed the lie to Peter and Ananias dropped dead.

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Everyone who saw or heard what happened took notice and the fear of the Lord became very

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real.

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A few hours later, after Ananias' body was taken away, Sapphira came in.

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She had not yet heard what happened.

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She didn't know her husband was dead.

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Peter asked her if she and Ananias had sold the land for the amount Ananias had claimed.

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And Sapphira stuck to their agreed-upon lie.

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When Peter asked the question, it should have raised red flags for her, but she was committed

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to the lie and almost immediately she dropped dead too.

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Sapphira was not committed to the truth and it cost her dearly.

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Now only God knows what was truly in her heart, but at that time, God wanted to underline

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his commitment to truth for all future generations.

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I confess, when I was a teenager, I was a flat out liar.

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I wove such a web of lies that I had to be careful what I said to who so I didn't get

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caught up in it.

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Praise God he convicted me of it and eventually I repented, but twisting or embellishing the

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truth to make myself look better in certain situations continued to be a struggle for

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many years.

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Thankfully, the work of the Holy Spirit in me has continued, making me a lover of truth,

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one who delights in truth, as 1 Corinthians 13.6 says, and if you struggle with deception

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of any kind, he will do the same for you if you submit to his leading and seek out truth

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in God's word, because he is full of mercy and love.

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God has not meted out the same judgment on everyone who's lied in the church like he

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did Ananias and Sapphira.

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But when Jesus said in Matthew 5.46, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,

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he was serious.

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Casual commitment to truth, only when it's convenient or fits our personal philosophy

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of life won't cut it.

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Of course, we can never be perfect on our own, which is why the Father sent his Holy

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Spirit to live in us and to transform us into his image, which is perfect.

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When we sin, we can repent and be cleansed.

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Now let's look at Priscilla.

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Priscilla and her husband Aquila were Jews who lived in Rome.

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When Claudius became emperor of the Roman world, one of the things he did was decree

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that all the Jews had to leave Rome.

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So Priscilla and Aquila packed up and left.

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They went to Corinth and settled there.

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Corinth was a bustling metropolis, so there was plenty of work for their tent-making

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business.

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And during his second missionary journey, Paul went to Rome.

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He was welcomed there and stayed about a year and a half.

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While he was there, he met Priscilla and Aquila and joined their tent-making business since

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Paul was also a tent-maker.

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During that time, working so closely with them, Priscilla and Aquila learned about Jesus

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and his teachings.

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On an aside, some scholars think they may have become Christians in Rome before they left,

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but either way, working side by side with Paul grounded them in this faith.

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Can you imagine being directly discipled by the apostle Paul?

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They became so close to Paul that when he left Corinth to continue his missionary journey,

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Priscilla and Aquila went with him to Ephesus.

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The Ephesians desperately wanted Paul to stay on and teach them about Christ, but he could

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not stay at that point.

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So when he left, he asked Priscilla and Aquila to stay behind.

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Acts 18 does not specifically say why he left them there, but my guess is that he asked

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them to stay and teach the new believers the truth and the ways of the Lord.

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Because not long after Paul, a young evangelist named Apollos arrived in Ephesus.

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Apollos is a persuasive teacher and people were responding to his message.

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But Priscilla and Aquila heard him and they recognized that he did not fully understand

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the teachings of Christ.

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So they invited him home and Acts 1826 says they explained to him the way of God more

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adequately.

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I love that because Priscilla and Aquila had thoroughly studied Jesus' teachings with

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Paul.

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They recognized error and they did something about it.

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They didn't embarrass Apollos in front of the others by calling him out, but in love

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they invited him into their home and shared their full truth with him.

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It's very likely that the believers in Corinth met in their home too.

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So when Apollos wanted to continue his missionary journey after staying there for a while, the

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believers encouraged him and sent him off with letters of recommendation.

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If we continue reading Acts, we find Apollos was a great help to believers in Ikea where

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he went next and he vigorously refuted Jesus' opponents proving from Scripture that Jesus

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was the Messiah.

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So Priscilla and Aquila's steadfastness to truth and willingness to teach others in

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a loving way certainly equipped Apollos for the work God had called him to do.

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Sometime after the Emperor Claudius died, Jews were allowed to return to Rome and it appears

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that Priscilla and Aquila returned there because Romans 6-3-5 says that Paul sends greetings

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to them back from when he was in Corinth and he says, give my greetings to Priscilla and

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Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus.

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In fact, they once risked their lives for me.

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I'm thankful to them and so are all the Gentile churches.

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Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home.

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So they were back in Rome, hosting the church in their home.

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But did you catch that Paul said they once risked their lives for me?

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Does that bring to mind any of Jesus' teachings?

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What about John 15-13 which says, greater love has no one than this to lay down one's

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life for a friend.

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They embraced the teachings of Jesus, the truth, and let Holy Spirit transform them so they

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lived according to that truth.

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They were living like citizens of the kingdom of God.

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Later in their life they returned to Ephesus.

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This is where Timothy, another of Paul's companions, was stationed.

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In 1 Timothy 1-3, Paul urged Timothy to stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain

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people not to teach false doctrine any longer.

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Maybe Priscilla and Aquila returned to Ephesus to help Timothy restore truth in the church

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there.

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We know from Paul's second letter to Timothy that they once again opened their home for

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the church in Ephesus to meet.

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So Priscilla and Aquila were defenders of truth.

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They allowed truth to work in them so their actions showed them to be citizens of heaven.

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A.W.

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Tozier once said, The true follower of Christ will not ask if I embrace this truth what

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will it cost me.

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Rather he will say, This is the truth.

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God help me to walk in it.

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Let come what may.

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Are you a lover of truth, like Priscilla?

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Are you willing to stand for truth, speak truth, live out truth, and lovingly defend

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it?

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Or are you more like Sapphira, bending truth for your own ends?

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Romans 1-18 and 24-25 warns, But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful wicked

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people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

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So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful thing their hearts desired.

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As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies.

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They traded the truth about God for a lie.

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So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself who

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is worthy of eternal praise.

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But no, I believe you dear friend are like Priscilla.

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But no, I believe you dear friend are like Priscilla, who as Paul encouraged the Ephesians

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to do, speaks the truth in love so we can all grow to become in every respect the mature

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body of him who is the head that is Christ.

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And in 1 Corinthians 13-6, it says, Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the

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truth.

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If you struggle to discern truth from all your hearing in the media, at school, from

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friends and colleagues, even at church, the best place to go for answers is the word of

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God.

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Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth.

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He will be faithful to answer that prayer as you seek him in his word and in prayer.

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Another thing that might be helpful is for you to go through the Truth Project video

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study.

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It's amazing and quite challenging.

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You'll find a link to the Truth Project in our show notes or just search for it on your

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internet browser.

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I encourage you, be like Priscilla, with the belt of truth firmly buckled around your

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waist and taking up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God for God's word is

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truth.

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You can defeat the wiles of the enemy.

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Let me pray for you.

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Father, thank you for sending Jesus who is truth and who defeated the Father of lies.

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Thank you for revealing to us truth through your word and thank you for being faithful

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to give us wisdom and discernment so we can walk in truth.

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Lord, I ask you to use your word in each of our lives to show us faulty beliefs we cling

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to renew our minds and give us understanding to discern the truth from all the lies that

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bombard us daily deliver us from the lies of the enemy concerning our identity, our

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worth, even lies we've believed about you.

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Give us insight and understanding to reject the lies and cling to the truth.

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And Father, give us grace and courage to stand for truth, walk in truth, lovingly speak truth

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to others, teach us to live as citizens of your kingdom and be your true ambassadors

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in this life.

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In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

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You know, dear friends, there are widows as well as orphans all over the world who need

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to experience the tangible expression of God's love right now.

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James 1.27 tells us true religion is to care for the widows and orphans and to keep oneself

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unstained from the world.

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Many of these widows and orphans have special needs that we as a company of women can meet

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together.

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Will you consider joining us with a special gift to help?

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Just go to the HerGodStory.org website and click on the Widow and Orphan tab at the top

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of the page.

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Thank you for tuning in.

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In our show notes at HerGodStory.org, you'll find scriptures and other information we talked

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about.

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And you can also get a six-week devotional book on Women of the Bible to download for

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absolutely free.

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Or you may want to purchase a 12-week devotional that will send you for just $12 knowing that

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all the proceeds will go to the Widow and Orphan Fund.

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We'd love to pray with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line.

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So give us a call anytime at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org.

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And now dear friends, I bless you from Psalm 43 verse 3.

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May the Lord send out His light and His truth to guide you.

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May He lead you to His holy mountain to the place where He lives.

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HerGodStory is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International.

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To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.