Pastor: If you'd remain standing now and turn to a copy of the scriptures. We're going to be looking at Acts chapter 21 verses one through 16. Now, a few things to keep in mind before we read as we are making our way through the book of Acts as we turn to chapter 21.
Pastor: Chapter 21 is one of those chapters that I'd very much be tempted to just skip over if I wasn't committed to preaching the whole council of God.
Pastor: Chapter 21 is hard, not only this passage, but also next, next week, it's difficult, it's challenging. But also to note, we're going to look at it. We're going to work through it. This is God's word. God's given it to us for a purpose, and it's we got to figure out why. What's in here? Second, we've now hit the beginning of the end chapter 21 notes, a notable port, a portion in Acts. We are now turning to the, really the end part of of the book of Acts, where Paul is now making his way to Jerusalem, he'll be arrested, he'll be then taken to Rome, and then from there, he'll be put to death.
Pastor: But this is beginning a transition point. No more missionary journeys for Paul.
Pastor: After this text, it's to Jerusalem and then to Rome.
Pastor: Before we read, let's go to the Lord in prayer, asking for his blessing our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are not silent, but that you speak. And so Lord, as we just sung, that let that be our prayer, that You would speak. Give us ears to hear, unstop our deaf ears, open up, our blind eyes soften, our hardened hearts that we now might receive your word, bless your people, comfort your people in Christ, and it's in his name we pray. Amen.
Pastor: People of God hear God's word for us this morning from Acts chapter 21 beginning in verse one, reading through verse 16.
Pastor: [1] And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara [2] And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. [3] When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. [4] And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. [5] When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed [6] and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
Pastor: [7] When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. [8] On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. [9] He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. [10] While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. [11] And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said,“Thus says the Holy Spirit,‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” [12] When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. [13] Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?
Pastor: For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” [14] And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”[15] After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.
Pastor: [16] And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
Pastor: He who has ears, let him hear the Word of God. Please be seated.
Pastor: Have you ever wrestled with the will of God in your life? I'm sure you have. Where should I stay? If I should stay, if I should go? Should I take the job or not? Should I remain where I am? Should I marry this person or not? And sometimes the tension of that decision grows even sharper. Maybe you feel internally compelled to an action. Reason, but those who love you and care about you are directing you in an opposite direction. Well, what should you do? Do you follow your heart? Do you listen to the loudest voice in your life? Do you just simply ignore everyone and just push ahead recklessly or shrink back because the decision feels just too risky and you don't end up making any decision at all.
Pastor: Well, that's exactly, I think, the tension we find in this portion of Acts, chapter 21 Acts, chapter 20, you might recall, ends with tears. The Ephesian elders were hugging Paul, kneeling and praying with Paul. They were weeping. Do you remember why? Because he's headed to Jerusalem in chapter 20, verse 23 tells us the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and affliction awaits me, and they know. Paul tells them they will not see his face again. Now, Paul knows what awaits for him, imprisonment and affliction, but he doesn't know exactly what that looks like, how it will happen, or how it will end, only that suffering is ahead. Paul feels bound by the Spirit to go but the believers who love him hear the very same warning, and they also conclude differently, and they say, don't go well.
Pastor: Does Paul make the right decision? Maybe I don't ultimately know for sure. I think I would say yes, but just because God ends up using it for good, as Thankfully, God often does, in our lives and decisions, we make even bad decisions. God uses things for our good. But I think the point here is not, ultimately, did Paul make the right decision to go or not, but how should we make decisions, or even think about decisions, even when our obedience to Christ might lead to suffering? And I think some of the the points here is we're showed that we shouldn't make decisions that are governed by fear. I think second, we should listen carefully to wisdom, and then third, we should act with spirit shaped conviction. Why?
Pastor: Because we are in Christ, he has died for our sins, and so we don't have to be afraid, but we can pray, as they do here. We can listen to wisdom, and then ultimately we just have to act.
Pastor: I think that's what we have Paul doing here. First we see this point, there's kind of a no go, no go, and then Paul says go as well. So they are, they're kind of three ways to structure that of this text. But this don't go and to not be governed by fear is kind of the first point in verses one through six.
Pastor: They the the departure from Miletus. It was very painful for Paul. Uh, he loved the church there in Ephesus. And then this journey continues, and at first it's just kind of noted as a travel log. Paul's making his way to Jerusalem for Pentecost.
Pastor: He wants to be there as the city swells in number to share the Gospel to everyone who's arriving in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, but along the way, he stops at these various towns to share the gospel, to encourage other Christians. It's like, you know he has a destination. He's supposed to go there, but he's stopping along the way. Some of you do that too. Your spouse says it's time to go. You know the door is a destination, but you know along the way, your spouse is going to stop and talk to five or six people along the way. That's kind of what Paul's doing. There the destination.
Pastor: He's going to stop, though, and talk, because that's what Paul's going to do. Paul's also not the kind of guy who's going to show up at Jerusalem early and just hang around. He's going to show up right at the hour. Again, like some of you too. You know the service is at 10. Not going to show up at 950 not going to show up at 955 I'm showing up at 10, and I think that's what Paul is doing here too. He's cutting it pretty close to his arrival in Jerusalem at Pentecost. He's going to show up right when it's about to occur. Now, one of the stops that Paul does here is in Tyre. Their ship stops entire to unload cargo. And doesn't tell us if Paul knew that this was going to happen, that this was a planned stop or not. It also doesn't tell us too if he knew that the ship wasn't going to depart then for another week. So they're entire for a week long.
Pastor: And so while he is there, they looks for disciples, they seek out other believers, and they find them, and then only after one week, one week with Paul, there's already a close fellowship. There's a close bond between Paul and these believers. And we come to verse four. It says, through the Spirit they were telling Paul and. To go, don't go to Jerusalem. And verse four should cause us to pause. I think verse four is really what made me wrestle with this entire text.
Pastor: Why should verse four calls us to pause? Because if you look at chapter 20, verse 22 it says, And now, behold, this is Paul saying just in the previous chapter. And now, behold, I'm going to Jerusalem, constrained and bound by the Spirit. And so here you have two people who are saying, I'm speaking on behalf of the spirit, but it seems to be contradictory. Paul says, I'm bound by the Spirit to go. And now we have these saints in Tyre who were saying, by the Spirit, don't go to Jerusalem. So which is it? What's happening here is the spirit contradicting itself or changing his plans for Paul?
Pastor: Well, what is happening? Well, here's what I think is happening here in the text. I think the spirit has simply revealed what would happen to Paul if he goes to Jerusalem. That is imprisonment and affliction await. But Paul feels very bound to go back to his home, if you will, to share the gospel. He feels bound and drawn to go back there. Doesn't matter whether there's suffering or affliction awaits. But the others hearing that same spirit, revelation of imprisonment and affliction, they come to conclusion, don't go so I think you have both Paul and the saints. They hear the same word of God from the spirit, affliction and imprisonment, weight. However, you have two Christians who come to different conclusions about what you should do so and I think it's understandable why the Christians there and tired don't want Paul to go that. You know, they love Paul. And if you love someone, you don't want them to go in the danger. You don't want them to go and be imprisoned. I think the saints also, entire see Paul as being really valuable to the church.
Pastor: They just met this guy. And you know, he's an apostle. He's been directly commissioned by Jesus Himself. I mean, doesn't the church need Paul? We can't afford to let this guy go to imprisonment and to death. There are lots of other places Paul can go and do ministry and have a fruitful ministry there that maybe doesn't involve suffering and imprisonment. We can't afford to lose Paul, right?
Pastor: Shouldn't he stay well? I think the church still does this and to men and pastors in different ways. Well, what will happen to the church if you know Pastor, so and so is gone? I think one of the things this text is reminding us is it's not about men. Paul's never been the hero of the story. It's always been about Christ. We are like grass.
Pastor: We come and grow, we, we, we The grass withers, the flower fade away, but the word of the Lord stands forever. Christ is building his church, not Paul.
Pastor: Christ is not mere man. Jesus is building his church. Now, I think this is an unexpected trial that Paul is facing. He probably wasn't expecting this.
Pastor: Paul was ready for persecution.
Pastor: Paul was ready for chains. But what he probably wasn't ready for was persuasion of people that he loved. You have people who are kneeling and on the beach in prayer for him. You have wives who are weeping arms who are grasping on the pall, and even well meaning Christians saying we don't think you should go. Now, why I ultimately think that Paul's decision to go is the correct one is because much of Paul's ministry, if you've been tracking Paul throughout the this book of Acts, mirrors the ministry of Jesus, even miracles that Paul has performed, the trials that he has encountered, and now even a final journey to Jerusalem. It sounds very much like Jesus, and Paul's ministry is mirroring it, mirroring Christ in that way.
Pastor: And do you remember when Jesus said He must go to Jerusalem?
Pastor: When Jesus said He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, and be killed, and on the third day, be raised. That everyone said, You know what, we're, we're with you, Jesus, we're, we believe in that conviction, and you have to do what you think is right. Is that how Peter responded to Jesus?
Pastor: Didn't Peter say something very similar to what we find here.
Pastor: Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes Jesus and says, Far be it from you, Lord, that This shall never happen to you. You know Peter, I think is well intentioned. But then Jesus turns to Peter and says, Get behind Me, Satan, you are a hindrance to me. For. Are. You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Jesus, he's telling Jesus, get the kingdom without the cross. But as we know, there is no kingdom without the cross.
Pastor: It's the same for us. Jesus says in John chapter 16, in the world, you will have tribulation, but take heart.
Pastor: I've overcome the world. Jesus doesn't say you might have tribulation. Says you will, not only if you go into mission work in the third world countries, will you have tribulation. Says, As a Christian, you will have tribulation also in Acts, chapter 14, Paul was going around as you might recall strengthening the souls of disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. How must we enter the kingdom of God of God, of God? Through many tribulations, again, Jesus would tell his disciples, if anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? You see what Jesus is saying here. He doesn't say, take up your memory foam mattress or your lazy boy, and follow me. That is sometimes for Christians, it is risky to be a Christian. It's dangerous to be a Christian, it's uncomfortable to be a Christian. So one of the decision makers that we shouldn't follow is fear, because it's risky. That means I shouldn't go No. Sometimes it means you should sometimes obedience means taking up your cross. Remember, which was an instrument of Death, death to myself, death to my own desires that I might live for Christ, that I might make Christ known.
Pastor: We follow in our Lord's footsteps, and that there too is no kingdom without first the cross. So they kneel on the beach. They pray. And notice here how it says we because Luke is here. He's including them himself in it, with them. They are seeking the will of God.
Pastor: They say farewell, and they get on the ship and depart. Now, not only should fear not guide us, but also we should be guided by wisdom. In verses seven through 12, they come to Caesarea, and before they even they get there, you notice Paul stays in other places much shorter, just like one day. I think part of that is Paul doesn't want to be tempted again to just stay remember why he didn't go into Ephesus to talk to the elders in Ephesus is, I think, because he loved Ephesus, and the people loved him in Ephesus, and so he he talks to the elders in Miletus, because he doesn't want to venture in there, lest he never leave. And so he just stays now very shortly at these other places, maybe wanting to avoid being tempted to not do what he believes that God is calling him to do. So now he's in Caesarea, and when he arrives, they come to the house of Philip, the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and he stays with him. This is Philip, who we met before back in chapter six. He's now called the evangelist, but if you remember Philip, Philip was one of the deacons, one of the original seven deacons, men who were of godly repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom. God chose men like Philip, and you remember who else was? One of the seven one of Philip's friends.
Pastor: Stephen, yeah, and if you turn to chapter seven of your Bible, it most likely has, you know, one of those titles over the chapter. If you turn to chapter seven, it will tell you something surprising, maybe you forgot, maybe not, but that Paul hunts and kills Stephen in chapter eight. If you look at your title there, and you look at chapter eight, Saul, who was Paul, now ravages the church in Jerusalem, so much that the church is scattered out of Jerusalem because of Paul. And who does that include there in chapter eight, it includes Philip. Philip is forced from his home in Jerusalem because of the persecution of Paul. Philip, God will use that Philip will then be a witness to the people in Samaria and also the Ethiopian eunuch. Luke doesn't mention it here explicitly, but there is a tension that maybe you should pick up. Philip has the very man who murdered his friend Stephen and who has forced him from his home in Jerusalem, now standing right in front of his door and now Caesarea, where he has set.
Pastor: Bell, how would you respond?
Pastor: Come on in maybe not. How does Philip respond? Though? Philip welcomes him in the persecuted now welcomes the persecutor. How and why can Philip do this? This is all the grace of God. This is what the grace of the Lord Jesus does. Philip is someone who understands his own sin before a holy God, and how Philip understands that all of his own sin has been washed away in the Lord Jesus, Christ, Paul deserves judgment, doesn't he?
Pastor: But I think Philip also recognized I deserve judgment, and that Jesus has bore not only my judgment, but Paul's judgment, and your judgment, Christ has opened the heavens door to me and welcomed me. How can I not also now welcome and forgive my brother. So that's what we see here. Philip opens up his door, not only for hospitality, but also for fellowship with Paul. God has blessed Philip now where he is in Caesarea, as this evangelist, he's given him these four virgin daughters, who are unmarried, who all prophesied. We aren't told exactly what that ministry looked like, but sharing the word in some way. And now this prophet, Agabus, comes down from Judea, and maybe you've heard of Agabus before, because we have met him in chapter 11, where he traveled to from Jerusalem to Antioch, and he told that there would be a famine over all the world. And that led the other churches then to get a collection to to take a collection and send it to Jerusalem through Paul and Silas. But now Agabus shows up again, and like an unusual Old Testament prophet. He acts out this prophecy. We're told in verse 11, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this bell and delivers him in the hands of the Gentiles, and I bet all of Paul's friends were like, Thank you, Agabus.
Pastor: We've been trying to tell him don't go. But this Paul, he's stubborn. We're urging him. It tells him, tells us, but he's not listening. But the interesting thing again, if you look there at Agabus prophecy, what the Spirit has said, it doesn't tell us that Paul shouldn't go. It doesn't forbid Paul to go. It simply tells and foretells of suffering and again, Jesus, when he's in the Garden of Gethsemane and sees the cup that is before him, he sees the horror of God's wrath that he's going to take all of it. He feels the weight. He's in agony, and his sweat becomes like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. He's feeling the judgment. He's feeling the wrath that he's going to take on our behalf. And he said, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, but nevertheless, not my will, but Your will be done. And he moves forward, the cross would look like a waste to many people. I think for Judas Iscariot, it did. You know he, I think he, Judas was very disappointed in Jesus. See, he wanted the conquering king of Jesus, not the humble servant of Jesus. And even Jesus's death looked very pointless to many people. Yet never was greater good accomplished, never was greater glory given to God through suffering. We have to be wise in our decisions. The Proverbs tell us to answer a full according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Pastor: It also tells us to not Answer a fool according to his folly, lest we be like him. Well, how do we make that decision?
Pastor: Wisdom? But we must always be obedient. And for Christians, again, that obedience sometimes might mean suffering. Now finally, Paul speaks. He's not silent. We see now Paul speak for the first time in verse 13.
Pastor: He says, What are you doing?
Pastor: Weeping and breaking my heart, for I am ready not only to be in prison, but even the die in Jerusalem, for the for the Lord Jesus. This is my resolve. Is this stubbornness and pride?
Pastor: Some have said, yes, that maybe they're right, but I don't think so. I think this is conviction shaped by the Spirit. He says back in chapter 20 that he feels bound. He feels constrained by the Spirit to go he's not going to violate his conscience. The question Paul is not asking is, will it be comfortable? Will it be safe? Faith, but will I honor and glorify God in this? You know, Jesus never leads us where he himself has not gone. First, Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. He was warned not to go. He was pleaded with the stop. Jesus went forward and obeyed under death unto death.
Pastor: In Isaiah 53 tells us it was the will of the Lord to crush him.
Pastor: Jesus did not go to Jerusalem merely as an example of courage for us, He went as a substitute for us for cowards. He went for disciples who would flee. He would go for Peters who would deny him. He would go for Paul's who would persecute him, he would go for people like us on the cross. Jesus bore the judgment that you and I deserve.
Pastor: He paid for our comfort idolatry. He rose that even death cannot separate us from God, and that is why obedience is possible for us, not because we are brave and we just have to muster it up. We can obey because we are forgiven, fully and freely forgiven, but we can boldly walk into the darkness without fear, because Jesus was with us, and he has conquered sin and death on our behalf.
Pastor: There is, therefore now no condemnation for those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as Martin Luther said, tongue in cheek, we can sin boldly as our spirit conviction leads us. We just have to move and decide.
Pastor: But we don't have to be afraid of what decisions we make.
Pastor: Because we're in Christ, our boldness and bravery are not personality, but it's found ultimately, we are in our justification. We are justified.
Pastor: We are in Christ. And what can separate us from the love of God? A bad decision? No, we make bad decisions. Paul's made bad decisions. I don't know if this is one of them or not, but that's the point is we are fully and freely in Christ, and sometimes we just have to act and follow our consciences as we are led by the word. Following Christ, even in hardship, is better and safer and more joyful than anything this world has to offer us. And we can boldly say here, as they do, let the will the Lord be done.
Pastor: Now, some of you know the story of Jim Elliot in the 1950s he and four other men felt called to share the gospel with a tribe in Ecuador. It's an isolated tribe there, and they were known to be violent and even killing outsiders, and many people told him not to go. It was dangerous, it was costly. He was young, he was newly married. He even had a little girl at home. And you know, those warnings that here heard were not foolish, they weren't godless. They were perfectly reasonable warnings, but after prayer and after counsel and searching the Scripture, he was not governed by fear. He wasn't careless about wisdom, but he was convicted to obey Christ and what Christ has put on his heart, and that it was worth the risk. And so he went in 1956 and as you know, all that five of the men that went with him, they died. They were speared to death on a river bank when they landed. And again, it might seem pointless, a waste, a tragedy, but less than three years later, the wives of some of these men would return back to that tribe, and through their ministry, that very tribe, many of them, would come to believe the gospel.
Pastor: Should he have gone or should he have stayed? I mean, God certainly brought good out of but I don't know whether it was if she should have gone or not.
Pastor: But what was governing Jim Elliot, though, was not recklessness, emotion or comfort. It was a conviction in his love for the Lord Jesus Christ that the Gospel must go out before Jim Elliot died, he wrote in his journal, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. You see, Elliot's death wasn't a waste, but a radical testimony to the fact that Jesus was his treasure. Christ has graciously saved us, and he has graciously sent missionaries throughout the world to carry that message to us at great cost. If no one ever acted in a way that put their lives at risk, or if they just always stayed home in comfort, we would never have had the gospel, and we would never be saved. It's risky to be a Christian, to follow Christ. I think that text makes us wrestle with that question, what governs us and our decisions, job, security, comfort, fear or Christ. Now we don't have prophets tying us up with our belts, but we have something better. We have the very Word of God, and He has revealed his will to us first. Corinthians 10 says, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do, all to the glory of God. First, Thessalonians four tells us, For this is the will of God your sanctification. First, Thessalonians five says, Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ, Jesus for you, you see, God has given us His will. But none of those things says this is God's will for you, that you won't suffer and that you'll be comfortable. I don't know who said it, but someone once said, we must go, but we don't have to come back. Remember, in Jesus's Great Commission to his church, he promises that he's with them always to the end of the earth, and that's our comfort, that we are in Christ, and we have nothing to lose. We don't have to fear death itself. But it says go, and we too must go. We must go to our friends, we must go to our neighbors. We must go to our friends. And some of you here, God is calling you indeed, to go to difficult and challenging places, maybe even in other countries, we must go.
Pastor: We might not come back, but we're all going to go. That's the Christian call, and we're ultimately going to go to our heavenly home to be with Christ.
Pastor: This is the will of the Lord, to follow Him, to love Him, and to do what He commands, motivated by those who have been saved by the grace of God in our lives, let the will the Lord be done.
Pastor: Let's pray our Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your Word. Lord, this is a challenging text as we read it, and what can we gain? What can we glean from texts like these?
Pastor: But Lord, I do pray that you will help us not to be a people motivated by fear. Pray that you'll help us to listen to wisdom. Help us to be a people who are rooted in your word and then ultimately make spirit led decisions guided by the principles of your Word. Lord, I do pray that as acts has made the message clear to us, we must be your witnesses. That's why you have us left here on Earth.
Pastor: That is why Jesus did not bring us home with him when he ascended into heaven. We are called to be witnesses. We are called to go. Let us go forth.
Pastor: Not afraid. What can man do to us? Let us fear you, Lord. We thank you for your grace to us, for your forgiveness. To us who are fearful, cowardly, let us rest in Jesus so to see your face shining upon us. Let be let that be what matters to us in Christ's name, we pray, Amen.