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[0:00] Amen. Special thank you to my wife and daughter for being faithful in their service to the Lord. and their service to the Lord. And always practicing and preparing and being ready to lead us in worship.

[0:12] Amen. Thank you, Sister Eccles and Sister Morales. Amen.

[0:23] I'm thankful for you and your talents. I'm thankful for the Word of God. I'm thankful to have the privilege and the honor to be able to minister the Word of God.

[0:38] The Word of God and I pray that this message today is a blessing to you. And a challenge as always. The Word should challenge us. Amen.

[0:49] And bless us. Acts chapter 21 verse 14. One verse of Scripture today. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

[1:05] Amen. How many want the will of the Lord to be done in your life? Amen. I guess there's one. Who here today really, really, really wants the will of the Lord to be done in your life?

[1:19] Amen. All right. There's a couple more. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, God, I thank you for your Word. I pray it's a timely Word today. I pray it's a challenging Word. God, I pray that you give us the ears to hear your Word, the spiritual ears.

[1:32] Lord, that we need to receive it. And God, I pray, Lord, that fruit come of it. Now that we would not be offended by your Word. But God, that we would be moved by your Word.

[1:43] Moved into action. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Last week, we heard from the Lord a convicting message.

[1:54] A message titled, Hate is a strong word. Hate is a strong word. Three categories of things that the Lord hates and that we should hate as well.

[2:06] A message and a call from the Lord to despise sin. To literally be sickened by it. And to hate sin and wickedness. Secondly, a message and a call from the Lord to despise, to be sickened by, and to literally hate, as the Lord does, idolatry and false doctrine.

[2:29] Anything other than the gospel of Jesus Christ. And thirdly, and where I felt very strongly, a call from the Lord to not despise your calling and role in the kingdom of God.

[2:48] These things, these three categories of things that God's Word teaches us that he hates. He hates sin and wickedness. He hates idolatry and false doctrine.

[3:00] And he hates someone who despises their calling and role in his kingdom. The Lord has not let me get past those words that keep going over and over and over again in my mind, my spirit.

[3:16] And that is, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And when I read those words a few weeks ago, it captured my attention. It captured me.

[3:28] And I've read it many times before, but it began to just stay in my mind. And I would pray over it, and it would just be the only thing that God would let me think about is Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated.

[3:44] And all the things that God said he hates in his Word, all the things that God said he hates, they're generalities. Sin in general, he hates it.

[3:55] Wickedness in general. Idolatry in general. False doctrine in general. Those are the things that we learn that the Bible says that God hates. But it gets very personal to God when someone with knowledge of him and the knowledge of truth and the knowledge of that they have a calling or the Bible says many are called, few are chosen or that they are chosen.

[4:20] Amen. To do a certain work. And we're all called. We all have a work and abilities that God has given us and blessed us with that we can use in the kingdom of God and it's needed.

[4:32] But it gets very personal to God when someone with that knowledge of him trades their holy calling and their holy talents for the things of the world and they don't utilize them for the kingdom of God.

[4:45] It's so personal. It's so personal for God that he for the first time says in his Word that he hates someone and mentions them directly by name.

[4:57] It's not just in generality anymore. It becomes a personal thing between God and someone. It's a personal. It's personal to God when you trade your rule in his kingdom and that he has for you.

[5:09] Amen. For something else. Amen. Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated. Jacob did everything he could to obtain something from the Lord.

[5:21] And I've heard people call all kinds of names about Jacob that he was a conniver, a deceiver in the way that he deceived his father and connived and found a way to get the birthright and the things like that.

[5:40] The blessing from Isaac and people have called Jacob all kinds of names and slanders. And you can call Jacob whatever you want. But God loved him. The Bible says and God said Jacob have I loved because Jacob fought tooth and nail to obtain something from the Lord and to be part of God's kingdom.

[6:01] Amen. It was so important to him that it didn't matter about what the birthright was supposed to be or or whatever was was supposed to be in the way it was in those days.

[6:12] But he wanted to be a part of what God was doing. He wanted to be a part of something greater than just himself. And so Jacob did everything he could to obtain something from the Lord.

[6:24] Amen. Jacob fought tooth and nail to to be part of God's kingdom. And while at the same time Esau focused on things of no value, it landed in Esau's lap.

[6:35] He was supposed to be the one. Amen. But it was prophesied before that it wouldn't take place as it should and normally would. Amen. God knows the beginning from the end.

[6:46] Amen. But it's a story of these two twin brothers. In other words, nearly the same person, right? Twins. But with two different desires, two different directions, two different mindsets, two different ways.

[6:59] And so we have to make up our minds which direction we want to go.

[7:11] The way of the world or the way of the kingdom of God. And you can't go in two directions at once. So don't despise your calling and role in the kingdom of God. And I'm sorry God hasn't let me walk away from this today.

[7:25] I know I preached this message in another way last week, but God has not let me put this down yet. And so I'm grasping today to find the will of God for us and to convey to you what God has put in my heart and my mind today.

[7:42] What is it that keeps you from getting tenacious? I mean tenacious and just downright desperate to obtain something great in the kingdom of God like Jacob did.

[7:54] That he was willing to do whatever it took. And be called whatever name and looked at however, by whoever, because of his tenacity and his desire to get something from the Lord.

[8:08] And that he was willing to do whatever he had to do to get that blessing and that calling. What is it that keeps us from being like that? Maybe God's plan for your life just doesn't fit into your plans for your life.

[8:22] Maybe you know what you can do for the kingdom of God, but you choose rather not to because it doesn't fit into the plans you have for yourself and for your life.

[8:37] Amen. Maybe it's that you know that going down that road with God, getting off the road of fulfilling your plan and getting on the road to go down the plan that God has for you.

[8:53] Maybe it's that you know that going down that road with God will require more of you and you're not willing to give more than what you're giving now. Maybe you've come so far with God to this point.

[9:08] You feel like, well, God, I've I've given up drinking. I've given up smoking. I've given up to I've given up fill in the blank. Fill in the blank. I don't go swimming with bow legged women.

[9:19] Whatever it is that you gave up when you first came to the Lord, you may feel that, well, I've given up this. I'm a better person now. I'm better now. And so I'm doing my part for the Lord.

[9:31] But there's more that God wants from you today. Amen. And maybe it's just that you're not willing to give up more than you've given up so far for him. Maybe you're planning to submit to God's will.

[9:46] Once you've prepared yourself, maybe a cushion to make to make the sacrifice that comes with giving your life to God less than what it's required to obtain the will of God in your life, because it does take sacrifice.

[10:03] It takes sacrifice of your will. It takes sacrifice of your finances. It takes sacrifice of of obtaining things that you could obtain in life and possessions and and titles and statuses.

[10:17] It takes a lot of sacrifice. You give up a lot. And then when you get on the road of God's will for your life and and so maybe maybe you do fully intend to finally one day make that decision to, you know, one day I will.

[10:34] But right now I'm trying to secure myself financially or maybe I'm trying to get myself right here or there for this or that because I know the sacrifice will be great. And so I'm going to cushion that a little bit.

[10:45] And maybe that's your mindset. Maybe maybe maybe when you try to look down that road for God's will for your life, you can't see where that road leads. It's just a long road leading off.

[10:58] And because you can't see where it's ultimately going to lead you, maybe that scares you today. And maybe that's why that you would not be so willing to just get on that road and to seek after the will of God, because you can't see what's beyond the horizon.

[11:17] And you don't know really what's ahead. And you know that once you get on that road that you're not going to turn back. And that's good. And but you don't know where that's going to lead you or how far God's going to take you.

[11:29] And so you're it scares you and makes you a little uneasy about not being in control or have the knowledge and understanding of that. Whatever your rationalization is, let me just tell you today, it's not rational.

[11:46] There's no ration. There's no ration. You cannot rationalize not living for God the way that he has called you to live. You're rationalizing why you are not going down that road.

[11:59] God set before you. It's not rational at all to try to rationalize why not to. For those that are not considering going down the road.

[12:11] God has set before you and instead choosing your plans and building your kingdom or trying to do the bare minimum to be considered a Christian. But not ever intending ongoing all in for God to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

[12:30] For those I would say, be warned today. Repent of that mindset and get right with God before you leave today. Amen. If that's you, pray through.

[12:42] Get the Holy Ghost. Amen. Fan the flames of that fire. Amen. That's supposed to be inside of you and read your Bible because you're not doing what's right.

[12:54] Amen. If that's you, because there's no way, there's no way that you are full of the Holy Ghost and on fire for God. Amen. And trying to get by balancing your life and your role God has for you in his kingdom.

[13:11] It doesn't work that way. There's no way that that can be done. We need to pray through today. And that's my message for you today. If that's you. If that's you, repent.

[13:22] Pray through to the Holy Ghost. And get on fire for God. And get tenacious about living for God and not living for yourself. Amen. Somebody on fire for God, full of zeal, doesn't have to deal with that dilemma.

[13:37] Because their mind is made up. It doesn't matter where the road goes or where the road leads. Those aren't my concerns. My only concern is that I want to serve God.

[13:49] Amen. If you're full of the Holy Ghost and you're fanning that flame and you have a real relationship with God. Amen. You're not going to, you're not going to face that dilemma. But you're rationalizing why you're not going down the road God set before you is not rational at all.

[14:08] For those that are considering going down the road God has set before you. But just not now because you are trying to obtain some certain level of financial comfort.

[14:25] Or get past certain family situations. Or to create some sort of buffer or cushion to protect yourself from the sacrifice that you know it would take for those.

[14:38] Let me, let me talk to you for the rest of the service today. You may as well face the facts that nothing worth something comes easy.

[14:50] Nothing that's worth something comes easy. No matter the cushion you try to build to soften the sacrifice. It's going to be in vain because nobody will get to the place God wants them.

[15:04] And nobody will get to the will of God in their lives without sacrifice. It's not going to happen. There will be sacrifice. It will be a sacrifice. Amen.

[15:15] It's not, uh, brother Eccles, you're not preaching a very motivational message today and getting me on fire for God. God, if you're telling me that there's no way to be in the will of God without sacrifice, I'm sorry.

[15:27] Well, I guess I'm, I don't know if I am sorry. I'm just trying to preach truth to you today. Amen. You may, it just, we have to face the facts. And let me add this.

[15:39] There's, there's never going to be an easy way going down that road of God's will in your life. But the Lord will be with you on that road. If you're not on that road, God's not with you.

[15:51] But if you're on that road, God is with you. And that's the real difference today. Joshua one and nine says, have not I commanded thee be strong and of good courage.

[16:03] Be not afraid. Neither be thou dismayed for the Lord that God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. And that scripture is not for the one balancing their life and trying to be a Christian.

[16:17] Amen. That scripture, that, that word of the Lord is to those like Joshua, someone that has a good report, not an evil one.

[16:28] Amen. And everyone else wants to, to think that God can't do it. You know, God's right about the promised land. If you know the story of Joshua and Caleb, if, if you understand that story, you know, they sent the 12 spies and 10 came back with an evil report.

[16:46] The Bible says, yeah, God was right about the promised land. All the provisions, everything that God promised us is there. It's just like God said, but God was wrong about us because those there's giants in that land.

[16:59] We're not able to take that land. We're not able to, to go up and take that land from them. And so, yeah, God got it right about the land, but he got it wrong about us. And that's what 10 of those Israelites said.

[17:10] But Joshua and Caleb said, no, what are you talking about? God, God will be with us. We can easily take the land. They look past the obstacles that Joshua looked past that and his mind was made up that that was the road he wanted to go on.

[17:25] Amen. God said, Joshua, I command you to be strong and of good courage. Don't be afraid. I am with you on that road. It's a commandment.

[17:36] Amen. To be strong and of good courage. It was a commandment not to be, to Joshua, not to be afraid and that he, God would be with him. Amen. Amen. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2 and 3, Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

[17:53] As a good soldier. Soldiers are for war. Soldiers are for battle. Amen. That's what soldiers are for. Amen. And if you think God is going to just remove every obstacle in your way, then let me tell you, you'd be the first in all of history that have decided to get on that road of God's will.

[18:16] Amen. That that would happen for. Jesus said in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world. Amen. When you are in the will of God, you are going to have trouble.

[18:30] But take heart. You too will overcome the world. See trouble finds everybody. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust. Our fellow humanity that's in the world that don't believe in God, you can be an atheist and you're still going to find trouble in life.

[18:48] It's just a matter of fact of life. And in the church and being on that road that I'm talking about in the will of God, you're going to find trouble too. It's going to rain on everybody. That's a fact of life.

[19:00] The difference is that when you're on the road I'm talking about in God's will, God is with you. Amen. We can be strong and be of good courage and not afraid of what we face because as God told Joshua, he's on that road with him.

[19:19] And Jesus said that if he could overcome the world, so can we. Amen. Paul said, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.

[19:31] We're perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed. See the early disciples of Jesus Christ, they faced persecutions, imprisonments, martyrdom, meaning that they were killed for their cause.

[19:51] And God didn't remove any of those obstacles. But God empowered them to endure and still spread the gospel to the point that we have it in our hands today.

[20:06] Today, we don't face a lot of those same obstacles, persecutions. There are types of persecutions that we face.

[20:17] There's, and some do in the world still face that. Martyrdom, being killed for believing in this message. But today, really, we face the obstacle of self-will.

[20:32] And God is, just like God didn't remove the obstacles of persecution and martyrdom and being beaten and put in prisons and all this for the first century church.

[20:45] Today, God's not going to remove yourself out of that obstacle of yourself out of your way. But if you have the Holy Ghost and will fan that flame, that Holy Spirit that's inside of you, you can overcome the selfish nature that we have as humans.

[21:03] And you, too, can step into your role in the kingdom of God and spread the gospel. Amen. Amen. To continue to fulfill that mission that we're called. Amen. To walk in the spirit.

[21:15] To preach the gospel. To make disciples of and be ambassadors for Jesus Christ through the ministry of reconciliation. If you're wondering what your calling is, it's written on the wall behind me here.

[21:27] Amen. That's your calling. That's your calling. And it's a road that we're called to go down. Amen. It's time to give up making excuses and say, the will of the Lord be done.

[21:44] Amen. I wonder if we could just say that today. The will of the Lord be done. The will of the Lord be done. I want us to consider the Apostle Paul for a minute.

[21:57] Before he was called Paul, his name was Saul. Amen. Raise your hand if you know the story of Saul becoming Paul. Before the Apostle Paul was called Paul, his name was Saul.

[22:13] And while he was known as Saul, believing that he was serving God, he was off tracking down and persecuting the disciples of Jesus.

[22:27] He didn't believe Jesus was the Savior. He just thought this was a group of people rebelling against Judaism and against God.

[22:38] He was a fervent worshiper of God. He knew the scriptures. He knew all the Old Testament as a Jew. He was a Jew born in the Rome.

[22:52] He was a Roman. And, but he studied. He was a Jew and he studied the word of God. He knew it well. He was with the Pharisees. And so, he knew the one true God.

[23:05] The God that delivered, amen, Moses and his people out of the world. And so, he knew that God. And so, he thought these people that now worship Jesus is worshiping somebody else besides God.

[23:24] And so, you can see how he was willing to be zealous for God and persecute these people. And so, he was rationalizing the persecution of the disciples thinking he was serving God.

[23:39] And on his way to Damascus with papers in his hands from the authorities of that day, Saul was struck blind by the glory of Jesus.

[23:50] Amen. He met Jesus on the way to Damascus that day in Acts chapter 9, verse 3 through 6. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly, there shined around about him a light from heaven.

[24:04] And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

[24:18] It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told of you what you must do.

[24:35] God was calling him, chose him in that moment with a calling for a new purpose, a new role. Amen. I believe that God appreciated his fervent fire that he had for God, but he was a little misaligned.

[24:52] He needed an alignment. Amen. And then he goes in the city, and he meets with who he's supposed to meet with. And then he said in verse 15, 16, but the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings.

[25:11] And the children of Israel. Amen. That was God's role made for Paul, to bear his name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ before the Gentiles, those that weren't Jews and kings.

[25:26] Amen. And the children of Israel, for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. There's the fine print that we like to overlook.

[25:38] He was renamed Paul, and he accepted that calling, embraced that role that God had given him, even though there was some fine print there that said that he's going to have to suffer for God's name's sake, the name of Jesus.

[25:54] Paul, now on the road of God's will, had to sacrifice a lot. But I think it was easy for Saul to become Paul because what I mean by that is that Saul was already zealous for God.

[26:09] I mean, he was persecuting people he thought were against God, not understanding. He was already serving. He, in his mind, was serving God the best he knew, even though his understanding about serving God was wrong.

[26:23] He already had that desire and passion and zeal for God. And the difference was he was now trading his prestige and position with the Jews and the Pharisees for a life of hardship.

[26:35] But now he had real hope because he had found truth. He had found Jesus. Amen. And so what's, I mean, I guess that's why I believe it was easy for him to be converted to truth in that experience he had with Jesus.

[26:53] It's because he already had a zeal for God. He was already passionate about serving God. I mean, that's something that we have to figure out for ourselves. That can be downloaded, that can be installed in you.

[27:06] From your parents or from somebody else. You have to, as an individual person, you for yourself, you have to figure that out. You have to get the passion and the zeal for God and his kingdom.

[27:19] And you're either going to get it or you're not. And serving in whatever role and capacity God chooses, you're just willing to do it. It doesn't matter because you have a desire, a passion, a zeal for God's kingdom.

[27:31] And so Paul ended up traveling all over Asia and Greece, planting churches, writing, you know, as we know, like a third of the New Testament. God used them greatly.

[27:42] But it wasn't without all the obstacles. Jews plotted to kill him from the very beginning. I mean, to get out of Jerusalem, they had to lower him out of the city walls, like in hiding in a basket.

[27:57] In Philippi, he and another disciple was beaten and put in prison. But they were still praising God in the prison. In Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead.

[28:08] And many thought and still think today that he actually was dead and God rose him up. But he came to and started preaching again after being stoned half to death.

[28:19] And the lesson the lesson I'm trying to show us today is that even though God didn't remove the obstacles and the issues.

[28:30] And all the problems that came on his road that he just now agreed and decided to go down. Amen. Even though God didn't remove all those obstacles on his road and God's will, God did sustain him.

[28:48] Amen. And keep him through those things and those trials and tribulations that Paul went through. Paul experienced crazy hardships. I mean, he was flogged, shipwrecked. That means beaten.

[28:59] Shipwrecked, hungered, always hungry, always betrayed. But still, and you can read it in his writings that he counted all those things as nothing compared to living for God, knowing Jesus and being in God's will.

[29:19] And that knowing Jesus, now knowing he was in the will of God. And that's what I meant. That is what meant something.

[29:30] It meant something to Paul because he was already zealous for God. And now that he had even a more fine-tuned understanding and direction and the will of God, it meant something to him.

[29:43] It meant something to Paul. And not comfort of the world. It was comfort of knowing that he had a role and he was in the will of God. Amen.

[29:54] That's what gave him comfort. His calling was clear to him. And he trusted it more than anything else. And as the years of church planning passed, there came a time when Paul felt, the Bible says, compelled to go back to Jerusalem.

[30:10] In Acts chapter 20, verse 22. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there.

[30:23] And notice what he said. I go bound in the Spirit, always following after the Spirit. Not bound by the things of the world.

[30:35] Not bound by money. Not bound by status. Not bound by trying to obtain something. Not bound by entertainments of the world. Not bound by other family members. Not bound by anything except the Holy Ghost.

[30:48] Amen. That's what he was bound by, was the Holy Ghost inside of him. Amen. He had surrendered to that Spirit that God placed in him. Amen. And he was passionate about that.

[31:00] And it compelled him to go to Jerusalem. And so he does. And as he's always had done since he was converted, he followed after the Spirit. And then in Acts chapter 20, verse 22.

[31:14] And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. Verse 23. And save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and affliction abide me.

[31:31] What was he saying? Every town he went to on his way back to Jerusalem, somebody, some other prophet, some other disciple came up to him.

[31:45] And would tell him that what he was doing was going to cause him to be bound and experience afflictions. And Tyree, disciples urged him not to go, sensing danger through the Spirit.

[32:02] The Bible says in Acts chapter 21, verse 4. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days, who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go to Jerusalem.

[32:13] These were men of God speaking to Paul. They had discernment. They knew through the Spirit that what Paul was going to have to be facing when he got to Jerusalem, that he would be bound and afflicted.

[32:30] And the things that he was going to be facing, they were warning him. And actually trying to convince him not to go. Warning him not to go.

[32:41] And we read in the beginning, the opening scripture from Acts 21. And this was Paul on his journey back to Jerusalem. And now he's in Caesarea.

[32:53] Almost to the point where God was calling him back to Jerusalem. And a prophet comes in to talk to him. Let's turn in our Bibles. If you have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter 21.

[33:06] Acts chapter 21, verse 8. And the next day, we that were of Paul's company departed and came unto Caesarea.

[33:19] And we entered into the house of Philip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven in abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus.

[33:37] And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, his belt, and bound his own hands and feet. And said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost.

[33:51] So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

[34:09] Then Paul answered and said, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

[34:26] Verse 14, we read it in the beginning. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased saying, The will of the Lord be done.

[34:41] Their tears broke Paul's heart, the Bible says, but not his desire to be in the will of God. In his role, he wanted to be in his role in God's kingdom so bad, so desperately, that it didn't matter.

[34:59] It didn't matter about all the afflictions that he faced. Getting there, all the things he went through, we read it in Scripture, all the things he faced and went through. Planting churches all over the known world at that time.

[35:13] All the beatings, all the imprisonments, all the near death experiences, all the hunger, all the nakedness that he was in, all the shipwrecks and all the perils that he faced.

[35:24] The Bible says, amen, he was not swayed from wanting to be on the road and to be in the will of God. And even to the point that other men of God, other men of God tried convincing him to avoid the future afflictions that awaited him if he would continue down that road that God had called him to go down.

[35:49] Amen. He ignored those voices in his life that some would say, well, that was a man of God. That was even somebody with the Holy Ghost.

[36:02] Amen. I'll just not go down that road. I'm sure I can help them plant a church over here or do something else and not be in the exact will of God. But Paul learned something along all that journey and trip that there's nothing more that he wanted in his life than to be in the perfect will of God and to be in the role that God had for him in his kingdom.

[36:27] In his role in God's kingdom, Paul said, I'm ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for this name of the Lord Jesus. And so Paul's desire to be in the will of God outweighed everything and anything else.

[36:43] Paul had faced too many trials, seen too many deliverances, heard the voice of God too many times. Amen. Was saved from things too many times.

[36:56] Went through things, but was saved from things too many times. He knew what it was to be in the will of God and to see all the success in the field, planning these churches and doing the will of God.

[37:07] Amen. Through the trials and through the tribulations. He knew that God would sustain him and get him through no matter what it was that he would face in Jerusalem when he got there.

[37:18] He would verbalize it and say, I'm ready not only to be bound, but ready to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. If that's my role, if that's my calling, if that's where it's going to lead me to, then I'm fine with that.

[37:35] Because I want to be in the will of God. I want a role in his kingdom. He knew what he had to do and Paul was ready to follow the Lord no matter what the cost.

[37:46] Amen. After the witness of affliction that awaited Paul in every stop along the way to where Paul knew God wanted him to go.

[37:57] Now here he was just a few days journey away. And here again, you have men of God, prophets, other disciples, even the writer of the book of Acts is attributed to Luke.

[38:15] Luke himself. In verse 14, we read it. Luke writing said, and when we when he would not be persuaded, we included himself.

[38:29] He was a part of that. We ceased saying. The will of the Lord be done. They tried to persuade him out of the will of God because of the afflictions that he would face.

[38:40] Even Luke himself, the writer of the book of Acts, men full of the Holy Ghost. Amen. We're trying to persuade him. Luke says, when we realized that we couldn't persuade him not to go because of the obstacles that he was going to have to face.

[38:59] We stopped trying to persuade him. And we said, the will of the Lord be done. This was it was Paul's heart.

[39:10] Ready to be bound, ready to die, ready to say the will of the Lord be done. He didn't wait for comfort. He didn't build a cushion. He didn't. He didn't fear all the voices of warnings.

[39:24] Others had, you know, to turn from this road that you're on because of the afflictions that will come. He ignored those. And God, God's calling us.

[39:36] Amen. Today, God's calling you to that same place today. And so what's holding us back today? Is it fear?

[39:50] Is it self will? Maybe I'll follow God later. Later is not the time.

[40:01] Now is the time. Now is the time. It's right now that we need to make a choice. If we've been hesitating. If we've been rationalizing.

[40:13] If we've been despising our call. Like Esau. Now is the time to. It's not too late. To change. Your direction.

[40:24] Repent. Of your thought process. If you're. If you're ready to go all in. And to say, Lord, not my will, but thy will be done.

[40:35] Then I. I ask you to step out today. Come forward. Let's find a place to pray. Let's surrender excuses today.

[40:46] The excuse of that plan. That you have for yourself. That fear. That you have. Not knowing what's next.

[40:58]  And let's ask God to show you your role in his kingdom. miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle