WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.600 to Kos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Ptara. 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:06.719 And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:11.700 When we had come inside of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we sailed to Syria and landed 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:14.720 at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:18.539 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:23.219 And through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:27.219 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:33.379 And they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:37.700 And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:40.619 Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home. 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:46.420 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived in Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers 00:00:46.420 --> 00:00:47.599 and stayed with them for one day. 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:52.859 On the next day, we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, 00:00:52.879 --> 00:00:55.079 who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:57.979 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:04.259 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:09.599 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:15.140 Thus says the Holy Spirit, this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:17.799 this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:22.560 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:27.480 Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:33.520 For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of 00:01:33.520 --> 00:01:34.180 the Lord Jesus. 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:40.640 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, Let the will of God, let the will 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:41.760 of the Lord be done. 00:01:42.960 --> 00:01:45.960 After these days, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:52.179 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Nason 00:01:52.179 --> 00:01:55.939 of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we should lodge. 00:01:57.219 --> 00:02:02.439 Many of the great stories that have captured people's imagination for centuries are focused 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:04.199 around a long and dangerous journey. 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:10.579 Whether it's Homer's Odyssey, we're counting Odysseus' ten-year journey home after the fall 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:16.700 of Troy, or whether it's John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, relating Christian and his wife's 00:02:16.700 --> 00:02:21.660 dangerous journey from the land of destruction to the celestial city, or Lord of the Rings, 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.900 the hobbit's travels from the peaceful land of the Shire to the dark kingdom of Mordor, 00:02:27.480 --> 00:02:28.620 and finally back again. 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:35.060 Or even many video games, whether it's good old Super Mario Brothers racing through the 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:40.060 eight worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom, evading attackers in order to save Princess Toadstool, 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:45.360 or some of the more recent role-playing games where you take on the character, the role of 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:46.360 a character in a story. 00:02:47.180 --> 00:02:52.140 Right, there's something about a long and dangerous journey that captures our human experience. 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:56.840 Partly, I think, it's because we hope our lives are going somewhere, not just running 00:02:56.840 --> 00:02:57.580 around in circles. 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.240 We hope that our travels will finally bring us to somewhere that we can call home. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:08.820 And yet we know that the journey of our lives can often be painful, lonely, and uncertain. 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:13.680 Well, the Bible is also full of stories of dangerous journeys. 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:20.140 Abraham called to leave his homeland and travel hundreds of miles to he knew not where at first. 00:03:21.160 --> 00:03:26.600 The people of Israel, in their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness between being brought out of 00:03:26.600 --> 00:03:31.580 slavery in Egypt and entering into the promised land, and then a journey into exile, 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:34.100 exile, and seeking to come back again. 00:03:34.940 --> 00:03:39.220 Or in the New Testament, the New Testament talks about the life of Christians as a life 00:03:39.220 --> 00:03:43.040 of strangers and exiles on earth looking for a homeland. 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:47.140 Again, like Abraham and like the people of Israel in the wilderness. 00:03:48.220 --> 00:03:53.800 And Jesus Christ himself said, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:55.120 up his cross and follow me. 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:57.980 Jesus was very straightforward. 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:04.060 That the journey that he was calling his followers to would be hard and painful. 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:09.879 And yet he said it would, in the end, lead to eternal life in the kingdom of God. 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:12.860 But he said along the way there will be many hardships. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:18.439 This morning we're looking at the book of Acts, which relates many journeys, but we're looking 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:23.300 at one of Paul's journeys in particular here, his journey to Jerusalem. 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:26.459 We're going to look at this in three parts. 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:29.040 First, the journey to which God calls us. 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.680 Second, the warnings that we may encounter along the way. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:34.620 And third, the fellowship that sustains us. 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:38.600 So first, the journey to which God calls us. 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.699 If you go back to chapter, flip back a page to chapter 19, verse 21. 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:49.740 Chapter 19, verse 21 is the beginning of the last major section of Acts. 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:51.339 There are six major sections of Acts. 00:04:52.099 --> 00:04:56.279 They each end with a summary statement of the word of God prevailing and increasing. 00:04:56.899 --> 00:04:58.279 That's chapter 19, verse 20. 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:04.159 Chapter 19, verse 21 introduces this new section, saying after these events, Paul resolved in 00:05:04.159 --> 00:05:10.899 the spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying after I've been 00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:12.219 there, I must also see Rome. 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:18.200 And so this sort of sets the agenda for the rest of the book, the next two chapters to 00:05:18.200 --> 00:05:20.500 get him to Jerusalem, and then later on he'll get to Rome. 00:05:23.340 --> 00:05:29.880 And the last two chapters have sort of alternated back and forth between some stops along the 00:05:29.880 --> 00:05:32.800 way and then some records of Paul's travels. 00:05:33.380 --> 00:05:36.800 And maybe you've been wondering, there's all these places that Luke mentions along the 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:37.080 way. 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:43.359 Chapter 20, verses 1 through 6, he mentions several places that he went through, Macedonia 00:05:43.359 --> 00:05:44.959 and Greece, which is Achaia. 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:49.379 Then there's a brief interlude stopping at Troas, which we looked at a few weeks ago with 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:49.919 Eutychus. 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:55.299 Chapter 20, verse 13 through 16, the travel resumes again. 00:05:55.899 --> 00:06:01.500 And chapter 20, verse 16, he mentions again, he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:02.740 on the day of Pentecost. 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:08.920 Last week he stopped at Miletus, spoke to the Ephesian elders, prayed with them, they had 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:13.079 a tearful parting, and then here again he goes on, beginning of chapter 21. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:21.199 More stops along the way, Kos, Rhodes, Batara, and then setting sail across the Mediterranean 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:29.079 for 500 miles all the way to Tyre, which is on the sort of northwest coast of Israel, 00:06:29.340 --> 00:06:30.199 Palestine area. 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:37.000 So, then there's three more landing places, Tyre, Ptolemae, Caesarea, and finally, verse 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.439 15, they go up to Jerusalem. 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:41.939 Now you might say, why all this detail? 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:44.219 You know, why all these places? 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:47.019 You can sort of trace them on a map if you've got a map in the back of your Bible. 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:52.719 I didn't think to put a map in the bulletin until yesterday, and it's too late for us to 00:06:52.719 --> 00:06:55.099 print bulletin inserts on Saturday, so sorry about that. 00:06:55.159 --> 00:06:56.300 We'll do that maybe next week. 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:59.980 But if you have a map in the back of your Bible that you can sort of trace Paul's route, 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:03.379 or go online, you can find good maps online. 00:07:03.460 --> 00:07:05.439 Anyway, but why is Luke drawing attention to all this? 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:09.000 Well, partly because he was traveling with Paul on this leg of the journey. 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:11.860 That's why he speaks of we instead of they. 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:17.600 But the other reason is he tells the story in a way that you can almost feel the tension 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:19.420 building, right? 00:07:19.460 --> 00:07:27.020 It's like in the Lord of the Rings, as Frodo and Sam and Gollum journey down together through 00:07:27.020 --> 00:07:32.540 the dead marshes near Minas Morgul, up the stairs of Sirith Ungol, into Mordor, as they 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:35.340 slowly and surely approach Mount Doom. 00:07:37.200 --> 00:07:39.900 You see, going to Jerusalem wasn't like going home for Paul. 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:45.219 Many years ago, some of the religious leaders in Jerusalem had plotted to kill Paul, and 00:07:45.219 --> 00:07:47.319 so Paul had to run away and escape. 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:53.419 Later on, even some of the Christians in Jerusalem seem to have had some disagreements with Paul, 00:07:54.139 --> 00:07:56.319 or at least some misunderstandings. 00:07:56.739 --> 00:07:59.579 So there was some history, some mistrust, some ongoing danger. 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:06.299 And further, you know, Paul's long-term focus was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. 00:08:06.359 --> 00:08:08.339 He was to be the apostle to the ends of the earth. 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:15.459 And so you might wonder, why is he going hundreds of miles back east when, if you read the letter 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:19.139 to the Romans, he says, I really want to get all the way to Spain, because I haven't been 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:21.639 there yet, and people haven't heard about Jesus there yet. 00:08:22.219 --> 00:08:24.459 And that's what God's called me to do, is to be an apostle. 00:08:24.559 --> 00:08:26.039 You might say, why is he doing this? 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:33.220 Taking this long detour to go back to Jerusalem, where there's all this potential trouble waiting 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:33.720 for him. 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.540 Well, Luke doesn't tell us right here in the book of Acts. 00:08:38.160 --> 00:08:47.340 He does tell us in chapter 24, verse 17, Paul says, I came to Jerusalem to bring alms, that 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:51.200 is to sort of give charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings. 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:56.680 But Paul talks much more extensively in his other letters about the purpose of this journey 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:57.439 to Jerusalem. 00:08:57.439 --> 00:09:02.719 And he basically explains that there were two purposes intertwined together. 00:09:02.839 --> 00:09:09.599 First, he was bringing a generous financial gift that he had collected from the churches 00:09:09.599 --> 00:09:17.479 in Macedonia and Greece to the poverty-stricken and persecution-weary believers in Jerusalem. 00:09:18.659 --> 00:09:20.639 That's one reason why he wasn't traveling alone. 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:27.460 He was traveling with quite a large team of people to bring this large gift that he had 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:31.480 spent quite a bit of time going around to the churches and saying, we need to send them 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:35.759 some help, and collecting it, and finally, he's going to bring it. 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:43.299 And then by doing that, second purpose, he was promoting and embodying the unity of the 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:49.500 church across racial barriers, ethnic barriers, geographical barriers, language barriers. 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:56.899 You see, the gospel Paul proclaimed was a message of grace and peace. 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:03.240 A message of grace, God's undeserved favor, freely poured out on undeserving sinners. 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:09.139 Jesus said, or Paul said, the Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet he became poor, so that 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.539 you through his poverty might become eternally rich. 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:19.480 We deserve God's judgment, but instead God, who is rich in mercy, poured out his grace and 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:21.139 calls us into his kingdom. 00:10:22.539 --> 00:10:25.279 So it's a message of grace, but it's also a message of peace. 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:29.560 Paul says in Ephesians, Jesus Christ himself is our peace. 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:35.899 And through his death on the cross, he has made peace between humanity and God and peace 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:40.879 between different groups of people who are united in Christ. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.240 And at the foot of the cross, we can be reconciled with God and with one another. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:49.820 And that's the message that Paul preached, grace and peace. 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:53.120 That's what he began almost all his letters with, grace and peace to you. 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:55.299 But he didn't just talk about grace and peace. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:11:00.060 This journey to Jerusalem was an expression of grace and peace. 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:08.600 It was an expression of grace, generosity from among fellow believers, generosity in particular 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.519 to the Christians in Jerusalem and Judea who were suffering. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:16.299 And so Paul said, you know, he said to these churches in Macedonia and Greece, he said, you 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:20.879 know, this is the gospel that we believe, that God has poured out his grace upon us. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:28.840 And God has let us, we're aware of these brothers and sisters who are suffering and need help. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:30.779 And so let's share that. 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:32.539 Let's extend that generosity. 00:11:33.199 --> 00:11:34.759 Let's not just talk about grace. 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:38.000 Let's actually be a generous, giving people. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:41.600 And also let's be a peace-pursuing people. 00:11:42.340 --> 00:11:46.899 You know, probably the biggest divide, or at least potential divide in the early church 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:49.039 was between Jews and Gentiles. 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:55.100 The Jews had received God's promises centuries ago and it sort of had a long heritage. 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:57.279 The scriptures came through them. 00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:01.879 The Gentiles had been sort of coming into the church, into God's people in large numbers. 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:03.100 And there were tensions. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:08.100 And Paul said, no, we must seek to promote peace. 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:10.960 Christ has made peace between us and God. 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:12.500 And so we need to be peacemakers. 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:17.899 And even though this is a costly, hard, long journey, it's worth it for the sake of grace 00:12:17.899 --> 00:12:18.740 and peace. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:23.139 And this is the same gospel that we proclaim. 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:29.679 And so I think the challenge, one challenge from Paul's journey, is that we would not only 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:34.339 proclaim the gospel of grace and peace, but also live it out as Paul did. 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:40.919 Just two weeks ago, we heard from our brother Hanum Asad, who came and preached the word and 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:45.239 shared about some about our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle East. 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.299 And we've supported him and his family in our annual budget for a few years now. 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:56.240 But you know, what would it look like for us to be sacrificially generous as a congregation 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:05.339 to our brothers and sisters who are refugees fleeing from ISIS, who are in places where 00:13:05.339 --> 00:13:09.219 they're struggling to feed their families and there's 50% unemployment, so it's not so 00:13:09.219 --> 00:13:11.279 easy to get a job, right? 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:18.199 What would it look like to be sacrificially generous, you know, toward his ministry or 00:13:18.199 --> 00:13:19.159 toward other believers? 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.620 To be generous maybe beyond what we've done before. 00:13:25.459 --> 00:13:29.879 Or right here at home, right in New Haven, what would it look like for us to demonstrate 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:35.659 the peace and unity of the gospel by joining together with other gospel-believing churches 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:37.120 in this region? 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:43.440 Now, we have an opportunity to do that through I Heart New Haven Day in August, right? 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:49.899 That's a one-day service project where different churches are joining together to bear witness 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:51.560 to Christ together and to serve our city. 00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:54.879 So I want to encourage you, make that a priority. 00:13:55.560 --> 00:13:59.060 It's an opportunity to serve alongside our brothers and sisters from different churches 00:13:59.060 --> 00:14:03.360 in town and to express and embody grace and peace. 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:11.840 Or on a more personal level, what about pursuing grace or pursuing peace and truth with another 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:16.500 Christian who is a difficult person to get along with, right? 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:20.379 Some of us are, I mean, we got to be honest, some of us are difficult people to get along 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:20.860 with, right? 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.680 Or at least we can be at times, right? 00:14:23.680 --> 00:14:30.899 What would it look like to extend grace by, you know, not just sort of, by pursuing a relationship, 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:35.819 by praying for someone, by reaching out to them, by acknowledging if you've been at fault, 00:14:36.459 --> 00:14:40.519 by maybe having a hard conversation, maybe extending mercy. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.179 It's hard. 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:47.779 These things aren't easy, but these are costly expressions of grace and peace that can be 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:50.720 motivated by what Christ has done for us. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:54.340 So that's why Paul's going to Jerusalem, right? 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:56.319 It's a journey of grace and peace. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.420 Second, the warnings that we face along the way. 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:02.700 Paul receives two warnings. 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:12.060 Verse 4, through the Spirit, they, that is the Christians in Tyre, were telling Paul not 00:15:12.060 --> 00:15:13.300 to go on to Jerusalem. 00:15:14.140 --> 00:15:16.740 And then verses 10 and 11 in Caesarea. 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:19.620 Agabus, the prophet, comes down from Judea. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.840 He takes Paul's belt, binds his own feet and hands and says, thus says the Holy Spirit, 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:29.120 this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:30.860 into the hands of the Gentiles. 00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:34.660 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:37.040 Now, this is interesting. 00:15:37.660 --> 00:15:39.340 You might be asking, what's going on here? 00:15:40.660 --> 00:15:46.580 Was Paul sort of foolishly disregarding the Holy Spirit's warning and other believers' advice 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:49.740 and running, charging ahead into trouble for no good reason? 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:51.160 Sometimes Christians do that. 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:56.279 They get an idea in their head and they don't want to listen to anybody else who questions 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:57.959 them or tells them to go a different way. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:00.459 But that's not what happened here. 00:16:01.339 --> 00:16:06.500 Luke clearly wants us to understand that Paul was genuinely being led by the Holy Spirit. 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:11.199 Chapter 19, verse 21 says he resolved in the Spirit to go on to Jerusalem. 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:18.179 Chapter 20, verse 22, Paul says, I'm going to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit. 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:23.459 And Paul wasn't being naive and unaware of the dangers. 00:16:23.939 --> 00:16:25.500 He was well aware of the dangers. 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:31.519 20, 23, he says, the Holy Spirit testifies to me that in every city, imprisonment and 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:32.639 afflictions await me. 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:38.859 So Paul wasn't sort of foolishly charging ahead against the wiser advice of his friends. 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:45.220 In other places and at other times, Paul took his friends' advice to preserve his own physical 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:45.680 safety. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:51.139 Several times in Thessalonica and Berea, there were riots and his friends took initiative 00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:52.259 and sent him out of town. 00:16:53.460 --> 00:17:00.820 And in Ephesus, two of Paul's colleagues, Aristarchus and Secundus, I think, got arrested and got dragged 00:17:00.820 --> 00:17:02.220 into the public theater. 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:07.500 And Paul wanted to go in with them and stand with them and defend them and not leave them 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:07.920 alone. 00:17:08.360 --> 00:17:13.279 And his friends strongly urged him not to go in there because they said the lonely makes 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:13.960 things worse. 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:16.160 They'll be even madder at you. 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:17.880 And Paul listened to them. 00:17:18.360 --> 00:17:19.360 And he didn't go in. 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.480 He listened to the advice of his friends. 00:17:22.360 --> 00:17:25.880 Paul wasn't just a stubborn guy who didn't want to listen to anybody else. 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:33.700 So then you might say, well, okay, well, how can Paul be led by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:38.840 and then these two other groups of believers somehow through the Spirit seem to be urging 00:17:38.840 --> 00:17:39.600 him not to go? 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:41.480 Well, let's look more closely. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:43.980 Look first at verse 11. 00:17:44.980 --> 00:17:46.260 Look at what Agabus says. 00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:53.500 What Agabus says is basically you're going to be bound and delivered into the hands of the 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:54.060 Gentiles. 00:17:54.059 --> 00:18:00.919 And then verse 12, when we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up 00:18:00.919 --> 00:18:01.419 to Jerusalem. 00:18:02.639 --> 00:18:11.159 So there's a distinction here between an insight given by the Holy Spirit of upcoming danger 00:18:11.159 --> 00:18:16.200 and a human assessment and response turn and run the other way. 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:20.519 Paul agreed with the insight of upcoming danger. 00:18:20.639 --> 00:18:21.940 He was already well aware of that. 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:25.000 But Paul responded to this insight in a very different way. 00:18:26.420 --> 00:18:32.940 In Romans 15, he actually specifically asked for prayer for his journey to Jerusalem. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:34.860 You know, he was concerned about it. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.160 He was clearly seeing, you know, this is dangerous. 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:39.460 I need to be asking my brothers and sisters for prayer. 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:45.059 Romans 15, 30 to 33, he prayed that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and 00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:48.179 that my service in Jerusalem would be acceptable to the saints. 00:18:49.379 --> 00:18:50.539 Okay, so that's verse 11. 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:51.819 Now, what about verse 4? 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:56.000 Through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:59.440 Now, this is a much more compact sentence. 00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:04.720 It doesn't give us as much detail as we see in verse 11 and 12. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.259 It's also a bit of an unusual expression. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:14.700 It's not the normal way that Luke introduces someone who is speaking a word of prophecy 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:16.720 or speaking by the Holy Spirit. 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:23.200 Usually, he'll say something like, like Zachariah, who was, Zachariah was filled with the Spirit 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.019 and prophesied. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:25.420 So and so. 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:31.300 Or Peter and John, filled with the Spirit, stood up and spoke with great boldness about 00:19:31.300 --> 00:19:31.740 the gospel. 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:34.840 So it's a bit of an unusual expression. 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:40.800 So I think in the context of this chapter, it seemed like a similar thing was going on. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:45.880 So through the Spirit, these believers had an insight into upcoming danger. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:50.160 But then it says they were telling Paul not to go. 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:54.380 They responded to that insight by telling him not to go. 00:19:55.420 --> 00:20:01.420 And if you look down at verse 5 and 6, it seems like these believers eventually reconciled 00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:05.220 themselves to Paul's decision, even though it wasn't what they warned him to do. 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:12.720 They, right, when Paul was leaving, they didn't say, Paul, you are sinning. 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:14.820 We cannot support this journey. 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.980 No, they went down to the beach with their whole families. 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:21.460 They prayed and hugged and said farewell. 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:24.420 Well, so it seems like they warned them. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:26.220 They had an insight from the Holy Spirit. 00:20:27.140 --> 00:20:29.640 They responded by warning him not to go. 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:35.860 But then they reconciled themselves to Paul's decision of being compelled by the Spirit to 00:20:35.860 --> 00:20:36.640 go on to Jerusalem. 00:20:37.340 --> 00:20:42.660 And they didn't seem to believe that Paul was disobeying God by not following their advice. 00:20:42.660 --> 00:20:50.000 Now, what do we learn from Paul's response to these well-intentioned warnings from Spirit-filled 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:50.680 believers? 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:52.519 Let me say three things. 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:57.779 So first, sometimes the Holy Spirit gives special insight to believers. 00:20:58.680 --> 00:20:58.840 Okay? 00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:00.920 Here it's an insight into upcoming danger. 00:21:01.580 --> 00:21:05.880 At other times in Acts, the Holy Spirit gave insight into someone's spiritual condition, 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:13.220 Paul with the magician Elemis in Acts 13, or insight into a spiritual need or opportunity 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:17.320 as when Paul was directed to go to Macedonia in Acts 16. 00:21:18.800 --> 00:21:21.220 So sometimes the Holy Spirit gives special insight. 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:24.300 It seems like sometimes the New Testament calls that prophecy. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:31.180 Agabus appears here, and in Acts 11, he also warned about an upcoming famine. 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:37.539 And the believers responded to that warning by sending relief to the brothers and sisters 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:37.900 there. 00:21:39.140 --> 00:21:42.620 Now, prophecy isn't only insights into the future. 00:21:43.840 --> 00:21:49.420 Paul defines prophecy more generally in 1 Corinthians as speaking to people for their upbuilding 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:51.920 and encouragement and comfort. 00:21:53.320 --> 00:21:58.940 At other times, it seems like the Spirit gave people insight in the form of dreams or visions, 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:00.560 such as Acts 16. 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:01.860 Okay? 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:04.019 So the Holy Spirit may give special insight to believers. 00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:08.480 And, you know, Christians disagree on this, but it seems to me that there is no reason 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:14.860 why we should categorically deny that the Holy Spirit may give such insight to believers today 00:22:14.860 --> 00:22:16.799 as he did here. 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:19.980 So the Holy Spirit may give special insight to believers. 00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:26.840 On the other hand, second, it's possible for believers to mix genuine insights from the 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:32.179 Holy Spirit with erroneous human assumptions and conclusions. 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:36.740 Now, that seems to be what was happening with these two groups of people. 00:22:37.139 --> 00:22:41.759 They had a genuine insight given by the Holy Spirit, danger in Jerusalem, and their response 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:43.139 was, run away. 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:47.000 And Paul's response was actually the better response in this case. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:54.819 There's only one place where the Holy Spirit has revealed himself through human spokespersons 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:56.380 without human error. 00:22:56.740 --> 00:23:03.240 And that is in the scriptures themselves, which are our final authority in faith and practice. 00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:07.079 Now, there are other useful insights that the Lord gives to his people through a variety 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:07.579 of means. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:16.119 But those can be mixed with our own human assumptions and conclusions. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:21.659 And even sometimes our interpretations of scripture can also be mixed with our human assumptions 00:23:21.659 --> 00:23:22.199 and conclusions. 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:24.000 So we need to be aware of that. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.740 So, Holy Spirit can give special insight to believers. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:34.720 Believers can mix true insights with our own human and sometimes erroneous assumptions and 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:35.099 conclusions. 00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:43.859 Third, therefore, prophecies or any word of advice or warning or even encouragement from 00:23:43.859 --> 00:23:48.419 a fellow believer must be carefully evaluated and discerned. 00:23:49.199 --> 00:23:53.179 And this is what the New Testament directs us to do with words of prophecy. 00:23:54.139 --> 00:23:56.759 1 Corinthians 14 says, let two or three prophets speak. 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.039 Let the others weigh what is said. 00:23:59.719 --> 00:24:02.859 1 Thessalonians 5, 19, don't quench the spirit. 00:24:02.859 --> 00:24:05.039 Don't despise prophecies. 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:06.959 Don't rule them out, I think. 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:08.159 But test everything. 00:24:08.979 --> 00:24:12.639 Hold fast what is good and abstain from every form of evil. 00:24:13.659 --> 00:24:15.099 So, let me apply that a bit. 00:24:15.719 --> 00:24:17.479 Some of you may have the gift of prophecy. 00:24:18.379 --> 00:24:24.019 In fact, I've talked to a few of you who I think the Lord may at times give you special 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:29.859 insight perhaps into future dangers or future opportunities or even into people's hearts. 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:37.379 Now, that can be a genuine and very useful gift from God to strengthen and comfort and warn his 00:24:37.379 --> 00:24:37.759 people. 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:44.219 But be very careful because it can also be terribly misused and result in great harm. 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:55.720 So, recognize that the Holy Spirit may give you genuine insights, but also recognize that you alone may not see the whole picture. 00:24:56.660 --> 00:25:04.400 And so, submit your insights to the discernment of godly leaders and of the Christian community as a whole. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:13.580 And that will be a way that you can use your gift to build up the body in a good way. 00:25:15.820 --> 00:25:25.500 On the other hand, if you're on the receiving end of a word of prophecy or, let's say, a word of warning or a word of strong advice from a fellow believer, 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:26.860 take it seriously. 00:25:26.859 --> 00:25:37.079 Consider if there are important insights that you should take to heart, but test it against God's word. 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:48.699 Someone else's advice, even someone else's warning, is not an absolute prohibition unless it is clearly rooted in God's word. 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:49.100 Okay? 00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:56.240 And that's really the danger that happens is when people take a word of prophecy where someone says, 00:25:56.539 --> 00:26:02.319 the Lord is telling me to tell you this, and they take it as an absolute word from God instead of doing what the Bible says, 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:04.539 which is test and discern. 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:08.700 And that's where it can cause all kinds of problems. 00:26:09.580 --> 00:26:09.759 Okay? 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:18.580 But when it's tested and discerned, then it's a way that we can all be built up and benefit from the different insights that the Lord gives to us as a body. 00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:23.160 And discern together how we can go ahead and be faithful to the Lord. 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:25.100 All right. 00:26:25.840 --> 00:26:26.819 So, the journey. 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:32.080 God calls us to a journey to demonstrate grace and peace. 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:36.259 This is how we deal with warnings along the way, with discernment. 00:26:37.140 --> 00:26:39.580 Third, the fellowship that sustains us. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:40.539 All right? 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.840 This was a hard journey. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.980 And especially for Paul. 00:26:44.100 --> 00:26:44.740 I mean, think of it. 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:46.500 You know, twice along the way. 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:49.599 You have some of his, at the end, it's his closest friends. 00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:53.839 You know, Luke said, not just the people there, but we and the people there. 00:26:54.599 --> 00:26:58.140 These people who have been traveling with him all along are saying, please, don't continue. 00:26:58.279 --> 00:26:59.380 Don't go on to Jerusalem. 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:07.220 How did Paul have strength to keep going on this long journey? 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:12.820 Well, John Stott wrote, what fortified Paul in his journey. 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:15.860 There's going to be two parts to this answer. 00:27:15.940 --> 00:27:16.540 This is the first part. 00:27:17.300 --> 00:27:23.160 What fortified Paul in his journey was the Christian fellowship, which he and his travel companions experienced in every port. 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:31.400 Part of how Paul was strengthened was by the fellowship and hospitality that was extended to him by the believers in Christ. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:35.519 So just look briefly at each of the cities that he visits. 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:37.300 Tyre, verse 4. 00:27:38.100 --> 00:27:41.259 It says, Paul and his companions sought out the disciples. 00:27:42.300 --> 00:27:45.500 That means they didn't, presumably it means they didn't, they had to look for them. 00:27:46.060 --> 00:27:46.220 Okay? 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:47.300 They didn't know where they met. 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:50.000 Maybe they didn't even know if there were some disciples there. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:53.180 But they had to look for them. 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:56.220 And they found them and they stayed for seven days. 00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:04.460 But at the end of just one week, it said all of them, excuse me, with their wives and their children, their whole families, 00:28:05.400 --> 00:28:10.200 they went out of the city, down to the beach, and prayed and said farewell. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.940 Now, that's pretty amazing. 00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:17.759 Have you ever been somewhere for one week and developed such a close bond with the other Christians there 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:20.819 that they have brought their whole family to say farewell to you? 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:23.480 That's pretty amazing. 00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:24.799 Right? 00:28:24.900 --> 00:28:31.299 And that's the kind of community and hospitality that strengthened Paul and his companions in their journey 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:38.839 is this hospitality and the love, the deep love that was shown from these believers. 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:43.539 Ptolemais, we greeted the brothers and sisters, stayed with them for one day. 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:46.180 Again, that word greeted doesn't mean they shook hands for 30 seconds. 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:48.340 It means welcoming hospitality. 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:49.600 It says we stayed with them. 00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:54.060 Even though they were there for just one day, they stayed presumably in someone's home. 00:28:55.060 --> 00:28:57.180 Caesarea, longer stay. 00:28:57.880 --> 00:29:00.600 They stayed with Philip, the evangelist, for many days. 00:29:01.860 --> 00:29:08.360 Now, if you remember from the beginning of back in January when we started this series in Acts in chapter 8, 00:29:09.060 --> 00:29:13.720 Philip was recognized as one of the first Greek-speaking deacons in the church in Jerusalem. 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:19.779 And later on, he led the first Christian mission to the Samaritans in the cities of Samaria. 00:29:20.259 --> 00:29:25.140 And then the Spirit of God took him to the middle of the desert where he met the Ethiopian eunuch 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:28.920 and shared the gospel with him and then carried him up to Caesarea. 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:36.680 Had a, you know, a plane flight before planes, it seems like, where he settled down. 00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:43.519 But here he is, 20 years later, Philip and his family, he's got four daughters now, 00:29:44.320 --> 00:29:49.500 and they open their home to Paul and his friends for an extended period of time. 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:54.680 Luke also mentions that Philip's four unmarried daughters prophesied. 00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:58.120 Luke gives all kinds of just interesting, colorful comments. 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:04.539 But just on this one for a minute, back in the day, women normally got married at the age of 16. 00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:06.539 Imagine that. 00:30:07.719 --> 00:30:09.659 So verse 9 could mean one of two things. 00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:14.839 It could mean Philip's daughters had not yet reached marriageable age, 00:30:15.199 --> 00:30:22.259 that they were less than 16, and yet already the Holy Spirit was working in them so powerfully 00:30:22.259 --> 00:30:29.779 that they were prophesying, that is, giving some kind of a message of encouragement and comfort 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:33.759 and building up to fellow believers, right? 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:37.420 The Holy Spirit was already working powerfully in them, and they were like 12. 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:43.019 Or it could mean that they were old enough to get married, but for whatever reason, 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:45.619 perhaps lack of suitable Christian males in Caesarea, 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:50.480 or perhaps a particular sense of calling to serve the Lord as a single person, 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:52.500 they hadn't got married. 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:57.819 But they were using their singleness fruitfully by serving in the church, 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:02.160 by speaking words of encouragement and edification to other believers. 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:07.440 And, you know, this is just an amazing picture of the Holy Spirit working in a whole family 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:11.660 from one generation to another, and working through people, 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:14.319 specifically unmarried women or perhaps young girls, 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:18.779 who would not have been expected to play a significant role in their society. 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:24.319 But God uses them to be a blessing to the believers in Caesarea 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:26.879 and to Paul and his companions as they come through. 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:34.359 All right, finally, Nathan of Cyprus, verse 16, also opens his home to them. 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:37.379 So what do we take from this? 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:40.819 One of the ways that God sustains us through difficult journeys 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:45.599 is by providing us with sweet fellowship with brothers and sisters along the way, 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:47.959 even if it's only a short period of time. 00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:54.279 And for this church in particular, let me encourage those of you who are not visiting, 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:57.859 this is part of the mission that God has called us to, 00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:06.579 is, you know, we often have people, every week we have people who are visiting here for the first time, 00:32:06.679 --> 00:32:09.459 often here, maybe here for just a week, maybe here for a conference, 00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:13.819 maybe here for a summer, maybe here for a month to do a medical rotation, 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:17.100 maybe here for a year or two, and then off to somewhere else. 00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:20.059 And this is part of the mission that God has called us to as a church, 00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:24.779 is to invest in people and extend welcoming hospitality to people who are here, 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:30.400 maybe just for a short time, but to have those sweet bonds of being brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:33.240 and then to send them off. 00:32:34.300 --> 00:32:38.840 Around this time of year, the church office tends to get requests for housing 00:32:38.840 --> 00:32:41.080 from a few different groups of people. 00:32:41.600 --> 00:32:44.860 Sometimes it's visiting missionaries here for a short time, 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:48.600 sometimes it's incoming grad students and young professionals looking for roommates, 00:32:49.080 --> 00:32:52.200 maybe it's some of you who are still looking for roommates. 00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:56.200 So let me just encourage you all, 00:32:56.200 --> 00:33:00.740 whether you're a single guy who can offer your couch for someone to crash on, 00:33:01.100 --> 00:33:03.279 or a group of women who are looking for other roommates, 00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:07.960 or if you can take in even someone who's on the edge of being homeless, 00:33:08.380 --> 00:33:11.059 or has maybe some other particular challenges, 00:33:11.700 --> 00:33:13.819 the ministry of hospitality is significant. 00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:16.519 It can look a whole bunch of different ways, 00:33:17.019 --> 00:33:20.440 but it's part of how the gospel goes forward, 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:22.940 and how grace and peace are extended. 00:33:22.940 --> 00:33:25.600 So let me just encourage you all, 00:33:26.100 --> 00:33:28.059 whether it's taking someone into your home, 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:30.220 or taking someone out to lunch after church, 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:33.360 or just greeting people warmly when they walk in the door, 00:33:33.900 --> 00:33:38.019 let's continue to seek to be a hospitable church. 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:42.039 And if you can offer your home, let the church office know, 00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:47.259 and we can connect you with appropriate needs. 00:33:47.720 --> 00:33:50.320 So there's fellowship with other believers, 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:53.299 but Paul's also sustained at an even deeper level 00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:55.460 by fellowship with the Lord Jesus himself. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:58.099 And this is where we'll conclude. 00:33:58.740 --> 00:34:01.679 You see, Paul's journey, Paul was going up to Jerusalem. 00:34:02.939 --> 00:34:06.700 But you know, Paul wasn't the first one to go up to Jerusalem 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:10.039 on a long and painful and dangerous journey. 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:13.440 And Luke deliberately shows how Paul in going to Jerusalem 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:16.739 was following the pattern of the Lord Jesus himself. 00:34:16.739 --> 00:34:22.299 Long ago, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a suffering servant, 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:24.979 someone who listened to God's word 00:34:24.979 --> 00:34:28.959 and who willingly endured suffering for God's sake. 00:34:29.779 --> 00:34:33.659 Isaiah 50, the servant is speaking, 00:34:33.819 --> 00:34:37.799 and the servants, or Isaiah is speaking about this servant. 00:34:38.339 --> 00:34:40.000 The Lord God has opened my ear, 00:34:40.619 --> 00:34:41.799 and I was not rebellious. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:43.759 I did not turn back. 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:46.840 I gave my back to those who strike, 00:34:47.320 --> 00:34:49.300 my cheeks to those who pull out my beard. 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:51.940 I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting, 00:34:52.680 --> 00:34:54.100 but the Lord God helps me. 00:34:54.560 --> 00:34:57.860 Therefore, I have set my face like a flint, 00:34:58.520 --> 00:35:00.880 and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 00:35:01.860 --> 00:35:03.160 Earlier, we read from Luke 9, 00:35:03.220 --> 00:35:06.660 where it says Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. 00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:09.660 And later on, Jesus said to his disciples, 00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:11.579 we're going up to Jerusalem, 00:35:12.619 --> 00:35:14.480 and everything that's written about the Son of Man 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:16.519 by the prophets will be accomplished. 00:35:16.659 --> 00:35:18.519 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles 00:35:18.519 --> 00:35:20.980 and mocked and shamefully treated 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:22.960 and flogged and killed, 00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:24.239 and on the third day he'll rise. 00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:27.940 You see, Jesus faced all kinds of opposition 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:30.039 from well-meaning disciples, 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:31.639 from determined opponents, 00:35:31.759 --> 00:35:32.980 even from the devil himself, 00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:37.699 and yet he persevered all the way up to Jerusalem 00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:43.159 and all the way up the hill of Calvary to the cross. 00:35:44.679 --> 00:35:46.240 In the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, 00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:49.880 Father, not my will, but yours be done. 00:35:52.059 --> 00:35:54.139 See, that's what gave Paul the courage 00:35:54.139 --> 00:35:56.320 to go to Jerusalem more than anything else, 00:35:57.139 --> 00:35:59.119 more than all the fellowship he had along the way. 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:01.599 He knew he had fellowship with Jesus Christ, 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:03.420 who had gone before him. 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:06.519 And Paul could say in verse 13, 00:36:06.619 --> 00:36:08.639 I'm ready not just to be thrown in prison, 00:36:08.759 --> 00:36:10.480 but to die in Jerusalem for the Lord, 00:36:10.799 --> 00:36:12.599 for the name of the Lord Jesus, 00:36:13.159 --> 00:36:15.420 because he knew that Jesus had gone before him 00:36:15.420 --> 00:36:16.219 and done just that, 00:36:17.219 --> 00:36:19.360 and that Jesus had done what no one else could ever do, 00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:21.679 to die for our sins, 00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:23.659 to accomplish our salvation 00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:25.319 through his death and resurrection. 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:27.880 And so Paul persevered, 00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:30.480 and that's the greatest comfort of all. 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:35.059 If God's called you to a long and painful 00:36:35.059 --> 00:36:36.940 and dangerous journey, 00:36:37.420 --> 00:36:40.380 if he's called you to take hard steps 00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:42.960 to extend grace and generosity 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:44.799 to people in need, 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:46.460 or to promote peace, 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:49.259 and be a peacemaker in a troubled world, 00:36:50.539 --> 00:36:52.619 Jesus Christ has gone before you, 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:54.500 and he has paved the way, 00:36:54.500 --> 00:36:58.480 and he is standing at the end of the race 00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.159 and saying, 00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:02.139 come, 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:05.659 and he is our advocate, 00:37:06.260 --> 00:37:07.199 and he is our king, 00:37:07.320 --> 00:37:08.639 and he is our savior, 00:37:08.719 --> 00:37:10.019 and he has sent us his Holy Spirit 00:37:10.019 --> 00:37:11.619 to be with us every step of the way. 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:14.860 And he's gone before us, 00:37:14.900 --> 00:37:16.340 and we're called to suffer with him, 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:17.539 but we're also promised 00:37:17.539 --> 00:37:19.639 that there will be glory. 00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:23.159 And as we seek to follow him, 00:37:24.099 --> 00:37:25.420 the good news of the gospel 00:37:25.420 --> 00:37:26.980 will go out 00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:29.339 to the ends of the earth. 00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:30.960 Let's pray together. 00:37:36.779 --> 00:37:38.019 Our Father, we thank you 00:37:38.019 --> 00:37:40.039 for the faithfulness of your Son, 00:37:40.119 --> 00:37:40.779 Jesus Christ, 00:37:40.780 --> 00:37:44.640 who perfectly 00:37:44.640 --> 00:37:46.700 and unwaveringly 00:37:46.700 --> 00:37:47.400 obeyed you, 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:49.620 who set his face like flint, 00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:52.100 who went to the cross 00:37:52.100 --> 00:37:53.760 to pay the price 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.380 for us. 00:37:56.820 --> 00:37:58.160 We thank you for the courage 00:37:58.160 --> 00:37:59.060 that you gave Paul 00:37:59.060 --> 00:38:02.460 to follow in the footsteps 00:38:02.460 --> 00:38:03.180 of his Savior 00:38:03.180 --> 00:38:04.380 as he went up to Jerusalem 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:06.380 to deliver this gift 00:38:06.380 --> 00:38:10.059 and to demonstrate 00:38:10.059 --> 00:38:11.140 the unity of the church. 00:38:12.820 --> 00:38:13.960 We pray that you would 00:38:13.960 --> 00:38:16.559 empower us by your Spirit. 00:38:18.019 --> 00:38:19.460 Lord, whatever you call us to, 00:38:19.539 --> 00:38:20.500 we pray that we would 00:38:20.500 --> 00:38:24.160 embrace that calling 00:38:24.160 --> 00:38:26.360 with trust in you. 00:38:28.240 --> 00:38:29.099 We pray that you would 00:38:29.099 --> 00:38:30.059 give us discernment 00:38:30.059 --> 00:38:33.480 individually and as a community 00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:38.960 to consider the insights 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:39.619 that your Spirit 00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:40.380 may give us 00:38:40.380 --> 00:38:41.639 through a variety of means 00:38:41.639 --> 00:38:44.420 and yet to discern them wisely 00:38:44.420 --> 00:38:49.420 and to test everything 00:38:49.420 --> 00:38:50.139 against your Word. 00:38:52.500 --> 00:38:54.500 Lord, we pray that you'd 00:38:54.500 --> 00:38:56.059 make us as well 00:38:56.059 --> 00:38:57.980 a hospitable church. 00:38:59.199 --> 00:39:01.280 Lord, that loves one another 00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:02.380 as brothers and sisters. 00:39:02.380 --> 00:39:04.119 no matter where we come from, 00:39:04.300 --> 00:39:05.180 no matter where we're going, 00:39:07.400 --> 00:39:08.559 but because we're united 00:39:08.559 --> 00:39:09.480 at the foot of the cross. 00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:13.280 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:13.640 Amen.