Following, Fellowship and a Few Warnings

· INTRO: Good morning GPC! Truly, this is the day that the Lord has made! Would you turn with me to Acts 21? Today we’ll be looking at Acts 21:1-26. While you turn there, let me go over a few announcements. (Announcements).

o Would you stand with me as we read God’s Holy Word? This is God’s word!

o Read verses 7-14.

· Acts 21:1-26 is a very different passage than Acts 20. Acts 21:1-26 is a bit of a transition passage. Pual travels from Tyre to Jerusalem, fellowships with many believers, is warned, and eventually is purified. It’s a lot going on and it’s very different.

o As we read scripture, it can be easy to read passages like this and to almost disregard them as passages that do not apply to our lives. But, I want to encourage us to avoid that train of thought!

o Instead, let’s consider this passage as we should consider all scripture; let’s read it, let’s study it, let’s interpret it and let’s apply it.

§ See, there are some very key principles that we can and SHOULD take from this passage.

And that’s something that we should see in every passage

study

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· MAIN POINT: Our lives as Christians should be marked by walking in Faith and pursuit of the Will of God.

· BODY: Acts 20 was a powerful place to resume our study of Acts as we saw firsthand Paul’s tearful farewell to the Ephesian Elders. As we turn the page to Acts 21, we really launch headfirst into the fourth and final section of Acts.

· Structurally, in many ways, we see a close parallel between Acts 21:1-6 and Acts 21:7-14. Then, there are still some more similarities as we look at the rest of the passage. Luke brings out a heavy importance on two major things; walking in Faith and fellowship!

· Let’s start off by examining Acts 21:1-6 together. “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. And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 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. 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. 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 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.”

o Remember, Paul did not travel alone; instead, he traveled with a group of likeminded brothers! Luke, the author of Acts, is one of these men.

o This group was being consistently discipled and poured into by Paul. Luke uses the pronoun, “we” because he is physically present.

§ This adds to the reliability of the passage! We can trust what is being said here!

o As they travel in Acts 21, they are going from Miletus, which is in modern day Turkey, to Jerusalem. To do this, they travel along the Northern edge of the Mediterranean. In verses 1-3, we see Luke recount their journey.

§ They go to Cos, then Rhodes, famous for the Colossus and its place in Greek history, then from Rhodes they sail on to Patara. Which is further southeast in Turkey. They are just following the coast.

· From there, Luke records that they go to Phoenicia on a new ship that takes them past Cyprus and then takes them to Syria where they land at Tyre.

· Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why does this matter? Well, remember, Luke is reminding Theophilus and his other readers that his account IS TRUSTWORTHY!

o In Tyre, the traveling party stops so that he ship can unload its cargo. This process takes 7 days and so they remain there for 7 days with the disciples!

§ The local believers welcome them in and greet them! They house them, they fellowship with them, and they are together!

§ Even as Paul knows what he is walking into, he is able to rest in fellowship. What a comfort that must have been to them!

§ There is real hospitality here as the believers gather with them!

o You may notice something strange in verse 4 though. The believers TELL PAUL NOT TO GO TO JERUSALEM THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT!

§ What is going on with this? What is the situation here? Is God contradicting himself? Is Paul living in sin by going to Jerusalem?

· There’s a lot of questions that have come from this. I think the commentator F.F. Bruce has a helpful insight on this. He says, “Among those Christians were some who had the gift of prophecy; as they foresaw by its means that grave danger awaited Paul in Jerusalem, they warned him to abandon his plan of going on there. But Paul’s mind was already made up, and he was not to be diverted from his purpose by such predictions. Tyre was not the first place in which indications of this kind had been given him of what lay in store for him at Jerusalem (cf. 20:23). It should not be concluded that his determination to go on was disobedience to the guidance of the Spirit of God; it was under the constraint of that Spirit that he was bound for Jerusalem with such determination (19:21; 20:22). It was natural that his friends who by the prophetic spirit were able to foresee his tribulation and imprisonment should try to dissuade him from going on….”

o In other words, Paul is not in disobedience to God and God is not contradicting Himself!

§ Instead, the believers are misapplying with that Holy Spirit tells them! Yes, there is suffering ahead for Paul, but instead of trying to stop him, they need to encourage and pray for their brother!

§ Paul continues on in his journey and he leaves Tyre knowing that he will continue going to Jerusalem.

· See, Paul knows the will of the Lord! As he said in Acts 20, he is BOUND TO GO! He is under the authority of God to go to Jerusalem! He simply must obey!

· So, Paul hears these brothers and sisters; he meets with them and he speaks with them. But, Paul does not change his plans!

o Instead, he KNOWS THE WILL OF GOD!

o Much has been made of discerning the will of God and understandably so! If we truly want to follow God, then we want to discern the will of God!

o There are few things that people have more questions about and yet understand less than the will of God!

It is so easy to trap ourselves in a decision wondering what the Will of God is and what we are to do in life because of that. John Piper has what I believe is some really good insight on this.

He argues that there are two different parts of the will of God. The first is God’s Sovereign will. This will always happen. The events that fall under this will always happen because God wills it!

On the other hand is God’s will of Command. This will can and often is broken by humans! Every time that we sin, we break God’s will of command!

Piper continues on in his discussion to say:

“And corresponding to these two wills are the two things you need in this situation: one is a God who is strong and sovereign enough to turn it for good; and the other is a God who is able to empathize with you. We need both these truths — both these understandings of the will of God — not only to make sense out of the Bible, but to hold fast to God in suffering.”

As Paul goes towards Jerusalem, he is under God’s sovereign will! But, his suffering will happen not because God hates him, but rather because of the sinful disobedience of the Israelites!

Further, for us, we need to understand that SEEKING GOD’S WILL, as we mentioned in our main point, is really about HOLDING FAST TO WHO OUR GOD IS!

It’s understanding what the will of God is and then HOW THAT EFFECTS US!

It’s looking in the mirror when we despair and meditating on the fact that God is still wiht us and still is in control!

· Now, moving forward to verses 7-14, we see a very similar section unfold! Verses 5 and 6 show us this emotional scene of a farewell that is once again met with people gathering together and praying together and now in verses 7-14 we see a parallel situation!

“When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. 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. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 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.’” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”- Acts 21:7-14

o From Tyre, the travelers arrive in Ptolemais which is the mainland and then they continue to Caesarea.

§ Notice, even in that one day, they greet believers and SHARE TIME TOGETHER!

· There’s such a strong emphasis put on fellowship in the book of Acts and also on hospitality!

· Paul and his traveling party don’t have to worry about where they will stay; instead, they know that they can stay with the brothers!

· Here in verses 7-14, Paul once again experiences this deep hospitality and fellowship!

o This time, he experiences it from Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven original deacons established in the Church in Jerusalem!

§ This is the same Philip who interacted with Simon the sorcerer and with the Ethiopian Eunuch!

§ Here we see that he has four unmarried daughters who were gifted in prophesy.

§ Philip takes Paul, Luke and the traveling party in and welcomes them. Luke says that they remained for, “many days.”

§ During this time, Agabus arrives. Agabus is known as a prophet and he comes down from Judea.

· Agabus comes, takes Paul’s belt, binds his own hands and feet with it and then prophesies that this will happen to Paul in Jerusalem!

· Now, remember, I said there was a parallel between verses 1-6 and verses 7-14 and here it is! Luke and those gathered with Paul try to stop Paul from going to Jerusalem!

· They URGE HIM NOT TO GO!

o Don’t go, don’t do it!

· But look at Paul’s response. He says, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

o That’s total peace. Why can Paul have such deep peace? Paul has that type of peace BECAUSE the LORD IS WITH HIM!

§ Paul has that peace because he knows the WILL OF GOD FOR HIM!

§ Paul is not doubting or wavering!

· So look at the response of his friends! They say, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” And they CEASE! They do not double down! They don’t continue to argue; instead, they let it go!

· They trust Paul in it and PAUL IS TRUSTING THE LORD IN IT! There’s a general consensus that both in Tyre and here, those pleading with Paul want this to not come true!

o They want the prophesies to essentially be conditional- if Paul goes, this will happen; otherwise, he’ll be fine.

o But that just isn’t the case! Paul is under the Holy Spirit’s command to go, so he simply MUST GO!

· Paul’s journey continues in verses 15-17 as we read, “After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 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. When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.”- Acts 21:15-17

o From Caesarea the traveling party continues their journey and they go to the house of a man named Mnason who is a longtime believer!

o Mnason shows Paul hospitality lodging them and then Luke, Paul and the rest of the traveling party finish their journey to Jerusalem where they are, “received gladly.”

§ I have stopped us here for a specific reason! Notice the hospitality that we find in Acts 21:1-17! There are 6 different cities mentioned that include a mention to staying with believers.

§ There is a heavy emphasis on hospitality! This is not merely a cultural thing, this is a CHRISTIAN thing!

· The early church is marked by hospitality and by its love for one another! The believers opened their homes for one another and routinely gathered together!

· As we’ve also seen, the hospitality of these believers was intentional! As this group traveled, they not only ate with and stayed with people; they also encouraged and prayed together!

· The early church was more connected than I think we fully understand. The believers walked alongside one another closely!

And truthfully, they only had each other! Part of the persecution that they faced was being cut of from much of the world! So, they formed deep relationships with each other!

I mean, don’t forget what it was like for early believers. “Tacitus wrote, “Before killing the Christians, Nero used them to amuse the people. Some were dressed in furs, to be killed by dogs. Others were crucified. Still others were set on fire early in the night, so that they might illumine it.”

When we say that believers only had each other, we mean it! They were tortured for what they believed!

And yet out of that came not an attitude of anger, but a culture of fellowship and hospitality! They welcomed one another and they engaged with each other, encouraging one another to remain focused on God!

o Fellowship is so much more than just hanging out and I think that the early church really modeled that. Even here in Acts 21 we see that emphasis. Believers, don’t just open homes; they pray together, they eat together, they go to God together! They DO LIFE TOGETHER!

· Now that Paul is in Jerusalem, things shift yet again. As I identified at the start of our time together, there are really two major themes throughout this passage; that deep intentional fellowship and then trusting the WILL OF GOD!

o Paul’s time in Jerusalem heavily involves that! Paul is first and foremost trusting GOD TO EVEN BE THERE AND THEN THIS WILL CONTINUE!

o As we look at Paul’s initial interaction in Jerusalem, I’ve broken this into two parts. Let’s check out verses 18-22 first.

o Luke writes, “On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.”- Acts 21:18-22

§ Paul meets with James and the elders in Jerusalem and they talk about his ministry and his missionary trip.

· What unity and deep fellowship they share! After all, they are all on the same team; reaching the world with the GOSPEL!

· The greet each other, they talk to each other and most notably in verse 20, they GLORIFY GOD TOGETHER!

· They rejoice at what God has done through Paul!

o There is no pride or division; there isn’t any division in this; there is just JOY! They glorify God and give praise to God for what God has done!

o Unfortunately, this conversation is not all fun. The elders in Jerusalem warn Paul that the Jews are angry at Paul for, “forsaking Moses.”

§ In other words, the jewish religious leaders are so angry at Paul that their plotting has gotten out. The church in turn is concerned for Paul’s safety.

· They know that something must be done. After all, they do not know what Paul knows! They want to keep Paul safe!

o They want Paul to continue in his ministry! Who can blame them! It’s been wildly successful and should be encouraged!

§ Yet at the same time, the church in Jerusalem is concerned for his safety!

· Verses 23-26 show us what they want to do. The elders in Jerusalem have a plan. They say, “Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.”- Acts 21:23-26

o The elders in Jerusalem give Paul a plan. He should take 4 men who are believers who are under a vow; they should go as a group, purify themselves, Paul will cover the expenses of the process and then this will show that Moses doesn’t hate Moses!

§ Is it a perfect solution? No. But, from their perspective, it is the best option.

§ What do we know though about Paul’s trip to Jerusalem? Well, we know that his imprisonment that is coming is not conditional. This will not save him. This is really symbolic.

§ So, because it is so deeply symbolic, the elders take a minute to reaffirm to Paul that they are not rejecting Gentiles or asking Gentiles to live under the law.

· Remember after all what happens in Galatians 2! Paul rebukes Peter for showing favoritism to the Jewish believers and essentially rejecting the gentiles! Remember further what happened in Acts 15!

The church gathered their leaders together IN JERUSALEM to decide some theological challenges! The church elders are reminding Paul of what had been decided and that they are still in obedience to it.

· The church is trying to make clear that this is not the case, so they remind him of the Jerusalem council that he was a part of and they remind him of the letter that was sent out.

o This set of actions is not meant to argue what saves, rather it is about opening a door for ministry!

§ In verse 26, we see that Paul does this, purifies himself and goes with the 4 other men and goes through the ritual of purification.

· That’s where we are leaving this week. Paul trusts the elders of the church in Jerusalem and does what they suggest. It’s really a show of humility while also showing that he KNOWS what his job is; to follow the will of GOD!

· CONCLUSION: And that is the challenge to each and every one of us really. Our challenge is to FOLLOW THE WILL OF GOD!

o I really see two ways that we submit ourselves to the will of God in response to Acts 21.

o First, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, I’d challenge you to walk prayerfully in faith and pursuit of the will of God.

Remember, our main point today is, “Our lives as Christians should be marked by walking in Faith and pursuit of the Will of God.”

§ That may not sound the most practical, but it is! We should practically be seeking the Lord’s leading and the will of God on a daily basis!

· I remember as a teacher I’d often have high school students concerned about their college choice and if it was God’s will or not. But it shouldn’t just be high school students who are thinking about this; we all should be.

o Let me offer some steps here practically.

§ Matt Perman wrote a great book, How to Get Unstuck that offers some great Christian, biblically based insights for leadership.

§ He challenges that when making decisions; when seeking the WILL OF GOD IN OUR LIVES, we should, “Be intentional about the condition of your soul, which starts with consistent prayer and reading of the Bible, along with fellowship in a good church.”

· So let me challenge you to focus in on just one of those things this week. Practically speaking, pour your time into knowing the word of God and fostering that relationship with God!

o Spending time in God’s word should not merely be a checklist item; rather, it should be something that we LONG FOR! It should be something that we yearn for and something that we look forward to!

Piper challenges that, “Part of understanding God’s will of command is the discerning application of the Scriptures to new situations in life by means of a renewed mind.”

Remember, God’s will of command is what God tells us to do! We break that will in our sin! So, really, following God’s will is a SANCTIFICATION MATTER! If we are pursuing the WILL OF GOD, THEN WE ARE PURSUING SANCTIFICATION!

We are seeking to grow in our faith; progressing from immaturity to maturity! To do that, we need to eat spiritually, specifically drawing from the Bible!

§ Listen to what John Macarthur says about the importance of studying scripture.

§ “You cheat yourself if you stay a baby. You must strive to reach the place where you begin to walk in the very presence of the God of the universe, where you really begin to touch the Person Himself. That’s the ultimate end of growth.”

§ Not only is that the ultimate end of growth, that’s the ultimate end of KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD! How can we know the will of God if we do not walk with God and listen to God?

As we seek to walk with God, we need to be IN GOD’S WORD!

Practically, Macarthur provides a really great challenge that I want to pass on to us. He challenges that for one month you read 1 John every day. Then, the next month you choose another book, like Galatians, or part of the gospel of John and you read that every day for the next month.

While doing this, he challenges that you take a notecard and write the main point of each chapter on it. I’d further challenge that you write the key verse of that chapter out and then memorize it! (Example at the bottom of this)

As you do this, you become deeply familiar with the content of scripture and you know it, which lets you meditate on it. So let me challenge you to join me in taking about 20 minutes a day to read 1 John, every single day this month as we seek to KNOW GOD AND GOD’S WILL MORE!

If you do that; reading about one book/ one section of a book (roughly 7 chapters) for a month, you will get through all of the New Testament in about 3 years! Think of how deeply you will have studied scripture during that time and your deep meditations!

o However, how can we know the will of God if we do not know God? That brings us to our second application. If you have not placed your faith in Jesus, then you don’t know God. I want to call on you today to submit to the will of God! Give your life to the Lord today and WALK WITH THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE; THE GOD THAT MADE YOU AND I!

§ This isn’t some cliché, this is legit! This is giving up control of your life to Jesus!

§ GOSPEL! Call for repentance and TURNING FROM SIN. Pray.

Benediction: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Example: 1 John Meditations

· 1 John 1:

o Key Point: God is merciful and we can walk with him

o Verse: 1 John 1:9- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

· 1 John 2:

o Key Point: Salvation comes through Jesus only

o Verse: 1 John 2:1- “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

· 1 John 3:

o Key Point: Love and live as Christ loved and lived.

o Verse: 1 John 3:16- “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

· 1 John 4:

o Key Point: We should love as Christ has loved us!

o Verse: 1 John 4:11- “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

· 1 John 5:

o Key Point: Victory over sin comes only from Jesus!

o Verse: 1 John 5:4- “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”