Willing to Suffer

Introduction

Please open in your Bibles to Acts 21:1-16. Pain, discomfort, suffering, are things we all try to avoid by any means necessary. No one willingly chooses to suffer. If there is anyway out, we will take it. Yet, in our passage today Paul is warned on multiple occasions about the suffering he will endure if he returns to Jerusalem. Many try to stop him, but he is convinced that the Spirit has bound him to go in order to proclaim the name of Jesus. God’s will for Paul is to suffer for His name.

We struggle to believe that God would will our suffering, but this is exactly what happens to Paul. And when we has the opportunity to escape his impending doom. He refuses, and declares that he is willing to be imprisoned and even die for the name of Jesus. Do you want to be like Paul in this way? Would you willingly suffer for Christ? I believe we ought to be like this, but how? How do we as selfish people who love pleasure and hate pain become willing to endure suffering for the name of Jesus? I believe our text gives us some answers. Let’s read it together. [Acts 21:1-16]

Relational Depth v. 1- 6

EX: If we long to people who will willing endure suffering for Christ’ sake we must first people of relational depth. Paul parts from Miletus, some translations say he is “torn away” from them. The verb used there conveys a difficult parting. And a difficult parting it was, we read in Acts 20:36–38 “And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.”

He left Miletus weeping only to travel down the coast to stop at Tyre for seven days. While there he connects with the disciples who live there, and the Holy Spirit reveals to them that Paul should not go to Jerusalem. This is not the first time that Paul has been warned about traveling to Jerusalem. In Acts 20:22–23 (the reason for their weeping) “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.” He is fully aware that imprisonment and affliction await him, but the Spirit has constrained him to go, that is to say he is compelled even bound to obey the Spirt. He must go, even though suffering is waiting for him.

Paul apparently denies the disciples at Tyre’s pleas to stay and not go to Jerusalem. But notice what happens has he leaves knowing that he will suffer. The disciples follow him to the ship with their wives and children and then kneel down on the beach to pray with him. It looks a lot like the farewell on the beach in Miletus. I want to imagine this scene. Paul, would be someone you dearly love, perhaps the person who shared the gospel with you, pastored you, suffered along side you. And as he leaves to endure hardship you gather your wife and children and you walk down to the beach. And in the sand of that beach you kneel down and pray before bidding farewell. Paul is a man who has meaningful relationships. And it was these relationships and for the sake of future converts, which would produce future relationships that Paul resolved himself to suffer.

He writes this to the church in Colossi Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,” Paul was willing to suffer for the name of Jesus, because Paul loved the church. Now when I say the church I don’t mean a logo or building but rather the people. To love Redemption Hill Church is not to just love the organization, but to love specific people who are a part of this body.

ILL: We will often do all we can to avoid suffering, but most of us would suffer for those we love. Ask any mother in this room who has gone through childbirth. They love their children and are so thankful for them, but what all labor stories have in common is this: it hurts. In fact, even if your family is like my family and adoption is God’s plan for you, I must warn you. It is not for the faint of heart. It comes with is own “birthing pains”. Bringing children in to your family no matter the method is painful. And yet, there a billions of people on this planet. Why? Because babies are worth it.

APP: I want to suggest that new birth in Christ comes with its own birthing pains for spiritual parents. Paul continues to describe his suffering in Colossians 1:29–2:2 “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,” Paul is willing to struggle and toil for people he has never met because he understands that the church is the family of God, and that there are siblings of his who need to be called back home. He suffers for the sake of others. This is the missionary tasks, and it is the task of all Christians.

If we long to see people born again do not for one second be so naive to think that will be pain free. There is no spiritual epidural. God has used and will continue to use the suffering of Christians to bring the spiritually dead to life in Christ. He conquerors death through death.

Why? Because in our willing suffering we follow in the steps of Jesus. Jesus describes as the Good Shepherd and states John 10:11–18 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”” Jesus laid down his life for his sheep, and he invites us to do the same. Paul understood this, and for the same of Jesus and those whom Jesus would save he accepts his assignment to go to Jerusalem, though suffering awaits him.

Paul does this fully aware of the suffering, and he handles this news with reasonableness that is necessary to endure suffering.

Reasonable in the Face of Adversity v. 7-11

EX: Paul leaves Tyre and comes to stay is Caesarea where he stay with Philip the evangelists and his four daughters, who all prophesy. This the same Philip we read about in Acts 8 when because of persecution Philip flees Jerusalem and on his way home (sort of) Philip evangelizes in Samaria and the Ethiopian Eunuch on the road to Gaza. Once again a callback to how God uses suffering to spread the Gospel.

Now while Paul is staying with Philip a prophet named Agabus comes to visit. This is the same Agabus from Acts 11 who predicts the famine that would strike Jerusalem which brings the occasion for Paul’s third missionary journey as he takes up a collection for the saints in Jerusalem. The whole reason he is eager to return to Jerusalem now, though suffering awaits him.

This Agabus takes Paul’s belt and binds his own hands and feet together and says, Acts 21:11 “...“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.’ ”” Agabus has famine predicting street cred. His prophesies comes true, and because we have the rest of the book of Acts we know that Paul will be delivered over by the Jews to the Romans and imprisoned as Agabus predicts. And he handles this news, but declaring that he will still go to Jerusalem. He is content to suffer.

You know what he doesn’t do? He doesn’t become overwhelmed by worry. Now, I am a worry wart and know I am not alone. Fellow worriers we often think we are like Agabus. We imagine the future and assume that our imagination is as good as divine prophecy. We picture the future, but with no hope. It’s only the worst possible scenario. Listen, we can’t hope to endure suffering for Christ if we can’t handle normal life and its difficulties. We have to become reasonable people.

ILL: Chicken Little believes the sky is falling. This phrase comes from an old fable in which Henny-Penny aka chicken little gets hit in the head with an acorn. She becomes convinced that the sky is falling and sets off to tell the king. She convinces he friends goosey-poosey, ducky-daddles, and even turkey-lurkey that the sky is falling. And along the way they run into Foxy-woxy who convinces them of a short cut that actually leads to his den. He kills everyone except Henny-Penny who runs home and never tells the king that the sky is falling. The point of the fable is that we often fear things that are not threat and therefore miss the actual threats.

APP: Fellow worriers I believe we are guilty of this as well. We become consumed with the things of this world and we fail to fear the thing which we ought to fear most. Jesus says, Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Imagine if Paul were a worrier… He would have never been able to handle the warnings in Acts 20, the warnings from the disciples in Tyre, and Agabus’ prophecy would sent him running for the hills.

What kind of a man was Paul? This kind, Philippians 4:4–7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:11–13 “... for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

APP: How big is your God? How long is eternity? What do you fear? If we long to be people who are willing to suffer for Christ sake. Be people like Paul who are truly content in every situation then we must be people who are willing to learn to deal with our fears, worries, and anxieties biblically.

We must learn what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and be willing to give it all for Christ.

Resolved to Give It All for Christ v. 12-15

EX: After hearing the news from Agabus about Paul’s imminent imprisonment the the Christians at Caesarea beg Paul not to go to Jerusalem. In Acts 9 Paul escapes from Damascus and Jerusalem at the pleading of Christians who want to keep him safe. He does not always choose to suffer. But in this case the Spirit has constrained him to go. So, Paul tells the Christians that they are breaking his heart. But he is resolved or ready to be imprisoned and even die for Christ. It reminds of Jesus in Matthew 16:21–23 “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”” God doesn’t always call us to suffer, but he does sometimes. We must be ready and willing to give it all for Jesus.

ILL: Only one life, ’Twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last.

FCF: How do we get there? Try harder? Be a better Christian. Again, the book of Philippians will help us. Paul wrote this book most likely from prison in Rome. When living out the sentence he here tells us he was ready to serve. He writes, Philippians 3:7–11“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Do you count the things of this earth as rubbish? This is the positive statement but he also instructs us by stating it negatively Philippians 3:17–20 “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”

APP: God is their belly- ruled by their appetites. $3,838 on vacation for two, $923 Xmas, $219 a month subscriptions. Live in a culture where god is the appetites of the individual. Warn you, don’t get swept away … Glory in their shame- humor, what do you find funny, brag about what you get away with- wife won’t know, boss, daydreams and fantasies. Glory in self made hero. Minds are on earthly things- What do you worry about time, money, status/accomplishment. Worries show us what we value. If we value the things of earth, they certainly are not rubbish compared to knowing Christ.

The reason we can’t cry out with Paul “I am ready to be imprisoned and even die for the name of the Lord Jesus” is because we still love our garbage.

Conclusion- As move into the Christmas season we have an opportunity to invite a friend to church. You were given this card when you walked in. It’s an incredibly small step, but it is a step you can take this week. And there are a lot of reasons not invite someone to church. They’ll think you’re weird, you don’t know anyone, etc. I want to suggest this, if you’re not weird here, then you will be weird there. I mean this, in heaven the normal earthly experience of Christians will be one of persecution. Most Christians on the planet today don’t enjoy the freedoms you and I do. If don’t have some persecution stories or some rejection under your belt because of Jesus you will be the odd man out in the kingdom of heaven. This is normal for us.

Stepping out and taking risk for Christ requires the exercise of faith. For many of us, my fear is that we come here on Sunday mornings but then Monday through Saturday we don’t exercise our faith. We don’t risk our reputation, our money, or family relationships. We just always play it safe. And I want to suggest there is joy found in giving all for Jesus. Joy you won’t know until to you your exercise faith and take a risk.

It’s like budgie jumping, the fun isn’t in putting on the harness and looking over the edge. The fun is when you jump. Many of us are Christians in here, faithful around church people. But stand against sin, share the gospel, give generously, or just invite someone to church and we’re stuck in our harness looking out over the edge wondering what it might be like if we jumped. If that’s where you are this morning, don’t jump for guilt. But rather know there is joy in abandoning the things of this earth to enjoy the things of the kingdom of heaven.

Louie Zamperini, the central figure in the Biography “Unbroken” which was later turned into a movie had an incredible story. He was an Olympic athlete and prisoner of war. When he returned from the way Louie struggled with alcoholism and outburst of anger. He wife had had enough was going to divorce him. Until a neighbor invited them both to a Billy Graham crusade. Louie wanted nothing to do with the crusade by his wife Cynthia went. She gave her life to Christ. She returned home and told Louie I have given my life to Christ and am no longer going to divorce you. She invited him to attend the meeting. Louie reluctantly went an d on the second gave his life to Christ. He said this, “I dropped to my knees and for the first time in my life truly humbled myself before the Lord. I asked him to forgive me for not having kept the promises I’d made during the war, and for my sinful life. I made no excuses. I did not rationalize, I did not blame. He had said, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” so I took him at his word, begged for his pardon, and asked Jesus to come into my life.”

Don’t underestimate the power of an invitation. Billy Graham’s preaching wouldn’t mean a lick if those neighbors hadn’t invited Louis and Cynthia.