Series — Paul’s Third Missionary Journey — Sermon 5 — The Lord’s Will be Done

Introduction

Good morning Church. I’d like to thank each of you for coming out to join us this morning and all those who may be watching online as well.

Today we will continue our study in the Book of Acts and we will be picking up in Chapter 21 Verse 1 and will be reading down through Verse 17 today at a message I have entitled…The Lord’s Will be Done.

Sometimes in life it’s hard to discern exactly what the Lord’s Will is for our lives and at other times it seems to be very easy to ascertain.

I’ve had times in my life where there was no doubt whatsoever what God was doing in my life and what He wanted me to do and then there have been others where it’s just so hard to know if I’m doing what God wants me to do or not.

It’s almost as if you are in a holding pattern waiting for God to give you a sign that “yes, you’re doing what I want you to do” or “no, you need to do this or go here or there.”

In today’s message, we’re going to pick up where we left off last week. If you will remember, we left off last week with Paul and the crew on their way to Jerusalem and they stopped off in Miletus to meet with the Elders in Ephesus one last time.

And during this final meeting with them, Paul told the Elders of Ephesus that they would see his face no more.

Paul knew in his heart of hearts that he would never make it back to Ephesus.

He had been seeing the signs. He had been feeling the feelings. He was assured in his heart that his journey was coming to an end. But he also felt like God wasn’t completely done with him yet.

Something inside of him yearned to take the gospel to Rome!

He had taken the gospel to many different Gentile nations already but Rome was still on his radar and he felt that God was going to allow it one way or another. Whether it be as a free man or whether it be in bonds and Paul would be right.

God would allow him to take the gospel to the Romans but it would not be as a free man. It would be in bonds and in those bonds Paul would get the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with some of the most elite and most powerful in the upper echelons of Roman society.

Today, we will wind Paul’s 3rd missionary journey to a close and start a new journey for Paul. One that would lead to imprisonment but also to Rome.

In all things though, one thing remained the same in Paul’s mind…The Lord’s Will will be done.

And my prayer for each of you this morning is this....that by the end of this sermon you will be more confident in this one fact…no matter what comes our way, no matter what obstacles we may face, we can rest assured that ultimately The Lord’s Will will be done in all things.

Nothing man can do can thwart that because God is sovereign over all things.

So if you have your Bible’s with you and turned to Acts Chapter 21, would you say, Amen!

Setting Sail for Home — (Vs. 1-3)

Vs. 1

When the Bible says they had “gotten from them” the word “gotten” used here is (apospaō) and it speaks of literally pulling or tearing away.

Again, Paul had a very hard time leaving the believers of Ephesus that he had so come to know and love.

Vs. 3

Bruce Barton — Luke recorded the sighting of Cyprus in their transit of the Mediterranean—surely sparking memories for Paul of his first journey with Barnabas. How many miles and memories had passed since then, not to mention how many souls had found the Savior!

So they sail passed Cyprus and make their way to Tyre where the ship was to unload it’s cargo.

We can conclude from the next Verse that apparently this ship was a pretty large ship because it takes a whole week to unload it!

Look on down with me at...

The Search for Disciples — (Vs. 4a)

With some time to kill and I’m sure a need to stretch their legs, Paul and the crew decide to try and see if they can find some believers in Tyre.

The word “finding” used here is the Greek word (aneuriskō) and it means to find by searching.

Tyre was a pretty large city but the wording here makes it to sound as if they had to search for some time to find the believers in Tyre.

Warren Wiersbe — This would have been Paul’s first contact with the believers in Tyre, though it is likely that his persecution of the Jerusalem believers helped to get this church started.

There’s something I’d like to hit on here before moving on.

As I began to think about this, I couldn’t help but to think about our own city of Smithville here. If Paul were to visit our town, I wonder how long he would have to search before finding a Christian to talk to.

I mean all he’d have to do is hitch a ride and he’d be sure to find a Church House anywhere he went within a few miles but I wonder how long it would take him to find some believers to talk to?

As you all know we are in the middle of building our house and we’re to the point of picking out some cabinets. Well some friends of ours just built a house back towards the end of last year I think it was and they suggested this fellow out of Riddleton, which if you’re not familiar is between Carthage and Hartsville. And when they told us about him the first thing they said was…he’s a good Christian guy.

Well, when they said that I was like, if that’s true that’s who I’ll probably go with since they really liked him and the job he did.

So I call the guy up and we get to talking and after a few minutes of conversation I let him know the reason we were wanting to try and use him is because we heard he did a good job but more importantly we heard he was a good Christian guy and that’s what we were looking for.

And then this fellow said something to me that really hit home with me. He said, “I am a cabinet maker by trade but first off and most importantly I am a Christian. That’s my first job and I’m not ashamed of it.” He said, “Yes I make cabinets but I am a Christian before I am a cabinet maker.”

And man, that just really hit me. What does the world know us by? What do our friends know us by?

Do they know us as so and so that works down there at so and so?

Or do they know us as Christians before all other things?

I mean is that not the goal of this life?

To know God and to make Him known to others?

Listen, I don’t do that by being a Bank Manager. I don’t do that by doing loans and accounts and investments for people. I do that by being a Christian!

That is and should be the priority of our lives!

Being like Christ!

So we see the search for disciples, now let’s look at the Holy Spirit’s warning.

The Spirit’s Warning — (Vs. 4b)

After finding the disciples it would seem that Paul and his crew lodged with them for the entire week and during that week, they got some warnings from the Holy Spirit to pass on to Paul.

The Amplified Bible says...

Acts 21:4 AMP

4 And having looked up the disciples there, we remained with them for seven days. Prompted by the [Holy] Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.

The NLT says...

Acts 21:4 NLT

4 We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.

These believers were inspired by the Spirit to witness to Paul about what lie ahead.

Now, I have studied quite a few different commentaries this week on this and there are varying thoughts.

Some believe that Paul was being disobedient because scripture like this would make it to seem that the Holy Spirit was telling Paul NOT to go to Jerusalem.

In other scripture we will see in a few it seems as if the Holy Spirit is simply telling Paul what awaits him “IF” he goes to Jerusalem and that it’s the people that are trying to keep Paul from going.

But either way, Paul felt led to go; obligated to go; and he knew whether he went or not, God’s Will would ultimately be accomplished.

So, we see the Spirit’s Warning and next, we see The Send-Off of the Disciples in Tyre.

The Send-Off of the Disciples in Tyre — (Vs. 5-6)

The Stop in Ptolemais — (Vs. 7)

Paul never missed an opportunity to make to the most of every minute he got to spend with believers.

It was just a day but it was undoubtedly a day of refreshing encouragement for the believers in Ptolemais.

And it would more than likely be a day that they would remember forever.

The Stop in Ptolemais, as brief as it was, led to The Sojourning with Philip in the next section we’ll look at here.

The Sojourning with Philip — (Vs. 8-14)

I can only imagine this meeting between Paul and Philip would have been one to be a fly on the wall to see.

The last time these two were seen even in close proximity to one another was in Acts 8 where Paul was consenting to the death of Stephen and persecuting the Church.

This was one of the reasons Philip ended up leaving Jerusalem to begin with.

If you will remember, Philip was one of the original 7 Deacons chosen to help out with the administration of food to the widows and the orphans.

But when the persecution of the Church began, many Christians fled Jerusalem, Philip being one of them.

The Bible says in...

Acts 8:1–5 KJV 1900

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

After his preaching in Samaria, the Bible says that Philip was called to the desert if you will remember, where he evangelized to the Ethiopian Eunuch who got saved and then, he was called away and the next time we see him is at the end of Chapter 8 and the Bible says...

Acts 8:39–40 KJV 1900

39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Warren Wiersbe said it’s been some 20 years since Philip made his home in Caesarea.

And so we have this meeting between Phillip and Paul and Paul and crew lodge with Philip for a little while.

The Bible does give us a little glimpse into what Philip has been into over the last 20 years.

Somewhere during that time frame, Philip had 4 daughters and from what the Bible tells us, they were all virgins and they all had the gift of prophecy.

Now this may not mean much to most but I see something here every parent should take note of.

Over the last 20 years, Philip had been busy not only evangelizing but also raising 4 daughters.

And not just raising them but training them up in the way they should go which is what all Christian parents ought to be doing.

The Bible says in...

Proverbs 22:6 KJV 1900

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

And then in...

Ephesians 6:4 KJV 1900

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

We as parents cannot afford to leave our kids to the vices of the world. God has entrusted them to us to raise and not just raise but to raise to know Him!

That’s what Philip had been doing for the last 20 years and it showed.

His daughters were Godly girls. And although we don’t know their ages, it would seem by the fact that the Holy Spirit had it penned of them that they were virgins, it would seem they had dedicated their lives at least thus far to serving God.

So we see this meeting of Paul and Philip and the their abiding with Philip for a period of time but during this time another who prophesies also ends up on the scene.

It was a man named Agabus.

Now, Agabus was no stranger to Paul. They had worked together back in Acts Chapter 11 when there was a great famine in the land of Judea.

The Bible says in...

Acts 11:27–30 KJV 1900

27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. 28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: 30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Agabus had prophesied that a famine would come and come it did.

Something to note about this day and time…Prophets were only as good as their prophecies.

I mean there’s not a lot of use for a Prophet whose prophecies held no weight, right?

But Agabus’ prophecy did come true and therefore when Agabus prophesied, most listened.

But Agabus shows up on the scene here and the prophecy he was about to share wouldn’t be one the crowd would want to hear.

Upon coming to visit, he takes Paul’s belt (girdle) and he binds his hands and feet and prophesies that the Holy Spirit testified that the man to whom the girdle belonged would be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles.

As I mentioned, when Agabus spoke, men listened.

The warning was taken to heart and even the men of Paul’s crew now fear the fact that their beloved leader was headed into a death trap if he continued!

Acts 21:12 KJV 1900

12 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Paul’s comrades immediately upon hearing of the troubling news began to try and and dissuade Paul of going to Jerusalem!

“Paul, surely you can see now that there is nothing good going to come from this! Even Agabus has now prophesied that the Jews lie in wait for you and that they will hand you over to the Gentiles to be imprisoned! Why don’t you let us deliver the funds to the Church in Jerusalem. They are much more likely to accept it from us without recourse than if you show up Paul! Please listen to us for just once in your life!”

His beloved disciples begged Paul not to go!

But nothing would deter Paul from what his heart was set on doing!

Acts 21:13 KJV 1900

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

Paul’s mind was made up and there was no changing it even if it meant death.

At this point, Paul’s comrades give up.

Acts 21:14 KJV 1900

14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

John Phillips — Paul’s friends gave in. “God’s will be done” was all they could say. God knew that Nero needed to have the gospel preached to him. How else could a despised, provincial Jewish preacher ever appear before the emperor of Rome, except the way Paul eventually did? God’s will was done. God’s champion on earth, Paul, confronted Satan’s champion on earth, Nero, and we can have no doubt that Paul dared to face even that lion in his den with the message of saving grace.

Paul was resolute in his belief that God’s Will would be done whether he went to Jerusalem or not.

So off to Jerusalem they went.

Let’s finish it out by looking at...

The Solemn Journey to Jerusalem — (Vs. 15-17)

Acts 21:15–17 NLT

15 After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem. 16 Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers. 17 When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.

One can only wonder if this Mnason was converted on Paul and Barnabas’ first journey when they visited Cyprus.

He may have heard the preaching of Paul and Barnabas and given his life to Christ and if so, I’m sure he felt that sharing his home with Paul and company was the least he could do for sharing the good news of Christ with him.

Upon entering Jerusalem, it would seem that the believers in the Church at Jerusalem welcomed Paul and his Gentile comrades with open arms.

And next week we will see Paul meet with the leaders in Jerusalem and a new journey for Paul begin.

Close

So, as we come to a close, what lesson do we take from the scripture before us today?

As I began to think about Paul’s situation and all the warnings that were given him and the fact that he would not be detoured in his mission I couldn’t help but to settle on this thought.

God gives us free reign to make our own choices.

We’re not robots.

But no matter what choice we make it will not thwart the Will of God.

Often times we worry about decisions; we worry about our lives; we worry whether or not we’re going the right way but the reality is whatever decision we make, God’s Will will still come to fruition and be accomplished according to His plan.

This was a truth that Paul was settled on and it didn’t matter how many people tried to change his mind, he knew that God had a greater plan and that His plan would ultimately be accomplished whether he went to Jerusalem or not.

As we come to a close, I’m going to share a story with you that I’ve never told anyone here before but it goes along with this same thought that the Lord’s Will will be done.

As you all know, this is the only Church I have ever Pastored.

When I was called into the ministry I preached at a few different Churches before I received a call to come here and preach.

After a few services, New Home asked me to be the interim for a while and so I did.

For the next 5 or 6 months I preached here and didn’t receive a single call from any other Churches to go and preach.

Well August or September rolled around and Douglas said to me, if I’m not mistaken around the beginning of the month, “The Church would like to call you as Pastor. Do you think you can give us an answer by the end of the month? We have homecoming coming up and then annual elections and would like to present you as the new Pastor if you accept.”

I said, “Let me pray about it and I will give you an answer by the end of the month.”

I then began praying that God would give me a sign if it was meant for me to take the Church.

I asked God, if it was not meant for me to take it, to allow another Church to call me to preach before the end of the month.

Well the last Sunday of the month rolled around and I hadn’t heard anything from any other Church and so I told Douglas I would take the Church.

I felt like my sign had been answered since I hadn’t heard anything.

But…it wasn’t technically the end of the month. The end of the month was in the middle of the week.

You’re not going to believe what ended up happening!

The last day of the month guess what…ring, ring!

And you know who it was? Another Church asking me to come preach!

So, what do I do?

I started freaking out thinking I made the wrong decision!

I called my Brother and told him what had happened and said what do you think I should do?

I mean I was nervous as a cat that I had went against God’s Will but I had already told New Home that I would take the pastorate so now what was I going to do? Come back a Sunday later and tell them well I’m sorry but I can’t Pastor your Church now?

I mean I was really tore up!

But I will never forget what my Brother told me.

He said, “Bob, God can use you at New Home just like He can use you somewhere else!”

And that day I learned a very valuable lesson…do you know what that lesson was?

Don’t put a time limit on God and then break the time limit!

Now, does that mean that I didn’t do God’s Will?

I don’t think so. At the end of the day, God called me to preach and preach is what I’ve done for almost the last 10 years now!

God has moved in this Church. We’ve grown tremendously, in spirit, in knowledge, and in physical growth!

We have more youth now than we’ve had since I’ve been here. We have stronger Christians than we did when I first started. We have seen many, many souls saved throughout the last 10 years. We have built on to the Church and to be honest we need to build on again because we’re already out of Sunday school rooms again and our sanctuary when everyone is here is full!

But the point I’m trying to make is this…did my decision thwart the Will of God?

Absolutely not!

God’s plan and purpose is still being fulfilled!

And I have learned what Paul already knew…God is sovereign over all and no one or nothing can thwart the Will of God.

Now, there should be a great deal of peace in that thought also. When we come to the point that we understand God’s Will will be done in our lives no matter what, we ought to be able to rest a little easier at night knowing this.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we should still seek His will but we can know that He’s in control and if we mess up and make a wrong turn along this road we call life we can know that ultimately His Will will still be done.

So, this morning, I don’t know what you’re going through but whatever it is, bring it to God and lay it at His feet and simply say as Jesus said and as Paul knew in his heart…not my Will be done Lord but thine Will be done.

Ask Him for guidance. Ask Him to lead you and trust in the fact that God’s got you!