The Lord’s Will Be Done

Introduction

If we were to begin in v.1 of chapter 21, we would see that Paul and company are going to be reunited with Philip the evangelist and deacon, and reunited with Agabus. Agabus is the prophet from Jerusalem we met in Antioch.

Agabus and Phillip, along with the daughters of Phillip, prophesied that Paul was going to be bound in Jerusalem, and they begged him not to go.

Now, this wasn’t just a warning or a bad feeling, this was a prophetic word from God. Because they didn’t have the Bible in that time, they relied on prophets to declare to them what God was saying. In our time, we don’t have prophets, because the Word of God has been given to us fully…we call it the Bible.

But what I’m convinced of is that Acts 21:1-16 was written to prove that pastors and ministers of the gospel are the most stubborn people on earth. Even though they cried for Paul, and even though they cried with him, he still said, “I’m going”. And their response was, “then let God’s will be done.” They just let him do what he was going to do, and they left the details up to God.

Then, in v. 17, we see that Paul is now in Jerusalem, and things are about to drastically change in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Things have gotten so twisted and so misinterpreted that Paul’s life is in danger. Things are so twisted and misinterpreted that Paul making things right was a top priority for the elders there at Jerusalem.

I. Unified in the Gospel

If we can’t agree on anything else, we need to agree that salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul Before the Elders

Acts 21:18 NKJV

On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

Paul is now before James, the brother of Jesus, and the other elders of the Jerusalem church.

James was the leading elder and it is said that James was so devoted to prayer that his knees were like camels skin.

It is also likely that this elder body was comprised of seventy men. This is a precedent set in the Old Testament and something that they continued because they were Jewish and felt secure with that same model.

What Paul is doing there, is he is there to bring an offering from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia, and he is there to recount everything that God has been doing, and all the ways that the gospel has been spread.

Sharing What God has Done

Acts 21:19 NKJV

When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

v. 19 says that Paul “told in detail” those things.

This means that, in narrative fashion, Paul told them everything that had taken place since last he saw them.

So, with his recorder Dr. Luke standing by his side, Paul began to list those things one by one

I can imagine he reported that the church at Antioch was thriving.

He reported on the churches that he started there in Macedonia, in Philippi, and in Thessalonica.

He presented them with the financial gift he collected from Macedonia to help the poor there in Jerusalem.

He likely mentioned Timothy, the young Jewish man that he was able to take under his wing and leave him in Ephesus as their overseer and bishop.

He told them about the great theological presentation he was able to give in the Areopagus.

He mentioned Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos, and the churches there in Ephesus, how God worked through a demon possessed man to rid the Ephesian church from their witchcraft.

He told all of these things there, to give a report of all that God was doing.

and as he told them, he gave all the credit to the Lord.

because it says, “he told in detail all that God has done among the Gentiles through his ministry.”

The focus here was neither on the Gentile, on Paul, or on the people there sitting and listening to what Paul was saying. The emphasis was on all that God was doing.

I think it’s a wonderful practice to have people come in and speak about what takes place on mission trips, youth camps…to give a report on everything that happened there…but there is something in us, even as we develop our testimony, we seem to make everything about us.

So, when we speak about what is taking place in our lives, or what is taking place in missions, we would do well to give all the credit to God, because it is His doing, not ours.

We can even be reduced into a self-focused gospel message. We reduce the good news to, look what God has done for me and not just simply, “look what God has done.”

We do this with our salvation all the time…it’s not wrong to acknowledge that God saved you, it’s just wrong to have an attitude of self-focus. It’s not about us, it’s about the Lord.

There are some out there that say, “God has selected groups of people for salvation, and all others are condemned to Hell.”

Well, there may not be a more self-centered gospel than that. To say that God chose me and not someone else would put me in a classification all by myself. The only classification that I belong to is the classification that you all belong to…unworthy.

We aren’t worthy of God’s grace…it’s unmerited favor.

I just find it very convenient that every person that has ever told me that God only selects certain people for salvation have all been selected and their families have too.

Church, my point is that it’s a wonderful thing to recount everything that God has done so long as the focus stays on God.

In fact, you should take time often to count the blessings that God has given you. If you will remember all the things that the Lord has done in your life, your faith will steadily increase, and you’ll always be assured of His working in your life.

But the major blessing that we should be focused on as we recount all that God has done in our lives is our salvation found in Jesus Christ.

That’s what unites us…the thing that makes us a church is that we are covered under the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our great unifier. Jesus is our great supplier. And Jesus is our great Savior.

Psalm 103:1–5 NKJV

Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

He is a God that has given us so much more that material things, He is a God that came down from Heaven, died on a cross, and saved us from an eternity in Hell.

If we can’t stay united in that, we’ll never be united.

That’s why placing the emphasis on us is so dangerous. That’s why coming to church because of a pastor or a program is so dangerous.

I am not what unifies us…programs are not what unifies us…it is the blood of Jesus Christ, the salvation that He has freely given, that unifies us. When we begin to get away from that as our motivation for coming to worship, then we are headed for trouble.

So, as you remember what God has done in your life, don’t take any credit. Don’t say, “God sure did bless me, if I wouldn’t have worked so hard He might not have, but He did…He chose me. I don’t know what everyone else is doing, but if they were as good as me then God would use them and bless them too.”

I mean, give me a break. I’m glad you and your momma think you’re that special, but leave the rest of us alone.

There isn’t any amount of work I could do or any sacrifice that I can make that would ever get close to what Jesus Christ did for me on that cross.

There isn’t any amount of work I could do or any sacrifice I can make that would get close to what Paul did.

And now, I’m supposed to make life all about me?

Our nation is so self-centered that we’ve left no room for God or His Spirit…I pray that your heart doesn’t become that way and I pray that this church never becomes that way.

They continue this theme in the first half of v. 20

Acts 21:20 NKJV

And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord.

They didn’t glorify Paul. They glorified the Lord…at least it would seem so.

I can’t express to you how encouraged I am when you tell me that I preached well, or just say something to me about what I’ve done…so long as you approach me and encourage me with the attitude that it’s the Lord’s doing and not mine.

Some people like to practice false humility. They are so full of themselves that they wouldn’t know how to be humble if they wanted to.

I’ve shared this before and I’m inclined to say it again.

“Pride is like bad-breath, everyone knows you have it but you.”

When good things happen in the church, the only person that gets the credit is the Lord. If anyone else gets it, it doesn’t matter how good it is, it will not be accepted by God.

Malachi 1:13 NKJV

“You bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord.

Listen, your best efforts in life are a lame and a sick sacrifice to the Lord God. He doesn’t want it. The reason that we think we can offer God something is because we think that we are unblemished…we think we are like the Spotless Lamb of God we know as Jesus.

Let me tell you exactly Who this Lamb of God is.

He’s the only One that can satisfy God. He’s the only One worthy of praise. He’s the only One Who deserves the glory.

Hebrews 10:5–7 NKJV

Therefore, when He (Jesus) came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”

Hebrews 10:10 NKJV

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The body of Christ, broken and spilled out on the cross is the only sacrifice, is the only offering that satisfies God.

So, when you don’t give the credit to Jesus Christ, it is not glorifying to God.

Therefore, we are united only by the gospel of Jesus Christ, His blood poured out for us, to the satisfaction of the wrath of God.

They are glorying God together.

Yet, I can imagine something feels off to Paul…because as united as they seem in the moment, there is something amiss, something lingering, something that makes this reception a little less warm than he felt the day before.

And, you can imagine, there is Paul, and he has already been told that the Jews are going to bind him and persecute him…and now he is standing before his Christian brothers and something just doesn’t feel right.

II. Divided Over Incidentals

Acts 21:20–22 NKJV

And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

Now Paul knows why there is something lingering in the rejoicing.

Word has gotten around that Paul is teaching that Jews shouldn’t observe the Jewish customs anymore, and people are angry about it.

No longer are they thinking of unification in the gospel, in the saving message of Christ, but they are thinking about their preferences and their ways of life.

When the Bible says that “myriads” of Jews are coming to know Christ, it means that thousands of Jews are converting to Christianity. However, it says that they are zealous for the law.

Oh boy…

Zealous for the law…not zealous for the gospel. Zealous for festivals…but not zealous for truth. Zealous for tradition…not zealous for Christ.

Worse than that, it’s a downright lie. The reason that Paul was in Jerusalem in the first place was to observe Pentecost.

Timothy may have been Jewish, but his father was Greek. Paul asks Timothy to be circumcised so that he wouldn’t be an offense to the Jewish people.

Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Rome that he would trade places with the Jewish people if they could go to heaven and he take their punishment of hell…but now Paul, according to the new converts, is teaching that they aren’t allowed to observe Jewish customs anymore.

Paul did write extensively on how the Jewish law related to the gospel, especially in Romans. His point, however, was that we are not saved by the law, we are saved by grace. Observe the customs of the law if you want to, just don’t make that a qualification of salvation.

We’ve talked a great deal about in that in our church…where do we draw the line on Christian freedom.?

Do you know what the bottom line is?

If it doesn’t move me closer to Christ then I don’t need it…and if it’s going to hinder another Christian in their walk with Christ I just won’t do it.

Paul puts that into practice here.

All Things to All Men

The elders there didn’t defend Paul very sternly, but assured the people that he didn’t think that way…and then said, “Paul, if you want to show them that you still think observing the customs are good, then do one publicly and they’ll settle down.”

Acts 21:23–26 NKJV

Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

Obviously, these things about Paul aren’t true, so why did he go to such lengths to do what the elders asked him to do?

Because it wasn’t about him

It was about winning people to Jesus Christ…and if shaving your head and observing a custom would win a sinner to Jesus Christ, wouldn’t you do it?

Paul wasn’t going to divide himself over incidentals. He wasn’t going be divided with the body of Christ because of opinions or preferences.

Ritual or no ritual isn’t the point. The point is Jesus Christ.

Paul had the freedom to participate or not to participate, and he chose to participate, maybe against his preference, for the sake of the gospel.

It’s a downright shame the things that we get divided over in churches.

We could get divided over teachers. We could get divided over teachers, we could start following people in our church instead of Jesus Christ.

It’s possible that we get divided over color schemes and decoration.

It’s possible that we get divided over wearing shorts or pants to church, but as long as you have either shorts or pants on I’m good!

The blood of Jesus unites us, but too many times these incidental things divide us.

III. The Lord’s Will be Done

Acts 21:27–36 NKJV

Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”

The temple where Paul was at had a wall that segregated the Gentiles from the Jews. Gentiles weren’t allowed to go on the other side.

Wiersbe notes that there was an inscription on this wall that said, “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surround the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.”

Crossing the boundary meant death…

Paul was there doing what the elders asked him to do to win the favor of the Jewish people…but because they were so prejudice against the Gentiles, even Paul’s presence made them feel violated enough to attempt to kill him.

When things like this happen, it’s not about reason or truth.

And instead of people being united by a love for God, they are united over hatred and murderous intent.

When the commander of the garrison started interviewing the people, asking exactly what they were angry about, they didn’t know. All they knew is that they were angry.

These are the kinds of frenzied riots that are of the spirit of satan.

And when a church allows that spirit of satan to enter into their hearts, the damage to the church is unreal.

Still, after being severely beaten, Paul asks in v. 37 if he is can speak to his accusers and preaches to them and ministers to them, pleading with them to be saved.

Conclusion

Let’s be United by the Gospel

Let’s not get divided over incidentals

And Let the Lord’s Will be Done