Sunday Rise Up Acts 20:13- 21:16

Sam. And when she was leading us in prayer, we prayed about people who are sick and we prayed about our broken world and pray about people having trouble. We didn't think about people who are celebrating. So we got a few people who are celebrating that we should acknowledge. One of them is the Fisher family. So Justin, would you waive Justin's, why felons not here? Because Justin, and Ellen had a baby. So, Congratulations to the Fishers. Rebecca. May is her name. Really? Yeah, so this is now the third child in the family, right? So congrats to them and then birthdays today is Drew's birthday. And yeah, and a little bird told me that somebody else whose birthday whose whose is done. Is it your birthday Don? So so Drew and Don. They both start with the D anybody else. As long as somebody else's birthday today? April 3. Okay. We're going to sing. Happy birthday to Drew and Don. Here we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Drew and Don, happy birthday to you. Congratulations.

All right.

We're finishing. Our study of Acts chapter 9 through 21. It's been, it's been a big project to work through all this material and we're finishing it today. So next Sunday is Palm Sunday, Sunday, after that Easter Sunday, after that. We're doing something something special that will tell you more about,

So let's just think about finishing this series and in this series what we've seen is the holy spirit, birthing a joyful witness saying, powerful Fellowship. That we know by the name of the Church of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts. We've been watching this Fellowship come to life as an activity of the Holy Spirit and it's important for us to read about this for a bunch of reasons. But one of the reasons is that it's the same. Holy spirit that breathes life into the church today. Or to put it differently, rise up church is rising up in Cedar Springs by the power of that same, Holy Spirit today. So that's why it's important for us to be learning about this. We're learning about how the Holy Spirit works and how the holy spirit is working Among Us view. I'm trying to combine the 20,000 ft view with the getting into the weeds and looking at the details of what we're going to read. So I want to have us look at some themes that relate to today's reading but that also summarize what we've done so far, but first, we have to read it. So Karen fussy is going to read it. And while Karen's coming up, I want to acknowledge that the last two Sundays, Adam Hubbard preach for us. And so I just want to publicly say, thank you to add him yet. I watched both of those sermons and Adam. You got this imaginative. Articulate. Style of preaching which was fantastic. So thank you so much to read and then we'll look at some things.

20 verse 13, through 21 verse 16. We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Asos, where we were going to take Paula board. He had made this Arrangement because he was going there on foot. When he met us at Asos. We took in the board and went on to middling the next day. We set sail from there and arrived off. Chills the day. After that, we crossed over to Samos. And on the following day arrived at my Lita's. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. For he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem as possible. By the day of Pentecost from my latest Paul sent to Ephesus for the Elders of the church when they arrived. He said to them, you know how I lived the whole time. I was with you from the first day. I came into the province of Asia. I serve the Lord with great humility and with tears. And in the midst of a severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents, you know, that I have not hesitated to preach anything. That would be helpful to you. But have taught you publicly. And from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God and repentance and have faith in our lord. Jesus and now compelled by the spirit. I'm going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task. The Lord. Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Now, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching. The kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to Proclaim to you, the whole will of God keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers be Shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave Savage, wolves will come in among you and will not fear the flock even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw a way disciples after them. So be on your guard, remember that for three years, I never stopped mourning each of you night and day with tears. Now, I commit you to God and to the word of his grace which can build you up and give you an inheritance. Among all those who are Sanctified. I have not coveted, anyone, silver or gold, or clothing, you yourselves know that. These hands of mine has supplied, my own needs, and the needs of my companions and Nothing. I did I showed you that by this kind of hard work. We must help the weak, remembering the words, the Lord Jesus himself. Said it is more blessed to give than to receive. When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed, they all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieve the most was his statement that they would never see his face again, then they accompanied accompanied him to the ship. After we had torn ourselves away from them. We put out to sea and sailed straight to cost. The next day. We went to roads. And from there to Patera. We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and stop sale after citing Cypress and passing to the south of it. We sailed on to Syria. We landed a tire where our ship was to unload. Its cargo. We sought out the disciples there in seven days through the spirit. They urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem when it was time to leave. We left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children accompanied us out of the city and they are on the beach. We knelt to pray after saying goodbye to each other. We went aboard the ship and they returned home. We continued our Voyage from tire and landed at Ptolemy, where we greeted the brothers and sisters, and stayed with them for a day leaving the next day. We reached sasariya and stayed at the house of Philip. The Evangelist one of the seven, he had for unmarried daughters, who prophesied after we had been there a number of days. A prophet named agabus came down from Judea coming over to us. He took Paul's belt, hide his own hands and feet with it and said, the holy spirit's does. In this way. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles. When we heard this, we and the people there, pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Polly answered. Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready. Not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up inside. The Lord's will be done after this. We started on our way up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Cesery accompanied us and bra. To the home of Mason where we were to stay, he was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

So thank you, Karen, very much. You navigated all those names. So well.

It's like a travelogue. It's like I thought I was going to church but I'm instead ended up at like in the GNC travelogue kind of thing. But I think there's good reason for that. So it relates to the themes of the book of Acts that were talking about. So themes that we've been learning and the first one

I was it it made me feel a little better. When I watched Adam preaching that he also had to remember to turn on the clicker.

And then he said he didn't have this much trouble. And I'm supposed to be the guy who does this all the time. Could I have a little help?

FEMA. Number one. It's amazing how the Holy Spirit raised up communities of Believers across the world. That's what we've been watching. There were not Christians spread around the world and we've been watching the Holy Spirit, raising up communities of Believers across the world and studying. This story is providing us a key to understanding the whole new testament. So I've been excited about this for the last six weeks or so thinking about studying in the book of Acts you are

I'm getting instructions. You want me to stand here? Okay. Can I move this way? Okay, but not that. Okay, you are getting the ability to understand the whole new testament by this study in the book of Acts. Oh, okay. Now, I've got a map and I want to just I want to do two things. I want to open up my Bible to the table of contents of the New Testament. And I just want to show you how you have. The key to understanding the whole of the New Testament. I did this once on the Sunday when we couldn't meet in person. And we did online-only. I'll be a little shorter than I was on that day. But I really wanted to. I just wanted us all to see how this is true. So, I'll use my little pony hair down at the bottom of the map, is the city of Jerusalem and the New Testament starts with four gospels, Matthew Mark, Luke and John, they all tell the story of the life of Jesus. His death in his resurrection, from the dead. They all take place in and around the city of Jerusalem. Jesus died on the cross in Jerusalem, Jesus rose from the grave in the city of Jerusalem, and then the Holy Spirit. Got poured out on the followers of Jesus, on Pentecost day in Jerusalem. And as followers of Jesus, go out into the world. They bring the gospel with him, and the Church of Jesus Christ, begins to grow. So at first, it was down there in that bottom corner of this map in places like set, Surya and tall amazing tire and the area of Phoenicia, but eventually there was this strong church that developed in Antioch, which was made up of both Gentiles who had become Christians and Jews who had become Christians that church sent out missionaries Paul and Barnabas and then Paul and Silas and they went into the world of their day, too, with the Gospel of Jesus, and when you read the book, when you read the New Testament Bible, You're reading correspondence between Paul and his church is in between the apostles in one and one another. So what comes after Matthew, Mark? Luke and John is the book of Acts. That's what we're reading. And that's this map. Then comes the book of Romans. Rome would be the one place. That's not on this map. It's you know where Rome is. It's in Italy. Modern-day Italy. It sits to the west of this map. It's a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Rome, and we've heard Paul talking about eventually going to Rome in the book of Acts after the book of Romans comes first and second Corinthians, and we know those people. Let's see. Where is Corinth right there? We read about Paul going to the city of Corinth. So when you read the book of 1st and 2nd Corinthians, you know, those guys, you you've heard a piece of the story of the founding of that church after 1st and 2nd Corinthians comes Galatians. We know the territory of galatia because we heard about Paul in Derby, and lystra, and Antioch. Those are all in the region of galatia. So, when you read the book in the New Testament, Galatians, you know, those guys, you read about how the gospel came there, after Galatians comes Ephesians and The last two weeks while I was gone, you were reading about how the church got establish any in Ephesus. After Ever, After Ephesians comes Philippians. We know all about the church in Philippi and Paul had a wonderful relationship with them. We haven't read about the city of colossae, but you can see from what we have read, how the gospel would have, just naturally worked his way from one town to the other. So that there was a church in colossi and Colossians is a letter Paul wrote to the Christians in that town then comes first and second Thessalonians. We know thessalonica. We read the story of Paul going there. And two books of the Bible are letters written to the church. That's there then comes. First Timothy, 1st, Timothy, not a place, but a person. But, you know, this person, you know, Timothy, you read about how Paul met him in lystra and recruited him to come with him. From that point on. Timothy's with Paul in all of these Journeys and Tall eventually dropped Timothy off in Ephesus. Where Timothy becomes an important leader overtime. After Timothy come Titus and Philemon. We don't know those people. We haven't met them in the book of Acts, but Titus is from the island of Crete. So it's in our map and Philemon is a person. We don't know where Philemon was from, but in the book of Philemon, Paul mentions, I'm with Timothy and he also mentions. I'm with my dear friend, Luke who's the author of the book of Acts? And he also mentions John Mark who was the person who started out with Paul and Barnabas on that first trip and who abandoned them? And who was the cause of the fight that Paul and Barnabas ultimately had, which led to Barnabas and Mark going One Direction, and Paul and Silas going another Direction. After Philemon comes to book of Hebrews and it's not written to a location either. But you know why? The book of Hebrews was written because we've been learning about the conflict between Jews who became Christians and Gentiles who became Christians and the book of Hebrews is all about the connection between the Old Testament of the Bible and the New Testament of the Bible in. You know, why that book was needed? When you studied the book of Acts as we've been studying it after Hebrews comes James. It's a book written by James and we know James, he was a leader in the church in Jerusalem. Probably the brother of Jesus. After James comes first and second Peter. We know Peter, we've seen him often times in our studies, in the book of Acts. He wrote those two books, 22, especially the Jewish Believers in Jesus around the world, then come first. Second, and third, John. We know John from the book of Acts. We saw him early on when Peter and John killed of lame, man. By the Holy Spirit book of Jude. We don't know this person Jude but he describes himself as a brother of James and we know James James was the brother of Jesus. Most likely Jude describes himself as a brother of James which perhaps means that Jude is another one of the brothers of Jesus. And now the last book of the New Testament is the Book of Revelation. And John wrote the Book of Revelation from the island of Patmos, which is one of those little. Right there. I don't know which one it is. And I I researched it and I still don't know which one of those little dots it is, but it's one of those little dots. It was a prison Island where John was exiled and he wrote the Book of Revelation to the church in Ephesus and six other churches in in and around the word Asia here on the map. So, just from this study. You know, all of the locations connected to the New Testament of the Bible and you can open any portion of the New Testament. And you can say, I know something about those people. I remember the story about when the gospel came to those hopes and that's a, it's just exciting, the same. Holy spirit, that enables the church to grow into the world of its day, is the holy spirit that powers the Jesus life in the city of Cedar Springs today.

Let's see if I can change slides. No, I still can't. Dave. Could I have the next life? Another theme Paul was amazing. He was willing to go anywhere or do anything. Give up everything to follow. Jesus. Let me read a couple of Verses first 18 when they arrived. He said to them, you know how I live the whole time. I was with you from the first day. I came into the province of Asia and then verse 26. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. What you mean by that? He means. I was willing to go anywhere, do anything, give up anything and everything to bring the gospel to you. And now, I don't feel guilty about having held back anything. I did what God gave me to do. And now it's on you. It, it's for you two up to carry forward. I had an interesting experience about 10 years ago. That's a long time ago, but it's, it's an important experience in my life. And it relates to this. I was on a little spiritual Retreat and I had my journal, and I was all by myself talking to God. And in my journal, I wrote down Jesus. I will go anywhere. Do anything, give up anything or everything to follow you? What do you want me to do? Maybe it would be helpful for you to know that I didn't feel very confident about my commitment to that. It was kind of like, this is what I want to say to you, Jesus, but I need you to help me. But as best I could that day. I was presenting myself to Jesus. And he reply. I don't think it was audible, but I had no doubt that Jesus had just replied to me and this is what he said. He said John will you love me?

well, that was a That was not what I expected. I expected get on the next plane to Africa, or go to Cedar Springs, Michigan and plan to church or something crazy like that. But that's what he said. Will you love me? And I think it's what I needed to hear because I would describe myself as a door, right? I I'm thinking about, what is God want me to do? Even in my question, you know, that was what I was asking. What do you want me to do? And so God was wanting to encourage me to be a lover, a in a relationship with him. But I also think God was saying to me, if you love me, then you will know when it's time for you to go somewhere or to do something. Or if there's something that's getting in the way that you ought to. Give up. And I'm just wondering. What would God say to you? If you were to say to him? God. I will go anywhere. I will do anything. I will give up anything or everything to follow you. What would he say to you?

Yeah, he might say, get on the next plane to Africa. Or he might say, will you love me? We might say any number of other things. But Paul. Is amazing as a model, follower of Jesus. And I think God wants to say to you, as you look at him, learn from this person, who's willing to go, wherever God will send him and And Ponder, how do you have that? Same attitude? How do you present yourself as ready to do that also? That's the second thing that's going to another theme. They loved each other. I'm thinking about verses 36 through 38. When Paul is finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and pray, they all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What, Grieves him most was his statement that they would never see his face again, then they accompanied him to the ship.

There's a set up crew that that comes early on Sunday mornings to set up for church and they really can't help it happening. But because they're working on something that matters for the kingdom of God. They start loving each other. And the the crowd that comes early on Sunday Morning has affection for one another, and you could be apart, by the way, if you wanted to. So nobody's nobody's keeping you away from there. So you can you can get in you could get in today or next Sunday, but some of the people who are there are their formerly, meaning the music team that's on the stage today. This is there Sunday, their hospitality and soundboard assignments. So, there are people if they're assigned a. But there are a few people who show up because it's Sunday morning, and we need to Set up for church and that's and you could do that. If you want to date show up in here next Sunday, morning and join the party. When you when you do something important together with a group of other people, you start loving each other. Last Sunday. Last Sunday that summer. There were seven students. Middle school, high school students, and two adults who went on a mission trip together. The mission trip was in Cedar Springs and we slept in this building right here, but those kids didn't really know each other dead, but some of them didn't know each other at all. I was one of the two adults and I didn't really know these students very well at all, but during that week. We grew affection for each other. That no one can ever take away. And that's what the Church of Jesus Christ. Is. The Church of Jesus Christ. Is a community of Love, In The Name of Jesus and we are working at being a community of Love. In The Name of Jesus, whose faces light up, when we see each other on Sunday night because we're faking it. But because we're asking the Holy Spirit to genuinely help us to love each other. And the Holy Spirit comes upon his church to make it the kind of community where people do love each other and you find out that you hang out with people that you you wouldn't have hung out with. Otherwise if it were not for the gospel calling you together. What is going on? That just went bowling on the roof, okay.

That's enough. I have one more theme.

Prison in hardship. What's with that? What, what is? Why would god require Paul to experience prison in hardship? And maybe the answer is that prison and hardship are good places to testify to the good news of God's grace. I have a buddy Pastor, who was the pastor of a church in handlon prison in Ionia. It's a minimum-security prison in Ionia. There are professors from k p illogical Seminary, who teach classes at handling prison to prisoners, and the classes are so popular that they have to limit who can come I I've never been to handling prison, but I went with my buddy to the medium-security prison across the street from hand, in prison, on a couple of occasions. It takes a long time to get through security and these little secure spots where you get locked in and then the doors open up and you move on through. But we finally would make it to where there was going to be a worship service and a bible study on Tuesday nights and

The holy spirit moves. In a prison. A prison is a wonderful place to talk about the Forgiveness of Jesus and the freedom of Jesus setting. You free from your past and from everything that you might regret and it's a beautiful place to Proclaim that when you repent and believe that. God forgives you and set you free. So it turns out prisons are really fruitful places to talk about the gospel. So we're hardships. You don't want hardships to come your way. I don't like hardships. But when you are in a hard shift, it's a fruitful place for the spirit of God to speak to you about the gospel, and about setting, you free. What we see in the Apostle, Paul. Is he's facing hardship and he's not afraid to head into it because he understands as long as he has Jesus. He has everything that he needs. Let's just look at a couple of the Bible passages about this hardship. Prison and hardships are facing me and then as he reflects on and he says, my only aim is testifying to the good news of God's grace and he has friends and his friends don't want him to go into the hardship. So the next slide when we heard about this his friends we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go. His his friends. When they heard about the hardships said, don't go God's telling you because he wants to stop you from going and getting hurt. Paul didn't see it. That way when they couldn't dissuade Him, Luke. The author says we gave up and we said the Lord's will be done which I think is a spiritual way of saying, oh well.

Paul understood. If I have Jesus, if I have an opportunity to testify to the good news about the undeserved favor of God in Jesus Christ, and I don't care. I'll go anywhere. I'll do anything. I'll give up whatever God wants me to give up to do that.

Let me, let me stop there and summarize this way and I went to California. And we visited my mom who is 97 years old and lives in a nursing home last time. When I went, she was eventually able to say my name the first time and went a year ago. She couldn't remember my name. She has six kids. So I said Mom, I'll name your six kids and you tell me when I get to me. I'm Number 5. So when I got the number 5 I said my name and she went your Jonathan and that was a cool little moment that we had a year ago. Last week. She she had no idea. And on the second day that we were there. We went about 6 days in a row for an hour at a time on the second day. I thought, I'll try that again cuz, you know she wants to remember. So here's your six kids. I got to number five. There was no flicker of recognition that that I couldn't tell. There are two girls in the less. You know, I wasn't one of those probably, but that's, that's all she had. So that's completely. Okay. She's, she's in many ways of clear mind, and you can have a wonderful conversation with her. She just can't remember. We took her over to a piano because she likes, she's sung all her life and she likes to sing. This woman cannot remember her son's name. But she knows all the words to all of the verses of It Is. Well with My Soul, For example, verse to my sin over the Bliss of this glorious. My sin not in part, but the whole has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise. The Lord. It Is Well with My Soul. She doesn't know my name, but she can sing back. If life is hard for you. But you still hanging on to Jesus. You're doing really well.

So watch, I'm a little video for you. Watch an old lady who can't name her son. But who knows? About her relationship with Jesus.

partly, that's a testimony to the human mind and how you can remember a song and not be able to remember something else, but Partly, it's about. If you got Jesus. Even if you don't have anything else. You're doing really well.

Let's pray.

Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come and stir our hearts and you are already stirring our hearts, but maybe we should just say we welcome you here to store hurts.

And as we sit here.

We just want to ponder. What are you saying to us through the book of Acts? What are you saying to us here this morning? And as we're sitting here, we want to ponder. What is it that you would like us to say to you?

You are.

You were you are to come? You got ahead of us to prepare a place for us.

Even if we don't have other things working very well in our lives. If we have you were doing well.

What do you what are you saying us this morning? Where do you want us?

We welcome you.

Thank you for hearing our prayer.

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