1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Thank you. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Thank you. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Thank you. 4 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:46,140 good morning i want to welcome you to our prayer and share time uh this morning uh one of the 5 00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:50,400 things we do during prayer and share time is we mute the uh audio from our live stream 6 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:56,260 so that those sharing prayer requests uh with us are able to do so without sharing them to the 7 00:27:56,260 --> 00:28:01,600 whole internet. So if there's something we could pray for you for, we'd love for you to share that 8 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:10,600 with us. You can send us a message or you can text 888-296-4667 and we will add your prayer 9 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:15,020 request to our prayer list. Just let us know if it's okay to share that with our congregation 10 00:28:15,020 --> 00:28:23,480 during our prayer and share time. One of my favorite prayers in Scripture is in 2 Chronicles 11 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:32,800 chapter 20, verse 12, Jehoshaphat. Jerusalem, a vast army is coming toward them. And there's a 12 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:38,060 lot of things that we do when we find ourselves in the midst of crisis. Maybe we try to fix the 13 00:28:38,060 --> 00:28:43,640 situation or gather resources or figure out a way out of the situation. But what Jehoshaphat does 14 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:49,280 is he goes to God in prayer. And I want to just read his prayer to you. He'll say this, 15 00:28:49,600 --> 00:29:10,980 And I love that picture of dependence upon God, that he sees God's strength in the proper life, 16 00:29:10,980 --> 00:29:16,800 that God is the creator, the one who has all the power and love for his people. 17 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,340 He sees himself in the proper light, that we are powerless. 18 00:29:21,340 --> 00:29:24,920 And then he states his dependence in such a beautiful way. 19 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:29,940 He says, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 20 00:29:29,940 --> 00:29:37,960 So I just want to encourage you this morning to fix your eyes upon the God who created all things, 21 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,240 who cares for you and loves you. 22 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:45,160 One of the ways in which we fix our eyes upon God is through prayer. 23 00:29:46,620 --> 00:29:48,540 And so I just want to pray with you this morning. 24 00:29:48,540 --> 00:29:50,640 So I'll just go ahead and do that. 25 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,780 Father in heaven, we thank you for your goodness. 26 00:29:54,780 --> 00:30:01,680 We thank you that you use your strength and your power in the defense and help of your people. 27 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,720 So we just ask this morning in a world full of distraction, 28 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:12,100 some of them caused by ourselves, that you would fix our eyes on you, that our hope would be in you. 29 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:17,860 Thank you for those who are watching online, and we just ask that you would watch over them and be with them. 30 00:30:17,860 --> 00:30:19,960 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 31 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,000 So thank you for joining us. 32 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:26,500 We will be back to our live stream in just a few minutes. 33 00:30:42,640 --> 00:31:12,620 Thank you. 34 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:14,700 you 35 00:31:42,640 --> 00:32:08,240 Tearing down the lies that I believed 36 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,820 Breaking through the selfish parts of me 37 00:32:13,820 --> 00:32:19,520 Truth is calm and set this captive free 38 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:25,180 Your love has opened up my eyes to see 39 00:32:25,180 --> 00:32:29,640 We're going to be singing Behold Our God 40 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:49,980 Who has held the oceans in His hands? 41 00:32:49,980 --> 00:32:56,460 Who has numbered every grain of sand? 42 00:32:56,460 --> 00:33:03,280 Kings and nations tremble at His voice. 43 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:09,520 All creation rises to rejoice. 44 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:16,140 Behold our God 45 00:33:16,140 --> 00:33:19,160 Seated on His throne 46 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,880 Come let us adore Him 47 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:29,140 Behold our King 48 00:33:29,140 --> 00:33:32,080 Nothing can compare 49 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:38,500 Come let us adore Him 50 00:33:38,500 --> 00:33:50,500 God has given counsel to the Lord, who can question any of His words, 51 00:33:50,500 --> 00:34:04,500 who can teach the one who knows all things, who can fathom all His wondrous deeds. 52 00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:17,380 Behold our God, seated on His throne, come let us adore Him. 53 00:34:17,380 --> 00:34:32,760 Behold our King, nothing can compare, come let us adore Him. 54 00:34:34,500 --> 00:35:04,480 Let's pray. 55 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:10,920 Bearing all the guilt of sinful man 56 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:17,840 God eternal, humble to the grave 57 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:24,800 Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign 58 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:33,820 Behold our God, seated on His throne 59 00:35:33,820 --> 00:35:38,520 Come let us adore Him 60 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:43,900 Behold our King 61 00:35:43,900 --> 00:35:46,780 Nothing can compare 62 00:35:46,780 --> 00:35:53,920 Come let us adore Him 63 00:36:03,820 --> 00:36:22,760 In the 119th psalm, which is a psalm that is an acrostic, 64 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:27,580 meaning each sort of stanza begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 65 00:36:27,580 --> 00:36:33,660 If we were saying this and referring to English, it would be the A to Z of God's Word. 66 00:36:33,820 --> 00:36:38,220 And in sort of the middle of this psalm, in the 81st verse, the psalmist says, 67 00:36:38,220 --> 00:36:43,080 My soul longs for your salvation. I hope in your word. 68 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:49,520 And then he will go on to explain all the troubles and all the difficulties that he has been having, 69 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:56,020 the struggles, the hurts, and the fears, and how he finds comfort and hope in the word of God. 70 00:36:56,020 --> 00:37:01,600 A commentator from 200 or 300 years ago just simply said that David anchors his life 71 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,760 with the anchor of the Word of God. 72 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:06,800 And so as we gather around the table this morning, 73 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,920 what I wanted us to do is just to simply anchor ourselves 74 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,820 with some hope that we find in God's Word. 75 00:37:13,820 --> 00:37:17,700 In the 107th Psalm, a book, a psalm that is titled 76 00:37:17,700 --> 00:37:19,860 Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So, 77 00:37:19,860 --> 00:37:22,700 we began our service with it this morning. 78 00:37:22,700 --> 00:37:26,600 I want to read to you just three of the stanzas 79 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:31,360 that point to the fact that God redeems and that God rescues. 80 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,700 And so I'm just going to go ahead and read some of these stanzas. 81 00:37:34,700 --> 00:37:35,820 I'm going to begin in verse 4. 82 00:37:35,820 --> 00:37:40,600 Some wandered in the desert wastes, finding no city to dwell in. 83 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,500 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 84 00:37:43,500 --> 00:37:47,980 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them in their distress. 85 00:37:47,980 --> 00:37:51,680 He led them by a straight way until they reached a city to dwell in. 86 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,260 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, 87 00:37:55,260 --> 00:37:57,940 for his wondrous works to the children of man, 88 00:37:57,940 --> 00:38:05,600 for he satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things some sat in 89 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:11,420 darkness in the shadow of death prisoners in affliction and in irons for they had rebelled 90 00:38:11,420 --> 00:38:16,880 against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the most high so he bowed their hearts down 91 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:21,580 with hard labor they fell down with none to help and then they cried to the Lord in their trouble 92 00:38:21,580 --> 00:38:26,320 and he delivered them from their distress he brought them out of darkness in the shadow of 93 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:33,320 death and burst their bonds apart let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous 94 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:39,620 works to the children of man he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts into the bars of iron 95 00:38:39,620 --> 00:38:46,080 some were fools through their sinful ways and because of their iniquity suffered affliction 96 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:51,380 they loathed any kind of food and they drew near to the gates of death and they cried out to the 97 00:38:51,380 --> 00:38:56,980 Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress he sent out his word and healed 98 00:38:56,980 --> 00:39:02,540 them and delivered them from their destruction let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love 99 00:39:02,540 --> 00:39:08,420 for his wondrous works to the children of man let them offer sacrifices and thanksgiving 100 00:39:08,420 --> 00:39:17,380 and tell of his deeds in songs of joy and so as we gather around this table this morning as we 101 00:39:17,380 --> 00:39:18,980 consider the cross 102 00:39:18,980 --> 00:39:21,440 and the fact that Jesus redeemed us 103 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,380 from our sin by standing 104 00:39:23,380 --> 00:39:24,360 in our place 105 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,980 let's 106 00:39:26,980 --> 00:39:29,400 remember the redemption of God 107 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:31,400 let's remember with joy 108 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,160 how he has brought those of us who 109 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:34,900 had no place to a place 110 00:39:34,900 --> 00:39:37,160 those of us who were in darkness into light 111 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:39,060 and those of us who in rebellion 112 00:39:39,060 --> 00:39:41,240 were drawing near to death 113 00:39:41,240 --> 00:39:43,320 he has saved through his 114 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:44,860 goodness so I'm going to pray 115 00:39:44,860 --> 00:39:48,300 and read just a few verses from the Gospel of Matthew 116 00:39:48,300 --> 00:39:49,540 and then we'll partake together. 117 00:39:49,540 --> 00:39:53,100 Father in heaven, thank you that you've redeemed us. 118 00:39:53,100 --> 00:39:55,480 You have brought us back, 119 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:59,020 not with something like silver and gold or riches, 120 00:39:59,020 --> 00:40:01,520 but with the blood of your son, 121 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,760 like that of a lamb without spot or blemish. 122 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:07,900 And so we thank you this morning 123 00:40:07,900 --> 00:40:09,780 for your grace and for your love. 124 00:40:09,780 --> 00:40:12,880 Thank you for what you have done for your children. 125 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:18,280 Help us to remember the sacrifice of Jesus being nourished by your grace. 126 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:20,640 It's in your Son's name we pray. Amen. 127 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:24,340 Matthew records it this way. 128 00:40:24,340 --> 00:40:28,200 When they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, 129 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:30,320 he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, 130 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:33,380 Take, eat, this is my body. Let's partake together. 131 00:40:33,380 --> 00:40:42,580 And then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, 132 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:48,220 He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, 133 00:40:48,220 --> 00:40:51,980 which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 134 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:17,920 This morning's reading is from Acts 21. 135 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:52,180 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we sailed to Syria and landed 136 00:41:52,180 --> 00:42:01,500 at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its carbell, and having sought out the disciples, 137 00:42:01,500 --> 00:42:10,160 we stayed there for seven days, and through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go 138 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:18,780 to Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they 139 00:42:18,780 --> 00:42:26,200 all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling 140 00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:34,880 down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the 141 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:42,500 ship, and they returned home. When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived 142 00:42:42,500 --> 00:42:50,720 at Ptolemy's, and we greeted the Lord, or we greeted the brothers, and stayed with them 143 00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:58,560 for one day. On the next day, we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house 144 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:04,520 of Philip, the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 145 00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:07,640 That's really cool. 146 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:11,620 I was thinking about how this passage that Brandon's going to preach on 147 00:43:11,620 --> 00:43:15,260 shows the international part of the church, 148 00:43:15,260 --> 00:43:19,220 but we read about Philip in the beginning of Acts, 149 00:43:19,220 --> 00:43:24,020 and we're kind of coming full circle where the church has exploded, 150 00:43:24,020 --> 00:43:27,040 and then Paul's coming back to Jerusalem. 151 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:35,680 that is dumped out on me he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied while we were staying 152 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:46,220 for many days a prophet named agabus came down from Judea and coming to us he told Paul oh he 153 00:43:46,220 --> 00:43:54,920 took Paul's belt and bound his feet and his hands and said thus says the Holy Spirit this is how the 154 00:43:54,920 --> 00:44:02,380 Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of 155 00:44:02,380 --> 00:44:03,180 the Gentiles. 156 00:44:03,180 --> 00:44:10,500 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 157 00:44:10,500 --> 00:44:18,340 Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? 158 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:28,040 For I am ready, not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 159 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:36,640 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, Let the will of the Lord be done. 160 00:44:36,640 --> 00:44:41,380 After these days, we got ready and went to Jerusalem. 161 00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:54,860 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of the nation of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we should lodge. 162 00:44:54,860 --> 00:44:56,900 This is the word of the Lord. 163 00:44:56,900 --> 00:44:57,900 Praise be to God. 164 00:45:06,180 --> 00:45:14,700 I told Brent for his 35th birthday, I wanted to have him read 35 verses, I couldn't find 165 00:45:14,700 --> 00:45:18,340 anything that was really a 35 verses that fit, so I just added a whole bunch of names 166 00:45:18,340 --> 00:45:19,660 and cities that were hard to pronounce. 167 00:45:19,660 --> 00:45:23,740 So let's go ahead and have a word of prayer, and we'll dive right into it this morning. 168 00:45:23,740 --> 00:45:29,660 Father in heaven, I thank you for your goodness, and as we walk through these verses, help 169 00:45:29,660 --> 00:45:36,160 us not to take for granted the pictures of your goodness and your blessing and your love 170 00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:44,960 love for the church, warn us, encourage us, help us to see that even in the midst of fearful 171 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:50,300 uncertainty that you are at work and you have a plan for your people. Thank you for Jesus and for 172 00:45:50,300 --> 00:45:57,180 grace. Help us this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So when my grandma was alive, some 173 00:45:57,180 --> 00:46:03,220 years she would write a Christmas letter and it would generally when she was doing a lot of 174 00:46:03,220 --> 00:46:08,840 traveling for a lot of years. My grandma did a lot of traveling, spent like what two or three 175 00:46:08,840 --> 00:46:14,940 winters in Alaska, you know, in her 60s. And so she would write a letter kind of summarizing 176 00:46:14,940 --> 00:46:20,340 you know, her year. You know, I went here to Alaska and we saw them and I stayed with these people 177 00:46:20,340 --> 00:46:24,220 and driving through I stopped and saw these friends. And she was one of those people who had 178 00:46:24,220 --> 00:46:29,940 friends throughout the United States. And so she could go, you know, just about anywhere and not 179 00:46:29,940 --> 00:46:33,780 have to find a hotel because she could just stay with friends. And then when she wrote her Christmas 180 00:46:33,780 --> 00:46:39,160 letter, oftentimes she'd include a little update about all of them. So if you were a friend or 181 00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:43,160 family, you would get this and you would read and you'd find all these people you knew and get a 182 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:48,560 little update about them. And it was kind of an exciting thing. Probably not so much if you didn't 183 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:52,960 know any of those people, right? You're like, well, that's great that you went there and saw these 184 00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:58,420 people, but I don't know who they are or where that is. And so I'm not sure how that applies to me. 185 00:46:58,820 --> 00:47:02,720 And when we come to a text like what we have this morning in these 16 verses, 186 00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:07,380 it sort of seems like Luke is writing a grandma Christmas letter to the church, right? 187 00:47:07,380 --> 00:47:11,100 You know, Paul went here, he got on a ship here, spent some time here, 188 00:47:11,100 --> 00:47:15,520 saw this person, that person, this other person that you may know or you may not know. 189 00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:23,260 And it seems on the surface that maybe there's not a lot for us in this text. 190 00:47:23,260 --> 00:47:27,880 And so what I want you to see this morning as we walk through these 16 verses 191 00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:32,700 is that this isn't just an update letter or a list of Paul's travels 192 00:47:32,700 --> 00:47:37,440 or sort of a journal, diary entry of we went here and saw this person and went there, 193 00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:43,580 but rather what we find in these verses is this sort of treasure of God's goodness. 194 00:47:43,580 --> 00:47:47,660 But additionally, what you see is woven through all of these places 195 00:47:47,660 --> 00:47:49,760 and all of these characters and all these people. 196 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:52,380 And Brent caught a little bit of it as he was reading this morning. 197 00:47:52,380 --> 00:47:57,820 You see this thread of God's goodness moving through this text 198 00:47:57,820 --> 00:48:02,960 sort of weaving it into this wonderful tapestry of grace. 199 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:09,600 So treasure hunting, I think, is something that probably captures a lot of our imaginations, 200 00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:13,280 maybe more so when we're younger, just the idea of solving a mystery. 201 00:48:13,280 --> 00:48:17,300 And then as we get older, it's the riches that kind of capture our imagination. 202 00:48:17,300 --> 00:48:22,640 And one of the things, if you look at some of these people who have maybe tried to do this full time, 203 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:25,420 it's a difficult thing to be a treasure hunter, right? 204 00:48:25,420 --> 00:48:30,520 You've got to dig, you've got to dive, you've got to research, you've got to study, you've got to do it. 205 00:48:30,520 --> 00:48:33,460 You don't just sort of generally stumble across treasure. 206 00:48:33,460 --> 00:48:37,280 And so this morning, as we sort of unpack the treasures of God's goodness, 207 00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:41,880 it's going to take us a little bit of work, but I think it'll be encouraging for us. 208 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:47,040 And in addition, as we mentioned, there's this tapestry of God's grace woven throughout this package. 209 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:50,800 Rachel occasionally will send each other videos back and forth that we find online, 210 00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:58,180 And she sent me one a couple weeks ago, and it's this guy, real thrilling content, who's making a rug. 211 00:48:58,180 --> 00:49:02,980 And you don't really, you're sort of watching him, and you're weaving these threads together, 212 00:49:02,980 --> 00:49:06,140 and you're like, wow, that looks like nothing, and this is terrible. 213 00:49:06,140 --> 00:49:07,680 And then what happens? 214 00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:13,960 He flips it around, and you see the intricate design, and you see the picture, and you're just like, that's amazing. 215 00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:21,380 Take all these things that from one perspective sort of look unrelated and he turns it into this wonderful work of art. 216 00:49:21,380 --> 00:49:33,020 And what God does with this text is all of these places and people, all of these characters, Paul's journey, even the timing of it are threads in the tapestry of his grace. 217 00:49:33,020 --> 00:49:39,480 In fact, if you remember Jesus as Peter makes a good confession about who Jesus is. 218 00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:43,480 And Jesus says, you're Peter, and on this rock, the rock being Peter's confession, 219 00:49:43,480 --> 00:49:46,140 I will build my church. 220 00:49:46,140 --> 00:49:48,980 You're going to get a glimpse of that in these verses. 221 00:49:48,980 --> 00:49:52,960 Things that go all the way back, maybe even to the ministry of Jesus, 222 00:49:52,960 --> 00:49:57,580 in terms of some of these people, are being woven together in this wonderful picture. 223 00:49:57,580 --> 00:50:00,680 So three treasures of God's grace I want to share with you this morning. 224 00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:04,580 First of all, you see this sort of treasure of Christian community. 225 00:50:05,020 --> 00:50:13,280 So whenever I do a wedding, I always try to, before I encourage the bride and groom, I try to discourage them a little bit. 226 00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:18,120 And so generally, most weddings, I'll say something along the lines of, you know, marriage is difficult, right? 227 00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:22,520 You've got to balance jobs and, you know, your plans and your hobbies and all these things. 228 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:27,180 But the most difficult part of marriage is going to be each other, right? 229 00:50:27,180 --> 00:50:31,120 Because you're both sinners and you're both going to be in close proximity to each other. 230 00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:34,400 and you're going to annoy him and he's going to annoy you. 231 00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:37,680 She's going to do stuff you can't possibly understand, right? 232 00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:39,740 You're going to have all of these different things. 233 00:50:39,740 --> 00:50:44,580 And the biggest problem in a marriage is going to be the people who are in the marriage. 234 00:50:44,580 --> 00:50:49,540 In fact, Martin Luther, when he was writing about his marriage, he'll say this, 235 00:50:49,540 --> 00:50:52,160 there's a lot to get used to in the first year of marriage. 236 00:50:52,160 --> 00:50:56,980 One wakes up in the morning and finds a pair of pigtails on the pillow that were not there before. 237 00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:09,260 And then one of his biographers would go on to say, in Martin Luther's case, those pigtails belong to a very stubborn-minded, strong-willed, very smart woman who gave him a run for his money the entire time. 238 00:51:09,260 --> 00:51:20,180 And what we find is when we're in close proximity, whether marriage or working together or even vacation together, eventually, right, we end up in some conflict. 239 00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:35,160 And so you come to the church and you have a whole bunch of people and we all have different backgrounds, different experiences, different roles in life at the moment, different places that we've been, different places that we want to go to. 240 00:51:35,160 --> 00:51:37,880 And then on top of that, we're all sinful people. 241 00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:43,580 You put us together into a room and before too long, right, there's going to be some struggles. 242 00:51:43,580 --> 00:51:48,160 And what you find is that church can be difficult. 243 00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:52,520 In fact, this is why Paul, when he writes in Colossians 3, he's going to say, bear with 244 00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:53,220 one another. 245 00:51:53,220 --> 00:51:59,500 And in fact, that word in the Greek means to endure unpleasant difficultness. 246 00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:03,340 And so Paul looks at the church, he goes, some of you are going to be unpleasant, some 247 00:52:03,340 --> 00:52:07,800 of you are going to be difficult, and you're still going to have to be together and get 248 00:52:07,800 --> 00:52:08,420 along. 249 00:52:08,420 --> 00:52:14,360 And one of the ways in which you see the grace of God poured out in this world is that God 250 00:52:14,360 --> 00:52:19,860 takes a bunch of different struggling sinners and brings them together in this community 251 00:52:19,860 --> 00:52:25,700 that loves, that supports, that forgives, that prays for one another, that helps one 252 00:52:25,700 --> 00:52:25,940 another. 253 00:52:25,940 --> 00:52:30,840 And God does something that is so remarkable to take all of these different people from 254 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:35,720 different backgrounds with different struggles and he puts them together in a community that 255 00:52:35,720 --> 00:52:37,360 ultimately glorifies him. 256 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:43,960 And you see it so clearly in these verses that God has created this gospel community that 257 00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:50,100 That reaches outside of its boundaries, across lines of the culture that you should not cross. 258 00:52:50,100 --> 00:52:55,780 So, for example, as Paul travels, one of the things that he is doing is he is bringing an offering 259 00:52:55,780 --> 00:53:02,820 from primarily Gentile churches to primarily a Jewish church because they're suffering a famine. 260 00:53:02,820 --> 00:53:07,180 Something that outside of the gospel would have been unheard of. 261 00:53:07,180 --> 00:53:11,680 And Paul writes letters to these churches, some of whom have barely enough to eat for themselves, 262 00:53:11,940 --> 00:53:14,240 and they save up their money, and they give it to Paul, 263 00:53:14,240 --> 00:53:16,540 and Paul is going to go give it to the Jewish Christians. 264 00:53:16,540 --> 00:53:18,820 And you even get this glimpse in Romans 15 265 00:53:18,820 --> 00:53:22,380 that he's a little worried about how a gift from Gentiles to Jews 266 00:53:22,380 --> 00:53:25,720 is going to be received, because in Romans 15, 267 00:53:25,720 --> 00:53:28,400 he'll say that I hope that my service in Jerusalem 268 00:53:28,400 --> 00:53:31,140 will be acceptable to the saints, right? 269 00:53:31,140 --> 00:53:34,760 That the gospel crosses these cultural boundaries. 270 00:53:34,760 --> 00:53:39,040 But you also see the gospel not just in the fact 271 00:53:39,040 --> 00:53:41,400 that Paul is carrying an offering to Jerusalem, 272 00:53:41,940 --> 00:53:44,560 But you have to remember that Paul, as he travels, 273 00:53:44,560 --> 00:53:47,340 hasn't always been Paul the apostle, right? 274 00:53:47,340 --> 00:53:50,760 Paul the gospel preacher, Paul the church planter. 275 00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:54,700 He has been, the first place we meet him, in fact, 276 00:53:54,700 --> 00:53:56,700 is at the execution of Stephen in Acts 7. 277 00:53:56,700 --> 00:54:01,100 They cast him out of the city that Stephen stoned him, 278 00:54:01,100 --> 00:54:03,440 and the witnesses laid down their garments 279 00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:05,840 at the feet of a young man named Saul, the very next chapter. 280 00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:08,420 And Saul approved of his execution, 281 00:54:08,420 --> 00:54:11,320 and there arose on that day a great persecution 282 00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:13,040 against the church in Jerusalem. 283 00:54:13,040 --> 00:54:15,620 And they were all scattered throughout the regions 284 00:54:15,620 --> 00:54:17,800 of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. 285 00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:19,940 Devout men buried Stephen, 286 00:54:19,940 --> 00:54:21,980 made great lamentation over him, 287 00:54:21,980 --> 00:54:24,280 but Saul was ravaging the church 288 00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:25,780 and entering house after house, 289 00:54:25,780 --> 00:54:27,940 and he dragged off men and women 290 00:54:27,940 --> 00:54:29,760 and committed them to prison. 291 00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:32,400 Now, these verses that we're reading in Acts 292 00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:34,880 have been a long time since Paul has done that, 293 00:54:34,880 --> 00:54:37,680 but you know it's very easy to see, 294 00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:39,880 especially if we've been personally hurt by something, 295 00:54:40,220 --> 00:54:43,080 To hold on to those wounds for a long time. 296 00:54:43,080 --> 00:54:46,300 The church in Tyre that Paul comes to. 297 00:54:46,300 --> 00:54:52,840 When we came to come in sight of Cyprus, leaving on the left, we sailed to Syria, landed at Tyre. 298 00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:55,140 Their ship was there to unload cargo. 299 00:54:55,140 --> 00:54:58,440 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. 300 00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:01,780 And through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 301 00:55:01,780 --> 00:55:05,080 And when our days were ended, we departed and went on our journey. 302 00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:09,300 And they all, with their wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. 303 00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:12,780 Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. 304 00:55:12,780 --> 00:55:15,300 Then we went aboard the ship and returned Paul. 305 00:55:15,300 --> 00:55:19,480 So Paul, in a hurry to get to Jerusalem, he has some downtime as they unload the ship. 306 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:23,420 Load it up, he goes and finds this group of believers. 307 00:55:23,420 --> 00:55:27,220 And you see, this is a church that loves and cares about Paul. 308 00:55:27,220 --> 00:55:32,380 As they hear about Paul's suffering, their response isn't go to Jerusalem and suffer for Christ. 309 00:55:32,380 --> 00:55:34,960 But their response is, we don't want you to go to Jerusalem. 310 00:55:34,960 --> 00:55:38,000 You see it as they're leaving, as the whole church comes out. 311 00:55:38,260 --> 00:55:41,400 Men, women, children, and they have this prayer meeting on the beach. 312 00:55:41,400 --> 00:55:44,240 And I imagine it's like many of our goodbyes, 313 00:55:44,240 --> 00:55:48,400 especially if we know it's going to be a difficult journey for the one leaving 314 00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:50,320 where there's probably not a lot of dry ice. 315 00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:52,780 There's probably a lot of sorrow and a lot of struggle. 316 00:55:52,780 --> 00:55:56,380 And I want you to think in light of their love for Paul 317 00:55:56,380 --> 00:55:58,240 that we sort of glimpse in this text. 318 00:55:58,240 --> 00:56:00,480 Do you know how this church begins? 319 00:56:00,480 --> 00:56:05,560 This church begins from Acts 11 where it says this, 320 00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:10,200 Those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen. 321 00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:11,620 Who's the head of that persecution? 322 00:56:11,620 --> 00:56:15,240 That's Paul, who's the head, or Saul at the time. 323 00:56:15,240 --> 00:56:19,120 They traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch, 324 00:56:19,120 --> 00:56:20,720 speaking the word to no one but Jews. 325 00:56:20,720 --> 00:56:23,380 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, 326 00:56:23,380 --> 00:56:25,580 who coming to Antioch spoke to Hellenists also, 327 00:56:25,580 --> 00:56:28,360 preaching to the Lord Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them. 328 00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:30,500 And a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 329 00:56:30,500 --> 00:56:33,700 This church entire, even though it's not explicitly mentioned in Acts 11, 330 00:56:34,060 --> 00:56:36,780 This region, where this region hears the gospel 331 00:56:36,780 --> 00:56:39,800 is a direct result because Paul was persecuting the church 332 00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:41,900 and the Christians were on the run. 333 00:56:41,900 --> 00:56:44,640 This church is technically begun by Paul 334 00:56:44,640 --> 00:56:47,100 because he chased all the Christians out of Jerusalem 335 00:56:47,100 --> 00:56:48,580 and they ended up preaching here. 336 00:56:48,580 --> 00:56:52,200 And here, the same guy who displaced these families 337 00:56:52,200 --> 00:56:55,420 because of persecution is now being prayed for 338 00:56:55,420 --> 00:56:57,500 by the same people on the beach. 339 00:56:57,500 --> 00:57:00,220 Isn't that a wonderful picture of the gospel? 340 00:57:00,220 --> 00:57:02,020 Going on to Caesarea, 341 00:57:02,340 --> 00:57:04,000 We have finished the voyage from Tyre. 342 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:05,320 We arrived at Ptolemy's. 343 00:57:05,320 --> 00:57:07,380 We greeted the brothers, stayed with them for a day. 344 00:57:07,380 --> 00:57:09,300 The next day we departed and came to Caesarea. 345 00:57:09,300 --> 00:57:11,860 We entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, 346 00:57:11,860 --> 00:57:13,500 who was one of the seven, stayed with him. 347 00:57:13,500 --> 00:57:16,000 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 348 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:20,000 So we have this guy, Philip, who we've met in Acts chapter 8. 349 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:24,080 In Acts chapter, you know, there's a couple places in the early part of Acts. 350 00:57:24,080 --> 00:57:25,120 He has a good family. 351 00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:26,000 They love Jesus. 352 00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:28,700 They're telling people about Jesus. 353 00:57:28,700 --> 00:57:32,160 Do you know how Philip gets to Caesarea? 354 00:57:32,340 --> 00:57:35,820 in Acts chapter 4 and 5 355 00:57:35,820 --> 00:57:38,020 or Acts chapter 8 verses 4 and 5 356 00:57:38,020 --> 00:57:39,880 he runs when they begin 357 00:57:39,880 --> 00:57:41,080 persecuting in Jerusalem 358 00:57:41,080 --> 00:57:44,040 and he goes to Samaria and preaches the gospel there 359 00:57:44,040 --> 00:57:45,660 he'll go to a desert road 360 00:57:45,660 --> 00:57:47,000 and preach to the Ethiopian 361 00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:49,380 and after the conversion of the Ethiopian 362 00:57:49,380 --> 00:57:51,420 he's going to end up in Caesarea 363 00:57:51,420 --> 00:57:52,980 it'll say this in Acts 8.40 364 00:57:52,980 --> 00:57:55,080 Philip found himself at Azotus 365 00:57:55,080 --> 00:57:57,500 as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns 366 00:57:57,500 --> 00:57:59,160 until he came to Caesarea 367 00:57:59,160 --> 00:58:01,600 the catalyst for his move 368 00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:08,340 to Samaria and then to the road and then on preaching the gospel was that Paul has just 369 00:58:08,340 --> 00:58:13,140 killed one of his friends. It's no accident that Luke records that he was one of the seven. You 370 00:58:13,140 --> 00:58:20,540 know who else was one of the seven? Stephen, whose death Paul had approved of and sat there guarding 371 00:58:20,540 --> 00:58:26,340 the clothes of the people who were murdering him. And now this guy, Philip, with his family is going 372 00:58:26,340 --> 00:58:30,260 to invite Paul into his house. There's a lot of people I like, but I don't want them living in my 373 00:58:30,260 --> 00:58:34,220 house, right? It's like, hey, I like you. It's great. We can sit in the front yard and talk, 374 00:58:34,220 --> 00:58:40,440 but you're not staying with me, right? And here is Paul, the reason that Philip has had to leave 375 00:58:40,440 --> 00:58:45,680 Jerusalem, the reason that one of Philip's co-laborers in the gospel has been brutally 376 00:58:45,680 --> 00:58:53,820 murdered. And what happens? He's now inviting Paul into his house, letting him stay there in 377 00:58:53,820 --> 00:58:58,560 their ministry. You see how the gospel changes things? How the gospel transforms our history, 378 00:58:58,840 --> 00:59:04,080 how it allows us to forgive and to love even the most horrible things. 379 00:59:04,080 --> 00:59:07,780 The gospel changes where we are. 380 00:59:07,780 --> 00:59:11,240 And then we find in verse 15 and 16, 381 00:59:11,240 --> 00:59:13,240 after these days we were ready and went to Jerusalem. 382 00:59:13,240 --> 00:59:16,280 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, 383 00:59:16,280 --> 00:59:20,180 bringing us to the house of nation of Cyprus, 384 00:59:20,180 --> 00:59:21,900 an early disciple with whom we should lodge. 385 00:59:21,900 --> 00:59:22,480 A couple things. 386 00:59:22,480 --> 00:59:26,760 First of all, these people from Caesarea know what awaits Paul, right? 387 00:59:26,760 --> 00:59:29,920 They've had this picture from Agabus where he takes off Paul's belt, 388 00:59:29,920 --> 00:59:33,100 binds his hand, say, if you go to Jerusalem, this is what's going to happen to you. 389 00:59:33,100 --> 00:59:34,780 And they go with Paul anyway. 390 00:59:34,780 --> 00:59:37,220 And they get to the house of this guy, Nation. 391 00:59:37,220 --> 00:59:40,880 We don't know a lot about him, although the church in the past, 392 00:59:40,880 --> 00:59:44,480 like the 13th, 14th, 15th centuries, really liked this guy 393 00:59:44,480 --> 00:59:45,780 because he's a picture of hospitality. 394 00:59:45,780 --> 00:59:50,000 Some will identify him with those 72 that Jesus sends out. 395 00:59:50,000 --> 00:59:53,940 Some will say he's converted on the day of Pentecost, likely this guy, 396 00:59:53,940 --> 00:59:55,740 because he's an early believer. 397 00:59:56,760 --> 00:59:58,640 He's been around the church a long time. 398 00:59:58,640 --> 01:00:04,920 He's also experienced the persecution or seen the persecution of Saul who has become Paul. 399 01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:09,320 And now Paul gets to Jerusalem and he stays in his house. 400 01:00:09,320 --> 01:00:13,220 These people are glad to see Paul. 401 01:00:13,220 --> 01:00:16,600 And I don't think it's one of those things where they're just glad that he's there. 402 01:00:16,600 --> 01:00:17,960 Or they pretend he's glad that he's there. 403 01:00:17,960 --> 01:00:20,260 And then as soon as he leaves, they're like, man, I'm glad that guy is gone. 404 01:00:20,260 --> 01:00:26,220 You find this picture of true emotion, true love, and true care by the church. 405 01:00:26,760 --> 01:00:32,000 You see, the gospel brings people together, and they help us, they comfort us, 406 01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:36,340 they walk with us together, even when we have this kind of broken history. 407 01:00:36,340 --> 01:00:41,040 And I want you to see that God can use you, that God can heal some of these broken wounds, 408 01:00:41,040 --> 01:00:47,340 that God can change what has happened in the past, and he can bring you into the church. 409 01:00:47,340 --> 01:00:52,540 And so we see the first treasure in this text are these gospel-transformed relationships. 410 01:00:53,020 --> 01:00:57,700 Secondly, we kind of get this glimpse of a warning and correction in the text. 411 01:00:57,700 --> 01:01:01,120 Now, in general, most of us don't like to be corrected. 412 01:01:01,120 --> 01:01:04,440 Most of us don't like to be told that we're doing wrong. 413 01:01:04,440 --> 01:01:07,440 In fact, our instinct, when somebody tells us we're doing something wrong, 414 01:01:07,440 --> 01:01:12,380 we like to justify or try to explain why we're doing the thing that we're doing. 415 01:01:12,380 --> 01:01:14,460 And so we struggle a little bit with that. 416 01:01:14,460 --> 01:01:18,720 And so you might say, how is being corrected something that we should treasure? 417 01:01:19,500 --> 01:01:25,100 And what we find is when we are corrected by God, it is a picture of His love toward us. 418 01:01:25,100 --> 01:01:30,320 In Hebrews, the 12th chapter, it talks about how God corrects us in His sons. 419 01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:31,160 And it says this, 420 01:01:31,160 --> 01:01:34,720 For at the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, 421 01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:39,640 but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 422 01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:42,880 The correction for us reminds us of God's love. 423 01:01:42,880 --> 01:01:45,180 It reminds us that He seeks our good. 424 01:01:45,760 --> 01:01:49,460 And so what we find here in Acts chapter 21, 425 01:01:49,460 --> 01:01:53,080 in verse 4 and around verse 12, 426 01:01:53,080 --> 01:01:57,560 is there's a place that has been a disagreement in the church. 427 01:01:57,560 --> 01:02:00,680 And if you remember, as Brent was reading in verse 4, 428 01:02:00,680 --> 01:02:03,380 it talks about how they prophesied about the Holy Spirit, 429 01:02:03,380 --> 01:02:05,840 and they tried to keep Paul from going to Jerusalem. 430 01:02:05,840 --> 01:02:09,720 It says this, verse 4, 431 01:02:09,720 --> 01:02:12,380 Having sought out the disciples, we stayed for seven days. 432 01:02:12,380 --> 01:02:15,000 Through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 433 01:02:15,760 --> 01:02:17,100 And then in verses 10 through 14, 434 01:02:17,100 --> 01:02:18,620 when we were staying for many days, 435 01:02:18,620 --> 01:02:21,220 a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea, 436 01:02:21,220 --> 01:02:22,700 coming to us, he took Paul's belt, 437 01:02:22,700 --> 01:02:24,660 bound his own feet and hands, 438 01:02:24,660 --> 01:02:26,020 and said, thus says the Holy Spirit, 439 01:02:26,020 --> 01:02:27,740 this is how the Jews of Jerusalem 440 01:02:27,740 --> 01:02:29,260 will bind the man who owns the belt, 441 01:02:29,260 --> 01:02:30,820 deliver him to the hands of the Gentiles. 442 01:02:30,820 --> 01:02:32,200 When we heard this, 443 01:02:32,200 --> 01:02:34,440 the people urged him not to go to Jerusalem. 444 01:02:34,440 --> 01:02:36,340 So the question is, 445 01:02:36,340 --> 01:02:38,280 is Paul here ignoring 446 01:02:38,280 --> 01:02:40,500 what God is trying to tell him, right? 447 01:02:40,500 --> 01:02:42,140 The church is saying, don't go to Jerusalem, 448 01:02:42,140 --> 01:02:43,000 don't go to Jerusalem. 449 01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:43,880 And Paul says, guess what? 450 01:02:44,000 --> 01:02:45,880 I'm going to Jerusalem. 451 01:02:45,880 --> 01:02:47,980 Now, I would say this. 452 01:02:47,980 --> 01:02:52,040 Paul has had some experience in his life listening to the Holy Spirit. 453 01:02:52,040 --> 01:02:54,440 Especially when the Holy Spirit says no. 454 01:02:54,440 --> 01:02:59,240 For example, in Acts chapter 16, you remember when they're going through Perga and Galatia, 455 01:02:59,240 --> 01:03:03,220 they're forbidden to speak by the Holy Spirit, speak the word in ages. 456 01:03:03,220 --> 01:03:03,800 They don't. 457 01:03:03,800 --> 01:03:04,840 They came to Mycenae. 458 01:03:04,840 --> 01:03:06,020 They attempted to go into Bithynia. 459 01:03:06,020 --> 01:03:08,260 The Spirit says, no, don't do that. 460 01:03:08,260 --> 01:03:08,840 And so they listen. 461 01:03:08,840 --> 01:03:12,260 So Paul has obeyed the Spirit before. 462 01:03:13,600 --> 01:03:16,260 Paul also knows that this suffering is in his future. 463 01:03:16,260 --> 01:03:21,080 In fact, Ananias, in Acts 9, God will say to him this, 464 01:03:21,080 --> 01:03:25,400 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. 465 01:03:25,400 --> 01:03:27,720 Paul knows what's ahead of him. 466 01:03:27,720 --> 01:03:29,680 Additionally, in Acts 20, 467 01:03:29,680 --> 01:03:33,500 Behold, I go to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit, 468 01:03:33,500 --> 01:03:35,480 not knowing what will happen to me there. 469 01:03:35,480 --> 01:03:38,420 Paul says, the Spirit is sending me to Jerusalem. 470 01:03:38,420 --> 01:03:43,440 And in chapter 19, Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia 471 01:03:43,440 --> 01:03:50,180 and Achaia and go to Jerusalem saying after I've been there I must see Rome. So Paul I don't think 472 01:03:50,180 --> 01:03:56,140 is ignoring what the Holy Spirit is telling him and I also don't think that the Spirit is telling 473 01:03:56,140 --> 01:04:02,940 Paul one thing and the church the other thing. I think the problem is that we struggle to 474 01:04:02,940 --> 01:04:11,080 differentiate between what God says and what we want. We struggle with our desires coming into 475 01:04:11,080 --> 01:04:16,740 alignment with the Word of God. And what you find, especially in the second section, where Luke sort 476 01:04:16,740 --> 01:04:21,220 of fleshes out what happens. The prophet Agabus comes and says, this is what they're going to do 477 01:04:21,220 --> 01:04:25,400 to you in Jerusalem. Takes off Paul's belt, binds his own hands, his feet, says this is what they're 478 01:04:25,400 --> 01:04:30,220 going to do to you. He doesn't make any judgment about whether Paul should go or not. But look at 479 01:04:30,220 --> 01:04:35,260 what the church says. The church hears what's going to happen, and they say, we don't want you to go. 480 01:04:35,260 --> 01:04:40,200 You see, the issue here is not, is Paul listening to the Holy Spirit? Is Paul not listening to the 481 01:04:40,200 --> 01:04:44,780 Holy Spirit? Is Paul being contradicting, you know, this Holy Spirit contradicting himself? 482 01:04:44,780 --> 01:04:52,980 The issue here is that we as Christians struggle when it comes to following our desires and 483 01:04:52,980 --> 01:04:57,840 following what God has said. And the church here, and it's an understandable reaction. 484 01:04:57,840 --> 01:05:02,800 And Paul understands this reaction because when he's going through and he's going by Ephesus, 485 01:05:02,800 --> 01:05:07,140 he won't go to the city of Ephesus because he knows it's going to be too hard for him to leave. 486 01:05:07,140 --> 01:05:13,800 So he calls the church to come to him because he knows if he goes there, he's going to be overwhelmed with emotion and not be able to leave. 487 01:05:13,800 --> 01:05:20,540 And in fact, in our text this morning, it says, verse 13, what are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? 488 01:05:20,540 --> 01:05:25,480 For I'm ready not only to be in prison, but even to die in Jerusalem. 489 01:05:25,480 --> 01:05:28,580 Paul is not angry when he says those things. 490 01:05:28,580 --> 01:05:34,220 He's overwhelmed by the love of the church, but he's standing firm in the truth. 491 01:05:34,220 --> 01:05:37,640 Because all of us have this desire to choose what we want. 492 01:05:37,640 --> 01:05:39,200 And the church doesn't want Paul to suffer. 493 01:05:39,200 --> 01:05:40,980 They don't want him to be arrested. 494 01:05:40,980 --> 01:05:43,260 They don't want him to face those trials. 495 01:05:43,260 --> 01:05:45,920 And God says that's what's in store for him. 496 01:05:45,920 --> 01:05:48,900 John Stott says this. 497 01:05:48,900 --> 01:05:57,660 Luke's statement is a condensed way of saying that the warning is divine, but the urging was human. 498 01:05:57,660 --> 01:06:02,620 You say, well, how does this whole thing with Paul and the Holy Spirit apply to me? 499 01:06:03,320 --> 01:06:09,380 We have the same tendency that these Christians in these two towns have. 500 01:06:09,380 --> 01:06:16,400 Where we, so many times, rather than hearing and submitting to the Word of God, we seek. 501 01:06:16,400 --> 01:06:18,480 And they're doing it out of good motives, right? 502 01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:19,420 They don't want Paul to suffer. 503 01:06:19,420 --> 01:06:25,800 But we would seek our own desires, maybe our own comfort over following the Word of God. 504 01:06:25,800 --> 01:06:32,480 And this example, I think, stands as a warning to us, or in some cases even stronger, as a correction. 505 01:06:32,980 --> 01:06:36,980 to evaluate where it is we are following ourselves and our desires 506 01:06:36,980 --> 01:06:41,240 rather than listening and being anchored by the Word of God. 507 01:06:41,240 --> 01:06:42,980 It's not an easy treasure, 508 01:06:42,980 --> 01:06:45,860 but it's an important one to differentiate 509 01:06:45,860 --> 01:06:50,460 between what God has said and what we desire. 510 01:06:50,460 --> 01:06:54,840 Nobody wants what is about to happen to Paul. 511 01:06:54,840 --> 01:06:57,300 In verse 13, Paul says, 512 01:06:57,300 --> 01:06:59,720 Guys, you've got to stop crying and weeping 513 01:06:59,720 --> 01:07:03,040 because I can't handle dealing with that. 514 01:07:03,040 --> 01:07:05,120 The third treasure we find 515 01:07:05,120 --> 01:07:08,140 is that God uses all things for good. 516 01:07:08,140 --> 01:07:12,180 There's emotion and sadness in this text. 517 01:07:12,180 --> 01:07:13,980 Paul knows what's in front of him. 518 01:07:13,980 --> 01:07:15,020 He's been told about it. 519 01:07:15,020 --> 01:07:17,700 You might say, well, how does God use 520 01:07:17,700 --> 01:07:18,980 the suffering and imprisonment of Paul? 521 01:07:18,980 --> 01:07:20,140 Let me just give you a couple examples. 522 01:07:20,140 --> 01:07:23,080 Paul is going to be given the opportunity 523 01:07:23,080 --> 01:07:24,700 to preach Jesus from Jerusalem 524 01:07:24,700 --> 01:07:25,940 all the way to Rome. 525 01:07:25,940 --> 01:07:29,180 Frequently before powerful political leaders 526 01:07:29,180 --> 01:07:31,400 and their advisors and their courts. 527 01:07:31,400 --> 01:07:33,200 And Paul will stand up to give a defense 528 01:07:33,200 --> 01:07:35,320 and he's going to preach a sermon about Jesus 529 01:07:35,320 --> 01:07:37,240 all the way to Rome. 530 01:07:37,240 --> 01:07:42,020 And his protection is going to be cared for 531 01:07:42,020 --> 01:07:43,240 by the Roman government. 532 01:07:43,240 --> 01:07:45,080 During his imprisonment in Rome, 533 01:07:45,080 --> 01:07:48,680 Paul will write Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. 534 01:07:48,680 --> 01:07:52,100 These letters that have encouraged and strengthened the church 535 01:07:52,100 --> 01:07:55,760 in so many ways throughout the centuries of Christianity 536 01:07:55,760 --> 01:07:58,540 are written while Paul is imprisoned in Rome. 537 01:07:58,640 --> 01:08:00,400 And then in Philippians 1, you find this. 538 01:08:00,400 --> 01:08:04,700 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has served to advance the gospel. 539 01:08:04,700 --> 01:08:09,220 So it has become known throughout the whole imperial or praetorian guard. 540 01:08:09,220 --> 01:08:11,540 And to the rest, am I imprisoned? 541 01:08:11,540 --> 01:08:16,180 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, 542 01:08:16,180 --> 01:08:19,380 are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 543 01:08:19,380 --> 01:08:22,840 And Paul says, even in prison, God is using this. 544 01:08:22,840 --> 01:08:25,340 He's chained to a Roman soldier from the praetorian guard. 545 01:08:25,840 --> 01:08:30,000 And as he writes, as he teaches, as he preaches, he literally has a captive audience. 546 01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:33,020 Which is kind of a funny turn of events that God does. 547 01:08:33,020 --> 01:08:36,600 They think Paul is the captive, but Paul is preaching the gospel. 548 01:08:36,600 --> 01:08:40,100 And the Roman soldiers who are guarding him are truly the captive. 549 01:08:40,100 --> 01:08:42,220 And they begin to know and hear Jesus. 550 01:08:42,220 --> 01:08:45,120 And Paul will say that some even become Christians, right? 551 01:08:45,120 --> 01:08:46,660 They've heard about this. 552 01:08:46,660 --> 01:08:50,640 At the end of the letter, he's going to say, some in Caesar's household greet you. 553 01:08:50,860 --> 01:08:56,780 That literally, members of Caesar's household, because of Paul's imprisonment, have become Christians. 554 01:08:56,780 --> 01:09:02,640 And additionally, other people seeing the example of Paul and his trust in God have begun to preach even more 555 01:09:02,640 --> 01:09:07,840 that God uses the imprisonment of one man, where it looks like this powerful preacher and church planter 556 01:09:07,840 --> 01:09:12,740 has been taken off the board, but God expands it, not just in Paul's influence, 557 01:09:12,740 --> 01:09:16,180 but in the fact that people in the church go out and preach even more. 558 01:09:16,760 --> 01:09:21,420 That God uses this imprisonment and this suffering of Paul 559 01:09:21,420 --> 01:09:25,340 for the good of the church and the furthering of the gospel. 560 01:09:25,340 --> 01:09:28,940 And I think the treasure we see here as Paul gets ready to go to Jerusalem 561 01:09:28,940 --> 01:09:31,900 is found in what follows next in the book of Acts. 562 01:09:31,900 --> 01:09:36,820 The fact that God works all of these things together for good. 563 01:09:36,820 --> 01:09:41,740 You see, God creates a new community among believers 564 01:09:41,740 --> 01:09:44,940 who love each other, help each other, forgive one another. 565 01:09:46,080 --> 01:09:50,520 He calls us through his word to change how we're living, right? 566 01:09:50,520 --> 01:09:54,660 No longer following my desires, but seeking his. 567 01:09:54,660 --> 01:09:58,800 And a struggle that will be ongoing until the day that we see him. 568 01:09:58,800 --> 01:10:05,080 We must constantly, as Paul, as this picture sort of warns us, not to mix the two up. 569 01:10:05,080 --> 01:10:09,140 But we also see that as we face the darkness and struggles of life, 570 01:10:09,140 --> 01:10:14,240 that God can use those in a powerful way for our good, for the good of the church, 571 01:10:14,740 --> 01:10:16,580 and for the good of the kingdom. 572 01:10:16,580 --> 01:10:17,520 Let's pray. 573 01:10:17,520 --> 01:10:21,020 Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus. 574 01:10:21,020 --> 01:10:22,320 I thank you for grace. 575 01:10:22,320 --> 01:10:26,460 I thank you for the hope that you give us through him. 576 01:10:26,460 --> 01:10:29,980 So help us this morning as we consider Paul's journey, 577 01:10:29,980 --> 01:10:33,240 and we consider this wonderful picture of Christian community, 578 01:10:33,240 --> 01:10:41,260 as we are warned by the example to not put our desires ahead of what you have said. 579 01:10:42,040 --> 01:10:44,500 Help us as we look to the future not to be discouraged, 580 01:10:44,500 --> 01:10:45,800 but to know that you are at work. 581 01:10:45,800 --> 01:10:48,080 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 582 01:10:48,080 --> 01:10:52,260 We're going to go ahead and stand and sing 583 01:10:52,260 --> 01:10:53,840 How Great is Our God. 584 01:11:12,040 --> 01:11:23,020 Oh, the majesty, that all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice. 585 01:11:23,020 --> 01:11:40,640 He wraps himself in light, and darkness tries to hide, and trembles at his voice, and trembles at his voice. 586 01:11:40,640 --> 01:11:46,100 How great is our God 587 01:11:46,100 --> 01:11:48,220 Sing with me 588 01:11:48,220 --> 01:11:51,920 How great is our God 589 01:11:51,920 --> 01:11:56,140 Oh, see how great 590 01:11:56,140 --> 01:12:02,140 How great is our God 591 01:12:02,140 --> 01:12:09,620 And page to page he stands 592 01:12:09,620 --> 01:12:15,620 And time is in His hands 593 01:12:15,620 --> 01:12:18,220 Beginning and the end 594 01:12:18,220 --> 01:12:21,160 Beginning and the end 595 01:12:21,160 --> 01:12:27,040 The Godhead dream and one 596 01:12:27,040 --> 01:12:32,860 Father, Spirit, Son 597 01:12:32,860 --> 01:12:35,760 The Lion and the Lamb 598 01:12:35,760 --> 01:12:38,960 The Lion and the Lamb 599 01:12:38,960 --> 01:12:44,620 How great is our God 600 01:12:44,620 --> 01:12:46,700 Sing to me 601 01:12:46,700 --> 01:12:50,440 How great is our God 602 01:12:50,440 --> 01:12:54,480 Oh, see how great 603 01:12:54,480 --> 01:12:59,600 How great is our God 604 01:12:59,600 --> 01:13:08,040 How great is our God 605 01:13:08,040 --> 01:13:13,960 Sing with me how great is our God 606 01:13:13,960 --> 01:13:24,380 Oh, see how great, how great is our God 607 01:13:24,380 --> 01:13:32,220 Name above all names 608 01:13:32,220 --> 01:13:38,000 Worthy of all praise 609 01:13:38,000 --> 01:13:41,760 My heart will sing 610 01:13:41,760 --> 01:13:47,980 How great is our God 611 01:13:47,980 --> 01:13:55,640 Name above all names 612 01:13:55,640 --> 01:14:01,420 Worthy of all praise 613 01:14:01,420 --> 01:14:05,160 My heart will sing 614 01:14:05,160 --> 01:14:11,660 How great is our God 615 01:14:11,660 --> 01:14:18,400 How great is our God 616 01:14:18,400 --> 01:14:20,500 Sing with me 617 01:14:20,500 --> 01:14:24,260 How great is our God 618 01:14:24,260 --> 01:14:28,200 Oh, we'll see how great 619 01:14:28,200 --> 01:14:33,720 How great is our God 620 01:14:41,660 --> 01:14:48,460 A couple of announcements as we get ready to close. 621 01:14:48,460 --> 01:14:50,320 We'll be here Wednesday night. 622 01:14:50,320 --> 01:14:52,600 We are in 2 Thessalonians. 623 01:14:52,600 --> 01:14:56,300 We were going to start this last week, 624 01:14:56,300 --> 01:14:58,300 but with sickness and everything, 625 01:14:58,300 --> 01:15:00,060 we pushed it back to this week. 626 01:15:00,060 --> 01:15:01,200 We're going to talk about Paul 627 01:15:01,200 --> 01:15:04,400 as he began sort of his Thanksgiving section of the letter 628 01:15:04,400 --> 01:15:06,400 where he talks about things that he is thankful for. 629 01:15:06,400 --> 01:15:11,360 But in doing that, he also encourages a struggling church. 630 01:15:11,480 --> 01:15:15,140 And so it's an encouraging section of the book of 2 Thessalonians, 631 01:15:15,140 --> 01:15:16,980 and we are here 7 p.m. 632 01:15:16,980 --> 01:15:22,400 Also, this Thursday at 1 p.m., this is the Ladies' Bible Study. 633 01:15:22,400 --> 01:15:27,200 They meet the first and third Thursday of the month, and it's already May. 634 01:15:27,200 --> 01:15:29,740 We're coming up on the first Thursday this week. 635 01:15:29,740 --> 01:15:32,400 That's here at the church at 1 p.m. 636 01:15:32,400 --> 01:15:35,520 So I'm going to go ahead and pray, read a section of Scripture, 637 01:15:35,520 --> 01:15:39,640 and then we will sing the doxology and be dismissed. 638 01:15:40,160 --> 01:15:42,220 Father in heaven, I thank you for your word. 639 01:15:42,220 --> 01:15:43,300 I thank you for your church. 640 01:15:43,300 --> 01:15:49,600 I thank you for how you take our brokenness and turn it into something that is good. 641 01:15:49,600 --> 01:15:52,680 So help us to fix our eyes on you and to put our hope in you. 642 01:15:52,680 --> 01:15:54,940 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 643 01:15:54,940 --> 01:16:01,900 I'm just going to read a verse we read earlier from the 70th Psalm, verse 8 and 9. 644 01:16:01,900 --> 01:16:05,200 And then I want to read the very last verse of the chapter. 645 01:16:05,820 --> 01:16:12,220 let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wonderful works to the children of man 646 01:16:12,220 --> 01:16:17,260 for he satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things and 647 01:16:17,260 --> 01:16:21,740 the psalmist ends this way whoever is wise let him attend to these things 648 01:16:21,740 --> 01:16:25,120 Let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. 649 01:16:25,120 --> 01:16:39,080 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 650 01:16:39,080 --> 01:16:44,020 Praise Him, all creatures here below. 651 01:16:44,020 --> 01:16:50,100 Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. 652 01:16:50,720 --> 01:16:55,740 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.