SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”
TEXT: ACTS 21:1-36
TITLE: “JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM: A Lesson on the Will of God”
INTRODUCTION: A. When Courtney was 3 or 4 years old, we made a trip to King’s
Island. There was a children’s ride that looked like a locomotive. The
track it traveled wound through some trees and curved around a pretty
long path. Brandon would have been 8 or 9 and he rode along with
her.
As the ride started, Courtney turned around to us and yelled, “See
ya later. We’re goin’ on a journey!”
--Although the locomotive traveled along the track for quite awhile, it
ended back where it started.
1. There are a lot of people who believe they are actually going
somewhere but their life is actually a dead-end.
2. We either journey in this life in a way that follows God’s will or we
journey outside of God’s will.
a. One way leads us to abundant life here on earth and everlasting
life in heaven
b. The other leads to confusion and unfulfillment here on earth and
to eternal punishment in hell.
c. Prov. 14:12 – “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the
end it leads to death.”
B. About 2000 years ago, approximately 20 years before Paul made his
final journey to Jerusalem, Jesus Christ made His final journey to
Jerusalem.
--We remember and celebrate that event on a day we call Palm Sunday
1. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of the colt of a donkey to the
cheers of the people who laid their coats and palm branches down for
Him to ride over
--much like our “red carpet treatment”
2. They all shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name
of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David!
Hosanna in the highest!”
3. The next time Jesus heard the crowd, they were shouting, “Crucify
Him! Crucify Him!”
C. Paul’s final trip to Jerusalem paralleled Jesus’ in several ways:
1. Jesus was knew the purpose for His life
--Paul also knew the purpose for his life
2. Jesus knew what would happen when He went to Jerusalem
--Paul also knew what would happen when he went to Jerusalem
3. Jesus followed the will of His Father
--Paul also followed the will of the Father
D. Acts 21:1-36 – “After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put
out to sea and sailed straight to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes
and from there to Patara. We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,
went on board and set sail. After sighting Cyprus and passing to the
south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship
was to unload its cargo. Finding the disciples there, we stayed with
them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to
Jerusalem. But when our time was up, we left and continued on our
way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out
of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. After saying good-
by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home. We
continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we
greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day. Leaving the next
day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the
evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four 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, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, The Holy
Spirit says, In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of
this belt and will 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 Paul 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 and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’ After this, we got ready and
went up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea
accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we
were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of The next day Paul
and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.
Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the
Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised
God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands
of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They
have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the
Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their
children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They
will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There
are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in
their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have
their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in
these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience
to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our
decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from
blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual
immorality.’
The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them.
Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of
purification would end and the offering would be made for each of
them. When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the
province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole
crowd and seized him, shouting, ‘Men of Israel, help us! This is the
man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law
and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple
area and defiled this holy place.’ (They had previously seen
Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul
had brought him into the temple area.) The whole city was aroused,
and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they
dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.
While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of
the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd.
When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped
beating Paul. The commander came up and arrested him and ordered
him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what
he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,
and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the
uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul
reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be
carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Away
with him!’”
--Let’s see what we can discover about God’s will and living life
focused on accomplishing God’s will
I. GOD’S WILL IS SOMETIMES HARD TO UNDERSTAND – BE OBEDIENT
--Two of the most difficult and perplexing elements of being a Christian are finding and
understanding God’s will
A. Finding God’s will
--two parts to God’s will
1. Universal will of God – God’s will for everyone
a. A.k.a. the “revealed” will of God
--We can go to the Bible to discover what God’s universal and revealed will is for
everyone
b. Not always easy to do
--It takes some time to familiarize yourself with the Bible and then some more time
to be able to truly study what it says
2. The particular will of God – His desire concerning specific decisions made by
individuals
--Who should I marry? Where should I go to college? What decision glorifies God
best in this business opportunity? What should I do in this certain situation?
a. Discovering the particular will of God is sometimes more difficult than discovering
the universal will of God
1). It takes not only a thorough searching of the Bible, but a thorough searching of
self.
2). Involves talking to God in prayer and asking Him for what He wants then
listening to what He’s going to say.
b. The problem is that usually we’re busy telling God what we want and just assume
it’s what He wants
--We’re not willing to take the time to listen to Him
B. Some observations concerning the will of God
1. If I were God, I’d probably allow good people (like the apostle Paul) to live to be at
least a hundred and cause wicked people to die at an early age
a. Yet, for some reason, God allows fine Christian people to die at an early age
--sometimes right in the prime of life
b. And for some reason, He allows wicked people to live to a ripe old age
2. If I were God, I wouldn’t allow children to die of horrible diseases and starvation. I
would bring all the plagues in my power to fall on those who are evil and perpetrate
some of the horrible things that happen to innocent children and very fine Christian
people.
--Yet, for some reason, God allows the “rain to fall on just and the unjust” and brings
material and physical blessing to those who don’t deserve it.
C. Let’s hear what the Bible has to say:
1. Dt. 29:29a – “The secret things belong to the LORD our God…”
2. Is. 55:8-9 – “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your way my ways,’
declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
3. Ps. 115:30 – “Our God is in heaven. He does whatever pleases him.”
4. God knows what direction He is moving things and can see things that our eyes can’t
see and understands thing that our minds can’t understand.
a. All He asks is that we trust Him and be obedient
b. There’s a story about a man who owned nine cats. One of the neighbors came by to
visit and noticed that there were nine separate pet doors cut into various places in one
of the walls. The neighbor was kind of confused and asked the fellow, “Why can’t
all the cats use the same door?”
The man responded, “When I say, ‘SCAT!’, I mean, SCAT!”
--The old fellow expected obedience and he provided ways for them to be obedient
D. Sometimes obedience means life or death
1. A missionary to India told about an incidence involving his young son while they
were on the mission field. India has one of the largest populations of poisonous snakes
and you always have to be on the lookout for them.
One day, the missionary went to check on his small son who was playing underneath
a tree. As he walked toward the tree, the missionary could see one of those very
poisonous and aggressive snakes in the tree ready to drop down on his son.
The missionary stopped in his tracks and called his son’s name. He then said, “Son, I
want you to listen closely and do just what I say. Very carefully and very slowly, get
down on your knees and crawl slowly toward me.” The boy did so. The missionary
then said, “When I say, ‘Now!’ I want you to jump up and run to me as fast as you can.”
When the father gave the command, the young boy jumped up and ran as fast as he
could to his father. The boy didn’t know about the snake, but when he got to his dad,
he turned him toward the tree just in time for the snake to hit the ground where the boy
had been playing.
The missionary commented, “My son’s obedience to my will saved his life. We, as
Christians, need to heed the voice of our heavenly Father. It was my son’s trust in me
that precipitated his obedience. How much do you trust God?”
2. Jesus set the example for us in the Garden at Gethsemane
a. Mt. 26:39 – “My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I
will, but as you will.”
b. Phil 2:5-8 – “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but
made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
II. GOD’S WILL SOMETIMES INVOLVES DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES – BE COURAGEOUS
A. God has never promised an easy way
1. In fact, Jesus said in Mt. 7:13-14 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the
gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
2. Listen to what Jesus said to Ananias when he sent him to see Saul of Tarsus. Saul is
waiting in Damascus after an encounter with Jesus on the road to that city. He’s blind
and anticipating a promised visit
--Acts 9:15-16 – “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen
instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kinds and before the
people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
B. Think back on how many of God’s servants had to suffer through difficult experiences:
1. Joseph – sold into slavery by jealous brothers, taken to Egypt and sold again, made
head servant over Potiphar’s house, falsely accused of attempted rape by Potiphar’s
wife, sent to prison for a number of years before becoming second-in-command of all
of Egypt.
2. Elijah – pursued, pestered, and persecuted by Ahab and Jezebel
3. Job – lost his children and his wealth, afflicted by boils and sores from head to toe, left
only with a faithless wife and fickle friends
4. Jesus – taunted, tortured and crucified for our sins
--Is. 53:3 describes Him this way: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of
sorrows, and familiar with suffering…”
5. We can consistently do what is right in the eyes of God and still be treated wrongly at
the hands of the world
C. Jesus addressed this matter of taking courage while facing difficult circumstances when
He spoke to the disciples about His pending death and about the suffering they would face
for being His witnesses:
1. Jn. 16:33 – “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
2. The Greek word translated “take heart” means literally “have courage; be bold”
3. George W. Truett: “To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge; to do the will
of God is the greatest achievement.”
--Then he added: “The will of God is not always easy, but it it is always right.”
III. GOD’S WILL ALWAYS INVOLVES A BLESSING – BE CONFIDENT
A. God can take any circumstance and make it a blessing
1. Joseph: Gen.
2. Jer. 29:11 – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
3. Rom. 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
B. A.M. Overton:
My Father’s way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache;
But in my soul I’m glad to know
He maketh no mistake.
My cherished plans may go astray
My hopes may fade away;
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way
Tho’ night be dark as it may seem
That day will never break;
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him
He maketh no mistake
There’s so much now I cannot see
My eyesight’s far too dim;
But come what may I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him
For by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He’ll make
Through all the way, tho’ dark to me
He made not one mistake.
C. God knows what He’s doing
1. Through Paul’s imprisonment, he got to witness to people he never would have been
able to see – Roman governors, kings, and even members of Caesar’s household, as
well as soldiers in the Roman army.
--Some of Paul’s most cherished letters were written while he was in prison
2. Through His imprisonment and death, Jesus Christ blessed us with forgiveness of sins
and the ability to commune directly with God the Father
--His death also provided us the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit
3. Even when we can’t see it, even when Satan tries to convince us that God doesn’t care
and that we’re left all alone God is working to bring a blessing!
CONCLUSION: A. Volleyball was introduced as an Olympic sport in the 1964 Tokyo
games. A Japanese women’s team was chosen to represent their nation for
the event. Hirofumi Daimatsu, their coach, put the women through a
grueling training program that resembled a Marine boot camp. The six day
a week training program was quite brutal on the women both
physically and mentally. Daimatsu, in fact, was trying to utterly break the
women. He promised them two things: those who could not survive would
be released from the team, but those who did would win the Olympic gold
medal.
The training, however, did pay off and they eventually did win the
gold. When they stood to receive their medals every woman was crying.
“It was a glorious moment,” said team captain Masae Kasai. “We all cried
for two reasons. We had won the gold medal and had fulfilled our
expectations and that of the Japanese people. Even more, we cried because
this would be our last game together, and even though we had been
through so much pain and anguish it was worth it. I’m sure we would all
do it again.”
1. Even though their journey had been difficult, those women would have
gone through it again for the prize of the gold.
2. At times, our spiritual journey is difficult, but in the end we’re promised
a gold crown if we are faithful.
B. Because Paul was obedient to the point of death, the gospel reached areas
it had never been before and moved to the highest levels of society and he
was given a crown of life at the end of his journey
1. Maybe you’re here this evening confused and hurting, wondering where
the will of God is in the circumstances you’re facing
2. Spend a lot of time in God’s Word and in prayer with Him and when
you hear that still, small voice, be courageously obedient and God will
bless you.
3. If you’re confused and hurting and outside of Christ this evening, the
first step in getting in touch with the will of God for you life is to
commit you life to Christ
--be obedient to Him in faith, repentance, confessions, baptism – putting
yourself in submission to Him.
