Acts 21:1-16 - Following the Spirit to the End
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Courage is the choice to move forward despite the danger.
The Prussian king, Frederick the Great, was an agnostic, which means that if God existed at all, Frederick the Great believed he was unknowable.
General Von Zealand, one of his most trusted officers, was, however, a devout Christian.
Von Zealand had courageously fought and won 38 battles for King Frederick.
He understood the danger and moved forward time and time again in service to his king…
…but one evening General Von Zealand face a different sort of anger.
King Frederick was hosting a dinner party, a festive gathering with surely many in attendance, and the king, agnostic as he was, began to make crude jokes about Christ.
There General Von Zealand sat, King Frederick making his profane jokes about Jesus, everyone rocking with laughter… what would General Von Zealand do?
He knew the danger, to rebuke the king publicly could mean grave consequence for Von Zealand, but to stay silent while Christ was mocked… wouldn’t that be giving quiet approval to their mockery? Wouldn’t that be in essence a denial of Christ before men?
Understanding the danger, General Von Zealand courageously moved forward. He stood and said to the king, “Sire, you know I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sire, as an old man who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity.”
The place went silent, and with a trembling voice the king replied, “General Von Zealand—I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!”
Don’t you want to be a courageous disciple of Jesus Christ? Don’t you want to stand for him? Don’t you want to follow him forward despite the risk?
Church history is full of courageous disciples like General Von Zealand, but there never was a more courageous disciple of Jesus than the Apostle Paul.
[CONTEXT] By the time we reach Acts 21 in the life of Paul, he has been following Jesus, preaching the Gospel. and making disciples for about 20 years. In that time, he has been threatened, arrested, stoned, and left for dead, but despite the danger Paul kept moving forward—preaching the Gospel and making disciples.
And now Paul is headed up to Jerusalem to deliver aid to the poor Jewish Christians in the Holy City, and the Holy Spirit has revealed to him that even more danger lies ahead.
What will this courageous disciple of Jesus Christ do?
Let’s read Acts 21:1-16…
[READING - Acts 21:1-16]
1 When we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; 2 and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. 6 Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again. 7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting the brethren, we stayed with them for a day. 8 On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. 10 As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” 12 When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!” 15 After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge.
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] As I said, Paul is on the way to deliver aid to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. After that, he has plans to preach the Gospel in Rome and then in Spain, but the Holy Spirit has testified that what awaits him ahead is bonds and afflictions.
[CIT] Acts 21:1-16 shows us the courage of the Apostle Paul as he moves forward despite the danger.
[PROP] This is what the courageous disciple of Jesus does: he moves forward in obedience to Christ despite the danger.
[INTER] But how do disciples of Jesus do this, and why do they do it?
[TS] If you would be a courageous disciple of Jesus, learn these LESSONS…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
LESSON #1: The Courageous Disciple follows the Holy Spirit (Acts 21:4, 11)
LESSON #1: The Courageous Disciple follows the Holy Spirit (Acts 21:4, 11)
4 After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.
11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
[EXP] Was the Holy Spirit telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem?
We might get that understanding from v. 4 where “through the Spirit” where the believers at Tyre begged Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.
We might also get that impression from v. 11 where the prophet Agabus (whom we saw earlier in Acts) symbolically demonstrated that Paul would be bound the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles; this, Agabus said, was the message of the Holy Spirit.
But it can’t be that the Spirit was warning Paul not to go to Jerusalem because in Acts 19:21, Paul purposed in the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem.
And in Acts 20:22-23, Paul says this…
22 “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
The Holy Spirit was telling everyone the same thing: When Paul goes to Jerusalem, persecution awaits!
The Holy Spirit told Paul that in Acts 20:22-23.
The Holy Spirit told the Christians at Tyre that in Acts 21:4.
The Holy Spirit told the believers at Caesarea that through the prophet Agabus in Acts 21:11.
But when the believers in Tyre and Caesarea heard what the Spirit had already revealed to Paul, they took it as a warning against Paul going to Jerusalem, so as Luke says in Acts 21:12…
12 When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.
But Paul was knowingly following the Holy Spirit into a hard place because that is where the Spirit was leading.
[ILLUS] The great evangelist of yesteryear, D. L. Moody, was set to have a campaign in England. A local pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated and inexperienced. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”
Another pastor responded, “No sir, but the Holy Spirit does have a monopoly on Mr. Moody.”
The Holy Spirit also had a monopoly on the Apostle Paul.
[APP] Does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on me? Does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on you? Will we follow His lead even if He leads into hard places? What if He leads into unsafe places? Into painful places? Will we follow Him then?
Do we have the spiritual courage to say to the Holy Spirit, “Wherever you lead me, I’ll follow”?
If the Holy Spirit truly has a monopoly on us as He had on the Apostle Paul then we will.
[TS] The courageous disciples follows the Holy Spirit.
LESSON #2: The Courageous Disciple lives for the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 21:13)
LESSON #2: The Courageous Disciple lives for the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 21:13)
13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
[EXP] Paul was following the Spirit into persecution. Why would Paul knowingly do that? The answer is here in v. 13, “for the name of the Lord Jesus.” The ‘name’ stands for the person; Paul was following the Spirit into persecution for Jesus, i.e., so that Jesus would be glorified.
The Holy Spirit’s primary purpose is to shine the light on Jesus as the Son of God, to shine the light on Jesus as the Christ, to reveal Jesus as the anointed Savior whose death and resurrection has reconciled us to God. In John 15:26, Jesus said…
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
Paul knew that if the Spirit was leading him to Jerusalem where he would be bound by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles, it was so that the light would somehow, someway shine on Jesus.
This is why Paul was willing to follow the Spirit into this hard place—so that the light would shine on Jesus, so that others would hear the message of salvation, so that others would turn from sin and trust in the one who lived, died, and rose again to save them.
It ought to be the commitment of every believer to follow the Holy Spirit wherever he leads, even if he leads us into hard places, because wherever he leads, Jesus Christ will be magnified.
[ILLUS] John Hus is considered the first Church reformer. He was a Czech priest who was burned at the stake in 1415. Hus emphasized the authority of Scripture and condemned the sale of indulgences and the crusades. In his most important work, titled The Church, Hus proclaims that Christ, and not the papacy, is the foundation and center of the church.
For having the audacity to teach the truth, Hus was condemned as a heretic.
Before his accusers lit the fire, they placed on his head a crown of paper with painted devils on it. He answered this mockery by saying, “My Lord, Jesus Christ, for my sake, wore a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His sake, wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do it willingly.”
After the wood was stacked up to Hus’ neck, the Duke of Bavaria asked him to renounce his preaching. Trusting completely in God’s Word, Hus replied, “In the truth of the gospel which I preached, I die willingly and joyfully today.”
The wood was ignited, and Hus died while singing, “Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, have mercy on me.”
Jan Hus followed the Spirit into a hard place; he followed the Spirit to a fiery stake, but how was Jesus magnified in the death of Jan Hus?
There are certainly many ways, but about a hundred years after the martyrdom of Jan Hus, another priest by the name of Martin Luther would come to revere the life and writings of Jan Hus and begin his own reformation work in 1519.
Influenced by Hus, Luther would proclaim as Hus did that Christ, and not the papacy, is the foundation and center of the church.
It ought to be the commitment of every believer to follow the Holy Spirit wherever he leads, even if he leads us to death, because wherever he leads—somehow, someway, even if we don’t see it in our lifetime—Jesus Christ will be magnified.
[APP] Do you understand that you are living so that someone will be magnified? Do you understand that you are living so that someone will be exalted? Do you understand that your life is shining the light on someone?
We ought to be living so that Jesus is magnified!
We ought to be living so that Jesus is exalted!
We ought to be living so that the light shines on Him!
This ought to be the case because of who Jesus is—the eternal Son of God, the fullness of deity, the image of the invisible God!
This ought to be the case because of what Jesus did—He took on flesh, lived, died, and rose from the dead for sinners like us!
This ought to be the case because of what Jesus is doing—He is praying for us, preparing a place for us in heaven, and will one day come again and so we shall always be with him!
Do you believe that this is who Jesus is?
Do you believe that this is what Jesus has done for you?
Do you believe that this is what Jesus is doing for you?
Then live for the name of Jesus Christ!
Let everyone else dream of seeing their own name in lights, you dream of seeing the name of Jesus magnified.
That’s Paul did.
That’s what every courageous disciple does.
[TS] The courageous disciple follows the Spirit.
The courageous disciple lives for the name of the Lord Jesus.
LESSON #3: The Courageous Disciple lives so that the Lord’s will is done (Acts 21:14)
LESSON #3: The Courageous Disciple lives so that the Lord’s will is done (Acts 21:14)
14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
[EXP] To everyone, Paul included, the Spirit seemed to be indicating that if Paul went up to Jerusalem, he would die. The Spirit didn’t say that exactly, but when Jesus was bound by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles, he died. It seemed only logical then that if Paul went up to Jerusalem to be bound and handed over, that he would die like his Lord.
Paul was ready to face this; he said, “For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus,” (Acts 21:13).
But recall that the believers in Tyre were not ready to face this; they warned Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem (Acts 21:4).
And the believers in Caesarea were likewise not ready to face the possibility of Paul’s death in Jerusalem; with tears they begged him not to go up to Jerusalem; the begged to such an extent that Paul said it was breaking his heart.
But Paul didn’t live so to obey the will of his fellow Christians.
Paul lived to obey the will of Christ.
When Luke and the other believers couldn’t convince Paul not to go up to Jerusalem, they fell silent, and then said, “The will of the Lord be done!” (Acts 21:14)
If we are not careful, we might read their comment, “The will of the Lord be done,” with an exasperated tone, as in “Fine, Paul! Have it your way! Go on up to the Jerusalem and die! I guess, the will of the Lord be done!”
But that is not how we should understand their remark in v. 14; we should understand their remark as their realization of the Lord’s will.
Finally, they understood what Paul understood, that it was the Lord’s will for Paul to go up to Jerusalem to bound and handed over so that Jesus would be magnified.
The will of the Lord be done.
[ILLUS] Someone once wrote…
Where our Captain bids us go,
‘Tis not ours to murmur no;
He that gives the sword and shield
Chooses too the battlefield.
[APP] I wonder if we keep in mind often enough the meaning of the word “Lord”?
Peter T. Forsythe was a British preacher in the late 18-early 1900s; he said, “The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master.”
Does your soul know its Master?
Do you know your Captain?
Are you living so that the will of the Lord is done in your life?
To live so that the will of the Lord is done means to live lives that are forfeit to Christ, to live life understanding that life is meant to be spent for the glory of Christ.
It means to believe along with Paul that…
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
It means that…
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Do you live like that?
Do you live so that the will of the Lord is done?
You have to have courage to live like that.
[TS]…
Conclusion
Conclusion
In a moment, we’re going to stand and sing Wherever He Leads I’ll Go, but will it be true when we sing it?
What if the Spirit of Christ leads us into hard places?
What if He leads us to places that others don’t understand?
Will we still go?
Will we have the courage to obey the will of the Lord?
[PRAYER]