When Christians Get In The Way
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Chapter 20 - Verse 22-23
Paul was going to Jerusalem, KNOWING that imprisonment and afflictions awaited him
Can we stop there a minute
Like, we don’t like going to the dentist for fear of what MAY happen
My root canal
So you’re me and your on your way to the dentist for a root canal....not super fun to look forward to right?
Paul KNEW, he was POSITIVE that if he went to Jerusalem, he would be imprisoned and afflicted
But, verse 24, his only aim in life was to “finish the course and the ministry he had received from the Lord Jesus”
Again, like we’ve seen throughout Acts, Christ was the priority
Is he yours?
And as we move into chapter 21, Luke is recounting the journey that Paul goes on to get to Jerusalem, so we’re not going to read it in it’s entirety
Travels through Rhodes, Patara, Tyre, Caesarea and finally to Jerusalem
But what is happening is Paul is travelling through these cities, some cities he had been to before, and encouraging the believers and saying goodbye.
Verse 8, Paul stays at the house of Philip
Anyone remember Philip?
While he is there, a prophet comes up to him from Judea, verse 10, let’s read it
Ok, remember the dentist? Imagine as your headed there, someones standing along the road with a sign saying....this is going to really really hurt
You get out of your car and someone comes up to you with their mouth full of gauze saying “You’re next”
Christian’s response - verse 12
Paul’s response - verse 13
Paul arrives in Jerusalem, whose church is now under the ministry of James, the brother of Jesus
And he relates to the leaders the things God had done for the Gentiles
And remember, back in 15, Paul and Barnabas were affirmed by this Jerusalem council to go to the Gentiles
In verses 21-26, there is actually a lot we could talk about and get into, but we won’t for sake of time and my main point, but Paul makes a vow (totally okay) to try to appease the Jews in Jerusalem (essentially) who are very very pro-Jew right now due to Roman rule
Now at this time period pro-jewish sentiment was super high due to rome’s rule, so Paul’s mission to the gentiles wouldn’t have been super exciting to the non-believing jews in jerusalem
Fast forward a week, and Paul is seen in the temple, and, per usual, what happens when Paul enters synagogues or temples?
So, if you took time to read it, that’s why Paul takes four guys, they shave their heads and make a vow in acc
He gets persecuted
And sure enough, same thing happens again. Why? Because he was known for one thing and only one thing, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jews saw him, stirred up the whole crowd, grabbed Paul, dragged him out of the temple and the gates were shut
And they start beating him, seeking to kill him VERSE 31
When roman soldiers intervene, arrest him, bind him up (prophecy fulfilled), and bring him into the barracks
And the mob is so violent toward Paul that the soldiers have to carry him above the crowd
So that’s where we’re stopping today, and we talked about a lot, but I want to point out what God kept hitting me between the eye balls with this week as I prepared
You guys know that my prayer and my goal for each and every one of you is to launch out of here 100% on mission for the Gospel.
If I ever don’t have that as my goal then I’ll resign
I’d love nothing more than to see you go into full-time ministry or mission work
Secondarily, I want to see you proclaiming the gospel in whatever line of work you end up in
But here’s point #1: regardless of full-time ministry or living the gospel out in whatever line of work you do....you’ve got to have conviction
You’ve got to be convinced beyond any doubt that Christ is worth it
If you don’t have that conviction, you won’t be effective for Him
That boldness Acts has talked about, powered by the Holy Spirit....you guys have to embrace that
You won’t just wake up one day and decide to do it like you decide what pair of pants to wear
But look at Paul here…he knew he was walking into beating, arrest, and possible death, but he was so convinced that Christ was worth it
Second point: When you are convinced, Christians will try to stop you
Let’s take Madi here for example
Now let’s say Madi has been living for Jesus, and God has laid on her heart a desire to take the Gospel to an unreached people group
Right, there’d be some danger there, right?
For sure there would be
But she’s got zero doubt that God has called her there
What are some people or things that would get in the way?
Church family
Family
Friends