ACTS 21:1-30 FINISH YOUR RACE2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 21:1-30 Finish Your Race

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017.

Well, this evening we're going to be in Acts chapter 21, continuing to work our way through the book of Acts and following the Apostle Paul along on his third missionary journey, which really wraps up here in this chapter as he ends up back in Jerusalem. And we're going to cover most of the chapter this evening, but let's just begin by looking at verses 1 through 11. So Acts chapter 21, verses 1 through 11, here's what it says.

And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days.

They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. Verse 5. When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way. And they all accompanied us with wives and children till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and they returned home. And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemas.

Verse 8. Verse 11. Verse 12.

bound his own hands and feet and said, thus says the Holy Spirit. So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

Here as we look at Acts chapter 21, again, we're finishing out this third missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. And I shared, I think it was last week, about the book of Acts and how sometimes there's very deep doctrinal feelings

passages that we're studying, and sometimes it's kind of more like a travel log. You know, we went here, we stayed there, and yet even in the midst of the travel log, which is a lot of what we're seeing here, you know, the different places that they went, it's all very detailed, very accurate. Historically, it's accurate. Geographically, it's accurate. You know, it is the Word of God. And yet in the midst of it, there's some great nuggets for us to chew on and to consider and to meditate on as we consider this final passage.

journey of the Apostle Paul back to Jerusalem. Now, as we look at this chapter this evening, I've titled the message, Finish Your Race, with a good emphasis on your race. That is, finish your race as opposed to someone else's race. And that is, finish your race as opposed to

the race that other people maybe think that you should be running or following, you know, but that you would follow what God has really called you to do. Acts chapter 21 is one of those interesting passages where

There is all the data of all the places that they went, but you know, there is a lot of debate and discussion over the verses that we are looking at tonight. And very good Bible scholars disagree about exactly what is going on here in these verses.

Because you have Paul on his way to Jerusalem, making his way to Jerusalem. Very clearly, he intends and is a little bit stubborn about he has to get to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, you have messengers of the Lord saying, don't go to Jerusalem. And so there's this

There's this tension between Paul's intention to go to Jerusalem and these words from the Holy Spirit that continue to come. And so scholars will disagree and debate and discuss, did God want Paul to go to Jerusalem or not?

His mission to Jerusalem, was that out of obedience to the Lord, or perhaps disobedience, or perhaps just ignorance? And you'll see that a little bit as we work our way through. Was God here through these messengers trying to stop Paul from going to Jerusalem? Is that what was happening? And then...

Others will kind of throw in another viewpoint, and that is perhaps these quote-unquote prophets were not actually speaking for God. You know, they're attributing their message to the Holy Spirit, but is it really from God, this message for Paul to not go to Jerusalem?

Now, as we get started here in Acts chapter 21, you know, picking up where we left off last week in Acts chapter 20, we know for certain that as far as Paul was concerned, he had to go to Jerusalem. This is not an optional thing. That in order for him to fulfill the ministry that Jesus had given to him, he had to go to Jerusalem. And Acts chapter 20, verse 24 records that for us, where Paul says, look,

And so Paul was absolutely certain about this.

But then how do you reconcile the rest of these verses that we'll be looking at this evening? And that's the tension, and that's the discussion and debate that goes on. And I think it's good that it's recorded this way for us. Of course, it's good, right? It's the Bible. But it's helpful for us because we may not like this that much, but in real life, there are a lot of what you might call gray areas, right?

There are a lot of things that we cannot and perhaps will never know for certain. There's some things that we will just never know for sure. And that could be really frustrating, especially for, well, if you're kind of like me, like you want all the details to line up. You want, you know, everything to match up and everything to be exact and all the cross references to, you know, exactly paint the same exact picture together.

But as we work through this passage, I think it's pretty clear to find that you cannot know for certain exactly what God's perspective on all of these things are. You cannot know that for certain. And that's why there's all the debate and discussion. And that carries over not just to Acts chapter 21, but, you know, in the rest of the Bible, there's a lot of things that we could discuss for ages to come.

and not know for certain. Now, obviously, in eternity, we'll know for certain. In the presence of God, we'll know for certain. But until then, we may not know exactly what is intended or what is true or what is the best, you know, from all of the scriptures that we could look at and the passages and the accounts that were recorded there. But then that carries on more than just Acts chapter 21, more than just the rest of the Bible. In life,

This can be a frustrating reality. There's a lot of gray areas and there's a lot of room for different opinions, different perspectives and discussion about the right course, the right decisions and the appropriate way to do things. And then even as we look at not just our own life, but in other people's lives, we need to learn from this that there are some gray areas.

where our opinion on somebody else's life really doesn't have that much impact or is not that important. And some things are just, well, it's between them and the Lord. And we need to learn to accept that. And sometimes that can be very frustrating. Now, by no means am I saying there are all gray areas and no clear issues, you know, no clear standards. That is not the case.

Of course, there are clear standards. There are where the scripture is direct and clear and specific. And by those things, you know, we hold to those things and the word of God is our standard. But if you're like me, you kind of wish everything was that black and white. Everything was that crystal clear. You know, this is right, that is wrong. And what's interesting about the scriptures is that everything is not presented in that way to us.

There's not a black and white of Acts chapter 21. Well, except for, you know, the words are black and the pages are white. But you get the point. There's not an exact right or wrong. You can't be certain. You can take a strong opinionated stance on it, but you can't speak on behalf of the Lord and just have absolute certainty that you're right and everybody else must be wrong, right? That would be a wrong approach to try to do. Again, there are things that are clearly right and wrong, but

But there are so many things that have room for discussion. There's room for personal conviction. And as we get started in thinking about this, I would encourage you to consider Romans chapter 14, verse 5. The apostle Paul there says, one person esteems one day above another. Another esteems every day alike. And then he says, let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

Here's what it boils down to is Paul is talking about the freedoms that we have in Christ and how some people really, you know, well, it's all about the Sabbath and that's the most important day of the week and others value different days and others value every day. And, you know, there's a variety of opinions and Paul doesn't try to establish this is the only way to

to value the days of the week or to worship God or to study or, you know, this is the, he doesn't do that. He doesn't say this is black and white. He says, let each be fully convinced in his own mind. And as we talk about you finishing your race this evening, that's what I want to encourage you to do. That is, you need to connect with the Lord and hear from the Lord and be fully convinced in your own mind about what God has called you to do, regardless of what

Others might think or say or their opinions or their ideas or what's traditional or so on and so forth. That's what we see the Apostle Paul doing here, but that's also what we see demonstrated in all the other people involved. And so we'll look at that. Finishing your race, five points that we'll look at. And for the first point, we'll stay here in verses 1 through 11 that we just read. And here, point number one is speak what God has given you.

Speak what God has given you. Now, in verses 1 through 3, we have, again, the travelogue, the details, right? They begin by setting out. They left off in chapter 20 in Miletus with the Ephesian elders, and they set sail from there. And if you want to, you know, follow along on the map, you have them leaving Miletus, the

the purple is, you know, everything that they had traveled up to, Acts chapter 21. And then starting in Acts chapter 21, they leave Miletus, they go around to Patara, they catch another boat, and then they sail over to Tyre. And then in the next few verses, they'll work their way down from Tyre to Jerusalem. And so that's the geography, that's the way they went. And again, all of these things are included and important, establishing the geography.

accuracy of the scriptures, and Luke is very detailed and accurate in all of these records. But I want to highlight and call your attention to verse 4, which says, So here's Paul on his way to Jerusalem, and as he makes this stop here, he

seeks out other believers, Christians, and so he's spending some time with other believers. And as he does, they stay for seven days. So they have a good week together, you know, good time together. But throughout the week, there's these messages from the Lord, from the Spirit to Paul, and the message says, do not go up to Jerusalem. Do not go up to Jerusalem.

Now, this is not the first time that Paul has heard this message. In Acts chapter 20, verse 23, he's telling the Ephesian elders, I don't know what awaits me fully. I know there's chains and tribulations because the Holy Spirit has been testifying in every city. So as Paul's been making his way to Jerusalem, he's been stopping at all these different places and everywhere he stops,

There is people telling him, there's chains and tribulation awaiting you in Jerusalem. And here it's described a little bit differently in verse 4. It's not just that, hey, you know, there's chains and tribulations awaiting you there. But in verse 4 it says, they told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. Paul, don't go to Jerusalem. And so there's this instruction to Paul. There's this exhortation to Paul. And it says through Paul,

the Holy Spirit. But Paul is bound and determined to go to Jerusalem. And so we have to wrestle with that a little bit because is Paul being led by the Lord in his journey to Jerusalem? Is this of God or is this not of God? Is this what he's supposed to do or is God trying to keep him from going to Jerusalem and he's so stubborn? He's just disregarding all of God's warnings and doing it anyways. What is the real story?

thing that's going on here. What is God's perspective on this? Well, that's not the last warning he gets. Then verse 5, 6, and 7 says, hey, we stayed there for a little bit. Then we went on our way and boarded the ship. Now they come down to Caesarea in verse 8.

They stay with Philip now. You guys remember Philip. He was back in Acts chapter 6 and 7 and 8. And that's Philip the evangelist. Philip who went to Samaria and then went and ministered to the Ethiopian eunuch. And now he's here in Caesarea. He has four daughters who prophesied.

And so the believers now with Paul are going to stay with them for a few days on their way down to Jerusalem. Verse 10 though, it says, And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

And so here, as they make it down to Caesarea, again, the pattern continues. Everywhere Paul stops, there is a word from the Holy Spirit that's brought to him. And here we see this prophet Agabus. And we heard about him back in, I think it was Acts chapter 11, where he prophesied about the famine that would be in Judea. And so he's continuing to serve the Lord and be a messenger of the Lord. And here he speaks and says, thus says the Holy Spirit.

And he does it in a kind of a dramatic fashion and similar to what many of the Old Testament prophets were called to do. He acts out this message from the Lord. And so he takes Paul's belt and he wraps it around his own hands and he says, see how I'm bound like this? This is how the owner of this belt will be bound in Jerusalem by the Jews and he'll be turned over to the Gentiles.

And so he demonstrates and he says, look, this is what's going to happen. This is what lays ahead for the apostle Paul. Now it'll go on to say just a couple of verses that when we heard this, we were pleading with Paul not to go. And so you have this word from the Holy Spirit again to the apostle Paul, warning him about what's in Jerusalem and

Saying specifically, don't go to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Paul is bound and determined, I'm going to Jerusalem. I must go to Jerusalem. The only way for me to be faithful to what God has called me to do is to get to Jerusalem. And so we have to wrestle with this a bit. What is the right answer? What is exactly what God wanted for this situation? Let me read to you this quote from H.A. Ironside. He says, did he make a mistake?

In so doing, Paul going to Jerusalem, did Paul really disobey the voice of the Lord? He says, it's hard for us to say. Was it a matter of disobedience for Paul the apostle to go to Jerusalem? Ironside, I mean, solid, established scholar, commentator, I mean, really great man of God. He says, you know, it's kind of hard for us to say whether or not what Paul did in going to Jerusalem was obedience or disobedience.

And that can be a little bit frustrating for us, can't it? We really want to know. I mean, not just for Paul, but for our sake and for the people around us. And we want those clear answers. Is it the right thing or is it the wrong thing? Give me a definitive answer. But again, here's where I would say there's, well, there's a lot of gray areas.

There's a lot of things that there's room for discussion about. There's room for debate about. There's room for various opinions about. And we need to come to the point where we are okay not having all the answers, not knowing everything, not having the final word on every matter. Now, of course, we wish, right, that our opinion on everything was the final word on everything, right? But I'm sure you probably have some ideas and thoughts and opinions about

If Paul was right, if Paul was wrong, if these people delivering the message to Paul was right, or if they were wrong, you probably have some thoughts and maybe you have some really strong opinions about it. And of course we wish those were the ultimate truth, but that's not the reality. And that's why I think this is really important for us to go through because we need to be reminded that our perspective on anything, whether it be a passage or something

our life or somebody else's life, our perspective is not necessarily the ultimate truth. And we need to, well, we need to learn to commit things to the Lord. And we'll see that in a couple of verses. But Ironside isn't the only one who has something to say on this. Let me read to you what Dave Guzik says. He says, it would seem that the specific warning not to go to Jerusalem was a human interpretation of the Holy Spirit's prophecy of the danger that awaited Paul.

So Guzik comes in and says, okay, so here's what's happening. The danger being announced, so like the prophet Agabus, he didn't tell specifically Paul not to go, right? He just said, look, this is what awaits for you. So it was information being shared about what awaits there without a direct go or don't go. And so in verse 4, when it says, through the Spirit, they told him not to go to Jerusalem, they told him not to go to Jerusalem.

Guzik says, you know, that was probably an interpretation. Like they heard the message about there's danger awaiting you there. And so then they made their own application that wasn't from the spirit saying, don't go because of the chains and tribulation await you there. A little bit different perspective. Is it the absolute truth? Is it

That answers everything. Now, nobody else can weigh in and have a different perspective. Well, no, let me read to you what William MacDonald says. He says, Luke, the historian, tells his readers that the advice of these disciples was spirit-inspired, but he does not say that the apostle knew this as a definite fact.

So William MacDonald weighs in and says, no, no, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. This wasn't just interpretation. This was inspired by the Holy Spirit. But the problem here was that Paul didn't know it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. If he knew that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, essentially, he wouldn't have gone to Jerusalem. But he heard a message. He heard this word from them. And he didn't know then for sure. It doesn't say, matter of fact, you know, that he knew it was from the Holy Spirit. And so he went on to Jerusalem because he didn't know that.

that it really was a word from the Holy Spirit. Is that the final answer? Is that the ultimate truth? Is that the clear? There's no debating that. You know, this is truly, that's probably not. Let me read to you what J. Vernon McGee says. He says, I believe he's saying the same thing here that he said before. Paul is not to go up to Jerusalem unless he's prepared to make the required sacrifice. So unless you're ready to face those chains and tribulation, then you are not to go. So the command is do not go unless...

you're ready to face the chains and tribulations. Now look, this is just four examples of takes on this few couple verses. There's much more that we could get into, right? Opinions abound. Lots of different perspectives, lots of different ways to kind of approach this and weigh in on this. And again,

I see this as really valuable for us to go through that and to think about it from the different angles and to consider because, well, that is the reality, not just of this passage, but of life, that there are different perspectives and opinions. And that is by design. That is part of the reality of life. And we cannot know for certain everything in our life or in other people's lives or even some of these passages in the scriptures, right?

That we cannot know every detail and be... Now, again, there are plenty of things that we can say for sure with great confidence. This is absolutely, there's great clarity, but not everything in life and not every truth has that same level of clarity. Now, all of that is important. It's good to evaluate, good to work through, but coming back to the point here that I want to make and highlight in verses 1 through 11, speak what God has given you.

So there's a lot of uncertainty here. There's a lot of things that we don't know, but what do we know for certain? And here's what I would suggest that we know for certain. In verse 4, it says, Here's something we know for certain. The disciples...

have a word from the Lord for the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, given to them by the Spirit, that they bring forth to Paul. And then in verse 11, Agabus says, thus says the Holy Spirit. Here's what we know for certain. Agabus, speaking on behalf of the Holy Spirit, delivers a message to Paul. And again, these weren't the only ones. Paul said, everywhere he went, in every city,

The Holy Spirit testified. So this was not just man's opinions. This is not just, you know, their thoughts, their perspectives. But it's clear here in this passage that this is messages from the Lord inspired by the Holy Spirit that are being brought forth to the Apostle Paul. And that's why I say, speak what God has given you.

There's a lot of room for discussion about what it means and how much was interpretation and this or that. But what we see here is people who are being faithful to deliver the word that God gives to them. They were delivering the message that the Holy Spirit put upon their hearts. You know, the scriptures tell us, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians, to desire earnestly to prophesy.

That we are instructed and encouraged to have this desire to follow their example and to hear a word from the Lord and to bring it forth to other believers around us, whether it be in a corporate setting like this or whether it be one-on-one. And as we often do on Wednesday nights, have that time of prayer and worship at the end, and we're able to encourage one another, that we need to be faithful to deliver the

The messages that God puts on our hearts. It's a really important point. Deliver those words from the Lord. And the reality is, you know, looking at it from their perspective, how it's received is not really your responsibility. And sometimes we involve ourselves so much that it's like, okay, you know, not only is it my responsibility,

responsibility to deliver the message, but now it's my responsibility to make sure you do what the message says and that you do what the message says in the way that I want you to do it. And we can be a little bit overbearing in bringing forth. But here you see these words from the Lord are delivered and their job is done. They've done what God called them to do. They brought forth a word from the Holy Spirit. And that is what God calls us to do as well.

In each other's lives, God wants to use us to minister to one another, and I want to encourage you to speak what God has given you, to bring it forth. You know, sometimes, actually, scratch that, a lot of times, we make decisions based on how we think people will respond. And if we were, you know, in these disciples' shoes, we might think, you know,

Paul's been hearing these warnings all along the way, and he continues to go to Jerusalem. And so what's the point of me sharing this warning about Jerusalem? He's already heard it a hundred times, and he hasn't changed course. And so what's the point of me sharing? And so we talk ourselves out based on how we think people are going to respond.

Based on how we think they're going to react to the situation. I was thinking about the prophets. Think about how many of the prophets God had to tell them, don't be afraid of their faces. Deliver the message I've called you to deliver. Don't be afraid of how they're going to respond. Don't pay attention to that. Don't worry so much about that. It's not so much about how you think they're going to respond, but it's about you being faithful to bring forth and to speak up the message that the Holy Spirit has given you.

Finish your race. Don't worry so much about whether they finish their race, but you pay attention and be faithful. And so I would say these disciples were faithful to finish their race, at least here in this passage, that they brought forth the message that God wanted them to bring forth. Now, wherever we fall on whether or not Paul should have listened or how that came across, we can table that and discuss it more later. But

But they did their part. They did what God called them to do, and they finished their race. That's what God calls us to do as well. Well, moving on now to verses 12 through 16, here we have point number two, and that is go where God has called you. And so now we look more at the Apostle Paul. In verse 12, it says, Now when he heard these things, or when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered,

And after those days, we packed and went up to Jerusalem. Also, some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain nation of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we were to lodge. So the travelogue continues, right? They have this conversation, then they head down to Jerusalem. This guy from Cyprus goes with them, and so they continue their journey. But

But here we see the reaction of the people to these prophecies that are brought forth, specifically the prophecy of Agabus. And it tells us that we, that is Luke, Paul's travel companions, the believers that were there in Caesarea, when we heard these things, it says both we and those from that place. So

The whole group is chiming in now. The whole group is saying, Paul, please don't go to Jerusalem. They're pleading with him. They're begging him. We beg you, Paul, not to go to Jerusalem. And you can understand that that would be really persuasive. If all of you in unison and in agreement said, Jerry,

you know, don't go to Jack in the Box. Well, I mean, there's a good testimony there, right? I mean, it's two or three witnesses and then some. It's establishing a really solid, persuasive argument for Paul. Don't go. Please, please don't go. But notice Paul's response in verse 13. He says, what do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? The pleading and the begging is having its intended impact. It's breaking his heart.

It's affecting him. He's moved by this pleading of the people, and yet not so moved that he would stop his plans to go to Jerusalem. He says, look, you're breaking my heart, but you need to understand I'm ready not only to be bound. Agabus has this dramatic picture of his hands bound with Paul's belt. I'm ready not just to be bound, but

I'm willing to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. I'm ready to die. If I need to die to finish my race, to fulfill my ministry, Acts 20, 24, I'm ready to do that. I'm okay with that. It's okay if it costs me my life, Paul says. This is what I'm called to do. And so then in verse 15, it says, after those days, we packed up and went to Jerusalem and

So they went on. They moved on because Paul was steadfast. This is what God has called me to do. And so Paul, I would suggest, finished his race. He did what God called him to do. Without trying to resolve, you know, who's right and who's wrong, I kind of tend to take this approach. You're familiar with this, I'm sure, if you were with us with Acts chapter 15 with Paul and Barnabas and the discussion there. And I say, hey, they're both right.

And here I would say, they're all right. The messengers did what they were supposed to do in delivering the message. That was right. They spoke on behalf of the Holy Spirit. They did exactly what they were called to do. And here the Apostle Paul is steadfast in his intention, in his journey to Jerusalem.

doing what God has called him to do, no matter what is going to cost him, no matter how hard it's going to be, no matter how much pain is going to be involved. In Acts chapter 19, we read about Paul's travel plans. In Acts chapter 19, verse 21, it tells us, Paul purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem, saying, after I've been there, I must also see Rome.

And we talked about it then. This was what the Lord put on Paul's heart. He purposed in the Spirit. He made his plans in agreement with, in response to the work of the Spirit in his life and says, okay, I'm going to go over here. But main thing, I need to go to Jerusalem. And then after that, I can go to Rome. He wanted to go to Rome, but before he could go to Rome, he had to go to Jerusalem. That's what the Lord had spoken to him.

In Acts chapter 20, verse 22, he says, I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem. Again, indicating this is not just, you know, my stubbornness or just, you know, me, I have my plans. I don't want to change them. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. I go bound in the Spirit.

This isn't an option. And that's when he goes on to say in Acts chapter 20, verse 24, I must finish my race with joy and the ministry that I received from the Lord. That's what's dear to me. That's what's most important. Not my life, not my comfort, but that I would be faithful to go where God has called me to go. And Paul was absolutely fully convinced the only way to finish his race was to go to Jerusalem.

And he sets a really good example for us. Go where God has called you to go. Do what God has called you to do. And that includes even when there are warnings about what those results might be. That includes even when there is going to be hurt or harm or difficulty, chains or tribulations or even death.

Listen, the most important thing in your life is that you do what God has called you to do. And that includes even when people disagree. And so if all of you join together and say, don't go to Jack in the Box, but God tells me to go to Jack in the Box, you know what I need to do? I need to go to Jack in the Box. And that's a silly example, but you get the point. Now, we could easily take this too far and say, well, great. I don't have to listen to anybody. I can just do whatever I want.

No, there is a balance here, and there is the appropriate need for counsel and for us to receive from others in the Lord. But at the same time, there has to be this understanding. You need to know that God's word and God's voice to you, God speaking to you, needs to override everything else and be more important than anything else.

And if God tells you to do something, even if everybody else in your life disagrees, you need to do what God is telling you to do. Now, if what God is telling you to do is contrary to what the Bible says, it's not God telling you what to do, okay? So again, we have to factor in the standard. It is important to receive counsel. Paul heard from all of these, but in the end, he had to be faithful to

to do what God called him to do, even if it was costly, even if it was painful. And we need to have that same heart set like flint. I'm going to be faithful to the Lord. And none of these things move me. No matter what, I must finish my race with joy. And I must fulfill the ministry that I've received from the Lord Jesus.

Well, continuing to stick around here in these verses, we have point number three, and that is trust God with the results here in verses 12 through 14. Verse 12 again says, So again, you have this tension. You have the words from the Holy Spirit. Chains and tribulation await you, Paul. Don't go to Jerusalem. Paul says...

I have to go. Why are you breaking my heart? But here are the people pleading with them. Now, again, I would suggest these people, Paul's travel companions, these believers that are around him, in pleading with Paul not to go to Jerusalem, they're fulfilling, they're finishing their race. I would suggest it's appropriate and it's right for you to share your heart.

For you to have these kinds of conversations with people around you, and if you were there to have this conversation with Paul, isn't the wrong thing to do. It's the right thing to do. They were doing the right thing, but it wasn't the Lord's will necessarily. Again, that's up for discussion. That's up for grabs, but they were pleading with Paul. They were sharing their heart. They were sharing and expressing what they thought, how they felt about

In response to the words from the Holy Spirit and the intentions of the Apostle Paul. So they made sure that they expressed themselves clearly. But then in verse 14, it says, And notice what happens there. We ceased. And again, I think for us, many times, this is kind of where we get into trouble. Is we don't cease. Right?

We don't have any problem sharing and expressing and pleading and giving our opinion and perspective. But then we don't cease. We insist on our way. We insist on our perspective farther than is appropriate. But here they did what was right. They expressed. They pleaded. They brought forth and made their position clear. But when there was no movement, then they ceased and they entrusted themselves.

Paul and this situation to the Lord. The will of the Lord be done. Now, is that the absolute once and for all final truth? Well, Dave Guzik says, though their human application was understandable, even logical, it wasn't of God. So he says, you know, that wasn't what God wanted them to do. They're pleading. It makes sense. It's logical. You're going to be in trouble. Chains and tribulation await you. Don't go. Don't go.

But he would say, that really wasn't of the Lord. Ironside says, it's not incumbent on us to judge the Apostle Paul. It looks as though he missed the mind of God here. He had all these good counselors, and he just disregarded them. He missed the mind of God, and he went on anyways. And again, we could go on and on into many different opinions on this whole subject. But that's why we come back to the point, trust God with the results.

You see, there comes a point where we can't force our way, and we can't even know for certain necessarily that our way and our thought is the right one and the only one from God. And there comes a point where we have to, okay, we've made our position clear. We've shared our heart. We've shared our perspective. We've made that clear. We can't really go beyond that. And so now we cease

And we say, Lord, you're going to have to handle this situation. We've done everything that we can do. We've done the pleading. We've done and shared our heart. Now we have to let it go. Now we have to turn it over to the Lord and trust God with the results. And that's what they did. They entrusted it to the Lord and said, the will of the Lord be done. And so again, I would suggest it was right for them to plead. It was right for them to share their heart.

But then it was also right for them to leave it in the Lord's hands after they had made sure that that message was clear. Then they let it go. And they just went with him and they sought him off. You know, they traveled with him. They didn't say, well, you didn't listen to us and so we're not going to see you off and we're not going to say goodbye. You know what I mean? Like they didn't pout and throw a fit about it, but they made sure, hey, we shared our heart. You know where we stand, right?

And now we're just going to entrust you to the Lord and love you and say goodbye and not let it destroy our relationship. We're going to let it go. Listen, we bring ourselves a lot of conflict and hurt when we demand that everyone listen to us, obey us, think like us, and make the choices that we want them to make. That's a surefire way to make sure you have a lot of conflict. There are things that you just need to, it's appropriate to make your heart clear and to express that. But it's also appropriate to cease conflict.

and to entrust it to the Lord, because it's not your responsibility. Everything is not your responsibility. It's not yours to make it happen the way that you want it to happen. You know what? There's a lot of room for a lot of discussion about a variety of things that we just, we don't know everything. So there are, there's a great need for us to, to plead and to express our hearts with emotion. I mean, I'm not saying, you know, we do it just matter of factly and there's no emotion involved and there's no passion involved and, you know,

Read this passage from the encyclopedia. Okay, now you know and I can't say anything else. No, no, it's appropriate to have interaction, but there comes a point where the message is clear. You've made your point. Now cease and entrust it to the Lord and let God deal with the results of the situation. Again, let me remind you of Romans chapter 14, verse 5, which I shared at the beginning.

One person esteems one day above another. Another seems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. And you have to come to the conclusion and understand you're fully convinced in your mind, but you haven't convinced them. And at a certain point, you need to recognize I'm not going to convince you. I'm not going to persuade you. I'm not the one who's going to be able to make this change happen. And so, well, now you take it to the Lord and you're going to have to wrestle with the Lord and you be fully convinced in your own mind that

and trusting the results to God. Now, Paul goes on in Romans chapter 14, in verse 10, he's still talking in this same subject. In verse 10, he says, but why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And Paul goes on to remind us, look,

Everybody has to make their own determinations and decisions based on what the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. Everybody has to make those decisions recognizing we all stand before the judgment. So why are you judging your brother who worships on this day as opposed to that day or values this day as opposed to that day or makes this decision as opposed to that decision? Why are you judging others

Again, with the idea, with the thinking that you have the absolute truth for their situation. Why are you judging others? He says, look, we're all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. He goes on to say, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. We're all going to be there. In Romans 14, 12, Paul says, then each of us shall give account of himself to God. So there comes a point where we need to cease and to say,

It's your responsibility now. And you're going to give an account to God. And I can't have a say in that. It's not my job. My job is to share what I think, my perspective, my heart, to plead with you perhaps to the point that the message is clear. And then to cease and entrust the results to God. Let God handle those things. He's fully capable of it. And we need to learn to let go. And again,

not destroy any other opportunity or potential to minister to somebody because we have to insist that they do everything that we think, that we know, that we understand is best. I was listening to, without getting into details, a very well-seasoned, experienced pastor sharing recently about love and how correction is received from the position of love.

And so he was sharing about this relationship with another pastor, and he was saying, if I come at this in a way that is not loving, I will ruin my opportunity to ever bring correction again in the future. And so he said, I'm approaching this in love. And I want him to be able to walk away no matter what, you know, opinions we might have about different things. I want him to know that I love him, and that's the most important thing. And maybe then in the future, I will have an opportunity, because there was a disagreement. There was...

things going on. But in order to preserve the opportunity in the future to have a relationship and to have some correction, some instruction, and have that mutual benefit, rather than fight over this to the death, essentially he was communicating this. I'm going to cease. I'm going to entrust it to the Lord, and later on perhaps I'll have an opportunity because he knows I love him. And that is...

The way that we need to handle our relationships with the people around us. We need to learn to entrust God with the results. It's important that we share our perspective and that we have that opportunity to plead and to say, hey, you know, this is what the scriptures say perhaps, or this is what I think is right, or this is, you know, good counsel. But then there also comes a point and we need to recognize when it's time to cease and to say the will of the Lord be done. It's in the Lord's hands.

Well, moving on to verses 17 through 25, we have point number four, and that is prepare for foreseeable issues. And I'm going to read through a good chunk of the verses here. In verse 17, it says, and when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. On the following day, Paul went in with us to James and all of the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Verse 23. Verse 23.

Verse 25.

But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. Now, here's what's happening in verses 17 through 25. They finally get to Jerusalem, and they get in before the council, the elders, and Paul shares all the details about how God has worked all around through the Gentiles. And they rejoice, and they praise the Lord over that.

And I'm sure there's a lot more that, you know, went into that than is recorded. But it's kind of like, okay, yeah, good, good, good. Oh, great, good. Oh, praise the Lord. Okay, great. Now, to real more serious matters. There's a lot of Jews who've become believers. And they've heard, Paul, that you tell other Jews to forsake the customs of Moses. And so we're pretty concerned right now because, well, when they hear that you're here...

then there's going to be, well, we're going to have to meet. There's going to be demand of meeting that, hey, what are we going to do with Paul who tells people to forsake the customs of Moses? And so we've come up with a plan. We've got four guys who've taken a vow. It's probably a Nazarite vow. So join up with them, Paul. Pay their expenses. You join with them in the vow, and that way everybody will see that you participated and you provided for it, and so that

You know, it'll just, you know, handle all the rumors and handle all the false testaments because these things weren't true of Paul. Now, of course, Paul did make it very clear the law, the customs of the Jews were not required for salvation. And he, you know, fought that very boldly and valiantly. The grace of God is what gives us salvation. But these lies about Paul were spread all over Jerusalem. And so the people were convinced that

Paul was trying to persuade people away from the Jewish customs, even though they were Jews. And so they came up with this plan. They asked this plan. Okay, if you participate in this custom, well, then it will prove to everybody these, you know, rumors are false. Now, we're not saying all the Gentiles have to do this. That's what verse 25, we already wrote about that. You know, that's established. We're not changing our mind. But just you, Paul, as a Jew, you,

Just demonstrate, just show, here's a good idea, just show, participate in this, and then you'll show that these rumors are false.

Now, this is another section where, man, there's a lot of good, I don't know if you would call it good, but there's a lot of discussion. There's a lot of debate about, was this a good plan? Was this a plan from God, you know, that this is what they needed to do? Or was this just their attempt to try to like pacify things and, you know, just kind of get through, but it really wasn't

something that God wanted them to do. And how could Paul participate in this? I mean, is this, was it right for Paul to participate in this vow just to make it look like he wasn't opposed to Jews practicing Judaism? Like, you know, there's a lot of discussion about it, and I'm not going to get into all those details. But ultimately, as you look at it, their plan didn't work, right? Because we're going to see Paul gets arrested in the mob as they freak out over Paul the Apostle being there. So their plan didn't work. It wasn't effective.

But here's what I would say. The problem that they anticipated was accurate. The problem that they anticipated, it was legitimate. They were fearful. They were thinking, hey, there's going to be an overreaction in Paul's presence here because of what they've heard about Paul. Now, we could go back and forth. We could talk all day long, all night long about what the best approach to handle that situation is.

But the problem that they identified was accurate. And so again, here I would say, finish your race. That is, leaders have a responsibility to foresee issues and prepare for them. And listen, as we prepare for issues that are ahead, we might disagree about the best way to handle that and prepare for that situation.

And there might be a variety of opinions, and there may be as good ideas and maybe not so good ideas, and you could go back and forth on it all day. But it is right to prepare for those foreseeable issues. Think about what Proverbs 22.3 says, a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. And so I would encourage you to finish your race, and that includes looking ahead and

Maybe Richard would come in and say, I don't know if that's the best way to prepare for that situation. But sometimes there's a saying, perfect is the enemy of the good. The perfect is the enemy of the good. And the idea there is you're working so hard to find the perfect solution that, well, you miss out on the good solution and then you wind up in a mess. And it can be applied in a variety of ways. But you get the point that sometimes...

A good solution is good enough, and you don't have to just stall there and do nothing until you have the absolute perfect solution. Sometimes you've got to do your best with the information that you have, understanding what's to come, understanding the dangers that are there, and make, well, use good judgment. Use the best, you know, decision-making power that you have, but sometimes we get stalled there waiting for the perfect, and we need to

Take action and foresee evil and to put plans in place. That's appropriate to do. And everybody may not agree on the correct preparation, but it is appropriate to prepare. That's the right thing to do. And especially for those who are in authority to prepare as best they can for those issues and those things that they see that are coming and are going to be happening amongst the people that they're called to lead. Now, again, their plan didn't work, right?

but the problem they anticipated was accurate. And so it was right for them to see that coming and to take steps to try to resolve that problem in advance. Now, ultimately, the plan didn't work, but also we understand God had been telling Paul, chains and tribulation await you. So realistically, no matter what plan they did, it would not have worked in that sense. Paul would have still ended up in chains and tribulations, but

God's been telling him that this whole time. So again, you know, their job was to take those steps and to do the best they could. And that's what they did. They fulfilled their race. Now, finishing it up with point number five, make peace when you can. And here in verse 26, it says, then Paul took the men and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, men of Israel, help. This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place. And furthermore, he has also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. For they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.

And all the city was disturbed and the people ran together, seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple and immediately the doors were shut. And here they're going to try to beat him to death and we'll see that continue on in the next verses in the coming weeks. But again, there's a lot of discussion. Whether or not it was a good decision for these leaders, there's a lot of discussion about that. Was this a good decision for Paul to participate in this vow? There's a lot of Bible scholars who have different opinions about that as well.

Was it the right thing to do? But I think the thing to pay attention to in verse 26 is that Paul, he wasn't violating any of the truths that he had taught. He wasn't saying now, well, you have to be circumcised to be saved. You know, he was participating, making an effort to make peace if it was possible.

So he takes them, he purifies with them, he goes into the temple and announces, hey, seven days of purification, and then we're going to make an offering. And they didn't quite get through the seven days until all of this erupts. But here, Paul makes an effort. Now, I can imagine the Apostle Paul, I mean, he was a pretty strong guy, right? I can imagine. Who cares about all the lies that people have heard about me? You know, I don't need to do that. You know, I can imagine all of that, right? But when there's an opportunity to do something,

Something that's consistent with the scriptures, something that, you know, is good and isn't necessarily what you think you need to do, but, you know, it's appropriate to make peace where you can. Remember what Paul said in Romans chapter 12, verse 18, if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. I would say this is Paul doing that, putting that into practice here in this passage. Maybe it wasn't a good plan. Obviously it didn't work, but

He gives it his best, as much as depended on him. Now, in this case, it was not possible to live peaceably with all men. He didn't do anything wrong. And sometimes, you know, we kind of stir up and we kind of take on the, consider it like a badge of honor, you know, when we kind of get attacked or, you know, people are against us. And it's like, yeah, you know, it's because I'm right on and you're not, you know. It's like kind of a badge of honor. But

But Paul approaches this in an attempt to make peace and to say, hey, I'll do what I can. There's been rumors. There's been lies that are told about me. And well, yeah, let's see if I can go along with this plan and make peace in this situation. Paul gave it his best shot. Now, why did he do that? Well, I would suggest to you another scripture, 1 Corinthians 9, verse 20, where Paul says, "'To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews.'"

to those who are under the law is under the law, that I might win those who are under the law. He talks about becoming all things to all men, and that's not compromising his values or beliefs or positions or anything, but just about where he can, making an effort to make peace, to then have the opportunity to win those people that he made peace with. And so it's appropriate to make peace when you can, and that's part of fulfilling your race. You know, maybe there's some

Silly things. I can imagine the Apostle Paul saying, this is a silly thing. Taking a vow for seven days just to kind of like put on a show. You know what I mean? I kind of imagine Paul grumpy, I guess. That's what I'm revealing right now. But I could just like, this is just nonsense. You know what I mean? Why are we putting up with this? I can imagine that kind of being expressed. But even if that was his heart, he says, OK, but it's worth it. If I had to do some silly things and go through a week of, you know,

doing this vow, it's worth it to have the opportunity then to minister to the Jews. I'm going to make an effort to make peace so that I might have the opportunity to win them. And so this evening, I would encourage you to finish your race. That includes speaking what God has given you. When the Holy Spirit puts something upon your heart, don't worry so much about how it's going to be received. That doesn't mean you offend on purpose, but don't let your anticipated response

keep you from doing what God has called you to do and speaking what God has put upon your heart and go where God has called you. Even if it's going to be costly, even if it's going to be painful, trust God with the results, share your heart, plead and let people know what is right, what the scriptures say and, and so on and so forth. But, but you've made your point and then cease and, and then entrust the results to God. Let God handle those things. And,

Look ahead and prepare for foreseeable issues. That's important. Be wise. Be prudent. Think about what hazards may be ahead. Now, don't take it too far and just get so caught up and consumed with all the things that could go wrong. It's Murphy's Law. Everything's going to go wrong at some point. But be wise and look ahead and make preparation for that. That's appropriate. And then make peace when you can. Maybe you'll have to do some silly things and put up with something silly for a week or two, but...

Make peace where you can and do so in an effort to have an opportunity to bring the gospel, to share the love of Christ, and to win the hearts of those that God has placed around you. And so this evening we want to finish up our time together with a time of worship and Ronnie's going to lead us in a song and as he does, again, as I always do, I just encourage you, we can take this time to be seeking the Lord personally for ourselves, to make sure I finish my race and

I don't have to finish what you think my race is, and you don't have to finish what I think your race is, but you hear from the Lord and find out what is it that God wants from you, and be faithful to that. And if as we spend this time together, God puts something on your heart to share with someone else in here, I would give you the freedom. You can go and pray for each other. You can go and share with one another, encourage each other, however the Lord may lead. But let's make sure that we kind of recheck in with the Lord and center in the Lord and

and get back on track if we've been off track in the race that he's called it for us. That's the most important thing, that I would finish my race with joy and fulfill the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus. Let's worship. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.