Defending The Gospel Without Being Defensive

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Pray together.

Lord, we just uh we don't just sing songs, we make confessions here.

And uh that is a confession that we just made.

Not by power, not by might.

The Bible says it like this that some trust in horses and some trust in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

So, Lord, illuminate your word today by your spirit such that it increases our capacity to trust you.

Because that's where we're gonna end up today.

Is that we've got to get to the point, God, that we basically trust what we know.

So increase what we know today so that we trust you more.

This is our prayer, God.

Make it our experience, we pray in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen, amen.

You can have a C if you got a Bible.

I invite you to take it and open up to Acts 21.

Acts 21.

I'll start reading in verse 17, as I said earlier.

If you're our guest, we're preaching through the book of Acts, and we just go verse by verse.

It's called expository preaching because we think that's the way you nourish the faith of a congregation.

Instead of just taking topical trips through the latest trends, uh, just put the plow in the ground and then let the people be fed by the word, not just the personality of the preacher.

Amen?

Don't say this whole heartedly.

Anyway, uh, I want to talk to you about defending the gospel without being defensive.

Now, we enter a new phase in Paul's ministry in the book of Acts, okay?

The trips are over.

He's had three mission journeys, uh three mission trips, so to speak, and now he's all gonna be on trial.

It's an interesting thing.

I don't have time to go into it this morning, but uh the parallels between what Paul experienced and what Jesus Christ experienced as he's going to Jerusalem.

Like, for example, one thing they have in common, there's like seven of them, if you want them, and if you're into Bible fun facts, email me and I'll give them to you.

I took them out of my notes because it was too long.

I didn't get to preach last week, so I'm a little backed up.

Uh but one of them was they both experienced five trials.

And what's gonna happen here at the book of Acts is at five different times, Paul's gonna be put on trial before people and he's gonna have to defend the gospel.

And one of them you'll see that he's never defensive.

He never gets mad, he never confronts anybody.

I mean, he confronts uh the their heir, but he doesn't physically attack anybody or make threats or anything like that.

And so keep in mind when you're defending the gospel, your response makes your words more interesting.

It's your response.

They see your life before they hear your words.

And so, one thing about Paul, you will see in this section here, some bad stuff happens, and his response, he never freaks out, he never fights back, and yet he is preserved and protected, okay?

And so, how do you defend the gospel without being defensive?

Well, let's just read Acts 21, starting in verse 17.

It says, When we come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

On the following day, we went in with us.

He went in, Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And when they had heard it, they glorified God.

And they said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed.

They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, or walk according to our customs.

What then is to be done?

They will certainly hear that you have come.

Do therefore what we tell you.

We have four men who are under a vow.

Take these men and purify yourselves along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads.

Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.

Verse 25 says, But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.

Now there's a weird list of restrictions.

There's a reason.

We'll get to that later.

Verse 26 says, Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them, and he went into the temple, giving notice for the days of purification would be fulfilled, and the offering presented for each one of them.

Then the seven when the seven days were almost completed, 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 is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place.

Moreover, he brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.

For they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed terrible phrase, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together, they seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple.

And at once the gates were shut.

And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tr tribune of the cohort.

And they all that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

And he at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them.

When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains.

Two chains because one is not enough, and rappers are always looking for new names, but I digress.

He inquired who he was and what he had done.

And some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another, as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar.

Underline that in your Bible and pay attention to that between now and November the 6th.

And he could not learn the facts because of the uproar.

My favorite uproar this past week was after the debate.

Taylor Swift came out and let the world know who she endorses, which is great, but Taylor Swift, you made a career out of writing songs about all your mistakes.

I don't know how to break that to you, but who cares?

But I digress.

Back to the Bible.

He ordered, because he couldn't get the facts, because the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

And when he came into the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.

For the mob of the people followed him, crying out, away with him.

That's one of the other things he has in common with Jesus Christ is that when Jesus, the crowds both said to both of them, away with him.

We don't care what happens to him.

Get him out of here, okay?

We've made our decision.

So how do you defend the gospel without being defensive?

There's four things in the text I want us to see.

Number one is this you let your actions go before you.

You let your actions go before you.

It's verse 17.

Now, by the way, let me just, if if if you're new to church or Christianity or you're kind of like, man, I'm just kind of taking this thing out.

There's some crazy stuff in what you just read there.

That's understandable.

But look at me.

Everything in the Bible happens in a specific context, okay?

And if you don't understand the context, then you don't understand why the Bible says what it says.

It is the job of the preacher to take the time to explain the context.

Now, a lot of people don't understand the Bible because preachers don't teach the Bible.

Preachers they teach church how to survive and thrive in this church, or they teach the Christian life.

But I would just say submit to you today that if we would just find the courage to teach what the Bible actually says, that your life would be, that living the Christian life would be the byproduct of a right understanding of who God is.

Does that make sense?

Say amen.

And so when I say, for example, let your actions go before you, you may be thinking, uh, where'd you get that?

Verse 17.

When they had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received him gladly.

Now, there's two questions that should pop in your mind immediately.

First, why would Paul be so driven to go to Jerusalem when he's been warned?

Hey, bro, uh, Julian talked about a little last week.

Hey, when you get there, he took a belt.

Remember, he tied him up and he said, Hey, this is what the Jews are going to do to you.

You don't need to go to Jerusalem.

Whatever you're doing, do not go to Jerusalem, okay?

And so you should be thinking, okay, he's been warned, but this cat is driven.

And the second question is, why did they receive him gladly when word was already out?

These people are mad at you, Paul.

You're on the ounce with them.

James was a leader of the Jewish, uh Jewish Christianity, and Paul was the leader of what's known as Gentile Christianity, because James went to all the people that grew up in church and he and knew all the rules.

Paul goes to the people who did not grow up in church and don't understand anything, and he explains the gospel to them and they come to faith.

So you almost got these two warring factions, okay?

So much so in John chapter 4, Jesus is talking to a woman at a well.

John 4 · chapter mention

And he says, Why are you talking to me?

You're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan.

Again, another faction.

And so the question is, I say, let your actions go before you, why would Paul be so driven to go to Jerusalem when he's been warned it's not gonna go well for you?

And then, secondly, okay, why did they receive him gladly?

Two questions, one answer, and it's simply this he was bringing an offering for the Jerusalem church.

Ask yourself this question.

How would you think if someone said to you, hey Terry, listen, I want to have lunch with you in two weeks.

And by the way, I am gonna be collecting an offering from everybody I know that knows you because we know you wrecked your truck and you need to get a new truck.

And so I don't know how much it's gonna be, but it's gonna be more than just I could bring.

If your name was Terry and you were having lunch in two weeks, wouldn't you wouldn't you be curious about how much it was gonna be every day?

Kind of like, hey, uh, have you called these people?

Because this is what Paul does.

He goes to this church, that church, this church, and he just says, Hey, we're gonna take up an offering for the church in Jerusalem.

These are Gentile Christians.

These are the people the Jews try to control with their list of, hey, don't need anything that's been sacrificed to an idol that's been strangled, it's got blood in it, and don't commit sexual immorality.

That's what happened in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council.

So I say, let your actions go before you.

Paul shows up and they didn't have paper money back then.

Bags of coins.

You put them down, ch-ching.

Everybody in the room is like, Yes, we're so glad you're here.

Yes, now you say, Why is that such a big deal?

Now, the the these Gentile churches, they do uh they they take up an offering for the church in Jerusalem.

Now, you got to understand the difference between the tithe and an offering, all right?

They're two different things.

Like we have a thing called the Hilary Sunday coming up on October the 6th.

That is an offering.

Uh and this is what he told them to do.

Like if you read, like in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul's talking about this, and he says this, because a lot of people take this and apply it to the tithe.

No, the tithe, God's already established.

Tithes means 10th.

This is what it is.

But an offering, this is what he says in 2 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 6.

He says, the point is this whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must give as he's decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things and all times, you may abound in every good work.

This is why every once in a while you hear me say at the end of the service, if today's the day you worship God through obedience or generosity, you can take care of that at the offering boxes by the door, or you can give online as many people do.

When I say obedience, that's a reference to the tithe.

When I say generosity, that's it, that's in reference to an offering.

The offering that the Gentile churches took up, uh, this was for, this was an offering.

That's why he said, Hey, let everybody give as you decided in your heart.

That's why when it comes to Hilary Sunday, we're like, hey, if I ask you to lunch, I'm not gonna slide a piece of paper across the table and go, hey, you think you could help with that number?

I'm like, that's gross right there, okay?

What you we when it comes to an offering, what you do with your money is between you and God.

This is why we say, pray, listen, and obey.

And so Paul's actions go before him because this offering does two things for Jerusalem.

Number one, it helps the poor.

They're still recovering from a famine that happened 10 years ago, okay?

And secondly, it promotes unity in the church, which is what Paul is all about, because the Jews are like, hey, these Gentiles, they're coming to faith, but they need to understand that they've got to be circumcised and keep the law and be all about the temple.

And Paul's like, that's not the gospel at all.

And so the Jews, all of a sudden, their suspicion of the Gentiles goes down because the Gentiles say, hey, we heard you brothers are struggling, and we want to bless you and help you through a hard time.

So when I say, hey, how to defend the gospel without being defensive, first of all, let your actions go before you.

Secondly, practice concession, not compromise.

Concession, not compromise.

It's verse 19, where he says, after greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And then listen to their response in verse 20.

And when they heard it, they glorified God and they said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews?

Now, Paul's saying, hey, this is what God said among the Gentiles, and they can't even hear it.

They're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But God's been doing this among the Jews, okay?

Those who have believed, and he says, they're all zealous for the law.

Verse 21, and they've been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, tell them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

What then is to be done?

So they create a problem and they have a solution.

Beware of anyone that creates a problem and then says, I've got the solution.

What then shall be done?

They will certainly hear that you have come.

Here's the solution.

Do therefore what we tell you.

Now, here's the part where if a preacher doesn't take the time and explain it to you, you'll just check out and start making a grocery list.

Don't do that.

Listen to this.

He says, verse 20, uh, verse 24.

Uh, he says, uh, verse 23, we have we have four men who are under a vow.

Take these men and purify yourselves along with them and pay their expenses so that so that they may shave their heads.

Thus all will know that there's nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.

Now, we'll just stop right there.

You may be thinking, okay, what in the world?

When I say practice concession, not compromise, let me say this.

You never compromise the gospel or engage in sinful behavior when you're trying to reach people.

You never compromise the gospel.

Like I was in Singapore preaching one time, and they said, Would you like to go to a Buddhist temple?

And I said, It's not on my bucket list.

Uh, but apparently it's beautiful and all the architecture and blah, blah, blah.

And some people there are kind of like, hey, you're kind of being rude.

Okay, well, I'll go.

We go, and I'm just checking it out.

I'm not there to worship anything.

And one of the people in there says, Would you like to light an incense and offer and offer a prayer to the Buddha?

And this is where I'm concerned, I'm being conc, I'm I'm at a concession.

I'm gonna go.

I'm not here to worship, but they said, Would you like to light an incense and offer a prayer?

And I said, No, I don't pray to him.

That's a little awkward inside a Buddhist temple.

And I said, I just don't pray.

And there's oranges and all this fruit down there on the altar at the statue's feet.

And I said, How long those those oranges down there before they rot and go bad?

They said, Oh, a couple of days.

I said, if he never eats them, why do you keep putting them there?

And they're like, Oh, brother, it's just part of our tradition.

Key word, tradition.

And I said, Yeah, this is my faith, does not have me pray to a statue.

And I said, He said, Well, do you get much exposure to the Buddha in America?

And I said, Yeah, every time I go to a Chinese buffet, he's on the counter.

And the guy smiled and he said, Yeah.

And he's there to worship.

Now, again, I practice concession, but not compromise.

You don't give them, but when I say, hey, you never compromise the gospel or engage in sinful behavior when you're trying to reach people, but also here's the other part don't give the impression that everyone has to be like you before they become a Christian.

To become a Christian, you don't have to be a Republican.

Some of you are like, well, I'll tell you what, this is the last time we'll visit this place.

Uh yeah, yeah.

See, these these were not essential matters, uh, but they would have been considered what we call non-essentials.

So Paul has some flexibility in his response to the request, okay?

Now he talked about the vow and paying.

Remember, I said talking about context.

Let me, he said, we got these four guys that are under a vow, they got to shave their heads, and you're like, what in the world?

Is that what happened to you?

You look like the love child of Pit Bull and Uncle Fester, mister.

Uh here's what he's talking about.

It's called the Nazirite vow.

If you want to read about it, don't turn there now.

But in the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers, chapter six, but a Nazirite vow had five stipulations to it.

It was voluntary, it could be done by either men or women, it had a specific time frame to it, it had specific requirements and restrictions.

He said, What do you mean, specific requirements and restrictions?

They were basically three big ones.

Number one, you could not drink wine or fermented drink.

That just wiped out about half of you and all the Presbyterians in the room.

Uh you couldn't drink wine or fermented drink.

Matter of fact, you couldn't even eat raisins or grapes during this time, all right?

Uh, here was the other one.

You had to cut your hair at the end of it.

This is what he's talking about here.

He says, Hey, would you do this?

These guys can get they they can shave their heads.

You couldn't you couldn't drink wine or fermented drink, had to cut your hair at the end, you didn't go near near a dead body.

Those are the restrictions.

But here's the fifth thing about it.

It at its conclusion, a sacrifice is offered.

Now, here's where you understand more what the Bible's saying here.

Because he says to Paul, and it sounds kind of crazy, like, what in the world?

He says, Hey, you know, take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads.

Thus, all will know that there's nothing in what we've been told about you, but you yourself also live in observance of the law.

Now, so this is what Paul does.

Paul's like, I'm gonna make a concession.

This is not a compromise.

I'm not violating my conscience or the gospel.

And they say, well, why did he have to purify himself?

Paul's been in Gentile territory for years.

And for a Jew, if you've been hanging out with Gentiles, they contaminate you.

And when you come to the temple, you gotta purify yourself.

And so Paul's like, I don't think I'm contaminated, but okay, I'll do this.

Now, at his conclusion, a sacrifice is offered.

Basically, they're asking Paul to buy the animals that are going to be sacrificed for these guys as they complete their Nazirite vow.

All right.

So you may be asking yourself, how could Paul do something like this and you not consider it selling out?

Because some people can be so strident in what they believe that they miss the big picture, okay?

Paul wasn't that way.

He practiced what we hear a lot today.

He practiced this in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, but in all things love.

So Paul's like, hey, listen, I don't believe in keeping the rules makes me Christian or whatever, but hey, I don't want there to be a stumbling block in the Jews to hear the gospel and rejoice with us.

And so, how could he do something like that without selling out?

Well, you have to understand what he said back in 1 Corinthians chapter 9.

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

He said, This, for though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.

To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews.

To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those who are under the law.

To those outside of the law, Gentiles, I became as one outside of the law.

Not being outside of the law of God, but under the law of Christ, that I might win those outside the law.

To the weak, I became weak that I might win the weak.

I become all things to all people that by all means I might save some.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.

Paul was, he was driven by this one consuming reality.

I want everybody everywhere to come to faith in Christ and understand the gospel.

And so he's like, Oh, yeah, you got some purification right?

Okay, yeah.

I I'll I'll play along.

I'll buy the animals at the temple, they can be sacrificed so these guys can fulfill their vow.

I ain't shaving my head, but okay, go ahead.

See, gospel concession, not worldly compromise.

Does that make sense?

You don't you don't compromise.

You can make so I walked out, I got had dinner with my host family that night, and they said, Well, we're heard you went to a beautiful temple today.

How'd you feel?

Do you feel like you can downade yourself?

And I said, No, it's actually sad because I was watching a lot of people who were worshiping in a tradition they've been raised up in, but I don't think they even believe it.

And they were like, Welcome to Singapore.

I said, Yeah, by the way, the same thing happens in America.

They're called Baptists.

You're welcome.

Right now you're thinking, where's Julian the NAS guy from last week?

Can he come back?

Here's the third thing.

If you're gonna defend the gospel, how do you defend the gospel without being defensive?

Thirdly, don't confuse people's response to the gospel with their response to you.

Don't confuse people's response to the gospel with their response to you.

Notice that their response wasn't to the man but to his teaching.

Let me just read in verse 27.

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia seeing him in the temple stirred up the whole crowd and they laid hands on him, crying out, men of Israel, help.

This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law in this place.

Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.

Let me just stop right there, verse 28.

Again, notice their response wasn't to Paul, but to his teaching.

If he didn't stand for something, if he didn't say some things, if he didn't teach anything, there would be no problem.

And this explains a lot of people's lives.

Unless and until you stand for something, you're not gonna get any blowback.

If you're just kind of the quiet guy in the corner, it's like, hey, I'm just here to get a check and pay my mortgage.

It's gonna become increasingly harder to hide as a Christian in America.

And I think that's a good thing.

Their response is not to Paul, but to the gospel he preaches, which exposed three things they trusted in.

If you want to see what people trust in, then look for what they defend.

And it's crazy that things, look in verse 28.

He he goes crazy about three things.

He said, Men of Israel, this man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and against the law and against this place.

And he's exactly right because the gospel of Jesus Christ says, take the first one, the people.

He says to the Jews, your religious nationalism cannot save you.

Being born in America doesn't make you a Christian.

Coming to church doesn't make you a Christian.

The Jews said, Hey, we're Jews, we're God's chosen people.

I mean, I'm sorry, you're a Gentile, but we're already in.

And Paul says, No, no, no, you're not.

Being religious doesn't make you a Christian.

Okay, so that's the people, the law.

Basically, Paul taught the rule the rules cannot save you because you can't keep the rules.

This is Romans chapter 7.

Romans 7 · chapter mention

Paul himself said, Hey, the good that I want to do, I don't do.

The evil that I don't want to do, that's what I do.

Now, this is not as a believer, he's talking about, hey, when I was trying to be righteous by the law.

He's flashing back in his mind.

The good that I want to do, despite the fact I'm super religious and very zealous and an expert on the truth, but a dropout on the way.

The good that I want to do, I can't do it.

But the bad stuff, the stuff that I told God last Friday now, I'm never doing that again.

Please forgive me just one more time.

I turned around and did it again three days later.

Then he says, This, Oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?

And Jesus comes and says, Me.

This is what makes the gospel the good news.

And then the people, the law, this holy place.

Basically, God said, They're talking about the temple.

These people went crazy over the temple.

They thought God lived in a building.

We got to have rules here.

This is why he says, Oh, he brought this guy into the temple and defiled the temple.

Because in the temple back then, there was a place like the only Israelites, Jewish people could come.

And then there was a four and a half-foot wall.

On the other side, that was called the court of the Gentiles.

They had to hang out there.

It's kind of like the high school cafeteria.

There's a certain area where uncool kids don't sit.

And so, but if you read in the New Testament, in Ephesians chapter 2, it says this, remember this four and a half-foot wall?

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

The Bible is cohesive.

It's not a bunch of one-off stories, got nothing to do with each other.

So in Ephesians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul is trying to explain to people how God took Jews and Gentiles and made of those two different uh uh nationalities, he made one man in Christ.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

He said, Of Jesus, he is our peace who has broken down every wall.

And so this is, and the people hear that and go, Oh, okay, so I can come to church?

Yeah.

Well, I don't have church closed.

You don't have to have church closed.

You can just come just like you are.

Well, I don't have it.

Somebody texted me this week and said, I can't go to Grand Parkway.

I said, why not?

He said, because everyone there has it all together.

And I texted back, clearly, you don't know these people.

I was just like, wow, I hope we don't give that vibe off.

But basically, they defended the temple, but Paul taught that God lives in people, not buildings.

That's what he said in 1 Corinthians.

Hey, do you not know that your body is the temple of the living God?

God lives in people, not buildings, and this made them incredibly angry.

It says, and at once the gates were shut.

This is a great picture of people's response to the gospel.

We don't want that in here.

And so we're kicking you out, and then they lock the door, and then they lock the gates.

We're kicking you out, and you keep that gospel out of here because it threatened their rules.

You got to get to the point where you believe the gospel more than you fear man.

And here's the last thing.

If you're gonna defend the gospel, not be defensive, here's the last thing you gotta do.

You gotta be able to trust what you know.

Now put a start by this one.

This is gonna make us think just a little bit, but that's okay.

You should come to the church and think.

What do you mean, trust what you know?

Look at verse 31.

Uh, all this stuff has happened, okay?

And down here in verse 31, this happens.

It says, uh they seized him, they dragged him out of the temple at once.

The gates were shut.

Verse 31, and as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort.

That makes no sense.

A tribune of the cohort, basically, there's a cohort, it's basically like a garrison of soldiers.

We're kind of there close to the temple because religion makes people lose their mind, okay?

Paul preaches relationship, not religion, but the tribune is the guy in charge, like the commander of the cohort of soldiers.

They get word, hey man, the the the religious people are going crazy, okay?

There's a riot going down there.

So he gets soldiers, they come down there.

When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

When the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, he inquired who he was and what he had done.

Some of the crowd were shouting one thing, some another.

And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

When he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.

For the mob of the people followed were crying out, away with him.

Get this guy out of here.

Now, when I say trust what you know, here's what I mean.

I want you to notice that Paul doesn't panic.

He doesn't turn on God, he doesn't deconstruct his faith and start a podcast.

That only happens in America.

No, no, no.

Because, see, we don't know enough to trust it and entrust ourselves to it.

That's the big difference it does in America, people in the Bible.

They knew God and the gospel very intimately.

It wasn't information, it was intimacy.

He doesn't panic, he doesn't turn on God, he doesn't doubt, he doesn't renounce his faith.

It's not because he was a better Christian, I think it's one simple reason, because he trusted what he knew.

Allow me to demonstrate, okay?

Remember back in chapter 20, he was talking to the Ephesian elders, and he said this, this is uh uh uh uh Acts chapter 20, verse about 23.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

He says, And now, behold, I'm going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

Now, here's the thing that I want to just tattoo on your brain today, okay?

If you're a note taker, write this down.

God is often trying to prepare to prepare instead of prevent.

God is often trying to prepare you for something instead of prevent that something from happening.

Because in a lot of time, lazy preachers and lazy churches sell you a bill of goods that says if you come to faith, if you become a Christian, God is going to prevent all the bad things from happening to you.

And then because we live in a fallen world, bad stuff happens to you, and you get mad at God.

And who wants to believe in that God?

Well, you shouldn't believe in is that preacher that lied to you to begin with.

You should keep believing in God.

Again, God is often trying to prepare instead of prevent meaning, God is preparing us for what is to come.

He is not always going to prevent it from ever happening, okay?

You see, he doesn't prove that he's God by just preventing bad stuff from happening.

Look at me.

He proves he's God by preparing you in advance for what you do not know is coming.

You just, you, you just, when it shows up, you're like, oh, I'm prepared for this.

It happens again in chapter 21, about verse 10, he says this.

While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabas came down from Judea and coming to us, uh he looked, he took Paul's belt and he bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit.

This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hand of the Gentiles.

And when he heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, What are you doing?

You're weeping and breaking my heart, for I am not only, uh I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, Hear this, let the will of the Lord be done.

Just I'm done in two minutes.

Stay with me.

I want you to picture Paul.

He's up on the shoulders of these soldiers who've rescued him.

Now, by the way, here's one of the things that happens at this point in the book of Acts.

The Jews are rejecting the gospel, and the Roman unbelievers are more open to the gospel.

Paul is being rescued from a religious crowd by non-religious Roman soldiers.

You just picture he's up on their shoulders so they can protect him from the crowd who's trying to kill him.

And can you imagine he's just kind of thinking, well, this is the will of God for me today.

When I say, hey, trust what you know, it's not just a slick and slight phrase.

Trusting what you know increases your capacity to trust who you know.

Let me say that again.

Trusting what you know increases your capacity to trust who you know.

See, God has higher motives for what he does than you and I just feeling safe and loved.

That doesn't mean he doesn't love us, but he often prepares us for situations we would rather he prevented from happening.

Yes, I live in that world.

I'm human too, okay?

But God does this so that he's glorified by our response to the situation.

Again, God.

He's higher motives for what he does than just you and I feeling safe and loved.

That doesn't mean he doesn't love us, but he often prepares us for situations and circumstances we would rather he prevent.

And by the way, go no further than the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had the same thought.

If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Can you prevent this from happening?

But nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done.

So Jesus can go to the cross, knowing this is the will of God.

I mean, God's accomplishing more than just this moment and his feelings.

Paul can be rescued by some Roman soldiers up on the shoulders to get him away from an angry religious crowd who wants to kill him.

And he can he just rest in the fact that this is the will of God.

God didn't prevent this, God prepared me for this.

He started, warned me, the Holy Spirit did a couple chapters earlier.

And here's why.

And I'm done this morning.

Your knowledge of God, look at me, they're proportional.

Your knowledge and trust are proportional.

Look at me.

Uh your knowledge of God increases your capacity to trust in God.

Again, knowledge of God increases your capacity to trust in God.

If you haven't really grown in your knowledge of God, that's why we have midweek classes on Wednesday here for 10 weeks in the fall and about eight or nine weeks in the spring.

Uh, because we want not just information, but we want you to be equipped, to be intimately aware of who God is and how God works and your knowledge of God, and it increases, and then your capacity to trust God increases.

It just does.

It's proportional.

That's the way God made it, okay?

This is again while we practice expensive preaching.

We want your knowledge of God and the gospel to increase.

And here's why.

So your ability and your willingness and your desire to trust God increases as well.

Does that make sense?

Let's pray together.

If you're our guest, just relax.

We like to teach the Bible, and then we'll give you some soul space to think about it.

Some questions come up on the screen.

We discuss these in our community groups that meet all over our city and homes.

You can take a picture if you want and talk about them at lunch.

Or take one a day this next week and just meditate on it.

But for right now, let's just be still.

And I want you to ask God one simple question.

God, what'd you say to me that had my name on it?

God, what's the one thing that I still should be thinking about come Wednesday or Thursday?

Just love God with your mind for just a moment.

God, we understand today that the will of God is not our will.

Some of us don't experience the will of God for our lives because we think you have to save us from everything.

We think you're a God of prevention, not a God of preparation.

We understand from the Bible, God, and from life itself that sometimes it's going to be hard, it's going to be brutal.

That doesn't mean that God's not good and not sovereign, not in control.

It means we live in a sinful, fallen world where people are given freedom and they use it sometimes for evil.

But we've been given freedom and we've been redeemed, and we can use our freedom for good to remind everybody everywhere that there's a God in this world and He's real and He's available.

He's not mad at you.

He sacrificed His Son in your place for your sin.

You don't have to feel separated and like God's a million miles away.

He's very up close and he speaks a language you understand.

God, for that we're grateful.

Pray for anyone here today that's never come to faith, never begun a faith relationship, they would seek one of us out at the end of the service and say, Hey, man, I got questions, but I want to I want to talk about this.

That's why we do what we do.

So thanks, Lord, that your will is good and you can be trusted.

Thank you in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

If you're our guest today, let me say thanks for being here.

You're always welcome here.

We let you move at your own pace.

Uh, all we ask of you is you just text welcome to that number on the screen behind me that gives us a record of your visit.

Uh, we want to help you take your next step spiritually, okay?

We don't want to just preach to you.

We want to be your pastors, okay?

Just we want to hang out.

I got to hang out with a couple of our men on Friday.

My wife and I had dinner with a couple in our church on Friday night.

And then afterwards, we went to a store called the Peach Cobbler Factory.

Shut your entire mouth.

Uh, my wife was so nosy, she was up there.

Is there franchise opportunities available?

Uh and the lady said, Yeah, we're there's just one in Katy, and it's an I tend in West, I 10 in Mason, by the way.

Uh we're here, we're gonna do one in Umble, and then we're coming to Sugarland.

Yeah, my wife would be down to like a Mervyn's commercial.

Open, open, open.

Just back it down.

Well, I walked in, one guy had a tray, and he goes, Yeah, it's kind of like a flight, you know, like a beer's.

And I was like, No, I don't know.

I'm a Christian, okay?

Uh and he had four little cups and a big wad of ice cream, and he just ate all of them.

And I was like, You're going to hell.

Anyway, yeah, but so you say, Well, why are you telling us that?

We don't want to just talk to you on Sunday.

We want to be a part of your life.

We don't want to share just the gospel, but our very selves as well, all right?

So if you're a guest and you're like, hey, I want you to know I was here, shoot the word welcome to that number on the screen.

We always have things going on in the life of our church.

We make you aware of those by our by way of our video announcements.

So check out the screens for this week's announcements.

Here's what's happening at Grand Park Way Baptist Church.

Today we are launching our adult Bible studies in the adult building.

The classes are available for all adults at both 9 and 10 30 a.m.

Join us for a time of connection and fellowship as we explore the store of God's Word together.

We're also kicking off community groups today.

If you're looking for connection and growth, try out one of our groups.

You can find the list and locations on the community group page of our website.

Our ESL, the English as a Second Language Ministry, is off and running.

On Sunday mornings, we offer a women's and men's ESL class during the 10 30 a.m.

service in the adult building.

Come and learn English through the Bible.

Also, here at Grant Parkway, we have an ESL Tuesday evening class.

Due to its growth, we are in need of volunteers.

You can teach, help with conversations, hospitality, set up, tear down, or welcome our students.

Today in the mission center, located in the lobby, there will be a volunteer from Sunday mornings and Tuesday night ESL to give you more information about what it might look like for you to get involved in ESL as either a student or volunteer.

There will also be ESL cards for both classes for you, the people of Grand Parkway, to take and pass out to those who might be interested in learning English.

So stop by, say hi, and grab a few cards to pass out to those in your community.

Finally, Hilarious Sunday is on October 6th.

It's a chance to give joyfully and generously towards expanding our kids' building.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at grandparkway.org.

If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

By the way, the mission center, if you go out the doors, it's right over here to the right.

And there's big flat screen TV, there's a big banner that says ESL.

To be a volunteer in the ESL, you don't have to know a foreign language.

If you do, that's great.

You just got to be able to smile and carry on the conversation in English.

There's people in our country, they're trying to get acclimated, they're trying to learn English.

It helps them get a job, helps them become more acclimated to our country, and we want to help with that, okay?

And it's growing under Curtin Jen's leadership.

Uh, and and and we we need some volunteers.

And so if you go by, you're not signing up to volunteer, you can do that.

You may just have some questions, but if you just go out, hang a right, they're right there, just outside that door right there, okay?

The Bible studies we talked about, adult Bible studies, they take place in the building, our old sanctuary building, which is right across the parking lot.

Uh, and and if you've never been, neither's anybody else.

They all start today.

So it's a great opportunity just to meet people in your same age and stage of life, okay?

We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing.

So stand to your feet.

Hold your hands out.

The sound of children should remind you not to take yourself so seriously.

So when someone's kids talk or cry or whatever, don't stare at them.

Don't be that jerk.

You were a kid once.

Don't get there.

It's part of your responsibility as a church to bear with them and smile.

If you frown at little kids, God's mad at you.

Now, the learning is for living.

Now that you've learned something, go out and live it.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.