Acts: Addressing Concern

The title.

This morning, again, as I said Paul, we've been looking

at Paul's missionary finish, his missionary journey, the second missionary

journey's only his.

Way to Jerusalm. He's told the church that he's on

the way to Jerusalem.

And as we come to Act twenty one this morning,

we're starting verse seventeen. If you want to turn there,

we'll read together. In just a moment, we see Paul

go into Jerusalem. And as it gets into Jerusalem there

there's a group in the church there that have some

concerns and they share those concerns with Paul.

And we're gonna look at that a little bit.

I remember, have you ever you ever thought, have you

ever asked yourself the question that does how I live

my life.

The things that I do and the things that I say,

does it matter the others?

Does it matter to not only others in my life,

but does it matter to others in the church. You know,

sometimes it's as we think about sometimes it's very easy

to say, you know, what I do in my personal

life and what I do in my church life are separate.

I remember when I was a young, young pastor, I

just left seminary in two thousand. I think it was

two thousand and one, two thousand and two. I was

at my first church in South Carolina and I was young.

I was twenty in my twenties and Brandy.

And I just had Chloe at the time, we had

not had Carolina. And I was at my.

First church, the first full time church, and I was

a student pastor. MS say, y'all know that before I

went into senior pastor, I was a student pastor, myself

student pastor.

There, and you know I was.

It was a work week and the pastor I worked

for he didn't really have dress code for that. I

had to wear anything in particular for during the work week.

And so that particular day, I think I had a

T shirt on and shorts and some rainbows which are

flip flops by the way, so I had them on.

And well, that week pret Jigeria, the pastor was out

of town and there became an emergency. There was a

church member went into the hospital and said naturally they

called me and said, you know, can can you Johnathan,

can you go see this individual?

And so I went and I knew them very well.

It was a senior couple in our church.

I went visit them, check on him, prayed for him,

and I thought it was a great thought.

It was a great, you know visit, and went home.

Didn't think anything about it.

The next day, preacher a few weeks or maybe it's

the next week or sometime, Preacher Deer came to me

and says, Jonathan, they had talked to you about something.

And I said, okay. He says, I need to talk

about you. You went and made a visit last week

while I was gone.

He says that the church members that you visited were

a little bit upset. And I said upset. I thought

it was good.

I went in, said, hey, how you doing, prayed with them,

shared with them. They seem great. He said, well, they

were upset because you went to the hospital visit with

them on behalf of the church and you had T

shirt on him, flip.

Flops and shores and that a pastor.

Shouldn't be going to the hospital making a visit for

the church from flip flops and.

A T shirt. You know.

And I'll be honest with you, just to be totally

frank with you. As a young pastor, I thought, you know,

what does it matter? What does it matter?

I mean, I was working for the church. I was,

you know, I was serving.

The Lord and I and I went to them and

you know, and as a young pastor, I don't know.

If you've ever done this, I think all of us

in some way, I wanted to say, you.

Know, what I how I dress outside of Sunday morning

and outside of Wednesday night really doesn't matter.

It shouldn't matter as long as I'm doing what my

job is.

It shouldn't matter if I have shorts on her a

T shirt of flip flops.

And in the way, what I wanted to do that

day is I wanted to say.

And I want to kind of like campmentalize my life,

all right, say, all right, there is my personal life

and then there's my church life. And what I do

with my own personal decisions on what I wear should

not have packed my church life.

Right, That's what I struggled with that day.

But the reality is what I dress and how I dress,

whether I wanted to believe that or not as a

young twenty year old man, really did matter.

It mattered to the church members.

And I had to come to a place as as

a young pastor that what I do outside the church

and inside the church, what I say, inside the church

and outside the church really does matter. It only matters

to Christ, but it doesn't matter to other church members.

And I had to live with that sensitivity that what

the how I live my life matters, and i'm I

need to address when there is concerns. And so when

that church member came, you know what I did. I

didn't wear flip flops again to the hospital. Preacherry wasn't

upset with me, And you said, why why would you?

It's a big deal because I love my brothers and

sisters enough that if it means now I can care

for them better just by simply wearing shorts.

I mean pants and a polo shirt. I want to

do that because I love them.

I'll give up my freedoms and my wants, of my

desires in order to care well for my brothers. It's

become to this passage scripture, that's really what Paul is doing.

Paul.

There's a group in the church who has concerns about Paul.

It's concerned about what Paul has done outside the church

in Jerusalem. And then this Passage scripture we see how

the apostle Paul responded to the concerns of others in

the church. Can I say to you today, listen, I

love you. But what you do as an individual member

of this church matters. What you do inside this church,

but also what you do outside outside this church does matter.

What you say inside the church and what you say

outside the church matters. It matters for Paul, it matters

for me, it matters for all of us. And we

must have to come to a place where we decide,

how do I, how do I rightly respond to the

concerns of others. There's something in my life that causes

someone to stumble, How am I going to respond? And

what is the right way to respond? We're going to

see how Paul responds to the concerns of these Jewish

Christians in the church, and really how he provides a

model for us how we to respond to the concerns

of the brothers and sisters in our church. And said,

let's stand and let's read God's word and let's see

what happens. What happened to Paul, how Paul the concerns

that came to Paul, and how Paul responded. And I

pray today we would evaluate, Lord, is there anything in

my life that is anything that I'm doing. Is anything

I'm saying inside the church outside the church. It's not

bringing you honor and God? What am I going to

do about it? How am I going to respond?

I pray We've considered that. Today.

It's Acts, chapter twenty one. We're going to start in

verse seventeen. It says that when we come to Jerusalem,

the brothers received us gladly, and don't. On the following day,

Paul went in with us to James, and all the

elders were presents. After greeting them, he related one by

one the things that God had done among the Gentiles

through the ministry, through his ministry. And when he had

heard it, they glorified God, and they said to him,

you see, brother, how many thousands there are among the

Jews of those who believed. They are all zealous for

the law. And they have been told about you that

you teach all the Jews who are among the gentiles

for sake Moses, telling them not to circumcisee their children

or walk according to our customs. What then is to

be done, James says, 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 among 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 yourselves

also and deservance of the law. But as for the

gentile who have believed, we have sent a letter to

our judgment that they should have stayed for what has

been sacrificed to idols from blood, and for what has

been strangled and from sexual morality.

Then Paul took the men.

The next day, he purified himself along with them, and

went into the temple, giving a notice when the days

of purification would be fulfilled, and offered to present for

each one of them. Let's pray together, Father, I pray

today that as we see these concerns that came against

Paul and how Paul responded, or sometimes, Lord, you bring

things that intention to our life that are not bringing

you glory. There's causing concerns for others, or causing another

brother with the stumble in our body. And I pray

Lord that as we see how Paul responded in caring

for others in the church, Lord, may we consider individually

and as a church, how we care well for the

others in our mens. Lord, I pray you'd use this

word to speak to us. Lord, I pray today for

this is tough passage. You know in my mind I've been.

Working through this.

Or I pray for clarity of understanding, clarity of how

we apply it to our lives.

And Lord, I pray that we would.

Lord, have a heart for each other, have a heart

to care well for one another and put each other

before ourselves. Lord, we love you, We thank you Lord

for your word today speak Lord. Now we pray, Amen,

you may be seated. As we come to this passage

of scripture, we see him Paul. He's coming into Jerusalem,

as I mentioned. And as he comes into Jerusalem, the

Bible tells us he comes there, and he's greeted by

the brothers, and verse seventeen, they received as gladly. It

means that they're excited that Paul's there. The Bible says,

on the next day, you see in verse eighteen, on

the following day, Paul went up, and it.

Says James and all the elders were present.

As you remember, as you go back through our history

and looking through acts, we saw early on that Peter

was the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. But then

there was a transition from Peter and James became the

leader of the Church in Jerusalem.

Says, we see James comes to visit here, he is

he is the leader of the Church in Jerusalem.

The Church in Jerusalem is the very first church that

we see in the Book of Acts in the Bible.

It's the first New Testament church. And predominantly this church

is made up of Jews. Jerusalem you can imagine as

predominantly a Jewish area, and so predominantly those in the

church there were Jews, and James is the leader of that.

Not only is James with him there greeting Paul, but

the Bible tells it's the elders there.

So there we know that there's other leaders that James

has that helps him lead.

We understand, especially if we look through church history and

look through acts and acts, the church in Jerusalem was

very large, thousands of one thousands of people in the

church in Jerusalem at the time. We even see that

mentioned just a minute. In just a minute, Paul, I mean,

James even mentions there's thous of Jews in the church.

As you're talking about the Jews.

Here you'll see a distinguishment in the description that Luke

tells us about Jews in the future.

He'll say, there are Jews who are Jewish believers.

These are people who have received Christ as the Lord Savior,

but they come from a Jewish backgrounds.

These are Jewish believers.

And the chapters ahead you're going to see Jews who

are also Luke mentions who are unbelieving Jews.

These are the ones who reject Paul or reject the Gospel.

These that James mentions in this passage of Scripture are

believing Jews.

These are the ones who professed Christ and now are

a part of the Church.

The Bible says in verse eighteen, he comes in eighteen,

he greets them. In verse nineteen. After greeting that, it

says Paul, just one by one that you can imagine

he's been gone from the church and Drusalem for years now,

probably three to five years now.

He's been away from the church in Jerusalem.

You remember, the Church of Jerusalem send him out to

be a missionary to the Gentiles, and he's done that.

In the second missionary journeys against recanning all the different things

and how the Lord led him, and all the different places,

how the gospelois expanded.

They just listen.

It's like in a few weeks where our mission team

come in and share all what God did in the

last seven days.

This is what Paul did that day. He just shared

what God had done over the years.

The Bible says they hear that in verse twenty, they responded,

and when they hear it, they glorify God. I mean,

the church in Jerusalem has really made great strides. If

you remember, after the first missionary journey, the Jews and

Jerusalem were really struggling that salvation had gone to the Gentiles.

Now they're not. They believed that God has taken the

Gospel to the ends of the year, to all people,

to all people groups. And upon hearing how Jesus has.

Saved people from all over the world, all different tribes,

all different languages.

They rejoiced. They glorify God.

And Scripture said in verse twenty, they glorify God. And

after this kind of session of praise, then they kind

of say, okay, Paul, we got a problem. In verse twenty,

you kind of see they kind of pause, Paul, All right, Paul,

now you're here. We got some concerns in the church,

and he starts outlying what happened here. You see in

verse twenty says, you see, brother, brother, theirs referring to Paul,

how many thousands they are among the Jews who have

believed you know, you know, Paul, there's a thousands and

thousands upon in our church, and majority of those into

church are Jews.

They're Jewish Christians converted from Judaism.

You have to understand, early on, when salvation first started

in the early church, me and the Jews had grown

up and followed all the.

Traditions of the Jews.

They followed the Kasher laws, they followed the fees, they

followed all the requirements of the law. And even though

now no longer they believe that those things save, salvation

comes by faith than Jesus Christ. They believe that salvation

is by faith in Jesus Christ. But listen, they've grown

up a Jews, They've grown up following the laws, they've

gone up their traditions, and they're just having they know

these traditions don't save them, but they're having a hard

time letting go of their heritage, letting go of their traditions, and.

So these Jews in.

This church are struggling. They're still keeping some of the

things of the law even though they've put their faith

in Christ. These Jews in verse twenty have come with

a concern about Paul. He even James says, you know,

they're zealous for the law. It means that they're really

zealous for keeping their heritage and they want their families

coming after them to keep the traditions that they've grown

up in. In Verse twenty one, but they have a

concern about you. And this is the concern they've been

told about you, that you teach all the Jews who

are among the gentiles that forsake the Law of Moses.

So these Jews have heard Boomer's gotten back. As you've

been on your missionary journey, as you've gone through Cessarea

and Ephesus and Corinth and all these different places. When

you meet Jews that are in these areas that are

thousands upon thousands of miles away from Jerusalem, you tell

these Jews who come to Christ, they don't have to

keep the law anymore.

They don't have to keep the.

Mosaic law, or a big, big part of for the

Jews were to circumcise their children that they will continue

to be Jewish. Hear that you're telling them that they shouldn't.

They don't have to keep the law anymore.

They hear that.

You're telling them they don't have to follow traditions, even

the tradition, the main tradition of being circumcised.

They're upset, Paul. They're concerned. This is what they said

to Paul in verse twenty one.

And they've been told about you that you teach the Jews,

who are among the gentiles of state Moses, telling them

not circumcise their children to walk according to or to

walk according to our customs. He asked the question, what

are we to do, Paul. There's some people who are struggling.

There's there's they.

Feel like you're walking away from the traditions of the past.

What should we do?

He brought this concern to Paul, and Paul's struggling with this.

You know, Paul is just like me as that young pastor. Well,

I mean, what I do outside of Jerusalem.

And my missionary journey, that's my business.

You know what I teach there outside, that's that's my business.

You're you're y'all are not with me there. They're not

with me. These church members are not with me. I'm

changing the world. I'm turning the world upside down. I've

had countries and I've had persecution to people come against

me for how what my ministry is doing to change

the world.

And you're concerned that I'm saying that I've abandon abandoned

the Jewish. Do you know what God's doing and you're

concerned about some tradition. It's not what Paul says.

Though, does it? Paul sensitive to the concerns of others.

You know, I've seen I've been in ministry long enough

that and through all different churches. I can give you

pictures of how like they're struggle between church members. So

church member has something that's not Sometimes it's a preference

thing like clothing, right, like the church member who didn't

want me to wear flip flops on a hospital visit.

But then there's some issues.

There are some issues like some church member who was

saying or doing something that is sinful. I think of

a church I was serving at one time, and we

had a church member who was using inappropriate language at church.

He was saying things that were just it's not appropriate

for a Christian at all, and he was saying them

like not like as church was over, you know, in

the parking lot, to other church members, and I got

worried about it.

Church members came to me and said, Hey, did you

hear about such and such. He's been saying some things

that are inappropriate. I think we should say something to him.

And I remember going to him and saying, hey, you know,

what you're saying is not not godly. Well, what I

say on my what I say on my own outside

the church is nobody's church's business. That's how I was raised.

Those are the words I was raised talking. I don't

mean anything about it. They may think I mean, I

don't mean anything about it. They're just too sensitive. They

just they just need to get over it. What I

do outside this church and what I do inside the

church is different.

And all we're doing by doing that, same individuals saying

the same thing.

I have a church life in a personal life, and

they don't go together. And what I do and say

is nobody's business in the church.

And that's just not that's just not ripe. It's not biblical.

Some biblical what we say and what we do matter.

You know, in the early Church, it's just not you know,

there's nothing new under son right everything that we're struggling

with this church.

The early church struggled, Yeah, there was.

I've had struggles with people saying and do anything posting

things on Facebook, Lord of Mercy, why do people posting

things on Facebook?

Do you not think? You know?

That is the Internet and when you post it on

the Internet.

Everybody sees it.

So if you don't want your brothers and sisters of Christ,

I don't see what you're doing on the weekends. Hey,

tip from the preacher Paul posted on the Internet. Okay,

And so.

We've heard of that over the years.

But in the early Church, it was it was struggling

between some church members of what each other were eating.

In Church and Rome.

Do you know there was believers in Jewish believers in

the church in Rome, and one of their struggles was

eating meat that will.

Sacrifice the idols. They wouldn't do that. They said that

that was forbidden in the law.

And as they became Christians, they still struggled with that practice.

And then there was gentile believers in the Roman Church

who said, you know what, it may have been sacrificed

to some God, but God made the chicken, Amen, and

God blessed it, And so I'm gonna eat it.

I don't care. God's made it. I don't care if

they offered it to an idol or not. God still

made it. I'm gonna eat it and I enjoy it.

I'm gonna fright. And that's what we do with Southern Baptists.

And there's some people's struggle in the church. In Rome,

the Jewish believer says, no, you shouldn't eat that chicken.

It's been offered to an idol. The Gentile believer says,

praise God, he made it.

I'm gonna eat it.

In Romans, in Romans, and this happens in First Corinthians too,

been in Romans. Listen to what Paul says. I want

you to read this with me. Romans fourteen thirteen through

twenty says this. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on

one another but any longer, but.

Rather listen to this, decide never to put a stumbling.

Block or a hindrance into wayver. Brother, Wow, you know

what Paul is saying. There, As believers in Jesus Christ,

we should never allow anything we say or do become

a stumbling brook.

To one of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Well,

you know what that means.

What we say to you matters, It matters to one another,

and we should be conscious of that.

We should be sensitive.

Paul would even say further in Romans, I know that

I'm persuaded in the Lord that nothing is unclean of itself.

But it's unclean for anyone who thinks it's unclean. But

if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you're

no longer walking in love by what you eat.

Don't destroy the one whom who Christ died for.

So do not let what you regard as good be

spoken as evil. For the Kingdom of God is not

a matter of eating or drinking, but of righteousness, peace

and joy in the spirit. So whoever thus serves Christ

is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then

let us pursue what what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.

Do not forsake the food or destroy the work of God.

Everything is indeed clean. But listen to this, that it's

wrong for anyone to make another.

One stumble by what he eats. You know what Paul says.

Listen, there should nothing in our life we should ever

put as a hindrance to someone else.

In Christ.

And our preferences of what we like and what we

don't like, what we prefer, and what others prefer.

May we never allow that get in the way of

another brother. Well, I want to do this, and the

Church says I should do this, or the Bible says I.

Should do this, We should say, you know what, I

will to lay down what I want for the betterment

of the Body of Christ. So that means I may

I work diligent in what.

I say, and I strive to live a life that

brings God glory. And what I say and what I

do inside and outside the church.

Paul was sensitive to the concerns of others. I just

ask you today, how are you sensitive? How sensitive are

you to your personal actions and speak and how it

inspire impacts others in the church.

I want you to ask yourself a question.

Is there anything in your life that's the stumbling block

or hindrance to your brothers and sisters in Christ? What

steps are you willing to do take to remove any

stumbling block in your life? For a brother, for a sister, Paul,

here's this concern. I think we first see he's sensitive.

How do we respond, we should respond with sensitivity. Secondly,

we should respond with submission. In verse twenty two, what

then is to be done? James says, there were certainly

here that you've come. Then verse twenty three says, therefore

do what we tell you. Who's you there?

That's James and the elders.

Hey, we've got something that we think we could do

to restore you the confidence of the Church in you.

So what is it? He gives them the description. Here

we have four men who are under a vow.

Take these men to purify yourselves along with them, and

pay their expenses so that we may shave their heads.

Thus all will know that there is nothing what they

have been told about you, But you yourself also live in

deservance of the law. We really know that Paul had

no trouble with obeying the law, the Jewish law. We

also see earlier on I think it's in chapter eighteen,

Paul takes a vow. We see Paul shave.

His head in completion of a Jewish vow. So we

know that Paul. What they've said against Paul, we don't know.

Luke doesn't tell for sure that it's untrue, but we.

See by Paul's action that he's showing, hey, I've kept

vows and I'm willing to keep other vowels, so I

don't have any problem with keeping the law or keeping

the Mosaic law. It's really unclear on exactly what vale

James Is asked and Paul to take. There was a val,

a cleansing valve, if it was understanding Jewish and Mosaic law,

that if you had if you were had in contact

with a gentile before you go into the temple, you

would need to be cleansed. Because Paul was on a

missionary journey around and stayed in homes of gentiles, it

was thought that the James Is saying, hey, you've been

with the gentiles.

You've been staying with the gentiles.

They would be concerned that you're being you'd being clean

before you go into the temple. So let's take a

cleansing vow that you would cleanse yourself, you would purify

yourself before.

You enter in the temple.

And the four others there, some would say would be

others who were Jews who were with Paul on his

missionary journey, like Luke and others. Some would say this

is a Nazarreite valve. If you remember Nazareie valve, make

it ring a bell in your mind. Nazaret val is

what Sampson took. You remember Samson, Samson and Delilah, Right,

Sampson grew out his hair. Sampson would not eat certain things, right,

he wouldn't actually a Nazarreite value.

You wouldn't eat certain things. But also you wouldn't drink alcohol.

You would be forbid to touch certain things that you

would grow out your hair.

Some say this is why Paul's doing.

He's taking a natural rights vow and for a week's

time he's going to abstain.

He's going to stand from eat and touching certain things.

He's going to grow out his hair. At the end

of a vow, whether it was.

A cleansing valweld nazure right vow, you would shave your

head to show completion to others that you can completed

your valve to the Lord.

And so that's what they're tell him.

Hey, we think if you take this vow, whether cleansing vwel,

nasa right vow, and they see this is a vow

that was in Mosaic law. You take the vow, you

complete the vale. You shave your head and you lead

others to do that. That will assure them that you're

not abandoning the Mosaic law, that you believe.

That salvation is by faith in Christ. But there's nothing

wrong with keeping your tradition of your your hero. It

is how you were growing up. You know, as you

think about this issue.

Is this is not a sin issue, right, This is

the issue of someone struggling in the church. And Paul

had a choice. Right, Paul could say, you know what,

this is not a sin issue. I've not sinned against

my brother. I've not done a sin. It's just they're

struggling with something. And he can say, you know what,

I'm an apostle, I'm one of the twelve. I'm a missionary.

I've done a lot of things for the church. I've

done a lot of things for God. And you know what, thanks,

but no thanks James on who you think you are.

But I've started some churches myself. You may be the

one who started the church in Jerusalem, but I've started

churches on all over the world.

I tell you what, James, I think I know a

better way.

He could say, you know what, I don't want to

submit to the direction and the leadership of the church.

I don't see this as an issue.

I think they need to get over it where it

could say, you know what for the unity to body.

I want to do what's right, and I want to

care well for the church members, and I also want

to live in submission to the church.

You know, statistically, we know that America Christianity's on the

decline in America. There's a lot of difference studies it's

out there trying to determine what's causing the decline in

churches in America. I remember, and I exactly know who

the scholar is, but I know a few years ago

a scholar wrote an article about the decline in America.

One of the issues that the scholar outlined that was

one of the issues of the decline in America is

the church is no longer seen as the place where

it is determined what is right and wrong. The church

is historically, back in the twenties and thirties and forties,

fifties and sixties and seventies, the church was the place.

Where morality was laid out.

You believe the Bible, and the Bible laid out what

was right and wrong the world, America looked to the

Church to determine what is right and wrong. Now now

in Western culture today, in America, today, they no longer

believe that the Church is a.

Source of truth.

And furthermore, they no longer believe primarily that the Bible was.

A source of truth. What is true? What truth? Relativism? Right? True?

Truth is? That depends on who you are and what

you determine is truth right.

So it's we live in a culture of whatever is

relative to you, whatever you believe, and not only you

believe is right as true. You're you're the source of

your own truth individually. But then secondly, you've got to

be tolerant of the other ones in the church or

in the world and what they believe and determine what

is right and wrong. There is no longer in a

post and modern world a source of truth. The Church

is no longer source of truth, that the Bible is

no longer source of truth. And as result of the

America has gone to a place where they say, you

know what, I'll do, what listen to this what is

right in my own eyes?

And I say that to say many.

Times when we come to a discussion like this, that

really comes into it creeps into the church. We no

longer see the church as a source of truth than

when the church starts talking about how we should live

our life and what we should do and what we

should say. We say, the Church has no business telling

me how to live my life. The Church has no

business on what I say. The Church has no business

on what I do outside of church. The church has

no business and what I do on vacation. The church

has no business on what I put on Facebook. And

basically what we're saying is what I'm my source of truth.

I determine what is right and wrong, and the Church

has no bearing and the Bible has no bearing.

On how I live my life. Can I tell you,

Paul in this passage scripture said God is my source

of truth.

And God's give me the Church to be one who

shepherds me what is right and right is wrong. And

when the Church leads me through God's word.

I'm gonna submit. I want to submit, you know. In

Hebrews thirteen seventeen says obey your leaders. Talk about leaders

in the church.

Submit to them, for they're keeping watch over your souls.

And as those who will have.

To give an account you know, I really believe.

As Paul was confronted by James, I'm sure he probably

felt like.

I didn't mean to do it, didn't mean to offend anybody.

And in that moment he says, I love you, James,

I love you. Leaders.

I know you're watching out for my soul. You're looking

out for the souls of the old Church. Hey, I'll

submit to what you think. And Paul doesn't show pride

or I want to do it my way. No, I

want to live in submission of the Bible, and I

want to live in submission of the Church. How would

you respond, order today, if you're in paul shoes and

leaders of the church came to you about something in your.

Life, how would you respond. You have no business in

my life. You have no business to what I do

outside of church. What would you say?

God, You've given me the leaders of this church to

look over my soul, and you've given me your word

as a.

Source of truth.

I want to live my life sensitive to the concerns

of others, but I want to also live my life

in submission to your word and how the Church is

leading me and how Gods you and I wonder and

listen I want you to understand, as we think about this,

it doesn't necessary necessarily mean it's an elder, a deacon.

It could be a growth group leader, It could be

a small group leader. It could be a brother's and

sister in Christ who loves you and sins.

Brother, I love you. But right now then this in

your life is not bringing an honor to the Lord.

How would you respond?

I pray we would be people who would be sensitive

to the terms of others. But also I pray we'd

be believers he would who would live in submission. Lastly,

how we should we respond? We should respond with commitment.

What does Paul do? Look what the Bible says says,

therefore do what we tell you.

Do. We have four men are under a vow.

Take these men and purify yourself along with them, and

pay their expenses so they may shave their heads. Thus

all will know that there's nothing and what they have

been told about you.

But you yourself also live in deservance of the law.

Verse twenty six says, Then Paul took the men, and

the next day he purified himself along with them, and

he went into the temple giving a notice. And when

the day's of purification would be fulfilled, and the offering

presenting for each one of them. What did Paul do?

He responded with commitment. He responded in obedience. You think

about what Paul does here. He took them in and

they made a commitment in scripture.

They say it's a vow.

I don't know how long they would fast, or how

long they would stay in abstinence, whatever they would do,

but we know that this would require time for Paul,

time for Paul to go into the temple. Paul would

allow for days. How many days he would commit to

this vow, I don't know it was seven days. We

don't know exactly the terms of it. We know cost

him financially. Paul, James and the elder say you should

pay for the offering.

Of these other four.

And we know as we see in this passage, and

only Paul goes and he let out lines the days

of which ever.

Going to do that. But he presents the offering. He

paid the fee for the offering.

This commitment required time for Paul, It cost him financially,

It required sacrifice for Paul. If if you ever thought

about this, have you ever been willing to make a

commitment to care for someone else or something that would

require time for you, that would cost you, and that

it would require you to sacrifice your desires.

Tee. I did that this week.

Last week, my daughter went before they went on a

mission trip, she went and got her a new puppy.

His name's Moose.

He's a labradoodle. He's like twelve pounds. He's only ten

weeks old.

So she goes and gets him Monday, and they're leaving

on Saturday. They go on a mission trip, and.

Then she brings them to my house and said, Daddy,

here you train him while we're going to Mexico.

And so.

I've had the absolute joy, joy fulfilling a commitment that

I made to my daughter that I would take care

of her dog. So I've got to enjoy all the

Moose's first first time taking Moose out in the bathroom

during the flood, that's a lot of fun.

The first time Moose.

Throws up in his clak create, I get the joy

of cleaning it up first time or many times, if

not every day, I get the joy of cleaning up.

When Moose decides to use the bathroom in the floor,

I get the joy, the joy, the absolute joy of

waking up at five point thirty in the morning to

take Moose out of the bathroom because he can't hold

it any longer. I get joy putting in back in

this crate and begging, listen, begging the Lord.

That the dog will sleep a little bit longer. You

understand what I'm saying. And I do all these things

and over these of it. He ran out of food.

They only gave me a little bit of food, so

I had to go to the store and buy him

new food. So it's cost me. It's cost me financially,

it's cost me my comfort.

It's cost me doing things that really I don't want

to do. But why do I do it? Because I

love my daughter.

You know, I heard a quote of a dad who

said this about parenting. Parenting is you sacrifice all your

wants and your desires to raise a tiny human into adulthood.

So I feel that if if you bring a child

and to this earth, you should give them everything you're

capable of giving them.

It's not about you anymore. It's the truth, isn't it.

Because I made a commitment as a father, I'll do

a lot of different things that I don't want to do.

I'll sacrifice. I sacrifice time because I loved my daughter.

Can I ask you today you just look at Paul

when you think about all the things he did for

the church. He sacrifices time going in, He sacrificed his

financially giving for the offering. He sacrificed his desires, He sacrificed.

All that in the end. Why did Paul do it?

Because Paul loved the church. He loved each other.

I think one of the things that's absent from the

church today and over the last twenty thirty years is

we made church all about us and not about others.

We think about as we come to church, what is

the song? Am I gonna like the song? Am I

gonna like the preaching? And I'm gonna like the things

that the church have to offer instead of no. God,

you called me to the church, and God you called

me to love the church and love others in the church,

and to live my life and caring for others in

the church.

And that means I'm gonna make I'm gonna make sacrifices

of time.

That means I'm gonna come to church sometimes when I'm tired,

I got a headache. It means I'm gonna come here

when it's freezing and I have to put a blanket on.

I'm gonna make sacrifices where I'm not comfortable. I'm gonna

sacrifice and I'm gonna care for children or whatever God.

Calls me to do.

And it's gonna take time. It's gonna be hard, it's

gonna be different cold. I'm gonna have to sacrifice some

of my desires and my wants and my preferences because

I love the church.

And I want to I want to make a commitment

to care well for others around me. You know. It's

a beautiful.

Passage and First Corinthians First Corinthians thirteen four through seven

says love is patient and kind.

Love does not envy your bost It's not arrogance were rude,

does not insist on its own way. It's not irritable

or resentful, does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices for truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,

endures all things. And most of the time we use

that passage and talking about how we should love our spouses.

That actually Paul wrote that passage and telling us how

we should love each other.

In the church. Can I tell you do your love

for one another in the church? Is it patient? Is

it kind?

Does your love for one another not envy or both?

Is your love for one another not arrogant or rude?

Is your love for one another does not assist on

your own way?

Is your love for one another resentful? Irritable? Do you

rejoice with truth?

Do you have a love that bears all things, believes

all things, as willing endure all things for one another?

May we be a church that says, Lord, concerns are

gonna come or there's no one perfect person in this place.

If there are, I'd like to talk to you at

the end of the service because I need some tips.

Nobody's perfect concerns are going to come when they do.

May we be sensitive, May we be submit to what

God's word says and what the Church says, and.

May we be committed to one another. Will you pray

with me? Lord? We love you. We thank you Lord

for this morning. Lord. So many times as we think

about church, we think about what the Church has to

offer us.

This morning we discussed much about what we are to

offer one another, how we are to care well for

one another. I pray this morning, the Lord, there's a

temptation in all of us, Lord to want to separate

our personal lives from their church life.

I pray today Lord.

We would hear your word, and Lord, we'd be sensit

your spirit, open to the word of your spirit.

And Lord, I pray we surrender submit to your spirit.

Today, the Lord, I pray there'd be those who they

are willing to make a commitment. Say, God, I commit

myself to you and to your church. Help me love well,

sacrifice my my desires, my wants, Lord, for you and

for your church.

Lord, we love you. We thank you Lord for today.

Lead us. Now we pray your name. We pray Amen Jesus, Lord,

to