Discerning God's Will | Acts 22:17-21 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Can we show our appreciation to the praise team for leading us?

Thank you. If you were at our conference

last year, then you would have hopefully remembered that we

spent our time that weekend exploring the life and the

ministry of the Apostle Paul. And you might have also

remembered that by the end of that conference.

I acknowledge that whatever we learned in those sessions just

really scratched the surface of what this man's legacy has to

offer us as followers of Jesus Christ.

While that truth is something that I was reminded of in my

personal time reading God's Word this week, as I've recently been

in the book of Acts. And something stood out to me in

a particular passage that moved me so deeply.

It was instructive, reassuring, and convicting all at the same

time. And it did such a work in my

heart that I couldn't help but share it with my wife that same

night before I went to bed. And when I woke up, it was still

with me. So I was prompted to share it

with others. And as I have been meditating

and praying on what to speak on today, I could not shake off

that passage. So I decided to look more deeply

into it. And when I did, I discovered

that there was much more to learn from it than I initially

thought. But before we look at these

verses, I must give you the context of the passage.

In the book of Acts, Paul's testimony is granted to us on

three separate occasions. The first time it is narrated by

Luke in Acts Chapter 9, and two other times Paul himself

Acts 9 · chapter mention

recounts his experience with the resurrected Lord, once in Acts

Acts 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22 and the other in Acts chapter 26.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

However, when you look at it more carefully, you'll realize

that there are distinct details and that does not imply

contradiction. Far from it.

It just shows that Paul tailored his account, and when he sought

to emphasize a certain thing, it was because he was dealing with

a particular audience and so he would include some truths while

omitting other events related to his conversion.

He's very strategic in how he shared his story, and it's in

the second account where we find something that Paul adds that

you can't see in the other two. It's found in Acts chapter 22,

Acts 22 · chapter mention

and I would encourage you to turn there.

And here's the background to why Paul is sharing his testimony in

Acts chapter 22. The apostle arrived in Jerusalem

Acts 22 · chapter mention

in Acts chapter 21, and when he got there, he was sharing all

Acts 21 · chapter mention

that God had done with the leaders among the Gentiles.

And they were so moved and they praised God for it.

But the leaders were concerned because rumors were spreading

about the apostle Paul. And here were the rumors.

He is teaching others to reject, to to overlook, to almost

despise the law of Moses. And so these leaders encouraged

Paul in order to dispel these false, slanderous things.

Paul, why don't you go to the temple, honor certain customs to

show the Jews that this is not what you're about, that you're

not against the law necessarily, that you're not against certain

customs from the law. And so Paul agreed.

But things did not go according to plan, because once he arrived

at the temple, the Jews recognized him, and they stirred

up the crowd to apprehend him, ultimately to have him killed,

to get rid of him once and for all.

And Paul is mauled by this crowd.

And though beaten near to death, the Romans learn of it.

They intervene and they rescue this man from this riot.

And the Romans, they're, they're confused themselves.

And So what do they do? They arrest Paul, and they are

ready to put him into custody. And as they are about to enter

into the barracks, Paul asks, may I say something to this

crowd? And he is permitted to do so.

And so Paul now is ready to make an opportunity out of this, and

he's not looking to defend his innocence necessarily.

More than that, he wants to share what Christ has done in

his life, and he wants to show how his ministry is rooted in a

heavenly call. And So what does he do?

Well, he shares about what happened on the road to

Damascus. And more than that, he talks

about how Ananias was sent by the Lord to pray for him and to

instruct him further of how he had to go to the Gentiles to

preach this truth. And how is the God of our

fathers who is the one who commissioned me?

But Paul doesn't say much before this same crowd that erupted in

fury at his sight would explode once again.

And we'll get to that point later.

But it's after he shares about his Damascus Rd. experience and

after he talks about Ananias that we see something again that

you don't see elsewhere. Acts 22, verse 17, Paul speaking

Acts 22:17

to this crowd and he says, when I had returned to Jerusalem and

was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him

saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly,

because they will not accept your testimony about me.

And I said, Lord, they themselves know that in one

synagogue after another, I imprisoned and beat those who

believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen,

your witness, was being shed, I myself was standing by and

approving and watching over the garments of those who killed

him. And he said to me, go, for I

will send you far away to the Gentiles.

Again. This snapshot is not found

anywhere else, only here in Acts 22.

Why? Well, it's because of the

audience. And the main reason is that Paul

is trying to convince this group when he retells his first visit

to Jerusalem after his conversion.

That's what he's talking about here.

The first time he goes to Jerusalem, asked after he is

saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, he wants to let him know I did

not dishonor my Jewish heritage. I didn't spurn my roots, I

didn't reject it. And and how does he convince him

of that? We'll look again at verse 17.

He says, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying where

in the temple, in the temple. I honor this holy place from the

beginning. And more than that, he he does

this throughout his testimony in Acts 22.

But more than that, he also wants to try to persuade them

that his ministry to the Gentiles is something that came

from God. Remember, the Jews didn't feel

too great about the Gentiles, right?

And so Paul mentions again here, look at verse 21 that the Lord

sent him to the Gentiles. And before he could continue,

before you can elaborate, they again interrupted him.

And they would not tolerate this.

Now, as helpful as this observation may be in

solidifying the integrity of this man of God, the inspiration

of this passage is beyond that. There's something that runs

deeper here, and it deals with the conversation that Paul has

with Jesus Christ. If you really look carefully,

then this is what you're seeing. The essence of this exchange is

Paul's ambition and desire is redirected by God's perfect

will. Do you see that?

Moreover, it reveals how even the apostle Paul initially

struggled to grasp God's leading at this point in his life.

That's what moved me so much. I have to read again.

Is this really Paul objecting to what the Lord Jesus Christ is

telling him to do? Is this Paul really hesitant to

understand God's purposes in his life, at least in this chapter

of his life? The answer is yes, but when you

consider even more what this passage has to offer, you

realize that the theme of God's will is so prevalent, but there

are more truths attached to it for our benefit.

In other words, I want to take this time, this afternoon to

unfold for us 3 truths about God's unique will that's

applicable to every believer in Jesus Christ. 3 truths about his

will. Here's Paul who has this

ambition, and here's God who has his will for his life.

And Paul made a choice to go with what God said.

So here's three things that I want us to take from this

passage. The first thing is this.

The will of God is illuminated when we are prayerful.

The will of God is illuminated when we are prayerful.

It's not by chance that the Lord's warning to Paul to flee

from Jerusalem happened while he was in prayer.

And he's very specific in his experience because what does he

say? He says that he fell into a

trance. Now the word trance is

interesting. In the Greek, it's the word

exorcist where we get the word what ecstasy from and it's used

a few times in the New Testament.

When you find it in the Gospels, it's generally used to describe

the reaction of some of the people after they witnessed a

miracle, a miracle that Jesus performed.

It's almost as though they were outside of themselves while they

were beholding this supernatural occurrence.

So they're like in a state of mind of of great ecstasy.

However, when you'd see it in the book of Acts, it's more so

used to describe a personal supernatural experience, the

depth of one's encounter of a different realm, and that's what

we see here with Paul. Paul here is talking about a

perception that seems to be transported elsewhere, though he

is physically in one place. It's a state of mind that is

surreal, but it's very real. And it didn't just happen to

Paul as he's retelling his story of how Christ visits him while

he's in the temple praying. It happened to another man named

Peter. So go to Acts chapter 10, and I

Acts 10 · chapter mention

want you to see it with me because I'm going somewhere with

this and Acts 10, verse 9. Here's how Luke tells us of

Acts 10:9

Peters, a great turning point in his walk with the Lord says here

in Acts 10-9. The next day as they were on

their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the

housetop about the 6th hour to pray, and he became hungry and

wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he

fell into a trance. Now he has this vision right of

this blanket that's being dropped from heaven with all

these creatures in it. We won't get into that.

I want you to see what happens though at verse 13 while in a

trance, verse 13 says, and there came a voice, them rise, Peter

kill and eat. Peter said by no means Lord, for

I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.

And the voice came to him again a second time.

What God has made clean do not call common.

It's interesting how Peter himself falls into this trance

through which Lord Jesus gives him instructions that would

revolutionize the church's gospel mission.

Peter and Paul had this experience, and the main reason

why I'm bringing this up is when these divine orders came to them

while they were in prayer, what happened to Peter?

He went up to the house, stop at the 6th hour to pray, and while

he was praying, the Lord meets him in that place.

Now, it would be very irresponsible for me to use

Peter and Paul as examples to teach that if you pray,

eventually you'll tap into trances.

That'll be wrong. However, it's not wrong to say

that Peter and Paul were granted guidance when they prayed,

because that's something that you and I can expect as well.

That's a truth that is woven throughout the Scriptures.

Listen carefully. God honors a praying man.

The Lord blesses a praying woman.

God solves things When we come to Him in supplication.

He intervenes when we intercede. He comes through when you take

time to commune. And one of my favorite examples

of this is in the life of David. Oh, there's so many places you

go with David's prayer life, but there is one place that's often

overlooked. We study this when we were

looking at Second Samuel. It was when he was forced out of

Jerusalem into the wilderness because his son Absalom raised

up a rebellion against him. And while David is on foot with

some of his loyal friends, he learns of even greater tragedy,

that one of his greatest and most trusted advisors,

Ahithophel, joined the rebellion against him.

And I want you to turn to the Old Testament to see David's

words with me in Second Samuel chapter 15 and verse 31, Second

2 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

Samuel 1531. And it was told David Ahithophel

is among the conspirators with Absalom.

And David said, oh, Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel

into foolishness. That's all his prayer was.

It was a sigh. It was brief.

You know, people think that it's the length of our prayers that

gets God's attention. It's not the length, it's the

depth. And this man, from the anguish

of his soul, from the depths of his being, says, Oh Lord, please

turn this man's counsel into foolishness.

How does God answer that prayer? Does he give David this vision

of the future and step by Nothing of the sort.

The answer to what the answer to David's prayer is is found in

the very next verse. While David was coming to the

summit where God was worshipped, Behold who shy?

The archive came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on

his head. Where's the answer?

Do you notice the word behold there?

That's an important word because it highlights the significance

of who Shy's entry into the scene.

And more than that, the close secret of events suggests that

the behold is meant to connect what David just prayed to what

is happening right here, right now.

I suggest to you that David's answer to his prayer is found in

hoshai coming to him. And if there's any doubt about

this, I want you to consider what the scripture says after

David and hoshai. Yes, they meet and he sends him

back as a spy. Go be a counselor in Absalom's

court who Shy agrees. He makes his way back and in two

chapters later the Holy Spirit gives us commentary of who shy's

activity in the courts of Absalom.

Look at second Samuel 17, verse 14.

2 Samuel 17:14

Absalom at this point is asking, are he thoughtful and really his

advisors, advisors in general, What should we do at this point?

Now we occupied the throne. What do we do with David?

He's on the run. Ahithophel gives his piece of

advice, and then who? Shy says something.

And notice what's said here in verse 14 of chapter 17.

And Absalom and all the men of Israel said the council of Who

Shy? The archive is better than the

council of Ahithophel. Here it is.

For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of

Ahithophel so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.

Do you see it? How did the Lord determine to

foil Ahithophel's wisdom through Hushai, providing greater and

more persuasive advice. Why do I bring that to your

attention? To show how one God honors a

praying man. He commends and blesses a

praying woman, and His answers don't always look like how we

think they should look. He can intervene supernaturally,

but how does he intervene in this case?

He uses the heart of a loyal friend to be the means, the

instrument of seeing this problem solved.

Just a small reminder that often times we overlook how

friendships and relationships are God's answers to us.

This is Hushai. He came through for this man

because God came through for David in prayer, and it would be

very irresponsible on our end to think that David only prayed in

emergencies. You can't study that man's life

carefully and come to that conclusion.

He had a pattern of opening his heart before the Lord in the

good and the bad. And if you go back to Peter and

Paul's example, where the Lord spoke to them and provided the

next step in an amazing way, they also share in David's

pattern. It's hard to not see it.

What was Peter doing when the Lord spoke to him?

You say he prayed. Yeah, but how did he pray?

They were preparing lunch. He separates himself from people

and activity to be in solitude with the Lord.

What did Paul do? He separates himself from

ministry and busyness. And he goes to the temple.

To do what? To pray.

Yes, we're called to pray without ceasing.

And yes, sometimes we're only left with the option to pray

while on foot, but there is a special blessing that is

reserved for those who take time to commune with God.

There is, and we see it in this example in the New Testament.

So I want to ask you this, if you are somebody who wants to

know the will of God, I'm not. I'm not limiting that to knowing

how to serve in the ministry, just the will of God for your

life over all. Do you habitually pray?

Do you seek Him? Does it regularly cross your

mind with surprises or plans or events, tragedies, even rewards,

Potential promotion? Whatever the case means, does it

regularly cross your mind? I have to pray about this.

I need to seek the Lord. Be honest.

Be honest down deep inside. Do you really believe that

prayer can change things? Do you really believe that if I

bring this before the Lord it can alter things?

Or is this idea of prayer, is the practice of prayer, even the

thought of prayer, even the conviction to praise it,

virtually non existent? And there might be some here

saying I pray, but I'm not getting the answers that I'm

looking for. In fact, it seems like the

Lord's ignoring me or. Maybe you've had this

experience. The more I pray about it, the

more He seems to be putting me in the opposite direction.

And if that's you, then be encouraged with the second point

when we consider this passage and discerning the will of God,

The 1st is that it's illuminated.

When you pray, when you pause, when you seek Him, God will

bless you. And his answers vary.

He's not going to give you a trance, but he might send

somebody, He might send a phone call.

Things might just begin to move. Here's a second point.

If you are somebody who is seeking, who regularly seeks,

who is even frustrated because it's not working well, then

consider this. The will of God #2 may not fully

align with our righteous desires.

Notice I didn't say selfish desires.

Notice I didn't say fleshly desires, righteous desires.

When Paul is telling this group in the temple about the past,

how he was at Jerusalem at one point to pray, and it was in

that place of prayer that God gave him this mission.

Why was he in Jerusalem to begin with?

To minister to the Jews? And you can't blame him.

Can you think of a better place? This is the hub of the

religionist of his day. Moreover, Jerusalem was the

beginning point of his evil campaign against the Christian

movement. So think about how Paul is

thinking here. I just met this Jesus who who I

was persecuting in his body. He saves me, transforms me.

I'm going to go back to Jerusalem and I'm going to show

everybody that I'm changed by this man.

The very man that I fought and resisted rescued me and renewed

me. What kind of impact would that

make on his colleagues who who praised his zeal against the

Christian movement? What would it do for the general

population who knew of his incredible mind and devotion to

the law to now find him, to find him now promoting the very

message that got Stephen killed, the very message that he

approved to disintegrate through his martyrdom?

Paul is not thinking emotionally here.

He's being very strategic. And so This is why he's in

Jerusalem as he retells it. And this is precisely what Paul

uses to protest Christ's initial command to leave Jerusalem.

Paul, get out of here. They're not going to accept your

testimony. And this is one of those moments

in the Bible where we can truly identify with the humanity of

these heroes of the faith. Can you see it?

Paul is attempting to convince the Lord how his plan is the way

to go. I I couldn't help but smile when

I learned this about Paul. To think that he is trying to

persuade the Lord of the effectiveness of his idea.

You know why I smile? Because most, if not all

Christians have done something similar.

We give the Lord our proposal, and we try to pressure Him to

buy it, to act on it, to sign off, and we give Him reasons

too. Right.

Again, I can't help but chuckle when I read Paul telling the

Lord about his testimony and his history.

And I want to share a few insights under the second point

that can save you your breath and trying to object to God's

leading in your life. Here's the obvious 1.

He always knows better than you. Always.

So Paul seems so certain that his testimony would win the Jews

in Jerusalem. And he's not again being

emotional. He's actually being rational.

He's being logical. But like Paul, please pay

attention to this point. But like Paul, be prepared for

your rational, well thought out plans to be delayed or rerouted

altogether. It seems good.

In fact, you actually told other Christians about it and they're

like, that's amazing. Then you bring it to the Lord

and guess what? He doesn't think it's so

amazing. Be prepared for that.

We're dealing with a man. Why is he in Jerusalem?

Is he looking for an estate? Is he looking for a vacation

home? Nothing wrong with vacation

homes. That's not why he's in

Jerusalem. That's not why he's wrestling in

prayer. He wants to win souls.

What can be wrong with this? And yet the Lord says, no, not

here. The Lord said, I don't want you

to preach here. I don't want you to witness

here. Now, if we heard the Lord saying

that, we were thinking, was that really the Lord?

Yeah, it's the Lord. Why?

Because he knows better than you and he knows better than me.

And see, this roadblock would not only be confirmed by this

vision, Paul would experience it periodically whenever he tried

to engage the Jews. You read throughout Acts, we

touched on this at the conference.

Paul had some success in winning the Jews over to the gospel, but

more than that, he experienced persistent rejection and

resistance from them. And in those providential

nudges, he would always go back to the Gentiles and he would see

greater fruit there. Why?

Because he was primarily called to the Gentiles.

And so it wasn't just in this vision.

Paul had this burning passion for the Jews.

He couldn't help it. So wherever he would go, he

would find a synagogue. And yes, there was some some

fruit in that, but then there would be enough rejection for

him to say enough, I'm going to the Gentiles.

So the Lord even used experience closed doors to say this is not

my will for you. So again, another hint that the

Lord doesn't have to give you a trance to lead you.

He did it for this mighty man of God who would lay the foundation

of the church. But even in this man's life, God

would do it through Providence. The second thing I want to

observe under the second point is that God's will for our lives

will not unfold the same way as it does for others.

You know, when you read Paul's experience here in the temple,

it matches closely with another man of God's experience, not

Peters. Isaiah's turn to Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

6 in a very known passage, and I want you to see it with your own

eyes. We'll begin in verse one.

In the year that King Isaiah died, I saw the Lord sitting

upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe

filled the temple. Where did this happen?

Where did this vision lead him to seeing the Lord in his

temple? Skip over to verse 8.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send?

Who, and who will go for us? Then I said, here I am, send me

verse 9. And he said, go and say to this

people, keep on hearing but do not understand.

Keep on seeing but do not perceive.

So when you compare Isaiah and Paul's experience, here's what

you find. Both had a vision of the Lord in

the temple. In that vision both receive a

Commission from the Lord. And with that both were told and

both were prepared to face a stubborn people who would oppose

their message. So parallels.

Here's the main difference. Isaiah was told to stay and

preach to the stubborn people. Paul was called to leave.

Now, I'm not suggesting that Paul is using Isaiah's ministry

to protest God's strategy for his life.

Here is what I am saying though. We often look at how God works

with others and wonder why He can't do the same for us.

Lord, I'm looking over there and I see how you provided for so

and so. I'm in the same situation.

Can you? Can You do the same here?

God Almighty, I with my own eyes, my own ears, have

experienced how You have healed this very same sickness.

Can't you do it again? Lord, if you can use Brother so

and so and open all these doors for the ministry, what am I

going to do with all this pent up zeal and no outlet?

In fact, I think I have something really to offer.

Sometimes the reason for our protest in God's leading in our

lives is when we compare and look over and see what He's

doing for others, earlier, more bountifully, more obviously, And

we think, why for them and not for me.

Can I tell you at least one reason why?

Because God is an amazing author.

There are some amazing authors who have written many books,

some up to 100. Some hymn writers have written

thousands of hymns. God is writing billions of

stories at the same time, and every single one is unique.

Though there might be some comparisons to make.

Which leads me to this final point.

Under the second point, God does not owe us any explanation for

why he leads the way he leads. There's a clear contrast between

the words of Jesus and Paul in this regard.

Paul was elaborate in his explanation, was he not?

Jesus was very brief. So Paul is explaining things and

the Lord doesn't go back and forth with him, does he?

How does he end the conversation?

He simply says, go, I'm sending you to the Gentiles and we can

applaud Paul here. Do you know why we can applaud

Paul here? Because he doesn't demand

further clarification. He just submits.

OK, you want me to go to the Gentiles?

I will go to the Gentiles. Paul simply trusted in God's

leading even though his bosom was burning to be in Jerusalem.

These are righteous desires, but they were not God's will.

And my question was how do I arrive at that level of faith?

Or even though what I am seeking God for is good, sacrificial,

holy, consecrated God glorifying, but He doesn't

approve it, at least for the time being or at all.

The way you can trust God in His leading in your life is to know

God more. In other words, the more you

know who God is, the less you will question why he does what

he does. Because you know his nature.

You're convinced of His goodness.

You see that he is so attentive and personal.

And so he's not ignoring you. He's not tricking you, He's not

torturing you. He's good.

And so I have. I have less questions.

Questions are not sinful in themselves, but you can come to

a place where your walk with a God is with God is more

Worshipful than it is about interrogation.

Let me bring you to the third and final point of God's will

and discerning it. The first is that it's

illuminated when we pray. The second is that it does not

always align with our righteous desires.

And lastly, the will of God will not always be understood or

praised by others. The will of God will not always

be understood or praised by others.

The point here is not found in the one passage that we read,

but it's in the following verse after verse 21.

Look at verse 22 of Acts 22 and see how the Jews reacted to

Paul's testimony. Up to this word they listened to

him. Then they raised their voices

and said away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should

not be allowed to live up to what word?

Gentiles moment. Paul brought up the Gentiles.

That was it. These Jews could not fathom that

the Gentiles would share in the same spiritual privileges.

They could not eat. It was unthinkable that they

could have good standing before God apart from the law.

And here's this Paul saying that the God of our fathers

commissioned him to go to these heathens.

So all it took for this crowd to you want to talk about getting

triggered? Gentiles triggered them.

That's it. Sermons over, you're a dead man.

Here's another illustration of how mankind utterly rejects

God's good and perfect will for humanity.

What are they objecting to? God saving more people.

Goes to show how vile we can be, especially in our spiritual

pride. But on a personal level, it also

reminds us that serving God in the way that He has called us to

will not always be understood, and more than that, can even be

vehemently opposed. Paul's trying to tell him about

his ministry. They want nothing to do with it.

And it's not unique to Paul. My mind went to another man of

God that is testified of in Acts Chapter 7.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

We're still in Acts. Scroll back to Chapter 7 and

notice how Stephen recounts the life and ministry of Moses.

And I want you to see something with me that's quite amazing.

Most people think that Moses knew he was called when he was

80. That's not what Acts 7/23 shows.

When he was 40 years old it came into his heart to visit his

brothers, the children of Israel, and seeing one of them

being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged them

by striking down the Egyptian. Look at this.

He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was

giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not

understand. So Moses at 40, mighty and word

indeed, educated in the schools of Egypt, high up in government

position, had it in his heart to visit his brothers because

something happened there where it was revealed to him that

maybe God brought me here and promoted me to this place so

that I can deliver the Jewish people.

And when he tries to rescue 1, he kills an Egyptian man.

You read later on that they reject him, even the Jews.

And I, I can't help but smile at this as well.

You know why? Because you have Moses here who,

who is in tune with the will of God, but he's trying to do it in

his own timing, in his own way. It would take Moses a very long

time to kill one Egyptian at a time, wouldn't it?

How would God do it? He would just use the Red Sea.

Timing is important in God's will.

Timing is very important. So 40 he thinks, yes, this is

it. I see it now.

And Moses was a strong man. So he puts it all together.

He attempts to bring about the salvation and it's rejected.

What are we told? They did not understand.

And listen, you're saying why is Steven bring this up?

I need to mention this. Steven is bringing this up again

to his persecutors. We're ready to kill him, the

Jewish leaders, because he wants to remind the Jewish leaders

that Jesus is not the only Redeemer that they have

rejected, that they have a pattern in their history of

overlooking and failing to see. God sent rescuers.

So you rejected Christ. Let me tell you that this is

deep in your bones. You did it with Moses.

He came to deliver. You didn't see it then, and you

can't see the greater Moses now. But let's put ourselves in Moses

sandals when we realized that God has called us to something

to serve Him, to love Him and people around us don't get it.

Be prepared that if you seek God, that if you're going to

comply with His wishes, that you would be misunderstood in that

pursuit, both by unbelievers and fellow believers.

And that misunderstanding should never discourage you from that

path. Never.

As long as you are in accordance with God's Word, as long as

you've done your part to receive illumination in prayer, you are

in the safest place. You are in the best place.

I heard someone once say that the hardest thing about God's

will is not knowing it. It's doing it when you know it.

There's some truth to that. And for you and I to be reminded

of this may provide a little bit more fuel to our faithfulness.

That's true for all of us as believers.

I'm sure most of us in here have paid some kind of a price for

following Jesus Christ. But even within Christendom, to

serve the Lord, the way He's called you to will not always be

recognized and appreciated. But you do it for the Lord.

You do it for the Lord. Imagine how much this must have

hurt Paul to see the Jews reject God's purpose for his life, God

using him to be the means to bring about the gospel, and they

didn't want anything to do with it.

Knowing God's will is one thing, doing it and stay doing it is

another. And so this really covers many

bases. One, if you're looking for God's

will, you can't do it without seeking God's face.

And be open to how he answers that.

Be open to His timing, no matter what's in your heart.

Like Paul, he had it for the Jews, but he was meant for the

Gentiles. Moses had it at 40, but it was

meant for another time. Be pliable to how God leads you.

And so be ready that even your righteous wishes and and desires

and dreams may not always come to fruition the way you thought,

but it's always because God has something better and He's

equipped you for a greater fruit, a greater harvest, a

greater future. And lastly, when you're there,

maybe you are there, keep going. Don't give in, don't listen to

the lies. You know, there are people you'd

be amazed who are even convinced or being convinced that it was

better to just be in the world. It was better to be lukewarm.

It's better to be nominal. It's better to do it your way.

So all these things that would try to capture your

consecration, cut it off and realize that these men of God,

they knew temptation, they knew struggle, but oh, they stuck

with it until the end, and they're not regretting it now.

They're not regretting it now, though.

We thank you for this word, a brief reminder of how we can

discern your will. And solo, we think about what

we've prayed about in years past.

Help us believe that you honor a man, a woman of prayer, and help

us wait if we don't get answers right away.

And Lord, if answers seem to be going another way, help us trust

you. Help us not compare.

Help us always believe that you are offering something wonderful

for your glory. And help us, O Lord, to use the

energy that we would have to argue, maybe to worship instead,

to go when you tell us to go to state when you tell us to say.

Lastly, help us do it for you and you alone.

Help us to do it for your smile alone.

Lord, we give ourselves a fresh to you, thanking you for how you

can even speak to us through somebody else's story.

We honor you today in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. Let's stand and worship the

Lord. Walking with the Lord Jesus,

I've learned so much. One of the things that I've

learned about myself and about the Lord is that I am so

grateful he never took my advice.

I'm so happy and I'm glad that he didn't take Paul's advice

either. Hypothetically, what would have

happened if Paul spent all his energy and efforts in Jerusalem?

What kind of letters would we be left with in the Bible?

How far would the gospel have gone?

Speculating. Sometimes, A lot of the times,

no is the best answer. You know, we could have kept

going. I think of Philip.

So Paul is told to leave Jerusalem.

He really wanted to stay. Philip and Samaria was the means

to see revival. The most unlikely place, at

least one of the most unlikely places.

And in the middle of the revival, the Lord says, I need

you to go into the wilderness. To do what?

To talk to one guy. What if Philip objected?

Well, these are brand new babes in Christ.

Look, there's some awesome move of the Spirit.

Nobody saw this coming. You're asking me to leave now.

I got to fasten Primo. I don't know if that was the

Lord who told me to go. He didn't object.

He goes, He interrupts this man's personal devotion time in

the book of Isaiah and look at the history of Ethiopia and

you'll see what came about of that one, one-on-one experience.

And so whether he tells us to go, tells us to stay, we have to

trust Him. Can we ask them to help us trust

them? Whether it's for ministry,

whether it's for work, whether it's with our bodies, whether

it's with relationships, whether it's with our plans, no matter

how unique they may be. Lord, we want your will.

We want your will. Help us to know that when we

pray about it, we have no reason to be fearful.

We've done our part or help us Lord, when doors aren't opening,

though we want them to be opened to trust in your story writing

and your shepherding and Lord, no matter what we're doing now,

knowing that we are in the will of God, but we're not seeing the

fruit. Perhaps we're not seeing the

full reward of it or it's it's difficult, especially because

people don't understand or maybe even people don't receive it.

Help us just serve you no matter what, Lord, we love you.

Thank you for this church, thank you for every brother and sister

here. Help us all have this in common

that we want to be in your will and we trust that you'll guide

us there. In Jesus name Amen and Amen.