Let the Will of the Lord Be Done (Prophets and Evangelists)

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, I stand here this morning on the basis of your mercy and grace.

I'm just entrusted again with the task that I fall so short of, to exalt the name of your

Son, Jesus Christ, to proclaim his precious gospel, to exhort and plead with your people

that Jesus really is worthy of it all, that he is more precious than life itself.

And God, I cannot do this apart from your help, and so we ask for your Spirit to work,

that you would persuade our minds, enthrall our hearts with the inestimable, incomparable

value of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

That we might be effective, bold, winsome witnesses to Jesus all our lives, wherever we are.

Address us as your people to that end.

We are listening, Father.

In Jesus' name, we pray.

Amen.

Acts chapter 21, verses 1 through 16.

Acts 21:1–16

And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Kos, and the

next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara, and having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia,

we went aboard and set sail.

When we had come inside of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we sailed to Syria and landed

at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo.

And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days.

And through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with

wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city.

And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another.

Then we went on aboard the ship, and they returned home.

When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived in Ptolemais, and we greeted the

brothers and stayed with them for one day.

On the next day, we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip, the evangelist,

who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and 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 hands of the Gentiles.

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

Then Paul answered,

What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?

For 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 seized and said,

Let the will of the Lord be done.

After these days, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Nathan of Cyprus,

an early disciple with whom we should lodge.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11 tells us that God gives the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,

Ephesians 4:11

the shepherds, and teachers to the church so that we might be equipped as saints to do the work of ministry.

And so that the body of Christ might be built up until we attain to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ.

The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

And I think it's safe to assume that we, as a church, have not yet attained to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Which means that we still need these ministries, these gifts to function within the church.

Last week's passage, Acts chapter 20, 17 to 38, painted a picture of how apostles and shepherds and teachers functioned in the early church.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

An apostle or a missionary is someone who is sent out by the local church to fulfill, as an extension of the church,

to fulfill a particular ministerial purpose.

I prefer to use the term missionary to refer to modern day apostles because using the term apostle can cause confusion

and erroneously imply that they carry the same authority as the twelve apostles.

Or even the other capital A apostles like Paul, Barnabas, who are witnesses of Jesus' resurrection.

Neither of those two categories of apostles exist today, but the gift of apostleship remains.

He's traveling missionaries who serve as extensions of local churches in other geographic areas.

Paul was such a missionary, and planting churches and supporting newly planted churches was his ministry wherever he went.

And also in last week's passage, we saw how the elders of the church in Ephesus fulfilled the role of shepherds and teachers in the church.

They were commanded to pay careful attention to the flock, which is shepherding language,

and they were exhorted to follow Paul's example in declaring the whole counsel of God,

teaching in public and from house to house.

They're also charged with safeguarding sound doctrine and defending the church from wolves who speak twisted things to draw away disciples after them.

So shepherding and teaching are the responsibilities of elders, among other things.

And as a helpful follow-up to Acts chapter 20, here in our passage, we get a picture of how prophets and evangelists functioned in the early church.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

Earlier in Acts 8, we saw how Philip the evangelist traveled to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Philip is described as one of the seven, one of the seven kind of prototypical deacons who were appointed in Acts chapter 6

Acts 6 · chapter mention

to minister to the needs of the widows, the Greek widows.

And so he was one of the seven, but he's given the title, the evangelist.

He traveled around and evangelized and sharing the gospel.

The term evangelist is used in Ephesians 4.11, which I already quoted to you.

And then in 2 Timothy 4.5, where Timothy is commanded to do the work of an evangelist.

Those are the only times where that word occurs again in Scripture.

And it means to go to a place to minister to people who had not heard the gospel of Jesus and to proclaim the good news.

In Acts 8, Philip did this to the Samaritans.

And gospel came first to the Samaritans through Philip's ministry there.

And then hearing of the reception of the gospel among the Samaritans,

the church in Jerusalem then sent their delegates, the apostles Peter and John,

to give the Samaritan believers the right hand of fellowship and to recognize them as a spirit-indwelled church.

So we see kind of different functions of the apostle and evangelists.

The evangelists proclaim the gospel, and apostles go and constitute the church.

And we also see the way the prophets functioned in the early church in this passage.

Recall that Paul is currently hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible on the day of Pentecost.

And he and his companions have a layover in Tyre where the ship is unloading its cargo.

So he says in verse 4 that in the meanwhile that they sat out the disciples and stayed with them for seven days.

And during that week it says that through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

The phrase through the Spirit suggests some kind of prophetic utterance inspired by the Holy Spirit,

some kind of prophetic guidance.

We know that in verse 16 Paul goes to Jerusalem anyway.

So this is kind of a fascinating detail.

It would be inconsistent with what we know of Paul and what we've seen of Paul so far

for him to just flatly disobey the Spirit of God.

In fact, in chapter 20, verse 22, Paul explicitly said,

I am going to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit.

So what is happening here?

Paul thinks that the Holy Spirit is directing him to go to Jerusalem,

even binding him and constraining him to go.

But then what does it mean that the disciples in Tyre, through the Spirit,

tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem?

Surely God's not confused, and the Spirit of God cannot contradict himself.

And Luke answers this question in the following verses.

In verses 7 to 8, Paul travels through Ptolemais and arrives in Caesarea,

where he stays at the house of Philip the Evangelist.

And he says this.

Read along with me as I read verses 10 to 11.

While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and 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 hands of the Gentiles.

I want you to try to imagine this scene for a little bit.

You can imagine the rapt attention that the people had on Paul in this room

as this is happening, on Agabus rather.

Agabus stands up in the middle of a gathering not unlike this,

and then he approaches Paul.

He walks up to Paul.

And then he takes Paul's belt, which is strange as it is.

Like, okay, what are you doing?

And then he uses it to bind his own hands and feet,

which is not easy to do.

I'm guessing he's using his mouth and teeth and whatever.

And he's binding himself in this hog-tie position.

So he probably can't even stand up.

Binds himself and is on the ground.

And then he is saying this with everyone's eyes fixed on him.

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 hands of the Gentiles.

Sometimes prophets in Scripture use object lessons

or dramatic illustrations of the prophecies that they are proclaiming.

And that's what's happening here.

He takes Paul's belt, binds himself to symbolize his imprisonment

and how Paul is going to be handed over to the Gentiles for judgment.

This is a foreboding prophecy

because Jews didn't have the authority, the political authority,

the legal authority to mete out capital punishment.

So Jews did have some right to punish wrongdoers among them

in their own community.

But the fact that the prophecy says he'll be handed over by the Jews to the Gentiles

is threatening because Gentiles are the only ones who have the power to execute someone.

So there is a possibility here of even death

and there's certainty here of imprisonment is what the prophecy is declaring.

So in light of that, the believer's response to Agabus' prophecy is understandable.

It says in verse 12,

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

The first person plural, we, refers to Luke, the author, and the rest of Paul's companions.

And the people there refer to the believers of Caesarea,

including Philip and his four unmarried daughters who prophesied,

as well as other members of that local church.

They all urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

I think this story is included here to clarify the meaning of verse 4,

where the disciples of Tyre, through the Spirit,

were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

It's not that the Spirit of God himself had told Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

That's not what the Spirit was saying.

We saw clearly earlier that the Spirit himself was constraining Paul to go to Jerusalem.

However, the Spirit of God did warn Paul of his impending imprisonment in Jerusalem.

And based on that revelation from the Spirit,

some of the believers concluded that Paul should not go to Jerusalem.

So that's what it means, that through the Spirit,

they were telling him not to go to Jerusalem.

This is a very interesting dialogue.

And this passage teaches us several important things about prophecy

that I'm just going to outline for you.

First, we learn that prophecy is a spiritual gift for both man and woman.

1 Corinthians 12.10 tells us that it's the Holy Spirit

who sovereignly distributes the gift of prophecy to various members of the church.

And 1 Corinthians 14.1 commands us to pursue love

and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts,

especially that you may prophesy.

So prophecy is a spiritual gift and therefore has its origin in the Spirit of God.

And this gift is for both men and women believers in the church.

Biblical narrative is usually very concise.

So if it gives us what seems like an extraneous detail,

it's probably not extraneous.

It's probably there for a reason.

And it says in verse 9 that Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

This is not Luke doing his old friend Philip a favor

and putting an advertisement for four marriageable daughters in his book.

In the ancient world, having not one, not two, not three,

but four unmarried daughters who are of marriageable age

would have been a source of great shame and embarrassment for the father.

It would have suggested that they were unwanted,

that something about them was defective.

But I don't think that's what Luke is implying

because that was not the case for Christians.

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul tells singles that it is good for them to remain single.

And the reason he gives is this.

The unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord,

how to be holy in body and spirit.

But the married woman is anxious about worldly things,

how to please her husband.

Because Christ has fulfilled what God had designed human marriage to point to,

namely the spiritual marriage between Christ and the church,

it is possible for unmarried Christians,

men and women, to live fulfilling lives with singular devotion to Jesus,

depicting their ultimate marriage, heavenly marriage,

to Christ our bridegroom.

So in light of that new reality,

the fact that Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied

is not a point of embarrassment,

but it's a point of pride.

Here is a faithful evangelist

who has not neglected to evangelize his own children.

Here are four chaste single daughters,

saved by the grace of God,

using their God-given gift of prophecy

to build up their local church.

If God would be gracious to let my three daughters grow up to be like them,

I would not be embarrassed.

I would be overjoyed.

So that's the first thing.

Second, prophecy is divine revelation.

It's what God reveals to us.

It's not something that originates in the human mind.

That's why Agabus says in verse 11,

thus says the Holy Spirit.

And as John 17, 17 says,

God's word is truth.

And Hebrews 6, 18 says,

it is impossible for God to lie.

And that means prophecy proper,

the revelation of God itself,

what God himself reveals,

is entirely true and reliable.

That brings us to the third thing about prophecy.

However, prophecy is different from Scripture

in a couple different, couple important ways.

Prophecy is circumstantial revelation.

Let me explain what I mean by that.

For example, we find two of Agabus' prophecy in the book of Acts.

In Acts 11, 28, he prophesied of a coming famine.

That prophecy is circumstantial in nature.

It tells us about circumstances in the world that will change.

And for this reason, it only applies to those believers

who live during that particular time.

It doesn't apply to us.

We're not expecting a famine.

Similarly, Agabus' prophecy here in Acts 21

applies only to Paul

and then to his impending imprisonment in Jerusalem.

It has no general application to all Christians.

And for that reason, it's not normative

and has no binding authority on us.

Both of Agabus' prophecies were foretelling.

It's revealing circumstantial content about the future.

But prophecy can also involve foretelling,

revealing circumstantial content about the present.

For example, in 1 Corinthians 14, 24-25,

Paul says that the prophecies in the context

of congregational worship like this

will disclose, quote,

the secrets of an unbeliever's heart.

And so falling on his face,

he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

So prophecy in such cases

does not reveal something about the future.

Rather, it reveals the secret of a person's heart

in the present.

For example, a prophecy might reveal

God's specific exhortation or encouragement

for a woman struggling with infertility

or a man weighed down by the shame of hidden addictions.

Some detail about the present

that the prophet would not have otherwise known.

So then we can say that prophecy

is circumstantial revelation that involves foretelling,

revealing something previously unknown about the future,

and foretelling, revealing something

previously unknown about the present.

And this is why prophecy is not authoritative

and normative like Scripture.

The Bible, it says in 2 Timothy 3.15,

is able to make you wise for salvation

through faith in Christ Jesus.

Scripture is intended to make us wise for salvation

through faith in Jesus.

It reveals Christ to us and his gospel to us.

And that's why Jesus says in John 5.39,

the Scriptures bear witness about me.

The entirety of the Old Testament and the New Testament

point backward or forward to Jesus,

to his person, and his work.

And Scriptures also teach us about how to live.

It teaches about life and doctrine.

2 Timothy 3.16 says,

All Scripture is breathed out by God

and is profitable for teaching,

for reproof, for correction,

and for training in righteousness

that the man of God may be complete,

equipped for every good work.

So here's the distinction then.

Scripture has salvific and didactic content.

It points us to Jesus

and teaches us about the Christian life and doctrine

in an authoritative and normative way,

meaning it's binding on all Christians

at all times in all places.

Prophecy, however, does not include salvific

or didactic content,

but circumstantial content.

No prophet today is prophesying Scripture,

like Isaiah or Jeremiah.

And we know this because 2 Peter 3.2 says,

You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets

and the commandments of the Lord and Savior

through your apostles.

What the Old Testament prophets predicted

is what the New Testament apostles have commanded.

And those two things form the foundation

of what we know about Jesus.

It's not New Testament prophets,

but New Testament apostles,

capital A apostles,

who are in line with,

in the same authority

as the prophets of the Old Testament,

because they were the eyewitnesses

of Jesus' resurrection

and were commissioned directly by him

to bear witness to Jesus

and in so doing lay the foundation for the church,

as Ephesians 2.20 says.

He says that the household of God

is built on the foundation

of the apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself being a cornerstone.

Because the foundation of the church

has already been laid,

and it does not need to be relayed.

We now simply build on top of it.

So prophecy in the New Covenant age

that we're in

doesn't disclose new salvific content.

It doesn't add new teaching

in addition to what we find in Scripture.

And that's helpful for us

because that means

if someone like Muhammad

or Joseph Smith

or Sun Myung Moon

comes along and says,

I am a prophet,

I am an apostle,

and here is new Scripture

that I've written

that I'm revealing to you.

Or here's a new way of salvation

that makes the way of Christ obsolete.

Here's a new way you should live

as a Christian

that's different

and contradicts Scripture.

Then you can safely assume

that they are all false prophets.

Because present-day prophecy

is not like that.

It's circumstantial in nature.

Sorry, that was kind of long.

It's a little bit technical.

I hope it's helpful for you guys.

I thought it would be a good opportunity

to share it while we're here.

Fourth, the prophecy is divine revelation

that involves human interpretation.

That's the last thing I'm going to say about it.

While prophecy proper

is divine revelation,

and therefore entirely true

and reliable,

it never comes to us unmediated.

The prophet receives

the revelation from God

and then interprets

and applies that prophecy

to the people

that he or she speaks to.

So in that sense,

a prophecy is more akin

to a sermon

than Scripture.

The Scripture is inerrant

and infallible,

but my sermons are not.

Right?

My sermons are true

and authoritative

only insofar as it is consistent

with Scripture,

which is authoritative

and normative.

That's why we all need

to listen carefully

and make sure that

everything that a preacher says

has basis in Scripture.

Many preachers

have preached

things erroneously.

And so similarly,

while God's revelation

itself is infallible,

the prophet's interpretation

and application of it

is not.

So every prophecy

must be tested to see

if it really is from the Lord.

Is it consistent

with Scripture

and the revealed character of God?

Is the prophet sober-minded,

trustworthy,

and self-restrained?

And we must weigh

the interpretation

and application of prophecy.

So in Acts 21,

God revealed through his prophets

that Paul would be

imprisoned in Jerusalem,

and the disciples at Tyre

and in Caesarea,

as well as Paul's companions,

interpreted the prophecy

to mean that Paul

should not go to Jerusalem.

However,

that was an incorrect

interpretation

and application.

The Holy Spirit

was warning Paul

of his impending imprisonment,

but he was not telling him

not to go to Jerusalem.

He was telling Paul

to go to Jerusalem.

We know that from

chapter 20, verse 22.

So part of the training

that we do

through our prophecy team,

the ministry in our church,

is teaching church members

exactly this,

who are prophetically gifted,

to distinguish between

the prophetic revelation itself

and their own interpretation of it.

We actually had a great discussion

about that even this morning,

and Mariah and Dan

are doing a great job

leading the team

and training,

and our prophets

are getting better and better

in doing this.

It's not always easy to do,

which is why

we encourage our prophets,

you know,

not to say things like,

thus says the Lord,

or thus says

the Holy Spirit.

It's technically

not wrong

to say those things,

since prophecy

is divine revelation,

and there is

biblical precedent

for saying that.

Agabus says it.

However,

unless you're

an extraordinarily

gifted prophet,

and you're quite certain

that what you're saying

is a direct revelation

from the Lord,

and you haven't added

or subtracted from it

in any way,

saying,

thus says the Lord

can lend undue authority

and certainty

to the prophecy.

And also,

because nowadays

many Christians

haven't been taught

what prophecy is,

they often associate

the phrase,

thus says the Lord,

with Scripture-level

revelation,

with Old Testament prophets

prophesying Scripture.

And so that can

mislead people

into thinking

that the prophecy

is new revelation

that has salvific

or didactic content

rather than

circumstantial content,

which is why

we advise our prophets

not to say,

thus says the Holy Spirit,

or thus says

the Lord.

In light of all this,

we can understand

why Paul insists

on going to Jerusalem

despite Agabus' prophecy

and other believers

attempt to dissuade him.

It's not that Paul

disputes Agabus' prophecy.

In fact,

Paul himself

has already said,

right,

in chapter 20,

verse 22 to 24,

that the Holy Spirit

testifies to him

in every city,

including Jerusalem,

that imprisonment

and afflictions

await him.

So Paul knew

independently from the Spirit

that he was going

to be imprisoned already.

Other people are just

confirming that

prophetically.

And Luke tells us

later in verses

27 to 33

that this prophecy

was indeed fulfilled.

He is,

it says,

seized and dragged

out of the temple

by the Jews,

and then he's beaten,

and then he is

handed over

to the Roman tribune

and the soldiers

who arrest him

and order him

to be bound

with two chains.

Again,

hands and feet

like the way Agabus

was bound.

So it becomes fulfilled

quite literally,

so it's all true.

So Paul knows

full well

that he will be

imprisoned in Jerusalem

because the Holy Spirit

has revealed that to him,

and yet he goes there

anyway

because he knows

that the Spirit of God

is constraining him

to go.

In other words,

Paul is headed

to certain persecution

and imprisonment.

And what is his reason

for doing that?

Verse 13,

what are you doing

weeping and breaking my heart?

For I am ready

not only to be imprisoned,

but even to die in Jerusalem

for the name of the Lord Jesus.

It's all for the sake

of the name

of the Lord Jesus.

Proclaiming the name

of the Lord Jesus

was more important to Paul

than preserving

his own life.

I think this is the main point

that Luke is driving home

in this passage,

that even in the face

of certain suffering,

we must be surrendered

to the will of the Lord.

Doing something

when there is a risk

of suffering

is one thing,

but to do something

when there is certainty

of suffering

is another.

Paul willingly

goes to Jerusalem

where he knows

he will be beaten

and imprisoned

because Jesus

was more precious

to him

than his own life.

Think about this

for a moment.

Even though Paul

is at the tail end

of his life,

even though he has been

doing missionary work

for many years now,

and even though

his prodigious production

in the service

of the Lord

would equal

what most people

would accomplish

in three lifetimes,

even though Paul

has plenty of wear

and tear on his body

and have gone through

plenty of pain

and persecution,

Paul is not here

dreaming of retiring

to the coast

of the Mediterranean Sea,

spending the rest

of his life

in comfort and leisure.

Instead,

he wants to lay

his life on the line

again,

risk it all

to proclaim

the name of the Lord

in Jerusalem.

He lived a life

of purpose.

His was a life

on mission.

His aim wasn't

to earn enough money

to purchase

the life of comfort

and leisure.

No, he earned enough

to finance his mission

and then chose a life

of suffering

and persecution

bearing witness

for Jesus.

Paul's ambition

wasn't to make

a name for himself.

No, it was to proclaim

the name

of the Lord Jesus.

And that's because

Paul understood

the surpassing value

of Christ

and his kingdom.

In Matthew 13,

Jesus tells

his disciples

a pair of parables

to illustrate

the value

of the kingdom

of heaven,

Christ and his kingdom.

He says this,

the kingdom of heaven

is like treasure

hidden in a field

which a man found

and covered up.

Then in his joy,

he goes and sells

all that he has

and buys that field.

Again,

the kingdom of heaven

is like a merchant

in search of fine pearls

who on finding

one pearl

of great value

went and sold

all that he had

and bought it.

In order to claim

that treasure

hidden in a field,

we must sell

all that we have

in order to buy it.

In order to claim

that pearl

of great value,

we must sell

all that we have

to afford it.

Likewise,

in order to follow Jesus,

we must forsake

the world.

In order to pledge

allegiance to Jesus,

we must renounce

our worldly allegiances.

This is why Jesus said,

if anyone would come

after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross

and follow me.

The cross entails

suffering.

The cross involves

submission to the will

of our master.

The cross entails

death,

death to self,

to our selfish

desires and dreams.

And don't for a moment

think that this is

the call

only for

the fanatic few

who have some screws

loose in their heads.

No,

this is actually

how people

of sound mind

who have

done the math

accurately

live.

The man who finds

the treasure

hidden in the field

does not sell

all that he has

reluctantly

or begrudgingly

or dutifully

because he has to.

No,

he says that

in his joy

he goes

and sells

all that he has

and buys that field.

Why?

Because he has

done the math.

And it's to

his benefit,

it's to his profit,

it's to his

eternal heavenly

joy and inheritance

to forsake

everything he has.

And to live

like that

is to follow

in the footsteps

of our Savior

and forerunner

Jesus.

Hebrews 12,

1 to 2

exhorts us this way,

Therefore,

since we are

surrounded by so

great a cloud

of witnesses,

let us also

lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings

so closely

and let us

run with endurance

the race

that is set

before us.

How?

Looking to

Jesus,

the founder

and perfecter

of our faith,

who for the joy

that was set

before him

endured the cross,

despising the shame,

and is seated

at the right hand

of the throne of God.

Jesus paid

for our sins

and bore

and bore our shame

on the cross

because he knew

that only by doing

so he can save us

and please God

our Father.

He knew

that his path

toward exhortation

and glory

at the right hand

of the Father

lay through his humiliation

and his death

on the cross.

Jesus

didn't lay his life

down for us

begrudgingly,

dutifully,

reluctantly.

No, he did it

willingly

for the joy

that was set

before him.

He delighted

to save

sinners

like us

who never

deserve a chance

so that we

might be saved

and united

with him

and become

heirs

of God

our Father.

And now

we get to serve

the Lord Jesus

who gave his all

for us.

The Son of God

who took on

human flesh

to identify

with the sons

of man.

The sovereign Lord

who lived

and died

like a slave.

The righteous one

who absorbed

the just wrath

of God

against sinners.

All for the joy

that was set

before him

and it is our joy

and privilege

now to serve

such a Lord.

Lord.

Luke 9.51

Luke says

being fully aware

of his impending

death in Jerusalem

he says that

Jesus set

his face

to go to Jerusalem.

Jesus resolved

to go to Jerusalem

knowing fully well

what waited him there

and now Paul

is following

in his footsteps

he's saying

in effect

my Lord Jesus

died for me

in Jerusalem

and it will be

my honor

to die for him

in Jerusalem.

It's not

like Paul

is

unmoved

by

his fellow believers

entreaties

they're tearful

entreaties.

He says to them

what are you doing

weeping

and breaking

my heart

it breaks

Paul's heart

to see his fellow

brothers and sisters

weeping

telling him not to go

because they don't

want him to die

they don't want him

to be in prison

they don't want him

to suffer.

It breaks his heart

to see that

and yet he must

tear himself away

because of his

allegiance to the

Lord Jesus

because of his

love for the

Lord Jesus

so Paul reminds

them

I am a servant

of the Lord

and his spirit

is constraining

me to go to

Jerusalem

and I am prepared

to suffer

imprisonment

even death

for his sake

so please

don't detain me

don't break

my heart

like this

and the believers

gather around

Paul in Caesarea

see that Paul

cannot be

dissuaded

so they cease

and say this

in verse 14

let the will

of the Lord

be done

they are echoing

Paul's posture

of surrender

if it is indeed

the will of the Lord

for Paul

to testify

in Jerusalem

and be imprisoned

then there is

nothing we can do

to stop it

from happening

we cannot stand

in the way

of the Lord

let the will

of the Lord

be done

it's similar

to how Jesus

prayed in the

garden of Gethsemane

just before his

arrest and death

when he said

not my will

father

but yours

be done

and that's my

closing exhortation

to you this morning

let us also

surrender ourselves

to the will

of God

come what

may

whether you

have glory

or humiliation

in store

for me

Lord

whether you

have comfort

or suffering

in store

for me

whether you

have a long

life

or a short

life

in store

for me

whether you

have health

or sickness

in store

for me

whether you

have marriage

or singleness

in store

for me

whether you

have fame

or obscurity

in store

for me

whether you

have wealth

or poverty

in store

for me

whether you

have a white

collar job

or a blue

collar job

in store

for me

whether you have peace or persecution in store for me,

I give myself unreservedly to Jesus who gave himself for me.

Let the will of the Lord be done.

Let's pray.

God, that is our heart's cry.

God, forgive us for our rebellion,

for our sinful desire for autonomy,

for not wanting anyone else to dictate what we do,

tell us what to do.

Oh God, we surrender to your will.

Let your will, not ours, be done.

In our lives, in the world,

all for your glory, God.

For that is also our ultimate joy and good,

to worship, love, and serve you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.