World Wide Witness: The Trials Of Mission

The readings from Acts chapter 21, starting in verse 1, and the page number in the church

Acts 21 · chapter mention

Bible is 1117.

After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos.

The next day we went to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail.

After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria.

We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo.

Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days.

Through the Spirit, they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way.

All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city,

and there on the beach we knelt to pray.

After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemaeus,

where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.

Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the Evangelist,

one of the seven.

He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said,

The Holy Spirit says,

In this way, the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.

When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered,

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?

I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said,

The Lord's will be done.

After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Nassan,

where we were to stay.

He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.

The next day, Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.

Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Thanks very much, Simon.

Well, this morning we're going to be ambitious,

and we're going to be looking at three long chapters.

We're not going to read them all, but I do think they are a unit,

and we'll see what they have to tell us.

As Ralph helpfully reminded us earlier, it's not just history, it's actually our history.

It's the history of this church, how it began,

and it's also helping us to see how that mission continues, even in our day.

So let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at his word together.

Father, we thank you for this amazing account

for Luke who wrote down

all that Jesus' name,

all that Jesus began to do and teach through his gospel,

and all that he continues to do through the risen Jesus.

we thank you for this church.

We thank you that our lives and this church is anchored in history

and is anchored in the future,

which gives us meaning and purpose for today,

that we are people who are living out the mission of God.

Lord, please help us this morning to grasp

what that means for us individually,

what it means for us corporately,

and that by your Spirit you would empower us

and that you would equip us as your people

to live that out

in all its wonder

and in its danger.

Please help us this morning, we pray.

In Jesus' name we ask.

Amen.

You've probably never heard of them.

They live hidden away,

deep in the valleys of the Himalayas,

one of the least evangelised

and extreme regions on the face of the earth.

The Kalasha people live here.

They fear mountain fairies

and demonic dogs.

They worship their dead

and they don't know who Jesus is.

The six million Babhi people

also live in the Himalayas.

Between them they have 330 million gods,

but yet they don't have a Saviour.

Today, there are no known believers

among either group.

You see, there are still places

in our world

where the Gospel

has not yet been heard.

And there are still people

who walk this planet

who are still untouched

by the Gospel.

Now, I have a question

about all of this.

But it's not a question for me

and it's not a question for you.

It's a question

that we are going to direct at God.

You see, God has made a promise

that the Gospel

would reach

every people group

on the face

of the earth.

We read it

at the beginning of Acts

and it sets out

the whole theme

of the book.

Let's read it again.

Acts chapter 1

Acts 1:8

verse 8.

Where the risen Jesus

speaks to his disciples

and this is what he tells them

in Acts 1 verse 8.

Acts 1:8

You will receive power

when the Holy Spirit

comes on you

and you will be my witnesses

in Jerusalem

and in all Judea

and Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

literally to the unreached

peoples of the world.

Now, I want to know

will God keep his promise?

Will God make sure

that the Kalasha people

and the Babhi people

who are living

in the valleys

of the Himalayas

will they get to hear

about Jesus Christ?

Or is this simply

a failed promise?

Because there are places

where the gospel

has never been heard,

there are people

like you and me

with their families

and their children

who remain untouched

by the gospel.

So here is our question

to God

with the greatest respect

and we say it to God

this morning,

will you keep your promise?

will you do

what you said

you will do?

Will you bring

the gospel

to the unreached

peoples

of the earth?

Well, in Acts

21 to 23

we get an answer

from God

because in these chapters

we begin to see

God's promise

fulfilled

and worked out.

But as we read through

we'll discover

that the promise

that God has made

involves people

like you and me.

God's promise

to bring the gospel

to the unreached

people of the world

involves people

like us.

So there's three things

we need to know

about this promise

that God has made

and our participation

in God's mission.

Three things

about the promise

and about our participation

in God's mission.

The first is this.

The mission

that God calls us to

is marked

with suffering.

The mission

that God calls us to

is marked

with suffering.

Acts 21

marks the start

of Paul's

final journey.

We've followed him

on three journeys

so far.

This is his

fourth and final

journey

and it starts

here in chapter 21.

It's a journey

that takes him

into Jerusalem

and then

onto Rome

further

than he has

ever travelled

before

with the gospel.

Because God

has made a promise

to bring the gospel

to the ends

of the earth

and here we begin

to see it being

worked out.

But it's a journey

that's going

to involve

much suffering.

Look at 21

verse 4.

On his way

to Jerusalem

Paul has arrived

at a place

called Tyre

and this is what

we read in verse 4.

Finding the disciples

there

we stayed

with them

seven days.

Through the Spirit

the disciples

urged Paul

not to go

on to Jerusalem.

Now why

don't they want

Paul to go

to Jerusalem?

Well look

down at verse 10.

They travel

down a little bit

further down the coast

and they arrive

at Caesarea.

Verse 10

After we had been

there a number

of days

a prophet

named Agabus

came down

from Judea

coming over

to us

he took

Paul's belt

from round

his waist

he tied

his own hands

and he tied

his feet

with it

and he said

the Holy Spirit

says

in this way

the Jews

of Jerusalem

will bind

the owner

of this belt

and will hand

him over

to the Gentiles.

You see

Paul

has been called

to bring the gospel

to the unreached

peoples

of the earth

but it's going

to be a journey

marked

by suffering.

Now I think

Luke

the author

of Acts

wants us

to see

the similarity

of Paul's

journey

to Jerusalem

and Jesus'

journey

to Jerusalem.

So hold

your finger

in Acts

21

and go back

to Luke

Luke 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18.

This is Luke's

first book

which tells us

all about

what Jesus

began

to do

and teach.

Acts is

everything

that follows

on after.

So Luke

Luke 18:31

chapter 18

verse 31

and as we

read

see the

similarity.

Acts 18

verse 31

Jesus took

the twelve

aside

and told

them

we are

going up

to Jerusalem

and everything

that is

written by

the prophets

about the

Son of Man

will be

fulfilled.

He will

be turned

over to

the Gentiles.

They will

mock him.

They will

insult him.

They will

spit on him.

They will

flog him

and they will

kill him.

You see

as Jesus

went up

to Jerusalem

he knew

he was

going to

die

because the

suffering

on the

cross

was the

way in

which God

would make

salvation

come to

all people

that the

gospel would

be available

to all

people.

And now

Paul in

Acts 21

we see him

as the

model

disciple

who now

follows in

the footsteps

of his

Lord and

Saviour

who follows

the example

of Christ.

So in

Acts 21

Acts 21:12

verse 12

we read

when we

heard this

we and

the people

there

pleaded

with Paul

not to

go up

to Jerusalem

because they

know

danger

awaits him.

Verse 13

then Paul

answered

why are

you

weeping

and

breaking

my

heart?

I am

ready

not only

to be

bound

but also

to die

in Jerusalem

for the name

of the

Lord Jesus.

when he

would not

be dissuaded

we gave

up and

said

the

Lord's

will be

done

echoes

of Jesus'

prayer

in

Gethsemane.

After

this

we got

ready

and we

went up

to

Jerusalem.

You see

bringing

the gospel

always

has

and

it

always

will

mean

suffering.

It's

not that

God

enjoys

watching

his

people

suffer.

No

the

reality

is

when

the

gospel

is

lovingly

taught

and

simply

explained

there

will

be

those

who

have

religious

authority

or

positions

of

authority

or

those

in

political

power

and

they

will

see

that

when

the

gospel

comes

it's

an

attack

on

their

influence

over

people

and

because

of

the

gospel

claims

that

Jesus

is

the

one

and

only

true

saviour

and

king

over

all

peoples

and

that

repentance

and

faith

is

the

only

right

response

there

will

be

always

people

who

will

attack

the

messenger

or

the

bringer

of

that

good

news

as

Jesus

suffered

so

Paul

suffered

and

every

disciple

who

brings

the

gospel

to

the

unreached

will

face

suffering

too

God's

promise

is being

fulfilled

Paul

is going

to go

to

Jerusalem

as

God

has

said

and

from

Jerusalem

he

will

go

on

to

Rome

but

it's

a road

marked

with

suffering

it's

what

we

sang

earlier

on

blessed

be

your

name

in

the

road

marked

with

suffering

you

see

if we

are a

Christian

this

is

our

mission

this

is

what

God

has

called

us

to

this

is

why

we

exist

this

is

why

we

live

this

is

what

our

purpose

is

in

life

we

might

not

be

the

person

who

actually

goes

to

the

Himalayas

maybe

you

are

perhaps

it

will

be

one

of

your

children

but

whatever

our

specific

calling

we

are

all

commanded

to

see

that

the

gospel

goes

to

the

unreached

this

is

our

responsibility

but

let's

be

very

clear

that

it's

going

to

involve

a

life

of

suffering

and

that

will

come

in

all

kinds

of

different

shades

for

some

of

us

it's

going

to

mean

rethinking

how

we

are

going

to

use

our

retirement

package

or

perhaps

letting

go

of

some

of

the

comfort

that

you

treasure

and

that

you

hold

on

to

and

releasing

them

so

that

you

can

support

somebody

else

who

will

go

to

the

unreached

for

others

it

might

mean

forgoing

a

salary

or

an

increase

in

promotion

because

you

take

your

God

given

gifts

and

you

go

and

live

among

the

unreached

the

degree

that

you're

studying

for

in

college

right

now

might

not

be

for

a

nice

comfortable

job

and

home

here

in

this

country

it

might

be

to

take

what

you

learn

and

get

in

college

to

go

and

serve

in

a

different

country

but

for

all

of

us

it

will

mean

turning

our

backs

on

safety

and

security

turning

our

backs

on

comfort

and

pleasure

and

learning

to

embrace

the

words

of

Paul

as

our

motto

for

life

which

we

read

in

verse

13

look at

those

words

I

am

ready

not

only

to

be

bound

but

also

to

die

for

the

name

of

the

Lord

Jesus

God's

promise

is being

fulfilled

but

do not

forget

God's

call

to

mission

is

always

marked

with

suffering

the

second

thing

we

want

to

see

is

that

the

mission

God's

called

us

to

is

not

going

to

fail

the

mission

that

God

called

us

to

is

not

going

to

fail

verse

17

of

chapter

21

when

we

arrived

at

Jerusalem

the

brothers

the

other

Christians

received

us

warmly

now

not

everybody

in

that

city

was

happy

to

see

Paul

as

we

read

through

these

chapters

we'll

discover

that

four

times

Paul

faces

being

killed

within

an inch

of

his

life

while

he's

in

Jerusalem

there

are

four

attacks

on

his

life

but

each

time

God

intervenes

to

save

and

protect

his

messenger

so

that

the

gospel

reaches

the

unreached

let's

have a

look at

these

different

events

the

first

incident

Paul

is

spotted

in

the

temple

chapter

21

verse

28

and

this

is

what

the

people

say

about

Paul

verse

28

men

of

Israel

help

us

this

is

the

man

who

teaches

all

men

everywhere

against

our

people

and

our

law

and

this

place

now

of

course

that

was

not

true

Paul

simply

taught

that

the

law

would

not

get

you

to

God

only

Jesus

can

and

he

taught

that

the

temple

is

not

the

place

to

meet

God

Jesus

is

and

look

at

their

response

verse

30

the

whole

city

was

aroused

and

the

people

came

running

from

all

different

directions

and

remember

this

is

the

time

of

Passover

that

Paul

has

arrived

so

there

were

thousands

more

coming

into

the

city

so

the

whole

city

with

all

these

extra

people

came

running

from

all

directions

seizing

Paul

they

dragged

him

from

the

temple

and

immediately

the

gates

were

shut

and

while

they

were

trying

to

kill

him

news

reached

the

commander

of the

Roman

troops

that

the

whole

city

of

Jerusalem

was

in

uproar

this

is

a

passionate

aggressive

hate

filled

angry

mob

vying

for

Paul's

blood

but

God

has

made

his

promise

he

is

a

mission

to

fulfill

and

it

will

not

fail

verse

32

he

at

once

took

some

officers

and

soldiers

and

ran

down

to

the

crowd

when

the

rioters

saw

the

commander

and

the

soldiers

well

they

didn't

want

to

get

killed

by

them

they

stopped

beating

Paul

we

read

on

that

he

was

taken

into

the

barracks

verse

35

and

when

Paul

reached

the

steps

the

violence

of

the

mob

was

so

great

he

had

to be

carried

by

the

soldiers

for

his

own

safety

and

the

crowd

that

followed

him

kept

shouting

away

with

him

later

on

the

same

crowd

would

have

another

go

at

Paul

chapter

22

verse

22

in

in

the

third

incident

Paul

is

just

faced

a

Jewish

court

and

again

they

are

very

angry

chapter

23

verse

10

the

dispute

became

so

violent

that

the

commander

was

afraid

Paul

would

be

torn

to

pieces

by

them

he

ordered

the

troops

to

go

down

and

take

him

away

from

them

by

force

and

bring

him

into

the

barracks

for

safety

but

once

again

God

has

his

hand

on

Paul

and

he

preserves

his

life

and

he

gives

Paul

this

assurance

and

this

promise

again

verse

11

the

following

night

the

Lord

stood

near

Paul

and

said

take

courage

as

you

have

testified

about

me

in

Jerusalem

so

you

must

also

testify

in

Rome

God

will

fulfill

his

promise

in

the

fourth

incident

of

Paul's

the

attempted

take

on

his

life

here

is

Paul

in

the

barracks

and

we

read

in

verse

12

of

chapter

23

the

next

morning

the

Jews

formed

a

conspiracy

and

bound

themselves

with

an

oath

not

to

eat

or

drink

until

they

had

killed

Paul

more

than

40

men

were

involved

in

this

plot

they

went

to

the

chief

priest

and

the

elders

and

they

said

we

have

taken

a

solemn

oath

not

to

eat

anything

until

we

have

killed

Paul

now

then

you

and

the

Sanhedrin

petition

the

commander

to bring

him

before

you

on

the

pretext

of

wanting

more

accurate

information

before

his

case

we

are

ready

to

kill

him

before

he

gets

here

you

see

they

have

tried

three

times

already

and

this

time

they

are

determined

to

succeed

in

getting

rid

of

Paul

but

God

has

made

this

promise

he

has

a

mission

to

fulfill

and

this

mission

is

not

going

to

fail

verse

16

but

but

when

the

son

of

Paul

sister

so

this

is

his

nephew

heard

of

this

plot

he

went

to

the

barracks

and

he

told

Paul

everything

that

they

were

going

to

do

to

him

then

Paul

called

one of

the

centurions

and said

take

this

young

man

to

the

commander

he

has

something

to

tell

him

so

he

took

him

to

the

commander

and

Paul's

nephew

goes

and

tells

the

commander

of

the

Roman

army

all

about

the

plot

to

take

Paul's

life

verse

22

the

commander

dismissed

the

young

man

and

cautioned

him

don't

tell

anyone

that

you

have

reported

this

to

me

three

times

they

tried

to

take

him

again

on

the

fourth

time

they

tried

to

take

him

but

this

time

God

intervenes

not

through

a

Roman

commander

but

through

a

weak

little

boy

to

preserve

God's

messenger

you

see

despite

all

the

plots

to

take

Paul's

life

we

can

be

ensured

that

God's

messenger

is

going

to

be

preserved

whether

it's

a

Roman

commander

who

steps

in

or

whether

it's

an

insignificant

little

boy

what

God

has

promised

God

is

going

to

fulfill

and

God

is

going

to

make

sure

that

the

gospel

does

go to

the

people

of

the

Himalayas

because

God

will

preserve

and

God

will

protect

the

people

that

he

chooses

to

go

there

until

the

job

is

done

God

but

as

we've

said

God

uses

us

to

fulfill

that

promise

so

for

those

who

do

go

and

receive

that

call

to

go

to

the

unreached

whether

you

are

somebody

who

digs

deep

into

your

pocket

so

that

you

can

support

somebody

to

go

or

whether

you

are

actually

somebody

who

does

go

be

sure

of

this

no

one

can

take

the

life

of

one

of

God's

servants

without

God's

permission

our

lives

are

completely

in

God's

hands

the

servants

that

God

calls

to

his

work

and

I

say

this

carefully

but