Gtcotr/ws121119
Tonight
we will continue our study of the Book of Acts. In a moment we will be going to
Acts 20/21. First allow me to read a passage from:
Matthew 16 NKJV
21 ¶ From that time Jesus
began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many
things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be
raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside
and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not
happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to
Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful
of the things of God, but the things of men.”
It
appears that Jesus got a little agitated at Peter and Peter’s attempt to
discourage Jesus from going to the cross. No doubt Jesus was aware of God’s
will for His life and He didn’t need any of His friends or supporters giving
Him their own personal opinion on such a critical issue when it was evident
they hadn’t heard from God.
Sometimes
it can be a personal inner struggle to do the will of God. Jesus faced these
moments, not only in the passage above but also in the Garden of Gethsemane.
When He asked God if there was any other way to accomplish His will, the
evident answer was no. The conclusion was simple from that point. Jesus
basically said the same thing that His mother Mary had said some 30 plus years
earlier:
Luke 22:42 “Father, if it is
Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be
done.”
“Be
it unto me according to Your will.” That’s what Mary said … basically … I
choose to trust and follow You God.
King
Solomon gave us this same wisdom in the Book of Proverbs:
Proverbs 3
5 Trust in the LORD with all
your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways
acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
7 ¶ Do not be wise in your
own eyes …
God’s
wisdom and provision is found in God’s will. Sometimes it brings increase to us
and sometimes it comes at a personal cost. Whichever, God’s grace is always
sufficient. And sometimes, the one in charge of making the decision seems to be
the only one with the grace. Wisdom is proven of her children.
Paul was in Greece when he felt the
leadership of the Lord to return to Jerusalem. He was in a hurry and wanted to
be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost. So Paul decided not to
stop at Ephesus but rather sail about 30 miles south and stop at the town of
Miletus and he sent a messenger to ask the elders of the Church in Ephesus to
meet him there. We pick up on his conversation with them in:
Acts 20
22 “And see, now I go bound
in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me
there,
23 “except that the Holy
Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
37 Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s
neck and kissed him,
38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke,
that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
And
Paul sailed on past Cyprus and landed in the city of Tyre in Syria.
Acts 21
4 And finding disciples, we
stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to
Jerusalem.
5 When we had come to the end of those days, we
departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and
children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore
and prayed.
8
¶ On the next day we who were
Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of
Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who
prophesied.
10 And as we stayed many
days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 When he had come to us, he
took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the
Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt,
and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
12 Now when we heard these
things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to
Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, “What
do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be
bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul’s version of “get behind me” you haven’t
heard from God on this one.
14 So when he would not be
persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”
15
¶ And after those days we packed and
went up to Jerusalem.
The
account of Abraham when God told him to sacrifice Isaac …
·
Abraham
heard from God … Isaac did not.
o “I see the wood and
the fire … but where is the sacrifice?”
o Abraham responded,
“God will provide …”
o Then Abraham begins to
tie Isaac up and lay him on the altar
o Isaac is about 35
years old – Abraham is 135 …
·
Abraham
heard from God again … Don’t sacrifice Isaac …
o For Abraham or Isaac
to have missed anything would have been devasting.
Always be ready to hear a fresh word from God
Paul
demonstrated one of the signs of having heard from God …
·
It
wasn’t that he disdained counsel or friendships
·
It
wasn’t that he ignored advice or denied hardships existed
·
It
wasn’t that he was being foolish … he believed he heard from God
Acts 20:24 “But none of these
things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my
race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to
testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
What
is your part when you or someone you love believes they have heard from God and
have decided to do something which concerns you?
·
Ask
yourself:
o Am I being asked for
counsel? - or -
o Am I being told what
has been decided?
§ There is a difference
between
·
Pre-decision
counsel
·
Post-decision
support
o What level of
authority do I have in their life?
§ If they are a
dependent child or a disciple … you may need to take a strong stand
§ If they are not under
your authority, the ultimate decision belongs to them.
§ Give good and Godly
counsel
·
And
when possible, give big decisions time
·
Things
look different and get clearer with time
o Does their decision
violate one of the 10 Commandments?
§ God does not lead us
with opinion-based decisions
§ If their intent does
not violate God’s Word, you have to keep an open mind and maintain the
relationship as best as you can.
·
Realize:
o God may not be
speaking to you
o But God is not be
asking you to go to the cross either …
·
Understand:
o Either that person is right,
or they are wrong
§ If they are wrong …
they will need you later, so keep the door open
§ If they are right …
you don’t want to be found fighting against God.
·
Finally:
o No one can be your
Holy Ghost! And you can’t be theirs either.
o No other person will
stand on the eternal scale with you and answer for your decisions … and you
won’t answer for theirs.
Don’t
believe that just because it’s hard or because it doesn’t favor you that it
can’t be God’s will. Let the person who has to pay make the decisions and
support as best you can.
And
remind yourself and them … to always be ready for a fresh word from God!
