Dwell in the Word: Acts 21:1-16

Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Act 21:1-16:

1. The passage discusses the apparent conflict between the Holy Spirit's message to Paul to go to Jerusalem and the warnings from others about the persecution he would face. How can believers today discern God's will in situations where there seems to be conflicting advice or messages? What principles from Paul's response can be applied to contemporary decision-making?

2. Paul expresses his readiness not only to be imprisoned but also to die for the sake of Christ. In today's context, how can Christians cultivate a similar willingness to face hardship and persecution for the sake of the gospel? What role does faith play in confronting challenges that may arise in the pursuit of God's will?

3. The passage emphasizes the importance of surrendering to the will of the Lord, acknowledging that God's plan may involve hardship and suffering. In what practical ways can believers develop a mindset that says, "Let the will of the Lord be done" in the midst of difficulties? How does trust in God's sovereignty impact the way Christians navigate challenges and uncertainties?

Transcript:

 I think as we were reading through that, you probably came across what I was driving at as to why this is a little bit of a difficult passage. We seem to be getting conflicting messages, don't we? Well, that's not really the case when we stop and take a look at what is happening. But what it seems like on the surface is that Paul is getting a message to go to Jerusalem from the Holy Spirit, but then other people are getting a message that he shouldn't go.

To Jerusalem, but when we stop and we look at what the message actually is We see that there really isn't a conflict here This is really Paul being informed of what will happen to him there and whether or not he's willing to face the hardship and whether Or not he's willing to face persecution for the name of Christ And we see this as we look at verse 11 when this one who was prophesying Agabus Tells Paul or he takes his belt and wraps around his feet and his hands And, you know, this is kind of a weird thing to see, imagine being there as this is going down, right?

Very interesting, uh, thing to do. But, uh, Agabus says that the Holy Spirit says, This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns the belt and delivers him into the hands of the Gentiles. Notice there is no specific message there to not go.  It is more that what is being prophesied is the difficulty that Paul will face.

Is he willing to go? Right? That is the question that really we are seeing here. And so, Paul hears this, and people are telling him not to go to Jerusalem. Not because the Holy Spirit has said to them here, Don't go, but you are going to be persecuted if you go. Now those are two very different things. Now in our minds, That seems like a sign to stay away, but Paul is convinced that he is to go to Jerusalem.

And so, he answers in this way. What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart for I'm not only ready to be in prison but to die, right? He's saying that he is willing to face persecution He's willing to face suffering and even death for the cause of Christ. Again, what were the people concerned about this?

This persecution that was going to happen, but we know from previous parts of acts, right?  Paul, there were plenty of opportunities that Paul could have died, Paul could have had something very bad happen to him, but it isn't his time yet. And so, we see Paul having a faith that it's his job to go and proclaim the gospel, to go and advance the cause of Christ.

Now he knows that hardship is coming. The other people don't like this hardship. But Paul is willing to go. There aren't conflicting messages here. There is the re, the, what is conflicting is Paul's willingness to suffer for the cause of Christ and the other people's willingness to let him suffer. And so, they finally come to what is the correct answer in so many of our circumstances, right?

Notice what it says. He wouldn't be persuaded. He was certain this is what he was supposed to do. And so Luke says that they all stopped and they said let the will of the Lord be done in other words We are going to trust what  God will do if it's Paul's time It's Paul's time if it's not it's not let the will of the Lord be done and that is the message for us now We are not receiving secret messages, we're not receiving visions of Persecution or anything,  but it still is a good message for us To have the attitude that no matter what happens, let the will of the Lord be done.

As we pray in the Lord's Prayer, Thy will be done. As we truly believe what it says in Romans, that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. When we face hardships, it's important that we understand this truth. That we don't run away from it and assume that somehow maybe God is punishing us for something we've done wrong or anything like that.

Hardship comes to everyone and in fact we see through the life of Paul  God works those things together to do his will and we should not expect that having a Savior who suffered To save us that we should be above suffering God did not promise that we would not have suffering in this life and said he promised That he would rescue us from sin death and hell and so may we In the face of hardships may we in the face of persecution  be able to say what the apostle Paul Is doing here and what his companions agreed to let the will of the Lord be done.