Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Discerning God's Will | Acts 22:17-21 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

Discerning God's Will | Acts 22:17-21 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

0:01
Can we show our appreciation to the praise team for leading us?
0:04
Thank you. If you were at our conference
0:12
last year, then you would have hopefully remembered that we
0:16
spent our time that weekend exploring the life and the
0:19
ministry of the Apostle Paul. And you might have also
0:23
remembered that by the end of that conference.
0:26
I acknowledge that whatever we learned in those sessions just
0:30
really scratched the surface of what this man's legacy has to
0:34
offer us as followers of Jesus Christ.
0:38
While that truth is something that I was reminded of in my
0:43
personal time reading God's Word this week, as I've recently been
0:47
in the book of Acts. And something stood out to me in
0:52
a particular passage that moved me so deeply.
0:57
It was instructive, reassuring, and convicting all at the same
1:04
time. And it did such a work in my
1:09
heart that I couldn't help but share it with my wife that same
1:12
night before I went to bed. And when I woke up, it was still
1:15
with me. So I was prompted to share it
1:17
with others. And as I have been meditating
1:22
and praying on what to speak on today, I could not shake off
1:26
that passage. So I decided to look more deeply
1:31
into it. And when I did, I discovered
1:34
that there was much more to learn from it than I initially
1:36
thought. But before we look at these
1:38
verses, I must give you the context of the passage.
1:43
In the book of Acts, Paul's testimony is granted to us on
1:48
three separate occasions. The first time it is narrated by
1:51
Luke in Acts Chapter 9, and two other times Paul himself
1:57
recounts his experience with the resurrected Lord, once in Acts
2:01
chapter 22 and the other in Acts chapter 26.
2:06
However, when you look at it more carefully, you'll realize
2:08
that there are distinct details and that does not imply
2:12
contradiction. Far from it.
2:15
It just shows that Paul tailored his account, and when he sought
2:19
to emphasize a certain thing, it was because he was dealing with
2:23
a particular audience and so he would include some truths while
2:26
omitting other events related to his conversion.
2:30
He's very strategic in how he shared his story, and it's in
2:34
the second account where we find something that Paul adds that
2:41
you can't see in the other two. It's found in Acts chapter 22,
2:46
and I would encourage you to turn there.
2:50
And here's the background to why Paul is sharing his testimony in
2:53
Acts chapter 22. The apostle arrived in Jerusalem
2:58
in Acts chapter 21, and when he got there, he was sharing all
3:02
that God had done with the leaders among the Gentiles.
3:04
And they were so moved and they praised God for it.
3:08
But the leaders were concerned because rumors were spreading
3:11
about the apostle Paul. And here were the rumors.
3:14
He is teaching others to reject, to to overlook, to almost
3:18
despise the law of Moses. And so these leaders encouraged
3:23
Paul in order to dispel these false, slanderous things.
3:27
Paul, why don't you go to the temple, honor certain customs to
3:31
show the Jews that this is not what you're about, that you're
3:36
not against the law necessarily, that you're not against certain
3:39
customs from the law. And so Paul agreed.
3:44
But things did not go according to plan, because once he arrived
3:48
at the temple, the Jews recognized him, and they stirred
3:52
up the crowd to apprehend him, ultimately to have him killed,
3:56
to get rid of him once and for all.
3:59
And Paul is mauled by this crowd.
4:02
And though beaten near to death, the Romans learn of it.
4:06
They intervene and they rescue this man from this riot.
4:12
And the Romans, they're, they're confused themselves.
4:14
And So what do they do? They arrest Paul, and they are
4:17
ready to put him into custody. And as they are about to enter
4:19
into the barracks, Paul asks, may I say something to this
4:23
crowd? And he is permitted to do so.
4:28
And so Paul now is ready to make an opportunity out of this, and
4:32
he's not looking to defend his innocence necessarily.
4:36
More than that, he wants to share what Christ has done in
4:39
his life, and he wants to show how his ministry is rooted in a
4:44
heavenly call. And So what does he do?
4:48
Well, he shares about what happened on the road to
4:50
Damascus. And more than that, he talks
4:52
about how Ananias was sent by the Lord to pray for him and to
4:55
instruct him further of how he had to go to the Gentiles to
4:59
preach this truth. And how is the God of our
5:02
fathers who is the one who commissioned me?
5:08
But Paul doesn't say much before this same crowd that erupted in
5:11
fury at his sight would explode once again.
5:14
And we'll get to that point later.
5:16
But it's after he shares about his Damascus Rd. experience and
5:20
after he talks about Ananias that we see something again that
5:23
you don't see elsewhere. Acts 22, verse 17, Paul speaking
5:31
to this crowd and he says, when I had returned to Jerusalem and
5:36
was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him
5:41
saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly,
5:46
because they will not accept your testimony about me.
5:49
And I said, Lord, they themselves know that in one
5:52
synagogue after another, I imprisoned and beat those who
5:55
believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen,
5:58
your witness, was being shed, I myself was standing by and
6:02
approving and watching over the garments of those who killed
6:05
him. And he said to me, go, for I
6:08
will send you far away to the Gentiles.
6:12
Again. This snapshot is not found
6:15
anywhere else, only here in Acts 22.
6:21
Why? Well, it's because of the
6:24
audience. And the main reason is that Paul
6:28
is trying to convince this group when he retells his first visit
6:34
to Jerusalem after his conversion.
6:35
That's what he's talking about here.
6:37
The first time he goes to Jerusalem, asked after he is
6:40
saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, he wants to let him know I did
6:43
not dishonor my Jewish heritage. I didn't spurn my roots, I
6:49
didn't reject it. And and how does he convince him
6:51
of that? We'll look again at verse 17.
6:53
He says, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying where
6:57
in the temple, in the temple. I honor this holy place from the
7:02
beginning. And more than that, he he does
7:06
this throughout his testimony in Acts 22.
7:08
But more than that, he also wants to try to persuade them
7:13
that his ministry to the Gentiles is something that came
7:15
from God. Remember, the Jews didn't feel
7:18
too great about the Gentiles, right?
7:20
And so Paul mentions again here, look at verse 21 that the Lord
7:25
sent him to the Gentiles. And before he could continue,
7:27
before you can elaborate, they again interrupted him.
7:32
And they would not tolerate this.
7:36
Now, as helpful as this observation may be in
7:40
solidifying the integrity of this man of God, the inspiration
7:45
of this passage is beyond that. There's something that runs
7:48
deeper here, and it deals with the conversation that Paul has
7:53
with Jesus Christ. If you really look carefully,
7:57
then this is what you're seeing. The essence of this exchange is
8:01
Paul's ambition and desire is redirected by God's perfect
8:05
will. Do you see that?
8:08
Moreover, it reveals how even the apostle Paul initially
8:14
struggled to grasp God's leading at this point in his life.
8:20
That's what moved me so much. I have to read again.
8:23
Is this really Paul objecting to what the Lord Jesus Christ is
8:28
telling him to do? Is this Paul really hesitant to
8:32
understand God's purposes in his life, at least in this chapter
8:35
of his life? The answer is yes, but when you
8:39
consider even more what this passage has to offer, you
8:42
realize that the theme of God's will is so prevalent, but there
8:48
are more truths attached to it for our benefit.
8:51
In other words, I want to take this time, this afternoon to
8:54
unfold for us 3 truths about God's unique will that's
9:00
applicable to every believer in Jesus Christ. 3 truths about his
9:04
will. Here's Paul who has this
9:06
ambition, and here's God who has his will for his life.
9:11
And Paul made a choice to go with what God said.
9:14
So here's three things that I want us to take from this
9:16
passage. The first thing is this.
9:19
The will of God is illuminated when we are prayerful.
9:24
The will of God is illuminated when we are prayerful.
9:26
It's not by chance that the Lord's warning to Paul to flee
9:29
from Jerusalem happened while he was in prayer.
9:33
And he's very specific in his experience because what does he
9:36
say? He says that he fell into a
9:38
trance. Now the word trance is
9:42
interesting. In the Greek, it's the word
9:45
exorcist where we get the word what ecstasy from and it's used
9:49
a few times in the New Testament.
9:50
When you find it in the Gospels, it's generally used to describe
9:54
the reaction of some of the people after they witnessed a
9:58
miracle, a miracle that Jesus performed.
10:02
It's almost as though they were outside of themselves while they
10:06
were beholding this supernatural occurrence.
10:09
So they're like in a state of mind of of great ecstasy.
10:14
However, when you'd see it in the book of Acts, it's more so
10:17
used to describe a personal supernatural experience, the
10:21
depth of one's encounter of a different realm, and that's what
10:26
we see here with Paul. Paul here is talking about a
10:29
perception that seems to be transported elsewhere, though he
10:33
is physically in one place. It's a state of mind that is
10:38
surreal, but it's very real. And it didn't just happen to
10:43
Paul as he's retelling his story of how Christ visits him while
10:46
he's in the temple praying. It happened to another man named
10:48
Peter. So go to Acts chapter 10, and I
10:51
want you to see it with me because I'm going somewhere with
10:53
this and Acts 10, verse 9. Here's how Luke tells us of
11:02
Peters, a great turning point in his walk with the Lord says here
11:06
in Acts 10-9. The next day as they were on
11:09
their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the
11:12
housetop about the 6th hour to pray, and he became hungry and
11:16
wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he
11:19
fell into a trance. Now he has this vision right of
11:25
this blanket that's being dropped from heaven with all
11:28
these creatures in it. We won't get into that.
11:30
I want you to see what happens though at verse 13 while in a
11:34
trance, verse 13 says, and there came a voice, them rise, Peter
11:38
kill and eat. Peter said by no means Lord, for
11:42
I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.
11:45
And the voice came to him again a second time.
11:47
What God has made clean do not call common.
11:52
It's interesting how Peter himself falls into this trance
11:56
through which Lord Jesus gives him instructions that would
11:58
revolutionize the church's gospel mission.
12:04
Peter and Paul had this experience, and the main reason
12:08
why I'm bringing this up is when these divine orders came to them
12:14
while they were in prayer, what happened to Peter?
12:17
He went up to the house, stop at the 6th hour to pray, and while
12:20
he was praying, the Lord meets him in that place.
12:23
Now, it would be very irresponsible for me to use
12:27
Peter and Paul as examples to teach that if you pray,
12:32
eventually you'll tap into trances.
12:36
That'll be wrong. However, it's not wrong to say
12:40
that Peter and Paul were granted guidance when they prayed,
12:46
because that's something that you and I can expect as well.
12:50
That's a truth that is woven throughout the Scriptures.
12:53
Listen carefully. God honors a praying man.
12:59
The Lord blesses a praying woman.
13:05
God solves things When we come to Him in supplication.
13:09
He intervenes when we intercede. He comes through when you take
13:14
time to commune. And one of my favorite examples
13:19
of this is in the life of David. Oh, there's so many places you
13:22
go with David's prayer life, but there is one place that's often
13:25
overlooked. We study this when we were
13:27
looking at Second Samuel. It was when he was forced out of
13:31
Jerusalem into the wilderness because his son Absalom raised
13:35
up a rebellion against him. And while David is on foot with
13:39
some of his loyal friends, he learns of even greater tragedy,
13:43
that one of his greatest and most trusted advisors,
13:46
Ahithophel, joined the rebellion against him.
13:50
And I want you to turn to the Old Testament to see David's
13:52
words with me in Second Samuel chapter 15 and verse 31, Second
14:06
Samuel 1531. And it was told David Ahithophel
14:12
is among the conspirators with Absalom.
14:15
And David said, oh, Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel
14:19
into foolishness. That's all his prayer was.
14:24
It was a sigh. It was brief.
14:30
You know, people think that it's the length of our prayers that
14:32
gets God's attention. It's not the length, it's the
14:34
depth. And this man, from the anguish
14:38
of his soul, from the depths of his being, says, Oh Lord, please
14:42
turn this man's counsel into foolishness.
14:47
How does God answer that prayer? Does he give David this vision
14:50
of the future and step by Nothing of the sort.
15:14
The answer to what the answer to David's prayer is is found in
15:18
the very next verse. While David was coming to the
15:22
summit where God was worshipped, Behold who shy?
15:26
The archive came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on
15:30
his head. Where's the answer?
15:35
Do you notice the word behold there?
15:37
That's an important word because it highlights the significance
15:40
of who Shy's entry into the scene.
15:43
And more than that, the close secret of events suggests that
15:46
the behold is meant to connect what David just prayed to what
15:50
is happening right here, right now.
15:53
I suggest to you that David's answer to his prayer is found in
15:58
hoshai coming to him. And if there's any doubt about
16:04
this, I want you to consider what the scripture says after
16:08
David and hoshai. Yes, they meet and he sends him
16:10
back as a spy. Go be a counselor in Absalom's
16:14
court who Shy agrees. He makes his way back and in two
16:19
chapters later the Holy Spirit gives us commentary of who shy's
16:24
activity in the courts of Absalom.
16:26
Look at second Samuel 17, verse 14.
16:30
Absalom at this point is asking, are he thoughtful and really his
16:34
advisors, advisors in general, What should we do at this point?
16:37
Now we occupied the throne. What do we do with David?
16:40
He's on the run. Ahithophel gives his piece of
16:42
advice, and then who? Shy says something.
16:43
And notice what's said here in verse 14 of chapter 17.
16:47
And Absalom and all the men of Israel said the council of Who
16:50
Shy? The archive is better than the
16:52
council of Ahithophel. Here it is.
16:56
For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of
16:59
Ahithophel so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.
17:05
Do you see it? How did the Lord determine to
17:07
foil Ahithophel's wisdom through Hushai, providing greater and
17:14
more persuasive advice. Why do I bring that to your
17:18
attention? To show how one God honors a
17:22
praying man. He commends and blesses a
17:25
praying woman, and His answers don't always look like how we
17:30
think they should look. He can intervene supernaturally,
17:34
but how does he intervene in this case?
17:36
He uses the heart of a loyal friend to be the means, the
17:41
instrument of seeing this problem solved.
17:46
Just a small reminder that often times we overlook how
17:50
friendships and relationships are God's answers to us.
17:53
This is Hushai. He came through for this man
17:56
because God came through for David in prayer, and it would be
18:02
very irresponsible on our end to think that David only prayed in
18:06
emergencies. You can't study that man's life
18:08
carefully and come to that conclusion.
18:11
He had a pattern of opening his heart before the Lord in the
18:15
good and the bad. And if you go back to Peter and
18:18
Paul's example, where the Lord spoke to them and provided the
18:21
next step in an amazing way, they also share in David's
18:25
pattern. It's hard to not see it.
18:29
What was Peter doing when the Lord spoke to him?
18:33
You say he prayed. Yeah, but how did he pray?
18:36
They were preparing lunch. He separates himself from people
18:40
and activity to be in solitude with the Lord.
18:45
What did Paul do? He separates himself from
18:47
ministry and busyness. And he goes to the temple.
18:50
To do what? To pray.
18:53
Yes, we're called to pray without ceasing.
18:56
And yes, sometimes we're only left with the option to pray
18:58
while on foot, but there is a special blessing that is
19:03
reserved for those who take time to commune with God.
19:09
There is, and we see it in this example in the New Testament.
19:15
So I want to ask you this, if you are somebody who wants to
19:18
know the will of God, I'm not. I'm not limiting that to knowing
19:21
how to serve in the ministry, just the will of God for your
19:24
life over all. Do you habitually pray?
19:30
Do you seek Him? Does it regularly cross your
19:34
mind with surprises or plans or events, tragedies, even rewards,
19:42
Potential promotion? Whatever the case means, does it
19:44
regularly cross your mind? I have to pray about this.
19:47
I need to seek the Lord. Be honest.
19:51
Be honest down deep inside. Do you really believe that
19:56
prayer can change things? Do you really believe that if I
20:00
bring this before the Lord it can alter things?
20:03
Or is this idea of prayer, is the practice of prayer, even the
20:08
thought of prayer, even the conviction to praise it,
20:10
virtually non existent? And there might be some here
20:14
saying I pray, but I'm not getting the answers that I'm
20:19
looking for. In fact, it seems like the
20:23
Lord's ignoring me or. Maybe you've had this
20:26
experience. The more I pray about it, the
20:27
more He seems to be putting me in the opposite direction.
20:30
And if that's you, then be encouraged with the second point
20:35
when we consider this passage and discerning the will of God,
20:39
The 1st is that it's illuminated.
20:40
When you pray, when you pause, when you seek Him, God will
20:43
bless you. And his answers vary.
20:45
He's not going to give you a trance, but he might send
20:49
somebody, He might send a phone call.
20:53
Things might just begin to move. Here's a second point.
20:58
If you are somebody who is seeking, who regularly seeks,
21:00
who is even frustrated because it's not working well, then
21:06
consider this. The will of God #2 may not fully
21:09
align with our righteous desires.
21:13
Notice I didn't say selfish desires.
21:15
Notice I didn't say fleshly desires, righteous desires.
21:21
When Paul is telling this group in the temple about the past,
21:25
how he was at Jerusalem at one point to pray, and it was in
21:29
that place of prayer that God gave him this mission.
21:32
Why was he in Jerusalem to begin with?
21:35
To minister to the Jews? And you can't blame him.
21:38
Can you think of a better place? This is the hub of the
21:42
religionist of his day. Moreover, Jerusalem was the
21:47
beginning point of his evil campaign against the Christian
21:51
movement. So think about how Paul is
21:54
thinking here. I just met this Jesus who who I
21:59
was persecuting in his body. He saves me, transforms me.
22:03
I'm going to go back to Jerusalem and I'm going to show
22:06
everybody that I'm changed by this man.
22:09
The very man that I fought and resisted rescued me and renewed
22:13
me. What kind of impact would that
22:15
make on his colleagues who who praised his zeal against the
22:20
Christian movement? What would it do for the general
22:23
population who knew of his incredible mind and devotion to
22:27
the law to now find him, to find him now promoting the very
22:31
message that got Stephen killed, the very message that he
22:36
approved to disintegrate through his martyrdom?
22:42
Paul is not thinking emotionally here.
22:45
He's being very strategic. And so This is why he's in
22:50
Jerusalem as he retells it. And this is precisely what Paul
22:55
uses to protest Christ's initial command to leave Jerusalem.
22:59
Paul, get out of here. They're not going to accept your
23:01
testimony. And this is one of those moments
23:03
in the Bible where we can truly identify with the humanity of
23:06
these heroes of the faith. Can you see it?
23:11
Paul is attempting to convince the Lord how his plan is the way
23:16
to go. I I couldn't help but smile when
23:20
I learned this about Paul. To think that he is trying to
23:25
persuade the Lord of the effectiveness of his idea.
23:32
You know why I smile? Because most, if not all
23:35
Christians have done something similar.
23:38
We give the Lord our proposal, and we try to pressure Him to
23:44
buy it, to act on it, to sign off, and we give Him reasons
23:51
too. Right.
23:53
Again, I can't help but chuckle when I read Paul telling the
23:56
Lord about his testimony and his history.
24:03
And I want to share a few insights under the second point
24:06
that can save you your breath and trying to object to God's
24:10
leading in your life. Here's the obvious 1.
24:15
He always knows better than you. Always.
24:20
So Paul seems so certain that his testimony would win the Jews
24:24
in Jerusalem. And he's not again being
24:28
emotional. He's actually being rational.
24:30
He's being logical. But like Paul, please pay
24:33
attention to this point. But like Paul, be prepared for
24:36
your rational, well thought out plans to be delayed or rerouted
24:43
altogether. It seems good.
24:46
In fact, you actually told other Christians about it and they're
24:49
like, that's amazing. Then you bring it to the Lord
24:51
and guess what? He doesn't think it's so
24:54
amazing. Be prepared for that.
24:57
We're dealing with a man. Why is he in Jerusalem?
25:00
Is he looking for an estate? Is he looking for a vacation
25:02
home? Nothing wrong with vacation
25:03
homes. That's not why he's in
25:05
Jerusalem. That's not why he's wrestling in
25:07
prayer. He wants to win souls.
25:09
What can be wrong with this? And yet the Lord says, no, not
25:13
here. The Lord said, I don't want you
25:17
to preach here. I don't want you to witness
25:20
here. Now, if we heard the Lord saying
25:22
that, we were thinking, was that really the Lord?
25:25
Yeah, it's the Lord. Why?
25:26
Because he knows better than you and he knows better than me.
25:31
And see, this roadblock would not only be confirmed by this
25:36
vision, Paul would experience it periodically whenever he tried
25:39
to engage the Jews. You read throughout Acts, we
25:42
touched on this at the conference.
25:44
Paul had some success in winning the Jews over to the gospel, but
25:48
more than that, he experienced persistent rejection and
25:52
resistance from them. And in those providential
25:58
nudges, he would always go back to the Gentiles and he would see
26:01
greater fruit there. Why?
26:02
Because he was primarily called to the Gentiles.
26:06
And so it wasn't just in this vision.
26:08
Paul had this burning passion for the Jews.
26:11
He couldn't help it. So wherever he would go, he
26:13
would find a synagogue. And yes, there was some some
26:15
fruit in that, but then there would be enough rejection for
26:19
him to say enough, I'm going to the Gentiles.
26:20
So the Lord even used experience closed doors to say this is not
26:24
my will for you. So again, another hint that the
26:28
Lord doesn't have to give you a trance to lead you.
26:31
He did it for this mighty man of God who would lay the foundation
26:34
of the church. But even in this man's life, God
26:36
would do it through Providence. The second thing I want to
26:41
observe under the second point is that God's will for our lives
26:44
will not unfold the same way as it does for others.
26:48
You know, when you read Paul's experience here in the temple,
26:51
it matches closely with another man of God's experience, not
26:54
Peters. Isaiah's turn to Isaiah chapter
26:58
6 in a very known passage, and I want you to see it with your own
27:02
eyes. We'll begin in verse one.
27:16
In the year that King Isaiah died, I saw the Lord sitting
27:19
upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe
27:22
filled the temple. Where did this happen?
27:26
Where did this vision lead him to seeing the Lord in his
27:30
temple? Skip over to verse 8.
27:34
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send?
27:37
Who, and who will go for us? Then I said, here I am, send me
27:41
verse 9. And he said, go and say to this
27:43
people, keep on hearing but do not understand.
27:46
Keep on seeing but do not perceive.
27:50
So when you compare Isaiah and Paul's experience, here's what
27:52
you find. Both had a vision of the Lord in
27:55
the temple. In that vision both receive a
27:59
Commission from the Lord. And with that both were told and
28:05
both were prepared to face a stubborn people who would oppose
28:09
their message. So parallels.
28:13
Here's the main difference. Isaiah was told to stay and
28:18
preach to the stubborn people. Paul was called to leave.
28:24
Now, I'm not suggesting that Paul is using Isaiah's ministry
28:27
to protest God's strategy for his life.
28:30
Here is what I am saying though. We often look at how God works
28:35
with others and wonder why He can't do the same for us.
28:41
Lord, I'm looking over there and I see how you provided for so
28:46
and so. I'm in the same situation.
28:50
Can you? Can You do the same here?
28:55
God Almighty, I with my own eyes, my own ears, have
29:00
experienced how You have healed this very same sickness.
29:04
Can't you do it again? Lord, if you can use Brother so
29:10
and so and open all these doors for the ministry, what am I
29:14
going to do with all this pent up zeal and no outlet?
29:19
In fact, I think I have something really to offer.
29:25
Sometimes the reason for our protest in God's leading in our
29:29
lives is when we compare and look over and see what He's
29:33
doing for others, earlier, more bountifully, more obviously, And
29:43
we think, why for them and not for me.
29:51
Can I tell you at least one reason why?
29:52
Because God is an amazing author.
29:56
There are some amazing authors who have written many books,
30:00
some up to 100. Some hymn writers have written
30:03
thousands of hymns. God is writing billions of
30:07
stories at the same time, and every single one is unique.
30:13
Though there might be some comparisons to make.
30:17
Which leads me to this final point.
30:19
Under the second point, God does not owe us any explanation for
30:26
why he leads the way he leads. There's a clear contrast between
30:31
the words of Jesus and Paul in this regard.
30:35
Paul was elaborate in his explanation, was he not?
30:39
Jesus was very brief. So Paul is explaining things and
30:45
the Lord doesn't go back and forth with him, does he?
30:48
How does he end the conversation?
30:49
He simply says, go, I'm sending you to the Gentiles and we can
30:53
applaud Paul here. Do you know why we can applaud
30:55
Paul here? Because he doesn't demand
30:58
further clarification. He just submits.
30:59
OK, you want me to go to the Gentiles?
31:01
I will go to the Gentiles. Paul simply trusted in God's
31:08
leading even though his bosom was burning to be in Jerusalem.
31:14
These are righteous desires, but they were not God's will.
31:20
And my question was how do I arrive at that level of faith?
31:25
Or even though what I am seeking God for is good, sacrificial,
31:31
holy, consecrated God glorifying, but He doesn't
31:36
approve it, at least for the time being or at all.
31:40
The way you can trust God in His leading in your life is to know
31:44
God more. In other words, the more you
31:47
know who God is, the less you will question why he does what
31:50
he does. Because you know his nature.
31:55
You're convinced of His goodness.
31:58
You see that he is so attentive and personal.
32:01
And so he's not ignoring you. He's not tricking you, He's not
32:05
torturing you. He's good.
32:09
And so I have. I have less questions.
32:11
Questions are not sinful in themselves, but you can come to
32:14
a place where your walk with a God is with God is more
32:17
Worshipful than it is about interrogation.
32:19
Let me bring you to the third and final point of God's will
32:25
and discerning it. The first is that it's
32:28
illuminated when we pray. The second is that it does not
32:31
always align with our righteous desires.
32:32
And lastly, the will of God will not always be understood or
32:36
praised by others. The will of God will not always
32:40
be understood or praised by others.
32:42
The point here is not found in the one passage that we read,
32:46
but it's in the following verse after verse 21.
32:49
Look at verse 22 of Acts 22 and see how the Jews reacted to
32:55
Paul's testimony. Up to this word they listened to
33:01
him. Then they raised their voices
33:03
and said away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should
33:06
not be allowed to live up to what word?
33:11
Gentiles moment. Paul brought up the Gentiles.
33:17
That was it. These Jews could not fathom that
33:21
the Gentiles would share in the same spiritual privileges.
33:23
They could not eat. It was unthinkable that they
33:26
could have good standing before God apart from the law.
33:31
And here's this Paul saying that the God of our fathers
33:35
commissioned him to go to these heathens.
33:40
So all it took for this crowd to you want to talk about getting
33:42
triggered? Gentiles triggered them.
33:46
That's it. Sermons over, you're a dead man.
33:53
Here's another illustration of how mankind utterly rejects
33:57
God's good and perfect will for humanity.
34:01
What are they objecting to? God saving more people.
34:06
Goes to show how vile we can be, especially in our spiritual
34:10
pride. But on a personal level, it also
34:14
reminds us that serving God in the way that He has called us to
34:17
will not always be understood, and more than that, can even be
34:22
vehemently opposed. Paul's trying to tell him about
34:28
his ministry. They want nothing to do with it.
34:33
And it's not unique to Paul. My mind went to another man of
34:36
God that is testified of in Acts Chapter 7.
34:41
We're still in Acts. Scroll back to Chapter 7 and
34:45
notice how Stephen recounts the life and ministry of Moses.
34:49
And I want you to see something with me that's quite amazing.
34:54
Most people think that Moses knew he was called when he was
34:58
80. That's not what Acts 7/23 shows.
35:03
When he was 40 years old it came into his heart to visit his
35:08
brothers, the children of Israel, and seeing one of them
35:12
being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged them
35:15
by striking down the Egyptian. Look at this.
35:18
He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was
35:23
giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not
35:27
understand. So Moses at 40, mighty and word
35:34
indeed, educated in the schools of Egypt, high up in government
35:40
position, had it in his heart to visit his brothers because
35:46
something happened there where it was revealed to him that
35:48
maybe God brought me here and promoted me to this place so
35:52
that I can deliver the Jewish people.
35:56
And when he tries to rescue 1, he kills an Egyptian man.
36:03
You read later on that they reject him, even the Jews.
36:09
And I, I can't help but smile at this as well.
36:12
You know why? Because you have Moses here who,
36:15
who is in tune with the will of God, but he's trying to do it in
36:18
his own timing, in his own way. It would take Moses a very long
36:22
time to kill one Egyptian at a time, wouldn't it?
36:28
How would God do it? He would just use the Red Sea.
36:33
Timing is important in God's will.
36:36
Timing is very important. So 40 he thinks, yes, this is
36:41
it. I see it now.
36:43
And Moses was a strong man. So he puts it all together.
36:45
He attempts to bring about the salvation and it's rejected.
36:50
What are we told? They did not understand.
36:53
And listen, you're saying why is Steven bring this up?
36:54
I need to mention this. Steven is bringing this up again
36:57
to his persecutors. We're ready to kill him, the
36:59
Jewish leaders, because he wants to remind the Jewish leaders
37:03
that Jesus is not the only Redeemer that they have
37:06
rejected, that they have a pattern in their history of
37:10
overlooking and failing to see. God sent rescuers.
37:16
So you rejected Christ. Let me tell you that this is
37:18
deep in your bones. You did it with Moses.
37:21
He came to deliver. You didn't see it then, and you
37:24
can't see the greater Moses now. But let's put ourselves in Moses
37:30
sandals when we realized that God has called us to something
37:36
to serve Him, to love Him and people around us don't get it.
37:43
Be prepared that if you seek God, that if you're going to
37:47
comply with His wishes, that you would be misunderstood in that
37:52
pursuit, both by unbelievers and fellow believers.
37:56
And that misunderstanding should never discourage you from that
37:59
path. Never.
38:02
As long as you are in accordance with God's Word, as long as
38:05
you've done your part to receive illumination in prayer, you are
38:10
in the safest place. You are in the best place.
38:14
I heard someone once say that the hardest thing about God's
38:18
will is not knowing it. It's doing it when you know it.
38:22
There's some truth to that. And for you and I to be reminded
38:28
of this may provide a little bit more fuel to our faithfulness.
38:34
That's true for all of us as believers.
38:36
I'm sure most of us in here have paid some kind of a price for
38:39
following Jesus Christ. But even within Christendom, to
38:46
serve the Lord, the way He's called you to will not always be
38:49
recognized and appreciated. But you do it for the Lord.
38:52
You do it for the Lord. Imagine how much this must have
38:55
hurt Paul to see the Jews reject God's purpose for his life, God
38:59
using him to be the means to bring about the gospel, and they
39:02
didn't want anything to do with it.
39:06
Knowing God's will is one thing, doing it and stay doing it is
39:09
another. And so this really covers many
39:15
bases. One, if you're looking for God's
39:17
will, you can't do it without seeking God's face.
39:21
And be open to how he answers that.
39:22
Be open to His timing, no matter what's in your heart.
39:25
Like Paul, he had it for the Jews, but he was meant for the
39:28
Gentiles. Moses had it at 40, but it was
39:31
meant for another time. Be pliable to how God leads you.
39:35
And so be ready that even your righteous wishes and and desires
39:40
and dreams may not always come to fruition the way you thought,
39:42
but it's always because God has something better and He's
39:45
equipped you for a greater fruit, a greater harvest, a
39:48
greater future. And lastly, when you're there,
39:52
maybe you are there, keep going. Don't give in, don't listen to
39:59
the lies. You know, there are people you'd
40:01
be amazed who are even convinced or being convinced that it was
40:05
better to just be in the world. It was better to be lukewarm.
40:07
It's better to be nominal. It's better to do it your way.
40:11
So all these things that would try to capture your
40:14
consecration, cut it off and realize that these men of God,
40:17
they knew temptation, they knew struggle, but oh, they stuck
40:20
with it until the end, and they're not regretting it now.
40:24
They're not regretting it now, though.
40:26
We thank you for this word, a brief reminder of how we can
40:30
discern your will. And solo, we think about what
40:35
we've prayed about in years past.
40:40
Help us believe that you honor a man, a woman of prayer, and help
40:44
us wait if we don't get answers right away.
40:47
And Lord, if answers seem to be going another way, help us trust
40:50
you. Help us not compare.
40:54
Help us always believe that you are offering something wonderful
40:59
for your glory. And help us, O Lord, to use the
41:04
energy that we would have to argue, maybe to worship instead,
41:13
to go when you tell us to go to state when you tell us to say.
41:15
Lastly, help us do it for you and you alone.
41:22
Help us to do it for your smile alone.
41:24
Lord, we give ourselves a fresh to you, thanking you for how you
41:29
can even speak to us through somebody else's story.
41:32
We honor you today in Jesus name, Amen.
41:36
Amen. Let's stand and worship the
41:37
Lord. Walking with the Lord Jesus,
42:08
I've learned so much. One of the things that I've
42:11
learned about myself and about the Lord is that I am so
42:14
grateful he never took my advice.
42:18
I'm so happy and I'm glad that he didn't take Paul's advice
42:23
either. Hypothetically, what would have
42:25
happened if Paul spent all his energy and efforts in Jerusalem?
42:31
What kind of letters would we be left with in the Bible?
42:34
How far would the gospel have gone?
42:37
Speculating. Sometimes, A lot of the times,
42:42
no is the best answer. You know, we could have kept
42:47
going. I think of Philip.
42:50
So Paul is told to leave Jerusalem.
42:53
He really wanted to stay. Philip and Samaria was the means
42:58
to see revival. The most unlikely place, at
43:01
least one of the most unlikely places.
43:03
And in the middle of the revival, the Lord says, I need
43:06
you to go into the wilderness. To do what?
43:09
To talk to one guy. What if Philip objected?
43:15
Well, these are brand new babes in Christ.
43:18
Look, there's some awesome move of the Spirit.
43:21
Nobody saw this coming. You're asking me to leave now.
43:23
I got to fasten Primo. I don't know if that was the
43:25
Lord who told me to go. He didn't object.
43:29
He goes, He interrupts this man's personal devotion time in
43:33
the book of Isaiah and look at the history of Ethiopia and
43:40
you'll see what came about of that one, one-on-one experience.
43:47
And so whether he tells us to go, tells us to stay, we have to
43:53
trust Him. Can we ask them to help us trust
43:55
them? Whether it's for ministry,
43:59
whether it's for work, whether it's with our bodies, whether
44:01
it's with relationships, whether it's with our plans, no matter
44:05
how unique they may be. Lord, we want your will.
44:08
We want your will. Help us to know that when we
44:11
pray about it, we have no reason to be fearful.
44:15
We've done our part or help us Lord, when doors aren't opening,
44:20
though we want them to be opened to trust in your story writing
44:25
and your shepherding and Lord, no matter what we're doing now,
44:28
knowing that we are in the will of God, but we're not seeing the
44:31
fruit. Perhaps we're not seeing the
44:33
full reward of it or it's it's difficult, especially because
44:37
people don't understand or maybe even people don't receive it.
44:41
Help us just serve you no matter what, Lord, we love you.
44:44
Thank you for this church, thank you for every brother and sister
44:47
here. Help us all have this in common
44:50
that we want to be in your will and we trust that you'll guide
44:53
us there. In Jesus name Amen and Amen.