Obey God, He Deals With The Rest (Acts 20-28)
The sovereignty of God should be a comfort for Christians and give us confidence as we fulfill the mission that God had given us in the world. That is how Christians have viewed God’s sovereignty for a very long time.
The problem is that we don’t understand it enough to give us comfort.
Today people are paralyzed by the idea of God’s sovereignty. They are paralyzed by being in the middle of God’s will. So rather than giving comfort and courage it gives paralysis.
I have heard stories from men and women that wondered if they had somehow wandered out of God’s plan for them. They look back at some decision in the past and wonder if they moved away from what God intended for them. And then they are stuck wondering what to do.
Now, the best way to think about God’s will is to consider it in two ways. The first is what God has revealed for you in His Word. That is His will for your life. And you are responsible to do it. This you should not step out of. You should organize your life according to what God has given to you in His Word.
The second way to think about God’s will is to discuss His plan for your life. This is everything about what you will do in life and the circumstances that you will encounter. God knows this. And you don’t.
“”The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV)
What does Scripture tell us that God has planned?
All things.
He works “all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11 ESV). His rule over the Universe is complete. As the psalmist says, “He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3, 135:6 ESV)
What about those things that we would call good or bad?
God Himself declares in His Word that He wounds, heals, makes alive, and kills (Deuteronomy 32:39). He says that He makes both the day of prosperity and adversity (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14). God has told us that He forms light, creates darkness, well-being, and calamity (Isaiah 45:5-7). In the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah lets us know that it is from God that good and bad come (Lamentations 3:37-38).
When we read that God is in control of all things, then we should understand that God is in control of all things.
God is in control of nature (Psalm 147:15-18).
God is even in control of what we consider small and chance circumstances like the rolling of a dice (Proverbs 16:33).
As Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said,
“I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes – that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens – that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence – the fall of . . . leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)
God is in control of all things. That has been revealed to us in His Word. But we don’t get to see how all the individual pieces fit together.
Illustration:
Have you ever looked at the backside of a pretty tapestry? If you have then you know it is quite different than the front. In fact, it looks like a random mess of chaos. It just seems like no sense can be made of the image in front of you. And that is oftentimes how we can feel while we are living our lives.
But then, when you look at the front the whole thing makes sense. The random chaos was actually making a beautiful image that you now get to enjoy.
Well, that is how our lives often work. The chaotic things can seem to come at us with a frenzy. And it just doesn’t make sense. But if we were able to see the big picture, the picture God is painting with our lives then it would all make sense to us.
But, at least for now, you don’t get to see the frontside of the picture. You just have to trust that God is at work for your good right now.
And we will see that in what happens with Paul in Acts 21-23, but further. This is about where God is taking Paul and how He is going to get him there.
Be Obedient To The Lord (Acts 20:22-24)
The first thing to note in our text is that Paul is being obedient to the Lord throughout the entire passage.
“And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:22-24 ESV)
This sums up all of what Paul does throughout the rest of the Book of Acts. He is obedient to the Lord. And he is willing to do this even at the cost of his own life.
This is the place to start when talking about God’s will for our lives. God has revealed His will for us in Scripture. God has spoken and told us how we are to live. He has told us what we are to do.
It is common for people today to be frozen with regard to decisions. Last week I discussed this a great deal. We have convictions and that should lead us in our decision making. One of those convictions is that God has spoken to us in His Word. And we are to follow what He has told us.
But here is just where some people freeze. They simply can’t decide what to do.
They don’t share the gospel because they don’t feel the inner urge to do it.
They don’t get married because they’re not sure if she’s the one.
They can’t decide which job to take because they don’t feel the inner tugging of the Lord.
They can’t make a decision because they’re always looking to use God like a magic 8 ball and try to figure out what to do next.
In his book, “Just Do Something” Kevin DeYoung points out something very important for us to consider here.
“Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do something? And the answer is no. Yes, God has a specific plan for our lives. And yes, we can be assured that He works things for our good in Christ Jesus. And yes, looking back we will often be able to trace God’s hand in bringing us to where we are. But while we are free to ask God for wisdom. He does not burden us with the task of divining His will of direction for our lives ahead of time….God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision. I’m not saying God won’t help you make decisions (it’s called wisdom)…I’m not saying God doesn’t care about your future. I’m not saying God isn’t directing your pathand in control amidst the chaos of your life. I believe in providence with all my heart. What I am saying is that we should stop thinking of God’s will like a corn maze, or a tight rope, or a bull’s-eye, or a choose-your-own-adventure novel” (Kevin DeYoung, “Just Do Something”)
Now, you might argue with me here and say something like this. “Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem.” And you would be completely correct. The urging of the Holy Spirit is something that often took place in Paul’s ministry and it did so here as well. But here is my response to that and it is twofold. First, Paul was not sitting around waiting for an urging before he went into action. Paul was at work doing what the Lord had commanded him to do when he received this. The Lord interrupted his obedience to tell him to do something else. We are not called upon to wait around and try to figure out what secret thing the Lord has for us. He has spoken to us in His Word. And we are to follow His commands. Come to church, read your Bible, pray, and be obedient to the Word of the Lord.
And the second is that God wasn’t taking Paul to Jerusalem. Paul was just being obedient, and God was taking Paul to Rome. Paul was being obedient. But Paul had no idea where this was going to lead him. Even Paul didn’t know where this was headed. God was taking him to Rome through Jerusalem (Acts 23:11).
You should not expect to get as much direction as Paul did in your life. And that is by design.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV)
Where is it that you should get direction for your life? In the Word of Christ that you hold in your hand. God has always expected His people to follow the Word of the Lord. But it is especially so now that Christ has come.
Paul lived in a time in-between, you might say. He lived in a time of transition. The destruction of the Jerusalem, which happened in AD 70 had not yet happened. The Word of the Lord was not yet available in the way it is now. And God was doing something special with the apostles. Today God has spoken to us “by His Son”.
I do believe that the Lord can move you to do something. But I don’t believe that is common. You might receive direction from the Lord outside of Scripture. I believe a call to ministry to be described in just that sort of way in the Bible. So, I don’t discount that at all. But 99.999999% of your life is going to be about being obedient to the Word of the Lord.
The decisions you make today are less about feeling liver shivers and more about being obedient to the Word of the Lord.
What do you do when your family is struggling to make ends meet? Well, you figure out how to make ends meet. You might need to cut back on spending. You might have things that you need to get rid of. You might need to get a different job if you can. You don’t need to wait around and see if the Lord wants you in a different job. In order to provide for your family as you ought, you should start looking around.
How do you raise your children? Do you wait for shivers in your liver to lead you to teach your children the Word? Do you wait for God’s leading to guide you into what you should say to your children? Do you wait for direction before raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord? Well, no. You do it.
When you are angry with your spouse do you sit around and wonder whether you took a wrong turn at the corn maze and ended up with this buffoon? No. You are with your spouse now and so you fulfill the commandments given to you in the Word.
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, … In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:22-26, 28-33 ESV)
You have seen what you are supposed to do in Scripture. You know what you are called by God’s Word to do. It is for you to be obedient. In fact, if you are spending your time wishing that you had a different spouse then you are not just not doing what you’re supposed to do. You are sinning as you break the commandment not to covet.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17 ESV)
You’re not here to decipher the plan God has for your life. It is for you to be obedient to what the Lord has commanded you.
In Paul’s case, the Lord told him to go to Jerusalem. And so he went. The lord has told you in His Word how you are to live and what you are to do. Will you be obedient?
God Has A Plan
God’s plan for Paul was for him to end up in Rome and to preach in chains on his way there. This event takes us all the way to the end of the Book of Acts. It takes us all the way to Rome. That was God’s plan for Paul. But when Paul committed to go to Jerusalem, he did not know that.
Paul preached in Jerusalem. He preached before the Sanhedrin. He preached before Felix, who was a Roman governor. He preached before Herod Agrippa, who was a king over the territory that included Jerusalem. Agrippa was the Great Grandson of Herod the Great. And Paul preached to many people, morning noon and night in Rome.
Here’s the thing. The Holy Spirit had only moved Paul to go to Jerusalem. Going here set everything in place for Paul to end up in Rome having preached to all these people.
It is interesting to me that only after Paul had no control over where he was headed, did the Lord see fit to tell Paul that he was headed for Rome.
“The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”” (Acts 23:11 ESV)
Paul had been faithful before he was in chains. Now he was in chains and remaining faithful. And God was going to get him to Rome.
This is both similar and different to 99.9999% of our own personal experience. It is more often the case that we must approach life like Esther than like Paul. Remember, Esther was not told what would happen to her or what she should do. She just knew that she needed to act in order to rescue her people. And so, she asked for prayer and then risked her life to save the people of Israel.
The similarity here is that Paul didn’t really know what the Lord was leading him to do. God was taking him to Rome. Paul didn’t have a clue that this was on the agenda. Paul was going back to Jerusalem. And when Paul was faithful to go to Jerusalem, the Lord set everything in motion to get him in Rome. And from this point on Paul is a prisoner and not in control of anywhere he is going to go.
God does have a plan. But you don’t know it. You don’t know what is going to happen next. You have to look and see what the Lord demands of you and make decisions over how you will be most faithful to the Lord and to your family.
In other words, you are always having to take chances because you don’t know how things are going to work out.
But the Lord does know. He knows everything. He knows how it is all going to work out because He planned for it to work out that way.
The Evil Plans Of Others Will Not Thwart God’s Plan
I began the sermon today speaking of God’s sovereignty over all things. And I began there for a reason. It is something that we see quite plainly in our text today. God’s plans would not be thwarted by anyone. All the plans made to stop Paul only worked to move Paul to Rome, which is exactly where God wanted him.
Think about the events that took place here. The rioters wanted Paul dead. The Sanhedrin attempted to murder Paul in a conspiracy with more than 40 people that pledged to not eat or drink anything until Paul was dead. And Paul’s sister heard about the plot. Her son showed up and let people know what was going on so that Paul would be kept safe. When the Tribune heard about the plot he made plans to get Paul out of town. So, what did this do? It only worked to get Paul moving on the path to Rome.
Nothing can thwart God’s plan. And we mean that. And that is what is pictured here.
Does God have a plan for your life? Yes.
Do you get to know it? No. Paul only got to hear about where he was headed, after all was accomplished that would get him there. In other words, he was on the train before he knew where this thing was headed.
And obstacle after obstacle attempted to derail him, but nothing would stop him.
And this is where our confidence is. This is what allows us to live with confidence before the Lord.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)
And this is incredibly freeing.
This means that we order our lives according to God’s Word and we live as wisely as possible. And then, what do you do? You leave the results to God.
You trust that Romans 8:28-30 are true and you leave the results to God.
And there is an application here for our church.
What is it that we are to be concerned with doing? We are to be concerned with being faithful. The actions of others do not thwart God’s plan. And we are not to be concerned with that. We are to be faithful.
We are to be faithful to share the gospel with lost people.
We are to be faithful to make disciples.
We are to be faithful to walk in holiness.
We are to be faithful to lead our families well.
We are to be faithful to give as the Lord has commanded us to give.
We are to be faithful.
And the Lord oversees all of this. In fact, the Lord is in control and working all things for our good.
R. Dwain Minor