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That's connectwithskip.com. Now let's get into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. I think it would have been tough to be around Paul. It would seem, looking into the workings of his ministry and organization, that he was a driven individual. Now I don't think he was.
I think he was called, but it looked like he was driven. But, you know, he kept saying, I'm going to Jerusalem. I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that everywhere I go, I get these messages from God that say it's going to be hard. You're going to get arrested. But I don't care because I'm ready to die for Jesus. Well, that's great, Paul, but we're on your team. So what could happen to you could also happen to us. That's why I say it wouldn't be like really fun necessarily to be on Paul the Apostle's missionary team because he was ready to risk it all.
But if you're traveling with him, it would look like he's risking it all for you as well. So we have seen so far that on his way toward that city, after leaving Miletus, meeting with the Ephesian elders, that he was approached by three different groups of people. Christians in Tyre on the seacoast up in Lebanon saying don't go to Jerusalem for seven straight days. Christians in Tyre clergymen in Caesarea, a guy by the name of Agabus, that prophet who bound himself in Paul's belt and said whoever owns this belt is going to get bound in Jerusalem. So Christians in Tyre clergymen in Judea and also companions in travel. His own team members, Luke included, who wrote this book, because it changes from they warned that they said to we kept saying, Paul, don't go, don't go.
Until finally he said, what do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? I'm willing not only to be bound, I'm willing to die for the Lord Jesus. It was Vance Havner, a Christian from many years ago, who said a leader is somebody with a compass in his mind and a magnet in his heart. You know, a compass is what you navigate by.
You're able to tell what direction you're going in. The idea is that you think through, you navigate through with your mind, with your thought processes, your values, and where you think God is calling you. A magnet in your heart, a magnet attracts people to your calling, your ministry, your vision.
And Paul had both. He had a compass. I'm going to Jerusalem. I feel this is the will of God. But he had a magnet in his heart. Wherever he went, he was able to attract different people to his cause, to his calling, to his ministry, and to the Lord, more importantly. So finally, it says in verse 14, so when he would not be persuaded, we just stopped, we ceased, and we said the will of the Lord be done. Now, we just touched on this last week.
I want to underscore this. Paul believed these messages were from the Lord. Wherever he would go, he would get these messages that the Lord keeps warning him, if you go there, this is going to happen. He didn't see those messages, those predictions as prohibitions. He saw those predictions as preparation. He knew that God was infallible, the Holy Spirit was infallible. This was a word of knowledge, a word of or a prophecy, whatever it might be. But he doubted the infallibility of the messengers who interpreted those messages as meaning God doesn't want you to go. He said, all you're letting me know is the information that it's going to be bad when I get there.
I'm ready for it. So God was infallible. The Holy Spirit is infallible in giving the message.
But the way you guys are interpreting that, I disagree with. Now, the Bible does say in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. Right? Remember that proverb? In the multitude of counselors, there is safety. And I believe when I'm unsure about something to weigh that with trusted men and women, I often go to my wife first because she does have a keen insight both into the Lord and into me. And there's safety in that.
There's wisdom in that. Now, in hearing that, you might say, yeah, but but Paul disregarded the counsel given to him by the multitude. No, he didn't disregard it. He weighed it heavily. And the calling that he knew was in his heart outweighed all of the things they were saying. I don't think he disregarded. I think he prayed over it. He weighed it out. But still, it didn't convince him.
And so he goes for it. He goes now to Jerusalem. Here's what I've learned about Paul in my few years of studying his life. Paul didn't measure his life by physical comfort. He didn't measure the will of God by physical comfort. He measured it by spiritual calling. And he was certain that God wanted him to go up to that city of Jerusalem to give a monetary gift collected by Gentile churches, which we looked at, that he had taken this offering.
He's giving it to them. But perhaps also a final opportunity to share with his people who he loved and his heart broke over in Romans Chapter 9, 10 and 11. He knew God had a plan for them. He knew the Old Testament scriptures. He himself had been a Pharisee, very dedicated and zealous in the Jewish law. So we concluded, OK, he's not listening to any of us.
Let's go. So he just said the Lord's will be done. Of course, the question still comes up and I've read it in so many different treatments of this chapter. When they said the will of the Lord be done, really, was it the Lord's will? I mean, shouldn't Paul have listened to them and taken that message?
Because look what happens. He goes to Jerusalem and he gets arrested and he basically stays a prisoner now the rest of his life. He's confined.
He spends 12 days in Jerusalem, is arrested, spends two years in Caesarea, has several trials, appeals to Caesar, is taken on a prison ship to Rome, spends two more years under house arrest in Rome, gets briefly released, gets rearrested and then beheaded. And so some of us struggle with that. We wonder, couldn't Paul have had a better way, a longer ministry, a longer run if he would have just listened to his friends?
We touched on that last week, so I'm not going to go over that again, but Paul was convinced this was the will of the Lord. So wait, when people give you counsel, weigh it out. Ultimately, you have to make the decision. You can't have them make the decision for you.
I had a gal come to me, a woman come to me some years ago. She came in my office and she said, I'm in love with this man and I want to marry him. But all my Christian friends are telling me he's bad news. Don't marry him. This isn't God's will.
As far as we know, our counsel is don't go through with it. So I'm listening to her and then she she pulled this out. She said, so I told the Lord that I would come and see you and that whatever you tell me to do is the Lord's will.
No pressure, right? Now she has given me the power of ex cathedra. I am now like her pope. I speak from the chair. I speak with authority, my pronouncement.
And I use it as a teaching opportunity. I don't know if she received it, but I said, look, I'm not going to tell you if you should marry this guy or not. He might be a creep. And he might be the best thing for you. Will it be easy? No, no relationship is. But I can help you discern the will of God for you. And then you weigh that and weigh what your friends and bring in the scripture. But ultimately, at the end of the day, you are making the choice.
And you, not me, not them. You're responsible before God. Paul knew that and he was ready for it.
He was ready to be responsible. But again, that's good for you, Paul. But I'm Luke. I'm on your team, man.
If you get arrested and killed, I might be next. So they're all kind of they're all kind of hesitant as they go up to Jerusalem. Verse 15. And after those days, we packed and we went up to Jerusalem again.
Just notice this. They went up to Jerusalem. If you were looking at a map, they went down to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is 65 miles south as the crow flies, 85 miles on today's roads in Israel.
It is southeast. So if you were looking geographically at a map, you would say correctly, we're going down to Jerusalem. But whenever Jerusalem is mentioned in the scripture, you're always going up, no matter what direction you come from, because they didn't look at it geographically. They looked at it topographically. You would walk up in elevation in altitude.
You would be going upward up the hill. Also, they always believed spiritually. It's a step up when you go to Jerusalem, no matter where you're from.
You could be from Rome. You're going to Jerusalem and you're going up because that's the place where God chose to put his name. So they went up to Jerusalem. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, we want to help you understand what real peace looks like so you can experience it in your own life. That's why we want to send you a copy of Unleashing Peace, Experiencing God's Shalom in Your Pursuit of Happiness by Jeremiah J. Johnston. This resource is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share solid biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copy when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain nation of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we were to lodge. He was from Cyprus. He now lived in Jerusalem. He was an early disciple, which probably means he received the gospel and gave his life to Christ, I'm guessing on the day of Pentecost when it first started in Jerusalem. And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Now get this. Paul made it. He's in Jerusalem. But this is the last time he'll ever see this city the rest of his life. And what is about to unfold shows the final and formal rejection of the Jewish people in that city toward the gospel. Just like what happened with Jesus. So likewise with Paul, who keeps going back and keeps sharing with them.
It's a final and formal rejection. But phase one of Paul's plan is now complete. What am I referring to? Two chapters back. This is Acts chapter 19, verse 21. When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem. Mission accomplished. He's made it to that city.
Now, phase two is about to be unfolded. Rest of verse 21 in Chapter 19 says, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. And he will. Just not exactly like he thought.
He thought he's going to get on a boat on his own volition. Have to pay his own way and maybe see some churches and some scenery along the way and then go to Rome and have a great impact there. He'll have a great impact. But the federal government is going to pay the bill. I like God's economy. So maybe really this was the will of God. Let's get him to Rome and have Rome pay the bill. He'll be a prisoner for two years in Caesarea, so they have to feed him and keep him. They'll send him to Rome at their expense, put him in a prison. But that won't stop the gospel because he will be under house arrest. People will be able to visit him. He'll still be able to speak and preach, which he did. And write letters, which he did, like Philippians, like Colossians, et cetera.
So he makes it. Verse 18, On the following day, Paul went in with us to notice the name James. Peter is not mentioned. And all the elders were present.
When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. Now, we believe that this is James, the half brother of Jesus. You can't be James, the brother of John.
Why? Because in Chapter 12, he was beheaded. What's interesting, as we mentioned back in Chapter 15, you're seeing it again. It seems that the spokesperson, the head of the first church, was not Peter, like I had been taught growing up. That Peter was the first guy. The primacy of Peter was the doctrine in my church. But Peter is not even mentioned. In Chapter 15, James is in charge.
James makes the decision. So the first leader of the church was not Peter, but James. And to make it even more interesting, the half brother, so a relative of Jesus.
Now, in today's culture, he'd be accused of nepotism. But this is James, the half brother of Jesus. Herod Agrippa I has already beheaded the first James. This is James, we believe, the half brother of Jesus. Verse 20, When we heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, You see, brother, James is talking now, he says to Paul, You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
There's a mouthful there. First of all, we are seeing what has been happening in Jerusalem while Paul's been out on his journeys. He just made a third journey around the known world, a 2700 mile trip. He goes back to Jerusalem. And it's not just a few Jewish people who have believed. There are thousands of people, myriads of believers. But they're believers in Jesus. They're messianic Jews. They're very, very sensitive toward the law and Judaism. In fact, they didn't have Galatians or the Book of Hebrews or the Book of Romans to sort of unfold all that tradition and unpack that and peel away some of those things that hung on to so many of them. They're messianic Jews, but they're bent on Judaism.
They're zealous, it says, for the law. But James continues, says to Paul, But they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children or walk according to customs. What then?
Or what do we do now? You know what you've done in your ministry is exciting. We're glorifying God. Praise God for that, Paul. But your reputation among Jewish people is at an all time low.
What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore, do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them and pay their expenses so they may shave their heads. That all may know that those things which they were informed concerning you are nothing but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled and from sexual immorality.
You remember the verdict back in Chapter 15. Then Paul took them in and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them. James tells Paul that he ought to do this. Paul could have said, forget it, not going to do it.
In fact, it bothers some people that he didn't do that. He went along with it. This is the guy who said, you don't need to make sacrifice anymore.
You don't have to keep the law to be saved or to be sanctified. So he says, OK, I'll do it. So he submits himself to James. Why does he do it?
I think it's simply he's going the second mile. He knows he doesn't have to do it. He knows these things don't merit salvation, but he's doing it to quell the disturbance that is going on about him.
This will do it. Now, now the mouths are going to be shut. People know, you know, Paul really is OK. He's he's going through this little ritual. He's OK with with us doing that. I think what we are discovering here isn't a guy going against the will of God. You know, here he was out of the will of God going to Jerusalem.
Now he's pulling this thing. I think what he is doing is going through with part of his own philosophical statement. I'm going to read his philosophical statement to you in First Corinthians, Chapter nine. He writes this for although I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all that I might win the more. To the Jew, I became a Jew that I might win Jews to those who are under the law, as under the law that I might win those who are under the law to those who are without the law, as without the law. But then he says in parentheses, not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ, that I might win those who are without the law. In other words, I'm not living a lawless life, a life without moral principles. I don't like going to a bar and get drunk just so I can say, you know what? Man, we're we're brothers, you know, and I'm on your level.
He doesn't participate in sinful deeds. He continues to the weak. I became as weak that I might win the weak. I have become.
Here's the statement. I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. Now, this I do for the gospel sake that I might be a partaker of it with you. Now, what vow were they taking? And what vow does Paul participate in? Most believe it is the Nazarite vow. Have you ever heard of a Nazarite vow? There are five verses that speak about the Nazarite vow in Numbers Chapter six.
Nazarite comes from the Hebrew word natsir, which means to dedicate. It was a voluntary, free will endeavor to give God thanks, to say I'm dedicated. This is just something I feel I want to do. So four guys have taken that vow. It was a vow that lasted 30 days. So Paul himself wasn't hadn't been taking that vow, but four had in Jerusalem.
So he's going to sponsor them, pay for it and go through the ending ritual with them. At the end of 30 days. Well, first of all, for 30 days, you would abstain from grapes, from grape products like wine. You would abstain from eating meat.
You would let your hair grow at the end of 30 days. You would cut it all off, take it into the temple, offer sacrifices. You would offer up a lamb for a sin offering, a ram for a peace offering, some little cakes of flour with oil in them and a drink offering. And the hair, you would shave it and it would be burned with the offering. So Paul does that. It's the end of their vow. He pays for it.
Maybe participates with the shaving of his hair. He's done that before at Centuria, if you remember, in Chapter 18. So he's already done a Nazarite vow. But see, some will find fault with will say, why would Paul go through a ritual that includes animal sacrifice if Jesus is the ultimate and final sacrifice? I am sure that Paul looked at those sacrifices as simply memorials, not as efficacious to remove sin or stain, but as a memorial.
All the sacrifices that he was seeing in the temple would look back to the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resource that will help you experience God's Shalom in life's busiest seasons.
Unleashing Peace by Jeremiah Johnston is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copy when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
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