The Book of Acts ~ Study Sixty-Five

"No Matter What"


Acts 21:1-16 (NLT) After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia. We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
   We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed, and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.
   The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day. The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
   Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’” When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
   But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

Sometimes the counsel of friends, filtered through the grid of their fears and concerns for our safety, can be misguidance. Like Paul, we must determine to "do the right thing" even when outward circumstances and projected outcome do not appear to be stamped with the blessing of God. (IVP New Testament Commentary)

We see from this portion of Acts 21 that Paul is determined to go to Jerusalem because God's Holy Spirit has urged him to go. His friends and those he visits throughout his travel to Jerusalem have received warning through the Holy Spirit that Paul will have to suffer in Jerusalem. They think he should avoid going there but he knows that God is warning him about the hardships but wants him to go anyway. His faith is strong and it strengthens his determination to complete the task God has given him.

We all get discouraged in our lives. What has God placed before you that you would rather just avoid doing? Has He told you to complete something and you are avoiding it? Have people held you back in concern for you safety? Are you determined to complete what God has given you to do?

Paul found himself in a place mentally, physically and spiritually where he had to choose between the warnings of others and the direction that God was leading him. There is no conflict in the warnings that the Holy Spirit has told his friends and prophets he encountered and what He has told Paul to do. God, through the Holy Spirit, is merely warning Paul of the hardships he will face. Paul knew that he had to face them but trusted that God would not desert him and would carry him through no matter if death was the end result.

Are you willing to go to whatever God lengths God will take you? It's hard to imagine. We all want to avoid hard times but if its God's will for us then we must follow through with no hesitation. We must step out by faith and follow Jesus.

Mark 1:16-18 (NLT) One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

When Jesus called His disciples from their everyday lives, little did they know where Jesus would eventually lead them. They were still young men at that time and didn't know what following Him would entail. He would lead them all the way to His Cross and through His resurrection and ultimately to their own often brutal deaths. Its kind of scary to think of following Jesus like this. Ultimately we must all decide to follow Him no matter the cost. Not all will have the hardships that Paul and His first disciples faced but we each have things in our lives that are hard.

Matthew 8:18-27 (Message) When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake. As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. "I'll go with you, wherever," he said.
   Jesus was curt: "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know."
   Another follower said, "Master, excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have my father's funeral to take care of."
   Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life."
   Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat—and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, "Master, save us! We're going down!"
   Jesus reprimanded them. "Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?" Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: "Silence!" The sea became smooth as glass.
   The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. "What's going on here? Wind and sea come to heel at his command!" 

The easiest way isn't always the best way. Jesus asks us to follow Him no matter what we must give up. That doesn't mean He wants us to stop loving or caring about others. He tells us to love God and love others. It does mean that we place all our trust in Him just as the He told the disciples to do when He calmed the waves and the wind. They had the Creator God in their boat and they still didn't fully trust Him.

We too have the Master in our "boats". He inhabits those who love Him. So no matter what we face whether it leads to longer life or our deaths we have to trust Him. Jesus has our best in mind and His glory and honor must be our goal.

Mark 8:34-35 (NLT) Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it."

The big question is to all those who love and follow Jesus is this, "Are you willing to lay down everything, every question, every fear, every thought, and everyone and follow Him?" We can't do it on our own strength. We have to keep focused on the prize set before us and follow Him towards that goal.

Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Our goal is pressing on to the perfection of Jesus. This isn't something we attain immediately. It's something we strive for. It's a process. It's a moving forward toward Jesus and what He has for us to do on this earth. Our mission on this earth is to grow toward becoming more Christ-like everyday in every way.

Philippians 3:7-11 (NLT) I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

" I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead." Let this be our goal ~ to know Jesus and His power. Every day with Him strengthens and perfects us for our eternal life with Him. Keep moving forward. Don't get discouraged by others or the situation. If we keep following Him, by faith, we will reach our goal. Our goal is to more like Jesus everyday ~ in every way.