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TEXT: Acts 20:1-21:16
SUBJECT: Acts 25
This morning, we will continue in our study of Acts, looking for the Lord Jesus Christ in it, and praying God will open our eyes to His grace and glory.
The story reads like a travelogue. It takes Paul and his friends on a winding journey from Ephesus, up to the Balkan Peninsula, back to Asia Minor, down to the Greek Isles, and then on to Syria, Lebanon, and Judea.
EPHESUS, V.1
The trip begins in Ephesus, where Paul has spent two years in good and fruitful ministry. Working with his hands every morning, he preached in the afternoon, and won many Jews and Gentiles to faith in Christ. But all good things come to an end. It was time to move on. He quits Ephesus with a warm hug for his believing friends
MACEDONIA, VV.1a-2
He moves on the Macedonia, a region he'd been to before and done much good. There, he drops in on his brothers and sisters and "encourages them with many words".
GREECE, V.3
Then on to Greece where he spends three months preaching the Gospel and building up the Church of God. There, the Jews plot to kill him, but he escapes back into Macedonia.
MACEDONIA, VV.4-5
There he's joined by some friends, "Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundas of the Thessalonians, Gaius of Derbe, [along with] Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus". Some of these men we've heard of before; others we haven't. In any event, they've given up the easy and comfortable lives they had at home for the hardships and danger of life with the most hated man in the Roman Empire.
TROAS, VV.6-12
From Philippi they sail down to Troas and stay a week with the Church in that city. On Sunday afternoon, they met for a love feast with a sermon to follow. Paul preached the sermon...and preached and preached and preached. In fact, he spoke till midnight.
About that time a young man named Eutychus dozed off and fell out the window, three stories to the ground. The fall killed him, of course, but the Lord raised him from the dead through Paul.
"And they were not a little comforted"
Seeing a man raised from the dead, I suppose, has a way of waking you up! Taking advantage of it, Paul went on another six hours, preaching the Word. When the sun came up, he pronounced the benediction and moved on.
MILETUS, VV.13-38
They boarded a ship and sailed south with stops in Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Trogyllium, and [finally] to Miletus. From there, he sent word to the pastors in Ephesus to join him one last time. These were men he knew well, loved much...and worried about.
Never was he more eloquent than he was that day. He began by reminding them of his example, of what kind of man and pastor he has been.
He was humble, patient, brave, and eager to speak up for Christ.
"You know from the first day I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ".
He goes on the predict his future. He didn't know the details, of course, but he had the "big idea".
"And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God".
He adds a personal note,
"And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God will see my face no more..."
He closes with a warning and a challenge.
"After my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples to themselves..."
"Therefore, watch...Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood".
Every word touches the heart. But one in particular got to the pastors--they'd never see Paul again! When they heard that,
"They wept freely, fell on his neck, kissed him, and accompanied him to the ship".
[A brief observation: Paul was the most useful man in the world. He was a pioneer missionary, a public defender of Christ, a seasoned pastor, a wise counselor, a good example, a big financial supporter of the church, and more. His gifts were irreplaceable. Yet the elders wouldn't miss "what he could do for them"; they'd miss the man himself.
We can learn from this. People are not "things" to be valued by what they can do for us. They are brothers and sisters in Christ and precious in and of themselves].
ON TO JUDEA, 21:1-16
From Troas, Paul and his friends sailed for Syria, making brief stops at Cos, Rhodes, and Patara.
Finally, they came ashore at Tyre in Syria, where they met the Church and enjoyed their hospitality for a week. What else went on in those meetings, we can't say. But this much we know: Prophets kept warning Paul of the dangers that lay ahead in Jerusalem.
When he couldn't be talked into staying, the whole church walked down to the docks with him, knelt down to pray, and wished him Godspeed.
He then stopped in Ptolemais for a day and greeted the saints there.
Then to Caesarea where he stayed with Philip the deacon and Evangelist and his four unmarried daughters. After some days there, a prophet named Agabus came by and issued one last warning to Paul. Taking the Apostle's belt and tying his own hands, he cried,
"Thus says the Holy Spirit, `So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles'".
Needless to say, this put the house into a uproar. Everyone was scared to death for Paul. Through many tears, they begged him to stay behind. But he said,
"What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also do die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus".
How do you answer that?
"The will of the Lord be done!"
At long last, the men reached Jerusalem and moved in with "Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple".
That's the long and complicated story. And the end of Paul's Third Missionary Tour.
THE MESSAGE
Now what does it all mean?
Think about it. We have Paul traveling in Asia Minor, in Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Holy Land--all over the map. He meets with every sort of Christian: Men and women, Jews and Gentiles, old men and children, pastors and deacons, prophets and prophetesses, and more.
What do they have in common? What do we see in them all? One thing stands out in our story. And that is their brotherly love.
They embrace Paul in Ephesus; he encourages them in Macedonia; they weep for him in Miletus; they eat the love feast together in Troas; everywhere he goes, the saints are worried sick about his safety. In short, they love each other with a fervent love.
That's what the story is about: Jesus Christ moves His people to love each other.
The love is not natural. The things that divide us divided them too. Race, income, social standing, personality conflicts, differences in theology and church practice.
The differences were real and deep and serious, but somehow or other, they didn't dismember the Body of Christ. What kept the Church together in those days?
Brotherly love.
What will keep us together today? The very same thing. According to Romans 14,15, love will keep the strong from despising the weak and the weak from passing judgment on the strong. It will cause us to welcome everyone whom God welcomes and destroy no one from whom Christ died.
Nothing else will do the trick. Not Confessions of Faith; not firm discipline; not careful oversight (though they're all good). Only love will keep the Body of Christ intact--or bring it back together.
What is this love? It's not a mushy feeling, but a firm commitment to do some things--and to not do others.
What does brotherly love do? In short, it "Esteems others better than yourself" (Philippians 2:3). It's not easy to respect someone--and then break fellowship with him over every little thing.
What does brotherly love not do? It "Does not envy, does not parade itself, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, thinks no evil, and does not rejoice in iniquity" (I Corinthians 13). It's pretty hard to fall out with someone when he's living this way.
Brotherly love is the great need of the hour. Of every hour. The Church in Ephesus was right on every issue--doctrine, zeal, discipline. Yet they had
"Left their first love".
And this--all by itself--grieved the Lord Jesus and brought down terrible judgments on the church. His word to them is His Word to us all...
"Remember from where you have fallen, repent, and do the first works".
Go back to the love you once had for your brothers and sisters in Christ. The love that longed for their company; the love that wept over their sorrows and rejoiced over the success; the love that covered a multitude of sins and the love that gently corrected them when they went astray.
This love is not easy to find. "With man it is impossible". But it can be found in Christ. So, confess your sins to Him and plead with Him to fill you with love one for another.
That's a prayer He will answer. He promises to, I John 5:14. So "Keep on asking and you shall receive; keep on seeking and you shall find; keep on knocking and it shall be opened to you".
After praying for grace, mortify the sins that hinder love...and start obeying Jesus Christ, John 15:9.
The Early Church had no wealth, no numbers, no connections. Yet they turned the world upside down. With love. Even the pagans admitted that. It became a byword with them,
"Behold the Christians! How they love one another".
May God restore His Church. And fill us with brotherly love. For Christ's sake. Amen.
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