I'll read a few verses here from
the book of Luke, chapter 7, verse 40. And Jesus answering said unto
him, I have something to say unto
thee, and he saith, Master, say him one. There is a certain creditor
which had two debtors. The one owed five hundred pence,
and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which
of them will love him most. Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast
rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? thine house, thou gavest me no
water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with tears, and
wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss,
but the woman, since this time I came in, hath not ceased to
kiss my feet. my head with oil. Thou didst
not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto you, her
sins which are many and forgiven, for she loved much,
but to whom little is forgiven, The same love was little, and
he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And when they had nothing
to pay, when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them
both. And I've said several times here
in recent days, that the hardest thing in the world for any man
to do is to come to God with nothing. But God will not do
business with you unless you come to Him with nothing. And you'll hear in your heart
of hearts, your sins are forgiven thee. Brother Gary led us in a song
a few minutes ago. It was number 23. I was thinking
about this last line of this last song that we sang, Come
We That Love the Lord. That last line said, We're marching
through Emmanuel's ground to farewells on high. And you know,
in light of Everything is going on today. I mean, everything. Everything politically, everything
economically. Do you know what gives me great
comfort? That Almighty God's in control
of this. I think that. We should be. in a very healthy way, concerned
with our country. God's blessed this country. And
I'm thankful that God's given some folks a heart to pray for
our country. And I would encourage you to
do that, encourage you to pray God's will, God's direction,
God's mercy, grace on this country. But I can tell you what is going
to happen, whatever is best for God's people and for the glory
of Almighty God. That is what He is going to do.
And I may not see it, I may not understand it, but that God would
give me a heart to bow to His good providence. For that I am
thankful. Now, we are marching through
Emmanuel's ground. The earth is the Lord. and the
fullness thereof." Let's take our Bibles and turn to Acts chapter
21. You know, the Scripture says while
you're turning there, 2 Timothy 3.16, all Scripture is
given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable. It's helpful. It's advantageous. For doctrine,
you want to know what the truth is, the scripture. What do we
teach? We teach the doctrine of Christ. The truth concerning, that's
what that means. The teaching concerning. It's
profitable for reproof. That means proof by which all
things are tested. If you want to know what you
place everything up next to, it's the Scriptures. It's profitable
for correction, that is, improvement, and for instruction in righteousness,
or that which God accepts as righteous. For instruction in
righteousness. If you want to know what is righteousness,
the Scriptures will teach you. Let's have a word of prayer.
Our Father, we ask You for Christ's sake. Help us. Lord, help us. Teach us. Instruct
us this evening. Correct us. Show us Your reproof
and instruction in righteousness for Christ's sake. Amen. There's a difference in teaching
the Bible. Now hear me well. There's a difference
in teaching the Bible and the letter of that Scripture and
seeing the message that's in that Scripture. I've told you
before. You can teach the Bible and not
preach the gospel. You can teach the truth of the
Bible and not preach Christ. About the best illustration I've
given is the ark. And I can tell you how Noah built
an ark and he put animals in it and it rained and God closed
the door and everybody but Noah and his wife and his sons and
their wives and animals perished. And that's the truth. That's
the truth. But it's not the gospel. The
gospel is concerning Christ. And unless we see Christ in that,
that we were delivered in Christ and the judgment of God is a
picture of the rain and that only those that God put in Christ
There's the gospel. Well, we've got a passage of
Scripture tonight that I could just look at, we could look at,
and look at it in just a historical set of verses, just history. But it's not going to be profitable
for us. Tonight I pray that the Spirit
of God might be pleased to teach us something concerning Almighty
God, concerning us, our need of Him, and Christ who is our
all-sufficiency. If you see Christ, you that believe,
if you see Christ, you will profit by it and you will rejoice in
it. Six things I want us to say tonight
in the first six verses of Acts chapter 21. Six truths. I have entitled this, God who
directs who proves and who keeps His people. Here is the first
thing that I see in this passage. Verse 1, It came to pass that
after we were gotten from them and had launched, we came with
a straight course unto Kowas, and the day following unto Rhodes,
and from thence unto Padera. Now Paul the Apostle, with a
group that's with him, they're going, they're on their way to
Jerusalem. That's where they're going. Paul
was pressed in the Spirit. That's what he'd said, that he
was bound. Verse 22, it said of the 20th
chapter, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the
things that shall befall me there. He's going. So in this first
passage, all right, they had left a group of people sorrowing,
verse 38 of the 20th, most of all for the words that he spake,
that we should see his face no more. They accompanied him unto
the ship. And it came to pass, he said,
after we were gotten. Now, the key to this, and here's
the first point, that I see in this is that God Almighty has
given a heart to His people. And that heart has a longing
for a fellowship with the saints of God. After we were gotten,
you know, the Scripture says, John 13, 35, by this shall all
men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another,
after we were gotten." That word right there means separated with
reluctance to depart. You know, if you're with someone
and you really don't care that much, there's not a real bond
there, you know. You may be able to for a while
tolerate being with them. But if you have a heart for them,
if you love them, if your desire is for them, you just want to
be there. You just want to be able to fellowship
with them. When you have to go, you hate
it. When we were gotten from them,
Paul was going, but oh, he hated to go. He didn't know. The last verse
of that last chapter, it says, Sorry most of all for the words
which he spake, that they should see his face no more. He didn't
know. He was torn when they were gotten. But listen to this. This word,
gotten, right here, separated with reluctance to depart, is
the same word used concerning our Lord in Luke 22, verse 41.
It says, And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast
and kneeled down and prayed." Now that was amazing. I was looking
at those words and it was talking about words that were the same
word, this gotten. And it made me realize when the
Lord Jesus Christ, when He was there in Gethsemane, it doesn't
mean when He was just withdrawn from them, He just kind of went
away with reluctance. Those were His disciples. He
was getting ready to go to the cross. He was getting ready to
pray unto His Father. This was the time when He prayed,
Father, if it be possible that this cup could pass from Me. But nevertheless, Not my will,
but Thine be done." He was withdrawn from them, but it was a withdrawal
with reluctance because He loved them. There they were. They had gone to sleep. But oh,
the love that Christ has for His own! When I stop and think
of His love for His people, what a joy! What a comfort! What peace! When there's a parting of brethren,
whether it's for a little while or whether it be in death, there's
a struggle to detain them. You want to see them. You want to be with them. You
know, I can be gone. I've told you this before. I
go somewhere else and in my heart it's always for Katie. I think,
I mean, you know, I enjoy seeing the Brethren, I enjoy seeing
them, but it's not like being home. You're just glad to be
back. I know that's the first thing.
It's that God's given a love to His people for each other.
Here's the second thing. The steps of a good man. This is Psalm 37, 23. "...Are
ordered by the Lord, that he delighteth in His way. Verse 2 and the major portion
of verse 3 says this, And finding a ship sailing over unto Pharnacia,
we went aboard and set forth. And when we had discovered Cyprus,
we left it on the left hand and sailed into Syria and landed
at Tyre. I'll stop there for just a minute.
Steps of a good man. ordered by the Lord. As I said
before, Paul was going to Jerusalem. He found a ship. These preachers
found a boat, but they never assumed, and this I know based
on what Paul the Apostle wrote in the book of Romans 8.28, never
assumed that anything was by accident, all things, The peace in the heart of a believer
is that Almighty God has established His way. And when he thinks upon
the power and the will and the pleasure of God to direct him,
he settles down. It's okay. All things work together
for good. They found a ship. He was going
here and he went to Cyprus and he left there and went to Syria
and retired. And you might ask, why am I here
and then here and then here? Because that's the way that God
ordered it. And if I knew the end from the
beginning, I would understand. But suffice it to say, the steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Here's the third thing
I know. All the government of this world
is founded and directed for God's glory and the elect's good. The last part of verse 3 says
they had gone all those places and here was the reason. For
there the ship was to unlaid her burden. The other preachers that were
with him, they were going to Jerusalem. And God provided a
ship to get them there. They were going here and going
there and going here. But here was the secondary cause. The secondary cause of the reason
that they came and stopped at Tyre, the secondary cause was
because they had a load of cargo. to drop off. That ship was owned by a businessman,
and that businessman was dropping off a load of stuff. He was doing good. He had a shipload
of stuff to drop off. I want you to turn with me to
Genesis 39. Genesis 39, verse 1, And Joseph was brought down
to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard,
an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which
had brought him down hither. This businessman bought him.
This businessman was named Potiphar. And the Lord was with Joseph,
and he was a prosperous man. And he was in the house of his
master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord
was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper
in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his
sight, and he served him, made him overseer over his house,
and all that he had he put into his hand." Now listen to this,
"...and it came to pass from the time that he had made him
overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord
blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing
of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the
field." Now here was the reason. that Potiphar prospered for Joseph's
sake. God provided for his own through
that Egyptian, the captain of the guard. I'm telling you that
this ship back in Acts 21, it went to Tyre because it had a
load, a cargo to drop off. But the first cause was that
God was going to send Paul the apostle to Jerusalem. And God
was pleased to bless the owner of this ship and give him some
business so that Paul could be brought where God was going to
put him. This man thought, I'm just a
shrewd businessman. I buy and sell. Let me tell you
something. Almighty God has greatly blessed
this community. A lot of coal mines. There's
a lot of gas, electric. Do you know why God's raised
up this area and blessed this area like He has? Because He's
got some sheep in this area that God was going to provide for. And I'm telling you the reason
that this town is still sustained is for the good of God's people. How do you know that? I just
read Romans 8, 28. All things work together for
good. All men, all angels, all events,
all prosperity, all health, all war, all famine, all sorrow,
all sickness, Everything political, everything economical, all the
social events, all things work together. They cooperate under
God's hand and direction and control for good. Not that men without Christ,
men that are not God's people, not that it works good for them.
It's a curse for them. They'll go after it. They'll
go after the prosperity. They'll go after the care of
this world. They'll go after it, and they're going to get
all they can, the gusto they can. And I'm telling you, they
will not leave this world with it. But they'll leave this world
under the curse of it. The cares of this world, but
for God's people. God has prospered this community. That ship right there was It
was just a ship. It just had a load to go. But
Paul the Apostle and those that were with him was on it. And
God provided for his own through that economic condition of that
man's ship. Verse 4, it says, In finding
disciples, we tarried there seven days, who said to Paul through
the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem. I'll tell you the fourth point
in just a minute. But Paul found some disciples. It says, finding
disciples, and the word finding there, it means not by accident,
as we would call accident, but by searching. It's a word that
means finding because he was looking for them. God had sent
some of his own. to this place, to Tyre. And by
the grace of God, some men, women, have been called out of darkness.
Acts 11, 19 says, They which were scattered abroad upon the
persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia. That's where they are. They're
in a country. So God uses even the wrath of
man to glorify Himself. So the gospel was sent to Tyre
by way of men that persecuted some of God's people. But through
the disciples at Tyre, we learn something that is very needful
for us to learn today. And here is my fourth point out
of this verse four. The faith of God's elect and
the faithfulness of God's elect is going to be tested and proven
to stand. Now, here's what I know. It says
that, verse 4, it says that through the Spirit, and if you'll notice,
that's a capital S. That's the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit, that he should
not go up to Jerusalem. You say, well, wait a minute,
Mark. You know, Paul had just said over in the 20th chapter,
I just read it, verse 22, And now, behold, I go bound in the
Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall
me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city,
saying that bonds and affliction abide me." Now, Paul was sent
to Jerusalem. Who sent him there? God sent
him there. And the Spirit of God that sent him there promised
him. You're going to suffer. You're
going to have some problems. You're going to have some persecutions. Now, here in verse 4 of the 21st
chapter, it says that through the Spirit, there were some that
was telling Paul, you shouldn't go. Now, let me ask you something. Is there a contradiction with
God? Now, you know better than that. You know that Almighty
God is not the author of confusion. Does God tell one man one thing
concerning his will about a matter and then tell that man something
else or send some others to tell him about that same event? Is
there something wrong here? No. I know God's not the author
of confusion. Then what's going on? I can tell
you by the good wisdom and will and purpose of Almighty God,
that God's Word is going to stand. God told Paul by His Spirit,
you're going to Jerusalem. And when you get to Jerusalem,
you're going to be bound. You're going to be tried. You're going to be tested. And here's some men by the Spirit
of God that's telling him, shouldn't go, shouldn't go. You know what
this proves? It proves that God is going to
keep his own. If Almighty God has told one
of his own, this is what I want you to do.
This is what you will do. Do you know? That God will prove
his faithfulness to you and maybe through someone that you greatly
trust. Someone might tell you. I don't
know if you ought to do that. I don't know if I don't. The
Lord may just allow someone to say something to you. That might
cause you to think or wonder But if God has convinced you,
you're going. You're going. The Lord is not
the author of confusion, but He will prove His own. He keeps
them. He sustains them. If you're convinced
that what decision you have to make is of the Lord, it doesn't
matter what I have to say. It doesn't matter what Brother
Scott has to say. Now, if something that you're going to do is contrary
to Scripture, if it's forbidden, if there's something, but if
you feel in your heart that God has given you a heart, a will,
a desire to do something, you know what you've got to do?
You've got to do what you believe God wants you to do. I may tell
you my thoughts. You follow God. You do what you
think. The Lord is going to prove and
test. He proved his faithfulness to
Paul. He kept it. Here's the fifth
thing. Every moment of every day has
a purpose for the believer. Every moment. Now you stop and
think of the things you did today. Think of everything that you
did today. And in your mind, you will think,
you know, there may have been some things that were profitable
and there were some things that I could see that probably edified
or there were some things that. But, you know, there was probably
a lot of things that I did today that just I just kind of, you
know, blew it off. It just I was just a lot of dead
space in there today. No, every moment of every day
has a purpose. for the believer. Verse 5 says,
And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went
our way, and they all brought us on our way with wives and
children till we were out of the city and we kneeled down
on the shore and prayed. When we accomplished, the word
is when we furnished or equipped. When the Spirit of God had shown
the disciples in Tyre of His sustaining grace and the completion
of their work there. What was done? Exactly what the
Lord purposed. When we had completely filled
up the seven days that they were there, that's what 4th verse
says, we tarried there seven days. Yeah, but there was a lot
of dead space as far as you were concerned maybe. But not God. See, you go back to Romans 8,
28, and that Scripture becomes deeper and deeper and deeper. All things. Even those things
that I feel are insignificant, that's right. Let me tell you
one thing for myself. There's times that I will catch
myself thinking back on something that I seemingly didn't do for
about the last hour, two hours, or something like that. But do
you know what that two hours did for me? It made me realize
my need of being more sensitive to Him. So therefore, that was
a profitable two hours. When I think back on it, it caused
me to realize something. I could sit here and beat myself
up, but it was profitable two hours for me. When we had accomplished,
Ecclesiastes 3 once says, to everything there is a season
and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Verse 6 of Ecclesiastes
3 says, a time to embrace a friend and a time to refrain from embracing. That is to be far from the embracing
of one unfaithful. There's a purpose, there's a
time. We are where we are until the Lord is pleased to remove
us. Paul says, after we departed
and went our way, knelt down on the shore and we prayed. You
know, nothing is more honoring to the Lord and the expression
of our heart than to pray together. You know, we start every service,
We start and we end it by praying. We ask the Lord's blessing and
then we thank the Lord for His blessing. We pray, prayer, prayer. It's a request or a petition
for mercies in accordance with God's will in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it is. It's a petition.
And then it's a thankful acknowledgement. for His sovereignty to do as
He willed and how He has dealt with us. And then lastly, verse
6, And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took
ship, and they returned home again. Paul was going to have to go. He knew he was going to have
to go. I mean, it really did. I go back to that 38th verse
right there. Well, look at verse 37. This
says, they all wept sore and they fell on Paul's neck and
kissed him. They just, they loved him. They loved him. And he loved
them. I mean, I'll be honest with you.
It just, I mean, I can think of this right here, Mitch, and
I think in my mind, I said this last week, what if I knew that
this is going to be the last time I'd see some of you? What
if this, what if I knew that this was going to be possibly
the last time that I'd see you? I mean, you know, I'd break my
heart. You know what? I love you. I love you. And I
want what's best for you. Paul, Paul had to go, but he
had to go. He had to go. He had to go. And it just says, when they had
taken our leave, he said, we left. They went home. What did we learn? Well, we learned
this. Though we love one another, we're
taught that we're going to have to just trust the Lord and wait
on the Lord. That the Lord knows best. Turn back to Acts 14. 23. There were ordaining some
men, these deacons, Acts 14. 23, and when they had ordained
them elders in every church and had prayed with fasting, they
commended them to the Lord on whom they believed. They trusted
Him to God's charge. You know, Paul the Apostle loved
them. But you know what? There's nobody
that you're going to be able to depend on that's going to
be faithful to you as God Almighty is. He's one that sticks closer
than a brother. He's a faithful, faithful, faithful
friend. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. Well, Scott, I love you, but
I'd forsake you. You know that. I wouldn't want
to, thinking in my mind, but the Lord. For a while, believers
may find themselves separated from each other, from each other's
presence, and be sad, but I know this. One day, there's coming
a day when all believers, and you're going to know them. We're
going to know each other. We'll know them. We'll know each other.
I tell you, the disciples knew Moses and Elijah on the day of
transfiguration. They knew who they were. That's
Moses and Elijah. Never met them, and they knew
exactly who they were. You'll know Martha. You'll know
her. Little girl. Everyone that's
left this world, died in the faith, you're going to know them. And you know what we're going
to do? We will forever, together, praise Him who is altogether
worthy. They were sad, took their leave,
Went home. Right now, we have one who has
said this, I'll never leave you. I'll never
leave you. I will never forsake you. Never. Never. Come what may,
through thick and thin, through sickness and health, I'll never leave you. And I'll
tell you this, one day, we'll know that in fullness. We know it by faith now, but
oh, how weak is our faith. But one day, we'll see Him as
He is. And the Scripture says, we'll
be like Him. you.