Well, we join in prayer that
the Lord be with us and bless us together as we consider his
word this evening and we'll speak on the first seven verses in
this 21st chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And this really,
this describes part of his journey as he's traveling back to Jerusalem. And we left him last Friday,
leaving those Ephesian elders. And so we read this morning,
this evening, and it came to pass that after we were gotten
from them and had launched, we came with a straight course unto
Chios and the day following unto Rhodes and from thence unto Patara. And, you know, we read words
like this and we think, well, that's just a simple statement.
But the truth is, of course, that God was very gracious to
the apostle and granted him good journeys. And, you know, today,
really we have the same needs, don't we, in our lives. As we
travel from place to place, we need to be encouraged and blessed
by the favor of God. And here we have this statement.
He came with a straight course. That means there weren't any
winds that were contrary that blew them off course. Remembering
the day in which Paul lived, most of the travel was, as it
was by sea, it was by sail, and they were dependent upon good
winds to be able to sail well. And so here we have this statement
which is recorded for our instruction and for our encouragement And
so we see the apostle had left these Ephesian elders. He'd gotten
away from them. It seems that he almost had to
wrench himself because he'd been with them for some three years
and he wonderfully blessed there and they'd so appreciated him.
And now he had to pass on because the Lord had directed him to
go to Jerusalem. And so he come and he come through
Koos and Rhodes and to Potara. And then we read, and finding
a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia, we went abroad and set forth. And again, we have to see the
direction of God. They found a ship. You know,
ships weren't like they are today, working on timetables. Ships
went when they had a cargo. Didn't have a cargo, then they
used knots to launch forth. And so here was Paul come to
this place at Batara and he found a ship sailing over Antofagnici
and we went abroad and they set forth. And so although the ship
was there, quite clearly it set forth quite soon. And again we
need to be thankful in our lives when the Lord grants us good
travelling and we're able to see the Lord has been gracious
to us. And then he tells us, now when
we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand and
sailed into Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was
to unlaid her burden. So it would appear that the apostle
had done all this journey And the Lord had prospered him, and
now he landed safely at Tyre, where the ship was to unload
the burden that was upon her, the cargo. And then we find,
what does the Apostle do? Well, he didn't remain on the
ship, did he? He didn't just go abroad or go
onto land and just find something locally where he could just stay.
We're told what he did. disciples. We carried there seven
days. The apostle wanted to meet with
the people of God. And that should be our concern
and desire when we perhaps travel to different places, perhaps
foreign places, to try and find out the people of God that dwell
in such locations, if indeed they are there. And so we find
the Apostle doing just that, finding disciples. We tarried
seven days. Seven days, of course, would
have included the Lord's Day, and no doubt there the Apostle
was able to proclaim the glorious truths of the Gospel. We know
that whenever the opportunity presented itself, the Apostle
desired to set before the people the truth of the word of God,
and especially the truth as it was in Jesus. And we can be very
sure that as he met with these disciples, they were able to
converse on the things of God. I'm sure that there wasn't very
much idle talk, that they met together and they spoke about
the things of God and how important for us today to remember the
need there is, there's a great tendency isn't there, as we meet
together to omit speaking about the things of God and yet how
vital, how important they are. You know the encouraging thing
is that when I visited our brother Frank Kelly in his home and in
hospital, which I was able to do on quite a few occasions,
we were always able to speak about the things of God. And
although he had a very worldly background, God had taught him,
and God had instructed him, so he had some really good books
to read, and he had read them, and he'd absorbed them, and he
was able to speak about them. So his religion wasn't just one
which existed when he came here to worship, but his religion
was indeed every day of the week. And he had that set time in the
morning, as he's often told us, and as he often in his prayers
said, that when he got up and was able to finish his medication,
then he would have a time of prayer and reading with his God. And I know there was a special
place in the kitchen. We hadn't got a wonderful study,
he just got a corner in the kitchen where he got a little desk and
a table. We might think of that time when
Elisha, the Lord provided that woman and her husband to provide
a place for Elijah. And what a wonderful thing that
was, a table and a chair and a bed was provided. It wasn't
a great comfort as such, but the necessary things and there
they were in Frank Kelly's home. So he spoke about the things
of God and no doubt Paul here, with these disciples, he spoke
about the things of God. Finding disciples, we tarried
there seven days, who said to Paul, through the Spirit, that
he should not go up to Jerusalem. Now, of course, we know that
the Spirit of God had already directed the Apostle Paul very
clearly in the way that he should go, and looking back and remembering
in the earlier chapters in this Acts of the Apostles and the
Apostle reminds us that the Holy Ghost did not permit him to go
in the way that he anticipated. I think it's in the 16th chapter
that we read, yes, the Apostle said, and a vision appeared to
Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia
and prayed unto him saying, come over into Macedonia and help
us. So there was very clearly the
direction there of the Spirit of God instructing him in the
way that he should go. And yet previously there'd been
this statement. And when they had gone throughout
Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy
Ghost to preach the word in Asia. Now the apostle was directed,
wasn't he, by the Spirit of God. to not go to a certain place,
and to go to a certain place. And the Apostle, he did the words
that the Spirit of God instructed him in. But now we find these
brethren speaking to Paul, who said to Paul through the Spirit
that he should not go up to Jerusalem. But the Apostle had set his heart
on going to Jerusalem. And no doubt the Spirit had directed
him to go to Jerusalem. So here he is then in this situation. And he tells us, and when we
had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way.
So it had been seven days, and look at that lovely picture we
have here. 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. The Apostle must have had a blessed
influence on them. And so they all wanted to go
and to be with Paul and to bid him farewell as he was to leave
them. They didn't just say, well, off
you go, Paul. They were concerned for his welfare.
They were concerned about him traveling to Jerusalem. What
do we see? Surely we see here the love of
the brethren. Love to Paul, desiring to send
him on their way. And of course, what was the great
blessing? They kneeled down to pray. What
did he do when he left the elders previously? And they kneeled
down to pray. What a good thing it is, isn't
it? When we leave one another to be blessed with such a situation,
to kneel down and pray. The Lord will be with us while
we're parted. And perhaps these people were
never to see the apostle again. And yet you see they were able
to come and to pray with him and to commit him into the kind
and gracious hands of almighty God. And so we read, and when
he had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way
and they all brought us on our way with wives and children until
we were out of the city and we kneeled down on the shore and
prayed. So it wasn't just around the
corner, it was probably quite a little distance to go from
the city where he was to the sea. But distance didn't concern
them. They desired to be with him and
to pray for him. And so we're told, when we had
finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemaeus and saluted
the brethren and abode with them one day. So here was another
short stay. But what was he doing? He was
abiding with the brethren. He saluted. the brethren. Again,
there wasn't the communications like we have today with mobile
phones and all that kind of thing. He would have arrived at this
place at Ptolemaeus and then he would have had to sort out
the people, the disciples, the brethren. He was only there for
a day, but nonetheless this was his desire and this was his concern. And it is an example for us today,
as I've said, if we travel around to try and find out the people
of God. I've proved that in my own life
when I've traveled around quite a few places in the world as
you well know and generally I've tried to find out before I've
gone where there has been places of worship. On a number of occasions
I've been able to find places that we've been able to worship
at and there has been then that love of the brethren, that unity
I haven't sat at home, I haven't tried to stay in my hotel. I've
tried to find the disciples, find the brethren. And what a
blessing it is to find children of God in other places and to
have that union and that communion with them. And so we have the
example here before us of the Apostle. As he tells us, when
we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemaeus and
saluted the brethren and abode with them one day. And so, as
we perhaps read this little account and you think of it, well, it's
just actually just telling us about Paul's journeys. Yes, it
is. But there's quite a lot of interesting
detail if we just ponder the words and think what they mean
and realise how they apply, not only to the day in which Paul
lived, but also to our day, so that we might walk in the right
way way which is set before us in the word of God for our spiritual
benefit and of course for his honour and glory. Amen.