All right, turn with me back
to Acts 21. May our Lord help us tonight. May He help us to enter in. Let's
read the actual text one more time, all right? Verses 15 to
19. And after those days, we took
up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. There went with
us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with
them one Nason of Cyprus, an old disciple with whom we should
lodge. And when we were come to Jerusalem,
the brethren received us gladly. And the day following, Paul went
in with us unto James, And all the elders were present. And
when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things
God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. Now I have something
to say tonight. That's a good thing, isn't it?
And I'm really thankful because it took much searching and much
digging to have something to say tonight. Much begging, much
pleading, but I have something to say tonight. There is something
in here that brought this world and brought life into focus for
me. You know how everything, every
now and then, it just pops into focus? Well, let me show you something
here in verse 15. Verse 15 says, and after those days we took
up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. When he says carriages,
he does not mean buggies that you ride in that horses pull.
That's not what he means. The word carriages means luggage. So he's saying we took up our
bags, our luggage. When I read that, it was interesting
to me that I've been reading this and talking about this,
and I've thought about the apostles in their travels. You ever had
pictured them in your mind? I've, I've pictured Paul in his
journeys, but for whatever reason, I've never pictured him with
luggage. Have you? I've never, you know,
he'd walk all that way and I just never have. He had luggage. Makes
sense. They traveled everywhere and
they had some luggage that they carried with them, some bags. I'm sure it wasn't much. He wouldn't
be able to travel well if he had a lot of luggage. He was
on foot most of the time. And it would just be too much.
But he just had a few things. He had his personal things. And
everything he had could be put in his luggage. Everything he had. I mean, he
would be gone for years. Years. And the thought went through
my mind. Oh that we could treat everything
in this world as luggage. Every single thing in this world.
Just luggage. We are just passing through. We are just passing through. We don't enter into that. We
all know it. You can go out to any church
or you can go to people who don't even go to church and say, we're
just passing through this world. Everybody knows that. But we don't enter into it. We
don't believe it. We don't see it. We don't. But
we're just passing through. All right. We just have a few
things. We have a couple of things that
we need. But we are traveling up to New Jerusalem. That's what
we're doing. Zion, the beautiful city of God. That is what we're doing right
now. Day in, day out, we're marching
through Emmanuel's ground, traveling up to Zion. Every day that goes
by, we're that much closer. All those cities, we keep reading
all these cities, all these cities that Paul traveled through. His
purpose and his heart's desire was not to stay in any of them. It wasn't to stay in any of them.
He was in places for a short period of time. He might have
been in place for a few years and then moved on. But his purpose
and heart's desire was not to stay in any of them. Wherever
God provided for him to lay his head down for a while, he'd set
his luggage down. And then when God purposed for
him to move on, he'd pick his luggage up and he'd move on. None of those places were his
continuing sitting. And no place on earth is ours. No place on earth is ours. We
are just passing through. That's it. We're just passing
through. Oh, that we could treat everything
in this world as luggage. I'm thankful for my luggage,
but it's just luggage. That's all it is. Now, what if
you knew? What if you knew? That in less than 20 years, the Lord was coming back. What
if you knew that? In less than 20 years, the Lord
was coming back. This is 2016. What if we knew
that? less than 20 years or even say
less than 40 years. What if you knew in less than
40 years, the Lord is coming back. If you knew that that was
so here's my question for all of us. Okay. When I was a teenager, uh, it weighed heavy on me that
I needed to start saving for retirement. And I had it in my mind I was
going to work hard, save hard, invest hard, and I was going
to be a millionaire by 40. And I still have until November
to make that happen. We'll see how it goes. But, you know, I had it in my
mind I was going to have a retirement, you know. And so far it hadn't
worked out so well. It wasn't working out well when
I had downtown music. But here's my question. If we
knew that the Lord was coming back, if we knew he was coming
back, how would we all feel about our retirement accounts? What would we do with them? What
would we think about them? What would they mean to us if
we knew he was coming back? We're just pulling numbers here.
Split the difference. 30 years. 30 years. If you knew that within the next
30 years, the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, and his angels shall gather his
elect from the four corners of the earth. They shall all rise
to meet him in the air, and so shall they ever be with the Lord. And as soon as we're all gone,
the heavens will melt with a fervent heat And this earth and everything
in it and everything on it will be burned up. If you knew that was the case,
how would that make you feel about your house and your land?
All right, I have a 30-year mortgage on my house. If you knew the
Lord was coming back in less than 30 years, I don't owe quite
30 on it. But I, you know, I'm a man just
like anybody else. You got every now and then you
think, boy, it'd be nice when I get my house paid for. I tell
you that. All right, so I got about 28 years left on my house.
What if I knew in less than 30 years the Lord was coming back
and it was all going to be burned up? How important would that
be to me then if I really, really knew that? If you knew, now listen
to this one. I'm going to give you a little
hint here. We do know this one. If you knew that between now
and that time, every single day between now and that time, if
you knew that you would have food, clothing, and shelter,
all because God the Father chose you, just because God the Father
chose you and He put you in God the Son, And God the Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, gave his own life to redeem your eternal soul. I'm going to spare him for all
eternity. You think he'll spare us a couple
more years on this earth if he's planning on sparing us for all
eternity, keeping us, providing for us? He redeemed our eternal
soul from rot. from decay, from death, from
the grave, from sin. If you knew that was the case,
how would you feel about the rest of your days on this earth?
If you really knew it right here, I know it. I know He'll provide
for me all the days of my life and I shall behold His beauty
and inquire in His temple. How would we treat every day
that we spend on this earth? Well, here's the point I'm getting
at. Whether or not, whether or not our Lord returns to gather
all things to himself within that time, 20 years, 30 years,
40 years, whether or not he comes back to gather all things to
himself in that time, during that time, He will return to
gather most of us individually. In 40 years, I'm going to be
79. He will return. He's coming back,
whether he comes back to take it all or whether he just comes
back to take me. That's the reality of it. He
will come back to Take most of us in that period of time, individually. Oh, that we could treat everything
in this world as luggage. There's going to come a point
a few years from now. Boy, 10 years is nothing. 20
years, 30 years. There's going to come a point
when all of a sudden, there he is. And everything here is over.
It's just over. Oh, that I could treat everything
that I have in this world as luggage. I just have what I need. I'll just carry with me the few
things that I need. Well, yeah, but you're not laying
down roots. Well, I think it's time to start
laying down some roots. The root of the matter's in here.
The root of the matter's right here. Well, yeah, but you're
not, you know, you're traveling through this life and you're
not going to have anything to show for it. At the end, we want to have
something to show for it. I don't have anything to show
for it. I don't need to. I just don't
need to come that day. It will make no difference. I
don't need to turn with me to first Timothy chapter six. First Timothy 6, look at verse
17. Paul writes, charge them that
are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor
trust in uncertain riches. Riches are so uncertain. They
are so uncertain. So he says, charge them not to
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy." Now you think about that. He
said he gives us richly all things to enjoy. How could Paul say
that? Everything he had fit into a
little luggage bag. He has his bag. He has given
us richly all things to enjoy. How could he say that? Paul didn't even have a house, except in Corinth. He had a house
in Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla. They told him, anytime you come
to Corinth, our house is your house, right? He had a house
in Corinth. He had two houses in Corinth.
He was always welcome to stay with a man named Justice. His house joined hard to the
synagogue and Paul stayed with him. Anytime he needed a place,
he had a house, two houses. But other than that and having
a house in Philippi, he had a house in Philippi too. Lydia and her
family. They said, Paul, if you're traveling
through Philippi, you're staying right here. This is your house. But that's all he had. He just
had two houses in Corinth. He had a house in Philippi, and
he had a house in Achaia. You know the house of Stephanas,
the first fruits of Achaia? Paul said that family has addicted
themselves to the ministry of the saints. They have refreshed
me. Anytime I'm going through a chaos,
I can stay right there. But other than that, and having
a house in Damascus, he also had a house in Damascus. Ananias
came up to him and he said, Brother Saul, you're coming with me to
my house. He also had a house in Caesarea.
We just read it a minute ago. Philip, he had four daughters
who prophesied. Anytime he was in Caesarea, Philip
said, right here, you're staying right. We just read in the text
a minute ago that he had a house in Jerusalem. This old precious
disciple, Nason, gladly received him. Gladly received him. But other than that, and having
a house in Ephesus, Timothy was the pastor in Ephesus. And Timothy
loved Paul. He also had a house in Crete.
Titus was in Crete. Anytime he went to Crete, you're
staying right here. Colossae had a house in Colossae.
That's where Onesimus was. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon,
the servant of Philemon. And those two men, they loved
Paul. He united them. Rome, there was a time when he
was in his own hired house for two years, but other than that,
when he was in Rome, a man named Gaius said, right here, brother,
this is your house. But beside that, and beside any
of the brethren in Galatia, and beside any of the brethren in
Thessalonica, Paul didn't even have a place to lay his head.
Beside that. Is that not the truth? What if
I lost it all and all I had was my little luggage bag? What would
I do? Look right here, 1 Timothy 6
verse 17, Paul said, Charge them that are rich in this world,
that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches,
but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. that they do good, that they
be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate,
laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the
time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Lay hold on eternal life. What
he's saying is we're passing through. We're just passing through. I titled this message, Just Enough
Luggage for Travel. Just Enough Luggage for Travel.
Turn with me over to Philippians 3. I truly do have a point to all
this. I have an object for us in this
message. I have a goal for us to set our
sights on. A goal to set our sights on.
Look at the last five words of Philippians 3 verse 8. That I may win Christ. That I may win Christ. We truly are very quickly passing
through this place. Very quickly. The Word of God
compares this life to a race that is run. It's a rat race,
isn't it? Lord, let me not become bogged
down with too much baggage and let me win Christ. Let me win Christ. Everything
that this world has to offer, every single thing this world
has to offer is nothing more than a bowl of sod pottage. That's all it is. Esau sold his
birthright for a bowl of pottage. It says Jacob sod some pottage. He sold his birthright, all his
inheritance, everything that was coming from the father, he
sold it for a bowl of pottage. We hear that and we think, how
foolish. How foolish. You gave up all
that for that? There is nothing on this earth,
nothing, nothing that a man could give his soul in exchange for
that would be less foolish. You know that? Nothing, nothing. A few weeks ago, a man and his
wife won the lottery. 1.5 billion dollars. They didn't win anything. They
didn't win anything compared to Christ. They didn't win anything. But a bowl of sod pottage, that's
all it is. This coming Sunday, somebody
is going to win a big football game. Somebody's going to. A bunch of guys, they're not
going to be in the house of God. worshiping the Lord their God,
falling down at his feet, begging him for mercy like they would
be wise to be doing. But they're going to be on a
football field and that's how they're going to spend their Lord's Day. And half
of the people on that football field at the end, they're going
to win a ring. And they're going to be so proud
of that ring. And every time they see that ring, it's going
to remind them of their glory days. And then in less than about
40 years, In less than about 40 years, they're going to realize
that is worth nothing more than worthless brass. That's all it
is. It's just worthless brass. Oh, that I might win Christ. That's our object in this short
time with whatever he gives me to carry. Oh, that I might win
Christ. Look right here at Philippians
3 verse 7. But what things were gain to
me? There were some things in my
life that I used to consider gain. Paul listed right there
the things that were gain to him. But I had some things too
that I considered gain. I'm sure you did too. I'm sure
you had things in your life that you counted gain. Paul says,
but what things were gain to me as soon as I saw Christ? Not only did they pale, I gladly
considered them loss. Absolute loss if I could have
Him. Verse 7 says, But what things were gained to me, those I counted
loss for Christ, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. There's
nothing like it. There's nothing like it. Knowing
Christ, there's nothing like it. There's nothing this world has
to offer that can compare to the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. He said, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may
win Christ and be found in him. That's it. When I became old
enough to truly actively start pursuing a career in music, I
was in my late teens, and I was giving it all I had. I really
was. I was giving it all I had, trying
to make it in music. And I was at a conference one
year in Cherokee, North Carolina. And one of the pastors who was
preaching in that conference, he knew everything that was going
on with me in my life. And he came up to me and he put
his arm around me and he hugged me and squished me in real tight.
And he said, son, I hope you don't make it. That's what he told me. He said,
I hope you don't make it. That crushed me. When he said
that, I couldn't believe my ears. I was about ruined for the rest
of the weekend. It offended me so badly. It offended me so badly. I thought, do you mean to tell
me you don't want me to follow my dreams? No, I don't. I want you to follow
Christ. Oh, clearly I still think about
it. I look back and think, I'm so
glad that man told me that. You know what he was telling
me? Oh, that junk is sod pottage. Oh, that we might win Christ. God gives a child the gift of
music, that's wonderful. But don't count fame and stardom,
gain. God gives a child the ability
to excel in sports, that's wonderful. But don't count a pro-multimillion-dollar
contract gain. It's not. It is loss. It's all
loss. I'm going to hurry here, but
go with me to Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30, look at verse eight. Boy, this is wisdom. This is
wisdom right here. Proverbs 30, look at verse eight.
Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty
nor riches. Feed me with food convenient
for me. Lest I be full and deny thee,
and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain. Don't give me too much,
don't give me too little. Just give me what's convenient
for me. Just what I need. Look at Proverbs
15. Proverbs 15 verse 16 says, better is little with the fear
of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better
is little, better is little than great treasure and trouble, not
only in this life, but once we stand before that throne. Trouble. I'm gonna wrap this up with this.
Three things struck me about our text. Three things struck
me. Number one, Paul gave it all
up. He gave it all up. He traveled
all that stuff. He had attained all the accolades
in religion and he said, I count it all done. He gave it all up. He traveled as lightly as he
could through this world that he might win Christ. one object,
one thing. Oh, that I might win Christ and
be found in Him. That's all that matters. That's
all that matters. Our Lord really has given us
all things richly to enjoy. He's given us so much. But let's
hold these things lightly. Let's hold them with an open
hand, always an open hand, lightly. Let's not let anything become
gain to us if it causes us to lose Christ. Is there anything
wrong with other things in the world? No. It becomes a problem
when it starts causing me to lose my sight of Christ. Lord,
let me win Christ even if I lose everything else. What have you lost? What have
I lost? If I lose everything else, but at the end of this
thing, I have Christ, what have I lost? If I have Him, I have
it all. He's the pearl of great price. If I have Him, I have it all.
That's the first thing that struck me. Paul gave it all up. He traveled
as lightly as he could through this world with one goal in mind,
that I might win Christ. And I do want to say this, somebody
could ask the question, do you think I'll quit my job? No. No,
I don't. And that's with every single
person, take it to the Lord. The Lord will lead all of us
in the things he would have us to do and not do. The Lord is
our guide. Here's the second thing that
struck me. Back in Acts 21, go with me back to the text. Verse 15 says, and after those
days we took up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. There
went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and
brought with them one Nason of Cyprus, an old disciple with
whom we should lodge. And when we were come to Jerusalem,
the brethren received us gladly." This dear, old, grounded, stable
disciple, Nason, this precious old man. I have a vision of him
in my mind. I love that guy. He opened up
his house. Here comes Paul and all those
traveling with him. And he opened up his house and
he invited all the brethren from Jerusalem to come over and welcome
Paul and the brethren. And God's children received God's
children gladly. There is nothing better on this
earth than being with believers. when the fellowship is around
the gospel. Talking about Christ, just talking
about Christ, talking about what he's done for us. Can you believe
he has done this for us? Can you believe he would do all
that for us? That is the greatest pleasure
this world has to offer us. Aside from hearing the gospel,
being with other believers and truly fellowshipping around Christ,
you can't put a price on it. You just cannot put a price on
it. I am looking at men and women
who I believe have won Christ. I believe that. And it's just
marvelous to me. I'm just thankful for it. I'm
just thankful to be here with you. If we want to be blessed
and if we want to be comforted and if we want to be encouraged,
let's open the doors of our house and let the believers come pouring
in wherever we can get together. Let's be together, being with
believers. It's the greatest blessing, aside
from hearing the gospel, greatest blessing we have on this earth.
Here's the third thing that struck me about all this. The question
could be asked, how does a person win Christ? If that's the object,
how does a person win Christ? Verse 18 says, and the day following,
Paul went in with us unto James, And all the elders were present,
and when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what
things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. Paul said, God did this. God did every bit of this. Winning
Christ means I didn't win him, he won me. That's what it means. He won me. A sinner will have
no heart to win Christ until Christ wins him. That's when
it'll happen. A heart to win Christ, that's
a heart to love Christ. And John wrote, if I love him,
it's only because he first loved me. That's the only reason. If
I love him at all, if I have a heart at all, to cling to him
is because he first loved me and he first clung to me and
he gave himself for me and he revealed himself to me and he
drew me to himself. May God bless us all. May God bless us all by giving
us just enough to travel with, just enough to travel with, and
come the end of this race, may He allow every single one of
us to win Christ and be found in Him. What a blessing. All right, let's stand together.