 But that said, we're going to look today at chapter 21. I'll begin at verse, here I have, I just, I'm on chapter 22. Wait a minute, okay. Chapter 21, I'll begin at verse one, I'll read to verse three, and we'll get into our study. Acts chapter 21, beginning at verse one, reading to verse three, I'll give you an introduction, as I normally do, lay some foundation for you. Then we're going to be moving through some of the travels of the Apostle Paul, and also there are some very, I think, very practical things to look at as we do so. So beginning at verse one, reading to verse three, Luke writes, it came to pass that, when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course, we came to cruise the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Potara. And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, landed at Tyre, went to Pomona, visited Ontario, and ended up in Chino. For there the ship was to unload her cargo. And so Paul and his ministry team, as we've been studying through the Book of Acts and all, Paul and his ministry team are making their way to the city of Jerusalem. He had wanted to be in the city of Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost. The day of Pentecost is one of the three mandatory festivals for Jewish men, 20 years and above. And so he's coming, in order that he might be able to be there on that particular day. Now, during the celebration of Pentecost, millions would come to the city of Jerusalem, and he's an evangelist, and as an evangelist, he wants to be able to share with as many as he can. And so he's making his way there. He slowly made his way south. He's been in Northern Turkey, and he's in a hurry. And so as we saw last time, he had bypassed the city of Ephesus, where there was a church that had been planted. He stopped a little bit further south in a place called Miletus, but when he was there, he had summoned the elders of the church of Ephesus. And that was his last or his final goodbye to these men. Now as elders, as we saw last time, he was giving them final marching orders that he might be able to equip them for works of service. Now he had said to them that the Spirit had told him that chains and tribulations are awaiting him. And though this was difficult for them to handle, he said, none of these things move me. He told them that he could leave them, knowing that he had given them all of God's counsel. He had held nothing back from them that was profitable. He was free to go where God was calling him. But as he was sharing with them, as we saw, he went on to warn them that wolves would rise up. They would come in actually to destroy the church, but even some of them, those who were there in the midst, it's the elders, even some of them would rise up and divide the church. Now of all the things that he said, this must have been the hardest thing for him to say, because he had poured his heart into these elders for three years. Three years of spending time with them, ministering to them, teaching them to A to Z of Scripture, where Jesus Messiah comes in, how he fits in, what he intends to do. He had given them all of this seminary training, if you will, all of this private teaching for three years. And yet he's saying, some of you will rise up. And they did, and some of them actually did. And he mentions them in 1 and 2 Timothy, these who have risen up and divided the church. They hadn't listened to him. So after his closing words, he reminded them of his unselfish service to them, and then he prayed. Now the men were brokenhearted. They're soaring over what he has shared with them. And then they accompanied him to the ship. And this is where we are gonna pick up our story. I wanna develop this with you. Notice in verse one of chapter 21, Howard says, it came to pass that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course, we came to Coos following data roads and from there to Patara. I want you to see something with me. I'll just take a moment to point this out, but it has a practical application. Now they're watching the ship, if you will, as it's moving. They're sorrowing at his last goodbye. But it says in verse one, it came to pass when we had departed from them. Now, normally we would look at the word departed simply to mean that we left. But the word departed is a stronger word than that. What it does, it's a word, it gives us insight, it's a word departed literally means we tore ourselves away from them. We tore away from them. It isn't like, you know, I'll see you later when somebody leaves after church, maybe you were out there visiting for a moment, and you said, I'll see you later. It's not that all. It was tearing yourself away from them. It was a hard thing in other words for them to do. And that gives us insight into how difficult it was for them when he was leaving them. It should never be an easy thing to leave those whom you love. It can tear your heart. And it can tear yours too. Even if it's a short time, it can still tear you up because you're not gonna see them when my children were very small. There were times that I would leave, I'd have to go for a weekend, I'd be doing a men's retreat or something. And I would leave on a Friday, I'd come back on Sunday, and when they were very small, my children took my departure with great difficulty. It was very hard for them. We had a screen door at my house. And I can still remember when I would pray with them and say, Daddy, we'll be back in a couple of days, you know that kind of thing. How my kids would cry, my Corrine and my David. They were little at that time. And I can still remember them. They would climb on the screen door and they had put their little feet through the bottom where the screen now separated so that you could see their little feet there as they held on to the screen door apparatus there. And they would cry. And they'd cry, the Daddy's leaving. And it was always hard for me to see that. It was always hard for me so I slammed the door on them. No, it was always, it was on their toes. It was very hard for me to do that. I can still remember my daughter Corrine when she wasn't more than four years of age, no more than five at the most. I remember her standing there and I remember me holding her and kissing her and saying, Daddy, we'll be back on you. I'll be back in a couple of days. And I remember her putting in a little fist in her eyes. I had beginning to try and keep the tears from coming in. And I still hear her voice when she said, I just have to go pray. And she ran off into another area of the house and I followed her and she was in a corner with her face against the wall crying. Leaving ought to be hard. It ought to be difficult. If you can just move from place to place without concern, you don't really care about where you're at. You don't really care about who's ministering to you. You don't care about the fellowship that you're supposed to be having. You don't care. It ought to be hard. It ought to be tearful for some. It ought to be difficult. And fellowship, when it ends, when he's saying you shall see my face no more, it ought to be something difficult. And these men meant much to Paul and Paul meant much to them. And saying goodbye grieved them. They didn't want them to leave. Again, sometimes for some it's easy. It's an easy thing for them to move from place to place. They leave and they don't say goodbye to their friends because they're inviting their friends to go with them when they leave. They don't have to say goodbye. They just say, come on to this new place. But for others, it's heartbreaking. It's a decision they had to make. And it can be especially difficult when they've served together with others and that's how it was for Paul. And that's how it was for these men. He had to tear himself away from them. And so he's departed. Verse two, he says, finding a ship, sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. We had sighted Cyprus. We passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, landed at Tyre. For there, the ship was to unload her cargo. So they're going south, they're going southeast. They went to Phoenicia, which is just to the north of Israel. It bordered Syria to the east. It's on the coast of modern Turkey. They passed verse three, the island of Cyprus, landing at the port of Tyre. Phoenicia was the region Tyre had been located in. It was southwest, on the southwest border of modern Lebanon. Tyre was around 55 miles north of the city of Caesarea, which is in Israel. And so as they're there, notice there are believers in the city of Tyre. Tyre's church was founded by Christians who had fled the persecution that had occurred in the city of Jerusalem. And in Acts 1119, it says, those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen, traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. And so there are believers there. And it says in verse four, in finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. Now notice, they told Paul through the spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. Notice how it says in verse four, finding disciples. Finding disciples gives us insight into the fact that they actually were searching for believers in the city. When they landed, they began to ask if there were any Christians in that city. Now, Tyre was a fairly prosperous city. It would have had a fair-sized population. And so it's a blessing to know that the people would know if there were Christians there. This news had made all the believers very glad. So there were believers in that area. So after finding believers, they remained there notice for seven days. And that gave them the opportunity to celebrate church services with them into fellowship. But notice in verse four, it says they told Paul through the spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. Now, when it says they told Paul through the spirit, that's a phrase. It speaks of a prophetic word that had been given to the apostle Paul. We saw an example of that earlier in chapter 13, verses one through three where it says in the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers. Barnabas, Simeon who's called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Menon, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch and Saul as a minister to the Lord and fasted the Holy Spirit said, now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them than having fasted and prayed, laid hands on them, they sent them away. So this is a prophetic word that we're looking at here. Now here's a question. Was this prophecy to discourage him or to strengthen him in his resolve? Did he receive a commandment through these prophets here? Did he receive a commandment that he disobeyed? Now we've already seen that Paul was obedient to the leading of the Spirit. In Acts 16, six and seven, it says when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come Misia, they tried to go into Bethany but the Spirit did not permit them. We've already seen that Paul is very sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Now he's aware of what's gonna happen and he's prepared for it. He had already made that statement in Acts chapter 20. He had said in verse 22, 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. None of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. None of these things move me. He's already received word that things are gonna take place and yet he's receiving a prophetic word. Now, Paul had recently ministered in various cities. We saw how he had gone through Berea, Thessalonica, Philippi, and Troas. It seems that in each of these cities, prophecy had been uttered about what is about to happen. So the prophetic word that he's receiving here was meant to prepare him as well as strengthen him. He's not entering into this blind. He's encouraged, he's ready to go. Now, Paul had consistently heard that he would suffer chains and tribulation and he knew what was awaiting him, but he determined that he was gonna finish his race and do so with joy. We need to remember that the Holy Spirit had led Paul to go to Jerusalem in the first place. In Acts 19, 21, Paul purposed in the Spirit when he had passed through Macedonia in Ikea to go to Jerusalem saying after I've been there, I must also see Rome. So the question has to be asked though, why would these men give a word contrary to what Paul had already received? Now the prophets are truly inspired concerning what's gonna happen in the future. They're absolutely correct in that. They were inspired to see what would happen. But like the Ephesian elders, they couldn't bear the thought of what he was about to endure. Here's something for you when it comes to the ministry of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When the spiritual gifts are operating, there can be the human response to what the Spirit is saying. The Holy Spirit was once again preparing Paul for what was about to take place, but out of loving concern, they're warning, they're even trying to dissuade him from going. Though inspired concerning in the future, the motivation is really from their heart, it's really human. Their motivation to tell them don't go because they're seeing what's gonna take place, but the motivation to say don't do that is really from their own heart. Their advice is really from their human compassion. It's something that is coming out of sorrow. We don't want you to go there. We don't want, you're gonna see this again in a moment. We don't want you to endure what you're about to endure, but that's what they're saying. They're telling Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. When we, verse five, when we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way and they accompanied us with wives and children till we were out of the city and we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and they returned home. So they went out. When it speaks about this in verse five, when we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way and they accompanied us with our wives and children. This is a picture really of a procession. There's a group of people who are moving out. They're slowly walking together. It's a small group and it includes wives and children. And incidentally, this is the first time in the book of Acts that children are mentioned as part of the body of Christ, part of the church. And so they're following Paul and the men through the city streets and they're coming to the ship and they knelt down there on the shore and they prayed. So here's a place of application for us. Imagine the impact it made on these children as they're walking with Paul. What wise parents these were teaching their children whom they should emulate. I don't know how many of us in this room are parents. But I can tell you this, that one of the greatest and most important things that we can do as parents is raise our kids to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of the greatest things you can do as a parent is to encourage them to emulate those who have gone before, those who are followers of the Lord. Like Paul had said to the Corinthians, he said, follow me insofar as I follow Christ. Use me, he said, as an example. It's so important for us as parents to be able to be that example, first and foremost, to our children. Because our children are gonna follow the God that we follow. And as we follow the Lord and we do so faithfully, we do so as great examples, our children will have heroes. I've said this before in the past, but it's the truth, guys. I didn't have to look for a hero outside of my house. I had when I lived with, his name was dad. I had a father. And my father was a great example of a man. He was a great example of a man who provided for his family. He was a great example as a man who was a hard worker. He was a great example of a man who loved his wife. I grew up with that, even though he didn't know the Lord. My dad taught me that integrity meant everything. He taught me, pay your bills before you eat. He said, your name is more important than anything else. You need to make sure you're good with your credit date. Don't go out and spend money just because you want something or you can afford it. He said, make sure that you spend the things, spend your money on the things that are necessary. That was my father. He wasn't even saved. When he got older, when I got older and he got older, I got saved. And now my father became an example of a man of God, not simply to me, but to those who knew him. I've shared this a thousand times, but in this family, in my family, when my father went home to be with the Lord, the last thing I remember my dad doing, there were two things I remember my dad did before he died, just when he was about to die. One is he prayed for my mother. He prayed when he had his heart attack. They came to pick him up. They took him to the hospital and he passed away a couple of days later. But my mom told me, she said, you know what happened when they came to pick your dad up in the ambulance? And I said, well, she said he prayed. And I said, well, that's great. My dad, you know, great. She said, David, do you know what he prayed for? And I said, no. And she said he prayed, father be with my wife. My dad was an example of a man who loved his wife to his final breath. His last word that I know he spoke was when he looked at my mother and he never called her by her name. He only called her mama. And the last word I know my father spoke was the word mama. That was the last thing. That shows me what a man is, forgive me. That shows me what a man is supposed to be. A man is supposed to leave the family. And my dad did, right? And so these parents are training their children in the ways of the Lord. They're saying, you know, in today's way of speaking, they're not saying, hey, get your education from TikTok. You know, they're saying, get your education from the apostle Paul. Get your education from the things of God. And these kids are walking with the parents. And they're watching the way that the parents are interacting with Paul and his ministry team. And as they're walking there, they see their parents fall on their knees. They see them praying. They see how hard it is for them to let Paul go it. And that left something in their hearts, in their hearts. My dad and my mom worship God. I will worship the God of my parents. I've talked to young men. One man comes to mind. I knew him literally from the time he was born. And he and I were speaking a few years ago now. And I'll never forget how painful it was to hear this when he said it, but he goes, there is absolutely nothing about my father I want to be like. There is absolutely nothing about my father I want to be like. Think about that. Think about that, dad. If your son said, I don't want to be anything like you, what a pain that is. But what happens when they say, I want to be like you? My son Joseph many years, many years ago when he was a teen, he looked at me and he said, dad, I want to be just like you. And I looked at my son and I said, no son, be better than me. I don't want you to be like me. I don't raise my kid to be like me. I want my kid to be better than me. So as a man, I have to be an example, an example. This is a man who lived for Christ and I will be a man like that. What a testimony to see these children walking with Paul and the people crowding around him and they watch as their parents are on their knees praying and seeking the Lord. What a wonderful thing. It made an impact on these children as they're walking with him and what wise parents these were teaching their children the one that they should emulate. Neither persecution nor the pleadings of well-meaning believers would deter Paul. Paul knew that this was part of what he was to endure. He was committed to it like Jesus in Matthew 10, 22 said, you'll be hated by all for my namesake but he who endures to the end will be saved. And that was Paul. He was enduring and he was moving. He was gonna do what he was called to do. Well, verse six says, when we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and they returned home. They prayed. They embraced one another. They said their goodbyes and they went to the comfort of their homes. But Paul went to what was awaiting him. And verse seven, when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemyas, greeted the brethren, stayed with them one day. This was an ancient city it's 25 miles north of Caesarea. And while there once again, Paul seeks out opportunity to minister to the believers and again, this gives to us an evidence of how far the church really is spreading. Verse eight says on the next day, we who were Paul's companions, speaking of Luke and the others, departed and came to Caesarea and entered the house of Philip the Evangelist who was one of the seven and stayed with him. This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. Let's look at this for a moment here. They came to Caesarea. The team has arrived. It's an important port city in Israel. It was a city of Cornelius, the Gentile Centurion who had come to faith in Jesus. After Cornelius had been saved, a church had been established in the city and it was a city that Paul had ministered in more than once. And Paul had come to spend time in and ministry in that city and he's there with a man by the name of Philip. Now, Philip is mentioned as one of the seven. He was one of the original deacons who had been selected. Remember, all the way back in the earlier part of Acts, there had been a division that had occurred around 20 years before it occurred in the church in Jerusalem. There was the care for the Hellenist Jewish widows had been neglected and distribution of aid hadn't been given to them. And because of that, there had been a division between them and the Israeli Jews, the Jews who were born and raised culturally in Israel. There'd been a division between these Greek cultures and the Jewish culture and it caused great problems. So seven men had been selected to oversee the distribution of aid and to stop this division. Well, Philip was one of the original seven deacons. When you look at his reputation and all, when you see a description of him, it's clear in the book of Acts he's described as a man of good reputation filled with the spirit and filled with wisdom. Now, in Acts chapter eight, he preached the gospel with great impact in Samaria. In Acts eight, five through eight, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord, heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed and there was great joy in that city. So he performed great miracles, he preached Christ, performed miracles, cast out demons and those who were paralyzed, those who could not walk were being healed. So this man had tremendous impact there in that area. God was doing a powerful work. But he had told Philip to leave for Gaza and then we're told in Scripture it is desert. And so while in Gaza to the south, he was used to bring an Ethiopian official to faith in Christ. He had attached himself to the chariot, this man had left after worshiping in Jerusalem, this Ethiopian high official. Spirit said, attach yourself to them to him and so he approached and he saw that this Ethiopian was reading and he said, do you understand what you're reading? He said, how can I unless somebody instructs me? So he joined him and just so happens in a providential way. He was in the book of Isaiah chapter 53 and it spoke concerning Messiah and the Ethiopian had asked Philip as he speak of himself or some other man. And so from that point, he preached Christ to the Ethiopian and the Ethiopian official had come to faith in Christ and they had come to a place where there was water. He says, see there's water. What doth enter me from being baptized? And Philip said, if you believe with all of your heart, you can and he was baptized and then went with joy back to his place where he come from. Well from there Philip had gone north and he had preached in all the cities till he came to see Zaria and that's where we encounter him once again. Now he had been identified basically as a table waiter. He was a deacon but he's also revealed to us as a preacher. He was also revealed to us as a teacher but here he's spoken of as an evangelist. Now when Paul was writing to the church of Ephesus in chapter four of the book of Ephesians, he had listed the officers in the church and it says he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Evangelist came just after apostles and prophets. That's a high office for him to hold. And he's the only one in scripture who's ever identified as an evangelist. That's interesting. But the only one in scripture ever identified as an evangelist. You may not be an evangelist. An evangelist is somebody who proclaims the gospel of Jesus with the intent under the inspiration and power of the spirit to bring conversion to the hearer. An evangelist, he goes out, talks about the cross of Christ, the purpose of the cross, how Jesus died, was buried, how that the third day here rose from the dead, how he stayed for 40 days, he ascended into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those who would be his followers, how he had commissioned us to go out and preach the gospel. He's giving the full gospel message that a person's a sinner, they have a sin nature and no matter how hard they try, they're gonna remain with that sin nature because they need a new experience. They need a new nature. The way you get your new nature isn't through psychology or education or philosophy. The way you get your new nature is to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. He washes you by his blood. He fills you with this Holy Spirit. He transforms your life. He gives you the word of God to follow instruction, the ways of God and he keeps you and moves through you until he takes you to be with him. That's what the evangelist shares. That's called Christianity and that's what Philip would do. See, he didn't come and bring people to religion. What he did is he came to bring people to a relationship with God through Christ and the only way you can have a relationship with God is through Jesus Christ. It isn't our trying, right? It isn't our efforts. It isn't how good we are attempting to be. There's none good, no not one. What it is, it's a born again experience and that's what he would bring. That's an evangelist. Now you can do the work of an evangelist. You may not hold an office, but you can share the gospel. You can share the gospel. Somebody once said, I say this often, but they said the most selfish man is the one who goes to heaven alone. I never wanted to go to heaven alone. I got saved and went across the street. I told some friends of mine, I told their mother about Jesus. Then I came home to my own house. I told my mom and my dad, talked to my sister Madeline and Becky and I've been doing that ever since for 53 years, telling people about the Lord. Why? Because I want everybody to know Jesus Christ and so we share the gospel. That's what we do. Now not every person has an office or ministry of evangelists, but every one of us can be a witness. Every one of us can tell people about Christ, about what God can do, how God can save you, how God can transform you. Every one of us can do that. And that's what he was doing. Paul told Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. And so that's what we can do. An evangelist can take you so far, we can share and maybe we don't know that much. What I did when I was first saved is though I'd say I was lost, now I'm found, I was blind, now I see I'm going to heaven. How do you know that? Well, I can't really explain that yet. I'm brand new in the Lord, but come and see a man who told me and I took him to church. I didn't invite him because I was not yet equipped to be able to do that, but I had the heart to do that. I wanted people to know Christ and you can do the same thing. You may not be an evangelist, but you are a witness and people do watch you. And no, that's not a paranoid thing to say, running around thinking they're all watching me. No, people are, they do notice, they watch your life, they hear the things you say, they see you on the job, they see you in the neighborhood, they see you in school, they see you in family functions and they listen to you and they watch what you do and you can be a witness. And this man was a witness and he was incredible, but not only was he an incredible ministry, he was also a dedicated father. Notice verse nine. He had four virgin daughters who prophesied. Now, when it says four virgin daughters as virgins, he's pointing out that they had been set apart for service unto the Lord. These young women had set themselves apart. You see, being unmarried was to be preferred over being married. Why? Because when you're married, you have cares. Every married person in this room knows what I just said. When you're married, you have cares. I had three or four young men approach me one time after a Wednesday night Bible study and they said, hey pastor, you wanna go out with us for some coffee? And I smiled at them. I'm married. Talking about fun that ended years ago. I really did. I said, man, I can't. I said, I'd love to and I'd love to. I'd love to have coffee with you guys and never come home. No, I'd love to. But I can't. I said, I'm married. You know, I got a wife. I have children, I have responsibilities. And Paul speaks about that in the scripture in 1 Corinthians 7, verse eight. I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am. He was unmarried. He said in 1 Corinthians 7, 26, because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are, which is single. And then he went on in chapter 7, 34 and 35 and he said this, he said, there's a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. So those of you who are single and you're wanting to be married, there's absolutely obviously nothing wrong with that desire, but use your singleness while you can. You can go on mission trips. You can go out for coffee after a Bible study. There are a lot of things you can do right now, but if we're anxious about being married, we may be cutting ourselves off from things we could be doing. And so these were single women unmarried, they were virgins who were set apart to serve the Lord. And what were they doing? Well, it says they prophesied. In Acts 2.17, it says in the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Now these were not pastors, they're not saying they're pastors. What they did is they exercised a prophetic gift. They spoke of future events. And they were exercising the gift to encourage and to exhort fellow believers. Verse 10, we stayed many days. As we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agbas came down from Judea. And when he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet and said, 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. Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. And Paul answered, what do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart for I'm ready not only to be bound but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased saying the will of the Lord be done. Now Agbas had been introduced to us earlier in chapter 11. He had prophesied of a famine, but here a specific prophecy is given. And again, the Holy Spirit is preparing Paul and once again people dissuade him. They're asking Paul to compromise when he knew God was leading him to do. And even Luke and Timothy are part of that, but Paul knew the cost of discipleship. And he knows it's not a low cost of fare. He knew that following the Lord Jesus Christ was not an easy path. Luke 9.23, he said to them all, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, follow me. Matthew 10.22, you will be hated by all for my name's sake. He who endures to the end shall be saved. Second Timothy 3.12, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Philippians 1.29, for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. He knew that. He knew the cost that he was to pay and he was willing to do it and he desired to do it. He had recently endured the tears of the Ephesians. Now he has to do it again. He asks them, what do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? Your words are crushing me, they're breaking me. They're grieving me. Jesus commanded me to take up my cross. Why are you undermining me? More than one parent has tried to keep their child from going into service to God. I have a friend of mine who's the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Acapulco, Mexico. Hassan, and Hassan was sharing with Marie and me how that his mom and dad were born in Mexico. He's from Jalisco and he from an early age had been brought to the United States. And when he got saved and the spirit of God was moving on him, he told his parents, I'm gonna go back to Mexico. And his dad and mom were unhappy. Why would you go back to the place we brought you out of? We wanted to bring you to the United States, they told him, so you'd have opportunity. Why are you going back to that which we brought you out of? Even parents may not see the work of the spirit of God and the children. And they may dissuade, they may say, you shouldn't be there, you can't go there. When in fact the Holy Spirit had laid it on the heart of the apostle Paul, this is what you're gonna do and this is what I'm gonna do through you. And he says, I have to go where God has called me to do. I will not be turned aside in Philippians 3.13 and 14, brother and I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Notice verse 14, he would not be persuaded and so we see, saying, the will of the Lord be done. They resigned themselves to God's will, they couldn't deter Him, they relented and they committed Him into the hands of the Lord. And finally verse 15, after those days we packed up and went to Jerusalem, also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with us a certain nascent of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we were to lodge and when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. Paul yielded to the Lord, his determination to obey actually motivates them. Faith filled courage can stimulate others to acts of valor. They knew that they would be identified with Paul yet they went with them. Remember this and I'll close with a couple of thoughts. Remember that your faithfulness and trust in God can stimulate others to be faithful. Hebrews 10, 23 and 24, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, you can provoke people to the things of the Lord. And finally some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, they speak of a man named Manasin, he's an early disciple of the Lord. And finally when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. The church receives Paul, they show him love, they show him hospitality. It's been some time since they've seen him, they're overjoyed to see him. But he's arrived, he's in time for Pentecost, but the clock is winding down. It's coming to that faithful time when all of the things that they've been telling him will be fulfilled.