If you brought a Bible with you this morning, I invite you to turn again to Acts chapters 20 and 21. This morning's scripture text demands that we make an interpretive decision. We must answer the question that I posed in the title of my message regarding Paul's journey to Jerusalem. You see it there printed at the top of your notes. God's will or Paul's way. Now, we venerate Paul as the foremost of the apostles, as the author of so much of the New Testament, as the greatest missionary church planter to have ever lived, as only second only, I suppose, to Jesus Christ and his importance to our New Testament Christianity. And sometimes when studying the life and the work of the Apostle Paul, we think of him to be out to be without faults. Paul was without error. He was always right. He was never wrong. Oh, there was that little scuffle between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15 that caused them to part ways. But we can certainly spin that situation to make it appear virtuous. They had legitimate disagreement and they agreed to disagree and they went their own way so that the gospel was advanced. But otherwise, we may be prone to think that Paul could do no wrong, right? Well, no. Paul was not sinless. In fact, he called himself the chiefest of sinners. And so, as we study Acts 21 this morning, I'm not going to charge Paul with direct disobedience, but I am going to question his decision to go to Jerusalem amidst all of the warnings not to go. I've asked these questions at the top of your notes. Did Paul disregard the Lord's will in favor of his own way. I've asked this question there at the top of your notes. Did Paul's decision that is his decision to go to Jerusalem lead him to unnecessarily compromise the gospel and jeopardize his own life? That is the interpretive question that we must answer this morning. And the answer to that question may help us. It may help us as we seek to daily discern the Lord's will for our own lives. But in the end, know this. That because of God's sovereign, his sovereign providence, we can be sure that nothing happens beyond his control. Even if this morning we conclude from Acts 21 that Paul resisted the direction of the Holy Spirit of God and stubbornly did his own will, his own thing, his own way, endangering his own life and the clarity of the gospel. God still used these circumstances to accomplish his own purposes and to bring glory to himself. Let's pause briefly for prayer before we look at the scripture of God above. We ask now for the illuminating ministry of your Holy Spirit so that we might understand the things that we study. We pray, Lord, that you would defeat the wicked one in our midst so that our attention might be wholly fixed upon the scripture and upon you. I pray, Lord, that you would help me to accurately represent the meaning of this text in its larger context. Yet I pray that you would give us all careful discernment in these matters. I pray that you would teach us and change us because of our study just now. I pray in Jesus name. Paul is on his third and his final missionary journey recorded for us in the book of Acts. Paul has visited the Gentile churches. Paul has encouraged the young believers in those churches. He's exhorted the elders. We studied that last week in Acts 20, and he has collected a love offering for the Jewish churches in Judea. And now in Acts 20, verse 16, we understand how that Paul was eager to go to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost. That is what Paul wanted to do. That is where Paul wanted to go. And I want us to begin there. Acts 20, verse 16. For Paul had decided to sell past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia. Who wants to spend time in Asia, right? He doesn't want to spend time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be back in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Look ahead to verse 22. It was read for us just a moment ago. Acts 20, verse 22. And see, now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things which will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that change and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I might finish my race with joy and the ministry with which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul was so courageous, never mind the danger, never mind the threats. Paul was willing to give his life for the cause of Christ so that he might declare the gospel of the grace of God. Paul was even willing to suffer the ultimate persecution that is martyrdom, if need be. So, he set his face toward Jerusalem. We pick up in chapter 21, verse number 1. Now, it came to pass that when we had departed from them and set sail, that is, from the elders of Ephesus, we set sail running a straight course. We came to Kos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Ptahara. In finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left. Now picture this. Moving from west to east on the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus is on the left, so they are passing south of Cyprus. They sailed to Syria, landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo. And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days, one week. They told Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up. to Jerusalem. But there are many specific details here about Paul's journey, you can trace them on your your own Bible maps there, of course, he is now in Tyre. The ship has to stop and transfer some cargo. He has a week of downtime. And so he he decides to visit family that is spiritual family, Christian family, his brothers and sisters in Christ, or as the text says, disciples there in the city of Tyre. They proceed, those disciples, to tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem, the end of verse number four. Let me illustrate this for you. You are all familiar with the notion of a of a backseat driver, right? You may be married to one, in fact. A backseat driver is one who is not in the driver's seats. but is certainly driving verbally, giving instructions or cautions, corrections, alerting the real driver to all of the danger that's ahead. We call that a backseat driver. You may also be familiar with the notion of an armchair quarterback, right? An armchair quarterback. In fact, you may be married to one. And the armchair quarterback is someone who is oversized, who sits in an oversized chair, who is is yelling at the TV screen, giving instructions to the professional athlete who actually does know how to play the game, right? But the armchair quarterback or the backseat driver is one. Again, you may be married to this one. Who knows everything to do, but is not actually doing that, that thing, and I think that's the case here for the Apostle Paul. He has these disciples in Tyre, really in every city, that are telling him what to do or what not to do. Who do they think that they are? The Holy Spirit? Well, perhaps look at verse number four, they told Paul through the spirits not to go up to Jerusalem. The disciples in Tyre are giving Paul a divine warning. Now look back again to chapter 20, verses 22 and 23. Look there. Notice the difference between Paul's spirit in verse 22. And the Holy Spirit in verse 23. In every city, like the city of Tyre, the Holy Spirit is warning Paul of the danger in going to Jerusalem. Now back to chapter 21, verse 4. There is no record of Paul's reaction between verses 4 and 5. The narrative simply continues. 21 verse number 5. When we had come to the end of those days, those seven days, that week we departed and went on our way, and they all accompanied us with wives and children until 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. And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemas. greeted the brethren and stayed with them one day. On the next day, we who were with Paul, who were Paul's companions, departed, came to Caesarea, entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven and stayed with him. Now, this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. Now, stop there. The journey is progressing, and Paul has now gone into the large Roman port city of Caesarea Maritima, or Caesarea on the Sea. If you've ever taken a trip to the Holy Land, you have visited this site, an important site. And there is Philip, who is one of the seven original prototypical deacons in Acts chapter 6. And there, Philip had four daughters. And these four daughters prophesied in verse number 9. Because We have previously addressed the subject of New Testament prophecy and the matter of the role of women in the church. I don't want to take the time to speak to those subjects again this morning, other than to remind us that the Book of Acts is a transitional history book. It's not necessarily normative. And so what we read here is, in fact, what did happen. It doesn't necessarily prescribe for us what should always happen. And certainly here in this case, These women, at this time, were given a word of revelation. Luke doesn't record for us what these four daughters of Philip said, but the context would seem to suggest that they, too, warned Paul about going to Jerusalem. You say, well, what about the context? We've read the previous context. Look at the following context in verses 10 and 11. Verse 10, as we saved many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, thus says the Holy Spirit. So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man with his own belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And so Agabus is prophesying, using a vivid illustration to warn Paul of what he might expect if or when he went down to Jerusalem. And Agabus here is speaking on behalf of the Holy Spirit. Now, remember what Paul said back in Chapter 20, verse 23. We read it earlier. Chapter 20, verse 23. Paul said the Holy Spirit testifies in every city saying that chains and tribulations await me in Jerusalem. So sure enough, in the city of Tyre, the disciples in Tyre, verse four, Chapter 21, verse four. And now again, in Caesarea, this proves to be the case. Look at verse 12. Now, when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him, pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. So after hearing the disciples entire, verse number four, after hearing the prophecy of the four virgin daughters of Philip in verse number nine, after hearing the prophetic revelation, utterance of Agabus, those in Paul's party tried to dissuade him from continuing to Jerusalem. And there appears to be an increasing pattern of intense warnings for Paul not to go to Jerusalem. And it appears from the text that those warnings are sourced in the Holy Spirit of God. Verse thirteen, then 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 see saying the will of the Lord be done. If you like to follow the outline of provided for you, you might fill in number one spiritual caution for Paul spiritual caution For Paul, number one, beginning in Chapter 20, verses 22 and 23, again in Chapter 21, verse 4 and in verse 11, the Holy Spirit of God was cautioning Paul. Now, I use the word caution because I'm not quite prepared to declare it to be a formal prohibition. There's no language in the text like, thou shalt not. I can't say for sure that the Holy Spirit was forbidding, absolutely forbidding Paul to go to Jerusalem. It could be that the Holy Spirit was only warning Paul of the reality that he faced in going to Jerusalem and the consequences that he would experience if he went to Jerusalem. And Paul was proving his courage by going in spite of the danger. In spite of the caution, and that's the interpretive decision for us to make this morning, did Paul disregard the Lord's will in favor of his own way in going to Jerusalem? So let me let me pause for a moment and remind us of of why Paul was so determined to go to Jerusalem. I think there's a few reasons why these are not in your notes. But but first, remember that although Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul had a great burden for his own countrymen, according to the flesh. The Jews read Romans chapter nine. Where was the greatest concentration of Jews and Jewish believers at this time? It was in the city of Jerusalem. And he wanted to go to Jerusalem. I can't fault Paul for that. In fact, I would even say this. I would question the one who has a burden for other people in other countries and in other cultures, but is not first burden for his own, for his own family and for his own neighbors and for the people of his own country. There's another reason I think Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem, he was carrying a large sum of money for the churches in Jerusalem. He had collected that money from the churches in Asia, in Greece, Macedonia, Achaia. But it wasn't even the amount of money that he was carrying that compelled him. It was the source of that money. It was the purpose for that money that compelled him, I believe. Paul saw that love offering as a statement of solidarity between the Gentile believers and the Jewish believers in those two factions of the church. And this offering, I believe, was part of Paul's strategy to unify the church. And he wanted to deliver that love offering to the believers there in Jerusalem, not just to meet their financial needs, but as a tangible demonstration of the unity of the body of Christ, both Jew and Gentile. And so he wanted to go to Jerusalem. And finally, then I think there's a third reason that Paul was driven. To go to Jerusalem, and that is because he had no concern for his own life. He was zealous rather for the cause of Christ, the gospel of the grace of God. Chapter 20, verse 24. And Paul was willing to die if need be. I wonder, I wonder how reckless our passion is. Forgiving the gospel or taking the gospel, I wonder if we are able to live our life with complete abandonment for the cause of Christ. And there is something to be learned here. In spite of the warnings, in spite of the cautions, in spite of all of the deterrence for Paul to go to Jerusalem, you're going to be persecuted. You're going to be bound. You're going to die. Paul says, I got to go. I got to go because I got to preach the gospel of the grace of God. You can hardly blame Paul for that. But unfortunately, well. Let me pause it, turn your notes over and let me Let me read for you what Bible commentator James Montgomery Boyce has written. Paul may have been willing to die for Jesus, but that was not what Jesus was requiring in this matter. Jesus was not asking Paul to die for him. On the contrary, he seems to have been telling him not to die. The issue is not martyrdom, but obedience. This is very relevant to us because we sometimes try to cover up disobedience in our lives by taking what seems to be a high spiritual road. We say I'm willing to do anything, suffer anything, even die for Jesus. But what we really mean by that is I want to do what I want to do regardless. Stop there. At minimum, we can title verses one through 14. spiritual caution for Paul. But unfortunately, the consequences of Paul going to Jerusalem went beyond physical persecution or capture that indeed happened. But also there was spiritual compromise that happened. That's number two in your notes. Spiritual compromise for Paul. And let me read this quickly. verse 15 beginning in verse 15 after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem. Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Nansen of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we were to lodge. And when we come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly on the following day. Paul went in with us to James and all the elders were present. That's the senior pastor in the church in Jerusalem. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, You see, brother, how many years of Jews there are who have believed and they were all zealous for the law, the Jewish believers. But they have been informed about you, Paul, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children or walk according to the customs. What then, Paul, the assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come here. Therefore, do what we tell you. Okay, now Paul is in a difficult situation. He was well received by the spiritual leadership in Jerusalem, but they informed him of the public relations nightmare that was at hand in the church in Jerusalem. The Jewish believers in the Jerusalem church wanted to keep as many of the Jewish traditions as possible. They were the Jews that taught, unless you are circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved. You remember that back in Acts chapter 15, triggering the Jerusalem Council. The Jerusalem church was the headquarters for the Judaizers who would not let go of the Mosaic law. And so, of course, Paul, as he always was a lightning rod for controversy, was known for declaring liberty from the law. Read the book of Galatians or the letter to the Galatians. And so in this case, Paul is now under pressure. They wanted Paul to do for them whatever they said. And so, here we go again. This is another backseat driver. This is another armchair quarterback. These are other people telling Paul what to do. Earlier, Paul disregarded that caution or counsel. But what will Paul do now? Verse 23, therefore, do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, Paul. Pay their expenses so that they might shave their heads and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing. But that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law, Paul. That's what you need to demonstrate. This is political now. But, Paul, concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing. It's okay for the Gentiles, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, from sexual immorality, which was the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expedition. expiration of the days of purification, in which time an offering should be made for each one of them. Here is what is happening. Turn your notes over again. And I've copied another portion from this Bible commentator. The leaders of the church approached Paul and said something like this. Paul, we know that you are right in insisting that no Christian has to keep the ceremonial law. You have stood for Gentile liberty and you have right in that. But you have to understand, Paul, that we have a difficult situation here. We live in a Jewish culture, and there are many people in the church who just don't see it your way. They think that you are trying to destroy their traditions and that you are even harming the cause of religion. We would like to dispel that idea, Paul. So we have we suggest is this. We have four men who have taken a vow, will be presenting themselves at the temple. We would like you to join them, Paul. They're poor people. They're not able to pay for the sacrifice. That's part of the ceremonial purification, right? We would like you to pay for that sacrifice, Paul. You go through the days of purification and then join with them as the sacrifice for sin is made in the temple area. This is what I'm calling number two in your notes, spiritual compromise for Paul now that he has arrived in Jerusalem, and all of this was to prove that Paul still supported the law, endorsed the law and felt that the law was necessary. And in the heat of the moment, Paul compromised. Compromise is bad, right? Well, often compromise is bad many times, but maybe not always. This is another interpretive decision for us to make here. If you remember back in first Corinthians, chapter nine, Paul defended this type of action, actually saying that he would become all things to all men. To the Jews, he would become as a Jew, that he might win the Jews, those under the law, he would become under the law. But in this context here, in this case, my impression, my personal feeling is that this is actually a step backwards. For this dilutes the gospel of the grace of God. In my humble opinion, this is creating confusion, not clarifying the gospel. Now, having said that, I will I will mention that that I don't believe there's anything sinful that that Paul is doing here. Paul's participation in the ceremony or in the sacrifice. But but the motivation for it was political. And certainly it would be interpreted as Paul's endorsing of the law. We would then need to read verses 27 and following through verse 36, which was done for us earlier in the service. But but this is what I would call number three in your notes, physical crisis for Paul, physical crisis for Paul. Verses 27 through 36. There were seven days of purification at the end of which it would be a temple sacrifice. But it's almost as if God intervened before the completion of the ceremonies before Paul could participate in that sacrifice. A crowd was stirred up. Paul was carried away by the Roman authorities and imprisoned. But now, in spite of the confusion that Paul may have created by his compromise, in spite of the persecution that Paul is now to suffer here in the city of Jerusalem, as he was warned. God was able to use it for his own glory. And that is such a blessing, folks, if and when we air. A sovereign God in his providence can still accomplish his purposes and achieve his own glory. So, whether or not Paul was right or wrong in going to Jerusalem, I want to tell you that as a consequence of these things in Acts 21, Paul will get the chance to preach to the Sanhedrin, Acts 23. Paul will preach to the Governor Felix, Acts 24, to Governor Festus, Acts 25, to King Agrippa, Acts 26, and to the whole Roman guard in the palace in Rome. And by God's grace, Paul will still be used greatly, just as Samson was in the final days of his life. Many times we complicate matters. We disregard God's direction. We determine to do our own thing. Maybe that is what Paul did. Maybe not. We're not entirely sure. Here's what I'd like you to take away, though, is whether Paul was right or wrong in going to Jerusalem. In God's sovereignty, the gospel still went forward. I hope I've caused you to think this morning, maybe Paul was right in going to Jerusalem, maybe he was wrong. It's a fun thing to consider. The spiritual caution for Paul, the spiritual compromise for Paul, the physical crisis for Paul there as he's arrested, he's bound in fulfillment of Agabus's prophecy. But a point of application, as we conclude this briefly, how do we know God's will for our lives? How can we interpret the Spirit's prompting? What do we do when others caution us regarding a matter, but yet we feel strongly about something and disagree? Should we pragmatically only look at the results? Now, pragmatism would have prevented Paul from going to Jerusalem. Paul, you shouldn't go. You're going to be arrested, bound, imprisoned. Pragmatism would also then prove that it was right for Paul to go to Jerusalem because in the end, the gospel went all the way to Rome. So four quick keys to knowing God's will. This is just this is extra for free so that you might discern the Lord's will in your own life. I would suggest this. discerning God's will for my life. First, number one, the word of God, the word of God. It's a lamp to our feet. It's a light to our path. All scripture is profitable for us. And just as God told Joshua, this word of this, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but meditated and day and night. And then you shall Make your way prosperous and have good success. We've got to go to God's written, revealed word to discern God's will. Many times we are. We are concerned with God's unwritten, unrevealed will. But we should first be concerned with his written and revealed will in the scripture, number two, prayer, prayer, and certainly as we bathe the matter in prayer, as we turn our anxieties over to the Lord with prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving. We will have a peace that passes all understanding, perhaps a peace that we cannot explain. Maybe that was Paul's case. Maybe he said, you know what? I understand the caution, but God has given me a peace that cannot be explained, that this is what he wants me to do. I know that's subjective. But prayer, third, godly counsel, there's safety in a multitude of counselors. It appears in this case that Paul disregarded the multitude of counselors. And then number four, Certainly circumstances and God can orchestrate and ordain doors to be closed, doors to be opened. So that we might have confirmation of the direction he is leading us in our lives, the word of God, prayer, godly counsel and then circumstances as we seek to understand the spirit's promptings and do what the Lord would have us to do. Folks, we only have one life, one life. to live for our Lord. And we need to be committed to discerning and obeying the Lord's will. No matter what the costs and no matter how high the price that we paid, let's pray. God, I thank you so much for your servant, the Apostle Paul. And Lord, we we struggle to discern whether or not Paul was right in going to Jerusalem or not. It appears that the Spirit's cautions were not to go, but Lord, you gave Paul the courage to go in spite of those cautions. And then, Lord, you gave free course to the gospel as as he was given opportunity to preach in many very unique places. What I pray for each man, woman and child here this morning is they are careful to discern your promptings and to follow your will. I pray, Lord, that you would. In your sovereign providence, grant your blessing to each of our lives for this very same purpose, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.