Well, in order that we might continue this morning with our study through the book of Acts, please turn with me to the book of 1 Peter 2. We're coming back to Acts in just a few minutes. But there are some verses in 1 Peter that I think we need to keep in mind today as we look at the text in the book of Acts. And in fact, we will be referencing these verses again that I'm about to read here. But just to have them in our own minds as a congregation before we look at the text, in Acts 21, 1 Peter 2, verse 20 through 23. For what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right, and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth, And while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to Him who judges righteously." Now turn over to 1 Peter 4, beginning with verse 12. Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, Keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or thief or evildoer or a troublesome meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and sinner? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. Now turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 21. We are today in Acts 21 beginning in v. 27 going through v. 40 which is the end of the chapter. If the previous chapters, the previous messages that we've given here over the last few weeks have prepared us for anything, it should have prepared us for the events that transpire in our text today. It is at this point that Paul begins to experience the bonds of which he has spoken. The bonds which the Spirit of God has revealed to him. And it is from this point forward all the way to the end of the book of Acts. Acts chapter 28. That Paul is no longer a free man. Of course, Paul has concluded his third missionary journey. He is now in the city of Jerusalem. The assurance that he had given to him of the bonds and the afflictions that awaited him, which he spoke of in chapter 20, verse 23, are fulfilled in our text for today. So Paul's days of peace in Jerusalem are certainly short-lived. And having been forewarned of what was to take place, now he finds himself in the actual flames, in the fires, not literally speaking, but certainly the fires of persecution. So begin reading with me, follow with me as I read Acts chapter 21, beginning in verse 27, going again to the end of the chapter. Remember, He has gone into the temple with these four, if you were here last week, with these four men who were under a vow. He has gone in to give credibility that He has not been teaching against the law. He has not been teaching against the people of God. He has not been teaching against the temple. He has not been teaching against the traditions of the Jews. And so he goes into the temple with these four men, being consecrated himself as their patron, paying their way for the completion of their vows. And so he is there in the temple. Verse 27, when the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, These Jews, of course, from Asia. They were those from Ephesus, likely, or that surrounding area where, of course, Paul had been ministering for three years. And they're in Jerusalem here for Pentecost or for the celebration of that feast. Upon seeing him in the temple, they began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, Men of Israel, come to our aid. This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the law and this place." Speaking of the temple. And besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. for they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, in the city with him. And they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul, they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohorts that all Jerusalem was in confusion. At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came up and took hold of him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. And he began asking who he was and what he had done. But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing and some another. And when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. When he got to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. For the multitude of the people kept following him, shouting away with him. As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, may I say something to you? And he said, do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the 4,000 men of the assassins out into the wilderness. Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. And incidentally, he is, even by that statement, pronouncing his Roman citizenship. And I beg you, allow me to speak to the people. When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand. And when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect. Suffering for the most part in our experience is not a welcome experience. However, we find and we recognize that it is common to all of humanity in varying degrees, varying measures. Certainly there are some people who experience greater degrees of suffering than others. We also recognize that suffering is experienced in our present day world because of the biblical teaching that we have. It's a consequence of man's fall, the fall of Adam into sin, and that the ramifications of that fall into sin were universal in their effect. It affected not only humanity. It affects the world in which we live so that we live in a fallen world. It's very natural in regard to suffering that we do all that we can to avoid it. Try to protect ourselves, isolate ourselves from any possibility of suffering and to some degree that's a good thing. But the reality is eventually suffering for all of us proves to be inescapable. We've all experienced some measure of suffering. Christianity has never been presented as an escape from suffering. as some would like to present it. Well, become a Christian and all your troubles will go away. Well, the fact of the matter is, you don't know what trouble is sometimes until you become a Christian. So Christianity has never been presented as an escape from suffering. Rather, Christianity brings to the table a biblical worldview in regard to suffering. how we are to understand and to see suffering. And we come to the conclusion from the Scriptures that there is in fact a purpose. There is a purpose in suffering. Though the world may look at it, the world looks at the suffering around it, the world looks at the suffering that is experienced such as even is being brought upon many cities and areas of our East Coast right now through the hurricane. The world looks at that and it seems that it's rather arbitrary. It's rather meaningless. And for some who would look upon the sufferings in our present day world and it's one of the charges they would bring, well, if there is a God and this is His world, I don't want anything to do with that God. And simply all that we're seeing is a God who is righteous and allows the consequences of sin of falling people in a fallen world to run the course. not outside His sovereign control, but within and under His sovereign control. You see, the Christian worldview sees suffering in the context of a sovereign God. A God who is sovereign in all things, in all events, in all affairs, in all circumstances, And that ultimately it is a reflection of His wisdom. It is showing forth His glory in ways that are incomprehensible much of the time to us. There is a higher purpose being accomplished even in the midst of suffering. And the marvel is that in the midst of a world that is marred by sin, a world that is marred by everything that is in contradiction to God by our fallen sin nature, by a world that has fallen, the marvel is that even in the midst of that, that a God who is altogether holy and righteous can work even these things for the glory of His name. And it's done. Christianity through the Scriptures again teaches us how to rightly review, rightly view, and to even endure suffering as the people of God. Much of today's text that we're dealing here with in the book of Acts finds illustration and application for us in the book of 1 Peter, which is why I've read those verses to you from 1 Peter 2 and 4. And it's recognizing that God is sovereign in our affairs, that God is sovereign over all suffering, and that we must choose to respond and to view and to endure whatever suffering God may call us to, to see these things as His design. How are we to view suffering in our own experience? How are we called to endure suffering in our experience? This morning we want to look at our text and find what I trust will be some important principles to guide us through suffering. The first principle I want us to consider in light of our own personal experience of suffering is this, that we are to be righteous in our conduct. That we are to be righteous in our conduct. Paul has basically two charges. Two charges that are brought up against him by these Jews from Asia in verse 27. The first charge is, in verse 28, is that he preaches against our people and the law and this place. Either the city of Jerusalem or the temple itself. Likely the temple itself because of all that was done in the temple relating to the worship of God. This was, in fact, the charge that we discussed in some measure last week. It was the charge that was addressed by James and the other elders in verse 21 to Paul as he came to Jerusalem. That this is being said of you, Paul, that you're preaching against the traditions of the people. You're teaching against Moses. You're telling the Jews in these other lands that they shouldn't even circumcise their children. So that charge has been addressed in the previous section already to the believing Jews. And that charge is even countered by the fact that Paul is here present in the temple. His presence there in the temple is in fact showing a great honor to the temple, to the Jews, to Old Testament law. He is there, remember, following the instruction given in the book of Numbers regarding the ending of a vow. The vow that was taken according to the biblical pattern. So by His very presence there in the temple, with these four men that He had come with and being involved in His own sanctification, would, should demonstrate and would, I think, did demonstrate to the believing Jews that in fact what's being spoken of against Paul is not true. The second charge that's being leveled against him is that he has brought Greeks into the temple. That's the immediate charge that really gets things fired up here, that He has brought Greeks into the temple and thus He has defiled this holy place. That's verse 28, the second part of the verse. Now the Gentiles were in fact permitted in the outer courts of the temple. It was called the courts of the Gentiles. That portion of the temple Gentiles were allowed to come. But to go any further was a Roman ratified capital offense. In other words, the Jews believed that anyone going in other than a Jew should be put to death and Rome allowed that to take place. They made that concession. to the Jewish people there, that if a Gentile went beyond this outer temple, that they could be put to death. Even if they were a Roman citizen, they could be put to death by the Jews. There were notices that were posted around this area and it said this, that no foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the temple and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death. And so this was a very serious charge to bring against Paul that he has brought Gentiles and that he is party. with bringing those in to the temple that should not be there. So we have here what is basically according to verse 29 of our text, it's a charge of assumption. Because it says in verse 29, they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, who was one of those accompanying Paul from Asia Minor, from Ephesus, who was a Gentile. a Gentile believer. They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and so they supposed..." That's an important word, isn't it? "...they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple." And so that Trophimus would be, of course, the offender as a Greek in the temple, but Paul would have been party to it and so would have been guilty as well. So you have here, it's a charge of assumption. against Paul without basis. So the two charges that are leveled against Paul, the first one is that he is teaching and preaching against our people and the law in this place. That's not true. The second charge that's brought against him here is that he has brought Greeks into the temple, defiling the holy place. That's not true. Two charges brought against him, both of which are false. But there is no effort made here to determine the facts. When you have people that are wound up to the nature of these people and their hatred and their fury against Paul, they're not concerned with the facts. They're concerned with the appearance of things. They're concerned with what seems to be going on and they don't like it and so they have got themselves into quite a tizzy, upset about Paul being there in the temple and what he is doing in his ministry. to note that these are charges that Paul repeatedly asserts, even over the next few chapters of Acts, especially the charge of having brought Greeks into the temple. These are charges that Paul will repeatedly assert his innocence. And I choose to believe Paul. The point is this. There are the accusations and the charges that are brought against Paul, but Paul is righteous. in his conduct. He's innocent in regard to the laws of God as well as the laws of men. Paul recognizes the historical privilege as well as the advantage of the Jewish people. Romans chapter 3, what advantage is to be a Jew? None. Paul says, oh, in every way, and he lists there. Here are some of the advantages. There are some advantages, and that is the fact that Jewish people were given and trusted with the covenants of God. And Paul recognizes these things. And Paul is willing to submit himself to the law in matters of indifference, where there is no compromise of the Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith alone. So in matters of indifference, where he would say, you're free to do these things, you're free to not do these things. And so he was quite willing to submit himself, as we talked about last week here, to be all things to all men, to be a Jew among the Jews, that he might win some. Of course, he was Jewish. But to practice even in things that he did not deem as necessary in light of the new covenant through Christ, but was willing to participate because to do so was not wrong, it was not a sin. And certainly Paul would not approve much less attempt what would have been such a blatant affront to the Jewish people in the temple by bringing in a Gentile. Paul righteous in his conduct and that is certainly what our practice is to be. That we are to be a people that are righteous in our conduct. That our suffering would be for the sake of and in the context of righteous conduct. So that the charges of our enemies would be found to be ungrounded. that even if we should find ourselves at odds with the laws of men, that we are not walking or living in contradiction to the laws of God, to be righteous before Him. And so with the verse there in 1 Peter 4, verses 15 and 16, suffering as a Christian, you want to turn back over there with me real quick, let's just look at that again. 1 Peter 4, verses 15 and 16, make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a troublesome meddler. If you suffer for those things, you kind of get what you've got coming, right? But if anyone suffers as a Christian, and the idea of suffering for righteousness sake, He's not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. To suffer as Christians is to be those who experience suffering, not as those guilty of sin. That their suffering may indeed come upon us. We may anger men, but we are right with God. And the fact of the matter is we may or may not be vindicated before men. We might be vindicated before men, and they see the folly of their ways, but we may not be vindicated before men, whereas they're convinced they're right to the very end. But we do rest assured with this, that we are vindicated ultimately before God. That's our calling. That we are to be righteous in our conduct. Let's not suffer as evildoers. Let's let our suffering be because we're doing what is right. And the charges were brought against Paul, charges of guilt. He was innocent of both these charges. A man who is righteous in all of his conduct before God as well as men. The second thing we see here in regard to our experience in suffering is that our suffering should be reflecting on Christ. It should be reflecting on Christ. Last evening at our home, I sat down with my children and read through today's text and acts. I told the kids, I said, I'm going to read this to you. This is what I'm preaching tomorrow. I just want you to just listen and just tell me what strikes you about it. And so I read them this text here in Acts. I said, well, what about it? We've got a few things from back and forth, this and that. And I said, well, let me emphasize a few things, because I didn't get what I was looking for. I thought it would be, you know, just glaringly obvious. So I mentioned a few things in particular. And then Alex chimed in. He says, this sounds like Jesus, the experience of Jesus. And it does. You know, if you read the account of what takes place here in the Apostle Paul, it's impossible to think about the sufferings that he called to endure in his own experience without giving some consideration to the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's just like you can't read without thinking, boy, that sounds very familiar to me. Sounds like something I've read back in the Gospels. So we must remember Jesus' suffering and the disciples' suffering are deeply intertwined. It was Jesus Himself that made the connection. Jesus alerted His disciples to what was going to take place. And He tied their suffering to His own suffering. Very quick, look at John 15. We've been here many times as we've ventured through the book of Acts, but it warrants that we revisit it again. John 15, beginning in verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you are of the world, the world would love its own. but because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world because of this. The world hates you. So what's the reason for the hatred the world has for the followers of Christ? The reason is they're followers of Christ. They're like Him. Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master? If they persecuted me, the master, They will also persecute you, the slave, as far as the figure that He gives here. If they kept My Word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me." So Jesus is the One who ties together His own suffering and the suffering of His disciples. They're intertwined. They go together. Now, there's two ways that the word reflecting and reflect can be used here. And I use that word very deliberately because I want to use both these meanings here. Two ways in which Christian suffering is to reflect on Christ. Number one is in appearance. the believer's suffering, put this in quotation marks, looks like. Looks like. In the sense that it is reminiscent of Jesus and His suffering. So I think Luke has been very deliberate here in the book of Acts. I think he's helped us to make this connection here. In the record of Paul's ministry in the last few chapters, we've noted, or we could have and should have if we've not, that there are many striking parallels to the last part of Jesus' own earthly ministry. For example, you have in regard to Jesus, the deliberation, the determination that he has that he is going to go to Jerusalem. We're not going to turn there, but we could reference Luke 9, verse 51, where he sets his way to go to Jerusalem. Luke 13, verse 22, again reminded that Jesus has set His mind and His heart. He is going to Jerusalem. Other references in Luke's Gospel, Luke 17, 11, Luke 18, 31, Luke 19, 11, and 28, just referencing the fact, some of those almost in passing, that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. We've also noted in the book of Acts, in regard to Paul, Acts 19, for example, Acts 19, verse 21. Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. Saying, after I've been there, I must also see Rome. Now also in Acts 20, verse 16, For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem. And then Acts 19, verse 22, a verse that we spent some time on when we were in this chapter. And now, behold, bound in spirit, I'm on my way to Jerusalem. In other words, there is a sense of an inward compulsion. He must go to Jerusalem. So we have the parallel there of the determination of both parties, of both Jesus and the Apostle Paul. And remembering, all of those are referenced for you in Luke. Of course, by Luke. The book of Acts also written by Luke. So I think Luke is being deliberate here in drawing these parallels. So that we see the similarities here. The sufferings of Jesus and the life that He's set upon, the life direction. You see that in Paul as well. Going to Jerusalem. Then, of course, we have the series of false charges and accusations. Those were brought against Jesus. They're brought against the Apostle Paul here. We have those that are seeking to kill him. Verse 31, in our context, of course, we all know that they were seeking to put Jesus to death, which they ultimately did accomplish. And then in our text in verse 36, "...for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting..." And NASB reads, "...away with him." Does that sound familiar? See, the believer's suffering looks like and is in the sense of, it's reminiscent should bring to our mind. It should cause us to remember the sufferings of Christ. It's not that we should expect our circumstances to be mapped out like this. Alright, here's Jesus. Here's Paul. I don't see how I follow that pattern. That's not what I'm talking about. I don't think that's even what Luke is trying to get us to see, other than the fact that there is a connection between the two. And that there is a sense in which suffering in the lives of the believers should be a reminder to us of the sufferings of Christ. And we can certainly see it clearly in the life of Paul. It reminds us, doesn't it? As we see the sufferings of Paul experienced, it reminds us. of the sufferings of Christ. It's not to expect our circumstances will always be so clearly parallel to Jesus as Paul's were, but it is a reminder to us that to follow Christ is to be called to suffer. 2 Timothy 3.12, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Paul's words. Christlikeness includes rejection. Christlikeness includes being hated. Christlikeness includes persecution. And it should be so much a part of the believer's mentality that Jesus includes it among the Beatitudes when you are persecuted. Oh, by the way, if you ever experience something like this, when? When? in Matthew chapter 5 and 11 and following. See, Christ's likeness includes rejection, it includes hatred, it includes persecution, as well as a God-honoring response. See, most of the time we think of Christ's likeness, what are we thinking about? We're thinking about our attitude. And that's certainly an important part of Christ's likeness, that we want to be like Christ in our attitude. To be like Christ is in some measure going to speak of your experience. You want to be like Christ? Expect that you're going to go through what Christ went through. That's what Jesus said. They did this to Me. If they hate the Master, they hate the slave. If they mistreat the Master, they mistreat the slave. If they've done this to Me, they're going to do it to you. Because you are Mine. So, one way in which the Christian suffering is to reflect on Christ is in appearance. It's reminiscent. of the sufferings of Christ. The other is, which you just touched on, is an attitude. An attitude. That the believer's mind, and what I mean in this context is this, the believer's mind is to be on Christ's suffering. That we need to, in the midst of our suffering, reflect upon Christ. Think about Christ. Consider Christ. Reflecting in that sense. Now, I have to confess to you, I don't find this sub-point of attitude in our text here, but I do find it in the reading from 1 Peter. We're to have an attitude of reflecting and thinking about the sufferings of Christ when we suffer. We also find in Philippians 3, verse 10, that Paul speaks about there the privilege that he might know, speaking of Christ, that I might know the fellowship of His sufferings. What's the context? As he suffers, he's thinking about the fellowship with Christ and His sufferings. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 10, there Paul, in the midst of the sufferings and the hardships he has experienced, he says, that I will carry about in the body the dying of Jesus. Part of my Christian experience is I'm being called to die, daily die, and who knows when I may actually be called to physical death. But I'm carrying about in the body, the dying of Jesus. In Hebrews 12, as the writer of Hebrews here gives his exhortation for the saints that he's written this homily to, to press on, We begin reading verse 1, therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, of course there he's speaking of the great hall of faith that he speaks of in Hebrews chapter 11. Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. The author and the perfect of our faith, but what about it next? Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. You need to be thinking upon the sufferings of Christ in your sufferings. He endured the cross despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of God. Verse 3. Here's the exhortation. Verse 3. Consider Him. In the midst of your suffering, consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself. Why? So that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Have you ever grown weary and lost heart? And so much of the time it's because we fail to consider Him when our experience of suffering seems to be meaningless. It's like the world sees it. It's just arbitrary. There's no meaning to this suffering. That's not the case for the believer. Consider Him. who endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. We need to reflect upon Christ. So that our sufferings reflect upon Christ in these two ways. Number one, it is reminiscent, it reflects, it shows light back to him in that sense of reflecting. But number two, it's reflection in the sense that I'm compelled to think about and consider. So two senses of the word there of reflecting on Christ. See, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, our Lord and our example in suffering. And to grasp the privilege that we have to participate in His sufferings. Not redemptive sufferings, but His sufferings that He endures by His enemies, even in the church today. Let us consider Him, as the writer of Hebrews tells us, who endured so much for our sakes. Finally, in our suffering, we must be resting with the conclusions. most of the time we're going to find that our sufferings places in circumstances that are beyond our control. Where we find ourselves in some measure at the mercy of others. Sometimes at the mercy of those who are not inclined to be merciful. But our concern in such a situation is this, that we are to be at rest. to be at rest, to be with an inward peace that with whatever the concluding results may be, I'm at peace. I rest because I recognize that the consequences as well as the circumstances are under the control of Sovereign God. So I rest in Him. I rest in the one who controls. And we see here in our text today, Paul is certainly in such a place where he is not in control. And we find that he's not going to be in control for the rest of the book of Acts, not in the ultimate sense. He's given some liberties, but he's still also in some measure imprisoned for the rest of our study. He's been seized, verse 27, Verse 30 tells us that he has been dragged from the temple. That's a man that's not in control. When you're being drugged, you're not in control. To verse 31 and verse 32, he was held and he was beaten by those who want to kill him. So what we have here in these circumstances, Paul's former testimony, which he stated back in chapter, for us, chapter 21, verse 13, Paul answered, what are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? I'm not only ready to be abound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus is being put to the test, isn't it? Because he is in the grips of those who are ready to kill him. carried by the soldiers, in verse 35, because this mob has become so out of control, that the soldiers lift Paul and carry him so that they might had him questioned to see who he is, what he's doing. And he does so, and the commander thinks that he's captured quite a little treasure here. There's been a fellow that stirred up some trouble, actually just a few weeks prior, and led several people out into the desert. And they thought, ah, he's come back, and the Jews are going after him here. So he thought they had this Egyptian. So Paul speaks to him in Greek. So you speak Greek? Yes, I do. Told him who he was. And Paul requests to this commander that he might speak to the Jews in verse 39. Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus and soliciting a citizen vote in a significant city, and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people. He received permission in verse 40. And Paul's standing on the stairs. He motioned to the people with his hand. And when there was a great hush, he spoke to them. So permission is granted. The crowd is hushed. Paul is built on top of this staircase. He's been carried there. He gets to the top of the stairs and he asks permission to speak and he turns. He's looking down the staircase and this angry mob is there. probably settled to some degree because he's in the hands of the Roman soldiers instead of their own hands, but he raises his hand in some measure to bring about silence and it comes. Can you imagine this? Let's get a picture here. Paul's at the top of this stairway. He is flanked for protection by a group of Roman soldiers. probably 200 or so, right there in close proximity. And the commander of the Roman group is right there with him. Here is Paul, protected by Roman soldiers, standing before a quiet Jewish mob to speak. And we're going to look at what he says, Lord willing, next week. which we know he offers a defense, but he preaches in some measure the gospel. Let me ask you, do you think Paul came to Jerusalem with a plan to orchestrate a setting like that? I think when I get to Jerusalem, I'm going to find a way to get the Roman soldiers to protect me and make me speak to all the Jews. You don't make plans like that, do you? But there's a sovereign Lord who can do things, and He does things, thankfully, that are marvelous. The God who orders our paths, He brings such things about. So what Paul has set before him is a golden opportunity. with the protection of Roman soldiers to speak to his fellow countrymen in their own tongue about Jesus. And that's not to say that every such circumstance would turn out like that because we know the reality is it doesn't. We know that God doesn't always turn situations in such a way that we're able to have the opportunity to speak. We know that. But if He wants to, if He so chooses to, He can. Because He is God. He is the Lord. Look back with me at 1 Peter. 1 Peter 2. Verse 23. This is speaking, of course, of Jesus. It says, while being reviled, He did not revile in return. While suffering, He uttered no threats. But what did He do? He kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. Take note of that. He kept entrusting Himself to God. That was Jesus. Now look over in 1 Peter 4, verse 19. Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall do what? It's the same word. Shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. So what are we saying here when we say that we come in our sufferings that we're resting with the conclusion? We're saying this. As an example of Christ, as an exhortation of Scripture, we entrust ourselves to God who does what is right. That's what Jesus did in his sufferings. He entrusted himself to God. That's what the church, what the believers are called to do. Entrust yourself to God. Entrust your souls to God. and let Him do what He wills. It may not be anything as spectacular as what takes place here in Paul. And let me just tell you, most of the time, it won't be. OK? Let me just take you off that little hope plant there. God may do, but most of the time, it's not going to be anything so spectacular. Most of the time, we're going to be called to experience our suffering and to bear the brunt of it. Just know that. Okay? Though we entrust ourselves to God, and if that's what He so ordains for me and for us as His people, as His child, then so be it. He's good. And I'll trust Him. And He's going to do what is right. So to endure suffering according to God's will, which is what He says in 1 Peter, which is also the title of my message today. We entrust ourselves to God. Lord, I'm yours. You can't control this anyway, but I know you can and I know you do, and I'm going to trust you. I give myself to you. And to leave the conclusions, to leave the results with God, to make of it what He willed. But also keep this in mind. The greatest suffering by the greatest sufferer ever endured on the face of this earth resulted in the greatest accomplishment. Right? The greatest sufferer, the greatest suffering ever experienced in this world, Christ himself, in case you have any question. No one suffered like Christ. The greatest sufferer in this world. And what was accomplished? It was the greatest work imaginable. The work of redemption through the sufferings of Christ. The bare minimum. Listen carefully. The bare minimum return on our suffering. This is the bare minimum. is our sanctification. If nothing else happens, if nothing else happens in the midst of our suffering, this will. We are going to be sanctified. We're going to be made more and more like Christ. Romans 8.28. It's either true or it's not. God works through all things for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purposes. All things includes suffering. And it may not even be anything great, and it won't be as great as what was accomplished through the sufferings of Jesus, because there's no more redemption to be done. But the bare minimum of the return on our sufferings is our sanctification. That's the assurance we have in Scripture. So God help us that we view suffering and that we endure suffering as He designs it, that we be righteous in our conduct, we be reflecting upon Christ, and that we be resting with the conclusions, entrusting ourselves into the One who is good. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, So much we resist sufferings, and certainly we're not called to pursue and to look for these things. But, oh Lord, forgive us the times that we have simply closed our eyes to any potential good. That we've seen the pain, we've seen the heartache, and we've failed to say, Lord, what do you have for me here? So it causes us to see suffering as one of those great means that you have ordained to bring about sanctification in the hearts and lives of your people. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.