Lechem Panim #220 “What GOD Had Done” (Acts 21:17-20) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings! It’s good to have you with us today. In our passage today here in Acts 21, we find Paul returning from his third missionary journey. He has been visiting the churches in Asia Minor and Greece with the purpose of edifying and building them up. And as he is visiting all these Gentile churches he had previously helped to establish, he has been collecting an offering for the Church in Jerusalem; an offering of money that was much needed by the believers there and one which would help solidify the bond between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Now everyone is warning Paul not to go to Jerusalem because of how the Holy Spirit of God is revealing through many Christians the fact that awaiting for Paul in Jerusalem are trials and persecutions. And Paul accepts that, but continues onwards because he senses that the Holy Spirit (despite the danger) is compelling him to go; the mission of helping to minister to the needs of and unite the Church is more important than his own personal safety. Here was a man who was utterly and completely sold out in his love for God, his love for the Church, and his desire to pour his life out as an offering to both.

An Ambassador In Chains— And today’s passage is Paul’s last one as a free man. From here on (in his own words in Ephesians 6:20) he will be an ambassador in chains. This passage is a transitional one in that it tells of the events leading up to his arrest. Now you would think that chains would limit (or at least severely handicap his ministry). But instead we will see that despite the intentions of others, those chains will have no effect on his ministry whatsoever. God was able to use him even in his chains. And that is something that God has done (and continues to do) often. If I were to ask each of you to name your favorite verse, I’m sure at least several (perhaps more) of you would say Romans 8:28. It reads…

Romans 8:28 (NIV)— 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Still True— Now this verse is a great source of comfort to any person who is going through any trial or tribulation because it reminds us that God is in control and that whatever suffering we are going through He will go with us and give us victory. But do we really believe that? Do we really believe that in any situation God can bring something good. It is hard to think that way. But it is true. There is no situation you are going through that God cannot bring His glory. But we have to trust Him. We have to believe that He is going to remain faithful to us.

Brengle’s Trials— Lately I have been (with my grandfather) reading through the works of Samuel Logan Brengle, who wrote some of the most helpful books on holiness ever written; such as Heart Talks on Holiness, The Way of Holiness, and When the Holy Ghost Is Come. But what is really incredible about these books is the story behind them. [Brengle was a brilliant young preacher whom God led into the Salvation Army. He became the Salvation Army’s great spokesman for the message of personal holiness. One night a drunken man continually interrupted a service Brengle was leading. Finally, Brengle put the man outside the service. After the meeting was over, Brengle was the last one to leave, so he turned the lights off and stepped into the street. The drunken man was waiting for him. He struck one side of Brengle’s head with a …{brick}…, and smashed the other side against the building. Samuel Brengle was in the hospital for an extended period, hovering between life and death. When he finally began to recover, it was a long time before he could resume his former activities, so the editor of the Salvation Army’s magazine asked him to write] [a series of articles on holiness. These were later gathered and published as a little red book entitled Helps to Holiness. That book would become an international success, and the first of nine by Samuel Logan Brengle, causing him later to remark, “If there had been no little brick, there would have been no little book!”[4] By the time of his death in 1936, Commissioner Brengle was an internationally renowned preacher and worldwide ambassador of holiness. His influence continues today, perhaps more than that of any Salvationist in history other than the founders, William and Catherine Booth.]
    And his story is a reminder to us that [We must believe that God is running our lives. The devil can create minor complications, but God is in control whether you are in a hospital bed like Brengle, in a prison like Paul, or anywhere else. God can and will use your circumstances to accomplish his purposes. He is the only one who can produce fruit out of an apparent disaster.] And (as we will see in the coming chapters) incredible fruit will be produced by God through Paul even in the midst of his chains.

Gentile Companions— Now as Paul comes to Jerusalem, he has with him a group of Gentiles who are representatives of those Gentile churches Paul helped start who have come to actively show love, compassion, and solidarity with the Jerusalem church. And they arrive (most likely) at Pentecost. Now the text doesn’t say explicitly that it was Pentecost, but it being Paul’s plan to arrive at Pentecost coupled with the fact that (as we will see) there are multitudes there in Jerusalem, it would seem that Paul made it back in time to celebrate this very important Jewish feast.

Pentecost— Now [Pentecost means “fiftieth” because this feast was held fifty days after the Feast of …{Passover}…. The calendar of Jewish feasts in Leviticus 23 is an outline of the work of Jesus Christ. Passover pictures His death as the Lamb of God (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7), and the Feast of Firstfruits pictures His resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20–23). …Pentecost….pictures the formation of the church. At Pentecost, the Jews celebrated the giving of the law, but Christians celebrate it because of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church.] And really it is a celebration of when God took the Law of God and gave it again, not on tablets of stone this time but wrote it upon our heart in and through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. And Paul is no doubt reflecting about these realities as he himself prepares two celebrate. Now it says in…

Acts 21:17-18 (NKJV)— 17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. {Now this was an initial, unofficial reception; the meeting before the meeting, so to speak. But the next verse says…} 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

From Apostles to Elders— Now notice it says James, and all the elders; but it does not mention the apostles. Why? Because they aren’t there anymore. Well, where are they? Well, as you know, they had been very key in the establishing of the Jerusalem Church. And they were the leaders of the Church in the beginning (2:42; 4:35-37; 5:2). But remember, as the Church grew, they recognized the need for assistance in running the whole administrative side of thing; and so they chose seven to serve under them and help with these tasks (6:2-6). Elders are mentioned for the first time in 11:30 and we see that by the time the Jerusalem Council convenes, the elders had taken a very prominent role in the leadership of the Church (15:2,4,6,22,23; 16:4). Now the elders are the full leaders and the apostles are gone. Now where did they go? Well at least one (James the brother of John) had already been killed (Acts 12:2). But the rest (after turning over the leadership of the Church to the elders) had [left the city to engage in missionary work. Elder rule was thus being established as the New Testament pattern of church government (cf. Acts 14:23; 20:17; 1 Tim. 5:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; 1 Pet. 5:1, 5).]

Number of Elders— Now we are not told the number of elders present. Some speculate that there may have been seventy, paralleling the number of members in the Jewish Sanhedrin. And when we consider the enormous number of Christians there in Jerusalem, there were probably at least that and probably more. But however many there were, we see they receive him and his team gladly. Now having a large offering with them no doubt helped. But that wasn’t the only reason; most likely not even the main reason, which is evident in that it is not even mentioned here in the text. No, they focus on (at least at first) what Paul and his team has been up to.

Missionary Sunday— In one congregation I pastored there was an unusually high emphasis placed on missions; and once a month we would have missionaries come to share. But even in a congregation as mission-focused as that, I remember there was a small handful who were very religious about not being in Church on missionary Sunday. They didn’t think we had any business galavanting across the world when there were plenty of local needs right there. It was kind of like a silent protest every month in our Church from these people. But let me tell you, none of them ever visited a foreign country; and so they never saw the need. And the heart cannot feel what the eye has not seen. Now there were other people who would never miss a missionary Sunday. And you could see in their eyes this hungry eagerness to hear about all that God was doing and were eager to support and come alongside those missionaries. And often these were people who had gone on missions trips before; and so they knew. These elders were like the latter group. They were hungry to hear from Paul and his team.

Key Characteristics— Now in and throughout Paul’s ministry, we have seen demonstrated quite a number characteristics that made him a truly godly man. We talked about his powerful preaching, his powerful teaching, His persistence, his discipline, his courage, his commitment, his convictions. And last week we focused in on his courage. And as we move through this passage, we are going to see another one of Paul’s characteristics that we will see envelops and permeates the events that transpire here; and that is the characteristic of humility. We are going to see that this quality saturates virtually everything he does. It says in…

Acts 21:19 (NKJV)— 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things {(he had so wisely and thoughtfully done by his own whit, charm, and speaking ability. The elders gave him a standing ovation and presented him with a plaque he hung on the wall of the office he never had and he admired it for years to come. Does it say that? No. It says he told in detail those things)} which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Geempa’s Epitaph: Behold The Lamb— You see it was it was all about what God had done; not what he had done. It was never about him. He reminds me of my Grandfather on my dad’s side (we called him Geempa). Just about every time I am able to make it back to Kentucky to visit my family, I stop by his grave site. And let me tell you, there are thousands in heaven right now (and more to come) because of the ministry of that man; because of his ministry stateside, but also throughout Asia. But on his epitaph are three very simple words printed below his name: “Behold the Lamb”. And let me tell you, that is how he lived his life. He did a lot of tremendous things for Christ. But he never took glory for a single one of them. It was all about pointing people to Jesus. And let me tell you, that is the supreme mark of a sanctified person; a deflection of all glory to where it truly belongs, the face of God.

Paul’s Humility— And it is that kind of humility we see in Paul. [Paul expressed his humility in his rebuke of the hero-worshiping Corinthians. Writing to them in 1 Corinthians 3:5–7 he declared: What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Later in that same letter he added, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). To the Romans he wrote, “I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed” (Rom. 15:18). {You see,} It is the mark of a godly man that he exalts the Lord and not himself. “He who boasts,” wrote Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:17, “let him boast in the Lord.”] Now that kind of orientation is contagious. And we see that in the very next verse, where the elders (as Paul did) gave the glory where it belonged. It says…

Acts 21:20a (NKJV)— 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord.

Let Us Point To God— And so this week, let us also be careful (in everything) to give glory to God. Let us be people who choose to say (in whatever way fits the situation in which we find blessing) “Behold the Lamb of God”. Let’s do so. Amen.