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FOLLOWING GOD’S WILL (Ac 21:5‑9)
03/6/16 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. FEASIBILITY WITH GOD’S WILL (1‑2) A. In pursuing God’s will to go to Jerusalem, Paul took the
practical steps to arrive in his desired timeframe. We should not conclude
that feasibility and practicality have nothing to do with God’s will. II. FOSTERING DISCIPLESHIP THROUGH GOD’S WILL
(3‑4a) A. Understanding God’s will sometimes requires understanding the
big picture. God’s primary concerns, which are always at the heart of God’s
will, are His glory, salvation of sinners, and spiritual growth for
believers. No matter what God’s will is, it will encompass these concerns. III. FEARLESS IN GOD’S WILL (4b) A. Since Paul believed that was the case, he was fearless in God’s
will (Act 20:23‑24; Act 21:13‑15). He was fearless in God’s will
in spite of the attempts of others to keep him from harm. He was fearless in
God’s will in spite of the fact that it could cost him his life (and
eventually did). He was fearless in God’s will and therefore was fully
committed to God’s will. IV. FELLOWSHIP FROM GOD’S WILL (5‑7) A. [5‑6] Though Paul was only there for seven days, he
experienced deep fellowship with those believers. All the believers,
including the wives and children, were compelled to escort him out of the
city. B. The apostle Paul said farewell to them in
the most fitting way; he knelt and prayed with them. Prayer is the most
fitting way to say goodbye. It thanks God for His blessing of fellowship, and
it commits believers to God and His will. C. The continuation of the route proceeded
for Paul and the others from Tyre to Ptolemais. Ptolemais was previous named
“Acco” (Jdg 1:31) but was later named after
Ptolemy Soter. Ptolemy Soter was one of Alexander the Great’s
prominent officers and He captured Jerusalem in 312 BC. D. [7] Once again Paul sought out fellowship
with the local believers. Though he only stayed with them for a day, it was
no doubt a day filled with encouragement and exhortation. E. When we are in God’s will and following
God’s will, fellowship with God’s people always results. God’s will has to do
with believer’s spiritual growth, believer’s gathering together, and
believer’s mutual pursuit of God’s will. All this puts believers together.
When believers are together, it results in sweet fellowship from God’s will
(Heb 10:24‑25 cf. Heb 10:19‑23). V. FIAT FOR MINISTRY IN GOD’S WILL (8‑9) A. [8] They continued their route from Ptolemais to Caesarea. This
may have been by land or sea, but if by sea, it would have been another small
ship. The word “finished (the voyage)” in vs. 7 is the Greek word dianuō
and means fully accomplished. 1. Caesarea was the capitol of Judea and the great Gentile city
of Palestine. Chocked full of history, King Hiram floated the cedars of
Lebanon to this area for the construction of Solomon’s Temple (1Ki 5:8‑9). 2. After Paul’s conversion, he went about
preaching the gospel with boldness. When the Hellenistic Jews attempted to
put him to death, the brethren brought Paul to Caesarea (Act 9:30). 3. Peter was led to Caesarea to preach the
gospel to Cornelius the centurion (Act 10:1, 24). 4. Caesarea hosted the Olympic games where
Herod Agrippa I was struck by the Lord and eaten by worms (Act 12:19, 22‑23). 5. Paul landed at Caesarea before going to
Antioch at the conclusion of his second missionary journey (Act 18:22). B. Luke identified Philip as “one of the seven” which means he was
not the apostle Philip (Ac 1:13). 1. We first see that Philip was chosen along with Stephen as one
of the seven Deacons to minister to the Hellenistic Jewish widows (Act 6:5). 2. Philip goes from a Deacon to an
evangelist. Acts chapter eight explains why Philip is called an evangelist. 3. Acts chapter eight begins with Philip
going down to the city of Samaria to preach the gospel to the Samaritans (Act
8:5‑6). 4. It is the same Philip who was instructed
by the Holy Spirit to go and join the Ethiopian eunuch and lead him to Christ
(Act 8:26‑29ff). 5. After that, Philip continued preaching
the gospel until he came to Caesarea. He apparently settled there (Act 8:40). C. [9] Luke recorded that Philip the evangelist had four virgin
daughters who were prophetesses. That is all that had been written about
them. Any additional information is conjecture. 1. Luke first describes them as “virgins” (parthenos),
which means a woman who is unmarried. This phrase might simply refer to their
marital status or it may be a reference to their purity. However, the fact
that they were unmarried could refer that they were set apart and dedicated
to the Lord and His ministry (1Co 7:32‑34). 2. Whether for this latter reason or not, we
can appreciate Philip’s influence on his daughters. He had been a Deacon in
the Jerusalem church. It is most likely that he was a leader to some degree
in the Caesarean church, perhaps even an elder. In addition, he had been
given the title evangelist. Philip had served the Lord and had been involved
in ministry. Obviously, Philip’s life and ministry influenced his daughters. D. Philip’s daughters had the spiritual gift of prophecy and were
“prophesying” (lit. i.e. feminine participle). 1. As far as women being prophetesses, they are rare but
nevertheless recorded in Scripture. The prophetesses in the Scripture were
Miriam, Moses’ sister (Exo 15:20), Deborah (Jdg 4:4), Huldah (2Ki 22:14),
Isaiah’s wife (Isa 8:3), Anna (Luk 2:36), Philip’s daughters (Act 21:9), and
instructions to women who prophesy (1Co 11:5). 2. As noted prior in our study in Acts,
there are two aspects of the gift of prophecy, forth‑telling which is
communicating the known revelation of God, Act 13:1; 15:32) and fore‑telling
which is communicating the unknown revelation of God, Act 11:28; 21:10‑11). 3. While a female prophetess could
communicate known truths of God, she could not be a pastor/teacher in the
church (1Ti 2:12‑13). So we know that the daughters of Philip would not
have held that position in the church. 4. They may have been special informers to
Luke in regard to historical details. Papias, who gave the earliest account
of the authors of the Gospels, wrote that the daughters of Philip provided
him with certain accounts of details. If the daughters of Philip helped Luke
in this manner, this may have been his purpose for mentioning them in this
chapter. 5. Note: the prophecy that was given to Paul
regarding his being bound in Jerusalem was given by Agabus, not the daughters
of Philip (Act 21:10‑11). VI. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. God’s will inevitably leads to ministry. For ministry is the
definition given to God’s program. What is incredible is that God includes
believers in that ministry. It is called the ministry of reconciliation and
it is God’s will for all believes to serve in that ministry (2Co 5:18‑21).
B. God’s will is ministry. Ministry is
serving the Lord in any capacity with our time, talents, and spiritual gifts.
Ministry does not require someone to quit their job to devote themselves to
full-time Christian ministry. However, every believer, because he belongs to
the Lord, serves Him every moment. C. God’s will is to devote ourselves to
prayer. Believers must devote themselves to prayer for their own ministry,
the ministry of the church, and the ministry of their children and
grandchildren. D. God’s will is to influence for ministry.
Parents and grandparents need to have an influence upon their children and
grandchildren to grow up and become part of a church, become part of the
fellowship, and be involved in the church’s ministry. |
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Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516 |
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