The Promise & Provision of Power

Thanks for tuning in to our Bible study today. We are blessed to be getting back to the Book of Acts here at Cross Connection. For the number of years we've been studying through the Book of Acts and then chronologically going through the New Testament letters with the timeline of the Book of Acts, it has been quite some time since we've been studying through Acts. However, we're coming back to it today.

We'll be in Acts chapters 19 and 20, looking at the third missionary journey of Paul and his finish up there as he's getting ready to go back to Jerusalem. So, break out your Bible and open to the Book of Acts, chapter 20. Follow along with us; I think that you'll be encouraged.

Let's start with Matthew 28. You know where I'm going, hopefully—verse 18. There we read, "And Jesus came and spoke to them," speaking to His disciples. He said, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age. Amen."

Now, turn from there to the Book of Acts, just a few books to the right: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then Acts. In Acts chapter 1, verse 4, we read, "And being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, 'You have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."

Father, we thank You that You have called us, that You have gifted us, and that You have given us the promise of Your Spirit. You have empowered us to fulfill a mission, a commission that You gave to go into all the world. We recognize that even 2,000 years later, it is a mission that is yet unfinished, but we are on a mission from God. We pray, God, that we would see...

That mission is further pushed forward by Your Spirit at work in us, Your people. Lord, as we come before Your Word today, we pray that You, by the work of Your Spirit, would continue to transform our minds and our hearts. May it change the way that we act, react, and respond to those in this world, knowing that You desire that all men would be saved. So, God, speak to us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Over the last eight weeks or so here at Cross Connection, we have been talking quite a bit about the church—not just this church specifically, but the church in general, the larger body of Christ. About three weeks ago, as we were discussing engaging in mission, one of the points we looked at was that Christ will accomplish His mission through His church. It is a good reminder and encouragement that He will fulfill the mission.

I was on the Joshua Project website the other day. You probably don't know what that is, but if you search for it on your favorite search engine, you will find that there is a group that has been researching unreached peoples throughout the world for many years. By their calculation, there are still nearly 7,689 people groups that are unreached by the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, we know scripturally that God will accomplish His mission through His church.

A little more than a month ago, in our message and study on connecting with community, one of the points we discussed was that the church is God's plan for restoration. He will fulfill the mission that He has through His church, and He has a plan for restoration that He will accomplish. He is going to use the body of Christ—us, His people, called by Him and empowered by Him—to go into all the world and bring the gospel to all peoples. He commissioned His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Luke. At the beginning of Acts, we see that commission to go. The church, the body of Christ, is the plan of God for reaching the world with His love and grace, ultimately bringing about this great restoration through His love and grace.

I talked about a couple of weeks ago that the overarching story of the Bible can be broken up into four chapters: Creation, the Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. We are in the middle of that redemptive chapter where God is writing His story and fulfilling that work. He is leading us toward that great day of Restoration.

Under the old covenant in the Old Testament, we find that the people of God, the descendants of Abraham, were instructed by God to build a tabernacle. In the book of Exodus, as Moses was with God on Mount Sinai, God revealed to him the plans for this tabernacle. God then gifted artisans, Bezalel and Oholiab, and others who were skilled to build the tabernacle. He compelled the hearts of the people of Israel to give financially, providing gold, silver, skins, and all kinds of materials for this tabernacle.

They built this tabernacle in the wilderness, and everywhere they went, they would take the tabernacle with them. The priestly tribe of the nation of Israel, the Levites, would bear the tabernacle from place to place. God would direct His people on where to set it up, and then He would dwell with them. His whole plan was to dwell in the midst of His people.

However, the reality of that arrangement was that under the old covenant, if you wanted to connect with God, you had to seek Him out and approach Him through that tabernacle. This was not a perfect design; it was an interim solution. But God had a plan to change from the old covenant to the new covenant.

Remember, Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed, took the bread and the cup and said, "This is the blood of the new covenant." He was calling His followers to enter into this new covenant, where there is no tabernacle and no physical temple that seekers of God must go to in order to connect with Him. Instead, God has a different plan, one that we have seen from Genesis all the way through to Revelation. God is the one who goes to us to connect with us; He wants to dwell in the midst of His people.

Under the new covenant, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapters 3 and 6 that you and I are the temple of the Holy Spirit. In Colossians 1:27, Paul says, "Christ is..."

Dwelling in us, He gives us a great hope for glorification because Christ is dwelling in us, as stated in Colossians 1:27. Under the new covenant, for God to connect with humanity, we need to go; we take Him with us wherever we go so that people can be connected with Him.

Why is that important? Paul tells us something very important in the book of Romans: there is none that seeks after God. If it were left up to us to go to some temple or tabernacle to connect with Him on some pilgrimage, then we would never go. Why? Because we will not seek for Him, but He seeks for us. Remember, Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. From Genesis chapter 3, at the time of the fall, all the way through to now and into the future, we see that God is the one who is compelling us, His people, to go and connect a lost and dying world with Him.

Those who are disconnected from God, those who don't know Him, are connected with Him in a great way as we go. They are connected with Him through our lives and our interactions. We are His representatives; we are His ambassadors. Paul says in Second Corinthians chapter five that God is using us to go and connect with the world. That is why the commissions are given in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts.

"Go into all the world, make disciples of all nations," says Matthew 28. "Go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature," says Mark 16. "Go and preach the gospel in every nation," says Luke 24. God wants us to go. We, the people of God, the church, are to be fulfilling this command to go and connect a lost and dying world with life that is only found in Christ.

Now, the problem is that we tend to see that "going" mindset as going somewhere far away. We think we are only really going if we are heading to China, Africa, or South America. We believe we are only really going if we are boarding an airplane and spending 10 to 15 hours in the air, going through customs. We think we are only really going if we have a passport. However, the command to go and the fulfillment of that command is something that we...

We need to recognize what is happening every single day in our lives. When you step out of your door, you are going to be on mission for the Lord. You'll notice in your bulletin again there is a little sermon guide. Point number one: the ministry of going is for all believers at all times and in all places.

We need to wrestle with that as the people of God because we have been seduced into thinking, or perhaps trapped into thinking, by the enemy. This aligns with our flesh because we are creatures that love comfort. The enemy has seduced us into believing that the act of going only really happens if we go on a short-term or long-term mission trip. However, the reality is that this ministry of going is for all believers at all times and in all places.

Even if you never purchase a passport, which I encourage you to do, or get that little picture taken for your passport, you are still going in fulfillment of Christ's command. Empowered by His Holy Spirit, as Jesus commanded His disciples in Acts chapter 1, they were not to go until they were endued with power from on high. Yet, we are still going every single day, empowered by His Spirit. Whenever we step out of our home or wherever we are, as we go into this world, we are going as ambassadors of Christ.

Those who have the indwelling Holy Spirit in us are His temple here upon the earth. We are His tabernacle, and we are a mobile tabernacle. We are not to be fixed in one location; we are going. The idea in the original language in Matthew 28 is that as you are going, as you are on the path, you are to be engaging people with the truth of who Christ is.

This call to go is often misunderstood. We sometimes think that it only happens if we board an airplane with a passport in hand. Another temptation we succumb to is the belief that this command to go is only for the professionals. We think it is only for those people who have gone to a special seminary, school, or Bible college to get an education.

Education is not only for those who have the title of missionary, pastor, or minister. The fact is, this call to go is for all people, all believers, at all times and in all places. It is not just the work of missionaries, pastors, evangelists, and ministers; it is the work of all people.

This work of God goes on in fire stations, police stations, corporate offices, college campuses, and construction sites. This call happens in coffee shops, on the tennis court, and at the baseball diamond. It occurs at the gym, at the gas pump, and in the grocery store. It is not limited to those at a church building owned by a church organization or to missionaries on the field.

If you are a lawyer, you are a representative of Christ in your legal practice. If you are a carpenter, you are in good company because Jesus was a carpenter. The work happens on the construction site. If you are a teacher, it occurs in the classroom. The same goes for engineers, architects, bankers, consultants, mechanics, machinists, retail clerks, hairdressers, handymen, postmen, trash collectors, and stay-at-home moms.

It is the call of God for wherever you are, for what He has gifted you for, and for what He has called you to do. He has enabled you with His power from on high to be His ambassador and to connect those who are disconnected from God.

Listen, moms who are stay-at-home moms: how many of you recognize that your kids were born disconnected from God? You are there to be the representative of God in their lives and to introduce them to Jesus. At some point in your life, God may call you to step out of your Jerusalem, to step out of your Judea and Samaria, and go to the uttermost parts. But maybe not.

Perhaps God's call is for you to be exactly who He has called you to be, right where you are, no matter how small your Jerusalem may seem. I know there have been times when my wife has felt overwhelmed at home with four screaming kids, feeling trapped. Her Jerusalem may seem very small, but God has called her, gifted her, and given her a commission to go there and be a light.

He's called me to go and He's called you to go. He's empowered us for this work. Now, how many of you will admit today that you feel unable in your own self to fulfill that commission? We do, and we should.

You see, I'm more concerned, and I think even God is a little bit more concerned, when He finds someone who says, "No, I got this." Moses, early in the book of Exodus, thought he had it at age 40. He believed he could handle it. He could kill people; he did. He figured he could be a leader. He was strong and had been schooled in all the wisdom and knowledge of the Egyptians. He thought, "I'm good. I can speak, I can talk, I can write, I can think. I can do it. I can lead this bunch of slaves."

God had to remove him from that way of thinking. So, God took him out to the desert, the backside of the desert. Exodus says, "I don't even know what the backside of the desert is," but it seems far away. There are probably not too many people in the backside of the desert; all he had was sheep. For 40 years, God was breaking that self-confidence out of him—the "I got this" mentality.

Then, when God finally came to him in his 80s, He said, "Moses, I want you to go and tell Pharaoh, 'Let my people go.'" What did Moses say? "I can't do that."

I think God is looking for people who recognize their complete insufficiency, their inability to do it, and He wants to work through them. Why? Because He can show Himself mighty on their behalf, and people can only say, "That's God." We want people, when they see God working in us, to say, "That's definitely not you. I've known you for a long time; that's not you."

The Apostle Paul, in Second Corinthians chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, presents a magnificent passage. He says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who has made us able ministers of the gospel of the new covenant." He makes us able. We are completely unable to fulfill the commission in and of ourselves. The faster you recognize that, the more quickly God will be able to use you. We are unable in and of ourselves to go, but He makes us able ministers of the new covenant.

Remember the words that Jesus said to Peter when Peter capitulated and said, "Yeah, I'll follow."

Peter had just had a great catch of fish. He only had this great catch because God enabled him to catch the fish. The great fishermen of the Bible never caught a fish without Jesus, at least as the Bible records it. Peter was blown away by this massive catch of fish; his entire livelihood, his entire industry, was there in the nets that had now filled the boats.

Jesus said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." He would enable Peter to be what he could not be in and of himself. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but God has made us able ministers of the new covenant.

This truth is exactly why today we are returning to the Book of Acts. I say "returning" because we started studying through the Book of Acts five and a half years ago. Some of you remember that; some of you were here five and a half years ago, while others have come into the story somewhere along the line. You may even say, "I didn't know we were in the Book of Acts." The reason you say that is because we embarked upon a unique journey in November of 2008 when we started Acts chapter 1.

Along the way, those of you who have been here in the process know that we have detoured out of the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts is a history of the early church, covering the first 30 to 40 years. During that timeline, much of the New Testament was written. The letters, or epistles, of the New Testament were composed during this period.

As we've been going through the Book of Acts, we have also gone through the epistles chronologically with the story. If you look on the back of this piece of paper, there's a timeline that some of you have seen before. This gives us an idea of where we've been as we've gone through the Book of Acts.

The timeline of the Book of Acts has led us through the first 19 chapters of the story, covering the letters that James wrote, the letters to the Galatian church, the two letters to the Thessalonian church, the two letters to the Corinthian church, and finally, we went through the letter to the church at Rome. We spent a year studying through the letter to the church of Rome; most of 2013 was spent going through that letter, which Paul wrote during his third missionary journey. This journey is detailed in Acts chapters 19 and 20, which is where we will be this morning as we come back to Acts chapter.

If you've been with us through the story, you've had a chance to see how this whole thing lays out and how early church history mapped out. Primarily, the story zeroed in on the Apostle Paul, and there's a very practical reason for that, which we'll look at a little bit this morning. However, he wasn't the only player; he is just one among many.

Consider the amazing things that God did through this one individual. Imagine what the story looks like if you could lay it out and see what was happening through Thomas, Bartholomew, Peter, John, and James. If you were able to lay it out, you would see that Thomas went from Jerusalem to the far east, eventually reaching India. We don't have that story with us today, but we've gone through this narrative and primarily followed the journeys of the Apostle Paul.

When you study through the Book of Acts in this way, it brings life to the New Testament. You start to see why certain things were written in the letters at the times they were written. The Book of Acts is a history book.

The reality, point number two on your outline, is that the Bible is history. When I say the Bible is history, I like to say it like this: the Bible is His story. It's all about God's redemptive plan here upon the earth. It begins with creation, moves to the fall, and then to redemption. We are currently in the middle of that redemptive chapter, and ultimately, there is a restoration that will come. We look forward to that restoration, but right now, we are in the midst of the redemptive work of God.

The Book of Acts, especially, is His story—His early story through His early followers two thousand years ago. While the Book of Acts is referred to as such, you may still be in Acts chapter one in your Bible. Right above chapter one, it says in my Bible, "The Acts of the Apostles." Although it is called the Acts of the Apostles, point number three on your outline is that it really should be called "The Acts of God by His Holy Spirit in and through His people."

This is a story of His glory; it's the story of His power at work in His people. We immediately go to point number...

There would be no Acts of the Apostles without God's promise and provision of power. Why? Because we are not sufficient in and of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves. We cannot accomplish the task, the mission that God has set before us, without His enabling power, which He promised to give and which He provided to His people in Acts chapter 2 when He poured out His Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

You see, when Jesus said in Matthew 28, Mark 16, and Luke 24, "Go into all the world and make disciples; preach the gospel to all creatures," He knew that that group of 11, if you count all of those that were accounted as disciples—maybe 120—were completely insufficient to fulfill that task. That's why He said, "Don't go yet; wait until you are given this power." The Acts of the Apostles would not have happened without the promise and provision of that power. Therefore, the Book of Acts should rightly be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

Now, of course, someone will say, "But there were individuals that were playing out this story. They were guys; they were sometimes referred to as apostles." Sometimes that word "apostle" is a hang-up for Christians. The average Christian sitting in a church might think, "I could never do that task because I'm definitely not a saint." This morning, one of the ladies in the church called me "Saint Miles" as she was coming in, and I kind of laughed. But the reality is, we are all saints if you're saved by grace.

If you boil the word "apostle" down and set aside some of the things that the Bible teaches about the 12 apostles, the reality is that the word "apostle" means one who is sent with a message. We have all been commissioned with a message to go. We have been sent with a message; we are ambassadors of Christ, representatives of Him here in a world that is lost and in need of Him. So, the commission applies to us, and the empowering is for us. Remember when the empowering of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and those who were followers of Jesus in Acts chapter 2?

There, Peter was reminded by the Holy Spirit of the prophecy of Joel. He says, "This is for you and your children that will come after you." The empowering of the Holy Spirit is for the body of Christ. All believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 13, makes this very clear: we all are baptized in the Holy Spirit. We all are empowered by His grace to accomplish things that we, in and of ourselves, could never do.

We are ambassadors empowered, and the Book of Acts is the story of what God can accomplish through ordinary men and women who step out by faith, empowered by His Holy Spirit to do His work. It is the story of ordinary men and women who step out by faith, empowered by the power of God to do His work.

Point number five on your outline: the Book of Acts is unfinished. It is one of those stories that continues; it is a story that goes on and on. In fact, if you would turn in your Bibles to the very last chapter of the Book of Acts, Acts chapter 28, notice the way that this chapter, if you will, of the story ends.

It does not say "the end." In Acts 28, the last verses look at verse 30 of the chapter: "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no one forbidding him."

Does it seem like the story is done or concluded? No, the story just leaves off with Paul there in the city of Rome, preaching, giving the gospel, doing what he had done with the majority of his life to that point—giving forth the good news of Jesus Christ as an ambassador, as a representative there in the capital city of the Roman Empire.

And the story continues. The story continues through my life; it continues through your life. God is continuing to write the story of what He does through ordinary men and women when they have been empowered by Him to do extraordinary things by His power. This story, I guarantee you, is being recorded in heaven. God is recording, still 2,000 years later, even though Luke is not there with his pen writing these things down. God is in heaven recording what is happening through His church, the acts of God by His Holy Spirit.

Through His people in the world, and when we get to heaven, I am absolutely certain that we're going to have an opportunity to see that story played out for us. We're going to be able to see what has happened, and it's an awesome thing. I am certain that God has done incredible work through His church.

Here, we have these 19 chapters that we've gone through so far in the Book of Acts, and primarily, it focuses on one person: the Apostle Paul and the ministry that God did through him and as a result of him. But imagine all the multiplicity of disciples that God has raised up and sent out, empowered by His glory. When we have been there for ten thousand years, we will have only begun to crack the first chapters of what God has done through every single one, empowered by His grace and by His Spirit over the last 2,000 years and beyond, however long the Lord tarries.

Especially if we go through it at the speed that we've been going through it here at Cross Connection, it'll take a very long time. It has taken us five and a half years to go through 19 chapters. Since we began our study five and a half years ago, we have seen the story that began with the ascension of Christ. We have seen the story move from the ascension of Christ to the birth of the church by the outpouring of the Spirit of God.

We have seen God's power, and that's what the Book of Acts is all about: God's power residing in ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. We have seen God's power equally poured out upon Jewish believers in Acts 2, Samaritan believers in Acts 8, and Gentile believers in Acts 10. Most of us sitting here today are Gentiles, and God pours out His Spirit equally upon us to accomplish His work.

We have seen the power of God displayed in preaching, taking ordinary people who are weak and fearful and would run from any sort of conflict, like Peter. He preaches powerfully before multitudes of people in the city of Jerusalem. Then he preaches powerfully before the same leaders that condemned Jesus to die, and that is proof of God's power evident in him.

Then we've seen God's power not only bring about preaching but also bring about healing of those who are lame. It brings about raising those who are dead, such as Tabitha in Acts chapter 10 and Eutychus in Acts chapter 20, which we will look at momentarily. We have witnessed His power evident in the springing of the apostles from prison when they are imprisoned in Acts.

Chapter five describes how God miraculously springs His followers out of prison without even opening the doors. This is just one of the many ways we have seen God's power at work. However, persecution often comes against those who possess the power of God. Remarkably, God is so powerful that He even saves the persecutor, as seen in Acts chapter 9 with Saul of Tarsus.

We have witnessed God's power raise up men who became martyrs, such as Stephen and James, in the Book of Acts. Additionally, we see God’s power raise up missionaries like Saul, Barnabas, and Silas, who set out in Acts chapter 15. Saul would eventually change his name to Paul during his first missionary journey. They embarked on a mission to spread the Gospel throughout the world and to plant churches.

God's power has led to the establishment of churches in cities like Lystra, Derbe, Antioch, Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, Corinth, Colossae, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Tyre, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Rome. In the Book of Acts, we see that the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, goes forth into the world, transforming individuals, groups, and entire cities.

The power of God is so immense that in Acts chapter 19, it brought down the idolatry industry in the city of Ephesus through the simple proclamation of the truth of God—the Gospel. The leaders of the idolatry industry in Ephesus realized they needed to eliminate Saul of Tarsus, or Paul, because he was destroying their business. This illustrates the extraordinary impact of God's power, which resides in ordinary men and women to accomplish remarkable things.

This brings us to where we have been in our study. We have gone through Paul's first, second, and third missionary journeys, and in Acts chapter 19, Paul is in the city of Ephesus. His desire during his second missionary journey was to go to Ephesus, but God did not allow him. He initially wanted to enter Asia Minor, as stated in Acts chapter 16, but the Spirit of God prevented him. When he attempted to go into Bithynia, God said no again. Consequently, he found himself stuck in the city of Troas, with the Adriatic Sea in front of him, uncertain of where to go next.

To go, Lord, we can't go left, we can't go right. There's water in front of us, and he has a dream of a man of Macedonia across the Adriatic. He says, "Come help us." So they get on a boat and they go, and the Gospel is preached in Philippi. Then Paul is kicked out of Philippi. It seemed like many of the places that Paul went, he was kicked out. Ultimately, in the city of Lystra, they dragged him outside of the city, took up rocks, and stoned him. He died and came back to life by God's grace because God wasn't finished.

In the city of Philippi, God's power is so powerful that there's a demon-possessed servant girl, a slave, who was bringing much money to her owners because of her ability to foretell the future through this demonic possession. God cast the demon out of her through the ministry of Paul. Her owners weren't too happy about that; they weren't making any money anymore. So they dragged him before the magistrates, beat him up, and put him and Silas in prison in stocks. At midnight, they're singing, and an earthquake happens. They're freed, and God brings salvation to the jailer of Philippi. But then they're kicked out of that city.

Then he goes to Thessalonica, and they're kicked out of that city as well, but a church is planted. They go to Berea, and another church is planted. Paul goes to Corinth, and there a church is planted. That's the end of his second missionary journey. He goes back home for his third missionary journey, starting in Ephesus. There, in Ephesus, he speaks, teaches, and trains people for more than two years at the school of Tyrannus. As he's training people, churches are being planted by them.

All the seven churches of Asia mentioned in Revelation chapters two and three were likely planted during the time that Paul was in Ephesus: Smyrna, Philadelphia, Sardis, and Thyatira, all of them. I believe that the church at Rome was being established during that time as well, and Paul was sending people there to plant that church. Then Paul knew that his time was done in Ephesus, as it often was in many cities, when a great riot happened. Those who were part of the industry of idolatry kicked him out of the city.

In Acts chapter 19, the very last verses, verses 40 and 41, we read, "For we are in danger of being called into question today for this uproar." This is one of the magistrates, one of the leaders of the city of Ephesus, saying there is no reason for which we may give an account for this disorderly gathering. When he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. So the big riot is over, and then we read in Acts chapter 20, verse one, after the uproar.

Ceased, so now all of that is done in Ephesus, and Paul concludes that it's time to go. After the uproar ceased, Paul called the disciples of the city of Ephesus to himself. He embraced them and departed to go to Macedonia.

He was in Ephesus, which is on a peninsula in Asia Minor, and he was going to cross the Adriatic Sea to the northwest to return to Macedonia. He said, "We're going to go to Macedonia. Pray for all of you."

When he had gone over the region and encouraged many with his words, he ministered to the churches in Macedonia, which included Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. This was at the end of his third missionary journey. Then it says he came to Greece, where the chief church and city is Corinth.

As we read through First and Second Corinthians and piece together the timeline, we realize that during this period, Romans chapters 15 and 16 also discuss this. At this time, Paul was receiving and offering a collection for the saints in Jerusalem. He had a plan to return to Jerusalem at the end of this third missionary journey to bring a financial collection to those saints who were poverty-stricken.

He went to Macedonia and received an offering. First and Second Corinthians 8 tells us that they gave beyond what they could give; they were so excited to contribute. Then Paul went to Corinth and received the offering from them as he was preparing them in Second Corinthians, which he wrote while he was in Philippi.

Now he comes down to Corinth, where he stayed for three months, as noted in verse three of Acts chapter 20. While in the city of Corinth for three months, the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, where his home church is located in Antioch of Syria. He decided to return through Macedonia.

Here's the picture: Paul was in the city of Corinth for three months. Bible teachers have deduced that this likely occurred during the winter between 57 and 58 A.D. This shows us that these events actually happened during that time. There was Paul in the city of Corinth, writing the letter to the church there, receiving an offering for the saints back in Jerusalem, and planning to board a boat to go to Syria to return home. However, something changed his plans, and he decided to go back to Macedonia, up to Philippi. I have a hunch why he thought this.

Paul faced a serious threat during his ministry. A group of Jews, believed to be assassins from Jerusalem known as the Sicarii, were plotting to kill him. The Sicarii, which means "daggermen," had taken an oath not to eat until Paul was dead. It was their usual practice to disguise themselves in cloaks, hiding daggers, and to approach their targets in crowded marketplaces, stabbing them in the back before quietly leaving the scene. These Jewish assassins were active in the first century, and they had come to kill Saul of Tarsus, Paul the Apostle, because he was preaching the power of God and the gospel.

In response to this threat, Paul decided to send his companions on a boat to Troas while he walked on foot to Philippi. This decision seemed somewhat clandestine. He instructed his companions to take the boat, stating that he would go a different way. The question arises: why would he do that?

Continuing in verse four, we learn about some of the men who were with Paul. Sopater of Berea, who was being trained in the ministry, accompanied him to Asia. Also with him were Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, along with Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. These men went ahead and waited for us at Troas. Notice the word "us" in this context.

At this time, Paul was in Corinth between 57 and 58 A.D., writing the letter to the Romans and receiving an offering for the saints in Jerusalem. He sent this group of men to Troas by boat while he traveled north to Philippi. One might wonder why he returned to Philippi. I suggest he went back to Philippi to pick up Luke. By this time, Luke was the pastor and leader of the church in Philippi.

In verse five, we see that Luke joined Paul in Philippi. In verse six, it states that they sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread. Paul celebrated Passover in Philippi during the feast of unleavened bread in 58 A.D., specifically on March 13. The scriptures provide this level of detail. After the days of unleavened bread, Paul and Luke took a five-day boat trip across the Adriatic Sea from Philippi to Troas, heading east. They stayed there for seven days, which is equivalent to a week.

Now, on the first day of the week—what's the first day of the week? Sunday. The first day of the week, the disciples, the church, gathered together to break bread. Notice this: I know there are some people that are really excited about the seventh day, but very clearly, the early church celebrated together on the first day of the week. They gathered together, and Paul, ready to depart the next day, which is the second day, right? Monday. So he says, "We have plans; we're going to leave on Monday, but we're here on Sunday, so we're going to leave tomorrow."

He spoke to them. Now, notice this; this is awesome. He spoke to them and continued his message until—when you think I'm long-winded? Come on now! Paul got with them in the morning on the first day and preached until midnight. It didn't stop there. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together, and in a window sat a certain man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. I love this! There were people falling asleep during Paul's teaching. It gives me so much hope. So, there were people falling asleep, and he was overcome by sleep. As Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. This is a big deal; a guy dies in the message because Paul was long-winded. I love this!

Paul went down and fell on him, embracing him. He said, "Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him." He says, "Ah, don't worry about him; we got a message to preach. He's okay; he'll be fine. Leave him there." They apparently left him there. Now, when he had come up, he had broken bread and eaten. He talked a long while; he had talked from morning till midnight. He continued talking a long while, even until daybreak. Then he departed, and they brought the young man Eutychus alive, and they were not a little comforted. I love how the Bible just goes, "They were not a little comforted." No, these guys were blessed! The guy didn't die. Paul was blessed too because it would have been a tough thing for years to come to say, "Yeah, I kind of killed a guy in my message just preaching too long."

Then we went—notice the "we": Luke, Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, Trophimus—all these guys. Then we went to a ship and sailed to Azos. If you look at a map, you can see the journeys of Paul in the back of your Bible. You'll see that Troas is on that same peninsula to the north and east of where Ephesus is. He says they got on a boat and sailed from that place around to Azos, and they were intending to take on board.

Paul had given orders intending that he himself would go on foot. This is interesting: Paul puts them on a boat, and they sail while he walks a 20-mile journey over treacherous ground. We don't know why there are some ideas, but when he met us in Azos, we took him on board the ship, and we came to Miletus. You can follow this on the map. We sailed from there the next day and came opposite Chios. The following day, we arrived in Samos and stayed at Tragulium. The next day, we came to Miletus.

If you follow the map, you'll see that he rounds the peninsula where Ephesus is. He passes it and comes to Miletus, for Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia. He says, "I can't spend time there; I'm on a mission." He was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

On March 13th, A.D. 58, Paul was in the city of Philippi, partaking of the Passover with Luke. Then he began his journey back to Jerusalem. He wanted to get there for Pentecost, which was 50 days after Passover. He said he couldn't stay long in Ephesus, but he just wanted to talk with the Ephesian elders, which we'll look at next week. So he goes to Miletus, and the Ephesian elders come to him. He speaks to them from verses 17 and on through the end of this chapter.

He wants to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. You see, the early church celebrated Pentecost because it was the birthday of the church. That's the day when God poured out His Spirit upon all flesh and brought the church into existence.

I go through all of this because we need to recognize that these things actually happened. This is the history; it's His story of what He has done through His people, empowered by His grace and His Spirit, to accomplish extraordinary things for His glory. He wants to use you; He wants to use me to bring glory to Him and to finish the story. This is not complete; the Book of Acts is unfinished.

So, God, use us, empower us, and make us bold for Your name. Amen.

Let's stand together. Father, we thank You for Your grace, Your grace that enables us to be better people, to be Your representatives in a world that is dying in need of light and life. God, work through us. Give us faith to step out of our comfort zone as we step out of our homes tomorrow.

We go to a construction site, an office, or a school campus. Lord, enable us to be ambassadors. We pray in Jesus' name. Do you?