Welcome to Worship
October 17, 2021
8:30am
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. —(Philippians 2:10-11)
Preparing Our Hearts for Worship: Rev. Bill Archer
Worship Song: Glorious Day (Stanfill)
Worship Team
Prayer: Rev. Peggy Peek
Redland Happenings and Welcome: Rev. Peggy Peek
Local Mission Moment: Afghani Good Neighbor Project
Rev. Peggy Peek
Worship Song: Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
Worship Team
Worship Meditation: Only A Holy God
Worship Team
Scripture: Acts 21-22:29
Sermon Series: Acts – The Cure Goes Viral
Sermon Title: Misunderstood
Rev. Kevin Freeman
Sermon Notes:
Knowing he will face arrest and trial, Paul resolutely travels to Jerusalem and is taken into custody after Jews from Asia stir up trouble against him. Paul was repeatedly misunderstood, often willfully. Should we expect anything different? Christians today can learn how to handle being misunderstood by examining Paul’s example.
We all make mistaks
The faithful Christian responds to misunderstandings by standing firm in faith.
Overcoming mis-understanding is found in its opposite, understanding.
How to respond to being misunderstood
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day.
8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” —Acts 21:7–14 (ESV)
1.) Understand the
of the
.
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. —Acts 20:23 (ESV)
4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. —Acts 21:4 (ESV)
11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” —Acts 21:11 (ESV)
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. —Acts 20:28 (ESV)
22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, —Acts 20:22 (ESV)
We live in a culture that puts risk mitigation at the top of the list. We have made personal safety our top-tier goal at the expense sometimes of accomplishing the mission. But what if God is leading us toward something dangerous?
Our objective is not safety. Our objective is to accomplish God’s mission and to do so safely if we can.
2.) Understand the
of
.
Misunderstandings in our context are the natural responses of unbelievers who encounter the faith-filled lives of believers in Christ.
a.)
to be
.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. —Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you… —John 15:18–20 (ESV)
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. —1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV)
b.)
responses do not
misunderstandings.
Some respond with fearful capitulation.
Others may respond with angry retaliation.
Believers often simply hide all vestiges of their faith through censored suppression.
c.) Misunderstandings require the
, spoken in
.
21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” 22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” —Acts 22:21–22 (ESV)
3.) Understand your
.
25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. —Acts 22:25–29 (ESV)
We care about success in this life. We care about freedom in this life. We care about material success, advancement, enjoyment in this life. This comes because we do not understand our true citizenship. Christian, you are a citizen of heaven! You have the hope of eternity planted in your heart, sealed by the Holy Spirit. You have a home prepared for you by Christ. You’ll have millennia to reflect on God’s goodness he displayed amid the trials and misunderstandings of this life, because we aren’t living for this life. We aren’t storing up treasures in this life. We aren’t setting our sights on this life. We’re setting them on things above, in the next life!
The Lord’s Supper: At the Cross (Love Ran Red)
Worship Team
First Fruits Offering for ROC: Living Hope
Worship Team
Benediction: Rev. Mark Adams