Shabbat Shalom, everyone. Open your Bibles, this meeting, to Acts chapter 21. The portion that we are going to read today is the portion that leads us into the end of the third missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. And we are going to read the first 26 verses of this chapter. And in these verses, we really see the final journey of the Apostle Paul, Shaul, and as he is arriving to the city of Jerusalem, he concludes his third missionary journey. And so we read, beginning from verse 1, And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had lunch, we came with a straight course unto Kos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara, and finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia, Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.

Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her burden. And finding disciples, and finding disciples, we tarried there seven days, who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days, and they all brought us on our way with wives and children, till we were out of the city, and we kneeled down on the shore and prayed. And when we had taken our leave, and when we had taken our leave, one of another, we took ship, and they returned home again.

And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemy's, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. And the next day, we that were of Paul's company, departed, and came unto Caesarea, and we entered into the house of Philip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven, and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Yeshua. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. And after those days, we took up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one manson of Cyprus, and old disciples with whom we should lodge.

And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following, Paul went in with us unto James, and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe, and they are all zealous of the law. And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

What is it therefore? The multitude must need come together, for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this, that we say to thee, we have four men which have a vow on them. Then take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads, and all may know that those things whereof they were informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou thyself also walk orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles, which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. And I think this is really the end. And I think this is really the end where I am going to stop right now. In these 26 verses, this is really the portion that I want to deal with in this ministry meeting today, beloved brothers and sisters. As we have been discussing over the weeks and months of our study of the book of Acts, we have learned that this book of Acts is a book of transition.

It is a book that really transitioned from the law that God had given our people Israel of old, and is moving about and really introducing to us what is known to be as the church age, the body of the Messiah, which is composing both of Jewish people and non-Jewish people that have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. We have learned that the apostle Paul, his Hebrew name, of course, is Shaul, he was chosen by Yeshua the Messiah on the way to Damascus to be the one that will give a testimony of the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah to the Gentile world. And every time the apostle Paul went and he preached the message of the gospel to the Gentile world, he always, as we have pointed out again and again, he went to his own brethren, the Jewish people first, and then he continued and he shared the message of the gospel with the Gentiles.

So many, many, many non-Jewish people became believers in Yeshua the Messiah, and the body of Christ, the body of Messiah, grown both among the Gentile world as well as among our Jewish people. And together we are forming what is known to be the body of Christ, the body of the Messiah. Well, Paul had three missionary journeys, and every journey, the first and the second, he returned to Syria to where he began his ministry, we would call it Antioch, which is in Syria. And if you remember, he began in Antioch and he returned to Antioch on his first missionary journey. He began in Antioch his second missionary journey, and he returned to Antioch, which is in Syria, on his second missionary journey.

Now his third missionary journey, he does not return to Antioch, but he actually really ends his third missionary journey in none else but in the city of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem, from where the gospel had began. The whole book of Acts really teaches us, beginning at Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. That's how the gospel have gone forth. Well, the apostle Paul right now is going to conclude his third missionary journey, and he's going to find himself now in Jerusalem, but ultimately he's going to find himself captured, we're going to see that, and imprisoned by the Romans.

And you will notice that, and you will notice that as we will move on in the book of Acts. Now in chapter 21, he began now his last final portion of his third journey, and he's heading towards the city of Jerusalem. He just finished to speak from Miltus to the elders of the church of the Ephesians. He warned them of things that are going to happen to the local assembly at Ephesus, where grievous wolves will come, not sparing the flock. He warned them, and he gave them this care that came from his heart. And now he's on the journey to Jerusalem, and as he's moving about, he's really stopping in three places.

First of all, he's stopping in Tyre. Secondly, he's stopping in Caesarea, or Caesarea. And of course, thirdly, he's stopping in the city of Jerusalem. And you will notice in those three locations, as we're going to look over them, that as he's traveling to these places, there is a concern for Paul's welfare by the brethren. First of all, it's in Tyre. Secondly, the second concern will be in Caesarea. And the third concern will be in the city of Jerusalem. The brethren were concerned for the apostle Paul, and what was going to happen to him. So, in the first six verses of Acts chapter 21, we have Paul's trip to Tyre, and the disciples' concern for him.

You notice, first of all, the journey itself, in verses 1 to 3. It came to pass that after we had gotten from them, the them is the elders from Ephesus who came to meet him in Miltus. And we lounged, and we came straight course to Kos, first of all. Then the following day, we went to Rhodes, from Rhodes to Patara. Then we found ship, verse 2, we went to Phoenicia. And then from Phoenicia, then we continue on. We had Cyprus on our left side, and we didn't stop there. This is verse 3. And then we sailed to Syria. Here, it's not the country Syria, but it is the Roman province of Syria, which included Israel.

And we got to Tyre, and then it says in verse 3 at the end, for there the ship was unloading her burden. So, they have arrived to the city of Tyre. Tyre today, by the way, is in present-day Lebanon. And in Tyre, if you remember, Yeshua the Messiah, also in his ministry, have actually spoke about Tyre and Sidon in Matthew chapter 15. And here it is interesting, the word Tyre in Hebrew, it's really called Tzor. And Tzor means rock. And there, when he arrived to Tyre, this is Paul. When he arrived to Tyre, you can see what happened in Tyre. Verse 4, 5, and 6. Notice, first of all, verse 4.

They got to Tyre, and there, it says in verse 4, they found disciples. Apparently, in Tyre, or Tzor in Hebrew, they found disciples where, apparently, there was a local assembly, a local church already in Tyre. And how it came about, if you remember, in Acts chapter 11, there was a persecution among the Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem. And many of them were scattered. And as they were scattered abroad, they preached the message of the gospel, and perhaps, as some of them got to Tyre, to Tzor, they were already formed a local church in that city of Tyre. And what we find here, that Paul found those disciples there, and they remained for one week, for seven days, in the city of Tyre.

And then notice what the disciples said to Paul. Now, apparently, they knew that Shaul, Paul, is bent upon going to the city of Jerusalem. He has with him the gifts that was given to him by many of the Gentile churches to support the Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem. And he was ready to bring those gifts to the city of Jerusalem, to the brethren in the city of Jerusalem. And these disciples were concerned for him, because they knew that when Shaul, Paul, will go to the city of Jerusalem, the unbelievers, meaning his Jewish unbelieving brethren, they will not be happy with him. And they will ultimately seek to harm him when he is going to be seen in the city of Jerusalem.

But look what they said to him. In verse 4, they said to Paul, through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. They warned him, Paul, don't go to Jerusalem. They were bent on having him not to go to the city of Jerusalem, because they were really concerned for the apostle Paul. But if you notice, brothers and sisters, in the previous chapter, if you just turn your pages to chapter 19, in verse 21, he had been bent on going to Jerusalem because he wanted to visit the Jewish believers in that city. It says in verse 21 of Acts chapter 19, after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit.

This is in his own Spirit. When he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see the city of Rome. He had decided, he felt in his conscience, in his heart, to go to visit the believers in the city of Jerusalem. Notice if you turn, as well, in chapter 20, which we have already studied, in verse 22 and 23, it says, And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Spirit witness in every city, saying, that bonds and affliction abide me. So, Paul knew that ultimately he will experience affliction.

He will experience suffering. The Holy Spirit of God, everywhere he preached the word, the Holy Spirit of God told to the Apostle Paul, to Shaul, he said, listen, you are going to experience persecution and affliction wherever you are going to go. And ultimately, when you will arrive to the city of Jerusalem. And if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, on the way to Damascus, Yeshua said to Paul, to Shaul, to Hanania, that he will experience suffering for the namesake of Yeshua, the Messiah. So, Paul knew that he was going to experience persecution and suffering. But here, the brethren, in the city of Tyre, warning him, and they said to him, Paul, don't go up to the city of Jerusalem.

They knew that he will experience persecution there. So, notice what the Apostle Paul does in verses 5 and 6. We read there, he prayed with them, and he's continuing on. He's on his journey now towards the city of Jerusalem. So, we read in verse 5, when we had accomplished those days, seven days, we departed and went our way. By the way, you notice the word, we and our. Every time you find the word, we and our, this is including the writer of the book of Acts. This is Dr. Luke. Luke was along now with Paul. And when you use the word, we and our and us, that tells us that Dr.

Luke was among the believers who were traveling with Shaul, with Paul on his journey. When the word we and us is not mentioned, when it says they, in other words that describe the fact that Luke was not there, it simply means that at a certain point of time, Luke was not on the journey with Paul and the others. So, when we have accomplished those days, we departed and went our way. And they all brought us on our way with, notice that, with wives and children, till we were out of the city, and we knelt down on the shore, and we prayed. Now, the brothers and sisters of the local assembly here at Tyre, came as they were walking with the Apostle Paul and the rest of the believers.

They were walking them towards the ship, towards the boat, as they were going to travel. But they took them all the way to shore, and they brought along with them, their wives and their children. I think there is a beautiful lesson here, to see how the little ones were coming along with the wives and the husband and the whole family, was going to say shalom to the Apostle Paul as he was journeying to this next destination. And so, together, it says here, beautifully, you see here, they kneeled down on the shore there, and they prayed. You find Apostle Paul oftentimes praying with the disciples and with their families, because you can see that he truly depended upon the Lord for grace and for mercy and for help as he was journeying from place to place.

That is really an encouragement to us also, that we too, when we are going on a journey, or whether we are going to work in the morning, or ending up a day in the evening, or coming together for meetings, or whatever we do, their importance is to speak to the Lord. Prayer is an avenue whereby God's people can speak to the Lord. And you see the Apostle here taking everyone, going on their knees, and then they are simply praying together with one another. He has done so, by the way, in Acts chapter 20, verse 36 to 38, just in the previous verses, he have kneeled down, in verse 36, with the elders of the Ephesians, and he prayed with them as well.

And now he is praying with the brothers and sisters from the local assembly of Tyre, of Tzor. And that is beautiful to see how they send him away, and they spend time, this prayer with him, on the shore there. And then we conclude his trip to Tyre, at the end of verse 6, where it says, when we had taken our leave, one of another, we took ship, and they returned home again. So the brethren returned back to the city of Tyre, and the Apostle Paul, and the rest of the company, the journey with him, they took ship, and they moved along to his next destination, as he is journeying towards the city of Jerusalem.

So, we have ended up here with an interesting place by the name of Tyre, and the believers there, and now he is moving on to another city, and that city is called Caesarea, or Caesarea, in Hebrew. This is verses 7 to verse 14. Paul's trip to Caesarea, and again, the concern of the brethren in the city of Caesarea. You notice, I am reading first of all, verse 7. On his way to Caesarea, he has stopped in a place that is called Ptolemis, and then, when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemis, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them for one day. Now, Ptolemis, the name was given because of one of the Egyptians' kings by the name of Ptolemis, and today, by the way, when the Crusaders came to the land of Israel, they gave a different name to that city.

They called the city Aker. We call it in Hebrew Akko. It's right in the north of Israel. We are now already in the borders of the land of Israel. In the north of Israel, there is a city that is called Akko, present-day Akko today. In fact, we have some believers in the city of Akko today, which I know, some are Arabs, some are Jewish, who believe in Yeshua, the Messiah, and many times on my trips to Israel, we pass through Akko, which at that time, as it says in verse 7, it's called Ptolemis. This city were also believers there. It says here, notice in verse 7, we went to Ptolemis and saluted the brethren.

So, you can see, there were entire, there were assembly. In Ptolemis, in Akko, there were brethren. There in Akko, he only stayed for one day, and the following day, he continued towards Caesarea, Caesarea. And here, in verses 8 on, to verse 14, we see some important things that happen in Caesarea. It says in verse 8, final arrival to Caesarea. And the first thing that he does when he arrived to Caesarea, the next day, when we were with Paul Company, departed, and came unto Caesarea, and we enter into the house of Philip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven, and we abode with him. Now, Philip is that interesting brother, interesting person.

Apparently, if you remember, in Acts chapter 6, when the apostles were looking for godly men, that the spirit of God was upon them, that they had a spiritual maturity to take responsibility over the affairs of the local needs of the city of Jerusalem, he was one of these men, a man by the name of Philip. Another man that was a godly man was also Stephen. There were these men, there were godly men whom the Lord had raised already in the church in the city of Jerusalem. Now, this Philip, if you remember, later on in his life, he was the one that went to Samaria, and he was the one who was preaching the gospel in the city of Samaria, and he had been receiving the gift of an evangelist.

An evangelist, his call from the Lord is to preach a clear message of the gospel of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to evangelize, to share with people the message of the gospel. You know, in Ephesians chapter 4, we learn that the Lord Jesus the Messiah gave gifts to the assembly. One of the gifts was not only Bible teachers, not only apostles, teachers, but also evangelists, those that were gifted with the gift of evangelization. Now, every believer is to evangelize. We are all to speak to people about the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, but there are those that had the gift of evangelization, the gift of evangelists. And here we have Philip.

He was the same one, beloved brothers and sisters, that we read of him also in Acts chapter 8, the one who preached the message of the Messiahship of Yeshua to the Ethiopian eunuch. You remember the Ethiopian eunuch was on the way. He went back from Jerusalem after he spent some time there and he was reading the prophet Isaiah as he sits on the chariot returning from Jerusalem. And the Spirit of God told to Philip, you go and you speak to this man. And Philip ran up in the chariot and he asked this Ethiopian eunuch, he said, do you understand what you read? And the Ethiopian eunuch said to him, how I will understand except somebody will explain this to me.

And Philip took Isaiah chapter 53, the very passage that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading and he was preaching unto him Jesus. He shared with him Yeshua, the Messiah. And the Ethiopian eunuch have accepted the Messiah right there and then on the way back from Jerusalem. He stopped the chariot, he went down to the water and Philip baptized him right there and then. What a glorious salvation these men have experienced this Ethiopian eunuch. So Philip was known to be an evangelist. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, he remained in the city there in Samaria and he became one of those leaders in the local church of Samaria.

If you just please turn back to Acts 8, I want to show you this verse. I want you to notice verse 38 at the end. He baptized him. This is the Ethiopian eunuch. And then when they would come out of the water, the spirit of the Lord caught Philip. Notice that the spirit of the Lord caught Philip and the eunuch saw him no more and he went on his way rejoicing. And then we read about Philip but Philip was found in Azotus. This is Ashdod today in Israel and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Kesaria. And here we find Philip ending up in Kesaria and by the time Paul on the conclusion of his third missionary journey on the way to the city of Jerusalem he stopped in Kesaria where Philip was there.

And Philip apparently was preaching in Kesaria and leading many people to know the Lord Jesus the Messiah and apparently he had a house there he was known to be the evangelist and Paul arrived to Kesaria went to his very own house. I think it is very precious to see in first century how the believers were hosting each other.

I think it's so precious you know many times for me too by experience over the years so many brothers and sisters have hosted me in homes as a guest and provided and took care of me and I know it by experience I've been so blessed by so many here you see the Apostle Paul is being hosted by the brethren he's coming straight to the house of Philip and he's entering into a house and he says and we abode with him they stay with Philip and his home this evangelist well known evangelist by the name of Philip now this expression the gift of evangelist mentioned a few times I want you to just look with me

at two verses please turn with me to Ephesians first of all I already pointed out to it but I want to read the verse Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11 reading about the Lord Yeshua the Messiah who was raised and ascended up to heaven and now from heaven we read verse 11 that he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers those are gifts that the glorified Messiah had given to the believers and some of those as it says were apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers and teachers every gift is different and Philip received the gift of an evangelist a beautiful gift that he had received

another verse please turn to 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and verse 5 you can see the exhortation that Paul gave to Timothy a younger believer in verse 5 Timothy was told by Paul watch thou in all things in due affliction do the work of an evangelist make full proof of your ministry Timothy Paul was saying to Timothy you do the work of an evangelist share the message of the gospel share the love of God through the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and that is exactly what Philip was doing he was an evangelist who was preaching the message of the gospel he did it in Kessaria he did it earlier in Jerusalem he faithfully had presented the

message of the gospel wherever he had been so the apostle Paul had arrived in verse 8 to the house of Philip the evangelist and he stayed with him he stayed in his home for a little while now a few things we find out about Philip here in the next verse 9 we find out that he had four daughters it says here and the same man this is Philip had four daughters they were all virgins apparently they didn't get married as yet they were young daughters and then it says which did prophesy now apparently beloved brothers and sisters here when he said they prophesy really prophecy does not necessarily mean that you're going to tell somebody

about the future events that are going to happen prophecy in scripture also have a reference that's simply speaking forth the word of God they were godly daughters in the home of Philip their father apparently they were subject to him they were godly young ladies they were not married they were virgins we read of them here in verse 9 and they prophesy apparently when people came to their home and were sitting together to speak with them they were sharing the message of the word of god they were telling them about the messiah they were devoting themselves in sharing the message of the gospel now i think it is amazing to see at young age these young

ladies were sharing the message of the word of god if you remember there was a young jewish maid that was taken captive by the syrian if you remember we read of her in second kings and she was taken by the syrian and her master was naaman the captain of the army of the syrian and this young little girl said to the wife of naaman to the family there i wish that naaman who was a leper could go to the city to israel because there is a prophet in israel who could heal him from his disease now this young girl shared the message with the wife of naaman and naaman took the step and he went

to israel and there in israel he was told by the prophet of israel what to do in order to be cleansed from leprosy and leprosy in the bible is a picture of sin we all have the disease called leprosy leprosy keeps us as unclean away from the presence of the lord and this young jewish maiden shared concerning the god of israel and the prophet of israel who would be used by the lord to restore this captain by the name of naaman which was a leper and when he went to israel if you remember and he washed in obedience to the prophet of israel seven times in the jordan humility subjecting himself to obedience to the

word of god then god removed the leprosy from him and god used a little maiden a little jewish girl to share the message of the god of israel with naaman and his people well here beloved brothers and sisters four young girls daughters of philip and we read of them that they did prophesy they did spoke forth the word of god shared the message of the gospel and remember where they have done it they have done it at home they were not publicly taking a place in the local church of kesaria in fact first corinthians chapter 14 does teaches us that the women not to take a public place in a local church in a local

assembly but here we can see that in their home they were speaking and sharing the message perhaps in conversation with guests who came and so on but they were telling the people concerning the person of yeshua the messiah they were really doing something that they have learned from their father wherever you go share the message talk to people you know we meet people on the street we meet people at work and you know we have all kind of subjects that we can talk about we can talk about our job we can talk about the weather we can talk about many many things but we should share the message of the gospel with every person that

we come in contact with in a wise way and in a godly way that which will be honoring to the Lord so they spoke to others of God's word they were speaking forth the word of God they were prophesying at home sharing the message of God's word with those that were coming to their home they were young girls but they were sharing the message of the word of God and now look at this in the next verses what happened in the house of Philip the evangelist in verses 10 and 11 here is another man that is coming now and giving warning to the apostle Paul of that which will happen to him in the city

of Jerusalem it says in verse 10 as we tarried there for many days apparently Paul and his company stayed for many many days in the house of Philip he says there came down from Judea a certain prophet by the name of Agabus we heard already of Agabus previously in Acts chapter 11 now we hear of him again this Agabus came from Judea Jerusalem area came down and went to the area of Kesaria and in Kesaria he came to the house of Philip the evangelist and he prophesied of what was going to happen to the apostle Paul it says in verse 11 when he was come unto us he took Paul's girdle he took the clothes

of the apostle Paul and he bound his own hands and his feet so what did he do he took the garment the girdle and he tied himself as we read here in verse 11 his own hands and his own feet he did a visual prophecy he tied his hands he ties his feet and then he spoke forth a prophecy concerning what was going to happen to the apostle Paul in verse 11 we read thus saith the Holy Spirit so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the men that owneth this girdle and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles Agabus was really telling prophetically what is going to happen to Paul when he is

going to go to the city of Jerusalem and you notice he says the Holy Spirit says he was really not speaking his words he was really telling what will happen to the apostle Paul when he is going to go to Jerusalem now remember he doesn't say to Paul here don't go to Jerusalem no but he's saying to the apostle Paul what will happen to you in the city of Jerusalem the Jewish people in Jerusalem this is the unbelieving Jewish people Paul's brethren in the city of Jerusalem who are not believers in Yeshua the Messiah they're going to bind this man whose girdle is this girdle and they will deliver him unto the hands of the

Gentiles you know it is exactly what happened to Yeshua the Messiah you remember what he prophesied himself he says listen there's going to come a time this is Matthew chapter 20 that I'm going to be captured by the Jewish people and they will hand me to the Romans and then ultimately the Romans have crucified Yeshua the Messiah this is exactly what's going to happen to the apostle Paul his Jewish brethren who have not yet accepted the Messiah out of envy and jealousy over what he believed and the position that he took concerning Yeshua Jesus the Messiah they will capture him and they will hand him over to the Gentiles to the Romans and the Romans

ultimately will take him and they will imprison the apostle Paul and he will be taken all the way to the city of Rome and ultimately at the end he will be killed in the city of Rome and that is exactly what this man by the name of Agabus have prophesied now I said to you that he already spoke earlier he was actually serving with the apostle Paul in earlier time if you turn back to Acts chapter 11 for a moment this person by the name of Agabus already was with Paul some about 15 years before this present occasion and he already spoken in verse 27 of Acts chapter 11 where we read and in these

days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch and there stood up one of them by the name of Agabus and he signified by the spirit notice this man that there should be a great dress throughout all the world which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar then the disciples every man according to his ability determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwell in Jerusalem in Judea which also they did and they send it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul so you see he was already long time ago 15 years earlier he was already with Barnabas and with Shaul Paul in the city of Antio he did prophesy already and

it did come to pass that's why the believers there have determined to bring to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem the gifts because of the drought that was going to happen there there will be a famine that will occur the whole world including in the city of Jerusalem well Agabus have prophesied in the power of the spirit and it did come to pass and here we find him prophesying and to be assured that it will also come to pass now again brothers and sisters many times those who believe that the apostle Paul was wrong in going to Jerusalem they really used these verses they say Paul loved the Jewish people too much he was out of

the will of the Lord he should have not gone to Jerusalem they gave him warning after warning after warning don't go don't go and yet Paul determined to go to Jerusalem and that's why some say that that was one of the mistakes that are written in the scriptures that Paul was out of the will of the Lord now others feel exactly the opposite they say no this does not mean that Paul was out of the will of the Lord this was the exact will of the Lord for him because the Lord already to the next chapter for a moment chapter 23 and verse 11 when he was in Jerusalem we read that the Lord stood

by him notice in verse 11 of Acts chapter 23 and the night following the Lord stood by him this is Paul and he said be of good cheer Paul for thou has testified of me in Jerusalem so must thou bear witness also of me at Rome you see some say that he was out of the will of the Lord if he was out of the will of the Lord by going to Jerusalem why is it that the Lord is giving him this encouragement and standing by him at Jerusalem after he was captured and telling him you have given a testimony for me here in Jerusalem you will also give a testimony for me at Rome

and so it seemed to be beloved brothers and sisters that the Lord have chosen Paul Shaul to be a vessel that through through this vessel he will bring the message to the nations of the world and also to his own Jewish brethren and he will experience persecution and rejection and ultimately he will suffer death when he will ultimately be captured and be taken to the city of Rome and so personally myself and I'm sure others as well take the position and the understanding that Paul was in the will of the Lord it's only his willingness to go through it because if you go back now to our chapter you notice what Paul saying to the

brothers and sisters after the prophet Agabus have given him this message in verse 12 we read when we heard these things this is the believers there at Kessaria it says both we and they of that place we besought him not to go up to Jerusalem you can see now that Agabus was preaching to the brethren in Kessaria including apparently because the word we is there including Luke the doctor the physician everyone saying to Paul please don't go to Jerusalem look what is going to happen to you in the city of Jerusalem don't go to Jerusalem stay here don't go by the unbelieving Jewish people you're going to be taken to the Romans and the Romans

are going to take you and ultimately you're going to die Paul don't go Paul don't go but Paul was determined to go and to follow through with what the Lord has called him for and so we read in the next verses verse 13 look at the response of the apostle Paul look what he says in Acts 21 and verse 13 Paul answered what mean ye to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Yeshua he was a man when you think of this man Paul Shaul he was willing to lay down his life he was willing

to suffer and to die for the name of his master the Lord Yeshua the Messiah you know I often think of our lives too we love the Lord and we are happy that we are saved we are happy that our sins are forgiven to us and we our sins that have been forgiven through the precious blood of the Messiah we are going to heaven and we are going to be eternally in heaven but we are often not willing to suffer for the name of the Lord here in this world because it is painful to experience suffering to experience hatred and rejection and misunderstanding some have lost their family some have lost their friends some have

lost their jobs some have lost their relationship we know from the stories that we hear of so many men and women who loved Yeshua the Messiah who have lost relationships here in this world for the name of Yeshua and the example that we have here is in the apostle Paul when everybody told him don't go to Jerusalem you're going to be bound you're going to be captured you're going to die Paul don't go he says no he said to them in verse 13 what do you mean when you weep and you cry will you want to break my heart he said to them why are you doing this listen he's telling them I am ready

notice that expression ready a few time he's using the word ready are we ready to follow the Lord in difficult time are we ready to carry on in the difficult path I'm not sure we are always ready to do so oh yeah we are ready to go to heaven oh yeah we are ready to receive blessings from the Lord but are we ready to experience sometime difficult time as we affiliate and associate our name with the name of Yeshua the Messiah Paul was ready he said it to the Romans in Romans chapter 1 when the Romans thought that he didn't want to come to them he said to the Romans I am not ashamed of

the gospel of the Messiah for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe he also said to them I am ready chapter 1 of Romans verse 15 to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also I'm ready I'm willing that was a man that was sold for God totally sold for the Lord Yeshua the Messiah you notice that if you also please turn with me to the book of Timothy to 2nd Timothy just for a verse there 2nd Timothy chapter 4 here he said that again just before he died the apostle Paul said to Timothy in chapter 4 and verse 6 for I am now ready to be offered

and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them that love his appearing three times he used the word I am ready he said it to the disciples in the city of Kesiah I am ready he said it to the Romans believers at the city of Rome who thought he doesn't want to come to them because he was a Jewish person he said I am ready to come to you

at Rome he said it to Timothy his younger brother before he was ending his ministry here on earth he said I am ready to be offered at the time because the time is at hand and my departure out of this scene is coming ahead he was ready in his ministry to give his life for Yeshua the Messiah and so beloved brothers and sisters we find here the apostle Paul is really comforting the disciples who were telling him please Paul don't go to Jerusalem and I am reading this verse again verse 13 then Paul answered what mean ye to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not to be bound only but also

to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Yeshua he was ready to give his life for the Lord Jesus the Messiah what a commitment what an example we have in Shaul in Paul's life and Paul's character as he moved ahead and so notice that now in verse 14 the brethren have recognized that they cannot say anything anymore in verse 14 when he would not be persuaded we stopped we ceased and what we said the will of the Lord be done and you know it was really when you really think about it it was the will of the Lord for the apostle for Paul to experience this persecution because the Lord said he is

a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles before kings and before the children of Israel and I will show him how great thing he must suffer for my name sake this is in Acts chapter 9 verse 15 and 16 he was chosen as a vessel to suffer for the name and you know what because he went to Jerusalem faithfully in accordance with the will of the Lord he succeeded to present the message to many also among his brethren and he ended up being taken to Rome he ended up to present the message of the gospel before kings before many he presented the message of the Messiahship of Yeshua even though he

lost his life at the end but nevertheless it was the will of the Lord and that's why the brethren in verse 14 said the will of the Lord be done and the will of the Lord have actually ultimately been done and so we concluded here in Caesarea Caesarea with the second city that he stopped he stopped in Tyre present day Tzor which is in Lebanon he stopped in Caesarea which in Hebrew we call Caesarea and now finally he is going to arrive to the city of Jerusalem and I want you to notice what happened in the city of Jerusalem this is from verse 15 to 26 of Acts chapter 21 we find first of all

in verse 15 16 and 17 the arrival to Jerusalem after those days we took up our carriages we went to Jerusalem and notice he used the word we went up to Jerusalem every time you go to Israel to Jerusalem you're always going up not only up physically and literally because it is the winding roads on the way to the city of Jerusalem it's always up when you go away from Jerusalem you always go down you remember the story in Luke chapter 10 a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho here the Apostle Paul go up from Caesarea from the shores of Israel all the way up to the city of Jerusalem and there we

read we went with a certain of the disciples of Caesarea and they brought with them one by the name of Menasson of Cyprus and all disciples with whom we should lodge and when we were come to Jerusalem the brethren received us gladly so here he is traveling from Caesarea to Jerusalem there was an older person that came along with them by the name of Menasson and this person may have very well be one of those early believers in the city of Jerusalem the early individuals who have accepted the Messiah and apparently he was the one with all disciples that they were supposed to lodge with him there and they arrived to Jerusalem verse 17 and

the brethren received him gladly notice that even though he was preaching to the Gentile world the brothers and sisters in the city of Jerusalem have received him they were very glad to have Shaul Paul in their midst they were happy but notice brothers and sisters what happened there because Paul what did he do in verse 18 and 19 he began to tell them of all the events that happened to him over the year of missionary journey verses 18 and 19 it says that the following day Paul went with us unto Yaakov unto James this James is the half-brother of Yeshua the Messiah they went perhaps to his house he had been one of those pillars

of the congregation of the assembly in Jerusalem and they went to his house perhaps and the elders were gathered there together we don't find the apostles here because maybe the apostles were doing the day preaching the message they were all over but there was the elders of the local assembly of the local church in Jerusalem gathering together around the Lord and hearing what Paul shared with them about his experiences over the years of his missionary journeys and Paul was very particular in verse 19 he rehearsed before them point by point how the Lord have used him in the missionary journey when we had saluted them he says he this is Paul declared the word should

be rehearsed Paul rehearsed particularly what thing God wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry notice he doesn't say I'm rehearsing what I have done no he says what God had wrought it's not my ministry it is God's ministry I'm merely a vessel that the Lord used me in a ministry but it is what God have done as I was serving him in that ministry among the Gentiles and I can imagine that he was sharing with them first missionary journey second missionary journey third missionary journey how many Gentiles became believers in Yeshua the Messiah and you know sharing what the Lord have used him in the ministry was such a precious thing to hear by the

brothers in the city of Jerusalem they have enjoyed it they were satisfied to hear that many from among the Gentiles became believers part of the church of the assembly but then notice brothers and sisters the appreciation of those believers because it says in verse 20 when they heard this they glorified the Lord the elders at James place hearing the messages and the stories that Paul shared with them they glorified the Lord and now in return they shared with Shaul Paul about the things that were happening here in Israel here and look what he's saying to them they were saying to him now in verse 20b the believers there they began to tell him look at

this they said brother see thou brother how many thousands of of of of of Jewish people there are which believe and they are zealous of the law now Paul told them his story about thousands who became believers from among the Gentiles now in turn James and the elders telling Paul Shaul about the thousands of Jewish people who became believers in the Lord Jesus the Messiah now this is very precious actually if you remember brothers and sisters when we studied the book of Acts the church was not even born as yet before the spirit of God came upon them we read in the Bible that there were only about 120 believers in Jerusalem Acts chapter 1

and verse 15 but then as time went on the Holy Spirit of God came and formed the body of Messiah in Acts chapter 2 and verse 41 we find out that another 3,000 people became believers in Yeshua the Messiah after the preaching of Peter and as time went on Acts chapter 4 and verse 4 an additional 5,000 people became believers in Yeshua the Messiah in the early church that is even before the preaching to the nations of the world and now look at this when we read these verses especially in verse 20 it says how many thousands of the Jews which are believed they believe in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah now the word for

thousands here is really not merely thousands if you the Greek word and I made a point the Greek word is myriads and the word for myriads in scripture is really ten of thousands the same Greek word is used in many other passages in the scriptures Hebrews 12 verse 22 Jude and verse 14 Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 2 these the word myriads it means tens of thousands of believers apparently in the early church there were not only 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 Jewish believers apparently there were tens of thousands who became believers in Yeshua the Messiah maybe 20 30 40 I do not know I'm just using the Greek here the word myrius meaning revavot in

Hebrew means tens of thousands you know today unfortunately when we look in among our Jewish community there are many who already became believers in the Messiah even in this present day but we don't see the tens of thousands maybe today in the land of Israel there is about 7 8 9 10 thousand maybe believers in the land today and there are thousands elsewhere around the world but when you think about it and the early century of the ministry of the Lord which began in Jerusalem and in Judea and then in Samaria there were so many who became believers in the person of Yeshua they acknowledged him as the before they were still in that transitional

period and so the struggle is whether they should keep the law or not should keep the law understanding of the present day dispensation of the church age it it it it was a struggle that they have gone through and we still go through this today many of the Jewish believers we have struggles with what should we do what should we keep what we should not keep should we keep the law should we not keep the law should we keep kosher should we not keep kosher should we do certain things or not in our Jewish culture and teaching that we have from the word of God should we circumcise our children or should we not the

struggles is going on and the questioning is rising up among our Jewish brethren even today but the elders of Jerusalem and James told to Paul we are so thankful that you told us about the many among the Gentiles who believe in Yeshua in Jesus the Messiah and we are glorifying the Lord for what you have done but Paul let us also tell you what happened here in our city in our land there were many thousands of our own Jewish brethren which are believed and they are all zealous of the law apparently because remember the church was in its infancy those Jewish believers apparently were still kind of following the law of Moses and following through

because it is a transitional period and of course we know from scripture that the Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe so so obviously they understood that they must believe in the Messiah but some were struggling with what we should keep and what we should not keep and so look what is happening here in the next verses in verse 21 the importance of the Jewish believers were informed that the apostle Paul came there and they heard some rumors about this Jewish person by the name of Shaul Paul we read in verse 21 and they are informed of you Paul that you teach us all the Jews which are among

the Gentiles to forsake Moses saying that they ought not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs now that was not true apparently some of the Jewish believers who actually sought to be more or less legalistic we read of them in Galatians we read of them in Acts chapter 15 they accused Paul and they were telling others you know what Paul does he telling the Gentiles to forsake Moses he's telling other Jewish people not to go after the custom of circumcision and also not to walk after the customs three things they were accusing Paul and apparently they were spreading it among those believers in the city of Jerusalem and perhaps even among the

unbelievers there unbelievers Jewish people and you know the word for forsaking in the Greek is the word apostasy it's coming from that word apostasia to fall away to defect in other words they were saying that what Moses says to depart from circumcision which Abraham and receive to depart from walking after the customs of the elders of the people of Israel now is it true or is it false now please bear with me for a moment turn back to Acts chapter 16 and we first of find that Paul had circumcised Timothy who was a Jewish man his mother was Jewish though his father was Greek Paul went ahead and he circumcised Timothy notice in Acts 16

we read in verse 3 him would Paul this is Timothy have to go forth with him and he took and he circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters for they knew all that his father was Greek here is the apostle Paul taking Timothy and he was older already he was no longer and eight days old but he circumcised him for the benefit and to reach out his Jewish brethren he didn't have to it was not a binding command under the present day dispensation for the Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah but he did so in order to seek to reach his brethren and to not violate the conscience of those that

have trouble with it notice another verse turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 7 for a moment I think it is important to take a note of this here is we find out in 1st Corinthians chapter 7 the apostle Paul talking to the married and so on he commended them and then he was speaking various messages to the people at Corinth verse 18 is any man called being circumcised let him not become uncircumcised is any called in uncircumcision let him not be circumcised circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandment of God let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called you see he never told to anybody to

stop to be circumcised in fact the opposite he said let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called he didn't say to the Jewish people you gotta be now uncircumcised and don't anymore circumcise your children because you believe in Yeshua it is on your own liberty you have this liberty before the Lord but don't force it on others don't demand it on others of the law we are under the present dispensation of the church age here's one more verse please bear with me first corinthian chapter nine here you can see that apostle Paul is not whatever he was accused of you can see that in his life it was not so first

corinthian chapter nine and verse twenty he's writing to the corinthian he says unto the Jews I became as a Jew that I might gain the Jew to them that are under the law as under the law that I might gain them that are under the law to them that are without law as without law being not without law to God but under the law of Messiah that I might are without law to the weak became I as weak that I might gain the weak listen to this I made all things to all men that I might by all means save some now you see the apostle Paul in his ministry was always a person that

subjected himself to the will of God he never sought to draw Jewish people to tell them forsake this and forsake this but he also taught them that all the keeping of the law of Moses they could not do so because they're going to fail in doing so but that will never save them they will never make them right with God on keeping laws they need the grace of God through the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah so there were those who were spreading these rumors about Paul that they should not circumcise their children and they should not walk after the custom by the way nowhere in the Bible were the Gentiles commended to be circumcised circumcision

were given to the descendants of Abraham Isaac and Jacob to the Hebrews to the Israelis to the Jewish people so if a Jewish person wants to circumcise his children he is at liberty to circumcise his children but if he doesn't want he is at liberty not to because he is not under the binding of the law no more he is at liberty in my case by the way in my own conscience being Jewish boys I wanted to circumcise them but they didn't have to be circumcised and it's the same thing with regard to keeping certain feasts and holidays and Shabbat and so on we are at liberty to do so but it is not binding

under the law in this present day dispensation we have to be very sensitive even careful here but the law itself was not given to the Gentile world it was given to the nation of Israel and therefore we must always understand this so there are some Jewish people who keep Shabbat who keep kosher if they are at liberty to do so they should have full liberty to do so as before the Lord now quickly I want to conclude here now what happened here in verses 22 to 24 here is the advice of the elders of Jerusalem to Paul verse 22 they said to him what is it therefore the multitude must needs come together for they

will hear that you come do therefore this they said to him that we say to you we have four men here which have vow on them take them purify yourself with them and be at charges with them that they may shave their heads and all may know that those things whereof they were informed concerning thee are nothing but thou thyself also walk orderly and keepeth the law and in fact they told him listen we have four people here Jewish people who are having a vow this is most likely the Nazarite vow the Nazir mentioned in Numbers chapter six which we read about this earlier so they say listen there are those Nazarite vows at the

end of the vow they and they said you take those four you pay their charges and you go and you show in Jerusalem that you really are following those things that you are not against it well we find out in verse 25 it says listen that when it comes to the Gentiles we didn't expect from them to keep the law we told them number one that they should abstain from things offered to idols verse 25 at the end we told them that they should abstain from blood we told the Gentiles believers that they should be abstaining from strangle things that are strangled and we told them that they should abstain from fornication that's to the

Gentile believers but for you they said to Paul you show by going with those four men you show that you are really walking orderly so we find out what our pastor Paul does you can see that he had liberty he wanted to reach his brethren and in verse 26 and with this I am concluding he followed through with their advice verse 26 then Paul took the men and the next day he purified himself with them entering into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the day of purification until that an offering should be offered for every one of them now obviously the offering the sacrifices have already ended there was no need anymore for them

to sacrifice but the offering here is the charges that they had to pay in the temple for those that finished the vow of the Nazarite he didn't need to offer sacrifices because to offer a sacrifice will mean that he is no longer acknowledging the finished work of the Messiah but what he did do he came along with these four men he purified himself with them he entered into the temple and he signified the accomplishment of the day of the purification for those who have had the Nazarite vows and brothers and sisters you can just see here in the life of Paul as he finally arrived to Jerusalem the concern of the believers in Tyre the

concern of the believers in Kesaria the concern of the believers in Jerusalem everyone has concern for the apostle Paul and you see how the apostle Paul by God's grace has succeeded to minister to those people and to tell them listen I'm willing to lay down my life for our Lord Yeshua the Messiah so with this we conclude those verses verses 1 to 26 and in the will of the Lord we'll continue in our chapter and we'll see what happened to Paul when he arrived into the temple and how he ultimately had been captured and had been taken to the city of Rome well may the Lord bless his word and may the Lord encourage us

this day