Acts 21:10-14 ESV
“While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 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.”’ When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 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.’ And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, ‘Let the will of the Lord be done.’”
We Belong to Jesus
When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives, our lives become his and not our own, for he bought us back for God with
his blood shed on that cross that we might now be God’s possession and that he
might be Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives. And this is why Jesus said if we
want to come after him that we must deny (refuse) self and take up our cross
daily (die with him daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. We now belong to Him.
And Paul understood that. He understood much more than that,
for he knew that being a follower of Jesus Christ meant daily denial of self
and a willingness to be hated and persecuted for the sake of the name of Jesus,
and for the sake of the gospel, and for the sake of righteousness. He
understood that his life was no longer his own, that he was bought with the
price of Jesus’ blood, and so he was now to honor God with his body.
And so he was willing, if necessary, to be persecuted and
even killed for the sake of the preaching of the gospel, if that was the will
of God for his life. For this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
It means we die that he might live his life in and through us for his glory and
praise. So, we have to put self to death every day and say “No!” to sin and “Yes!”
to God, in his power and strength, and we then submit to God’s will and
purpose.
We also must believe in the sovereignty of God over our lives,
that God had a plan and a purpose for our lives even from before the creation
of the world. Even before we were conceived in the wombs of our mothers he knew
us, for he is the one who formed us in the wombs of our mothers. Jesus Christ
is the one who made us and who gave us the breath of life. All the days ordained
for us were written in his book before one came into being.
[Rom 5:3-5; Rom 8:29; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co
6:19-20; 2 Co 1:3-11; Lu 9:23-26; Eph 1:3-4;
Eph 2:21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16;
1 Pet 2:5-9; Tit 2:11-14; Ps 139:13-16; Phil 3:7-11;
1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Matt 5:10-12; Lu 21:12-19; Heb 12:3-12; Jn 15:1-11]
Urged Not to Go
Sometimes well meaning Christians will try to discourage us
from doing the will of God in order to spare us danger and/or harm. And
sometimes it is our enemies pretending to care about us who will also try to “spare
us from harm out of concern for our welfare,” but their concern is not genuine.
What they are concerned about is that we are spreading the truth of the gospel
and they want that to stop, and so they fake compassion for evil purposes.
And sometimes Satan will whisper in our ears all kinds of
lies in order to try to stop us from sharing the truth of the gospel. He will
try to get us afraid of being harmed or rejected or lied about, etc. But we
have to keep reminding ourselves that God is fully sovereign over our lives. He
is in control over all things. Nothing will come into our lives but God allows
it, and he allows it for a purpose, and he will accomplish his purpose through
it.
Nine months ago we had a mice infestation in our apartment.
It took us quite a while to get rid of the mice and their urine and feces. In
the process I got very ill from the mice, for they carry diseases. The illness
was a lot like mononucleosis, which I have had before, and it has had its
aftereffects, too. And during all of this I had to keep reminding myself that
God was in control of those mice, too, and he allowed all this to happen for
his purposes.
I am still left with a weak knee in my right leg and occasional
pain in my right foot and knee, so walking and stooping down have their
challenges, for sure, as well as I was left with some loss of balance. I am
working on strengthening my body and it is getting better, but I am not fully
recovered. Again, I must remind myself that God is fully sovereign over my life
and that he is in control and that he has all things under his command.
But Satan is going to try to instill fear in our hearts and
minds. And he is going to plant thoughts in our minds and he is going to use
other humans to try to make us fearful and to try to discourage us, and some of
these humans will be our enemies who are out to destroy us and others will be naïve
and vulnerable people Satan will use to try to keep us from doing the will of
God, and some of them will be well meaning in intention.
But no matter the source, human speaking, it is still Satan
who is trying to get us afraid so we will stop doing the will of God and so we
will stop sharing the gospel. So, we have to not yield to fear. We have to not
let circumstances get the best of us. We must remain steadfast in our faith and
determined to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he sends us in doing whatever he
commands and not be persuaded of men to not obey the Lord.
Have
Thine Own Way, Lord
Words
by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907
Music
by George C. Stebbins, 1907
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just
now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
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