The road to Rome Acts 21:17-26:32 Opening Before we explore Paul’s road to Rome, I want to talk about our road to Minnesota…

The Road to Minnesota! Our journey back to MN was eventful. 2 year old and a pregnant wife, 1st trimester. There were highs and there were lows. There were times of great progress and times of great delays. 1st “trial”= Sam’s tiredness (within 1st hour of drive). 2nd ”trial”= Sarah’s sickness (just we arrive in Chicago she starts throwing up in a bag). 3rd “trial”= Olivia’s meltdown (just as we enter an 11 mile stretch of construction in a storm).

Acts 19:21 21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also. Paul’s Road to Rome The expansion of the gospel is now going deep into Europe. Paul has returned from his 3rd missionary journey. He is in Jerusalem but is on a journey to Rome. Paul has been promised by God through his sense of vocation that he will get to Rome. “must”= recognizing God’s purpose for his life. Luke 4:43…43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” Luke 9:22…22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Acts 23:11 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). Paul has been promised by Jesus through a vision that he will get to Rome. The Lord’s purpose for Paul in Rome is to witness to Jesus, not defend himself. Paul on his 3rd missionary journey expressed his purpose in Acts 20:24. What does Rome symbolize? The world’s center of influence and power. The completion of God’s purpose. The fulfillment of God’s promise.

1st Destination: Jerusalem Paul was wrongly accused of telling Jews to abandon their ancestral traditions and customs (21:21) Paul submitted himself to the Jewish custom to keep peace in the Jerusalem church (21:26) Paul beaten by crowd (21:31) Arrested by Roman commander (21:33) Wrongly accused by the commander to be a rebel who led 4,000 terrorists in a revolt (21:38) Paul’s experiences before Jerusalem Riots in Antioch Stoning in Lystra Beatings in Philippi More riots in Thessalonica Run out of town in Berea Court cases and anti-Jewish violence in Corinth Thousands of chanting pagans in Ephesus.

1st Destination: Jerusalem Paul addresses crowd and riot breaks out after he mentions his God given mission to the Gentiles (22:22) Roman commander orders Paul to be flogged and questioned (22:24) Paul appeals to his Roman Citizenship (22:25) High Priest orders those nearest Paul to strike him on the mouth (23:2)

1st Destination: Jerusalem Paul instigates a dispute between Sadducees and Pharisees (23:7) More than 40 Jews devise a plot to kill Paul (23:12) Paul escorted to Caesarea to stand trail before Governor Felix by 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen (23:23) Hope gave Paul the…WHY. Paul wrote Romans 9-11 around this time In Romans 10:1-3, he says the Jews have zeal for God but they are ignorant of God’s righteousness AKA, what God is doing in the world through Jesus. He is making one new man (Ephesians 2:15). Gifting gave Paul the…WHAT. The strictest of Jews with the highest biblical training. Greek speaker who is well versed in ancient philosophy. Roman citizen who knew his rights under the law. Determining your gifting… What are you good at? What are you passionate about?

2nd Destination: Caesarea Paul was in prison until Jews arrived to accuse him. Paul defended himself before Felix (23:35) Paul was in prison for 2 years, speaking occasionally to Felix and Drusilla (24:25,26) Felix was replaced by Festus and kept Paul in prison to grant a favor to the Jews (24:27) New accusations were brought against Paul- Jews wanted him back in Jerusalem for a trial. Paul claimed his right to a hearing before Caesar (25:1,10)

2nd Destination: Caesarea Festus promised to send him to Rome (25:12) Festus discussed Paul’s case with Herod Agrippa II (25:13,14) Agrippa & Festus heard Paul speak. Paul again told his story (26:1) Agrippa interrupted with a sarcastic rejection of the gospel (26:24-28) Group consensus was that Paul was guilty of nothing and could have been released if he had not appealed to Rome (26:30-32) The Gospel gave Paul the…HOW. A theme of “trials” has developed throughout Acts. The gospel is all about God putting the world right- it started with Jesus and it will end with Jesus.

N.T Wright “We shouldn’t imagine that people will leave us alone, will not challenge us as to what we are doing, as to how our faith belongs in the public world. If we are the people in and through whom God is putting into effect the setting-right that happened in Jesus, and anticipating the setting-right that will happen at the end, we should expect to see the uncomfortable but necessary setting-right going on all over the place, sometimes in martyrdom and sometimes in vindication and acquittal, as the church makes its way in the world”. Discernment gave Paul the…WHEN. Discerning & discovering when to wait for the Lord to act and when to take action yourself. How do you discern? Prayer Keeping in line with the Father’s heart and the word of God Allowing trusted and Christ centered community to speak into your life Being willing to pay the price

The Road You’re Walking… Our hope gives us the why Our gifting gives us the what The gospel gives us the how Discernment gives us the when What road are you currently walking? …Difficult relationships …Financial hardships …Circumstances outside of your influence that just won’t move forward …A career that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere …A job that you hate …Health issues that seem to be getting worse with every day …State of affairs, here in the the U.S. and beyond, that infuriate you. …Unfilled desires …Isolation & loneliness