A prayer for peace and a historical context of the Reformation, focusing on Thomas Bilney's faith and persecution.

Prayer and the Reformation

Exploring Acts 1:8 and the theme of persecution as a catalyst for witnessing.

The Key Verse in Acts

Statistics and global trends of persecution against Christians, highlighting dangerous countries.

Persecution of Christians

Paul's journey to Jerusalem and the concern for Jewish customs, leading to compromise and consequences.

Persevering Through Persecution

Despite facing persecution, Paul remains silent and humble, showing incredible humility and giving all the glory to God.

Paul's Silence and Humility

Paul is compared to Christ, both falsely accused, arrested, and mistreated, yet remaining silent before their accusers.

Paul's Comparison to Christ

The story of Thomas Bilney's unwavering faith, refusal to recant his belief in Jesus Christ, and his martyrdom.

Thomas Bilney's Faith and Persecution

Examples of persecution faced by the church, including government restrictions, derogatory remarks, and sharing faith at work or in school.

Examples of Persecution

Encouragement to persevere through persecution with purpose, praise, and prayer, and a call to pray for persecuted Christians around the world.

- The speaker begins with a prayer for those involved in mission work
- The story of Thomas Bilney, a student of Cambridge during the 16th century, is shared
- The key verse of Acts chapter 1 verse 8 is discussed, emphasizing the theme of being witnesses for Christ
- Statistics on persecution of Christians globally are shared
- The sermon focuses on persevering through persecution with purpose, praise, and power
- The passage from Acts chapter 21 is discussed, highlighting the themes of communion, concern, compromise, and consequence

- Paul arrives in Jerusalem around the time of Pentecost and is warmly received by the Jewish and Gentile believers.
- He reports to the elders about the work God has done among the Gentiles through his ministry, showing great humility.
- Concern arises among the Jewish believers that Paul is teaching against the Jewish customs and traditions, but these accusations are proven to be false.

- The passage discusses the importance of compromise and unity in the face of persecution
- Paul agrees to participate in a purification ritual to show his dedication to God and unity with the Jewish believers
- Despite his compromise, Paul is still falsely accused and faces attempted murder and arrest
- The passage highlights the consequences of Paul's actions and the challenges he faces in Jerusalem

- The piece discusses Paul's humility and silence in the face of persecution
- It compares Paul to Christ and emphasizes the need to trust in God during persecution
- It shares examples of persecution in the church and in daily life
- The sermon title is "Persevering through persecution with purpose, praise, and prayer"

- The speaker discusses persecution and lies faced by Christians
- They emphasize the need for prayer for persecuted believers, especially in countries like Afghanistan, North Korea, and Nigeria
- They ask for prayers for a mission trip to Ecuador and for the local church and unsaved individuals
- The speaker encourages prayer in the face of persecution, citing the example of Peter and John in the book of Acts

- The sermon focuses on persevering through persecution with purpose, praise, and power
- The passage from Acts chapter 21 is discussed, highlighting the themes of communion, concern, compromise, and consequence
- Paul arrives in Jerusalem and faces false accusations, showing the importance of compromise and unity in the face of persecution
- The sermon emphasizes the need for prayer for persecuted believers and cites examples of persecution in the church and daily life
- The speaker encourages prayer in the face of persecution, citing the example of Peter and John in the book of Acts

this morning and we ask that this particular message would speak to the hearts of those who know people in the mission field, to those who know people who will be going to

the mission field, and that you would bring us peace.

In the 16th century there was a religious reform, a movement that swept across Europe and it resulted in a branch of Christianity called Protestantism.

And many different religious groups, because of their differences in doctrine, separated from the Roman Catholic Church.

And during the time of the Reformation, there was a gentleman by the name of Thomas Bilney.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of which I am the worst.

This verse opened his eyes and spoke to his heart.

It changed his life and Thomas understood that salvation was by faith through grace.

And he joyfully shared his faith with everyone who would listen, knocking on doors, telling them what he knew.

And then 1 day, persecution came knocking on his door.

And he was arrested because of what he believed.

To say that he no longer believed in what he said he believed.

They pleaded with him to change his mind.

Although the verse that says, whoever will save his life will lose it echoed in his mind, he reasoned that if he recanted from his faith, God would be able to use him to reach out to so many more people.

Well, within months of walking out of prison, Thomas confused the shame filled with guilt would walk away from the faith he was willing to die for because it was unbearable for him to follow the faith he had denied.

As we continue our study this morning in the book of Acts, I believe that the key verse that summarizes the major theme of the book is found in Acts chapter 1 verse 8.

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.

And in many cases as we've been going through the book of Acts, God has allowed the persecution of the church to be the catalyst in fulfilling this verse, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And over the next couple of weeks in Acts chapter 27 and 28 we're going to read about Paul's final journey to Rome.

And so the question this morning when we come to Acts chapter 21 verses 17 through 40 are the following.

How did Paul, a witness to Christ, respond when he was persecuted for his faith and 2, as witnesses for Christ?

What lessons, what can we learn from Paul's life as we too face persecution for our faith?

Now we know that persecution is on the rise against Christians across the world.

According to a report that was recently commissioned by Open Doors International looking at a time period from October 20th to September 2021, we know that over 360 million people endured persecution and discrimination last year.

We know that there were 5,898 Christians that were killed.

We know that there are 5,110 churches that were attacked or closed.

We know there were 6,175 Christians arrested without trial.

Imagine here this morning somebody walks in through that back door, grabs 1 of our loved ones, and just takes off with them.

And there were 3,829 people that were kidnapped.

And in terms of those countries that are most dangerous for Christians, Afghanistan ranks first, overtaking North Korea.

4 of those 5 countries regarded the highest rate of anti-Christian violence are Islamic states.

And apart from Afghanistan, they include Somalia, Libya, and Yemen, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, and Syria.

And so for those reasons, I've called this morning's sermon, persevering through persecution with purpose, praise, and power.

And I invite you to turn with me to Acts chapter 21, where we will begin our reading at verse 15.

Acts chapter 21, beginning our reading at verse 15.

After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mason where we were to stay He was a man from Cyprus and 1 of the early disciples.

Now just by way of introduction, Paul is heading from Caesarea, a city on the coast to Jerusalem.

It's about, according to Google Maps, 64 miles.

When I punched into my computer, that's the distance from Montreal to Parkside Ranch and so I punched in how long would that take by foot and it's about 34 hours.

So not including some sleep and some breaks and maybe some eating that's somewhere between 2 and 3, possibly 4 days of walking.

And what's interesting from this trip is that Paul, he has some money with him.

It's money that he's collected from the Gentile churches which he's going to bring as a gift to the poor in Jerusalem.

We also know that he's traveling with some disciples from Caesarea.

Now I don't think we appreciate that when we read that verse that there were people that were traveling together.

It was a custom of faith a custom of love a custom of fellowship.

People would travel with you in part or in whole distance.

So today we would call that stalking or being in my bubble, right?

And here you have Paul and his cohort of disciples and they're traveling and they arrive at this house, this house of this gentleman by the name of Mason.

And we know that Mason, it's a Greek name.

And so we can assume that Paul and his companions, his Gentile companions, they're all welcomed at Mason's home.

Now, they could have traveled to a Jewish home where the mosaic ceremony and there were different customs that were religiously observed but there might have been some tension between the people that Paul was traveling and the people that they were whose homes they would have stayed at.

And so when we consider Luke in writing Acts we have to remember that he's focusing on the redemptive story of history, the redemptive history from Jews to Gentiles.

We know that the gospel was rejected in Jerusalem and it's no surprising, it's not surprising that here he is with his Gentiles staying at Mason's home.

Now what we're going to do is we're going to continue through our verses and we're going to have 4 different signposts to help us move from the text.

And they are communion, concern, compromise, and consequence.

So let's begin with our first signpost communion verses 18 through 20.

17 through 20 verse 17 when we arrived at Jerusalem the brothers and sisters received us warmly.

The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.

Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Then they said to Paul, you see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed and all of them are zealous for the law.

Because in Acts 20 verse 16 it says that Paul decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem if possible by the day of Pentecost.

So not only do we know he's arriving somewhere around the time of Pentecost which is 50 days after Passover but we also know there's going to be a lot of people in the city of Jerusalem.

And as Paul and his companions they arrive there they're warmly greeted or received by the brothers and sisters of Christ.

Now just put yourself there in that situation, in that home, in that gathering at that time.

There's going to be a time of fellowship.

be a time of sharing there's going to be a time of communion and by communing communion I don't mean the breaking of bread that's not what we're talking about here that's probably what many of us think but they're warmly gathered together they're enjoying each other's company And remember Paul has a monetary gift.

It's about what the money symbolizes, what the money represents.

And the money represents the love that the Gentiles have for their Jewish brothers and sisters.

It's an act of unity between Jewish and Gentile believers because in the past we knew they weren't always getting along.

There was friction, there was tension, just between this group there's a lot of bitterness and so Paul is arriving here and he's got the money and I'm sure there were hugs and maybe some kisses and signs of appreciation and maybe some people are even crying and overwhelmed by this and it's a time of great joy like we sang this morning a time of great joy and they're celebrating the common unity that they have with 1 another in Christ.

And in verse 18 it says that Paul and his traveling companions, they go and they're going to see James and they're going to go and see the elders.

And this is throughout the book of Acts we see how they are reporting to the elders in Antioch.

And so they're together and they're like, okay, so tell me what happened in Ephesus?

Well, let me tell you what happened in Ephesus.

And let me tell you what happened in Greece.

Now that joke's funny because Paul was preaching so long that Eutychus fell asleep and fell 3 stories to his death.

And in verse 19 it says, Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through the ministry.

I know I maybe I said it a little quickly.

What God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

He's not a seeking employee of the month at McDonald's.

Instead he's reporting what God has done and he tells them about their last missionary journey and he tells them about the churches that they visited and he tells them about the persecutions that they face and he tells them about the salvation of the Jews and the Gentiles and you can picture them they're all together and they're just listening to this and they're filled with joy and they're really happy, right?

Paul is a great man of, he's a man of great humility.

Bill Murray probably tells himself that very thing every day as if it's Groundhog Day.

But if I'm being honest, there's a part of my old nature that wants to be told, Stephen, Good job.

I need to make sure that it doesn't rule me.

He's been consistently giving praise, giving glory, giving credit to God.

In his first missionary report, we read in Acts chapter 14, verse 27, on arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

In Acts 15, verse 12, we read, the whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

And as we read in Acts chapter 21, our passage this morning, how did the elders respond after hearing Paul's report?

They respond by praising God, by glorifying God.

You see incredible humility in both Paul's report to the elders and in the elders' response as they too give glory to God.

Persevering through persecution with purpose, praise, and prayer.

And that brings us to our second signpost, concern.

Beginning at verse 20, when they heard this, they praised God.

They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.

Yes, thousands of Jews had believed in Jesus Christ.

But the concern was that all of them, all of them, all of them were zealous for the law.

Zealous, it means to support something strongly that you believe in.

And what they believed strongly in was the law.

This is what the Jewish believers performed.

The Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, how they observed the Sabbath, what they wore, what they ate.

And although they were saved by faith through grace in Jesus Christ, they were still having a hard time separating themselves from Judaism.

Remember in Acts chapter 10, God showed Peter through a trance that there was no more dietary law.

Peter says, I've never eaten anything that is impure or unclean do not call anything impure that God has made clean the voice says and this happens 3 times and so religion for Jewish Christians was a way of life It was still part of their custom and their tradition and the transition from Judaism to Christianity, it wasn't an easy 1 and it was going to take time.

In Acts 21 verse 21, it tells us that these Jewish Christians have been informed.

The Greek word informed means they have been drilled about you.

Barking orders, screaming at people, getting them in line, putting them in shape.

There is someone here, Paul, there is someone out there that is drilling these Jewish Christians that you Paul are saying that they must turn away from Moses.

They're also saying that you teach against circumcision.

They're also saying that you are telling people that they don't have to live according to the customs.

Lie number 1, it would have been impossible to tell all of the Jews, all of the Jews, all of the Jews who live among the Gentiles these things that he was accused of saying.

Lie Number 2, there is no account of Paul telling Jews to turn away from Moses.

Lie number 3, if Paul taught against circumcision, why did he have Timothy circumcised in Acts 16?

In fact, in Galatians chapter 5, the Judaizers accused Paul of teaching circumcision.

It's the opposite of what he's being accused of now.

He might have told Gentiles that they did not have to be circumcised in order to be saved, but he never told Jews that they shouldn't be circumcised.

Number 4, there's no account of Paul telling them not to live according to their customs.

In fact, if that was true, explain how in Acts 18, Paul was recorded taking a vow.

You wouldn't have done that if he was telling them not to live according to their customs.

Actually, if you go back to the Book of Romans, and again, the Book of Romans was written prior to Paul being in Jerusalem at this time in Acts chapter 21.

He writes, 21, he writes, I'm convinced being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.

But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.

If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.

Do not by your eating destroy someone from whom Christ died.

These are, everything is a lie because what Paul is saying here is do what you have to do in order to bring somebody to Christ and don't discourage them based on your customs or your ceremonies.

This had nothing to do with truth or doctrine.

Persevering through persecution with purpose, praise, and power.

And this brings us to our third signpost, compromise.

They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you.

There are 4 men with us who have made a vow.

Take these men, join in their purification rites, and pay their expenses so that they have their heads shaved.

Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.

As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food, sacrifice to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.

The next day, Paul took the men and purified himself along with them.

Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

The elders, when hearing this, are concerned for Paul.

Many thousands, and the Greek word for thousands means thousands of thousands, so there are a lot of people, thousands of Christians have been told lies about Paul.

He's anti-Jewish, he's anti-law, he's anti-ceremony, he's anti-custom, he's anti-Judaism.

And the lies spread like fire at a stake.

And I love this definition, it's up in the chart about compromise.

It says, a compromise is not an act of weakness.

It demonstrates that you care for something or someone beyond yourself.

And as Paul is listening to the elders, again, showing that he is a man of great humility, We see this compromise.

It's a compromise of love, an act of love.

Well, if you go back, and we're not going to, but if you turn to Numbers chapter 6, the vow represented or meant that you were completely separate unto God.

All right, so you would abstain from drink.

And these signs, these things that you did show that you were separating yourself from the world and you were drawing closer to God.

And so Paul, take these men with you, do these things, purify yourself with them, and then go again.

And to show that you're really serious, why don't you go and pay their expenses because there were animals that had to be sacrificed and Paul even though he was a tent maker and he didn't have a lot of money, this would show that he was, you know, he was 1 of them.

He was doing, he was serious about this and so when the people who were accusing him of being anti all of these things they would show up and they go oh no that's impossible Paul no he's obedience to the law look he's done this and he's done that and he's done this and he's done that and so how does Paul respond?

Because His compromise did not violate any truth.

This is about ceremony and Paul's concerned with unity.

He's concerned with unity and he probably believed that through this compromise other people would know Jesus Christ that other people would know Jesus that they would know that God loves them that they would know that they're forgiven that they're accepted that they're adopted that they're redeemed that they're guaranteed a place in heaven that God will never leave them to forsake them.

Paul just wanted people to know these great truths about God, these unfathomable riches in God.

We could have power there too, but we didn't have enough time.

And this brings us to our last signpost, consequences.

And I love this little caricature up there because actions do have consequences.

Well, Paul did decide to go to Jerusalem.

They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting, Fellow Israelites, help us.

This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place.

And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.

And despite all of Paul's compromise, These accusers, they continue to make false accusations, false statements that damage Paul's reputation.

So slander is what we first see in these verses.

It says they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

There was no proof that Paul, a Jew, had taken him, a Greek, illegally into the temple.

It says the whole city, the whole city was aroused.

Imagine being Paul and the whole city wants your head.

And it says the people, they're running from all directions, that's chaos.

And it says they drag him from the temple.

And immediately the gates are, they're shut.

And so Paul, he's seized, he's grabbed, he's dragged out from the temple.

They just assume that he's guilty until proven guilty.

Verse 31, while they were trying to kill him, folks, they're trying to kill him.

While they're trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar the whole city the whole city He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd and while the rioters, okay there's rioters too, saw the commander and his soldiers.

Oh great, finally, he stops getting the beating.

Their anger is so strong that they're about to kill him.

What happens if the officers don't show up in time?

Verse 33, he's arrested, he's bound, and he's placed in barracks.

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