Traveling and Enjoying the Family of God

Traveling With and Enjoying The Family of God Acts 21.1-20 It has been a joy of mine to be able to connect with the family of God here in the United States and around the world. My first experience came early in my life. I remember staying at a pastor’s home in Norwalk CT when I was just ready to turn 14. We went up there to help with a VBS. I was with kids from this church, Brentwood, Yorktown Heights, New Jersey, Connecticut and other churches. It was a fun week. Some of those connections made in June 1970 still stand to this day. Working for the LORD is filled with joy! Walking with the LORD is too! I remember being in the Dominican Republic in January 26 years ago. We all met up at a church on Sunday. They took us in the back of the church where the pastor and family lived and we had delicious chicken and rice and beans. We had just met each other but we are family because of Jesus. I love to watch the fellowship here on Sunday after the service up here and downstairs. There are beautiful things happening in this place as well as throughout the week among God’s people. Koinonia The longer we serve Jesus the sweeter it grows. One time, a few years back, I was asked to play the guitar for the summer school when Pastor was at the Bay Shore Assembly. I went up to see him afterward and he said, “Larry, did you eat lunch?” I said I hadn’t and he ordered Chinese Food, Robert Torres picked it up and we ate together in his office, sharing God’s blessings in our lives. We will do that next Sunday as we team preach. Pastor Johnson and I will bring the Thanksgiving Message together. The sum of our ages is 161 years, the sum of time as Pastors, over 100 years now. I have enjoyed fellowship with government leaders. Photo with Angie Here in this 21st chapter of Acts we get to see the blessings of traveling for Jesus and the joy of fellowship with other believers. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. Along the way from his farewell to the Ephesian Elders which we looked at last week he had a number of encouraging encounters. We are on our way to the New Jerusalem. What an incredible journey it is! Hebrews 12.1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the cityof the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. We see God work through us. I remember a new missionary couple in their 4 wheel drive stuck in the mud in Haiti on our way to the airport. Loll got out and helped them. They did not know how to use the 4 Wheel Drive. He got in, showed them how to put it in 4 wheel drive and they were on their way to their conference. Psalm 84. 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You,     whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,     they make it a place of springs;     the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength,     till each appears before God in Zion. To quote that great theologian, Stymie, when asked, “Where are we going?” His answer, “I don’t know but we are on our way!” We do know the way! We know where we are going. Let’s look at Paul’s travels this morning and the wonderful encounters he had along the way. * The First Stop vs.1-4 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Torn away= separation, tear away We know this was emotionally painful. They were weeping and holding onto him. the disciples in Tyre Tyre= Jesus had visited there (Matthew 15.21-28) There were followers of Jesus there, probably connected with this Syro Phonecian woman. They stayed there 7 days which would have included The LORD’s Day, a time for the followers of Jesus to gather like we do. I look forward to gathering together on the first day of the week. This is what believers do. The details are not recorded. It must have been encouraging for the followers of Jesus there. It was a Gentile area. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. In less than 30 years from Pentecost the Gospel had spread all over the world! How did they do it? All they had was God and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit! The fruit of the Spirit is love. I think that is why God had the travels put in this chapter. To show hospitality, love in action. One of the greatest blessings to belonging to the Church is the community we have. There is nothing like it on the earth! The person who is in the Family of God has friends all over the world! -William Barclay God’s Family 5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home. Seven days and they became this close. I have noticed wherever I have gone in this world it does not take very long to get close to fellow believers. I grew up with prayerful departures. As a kid I even recorded a few. Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. 4 When we are called to part, it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again. 5 This glorious hope revives our courage by the way; while each in expectation lives and waits to see the day. We have hope as believers. We never say goodbye forever. Many hymns express this like the one we sang this morning. * The Second Stop v.7 7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. A short stop. Greetings= a joyful welcome Refreshed, Rest The first stop lasted a week. This one was a day. I always enjoyed stopping in to see someone, praying for them, encouraging them. Many times in my travels over the years I would try and connect with people on the way, even if was for a meal. Years ago I spoke in a church in Kentucky, that I had helped start, on the way home, went through Columbus, Ohio, to have lunch with a former District Superintendent and his wife. It was sweet fellowship. They are now in Heaven. He had spoken here back in the 1990’s after our meeting. Relationships with other Christians are so important for them and us. We need each other. We need face to face meetings, regularly. Baptist, Pentecostals, Independents, Global Methodists, even the Nazarenes! * Two More Stops on the Way to Jerusalem vs.8-10 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Philip was one of the 7 chosen to oversee the daily distribution of food in the early days of the church at Jerusalem in Acts 6. By Acts 8, everyone, except the apostles were scattered and they preached the Word wherever they went. Now he is an evangelist, what we would call a faith missionary today. Evangelists preach the Word to those who do not Christ. His four unmarried daughters prophesied. Emmanuel Robin and his father, Gideon, from Pastor Johnson’s Indian Village Mission will be here, LORD willing, the 2nd Sunday of December to give us a report of the evangelizing they are involved with there. Paul and traveling party (which included Luke) spent a number of days there. Their next stop would be Jerusalem. Caesarea is on the Mediterranean. Jerusalem in the mountains. It is 70 miles from Caesarea to Jerusalem. They would not be able to do that in one day or even two. It was at least a three days journey. Staying with Philip and his daughters must have been encouraging to the apostle and to them. Caesarea was the residence of the governor of Judea. Of course to the Jews Jerusalem was the seat of the government but they lived in occupied territory at this point. When we were having numerous teams coming to Haiti I had a three day break in between. I stayed at the home of Pastor St. Cyr and his dear wife, Eunice. I went to work with him during the day and slept at their house at night. They refreshed my heart. I would fall asleep in Delmas, Port Au Prince, in that bed and think about how he and I connected. There was a prayer group in Zephyr Hills, Florida. In it was a man by the name of Jay Bergers. I knew Jay since I was 10 years old. He asked for prayer for me. There was another man there in that prayer group by the name of Charlie Fournier. He had done work in Haiti. He told Jay to have me call him, which I did. He introduced me to Pastor St. Cyr. When I called him before I left for Haiti the third time he said, “Brother, I am here to serve you. Anything you need I will do for you if I can.” I told him I needed a place to stay in between teams. Also I needed a translator. That is how I met this man of God. He sent Jhon to us. He is helping us with he container going down soon. * The Final Stop before Jerusalem vs.15-16 15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples. I love this some joined in with Paul’s traveling party and brought him to a home where he stayed before arriving at Jerusalem. I love how kids followed us around in Haiti’s mountains! Notice at this point Paul has been staying at homes of followers of Christ. The promise made by Jesus in Mark 10. 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. The apostle Paul left home, his family for the Gospel. He had a home in Tarsus which he rented. He lived in Jerusalem at the time of the beginnings of the Church. He traveled the world for Jesus, telling all of the way to Salvation. He stayed in homes from the time he left the Ephesian Elders until he arrived in Jerusalem. The blessings of following Jesus. I have received many invites through our livestream and mission work. I wish I could respond to them all in person, bring some of you with me. Years ago, A missionary from Taiwan was here. He had flown in and out of New York many times and seen the Empire State Building from a plane, but he had never gone up in it. His name was Jack Holstead. He had the day off which interestingly was St. Patty’s Day so I took him to city so he could go up on it. We did. On the way home we called Pastor Kuo on a pay phone (that tells you how long ago that was!) Pastor David and Mae Kuo had come from Taiwan to begin a church for the Chinese people in Manhattan, in Chinatown. I have been there many times. I could hear Jack speaking Mandarin Chinese to them on the phone. They were insisting that we come to their apartment there in the city. He had to tell them we did not have time. He said, “They were pleading with me for us to go.” Photo Kingdom work is wonderful filled. The connections we make are thrilling. They go around the world. We are all part of this because this is a House of Prayer for all Nations. The future is bright in the Kingdom of God. God is working in you and I. Wonderful things are going out of this church for the glory of God! Actually all three churches. To Him be all the glory! * Finally A Warm Welcome In Jerusalem by the Church there. They got to hear Paul’s wonderful report. I think we will with those men from India next month. This Pharisee of Pharisees was being by the LORD to lead many to Christ, many Gentiles! The joy of sharing a good report. The blessing of listening! So there is the journey to Jerusalem. Look at the places Paul stayed on the way! So on your journey to the New Jerusalem God has prepared blessings ahead. Give Him thanks for the people in the past He has blessed you with. Hymn #543 The Family of God