May 8, 2022 Text: Acts 20:17-35
Dear Friends in Christ,
It’s mid-morning on September 11, 2001 and Delta Airlines Flight 15 from Frankfurt, Germany to Atlanta, Georgia has been in the air for five hours. Then with little warning the plane was routed to land at the airport in Gander, Newfoundland. When they land the passengers see that there are 20 other planes on the ground. What is going on? The captain finally gives them the scoop. He shares the little he knows about the terrorists’ attacks.
Life for these people is going to get challenging. They do not know the whole situation. They will not be let off the plane in the immediate future. By nightfall 53 planes would be on the tarmac in Gander. Wait. Patience. Very little information. What to do?
The Apostle Paul in our text this morning is also on a journey. He has made his way to Ephesus. He is going to address the elders of this early church. Paul is traveling and where the Spirit is leading him and in what way is on his mind.
“WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME THERE?”
Do you ever utter those words? What will happen to me there? “Yes, we have the result of your scan, can you come to our office tomorrow?” “Hello this is Barnes from the IRS there is a discrepancy in your tax return. I’d like to set up an appointment.” “Good morning, Mrs. Newman, this is Principal Fike, would it be possible to get together later this week, to discuss something about Cassandra?” Paul in verse 22, “I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there.” Will it be imprisonment? Will it be affliction? Will he receive pressure from all sides? What is going to happen?
The passengers in Gander had to be thinking the same thing, wouldn’t you? They have been assured of medical attention, water, and bathroom service. Which is a positive because one of the passengers is 33 weeks into her pregnancy. Finally, some concrete news. They will start deplaning all 53 jets. Delta 15 is scheduled for 11 a.m. the next morning. You can imagine the grumbling. A night on a plane.
Paul is not just concerned about his trip to Jerusalem he is also building up the brethren in Ephesus. They too will face grumbling. We cherish the success of the early church, but it was not so rosy most of the time. Paul knows that when he leaves there will be wolves ready to pounce on the flock. There will be men who will twist words and confuse the people. This church needs to be on alert. What is going to happen next?
How do you approach your “what is going to happen next” situations? Fear? Anxiety? Trust in the Lord? Paul I am sure had these range of emotions. But Paul knew wholeheartedly what He had received from the Lord Jesus. He had received the Gospel and through it the grace of God. This was a changed man.
We too are changed men and women. When we face the unknown, when we get worked up about “what will happen there?” we have a Savior who empathizes. He cares. He loves. He directs. God directed His Son to a cross on Calvary, a journey if you will with many uncomfortable and painful situations along the way. Everywhere he went in that time period was directed by someone else. He was pushed and shoved and made to carry a cross. He finally landed on a hill and was raised to the sky. His death was a forgiveness for our fears and anxieties about the unknown. His resurrection assured us that while life may take our plane down in a strange town, our final destination is an eternal city where “they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore…the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
While the Delta 15 flight crew disembarked to a local hotel, the passengers were sent to Lewisporte about 40 miles away. Schools and gathering halls and churches set up accommodations. Elderly went to private homes. Families were kept together. Remember the pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home across the street from a 24-hour urgent care. The local high schoolers took care of their guests. Phone and e-mail were available. Local excursions were planned. Food and laundry and all their other needs were met. Paul concludes our text with these words, “we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” The Gospel Paul preached centered on giving. God gives forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus. God’s heirs, you and I, give to others based on what God has given to us.
When finally allowed to go home, the plane was one big party. The passengers had bonded. Then this happened. A passenger was allowed to speak over the PA. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received from strangers. He said he was going to set up a trust fund for the high school students of Lewisporte. By the time the paper got back to the crew $14,000 had been promised. That fund today has $1.5 million and has helped around 135 students. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
What “what is going to happen to me there” moment awaits you? Trust in the Lord Jesus because He is watching out for you.
Amen.