The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.”And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou hast testified concerning me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
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… and bring him to the barracks. And the following night the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul, for you've testified of me in Jerusalem and now you're gonna also bear witness in Rome. We'll stop there. So here is Paul in prison again. I mean, Paul's middle name could have been Trouble. It was always something with him. Everywhere he went, it was either a riot or a revival. There was never a dull day hanging around the apostle Paul. But I think here, he was probably discouraged. He was probably feeling down. And it's no wonder. He's in a Roman dungeon. And the Lord says to him, Paul, be of good cheer. But actually, if we look at the original language, we find a better translation would be, have courage. And that makes a lot more sense. It's a unique phrase that is used multiple times in the Bible, each one showing a different facet of how to find courage in our lives. The first is the story of a man who was a paraplegic in Matthew 9. He was carried by his friends to Jesus. And Jesus looks at this guy who is unable to walk. And he says to him, be of good courage. Your sins are forgiven. Now the guy was probably thinking, well, okay, I'm glad my sins are forgiven, but I'd actually like to walk. That was kind of why I was brought here to you. And there's a protest among the religious leaders who can forgive sins but God …
… from among them and bring him to the barracks. And the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul. for you've testified of me in Jerusalem, and now you're gonna also bear witness in Rome. We'll stop there. So here is Paul in prison again. I mean, Paul's middle name could have been Trouble. It was always something with him. Everywhere he went, it was either a riot or a revival. There was never a dull day hanging around the apostle Paul, but I think here he was probably discouraged. He was probably feeling down. And it's no wonder. He's in a Roman dungeon. And now the Lord comes to him and brings these encouraging words. Verse 11 says, The following night the Lord stood by him. Maybe he second guessed his decision to go to Jerusalem. Maybe he thought, I shouldn't have done this. Maybe I should have listened to Agabus after all. And the Lord appears to him and encourages him. and the Lord says to him, Paul, be of good cheer. …
… are going. Now listen to me, folks. God had a plan, and God's plan was to get Paul to Rome. In Acts chapter 23, verse 11, God had said to Paul, thou must bear witness also at Rome. No ifs, and what's about it. God had predetermined that. In Acts 28, verse 14, after this 27th chapter, it says, and so we went toward Rome. I don't know a better illustration in the Word of God than this that shows divine sovereignty and human responsibility at the same time. Was it God's plan that that ship set sail? No. God had told Paul with spiritual radar, don't sail. That was not the plan of a loving God. But did that stop God's ultimate plan? Absolutely not. What was on that ship? Well, Paul was on that ship. I'll tell you what else was on that ship. Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians was on that ship. I'll tell you what else was on that ship. The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts was on that ship. I'll tell you what else was on that ship the sovereign will of Almighty God. And every bad decision they made could not overrule the will of God. Isn't that amazing? Where God does not rule, God overrules. If you ever get on one of these great big airplanes going overseas, say a 747, you can sleep or get a drink of water, eat or not eat, have a Coke or a coffee, whatever you want. But friend, while …