Politics & Religion

16 POLITICS & RELIGION (Acts 21:18 – 23:35)
The future of the gospel was at stake, as powerful forces raged for and against it. On the one hand, the Jewish persecutors were prejudiced and violent. On the other hand, the Romans were open-minded and went out of their way to maintain the standards of law, justice and order of which their best leaders were understandably proud.
Between these two powers, religious and civil, hostile and friendly, Jerusalem and Rome, Paul found himself trapped, unarmed and totally vulnerable. One cannot help admiring his courage, especially when he stood on the steps of Fortress Antonia, facing an angry crowd which had just severely manhandled him, with no power but the Word and the Spirit of God. The source of his courage was his serene confidence in the truth. And he knew that his Lord and Savior was with him and would keep his promise that he would bear witness someday, somehow, in Rome.
Summary: We have already seen Paul’s conciliatory spirit in accepting the Jerusalem decrees and circumcising Timothy. Now, in the same tolerant spirit, he was prepared to undergo some purification rituals in order to pacify Jewish scruples. James seems to have gone too far in expecting Paul to live “in obedience to the law” in all matters and at all times, if that was what he meant (21:24). But Paul was certainly ready to do so for the sake of Jewish-Gentile solidarity. According to Paul’s conviction, Jewish cultural practices belonged to the “matters indifferent,” from which he had been liberated, but which he might or might not himself practice according to the circumstances.
James manifested a similarly sweet and generous mind both by praising God for the Gentile mission and by accepting the offering from the Gentile churches. The unbending prejudice and fanatical violence of the unbelieving Jews, which Luke now describes, stands out in ugly contrast to the cooperation between Paul and James.
The Jews misunderstood both Stephen and Paul, just as they had misunderstood Jesus. Jesus spoke of himself as the fulfillment of the temple, the people and the law, and Stephen and Paul followed suit. This was not to denigrate them, however, but to reveal their true glory.
Gentiles were permitted to enter only the outer court, the Court of the Gentiles. According to Josephus, beyond this, and preventing access into the Court of Israel, there was “a stone wall for a partition,” four and a half feet high, “with an inscription which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death.” The Roman government had given the Jews permission to kill any non-Jews who went beyond the barricade, even Roman citizens. Paul was surely thinking of this barrier when he wrote of “the dividing wall of hostility” between Jews and Gentiles.
In 22:22 Paul is interrupted by the crowd, who demanded his death. In the eyes of Jews proselytism (making Gentiles into Jews) was fine; but evangelism (making Gentiles into Christians without first making them Jews) was an abomination. It was tantamount to saying that Jews and Gentiles were equal, for they both needed to come to God through Christ and that on identical terms.
Open
What examples of religious and political conflict throughout the world do you know of?
Study
1. Read Acts 21:18-26. Paul and his companions have been received warmly at Jerusalem. In your own words, describe the interaction between Paul and James.
2. To what extent were both men willing to go for the sake of Jewish-Gentile solidarity?
3. Though they were willing to make concessions when it came to cultural and traditional practice was there any difference between them doctrinally and ethically? Explain.
4. How willing are you, would you say, to compromise on the nonessentials of the faith for the purpose of solidarity with your Christian brothers and sisters?
5. Read Acts 21:27-36. What two accusations are made against Paul by the angry crowd?
6. How were these accusations both inaccurate and ironical?
7. Read Acts 21:37 – 22:29. In what ways did Paul demonstrate sensitivity to the crowd as he boldly made his speech of defense?
8. How do Roman law and justice come to Paul’s aid (22:24-29)?
9. Read Acts 22:30 – 23:35. Ananias ordered Paul to be struck in the mouth when he said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day” (23:1-2). What was Paul claiming about himself?
10. How does your own purpose in life compare with Paul’s statement?
11. What is the source of the conflict between the Sadducees and the Pharisees (23:6-10)?
12. What effect do you think the Lord’s appearance and message had on Paul as you consider what he had been through and what he had yet to face?
13. How do you see God continuing to protect Paul in 23:12-35?
Apply
In what ways are you like and unlike Paul in your response when you are falsely accused? In what ways would you like to emulate Paul in your commitment to the gospel of Christ? What do you need for this to happen?
PrayAsk God to help you to listen long and hard before you speak to those you disagree with, both Christians and others.

The Gospel on Trial

17 THE GOSPEL ON TRIAL (Acts 24 – 26)
Jerusalem and Rome were the centers of two enormously strong power blocs. The faith of Jerusalem went back two millennia to Abraham. The rule of Rome extended some three million square miles around the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem’s strength lay in history and tradition, Rome’s in conquest and organization. Their combined might was over-whelming. If a solitary dissident like Paul were to set himself against them, the outcome could be inevitable. His chances of survival would resemble those of a butterfly before a steamroller. He would be crushed, utterly obliterated from the face of the earth.
Yet such an outcome, we may confidently affirm, never even entered Paul’s mind as a possibility. For he saw the situation from an entirely different perspective. He was no traitor to either church or state that he should come into collision with them, although this is how his accusers tried to frame him. Paul’s contention, while on trial, was that in principle the gospel both supports the rule of Caesar and fulfills the hope of Israel. He presents himself as both a loyal citizen of Rome and a loyal son of Israel.
The gospel is on trial today. May we share the confidence and courage of Paul as we live and speak its defense?
Summary: Drusilla, the wife of Felix, was the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, whose opposition and death Luke has described earlier (12:1-23). She had a reputation for ravishing youthful beauty, on account of which Felix, with the aid of a Cypriot magician, had seduced her from her rightful husband and secured her for himself. She was in fact his third wife. The lax morals of Felix and Drusilla help to explain the topics Paul addressed.
There was to be no further public hearing for two years. During this period, however, Felix conducted a kind of private investigation of his own. He frequently sent for Paul and talked with him. Luke is explicit that he hoped for a bribe. It would be cynical to suppose, however, that Felix’s only motive was to hold Paul for ransom. I think he knew that Paul had something more precious than money, something which money cannot buy. If his conscience had been aroused by Paul’s teaching, then he must have been seeking forgiveness and peace. Certainly the release of Felix from sin meant more to Paul than his own release from prison. But unfortunately there is no evidence that Felix ever capitulated to Christ and was redeemed. On the contrary, Felix left Paul in prison for his successor.
Herod Agrippa II was the son of Herod Agrippa I and the great-grandson of Herod the Great. Bernice was his sister, and rumors were rife that their relationship was incestuous. Paul’s trial before Agrippa is the longest and most elaborate.
Read Acts 25:23 – 26:32. It was a dramatic moment when the holy and humble apostle of Jesus Christ stood before this representative of the worldly, ambitious, morally corrupt family of the Herods who for generation after generation had set themselves in opposition to truth and righteousness. “Their founder, Herod the Great,” wrote R. B. Rackham in The Acts of the Apostles “had tried to destroy the infant Jesus.” His son Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, beheaded John the Baptist, and won from the Lord the title of “fox.” His grandson Agrippa I slew James the son of Zebedee with the sword. Now we see Paul brought before Agrippa’s son. But Paul was not the least intimidated.
The commissioning of Saul as Christ’s apostle was deliberately shaped to resemble the call of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and others to be God’s prophets. In both cases the language of “sending” was used. As God “sent” his prophets to announce his word to his people, so Christ “sent” apostles to preach and teach in his name, including Paul, who was now “sent” to the Gentiles.
Luke’s purpose in describing the three court scenes was not just apologetic, but evangelistic. He wanted his readers to remember that Paul had been commissioned to be Christ’s servant and witness. Thank God for Paul’s courage! Jesus had warned his disciples that they would be “brought before kings and governors” on account of his name, and had promised that on such occasions he would give them “words and wisdom” (Luke 21:12-15). Jesus had also told Ananias (who had presumably passed the information on) that Paul was his “chosen instrument” to carry his name “before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). These predictions had come true, and Paul had not failed. Christ had commissioned him personally and directly, and he had not been disobedient to this heavenly vision!
Open
How do you feel/respond when you know of or experience injustice in a court system?
Study
In the previous chapter Felix had read the letter from Claudius Lysias and sent to Jerusalem for Paul’s accusers. In the meantime he kept him in custody in Caesarea. Five days later the high priest came and opened the prosecution.
Read Acts 24. As a trained and experienced professional lawyer, Tertullus began with an endeavor to capture the judge’s good will. Traditionally, it was complimentary to the point of hypocrisy and often included a promise of brevity, but on this occasion it descended to “almost nauseating flattery.” For Tertullus expressed gratitude for the “peace” Felix had secured and the “reforms” he had introduced, whereas in reality he had put down several insurrections with such barbarous brutality that he earned for himself the horror, not the thanks, of the Jewish population.
1. What three charges did Tertullus make against Paul (24:5-6)?
2. How did Paul speak to each of the accusations?
3. What four affirmations does he state in 24:14-16?
4. Why did Felix not come to any decision about Paul (24:26-27)?
5. Read Acts 25:1-22. What kind of a person does think Festus is based on the description of him and his actions in chapter 25?
6. Why do you think Paul requested to be tried in Caesar’s court (25:10-11)?
7. In Festus’s report to Agrippa, what is the main point about Christianity that he mentions (25:18-19)?
8. Why does Paul say that he is on trial (26:6-8)?
9. What are the main points about himself that Paul highlights for King Agrippa?
10. What is Paul’s commission from Jesus Christ according to 26:15-18?
11. How is Paul’s heart’s desire and commitment to this commission again communicated in his final interaction with Agrippa in 26:26-29?
Apply
What do you think that most people remember about Christianity from your witness? To what degree in Paul’s commission from Jesus Christ your own?
PrayThank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to place in you a burning desire that your friends come to Christ.

Saying Goodbye

15 SAYING GOODBYE (Acts 20:1 – 21:17)

When Paul said goodbye to the leaders at Ephesus, it was the only address in Acts to a Christian audience. The leaders that are addressed are called “elders,” “pastors” and “overseers.” In our day when there is much confusion about the nature and purpose of the pastoral ministry, and much questioning about whether clergy are primarily social workers, psychotherapists, educators, facilitators or administrators, it is important to rehabilitate the noble word pastors. They are the shepherds of Christ’s sheep, called to tend, feed and protect.

Paul had taken his call as pastor seriously. He had poured his life into the Ephesians, lived well before them and was now leaving them, putting the care of the church in their hands.

I imagine that Paul’s encouragement took the form of an exhortation similar to the one he would later give to their pastors in Miletus. It is noteworthy that Paul hardly ever traveled alone, and that when he was alone, he expressed his longing for human companionship. That he favored teamwork is especially clear during his missionary journeys. On this journey he was accompanied by men that represented each of the areas he had ministered to and would be visiting.

Summary: Each of the three persons of the Trinity has a share in overseeing the church. To begin with, the church is “God’s church.” Next, we read that he bought it with his own blood – the blood of Christ. And over this church the Holy Spirit appoints overseers. This splendid Trinitarian affirmation should humble us to remember that the church is not ours, but God’s. And it should inspire us to faithfulness. The people of the church are the flock of God the Father, purchased by the precious blood of God the Son, and supervised by overseers appointed by God the Holy Spirit. If the three persons of the Trinity are thus committed to the welfare of the people, should we not be also?

From Richard Baxter’s great book The Reformed Pastor:

Oh then, let us hear these arguments of Christ, wherever we feel ourselves grow dull and careless: “Did I die for them, and wilt not thou look after them? Were they worth my blood and are they not worth thy labor? Did I come down from heaven to earth, to seek and to save that which was lost; and wilt thou not go to the next door or street or village to seek them? How small is thy labor and condescension as to mine? I debased myself to this, but it is thy honor to be so employed. Have I done and suffered so much for their salvation; and was I willing to make thee a co-worker with me, and wilt thou refuse that little that lieth upon thy hands?

What fortified Paul in his journey was the Christian fellowship which he and his travel companions experienced in every port. He was personally escorted from Caesarea by disciples to Jerusalem where he was received warmly. It would be an exaggeration to call this Paul’s “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem. But at least his warm reception strengthened him to bear the crowd’s shouts a few days later “Away with him!”

Open

Describe a time when you said a painful goodbye.

Study

1. Read Acts 20:1-12. In 20:1-5 what characteristics of Paul’s ministry do you see?

2. How do you think you would have been affected by the worship service at Troas (20:7-12)?

3. Read Acts 20:13-38. How would you describe the tone of this passage?

4. How did Paul describe himself and his ministry among the Ephesians (20:18-35)?

5. How was Paul affected by the warnings of future suffering and death (20:22-24)?

6. What does he instruct the Christian leaders to do (20:28-31)?

7. What do Paul’s instructions about the sheep he is leaving in their care communicate about their value (20:28)?

8. Why was Paul not afraid to leave the leaders and the church in their care?

9. Read Acts 21:1-17. What continued warnings did Paul receive about going to Jerusalem?

10. How did he respond to those warnings?

11. How do you think those observing Paul was affected by his single-mindedness?

Apply

How do your priorities compare and contrast with those of Paul? What would you like to be able to say about yourself and about your ministry at the end of your life? What steps do you need to take now in order for that to happen?

Pray

Praise the Holy Spirit for his faithfulness in pointing us to Jesus. Ask him to stir your heart toward single-mindedness in obedience to Jesus and living a life whose total purpose is to bring glory to his name.

Good News Strategy

14 GOOD NEWS STRATEGY (Acts 18 – 19)

As we watch Paul travel and proclaim the good news of Christ, we see a pattern that he follows when he enters each city. It is no different in Corinth and Ephesus. His first attempt is to persuade the Jews concerning Jesus. He begins in the synagogue where they meet, study Scripture and pray. But when the Jews reject his message he turns to the Gentiles. In both cities Paul’s bold step of going to the Gentiles was vindicated by many people hearing and believing the gospel.

A well-thought-through strategy is vital if we are to engage the world with the message that can change it.

Summary: This message is couched in the language used by God himself in the Old Testament when addressing his servants. Both the prohibition “Do not be afraid” and the promise “I am with you” were repeatedly given. Now Jesus said the same things to Paul. He was to continue witnessing fortified by the presence and the protection of Christ, and by the assurance that Christ had in Corinth “many people.” They had not yet believed in him, but they would do so, because already according to his purpose they belonged to him.

This conviction is the greatest of all encouragements to an evangelist. Strengthened by it, Paul stayed for a year and a half in Corinth, teaching them the word of God (18:11). For the word of God are the divinely appointed means by which people come to put their trust in Christ and so identifying them as his.

Read Acts 18:18-28. Paul left Corinth accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila and went to Ephesus, left Priscilla and Aquila there and continued to travel throughout the area where he had gone on one of his first missionary journeys. His purpose was to strengthen the disciples.

Luke wanted to show that Rome had no case against Christianity in general or Paul in particular. In Corinth the proconsul Gallio had refused even to hear the Jews’ charge. In Ephesus the town clerk implied that the opposition was purely emotional and that the Christians, being innocent, had nothing to fear from duly constituted legal processes. Thus the impartiality of Gallio, the friendship of Asiarchs and the cool reasonableness of the city clerk combined to give the gospel freedom to continue on its victorious course.

When we contrast much contemporary evangelism with Paul’s, its shallowness is immediately shown up. Our evangelism tends to be focused on simply inviting people to church. Paul also took the gospel out into the secular world. Our evangelism appeals to the emotions for a decision without an adequate basis of understanding. Paul taught, reasoned and tried to persuade. Our evangelism is superficial, making brief encounters and expecting quick results. Paul stayed in Corinth and Ephesus for five years, faithfully sowing gospel seed and in due time reaping a harvest.

Open

How does the idea of having a strategy for evangelism strike you?

Study

1. Read Acts 18:1-18. What do you learn about Paul in 18:1-4?

2. What drastic action did Paul take when the Jews resisted his message this time (18:6-7)? What are the consequences (vv. 8-10, 12-15)?

3. If you were Paul, how would you have felt when you received Jesus’ message in verses 9-10? How did Paul respond?

4. What do you learn about Apollos in 18:24-28?

5. How is Aquila and Priscilla’s response to him an example to us?

6. Read Acts 19:1-22. As you look through these verses, what good fruit do you see from Paul’s ministry in Ephesus?

7. What opposition did Paul encounter?

8. Read Acts 19:23-41. What were the stated reasons and the real reason for the opposition (19:23-34)?

9. What is the significance of the fact that this is the second time (first in Corinth and now in Ephesus) that the Roman law protected Paul in his ministry?

10. In spite of the obvious cultural differences between first-century cities in the Roman Empire and the great urban complexes of today, there are also similarities. What lessons can we learn from Paul’s ministry in Corinth and Ephesus about the how, the where and the when of urban evangelism?

Apply

The term tentmaker comes from the fact that Paul worked as a tentmaker on his second missionary journey. What are reasons for tentmakers in modern missions? How does this story of Paul at Corinth and Ephesus challenge you to become a more effective proclaimed of the gospel?

Pray

Thank the Lord Jesus that he will help you grow as a messenger of his truth.

City Of Idols

13 CITY OF IDOLS (Acts 17:16-34)

Idols are not limited to primitive societies; there are many sophisticated idols too. An idol is a God substitute. Any person or thing that occupies the place which God should occupy is an idol. Covetousness is idolatry. Ideologies can be idolatries. So can fame, wealth and power, sex, food, alcohol and other drugs. People can be idols – parents, spouse, children and friends. The possibilities extend further to work, recreation, television and possessions. Even church, religion and Christian service can be idolized.

Idols seem particularly dominant in cities. Paul was deeply pained by the idolatrous city of Athens. It was a city of aesthetic magnificence and cultural sophistication, as well as being the world center of pagan philosophy and religion. How do we communicate Jesus Christ to such a city? Paul gave us a marvelous example when he visited Athens.

The clue to interpreting the nature of Paul’s emotion is that the verb that is translated “greatly distressed” is also used in the Greek version of the Old Testament to describe the reaction of the Holy One of Israel to idolatry. Thus, when the Israelites made the golden calf at Mount Sinai, and when later they were guilty of gross idolatry and immorality in relation to the Baal of Peor, they “provoked” the Lord God to anger. So Paul was “provoked” (RSV) by idolatry and provoked to anger, grief and indignation, just as God is himself, and for the same reason, namely for the honor and glory of his name.

Summary: The Areopagus address reveals the comprehensiveness of Paul’s message. He proclaimed God in his fullness as Creator, Sustainer, Ruler, Father and Judge. He took in the whole of nature and of history. He passed the whole of time in review, from the creation to the consummation. He emphasized the greatness of God, not only as the beginning and the end of all things, but as the One to whom we owe our being and to whom we must give account. He argued that human beings already know these things by natural or general revelation, and that their ignorance and idolatry are therefore inexcusable. So he called on them with great solemnity, before it was too late, to repent.

It is not only the comprehensiveness of Paul’s message in Athens which is impressive, however, but also the depth and power of his motivation. Why it that, in spite of the great needs is and opportunities of our day, the church slumbers peacefully on, and that so many Christians are deaf and dumb, deaf to Christ’s commission and tongue-tied in testimony? I think the major reason is this: we do not speak as Paul spoke because we do not feel as Paul felt. And this is because we do not see like Paul. When Paul walked around Athens, he did not just “notice” the idols. He looked and looked, and thought and thought, until the fires of holy indignation were kindled within him. For he saw men and women, created by God in the image of God, giving to idols the homage which was due to God alone. We constantly pray “Hallowed be your Name,” but we do not seem to mean it, or to care that his name is so widely profaned.

Open

What philosophies and pagan religions do you encounter in your world?

Study

1. Read Acts 17:16-34. What caught Paul’s attention immediately about Athens? What did he feel about what he saw?

2. Jesus wept over the impenitent city of Jerusalem. What are the idols in your city?

3. What did Paul do in response to what he saw and felt?

4. It is impressive that Paul was able to speak with equal ease to religious people in the synagogue, to casual passers-by in the city square and to highly sophisticated philosophers. How does Paul open his sermon at the meeting of the Aeropagus (vv. 22-23)?

5. What does his approach to the men and women of the Aeropagus model to us as we consider influencing those in our culture with the message about Jesus?

6. What five things does Paul say about God?

7. What is the significance to the people of Athens that God is the Creator of the universe (vv. 24-27)?

8. Why was it important for Paul to tell the people that God is the Sustainer of life (v. 28)?

9. How did Paul call them to repentance (vv. 29-31)?

10. What different responses to Paul’s message do you see throughout this passage?

11. Compare and contrast the responses to Paul’s message about Jesus to the responses you see today.

Apply

When have you been provoked by the idolatrous cities of the contemporary world? What might it take for the church of Jesus Christ to wake up today?

Pray

Ask God to give you eyes to see where he is being replaced by things and philosophies and to respond to what you see with a passion to proclaim truth and to honor his name.

12 FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT (Acts 16:6 – 17:15)

12 FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT (Acts 16:6 – 17:15)

God had appointments for Paul with individuals in Macedonia. The first was with Lydia at the river on a Saturday afternoon. The second was with a slave girl who earned money for her owner by telling the future, and the third was with a jailor and his family at Philippi. Getting him to those appointments was not easy, but the Holy Spirit got them there. To do this, he closed some doors of opportunity and opened others. Paul overcame human barriers when he took the gospel to these individuals. There now was no difference between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave or free – when it came to the gospel of Christ.

We do not have to beg the Holy Spirit to guide us. But like Paul, we need to seek that guidance as we are faithful to what we already know to be God’s will and as we trust God even when we cannot explain what he is doing.

The most notable feature of Paul’s second missionary expedition, which Luke narrates in these chapters, is that during it the good seed of the gospel was now for the first time planted in European soil. It was from Europe that in due course the gospel fanned out to the great continents of Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America and Oceania and so reached the ends of the earth.

In The Acts of the Holy Spirit A. T. Pierson gave some examples from the history of missions of this same kind of guidance: Livingstone tried to go to China, but God sent him to Africa instead. Before him, Carey planned to go to Polynesia in the South Seas, but God guided him to India. Judson went to India first, but was driven on to Burma. We too in our day, Pierson concludes, “need to trust him for guidance and rejoice equally in his restraints and constraints” ([Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1895], pp. 120-22).

Summary: It was inevitable in Jewish evangelism that the Old Testament Scriptures should be both the textbook and the court of appeal. What is impressive is that neither speaker nor hearers used Scripture in a superficial way. On the contrary, Paul “argues” out of the Scripture and the Bereans “examined” them to see if his arguments were cogent. And we may be sure that Paul welcomed and encouraged this thoughtful response. He believed in doctrine (his message had theological content), but not in indoctrination (tyrannical instruction demanding uncritical acceptance). Thus Paul’s arguments and his hearers’ studies went hand in hand. I do not doubt that he also bathed both in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit of truth to open his mouth to explain, and his hearers’ minds to grasp, the good news of salvation in Christ.

Open

What are your greatest fears about being guided by God?

1. Read Acts 16:6-15. What specific instructions and direction did Paul and his companions receive from the Holy Spirit?

2. How do you see the Holy Spirit honor and work through their obedience throughout this passage?

3. What principles of guidance do you see in the experience of Paul and his companions?

4. When have you experienced guidance in the way that Paul and Silas did?

5. Read Acts 16:16-40. What opposition was there to Paul and his message?

6. What was the motivation behind the owners of the slave girl dragging Paul and Silas to the authorities (vv. 19-21)?

7. Describe Paul and Silas’s response to being flogged and thrown into prison (vv. 25-28).

8. Why do you think the jailer asked the question “What must I do to be saved?”

9. How does the response of the jailer (vv. 31-34) compare to Lydia’s response to the gospel (vv. 14-15, 40)? What does this tell you about the nature of the gospel?

10. Think of the three individuals (Lydia, a businesswoman; the slave girl and the jail keeper) who probably became Christians and were the core of the new Philippians church. How does this new church demonstrate the unifying power of the gospel?

11. The book of Acts demonstrates God’s desire to reach individuals as well as the world. What would have been the consequence if Paul had not responded to the Macedonia call?

12. Read Acts 17:1-15. What verbs describe Paul’s approach to the Thessalonians and their response (vv. 1-4)? What verbs describe the response of the Bereans to Paul’s teaching (vv. 11-12)?

13. Compare and contrast the response of the Thessalonians and the Bereans to the gospel.

Apply

How have you witnessed the power of the gospel to change lives? How might God be guiding you to serve him?

Pray

Quietly reflect on how God has led you in the past. Thank him for his faithfulness. Commit your present and future to him now. Talk to him about your fears, desires and commitment to following him.