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Speaker 2God, how how true your love, so amazing, so divine, demands our life, our all. And, Lord, we we recognize we we fall short to give you, all of us. But, Lord, right here and and right now, we'd like to to commit ourselves to you once again and, call on you and and just thank you, God. Thank you for the the great gift of mercy and grace you have so generously poured out on us. How often, God, we don't meditate on that and rest in that, and, and thank you for that.
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And so we wanna take this this time, this opportunity right here, to just thank you, to praise you, to call on you, and rest in your grace, and be filled up by your peace, and and really to to grab hold of what you're offering. Thank you, loving father. We praise you in Jesus' name.
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Speaker 1Amen.
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Speaker 2God, thank you for that that, you have given us your spirit. When you ascended, you promised, your spirit, to live in us, to live through us. And what a gift that is, God. Feel that that the presence of the Holy Spirit and and also, Lord, it it it takes away some of that loneliness we can often feel. And so I truly thank you, for, for being with us, for being near us.
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Amen.
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Speaker 1I was thinking of Paul last week and how, yes, the angels appearing to him and during the midst of all that storm, he was saying that. I will trust in you. You are my hiding place and I will trust in Whoo. It's been Tanya and Pascal. If y'all don't know this, my wife and my little girl are in Kenya right now.
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They're serving on a short term mission trip for three weeks at the Togoni School, Tigone Baptist Academy. Most of y'all know that. So, my life is a little different when they're not around. So, it's been since Tuesday that they were gone and I was going to mention Steven Sandy Landis' daughter, Melissa. Y'all know Melissa.
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She left this morning on a plane heading back to serve and continue on mission and so, I know that those are just the foreign field missionaries that I'm mentioning this morning but I'm going I want to mention em because I want you to keep on praying for em. It's been a long time coming and this I thought was an appropriate verse. This is from the fourteenth verses, the latter half of the fourteenth verse of Acts 28. Acts 28 is the last chapter in Acts. What are we going to do next week?
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Acts 28 and thus, we came to Rome. We've had Jesus forecast this to Paul that he would speak before Caesar and we have had Paul saying this on the ship that he had to stand trial. The angel revealed it to him and thus, we came to Rome. This week, this is where we're going to go. We're going to walk right through verses 11 through 31.
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I'll come back at the end and I will try to make a preacherly three points at the end but I want to walk through to begin with. Just walk straight through the the text. And so, Paul arrives at Rome. It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island. Now, remember when we left them last week, they were wintering on the island of Malta after the snake bite, after the shipwreck.
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It had been a tough time, but they spent three months there. It was probably mid November, just judging by weather and by a few other factors, mid November that they had their shipwrecked, and it probably about mid February, so right about now that they were leaving and heading out. Three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island. It was an Alexandrian ship, it's a huge shipping center, I've talked about that before. One of the other ships that they were on was Alexander.
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In fact, the one that broke all the pieces last week. That was also an Alexandrian ship and it's funny that Luke mentions with the Dias Kurois at its figurehead. Now, I didn't put the translation because you see it variously translated depending on your version. It'll say, either twin brothers, twin sons, twin gods, or it'll name em, Castor and Pollux. I think that this is funny.
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This is the reason I include it. Dioskurois. If you're looking at that, it looks like Dios and Kurois. It is a hopax legomena. Whoo.
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Big seminary word. That means there's only, it is only used one time in the New Testament. Seminary students love this kind of stuff. It's one time that this word is used. Dioskeroi, the twin sons of Zeus, Castor and Pollux.
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They are the mythological twins of the constellation Gemini. If you look back in the Greek mythology and even since then, sailors and fishermen, you all know, have tons and tons and tons of superstitions. One of the superstitions is that Castor and Pollux, the sons of Zeus were the ones who protected people at sea. Seafarers. So it's funny that they just got off of a shipwreck and Paul knows and Luke knows who it was that protected them through the storm and he gives all the credit in that previous chapter but then when they get on, they look up and they've got these twin brother gods or demigods depending on who you listen to And when you sail, if you see the constellation in the night sky, you see Gemini, it's supposed to be good luck and good sailing.
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Well, if you can see the stars at all, it's probably good chance that it's good luck and good sailing. But just so you'll remember, last week, these two, they come to the second service so I'll I'll leave the slide out there. No, I won't. Our first stop, this Luke says, our first stop because he was with him when they left Malta. Our first stop was Syracuse, not New York, but Syracuse, Sicily where we stayed for three days.
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From there, we sailed across to Regium. Regium is right there. They're actually on the Mainland Of Italy for the first time. So this is pretty cool. A day later, a south wind began blowing.
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So the following day, we sailed up the coast to Putioli. All the way up to Putioli. Putioli actually means to stink. Putera is to stink in Latin. So it's a stinking sulfur pot.
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It's an awful smelling place. It's just above Naples and actually Naples kind of stinks too. But anyway, there we found some believers who invited us to spend a week with them. Just in passing, ain't it great that everywhere that they go, they find believers and they can stay the week with them. That is one of the salvation blessings of being a Christian and you know what?
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People are welcoming. We have folks stay here at the church. Y'all have folks stay with you. I know. You know, ten months of winter and two months of house guests.
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We all do that. But ain't it great that everywhere they go, they find a harbor, a hiding place, a safe place to be. And it was great that Julius let him go, spend the week with him. And then finally, and so we came to Rome, at least the greater metropolitan area. Putioli is still a 175 miles, a 175 miles out from Rome.
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Over the next couple of verses, the brothers and sisters in Rome had heard that we were coming and they came out to meet us at the forum on the Appian Way. It's just like Paul, isn't it? Where is he going to be? Wherever there's a group of people, wherever you can find a lot of people in one place because he has a story to tell and he does it as he goes. When Jesus said, for you to go into all the nation, it was an as you are going, be doing this.
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As you are going, be doing this and he met up with him at the forum on the Appian Way. That's about 55 miles outside of Rome still. So they walked 55 miles just in anticipation of him getting there. Others joined us at the three taverns or the three inns that is about 10 miles further up the road. And when Paul saw them, he was encouraged and he thanked God.
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He had written the Romans earlier. He'd never been there but he had written them maybe as much as three years earlier and he had written his theological treaties. After that sketch of Galatians, he wrote this theological treaties and he sent it to Rome and when we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging though he was guarded by a soldier. He was chained by his right wrist to a soldier. He tells us later in one of the epistles.
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All roads lead to Rome. You all heard that before? There was a golden spire in the middle of the Roman Forum and that's what they judged all the distance from. The Appian Way was the longest and straightest road and it was a good road. Everything was drawing us to this point.
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But it doesn't mention that he took in the splendor of the pantheon downtown Rome. It does not mention that he went to the Colosseum. It does not mention that he went and he saw that whatever. The golden mile marker right there in the middle of the forum. Three days after Paul's arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders.
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He got right to work and what did he do? What's he done in every town that he's come to virtually every town he's come to? He's gathered the local Jewish believers and given him a shot. He said to them, brothers, that's a uniter. He's including himself with them.
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Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem, handed over to the Roman government even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. The Romans tried me and they wanted to release me because they found no cause for a death sentence. But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people. Typically, somebody puts a case against you, what do you do? Countersue.
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And he's saying, I didn't have any charge against him. I ask you to come here today so that we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel, the Messiah has already come. He's just given him the exact same message. The gospel has not changed one bit because they're cosmopolitan. It has not changed one bit because he's nearing his his trial.
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They replied, we've had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here. Ain't that strange? Because usually, somebody's gone ahead of him and warned him about him but God and his providence had this group of guys sitting there who had not heard about Paul. But we want to hear what you believe. For the only thing that we know about this movement, the way, the Christian movement is that it is denounced everywhere.
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That we're against it. That's what we know. And we're glad that you've come. We don't know anything about you but we want for you to explain it to us. So, Paul explains and testifies.
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So, a time was set and on that day, a large number of people came to Paul's lodging. He's under house arrest. He explained and he testified about the kingdom of God and he tried to persuade them about Jesus from the scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, those are what they hold dear, right? This is their Bible.
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This is what they hold dear. The Torah and the prophets. He spoke to them from morning until evening, all day long. We've already preached one message where he preached it until after midnight and then kept preaching till dawn. No lack of energy.
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Some were persuaded by the things he said but others did not believe. I highlight that because how many times have we seen this? If you are proclaiming the gospel, you will have at least two responses. Usually, it's just two responses. Sometimes, it's three.
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Some will be persuaded by the things that you say and they will accept the gospel and they will be forever blessed for it and some will reject it. There's nothing that you can do about how they take the message. You have to be faithful though to give the message. Clearly, be willing to do it from morning till evening if it takes it. The other third response is what the stoics and Epicureans, some of them said, we'll hear you more later on this matter and I get that a lot too.
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Oh, maybe later. And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul. They were starting at the same ground point, the same ground point that Paul was preaching from the prophets and from the law and when he was presenting all this stuff, it was causing conflict among themselves and they were starting to argue about what this means, what this means. It was theological probably. After they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul.
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The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet. Go, Isaiah, and say to this people, when you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened and their ears cannot hear and they've closed their eyes so that their eyes cannot see and their ears cannot hear and their hearts cannot understand and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them. So Paul says, I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles and they will accept it.
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Ain't that sad? It's happy for us. I mean, no doubt but isn't it sad that that's what he had to get to is to say, come on. Please. Please, people.
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God said this thousand, two thousand years ago. He's he said this is the way that it was going to be. And it it is. But I want you to know that this salvation from God. Now, he'd already explained all the way through how how from Genesis up through the prophets that Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations and through the prophets, how he said, oh but you've gotten this wrong.
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It's not just for you, it's for everybody. He's been explaining that and he says, I I want you to know that it's it's also been offered to the Gentiles because he's been on mission now for years and he's been seeing the church grow. Thousands and thousands have come to believe. And they will accept it. This message will go forward.
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Now, when Luke writes this book, it was hard. This was a really hard week for me. Not just because Tanya and then were gone. We're coming to the end of something that I I I long for a bigger finish than this. I mean, the shipwreck was great and all.
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Last week, that would have been a good place to end it and actually, a lot of commentators have said, I don't know why Luke ended it this way. I think I I think I do and I think a lot of commentators, a lot of people say they do know why he would end this way. It's because it's the same message that he's been preaching the whole time. It's the same proclamation whether it was through the mouth of Jesus in the first chapter. Peter in the second.
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Philip, Paul, all of these guys. It's the same exact gospel. It's the same thing. It has not changed one iota, not one little bit and so, the big finish is For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense probably building tents, making tents again. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the kingdom of God, and teaching them about the Lord Jesus Christ and no one tried to stop him.
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Actually, the word is unhindered. Unhindered. Un unhindered. Now, he's fettered. He's chained but he's unhindered.
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As many people as can come to him and he proclaims the kingdom of God and he teaches about the Lord Jesus Christ, unhindered. That's the big finish for this whole book. What we've been coming up to, that's the last verse in Acts. So, yeah. You just blank slate right there.
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Wow. That's it, What normal life, the normal Christian life is this, it is. Three quick points. The gospel must be shared. It must be.
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When Jesus said, you will be my witnesses. He wasn't saying it in command form. He was telling you, if you are my followers, you will be my witnesses. Paul was not present in that little group, right? He extends it because he is one who is sent out burning with passion about what God has done for him individually.
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He tells others. The gospel must be shared. Beginning to end of this book, Acts one eight, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses. Telling people about me everywhere in Jerusalem throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth and that has continued on throughout history and it's still continuing on. We are still looking for the ends of the Earth to hear this message.
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In 2830, he welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the kingdom of God, teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. Second point, the gospel cannot be stopped. How many opposing forces have come against it since we started studying this Memorial Day last year? Not by chains and bonds. Remember when they arrested Peter and John?
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Put him in whipped him, put him in jail. Could that stop him? No. What did they come out praying for? Boldness.
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Not safety, boldness. Not by persecution, that actually made it grow because during the persecution, people got outside of Jerusalem and spread. Nothing can stop this gospel. This good news, not by storms or struggles, literal storms or struggles. Also, there's some interpersonal stuff going on.
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We've seen that. We've seen the different temptations arise, Ananias and Sapphira, and not by opposition. It seems like the more they're opposed, the better they get at what they're doing. Right? Because when you're under persecution and you're willing to suffer through it, other people pay attention.
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Even individual unbelief cannot stop the gospel. At this point, I want to hit because it can stop it for you. It can stop it for you as an individual. If you choose not to believe the truth, as it's presented to you, then, the gospel ends with your hearing it and doing nothing about it. So, that's heavy.
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It can end with you but just like Paul said to the Jewish leaders, they will they will receive it. Others will receive it. Though you don't, you will miss the blessing. Others will receive it. And the last point, only this gospel can save.
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The clearest and most evident example in Acts is is Acts four twelve. There is salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Jesus, blood, and righteousness is the only way. Period.
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I know that that goes flies in the face of all that our society is telling us. It flies in the face of pluralism and multiculturalism but this is a multicultural gospel. Every tribe, tongue, and nation will be represented around the throne. Everyone of em. I'm going to back up one.
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Romans one sixteen, Paul had witnessed couple years earlier to them. I am not ashamed of this good news, this gospel about Christ. It is the power of God at work saving everyone who believes. The Jew first and also the Gentile. He always lived out his calling that way because he was a Jew.
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He witnessed among his people first and then extended. I think we should follow that model. Acts eight four, the believers who were scattered preached the good news about Jesus wherever they went. Acts twenty eight twenty five. After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem and they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the good news.
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Eight thirty five. So, beginning with the same scripture, where the guy was, Ethiopian eunuch, Philip told him the good news about Jesus. Acts nine twenty and immediately, he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogue saying, he is indeed the son of God. Acts thirteen five, there in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and they preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.
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So, the Lord's message spread through that region and there, they preached the good news. So, we decided to leave for Macedonia at once having concluded that God was calling us to preach the good news there. They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved along with everyone else in your household. So, Paul stayed there for the next year and a half teaching the word of God. He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments and public debate and using the scriptures.
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He explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah. So, the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect In twenty one, twenty, twenty one. After hearing this, they praised God and they said, you know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously but the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you're teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They've heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customers. Did he ever do that?
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He never did that. He never did do that and that's what he's saying to this first group of Jews that he meets today. He never did that. What he was doing is preaching the good news about Jesus. The Old Testament always is preaching the good news of Messiah, the hope that is to come.
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The holy one of Israel. These three points, the gospel must be shared, cannot be stopped, and only this gospel can save, could be put in any order. Those are in no specific order. Actually, because only this gospel can save, it must be shared and cannot be stopped. It is God's plan.
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This is how it works. Nothing's going to change it or amend it. It needs no amendment. That is it and the end of Acts is to be continued. With my TV theme that we've had going on since the beginning.
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I'm going to cry for crying out loud. Literally. It's to be continued. I know of three different ministries that the name of the ministry is Acts twenty nine because Acts 28 begs for Acts 29. As I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward to preaching through the next book I'm planning on preaching through is James and I'm thinking, Acts is great because it's narrative.
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It's exciting. People really really get into it. We're going to get into more theological thinking things and less maps and all of that sort of stuff. But this is the framework for which we can understand the rest of the New Testament. And that's what I'm planning on working towards.
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But I want for you all to be working towards this continuation. Start seeing your life like, where am I? Am I sitting still? Am I bound by anything? When Paul was bound by something, what was he doing?
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He wrote the prison epistles from Rome for crying out loud. He wrote to encourage other believers. He wrote to persuade other non believers. This story is to be continued, and it's ten minutes early. And that's it.
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It's over. Would y'all come up and we'll sing through another cup couple of songs probably, at least one, one song. Let me pray for us though. God, thank you for edifying, for building up your church. I thank you that you do that, lord, the same way that you sanctify us by your word.
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May we hang on every single syllable. And may it all make a difference. Lord, would you be with us? Speak through us. Encourage others through us.
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Would you explain yourself through us, through the way we live our lives? In Jesus name, amen.
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Speaker 2Stand and sing this last song and it's it's a long the the look at the take my life and let it be consecrated lord to thee. That's a big title. But it's it's great, isn't it? And that's what we're asking. We're saying, God, take my life.
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Let it be consecrated to you. Take my moments. Take my days. Take my hands. Take my will.
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Take my love. It's saying here, take me. And to this cause, to this means, the gospel will go out. So let's sing together.
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Speaker 1May God bless and keep you. Make his face to shine upon you. And may we find that it is in surrendering our life that we find it. God, would you bless the proclamation of your gospel here in Jackson and around the world. We do pray for protection for those of ours who have gone out but lord, we pray more for their boldness and effectiveness.
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In Jesus name, we request your blessing. Amen.
