ACTS 28 A FINAL LESSON ABOUT MINISTRY2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 28 A Final Lesson About Ministry

But to finish off the book of Acts, we're in chapter 28.

And we're jumping in at the tail end of the Apostle Paul's journey to Rome. He was taken captive by Roman soldiers back in Jerusalem a few chapters back in order to protect him from the Jews that were trying to kill him. And

And ever since then, he's been in custody and going through a process of many different hearings where accusations are brought, but nothing is ever really laid against Paul for a charge. There's no real crime that he's been committed. But because of the Jews' hostility towards Paul, he couldn't really be released because they were trying to kill him. And

And so Paul ended up appealing to Caesar to have Caesar Nero decide his case and give him, you know, liberty or put him to death. That would be, you know, up to the Roman court there in Rome.

And so Paul appeals to Caesar, which was his right as a Roman citizen. And in chapter 27 last week, we got to see that the beginning of that journey, that Paul was there in Jerusalem or actually in Caesarea. They went up to Sidon and began by boat to go to these various places. They went to Myra, got on another boat.

Then they worked their way across the Mediterranean and landed in Fair Havens. But by this time, it was late in the year. It's a bad time to travel. And so they were debating whether or not they should keep going. Paul said, I don't recommend it.

it's going to end up with great disaster if we keep on going. But they tried it anyways. You know, the place where they wanted to port for the winter was just a little bit further. And so they tried to make it, but the wind just blew them way off course. They ended up 500 miles away and crash landed on the island of Malta. And that's where we ended chapter 27. And so now we're going to pick it up in chapter 28. And we'll begin by reading verses 1 through 6. Here's what it says.

Now when they had escaped, they found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness. For they kindled a fire and made us all welcome because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer.

Verse 1.

Here in chapter 28, we pick it up again with the shipwreck. And we find out now that the island is called Malta, and we get to be introduced here to the locals or the natives of the island as they're gathering together there and working out survival there on this island. Now, as we finish up the book of Acts this evening here in chapter 28, I've titled the message, A Final Lesson About Ministry.

because, well, as we've been looking throughout the book of Acts, we've been talking a lot about ministry. We've been looking at the model of the early church and the way that they did things and why they did what they did and how they performed, you know, the different things that the Lord had set before them. And so we've been learning how we as believers are to live and behave and how ministry is to take place because we look back to the

early church as the model for us, as the example, the pattern that is set for us. And they show us here in the book of Acts what Christianity is supposed to look like. And so we saw valuable lessons about walking with God, and valuable lessons about gathering together, and valuable lessons about reaching out, and you know, the missionary journeys, and all of those things. We've seen those things established. And here in chapter 28, I

I kind of see a little bit of a summary of many of the things that we've talked on and gone through in the book of Acts. And so it's a final lesson as we look at this model church about ministry and about what it's to look like as we gather together as believers and as we seek to serve the Lord. And so there's five points I'd like to walk us through as we work our way through this final lesson about ministry. The first point found in verses one through six is,

And that is trust God for protection. Here in verse 1, we see that they have crash-landed on the island called Malta.

I don't really think it's called crash-landed when it's a boat, but I like how it sounds. They crash-landed on Malta. And as they're there on Malta, now God's going to be providing for them and taking care of them. But so far already, this is the fulfillment of some promises that God has given Paul. God spoke to Paul as they were for two weeks in this storm, and all hope had been lost. God told Paul, hey, don't fear, Paul. You're going to make it to Rome.

and I'm going to give you all the lives of the people who are on this ship, which was like 273 people or something around there. So it was, you know, a big group of people, and God says, I'm going to save them, and I'm going to protect them through the midst of this storm. And so just getting to the shore of Malta, everyone survived this shipwreck, and that was a great miracle of God as that took place.

Now it tells us in verse 2 that the natives there showed unusual kindness. And so now the natives kind of gather together as they see all these people coming to shore and they begin to work together to welcome and to provide for these people who have been shipwrecked. And they make a fire and because of the rain, because of the cold, it's still stormy out and so it's not good conditions and they're shivering and they're cold and they're wet coming out of the ocean.

out of the Mediterranean Sea. And so these people are gathering together and showing some great hospitality and ministering to the needs of these shipwrecked people. But in the midst of that, we see kind of a tragedy happen, except for it doesn't end up as a tragedy. But

Paul is, he is serving. We get this picture of Paul always serving because here he is now after surviving the shipwreck. He's gathering sticks and helping to build the fire that the natives are building for them.

And as he does, it says a viper comes out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. And so it sounds like, you know, Paul just kind of like scooped up a bundle of sticks or something. And in the midst of those sticks, there was a snake, some kind of viper. And as he put it on the fire, the viper, you know, and seeking to get away from the fire, you know, lurches out and grabs hold of

And so he bites Paul, and this is a poisonous snake. And we know that from verse 4, because the locals tell us that, well, he's going to die. In verse 4, it tells us, And so as they're watching this, they're thinking, man,

their concept of God is, you know, not quite yet complete. The gospel is coming to them right now as Paul is, you know, going to be preaching to them. But before that, they're just thinking, you know, the gods or God or justice, however their concept of God was, you know, that is really out for Paul, you know, that God,

Somehow he escaped tragedy by surviving the shipwreck, but now justice wants to make sure, you know, their God, whoever they're thinking of, their concept of God is, you know, is going to make sure Paul's dead because although he survived the shipwreck, now he's going to die by this snake bite. They knew this snake well. They, you know, understood what it meant to be bit by

by this snake. It was local to them. They knew it was just like or it would be like if you or I were hanging out with somebody and they were bit by a rattlesnake. We all know it's local to us. We understand what a rattlesnake is and we understand the danger and the destruction that could be caused by a rattlesnake. When I was back in Missouri a couple years ago for a family reunion,

On the last day of the trip, we were getting ready. I was packing up to go, and I stepped on a scorpion. And it was pretty freaky, you know. It hurt, you know, first of all. And then as I put my foot back and, like, shook it off and realized what it was, you know, I was shouting, you know, out just...

nonsense and saying I was bit by a scorpion and freaking out a little bit and jumping around because it hurt so bad. And, you know, it took a little bit to kind of for everybody to kind of collect their thoughts. And, you know, then my dad is a smart one. He calls up my Aunt Regina and says, hey, we got this scorpion. I caught it in a little jar. Jerry was stung by a scorpion. You know, how bad is this? Do we need to rush to the hospital? Why? Well, she's the local. She knows the

you know, what those are like. And she's, oh, no, no, that's just like a bee sting. No problem. You know, not a big deal unless you're allergic and, you know, then you might die. But otherwise, you're fine. You know, it's just a bee sting. And, you know,

as a local, you understand, you know the threats, you know the dangers. And so they see the snake bite Paul and they're expecting, we know the snake. We know this is going to be a deadly thing. This is going to cause great harm to him. And so they're expecting him to die as a result of this. But verse five tells us, he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

So as Paul is throwing it in the fire and it, you know, the snake bites onto his hand, Paul just kind of like shakes it off into the fire, like just...

No big deal. He doesn't freak out. He doesn't jump around and scream and hoop and holler like I did, you know, stung by a scorpion. He just shakes it off into the fire and goes about his business. You know, he just continues on and no harm is done to him. It says in verse 5 that he suffered no harm. And this is why I made the point to trust God for protection. That Paul was given the promise, right?

He's going to Rome. He's going to appear before Caesar. He's going to be a witness to Jesus before Caesar. And so, you know, we don't, we're not told exactly what goes through Paul's head as he's bit by the snake, but he has this promise. He already knows. And so as he sees this snake hanging from his hand, he already knows this isn't the end.

And so no need to freak out. This isn't, I already know I'm going to stand before Caesar. God already told me. He's already proven it thus far by preserving us miraculously in the shipwreck. And so he just shakes it off because he's trusting God at his word. He's trusting God for those promises. He's trusting God to protect him and to bring him all the way to Rome, just like God said that he would. You know, Jesus told his disciples in Mark chapter 16, he said,

He said, these signs will follow those who believe. And he gives a few signs. They're going to cast out demons in my name. They're going to speak in new tongues. And then in verse 18 of Mark 16, he says, they will take up serpents. And if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. Then they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. And so Jesus said that this

As his followers go out to make disciples, there's going to be some signs that go along with that. And so there's going to be people freed from demonic possession. There's going to be the speaking forth in tongues. There's going to be even this kind of thing where there are serpents that bite and poison that is administered, but no harm will be done. And in fact, the opposite, that people will be healed of

as the servants of the Lord lay hands on them. And so this is, you know, the Lord's promise. This is the Lord's declaration of some of the things that will take place as his people fulfill his word and serve him. And that's the point that I'd like to make this evening for us to consider. That is, as you serve, trust God to take care of you.

as you serve, Paul here is, you know, right where God wants him to be. And so he can just rest in the reality that God is taking care of him. Now, of course, some have taken this concept way too far and they, you know, play with snakes as a matter of, they call it worship, you know, and it's just like partaking of communion that you're supposed to play with rattlesnakes, you know, in church and shake it around in worship and get it angry and let it bite you and then not receive medical treatment and, you know,

For that, I would go back to a couple Sundays ago from Luke chapter 4, don't tempt the Lord. That's the very definition of tempting the Lord. Prove it, God. I'm going to be bit by the snake and you're going to have to protect me. That's not a wise thing to do.

But God had told Paul several times already that he would appear before Caesar in Rome. And so as he's just serving, as he's just doing the best he can with what God has given to him and what is set before him, he's just trusting God for protection. He's trusting God for protection.

This isn't going to be a fatal bite. This isn't going to be a fatal wound. And he just goes about his business. He just shakes it off and continues on. I like that even phrase, you know, just shake it off. You know, you kind of get the picture of, you know, maybe what your dad would tell you. You know, it's like, hey, just walk it off. You know, just shake it off. Like, it's not a big deal. Just keep on going. And sometimes that's difficult for us to do, but we need to trust God for protection. And sometimes, you know, there's going to be windy roads and

and scary, you know, things. I think it was, you know, really appropriate that the things that Kim was sharing go right along with this, that there are times where we have fear, we have difficulty, we have things in front of us, but we need to keep on serving and trust God to protect us and not let that fear cause us to be disobedient to what God has called us to. Well, continuing on in verse six, it says, however, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead.

But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. So they decided, well, maybe he isn't, you know, some horrible person because he didn't die. And he was bit, you know. We've seen other people die. We've seen other people swell up suddenly, you know. We've seen the results of this kind of bite. But they observed him.

Nothing happened. And so then in their understanding, they decided, well, maybe he is a God. And I think that's interesting to consider as well. As you think about trusting God for protection, that's kind of for you that you're trusting God even in the midst of whatever you might be facing and the fears or the attacks or the bites or those kinds of things that are happening.

But you know, a lot of times when we're going through those kinds of things and we're getting bit by snakes and all of that, God is using those things to work in the hearts and the minds of the people around you. And so let me put it this way. People change their minds about you when they see you shake it off. When you can trust the Lord and be, you know, bit by a venomous snake and

when you can suffer greatly, when you can go through shipwreck, and then there's another tragedy that happens, and then there's another setback and another loss, and when they see you trusting the Lord and shaking it off, then it helps for people to change their mind. It helps for people to adjust their thinking and trust.

open up the door for ministry as we'll see does take place in the following verses. And so there's this kind of open door that happens through the result of this change of mind that happens as they watch the response, as they watch the effect of this situation and Paul trusting the Lord and just continuing on.

Think about Job. And, you know, we've all been ministered to by the example of Job, by the book of Job. And there's great ministry, and I would say even great reward that Job has in eternity as a result. You know, that not only is his name in the book, you know, in the Bible, but all the people that have just been ministered to by the example of Job and encouraged and helped, you know, to hold on and to be faithful and all of that, you know, there's going to be some great reward for him. But

But Job would not have had the ministry that he had without the suffering that he had, right? If there wasn't the suffering part of Job, the book of Job would be half a chapter. It would be, you know, that whole account there in chapter one of Satan coming into the presence of God and God saying, have you considered my servant Job? And Satan says, well, does Job fear God for nothing? You know, you've made a hedge around him and

And then if it was different and God said, you're right, I have made a hedge around him and you can't touch him and he's a righteous man, so just leave him alone.

That's the end of the book. You know, that's not that encouraging to us when we're in the midst of the suffering. But we can find great encouragement and ministry through Job and his example as we go through that. And so that's the point that I'm just seeking to make is that even when we're suffering, even when there's great difficulties, you know, happening and even setback after setback,

that we can trust God for protection as we serve him. And not just trust, you know, for what he's doing in us, but also trust that he's using that for a greater purpose and for his glory as we continue to trust him. And so serve the Lord. And as you serve, trust God to take care of you. Well, moving on to verses seven through nine, here we have point number two, and that is pray for people to be healed.

So first we need to trust God, but we also need to pray for people. And specifically for healing, specifically for God to work miraculously, kind of piggybacking on what we talked about on Sunday and that idea of praying for the miracles and asking God to work supernaturally. In verse 7 it says,

And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul went into him and prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. So as they're on this island, there was a leading citizen. There was kind of like a governor of the island or someone prominent in that kind of role. And he had some means. And so he welcomed Publius.

the 270 visitors. He invited them in and helped care for them and entertained us courteously, it says. And so he's kind of throwing a little bit of a fiesta. I have these images in my mind of being in Samoa and they have the Fiafianga, which is like a big festival, a big party celebration. And

And so, you know, that's kind of what I picture. It's not a tropical island, so it's probably not exactly like that. But, you know, whatever kind of celebration you have, you know, with your family and your culture, like you understand, like there's just different practices. And that's the idea here. They threw a celebration. They threw a party. They welcomed them. They're cheering them up. They're providing for them. They're meeting their needs.

And as this is going on, it comes out that the father of this official is sick with a fever and dysentery.

Now, I didn't know what dysentery was, so I had to look it up. And so here's what dysentery is. It's an infection of the intestines resulting in severe diarrhea with the presence of blood and mucus in the feces. So it's a bad thing, right? So it's this high fever. Now, there is a fever that is even referred to as Malta fever, named after this island, but it's not exclusive to this island. But

But it's also known as Mediterranean fever, and there's a real, you know, technical, hard to pronounce doctor name for it as well. But basically, it's contracted from ingesting milk or meat from an animal that has been infected with this particular disease. And so, you know, if the meat is not processed or the milk is not processed appropriately, you know, then you can catch it by, you know, consuming it.

And so it was common in that region, in that area, and so common on Malta that it was even often referred to as Malta fever. And it continued even for a long time. In fact, it was in 2005 that they really, you know,

got real strict on their standards and have basically eradicated this disease from Malta at this point. But, you know, 2005, that's only a few years ago, right? So it was just a common disease. It was one that they were familiar with when they knew and one that would be common for them. And so there he is with this fever. He's, you know, suffering these symptoms. And verse 8 tells us that Paul went in and prayed and he laid hands on him and healed him.

And so when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. And so here again in the book of Acts, as we look at the example and model for us, we see Paul go and lay hands on this man who is sick. He prays, he lays hands on him, and the man is healed.

And the word spreads from there. The rest of the island now comes, you know, and everybody who has diseases, everybody else who has this fever, everybody else who has other, you know, types of issues and ailments, they begin to come as they hear about this miraculous work that goes on.

But I just want to, you know, camp out on this thought here for a few minutes because, well, again, on Sunday, you know, I mentioned, and I think it's just, you know, continuing that thread, that thought that sometimes we as believers, especially believers who've been with the Lord for some time, sometimes we're the last ones to ask God for miracles, right?

And although we believe and we know that God can heal and we know that God can work supernaturally and we know that theologically in our mind, in our heart, we believe it, we know it. And yet at the same time, sometimes the new believer believes

is the one who prays for, you know, crazy miracles. And we're like, yeah, you know, I used to pray for those things too, you know, but we've kind of stopped. We kind of like get slow to pray for those kinds of things. Now, I understand that this is not what we're all about, right? It's not only, okay, we're a healing ministry. That's all that we do. You know, we understand theologically that, well, God doesn't heal everybody, right?

But at the same time, he does encourage us and call us to ask him for miracles and follow the example of the Apostle Paul and pray and lay hands. And perhaps God would use us in the lives of someone else to bring a healing, to bring a full restoration. Again, it's not what we're all about, but I would also say we do believe that God still calls us to lay hands on people.

He still calls us to follow this example. We do believe that God still heals miraculously. Now, again, continuing on with this thread, I think this is something that for some reason the Lord is, you know, speaking to us here at Living Water because, well, we've also seen this in the reading through the Bible in three years. In Luke chapter 9 verse 2, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples and

And he prays for them and gives them authority over evil spirits and over diseases. And in Luke 9, verse 2, it tells us that he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

That there was this combination of preaching the kingdom of God, and as they're out there preaching the kingdom of God, they are to pray for people and ask God to heal them. That it went hand in hand, and that was part of the ministry that Jesus sent out the 12 disciples to do. But that wasn't limited to just those 12 disciples. And if you continue in the reading with us, going through the Bible in three years, you'll find in Luke chapter 10, Jesus sends out the 70 disciples.

So not just the 12, that exclusive group, but there was 70 followers of Jesus who were also with him. And so he sends them out in Luke chapter 10. And it tells us there in Luke chapter 10, verse 9, he gives them instruction, heal the sick and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near you. And so he sends them out and says, hey, go heal people, go lay hands on them, go pray for them and ask God to heal them.

And so I think the Lord just wants to stir us up. Now, again, not that we're shifting gears. Okay, now we're going to be a healing ministry, you know, and everybody we pray for is going to be healed. And you know, that's no, no, no. But, but maybe we also need the reminder that, you know, God wants to heal people and, and he may want to use you to be part of that process. Let me remind you of first Corinthians chapter 12.

As Paul there is expounding upon the gifts of the Spirit and the working of the Holy Spirit, jumping in the middle in verse 8, he says, Paul includes this gift of healings in the midst of all these other gifts. Now,

I think none of us, you know, would dispute the word of wisdom and we would ask God to give us words of wisdom and the word of knowledge. We would ask God to give us words of knowledge, right? And we would look forward to that. And the gift of healings is just one of those works that the Holy Spirit can give to any believer at any time. And this gift of healing is just as easy for the Holy Spirit to give to you as it is for the Holy Spirit to give it to the person next to you.

That it's not based upon, you know, you necessarily, and it's not based upon your performance. The gifts of the Spirit are grace gifts. Charis is the word for grace. The word for gift is charisma. It's a gift of grace. It's related to grace. It's undeserved favor and kindness from the Lord. We never earn to have a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge or wisdom.

to be used by God, to lay hands on someone and for them to be healed. We never earned that. We're never deserving of that. We're never worthy of that. But the Holy Spirit can give that to any believer at any time. It's up to him. It's up to his discretion, his will. He gives these gifts according to his will.

And it's just as easy for the Holy Spirit to give you a word of knowledge as it is for the Holy Spirit to give you a gift of healing. It's just, it's not difficult for God to give you that gift. And it's available for every believer that God can use any believer. It's not just those special 12. It's not just those special 70. It's the disciples of Jesus filled with the Spirit have the opportunity to be used by God to lay hands and to ask God for healing.

Now, the real question, as we talked about on Sunday in Luke chapter 5, verse 12, the leper who is asking Jesus for healing had some good theology. He understood it well. He said, Lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean. It's not about the ability. It's not about your power. It's not about, you know, whether you can or cannot. It's just a matter of, is it part of the will of God?

And as we have this opportunity, and I would ask you to even consider, you know, and be seeking for an opportunity to be used by the Lord to pray for healing, but also approach it with the understanding that the main criteria for whether or not healing is received is

is whether or not it's in the will of God. It's not, you know, whether you said the right words. It's not if you had the right formula, you know, you had the right words, but the wrong order. You know, it's not about whether or not you had enough faith or whether or not you crossed your legs when you prayed the prayer or whether you use the right kind of oil or, you know, none of that really is crucial unless the Lord tells you it's crucial, but none of that's crucial, right? It's really just whether or not it's in the will of God.

I heard a quote from a pastor recently and I forget the pastor so I can't give him credit. I'll just take the credit. I made this up in my head. No, I'm just kidding. But here this pastor said, when you pray for healing for someone, your responsibility is not that they're healed.

but that they're loved. And I thought that was really good. That, you know, that's what it's all about. And sometimes for fear, we don't pray for healing because then it's like, well, what if they're not healed? And what does that say? And what does that mean? And, you know, all that. And so, you know, we kind of just hold back. We don't even go there. But

But I like that picture that, you know, we can have the freedom to pray. And if it's the Lord's will, then he's going to do that work. But our responsibility is not to necessarily figure out and sort out whether or not it's God's will. Our responsibility is to pray and to make sure that they're loved. It's not the healing part that's our responsibility. It's the loving part that's our responsibility. Not everybody is healed. Not everybody gets that. But

But especially those who are hurting and those who are sick, well, we need to express our love. And there is that need and that great ministry opportunity there. There's plenty of examples throughout the scriptures, you know, of the reality that not everybody is healed. That's not God's promise. Well, it is in eternity. You know, that's the other, the final healing. But in this life, you know, it's a matter of whether or not God is willing.

And our job is not even necessarily to sort that out because the way that you find out whether or not God is willing is to just ask. And I just want to encourage you guys.

to be praying about that and looking for opportunities and be faithful to take those opportunities as God gives them for you. This is a model given to us, you know, as believers by the early church that here's what we do as believers. We pray for people to be healed. We lay hands on them. We anoint them with oil. We pray for them. And that's part of what God has called us to do.

Well, moving on to verse 10 through 15, we have point number three, and that is honor and love one another. Reading those verses, it says in verse 10, they also honored us in many ways. And when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

After three months, we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the twin brothers, which had wintered at the island. And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. From there, we circled around and reached Regium. And after one day, the south wind blew. And the next day, we came to Ptolemy, where we found brethren and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.

And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as a P forum and three inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Here Luke records for us the final stops on the way to Rome. And so a quick look at the geography. We followed Paul back in chapter 27 to Malta where they shipwrecked. And then from there, they wintered there for three months, it says in verse 11. So they stayed there for three months and then another ship either was there or came when it was safe to sail again. And so they got on board that ship and

and began to make their way north towards Rome. And so he records the different places, Syracum and Regium and Petoli and all those places. And they get up to Petoli and then from there, they're going to go by land. And so they've been bouncing from port to port, from boat to boat. But now they're beginning the journey by land, which is a little bit over a hundred miles that they're making their way now the rest of the way to Rome. But

But as we have this, you know, travel log of these different stops that they had and the way that they went, the thing that was interesting to me was a few verses here in this passage. In verse 10, it says, So as Paul and, you know, Luke is with him and those guys, as they're ministering there on Malta,

People are, you know, receiving healings and they're being ministered to. The gospel's no doubt going forth. And now the people, as they're there for three months, they have some time to build some relationships and for ministry to take place. But as they're heading out, they were shown honor. They were shown respect. They were shown this honor and sent off with joy.

Things that were necessary. They were given provisions by the people as they went forth. And this is a good example, a good reminder of how we're to relate to one another and treat one another. That there is to be this honor that we give to one another and even the providing of things that are necessary. And we'll talk about that in just a minute a little bit more. But then in verse 14, they hit one of the ports and it says, we found brethren.

So they get into the port and there's some Christians there. And so the Christians invite them to stay for seven days. Hey, why don't you guys come spend the week with us?

And so it's Paul and Luke and I forget the other guys who are with him. But so hey, you know, just come hang out with us for the next seven days until you continue on your journey to Rome. And there's this extension of hospitality, just this openness, just this loving embrace, this, you know, warm welcome that is received. And again, just picturing for us, this is how it is meant to be in the church, that

that there is to be this kind of hospitality and warmth and love and this kind of relationship between one another.

And then verse 15 is another good example of these things. It says, from there, when the brethren heard about us, now this is, they start making their way by land now. And the brethren, he's talking about the Christians in Rome, hear about Paul coming. And so it says, they came out to meet us as far as a P forum and three inns. And when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

So a Pforum, this place that Paul is referring to, this is about 43 miles away from Rome. And so the Roman Christians hear about Paul coming and

And they begin to go towards Paul and meet him on the way. This distance, 43 miles, it's kind of a big distance, right? I don't know if you and I would get up tomorrow morning and decide, hey, let's walk 43 miles to go meet somebody. We might drive 43 miles, but even then, it's like, well, maybe if there were 35 miles, we'd drive there. But 43, I mean, that's kind of a long distance, right? That's far to go. But

But 43 miles was a really long day's walk. Like if you really worked hard at it, you could get there in a day. And this was kind of a stopping place. It was known as kind of that day, you know, out from the journey from Rome. So when you're leaving Rome, you know, you kind of worked hard, you pushed hard, and you made it to this place after walking and, you know, marching at a real good steady pace to get there within the day.

And so these people, these Christians in Rome, they hear that Paul is coming and then they embark on this journey. They stop everything. Their lives come to a halt. We're going to leave everything. We're going to walk all day long to go meet Paul, to go welcome this guy as he's coming towards Rome.

And you know, this effort by these Christians in Rome was such a great encouragement to Paul. It tells us in verse 15, when he saw them, he thanked God and took courage. He thanked God and he took courage. He was ministered to. He was blessed as they made this effort. I mean, it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't some huge need. He wasn't, you know, dying of an open wound and he needed medical attention. It was just, they went there just to

welcome him and see him a day earlier, just to say hi, just to encourage him in that way. And Paul is ministered to greatly. He thanks God and he takes courage. I think it's a good reminder for us, again, of how we are to honor and love one another, that we're to have this heart towards one another, that, hey, we go out of our way.

to greet one another, to see one another, to spend time, to get an extra day together, to have some time that it ministers to us as we love and express our love and honor of one another in this way. And kind of along with that, you know, just like a special case, I would say, you know, hey, really go out of your way as we have opportunity many times throughout the year to encourage our missionaries as well.

You know, when we have missionaries come through, you know, take a day and walk and hang out with them, you know, like, like do what you can go out of your way to show up because even just showing up will bless them and can cause them to, to thank God and be encouraged. It says that Paul took courage. He was emboldened. He's like, wow, people care for me. You know, people,

People love me. People are there for me. And we have this bond as believers. And that's such a good thing for us to do, to encourage our missionaries that way. But it's not just our missionaries. Warren Wiersbe says this, even an apostle needs to be encouraged at times. And the saints who met Paul did just that. How far would you go to encourage a fellow believer?

Even the Apostle Paul needed to be encouraged. Even our missionaries need to be encouraged. And if our missionaries need to be encouraged, and if the Apostle Paul needs to be encouraged, listen, the rest of us need to be encouraged as well. And you know, sometimes just being here and just loving on someone, just expressing that love and that honor towards someone can be a huge encouragement to

for someone that is here. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 12 and verse 10, he says, look, this is how we're to be. Be kindly affectionate toward one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. In verse 13, he says, distributing to the needs of the saints and give into hospitality. Again, just describing this honor and love, that preference for one another, that looking out for one another, that helping each other on the way and meeting needs and give into hospitality. And

That's how we are called to be. That's how we're called to love one another. It's part of what God has called us to do as believers in Jesus. Remember Jesus said that the rest of the world will know that we're his disciples by our love for one another. And so we have this good encouragement, this good model for us, for honoring and loving one another, and even some specific examples for how to do that. Well, moving on to point number four, as we continue in

chapter 28 of Acts. Here we have point number four, and that is reach out to unbelievers here in verses 16 through 29. In verse 16, it says, now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard. But Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with a soldier who guarded him. And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them, men and brethren,

Verse 1.

For this reason, therefore, I have called for you to see you and speak with you because for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain. Here, Paul makes a really wise move. He's the new guy in town as far as the Jews are concerned there in Rome. And so when he gets there, he gets to Rome, he gets some freedom. He's allowed to, you know, kind of rent his own house and he has a guard with him, but he has some freedom because he's not actually charged with any crime.

He's, you know, appealed to Caesar, but there's no real accusation against him. And so he's given a lot of freedom. And so he calls for the Jewish leaders and says, hey guys, I'd like to meet with you and talk with you. And so, you know, he invites them over to his house where he is on house arrest. And he's going to explain the situation to them.

And so he explains how, you know, hey, I'm innocent and I didn't do anything and I'm not here to accuse the Jews. And, you know, just kind of introducing himself and explaining the situation a little bit. And he says in verse 20, you know, for this reason, I've called for you to see you and speak with you because for the hope of Israel, I'm bound with this chain.

And so, you know, he's wanting to make it clear, I'm not against you guys. I'm with you guys. And I believe in the hope of Israel. And in fact, it's for the hope of Israel. It's because, you know, I'm with you guys. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm in chains. And so he's explaining his situation and letting them know, you know, hey, I'm not here to accuse you guys. I'm not going to go bad mouth you before Caesar. You know, I'm here because I'm one of you. I'm here because I believe in the hope of Israel.

But the thing to highlight here in these first few verses is that Paul goes out of his way. He's the one who is reaching out. In verse 17, it says, Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. And in verse 20, he explains, I've called you for this reason. He invites them over and he's the one, you know, starting the conversation. He's the one launching out into this. And he doesn't necessarily, you know, start out with,

you must believe in Jesus or you're going to go to hell. He begins just to build a bridge. He begins to, you know, have the conversation with them about his condition, which is going to open the door for the gospel presentation. And we've talked about that many times throughout the book of Acts about building that bridge and, you know, that relationship that is built

is then the tool that God uses to open the door for the gospel message. And so Paul, you know, just demonstrates that for us again. He reaches out to the Jews. He reaches out to the unbelievers and begins to build a relationship there with them. Verse 21, it says, then they said to him, we neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you, but we desire to hear from you what you think.

For concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere. So Paul says, I don't know if you guys have heard about me and I don't know what you've heard about me, but I just wanted the opportunity to be able to tell you my story myself.

And he tells them his story. And then they say, you know, well, that's an interesting story. We haven't heard anything about you. You know, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem didn't write us any letters. They didn't tell us anything about you coming. We've had people come from Jerusalem, but they haven't said anything evil about you. And so, you know, we don't have any opinion as far as you're concerned, Paul. But we have heard about the way. We've heard about this sect or this division of Judaism. And

And we know it's spoken against. We know people get really upset over this, but we really don't know why. And so maybe you could tell us a little bit more about this. And so again, it's now an open door. It's an opportunity for Paul to share the gospel. In verse 23,

So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets from morning till evening. They put on a one-day conference. It was an apologetics conference, all about the gospel. And here from morning to evening, they spent time, and Paul is explaining from the law and from the prophets that,

That Jesus is their promised Savior, the promised Messiah that they're waiting for. Again, as he referred to it earlier, the hope of Israel. The hope of Israel was the Messiah. And so here Paul, you know, explains from the Old Testament, their scriptures, that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of those promises. And so they're gathered together and they spend this day together. Verse 24, and some were persuaded by the things which were spoken and some disbelieved.

And so some people responded with faith and belief and some with unbelief. And of course, this is the normal course when reaching out to unbelievers. Some will believe and some will not believe. I think it's interesting the way that the New King James translators put this. Some were persuaded and some believed.

disbelieved. And I think that's a good understanding of what took place here. And sometimes we think of, you know, I'm not yet convinced, and so I don't yet believe. And so, like, there's this neutral position. You know, I don't not believe, but I don't quite believe yet. But

But the reality is every time the gospel goes out, Jesus said, you know, you're either for me or against me. That it is a fork in the road one way or the other. It's one way or the other that you believe or you, it's not just that you don't believe, but you disbelieve.

That you choose not to believe the things that are presented there in the gospel message. And so that is happening here amongst this group of Jews. And now they begin to talk amongst themselves and disagree with each other. And those who believe say, how come you don't see, you know, that Jesus is the Messiah? Yeah, it makes sense. Look at this and look at that. In verse 25, it says, so when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word.

The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers saying, go to this people and say, hearing you will hear and shall not understand and seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears. Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them.

So there's this discussion happening right there in the room at this conference. And those who have been persuaded and believe in Jesus now are discussing with those who are disbelieving. And I don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah. You know, that doesn't make sense. That's nonsense. And then, so it's not even Paul arguing with them. It's just, it's the different groups that have believed or disbelieved and they're discussing with

And so then Paul kind of intervenes and says, you know, here's what the Holy Spirit says. And he quotes from Isaiah chapter six. We've seen this passage recently as we looked at the parables and Jesus quoted this passage as well and said, look, this is why I use parables. Here's the basic gist. Because you disbelieve, your heart is hard. And so even though you see, you're not going to perceive. When you disbelieve, you close yourself off from further revelation.

And again, sometimes we think of like not yet believing as like a holding pattern. Like, well, when I get more information, you know, then I maybe I'm going to believe.

But really a disbelief is a, you know, step down the wrong direction. It leads you away from believing. It's not just a holding pattern until, you know, you have all the information that you need in order to believe. But it's against it. And it's a hardening of the heart and a blinding of the eyes. And so Paul shares that and that kind of shuts down the conversation and they depart from there. And verse 28 says,

Therefore, let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and they will hear it. And so this was Paul's pattern. He would go to the synagogue, right? He would preach in the synagogue. The Jews would reject it. And then he would go to the Gentiles. And so Paul just continues that pattern here in Rome. Some of the Jews believed and many did not. And so he said, okay, now that's done. The gospel came to the Jews. Now I'm bringing it to the Gentiles. They will hear it and they will receive it.

And when he had said these words, verse 29, the Jews departed and had great dispute among themselves. And so that dispute, that discussion continued on away from the presence of Paul by those who had believed and by those who had disbelieved. And so reaching out to unbelievers, again, the pattern is set. This is what we are called to do. Build those bridges, establish those relationships. It will give you the opportunity to preach the gospel and some will believe and some will disbelieve.

Well, finishing it up now, verse 30 and 31, we have point number five, and that is preach Jesus with confidence. Verse 30 says, then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

And so Luke kind of just sums up and wraps up everything, you know, here in these last two verses. It's interesting, right? All this detail. He stopped at this place, this place. We spent these many days here, these many days here. And all of a sudden, okay, then two years pass and then that's the end. It's like, whoa, wait, what happened? That's quite an abrupt ending. Why did he end it this way? And it's been speculated that it's possible Luke...

put this account together here in the book of Acts as part of the legal proceedings, that this was part of the documentation that would go with Paul before Caesar to kind of explain, you know, this is why Paul is here. This is, you know, what led up to this. And so, you know, Luke is possibly recording these things and putting it down, you know, as part of that. And so, you know, it ends here because, well, that's where Luke was when he finished writing this document.

He was with Paul there in prison for those two years before he appears to Caesar. And so he doesn't have the rest of the story yet because it hasn't happened yet at the time of Luke's writing. And that seems like a plausible idea that Luke is writing these things as part of this.

you know, of course in chapter one, it tells us he writes it to Theophilus. And so maybe there's a dual purpose, you know, we don't know, but in any case, Luke is there with Paul. There's no story further because they're, you know, at that moment in prison for those two years and just waiting to appear before Caesar. Now there's some other thoughts that I have for verse 30 and 31. I'm going to save those and hold onto those. And for the next part of what happens in the account, I'm,

And I'm looking forward to sharing those with you, but not quite yet. So we're going to end there with the cliffhanger. So it's the end of season one, right? With the cliffhanger. And you got a little snapshot of, you know, season two is going to start up in a couple months. And so, you know, we'll get into that as the Lord gives opportunity. But finishing off with the point, preach Jesus with confidence. Paul here spent these last two years receiving whoever would come to him

And he just preached Jesus with confidence. He's in prison for that. He continued to preach Jesus with confidence. He continued to have boldness. And Ironside points out, Paul preached exactly the same message that he had carried throughout the whole world during the 30 years before. No new revelation came to him after he got to prison. He continued to preach the same message. It was Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And we can continue that same message, preaching Jesus with confidence. It's the same message that Paul preached throughout his ministry, that Paul preached in prison and continues to this day. We're really living in the continuation of the book of Acts. And again, that's why these things are so important. The final lesson about ministry. As we continue on the accounting of the book of Acts,

we are to be trusting God for protection and praying for people to be healed and honoring and loving one another and reaching out to unbelievers and preaching Jesus with confidence as we write our own chapters of the book of Acts with our lives, with our activities, with the way that we walk with God. And so we want to just continue on following the pattern that was set before us here by the early church.

We want to finish up the service this evening with a time of worship. And so Kim's going to lead us in some worship. And as we do, as we often do on Wednesday evenings, I want to give you the opportunity to minister to one another and just remind you of point number three, to honor and love one another. And we see the Roman Christians, you know, they walked 43 miles just to greet Paul and just to be there and be an encouragement and to be a blessing to him by showing up.

And I just want to encourage you as we have this opportunity to minister to one another as we do on Wednesday nights that, you know, sometimes you don't have to have, you know, some spectacular that you even know that it's, you know, some great insight or anything, but just,

just showing up next to somebody and, you know, laying hands on them and praying for them and encouraging them in some way or sharing a scripture that's been ministering to you can sometimes make a huge impact and a huge difference in someone's life. And I just want to encourage you as we spend this time in worship, minister to one another, pray for one another, encourage one another as the Lord leads. And, you know, maybe, you know,

you don't have to walk 43 miles, but maybe 43 chairs across to somebody that God wants you to minister to and just kind of come alongside and show up and they'll be encouraged and be thankful as you do. And so let's worship the Lord together and minister to one another as he leads. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.