ACTS 29 WHAT LOOKS LIKE THE END IS NOT THE END2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 29 What Looks Like The End Is Not The End

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017.

Good morning. You can turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 29. I'm sure you can tell already this morning that things are a little bit different and we are going to be having a little bit different service than we normally have this morning, obviously, because here I am with you in video and not in person. Kim and I right now are in Clovis, New Mexico, and we're visiting Pastor Quint and Yoli Betts.

And just checking out the work that God is doing there. And I'm going to be speaking for them on the Sunday morning there. And yet I had some things on my heart as we finished up Acts chapter 28 on Wednesday and finished the book of Acts. And there were some things that the Lord had on my heart that I wanted to share. And so I'm going to be sharing them with you this morning by video. Now since it is a little bit different than what we're used to, I would just like to take a moment to assure you

that God is still present. He's still in this place, whether I'm here in person, or there is someone here in person, or whether the message is brought forth by video, Jesus is here with you, and the Holy Spirit is at work in our midst. And I'd like to remind you of what Paul taught us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7. He said that we walk by faith and not by

by sight. And this morning you get to practice that a little bit. And remember that we don't live our lives based upon what we can see and taste and touch or even how we feel about certain things. But we live our lives by faith, trusting God to work, trusting God to fulfill his promises even when we cannot see how those promises might be fulfilled.

Even when we can't imagine how all things might work together for good, we walk by faith, trusting God, and not by sight. Our own sight, our own intelligence, our own imagination. And so we can trust God to work in our midst in different circumstances like today. And yet, as we head into Acts chapter 29, you probably recognize by now

There is no Acts chapter 29. You get to Acts chapter 28 and that ends the book of Acts and that brings me to the title of the message this morning. Here's the title of the message. What looks like the end is not the end. Acts chapter 28 is the end of the book and yet scholars for, well, throughout the years have recognized that really the book of Acts continues on through the church and

The book of Acts continues on through the ministry of the church as it has existed throughout history. And you and I as believers today are continuing the writing of the work of God that began on the day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church and continues to this very time. And so Acts chapter 28 looks like the end.

but it's not really the end. It's more like a dot, dot, dot, you know, to be continued. And the work continues on even again to this day. Each one of us then has a place in the book of Acts in that regard and a place in the work of God. And I think it's interesting for us to consider these things because many times in life, well, there are times that we feel like,

It's an end where things have taken place. Life throws curveballs at us. And we had hopes. We had plans. We had dreams. We even had promises from God. But as these curveballs have been thrown at us and as circumstances have changed and situations have unfolded, there are many times in life where now we feel like, well, the situation at hand is

means that, well, there is an end to those plans, to those hopes, to those dreams. The plans won't be completed because of, well, this news I just received or the situation that has just unfolded. And our hopes can be dashed to pieces. And we think even the promises of God

Maybe we didn't actually receive them from God. And so maybe I just imagined that and it's not going to be fulfilled. As we finished out the book of Acts this past week, I was thinking about Paul and how he must have felt that really the end of the book of Acts for him, he probably felt like it was Acts chapter 23, not Acts chapter 28. Because there in Acts chapter 23, Paul is in prison in Caesarea.

He had returned to Jerusalem and was ministering to the Jews there and was there in the temple, but the Jews were upset with Paul. And so they attempted to beat Paul to death. And the Roman commander who was nearby, he intervened, he rushed in and he rescued Paul, but kept Paul in custody. He was in Roman custody and in chains, really from Acts chapter 21 all the way through the rest of the book of Acts.

In Acts chapter 22, Paul addresses the mob on the Temple Mount that tried to kill him, and it doesn't go very well. They are upset. They freak out as he begins to share with them his testimony and the gospel message. In Acts chapter 23, Paul's on trial then before that Roman commander who rescued him, and it begins a series of trials and hearings and imprisonments that Paul is going to experience all the way through chapter 28 of Acts as he makes his way towards Rome.

But Acts chapter 23 verse 11 is interesting because there is Paul and he is in prison and it tells us in verse 11 of Acts chapter 23 that the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. And so here we find Paul probably pretty discouraged. He's sitting there in chains and

Maybe thinking, this is the end. This is the end of my ministry. How are things going to continue now that I am bound in chains? Paul was a missionary. He's already been on three really major missionary journeys, traveling all over Europe. And now he sits here in chains and it seems that he is discouraged because God tells him, be of good cheer.

Paul, you can be encouraged. It's not over, the Lord is telling Paul. And he tells Paul, you've testified for me in Jerusalem. Good job. You finished that successfully. Now you're going to bear witness at Rome. And so God tells Paul he's going to take him to Rome, which is, well, something Paul had wanted to do for some time. He had made plans, many plans to try to get to Rome and

This is not Paul's plan. It's God's plan. But God is going to bring Paul to Rome. But Paul's going to have to walk by faith for these next few chapters and these next few years. It's still going to feel like the end for a long time because, well, they're in Acts chapter 23 after these things happen. Then there's a plot to kill Paul by the Jews. And the Roman commander sends Paul to Felix, the governor, up in Caesarea.

And then in chapter 24, he's on trial before Felix. He's left in prison for two years. Then he's given another chance to, well, have a trial. In chapter 25, he's on trial before Festus, who came after Felix. And then Festus didn't know what to do with Paul. So he brought in Agrippa in Acts chapter 26 and had another hearing. And Paul has to testify and give his testimony there.

At that time, he appeals to Caesar. And then in chapter 27 of Acts, we begin the six-month journey that Paul takes to Rome. He's taken in custody. And so he's in chains being led to Rome by a Roman commander.

They're shipwrecked along the journey, and you can read about that in Acts chapter 27 and 28. But at the end of Acts chapter 28, we find Paul on house arrest in Rome for two years, waiting for his opportunity to stand before Caesar and present the case. And I wonder throughout this time, how many times did Paul feel like it was the end of

for him. The end of his life, perhaps the end of his ministry, certainly that it could have been incredibly discouraging. And that's exactly why the Lord showed up and told him, be of good cheer. I'm with you and I'm going to be doing a work through this.

Well, looking at Acts chapter 28, verse 30 and 31, real briefly, it says, And so Paul has been in prison for a couple years. He gets to Rome. Now he's going to spend another couple years in prison.

But Paul is active in the work of the Lord even in the midst of that time. And so he is receiving people. He's preaching the kingdom of God. And there's a lot that's going on. I like what Pastor Dave Guzik says about this time for the Apostle Paul. He says, God didn't waste Paul's time in Rome. God never wastes our time. Though we may waste it by not sensing God's purpose for our lives at the moment.

You know, I can imagine the Apostle Paul being pretty frustrated. You know, it was a difficult situation to be imprisoned. Even though he had some freedoms, it was kind of like house arrest. And yet at the same time, this was a man who was exploring the world with the gospel. And he was taking the gospel to different places. And he had a heart to go where no one has brought the gospel before and to reach new areas and bring forth the gospel message again.

And now he has been bound in prison for about five years. He's just sitting there, not able to go anywhere, but it wasn't a waste of Paul's time. God was not just wasting Paul's life away. This five years was not wasted as far as God was concerned. He had plans and purposes for him. And yet Dave Guzik reminds us that's the same true. The same is true for us. It's the same for us, but

But we can waste our own time by not sensing God's purpose for our lives at the moment. And again, that's why the title of the message is what looks like the end is not the end. Because this morning, I want to encourage you to not give up

on the plans of God and the purposes of God. God's not wasting your time. And the things that you go through and the situations that have presented themselves, it's not just a distraction from ultimately what God wants to do, but it's part of the work of God. And we need to hold onto and maintain that sense of God's purpose in our lives and recognize that God is at work

And there is a work that he has set before us. And we get to be part of the continuing of the book of Acts. We get to be part of the work of God for all eternity. And we need to maintain that perspective and hold that course to continue to serve the Lord and be part of what he has called us to and given us opportunity to be involved in.

And so what looks like the end is not the end. And there's four points I'd like to highlight for you as we kind of bounce around a little bit. But kind of starting here at Acts chapter 28 verse 30 and 31. Point number one is receive all who come to you. When things happen in our lives and the curveballs come and the things that, well, it makes us think that. It makes us feel like, well, this is the end.

And those hopes aren't going to be fulfilled. Those dreams aren't going to be completed. You know, those plans aren't going to come to pass.

In the meantime, as we experience the surprises and the trials and the afflictions and the unexpected things, we still have an opportunity to minister and to be part of the work of the kingdom of God, even when our access is limited because we can receive all who come to us. Again, looking at Acts chapter 28, verse 30, it says, then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house and received all who came to him.

to him. So Paul had very limited access to the city of Rome because he couldn't just go out on the streets. He couldn't just go out into the marketplace and begin to share the gospel. He was locked up and confined to this house. He couldn't go out, but people could come to visit him. And so that's what Paul did. He received those who came to him.

He received them and ministered to them. And now, who was it that came to Paul during this time? Well, earlier in Acts chapter 28, we saw Paul invite the Jewish leaders. And so the Jewish leaders, the leaders that were prominent in the community, there came and listened to Paul and probably had opportunity to come back again and visit Paul. And so Paul was ministering and receiving unbelieving Jews and spending time with them.

We also can, I think, safely assume that Christians were coming to visit Paul because we saw also in Acts chapter 28 that there were people who, when they heard Paul was coming, they walked 43 miles to greet Paul, to welcome him. Even though he's coming in chains, he's coming as a prisoner, but the Christians from Rome walked 43 miles to meet Paul on the way and to journey with him back towards Rome.

I think another good example of someone who came to Paul during this time is a man named Onesimus. Onesimus, we learn about him in Philemon chapter one. He was a slave of Philemon and Paul writes the letter to Philemon, Onesimus' master,

And he tells Philemon in verse 10, he says, I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. Here, Paul, as he is in prison, on house arrest, not able to go out, but while unbelieving Jews are coming to Paul, Christians are coming to Paul, and we don't know how it happened, but he encounters this man named Onesimus.

And Paul describes him as my son whom I've begotten while in my chains. And the idea there is that, well, while Paul was as a prisoner there in Rome, he interacted with Onesimus who then gave his life to the Lord. He became a believer in Jesus Christ. And so he has been born again now with Paul while Paul is there in chains. And Paul is going to be sending Onesimus back to Philemon.

And so for this one life, this was a valuable time. Even though Paul was in chains, Paul had the opportunity there in that situation to bring the gospel and bring salvation to this man.

Well, we also know that Paul had another opportunity for people who were coming, and that is he had opportunity with the Roman guards because he was locked up, chained during that time. And so there was always a guard chained to him.

And every four hours or every eight hours, they would switch out the guard. And so he had this just continual flow of guards who were coming in who, well, then he would have the opportunity to minister. And Paul talks a little bit about this in Philippians chapter one. It's pretty cool. In Philippians chapter one, verse 12, he tells the Philippians, I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. Paul says to the Philippians, hey guys, I want you to know I'm bound up in Rome and I'm on house arrest and I can't go out onto the streets and I can't go out, you know, to journey around and bring the gospel everywhere. But even though I'm locked up into this one place, I want you to know it's actually worked out for the furtherance of the gospel.

I mean, you and I would think, right? The furtherance of the gospel would require Paul to be able to go further. Paul's not able to go further. He's limited to this one space, one spot. And yet God has worked in Paul's life to further the gospel, even though Paul is confined to this one place. And so he says it's even become evident to the whole palace guard and to everybody else that my chains are in Christ.

Everybody is hearing the gospel message. Everybody is hearing about Jesus and specifically the palace guard, which is probably the members of the soldiers who were guarding Paul. They've all heard the gospel because, you know, every shift there's a new soldier that comes in and

Paul gets to share with them the gospel. He gets to share with them about Jesus Christ. And they get to witness as Paul's ministering to other people. They get to see the work that God is doing in Paul ongoing, soldier after soldier after soldier. For two years, you know, there's this continual flow of soldiers coming in and Paul gets to minister to each one of them. And so it has now become evident, Paul says, to the whole palace guard.

Seems like the gospel is reached even further than just the guards because in Philippians chapter 4 verse 22, Paul says, all the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household. And so we don't have any information about that. We don't know how the gospel reached Caesar's household, but

But there Paul has been in Rome now. He's been ministering to the soldiers after soldiers after soldiers. And even those who are of Caesar Nero's household, they've become believers. And they're greeting the Philippians and sending their greetings along with this letter that Paul is writing to the Philippians. And so the gospel has been furthered even though Paul is confined.

And again, it would be easy to look at this situation and to see, well, this looks like an end. It looks like the end of Paul's missionary travels. It looks like the end of Paul's evangelism efforts. It looks like the end because he's bound there in prison. But what looks like the end is not the end. And there's much more work that God has. In fact, God uses this, what looked like an end, to be really just a beginning of a far greater work that he wanted to do.

And so let me ask you to consider, are you chained to anyone right now? Has the situations of your life and the things that are happening right now in your life caused you to be in a place where, well, you're more confined than you used to be and you're not able to go and do all that you wanted to do and the plans that you had, they fell apart and the hopes were crushed and it feels like the end. Yeah, I would encourage you to follow the example of the Apostle Paul and receive all who come to you.

And so maybe there are some you're chained to right now, although maybe, hopefully, there's not actual, you know, chains on you, but maybe you're attached to a coworker right now and you really wish it wasn't the case. You'd rather work with somebody else. You'd rather be, you know, on your own or with someone who works better with you or some other situation. And so maybe you're attached to a coworker and I would encourage you to consider. I would encourage you to be seeking for opportunity

To continue to write the book of Acts. And to further the work of God. And the kingdom of God. By ministering to those. That you're connected to. And attached to. Maybe you're chained to a doctor. Maybe the.

The thing that's caused you to feel like this is the end is some type of medical situation. And there is a diagnosis and it comes and it's, man, it really causes plans to fall apart and hopes are crushed and dreams fade away and all of that. And yet, maybe that's an opportunity not just for you to receive medical attention, but for you to be chained to that doctor and for that doctor to watch God work in your heart and in your life and hear what you have to share about your encounters with God.

Maybe you would say that you're chained to a family member. Situations, you know, have just gone such a way that, well, now you have this family member in your life and you're there and there's, well, there's no escaping it and there's no detaching from it. But you're in this situation and maybe you don't even like it that much. But at the same time, I would say,

It's probably safe to say that Paul didn't like being chained to a Roman guard and yet it was an opportunity for the gospel. It was an opportunity for the work of God and the ministry of God.

What feels like an end, what looks like an end is not the end. And so again, we have to walk by faith and not by sight and trust that God knows where we're at and receive those he brings into our lives. Receive those that we are chained to. Receive those that we are attached to.

Whether they be unbelievers or Christians or that one anisimist that we get to share the gospel with or that continual flow of Roman guards or whoever it might be in your life. We have the opportunity to receive them and minister to them the things of the kingdom of God. Well, not only do we receive those who come to us, we also, going on now to point number two, we find other ways to reach out. This is really what Paul did.

That he was not able to go on the missionary journeys as he had his habit of doing. He wasn't able to go visit all of these different places where he had been already. And he wasn't able to go to new places and bring the gospel to them. But here again, we find a good example in the Apostle Paul in that he found some other ways to reach out and to minister beyond his cell, to minister beyond the house where he was confined.

You know, God is very creative. And you and I have the opportunity to be part of the work of God, even in those very limiting times in our lives. When things feel very limited and constricted, it feels like there's no way we could be very effective. And yet, God can use those very situations to use us greatly.

Paul was receiving people as they came, but you know, when people were not coming to Paul, Paul was going to them. And he reached out to them by letter. He wrote letters during this time in prison. And let me tell you that some of the greatest passages in the whole Bible were written by the

There's three kind of letters that stand out that we know Paul wrote during this time. Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Now there's probably many other letters that he wrote also to other churches and believers and those were not preserved for us. But we have these three that the Lord sought to preserve for us. And so we have them included in our scriptures, in the word of God. Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

And as you read through these books, I think it's easy to recognize, man, these are some of the most powerful passages that we have in all of the scriptures. Things like Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9, where Paul wrote, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

There the Apostle Paul writing to the church of Ephesus gives us a very clear synopsis of the gospel message and the doctrine of grace. That salvation is by grace. You're saved by grace through faith.

And that it's not of yourselves and it's not of works. And so he summarizes essentially the book of Romans, you know, in these two verses. It's a powerful passage there that records for us the accessibility of the gospel message and the doctrine of grace.

We also have in the book of Ephesians chapter 4 where he expounds upon spiritual gifts and the place of the body of Christ and there's some amazing and important truths there. In Ephesians chapter 5 he spends some time talking about order within the home and the role of the husband and the role of the wife and how the family is to work together.

In Ephesians chapter 6, of course, we have that impressive and powerful passage on spiritual war and the armor of God and how to, you know, defend yourself and prepare for the battles that are spiritual battles that we face. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and authorities in high places, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6. Important, crucial passages for us.

that Paul wrote while he was there in prison. He found other ways to reach out, even when he couldn't go to Ephesus. He wrote this letter, which has ministered to us and to many, many others before us and will minister to many others after us. Again, some of the greatest passages in the Bible were written by Paul during this time in prison.

If you consider the book of Philippians, also written by Paul, we get from the book of Philippians just the joy that Paul had, even in the midst of prison. And we find from his pattern the spelling out of joy. J stands for Jesus, O stands for others, and Y stands for yourself. And in that way, if you have that priority, you put Jesus first and others second and yourself last.

third, then you will have joy. And we see Paul model that and demonstrate that all throughout the book of Philippians. But we have incredible promises in Philippians, like Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, that we are confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. It's here in Philippians chapter 1 verse 21 that Paul says, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

In Philippians chapter two, we have just an overwhelmingly important passage as Paul talks about the humility of Jesus. And he says, "'Let this mind be in you, "'which was also in Christ Jesus, "'who being in the form of God, "'did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, "'but made himself of no reputation.'

taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And he talks about the humility of Jesus so that God has exalted him and given him a name that is above all names. Incredible passage there in Philippians chapter two. In Philippians chapter three, Paul sets us an example and he says, look, I don't count myself as having apprehended or attained perfection, but here's what I do. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.

And then in Philippians chapter 4, we have that incredible passage where Paul says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Paul couldn't go to Philippi to minister to the saints there. So he wrote a letter. And boy, are we thankful for

That Paul wrote this letter and there's just these incredible truths, incredible promises and great comfort that Paul, even though he's in prison, can write, be anxious for nothing.

But let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. There was this incredible comfort that Paul was able to give to the Philippians and to the rest of us as he reaches out in, well, a different way than he was used to. He didn't go visit the place, but instead sent this letter and we're blessed by it.

Again, some of the greatest passages in the Bible were written by Paul during this time in prison. Like what we learn in Colossians chapter one, where Paul gives us some incredible doctrine about the deity of Jesus Christ.

Colossians chapter 1 verse 15, Paul says, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him.

Here we get to learn about Jesus and the fact that he is the creator of the heavens and the earth, of all things being created through him and for him, and how he is the perfect representation, the image of the invisible God, and has that place of firstborn over all creation. And so incredible truth that is found here in the book of Colossians.

In Colossians chapter 2 verse 9, Paul says that in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That Jesus is God who became man. And so we have these awesome passages that were written by Paul specifically during this time in prison. Paul could not go back to Colossae. He couldn't go back to Philippi. He couldn't go back to Ephesus. So he found another way to reach them.

And again, I think Paul sets a great example for us. When it looks like the end, understand that it's not the end and maybe we need to be more creative.

in seeking to minister and do the work of the kingdom of God. God is very creative and he is able to work in ways that, well, perhaps we didn't consider before, but now when we're confined, now when life has thrown us that curve ball and it does feel like the end and our plans have fallen apart, you need to be reminded that you can still be effective in

In this time of confinement or restriction or devastation, whatever it might be, that God's still able to work. And I would say even that he can work more effectively because not only was the Church of Philippi ministered to through this,

and the church of Ephesus and the church of Colossae, but think of all the generations of believers that have been impacted because Paul wrote the letter instead of just going in person and saying it. It has had a much bigger impact than Paul going there. And instead, you and I today are blessed and generations before us have been blessed by these words, by this encouragement, by the word of God that was brought forth by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul.

And it's a good example for us. God can take what we think is so limiting and so confined and completely different than what we imagined or thought. And God can use that to do a much greater work beyond what we would have ever expected or dared to imagine. Find other ways to reach out when you find those opportunities.

those curve balls, the things that look like it's the end. And of course, you know, I don't have to tell you that we live in incredible times for connecting to people. We don't just have to write a letter and send it by someone who has to physically travel to the place. But we have the opportunity to be connected to people and part of the work of God around the world instantly so very easily as far as our effort is concerned.

And again, we're continuing the writing of the book of Acts. Even when we're stuck in prison, even when we're stuck in bed, or stuck in that job, or stuck at home, or stuck anywhere,

in a wheelchair. I found it interesting. You might have heard of Joni Eareckson Tada. She was a young girl. She dove into a lake and had an injury and has been, you know, paralyzed ever since. And so she's celebrating this year, 50 years in a wheelchair. But if you know anything about Joni Eareckson Tada, you know she's paralyzed, but she's not immobile. And she has...

An incredible ministry of joy and an incredible ministry of reaching people with the gospel message. Now I'm sure as she experienced the injury, it felt like the end. Her life plans, it was not going to be what she had thought, had hoped. And plans fell apart and hopes were crushed. It felt like the end. And yet it wasn't the end. It was a different course that God had that changed.

will open far greater opportunities to impact the kingdom of God and to be part of the work of God. God is very creative and we can be part of his work. Even in those times that we think are very limited, even in those times that we feel are very constricted, those are times that God can use far greater than we could ever ask, we could ever imagine, than we could ever think. What looks like the end is not the end.

you still have opportunity to be part of the work of the kingdom of God. Well, moving on to the third point as we continue to consider this thought, point number three this morning is develop your prayer life. This is one that I think is really important for us to consider. And that is when it looks like the end, especially when we're

restricted or constricted and and maybe it is in prison or maybe it is in bed or maybe it is you know some some medical condition and and we're not able to go places and to do what we wanted to do or once did we're not able to to be physically present we're not able to physically go and so yeah we can write letters we can send emails we can you know find other ways to reach out but another way for us to be part of the work of the kingdom of god

is to really learn to pray, to spend time in prayer to God. And I found this to be really interesting as I was looking over the letters that Paul wrote from prison. I just mentioned those Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians. In all of Paul's letters, he talks about prayer

But you know, in Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians, he actually writes down some really powerful prayers that he's praying for the people of those places. So as he sends the letter to Ephesus, he says, hey guys, you know, here's a bunch of doctrine and here's a bunch of truth and exhortation and encouragement. And here's what I'm praying for you.

Paul's prayers, I'm not going to go through them in detail, but in Ephesians chapter 1, we have one of those prayers that Paul prays for the Ephesians, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

You can spend a lot of time. We could spend many weeks...

Just meditating on and teaching and going through these lines of prayer that Paul is praying over the Ephesians. It's a powerful prayer. I would encourage you to check it out and learn from it how to pray for the people in your life. He prays for the Ephesians again in Ephesians chapter 3.

He says, for this reason, I bow my knee to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,

A powerful prayer that Paul says,

praise over the church of Ephesus, the believers at Ephesus. And again, there's great truth in there. It's a powerful prayer that we can study for many days to come. Paul couldn't go there, so he wrote a letter. He couldn't go there, but you know, he could still be part of the work that God was doing in the lives of the people of Ephesus by praying for them.

And so as he writes this letter, he includes a couple of his prayers. He also includes a prayer as he writes to the Philippians in Philippians chapter one, verses nine through 11. And he prays for them that their love would abound more and more in all knowledge and discernment, that they would approve the things which are excellent, that they would be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus to the glory and praise of God.

Again, he couldn't go to Philippi, so he wrote a letter. But also, along with the letter, he says, here's my prayer for you. This is what I'm praying over you guys. He couldn't be there physically. He couldn't lay hands on them and pray, but he could still be present with them and part of the work that God was doing in their lives by praying for them even from prison in Rome.

And then again in Colossians chapter 1, Paul records his prayer for the church at Colossae in verses 9 through 12. He says,

Paul could not go to Colossae, but he could pray for the saints. He could be part of the work that God was doing in their lives.

By praying for them. And so again, it's a powerful prayer and you could spend a lot of time looking at the truth and there's great meat in there and it teaches us how to pray for people. But the bottom line is we have the opportunity to pray for people and to be part of the work of the kingdom of God.

I think this is expressed really clearly by Paul in his letter to the Romans. In Romans chapter 15 verse 30, Paul begs the Romans. He says, I beg you brethren through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me. Paul begs the Romans. He says, I need your prayers. I implore you. I beseech you.

I beg you, brethren, please be praying for me because it really does have an impact.

It really does make a difference. Prayer is an important and valuable tool that what God has given to us. I shared last week out of Luke chapter 5 and talked about the importance of asking God for miracles. And James says that sometimes we don't have simply because we haven't asked God for it. That there are things that, well, God will give and he will do. He will work as we invite him to and as we call upon him to work.

And so Paul says, look guys, I need you guys to pray for me. I'm going through things and I'm involved in the work of the kingdom of God, but I can't do this in my strength. I can't do this in my efforts. I need the Lord to be at work. And listen, you guys in Rome who've never met me, as Paul's writing to them, they hadn't met Paul yet, but you guys can be part of the missionary work that I'm doing over here by praying for me.

He says that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me. Strive together with me. That is join in the work with me. We have an incredible opportunity that we can be part of the work of God through the lives of the missionaries that have been sent out from here. But anybody that we pray for,

We can join in the work that God is doing in people's lives. The work that has eternal value. The work that changes hearts and lives. We get to be part of that by striving together in prayer for them. And that's an incredible opportunity for us.

And so again, when it looks like the end, understand that it's not the end. Even if you're locked up and confined, even if you're bound to the bed or bound to the cell or bound to the room or bound to the job or bound to this situation and the things that you wanted to do and the plans that you had and all the opportunities that you thought laid ahead of you, now all of those are gone, yet it's not the end.

And maybe you had plans for, you know, things that were not of God, but also maybe you had plans for ministry and you had plans for mission trips and you had plans for things that you were going to do and areas that you were going to grow and, you know, you were going to learn guitar and play worship and you were going to, you know, go there and share with somebody or whatever the case may be. And now...

those opportunities, well, it looks like it's the end of that. There's no opportunity. You can't go and do what you wanted to do. You can't go and be where you wanted to be. You can't go and speak to the people you wanted to speak to. But it's really not the end. You still have opportunity. And it can still be an effective time of God working in you and through you for his glory. And you can join in that work by prayer. You know, there are some things that

We just don't get to participate in as much as we want to. Think about David in the Old Testament. Man, he really desired, he longed for, he really wanted to be able to build the temple. But God said, no, your son will build the temple. But David, that's not for you. But what God told David along with that, Solomon records it for us in 1 Kings 8, verse 18. He says, the Lord said to my father, David,

Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. You know, there are some things that we would love to do and it's in our heart to do, but we just can't do. For whatever reason, there's doors that are closed and there's opportunities that they've just gone away and we don't have the opportunity that we wanted to have, that we hoped we would have.

But God says, you know, hey, you did good that it's in your heart. You did good in that you desired to be part of that work. And we can take it a step further that even though we might not be able to do the work, we can still be part of the work. Again, striving together in prayer along with those that God is using to do the work that is going on. And so we can join in with the work. Paul says, I beg you, please.

And our missionaries would extend that and say, I beg you, please. And that's why on Wednesday nights, we devote time to pray for our missionaries. Because, well, for one thing, they need it. But for another thing, it's to our advantage. We get to be part of the work that is happening around the world. And you may not be able to reach

that person that you love so much and maybe you know that relationship has fallen apart and you thought you were going to share the gospel you want to share the gospel with them you want them to be saved and you feel like well that opportunity is gone now they don't even want to ever hear from me again but you know you can still be part of the work by praying for them those co-workers maybe you thought i was going to witness to them and then they got transferred and moved out and man i lost my opportunity you can be still be part of the work and

You thought you were going to go here, go there, and now things have changed and it looks like it's the end of that opportunity, but it's really not. It's not the end. You get to still be part of the work of God in a powerful and meaningful way by praying for those people. Well, finishing it up with the fourth point, I want to encourage you to continue the work of God. When it looks like the end,

Recognize that it's not the end. And the main thing that I hope is coming across here is that, well, we must not give up. We must not give up. When it looks like the end and the curveballs have been thrown at us and life has just fallen apart and all of our plans, just there's no way they're ever going to come to pass. And we think it's all done and we think it's all gone and our opportunities have been wasted. And yet, even then, in the midst of all of that,

You still have opportunity to serve God. And you still have much to contribute to the work of God. And also you can trust that God will still fulfill his promises. He may still even fulfill your hopes and dreams even when you feel like it's all hopeless and it's all lost and there's no way that could ever happen at this point. You can think about the Apostle Paul who greatly desired to minister in Rome.

He wrote to the church of Rome and said, hey, I've been trying and I've tried many times and just the doors have been closed, but I greatly long and I have new plans now. I'm going to try to get to Rome. And you know, Paul's plans, none of them worked out. Paul did get to Rome. God brought Paul to Rome, but it was definitely not the way that Paul planned, but it was the way that God planned.

And so that desire that was in Paul's heart to get to Rome, God said, I'm going to give you that desire. And he brought Paul to Rome, even though all of Paul's plans fell apart. It looked like it was the end and there was no way he was going to get to Rome. But God said, I have a plan to get you to Rome and I'm going to fulfill that hope. I'm going to fulfill that desire that you have. Paul also desired to minister in Spain.

He wrote, as he was writing to the Romans, about his plans to go to Spain. He really wanted to go to somewhere where Christians had not gone yet, where the gospel had not been brought yet. And so he wanted to go beyond Rome into the area of Spain. And it's interesting, we don't have it recorded in our scriptures in the New Testament, but

But from other writings and historians from the early church, it does seem that Paul actually made it to Spain. Now, how could he make it to Spain when here at the end of Acts chapter 28, Paul is there in prison awaiting to appear before Caesar? Well, again, we don't have this recorded in the book of Acts or in the rest of the New Testament, but...

But early church historians have some records and indicate to us that Paul did appear before Caesar. Well, I could say for certain Paul appeared before Caesar because God told him that he would. But that after he appeared before Caesar, he was released. There was no case against Paul. He was in prison for these past five years, but it was not for any crime that he had actually committed.

And so it seems that he is released after he appears before Caesar Nero. And then, again, the writings indicate, the historians indicate that he goes on one more missionary journey. And in this final missionary journey, there's different places that Paul probably visited. Again, these are not in scripture, so it's, you know, somewhat confusing.

more debatable than some things. But there is evidence. There are those who have written about Paul visiting Spain. He desired to go to Spain. It didn't happen the way he planned, but it seems that God opened up a door. Even when, well, I'm in prison. I'm in Rome, inbound, and waiting to appeal before Caesar.

It seems like that's never going to be open. But God found a way and he opened the door and Paul went to Spain. There's even some indications that he went beyond Spain into the area of Britain and brought the gospel there.

But then he came back into the Mediterranean, came back into the area of Europe and he went to Crete, the island of Crete, where he left Titus. And you read about that in the book of Titus chapter one. Paul tells Titus, for this reason, I left you in Crete. This happens after his imprisonment in Rome. After his release, he's going around and he's ministering again. He's got a new opportunity to go and to be a missionary like he once was.

It seems that he goes to Ephesus. In 1 Timothy chapter 1, Paul tells Timothy, hey, I left you behind in Ephesus so that you could do this work. And he gives him some instruction about what needs to be done there in Ephesus. But he also says, well, I went into Macedonia. And so he crosses over from Ephesus into Macedonia, again, where Philippi is and Thessalonica is. And he's ministering there again.

Then he goes to a place called Nicopolis and he tells Titus about that in Titus chapter 3. He says, I'm going to winter here. And then it seems that from there, Paul was taken to Rome, captured, or we don't know exactly the circumstances, but he's imprisoned again. This time it's not friendly house arrest, you know, that kind of thing, like what we saw in Acts chapter 28. But

But he's imprisoned and he is eventually beheaded by Caesar Nero, by the Roman emperor. And that happens probably around 68 AD when Paul is 66 years old. But so Paul gets this final chance, this last opportunity, this last hurrah. He's released from prison.

And he just goes and fulfills those desires that he had to minister for God, to bring glory to God. And he's just serving. He's giving one last go. He thought it was the end a long time ago. And maybe he even thought the end was standing before Caesar Nero. But it still is not the end. And Paul was able to then go and minister in ways that he probably had kind of given up on.

but God still had a way and God was still able to open doors for him. Paul was tenacious. He persevered. He didn't give up. And again, that's the emphasis, I think, for us this morning. Don't give up.

On being part of the work of the kingdom of God. Because of the circumstances that you now face. In fact recognize that the circumstances that you now face. Might actually be for the furtherance of the gospel. To enable you to be part of even greater work for God. And in God's name. And so we need to keep pushing to serve God. And keep going forward to continue the work of God. I would ask you to consider the letters that Paul wrote.

Here's a quick look at this timeline here in the book of Acts. We see Paul converted around 36 AD. These dates are a little bit, you know, fuzzy and so it's our best guesses. But around 36 AD, Paul is converted and then a few years later, almost 12 years later, he goes on his first missionary journey. And so he is, you know, beginning the process of learning what it's like to go plant churches and

Then he goes on another missionary journey in 51 AD. He goes around and visits the churches that they had already established in the previous trip. And that begins his letter writing campaign as far as what we have record of. And he writes 1st and 2nd Thessalonians as well as the book of Galatians. Well, he returns from that and a couple years later in 54 AD, Paul goes on a third missionary journey.

And during that trip, as he's going from place to place, he writes 1 and 2 Corinthians, as well as probably a 3 Corinthians that we don't have anymore, and the book of Romans. But then in 59 AD is in Acts chapter 21, where Paul is there on the Temple Mount, and the Jews try to kill him, and he's taken into Roman custody, and he's going to spend the next five years in prison. That happens around 59 AD or so. 58, probably 59 AD or so.

And then Paul is here in prison in Acts chapter 28, 62 AD. He's in prison and he begins to write to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians. He writes the book of Philemon. Then as he's released from prison, he writes 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, the pastoral epistles. All of this, I'm kind of drawing this out a little bit to say, look, Paul wrote seven of his 13 letters after Acts 28.

what he probably thought was the end, what felt like the end, what we could look at and think, wow, that's the end of that. Paul wrote half of what his contribution to the New Testament was 13 letters. More than half of that was written after we would say it was already over, but it wasn't over. God still had much more work for Paul to do.

Many ways for him to contribute to the work of the kingdom of God. It would have been easy for him to feel like his life was over, like his ministry was over as he sits there in prison in Acts chapter 28. But there from prison, it really begins the last half of his ministry, which is

You could argue more fruitful than the first half of his ministry. As Paul dwelt two years there 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. Paul the apostle continued the work of God.

And that finishes up the book of Acts. But again, it looks like the end, chapter 28.

But it's not really the end. And that's why I asked you to turn to Acts chapter 29 because, well, that's our lives. That's what we're doing. We're contributing now to this work that Paul was part of and that continues to this day.

The commentator Alexander McLaren says, Luke has left plenty of paper, a blank paper at the end of his second treaties on which he meant that succeeding generations should write their partial contributions to the completed work. We all have our partial contributions. That is, you know, what I contribute to the kingdom of God is not the whole work of the kingdom of God. There's much more going on as far as God is concerned in his work than I could ever even understand. But

But I get to contribute and I get to be part of that. And we all get to be part of that. And we all contribute our peace. We all write our sentence in Acts chapter 29. We all contribute to the continuing of the work of God, to the glory of God. And we get to be part of what God is doing. Let me remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, where Paul writing about the body of Christ says that God has set the members, each one of them in the body, just as he pleased.

He says in verse 22 of 1 Corinthians 12, he says, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And then in verse 24, God composed the body having given greater honor to the part which lacks it. I skipped around a little bit there. You can check out 1 Corinthians 12 in more detail later. But here's the point. God sets the members.

He gives us a place, a role, a responsibility, an opportunity to be part of the work of the kingdom of God. And those members which seem to be weaker, those members, those places, those parts that seem to be not that important,

He says, God actually composed the body to give greater honor to those parts. And so whether that be your own perspective or somebody else's perspective, if you feel like, you know, it seems like my part's not that big, not that important. I have a weaker part, especially because look at all these circumstances. Look at this situation that I'm facing. And I thought I was going to have a bigger part, but it looks like it's the end.

Let me remind you, what looks like the end is not the end. You're still a member of the body of Christ. You still have a valuable contribution to make to the work of those circumstances and the things that you face. There's many times in life where we feel like it's the end.

And life throws a curveball at us. And a five-year prison sentence that was given to Paul, I mean, if I received that, that would feel like the end of my life. I'll never really get to serve God again. I'll never get to be part of the work of God again. I'll never, you know, it will feel like it's the end, but it's not the end. We had plans. We had hopes. We had dreams. We had promises from God, but now these situations that are at hand make us think that it's the end.

But it's not the end. God's not done. You still have opportunity to be part of his work. You still have opportunity to contribute to the work of the kingdom of God. Even when the plans that you had fall apart, even when the hopes that you had are dashed to pieces, when it feels like the promises of God will not be fulfilled, it's still not the end.

It can actually still be an effective time and more effective than what you had planned. And God can use the things that are happening in your life and the circumstances that you're in to a greater degree than what you would have thought. Let me finish up with that quote from Pastor Dave Guzik that I shared earlier. God didn't waste Paul's time in Rome. God never wastes our time, though we may waste it by not sensing God's purpose for our lives at the moment.

God doesn't waste our time. He doesn't just allow circumstances in our lives just to, you know, it's busy work. You know, just wasting time. It's meaningless. It's useless.

He allows in our lives what's good for us, what is necessary for us, but also what is useful for him to bring the gospel to the world around us, for us to shine the light of Christ and to be his witnesses to the world around us. He works in our lives through those things to a greater degree than we can really understand.

As we've been reading through the Bible in three years this past week, we read Luke chapter 10 verse 2 where Jesus sends out the 70 disciples and he tells them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And this morning I want to encourage you to recognize that the harvest is great,

There is a great work of God to be done and we get to be part of that. But we need to pray that the Lord would send out laborers because the laborers are few. And there are many times and there are many of us who miss out on participating in the work of God because of the situations that face us. Because we think it's the end. Maybe we had those aspirations at one time and hopes and dreams and plans and thoughts about serving God and being part of the work of God. But

But we thought it was the end. Or the things that we face now make us think it's the end, but it's not the end. You still have opportunity. How can you do that? Well, follow the example of Paul. Receive all who come to you. The people that you're attached to, the people that you're interacting with, it's not random chance, it's not happenstance, and it's not just, you know, someone sent to be an irritant to you, you know, just to be a thorn in the flesh, you know, you might say. Those people are in your life.

so that you can receive them, so that you can make an impact, so that you can minister to them. Receive all who come to you and look for and be praying for opportunity to minister. And maybe it's in your words or maybe it's in your example, maybe it's in your prayers, but receive all who come to you and find other ways to reach out. Maybe you can't reach out and do what you wanted to do and do what you hope to do, do what you plan to do, but

But that doesn't mean there's no opportunity for you to be part of the work. There's other ways. And maybe if you're confined, you need to write some letters or maybe God wants to do something different than what you had in mind and what you had planned. When those things come crashing down, don't give up. Don't think it's the end. Don't think that God is done with you. God's not wasting your time. There's still work ahead.

for you to contribute to it and for you to have a valuable part in the body of Christ. Find other ways to reach out. Be seeking God on how you can minister from where you're at and under the circumstances that you're in. And thirdly, develop your prayer life.

You can truly have a powerful impact and be part of the work of the kingdom of God through prayer. And you can have an impact in people's lives. You can have an impact on the work that is going on. You can make a difference in the lives of our missionaries. You can make a difference in the lives of unbelievers, unsaved friends and family, and those that need to receive and hear the gospel message. We get to be part of that work in prayer. And we can strive together together

Even when we can't be there personally and physically present, we can be part of that work, striving together with those who are present by praying to God for them. And then finally, continuing the work of God, taking advantage of those opportunities that we have. It's not over yet. And even those plans and those hopes and those dreams, maybe you wanted to go to Spain like Paul and you thought, well, that's the end of that.

And it might be, but maybe not. Continue the work of God. Continue to press forward. Persevere like Paul did. And don't give up so that later on when you have that opportunity, you've already kind of given up and you're in this spot where it's like, well, I used to want to do that, but I don't want to really do that anymore.

No, no, no. Pick up those mantles again. Pick up those desires again and go when God gives you that opportunity and continue the work of God and press in towards those things and not just give up on them because of the circumstances that you are in. What looks like the end is not the end. Trust God and continue to be part of his plan for your life.

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.