The End…Not Really!

other things that lift our Spirits other moments that strengthen our hearts but nothing like you the God of all hope so that’s why we imagined you walking into this room right now because we want we want want what is bigger and better than human Supply it’s NeverEnding Supply the God of all hope may he cause your hearts to be filled with joy and peace in believing that’s hard for some this morning Lord It’s hard for some that can’t even be here they thought they’d just fall

apart if they showed up but I pray for your joy and peace that it would come because they believe in you and that they along with us would abound in Hope by the power of your Holy Spirit in the name of the god of hope we pray amen amen hey go ahead and have a seat if you would and kids have a great time heading to class A whole bunch of your friends are heading back to kid land and great times ahead I I want to

say something to you who are live streaming right now and the same applies to you in the house would would somebody in the house look in front of the chair at the chair back in front of you and pull out a blue card and when you get it out just wave it in the air now wave it like you’re it’s too hot in here it’s not but but you’re not by the candles there’s a lot of C okay here’s the deal okay you called me on

it they’re all electric candles so relax I have you get that out for this reason I’m convinced that Christmas for all its joy for all its Splendor it’s amazing we love it I was on a ladder I was Griswalds yesterday on a ladder and putting up Christmas lights and neighbors were walking by and then you know driving by at night and I’m like yeah yeah baby we did it this is looking good and I’m alive you know so but you know what I I know I

know from firsthand experience that Christmas is hard on some people I we don’t have to go into the reasons why it’s not even part of my message but you just need to know we care about hard we care about how it might hurt to look at all this joyful stuff and I’m not making fun of any of it it truly is joyful it’s wonderful it’s beautiful the Christmas music Miracle on 34 Street even though I fell asleep last night it was so late but all of

those things are cool but your hurt is real and if you’re hurting I want you to write down how we can pray for you on that it’s called a connection card I didn’t have you get that out and forget about it write there that down if you want it for a private prayer indicate it on there if you want it for all the people at Grace Point that pray and there’s a bunch of us then put that down would you and we promise we will pray

earnestly for you that you would see the joy and in this case begin to experience the Hope amen all right and save it for later you can put it hand it to a greeter in the rear the building the lobby or you can just bring it set it set it on your chair down here in front or put it on the piano lid and we will gather those okay so enough about that so here we are folks in step with the spirit that’s been up for

weeks and I don’t know I’m not going to compare this to raising kids and they go off to college and leave which is exactly what we had planned all along but it feels a little bit that way you come to the end of a message series of messages 54 of them inch by inch verse by verse we’ve walked together through some really cool stuff and if you’re brand new today you just need to trust me that we’ve actually changed our Bibles all have an editorial comment

that this is Acts of the Apostles and in and indeed it is but because of the constant presence of the Holy Spirit throughout The Narrative of Acts we’ve very reverently added this label as well acts of the Holy Spirit and we’ve come to be comfortable with you know God’s I’m not sure how God’s going to find a way but the holy spirit will lead me forward today we live like that more and more of us are saying I I don’t have to get it it’s like

it’s like do I understand what flowers do to Debbie no but but get flowers she likes flowers that’s enough that’s and the same with the holy spirit it’s like you may not fully understand him but he’s at work and he’s not just out there this is not Star Wars and he is not a force he is a person the Holy Spirit and here’s the Grabber he lives inside of all the people who have bowed their knee and said Jesus I Need You I can’t I can’t

pull this off without you the holy spirit says I’m there and I have you’ve opened the door and I come to live inside you okay so we come to the end of this series and the end I have in my notes and in my mind it’s the end with an aster so an aster is a device that says essentially not really that’s why my title is the end not really but it is how it feels to me as the one that has been the presenter of

these things during this journey a little over a year after a high drama voyage that we’ve just left where it took Paul from cesaria on the far East End of the Mediterranean it’s the border of Israel today you could stand there all the way to Rome it’s a long journey and the conclusion of the acts of the Apostle strikes me and it’s a feeling I had when way before this week in preparing my final thoughts is is that it’s it’s the conclusion of Acts but it

it’s anything but conclusive I hope that’s not a SPO a spoiler thing for you but if your Bible’s not open to acts why don’t you open it up and stop in chapter 21 on your way to the the end no we’re not going to cover eight chapters here but truth be told if you do come to chapter 28 I would suspect if I get if I’m successful in my work here today that you’ll come feeling a little bit you’ll gather up your stuff and leave feeling

a little bit like you went to see a high octane movie like crazy cool highlevel drama and then the ending went how many have seen Titanic you get my point right okay it’s a it’s a great movie it’s wild it’s it’s like who wants to drown you know and all that and and there’s this love story that’s playing somehow and then and then the the guy the last shot is he’s disappearing under water and dies and the lady with the what was it the heart the

huh heart the heart of the sea it’s it’s expensive jewelry it’s they don’t even carry it at Costco it’s at expensive right and she takes it throws it into the water all right everybody gather your stuff we’re leaving now it’s over I mean you get my point okay so Paul I’ve referred to it already but this my first impression after retracing Paul’s determined Focus to go to Rome he’s in Israel and he’s got to go 2,000 miles that’s almost the East Coast from here sailing that

distance to get to Rome with the gospel and this sense of determination I guess I would call it really surfaced in chapter 21 there is after arriving at the temple as predicted a group of Jews Rouse a mob to oppose him you probably remember back which is why I had you stop in chapter 21 you remember back to the warnings Paul was given don’t go to Jerusalem it’s not a smart plan Paul they’re quoting God they’re they’re quoting all this all these reasons why look at

verse 31 in chapter 21 you’ll see what I’m talking about so the whole Ci’s verse 31 while they were trying to kill Paul news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar he at once took some of some of his officers and soldiers ran down to the crowd and when the rioter saw the commander and his soldiers they stopped beating Paul that means he’s getting the stuffing beat out of him and all of a sudden guys with

uniforms and badges and swords show up and they stepped off the commander came up and arrested Paul and ordered him to be bound with two chains then he asked who he was and what he had done the assumption is a good one you had to do something what did you did you you commit a crime and tried to get away some in the crowd shouting one thing and some another and since the commander couldn’t get the truth about what the uproar was about he ordered that

Paul be taken into the barracks look at this when Paul reached the steps the crowd blew up and the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be picture my hands now he had to be carried by the the soldiers overhead to keep him away from a crowd that wanted to pull him apart in pieces and that very crowd was shouting all the while kill him so I bring that up for this simple reason chapter 21 I didn’t quite do the percentages but

it’s about yeah it’s about 75% of the way to the end of Acts and from that word that I just read soldiers taking him into the barracks 100% of the rest of Acts he was under their custody that puts a little different this wasn’t just a skirmish and he was given you know U bail and got out a couple of days later in fact acts ends you could close the book now and you would conclude wow he’s under custody the rest of the way for following

Jesus how many want to follow Jesus I mean I like the Miracles that come and go where he’s busted out of jail and Peter before him I like those I wish they were part of every story but for bigger reasons that I think we’ll understand as we get to chapter 28 God had plans for him so in Jerusalem he’s under this protective custody and and then one night and I want you to go to chapter 23 now chapter 23 he’s he’s been taken into custody and

he’s brought out to face a crowd of people what’s this about everybody’s calm again what’s this about what have you done that deserves you were getting beat up and there’s a lot of blood in all that it’s not good what’s going on here chapter 23 captures that for us and notice there’s a there’s a there’s a conflict among those that are accusing Paul there was a great uproar verse 9 says and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously

we find nothing wrong with this man so they sounds like they’re supporting him and they were at that moment what if a spirit or an angel had spoken to him the dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces this is Pharisees and Sadducees very different view of the law and a lot of other stuff we’ve covered that earlier so this Commander we’re talking a Roman Commander orders the troops to go down take him away from them and bring him

into the barracks and I I bring this up to have you notice how my Bible turns to red ink in verse 11 the following night Paul is still under custody the Lord stood near Paul and said take courage you say why you say that loud because there’s an exclamation point telling me to as you have testified testified about me in Jerusalem look at How It Ends you must also testify 2,000 miles from here in Rome so after appealing Paul appealing his case because the next several

Pages cover all of that chapter 25 verse 10 Paul says I now stand before for Caesar before Caesar’s Court where I’m I ought to be tried I have not done anything wrong to Jews as you yourself know very well and then he drops down by saying if the charges brought against Me by these Jews are not true then no one no one has the right to hand me over to the Jews who want to kill me and look how he ends it four words I appeal

to Caesar it’s actually spoken by Paul strongly you can’t take care of me you can’t do away with me I appeal to Caesar and where does Caesar live Rome to Rome he goes the details of how he got there made for a fast fasinating study in chapter 27 of course and they included a lifethreatening hurricane I guess by definition a hurricane is a life-threatening event right and I don’t know if it was a category one or a five but I don’t want to be anywhere near

a hurricane anybody here been in a hurricane curious serious well you’re here so you made it that’s good anybody been in a tornado Prime more of those or near them anybody just seen a funnel cloud yeah scared enough to go in the opposite direction right I remember seeing one when I was a kid I was 10 and we were outside of Chicago and I just cried my eyes out because I was afraid of the way it was going to hurt my brother who was in another

car and we had lost track of them we didn’t know where they were so serious stuff stuff only this is a hurricane there’s a life-threatening one if you want to read details read chapter 27 it’s really a good read okay but there’s this hurricane that results in a shipwreck and then a harrowing swim for sure we sometimes read those words and we don’t let our mental image come into Focus but a hurricane is how it started led to a shipwreck they run into the sand bar

and the the Seas didn’t suddenly go there now we’re calm again it beat this ship apart and it was Man Overboard everybody fled they went overboard 270 something of them and this I love swimming at the beach in southern cal not up here but it’s warmer but you know what I’ve never even tried it in a a tropical storm much less hurricane winds and there’s this harrowing swim to the shore and it and then they get on the shore and they’re just shaking like a leaf

because they’re freezing cold and they’re they’re terrified out of their mind and and so they gather around this fire in this island called Malta and and there’s there’s a nice fire to warm yourself and maybe get dry a little bit when Paul gathers some s sticks and stuff to to stoke the fire he about drops it into the fire and suddenly discovers there’s a venomous Viper hanging from his hand in front of everybody I mean this stuff you can’t make it up they’re in Malta by

the way if you look at a map in the back of your bible let me do the work for you it’s 600 miles short of Rome h and we’ve covered all this before it’s about a thre Monon delay there I say delay and I have that in italics in my mind because what’s a delay to me is not always a delay to God at all in fact I would say never are you with me which means I got to I got to change my mind about

delays but that’s another time so that brings us to chapter 28 for the final leg of Paul’s trip to Rome look at verse 11 let’s pick up there chapter 28 shipwrecks all behind us they’ve wintered on Malta and after 3 months we put out to sea in a ship that had winterized in the island was an alexandrian ship with the figurehead of twin gods casor and Pollock we put in at Syracuse and stayed there 3 days from there we set sail and arrived at re regium

reum is the you know Italy you you know the boot it’s this it’s the tip of the boot that’s regum okay so the next day the south wind that means coming up from the south begins to blow and on the following day we reach P ptii which is the ankle of the foot okay reim and that now the ankle we’re moving up toward Rome there we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them so we came to Rome the brothers

and sisters there had heard that we were coming and they traveled south from Rome it’s still north they traveled south to The Forum of apus and the three taverns to meet us it’s about 30 miles south of Rome so they here he’s coming Paul and his party and they go let’s go meet him and so they they make their Trek South to meet Paul and at the sight of those people notice how verse 15 finishes Paul thanked God and was encouraged when we got to Rome

Paul was allowed to live by himself but notice with a soldier to guard him let me say something to you who are encouragers this doesn’t just apply to missionaries who are coming home but it applies to anybody that’s coming home they need to they need to see people enthusiastically welcoming them that’s how I read the words that we just covered that that said Paul was actually thank God so he’s he’s giving God the glor Lor thank you for these people this has been a heck of

a long trip a hard trip and at the side of them they of these people Paul thanked God and look what it did to him encouragement are you an encourager that’ be a question I would have some of us are some of us are not it’s it’s easy to overlook needs maybe you’re one of those people that go I would encourage if I could I can tell you right now in this room a lot of people who need encouragement some of you at home you need

it we all have a chance an opportunity to reach out and say hey I don’t know what you’re going through it’s got to be hard you’ve been in this for a long time and and I I don’t I wish I could how many of am I the only one that wish I had a magic Jesus wand I do I do and I would use it all the time you want to take away from all of Acts I wish I had I wish God had chosen me

as a vessel to heal people in my life I would just have I don’t know they say when you use in your gift you’re happiest it’s like a lab with a tennis ball in his mouth you know I finish preaching on Sundays it’s the happiest moment of my week I get to do what’s just in me to do it’s my gift some of you were encouragers look for maybe you’ve got a verbal wand maybe that’s the wand God wants you to use to say I know

I know this can’t be anything but a terrible moment in your life but I’m here to just tell you that you’re not in this moment alone and I don’t know friend of mine said years ago I’m they said to me I’m Jesus with skin on maybe that’s irreverent to you I don’t know but they they were trying to say to me Jesus is on this don’t the Holy Spirit sent me to be present in it you’re going to hear some of this from the butcher family

next door there Miracle story is a miracle that God chose to author through lots of lives and I think that’s what these people represent here by the way if you want a list of the people and I think it’s probably Rome Paul had never visited Rome but his work his writings the book of Rome Romans in the New Testament had already arrived most people think 10 years earlier so here’s the deal they already knew the guy coming right which explains Paul’s words in chapter 16 ver

three to like 15 it’s Greek after Greek after Greek after Greek it’s all these people that are in that are in Rome Paul is not writing Romans from Rome he wrote it before then and he says oh say hi to Bill and say hi to John did make sure and wave at Debbie and and Jenny and all these I mean Co cool stuff give Glenn a hug for me you know that kind of thing Paul is doing that and that’s what Romans represents so some of

those people traveled south 30 miles to the three taverns area and I want you to to just take my mind out take me out of this for a minute and if you were Paul and his party and you look up and you see these people and they’re not mad at you they’re so joyful to see you and and you know that that you’re close you’re 30 miles you’re within spit distance of Rome and you you are overjoyed and thankful and and it has this encouraging effect

because here’s the deal you remember words that were told to you long before you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem Judea and Samaria and yes to Rome he Jesus said to the utmost parts of the world at that time that was like the edge of the Earth and here you are are living through that it’s your moment that’s exactly what happened and wasting no time verse 17 picks up three days later they have arrived in Rome there’s a guard outside the door they’re catching their breath

and then he called together the local Jewish leaders I’m reading from verse 17 when they had assembled Paul said to them my brothers and sisters although I’ve done nothing against our people people the Jews or against the customs of our ancestors I was arrested in Jerusalem he’s pointing East and handed over to the Romans there they examined me and they wanted to release me remember fesus and Felix they had that chat and said you know if he had not appealed to Rome we could have cut

him cut him loose he’d have probably been dead because they would have ambushed him but they examined me verse 18 says and they they wanted to released me because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death the Jews objected so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar which is what I’m here to do I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people for this reason I’ve asked to see you and to talk with you it’s because of the hope

of Israel that I’m bound with this chain they replied we’ve not received any letters from Judea that’s Jerusalem and the surrounding area concerning you and none of our people who’ve come here from there have reported or said anything bad about you but we do want to hear what your views are for we know that people everywhere are talking about this sect so Paul in his response summarizes his recent what we did already couple of years two and a half years and the surprise to me in

reading this I will tell you is there’s no animus in these people towards Paul they’re not they’re not they’re going hey we we don’t we’ve got no problem with no issue with you let me skip down to Paul’s long anticipated promise to preach in Rome had now finally arrived in verse 23 they arranged to meet Paul on a certain day and a bunch of people showed up they came to even a larger number of people in that place where he was staying he witnessed to them

from morning till evening explaining about the kingdom of God and from the law of Moses and from the prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus Christ some were convinced by what he said others just shook their head and would not believe they they disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement the Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet go to this people and say you will be ever hearing but you will

never understand you will be ever seeing but you will not perceive for this people’s heart has become callous they hardly hear with their ears and they have their eyes closed otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understanding and understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them I want you to see something here that is probably a mystery to you but it Bears mentioning back in verse what is that 20 23 it says of Paul that his sermon

was based on he’s preaching explaining the kingdom of God from morning to night that’s a lot lot of hours that’s a little longer than I plan to go today but from morning tonight he’s appealing to mostly a Jewish audience there were others and he’s appealing through Moses and the prophets many years ago I was called to officiate at a memorial service it was for a Jewish young man and and this family I had befriended was very cautious in approaching me I still remember when they came

into my office it was just like they were I don’t know they were probably looking for you know purification water to you know or take off their shoe I mean it was very religious family they came into my office and I asked them how you how you doing and they said well it’s a little awkward we’ve I’ve never been in a building like this and I said you mean a church and it was yeah yeah a church we talked a little bit more and they said

we would like you to officiate at our son’s Memorial he was all Jewish and I said wow I’m I’m touched by that I I know your grief is great and I I’m just I’m humbled by that and then they said but we would ask you kindly to not mention Jesus in that service I did not answer them in that moment I said I will find a way and then I when dismissed them and we got a little a little more details about the service I remember

go closing my door in my office and I just I just sank in my chair and said Lord how in the world can I possibly speak of the hope that I know without talking about the source of that hope Jesus Christ that I know how could I do that what did I just say yes to and the Lord brought me to verse 23 use the law of Moses and the prophets and I thought that’s a lot of help what do I do quickly Moses was told

to go to Pharaoh remember that story Exodus chapter 3 the whole deal he told to go to to pharaoh and he was kind of freaking out and running from the assignment he says I I don’t I don’t know talk I can’t talk he had a speech impediment he had all his reasons right but remember the one reason well K let’s say I screw up the courage and go there and go let my people go what if Pharaoh says who sent you remember the answer I am

I think it’s verse 14 or something in Exodus 3 tell them I am sent you okay ready for this if you were to go to John chapter 8 you just took the time to go clear over to John chapter 8 verse 58 Jesus is talking about true followers of his and they say something like I’m G to read it it’s just so cool but they say who are you Jesus says very very truly I tell you before Abraham was am I am so I am showed

up in that Memorial that day but that’s not everything I’m getting to preach on now Isaiah comes up all the time you go to chapter 7 ver14 and guess what you find a virgin will be with a child Isaiah is a prophet 700 years before Jesus show showed up in Bethlehem and he says a virgin will be with a child who’s he talking about and then you keep going and you find your way to Isaiah 53 and there is no Isaiah or Old Testament passage that’s

more compellingly all about Jesus Christ who has believed our message by his wounds you have been healed it’s all about the cross it it goes on and on listen to this by Jesus himself he was in the temple that one day early in his ministry and in chapter he’s handed the scroll right because he’s speaking to Jewish people in chapter 61 of Isaiah he says the spirit Jesus says this word 700 years later but they were written in Isaiah 61 the prophet the spirit of the

Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to Proclaim good news to the poor he sent me to bind up the Brokenhearted to Proclaim freedom to the captives and release from Darkness for the prisoners to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor Jesus quoted that now I felt like I had something to say when I was at that graveside and in that memorial service you can do what Paul does here beginning with the law of Moses and from the prophets he tried to persuade

them it is Jesus we’re talking about we could go on to Zechariah 9:9 it’s all about Easter and how does Jesus Come into Jerusalem riding on the f f of a donkey that came out of the prophets okay enough said calling it straight up like Paul does I want in the worst way to rewrite verse 24 but it’s there the results don’t get discouraged as usual they were mixed some people said yeah sign me up I’ll take two scoops to Salvation man you’ve persuaded me I

want Jesus but others it says could not would not believe so of course not surprisingly those words they’re kind of bracketed in my version that I’m reading from verses 26 and 7 that’s a quote directly out of Isaiah chapter 6 says word for word Isaiah the Jews had to hear this and it probably you can imagine the response if you were one of them that day verse 28 therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles praise God because they

will listen I came for Jews they closed their eyes their ears were shut they shunned salvation that’s why I went to the Gentiles but hold up hold up anticipating Paul anticipating that some of us would go kind of Swag On that’s right I’m a gentile I got Jesus yes I do I got Jesus how about you right you know you know that spirit in you you may not do it quite as cool as I just did but you get the idea it’s easy to feel that

way well I’m in I got it read today I give you an assignment almost every week please read Romans chapter 11 and you will find a very detailed description of the fact that the day is is coming when Jews eyes will go and ears will go I see I hear I Surrender Jesus so don’t get puffy Paul says read Romans chap 11 please do that and it’s verses 17 to 24 check it out but we got to move on Paul leaves this narrative in verse 30

actually Luke’s words to kind of this is a call it a postcript for two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented flat and welcomed all who came to see him notice he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance so a question emerges from what I’m going to just call I I instinctively want to turn the page and go H where’s the rest it appears to be an Abrupt ending that I think actually is

explained at the beginning way back at the beginning of this series words you’ll remember if you were here here and if you weren’t here they’re easy to remember they’re the last recorded words by Jesus before he ascended to the father and he was talking to his disciples and those gathered there and then he said to them in that place acts 18 you will be U my Witnesses when you receive power you will be my Witnesses when you receive the Holy Spirit you will be my Witnesses

the purpose of power the purpose of the holy spirit is stated in those words in Acts 18 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be my Witnesses those words were spoken in Bethany just outside the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives around the corner in Bethany they were spoken there you will be you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be my Witnesses here in Jerusalem and around Juda and on into Samaria and all the way

to Rome or Beaverton OR tiger or wherever you live the question is since the holy SP Spirit chooses to live inside all who repent it’s the story of Acts when we repent of what our sins the thing that keeps him out when we repent of our sins and turn to God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us prompting and important question have you turned to him have you repented of your sin has he saved you you can do so right now if so then

the Holy Spirit lives in you now and you have received his power like acts: 18 says and the holy spirit’s purpose for you now is to witness to people wherever he leads so are you do doing that don’t leave here and go that was an okay sermon or that was the best I’ve ever heard or someplace in between change it up if you’re not leaving here with a with a message and a mission say God I want to change that up because I there’s no other

way to read this abrupt ending but to say in fact now you know know why acts ends so abruptly in fact it doesn’t end at all would you close your Bibles and before you bow your head I want you to hear me say this I have a friend who loves Jesus and he’s a fairly new friend and he’s reached out to me quite a bit and I respond quite a bit it’s pretty exciting and he is a Jesus Lover freshly changed and transp formed and he

cares about his family and friends his people who have not yet met Jesus they know him and to know him is to go what’s going on and they’re impressed by what they see and hear and so he asked me would you pray for my people and by name he mentioned 16 people pray for all 16 he asked and you know what that young man is an Acts 29 young man folks hear me now we are all Acts 29 people now you can bow your heads and

God to be an Acts 29 person is to leave here and say okay I’ll do my part I will open open my mouth I will share in situations I don’t know what I’m saying or how to say it I will do that but God you call all of us to keep sharing until you come and that’s why the song that we sing right now is so true and so powerful it talks about your presence and your promise to be with us as we go to school

tomorrow Thanksgiving holidays over we get back to work tomorrow I want to be a witness for you I want to do it unhindered I’ll do my part Holy Spirit just lead the way and I know you will be with me because you’re you’re a great God and your your faithfulness Knows No Limits so we sing to you today affirming your faithfulness and we promise to be faithful to you if you’re here this morning and you do not know Jesus or you’re watching still and you you

haven’t turned the corner you’ve not bowed y

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 6,398 words.