“From Rome to Pennsylvania”
From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts
March 25, 2012
Acts 28:16-31
Believe it or not, this is the 22nd and last message in our series that we’ve been calling, “From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts.”
We started this series when school started in the Fall, and we’re ending it this Sunday morning. Acts 28.
And here is the title of this message, “From Rome to Pennsylvania.” The last message was titled, “From Jerusalem to Rome” and we traveled with the Apostle Paul and Luke and almost 300 other people from Jerusalem on a ship, through a terrible storm, through a terrible shipwreck, and eventually to Rome.
And that was because God wanted Paul in Rome. We’ve seen all along in the book of Acts that God’s plans are unstoppable.
Jesus gave His disciples a mission, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And nothing (nothing!) can stop that mission from succeeding.
Not persecution like we saw in the early chapters of Acts.
Not martyrdom like we saw with Stephen.
Not ethnic differences like we saw with the Samaritans.
Not the gulf between Jew and Gentile, like we’ve seen since Cornelius, since Paul’s first missionary journey, since the big conference in Jerusalem in Acts 15.
Nothing can stop that mission from succeeding.
Not great distances as Paul traveled.
Not rifts that formed between Paul and Barnabas.
Not false teachers that threatened the unity of the church.
Not magicians or philosophers or crafty enemies of the gospel.
Not even deadly stonings or snakebites.
Jesus gave His disciples a mission, and nothing (nothing!) can stop that mission from succeeding.
The Lord Jesus told Paul that he would witness to Him in Rome.
And here he is.
And then the gospel gets from Rome to the ends of the earth. Even to here, to Pennsylvania.
Acts chapter 28, starting in verse 16.
“When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”
Now we’ve been with Paul for twenty chapters of this book.
What do think Paul is going to do now that he’s reached Rome?
Well, what does Paul do every time he hits a new city?
He gets with the Jews in that town and tries to share Christ with them.
Find the synagogue, argue from the Old Testament, introduce Jesus.
Find the synagogue, argue from the Old Testament, introduce Jesus.
Find the synagogue, argue from the Old Testament, introduce Jesus.
To Jew first and then the Gentiles. That’s Paul’s normal M.O.
Now, Paul seems to be under house arrest, so he can’t go to the synagogue.
So, what does he do? He calls the synagogue to him! V.17
“Three days later [he doesn’t want very long!] he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: ‘My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. [There he goes again. Telling his story.] They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. [Just like our Lord Jesus was not guilty.] But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar–not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ They replied, ‘We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.’”
The Roman Jews had not heard about Paul, but they had heard about Christianity.
And they can see that Paul is an expert on Christianity. “We want to hear what your views are.”
And Paul’s view is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. V.20, “It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
So, Paul has yet another open door. And he walks right through it. V.23
“They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.”
By now, this should not surprise us. This is what Paul does.
And, I think, the application is that we should do this, too.
I only have three brief points of application for us this morning.
And here is number one.
#1. TALK ABOUT JESUS.
Our job is to offer a faithful witness to our experience of Jesus and to talk about Who He is.
There is no witnessing with out talking.
The gospel is good news. It requires sharing.
There is a famous quote attributed to Francis of Assisi which says, “Preach the gospel always, use words if necessary.”
And there is something in that saying that is really good.
And that is that our lives should point to Christ, not just our words.
But it’s kind of like saying, “Tell me the news, use words if necessary.”
Huh?
We need to talk about Jesus.
That’s what Paul did and it’s what we need to do, as well.
And one great way to do it is to tell our stories.
Our theme for the year is “Tell Your Story in 2012.”
Paul tells the Jews his story.
When was the last time you shared your story with someone?
Paul also (v.23) explained and declared the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
He used his Bible!
He engaged these Jewish Italians in a Bible study. And it ranged all day long. From morning till evening.
When was the last time you invited someone to study the Bible with you and explore the claims of Christ?
We need to talk about Jesus.
Because if we don’t, others will.
Did any of you get one of these invitations this week?
We had some Jehovah’s Witnesses come to our door this week and invite us to two special meetings next week, “How do you view Jesus? You are invited to hear the answer, Thursday April 5, 2012.”
The answer they will give is a false one.
But there will be people who will receive it.
And they are bold enough to go door to door talking about it.
Are we talking to people about Jesus?
I know all of the reasons why we don’t talk about Jesus.
We have a million excuses.
People don’t want to listen.
People get offended.
I’m too close to that person to talk about this stuff.
It didn’t work last time.
I feel awkward.
I might get in trouble with the boss or with the teacher.
I’m shy.
We have a million excuses.
But we also have a mission.
Paul could have had a million and one excuses.
I just traveled 1600 miles through a storm, a shipwreck, and a snakebite to get here.
I need a break.
But Paul only takes 3 days and he’s talking about Jesus again.
What’s stopping us?
Who do you need to talk to about Jesus?
One of my major problems with talking about Jesus is worrying about how people will respond.
What will they think?
What will they do?
What will they say?
What will be the result?
And application point #2 speaks to that.
#2. TRUST GOD WITH THE RESULTS. V.24
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
Paul talked all day long, and this was the result.
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
Have you ever thought, “Well, if I was Billy Graham, then I would share the gospel, because Billy always gets results.”
Well, this is the Apostle Paul (a bigger guy than Billy Graham) and these are his results:
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
We have to leave the results up to God.
We are to be faithful to witness to Jesus, but we leave the results up to God.
That’s between them and God.
Talk about Jesus, try to convince. Try to persuade. Yes!
But we can’t reach into their hearts and flip some switch. That’s between them and God. V.25
“They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: ‘'Go to this people and say, ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.’ For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' ‘Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!’”
Paul says that the Old Testament taught that many many of Jews would reject their own Messiah.
It’s not because Paul was preaching the gospel wrong that they did not believe.
He was preaching it right, but they had hard hearts.
Now, I don’t think that Paul stopped talking to Jews altogether. I think that his writings show that he constantly came back to the Jews and expected a glorious future for them. His heart agonized for the Jews and he kept praying for them.
But he trusted God with the results.
He didn’t beat himself up that the Jews did not believe him.
He faithfully preached the gospel and then left the results up to God.
Do you need to hear that today?
I think we get too worked up over what the person we’re talking to will do with what we say.
Our job is just to be faithful to say it.
Be faithful to say it.
Leave the results up to God.
From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts
March 25, 2012
Acts 28:16-31
Believe it or not, this is the 22nd and last message in our series that we’ve been calling, “From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts.”
We started this series when school started in the Fall, and we’re ending it this Sunday morning. Acts 28.
And here is the title of this message, “From Rome to Pennsylvania.” The last message was titled, “From Jerusalem to Rome” and we traveled with the Apostle Paul and Luke and almost 300 other people from Jerusalem on a ship, through a terrible storm, through a terrible shipwreck, and eventually to Rome.
And that was because God wanted Paul in Rome. We’ve seen all along in the book of Acts that God’s plans are unstoppable.
Jesus gave His disciples a mission, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And nothing (nothing!) can stop that mission from succeeding.
Not persecution like we saw in the early chapters of Acts.
Not martyrdom like we saw with Stephen.
Not ethnic differences like we saw with the Samaritans.
Not the gulf between Jew and Gentile, like we’ve seen since Cornelius, since Paul’s first missionary journey, since the big conference in Jerusalem in Acts 15.
Nothing can stop that mission from succeeding.
Not great distances as Paul traveled.
Not rifts that formed between Paul and Barnabas.
Not false teachers that threatened the unity of the church.
Not magicians or philosophers or crafty enemies of the gospel.
Not even deadly stonings or snakebites.
Jesus gave His disciples a mission, and nothing (nothing!) can stop that mission from succeeding.
The Lord Jesus told Paul that he would witness to Him in Rome.
And here he is.
And then the gospel gets from Rome to the ends of the earth. Even to here, to Pennsylvania.
Acts chapter 28, starting in verse 16.
“When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”
Now we’ve been with Paul for twenty chapters of this book.
What do think Paul is going to do now that he’s reached Rome?
Well, what does Paul do every time he hits a new city?
He gets with the Jews in that town and tries to share Christ with them.
Find the synagogue, argue from the Old Testament, introduce Jesus.
Find the synagogue, argue from the Old Testament, introduce Jesus.
Find the synagogue, argue from the Old Testament, introduce Jesus.
To Jew first and then the Gentiles. That’s Paul’s normal M.O.
Now, Paul seems to be under house arrest, so he can’t go to the synagogue.
So, what does he do? He calls the synagogue to him! V.17
“Three days later [he doesn’t want very long!] he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: ‘My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. [There he goes again. Telling his story.] They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. [Just like our Lord Jesus was not guilty.] But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar–not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ They replied, ‘We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.’”
The Roman Jews had not heard about Paul, but they had heard about Christianity.
And they can see that Paul is an expert on Christianity. “We want to hear what your views are.”
And Paul’s view is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. V.20, “It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
So, Paul has yet another open door. And he walks right through it. V.23
“They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.”
By now, this should not surprise us. This is what Paul does.
And, I think, the application is that we should do this, too.
I only have three brief points of application for us this morning.
And here is number one.
#1. TALK ABOUT JESUS.
Our job is to offer a faithful witness to our experience of Jesus and to talk about Who He is.
There is no witnessing with out talking.
The gospel is good news. It requires sharing.
There is a famous quote attributed to Francis of Assisi which says, “Preach the gospel always, use words if necessary.”
And there is something in that saying that is really good.
And that is that our lives should point to Christ, not just our words.
But it’s kind of like saying, “Tell me the news, use words if necessary.”
Huh?
We need to talk about Jesus.
That’s what Paul did and it’s what we need to do, as well.
And one great way to do it is to tell our stories.
Our theme for the year is “Tell Your Story in 2012.”
Paul tells the Jews his story.
When was the last time you shared your story with someone?
Paul also (v.23) explained and declared the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
He used his Bible!
He engaged these Jewish Italians in a Bible study. And it ranged all day long. From morning till evening.
When was the last time you invited someone to study the Bible with you and explore the claims of Christ?
We need to talk about Jesus.
Because if we don’t, others will.
Did any of you get one of these invitations this week?
We had some Jehovah’s Witnesses come to our door this week and invite us to two special meetings next week, “How do you view Jesus? You are invited to hear the answer, Thursday April 5, 2012.”
The answer they will give is a false one.
But there will be people who will receive it.
And they are bold enough to go door to door talking about it.
Are we talking to people about Jesus?
I know all of the reasons why we don’t talk about Jesus.
We have a million excuses.
People don’t want to listen.
People get offended.
I’m too close to that person to talk about this stuff.
It didn’t work last time.
I feel awkward.
I might get in trouble with the boss or with the teacher.
I’m shy.
We have a million excuses.
But we also have a mission.
Paul could have had a million and one excuses.
I just traveled 1600 miles through a storm, a shipwreck, and a snakebite to get here.
I need a break.
But Paul only takes 3 days and he’s talking about Jesus again.
What’s stopping us?
Who do you need to talk to about Jesus?
One of my major problems with talking about Jesus is worrying about how people will respond.
What will they think?
What will they do?
What will they say?
What will be the result?
And application point #2 speaks to that.
#2. TRUST GOD WITH THE RESULTS. V.24
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
Paul talked all day long, and this was the result.
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
Have you ever thought, “Well, if I was Billy Graham, then I would share the gospel, because Billy always gets results.”
Well, this is the Apostle Paul (a bigger guy than Billy Graham) and these are his results:
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
We have to leave the results up to God.
We are to be faithful to witness to Jesus, but we leave the results up to God.
That’s between them and God.
Talk about Jesus, try to convince. Try to persuade. Yes!
But we can’t reach into their hearts and flip some switch. That’s between them and God. V.25
“They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: ‘'Go to this people and say, ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.’ For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' ‘Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!’”
Paul says that the Old Testament taught that many many of Jews would reject their own Messiah.
It’s not because Paul was preaching the gospel wrong that they did not believe.
He was preaching it right, but they had hard hearts.
Now, I don’t think that Paul stopped talking to Jews altogether. I think that his writings show that he constantly came back to the Jews and expected a glorious future for them. His heart agonized for the Jews and he kept praying for them.
But he trusted God with the results.
He didn’t beat himself up that the Jews did not believe him.
He faithfully preached the gospel and then left the results up to God.
Do you need to hear that today?
I think we get too worked up over what the person we’re talking to will do with what we say.
Our job is just to be faithful to say it.
Be faithful to say it.
Leave the results up to God.
Now, notice that Paul can see that there will be results. V.28 again.
“Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
Not all of them, of course.
But a significant number of them will.
“They will listen.”
God will open hearts.
People will respond to the gospel.
Gentiles will respond to the gospel.
“They will listen.”
And this is where we come in.
The gospel went from Rome to Pennsylvania.
It took a circuitous route.
It wasn’t the next week after this.
But here we are in 2012 in a Christian church building in a Christian church meeting.
Gentiles, every one of us!
“They will listen.”
You can trust that God has people everywhere, and if you are faithful to share Christ, there will be people who will listen.
“They will listen.”
Even in Pennsylvania.
Or in Serbia.
“God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
So, number three.
#3. FINISH THE MISSION. V.30
“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
And then what?
That’s how the book of Acts ends.
It pretty much doesn’t end!
Two more years of Paul staying there under house arrest and preaching the gospel boldly and without hindrance.
The unstoppable gospel.
And that’s where Luke leaves us.
Now, it appears from putting together the rest of the New Testament letters and the fragments about Paul that we get from historical tradition that Paul was eventually released and maybe even made it to Spain like he wanted to do.
But eventually, he was brought back to Rome and was killed by the emperor Nero.
He had his day in court. The Lord said that he would stand trial before Caesar.
Tradition has it that he was beheaded by Nero.
But that hadn’t happened yet when Luke was publishing his book for Theophilus.
There is no ending to the book of Acts except that Paul never ended preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The mission was not finished.
And we are Acts chapter 29.
The mission has been handed down to us.
The Lord Jesus’ mission has been handed down from disciple to disciple to disciple through the ages, almost 2000 years now.
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to Pennsylvania and Serbia and to the ends of the earth.
Finish the mission.
Here are the 3 options for the mission:
Go, Send, or Be Disobedient.
Those are the only options.
Go, Send, or Be Disobedient (and that last option is not a good one!).
Go.
Talk to people about Jesus. Here, there, or around the world.
Send.
We’ve got a team going to Serbia this August, and they need funding.
We’re off to a good start with the funding, but we’re pretty far short of where we need to be.
Our team needs people to take part in the silent service auction.
And just to give to the trip in general.
We’re getting close to purchasing the tickets, and then we’ll know exactly how much this is going to cost.
We need to prayerfully get behind this team and send them off from us as us.
Or Be Disobedient.
And that shouldn’t be an option for us.
Because we have been given a great mission from our great Lord and Savior.
Finish the mission.
We need to be like Paul and v.31, “Boldly and without hindrance [preach] the kingdom of God and [teach] about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
Not all of them, of course.
But a significant number of them will.
“They will listen.”
God will open hearts.
People will respond to the gospel.
Gentiles will respond to the gospel.
“They will listen.”
And this is where we come in.
The gospel went from Rome to Pennsylvania.
It took a circuitous route.
It wasn’t the next week after this.
But here we are in 2012 in a Christian church building in a Christian church meeting.
Gentiles, every one of us!
“They will listen.”
You can trust that God has people everywhere, and if you are faithful to share Christ, there will be people who will listen.
“They will listen.”
Even in Pennsylvania.
Or in Serbia.
“God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
So, number three.
#3. FINISH THE MISSION. V.30
“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
And then what?
That’s how the book of Acts ends.
It pretty much doesn’t end!
Two more years of Paul staying there under house arrest and preaching the gospel boldly and without hindrance.
The unstoppable gospel.
And that’s where Luke leaves us.
Now, it appears from putting together the rest of the New Testament letters and the fragments about Paul that we get from historical tradition that Paul was eventually released and maybe even made it to Spain like he wanted to do.
But eventually, he was brought back to Rome and was killed by the emperor Nero.
He had his day in court. The Lord said that he would stand trial before Caesar.
Tradition has it that he was beheaded by Nero.
But that hadn’t happened yet when Luke was publishing his book for Theophilus.
There is no ending to the book of Acts except that Paul never ended preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The mission was not finished.
And we are Acts chapter 29.
The mission has been handed down to us.
The Lord Jesus’ mission has been handed down from disciple to disciple to disciple through the ages, almost 2000 years now.
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to Pennsylvania and Serbia and to the ends of the earth.
Finish the mission.
Here are the 3 options for the mission:
Go, Send, or Be Disobedient.
Those are the only options.
Go, Send, or Be Disobedient (and that last option is not a good one!).
Go.
Talk to people about Jesus. Here, there, or around the world.
Send.
We’ve got a team going to Serbia this August, and they need funding.
We’re off to a good start with the funding, but we’re pretty far short of where we need to be.
Our team needs people to take part in the silent service auction.
And just to give to the trip in general.
We’re getting close to purchasing the tickets, and then we’ll know exactly how much this is going to cost.
We need to prayerfully get behind this team and send them off from us as us.
Or Be Disobedient.
And that shouldn’t be an option for us.
Because we have been given a great mission from our great Lord and Savior.
Finish the mission.
We need to be like Paul and v.31, “Boldly and without hindrance [preach] the kingdom of God and [teach] about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
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