[Matt's Messages] “The Stone the Builders Rejected”

“The Stone the Builders Rejected”
Resurrection Sunday
Psalm 118:22-23 :: April 1, 2018

There once was a stone.

And it was a stone unlike any other stone.

Some builders were constructing a large important building, and they started, as all builders do by laying a foundation. They were trying lay a strong foundation that would keep the building supported, level, and plumb.

It was a foundation made out of giant stones.

And these builders knew that they needed to be careful to pick only the best stones for their foundation. They had to be choosy.

Especially for the cornerstone. Because everything keys off of the cornerstone. In a foundation like that the cornerstone influences, determines really, everything.

If you get the wrong cornerstone, your building won’t be level or straight or...still standing.

So these builders went to the rock quarry, hunting, hunting for the perfect stones upon which to build this important building.

And they saw this one stone.

This stone that was like no other.

And they looked at the stone.
And they looked at one another.

And then they looked at the stone.
And then they looked at one another.

And then they all said...“Nah...That one’s no good.”

“I think we can do better than that.”

“That one’s too big. That one is too ugly. That one isn’t the right color. That one will stick out too much. That one doesn’t look level or straight or strong enough. It doesn’t look like any other the other ones. That stone just doesn’t look right.”

The builders rejected the stone.

And they turned to other stones to build their building.

But that was a big mistake.

Those builders made a terrible error.

Those builders misjudged that stone.

That stone was perfect.

That stone was just right.

It might not have looked like it at first glance, but that stone was exactly the right stone, not just to be in the foundation of the building but to be the chief cornerstone.

And yet the builders had rejected it.

Does this story sound familiar?

Last week on Palm Sunday, we studied Psalm 118 together.

Which is the psalm that the crowd was singing at Jesus when He rode into Jerusalem on the donkey.

Verse 26 of that psalm says, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!”

Just a few verses before that the psalmist writes about this stone.

It’s verse 22.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 
the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

I said last week that we’d come back to that verse today and so here we are.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone...”

The psalmist gives us the end of the short story I was telling you.

It’s a surprise ending.

Do you like surprise endings?

I do, at least if they’re happy ones.

I like a good twist at end.

The psalmist says that the stone the builders rejected eventually became the capstone or, more literally, “the head of the corner.”

Could be a key stone up above, but much more likely the cornerstone.

That stone went from rejected to exalted.

From rejected to exalted.

From the lowest place imaginable–unworthy of even being in the building.

To the highest place imaginable–where the whole building rests upon it.

Quite a transformation for that stone, wasn’t it?

That’s a surprise ending which nobody saw coming.

Now in Psalm 118, it’s referring either the nation of Israel going from the bottom to the top, perhaps in battle or it’s the Davidic king having been in some way rejected and then unexpectedly rising to victory. Either way, it was a great cause for rejoicing.

And the psalmist and Israel were exuberant in their thankfulness.

But that verse was also a prophecy.

It established a prophetic pattern that would be only be fully fulfilled later on.

That’s why the crowd was shouting it at Jesus on Palm Sunday.

Psalm 118 is referenced several times in the New Testament, often by Jesus Himself.

Let's jump over to Acts chapter 4 and hear what the Apostle Peter thought about that stone.

In chapter 3, Peter and John had gone to the temple to pray. You might know the song. They met a lame man on the way. He asked for alms and held out his palms, and this is what Peter did say: “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk!”

And what happened?

“He went walking and leaping and praising God!”

And Peter and John got arrested.

They got arrested for preaching about Jesus. And they were drug before the Jewish Religious Leaders and interrogated.

And when it was time for Peter to speak, this is what he said. Acts chapter 4, verse 8.

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He [Jesus] is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’”

According to Peter, the story of that stone was the story of Jesus Christ.

He was the perfect candidate to be the cornerstone.

But He had been rejected.

That’s what was happening on the Cross.

Jesus was rejected.

How did Isaiah say it?

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.”

At his trial, the leaders of Israel said, “Nah. I think we can do better than this.”

“He will not be king over us.”
“He is not the Messiah.”
“He is not the Promised One.”
“We reject Him.”

“Throw Him away.”

And the crowd shouted, “Crucify Him!”

And don’t think it was just the Jews who did that.

You and I have done it, too.

So many have misjudged Jesus over the centuries.

So many have made the grave error of spurning and rejecting Him.

So many have said, “Pass. I don’t think so.”

There are so many excuses.

Jesus doesn’t look like the kind of Savior that many want.

For some He doesn’t seem real.

If that’s been your excuse, I encourage you to study the historicity of Jesus in books like The Case for Christ out there in the foyer.

For others He seems too demanding.

He wants to be Lord and King and not our buddy or our pet or a genie in a bottle.

And other are turned off by His suffering.

They don’t want a weak Savior Who allows Himself to be killed.

Christianity is the only major religion that has the humiliation of its god at the very center of its faith.

And that suffering Servant calls for His people to suffer, too.

We don’t like the sound of that.

But it’s a terrible mistake to reject Jesus.

#1. DON’T REJECT HIM. RECEIVE HIM!

The good news is that Jesus is still giving out second chances.

The Apostle John said, “[Jesus] came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him [they rejected Him]. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:10-12).

Some of you have never received Jesus.

You come to church every once in a while, maybe to make somebody happy.

And you kind of believe all that Christianity stuff. At least, you nod your head at it and you aren’t against it.

But you haven’t personally, yourself put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your own Savior and your own Lord.

Jesus said that if you are not with Him, then you are against Him.

Don’t reject this stone.

Because there is coming a day when this stone will return and crush His enemies.

That’s what Jesus said in Luke chapter 20, verse 17.

You can turn there if you want, but we won’t be there long.

Jesus told a story that implicated the Jewish Religious Leaders.

A parable about a rejected son and how his dad would destroy those who rejected the son.

And Jesus ended His story with Psalm 118.

The Bible says, “Jesus looked directly at them and asked, ‘Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone'?  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.’"

We think that we are judging the stone.

The builders thought that they were judging the stone.

But at some point the stone will bring judgment on them.

Don’t reject Jesus. Receive Him while there is still time.

Go back to Psalm 118.

And notice in verse 23 who did all of this.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

#2. MARVEL AT HIM!

Because Jesus is alive!

The stone was rejected, but somehow, in some amazing, miraculous, and marvelous way, the stone has become the capstone! The chief cornerstone. The head of the corner!

As Peter said, “You crucified Him, but GOD raised Him from the dead!”

That’s what we believe.

And it’s marvelous in our eyes.

It’s the greatest thing.

It’s precious.

1 Peter 2, “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious” (v.7).

We don’t value anything higher than the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

And that’s why we proclaim His name to the world.

He was rejected, crucified, dead and buried.

But up from the grave He arose!
With a might triumph over His foes.

What a wonderful surprise ending? Or should I say, surprise beginning?

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

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[Matt's Messages] "Where Stands It Written?"

“Where Stands It Written?”
Gospel Roots (1892-2017)
May 7, 2017 :: Acts 17:11

Today’s message is the next message in our Gospel Roots sermon series which looks back over the foundational values and practices and principles that undergird and nourish who we are today. The root system that our church has grown up out of.

This is the fifth message. It looks like we’re going to do one each month this year. In The first and most foundational was the gospel itself: Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the reason we are here.

The second was about singing the gospel together. Worship.

The third was about sharing the gospel with lost people. Evangelism.

The fourth message was about being a praying church. Devoting ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

And today’s message is about building our church on the Word of God, the Bible.

Here’s the title for today’s message:

“Var står det skrivet?”

Wait a second. Maybe you can’t read that.

Let’s use Google Translate and see what that Swedish phrase means in English:

“Where Stands It Written?”

Has anybody ever heard that phrase?

That was one of the watchwords of the founding of the Free Church movement in Europe and in the United States.

“Where Stands It Written?”

What do the Scriptures say?

That’s what it means.

Do you know very much about the history of the Free Church even before Lanse Free Church?

Our forebears in the faith came from Scandinavia, the countries which had followed Martin Luther in the Reformation, especially for us here, Sweden.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther nailed up his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenburg.

He was called to account for his teachings which were a rediscovery of the gospel of grace. We’ll talk about that more in the coming months as we dive into the book of Galatians.

When Luther was called before the leaders at Worms, he was asked to recant his teaching, but he had come to believe that he was teaching the gospel in accordance with the Scriptures.

And even though everybody in authority at that time disagreed with him and it was dangerous to preach what he was preaching he said this in what has become known as his “Here I Stand” speech:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason–for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves–I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.

He took his stand on the Scriptures.

And the Protestant Reformation exploded all over Europe. And one of their rallying cries was, “Sola Scriptura.”

Scripture alone is the supreme authority for Christians.

And the Scandinavian countries adopted Lutheranism.

However, they did not let everybody read the Bible for themselves. I know; it’s hard to imagine. But they didn’t want everybody to make their own choices about the Bible. They wanted to maintain state control of the churches and have the pastors teach an authorized version of the Bible and keep everybody together on the same page.

But some of the believers started to read the Bible for themselves and gather to read the Bible for themselves together. A network of small Bible studies sprang up in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. They were the Lay Bible Readers Movement. And they experienced revival and they grew.

And this was their watchword: “Var står det skrivet?”

Where stands it written? Where did you get that? Show me that in the Bible.

And then those Swedes immigrated to America. Our church was founded by immigrants. And they didn’t speak English.

They spoke Swedish, at least at first.

And some of those old Swedes settled in Lanse, Pennsylvania to work in the coal mines.

And a few of them gathered together and formed a church.

The history that Bea Johnson wrote for us says, “Most of the services were conducted in the homes of A.J. Palmquist. There was no permanent pastor, but the various members of the fellowship conducted the services. The records tell us that Alexander Gustafson was a gifted speaker, and he did a great deal of the ‘preaching.’”

Preaching the Word of God.

Here’s our artifact for today. It’s probably the oldest thing in the room.

One of the oldest things in the building.

It’s a Bible owned by the church in Swedish dated January, 1911. It’s 106 years old.

It’s a really cool thing to hold it.

And our forefathers in this church put their finger on the pages of this book, and said to one another, “Var står det skrivet?” “Show me where it’s written.”

And for the first 60 years of our church, the preaching was in the Swedish.

Some people get mad that immigrants take their time to learn the central language of their new country. Well, I’m sure that many of our forefathers learned some English to communicate with their neighbors, but when they went to church for the first 60 years, the preaching was in Swedish, the language of their hearts.

The Bible down there on the Communion Table was given to the church in 1952, that’s the year that the preaching switched consistently to English, 65 years ago.

It was given in memory of Mrs. Jennie Swanson, and it is a King James Version in the Old English, 1611. How many here cut your teeth on the King James Version of the Bible? Amen!

Many of you have copious amounts of Scripture memorized in the King James Version.“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Right?

And there are a lot more Bibles here in this room. The Pew Bibles were bought about 18 years ago. They are in the version that I cut my teeth on, the New International Version, copyright 1984.

And there’s a lot of those in this room. That’s what I tend to preach from every week.

But there are a lot of versions in this room.

What other versions do we have.

NASB?  I think that was the favorite of Pastor Curry, my predecessor. We learned at district conference that a lot of the pastors in our district use that one every week.

ESV. That’s my wife’s favorite. It’s really good. I like the ESV Study Bible.

The updated NIV 2011 version. That’s another good one. We tend to give that one away to our high school graduates.

Any others?

I remember Marie Wertz used to carry the NEB.

There’s a new one out called the CSB. The Christian Standard Bible. And they have a new Study Bible. I want to get it. It looks really good, too.

And some of you have your Bible on your phones, right?

It’s not just turn in your Bible. Turn on your Bible. And there are so many versions that you can access through your phone, now.

The point is not to get everyone to use the same translation.

The point is to get everyone looking at the Scriptures.

And saying, “Where Stands It Written?”

Because that question doesn’t come first from Lanse, and it doesn’t come first from Sweden, and it doesn’t come first from Martin Luther.

It’s a Bible question. It’s a question they were asking in Bible times, and rightly so.

It was the question that the Bereans were asking in our passage for today.

Acts chapter 17.  The apostle Paul and his team had just been to Thessalonica where they had founded a church to whom Paul would later write the letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

But their preaching was stirring up trouble, so Paul had to leave town. Let’s start in verse 10.

“As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

You see where I’m going with this, right?

The Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians. Not because they were better people or more holy, but they were excited and careful about receiving the word.

They asked the question, “Where Stands It Written?”

These folks were Bible people through and through.

I’ve only got two points this morning, and they are very simple, but they are for all of us:

#1. RECEIVE THE MESSAGE WITH GREAT EAGERNESS.

Receive the message (literally, the Word) with great eagerness.

That’s what the Bereans did. They were so happy to hear God’s word.

They were hungry for it.

Are you hungry for the Word?

One of my favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 15:16. It says, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.”

Is that how we take in God’s Word?

I had the hardest time writing this message because I care so deeply about this. This is my life. This is what I’ve staked my life on and is my life’s work–studying and preaching and teaching and counseling out of God’s Word.

For 19 years now, I’ve been studying this book during the week to share it with you on Sundays.

And I believe every single word of it.

Top to bottom.

I don’t understand every single word of it. But I believe it. Every jot and tittle.

I believe that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that [we] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

I’ve preached all the way through Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, The Books of Kings, Hosea, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Ephesians, Philippians (twice! That was the first one I preached through in 1998 and then did it again in 2004), Colossians, 1 Timothy, Titus, James, 1 Peter, 1 John.

And I’ve preached messages from many of the rest of them.

I hope to preach every single verse of the Bible in my pastoral ministry here at some point, if the Lord gives me the opportunity.

Because this is a church that is eager for the Word.

That is our history and our heritage and I hope it’s our heart today.

How many of you started coming here in large part because of the preaching ministry and the dedication to God’s Word? Whether it was Jack Kelly or me or whomever?

I remember after I preached my candidating message in April of 1998, we had a church family meal back that hallway.

Anybody remember what my sermon was on that candidating weekend? Extra points if you do.

It was the book of Habbakuk in the Old Testament.

I picked that one because it was probably my best one at the time, but I also wanted to know if you guys really wanted the Bible or just jokes and inspirational stories.

I figured I’d give you a Minor Prophet and see what happens.

And I remember sitting with a young family at a table back there in the Fellowship Hall and the dad said to me, “You’ve got to come here and teach us that. The rest of that. What happened next? That’s what we need.”

He was receiving the message with great eagerness.

And I just wanted to come and give this church the Word of God.

This is a church that is dedicated to the Bible.

We have Family Bible Week.
We have Family Bible Night.
We have Link Group Bible studies.
We have Bible at our Prayer Meeting.
We have Sunday School Classes that study the Bible.

Our current classes are going through the whole story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in 3 years. And then we’ll probably start over again!

Our children’s church teaches the little ones the Bible.

We give away “Our Daily Bread”–Bible.

We have Bibles out there on the table. We buy them and sell them at cost so that everybody has one.

We do the “Hide the Word” Bible memory verses as a church.

The B-I-B-L-E is the book for us!

And the point is not to have a Bible and have it just sit there or even to memorize it.

The Muslims memorize their Qurans and they revere them, but they don’t have them translated into heart languages and they don’t try that hard to understand them. At least the normal everyday Muslims. They leave that to the professionals. The imans, the scholars.

But not in Christianity. In Christianity, the point is not the physical book but the words and the truth that they convey.

The Bible is for everybody.  The Christians Scriptures are for everybody to receive with eagerness and to teach each other.

Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.”

Not just the professional leaders. Not just the pastors. One another.

Are we receiving the Word with great eagerness?

One of the highlights of my year is teaching the Adult Bible Class at Family Bible Week.

Because what I like to teach is not just the Bible but how to study the Bible for yourself.

And the students come so eager to learn.

So we’ve learned that the Bible is a library, not just a book, with different kinds of books inside of it. We’ve learned about Proverbs, and Psalms, and Narratives, and Gospels, and Epistles, and Law, and this last year even Apocalyptic Literature!

There is so much to learn in these pages.

This is where the power is.

Wally Kephart likes to say, “God didn’t promise to bless our words. He promised to bless His word.”

That’s right. And there is so much blessing here!

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).

Receive the message with great eagerness.

Verse 12 tells us that many of them became believers at that point.

“Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”

Praise the Lord! They received the message of the gospel and it changed their lives forever.

Do you need to receive the message for the very first time?

The most basic and central message of the Bible is that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Have you received that message with great eagerness?

Because those that receive Him, those that believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God (John 1:12)!

I invite you to receive Him right now.

Are we hungry for the Word of God?

Are we reading our Bibles?

Remember the sermon on King Josiah back in February, when they found the Book of Law that had been lost?

We said, Read Your Bible, Heed Your Bible, Bleed Your Bible.

Are you doing that?

When was the last time you did something because your Bible told you to?

I wonder how many sermons have been preached from the Bible here at Lanse Free Church?

I’m sure it’s over 7,000 when you add up Sunday mornings and Sunday nights and special occasions.

I have preached a least 800 sermons here myself over the last 19 years. (I have posted almost 600 just since 2005 on my blog!)

What difference is it making?

Are we in our Bibles and are our Bibles in us?

Here’s number two and last.

#2. EXAMINE THE SCRIPTURES EVERY DAY.

To see for yourself.
To double check.

Look at verse 11 again.

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

I love that.

If they had to do that with Paul, how much more should you be checking up on me?

“Where Stands It Written, Pastor Matt?”

Show me.

That’s why I preach the way I do.

Did you ever notice how I’m always trying to get you to open your Bibles and I’m always trying to tell you what to look at in them?

What are some of my favorite sounds at church?

The sounds of babies crying.
And the sounds of the whole church singing, especially voices only.
And the sound of pages turning in your Bibles.

“Turn in your Bibles with me please to the book of Acts chapter 17. Pew Bible page #1097. Look at verse 11. Look at verse 11.”

I don’t want you to believe things just because Pastor Matt says to.

I want you to examine the Scriptures every day to see if what Pastor Matt said was true.

“Where stands it written?”

“Show me in the Bible, and I’ll change my mind.”

I almost didn’t preach this message today because Daniel Stanley did it last week.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The first initials of that is where they got the word AWANA"Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.” And our church had an AWANA program, too.

We’ve all got to study the Bible for ourselves and continually ask the question, “Where stands it written?”

And that means that sometimes we’re going to disagree.

We’re going to come to different conclusions.

Because we’re fallen and limited and come from different starting places.

And that’s frustrating when that happens.

But the Free Church has had a good approach to that problem, too.

One of key leaders in the middle of the 20th century was called Arnold Theodore Olson. The chapel at Trinity is named after him. I never got to meet him, but I saw him there before he died.

Dr. Olson coined a phrase called, “The Significance of Silence,” and the point of that is that there will be times when we disagree with each other on secondary matters.

As long as we agree on the essentials of the gospel, then we speak together with one voice. But on a number of secondary matters, we have silence. Not that we don’t talk about those things together and even argue about them and debate them and sharpen one another. But we are silent on the matter as a whole association of churches. We don’t speak with one voice about those secondary things.

The best way I’ve heard it described is that in the Free Church we “Major on the Majors and Minor on the Minors” instead of “Majoring on the Minors.”

And Dr. Olson in his book talked about differences among Free Church people in the areas like baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, and the finer points of eschatology.

We have our views and we keep talking about them and we keep comparing them from Scripture to Scripture asking, “Where Stands It Written,” but we don’t fight over them or divide over them. We stick together standing on the gospel.

I love THAT about our family of churches, as well.

We have a sense of biblical priorities and proportions.

We don’t just keep examining the Scriptures and receiving them with great eagerness, we also glean from them what is most important and what is secondary or even tertiary or even fairly insignificant.

If I preach something up here that you disagree with, I’m good with that if you are getting your disagreement from the Bible itself.

I don’t want a cult of little Matt Mitchell clones running around town, parroting what I say whether they know where it comes from or not.

I want a church family of men and women and boys and girls that know their Bibles.

They examine them every single day!

And they think for themselves about what they see there.

What is the most recent thing that you have discovered from your own reading of the Bible?

What is the thing that you have learned most recently from the Word of God that has made a difference in your heart and life?

You won’t be changed if you don’t read it or memorize it or listen to it.

Examine the Scriptures every day.

And you’ll be a Berean.

And you'll be a Lanse Free Church person.

And you’ll see more and more of Jesus and Him Crucified.

Because Jesus said when he was fighting with the Pharisees:

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.”

Jesus is the whole point of the Bible.

He is where the Old Testament is going and what the New Testament is proclaiming.

And He is what we celebrate at this Table together. Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.

***

Previous Messages in This Series:

01. Jesus Christ and Him Crucified
02. Sing!
03. Lost and Found
04. The Church That Prays Together

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"After Acts" by Bryan Litftin - Book Review

I had hoped to be able to read After Acts devotionally and also recommend it to small groups for spiritual growth. The topic is interesting and unique--what happened to the apostles in history after the Bible finishes telling their story? The author is an evangelical professor at my alma mater and really knows his stuff.

Yet while this book is definitely worthwhile to read, it's not the book I was hoping it would be. The main problem is just how difficult it is to faithfully reconstruct the history of the apostles. Take this paragraph about Peter for example:

"Since the early Christina were aware that Peter had followed in the footsteps of the Savior to the same kind of death, it wasn't long before fictional narratives emerged that purported to recount the whole epic story. These tales are filled with holy saints and vanquished heretics, giving us reasons to view them critically. Yet just because the texts have a legendary, even lurid, flavor doesn't mean they don't have a historical kernel of truth. The trick is to separate fact from fiction!" (pg. 149).

Yep, that's the trick. And while Litfin does a yeoman's work of trying to untangle those things, it makes the book difficult to read and the end result is unsatisfying if you're only moderately interested in the historical method.

On the other hand, I'm glad that someone has done this work and that it's here in a readable format. As an accessible reference work, it's very good. The best feature is a scorecard at the end of each chapter assigning a grade to each historical assertion about the apostles for how likely the "facts" about them truly are. For anyone who wonders if Peter was crucified upside down or where Paul is buried or if Thomas made it to India, this book will do the best job of summarizing the evidence. But if you're looking for a lot more fodder for your own personal spiritual growth, turn back to Acts.

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"Restored" :: Challenge Report to Lanse Free Church

“Restored”
Challenge Report
July 13, 2014
Acts 3:21

[On Sunday, our group that went to the EFCA's Challenge Conference shared stories of our adventure there, what we learned and experienced. Afterward, I shared these brief comments.]

Thank you, Challenge Group. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with our group and with the Challenge Conference in general.

I just want to share a few things in brief to pull all of this together and focus us, as a church on the next several weeks.

I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Acts chapter 3. The book of Acts chapter 3, this morning. I want to focus our attention on verse 21. Which includes the word “restore” as part of God’s Big Story that our students learned about all this week.

As you’ve heard, it starts with CREATION. God started the story by making the world and making us, and it was GOOD.

But then SEPARATION, we soon got off track. We sinned and rebelled against our maker which caused a fatal separation between us and Him. And there is no way we can get back on our own.

But God, thirdly, made a PROMISE. A promise of a savior to come, a promise to bring glory to His name, a promise to create a people for Himself to display His glory.

At times, God’s people believed the promise, and at other times they did not.

That’s the story of the Old Testament.

And then there was a time of SILENCE. Between Malachi and Matthew, no new scripture. No prophets. Just silence. But God had spoken, and some were waiting. And even though God was silent, He was still moving. He was still active, preparing the world for the birth of a baby.

A baby who brought RESCUE.  The Lord Jesus came on the scene, and He lived and died and lived again to RESCUE us from our sins.

Our group learned that we are rescued to community and rescued to live and tell the story of Jesus to the world.  In this part of the story, it’s our job to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

That’s the part of the story we’re in, but there is still another part to come! The end of the story, the culmination of the story, where this story is all headed.

Restoration.

This is the story that we get the song from: “Peter and John Went to Pray.”

Peter and John went to pray;
they met a lame man on the way.
He asked for alms and held out his palms,
and this is what Peter did say:

"Silver and gold have I none,
but such as I have I give I thee
In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

He went walking and leaping and praising God,
walking and leaping and praising God.
"In the name of Jesus Christ 
of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

That’s the story (vv.1-10), and it’s amazing. Healed in the name of Jesus!

But do you know the rest of the story?

Look at verse 11.

“While the beggar held on to Peter and John [he wasn’t going to let them go], all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.

When Peter saw this, he said [aha! A chance to preach the story of Jesus!] ‘Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

[And then he tells the story...]

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.  But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.

[PROMISE!]

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord [RESCUE!], and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you–even Jesus. [And that’s send him BACK. V.21 Our key verse for today.]

He [Jesus] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

[PROMISE] For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' [PROMISE!] When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."

Would you pray with me once again?

One of the great stories that came out of Challenge was the story of Kessler Park.

Our students did a prayer walk there.

But other students did a service project of pulling out discarded tires from the park.

This park was supposed to be green space for all to enjoy.  That was how it was designed. GOOD.

But people had basically turned it into a dump.

And our Challenge Students pulled out 4,000 tires from that park this week. 4,000 tires. The city workers told the conference that it would take them 3 weeks of manpower and equipment to do what our students did by hand in 4 days. 4,000 tires.

RESTORATION.

They were helping to return the park to what it was intended to be.

And that’s what God is up to in His story.

He is returning the world to what He intended it to be in the first place.

And He’s doing it through His Son.

This little miracle of healing the crippled beggar was just a glimpse, just a foretaste of the restoration that God has planned for the whole world.

This world that we live in is profoundly broken. I’m amazed more and more each day at how broken we and our world truly are.

But Jesus is in the restoration business!

“In the Name of Jesus Christ...rise up and walk.”

And why shouldn’t he walk and jump and praise God?!

We have everything to celebrate.

And this restoration is coming, just as God promised so many years ago.

That’s Peter’s main point to the crowd. He tells them where they went wrong in crucifying Jesus, but He also says that it’s all been a part of the plan. PROMISED plan.

And if they repent and allow themselves to be rescued by Jesus, then times of refreshing will come (v.19). Doesn’t that sound good?

But there is still a part of the story that hasn’t come yet. And it’s the part when Jesus comes back. V.21

“He [Jesus] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”

RESTORED!

That’s going to be our Hide the Word Memory Verse for the next 2 months. Acts 3:21

“[Jesus] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”

Jesus is in the restoration business.

We’re going to make that the theme of our Good News Cruise this year, as well.

Keith alluded to this last month.

Just like car enthusiasts like to take an old beat up vehicle and restore it to it’s original condition (and sometimes even better), that’s what Jesus wants to do with us (and someday with the whole world).

“He [Jesus] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”

That’s what Family Bible Week is all about, as well, isn’t it?

What’s the tagline for our Bodyworx Medical School?

“Sin is the disease, Jesus is the cure.”

Restoration.

That’s what our church is all about.

Living and telling the story that God is telling from the creation of the world till now.

Three very quick points of application.

#1. BELIEVE.  Take God at His word and believe the promise.

Do you believe that Jesus will return and restore everything?

Our Challenge Group does, and we want to live like it.

#2. ANTICIPATE.  And by that, I mean to long for the return of Christ, long for the restoration of everything.

And when you are longing for it, you’re going to live differently.

The last speaker on Thursday night said that we should live with the end in mind.

He said that if the kids knew for a fact that they were going to meet their future spouse at Challenge, it would change the way they lived that week.

They would interact with people differently. Some would take more showers and brush their teeth every day!

In the same way, if we believe and we long for coming of Jesus to RESTORE everything, it will change the way we live right now.

We’ll get committed to bringing friends to Family Bible Week.

We’ll actually open our mouths about Jesus to those at the Cruise-In.

Anticipate.

And #3. PRAY.

Verse 21 isn’t really the end of the story, either.

Peter and John get arrested for this healing and this preaching, and they have to go before the Sanhedrin.

But they are not intimidated. They know that Jesus is going to restore all things, so they obey Him now. Peter goes on to say, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

And they could see that Peter wans’t going to back down. So they threated them and sent them out.

And what do you think they did next?

They held a prayer meeting, of course.  Chapter 4:23-31

And after trusting God with the problem, they prayed (v.29), “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (vv.29-31).

Pray.  Let’s pray that God would stretch out His hand and do mighty things through the name of Jesus.

Let’s pray that He would enable us His servants to speak His word with great boldness.

Let’s pray that God would fill us with the Holy Spirit and we could live the story and tell the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ!  Who remains in heaven right now until the time comes for God to restore everything.

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From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania - The Book of Acts [Matt's Messages]

1. You Will Be My Witnesses

2. Before Pentecost

3. The Day of Pentecost

4. No Other Name

5. Snapshots of the Early Church

6. Stephen

7. Philip

8. Saul

9. Even the Gentiles

10. Are We Willing?

11. Paul's First Missionary Journey: Part One

12. Paul's First Missionary Journey: Part Two

13. Conference in Jerusalem 

14. Flexiblity in Ministry 

15. Ministry in Macedonia

16. The (Now) Known God

17. Imperatives for Ministry

18. The Danger of Christianity  

19. Back to Jerusalem

20. Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and Paul  

21. From Jerusalem to Rome

22. From Rome to Pennsylvania 

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[Matt's Messages] "From Rome to Pennsylvania"

“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.
 

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.”

Previous Messages In This Series:

You Will Be My Witnesses
Before Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost

No Other Name
Snapshots of the Early Church
Stephen
Philip
Saul
Even the Gentiles
Are We Willing?

Paul's First Missionary Journey: Part One

Paul's First Missionary Journey: Part Two

Conference in Jerusalem 

Flexiblity in Ministry 

Ministry in Macedonia

The (Now) Known God

Imperatives for Ministry

The Danger of Christianity  

Back to Jerusalem

Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and Paul  

From Jerusalem to Rome

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[Matt's Messages] "From Jerusalem to Rome"

“From Jerusalem to Rome”
From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts
March 11, 2012
Acts 27:1-28:16


We’ve almost reached the end of the book. Just one more message left after today. Lord-willing, we’ll finish the book in two weeks, on March 25th.

Our series has been called, “From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania” and we’ve followed the exploits of the apostles as they obeyed Jesus’ call to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

For the last few months, the focus has been on the apostle Paul, a dramatically converted Jewish missionary to the Gentile world.

We followed Paul on three major church planting missionary journeys and then his trip back to Jerusalem where he was almost lynched by the Jews and then languished in prison for over two years while the wheels of injustice turned.

And at the end of last week, we saw Paul appeal his case to the highest human authority in the whole empire: Caesar himself. And the Roman governor, Festus, washed his hands of Paul and announced that he was sending him to Caesar.

So, this sermon is titled, “From Jerusalem to Rome.”

Rome was the capital city of the Empire.

Paul had, in his letters, expressed a desire to go to Rome and to encourage the believers there. There is a book in the Bible called, “Romans” that Paul wrote the believers who were already there and told them that he’d like to visit them some time.

And now, it appears, that he will.

More than appears.

God has promised that Paul will get to Rome.

Turn back to chapter 23 and look again verse 11.

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

“You must.”

The Lord had revealed His plan to Paul in such a way that Paul could count on it like a promise.

And God always keeps His promises.

We’ve emphasized verse 11 of chapter 23 in the last three messages.

“Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Well, now Paul is headed towards Rome.

But there will be a lot of obstacles in his way.

There are at least three moments in chapter 27 and the first part of chapter 28 when it really seems like Paul will not make it.

Have you felt like you’re not going to make it?
Have you ever felt like God’s promises won’t come true for you?
Are you up against some obstacles in life right now?

Last week, we said again and again, “Nothing on earth can stop the plans and promises of God.”

And we’re going to see that again this week and think together about how that should affect our hearts and lives today.

It’s time for an adventure.

Now, remember this is not a tourist trip that Paul is taking.

Paul is in the custody of the Romans. He is basically a prisoner, though he has not been found guilty of anything.

And in custody of Rome, he is headed from Jerusalem to Rome. Chapter 27, verse 1.

“When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.”

Now, as you can see, we are going to look at our last map for this sermon series.

Starting in Caesarea and heading up the coast of Palestine.

Paul is on board, and he gets two traveling companions. Aristarchus and who?

Luke, right?  We get kind of a “doctor’s log of this adventure from him. V.3

“The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. [He’s not seen as a threat, even to try to escape.] From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. [The lee is actually to the North of Cyprus due to the winds there.] When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia [Those are familiar names by now, aren’t they?]. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast [on the calendar, that means that winter is approaching, and they couldn’t (at least they shouldn’t) sail the Mediterranean during the winter]. So Paul warned them, ‘Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.’ [Think about what you are doing.]

But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said [what does the prisoner know about sailing?], followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.

[By the way, this is not Paul’s first sea trip, is it?  One commentary I read this week estimated that Paul had already traveled 3,500 sea miles at this point in his ministry. Maybe he does know what he’s talking about!]

Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest. [Notice how accurate Luke’s description is? He is a master historian.]

When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. [Can you see it in your mind?]

Here’s the first big obstacle. A storm.

“Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the ‘northeaster,’ swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure.  When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.”

What is there to the West of Cauda?

Nothing.

They are adrift in a terrible storm with no land in sight.

“We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. [Desperation!] On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands.

When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

[Feel that desperation!]

After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: ‘Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.  But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.’

Let’s think about that speech for just a second.

Paul starts by saying, “I told you so.” Why?

Just to score a point off of them?

No, it’s to remind them that he does know what he’s talking about.

Because now, he’s going to give them good news.

An angel has told Paul that he “must stand trial before Caesar,” so he’s going to get from Jerusalem to Rome. And more than that, they are all going to make it, too, if they sail with him.

Obstacle #1. The Storm.

Is a storm enough to stop God’s plans and promises?

No way.

Here’s application #1. I have four applications today and they are all variations on the same theme.

#1. KEEP UP YOUR COURAGE.

That’s what Paul tells the sailors.

How many people are on board during this storm?

Verse 37 tells us that there 276 on board. That’s almost twice as many people as in this building today.

And they are listening to Paul.

They have stopped eating because they’ve lost all hope.

Have you ever lost hope so bad that you stopped eating?

Paul says (v.22), “Keep up your courage.”  Verse 25. “Keep up your courage.”

Why?  “For I have faith in God.”

Nothing can stop the plans and promises of God.

So, keep up your courage.

The King James Version says, “Be of good cheer.”

Does anybody here need to hear that today?

At first, as I was developing this message and all of the points of the message seemed to be pointing towards “Keep up your courage,” I was a little disappointed because I like to give you a variety of applications on a Sunday morning.

But I got to thinking about it and if a lot of us need encouraging (and who doesn’t?), then it’s good to repeat this theme again and again.

Keep up your courage. God has good things in store for you.

Nothing on earth can stop the plans and promises of God.

For example, Philippians 1:6, “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Do you believe that God is really going to do that?

What about the storm?!

You see, when Paul said this, the storm was still raging.

And it didn’t stop when Paul gave his little speech.

Nothing changed in the wind and waves and the darkness!

But God’s promise had been given.

And by faith, these men could keep up their courage.  V.27

“On the fourteenth night [2 weeks of this storm!] we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. [Sailors know these things. Some little sound changes and they know it.]  They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. [Uh oh. I have a bad feeling about this!] Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.

In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.’

So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away. [The prisoner is now running the ship! And they are trusting him enough to let go of the lifeboat!]

Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food–you haven't eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.’ After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board.”

Here’s the second point. Goes along with the first.

#2. DON’T GIVE UP.

These guys had given up eating because they didn’t have any hope.

But if you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you believe that nothing on earth can stop the plans and promises of God, if you believe that God always keeps his promises, then you don’t have to give up or give in.

Don’t give up.

I love this part, how Paul does this object lesson.

He eats something.

Again, nothing has changed. The storm still rages. The water is getting shallower.

They are headed for who knows what, but Paul gets something to eat.

He says, “Don’t give up.”

This is a small thing, but there were several times last year that I wanted to give up on my doctoral project–especially when it came to the footnotes and formatting stuff.

It reduced me to tears more than once.

But my wife would say, “You can, should, and will get this done.”

And listened to her and did what the Lord was calling me to, and now it’s almost over.

Don’t give up.

But Give Thanks.

#3. GIVE THANKS.

Did you catch that in verse 35?  “After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.”

Paul gave thanks for bread.

Yes, there is a storm raging, but here’s some bread.

If nothing else, I can thank God that I have this bread today.

If your life is a hurricane right now, and it might be, what can you give thanks for in the midst of it?

I hope you don’t mind my mentioning this Ernie, but when I went to see you in the hospital after your third surgery in a month, the thing you said to me was, “I feel blessed.”

And that really grabbed me.

Because I might feel depressed after 3 surgeries in a month.

And certainly, you didn’t enjoy your surgeries.

But you were thinking about your family who cared for you, your church who prayed for you, the hospital with its state-of-the-art facilities, good doctors who cared for you, and quick recovery times.

And you were blessed. You had some real things to give thanks for.

That’s right.

All too often, we focus on what’s wrong–and there are things wrong!

And without pretending that they are not bad, we can also look around and give thanks for our daily bread.

And that thankfulness of Paul’s was contagious. Verse 36 says, “They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board.”

Second obstacle: Shipwreck.

Paul has predicted it. It’s coming. V.38

“When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.

But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.”

The fulfillment of God’s promise and Paul’s prophesy.

They all made. All 276 of them.

Can a storm stop God’s plan and promise?
Can a shipwreck stop God’s plan and promise?

No way.

One more, can a snakebite do it?

Chapter 28, verse 1. [map]

“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. [One hundred and twenty miles from Rome.] The islanders showed us unusual kindness [I wonder why that was?]. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.

[Ow!]

When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.’ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.”

Can a snakebite stop the plans and promises of God?

No way.

Here’s #4. KEEP GOING. V.7

“There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.

We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.

The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”

That’s where we’re going to stop this week, Paul has made it from Jerusalem to Rome.

We’ll see next week what he does there.

How did he get there?

He kept going.

Do you need that encouragement today?

My guess is that some of us do.

Acts 27 and 28 are today’s word from the Bible to keep us going.

Keep your courage.
Don’t Give Up
Give Thanks

And Keep Going.

Keep doing what you know God wants you to do.

Don’t throw in the towel.

Keep going.

Because you know that nothing on earth can stop God’s plan and promises.

He always keeps His promises.

Trust Him.

Believe Him.

Follow Him.

Keep going by faith.

Messages So Far In this Series:

You Will Be My Witnesses
Before Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost

No Other Name
Snapshots of the Early Church
Stephen
Philip
Saul
Even the Gentiles
Are We Willing?

Paul's First Missionary Journey: Part One

Paul's First Missionary Journey: Part Two

Conference in Jerusalem 

Flexiblity in Ministry 

Ministry in Macedonia

The (Now) Known God

Imperatives for Ministry

The Danger of Christianity  

Back to Jerusalem

Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and Paul 

Read More