Welcome back. We have been
studying in the book of Acts and
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right before our break we were
looking at how Paul, on his way
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to Rome, has been in a shipwreck
with the rest of the prisoners
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there and they actually came
near land. They're in a storm,
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they've been in a storm
for 14 days. They haven't eaten
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anything and they're looking for
an opportunity to land the ship.
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They realize they're probably
going to lose the ship. But now
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they're concerned about the ship
breaking up on the rocks, so
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they're waiting for daylight.
Now the Bible says in verse 39
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of Acts 27, When it was day they
did not recognize the land, but
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they observed a bay with a beach
onto which they planned to run
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the ship if possible. So it
goes on to tell us they dropped
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anchors. They ended up running
the ship aground and it tells
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us in verse 42, the soldiers
plan was to kill the prisoners
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lest any of them should swim
away and escape. And you recall
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from earlier in our study in the
book of Acts that if the Roman
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soldiers allowed the prisoners
to escape it was at the peril of
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their own life. So they were
just going to go ahead and kill
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the prisoners because
they didn't know how they could
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retain them. But it says here,
verse 43, that the centurion
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wanting to save Paul kept them
from their purpose and commanded
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that those who could swim should
jump overboard first and get to
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land. Others took pieces of the
boat and what have you and the
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Bible says they all escaped
safely to land on the island of
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Malta. Powerful.
So I wonder if the
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reason that they stopped was in
part they were thankful to Paul
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for the fact that his God
had ultimately delivered them.
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Well we go to chapter 28. We
pick up there. It says, Now when
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they had escaped they then found
out that the island was called
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Malta and the natives showed
us unusual kindness for they
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kindled a fire and made us all
welcome because of the rain that
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was falling and because of the
cold. But when Paul had gathered
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a bundle of sticks and laid them
on the fire a viper came out
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because of the head and fastened
on his hand. Now this is
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fascinating. A viper comes out
and bites him on the hand but he
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doesn't just bite him. In verse
4 it says, So when the natives
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saw the creature hanging from
his hand (so now it's holding on
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to him) they said to one another
Oh no doubt this man is a
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murderer whom, though he
has escaped the sea, yet justice
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does not allow to live. They're
thinking this is like bad karma
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right? He's now going
to receive his just due.
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They're counting the steps
to see when he's going to drop.
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That's right. And in verse
5 it says, But he shook of the
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creature into the fire and
suffered no harm. However, they
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were expecting that he would
swell up or suddenly fall down
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dead. But after they had looked
for a long time (so they're
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watching intently and nothing's
happening) and saw no harm
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come to him, they changed their
minds and said that he was a
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god. So that's interesting. They
went from thinking that he was
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the worst of criminals to a
god because they simply didn't
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understand the
power of the true God.
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You know, I kind of think,
Jim, about the hand being in the
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Bible often times as what we
do things with and it's almost a
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picture story here where the
serpent, the old devil, bites
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the hand of the church and tries
to hinder the working of the
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gospel. But you know what?
The Lord Jesus promised his
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disciples in Mark 16 that they'd
be bitten by serpents and the
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serpents wouldn't have power
over them. Here we see that
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promise being fulfilled. Well
we see Paul going on here to
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minister a little bit to
the people of Malta. There was a
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leading citizen named Publius
and his father was sick and Paul
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the Bible says, went in to him,
in verse 8, laid his hands on
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him and healed him and you can
imaging the island now starts to
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bring all their sick people to
Paul and Paul heals them all as
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they come and of course that
gained a lot of influence there
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for the Apostle Paul and an
opportunity for him to share
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with them. That's
right. Well you come down
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to verse 11 and it says, after
three months (so this is three
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months after the ship wreck)
we sailed on an Alexandrian ship
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whose figurehead was the Twin
Brothers which had wintered at
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the island and landing at
Syracuse we stayed three days.
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From there we circled around
and reached Rhegium and after
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one day the south wind blew and
the next day we came to Puteoli
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where we found brethren and were
invited to stay with them seven
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days. So this is interesting.
They come to this little island
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near to Rome and there are
brethren there. So you can only
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imagine that perhaps from
Pentecost and all the people
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came from so many different
places or somehow the word had
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spread. That had
to be encouraging.
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Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
And they've got to be thinking
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wow this word is spreading.
It's going to places that Paul
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himself has not been. And that's
the way that the gospel moved
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in the days of the early church.
So it says in the next part, We
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found brethren (and were invited
to stay seven days) and so we
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went toward Rome. Verse 15 says,
And from there when the brethren
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heard about us they came to meet
us as far as Appii Forum and
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Three Inns. When Paul saw them
he thanked God and took courage.
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So now the brethren from Rome
have come to meet Paul so now
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he's getting close. He's
there speaking to some of the
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believers in Christ from Rome.
And in verse 16 it says, they
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came to Rome, the centurion
delivered the prisoners to the
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captain of the guard. Paul was
permitted to dwell there. Now in
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verse 17 it begins to talk about
Paul ministering to some of the
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Jews in Rome. It says, And
it came to pass after three days
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that Paul called the leaders
of the Jews together. This is
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fascinating. Paul didn't just
talk to those believers there,
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those who believed in Christ,
but he had an opportunity here
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and wanted to meet with the Jews
so that he could have a chance
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to share Christ with them even
though he was still in one sense
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or another bound or a prisoner.
It says, Paul called the leaders
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of the Jews together and so
when they had come together he
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said to them. Men and brethren,
though I have done nothing
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against our people or the
customs of our fathers, yet I
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was delivered as a prisoner from
Jerusalem into the hands of the
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Romans who, when they had
examined me, wanted to let me go
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because there was no cause for
putting me to death. But when
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the Jews spoke against it, I was
compelled to appeal to Caesar,
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not that I had anything of which
to accuse my nation. For this
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reason, therefore, I have called
for you to see you and speak
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with you because for the hope
of Israel I am bound with this
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chain. The hope of Israel, the
hope of the Messiah. Then they
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said to him, we neither received
letters from Judea concerning
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you nor have any of the brethren
who came reported or spoken any
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evil of you. So apparently you
can imagine that as difficult
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as it was for Paul to get
to Rome that there was no other
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report that had come to Rome
yet and we don't really see any
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evidence that there was a report
that ever came to Rome warning
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the Jews there and so they
had a certain sense of openness.
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It says in verse 22, But
we desire to hear from you.
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That's a wonderful thing when
somebody says that when you want
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to share the gospel with them.
To hear from you what you think
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for concerning this sect, we
know that it is spoken against
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everywhere. Now it's
interesting. They had
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not heard of Paul like you said
but they certainly heard about
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this sect, The Way. You
know what it makes me think
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is sometimes as a Seventh-day
Adventist I recognize that you
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can't totally remove people's
prejudices when they hear
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hear certain things that
they don't understand about your
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faith and your beliefs. And
sometimes we get worried about
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that, but you know what
they had that in the Christian
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church. Everywhere they
went there was prejudice against
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their message. So we
need to understand...
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You would expect there would
be because the enemy hates the
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truth. Exactly.
We understand that
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God's in charge and that God
ultimately will use the power of
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the truth to convict people's
hearts even when he has to work
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past prejudice. That's
right. Well Paul had the
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opportunity. Evidently he
was able to entertain guests.
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It says in verse 23, When they
had appointed him a day many
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came to him at his lodging to
whom he explained and solemnly
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testified of the kingdom of God
persuading them concerning Jesus
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from both the law of
Moses and the prophets from
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morning till evening (we've seen
that before) reasoning from the
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scriptures. And it says
ultimately some were persuaded
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and some disbelieved, in verse
24. And then Paul leaves these
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words with the Jews.
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He actually quotes from Isaiah
and he says in verse 26, Go to
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to this people and say, Hearing
you will hear and shall not
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understand, and seeing you will
see and not perceive, for the
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hearts of this people have
grown dull. Their ears are hard
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of hearing and their eyes they
have closed lest they should see
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with their eyes and hear with
their ears, lest they should
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understand with their hearts and
turn so that I should heal them.
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Wow! What a powerful testimony.
And he says, Therefore, let it
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be known to you that the
salvation of God has been sent
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to the Gentiles and they will
hear it. And it goes on to tell
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us there as the book closes,
When he had said these words
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the Jews departed and had a
great dispute. Then Paul dwelt
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two whole years in his own
rented house and received all
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who came to him preaching the
kingdom of God and teaching the
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things which concerned the Lord
Jesus Christ with all confidence
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no one forbidding him. Now it's
interesting here that we know
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the Apostle Paul died as a
martyr under Nero. So did Peter
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but Luke doesn't see fit to
record it. He leaves the ending
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open. That's
right. I mean I almost
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fell like I need to turn the
page and look at chapter 29 and
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it's not there. There's nothing
left after that. It seems to end
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abruptly or not end. Yeah,
or maybe it's an open ending.
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It makes me think back to our
beginning actually when we first
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spoke about our introduction to
the book of Acts and we talked
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about at the end of Luke the
commission that the Lord Jesus
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gave, those motivating factors
that he gave to the church.
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He opened the scriptures to them
and gave them the clear evidence
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of faith in the scripture
and then he gave them the great
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commission. And he said,
you need to take this scripture
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this message that I've entrusted
to you and you need to take it
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to the whole world. As I think
about that, I think WOW. What's
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really happening here is this
is a mission that doesn't end
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because as long as life lasts
the book of Acts is still being
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written. I think back to
that statement from the book The
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Great Controversy that we were
talking about in that very first
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program that we had when it says
that at the end of time before
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the final judgments of God fall
upon the earth, there will be
00:10:13.42\00:10:17.74
a revival of such primitive
godliness as has not been seen
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since apostolic times; that has
not been seen since the book of
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Acts. We understand that there
will be another continuance of
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the book of Acts in our day.
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That's right and it makes me
think, Jim, have you ever run a
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relay race where you've got that
baton and one person hands it
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to the next person and hands
it to the next person. And when
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that person who runs to you
hands you the baton, that baton
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is in your hands, I can't
help but think to myself of the
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faithful men and women in the
book of Acts. All the trial, all
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the suffering, everything they
risked for the gospel and then
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we come to the end of the book
and they hand that baton to you
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and me. I wonder to myself, what
would the Apostle Paul say today
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if he were to look at the church
who's received the baton and
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what we're doing with it. I
can't help but think at least
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in part that we have not
done everything that we could be
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doing with the gospel message.
That we need to be stirred with
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that spirit of revival
to carry the gospel forward.
00:11:17.58\00:11:20.90
You know, the book of Acts
is entitled Acts, but in most of
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our Bibles it says the Acts
of the Apostles. But you know I
00:11:25.55\00:11:30.20
wonder as we look at that title
if we shouldn't be renaming it.
00:11:30.23\00:11:34.46
Our viewers may want to put
their name there. Maybe I should
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be asking myself, What are the
Acts of Jim Howard? What are the
00:11:39.09\00:11:43.92
Acts of Mark Howard. Really the
Holy Spirit, while he was active
00:11:43.95\00:11:48.90
in the book of Acts the needful
component that made the book
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of Acts possible was willing
hearts and willing messengers.
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And we found that in the early
apostles. They showed us what
00:11:57.92\00:12:01.78
it means to sacrifice. They
showed us what it means to have
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boldness. They were not in
any way afraid of the opposition
00:12:07.38\00:12:11.89
they received in their day.
Nothing whether it was beatings
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or scourgings or anything would
keep them from carrying out the
00:12:15.75\00:12:19.50
mission. But how do we feel
about the mission that Christ
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has given us? Are we as serious
about carrying it to the world
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as they were in the book of
Acts? I want to invite you today
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to accept the challenge of
rewriting, or should I say,
00:12:30.56\00:12:34.22
writing the last chapter of
the book of Acts. Thank you for
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joining us on Books of the Book.
00:12:38.35\00:12:40.08