Acts 18:1-17

Well, good morning, everyone.

We had, the original plan was to continue our verse-by-verse exposition in the book of Romans,

! but Nathan has a really bad pneumonia and tapped out.

! And to kind of add to that, I have been kind of groggy and struggling this morning, too.

So when I saw the text, I was like, uh, you know, like, I don't have, I basically have one hour

going into this today, so let's just see how it goes.

Um, but I remember going up in Norcross, and Norcross First Baptist, and a guy came and spoke,

and he just said, um, I can't wait for you to hear the sermon this morning,

and I hardly can't wait to hear it myself, and that's kind of how I feel at the moment.

But I'm trying to, I thought, if I had another week to kind of continue Romans 9,

what would I have talked about?

And I think I would have talked about this, but in short, it's answering the question that

if God has a people out there, if he has a people that he has, um, predestined, called,

and elected into salvation.

And a long time ago, when I was introduced to this, as someone who has a passion for the

law, a passion for evangelism, my, the question was, then why evangelize?

If God has the people out there, then why do we go out and share the gospel?

Why do people go abroad to reach the nations?

Why not just back off?

And so I began just searching the scriptures, and I was able to find so many reasons there,

and that's what I would actually like to share with you today.

And, but my, my, my zeal, my passion for missions and evangelism goes back to probably when I was

saved around 18, 19, probably, early, early college time.

And just, I, I just started hunting my friends down to kind of share the gospel.

And, uh, the Lord saved one of my best friends named Dustin, and he had just a crazy life before

we knew the Lord.

And we just started just hunting people down to share Jesus with.

Um, we actually started going through the yearbook to, like, say, oh yeah, he hadn't heard yet.

Oh yeah, we need to go find this guy.

And kind of a bull in a china closet in a lot of ways.

We meant well, but didn't really know what we were doing.

And, uh, I, I, uh, so that, but my focus during that time was, this is on my shoulders,

and I have to do this.

And it's up to me to convince unbelievers that they're in error, that they need to know Christ.

And, and if they fail to come to Christ, it might be my fault.

Uh, if I, if I don't have enough arguments, if I don't have enough persuasion.

And so there's a lot that the doctrines of grace did for me when it came to understanding how it applies to evangelism.

But, simply put, I'm going to just define evangelism for you.

Define it.

And, I think this is a biblical definition.

It says, evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.

Alright?

Evangelism is a teaching, a proclaiming and explaining of the gospel message from God

that leads to salvation with the aim or the hope to persuade, to convince, to convert.

And, we're going to be in the book of Acts today.

So, go ahead and open up to Acts 17.

Acts 17, and then we're also just going to get, uh,

our main text today will be in Acts 18.

But, just to show you where this definition can kind of come from.

Acts 17, if you go to verse 2,

I believe, yeah.

Acts 17, Paul, uh, is doing what he normally does,

and he's going around, he goes to synagogues,

he goes to the Jews first, typically,

and then to the Gentiles following his mission.

Sorry, this is what happens when you have an hour of preparation.

You're, like, second-guessing yourself.

Hold on one second.

Alright, we're good.

Acts 17, verse 2.

Acts 17:2

It says,

And Paul went in, and as was his custom,

and on three Sabbath days,

he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

explaining and proving that it was necessary

for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,

and saying,

This Jesus, who I proclaim to you,

is the Christ.

And some of them were persuaded,

see that,

and joined Paul and Silas,

as did a great many of devout Greeks,

and not a few of the leading women.

So, you see this idea that it is

explaining the Gospel.

It is reasoning with people from the Word of God

that Jesus, in fact, is the Savior,

with the goal,

the aim,

to persuade,

to convince.

So,

it's impossible to coerce somebody

into being a Christian.

It's impossible to trick somebody

into being a Christian.

They only can be persuaded

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, that's where we get our definition from.

But, in our context today,

I want you to jump down to chapter 18.

And this is when Paul is in Corinth.

And,

we see a lot here about,

I would say,

why we evangelize.

And I think I grew up,

I would say that some of my reasons

for evangelizing,

like,

weren't always the best.

And especially when you apply

God's sovereignty

in the role of evangelism.

And,

this is one of those texts,

I think,

contains

at least four different motivations

or drives for evangelism.

If we believe in God's sovereignty.

So,

I'm going to break it up for you.

We're going to just do a quick run through

of the story.

Stop and explain a little bit.

And then we're going to go to the end.

And,

kind of give some application

for why we ought

to share the gospel

if we have those convictions

that God is sovereign over salvation.

Alright?

So,

number one,

scene one,

is Paul's arrival

and initial mission.

Alright?

Scene one is Paul's arrival

and initial mission.

We see this in chapter 18.

We'll go one through four.

It says,

After this,

Paul left Athens

and went to Corinth.

He found a Jew

named Aquila,

a native of Pontus,

recently come from Italy

with his wife Priscilla,

because Claudius

had commanded

all the Jews

to leave Rome.

And he went to see them,

and because he was

one of the same trade,

he stayed with them

and worked,

for they were tent makers

by trade.

And he reasoned

in the synagogue

every Sabbath

and tried to persuade

Jews and Greeks.

So you see that

repetition of him

going to

a new place,

a new city,

and he would go

to the synagogue first

because those were the Jews

who,

they at least had some context

for what he was going

to talk about.

The scriptures,

the Messiah,

so he always started there

and he sought to persuade them.

Now,

Corinth,

if you know your geography,

is a little south of Athens,

about 46 miles south of Athens.

And it was,

again,

sort of a Roman colony.

But,

you know,

I'll spare you all

the long history lesson,

but it was a big trade center,

merchant center,

and some of you are aware

that there was a huge temple there,

the Temple of Aphrodite.

So,

sexual immorality

was rampant

and

Corinth.

And it was kind of known

as like the sin city

in one way

of the Roman Empire.

It was a very dark,

tempting

place to be

where all kind of sin

was just celebrated

out in the open

with no shame

at all.

So,

there was sin

definitely in every Roman colony

as we would be aware of,

but like,

even the Romans

had this sense of

Corinth

is really bad.

and so it was

a very hot

place to be.

But,

a critical point

where the gospel,

if Paul was able

to plant a church there,

could go all over the empire

with the sailing,

the merchants,

and all the different

commerce that came through.

So,

yeah,

but he says he met

Aquila

and Priscilla.

There's actually

an extra-biblical

Roman source

that actually says

that,

yeah,

Claudius

did expel

all the Jews

from Rome.

So,

that goes along

what we see here.

And we see that

in addition to

support raising,

Paul occasionally

stops in a place

and works,

and he was a tent maker.

We kind of can forget

that about Paul.

We just think that

people just send him

all this money

all the time.

But there were times

that he stayed

where he was

for a long time

and made money

on his own

to support himself.

So,

that's

scene one.

Paul's arrival

and initial mission.

Alright?

This is scene two.

Number two.

The arrival of Silas

and Timothy

and then Jewish

opposition.

We'll see this

in five and six.

When Silas

and Timothy

arrived from Macedonia,

Paul was occupied

with the word,

testifying to the Jews

that the Christ

was Jesus.

and when they

opposed

and reviled him,

he shook off

his garments

and said to them,

your blood

be on your own heads.

I am innocent.

From now on,

I will go

to the Gentiles.

Alright,

so let's stop there.

a lot of people

have this wrong idea

of Paul

that he was just

like the lone

ranger Christian.

He was always

just out there

on his own

doing his thing.

And I've seen

other missionaries

try to model that.

Well,

Paul was by himself.

I'm like,

yeah,

but you're not

Paul number one.

Number two,

Paul had the church

wherever he went.

And he had other

believers that tried

to go and support him.

So unless he was

like providentially

isolated by God,

he had other people

with him.

So that's important

to remember.

And so you had

Priscilla and Aquila.

They came from Rome

and they came together

to encourage one another.

And then you see

he continued

just going to

the synagogue,

reasoning with them,

trying to testify

that the Christ

was Jesus.

And at some point

they said,

no,

we're done.

They reviled him.

They attacked him.

Tried to tear him down.

All right?

So just imagine this.

Paul had a very weak

physical presence.

I don't know if y'all

are aware of that.

If you read 1 Corinthians,

you'll just kind of see.

He wasn't this big,

strong,

handsome-looking guy

who could deliver

a great speech.

He was not probably

very attractive

to the eyes.

He wasn't the most eloquent.

He says that.

So he was in there

trying to persuade them.

And they basically said,

you know,

get out of here.

And he responds

very strongly.

And he says,

look at that,

verse 6,

your blood be on

your own heads.

I am innocent.

From now on,

I will go to the Gentiles.

Okay?

So,

excuse me,

we have this idea,

right,

that if God is

sovereign in salvation,

that that kind of

frees man of his

responsibility to go

and to share the gospel.

Very clearly,

right here,

this is the same man

who wrote Romans 9,

by the way.

He understands

that there's some weight

and responsibility

on him

to go and be that

instrument to share

the gospel.

And he kind of

gives us

a recollection

of a prophet,

Ezekiel.

If you want to,

I'll save us some time,

but write this down.

Ezekiel 33,

1 through 9.

And this is

the picture

of the watchman

on the wall.

Okay?

And,

so back in ancient times,

cities were fortified.

They always were

under threat of attack.

And there would be

guards or watchmen

posted on the walls

day and night.

And,

if they saw an enemy

coming,

they saw danger coming,

it was their responsibility

to blow the trumpet

and to warn people,

warn the city,

that enemies

were approaching.

Alright?

And if he blew the trumpet

and they ignored him,

then,

he says in Ezekiel,

that their blood

will be on their own heads.

Right?

And,

but if the watchman

fell asleep

or was derelict

in his duty

and the enemy came,

then their blood,

the city's blood,

will be on the watchman's head.

So,

pretty,

pretty serious stuff.

Right?

And,

so what we see

in Ezekiel

was God was telling him,

impending judgment

is coming.

I want you to warn

the people

that judgment

is coming.

You are a watchman

on the wall

and if you fail

to do this,

then their blood

will be on your head.

And,

and if they fail

to listen to you

and repent,

then the blood

will be on their head.

So,

we see

that imagery here

of Paul

going in

and he's pleading

with them.

He's reasoning

with them.

You know what?

And then he gets

to that point

and he goes,

you know what?

Blood be on

your own head.

I am free

of my weightiness

to that.

Very,

very much so.

Responsibility

of us to go

and share

is clearly seen here.

Right?

So we get to

first,

or excuse me,

I just threw this

together in an hour.

This isn't something

I've had together

before.

or so.

Scene three.

Number three.

We see

conversion

and empowerment.

Alright?

Conversion

and empowerment.

Verse seven.

He left there

and went to the house

of a man named

Titius Justice,

a worshiper of God.

His house

was next door

to the synagogue.

Crispus,

the ruler

of the synagogue,

believed in the Lord.

together with all,

with his entire

household.

And many of the

Corinthians

hearing Paul

believed and were

baptized.

And the Lord

said to Paul

one night

in a vision,

Do not be afraid,

but go on speaking

and do not be silent,

for I am with you

and you are my people.

And he stayed

a year and six months

teaching the word

of God.

Failed to do this

with the title

of today's message

is

there are many

in this city

who are my people.

That's the message here.

And

so what we're going

to take from this

that said was

there was conversion

and empowerment.

So as soon as

Paul is rejected

from the synagogue,

like we,

you know,

leave,

he says,

alright,

blood be on your own heads.

He goes to the next,

the house,

the next door.

And

what's amazing

is

he converts

namely the pastor

of that synagogue

converts to leader

of that synagogue.

And

just the irony

of that.

And so

so

then

the guy's household

is baptized

and other

Corinthians

as well.

You just have to

put yourself

in the place

of Paul.

This has been

a hard place

so far,

but in a vision

one night

God came to him

and he encouraged

him to stay there.

Alright,

don't leave,

stay there.

I have purpose

for you being there.

This is not

by accident.

Remain in Corinth.

Alright,

so

so if you think

about it now,

that synagogue

is without a leader.

So they have to

find another leader

because that leader

just became

a follower

of Christ.

So that leads us

to seem

four.

This is

persecution,

compassion,

and conversion.

Alright?

Verse 12,

but when Galio,

who is proconsul

of Achaia,

the Jews

made a united

attack on Paul

and brought him

before the tribunal,

so this is like

the Gentile

Roman rulers,

saying,

this man

is persuading

people to worship

God contrary

to our law.

But when Paul

was about to

open his mouth,

Galio said

to the Jews,

if it were

a matter of

wrongdoing

or vicious crime,

O Jews,

I have a reason

to accept

your complaint.

But since

it is a matter

of questions

about words

and names

and your own law,

see to it yourselves.

I refuse to be

a judge of these things.

And he drove

them from the tribunal.

And they seized

Sosthenes,

the ruler

of the synagogue

and beat him

in front of the tribunal.

But Galio

paid no attention

to any of this.

Alright?

So,

to paraphrase

this story,

so,

if you want

to think about it,

like,

the new pastor,

the interim pastor

of this synagogue,

got all the Jews

riled up

and said,

let's go get them.

Let's go get them

punished.

This kind of

worked for Jesus.

Let's see if this

will work for Paul.

And so,

they dragged Paul

to Galio,

who was the Roman

leader that was there,

the proconsul.

And they said,

hey,

he's stirring up

a bunch of trouble.

He's causing people

to worship God

that's contrary

to our laws.

And this was actually

pretty common.

Like,

Pilate actually did

the same thing.

He was like,

this is just stuff

that has to do

with your own religion.

As long as he's not

breaking our law,

we don't really care.

Just like what

a lot of their

response was

for a long time

from the Gentile

rulers.

So they were like,

just quit causing

a fuss.

And Paul was actually

about to make his

defense,

and that proconsul

cut him off

and said,

this is ridiculous.

Like,

just get out of here.

Like,

I'm throwing out

the charges.

You know,

please leave.

Get out.

And drove them

out from the

tribunal.

Right?

So Paul's just

sort of like,

so imagine Paul

being outside this

place.

Alright?

So he's been

acquitted,

in essence.

And he looks over

and he sees

the new pastor

of this synagogue.

I'm just paraphrasing.

The new leader

of the synagogue.

They turn on him

and they beat him.

That's pretty wild,

right?

So,

don't ever do that

to a new pastor

in your church.

Unless he's

preaching heresy.

So then,

I want you to think

about Paul.

Like,

put yourself

in Paul's

mind.

What would you

be thinking

at that moment?

Like,

serves you right.

Mess with God's

messenger,

that's what happens.

You could be

vengeful about it.

You could be

spiteful.

Like,

yeah,

you led an attack

on me and boy

did that backfire.

Now instead of me

getting beaten,

you're getting

beaten.

You could have

that approach.

I think my

sinful flesh,

if any of you

know me,

would probably be

tempted to feel

that way

sometimes.

But,

what happens?

It doesn't

really say

right here in

Acts,

but,

what I like

to think

was that

Paul saw

this man

and

was broken

for him,

was broken

for Sosthenes,

was moved

by compassion

to go and

help him

after being,

you know,

beaten and rejected

by his own

people.

That Paul said,

hey,

you know,

come with me

and began

sharing the

gospel with

him.

I can take

a wild guess

at that

because if you

look at,

turn over to

1 Corinthians

really quickly.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

So Paul is

in Corinth

in which

eventually a

church is

planted.

If you look

at 1 Corinthians,

the first

letter he

wrote to

that church,

look at

verse 1.

It says,

Paul,

called by

the will

of God

to be an

apostle of

Christ Jesus

and our

brother

Sosthenes.

Pretty

cool.

Pretty sure

this is the

same guy,

but that's

why I think

like Paul

has moved

to not

mock this

guy,

but to

show him

compassion

and to

share the

gospel with

him.

And eventually

he went

from being

a leader

in the

synagogue

to being

a leader

in the

church,

which is

why he

was

addressed

right at

the beginning

of 1 Corinthians.

So you

can flip

back over.

Alright,

so there's

a lot in

all this

stuff,

but from

this text,

I'm going

to try to

give you

four reasons

that drive

me personally

to share

the gospel

as someone

who believes

in God's

election,

God's

choosing,

God's

sovereignty

over salvation.

And

some of

you,

you know,

we love

reading good

books,

we love

listening to

good sermons,

most people

in this

church.

But isn't

it special

when you

just sit

down and

dive into

the word

on a

particular

thing and

you see

so many

things on

your own

without any

kind of

aid or

help?

This was

this for

me many

years ago.

I began

just putting

this together.

So why

evangelize?

Reason number

one,

alright,

is seen

in verses

5 and

6.

This idea

of rescuing

them.

If we

remember Romans

Romans 9:1–5

9 verses

1 through

5 where

Paul said

that he

wishes that

he was

accursed,

his fellow

Jews could

be saved.

But if

we are

truly converted,

if we truly

have the

Holy Spirit

in us,

that comes

with new

affections and

new desires

for God that

we did not

have before.

And one of

those is,

we can't just

look around at

the broken and

lost world

around us and

unbelievers and

just say,

eh, no big

deal.

It weighs

on us

that we

see their

brokenness and

their pain and

their suffering

around us with

a life without

God.

And God's

people should

desire to go

and rescue

them.

Alright?

The Scripture

says in Proverbs

Proverbs 24:11

24 verse 11,

rescue those

who are being

taken away to

death.

Hold back

those who

are stumbling

towards

slaughter.

Jude 1,

22 and

23,

have mercy

on those

who doubt

and save

others by

snatching them

from the

fire.

That's

command,

right?

And some

of you may

feel this for

lost loved

ones,

may feel this

for lost

friends,

and all

that's in

you is just

pleading with

them,

right?

To come and

be reconciled

to God.

But if we

have no desire

for others to

be saved,

that tells us

something about

the gospel

that we claim

to believe.

It exposes

our conviction,

alright?

What we

actually believe.

We can't be

quiet about it.

So that's

just one reason.

This is a

big one.

Point number

two,

why evangelize.

It's a means

to the greatest

ends.

Okay?

It's a means

to the greatest

ends.

Submissions

and evangelism

are commanded

by God

because He's

chosen the

preaching of

the gospel

to be the

means to

bring salvation

to His

people scattered

abroad.

This is His

design.

Alright?

And

where I'm

going with

this is

that

God's

election

ensures that

our efforts

and missions

and evangelism

are not just

left to chance

to coincidence

that Christ's

blood was not

spilt needlessly.

It emboldens

Christians knowing

that God has

a people

out there

that He is

going to use

that messenger,

that evangelist,

whoever it is,

to reach them

to bring them

in.

Alright?

Now we see

this in our

text in

verses 9-11.

Look at it

again.

That vision

that Paul had.

Do not be

afraid,

God said,

but go on

speaking.

Do not be

silent,

for I am

with you

and no one

will attack

you to harm

you.

For I have

many in

this city

who are

my people.

And He

stayed a year

and six months

teaching the

word of God

among them.

Alright,

big question.

Is there

a church

in Corinth

already?

Are we

aware of

a church

in Corinth?

Nope.

Paul just

arrived.

He just

got there.

There is

no church.

There is

no established

church,

no Christians.

So why

would God

say,

I have

many in

this city

who are

my people?

Alright?

And again,

Paul was

discouraged.

Paul was

frustrated.

frustrated.

And I

know I

can speak

for the

Andersons

because I

know Caleb

very,

very well.

It's a

personal drive

to know

that God

has a

people in

Southeast Asia

that He's

going to

use them

to reach.

It's not

just like,

well,

coincidence,

I hope so.

It's not

wishful thinking.

It drives

us to

share the

gospel.

Now,

let me give

you some

other verses

that support

this.

In John

10,

16,

Jesus says,

I have

other sheep

that are

not of

this fold.

He means

Israel.

Right?

I must

bring them

in also,

and they

will listen

to my

voice,

so there

will be

one flock

with one

shepherd.

So meaning

that there

are a

people scattered

abroad that

need to be

brought in

to the

full number

of God's

flock.

John

11,

51 and

52,

where

Caiaphas

prophesies

about the

death of

Jesus.

Now,

it says,

he did not

say this

on his own

accord,

but being

the high

priest that

year,

he prophesied

that Jesus

would die

for the

nation.

Then John

inserts this

interpretation

of that event.

He says,

and not for

the nation

only,

but also

to gather

into one

the children

of God

who were

scattered

abroad.

Right?

So meaning

that God

has a

people out

there,

and this

drove Paul.

Like,

he says

in 2 Timothy

2,

10,

Paul says,

why does

Paul go

through all

that he

goes through?

Good question.

Why is he

beaten?

Why is he

forsaken?

Why is he

starved?

Why does

he lose

everything for

Jesus?

And then he

says it right

here.

He says,

I endure

everything for

the sake

of the

elect,

that they

also may

obtain the

salvation.

Some of you

have heard

this analogy,

so oh well,

if you've

heard it

before,

I'm going

to share

it again.

But when

I was in

college at

North Georgia,

my senior

year,

this was

probably

2006,

maybe,

Wes

Shonat and

I were

asked by

a club

on campus

called the

Gay

Straight

Alliance.

So it's

like homosexuals

and straight

people who

are trying to

hang out and

like get to

understand each

other,

kind of club.

It still

exists today,

it's under a

different name,

I just found

out.

But we were

asked to come

and share about

what the Bible

says about

homosexuality.

me and Wes

were like,

okay.

And so

we got

there on

campus and

this room

was packed,

I mean,

there was a

lot of

people in

this room.

For those

students who

were here,

it's in

Newton Oaks,

the classroom

that has

little decks

that go up.

We're in the

very back,

we just got

there late,

we're in the

very back.

And so

basically,

you know,

we're walking

there pretty

nervous.

I do most

of the talking,

if y'all know

Wes,

like Wes,

whatever Wes

says is just

like,

you know,

he doesn't say

a lot,

but when he

does,

it's just like

he just nails

it.

So he was

like picking

up my

messes as

I went.

But I

want you to

put your

stuff in my

position for a

minute,

right?

I feel like

you're walking

into the

lion's den,

sort of.

And,

but I

prayed on

the way

there a

lot,

and even

while I

was there.

But I

want you to

just imagine

this.

Imagine I

pray and I

think,

do you,

what's going

to happen?

Like,

Lord,

I'm nervous,

like what's

going to

happen?

How would

it make you

feel if God

replied,

I don't

know.

I'll be

sure to do

a good job

of sharing

the gospel.

Don't mess

it up.

Like,

hopefully,

me and

Jesus and

the Holy

Spirit will

keep our

fingers crossed

and hopefully

somebody will

listen to you

and give their

life to Jesus.

But I have

no idea.

I go,

oh,

it would be

like a

really scary

prospect.

But,

thankfully,

that's not

how it is.

Right?

Now,

I'll give you

the other

scenario.

God answers

instead,

hey,

I know

you're scared,

I know

you're nervous,

people are

going to

make fun

of you,

people are

going to

mock you,

but stick

with it.

I'm going

to be there

and I'm

going to

help you.

I'm going

to use

the words

that come

out of

your mouth

to save

three people

in that

room.

Like,

if I knew

that God

was going

to work,

it would

drive me

to go.

Does that

make sense?

It gives

you confidence

to go.

It doesn't

discourage you

to go.

This means

that his

mission,

the blood

of Christ,

is not

spilt by

accident.

It's not

wasted.

He has a

people that

he's going

to save.

He said

three times

in John

17,

those whom

you have

given me

out of the

world,

he says

that to

the Father,

my sheep

hear my

voice.

Right?

And so

God was

saying,

I have

many in

this city

who are

my people.

Go.

Proclaim.

Don't be

afraid.

I'm going

to use

what you

say,

the gospel

coming out

of your

mouth,

to bring

them to

faith.

And that's

why Paul

says,

I endure

all things

for the

sake of

the elect.

Right?

So that's

a huge

one.

It's the

means to

the greatest

end.

God has

ordained

the ends,

which is

the salvation

of souls.

He's also

ordained the

way that

is to

happen.

So we

see there,

you know,

Romans 10,

like,

we must

send people.

This is

what drives

us to

go.

All right?

Thirdly,

that was the

longest one.

Thirdly,

the proclamation

of God's

glory in

the gospel.

All right?

If you look

at verse 5,

he says that

Paul was

bearing witness,

he was

testifying that

Jesus was

the Christ,

the Christ

was Jesus.

All right?

And so the

gospel is a

heralding

thing.

You go and

you proclaim

the greatness

and glory

of God

and salvation.

You put

his glory

on display

when you

share the

gospel.

You talk

about his

grace.

You talk

about redemption,

the forgiveness

we have

because of

what Christ

has accomplished

by the

shedding of

his blood.

And God

desires to

save a

people from

every tribe,

language,

and nation.

And he

will do it.

It's not like

we hope

he will.

He will.

He has

bought these

people with

his blood.

So it is

about proclaiming

the greatness

and glory of

God in the

gospel.

That God

desires that

praise from

every nation,

every group,

every tongue,

so that the

children of God

will one day

come together

and proclaim

his glory in

heaven.

All right?

I'll back that

up.

Psalm 67,

2 and 4.

that your

way may be

known on

the earth,

your saving

power among

the nations.

Let the

peoples praise

you,

O God.

Let all the

peoples praise

you.

Let the

nations be

glad and

sing for

joy,

for you

judge the

peoples with

equity.

And in the

most well-known

Revelation 7,

right?

I looked and

behold a great

multitude that

no one could

number from

every nation,

from all the

tribes and

peoples and

languages,

standing before

the throne and

before the

Lamb,

clothed in

white robes,

with palm

branches in

their hands,

and crying out

with a loud

voice,

salvation belongs

to our God

who sits on

the throne and

to the Lamb.

That's the

goal.

We're bringing

in these people

from all the

nations,

to gather

before the

throne.

Livingston,

a missionary

into Africa,

he wrote to

his wife,

I know that

you wish as

ardently as

I that the

whole earth

will be filled

with the

glory of

the Lord.

That is

our drive.

And then

the last

apple,

well,

joy

inexpressible.

All right?

God has

given us the

privilege of

being his

messengers,

the privilege.

John Newton

said that he

was shocked

that not only

God would

save him,

but then he

would give

him the

privilege of

being the

messenger of

the same

gospel that

saved him.

Like that is

something that

ought to try

to accord with

us.

That we are

messengers of

that message

that saved

us.

And that our

hearts should be

filled with

such love and

joy and

gratitude for

God and what

he's done for

us that it

spills out onto

other people who

are around us.

If it's just

simply a duty

and a command,

you'll quit.

It'll get

boring, it'll get

old, it won't

be worth it.

But guess

what?

We talk about

what we love.

Pretty simple.

We spend our

money on it, we

spend our time

on it, and we

talk about what

we love.

We talk about