Sermon
Acts 28
Publisher transcript
Transcript
-
Turn to Acts chapter 28.
Acts 28 chapter mention
-
And we come to the last in our series in Acts.
-
We've been in it pretty much for a year.
-
We started it at the start of last September.
-
And so it is, isn't it?
-
I always feel slightly emotional when you come to the end of a book like this.
-
And I found preaching Acts very, very difficult.
-
And yet it's been really good for me.
-
And I hope you've found it the same.
-
There's lots of material to get through, isn't there?
-
How do you handle those big kind of narratives?
-
And yet I wish in many ways I could kind of go back and start again.
-
I know the book a bit better now.
-
But we're not going to do that.
-
We come to the end of Acts, but this isn't the end of Paul.
-
We read nothing about the death and the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul.
-
Many believe, and I think rightly, that Paul was released from this imprisonment about two years later.
-
He was kind of released during the reign of Nero.
-
You know, the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned.
-
We'll never know for certain, but there's some compelling reasons, I think, for believing that he was released.
-
And when he was released, I think that's the period where he wrote the pastoral letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.
-
Fits with that stage of his life.
-
This period ends with him in Rome.
-
That's the end of the book of Acts.
-
It's deliberate.
-
The book of Acts has been about the movement of the gospel.
-
It's been about how the church of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ is unstoppable.
-
So do you remember where it started?
-
It started in the Jewish capital, didn't it?
-
In Jerusalem.
-
And it ends with the capital of the Gentile world, Rome.
-
It begins in Jerusalem.
-
And it ends in Rome.
-
Chapter 1, verse 8.
-
Do you remember?
-
That's really the content page of the book.
-
Where the risen and ascended Christ says to the apostles,
-
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and the ends of the earth.
-
And so the central statement, the key of Acts chapter 28, is in verse 14.
Acts 28 chapter mention
-
And Luke gives you the climax of the book.
-
And so we came to Rome.
-
It's the climax of all that God has been doing in the apostle Paul.
-
There's four scenes in the chapter.
-
Verses 1 and 10.
-
Verses 1 to 10, you've got the three months that Paul and his companions spent in Malta.
-
And there's a shipwreck there washed up on the shore.
-
And after three months in Malta, after great hospitality, and verse 11, they set sail in a ship because they'd wintered on the island.
-
Why did they stay there for so long?
-
Well, three months.
-
Bad weather for sailing.
-
I expect they needed a bit of courage to get back out on the sea.
-
But then they set out on their journey to Italy.
-
Verses 11 to 16 is the second scene.
-
It describes their journey to Rome.
-
And it ends with the kind of party living in Rome.
-
And Paul is under house arrest.
-
He's allowed to live by himself.
-
Verse 16, with a soldier to guard him.
-
Scene 3 is verses 17 to 28.
-
And it's an encounter once again with the Jewish leaders.
-
Verse 17.
-
After three days of arriving in Rome, he's called his breath.
-
He calls together the local leaders of the Jews.
-
And when they gathered, he said to them,
-
Brothers, though I'd done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers,
-
yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of Rome.
-
And he goes on.
-
He speaks to them until the end of verse 28.
-
And then scene 4 is verses 29 to 31.
-
For two years, Paul remains in Rome under house arrest.
-
He lived at his own expense.
-
And he welcomed all who came to him.
-
Four sections.
-
The experience on Malta.
-
The journey to Rome.
-
The encounter with the Jews in Rome.
-
And two years living under house arrest.
-
And he preaches and teaches Jesus Christ.
-
And the book finishes, doesn't it, with that wonderful little phrase,
-
with all boldness and without hindrance.
-
Four sections.
-
But I think there are two themes.
-
The first theme, well both themes run right the way through this chapter.
-
The first theme is the theme of God's faithfulness to Paul.
-
And the second theme is Paul's faithfulness to God.
-
The faithfulness of God.
-
And the faithfulness of Paul.
-
Let's see, the faithfulness of God to Paul.
-
In our opening verses, you've got this experience,
-
a continuing experience that Paul has had throughout the book of Acts.
-
Paul has experienced, amidst all the troubles and all the persecutions
-
and all the opposition and all the false accusations,
-
the unchanging faithfulness of God to him.
-
In so many ways.
-
God had made so many promises to the apostle.
-
And right the way through the account, God has been faithful to his promises.
-
He's faithfully looked after the apostle Paul.
-
He's provided for him.
-
He has blessed him.
-
He's fulfilled everything that he's covenanted to do for him.
-
You find it in the beginning of the chapter.
-
And this group, this party of people,
-
who've come on the ship from Malta.
-
And they meet the native people.
-
Do you see what it says?
-
It says they were shown unusual kindness.
-
And they built a fire.
-
They welcomed us all.
-
There was shelter, because it was raining and cold.
-
And Paul has the experience with these Maltese...
-
Maltese...
-
Maltese...
-
Maltese is...
-
He has this great experience with these Maltese people...
-
Of extraordinary, unusual kindness.
-
And it's another evidence, isn't it, of God faithfully dealing with Paul in all his experiences.
-
In the midst of trial and difficulty and shipwreck and impending disaster and unfair accusation,
-
God shines through as a God of absolute faithfulness.
-
That's what we've seen.
-
He perseveres with the Apostle.
-
He preserves him from danger.
-
You see this in that strange incident, don't you, with the snake in verse 3.
-
And they gather up sticks for the fire.
-
And they didn't notice there's a viper.
-
There's a snake hidden away.
-
And it bites Paul on the hand.
-
Paul is under threat.
-
He's in some kind of danger.
-
And the people expose us, don't they, immediately to their view of what God is like.
-
What's their view of God?
-
Can you see it?
-
Their view of God is that he is an impersonal, superstitious God.
-
And these people have that contrast, don't they?
-
They think, well, Paul, you must have done something wrong.
-
They're very superstitious.
-
And that is contrasted to us with this view of God that is personal, loving, and faithful.
-
And fatherly.
-
The care that Paul experiences from God, day and night, the living God whom he serves.
-
The islanders, they see this viper hanging from his hand.
-
And do you remember the story?
-
He shakes it into the fire.
-
And they say, don't they, immediately the viper fastens on Paul's hand.
-
Ah, he's been a murderer.
-
The sea hasn't got him, so justice has finally caught up with him.
-
What goes around comes around.
-
He must have done something wrong.
-
Look at verse 4.
-
The ESV rightly has justice with a capital letter.
-
Because that is the impersonal view of God that they have.
-
He's escaped from the sea.
-
He's escaped from the sea, so justice has caught up with him.
-
Fate has got him in the end.
-
Paul shakes his hand into the fire.
-
And as they watch the snake curl up and die, they discover that Paul has survived.
-
And then they swing, don't they, these Maltese people, they swing from one extreme to the other.
-
And they deify him.
-
They say he survived the snake.
-
He must be a God, verse 6.
-
And so can you see, these people, they have no concept, do they, of a loving, gracious, unchanging, faithful, all-powerful Heavenly Father.
-
Who's dealing graciously with his servant.
-
What they have is this impersonal, this superstitious view of what God is like.
-
And Paul is experiencing, isn't he, the faithfulness of God, preserving him and keeping him.
-
And caring for him in the midst of whatever circumstances he goes through.
-
Notice in verse 7 how the chief Roman official provides hospitality to them.
-
Verse 7, now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, namely Publius.
-
Who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.
-
He was the man whom God was going to use to give to Paul the supplies for the rest of the journey.
-
Verse 10, they honoured us greatly.
-
And when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
-
That link, that generosity comes not only through Paul's hospitality, but through Paul's apostolic gift of healing.
-
Look at verse 8.
-
It happened that this guy's dad, Publius' father, lay sick with a fever and dysentery.
-
And Paul visited him and prayed.
-
And putting his hands on him, healed him.
-
The word that Luke uses there literally is, Publius' father received medical attention.
-
Luke is a doctor, isn't he?
-
You wonder whether it's Luke and the Apostle Paul combining together in some kind of healing ministry.
-
They use Luke's medical skills and Paul's apostolic gift.
-
And he laid hands on them and they were restored.
-
Verse 10, all their needs have been supplied as they go on to the next leg of the journey.
-
And again, can you see the key to all of what God is doing?
-
God is faithfully and graciously and kindly supplying all their needs.
-
All the needs of his children.
-
He is keeping his apostle in the hollow of his hand.
-
We see that in the next stage, the next episode.
-
The journey to Rome in verses 11 to 16.
-
Notice how graciously God provides for the apostle.
-
The particular ways he provides for them.
-
When they arrive at Puteoli in the end of verse 13.
-
Can you see it?
-
Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for several days.
-
And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Regian.
-
And after one day a south wind sprang up and on the second day we came to Puteoli.
-
And they go on to these two towns that are about 30, 40 miles apart from Rome.
-
And there, verse 14, we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days.
-
And so we came to Rome.
-
What's the reason behind those details?
-
Why is it that God so ordained those circumstances?
-
It was that God recognised, didn't he, that the apostle Paul needed encouragement.
-
And so he brings these brothers, he brings these believers to meet with him.
-
And Paul thanked God and at the end of verse 15 he is encouraged by them.
-
Can you see, laced throughout this chapter is the thoughtfulness of the living God.
-
It's the personal touch of his faithfulness that reaches into the ordinary lives.
-
The ordinary daily lives.
-
Here is someone who greatly needs to be encouraged by God.
-
And God provides him the people that will bring him this encouragement.
-
And not only does God show his faithfulness in the provision that he makes,
-
but in the promises he fulfills.
-
Look at verse 16.
-
When Paul got to Rome he was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him.
-
That's a very significant thing, isn't it?
-
Several times over we've seen in the narrative, God has been speaking with the apostle.
-
And encouraging him to believe that come what may,
-
whatever the circumstances may seem to the contrary,
-
Paul you are going to Rome.
-
So chapter 23 and verse 11, Paul has given that really clear promise.
-
The following night the Lord stood by him and said,
-
Take courage, for as you've testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem,
-
so you will do so in Rome.
-
And the circumstances that occur from chapter 23, verse 11,
-
to chapter 28 are pretty horrific.
-
But they are the living God unfolding his purposes and his plans.
-
And dealing with men and women and governors and accusers and storms and circumstances
-
so that in everything God's purpose may be fulfilled.
-
All the problems, all the false accusations, all the difficulties,
-
God is at work in the midst of them.
-
And it is a glorious thing to know God like that.
-
It is a glorious thing to have this God as your God.
-
And so I need to ask you this morning, don't I, what is your picture of God?
-
Who is the God whom you know?
-
Is he the vague, impersonal picture of justice or fate or luck?
-
Who gives you what you deserve?
-
But what goes around comes around.
-
Is it that superstitious view of God that the people had?
-
Or is it the personal knowledge of a living God who's come to us in the person of his son,
-
the Lord Jesus Christ, and he transforms life?
-
And he is working out the unfolding pattern of his purposes of a loving Heavenly Father.
-
And if you know that God, it will bring you poise and peace and sufficiency and contentment into your life.
-
Do you know God in this way?
-
How wonderful it is to be able to discover the faithfulness of God as it is revealed here.
-
And that's not all, is it?
-
Because when you get to Rome with these promises in chapter 23 and chapter 27,
-
Paul is given this special privilege.
-
Look at verse 16.
-
He's allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him.
-
It's a remarkable situation.
-
It's as if Paul has been put in Rome as an ambassador to Jesus.
-
And he calls people to his residence.
-
And they gather from all over this capital city of the world to come to him and to come to here.
-
He calls people to his residence.
-
He ministers to the Jews.
-
He preaches fearlessly to them.
-
And yet he's in a house with a soldier to guard him, probably chained to him.
-
Do you notice that verse 20?
-
For this reason, therefore, I've asked to see you and speak with you.
-
And since it is because of the hope of Israel that I'm wearing this chain.
-
Scholars think, don't they, that the Roman soldier has actually chained to him at this point.
-
Paul is bound to a Roman soldier.
-
You can imagine this poor Roman soldier didn't have the vaguest clue
-
when Paul was brought into the house what was going to happen to him.
-
When he clocked on for his shift that first day,
-
little did he know who he was going to be chained to.
-
And there were two Covenanter brothers.
-
Big units.
-
Massive, burly, strong men.
-
And these Covenanter brothers,
-
they had battled in Scotland for Christ's crown and covenant.
-
They wanted a stand for the freedom to worship Jesus Christ.
-
They were massive.
-
Absolutely massive.
-
And they were taken, one of them was taken prisoner by the English soldiers.
-
And they chained him to one of the brothers.
-
His mother said to his brother, and when he came back,
-
Malcolm, they've taken Davy away and chained him to an English soldier.
-
Malcolm and Davy were known as men of powerful spiritual impact.
-
Whoever met them was slightly in awe of them
-
because they were colossal physical figures,
-
but they preached Christ fearlessly.
-
And Malcolm said to his mother,
-
heaven help the man who's chained to Davy.
-
And I expect it was something like that
-
for the soldier chained to the Apostle Paul, wasn't it?
-
Heaven help the man who was chained to the Apostle Paul.
-
He would hear the gospel in different ways
-
to different people applied to him.
-
And so Paul continued the ministry that God had given him.
-
And so here is this reminder right at the end of Acts
-
of the faithfulness of God to his people.
-
But secondly, as we finish the book of Acts,
-
we see the remarkable faithfulness of the Apostle Paul to God.
-
The faithfulness of Paul to God.
-
The very qualities that God reveals in his dealings with Paul
-
are reproduced in Paul's life.
-
The faithfulness of God is mirrored in Paul's faithfulness to God.
-
That is, all of God's dealings with this man
-
have not kind of brushed lightly off his character.
-
They've gone deeply into his spirit.
-
And what he had known of the faithfulness
-
and the kindness of God
-
began to be mirrored and pushed out in his own life.
-
And here he is in his ministry in Rome from verse 17.
-
Just notice his zeal.
-
Three days after he arrives in Rome,
-
he calls together the leaders of the Jews.
-
And Paul is being faithful to what he recognized
-
as the pattern and the purpose of God in his ministry.
-
When he wrote to the Romans, do you remember?
-
That great theme verse of the book of Romans,
-
the gospel is the power of God to salvation.
-
To everyone who believes.
-
And we stop there, don't we?
-
But the verse goes on,
-
to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.
-
Wherever he went in Acts,
-
do you remember the pattern?
-
Paul goes to the synagogue first.
-
He goes to the plead with the Jewish people.
-
And only when they turn away from him
-
and refuse the message,
-
he says, then I will go to the Gentiles.
-
But here he addresses himself to the Jewish leaders.
-
And after he's described his own experience
-
of being arrested in Jerusalem
-
and being handed over to the Romans,
-
verse 21,
-
they arranged to meet him.
-
And they said to him,
-
well, we've received no letters from Judea about you.
-
And none of the brothers coming here
-
has reported or spoken any evil of you.
-
They arranged to meet him on a certain day.
-
Then they come in larger numbers
-
to the place where he was staying.
-
Can you see the sheer faithfulness of his ministry?
-
He witnessed to them.
-
And that appears, doesn't it,
-
to have been the characteristic
-
of these two years in Rome.
-
He bore witness to Christ.
-
And whatever they did to him,
-
wherever he went,
-
however they tried to confine him
-
and crush him,
-
he bore witness to Christ.
-
After the service,
-
somebody gives you two pints of water.
-
And as you carry the two pints of water,
-
one of the children running around
-
knocks into you.
-
What happens
-
with full pints of water?
-
What happens?
-
The water comes out, doesn't it?
-
And so this is the apostle Paul.
-
He is so full of the faithfulness of God
-
and the kindness of Jesus Christ
-
that when he is jostled,
-
when he is struck,
-
what comes out of the glasses?
-
The Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it?
-
Both in private and in public,
-
he speaks and he witnesses tirely.
-
Out of the abundance of the heart,
-
Jesus says,
-
the mouth speaks.
-
And so Paul speaks of Christ.
-
Verse 23,
-
when they appointed a day for him,
-
they came to him at his lodging
-
in greater numbers.
-
From morning to evening,
-
he expounded to them,
-
testifying to them the kingdom of God.
-
He speaks continually
-
during the whole period that he's in Rome.
-
He was tireless for two years.
-
Verse 31,
-
he lived there two whole years
-
at his own expense
-
and welcomed all who came to him,
-
proclaiming the kingdom of God
-
and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ
-
with all boldness
-
and without hindrance.
-
And so with that zeal
-
and eagerness and willingness,
-
that zeal marks the apostle Paul.
-
It would have been so easy,
-
wouldn't it,
-
for him to make the excuse,
-
I've been benched,
-
I'm out of the public frame,
-
it would have been so easy for him
-
to make that excuse,
-
well, I'm bound,
-
what can I do?
-
I'm in chains,
-
I'm confined in this situation.
-
Don't you know,
-
I'm the leader of the church
-
and yet I'm confined
-
within these four walls.
-
But in fact,
-
what we see,
-
like the pint glass,
-
whenever he's jostled,
-
Christ spills out.
-
this tireless zeal,
-
which has been given to him,
-
desiring to be faithful.
-
The second thing that marks
-
is faithfulness,
-
it's not only in the level
-
of his commitment,
-
the way that he's ready
-
to be spent for God,
-
but it's revealed in how he witnessed.
-
Can you see he witnessed biblically?
-
Luke is really insistent on this,
-
isn't he?
-
He says in verse 23,
-
from morning till evening,
-
he expounded to them,
-
testifying to them
-
the kingdom of God
-
and trying to convince them
-
about Jesus,
-
both from the law of Moses
-
and from the prophets.
-
Paul found that some of them
-
were convinced,
-
others did not believe
-
and they disagreed
-
amongst themselves
-
and they began to leave.
-
And after Paul
-
sees them leaving,
-
he makes this statement,
-
this final statement
-
from the prophet Isaiah.
-
Can you see it?
-
The Holy Spirit
-
was right in saying
-
to your fathers
-
through Isaiah the prophet.
-
And then he quotes
-
part of Isaiah chapter 6.
Isaiah 6 chapter mention
-
The important point
-
to grasp here
-
is this vital area
-
of Paul's faithfulness
-
being wed,
-
being tied
-
to the Bible
-
as the content
-
that he declared
-
concerning Christ.
-
The focus of his ministry
-
was Jesus
-
but the place
-
from which he taught them
-
about Jesus
-
was the Holy Scriptures.
-
He taught them tirelessly.
-
He taught them biblically.
-
And do you notice,
-
he taught them
-
with a faithfulness
-
which was no doubt
-
profoundly costly.
-
I've no doubt
-
that Paul found it
-
extremely costly
-
to quote what he did
-
to his own nation,
-
to the Jewish people.
-
He tells us,
-
doesn't he,
-
in the letter to the Romans,
-
that he has a special love
-
for the Jewish people.
-
It's a striking thing.
-
He says,
-
in Romans 9 verse 1,
-
I'm speaking the truth
-
in Christ.
-
I'm not lying.
-
My conscience bears me witness
-
in the Holy Spirit
-
that I have great sorrow
-
and unceasing anguish
-
in heart.
-
for I wish that I myself
-
were accursed
-
and I were cut off
-
from Christ
-
for the sake of my brothers,
-
my kinsmen
-
according to the flesh.
-
So here is a man
-
who's bearing witness
-
to the Lord Jesus,
-
testifying to the Lord Jesus
-
and he doesn't do it
-
in a cool
-
and detached way.
-
He's saying,
-
I've got anguish
-
of heart
-
for my brothers and sisters.
-
In fact,
-
I'm prepared
-
that I would be accursed
-
so that you might
-
believe this message.
-
In order that you
-
might find salvation,
-
it is incredible passion.
-
And that spirit
-
seems to be
-
the driving force
-
of the apostles' evangelism.
-
He was deadly
-
in earnest.
-
And yet he's ready,
-
isn't he,
-
to speak to them
-
with an extraordinary
-
degree of faithfulness
-
and thoroughness
-
as he takes
-
the word of God
-
and he explains it
-
and he applies it
-
to them.
-
The Holy Spirit
-
spoke the truth
-
to your forefathers.
-
When he said,
-
through Isaiah the prophet,
-
go to this people
-
and say,
-
you will indeed hear
-
but you'll never understand.
-
You will indeed see
-
but you'll never perceive.
-
For this people's heart
-
has grown dull
-
and with their ears
-
they can barely hear
-
and with their eyes
-
they have closed
-
lest they should see
-
with their eyes
-
and hear with their ears
-
and understand
-
with their hearts
-
and turn and I would heal them.
-
They hardly hear
-
with their ears.
-
They've closed
-
their eyes.
-
The apostle is taking up
-
this scripture
-
from Isaiah chapter 6
Isaiah 6 chapter mention
-
and he applies it
-
to the people of Israel
-
in front of him
-
of his own generation
-
like Isaiah had applied it
-
to his generation
-
and he's saying to them
-
and he's saying to us
-
it is possible
-
to hear God's word
-
Sunday by Sunday
-
and it not soften
-
but harden you.
-
The picture is
-
of calloused
-
of being calloused.
-
You know if you work
-
in the garden
-
we've got kind of
-
city hands
-
it's such a thing
-
as minister's hands
-
aren't there
-
kind of soft
-
wet minister's hands
-
but if you work
-
in the garden
-
and you work
-
with a spade
-
and you work
-
with it all day
-
what happens
-
your skin
-
bits of it
-
gets hard
-
doesn't it?
-
It gets calloused
-
so you go to
-
a country congregation
-
and you shake
-
a farmer's hand
-
and a farmer's hands
-
they're rough
-
and they're hard
-
and there's not feeling
-
so they're so calloused
-
you could get a pin
-
in a farmer's hand
-
and you could put
-
the pin into
-
the farmer's hand
-
into the skin
-
but it wouldn't
-
have an effect
-
would it
-
because the skin
-
is so hard
-
you can't get through
-
very easily
-
you don't easily
-
penetrate
-
a farmer's hand
-
and that's a serious thing
-
I'm sure
-
if it kind of
-
goes on and on
-
and on
-
doesn't it?
-
But
-
in a spiritual condition
-
it's more serious
-
isn't it?
-
It's desperately serious
-
the apostle Paul
-
on the prophet Isaiah
-
is saying
-
you can hear
-
God's words
-
so often
-
and you can hear it
-
but not hear it
-
and you can see it
-
but not see it
-
and your hand
-
can become callous
-
so that it doesn't
-
penetrate
-
and so these people
-
have heard God
-
speaking to them
-
since they were children
-
they've worked away
-
actually
-
the Jewish leaders
-
they literally
-
work away
-
with the word of God
-
and like a man
-
works with his hands
-
and his hands
-
becomes callous
-
so their hearts
-
become hardened
-
and that is a desperate
-
condition
-
but it is common
-
and it is really common
-
in churches like this
-
it's particularly common
-
with those
-
who've been
-
unusually privileged
-
and so these Jews
-
whom Paul is speaking
-
they really are a warning
-
to us
-
aren't they
-
at the end of
-
the book of Acts
-
their ears
-
have scarcely heard
-
their eyes
-
scarcely see
-
they've got
-
spiritual
-
glaucoma
-
they cannot
-
see clearly
-
they're looking
-
but they can't
-
make it out
-
they have eyes
-
but they do not
-
perceive
-
how do you get
-
like that?
-
you get it
-
really easily
-
and really simply
-
by not treating
-
the word of God
-
seriously
-
and when you have
-
that kind of
-
detached attitude
-
to it
-
when you sit here
-
Sunday morning
-
and Sunday evening
-
by Sunday morning
-
after Sunday evening
-
and you know
-
what God is asking
-
you to do
-
and you refuse
-
to do it
-
your skin
-
spiritually
-
becomes calloused
-
you'll be
-
ever hearing
-
but never
-
understanding
-
you'll be
-
ever seeing
-
but your eyes
-
will be closed
-
do you notice
-
Paul continues
-
to quote Isaiah
-
doesn't he
-
lest they should
-
see with their
-
eyes
-
and hear
-
with their
-
ears
-
and understand
-
with their
-
heart
-
and turn
-
and I
-
would heal
-
them
-
do you notice
-
there
-
there's a
-
progression
-
isn't it
-
it's not
-
something
-
they were
-
doing
-
at the end
-
of that
-
quote
-
it's
-
something
-
that's
-
being
-
done
-
to them
-
that's
-
the really
-
terrifying
-
thing
-
it's the
-
next stage
-
of the
-
progression
-
you refuse
-
to see
-
and at some
-
point you
-
can't see
-
imagine a
-
man who's a
-
prisoner
-
dealing so
-
realistically
-
with people
-
like this
-
what he's
-
saying
-
is what
-
Isaiah
-
said
-
that there
-
comes a
-
time
-
when people
-
who've
-
refused
-
to hear
-
and refused
-
to be
-
moved
-
and refused
-
to be
-
touched
-
by God
-
the Holy
-
Spirit
-
there comes
-
a time
-
when they
-
cannot hear
-
and they
-
cannot see
-
and their
-
heart cannot
-
respond
-
think of
-
Pharaoh in
-
Egypt
-
do you
-
remember
-
that phrase
-
that keeps
-
coming up
-
that Pharaoh
-
in Egypt
-
when he's
-
confronted with
-
the living
-
God
-
by Joseph
-
he hardens
-
his heart
-
he hardens
-
his heart
-
against God
-
and he does
-
it frequently
-
and you
-
think
-
what is
-
this man
-
doing
-
keeping
-
hardening
-
his heart
-
but then
-
there comes
-
the time
-
where
-
in the
-
story
-
you don't
-
read that
-
Pharaoh
-
hardened
-
his heart
-
you read
-
that God
-
hardened
-
Pharaoh's
-
heart
-
and look
-
verse 28
-
Paul applies
-
that to the
-
contemporary
-
Jews
-
and he
-
says this
-
he says
-
therefore
-
let it be
-
known to
-
you that
-
this salvation
-
of God
-
has been
-
sent to
-
the Gentiles
-
and they
-
will listen
-
verse 28
-
is said
-
by a man
-
who's told
-
us
-
I've got
-
unceasing
-
anguish
-
and unceasing
-
sorrow
-
I wish
-
that I
-
could be
-
accursed
-
for the
-
sake
-
of my
-
own
-
people
-
I wish
-
that I
-
could be
-
cut off
-
from Christ
-
so that
-
you might
-
believe
-
in the
-
Lord
-
Jesus
-
for the
-
sake
-
of my
-
own
-
brothers
-
for the
-
sake
-
of my
-
own
-
race
-
the
-
people
-
of
-
Israel
-
and then
-
he
-
says
-
to
-
them
-
at the
-
end
-
of
-
Acts
-
I
-
want
-
you
-
to
-
know
-
that
-
God's
-
salvation
-
because
-
you've
-
turned
-
away
-
from
-
it
-
has
-
been
-
sent
-
to
-
the
-
Gentiles
-
and
-
they
-
will
-
listen
-
I
-
have
-
little
-
doubt
-
what
-
Luke
-
wants
-
you
-
and I
-
to
-
see
-
at
-
the
-
end
-
of
-
Acts
-
he
-
wants
-
us
-
to see
-
this
-
picture
-
of
-
the
-
Jewish
-
people
-
here
-
at
-
this
-
point
-
having
-
lost
-
their
-
opportunity
-
and
-
from
-
now
-
on
-
the
-
gospel
-
goes
-
out
-
to
-
the
-
Gentiles
-
but
-
it's
-
true
-
in
-
IPC
-
this
-
morning
-
not
-
just
-
of
-
the
-
ancient
-
people
-
of
-
Israel
-
that
-
when
-
you
-
refuse
-
the
-
word
-
of
-
God
-
long
-
enough
-
the
-
day
-
comes
-
when
-
the
-
spirit
-
of
-
God
-
says
-
okay
-
and
-
he
-
moves
-
on
-
and
-
so
-
as
-
we
-
close
-
out
-
the
-
book
-
of
-
Acts
-
you
-
see
-
we've
-
seen
-
the
-
gospel
-
going
-
forward
-
haven't
-
we
-
breaking
-
through
-
barrier
-
after
-
barrier
-
the
-
church
-
growing
-
but
-
we
-
also
-
have
-
this
-
terrifying
-
warning
-
that
-
isn't
-
there
-
a danger
-
you and
-
I
-
who
-
have
-
so
-
much
-
privilege
-
who
-
are
-
so
-
familiar
-
with
-
the
-
word
-
of
-
God
-
that
-
our
-
hearts
-
become
-
calloused
-
and
-
God's
-
word
-
doesn't
-
get
-
through
-
anymore
-
and
-
we
-
can
-
sit
-
through
-
sermon
-
after
-
sermon
-
and
-
we
-
can
-
sing
-
the
-
songs
-
after
-
song
-
but
-
it
-
just
-
bounces
-
off
-
us
-
and
-
we
-
have
-
eyes
-
but
-
we
-
don't
-
perceive
-
and
-
we
-
have
-
ears
-
but
-
we
-
don't
-
hear
-
and
-
the
-
incredible
-
danger
-
of that
-
is that
-
God
-
says
-
okay
-
and
-
suddenly
-
we
-
don't
-
hear
-
God
-
speaking
-
to
-
us
-
anymore
-
and
-
the
-
gospel
-
goes
-
to
-
others
-
who
-
will
-
receive
-
it
-
and
-
hear
-
it
-
history
-
as well
-
as the
-
Bible
-
makes
-
it
-
abundantly
-
clearly
-
clear
-
that
-
this
-
pattern
-
of
-
God's
-
working
-
is
-
still
-
how
-
he
-
works
-
my
-
prayer
-
is that
-
as we
-
come to
-
the
-
end
-
of
-
Acts
-
we
-
might
-
see
-
that
-
this
-
faithful
-
witness
-
of a
-
man
-
this
-
man
-
that
-
God
-
has
-
used
-
to
-
be
-
a
-
blessing
-
to
-
the
-
ancient
-
world
-
and
-
a
-
blessing
-
to
-
the
-
Gentiles
-
that
-
he
-
might
-
be
-
a
-
blessing
-
to
-
you
-
and
-
me
-
what
-
do
-
the
-
Psalms
-
warn us
-
again
-
and
-
again
-
what
-
were
-
the
-
people
-
of
-
Israel
-
told
-
again
-
and
-
again
-
today
-
if
-
you
-
hear
-
his
-
voice
-
harden
-
not
-
your
-
heart
-
the
-
gospel
-
is
-
unstoppable
-
and the
-
church
-
of
-
Jesus
-
Christ
-
stands
-
and
-
grows
-
forever
-
the
-
gospel
-
will
-
grow
-
the
-
Gentiles
-
will
-
receive
-
it
-
we
-
are
-
caught
-
up
-
in
-
that
-
but
-
what
-
about
-
you
-
today
-
if
-
you
-
hear
-
his
-
voice
-
harden
-
not
-
your
-
heart
-
let's
-
pray
-
God
-
Thank you.