The Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus

We're in Acts chapter 28.

Acts 28 · chapter mention

We're finishing the book of Acts today.

So please turn with me to Acts chapter 28, verses 17 to 31.

Acts 28:17–31

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before you as you address us from your holy scriptures.

Again, every time we go through a book beginning to the end, we are surprised again and again by how timelessly relevant and how powerful your word is.

And we ask today that you would speak to us.

That you would remind us of our identity as ambassadors of Christ.

And fill us with your Holy Spirit.

Embolden us to bear witness to Jesus.

In his precious name we pray.

Amen.

Acts chapter 28, verses 17 to 31.

Acts 28:17–31

After three days, he called together the local leaders of the Jews.

And when they had gathered, he said to them,

Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers,

yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar,

though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you,

since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

And they said to him,

We have received no letters from Judea about you,

and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you.

But we desire to hear from you what your views are.

For with regard to this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

When they had appointed a day for him,

they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers.

From morning till evening, he expounded to them,

testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus,

both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.

And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.

And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement.

The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet,

Go to this people and say,

You will indeed hear, but never understand.

And you will indeed see, but never perceive.

From this people's heart has grown dull.

For this people's heart has grown dull.

And with their ears they can barely hear.

And their eyes they have closed.

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart and turn.

And I would heal them.

Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles.

They will listen.

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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

As I mentioned, we are at the end of the book of Acts and you can see that.

And apart from Paul's pastoral epistles, that's 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus,

this is the last we hear of Apostle Paul.

And we find him here at the very end of, near the very end of his life,

during his imprisonment, still preaching the gospel.

Even though he doesn't know how many people, if any, will respond to his sharing of the gospel,

he says at the end that he was proclaiming the kingdom of God

and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

That's how the book of Acts concludes.

And this is the truth that Luke wants to impress upon us at the end of the book,

that we, as believers, like Paul, are all ambassadors who proclaim the kingdom of God.

It's a calling we have received from our Lord, our Master Jesus.

So we're going to talk about how, talk about the identity of the messenger, Paul.

We're going to talk about the recipients of the message.

And then we will finally talk about the content of the message itself,

the messengers, recipients, and the message.

In verse 16, we were told that after arriving in Rome,

Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

In other words, a soldier was posted to guard Paul.

And usually, customarily at this time, the soldier would literally be chained to the prisoner.

And so they would always have to travel together.

That would prevent the prisoner from running away.

But apart from that one soldier that was guarding Paul, he had relative freedom.

He was able to live in his own private residence.

He was allowed to have visitors.

And so it says then, because of that, he invites some of the Jews,

the local leaders of the Jews in verse 17, to come and visit him

so he can have a conversation with them, talk to them.

And whenever Paul entered a new town, we've seen throughout the book of Acts,

it was his habit to go first to the synagogues to speak to the Jews, to preach to the Jews.

And since he can't do that as a prisoner, he invites them to come to him.

And then he explains the circumstances of his imprisonment in verses 17 to 20.

Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers,

yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty

because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar,

though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you,

since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

So Paul is once again defending himself and insisting on his innocence.

Even though he's in prison and it looks different,

he's telling the Jewish leaders that he has done nothing against our people.

We saw earlier in chapter 22 that the Jews falsely accused Paul

of being against the Jewish people and the Jewish law.

Paul was never against the Jewish people.

In fact, here Paul addresses the Jewish leaders as brothers.

He calls their Jewish ancestors our fathers.

And then he refers to the nation of Israel as my nation,

reminding them that I have not abandoned my people.

However, while Paul did teach that salvation was from the Jews

because our Savior, the Messiah Jesus, is a Jewish man,

he also taught that salvation is for all nations,

even for the Gentiles, all those who repent and believe in Jesus.

And that's why in verse 28 later, Paul says,

let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles.

And this challenge to the uniqueness of the Jews

is what led some to falsely accuse Paul of being against the Jewish people.

And in addition to that, Paul also defends himself by saying

he had done nothing against the customs of our fathers.

As long as the Jews understood that it's not the keeping of the Mosaic law

in their own strength and keeping of the Jewish customs that saved them,

but rather Jesus who saved them through his life, death, and resurrection,

Paul was fine with the Jews observing their Jewish customs.

But because Paul insisted that we can never be saved by our own righteousness

by observing the Jewish law, because all of us have fallen short,

some people falsely accused Paul of being against the customs of the fathers.

And despite his innocence and despite the judgment of the Romans that he was innocent,

the Jews objected.

And this is why Paul was compelled to appeal to Caesar.

And he is here in Rome, imprisoned.

And Paul says, though he had no charge to bring against my nation.

So twice in this passage, Paul insists that he had nothing against the Jews.

He says, I never spoke against the Jewish people or the law or the customs of the Jewish people.

I have no charge to bring against my nation.

But twice he mentions that the Jews themselves were against Paul.

He says that they spoke against him.

The word objected is literally they spoke against him in verse 19.

And in verse 22, the Jewish leaders admit concerning Christianity

that everywhere it is spoken against.

So Paul is drawing a contrast here.

It's not Paul who is against the Jews.

It's the Jews who are against Paul and against Christ.

As we bear witness to Jesus, as we proclaim God's word,

we will be spoken against.

We will be mischaracterized as being against certain groups of people.

When we say that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is the only way to God the Father,

followers of others, adherents of other religions will charge us of being against them.

When we teach biblical ethics on sex and gender,

those who disagree with us will accuse us of being against them,

of trying to oppress them.

But we must remind them that we are not against them.

We are for Jesus.

And because of that, we are ultimately for their good.

What does Paul say in verse 20?

It is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

Because of the hope of the resurrection that Jesus fulfilled when he was raised from the dead.

I am not in prison, Paul is saying, for being against Israel.

No, I am in chains because of the hope of Israel.

If we follow Christ faithfully, people will be against us,

but we must not be against them.

We cannot give in to the same tribalistic us versus them attitude.

Because our battle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

So instead we tell them, we are for you.

We are for the fulfillment of God's promises and salvation in your life.

We are for God's holiness and human flourishing.

Jesus did not come to steal and kill and destroy.

That's what the devil does.

He came that you may have life and have it abundantly.

And after Paul's introduction and defense of himself to the local leaders of the Jews,

they appoint a day for him to share his theological views.

And on that day, it says,

they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers.

And Paul teaches them from the scriptures,

from morning till evening,

trying to convince them about Jesus,

both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.

So here, because Paul's evangelizing fellow Jews

who had a shared faith in the Old Testament scriptures,

he uses that as the common ground to prove that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah,

the promised king,

who lived and died and was raised from the dead.

And that all need to trust in him in order to be saved from their sins.

And Luke, in particular, Paul uses three words in verse 23

that helpfully summarized our evangelistic task,

what we're supposed to do when we're sharing the gospel with other people.

He says,

from morning till evening,

he expounded to them,

testifying to the kingdom of God

and trying to convince them about Jesus.

So the first word is expound.

That's the main verb.

We have to explain who Jesus is

and what Jesus did.

We can't share the gospel without explaining that to people.

What is the significance of Jesus' life,

his death and resurrection?

But as we do this,

we're not merely conveying information

because this expounding also entails

testifying and convincing.

It includes testimony and persuasion.

First, the word testify

refers to a solemn testimony of a witness in a trial.

Its original meaning was to bear witness under oath.

So when you're solemnly exhorting someone,

warning someone,

that's when you are testifying to something.

When you testify in court,

what you say can determine

whether a person will go to jail or not,

whether a person will live or die.

Sharing the gospel in a similar way

is of utmost weight.

It's not small talk

about the weather outside

or sports or your TV show.

When you're exhorting someone,

when you're testifying to the gospel to Jesus,

we're conveying that sense of gravity

and consequence of the gospel

that a person's eternal fate

hangs in the balance.

Second, the word convince

is different from merely conversing.

When we share the gospel with people,

we're not just exchanging views or opinions.

We're changing their views and opinions.

We're trying to persuade them,

win them over to our point of view.

So when we share the gospel,

there should be an invitation to believe.

I have a childhood friend

from when I was growing up

in elementary school days in South Korea.

I had invited him to church

when we were children many times.

He'd gone to church with me many times.

He'd heard the gospel many times.

And after I moved to the United States

when I was 12,

several years later,

he actually came also.

He wasn't following me.

He just had other stuff to do

and ended up in the same area

because he knew I was there.

And I got to share the gospel.

He came to church with me many times.

But even though we had been doing this

for many years,

he just never seemed to cross the threshold.

And then one day,

I came home

and he was hanging out with my family

because he was close to my family too.

And he was just beaming with joy.

He's one of those guys that has a face

that just looks sad by default.

Like he has one of those drooping eyes.

But I could tell that day

he was really happy the whole time.

And he comes up to me

and he tells me,

Sean, I'm a Christian now.

What?

You are?

What happened?

Oh, your mom just asked me

if I wanted to become a Christian.

And I said yes.

And we pray together

and I'm going to get baptized.

I was like, what?

She just asked you?

And it's like,

you never asked me.

You never asked me.

That's stuck with me all these years.

He had often heard the gospel,

but he was never confronted

with the need to make a decision.

He was never given an invitation

to make a commitment to Jesus.

When we expound the gospel,

we are testifying and convincing.

We're not merely exchanging views.

We're inviting them to change their views

and to accept Jesus as their own.

And as we do this,

we need to recognize

that there will be mixed responses.

Verses 24 to 25 say this,

and some were convinced

by what Paul said,

but others disbelieved.

And disagreeing among themselves,

they departed after Paul

and made one statement.

So some Jews are believing,

but many others are not believing.

And Paul makes sense

of the Jews' rejection of the gospel

by quoting Isaiah 6, 9 to 11

in verses 26 to 27.

In the original context of Isaiah,

Isaiah is receiving

his prophetic commission from the Lord.

When the Lord says,

whom shall I send?

Who will go for us?

Isaiah responds,

here I am, send me.

And God commands him

to go and say to Israel,

this is from Isaiah,

not from Acts,

keep on hearing,

but do not understand.

Keep on seeing,

but do not perceive.

Make the heart of this people

dull and their ears heavy

and blind their eyes,

lest they see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn and be healed.

In Isaiah,

the phrases are imperatives.

Isaiah is commanded

to make the heart of this people

dull and their ears heavy

and blind their eyes,

lest they repent.

So there,

what is emphasized

in the original context of Isaiah

is God's sovereignty and salvation.

In that particular situation,

God had decreed that Israel

would stubbornly refuse to repent

so that he might visit them

with judgment

and demonstrate his righteousness.

Similarly,

in Matthew 13, 10 to 17,

when Jesus' disciples ask him,

why do you speak to people

in parables?

Jesus answers by saying,

to you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven,

but to them it has not been given.

And then he cites

this exact same passage

from Isaiah

and then he explains,

this is why I speak to them

in parables,

parables,

because seeing they do not see

and hearing they do not hear,

nor do they understand.

In other words,

to some people,

the secrets of the kingdom

have not been given

and speaking in parables

fulfills Isaiah's prophecy

that they will hear

but not understand.

They will see

but not perceive.

But note the way

that Paul applies Isaiah 6

in this passage

is a little different.

It's less prescriptive

and it's more descriptive.

Instead of saying,

make the people's heart grow dull,

Paul follows the Greek translation

of Isaiah which says,

this people's heart

has grown dull.

Instead of saying,

make their ears heavy

and blind their eyes,

Paul says,

with their ears

they can barely hear

and their eyes

they have closed.

So in Isaiah's original context

and in Jesus' use of it,

the emphasis is on

divine sovereignty.

unless God acts to save,

no one can hear

and understand

and be saved.

But here in the context of Acts,

the emphasis is on

human responsibility.

Paul laments

that the Jews

are hard of hearing,

that they are themselves

closing their own eyes.

They're refusing to believe

the good news of Jesus.

We can account for this difference

in emphases

by looking at

who the intended audience is.

In Isaiah,

God is speaking

to his prophet, Isaiah.

In the Gospels,

Jesus is speaking

to his apostles.

He's explaining to them

God's sovereign role

in salvation

and reassuring them

that they need not

be disillusioned

when people reject them

and reject the Gospel

because even that

is ultimately fulfilling

God's sovereign purposes.

But here in Acts,

Paul is citing Isaiah

to unbelieving Jews.

So he puts the onus

on them

and emphasizes

their responsibility

because as paradoxical

as it may seem to us,

both divine sovereignty

and human responsibility

are biblical realities.

People have

a real responsibility

to respond

to the preaching

of the Gospel.

It's not enough

that you're hearing.

You have to respond.

You have to perceive.

You have to understand.

You have to believe.

You have to repent

of your sins

and follow Jesus.

We must not stop our ears

or close our eyes.

There must be a response.

And there's a contrast

between what the Jews

say to Paul

in verse 22

and what Paul says

to the Jews

in verses 26-27.

In verse 22,

the Jews say to Paul,

we desire to hear from you

what your views are.

But in verse 26,

Paul says,

you will indeed hear

but never understand.

And in verse 27,

in their ears,

they can barely hear.

Some of these Jews

do not have

the ears to hear.

They are hearing

but not understanding.

And it is this rejection

of the Gospel

by the Jews

that makes Paul

turn toward the Gentiles.

Paul says in verse 28,

therefore let it be known

to you that the salvation

of God has been sent

to the Gentiles.

They will listen.

This doesn't mean

that Paul is turning away

from his fellow Jews

once and for all.

This doesn't mean

that God has rejected

Jews forever.

This is now

the third time

in the book of Acts

that Paul mentions

turning away

from the Jews

toward the Gentiles.

But after each time,

he never stops

preaching to the Jews.

But the fact

that he keeps saying this,

Luke is mentioning

this three times,

it shows us

that he is highlighting

something here for us.

In chapter 13,

when Paul,

when the Jews

reject the Gospel

in Pisidian Antioch,

Paul told them,

I'm turning

to the Gentiles.

Chapter 18,

verse 6,

when the Corinthian Jews

rejected Jesus

and opposed Paul,

he said,

I'm from now on

I will go

to the Gentiles.

So what is going on here?

Paul explains this

in Romans 11.

He says,

through the Jews'

trespass,

salvation has come

to the Gentiles,

so to make Israel

jealous.

And he says,

later in that same

chapter,

Romans 11,

a partial hardening

has come upon Israel

until the fullness

of the Gentiles

has come in.

And in this way,

all Israel

will be saved.

In other words,

the rejection

of Jesus

by the Jews

is what prompts

the inclusion

of the Gentiles.

And eventually,

the Jews

will be jealous

of the Gentiles'

salvation,

and they themselves

will repent

and believe in Jesus,

leading to all Israel,

meaning the new people

of God

that includes

both Jews

and Gentiles,

being saved.

God chose the Jews

so that from them

our Savior might come

to bring salvation

to all nations,

and God brings

all nations

to the salvation

so that he might

in turn turn

his people,

the Jews,

back to him.

So there's a wonderful

reciprocity there.

This is why

in verse 30,

Luke summarizes,

he lived there

two whole years

at his own expense

and welcomed

all who came

to him.

All means Jews

and Gentiles,

Romans and barbarians,

men and women,

young and old,

slaves and free,

rich and poor,

pretty and ugly,

strong and weak,

influential and marginalized,

criminals and victims,

history makers,

and history's forgettables.

If they repent

of their sins,

if they turn

toward Jesus,

all can come.

And Paul welcomes

all to come

to him

because that's

what his Lord

Jesus does.

Jesus said

in John 6,

37,

all that the Father

gives me

will come to me

and whoever

comes to me

I will never

cast out.

Maybe you're

weighed down

by guilt

this morning.

Maybe you're

wrestling with

a deep sense

of shame.

you might not

feel worthy

to come to Jesus

and the truth is

no one is.

But if the

master himself

invites us in,

who is the servant

that can turn us away?

Amen.

With this kind of promise,

whoever comes to me

I will never

cast out.

How can we not

eagerly

come to Jesus

receive forgiveness

and be reconciled

to him?

There's a

Tennessee

bluegrass band

called

Blue Highway.

Anybody listen to them?

No?

It's okay.

They have a song

entitled

Ground is Level

at the Foot

of the Cross.

And it goes this way,

You can judge

your brother

by his fortune size,

but we're all the same

in the good Lord's eyes.

You can judge

your sister

by the deeds

she's done,

but we're judged

in heaven

by the carpenter's son.

If you measure

the gain,

better count the cost,

because the ground

is level

at the foot

of the cross.

Why gain the world

if your soul's

been lost?

Because the ground

is level

at the foot

of the cross.

We've talked

about the messenger,

we've talked

about the recipients,

all who come,

and let's talk

about the message.

What exactly

is Paul preaching?

Verse 31

tells us clearly

that Paul was

proclaiming

the kingdom of God

and teaching

about the Lord

Jesus Christ

with all boldness

and without hindrance.

This is amazing.

Remember that

not long after

Paul arrived

in Jerusalem

in chapter 21,

he was arrested,

and then he was

transferred to Caesarea.

In Acts 24,

27 told us

that two years

had elapsed

with Paul

in prison there.

And after a long

and dangerous

journey through the sea,

Paul finally arrives

in Rome

in Acts 28,

and here we learn

in verse 30

that Paul was

under house arrest

in Rome

for two whole years.

So that's about

five years.

Five years

that Paul's

under Roman custody

as a prisoner.

And we might expect

that this prolonged

imprisonment,

and after that,

Paul would lack

boldness

or be hindered

from preaching

the gospel.

But it says that

Paul was proclaiming

the kingdom of God

and teaching about

the Lord Jesus Christ

with all boldness

and without hindrance.

It's during his

imprisonment in Rome

that Paul wrote

four of his 13 letters

in the New Testament.

Ephesians,

Philippians,

Colossians,

Philemon.

And in his

closing remarks

in Philippians 4,

Philippians 4:22

verse 22,

Paul writes,

all the saints

greet you,

especially those

of Caesar's household.

Some of those

people who came

to faith in Jesus

through Paul's

ministry during

his imprisonment

in Rome

included members

of Caesar's

household.

Paul's chains

did not hinder

him from proclaiming

the gospel.

what's hindering

us.

As Paul writes

in 2 Timothy 2,

8 to 9,

remember Jesus Christ

risen from the dead,

the offspring of David

as preached in my

gospel,

for which I am

suffering,

bound with chains

as a criminal,

but the word of God

is not bound.

We can be bound

with chains,

but the word of God

cannot be bound.

Our platforms

might be censored,

but the word of God

can never be bound.

Even while in prison,

Paul did not forget

that he is an ambassador

for the kingdom of God.

And we too have to remember

that we are ambassadors

who proclaim

the kingdom of God.

Whether we have

a job or not,

whether we are

still a student

or not,

whether we are

busy or not,

whether we're

sick or healthy,

we are all

as Christians

ambassadors

of the kingdom

of God.

There's some

turbulent things

going on

in international affairs.

Imagine

that our

Secretary of State,

Antony Blinken,

our country's

most senior

diplomat,

imagine that

he travels

to meet

with the Russian

foreign minister

Sergei Lavrov,

but then he forgets

what he's there for,

namely to stop

a war from happening,

and then he starts

touring

St. Basil's

Cathedral

in Moscow,

and he starts

admiring

the art

in the Hermitage Museum

in St. Petersburg,

and he doesn't do

any of his job.

That would be

unthinkable,

because he's

an ambassador.

He's not there

on his own

authority to do

whatever he wants

to do.

He's been sent

there by someone

else

to do his

bidding and to

send his

message.

And that's who

we are.

We are ambassadors

of the kingdom

of God.

We are not

tourists here

on earth.

We are ambassadors

who have been sent

out with a mission.

We represent

our King Jesus,

and we are here

to relay

his message

to the world.

This sinful world

is in rebellion

against God.

They have sought

to usurp

God's throne,

but God has

appointed his

heir,

Jesus,

the Son of God,

as the Messianic King.

And Jesus,

instead of crushing

the rebels

with brute force,

he gave his life

on the cross

to pay the penalty

for their treason.

And Jesus has been

raised from the dead

to reconcile

these sinners

to himself.

And this is

the King's message.

If you renounce

your other

allegiances,

if you renounce

yourself,

your own rebellion

against me,

and you pledge

allegiance to

King Jesus,

Jesus,

if you repent,

turn from your sins,

and turn toward Jesus,

and submit to his

rule and authority,

then you can be

reconciled again

to God.

Then you can be

citizens of the

kingdom of God.

And as

the citizens

of the kingdom,

we are ambassadors

sent out to

proclaim that

same news.

We read this

from 2 Corinthians

5, 18-21

in our assurance

of pardon today.

We are ambassadors

for Christ,

God making

his appeal

through us.

We implore

people to be

reconciled to God

on Christ's behalf.

This ending

of the book of Acts

has puzzled

people,

many people,

over the years

because it

strikes a lot

of people

as anticlimactic.

You know,

they wonder,

hey,

why didn't

the book

end with

Paul's

long-awaited

release from

prison

and ongoing

missionary work?

There are

extra-biblical

Christian literature

like the first

letter of Clement

from 1st century

A.D.,

as well as

the moratorium

canon from

the 7th century

A.D.

that note

that Paul

was in fact

released from

his imprisonment

in Rome

and that he

continued to

travel to

the extremities

of the West

and to bear

witness as

far as Spain.

Why doesn't

Luke tell us

about that?

Some people

wonder why

the book

doesn't follow

Paul's journey

even further

than that

to conclude

it with the

heroic tale

of Paul's

martyrdom

in Rome

after his

second imprisonment

in Rome.

We know

from verse

30 that

Luke was

aware that

Paul's

imprisonment

in Rome

lasted two

whole years

so it

came to

an end.

So he

knows that

it came

to an end

but Luke

has chosen

not to

tell us

what happens

afterward.

Instead he

decided to

leave us

with Paul

proclaiming

the kingdom

of God

and teaching

about the

Lord Jesus

Christ

with all

boldness

and without

hindrance.

I think

that's the

most appropriate

ending

because it

concludes

with the

focus

not on

Paul

but on

the message

of Jesus

that Paul

proclaimed.

The most

pertinent

question for

Luke is

not

what happened

to Paul?

The most

pertinent

question is

what happened

to the

gospel?

And what

happened to

the gospel

is this

the gospel

continued to

go forward

in 60

years

most of

us will

no longer

be alive

and we

will be

mostly

forgotten

but the

important

question is

will the

gospel be

remembered

where we

were?

will the

gospel

continue

in the

lives

of those

around

us?

Will the

name of

Jesus

continue to

be exalted

when our

name has

faded?

That's

what matters

so let's

live for

that

Heavenly

Father

Lord that's

what we

want our

life to be

about.

We want it

to be

about the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

We want

to be

people who

say I've

resolved to

know nothing

but Christ

crucified.

We want to

be people who

say woe is

me if I do

not preach

the gospel.

We want to

be people who

go out of

this world

proclaiming

the good

news of

Jesus Christ

with our

dying breath.

For your

glory's sake.

For your

glory's sake.

Lord,

use us as

you wish.

Change us.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

In Jesus'

name we pray.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.