Worth Dying For: I'm Coming Rome

From them. Well, it's great to have you guys here Adventure Church this

morning. So good to see all of you. If I haven't met you

yet. My name is Morgan Butcher. I'm blessed to be one of the

pastors here at our Mill Creek campus, and we are here. We did

it Acts twenty eight. I know that I said that last week Acts twenty

eight. Well, we covered the first half of Acts twenty eight last week.

But this is really it, people, this is really the end the

Acts twenty eight. We are putting a bow on the Book of Acts.

We started in this I guess it's been three different series that we've broken up

Acts into, but we started all the way back in September of last year.

If you can remember back that far, that seems like an eternity ago.

We started with a series called Unstoppable, and then we transitioned onto a

series called Man on Fire, which is also the title of like my favorite

movie ever. Shout out Denzel Washington. It's my dude. Honestly, if

I could just meet Denzel, No, no, it doesn't matter. And

now we've been wrapping up the Book of Acts in our series Worth Dying for.

I hope you've enjoyed this series, It's been awesome. If you've missed

any of the messages, we have them all online. I love that that

you can literally go back and you can listen to literally this whole series over

again if you wanted to Acts Chapter twenty eight, if you have your Bibles,

you can open up with me. There. We left off last week

with Paul washed up on the shore of the island of Malta and showing us

what it looks like to shake off what was yet another discouraging shift in his

plans as he was heading to Rome. They washed on the shore of Malta

after a shipwreck, and in verse eleven of Acts twenty eight, it says

this. It says, after three months, we put out to sea in

a ship that had wintered on the island, and they made their way to

Rome. I'm not a person who titles my messages very often, but if

you if you are and you like having a title, you can title it

I'm coming Rome. And literally, as I was writing the message, I

just started like breaking out in song, which is not unusual, but you

know, I'm coming home, I'm coming home, and I just was like,

I'm coming Rome. That I don't know why, and now I'll be

stuck in your head all week too, So you're welcome. But we made

it. This is the climax of the story where everything starts to come together.

For seven chapters in the Book of Acts, Paul has been slowly moving

through this process of getting closer and closer to Rome, the heart of the

Roman world, and it would be here that Paul would stand trial before the

Emperor Nero, who was the most powerful and influential man alive. All the

work that has gone and getting to Rome in Paul's life, the journey that

he has been on, the anticipation to get there, the twists and the

turns that he's been faced with, and finally come in Rome, come okay,

sorry. Paul leaves Malta and he's still a prisoner as he enters Rome,

and this is where we pick up verse eleven, chapter twenty eight.

You guys with me says this. After three months, we put in a

sea in a ship that are wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian

ship with a figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollocks. Castor and Pollocks

were Greek gods that were kind of gods that would give people out at sea

good luck. So these were the twin gods Castor and Pollock's great names.

We put in at Syracuston stayed for three days. From there, we set

sail and arrived at Regium. The next day the south wind came up,

and the following day we reached Petoli. Now the south wind implies that the

wind was at their backs, it was in their sails, definite contradiction to

the last time that they were on a boat where they're in the middle of

a storm and the wind is just all up in their business. Right,

that it's just coming from everywhere, and the wind is in their sails.

It communicates Paul's It's almost like they're communicating that God was with them as they

were making their way to Rome. The wind is in their sails, and

says in verse four team there we found some brothers and sisters who invited us

to spend a week with them. That's nice, And so we came to

Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and

they traveled as far as the form of Appius and the three taverns to meet

us. There. The three Taverns was likely a well known meeting spot in

the area where believers would rally together, kind of the modern day Chick fil

a. I guess you could call it. And it says, at the

side of these people, maybe Hobby lobbiedoole Paul thank God and was encouraged.

That's important, says at the sight of these people, Paul thanked God and

was encouraged, says When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live

by himself, but with a soldier to guard him. I want to pray

for us really quick, and we're gonna dive in. Father, God,

thank you so much for today. God, thank you that you brought us

all the way to this point in the Book of Acts. Good I pray

that there would be something in here that motivates and encourages our parts to move

in boldness and to do what you've called us to do. God, so

inspire our hearts. Speak to us today. Let us not walk out of

these doors the same. We pray that in Jesus Mighty name. And everyone

said, Amen, Amen. There are some major lessons that Paul has been

teaching us, and really that the Book of Acts has been teaching us.

Some major lessons for the believers that are kind of summarized here in Acts,

chapter twenty eight. If we look closely at Acts twenty eight, we see

these broad themes that have kind of been summarized throughout the book of Acts.

And I want to point some of those major themes out this morning for us.

Did you notice what began to happen as Paul was approaching Rome. As

Paul gets closer and closer and closer to Rome, do you see what happens

to Christians start gathering together, They start coming out, they start rallying together,

they start coming around him. They hear that he's coming for Rome and

they plan to meet him there. They come from places from far away to

meet Paul here in Rome. This is a significant fact because what it communicates

is that Paul was not alone in reaching Rome, that there were Christians on

the ground that were rallying there to meet him there. And it says that

in this moment, it meant something to Paul to see these believers coming to

be welcomed into these believers home. It says that it meant something to him

so much so that Paul thanked God for their presence, that he was encouraged

by literally just being in their presence and seeing them and hearing their stories,

and of them being able to care for him. Have you ever had just

an encouragement from another believer just caring for you? What a powerful thing that

is. When the church rallies together to encourage other believers in their times of

need. It says, it encouraged him, and after all that he'd been

through. Think about this, After all that Paul had been through, after

all the obstacles, the change of directions, the opposition that he's faced,

the Church begins to rally around him, and it reminds him that he is

not alone in this. You know what I was reminded when I read about

it. I was reminded the same thing that we started talking about when we

started this whole trilogy of series back in the Acts, chapter one. It's

that the Gospel is unstoppable when it's shared by people filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is something unstoppable about the church rallying together, filled and empowered by

God's Spirit that encourages us and moves the gospel forward even when we're tired.

God's plan has been unstoppable this whole time, hasn't it. Why was it

ever just about one person. No, it was about the church. It

was about the church. It wasn't just about Paul's journey. We've been focusing

on Paul's journey. But let me tell you. The whole time that Paul

was moving from place to place, the whole time that Paul was going in

and out of prison, because he did that a lot. It was kind

of a theme of his life. And the whole time that he was washed

up on the shores of Malta. Do you know what was happening in places

like Patoli the form of as the way station known as the Three Taverns.

You know what's happening. The church was gathering. The church was rallying.

It was never just about one person. God's spirit was filling the church.

And as the church was being filled, they were gathering together. They were

gathering in house churches, they were gathering in small gatherings. In Roman territory,

the church was coming together. Remember back in Roman, in Acts one

eight, the first message of our Acts trilogy, Jesus reveals himself to the

believers. And what does it say that he says to him. Jesus says,

you will receive what power when the Holy Spirit comes to you, and

you will be my witnesses. You know when he says you, he's not

just talking to Ball, saying you the church globally in Petoli, in the

form of Appius, and the three taverns, all across Rome, all across

Jerusalem and Judaea and Samarian, all the believers, you will be filled with

the Holy Spirit, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and

Samarian to the ends of the earth. This wasn't a mission in a plan

for one person to carry out. It's not like Jesus assembled the very best

and brightest in the upper Room and said, hey, how are we going

to do this? Guys? No, he he filled them with the Spirit

of God. And it was God's spirit that empowered the Church to navigate the

mission and the mess and the trials and the suffering. Through it all,

the Church and the Gospel was unstoppable because it was never about one person.

Amen. And as Paul is entering Rome, battered, beaten, tired,

weary from this long journey, feeling like he is the only one trying to

carry the weight of the Gospel on his shoulders, you ever feel like you're

just the only one who cares like you're the only one dealing with us.

And how silly is that to think? Right, But it feels like it.

And can't you just imagine Paul entering Rome feeling like he's got the weight

of the whole gospel and sharing the Gospel on his shoulders. And as he

arrives in Rome, he sees his fellow believers and he is encouraged, and

he has reminded that the Gospel is un stoppable when God's people are filled with

the Holy Spirit. Man, Church, This is why this is so important.

This is why us coming together on Sundays and through the week is so

important. This is what the church has always been about. Did you know

that every time I don't know about you, every time I come into this

place and I get a worship alongside you, I'm literally standing in the back

almost in tears because just watching you people worship encourages my heart. There's something

about being able to walk around and shake each other's hand and encourage each other

because we know that through the week, we've been through some trials. Through

the week, we've experienced some suffering. Through the week, we've been battling

some storms. And this is why this is so important, because when we

come into Rome, we're encouraged by the other believers in the room. We're

filled with the encouragement of knowing that we're not alone, that there are other

people who are walking this with us, other people who care and are encouraging

us to keep going. Paul arrives in Rome surrounded by Christians from the area,

meeting him with open arms. But the reality is as he enters Rome,

he's still a prisoner, isn't he. He is given the freedom to

live in his own home, which shows that there is favor given to Paul,

likely because of the way that he led some of these Roman officials while

they were stranded in Malta. Right, these Roman officers were thankful for Paul.

He has favor of living in his own home, but a soldier standing

guard. There is a constant reminder that even in Rome, he is a

witness in chains. So Paul is confined to his home. But are you

even surprised that Paul being on house arrest doesn't stop him. Look at what

it says next. It says in verse seventeen. Three days later, he

called together the local Jewish leaders and when they had assembled, Paul said to

them, my brothers, although I have done nothing against our people who or

against the customs of our ancestors. I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over

to the Romans. They examined me and wanted to release me because I was

not guilty of any crime deserving death. The Jews objected, so I was

compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring

any charge against my own people. For this reason, I have asked to

see and talk with you. It's because of the hope of Israel that I'm

bound with this chain. They replied, we have not received any letters from

Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has

reported or said anything bad about you. But we want to hear about what

your views are. For we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.

Paul is in Rome in chains, and when they say we want to

know about this sect that you're a part of, you see, Paul was

worried that word had already come from some of the surrounding cities that he's been

in that Paul's message was dangerous, that it was different, that it opposed

the Jewish beliefs and the Jewish thoughts about who God was, who Jesus came

to be. They had heard about this message, but they heard hadn't necessarily

heard anything bad about Paul. So the Jewish leaders are like, we haven't

heard anything bad about you, but we've heard about this message that is coming.

Tell us about it. Paul is in Rome, in chains doing ministry.

People coming to him and he's leading them even from the confines of house

arrest. And you know what I love about this. It's the same thing

that Paul has shown from the moment that he got saved by God coming to

him, that Jesus came to him and spoke to him. The same thing

he's been showing ever since that moment the scales fell from his eyes, is

that every place is a place where ministry can take place. Every place is

a ministry as a place where ministry can take place. You got to say

it a lot of times to get it right. Every place is a place

where ministry can take place. Somebody literally looked at me before this week and

says, is that right? I said, yes, it's right. Every

place is a place where ministry can take place. Friends, I know that

that that it is so overwhelming sometimes for you to be in the workplace and

for you to mentally recognize that every place is a place where ministry can take

place. I know some of the things that you face. I know that

a lot of your companies discourage you from sharing about the Gospel. I know

that we have teachers in this room who the last thing that they want you

to talk about is what you believe. I know that there are people in

here who have families who maybe are opposed to what you believe, and the

last thing that you really want to do is screw up family gatherings right the

pressure of man, What will happen if I share about what I believe?

What will happen if I actually pray for my family in that way? What

will happen if I share what my views are on that. If I share

what Jesus has done in my life? What will that do to my family

life? What happened? Maybe you're of us about sharing the Gospel with your

neighbors, right, because they're kind of there all the time. And I

know that you're thinking in the back of your head, what if I share

about what I believe? And you know for the rest of my life,

for as long as I live there and they live there. I'm just stuck

being that neighbor. I get it. There are a lot of excuses.

There are a lot of reasons why it is difficult or intimidating or or scary

to share what you believe. But can I can I just ask the question?

Can I just be blunt this morning? What are we talking about?

Like, honestly, what are we talking about? Are we talking about personal

preference? Are we talking about personal comforts? Can I just tell you what

I believe about my Jesus. He didn't die on a cross for personal preference

and personal comfort. He didn't die because it was convenient. He didn't go

to the cross because it was comfortable. He didn't do those things because it

was easy. He did it because he knew it was his responsibility. He

knew what it would do for you and me. He knew that it was

a sacrifice, that it was an offering for you and me. Personal preference

and personal comforts will always be the easy excuses for not doing what is difficult

and hard and uncomfortable. But what are we talking about? I thought this

whole time we were talking about a gospel message that's worth dying for. You

know that there's missionaries around the world. In fact, you will hear from

one in just a couple of months. Who's going to come to our church,

who literally his family has multiple times be threatened to be killed because of

the message that he stands for. I thought we were talking about a gospel

about a Jesus, about a message that was worth dying for. What are

we talking about, at the very least, maybe the bare minimum. Can

we not be inconvenienced for the gospel? If it's worth dying for, then

surely it's worth being inconvenienced for. I know I'm offending some people right now,

but what are we talking about. Paul has been waiting his whole life

for this moment to be in Rome and preach the gospel, and you better

believe he was going to seize the day. There was nothing that was going

to stop him from communicating exactly what he knew he needed to communicate. Whether

it was face to face with the Emperor of Rome or whether it was on

house arrest waiting for people to come to him. He was not going to

miss this opportunity. Three days after he arrives, he calls the local Jewish

leaders, and you can tell he's a little nervous that word has already gotten

out and that they would shut him out before having the opportunity to speak.

He's worried that the Jewish leaders in Rome sent word not to trust Paul.

But the Jewish leaders say, we haven't heard anything. They haven't heard anything

about Paul, but they have heard this new way of Christianity. So Paul

tells them to gather the believers so he can share the gospel message. And

a few days later and even larger crowd gathers and Paul just starts preaching.

I mean, he went for it. You think sometimes me and Pastor Brandon

speak a long time. You got no idea. We got people in the

back like your thirty minutes are app It says from morning to evening Paul preached,

trying to persuade them to believe in Jesus. That's one really long sermon,

but you know what, it's what they needed to hear. And how

do they respond acts twenty three. Look at what it says. They arranged

to meet Paul in a certain day and they came in even larger numbers to

the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning until evening,

explaining about the Kingdom of God from the Law of Moses and the prophets,

and tried to persuade them about Jesus. But then look at what it

says. Says that some were convinced by what he said, but others would

not believe. Paul has just spent the entire day trying to help his Jewish

brothers and sisters reinterpret texts that they have been raised to understand and believe a

certain way. This was no easy tasks. The thing is. The thing

is some of the things that you and I get stubborn about. They were

like, you can't tell me about that. I know how to put together

ford Injine way better than you will ever know. I don't know if that's

anybody in here. Actually, if it is, I need your help.

Paul was trying to help them both unlearned the old and learn the new ways

about who the Messiah was. And he does it by going back to scripture,

something that he would do so often throughout the Book of Acts. Him

and Peter both did this time and time again when they were talking to Jews.

They would go back to Old Testament scripture, because that's what they were

used to, that's what they understood, that's what they spent their life memorizing

and knowing. Peter and Paul challenge the Jews to reassess their relationship with Gentiles

time and time again, and now here again in Rome. Among these Jews,

they're having the same conversation destruct deconstructing the beliefs of previous life and reconstructing

this new way of thinking. And let me even pause right there for a

second, because there is this hot word going around in Christian culture right now,

this idea of deconstructing your faith. Can I just talk about that for

a second. I think that to deconstruct means to take something apart thoughtfully,

intentionally, with order. And you know what, I think it's okay,

hear me say that. I think it's okay to examine what you have been

taught to believe previously in your life and ask questions like do I really believe

that? Is that thing founded in truth? Why do I believe this?

I think those are all good and important and healthy questions to ask, if

done in the right way. However, let me said again, however,

what is scary today is that oftentimes when people say I'm deconstructing my faith,

it doesn't look like deconstruction. You know what it looks like. It looks

like demolition. It doesn't look thoughtful, it doesn't look careful, it doesn't

look intentional. And this is what happens because we respond emotionally to truth,

often because we were hurt, because someone was unkind, because we disagreed with

something that was said, or a stance that the church took. And when

we have emotional responses to our understanding of Christianity, it can very easily lead

to abandoning our faith altogether. It has a tendency to disenfranchise people from the

church and their understanding of faith completely. And Paul is speaking to these Jews

trying to help them deconstruct their old ways of thinking in a thoughtful and intentional

way. It's why he goes back to Old Testament scripture so often to carefully

deconstruct what has been constructed, so that can I say that again, so

that there was a goal they can build their faith on a new understanding,

on the new truth of who Jesus came to be. But it says that

as he speaks to them as he explains to them this new way of understanding

of what Jesus gave his life for. It says that some were convinced and

some would not believe. And what ended up pushing the Jews away was Paul

going back to the words of the prophet Isaiah. Now, the prophet Isaiah

apparently had a similar response in Old Testament as he does a New Testament.

People didn't like hearing what the Prophet Isaiah had to say, but he brings

it back up. He goes back to their old text in the Old Testament,

and this is what he says. It says they disagreed among themselves and

began to leave. After Paul had made this final statement, he said,

the Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through the through

Isaiah, the Prophet, go to this people and say, you will be

ever hearing but never understanding. You will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people's heart has become calloused. They hardly hear with their ears.

They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear

with their ears, understand what their hearts and turn, and I would heal

them. And then look what he says, Therefore, because of this calloused

heart, because of these closed eyes and closed ears, I want you to

know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen.

This is the exact same thing that almost got Paul killed when he testified

in Jerusalem, almost the exact same message. The crowd listened to Paul until

he told them that because of their hard hearts, God's plan of salvation was

now not just for Jews, but for Gentiles as well. The Jews don't

like that at all, Not then, not now, not when Paul was

preaching. Have you ever had this happen? You share your faith only to

have the person turn away, only to have them be offended or turned off

to the truth that you spoke to them. It could be discouraging, can't

it. But but you know what, Paul knew. It wasn't his job

to choose for somebody else. Whether they believed Paul knew, that was not

his responsibility. You know what Paul understood. He understood that his responsibility And

friends, I will say this, our respon sponsibility is to be faithful,

to give people the opportunity to choose. That's it, that's our responsibility.

Paul speaks the truth. He opens the door for those to believe. In

every city along the journey, Paul has been faithful to share the hope of

Jesus to the world. I don't know about you, but there is something

really free when I remind myself of my place in God's plan. It is

not my job to choose for somebody else, whether whether or not they believe

in what I believe. But you know what is my responsibility? To go

and tell? Jesus says, go and tell the gospel, go and spread

the good news. Is any part of that indicative of you choosing for someone.

Don't put that pressure on yourself. That's not your place in God's plan.

God says, I will do the changing of the heart. I will

do the conviction. I will do the morphing of their life. You be

faithful to go and tell you do your part. I will do my part.

Paul is bold and unabashed in sharing the truth of God's word. To

go and tell people what Jesus has done in your life. Tell people to

make it known what you believe that it's our job to be bold and sharing

our testimony, to lead people to prayer, to tell people what Jesus has

done in a life. That's our place to go and tell. So can

we take some quick inventory? Do people even know what you believe? Like

the people that you walk around every single day? Do they know what you

believe? Can they see it in who you are? Can they hear it

from your testimony? Can they hear it from how you're different from the world

around them? Do they even know? Do people around you even know that

there is life and freedom available them through Jesus who has changed your life?

Pastor Tony said it so well a few weeks ago, and I'll never forget

it. He said, your story might be the keys that unlock salvation in

someone else's life. Paul finishes a sermon going back to the Old Testament text,

going back to what the Jews were familiar with, and reminding them the

words that the Lord gave the prophet Isaiah to speak to the Jews years ago,

words that would be familiar to them, maybe not that they were too

fond of. The Lord spoke to Isaiah to tell the Jews the same thing

that Paul is speaking to the Jews right here in this moment in Rome.

You will be ever hearing, but never understanding. You will be ever seen,

but never perceiving. The Jewish people had become so callous, so hardhearted,

that even though they can hear it, they can't really hear. Even

though they see, they can't see the truth of what is in front of

them. These were supposed to be the people of God. They had denied

and rejected him so many times that they didn't even recognize his voice when he

was shouting at them. And if you look at Christianity today, you'll see

something pretty similar. Incredible things are happening all across the world. Did you

know that the Gospel is spreading rapidly all across the world. People are learning

to listen to the Holy Spirit and respond to his voice in their life.

Christianity in places like China and India and Africa are literally growing faster than buildings

can contain it. Whereas here in America, you know what's happening. It's

not just Stagner, it's dying. Did you know that today, more than

ever, there are less Christians in America's fame than there ever has been.

Maybe what Paul is saying to the Jewish leaders applies to us as well.

Friends, Maybe we have become so comfortable ignoring God that we no longer hear

him when he speaks. Maybe the reason we don't always see the Spirit of

God working in our lives is because we have our eyes shut to the things

of the Spirit. About seven years ago, we Nicole and I moved to

our house and muckle Teal right next to Painfield and we moved in and we

absolutely love it. But it was one day we were sitting out on the

back deck when we realized, oh, what it means to move next to

Painfield Airport. It means that there are loud planes. Apparently none of them

flew by when we were checking out the house, and the first time it

happened, I remember just thinking, oh my gosh, what is going on?

And then over time we got used to it to the point where seven

years later, we had friends over the house a couple of weeks ago and

they're like, man, that's so cool that planes go by here all the

time. And I was like, yeah, dude, I got forgot about

It's to be with you. You see. What it reminded me was that

you get used to hearing without listening. Because you never stop hearing the plains,

you become so calloused that your mind doesn't register because you're not listening for

it anymore. Can I tell you, friends, this is one of the

greatest dangers facing the church today. We get used to hearing without listening.

Because we stop hearing the voice of God in our life, we become calloused

and our mind doesn't register it because we're just not listening for it anymore.

The more we get used to showing up and hearing the word of God without

allowing it to transform our lives, the closer we get to hearing without listening.

Every time we hear without really listening to what God is saying, it

makes it that much harder for us to listen the next time, until we

reach a point where the word of God is right in front of us and

we don't. And this invitation to choose is as much as us extending the

choice to followers of Jesus around us, as it is about you and I

looking in the mirror and asking ourselves today, do I choose to follow Jesus

with my life? Do I choose to surrender to His plans? Do I

choose to respond to His voice? Maybe you need to make that decision today,

Paul reminds us that our job is to share, to go and tell,

But it isn't our responsibility to choose for somebody else. We choose for

us, and our responsibility is with that we go and tell. The Book

of Acts closes with this. In Verse thirty says this of Paul's ministry and

says, for two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and

welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the Kingdom of God and

taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Paul stays

in Rome for two years preaching about Jesus without hindrance, and then the book

ends. That's it. I don't like to argue with scripture a whole lot,

because you know, it's God breathed and God inspired. Who's Morgan Butcher

to argue with that? But gotta be honest, this this is kind of

an anticlimactic ending. The Book of Acts as a whole awesome the ending,

it kind of leaves you wanting more, doesn't it. It's kind of like

they're they're they're like, really that that's it. We've been building and building

and building to this climactic ending. You want to know what happens to the

characters of a good story. Jesus told Paul that he would stand before the

Emperor of the known war world, and we would have this face off between

the Emperor of the known world and the God of Heaven, and we expect

some kind of, you know, moment where a battle happens, or God

sends fire to show that he's the one true God or something. We've been

building to this climactic showdown. And the author of the Book of Acts,

Luke he he doesn't really tell us anything. He doesn't tell us about Paul

being released from prison. He doesn't tell us about some historical things that would

follow this, like the Great Fire of Rome, which would set off the

first persecution of Christians. We don't hear about the destruction of the Temple in

Jerusalem and what that meant for God's people. He doesn't even talk about the

death of Paul that we know would come after these two years at the hands

of the Emperor Nero. Ultimately, we just know that Paul was in Rome

on house arrest for two years, proclaiming the Kingdom of God, teaching them

about the Lord Jesus with boldness and without hindrance. He stayed in Rome preaching

about Jesus until ultimately he was killed for the message of Jesus. But from

the moment that scales fell from Paul's eyes to the moment, a two years

passed doing ministry, faithfully, waiting for people to come to him and telling

them the Gospel message, ultimately all the way to the thing that would be

the death of his life and Emperor Nero killing him. Paul demonstrates for us,

but the Gospel it's worth dying for. I kind of think Luke intentionally

chose to end the Book of Acts this way, not focused on Paul's death,

not focused on Peter's death, who had been there with Paul preaching in

Rome as well. I love that Luke didn't end the Book of Acts focused

on what Paul did, but on what the Gospel did. The Book of

Acts ends on the message of the Kingdom of God, so much bigger than

any one person, right, the message of Jesus, the good news in

Christ, not in Peter, not in Paul. In Christ, the good

news of Jesus is for Jews and now for Gentiles. And that is the

hero of the Book of acts the Gospel being made available to all people.

Paul was just one man, faithfully sharing the Gospel message with each and every

person who would listen. This was the place that Paul had always dreamed of

preaching. Did it happen the way he thought it was going to happen?

No? Did he get there the way he thought he was going to get

there? Absolutely not. But was he full to the very end, obeying

and taking advantage of every opportunity God put before him to minister and reach the

people that he crossed his path with every single day. Absolutely a resounding yes

and amen. And man, what a treat it would be for someone someday

to say that about your life, where they look at the life that you

lived, and they look at the person that you were, and they said,

man, that person took every opportunity to share the gospel that change the

roof. They were bold, they were unashamed, they didn't let anything hold

them back, and they live their life believing that the Gospel was worth dying

for. Man, I pray that for myself. I pray that for you.

Paul would later write a letter to Timothy while he was imprisoned in Rome,

encouraging him with what had he had learned about the Gospel message through all

of his journey, and I think he summarized it so well. In Second

Timothy two nine, he came to this point of reminding Timothy that the Word

of God is not bound. Friends, can I remind you the Gospel has

no limits. The Gospel knows no boundaries. It will continue to move forward

without hindrance as long as God's people are filled with His spirit. Ax reminds

us that the Gospel is unstoppable when people are filled with the Holy Spirit.

It reminds us that every place is a place where ministry can take place.

It reminds us that our job is to simply give people the opportunity to choose,

and that sharing the Gospel is worth dying for. And so the question

that we're left with them is simply this, what are you going to do

about it? Acts twenty eight ends pretty anticlimactically, I gotta be honest,

but you know what I believe if there was an Acts twenty nine, you

know what it would be. It would be full of stories like mine and

yours. It would be full of us carrying on the very same posture of

life and attitude that Paul had towards the gospel. It would be stories of

us boldly sharing about our faith in the workplace. It would be stories of

people receiving salvation and baptism because of your and my boldness in going to them

and not letting an opportunity pass to share the message that's changed our life.

It would be full of our stories and continuing to build the church and share

the message of Jesus so that all might have the opportunity to know that's Acts

twenty nine. And so now the question is simply, what do I do?

What do I do? I want to close in prayer today, and

I'm not here to answer that question for you. I'm I'm here to let

you sit with that question and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you,

maybe move you and convict you, and lead you into taking that step and

sharing your story to being bold with the faith that you have in Jesus yourself.

Once you stand with me this morning, with every head bown, every

eye closed, There's two ways I want to give you the opportunity to respond

this morning. And the first is simply this man I talked about, just

the reality that that decision to follow Jesus is first and foremost your decision every

day, and then from that decision, we get the opportunity to go and

tell the world. And if you're here this morning with every head bowed,

every eye closed, and you would just say, Morgan, man, I

maybe you have never began that relationship with Jesus, You've never had a relationship

with Jesus. Or maybe you're here this morning and you say, Morgan,

I'm a far away is from where I know that I should be with Jesus.

And this morning, you know the first thing you need to do is

say, Jesus, I welcome you into my life. I allow you to

take control, and I will be surrendered to your plan and your purpose for

my life. If that's you here this morning and you want to make that

decision to say yes to Jesus this morning in your life, would you just

slip your hand up just so I know I'm I'm praying for this morning.

Yeah, thank you. I see that hand, Thank you, I see

that hand. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,

thank you. Come on, man, thank you, thank you. One

more opportunity. If that's you and you just need to say, God,

I need to come back to you. I need to be right with you.

Yeah, thank you right there. So come on, can we celebrate

that this morning, that decision to follow Jesus with our life. Come on,

that's the greatest decision you will ever make in your entire life. And

then this is the last thing that I want to say. If you're here

this morning and you would just say, Morgan, I want you to include

me in this prayer. The thing that I love about the Book of Acts

as that the people went out not in their own power, but with the

power of the Holy Spirit. And this morning, I want to give you

the opportunity to say, Morgan, I want to go out and I want

to be obedient to what the Holy Spirit wants to do in my life this

week, this month, this year, with my life. And if that's

you here this morning, would you just slip your hand up and I want

to just say a prayer over you. Your hand raised is simply you saying

God, I want to be used by you. And here's what I'm believing.

I'm believing for every hand that's raised this morning, God is going to

give you the choice. He's gonna put it right in front of you,

and you are going to have to make the decision of what you do in

that moment. Are you going to respond with this heart of obedience that says,

God, use me, use my story, use my testimony. It's

all about you. And so if that's you here in this place, I

want to pray every Father, God, I pray for every single hand raise

this morning. God. Would you equip us and empower us with the power

of your spirit. God. Would it not be by our own strength that

we're used by you? But God, would we go out as a body

empowered and equipped by Your Holy Spirit. God, with all the boldness,

with all the tenacity, with all the perseverance that we could ever ever ask

for. God. And would we walk in your authority and not our own?

God? Would you help us to live a life that is different from

the rest of the world. God, would you give us the boldness to

have those hard conversations. God? Would you help us to allow and set

aside personal conveniences and personal comfort. God, for the sake of the gospel

that you say and that Paul demonstrated is worth dying for. God, fill

us today and send us out as people who are ready to do the work

that You've called us to do. God, help us to be people who

go and tell the world about who you are in our life. And God,

I pray that you would remind us every day of our life that today

is my decision to decide if the Gospel is worth dying for. God,

we pray that in Jesus name, And would you leave with us different people

change from the inside out to do your work and Jesus name, and everyone said