May 15: The Mission

Good morning, welcome to episode 35 of the plan. This is the second to last episode. We're going to finish acts today, and then next week, we're going to do Revelation and we're going to be done. And so I'm really excited about this week. I was excited every week, but this week it's because this story is going to end with a... And lead into the part that we play in the story. And then next week. We're going to pick up and find out what the Bible says about. How the whole what we can expect during that time and how this whole story will end. But this is this is going to lead us into the stage part. We play in the plant before we get there. I try to always do a recap and as we go farther in the series, The recap gets longer and I had to recap more and more in a way the recap and can be the most important part of the sermon. Because part of what I want to do with this series is to train you to help you to remember the story and every time you listen to me recap or learning how to tell the story of the Bible self. Here's the overall theme of the Bible. It is a story of God's plan to establish a Place full of people who live out their purpose in his presence. Play. So God made the world, he put people in it and he gave them the mission of ruling over the Earth on his behalf. And then he came down to live with them. And that's what God wants for the world and I thought I'd spice things up a little bit. This week is I recap the story. I'm going to give you an not an analogy. I can think of it. What's the Pilgrims Progress? What kind of story is that? Allegory, this is basically an allegory. Okay, and it involves my kids because even before we had kids, I told the story this way, I talked about this moment. I was looking forward to when I would get when I would take my Lego collection and give them to my children and tell them these are my Legos and now, you can play with it. Not case. You know, I actually made the best purchase of our parenting careers, which was a Lego table and here are James and Charlie playing at the Lego table. Just just, this is nothing to the sermon to. Let me focus in on this face. She is so focused on figuring out how those Legos weren't just just intent on figuring out how that works. But James, and Charlie love to play The Lego table in. This is kind of my business. What I think it means like, as I enjoy them playing the table. I think this is God's design for his relationship with us. He made the world. He made the Lego table and he gave us the Legos and says, let's play. Let's play together and build things and enjoy each other and just play with this world that I Build and develop it. The problem is in the Bible story and in my home is it the kids are always play well together. They don't follow the rule, you know, they start to get selfish with their, my Legos. Actually, James likes to call them his Legos, but they're actually still mine. And so James will take Legos from Charlie and then Charlie will go on a rampage and just destroy things on the table and they don't play well together and that's what human beings do. We don't follow God's instructions. We don't play well with each other. We take things from each other. We destroy things. We make a general mess of the Lego table. So God initiated this plan to restore his design to the table by choosing one kid. The nation of Israel and giving them one corner of the Lego table. It's an r and giving them instructions for how he wants them to build on the table. Not, if not, like a blueprint that they have to put just general the principles of how you build and then God came down to that corner of the Lego table and started building with Israel. So that the rest of the table, all the other kids with the table. Cuz look at the awesome things that were happening in Israel's corner of the table and understand that, that's what they should be doing. And that's what God wants for the children at his Lego table. The problem is that the kid got picked for that quarter for that project? Wasn't any better behaved than the rest of them. And so that is real kids, started started, disobeying God's rules started, taking things from other kids and going on, Rampages, and destroying things. And in the end, his corner of the table. Didn't look any different from the rest of the table. And so, are you ready for this guy? Sent me the time out? That's the Exile, right? God has to show the other kids. This is, this was not what I intended. This is not what I want and so he goes into Exile, but then God allows him to come back from time out. But in Exile Israel decided they figured out what the problem was that it got them sent into Exile. It was all those other kids at the table. It was the Gentiles that were the problem. We got two mixed up with a gentile. So they came back to the table and they started covering it up and building meticulously become obsessed with the rules in the straight lines in the color organization, but they wouldn't let anybody see what they were doing. And it tried to keep all the kids away. Right? The Gentiles can't be a part of what we're doing. We don't want to see it. We don't we ever go to jealously guard, our corner of the table and keep away from everybody else, which is a problem because the whole point of God giving them that quarter was. So the rest of the kids could see what was happening there. And understand that, this is how God wants us to play at the table. So God sent Jesus, and Jesus called Israel to to rejoin. God's place of God is ready to restore you to King of God is coming, but you have to learn how to play, right? You can't be doing this hoarding, the corner for yourself and keeping everybody way. You're supposed to be a light to the nation. You're supposed to be loving others. You're supposed to be playing well with the others and helping them to see what this is supposed to look like. So he called them to make a choice. He came to Jerusalem. He stood in the temple and called his real, to make a choice and they rejected him and they rejected his way of playing Legos. And he was killed Easter. We celebrated the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead and what that proves. First of all, is that Jesus is right about how you're supposed to play with the Lego table. Proves that he really is the Messiah and the leader of God's people. And it proves that somehow through what he did to his death on the cross. And his resurrection. God has dealt with all of the ways. We messed up the Lego table in the past and has given us a way to be restored and be able to play Legos again. Then, two weeks ago. We looked at the founding of the church as Jesus, ascends, the Holy Spirit, descends on the church. And they are marked out as the true people of God. These Jewish followers of Jesus, and they start building the church in their corner of the Lego table, and they do a great job. It is this amazing community of people who love each other and share and play well together and all of Jerusalem concede that this is what it's supposed to look like, but the people who controls Jerusalem, don't like, the fact that it wasn't their idea. And so they decide to come in and start smashing the church's Legos and send them into persecution. So the church goes out, but then an amazing thing happens, as they go into other parts of the table. Last week. We talked about how God started calling other kids at the Lego table and making them part of this project too. So you didn't have to be in that, you have to be the Israelite kid. You have to be in this right corner. Any kid at the table, can start following the example that Jesus set and people all over the Lego table are starting to build in the Jesus way and build these Jesus communities. And that's where we are today in the story. Hopefully that's helpful to you. If not, just, wait next week. I'll have to recast the thing all over again. But that's the story that we've been telling. And today, we're going to finish the story of Acts by focusing on the ministry of a man named Paul. Do we have not really talked about much, which is kind of surprising, considering how important he is to the book of Acts. So, as we start his story, I want you to remember how we keep our berries, be keeping in mind. Who was the story about, where is their home? How can I meet with God? And what did I tell them to do? Because, and this will be, especially important because of one. Slight alteration cuz Paul isn't alive anymore. These are our coordinates to at this point. In the story. We have caught up to our coordinates. You're going to tell the story of how Paul became Christian, but for time's sake. I'm going to read for later and acts when Paul summarizes a story a bit more succinctly to hear some, Paul tells a story. I was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem on the authority of the chief priests. I put many of the Lord's people in prison and when they were put to death vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have him punished and I tried to force him to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities. On one of those Journeys. I was going to Damascus with the authority of commission of the chief priests about noon. As I was on the road. I saw the light from the heaven, light from Heaven, brighter than the sun blazing around me and my companions. We all fell on the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, Saul Saul. Why do you persecute me? Then? I asked who are you? Lord? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting the Lord of Light, now, get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and we'll see of me. I will rescue you from your own people in from the Gentiles. I'm sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from Darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are Sanctified by faith in me. All right. So, who was the story about today? About Paul and the church. So the church they are God's people. They are the ones that God is moving the story forward through. But today, we're focusing specifically on Paul who's been called by God to be a leader within the church, which is surprising considering that Paul was kind of the point of the spear in that persecution that we talked about after Pentecost is really passionate about persecuting the church, but God has chosen him to be a leader in the church. Where is there home? 10 months and months and months. Now, the answer to this question has been some way of referring to the land of Israel who started up falling at the promised land and we called it the nation of Israel, the Kingdom of Israel, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, The Province across the Sea of Galilee and Judea, but the story has changed. Where is the homeland of God's people.

Could be anywhere cuz God's people can be from anywhere. Right? So the world really is the scope of God's plan. Now, their Homeland is the whole world.

Now, this part of the story is going to focus on the Roman Empire. But at this point they're going out into all the nations and and the point of the plan is to restore the entire planet. Not just the land of Israel cuz that's always been the trajectory. That's always been the Point Fortin since when God called Abraham and said you'll be a blessing to many nations. How can I meet with God?

In the church in Christians. The holy spirit is actually inhabiting Christians. And so as you become a Christian than the spirit of God inhabits you and and you can, you know, this room is full of God's presence. Not because it's a special Temple, but, because it's full of God's people, right? So we have access to God's present simply by being Christians and God's presence can be carried. Wherever. People go.

Now, what did God tell them to do? We're going to first answer, what it. Tell Paul to do here. God Called Paul to be a witness to the Gentiles there. Many other places in the New Testament where Paul specifically says, Jesus called me to be a witness to the Gentiles, which is amazing because Paul started out as one of the most passionate leaders of the whole guard, my part of the Lego table. Nobody else gets to look at it, keep everybody away thing. I know God has called him to be later on is going to be accused of being the ringleader of this movement, to bring it to everybody all across the Lego table. But Paul's Ministry as a as a witness to the Gentiles as part of the calling of the church. What's if you remember from acts one, it says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the Earth. And at this point in the story, we are we are looking at how it extends Beyond Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the Earth. So the mission of the church. Is to witness to the ends of the Earth? Paul specific commission is to witness to the Gentiles. That's actually why his name changes. You don't actually change his name. He just starts going by a different and you'll notice he is originally masol cuz that's his Hebrew name, but every Jew in these times had a Hebrew name and a Greek name. And so as he becomes more focused on ministering to the Greeks, he goes by his Greek name more often and that's Paul. That's why we call him Paul. So he's been given this mission to carry the word to the Gentiles and what happened? Start the story. Paul gets commissioned by the church, in Antioch as a missionary and he starts traveling around Greece, and we would call it turkey. They called it Asia. Traveling around these different cities in the first thing you will do. So go in and start preaching the gospel to the Jews, because the Jews already know the story. They know the recap of the story. So he doesn't have to start from scratch square one. Right to preach to them and some of them become Christians. But ultimately in each City where he goes eventually he gets kicked out of the synagogue. They won't let him come in and preaching their churches cuz they don't agree with what he's saying it. So, at that point Paul makes a very important. This is how he says, it is how he says it in Acts 13. This is what the Lord commanded us. He's preaching to them in front of the synagogue. I have made you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring Salvation to the ends of the Earth. When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honor the word of the Lord and all who are appointed for eternal life believed. So Paul comes into town as a traveling Jewish preacher. And he preaches to them about the Messiah at the Juiced about the society. They some of them except the most of them don't and then he does something that no Jewish preacher has ever done in the past. That's fine. You won't listen. I'll go preach to the Gentiles cuz that's the point we're supposed to be preaching everybody and any breaches of them and Gentile, start becoming Christians in huge numbers, all across Asia and Greece. Here's a math. You can see the journey as he went on three missionary Journeys that we know of, and you can see all these dozens of cities that he goes to and all these areas spreading the gospel. And Gentiles become Christians all over, which is completely unheard of in the history of Judaism. This idea of Gentiles following the god of Israel and he's kind of a is completely unprecedented. Paul share the gospel to Jen's house, in Asia, in Greece, and many of them began following Jesus.

Know what I want. If we're covering a lot of Acts. I'm going to focus on what I see is the core thing driving, the plot, and it's not so much. There's a lot of positive stories about people respond to the gospel. Becoming crazy, is a lot of really cool stories that you should go home and read. But the unique thing that's happening here is polished preaching, in Gentile cities to people who don't know the story and we're getting different reactions. We get what we get to see as Christians. We get to see how people who, never heard of The Gospel before, reacted to it. When they heard it, some of them except it, a lot of them do not and we get to see why. So let's start with an encounter in Phillipi. The place of prayer. We were met by a female slave who had a spirit for which, why would she predicted the future? She earned a great deal of money from her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul in the rest of the shouting. These men are Servants of the most high God. We're telling you the way to be saved. And this part is actually kind of funny though. She's she's she's a, she can tell that they're preaching the gospel. She goes round announces, would you think would be great press. But actually it annoys, Paul Paul's getting frustrated and annoyed and it's actually out of frustration that he finally snaps and turns around and drives the demon out of her, which is, that is not what happens when I snap, you know, like I have never done something that good when I reacted out of frustration and anger. So Vaseline until he dries out the demon out of frustration. Okay, which is good news for her. Not good news for her owners because when their owners realized that their hope of making money was gone. They seized Paul and Silas and drag them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, these men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating Customs, unlawful for a seroma to accept or practice. As we look at why they are attacking Paul and opposing Paul. There's actually two reasons going on. There is the stated reason. And the real reason. What type of Reason are they stating In this passage when they come before the Magistrate? They're making a political objection to what he saying, right? What do you say? It is illegal, it goes against our practices and goes against our laws. It goes against what it means to be Roman. Okay. That's what they're saying. We're going to dig a bit deeper than that and second but that's not actually the reason why they're mad at him, right? These are not they're not just super passionate about Roman identity. The reason why they're objecting is economic. Because they were making money off of this. Poor woman's demonic possession. And when Paul broke the power of darkness in her life, you remove a way that they can make money off of her. Do we we have this. We've been taught to believe in many ways. Part is part of our political culture and part of our American background and a lot of things that faith is a private thing. That doesn't really have consequences out of you. It's between you and Jesus about going to heaven, doesn't really affect anybody else. The way people lived and treated each other. And and there's actually a lot of money that you made on things that the gospel of hoses. Right. There's a lot of money in the world made Hill. People spend their money, in a lot of ways that are contrary to the gospel and a lot of things that happen to people that are contrary to the gospel. Lot of ways people are oppressed, are money makers. And as G as Paul preaches, the gospel and transforms people's lives. The way they spend, their money is changed and the way people can make money on them is limited and changed. So what we see is part, one of the things that provokes people be angry at Paul is the fact that his message threatens their bottom line. Another evening to run into another situation where the people who sell Idols are not fans of Paul. As Paul teaches people that those guys aren't really gods. They lose a lot of money and they get there worried about the tourism business cuz of their favorite. God, in that town. The economic issues, actually get a lot of opposition Falls message. But the political thing isn't just lip service because later on, in, in thessalonica, his Paul gets in trouble in the accusation and make his, these men who have caused trouble all over the world. Have now come here. They're all Defiance Caesars to Kris saying that there is another king one called Jesus. and this reaction, It. It's it's one of those places where if you don't speak Greek or you don't know ancient culture, you can actually see evidence of something that if you were in that culture, you would recognize, which is that the way the disciples Apostles, preached about Jesus used a lot of political terminology. The phrases that they use to describe Jesus's Authority on Earth where the same phrases that Caesar used to describe his authority on earth. And the way they describe what Jesus was doing in the world was the same way, Caesar describe what he was doing in the world seeds are also claim to be a prince of peace. These are also claimed to be uniting the world when he was United it through Roman armies at the tip of a sword, according to the Roman agenda. But that was a big message. I Jesus is Lord in the Roman culture would contradict with a claim that Caesar is Lord, because the say Cesar is Lord, is to say, when it comes down to it. You will do what Caesar says. And when Christian start saying actually Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King Jesus as Messiah. It introduces his different loyalty that threatens their loyalty to Caesar because of Jesus says one thing and Caesar says another thing is Christians are going to start doing what Jesus says. Do in the first inning in the first century of Jesus. As polished preaching his message. He is preaching, the message that transforms people's loyalties, it transforms their priorities and has a political implication. So many Jews and Gentiles opposed. Paul's message because it had real political and economic consequences. And Paul doesn't deny these things.

The gospel was not just about an individual person making a transaction with God, so they can go to the good place when they die and and have nothing to do with the way they live in this place.

The interesting thing though is that whenever they brought as much as powerful as the message of the Gospel was, Paul's opponents had a really hard time getting and convicted. When he goes to trial the Magistrate's, keep letting them off sometimes though. They'll give him a beating first, but eventually let him go. And so it's consistently for the same reason. I'll give you an example and acts 18. When was proconsul of a Kiya, the Jews of Corinth made United attack on Paul, and brought him to the place of judgment. This man. They charge is persuading the people to worship God in ways, contrary to the law. Just as Paul was about to speed gallio, said to them, if you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor, a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about the words and names and your own locked, settle the matter yourselves, I will not be a judge of such things so he drove them off. Galio, looks at Jesus and our looks at Paul and the words that Paul is saying and he doesn't see a threat. Why does galio short-sighted? Galio, what he focuses on is the fact that Paul is not preaching Rebellion, Paul's not preaching anything. That's a crime. Is not committed. Misdemeanors are serious crime? You just talkin about names like but he's not he's not teaching slaves to Rebel. If you can tell these slaves rebelled, they would have tortured him to death. They were terrified of slave rebellions. If you have been teaching people to revolt against Rome, they would have killed him as spectacularly as they could have. But what Paul was saying, they didn't see as a threat to the Roman Empire later. They would If Paul will eventually be killed by the Romans and a lot of the, the apostles will be and later on. There will be widespread persecution against the church because as the church becomes bigger and has more of an impact on society. They realized that that the message of Christ will transform their Societies in ways, that will undermine their power. They will undermine the way they victimize others. That will transform the Roman empire into being a different kind of Empire, different kind of community. So they recognize the threat later. They recognized the threat of this approach. Where is Paul? Will you just talk to people on the street and transfer and transfer in the hearts of people on the street, but because he's not trying to overthrow leaders because he's not trying to lead a rebellion. They don't recognize him as a threat cuz that's how Nations. Fight each other, the Paul's doing something else. So they couldn't convict Paul because he stayed true to his mission. Just like Jesus is like, pilot didn't want to kill Jesus because Jesus hadn't done anything to Rome saw as a threat. Because Jesus was focusing on transforming Heart's, Not overthrowing rulers and Paul remain true to that message. That's why they couldn't convict him because what he was doing, actually, this was the downfall of the Roman Empire. They didn't care what slaves thought. They didn't care. What women thought, they didn't care what powerless people thought and then within 150 years or so. All those people are Christian and our culture is being transferred, right underneath their feet.

The Paul didn't get convicted because he stay true to that mission. Nepal storyline is very similar in structure to Jesus, is because Paul spent years, doing these missionary Journeys in the ministry, and then at a certain point, the story changes because Paul starts heading to decide the time to go to Jerusalem. He's got a plan in mind, besides, after all this happened, all decided to go to Jerusalem passing through Macedonia Nakaya after I have been there. He said, I must visit Rome. Also, they want to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome but this isn't just any trip to Jerusalem. First of all, the reason why is going to Jerusalem is to carry a offering that he's been Gathering From the Gentile cities for the poor in Jerusalem, which is a pretty significant signal of the unity of the church between Jews and Gentiles that they're doing this project. And it shows the Paul is not leading the Gentiles to abandon the Jews and create some different movements. But the other thing is that at this point, cuz Pub in the Jerusalem several times since you've been a Christian, but this time the holy spirit is telling him that it's going to be different. He said, compelled by the spirit. I'm going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. The Holy Spirit told Paul to go to Jerusalem with a goal of preaching the gospel in Rome. Why would preaching in Rome matter? What's the mission of the church to preach to the gospel? To all the ends of the Earth? We have a saying that now is a metaphor, but back then, it was true. All roads lead to Rome. Also that by you, sending all these leave from rum row, was the center of the Empire, and all the roads did leave there, and all the traffic went through there. And so, it was the nerve center of the Empire. If you wanted to plant the gospel in the most powerful place to spread. It Rome is that T'pol's intent on going to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Well as he gets to Jerusalem, the reason why there's a danger there is because there are all kinds of rumors going around. The Mediterranean about this tall fellow who keeps causing so much trouble. And the rumor is that he's telling Jews to stop following the Jewish law to stop worshipping God in the Jewish way. And that would be a threat. That is the worst thing. You could possibly say. Is it true if you want to be a threat to the powers-that-be. So when he gets the Jerusalem, everybody is prime for him and they're all ready to hate him. So the Jewish did the church leaders say, hey, why don't you what they're saying about you wasn't true. So why don't you go to the temple participate, in the sacrifice with a couple of our, our brothers, and I will show people that you're not trying to stop Jews from cell from worshipping, God. That you which way? And Paul goes along with this plan because it's true that he's not try to stop juice for worshiping in the Jewish way. He's trying to unite Jews and Gentiles. He just wasn't going to require Gentiles to Worship in the Jewish way to go to the temple and it starts a riot. They try and kill him. The Romans stop a riot, but they arrest Paul, and Paul ends up going through trial. After trial is caught up in the legal system for years is imprisoned. He has to wait me. If you think our legal system can be slow the Roman Empire's. Total just put us to shame. So he's there for years and years. And finally, after years and years in this process, he ends up going going to trial in front of the Roman governor. And so the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem, come up to where the Roman Governor is, and they make their accusation. They say, we have this man to be a troublemaker stirring of riots, among the Jews, all over the world. As a ring leader for the Nazarene sect, and even tried to desecrate the temple. So, we seized him by the salmon and him yourself. You will be able to learn the truth. All these charges, we are bringing against him. Noticed they say the same thing about Paul that they said about Jesus and about Stephen. That was the message that he's preaching undermines the power of the Temple. Right, if he teaches people, they don't need the law and they don't need the temple. Then their power base is lost. And so the same same issue coming back to the the temple. Is it Paul answered? I have not done anything wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know, very well, if however, I'm guilty of doing anything, deserving death. I do not refuse to die. So, this is what I've done is, actually done anything that you leave. I haven't actually made any threats. I stay true to the message and I'm, I wouldn't try and get out of dying if I deserved it does. But if the charges brought against Me by these ewes are not truth and no one has the right to hand, me over to them. I appealed to Caesar that is a little nuance and Roman live, a very big one. That if you are a Roman citizen with Paul is at any point, you can appeal to the Supreme Court directly to the Supreme Court, which is Caesar. So that's what he does. It's ironic that later. We find out that they were about to let him off, but Paul appealed to Caesar cuz he was tired of going around circles and he knew he was supposed to get it wrong. Here's a way to get Jerome in Chains, but got the wrong. So, they're Jewish leaders, t'pol, and trial for treason against the law and Temple, but Paul appealed to Caesar.

After Festus, the governor had conferred with a his counsel. He declared you have appealed to Caesar to Caesar. You will go. So it gets sent to Caesar and it is Criminal of me. Not to tell you the story of how he gets there. There's a storm. There's a shipwreck. There's a snake bite that he's miraculously survived. There's all kinds of great things that happened and I'm not going to tell you about him. So you're going have to go home and read about them. Cuz the important point for us is that God protects him and get him to roam. You get some through the storm. He gets into the Shipwreck. He saves them from the snake bite and he gets to roam. So in chapter 28, it says we got to Rome Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him for two whole years. Paul stayed there in his own, rented house, and welcome to 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. Beyond.

Ashley was odd. The story of the Bible, with the exception of the, the epilogue in Revelation, it ends there. We don't find out what happened to Paul's trial. We don't find out how is life ends. In fact, there is debate among Scholars about whether he's executed during this imprisonment or whether he's laid off Dustin, more journey and, and then gets arrested, and executed late. It's only through church tradition. That we know he was executed and that this just stops, the story seems to stop. Why does it stop there? What stops there because the story isn't actually about Paul the stories about the mission, the stories about the spread of the gospel. And the mission, they were giving us to carry it to the ends of the Earth until the story ends. With Paul in Rome sharing the gospel with people who are coming through Rome is in the nerve center of the Roman Empire spreading the gospel. And in terms of the. What happened in the first generation of the church, that is incredible. And that shows you the trajectory. Can you think of this this Exodus Jewish criminal from a Podunk County of the Roman Empire? Now has followers all over the Roman Empire end and a church growing in Rome. That's crazy. And that's that's the trajectory that the church is on and that's the...

Because at this point, Paul is handing the Baton.

An admission that Paul is serving continues as you and I pick up that baton. Now, it's been handled by quite a few people in between but it's the same baton and it's the same mission that we carry self to the end of Acts is a launch ramp. And we're in that that Arc, we are in that trajectory that that the Apostle set us on it. So it's this, the, it ends in this exciting way. You're supposed to see all the potential of what's going to happen when Paul's there, but it doesn't end with just what Paul accomplish is because Paul appoints ministers and he and Christians that Paul bring the gospel to they go out and spread the gospel and things grow and change. And the whole world is transformed over the next two thousand years and will be continued to be transformed back. So that you and I can pick up that story because we have the same coordinates, you know that you have coordinates. You can do that thing that I've been teaching you for your own life. You are you one of the people of God? Cuz if you are, if you're not then you should beat. We'll talk about that. Later. If you are, then you have a place where God has put you. And in that place, wherever that is, you have access to the presence of God. And you bring the presence of God, there, as you are a follower of Jesus, and finally, you have a purpose wherever you are. Whatever God has put in front of your purpose, is to build God's kingdom, to share the gospel, to do the good works. He's called for you to do you have that purpose and you are carrying on the story of Paul? Imma get to see some of the potential that Paul's Ministry has and there's actually a couple of clues in the letter to the Philippians, the church, and Philip. I send money to support Paul in prison. And in the only writes a letter that I me says, now, I want you to know brothers and sisters that what has happened to me. He's actually serve to advance the gospel as a result has been clear throughout the whole Palace guard and everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. DePaul is in Rome and the feeling of Caesar which means they'd Caesars guards that watch over him and the guards of the soldiers. The personal soldiers of Caesar are hearing the gospel.

We are in the book. He says all God's people here. Send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. Now that almost certainly does not mean the members of Caesars biological family. We would have heard about that. What it means, household means like the whole, the household staff, the people who work in his administration, the people who like his mainly, it refers to servants and slaves. So Paul is in Rome preaching, the gospel and building a church. Right? Under Caesars knows he hasn't he's not going for Caesar. Although I'm sure if you got to try before Caesar, he did his best to make Caesar a Christian to share the good news with him. But what he actually where you actually saw success is the slaves and the soldiers and the the people that he interacted with on a daily basis, the most powerful thing Paul did in his ministry, in Rome was not what he said to Caesar. But what he said, he was guards on a daily basis, the people who visited him, you know, the way he responded to his imprisonment to what he showed people. The character of God. So the story of Paul in the Bible ends with God, bringing Paul safely to wrong, so that he could proclaim the gospel in the center of the Roman Empire. That's exciting. You see in the Palace of Caesar himself, right under his nose. The church is growing even there.

It. So as we reach the end of the story of the church, as it's told inscription. We see that... We're reminded, first of all, the mission to share the gospel to the ends of the Earth continues with us.

You can be one of the people of God and if you are one of the people of God than God has put you in a place. He is living in that place with you, and he has a purpose for you in that place. I did Chappell work. I died of the chop, The Chapel at Turner, retirement homes this week. And I just basically talked about some of the stuff from the service is what was on my mind and and realizing that for Paul the most important thing that he did was not what he said to Caesar what he said to his guards and the servants and slaves, brought him lunch. What that reminds me of is that every single person in the church every single person that God is called has a role to play. In the Kingdom. You may never get to speak to president or Governor's or Kings, or or people of power, but you will interact with the modern-day equivalent of the wait staff. And the police and the groceries and know, the modern equivalent of the people that Paul build the church through, we interact with them everyday, you interact with them everyday. Maybe you need to share the gospel them, or maybe you just need to live in their presents in a christ-like way. You're the reputation to Paul had with the soldiers was in the way. He endured his imprisonment in a Christlike way. Every one of us has a role to play. It's not a matter of how important the people you're interacting with our but the fact that you are sharing the character of God with them. That is the mission that God has for us. It is important for us to remember that the gospel will always provoke strong reactions because it transforms the way we live together in this world. I say always what I should say is when it's done when it's preached basically. Because unfortunately, unfortunately what we've done in our culture, a lot as we've domesticated the gospel. We've domesticated it so it won't it won't threaten people's business interest. It won't upset power structures. I mean, there's a there's an anxiety that goes around about how we're going to do, you know the church me into her persecution here in America and this is going to sound a little harsh but it's it's kind of the best way I can think to say it. I'm not too worried about that because I don't see the church and doing a lot that's worth persecuting.

I shouldn't say that. I do see the church doing a lot. That is incredibly powerful. But when we domesticate the gospel. That's the whole point is it's not something that's worth pursuing you cuz it Doesn't transform people. It doesn't threaten the sinful no structures in our world. But as we are faithful to the gospel, we will provoke those kinds of reactions that people are considering following pass. It will Jen, genuinely transform them. And as we face that possibility of that kind of reaction, we have a choice. We do a couple different things. One is weak and domesticate the gospel. So it won't offend anybody or said anything. The other is, we can we can militarize the gospel and turn it into a club that we used to fight for the reins of power.

But the way to be faithful to the gospel is to stay true to the to the message of Jesus in the vision of Jesus, which transforms the world through, transform hearts. And as long as we stay faithful to the message of Jesus, God will use us to carry his message into all the world. You stay faithful to the message of Jesus. You stay faithful to the vision of Jesus. Wherever he's put you he will use you to carry his message. What that looks like. I can't tell you. It might help for Paul. It took him into some pretty hard places with some pretty incredible results. I'm not saying that if you are faithful to the gospel, that everything's going to be easy. In fact, the Bible often says quite the opposite, but it will be important. It will matter, God will use what you do, but it was important cause there is which is building his kingdom.