I want to invite you to turn to Acts chapter 28. Acts chapter 28. We have been waiting for some time now for the Apostle Paul to arrive in Rome and today at last he makes it. Acts chapter 28. My Bible seems not to want to open to that chapter. Hang on. Acts chapter 28, we pick it up here in verse 11. We left the Apostle Paul shipwrecked on Malta. They shipwrecked on Malta probably in late November. We know that this is, they should probably never have set to sea. The Apostle Paul said, we should not go to sea. It's too late in the season to go to sea. And he was right. They got caught in the Euclides and were driven off course two weeks in a great storm. without rigging, without any sort of ability to steer themselves, without hope. And the Apostle Paul said, God has given to us the souls of every person aboard, but the ship will be lost. And indeed that's what happened. They came ashore. Last week we saw them come ashore in a pouring rain and the locals of Malta built fires for them. The Apostle Paul himself helped with the fires gathering sticks and a viper laid hold of his hand over and over and over again. We see Paul's life preserved by God's hand and by providence. And Paul is involved in healing the illnesses of many of the people there on Malta. And in response to that, in appreciation for that, he is supported through his three months there. And here's where we pick it up. In verse 12, after three months, So three months on Malta. After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria. Now that's interesting because the ship that they were wrecked in was a ship of Alexandria. And this makes good sense because Alexandria, which is a major city in Egypt, Alexandria is the breadbasket of the Roman Empire. The Romans actually maintained a fleet of these grain ships that would constantly carry wheat up into Rome, And so it makes sense that he gets on another ship from Alexandria. A ship of Alexandria with the twin gods as a figurehead. Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. That's in Sicily. And from there, we made a circuit and arrived at Regium. And after one day, a south wind sprang up. And on the second day, we came to Puteoli. There, we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the forum of Apius and three taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier that guarded him. 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 letter 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. We're going to stop our reading there and focus our attention today on this particular text. Let's pray. Father, Lord, I pray that as As we look at this passage, Lord, you who by your Holy Spirit inspired it to be written, Lord, by your Holy Spirit might so teach it to us. Lord, might cause it to live that Father we find things in here that speak to us today. Father, I pray for those who listen here today. I pray for those who might listen years from now to a recording of this. Lord, that you, by your Spirit, might apply this truth to the situations in which they are today. Father, that they might understand what it is to have our hope in the hope of Israel, the hope of the Church, the hope of glory. And Lord, that we might see how that worked out in Paul's life. and how it might work out in our life, too. Father, I pray, Lord, that you might give to me clarity, that you might give to me unction and liberty, Lord, to freely declare to this congregation the glory of your word. And Father, that you would give to this congregation ears to hear and eyes to see and an appetite, Father, to take in and be nourished by the word of God. And Lord, we ask these things now in Jesus' name. Amen. This chapter brings us to the close of the Book of Acts and it's very interesting because some people kind of look at this chapter and we know a couple things. We know that the Apostle Paul lives on after this chapter. In fact, this chapter is going to conclude probably next week with the words, and for two years Paul remained in Roman custody receiving all who came to him. And you say, well, obviously Luke knows that there's something that goes on for two years time, but he doesn't bother to continue the story. And there's a number of people that scratch their head and say, why does Acts end with Paul arriving at Rome? And there's any number of answers, but perhaps the best is simply that Jesus had said to his disciples at the very beginning, you will be my witnesses. in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth and the story of Acts has taken us from a place where there's 120 followers of Jesus hiding out in an upper room to the place where the church has literally transformed the Roman Empire so that the Apostle Paul arriving in Rome has Christians coming from Rome with cheers to greet him because they're so happy he's come. This chapter brings to a close the book of Acts and it brings the Apostle Paul into the heart of the empire to the city of Rome. Now over two years ago, Before Paul was a prisoner we know that he was carrying a large offering from the Gentile churches all the way down to Judea. He had spent his third missionary journey traveling throughout the Roman Empire and one of the major goals of that while he was preaching the gospel was he wanted to raise funds to alleviate the suffering of the Judean church and he took that great offering and took it to Jerusalem and it was there that he was taken into custody by the Romans in the precincts of the temple. You remember the situation in which he was taken into custody? A riot had broken out in the temple and the Jews, had they not been stopped by the Roman Tribune, would have killed Paul on the spot. They had falsely accused the Apostle Paul of bringing a Gentile into the inner courts of the temple and a riot had broken out the Roman Tribune intervenes, takes the Apostle Paul into his custody, but the Jews are still not satisfied. The last two years of Paul's life, and this is relevant to our sermon today, the last two years of Paul's life have been marked by an incessant Jewish persecution of the gospel. There were more than 40 assassins who took a vow not to eat or drink until they had assassinated the Apostle Paul, even if it meant attacking a Roman column in order to do it. That was foiled. Later on they come and they bring a double accusation. This man is a pestilence to the peace of Rome. That would bring you a death sentence. This man violated the inner part of the temple. That would bring you a death sentence. But they had no evidence to back up either of those claims. Once more, at the beginning of Festus' governorship, they had attempted to have Paul brought back to Jerusalem for trial with a secret plan to assassinate him along the way. This is foiled. We see, not only do we see God's hand protecting Paul while he is at sea, we see God's hand particularly protecting Paul even as he is in custody and it is no thanks to the Jews who are doing all that is in their power to stamp this man out and see the end of Christianity. It is clear that the Jews of Jerusalem have a great hatred for Paul and wish to see him dead. And because of the politics in Palestine, not one but two governors show no interest in releasing Paul. Felix can't figure out what he's charged with. He keeps inviting the Jews up so he can figure out the charge. They can never seem to articulate a charge that would mean death for Paul, let alone imprisonment for Paul. But Felix, wanting to do a favor to the Jews, keeps him in custody for two years. Festus, who comes in after that, hears from the Jews, says, why don't you come and make your case before me? And Paul, realizing that he will never be released while he is in Palestine, finally appeals to Caesar. And so Festus says to him, to Caesar you have appealed, and to Caesar you will go. And that is what took us from Caesarea along to Crete, and from Crete, driven by the winds onto the shores of Malta. And now a third of a year after setting out from Caesarea, Paul arrives. And it's interesting, Paul very likely arrives in one of the first large ships that makes harbor near Rome. Because there's a three month period when no ships sail on the Mediterranean because the winds are not favorable and the weather is so stormy. Paul, because of where he has wrecked on Malta, boards a ship and that ship is probably one of the first ships, one of the first grain ships that arrives which puts Paul on land very early in the season. Now, all this by way of introduction, just to sort of get you up to speed so that we all know what's going on. Let me say this just as an aside and then we're going to get into the text. My original plan was I was going to preach the end of Acts 28 all together. I wanted to talk about One of the actions of Paul, the first deliberate action that's recorded of the Apostle Paul, we're going to talk about that today and see what that meaning has. And then I wanted to talk about two statements he makes. He makes one statement here, I am in chains because of the hope of Israel. I wanted to talk about that, and I thought we would talk about this action of Paul, what he does first when he gets to Rome, and then the statement of Paul, I am in chains because of the hope of Israel, and we'd give a few minutes to that, and then we would go on and spend the lion's share of our time looking at the final part where the Apostle Paul says to the Jews on the second day, you are like your fathers, always hearing but never able to understand, seeing but not able to see, and the statement that he says there that comes from Isaiah chapter 6. What happened when I got into this, as I started looking at his statement, this one little tiny line that says, I'm in chains for the hope of Israel. That is so rich that it ended up becoming a sermon all by itself. So we're going to spend most of our time looking at the action and the first speech of Paul. And then next week when we're together we're going to take a look at that passage from Isaiah chapter 6. verse 9 and 10. And you should come back next week. That particular passage speaks to us about the doctrine that is often unpopular. It's the doctrine of election that comes out of that passage. It's not the only passage that comes out of it, but it very distinctly is heard in that passage. But it's very interesting because that passage in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah is told, you will go preaching and the people will hear but not understand, see and not perceive, and it goes on from there. That passage is quoted more often in the New Testament than almost any Old Testament passage. We hear it on the lips of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We hear it on the lips of the Apostle Paul here in the book of Acts and we hear it written into the book of Romans. So it is a significant consequence. So next week we'll take a kind of a wider angle lens look at Isaiah chapter 6 verse 9 through 10 and the ramifications it has in the book of Acts. All right, that was just an advertisement for next week's sermon and an explanation for why we're breaking this week's up. But let's look at these two things. I want to look at what Paul's action tells us about the gospel, and then I want to take a look at Paul's statement, I am in chains for the hope of Israel, and what that means. So let's look at this action. When Paul makes landfall, he begins to make his way. They land by ship and it's still a couple of days journey. He actually lands by ship, meets their Christians in that first community, Puteoli. And they say, stay with us here for seven days. And so the people stay with them for seven days. Paul and obviously the centurion who's in charge of him stay for seven days. That centurion has shown himself favorable to Paul. And so they don't mind having a week there in Puteoli. And then they begin their trip inland to Rome. And that's going to take two or three days by road. And as they're traveling, the first action, not of Paul, but the first action of the church in Rome is that they travel out to meet Paul and they come out a full day's journey from Rome. They come out to a place called the Forum of Apius and also to a town called the Three Taverns to meet him. And I want to invite you, you've got your Bibles open to Acts chapter 28 and it won't be hard for you to find Romans 1 because you just have to turn the page to where Romans begins. But it's very interesting to see a couple parallels from the end of Acts and the beginning of Romans. The Book of Romans was written already before these events took place. The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Romans during his third missionary journey. While he's on that trip, as he's gathering together the money that he's going to take down to Jerusalem to give to the Judean church. He writes to the church in Rome and he says, I want to visit you. And he says, I want to visit you so I can have a part of the ministry there while I go on towards Spain. So this letter, the book of Romans was written three or four years before the events that are taking place take place. And we read here in Acts chapter 28, verse 15, that the people come out and meet Paul, that the brothers come out and meet him, and it says here in Acts, on seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. Okay, he's going up to stand before Caesar and make his defense, and so he needs something to encourage him, and this is the thing, on seeing them, on seeing these brothers from the church in Rome, Paul thanked God and took courage. Now, just go over to Romans chapter one for a moment and look at verse nine. In Acts 28, it says, Paul saw them, thanked God, took courage. This seems entirely fitting for the man who wrote three or four years earlier. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may at last succeed in coming to you, for I long to see you. Paul saw them and gave thanks. I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. That is that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. Paul saw them, thank God, took courage. This is what Paul has written three or four years earlier. I want to see you. I want to be with you. I want to share some time with you. I want us to be mutually encouraged. And that's what happens when Christians get together. This is the wonderful thing. Listen. When you go on vacation this summer, when you go on vacation, wherever you're going on vacation, take a little bit of time, and the internet helps us a lot with this now, to look up where you're going and find out where there's a good Bible preaching church nearby and go to church on vacation. We do this all the time. We go on vacation. I almost never go on vacation and don't go to church somewhere. But the amazing thing is you can find a body of believers almost anywhere in the world. We've been to Scotland, went to church. We've been to Italy, went to church. We go to Newfoundland, went to church. One time we went to Newfoundland, we planned to go to church on the second week because the first week the only churches there was a Catholic and an Anglican church. But we got there and the Anglican met me. and said, there's no preacher at the Anglican church. You want to preach the message for the Anglicans? And we went to Anglican church and preached the message there. But here's the amazing thing. It doesn't matter where you go. What you will encounter as you go into a church is you will meet the people of God and you will be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. It is an encouraging thing to go to the far-flung corners of the world and find people who believe as we do and who worship as we do. They sing different songs with different tunes and different instruments. It doesn't matter when the preacher gets up to preach. You go, I recognize that. That sounds like hope. So Paul is encouraged and thanks God when he meets these people. This is an answer to his prayer. But that's the church's first action. I want to look at Paul's first action. We've got to go a little further. Acts 28 verse 17 says this, after three days, this is in Rome, he's been there three days, obviously he does some other things. But the first thing that's recorded by Luke, after three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews. Now this also connects to Romans chapter one. We, listen, The world would be surprised by this. The world should be surprised by this. That after three days, the first official action of this man is, I want to see the leaders of the Jews. And especially because the words he has to say to them are gracious words and words of gospel. This is a man who for the last two years has been openly persecuted by the Jews, whom the Jews have been actively trying to kill, either illegally by assassination or legally by falsely accusing him of things he didn't do. This is a group of people that have it in for him, and the Apostle Paul gets to Rome. What's the first thing he says? It's, can I see the Jews? I have a message for them that I would like to convey, and that message is grace and mercy and gospel and about Jesus the Messiah. And this is Paul's usual practice. This is what Paul says in Romans chapter 1 verse 16. He says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Stop there for a moment. That's speaking to you. You've never believed the gospel. You don't even know the gospel. Here is the gospel. Jesus died for sinners. You are a sinner, Jesus is a Savior. Jesus has died to set you free. Trust Him and be saved. It is the power of salvation to everyone who believes. You live in Italy, believe and be saved. You live in Scotland, believe and be saved. Newfoundland, believe and be saved. You're here in Walsh, believe and be saved. This is the message of the gospel. I was speaking, I have started a Bible study. I didn't start the Bible study, but I've taken over the Bible study at Norview, and last week was my first week, and there was a man who was sitting there. I didn't know what I would expect, and I had a number of Elderly folks. I mean this is a nursing home and many of them came with their Bibles and all of them gave good attention and one man at the very end said to me, he said, I grew up in foster care and during the war was with a family in Cambridge and they took me for the first time to a church and the people there were Plymouth Brethren folk. And the man stood up and told me a story that everyone, anyone who will may come. And he says, is that what you believe? And I said, that's what I believe. Everyone who will may come. That's the gospel. Believe and be saved. It's the power of God unto salvation. Let's get back to the sermon. Here we are. Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for everyone who believes. To the Jew first. and also to the Greek. And we see Paul put that in practice even after the Jews have spent two years trying to destroy his life, trying to kill him, making him miserable, keeping him in prison. He comes and the first people he wants to talk to is the Jews. And the first thing he wants to tell them is, I have good news for you. The Messiah has come and salvation is available in Him. This is Paul's usual practice. This is what Paul says to them. 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 custom of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hand 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 have asked to see you and speak with you since it is because of the hope of Israel that I'm wearing this chain." We're going to come back to that statement. That's the thing we want to focus on for the rest of the sermon, but just for a moment to round out their response. And they said to him, we have received no letter from Judea about you and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. Stop there for a moment. Why is that? I mean, for two years, Paul is kept in prison. For two years, there's at least two assassination plots to kill Paul. Paul finally arrives at Rome and the Jews who are in Rome said, we haven't heard anything about it. There's been no letter come. There's nobody that's arrived from Jerusalem ready to plead the case. Well, one of two things is true. It could be Paul has arrived on the earliest ship into Italy and that the person who is coming with the letter is delayed and somewhere further along the chain. So they just haven't heard yet. That could be the case except we know that for two years Paul lives in custody and nobody comes. So just as likely what has happened is the politics in Palestine are such that Felix and Festus say it would not be in the interest of Rome to let this man go in Palestine. The politics in Rome where just a few years earlier all the Jews were expelled by the last emperor, the politics in Rome are such that it doesn't help the Jews to try to go up and accuse a Roman citizen. So that's very likely what's going on. But then they say this, but we desire to hear from you what your views are for with regard to this sect, we're talking about Christianity, we know that everywhere it is spoken against. Okay, that's I'm going to leave that alone for now. Maybe next week we'll pick it up. No, I'm not going to leave it alone quite yet. But it's spoken against. Understand, the Book of Acts, this is not Christianity as an unknown thing that everybody just goes, I don't know what that is. I guess we'll believe it. This is Christianity spoken against and the church grows in the face of opposition. And that should be an encouragement to you because we're facing opposition today. The church is everywhere spoken against today. And there are people who get this crazy idea in their head that what we really need to do is soften down the gospel and get rid of some of the truths that we believe, because those are offensive to people. And if we could just mellow out the gospel a little bit, more people would believe it, and the church might grow again. You go, they didn't do that in Acts. Everywhere it's spoken against. Everybody's opposed to it. And they go out preaching good news in the name of Jesus, and the church grows and turns over the Roman Empire. But let's get to this statement finally. Paul's statement is this, it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain. That statement is an invitation to ask more. Right? I mean, he arrives, he is in chains, he invites the Jews in, he tells them the story, he says, I did nothing wrong, I was kept in prison, the Jews kept me in prison, I have not come to cause you trouble, but I am here and it is because of the hope of Israel I am in chains. Now, think with me for a minute. Think. If you're a first century Jew, what is the hope of Israel? Paul says, it is the hope of Israel that has put me in chain. What is the hope of Israel if you're a first century Jew? If you're a first century Jew, the answer that comes back to that question is the hope of Israel is the Messiah, the promised one. the Anointed One, what is in Greek the Christos, and the One that has been promised all the way from the beginning and runs all the way through the Old Testament Scriptures that God is going to send a Messiah or a Christos, a Christ, and that One is going to set us free. He's going to break our bondage. He's going to conquer. He's going to reign. He's going to sit on David's throne. That's the hope of Israel. That the Messiah would come. That the Messiah would rule. That the Messiah would reign. That's the hope of Israel that these Roman Jews who have never met the Apostle Paul before are hoping for. And he says it is because of the hope of Israel that I am in chains. And they say our hope is for a ruling reigning Messiah who will set us free. What's your hope? Paul says the same thing. That's the same thing. That is my very hope. And I'm going to show you how this works because it's an amazing thing. As I started looking into this a little bit, it was a little aside my mind. I said I just want to trace out how Paul uses the word hope when he writes his letters and when he speaks. And there's an amazing thing that develops that speaks to my life today. Already we've heard this a few times. Paul speaking hope. I'm going to give away the end right now. Every time Paul speaks about hope, He is speaking about resurrection, about the reign of Christ, and about Christ's return. All of those things are wound up in this word, hope. This is the hope of Israel, a reigning, ruling Messiah. This is the hope of the Christian, and the hope that the gospel proclaims. And it rests on resurrection. Listen for, listen for resurrection in these passages. We're gonna do a little bit of Bible reading for a moment. Acts chapter 23, verse six. Paul has been in custody for less than a week in Acts chapter 23 verse 6, and he says before the Sanhedrin, you're listening for hope and you're listening for resurrection, right? Brothers, I'm a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I'm on trial. Paul speaking. Hope, resurrection, these two things are somehow linked together. Go one chapter later, chapter 24, verse 14 and 15. Now Paul, again on trial before Felix. Acts 24 verse 14, but this I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets, having a hope in God, that's the word we're looking for, right? Hope in God, which these men themselves accept that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Paul, hope, hope, and resurrection. Go to two chapters later, Acts chapter 26, verse six through eight. Again, Paul now on trial before Festus. He says, and now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly worship day and night for this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king. Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? Every time in Acts, when Paul is defending himself, he consistently says, this is my hope, resurrection of the dead. We're gonna have to think a little bit. Don't be too dozy this morning. We have to think a little bit. The hope of Israel is a ruling, reigning Messiah. They say that's what we're hoping for. Paul says good news. Would you believe in theory based on your faith in the Old Testament passages that God would do this thing? I believe on in fact because the one that God has promised has come and has done what he promised he would do. And they say, well, here's the problem. This one that you're proclaiming was killed on a Roman cross. How can he be the Messiah? And Paul says, wait for it, because he is the resurrected Messiah, because three days later, he came back from the dead, and he is fulfilling the promises that God has made. He is the one who God has promised, and he is about to bring forth all the things God promised when he comes back to reign. So now we look for just a moment at some of the letters of Paul and some of the things that he has to say in his letters. We're only going to cover 1, 2, 3, and then at the very end a fourth passage. But he says a lot more than this. We find hope and the resurrection combined in the book of Romans, in the book of 1 Corinthians, the book of 2 Corinthians, the book of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, and the book of Titus. Not only that, Peter, the apostle, ties hope and resurrection together in his book, and John, the apostle, ties hope and resurrection in his book. This is a major theme of Christianity. But we're just gonna look at a few of Paul's statements. Romans chapter eight. Okay, you've got your thinking caps on, and we're listening for hope and resurrection, right? And we go through these passages for a few minutes, we're gonna collect up these passages, and then we're gonna draw these things together. And my goal, and I think the Holy Spirit's goal on this, is to send you out as people who understand what the Christian hope truly is. Okay, listen, this is Romans chapter eight, beginning at verse 19. Paul says, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Creation is subjected to futility, but it's subjected in hope that it will be set free from its bondage to corruption. How's that going to happen? Has to do with resurrection. For we know that the whole creation has been growing together in pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruit of the spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. You know what that is? The redemption of our bodies? Resurrection. resurrection. That's when God does what God has promised that He is going to do for all those who are believers in Jesus Christ. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. The Christian hope, the hope of Israel, the resurrection of the dead, the redemption of our bodies. Flip over to Ephesians chapter Ephesians chapter 1, verse 15. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 15, we're listening for hope and resurrection. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you. riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ Jesus when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named not only in this age but also in the age to come. What is the hope that he has called you to And then he goes through a number of things, but that hope is linked to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his reigning on high. Okay, so we're gonna hold these in our mind. We've got the redemption of creation through the redemption of the children of God. We have the hope that he has called us to that is linked to the resurrection of Jesus and his reigning on high. Let me give you one more passage for a moment. Go to the book of Titus for a moment. Three times over in Titus, there's sections that talk about our hope and the resurrection. In Titus chapter 1, 1 and 2, he links hope with eternal life. But go to chapter 2 for a moment, Titus 2 and 11. For the grace of God, this is Titus 2.11, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope. Right? We're waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." We are waiting for hope. What is the hope we're waiting for? The return of Christ, who is resurrected. We could do more. Titus chapter 3 has more, but I think we've got enough. This is not a full-blown systematic theology of every appearance of the word hope. But I trust I have made my case that the Apostle Paul is linking together hope with resurrection. This is the hope of Israel, a ruling reigning Messiah who breaks the bondage of those who hold us and sets us free. And Paul says that's what I believe, that's why I'm in chains. But this is where we want to come to. The words of Paul here have a powerful effect, not only because of what he calls his hope, but because he is able to say, I am in chains. I am a prisoner because of the hope of Israel. Why is Paul in chains? Think for a moment. Was Paul's imprisonment an accident? Was Paul's imprisonment an unexpected thing? Is this something where Paul finds himself two years a prisoner of the Jews who were trying to kill him and said, I didn't know that was going to happen when I got to Jerusalem. Not at all. If you've been with us through the whole series, in the book of Acts you know that at the end of the third missionary journey as Paul is going to Jerusalem with this money that he has collected in every city that he stops in the Holy Spirit is warning me that affliction and imprisonment awaits me in Jerusalem and everywhere he goes prophets of the people are coming out and saying to them, this is what they're going to do to you and they bind themselves up with cords. They're going to arrest you and they're going to turn you over. They're going to try to kill you in Rome. And Paul says, why are you weeping and breaking my heart? Do you not know that the Holy Spirit compels me to go there? He is not in prison by mistake. He is not surprised about his situation. But what does this tell us about Paul? It tells us that his hope is not based on temporal things. If Paul's hope is based on some smaller thing, some smaller thing than resurrection and the return of Christ, he doesn't go to Jerusalem. Because the Holy Spirit says, listen, affliction, suffering, and imprisonment are waiting for you there. You go, whew, I'm not going there then. I'm not in this for affliction. I don't want to suffer. That's some modern day form of Christianity which is false. That says if you're a Christian you shouldn't suffer. There won't be bad things that happen to you if you're a Christian. Because Jesus loves Christians and he'll make your life healthy and wealthy and easy. but not to the Apostle Paul. That's not the gospel. The gospel says you're going to suffer. Paul says my hope is not in this life. He is not hoping for a good life now, or resurrection, or I'm sorry, he is hoping for resurrection, for health, wealth, and prosperity. He is a man who is waiting for resurrection, return, and reign. It's an amazing thing. Here is where we conclude today. Think about this. Christianity His taken hold, the message of Christianity most often first takes hold among the slaves, the diseased, the outcast. The largest response is always among the poor and the downtrodden. The slaves and the prisoners hear the gospel and rejoice and believe it. The prostitutes and the lepers come out to follow Jesus. The diseased and outcast of society come first to Christ. Why? Because they have no hope and they hear the gospel and they say, hope! Hope. There is hope. It's the hope that I won't be a slave one day. Most of these people, do you realize that, I don't know, three quarters of the city of Rome are slaves? And they don't have any hope for emancipation, that somebody's going to set them free and let them go home and not be a slave anymore. They're going to be a slave the rest of their life. And they come and they hear the gospel and they say, that's hope. I believe that. The problem is that the wealthy and the healthy very often end up with their hope based on things that cannot last. It is impossible for me to say, here is my hope. This is the thing that animates me. This is the thing that gives to me life. This is the thing that helps me get up in the morning and go through my day and lie down and actually go to sleep at night. This is my hope. If you say my hope is retirement, oh and Jesus. Hard to link those two together. Nothing wrong, nothing necessarily wrong with retirement. I'm not saying don't retire. I'm saying don't make that your hope that this is the thing that drives me. My hope is political advancement. I'd like to be prime minister someday. That's a temporal hope. But there are some people in the world that say, I've got enough education. I've got enough money. I've got enough connections. My hope is political advancement. My hope is my physical strength or my health or my beauty. I'm a good looking person. I've got a glorious beard. This is my hope. I'm resting my hope on something that I have myself. I don't need your Jesus. or we try to mingle those things together. My hope is that Jesus will give me a beautiful body and great strength and wonderful health or political advancement or a wonderful retirement. That's not the Christian hope. The Christian hope and the Christian... Who does this make sense to? The Christian hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his coming reign, and that we are co-heirs together with him, and that when he comes, the lowliest slave, the most despised outcast, the person who has no measure of health or strength, or the ability to form words with their tongue, or to run or walk even, that these people will reign with Christ. and will be co-heirs with Him of all things, that the creation groans in eager anticipation for the revealing of the sons of God, when the creation itself will be set free from its bondage, because we will be set free from our bondage." Who hopes in that? Listen, this is why Christianity takes hold amongst the downcast first. But it doesn't have to only take place amongst the downcast. It's because the downcast know what it is to have no hope. And there are some wealthy, healthy people who would say, who would trade a hope in something that I can control and that I have within my own power for a hope that is not in my power. This apostle Paul was shipwrecked on Malta, was a prisoner for two years. He's gonna be a prisoner for two more years. His hope is in something beyond his power. Here's the answer to that question. Who hopes in something that they have no control or power in? Anyone of you who has ever looked honestly at death says I have no control over anything in this world. All of those other hopes, all of those other dreams, all of those other things that people put their hope in and say, this is the thing that helps me sleep at night. This is the thing that wakes me up in the morning. You don't control that. Not only that, sooner or later, it will leave you. If your hope is in your physical beauty, your physical strength, your physical health, there is coming a day when you're in a nursing home, or maybe sooner, when you say, I don't have any of those things, and my hope is lost. If your hope is in retirement, it may not come. Your hope is in your investment portfolio. You know what happens to investment portfolios. My hope is in political advancement. It does not matter if you hope in anything that is in this world and say, I can control that. You can't control that. In fact, the thing that is coming for every single one of us is death. And so for the person who knows what it is to look at death, For the person who knows a little bit about what it is to look at critical illness. For the person who knows a little bit of what it is to look at absolute destruction of all your hopes and dreams in this world, whether that is your hope of prosperity because your employment has been destroyed or your hope of happiness because your children have decided not to live in the way you wish they would, that is the person who takes great comfort and finds great strength in saying, my hope is linked to the resurrection and reign of Jesus and the fact that I will be joined together with him. Here's where we close. Paul, one more passage from Paul. This is maybe my favorite on hope and resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 19. The whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 is on resurrection, but 1 Corinthians 15 verse 19, let this be The closing words that you hear today on the issue of Paul's hope and why he is willing to be a prisoner to hope, why he's willing to be in chains throughout this life. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 19, Paul writing says this, if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. but each in his own order. Christ, the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Heavenly Father, Lord, I pray that you might help us to come to this place. Lord, most of us have tasted something of prosperity, at least in comparison with the people of our world. Most of us know what it is to be tempted to hope in something that we think we can control. And Lord, we are grateful and we do not disparage the good gifts that come from your hands. Lord, we are grateful for for good jobs and father for freedom and the ability to vote and elect our leaders and the ability father to go on vacation and the hope that we might one day retire and rest from our work. But Lord, I pray that you would not let us set our hope on any one of these things. But Lord, day by day, more and more our hope might be anchored to and directed to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the promise of his return and that we will reign with him. Lord, that as the things of earth begin to fade away, that the promise of glory might fill more and more of our eyes. And Lord, that we might delight in and desire to be with you there and to see these things and be like you as you are. And so Father, I commit this congregation, Lord, to the hearing of your word. We ask these things now in Jesus' name. Amen.