Beloved, let us turn in the word of God to Acts chapter 28, the last chapter of the book of Acts. And our reading is 1 through 16. And when they were, and when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness, for they kindled a fire and received us every one because of the present rain and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, they came a viper out of the heat and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, no doubt, This man is a murderer, whom though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm. Albeit they looked when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but after they had looked a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions of the cheap man of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux, to whom Paul entered in and prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him. And when this was done, others also which had diseases in the island came and were healed. who also honored us with many honors. And when we departed, they laid at us with such things as were necessary. And after three months, we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle whose sign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence, we fetched a compass and came to Regium, And after one day, the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli, where we found brethren and were desired to tarry with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Epiphorum and the three taverns, whom, when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage. And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. Beloved in the Lord Jesus, one of the important spiritual skills, if I may call it that, which God works in his people is to have the presence of mind, the ability to give him thanks in the very midst of difficulties and trials. Doing this, of course, is counterintuitive. It runs against our natural inclination to complain, to murmur, to rebel, to frown, or maybe on better days to simply grin and bear the challenge or difficulty. We tend to think we're having a good day when we don't break out in a fit of worry or complaining or discouragement or anger, but it's a beautiful, a God-honoring day if in the midst of everything, when we feel let down, when we feel defeated, discouraged, we turn our eyes to the Lord, breathe a little prayer of thanksgiving, take courage, and move forward. Tonight we want to take a moment or two just to consider an example of this. When Paul had been already through so much that was trying to say the least, when he was facing so much that would be agonizing to say the least, in the very midst of these daunting circumstances, Paul, by the grace of God, found something to take courage from and to give thanks for, leaving us, quite honestly, a beautiful little example to encourage us when similar kinds of things happen to us. Our text then is the 15th verse of the chapter that we read, Acts 28, 15. These words. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appiforum and the three taverns, whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage. And that's our theme for tonight, thanking God and taking courage. We want to consider something of the context of this text, of course, a difficult journey behind him. In the second place, a difficult time ahead of him. And then finally in the third place, a time to be thankful and to take courage. A difficult journey behind him. As I mentioned a moment ago, an awful lot has happened. We're in Acts 28 after all. And so a great deal has happened by the time this chapter unfolds. It's amazing to think that events leading up to this chapter were already set in motion during Paul's previous missionary journey, his third. All the way back to chapter 19, verse 21, we read Paul purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. Now, perhaps the Lord had made known to him that he had to bear witness to him in Rome by some means or other. We don't read of that. Or maybe that was simply his desire to bring the gospel to Rome also, as it seems to be the case in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. But certainly, the Lord's will concerning him going to Rome was absolutely plain to him later. By chapter 23, verse 11, the Lord said to him at night, be of good cheer, Paul. For as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." So now he knew for sure because the Lord had told him. And yet even though he knew it was the Lord's will that he should go to Rome, what a journey that turned out to be. In Acts 20, we learn that Paul desired to be in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Now that would be typical of Paul. He was always looking for opportunities and the Jewish feast days would give him a very good opportunity to bring the gospel to his fellow Jews at an opportune time when they were all there. But as he journeyed there, several warnings came to him about that very journey. He knew, for example, when he spoke to the elders of Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, that he would see them no more. He told them, this would be the last time I saw you. And then, when he went to Jerusalem, on his way to Jerusalem, he says, Behold, I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, Bonds and afflictions, abide me. So in other words, he knew that everywhere he went, The Spirit of God assured him there would be difficulties. There would be afflictions, even in prison. Then, when he met the disciples at Tyre, they warned him about going there. Not long after, he gets to Caesarea, Agabus, and 8th prophet tells him the same thing. You would go bound in Jerusalem. And when he finally gets to Jerusalem, it was the idea of James and of the other apostles, the elders, that in order to dispel the rumors that were going around even among the believing Jews, that were saying that Paul was disregarding the law of Moses, that he was saying that the Jewish people shouldn't circumcise their children anymore, and James said, we want you to go to the temple with four brethren, purify them, and so calm the fears of those who think you're walking disorderly. And how that turned out, he goes to the temple, does exactly what he was asked to do, and then some Jews who had come from Asia recognized him, Help, men of Israel! He gets arrested, almost beaten to death, if it hadn't been for the Roman soldiers who rescued him. At that point, he's arrested by the captain of the guard, he's examined in front of the Jewish council, he was almost pulled in pieces by them, plotted against by a mob of people who had taken an oath that they would kill him if they had a chance, then delivered to the Roman governor Felix, a corrupt official, who kept him in jail hoping that he would get some bribes in order to release him. He remains in custody two full years. until Festus takes Felix's place. And in order to please the Jews, then Festus says, would you be tried in Jerusalem after having already examined him and found him not guilty. And it was at that point, boys and girls, that the Apostle Paul, seeing what was happening, appealed, as was his right as a Roman citizen, to be judged by Caesar himself in Rome. Now all of that would have been discouraging for most of us. But then on his trip to Rome, despite the fact that he warned the centurion in charge that they ought not to sail during that time of the year when storms were frequent, the owners of the ship persuaded the centurion just keep going. And then a tremendous storm did come. It broke the ship in pieces. It lasted so long, that storm that almost everyone on board gave up hope that they would even live. Finally, they were able to run the ship aground onto a primitive island, which is about where we picked up in the history here. Before they get to that island, the soldiers are saying we ought to kill all the prisoners before they escape. In God's providence, a centurion wanting, Scripture says, to preserve Paul alive, forbid them from doing that. And then, Paul, as we just read, bitten by a venomous snake, and then finally, three months later, after being on this relatively desolate island, they get into a second ship, they make their way to Rome. What a journey that was. And that's not even taking into account all the things that happened to Paul before these things, the shipwrecks, the stoning, being in the deep, beaten with rods, and so many other things. And plus the care of all the churches, he would say, in one of his epistles. Now, beloved, that's all interesting history. But actually all of us are on a journey. Some of us do experience the equivalent of a shipwreck. Maybe we've lost our job. Maybe we have an unstable or an unsatisfying relationship or marriage. Maybe we've received a serious diagnosis in the last while. Maybe there's not enough money to pay the bills. Maybe a child of ours is heading to hell. Now, it could be, like Paul, that you're trying to be helpful to somebody else. Like Paul bringing wood to the fire so that people could be warm. Maybe you tried to help someone instead of being thanked. or being appreciated, maybe you were bitten more or less. And the more, like Paul writes to the Corinthians, you loved, maybe the less you were loved. Maybe it was a long, deep valley of discouragement. Maybe you were facing depression or anxiety, panic attacks. Maybe an addiction has been abiding you for a long time. Whether that's the kinds of addictions that are on most people's radar screens, or maybe something more secret. Maybe sickness, maybe weakness has been dragging us down. Maybe there's no prospect, no prognosis of long-term improvement. Maybe you've struggled caring for an elderly parent, or for a sickly child, or for an elderly spouse. Maybe after all you did, after all your prayers and labor and care, they eventually weakened and died. Maybe you were left not only with a broken heart, but thoroughly exhausted and spiritually depleted. Maybe your difficult journey was a spiritual one. You recall other days, brighter days, But somewhere, somehow, you lost the way. You took a wrong turn, or two, or ten. You've drifted and now maybe you find yourself in some cold, lifeless place, spiritually. A state of busyness, but busy indifference and lovelessness. Maybe it's to the point that you start to wonder, has it ever been true? Is there an ounce of genuine grace in me at all? Was there ever? Maybe you're having a time as a young person, as a young adult. Maybe you're seeing other friends, well-connected, well-liked. They seem to have it all together. But that special someone you've been praying for, that good friend that you were hoping for, It's never materialized. Needs not met. Maybe you're bored. Maybe you have no sense of direction. You feel already at a young age that your life is kind of like a treadmill. And you're going around and around very busily, but really not getting anywhere. Maybe you're having a hard time relating to your children. Maybe your children are having a hard time relating to you. Or your spouse. Or your friends. Maybe you feel alone. At college, university. Maybe you feel alone in the workplace. Nobody really to talk to. Nobody you can relate to. You feel peculiar. You don't want to be so different and you can't be like the others. So you're kind of caught in a quandary. Paul had a difficult journey. Perhaps some of us do, too. But it wasn't just a tough road in the rearview mirror. As Paul looked ahead, it was perhaps even more sobering than what he had been through before. Was Paul, boys and girls, going on vacation for long? Was he visiting friends? Was he going there to plant a church? Boys and girls, look at his hands, look at his wrists, look at his ankles. They've got chains on them. And that chain is connected to a Roman soldier. In other words, he's going to Rome as a criminal, as a prisoner. And even though Felix and Festus together could not come up with a single crime to accuse him of before the emperor, they had to send him to Rome because he had appealed his court case, which was his right, the right of any citizen who believed he had been wronged by the government. He knew that Festus was more interested in gaining the Jews' favor than in giving justice, and so he appealed. And so that is why in verse 16 of our chapter we read, And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard. That meant that Paul was waiting to appear before the emperor himself. Now, mind you, in these days already, the emperors had already begun persecuting Christians for one of two reasons. Either the emperor at the time believed himself to be a god and required worship of him, or the emperors were idolaters and would not allow citizens of Rome to worship or not to worship the gods that they did. And so, he had the prospect of standing before such an idolater. And verse 16 does tell us that Paul was allowed to stay in a private dwelling room. In other words, he wasn't locked up with the rest of the prisoners, like people in jail or prison are locked up today, but he was not free. He couldn't go around doing what he usually did. He couldn't go planting churches, visiting believers throughout Europe or Asia. He couldn't go back to Jerusalem, couldn't visit the apostles anymore. He was a prisoner. Now, there are many Christians who are prisoners today, who are suffering exactly the same way as Paul did. Now, we learn from other parts of Scripture that he appeared before the emperor in his trial, and that no one was with him. And we know that was very difficult for him. None of his friends, none of his acquaintances who had been with him before, were with him now. They abandoned him. He would write of this to Timothy from prison, 2 Timothy 4.16, at my first answer, meaning my first appearance before the emperor, no man stood with me. But all men forsook me." In other words, they left him. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. In other words, he was praying for the forgiveness of cowardly friends who abandoned him in his time of need. What a blow that would be. He had risked his life. How many times, going here, going there, facing all kinds of dangers and persecutions, just so that lost sinners could hear about Jesus Christ. And now, when he needed support, when he needed fellow believers the most, they were gone. Now, even though Paul might not have known at the time, we now know he would never leave Rome. You can read in some of his letters that he was hopeful that he would still be visiting Christians here and there, but it was not to be. He would die a martyr's death. So even though his journey up to verse 15 was a rough one, we can say with some certainty the hardest part of his journey was yet to come. Now, beloved, we are sitting here and standing here on this Thanksgiving evening not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Must we not say that some of us, barring an outright miracle, are facing our most difficult days, very dark days ahead? Maybe we're carrying around a sickness that will continue its dreadful and debilitating advance. Maybe broken relationships without the intervention of God and other means will continue to deteriorate. The economic picture is certainly unsettling, although it could be much worse. The elites in academia and in the media continue their violence, their unabashed assault, against Christian values, maybe it's hard to get a job after we've graduated school. Certainly this generation, as we alluded to another time, faces more temptations than any in history. And primarily because of greater access to the world, but also because sin is being committed more and more blatantly, more and more openly, without embarrassment or shame. Now it is true, and it's always good to remember, the Lord Jesus Christ continues to be on the throne and here in His church. But we must say, that being true, and seeing what is taking place around us, maybe within us, in our own lives, we will need the Lord more than ever before. Will we pray more? Will we spend more time at His feet? We'll research the scriptures more diligently, seeing all these things are coming to pass. Especially we'll be coming to Him as the situations we face and the times we're in become more challenging. But Paul, what are you doing now? We might expect that after all you've been through and all that you're facing, that even the great apostle Paul, at some point, under all this, would give up. Just sink down. Just wish that it was all over. After all, he wrote, to depart and to be with Christ is far better. What about his future usefulness? What is he going to do now? No more planting churches, no more visiting mission fields, no more encouraging the saints, In the places where he's been before, you're not going to see Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, none of the Apostles anymore. But our text does not say that the Apostle Paul sunk down in discouragement and gave up hope. Something else happened. Something very little and something very big. I find, as perhaps you do, that scripture has lots of surprises. And the beautiful thing is they all are real. They happen in the lives of real people. So with troubles behind him and troubles ahead of him, we read in verse 15 these simple and yet wonderful words. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us, as far as Abbey Forum and the three taverns, whom, when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage." We're going to spend just a minute or two, well, actually more than a minute or two, on just these words. And look at them carefully. It's always good to look at words carefully, especially when each one of them is inspired by the Holy Spirit. First notice the word us. When the Brethren heard of us, you could be almost sure that the Brethren weren't hearing about the prisoners gathered from the four corners of the Roman Empire on that ship. So it seems quite clear that there had to be on that boat at least one other Christian. with Paul. The brethren in Rome heard of us. In the second place, think of the fact that the brethren in Rome heard. How did they know? By some means, which we're not told, some Christian somewhere knew that Paul was heading to Rome as a prisoner. He even seemed to know the approximate time of his arrival. Otherwise, how would these people know to come out and to meet him on the way? And the Christians who heard these things at Rome decided to do something about it together. And here we see a beautiful networking of believers for the relief of a hurting brother. The takeaway on that, of course, is how beautiful is the body of Christ when various members work together, even in the simplest ways, for the good of one in need. But then look at the words, from thence. From where did these people come? Well, they came from Rome. Now, just to give some perspective, When the ship landed in Italy, what's called Italy today, it landed Puteoli, in verse 13. That was still 273 kilometers from Rome. By the time they met Paul at Apiphorum and the three taverns, in verse 14, he was still somewhere between 50 and 70 kilometers from the capital. Which means these people made considerable effort to find him. Now it wouldn't have been hard to find him, because there wasn't an extensive road system like there is today, and the main route from Piteoli to Rome would have been what's called the Roman Way or the Abbey Way. And so they found him. And then, I want you to picture the scene. Paul, with literally the weight of the world on his shoulders, knowing what was about to befall him, thinking, as he so often did, about the care of the churches, walking, walking, walking. Yes, he had just been refreshed by a week with some believers at Puteoli, but that's past. And now what's coming? And we all probably have had that experience, the dread of knowing what's coming. But then, in the distance, as if out of nowhere, disciples. Paul! Brother Paul! Is that you? Well, it is me, but who could you be? Who might you be? We're from Rome. We're Christians. We heard you were coming. We're here to accompany you back to the city. Here, let us carry your things for you. What a marvelous moment that must have been. Now, we don't know exactly what Paul was thinking prior to their arrival, but we know what his disposition was. Because it said when he saw them, he took courage. Which implies that before he saw them, he needed courage. He was discouraged. And the sight of these brethren coming to him, meeting with him, ministering to him, encouraged him. And what a lesson this is for us. It's a lesson, I trust, that is as obvious as it is important. Do you know anybody who's in difficulty today? who perhaps has a very difficult journey behind them, who maybe has very bleak prospects ahead of them, will then come out to meet them. Maybe not literally, but meet them in their journey. Walk with them a while on this difficult road. It may very well be encouraging to them. Now, mind you, these disciples couldn't affect Paul's situation. They didn't bring keys to unlock him from his chains. They didn't overpower the guards. That wasn't their intention. They came to minister to him, to comfort him. So they couldn't change his circumstances. They couldn't fix what the problem was. And there may be times when we can't either. When the person that we know who is hurting, who is discouraged, who's had a difficult life or maybe is facing difficult struggles, maybe you think, well, there's nothing I can do. I'm not a physician, not a counselor. I don't have the wherewithal to help them with their problem. Maybe their problem is financial, but I don't have the means to relieve that either. Well, then do what these people did. Sometimes just being there, just being with them, is exactly what they need. I'm sure I told you about that widow lady who we were visiting some time ago in a different congregation. And she said when she lost her husband, just the fact that people were there didn't matter if they didn't say a word. The fact that they were just there meant so much to her. I'm sure many of us could understand that by experience. So your very presence demonstrates care, and that care can be so encouraging, can encourage a person, can support that person in their trials, can encourage them greatly, especially in times of suffering. But then let's look at another facet of the text. He thanked God. Now, yes, I'm sure he was overjoyed to see disciples, believers from Rome. But Paul, and this isn't new to him, Paul, as he so often did, saw more than just disciples. What did he see? He saw the loving provision of his Heavenly Father. He thanked God for these brethren. Do we do that? Do we trace the encouragements, the kindness, the acts, the love, the generosity of other persons shown to us to retrace those through those people to the hand of God. We should. So often, and it's a good thing, we thank the people who encourage us, who help us, who show kindness to us. We thank them, and we should. Can we not see those things in a larger scheme of things? That God sent that person to us. That God, in His mercy, ministered to us through that person. Through that person's hand came God's hand. And then, not only did He make that connection, but because He made that connection, we read the last part of our text, Courage. All was not lost. All was not dismal. God, and I say this with reverence, dropped down a reminder that He was still mindful of Paul. And Paul saw that. He saw that mercy of these people coming all that way just to accompany him. He thanked God. Lord, I thank Thee. for reminding me that thou art there, that thou art here, that thou art with me. Prisoner or no prisoner, emperor or no emperor, prospects be what they are, this gave him courage, courage to go on, courage to continue. Now, it would be a bit of an exegetical mistake to say that Paul was encouraged, because the text actually doesn't say that. The translation we have is actually perfectly faithful to the underlying Greek text, which says Paul took courage. The verb is lambano, which means to grasp or to take. Why is that significant? Because whether or not these brethren actually encouraged him with words or deeds or gifts or help, we don't know. But him seeing in these people the hand of God and thanking God, Paul grasped courage. He laid hold on courage from this event. Well, let's do that too, with God's help. So much, really, so much is sent our way every day to encourage us to trust in the Lord. So much is sent our way to encourage us to be thankful. So much is sent our way to encourage us to take courage. trusting in him, thanking him, taking courage in him, despite the difficulties before us, behind us. In fact, it's precisely because of the difficulties that God sends these messengers of encouragement to us. When do we appreciate When do we appreciate that encouraging word? When do we appreciate that helping hand? When do we appreciate that person sitting there in silence, holding our hand, arm around the shoulder, or just not saying a word but quietly praying as we mourn, as we suffer, as we're discouraged? It's precisely those moments when if we could only see that that person there, that card here, that phone call there, is a direct line from God the Father to our situation. How does this little history end? Paul's a prisoner. But the Lord providentially directs it, as we saw a little while ago, that he wasn't placed in jail with all the rest of them, but in a private place in which he would live for two years. And what does Paul do there? Does he think, well, I've done enough. I'm in enough trouble. No sense stirring the pot. Maybe I'll get off for good behavior. Nothing of the sort. In verse 17, we read, and it came to pass, that after three days, Paul called the chief of the Jews together until his dying day. Paul continues to try to win souls for Christ Jesus. He never gave up. Would be to God, beloved, That that was our epitaph. That that was written in all sincerity on our gravestone. He was a winner of souls. She was a winner of souls. By example. By deed. By word. By prayer. But even soul winners, like Paul, need encouragement. Need those who encourage. So, maybe you're sitting there thinking, but pastor, I'm never going to be a Paul. I can hardly talk three sentences straight and you're going to want me to win souls. Well, that's all right. Maybe you'll never be a Paul. Maybe you could be an encourager of Paul. Maybe you could be the one who gives a cup of cold water to somebody who's hurting, to somebody who's in need, to somebody who's had a rough journey, to somebody who's facing a challenging future. You can do that with God's help. But make sure that pot of soup, that card, that call, that little text, that email is in His name. Why in His name? Because you want to happen to them what happened to Paul. And that is, you want that needy, hurting person to connect what you're doing to the hand of God the Father. So that they, like Paul, take courage. And thank God. May the Lord bless us. As God's bearing us, we return to our daily callings tomorrow. The Lord already knows the struggles. The Lord already knows the temptations. He knows the road ahead. Let us, as of now, keep an eye out for the mercies. large and small, that He will send our way so that we may thank God and take courage. Amen.