Amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you for your good singing this morning. You can set your hymnals aside. We'll dismiss for a little while to go to class with Mrs. Shore. And please open your Bibles again to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And if you have a church Bible, it is again page 1146. Acts chapter 13, and it's verse 38 is where we are. I mentioned in Sunday school that we had just met a fellow minister that has been at Hoik for the last year. His name is Daniel Urban. And Brother Daniel and his wife came over here last year. It's just through different circumstances. Mainly, really, his health has been very poor. It's just not worth for him to make our fellowship meetings or the day prayer or other things that we've done. They're actually, because of his health, leaving the field. Sadly, but also in God's perfect world, it seems that God's doing that. And so he wanted to get by and see our family. So we had him over this week, and we enjoyed a time of fellowship and learning about how God's used him, where he's been, and how God's leading him. And it was just a precious time. But Brother Urban made a statement which may be original to him, I don't know. But it was one of those short, pithy statements that just strike you. And it was insightful and true. And the statement was, 200 years is old in the United States. Because in the United States, our history only goes back so far. But 200 miles in Scotland is a long way. Alright, and in the States, 200 miles is a very short trip, and 650 miles or 800 miles is a long trip. It just made you stop and think, you know it's true, different places, different ideas, and what is big in one place is not big in another place. I'm going to preach this morning from Acts chapter 13. with this idea about short, pithy statements. I'm just really going to pull from the text some statements that really stood out to me as I was studying. I was praying about how to preach it. I was meditating on it. I was looking at it. And I didn't, just to be honest, I didn't see a way to outline this passage. And then the Lord had me think about this idea of these statements. is the inside of like a citrus vine. So like on an orange, it's that inside that as a kid, maybe you did, I did, you would actually eat. You know, you take the peel and you're eating that white part out. That's the pith, that extra nutrient that's there that you work hard to get. The word pith also means the essence of something. So what we want to do as we come to these statements is to examine them. In several cases they actually say more than you realize they're saying and take them apart and see what benefit God would give to us this morning with regard to that. So we're just going to kind of jump in this morning to that idea. I'm sorry, chapter 13 and verses 38 through 52, but let's begin with prayer and then we'll get into it this morning. Father, we thank you for the grace that you give. And Father, we're thankful for the Word of God. And I'm thankful for the opportunity to preach the Word of God. But Father, I can't speak without the enablement of the Holy Spirit. And I come at your blessing this morning. Father, as I preach, I will preach biblically. Father, I preach practically. Father, I preach lovingly. Father, I preach powerfully. And Father, it's only by your Spirit. Father, there's no ability that any man possesses to declare the Word of God as he ought. But Father, we praise you for the enablement that you do give. And Father, we ask this morning that we have ears to hear, Father that we listen to the Word of God, that we take benefit, that we take the time to chew on these statements and to just take the nutrients that Father you desire to give to our hearts. This passage stands out to me as an interesting text having several statements in it that are powerful statements and true statements. that ought to give us cause to stop and think this morning. And so, Father, would you just have your way at this time in every heart and every life that's here, and God, that you'd be glorified as in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Actually, if you're 13, you get in verse 38, and that's our text. We'll come to that. But we join Paul in a message that he's preaching. He's preaching it in Antioch of Pisidia, and he's preaching it in a synagogue of the Jews. As you are likely aware, the gospel, as the gospel came, was a Jew-first gospel. It was to be preached to them first. And so even Paul said in Romans 1, verse 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, For it's the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." And so Paul said, this gospel, it's going to be in our text again, later on, this same text that we're studying, Acts chapter 13, this idea of, it had to come to you, I had to bring it to you, because that's what the gospel is, it's to the Jew first, and then to the Greek. That's what happened. When the gospel came at Pentecost, Acts 1-8, the Lord told his disciples, but ye shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the outermost parts of the earth. And when Pentecost took place, that's what happened. And then the dispersion took place and then the gospel went out. It started there and that Jewish city of Jerusalem and all those Jews from different places in the world that were there then took that gospel and some received it and that gospel went out even with Jewish preachers. And so, if you were with Paul, as Paul began his ministry, his missionary journeys, you'd anticipate, as you got into the city, that one of the first places you're going to go to is the synagogue. The synagogue is like an Old Testament Jewish church. Amen? It's the Sabbath, Saturday. And so, if you're with Paul, you just expect we're coming into a new state. Where are we going, Paul? We're going to the synagogue, because I'm going to preach the gospel to the Jews. Acts 17 speaks about that. In verse 1, now when they had passed through Amphibolus in Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them in three Sabbath days, reasoning with them of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And so it's not surprising. for Paul in being a synagogue. It's not surprising as we come to Antioch, that's where we find Paul in that last statement about his ministry in Thessalonica, as he said that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you as Christ, is a good introduction to our first statement that we'll consider this morning. And the statement is this. That through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. What a powerful statement. If you stop and start to think about what that statement is saying. Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Verse 38 of our text. It says, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses. These Jewish people in the synagogue, they've understood the Old Testament sacrificial system and what was taking place. And Paul reiterates to them that from which you could not be justified, declared righteous through that system, but through this man. there is a forgiveness of sins. It's impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could cleanse men of their sin. Hebrews 10 verse 4 says, For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. And therefore, there must be an acceptable sacrifice, something that God would accept. I witnessed two Muslim men that were Sudanese down the Princess Street Gardens this past week. And as I spoke to them, I asked them, I said, how does God forgive your sin? And they said, well, you feel bad about it, and you say, I'm sorry. I said, but let's stop and consider that. Sin has to be paid for. There is a consequence to disobedience. And a judge has to sentence and say, you are guilty. So there has to be a punishment that falls. And I began to speak to them about Christ, and that Christ was the punishment for man's sin, that God accepted that. Why? Because our sin was paid for by this man, Jesus. And so, this man, as Paul goes on to say, is the Savior of whom Scripture spake. And again, Paul is in a state where Paul is preaching, but let's go back a little bit in Paul's message and as he speaks about this man being the Savior. And so in verse 22, It says, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed, David's lineage, hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus. Okay, there's this man. When John had first preached before his coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel, and as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he, I am not this man that Paul is speaking about. But behold, there cometh one after me whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem are rulers, because they knew it not, nor yet the voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them, and condemning them, and Paul is speaking to them about this is the man, this is the Messiah, this is the man whom the scriptures were speaking about. But because the ignorance of the leaders in Jerusalem, their understanding of scripture was false, they took this man and they crucified him. But that was the man of which the Bible was speaking. It's ironic, isn't it, that the wicked world and their rebellion against God is actually fulfilling God's Word. I mean, we come to Revelation, we look at the last days and what's taking place, and man is just going to be right there participating because of their ignorance against God in everything that God intends to do, just like they did to this man, Jesus. Because the Word of God said about Jesus and the Messiah, Psalm 22, verse 16, For dogs have compassed me, The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. Zechariah 12 verse 10 says, they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. And then Paul says, this is the man that I was speaking about. He had to suffer, just like other preachers in the New Testament as they preached about the Old Testament would say, the Messiah, this man was to suffer, and he did. Just like the Bible records in John 19, verse 34, as it says, "...but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water." And Paul shares these stories about this man. This man is a savior of whom Scripture spake. And then this man is the innocent man. In verse 28, it says, And though they could find no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. Paul's telling them a story that they're not familiar with in Antioch. They haven't heard about it. He's coming to the synagogue. He's all new. And he's saying, Messiah is Jesus. And let me tell you, he was innocent. But he died. Start to think about the innocence of Christ. And you know, I say it to people at times, just in speaking to them about the fact that Jesus Christ is who he says he is. He deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. He should have been awarded a great humanitarian award because of what he did. Because this man, Jesus, healed those who came to him. Matthew 8 verse 3 says, And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will be thy queen. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And just the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Brian Lane and infirmed people came to him, demon possessed him, and yet his power was there. This man to cast him out. This man brought men back to life who were dead. John 11, verse 43. It says, when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. You've heard it said that Jesus was never at a funeral because every funeral he came to, he interrupted, right? And he addressed his daughter, the buyer that was passing him with that young man, the only son of his mother, and Jesus raised him from the dead. This man fed the multitude. He had great compassion upon them because they were hungry. And the Bible says in Mark 6, verse 41, And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed and break the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And the two fishes divided among them all. Just the compassionate heart of this man as he looked at people and he cared about them. He met their needs physically. This man preached, obeyed authority, got in government. Luke 20 verse 25, he said unto them, render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's. He upheld government and said, honor government in things of which government is to be honored. And this man had never transgressed God's law. Hebrews 4 verse 15. It says, but we have not in high priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And yet God took this man as completely innocent. He didn't deserve to die. And we'll see tonight, in our Bible study tonight, death is a consequence of sin. He never sinned. The Bible says about him 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21, For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This man of which it says, through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, He was the one of whom scripture spake, and he was innocent. He was completely innocent. But then, third, this man is the man who died and rose again. In verse 29, going back in our text again to Paul's message that he's preaching, it says, And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. But God raised him, this man, from the dead. And we see in many days of them which came up with them from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again. And again, put in the context of never having heard this story, he's standing in the synagogue and he's preaching to them about this man of whom the scriptures speak, this man who suffered and died, though he's completely innocent, and this man who didn't stay in the grave. But this man walked out of the grave because he was victorious over death. We talked on Thursday night about the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples as he appeared to them as surprisingly like Joseph. We're studying Joseph on Thursday nights. In our study of Joseph, Joseph says to his brethren, look guys, look at my eyes, look at my mouth, it's me. Alright? And it's so similar to what takes place in this scripture because of the fear of his brothers that they put Joseph in jail. They thought he was dead, but he's alive. He's standing in front of them, and the disciples being afraid as Jesus just appeared to them, that the Lord says to them something similar in Luke 24 verse 39. He says, Behold my hands and my feet, that it's I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. This man that rose from the dead is the same man that went to the cross we spoke about on Thursday night. This man that's coming again is the same man that went up into heaven, this same Jesus. That's very important to us. And so, as Paul's preaching, he's saying, this man, through this man, is preaching unto you the forgiveness of sins. If you're here this morning, and you think in your heart, there's got to be another way. Jesus himself said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. We understand that most of us this morning, the truth of what the Bible speaks about here. Jesus Christ is it. He is the only way. If you're not on the Jesus way, then you're not on the way, because it's only through this man that you can have forgiveness of sin. Our second statement that we'll look at this morning is a sadder statement. And it says, a work which ye shall in no wise believe. Why is Paul there? Why is Paul taking his time to go into that synagogue? He's there because he wants to bring them to faith. He wants to do his best to help them to believe on Jesus Christ, this man that can forgive sins. And as he speaks about his death, his resurrection, he looks at them and speaks about the fact that they will not believe. We're just now in our study in Romans, getting to chapter 9. We've enjoyed Romans chapter 8. I'll finish it this morning. But in Romans chapter 9, Paul's going to deal with some aspects about salvation regarding to that moment in time where men accept Christ as their Savior, and there's a strong emphasis upon belief. In verse 8, he says this, the word of faith which we preach. that thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, Georg Gentile, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? How shall they believe in him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And so Paul, in Romans chapter 9, he's writing, he's encouraging people, you've got to get the message out. Why? Because people have to come to faith. But the sad reality is, there's some people that will not believe. What's the problem? The problem is that salvation is like epoxy. It is the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, but it's two things that make that goose stick. It's Jesus Christ and man's faith. might be here today and you haven't yet had the benefit of the Gospel. And yet the Bible says in Hebrews 4 verse 2, For until us was the Gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. It's the same gospel. Paul's there. He's preaching a life-saving gospel. They could get saved. Jesus Christ died for them. But without faith, they would not be saved. I've had some people who have, and let's read it in our text, in verse 40, the verse of which we're speaking. It says, Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets. Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish. For I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. It's just such a sad statement. Though it's been declared so clearly, evidently, what Christ had done for them, yet Paul looks at it and says, but it's something in which some of you will in no wise believe. I've had people, as I've been doing evangelism, as I try to encourage them to faith in God, they'll say something like, you know what, I've prayed to God, and I've asked God, okay God, if you're real, reveal yourself to me, and God never has, and so I don't believe in God. And I'll say to them, I said, look, could God send you a Baptist preacher that would take his time to stop and to speak to you about the Lord and explain the gospel and how you can accept Jesus Christ as your Savior? Wouldn't you think that might be God? So a lot of people that say, you know, I haven't seen it. If I saw it, I'd believe. And yet, God has given them preachers to preach the Word of God. As the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 21, for after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And that's just a simple reality this morning that men and women that are going to get saved, they've got to come to faith. And yet, a lot of times it's not that they don't know the truth, that they never heard the truth. It's just that they've hardened their hearts against God and they don't believe it. And guess what? We can be wrong about what we believe. This past week, we ran out of paper at our house when I was trying to print some of our literature for church. But I went to the printer, and I was like, oh, it's out of paper. My wife was sitting there. And I said, well, I'll go get some more. She said, I think we're out. We've got a cabinet downstairs. I was going to go down to get it. I said, I think you're wrong. I went downstairs, and I looked. And guys don't ever tell your wife she's wrong, all right? But I looked, and it wasn't there. And so I had to come up and I had to eat humble pie and say, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I thought for sure that we had paper. You know, we can be wrong. And it's a humbling thing, maybe for somebody that all their life they said, I believe there's no creator, no savior, no heaven or hell. I don't care what you say, you never convinced me. But if they'll go and examine the facts, and look at the Word of God and see what it says, they need to humble their heart and to say, you know what, I really believe that, but I'm wrong. It'd be a very sad thing if there's somebody that, despite what God has done and what God has revealed, yet hardens their heart against God and says, I will not believe. Notice what it says in our text. It says, Behold, verse 41, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish. Perish. Somebody that doesn't accept Christ as their Savior, they'll die, and they'll spin and turn in hell, and yet, it's not what God intended. John 3, verse 15 says that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. If you're here this morning and you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ, if you do not believe the message of the crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection of Christ and His death for your sin, then it's exactly what Paul said, a work in which ye will in no wise believe, behold and wonder and sadly perish. It's a very sad thing and certainly a statement that stands out to us as we study this morning, a work which ye shall in no wise believe. And then a third statement to pull out of our text this morning is this statement, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And so as Paul gets done with that sober statement at the end of that message that he's preaching in the synagogue, he's saying, I'm telling you, Jesus Christ is the way. But some of you aren't going to believe. Praise God, there were some that did. And verse 42 says, when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now, when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. Grace is God's unmerited favor. If they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, God gifted them eternal life. He gifted them sonship. He gifted them inheritance. And they entered into the grace that God is willing to give to His own. And Paul said, hey, continue in that. He took them and he began to exhort them to not go back into Judaism, not go back into that synagogue worship, but continue to follow after the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what, when somebody gets saved and prays God that we're going to see it in our church, and we have seen it in our church, somebody accepting Christ as their Savior, yet the burden that we have ought to be this idea of the statement. Persuade them to continue in the grace of God. Do our best as individuals to come alongside and say, I just want to encourage you to keep going to church, keep in your Bible, keep following after God. It's not enough just to get saved. Continue in the grace of God. If I could just give you a short synopsis of the first part of the New Testament, just with regard to that. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are Gospels. They're about the life of Christ. The book of Acts is about the missionary endeavors of those taking the Gospel to the world and the Gospel going out and churches being started. But as those churches got started, then we've got an apostle that was burdened about those churches that he had established in the Spirit of God, giving him wisdom to write epistles to them. And that's most of our New Testament. All that doctrine, continuing the grace of God that is found in his letters to Rome, to Corinth, to Galatia, to Ephesus, to Philippi, to Colossians, to Thessalonica. It's about continuing in God's grace. It's what Peter says in 2 Peter 3 verse 18, but growing grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to Him be glory, both now and forever. And so, you just see the heart of Paul as he goes into the synagogue, he's preaching his heart out, saying, some of you guys aren't even going to believe, but he goes outside and prays, God, there's some Jews and some Gentiles. The Gentiles that were there were proselytized into Judaism. They were Gentiles that sat in the back of the synagogue that were involved in Judaism. But they heard the gospel, and some Jews heard the gospel in that synagogue. They came out and they said, Paul, we want what you've got. We believe in Jesus. And Paul said, that's great. Now continue in the grace of God. And that statement is just a strong statement, isn't it? He persuaded them, continue in the grace of God. If I were to say to us at the church, look, continue in the grace of God. We're going to see people come and go in our assemblies. And it's a heartening thing to us to see somebody get saved and then go back into the world. But we're burdened about it as a church. As a church member and as a pastor, it's our desire to say, hey, I just want to encourage you, don't stop following God and persuade them to continue in God's grace. And then our fourth statement I want to consider this morning is this statement, ye judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. You judge yourself unworthy of everlasting life. And that is us praying and thinking about what God would have me preach on Sunday morning this week. That's a statement that stood out to me in this text that made me turn to this text and look at it again. That is such a powerful statement. You judge yourself unworthy of everlasting life. You know, is there a sadder statement in the Bible than that statement? A statement of those that condemn themselves to eternity in hell because of their refusal to accept Jesus Christ. And so in our text, verse 44, this is the following Sabbath. Paul finishes his message that he preached. The next Sabbath he comes back to preach again, but this time to the Gentiles. And it says, the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy. and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, it was necessary that the word of God should come first, or should first have been spoken unto you, to the Jews. But seeing you put it from you, and judged yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turned to the Gentiles. It's a very sad statement, especially added to the idea that we were here trying to reach you with the gospel, but since you judge yourself unworthy, we're just going to turn away. It's a very sad statement. It reminds me of what was said to Paul. It wasn't said by Paul, but it was said to Paul by King, King Agrippa. When King Agrippa said to Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Almost. Sad, isn't it? Almost in heaven, but eternally in hell. Philip E. Bliss, a hymn writer, I heard a minister preaching a message on that story of King Agrippa and Paul and almost without persuading me to be a Christian. And he concluded his sermon with these solemn words, he who is almost persuaded is almost saved. But to be almost saved is to be entirely lost. Sad, isn't it? We have people attend our church that they've heard the gospel, they've heard about how to accept Christ, or that we've witnessed to, or that we've given a tract to, or we've given an attestment to, but they can, in rejecting it, they judge themselves and condemn themselves to an eternity in hell, away from the gracious grace of Almighty God. The hymn that Philip E. Bliss almost persuaded, the hymn that he wrote, says, almost persuaded now to believe, almost persuaded Christ to receive, seems now some soul to say, go spirit, go that way, some more convenient day, on thee I'll call. Almost persuaded. Come, come today. Almost persuaded. Turn that away. Jesus invites you here. Angels are lingering here. Prayers rise from hearts so dear. Oh wonder, come. Third verse, almost persuaded, harvest is past. Almost persuaded, June comes at last. Almost cannot avail, almost is but to fail. Sad, sad, that bitter wail, almost a loss. And as you do evangelism, there's gonna be times where you meet some people that, praise God, they're open, and you can sit down, and I shared on Thursday night, God gave me an excellent opportunity to share the gospel with a lady that I hope will come visit our church at some point. But she was tender, she was taking in the truth, and you'll have people like that that are at least open to dialogue. There's gonna be other people that are just hard against God, that are upset against God, that contradict that blasphemy, and they're just like these people. They judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life. Stop and think about the twisting reasoning of that. That they condemn themselves to be unworthy of receiving the gospel. Our next statement is a statement that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And it's out of context, and you'll see the context in just a second, but if I were to give you that statement, and I were to say this, and don't answer out loud, of whom is that scripture speaking? Let me say it again. That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. I think this, I think many would say, well surely that's speaking about Jesus. But it's not. It's speaking about the apostles, it's speaking about us. Verse 47 says, for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Paul, as he went, as he carried the gospel, Paul preached the gospel as somebody under authority, as if God himself had commanded Paul to preach the gospel. Because God had commanded Paul to preach the gospel. Acts 26 verse 15, as Paul shares the story about his conversion, he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise, stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. Paul says, as I faced the Lord, He said to me, I have appeared to you to make you a witness. And Paul says to King Agrippa, King Agrippa, I wasn't disobedient. God put that charge on me. And so I have lived my life to share the gospel with the world. You know, if Paul had been disobedient, where would we be today? Don't you wonder? I've already mentioned all the epistles that Paul wrote, but Paul was the leader of the first three missionary journeys, taking the gospel to the world. If he had not fulfilled God's will for his life, where would we be? Praise God, Paul was obedient. I read an inspiring story. this week in the news about a 10-year-old boy up near Oban. Sometime this week, this took place. Ben Krushen? Is that how you say it? Krushen? He and his family, his mom and dad and two younger siblings, were hiking. They got off the path and got to a place, and his mom fell. She fell 328 feet down a cliff, stopping on a ledge before a huge drop. If she had gone off that, she would have died, but she was down there. And his dad's mobile was dead, and they got two younger siblings. His dad stayed with the siblings. This 10-year-old climbed down. He climbed down to his mom, got down to his mom, took her phone, called emergency services. They told him what to do. Keep your mom alert. Don't let her go to sleep, all right? Keep talking to her, communicating with her. And he helped to let the police know their position and where they were enough so that they could look up there and see the torch that, thankfully, the family had, see the light, and be able to call in the rescuers. The Open Mountain Rescue Team set about the boy He's a brave lad who should get an award for his actions. Just getting to his mom was hard. Then looking after his mother in an extreme situation, talking to the police and keeping calm, he was amazing. 10 years old, got down, and he did so well. He kept it together. He did everything he needed to do. And we read a story like that and say, hey, I love a story where somebody risks their life to save somebody else. That's a great story. Let me ask you today, what have you risked to save somebody? I mentioned, what if Paul had not been obedient to the heavenly vision? Where would we be? Where are we today? Because of your faithfulness or lack of faithfulness to give the gospel to the world that thou shalt be for salvation Unto the ends of the world if you were to be my Savior how how secure could I be today? How come how comforting could I be if I was in a house in our community and that was me sitting there? I'm lost. I don't even know I need to get saved I need to get saved because I'm gonna go to hell how Comforted should I be because you're out there and you're gonna get the gospel to me and you're gonna do your best to rescue me that thou shouldst speak for salvation unto the ends of the world. How hard are you working to get the gospel out? William Carey, the father of modern missions, wrote an essay. It was entitled, it was lengthy, okay, back then they didn't think succinct, alright? Big ol' title. An inquiry into the obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of the human. They were strongly Calvinistic, and so much so that William Carey brought this up, and he had an old minister say, Brother Carey, when God wants to reach the heathen, He'll do it without you and me. No, when God wants to reach the heathen, He will do it through you and me. How shall they hear without a preacher? Right? William Carey didn't just write that and get burdened about it. He became who is called the father of the modern missions movement. He translated the complete Bible into 6 languages and portions into 29 other languages. After seven years of sharing the gospel, he led one Indian man to the Lord, and over the next, or the 41 years that he was in India, he led over 700 people to Christ. And his impact was not just what he did in India, it's what is still happening today as I read his story and tell us about it. And you can say to me, but Pastor Ben, the Apostle Paul had great gifts, great abilities, great calling. God had something special for him. And you can say about William Carey, but Carey was a gifted linguist and he lost. But both of those men did their utmost for God. William Carey's the one that said, expect great... Oh, I'm gonna get it wrong, but I read it online. Expect great things for God. Attempt, I'm gonna get it. Attempt great things for God, expect great things for God. That was, expect great things for God. Look it up, all right? Look it up when you get home. Look it up, but he basically said, give your best, right? Give your best. The Apostle Paul said it this way, he said, I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God that was in me. He worked really hard to get the Gospel. You know, the result was good. Verse 49 in our text, the Word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. Can you look at a map and say, this is where the Gospel is because of what I've done? That's a sober thought, isn't it? The Bible says we're going to evangelize the world. Well, how are we doing evangelizing our Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria, let alone the other parts of the earth? How involved are we in the gospel? Please, let's just be honest and not just say, well, Pastor Ben, that's good, that's from the Bible, and I know that's abstract truth that I should think about. Let's be practical this morning and look at what we did this past week, look at what we did this past month, look at what we did this past year, and be honest with God and say, you know what, I've either done nothing for God with regard to the Gospel, I've done some things for God, or by the grace of God, I've done great things for God with the Gospel. But I'm working at it. Why? Because that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the world. What a statement. And then our final statement this morning is the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. And you might look at me and say, Pastor Ben, obviously, I mean, you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you're filled with joy, it's the fruit of the Spirit. But the context, what's the context of this statement about joy and the circumstances in which we find this statement, verse 50. It says, but the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of their coasts, but they shook off the dust of their feet against them and came unto Iconium, and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. They're rejoicing. Why? Because they're suffering for the Lord. Matthew 5 verse 11 says, Blessed are ye, happy are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say, O man, I have evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. God says be excited. It's just like those guys in the Old Testament that suffered for God. Rejoice because you're doing a good work. You are exactly what you need to be. So it's happening just like it happened to them. And I can say it like this this morning. If we are like them, we will suffer as well. If we're like them, we will suffer as well. Why? Let's go to our text. They suffered because of their identification with Jesus. Verse 50, but the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of the coast. Why? Because he's coming into the synagogue and he's saying, I'll tell you about this man. This man is Jesus. And if you don't take it, I'm going to go to these people and look how they're responding and the Jews see it and they get upset. Why? Because these men are succeeding. and giving out the message about the Lord Jesus Christ and identifying with Christ. 1 Corinthians 1.18 says, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved. It's the power of God. If we're standing with the Lord, we're going to be saying these things about Jesus. Listen, if you're not silent but speaking about God, it's going to happen. There's going to be times where, like what we talked about this morning in Sunday School, there's going to be persecution because of what you're doing for Jesus. John 15 verse 20, the Lord said, remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. So let me ask us this morning, when's the last time you suffered because you identified with Christ? You're speaking to somebody about the Lord, and they got upset. You stood up for Jesus, and you lived like the Lord, and you suffered. I was speaking with Blake this week. He shared a story with me about, in college, I think it was, taking a test. And on the test, there was a question, something like, and you have to ask Blake the details afterwards. It's kind of like that quote I tried to do before. But the test was a question that was purposely against Christians. saying that science has disproved things like the existence of God. And Blake put, no! You know what he got on that test? It was an F. It cost him a letter grade in his class, if I'm not mistaken. Why? Because he identified with the Lord. He bowed down to the world and said, well, I'm just going to agree with the world. You know, are you going to stand up for Jesus, even if it costs you? You want to be filled with the Holy Ghost and joy, that's where it's at. The Bible says 2 Timothy 3 verse 12, Yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. I can say categorically to us today, if you're not living godly in Christ Jesus, you will not suffer persecution, but if you are living godly in Christ Jesus, you will suffer persecution, because that's what the Bible says. They suffered, secondly, not just their identification with Jesus, but because of their separation from the world. It said in verse 51, But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And that may seem like a strange ritual. Pastor, what's that about? Shaking off the dust of their feet? Well, it's about what the Lord told them to do to a city that was going to be under the wrath of God because of their rejection of God's truth. The Lord told them, when you walk out of that city, shake off the dust of your feet as a testimony against them that you don't want any of that filth of which God is going to judge sticking to your feet. Because God will judge it. And if we stop and think about it this morning, God has judged sin at the cross, God will judge sinners in hell. God is against sin. So what do we want this morning? We don't want any of the dust of this world on us. And it's what the Lord spoke about as He gave them an illustration, washing their feet. The Bible says, He rises from supper. Laid aside his garments, he took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith it was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter said unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands, my hand. And Jesus said to him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. And ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him. Therefore said he, ye are not all clean. And if you're here this morning, and you've never been saved, you're like what Jesus spoke about at the end of that. He said, you are clean, but not all. Not all of you are clean. And he was speaking about Judas, the betrayer. Judas wasn't saved. You might be here today, and you don't have the joy of the Holy Ghost, and it's because of the filth of the world that is in your life, and you have not received the Holy Ghost. Right? You're not clean. But it could be as well that the filth of this world has begun to cling to your feet and it's been a long time since you've availed yourself of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and gone to Him to have that cleansing that's so necessary to our walk with God. Have you shaken off the dust of your feet this morning? Are you cleansed as the Bible desires you to be? I liked what Daniel Irvin said about the 200 miles, 200 years. It made me start thinking. You know, this morning, we've looked at some statements from the Word of God. Have any of those statements jumped out to you as something, hey, I need to think about that, I need to meditate on that, think about what it says. You might be unsaved this morning, and you need to think about, through this man, Jesus, is preaching to you the forgiveness of sins. That you can be forgiven, but it's only through Christ. Sadly, that statement, a work in which you will know why it's believed, it's one of the saddest statements we've considered this morning, that somebody is not going to come to faith in God, no matter what they hear. And yet, when somebody gets saved, praise God, we can encourage them to the importance of church, the importance of the Word of God, continuing, as Paul said, persuaded them, continuing the grace of God to come along and encourage them. And then another sad statement, you judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. Somebody that rejects the gospel, they do that. And then that statement about the gospel, taking it to the world, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the world. And that that verse is speaking about us. filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. Why? Because they identified with Christ and they suffered for it. And God was honored in that. And so, may God help us to reflect on those statements and decide, by God's grace, what we need to do according to God's word this spring. Father, I thank you for the Word of God that we've been able to consider this morning. And Father, we've covered a lot of ground and a lot of different ideas. But Father, how should they hear without a preacher? Yet sadly, they've got a preacher and they reject it anyway. And I pray there's no one like that this morning. That their heart is obstinate against God. But Father, if they're not saved, I pray they'd understand that through this man's preaching, it's been the forgiveness of sins. They could be forgiven because of what Christ did. And I pray they get that this morning. And they believe that, that they would accept that. But Father, for us as believers, help us understand the importance of being set apart unto the Lord, getting the sin of this world off of us, getting that identification with Christ, that when it's there, it's going to suffer persecution and will happen. But Father, not letting it keep us from doing what we need to do, that we take the Gospel to the world. Father, that we'd see people saved, and when they get saved, that we'd encourage them. Continue in the grace of God. Keep on up the Lord. Maybe somebody here this morning is maybe a bit discouraged, and they walk with God, and they're ready to quit, and they want to turn aside. But I pray, Father, just help them understand that it was Paul's desire, and our desire, and the desire of God, that they continue in the grace of God. And Father, may we just benefit richly from your word this morning. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Hymn 390, I surrender all, 390. 390? Will stand please and sing 390.