to the end of the book of Acts, but I'd like to read, first of all, from the beginning, in Acts chapter 1, reviewing those verses we've read so long ago. Acts chapter 1, reading the first 11 verses there, and then reading the last several verses of this book. Remember, the book of Acts is written by Luke, who had previously written his gospel account, the book of Luke. And so this is his sequel. And he says in Acts 1 verse 1, writing by the Spirit, the Word of God, Acts 1 verse 1, in the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. Until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands to the Holy Spirit, to the apostles whom he had chosen, He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. And then in turning to the end of the book, Acts chapter 28, Just to remind you where we've been here, the Apostle Paul, I recall, had been arrested, had stood before various governors and a king, and finally had been forced to appeal to Caesar because the Jews were trying to have him killed. And so they finally got aboard this ship and headed for Rome, but they faced these terrible storms and finally shipwrecked, winding up on the island of Malta. The Lord Jesus had told Paul that he would stand to bear witness before Caesar. It was Emperor Nero at this time, about AD 60, the year 60. And the Lord had told him that the whole ship's population would be saved in spite of the shipwreck. And so it was that they all came aboard on the island of Malta. They received incredible care there on Malta, and Paul healed many people. And then after the winter on Malta when the Mediterranean Sea opened up again, they were ready to sail for Rome. And so we pick it up at Acts 28 verse 11. Acts 28 verse 11. After three months on the island of Malta, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria with the twin gods as a figurehead. Putting in at Syracuse we stayed there for three days. From there we made a circuit and arrived at Regium. 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 Appius and three taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. And when he 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. 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 letters 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. When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. From morning till evening, he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement. The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet, go to this people and say, you will indeed hear, but never understand, and you will indeed see, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them. Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen." He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Amen. Well, people of God, many people puzzle over the end of the book of Acts, the conclusion. It seems, in many ways, unfinished. It seems incomplete. We wonder what happened to Paul. As we'll notice later, it is incomplete, isn't it? But it's incomplete deliberately, with a purpose, with significance. But there is a sense, of course, in which it is fully complete, isn't it? Luke, the author, has taken us on a journey that has come to its conclusion now. Luke, you remember, in writing this book, began at chapter one with that wonderful sentence, saying that in his first book, he dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach until he was taken up. And with that opening sentence, he is implying that this second book he writes is about what Jesus Christ continues to do and to teach now from heaven. And then, through the mouth of Jesus here, Luke records what will be the program for the witnesses of Christ, that they'll receive the Holy Spirit, the power to bear witness, and then they will be the witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and then in Judea, the surrounding region, and then in Samaria, which had the mixed race of Jew-Gentile, and then to the ends of the earth. that the witnesses, by God's providence, a leading of a spirit, follow. And Luke has traced it out. The gospel has been proclaimed in Jerusalem. When Pentecost comes in Acts 2 and the spirit is poured out, they bear bold witness in Jerusalem and 3,000 are saved. And that word begins to spread throughout Judea. And eventually it's going into Samaria. And then beyond that, suddenly there are Gentiles hearing the words and Gentile congregations coming. And the Apostle Paul, his ministries have been traced, his missionary journeys, three of them. And now finally in Acts 28, the Apostle Paul comes to Rome. By one view, it could be considered the end of the earth. By another view, it could be the gateway into the ends of the earth. But Luke has brought us to the conclusion. And tonight, we see that Christ victoriously brings his ambassador here to Caesar City. Christ brings his ambassador to Caesar City to do what? Well, to declare Christ's kingship. Notice, first of all, the welcome of the royal family that Paul receives. Notice, secondly, the warning against rebellious citizens that Paul gives, and notice the wings of the King's Word as it goes forward. Those three things we consider tonight. The welcome of the royal family, the warning against rebellious citizens, and the wings of the King's Word. Well, after three months there on the island of Malta where they had shipwrecked, It's time to set sail again, and there is another ship that's been taking refuge there for the winter, an Alexandrian ship, probably another one of the Alexandrian fleet that brought grain from Egypt to Italy. And Luke makes the interesting note in verse 11 that this Alexandrian ship that they're going to get aboard apparently has room for them, has the twin gods of figurehead, the so-called heavenly twins, Castor and Pollux. on the ship's prow. Now, commentators puzzle over why Luke includes that detail. Is it just no good author adding a bit of color and detail to the story? I'm not sure that's the case. What Luke records here is really nothing unusual. These so-called gods were believed to be the gods of the sea, the gods of navigation, the gods of shipwrecked sailors, and the gods of protection upon the waters. To have them carved in the front of a ship was not so unusual at all. But I think Luke records this here perhaps. to show us that in spite of all that has just happened, and the miracle God has worked, delivering all these people of the ship, the sailors, and the Roman guards, and the prisoners, delivering all 273 of them from death, that still as Paul continues his journey, it's a journey in this world, a world that refuses to bow. We might have expected after three months on this little island, and everybody has surely heard the story about Paul telling them while they're on the ship that we're gonna run aground, we're gonna be shipwrecked, but my God's gonna save all of you, and this happening, and then Paul doing miracles on the island and proclaiming Christ, that maybe now the first thing they do when they hop aboard this ship to sail off is rip down these gods and proclaim that Paul's God is Lord. But that's not what happens. The world continues on. They hop aboard a ship, in spite of all that miraculous salvation and revelation, and off they sail with another band of idolatrous, superstitious sailors. And isn't that the way it goes in this world? that no matter how much revelation the Lord God gives to us, no matter how much preaching of the gospel there is, no matter how many there are who are converted to Christ, yet the church presses on in a world that refuses to give up her idols in spite of all the evidence of God's reign. In spite of the reality that Paul's God is the king of the ocean, that Christ is able to calm a sea or to save a shipwrecked population, the world stands firm, bowing beneath their idols. And so it is, we as the church continue on. We sit on the bus next to somebody who worships idols. We jump on the airplane next to somebody who believes in false gods. The church presses on in this world. We don't become proud even though we know, like Paul, that Christ reigns over the sea, not Castor and Pollux. The believer lives with eyes that behold a far different world, a far different kingdom. We know who the king is. And the reign of the Lord Jesus becomes visible, not just through the preaching of the gospel, but even through the lives of God's people, through their confidence like Paul had. and through their faithfulness to their Savior. And that's what we read of next, and the story is so, so fascinating, that as they depart Malta here, they make their way north. First, from the island of Malta, they head north there to Sicily and put in at Syracuse. Then they come to Regium on the toe of the boot of Italy, and then they pass between Sicily and Italy and arrive at Pedioli, about 100 or 130 miles south of Rome, and now they're gonna make the rest of the journey on foot. But there at Peuta Olai are Christians who invite them to stay for a week. Isn't that marvelous that here the Apostle Paul comes and there's believers he's never met before and they say not only to Paul but to the prisoners and to the Roman Guard, stay with us for a week. And we wonder, of course, what in the world is going through Julius, the centurion's mind, that he apparently gives permission? Maybe it sounds good to rest up for a week before marching 130 miles up to Rome. One author writes, what the centurion or the other prisoners will have thought of being put up by the local Christians, we have no idea. But they must by now have realized that they were either dreaming or taking part in a very strange journey with an exceedingly strange prisoner. Indeed, after all they'd been through, after all those horrendous winds, and the revelation Paul gave, and the miracle of being saved through the shipwreck, and Paul being bit by that viper, and nothing happening to him, and Paul healing people on the island, and then the natives loading up their ship when they sailed off with all these goods and foods, it was a strange journey indeed. But not only do they stay a week there with the believers, as they begin to make their way towards Rome, something happens. Verse 15, and the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and the three taverns to meet us. That's remarkable. The fact that there's Christians in Rome, we already knew that, right? The Apostle Paul had written a couple years earlier already that letter to the Romans saying how he longed to visit them. But isn't it amazing here that they come out? They come out some 43 miles from Rome to meet Paul. And another group comes out some 30 miles from Rome at the three taverns to meet Paul. And what a sight this is. Just imagine again Julius the Centurion and the Roman guard as they see these Christians coming out and hugging Paul and rejoicing in him. And he's thinking, who are these people? How do they know Paul? Why do they love Paul? What is it about Paul? Julius and the other Romans had perhaps witnessed something like this before when a visiting dignitary had come to Rome. Maybe they had received a warm greeting. Maybe the officials of Rome had gone out to them and welcomed them and brought them in. Someone has suggested that the Roman citizens of Paul's day would have been well acquainted with something like this when a general would have come back from battle. They might go out to greet him and to give him a hero's welcome and then parade him into the city and behind him in chains would be the captives that he had taken in battle. But what a sight this is. The Apostle Paul receiving a hero's welcome, though he is the one in chains. The Apostle Paul welcomed as the victor, though he is bound. But he is Christ's ambassador, the Christ who was so willingly humiliated, the Prince of life who gave his life for our sins. And here as Christ's ambassador comes now, the Apostle Paul representing Christ. These saints of Rome, they greet him as if he were, right? The Christ in human flesh, it's Jesus and his Apostle coming to them. Christ is ascended to the throne above and now sends his representative to meet them. What does all this show us? That we see Christians here living in Roman, Roman territory and the Roman capital, fully aware that there's a greater reality than Emperor Nero. There's a more powerful man than the Caesar. Fully aware that they serve the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, who though murdered lives and reigns. And they reveal that their deepest allegiance is not to Roman citizenry or to the Roman gods or to the Roman emperor, but their greatest allegiance is to the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember what the writer of Hebrews had said? He said, so Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore, let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. What a sight to see these brothers and sisters in the Lord running to Paul the prisoner, boldly and cheerfully identifying with Christ's ambassador. Paul would later write to Timothy, in 2 Timothy, therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel. And indeed, this is the way that Christ through his church appears upon the earth, in weakness, in chains, in humiliation, but this does not offend the believer, does it? because we see a reality that many cannot see. Though the clouds have hid Christ from our eyes physically, we through the word, we see through the clouds Jesus Christ at God's right hand. What a wonderful thing it is that the power of Christ and the fruit of his spirit is so evident here. that these believers so love the Apostle Paul. A man they've never met, but oh, how they rejoice to see him. Perhaps his epistle they have read and how they've longed and waited to meet him. And oh, what a family. You see, this is the royal family living in Rome. It's not Nero's family. It's not the magistrate's family, it's Christ's family. This is the royal family who knows the true king. And what a royal family it is. Remember how Acts began in chapter 2 when the spirit was poured out, the kind of family that's created there? What a glorious sight as these saints come together and they begin to sell things and they care for each other. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God. This was the family that the Spirit creates. What an amazing thing it is for all of us that wherever we travel and come on a Lord's Day to a church where there are Christians, we find ourselves greeted and often receive warm hospitality. And even perhaps as you travel in other countries and other lands, you feel a kinship with those you meet who are Christians, who are part of the royal family. What a glorious sight this is and how it encourages Paul's heart. We read, on seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. What a breath of fresh air, what a shot in the arm here. We see the work of God's spirit. to see living evidence that Christ is alive and well, that he has a people who love him and serve him. But then against that backdrop comes an apostate family. Notice the warning to the rebellious citizens. We read in verse 17 that after three days there in Rome, Paul being allowed not to live in the prison, but allowed to stay by himself with Roman soldiers guarding him. Perhaps every four hours a new shift, another guard who would be chained at the wrist with the Apostle Paul. And he's allowed to stay in his own place under house arrest. And after three days, he calls for the local leaders of the Jews. Remember Paul's method. Everywhere he's gone on his missionary journeys, the first thing he does when he gets into town is what? He goes to the local synagogue. And here in Rome, there were plenty of Jews. There were dozens of synagogues, perhaps. Of course, Paul can't go to any one of them. So instead, he sends out invitations to all of them to come and visit him. He's already borne witness in the letter to the Romans of how he loves his Jews and how his heart's longing for them is that they would be saved. And so he begins with the covenant people to declare to them that Jesus the Messiah has come, the long-awaited Christ is here. Though Paul's been run out of plenty of synagogues by now and faced all kinds of persecution because of the Jews, still he loves them. But still Christ reaches out to them. So Paul explains to the Jews that he's been delivered up by the Jews to the Romans, so he did nothing wrong. He did not oppose the Old Testament. He did not war against the customs of our fathers. And he has nothing to accuse his people of, but he had to appeal to Caesar because they wanted to kill him. So they come to Paul on another day with great numbers. And Paul preaches to them all day long from morning until evening. What a sermon. Reasoning with them, perhaps, debating with them, answering their questions, but expounding to them the word, testifying to the kingdom of God, verse 23, and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. And what is the kingdom of God? Remember that again? Boys and girls, the kingdom of God, we hear that language, we use that language, we pray, and the Lord's prayer, thy kingdom come, but the kingdom of God is the reign or rule of Christ. It's the kingship of Christ. It's the reign of God's grace breaking into our world. You see, the Jews had been waiting, hadn't they, for the great son of David to come. They'd been waiting for the kingdom of God to come. They were under the thumb of Rome. They were being ruled by the Roman Empire and they could not wait for their king to appear and to defeat their enemies. And Paul says the king has come and he is coming again. And he's Jesus of Nazareth who is the son of God and the son of Mary and the son of David that he's come to bring a kingdom of peace. Not in the way maybe you expected. His first act is not to cut down the enemies. His first act is to let himself be cut down on the cross. His first act is not to sit in a throne of gold. His first act is to reign from an instrument of death, a cruel cross. Jesus Christ bearing our guilt and our sin and God's curse. Jesus Christ coming in human flesh, dying our death, raised from the dead, seated on the throne, pouring out His Spirit. This is the kingdom of God. Paul sought to convince them from the scriptures. And you would expect, wouldn't you, as he reasons with them from the law of Moses and from the prophets, all day long, that these who were the heirs of the kingdom, the children of God, the children of the covenant, who had been waiting for thousands of years for the Messiah to come, who had studied the Old Testament scriptures, and now had a rabbi before them proclaiming by the power of the Spirit that Jesus the Christ has come, you'd expect and believe. Some do. But others disbelieved. But others disbelieved. Maybe a whole lot of them, maybe the majority of them. And they proved to be apostate. Because you see, you can say whatever you want about believing the true religion, but if that religion is not in Jesus Christ, it's false. And Paul says in Romans a couple years earlier, he says that they've tried to establish their own righteousness. They're not falling upon Jesus and saying, we're helpless sinners and our life is found only in you who died for our sins. But the Jews have twisted this religion, so many of them, to become a religion of works, a religion of human effort. And now when a crucified Messiah comes, they can't humble themselves to accept it. About ten years from this sermon, Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Romans in a fearsome, grisly, disgusting annihilation. And it will be God's wrath upon His covenant people because He came to His own and His own would not receive Him. Paul says, therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, they will listen. Over and over through Acts it's been this, the Jews won't hear, Paul turns to the Gentiles. And yet we know that Paul says through the salvation coming to the Gentiles, many Jews will be provoked and made jealous and come then to Christ. But what a warning for us tonight, the covenant people, who have heard the word proclaimed, who have heard so many words of gospel announced to us. If our religion is not one by which we fall upon Christ and say, you are all my righteousness, then our religion is phony. And if our hearts are hard and if we're proud people, that we can't humble and confess our sin, that we find ourselves getting angry at people and getting angry at people. So much pride in our hearts and we have to ask the question, have we met the Lord Jesus? Have we fought on our faces before? Have we announced that my righteousness is nothing that I've attained? I could never attain it. My record of sins is overwhelming. I need a crucified Messiah. I need someone to pay my debt. Because in the end, you see, the gospel having come all the way from Jerusalem to Rome, Christ still seeking his covenant people. If after this they won't hear the gospel, what's left? What's left? But the Lord's wrath. This is a warning to pretenders. This is a warning to the unbelieving family of the kingdom, who may have had all the rights and all the privileges and all of the promises, but when the king now comes, it becomes clear that they are treacherous. When the king comes marching into town, all they've said about believing on him is proven to be utterly worthless. And what will be for you and me when Jesus Christ returns? After all the Sunday night services we've gone to and all the professions we've made, when Christ appears, will it all be shown to be emptiness? Or instead tonight do we say, I rejoice. Truly Jesus is mine and I am his. He is all my righteousness. Those are the people that Christ is making for himself. And that's why this book ends with this glorious note then, where we see the power of the word moving forward. Notice finally tonight the wings of the king's word As you come to those last two verses of the book of Acts, again, there are those who are perplexed, even disturbed by how this book ends. Some puzzle over it. Some suggest maybe Luke was planning to write a third volume. But we must remember tonight, it was never Luke's intention to write a biography of Paul. Luke's intention from the beginning was to proclaim the progress of the gospel and the works of Christ from heaven. And he is describing in this book how that word has moved forward. In fact, he's used even phrases like that, the word increased, right? And he gave special attention to two apostles, Peter and then Paul as two witnesses of the risen Lord who bore faithful witness to the living Savior. And now as Luke comes to wrap it up, he writes at verse 30 that the Apostle Paul, he lived there two whole years at his own expense in Rome and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Boldness, that has been a mark of Christ's apostles throughout, hasn't it? Think of the 12 in Acts 4 with boldness preaching the Lord Jesus Christ and in Acts 4 the church gathers in praise for greater boldness to go on preaching. To speak boldly is to speak candidly and confidently and clearly about Christ's reign, about Christ's salvation in Him and nowhere else. And Luke says that he preached without hindrance. Though Paul was chained to a Roman guard and though he was confined to his house, the authorities apparently did not try to curtail or ban his preaching, but he could freely announce to anyone who came to him Jesus Christ and his kingship. And it's even interesting, isn't it, to imagine for a moment what it was like for those guards to be chained to Paul. Talk about a captive audience. Imagine the discussions that went on back in the locker room when they went home to change and the next guard was coming on duty. To be chained to Paul for four hours and to listen to him preach or to hear him write an epistle. Paul always speaking about the Lord, always praying to the Lord, always singing about the Lord. And Paul, as he wrote those prison epistles, Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians and Philemon. Those epistles he penned while in this house in Rome. He could say in Philippians 1 how through his imprisonment it has been for the advance of the gospel that the imperial guard has come to know that he's in prison for Christ. You can imagine many coming to the Apostle Paul with their questions or wanting to hear the Gospel. Even that Onesimus, remember that runaway slave meets Paul. It's converted and sent back to Philemon. And Paul here making the most of every opportunity. And Paul, interestingly, in those prison epistles, what is the note that he sounds so frequently? In Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians, but he testifies to the reign of Christ, that Christ is upon the throne. Paul's seated here in the very capital of the Roman Empire, and he writes testifying that Christ is the king, Christ is on the throne. The apostle Paul knows full well that though he's chained to a Roman, he's actually free, he's actually at liberty because the world is in Christ's hands. And what confidence then for the progress of the word and the advance of the kingdom. There's no power in the world that could hold back the word. There's no opposition, there's no human force, there's no demonic force that could stop the progress of the gospel. And so you come to the end of the book of Acts and now you can look backwards and trace out now and see those hidden footprints of God that everything has been worked out just according to God's plan. Was it not God's plan? Did not he call the apostle Paul to bear witness before kings? And now through all these strange missionary journeys and imprisonments and beatings and storms and shipwreck and all these events, everything has been, as it turns out, right on schedule. But here at the heart of the world's empire is the witness of Jesus, boldly and without hindrance, proclaiming the reign of Christ Jesus. And we're reminded that not just for an apostle, but for the whole church, and therefore for every believer, everything is on schedule. And every detail of our lives is not happenstance or chance, but it's all planned by the living God and executed by Jesus Christ down to the smallest detail. the progress of the gospel in the world, and the work of the church, the way nations rise and nations fall, and presidents come and presidents go, and missionaries are sent out, and missionaries are forced back, and missionaries are killed, and missionaries are raised up. It's all perfectly planned and governed by our God. But as we stand at the end of this book, we also look forward. We wonder perhaps why Luke doesn't tell us what happened to Paul. Since we know that had Luke waited perhaps a year or two, then he could have told us what most likely happened, that Paul stood before Caesar and was vindicated and set free. According to the early historian Eusebius, the Apostle Paul was released from this imprisonment And then a couple years later, re-arrested, imprisoned in Rome, and executed. You read the book of Philippians, and he writes from this imprisonment, and he seems quite confident he's gonna be set free. But then you read 2 Timothy, when Paul writes perhaps his last epistle to Timothy, he says he's being poured out, his end has come, the time of his departure, he's apparently gonna be executed now. Why doesn't Luke wait a bit and tell us the rest of the story? Instead, this book ends with a kind of open-endedness, doesn't it? But it's deliberate, I believe. God doesn't want Luke to conclude this book with some well-rounded conclusion or some sentimental, they all lived happily ever. It all worked out for Paul. No, it's not about the apostle Paul, isn't it, but about the Lord Jesus and the progress of his gospel. So the book ends with unanswered questions. The book ends with a look towards the future. The book ends with a sense that business is unfinished. Because until Jesus Christ comes back, that is the case. For him to write, Paul bore witness and was vindicated. The end, is that the end? Is that the end of history? Is that the end of the mission of the church? Is that the end of our cause? Now we can all sit idly back till Jesus comes again? Of course not. The preaching must go on. The witness must continue. The church must move forward. Rome is not the end. Caesar is not the end. Paul's mission is not the end. But Rome is the gateway to the ends of the earth. So Luke's open-endedness seems deliberate, by which he's putting the question now to his readers and to the church throughout the ages, asking, and where are you? saying, are you doing your part? Asking, have you joined the effort? Are you part of the story? For those who are beat down and wearied by fears of persecution, Luke has told us how Christ has carried his apostle through it, beatings and shipwrecks, stoning, hunger, nakedness. For those who are Perhaps in our culture, discouraged by hard hearts, Luke has revealed to us that there are many who oppose the gospel, even Jews who know the whole Testament and won't receive it, but it doesn't mean Christ is weak or his gospel is without effect. For those who think it's all taking too long, Luke shows us Paul sitting under house arrest. from AD 60 to 62. Nothing moves as fast as we might expect or want. But Luke ends with this note, Jesus Christ being preached with all boldness and without hindrance. Our eyes are not left upon the Apostle Paul, but upon the invincible word of the Lord Jesus Christ, upon the irresistible victory of his gospel. by which we are summoned to take an enthusiastic interest with prayer and with giving and with service and with giving a reason for our hope to take up our part and to join the story. As we sit here tonight, what has the book of Acts done for you? Has it encouraged you? Has it spurred you on? Has it set your eyes upon your king seated in the heavens? Where are you in this great unfolding story of thy kingdom come? May God, through his word, grant us the eagerness and the self-sacrifice and the confidence and courage to take up our cause at this time and this place, amen. Our Father in heaven, how we thank you for this story, this unfinished story, and how we thank you, O Lord, for the place you've given to us. We pray that your word would give us bold confidence in Jesus Christ and that you, by your spirit, as only you can do, would motivate our hearts and move us forward. O God, give us eyes to behold opportunities. Give us diligence in prayer. Give us eagerness, O Lord, to give of ourselves We pray that the reign of the Lord Jesus would continue to extend as his gospel is proclaimed. In his name we give thanks to him. Father, we thank you for this time you have granted us in this book. For Jesus' sake, amen.