Participants:
Series Code: HC
Program Code: HC180010A
|
00:25 Welcome to 3ABN's Fall Camp Meeting,
00:28 Homecoming 2018. 00:33 Featuring inspired messages from your 3ABN family 00:37 and uplifting Christian music, all to prepare your heart 00:42 for the coming of the Lord. 00:46 Hello and welcome to our Fall Homecoming 2018. 00:51 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath. 00:53 Happy Sabbath, panel. Happy Sabbath. 00:55 Happy Sabbath to you at home. 00:59 What an incredible privilege and blessing to be able 01:02 to open up God's Word on His holy day 01:06 and to study together. 01:08 This is our Sabbath School panel, 01:10 and normally, when we do the Sabbath School panel, 01:12 we're just looking into a camera lens, 01:14 into a camera screen, but today is Camp Meeting, 01:18 and we have our 3ABN family with us now, 01:21 and we're so excited. 01:22 We are on lesson number 13. 01:24 It's the very last lesson of our journey 01:28 through the Book of Acts. 01:30 Before we get into that, 01:32 I want to introduce our panel at this time. 01:34 To my left is Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:37 Pastor John Dinzey, Miss Mollie Steenson, 01:41 and Pastor Ryan Day who is a newbie, 01:44 you could say, on the 3ABN Sabbath School panel. 01:48 We already actually recorded quarter number four, 01:51 we already did it, and Ryan was on that panel. 01:54 So you get to see him. And he did an incredible job. 01:57 Each one of these men and women are anointed, 02:00 and the Lord uses them in a powerful way. 02:02 And I'm so blessed to share and serve with each one of you. 02:06 Before we go any further, 02:08 we want to go to the Lord in prayer. 02:10 And, Pastor Kenny, would you pray 02:12 for us this morning? 02:14 Let's pray, shall we? 02:15 Our kind loving Heavenly Father, 02:17 as we approach Your throne on this special Sabbath day, 02:21 we come to give You praise, give You honor, give You glory. 02:23 Thank You for who You are. 02:25 Thank You that You love us with an everlasting love. 02:27 Thank You for second chances. 02:29 Thank You for the opportunity and privilege to come together 02:32 to study Your Word today. 02:34 We're promised from the Word of God, 02:36 where two or three are gathered together, 02:37 there You will be in our midst. 02:39 We invite the Holy Spirit now, again, 02:41 to take possession of each and every one of us, 02:43 not just those who are here on the panel 02:45 but each and every one that sits here together 02:48 and, of course, the invitation comes from all of heaven, 02:51 come down and dwell among us, give us wisdom, 02:53 give us strength, give us courage, 02:55 give us the message that needs to be brought forth 02:57 from our lesson today. 02:59 We give You praise and we thank You again. 03:01 Bless us now and may we... 03:03 As we turn ourselves over to the power of thy Holy Spirit, 03:07 may we realize that it is You living in us 03:09 and that You'll bring forth those things 03:11 that someone needs to hear today 03:13 and will bring us closer to Jesus Christ. 03:15 We thank You and praise You. In Jesus' name. 03:17 Amen. Amen. 03:18 This quarter, we're studying the Book of Acts. 03:20 And when I think of Acts, I think of the outpouring 03:23 of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and, as it were, 03:26 the birth of the new church. 03:29 Then the expansion of that church 03:31 and the persecution that began with Stephen 03:34 and the spread of the Gospel. 03:36 I think of the conversion of Paul and the Gospel 03:40 going to the Gentile world and then becoming Christians. 03:44 I think of the issues, Pastor Kenny, 03:46 and the challenges that arose in the early church, 03:50 whether Gentiles could become Christians. 03:53 And the entire issue they discussed 03:54 at the Jerusalem Council over circumcision 03:57 and if Gentiles had to be circumcised 04:00 in order to become a Christian. 04:02 I think of Paul's three missionary journeys 04:05 and his arrest in Jerusalem 04:07 and then his final journey to Rome. 04:10 The whole book of Acts, the 30 years it spans 04:14 from the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ 04:16 to Paul's imprisonment there, it's really about evangelism. 04:21 The entire Book of Acts is about the spread of the Gospel. 04:27 What is the hindrance to the spread of the Gospel? 04:30 I would submit to you today that the only limitation 04:33 to sharing the Gospel is two things. 04:36 There's two variables in that. 04:38 First is my own willingness to share. 04:41 Second is another person's willingness to hear. 04:45 Those are the two variables. 04:48 My willingness or unwillingness to share. 04:52 You know, sometimes, I'm unwilling to share 04:54 because I'm unworthy. 04:56 I think I'm not good enough to share 04:59 or maybe it's my inability, "I'm not qualified to share." 05:03 Maybe it's my fear, "I'm afraid to speak for Jesus, 05:08 I'm afraid to share." 05:09 Maybe it's my failure, "I've messed up 05:13 before trying to evangelize. 05:14 I surely can't do it again." 05:18 Maybe it's my apathy and indifference. 05:20 Have you ever been there? 05:22 I don't even love other people enough to want 05:26 to share the Gospel with them. 05:27 Sometimes, I'm even ashamed to admit this, 05:31 it has been my disobedience and my rebellion, 05:35 I refuse to share when the Lord Jesus 05:38 has asked me to. 05:40 So no matter what state you find yourself in today, 05:43 God can forgive, and change, and cleanse, 05:47 and give us a passion to share the Gospel. 05:51 That's the first variable, my willingness to share. 05:54 The second variable is another person's 05:57 willingness to receive. 06:00 That too is dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit. 06:04 My God says, "A new heart also I will give you, 06:07 and a new spirit I will put within you, 06:09 I will take away the stony heart, 06:11 I will give you a heart of flesh." 06:13 My God says, "Whoever comes to Me, 06:16 I will never cast aside." 06:18 My God says, "I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, 06:22 is there anything too hard for Me?" 06:25 My God says, "I will make rivers 06:27 and streams of water in the desert." 06:30 My God says, "I will write My law in your heart 06:33 and in your mind." 06:35 My God says, "If anyone is in Christ, 06:38 he or she is a new creation, old things have passed away. 06:44 Behold, all things have become new." 06:48 God can work on people's hearts anytime, anywhere. 06:52 Stephen was stoned to death. 06:54 Now he was willing to share, but it appeared like 06:57 the other people were not willing to receive 07:01 because they killed him. 07:02 But yet, Paul was convicted and converted. 07:06 Paul was stoned when he was in Lystra 07:08 on his first missionary journey. 07:10 He was willing to share, but it seemed like 07:12 the other people didn't want to receive. 07:14 But yet, when he came 07:16 on the second missionary journey, 07:17 Timothy joined the work at that time. 07:21 I think of the Lord Jesus Christ, 07:22 He was willing to share and yet, at the cross, 07:27 everybody forsook Him and fled. 07:30 It seemed like they were not willing to receive. 07:34 And what happened? 07:36 In a matter of a few years, the entire world 07:38 was turned upside down 07:41 'cause people were willing to receive. 07:43 Now the last couple weeks, we looked at Paul, 07:46 remember he returned from the third missionary journey, 07:49 he was arrested in Jerusalem, he spent two years in prison 07:52 in Caesarea, he appeared before Festus, and Felix, 07:56 and King Agrippa. 07:58 And Agrippa said, "You almost persuade me 08:01 to become a Christian." 08:03 And then Agrippa said to Festus, 08:05 remember at the end of Acts 26, "This man might have been 08:08 set free but yet he appealed to Caesar." 08:11 So lesson 13 has to do with Paul as a prisoner, 08:15 making the journey to Rome. 08:18 This took place in the fall of AD 60. 08:21 There's a little differentiation maybe, 08:23 but for the purposes we're using today, 08:25 we're going to say it was the fall of AD 60 08:27 and he arrived in Rome in the spring of AD 60. 08:30 It was a journey of 2,300 miles. 08:34 Mercy. And a long journey. 08:36 And a lot of things occurred during that journey. 08:39 So let's turn to Acts 27. 08:41 I have the first portion before we get to the shipwreck. 08:44 Acts 27. 08:47 And I want to look at four snapshots of the journey. 08:51 We're going to look at the prologue, 08:53 the beginning of the journey, the perplexity, 08:57 the problem and decision that arose, 09:00 the problem and then the promise. 09:02 So the four snapshots are the prologue, 09:05 the perplexity, the problem, and the promise. 09:10 So let's look at the prologue. 09:11 This is a journey from Caesarea to Crete. 09:14 Acts 27:1. 09:16 "And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, 09:18 they delivered Paul and some other prisoners 09:20 to one named Julius, 09:22 a centurion of the Augustan regiment." 09:25 Now a centurion commanded probably 100 soldiers. 09:28 Some references say 80, but maybe 80 to 100 soldiers. 09:31 And the centurions always led their men from the front. 09:35 So you can imagine, there was a high turnover rate 09:39 because a great deal of them gave their lives, 09:42 they led their men from the front. 09:43 So Julius was a centurion. 09:46 He was a Roman, and he was a kind... 09:48 as we're going to discover in the story, 09:50 a kind and fair centurion. 09:54 We believe Luke went on this journey, 09:56 it's written we, and Luke traveled 09:59 with Paul as a prisoner. 10:00 Let's look at verse 2. 10:02 "So entering into ship, we put to sea, 10:04 meaning to sail along the coast of Asia, Aristarchus, 10:07 a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us." 10:10 Now who is Aristarchus? 10:13 In Greek, it comes from two words, aristos and arcos. 10:19 Aristos meeting best, arcos meaning leader. 10:21 So literally, that means he was the best leader. 10:24 Paul had first met him on his third missionary journey. 10:29 And he's mentioned there in the Book of Acts 10:31 as traveling with Paul. 10:33 Then we see the second mention here. 10:35 And the next mention of him is as a fellow prisoner 10:39 in the Book of Colossians and the Book of Philemon. 10:41 He's mentioned as a fellow prisoner of Paul. 10:44 So I don't know for sure, but maybe he was actually 10:47 traveling as a prisoner at this time with Paul. 10:50 Verse 3. 10:52 "And the next day we landed at Sidon," 10:54 Sidon's probably 70 miles north of 10:57 where they were in Caesarea, 10:58 "and Julius treated Paul kindly, 11:00 and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care." 11:03 There again, we see the fairness 11:05 and the kindness of this centurion. 11:08 "When we had put to sea from there, 11:10 we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus," 11:14 we sailed under in Greek, literally means, 11:16 we sailed close by. 11:18 So they sailed close by the Island of Cyprus. 11:21 And why did they do that? 11:23 Because the winds were contrary, 11:26 which means hostile. 11:28 So the winds were not so good. Now I'm terrible on a boat. 11:35 I just want you all to know that. 11:36 I am... I get seasick. 11:38 I mean, I get seasick really bad. 11:41 So if I were on that and the winds were hostile, 11:45 I can't even imagine. 11:46 I get sick on a calm river. 11:48 I mean, I just could not handle that. 11:50 So the winds were contrary. 11:52 They sailed close to the island. 11:55 "And when we sailed over the sea 11:56 which is of Cilicia and Pamphylia, 11:58 we came to Myra, a city of Lycia." 12:01 Myra is the southwest part of Asia Minor or Turkey. 12:05 Then they boarded an Alexandrian ship. 12:08 Now Alexandria was an important city 12:10 that supplied Rome with grain. 12:12 This is a large ship. 12:13 There were 276 passengers onboard the ship. 12:17 And they had a great deal of cargo 12:20 'cause they lightened the ship several times 12:22 and they even tossed the grain overboard. 12:25 Well, that's the prologue, the beginning to the story. 12:27 Now we have the perplexity. What happens next, verse 9. 12:31 "When much time had been spent and sailing was now dangerous 12:35 because the fast was already over, 12:37 Paul advised them saying, 12:38 'Men, I perceive that this voyage 12:40 will end with disaster and much loss, 12:42 not only of the cargo in ship but also our lives."' 12:45 Now the fast that he's referring to 12:47 is the Day of Atonement that took place from, what, 12:50 mid-September to mid-October. 12:51 So we're talking late fall by this time. 12:54 Not that the Day of Atonement 12:56 took a whole month to take place, 12:57 I just mean every year 12:58 it was a slightly different day. 13:00 So they said... 13:01 And travel in the Mediterranean summer 13:03 is the best time to travel, once you hit September 14 13:07 to November 11, travel is risky. 13:11 You get to November 11 and travel is life-threatening. 13:14 And Paul's saying, "Wait a minute, guys, 13:16 maybe we should hold up here 13:18 and stay here and spend the winter." 13:21 That is the perplexity. Then we have the problem. 13:26 The centurion listened to the officers of the ship, 13:29 Pastor Kenny, and they decided to pursue, and what happened? 13:33 We know the story, a violent storm arose. 13:36 Yes. 13:38 And they feared for their lives. 13:39 It says in verse 20, "When neither sun 13:41 nor stars appeared for many days, 13:43 no small tempest beat on us, 13:44 all hope that we would be saved was given up." 13:48 They were completely discouraged 13:49 and thought they were going to die. 13:51 And then the Lord gave the promise. 13:55 Acts 27:23. 13:57 Paul says, "There stood by me this night 13:59 an angel of the God to whom I belong 14:02 and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul, 14:05 you must be brought before Caesar 14:08 and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you."' 14:13 So in my remaining time before Pastor Kenny picks up, 14:16 what are the takeaways from this lesson? 14:19 I came up with three. 14:21 Number one, everyone has an influence. 14:24 Yes. 14:25 Paul wasn't a leader on the ship. 14:27 He was not even a paying passenger. 14:29 He was a prisoner. 14:30 Yet, his influence was powerfully felt. 14:34 Yes. 14:35 You have an influence over other people. 14:37 It doesn't matter your money. It doesn't matter your status. 14:40 It doesn't matter your position. 14:43 It doesn't even matter who you are. 14:45 It matters who you know. 14:48 Paul had influence because he was connected 14:51 to the Lord Jesus Christ. 14:53 Number two, anyone can witness anytime, anywhere. 14:58 Amen. 14:59 We already discussed Paul was a prisoner. 15:01 I don't know if he was seasick. 15:03 And the leadership, remember, he had counseled to winter 15:05 in this one place, the leadership 15:07 had overruled his counsel, 15:09 that's not the perfect conditions 15:11 to be a witness when people are against you, 15:13 and maybe you're not feeling so good, 15:15 and life isn't treating you well, and yet, 15:17 in spite of that, he lived a Christian life 15:21 and he witnessed. 15:22 Number three, nothing can keep God 15:25 from fulfilling His purpose or His promise, 15:29 not the winds or the waves, 15:31 nor the fear and hopelessness, nor even shipwreck. 15:35 God had called Paul. 15:37 Remember He said, "You're going to go witness 15:39 for Me in Rome"? 15:41 Nothing. 15:43 Satan tried, couldn't prevent God's purposes 15:45 from being fulfilled in his life. 15:47 So what is God's purpose in your life? 15:49 God's purpose in your life is to save you. 15:51 He's not willing that any should perish 15:53 but that all should come to repentance. 15:55 God's purpose in your life is to forgive you. 15:58 If we confess our sins, He's faithful 16:00 and just to forgive us and to cleanse us 16:02 from all unrighteousness. 16:04 God's purpose in your life is to transform you. 16:07 "Be not conformed to this world, 16:09 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 16:12 God's purpose is to make you entirely new. 16:16 If anyone's in Christ, he or she is a new creation. 16:20 And why does God do that? Why does He forgive us? 16:22 Why does He save us? Why does He transform us? 16:25 Why does He make us new? 16:28 To enable you and I to be His witness. 16:32 We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 16:36 His own special people, why? 16:39 So that we can proclaim the praises of Him 16:41 who called us out of darkness into this marvelous light. 16:46 Pastor Kenny, you have the shipwreck. 16:49 Thank you. I think she covered it well. 16:51 Praise God. 16:53 That now gives us a lot to think about, 16:55 and it's certainly a good solid foundation. 16:57 Thank you for that. 16:59 You know, again, the privilege just having Monday's lesson 17:01 is the shipwreck. 17:03 And what's the first thing I think about, shipwreck, 17:05 I keep thinking about disaster, I keep thinking about deaths, 17:08 and destruction, and so on first comes 17:10 in your mind when you think about a shipwreck. 17:12 But this lesson, at least to me, 17:14 brings out several points and maybe a couple. 17:16 I'll just mention here. 17:17 I think one of them is that, you know, 17:19 that God always has a plan. 17:23 God always has a plan. 17:24 And it's always interesting for us, 17:26 and He's never caught off-guard. 17:29 He's always prepared. He has a plan. 17:31 He wants to see us participate in that plan. 17:34 But, you know, we find out that sometimes we have plans. 17:39 But our plans need tweaking. 17:42 You know, we need adjustments. 17:44 God's plan never needs adjustments 17:46 'cause His plan is always correct 17:48 and it's always true. 17:49 But with us, sometimes we have to make some changes. 17:51 So again, shipwreck here is just an interesting thing 17:54 to me, at least in my mind, 'cause I like boats, 17:57 but I get easily seasick too. 17:59 But I try to fight it sometimes, you know, 18:01 to get on them, put little patches on here 18:04 and little patches back here and try to get 18:06 through without getting sick. 18:08 But I like boats. 18:10 And this boat here seemed to me, that it must be, 18:13 you mentioned a big boat. 18:15 It seemed that it could be at least over 200 feet long. 18:18 You studied a little bit about 200... 18:21 Weighed probably over 1,200 tons. 18:24 So it wasn't just a little bitty boat out there 18:27 being tossed around. 18:28 This was a big boat. 18:29 And there was... 18:31 Naturally, we had the prisoners that were on there. 18:34 You know, we had the sailors that were on there. 18:37 Certainly, Paul and his men were on there. 18:39 And it was loaded, I think you might have mentioned wheat, 18:42 things that were, you know, of necessity, 18:45 and this was brought about sometimes us making bad choices 18:48 and decisions, it's when we get into the point 18:50 to where there's money involved. 18:53 If you don't mind, I'll just bring that in this lesson. 18:55 There was money involved because the ship was loaded 18:58 not only with prisoners and so on and so forth, 19:00 but it was loaded with valuable stuff 19:01 that was being shipped, which was wheat. 19:04 Egyptian wheat, I believe that it was there. 19:06 So anyway, we know this in, what, 19:08 276 people that were aboard this ship, and we also... 19:13 And I think it'd be a good time to bring out a point here 19:16 is we know that the ship was going down. 19:18 That was the prophecy. The ship was going down. 19:21 But also, the soldiers also knew this, 19:24 they were accountable for the prisoners. 19:27 So they thought before they would abandon ship, 19:30 that was the necessity for them to go ahead 19:32 and kill all of the prisoners. 19:34 And I'm sure that was talked around, 19:36 I'm sure everyone knew that. 19:38 And so there was a little bit of a fright going on, saying, 19:40 "Oh, we're going to be... 19:42 You know, some of us may be killed here." 19:43 But naturally because of the relationship, 19:46 centurion and certainly Paul, everyone was spared. 19:49 I thought that was just beautiful. 19:51 Now the soldiers thought, you know, before, 19:54 "We have to swim for it." 19:56 I don't know if you've ever been on a boat 19:57 and you thought "Man, the only way 19:58 I get out of this thing is to swim for it." 20:01 That's kind of an awesome thing to think about. 20:03 And notice this boat, I thought was interesting. 20:08 The boat, during this storm, was coming absolutely apart. 20:14 And they certainly had plans for that, and certainly, 20:16 a ship this size would be scary. 20:19 There's no doubt about it. 20:20 But they had the promise that, you know, 20:22 the ship would go down but all would be saved. 20:25 But look who was bringing the prophecy. 20:28 You know, Paul was bringing a prophecy, 20:29 they didn't really trust him, they didn't really believe him. 20:32 During these two weeks, we find out the centurion, 20:35 he had respect for Paul. 20:37 Because he had respect for Paul, 20:38 then he was going to spare Paul's life 20:40 and all the other prisoners. 20:41 That was a blessing. 20:42 If anyone ever had close contact with Paul, 20:47 not just saying we knew Paul and... 20:49 Close contact with Paul, 20:51 you knew that he was a man of God, 20:53 you absolutely knew. 20:55 He changed your life, he changed this man's life 20:58 he was chained to in just a matter 20:59 of a few short days. 21:01 And I'm sure if Paul would say something like this, 21:04 if someone said, boy, you know, see God working here, 21:07 what do you think Paul would say? 21:08 Galatians 2:20, what would he say? 21:11 "Not I, but Christ." 21:13 He would give the credit where the credit is due. 21:15 A lot of times we don't do that. 21:16 We like to push the credit toward ourselves. 21:18 And we need to do when things like this happen, 21:20 give God the praise, the honor, and the glory. 21:23 Paul warned... 21:25 He warned us of the approach of this storm, 21:28 going to be a bad storm, things were going to happen. 21:30 You mentioned winter, winter was approaching, 21:32 it was not a good time to sail. 21:34 But we realize here, remember, 21:35 that there was valuables on that ship. 21:39 And with this wheat, it needed to be delivered 21:41 and the captain, you know, didn't know what to do. 21:43 And so even the owner of the ship was called in. 21:47 Think about this, the owner of the ship called in, 21:48 the owner of the ship's saying, 21:50 "Look, I've got all this wheat on here, 21:51 I've got all these supplies on here," 21:53 and the Egyptian wheat and it had to go to Rome, 21:57 "and we can't let it sit here, and spoil and rot, 21:59 we need to sail." 22:01 Well, he said, "It's not a good time to sail." 22:04 What are we going to do? 22:05 And so for several days, they just sat around, 22:08 they talked about it, and they just wondered 22:10 what was going on, winds were bad, 22:12 seems like it was stormy. 22:13 But all of a sudden, it calmed down. 22:15 Now I'm not sure who did the calming down. 22:18 The winds were calmed down, the waves calmed down because, 22:21 you know, I think the enemy knew the plan, 22:23 the things that were going on here. 22:25 And so it calmed down enough that the owner said, 22:28 "Look, let's sail, captain. 22:30 We've got to get this merchandise there 22:32 because there's a lot of money and so on and so forth. 22:34 I think we can make it." 22:36 But, you know, just a little bit 22:38 out all of a sudden, 22:39 the south wind turned to the north wind, 22:40 then all of a sudden, it was a horrible nightmare. 22:44 Well, we find out that as these winds blew 22:46 and so on and so forth that the boat had to be... 22:50 I want to call it wrapped. It was absolutely coming apart. 22:53 I can imagine, and I think you can too, 22:55 these great timbers of this boat, you know, 22:59 it was put together properly, no doubt about it. 23:03 But when you think about this thing, it was a... 23:05 We could call the storm something like a cyclone, 23:08 a cyclonic storm. 23:11 That means you think about the hurricanes, 23:13 if you're familiar with that, you think about tornadoes, 23:17 you think about these winds, winds that rotated around 23:21 and around which would have an eye in it 23:23 that we view all the time as the storm's coming. 23:26 This was a horrible storm, tore everything up. 23:30 They couldn't even steer the ship anymore. 23:32 They couldn't guide it. Absolutely could not guide it. 23:35 It was completely out of their control, 23:37 and they wanted to give up. 23:38 "If we can't guide this thing, what's going to happen? 23:40 We're all going to perish." 23:41 And so they began to take, they said, 23:43 "Look, here's our only chance, it's starting to come apart." 23:45 I assume, just let me assume for a minute, 23:48 if you don't mind. 23:51 Hello, we just want to assume, don't we? 23:53 We want to assume that... 23:55 'Cause it did say the ropes, but I assume the ropes were 23:58 like maybe as big as your arm, not just some little scrawny, 24:02 you know, ropes. 24:04 These were heavy-duty big ropes that they wrapped completely 24:09 around this ship from the bottom 24:11 all the way up, 24:12 and they brought them together, 24:13 and I want to say come along them. 24:15 They cranked and tightened those things 24:17 so that it was in... 24:18 So it would be impossible almost for the ship to go down 24:22 even though God said that it would go down. 24:25 But they did their best. 24:26 So I want you to think about that for a moment, 24:28 and we'll talk about it in a few minutes we have left 24:30 'cause it's very, very important. 24:31 A lot of people say, "Well, I just want to follow Jesus 24:33 and I want to... 24:34 All I have to do is just kind of sit back 24:36 because He's paved the way for me." 24:37 I believe in humanity and divinity working together. 24:40 I believe we have to do our part. 24:42 These men were doing their part to be saved. 24:45 They didn't want to be drowned. 24:46 And so they were doing all they knew 24:48 how to do in order to keep 24:49 the boat together from shipwreck. 24:51 Well, we find that these strong ropes 24:53 were put on there that didn't hold it together either 24:55 'cause God had already said what was going to be happening. 24:59 At a time like this, what was it, 25:01 14 days or something like this? 25:04 And they were... Weren't they fasting? 25:06 They were fasting, they didn't eat, 25:08 they didn't drink. 25:09 And so they were just fighting for their very life. 25:11 A lot of us would last an hour or two and say, 25:13 "That's it, I want go to McDonald's." 25:18 Think, just think. 25:19 I mean, that makes 14 days with no food. 25:21 You know, all of a sudden, you know, 25:23 Paul was quiet for a while, but he arrived on the scene. 25:26 And I don't know 25:28 if it's something you like to hear it, 25:29 but I know when I make a big boo-boo, you know, 25:31 I don't like somebody coming at me and saying, "I told you." 25:35 No one does. 25:37 And really, it almost seems like Paul did it, 25:38 but it wasn't with that attitude at all. 25:40 He said, remember 25:41 when they were getting ready to go down, 25:42 "I told you this was going to happen, 25:44 we didn't have to sail." 25:46 But then he said, be what? Be of good cheer. 25:49 Yeah. 25:51 "Be not afraid, the boat's going to go down 25:53 but not a life will be lost." 25:55 You know, at that point in time, 25:56 that'd be good news to me. 25:58 Even if I kind of doubted, I didn't even know the guy 26:00 who said it, I'm thinking, "Boy, this guy's courageous, 26:04 this guy has faith, he's encouraged me, 26:06 he's strengthened me." 26:07 And, of course, they had seen his fruits before 26:10 and some of them. 26:12 So they understood that. 26:13 So he had this way about him, which was the winning of souls. 26:17 He was winning souls. 26:19 He was witnessing, and as our lesson brings out, 26:21 during all of this time of commotion. 26:23 So he told the man, "You know what we need to do? 26:25 We need to stop right now and get some food. 26:28 Let's all take some food. 26:30 Let's all eat because, basically, 26:31 you're going to have to swim for it. 26:33 And if you're going to have to swim for it, 26:34 you're going to need a little bit of strength." 26:36 Isn't that right? 26:37 Some of those may bring that out. 26:38 Quickly, three things come alive to me in this lesson, 26:41 at least my part of it, for me. 26:43 Number one, God has a plan, 26:46 and the importance of following it exactly. 26:50 God has a plan. Does He not have a plan? 26:52 You see Him working it out here. 26:54 He's going to take Paul to Rome regardless. 26:57 The weather wasn't going to stop 26:58 and the enemy thought he could, you know, 26:59 man is not going to stop him, being imprisoned, 27:02 prisoner didn't stop him, the boat was going on through. 27:04 So God has a plan. Quickly. 27:06 Desire of Ages 208 says this, "He, Jesus," oh, I love this, 27:09 "accepted God's plan for him. 27:12 Day by day, the Father unfolded His plan. 27:15 So should we depend upon God that our lives 27:18 may be the simple outworking of His will." 27:23 That's beautiful, day by day. 27:24 This is the way... 27:26 Number two, I found in here divine intervention 27:28 or we call it providence. 27:30 This is what we're... This is it. 27:32 Our lesson brings this out clear. 27:34 Again, Desire of Ages page 313 says, 27:38 "In the book of God's providence," 27:39 interesting wording, 27:41 "in the book of God's providence, 27:43 the volume of life, we are on each page," 27:47 notice this, "the page contains every particular," of what, 27:52 "of our history, even the hairs of our head are numbered," 27:56 notice that, "God's children are never," notice this, 27:59 "never absent from His thought." 28:02 I just got excited when I read that part. 28:04 We're never absent from His thought. 28:05 Regardless, if you're going down in the ship maybe, 28:08 going through the storms of life, 28:10 you're never absent from God's thought. 28:13 You're always there with Him. 28:14 Number three, divinity and humanity working together. 28:20 This is what it's all about, we think about here. 28:22 This lesson, each person first of all had the assurance 28:25 of what, they had the assurance of... 28:27 what, they're going to make it through. 28:28 That's divinity working. 28:30 You're going to make it, you're not going to die. 28:32 But also you notice this right here, for humanity, 28:35 man had to do his part, man had to put forth an effort, 28:39 we have to do, as the Bible says, a strive to what, 28:44 a couple Bible passages, strive to enter into what, 28:47 into the gate. 28:49 Strive here in the Greek means to agonize. 28:51 That means there's an effort that has to be put forward 28:53 on our part rather than sit back and say, 28:55 "God is going to do it all, 28:56 I'll just live the way I want to do." 28:58 You know, we got to work out our own salvation 29:00 with fear and trembling. 29:01 Bible is very clear in Revelation 29:03 that we have to be overcomers, 29:05 "will I grant to sit with me on the throne." 29:08 First Timothy 6:12 says, 29:09 "We have to fight the good fight of," what? 29:12 "The good fight of faith." 29:14 I love that one right there. 29:16 And again, work out your own salvation, 29:17 in Philippians 2:12. 29:19 Last paragraph right here, last thought, 29:21 Desire of Ages, 123, 29:24 "Christ humanity was united with divinity, 29:27 He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of divine 29:31 of the Holy Spirit, He came to make us partakers 29:34 of divine nature that we may attain 29:37 to perfection of character." 29:40 That's always brought in. That's always good what? 29:42 Divinity, humanity, working together 29:45 that we may be victorious Christians 29:47 and gain victory over sin in our life. 29:49 My brother. Praise the Lord. 29:52 Thank you very much. 29:54 Well, we switch now to Paul, not in the water, 29:58 not on a ship but on land. 30:00 And so we now move to Paul in Malta. 30:05 This takes us to Acts 28. 30:08 If you'll follow me, Acts 28, 30:09 we're going to read several verses. 30:11 In Acts 28, we have verse 1, "Now when they had escaped, 30:17 they then found out that the island was called Malta." 30:21 Now if you have the King James, 30:22 I'm reading from the New King James this time, 30:25 you may notice that it says Melita. 30:28 And this was the name it is believed 30:31 before it was changed to the name Malta. 30:35 Melita is the word they believe comes from the Greek word, 30:38 which means honey. 30:40 And it is believed that on this island, 30:42 they produced large quantities of honey. 30:45 And so I just want to say this in passing, you know, 30:49 the description that Paul gives here concerning the sailing 30:56 and everything, he used about 16 nautical terms. 30:59 And the accuracy of where they were going, the storms, 31:05 it confirms the historical accuracy of the Book of Acts. 31:11 And research has been done on this, 31:13 there's an expert sailor and scholar 31:16 by the name of James Smith that researched all this 31:21 and said, "This is irrefutable, 31:24 this is historically accurate." 31:27 And as a matter of fact, when you look 31:31 at Greek literature and Roman literature, 31:34 this book gives you more information 31:37 about navigation and the seas as it was in that time 31:40 than any other source outside of the Bible. 31:44 So this book, this description here in chapter 27 31:48 is historically accurate. 31:52 So let's move on. 31:53 So here, it says in verse 2, 31:55 "And the natives showed us unusual kindness." 31:58 Boy, that's really nice to get shown unusual kindness, 32:01 I like that, "For they kindled a fire and made us all welcome 32:06 because of the rain that was falling 32:08 and because of the cold." 32:10 Isn't it nice that when you're cold, 32:12 you're shivering, and it seems like 32:15 when you're cold and wet, it's even worse. 32:20 Man, it just brings that, even more cold you feel, 32:25 and then you come to this nice warmth, it's wonderful. 32:29 And this is nice. 32:31 Apparently, they saw what was going on 32:33 and they said, "If anybody survives, 32:34 they're going to need this nice warm fire." 32:38 But, you know, I have to say this. 32:40 God promised Paul that not one person would be lost. 32:45 I have to say that's a miracle. Yeah. 32:47 God performs a miracle to save each and every one 32:50 of those people that were on that ship. 32:54 And I think when all is said and done, 32:58 God is going to reveal things that are going to surprise us, 33:02 shock us, "You mean all those people on that bus, 33:06 on that train, on that plane were saved 33:08 because there was a Christian in there?" 33:10 Praise the Lord. Amen. 33:12 You know, God makes a difference 33:14 when you're a praying Christian and you put yourselves 33:18 in the hands of the Lord. 33:20 Paul had a mission. 33:21 He had to go to Rome, not to defend himself 33:24 but to preach the Gospel. 33:27 So let's continue. 33:29 It says here, "But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks 33:33 and laid them on the fire, a viper came out 33:37 because of the heat and fastened on his hand." 33:40 Wow. 33:41 Some people say, "Well, man, we just got out of that mess 33:44 and now here's another one." 33:47 So here's this thing that comes out, a viper, 33:50 fastened on his hand. 33:52 Now Paul was not a guy to sit around 33:53 and have other people work while he just watched. 33:56 "Good work, guys. Keep up the good work. 33:59 Let me know when you're done." No, he was busy. 34:01 He was trying to help out. 34:03 Now something happens. 34:05 See... 34:06 So when the natives saw the creature hanging 34:08 from his hand, they said one to another, 34:11 "No doubt this man is a murderer, 34:13 whom though he had escaped the sea, 34:16 yet justice does not allow to live." 34:20 They had a sense of justice on this island, 34:22 and it is believed that the, I think they pronounce it Dike, 34:27 the some kind of justice, God of justice, 34:30 now claims his life because he was a murderer 34:33 and he deserved to die. 34:35 He didn't die on the sea, 34:37 so now he has to die on the land. 34:40 But God has a purpose for everything 34:44 that happens to God's children. 34:47 And notice what happens here. 34:49 "So when the natives saw the creature..." 34:52 Well, verse 5, I already read that one. 34:56 "But he shook off the creature into the fire 34:58 and suffered no harm. 35:00 However, they were expecting that he would swell up 35:03 or suddenly fall down dead, but after they had looked 35:07 for a long time and saw no harm come to him, 35:10 they changed their minds and said he was a god." 35:15 Wow. 35:16 "Wait a minute, this guy is not a murderer, 35:17 he's a God." 35:19 Now I have to say something to you 35:21 because the Bible can give you a lot more information 35:24 than it already does. 35:27 We are given highlights here. 35:29 When Paul knew that they looked at him that way, 35:33 Paul took this opportunity to preach them Jesus. 35:37 Amen. He took this opportunity. 35:41 Lest they start worshipping and he took... 35:43 You see this in other places already, 35:45 I think it's Acts 17, 35:48 when they wanted to worship him 35:49 and what was the name of the other guy 35:51 that was with him, he said, wait a minute, 35:52 one is Apollos and one is... 35:54 No, Paul took this opportunity to preach the Gospel. 35:58 See, this tells you, this was people 36:01 that worshipped false idols, 36:03 idols, all idols are false anyway. 36:07 They worshipped pagan gods. 36:11 And so Paul was bringing light 36:13 to the people that had darkness. 36:15 And so God blessed, took this opportunity 36:17 to bring light to these people. 36:19 "However, they were expecting him that he would swell up 36:21 or suddenly fall dead but after that he had looked 36:23 for a long time saw no harm come to him, 36:25 they changed their minds and said that he was a god." 36:28 Now he leaves it right there. 36:29 It says, "In that region there was an estate of the leading 36:32 citizen of the island whose name was Publius 36:35 who received us and entertained us 36:37 courteously for three days." 36:39 Isn't that wonderful? 36:41 God had everything set up for Paul and the people. 36:44 It must have been a large estate 36:46 because there were a lot of people on that ship. 36:49 Now it continues, "And it happened 36:51 that the father of Publius lay sick 36:53 of a fever and dysentery," or dysentery, 36:57 "Paul went into him, and prayed, 36:59 and laid his hands on him and healed him." 37:02 Now when Paul prays, what does he say? 37:07 He prays and he says in the name of Jesus. 37:11 So opportunities were coming to Paul 37:15 to present the name of Jesus. 37:18 And the message was left in Malta. 37:23 Now if I have time, I want to share 37:25 a modern-day story about Malta. 37:27 It's going to be very interesting. 37:29 So let's continue. 37:30 So here... 37:33 "And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick 37:35 of a fever and dysentery," apparently, 37:38 he had tried medical means, nothing could happen, 37:41 "Paul laid his hands on him and healed him." 37:45 Glory goes to God. 37:46 "So when this was done, the rest of those on the island 37:50 who had diseases also came and were healed. 37:54 They also honored us in many ways 37:56 and when we were departed, 37:57 they provided such things as were necessary." 38:01 You see, God provides for the needs of His children. 38:04 Doesn't He? 38:05 Can anybody testify that God provides 38:06 for your needs here? 38:08 Let's see. 38:09 Praise the Lord, practically every hand went up. 38:10 And if your hand didn't go up, 38:12 it's because you're missing something. 38:15 God provides for His children. 38:18 And so opportunity after opportunity 38:20 was given to preach the Gospel. 38:23 Now you might say, "Wait a minute, 38:25 isn't Paul one of God's children? 38:28 Why would God allow him to be shipwrecked 38:31 and suffer through all this situation?" 38:35 You know, I said that God miraculously saved 38:38 every one of them. 38:39 I don't know how many wild animals 38:41 that were in the water. 38:43 I don't know anybody hear about sharks, 38:45 sometimes they are not friendly. 38:48 I don't know if anybody here had a situation with a shark, 38:51 but sometimes they're hungry and they don't want to play 38:55 with you, they want to eat you. 38:57 So they were miraculously saved. 39:01 So we praise the Lord for that. 39:03 Paul was used by God to bring light to this island of Malta. 39:08 It is about 17 long by 9 miles wide, 39:14 not very big but the Gospel needs to go 39:16 to every kindred tongue and people. 39:19 And God brought Paul there to preach the Gospel. 39:22 You know, if you look at a map of Malta, 39:25 you'll see that there's a place, 39:26 an area called St. Paul's Bay. 39:31 Now it's interesting, I told you a modern-day story, 39:33 I think I can work it in. 39:35 I was working in pastoral ministries at 3ABN 39:37 and a phone call came in. 39:40 And after I said the usual thank you for calling 39:44 Three Angels Broadcasting Network prayer line, 39:46 guy said, "Who is this? 39:47 Who am I talking to?" 39:49 I said, "You're talking to John Dinzey." 39:51 "John, John, I need your help, John. 39:54 This is Tony." 39:55 I don't remember his name, but I'm calling him Tony. 39:57 "This is Tony. 39:59 I'm calling you from the island of Malta. 40:02 Have you ever heard of Malta? 40:03 Paul was here, the Apostle Paul was here." 40:06 And I said, "Yes, I know, I know." 40:08 He goes, "I need your help. 40:09 I need to find a Seventh-day Adventist Church." 40:13 "Oh, I can help you with that." 40:14 He says, "I've been watching 3ABN, 40:18 and I know I have to go 40:20 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church 40:21 because I have learned the truth of the Bible there, 40:24 and I need to go to a Seventh-day Adventist Church. 40:26 Help me, John. Help me, John." He was talking just like this. 40:30 And I said, "Well, let me help you." 40:32 And, you know, it's not so easy to find 40:36 Seventh-day Adventist churches on the Internet 40:39 in other countries. 40:41 So I said, "I'm going to have to ask you to give me 40:43 a little bit of time to call you back 40:46 because I don't have that in my records. 40:48 Can I have your number?" He gave me his number. 40:51 And I asked him, "How are you watching 3ABN?" 40:55 He says, "I'm watching with a satellite dish." 40:59 Praise the Lord. 41:00 You know, it's amazing, this is a miracle. 41:02 Anybody can watch 3ABN with a satellite dish 41:05 all over the world. 41:06 You see, God... 41:08 I'm going to say it again, Mollie, 41:09 this is a channel of divine origin. 41:11 Amen. 41:13 That God is using to reach people all over the world. 41:14 I have a minute and 35 seconds. Let me finish. 41:17 I called him back. I called the conference. 41:19 I said, "Where is 41:21 the Seventh-day Adventist Church? 41:22 I've got a person that wants to go 41:23 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Malta." 41:25 And they say, "Yes, yes, we have one, we have one." 41:27 Gave me the address, and I called Tony back and said, 41:32 "Tony, I've got the address for you." 41:35 And I gave him the address. 41:37 And he was so happy that he called back 41:42 and he said, "John, thank you so much. 41:44 I found them, what a blessing. 41:47 Keep on preaching God's Word." 41:49 And so God is using Three Angels Broadcasting Network 41:53 to reach the people of Malta, to reach people all over this 41:57 wonderful world that needs Jesus Christ. 42:00 And I want to encourage you to continue to pray for 3ABN 42:04 that we will not only reach the people of Malta 42:06 but every kindred tongue and people. 42:09 Amen. 42:10 And I believe that God had a purpose for Paul 42:13 even though the devil tried to stop the purposed, 42:16 he was going to go to Rome, and the devil was trying 42:18 to stop this but God made it possible for Paul 42:23 to reach Rome. 42:24 And we're going to hear about that through Sister Mollie. 42:27 Thank you, Pastor Dinzey. 42:29 I'm always encouraged when I hear 42:33 the other people share about our Sabbath School lesson, 42:36 the different days. 42:38 I am always so encouraged. Thank you so much. 42:41 You know, in Malta, after Paul left, 42:45 there was a group of believers. 42:46 Of course, there was. 42:48 If Paul is going to be there, 42:49 is he going to share about the Lord Jesus Christ? 42:53 And there was a group of believers formed there. 42:56 Well, I'm going to do the same thing 42:58 that Jill, Pastor Kenny, and Pastor Dinzey did, 43:01 lay the foundation of Paul going to Rome. 43:05 What I have is Wednesday and it's Paul in Rome. 43:10 Finally. 43:11 Do you know? I'm in Acts 19:21. 43:15 That's when Paul first says 43:20 that he purposes in his spirit 43:23 when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, 43:26 to go to Jerusalem, saying, 'After I have been there, 43:30 I must see Rome."' 43:32 Now five years later, isn't that about what it was? 43:36 Five years later is when this comes to pass. 43:40 But we want to see if this was Paul's will 43:44 for his life, 43:46 Paul's desire or God's desire. 43:51 And while he was, he went to Jerusalem, 43:57 what happened in Jerusalem? 43:58 He got arrested, did he not? 44:00 And, you know, we talk about him going 44:04 before the different leaders there of the Romans 44:08 and they couldn't find anything to charge him for. 44:13 And they could have released him. 44:15 But had they released him, 44:16 what would have happened to Paul? 44:19 The Jewish people, they weren't 44:21 just going to give him a few stripes. 44:23 What did they want to do? They wanted to kill him. 44:26 He had to be in the hands of the Romans, 44:30 and he appealed to go to Rome, 44:32 and that actually saved his life. 44:35 Now while he was in the barracks, in the prison, 44:41 they're still in the Jerusalem area. 44:44 It says, Acts 23:11, 44:50 "But the following night," 44:51 now he's in the barracks, "the Lord stood by him, 44:55 and said, 'Be of good cheer."' 44:57 Now he's a prisoner, he's in the barracks, 44:59 he's going to Rome. 45:01 "Paul, for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, 45:06 so you must also bear witness at," where? 45:10 "At Rome." 45:12 So do we know this was God's will for Paul, 45:15 not just Paul's will for Paul? 45:18 And again, from the time he made this determination 45:23 until nearly five years. 45:25 Let me read our scripture text, our memory text today. 45:29 It's Acts 27:24. 45:31 "Do not be afraid, Paul, you must stand before Caesar." 45:36 Do you know when the angel of the Lord told Paul that? 45:40 It's in the midst of the driving of this... 45:43 in the midst of the storm, at the height of the storm. 45:46 And he says to Paul, "Paul, don't be afraid, 45:50 you've got to stand before Caesar." 45:53 So we see God's beckoning hand all along. 45:56 And, you know, I just wanted to speak to each one of us, 46:00 have any of you ever had what you felt was a directive 46:06 from God and it hasn't come to pass? 46:11 I see hands going up. 46:12 Don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged. 46:17 If God has given you that desire 46:20 and you stay faithful to God... 46:23 Now what is the prerequisite there, stay true to God, 46:27 leave your heart and life open to God. 46:30 He will bring it to pass. 46:31 I want to read this quote out of the Desire of Ages 46:35 from Ellen White. 46:36 She says, "Like the stars in the vast circuit 46:41 of their appointed paths, God's purpose knows no haste." 46:48 We get in a hurry, do we not? 46:50 "Oh, God says it and I want it to happen just like that." 46:53 "God says He's going to provide a husband for me, 46:57 okay, where is he?" 46:59 But it might be five years from now 47:02 when you get that perfect man. 47:04 God knows no haste, but He also knows no delay. 47:10 How many of you would rather have God's perfect timing 47:14 than to miss God's perfect timing? 47:16 Amen. That's what we need. 47:18 Okay, that is something I wanted to encourage us 47:21 with from this story of Paul, from seeing all of the delays. 47:26 Paul's confidence remained in his mighty God, 47:30 and God brought it to pass. 47:33 Now let's continue our story. 47:37 Paul and his companions are finally able 47:41 to continue their journey. 47:43 Now how long did they stay at Malta? 47:44 I think it was about three months. 47:47 Then they caught a ship, and they sailed, 47:50 and they docked at a couple of ports before they got to, 47:53 and I underlined this in my Bible, if I can find it, 47:56 it was... 47:58 Shelley pronounces this... 48:00 CA can do this, but I think it's Puteoli. 48:03 And if that's not right, 48:05 you just give it your best shot. 48:06 But where it is, it's in the boot of the Italy. 48:11 How many of you know what I'm talking about, 48:14 the boot of Italy? 48:15 So that's down on the coast. 48:17 Do you know how... 48:19 Now Jill looked up for me because that's in 48:22 the Bay of Naples, it's in that area. 48:25 Jill looked up for me just a few minutes ago 48:28 how far it is from there to Rome. 48:32 Now we're assuming everything is in the same region 48:37 as it was at that time. 48:39 That's a 150 miles. 48:41 Not only did Paul have to go through all of these storms, 48:47 and tempest, and all that he had to go through 48:51 to get to Italy, to finally go up to Rome, 48:54 but then he had to walk a 150 miles. 48:58 But when he got to his final place of landing 49:02 before they started their trip, 49:04 do you know what he found in that town? 49:07 A group of believers. 49:08 They were so excited that Paul was there. 49:12 And they were so excited that they even sent word to Rome, 49:18 "Paul is here." 49:19 Now think about this. 49:21 Paul, he wanted to go to Rome, 49:23 but do you think he wanted to go to Rome in chains? 49:27 Do you think that was his desire for his life? 49:31 "Oh, I'm going to go to Rome in chains." 49:34 He could have been a bit discouraged about that. 49:37 But it says that when this group from Rome met him, 49:42 and that's Acts 28:15, the scripture says, 49:48 "He thanked God and received new courage." 49:54 He was so encouraged. 49:56 Oh, we don't know how we can encourage those around us, 50:01 when that group... 50:02 They didn't seem to mind one bit 50:04 that he was in chains. 50:06 All right. 50:07 So now evidently, now he has to walk 150 miles. 50:13 Would that carry out if he had to walk 150 miles? 50:16 Okay. Well, he gets to Rome. 50:20 So evidently, Festus, in his report, 50:24 must have written that according to Roman law, 50:29 Paul wasn't guilty of any crime. 50:32 And Paul wasn't guilty of any crime. 50:35 Therefore, the most... 50:36 Now in my opinion, the most amazing thing happened. 50:42 Was Paul a prisoner? Yes. 50:45 What happens to prisoners? 50:47 Do they get their own dwelling? 50:50 Where do prisoners go? Prison. 50:53 They go to prison. 50:55 The most amazing thing, Pastor Kenny, 50:57 and my thinking on this, he wasn't put in prison. 51:01 Where was... 51:03 He was allowed to rent his own house. 51:08 Think of the liberty of that. 51:10 Now I kind of wanted to make a little analogy here 51:15 with God. 51:17 When you're submitted to God and you're saying, "Oh, God, 51:21 not my will for my life but Your will for my life," 51:24 He won't allow you to be buried in prison. 51:27 That's right. 51:28 Paul could have been buried in prison but he wasn't. 51:32 What happened to him? 51:33 He got planted in his own house. 51:38 Any of you had to make a move? 51:40 I've recently had to make a move. 51:43 I had to leave Three Angels Broadcasting Network 51:46 and move to Alabama, which is another area 51:51 of God's great creation. 51:53 I've got a lovely church in Alabama. 51:58 But here at 3ABN, this ministry is on the cutting edge 52:03 of what God is doing in the world today. 52:05 In my opinion, Three Angels Broadcasting Network 52:08 is the greatest evangelistic tool 52:11 in the hand of God today. 52:13 Now this is where the action is. 52:17 And so I could allow myself... 52:20 And I'm speaking to you who are retirees, 52:23 all you ladies who have children 52:25 and you're taking care of your children at home 52:28 or whatever your circumstance, 52:30 you can allow yourself to be buried 52:34 or you can allow yourself to be planted. 52:37 Amen. Paul got planted. 52:39 Now was he fruitful and did he produce bountifully 52:44 for the kingdom of God? 52:45 Right there in Rome, he was planted 52:48 but it takes a little while because 52:51 when you're planted, now, with Paul, 52:53 but I'm looking at myself, when you're planted, 52:57 that seed has to go through a thing called gestation, 53:01 it has to take root, it has to grow, 53:04 and it has to prosper. 53:06 So I'm looking at this with Paul, I'm not discouraged, 53:11 I am encouraged, God can take us. 53:14 And there is again, the same prerequisite. 53:17 If you submit and commit yourself, 53:19 your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, 53:21 if you don't get discouraged, and if you say, "Oh, Father, 53:26 for my life, not my will but Thine be done." 53:29 And I've got to get back to the lesson. 53:32 Okay. 53:34 Paul, the first thing Paul did every time he went to a city 53:38 was he went to the synagogue. 53:41 And he talked with the Jewish leaders 53:44 in the synagogue. 53:45 Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, 53:47 but he loved his Jewish brothers and sisters. 53:51 And so in this case, he was in his own house 53:55 but he was chained to a guard 53:56 so he couldn't go to the synagogue. 53:58 So he invited the synagogue to come to him. 54:02 And so the Jewish leaders came to his house 54:06 and he explained to them all that had happened to him. 54:11 And I just want to pick up in verse... 54:15 What verse do I want to pick up in? 54:17 I guess I'll pick up in verse 21. 54:21 Well, no, I'm going to pick up in verse 20. 54:23 Because he's telling them, "The reason I'm here, 54:26 the reason I'm telling you this is because 54:29 for the hope of Israel, I am bound in chains." 54:32 Paul's heart desire is to share that the Messiah 54:38 that we have been looking for all of these years has come. 54:43 And here is what the Jewish leaders 54:47 said back to him, "Then they said to him, 54:50 'We neither received letters from Judea concerning you 54:54 nor have any of the brethren 54:56 who have reported spoken evil of you. 54:59 But we desire to hear from you 55:03 what you think concerning this sect, 55:05 we know that it is spoken against everywhere." 55:07 "Do you know what they said to Paul? 55:09 "Hey, Paul..." 55:10 And Paul is full of the Holy Ghost 55:12 and you know what the word is burning in his bones 55:16 and they say, "We want to hear." 55:18 Do you think Paul was quiet? 55:20 Oh, that's like... 55:22 I don't know if I can say this or not, 55:24 that's like saying succumb to a dog. 55:26 Paul went after... 55:28 He had this golden opportunity... 55:31 I'm past my time. No, you can go ahead. 55:33 You go right ahead, Pastor Day. Amen. 55:41 You know, listening to the panel, 55:43 listening to this study is... 55:45 It just really reminds us of 55:46 how incredibly faithful Paul was. 55:50 Now Jesus is no doubt my favorite Bible character. 55:54 But we all have that person other than Christ that really, 55:57 you know, that we can relate to. 55:58 And when I think of the message of scripture, 56:01 the faithful people that followed God 56:04 and put forth that example, 56:06 one of my favorite Bible characters 56:08 in the scripture is Paul. 56:10 And I mean, this guy went through everything. 56:13 I mean, he experienced being beaten several times, 56:16 even to the point... I mean, he survived stoning. 56:19 You know, having watched Stephen being stoned, 56:20 I'm sure he never knew that he would end up, you know, 56:22 being stoned himself in prison several different times. 56:26 I mean, most of us would probably look at this guy 56:28 and kind of in a little bit of a Job situation and say, 56:31 "Man, you know, you must be cursed, 56:32 you must not be doing what God wants you to do." 56:34 But Paul kept the faith. 56:36 He fought the good fight, as we're about to read 56:38 in just a few moments. 56:40 But this guy was an incredible man of faith. 56:43 And I think there are some lessons 56:44 to be learned from that. 56:45 Even though he went through all of these trials 56:47 and tribulations, Christ was able to win 56:51 the victory through him. 56:53 And through Paul, He was able to reach thousands of people 56:57 and completely transformed 57:00 the Christian communities at that time. 57:03 My particular lesson is entitled 57:05 The Victory of the Gospel. 57:08 And if you've never been exposed 57:10 to the true biblical Gospel, 57:14 then you probably have not gained that victory. 57:16 But the true biblical Gospel brings victory, 57:19 and it will have victory. 57:22 I'm finding myself in the latter part of Acts 20. 57:26 These are the latter verses of Acts. 57:29 And, of course, there's an interesting scenario 57:31 taking place because Paul is actually under house-arrest. 57:35 He's imprisoned but maybe not in the traditional prison sense 57:39 that you might think, 57:41 but nonetheless he is imprisoned, 57:42 he is under house-arrest. 57:43 And so he's limited what he can do, 57:45 who he can preach to, who he can see. 57:47 The government is controlling that. 57:49 But nonetheless, 57:50 while this brother is in prison, 57:52 while he is under house-arrest, he still is able to reach 57:54 people with the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 57:56 If you have your Bibles and you want to follow along, 57:59 I'm going to start reading here in verse 23 of Acts 28. 58:03 Notice what the Bible says here. 58:05 I'm going to begin reading in the New King James Version, 58:07 but then I'm going to read the last couple of verses 58:09 from the King James Version. 58:11 Notice what it says here. 58:12 "So when they had appointed him a day." 58:14 So obviously, he couldn't just see anyone 58:16 just whenever he wanted to. 58:17 They had appointed days that he could speak 58:19 or interact with people. 58:21 It says, "Many came to him at his lodging," 58:23 so this guy must have been a powerful man of God 58:26 because the people are coming to him, right? 58:27 They want to hear the words of Paul. 58:30 So then, "Many came to him at his lodging, 58:32 to whom he explained and sodomly testified 58:36 of the kingdom of God, 58:37 persuading them concerning Jesus," 58:40 notice this, "persuading them concerning Jesus from," notice, 58:45 "both the law of Moses and the prophets." 58:47 So many people want to, you know, 58:49 say that the Jesus is not found in the books of the law, 58:51 perhaps in the Torah or in the Law of Moses. 58:53 Is Jesus found there? 58:55 Absolutely. 58:56 There are biblical examples right here. 58:57 He preached to them about Jesus concerning the Law of Moses 58:59 and the prophets, and it goes on to say, 59:01 "From morning till evening." 59:03 What a church service. 59:06 We have a couple accounts in scripture 59:07 where Paul would have these lengthy sermons, 59:10 one of which, one guy fell asleep and, 59:12 of course, Paul resurrected him. 59:14 It's a good lesson for us, not to fall asleep 59:16 when the preacher is preaching, right? 59:17 Right. Absolutely. 59:18 But nonetheless, from morning till evening, 59:21 and then verse 24, notice what it says, 59:23 "And some were persuaded by the things 59:25 which were spoken, and then some disbelieved." 59:29 Verse 25, "So when they did not agree among themselves, 59:34 they departed after..." 59:35 Excuse me, yes, "they departed, after Paul had said one word." 59:39 Now notice this next part, 59:41 "the Holy Spirit spoke rightfully 59:43 through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers saying, 59:48 'Go to this people, and say, 'Hearing you will hear, 59:53 and shall not understand, and seeing you will see, 59:57 and not perceive.' 01:00:00 For the hearts of this people have grown dull, 01:00:02 their ears are hard of hearing, 01:00:04 and their eyes they have closed, 01:00:08 lest they should see with their eyes 01:00:10 and hear with their ears, 01:00:12 lest they should understand with their hearts and turn 01:00:15 so that I should heal them." 01:00:18 I just want to pause there for a moment. 01:00:19 There's another part of scripture 01:00:21 where we find this particular text 01:00:23 from Isaiah being quoted. 01:00:25 Paul is not the only one 01:00:26 that brings out this particular passage. 01:00:29 There were three different times that 01:00:30 three of the Gospel writers 01:00:32 bring this out when Christ Himself 01:00:34 was communicating the Parable of the Sower. 01:00:37 Jesus had just delivered the Parable of the Sower, 01:00:38 I believe you can find this in Matthew 13, also in Mark 4, 01:00:44 and also in Luke 8. 01:00:45 And we found out that Luke is with Paul, 01:00:47 so Luke also records this in his Gospel as well. 01:00:50 Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, 01:00:52 but then as the people are just kind of perceiving, 01:00:55 you know, what is he saying? 01:00:56 Even the disciples come to him say, 01:00:57 "Why do you teach us in parables?" 01:00:59 He said, "Look, some of these people, 01:01:00 even though they have ears to hear, 01:01:01 they can't hear. 01:01:03 Even though they have eyes to see, 01:01:04 they can't see the things that you see. 01:01:06 They can't hear the things that you hear. 01:01:07 I have to speak to them in a special way." 01:01:09 But nonetheless, there's a group of people out there, 01:01:11 there are people that Christ wants to reach. 01:01:14 There are people that Paul wanted to reach 01:01:16 with the Gospel. 01:01:17 But yet, they come, they hear, they listen, 01:01:20 they close their ears, 01:01:21 they close their eyes to the truth. 01:01:24 Now I just... 01:01:26 Before we go on any further, I just want to... 01:01:27 I just made a note here. 01:01:29 When we do not heed the message of scripture 01:01:33 or respond with disbelief, 01:01:36 we risk losing the influential power 01:01:38 of the Holy Spirit. 01:01:40 Amen. 01:01:41 You see, even though Paul was delivering the message... 01:01:43 I just want to remind you of the latter part of verse 25, 01:01:46 it says, "Paul had said one word," 01:01:48 notice, and what was that word? 01:01:50 Notice what he starts this message with, 01:01:52 "the Holy Spirit spoke rightfully." 01:01:55 So even though they might have rejected the words of Isaiah, 01:01:57 even though they might have rejected the words of Paul, 01:02:00 whose word were they really rejecting? 01:02:02 They were rejecting God's word. 01:02:04 Absolutely. 01:02:06 I made a note here, "To reject truth," very simple, 01:02:08 but very profound, 01:02:10 "To reject truth is to reject the author of it." 01:02:12 Amen. 01:02:14 When the truth comes to us, my friends, it is our duty, 01:02:17 it is our responsibility. 01:02:18 And even though it may not seem right at the moment... 01:02:21 What's that scripture in Proverbs that says, 01:02:23 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, 01:02:25 but the end thereof are the ways of death"? 01:02:27 It may not seem right to us at first 01:02:29 but, you know what, it is that message from God. 01:02:30 We need to consider that. 01:02:32 And say, "Lord, is there something here 01:02:34 that I need to hear?" 01:02:35 You know, while it seems that 01:02:38 there's a little bit of a sad note here 01:02:39 that some walked away in disbelief, 01:02:42 the Gospel was still victorious in others' lives. 01:02:45 There's going to be two groups of people in the last days, 01:02:47 my friends. 01:02:49 And this is kind of a Ryan Day special, 01:02:51 but there will be true Christians 01:02:54 in the last days, 01:02:55 and then there's a second group I like to refer to them 01:02:57 as selftians, selftians. 01:03:02 It's kind of a play on words here, Christian, 01:03:05 what's the root word of Christian? 01:03:06 Christ. 01:03:08 And then you have a second group, selftian. 01:03:10 Okay? 01:03:12 You're going to get this in a little bit, I promise. 01:03:16 A Christian is someone, root word, Christ, 01:03:19 who follows Christ 01:03:21 and, of course, adheres to His Word. 01:03:23 A selftian is someone who's going to follow self. 01:03:27 They might, you know, they might allow 01:03:29 certain parts of scripture to speak to them, 01:03:30 but at a certain point, they put that wall up 01:03:32 and they say, "Yeah, you know what, 01:03:34 that's where the buck stops right there, 01:03:35 I'm going to follow to a certain extent, 01:03:37 but from here on, 01:03:38 I'm going to go on by my own ideas, 01:03:41 my own thoughts, my own theories." 01:03:42 My friends, we have to be fully submissive 01:03:44 to the Word of God. 01:03:46 This particular passage brought to my mind, 01:03:48 the scripture found in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. 01:03:52 Notice what it says here. 01:03:54 And then again, this is Paul speaking, 01:03:55 and he's writing under the influence 01:03:57 of the Holy Spirit. 01:03:58 It says, "And when all unrighteous deception 01:04:00 among those who perish, 01:04:02 because they did not receive," 01:04:03 notice, "the love of the truth, 01:04:06 that they might be saved. 01:04:08 And for this reason, 01:04:10 God will send them strong delusion 01:04:11 that they should believe a lie. 01:04:13 That they all may be condemned who do not believe," 01:04:16 there's that word, "believe the truth 01:04:17 but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 01:04:20 This is a serious issue. 01:04:21 This is life or death, my friends. 01:04:23 Paul's preaching. 01:04:25 They came to him, but some walked away in disbelief, 01:04:27 but God would have His victory. 01:04:30 You know, it's interesting how this passage ends. 01:04:32 I'm going to read the latter verses of Acts 28:30, 31. 01:04:36 It says, "And Paul dwelt two whole years 01:04:39 in his own hired house 01:04:41 and received all that came to him, 01:04:44 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things 01:04:46 which concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, 01:04:48 with all confidence, 01:04:50 no man forbidding him." 01:04:52 You know, that's powerful. 01:04:53 That when you read the account... 01:04:55 if you read the account of Acts alone, 01:04:56 you didn't have any other... 01:04:58 perhaps any other portion of scripture, 01:05:00 it ends on a very happy note. 01:05:02 And it kind of throws some people off 01:05:03 because they think to themselves, 01:05:04 "Why did Luke end the story this way?" 01:05:07 He ends it on a happy note, as if Paul, 01:05:09 you know, got out of prison, preached the Gospel, 01:05:11 and it was a happy ending. 01:05:12 But we know that's not the case when you continue on reading. 01:05:15 Perhaps some people believe the last book that Paul wrote 01:05:17 perhaps was 2 Timothy. 01:05:20 And we find these words in 2 Timothy 4. 01:05:22 I'm going to read verses 1-8, 01:05:24 but the portion I want to focus on is verses 6-8. 01:05:26 But he says here in verses 1-5 here, 01:05:29 he says, 01:05:31 "I charge you therefore before God, 01:05:32 and the Lord Jesus Christ, 01:05:34 who will judge the living and the dead 01:05:36 at His appearing and His kingdom. 01:05:38 Preach the word," every time I read that text, 01:05:41 I hear CD Brooks, there's a famous sermon 01:05:44 where he is... "Preach the Word!" 01:05:45 He'd say, "Preach the Word." 01:05:47 And so we're preaching the Word. 01:05:48 He says, "Be ready in season and out of season, 01:05:51 convince, rebuke, 01:05:53 exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. 01:05:55 For the time will come," 01:05:57 so this wasn't just an issue in Paul's day, 01:05:59 this is going to be an issue in the last days, 01:06:01 "for the time will come 01:06:02 when they will not endure sound doctrine, 01:06:04 but according to their own desires 01:06:06 because they have itching ears, 01:06:08 will they heap up for themselves 01:06:10 teachers, 01:06:12 and they will turn away their ears from the truth 01:06:13 and be turned aside to fables. 01:06:15 But you be watchful in all things, 01:06:18 endure afflictions, 01:06:19 do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 01:06:21 And here's the verses I want to come to 01:06:23 because he charges Timothy and us, 01:06:25 "Preach the Word, lift up the truth, 01:06:28 scream it from the mountaintops." 01:06:30 But then he says this because he knows his time is short. 01:06:33 He says, "For I am already being poured out 01:06:35 as a drink offering 01:06:38 and the time of my departure is at hand. 01:06:41 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, 01:06:47 I have kept the faith. 01:06:49 Finally, there is laid up for me 01:06:51 the crown of righteousness, 01:06:53 which the Lord the righteous judge 01:06:55 will give to me on that day, and not to me only 01:06:58 but also to all who have loved His appearing." 01:07:03 My friends, do we love Jesus? 01:07:05 Amen. 01:07:06 If we love Jesus, the Bible says, 01:07:08 "We will be obedient to Him, we will follow in His example." 01:07:11 You know, we may endure afflictions, 01:07:12 we may endure trials and tribulations and hardships. 01:07:16 But when we keep the faith and we fight the good fight, 01:07:19 we are promised the power of the Holy Spirit. 01:07:22 Acts 1:8, it says, 01:07:23 "When the when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, 01:07:25 you shall receive power 01:07:26 to be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, 01:07:28 in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 01:07:32 When we have the Holy Spirit, 01:07:34 we can indeed do the work of that evangelist. 01:07:37 We can indeed do the work of a minister 01:07:40 and be exactly who God has called us to be. 01:07:42 Amen. 01:07:44 I just have one more 'cause my time is running out. 01:07:46 Boy, 13 minutes, goes by quick. 01:07:52 This comes from Counsels to the Church, page 240. 01:07:55 "God has a distinct people. 01:07:59 A church on earth second to none, 01:08:03 but superior to all the facilities 01:08:05 to teach the truth, 01:08:06 to vindicate the law of God, 01:08:08 God has divinely appointed agencies, 01:08:10 men whom He is leading, 01:08:12 who unborn the heat and burden of the day, 01:08:14 who are cooperating with heavenly instrumentalities 01:08:17 to advance the kingdom of Christ in our world." 01:08:19 And it says this, I love this, 01:08:20 "Let all unite with these chosen agents 01:08:23 and be found at last among those 01:08:24 who have the patience of the saints, 01:08:26 who keep the commandments of God 01:08:27 and have the faith of Jesus." 01:08:29 My friends, as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 01:08:32 we are destined to finish God's work. 01:08:35 Amen. 01:08:36 May we pray for the Holy Spirit 01:08:38 and may we allow God to transform us now 01:08:40 and finish His work. 01:08:41 Amen. Amen. 01:08:43 Thank you so much, each one of you on the panel. 01:08:47 I'm thankful this morning 01:08:48 to be a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 01:08:51 Amen. Aren't you thankful? 01:08:52 Aren't you thankful for the truth 01:08:54 in the Word of God? 01:08:55 Amen. 01:08:56 I can't think of anything more I desire at the end of my life, 01:09:00 and we never know when that's going to be. 01:09:01 But at the end, to hear those words, 01:09:04 "Well done, 01:09:05 thou good and faithful servant." 01:09:07 In the meantime, God calls us to witness for Him 01:09:10 under the anointing, and unction, 01:09:13 and power of the Holy Spirit. 01:09:16 We just have a few moments left to this program, 01:09:18 and I want to give each one of you an opportunity 01:09:20 for a closing thought, 01:09:22 either on your day or something else. 01:09:23 We'll start with you, Pastor Kenny. 01:09:25 Oh, thank you. 01:09:26 We forget we need a mike. 01:09:28 Yeah, I didn't wear mine out like Sister Mollie did, 01:09:30 but I do have it here. 01:09:34 This comes from Acts of the Apostles 01:09:36 on Friday's lesson. 01:09:38 Just a line I thought was so good. 01:09:40 It just really touches your heart when you see it. 01:09:42 Page 600. 01:09:43 It says, "All of heaven," 01:09:44 think about heaven waiting on us to move, 01:09:47 "all of heaven is waiting for men and women 01:09:50 through whom God can reveal the power of Christianity." 01:09:54 May God help each and every one of us 01:09:56 to be that witness 01:09:58 that others will see Jesus in us. 01:10:00 "Not I, but Christ." 01:10:02 And I think, this is the goal, 01:10:04 that's what we should be striving for day by day, 01:10:06 to be ready for Jesus to come, 01:10:08 show the world, just like Paul was, Jesus, 01:10:10 every opportunity, give Jesus. 01:10:13 It's my prayer for each one and for myself today. 01:10:17 I would like to say that it seems as if the Book of Acts 01:10:21 kind of ends with... 01:10:23 not really an ending, 01:10:26 and we are to continue the Book of Acts. 01:10:30 The Lord wants to pour out His Holy Spirit. 01:10:34 And He will pour out His Holy Spirit 01:10:35 upon those praying, waiting ones. 01:10:39 So I want to encourage you to put yourselves 01:10:41 in the hands of the Lord 01:10:43 that He may continue to do those great works 01:10:45 that He wants to do in these last days. 01:10:48 Amen. 01:10:49 And if God has placed His plan for your life and your heart, 01:10:53 don't give up. 01:10:54 It will come to pass, as you stay faithful to Him. 01:10:58 And no matter where you are, 01:11:00 allow yourself to be planted and not buried. 01:11:04 Produce for the kingdom of God. 01:11:06 Amen. 01:11:07 Seventh-day Adventist, in our very name, 01:11:11 our purpose as a people is right there, 01:11:15 Seventh-day Adventists. 01:11:16 On the Seventh day, God ended His work, 01:11:19 He ceased His work, 01:11:20 He finished His work. 01:11:22 And as we are awaiting the second coming of Jesus, 01:11:24 we are too, in these last days, 01:11:26 commissioned to co-labor with Him in finishing His work. 01:11:28 I just want to read this 01:11:30 from the sixth volume of the Testimonies page 295. 01:11:32 Very short. 01:11:33 It says, "Someone must fulfill the commission of Christ. 01:11:36 Someone must carry on the work which He began to do on earth 01:11:39 and the church has been given this privilege. 01:11:42 For this purpose, it has been organized." 01:11:45 Amen. 01:11:46 Thank you so much, Pastor Ryan, Miss Mollie, Pastor Johnny, 01:11:48 and Pastor Kenny. 01:11:50 I want to close with a quote 01:11:51 I wrote it in the flyleaf of my Bible. 01:11:53 Maranatha, April 5. 01:11:55 "There is no limit to the usefulness of one 01:11:58 who put himself aside, 01:12:01 makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit." 01:12:05 Make sure you stay tuned. 01:12:06 Divine Worship Hour will be here in 15 minutes. |
Revised 2018-12-17