Living in the Kingdom 6/20/10
Sermon Series: Acts – Faith Explosion
Title: Living in the Kingdom (6/20/10)
Text: Acts 28:30-31
“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.” (ESV)
Theme: At the end of the narrative about the explosion of faith which took place beginning in Jerusalem, we see Jesus preparing people to be representatives of the kingdom of God. In the end of the narrative we see Paul speaking about the same kingdom in the most influential city in all of the world. We can learn something from a brief look at Paul’s mission and outcome.
Introduction: The backpacking trip up to Boulder Lake: the ascent, the challenge, and the reward.
Transition: As we come to this portion of scripture we are confronted with the end of the narrative of the explosion of faith which had begun in Jerusalem 30 years previous. In the opening of this narrative we find Jesus in Palestine speaking about the kingdom of God in about 30 AD. Paul, who had come to the Lord on that road to Damascus in about 34 AD, finds himself standing in Rome about 63 AD giving the same message about the Kingdom of God.
I. God is the Shepherd of our lives.
a. Paul’s journey is a clear example of God’s hand at work in the life of a believer in order to accomplish His purposes.
i. God had already promised Paul that He would stand and testify about Him in Rome.
1. Acts 27:23
b. Discussion of providence.
i. Some scripture.
1. Jeremiah 29: 11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
2. Ephesians 2:10 – ” we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
II. God allows speed bumps
a. Even when we are certain of the call of God in our lives, there are times when we will face all kinds of hardships as we pursue them.
i. Think about what Paul went through in order to get to where he was.
1. A mob that wanted to lynch him.
2. 4 different trials in front of hostile authorities.
3. His own people, the Jews, trying over and over to take him out.
4. A horrendous journey, in chains, which included a shipwreck and life and death struggles.
ii. If ever there was a faithful minister of the gospel who was certain of God’s call on his life it was Paul. Yet he probably suffered as much as anybody in order to carry out that ministry.
1. “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28, ESV)
iii. God uses some suffering in our lives for a variety of purposes.
1. It matures us.
2. It causes us to slow down.
3.
III. God uses our lives as faithful examples to others.
a. A man’s life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching. C.H. Spurgeon.
b. It is almost ironic that Paul does not arrive in Rome as the incredible leader of a huge contingent of believers throughout three continents, but instead as a prisoner in chains.
c. We need to live our lives for an audience of one but with the sure knowledge that the world is watching.
d. Two words are used to describe the manner of Paul’s teaching about Jesus
i. It was bold – the word which is used here, parrēsia ,is used four times in the book of Acts and 31 times throughout the NT, it always carries the idea that the behavior is being noticed by other people. Paul was opening up his house (imperfect, multiple times) to people and was preaching about the kingdom as an example while he was in those chains.
