Jesus in His Church - Paul..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Acts chapter 28. We're going to continue with our Bible studies through the book of Acts.

And tonight, by God's grace and with his help, we're going to conclude this book, chapter 28. This is the end of this study. And we're going to be addressing chapter 28. Now, beloved of Christ, chapter 28 is going to be the fulfillment of the promise that the Lord Jesus Christ had given to Paul. The Lord had said to Paul that he was going to testify in Rome.

Actually, if you go to chapter 23, you may remember that through the difficulties of the apostle and when he was presenting his defense before the elders, When things got really messy and difficult, Claudio Lucius, the tribune rescued him, chapter 23, in verse 10. And then the next day or the next night, better, he receives the promise from the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 23, it says in verse 10, And when the dissension became violent, the tribune afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. And then the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me, the Lord Jesus, in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome about those facts of the Lord Jesus Christ." That was the promise that the Lord gave Paul of his arrival to Rome.

In chapter 28, we have the fulfillment of that. But the fulfillment of that, beloved of Christ, as you remember, did not happen in a vacuum, in a short period of time. But actually, the apostle had to go through many difficulties, even through the inability and the unrighteousness of the local government to do justice in the case of the apostles. So, for instance, when you go to chapter 25, you may remember that the apostle was under the custody of not only Felix, but also after that Festus and both of them in their wickedness were unable to do justice and to give them to give him freedom. So you may remember that it was because of the inability of the local government that the apostle will appeal to go to Caesar.

So in chapter 25 in verse 8, you might remember the defense of the apostle when he said in verse 8 in chapter 25, Paul argued in his defense, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me? But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews, I have done no wrong, as you yourselves know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death.

But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar. That is the Apostle Paul appealing to Caesar. And you remember that Festus was unable to bring a charge against Paul, so then he will bring even Agrippa just to hear his opinion, just to be able to write something. That is something very important because he would have written a letter of charges that he was going to bring to Rome that perhaps would have been lost in the shipwreck.

And then when you go back to when you go to chapter 27, as our brother explained to us last week, then we have the journey of the Apostle starting towards Rome, fulfilling that promise, the inability, the unrighteousness, the wickedness of the local government to do justice for the Apostle. Both Felix and Festus, their mouths have been closed. They were unable to say you are guilty. They were in very difficult circumstances, but because they wanted to do the Jews a favor, they remain in their unrighteousness. And then the apostle appealed to Caesar and he goes to Caesar.

So in chapter 27, we are told in verse 1, that when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, Italy is the country and Rome is the capital of Italy, where he is heading. They deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. And Julius is going to be the one that is going to be in charge of Paul and the other prisoners as they go to Italy or to Rome. Now, as our brother explained to us, very difficult things happened in that journey because there was a wind and a storm and all of these very difficult things that took place. over, it seems, for a period of 14 difficult days that they thought that they were going to lose their lives.

But as you remember, the apostle in much prayer and supplication in verse 23, when he came before the Lord, the apostle gives a testimony to those who were on the ship. In verse 23 of chapter 27, he says, For this very night there stood before me an angel of God to whom I belong and whom I worship. And he said, Do not be afraid. The apostle who had received the promise by the mouth of the Lord that he was going to make it to Rome, the one who had seen the miracles of the Spirit of God working through him, many people being saved, the one who had seen the hand of the Lord doing miraculous things and mighty things, and who had heard the voice of the Lord telling him that he was going to testify in Rome, in the midst of all of this wind and storm and very difficult things, he was afraid. He was afraid that he was going to lose his life.

And not only that, that the lives of those who were with him were going to be lost. And this is the spirit of Christ in the life of a person, not only concerned about himself, but also concerned about the souls of those who were with him. He was afraid. So the Lord, in a manifestation of grace, not only appears to him as a response to his prayer, but he says, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, a confirmation of the promise that he had heard.

And you are going to go before Caesar and behold, God has granted you all of those who are with you. No one is going to perish. They are going to be saved. They are going to be rescued from the storm and from the wind and from this thing that seems to be impossible. Now they are going to be rescued.

We know that in the end, there's going to be a shipwreck of the ship, of course, and many of them or all of them are going to be saved. They're going to be rescued, 276 people. And now in chapter 28, beloved of Christ, we have the fulfillment of that promise. of arriving to Rome. He's going to arrive to Rome.

You have there in verse 16 of chapter 28, it says, and when we came into Rome, that is the fulfillment of that promise that the Lord gave to Paul, that he arrives to Rome, that he enters, he arrives to Rome. And not only that, but we are told in verse 30 of the same chapter, that he is going to spend there two years. After all of the difficult things that the apostle went through, and the very difficulties and trials and much suffering, we are told in verse 30 of this chapter, that he lived there in Rome two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him. The apostle is going to make it to Rome, but he's not going to make it before spending three months in an island and that island is going to be Malta. Malta is that island where the water is going to bring safely all of the 276 people and they're going to spend their three months.

Three months are going to spend in that island, the winter they're going to spend it there, and then after that, they're going to make their journey again to Rome, and they're going to make it into Rome, and that's what we're going to see there in Chapter 28. Just giving you that because I really want you to pay attention to the reading of the scripture in chapter 28. We have these two moments, the three months of the puzzle with the believers and what the others are going to spend there in Malta, three months, the winter. And after that, you're going to go in their journey to Rome. Those are the two points there in chapter 28.

So let's read carefully Beloved of Christ, chapter 28, and let's try to get as many details as possible from this last chapter of Acts. And then we will give ourselves to the Spirit of God to lead us into understanding His Word. So this is chapter 28, and this is the Word of God. After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to leave. He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead.

But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief men of the islands named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery, and Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed."

That is Malta. Verse 11, After three months 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, and from there we made a circuit and arrived at Regium. And 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 from Rome 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 we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with a soldier who guarded him. After three days in Rome, after three days, he called together the local leaders of the Jews.

And 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 greater number. From morning till evening, he, that's Paul, 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 these people and say, you will indeed hear, but never understand. And you will indeed see, but never perceive. For these 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. This is the word of the Lord, beloved of Christ. This is the end of the book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostle.

Or better, the Acts of the Spirit of God. Or better, the book of the Acts of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ in His Church. And actually, that is the name of this series. It is Jesus Christ in His Church.

The life of Jesus Christ in His Church. And what we have seen in this book, Beloved of Christ, is precisely that. the substance of the glorious divine life of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is manifested in the disciples as and how they are transformed, they are made like the person of Jesus Christ, and they are empowered and emboldened and given all that they need, certainty and assurance, to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This glorious reality, beloved of Christ, that the church is the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we are united to Him by faith, that the life that we have covenantally and individually is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that the promises that the Lord Jesus Christ gives for the church are the promises that Jesus Christ gives for each one of the believers. So the Lord Jesus Christ says with his sweet and perfect mouth that he will build his church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church.

That is the promise that he gives, that is Jesus Christ himself, the one that is going to build up the church, that is going to strengthen up and construct and build the church. and that no one is going to be able to oppose the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that just as He came to complete the work that the Father had given Him before glory or before eternity in their glory, and He completed that work, then the Lord Jesus Christ is also going to complete the work, beloved of Christ, of edifying us, building us, making us, preparing us as His bride. And the glorious thing of this is that this promise is not only a covenantal promise given, but it's a promise given to each one of the members of the church. Those who by grace through faith have been united to Christ also receive the promise that the work that He started in each one of us, He is going to bring to a completion. So he says that he's going to build the church, that he's the builder of the church, that he's going to present the church to himself without blemish, without a spot.

He promised that for the church. And He also promised that for your soul, beloved of Christ. If you are in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, if you have experienced the love of Christ, if you have tasted that He is good, then the promise for your soul is that the one who started the good work in you is going to bring it to completion. Oh, I would be very sad if that statement causes nothing in your heart, beloved of Christ. This is a glorious promise that independently of the sufferings and the tribulations and our shortcomings, and even independently of our sin, the Lord Jesus Christ promises that He's going to build up the church and that He's going to bring to completion the work that He started in each one of us for the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise to Him because He is the one that has given us the certainty that He is going to bring to consummation everything that He has given, as I promised, that we will make it to Rome or better, that we will make it to the heavenly Jerusalem, right? That we will be partakers of the spiritual commonwealth of the spiritual Jerusalem, that we will have a different passport, a passport that is in eternity in heaven, that we will be partakers of this divine citizenship with the Lord, that we will make it until the end. And all of this is by virtue of something as simple and as despicable for the world as just this, faith. Just simply believing what He says, what He utters, what He writes, what He has given us in His Word that is by faith that I sold is vitally united to Him. That is just simply by faith, by believing, by confirming, by having certainty that what He says is truth, that we can be partakers of the glorious blessings of being saved.

Beloved of Christ, the lady outside and the people outside, they are dead in their trespasses. Because they lack faith. If they die tonight, they're going to see judgment. The book is going to open and they're going to have to give an account for the things that they've done. But if we are genuinely in Christ, even if our lives are taken tonight, then we can have the certainty that the Lord is going to take us to glory, not because of the things that we have done, but because what He actually did upon the cross 2000 years ago.

This is the glory of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and all of that by faith. A faith that has been granted to us not only to be a blessing, but a faith that also comes with a promise. A faith that comes with a promise that for those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that for the sake of Jesus Christ, He has been granted to them not only to believe, but also He has been granted to them to Suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. A faith that has united us to Him, to enjoy all the spiritual blessings that were given in Him before the foundation of the world, but that comes with a promise for this present world, that just as we have believed Also, we are going to suffer for his sake. The apostle Paul calls that righteousness sake, that the more that we become like the person of Jesus Christ, as the apostles did, the more that the spirit of Jesus Christ was in the apostles and in us.

then we are more like Christ. And the promise of the blessing through faith is also coming with the promise that we will suffer by His name or because of His name. Suffering that can be seen throughout this book that we have just finished, beloved of Christ. starting better with Peter and with John, imprisonment and the persecution of the believers and of the saints. The death of Stephen, remember that he was filled with wisdom and he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And because of his Christ-likeness, he became naturally insulting to the carnality of the Jews and he was killed. That suffering of Peter and John and Stephen was passed on to the Apostle Paul, who is the one that writes that it's been granted to us not only to believe, but also to suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, all of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. and beloved of Christ, the common denominator in the sufferings of Peter, and John, and Stephen, and all the saints that were scattered throughout the world, and the Apostle Paul, it is boldness in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not a passive Christianity. It is not a passive, silent Christianity in my house, just living my Christianity for myself and with God and with those who call themselves Christians, but rather...

The Christianity that we see in the book of Acts is a Christianity that empowers the believers to open their mouth and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the common denominator. That's why Peter and John were in prison. That's why Stephen died. And that's why the apostle Paul is in the situation that he was or that he's here in the book of Acts, because they opened their mouth.

to speak of the hope of the Jews, namely Jesus Christ. They were bold enough by the Spirit of God to speak of the good news of salvation, to speak to the world that apart from Christ, they were headed to hell, that apart from the person of Jesus Christ, they were dead in their trespasses and there was no option for them to escape. the natural destination of their souls, other than the person of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Redeemer, the One who came 2,000 years ago to die upon the cross, to set a people unto Himself, free from that destination, boldness, proclamation in speaking the message of the gospel. And that means, what I said on Sunday, that that means that the apostles feared God more than they feared men. So they were moved to open their mouth without compromising and without shame to speak of this glorious gospel that is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

the common denominator in their lives. It was suffering that was the result of Christ's likeness that empowered them to open their mouth to speak of the only way to salvation. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through the person of Jesus Christ, the one that is given here in Scripture, that is our Savior, that is our Redeemer. Suffering comes when we become more like Him, and we are empowered enough by His Holy Spirit to open our mouth and to speak things to this world that are insulting to them, because they are not things of this world, but because they are things that come from above.

The common denominator. This is the power of the gospel. This is the power of God, the message of the gospel that is insulting for the ones that are perishing. But it's the power of God for those who are saved. This is the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, beloved of Christ.

We have this message in our mouth that is powerful to save, to redeem, to give life, to turn darkness into light, to bring those who are captive to Satan, to give them freedom. People believe that they are free with the things that they have, and the empires that they build, and the riches that they have. They're slaves. Slaves to unrighteousness, slaves to their nature. They are slaves to themselves.

They're slaves to pride. They're slaves to themselves. It's only Jesus Christ, the one that can liberate us and say, Oh, Lord, take my life. My life is only meaningful because you are with me. And because I have the hope that I'm going to see you face to face.

And I'm not going to be found short, but rather I'm going to be found just and justified by the one who gives faith, your son, Jesus Christ. That is the glorious power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, beloved of Christ. And what I want to do is just simply encourage you to see the glory of the gospel, the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation, this sweet, fragrant aroma that comes before the Father through Jesus Christ. He accepts that it's life for those who believe, that it's death for those who reject it. The gospel that never is going to the world without purpose.

Either it saves people or treasure up wrath for the day of wrath for those who reject it, even the ones that are within the sound of my voice. Beloved of Christ, the glory of the gospel of Christ in chapter 28. And I want to show you that the gospel of Christ reveals. The gospel of Christ reveals. When we understand the gospel of Christ, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation, but it reveals, it manifests, it illuminates the human nature and illuminates the character of God and illuminates what God has done for us.

The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ reveals, illuminates, manifests and produces. So there are a couple of things I want to show you from these chapters of the glory of the gospel of Christ. And I hope that the Lord may help us to be edified and encouraged in our Savior and Redeemer. The first thing that I want to show you is that the gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the futility of the flesh. The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the worthlessness, the uselessness of the flesh.

And I mean that apart from the spiritual things of Christ, the flesh and that which is opposite to Christ is useless, worthless, purposeless, futile. The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the futility of the flesh and that we can see it in the example of the people in Malta. Because it is by the providence of the Lord that all of these 276 people had been rescued and saved from the death that they were going to see there in the ocean. And now they have been rescued and they arrived to this place that is called Malta. Beloved of Christ, I want to show you in the people of Malta, whatever the word is for the people in Malta, the futility of the flesh.

And the first thing that I want you to see is the futility of the flesh in the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh are futile and worthless, or in other words, good deeds or good works that are done in the flesh are futile and worthless and useless. That is what we have here in Malta. We have the apostle with the believers being rescued by the providence of God and arriving to this place. And then we have these people, the native people of Malta that come and approach them.

And we have in the text that they showed to them unusual kindness. In other translations it says, "...extraordinary kindness, that they show unto them these lost people who were lost and during trespasses, that they show unto them unusual kindness. And they kindled even a fire and welcomed all of them, because it had begun to rain good works, good deeds, Not only that, we're told that in the end of their time, of the three months, we are told in verse 10 that the people of Malta, they were very hospitable to them and that they honored the apostle and the others greatly. That they provided for the apostle and for the believers everything that they needed on their way to Rome.

The futility of good works. Beloved of Christ, because the Bible is so clear that there is no one good, that there is no one righteous, not even one. The good works of these people of here in Malta, even though they are defined by Scripture and by Luke as unusual kindness, they are futile, worthless and useless. Apart from the Savior that they are going to hear about, apart from the Redeemer that they are going to hear about from the mouth of Paul and the others, the good deeds, their kindness, their hospitality and the things that they do to them are completely worthless. People in their goodness are on the way to hell.

If it was not because of the providence of God that took these men, Paul and the others, to Malta, these people would have died thinking that they were good, that they were manifesting unusual kindness and that they did all of these good things for others, even honoring and very hospitable in all of these things. Their good works are futile, worthless. The righteousness of God is not purchased with good works. The righteousness of God is not purchased with good deeds, not even if they are defined like they are defined here in Scripture. It is only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But you see, beloved of Christ, apart from the light of the gospel, we are blinded to the futility of good works. The flesh loves good works. The flesh loves self-righteousness that is evidently manifested in being good in our own strength. And apart from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will never understand that even the best of our works or whoever works are still filthy rags before the Lord. The unusual kindness, the extraordinary kindness of these people at Malta, if they would have brought all of their good deeds and all of the good things that they had done, not only at this moment, but in the past, would have not been sufficient for them to present themselves before the throne of God when they see death, even if that was manifested to one of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The futility of good works. But beloved of Christ, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ does not only reveal the futility of good works, but also reveals to us and is given to us in Scripture that the lost person has a witness in and of themselves that they are unrighteous and that they are breakers of the law. that they suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness, and that the lost person is able to discern from good and bad, that the lost person, the person that is not in Christ, is able to discern between evil and good. Because we are told there even then in verse three, that after the manifestation of the extraordinary kindness of these people in Malta, that something is going to happen, that the apostle is going to bring some sticks to the fire that they had made, and then a viper is going to come to bite one of his hands. And then the people at Malta are just going to come to this conclusion, not knowing the God of Scripture, but defining him as a murderer.

and saying that if this man has just been rescued and saved from the water and now there's a viper that is biting him, then that means that he's a murderer and justice is not letting him go. Where did they learn that? Who told them something about murder? Or who told them about this concept of justice or that there is someone or something that is supposed to do justice? They have a God-given conscience who has taught them that there is right and that there is evil.

And He has given them the ability to discern between that which is offensive before God, even to the point that they can define between murder and justice and that someone is supposed to do justice. And this is the work of the God giving conscience given to a particular person, helping them or better, accusing them for their good works, or accusing them for their unrighteousness, or justifying them when they do good works. The gospel of Jesus Christ, beloved of Christ, as it is portrayed and displayed in Scripture, helps us and reveals to us the God-given conscience, the one that is supposed to be pierced every time that we preach the gospel. Because these people who understand the concept of a murderer and these people who understand the concept of justice, are going to be confronted with the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they will understand by the conviction of the Spirit that they are accountable before God, and that this God-given concept that they had of justice is now opposite and against to them, and that they are the ones that are accused by their own consciences. Beloved of Christ, the gospel, the simple message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is given to us in Scripture, reveals to us the futility of the works of the flesh and the good works that we can do in the flesh, but also the futility of self-righteousness as is testified in the conscience by the God-given conscience better from wrong to good.

That is the story that we have there in those couple of verses. And then we're going to be told something very interesting that is going to tell us something else that I think the gospel and the Scripture and the Word of God reveals in the character of human fallen nature. And that is that after they saw that the viper that had beaten the apostle was not causing any type of damage, but actually sometime passed and they saw that the apostle was with no harm, Then they said to him, Wow, this has to be a God. That is the futility, beloved, of worship, that these people who were just before accusing him as a murderer suddenly changed their mind to have the accuser now become a God in their minds, showing that is a necessity in the mind of a person to worship something. And this is the futility, beloved, of the flesh.

Because those who are in the flesh are going to try to make unto themselves every single type of idol. Imagine that! How simple it is for these people at Malta just to consider a person to be a god. Imagine yourself how difficult it would be for us just to change our God. Impossible by the grace of God.

But for these people, they can change easily the one that is being accused as a potential murderer, who justice is not letting him go, to a potential God who has been now rescued, who has now been not received any type of damage. This is the futility of the flesh in these people that takes them to worship the creature rather than the creator, that takes them in their fallenness to worship that which has been made instead of worshiping the God who created the heavens and the earth. Beloved, that we might not be indifferent or dull or cold or apart and away from the realities of the flesh. Beloved, when we are preaching the gospel to the lost, the person that we're preaching the gospel to is like the people in Malta. They are dead in their trespasses.

They can change their mind as quickly from an accuser to a God. They make unto themselves different type of gods. They are without hope. Even though they know from good and evil, they have a conscience that testifies to them they are dead in their trespasses. That is the reality of the flesh.

That is the reality of the works of Adam, or better, the imputed unrighteousness of Adam to all humanity, all slaves of this particular condition. And the gospel of Jesus Christ, beloved, reveals that. Our eyes were open precisely to these realities. Our eyes were open to our self-righteousness. Our eyes were open to the conviction that we had of our own sin.

Our eyes were open to the fact that we were making unto ourselves gods and that we were worshipping those gods. And that many times those gods would have been ourselves, that we were worshipping ourselves. The gospel liberates the soul of the lost from all of that captivity. What we see in the people of Malta, it is the reality for every single person. We are just seeing them acting in their natural ways, amazed by the fact that a viper did not kill a man.

And being a man now, he turns to be a God. And now they are willing to worship these men as a God without hope, without hope. Apart from the true, genuine God, the Lord Jesus Christ, every other thing is Hopeless, without purpose, futile. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, beloved of Christ, also reveals the need of mercy, the need of mercy, because it was through the gospel of Jesus Christ that the spirit of God had empowered the apostle Paul to do mighty works that will confirm the verity, the truth, the veracity of the message that he was proclaiming. And Malta was not going to be the exception.

So the spirit of God in them is going to bring him to make many or to perform many miracles. So we are even told that in the city there was a man, the chief man of the island, his name was Publius, who received them and who entertained them in hospitable ways for three days. And we are also told that the father Publius, that he was sick with fever and dysentery. Now Paul visited him and prayed and putting his hands on him, he healed him. And after these things have taken place, all the people of Malta will hear, or they heard about these miracles taking place, and they just came, all of them, they wanted to be healed, they wanted to be cured from the different things that they were going through.

The mercy of God manifested through the miracles and the hand of the apostle unto this man, unto all of these people, not for the sake of the healing of their bodies, but was a confirmation, a manifestation that the message that these men was proclaiming was the message of a God that was mightier than a God that would not die to the beating of a viper. That the God that was behind Paul was a God that was mightier than everything that they had seen. That was a God that had created the heavens and the earth and who was in charge of controlling even the future, the destiny, the fate of the sick and the one that was weak. This is the God of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the one that has the power even to heal as a manifestation and a confirmation of the message that Paul was proclaiming. That was the heart, that was the life of all of those in Malta, their beloved of Christ.

And every time that we proclaim the gospel, we are in front of people who have the same heart, the same nature, the same inclinations of the people that were there in Malta. The Lord used the Apostle Paul with might and with his spirit, not only to proclaim the gospel, but of course, to save many people. Now, we are not told there, but even your secular history says that even perhaps this man, Paul, would have been the first pastor of a church there in Malta after the time that they had spent there. Beloved of Christ, that the Lord may allow us to see these mighty things and mighty, mighty works of Christ in the midst of people being saved and being redeemed from their sins. That is the futility of the flesh that is revealed by the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation.

But the same gospel, beloved of Christ, reveals and manifests and produces another glorious thing. And that is that the gospel of Christ reveals, produces, and manifests a glorious power. And that is a power to bond, a power to connect, a power to bring together brothers and sisters in Christ. Because after these three months that Paul is going to spend there in Malta, doing the things that he did, and spending the time that he spent with them during the winter, we're gonna told that he's going to start his journey towards Rome. And as he's going towards Rome, he's going to spend certain days, sometimes a couple of days, but primarily in the city of Puteoli, there in the end of verse 13, he is going to spend there seven days.

And we are told that there were brothers and sisters in Puteoli, that there were brothers and sisters. He had never been there. but that people by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ had been saved. That these endeavors of the apostles and all of those who had been scattered of preaching of this Jesus Christ was reaching places that they did not even know. And that they were people that were saved there in Puteoli.

And you know what? When they saw each other, when they heard that Paul is coming, There was a natural bond that was created in them, not by the flesh or not by knowing Him or not knowing Him, but by Jesus Christ that said, He's our brother and He's coming and we are to be and spend time with Him. Seven days the brethren of Petioli decided to spend some time with Paul. Seven days in which he would have told them, brethren, all of the glorious things that the Lord Jesus Christ has done. He would have told them of the glorious way in which they were rescued in the shipwreck and in the time that they spent there on the ocean.

All the miracles that the Lord had performed through the hands of Paul. But not only that, the brethren there in Puteoli would have told, let us tell you, brother Paul, of the things that had happened among us. Let us tell you, brother Paul, of the salvations that have taken place among us by the same gospel that you preach. Let us tell you, brother Paul, of the love and the unity that has taken place among us by this message that has started to be preached from a very small, feeble city. Brother Paul, let us tell you about the glorious thing that we are understanding and seeing through Scripture and the Scriptures of the Jews.

Glorious fellowship, glorious unity, glorious bond by the power of the gospel. That is what the gospel does, that brings together people, not in the flesh, but united in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Spirit, immediate, automatic love for the saint, something that cannot be produced in the flesh. The flesh has envy and lack of love and self-centeredness, but Jesus Christ and the works of the gospel in a person automatically produce in this brethren love for the Apostle and also love from the Apostle to these brethren in Portigali. Seven days he spent there and even the brethren from Rome would have heard that Paul was there in the south of Italy and they came down to visit the Apostle Paul. and the result of this glorious fellowship, beloved of Christ, given to us in the years of verse 15.

Because this glorious power of bonding, connecting that the gospel produces in believers, in the community, in the fellowship of the saints, it causes naturally thankfulness. It says in the end of verse 15, Paul thanked God. And the second thing, and he took courage. Gratitude, thankfulness to the Lord God for the faces of those people there in Puteoli, for the brothers and sisters. And not only that, encouragement, encouragement to continue and to go to Rome to the things that he had to do according to the promise that he had received from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Beloved of Christ, this is what we are to desire generally in the Spirit, to be abiding in our hearts. Naturally, that our hearts will be filled with thankfulness, gratitude, encouragement, empowerment, just because we see the faces of our brothers and sisters shining with the glory of Jesus Christ. that we may say, brother, let me tell you about what the Lord is doing among us. Brother and sister, tell me about what the Lord is doing in your life. Tell me about what the Lord has been doing among us.

Because that would have been the conversations that the people in Putili and the Apostle Paul and those saints were coming from Rome would have had about the Lord Jesus Christ and the mighty things that he would have done. And he was filled with thankfulness and encouragement. Beloved of Christ, not only that, but the gospel of Jesus Christ, as the apostle arrives to Rome in verse 16, we're told that he comes into Rome. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ reveals, manifest, illuminates judgment. judgment, it is not only the futility of the ways of the flesh, as I tried to show you there with the people in Malta, and it's not only that the gospel of Jesus Christ gives or produces this bonding power to be united in the Lord with brothers and sisters, but also that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings, reveals, illuminates or produces, if you want, Judgment.

And that is what we have with the arrival of the apostle Paul there to Rome. We have judgment. Judgment taking place. Judgment that comes upon the Jews. The Jews had rejected the cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and because of the rejection of Jesus Christ, judgment will come upon them.

And that judgment is given to us in verse 28. In verse 28 we are told, Therefore let it be known to you to the Jews that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen. Beloved of Christ, the gospel of Jesus Christ reveals, manifests, illuminates the judgment that came upon the Jews because of the rejection of their Messiah, because of the rejection of the cornerstone, because of the rejection of the suffering servant. They were waiting in the hope of a kingdom.

Jesus Christ was the one that came to inaugurate that kingdom and they rejected the Savior, the one who was prophesied in the old times, the one that was spoken of by the prophets, they rejected Him. And I'm not speaking only about the reputable people in Jerusalem and the Jews and all of those of reputation, the high priests and all of those people, Many Jews, beloved of Christ, rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's the same reality that we have here in Rome, that the Jews are going to reject the message of salvation that has been proclaimed by Paul and the name of this Lord Jesus Christ. And that now this message, these oracles of God that were entrusted to the Jews are now going to the Gentiles. And beloved of Christ, the reason why feeble, weak, Common, clean, not holy, profane Gentiles in the eyes of religious Jews like us can worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is because of this judgment. It is because of this truth. The reason why Gentiles can be partakers of the glorious salvation is because of what Apostle says, the Gentiles will listen. The Jews hardened their hearts. The Jews closed themselves to the message of the gospel when clearly the scriptures that they knew and the truth that they had a study of their lives were testifying of this Jesus Christ.

Satan was more powerful in their hearts than the truth or they better close themselves to the truth and they received this judgment. that this salvation now goes to the Gentiles. They will listen, the apostle says to us. And the glorious thing is that when you turn the page to Romans, now we have the gospel of the Jew, Paul, to the Gentiles, Romans. And then you have there in the change in your page in Romans chapter 1, it says, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.

concerning his son, who was descended from David, or an offspring of David, according to the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, among all the nations, among all the heathens. Beloved of Christ, had you been born 3,000 years ago in a Gentile land, you would have not have means like we have today to be saved and to see eternal life. You were born on a side of history in which the message of the gospel is primarily for us. in which we know about Jesus Christ primarily because of what took place here 2,000 years ago. Gentiles, the ones that were captive under the power of Satan, not to hear about the God of Israel, now completely liberated to hear of the goodness of Christ Jesus, the one who is a Jew, the Messiah of the Jews, but the Savior of the world.

The one who saves us, redeems us, makes us new, the one that purifies us. And when we were unclean, profane, not holy, not ceremonially prepared for the Jews and for their rituals and their traditions, He has made us clean by His blood, not to introduce us into a temple or into a tabernacle made by ants, but to take us into the Holy of Holies, the place of the priests now available for feeble, common, profane Gentiles who will look, speak in different ways than the Jews. But this is the grace of the Savior extending this to the world. Salvation to the world. Judgment upon the Jews.

Blessing upon the Gentiles. Judgment upon the Jews because they rejected the cornerstone. Blessing upon the Gentiles. That we might not be puffed up, though, because this is what the apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 11, that we might not be puffed up thinking that just because they disbelieve now that we are fully inserted or introduced and grafted into the tree, that we are to have faith not to be puffed up by these ways, but to desire the same grace to be upon them. to pray and expect that the Lord will do a mighty work in them, the national people of Israel, as He did for the Gentiles.

But judgment came, judgment came upon the Jews so that the blessing will be extended to the Gentiles, a beloved of Christ. The judgment that came upon the Jews for their rejection of the gospel is the same judgment that it repeats and continues to repeat for every single person that rejects the gospel. Because it's not only a judgment that came upon them once they rejected the cornerstone, the Messiah, but it's a judgment that comes upon every single person when they reject the glorious message of salvation. A judgment that is revealed every time that the gospel is proclaimed. Every time that we open our mouth and we speak in the power of the Spirit of the glories of Christ and the opportunity of better, the blessing of salvation that we have in Him, Every time that that message is proclaimed, those who receive it by grace through faith, for them, it is a blessing.

But for the lost, it is wrath that is treasure up for the day of wrath. This is what the apostle says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 2. If you go there to 2nd Corinthians chapter 2, you will see a glorious thing that I want us to meditate and think upon. 2 Corinthians chapter two, I think I said five, chapter two. Think about this, beloved of Christ.

Think about these words. In 2 Corinthians chapter two, verse 14. The apostle says, but thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession. And through us, those who proclaim the gospel, and through us spreads the fragrance of knowledge, or the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God, among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing.

To one, the fragrance from death to death, to the other, a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? Beloved of Christ, in Christ Jesus, pay attention to what he says. Thanks be to God who in Christ Jesus always lead us in a triumphal procession, in a triumphal I don't know what the word is in English. I have it in Spanish, but my sister will only understand.

A procession, moving, going everywhere. Everyone in a triumphal procession, beloved of Christ. And he says, everywhere. And that we are, that we are the proclaimers of the gospel, that we are the aroma of Christ. that we are the aroma of Christ.

Remember the fragrant aroma of the sacrifices in the Old Testament, that the sacrifice and the aroma will come before the Lord, His nostrils, and He would accept it. The fragrant of the accepted sacrifice, Jesus Christ, which is always pleasing to the nostrils of God, we are. the fragrant aroma. We are the fragrant aroma of Christ. Everywhere that we go and what we do produces something for those who receive the gospel.

It is for those who receive it believing it is life to life and for those who reject it or those who are perishing is death to death. The judgment that was executed through the gospel of Jesus Christ for the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ continues to be brought upon the life of those who reject in judgment every single day. Every time that the gospel is proclaimed, something is accomplished. Every time that the gospel of the person of Jesus Christ is clearly portrayed and proclaimed with power and clarity according to Scriptures, something is accomplished. We hope and expect that it's salvation, but it's also the fulfillment of the justice of God in judgment for those who reject.

Beloved of Christ, fragrant aroma we are everywhere and we are told that it's a triumphal procession. That means that we're victorious every time that the gospel is proclaimed. Triumphal procession. as soldiers, as an army, going and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's how the judgment came there in Acts chapter 28.

But the important thing that I want to pay attention to there in Acts chapter 28 is that this was the very important thing for the apostle, that he wanted to bring this consummation of these events that took place there, or better, the statement that is given to us in verse 28. that the salvation was rejected by the Jews and that the Gentiles would listen. So then the apostle, as it was his custom every time that he would arrive to a place, when he arrived to Rome, he would go and call all the Jews to come, all the elders, all the important people to come and to listen to him. And he defended himself initially saying that he had not been charged with anything in the past. that he had not been charged with anything in the past, that he called all the Jews and all the elders to come to him.

It says in verse 17, if you go there, after three days, he called together the local leaders of the Jews. And when they had gathered, he said to them, he presented his defense. He said to them, the Jews were not able to condemn them. The Jews were not able to bring any serious accusation before me. It is just for the hope of Israel that I'm just here before you.

But these people, we are told in the text that it seems that they did not know anything about the case of Paul. We are told there in verse 21, and they said to him, verse 21, we have received no letters from Judea about you. And none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. The Jews in Rome did not know, or it seems at least, that they did not know about the case against the apostle Paul. Plus, remember that the letter that Festus would have written with whatever Agrippa said to him, I don't think that Julius would have kept it in his pocket.

It would have been lost there in the shipwreck. So there was no case that was brought against the apostle. But the apostle wanted to speak to them because the apostle did not want to present a defense before them mainly. He wanted to speak about the kingdom of God. That was the most important thing.

So he said, listen to me. And they are going to allocate or appoint a day, we are told, in which many a great number will come before the apostle. And it's in that meeting, glorious meeting, I imagine, in which all of these Jews, imagine, all of these Jews, a great number of Jews and leaders are coming, and here's Luke and perhaps some other Christians there, together with the apostle are coming, all of these great number of people coming to the apostle on this particular day in which the apostle is going to do what we are told there in verse 23. And when they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. Here, the judgment of God is going to be executed upon the Jews who rejected the message of Jesus Christ.

The important thing that I want you to notice, beloved of Christ, is that this judgment takes place through the preaching of the gospel or through the preaching of the word. We are told there that from morning till evening, the Apostle Paul expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law and Moses and from the prophets. And some of them were conceived and some other of them disbelief. But beloved of Christ, from morning till evening, Showing from the Scriptures, from the prophets and from the law, that this Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah. Some of them believed, some of them did not believe.

And it's upon the rejection that the apostle here is going to quote the prophecy of the apostle, or the better, of the prophet. He says, the Holy Spirit was right in saying to you, your fathers, through Isaiah the prophet. You will not have ears to hear, you will not have eyes to see, you will not be able to hear this message. And for that reason, this is coming to the Gentiles. Beloved of Christ, the judgment, the just judgment of God that comes upon the person who receives the gospel and rejects the gospel happens when we vigilantly come before the Lord and preach the word.

That is justice made when we preach that which the Lord has said. And I want you to notice the heart of the apostle there, beloved of Christ, because sometimes we have this hyper Calvinistic practical approach to preaching in which we just simply preach the gospel. And we say, whatever the Lord does is the Lord will. Yes, of course, that is from the perspective of God. But from the perspective of men, look what the apostle did.

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. Diligently, His soul was engaged. He understood the spiritual matter that was taking place there. He understood that the people before and in front of Him were eternal souls who will end up either in heaven or hell. He understood that the people in front of Him were souls that would have been purchased, some of them by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So in a very diligent way, the apostle will come to expound. From morning till evening, the scriptures testifying to them about this Lord Jesus Christ, pouring his heart on these people so that they will be left without excuse. If they are going to reject this Jesus Christ, then this Jesus Christ will be rejected, but he was fully proclaimed and he was fully presented before them. And praise God, beloved, that some of them actually believed. Some of them actually believed the gospel of Jesus Christ.

reveals judgment also. It is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first, and then to the Greek, to the Gentile. But the gospel of Jesus Christ also reveals, manifests, illuminates, presents a judgment, not only to the Jews, but also to the ones that reject the message of the gospel. And that happens through the faithful preaching of the word. Every time that someone is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, there's a divine court in which the justice of God has been proclaimed and sinners have been brought before the preaching of this divine statement.

And they will be found either guilty or innocent. And their innocence will be by means of the grace of God being poured upon those souls, giving them faith to believe the message that they are hearing. Other than that, they will be rejecters in the nature of this divine appeal, and they will be found guilty of their own sins and transgressions, and they will deserve eternal hell because of their unrighteousness against God. What a serious matter it is to proclaim the gospel. Wouldn't we want to do it as it is written?

What do we want to do not with the wisdom of men, but with the wisdom that is of God? What do we want to do it not in the power of the intellect or in the power of men, but with the power of God? If it's such a serious matter every time that we open our mouth for the soul that is hearing, for the soul that is listening to this message, don't we want to do it according to God's ways? Lest we might be found to be a castaway, as the apostle will say there also in Corinthians, even as a preacher of the gospel. We are to do it according to his own ways.

My beloved of Christ, the gospel, and we can see this in the life of the Apostle Paul, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ also reveals, illuminates and presents to us our mission, our mission. And the mission of the believer is the same mission of the disciples of the book of Acts. And that is that we are soldiers of Christ. that we are soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are taking the banner of truth in our hands, spiritually speaking, bringing the truth of Jesus Christ to darkness, the light of the Lord Jesus Christ to the place where there is no light, that we are soldiers and that He is the commander and that He is the one that has enlisted us to be soldiers of Christ. to give a battle that is not according to flesh or blood, but rather to battle spiritually speaking, that we are soldiers and the message of the gospel is the main weapon that we have.

And the spiritual weapons that have been given to us in this army, in this mission given to us as soldiers is what the disciples had in the book of Acts. pouring of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the Holy Spirit in us and among us individually and as a church, so that the preaching will be with a manifestation and demonstration of the power of the Spirit and of truth, that the Spirit of God, as it was among the disciples, would be among the believers. The weapons of these soldiers of Christ is not the intellect, nor is the might of the flesh, is not the muscle, but rather meek, humble, powerful prayer meetings in which they come in supplication all together to supplicate and then to pray before the Lord that they will be empowered, that they will be guided, that they will be illuminated with the word of Christ to continue to do the work that they have been called to do. prayer before the Lord, that they will be entrusted with the divine gospel in their mouths, not to compromise, to have fear of God and not fear of men, that when even the government is opposed to the proclamation of the gospel, that we will fear God above them. and decide to give our lives even for the cost of being soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because the one who has been enlisted for spiritual things, if he entangles himself with the affairs of this world, then that man or that woman proves to be not a soldier of Christ. Beloved, this is the glorious mission that we have been given by the gospel of the Lord. And you know what the cost of this mission is? The cost of this war, the cost of this spiritual battle, the cost of this calling that we have as soldiers of Jesus Christ? Your life.

Take up my cross and follow me. Die to self and live in Christ. Die to the world and live in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the cost of the mission of proclaiming the gospel and being soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of counting everything as done and ravaged and lost for the sake of the excellency of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be soldiers of the gospel. To count our lives as something that is lost. That is the cost of the calling that we have to be the carriers, just as Peter and John and Stephen and Paul have a glorious message that can save the world and will save the world. The message that will save souls, that will give eternal life. This requires death to self.

Not Christianity being an appendix to our already good life, but being everything in our life that we are given completely to Christ, our thoughts, our mind, our hearts are given to Him, not partially, but entirely. Beloved of Christ, I don't think that the Bible gives any grounds for partiality when it comes to the ways of Christ. The mission of which we have been entrusted is to be proclaimers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the urgency that there was in the first century is the same urgency and perhaps greater in our day. And if the need is even greater in our day, that means that the soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ are even called with much more strength and power to make use of all of the things that He has given us, the truth of the scripture, the community of the saints, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, the faith that comes from above, the outpouring of the presence of the Holy Spirit, truth and might and power to proclaim the truth, fearing Him first.

and instead of fearing the world. When come times, brothers and sisters, of perhaps much, indeed, suffering and persecution and difficulty, it is the spirit of God that was in the lives of all of these disciples in the book of Acts, the one that is necessary in the midst of the church, so that indeed, we may desire not only speak an empty, careless words that our lives should be taken and that we want to die to self and that we want Christ to live in us, but that indeed, We're willing, like the Apostle Paul, not only to go to Jerusalem, but to die in Jerusalem, that we're willing to go to Rome, not only to go to Rome, but to die in Rome, that we're willing to speak to the people in Malta, not only to speak to them, but also to die for them because of the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is the ongoing confrontation of the Bible to the Christians. So then what are we doing with our days? as believers.

So then what are we doing with our lives? What are we doing with our hearts? What are we doing with our minds when it comes to this glorious mission given to us? Eternity given in the hands of feeble people. The message of eternity given in the hands, in the mouth of feeble people.

Eternity entrusted, this message of eternity entrusted to feeble people. What are we doing? Beloved of Christ, let us protect ourselves from the deceitfulness of our sin. And let us protect ourselves from the deceitfulness of the ways of Satan, in which he wants us to have us in a passive, passive Christianity, in which Christianity is only an appendix to our already good lives. And when it's something that we do on a Thursday or Wednesday or whenever or a Sunday or just every couple of weeks, And the rest of the time we are committed not to a battle that is heavenly, but a battle that is secular and of this world, that we are not enlisted in the lines of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that we are enlisted in our own lines and in our own army.

Beloved of Christ, let us protect ourselves from the deceitfulness of all of these things, not only entering into our own minds, but into our own congregation. Because what Pacific Pines needs and what the Gold Coast needs and what Queensland and Australia needs is a church that is completely surrendered to self or better surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ, dying to self. And saying, Lord Jesus, that you may be the one that abides among us, so that when we open our mouth, maybe not our words, but your words, And that we may take glory, not in ourselves, but glory in that your name is being exalted and that souls are being added to your kingdom and that glory is being brought to your name. So that we will do like the apostle, preaching and teaching continually, daily among the saints to see the glorious face of Christ in each one of your faces. Amen.