The Hope of Humanity Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Hope of Humanity Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 28: 17-31.

We look at the life of the Apostle Paul and we remember the words of Romans 1 16 I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation To everyone that believeth and to the Jew first and also to the Greeks meaning that we are to take it to every person We are the to be continued This is Mike Sanders and I am the host of hope worth having we are bringing you the Word of God from the book of Acts chapter 28 verse 17 and all the way to the end of the chapter want to talk to you about the hope of Humanity, you know, the world is looking for many answers But the only hope is really Jesus Christ you and I both know that so let’s get into Acts chapter 28 and start studying that Together Indeed besides all this today is the third day since these things happen Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive and Certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said but him They did not see Listen to what Jesus says to them. Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all That the prophets have spoken You see the Old Testament there verse 26 ought not the Christ The Messiah that the Christ the word Christ is Greek for Messiah To have suffered these things to enter into his glory Look at verse 27. This is what I wanted you to see and beginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself You see friends the Old Testament points to Jesus and I want you to note that Jesus taught from the Old Testament the Apostle Paul taught from the Old Testament and who are we to listen to these Charlatans out there who would tell us that the Old Testament is irrelevant and we no longer need to teach from it they are false prophets Do not embrace them.

I wouldn’t address these things if these things were not so serious To you, but I want you as a believer and part of the fold of Christ to not be deceived or led astray and I want you to see the great value of the Old Testament and how it points us To Jesus Christ the hope for Israel the second thing I want you to learn from our text in Acts chapter 28 verse 17 through 31 Is that the gospel is the only hope for Gentiles now as the Apostle is explaining? From the law of Moses and the prophets and he is explaining from morning Till evening, I don’t know somehow us pastors. We just love those phrases but verse 24 says and some were persuaded by the things which were spoken and some disbelieved Remember, this is a group of Jewish people that have met with the Apostle So when they did not agree among themselves they departed after Paul had said one word The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through now notice the Apostle was quoting the Old Testament again the Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our father saying go to this people and say hearing you will hear and shall not understand and Seeing you will see and not perceive For the hearts of this people have grown dull their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes They have closed less They should see with their eyes and hear with their ears less they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them as This group of Jewish People were gathered and they began to leave the Apostle said I want to give you one more Scripture and it was particularly for those who had disbelieved Rejected the gospel and he said I want you to hear what the prophet Isaiah says And he’s not talking about physical hearing or physical seeing he is talking about spiritual hearing and understanding and seeing and believing The gospel of Jesus Christ he gives them this warning from the prophets but look at verse 28 Because this is a conclusion that the Apostle makes therefore. Let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and They will hear it Friends I want you to know remember Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Remember that Jesus gave a commission to his disciples Remember that he said take the gospel that they were to take it unto Jerusalem first and then to Samaria and then to the uttermost what we see in the book of Acts is this Unfolding of taking it to the Jews first and then unto Samaria and then unto the uttermost parts of the world Why would Jesus be so particular and specific about the scope of the gospel message? Because the Jewish people believed That they were the only ones worthy To have salvation from God It’s so unfortunate because it’s not what the prophets taught.

It’s not what the law of Moses taught but they believed that they were exclusive and that There was no one else no other ethnic group no other society no other people group that was to hear the gospel and to know God in a personal way and that was the majority of the thinking of the Jewish people and Particularly the leadership. So when the Apostle looked at them boldly and quotes Isaiah To them and then he says to them that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and he says they will hear it Explanation point they will hear it meaning that a he is going to do everything in his power to get the gospel to every person on the planet and Be they will respond they will hear the gospel and they will respond to God and they will turn to Christ and you are part of that proclamation Every one of you that is believed in the Lord Jesus Christ You see friends hearing the Word of God always influences people The Bible tells us that God’s Word will not return void It doesn’t mean that everybody who hears the gospel will be saved or automatically believed in Christ, but it does mean this even in this congregation Even those listening on the internet and watching live or those who are on the radio or television Later on they will hear this message and they will either be responsive receptive and return to the Lord and give their lives and dedicate their hearts to God or they will reject God God’s Word never returns void There is no in-between in a response to God It’s either one or the other it is the same Sun That melts the ice that also hardens the clay his word does not return void either people melt and are moved by Jesus Christ in their hearts and receive him as their Lord or they Reject him and they increasingly become hard-hearted towards Jesus This is why parents it’s so critical to have your children Under the sound of the gospel the teaching of the gospel So important to have them in Sunday school and I want a Bible clubs and different opportunities certainly at home Having a family time of sharing the gospel and teaching the gospel It’s so important because the older people get and this is all proven statistically, but it’s already was declared biblically People’s hearts get hard They get hard and they push away from God and they want nothing to do with Jesus Christ But friends the Apostle makes a bold declaration that the Jews refuse to listen So Paul says I’m moving on and I’m taking this hope of salvation to the Gentiles Paul had the Passion to get the gospel out to every person now, what is spiritual blindness? I want us to consider that this morning to be spiritually blind as Isaiah talked about is to not see Christ as the Savior is to not see him as the Messiah The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 11. He prophesied in Romans 11 25 he said about a spiritual blindness that would come upon Israel He said for I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery Whenever you hear the word mystery the Apostle was teaching something new That has never been taught before and he’s letting the believers as some insight on the mystery of God’s dispensation and Providential unveiling of the gospel to around the world and the end times He says lest you should be wise in your own conceit that blindness in part has happened to Israel Until the fullness of the Gentiles become in the gospel went first to the Jews Because Jesus told us that He told us that that’s why we’re pro-israel at the open-door church That’s why we pray for Israel because we are commanded to pray for Israel in the Bible That’s why we support Israel and we support Ministries that are taking the gospel to the Jewish people because the Bible says we’re to take it to the Jews first And that’s what Paul did But now he’s taking it to the Gentiles Why because there’s a spiritual blindness It doesn’t mean a Jewish person can’t get saved But overall in God’s scope of what he is doing what he has taught us in the book of Daniel that these Gentile Kingdoms would rise up and they would rule the world and that you and I are in this process of that final Roman Empire coming to the forefront and there being a tribulation period and friends there being this time which God during that tribulation period is reaching out to the Jewish people because there’s been a spiritual blindness for how long until the times of the Gentiles are Complete when will the times of the Gentiles be complete when all of their kingdoms will come to a finish? Well, it’ll be at the second coming of Jesus Christ But that finality will begin at the rapture of the church seven years before the second coming of Christ according to the book of Revelation and first Thessalonians chapter 4 and 5 that I want you to know that the church will be called out now I know some of you like to debate and I hear you.

I’m with you All right. I understand I’ve taken so many classes and I’ve read so many books I can show you them all my library is full of them and you disagree on the timing of the rapture but you cannot disagree that there is a rapture in the Bible and I believe after all the studying I’ve done as a young man as an old man now as I’ve Continued to search the scriptures over and over again I am more firm than I have ever been that the rapture of the church is Imminent and it is upon us and it will be soon my friends and then after that rapture There’ll be a seven-year tribulation in which God will reach out to the nation of Israel One more time to draw them back into true salvation Zechariah says that when they finally realize that Jesus is the Messiah that they will mourn of their sin and they will repent of their sin and they will be Saved and receive Christ as Savior Amen, go ahead and clap Now if we had time and we don’t because you’re not evening people But you could go on to study the book of Romans chapter 11 and you could read further It says at the end that all Israel will be Saved now again What God is saying? Is that collectively as a people? They will finally come to the conclusion. That’s the whole purpose of the tribulation That’s the whole purpose of the tribulation is To help them come out of their blindness to help them to come out of their stupor and to realize that Jesus is the Messiah and All Israel will be saved how glorious he’ll be at how rejoicing it will be for us to see These chosen people of God Now we must ask ourselves the question Why do people reject Jesus as their Savior you and I and are out there witnessing to our family We’re witnessing to our children our grandchildren We’re witnessing to people everywhere.

We can we’re inviting them to special activities So that they can hear the gospel I want to submit unto you just a few things to consider so you would understand what the Apostle was dealing with as people have Rejected the gospel as he shared it with them. So eloquently from the law of Moses and the prophets to the final Resurrection of Christ. I think one reason people reject Jesus is they don’t think they need a Savior They don’t understand that they’re a sinner in need of a Savior We live in the self-esteem generation, I mean you show up to soccer you get a trophy Everybody’s just like look how wonderful these kids are and I always ask what did they do? Well, they showed up Mike Well, I do believe this for you young adults out there that if you would just show up to work you’ll be better than 90% of your peers and I tell you that that might be a new concept to some of you But I saw on social media that a young lady was upset that her boss required her to be there 15 minutes early and that he required her to work eight hours and She was stressed out and she was ready to throw in the towel and she just thought that it was the end of the world She had been triggered.

I Guess a microaggression had come after her. But here’s what I want you to know. I Want you to know that there’s so many To think that they’re good enough that they don’t need a Savior They consider themselves to be good and they don’t realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior they don’t understand that the Bible says for all have sinned and Come short of the glory of God.

They don’t understand that the wages of sin is death they don’t understand the words of Jesus who said I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes unto the Father but by me and They think and they are under the impression that somehow that they’ll be able to stand before God and plead their case their goodness And they’re good will outweigh their bad, but they are going to find out that it is insufficient It will not save your soul Only Jesus can save your soul and only Jesus has the righteousness to bring us into the presence of God The second reason people reject God is I think there’s the fear of rejection of their own peers They don’t receive the Savior because they want to be accepted by others We see an example of this in John chapter 12 in which many were concerned about their acceptance or status among their peers The Bible says that they love the approval of men rather than the approval of God Most important for you is not to live to please men, but to please God When you lay your head on that pillow, you need to know you gave everything for God That your heart is in tune with Jesus You can rest in peace. The Bible says he gives his beloved sleep. I Love that verse But I want you to know that you can be peaceful in your heart and that you can rest Knowing that you have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ and you don’t have to worry about what others think because friends I want you to know it doesn’t matter and People’s opinions are always changing aren’t they? And they’re like a roller coaster So, let’s be careful about that another reason people reject God is because the things of this world Are more important to them Than the things of God.

Yeah, I see this seeping into Christian families that the material stuff The sports it’s all more appealing to them than the eternal things of God We read about a man like that in Matthew 19 and he loved money, he loved things and He was unwilling To let go of it. He was unwilling to let go of his earthly possessions so that he might gain an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ The Bible says he walked away. I Not every person that Jesus witnessed who got saved Do you know that you think Jesus be batting a thousand But he wasn’t wasn’t Jesus’s fault it’s the heart of those who listen and Hear and some people won’t let go of the things of this world The final reason I put down why people reject Jesus is that they just over and over resist The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is drawing them.

The Holy Spirit is Convicting them and compelling them and convincing them But over and over again, they will not Surrender their hearts to Jesus Christ That’s the example we see we see here The Bible says in verse 24 underscore that and some Disbelieved So unfortunate that some would disbelieve after the Apostle spent from morning to evening persuading Convincing eloquently teaching from the book of the Old Testament, and he did such a wonderful job But they did not believe I want to be clear to you this morning Acts 4 12 says there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved There’s only one way to heaven. It is through Jesus Christ. I Want you to understand this morning that those who reject Jesus? For whatever reason that may be beyond what I have already shared with you They will face an eternity in outer darkness in a place that is called hell and The Bible teaches us there’ll be weeping and there’ll be gnashing of teeth Some people say I’m gonna go to hell with my friends so we can party.

There’ll be no partying in hell They’ll be weeping and The reason people will weep is because they knew they had a chance They knew they had an opportunity But you know what they did they disbelieved They would not receive Christ It is not with joy that I say this to you It is with a heavy burden that I plead with you If you do not know Christ this morning come to Jesus and receive him as your Lord and Savior My final principle that I want to share with you out of this text is that the gospel should be proclaimed to all We look at verse 30 and 31 Then Paul dwelt for two whole years in his own rented house remember he’s under house arrest and Received all he received all Who came to him? preaching the kingdom of God and Teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. No one Forbidding him or hindering him He did not discriminate With the gospel he did not discriminate with who he shared Christ with whoever crossed his path The Apostle was glad even though he was under house arrest and he was not able to get out there and get in the marketplace He shared Christ with all who came think about that person different people on different shifts had to come and be the security Guard and make sure the Apostle didn’t take off as he was waiting to stand before Caesar We’ve already witnessed from the life of the Apostle Paul that he was not ashamed to tell Kings and Queens and political figures about Jesus Christ He was not ashamed to reach out to the poorest of the poor He was not ashamed to reach out to the healthy and the unhealthy He was not ashamed to reach out to those who are educated and those who are uneducated Those who are wealthy and those who are poor it didn’t matter the Apostle Paul took the gospel to every Person that crossed his path and church. We have a responsibility To take the gospel to every person on the planet You remember I told you at the beginning to be Continued I told you that you said I don’t like to be continued pastor.

Well, you’re gonna regret saying that Because here’s what it means When I say to be continued I believe that Luke under the inspiration of the Spirit left it just right here and I believe he did it for this reason that the mission must continue today through God’s people That we look at the life of the Apostle Paul and we remember the words of Romans 1 16 I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation To everyone that believeth and to the Jew first and also to the Greeks meaning that we are to take it to every person We are the to be continued You wanted the sequel to the book of Acts? You wanted the book of Acts part 2 to come out in a book You’re it You are the continuation of the book of Acts. You are the continuation of the gospel being spread To every person now, what should we learn? from the Apostle Paul the life of Paul I Think that there’s just a few things real quickly and I’ll let you go and I promise I mean, I only have a little bit of notes here But I want you to see this church first is that he was bold look at verse 31 Okay, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things That concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence Some translations put bold because that’s really the word he was bold about it. I Know some of you your personalities.

You don’t like to talk to people Matter of fact, you don’t even like people and you miss those days of Kovat where you were isolated from people But I want to tell you something. It doesn’t change whatever your personality is. I love to talk to everybody Okay, that’s just my personality.

I go into somewhere and I’ll shake hands and I’ll hug babies and do whatever we can But I know it’s not your personality, but you still have to be bold and Maybe your boldness is that I invite somebody to a special activity and maybe your boldness is I give out a track And maybe your boldness is I give out an invite card Maybe you’re not like pastor Mike and that’s okay because we certainly don’t need another Mike Sanders in this world. I Mean the world can only handle one That’s why God created each one of you uniquely But let me tell you something there are ways that you can be bold for God You can be bold within the scope of how God created you and How he designed you I would encourage you to be bold in your witness The other thing I learned from the Apostle is that he made the most of every opportunity He made the most of every ministry opportunity. Did you not forget that he? Was under house arrest He is waiting on the government.

How many of us know what it’s like to wait on the government. I Hope you’re not getting ready to be 65 and switch over to Medicare because you’ll be waiting Right. We have to wait The Apostle waited two whole years Did he pout? Did he quit? No, he made the most the Bible says verse 31 preaching the kingdom of God Teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.

No one forbidding him Paul the Apostle made the most of every opportunity. I don’t know what your circumstances are But I don’t want you to ever forget this whatever challenge you have Whatever job you have whatever family you’re in and whatever circumstance you’re dealing with and God’s sovereign plan is designed That it would be a platform for you to tell others about Jesus Christ And I know we don’t like that sometimes But I need you to think in that mindset. I Need you to be like the Apostle that whatever adversity he found himself in he made the most Whatever challenges were before him.

He made the most for Christ. I Also want you to learn from Paul that he isn’t complaining But he’s proclaiming He isn’t complaining write that down. It’s not a ritual of Mike, but I just want you to know it.

He isn’t complaining He is proclaiming He is proclaiming Yesterday we had a special celebration of life Gathering for Barb Connor and one of the things that they said about Barb Eddie was that she never complained She never complained. She went through a lot of adversity, but she never complained Church, that’s what a testimony you want You want that kind of testimony? I’m not a complainer. I’m not a whiner.

I’m a proclaimer. I Proclaim the gospel through my life. I Proclaim it through my lips Be that kind of Christian learn that from the Apostle Paul Here’s the final thing.

I want you to remember church and we will pray The gospel triumphs over Every worldly and political barrier. Did you see that? No one forbidding him No one No one stopped the Apostle Paul. Why? Because the gospel overcomes all barriers of this world Well, we’re coming to the end of the book of Acts chapter 28 these final few verses and we’re certainly Remembering that Christians definitely face storms in their lives But we remember that the hope of humanity is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ And we’re going to continue to keep our eyes on him and follow him faithfully I want to encourage you to check out our newsletter You can go to our website hope worth having calm and all of our newsletters are uploaded to the website Or if you’d like you can sign up for it We can email it to you or we can mail it to you.

Whatever works best, but check us out. Hope worth having calm This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ. There is hope worth having