'the End Of The Beginning'. Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). Paul the Preacher & Teacher (vs 23).

• (a). "Explaining"

• (b). "Witnessing"

• (c). "Convincing"

(2). Paul the Writer (vs 30).

(3). Paul the Evangelist (vs 24).

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• During the second world war November 1942:

• As Hitler's Luftwaffe had invaded English skies,

• Britain was feeling the dread of his enlarging shadow,

• The country was asking the question.

• "How long can they endure the unrelenting darkness of their situation?"

• Prime Minister Winston Churchill needed to answer that question.

• What could he say to give the people hope & courage?

• On November 10th, he addressed a worried audience at the Lord Mayor's Day Luncheon:

• Slowly and in his own particular style, he spoke these immortal words,

• (and I will not be doing an impression!)

"Now is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.

But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning".

• TRANSITION:

• How appropriately these lines fit the final verses of the book of Acts:

• In Acts chapter 1 verse 8,

• Just before he ascended back to heaven, Jesus made a prediction.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth".

That verse is a very simple outline of the rest of the book of Acts.:

• Jerusalem (chapters 1-7).

• Judea & Samaria (chapters 8-12).

• Ends of the earth (chapters 13-28).

• And in chapter 28 we have the ending of the book of Acts,

• But only the recorded events by Dr Luke.

• The acts of the Holy Spirit are very much carrying on today,

• By now we are chapter 1 million and… well you can guess!

• So, this chapter truly is 'the end of the beginning'.

• The story goes on and on and on…

Note:

• We have noted over the past few weeks the apostle Paul's passion, his vision, his desire,

• Which has been to bring the Gospel to Rome.

• And to present the gospel even to Emperor Nero himself.

• Well, he got there (vs 16),

• But things didn't work out as he intended or hoped for,

• He was locked up in a small room, and under house arrest for two years!

• But as the saying goes: "You can't keep a good man down".

• Or to apply it to Paul: "You can't keep a good preacher quiet".

• Although he was under house arrest:

• He quickly got on with his favourite pastime, preaching & teaching.

Note: An unusual ending.

• From chapter 9 onwards the focus of the book has been on the apostle Paul.

• His conversion, his ministry, his missionary journeys,

• But now at the end we are keen to know what happened in Rome,

• Did he get to speak to Nero?

• Was he released or was he executed?

But all we read is summarised in verses 30-31.

• “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house”.

• Pause there for a minute.

• In Rome at that time was about two million people,

• Half of which were slaves, half of which were Roman citizens.

• Even the Roman citizens lived in relative squalor and poverty.

• So, the homes were not like fancy Roman homes,

• It was pretty dismal.

• He was a prisoner and so he lived in one of I would suggest the poorer homes.

• Also, he could not leave that house because he was chained to a soldier.

• The soldiers that attended Paul worked in shifts.

• They were chained to him for six hours at a time.

• When their shift was up, they would swap with another soldier for another six hours,

• So, four times a day, they would switch.

• Can you imagine living chained to someone for two years!

• So, if you are thinking Paul has a rather comfortable end to his life,

• Think again!

“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house.

and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!”

• And I think Dr Luke does that on purpose,

• His record of the early Church will not be focussed on Peter, Philip or Paul,

• Or any other personalities that dominate the book.

• The theme of this book is not the servants but the master,

• It is not the messengers but the message.

• So, Dr Luke ends his book the way he started it,