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[0:00] Well, good morning. It's good to be here. We are not here just as a club, as some random group.

[0:18] There's a very, very good reason why we're here together, why we are not only gathered but have been gathered. And I just want to say it's been such a joy and honor and privilege to go through this past two years the book of Acts with you together and alongside others like Bill and David and others.

[0:44] And now we come to the very end. But is it the end? And what can we say to close off a book that's taken us two years to go through? What can we say?

[1:00] Well, the series, let me remind you, has been called King and Kingdom because we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that this entire series, although sometimes it's called the Acts of the Apostles, and although we've seen people like Peter and Paul being very prominent, especially for months on end, talking about Paul and his experiences, this book is really about a king and his kingdom.

[1:27] So let me remind you that, and let me say that this final portion of it, the big message really is this. We can have confidence in Jesus' word.

[1:41] That's it. Nothing new, nothing simple, nothing complicated, nothing new, nothing that's going to blow your socks off. But really, well, we can have confidence in Jesus' word.

[1:54] And we're going to go through this in three parts, three reasons why we can have confidence in Jesus' word from this section. But first, let me read Acts 28, 11 to 31.

[2:07] After three months, that is three months in Malta.

[2:19] 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 in Rhizium.

[2:36] After one day, a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Petuli. There we found brothers, and were invited to stay with them for seven days.

[2:50] And so we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they'd heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Apius and the three taverns to meet us.

[3:01] On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

[3:14] After three days, he called together the local leaders of the Jews. And when they had gathered, he said to them, 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.

[3:30] 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.

[3:47] For this reason, therefore, I've asked to see you and speak to you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

[3:59] 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.

[4:10] 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.

[4:22] When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. 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.

[4:44] And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement.

[4:56] The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet, Go to this people and say, You will indeed hear, but never understand. You will indeed see, but never perceive.

[5:07] For this 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, then I would heal them.

[5:22] 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.

[5:47] Amen. Well, a couple went out on a night out for dinner and a movie.

[6:02] It's been a long time. They've got little children now, but they've finally found a babysitter. They've finally found a babysitter they could trust. And they figure the children would probably still be up when they got home.

[6:14] Yeah, it might be a later bedtime, but at least they would be safe with this babysitter. So they had their night out, and when they returned home, the house was quiet. The babysitter was watching TV, and the children were in bed sound asleep.

[6:31] Wow. Parents were pleasantly surprised. This babysitter's a keeper, they thought. And so when she'd been paid, and she was walking out the door, she told them a final little detail.

[6:44] She said, Oh, I almost forgot. I promised the children that if they stayed in bed and went to sleep, you would get them a puppy in the morning. Have you ever made a promise that you can't keep?

[7:02] So here's the big point, you see, we can have confidence in Jesus' word because his word is sovereign. You know, have you ever made a promise that you can't keep? Or have you ever been promised something that wasn't kept?

[7:14] I'm sure we all have. We have good intentions, but we simply cannot control all the outcomes. You might promise to be home at a certain time, but there's an accident on the motorway.

[7:28] Alas, the traffic's backed up. You might promise to be home for Christmas, but the flights are cancelled. You might promise to take the children to the park, but a storm whips up, rain, thunder, and lightning.

[7:40] Are you going to get them to catch a cold just to keep your promise? I'm sorry, when I made that promise, I didn't know the weather would turn bad. Alan Sterling, you know him.

[7:51] Most of you know him, my friend. He put it well. He said, a promise is only as good as the person's ability to keep it. Our promises are subject to any number of things.

[8:03] We're simply not in control of all the outcomes, but Jesus is. Jesus is. A promise is only as good as a person's ability to keep it. We are not always able, but Jesus is, folks.

[8:19] We need to remember this. Through every storm, through every trial, he never makes a promise he's unable to keep. In verse 14, Luke writes that little sentence that could get lost in all the detail.

[8:33] But Ruth read it, both Jesus' words to Paul and all the things that he went through. It's a significant little statement. Six words that Luke writes, and so we came to Rome.

[8:46] And Paul's wanted to go to Rome for a long time. He even made attempts to go there. Back in Acts 19, he said, when he resolved to go to Jerusalem, he said, after I've been there, I must also see Rome.

[8:59] And sometime prior to going to Jerusalem, he wrote the letter of Romans. He wrote a letter to the believers in Rome. And in chapter 1, he says, I don't want you to be unaware, brothers. I've often intended coming to you, but thus far have been prevented.

[9:14] And again, in chapter 15, he says, this is the reason why I've so often been hindered coming to you. And he goes on to say that he's wanted to go to them, but he's not been able.

[9:27] And he even asked them for prayer. He says, I appeal to you, brothers, by your Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service for Jerusalem may be accepted to the saints so that by God's will I may come to you, that I may come with joy and be refreshed in your company.

[9:50] So Paul's wanted to go to Rome for a long time. He's intended to go there. He's prayed about it. He's expected it. He's asked others to pray. But that's all Paul's desires and prayers.

[10:03] None more so than Acts 23 when he arrives in Jerusalem, when he's caught up in a riot and he's arrested by the Romans. He's nearly torn apart by the Jewish mob. But that night Jesus stood by him and said, take courage, for as you've testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.

[10:25] Desire's one thing. Intention's one thing. Prayer is one thing. We are not in control of the outcomes. But when Jesus speaks, when he makes a promise, his word will never fail.

[10:37] Never. Why? Because his word is sovereign. He's in control of all the outcomes. Paul might be battered and bruised when he arrives, but as soon as Jesus says that word, Paul's definitely going to get to Rome.

[10:52] Nothing is going to hinder or prevent him now. As much as he's been hindered and prevented before, nothing's going to stop him now. By all intents and purposes, Paul should never have made it to Rome.

[11:04] Think about all that he's been through. But after Jesus gave Paul his word, nothing's going to stop him. It's like John said, it sounds like a cocktail order.

[11:16] Three murders, a shipwreck, and a snake bite. What do you want to drink? Well, can I have three murder plots? Can I get a shipwreck and a snake bite, please?

[11:29] Paul shouldn't have made it to Rome. In fact, there were people who doubt that he ever was in Rome. People today doubt that he ever was in Rome. People doubt the account and the question of history.

[11:43] But it's not just whether we believe that Luke is telling the truth or not. It's whether we believe that Jesus is able. Is Jesus able to fulfill his promise? Absolutely.

[11:53] He never makes a promise that he will. Not only is he able to fulfill, he never makes a promise that he will not fulfill. He will fulfill his promises. Now, Jesus doesn't promise to get us to Rome, but he promises to bring us home.

[12:10] Now, we might get bruised and battered along the way. We might suffer trials, and many of us will suffer death, but don't think for a minute that any trial or even death will stop Jesus fulfilling his promise to us.

[12:26] No matter what you're accused of, no matter the guilt, no matter the accusations of the enemy, will anything stop Jesus when he says that you are forgiven? No. Will anything stop Jesus when the truth is that there's now, therefore, no condemnation?

[12:42] No. Will anything stop Jesus saying that he will give you eternal life even though you die? Anyone who believes in me, all who believe in me, though he dies, yet shall he live.

[12:54] Jesus can say that because his word is sovereign, because he is in control of all the outcomes, even when it seems most impossible.

[13:05] And I think that's the point. I think this is where faith, where the rubber hits the road with faith. What is true faith? When Abraham is lifting the dagger and Isaac's on the altar, when somebody is facing death in the face, when Paul is faced with a shipwreck, when there's murder plot after murder plot, when there's people trying to escape and the sea's trying to kill him and the soldiers are trying to kill him and everything's trying to kill him and snakes are trying to kill him, it seems absolutely impossible.

[13:37] When you are going towards the grave and Jesus says that you have eternal life, these things look impossible. They don't match up, but that's where faith comes in.

[13:50] That is the true demonstration of faith, that you trust a word though it seems impossible. That's why in Hebrews it says about Abraham that he believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead because he believed in God's promise.

[14:07] God's promise never fails. Death can't stop the promise of Jesus. Even when it seems most impossible, it will be done because he is sovereign.

[14:17] He never makes a promise he cannot keep and although our words are subject to circumstance, his words are not. You see, we can have confidence in Jesus' word because his word is sovereign.

[14:29] Jesus' word is not subject to circumstance. He says our word and it doesn't matter if the traffic's backed up in the M8. It doesn't matter if a storm whips in.

[14:39] It doesn't matter if somebody's shipwrecked. It doesn't matter if somebody dies. He says a word and it's not subject to circumstance. In fact, the opposite is true. All creation is subject to his word.

[14:51] Hebrews 1.3 says he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Secondly, we can have confidence in Jesus' word because his word fulfills all the law and the prophets.

[15:07] I used to spend a lot of time in Straven and I would stay, many of you maybe have heard this, I would stay until the last bus. It was 10 to midnight. The last journey of the bus and the last leg of the journey was Straven to East Kilbride.

[15:22] The bus came from Hamilton to Straven, Straven to East Kilbride and then went back to the depot. In Hamilton. Now the main stop in Straven is where? The Common Green. But that wasn't good enough for me.

[15:35] I wanted a view while I was waiting for the bus. So I would often wait up at the golf course. Now that presented a great problem because on the last leg of the journey when the bus came into the Common Green and seen no one, the bus thought, well, nobody's going to East Kilbride.

[15:51] I'll just go back to Hamilton. And so I would be waiting up at the golf course at midnight for a bus that's never coming because the bus had already come and gone.

[16:04] Now I can tell you from experience it takes three hours to walk from Straven to East Kilbride and I made that walk a number of times because of that fact. But notice that I wasn't just waiting for a bus that wasn't coming.

[16:17] I was waiting for a bus that had already come and gone. Now the first thing in their passage that Paul does when he gets to Rome is he meets with the Jewish leaders. Now we already know there's brothers there.

[16:30] We know from the letter to Romans that people like Priscilla and Aquila are there. He's got friends, there's Christians, there's a church there. But Luke's not telling us about the church.

[16:42] He's wanting to meet the Jewish leaders. Why? What does he say? To the Jews first and then to the Gentiles to the Greeks. So the first thing he does is he calls a leaders meeting with the Jewish leaders.

[16:57] Why them? Because from beginning to end the Jews have been in view. The gospel goes to the Jews first because verse 20 Paul says the gospel is the fulfillment of the hope of Israel.

[17:08] This is why I'm in chains because of the hope of Israel. This is for us. Despite Israel's rejection of Jesus, despite Israel's subsequent crucifixion of their own Messiah, Jesus has been raised from the dead.

[17:22] And the offer of forgiveness and salvation, the offer of a place in his kingdom is still open to the Jews. Still open despite their rejection. From beginning of Acts to the end of Acts, despite continual rejection, the offer of forgiveness and salvation goes out to the Jews everywhere.

[17:41] Everywhere. See, you've got to think that Paul's missionary journeys aren't just to go out and get the Gentiles because the Jews are all over the earth and he's going out to gather in the Jews from everywhere to say, hey, guys, it's happened.

[17:55] The bus has arrived. The thing we've been waiting for all this time, the hope of Israel has finally come. The Messiah has arrived and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the one the law and prophets pointed to.

[18:09] They've been speaking about him all along. He's the true Messiah, the hope of Israel and his word brings to fulfillment all the promises and prophecies of old. When God first called out a family from the earth to be his people, what was his name?

[18:24] Abraham. When God first called him out in Genesis 12, through Abraham's offspring, what did he say? All the families of the earth will be blessed.

[18:36] You see, I'm calling you out, Abraham. I'm calling a family. I'm calling a nation, but it's not just for the nation. It's so that that nation can be a vehicle for God's blessing to go to the entire earth, to the Jews first and then to the nations.

[18:51] Again, Genesis 28, Genesis 22, 18. Just after he's lifted the dagger to Isaac, because of this, God says again, in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

[19:09] Now, what does he mean by that? Well, Paul goes on in Galatians, doesn't he say, when Paul, when Genesis says offspring, it's not plural, it's singular.

[19:20] It's talking about Jesus. Through Jesus shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Now, what does that blessing look like? Well, in Acts chapter 3, Peter says to the Jews, you're the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, quote in this verse, and then your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

[19:42] God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. If you want to know what the blessing to all the earth is, that's what it is.

[19:56] You see, Paul said that in his testimony, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, that they might have forgiveness and a place among the saints. That's what the blessing is, that we have salvation.

[20:11] All throughout Acts, the disciples are not preaching something new or something novel, but they're proving from the law and the prophets that Jesus is the Christ and that the way that it was called, the way is the fulfillment of Judaism.

[20:26] The point is, if you're a Jew, the offer is still for the Jews. If you are a Jew, the gospel doesn't call you to abandon your religion.

[20:38] The gospel reveals the true nature of Judaism. It's the fulfillment of the hope of Israel. You see, Jews can have confidence. We can speak to the Jews with confidence because they can have confidence that he is the Messiah because his word fulfills the law and the prophets.

[20:58] But if you are a Jew and you do not believe, then like me at the golf course, you're waiting for a bus that is not only not coming, you're waiting for a bus that's already come and gone.

[21:11] It's like Paul saying to these Jewish leaders, if you're waiting for Messiah to come, it's never going to happen because he already did. He already came and gone and you missed it.

[21:23] If you reject that, there's no others coming. There's not another Messiah coming. You're waiting at a bus stop for a bus that's never going to come because it already did and it went and you completely missed it.

[21:34] And while some believe, we need to know this, some Jews believed. 120 start of Acts, 3,000, 5,000 priests.

[21:47] Keeps going and going and going. But nationally, they reject. Nationally, they reject Jesus. They reject the bus they've hoped for.

[21:57] They've rejected the thing that they've been waiting for. Corporately, they left. They're left at a bus stop without any way to get to the destination with which they'd hoped for.

[22:08] Destination salvation. Now, the flip side. The flip side is this. A bus that first seemed to be only for the Jews was now taking non-Jewish passengers. Anyone who wants to go to destination salvation can go if they get on board with Jesus because he is the only way.

[22:26] John 14, 6, Jesus says, when Thomas says, we don't know the way, John said it. Jesus said, I am the way.

[22:38] I am the way and the truth and the life. If you're not a Jew, if you're questioning the gospel, if you're questioning whether Jesus can be the Messiah because the Jews don't believe, how can this be true if even the Jews don't believe?

[22:57] Then you need to know that you can be confident in Jesus' word because despite the unbelieving Jews, Jesus' word is the fulfillment of all the law and prophets. Christianity is not something new.

[23:08] It's not about Judaism and Christianity. They're not two separate things. Christianity is just a name. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of Judaism.

[23:22] Everything that it was pointing to. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and prophets. This isn't something new. This isn't something different. This isn't something opposed or contrary to Moses and the law.

[23:33] We can have confidence in Jesus' word because this is the fulfillment of the very thing that the scriptures point to. Finally, we can have confidence in Jesus' word because His word is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.

[23:50] Now, I want you to imagine with me. I got a needle, a sewing needle, and I wanted to test how sharp it was. And our dear brother Stephen, who genuinely is a man who's willing to serve, seeing the opportunity, Stephen kindly volunteered, right, I've got this needle, Stephen kindly volunteered his two sons, Jonathan and Cameron.

[24:12] And so, I get Jonathan and Cameron to present their fingers and I give them a little jab with this needle. One draws blood, the other doesn't.

[24:24] Why? Now, most of you know Jonathan and Cameron well. Why does one draw blood and the other doesn't? Because one plays guitar and the other plays piano.

[24:38] You see, Cameron has piano fingers, nice and soft. Jonathan has guitar fingers, calloused fingers. So, Cameron feels the sharpness immediately, pulls his hand away in reflex, and blood begins to bead in his fingertips.

[24:56] Jonathan hardly feels the needle at all, nothing happens. Now, that's not to say who's stronger, Cameron can take the pain. This is all hypothetical. I don't know if Jonathan's got calloused fingers.

[25:06] You'll need to ask Emily. But you see, the point is, your sense of touch gives you feedback, which is then supposed to give you a response. Don't touch that thing again.

[25:19] It caused you pain. But if you ignore that feedback, then the skin will thicken and dull the senses, so that when your senses are dulled, you're less likely to respond.

[25:29] That's what calluses are. Now, a guitarist having calloused fingers, it's not a big deal, but it would be a big deal if you relied on those fingertips to read Braille and they were calloused.

[25:41] The point is that sensing adequate feedback can be vital for a human to have the right response, an appropriate response. Don't touch that. And should we lose sensitivity in a particular part of the body, it might really affect us.

[25:57] One person responds strongly, the other responds hardly at all. It's not that the needle has become dull, it's the senses that have been dulled.

[26:08] The skin has become calloused. This is the point that Paul's making here. After everything we've been through in Acts, after Jesus and all that he's done, and Paul said, remember to Festus and to King Agrippa, Paul said, these things have not been done in a corner.

[26:26] These things were done publicly. Everyone knew about what Jesus was doing and saying. And then everything that happened in Acts, every story, every chapter, every miracle, every speech, every argument, every encounter, why do we get to the very end and after all that, still the Jews refuse to believe?

[26:46] Why? Has the gospel become dull? No. Has the gospel lost its sharpness like the needle? No. Is it no longer effective?

[26:57] You see, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans before he arrived in Rome and remember he said, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

[27:10] Paul was confident in that before he arrived in Rome. But then, then he arrives in Rome and these Jews don't believe. Well, does this gospel now seem to lack the power that he was so confident about?

[27:26] No. It's not only a question at the end of Acts, it's a question for us today. Has the gospel lost the power that it had back then? No.

[27:36] Has it lost its sharpness? No. Two thousand years on, has it lost its power? No. Why do some people still seem so unresponsive? Well, because they don't have piano fingers, they've got guitar fingers.

[27:53] Hardening of the heart. When Paul was faced with that question, he spent all day and all night expounding their own scriptures to the Jews, making a strong and logical case from their own sacred writings and yet some of them don't believe a word that he's saying.

[28:09] Where does the problem lie? Is it in the word or is it in their hearts? Paul says, well, clearly, the problem is with you. He could have said that and it would be quite offensive, but instead of saying that, he uses their own scriptures to say that very thing.

[28:26] Let me say one thing. Isaiah was right. You will hear but not understand. You will see but not perceive. Heart has grown dull and with your ears you can barely hear.

[28:39] And then they all get out of there. The problem is not that the needle has become dull. The skin has become calloused. The problem is not that the gospel becomes dull.

[28:53] The heart becomes calloused. You see, the Jews have long expected this bus to come. It was promised. It was their great hope.

[29:04] It would be the thing that would finally take them beyond the bruises and burdens of this life into a land of rest and plenty. It was the only thing that could. Nothing else had worked in the history of Israel.

[29:16] Nothing had worked. No other king, no other person, no other system could get them away from sin, away from sickness, away from pain, away from sorrow, away from evil, away from corruption, away from darkness and away from death.

[29:31] Nothing had worked but there was a bus coming. There was a Messiah coming. There was one who would and could take them to a kingdom where justice was perfect, resource was free, no more evil, no more corruption, neither at a government level nor at a personal level, sin done away with, pleasure no longer at the expense of others or health, eternal life granted in a place with God himself.

[29:56] And New Eden, finally brought about by this one man, the one we've been waiting for all along, this promise was to the Jews and expected by the Jews but the need for it was felt by the entire world.

[30:12] And so what is this? Is God the God of the Jews only? No, Paul wrote in Romans 3, God is not the God of the Jews only but the Gentiles also. The hope of Israel is the hope of the entire world.

[30:28] The God of the Jews is the God of all nations. This salvation is for everyone. The life from God, the forgiveness and a place in his kingdom is available to anyone from any nation who will listen and believe in Jesus, the only one who can offer this.

[30:45] He's the one risen from the dead. He's the one appointed as a judge of the living and the dead. He's the king of the eternal kingdom. And despite the fact that we have never known or acknowledged him our lives, we have never been brought up with the scriptures like the Jews, despite all that, he is offering this to us freely.

[31:03] He paid for it with his own life and righteousness. You see, throughout this story, although there's a corporate rejection, we need to know these things.

[31:15] Not all Jews disbelieve. Not all Gentiles believe. But the word of God, we can have confidence in.

[31:27] We can have confidence in the word of Jesus because it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. This is for anyone, anywhere, who believes this word saves.

[31:42] Salvation is to every nation. That was the plan all along. The hope of Israel was the hope of the world. Luke, in his gospel, takes the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to who?

[31:54] To Adam. Because this is for everyone. The story's not about Paul. And the story didn't end with Paul. This word that went from Jerusalem to Rome has gone out to every corner of the earth.

[32:09] It's came to Bell's Hill. I mean, what a miracle that is. Against all the odds. But it really is. And although there might be yet nooks and crannies of this earth that the gospel is still to go to, it's went out everywhere.

[32:28] The gospel has been heard by people like you and me. The gospel has been heard by people and those who have heard it and believed it, this gospel is the power of God to save.

[32:43] This is the point. The word of Jesus we can have real confidence in. If you're believing this word, if you're believing this word, it's not a word that will disappoint you.

[32:58] It's not like the weather report. It's not like the news. It's not like the promise of a husband to do the dishes. It's not like the promise of a child to tidy up.

[33:11] This word will not disappoint. This word is not subject to circumstances. Rather, all creation depends on this word. This word is not something new or novel or different or contrary.

[33:26] This word is the fulfillment of all the scriptures. This word is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. Are you believing this word this morning? If you are, this word is the very thing that will save you.

[33:40] You are depending on a thing that will never disappoint you. You are depending on a thing that will save you. The only thing, think about all the things in the world that you could believe in, that you could depend on, all the words that people on this earth believe in, all the religions, all the books, all the holy books, all the science journals, whatever it is, there is only one word in all creation that can save and it's the one that you are believing in.

[34:14] If that doesn't give you confidence, I don't know what will. We can have confidence because it's not a word that will let you down. It's a word that will powerfully guarantee your salvation against all odds.

[34:26] What an amazing confidence. Nothing else can do this for anyone. We can have confidence both in trusting Jesus' word and we can have confidence in sharing Jesus' word.

[34:38] You can have confidence in trusting Jesus' word because it's the only thing that will save you and it will against all the odds. this is the very thing that will save you. It's the power of God for salvation to all who believe.

[34:49] The very word that you are believing in you can have confidence in because it's the only word that has the power of God to save. Furthermore, you can have confidence in sharing this word because what other word are you going to tell people that will save them?

[35:05] There's nothing. Nothing we can give. We can't even give our own promises to people without them being subject to creation, to circumstance. If you're thinking, what can I tell people that won't disappoint them?

[35:20] It's the gospel. Now that's not to say we need to get out there preaching and evangelising but telling people about Jesus anything the word of Jesus is never going to disappoint anyone.

[35:35] It's the only thing. It's the only word that has the power of God for salvation to all who believe. And this word we see at the end of Acts is not the end of the story.

[35:46] This word proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. This word is unchained, unbound, unstoppable.

[36:00] Think about the past 2,000 years. Everything that has come against this word. Paul might have went through murder plots and shipwrecks and snake bites and the lot.

[36:10] This word has been through more. Yet it is unchained. It's unbound. It's unstoppable and it is completely reliable because it is the power of God for salvation.

[36:23] This word has cut through 2,000 years of opposition saving people like me and you along the way. What a word we can have confidence in. Folks, this might be the end of Acts but it's not the end of the story.

[36:36] It's not the end of the gospel. It is the very word that testifies about that is saving you and me. Let me pray and then we're going to sing one final song.

[36:47] God, our Father, we give you great thanks that we can call you our Father. It is only because after 2,000 years your word came to us.

[36:59] We can only know about you, God, because Jesus revealed you and we can only know about Jesus because people have been proclaiming his gospel throughout the nations and throughout the years.

[37:11] and they could only do that because your Holy Spirit has empowered them to do so. They can only do that because it is a word when all things dissolve, when all creation is wrapped up, yet your word remains.

[37:32] Nothing can stop your word, nothing can hinder your word, nothing can thwart your word. We thank you that you have ensured that your word comes to us. We pray that you would give us a great confidence and boldness in your word, that we can rejoice together, having confidence in Jesus, having confidence in his word towards ourselves, that this is the very word that is bringing about our own salvation, and that we can have confidence in sharing this word, that this is the only word that will bring about the salvation of others.

[38:05] God, we thank you so much for your word that has been brought to us. We thank you for your gospel, we thank you this morning that we can remind ourselves of the great confidence that we have in this very word, that we come together because of the gospel of Jesus, and we thank you for him.

[38:21] We give you praise in his name. Amen. Amen. Let us sing with joy together. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[38:31]  Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.