Acts 28.11-31
Delivered on Sunday 24 August 2008 in All Saints', Preston-on-Tees
Acts 28.11-31 - 'Boldy and without hindrance'
Key verse: (31) 'Boldly and without hindrance Paul preached the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus Christ.' (NIV)
Aim: to be encouraged to act boldly and share our faith.
The story so far
A few weeks ago, if you can remember that far back (I find it difficult, and I'm only 25!) we looked at Paul's missionary journeys around the Roman Empire. The Jews were causing trouble wherever he went, and finally they caught up with him in Jerusalem, and convinced the Romans to arrest him. The Romans kept him in prison, more for his own safety than as a prisoner; the Jews kept rioting, and there were various plots to kill him. But the Romans kept him safe for several years.
Paul went before various governors and tribunes, the local authorities, always being handed on to the next person up. Eventually he appealed to Caesar, to the Roman Emperor. You've probably seen in the news how people go through the appeals court, and if they stick at it they eventually end up presenting their case before the House of Lords, the highest court in the country. Well, that's like appealing to Caesar. And, just like you have to go to London to go to the House of Lords, so Paul had to go to Rome to present his case.
But why did he go to so much trouble? One of the Roman authorities, King Agrippa, said that Paul could have been set free if he hadn't appealed to Caesar. As Paul tells the Jews in Rome, in verse 18,
'They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.' (NIV)
Why did Paul appeal to Caesar? He knew he could have been set free, and he knew that if he appealed to Caesar he wouldn't be set free. So why did he do it?
The answer is in 23.11, just after he was taken into protective custody by the Romans, to stop the Jews from killing him:
The following night the Lord stood near to Paul and said, 'Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.' (NIV)
The Command
And so Paul ended up in Rome, obediently following Jesus' command. He was testifying about Jesus in Rome. And so must we—not in Rome, but here in Stockton.
You see, sharing our faith is not an 'optional extra' for 'super Christians' or apostles like Paul. Jesus commanded us all just before he went back to the Father: 'make disciples of all nations.' As Paul says: how can people hear about Jesus, if no-one tells them? Peter says: we must be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope we have for eternal life.
Now, I'm not saying we must all be like Paul, who according to verse 23 explained the message about Jesus to the Jews from dawn until dusk. But we must still share our faith, and do it boldly. The key verse for me as I was preparing this sermon is the very last verse (28.31):
'Boldly and without hindrance Paul preached the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus Christ.' (NIV)
Sharing faith is hard and scary, especially when the message is rejected. But some will accept our testimony, if we tell them boldly; so what does this passage teach us about boldness?
Paul was encouraged by his Lord, Jesus Christ
I'm sure I don't need to tell you that Paul had a really close relationship with Jesus. He knew him as his Saviour and Lord, he was grateful for the amazing gift of life that he knew Jesus had given him. It was out of this relationship with Jesus that Paul preached so boldly. In fact, it could only be out of a relationship like this that someone would be willing to risk their life. Paul had courage, not just of his convictions, but of knowing his Lord and master, Jesus Christ. He trusted him completely, and that gave him great boldness.
So how can we have a relationship like that with Jesus? How can we have that kind of courage, that kind of trust in him?
First, it's all about Jesus. Remember Jesus' words to Paul in Jerusalem that I read out just now?
The following night the Lord stood near to Paul and said, 'Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.' (NIV)
Our courage to obey Christ, to share our faith and testify to the wonders of his grace, comes from him, first and foremost. Paul must have been down. His own people were rejecting him, calling for his blood. They wanted him dead. They'd rejected his message, and that hurt. In Romans Paul says that he wishes he himself could be cut off from Jesus, if it meant that all his Jewish brothers and sisters would be saved. He was disheartened that they were rejected the gospel, but Jesus came to him and spoke to him, and said 'take courage.'
Now, I don't know about you, but I've never had a vision like this, where Jesus comes to me and stands in front of me. But that doesn't mean he's never spoken to me.
Because, while visions might be amazing, they aren't the bread and butter of everyday Christian life. Obviously Paul was greatly encouraged by Jesus coming to him, but that didn't happen every night. How did he keep himself going?
We know from his letters that Paul spent A LOT of time in prayer. After all, he was in prison for years, and didn't have a lot else to do, except write letters to his churches. He prayed 'constantly' he told the Philippians. But he also must have spent hours reading and studying the Scriptures, because as it says in verse 23 Jews came to him from all over the city, and he spent the whole day, dawn to dusk, trying to show them who Jesus is from the Scriptures.
He could only do that if he kept himself regularly immersed in them, reading, reflecting, and listening.
You see, although I don't get visions like Paul, Jesus speaks to me every day, and I to him. Every morning I get up, and I pray a short prayer, from Psalm 119, verse 18 (NIV):
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
I then sit down and read my Bible. I'm following a reading plan that means I read the New Testament and Psalms twice, and the rest of the Old Testament once, every year. It works out at about four chapters a day. As I read I consider what God may be saying to me through those verse. I ask myself what they tell me about God, what they tell me about us, what they tell me about myself. Then afterwards I try to pray (I don't always manage this part), letting my prayers be led by what I've just been reading.
It's nothing spectacular, but it's how we get to know God. You can't get to know someone unless you talk to them and unless you listen to them! The main way we talk to God is through prayer, and the main way we listen to God is through the Bible. So it makes sense to do them both together. It's quite clear that Paul did both.
And as we get to know Jesus better, as we learn to listen to his voice, he will speak to us and encourage us. We will hear his command to go out and make disciples, and he will give us the boldness and courage we need to obey him.
Like I said, it's nothing spectacular. But if we don't read the Bible, or only read it every now and then, we won't be listening to God's voice, we won't be challenged and comforted by him, we won't know who he is. Without the Bible, we would have no idea who God is.
Paul was encouraged by his brothers and sisters
But the Christian life is not all about solitary Bible study and prayer. Jesus encouraged Paul, yes, but his Christian brothers and sisters encouraged him as well. Look in verse 15:
The brothers and sisters [in Rome] had heard that we were coming, and they travelled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men and women, Paul thanked God and was encouraged. (NIV)
In some ways it is much easier to be encouraged by each other. And Jesus intended it this way. When he was about to leave his disciples and be betrayed, he told them to love one another, as he had loved them. We are to en-courage one another: give each other courage. It's simple: it is so much easier for us to obey Jesus, to be bold and share our faith, if we are all doing it together. Not only do we see the example of others in front of us, we get to hear their testimonies of how God used them when they stepped out in faith. And when it's tough, when people reject our message—as some rejected Paul's—we can comfort one another, pick each other up and help us get back on track again.
Paul was greatly encouraged by the welcome he received from his brothers and sisters. I think there is a challenge here for us today. Do we welcome and encourage one another as we should? Do we ignore those we find difficult, or make an extra effort? Do we judge one another, or forgive?
Do not underestimate the power of encouragement. A long time ago I had played the piano a lot in services, but I had never led, and I had never sung in public. The student worker at my church heard me practising in private one day, and said I had a good voice, and encouraged me to develop my music gift to include leading music. I haven't looked back since. Just that one word of encouragement has led to real fruit in my life. He could so easily have ignored that moment, but he didn't.
We can help each other, with encouraging words, getting stuck in alongside one another, and by praying for each other as well. We need to learn how to share our difficulties and struggles with each other, and ask for help and prayer. It is simply not possible to be a Christian on your own. God has given us each other, so we can help each other in our Christian life. So let's use that gift and en-courage one another.
We have picked three verses out of Acts:
'Boldly and without hindrance Paul preached the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus Christ.' (28.31, NIV)
The following night the Lord stood near to Paul and said, 'Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.' (23.11, NIV)
The brothers and sisters [in Rome] had heard that we were coming, and they travelled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men and women, Paul thanked God and was encouraged. (28.15, NIV)
My prayer is that, following Paul's example, we can all share our faith boldly and without hindrance in Stockton.
To do that, we need encouragement, first from the Lord Jesus. We must build our relationship with him through prayer and reading the Bible, and he will speak to us and encourage us.
Second, we need encouragement from one another.
So, I wonder if this morning one of those points (maybe all three) has spoken to you particularly.
If you would like to share your faith with someone this week, then pray that God would give you the courage to do so.
If you need to make a commitment to pray and read the Bible regularly, then why not make that promise to God right now?
If you know anyone who needs encouraging at the moment, then pray that God would give you the right words to say.
And let us all pray that God would give us the courage we need to share our faith boldly and without hindrance.
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