Please stand for the reading of God's Word. Holt's longing is finally satisfied here in today's text, Acts 28, verses 11 through 16, as we'll be looking at. Continuing forward, coming to the close of this wonderfully enjoyable time, going through the two-volume work of Luke The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. I'll be reading from verse 1 of chapter 28 through to verse 17, and you can see there the verses of focus 11 through 16. Brothers and sisters, please listen carefully because this is God's holy and infallible word. Now, when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer whom though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live. But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. In that region, there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went into him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways. And when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. After three months, we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the twin brothers, which had wintered at the island. And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. From there, we circled round and reached Regium, And after one day, the south wind blew, and the next day we came to Puteoli, where we found brethren and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. Now, when we came to Rome, The centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. It came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. And thus ends the reading of God's word. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. So Paul's longing is finally satisfied here in today's text. We'll look at that, go back to That section in Romans that he wrote to them. As we go through today's text, we're going to see God's provision to Paul and his team over and over again. He provides another Alexandrian vessel for them. He provides what appears to be smooth travels to Italy, no mentions of any problems. Good timing. The Lord provides Christian fellowship and hospitality along the way for them. He provides encouragement for them from the church at Rome. And he provides really extraordinary liberty for Paul there at Rome. And ultimately we see, skipping to the last verses of the book of Acts, God has satisfied Paul's longing in regards to this church. And as usual, some questions to consider for us to grow up in Christ as a result of hearing His Word today. I have the map there again for you this week. You can see there on the Left side of the map, they start at that little tiny dot there, Malta. They go up there to Syracuse, which is on the eastern shore of Sicily there, that large strategic island just south of Italy. They sail through that little pass there at Regium and go up and land there at Puteoli on the Italian peninsula. You can see there, you can visualize the path they take. You can even also look back and see the journey they took across the sea. And one of the key things about today's text is just how striking the smoothness is of this part of the journey compared to what they had experienced, and really just the sudden change of how things were going. You know, enough things had happened terribly to them that they may have gotten to the point to think, well, I guess it's just gonna always be this way, but then God changes His actions and His providences to them. So let's recall, I'm sure you've read the book of Romans, So probably this journey is taking sometime in the spring of 60 or 61 AD. It seems like more likely 61. Can't be dogmatic though. So we think with confidence also that Romans was written sometime around in AD 57 to the Roman church from Corinth during the three month stay that he had there in Corinth towards the tail end of his third missionary journey. And in that section of Acts, it just says he was in Greece for three months. So, listen to what he says to the church at Rome. Listen to his heart, listen to his longing, also listen to the things that are described about the church at Rome, and that'll help us as we go through this section. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making requests if by some means, now at last, I may find a way in the will of God to come to you, for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts so that you may be established. That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me Now, I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often plan to come to you, but was hindered until now that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. So that's a sweet background, isn't it, to his arrival here in Rome and what he's been through to get there. Again, Take a look at Paul's heart towards this church. He is ceaselessly having them in his prayers. You know that's love, right? You and I forget to pray for the things that we don't love. You know, it's the things, the people in your life that you love that you don't have to have a list, right? Paul didn't need to have the church at Rome on a list. He was ceaselessly in prayer for them. He says, without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers. Was he lying? Was he exaggerating? No. This church was deeply engraved on his heart, even though he had not been there. Now, he had heard of them, right? We're gonna get to that. So let's look at his strong desire to come to Rome. Let's look at the words that he uses. Making request, if by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. So his heart is just leaning towards being with them. He says, I long to see you. That's the state of his heart. And he had often planned to come to them. He had been seeking to come to them on multiple occasions. As much as is in me, I am ready. And he goes on to preach the gospel to you. So this is his strong desire to come to Rome. And it's helpful as we see him arriving there and we read of him taking courage and giving thanks to God, this moment of fruition that really appeared to all observers under the sun that it just wasn't gonna happen. Now Paul knew it was gonna happen. But here he is, you know he's human like you and me. And he had to have had his moments of doubt. Maybe I misheard the Lord in Jerusalem that night. Maybe my memory is off. Maybe I didn't really hear what I thought I heard. You know, we all can go through doubts. And it was a hindered longing. It says, I was hindered until now. So apparently at that point in time, he felt like he was gonna be able to head to Rome. Now, he knew he had to go back to Syria first, and there in that section of Acts where we're told that he's in Greece, remember he wanted to go straight to Syria, but there was some plan of the Jews to go after him again and to harm him, so he actually goes north up through Macedonia, back around through Troas, and down by Miletus, and makes his way back that way to avoid the Jews. Now, I don't know if he had made that plan before he wrote this section, but it appears as though maybe he got hindered again after he had even written this. So we see God hindering him, providentially hindering, providentially hindering, providentially slowing, slowing, slowing, but then Malta and the doors are just open and everything is just smooth sailing at that point. All right, so why did Paul desire so much to go to Rome? Why did he wanna go? Was he gonna get a great stipend? Was he gonna be the big man on campus? Why did Paul want to go to Rome? He says to impart some spiritual gift to them. Now, we should all be looking at our own motives, shouldn't we, as we hear this. He wanted to bless them. He wanted to impart some spiritual gift to them, and he didn't even care what it was. Just any gift that I could impart to you. Next, they were yet to be established. He knew that even though their faith was being spoken of throughout the whole world, there was something lacking. They weren't established yet. And he felt like if he could get there and he could preach the gospel to them and impart some spiritual gift to them and encourage them that he could be a part of them being established, you know, that's the kind of man you want in a pulpit. That's the kind of man you want in a church, is a man who's just there to impart spiritual gifts and to give blessings and to give encouragement and to try to help establish the church. That's why he went. He also didn't arrive saying, I'm going to be the encourager. I want to just encourage you. No, he understood the mutuality of ministry. And all good ministers will understand this. In fact, this would be a great place to look for qualities of a pastor is in this section in Romans chapter 1. So he was looking forward. He wanted to go and experience that mutual encouragement of the faith. Like, you know, when you're eating that wonderful meal with friends at Christmas. We had a great Asian meal when all the kids were in town and we're just yummy, yummy eating it together. And there's that mutuality and you're enjoying it together. That's what he wanted in Christ. to taste and see together Christ's goodness and to encourage one another in the gospel. And he knew that that was going to be a part of the spiritual gift that he would impart. It would be the context in which this building up would take place. So no wonder he's so glad to see them. Two or three days before he expected to see them. I don't know if he knew they were coming, but 40 miles. That's the distance that the church at Rome traveled to come and see him. He wanted to have some fruit amongst them. He was eager to be there and to bless them with some fruit. Again, he just wants to bless them in any way that he can. He's not showing up with an agenda, a curriculum. He just wants to, he doesn't know what their needs are particularly. He just shows up and he wants to bless them. And you look at the book of Romans, it is the most thorough, comprehensive New Testament book in Christian doctrine. So he gave them this fantastic book that sets the stage for all of New Testament theology. He wants to preach the gospel to them. He summarizes the whole thing. I want to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. So he shows up with a longing to bless them and to share in life together in Christ together with them. And in that to preach the gospel to them, to to exercise his gift that God had given him as a preacher, as a minister of the gospel in their midst for their good and for their mutual benefit. This church had been established long enough that their faith, and this is in AD 57, that their faith was being spoken of throughout the whole world. So we see the Lord setting up a people for his name in the dragon's lair, in the dragon's lair of the Roman Empire. It'd be like a church plant in Washington, D.C. Okay, that's what's happening, and the gospel is penetrating into that space. That is big news. And he's not even been there yet. So with that background, let's dive into the text. So first of all, what does God provide? He gives them another Alexandrian vessel. Oh, you destroyed yours over there. I guess you'll have to swim. No, no, new vessel. And it looks like it was maybe a better vessel than the one before. I mean, it's kind of a prized vessel where the figurehead is there. That's not the cheapest thing in the world to put on a ship. and it's got enough room for all the prisoners and they're willing to take them on board. This is an amazing providence. After three months, we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the twin brothers, which had wintered at the island. So as they're getting smashed up from behind on the shore, which is now called, well, probably the location now called St. Paul's Bay, it's very likely there was already an Alexandrian ship waiting for them on the other side of the island. But first they had to preach the gospel and heal everybody on the island, including Publius' father, and get bit by a viper. So look at God's providence here. This Alexandrian ship should really shine to us. So prior to this, his companions and the crew continued, and himself, continued to receive help from the people living on Malta And surely, so they were there for three months, we're told. Paul would have enjoyed sharing the word of God with them while he was there, especially given how God had worked so mightily there in the eyes of the Malta population, as I've already mentioned. First of all, they're all rescued alive in the shipwreck, so that would have been a message to the people of Malta. Every one of them just comes rising up out of the sea that day. There's this viper episode. Probably the island had experienced terrible weather as well, so they're kind of recovering. Publius' father is healed, and then all the sick on the island are healed as well. So we take the time to compare the events of Malta with all that had transpired since 1857 when he wrote those words to the church at Rome. And let's consider what that was. As I said, he couldn't travel directly to Syria like he wanted to. There were the Jewish attacks at Jerusalem, we've seen all about that. There were the two years imprisoned at Caesarea, we've seen that. And then this horrible, death-defying, ill-fated Setreck ending in a massive destruction. Things have not gone so well in his efforts to get there. But now here we are at Malta. Malta, when you hear Malta, we could even point a phrase like the Malton turnaround. It could be something like that, or the Maltese transition. It could be an allusion to, wow, look at the change that has occurred. God throws open the doors and makes it easy to finish the journey to Rome. You know, we have that scripture, don't we? Ask, seek, and knock. And so often, God makes things hard for us before he opens doors, right? And we don't know whether to keep seeking. Paul knew to keep seeking, and here we see the doors thrown open for him. I do want to talk about this Alexandrian ship at Malta for the winter. This is God's providential provision, and it was an unusual occurrence at that time for an Alexandrian vessel to be in that port for the winter. Wasn't unheard of, but unusual. In most cases, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica and this journal article, The Role of Alexandria in Roman Shipping, Most Alexandrian grain ships followed a more direct route to Italy known as the Aetesian route, which used favorable winds during the sailing season. These ships would often travel northward along the eastern Mediterranean, passing Crete and heading then straight toward Italy. Malta was not on this usually used direct route from Alexandria to Rome, making it less common for Alexandrian ships to winter there unless forced to do so by circumstances. And the best speculation is the storm, that perhaps they ended up there because of the same storm. Okay, or for other reasons. But in any case, God made a way for them to easily continue their journey and to quickly continue their journey. Surely there would have been ships coming through once the spring sailing season started, but how long before another vessel large enough to carry all of them would have come there, because the Alexandrian vessels were large. So this really stands, does it not, as a great contrast to prior hard providences of God during this journey. God provides an Alexandrian vessel, wintering in Malta, very likely already on the island. Probably all the good word about who these people were had even spread to the leaders of this vessel and just made them ready to receive them and to take them on the journey. God had it all figured out, didn't he? So Paul can continue his journey to Rome as soon as spring sailing season opens up. Let's talk about the figurehead twin brothers as well. The simplest thing here is that they are a good omen to pagan sailors, okay? And so it may very well be that Luke, using irony, decided to include this in the story as a way of kind of representing all the good fortune that they would have for the remainder of the journey. You might argue against that because it is rank idolatry as well. And so who knows why he put it there. We don't know for sure. Now, the twin brothers were sought in pagan worship by sailors during journeys. Many of you, I'm sure, have seen the movies set in ancient Greece or ancient Rome where they would have their little altars set up and their little figures and they'd bow down and pray to their ancestors or pray to their particular god that was their family god or that region's god. These are the gods of the sea that they prayed to. Now, who are these twin brothers? Who are they? Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of Jupiter and Leta, and were regarded as the tutelary divinities of sailors. And the exact Greek word here really only means sons of Zeus, okay? That's all it means. So there were the sons of Zeus that were placed there, which we know who they are. This was an obvious idolatry. And Zeus needs a lot of sons to get his things done. God only needs one. Now Paul and his companions went aboard this ship run by pagans devoted to demonic idolatry. And I think it's worth pausing for a moment to consider that. And this teaches us how we as Christians can put to use even the polluted things of this world without necessarily becoming polluted, especially in needful situations and with thanks. I speculate that if there were a dozen Alexandrian vessels there and one of them was on the side said to the glory of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever, and they would have been worshiping God and Christ as a church on that vessel, he would have chosen that, right? But this is the one God provided, and it was very obvious, wasn't it, that God had provided it. So they knew it was okay. Commentary says, seen in the context of Paul's conviction that God's made with hands are not God's, the dioscuri are mere wooden figures attached to the bow of the ship not living beings capable of action. In contrast to the true and living God, they are simply useless mythological brothers. So Paul demonstrates here that we have a path through using pagan nastiness for his glory. Okay, and that there are times when that is acceptable. And even beyond that is to the praise and the glory of God and a demonstration of his mastery of all those who set themselves against him. He used this ship devoted to idolatry for the glory of his name to bring the gospel to Rome. Next. Not only does he provide the ship in great providence, he provides smooth travels to Italy. bad weather is behind them. And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days from where we circled around and reached Regium and after one day the south wind blew and the next day we came to Pudioli. Now, again, this is spring in the Mediterranean, right, so that's the other thing you have to be thinking about. Okay, and if they had good weather, Does anybody else here dream of like a Mediterranean cruise and going and seeing these locations? No, look, I know we're going to live forever, right, on a perfect world. I just can't imagine what it's going to be like to see that place. I don't know if I'm going to get there in my lifetime. But they have this going as well, right? And we've talked about that before during their journey along Southwest Asia Minor there. Let's think about Syracuse, what they would have seen there. It was a major Sicilian trading harbor for the Roman Empire. And it would have been a sight to behold as they entered that spring day. Way better than their last harbor entry, where they couldn't see anything and they just got smashed to bits. This was different. You see the contrasts over and over again that we're given here? Now those at the time would have, not necessarily all of them, but it was widely known how glorious this port was and what a thing it was to arrive at this port. A spring day with the breeze, that south wind that they had, probably hear the seabirds, smell the sea air, begin to hear the sounds of other vessels and the sounds of voices coming across the harbor. They had a very large theater there, like all of these places of Roman captivity that would have been visible from the sea. You could see it as you came in, this giant theater there. And in addition, there were these limestone hills that kind of rose in various levels behind the city. And when the sun would shine off those limestone hills, it was just amazing. And you know, the sun would have been rising in the east, and so they probably would have the sun reflecting off of those limestone hills as they came in and off the theater. And to the right, on their starboard side, they would have seen the glistening, striking temple to Apollos that was built on that protruding northern harbor arm, the peninsula Ortigia, like a gathering arm reaching out to them. And so I hope you can kind of experience a little bit what it would have been like for them to get there. And all of this, again, to contrast this thing that God gives us here is such a huge contrast. This fast that he grants to them. His providence has come in many forms, and he can transition us from storms that crush us, from shipwrecks, to multi-transitions any time he desires. Now, why did they stop there at Syracuse? It's likely that their three days there were to resupply. We don't know, especially given that they had 273 new passengers. And the sources that are available to help us see this was actually a pretty quick resupply, where everything went smoothly for a ship this size, to get resupplied to that level without costing extra time or having any difficulties worth mentioning was a smooth transition in Syracuse. Now it did eventually become an important Christian outpost in that part of the world And very likely the gospel had already reached there by the time Paul arrived. And we don't know that for sure, but again, it was a huge trading center in the Mediterranean. And so news was traveling in and out of there. So at least they had heard about the controversy of the gospel. And Paul had three days. Who knows how many people heard the gospel while he was there. Then they went and reached Puteoli by way of Regium. And they had this favoring south wind. It was a helpful wind. And they landed at Puteoli within two days of leaving. And so of leaving, that was another smooth leg to this trip. So they've sailed without difficulty from Malta to Syracuse. They've passed Regium. And they've landed at Italy with fair winds and fair events. So when you arrive somewhere and say, how was your journey? This is the kind of one you go, oh, it was great. I didn't have any problems. The car didn't make any funny noises. The gas stations were all open. And we felt great the whole time. And wow, what a view we had. So obviously, this section of scripture calls us to consider how quickly events of life can change from calamity to calm and back and forth. Right, and so we just ride, we ride God's providences, and we have the sails of our hearts set out for Him, and we trust His providences. Next, God provides Christian fellowship and hospitality at Puteoli. You see this in verse 14. And so it's been a while since Paul has experienced Christian fellowship like this. We have to go all the way back to Caesarea and the things that he was experiencing there with Christians there. So it's been a while. Now, of course, he's had fellowship with his traveling companions, but this is a church. So this is a sweet providence that there are Christian brethren that have a church here. Now, it's not too far from Rome, so who knows, maybe it was the kind of thing planted from Rome. We don't know exactly how it got planted, But it's not just a church, it's a healthy, loving, hospitable church. And that's even sweeter Providence. They take them in for seven days. Now, it says where we found brethren. Now, I don't know if Luke is talking about just Paul's team or if he's talking about all 273 of them. I don't know what the story is there. We would say at least the Christians, but maybe even some more, maybe the centurion came with him. So this is seven days of sweet fellowship that Paul gets upon arriving in the country that he was aiming for. This is a very warm welcome that God grants him and it gets better. So what a sweet way, appropriate way for God to grant to Paul and his team to celebrate Hey, we've arrived to the we're almost there. And think of it. Seven days, we're told it would have included a Lord's Day. So Paul would have been able to enjoy Christian worship with the church there at Puteoli. Psalm 133 says, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It's like the dew of Hermod descending upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forevermore. So when these Christians are together, it is this anointing blessing they're experiencing, especially those like Paul and his team there who need a rejuvenation. They need the strengthening at that time. God knows our needs. And Christian fellowship and the blessings of it are so so important for us. You've heard me say before, little ones, I entreat you to listen so carefully. Please make it an absolute rule of your life to always, all the days of your life, be a member in a healthy, loving, biblically established, spirit-filled church where you can experience these blessings that are not available when you're an independent, Christian out there on your own, just you and your Bible and that's all you need because the forest is your sanctuary. That is nonsense. Ignore it. So Paul experiences the joy of fellowship there and look at how God has changed what he's going through, this Maltese transition. So then they leave, it says, and from there, it says, and so we went toward Rome. So after seven days, they head out towards Rome. And this would have been all of them, the entire 273 of them. And we don't know if they were walking or if they were on horseback. You know, the Roman centurion probably had access to various items, and the Roman Empire likely had ways to reimburse these people. So we don't know for sure how they were traveling to Rome. But look at how God provides even more encouragement, and the sweetest form of encouragement for Paul, because his destination isn't Italy. His destination isn't even Rome. His destination is to be face to face with these people. That's his destination, and God grants it sooner, probably sooner than he expected. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. Now, we know Paul is grateful, but we need to also remember that Paul is human, like us, and he needed courage. Maybe he didn't know it. Maybe he didn't know that he needed to be encouraged. Maybe he didn't know how much it would strengthen him. We all need strengthening. Now, this church whose faith is known throughout the world This illustrates the kind of behavior that develops that kind of reputation. I'll say that again. The behavior they're showing here is what develops that kind of worldwide reputation. It's likely not going to be because they had all their doctrine perfectly squared away. No. Jesus said, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another. This is to the church. This is to the church. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Who knows how much income these church members lost. Who knows how inconvenienced they were when they took this two or three day journey to come and meet Paul early, 40 miles. Who knows what they went through? The brethren likely walked about 40 miles. That's about how far it was, which would have taken about two to three days on this Roman road, the Via Appia. That's what that was called there in that region. And so, you know, I wouldn't, like if I was the pastor there at the church at Rome, and I'm like, ah, I can't wait to see Paul. And somebody said, hey, why don't we go meet him? And then everybody's like, hey, hey, you're not gonna work tomorrow, you know, Paul will be here in time for worship, you know, let's pray for him. You see what I'm saying? They're like, no, no, their love was too much. Their love overcame the practical proximity problems that they faced. They were not willing to wait any longer than necessary to be together with Paul and to love him and to encourage him. So you see the priority of love and togetherness demonstrated by this church. And for sure, this is one of the major reasons why they had this worldwide reputation for faithfulness. So here it is, this is the moment that Paul's longing that he wrote about years earlier is fulfilled. His desire for mutual encouragement, remember we talked about that, the mutuality of it, is here granted via the love of the saints of Rome. And you know, we can be this to one another as well. We can receive this from one another. We can be this to Christians everywhere. when we learn how to prioritize relationship like the church at Rome. And you know, within this context, I've said it many times, I ask all of us to look at our lives and look at our schedules and say, am I prioritizing hospitality enough in my family schedule? Okay? If my priorities were embraced by the church at Rome, would they have walked to Appiai for him? That's a fair question for you to ask yourself. If my priorities for hospitality, my family's priorities, it's very convicting for me. I don't know. I'm afraid we would have just stayed in Rome and prayed for him. So it's convicting. We want to be more like this. Now, how did Paul reply? How did he respond? He knew he didn't deserve this. This was such tremendous grace. He had formerly persecuted and helped kill Christians. He was a vile, wicked, murderous man. And these Christians come out to greet him and accept him. And what does he do? He knows it's from God. He knows it's a gift. What does he do? He gives thanks to God. He gives thanks to God. His first thought is to give thanks to God. It's very meaningful. When we receive wondrous gifts of encouragement, are we like Paul to just give thanks? Just to give thanks straight away. So he's focusing upon God's goodness in this wondrous moment of fulfillment. A lot of times, After hard things, we can get to the end of the road and say, look what I've done. I worked really hard to get here. You know, like the fellow in that funny scene in Shenandoah, I've mentioned this before, they're at the table, it's Thanksgiving, they're praying, he's giving thanks to God for all the food that's on the table. And he says, like every time he gives thanks, even though I shot the turkey, thank you, Lord. Even though I planted it, thank you, Lord. Even though I did this and all of this. And so he's clearly not thankful. Right? And he forgot that God made the turkey and sat it there. He forgot that God's the one that grows the seeds. He's forgot that God's the one that gave him the strength and the gumption to go and provide for his family. Paul doesn't do this. You know, we do, we get distracted, especially if it's been hard getting there and we've had to exert ourselves. That's what the experience, we felt our own work and suffering. And we forget that God is the one who works in us to will and to act according to his good purposes. So Paul gives thanks to God. And we hear this from the psalmist, Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever, that his praise would ever be on our lips. Paul demonstrates this to us. So God grants this good and pleasant blessing upon blessing upon blessing from Malta to Rome. And the chief of which is him coming into contact now with these Christians. But there's even more. God gives Paul extraordinary liberty at Rome to continue to enjoy this fellowship. Now, when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard. But Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. This is an extraordinary providence, extremely unusual for Roman prisoners. And again, see the contrast. The other prisoners go to prison. That's what you would expect. No liberty to receive visitors or to live a normal life. But Paul receives this great gift from God. He can dwell by himself and ultimately in his own rented home, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God to all who came to him. And we'll look at that verse briefly at the end of today's sermon. No person, no event, no thing can hinder God's will to bring his gospel to the world. And nothing can hinder the plan God has for you to serve him throughout the course of your life. His ways will be completed. He will perfect, as we say, right? He will perfect that which concerns us. Now, as a side note passing by, this should be a particular encouragement to Christians who are in prison. Paul being suffered to dwell by himself, could the better enjoy himself and his friends and his God than if he had been lodged with the other prisoners. Note, this may encourage God's prisoners that he can give them favor in the eyes of those that carry them captive. That's Psalm 166. As Joseph in the eyes of his keeper, Genesis 39, and Jehoiachin in the eyes of the king of Babylon. When God does not deliver his people presently out of bondage yet, if he either make it easy to them or them easy under it, they have reason to be thankful. So this is also a help to Christians in prison. I can't help but think about those still suffering under the injustice of the FACE Act prosecutions, whom I'm praying and hoping and have reason to hope that on January 20th, they will be released from prison. We can pray about that for them and that perhaps verses like this would even encourage them and that God would even grant them this kind of favor with their captors right now. But finally, we see God satisfying Paul's longing in verses 30 and 31, and we'll look at these more fully, develop the themes from these verses more fully as we finish up the book of Acts. But we'll look at them briefly today. Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house and 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. When God throws down the barriers, none can put them back up without anyone forbidding him. So this is exactly what Paul had voiced as his great longing. three or four years earlier when he wrote to the Roman church and here he is for two years now being able to live it out in their midst. After so much difficulty, he's granted this abundance of comfort, the safety. He's essentially guarded by the Romans so the Jews can't come and attack him again. And you're going to see in the next section that we look at, which we skipped over, they probably would have done the same thing to him in Rome that they did everywhere else. But God's got a plan for that. You know what? You're not gonna have to worry about it this time, Paul. He's got him essentially in the guard and the protection of the Romans. And he's got what seems like two years of virtually nonstop gospel kingdom of God, word of God, discipleship opportunities in the belly of the beast. Commentary says, See God here providing comfort for the relief of the persecuted, though it was a very low and narrow, narrow sphere of opportunity that Paul was here placed in compared with what he had been in. Yet such as it was, he was not molested nor disturbed in it, though it was not a wide door that was open to him, yet it was kept open and no one was suffered to shut it. And it was to many an effectual door, so that there were saints even in Caesar's household. Philippians 4.22. When the city of our solemnities is thus made a quiet habitation... Listen again. When the city of our solemnities is thus made a quiet habitation at any time, and we are fed from day to day with the bread of life, no man forbidding us, we must give thanks to God for it and prepare for changes. still longing for that holy mountain in which there shall never be any pricking briar nor grieving thorn. And so I've mentioned these themes along the way, but just by way of summary, think of what Paul's been through and look at the Maltese transition and consider the great providence and power of God behind it all. This book is called the Acts of the Apostles. But when we look at the introduction to this, don't we see that Luke actually describes it as what Jesus continued to do. These are the acts of Jesus. Jesus is the one ruling from the right hand of God. He and the Father sending forth his spirit. And Jesus is the one who has carried Paul to this spot. And so as you consider your life and the unpredictable changes that you've been through, or the things that may come in the future, remember, God is the one who oversees it all. And the times may be sweet and prosperous, or they may be stormy, but he is behind it all, accomplishing his purposes. Rejoice in Christian fellowship and give thanks to God for the saints and for those whom you love who are in the faith, especially for those who are a part of your local assembly. And devote yourselves to love the saints. And again, ask yourself, are you highly prioritizing enough fellowship and hospitality with the saints of God? God is destroying his enemies. It's another point worth noting here. At the end of the book of Romans, he tells the church at Rome something about Satan. Do you recall what he said? The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Now some believe that this was actually the earthly headquarters of Satan during this brief time while he was still on the earth after being thrown down from heaven before he got cast into the abyss for a thousand years. metaphorical, for the thousand years. Others see it as just a sign of great victory over satanic evil ways there in Rome, and perhaps even the Roman Empire. So we can certainly say with the conquest of the Roman Empire by Christianity within the next few hundred years, that this is what's beginning here. God conquers his enemies, okay? So we're a part of this and we can rejoice in this. So I hope that you'll consider this, be encouraged, and look to the Lord and not have any fears or worries that take you away from what God is doing in your life and the good things that he promises to work in and through his people for his glory and for our good. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for how you always provide for your people, how you always protect your people, and how you always work in and through us to grow up in Christ and that you're always perfecting that which concerns us. And we thank you, Lord, that no matter what providences befall us, whether they be unto scarcity and pain or abundance and pleasure, whether it be unto comforts or hardships, whether it be bumping into doors that keep us from gospel opportunities, or whether it be doors flung wide open to preach to hungry multitudes, whatever it may be, Father, we trust you, we love you, and we ask, Lord, that we would be like Paul, devoted to you and to your people and loving the fellowship of the saints and seeking and enjoying the anointing that flows down like the oil on Aaron's beard and his robe and like the dew of Mount Hermon that we would know the refreshing and the life of the fellowship of the saints and that all your people not just here but throughout the world would grow up and be more like the church at Rome expressing such great love to Paul. And Father, finally, we do ask for you to bless us to participate in the destruction that you are bringing upon your enemies, casting them all under the feet of Christ. Bless us, Lord, with the patience and just to wait upon you in every way, Father. Oh, we thank you, Lord, for Jesus. for his life, for his death, for his resurrection. We thank you for his ascension, and that you have made him the king of the universe. We praise you, Lord Jesus Christ, that you are the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And we long to serve you with greater affection, with purity of heart, and with power, O grant to us, Lord, to receive your spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind in our lives day by day, and to enjoy our relationship that we have with you, Father. Empower and enjoy for your glory, for our joy, and for the fruit of the kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen.