Today, our concluding study underscores the big picture of what we’ve learned over the last 2-years. We’ve seen the promise of Holy Spirit enabling the early believers to take the gospel message to the ends of the earth, all the way through the end of the book where Paul finally takes the gospel message to Rome. Here’s the main idea, if you never learned any more about serving God except for what we’ve learned in Acts, you’re going to do well. Don’t undervalue what God has given you!

In Exodus 14 God is now leading his people out of Egypt. Instead of leading them the shortest route through the area of the Philistines, He lead them out and around through the desert. Some may think this was a mistake, but it was a planned detour to teach the people about His faithfulness! As the Israelis were fleeing they began to realize the Egyptian army was following them. To make matters worse, Moses lead the people directly into a trap - the Red Sea. 

 Today we see Paul’s final mission take shape and this chapter records his journey to Rome. It’s been about three years since God told Paul of his final mission. In (Acts 25:12) we read of the natural steps that put this mission in motion, and Paul was finally on the way Rome. This is what the route looked like…

Tonight we see the Next Steps God gives the Children of Israel and how these steps inspire faith in us today. God speaks to Moses about how to lead His people, The Israelites, and He tells Moses to relay this message: Consecrate yourselves! In other words, Moses tells the people their obedience to God looks like this; it’s a life of faith where your home (children) and your work (animals) are dedicated to God & for God purposes.

The Gospel of Luke highlights the humanity of Christ and in this section we’re studying today, we see Jesus speaking to religious criticism. Jesus teaches those who are with him by using an illustration that highlights the lack of love thru a critical spirit. Critical people often come from the backgrounds of verbal abuse or emotional abuse and become deeply selfish, which is what we see of Simon the Pharisee. However, any view that rejects the wonderful work of God and discounts the evidence of a changed life is working on the wrong team! 

In the final chapters of Acts we learn how to advance the gospel personally. Today the scene continues from where we left off last week with Paul in jail. He was brought into a Roman Court by Festus (Governor) who wanted a second opinion from his buddy King Agrippa II as to what should be done with Paul. Paul didn’t violated any Roman Law, but he was a nuisance to the religious leaders of Judaism because he converted to Christianity and followed Christ who fulfilled the OT Prophecies. Now Paul has the chance to preach the gospel to these world leaders!

As we continue studying thru the Old Testament, we’ve come to the final plague – death of the firstborn. God was passing over Egypt and delivering His final blow to those who resisted Him. This 10th plague is the most devastating of all plagues – death! So far, God has been patient with people for an extended period of time, but He systematically toppled all the god’s of the Egyptians. At each exchange between Moses & Pharaoh, there was an opportunity for Pharaoh to submit. Yet he chose to harden his heart instead and take his chances against God. Now the consequences were catching up with him.

As we near the end of our study in Acts, we see the conclusion of a life lived for Jesus. Paul got caught up in the legal system and from his perspective it was hinder his ministry. Yet, as we discover in scripture present set backs are often the breeding ground for next steps. Remember Paul was in custody in Caesarea waiting for his court case to be heard. His accusers were the religious elites the High Priest of Judaism, the Elders of Judaism, and an attorney named Tertullus. They painted Paul as the ringleader of a cult that was creating rebellion in Jerusalem against the Pax Romana (Roman Peace). The Jews fabricated stories attempting to have Paul put to death. Now as we pick up today, the traveling ministry of Paul has come to an end — no more mission trips. But the effectiveness of the Gospel was still at work.

When we say, “God’s in control and working everything out in the world.” Many times that comes across as meaningless. We simply don’t understand it fully! God was patient with Pharaoh but the time came for judgment. Here’s a few simple applications as we look at a A safe country, a declining country, and where’s my country. 

Paul was a hard charging man but it wasn’t according to his human desire. The Holy Spirit placed a strong desire in Paul to get to Jerusalem. Yet in all the lead up to get to Jerusalem, Paul’s friends were telling him that it was dangerous, and jail & suffering were ahead! And they were alright! But they were missing God’s purpose. God was moving Paul forward into the next phase of his ministry. While unexpected moments left an imprint on Paul’s life, He was still compelled to continue forward! Here’s the key… God used an unexpected way to move Paul forward.