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Amen. Acts chapter 28. So this is our third week in Acts chapter 28. We're gonna finish up Acts chapter 28 and kind of conclude the study in the book of Acts tonight. So what's happened so far in the first part of Acts chapter 28, Paul, and of course they shipwrecked at the end of Acts chapter 27, Paul's on his way to Rome. He's appealed to Rome. He's appealed to Caesar to escape the tyranny, so to speak, of the Jews, the injustice of the Jews that were just trying to trick him, trying to sabotage him, and trying to just basically murder him in Jerusalem. So he escaped. He was taken to Caesarea and the Romans actually kind of rescued him to a degree. And then of course he shipwrecks into what's, you know, now known as Malta, the island of Malta. He shipwrecks there. He does a, you know, he gets bit by a snake there, and then of course he gets many people saved on the island of Malta. But we're gonna start off in Acts chapter 28 in verse number 16 tonight, where Paul is actually on his way back. He's on his way now from the island. He's heading north back to Rome. So he's actually going to get to Rome at the end of the book of Acts, right? So all of this culminates at Rome in the book of Acts, right? Look it down at verse number 16 of Acts chapter 28, where the Bible reads, it says, And we came to Rome, and the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. So now keep in mind that, you know, Paul is not being mistreated by the Romans at this point. He's been persecuted by the Jews through his first, second, and third missionary journeys, all the way back to, you know, Acts chapter 12. When he starts his missionary journeys, he's being chased all over Asia, chased all over Macedonia and Greece and all these places by the Jews. And it's actually the Romans that rescue him in Jerusalem. He calls out the fact that he's a Roman citizen, and the Romans grab him, and then he appeals to Caesar. And so he's kind of at this point. And then, of course, he actually saved all these soldiers in this shipwreck. Remember, they didn't listen to him when he said, Hey, you shouldn't set sail in this time of year. And they didn't listen to him. They got stuck in this storm for like two weeks out in the sea, and they listened to him, and he saved everyone. So at this point, the Romans are not unfriendly to Paul, though he is still a prisoner. All right, look at verse number 17. It says he came to pass. So he's in Rome now. It came to pass that after three days, Paul called the chief of the Jews together, and when they were come together, he said unto them, So for let me just stop right here. He gets to Rome. He's been wanting to go to Rome the whole time. He's been wanting to go to Rome. He's, you know, he's he's wanting to spread the gospel up there. He's being chased all over by the Jews. What's the first thing he does when he gets to Rome? He goes to make the Jews mad there. This this shows you that Paul just didn't care. All right, and that's kind of gonna be the point that I'm gonna get at at the end of the sermon tonight. But Paul was just like he had no regard for his life at all. None. I mean, he goes and he goes right to the group of people that had been trying to kill him all over all these different continents that he's been on. All right, so he goes and he gathers the Jews in Rome together for what? To preach Christ to them. Right? How does he think that this is that he knows how this is gonna go? All right, he knows that maybe some will accept it, but the vast majority are gonna come after him and be against him. All right, look at verse number 17. It says, When they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people or customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, would have let me go because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal to Caesar, not that I ought to accuse my nation, not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause, therefore, I've called for you to see you and speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. So Paul is just, remember, Paul's a Pharisee, Paul's a Jew, and he's just like, he will not give up. He will not give up. He's like, for the hope of Israel, he's gonna find, if there's a remnant, he's gonna find it, is what Paul is saying. All right, look at verse number 21. And they said unto him, We neither receive letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee. Now, I don't really believe that personally, but that's just my opinion. All right, that they haven't heard anything about Paul at this point, these Jews in Rome. Look at verse 22. But we desire to hear thee what thou thinkest, for as concerning the sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against. So Paul is like the leader of this sect. Remember, they were called Christians first at Antioch, right? Christians was kind of like a make fun of name, right? It was kind of a, it means little Christ. So they're calling, you know, all these people that were running around preaching Jesus, they called them, you know, little Jesuses, as they were trying to like make fun of them. It's kind of like, you know, the, the Anabaptists, right? I mean, the Anabaptists is what they called, you know, when the Catholic Church was founded, and the Catholic Church added, they added baptism to salvation amongst many other things, and the Baptists were just like, the Baptists were not Baptists, they were just what Jesus was. They were just what John the Baptist was. They were just following the doctrine that Paul preached, that the Apostles preached, the original Christianity, and so they were getting people saved that had been baptized as babies in the Catholic Church, and they were baptizing them after they got saved, as the Bible says, not to get them saved, but after salvation, you're to be baptized. Nothing to do with going to heaven or being saved, just what Jesus commands us to do, and so the Catholic Church called us rebaptizers, Anabaptists, but it's important, these names are important, because now we can trace Baptist doctrine all the way back to that time, because there was people rebaptizing at that time, but look, if you've been, I've been rebaptized, but I've only been baptized once, because when I was baptized as a baby in the Lutheran Church, that's not baptism, it's something some church made up, it's not biblical baptism, but anyway, all that to say this, they're like concerning this sect that everywhere it is spoken against, and when they appointed him a day, they came to him, many to him in his lodging, so he's under house arrest, but he's given all this freedom by the Romans. People are allowed to visit him, he's allowed to just preach to people during this whole time he's under house arrest, to whom he expounded and testified what? The kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, out of the prophets, from morning until evening, so what does he use? He uses, he uses the Bible, he uses the oracles of God to preach the gospel to the Jews, because what? That's what they claim to believe, right? That's what they claim to believe, so if you believe Moses, you'll believe Jesus, so somebody that doesn't believe in Jesus, or wouldn't believe the story of Jesus, they didn't believe the Bible, that's what the Bible says again and again, Jesus himself said that, look at verse 24, and some believe the things which were spoken, and some believe not, when they agreed not amongst themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah the prophet, is what he's talking about here, unto our fathers, saying go unto this people, and saying hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see, and not perceive, for the heart of this people has waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them, be it known therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it, so this is, you know, the this is the prophecy from Isaiah that we've talked about many times during the book, on the study of the book of Acts, where, you know, the the Jews are not receiving, as a general population, there was of course some that believed, you know, this is the remnant, there's always a remnant as the Bible teaches, but most as a large, you know, group, and as a as a religious sect of the Jews, they did not accept Jesus, the mainstream Jewish leaders did not accept Jesus Christ, all right, so the Bible here is saying it's because their heart was waxed gross, this is why Jesus said that he spoke in parables, they said why do they speak in parables, he's like because I don't want them to understand, these religious leaders that don't even believe the Bible, they don't even believe Moses, you know, they're not gonna believe me, I don't want them to understand, this is what the Bible is repeating here, it says be it there known unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it, so many Gentiles were getting saved, all the the churches that we talked about throughout this study, those are those are Gentile churches, you know, Ephesus, Philippi, you know, Thessalonica, all the seven churches of Asia that are talked about in Revelation chapter 2, Revelation chapter 3, these are all Gentile churches that Paul went with his companions and actually started, and so the Gentiles are being saved, and they are accepting it, look at verse number 29, we had said these words the Jews departed, and had great reasoning amongst themselves, and Paul dwelt two whole years in his hired house, and received all that came in unto him, and preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him, so the Bible says that Paul just remained under house arrest, and just kept preaching the Word of God, people came to his house, he just kept preaching the gospel to people again, and again, and again, for two years, and then that's how the book of Acts ends, you say, what in the world, what happened to Paul, what happened to Paul, well the Bible doesn't specifically tell us what exactly happened to Paul, but we can get an idea, if you turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4, I'll tell you what I believe happened to Paul, I do believe the Bible backs this up, secular history also talks about what they believe happened to Paul, and I'll get, I know secular history is not the Bible, all right, and it's not doctrine, and we're never gonna take doctrine from that, but I do believe that matches what we see in 2 Timothy chapter 4 with Paul, so Paul, most people think that Paul was in Rome around AD 60, AD 62, somewhere around that time, that he was in Rome starting in those years, I mean most people would agree with that, just kind of adding up the years, the missionary journeys, this whole thing, and just looking at, you know, all the things that the Bible documents about Paul, and then looking at even, you know, the emperors at the time, you know, even, you know, Claudius, and I'll show you that, Claudius is the emperor right before Nero, and he's mentioned a couple times in Acts chapter 11, Acts chapter 18, look at 2 Timothy chapter 4, so adding this up, we can see that Paul's in Rome at about AD 60, all right, look at verse number 6 of 2 Timothy chapter 4, so who's Timothy? Timothy is a young preacher that Paul was training for the ministry, all right, so Paul talks very fondly of Timothy, the t-books in the Bible, you know, Timothy and Titus especially, those are, you know, called the pastoral epistles, you know, where it's talking about, you know, that's where you'll find in 1st Timothy chapter 3, you'll find the qualifications of a pastor, all right, listed out in 1st Timothy chapter 3, and look, in great detail, right, and, you know, because he's training Timothy for the ministry, he's like, hey, you want to be a pastor of a church, these are the qualifications that you need to have, and look, that's what we take from the Bible as qualifications for somebody that would be sent out to be a pastor, all right, look at verse number 6 of 2 Timothy chapter 4, so all that to say this, Paul's writing to Timothy, he says, for I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand, so right away, that sentence right there, he's saying, you know, the end of my life is coming, but he doesn't just say I'm dying, he says I'm ready to be offered, meaning he's comparing himself to a sacrifice, he's comparing himself to something that is killed, and this is a pretty staunch evidence to me that not only was Paul, I believe the secular account in the martyrs mirror, other places that Paul was beheaded by Nero, which completely fits what Nero did, but I also believe that Paul knew he was going to be executed, because he was able to write this letter, it also matches that he was given time, he was treated very well up to that point by the Romans, but he says, I'm ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand, I've fought a good fight, I've finished my course, I have kept the faith, henceforth, he says, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but to unto all them that also love his appearing, so I mean offered means sacrifice, and what comes with sacrifice, you know, sacrifices always came with blood, because without blood there is no remission, so look, I believe he knew he was going to be executed, alright, Paul was in Rome from AD 60, 62, somewhere around those dates, and if you look up the Roman Emperor's rule, Nero is the one who actually started, there was ten, there's ten documented Roman persecutions, and the first one started with an emperor named Nero, now Nero, the story of Nero was, he was the, if you look at Acts chapter, why don't you go back to Acts chapter 11, look at Acts chapter 11 verse number 28, Acts chapter 11 verse number 28, Acts chapter 11 is right when Paul, you know, comes on the scene, I mean, the book of Acts, ever since Acts chapter 7, the end of Acts chapter 7, is really a story about the ministry of Paul, largely, alright, but look at Acts chapter 11 verse 28, it says, there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar, so here's, you know, the Caesar at that time was a man named Claudius, now Nero was Claudius's adopted son, alright, so Nero was adopted by Claudius at the age of 13, alright, and Nero, you don't have to read too much about Nero to know that he was a complete psychopath, alright, he was also really into the arts and theater, but you know, you can connect those dots yourself, alright, but the point is, he started the first Roman persecution of ten Roman persecutions, which ended right around, you know, 313, when Constantine decided to create, you know, to grab Christianity and grab Roman paganism and combine them and create this thing that we call Roman Catholicism today, alright, that's not Christianity, alright, it's a combination of what, you know, Constantine and his government, you know, created with the, you know, the heretics that showed up to Nicaea, but the point is, Nero, he's the adopted son of the previous emperor, he starts, Claudius is killed at like 54 AD and Nero starts reigning when he's like 16 or 17 years old, so he's ruling Rome when he's just a kid, alright, and he is ruling when Paul arrives in Rome, so you say, well, what changed, why wasn't Paul killed right away, well, the story goes, and you know, you can find it, I'm not talking biblical history now, I'm talking just what history will tell you, the story goes, I mean, if you've ever heard the phrase, you know, you know, Nero fiddled while Rome burned, this comes from the fact that in AD 64 there was a huge fire in Rome, now this is, you know, documented history, there was this massive fire in Rome, many historians think that Nero actually started the fire, that he actually started the fire in this certain area because he wanted to build theaters and arenas and things like this and expand things that he wanted in this area, but in order to, you know, appease the people, and now, you know, the idea was, he never fiddled on the roof, but the idea was he he loved music and he was like having a party watching the, basically watching the city burn, is kind of the story, all right, he didn't necessarily fiddle, I don't even think fiddles were a thing back then, but the point is, Nero, there was this great fire in AD 64, and Nero blamed the fire on this new sect, the Christians, all right, he blamed the fire, it largely is believed that it was a political move to save his own, you know, tale from the people, because he actually was, you know, threatened to be overthrown, he actually killed himself in AD 68, just a few years later, AD 69, something like that, but he blames the Christians, and Nero goes on this rampage of slaughtering Christians, and he, I mean he shows what, I won't even, the Martyr's Mirror documents a lot of it, I won't even read it to you, but it's just, this is where he put Christians in the arenas and they were eaten by animals, and he would throw children out in the arenas to be eaten by lions, and you know, they would put, you know, animal, sheepskins on a bunch of people, and put them out in the arena, and let, just sick, twisted, psychotic things, he would burn people, he would burn Christians on stakes, while to light his parties at night, I mean the man is burning at the lowest part of hell, as I talked to you tonight, all right, so he was a very, very psychotic person, all right, and it seems quite feasible to me to believe that Paul, while he was going to be offered, Nero probably was going to execute Paul while he was going on this rampage of killing Christians, all right, so, and that's the Martyr's Mirror account, is that Paul was taken out and he was, he was beheaded, he was beheaded in this place where they beheaded many people, so that was the demise of Paul, and I believe that it's accurate, I believe that it matches 2 Timothy chapter 4, I believe Paul lived a couple of years in Rome, I believe he preached the gospel to as many people as he could, that people came and visited him, and that he was executed by Nero in that first Roman persecution, but the point is this, I want to talk about the summary of Paul's life tonight, that's really what I want to talk about as we end the study of the book of Acts, Paul, think about it, think about everything that we've talked about throughout the life of Paul, the entire book of Acts, starting in Acts chapter 7, is really about Paul, is really focused on the works of Paul and the people that were with him, think about these missionary journeys that he went on, he goes on this first missionary journey where he goes up and he goes and he wants to, he crosses the Mediterranean Sea, and him and Barnabas continue while Mark leaves, because he doesn't want to continue on, and they continue on and they go through this terrible time of persecution through these cities, and then not only that, but they go back the same way through the same cities, this is after they, they stoned him, they thought they killed him, they did all these, this was the first missionary journey, and then he goes on a second and third missionary journey, he goes to Jerusalem twice, and then he goes and he just goes on this, remember when he was on his way to Jerusalem the last time, everybody, all the churches, all the places that he planted were crying, they were weeping, they were saying don't go, even the Holy Spirit said you're going to be bound in Jerusalem, like they're going to be after you, they're going to come after you, what did Paul say twice, when he was warned by all these people including God, Paul said I don't care about my life, when he was warned by all these people including the Holy Spirit, he not only said it, but he showed it, he literally cared nothing about his life, you want to talk about boldness, we have to talk about Paul, because Paul was the bold example in the Bible, I mean what a life, then he goes to Rome, and he goes straight to the people that he knows will be hostile to him, but he knows some will get saved, isn't that interesting, if you go to a group of hundred people, and you knew that 98 of those people, you would make angry, and two, but two of those people would get saved, what would you do, and make angry to the point where they'd want to physically hurt you and kill you, but Paul would go to that group of a hundred people, and he would preach the Gospels, because he didn't care about his life, and he said that again, and again, and again, so Paul, I mean what a life, what a life, Paul is is a great example in the title of the sermon, if I had one tonight, was this life or the next, what's important, what does the Bible say should be important to us, and Paul is the epitome of this question, this life or the next, because turn to Philippians chapter 3, because let me tell you something, Paul had it all, Paul wasn't some, some guy without a job, that didn't know what was going on, and all of a sudden he got saved and got zealous, Paul, Paul was on the top of his game, Paul had money, Paul had power, Paul had respect, Paul had whatever he wanted in his life, look at Philippians chapter 3 verse number 5, Paul's talking about himself here, he says, circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel, he's talking about himself, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless, he's talking about, he's like, he was, he was a Pharisee, he was, he was top Pharisee, he was, he was a religious leader of leaders, he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he, what did he, what did he need, he had everything, he had, he had a name, I mean, he was, he was zealous for what he was doing at that time, but look at verse number 7, look at verse number 7, this is really the key right here, he says, but what things were gained to me, he says, all these things, all these things were, were gained to me, he says, what, those I counted lost for Christ, he's like, gave it all up, Paul wasn't some nobody that got saved and then got zealous, Paul was this leader that had everything, he had the respect, the power, everything that he needed, he's like, he counted, he threw it all away, he counted it all a loss, yet people today can't come to church, you got saved people today, they won't walk into church, God commands them clearly, come to church, people today don't want to go to church, but Paul is such a great example because he counted everything lost, he gave it all up, up to and including his own life at the end, turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, you see, because all the, and I'm glad 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 is in the Bible, because with as much detail in Acts chapter 8 through Acts chapter 28, as we get about Paul's missionary journeys, his trips to Jerusalem, his trip to Rome, and then the end of his life, with all the detail that we didn't even, we didn't even scratch the surface of what Paul actually went through, Paul gives us a nice little summary of things, you say, oh man, he went through a shipwreck, he was shipwrecked three times, look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 verse number 18, Paul's talking to people that are puffed up here, he's talking about people that are thinking they're awesome, he's like they're thinking they're great Christians and all this, he's like seeing that many glory after the flesh, all glory also, for ye suffer fools gladly seeing ye yourselves are wise, for ye suffer if a man brings you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take off you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you in the face, I speak as concerning reproach as though we had been weak, howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, I speak foolishly, he's being sarcastic here, I am bold also, he's saying are they Hebrews, so am I, are they Israelites, he's talking about people that are coming in and saying they're great to this church, coming in and teaching stupid things and making them do stupid things, he's like are they Israelites, so am I, are they the seed of Abraham, so am I, are they ministers of Christ, I speak as a fool, he says I am more, and now he says, he says look, he's like, he's like no one can compete with me, look what he says, he says in labors, now this is the kind of bragging that Paul does, Paul's gonna do some boasting, he's gonna do some boasting on how much he suffered, is what he's gonna boast on here, he says in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths off, he's like no one's been, no one's worked harder than me, no one's been beaten more than me, no one's been in prison more than me, no one's been, you know, been tried to be killed more than me, of the Jews, now he gets, you're like why, that's kind of a broad statement, let's get in some detail, he says, of the Jews, five times received I 40 stripes save one, 40 stripes save one, so they whip you 39 times so they don't accidentally hit you over 40 times, so he's been, he's been beaten, he's been whipped 200 times minus five, he's been whipped 195 times on his back, thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, that was in the Bible, thrice I suffered shipwreck, one of those we studied, and a night and day I've been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, even when I was in churches that I started, I was in peril, because there was false prophets in those churches that were trying to get to me, I mean, read Galatians, read all the letters that he's, he's yelling at people in 1st Corinthians and trying to correct these churches, because as soon as he leaves these churches, you know, grievous wolves come in and start preaching false Gospels, false doctrine, you say, when did false doctrine start? Right away, right away, in weariness of painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches, and he's just like, he's like, besides all the physical stuff, besides all the physical stuff, I'm constantly worried about the churches. Notice he didn't say universal church, he said, I'm worried about the churches, that's why he's writing all these epistles, all these letters, to the Ephesians, to the Corinthians, to the Philippians, to the Thessalonians, he's writing all these letters, because he's concerned for them, he's hearing about things, he's got people going to these churches, saying, oh, they got fornication going on in that church, and he's writing letters back, and telling them, like, he, you know what, he cares, and he says, who is weak, and am I not weak, who is offended, and I burn not, if I needs, if I must needs glory, he's saying, if I'm gonna brag, he's like, I will glory of the things which concern my infirmities, he's like, if I'm gonna brag, I'm gonna brag about my suffering, but what he's saying, what he's saying is, hey, all these people that think they're so great in your church, all these people that are coming in, and they're, they're leading you astray in your church, that are all boasting, he's like, I'll boast, I'll boast about my infirmities, he's saying, I win, you can't compete with me, is what Paul is saying, even in second Corinthians chapter 12, just a chapter later, he, he lists that he's, he's got a thorn in his flesh, he's got something, some kind of physical ailment that is, is bothering him in his life, on top of all this, on top of everything, and the stress, he's got a physical ailment, and, and he asked God to take it away from him three times, and God says no, he's like, my strength is made perfect in weakness, so he's just gonna have that physical ailment as well, turn to Hebrews chapter 13, but here's what Paul understood, he said, how could he possibly go through that, how could he possibly live a life like that, I don't see a lot of Paul hanging out laughing, and, and, and having a lot of joy in the book of Acts, but Paul was completely focused on something else, Paul knew this, and Paul wrote Hebrews, I mean the Holy, inspired by the Holy Spirit of course, but look at Hebrews chapter 13, look at Hebrews chapter 13, look what the Bible says in verse 13, the Bible says, let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach, for here he's saying, let us go to people, let us go to people in the world, people outside the camp, outside our church, let us go to people in the world bearing his reproach, bearing the reproach of Christ, saying, you know, bearing all the things that Paul listed in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, which I don't think many of us can list even one of those things, that Paul listed in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, he's saying, no, we go outside the camp, bearing whatever comes to us, is what Paul is saying here, why, why would I do that, why would I do that when I can live my life in California, and have a pretty decent life here, why would I want any reproach to come to me at all, because this is why, look at verse 14, for here we have no continuing city, he's saying, you know what, you know, I'll say to you tonight, Fresno's not my city, that's what he's saying, you ever heard the, the pair, this is the paraphrased, you know, refrigerator sticker that says this world is not my home, he's saying we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come, this isn't our home, and guess what, that's easy to say, but Paul lived that, Paul lived this idea that this life here, it, it, it, getting stuff for myself here is nothing, it means nothing, the pain and the suffering that I have here, hey, this world is not my home, he's saying I seek one, he's like, we seek one to come, and Paul knew that, Paul knew that, and here, look, so why, I mean, why do we pay so much attention to it, is the question, if we know this, and Paul lived this, why do we pay so much attention to this home here, why do we pay so much attention to the things here, because the things in it don't matter, look, even the Bible, even says, we talked about this Sunday morning, the Bible even says our family, our children, even those things can be detriments to us, because look, we get much, I mean, I get much joy from my family, I love being married, I think being married is one of the biggest blessings that God can give you on this earth, that's, that's what I believe, I, I, I get much joy from having children, I love my children, but look, even the point of your family is, is for the kingdom of heaven, not for here, yeah, we get the joy, but the idea of my family, according to the Bible, is so I can get my children saved, I can raise my children in a, in a strong Christian home, with a strong Christian mother, and a strong spiritual leader for a dad, and I can raise them properly, they'll get saved, they'll become strong, you know what, they'll go out and get other people saved, that's the idea, because this world is not our home, and you know what, 99% of all the people living in this temporary city that we live in, are not saved, so it's our mission, that's what our family's for, and that's why God tells us, hey, do it this way, it's all about the kingdom of heaven, folks, it's not about Fresno, it's not about this life, and what we get in this life, turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 3, but hey, if you need it, here's a little bit more motivation for you, turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 3, turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 3, 1st Corinthians chapter 3, look at verse number 8 of 1st Corinthians chapter 3, look, God does promise us rewards, and Paul mentions that, Paul mentions that in verse number 8, where he says, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, Paul knew there was rewards waiting for him, he knew that, look at 1st Corinthians chapter 3 in verse number 8, the Bible says, he that, now he that planteth, and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his labor, saying, hey, you go out and you preach the gospel, nobody wants to listen, but maybe you plant some seeds in people's hearts, he's like, hey, that's good, that's fruit, right, and then he that goes out and maybe, you know, I know, I know friends of mine, I know friends of mine that are like, that are, that are awesome fruit-bearing Christians today, they had to get the gospel like four times, like literally somebody knocked on their door several times, and they're just like, yeah, I don't know, yeah, I don't know, and they're just thinking about it, and then somebody comes along and waters, somebody comes along and waters again, and then all sudden, hey, they get it, they get saved, and then somebody comes along, he's like, oh yeah, now that you're saved, you know, you should probably be doing something, we're talking over a period of years, so he that planteth and he that watereth are one, that's fruit, for we are laborers together with God, you're God's husbandry, you're God's building, so we're labors together, and according to the grace of God which is given unto me, Paul, as a wise master builder, I love that, I've laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed now, heed how he buildeth thereupon, again showing, showing Paul saying, look, he's like, I've laid you a foundation, and he tells us in the next verse what that foundation is, he's like, I've laid you a foundation, and he says, for other foundation can no man lay, then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ, he's like, I gave you a foundation of the gospel, of the true gospel, then he says in Galatians chapter 1, if anybody else comes along and perverts this gospel, he's like, they're accursed, let them be accursed, he's like, even if I come back and teach another gospel, even if an angel comes back and teaches another gospel, let them be accursed, let them go to hell, is what he's saying, he's like, there's only one foundation, I'm the master builder, I came here, I planted this church, and I planted it on the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because guess what, if there's a church planted that doesn't have the right gospel, that is not founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ, that you are saved by believing and trusting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's it, no works on top of that, that is not a church, that is a false foundation, that is something else altogether, he's saying there's only one foundation, there's only one foundation, he's like, now build, now build upon this foundation, build upon the gospel, how? By working, by laboring, that's what he's saying, now look at this, he says, now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, now look, there's two categories of things there, would you not agree, there's gold, silver, precious stones, and we're getting a metaphor here, okay, a lot of people like, there's a lot of false doctrine that comes from the next couple of verses, but it's pretty silly, he's saying there's some value, gold, silver, precious stones, and then he's saying that there's wood, hay, and stubble, right, you say, well, you know, doesn't wood have value, but there's a test that this stuff is gonna be put to, look at verse 13, he says, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is, if any man's work abide, which he had built there upon, he shall receive what, he shall receive a reward, if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, now this is actually a great, a great verse for eternal security, right here, so what he's saying is, is if you go through your life, if you're saved, if you're saved, and you go through your life, and you do nothing of value for the kingdom of heaven, you do nothing but collect two by fours, you collect hay bales, and you go out, and you collect a bunch of, a bunch of straw, all that stuff is gonna burn up on this day, all those works are gonna be tried by the Lord, when you're standing in front of the Lord, but look at the last part of the verse, it says, but he himself shall be saved, so you're not gonna go, Jesus isn't gonna, he's not gonna send you to hell, you're saved, I mean, you're eternally saved, you're eternally secure, whether you do another good thing in your life, whether you do a good thing in your life, the Bible says, you know, your salvation is not of works, keeping it is not of works, the point is, you are going to come to this point, so the Christian that gets saved, and takes that gift, and keeps it to himself, and tells nobody else how to get it, and does nothing else, doesn't walk into a church, never tells his kids, you know, anything about the gospel, yeah, his kids will probably go to hell for that, because they'll never learn the truth, but all those works that he did, all the, you know, he went out and he pursued a career, and he was really good at his job, and he got a big retirement account, and, you know, he got a big house, and he did all these things, and maybe he was a leader in some secular organization, or gave money to charity, or whatever, it's all gonna burn up, that's what the Bible is saying, because it has nothing to do with the kingdom of heaven, it's all gonna burn up, and you know what, that saved Christian at that moment is gonna suffer loss, he's gonna, he's gonna know that he wasted his life, he's gonna know that he should have done things that mattered, he should have went after the gold, and the silver, and the precious stones, we're not talking about literal things, we're talking about things of eternal value, when you go out, and you find someone that you ask if they want to know how to get to heaven, and you open up the Word of God, and you show them, and you preach Jesus Christ, like what Paul did for his whole life, and you pass that person from death to life, and they are now saved, and they are sealed forever, the Bible says, look, that has eternal value, nothing can take that away, that work will be tried by fire, and it will still be there, and you'll be rewarded for it, so yeah, if you need that, God's got it waiting for you, I'm still pretty happy that I'm saved, I'm still pretty happy that I'm not going to hell, I mean, I'm glad that there's gonna be rewards in heaven, you know, for the things that I do, and the things that, you know, you do, I'm really happy that God has that here, but I'm just saying, like, I'm happy I'm not going to hell, cuz I deserve to go to hell, and you deserve to go to hell, so that one is still kind of fueling me right now, and I hope that fuels me, you know, for the rest of my life on this earth, whether that be five minutes, or 50 years, or whatever, or I turn, you know, turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, actually, it just, I'll just read it for you, the judgment seat of Christ talks about the same thing, the judgment seat of Christ talks about the same thing in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, where we're gonna stand before Christ, and everyone is going to receive the things done in his body, whether it be good or bad, meaning you are going to be rewarded for the good, and you're gonna suffer loss, you're gonna suffer loss, you're gonna, you're gonna, look, you're gonna be, you're gonna suffer loss, there's a lot of people that, you look at Christians today, and there's a lot of people, we're gonna be walking around in heaven, there's gonna be a lot of people walking around with a little Ziploc bag of ashes, with their head hung, I mean, they're gonna be happy that they're in heaven, but there's gonna be a lot of people just with a little bag of ashes, because they just never did anything for the Lord in their life, look, it's a, it's a character thing, Jesus said the same thing, he says, rejoice in Matthew chapter 5, be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, Matthew 16, for the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and he shall reward every man according to his works, doesn't mean you're, that's not a salvation verse, it's talking about once you've trusted on Jesus, you're saved, you will be rewarded for your works in heaven, the Bible clearly teaches this, but if you have no works, you're just gonna have a bag of ashes, and you're gonna feel the loss, the Bible says, and you're gonna think, man, I should have spent my time differently on this earth, you know, I think the biggest loss, I think the biggest loss that Christians, that Christians who are saved and do nothing for the Lord, I think the biggest loss that they will see is people that were in their lives around them that are not in heaven with them, if you've never took the time to read the Bible, learn the Bible, get into a church that will teach you how to give the proper gospel like what Paul is doing, and then you spent all these, this time in your life around all these people that you say you loved, and you never once told them about the gift that you freely, you didn't pay for it, you didn't buy it, you didn't do anything great to get it, someone came and preached the Word of God to you, and you received it, I remember I felt that way, I worked, I worked with a man before I was saved, I worked with this man for for close to five years, and he was a Baptist in Texas, and him and I, I was Lutheran, and he was Baptist, and he knew I didn't believe in eternal security, he knew that I thought that if I lived a bad life that I could lose my salvation, and him and I would go back and forth, and to me it was like this kind of this fun little religious, you know, I liked him very much, I never thought he was not going to heaven, and to me it was just this little religious intellectual exercise that we would do every now and then, and then several years later, another Baptist preacher gave the gospel to me, and I got saved, I got a chance to go back to Texas, not for that reason, but I did go back a few years after I got saved, and I had some kind of conference or something, and I had lunch with this guy, and I said, I said to this guy, I was like, hey, you know, you knew I was unsaved the whole time, didn't you? He's like, yeah, because I told him I got saved, I told him some Baptist pastor, Pastor Anderson, you know, I heard the gospel, and I did some studying, and I just, and I, and I accepted it, and I got saved through this this ministry of Faithful Word Baptist Church, and I told Lance this this story, and I said, man, did you know I wasn't saved? He's like, yeah, I knew. I'm like, thanks a lot, man. You know, could you, but but maybe he didn't know how to give the gospel, maybe he didn't want to offend me, whatever the reason is. I think that will be our biggest loss in our lives, is that maybe we didn't know how, maybe we didn't learn, maybe we didn't have the courage, the boldness to do it, but seeing people that we claim to love in our lives that are in hell, while we walk around heaven, because look, we're still in heaven, we may have a Ziploc bag, a little sandwich bag of ashes, but we're still in heaven, and we didn't earn that. That was given to us freely, and we should have gone out and like showed, because look, that's, that's love. Love, I don't care what people say today. Love is not lust. Love is not perversion. Love is sacrifice. I go and I tell my wife, I love you, and I do nothing for her. I treat her like garbage. I don't even recognize her, and that's not love, according to the Bible. Love is action. Love is sacrifice. Love is what Jesus did for us, and loving our neighbor is going out and showing them how to get that gift, and that's, that's the gold, silver, and the precious stones, and we'll be rewarded for that, but the point I'm trying to get you to understand tonight as we, as we close, God is literally doing everything he possibly can in the Bible, in his words, to get you to make the right choices after salvation. He's trying to get you to focus on the next life, not this life, not this one, and remember, we like spectrums here, right? Remember the spectrum of dead faith and perfect faith? Look, I don't care, you know, how strong your faith is. Everybody doesn't have the same strength of faith. If you're saved, you got at least enough faith where you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but you know, you can have a spectrum of dead faith, like you do no works. You just do nothing in your life. You got dead faith, and then you can have this spectrum of perfect faith. No one's gonna be perfect faith, but it's a spectrum the Bible is talking about in James chapter 2. Paul's an example of someone, he's a, he's the top of this spectrum, someone that cared nothing about this life, and that is what the beauty of Paul's story is, and ultimately this spectrum of some of caring about this life, somebody that's just completely, some saved person that's completely worldly, is gonna take their salvation and run with it and do nothing, and then you have Paul on the other side. It's the same spectrum of dead faith versus perfect faith. It's exactly the same. If someone who's entirely focused on this life lacks the faith that God says everything in his word, he lacks the faith of God telling you none of this stuff in this life matters. Only the kingdom of heaven matters, but someone like Paul, who is completely focused, I'm not saying Paul was perfect, but he was completely focused on the next life to the point where he shunned and even gave up anything good here. In 1st Corinthians chapter 7 he even talks about, he shunned marriage and family so he could be the way he was and just push hard all the time. He says in 1st Corinthians chapter 6, chapter 7, he says, and he says, I'm speaking my own opinion but he's like, I wish everyone was like me, but God doesn't even expect us to not get married and as a matter of fact in 1st Timothy chapter 3, God doesn't even expect a pastor. He requires a pastor to be married. You know, a pastor must be the husband of one wife, the Bible says, but Paul's this extreme example of somebody that was just all in. He was on that perfect faith side of things is what that tells me. The man had strong faith. He didn't care because he knew what was coming. He didn't care because he knew what was waiting for him. He even said that. He even said that to letters to the churches. He's like, you know, it's better if I die because I'm with Christ, but it's better for you if I stay here. And what did he do? He stayed. Look, thank God. I mean, he conformed to Christ. That's what we're supposed to do. You know, actually, go to Romans chapter 8. We'll end here. Go to Romans chapter 8. Go to Romans chapter 8. Here's your destiny. You say, I don't know, you know, what's my destiny as a Christian? What's my destiny as a Christian? Here's another verse that's totally taken out of context today, but look, the Bible says this. It says, for whom he did foreknow, he did also predestinate. Look, he foreknew you. And he predestinates anybody that gets saved. You say, who does God want to get saved? Everybody. The Bible is very clear that God wants all men to be saved. If it was up to God, all men would be saved. All men would believe on his son. But guess what? God didn't make a bunch of robots down here. You have free will. You have the decision to be able to, you know what, I'm gonna trust on Jesus and not myself. You have the ability to make that decision. After you get saved, though, here's your destiny. Here's what God wants for you. He says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to what? To be conformed to the image of his son. He wants you to be Christ-like. Are you ever gonna be sinless? No. But he wants you to conform to the image of his son. Paul's a pretty good example of that. Because Paul, guess what Jesus did? Jesus did nothing for himself. Jesus came here to die for you and for me and for the sins of the world. That's the only reason he came here. He came here for no reason for himself. That's why all this, this, oh Jesus was married and all this stuff. It's a, it's a horrible heresy and it's an attack on the gospel because Jesus came up. He didn't come here to get married. He didn't come here to have joy and children and all these things. He came here to suffer and die for the sins of the world. That's it. And as far as the model of a Christian being conformed to the example of Christ, Paul did a good job. He didn't care about this world. He conformed to Christ and he didn't do anything that I can read for himself. I'm not saying he never laughed or never had any joy, but he was completely focused, laser focused on the next life. That's why the Acts of the Apostles are in the Bible. It's a bar. It's a bar for us. It's the Acts of the Apostles are for the saved. Look, the gospel is in the Bible, but the Acts of the Apostles, the gospel is in the book of Acts, but the Acts of the Apostles and what they did, how they did it, and why they did it, it's a bar for us as saved believers. And look folks, it's a high one. It's a high bar, especially as Americans. None of us can say that we have nothing for ourselves in this life, that we're not focused on, myself included, that we're not focused on things in this life when we should be focused on the spiritual things. It's something that we'll struggle with and we should remember this and we should read these stories to reset ourselves and tell ourselves again and again and again why we're here and where our real home is. And look, how many people around us depend on us doing these acts? Let's bow our heads and have a word.