All right, let's go back to Acts
chapter 19. The Apostle Paul came through Ephesus. That's where he is right here.
He's in Ephesus. And he met 12 men, 12 disciples. We looked
at this last week, 12 men. who had been baptized, but they
had no idea why. They had no idea what they were
baptized unto. No idea what they were confessing.
So Paul preached the gospel to these 12 men. Paul preached who
the gospel is all about. And that's our goal every time
we come together. We're trying to declare who the
gospel is all about. Not only what the gospel is,
but we preach the person and the work of Christ, don't we?
We preach who he is. Don't you love seeing who he
is, his heart, his character, will and his purpose. But we
preach who he is and what he's done. And that's what Paul preached
to those men and the Lord had mercy on them. Verse 5 right
here in Acts 19, it says, When they heard this, they were baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands
upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them. And they spake with
tongues and prophesied, and all the men were about twelve. Verse
eight is where we pick up tonight. It says, and he went into the
synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing
and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. For three
months, Paul boldly, and that word does not mean rudely, And
it does not mean harshly and it does not mean arrogantly.
It means confidently. It means with certainty and with
conviction, without wavering. He disputed and persuaded the
things concerning the kingdom of God. Now let's start by asking
this question. The kingdom of God is concerning
what? He went and he preached the things,
he disputed, he persuaded the things concerning the kingdom
of God. The kingdom of God, what is it concerning? Do we know? Do we know the answer? Go with
me over to Acts 28. I feel like we have a brief message
tonight, but we're going to turn quite a bit, so I'll prepare
you for that. But go to Acts 28. The answer is in the last
verse of the whole book of Acts. The very last verse in the entire
book, Acts 28. Let's start reading in the verse
before it, verse 30. And Paul dwelt two whole years
in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him, preaching
the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. The kingdom
of God is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ. When I was writing this out,
I thought, that is so simple. We know that. But do you realize
what a blessing it is that we know that? Do you realize how
deep that is and how impossible it is for a sinner to know that
if God does not reveal that the Kingdom of God is concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ? The Kingdom of God is the Lord
Jesus Christ. I mean it is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way to it. We get there by Him. He is the
truth of it. He is the substance and the subject
and the object of it. He is the life of it. In Him
we live, we move, we have our being. We live in Christ. Christ
is the kingdom of God. The whole thing is concerning
Him. Now let me show you something in a few scriptures. Go over
to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 and look at
verse 33. It says, but seek ye first the
kingdom of God. What does that mean? What does
that mean? You know, we say, well, you seek
the kingdom of God first. What does that mean? Well, let's
substitute the word Christ for the kingdom of God. Okay. Just
put that word in its place. Verse 33 says, but seek ye first
Christ. and his righteousness, and all
these things shall be added unto you." You know that's the truth.
You know it is. I mean, really. You keep a single
eye on Christ and everything will be taken care of. And the
longer we live and the more we see that to be so, we say it
boldly. Paul stood up and he told these
things boldly, confidently. I can tell you confidently. You
seek first Christ and His righteousness and everything else will be taken
care of. Everything. Christ is the Kingdom of God. Go with me over to Mark chapter
1. Again, let's substitute the word
Christ for the kingdom of God. Look at Mark chapter 1 verse
14 says, Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came
into Galilee preaching the gospel of Christ. Preaching the gospel
of Christ. The kingdom of God is not a place. When we When either we leave
this world or when Christ comes back, where are we going to go?
I have no idea. But it does not matter because
the kingdom of God is not a place. The kingdom of God is a person.
Did you know we are all right now living in Him? We live in
Him. We live in Him. We are in Him
right now. We are, the scripture says, reigning
with Him. It's not a place, it's a person.
Verse 14 says, now after that John was put in prison, Jesus
came into Galilee preaching the gospel of Christ and saying,
the time is fulfilled and Christ is at hand. If the kingdom of
God is at hand, that means Christ is at hand. Repent ye and believe
the gospel. The gospel of the kingdom of
God, the good news of Christ. That's what it means, the good
news of Christ. Repent and believe the good news of Christ. What
is that? What is that? Go to Mark chapter
4. Mark chapter 4, we're going to
substitute the word Christ for the kingdom of God. Mark 4 verse
11 says, He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery
of Christ. But unto them that are without,
all these things are done in parables. Now look at verse 30. And He said, Whereunto shall
we liken the kingdom of God? Whereunto shall we liken Christ? Or with what comparison shall
we compare it? This good news of what Christ
has done, with what comparison shall we compare it? Now this
is Christ speaking. He said, how can I describe to
you what Christ has done? Verse 32, verse 31, He said,
It is like a grain of mustard seed. which when it is sown in the
earth is less than all the seeds that be in the earth. The smallest. No form, no comeliness. The lowest, the lowest part of
the earth. Which is, it's amazing he would
even come down into the ozone. much less step foot on this dirty,
wicked place, much less go all the way into the lowest part,
the least, the lowest, just a tender plant, just a root at a dry ground. Verse 32 says, But when it is
sown, it groweth up and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth
out great branches, so that the fowls of the air may lodge under
the shadow of it. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sown into the earth, despised and rejected of men, wasn't he?
Bearing shame and scoffing rude in my place, condemned he stood,
sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Verse
32 right here says, but when it is sown, it groweth up and
becometh greater than all herbs. Our Lord has been given a name
which is now above every name. Oh, they mocked his name. They
scoffed his name. They used it as a byword. That's
what he said in Lamentations 3. They've used my name as a
cuss word. And they do. But now he has been
given a name which is above every name. Our Lord said, whoever
is least is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, didn't he?
Well, who became the least? He did. He was made the least. He is the greatest. Verse 32
says, when it is sown, it groweth up and becometh greater than
all herbs and shooteth out great branches. Isaiah wrote, there
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch
shall grow out of his roots. Who's that? Zechariah wrote,
behold the man whose name is the branch. That's his name. He shall grow up out of his place
and he shall build the temple of the Lord. That's Christ, the
great branch. Verse 32 says, so that the fowls
of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. What does Psalm
91 verse 1 say? He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. That's Christ. Every bit of that
is Christ. This great work that he did.
If we want to know the things concerning the kingdom of God,
all we have to do is look at Jesus Christ. That's all we have
to do. He said over in Luke 17, actually,
I want you to see it. Go with me over to Luke 17. He said in Luke 17 verse 20. When he was demanded of the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God should come. These Pharisees were demanding
of him. You tell us when is the kingdom
of God coming? When he was demanded of the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said,
the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall
they say, lo here or lo there. In another place they said, he
told them, if they tell you he's out in the desert, don't go over
there. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Is within you. Christ in you,
that's the hope of glory. Christ in you. Now, hold your
place right here. I told you we have a brief message,
and we do. We're going to turn, turn, turn, and then we'll be
done. But I want you to hold your place right here. Go back
to our text. Look at Acts chapter 19. We're
going to come right back to Luke. Acts 19 verse 8 says, And he
went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three
months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom
of God. How do we dispute and persuade
the things concerning Christ? You are going to be approached
about the things concerning the kingdom of God. The things concerning
Christ. How do we dispute and persuade? The word dispute means preach
to. It doesn't mean sit there and argue with them. It means
preach to. But how do we talk to somebody
about the gospel? How do we show the things of
Christ and prove the things of Christ to ourselves and to others? Usually, whenever these conversations
take place, it's usually for our sake. Usually. But how do
we do that? Go back over to Luke, this time
chapter 1. Luke chapter 1, look at verse
1. For as much as many have taken
in hand to set forth in order A declaration of those things
which are most surely believed among us. Many have taken in
hand, even as they delivered them unto us, which were from
the beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the word." Peter
said we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. John said we handled
him, ministers of the word. It seemed good to me also, having
had perfect understanding of all things from the very first,
to write unto thee in order, most excellent lover of God. That's what Theophilus means.
That thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou
hast been instructed. How do we dispute and persuade
the things of Christ? We set forth in order. The things
which are most surely believed among us, line upon line, precept
upon precept, we preach this word. We preach this word. That's what Paul was doing. He
went in and he preached this word. He disputed, he persuaded
the things concerning the kingdom of God. This word is our foundation. If this is not our foundation,
then we have nothing to dispute. Nothing. And this word will do
all our disputing for us. We don't need a denominational
pamphlet. We don't need a packet. We don't
need a study guide from Dr. So-and-so. We preach this word.
This is it. We preach this word. And in this
we see all the things concerning the kingdom of God. We see Christ. All right, go back to Acts 19. Verse 8 says, And he went into
the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months,
disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom
of God. But when diverse were hardened
and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude,
he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily
in the school of one Tyrannus. That man Tyrannus, his name means
sovereign. That's what his name means, sovereign. But it says that some were hardened
and believed not. They were hardened and they believed
not. You know, Christ is all. You know that? Christ is all
that we have to talk about. Christ is all that we want to
talk about. You know that? He's all. He is
everything. He is absolutely everything.
But if a sinner has not been given a heart for Christ, after
a while, that same note starts to grate on him. You know what I'm saying? You
know what I'm talking about? That same note, it starts to grate on him. Isn't
there something else? Isn't there something else? Can't
we hear about something else? Isn't it time that we move on
to something else? John Gill said, the same sun
that melts the wax hardens the clay. The same sun that melts
the wax hardens the clay. Now here's the greatest example
of this I've ever heard. May the Lord give us a heart
for Christ. May the Lord give us a heart
for Christ. May the kingdom of God be all about Christ for us. May we see Christ. May we love
Christ. May we love hearing about Christ. Here is the greatest example
I've ever heard of this. Brother David Edmondson wrote
an article about a time that he went to an auction. And in this auction, they were
auctioning off a dinner bell, an old dinner bell, a triangular
clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, you know, dinner
bell. And during the auction, when
it came time, you know, they next item up for bid, the guy
was describing the bell. trying to get everybody to bid
on this bell and trying to get everybody to raise bids. The
whole time he said there was a man standing over here ringing
the bell. The whole time he was describing
it, he wouldn't stop. He kept ringing this bell and
David said it was so annoying. He was thinking, would you stop? He said, I started hating that
bell, that noise, it was just getting to me. I couldn't take it, he said.
I didn't want to have anything to do with that bell. Shut that
bell up. But he said, later on he got
to thinking about it. He said, even though I didn't want to
have anything to do with that bell, he said, I realized who would. The hungry. The hungry would. He said, if
I was out in the field, and if I had been working all day long,
and if I was hot, and if I was tired, and if I was miserable,
and if I was hungry, that bell would be music to my ears. It
would be, wouldn't it? That bell would mean rest has
come to me. It's time to leave this field. It's time to leave my labor.
It's time to leave my toil. It's time to leave this trouble
and rest has come to me. That bell would mean food and
nourishment and strength is about to come to me. And he said that bell wouldn't
hurt my ears at all. He said I would start running
to that bell. That's what it is for a sinner
who has been given a heart for Christ. We stand up here with
the big triangle, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit,
and we start ringing that bell. Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.
And every child of God who has a heart for Christ starts running
to that bell. I hear my rest. I hear my nourishment. Let me hear it again. Ring it
again. Can you imagine being out in
that field? You probably can. Can you imagine being out in
that field saying, when is that bell going to ring? Ring the
bell. Let me hear it again. Let me
hear it one more time. Those who Paul was talking about
believe not and spake evil of what they call that way, Saul
of Tarsus did. In Acts chapter 9, he got letters
of anybody who was of this way. He said, I'm going to bring them
down to Jerusalem. We're going to kill them. We're
going to put them in prison and kill them. But God had mercy
on them. And in the next, look over at
Acts chapter 24, I believe it is. Acts 24 verse 14, Paul, God had
mercy on Paul like He had mercy on the rest of us. And in Acts
24 verse 14, He said, But this I confess unto thee, that after
the way which they call heresy, so worship I, the God of my fathers,
believing all things which are written in the law and in the
prophets. That way, the only way, Christ
said, I am the way. Sinners who have not been given
a heart for Him, the way, they'd be miserable in glory. They really
would. They would be absolutely miserable
in the kingdom of God. You know that? It's all about
Him. It is absolutely all about Him. All the praise goes to Him
there. All of the honor goes to Him.
All of the glory goes to Him, every bit of it. In our text,
Acts chapter 19 verse 9 says, But when thy verse were hardened
and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude,
he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily
in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space
of two years, so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the
word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks, And God wrought
special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body
were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the disease departed
from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." Isn't that
amazing? Isn't that so amazing? When they would work, they would
wear these aprons to protect their clothes, and Paul would
take off one of those aprons and give it to somebody, and
they'd take it home to their loved one who was sick with a
disease and as soon as they would touch that apron, their disease
would leave them. And then Paul would take a handkerchief and
wipe his face and give it to somebody and they'd take it home
to their loved one who was possessed with an evil spirit and as soon
as they would touch it, that evil spirit would leave them.
Just because this cloth was from the body of Paul. They used to
lay people in the streets hoping that Peter would walk by because
just his shadow, if his shadow touched them, they were healed.
Isn't that amazing? The apostles had the ability
to just touch somebody and as soon as they did, God's Holy
Ghost fell on them. Absolutely amazing. God selected
these men to do amazing things. But I want to take note of something
very specific, and then we'll close. All right? I just want
to show you something very specific about this. Go over to Revelation
1 with me. In Revelation 1, do you see the
title heading, how it says, The Revelation of Saint John the
Divine? The translators put that there.
John did not write that. Here's what God told John to
write. Look at verse 1. It says, The Revelation of Jesus
Christ. I have no idea why they didn't
put that at the heading. the revelation of Jesus Christ, which
God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified by
his angel unto his servant John, who bare record of the word of
God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things
that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and
they that hear the words of this prophecy. And keep those things
which are written therein, for the time is at hand. Who gets
the glory? That's the question. Who gets
the glory? Where should all the focus be
in the book of Revelation? Jesus Christ. Every bit of his
own Christ. Now let me show you something
else. Go to Acts chapter 1. The title heading for the book
of Acts says, The Acts of the Apostles. And that was put there
by the translators. Look at verse 1. It says, The
former treaty have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both
to do and teach. Verse 4, he said, the promise
of the Father. Wait for the promise of the Father.
Verse 5, he said, the Holy Ghost is going to come on you. The
Holy Ghost is going to do something. This is actually, everything
we're reading, is the Acts of Jesus Christ. Every single bit
of it. It's all about His work through
the Apostles. Now go back to our text, Acts
chapter 19, and look at verse 11. And God wrought. And God wrought. A lot of times men skip over
that and they look at Paul and say, what amazing things this
man did. God wrought. Where does the glory
go? As we read through all these
things, where should our focus be all the time? On Christ. Always on Christ. We have had
some amazing preachers throughout the years. We had some wonderful
preachers. Charles Spurgeon was a wonderful
preacher. He was a wonderful writer, too. John Gill, Arthur Pink, those
men were amazing, gifted writers on the Word of God. I'm so thankful
for them. Henry Mahan was a great gift
to this generation. He was a great gift to this generation,
but where does the glory go? Where does the glory go? Who
should the focus always be on? Always. We don't get the glory
for delivering the message that God uses to open a sinner's eyes.
And my hope and my prayer is that for the rest of our time
here, we're going to be here just a little while longer, The
Lord has raised up some precious men who preach the gospel. Some
he's gifted this way, some he's gifted that way. May we always
remember God wrought it, God did it. Whether we see this person
as a gifted speaker, whether we see this person as an ungifted
speaker, No man gets the glory for anything that has happened.
No man. This is his ministry and no matter
what, he gets the glory for it. I've heard men and, oh, the message
he preached, that message he preached, he did it. I can tell
you from experience, he didn't do it. If He did, He would do
it every time. You know that? If He did it,
every time He stood up, He'd do it every time. We don't come
up with the message. It's a gift. We don't bless it
to the hearts of God's people. He does. He always does. Every child of God must say,
and every child of God will say, everything that I am, Everything
that I have, everything that I will be is only because God
wrought it. God wrought. So all the praise,
all the honor, all the glory goes to Him always, every time. May that always be the case here.
May Kingsport Sovereign Grace be a place that gives Him all
the glory always. All right, let's stand together.