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Paul Preaching the Gospel in a
Roman Prison
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[Acts 28:23]
They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in
even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till
evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to
convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
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The Apostle Paul, who devoted his
life to preaching Jesus, had one dream. He went to Rome, which ruled the
world at the time, and preached Jesus. God made it possible for Paul to get
to Rome in an unexpected way.
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The Jews hated Paul who preached
Jesus. They tried to kill Paul, who had done nothing wrong, who had come to
the temple in Jerusalem. Fortunately, with the help of the commander in
chief, Paul overcame the crisis of death.
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The Jews did not give up killing Paul.
They made false accusations, as if Paul had committed such a great sin that
he deserved death. Paul fell into an unfair situation where he had to be
tried without any wrongdoing.
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One night
when Paul was in trouble, God appeared to him. God spoke to Paul.
¡°Be bold! Just as you testified about me in
Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.¡±
God had promised that Paul would
go to Rome and preach his gospel.
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God's word
was fulfilled as it was.
Paul, who
had Roman citizenship, was able to go to Rome to be tried. There was a time
when a ship carrying Paul on its way to Rome encountered a great storm and
was in danger. However, God protected Paul and allowed him to arrive safely
in Rome.
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After
hearing the news that Paul was coming to Rome, believers in Jesus came to
meet him. Seeing them gave Paul greater courage.
And he thanked God for bringing
him safely to Rome.
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Paul
arrived in Rome as a prisoner, but he was given special benefits. He was
allowed to live alone in prison on condition that one soldier guarded it.
On the
third day Paul arrived in Rome, he invited the Jewish leaders to his place.
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Paul explained
to them why he had come here as a prisoner. He told me that he had been
accused of doing nothing wrong and that he had come to Rome. Paul told them
that Festus was going to release Paul, but the Jews strongly objected and
told them that he had come to be tried by the Roman emperor.
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The
Jews who heard Paul said to him.They said that no one had bad feelings for
Paul because they had not heard any news about him. But they also said that
they wanted to hear about the gospel Paul preached. Hearing those words, Paul
saw it as a good opportunity to share the gospel, and he set a date to meet
them again.
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On
that day more Jews gathered to hear Paul preach. Paul explained and
proclaimed the kingdom of God to them from morning to evening. He also told
them that the Messiah the Old Testament prophets spoke of was Jesus.
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Among the Jews who heard the
gospel from Paul, there were people who believed the word. However, there
were those who did not believe it even after hearing the same words. Paul did
not give up, and until the time they returned, he preached the word of God and
preached Jesus to them.
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During the two years Paul was in
prison in Rome, he created opportunities and did his best to preach the
gospel to many people. He proclaimed to many in Rome that Jesus was the true
Messiah. After hearing the gospel Paul preached, many people believed in
Jesus and received the grace of salvation.
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While Paul was in prison in Rome, he
preached the gospel in another way other than meeting people in person and
preaching the gospel. He sent letters to the churches and spread the word of
God through them. The books of Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and
Philemon recorded in the New Testament are the Bibles that the Apostle Paul
wrote in prison in Rome.
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The
Jews tried to kill Paul through all sorts of evil methods to prevent him from
preaching the gospel. But God, through their evil plan, led Paul the way to
preach the gospel of Jesus to more people from prison in Rome. God made
Paul's dream for the gospel come true.
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God helped Paul who had a dream for the
gospel to the end. He turned the difficult things Paul met into good things
that could spread the gospel well. He went to Rome as a prisoner, but even
there, God opened the way for him to preach the gospel and allowed him to
bear many fruits of the gospel.Like Paul, God helps and guides all who have a
dream of preaching Jesus. Just like Paul, who was devoted to preaching Jesus
under any circumstances, we should strive to become children of God who do
our best to preach Jesus whenever we have the opportunity.
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(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
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