Those of you who follow the stock market may have read or heard the words of Irving Fisher, professor of economics at Yale University. He has been quoted as saying, "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." Dr. Fisher made that insightful prognosis of the market ... on October 17, 1929. History is full of mistakes and miscalculations made by people who should have known better: In 1949, Popular Mechanics magazine opined, "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." With my IBM Thinkpad weighing in at about 4 pounds, Popular Mechanics was at least technically right! Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM (!) in 1943, predicted, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Then there was Kenneth Olsen, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., who said (in 1977!), "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Just five years ago, December 1995, Bob Metcalf, founder of 3Com Corporation was quoted in Info-World magazine: "The Internet will collapse within a year." In 1997, Mr. Metcalf took the magazine article, liquefied it in a blender, and ate it with a spoon.

Computer experts don't have a monopoly on wrong predictions. In 1899, Charles H. Duell; commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, proposed closing the agency because, in his studied opinion, "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Duell knew for sure airplanes would not be invented because, in l895, Lord Kelvin, noted physicist and president of the prestigious Royal Society, said, "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." American astronomer Simon Newcomb, in 1902 (just eighteen months before the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk): "Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible." After the unpractical, insignificant, impossible to invent, heavier-than-air flying machine was, ah, invented, Marechal Ferdinand Foch, professor of strategy at a prestigious French military academy (Ecole Superieure de Guerre), said "Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value." Then there was the 1920 New York.Times editorial which gave a scathing critique of Dr. Robert Goddard's research on rocketry. The editorial disputed Goddard's claim that rockets could function in a vacuum: "Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." To their credit, the New York Times eventually ran a correction, retracting the editorial ... forty-nine years later. The retraction appeared in 1969, after Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin to the moon. The retraction closed with these words: "The Times regrets its error."

Back in 1859, when Edwin Drake was trying to enlist professional drillers to his oil drilling project, their reply: "Drill for oil? You mean, drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." In 1876, a Western Union internal memo said, "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." And we have this from the world of entertainment: "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." That is what Gary Cooper said when he decided not to accept the leading role in Gone With The Wind, which became the largest-grossing film of all time. In l962, there was this rather infamous entertainment rejection: "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." That was Decca Recording Company, turning down the Beatles.

One more, perhaps my favorite: 1n 1966, student Fred Smith turned in an economics term paper at Yale University in which he outlined the concept of a guaranteed overnight package service based on a hub and spoke delivery system. The business professor at Yale wrote on Smith's paper, "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a C, the idea must be feasible." But seven years later, in April, 1973, Smith started his company anyway -- beginning with 14 Falcon jets carrying 186 packages. As of 1995, Federal Express had over 110,000 employees world-wide, a fleet of 35,000 vans and other vehicles, a private air force of 501 aircraft (with 71 more on order), and its own state-of-the-art weather forecasting system. In that relatively short period of time, Federal Express has proved itself so superior to the post office that it delivered more than half the packages in America. With revenues of approximately ten billion dollars a year, perhaps that Yale professor of economics might reconsider and give Mr. Smith an A+.

History has amply demonstrated that the persistent, the diligent, the inspired, the hopeful ... those who commit to a vital dream and a real hope ... can and do succeed, they can and do end strong, in spite of the odds and in spite of the "expert" predictions of their failure. We have home computers. We have telephones. We have airplanes. We can get just about anything from just about anywhere overnight. We enjoyed Beatles' music (well, many of us did). These determined, diligent, visionary people invented the uninventable and developing the undevelopable, enriching their lives and the lives of countless millions of people for generations to come.

In a way, the Book of Acts demonstrates this same principle: that the persistent, the diligent, the inspired, the hopeful ... those who commit to the divine dream, those who tenaciously cling to the vital hope of the kingdom of God ... they can and do succeed, they can and do end strong, in spite of the odds and in spite of the "expert" predictions of their failure. Those who commit to the divine dream, those who tenaciously cling to the vital hope of the kingdom of God to the end, they can and do enrich their lives, the lives of those around them, and the lives of countless numbers for generations to come. Remember the words of Gamaliel? Early on in the book of Acts, Peter and the others are brought before the Sanhedrin, and this man named Gamaliel stood up to speak. We know a few things about Gamaliel: the Jewish historian Josephus tells us he was a great scholar of the law, Paul studied under him before his conversion on the Damascus Road, and the text tells us that Gamaliel was highly respected by everyone. We can imagine the wise old respected rabbi stroking his beard as he began to talk. "Remember some time ago when this fellow ... what was his name again ... Theudas ... Theudas rose up claiming to be somebody, and I think there were about 400 men who joined him, right? Where are they now? Theudas was killed, and all his followers just disappeared, didn't they? After him came that Galilean libertarian, Judas. He got everyone riled up about the great census Caesar required. As I recall, he said we were all sheep to pay taxes to Rome. Well, when he was killed, his followers also scattered. And where are they now?" Imagine the listeners nodding their heads and chuckling a bit. They thought they knew where Gamaliel was going with all of this. Let's just kill these guys and this movement will die out, as well. But then the old rabbi continued. "I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to stop it." Of course, these religious authorities, these experts, knew the undertaking would fail ... it couldn't be of God, could it?

Well, they couldn't stop it. In spite of persecution and resistance, in spite of predictions of failure, in spite of incredible odds stacked against them, the Church fairly exploded onto the scene of world history. And here at the conclusion of this historical record in Acts, in the very last verse, it says that Paul, the quintessential embodiment of the spirit, vigor and dedication of the early church, faithfully taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance to the very end. What an amazing ending! Talk about ending strong! It is especially amazing when we remember that Paul has spent the past four and a half years of his life in prison, the last two up to now under house arrest under a Roman guard. He was housebound, a "shut-in" if you will, unable to go anywhere ... and yet the text says he faithfully fulfilled his calling without hindrance. Don't forget, too, that all along the way Paul had been shipwrecked, snake bitten, betrayed, attacked by mobs, and so on ... read his own account in II Corinthians 11 -- "Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." And yet, what are the final words on Paul's life? "Nothing could hinder him from completing his mission." Nothing could hinder him from fulfilling his call! Succinctly put, Paul ended strong.

What are going to be the final words on your life? It is never too early to think about that. It should be our heart's desire to emulate Paul; we, too, want to end strong. Are you struggling with declining health? Bodily disease doesn't have to hinder you from ending strong. Has your heart been broken? Do you come from a broken family? Are you lonely? These don't have to hinder you from ending strong. Maybe you have made some big mistakes in your life; or committed a sin that has filled you with unrelenting guilt? Or perhaps you have wasted a lot of time in your life? Not even these have to hinder you from ending strong. Maybe you are confused about what God's will is for you? Well, Paul was frequently confused. But, that did not prevent him from ending strong. God will get you where He wants you. The one thing that can prevent you from ending strong is your fear. It is fear (and its first cousins, anxiety and despair) that focuses us more on the hindrances and obstacles and regrets and "if only's" of life more than on the Savior Jesus Christ. Fear, anxiety, despair paralyzes us and prevents us from taking risk, prevents us from redeeming the precious time we do have and putting it to good and productive use for the purposes of God. Fear, anxiety, despair listens to the so-called experts and authority figures who say, "You're too young," or "You're too old" to do this or that, or "You're too intelligent, or too dumb, or too talented, or too uncoordinated, or too sick, too depressed, too hurt," or "You have too much else to do," or "You have too much to lose" or "You'll only make it worse." There is no way you will end strong without taking risks along the way. You might think that Paul would have gone stir-crazy and bitter having to spend four and a half years of his life as a virtual shut-in. But it was during this time that he wrote his epistles to the Philippians, Ephesians, and Colossians, each written with some of his most tender words. There is just no trace of resentment, bitterness, anger, defensivenesss, cynicism in these epistles written during his imprisonment; these letters continue to bring joy and blessing to this day.