Acts 25:23-27; 26:1-8 Be Faithful!

Acts 25:23-27; 26:1-8  The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city.  At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.  Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man!  The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.  I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.  But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him.  Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write.  For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”  So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies.  Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.  “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.  They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.  And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.  This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.  King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me.  Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

In the above scene we see Paul once again convened with the authorities, explaining once more his conversion to Christ and his ministry of the Good News.  This time because of Festus' desire to find a valid reason for sending Paul to Rome before Caesar’s court, he wants King Agrippa and Bernice to hear Paul’s defense against the Jewish leadership's accusations against him.  Festus realizes Paul is innocent of the charges against him.  For him to send Paul to Caesar is a waste of time of the highest court in the Empire.  However, maybe Agrippa by hearing Paul’s defense can determine a good reason for him to send Paul to Rome.  King Agrippa is the great-grandson of Herod the Great, the first Herodian to rule Palestine and the surrounding area.  King Agrippa and his sister, Bernice enter the courtroom with great pomp. They are accompanied by high-ranking military men and prominent secular officials.  In contrast to this group's prominence in society sits Paul, a man who has experienced a difficult life in ministering the gospel.   I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  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.  (2 Corinthians 11:26-27)  Paul is in the courtroom with well fed, well groomed, well perfumed people.  HIs clothing, grooming, and health are not anywhere near the well-being of these people.  In addition, he is in the room of his enemies, opposed to him and Christianity.  He knows the Herodians have always been opposed to Christ.  Herod the Great, his grandfather, tried to kill Jesus the baby.  Herod’s father, King Agrippa I, executed James and imprisoned Peter, holding Peter in prison to behead him after the Jewish Passover celebration had ended.  But Peter escaped his murderous hands.  Herod’s cousin, Herod Antipas, beheaded John the Baptist at the request of his granddaughter who was following her mother’s instructions   Her mother hated John the Baptist because John opposed her marriage to King Herod Antiopas, a condition of infidelity to her former marriage to the brother of King Antipas.  Now Paul knows, King Herod and Bernice are no independent arbitrators; they both harbored hatred toward Paul and his proclamation of the Good News.  King Herod the first, their father, had converted to orthodox Judaism when he ruled, so his son was very familiar with the tenants of Judaism.  Paul could not trust these people to treat him fairly.  He knew their hearts and their animosity to Christianity.  He could not trust their fairness.  Jesus did not even trust many of his own followers because he knew the intrinsic nature of humans.  Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.  But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.  He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.  (John 2:23-25)  Jesus had once said that no one is good, only God his Father is good: trustworthy and loving.  

Paul understood, knew this courtroom was in a hostile environment.  No one in that courtroom wished him well or would advocate for him.  If they could find any supportive evidence for his execution under the Roman’s hand, they would rejoice.  But Paul was innocent of these charges brought before the court by the Jewish authorities.  As with Jesus, his enemies wished to kill him.  In Jesus’ case, the Jewish leadership constantly harassed Jesus, harboring murder in their hearts.  Jesus lived a sinless life, but this did not prevent them from their desire to murder him.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!  Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?  If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?  Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”  (John 8:44-47)  Paul is now looking at men who do not want to hear the truth about God.  They do not want to change their lifestyles, their selfish pursuits of benefitting themselves by the exploitation of others.  Leadership carries perks which they enjoyed.  Except for the magnificent presence of the Holy Spirit, Paul had none of these fleshly perks and advantages in life.  These enemies of Christ and the Good News rejected the idea that they needed a cleansing of their souls if they desired eternal life.  Paul knew the crux of eternal life is wrapped around a substitutionary work of Jesus on the cross.  Sometimes John 3:16 is misunderstood by those who quote it often.  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:13-17)   People leave out the reason they have eternal life; Jesus became a curse for them.  He was lifted up on a stake, just as a serpent was lifted up on a stake in the wilderness to heal those who looked upon it.  It is a horrible imagery to view Jesus as the bronze snake in the wilderness, but that is what He is in God’s sight.  God had cursed the snake and Jesus became that curse satisfying the wrath of God toward rebellion of his authority.  Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!  You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.  (Genesis 3:14)   Without God’s intervention in our lives, we are cursed to death.  Paul’s Good News is that we no longer have to carry this curse of death on ourselves because of the rebellion within us to God’s authority and will for our lives.  No one wants to be imagined as a snake, crawling in the dust of the world, the sin of the world.  We want to be lifted up in the eyes of the Lord God as holy and good.  Jesus who is holy and good paid the price for our nature of selfish pursuits and self-interest.  Paul catalogs so well the nature of mankind:  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.  (Romans 29-31)  How can we accept such a description of us?  

What might we say?  I am not like that.  Look at my life: I do not display that kind of nature.  Of course the Bible depicts clearly another group of people who said things like that: the Pharisees.  But Jesus the righteousness of God describes them differently.  What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.  Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.  (Matthew 23:27-28)   Are we consumed with evil and wicked deeds?  No, but our nature is not pure or holy in everything we do, think, or say.  And God is always the same in season and out of season: perfect.  Jesus told us to be perfect as God is perfect, and unless we are, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven or possess eternal life.  Jesus categorizes these supposedly righteous people as Snakes!  Sons of vipers!  How will you escape the judgment of hell?  (Matthew 23:33)  For Jesus, they are dust eaters, sin consumers.  But Paul’s message is that Jesus paid the full price for dust eaters.  We who never will be perfect; the perfect  price for our imperfections has been paid, Jesus.  On the cross, Jesus became the cursed one, the snake, and paid the price for all unrighteousness. All who look upon that price, Jesus on the stake or the cross, will be healed of their unrighteousness.  They will not die as Jesus said: those who believe on his name and put their trust in his works, will never die.  This has been the message in the heart of God from the beginning of time.  Paul is faithful to deliver this message to the people in the courtroom.  He tells the courtroom, this is why generations of Jews have served the living God day and night.  This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.  King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me.  Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?  Jesus has been raised from the dead: He is not in the grave rotting as all flesh that is buried.  No!  He is alive!  Paul tells the people in the courtroom: the Good News has been promised to us Jews by our prophets.  Isaiah writes about the Messiah, who is Jesus, Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.  After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.  For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  (Isaiah 53:10-12).  Friends around this breakfast table, God has come down in the form of a man, Jesus Christ.  He suffered in the flesh for the salvation of many.  Jesus experienced what it was like to be in a sinful, rebellious environment to his Father God.  He felt the pain of humanity.  He cried at Lazarus’ tomb.  In the pain of death, the sorrow of those who were weeping about Lazarus' departure, He wept.  But his mission was to be lifted up on the cross, to release humans from the pain of sorrow and death.  He told the people who believed IN HIM, you will never die.  This is your inheritance.  Paul preached this message to many communities, both Jew and Gentile alike.  Now the people in the courtroom are considering whether Paul should be charged with a crime deserving death.  They could not find such a charge, but off to Caesar he went.  Paul taught THE WAY to God; he was faithful in this task.  You will be faithful too.  

Acts 25:1-22 Living Water Gives Life!

Acts 25:1-22  Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.  They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.  Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.  Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”  After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea.  The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.  When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him.  They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.  

Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”  Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”  Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried.  I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.  If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die.  But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them.  I appeal to Caesar!”  After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar.  To Caesar you will go!  A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.  Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king.  He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.  When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.“  I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.  When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.  When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.  Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.  I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.  But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”  Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”  He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

As we journey with Paul to his destination in Rome, we see many intrigues of his foes manifested.  His enemies loath Paul and want him dead.   Once again we see Paul fulfilling God’s desire for him to present the Good News to the world.  In doing so, he receives constant threats upon his life.  Paul is persistent in season and out of season in spreading the seed of the Good News of eternal life to all people.  Threats or not on his life, he consistently talks about God’s mysterious plan of redeeming all people to himself.  He knew God had promised him a rough road in life after his conversion.   But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go!  This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:15-16)  This assignment from Jesus would be filled with suffering, but no different from what his own disciples received.  After Jesus came into their lives, they never again experienced life without a lot of opposition.  All of them but John died violently in the hands of the enemies to the Good News.  Paul also would experience a violent death.  The Good News would always be swimming up stream.  The rebellious nature of men and the prince of this world, the Devil, would assure a rough road for those who professed Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Paul now before Festus was swimming upstream.  Festus had chummed around with the leaders in Jerusalem for several days.  Being new to his role of being governor of Palestine, he needed to win over the power structure in Judea.  The leaders of Judea were in the Sanhedrin.  For several days he met with them.  These leaders informed Festus of their hatred for Paul and the Good News he ministered.  In the Roman Empire, to execute someone is difficult if he is a Roman citizen.  A Roman citizen carries many rights.  Therefore to punish a Roman citizen with death, the deed has to be very egregious such as murdering a citizen above his cast, a killing of a servant or slave, or someone below your cast would not receive capital punishment.  Festus understood the Roman courts well; aggravating the ruling class of Judea was not an act for capital punishment.  He probably understood the Jewish leaders' request of Paul’s execution by the Roman government was an impossibility; the 

charges against him were not that grave.  Because of that, he might have concluded that the only way Paul was going to be killed would have to come from the hands of the Jews.  Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?  Festus knew the Sanhedrin’s venomous hatred of Paul would eventually lead to Paul’s murder.  As the new governor of Palestine, he wished to please the leadership of Judea.  He could have been aware of the Sanhedrin’s conspiracy to kill Paul outside of the Roman’s jurisdiction.  Paul might have suspected that Festus was in union with the Sanhedrin in their conspiracy to kill Paul outside of the Roman’s authority, so he appeals 

to Caesar!  To appeal to Caesar was the only way he could insure that he would not be murdered by the Jews.  Even if Festus would have set him free, he would have been murdered by the Jews.  Paul, once allied to the Sanhedrin by his their hatred of Christianity was now a foe of theirs.  Paul's proclamation of the Good News was a lethal threat to the Sanhedrin’s leadership role in Judea.  They needed to stamp out the name of Jesus.  Paul’s elevating the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior was the central theme of Paul’s ministry everywhere he went.

Paul and Jesus were not part of the spiritual chosen in the Judaic religion.  Jesus was from the house of Judah and Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. They were not Levites, God's chosen to take care of the spiritual duties of the Jewish people.  Neither of them were priests, a lineage directly from Moses.  Jesus is challenged by the priests when he disrupted the Temple’s environment.  Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’"  (Matthew 21:12-13)  The leadership wanted to know who gave him the authority to do such a thing in the Temple; only the Sadducees have authority over the Temple.  The Sadducees are the legitimate authorities assigned by God to oversee the workings within the Temple; they are priests from the lineage of Moses.  Now the Sanhedrin see Paul, no longer under their authority, dispensing a message about Jesus as Lord and Savior.  For the leading priests, Jesus was but a bastard, conceived out of wedlock.  For them, how can this man’s name be elevated in the Greek communities?  The spreading of Jesus throughout the region was an embarrassment to them.  He is but a bastard in the understanding of the Jewish elite.  But Paul understood the mystery of God, hidden in God’s heart from the beginning of time.  God had revealed this message to him directly, that redemption of mankind would come through the name of Jesus Christ.  Faith in Jesus’ work on the cross would create children of God.  To open this redeeming message to humans, God used Paul.  However, Paul first had to be struck blind.  For Paul to change his theology he had to experience severe trauma: blindness.  A once robust and energetic man had to become so helpless that he had to be led to Damascus by his companions.  In Damascus he spent three days in darkness and in prayer.  Finally Ananias arrives, restoring Paul's sight and releasing him from his hopelessness.  Delivered from blindness, helplessness, Paul is informed by Ananias that he will stand before governors, kings, magistrates, and the leaders in society and proclaim the name of Jesus boldly before them.  In our above focus, we see Paul once again satisfying God’s requirement on his life.  Paul is standing before Festus and the Sanhedrin with the message of Jesus Christ’s redeeming power.  He is doing this, knowing that murder existed in the hearts of those who were listening to him.  In Jesus’ life, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the teachers of the law listened to Jesus with murder in their hearts.  Jesus knew the condition of their hearts, knowing their hearts were violating Moses’ law.  Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.  (Exodus 23:7)  Paul knew the Sanhedrin wanted to dispose of him, so he appealed to Caesar, the highest court in the Roman Empire.  Festus had no choice but to relent to Paul’s appeal.

In Paul’s captivity, he was dispensing living water to those who would listen to him with open hearts.  Festus, the Sanhedrin, and later king Herod were hearing the Good News from a man who should be shaking in fear.  Paul’s boldness in expressing the name of Jesus in such a company was confusing to the people in authority.  For Festus the dispute between the Jewish leadership and Paul was impossible for him to understand.  For him it is 

about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.   But his heart will be exposed to the Good News and it will rattle him, claiming Paul is insane.  Even though this Roman governor could not accept what Paul was saying, the living water was present in the courtroom of the Romans, and later it will flow in Rome too.  Jesus told the Samaritan woman about the living water He was delivering to people, 

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  (John 4:13-14)  This redeeming water contains eternal life in it.  Paul knows this is true, so he boldly proclaims the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior.  This proclamation is confusing to Festus in his darkness, but truth to those who walk in the Light.  Jesus talks about this light within people.  They will not worship at a special place, supposedly anointed by God; instead, they will worship God from their innermost being.  Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”  (John 4:21-24)  Paul full of the Holy Spirit knows this truth.  He knows the kingdom of God is within people.  The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)  Paul is presenting the kingdom of God to all people; he is offering them water that will sustain their lives for eternity, an overflowing water that will satisfy their parched lives.  No longer will people be stiff-necked, believing their lives will be okay with a righteous, holy God who alone possesses eternal life.  If people desire life forever, they must accept The Way to it: believing on the name of Jesus Christ and his work on the cross.  Friends around this breakfast table, the kingdom of God is within you.  That means the voice of God is within you.  You do not need a trance, a dream or a vision to know God.  His voice exists in you richly.  You are presently known as children of God.  We see in the above focus, Paul proclaiming this Good News everywhere; to save his life for another day, he had to appeal to Caesar.  You are not in that conundrum of having to save your life for another day.  You are in a day the Lord has made so that you can proclaim boldly the way to eternal life.  Rejoice in that opportunity and be wLove, Dad and Mom  

    

     

    

 

Acts 24:17-27 Faith Defines You!

Acts 24:17-27  After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.  I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this.  There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.  But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.  Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin—unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.  Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings.  When Lysias the commander comes, he said,  I will decide your case.  He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.  Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish.  He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.  As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, That’s enough for now!  You may leave.  When I find it convenient, I will send for you.  At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.  When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

In the above verses, Paul is concluding his defense against the charges that the leading priests have placed before Felix, the Roman governor of Judea.  Paul is upset that the Jews from the province of Asia who caused the mob who tried to kill him in Jerusalem were not present in the court room.  Only the leading elders of Jerusalem were presenting these false charges against him that he is a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.  He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.  (Acts 24:5-6)  Paul does admit he created a disturbance within the Sanhedrin, separating the Pharisees against the Sadducees when he shouted, It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.  Paul, a Pharisee, caused division within the council by stating something the Sadducees did not believe: the resurrection of the dead.  He said that on purpose to get himself out of a jam with the Sanhedrin council.  And it was a successful ploy, divided the Sanhedrin, causing Paul to be set free for a while.  But now Paul is in the courtroom of the Roman governor, facing the Sanhedrin again, attempting to have the charges dropped.  Felix was well acquainted with the Way.  He knew Christianity was spreading everywhere and that it was a scourge to the rulers of Judea.  Felix as a former slave himself probably was well informed about news that circulated within the common people of Israel.  He knew of the WAY, probably found it interesting and maybe even compelling, but he was not a Christian.  He was so interested in the Way that he brought his wife Drusilla to hear Paul’s explain the essentials of Christianity.   Paul talked to them about faith in Christ Jesus as the way to eternal life.  Paul’s presentation troubled Felix.  As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, That’s enough for now!   The truth of the Way became too real to Felix; it troubled his soul.  He became convicted by the Spirit that he needed to make a decision about Christ being the Son of God.  Even though his soul was troubled by what he heard that day, he kept in contact with this prisoner, Paul.  He sent for him frequently and talked with him.  He also thought that Paul might offer him a bribe in exchange for his freedom.  In this scenario of Felix being troubled by the validity of the Good News, we see him interested in Christianity but not willing to make a decision about faith in Jesus Christ and his redeeming work on the cross.  Felix understood well that a commitment to Jesus would cost him everything he held dear in his life, maybe even his wife who is a Jew.

The daily routines in life usually absorb any thought about eternal life.  Some people are very concerned about interjecting a god of some sort to help them function more successfully in performing the duties of living, asking their gods to make life easier and more successful.  They pray for their safety, their security, their health.  However many people are atheists, for them a god is not possible, a figment of people’s imagination, a need only for the very weak in society.  Regardless, being spiritual or not, the God of the Bible says that a judgment day will come when all people must give an account on how they lived their lives.  Daily routines and activities are necessary, an integral part of living, but there will be a time when these things will pass away, and a time when God will reveal himself as the judge of all people’s lives.  Jesus tells us that a day will be coming just like the day before the flood, when people will be involved with the activities of life. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.  People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.  Then the flood came and destroyed them all.  The righteous judgment of God will come when the Son of Man returns to earth. In Lot’s time, People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.  But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.  (Luke 17:26-29)   Judgment will come someday on all people, no one will escape this day.  Felix was more concerned about his present life and what was necessary to live it successfully than thinking about what will happen to him for eternity.  For him weighing his present life to eternal life, the scale fell on making his present life successful, prosperous and healthy.  Tomorrow is tomorrow, but today is today.  Important issues and activities must be considered more important than the next life, the necessity of living today outweighs tomorrow.  Jesus came from the Father to accentuate tomorrow in our lives.  He came to give eternal life to all who seek him by faith; trust him in their present lives and in the salvation plan that God has given people through his Son, Jesus Christ.  When God brings his Son back to earth again a day of reckoning will occur.  On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them.  Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.  Remember Lot’s wife!  Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.  I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”  (John 17:30-36)  On that day the activities and the intricacies of life will not matter.  What will matter is your position in Christ: are you IN CHRIST or outside of Christ?  Faith in Christ’s work on the cross will determine if you are in or out of Christ.  He alone has eternal life; He alone is the only human acceptable to God, for He never sinned.  No corruption lay upon his life.  Therefore all who trust in his work of redemption HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, for Christ is eternal.

For most people a more convenient time to know Christ never comes.  They are inundated with the concerns of this world.  Yes, in someways they are concerned about their future, but mostly focused on this world.  How will their lives end?  When will their lives end?  How much future do they still have to live as they desire?  They are spiritual to a point, as was Felix; he was interested in the Way, but never committed himself to the redeeming work of Christ.  The Bible calls this lukewarm, neither hot or cold, just interested in spirituality, not committed.  Jesus says, you must lose your life for his sake.  A lukewarm life will never enter the kingdom of God.  Your present day success, prosperity, and well-being have deceived you.  God sees your life differently, as He said to the Laodicea church in their lukewarmness, do you not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  (Revelations 3:14-17)  We must assume that Felix never found a more convenient time to know God’s redemption plan for him.  He had too much of Lot’s wife in him, looking back to his old life.  By holding onto this life, Felix missed the chains of this life falling off.  Paul had chains, but his life was free, eternally free, not bound by the finiteness of this life.  But Felix was tethered to this world.  Real peace he will never know.   Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:5-7)  He would never know one of God’s attributes: Peace,the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.  He would never know the voice of God inside him and the warmth of the Holy Spirit on his soul.  This  presence of peace God promised to those who dedicated their lives to Christ.  When Jesus was born, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  (Luke 6:14)  God’s favor rests on those who favor Christ above everything on earth.  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.  Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.  And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.  (John 5:24-27)  Two will be grinding grain, one taken the other left behind; two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.  A day of judgment will come, a separation will come between the sheep and the goats, the righteous and the unrighteous.  Felix probably did not ever find his way to Christ in faith; he stayed in the category of those on the fence.  Friends around this breakfast, fix your life completely in Christ and his eternal destiny for you.  You are not straddling the fence, living lives looking back to this world.  No, you are the ones taken to be with God.  You have found the peace of God in and through Christ.  Therefore, The Lord says to you, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  (John 14:26-27)  Amen!  

Acts 24:1-16 Be Content in Everything!

Acts 24:1-16  Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.  When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.  But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.  “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.  He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.  By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.  ”The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true. When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.  You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.  My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.  And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.  However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect.  I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.  So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

In the above scene we see Paul’s accusers in Caesarea some 60 miles away from Jerusalem.  The leading priests were before the Roman governor, Felix, to present their case against him with the hope Paul will be executed for his supposed misdeeds. They possessed a deep hatred of Paul and his Christian ideas.  They brought the lawyer, Tertullus, to present to Felix their charges against Paul.  Their accusations against Paul were false: that he was stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world, and he even tried to desecrate the temple.  Paul was an apostle but not the ringleader of the Christianity cult; they resided in Jerusalem.  Tertullus in the courtroom was doing his best to paint Paul as a troublemaker.  First, and as with Paul later, Tertullus complimented Felix on what a great ruler he is, a glad-handed technique to win favorable treatment from him.  We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.  Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.  Later we hear Paul doing the same thing,  I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.  Paul is implying that Felix is such a good and fair judge that he will see through the Jewish leadership’s frivolous charges against him as a troublemaker that deserves death.  Earlier the Sanhedrin had done away with Jesus by describing him as a troublemaker, falsely accusing Jesus of wrong-doing.  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.  But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.  (Matthew 26:59-60)  Now before Felix they were using the same deception, lying before the authorities of Rome.  Jesus understood well the hearts of the Sadducees and Pharisees.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  (John 8:44 )  These leading priests for selfish reasons were willing to lie before the leadership of the world.  They were using the native language of the devil to hold on to their place of leadership in the Jewish community.  They now knew Christianity was spreading like wildfire within the Greek and Jewish communities, so they felt they had to beat back this fire by having Paul executed.  They were 60 miles from Jerusalem, expressing lies before Felix, hoping that Felix would help to solve their need to quell Christianity by killing Paul.  However, Felix quickly ascertained that this was a religious matter, not a secular misdeed.  Paul in presenting his defense had painted this as a spiritual fight not a secular matter.  I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.  So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.  For Felix, a secular ruler, these charges against Paul by the Jewish leadership did not come under his jurisdiction, for they were about spiritual issues.  Although not to alienate the Jewish leadership, he kept Paul in confinement.

We know Paul had learned to be content in all situations.  I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  (Philippians 4:11)  So, this confinement was but another problem he had to endure.   Paul’s life was one of troubled seas.  Nothing in his life was very placid for long.  Jesus had promised him a turbulent life.  The Lord said to Ananias, “Go!  This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:15-16)  At this juncture in his life he finds himself presenting the Good News to a governor, satisfying part of his commission, given to him by the Lord.  He is now once again revealing the Path to a secular leader and to the Jewish elite.  The Good News had been rejected by the Jewish leadership many times.  They construed the message as nonsense, perpetrated by demons.  They hated this idea of Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah.  They despised that Jesus claimed divinity, coming from God, as the Son of God.  They believed his words were from the demonic world.  The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”  “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.  (John 8:48-49)   For the Sanhedrin, Paul was following this demon possessed man, Jesus.  He was spreading lies about Jesus being the Messiah.  Of course the Sanhedrin was doing this for their own selfish reasons; they knew for them, this cult of Christianity was a death knell if the Jewish people accepted Jesus as their Messiah.  They had no choice but to stamp Christianity out as quickly and aggressively as they could.  For them, Paul must be executed.  Paul, as Jesus, knew their hearts.  Jesus told them explicitly that their father was the devil.  He told them they were following the ruler of this world and not God the father of Abraham.  They claimed Abraham as their father, but they possessed murder in their hearts, first towards Jesus and now towards Paul.  They were following the one who so contaminated the world with his evil that God destroyed all humans except for Noah and his family with a catastrophic flood.  The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.  (Genesis 6:5)  Rather than peace and tranquility reigning in humans, violence, disruption and destruction filled their every action and thought.  Sadly the Sadducees and Pharisees followed the liar Satan.  They thought of themselves as being wise, but in reality their wisdom and knowledge followed the natural ways of the devil.  They laid heavy burdens on the people through their teachings, yet not helping the people to find the God of grace and mercy.  They championed themselves as being people of God, the intermediators between God and men and women.  However, God had a better understanding of them and their supposed importance to the people, Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;  they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.  (Matthew 23:5-7)  Paul's existence and his extolling of Christ as being the Savior of all mankind was a threat to their lifestyle and position of authority within the Jewish community.

The Jewish traditions perpetrated by the Priests lay very heavily on the people’s shoulders.  The priests made it very hard for the people to be right with God.  Tradition and discipline can be good to know God, but it also can shield from them the grace and mercy of God.  The Good News which the priests rejected was very simple and straight forward.  The Good News relied on Jesus and his works, not the works of men.  The works of men as a path to know God is difficult and tiring: it usually depends on a  strenuous effort on the part of men and women to be right with God.  But Jesus forgoes all that effort of men and women by saying,  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.   Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live."  (John 5:24-25)  The Path to know God was what Paul preached, a deadly message to the survival of the priesthood.  The Path hinges on faith in Jesus’ words and deeds.  Paul tells the Romans, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith."  (Romans 1:16-17)  Righteousness is not leverage by works but by faith in God’s words.  Jesus meant it when He said, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)  Not following the law and its regulations correctly brings condemnation.  And the spiritual officers were there to condemn you if you stepped out of line.  Now for them, Paul has stepped out of line.  For them, Paul seems to have sidelined the law.  But really Paul was preaching Jesus had fulfilled completely the law and regulations, releasing people of such an obligation, freeing them from their efforts to please God through works.  The PATH to satisfy God’s requirement of righteousness for men and women was one of freedom, not law and its regulations.  Friends around this breakfast table we are free, free indeed.  We do not slumber in this race we are running for the glory of God.  We are obligated to run this life in the garment of our Savior.  He paid the full price for our salvation.  None of us should run this race of life in our own garments.  Our attire should reflect the glory of our Lord.  We do run hard in our freedom, for we run for the glory of God.  We serve the world as Jesus served the world, with faithfulness and love.  We run the race hard as Paul tells us and illustrates in his own life; not for us to know God but to reflect God to the world.  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.   Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.  (1  Corinthians 9:24-27)  We will not be disqualified dear friends, for we run in Jesus’ attire every day, bringing glory to his name, THE PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH.  Amen!  

 

Acts 23:23-35 When You're Weak, You're Strong!

Acts 23:23-35  Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.  Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.  ”He wrote a letter as follows: -- Claudius Lysias. To His Excellency, Governor Felix:  Greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.  I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.  I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.  When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once.  I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him. --  So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.  The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.  When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.  The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from.  Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.”  Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

After Paul’s nephew told the Roman Commander that some Jews in Jerusalem had taken up an oath to kill Paul, the officer of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem decided to get Paul out of Jerusalem.  He had 470 Roman soldiers to escort Paul out of the city, a strong enough contingent that no group of Jews could dare attack these Roman soldiers.  They started out at night and at Antipatris, 28 miles away from Jerusalem, the foot soldiers were relieved of their responsibility of protecting Paul.  They went back to the Jerusalem garrison.  For the next 30 miles to Caesarea only the cavalry would be responsible for Paul’s safety.   They would deliver Paul to the authorities in the Roman’s governing headquarters.  Paul’s adversaries would have to travel to Caesarea to present their case against Paul to the Roman authorities.  Their hatred of the Good News that Paul preached compelled them to go to Caesarea, hoping to end Paul’s life by execution.  The leading priests understood well that their fight against the Good News was a life and death struggle.  Paul was preaching a new covenant in finding peace with God.  No longer would the sacrifices of animals be necessary to please God, neither would priests be important as intermediators between God and man.  If the Good News won the hearts of the Jews as the real way to be right with God forever, then the leading priests and elders of the Jewish society would lose their place of deference in Israel.  The book of Hebrews relates that for the Jews finite priests were necessary to appease the holy God of creation.  They would be the ones who would sacrifice animals and present their blood before God in the Temple.  This blood of a dead animal would keep God from judging them and the people with death for their many unrighteous deeds.  However in the New Covenant between God and man, Jesus’ one and only sacrifice appeases God, satisfies his requirement of righteousness on sinful mankind.  Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.  Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.  Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.  For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.  (Hebrews 7:23-28)  The Good News Paul preached is The Way to God. Through faith in Jesus' work on the cross, righeousness and perfection would be inherited by all who place their trust in Jesus’ work.  This way to God would eliminate the need for priests and for sacrifices.  By making the Temple and the priesthood of no affect, the old way of being right with God through obedience to laws and regulations was replaced by faith in Christ's work on the cross.  The priests realized Paul is a threat to the status quo in Israel.  As the scriptures say, When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete.  It is now out of date and will soon disappear.  (Hebrew 8:13)  Well  then, how about the necessity for being obedient to every jot and tittle of the the law.  We find that in Christ;  Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)  Jesus because he was sinless, set apart from sinners, satisfied the law completely.  No man or woman can do that, as Jesus said himself, call no one good.  However, Jesus tells us, I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 5:20)  We know the Pharisees were extremely righteous outwardly, giving even a tenth of their spices to God so that they might be right with God.  But we also know their hearts were far from God; nevertheless, following the law was their expertise.  We are to be better than they, but Jesus is the completion of the law.  He fulfilled the intent of the law outwardly and inwardly.  Consequently, we who are IN CHRIST through faith fulfill the law completely, facing God with HIS PERFECTION, not by our works of the flesh.

Paul, a man who zealously followed Jesus and propagated the message of Jesus Christ as the Messiah was now in the hands of the Roman government, people who could execute him legally.  He would live from this time on in chains.  He would write a few of his letters that are part of our Bible in chains: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon.  His ministry of the Good News would never cease until his death around 64-68. A.D.  As he wrote to the Corinthians his life was not easy.  Preaching the Good News of eternal life to all who would believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior was full of trouble and potential disaster.  To the Corinthians we hear Paul enumerate to them the reasons that he deserves to be treated as a true apostle sent by God.  He lays down his credentials before them of being an apostle they should honor.  I have worked much harder (than other esteemed apostles).  I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, 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 fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  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.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.  Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?  Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?  (2 Corinthians 21-29)  Paul definitely was weak in many ways.  He carried a physical weakness throughout his missionary journeys.  This physical weakness attacked his self-esteem.  He healed others, yet physical imperfection was evident by all who met him.  He could not find healing for his own body.  In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)  We see in this quote that Paul carries other weaknesses in the flesh, maybe from beatings and mistreatment, but he also carries weakness in the spirit too, for he had to endure the insults and damaging words to his spirit.  We do not know much about what he thought in the midst of attacks, but we do know that in Philippi he refused to disappear from their city until the leaders acknowledged their illegal act.  Otherwise, he was angry and disgusted with them.  But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison.  And now do they want to get rid of us quietly?  No!  Let them come themselves and escort us out.”  (Acts 16:37)  We see places in the Bible where Paul is angry with the world and with Christians.  Paul’s attitude and demeanor did not always reflect the grace of Jesus Christ on the cross: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.  (Luke 23:34)  Often he wanted justice, correct decisions of his role in life.  Consequently, we now see him in the hands of the Romans until his death.  He appeals to Caesar to get the justice he deserves.  

What other weaknesses does Paul consider to be part of his life?   We do not know, but we do know he received a message from the Lord that My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  This statement separates Paul’s work from God’s work.  Grace is a gift, a present to us because of God’s goodness to us.  It cannot be earned, neither can our well-being in the flesh nor our spirits indicate how much grace we are receiving from God.  Paul struggles many times in his life with fear and anxiety.  As with Elijah, a man of many wonders, Paul is sometimes weak with fear and anxiety, weaknesses he carried throughout his life.  We see Elijah fearful after God performed a mighty miracle on Mount Carmel, revealing himself as the only true God.  The 450 priests of Baal were killed by Elijah and his followers.  Such a carnage of the followers of Baal made Ahab and Jezebel swear revenge on Elijah; they wanted his head.  Elijah was afraid of their power so he ran for his life.  (1King 19:3)  Paul also ran for his life a few times, after learning people in a community where he was ministering intended to kill him.  These two men of God were powerful men.  They performed marvelous deeds, but even after the miracles they performed, their flesh often felt God could not protect them from fleshly men.  However, in their weaknesses, God’s power is made perfect.  God uses his presence in them to perform HIS MARVELOUS DEEDS in the world.  We must always remember, when we seem most weak, lacking faith or spiritual health, God’s strength is made strong in our weaknesses.  Why?  Because we possess the enduring love of God because of his unmerited grace given to us.  Elijah, Moses and all the prophets possessed this unmerited love from God.  Paul possessed that same love because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Paul was hidden IN CHRIST’S DEEDS, not in his own work.  So, in his weaknesses, Christ's work in him becomes strong, taking over for Paul’s frailty.  A famous radio preacher who is now deceased proclaimed that smoking was a habit that he could not put aside.  He smoked all of his life.  He knew this habit was bad for his health and was in many ways a detriment to his claim that faith brought victory in people’s lives.  Yet, smoking was part of his life.  But grace is God’s gift, not something we earn, and that grace is power in our lives.  This minister brought many people to the realization that through faith in Jesus Christ comes a new life.  We who are around this breakfast table have many weaknesses in our lives.  Sometimes these weaknesses prevent us from associating freely and without guilt with other Christians.  We often think, if others only knew us dressed in our weaknesses, they would not want to associate with us as a Christian.  By thinking this way, we are belittling the grace of God that is given to us through the works of Christ on the cross.  Being right with God is a very simple step, Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.  (John 5:24)  Friends around this table, do you believe the truth, are you a follower of Jesus Christ?  Do you believe God sent Jesus to earth to lead people from death to life?  If you do, you are saved, possessing RIGHT NOW eternal life.  Paul is going to Caesarea with eternal life throbbing in him.  He will follow the steps that God has planned for him in his life.  He will end up this fleshly life in chains, but God will say to him, Well done, my good and faithful servant.  Paul’s weaknesses did not deter him from accepting God’s role for his life.  Dear friends, do not push your weaknesses in front of doing the will of God in your life.    

   

  

Acts 23:12-22 Understand and Do Good!

Acts 23:12-22  The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.  More than forty men were involved in this plot.  They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.  Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case.  We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”  But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.  Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”  So he took him to the commander.  The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”  The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”  He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.  Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him.  They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him.  They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”  The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

In the above scenario we see something very sad.  The chief priests and the elders are willing to deceive, to lie, for the sake of murdering Paul.  They are the leading spiritual leaders of Israel, yet they are willing to lie for their own purposes.  Jesus identified their hearts when He told them that their father was not Abraham but the devil.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  (John 8:44)  The devil speaks his native or natural language.  Now we see the leaders of Israel speaking the devil’s native language.  The Sanhedrin will ask the Roman commander to have Paul come before them, wanting more accurate information about his case.  Of course this is a lie.  They wanted to kill Paul, an innocent man who had done no wrong against them or anyone else.  But their father the devil is also a murderer.  He caused Abel’s blood to be spilt by Cain.  Cain, because he was envious of Abel whose gift was accept by God as being good, desired to murder Abel.  By doing this he mutinied again the basic tenant given by God to all humans: to love and take care of others as we love ourselves and take care of ourselves.  Human interactions with others should be based on love, not hate.  God is love; the devil is hate.  Cain was jealous of his brother so he killed Abel.  The priests in Jesus’ time were jealous of Jesus’ huge crowds so they killed him.  We then discover the leading priests’ were jealous of the disciples in Jerusalem after Jesus was executed.  The disciples were healing people, casting out demons.  Many gathered around the disciples, listening to their ministry about Jesus being the Messiah.  When the Sanhedrin saw these large crowds around the disciples, they were filled with jealousy.  Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.  (Acts 5:17)  As with Cain the leading priests decided on murdering Jesus’ followers as a solution to snuffing out the Christian cult to Judaism.  In the above focus we see the Sanhedrin repeating this idea of killing Christianity by doing away with those who ministered the Good News.  They wanted Paul killed.  However their scheme was thwarted by Paul’s nephew.  Paul's nephew exposed their plan to a Roman officer. To the credit of the Roman centurion, he believed the boy and relayed his information of the conspiracy to kill Paul to the Commander of the base.

The Jews' hearts were hardened to the Good News, a salvation message that would make them right with God.  They rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah sent to them from God.  Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah through healing and miracles.  The Jews saw him do many supernatural things that no man from the beginning of time had done.  However their unwillingness to believe Jesus as the Messiah was prophesied by Isaiah.   Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: “‘Go to this people and say,“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”  For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’" (Acts 28:25-27)  God’s chosen, the treasure of God’s heart, were often very far away from following God the Creator of all things.  In their prayers the priests would affirm God as the Creator of all things, but their lifestyles were filled with other gods.  You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.  (Jeremiah 11:13)  Even though God had rescued the Israelites from slavery, even though He gave them a land of milk and honey, their hearts were adulterous, filled with envy for other gods.  The carnal nations around them served gods that made it possible for the carnal nature of man to be free to do the evil things lurking in their hearts: lust, debauchery, depravity, murder.  These idols they worshipped freed their flesh from obeying or recognizing the righteous Creator of all that exists.  The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,  since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  (Romans 1:18-20)  God’s treasured people fell into worshipping idols. They broke their covenant with God, Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’  I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God.  Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”  (Jeremiah 11:3-5)  For a time they lost their land of milk and honey, but now in Jesus and Paul’s time we see them in the land of Israel, no longer with idol worship, but John the Baptist and Jesus said that his covenant people were living in hypocrisy.  They failed to serve God with their hearts, not seeing the grace and mercy of God, not the Messiah who would lead them out of slavery to their fleshly wills.  Jesus said of them, They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!  (Mark 4:12)  (Isaiah 6:9)  The Jews unwillingness to accept Jesus as their Messiah would cause them much sorrow in their immediate future.  The Romans would come and destroy Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.

This hardness of the heart of the Jews follows Paul throughout his missionary journeys throughout Arabia and Macedonia.  From the very beginning of his outreach to these lands he would be harassed by the Jews.  He had been a faithful Jew, a follower of God from his early childhood.  He lived a life of zealousness to Judaism.  To preserve the purity of Judaism, he persecuted and destroyed the lives of anyone who dared to corrupt God’s covenant with the Jewish people.  But his jealousness for Judaism was disarmed by Jesus on the road to Damascus.  A new assignment was given to him by Jesus.  He would be a point man in telling the world that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah sent from God and that through Jesus Christ alone would come to people the mercy and grace of God.  However, he learned quickly his ministry of the Good News from God would be opposed by the Jews everywhere he went.  In his first missionary journey, the fierceness of the Jewish opposition to the Good News would be revealed.  In  Pisidian of Antioch, his ministry was new and exciting to many people, but the Jews refuted his ministry.  On the next Sabbath (in Pisidian Antioch) almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.  When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy.  They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.  Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first.  Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.  (Acts 13:44-46)  Paul left Antioch and went to Iconium to minister the Good News, but there he met opposition by not only the Jews but the Gentiles.  There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.  But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel.  (Acts 14:5-7)  However in Lystra, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra to quell Paul’s teaching of the Good News of Jesus being the Messiah sent from God.  Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.  They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.  (Acts 14:9)  They stoned Paul to the point they thought he was dead, but he revived, went back into the city, encouraging the converts there and then went back through Iconium and Antioch to encourage the believers there to follow Jesus.  Even though threatened with death, Paul strongly carried the message of redemption through Jesus Christ the Lord to these communities.  The threat of death was not going to deter him from spreading the Good News of how to be right with God and how to inherit eternal life with God.  He willingly spread this Good News throughout his missionary journeys.  On his third and final journey, he once again felt the hand of opposition, this time from the Gentiles.  In Philippi, the Gentiles rebelled against Paul and Silas, beating them with rods and throwing them in jail, broken and bruised, but God delivered them out of that jail by an earthquake.  In this incident in Philippi, we hear the succinct message of how to be right with God.  Paul's words to a fearful jailer of how to be saved are very direct and simple, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.  (Acts 16:31-32)  These words of redemption were opposed by the Jews who wished to kill Paul.  They could not accept the idea that there was any other way to be right with God other than their own efforts of following the commandments and regulations given to Moses on Sinai.  For them their own righteousness would give them right standing with God.  However the scriptures point out in God’s righteous view of mankind, There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.  (Romans 3:11-12)  Dear friends around this breakfast table, do you believe that?  Do you believe God’s gift of Jesus Christ is THE WAY to be right with him?  Or, are you still putting up your effort of works to please him?  We are confident that you are placing your trust in Jesus and not your works.  The way to be right with God is to accept his gift of deliverance through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen!