Podcasts about Herod Agrippa

Title: An Unjust Judge Fears Justice Text: Acts 24:22-27 FCF: We often struggle trusting God in the midst of injustice. Prop: Because God providentially accomplishes His plan through injustice, we must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 24. In a moment we'll begin reading from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 22. You can follow along in the pew bible or whatever version you prefer. Last time in Acts we saw the skilled attorney Tertullus, bring charges against Paul for starting riots, being the leader of a heretical sect of Judaism, and even attempting to desecrate the temple. But Paul's defense was simply that each charge they had levied against him was not witnessed by anyone there. Instead, this is the Jews' way of trying to get Rome to settle a Jewish religious dispute. We concluded last time remarking that Felix had enough evidence to dismiss the case and declare Paul to be innocent. In fact, we concluded that this was the only just decision he could reach based on the trial. But we stopped just short of the verdict. Today we will see what Felix decides. Given what we know about the man, it probably will not come as much of a shock to anyone. So please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Almighty God, we thank you for Your promises to Your people. We thank you that when You have promised something to us, no matter how bleak it may look, we can rest in Your promises and know that You never lie. We confess that even the terrible things that happen to us in our lives are still for our good and for Your glory – even if we cannot see it with our own eyes. But because You have said it - may we trust through the eyes of faith that this is so. May Your Spirit be with us today to enable us to see how You even use injustice to accomplish Your will and how we must trust You and use every opportunity to advance Your Kingdom. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] You know Peter often gets a lot of hate for his comment to Christ. What did he say again? “Never Lord. This shall never happen to you!” And what did Jesus say? “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” I feel for Peter. Think about it… Peter just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the Living God. Peter believes that Jesus is the promised One of God. But then Jesus says, that the chief priests and teachers of the law will cause him to suffer and lead him to his death. Peter knows that such a thing is not right. It is not just. It is not righteous. How could it be? In fact it is very unjust that the religious leaders would end up doing this. So Peter steps in and boldly declares… I AM NOT going to let that happen. I'm going to stand for what is right! And Jesus rebukes him. Why? Because his concerns about injustice were merely from a human and earthly level and not from a godly and heavenly level. These things must be, these injustices must take place in order that God's will be done. In a similar way, we'll see today injustice happening for the furthering of the plan of God. And while we might be tempted to always fight for justice – perhaps that is not to be our primary concern. Perhaps it should be the Kingdom of God first. Let's dive into the text today starting in verse 22. I.) God providentially accomplishes His plan through injustice, so we must trust the Lord. (22-23) a. [Slide 3] 22 - But Felix, having a more accurate knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” i. Antonious Felix was anything but a just judge. ii. He was brutal, savage, greedy, and had never truly earned any position he had held. iii. So, we should fight the urge here to assume that Felix puts the Jews off because of some sense of justice or righteousness. iv. Luke records that Felix had a more accurate knowledge about the Way. What does this mean and how did he arrive at that knowledge? v. As we mentioned before, Felix's current wife was Drucilla who was the daughter of Herod Agrippa the first. Meaning of course that she was Jewish. vi. Certainly, this could have been how Felix arrived at his knowledge of the Jesus movement. vii. But since his knowledge of The Way does not produce a guilty verdict, that would suggest that Drucilla's opinion would have been a positive one. Which seems like a stretch to me. I don't think his wife is how he knows about The Way. viii. Perhaps his knowledge of The Way comes through his brother Pallas, or even his time in Samaria seeing Jewish Christians embracing Samaritans while Jews continued to hate them. ix. In any case, Felix understands something about the Way that seems to keep him from declaring Paul to be guilty. x. In light of the charges levied against Paul it most likely means that Felix had never seen Christians stir up violence, rebellion, or aggression throughout his tenure in Judea. xi. Remember Tertullus' argument. Paul stirred up the Jews because he was the ringleader of the Nazarean heresy. But Felix knows that the Christians don't do this and if Paul is the ringleader than he certainly wouldn't do this. xii. Basically, Felix thinks that this is a pot calling a kettle black situation. xiii. The Jews had been guilty of this so often before that it is almost laughable that they would bring charges against someone else for doing the same. xiv. He then tells the Jews that when Lysias comes down he will decide the case against Paul. xv. Well, we know Lysias' opinion on the matter. He is convinced that Paul has done nothing to earn death or imprisonment. xvi. Furthermore, Felix knows Lysias' opinion on the matter. xvii. In other words, this is only a stall. It is possible that Felix never even sent for Lysias. xviii. Luke doesn't record any meeting with Lysias and Felix. xix. Or if they do meet, it doesn't do anything to change Felix's mind in either direction. xx. Perhaps it is best to see this merely as a way to get the Jews off his back. And if Paul is still in prison out of Jerusalem, then perhaps that will be good enough for the Jews? xxi. But this begs the question. xxii. Why doesn't Felix just declare him innocent? xxiii. There are two really big reasons that he doesn't do that. And both of them are in the second point of this sermon. xxiv. Fortunately, we don't need to know them yet to understand that Felix's decision to kick this down the road was not a just decision. xxv. But Felix knows that Paul is no Jewish prisoner. He is a Roman. So, he must be treated as such. b. [Slide 4] 23 - Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some rest, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him. i. A Roman prisoner that has not been found guilty of a crime must still be afforded the dignity of being a citizen. ii. He would be kept in custody because his case was still outstanding. iii. But Felix permitted his traveling companions to minister to him and to bring him his needs. He was probably allotted considerable freedom to move about the Praetorium. iv. But because he was assigned a centurion to keep tabs on him, it is likely that even with these freedoms he was not treated lavishly. v. Still, with these minimal freedoms granted to him, Paul would be permitted to rest and not face harsh conditions while his case is in limbo. c. [Slide 5] Summary of the Point: Luke brings us to yet another way that God providentially accomplishes His will. One of those ways is through injustice. Although we don't know yet the reasons why Felix didn't release Paul, we certainly know why Felix didn't find him guilty. Christians were known as a non-violent, non-trouble-making group. As opposed to the Jews who constantly stirred up trouble around the Empire. But if Paul is not guilty why then is he not released? In this we find the unjust Felix keeping Paul rather than releasing him. But because this is what happened, and God's will is always accomplished, we know that God providentially planned for this to be the case. A ruler being unjust is certainly a sin – but part of God's plan for Paul included the sin of Felix to be an unjust ruler. What does that mean for us? That we must trust the Lord knowing that there is nothing men can do to us that God has not already planned for our good and His glory. Transition: [Slide 6 (blank)] But trusting the Lord is not the only thing we must do as a response to His working even through injustice. What else does Paul do besides trust the Lord? II.) God providentially accomplishes His will through injustice, so we must be ready to share the gospel. (24-27) a. [Slide 7] 24 - But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. i. Luke does give a time stamp here but it is a vague one. ii. We are unsure how long exactly has passed. iii. However, in the book of Acts we've seen that “some days” can refer to a significant amount of time, even months. iv. So it is, perhaps, a lengthy time before Felix questions Paul again. v. Perhaps the reason for this is because Felix was called away out of the city. vi. In AD 58 there was another revolt and Felix intervened on the side of the Gentiles as you might expect. So perhaps he has been away dealing with that. vii. We see here that he arrives again in the city this time with his wife Drucilla. viii. She being a Jew but involved in the Roman government would no doubt have a unique perspective on Paul's case. ix. In this, Paul comes forward and speaks again about the gospel of Jesus Christ. x. Here we find Paul again using every opportunity not to make much of himself, or to fight for his freedom, but to preach the gospel. b. [Slide 8] 25 - But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and answered, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.” i. In some ways what Paul gives as the gospel is what we might expect in every gospel presentation. ii. God's law is discussed. How God demands righteousness and self-control. iii. And then the next necessary part of the gospel presentation… iv. What happens when you don't keep the law of God? v. Judgment by a God who is Just. vi. But as we take a microscope and look at Felix and Drucilla specifically, we know that Felix is unjust. We also know that it was by lust and adultery that they came to be married as Drucilla was very recently married to another man and before that was betrothed to yet another. vii. At this time she is only 16 years of age and has been married or betrothed to three different men. viii. So, Paul's comments on Righteousness or being just in God's eyes and his comments on self-control probably had a stronger effect on this couple who have lived their life in lust and injustice. ix. The only real thing an unjust judge and the licentious person fears is Justice. x. And Felix and Drucilla were just told that one day they would be held accountable, not by Rome, not by the Jews, but by the God of the Universe. xi. Felix would be held accountable for not only his unjust treatment of those he ruled, but also for his lusts, his passions, his sinfulness, and his wickedness. And Drucilla too. xii. Felix responds with fear… but what kind? Fear has many forms. Is this the kind that would produce repentance? xiii. Unfortunately, no. xiv. His fear does not give way to humility and contrition. It does not produce repentance. xv. Instead, it produces avoidance. xvi. Go away for now. When I have time, we can talk about this more. xvii. So many sinners who have squirmed under the gospel have said similar things. xviii. So many wicked men have bid the evangelist to come back another day. Today these things weigh too heavy on me. xix. Come back some other time and we will discuss it more. xx. Felix, being the one in control of this situation, tells Paul that he will call him back when he has time. xxi. But why is Paul here anyway? We still haven't gotten a good answer for that. xxii. Why is Felix keeping him here? If he doesn't want his faith, what is Felix after? c. [Slide 9] 26 - At the same time, he was also hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to summon for him quite often and converse with him. i. Something stuck in Felix's mind from Paul's defense. Two things actually. 1. Paul is a Roman citizen, which could indicate significant wealth. 2. Secondly, he had brought alms to his nation in order to worship God. ii. Felix has assumed that Paul is wealthy or at least has connections to others who are wealthy. iii. In this, Felix is probably not actually that far off the mark. iv. The New Testament portrays a church that is built in numbers by those who are poor and needy, but sustained by those who are wealthy who have come to Christ and given much of their fortunes to His cause. v. It isn't wrong to be a wealthy believer. It is simply wrong to use wealth for ends that do not seek God's Kingdom first. vi. No doubt Paul could have produced a bribe for Felix if he had asked for it. But Paul probably never even considered it. vii. The Old Testament speaks frequently against bribes given to leadership. viii. Therefore, the church would never give money to Paul for this reason, nor would Paul ever ask for it. ix. The irony is thick here. x. While fearing the justice of God against him, Felix continues to be an unjust ruler expecting bribes. xi. This paints a rather hopeless picture for Felix. He is afraid of what will happen to him If he continues in sin, but is unwilling to seek a Savior to free him from it. I would argue that this is the case for all sinners who encounter the gospel and reject it. xii. It also appears Felix and Paul are at an impasse. Paul won't bribe him and Felix won't rule on his case until he does. It is a stalemate. xiii. Until… d. [Slide 10] 27 - But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned. i. Two years pass. ii. Two years in prison, while a trial drags on. iii. Even in our broken justice system, this is very slow. iv. For 2 years the stalemate continues until Felix is recalled to Rome. v. The rebellion that occurred in AD 58, the one in which Felix took the side of the Gentiles against the Jews, has led to him being deposed and returned to Rome to face trial. vi. After which we have no idea what happens to Felix. He drops out of the history books never to be heard from again. vii. Porcius Festus becomes the new governor of Judea, Samaria, and Syra around AD 59. And he is actually a relatively competent ruler. viii. But we'll get to him later. ix. For now, we have to expose yet another reason that Felix held Paul in custody for 2 years. x. He wished to do the Jews a favor. xi. Felix was taken back to Rome to answer for his poor management of the area in which he governed. xii. Keeping Paul in prison and not deciding his case was a way of getting the Jews on his good side. xiii. Rather than declare him innocent before he left, he kept him in prison. xiv. The Jews traveled to Caesarea to bring their case against Paul. Maybe they would travel to Rome to bring their case against Felix. xv. If he keeps Paul in prison, perhaps this doesn't happen. e. [Slide 11] Summary of the Point: So once again we see the injustice of Felix. He has utterly failed as a governor. He has pursued his own power and passions, stomping on everyone he could to get it, but now he must pay the piper. He will be held accountable for his deeds. But that doesn't help Paul, does it? He is still in prison. Nevertheless, we must see that God uses even this as the way He accomplishes His will. So, Paul in this situation sees the delay as an opportunity to share the gospel even to Felix. Perhaps he tailors that gospel message for the hearer, or perhaps the gospel always convicts a sinner personally when it convicts. In any case, Paul used this time for Kingdom work. And so we should see even displays of gross injustice as opportunities for the gospel to be preached. Conclusion: So what have we learned today CBC, and what can we break down into basic lessons for our faith and practice? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 12] Again, we see the faithfulness, power, and sovereignty of God to providentially orchestrate all things to accomplish the purposes of His will. Since no one can stop God from doing what He wants and no one can keep Him from accomplishing what He has decreed, and since He has decreed the end from the beginning we can logically arrive at the point that Paul's imprisonment is not an accident, it isn't a hiccup, and it isn't a delay in the plan of God coming about. It isn't God allowing Felix to exercise his free will to sin but simply moving around his injustice to still achieve what God had said. Instead, it is a strategic part of God's plan to bring Paul to Rome at the proper time. During this imprisonment, he would be allowed to bear witness to the gospel of Christ before Felix and Drucilla and his faith would be tested and perfected in trusting Jesus' words that he would go to Rome and preach the gospel. Since God's providence even includes when people abuse power and become unjust tyrants – we still must trust God and use every opportunity we are given to preach the gospel. But let us look more specifically on this for our everyday lives. 1.) [Slide 13] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God uses injustice to accomplish His purposes. a. We've seen this theme on repeat for the last several weeks. b. Luke could simply have told us that God orchestrates all things to accomplish the purposes of His will, but following the life of Paul we see this idea expressed in several specific ways. c. Today, we see the utter failure of the governor Felix. He is an unjust ruler who seeks his own benefit from those over whom he rules. d. But we've seen this kind of thing before. God uses the sin of men to accomplish His purposes. e. God is never the tempter. Nor does He force men to sin. But through secondary causes He orchestrates the sin of men to accomplish His purpose. f. Here we see that even tyrants, in their tyranny, can be used to accomplish His purposes. g. Through the injustice of Felix Paul is held for 2 years before appearing before Festus and eventually appealing to Caesar. But this is not a delay in God's plan. Instead, it is part of God's plan. h. You see in every situation God is accomplishing our good and His glory. i. But it is especially difficult to see this when we are denied justice. When we are treated unjustly… it is difficult to trust that it is for our good. Why? Because we have trouble seeing how it is good. j. Even in this particular case, it is not readily apparent why Paul's denial of justice is good for him. We as the reader are challenged along with Paul in real time. k. But the scriptures leave us very little room to wiggle. l. We must decide, do we believe in a God who is incapable of preventing the sinfulness of men and must all His plans to get Paul to Rome to be delayed? Do we believe in a God who to the best of His ability was not able to give justice to Paul for 2 years? m. Or will we believe that this 2 year refusal of justice is actually an intentional plan of the Most High God? n. If we are going to be consistent with scripture and if we are going to believe the promises God makes to us – then we are forced to conclude the latter. Even if we don't see the reason why. o. God has an orchestrated purpose for Paul being here an additional 2 years in judicial limbo. p. And we must affirm that this is always the case. God is always orchestrating all events to execute the counsel of His will. And He's never been on plan B. q. What response does that require from His children? 2.) [Slide 14] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must trust the Lord. a. We must trust the Lord that His promises are true. b. Not only has Jesus Himself assured Paul that he must go to Rome to share the gospel there. God also had given the promise that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. c. And that verse, Romans 8:28 was penned by Paul under the inspiration of God only a few years before this. d. And no matter how much injustice - even if this was as 15 year wait – Paul has no other option but to trust the Lord. e. I would wager that part of the reason God planned for Paul to be in prison for two years under the unjust Felix was to test and strengthen Paul's faith. f. We too may find ourselves in situations with unjust judges and unjust magistrates who are swayed by money, power, lust, greed, or various other gods. Rulers who rather than fulfilling the laws of justice from God Himself, instead cast His justice aside for their own gain. g. In these cases, we must trust that even this breach of justice is part of God's plan for us… which has our good and His glory guaranteed. h. Not only should we trust the Lord in situations like this, but we should also 3.) [Slide 15] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must use every opportunity to preach the gospel. a. Notice that repeatedly Paul was brought before Felix. b. Rather than Paul using this as an opportunity to demand justice or continue to plead his innocence – Paul saw this as primarily an opportunity to share the gospel of Christ. c. If Paul was thinking selfishly or from an earthly temporal perspective, he might have been tempted to continue to try to defend himself. Instead, Luke records for us his continued efforts to share the gospel with Felix and Drucilla. d. And even though those efforts ultimately fell on deaf ears and dead hearts – God's gospel call went to both of them. e. We too must be more concerned about furthering the Kingdom of God and sharing the gospel then we are about personal justice and vindication. f. We must also notice something else that isn't always true… 4.) [Slide 16] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that it is always good to fight against injustice. a. Now let me be clear… b. We should not rejoice when injustice occurs. We should not be ok with people abusing their power that has been given to them by God to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. c. When judges and rulers do the opposite, God makes it very clear that He will judge them for this. d. And at times and in appropriate and legal ways we should voice our concerns about the abuse of power and injustice. e. There is, after all, no King but Jesus. And our civil magistrates need to know that they are not gods but are given their power by God and that they should use it in fear of His justice. f. But just because we are unhappy with rulers abusing power and becoming tyrants, does not mean we can sacrifice our primary calling to be salt and light in this world and to show forth the good works our Father has foreordained for us to do so that others may see them and glorify Him. g. Being displeased with injustice does not necessarily mean we rise up against it. h. Paul didn't fight against the injustice against him. He used his rights when he had to, like when he claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. i. But here we do not find any hint that Paul demands justice or to be released from prison. j. Instead, he lives a godly life before his jailors and preaches the gospel to Felix as often as he would allow it. k. We too must be careful that when we fight injustice we aren't doing it to the detriment of the greater Kingdom that is coming. May we seek God's Kingdom first and not some earthly kingdom. l. Because notice how Paul got here in the first place… m. How was it that Paul made it to this stalemate limbo? n. It was because Christians had a reputation of being peaceful and civilly responsible. 5.) [Slide 17] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must maintain a reputation of peace and civil responsibility as followers of Christ. a. Christians had a history of not being the rebellious types. b. They were not riot-makers. They were not rabble rousers. They were not those who stir the crowd up. c. Jesus had one Zealot among his apostles. Simon. Just one out of 12. And during the Zealot uprising, most of the Christians had fled Jerusalem rather than participating. d. Christ told the disciples to take 2 swords for 12 men. He told them, it was enough. Enough for defense – but not necessarily for offense. e. I am convinced that we Christians must have a reputation of being at peace with all people. That we must pursue peace so that we can live a quiet life of godliness. f. The fight of the church is against spiritual kingdoms not against earthly injustices. g. There certainly is some cross over there. But we must be people who are known to be civilly responsible and peaceful. h. So much so that when we do actually resist something, it is because we have reached the end of accommodation and peacemaking and have been forced to choose between a direct command of God and a direct command of men. i. In that instance we passively obey. Meaning we obey God but submit to whatever punishment the civil magistrate hands to us for violating their unjust law. j. This is the ONLY example we have in scripture. k. Christ followers should be known as peaceful and responsible people. 6.) [Slide 18] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Though the gospel is truly good news, it is only good to those who truly understand and fear the bad news. a. At the heart of the gospel presentation to Felix and Drucilla were the truths recorded that we might call the bad news that comes before the good news. b. The gospel is said to be good news, but it is only good to those who have believed the bad news. c. The bad news is that God demands righteousness, that is right living and justice. He demands self-control, that is love of others as you already love yourself. d. Furthermore, the gospel comes with the threat that God is always just and will judge according to an established standard. He will not allow any who are unrighteous or lack self-control to enter His Kingdom. e. What a terrifying piece of news. God will judge any who are not righteous and who are not completely self-controlled. f. Anyone who has ears to hear just heard that all people are going to be rejected by God. Because no one is righteous and no one is self-controlled. g. That should be terrifying to everyone. h. So, my friends. Don't be like Felix. Don't say – we'll talk about it some other time preacher. i. I know I'm not righteous and I can't control myself- but when I have time we will talk about that further. j. We can talk later about faith in Jesus. k. I don't feel comfortable talking about it now. l. Let me think on it a bit. m. DON'T BE LIKE FELIX. n. If you are terrified by the Justice of God… then don't wait. Come find an Elder who can tell you more about His justice and His ability to Justify. [Slide 19(end)] Let me close with a prayer by the English Reformer William Tyndale who was burned at the stake for translating the bible into English. Lord, since you are Father and King over all, and we are your children, make us obedient to seek and to do your will, as the angels do in heaven. May none of us seek our own will, but all yours. But if rulers command what is contrary to your will, then help us to stand fast by your word, and to offer ourselves to suffer rather than to obey. You know everything, Lord. Your son Jesus gave us an example when he desired (if it had been possible) that that cup of bitter death might have departed from him, saying, "Yet not as I will, but as you will.” So if we pray to you in our temptations and adversities, and you see a better way to your glory and our profit, then your will be done—not ours. It is in Jesus' name we pray this, amen. Benediction: May the God who's watchful eye never sleeps; The God of wonders, power and love; May He keep your feet from falling, And make your thanks endless be, Until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Until we meet again, go in peace.

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelisThe Apostles Peter and Paul are the two Princes of the Apostles, the foundations of the Church, on which she is firmly established as on a rock. This feast is almost entirely devoted to St Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the great Apostle of the Gentiles being more specially honored on June 30th. The lessons and prayers of this Mass describe how his Lord and Master Jesus Christ prepared the fervent Aostle, St Peter, for the supreme office of the Papacy. After the Descent of the Holy Ghost St Peter preached the Gospel in Judea and was cast into prison by Herod Agrippa. He was miraculously delivered by an Angel and established his see first at Antioch, and then finally at Rome, where the first pope exercised for twenty-five years the Supreme Authority vested in him by Christ Himself. He was arrested, and like St Paul suffered martyrdom A.D. 65. This feast marks the day of the translation of their relics.

Being around Jesus isn't the same as knowing Jesus. We can know scripture, we can go to church, but it's our heart that God is seeking above all else. For the next stop in our series "When Jesus Ruined My Life," we see how frutiless knowledge can be without the boldness to step out in faith.

Title: The Lawyer Vs. The Tentmaker Text: Acts 24:1-21 FCF: We often struggle defending ourselves with wrong motives or beliefs. Prop: Because God's providence includes wicked people accusing His children falsely, we mut not fear for ourselves but defend the gospel against attack. Scripture Intro: ESV [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 24. In a moment we'll begin reading in the English Standard Version starting from verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last time we saw Paul delivered safely from a plot on his life. Now this Roman prisoner has been transported to Caesarea to face his accusers before the governor of Judea, Antonius Felix. But Paul is still not out of danger. What will the apostle face in this trial? Will Felix be reasonable? Will his accusers even show up? Let's look. Stand with me to give honor to and focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Creator and Designer of the Universe and all that is within it, we humbly come before You today to seek clarity. We often face the ridicule, mockery, and disdain of those who are deceived. We often are slandered and maligned, labeled with unkind and unfair labels. Yet we confess and believe that You, our Lord, are the Designer and Maker of all that is. We confess that You have promised that all things work for the good of Your people. And so we must confess that even these things are for our good. Help us Lord to learn from Your servant Paul today. Help us to trust Your infallible plan. We pray this in Jesus' name Amen. Transition: Let us get right to the text this morning to find out what happens to Paul in Caesarea. I.) God's providence includes wicked people accusing His children falsely, so we must not fear false accusations. (1-9) a. [Slide 2] 1 - And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. i. Although the Chief Priests, the Elders, and the Sanhedrin were ready to execute a scheme to kill Paul with very little preparation, to actually bring a Roman suit against Paul would be far more difficult than simply killing him. ii. Paul stayed in Herod's Praetorium for 5 days while Ananias gathered some Elders who would go with him as well as one other important member of their entourage. iii. Although the ESV calls him a spokesperson here, more likely, as other translations indicate, Tertullus was an attorney specializing in Roman Law. iv. His name is Latin, so we recognize that he is probably not a Jew. Certainly not a Jew from Judea. v. So, in the 5 days between Paul's move to Caesarea and his accusers actually arriving, they have been quite busy. vi. They have hired an attorney and have formed their Roman case against Paul. vii. So, what is their case? viii. Well before we get to hear about that, Let's spend some time talking about Felix. Afterall, that is how Tertullus starts his prosecution of Paul. b. [Slide 3] 2 - And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 - in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 - But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. i. Although it would be easy to see this as Tertullus' attempt to butter up Felix, we should recognize that Tertullus is a professional orator and attorney. Nothing he says in these opening remarks are without some purpose. ii. Certainly, part of that purpose would be to ingratiate Felix to their cause. iii. We actually still have some of this in our legal system. We refer to the judges as “Your Honor” and it is generally wise to be on the good side or at least not be on the BAD side of a judge even in our legal system. iv. But Tertullus has built a legal case against Paul and everything he says to Felix about Felix is designed to bring stark contrast between the judge and the accused. To the extent that for the judge to find Paul guilty is because Paul is the opposite of Felix. v. In the text we see a great many things spoken that present Felix in quite the positive light. vi. But what do we know about this man? Was he really a good governor? How long did he serve? And what was his track record? vii. Much of what we know about Antonius Felix is taken from the Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish historian Josephus. viii. Although their accounts of the man are not completely consistent on some details, the fact of the matter is that largely both historians agree on a few key facts. 1. First, Felix was formerly a slave along with his brother Pallas. a. Pallas was a friend and confidant of the Emperor Claudius and was freed from slavery by Cladius' mother. b. Along with Pallas Felix too was freed. c. So his freedom was given on account of someone else. 2. Second, Felix married three times in his life. And because of those marriages he advanced in power and authority. a. His first wife was the daughter of Marc Antony and Cleopatra and his third wife was Drucilla the daughter of Herod Agrippa the First. b. So, once again, because of others he advanced into positions he did not earn. 3. Third, in the situation we spoke of a few weeks ago where Ananias, the high priest of Israel, was sent to Rome for excessive brutality against the Samaritans – you guessed it, Felix was in the middle of this too. a. The man who was governor of Samaria at that time took all the blame instead of Ananias. He was exiled. And guess who took his place? Yep. Felix. b. Again, he was given a position, he did not earn. 4. Finally, both Josephus and Tacitus agree that Felix' governing of the province was marked by increasing unrest and brutality. a. Tacitus says “with savagery and lust he exercised the powers of a king with the disposition of a slave.” b. In AD 55 he put down an Egyptian man who claimed to be the Messiah. We've already talked about this some since Paul was thought to be that man by Lysias. c. Felix put down this Egyptian with mercilessness and brutality. d. And generally speaking, the Jews hated Felix. He continually did things to frustrate them and took rather liberal approaches to their laws. This infuriated especially the Pharisees who had a rather conservative view of scripture. ix. So, in light of this background, what are we to make of Tertullus' words about Felix? x. He says that they are thankful to Felix because he has brought much peace and many reforms. xi. Either Tertullus is just lying or, what is more likely, is that this just shows us the cunning and wickedness of Ananias and the spiritual leaders of Israel. xii. Even though Felix was merciless, savage, and brutal being recognized by even Roman historians as being barbaric – Ananias had no issues with his rule. And that is kind of that problem, right? xiii. Ananias and Felix are two peas in a pod. xiv. Furthermore, the attributes ascribed to Felix are the exact opposite of the charges they are about to bring against Paul. xv. So, what are those charges? c. [Slide 4] 5 - For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world i. Felix is described as a bringer of peace, but Paul is described as a plague. A blight. One who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world. ii. This first charge against Paul is a rather unfair assessment of Paul's history over his missionary journeys. iii. Paul certainly had been involved in a number of riots and angry mobs but we can accurately say that he never instigated them nor did he perpetuate them. iv. In many cases we see Paul leave a city, many times by his own choosing, in order to avoid further unrest. v. We also would point out that it was actually the Jews in every case who started the aggression then hunted Paul down following him from city to city in order to continue to stir people up against him. vi. So, this first charge is exactly backward. Paul incited no riots… the Jews simply hated what he said so much that THEY stirred up people against him. vii. And there is a good bet that Felix knows that this is actually the way it was. Why? viii. The Jews were notorious for causing riots and issues in the Roman Empire for decades. Since before the Romans even controlled Judea. ix. We should also observe how absolutely insignificant this charge is to Paul or Felix at this particular time. x. Even if it were true that Paul started riots in various parts of the Roman Empire, that really has no bearing on this trial before Felix. xi. Even if Felix wanted to find him guilty, he would have to investigate reports from various locations about these incidents. xii. This is why Paul's defense focuses on what has happened in the last few days not in the last several years. Because that is all Felix can really focus on anyway. xiii. But this charge has done its damage. It has compared Felix the peacemaker to Paul the troublemaker. xiv. Paul is starting riots everywhere and Jerusalem is just another in a long list. xv. As we know, Rome doesn't look too kindly on rabble rousers and riot makers. That he is a riot-starting-plague is a serious charge against him. xvi. What is the next charge? d. [Slide 5] and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. i. A second charge brought against Paul is connected to the first. ii. Paul instigates these riots among the Jews because he is the ringleader or peddler of the heresy known as Nazarene. iii. This charge comes somewhat closer to being an issue Felix must deal with since Rome had granted Judaism a special status among religions that could be practiced in the Roman Empire. iv. If the Nazarene teaching of The Way is indeed a heresy of Judaism, then it would not have the same freedoms that Judaism had been given. v. But is Paul really the ringleader? vi. As Paul will go on to testify in future trials, the ringleader is very clearly the Risen Jesus of Nazareth. He is merely a servant of this Jesus. vii. But the fact that he is the leader of this heresy is actually a secondary matter. Paul will go to great lengths in his response not to combat the idea that he is the leader of this group but to deny that it is a heresy of Judaism. We'll get there in a few minutes. viii. Tertullus said that Felix had, through masterful providence, designed many reforms which reinterpreted cultural and religious laws for the better of the people. But Paul is charged with being a leader of a heresy that leads to nothing but riots and unrest. e. [Slide 6] 6 - He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. i. Here is the final charge laid to Paul and it is also related to the previous two. ii. Paul is a plague and incites riots among the Jews because he is the ringleader of the Nazarene Heresy and the proof of that is that he tried to profane the temple with his heretical teachings. iii. This is the charge that could really get him killed. iv. Roman practice throughout the empire was to support the worship of local deities and the prevention of the desecration of any temples or gods. v. They were remarkably syncretistic. And although the Romans did not generally allow the Jews to execute their criminals. When it came to temple desecration the Romans would allow them to execute those who violated their law. vi. So here we see the Jews are fighting for their right to protect their own temple and enforce their own religious laws. vii. This is what is at stake. viii. Felix knows this. ix. If this charge is proven to be true, and Felix does not allow the Jews to execute Paul… then tensions would no doubt continue to rise between Rome and the Jews. x. This is as much a political move as it is a legal one. xi. Of course, what they failed to bring with them is evidence and witnesses… something Paul will point out in his defense. f. [Slide 7] [We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7 But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.] i. Every word on the screen is omitted from most modern translations of the bible. Some put the text in brackets with a foot note explaining that there is doubt about the inspiration of these words. ii. It boils down to textual criticism and understanding how we harmonize manuscripts from different times and in different manuscript families. iii. Within the discipline of textual criticism there are several rules or guidelines we follow to determine which manuscripts are closer to the original autographs. iv. [Slide 8] In this particular case, every rule points to this section not being written originally by Luke. v. Most likely it was added in at a later date to attempt to provide commentary on how the Jews may have seen the events unfold. g. [Slide 9] 8 - By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” i. The final point that Tertullus makes is to abdicate their role as accusers to produce any evidence for their claims and grant that to Felix. ii. This is actually not all that uncommon in Roman cases. iii. As we study Roman culture, Felix would have had absolute authority to not only do the work of Judge and jury but also to do the work of detective. iv. And Tertullus is saying that if Felix cannot substantiate their claims against Paul by interrogating him, then it is Felix's failure to interrogate him properly. v. And here we see some subtle pressure put on a man that everyone knows doesn't deserve the position he is in. h. [Slide 10] 9 - The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so. i. Again, this clues us in to the fact that Tertullus is probably not Jewish. ii. If he was, we are left to wonder who these Jews are. iii. But because he wasn't, the Jews present at this trial are the High Priest and the Elders who had made the journey to Casarea to accuse him. iv. In any case, it seems like the case is closed. v. There are three charges, all of them with serious consequences if they are found to be true. vi. All Felix has to do is say the word and Paul will die. i. [Slide 11] Summary of the Point: What is God's will for Paul? It has been revealed to him by Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus came to him that night in the barracks of the Anatolian Fortress, just after the debacle of the Sanhedrin trial. Jesus told him that he must have courage because just like he bore witness to the gospel in Jerusalem, he must go and do the same in Rome. God is getting Paul to Rome. And yet we see in this text a top-notch attorney has just laid out three charges against Paul all of which could earn him serious penalties and even death. Paul's life hangs on a thread. But we know better. It isn't just that God will prevent this from keeping Paul from going to Rome… but my friends as the weeks go on we will see that these charges will actually serve to get Paul to Rome. Once again, we are reminded that the providential and sovereign hand of God is always working all things according to the counsel of His will. There is nothing that happens that He has not already foreordained. So what does that mean for us? We must not fear what wicked men say about us when they slander us and accuse us falsely. Transition: [Slide 12 (blank)] So what does not fearing men's false accusations look like? If Paul is given a chance to speak, will he just quietly say, “I am trusting the Lord to bring me to Rome safely.” And then sit down? Let's see what Paul does. II.) God providence includes wicked people accusing His children falsely, but we must make a defense of the hope that we have in us. (10-21) a. [Slide 13] 10 - And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. i. Paul is invited by the governor to speak. Felix needs to hear his side of the case, especially since Tertullus invited Felix to examine him. ii. Paul begins by acknowledging Felix's last decade of service in the area. iii. Because he has had such a long tenure, Paul feels confident and even happy to bring his defenses before him. Hoping that he will be reasonable. b. [Slide 14] 11 - You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 - and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. i. Paul pivots and exploits the failure in the first charge against him. ii. Their charge was he had caused riots all over the Roman Empire with Jews. iii. However, Paul points out that he did not do so in Jerusalem only 12 days ago. iv. In this he recognizes that Felix has no jurisdiction or concern about things that have happened in the distant past in other provinces. v. What he is concerned about is what has happened most recently in his province. vi. And most recently, Paul did not cause any issues in the temple, in the synagogues or even in the city itself. vii. Further Paul invites Felix to verify this. viii. There is some question about how to interpret Paul's 12 day comment. We can talk about it more on Thursday, but the best way to see it is as if Paul was saying, “I only spent a total of 12 days in Jerusalem, which isn't enough time to start a riot.” ix. In this way, Paul effectively defeats their first charge. x. They say that I am a plague and a riot maker among the Jews. xi. But I spent 12 days in Jerusalem and neither had time to start a riot nor can they produce one witness to accuse me of stirring up crowds in the temple, the synagogues or even in the city itself. xii. In other words, if this is all related to me being some kind of heretical religious zealot, I am doing a pretty poor job at peddling my beliefs. c. [Slide 15] 13 - Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. i. Paul confronts the other two charges against him with the same general statement. ii. They are unable to prove anything that they have accused him of. iii. They cannot prove that he is the ringleader of the Nazarene heresy, nor can they prove that he attempted to desecrate the temple. iv. But Paul doesn't want to allow them to get away with calling those who follow Jesus, heretics. d. [Slide 16] 14 - But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 - having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16 - So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. i. This is actually a brilliant defense used in some of the more famous Roman cases we have documented. ii. The person without admitting to a crime does confess something about themselves that vindicates them. iii. What is Paul saying? iv. Although I am certainly a follower of The Way, The Way is not a heresy of Judaism, but is rather the next step in Judaism. v. It is verified by the law and the prophets which spoke of this time in Judaism where the Messiah would come and give a New Covenant. vi. And a key part of that New Covenant is the belief that both the just and the unjust will be raised from the dead. vii. Now it is clear that Ananias would not believe in the resurrection. He was a Sadducee. viii. But some of the Elders Ananias brought with him no doubt were Pharisees. ix. Really his defense here is that he has not created a heresy of Judaism or another faith altogether, instead he is following what has been prophesied… the real Judaism is following Jesus of Nazareth because He died and rose again just as He said He would. x. And in this way Paul's conscience is clear. He is not doing this for money, for power, or prestige, but because the Fathers of Israel and the prophets spoke of this long ago. e. [Slide 17] 17 - Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18 - While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— i. Again, Paul is just clearly proclaiming that he is Jewish. ii. After several years being away, he came to give to the poor (probably the financial relief package he had collected from Asian and Greek churches to bring to the church of Jerusalem). iii. It was while he was being a good Jew, having been purified, in the temple, a place he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do, that they found him. iv. And there were no crowds around him or tumults at all. v. Until what? vi. Until some Jews from Asia. vii. But that's the problem right. viii. Paul actually interrupts himself here… f. [Slide 18] 19 - they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. i. Absent from these witnesses are the Jews who actually stirred up the crowd against Paul. ii. Where are they? iii. Tertullus wasn't in the temple that day. Ananias wasn't in the temple that day. The Elders of Israel weren't there. iv. Where are the Jews from Asia who were there? Why are they not present to make an accusation? v. Why indeed. vi. Paul is aiming for the dismissal of the case here. vii. How? viii. In Roman law, a witness who abandons their responsibility to bring an accusation against someone in court would actually be guilty of a crime themselves. ix. In that case the charges levied without a plaintiff are dismissed and in most cases the trial is dismissed as well. x. But if the charges against him weren't seen personally by the Jews present, what is their experience with Paul? What crimes have they observed him do? g. [Slide 19] 20 - Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 - other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.' ” i. Paul points out that these men should speak concerning what they found him guilty of at the trial before the Sanhedrin. ii. And there lies the rub. iii. That trial was a debacle. iv. They broke out into a theological dispute and brought NO charges against Paul except for theological disagreements. v. Disagreements where SOME OF THEM even AGREED with Paul. It can't be heresy if some of the ruling religious council of Israel agree with what he says. vi. Certainly, at this trial of the Sanhedrin, they did not mention any of the charges which they brought to Felix this day. vii. The only thing they had against him was what he had said bout the resurrection of the dead. viii. Paul points out that the only reason he is on trial is because they want Rome to solve this sectarian dispute between the Jews and the Christians. ix. And that is a great defense… because Rome has no interest in doing that. x. Paul deftly points out in his defense that none of the charges he has been formally accused with were personally witnessed by anyone present at the trial that day. xi. What does that mean? xii. It means that this should be… case dismissed. It is actually a fairly easy decision for Felix to make. xiii. But… we'll wait until next week to find out what he decides. h. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: God is working in this trial. God is using the false accusations against Paul and really against Christianity to move Paul down the road to Rome. But Paul does not sit idlily by and trust the Lord passively. Instead, he actively trusts the Lord by giving a defense for the hope he has in him. Tertullus made a huge mistake, guided by God's hand. That mistake was to bring into the trial the reputation of followers of Jesus. If this trial was only about Paul… perhaps Paul remains more passive. But Tertullus makes this about the church and if he makes it about the church, he makes it about the gospel. Paul defends the gospel. He flips the script and explains how the followers of Jesus are rooted in the same scriptures and prophets that the Jews also claim and shows how he has not been the cause of trouble but that these Jews are making accusations that they are unwilling to back up in a trail setting. Thus, Paul provides a positive example that when we are falsely accused, we must give a defense for the hope we have in us. We must contend for the gospel. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today and how then shall we live? Whare are some basics of faith and practice we should observe through this. Basics of Faith and Practice: In many ways, knowing how the book of Acts ends helps us to understand the primary point of teaching or doctrine that Luke is revealing throughout all the events of Paul's journey to Rome. But verse 11 of chapter 23 is the interpretive guide for how we are to apply that doctrinal truth. God's providential hand is guiding Paul through many twists and turns to arrive in Rome at precisely the right time. Meaning that even this strong case against Paul raised with false accusations by a professional attorney is part of that plan God has for Paul. But Jesus' words to Paul help us to know what to do when we are in situations where we don't know the details of God's plan but do know the end of God's plan. God's plan for us, His children, those who are in Christ, is to save us from death and resurrect us to life eternal in His Son. And so our response to every threat, every false accusation, every bad thing we face must depend on those promises which the Lord has given us. In the text today we recognize two specific responses. First is to not fear false accusations of men. Other New Testament writers encourage us to continue living godly lives so that these accusations will bring shame to our accusers and glory to our God the Father. The second response is to defend the gospel from misrepresentations or false accusations. But let us seek to apply these things more specifically this morning. 1.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God's providence includes false accusations from wicked people. a. Through the church age, the forces of darkness, working in conjunction with man's natural wickedness, have levied countless false charges against God's people. b. Even a cursory reading of John Foxes' book of martyrs displays that through every age of the church wicked men have hunted down and within the legal government system brought to bear against God's children charges which they did not commit. c. Many times, this led to imprisonment, torture, and even death. d. If God is all knowing, He would have known of these plans of the wicked. e. If God is all powerful, he could have orchestrated events to keep His people from being in such a position. f. If God is all good, he would be highly motivated to not allow injustice to be executed upon His people. g. But because all these are true, we must conclude that God's hidden plan, which He has made since before the foundation of the world, even includes when people falsely accuse us of wrongdoing. h. Once again, I won't belabor the point, because it will continue to come up… i. But the only option we have as bible believing people is to affirm that God providentially orchestrates all events in our lives to accomplish His hidden will. j. Because we know He is all powerful, all good, and all knowing, this must be true. k. What does this mean for us? 2.) De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must not fear what wicked men may do through false charges and injustice. a. We as Americans have a particular hatred of injustice, impingement on our freedoms, or being labeled as guilty when we aren't. b. That is why our legal system was designed to assume the innocence of a person unless it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that we are actually guilty. c. Our culture is shifting to declare guilt and innocence by popular opinion rather than by a court of law, but there is still a tenacious desire in us to defend or prosecute those we feel are innocent or guilty. d. Along with this we might grow fearful or even angry when we are accused of something that we did not do. e. We have all heard stories of people who were convicted in a court of law for doing something which earned them a life sentence or even the death sentence, only to discover 20 years later new evidence that the person did not actually commit the crime. f. Stories like these fuel the fear that we might be misrepresented or even slandered for doing something we didn't do. g. But affirming that God providentially moves in all the events of life to accomplish the counsel of His will allows us to take a step back and do as Jesus instructs in the sermon on the mount. h. Rather than expressing fear or anger over false charges, we should instead rejoice for suffering these false accusations against us. We should rejoice for having the opportunity to suffer for the sake of Christ. i. We don't need to fear what men may do to us or what crazy schemes they may concoct to cancel us. j. We need only to trust the Lord who knows all our ways and has a plan that He has already accomplished to save us from this life and resurrect us to life eternal. k. Of course, God's sovereign decrees dwell in the paradox of human responsibility. And that is the nature of our next application. 3.) Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that trusting God's sovereign providential hand means to do nothing. a. Paul rises in defense here. b. We'll get to why he does this in a moment but for now let us just recognize that Paul acted. c. Paul did not sit back and decline to speak because he knew he would get to Rome since Jesus said it would be so. d. If God told us that we would go to Africa tomorrow and lead someone to Christ, but we never booked a flight or did anything to get ourselves there, well that is just plain disobedience. e. God telling us what will be does not give us liberty to do nothing. f. Instead, just like it always does, belief that God is telling the truth requires us to obey as if it is true. g. Because of this, if we are in the same position as Paul we must… 4.) Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must be ready to give a defense for the hope we have in us. a. While I cannot say that it is morally wrong or a sin to defend ourselves against false charges, I can say that we don't see that happening here for Paul. b. Not really. c. Paul doesn't debate that he isn't the ringleader of the Nazarene Heresy. He doesn't debate that he was involved in riots. d. But he does debate the charge that Christianity is opposed to God's law. Because that cannot be allowed to go unchecked. e. Paul very clearly outlines how he as a follower of Christ did not start a fight in Jerusalem, he was in the temple following the law. f. He says that The Way is rooted in the same Fathers and prophets that all his accusers believed in too. g. For the sake of the gospel and the reputation of Christ followers, Paul makes his defense. Certainly, this vindicates himself to some degree, but it is obvious his aim is greater than that. h. We too must be laser focused on what is important. i. Again, I do not think it is wrong to defend ourselves or even make a legal defense for ourselves if we are accused falsely. But, our primary goal in every instance in life is to make much of the gospel of Jesus Christ and if necessary, contend for it. j. Sadly, oftentimes we care more about defending ourselves than we do the gospel or our gospel witness. k. Natural man is well equipped to defend himself. And this is often our default setting. l. But it takes a spiritually mature person to defend themselves righteously and also prioritize the Kingdom of God in their defense. m. Paul strikes that perfect balance in our text today. And we must strive to emulate him. 5.) Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” In God's courtroom all men are judged by a perfect and just God. a. Though our courts have some of the fairest rules in place to assure that only the guilty are punished for their crimes, the fact of the matter is that the judicial system, even in this nation, is full of injustice. b. It may happen in our lives that we will be falsely accused and though we make a strong defense we are imprisoned or even killed for something we did not do. c. But the Christian worries little about this life. They know that in God's courtroom, the only courtroom that really matters, they will be declared righteous, not of themselves, but on the account of Christ who became their sin so that they might become the righteousness of God. d. We find comfort in the kingdom that is coming… not in the kingdom that is. 6.) Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” The gospel produces a law keeping and blameless church. a. Paul finds it especially necessary for followers of Christ to be known as people who follow the law of God and draw their teachings from the Fathers and the Prophets. b. In our time the gospel has been reduced to a magical prayer that you pray which God is somehow obligated to honor because you said the right words. c. But Paul defends the godly and noble character of the church. Why? d. Because God's true children are godly and holy people. e. In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about those who in the midst of being cast from his presence object on the grounds that they had done mighty works in his name. But Jesus still rejects them because as He says, I never knew you. f. And then the clincher… you lawless ones. Or you lawbreakers. g. You see although the gospel certainly tells us that we cannot earn God's grace or forgiveness and that only Christ can purchase our salvation…. The gospel also clearly teaches us that those who are truly saved are being conformed into the image of Christ. We are, as I said a moment ago, the righteousness of God. h. The fact of the matter is that no man will enter the kingdom of heaven if they purposefully continue to violate God's law. i. So, my friends, if you are here today and you have prayed a prayer – but your life is still lived intentionally violating God's law… then you must realize that you have no hope. j. Those whom the Lord has set free are free indeed. Meaning free not only from the penalty of sin but from its power as well. Let me close with a prayer recorded in the Didache (did-ah-kay) which is a very early record of church worship and teaching. We give thanks to you, Father, for your holy name which you made to dwell in our hearts. Thank you for the knowledge, faith, and immortality which you made known to us through Jesus your Son. To you be glory forever. You, Lord Almighty, created all things for your name's sake, and gave people food and drink for their enjoyment, that they might give thanks to you. And you have blessed us with spiritual food and drink and eternal light through your Son. Above all we give thanks to you that you are mighty. To you be glory forever. Remember your church, Lord, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love, and gather it together in its holiness from the four winds to your kingdom which you have prepared for it. For yours is the power and the glory forever. Let grace come and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If any one is holy, let them come! If any one be not, let them repent. Maranatha-our Lord, come! We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Benediction: May the Lord of Hosts be with you So that you will become greater and greater still, Until you receive that crown of life Which the Lord has prepared for those that love Him. Until we meet again, go in peace.

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com    Acts 12 6 The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. 7 Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. 9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn't realize it was actually happening. 10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. 11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It's really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” 12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” 15 “You're out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” 16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place. 18 At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn't be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.   Gods ways are not our ways…   Peter is out cold waiting to be executed…   It took a group of people praying… how is your church at that? How are your friends at that?   God broke the law by breaking Peter out of Jail.   Rhoda was so awestruck that she left Peter in the dark.   Peter though freed was wise enough to tell everyone to be quiet…    He was free, but also smart enough to get out of town.   God's plan does not seem fair or make much sense and even might seem cruel. Herod had the guards all executed for their role in this… fair, unfair.. its up to God to decide… we just follow orders of the Holy Spirit.    Did you ever think that maybe we limit God moving in our life because we want answers that are supernatural, but safe and in order?  God is not like that.

Title: Have Courage Text: Acts 22:30-23:11 FCF: We often struggle having the courage to share our faith when we face uncertain days. Prop: Because God's unfailing providential plan includes all events, we must courageously proclaim the gospel. Scripture Intro: NET [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 22. In a moment we'll begin reading in verse 30 and on to verse 11 of chapter 23 from the New English Translation. You can follow along in the pew bible or whatever version you prefer. Last week we saw Paul reviled by the sinful Jews and treated with respect by the pagan Romans. In these events we see God's providential hand accomplish His purposes. Even orchestrating the choices of men to compose His perfect story. Today the narrative will advance again in a new Episode. Paul will be granted a hearing before the spiritual leaders of Israel. But in a rare occurrence we will see the righteous character of Paul falter as he faces frustration at the ongoing spiritual rot of the Jews. We will also see the wisdom of Paul to lay a firm foundation for his defense in every trial he will face in the rest of the book. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Sovereign Lord, You are master of all things. You have decreed the end from the beginning and all things work to accomplish Your will and Your purposes. Indeed, there is nothing too small or too big that You have not already woven together and written for Your ends. In this grand story the gospel shines bright as the center of it all. And as one of Your servants once said, “The whole gospel is contained in Christ.” At the center of Your already written story, is Your Son. We pray that You would make much of this gospel to us today. That Your Spirit would enable us to see it clearly and preach it courageously. We pray this in Jesus' name… Amen. Transition: Let's get right to the text this morning. I.) God's providential plan includes unjust rulers; we must courageously proclaim gospel. (22:30-23:5) a. [Slide 2] 22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them. i. So, we see the predicament that the commander is in. ii. He tried questioning the crowd and got nothing. iii. He tried beating it out of Paul and to his horror, discovered that he had bound a Roman citizen. iv. While it makes sense that perhaps he should just ask Paul what the issue is, for whatever reason, he doesn't. v. Perhaps there is an assumption that Paul will not willingly incriminate himself? Perhaps he has tried to question Paul and he has kept silent. vi. What is clear is since Paul is a Roman citizen, this is now a Roman matter. But in order for the commander to send the matter to be judged in a Roman court, he must have a definitive charge from the Jews against Paul. vii. So, he releases Paul and arranges an audience for him with the Sanhedrin and the chief priests. viii. Hopefully the Sanhedrin will either dismiss their case against him or agree on formal charges. b. [Slide 3] 23:1 Paul looked directly at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.” i. If we would compare Stephen's defense before this same council and Paul's defense before the Jewish mob in chapter 22, we'd see a remarkably similar style. ii. Essentially the defense in each case begins with a look to the past to establish the innocence of the person in the present. iii. They are saying that it is not odd what I am doing, in fact there is a precedent for my actions. iv. This is clearly where Paul is going. He will probably move to remind this council of his zealousness in the pursuit of God and the law. v. His clarity of thought and determination of spirit. vi. In fact, he is probably going to show them that the only thing that deterred, interrupted, and circumvented him not being the exact same person he has always been was the experience he had on the Damasus road with Jesus of Nazareth speaking from heaven. vii. What begins with great promise is met with a strong and violent resistance. c. [Slide 4] 23:2 At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. i. There are some things we need to understand about the office of the High Priest in the first century and how that compared to the office in the Old Testament. 1. In the Old Testament, God chose to have the High Priest come from the line of Aaron exclusively. 2. As time went forward, Zadok, one of Aaron's ancestors, because of his unwavering loyalty to God and David and Solomon, became the chosen line from which the High Priest would come from that time forward. 3. In the Old Testament a high priest would serve for the duration of his life and then another would be appointed. 4. But during the 400-year silence where God did not give any Word to Israel, a group called the Maccabees began to normalize the granting of the role High Priest to… well… anyone. 5. As the Romans took over, they began appointing and removing Jewish High Priests to accomplish certain political objectives in the region. 6. Ananias was appointed High priest by King Herod Chalcis, the brother of Herod Agrippa the First. He appointed Ananias High priest around AD 47 and then died shortly thereafter. 7. Josephus, the Jewish historian records that Ananias was harsh, cruel, and greedy. 8. Indeed, in AD 52, right before Paul came back to Jerusalem between his 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys, the governor of Syria sent Ananias to Rome on charges of excessive violence toward the Samaritans. 9. Due to the influence of King Herod Agrippa II, Ananias was acquitted of these charges and returned to his office in Jerusalem. 10. It was no doubt because Ananias was a much better politician than he was a High Priest that he managed to keep his office for as long as he did. ii. Thus, when Paul is ordered to be struck here, we do not see this order coming from a holy and just man called by God to be His High Priest of Israel. iii. Instead, we see this come from a man who has a history of cruelty and violence. iv. A man put in his position by the wickedness and greed of men. v. And he orders Paul to be struck because he has already determined that what Paul is saying is a lie. d. [Slide 5] 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?” i. Paul reacts to being physically assaulted as you and I might react. ii. He gives a prophesy and it does come true. Ananias will be hunted down and murdered in his burning home by zealots at the beginning of the revolt in AD 66. iii. However, this prophesy doesn't seem to be spoken with a godly purpose. iv. In fact, it almost seems like a curse in God's name uttered in retaliation for a personal. v. And then he calls Ananias a whitewashed wall. vi. A wall pretending to be strong and fortified but only seems that way because the white wash hides the imperfections. vii. In other words, Paul calls him a hypocrite. viii. Why? ix. Paul calls Ananias a hypocrite because he is presiding over a trial to determine if Paul violated the law but in doing so Ananias violates the law by striking an accused person. x. The Paul we've seen throughout the entire book of Acts has never reacted this way to being persecuted or mistreated. xi. The most he has ever done was to refute false teaching and even demand justice from people who did not treat him as a Roman citizen. xii. And it is here we see the contrast. When Paul announces that he is a Roman citizen, the Roman commander, the Roman centurion, indeed every guard steps back in fear and seeks to treat him with the respect that he deserves and give him the legal rights he deserved as a Roman. xiii. But the High Priest, presiding over the Jewish ruling council called the Sanhedrin, cannot even afford a fellow Jew the rights guaranteed to a Jew. xiv. In a sense, the Romans were better at being Roman than the Jews were at being Jewish. xv. Why does Paul react so strongly? xvi. I think he is supremely disappointed and frustrated at the absolute corruption of the Jewish Spiritual Leadership. And he is fed up with it. And he lashes out. xvii. Counter to many scholars attempt to defend him, I do think Paul reacts in the flesh here. He is not like Jesus who did ask why he was struck but did not insult or curse those who struck him. xviii. Paul doesn't even act as he advises the Corinthians in chapter 4 of 1 Corinthians when he says that when we are cursed, we bless. xix. Paul succumbs to his flesh here out of frustration. Why? Because even the High Priest of Israel is wicked. e. [Slide 6] 23:4 Those standing near him said, “Do you dare insult God's high priest?” i. Here we see the reaction of those near him in this court room. ii. They are aghast that Paul would have the gall to insult the High Priest. iii. Was what Paul said not true? iv. Just because something is true of someone doesn't mean it is any less of an insult to say it to them, in public or in private. v. Also to pronounce judgment on a judge at your own hearing could be seen as an insult. An insult borne of not knowing your place or respecting the authority over you. vi. Paul's response to these men is somewhat of an enigma to us, so let's get to it. f. [Slide 7] 23:5 Paul replied, “I did not realize, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.' ” i. There are two basic points that Paul makes in his response to their protest. ii. First, he did not recognize the High Priest iii. Second, he quotes Exodus 22:28, which is listed in an assortment of miscellaneous laws with little connection between them. iv. So, the primary question of interpretation here is… is it really possible that Paul did NOT know that the person who ordered him to be struck was the High Priest? Wouldn't the High Priest be wearing different robes? Shouldn't Paul know who the High Priest is? Doesn't the fact that the man gave an order and it was followed seem to indicate that he was the High Priest? There are 4 basic views. I'll cover them more fully on Thursday Night. 1. Some scholars point to Paul's eyes as a continued issue. Paul did not recognize the High Priest because he could not see him. 2. Some scholars suggest that this was not a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin and because of this the High Priest was not wearing his robes. 3. Some scholars suggest that Paul simply did not know that Ananias was the High Priest. 4. Finally, other scholars suggest that Paul is being ironic with his statement. Meaning that Paul is saying he didn't know it was the High Priest because High Priest's don't act this way. v. Although each option has their strengths, each option has some significant weaknesses as well. vi. If I was forced to pick one, I'd lean more toward the ironic option. vii. But, in the end it seems best to leave this unanswered. viii. What we do know for sure is that Paul proves that he does know the law and is not intentionally violating it. He desires instead to please God as he tried to say before he got punched in the mouth. g. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: Although we know that God's plan is for Paul to go to Rome to preach the gospel, in the apostle's mind, this is still not certain. Remember what he told the disciples of Christ before coming to Jerusalem. That if God wanted him to, he is prepared to die for Jesus' name. Paul has no idea how this is going to end. And in the midst of that, he is put in a situation where those who are the religious leaders of Israel, who know the scriptures and have studied them thoroughly, are now in a position to hear the gospel from the lips of one who was formerly among them. All of that comes crashing down when after uttering his first sentence in this hallowed hall, Paul was struck in the mouth. Where should he seek justice when the religious leaders of Israel are unjust? Where should his hope be when his own kinsmen will treat him with less respect than pagans? Paul, in a rare moment of weakness, reacts in anger and frustration over unjust rulers allowed to treat him this way. He has forgotten how the providential hand of God includes unjust rulers. God uses, and orchestrates unjust rulers to accomplish His purposes. Paul corrects himself for his momentary lapse in character but he needs to get back to the reason he is there. He must courageously proclaim the gospel of Christ. Even in these hollow halls of whitewashed walls – he must proclaim the gospel to them. Should we ever be in a similar position, may we remember our primary objective. To give a defense for the hope we have in us. [Slide 9 (blank)] Transition: But one thing he most assuredly realizes because of this interaction, is that he will NOT get a fair trial by this court. And that is why he changes his tactics in the next scene. II.) God's providential plan includes theological opposition; we must courageously proclaim gospel. (6-10) a. [Slide 10] 6 Then when Paul noticed that part of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, he shouted out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” 7 When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) i. Using a rather well-known tactic for defense, Paul decides to sow a little chaos by dividing the council. ii. Paul looks up and notices that the council has both the Pharisee party and the Sadducee party represented among them. iii. We've talked about their primary differences several times before but Luke takes the time to show Theophilius the exact reason that Paul's comments would have elicited such a reaction. iv. The Sadducees only believed that the Pentateuch (The first five books of the bible) was the authoritative Word of God. They denied that there was ever a resurrection of the dead or that after death a person would become an angel or a spirit of some kind. They insisted upon annihilation. v. But the Pharisees affirmed the whole Old Testament as God's Word, they believed in miracles, in angels and spirits, and in the resurrection of the dead. vi. The divide between them was so sharp that it led to many disputes, some of which are recorded in the gospel accounts. vii. So, Paul starts a fight. viii. But we have to ask the question here… Is Paul lying? ix. He shouts that the reason he is on trial is because he is a Pharisee and that he believes in the hope of the resurrection. x. But… that isn't true. Is it? xi. In fact, it is abundantly true. xii. Paul pivots the entire trial to the REAL reason that he is there. He remembers that although he won't get a just and fair trail, that isn't why he is there in the first place. xiii. Although the Jews from Asia accused him of speaking against the law, the people, and the temple, the real reason he is there is because his opponents hate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Something he now has a unique opportunity to proclaim. xiv. So, Paul has three objectives in claiming to be a Pharisee and stating he is on trial because he believes in the resurrection of the dead. 1. His first objective is to gain allies. a. Paul claims to be of the Pharisee party. b. The New Testament scriptures never record for us anywhere that a Sadducee ever came to Christ in conversion. c. In Acts 15 we see that there was an entire group within the church who were comprised of former Pharisees. d. That doesn't necessarily mean that no Sadducee converted. e. But Christianity is MUCH MORE compatible with the Pharisee's perspective on doctrine. f. To the extent that the teachings of Christ's death, burial, resurrection, ascension and future return are not at all compatible with the Sadducee party's doctrine. g. In order to confess Christ, a Sadducee would first need to reject their beliefs. h. So, in some ways, Paul is a Pharisee. i. So, the council is immediately not united against him any longer. 2. His second objective is to end the trial. a. The High Priest has made it clear that this trial is not going to be about establishing clear accusations against Paul. b. It will instead be designed to destroy Paul any way they can. c. If Paul is interrupted by being struck every time he says something the High Priest disagrees with, this will be a long and painful trial. d. So, Paul needs this trial to end. Now. e. The quickest way to do that is to throw a theological grenade in the middle and let them clamor over it. f. Since he is still a prisoner of Rome, he knows this will stop the trial. 3. His third objective is to make the gospel the center of every future Roman trial. a. Paul wisely pivots the entire dispute to be about the main issue. b. The gospel of Jesus Christ. c. This assures him that not only will he go before Roman judges over a purely religious issue and not a legal one… which means barring any injustice in the law, he will be released. d. But also, it means he will have legal right to proclaim the gospel to every Roman judge he encounters since it will include discussion about the resurrection of the dead. xv. So, Paul is not lying about what the trial is about. Because it is most certainly about the resurrection of the dead, meaning Christ crucified, risen, and coming again to reclaim His people. xvi. His statement here is a brilliant way to make the gospel the center of the trials that are to come. b. [Slide 11] 9 There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” i. Paul's gambit pays off. There was a great commotion and he actually gains unlikely allies. ii. The Pharisees and their experts in the law say they find nothing wrong with Paul. iii. Then they suggest that it is entirely possible that an angel or spirit spoke to Paul. iv. This suggests to us that members of the Sanhedrin were present during Paul's first defense to the Jewish mob. v. The Pharisees are willing to entertain the possibility that Paul was met on the road to Damascus by something… not the risen Messiah, not Jesus the second person of the godhead, but perhaps an angel or a spirit. vi. In this way they simultaneously advocate for their theological position while also not believing the Jesus heresy. As a byproduct of this, they exonerate Paul. vii. This, however, doesn't quite settle the matter… c. [Slide 12] 10 When the argument became so great the commanding officer feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, he ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks. i. The Pharisees would not have the majority view on the Sanhedrin. ii. If they did, the trial would have been over and Paul would have been released. iii. Instead, the Sadducees who held a clear majority continued to argue over the theological matter in question. iv. The Roman commander put Paul before the Sanhedrin hoping they would be able to dismiss or clarify the matter. v. But their fighting over doctrine has led the Romans to conclude that the issue with Paul has nothing to do with legal matters and everything to do with theological ones. Which is true. vi. But as they fight over these issues, it is incumbent upon the Roman Commander to protect his prisoner. vii. So, having received the reason for their treatment of Paul, he brings him back to the barracks and will begin the process of arranging for his next trial. d. [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: In this scene we see how God not only uses unjust rulers to accomplish His will, but He also uses theological disputes to accomplish His will too. God uses this dispute between the Sadducees and the Pharisees to ensure that Paul goes before Roman judges on trial for something they cannot find him guilty for, and in which he can proclaim the gospel as his defense. And that is exactly why Paul comes back to the reason he is there and brings the issue to the surface. He isn't there to dispute these doctrinal issues – but he is there to make this all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We too should look for ways to turn, even difficult situations to a proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Transition: [Slide 14(blank)] God uses so many things to accomplish His will that we should trust Him without question. But He knows we are weak. And oftentimes, He aids us by supplying clear promises of purpose and plan. In this final scene of this episode, we'll see Christ do just that for Paul. III.) God's providential plan will not be undone, we must courageously proclaim gospel. (11) a. [Slide 15] 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Have courage, i. After all of the dust settles and Paul spends another night in the barracks, the Lord Jesus comes to Paul again. ii. Jesus stands next to him and tells him… commands him… to have courage. iii. We've seen Paul courageously get up after being stoned and go right back into the city. iv. We've seen Paul courageously face down several Jewish mobs and imprisonments. v. We've seen him courageously go to Jerusalem knowing that he would be imprisoned and suffer for Jesus. vi. He even said that if it was the Lord's will for him, he was not afraid to die for Jesus' name. vii. But today, Paul proved that he was afraid of something. viii. Paul was afraid of his life ending before he completed his race. ix. In 2 Timothy, when Paul faced his second imprisonment by the Romans in Rome. And he was soon to go before Nero and be judged. Almost certainly facing death – he wrote to Timothy and assured him that he was ready to die because he had fought the good and worthy and noble fight, and that the has finished the race and kept the faith. x. But that was after he had completed what Jesus said he would. xi. Today - Paul is afraid. He is afraid that he will stumble before the end. That his life will not accomplish what God has planned for it to. xii. On this night, Jesus stands next to him and provides to him what he needs. xiii. First… a command. xiv. Be courageous. Don't be afraid. xv. Why? b. [Slide 16] for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” i. I haven't forgotten my plan for you. ii. You have borne witness to me in this city. iii. You have testified before men what I have said. iv. You have preached the gospel. v. You have kept the faith and fought the good fight. vi. Don't be afraid… because you must go to Rome. vii. Why? viii. So, you can do the same thing there. ix. Do not be afraid. Be courageous Paul. x. My will will be done. c. [Slide 17] Summary of the Point: God uses various means to accomplish His will. Many of them surprise us because they include evil and unjust people doing evil and unjust things which eventually lead right back to what God wants to happen. But the long and the short of it is that God's providential plan will come about. It will not be broken. It cannot be undone. Jesus assures Paul – You must testify about me in Rome. Not you might. Not you could. You WILL! Everything that happens is a means God has used to accomplish His purposes. So, what is the only response? Courageously proclaim the gospel. Paul you are going to do it… so go and do it courageously. We too should go and courageously proclaim the gospel because our Lord has assured us that the Kingdom is coming and that He is returning. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC and how then shall we live? What are some basic principles we can take away informing our faith and commanding our practice? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 18] Luke continues to develop the theme of God's providence working in various ways to accomplish His will for His church. This last act of the narrative has focused on Paul's going to Jerusalem and then on to Rome. The connective tissue of all this is in verse 11 when Jesus tells Paul overtly to have courage because just as he has proclaimed the gospel in Jerusalem, he must and will do the same in Rome. This becomes our primary lesson of practice. We must courageously continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ no matter where we are in life. But all of this is predicated on the fact that God providentially leads all things to accomplish His will. Luke has demonstrated in this episode specifically that God's appointment of unjust rulers and even theological opposition are all orchestrated and used of God to accomplish His purpose. Indeed, part of Jesus' words in verse 11 to Paul are to guarantee him that he will preach the gospel in Rome. Essentially Jesus sums all this up by telling Paul that the providential plan of God cannot be undone and that all things work to accomplish His purpose. And that purpose for Paul is for him to preach the gospel in Rome. Once again, Luke forces us to see an abundantly practical side to the absolute sovereignty of God. But let me try to help you see those practical things. 1.) [Slide 19] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God even uses Opposition and Injustice to accomplish His will. a. In this text we clearly see God use unjust rulers and theological opposition to accomplish the purpose of Paul going to Rome with the gospel. b. The amazing part is that Paul is still two and a half years away from setting foot in Rome. c. Isn't that wild? d. Paul has really just begun this journey to Rome. But Jesus assures him, that he will go and proclaim the gospel. e. We won't linger long on this this morning, but we must again recognize that God's decreed and perfect will cannot be thwarted by anything men do. f. In fact, all things work together to accomplish that good and perfect will. From the insignificant all the way to wickedness and everything in between. g. There is not one rogue molecule in God's creation. There is not anything that God has left to chance or to a free choice of even one member of His created order. h. Isaiah 46:10 teaches us that God has decreed, published, declared or proclaimed the end from the beginning. This is a cohesive novel that God has already written. We are characters in this play. i. Though we experience the play in real time and have the very real perception of freedom of choice and agency, so much so that God holds us accountable for what we choose to do – at the same time, nothing happens that God has not already determined. j. Even God's opponents are Opponents He owns and has designed to accomplish His will. k. We must confess this – otherwise we have a very puny god indeed. l. We must also… 2.) [Slide 20] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God's Sovereignty is the necessary backdrop for proclaiming the gospel courageously. a. If God has left even one man, truly free, and able to freely choose to do things that He did not plan, then we as believers must live in fear of that one person no matter who they are, because at any moment the plan of God could be toppled by their freedom to do what God has not willed them to do. b. Jesus has no right to declare to Paul that he should have courage. Because that one person could prevent Paul from preaching the gospel to Rome. c. But skeptics of the teaching of God's absolute sovereignty do not settle for merely one man but that all men have absolute freedom to make their choices. d. Is Jesus saying have courage Paul because no matter what happens I'll make sure you get there? Or is Jesus telling him to have courage because He has willed him to be there? e. Indeed, looking at all that will happen to Paul over the next two and half years – if we take the first option we are left with a god that is quite puny indeed. He is able to run faster, hit harder, know more, and generally do more – but ultimately, he is little more than a demigod that just slightly better than humans at making sure he gets his way. f. But if we take the second option that Jesus has willed Paul to go to Rome, when we look at the next two and a half years we see that Romans 8:28 and Isaiah 46:10 assure us that Paul experienced all that he did as the plan which God had written for him from before the foundation of the world. g. Indeed, it is only the second option that leads us to any courage to continue our mission. h. If God wills it… then none can oppose it… and if none can oppose it…then how can I fear? 3.) [Slide 21] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that the primary mission of God's people is correcting social ills or theological opposition. a. This application is borne out of Paul's fleshly response and affects many Christians today as we seek to right the social wrongs or theological quagmires of our day. b. Paul was frustrated by the Spiritual leaders of Isarel being experts in the law and occupying such titles as High Priest, being so absolutely devoid of justice and mercy and goodness. c. Indeed, for a moment he cursed them for being hypocrites and demanded justice rather than injustice. d. After an apology, or at least a recognition of the law of God against cursing rulers – Paul refocuses on his primary mission. e. He starts a religious fight. Not to prove out the truth… but to get to the heart of the gospel and make sure it is the primary talking point in every trial that follows. f. Paul gets back on mission. g. And Christian we must get back on mission too. h. We do not exist in the United States of America to right all the country's problems. We don't need to know the scriptures only so we can cast down all the false teachings out there. i. My friends our primary mission is to make disciples – baptizing them and teaching them to follow Christ. j. We can be politically active, we can mourn injustice, we can defend the gospel against error – but these must play second fiddle to our primary mission. k. Which is what? 4.) [Slide 22] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must courageously proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, in season or out of season. a. In times when things are going good for us and in times when the world seems to be crashing down around us – the primary mission of God's people is the same. b. Make disciples. Proclaim the gospel c. Paul told Timothy later to preach the word in season or out of season. d. To be ready to proclaim the truth whether it was convenient or not. e. As far as opportunities to preach the gospel go, standing before a bunch of judges, Jewish and Roman, who could have you killed, doesn't seem to be like the ideal place to preach the gospel of Christ. f. I think we all could think of much less hostile environments to proclaim the gospel. g. But this is Paul's mission. And it is our mission. h. Most of the time our opportunities to proclaim the gospel risk very VERY little. Especially compared to Paul. i. But we have to ask ourselves – If I can't share the gospel when all I'd face is rejection… how can I ever hope to proclaim the gospel when I face death and torture? j. We must be bold in our witness. k. But not just with our words… With our actions too. 5.) [Slide 23] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must not allow uncertainty or irritation to compromise our character or witness. a. We understand Paul's plight. b. Until Jesus tells him in verse 11, he doesn't know what is going to happen in Jerusalem. He doesn't know what the outcome will be. c. But the moment he is put in the hands of the Sanhedrin, he is guaranteed that they will not let him go without snuffing him out. d. We too can become irritated and frustrated when we are uncertain about what is to come. e. We become worriers and can even get impatient and downright rude when we are in a position of uncertainty. f. And when we look to people who claim to be spiritually minded, and their advice or actions prove ungodly… we can get pretty cranky then too. g. What we must realize is that our knowing what is going to happen or the spiritual strength of others cannot be the basis for our holy living. h. The bedrock of faith and practice is Jesus Christ. To know Him in His death and resurrection is the core of being who He has called us to be. i. When we start depending on what we know will happen or on the spiritual strength of others… that's when failure is sure to follow. j. Paul failed in this text. He was not thrilled about being struck in the mouth and essentially called a liar. He was not happy that the supposedly spiritual people of Israel were still failing so badly. k. And for a moment he let it get to him. l. We must trust the Lord. We must be courageous and trust that He is our only hope. He is what gives us life abundant. m. Only then will we maintain holy lives when faced with uncertainty or the failure of others to do justly. 6.) [Slide 24] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored” The gospel of Jesus Christ centers on the resurrection of the dead. a. The resurrection of the dead is the keystone in the concept of the gospel. b. Not just because Jesus rose from the dead, but because all who are in Christ will rise with Him. c. Sin and Death are the problem. d. Although there are many ills we face in society, in our lives personally, and bodily ailments – the greatest plight mankind faces is that we are born in sin and under the wrath of God as children of Satan. e. Satan being condemned as a vile sinner himself, and Satan earning eternal death for himself one day, he wields sin and death as a kamikaze pilot wields his plane. He too will be destroyed by these things. f. And he has succeeded in plunging all of mankind to share his fate. g. That is why we are born his children. Adam has joined him and in Adam we too have joined him. h. The effect of death is its finality. Which wouldn't be so terrible if it were not for sin. Sin is called the STING of death. Why? i. Because all who die… in sin… remain in sin. j. Sin separates us from God. Not in the sense that God can't be in the presence of it but in the sense that God is holy and anything unholy cannot abide His presence. k. And God's wrath is revealed against ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. l. Meaning what? m. Everything unholy will have God's wrath eternally revealed upon it. n. But what if sin could be killed? What if death was not final? o. Do you see what Jesus has done? By His death He has took away the sting of death which is sin. He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. p. By His resurrection he took away the finality of death being the first fruits of many brothers. q. The keystone of the gospel is the resurrection of the dead. Because in His death and resurrection Christ has defeated both sin and death for His people. And who are His people? Those who endure in turning from their sin and believing on Him. r. Do you want the sting of death removed from you? Do you want to live again? Not in an eternity called a second death… but in something called eternal… LIFE? s. If that is what you desire… don't leave this place this morning without talking to an Elder. We'd love to share with you more about what Jesus has done. [Slide 25 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs Lord, you have given me a portion in the world. You have given me credit and a reputation among others. But what is all this to me, if I am without Christ? If I do not have the one who gives grace to my soul, the one who is my all in all? Lord, you have taught me this day that the distance between you and me is so great that without a mediator, I perish forever. So whatever else you deny me, give me Jesus. It is in His name I pray this… Amen. Benediction: May the God who works wonders, Who has made His strength known among His people, And by His power redeemed them, May He be your joy and may He delight in you always Until we met again, go in peace.

View & Download NOTES This Sunday, May 11th, was Mother's Day. Interestingly, the background to our study in Acts 12 is that a prayer meeting is being held at the home of a mother -  John Mark's mother. It reminds us that so often in life, somewhere in the background a mom has been praying, and women have been faithfully praying not only for their families but for the family of God.  Acts 12 is a time of great persecution against the Christians in Jerusalem. One of the apostles, James, is executed by Herod Agrippa. Peter, the apostle, is arrested and faces the same threat. The Christians in Jerusalem are obviously rattled by these events. Yet, it's clear that God is not rattled at all. The God to whom we pray in times of deep crisis is clearly on the throne. His purposes are being advanced. He will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  Prayer is driven by an awareness that there is no event in our lives that is outside of the Father's providence and will not ultimately work for the glory of God and the good of His people. It's not the disciples who are at risk here but God's enemies. Prayer is meant to be a sanctuary for the people of God. It is a haven of rest in the storms of life where we are reminded that God has us and will not let us go.  This Sunday's message is called, Our Unshakable God. Let's come and sing, celebrate, and recalibrate our hearts around the truth that in our darkest moments and uncertain times, God is unshakable.  In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

In Acts 25 tells us that, when Festus was determined to send Paul to Jerusalem, the Apostle had no alternative but to make his appeal to Caesar. After a short period of time Festus conducts another hearing of Paul's matters. Festus was again seeking the favour of the Jews and at this time Paul announces that he would exercise his right as a Roman Citizen to be judged by Caesar. We then hear of Herod Agrippa and his wife Bernice visiting Caesarea and at this time Festus requests that they hear Paul's case as Festus was struggling with the wording of the charge to be made against Paul. Festus explains to Agrippa that in his opinion there was no commuting or a capital crime, but simply matters concerning Jewish law. With great pomp and ceremony Agrippa, Bernice and all the other dignitaries enter the judgment hall. Festus seeks Agrippa's view about the nature of the charge to appear on the letter to be sent to Caesar. Chapter 26 records Paul's defence and his earnest appeal to Agrippa to embrace the Christian cause. Paul tells his audience of his fervour for the Jewish way and his concerted opposition to Christianity. But when he was confronted by the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus everything changed. He tells the audience of his great commission and then knowing king Agrippa to be a man who read the prophets he appeals to the king to adopt the Christian belief. Festus, being embarrassed by the situation, attempts to finish the hearing immediately by declaring Paul to be mad due to his great learning. Paul was not to be silenced so quickly and continues to ask Agrippa whether he believes the prophets. Paul states plainly I know you believe them king Agrippa. At this point king Agrippa and all the dignitaries rise and leave with the king stating Paul's innocence.

Deuteronomy 28 verses 1 to 15 speak of the blessings that would accompany obedience to the ways of the LORD. Verses 16 to 68 speak of the punishment (curses) for disobedience – more than a threefold increase over the blessings. This in itself is an indication of the dominant direction that the nation of Israel would follow. Joshua no doubt picks up on this in the 24th chapter which gives his speech after the reading of Deuteronomy 27 and 28. The cursings contain prophecies about the holocaust which overtook the Jewish people in the middle of the twentieth century (particularly note verses 65-67). It is also interesting that there was no requirement for assent with the pronouncement of “Amen” after any of the blessings and cursings of chapter 28. The blessings tell of bountiful harvests, fruitful families and a guarantee of peace when the nation came to Jerusalem for worship. The cursed speak of droughts, adverse weather, poor crops, of being endlessly pursued by their enemies and of an incapacity to stand and fight against their foes. Song of Solomon 8 concludes the book. In the first 7 verses the bride continues to extol her well loved and highly desired husband. She says their mutual joys are like those of innocent children. These thoughts transport us in mind back to the innocence that was once in Eden before sin entered the world. These conditions will likewise characterise the kingdom age which will be ruled over by our majestic Master and his glorious bride. Verse 6 talks of a seal. Our eternal Father gives us this seal through His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ – John 6:26-29; Revelation 14:1-5. In the KJV we find no mention of Yahweh's name, nor reference to any of His titles. The ESV translation of verse 6, “set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of Yah.” Nothing can, says Solomon, be valued above love. This is true for the love of God and that of His Son – Romans 8:31-39. In verses 8-9 the bride's companions say that they have a litttle sister. The day when she will be spoken for will be the time when the fulness of the Gentiles will occur in the kingdom when all nations will at the millennium's end be incorporated into the body of Christ. In verses 10-12 the bride continues with her counting her blessings. In verse 13 the groom tells of his longing to hear the voice of his desirable spouse. The bride finishes the song in verse 14 with an urging of her groom to rush to her side to be with her (evermore). “Even so. Come Lord Jesus.” Read and ponder the culmination of our desires in Revelation 22:20-21. In Acts 25 tells us that, when Festus was determined to send Paul to Jerusalem, the Apostle had no alternative but to make his appeal to Caesar. After a short period of time Festus conducts another hearing of Paul's matters. Festus was again seeking the favour of the Jews and at this time Paul announces that he would exercise his right as a Roman Citizen to be judged by Caesar. We then hear of Herod Agrippa and his wife Bernice visiting Caesarea and at this time Festus requests that they hear Paul's case as Festus was struggling with the wording of the charge to be made against Paul. Festus explains to Agrippa that in his opinion there was no commuting or a capital crime, but simply matters concerning Jewish law. With great pomp and ceremony Agrippa, Bernice and all the other dignitaries enter the judgment hall. Festus seeks Agrippa's view about the nature of the charge to appear on the letter to be sent to Caesar. Chapter 26 records Paul's defence and his earnest appeal to Agrippa to embrace the Christian cause. Paul tells his audience of his fervour for the Jewish way and his concerted opposition to Christianity. But when he was confronted by the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus everything changed. He tells the audience of his great commission and then knowing king Agrippa to be a man who read the prophets he appeals to the king to adopt the Christian belief. Festus, being embarrassed by the situation, attempts to finish the hearing immediately by declaring Paul to be mad due to his great learning. Paul was not to be silenced so quickly and continues to ask Agrippa whether he believes the prophets. Paul states plainly I know you believe them king Agrippa. At this point king Agrippa and all the dignitaries rise and leave with the king stating Paul's innocence.

Acts 12 records the death of Herod Agrippa, illustrating the dangers of pride and the consequences of seeking personal glory instead of giving glory to God. Through Agrippa's downfall, Pastor Brandon emphasizes that God does not share His glory and warns against being a "glory thief." Ultimately, he encourages believers to continuously seek God's glory and recognize their need for Him, finding hope and strength in Christ alone. Brandon Bachtel | Acts of the Church www.stonepointchurch.com

Daily Dose of Hope April 15, 2025 Day 2 of Week 3   Scripture – Mark 6:14-29   Prayer:  Almighty God, I come before you today with a sense of gratefulness.  You are Lord of all and yet you care for me.  Thank you, Lord.  Help me walk through this day with humility and your wisdom; help me represent you well.  Lord, in these next few moments of silence, help me gather my scattered thoughts, I want to hear your voice...Come Holy Spirit, and guide this time.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today is day two of three in Mark 6 and our focus is shifting back to John the Baptist.   Our section starts with King Herod asking about Jesus, who was gaining quite a bit of fame in the area.  One person answered that he might be John the Baptist reincarnated.  This gets Herod concerned, as he had John executed not long before.    Let's talk briefly about the Herods.  These were political figures appointed by the Roman government to oversee Judea.  Most people consider them very insecure puppet kings.  They did what the Romans wanted and in return got to keep their power and wealth.  While they considered themselves to be Jewish, they really were not and they certainly didn't behave they obedient Jews, which certainly did not endear them to the “real” Jewish residents.  Just for some context, Herod the Great was the ruler at the time of Jesus' birth (remember the one who ordered all the male babies to be killed in Bethlehem?)  He was an extremely violent king and is said to have killed his wife, her two sons, and anyone he perceived as a threat.  Not a nice guy.  His own son, Herod Antipas, is the one in today's Scripture.    This Herod had decided to divorce his own wife to marry his brother Philip's wife, Herodias.  It was quite a messy family situation.  Philip was still alive and Herodias was both Herod Agrippa's and Philip's niece.  Basically, Herod was trampling all over God's laws and John the Baptist had called him out on it.  Herod could have easily executed John because he spoke out against the marriage, but he chose not to do so.  Herod keeps John in prison but alive. It seemed that Herod actually had a lot of respect for John because he considered him a righteous man of God.   But Herodias, the wife/niece, was a different story.  She hated John for the way he spoke out.  So she bided her time until she was able to get her revenge.  The time came when at Herod's birthday party.  Herodias' daughter performed some kind of very seductive dance for the guests (keep in mind the dysfunction of this family).  In return for her provocative dance, a probably fairly drunk and lustful Herod offers the daughter anything she wants.  She asks her mother what to ask for and Herodias knows this is her opportunity to get rid of John the Baptist.  Herodias instructs the girl to ask for John the Baptist's head on a platter.  Herod was distressed at this, as he did admire John, but he felt the need to honor the very public request.  He sends the executioner to the prison and John is beheaded immediately.    The brutality of this narrative is a bit shocking.  Because Jesus was a man of peace, I think we sometimes forget how violent the Roman world was at that time.  The Romans, and in turn, the Herods, ruled with an iron fist.  They had perfected the art of frequent execution.  Keep in mind, there was no due process.  People could be killed or tortured for just about anything.  There was political tension, frequent uprisings, heavy taxation, and people were jailed for not being able to pay their fair share.  There was desperate poverty and the poor faced incredible hardships.    It was into this world that Jesus came.  You can see why the people were so ready for his message.  But is our world any different?    I'm going to close today with John 16:33.  These are the words of Jesus, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”   Blessings, Pastor Vicki  

We are happy to have you with us! If there are any issues with the stream feel free to message Miss. Abby who is working the A/V system this service.

The Rev. Nick Lannon continues his Bible study on Acts with a look at chapter 12 and the beginning of chapter 13. Peter is arrested and then freed from prison (12:1-11) and visits a house church in Jerusalem (12:12-17). Then, Herod kills the soldiers who were guarding him before retreating to Caesarea and dying a gruesome death (12:18-25). Finally for this session, Paul interacts with a Jewish magician and a Roman governor on the island of Cyprus (13:1-12).

In today's episode, we see Peter pulling another miracle escape. But it's not because he is an early Harry Houdini. No. It is because Peter serves a miracle-producing God. We hear the story of his escape, but then we also hear of the tragic death of Herod Agrippa the First. Who instead of giving glory to God, decided to take it all for himself and paid the ultimate price. Listen to this weeks episode to hear of the last great adventure of Peter recorded in the Book of Acts, and the reintroduciton of Saul of Tarsus after disappearing from the story for over 12 years. But now, the story will center on him and his missionary work. Turn to Acts 11 and 12 to follow along.

Friends of the Rosary, Merry and Holy Christmas! Today, December 27, is the feast day of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." He was the apostle who remained at the foot of the Cross. He was also in the Transfiguration and was one of the first witnesses to the Resurrection. To him, Jesus entrusted his Mother. John was honored as one of the three pillars of the Church. After the persecution of Herod Agrippa, in which his brother was beheaded, John traveled to Asia Minor, where he composed his Gospel and epistles. On the island of Patmos, while he was in exile, he wrote the book of Revelation. He died in Ephesus around the year 100. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • Enjoy this video and enhance your faith in our newly released iOS app • December 27, 2024, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

SHOW NOTES: - Head to our Start Page for all you need to begin! - Join the RECAPtains - Check out the TBR Store - Show credits - TBR New Testament plan on the Dwell App! FROM TODAY'S RECAP: - Acts 6:1-7 - Matthew 2 - Article: Who was Herod Agrippa? - Video: Acts Overview (Part 2) - TBR in Spanish BIBLE READING & LISTENING: Follow along on the Bible App, or to listen to the Bible, try Dwell! SOCIALS: The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | TikTok D-Group: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X TLC: Instagram | Facebook D-GROUP: D-Group is brought to you by the same team that brings you The Bible Recap. TBR is where we read the Bible, and D-Group is where we study the Bible. D-Group is an international network of Bible study groups that meet weekly in homes, churches, and online. Find or start one near you today! DISCLAIMER: The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact. Links to specific resources and content: This is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc.. Their views may not represent our own.

20.10.24//Acts 12:1-24_Herod Agrippa vs Peter and God//Church Hill//Rob Forsyth by Church Hill Anglican

20.10.24//Acts 12:1-24_Herod Agrippa vs Peter and God//Church Hill//Justin Moffatt by Church Hill Anglican

0525 希律亞基帕一世 Herod Agrippa I 1 by 靈修廣播站

0526 希律亞基帕二世 Herod Agrippa II by 靈修廣播站

ACTS 26:1-15 1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Pail motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 The Jews 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. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest set of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12 On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' 15 Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied."  FROM THE LESSON The Herodian Dynasty - it lasted for four generations and was an opponent of Jesus and his movement all throughout the New Testament. It started with Herod the Great who had tried to destroy the infant Jesus. His son, Herod Antipas, was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded. His son, Herod Agrippa, was the one who had James put to death with the sword in Acts 12. His son, Herod Agrippa II, was the one who Paul stands before in Acts 26. Paul's Speech Before Agrippa II - it is Paul's last and longest speech in the book of Acts. It begins in verse 2 and lasts through verse 23. It is the third time the reader of Acts hears the story of Jesus' appearance to Paul on the road to Damascus. The other two times are in Acts 9 and in Acts 22. Conversion Story - "the language of conversion may be misleading because at no point did Paul waver in his belief that the God of Abraham was and is the true God, the one and only creator God. Paul didn't change Gods. And from his point of view, he didn't even change religions." (NT Wright) Hope of Israel - Paul preached that the hope of Israel has been fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection fulfills Paul's hope in God in three ways: 1 Hope is rooted in resurrection promise. 2 Hope is renewed in resurrection praise. 3 Hope is realized in resurrection practice.  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1 How would you define hope? How is biblical hope different from the way hope is used in our everyday language?  2 Hope is rooted in resurrection promise. Read Acts 26:6. Discuss what it means for our hope to be rooted in the promises of God. 3 Hope is renewed in resurrection praise. Can you remember a time when your hope was renewed through worship? Share the story with your group. 4 Hope is realized in resurrection practice. Can you remember a time when something that you desperately hoped for was actually realized? Share with your group. How did it make you feel? How did it affect the way you live? Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have a realized hope. How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ transform the way we hope?

ACTS 24:22-27 22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case." 23 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. 24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul discoursed on 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." 26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him. 27 Two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but Felix because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.  FROM THE LESSON Felix the Governor: The Roman historian, Tacitus wrote about Felix that he “practiced every kind of cruelty and lust, wielding the power of a king with all the instincts of a slave.” Drusilla the Jewess: Her mother was a Jew, however her father was Herod Agrippa, the one who killed the apostle James, the brother of John in Acts 12. Her great-uncle was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded, and her great-grandfather was the one who had tried to kill Jesus in Bethlehem. Three Reasons for Faith in Christ Jesus: 1 Because of righteousness What are you going to do about yesterday's sin? The answer is to have faith in Christ Jesus as your Savior. The answer is to trust Him with your past. 2 Because of self-control What are you going to do about today's struggles? The answer is to have faith in Christ Jesus as your Lord. The answer is to trust Him with your present. 3 Because of the judgment to come What are you going to do about tomorrow's scenarios? The answer is to have faith in Christ Jesus as your Judge. The answer is to trust Him with your future.  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1 If someone had asked you last week to give them a compelling reason as to why you have faith in Christ Jesus, how would you have answered the question?  2 Discuss with your group the deal of eternity: the exchange of your sin for His righteousness. How does the reality of this exchange transform the way you live? 3 The only way to have self-control is to be under His control. Discuss the importance of relying on the Lord through the Holy Spirit when life seems out of control.  Are you going through any struggles today that the group can be praying about? Share with the group.  4 Do you worry or get anxious about the future? What kinds of things do you worry about? We often talk about having faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but what do you think about having faith in Him as your Judge?  5 The answer to all three faith questions is to have faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Which of the three do you find most difficult: to trust Him with your past, your present, or your future? Why?

Friends of the Rosary, Today, July 25th, we celebrate the feast of St. James, the Apostle, also known as James the Greater (to distinguish him from the other Apostle, St. James, who was chosen later.) James the Greater was St. John's brother and the son of Zebedee, the fisherman from Galilee. Christ Jesus called him Boanerges, "son of thunder.” Along with John and Peter, he witnessed the Transfiguration and accompanied later Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani. He started evangelizing Spain, a country that is his patron saint today. In Saragossa, along with some followers, he received the visit of the Blessed Virgin — Our Lady of Pillar. Later, he would be beheaded in Jerusalem in the year 42 or 43 A.D. on the orders of Herod Agrippa. Since the ninth century, the faithful have been going on pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella in Galicia, Spain. There, they can visit a breathtaking shrine with the saint's relics. The Camino de Santiago, "the Way of St. James," is one of the most frequented pilgrimages in Christendom along with Rome or the Holy Land. The pilgrim paths to Compostella form a network over Europe, dotted with pilgrims' hospices and chapels. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!St. James, Pray for Us! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • ⁠July 25, 2024, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET  

Send me a Text Message!Acts 26 is the culmination of the love story that started in Acts 25, the love story between God and the family of Herod Agrippa. It's also about evangelism. And let's be honest, many of us have a love/hate/worry/guilt relationship with evangelism. Maybe that's because we've defined evangelism as, "Getting the hard sell from someone who acts like they're my best friend but has never taken the time to get to know me." But that's not really evangelism. Literally evangelism means proclaiming good news. It's not about persuading people you are right about the Bible. It's proclaiming good news. What's the good news? God loves you. He sent Jesus to die for you. You are proclaiming the love story of God. What if evangelism is nothing less than inviting people into the world's greatest love story?

Today's message "God's Purpose Always Prevails" from the series "To Be Continued" we look into Peter's miraculous escape from prison in Acts 12. Herod Agrippa's persecution of the early church sets the stage for Peter's imprisonment, prompting fervent prayer from believers. Through divine intervention, Peter is freed from chains and delivers a powerful message to the church, emphasizing the importance of prayer and experiencing God's peace in difficult times. The message reflects on God's protection, contrasting James' martyrdom with Peter's deliverance, and concludes with the reminder of God's sovereignty and the continued growth of His church through bold missionary endeavors.

Acts Lesson 28 – Chapter 12 THE BOOK OF ACTS Lesson 28, Chapter 12 We just barely got into Acts chapter 12 last week, and the first thing we see mentioned in the chapter is that Herod Agrippa is now the King of Judah. The chapter will end with his death. His grandfather Herod the […] The post Acts Lesson 28 – Chapter 12 appeared first on Torah Class.

The demise of Herod Agrippa reminds us that we can accept a complement from our fellowman (Proverbs 27:2), but we are not to accept their outright worship.

Featuring what we can learn from the motives and mistakes of the Herod of Acts 12:1-4. Don't forget to check out our website! https://treasurehuntpodcast.wixsite.com/realtreasure --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/treasurehuntintheword/message

Saturday, 2 March 2024   And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. Acts 25:13   A more literal rendering is, “And some days having passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice came down to Caesarea, having saluted Festus” (CG).   In the previous verse, Paul was told that because he had appealed to Caesar, to Caesar he would go. Now, the narrative continues with, “And some days having passed.”   While Paul was awaiting his transfer to Rome, an indeterminate amount of time elapsed. However, during that time, the narrative introduces two people, “Agrippa the king and Bernice.”   Lengthy commentaries on these two abound if you want to learn more about them. In short, however, Agrippa is Herod Agrippa, the son of Herod Agrippa I. He was a brother of Drusilla, the wife of Felix, seen in Acts 24:24. The Pulpit Commentary lists some of the facts about him and Bernice –   “He was only seventeen at his father's death, and so not considered by Claudius a safe person to entrust his father's large dominions to. But he gave him Chalets, and afterwards, in exchange for it, other dominions. ... He was the last of the Herods, and reigned above fifty years. Bernice was his sister, but was thought to be living in an incestuous intercourse with him. She had been the wife of her uncle Herod, Prince of Chalets; and on his death lived with her brother. She then for a while became the wife of Polemo, King of Cicilia, but soon returned to Herod Agrippa. She afterwards became the mistress of Vespasian and of Titus in succession (Alford).”   Of these two, it says they “came down to Caesarea, having saluted Festus.” This would be a formal introduction to the new procurator. If they were already acquainted, it would be a congratulatory visit to his appointment. Either way, they have come to acknowledge his being placed in his role as the new governor.   Life application: One can see the same formalities today when dignitaries come to the office or residence of a newly appointed or elected official. Luke carefully records these events, describing what occurred when it is relevant to the ongoing narrative.   The visit of these two, and their interactions with Paul, will be carefully noted and detailed. The Lord is setting out His word so that we can see how the message of the gospel went forth and what were some of the workings that made it possible.   As you read the Bible, think about what is presented and why. We are being given insights into how the transfer from the Jewish-led to Gentile-led church took place, why it was so effective, and what will occur, even into the future as the words of Paul's epistles are fulfilled.   Look at the minute details and also look at the wider picture. A beautiful panorama of history is taking place before our eyes as we read and contemplate this precious word.   Heavenly Father, thank You for including us in the process of what occurred in the past so that we can know how we got to where we are now as Christianity spread in Israel and then beyond, even to the furthest extents of the world. We can see Your guiding hand in all of it. Hallelujah! We are seeing Your word fulfilled, even before our eyes. Amen.

Pastor William continues our series in Acts by diving into the story of Herod Agrippa, focusing on the importance of not judging a situation too quickly. Learn about God's plan and perspective, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, from Acts 12. Discover the dangers of pride and the significance of God's glory in this inspiring and insightful teaching.

At first glance, this story seems unnecessary. Herod Agrippa has only just come on the scene, and already Luke narrates his demise? But there are fascinating contrasts between this story and the previous one—most interestingly, contrasting how the Church responds to Herod's oppression and how the people of Tyre and Sidon respond. Ultimately, Herod's power is nothing compared to God's, and the Church continues to flourish in spite of opposition. So join us as we study “The Blasphemy” from Acts 12:20-25!

Herod Agrippa attacks the church, killing James (John’s brother) and imprisons Peter with the plan to kill him. The Lord intervenes and releases Peter and smites Herod dead. In the meantime, the church at Antioch is established and the Holy Spirit sets Barnabas and Paul apart for a ministry to the Nations.

Acts 12 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. 2 He had the apostle James (John's brother) killed with a sword. 3 When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) 4 Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. 6 The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. 7 Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. 9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn't realize it was actually happening. 10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. 11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It's really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” 12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” 15 “You're out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” 16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place. 18 At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn't be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while. 20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod's country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod's personal assistant, 21 and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. 22 The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It's the voice of a god, not of a man!” 23 Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people's worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died. 24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.

Every human being needs encouragement. Many of us are our own worst critic, so a sincere compliment or word of thanks can be like a “cup of cold water” to someone who's thirsty. Of course, there are people who are proud, but in most cases, I think, much of that is bluff, or if nothing else the passing of time tends to humble even the best of us. Discouragement, self-hatred and shame become the enemies we wrestle with. So when someone speaks positively to us it can have a powerful impact…so powerful that if wielded by the wrong person such words can be used to control us. They can lure us into a strange state of self-deception in which we actually begin to believe what we're being told. And if someone doesn't rescue us by confronting us with the truth, it can ruin our personality and take away our effectiveness in serving God. Luke's account of Herod's strange death allows us to watch a man fall prey to flattery. For years this man had pretended to be a devout Jew, yet when a crowd of people tell him he is a god, for a few seconds he believes it, for a few seconds he basks in their worship and in that few seconds God's patience runs out. An angel strikes him and exposes the lie. Admittedly, Herod Agrippa's death is bizarre, but the forces at play in that amphitheater aren't. They are all too familiar. We've all felt the temptation to believe too much about ourselves, to receive flattery, because we are all in need of encouragement. How we speak to one another is of great concern to God. The Bible has much to say about this topic. So let's learn from Herod's example what to avoid, and then let's learn how God wants us to compliment and honor one another.

While praying on a rooftop in Joppa Peter received an amazing vision. God spoke to him three times in that vision, but afterward he had no idea what He'd been trying to tell him. It had remained a puzzling mystery until the moment he stepped into the home of a Roman soldier. As he stood there looking at their faces and feeling God's presence in the room, he instantly understood. In fact he finally understood something Jesus tried to teach him years earlier. So this was what He meant when He kept preaching about reaching Gentiles. He'd tried to understand, but it just never made sense before. Now, at last, he could see it, and it was so clear he marveled he hadn't seen it before. Two days earlier when the messengers arrived at the gate he knew God wanted him to trust these strangers and go with them, so he left Joppa and came to Caesarea, and now here he was, only a short distance away from Herod Agrippa's palace, in the living room of one of the officers of his palace guard. The sensation he felt at that moment was not unlike the time he stepped out of the boat and walked on water. It was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time. His life could be at risk, and he had to violate his conscience to even be here. After all, Jews weren't supposed to be in Gentile homes. But here he was…and amazingly, Jesus was here too. And finally, he understood why. 

This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Oh Holy God, Heavenly Father, we come to you in reverence and trepidation at your greatness, your mightiness. You are a glorious God. And Lord, we thank you so much that you did not leave us in our sin, in our darkness, but you sent your son Jesus Christ, the light of the world, the truth, the way, the life. And Jesus, we thank you for providing a way for our salvation, for our forgiveness of sin, for our transfer from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved son. And Lord Jesus, we thank you for proclaiming the truth as boldly as you did, and that boldness took you to a cross.And we thank you for the example of your choice servants who proclaim the truth, no matter the consequences, many of whom were martyred for the faith. And we thank you that their blood was the seed of the church. We thank you for all those that you sent while we were still in darkness to proclaim the gospel to us boldly. And we thank you, Lord, that you give us grace and that you empower us by the power of the Holy Spirit to go and proclaim the gospel to anyone who would hear.And I pray, Lord, that you grow our fearlessness in proclamation of the word of God, the truth, the gospel no matter what the consequences, no matter the opposition. I pray that you make us so people who care more about what you think than even what earthly rulers think about us. And Lord, help us proclaim the truth and love and in kindness, but boldly. Lord, we thank you for the example of your disciples, the apostles, and we thank you for the example of John the Baptist who proclaimed the truth to a king, an earthly, wicked, degenerate king, and he was beheaded for it.And Lord Jesus, as we look at that example, I pray, let us just marvel at the fact that a little embarrassment, a little discomfort when we proclaim the truth, how many of us are thwarted from continuing the mission because of that and how silly all of that is in comparison to those who've gone before us. And Lord, as the world turns even darker in opposition to you, more godless and persecution becomes an ever present reality. I pray that we unflinchingly continue to further your kingdom by proclaiming your truth.Bless our time, the holy scriptures today. We pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen. On this Communion Sunday, the title of the sermon is Proclaim the King's Excellencies as we continue through our sermon series in the Gospel of Mark. When the Lord Jesus Christ saves a sinner, he doesn't just save us from something, he saves us for something. And that for something should preoccupy our hearts and minds and that for something must be the purpose and the direction of our lives.Yes, Lord, you've saved me from hell. You've saved me from eternal punishment, from bondage to sin, from being a pawn of Satan. Now what would you have me do? And the Lord answers and says, "Become fishers of men. Continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ so people are freed from the nets of Satan and sin to the new exodus and following Christ." And how do we do this? We do it by proclaiming the excellencies of the king.In 1 Peter 2:9 it says, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you are not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Did you notice the purpose? He says, this is why God saved us, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Christ. This is the purpose of every elect, blood-bought, redeemed, justified child of God.Our purpose is to be representatives of Christ and to represent Christ is to do the work that Christ did and continues to do, which is to proclaim the truth that Jesus is king and he rules the world with his law, the 10 commandments. To proclaim Christ is to tell people that they have sinned, that they have transgressed commandments. They are under God's wrath. However, whosoever repents of their sin and believes in Christ will be forgiven, will be given mercy, and will be given a mission to proclaim the excellencies of Christ.And for Christ to procure mercy for us, what did that entail? Entailed a gruesome, gory, grim sacrifice. It demanded crucifixion. Jesus Christ was crucified for proclaiming the truth. Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised and should actually expect that when we lovingly, faithfully, kindly proclaim Christ, this will come at a cost. For some of us, it may even require death itself just like our Lord and just like John the Baptist and just like most of the apostles. Today, we are in Mark 6:7-29 as we continue our series, Kingdom Come.Would you look at the text with me? And he, Christ, called the 12 and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guess, he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.This is the reading of God's holy, inherent, Infallible, authoritative word. May he write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame up our time. Proclaim that people should repent, proclaim the law and the gospel fearlessly, fearing God is the secret to fearlessness. First, proclaim that people should repent. In verse seven, he, Jesus, called the 12 and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. Why two by two? This is probably reflecting the Jewish practice of sending official representatives in pairs.And also in the Hebrew scriptures, there is a stipulation that two witnesses are required to establish legal testimony. So he commissions the 12 to extend the work that he was doing. He said, "I have come to teach the word of God and to proclaim the gospel for the kingdom of God is here for people to repent and believe." So here he sends out the 12 two by two. Practically why two by two, well, this provides for encouragement in particular in those moments where there is rejection.When a whole town says, "We want nothing to do with the message of God. Get out," at those moments, we need encouragement, and also accountability to continue proclaiming the truth as it has been given and not trying to make it more palatable for people by softening it. And this here shows us that we need Christian community. We need brothers and sisters in our lives for our own souls, but then also for the effectiveness of the mission that Jesus called us to. We need Christian community.We need the church. Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love in good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." So even back then in the early church, they already had the issue where people believed that all I need is Jesus. All I need is scripture. I don't need the church. I don't need spiritual authority or accountability. Even back then, people were neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some.So friends, continue to make it a priority to come to church. I'm obviously speaking to people who are at church. Good job, keep doing what you're doing. But for those who are listening online, and I think during COVID when we were streaming our services, people just got into the pattern of like, that's okay. That's not okay. That's why we took our streaming off. And I'm even tempted at the point of take all the sermons offline. Offline is not real. It's not real. That's just enough to get you into church.And not just church, but community. At Mosaic, we are a church that draws thousands over the course of a year. There's thousands that come and there's thousands that go. So how are we to experience community? How do we experience this two by two ministry? We do that through our community groups. So if you are not in a community group, these are small groups of brothers and sisters that meet all across the city, all across the region over the course of the week, we'd love to have you join.Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe him who is alone when he falls and has not another lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken." And here in our verse it says that he began to send them out.Not only does this communicate that this is the start of their mission, but also it communicates that the mission continues, that Jesus continues to send us out as he had sent them out. And he says it began to send, this is the verb form of the word apostle, an apostle is someone who has been sent out with the authority of another. And Jesus, while still on earth, physically sends out the disciples to gain experience ministering the word of God.He entrusts them with his authority, gives them an opportunity to use the authority to make the mistakes that they would make in using that authority so that they can come back to Jesus. He would rectify it and clarify and continue to train them up to serve him. This is just an example of the ministry that Jesus had already been doing. And Mark 6:6, that's the verse before our text. He was in Nazareth and Galilee. He marveled because of their unbelief. That's his hometown.And he went out among the villages teaching. Despite rejection that he encountered in his hometown, he doesn't give up on his people. He continues to minister to them by sending the apostles out for another round of redemptive teaching. Now, we are not apostles, but we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are followers of Jesus Christ, and most of us most likely aren't called to being international ministries or cross-cultural ministries, missionaries or full-time pastors and teachers. But we are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ wherever we are.We might not be sent around the world, but we are still sent across the street. Our city is our mission field and, you and I, we're laborers that Christ sends out to gather in the harvest right here on our doorstep. I don't know if you've noticed, but traffic has been getting worse in the area. The congestion's terrible, the double parking. I've never seen so many people double parking. I think it's the Uber Eats and such, but I used to get irritated by traffic and irritated by people double parking.I've chilled out partially because I changed my music. I started listening to monastic chants in my vehicle. It's very soothing. It helps with driving in peace. It's tremendous. And now whenever I'm in traffic, I get behind someone, I'm like, okay, you're double-parked. All right. I just pray for them, like Lord, save this person from their wicked ways of not following the law and such. But as I see people, there's people from all over the world all around us. The Lord is drawing people from all over.They're here. This is why we exist. We are on mission to proclaim the gospel to all who would listen, to all who would hear. And we have the authority of Jesus Christ. Just as he gave to his early disciples, he has given to us as the church. He says, go and make disciples of all nations. And he says, when you do, when you make disciples of all nations, I am with you until the end of the age. We experience the fullness of Christ's presence in particular when on mission proclaiming the truth.And his authority and the authority that he gave to the disciples is his own. He doesn't just pray to the Father. Father, I pray that you empower them. No. He gives them his own authority which reminds us of who Jesus really is. He is the Son of God. He is God. Authority resides in him and he exercises rule over the church as it goes and he does command us to go and proclaim. In Mark 6:8, he charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.The staffs were used for walking on rough terrain and for defense against wild animals and criminals, et cetera. And Jesus here says, okay, fine. Take a staff, but no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. And what he's saying is, I'm going to provide. You're on mission doing my work. It's my business that you are going about doing, and I will provide for you in the same way that I provided for the Israelites in the desert. If you remember, the Israelites were sustained by God. They didn't have food, but he sent food from heaven.Rain manna. Their clothing by God's grace was supernaturally preserved from deterioration and Jesus instructs them to take just the basics of staff and sandals, which is an allusion to Exodus 12:11 when he was preparing them during the Passover meal before the Exodus. It says Exodus 12:11, in this manner you shall eat it with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. So the disciples' missionary journey is similar to the old exodus, but their journey is a new exodus. T.Hey are people who are called by Jesus for freedom from sin and bondage and to go about and travel lightly so that they move quickly to call people out of bondage to sin and Satan. I do want to mention the Bible never sees renunciation of physical goods as a good in itself, but only as a necessity in some circumstances. This particular renunciation was not intended as a universal rule binding all disciples at all times. Though the simple faith that Jesus will provide when we are in the middle of his will doing his work, that is a universal rule.Later in Gethsemane, after the disciples had thoroughly learned this lesson to rely on the Lord for his provision, to depend only on him, after they learned that lesson, Jesus said, now that he is leaving, we are to procure resources in Luke 23:35. And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said "Nothing." And he said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one."First time he sends them out while he was still here. He says, "Don't take any money. Don't take a sword. Don't take food." The second time, he says, "When I leave, I want you prepared. I want you to have resources." After they learn to depend on the Lord, the Lord says, "We are to be prepared with resources if we can have them." Why? Because poverty is never the ideal in the Bible. Although if need be, it must be gladly embraced in God's service for Christ's sake. Verse 10.He said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." And here the mission of the disciples according to Christ must be marked by a humble persistence. They were to be aware that not everyone's going to receive this message. Many will actually be opposed to it and reject it.And whenever the disciples are accepted, they should remain in the place where they are and enjoy the resources that those who accepted the message would provide them with. But we are to be prepared as they were to be prepared that rejection is a reality of being a faithful proclaimer of the gospel. Mark 13:13, and you will, this is a promise, you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.He says, "Shake the dust that is on your feet when you are rejected," is a sign that when you are rejected, you are to reject the place that has rejected the message. And the very difficulty of the act, dust is not so easily removed, especially from sandaled feet that have been walking on unpaved middle Eastern roads. Hence, that the depth of feeling that evokes it. Not even the tiniest reminder of the place should be left upon them. They must assiduously purge themselves of every trace of it.And God himself will see to the latter on the day of judgment when the very dust will cry out as a witness against them. And verse 12. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. They proclaimed that people should repent, not just sharing of the gospel. Sharing assumes that we're offering something that people want, share a recipe or share a meal or share a good laugh.But we aren't called to just share the gospel, we're called to proclaim that people should repent and boldly declare it whether it's welcome or not. I remember when I just moved to the city and I didn't know how to start a church as a church planner... I did street evangelism. I was just walking around the streets and I did spiritual surveys and asked people if they'd have a couple minutes to answer some survey questions I had. After the 1,000th conversation and no one got saved, I'm like, Lord Jesus, does this text apply to me?Can I dust off my boots from the dust of Boston, please? This was a message for them in this particular journey, but there were other examples where they lived in an area for years and they continue to administer. The emphasis here isn't on leaving a place. The emphasis here is on not taking a rejection personally. They're not rejecting you, they're rejecting the Lord, and that should grieve our hearts, but it can't immobilize us and we shouldn't be surprised by it. You can't take it personally because then that just keeps you from proclaiming the gospel.They reject you, go to the next person and to the next person and to the next person. It's not we that converts people, it's God that does it. We are to sow the seed and to proclaim the truth and testify to it. What is the message? The message is that time is short. We're all mortal, and judgment is coming. Hell is real. And we are to flee the wrath that is to come. We are to hear the alarm sounding and get ourselves to safety. And the only source of safety, the only refuge, the only sanctuary is our savior Jesus Christ.And the message is that everyone is to repent. There are no impendent people in the kingdom of heaven. All who enter the kingdom have mourned over sin, forsaken it and sought pardon for it. In this particular commissioning, Jesus is preparing his disciples for what will happen on Pentecost when they will receive a permanent commission to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. And Jesus here is preparing them for after they receive the Holy Spirit to do things greater than even he did, which is a startling statement.But in John 14:12, he says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I'm going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." What does it mean that we're going to do greater things than Christ himself did? Well, he's not talking about individually. He's talking about as a church, as the body of Christ.We've been given talents and opportunities, and together, he's saying, we're going to do greater things than Christ did in his incarnate state when he was on earth. The disciples went and proclaimed the gospel, cast out demons, and healed people by anointing them. And James 5:14 says, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." Point two is proclaim the law and the gospel fearlessly.Verse 14, King Herod heard of it for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." There's only two passages in the Gospel of Mark not about Jesus Christ, and those two are about John the Baptist in chapter one. And here John was the forerunner of Jesus' ministry and also the forerunner of Jesus' death. And in both cases, both men stood before wicked, cowardly, tyrants fully aware of the innocence of both John and Jesus.And nevertheless, they feared the pressure of the people, and therefore they executed John and James. I do want to point out that it wasn't the disciples' names that were made known. As they did their work, as they proclaimed the gospel, as they healed people, it was the name of Jesus that had become known. The disciples preaching in wonder working are the means for Christ's name to become known. The miracles worked by the 12 disciples were really performed by Christ.It was his authority, his power. They were wielding his power. And the work's done by the disciples didn't cause the people in Galilee or even King Herod to wonder who are these disciples. They're wondering who is this Jesus that they are proclaiming. They weren't confused whose power it was. And that brings us to King Herod. Who is this Herod? This is Herod Antipas. He is the son of King Herod the Great who tried to kill Jesus when he was born. King Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, ruled in the Transjordan region from 4 BC until his exile in 39 AD.This is the king whom Jesus called that fox in Luke 13, a reference to King Herod's malice, his cunning, his shrewdness and lack of pity and his love of degenerate decadence. In 39 AD, he was recalled to Rome and replaced by his nephew, the infamous Herod Agrippa, who later killed James and imprisoned Peter. In Mark 6:15 it says, but others said he's Elijah and others said he is a prophet like one of the prophets of old. But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."Actually the dirty work wasn't done by Herod himself, it was by an executioner as we see later in the text. But here in the Greek, there's an emphatic I myself have beheaded. This is John whom I myself had beheaded, which reveals that King Herod's conscience has been disturbing him. His conscience has been terrifying him. It shows us that although he thought himself a king, he wasn't king over his conscience. The truth was the law of God was. And for Herod, the supernatural miracle, he thought Jesus was John comeback from the dead, and he believed it.That supernatural miracle itself was not enough to bring him to repentance. That's how stubborn he was and hardened in his sin. The assumed divine miracle, John's resurrection, is a cause not for celebration but for terror. And here I also want to point out that John was so Christlike that when Herod hears about Christ, he confuses Christ with John. That's how much John had decreased so that Jesus could increase. He represented Jesus with his whole being. Who was John the Baptist?He was a miracle child born to the aged Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth. He was a Nazarite from birth, a result of explicit orders of the angel Gabriel. His hair was never cut. He never touched a dead body or drank fermented drink, according to Numbers 6. And he took up the clothing of the ancient prophets wearing a rough coat of camel's hair and leather belt and subsisting in the wilderness and the diet of locusts and wild honey. He was a man of good conscience and therefore moral courage.When he spoke the word of God, everybody knew that it rang true because of John's integrity. And he would lose his head, but not his witness. John made way for the Lord, preparing the way for Christ by boldly denouncing sin and calling people to radical repentance, as seen in Matthew 3:7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.And do not presume to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he'll burn with unquenchable fire."Jesus is neither John the Baptist, Herod got it wrong, nor Elijah. Jesus was John's contemporary, so he's not him. And with respect to Elijah, Mark already said he linked Elijah with John, not Jesus. And Jesus wasn't just a prophet. He did use that term to characterize himself, but it definitely wasn't sufficient to characterize him. Verse 17. For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.For John had been saying to Herod, "It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And here, what is John appealing to? It's not lawful. What law is he appealing to? Look how simple and plain and straightforward his message was. It's not lawful for you to have another man's wife. You've committed adultery, Herod. You've transgressed the Seventh Commandment. You've taken Herodias from your brother, so she is an adulterous as well, and he's calling them to repentance.He proclaims the plain truth regardless of the consequences. And what he's telling King Herod, consider himself a king, he's saying, there's a king above you. There's a law above you. You are not above the law. It's the law of God, and the law of God is law over everyone. It's enforced over everyone. It doesn't matter if you identify as a Christian, it doesn't matter if you identify as a believer of the scripture, none of that matters. God is God over everyone. His law governs everyone. Some people erroneously think that when you preach the gospel, you never mention the law.When you're sharing "the gospel," the law isn't necessary. The law is only for believers. First trust in Jesus, get grace, and then we can talk about the law, then we can talk about how you are to live. This is false, because you can't call people to repentance if they do not know what they are to repent of. And John as an Elijah like figure is zealous for the Lord and his law, and he's going to proclaim it to both Herod and Herodias no matter how much it antagonizes them, no matter how much they want to kill him.And that brings us to point three, fearing God is the secret to fearlessness. John, where did you get the power to be so fearless, so courageous, so bold in proclaiming this truth to a king? He got it from fearing God more than anyone else. He didn't care what King Herod thinks about him. He cared more about what King Jesus thinks about him. In verse 19, Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe.When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, yet he heard him gladly." John's very existence caused Herodias unease in her conscience, yet she's hardened and seared in her conscience by her wickedness and won't rest until he is dead. And Herod feared John. He wanted to protect the life of John knowing that he's righteous and holy. So he arrests John to protect John from Herodias. This is how conflicted this man was. Herod was convicted by John's words, yet he gladly listened to them.Most likely the prison was in the same place where his palace was and he would just bring John up and say, "John, do your thing." And John with his camel hair and he's got his leather belt and he is like, "You broke commandment number seven. Repent. And Herodias too." And then Herodias gets mad and Herod's like, "Continue," and oh, just continuously gladly welcoming the message, feared the guy, knows it's true, it rings true, definitely resonates, and he's willing to listen. He's willing to observe, heard him gladly.But there was one thing that Herod wasn't willing to do. He wasn't willing to cease from his adultery. He wouldn't give up Herodias, and so he ends up ruining his soul. Verse 21. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading man of Galilee. Those present at this party were the petty lords and the Roman battalion commanders, the tribunes. So these men gather in Herod's fortress palace where John was imprisoned.And the text doesn't explicitly say, but a birthday in such luxurious confines of the royal palace with all the big wigs certainly implied large quantities of alcohol. And from Mark's report, there's possibility that Herod was definitely well-lubricated when Herodias finally traps him in verse 22. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish and I'll give it to you."Josephus, the famed Jewish historian, tells us that this young woman named Salome was in her middle teens at this time, so she dances in a very explicit way. Here we see that King Herod gets excited to the point where his braggadocio is turned on and he vows in verse 23, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you up to half of my kingdom." And this is probably a figure of speech in any case, because the kingdom wasn't his to give. It was Rome's. And so verse 24, she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?"And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in and immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The instantaneous reply of Herodias implies premeditation. So the cunning demonic forces that have been working for John's downfall now at last have sprung their trap. Here Herodias is presented as another Jezebel, manipulating her cowardly and indecisive husband and seeking the death of the Lord's prophet.And one begins to wonder who initiated the adultery. Herodias didn't mention the platter. The platter was... It was a touch of the girl, the daughter's own ghastly touch. And verse 26. The king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to break his word to her. The moment of truth has come for Herod. It's a crucial test of his soul. He has to decide between saving face and saving John. He knew who John was. He's a holy and righteous man. He knew that God's hand was upon him, and to go against John is to go against God.And he here now has to decide between the opinions of the noble guests and the truth. He's got to decide between gaining the world and gaining his soul. It says he was exceedingly sorry. He was greatly distressed. The word is only used one other time the New Testament, and that was to describe Jesus' pain in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was greatly distressed when he saw the suffering before him. And here Herod's grief was real, but he had been trapped. And this shows us that grief over sin is not repentance.Being sorry over your sin or sorry over the situation that your sin has got you in, that's not true repentance. True repentance is turning from that sin and turning to a path of righteousness and following Christ. Herod's conscience had been awakened by John and he suppressed the truth because of what he feared others would think. I think there are many today who are in a similar predicament where you know that Christ is king, where you know that the holy scriptures are true.What else is other than scriptures? You know that eternal life is only found in Christ, and you're not public about it or you won't follow Christ in your daily life. And how many people's consciousness have been awakened to eternal truth and they've quenched that because of their fear of, what are my friends going to think? What's my family going to think? And whenever you have conversation like this about the gospel and you get people to the point where you got to make a decision and they're like, okay, what kind of Christian are you?I'm not a big fan of that question. A true one. There's only one type of Christian. You're saved or not. And if you are saved, you have to be public about it. You have to testify to the truth of it, to care more about what God thinks than what people think. Mark 6:27. Immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. Besides gratifying a sadistic whim, the production of the head on a platter is proof that John has been killed.And the title king is used over and over in our text in particular here. It's technically inaccurate. He wasn't a king. He was a tetrarch. He was a puppet for Rome. But the title king is repeated ironically because Herod wasn't a king. He was outwitted and manipulated by two women and hamstrung by his own oath and his fear of losing faith before his subjects. The supposed king wasn't king even over himself. He couldn't control himself much less his subjects. He's over mastered by his sin.He's over mastered by his desires. He's over mastered by his emotions, which swing wildly from superstitious dread, he thinks Jesus is John resurrected, to awe and fascination and confusion to arousal that seems to border on insanity and to extreme depression. In this context, his pretensions to royal authority appear almost like a farce. He appears to rule whereas actually his strings are being pulled by others. The tyrant isn't even a true king over himself. He's a slave to his own passions.Herod lets John die, and thus shows himself to be among those in whom despite their attraction to the kingdom of God, despite the fact that the seeds seem like they have been planted in his heart, he's gladly listening to the word, he's gladly listening to the sermons, but the cares and concerns of this age end up choking the word. A lesson for each one of us here is if you fear God more than man, you might lose your head, but not your soul. And if you fear man over God, you might keep your head.You might even become more prosperous and lose your soul in the process. And Jesus said, "What prophet is it to someone gain the whole world and yet lose their soul?" For Herod, saving faith was more important than saving his soul. Verse 29. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. We see finally in these verses how little reward one of God's greatest servants gets in this world. John's life after a life of faithful witness to Christ ends in unjust imprisonment and a violent death.Like Steven, like James and like the other apostles of whom the world was not worthy, he was called to seal his testimony with his blood. Histories like these are meant to remind us that the true Christians' best things are yet to come. His rest, his crown, his wages, his reward are all on the other side of the grave. Here in this world we must walk by faith and not by sight. And if we look for the praise of people, we're not going to get it. And here in this life, we must sow and labor and fight and endure persecution, and we are to know that this life is not all there is.One day retribution will come and heaven will make amends for all. Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." 1 Corinthians 2:6. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for his glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this.For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, what no I has seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined which God has prepared for those who love him. These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. We see what King Herod thought of John the Baptist. King Herod's opinion doesn't really matter. John the Baptist cared more not about what King Herod thought of him, but what King Jesus thought about him.And what did King Jesus think of John the Baptist? Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:11, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist. Until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."John the Baptist, according to Christ, was the greatest of all men that was ever born. Why? Because John knew his place, he knew his job, and his job was to proclaim Christ. He knew that he was to decrease so that Christ would increase. In John's cruel death, we're also given a glimpse of Jesus' faith, that Jesus' ministry would eventually take him to Jerusalem where he would be rejected and imprisoned and ultimately mocked, scourged, and crucified. And there are numerous parallels between John and Christ.Each was eagerly heard and become the object of curiosity of a leader. John with Herod, Jesus with Pilate, each false victim to his enemy's murderous intention, is arrested, bound, and ignominiously executed and buried. Thanks be to God, Jesus' head wasn't put on a platter. That Jesus, even though he was crucified, in his crucifixion, in his death, he conquered death and the grave and he rose on the third day. Since he's far greater than even John himself, he overcame death.And in his death, we see the death of death itself. The last recorded mention of Herod, this Herod, presents him as a hardened blasphemer. At the end of Jesus' life, Pilate sends Jesus to Herod and Herod has another opportunity to repent of his sin. In Luke 23:6, when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he heard that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem. At that time.When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desire to see him, because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. And the chief priest and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with the soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other on that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Herod gladly received the servants of John.And here you see the progression into sin, where when Christ is right before, he stands face to face with the Son of God, all he can do is mock. He's absolutely dead inside, jaded. He had passed the point of no return, a point when repentance is no longer given. Friends, you just need to know this is a reality. If you keep prolonging repentance, the day of repentance, the day of turning from sin and turning to Christ, at some point there will be a day of no return, at some point the gift of repentance will not be extended to you, at some point the Holy Spirit will stop wooing.So what do we need to do? If you hear God's voice today in your heart, repent of sin and turn to him. Acts 17. Paul before the men of Athens and the Areopagus, he says, "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given insurance to all by raising him from the dead." Now, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.But others said, "We will hear you again about this." So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined them and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. Today, if you hear the voices of God, repent from sin and turn to Christ, recognize that Christ is the only way of salvation. His sacrifice on the cross is the only sacrifice that can atone for our sins and the wrath that they deserve.Today, we are celebrating holy communion in which we remember the sufferings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf when he laid down his life for his sheep, for whom is communion. It is for repentant followers of Jesus Christ. If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, if you have not repented of sin, if you have not believed in him, today is your opportunity to do that, repent of sin and turn to him. If you are a self-identified believer in Jesus Christ, but you know that there's unrepented sin in your life, sin that you have not left, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service.So do nothing for you. Instead, take time to meditate on the gospel. If you are a repentant follower of Christ, you'd like to partake of holy communion. And if you have not received the elements, please raise your hand and one of the ushers will bring them to you. And as they do that, I'll read 1 Corinthians 11:23-32. For I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."In the same way also, he took the cup after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Would you pray with me over holy communion? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your lavish love and sending your Jesus Christ for us. Jesus, we thank you that you died on the cross for our sins while we were yet sinners.You died for us recognizing that this was the only way to save us from our sin and save us from the wrath to come. Lord Jesus, we thank you that even as you hung on that cross, you were busy forgiving people, crying out, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." We recognize from that text even ignorance of our sin is not defense against the wrath of God. So we plead the blood, we ask Jesus forgive us of our sins.We repent of breaking commandments, transgressing commandments, and we pray by the grace of God that you give us the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives of righteousness. As we remember your suffering on the cross today, let us be sobered by the fact that that's what it took to save us from our sin. So how can we continue living in sin? Give us a hunger and thirst for righteousness and continue to satisfy us with your presence. And Lord Jesus, we thank you that you did not stay dead.You rose on the third day, and today you are sitting at the right hand of God ruling and reigning. We pray that you continue to establish your kingdom all around the world and in particular in our region. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name, amen. There are two lids. You open the top lid to open the cup and the bottom lid to open the bread. On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread. And after breaking it, he said, "This is my body broken for you. Take eat and do this in remembrance of me."Then proceeded to take the cup and he said, "This cup is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is poured up for the sins of many. Take drink and do this and remembrance of me." Oh Lord, we thank you that you have chosen us to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for your own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of our king, a king who calls us out of darkness into your marvelous light. We thank you, Lord, that you offer us your mercy and your grace.We thank you that you offer us your presence in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we pray, Lord, that you continue to bless this church, continue to draw your elect, and continue to sanctify every single one of us so we grow ever more beautiful in your sight. Make us a people who are more courageous than ever, more bold than ever, proclaiming the gospel at every opportunity that we have. And make us a people, Lord, that revel in the fact that we are yours and you are a great and mighty king, an excellent king. And we love you and we pray all this in Jesus' name, amen.

This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Oh Holy God, Heavenly Father, we come to you in reverence and trepidation at your greatness, your mightiness. You are a glorious God. And Lord, we thank you so much that you did not leave us in our sin, in our darkness, but you sent your son Jesus Christ, the light of the world, the truth, the way, the life. And Jesus, we thank you for providing a way for our salvation, for our forgiveness of sin, for our transfer from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved son. And Lord Jesus, we thank you for proclaiming the truth as boldly as you did, and that boldness took you to a cross.And we thank you for the example of your choice servants who proclaim the truth, no matter the consequences, many of whom were martyred for the faith. And we thank you that their blood was the seed of the church. We thank you for all those that you sent while we were still in darkness to proclaim the gospel to us boldly. And we thank you, Lord, that you give us grace and that you empower us by the power of the Holy Spirit to go and proclaim the gospel to anyone who would hear.And I pray, Lord, that you grow our fearlessness in proclamation of the word of God, the truth, the gospel no matter what the consequences, no matter the opposition. I pray that you make us so people who care more about what you think than even what earthly rulers think about us. And Lord, help us proclaim the truth and love and in kindness, but boldly. Lord, we thank you for the example of your disciples, the apostles, and we thank you for the example of John the Baptist who proclaimed the truth to a king, an earthly, wicked, degenerate king, and he was beheaded for it.And Lord Jesus, as we look at that example, I pray, let us just marvel at the fact that a little embarrassment, a little discomfort when we proclaim the truth, how many of us are thwarted from continuing the mission because of that and how silly all of that is in comparison to those who've gone before us. And Lord, as the world turns even darker in opposition to you, more godless and persecution becomes an ever present reality. I pray that we unflinchingly continue to further your kingdom by proclaiming your truth.Bless our time, the holy scriptures today. We pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen. On this Communion Sunday, the title of the sermon is Proclaim the King's Excellencies as we continue through our sermon series in the Gospel of Mark. When the Lord Jesus Christ saves a sinner, he doesn't just save us from something, he saves us for something. And that for something should preoccupy our hearts and minds and that for something must be the purpose and the direction of our lives.Yes, Lord, you've saved me from hell. You've saved me from eternal punishment, from bondage to sin, from being a pawn of Satan. Now what would you have me do? And the Lord answers and says, "Become fishers of men. Continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ so people are freed from the nets of Satan and sin to the new exodus and following Christ." And how do we do this? We do it by proclaiming the excellencies of the king.In 1 Peter 2:9 it says, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you are not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Did you notice the purpose? He says, this is why God saved us, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Christ. This is the purpose of every elect, blood-bought, redeemed, justified child of God.Our purpose is to be representatives of Christ and to represent Christ is to do the work that Christ did and continues to do, which is to proclaim the truth that Jesus is king and he rules the world with his law, the 10 commandments. To proclaim Christ is to tell people that they have sinned, that they have transgressed commandments. They are under God's wrath. However, whosoever repents of their sin and believes in Christ will be forgiven, will be given mercy, and will be given a mission to proclaim the excellencies of Christ.And for Christ to procure mercy for us, what did that entail? Entailed a gruesome, gory, grim sacrifice. It demanded crucifixion. Jesus Christ was crucified for proclaiming the truth. Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised and should actually expect that when we lovingly, faithfully, kindly proclaim Christ, this will come at a cost. For some of us, it may even require death itself just like our Lord and just like John the Baptist and just like most of the apostles. Today, we are in Mark 6:7-29 as we continue our series, Kingdom Come.Would you look at the text with me? And he, Christ, called the 12 and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guess, he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.This is the reading of God's holy, inherent, Infallible, authoritative word. May he write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame up our time. Proclaim that people should repent, proclaim the law and the gospel fearlessly, fearing God is the secret to fearlessness. First, proclaim that people should repent. In verse seven, he, Jesus, called the 12 and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. Why two by two? This is probably reflecting the Jewish practice of sending official representatives in pairs.And also in the Hebrew scriptures, there is a stipulation that two witnesses are required to establish legal testimony. So he commissions the 12 to extend the work that he was doing. He said, "I have come to teach the word of God and to proclaim the gospel for the kingdom of God is here for people to repent and believe." So here he sends out the 12 two by two. Practically why two by two, well, this provides for encouragement in particular in those moments where there is rejection.When a whole town says, "We want nothing to do with the message of God. Get out," at those moments, we need encouragement, and also accountability to continue proclaiming the truth as it has been given and not trying to make it more palatable for people by softening it. And this here shows us that we need Christian community. We need brothers and sisters in our lives for our own souls, but then also for the effectiveness of the mission that Jesus called us to. We need Christian community.We need the church. Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love in good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." So even back then in the early church, they already had the issue where people believed that all I need is Jesus. All I need is scripture. I don't need the church. I don't need spiritual authority or accountability. Even back then, people were neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some.So friends, continue to make it a priority to come to church. I'm obviously speaking to people who are at church. Good job, keep doing what you're doing. But for those who are listening online, and I think during COVID when we were streaming our services, people just got into the pattern of like, that's okay. That's not okay. That's why we took our streaming off. And I'm even tempted at the point of take all the sermons offline. Offline is not real. It's not real. That's just enough to get you into church.And not just church, but community. At Mosaic, we are a church that draws thousands over the course of a year. There's thousands that come and there's thousands that go. So how are we to experience community? How do we experience this two by two ministry? We do that through our community groups. So if you are not in a community group, these are small groups of brothers and sisters that meet all across the city, all across the region over the course of the week, we'd love to have you join.Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe him who is alone when he falls and has not another lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken." And here in our verse it says that he began to send them out.Not only does this communicate that this is the start of their mission, but also it communicates that the mission continues, that Jesus continues to send us out as he had sent them out. And he says it began to send, this is the verb form of the word apostle, an apostle is someone who has been sent out with the authority of another. And Jesus, while still on earth, physically sends out the disciples to gain experience ministering the word of God.He entrusts them with his authority, gives them an opportunity to use the authority to make the mistakes that they would make in using that authority so that they can come back to Jesus. He would rectify it and clarify and continue to train them up to serve him. This is just an example of the ministry that Jesus had already been doing. And Mark 6:6, that's the verse before our text. He was in Nazareth and Galilee. He marveled because of their unbelief. That's his hometown.And he went out among the villages teaching. Despite rejection that he encountered in his hometown, he doesn't give up on his people. He continues to minister to them by sending the apostles out for another round of redemptive teaching. Now, we are not apostles, but we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are followers of Jesus Christ, and most of us most likely aren't called to being international ministries or cross-cultural ministries, missionaries or full-time pastors and teachers. But we are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ wherever we are.We might not be sent around the world, but we are still sent across the street. Our city is our mission field and, you and I, we're laborers that Christ sends out to gather in the harvest right here on our doorstep. I don't know if you've noticed, but traffic has been getting worse in the area. The congestion's terrible, the double parking. I've never seen so many people double parking. I think it's the Uber Eats and such, but I used to get irritated by traffic and irritated by people double parking.I've chilled out partially because I changed my music. I started listening to monastic chants in my vehicle. It's very soothing. It helps with driving in peace. It's tremendous. And now whenever I'm in traffic, I get behind someone, I'm like, okay, you're double-parked. All right. I just pray for them, like Lord, save this person from their wicked ways of not following the law and such. But as I see people, there's people from all over the world all around us. The Lord is drawing people from all over.They're here. This is why we exist. We are on mission to proclaim the gospel to all who would listen, to all who would hear. And we have the authority of Jesus Christ. Just as he gave to his early disciples, he has given to us as the church. He says, go and make disciples of all nations. And he says, when you do, when you make disciples of all nations, I am with you until the end of the age. We experience the fullness of Christ's presence in particular when on mission proclaiming the truth.And his authority and the authority that he gave to the disciples is his own. He doesn't just pray to the Father. Father, I pray that you empower them. No. He gives them his own authority which reminds us of who Jesus really is. He is the Son of God. He is God. Authority resides in him and he exercises rule over the church as it goes and he does command us to go and proclaim. In Mark 6:8, he charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.The staffs were used for walking on rough terrain and for defense against wild animals and criminals, et cetera. And Jesus here says, okay, fine. Take a staff, but no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. And what he's saying is, I'm going to provide. You're on mission doing my work. It's my business that you are going about doing, and I will provide for you in the same way that I provided for the Israelites in the desert. If you remember, the Israelites were sustained by God. They didn't have food, but he sent food from heaven.Rain manna. Their clothing by God's grace was supernaturally preserved from deterioration and Jesus instructs them to take just the basics of staff and sandals, which is an allusion to Exodus 12:11 when he was preparing them during the Passover meal before the Exodus. It says Exodus 12:11, in this manner you shall eat it with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. So the disciples' missionary journey is similar to the old exodus, but their journey is a new exodus. T.Hey are people who are called by Jesus for freedom from sin and bondage and to go about and travel lightly so that they move quickly to call people out of bondage to sin and Satan. I do want to mention the Bible never sees renunciation of physical goods as a good in itself, but only as a necessity in some circumstances. This particular renunciation was not intended as a universal rule binding all disciples at all times. Though the simple faith that Jesus will provide when we are in the middle of his will doing his work, that is a universal rule.Later in Gethsemane, after the disciples had thoroughly learned this lesson to rely on the Lord for his provision, to depend only on him, after they learned that lesson, Jesus said, now that he is leaving, we are to procure resources in Luke 23:35. And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said "Nothing." And he said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one."First time he sends them out while he was still here. He says, "Don't take any money. Don't take a sword. Don't take food." The second time, he says, "When I leave, I want you prepared. I want you to have resources." After they learn to depend on the Lord, the Lord says, "We are to be prepared with resources if we can have them." Why? Because poverty is never the ideal in the Bible. Although if need be, it must be gladly embraced in God's service for Christ's sake. Verse 10.He said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." And here the mission of the disciples according to Christ must be marked by a humble persistence. They were to be aware that not everyone's going to receive this message. Many will actually be opposed to it and reject it.And whenever the disciples are accepted, they should remain in the place where they are and enjoy the resources that those who accepted the message would provide them with. But we are to be prepared as they were to be prepared that rejection is a reality of being a faithful proclaimer of the gospel. Mark 13:13, and you will, this is a promise, you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.He says, "Shake the dust that is on your feet when you are rejected," is a sign that when you are rejected, you are to reject the place that has rejected the message. And the very difficulty of the act, dust is not so easily removed, especially from sandaled feet that have been walking on unpaved middle Eastern roads. Hence, that the depth of feeling that evokes it. Not even the tiniest reminder of the place should be left upon them. They must assiduously purge themselves of every trace of it.And God himself will see to the latter on the day of judgment when the very dust will cry out as a witness against them. And verse 12. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. They proclaimed that people should repent, not just sharing of the gospel. Sharing assumes that we're offering something that people want, share a recipe or share a meal or share a good laugh.But we aren't called to just share the gospel, we're called to proclaim that people should repent and boldly declare it whether it's welcome or not. I remember when I just moved to the city and I didn't know how to start a church as a church planner... I did street evangelism. I was just walking around the streets and I did spiritual surveys and asked people if they'd have a couple minutes to answer some survey questions I had. After the 1,000th conversation and no one got saved, I'm like, Lord Jesus, does this text apply to me?Can I dust off my boots from the dust of Boston, please? This was a message for them in this particular journey, but there were other examples where they lived in an area for years and they continue to administer. The emphasis here isn't on leaving a place. The emphasis here is on not taking a rejection personally. They're not rejecting you, they're rejecting the Lord, and that should grieve our hearts, but it can't immobilize us and we shouldn't be surprised by it. You can't take it personally because then that just keeps you from proclaiming the gospel.They reject you, go to the next person and to the next person and to the next person. It's not we that converts people, it's God that does it. We are to sow the seed and to proclaim the truth and testify to it. What is the message? The message is that time is short. We're all mortal, and judgment is coming. Hell is real. And we are to flee the wrath that is to come. We are to hear the alarm sounding and get ourselves to safety. And the only source of safety, the only refuge, the only sanctuary is our savior Jesus Christ.And the message is that everyone is to repent. There are no impendent people in the kingdom of heaven. All who enter the kingdom have mourned over sin, forsaken it and sought pardon for it. In this particular commissioning, Jesus is preparing his disciples for what will happen on Pentecost when they will receive a permanent commission to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. And Jesus here is preparing them for after they receive the Holy Spirit to do things greater than even he did, which is a startling statement.But in John 14:12, he says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I'm going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." What does it mean that we're going to do greater things than Christ himself did? Well, he's not talking about individually. He's talking about as a church, as the body of Christ.We've been given talents and opportunities, and together, he's saying, we're going to do greater things than Christ did in his incarnate state when he was on earth. The disciples went and proclaimed the gospel, cast out demons, and healed people by anointing them. And James 5:14 says, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." Point two is proclaim the law and the gospel fearlessly.Verse 14, King Herod heard of it for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." There's only two passages in the Gospel of Mark not about Jesus Christ, and those two are about John the Baptist in chapter one. And here John was the forerunner of Jesus' ministry and also the forerunner of Jesus' death. And in both cases, both men stood before wicked, cowardly, tyrants fully aware of the innocence of both John and Jesus.And nevertheless, they feared the pressure of the people, and therefore they executed John and James. I do want to point out that it wasn't the disciples' names that were made known. As they did their work, as they proclaimed the gospel, as they healed people, it was the name of Jesus that had become known. The disciples preaching in wonder working are the means for Christ's name to become known. The miracles worked by the 12 disciples were really performed by Christ.It was his authority, his power. They were wielding his power. And the work's done by the disciples didn't cause the people in Galilee or even King Herod to wonder who are these disciples. They're wondering who is this Jesus that they are proclaiming. They weren't confused whose power it was. And that brings us to King Herod. Who is this Herod? This is Herod Antipas. He is the son of King Herod the Great who tried to kill Jesus when he was born. King Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, ruled in the Transjordan region from 4 BC until his exile in 39 AD.This is the king whom Jesus called that fox in Luke 13, a reference to King Herod's malice, his cunning, his shrewdness and lack of pity and his love of degenerate decadence. In 39 AD, he was recalled to Rome and replaced by his nephew, the infamous Herod Agrippa, who later killed James and imprisoned Peter. In Mark 6:15 it says, but others said he's Elijah and others said he is a prophet like one of the prophets of old. But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."Actually the dirty work wasn't done by Herod himself, it was by an executioner as we see later in the text. But here in the Greek, there's an emphatic I myself have beheaded. This is John whom I myself had beheaded, which reveals that King Herod's conscience has been disturbing him. His conscience has been terrifying him. It shows us that although he thought himself a king, he wasn't king over his conscience. The truth was the law of God was. And for Herod, the supernatural miracle, he thought Jesus was John comeback from the dead, and he believed it.That supernatural miracle itself was not enough to bring him to repentance. That's how stubborn he was and hardened in his sin. The assumed divine miracle, John's resurrection, is a cause not for celebration but for terror. And here I also want to point out that John was so Christlike that when Herod hears about Christ, he confuses Christ with John. That's how much John had decreased so that Jesus could increase. He represented Jesus with his whole being. Who was John the Baptist?He was a miracle child born to the aged Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth. He was a Nazarite from birth, a result of explicit orders of the angel Gabriel. His hair was never cut. He never touched a dead body or drank fermented drink, according to Numbers 6. And he took up the clothing of the ancient prophets wearing a rough coat of camel's hair and leather belt and subsisting in the wilderness and the diet of locusts and wild honey. He was a man of good conscience and therefore moral courage.When he spoke the word of God, everybody knew that it rang true because of John's integrity. And he would lose his head, but not his witness. John made way for the Lord, preparing the way for Christ by boldly denouncing sin and calling people to radical repentance, as seen in Matthew 3:7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.And do not presume to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he'll burn with unquenchable fire."Jesus is neither John the Baptist, Herod got it wrong, nor Elijah. Jesus was John's contemporary, so he's not him. And with respect to Elijah, Mark already said he linked Elijah with John, not Jesus. And Jesus wasn't just a prophet. He did use that term to characterize himself, but it definitely wasn't sufficient to characterize him. Verse 17. For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.For John had been saying to Herod, "It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And here, what is John appealing to? It's not lawful. What law is he appealing to? Look how simple and plain and straightforward his message was. It's not lawful for you to have another man's wife. You've committed adultery, Herod. You've transgressed the Seventh Commandment. You've taken Herodias from your brother, so she is an adulterous as well, and he's calling them to repentance.He proclaims the plain truth regardless of the consequences. And what he's telling King Herod, consider himself a king, he's saying, there's a king above you. There's a law above you. You are not above the law. It's the law of God, and the law of God is law over everyone. It's enforced over everyone. It doesn't matter if you identify as a Christian, it doesn't matter if you identify as a believer of the scripture, none of that matters. God is God over everyone. His law governs everyone. Some people erroneously think that when you preach the gospel, you never mention the law.When you're sharing "the gospel," the law isn't necessary. The law is only for believers. First trust in Jesus, get grace, and then we can talk about the law, then we can talk about how you are to live. This is false, because you can't call people to repentance if they do not know what they are to repent of. And John as an Elijah like figure is zealous for the Lord and his law, and he's going to proclaim it to both Herod and Herodias no matter how much it antagonizes them, no matter how much they want to kill him.And that brings us to point three, fearing God is the secret to fearlessness. John, where did you get the power to be so fearless, so courageous, so bold in proclaiming this truth to a king? He got it from fearing God more than anyone else. He didn't care what King Herod thinks about him. He cared more about what King Jesus thinks about him. In verse 19, Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe.When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, yet he heard him gladly." John's very existence caused Herodias unease in her conscience, yet she's hardened and seared in her conscience by her wickedness and won't rest until he is dead. And Herod feared John. He wanted to protect the life of John knowing that he's righteous and holy. So he arrests John to protect John from Herodias. This is how conflicted this man was. Herod was convicted by John's words, yet he gladly listened to them.Most likely the prison was in the same place where his palace was and he would just bring John up and say, "John, do your thing." And John with his camel hair and he's got his leather belt and he is like, "You broke commandment number seven. Repent. And Herodias too." And then Herodias gets mad and Herod's like, "Continue," and oh, just continuously gladly welcoming the message, feared the guy, knows it's true, it rings true, definitely resonates, and he's willing to listen. He's willing to observe, heard him gladly.But there was one thing that Herod wasn't willing to do. He wasn't willing to cease from his adultery. He wouldn't give up Herodias, and so he ends up ruining his soul. Verse 21. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading man of Galilee. Those present at this party were the petty lords and the Roman battalion commanders, the tribunes. So these men gather in Herod's fortress palace where John was imprisoned.And the text doesn't explicitly say, but a birthday in such luxurious confines of the royal palace with all the big wigs certainly implied large quantities of alcohol. And from Mark's report, there's possibility that Herod was definitely well-lubricated when Herodias finally traps him in verse 22. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish and I'll give it to you."Josephus, the famed Jewish historian, tells us that this young woman named Salome was in her middle teens at this time, so she dances in a very explicit way. Here we see that King Herod gets excited to the point where his braggadocio is turned on and he vows in verse 23, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you up to half of my kingdom." And this is probably a figure of speech in any case, because the kingdom wasn't his to give. It was Rome's. And so verse 24, she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?"And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in and immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The instantaneous reply of Herodias implies premeditation. So the cunning demonic forces that have been working for John's downfall now at last have sprung their trap. Here Herodias is presented as another Jezebel, manipulating her cowardly and indecisive husband and seeking the death of the Lord's prophet.And one begins to wonder who initiated the adultery. Herodias didn't mention the platter. The platter was... It was a touch of the girl, the daughter's own ghastly touch. And verse 26. The king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to break his word to her. The moment of truth has come for Herod. It's a crucial test of his soul. He has to decide between saving face and saving John. He knew who John was. He's a holy and righteous man. He knew that God's hand was upon him, and to go against John is to go against God.And he here now has to decide between the opinions of the noble guests and the truth. He's got to decide between gaining the world and gaining his soul. It says he was exceedingly sorry. He was greatly distressed. The word is only used one other time the New Testament, and that was to describe Jesus' pain in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was greatly distressed when he saw the suffering before him. And here Herod's grief was real, but he had been trapped. And this shows us that grief over sin is not repentance.Being sorry over your sin or sorry over the situation that your sin has got you in, that's not true repentance. True repentance is turning from that sin and turning to a path of righteousness and following Christ. Herod's conscience had been awakened by John and he suppressed the truth because of what he feared others would think. I think there are many today who are in a similar predicament where you know that Christ is king, where you know that the holy scriptures are true.What else is other than scriptures? You know that eternal life is only found in Christ, and you're not public about it or you won't follow Christ in your daily life. And how many people's consciousness have been awakened to eternal truth and they've quenched that because of their fear of, what are my friends going to think? What's my family going to think? And whenever you have conversation like this about the gospel and you get people to the point where you got to make a decision and they're like, okay, what kind of Christian are you?I'm not a big fan of that question. A true one. There's only one type of Christian. You're saved or not. And if you are saved, you have to be public about it. You have to testify to the truth of it, to care more about what God thinks than what people think. Mark 6:27. Immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. Besides gratifying a sadistic whim, the production of the head on a platter is proof that John has been killed.And the title king is used over and over in our text in particular here. It's technically inaccurate. He wasn't a king. He was a tetrarch. He was a puppet for Rome. But the title king is repeated ironically because Herod wasn't a king. He was outwitted and manipulated by two women and hamstrung by his own oath and his fear of losing faith before his subjects. The supposed king wasn't king even over himself. He couldn't control himself much less his subjects. He's over mastered by his sin.He's over mastered by his desires. He's over mastered by his emotions, which swing wildly from superstitious dread, he thinks Jesus is John resurrected, to awe and fascination and confusion to arousal that seems to border on insanity and to extreme depression. In this context, his pretensions to royal authority appear almost like a farce. He appears to rule whereas actually his strings are being pulled by others. The tyrant isn't even a true king over himself. He's a slave to his own passions.Herod lets John die, and thus shows himself to be among those in whom despite their attraction to the kingdom of God, despite the fact that the seeds seem like they have been planted in his heart, he's gladly listening to the word, he's gladly listening to the sermons, but the cares and concerns of this age end up choking the word. A lesson for each one of us here is if you fear God more than man, you might lose your head, but not your soul. And if you fear man over God, you might keep your head.You might even become more prosperous and lose your soul in the process. And Jesus said, "What prophet is it to someone gain the whole world and yet lose their soul?" For Herod, saving faith was more important than saving his soul. Verse 29. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. We see finally in these verses how little reward one of God's greatest servants gets in this world. John's life after a life of faithful witness to Christ ends in unjust imprisonment and a violent death.Like Steven, like James and like the other apostles of whom the world was not worthy, he was called to seal his testimony with his blood. Histories like these are meant to remind us that the true Christians' best things are yet to come. His rest, his crown, his wages, his reward are all on the other side of the grave. Here in this world we must walk by faith and not by sight. And if we look for the praise of people, we're not going to get it. And here in this life, we must sow and labor and fight and endure persecution, and we are to know that this life is not all there is.One day retribution will come and heaven will make amends for all. Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." 1 Corinthians 2:6. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for his glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this.For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, what no I has seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined which God has prepared for those who love him. These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. We see what King Herod thought of John the Baptist. King Herod's opinion doesn't really matter. John the Baptist cared more not about what King Herod thought of him, but what King Jesus thought about him.And what did King Jesus think of John the Baptist? Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:11, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist. Until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."John the Baptist, according to Christ, was the greatest of all men that was ever born. Why? Because John knew his place, he knew his job, and his job was to proclaim Christ. He knew that he was to decrease so that Christ would increase. In John's cruel death, we're also given a glimpse of Jesus' faith, that Jesus' ministry would eventually take him to Jerusalem where he would be rejected and imprisoned and ultimately mocked, scourged, and crucified. And there are numerous parallels between John and Christ.Each was eagerly heard and become the object of curiosity of a leader. John with Herod, Jesus with Pilate, each false victim to his enemy's murderous intention, is arrested, bound, and ignominiously executed and buried. Thanks be to God, Jesus' head wasn't put on a platter. That Jesus, even though he was crucified, in his crucifixion, in his death, he conquered death and the grave and he rose on the third day. Since he's far greater than even John himself, he overcame death.And in his death, we see the death of death itself. The last recorded mention of Herod, this Herod, presents him as a hardened blasphemer. At the end of Jesus' life, Pilate sends Jesus to Herod and Herod has another opportunity to repent of his sin. In Luke 23:6, when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he heard that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem. At that time.When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desire to see him, because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. And the chief priest and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with the soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other on that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Herod gladly received the servants of John.And here you see the progression into sin, where when Christ is right before, he stands face to face with the Son of God, all he can do is mock. He's absolutely dead inside, jaded. He had passed the point of no return, a point when repentance is no longer given. Friends, you just need to know this is a reality. If you keep prolonging repentance, the day of repentance, the day of turning from sin and turning to Christ, at some point there will be a day of no return, at some point the gift of repentance will not be extended to you, at some point the Holy Spirit will stop wooing.So what do we need to do? If you hear God's voice today in your heart, repent of sin and turn to him. Acts 17. Paul before the men of Athens and the Areopagus, he says, "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given insurance to all by raising him from the dead." Now, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.But others said, "We will hear you again about this." So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined them and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. Today, if you hear the voices of God, repent from sin and turn to Christ, recognize that Christ is the only way of salvation. His sacrifice on the cross is the only sacrifice that can atone for our sins and the wrath that they deserve.Today, we are celebrating holy communion in which we remember the sufferings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf when he laid down his life for his sheep, for whom is communion. It is for repentant followers of Jesus Christ. If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, if you have not repented of sin, if you have not believed in him, today is your opportunity to do that, repent of sin and turn to him. If you are a self-identified believer in Jesus Christ, but you know that there's unrepented sin in your life, sin that you have not left, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service.So do nothing for you. Instead, take time to meditate on the gospel. If you are a repentant follower of Christ, you'd like to partake of holy communion. And if you have not received the elements, please raise your hand and one of the ushers will bring them to you. And as they do that, I'll read 1 Corinthians 11:23-32. For I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."In the same way also, he took the cup after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Would you pray with me over holy communion? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your lavish love and sending your Jesus Christ for us. Jesus, we thank you that you died on the cross for our sins while we were yet sinners.You died for us recognizing that this was the only way to save us from our sin and save us from the wrath to come. Lord Jesus, we thank you that even as you hung on that cross, you were busy forgiving people, crying out, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." We recognize from that text even ignorance of our sin is not defense against the wrath of God. So we plead the blood, we ask Jesus forgive us of our sins.We repent of breaking commandments, transgressing commandments, and we pray by the grace of God that you give us the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives of righteousness. As we remember your suffering on the cross today, let us be sobered by the fact that that's what it took to save us from our sin. So how can we continue living in sin? Give us a hunger and thirst for righteousness and continue to satisfy us with your presence. And Lord Jesus, we thank you that you did not stay dead.You rose on the third day, and today you are sitting at the right hand of God ruling and reigning. We pray that you continue to establish your kingdom all around the world and in particular in our region. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name, amen. There are two lids. You open the top lid to open the cup and the bottom lid to open the bread. On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread. And after breaking it, he said, "This is my body broken for you. Take eat and do this in remembrance of me."Then proceeded to take the cup and he said, "This cup is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is poured up for the sins of many. Take drink and do this and remembrance of me." Oh Lord, we thank you that you have chosen us to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for your own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of our king, a king who calls us out of darkness into your marvelous light. We thank you, Lord, that you offer us your mercy and your grace.We thank you that you offer us your presence in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we pray, Lord, that you continue to bless this church, continue to draw your elect, and continue to sanctify every single one of us so we grow ever more beautiful in your sight. Make us a people who are more courageous than ever, more bold than ever, proclaiming the gospel at every opportunity that we have. And make us a people, Lord, that revel in the fact that we are yours and you are a great and mighty king, an excellent king. And we love you and we pray all this in Jesus' name, amen.

SHOW NOTES: - Head to our Start Page for all you need to begin! - Join the RECAPtains - Check out the TBR Store - Show credits - Listen to Scrooge: A Christmas Carol   FROM TODAY'S PODCAST:  - Acts 6:1-7 - Matthew 2 - Article: Who was Herod Agrippa? - Video: Acts Overview (Part 2) - TBR in Spanish   SOCIALS: The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter D-Group: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter TLC: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter   D-GROUP: The Bible Recap is brought to you by D-Group - an international network of discipleship and accountability groups that meet weekly in homes and churches: Find or start one near you today!   DISCLAIMER:  The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact.

SHOW NOTES: - Head to our Start Page for all you need to begin! - Join the RECAPtains - Check out the TBR Store - Show credits - Listen to Scrooge: A Christmas Carol   FROM TODAY'S PODCAST:  - Acts 6:1-7 - Matthew 2 - Article: Who was Herod Agrippa? - Video: Acts Overview (Part 2) - TBR in Spanish   SOCIALS: The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter D-Group: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter TLC: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter   D-GROUP: The Bible Recap is brought to you by D-Group - an international network of discipleship and accountability groups that meet weekly in homes and churches: Find or start one near you today!   DISCLAIMER:  The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact.

Almost—sometimes it's said in relief. Sometimes it's said to excuse. Other times in grief. Whenever and however it's said, it all points back to what might be: “What I could have, should have, glad I didn't do.” To- day, as we study Acts 26, we'll grapy with the most compelling “almost” statement in Scripture. The words of Herod Agrippa beg us to give a response. Welcome to Campion Church. May the Holy Spirit guide us today as we come together in worship and study. May we leave this day determined to not just “almost” act on what He calls us to do.

From Luke's chronology of the early church, an unlikely character appears. Herod Agrippa, a persecutor of The Way, makes an early morning speech. The rising sun illuminates his silver tunic, and his audience proclaims him a god. Is the lesson that we are not to take glory for ourselves, or is there something more? Join Dr. James Boice next time, on The Bible Study Hour as he explores a minor story with a major purpose. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29

How does understanding God's nature help us understand missionary work and priesthood authority? Dr. Michael Goodman explores the expanding Church, Peter's growth, and God's prophetic pattern for teaching His children.00:00 Part 1–Dr. Michael Goodman01:11 Introduction of Dr. Michael Goodman03:12 Background and context04:49 God's plan involves everyone07:56 Teaching Jews and then Gentiles08:55 Understanding the nature of God 10:17 Cornelius's vision and conversion13:25 Peter's vision of clean animals and missionary work17:03 Policy, programs, and progress19:03 Edmund from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe20:11 Is it salvific?22:30 The Cornelius story continues25:20 God is no respecter of persons30:04 God is biased toward His children31:58 Elder Bednar teaches how God teaches 34:08 The prophetic pattern36:13 Acts 10 and Article of Faith 937:41 Converting to Christianity questions40:30 The Holy Ghost and the power to remember42:05 The persecution of Stephen46:48 Learning to accept Saints 50:29 Herod Agrippa, James, and Peter imprisoned55:20 Trusting God and His timing59:42 Emily Watts' story of a pioneer girl1:02:18 Elder Foster shares a story about a girl that drowned1:05:25 John Mark is introduced1:08:04 Paul and Barnabas and a sorcerer1:13:15 The History of Israel in Acts1:15:50 Paul is successful 1:19:49 End of Part 1–Dr. Michael GoodmanPlease rate and review the podcast.Show Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-piano

Today, we feature a powerful devotional thought from Pastor Greg's Daily Devotion. Follow Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie here. --- We can't create a revival. We can't organize a revival. But we can agonize in prayer for a revival. A revival is a supernatural invasion of God. It is something that God does for us and not something we do for Him. One person defined revival as a community saturated with God. Richard Owen Roberts, who wrote a great book called Revival, described it as “an extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results.” A. W. Tozer defined revival as that which changes the moral climate of the community. Revival is nothing more or less than a new beginning of obedience to God. And really, nonbelievers don't need revival; they need salvation. The church needs revival. Revival is for believers only, but evangelism is for nonbelievers. Charles Spurgeon said, “To be revived is a blessing which can only be enjoyed by those who have some degree of life. Those who have no spiritual life are not, and cannot be, in the strictest sense of the term, subjects of a revival. A true revival is to be looked for in the Church of God.” I don't think most Americans have heard an authentic, biblical gospel presentation. In fact, I think we have a lot of “almost Christians” in our nation today. They know a little about the gospel, but they don't understand it fully. They haven't responded to it or embraced it. For example, when the apostle Paul presented the gospel to Herod Agrippa, the ruler said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28 NKJV). One of the greatest revivals in human history started with one man, Jonah. Initially he ran from God, but ultimately he came to his senses. God has called us, like Jonah, to go and preach the gospel. The question is, are we doing it? --- JESUS REVOLUTION is in theaters everywhere February 24, 2023. Catch an early screening February 22. Go to https://jesusrevolution.movie/  This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we feature a powerful devotional thought from Pastor Greg's Daily Devotion. Follow Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie here. --- We can't create a revival. We can't organize a revival. But we can agonize in prayer for a revival. A revival is a supernatural invasion of God. It is something that God does for us and not something we do for Him. One person defined revival as a community saturated with God. Richard Owen Roberts, who wrote a great book called Revival, described it as “an extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results.” A. W. Tozer defined revival as that which changes the moral climate of the community. Revival is nothing more or less than a new beginning of obedience to God. And really, nonbelievers don't need revival; they need salvation. The church needs revival. Revival is for believers only, but evangelism is for nonbelievers. Charles Spurgeon said, “To be revived is a blessing which can only be enjoyed by those who have some degree of life. Those who have no spiritual life are not, and cannot be, in the strictest sense of the term, subjects of a revival. A true revival is to be looked for in the Church of God.” I don't think most Americans have heard an authentic, biblical gospel presentation. In fact, I think we have a lot of “almost Christians” in our nation today. They know a little about the gospel, but they don't understand it fully. They haven't responded to it or embraced it. For example, when the apostle Paul presented the gospel to Herod Agrippa, the ruler said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28 NKJV). One of the greatest revivals in human history started with one man, Jonah. Initially he ran from God, but ultimately he came to his senses. God has called us, like Jonah, to go and preach the gospel. The question is, are we doing it? --- JESUS REVOLUTION is in theaters everywhere February 24, 2023. Catch an early screening February 22. Go to https://jesusrevolution.movie/  This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SHOW NOTES:  - All the info you need to START is on our website! Seriously, go there. - Join our PATREON community for bonus perks! - Get your TBR merch - Show credits   FROM TODAY'S PODCAST:  - Acts 6:1-7 - Matthew 2 - Article: Who was Herod Agrippa? - Video: Acts Overview (Part Two)   SOCIALS: The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter D-Group: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter TLC: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter   D-GROUP: The Bible Recap is brought to you by D-Group - an international network of discipleship and accountability groups that meet weekly in homes and churches: Find or start one near you today!   DISCLAIMER: The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact.

Paul's story continues as he comes to the courtroom of the cruel governor, Felix, and his equally gruesome wife, Drusilla (daughter of Herod Agrippa). Undeterred, Paul shares the Good News and is clear about the judgment coming for those who reject the Lord.

In this episode, Pastor Greg Laurie talks about what it means to be an “almost” Christian. Although some pray, attend church, and get baptized, it's still possible they're not truly Christian—there's more to it. Learn more from a powerful exchange in the book of Acts between the apostle Paul and King Agrippa.  Notes “Almost” is a word that is often coupled with procrastination. Herod the Great tried to kill Jesus.  Herod Antipas was responsible for beheading John the Baptist. The son of Herod Antipas slew James the apostle and imprisoned Simon Peter. Herod Agrippa was moved by Paul's powerful and persuasive message. A person may pray and still not really be a Christian. Polls show that 9 in 10 Americans pray. A person may make visible changes in their life and still not be a Christian. You can hear the gospel and believe it and still not be a Christian.  You can keep the commandments of God from childhood and still not be a Christian.  Paul showed us how to effectively communicate the gospel.  When possible, find common ground and build a bridge to your listener.  Paul used his personal testimony to build that bridge.  Two big steps must be taken to become a real Christian, not an “almost Christian.” You need to have your “eyes opened.” You need to “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.”  There is a difference between repentance and remorse. Remorse is being sorry you got caught. Repentance is being sorry enough to stop what you're doing and change your behavior. God gives us forgiveness of our sins.  God gives us an inheritance. Paul preached Christ crucified and risen.   It is not enough to just be exposed to truth; we must act on it. God wants each of us to share the gospel. As we share His message, we should try to build bridges not burn them. B.L.A.S.T. B — build a bridge L — lovingly enter their world A — ask questions S — share your testimony T — tell them about Jesus  Only God can open the spiritual eyes of the listener. Scripture Referenced Luke 13:32 2 Corinthians 13:5 Isaiah 59:1–2 John 4:39 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 Romans 13:12–14 2 Corinthians 7:10 1 John 1:9 Ephesians 2:7 1 Corinthians 2:1–2 --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/support See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.