Praise the Lord.
It is very good to be here.
I just want to greet you all in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's just so much in that that we
just can rejoice in.
A little verse that came through my mind
this morning a lot was Psalms.
I like that psalm that says, if I
can quote it now, it's, because you have
been my help I will rejoice in the
shadow of your wings.
And it just forms this picture of a
brooding hen, you know, with her chiclets, chickens.
And that's where we need to be found.
That's where probably many times the Lord clucks
like a chicken to get us back.
And we need to be tuned to hear
that cluck.
Anyhow, if we're under that wing, then we
are protected.
Another verse, while Rob was speaking, I was
just really blessed with a verse somewhere in
John where it talks about these things that
speak unto you, that you shall have peace
in the world.
You have tribulations, but I have overcome the
world.
And that's yet another thing that we can
just rejoice in.
Rejoice under the shadow of his wings.
And many other countless things just kind of
fit that whole pattern of God being good
and how that, oh, just some little thoughts
of how there in John it says, the
Gospel of John, soon after it starts in,
it says that the law came through Moses,
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
And I just had to ponder on that
a bit how, if you read into it
a little bit, it seems like the law
was missing this grace and truth.
The intent of the law was good, but
how it worked itself out throughout generations, it
seemed like grace and truth just somehow lacked
there.
But not so with the Lord Jesus.
He brought us grace and truth.
Let's rejoice in that.
The world goes on.
It has its things that it rejoices in.
It's short-lived.
There's a destination for those kinds of pleasure
rejoicings.
No, I think what we're talking about here
is, is something that we have, we have
a faith in, we have a hope for,
the things that it cannot be seen necessarily,
but we still hope for it.
And, and that way our rejoicing is very
different than the world.
The world will always have tribulation.
It will always have the woe is me,
the here I am again stuck, or something,
something like that.
Just, you name it.
The turkeys die, the chickens get sick.
I don't have to mention all those things,
but just, that's how it goes.
But that happens to the Christians too.
It's, it's, it's the attitude we have when
those things come that put us in that
different, in that different category, in the kingdom
of God.
So, well, I guess I'll do
another little lesson on Acts.
We're getting back there towards the end.
And I just want to keep pointing out
some things that are of interest to me
and that stand out to me, and I
think they do to you all as well.
The other little thing I had spoken up
with in my living room, and it's recorded
and stuff, and it didn't know for sure
how good it came out and stuff, but
just some thoughts in review.
I, I just really, I, it seems like
I can read through the Acts here and
find new things about all the time, and
just things to, to meditate on that are
good, things to question myself in, see if
I'm right.
And the first thing would be, and if
you all want to page to Acts 23,
I'll just read verse, my main, my main
chapters are 25 and 26, that's where I'm
going, but just in review a few things
there.
It says, Paul earnestly beholding to counsel said,
men and brethren, I have lived in all
good conscience before God until this day.
And it was then that the high priest
got really upset and, and smitten him on
the, on his mouth.
I think Paul was saying this with a
true, sincere, honest heart.
He had a good conscience before God.
He had not acted out of deceit or,
or vain or, or any way that was,
was crafty.
But, but the accusations against him were not
so.
The accusations against him, maybe we'll read it
today, were like, he is, he is the
leader of a cult.
He is a part of the ring.
He is a ring leader of a cult.
He profanes the temple.
Notorious man, like they, they were after him
in a, in a bad way.
But through all that, Paul still, he just,
he just knew he had a clear conscience
before God.
And so I want to touch on a
few verses that relate to that.
And the first one, I'll go to 1st
Timothy 1.
This is again, Paul speaking about having a
clear conscience.
1st Timothy 1, 18.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy,
according to the prophecy which went before on
thee, that thou by them mightest war a
good warfare, holding faith and good conscience, which
some having put away concerning faith have been,
have made shipwreck.
And then he gets specific and he says,
who is Hymenaeus and Alexandria, whom I have
delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not
to blaspheme.
Still it's specific in who it was, but
what actually happened, I don't, I don't really
know.
Some kind of act of blaspheming.
They probably were crafty.
They probably were deceitful in their handlings of
facts, their handlings of, you know, trying to
maybe manipulate or pull, pull people to themselves
away from Paul is what I am suspicious
of.
And that was called blaspheming, an act worthy
to be delivered unto Satan.
And so Paul here was encouraging Timothy to
hold, hold the faith.
Seems like somewhere else he said something about
holding the mystery of a faith, holding the
mystery of faith in a clear conscience.
If someone has that reference, I think we're,
I think it's right in here too somewhere,
if I remember right.
First Timothy 6, holding to the mystery of
faith with a, with a clear conscience, is
that where it is?
It's, it's somewhere in there.
It's what it says.
And so it's yet another, another thing that
Paul said, you know, that's an important ingredient
for our Christian walk.
And I want that.
I think we should all desire that.
And I'm confident that you all do desire
that.
This is what, this is what the Apostle
Paul had.
And he professed it before the high priest
and the council there, and he got smit
on his mouth.
Okay.
Second Corinthians 4, another good verse to go
to for that.
Second Corinthians 4 verse 2, but have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty.
Let me read verse 1.
Therefore seeing we have this ministry as we
have received mercy, we faint not.
Like saying we don't give up.
But having renounced things of dishonesty, not walking
in craftiness nor handling the word of God
deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending
ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God.
I guess if I would, it kind of
holds its own without too much emphasis, just
how the things of dishonesty are to be
rejected.
The handling of God's word deceitfully is to
be worked against.
These are things that I think they want
to just kind of naturally rise up in
our flesh sometimes.
It's a part of the battle.
But like it says somewhere in the scriptures
that there is no temptation so great that
God does not give us a way of
escape.
And that's just yet another thing that we
can have.
That's yet another thing that we do have
if we find ourselves under the, you know,
rejoicing under the shadow of his wings.
All right.
Yeah, it might seem like I go through
these things, there's going to be different things
to talk on and different things that stand
out to me, but that's just a little
bit how it goes.
When you read through Acts, there's just a
lot going on, a lot that's good.
It's just good for us.
A couple of quick things there through Acts
23.
Yeah, I thought I had a few.
Okay, verse 11 says, 23 verse 11, and
the night following the Lord stood by him
and said, be of good cheer.
Here the Lord himself came to the sight
of Paul, to his sight, and he said,
be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou
hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must
thou bear witness also at Rome.
And that verse helps me a little bit
in understanding why Paul might have appealed to
Caesar, Augustus Caesar, I believe, why he chose
this hard path of when he was given
the option to go all the way to
Rome.
And the Lord had already told him in
a vision that he must bear witness in
Rome.
He must preach the good news in Rome.
So I don't know, am I just reading
into it to make that link or not,
but it stood out to me that further
back we'll read maybe yet how that Paul
chose to go.
I think it was pretty much his choice
to appeal to Caesar.
And then Agrippa said, if you appeal to
Caesar, you will go.
Okay, maybe I should just read this whole
thing.
Maybe starting at verse 14 there, and they
came to the chief priests and elders and
said, we have found ourselves under a curse,
great curse that we will not eat until
we have slain Paul.
Now, therefore you with the council signify to
the chief captain that he bring him down
unto you tomorrow.
This is the Jews in a very deceitful
way, conspiring against Paul, figuring out how they
could possibly set things up to where they
could kill him.
And so they went to the chief captain
and said, yeah, just bring Paul down from
Caesarea to Jerusalem and we'll try his case
there in Jerusalem.
But in their minds, they were like, on
the way, we're going to kill him.
It says, as though you would inquire something
more perfectly concerning him.
And we, wherever he come here are ready
to kill him.
I don't know that they told all that
to the high council, but that was their
intents.
Anyhow, the story goes, Paul's sister's son heard
of their lie in wait and went and
entered into the castle and told Paul.
Then Paul called one of the centurions unto
him and said, bring this young man to
the chief captain, for he has a thing
to tell him.
So he took him, brought him to the
chief captain and said, Paul, the prisoner, called
me unto him and prayed me to bring
this young man unto thee, who has something
to say to you.
And the chief captain took him by the
hand and went with him aside privately and
asked him, what is it that you want
to tell me?
And he said, the Jews have agreed to
desire thee that thou would bring Paul down
tomorrow into the council as they would inquire
something of him more perfectly.
But do not thou yield unto them for
their lie in wait for him more than
40 men, which have bound themselves with an
oath that they will neither eat or drink
till they have killed him.
That's Paul.
And they are ready, looking for a promise
from thee.
So the chief captain then let the young
men depart and charged him, don't tell anyone,
basically.
And then, and he called unto him two
centurions saying, make ready 200 soldiers to go
to Caesarea and horsemen three score and 10
and spearsmen 200 at the third hour of
the night.
So the commanders got his officers in gear
and they put together this, like a mob
of troops, something close to over 400 troops.
And they ordered that Paul would be on
his own horse.
And what came to my mind was that
I'm not sure if they quite understood who
they're predicting, other than Paul being a Roman
citizen.
The reason Paul even got spared the first
time around in some earlier chapters was because
he made it known to the chief captains
that he is a Roman citizen.
And just like that, they took him into
protective custody and kept him there.
And they were really trying to seek out
the matter further and see what's going on
here to the degree that they would put
together this big of an army of troops
to take him from one place to the
other.
I'm not sure, Caesarea to somewhere, I'm not
sure where.
Anyhow, those are just some things that stand
out to me.
But if we can transfer from there back
to how Paul then actually got very good
opportunity to speak to these Roman officers, that
would be Felix, Festus, even to King Agrippa.
They were starting to back off a bit.
They were like, oh, well, especially when Paul
started speaking to them about righteousness, judgment, and
some other thing, like soundness or some kind
of other quality.
They were like, oh, they kind of backed
off.
And they were like, in a more convenient
time, we will hear you.
So I'm just not sure if they actually
knew who they were taking into protection here.
But in that way, God had it so
that Paul was protected.
And as much ministry opportunity that he'd already
taken and done, having had to make two
big trips and a third trip up through
other provinces, God still had more work for
him, even at this time.
Maybe we'll jump up and get going on
Acts chapter 25.
I thought there was a few other things
that were just good there through 24.
Maybe they'll kind of be brought out later,
if you all see anything being pointed out.
But Acts chapter 25 and 26 largely are
then Paul being in front of these officers,
Roman officers, governors, kings, and just the profound
things that he had to say to them,
and just the wisdom he was given to
speak to them in a convicting way.
And I think it largely had to do
that he really had a clear conscience and
that different things that he wrote in the
epistles would describe that.
He would say he has not desired any
man's gold or silver.
Like throughout the epistles, you can see that
Paul had a clear conscience and that he
had always taken opportunity to preach, and that
brought on a clear conscience.
Many other things, you can just start naming
them.
Paul did it, and in that way, he
was clear in his conscience.
It'd be like saying that's how he was
working out his salvation.
I guess we all know that our consciences
can be deceived, and those are all things
that we need to guard against and stuff.
But still, Paul just, he is that example
of having a clean, clear conscience.
And he did it through speaking in all
honesty.
He did it through just being a trustworthy
man.
Throughout all his preachings, he never travels and
stuff.
He would say over and over how he
never was a burden on, never tried to
be or never was a burden on anyone,
but supplied for his own needs.
Okay, Acts chapter 25.
The 24 ends with Paul having an opportunity
to, okay, maybe we need to just hit
that a little bit.
Starting in Acts 24 verse 24, after some
days when Felix was with his wife Drusilla,
which was Jewish, he sent for Paul and
hurt him concerning the faith in Christ.
I don't know, was he, it says in
the New Living Translation, sending for Paul, they
listened as he told them about the faith
in Christ.
I don't know that they were actually inquiring,
but of course, this was just going to
be a thing that he was going to
talk about, the faith he had in Christ.
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come, Felix trembled and said, go
thy way for this time.
When I have a convenient season, I will
call for thee.
We don't read anything anywhere that Felix ever
lived up to that, where he actually did
look for that season that he would again
see Paul.
All we see here is that, let's just
read it.
And he, he hoped that also that money
should have been given him of Paul, that
he might lose him.
I mean, just in the back of his
mind, he was like, well, if this guy
would just give me some money, I'd free
him up and he could go his way
and I'd be, I'd go my way.
Wherefore, he sent for him the offener and
communed with him.
Okay, it does say that he would commune
with him often.
But after two years, Porcius Festus came into
Felix's room and Felix, willing to show that
he was a favor, left Paul bound.
Now when Festus was coming to the province
of, after three days, he ascended from Caesarea
to Jerusalem.
Apparently these governors would make their rounds.
And so, so here he was in Jerusalem.
Then the high priest and the chief of
the Jews informed him about Paul and besought
him and desired favor against him that he
would send for him to Jerusalem, lying in
wait in the way to kill him.
Yet another planned ambush that did not work
out.
But Festus answered that Paul should be kept
at Caesarea and that he himself would depart
shortly, thither.
So Festus, this new governor, expressed his plans
of going to Caesarea anyhow and encouraged Paul's
accusers to just come up there and present
their case.
Let them therefore, he said, which are, which
among you are able, go down with me
and accuse this man if there be any
wickedness in him.
And when he had tarried among them more
than 10 days, he went unto Caesarea and
the next day, sitting on the judgment seat,
commanded Paul to be brought in.
And when he was come, the Jews, which
came down from Jerusalem, stood round about and
laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which
they could not prove.
I just can't imagine the frustration for the
Jews having, having no ability to really make
their case in front of, of Festus.
Try one thing, then try another thing.
And through manipulation and many grievous words and
complaints, they tried to make their case.
But they just, they just came up empty
every time.
While Paul answered for himself, neither against, okay,
this is Paul speaking, neither against the law
of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor
yet against Caesar have I offended anything at
all.
There's that pure and clean conscience.
But Festus, might as well say cowarding under
the Jews to give them a pleasure, giving
them a pleasure, answered Paul and said, will
you go up to Jerusalem and there be
judged of these things before me?
And Paul said, no, I stand at Caesar's
judgment seat where I ought to be judged.
To the Jews have I done nothing wrong,
no wrong as they very well know.
Paul just put it right back in their
lap.
Luke, you have not, you have not been
able to accuse me of anything with any
kind of validity and you know it.
For if I be an offender or have
committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not
to die.
But if there'd be none of these things
were of these accused me, no man may
deliver me under them.
I appeal unto Caesar.
Then Festus, when he had conferred with the
council, answered, as thou appeal unto Caesar, unto
Caesar thou shalt thou go.
This would be the verse that I was
earlier making a connection with Paul already having
received a vision from the Lord Jesus that
he must go to Rome.
And how all to explain that, to look
at that, I don't know.
But he knew he had to go.
He saw an opportunity and he appealed to
Caesar.
Okay, verse 13, and after certain days, King
Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute
Festus.
And if you look at some other versions,
they were basically coming by, just doing what
the politics do to come, came by and
just puff each other up.
They came to salute Festus, but it really
was more like they came to admire him.
They came to, maybe other versions say respect
him, or you can just kind of imagine
their ways about those things.
It still happens today.
And when they had been there many days,
Festus declared Paul's case unto the King saying,
there is a certain man left in bonds
by Felix.
Remember Felix was the man earlier that said,
I will call for you on a more
convenient time.
About whom when I was at Jerusalem, the
chief priests and the elders of the Jews
informed me, deciding to have judgment against him.
To whom I answered, it is not the
manner of the Romans to deliver any man
to die before that he, which is accused,
have the accusers face to face and have
license to answer for himself concerning the crime
laid against him.
Therefore, when they were come thither, without any
delay on the morrow, I sat on the
judgment seat and commanded the man to be
brought forth against whom, when the accusers stood
up, they brought none accusation of such things
as I supposed, but has certain questions against
him of their own superstition.
And in one Jesus, which was dead, whom
Paul affirmed to be alive, because I doubted
of such matter of question, I asked him
whether he would go to Jerusalem and there
be judged of these matters.
But when Paul had appealed to be reserved
unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him
to be kept till I might send him
to Caesar.
Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also
hear the man myself.
Tomorrow, said he, thou shalt hear him."
So this is King Agrippa and Festus communicating
about the prisoner, Paul, just helping each other
catch up on the latest of the process
of the case.
And we see through that, that even they,
um, it was just obvious that this man
is, is not, not guilty.
He's being accused by the Jews.
He has appealed to Caesar.
What do we do anyhow?
So Agrippa was gonna just have his, his
turn with him too.
He asked to see him.
Verse 23, when Agrippa was come and Bernice
with great pump and was entered into the
place of the hearing with the chief captains
and the principal men of the city at
Festus' command, Paul was brought forth.
And Festus said, King Agrippa and all men
which are here present with us, you see
this man about whom all the multitude of
the Jews have dealt with me, both at
Jerusalem and also here crying that he ought
not to live any longer.
But I have found that he has committed
nothing worthy of death, that he himself has
appealed to Augustus.
I have determined to send him.
And this last verse, I'm just going to
read it in the New Living.
I just think it brings out so much
of the hidden things of the case.
But what shall I write the empire for?
There is no clear charge against him.
So I brought, so I have brought him
before you all and especially you, King Agrippa,
so that after we examine him, I might
have something to write.
For it makes no sense to send a
prisoner to the empire without specifying the charges
against him.
It just brings out the dilemma they were
in trying to condemn someone that really was
not guilty.
This is the same pattern that came forth
with Jesus.
Very, very similar.
We could just go find the pages and
it would just be very same.
Pilate wasn't in the same spot.
He was asked to condemn someone that even
he desired to release him.
But that's how it goes.
Part of our cross is to be falsely
accused by the world.
And even worldly Christians do it to us,
or those that falsely profess Christianity.
They do it to us.
And that's okay.
That's okay.
That's how it was at the beginning.
You can expect it now.
Something we've read so many times how the
Jews just without any conscience towards life wanted
to kill Paul.
And then if we take our minds back
over that culture and back over their beginnings.
Yeah.
Say again.
Later in Rome he got beheaded.
Yeah, we won't quite get to that today,
but you're right.
So my thought is how, just how, I
think it's another reason why Paul could so
freely write to the Galatians that law has
become a sin unto you.
See how this became a sin to them.
The law that they tried to uphold and
squeeze into their, used for their benefit and
stuff, had become a sin unto them.
Maybe there's no link to make there, but
if you think back over that culture, God
had set out the children of Israel to
be a separate people, not to indulge themselves
in the ways of the nations.
And they progressed more that way where they
fell away and they, what God had intended
to become something good, it still was good,
you know, but the people went and took
it and turned it into something, something bad.
A little bit like we, like Paul is
encouraging Timothy that, that we are not to
hold the word of God deceitfully.
I think this would be about the best
example that you could find that people were
holding the word of God deceitfully.
The Jews using their, their law to try
to condemn Paul so that they can kill
him.
Anyhow, I just wondered whether there'd be, I
mean, surely all of these things have a
certain shadow in the present day that, that
we also need to be aware of.
God, yeah, yeah,
you're right.
It's, it's right here in these chapters.
Yeah.
It's amazing how the movie world is captivated
by drastic, dramatic stories, and they'll even go
to the Bible to develop them.
And that I believe would be handling the
word of God in craftiness and deceitful ways.
I don't think we're supposed to do that.
All right.
So, so where we're at, I believe is,
is this predicament that, that Felix
was in, Festus in having to put together
some kind of letter, some kind of writings
to go along with, was this prisoner that
was supposed to be doomed to die, but
no one really could condemn him.
And so it was a hard thing for
him.
What he wrote, I don't know, but King
Agrippa, let's just read there in verse chapter
26, King Agrippa said unto Paul, thou art
permitted to speak for thyself, thyself.
Then Paul stretched forth the hand and answered
for himself.
I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I
shall answer for myself this day before you
about all the things whereof I am accused
of by the Jews, especially because I know
thee to be an expert in customs and
questions which are among the Jews, wherefore I
beseech thee to hear me patiently.
My manner of life from my youth, which
was at first among you, among my own
nation at Jerusalem, knew all the Jews, basically
saying the Jews know where I come from,
they understand my beginnings, which knew me from
the beginning, if they would testify that after
the most strictest sect of our religion, I
lived a Pharisee, and now I stand and
am judged for the hope of the promise
made of God to our fathers, under which
promise our twelve tribes zealously deserve God day
and night, hoping to come.
For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am
accused of the Jews.
I think even though there was a bigger
crowd there, Paul was getting pretty intense with
King Agrippa.
He knew the king knew about the Lord
Jesus.
He knew the king knew about everything that
happened.
There was nothing, it wasn't somewhere it reads
something like these things weren't done in a
corner.
You know it.
You know Jesus was deceitfully handled.
You know he died.
You know he resurrected.
Are you willing to admit it?
Verse 8, why should it be thought a
thing incredible with you that God should raise
the dead?
Again, Paul pretty directly responding to, I think,
looking at or talking to Agrippa, the king.
I used to think within myself that I
ought to do many things contrary to the
name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Which thing I also did in Jerusalem, and
many of the saints did I shut up
in prison, having received authority from the chief
priests.
And when they were put to prison, I
gave my voice against them.
It seems like Paul's interaction with the stoning
of Stephen was maybe a bit more deeper
than I previously had thought.
Here it says, here Paul admits that he
gave his voice against the saints when they
were shut up in prison and when they
were being put to death.
And just seems like he threw his lot
in with those that were stoning Paul.
Even though it says, when we read the
account of the stoning, it says there was
a young man there guarding the clothes.
But it does seem like Paul would be
willing to admit that his interactions there was
a little deeper than that.
And I punished them often in every synagogue
and compelled them to blaspheme.
And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted
them even unto foreign cities.
Paul had missionary trips before he was a
Christian, but they were not Christian missionary trips.
Whereupon, as I went to Damascus with authority
and commission from the chief priests, at midday,
O King, I saw in the way a
light from heaven above the brightness of the
sun shining around about me and them which
churn it with me.
And when we all fell to the earth,
I heard a voice speaking unto me and
saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?
It is hard for you to kick against
the pricks.
Pricks.
And it just again comes up.
I think they could read something like, it
is hard for you to go against the
conscience that you have.
You know better, but you don't do it.
And that's a sin to you.
It's hard for you to kick against the
pricks.
And note also how they were all fallen
to the earth.
It wasn't just Paul that was knocked down.
I would hope those others that were knocked
down were humbled as well.
And I said, who are you, Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest.
Remember what Jesus had said, what you've done
unto the least of these my, well maybe
that one wouldn't fit all that well, but
yeah, basically what we do to the least
of these my brethren, you have done it
unto Jesus.
You've done it unto me.
And so even though Paul persecuted saints to
Jesus, it was as though he was persecuting
Jesus.
But rise, stand upon thy feet, for I
have appeared unto thee for this purpose to
make thee a minister and a witness both
of those things which you have seen and
of those things which I will show unto
you in the future, delivering thee from the
people and from the Gentiles unto whom now
I sent thee, to open their eyes and
to turn them from darkness to light and
from the power of Satan unto God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that
is in me.
For upon, O King Agrippa, I was not
disobedient unto the heavenly vision.
Again, this is Paul really making this communication
between him and the king.
But preach first unto them at Damascus and
at Jerusalem and throughout all the coasts of
Judea and then to the Gentiles that they
should repent and turn to God and do
works meet for repentance.
For this cause the Jews caught me in
the temple and went about to kill me.
Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue
unto this day witnessing both through the small
and the great, saying none other thing than
the things which the prophets and Moses did
say should come.
I just, again, I'm reminded how big a
difference there is in how we understand just
the thing that we read.
Paul here understood the prophets and Moses and
he understood the fulfillment of it.
He understood it just made perfect sense to
him when Jesus would say something like, not
one shot or tittle shall depart from the
law till all be fulfilled.
Paul understood the fulfillment of the law and
the prophets.
And then on the other hand, when the
others, the Jews, read these same words, these
same scriptures, there's like this veil over their
head and they just cannot, they cannot see
this kind of truth.
Okay, this is really linked together, verse 23,
that Christ should suffer and that he should
be the first that should rise from the
dead and should show light unto the people
and to the Gentiles.
And so this is yet another thing that
Paul understood as a fulfillment, you
know, that Christ should suffer.
He should be the first to rise from
the dead.
He will be the one that shows light
to the people, to the Gentiles.
And as he thus spoke for himself, Festus
said with a loud voice, Paul, you're beside
thyself.
Much learning doth make thee mad.
It's the only thing he had left to
say.
All through this, the grip was still quiet.
It was Festus that spoke first.
But he said, I am not mad, most
noble Festus, but speak forth the words of
truth and soberness.
For the King knows of all these things.
And I think so now he was speaking
to Festus and like the King knows all
these things.
King Agrippa knows.
For the King knows all these things before
whom also I speak freely.
For I am persuaded that none of these
things are hidden from him.
These things were not done in a corner.
These things of Jesus being the first to
rise from the dead, being a light to
the Gentiles.
Paul somehow knew that Agrippa knew about it,
but just was too cowardly to really stand
on his own feet with it.
And then here, King Agrippa, believest thou the
prophets?
I know thou believest.
And then it's this interesting, just like this
heart-wrenching response from Agrippa.
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Why not just all the way?
Why not just, why just almost?
There was, there was too much of a
prestige in his life.
There was too much to give up.
There was too big of a cross to
bear.
The cost was just a bit too high.
And then Paul says, I would to God
that not only you, but also all that
hear me this day, were both, both altogether,
such as I am, except these chains.
And when he had thus spoken, the king
rose, the governor, and Bernice, they had sat
with him.
And when they had gone aside, they talked
between themselves, saying, this man does nothing worthy
of death or of bonds.
Then said Agrippa and Hephaestus, this man might
have been set at liberty if he had
not appealed to Caesar.
I thought I had a few more thoughts
to go with that.
I don't really know that
I have.
It's just a lot of things go through
my mind when I read this and I
just maybe might leave it at that.
Just want to close off with a prayer
and then we'll open it up for discussion.
Hopefully some brothers have some thoughts about these
things.
Oh God be with us.
Just want to thank you for yet another
opportunity to read your word and to see
the truth that flows through it.
Thank you for grace and truth that came
through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you that we can rejoice in the
shadow of your wings, that in you, in
the world, there's tribulation, but you have overcome
the world.
In you there is truth, the way, the
truth, and the life.
We thank you for that.
We want to give our lives for you.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Appreciate what was shared today, Robert shared, Natalie
shared, and I don't have a lot in
mind, but thankful for that.
I was thinking a bit about how Christ
had to suffer a lot.
It doesn't seem like he had a real
pleasant life from his youth because of all
the...
He did have a free conscience.
He did have that.
He was right before God, but mankind, I
think, always troubled him.
And I think one reason that so many
people fall away today is they think Jesus
is this great Jesus, that everything's just fine,
everything's just good, and don't realize that they're
suffering.
Paul suffered a lot, and the Anabaptists, I
didn't read any of them, but that book
was full of people that suffered and died
for him.
Their families were torn apart.
Some were drowned, some were beheaded, some were...
It's a distressful time for Christians if the
law turns against them hard enough, and it
happens from time to time.
But there is that part of a clear
conscience that we can rejoice in.
I just see in one place where the
disciples were rejoicing that demons were going out,
and Jesus said, rather rejoice that your names
are written in the book of life.
I think it's okay to rejoice when I
think of that young...
I don't know how young he was, but
that man that had his legs healed, and
he couldn't walk.
Maybe from his birth, I can't quite remember,
but he was just leaping around and rejoicing,
but maybe later he also had to suffer.
Suffering is part of Christianity, and there's rejection
that we have to go through.
But then there's also the part of rejoicing
and being right before God, and it's all
a combination.
We can't separate any of them.
I wouldn't want to, but in Acts 24
-25, it stood out to me, and as
he discussed justice, this was talking to Felix,
discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment.
Felix became frightened and said, go away for
the present.
When I have an opportunity, I will send
for you.
And then, I don't know, I guess I've
read it before, but I didn't remember it
at the moment.
In verse 26, at the same time, he
had hoped that money would be given to
him by Paul, but he was just waiting
for a bribe for years, seems like.
Obviously, he thought Paul was just going to
give him lots of money, and the church
would come up with money.
I'm not sure what he had in mind,
but he was hoping to get money.
But when Paul was talking to him about
justice and self-control and the coming judgment,
he became frightened.
It wasn't something he wanted to hear.
Let's press into that.
God bless us.
Thank you, Brother Outley.
There's so many verses in there that you
could park on and just try to understand.
I appreciate Walter's comment about Festus about the
money.
I looked at the other one, too.
When Festus, he cried out with a loud
voice, you're crazy, you're beside yourself.
Like that, I mean, what would prompt him
to say that?
I guess a lot of times the Jews,
like take, for example, the man born blind,
and after he opened his eyes, rather than
give glory to the God, and Jesus healed
so many people in the Sabbath, instead of
saying, hey, this is a miracle, instead of
being like Nicodemus, they called the parents together
and said, hey, was he born blind?
How did that happen?
Their heart is not, as Jesus said in
Matthew 11, 25, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and revealed it unto babes.
And again, in a couple of chapters later,
Isaiah says, in Matthew, he's quoting, I fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah, by hearing you shall
hear, and not understand, and seeing you shall
see, and yet not perceive.
For this people's heart is wax gross, and
the ears are dull of hearing, and the
eyes they have closed, lest at any time
you should see with the eyes and be
healed.
And so it would cause people to have,
as brother Atkins said, they get a feel
over them as hard-heartedness, no mercy, or
they just, I don't know, it's, they get
to a point, not really reprobate, but they
just, rather than seeing a miracle and praising
God, they would say, hey, you did it
on the Sabbath, you broke the rule, and
that's, it seems to be the mindset of
so many things.
Oh, by the way, and I apologize, I
said 1 Timothy 6, it's 1 Timothy 1,
verse 6, for that conscience thing, I thought
I knew that, but a clear conscience, but
yeah, and one of my strongest testimonies, my
faith is the fact that Paul laid down
his life for the gospel, and you know,
in 26, or 25, which you read, it
doesn't say about, he was blinded, like it
does in Acts 9 and Acts 16, the
light blinded, but when he's talking to Festus,
or Felix, rather, he just said that, you
know, I arise, it doesn't talk about his
own blindness there, showing, you know, hey, I
was blind for three days, and they led
me, he just said that, rise up and
go into Damascus and preach there, the Lord
be magnified.
Oh, teach me to number my days.
Teach me, O Lord, to number my days.
Teach me to number my days.
And let me be holy before the Spirit,
and daily in priesthood pray.
Life is like the sand, to dribble through
the grass.
Flowers we all fear, to perish as the
grass.
A thousand years with Thee, as yesterday is
past.
Teach me, O Lord, to number my days.
Oh, teach me to number my days.
Teach me, O Lord, to number my days.
Teach me to number my days.
And satisfy early my deep yearning heart, that
I may rejoice always.
Preach for years and then, our hope our
lives may hold.
Bleeding years we spend, a tale so quickly
told.
And just when priesthood stood, our labor we
behold.
Teach me, O Lord, to number my days.
Oh, teach me to number my days.
I must prevail.
I must prevail, O Lord.
The first shall pass away, and the third
with loyal hearts will sing, glory, glory to
our King.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen.
Therefore, Lord and King of the Lord shall
return, and God with singing unto Zion, her
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.
Therefore, Lord and King of the Lord shall
return, and God with singing unto Zion, her
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.
They shall obtain gladness and joy, and
sorrow and mourning shall be away.
Therefore, Lord and King of the Lord shall
return, and God with singing unto Zion, her
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.