The BEST version of life!

September 3rd 2023

Series: Courageous Faith

Sermon Title: The BEST version of life!

Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.

Key Passages: Acts 23

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message we will see Paul going through a hard situation again; but then how God confirms the direction of his life. That will help us ponder, what is the BEST version of our life?

Green in sermons means illustration

Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Sermon:

Hello Family Church!

Family Moment –

Dan / Steve we like to try and start our messages with something personal from our family life recently to help people get to know us.

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Those of you who are new, or newer, to Family Church we are SUPER happy you are with us today!

We have been walking through the book of Acts as a church for the better part of the last two years….

Walking through it line by line and verse by verse….

And we LOVE the book of Acts here at Family Church because it is all about how the first churches operated in their communities to reach people for Jesus.

And here at Family Church we LOVE to study the Bible and ask how can we apply what we learn to our lives today.

And that is simply what we will do today!

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So, let’s jump into the Bible today…

Grab your Bibles….

I hope you all brought your Bible to church!

Either paper version or electronic!

Open it up to

Acts 23

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As you are getting there let me catch up with anyone who is new today….

Because last two weeks we left off on a cliffhangers!

Two weeks ago….we saw this early church leader named Paul was traveling around and spending time with other people he had led to Jesus in a variety of places.

He was told in SEVERAL of those places to NOT go to Jerusalem because something bad would happen to Paul.

Paul…..was determined though….

And Paul went to Jerusalem…

And it started out fine for Paul….

But ended quite badly….

At the end of chapter 21 we saw people get EXTREMELY angry at Paul and literally beat him almost to the point of death…

The police were called.

They came and pulled Paul away…

The police were almost overwhelmed by the crowds…

The police carried Paul to their military barracks….

And Paul asks them to STOP before they take him inside so he can speak to the crowd….

And then Paul goes on to share his story of how he came to faith in Jesus….

Because before Paul came to faith in Jesus he HATED Jesus….

And we ended last weekend with the Roman guards taking Paul to the Sanhedrin to figure out what is going on….

And for those who are newer to church, the Sanhedrin was just the name given to a group of Jewish people who were the leaders in the Jewish culture….

And one last side note….and then we will jump into this passage.

Paul is entering a DANGEROUS situation….because if you remember the group of leaders who demanded Jesus crucifixion and murder…it was this SAME group of men.

So will Paul be able to avoid the same fate as Jesus?

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Let’s pickup…. The last verse of chapter 22 says.

Acts 22: 30 Paul Before the Sanhedrin 30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.

So, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Let’s see what Paul says….verse one of chapter 23….

Acts 23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”

2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

Stop there…

Why did they strike Paul?

Well…..

Several reasons…

1. First, Paul spoke without being spoken to….

a. We all know if you go to court….you do NOT speak over the judge or before the judge….

b. Paul choose NOT to wait on the judge…or in this case…the high priest to speak first!

c. A no…no…back then and still today.

2. 2nd, What Paul said, “I have fulfilled my duty to God” was offensive to them!

a. What Paul is saying was, “I am a citizen of God’s kingdom and I am right.”

b. Which of course they did not agree with…which is why he was here!

3. 3rdly Ananias, the high priest, was a BAD dude…

a. You can read about him inside and outside the Bible…

b. Ananias was known for being a cruel leader.

c. He was known for his greed and for taking bribes from the Romans to lead the Jewish people the way the Romans wanted.

d. He was widely known for just doing what the Romans wanted.

e. He was a BAD Jewish leader…. Who liked to keep his people on a short leash…..

f. So, he wanted to try and rain Paul in right out of the gate….

Ananias, Roman history shows us was appointed by Herod Agrippa II in 47 AD .

He stole tithes from other priests, leaving many of them to starve, and cared more about his Roman overlords than Israel.

He was SO BAD that when the Jews later revolted against Rome, the Jewish rebels burned down Ananias' house and chased him down after he fled, "striking" him dead in the aqueduct of Herod's palace, where he was caught hiding.

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But look at how Paul responds…..

Paul looks at Ananias and says:

3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”

Stop there and let me explain what he said….because we don’t speak like this today….

Whitewashed means to have covered up dirt or some other thing to hide it.

A whitewashed wall is a dirty wall whose dirt has been covered up by a thin coat of white paint to hide something bad.

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Paul was calling Ananias a hypocrite for commanding other people to do his dirty work.

At a hearing supposedly aimed at upholding justice, he was telling others to inflict unjust bodily harm on Paul, who hadn't been found guilty of anything yet!

Quite a bold statement to the judge you are siting under!!!

So bold that it says in verse 4…

4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

Pause there….

Now there are two schools of thought here…

One that Paul was apologizing because apparently, he did not realize who he was talking to.

Maybe because Paul had been gone for so long he no longer knew the important Jews like he once did….

Maybe because of Paul’s poor eyesight…we know Paul had eye issues…

OR

My preferred interpretation is Paul was being sarcastic…because I can be sarcastic from time to time….

Maybe this was Paul basically saying…. “OH…I didn’t know it was you because you do NOT act like a High Priest should.”

It could have been Paul jabbing at him…

Or Paul being humble….

We don’t know which….But I would guess it was more humility NOT sarcasm because Paul ends his apology by quoting Exodus 22:28…‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

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Let’s keep reading….

6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.

Pause here and let me explain these words that again are not common…

Sadducees & Pharisees are two different groups of Jewish people.

Think of it like Republicans and Democrats.

Both groups are Americans.

But they have different beliefs and ideologies in life.

That was the Sadducees and Pharisees…the two ruling powers in the Jewish world back then and they believed differently about things….

The Sanhedrin was like our Senate….

The Sanhedrin was the ruling body of the Jewish people and it was made up of both parties….both Sadducees and Pharisees….

And you are about to see….they liked to fight!

Just like Republicans and Democrats like to do today!

And Paul knew how to poke that bear and get them going….and he is about to!

Let’s keep reading….Paul says…..

I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) 9 There was a great uproar,

Stop there…

See….

Like I just said…

Two different parties that get worked up over different beliefs!

Just like today….

You say border wall…and our two parties fight!

You want to talk about the climate…and they fight…

Nothing new under the sun!

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So….if politics has been a problem for thousands of years….maybe we should learn that more politics is NOT the answer….

Let’s keep reading….

and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”

they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

Why did that happen?

Again…because like we talked about last week…

Paul was a Roman and so he was privileged and they wanted to make sure he was not harmed because if he was it would mean they would be executed!

Rome took VERY seriously the protection of Roman citizens!

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And I love what happens next….

11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

God comes alongside Paul.

God stands near Paul.

God decides to come and encourage Paul…

And I love this!

Because Paul had to have been discouraged!

Paul had such a HARD ministry life!

Paul was whipped 40 lashes minus one 5 times!

Paul was shipwrecked 3 times!

Paul was beaten with rods.

Paul was stoned.

Paul was robbed more than once.

Paul was arrested several times…

And if you total up all Paul’s jail time it would be about 5.5 years in jail!

And probably the worst thing was he was bitten by a poisonous viper….Because I HATE snakes!

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And what I love about God is this…

Write this down….

God is always there when we need Him.

Repeat

Paul needed some encouragement.

And God was there.

Paul needed to know he was going in the right direction.

And God was there.

Paul needed to know what to do next.

And God was there.

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God was there to let Paul know…

Paul you do NOT need to worry about what will happen right now because Paul you are going to tell people about God in Rome!

That is what God just said!

God said….

Paul….

I am here….

You are doing the right thing.

You are going in the right direction.

You have testified about me in Jerusalem.

And Paul worry not….

You will also testify about me in Jersalem….

This leads me to another point

We have NOTHING to fear when we are following God’s will for our life.

Repeat

Church if all of you could internalize those two truths alone in your life….

Your life could look so different…

If you could lean into the fact that God is always there when we need Him.

And that

We have NOTHING to fear when we are following God’s will for our life.

Those two truths could change your life today……

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But just because God is there…

It does NOT mean life will not still be scary at times.

It does NOT mean people won’t try to do bad things to you!

Because right on the heals of this GREAT promise from God….we will see the enemy of God trying to stop God’s plan….

Let’s keep reading….

The Plot to Kill Paul 12 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

Stop there…

Do you see it!

God makes Paul this great promise!

And 40 men vow to stop God’s plan and KILL Paul!

Paul….did NOT have an easy ministry life!

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So let’s read their plan….verse 15….

15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

There is their plot!

Let’s pretend to want more info from Paul.

Get him to come talk with us.

And we kill him.

But it says in verse 16….

16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

20 He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.

21 Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

22 The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

So…who will this Roman commander listen to?

23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.

24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

WOW!

He listens to Paul’s nephew!

And he takes VERY seriously Paul’s safety!

200 foot soldiers!

70 horsemen!

200 spearmen!

A MASSIVE escort to get Paul to another town to make sure he is safe!

WOW!

But it gets even more impressive….

This Roman commander sends a letter with Paul….

25 He wrote a letter as follows: 26 Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.

27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.

28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.

29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.

He sides with Paul!

He realizes this is a bunch of garbage…

He goes on to say….

30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.

32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.

33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said,

“I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Such an interesting chapter….

It starts with Paul on trail before the same people who killed Jesus.

And just like Jesus the Roman leaders outside the church say there is NOTHING to the charges against Paul…

Just like the Roman leaders saw no basis for the charge against Jesus!

So many similarities!

But see Jesus life was destined to end in Jerusalem….

Jesus’ life was to be given up there so he could become the perfect sacrifice for our sins….

Paul’s life was NOT destined to end in Jerusalem…

Paul’s life will also end….

But Paul’s life was destined to end AFTER he had witnessed in Rome….

And that is exactly what will happen….

Because write this down..

God’s plan NEVER fails!

Repeat

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God’s plan for Jesus’ life came to be.

God’s plan for Paul’s life came to be.

The only question today is this….

Will God’s plan come to be in your life?

Will you let God lead your life….like Jesus did….like Paul did.

Will you follow God’s direction for your life….like Jesus did…Like Paul did….

Because I can promise you….

God’s plan for your life….is the BEST plan for your life!

I can promise you…when you meet Paul one day in heaven he will tell you…while he lived a HARD life…he would trade it for nothing!

Paul gave up so much to follow God’s plan for his life….but he lived the best version of his life in doing that….

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IN the same way when people ask me Adam….Don’t you miss your old life?

Don’t you miss being in the business world?

Don’t you miss your old income and freedoms?

I tell everyone the same thing….

I love what I use to do….

I love what I do now even more!

And all the things my family and I have had to sacrifice are well worth it!

And I want all of you to experience that as well!

Giving your life to Jesus’ plan is the best version of your life!

Repeat…

So here is what I want to you all to spend some time processing and talking with someone about.

Life Application: This week ponder if you are living your life for your purpose or God’s purpose. How could you shift your life to be more focused on God’s design for your life? As a result of today’s message, I will ______________________________.

Let’s Pray…..