Untitled Sermon (61)

Introduction:

I want to welcome you again this morning.

First, to those joining us online, we are so thankful for our online technology that allows you to be a part of our church family today.

I also want to welcome those who may be joining us for the first time today. I hope your time with us today is encouraging and helpful, and I look forward to meeting you.

I would also say if you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”. What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.

Over the past couple of years we’ve been doing that through the NT book of Acts. A book written by a First Century disciple named Luke who wrote it for a couple of reasons:

First, to give us a history of how the church started, who was there, and the circumstances that surrounded it.

Second, in a way, to give us a template on how to accomplish the mission that Jesus gave us to take the gospel to the entire world.

With that said, if you haven’t been with us I would encourage you to go online to http://www.mcf.life or to our Facebook page where you can watch previous messages leading up to today.

Today however we are picking back up in Acts 23 as we rejoin the Apostle Paul once again in the Jewish city of Jerusalem. His home city, and a city that God has led him to pass through on his way to Rome.

But as you may recall, since coming to Jerusalem, Paul has faced some significant challenges. Challenges that have resulted in false accusations, persecution, a city wide riot, and eventually to his arrest by Roman officials.

But as we’ve learned, despite the hardships he’s facing in Jerusalem, Paul sees them as opportunities.

For example, when arrested by Roman officials, Paul uses the opportunity to share his testimony with the crowd that was trying to kill him. His testimony being his story of how he came to faith in Jesus. And in sharing it he hopes he will be able to win some of them to faith in Jesus.

And as we learned, that’s something we all should be able and willing to do. In fact, I would say your testimony is your greatest tool in leading somebody to faith in Jesus.

Not only that, but Paul also sees these hardships as an opportunity to strategically advance God’s plan for his life.

We saw this as Paul was arrested and quickly sentenced to be whipped. And it was at this point that Paul called on his Roman citizenship to prevent a beating. Why? Well, for one it was unlawful to whip a Roman citizen without a trial. And second, by utilizing his rights, Paul was able to forgo a whipping that could have killed him, thus preventing him from reaching Rome.

And what that taught us, is that while we shouldn’t put our ultimate hope in our American rights, our rights do serve a purpose in protecting us and helping us further advance the gospel, which is exactly what Paul did as he takes advantage of his rights in order to keep advancing the gospel forward.

This now brings us to a new dilemma Paul will face. Because now that he’s claimed his rights, the Roman officer in charge still needs to determine what Paul has done that has resulted in the turmoil in Jerusalem. Because while he’s a Roman citizen, answers still need to be given.

Which leads us to the next chapter in this story and our subject matter for today.

However, before we get to the text and our subject matter, I want to begin by asking you a question that I will think help us create a framework for where Luke is taking us next in this story. And the question goes like this:

Question - How many of you have ever been falsely accused?

And when I say falsely accused, I’m talking about somebody accusing you of something that’s not true. Or somebody making an unfair or untrue assumption about you?

Anybody? Yeah, I think many of us have experienced that.

I know I have. In fact, I’ll let you know a little secret about me.

HOW TO RESPOND WHEN FALSELY ACCUSED

Don’t be afraid to defend yourself.

Acts 23:1 ESV

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

Always take the high road.

Acts 23:2–5 ESV

2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

Strategically point people to the truth.

Acts 23:6–10 ESV

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.

Find comfort in God’s plan and promises.

Acts 23:11 ESV

11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”