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Intro:
We will continue to pray through the Book of Acts, focusing on chapter twenty-five.
I find it incredible how God’s word consistently speaks to our day.
Look at Acts for instance, when the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write the history of the Early Church, He had us in mind.
The Christians of the first century took the world by storm.
There had been many religions, but none like the followers of Christ.
There were less than one percent of Christians in the Roman Empire but they persecuted them.
And the persecution all came down to their faith in Jesus.
Unlike the pagans that worshipped many gods.
Christians worshipped ONE God.
Their faith caused economic problems.
As more people came to Christ, they stopped purchasing animals to sacrifice to false gods.
Finally, they rejected the Roman Empire as the final authority and considered themselves citizens of heaven.
(Sittser, 32, 34, 36, 41, and 51).
By the time we get to the book of Acts, there is increased division, especially between the Jews and the Christians.
We see this pronounced through the life of the Apostle Paul.
However, God continued to use him, bless him, and keep him to where even his enemies, the Romans, defended him.
How did Paul attain this?
How did the followers of Christ in the early church please the Lord?
They walked close with Him, through the work of the Holy Spirit, communicating with Him through prayer.
Acts 1 - promise of power
Acts 2 - received power
Acts 3- exercised power
Acts 4 - prayed for more power
Acts 5- people lied and God displayed His power
Acts 6- conflict arose and God used people of power to help the church
Acts 7- Stephen reminded them of God’s power in history
Acts 8- walked in power to spread Gospel in Samaria
Acts 9- Saul was converted through an encounter with God’s power
Acts 10- the power of God fell on the Gentiles as Peter preached
Acts 11- Peter defended Gentiles receiving power
Acts 12- the church prayed and Peter was released from prison
Acts 13- God sent Barnabas and Paul as a result of prayer
Acts 14- Paul and Barnabas took the gospel to new regions proclaiming God’s message with power
Acts 15- they prayed and God gave powerful discernment
Acts 16- Paul and Silas prayed and praised in prison, and God set them free
Acts 17- Paul stayed consistent in the face of hardships because of his prayer life
Acts 18- Paul prayed and God helped him reach the city of Corinth.
Acts 19- Paul put what he prayed for and believed into practice and God answered
Acts 20- Paul prayed as he headed to Jerusalem, knowing difficulties laid ahead
Acts 21- Paul Told everyone he was ready to go to Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit led him there
Acts 22- Paul took time to witness to those who hated him
Acts 23 closes with Paul waiting for his accusers and for the governor, Felix to determine his fate.
Acts 24- Paul shared the truth of the Gospel with His accusers and enemies
Now, Paul awaits trial.
Felix, the governor, kept him under house arrest for two years.
Tonight, we will see how God protected and helped Paul in the face of his enemies.
Our day is similar to Paul’s day.
We live in a fractured time where division is RIGHT in front of us.
How do we make in a society with so many different opinions, ideas, and thoughts, and KEEP our testimony?
I want to emphasize the word testimony?
Having a different opinion and the ability to share that does not exempt us from walking in the fruit of the Spirit.
On the contrary, we should pray and let the Spirit help us live in peace with those who disagree with us.
We are like Paul in that we have to [Deal with Attacks], [Deal with Accusations], and [Deal with Appeals].
Let’s begin
1.
Deal with Attacks
There are a number of names in this chapter that are important to understand if we want to see how God helped Paul with his enemies.
The first is Festus.
He was a local leader, a governor of sorts, over the area where many of the Jews and Christians lived.
He had authority to issue death warrants, collect taxes, and even put his face on money.
He went from Caesarea, and traveled fifty-three miles to Jerusalem.
The high priest went to him and complained about Paul.
He told them all the bad things Paul ever did and then asked Festus to allow Paul to return to Jersualem.
Was the high priest pure in his request?
Not at all.
Luke let’s us know that he planned on having some people ambush Paul and kill him on the way.
Festus decided that Paul should stay in Caesarea and any of the Jewish leaders who had an issue with Paul could make their case.
Clearly Paul had enemies.
They not only disagreed with Paul, but they were ready to kill him because of their deep distrust and dislike of his teachings and beliefs.
I find it fascinating HOW God protected Paul.
I know God protects His people, but sometimes He does it in ways that surprise me.
Festus was not a friend of Paul.
Neither were the Jewish accusers.
But God chose to help Paul from an unlikely source, a Roman governor who could have easily sentenced him to death with the stoke of a pen.
We have to trust God will protect us from attacks.
We also have to let God help us in the way He determines is best.
Trusting God includes letting Him deal with the attacks of the enemy.
His methods and ways might not make sense to us, but He always has a plan.
2. Deal with Accusations
When Festus returned home, he brought Paul in to face yet another trial.
He sat on his chair and allowed the Jewish leaders to make accusations against Paul.
It is something, for at least twenty-five years the Jews tried to stop Paul.
They threatened him, they beat him, they stoned him, they nearly killed him, but nothing could stop him.
Now, they have turned to their enemy, the Roman Empire, to help them.
They hated Paul so much they were willing to trust a foreign empire who continuously took advantage of them.
They make their same old accusations again, but like before, they couldn’t prove Paul was guilty of any wrongdoing.
Once again, Paul denied any wrongdoing against Judaism or the Roman government.
We also see that Festus was not his friend, for he tried to use Paul as a bargaining chip to curry favor with the Jews.
How could Paul have made it through all of this?
Nothing could stop Paul, not ever the threat of death, because He learned to die to self.
How do we die to self and become alive in Christ?
We have to spend time with the Resurrection and the Life.
We have to make an effort get into His presence through prayer.
When we are close to Him, nothing else will matter.
Did Paul get tired of the false accusations.
I know I would.
But he had faith that God would get the glory in the end.
Though Satan makes false accusations, when we pray we do not have to live in intimidation.
3. Deal with Appeals
When Paul heard Festus agree to send Paul back to Jerusalem, he spoke.
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