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Acts chapter 25 · Scripture Unscripted

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  Acts chapter 25. Let us pray.
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  Our Lord who reigns on high, we love you.
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  We love you with all of our heart and all of our mind, all
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  of our soul, all of our strength, all of our being,
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  every breath, every heartbeat. God, I pray in the name of Jesus
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  that we will be found doing whatever it is that you have
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  directed us into today. God, we pray for your will to be
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  done. Lord, we pray for your Kingdom
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  to come. Lord, let us be your hands and
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  feet today. God, give us the mind of Christ
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  today. Thank you that you satisfied the
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  wrath on Jesus Christ on Calvary.
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  God at the cross. Lord, thank you, Father, that we
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  can stand in your holy presence. Lord, thank you that none of the
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  sins will be counted against us because of the blood of Jesus
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  Christ covering us. Lord, I pray that you'll heal
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  our marriages, heal our broken bodies.
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  God, heal disease. Lord, in the name of Jesus
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  Christ, I pray mental illness must go in the name of Jesus.
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  God, I pray in the name of Jesus for the regeneration of limbs.
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  Father, I pray in the name of Jesus for eyesight God to be
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  restored. God, I pray in the name of Jesus
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  for the loss of hearing to be restored.
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  Father, I pray in the name of Jesus against cancer and heart
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  disease, Lord, and against kidney disease.
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  Lord, in the name of Jesus, I pray for sound bodies for your
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  service. Lord, I pray God against
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  malnutrition, malnourishment. God, I pray for clean drinking
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  water and for food to go out. Lord, I pray that you'll use us
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  in mighty ways. God, let us get out of our own
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  way and be filled with the Holy Spirit and know that you are
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  directing our paths. God, let us not live selfishly,
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  but let us live sold out to the King of kings and the Lord of
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  Lords. Jesus Christ, let us burn the
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  ox, let us burn the carts. God, I pray that we will come
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  and follow you, take up our capital, capital punishment God,
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  and that we will follow you unto anywhere that you lead us.
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  Lord, for you, the God of the universe, you are the King over
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  all of creation. The earth is yours and
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  everything in it, all people, every single man, woman and
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  child, God are yours. From the highest and loftiest to
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  the lowest and debased God, they are yours.
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  We are your creation God, and we cry out for you.
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  Lord, we give you all do praise and honor and glory because it
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  is you and it is you alone who deserve it.
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  And Lord, I pray right now that your word will be spoken in its
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  entirety in the completeness. God, the full counsel of your
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  Word. God, as we open up your word
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  today, you teach us, You guide us.
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  Holy Spirit, give us discernment, give a sound
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  doctrine and sound theology in the name of Jesus Christ.
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  I pray that you will help us. Father, I decrease as you
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  increase. It's all about you, King.
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  Jesus, teach us your eternal paths.
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  We love you, Father. You are a Jehovah Nisi, Elroy.
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  You see us, God. You're the banner, you're the
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  healer, you're the provider, you're the great Physician.
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  You are the supreme. You are the very top tier.
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  You are high and exalted over all of our emotions and
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  circumstances and feelings. God, it's all about you.
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  Yes, Jesus, we love you, Holy Spirit, fill us today.
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  And it's in Jesus Christ, holy and precious name that I pray.
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  Amen. Well, let's start in verse one
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  now. When Festus was coming to the
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  province after three days, he ascended from Caesarea to
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  Jerusalem. What you need to know is history
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  tells us that Felix from the last chapter was not a very
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  godly man. He was not liked by the masses,
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  and here you're going to see old Festus coming onto the scene and
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  he was a very likable ruler and he tried to do the right things
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  and you're going to see that played out through this chapter
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  2. Then the high priest and the
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  chief of the Jews informed him against Paul and begged him.
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  Here we see the degradation of these Jewish leaders who see
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  their opportunity as Felix is out and Festus is in, and you
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  can see that they are so reprobate that they look for any
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  opportunity. They're bloodthirsty and want to
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  kill and murder ambush Paul and they're trying to plot his
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  demise right here and right now. But Festus is going to see
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  through it all three and desired favor against him that he would
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  send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill
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  him. So they were going to wait on
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  the road and as soon as Paul got close enough into Jerusalem,
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  they were going to ambush and kill him.
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  Because they were so offended by the truth.
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  They were so steeped in idolatry.
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  They were so steeped in envy and greed.
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  And because Paul was preaching a better way, the way, the truth
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  and the life, Jesus Christ the first born resurrected from the
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  dead. Because Paul was preaching the
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  truth and they were steeped in a lie, they wanted him out of the
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  way and dead. And don't be surprised if that
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  is what you see happening whenever you are speaking the
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  truth and people are so steeped in a lie and they do not want to
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  come honestly to Yahweh. 4 But Festus answered that Paul should
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  be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly
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  from there. So here Festus sees through
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  their plot, and he keeps Paul by divine Providence secure, so
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  that Paul can write most of our New Testament friends. 5 Let
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  them therefore, said he, which among you are able go down with
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  me and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in them?
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  And of course there was no wickedness in them.
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  Paul was right with God. Paul was inspired by the Holy
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  Spirit to pen the letters that you and I hold in such high
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  regard. And here Festus is prodding and
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  provoking them, saying, If there be any charge against him, come
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  and make it plain. 6 And when he had tarried among them more than
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  10 days, he went down unto Caesarea, and the next day,
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  sitting on the judgment seat, commanded Paul to be brought.
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  So here Festus is coming in to his new position and he is very
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  quick to go to Jerusalem, which would have been the most
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  important city in his province. And here the Jews are trying to
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  twist the truth to get him to bring Paul so they can ambush
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  and murder him. And then because of this
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  provocation, old Fascist wants to bring Paul out to hear from
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  him himself. Let's see what happens. 7 And
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  when he was come, the Jews, which came down from Jerusalem,
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  stood round about and laid many and grievous complaints against
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  Paul, which they could not prove.
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  So here the physician Luke, who's writing the book of Acts,
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  is showing us, and also showing the High Court in Rome that
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  there is no substantiality to any of the accusations that were
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  brought against Paul. Imagine that 8 While he answered
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  for himself, neither against the law of the Jews, neither against
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  the Temple nor yet against Caesar have I offended anything
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  at all. So Paul is saying, I have not
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  broken any law of the Jews or of Rome 9 But Festus, willing to do
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  the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul and said, Will you go up to
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  Jerusalem, and there be judges of these things before me?
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  So here Festus is asking Paul if he would be willing to be
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  relocated back to Jerusalem, to the Sanhedrin, and that he would
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  stand before them. Let's see how God is moving all
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  of this divine timeline, Friends. 10 Then, said Paul, I
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  stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged to
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  the Jews. I have done no wrong, as you
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  very well know. So he's saying, I am a Roman
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  citizen, and I have the right to appeal to the highest Supreme
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  Court of the land. I appeal unto Caesar, 11 For if
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  I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of
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  death, I refuse not to die. But if there be none of these
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  things, whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them.
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  I appeal unto Caesar. So here Paul is going around
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  them and saying, You have no power over me.
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  And here you also can see God's divine Providence for Paul to
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  give him the space and the time to be able to write most of our
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  New Testament friends. 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred
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  with the council, answered, Have you appealed to Caesar?
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  Unto Caesar you shall go. So there you go.
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  That is how Paul gets a first class ticket to Rome to speak
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  before more Gentile rulers. Imagine that God has Paul
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  speaking the truth to every High Court in the land and letting
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  them know that Jesus is the way. 13 And after certain days, King
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  Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.
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  So here is the great grandson of the Herod that tried to kill
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  Jesus as a baby and had all the children to and under in Rama
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  murdered. He is the This is the grandson
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  of the Herod that had John the Baptist beheaded.
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  He is the son of the Herod that had the apostle James martyred.
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  And here he is coming to listen to Paul to see what he ought to
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  say. And he's bringing his sibling
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  with him. And there are a lot of
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  commentators and a lot of scholars who believe this was an
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  incestuous relationship and that it was despicable and disgusting
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  in the sight of God. Let's see what happens here. 14
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  And when they had been there many days, Festus declared
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  Paul's calls unto the king, saying, There is a certain man
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  left in bonds by Felix. 15 About whom?
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  When I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of
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  the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him, 16
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  To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to
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  deliver any man to die before that he which is accused have
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  the accusers face to face, and have license to answer for
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  himself concerning the crime laid against him.
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  So here you can see the hypocrisy and the duplicity.
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  You can see all of the debased delusion that these rulers have
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  attributed to themselves. They have kept Paul in chains
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  and in prison, and they have no charges to substantiate this
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  imprisonment. And here Festus is inviting
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  Agrippa and Bernice to come and try to find some kind of
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  accusation that Festus can send to Caesar 'cause he can't send
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  Paul to Rome and to Caesar with no charges.
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  He cannot just send him there and say, I have no idea why this
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  man has been in custody in my care.
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  He should be exonerated, He should be released from prison.
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  The charges which there are none, should be completely
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  dissolved, and he should get some kind of recompensation for
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  all of the time lost. But because God is controlling
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  the levers here, friends, Paul is left in prison to continue to
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  write to us that we are eternally blessed by this
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  imprisonment. And that is why you cannot
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  approach God from a moralistic way.
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  God's ways are not our ways. God's thoughts are not our
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  thoughts, friends. And when God tells the Jews to
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  annihilate an entire people group, every man, woman, child
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  and animal, and you look back and you say far be it from us to
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  ever serve a God like that. That is why we can never
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  approach God from a moralistic way.
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  We must approach him honestly and in a way that we just say,
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  God, we do not understand you, but we serve you and we love you
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  and we just want to be found doing whatever it is that you've
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  called us into. You say sell everything, we sell
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  everything. You say follow us.
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  We follow you, God, and where you go we want to be.
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  And we will not go unless you go with us, God Almighty. 17
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  Therefore when they were come here without any delay on the
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  Morrow, I sat on the judgement seat and commanded the man to be
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  brought for 18 against whom, when the accuser stood up, they
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  brought no accusation of such things that I supposed.
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  So he's saying all of it was just a bunch of rigamarole.
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  There was no substance to any of it.
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  It's empty and I need something to send to Caesar.
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  Help me. 19 but had certain questions against him of their
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  own superstition. And of 1 Jesus, which was dead,
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  who Paul affirmed to be alive. That's the crux of the whole
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  matter, of the whole situation. We serve a risen God.
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  Jesus has no grave that you can go and visit, Friends.
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  Jesus is not one of many ways, Friends.
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  He's not just a good religious teacher.
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  Jesus is not just a prophet. Jesus is alive.
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  We serve a risen resurrected king, friends.
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  And here old Festus, he's trying to get Agrippa and Bernice to
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  try to give him some kind of substance to go off of, and it
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  can't be on the superstition of the man named Jesus, who's dead,
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  but Paul says is alive. 20 And because I doubted of such a
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  manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to
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  Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters. 21 But when
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  Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I
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  commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar. 22
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  Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself.
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  Tomorrow he said, You shall hear him. 23 And on the Morrow, when
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  Agrippa was come, and Bernice with great pomp, and was entered
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  into the place of hearing with the chief captains and the
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  principal men of the city, at Festus's commandment, Paul was
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  brought forth. Look at all this pomp and
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  circumstance. Look at all of this ceremony.
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  And this was to put Paul in his place as just a bond servant, as
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  just a prisoner. And this Festus Bernice Agrapha,
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  they were elevating themselves into a lofty position to prove
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  to Paul and all those that were in the court that they were the
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  ones to be looked up to. And it's like Pilate said to
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  Jesus, do you not know who I am? I have the power to release you.
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  And Jesus says you have no power over me but that which has been
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  given to you by my father. And here you have to understand
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  that Paul is the one who's in the driver's seat, friends, Paul
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  is the one because he's taken the lowly position of a
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  bondservant. Paul is the one elevated.
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  Look at all eyes are on Paul and what he says has supreme
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  importance in the gravity that we all.
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  Need to lock in and pay attention to and we need to know
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  that if you exalt yourself you will be brought low.
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  But if you will practice humility, in due time God will
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  raise you up. 24 And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men
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  which are here present with us, you see this man about whom all
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  the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem
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  and also here, crying that he ought not live any longer.
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  Can you see Paul being brought out with all the scars that he
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  bore from all the beatings and the stonings that he has
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  suffered for the namesake of Jesus Christ?
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  And here he stands before them in a prisoner's garb, as all of
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  them are dressed in their highfalutin ways?
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  25 But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of
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  death, and that he himself has appealed to Augustus, I have
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  determined to send him. So there is no claim on him.
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  Death has no hold on him, friends, He is God's protected,
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  and he will do exactly what God has him to do.
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  And that is your call, and that is my call, and we must be found
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  serving God Almighty, and you are blood bought and bulletproof
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  until the Lord calls you home. 26 Of whom I have no certain
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  thing to write unto my Lord. Wherefore I have brought him
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  forth before you, and especially before you, O King Agrapha, that
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  after examination, had I might have somewhat to write, we'll
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  end on 27. For it seems to me unreasonable
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  to send a prisoner, and not with all to signify the crimes laid
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  against him. There is no crime laid against
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  Paul, because he has not committed a crime worthy of
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  imprisonment and death. And it was at this saying that
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  they should have unlocked the chains, given him
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  recompensation, and let him free.
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  But God can use it without excusing it.
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  God's going to use this to edify the church for all time sake.
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  But it does not excuse Felix and Festus and Bernice and Agra.
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  It does not excuse Augustus. It does not excuse Lysias.
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  It does not excuse them, friends, and that is what you
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  need to know about God is that God is moving everything in
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  accordance with the timeline, friends, and we need to watch
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  Israel. That is God's timepiece in the
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  world today. I hope that you've been blessed
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  by this amazing chapter here in the Word of God.
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  I know I sure have. I'm praying for you, praying in
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  the name of Jesus for your healing.
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  I'm praying in the name of Jesus for a sound mind for your
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  family. I'm praying in the name of Jesus
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  that the love of God will overwhelm you.
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  I love you. So does God, so does Jesus, so
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  does the Holy Ghost. Empty yourself of yourself and
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  be filled with the Holy Ghost today.
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  We'll see you back here tomorrow.
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  God bless you.