Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / September 23 - Acts 24

Transcript

September 23 - Acts 24 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

0:11
Hello, friends. It's Shawn here.
0:14
It's Tuesday. It's the 23rd of September.
0:17
You've tapped on play and voila, here I am.
0:20
And we are going to continue reading, reading about Paul's
0:24
journey toward Rome. This is the most wonderful
0:28
section of acts as we hear Paul, this incredibly dexterous and
0:33
nimble thinker who tries to always work out, how is this
0:39
audience going to hear what I have to say about Jesus and
0:42
God's Kingdom? And he shapes this message
0:45
differently for every audience, and he finds a way that's going
0:48
to make it palatable and understandable to them.
0:52
And he pitches it differently. And today we'll hear how he
0:55
pitches his story and his situation before the governor.
0:59
Felix. And my challenge to you would
1:01
be, as you hear Paul and Felix speaking today, consider those
1:06
in your life that need to hear this message and how you could
1:11
position it in a way that would land for them with open hearts
1:15
and curiosity. It's a good challenge for all of
1:18
us. So with that little primer,
1:21
let's dive in, shall we? Let's read together Acts chapter
1:24
24. Five days later, Ananias, the
1:37
high priest arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the lawyer
1:41
Turtleus to present their case against Paul to the governor.
1:45
When Paul was called in, Turtleus presented the charges
1:49
against Paul in the following address to the governor.
1:52
You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with
1:56
foresight have enacted reforms for us.
2:00
For all of this, Your Excellency, we are very grateful
2:03
to you. But I don't want to bore you, so
2:07
please give me your attention for only a moment.
2:10
We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly
2:15
stirring up riots around the Jews all over the world.
2:19
He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes.
2:24
Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we
2:27
arrested him. You can find out the truth of
2:30
our accusations by examining him for yourself.
2:35
Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything Turtle
2:38
has said was true. The governor then motioned for
2:41
Paul to speak. Paul said.
2:44
I know, Sir, that you have been a judge of Jewish affairs for
2:48
many years, so I gladly present my defence before you.
2:52
You can quickly discover that I arrived in Jerusalem no more
2:56
than 12 days ago to worship at the Temple.
2:59
My accusers never found me arguing with anyone in the
3:02
Temple, nor stirring up a riot in any synagogue or on the
3:06
streets of the city. These men cannot prove the
3:09
things they accuse me of doing, but I admit that I follow the
3:13
way which they call a cult. I worship the God of our
3:18
ancestors and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything
3:22
written in the prophets. I have the same hope in God that
3:25
these men have, that He will raise both the righteous and the
3:29
unrighteous. Because of this, I always try to
3:33
maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.
3:37
After several years away, I returned to Jerusalem with money
3:41
to aid my people and to offer sacrifices to God.
3:44
My accusers saw me in the Temple as I was completing A
3:47
purification ceremony. There was no crowd around me and
3:51
no rioting, but some Jews from the province of Asia were there,
3:56
and they ought to be here to bring charges if they have
3:59
anything against me. Ask these men here what crime
4:02
the Jewish High Council found me guilty of, except for the one I
4:06
shouted out. I am on trial before you today
4:09
because I believe in the resurrection of the dead.
4:13
At that point, Felix, who was quite familiar with the way,
4:17
adjourned the hearing and said wait until Lyceus, the Garrison
4:22
commander, arrives. Then I will decide the case.
4:27
He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody but to give him
4:30
some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take
4:33
care of his needs. A few days later, Felix came
4:37
back with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, sending for Paul.
4:42
They listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus.
4:46
He had reasoned with them about righteousness and self control
4:49
and the coming day of judgement. Felix became frightened.
4:54
Go away for now, he replied. When it is more convenient, I'll
4:58
call for you again. But he also hoped that Paul
5:01
would bribe him. So he sent for him quite often
5:04
and talked with him after. Two years went by in this way.
5:08
Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus and because Felix wanted
5:13
to grant favour with the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.
5:28
Our Jesus, as we see in this book of Acts, your message will
5:33
find its audience and when you want someone to hear of you, you
5:38
will find a way to make that happen.
5:41
Our Lord, let us never forget that this is your message.
5:45
This is your heart of love and forgiveness and inclusion, that
5:49
you want everybody to hear what you have done for them so that
5:54
they can with an open heart, say, yeah, yes, Lord, I believe
6:00
and I accept this gift you give me.
6:03
Lord, whatever role we have to play in, in your mission of
6:07
sharing this good news with everyone, Lord, embolden us and
6:11
use us. And thank you that first and
6:15
foremost, your message is for us, that you love us, that you
6:21
have achieved everything for us, for our salvation, our
6:25
forgiveness and peace with God through everything you've
6:29
accomplished on the cross, through everything you gave up
6:32
and everything you won. I thank you for this lavish gift
6:37
for us. We are so grateful to you and
6:41
your love for us. So we praise you and we love
6:44
you, and we pray all of this in your name, Jesus, Amen.