Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24487 - Using Every Occasion for the Gospel - Acts 24

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#24487 - Using Every Occasion for the Gospel - Acts 24 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Would you open your Bibles to
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Acts chapter 24 as we continue our verse by verse study in the
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book of Acts? We're almost done.
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We're at the finish line. We've been tackling chapters in
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their totality recently. Today is one of those days where
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we will start and end a whole chapter.
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And I've been taught at our Bible study using every occasion
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for the gospel, every occasion for the gospel.
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Paul is in the middle of a very long trial.
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This is going to be the trial that will be with him to the end
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of his life. He's in these early stages where
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his heart's desire, you'll remember on on top of wanting to
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honor God with his life, was to come to Jerusalem.
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He waited 20 years to get to Jerusalem because he wanted to
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preach the gospel to the Jew, his fellow.
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His heart was so impact, his heart was so strong, his so
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desirous to see the Jews saved that he would tell the Romans
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that he would give up his salvation if needed to see the
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Jews saved. But when he gets there, it
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doesn't happen the way he thought.
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There were rumors and lies about him already.
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He wasn't so welcomed by the early church and that was just
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constant issue, Constant issue. We find him in chapter 24 now
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having his life being saved by the Roman government.
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They were going to tear him to pieces and kill him, but they
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saw that the Romans did saved him and now sent him because of
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his Roman citizenship to Caesarea.
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Pick up with me in verse one. Now after five days, Ananias the
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high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator
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named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the
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governor against Paul. So Paul is in the middle of this
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great trial, but he continues moving forward.
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The hatred of his accusers have boiled over, and the high
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priests and the elders, and now they have a smooth tongue
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orator, an attorney, a representative and advocate.
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They are so bent on killing and destroying Paul's life that
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they've hired somebody to speak on their behalf.
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Who are they? Well, the religious rulers of
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the day in this particular chapter, these are the Pharisees
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and the Sadducees, the religious rulers of the day who have
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banded together and they now have, They were enemies, but now
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they're not enemies because they have a common enemy.
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And they now are making the journey from Jerusalem down to
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Caesarea. They've hired this guy to speak
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against Paul. And notice what he says.
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Verse 2. When he was called upon,
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Tertullus began his accusation. And that's really what they're
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doing. They're making accusations.
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You could even if you like to write in your Bible, they're
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making false accusations. And he says this, verse 2,
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seeing that through you we enjoy great peace and prosperity is
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being brought to this nation by your foresight.
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We accepted always, in all places most noble Felix, with
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all thankfulness. Nevertheless, not to be too
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tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your
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courtesy, a few words for us. Oh, Felix, you're so great and
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so wonderful. You're just the best is what
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he's saying. And we have a word for that kind
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of language. You know what that word is?
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Flattery, and you might want to jot it down because this is an
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example of the type of flattery that we are warned against in
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the book of Proverbs. Now, I hope in your daily DeVos
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you are reading a chapter of Proverbs a day.
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There's 31 chapters. You can read a chapter a day,
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depending on what day it is. Today's the 13th.
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So chapter 13 would be the day where you take in wisdom, and
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one of the wisdom points that we learn in the Proverbs is to
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watch out for people that come to us and flatter us and butter
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us up because there almost always is some type of false
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agenda behind the flattery, behind this man that's been
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hired to flatter Felix is the Sanhedrin.
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And you have to understand, I know it's repetition, but you
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need to remember the Jewish leaders, the Jewish nation hated
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the Roman government. So all this flattery, all in
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Felix, you're the best. We love you.
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You've done so much for it's not true.
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It's all lies. They hated the Roman government.
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They didn't like the Romans meddling in their religion.
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They didn't like the Romans taxing them and placing great
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burdens. And if we remember, they really
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didn't like the Romans taking away from them the ability to
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enact capital punishment, which is why they use the Roman
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government to crucify Christ. So this flattery, that's all it
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is. All this little talk, flowery
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talk, is just flattery. You can jot it down in Proverbs
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chapter 26 and verse 28, it says a lying tongue hates those who
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are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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You can be sure of it. A flattering mouth works ruin.
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I'm always cautious when hearing a skilled flatterer and I have
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heard a few over the years. I know by past experience if
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someone comes to me and begins to flatter me or butter me up,
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there is some hidden plan or agenda behind the scenes.
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The problem with flattery is and if you look yourself in the
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mirror, you have to admit the problem with flattery is, is
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that part of us likes it and respond to it.
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That's why the Bible warns US against it.
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Be careful somebody coming up with all these kind words and
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over the top stuff. Be careful, someone once said,
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and I quote, we recognize that flattery is poison, but it's
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perfume intoxicates us and how careful we need to be.
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The dictionary defines flattery as insincere or excessive
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praise. The word also can mean to stroke
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the ego or caress the ego. Flattery is not genuine
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encouragement or genuine compliments because genuine
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encouragement and compliments are needed in the body of
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Christ. I mean, we really do need to
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encourage one another in the Lord and express appreciation to
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one another and be able to say, hey, I love you and I appreciate
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you in a genuine way. But that's not flattery.
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And that's not what happening with Felix here.
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What's happening here is we have a picture of really what is the
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essence behind flattery. The Sanhedrin, these religious
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rulers, these Sadducees and Pharisees are at the point in
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their lives where they'll they will do anything to get their
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way. They're willing to do anything
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to get their way. And we're reminded today that
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sin and hatred will always get you there.
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And you say where, Ed? To the place of where you're
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willing to do anything to get your way.
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Anything. You know, we don't really use
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that language. You know, I'm not a flatterer,
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but you know, listen, flattery, bribery, dishonesty.
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It's like, no, none of us would do that.
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But when you think about, you go wait a minute, maybe not, maybe
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you won't. You don't think of it as
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flattery, but a little white lie to get my way.
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Believers think that that's OK all the time.
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Or a little compromise. Well, we, we are able to talk
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ourselves into anything if we really want something, even
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against the ways of God. And so as we look at Tertullis
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here today, we're reminded how careful we need to be.
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You know, this is what happened to Judas.
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This is exactly what happened to Judas.
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Because his greed for money, his desire for position and perhaps
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a little bit of jealousy and sense of how the some of the
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other apostles got more attention than him or whatever
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it might be, brought him to the place where he was duped and
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seduced into betraying the very one that loved him and could
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save him. And so watch out for flattery.
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Watch out when it comes to you, but also watch out when you
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think it's a tool to get what you want because the Bible is
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very clear in Proverbs chapter 29, verse 5, listen, Proverbs 29
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verse 5 says a man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for
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his feet. So Felix is getting buttered up
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here, but only to be taken advantage of.
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Notice what else in verse 5 he says, For we have found this
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man, and here's the accusations. We have found this man a plague,
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a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the
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world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
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He even tried to profane the Temple, and we seized him and
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wanted to judge him according to our law.
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But the commander Lysias came, and with great violence took him
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out of our hands, commanding his accusers to you.
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By examining him yourself, you may ascertain all these things
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of which we accuse him. And the Jews also assented,
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maintaining that these things were so.
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So Now you can see the motive here.
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The flattery was to set Felix up for these false accusations.
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Because they were false, this flattery was to set him up.
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And, you know, lest you think this is not an issue with us,
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you have to remember and understand the culture in which
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you were raised, perhaps even the way that you learn how to
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navigate in this world. And one of the number one
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philosophical teachings that have been given to us in this
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culture is this the end justifies the means.
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So that when you think of well, you know, this is going to, this
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is going to be good and I'm going to get my way.
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So it doesn't matter how I get there.
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You have abandoned the truth of the scriptures.
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It does matter how you get there because the end may not be the
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end that God has for you. It's the journey that God has us
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on following Him. And so here they buttered Him up
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so that they could spread lies about Him.
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So there's four things here if you're taking notes. 4 things
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he's accused of. Three of them are completely
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false. One of them is true, but it's
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used in a negative way against him.
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So they take something true and try to use it against him.
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So number one, I want you to notice in verse five, they
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accuse Paul of being a plague, basically saying he's a
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troublemaker. And the old King James, I'm
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reading from the new King James, but from the old King James, it
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says that he's a pestilence, or you can shorten that word that
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he's a pest, but he's a troublemaker.
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You know what they're accusing of?
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It's not just name calling here before the Roman governor.
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They're accusing Paul of treason.
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It was tree. It would have been treasonous
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for a person to go and bring about trouble in the Kingdom
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because the Romans valued peace. Right now, the world in the 1st
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century was living under something called the Pax Romana,
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the Roman peace that they brought about with force.
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So he's accused of being treasonous here.
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Number two, it says that he's accused of being a divider among
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all the Jews. He's creating dissension.
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That's what that word means, that he's being divisive.
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But let's step back for a second.
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This is completely false. Any division that came so far
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has been created by the Jews that have been chasing him
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around, especially within the the difficulty in the Sanhedrin.
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All Paul did was mention the resurrection and they flipped
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out and got upset. They're creating the division,
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but then notice what they say because they're usually false
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accusations are wildly exaggerated.
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So notice the exaggeration here. He is creating dissension among
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all the Jews throughout the world.
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How could they possibly know that you, you know, that false
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accusations are attached to exaggerations where people,
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they, how could they possibly know what's going on around the
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world? They don't.
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But they've got Felix on the hook, you know, and they're
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reeling him in, reeling him in is they don't know what's going
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on around the world. They, you know, even in our day,
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like with technology today, we know a lot that's going, but we
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don't know everything that's going on.
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They had nothing and false accusations always have this
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sense of exaggeration to them. The third thing is true, but not
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it's not true like they said it where it says in verse five that
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he's a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
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He is a leader. He is a leader of the church.
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He's an apostle. He's a key leader.
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He's a high level leader, but he's, you know, using the word
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ringleader as if it's something negative or no.
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He's a leader in the church, but it's not bad.
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And then the 4th accusation that they bring is that he tried to
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profane the temple, which is completely false.
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He was in the temple worshipping God.
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You'll see in his defense in a moment, but he was also in the
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temple being a benefactor to those four guys that were
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finishing their vow. And he was in a temple trying to
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be a peacemaker. The exact opposite.
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Now I have to say, being in the role that I'm in and the life
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that God has called me to over the last many, many years, I
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have faced quite a bit of false accusations and accusations in
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my life. And I've seen all these elements
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where some people will take something I did and twist it
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around and use it against me, or they'll say things.
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They'll just make up lies. It's unbelievable.
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Where as you're living life as unto the Lord, how people will
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try to twist it and try to use it against you.
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And that's where Paul is. If you've ever been on the other
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side of that, it's a very uncomfortable thing to have to
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deal with because it's like that there'll be people that are,
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they'll do, they'll do something and then they will accuse you of
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the exact thing that they did. And you're like, this is just
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like, what are you going to do? How can you, you know, you just
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what are you going to do? And Paul, here he is in the
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place where rather than respond, or perhaps better way to put it,
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rather than react in the flesh, he's going to use it as an
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opportunity for the gospel. And what a great lesson to
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learn, isn't it? Like just everything that will
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happen, even if it makes us uncomfortable, even if it ticks
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us off or whatever provokes our flesh, we need to calm down and
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see how God wants to use it in our life for the gospel.
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We just take a deep, like even the world knows.
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I just take a deep breath and I go, OK, like that's going to
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work. We'll take a hundred of them.
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Like whenever you do whatever you need to do to calm down and
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not react in the flesh, but learn how to respond in the
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Spirit, we see that very clearly in Paul's life.
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And so the flatterer, it's just like him, this same man,
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Tutulis, who found it so easy to flatter and speak up, you know,
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you know, build up Felix with all these lies, with this one
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side of his mouth, he's flattering.
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The other side of his mouth, he's lying.
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I mean, basically flattery and the false accusations are two
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forms of lies. But on one side of lies, oh,
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you're the best, Felix. On the other side of his mouth,
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he's lying, wanting to see Paul dead.
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Again. Another quote.
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I don't know where I got this from, but I'll quote it.
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The person who today flatters you will likely tomorrow accuse
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you behind your back. Why?
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Because the flatterer does not walk in the truth.
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And that's why I just don't even accept it.
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Don't don't even take it. And please, church, don't use
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flattery. Don't try to trap people.
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Just walk in the spirit. Fulfill, fulfill the will of God
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for your life. Pick up in verse 7.
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Now he continues. The commander Lysias came by
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great violence took him out and verse 9 the Jews agreed,
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maintaining that these things were so.
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Verse 10 Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to
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speak, answered and notice his answer very simple.
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In as much as I know that you have been for many years a judge
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of this nation, I do more cheerfully answer for myself
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that word cheerfully has the idea of I'm not going to flatter
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you, Felix. I'm just I'm happy to answer.
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I'm standing here. They've said what they need to
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say all of this. But hey, I know you're a judge
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and I'm cheerfully honestly going to answer verse 11.
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You may ascertain that it's no more than 12 days since I went
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up to Jerusalem to worship. Basically it's like, look, it's
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only been 12 days. Everything that they've said,
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there's witnesses, there's people like 12 days isn't enough
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time to do everything they're accusing me of.
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Like that's how he starts. Like they don't even know what
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they're talking about. It's only been 12 days.
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That's all it's been. It's not enough time to do
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everything that they've talked about.
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And you can look for witnesses if you want to be able to speak
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to and, and hear witnesses to what I'm saying is true.
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And then he says, verse 12, they neither found me in the temple
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disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd.
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It wasn't that way in the synagogues or in the city.
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Verse 13, And I love verse 13. It's like you can just get the
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sense of Paul standing there. He's all beat up and mangled.
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You know, he's probably cleaned up after 12 days, but he's still
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got the scars of being scourged and being pulled to death, being
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rescued. He just says this, hey, they
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can't prove the things of which they now accuse me.
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And you know what, church, you're on the other end of
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accusations. You're all the on the other end
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of lies. You're on the other end of that
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stuff. Sometimes this is all you can
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rest in. Hey, they can't prove it.
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I don't know what else to tell you.
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They can't prove it's not true. My life.
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You can look at my life. You can examine my life.
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And that's where Paul, hey, hey, here's the facts.
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But here's the bottom line. They can't prove it.
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It's all lies. They can't prove it of all their
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accusations against me. This is an important verse as
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he's giving his defense because this is something that you and I
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need to learn how to live as believers in this world.
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Would you hold your places here? Turn over to first Timothy
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chapter 3 with me. First Timothy chapter 3.
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Those of you familiar with the Scriptures, you know this is a
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chapter in the Bible where Paul the apostle is writing to a
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young man as a pastor and he's giving insight on how to choose
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elders. He's he says, these are the kind
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of people, the characteristics I want you to look for in the
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elders of the church. And by way of application, not
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just elders, men, because men fulfill the role of elders, but
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also women. Anyone that's going to lead in
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the church because the word Bishop in verse one literally
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means overseer. So anyone that's going to be an
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overseer, these are the characteristics I want you to
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look for. These are these are things to
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develop for all those of us that serve in his church and knows
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what he says. This is a faithful saying.
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If a man desires the position of a Bishop or an overseer, he
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desires a good work and then notice what he says, verse 2.
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An overseer then must be blameless.
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If you want to stand like Paul and say, hey, look, here's my
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life and they cannot prove what they're saying, Basically all of
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their accusations are false. The way that you can stand and
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that kind of confidence is to live a life that's blameless.
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Blameless. What is blameless means some
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some of your translations might say above reproach.
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The idea behind blameless is not a perfect life, not a perfect
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life, but a life that when blame is then shot at you or the word
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we're using now is accusations. When accusations come and they
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will, they won't stick because your life is blameless.
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That you truly are serious about your relationship with God and
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you're choosing to follow Him. Here's another way of describing
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blameless. You ready?
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You got nothing to hide. You need to be able to live your
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life where you can look someone in the eye and go, hey, examine
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me, I got nothing to hide. I have nothing to hide.
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My life is an open book in that respect.
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I have nothing to hide. I've got no hidden sin.
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I'm not dishonest, I'm not a liar.
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I got nothing to hide. You can examine my life.
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I'm not perfect, but I'll tell you what, when accusations come,
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I can stand here and go. You know what?
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Not only those not true, but they can't prove them.
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Nehemiah even faced this in the Old Testament.
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It was this episode in Nehemiah's life where false
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accusations were coming and they were making things up around his
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life and ministry. And he looked at them and go,
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you know what? These aren't true.
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You're making them up in your own mind, which is often the
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source of accusations. And how do we live a blameless
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life? Notice verse 2A.
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Bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife,
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temperate, sober minded, and I love this phrase.
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Good behavior. That's how God wants us to live
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our lives. Good behavior that we live
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making good decisions, making the right choices, choosing to
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say the right things because, you know, none of us know.
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Sometimes when we're called on something or somebody might
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point something out, we get very, very defensive and we
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might cop this Christian attitude of, well, you don't
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know my heart, bro. What are you judging me?
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You don't know my heart, which how can we do?
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How can we answer that? Of course we don't know your
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heart, but we see your actions. What do you want us to do?
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Just ignore your actions? We don't know your heart.
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You're right. But I can tell by your actions
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something's up with your heart. And so why don't we talk about
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it? But you know, when your life is
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filled with good behavior, you know what that is?
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It's a reflection of a heart that's right with God.
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And so it's true. Like you're here today.
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I don't know your heart. Nobody, nobody knows hearts in
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this room right now. You're absolutely right.
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Nobody knows your heart, but God does.
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God knows exactly what's happening in our hearts.
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He knows our desires. He knows if we're hiding things.
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He knows if we're serious about what we say.
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He, he knows. Now we look at the outward
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because that's all we can see. But you want to live a blameless
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life. Your heart is right before God
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and your actions reflect that. That's where Paul is.
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You want to be able to stand with any kind of confidence and
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say, hey, look, I got nothing to hide.
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You can't prove these things. It's starts with the choice to
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live a blameless life, abiding in Christ, walking in the
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Spirit, an irreproachable life. Now one more thing before we
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move on. It says in verse 14, But this I
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confess to you, that according to the way which they call a
23:55
sect. So I worship the God of my
23:57
Father's, believing all things which are written in the law and
24:02
in the prophets. I have hope in God, which they
24:05
themselves also accept that there will be a resurrection of
24:09
the dead, both of the just and the unjust.
24:12
This being so, I myself always strive and here, here we have
24:16
blameless I always blameless good behavior.
24:20
And he summarizes, I always strive to have a conscience
24:23
without offense toward God and men.
24:27
What is the basic definition of a conscience?
24:29
Your conscience gives you the ability to feel guilt when you
24:34
sin. That's why it's important to
24:37
have a sensitive conscience and a clean conscience so you don't
24:39
walk around with guilt and shame.
24:42
You, you an accusation, whether it's from another person or the
24:45
enemy. The enemy is accuser of the
24:46
brethren. So, oh, you're a horrible
24:48
believer. You're a horrible dad.
24:49
You're a horrible mom. You're horrible, horrible,
24:51
horrible. And you have to stand fast like
24:53
Ephesians 6 says, and wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a
24:56
minute. I have a clean conscience.
24:58
I don't believe, I don't receive that accusation.
25:01
It's not true. Because I, I mean, I look at my
25:04
life and I know I've made mistakes and I know I've had
25:06
problems, but look, I have a clean conscience because God, it
25:10
like, if you think I'm bad today, you need to know where I
25:12
was 25 years ago. You need to know where I was 35
25:15
years ago. God has done a great work in
25:16
your life. You need to be able to say that.
25:18
You need to be able to look in the in the mirror and go, Hey,
25:21
look what God has done in my life because the the sensitivity
25:26
of guilt and shame is like, oh, look at where I am.
25:29
I got so much far to go. And it's true, we have a long
25:31
way to go into the image of Christ.
25:34
But then for encouragement, you just look back and go, man, look
25:36
how far God has brought you. He hasn't brought you this far
25:39
just to drop you and go up. You're on your own now.
25:43
I only had, you know, so much time with you and then you got
25:46
to take it from here. But God, the Bible says he who
25:49
began a good work in you will complete it until the day of
25:53
Jesus Christ or even the psalmist would say that the Lord
25:56
will perfect or complete. That's which concerns me and so
26:02
important that we remember that now Paul standing there.
26:05
I got a clean conscience open book.
26:07
These guys, he doesn't go after them.
26:09
You guys are a bunch of liars. He just lets the facts speak for
26:14
themselves. And I think there's a little dig
26:16
here that I don't know, but it's possible there's a little dig
26:20
here because the Sanhedrin, parts of the Pharisees and the
26:24
Sadducees made its accessoria. They came to support these
26:28
accusations. They came after five days to
26:32
hire a guy to lie and to manipulate like they made it
26:37
there. And notice Paul, he mentions the
26:39
resurrection again to see if they'll flip out now like they
26:44
did before in front of Felix. I bet you they didn't.
26:47
I'm sure they did not flip out like they did last time.
26:50
Maybe on the inside, but not the outside.
26:53
So I see a little bit of dig here is like, hey, I don't know
26:55
what the problem is. All I did was declare the
26:57
resurrection. And you know, inside of them
27:00
they're like, and I love that. I mean, I, I hope it was like
27:04
that. I think that's something I
27:05
probably would have done just like give them a little bit of
27:07
dig here because this is all nonsense.
27:10
Like you just stand here and you're like, why am I here?
27:13
And I'll tell you why you're in some situations right now where
27:16
you declare it's just nonsense. I can't believe.
27:18
I mean, why is this happening to me?
27:20
I'll tell you why. Because the devil himself is
27:24
walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
27:28
devour. He just wants to wipe you out,
27:31
get your eyes off of the Lord, get you back.
27:34
You know, listen, if the devil or can use situations, if, if
27:40
you're, if, if any of the situations you like can get you
27:43
in the flesh, it's over. You will not succeed in the
27:48
flesh. You will not be victorious in
27:50
the flesh. You will not progress in the
27:53
flesh. Flesh.
27:54
You know the Bible describes the flesh.
27:56
A good way to describe that is your old sinful habits, the way
28:01
you responded apart from Christ, a selfish response.
28:05
If if the, if the world, the the devil of the circumstances can
28:10
get you in the flesh, it's over because nothing good comes from
28:14
the flesh. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
28:16
Now another thing before we move on to the rest of the text.
28:19
Paul standing there, the Sanhedrin parts of the Pharisees
28:24
and the the accusers are there. But I had to ask a question here
28:29
in this text, and it's this Where's James, the leader of the
28:35
church? Where's James?
28:38
Why isn't he there? Why isn't the church mentioned
28:41
there to support Paul? Where are they?
28:45
Part of this scenario here was directly related to the
28:50
leadership of the church. They're the ones that told him
28:52
to go to the temple. They're the ones that told him,
28:54
hey, we want you to do this because people are already lying
28:57
about you. But where's James, the leader of
28:59
the church? Why isn't he there to be a
29:02
support to Paul? It's not mentioned anywhere.
29:04
The accusers came. Everybody wants to destroy.
29:07
Paul made it there. Why didn't the church make it
29:10
there? And it just reminded me today
29:12
for us as believers, both in our church but also in the church at
29:16
large, that as believers, we need to stand with each other
29:20
and support one another, especially in difficult times.
29:24
We need to be there and not abandon men and women that need
29:28
help in their time of need. We are the church and it's
29:32
important that, you know, we got a friend or a brother or sister
29:35
that needs help, that we provide the help that they need.
29:38
It would have been good to read that James was here supporting
29:41
him. And so I'm here.
29:43
I was here. Let me, let me be a witness to
29:45
Paul. Let me be a witness that we were
29:47
here. We sent him to the temple.
29:49
We watched him. None of this is true.
29:51
But there's no one to back him up.
29:53
And on the flip side of that coin, it is a reminder that
29:55
sometimes, perhaps even many times, the situation will
30:00
require you to stand alone. To stand alone, and if that
30:06
situation is upon you, my encouragement to you is stand
30:10
strong in the grace of the Lord, even if you have to stand alone.
30:14
Because you remember along the way, while James wasn't there
30:17
for Paul, the Lord was. Remember that night he showed up
30:21
and stood with him. So it's going to be OK, Paul,
30:23
what you're doing in Jerusalem is OK.
30:25
I know it didn't end up the way you wanted, but not only you
30:27
faithful in Jerusalem, you're going to be faithful in Rome.
30:31
And so even if you have to stand alone, I guess we're really not
30:33
alone. But I can say that when you have
30:35
the support of the body, that helps.
30:38
Have you noticed that to be true?
30:40
When you got the support of the body, It helps.
30:42
That's why in a large church like this, in a large growing
30:45
church, getting involved in smaller groups is essential.
30:50
It's essential. It's got to be one of the next
30:52
steps you take in your commitment to a local church,
30:56
especially a large one where you're developing relationships,
30:59
whether it's in a home or the men or the women or the
31:02
marriage, like you're coming together so that you can stand
31:05
together in the Lord. But I thought it's interesting
31:08
that James wasn't there and it reminded me like we need to be
31:12
there for one another. Notice again, come pick up now
31:16
in verse 17. Now after many years, I came to
31:20
bring alms and offerings to my nation.
31:22
How many years was that? 20 He waited 20 years.
31:26
But you remember He was bringing money as an offering to the
31:30
Jerusalem church. He took up that offering all
31:34
throughout the Gentile churches to help the suffering church in
31:37
Jerusalem. So He came and it says, in the
31:40
midst of which, verse 18, some Jews from Asia found me purified
31:45
in the Temple, neither with a multitude nor with tumult.
31:49
They ought to have been here before you to object if they had
31:52
anything against me. So there aren't any actual
31:54
witnesses to all the accusations.
31:56
The only thing the Sanhedrin can say is, oh, he mentioned the
31:59
resurrection, that's it. And they're the ones that
32:02
flipped out. He didn't flip out.
32:04
So all this other stuff, there's not actually any accusation.
32:07
There's nobody, nobody to back it up, he says.
32:11
Verse 20. Or else let those who are here
32:14
themselves say if they found any wrongdoing with me while I stood
32:18
in the council, unless it's this one statement, I cried out
32:21
standing among them concerning the resurrection of dead.
32:23
I'm being judged. But when Felix heard these
32:26
things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he
32:32
adjourned the proceedings and said, When Lysias the commander
32:35
comes down, I'll make a decision on your case.
32:37
So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and let him have
32:40
liberty, told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide
32:44
for or visit him. He basically was on house
32:46
arrest, but people could come and go and help him.
32:49
Verse 24. After some days, when Felix came
32:52
with his wife Drusilla, who is Jewish, he sent for Paul and
32:56
heard him considering the faith in Christ.
33:00
Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and
33:03
the judgement to come, Felix was afraid and answered.
33:07
Go away for now. When I have a convenient time,
33:10
I'll call for you. Meanwhile, he had also hoped
33:13
that money would be given to him by Paul that he might release
33:16
him. Therefore he sent for him more
33:18
often and conversed with him. And after two years, Porsche's
33:22
Festus succeeded Felix, and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a
33:26
favor, left Paul bound. Paul has an opportunity now to
33:31
share the gospel with Felix. He has an opportunity to reason
33:35
with him. He has an opportunity to speak
33:39
to him about the things of the Lord in the midst of his crisis,
33:42
which is the whole thing. It's the whole point of life is
33:46
to use every circumstance for the gospel.
33:48
And that's what Paul's doing. Reading, even reading through
33:51
this, this trial now is lasted 3 whole chapters of the book of
33:55
Acts. This one trial, three whole
33:57
chapters and it's going to continue.
33:59
It's not going to end all the way to the end.
34:02
You look at your own life. You know, I've been in this long
34:04
trial and you have to step back. Part of your prayer is like,
34:07
well, how's it going to be used for the gospel?
34:10
What people are you going to bring into my life?
34:12
What open doors are you going to give me Lord and you'll see with
34:15
Felix. He has an opportunity to talk to
34:18
him or in verse 25 reason with him about the things of Christ.
34:24
Now I find it interesting, don't you where it says that after
34:29
some days when Felix came with his wife.
34:34
He called for Paul and says I want to hear about the gospel.
34:38
Not only that, but if you step a couple verses earlier, it says
34:42
verse 22. Felix heard these things.
34:44
He had a more accurate knowledge of the way.
34:48
It's important that you grasp this.
34:51
The people in your life right now, there are things in their
34:55
lives that you don't know anything about.
34:58
You don't know why it's so important not to jump to
35:01
conclusions in their life. Felix has been studying
35:05
Christianity. Would you have guessed that?
35:09
I don't think any of us would have guessed that considering
35:12
his life, as I'll explain in a moment, in his position and his
35:14
decisions. And I mean, we know he's a rat
35:17
because he just wanted money. We know that's inside the all he
35:20
wanted was money. And he left Paul in prison,
35:23
didn't really let him go. We see with his marriage,
35:26
current marriage in a moment, He's an adulterer.
35:28
Like this guy is not good at all.
35:31
But he's studying Christianity, which is interesting and he's
35:36
curious. So people, even in particular
35:41
people know more about Christianity than we give them
35:44
credit for. They even have more desire to
35:47
learn about the things of God than we may even realize.
35:50
Because you think of, oh, you won't understand it, My neighbor
35:52
this and my boss this. And I'll never and like, I don't
35:55
know anything about your boss, but I want you to see Felix
35:58
here. He was studying Christianity and
36:00
probably didn't tell anybody. That's why I love radio, for
36:04
example. I love radio.
36:05
I love that medium. I know social media and YouTube
36:09
and all that does the same thing, but radio is like an
36:11
intimate radio comes into your car, it comes into your kitchen.
36:15
You might even have radio on in your bedroom.
36:17
A radio goes to places that that typically nobody gets access to.
36:21
It's a very intimate medium of communication where and you want
36:25
to know what you, you might even experience this, maybe listen to
36:28
talk radio and you start arguing with the person that's on your
36:31
radio. You know they're not there,
36:33
right? They're not there in your car.
36:34
They're not there, but it's so it, it drops 'cause you in and
36:38
many, many people. That's why it becomes a good
36:41
tool in a station like ours that provides just Bible study and
36:44
worship where you go, Hey, I know you don't want to come to
36:47
church. I know you want anything to do
36:48
with God. But you know, if you're ever
36:49
interested, you should listen to the station.
36:51
Just listen to it and people will listen and not tell
36:53
anybody. People will listen and not say a
36:55
word. I remember in my own life when I
36:58
visited a church, I told no one. I didn't want anybody to know I
37:04
was going to church. That would ruin my reputation if
37:07
people knew that I was going to church.
37:11
But I was very curious because my life was such a mess, on the
37:18
edge of absolute destruction. Felix is in a place where he
37:25
studied Christianity and it's amazing God knew it because
37:31
through all the circumstances of Paul's life, Paul is standing
37:35
next to Felix right in his face, telling him about the things of
37:38
God. Notice the word that's used in
37:40
verse 25. Church, you need to learn how to
37:42
use this word. It says that he reasoned with
37:46
him. He didn't argue with him.
37:48
He didn't drive a point down, or sometimes as Christians are
37:50
accused of driving a Bible down his throat, he reasoned with
37:54
him. The idea of this word in the
37:56
Greek means to mingle thought with thought.
38:00
It means to go back and forth. So when you reason with someone,
38:06
you're not trying to drive a point home, or you're not trying
38:09
to prove your point. You are sharing something and
38:13
you're letting someone else share their view.
38:16
Even if you disagree with it 1000%, you are speaking with
38:21
respect to the person in front of you.
38:23
I always like to put it this way.
38:24
I always like to think of it this way.
38:26
If I have somebody that's reasonable and want to have a
38:29
logical conversation, I like to think of it this way.
38:31
Like there's a table between US, one person sitting on that side.
38:35
I'm sitting on this side. I put my thought on the table
38:38
and I hope they pick it up, but I also give them permission to
38:41
put their thought on the table and I'll pick it up.
38:45
I'll listen to them, I'll receive their because I want to
38:47
be open to the Holy Spirit in answering whatever's on their
38:51
mind. And that's what he did.
38:52
He's reasoning with them. And notice how he shares.
38:55
There's three things that he does #1 he shares with him about
39:00
righteousness. Did you know that verse 25, He's
39:03
reasoning with them, sharing the gospel, and part of his
39:06
conversation is righteousness. He's basically telling Felix how
39:10
to get right with God. He's telling Felix you have a
39:14
creator and the creator God. He dictates what's right and
39:19
what's wrong. And there is a right way to live
39:22
and a wrong way to live. There is a right way to behave
39:25
and a wrong way to behave. And the wrong way to behave we
39:29
often refer to with an unpopular word, a word that causes
39:34
offense. The wrong way to behave is sin,
39:37
sinful behavior displeasing to God #2 Notice he speaks of
39:43
self-control. self-control. This is going to be very
39:50
applicable to Felix because Felix life and his current
39:55
situation is a life without control.
39:59
Drusilla and Felix both needed to hear this.
40:01
Their lives were out of control spiritually and morally.
40:05
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Drusilla was the
40:09
3rd and youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa.
40:12
And you remember wicked. The whole Herod family was
40:15
wicked. She was born into this family
40:17
and picked up all the characteristics of her dad.
40:21
Josephus says that she was astonishing, astonishingly
40:25
beautiful, and she knew it, So she used her beauty to get
40:29
favors and to marry her way into power.
40:33
Her first marriage among many was at the age of 14 to a king,
40:38
but she was seduced away from that marriage by Felix through
40:42
adultery and divorced the king and married Felix.
40:48
Her father was an Edomite and it says here that she has Jewish
40:51
backgrounds, so she would understand some of what's being
40:55
said here. They both knew the truth, but
40:59
they refused to live by it. They lived a life without
41:01
self-control, and that's really important for you and for me.
41:05
self-control, denial of self, is the very beginning of following
41:08
Christ. The third thing that he shared
41:12
with Felix, this Roman governor, this man who have his, has his
41:16
life in the balance, is the judgement to come or what we
41:22
might refer to today as eternal judgement.
41:26
And it's important that you realize there is an eternal
41:28
judgment. The word that's used to describe
41:31
that today is hell. You might commonly hear that as
41:34
hell, that a life lived apart from Christ.
41:39
If you die in that place of living in for yourself and
41:44
rejecting God your whole life and you die, the Bible says that
41:48
as real as heaven is for those that have faith in Christ, hell
41:52
is just as real. Well, you know, you Bible
41:55
students, you know that hell is actually not the last place that
42:00
a play a person goes or spends their life in their eternity in
42:04
that at the end of Revelation, death in Hades is what thrown
42:08
into the lake of fire. It's even worse this Christless
42:13
eternity and you need to know that as much as heaven is real,
42:18
hell is just as real. This is what Paul is using his
42:22
six circumstance and situation to talk to Felix about.
42:27
What was the response in verse 25?
42:29
Go away and when I have a convenient time, I will call for
42:34
you. He rejected the gospel.
42:36
He rejected it because it wasn't convenient.
42:40
This is the number one reason why many reject the gospel
42:45
today. It actually isn't what is most
42:47
popular. Like, like some people, I don't
42:49
believe in God. I, I don't want to believe what
42:52
you say I don't believe in God, that that's actually not the
42:54
real reason. Or, you know, I'm an atheist.
42:57
There's no such thing as God. And so I'm not going to hear
42:59
anything that actually isn't the real reason.
43:02
Or I'm an agnostic. I'm not sure what I believe.
43:04
That's not the real reason. Here's the real reason.
43:07
You ready? A person rejects the gospel
43:11
because of a moral issue. It's morality.
43:17
They don't want to deal with the reality of righteousness.
43:21
They don't want to deal with the reality of self-control.
43:25
They don't want to admit that they've sinned against a holy
43:28
and a righteous God. They don't want to think about
43:31
the eternity that might await them.
43:33
It's a moral issue where they refuse to yield their life to
43:38
God because it would be inconvenient for them.
43:42
They'd have to change their life and they don't want to change
43:44
it. And they have a lot of reasons
43:46
for that. It's the way I was raised is the
43:47
way I am. You're so self-righteous, you.
43:50
There's 1000 different things that they keep us at arm's
43:53
length. But the reality is, and what
43:54
we're praying for is the sense that they come to terms with the
43:59
morality of their lives and the change that needs to take place.
44:04
Salvation is a matter of the will, not the emotions.
44:09
So he's terrified, right, Because what Paul said pricked
44:12
him. It can what we we again, we
44:16
would use the word convicted him.
44:19
He's shaking. He's that word afraid means
44:21
terrified. Like this is serious stuff.
44:23
His whole life is flashing before his eyes.
44:26
But then it's not it's not convenient.
44:28
And we know he let it go because two years he keeps Paul in
44:31
prison. And then, you know, he just
44:32
wants to please the Jews. He doesn't care about spiritual
44:35
things. When the gospel goes forth so
44:38
often there's a great emotional response that people crying,
44:42
there's fears, anguish, concern. Oh, I want to be a better dad.
44:46
Oh, I want to be a better mom. And those are all good.
44:48
But the emotions wear off and what's left is what decision did
44:53
you make for Christ? What decision did you make?
44:56
It's a matter of the will. That's why in any gospel
44:59
presentation, there needs to be a presentation of you need to
45:03
decide. You know, Billy Graham, the
45:06
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, many, many years
45:08
ago when they first started, they started a magazine back
45:11
when magazines were the main medium of communication.
45:15
And in that magazine, as they began, it was all these articles
45:18
on evangelism and salvation. You know what they named the
45:20
magazine Decision Magazine. Why?
45:24
Because they realized it's a decision.
45:28
It's a cooperation. No one hearing my voice today
45:31
will ever be saved against their will.
45:34
You just won't wake up one morning.
45:35
Oh, I guess I'm saved. You need to cooperate and
45:39
decide. It's your belief.
45:41
The Bible says this. You ready?
45:43
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
45:48
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
45:51
saved. It's a decision and Felix
45:55
unfortunately decides against. And I don't think I'll see Felix
45:59
in heaven. I mean, something might have
46:01
happened that we don't know about.
46:02
But according to the text, he rejected Christ into a crisis,
46:07
eternity. And that's not God's heart for
46:09
anyone here today. He wants you to make a decision
46:13
to follow him with your life, not just emotions, although
46:15
emotions are real, not just like, yes, I know, I just need,
46:19
yes, you do. All the emotions you're feeling
46:21
should lead you to a decision and following Christ.
46:24
Because even my words today have divided this room.
46:27
Did you know, you know Paul was accused of dividing the whole
46:30
world? Well, it wasn't Paul dividing
46:32
the whole world. It was the gospel.
46:36
Jesus in Luke chapter 12 said that he came to divide.
46:40
It's the gospel that divides, not the people.
46:44
And this room is divided into two, two parts.
46:50
Most would say, I've already decided, you know, we even sing
46:53
a song. I have decided to follow Jesus.
46:55
Some of you, what most of you have already decided, but some
46:59
of you haven't. Your decision is to not follow
47:02
Christ. And it's a very bad decision to
47:05
make because every time you deny Christ, your heart gets harder
47:08
and harder and harder. You don't control that.
47:11
Oh, I'll protect my heart. No, you don't control that part.
47:14
It happens supernaturally. It happens in the spiritual
47:18
realm. And even those of you that have
47:21
decided, you know, like on more convenient time, you've really
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made the decision. No, no.
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And it's not God's heart for you today, make the decision.
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Yes, I do want to follow. I do decide to turn away from my
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sins. I do understand righteousness.
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I want to live righteous and I do understand self-control.
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I want to be kinder, nicer, live a life where I deny myself and I
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live for others. And I do want to escape the
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judgement to come abide in Christ.
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So, Lord, we don't want to be like Felix today as we come to
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the communion table. I mean, just even our own light
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sometimes we have these little skirmishes as believers where
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like we, we still revert back to this resistance in our lives.
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And, and we don't want that we, we backslide.
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We, we, you know, we, we just mess it all up, Lord.
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And I pray God that you would deliver the messed up ones and
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that you would save the lost ones, and that we would be able
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to live a blameless life, good behavior, clean conscience, all
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ingredients that will move us forward.
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It will, it will, you know, make relationships better.
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It will reflect the character and nature of Christ better in
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our lives. And it's our heart, Lord, just
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to as we come to the communion table in remembrance of you,
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that we receive a fresh and anew, just just like Lord, we
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love you so much. We're so grateful for you and we
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yield again our lives to you. And maybe you're here today and
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you've never received Jesus. You can just pray right now.
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You could say, God forgive me of my sins.
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I believe you sent Jesus to die for me.
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And I believe he rose again from the dead to save me.
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And I turn away. I repent of my past and I choose
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and make the decision to follow you today.
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Lord, I know anyone that would pray that near or far in a real
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genuine sincere sincerity. Your word says you won't cast
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them out, that there is a a beautiful, beautiful work of
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your spirit happening to anyone that turns to you.
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So bless them Lord, draw them near as we come to the table
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today in Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
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Call us at 87730 grace that's 877-304-7223.
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To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.