Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / October 26 - Acts 25

Transcript

October 26 - Acts 25 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. Sean here lovely to have your
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  company. I hope you are going well.
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  What a week it has been. Hey, I have flown to Sydney and
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  I've returned home and today in my part of the world it is a
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  public holiday. If you get today off with me, I
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  hope you have a wonderfully relaxing day.
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  And if you don't get today off, I'm very sorry.
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  Thank you for keeping the world turning good on you.
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  You will get a public holiday at some other point in time because
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  today is the Hobart show day. Not that I have any intention of
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  going to the show, but I'll take the public holiday anyway.
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  But no matter what your day holds, I know what it holds for
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  the next 5 to 10 minutes. It involves you and I reading
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  the next chapter in the book of Acts as we hear what poor old
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  Paul is getting up to trapped by these political games played by
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  the Jewish leaders and the Roman governors.
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  And as you would know, many of the epistles that we read are
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  written by Paul during this time.
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  So isn't it a wonderful thing that they allowed his visitors
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  to come so that he could hear a word from the churches and write
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  letters of encouragement, which we still read today and they
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  encourage and inform us in our daily faith walk and life?
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  So what an amazing time. Come back with me friends.
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  Let's head back there and read together.
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  Acts Chapter 25 Three days after Festus arrived in, Say, Syria to
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  take over his new responsibilities, he left for
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  Jerusalem when the leading priests and other Jewish leaders
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  met with him and made their accusations against Paul.
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  They asked Festus as a favour to transfer Paul to Jerusalem,
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  planning to ambush and kill him on the way.
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  But Festus replied that Paul was in, say, Syria and he himself
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  would be returning there soon. So he said those of you in
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  authority can return with me. If Paul has done anything wrong,
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  you can make your accusations. About 8 or 10 days later, Festus
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  returned to say Saria, and on the following day he took his
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  seat in court and ordered that Paul be brought in.
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  When Paul arrived, the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem gathered
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  around and made many serious accusations they couldn't prove.
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  Paul denied the charges. I'm not guilty of any crime
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  against the Jewish laws or the Temple or the Roman government,
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  he said. Then Festus, wanting to please
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  the Jews, asked him, Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and
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  stand trial before me there? But Paul replied, no, this is
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  the official Roman court, so I ought to be tried right here.
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  You know very well I'm not guilty of harming the Jews.
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  If I have done something worthy of death, I don't refuse to die.
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  But if I am innocent, no one has a right to turn me over to these
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  men, to kill me. I appeal to Caesar.
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  Festus conferred with his advisers and then replied.
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  Very well, you have appealed to Caesar and to Caesar.
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  You will go. A few days later, King Agrippa
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  arrived with his sister Bernice to pay their respects to Festus.
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  During their stay of several days, Festus discussed Paul's
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  case with the king. There is a prisoner here, he
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  told him, whose case was left for me by Felix when I was in
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  Jerusalem. The leading priests and Jewish
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  elders pressed charges against him and asked me to condemn him.
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  I pointed out to them that Roman law does not convict people
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  without a trial. They must be given an
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  opportunity to confront their accusers and defend themselves.
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  When his accusers came here for the trial, I didn't delay.
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  I called the case the very next day and ordered Paul brought in.
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  But the accusations made against him weren't any of the crimes I
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  expected. Instead, it was something about
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  their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is
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  alive. I was at a loss to know how to
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  investigate these things, so I asked him whether he would be
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  willing to stand trial on these charges in Jerusalem.
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  But Paul appealed to have his case decided by the emperor, so
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  I ordered that he be held in custody until I could arrange to
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  send him to Caesar. I'd like to hear the man myself,
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  Agrippa said, and Festus replied.
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  You will tomorrow. So the next day, Agrippa and
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  Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp,
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  accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city.
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  Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.
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  Then Festus said, King Agrippa and all who are here.
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  This is the man whose death is demanded by all the Jews, both
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  here and in Jerusalem. But in my opinion, he has done
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  nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his
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  case to the Emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.
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  But what shall I write the emperor?
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  For? There is no clear charge against
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  him. So I have brought him before all
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  of you, and especially you, King Agrippa, so that after we
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  examine him, I might have something to write for.
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  It makes no sense to send a prisoner to the Emperor without
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  specifying the charges against him.
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  Thank you for today, Jesus. Thank you for the life that you
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  give us, for the sunshine and our shoulders, for the friends
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  and family around us, For the opportunity to work and
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  contribute to this world that you've placed us in, For the
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  opportunities to enjoy some of the good things too.
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  We are so blessed by you and your love and this covenant of
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  grace in which we live. Thank you Jesus, that you give
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  us these good gifts, and not just for ourselves, but so that
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  we can share this good news with others in the way that we live
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  and the way that we treat them and the news that we share with
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  them. Holy Spirit, grow in US, shape
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  us to live as your loved children and to share that love
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  with those in our lives. And we pray.
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  All of this in Jesus name. Amen.