Let's go to chapter 24, although the story begins back in chapter 23 and verse 23. But again, we're studying the life of Paul, and Paul is now a prisoner, and he's been at Jerusalem. We're going to consider tonight his imprisonment at Caesarea. By way of introduction, let me just kind of reset the stage for us. Again, this is at the conclusion of Paul's third missionary journey. He goes to Jerusalem with an offering from the Gentile churches. The Jewish leaders of the church in Jerusalem are concerned that the Jewish believers there won't receive Paul because they think he is against the law. And so they ask him to participate in a vow, which he does. And as he is fulfilling that vow, he's in the temple, some unbelieving Jews from Asia see him there, knew Aristarchus was with him, assumed or else just made up a story that he had brought Aristarchus into the temple, profaning the temple, bringing a Gentile into the temple precincts, which was forbidden. And so those unbelieving Jews from Asia stirred up the crowd of Jews there at the temple. They apprehended Paul, drug him out of the temple, and began to beat him, intending to kill him. But the Roman soldiers got wind of what was going on. They came down. They rescued Paul, but then immediately arrested him, assuming that he is stirring up some kind of trouble for the Roman Empire. And so condensing things just a little bit, because we've gone through this, but I just want to remind you tonight. The chief captain has got to find out what's going on, and he's not getting any answers from the mob. And so he's going to have Paul scourged to try and get Paul to confess to whatever it is he's done. Paul pulls, he tells him he's a Roman citizen, which was against the law to even to restrain him and to flog him. And so the next step for the chief captain is to bring him before the Sanhedrin in hopes that they can, they will, bring out whatever the charge was, whatever Paul had done wrong. But Paul managed to get them stirred up against one another. And again, the Roman soldiers had to rescue him from the Jewish Sanhedrin. And so then there's a plot to assassinate Paul, and that's discovered. And so the chief captain now, he's got a prisoner. He doesn't know what the charge is. He doesn't know what this guy's done. He assumes he's had to have done something. But he doesn't know what it is. And things are getting out of hand. And his position and even to some degree possibly his life is being endangered because if something happens to Paul or he could lose his life or at least lose his position. So he's getting out of hand for him. He doesn't know what to do. He can't seem to get any answers. So he just passes the buck. And he determines to send Paul to Caesarea. where the governor, the Roman governor resides. And so they move him at night. They begin about nine o'clock in the evening, travel all night. Paul is escorted by a heavily armed guard, 200 foot soldiers, 200 spearmen, and 70 cavalry soldiers, and they move him to Caesarea. Caesarea was a city built by Herod the Great. That's the Herod of the Christmas story, the one who had all the male children two years and under slain in and around Bethlehem. That Herod had built this city. It was completed about 13 years before Christ, and it became the capital for the Roman Empire in that area. It was the seat of government over Judea. So the Roman governor had his headquarters there, and he's governing that area, Syria and Israel, that area, that territory. And so that's where Paul is taken. By the way, just another note about Caesarea. In Acts chapter 10, Peter goes to Caesarea and preaches the gospel to a centurion named Cornelius, who got saved along with his household. And Paul has stopped in Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem and stayed at the home of Philip, the evangelist, who was one of the seven. He lived in Caesarea. And so there is a contingent of Christians, a church in Caesarea where Paul goes. And so that's where he ends up. And the chief captain, Claudius Lysias is his name, sent a letter along with Paul. And so in verse 34, chapter 23, when the governor, that is Felix, had read the letter, he asked Paul what province he was from, and when he understood that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will hear thee when thine accusers also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall. So he wasn't put in the normal prison, but he's still a prisoner. And so five days later, it tells us in chapter 24 and verse one, Ananias, the high priest, descended because he's coming from Jerusalem. And Jerusalem, whenever you leave Jerusalem, everything is down. You go up to Jerusalem, you go down from Jerusalem because it sits on a hill. So he comes down, they come down along with the elders and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who then informed the governor against Paul. So the Sanhedrin come up along with a lawyer, named Hertullus, and Paul's trial before Felix begins. And so if you're taking notes tonight, the first point in the message is the trial, and then we're going to look at the testimony, and then we're going to note the testing. So if you want to take notes, that's the three-point outline tonight. But so what about this trial that we read about in chapter 24? So Titolis presents the case, and here are the accusations that he makes. He began to accuse, in verse two says, saying, seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. We'll come back to that in just a moment. Notwithstanding that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldst hear us. by clemency, a few words. We have found this man a pestilent fellow. So the first accusation that they make is Paul is a pestilent fellow. What does that mean? And the word pestilent, when you think about pestilence, a disease or a plague, what do you do with a disease or a plague? You try to get rid of it. This guy is just a pest. That's the first thing that Tertullo says, this guy's a pest. This guy, we need to get rid of him because he does nobody any good. He's just a pest. So that's the first accusation that's made. I remember reading sometime in the last week or so, and I didn't know how to go back and find it, but I do remember reading that somebody recently made that comment about Christians in America. And I think it was in relation to somebody that was arrested maybe for protesting an abortion clinic or something to that effect. But this person, I think in government, said, basically, we ought to just kill all the Christians. Because they're just a nuisance with basically our biblical morality, our biblical ethics. We're just in the way. We're just a bother. We're pestilence and something that is to be done away with. So even today, we hear a similar accusation made in America of Christians. But he didn't stop there. Not only is he a pestilent fellow, But, he says also, he's a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world. That he is stirring up treason. That everywhere he goes, he stirs up the Jews to rebel against Rome. Now it is true that everywhere Paul went, there ended up being an uprising of the Jews, but it wasn't against Rome. It was against Paul. It was against the church, but it wasn't against Rome. Paul had not done anything treasonous. But that's the charge that is made. And then that he also is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, the Nazarenes referring to Jesus of Nazareth, and that he is a leader among this heresy. The word sect there is the word for heresy. So in the Jewish mind, Christianity was a heresy, a false religion. The accusation here is not just that they think it's a false religion, but also that it is an illegal religion because you couldn't start a religion in Rome without official government approval. And so essentially what they're saying is the Caesar has never approved of Christianity. So this guy's out there, not only is he stirring up trouble and sedition against the Roman Empire, but he's also leading an illegal religion. And then the last accusation that is brought is he also has gone about to profane the temple, verse six. So bringing in a Gentile into the temple. And again, we noted, and I don't know if you remember, but the Roman government allowed the Jewish people to protect the temple. And there was a sign in the temple, the wall that separated the core of the Gentiles from the rest of the temple area. There was a sign there that essentially said, if you're a Gentile and you go beyond this wall, you're subject to death. And the Romans allowed the Jews to put Gentiles to death if they violated that law. So, Tertullus goes on to say, in verse 6, we took him and would have judged him according to our law. We were doing what legally we could do. We had the right to execute this guy because he brought a Gentile into the temple, past the wall. And the Roman government allows us to execute people who profane the temple and that's what we were doing. But, verse 7, the chief captain Lysias came upon us and with great violence took him away out of our hands. We were taking care of this matter, Felix, until your chief captain down there stepped in and, you know, just wrenched this guy out of our grasp and we couldn't do what we were trying to do. And if we'd have been able to do it, then none of this, we wouldn't be standing before you today if Claudius Lysias had just let us take care of business. That's what he's saying. So not only is he accusing Paul, but he's even accusing Claudius Lysias of doing wrong. And of course, we know the story. And he's not telling the truth. One writer said, Tertullus began his speech with a passage of almost nauseating flattery, every word of which he and Felix knew was quite untrue. We accept it always in all places, most noble Felix, so all thankfulness notwithstanding, I'd be not further to teach unto thee, yada, yada, yada, you know. He wasn't sincere, and Felix knows that. But, you know, but at the same time, Felix is probably feeling pretty good, you know, because, hey, he's building me up, but he understands that it's all false, it's all hypocritical. But even the things he said were not true as well. Again, another writer said the lawyer complimented Felix because the governor's many reforms had brought quietness to the land. By thee we enjoy great quietness." And this writer went on to say, if that's so, then why did it require nearly 500 soldiers to protect one man in transit from Jerusalem to Caesarea? You know, Tertullus is being sincere. You brought us great quietness, yet we can't even transport one prisoner from Jerusalem to Caesarea without 500 soldiers, so much for the quietness. Obviously, Tertullus is being hypocritical and he's a liar. Surprise you? Shouldn't. Should it surprise us when people lie about us as believers today in America, when we're just trying to serve the Lord and we're trying to uphold a biblical ethic, biblical morality, we're trying to honor God and yet things are said that are not true, that are lies, but that shouldn't surprise us. But Paul then has a chance to answer. And they go on to say, verse 8, Elysius took him out of our hands and he commanded his accusers to come unto thee, and by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things where we accuse him. So they're saying, and if you ask Paul, he'll verify this. So, and all the Jews that were with Tertullus assented saying that these things are so, so they're all lying together. So then Paul, after the governor beckoned him to speak, so he's given permission, he answered. And so there's the accusations in this trial, and then there are the refutations. Paul denied it all. I didn't do any of this. Everything they're saying is a lie. He said, I didn't try and stir up a rebellion. He says, for as much as I know that thou hast been many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. I know that you understand. You've been here. You know the circumstances. You know what goes on. You know the Jewish people. So I know that the things I'm going to tell you, you can at least somewhat understand. So because that thou mayest understand that there are yet but 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem for the worship. I didn't try to stir up a rebellion, is essentially what Paul is saying, because he said, I have only been in Jerusalem, I only came to Jerusalem 12 days ago. And the beginning of chapter 4, 24, verse 1 says, how many days had Paul been in Caesarea? Chapter 24, verse 1, how many days had he been in Caesarea? So that leaves how many days? Seven. So he said, I've only been in Jerusalem, I only came 12 days ago. I came to worship, verse 11 again, I came to Jerusalem to worship. I haven't been here long enough to stir up a rebellion. I was only there a week, and I've been here ever since. So there wasn't time, they accused me of stirring up a rebellion in Jerusalem, but there wasn't time to do that. So I'm not guilty of that. They don't have any proof. They can't prove, verse 13, the things where they now accuse me. You know, they didn't find me in the temple disputing with any man or raising up the people. I wasn't stirring up the people to rebellion against Rome, not in the synagogue, not in the city. And they can't prove the things where they now accuse me. They have no proof. There are no eyewitnesses, no witnesses to come forward and verify what they're saying. And so the first charge of, you know, of treason, Paul said, not guilty. Not only that, he says, but when it comes to the charge of leading an illegal religion, well, Christianity, yes, it is different in a sense, but it's just a, you know, you might even say a reform of Judaism. It has the same roots as Judaism, so technically it's not really a new religion, though obviously it brings in something new, the Lord Jesus Christ. But even that is prophesied in the Old Testament to the Jewish people. So Paul says, I confess to thee that after the way which they call heresy, so worship of the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets, which was the Bible of even the Jews and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow. So I'm not really preaching a new religion, it's just a fulfillment of Judaism and all the things that have been taught and believed by the Jews is now fulfilled in Jesus Christ. So technically it's not really a new religion, so it's not a legal religion. So I believe there will be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust, just like they do. And because of that, I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men." So, you know, his beliefs and theirs were fundamentally the same. Again, one writer said, the fact that Paul was a Christian didn't mean that he worshipped a different God from the God of his fathers. It only meant that he worshipped the God of his fathers in a new and living way, for the only acceptable way to worship the Father is through Jesus Christ. But his faith is still founded on the Old Testament scriptures, which bore witness to Jesus Christ. So no, I'm not propagating an illegal religion. And he goes on then to say, verse 17, after many years, I came to bring alms to my nation. This was, again, my purpose in coming was to bring an offering to my people, the Jewish people. And whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude nor with tumult. And by the way, I'm being accused of profaning the temple. Well, the guys that said I did that, they're not here. Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, not with multitude nor with tumult, who ought to be here before the inobjective they had out against me. If that charge is true, the ones who accused me of it ought to be here. Not these guys. They're not the ones. The Sanhedrin wasn't the one that accused me of that. They weren't there. And the guys that were there are not here standing before us to testify. So that's a bogus charge as well. I mean, there's no support for that. Roman law required the accusers to face the accused at the trial. And if they didn't, then the charges would be dropped. So essentially, Paul is saying, I haven't done anything wrong. Everything they said about me is a lie. Here's all the proof that I didn't do anything wrong. And because of that, Paul should have been released. And then he goes on to say, but if these, the Sanhedrin, verse 20, or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me while I stood before the council. Okay, these guys, the Sanhedrin, I did stand before them. Did I do anything wrong there that would make me worthy of bonds? And imprisonment, the only thing I did, he said in verse 21, is I cried standing among them, touching the resurrection of the dead. I am called into question by you this day. But he said, otherwise I have not done anything wrong. So Paul is falsely accused. Paul is experiencing what the Lord Jesus spoke of in the Beatitudes, really the blessing Jesus spoke of it as a blessing when he said, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you. What's the next word, you remember? Falsely, for my sake. And that's exactly what's happening to Paul. He's being falsely accused, simply because he is preaching the gospel. And the Lord said, when that happens, you're blessed. And so rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." So really, Paul's getting a blessing, a backdoor blessing through all this. But what was the result of that trial? What was the verdict? Well, there was no verdict. Felix declined to give a ruling. He said, I need to hear from Claudius Lysias. You know, they've accused Claudius Lysias of violently taking Paul out of their hands and not allowing them to execute him according to the law. And Felix says, well, I can't make a decision until I hear from him. And so until he comes, there is no verdict given. And so he commanded, verse 23, a centurion to keep Paul, let him have liberty. He's not, he's still a prisoner but he has a certain amount of freedom and his acquaintances can come and do for him and run errands for him and he can have them coming in. So he's a prisoner but he has a certain amount of freedom. Again, because Felix knows that Paul's not guilty. He's heard the accusations. He knows the Jewish people. He listens to Paul. He knows what's going on. He's kicking the can down the road, and there's a reason for that. We'll come back to that in just a moment. Why did he not make a decision? Really, saying that Lysias needed to be there is just a cop-out. It's a delaying tactic, and there's a reason for that, and we'll come back to it in just a moment. So, he commanded Centurion to keep Paul, let him have liberty, that he should not forbid any of his acquaintance to minister to him. And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. So, we had the trial and there's no verdict. It's just, what's the word when the trial is delayed? Would that be the word? It's continuance? Okay. So the trial is continued. Continuance. Right? So, but in the meantime, Paul has an opportunity to testify to Felix. So let's understand a little bit about who Felix is so we can understand how Paul testified to him. Felix is a younger brother of a man named Pallas, P-A-L-L-A-S. Pallas served as a Secretary of the Treasury during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Pallas was a favorite of Claudius. Both Pallas and Felix brothers were freed slaves. Claudius or his mother had freed them and again Pallas rose to prominence. Claudius liked him so he had a lot of influence with Claudius and so he influenced him for his brother and eventually got his brother installed as the governor of Judea. Felix was cruel. He was licentious. He was base. Drusilla, at the time that Felix became interested in Drusilla, who, by the way, was a great-granddaughter of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was the Herod of the Christmas story. Her grandfather, Drusilla's grandfather, was the Herod who killed John the Baptist, Her father, if I get this right, is a Herod who killed James and wanted to kill Peter. But the angel released Peter from prison, if you remember that story. So Drusilla is in the Herod family. Felix is just a slave who's been raised to a position of political power. But when Felix meets Drusilla, she's married to another king of another province. But Felix wants Drusilla, and so he woos her away from her husband. And then later they get married. So understand this guy, he is cruel, he is wicked, he is immoral, he is an adulterer. This is the guy that Paul was standing before. and he's a former slave. And it was said that he ruled like a slave, not like, in other words, just he was petty. He wasn't just. He just, he did whatever he needed to do, whatever he felt like doing. His rule, it was said, was marked by internal feuds and disturbances, which he put down with severity. He was a very cruel man. But Felix, or maybe Drusilla, or maybe both of them wanted to hear more about the way, which again was a term for Christianity in that day. And so they called Paul and gave him an audience to speak to them. And so, verse 25, as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, go thy way for a time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. Paul didn't mince any words. He knows this guy. He knows all about Felix. Paul is aware of who this guy is, who his wife is, how they got together, what kind of ruler Felix is. And so, first of all, he reasons of righteousness. He tells him that, you know, in order to be right with God, you've got to have a righteousness that you don't have. You're a sinner. You're not right with God. And yet, God demands absolute righteousness. but that righteousness is available through Jesus Christ. Because you can't be righteous in and of yourself. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one. But when we believe on Christ as our Savior, we are justified, we are given the righteousness of Jesus Christ and we are given and accepted by God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So, Paul would have given all that information about righteousness to them. And temperance, self-control, because they have none, but also judgment to come. Hey, if you don't claim the righteousness of Jesus Christ, if you don't turn from your sins and believe on Christ and accept God's righteousness through Jesus Christ, you will one day stand before him and be judged for your sin and be cast into hell forever. It is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment. So Paul's very straightforward with this guy, with Felix and his wife, Drusilla. Every opportunity to witness is different. And just like the Lord Jesus dealt with different people in different ways, we deal with people according to where they are and what they need. But Paul knows, and he's got this opportunity, and he knows who's standing before him, and he just takes advantage of that opportunity just to hammer him with the gospel. But the result is that Felix trembled. He's under conviction. The word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. All things are naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Felix is terrified. He's under conviction. As he listens to Paul, he understands that he has been living a wicked life and that he is under the condemnation of God and that he needs God's forgiveness and God's righteousness. He is scared to death under conviction of what Paul is preaching. God's word has pierced his heart and brought conviction through the Holy Spirit. Again, one writer said, the governor thought of the bribes he had paid or received, of the innocent men he had falsely charged and cast into prison, of the crowds of people in the street upon whom he had loosed his cruel soldiery, of the homes that had been laid waste and made desolate at his command. And when he did these acts, he had no compunction of conscience. But now, under the preaching of Paul, that terrible past rose before him in fearful resurrection and accusation. He knows what he's done. He knows what he is. And he's under conviction. which is one of the reasons that Paul is standing before him. God put Paul in that place before this man to preach the gospel to him. Again, Paul is experiencing what Jesus told the disciples to expect in Matthew 10, beginning of verse 16. Jesus said, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves, which Paul demonstrated that wisdom in the trial, and even to some degree in the way that he deals with Felix. But Jesus said, beware of men, they will deliver you up to the councils and scourge you in their synagogues, and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake for a testimony against them. And that's exactly what Paul is doing. He's testifying to this man, the message of the gospel. But instead of repenting of his sin and believing on Christ, Felix said, go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I'll call for thee. He sends Paul back to prison, essentially saying, I'll think about what you said, Paul. And right now, it's just not a convenient time. But someday, someday, maybe I'll get saved. But we were reminded of what Paul would write to the Corinthian church or had written to the Corinthian church. Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. Whether Felix ever was under conviction again or not, we don't know, but he was that day. That was the day of God's visitation in his life. That was the day he heard the gospel. He knew the truth of the gospel, but he refused to believe and be saved. It is possible. for somebody to be under conviction and yet not get saved. Because we have the option, we have the freedom of our will to choose or not choose to believe on Jesus Christ as our Savior. And Felix chose not to. And so he did. call for Paul, verse 26. He sent for him the offener and communed with him. He did bring Paul before him on numerous occasions over the next two years, but he refused to release Paul. Again, he knows Paul's not guilty. Paul should not be in prison, but he won't release him. And one of the reasons that he won't is because he's hoping that money would be paid to him of Paul or some of his companions that he might loose him. In other words, Paul, you pay me enough money, I'll let you go. He's hoping for two years, when he brings Paul before him, he's hoping that Paul's going to show up with a bribe. Okay, I'm tired of this. Hey, Felix, I got some money, you know, hush, hush. I'll pay you. Let me go. But he doesn't do that. Why? Because Paul is a prisoner of whom? Jesus Christ. Paul's there because Christ put him there. And Paul is not going to go behind the Lord or do something that is wrong in the sight of God in order to gain his freedom. If God wants him to be free, he'll be released. And so after two years, Porteous Festus came into Felix's room, takes Felix's place, and here's the key. I said we come back to this. Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. There was an uprising between the Jews and the Gentiles in Caesarea, and Felix sided with the Gentiles, and he sent the Roman soldiers to assist the Gentiles. And as a result, thousands of Jews were killed, and the troops, with Felix's consent and encouragement, sacked and looted the houses of the wealthiest Jews in the city. And so those Jews Some sent representatives to Caesar in Rome and accused Felix of these injustices. And the result was that Caesar called Felix home because he had done wrong. Even by Roman law, he had done wrong. And so he was recalled by Caesar. And he was tried before Caesar, and he was found guilty. And the punishment for his crimes was death. but he was spared because the influence of his brother, his brother had that influence with Claudius the Caesar, and so he was spared, but he was removed from office, but he has offended the Jews by his actions. So in order to help him when he gets back to Caesar, he's gonna have to answer to Caesar, so he's hoping to win some favor with the Jews, they want Paul executed He can execute him, he won't execute him, but he doesn't release him because he's trying to gain favor with the Jews. So the testing is that Paul ends up being a political prisoner. Paul becomes a pawn in the life-and-death political struggle. And so what's the result in Paul's heart? Well, the natural tendency would be to be bitter, or to wallow in self-pity? But what was Paul's response? Well, he wrote to the Philippian church, probably a little bit later in this imprisonment, probably from Rome, but nonetheless, it's the same. He's moved from Jerusalem to Caesarea. He's there two years, then he's going to be moved to Rome. But he wrote this to the Philippian church. He said, I would that you should understand, brethren, that the things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ, even of envy and strife, some also of goodwill. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction in my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then, notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. And I know that this will turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ. Paul was rejoicing in the opportunities that were presented to him and the boldness that was given to others to preach the gospel because of his imprisonment. Paul's not bitter. Paul is a prisoner of Jesus Christ and he understands that this is all part of God's plan and purpose for him to give the gospel to those in authority and to encourage others to be bold in their witness for Christ. And so the conclusion tonight, God was clearly in control. God was using these circumstances to further his cause in the world for time and for eternity. And I think we need to understand that in our own lives, that whatever is happening in our world, in our life, as a believer, God's in control. And God is orchestrating the circumstances of our life to further his cause in the world, both for now and for eternity. The difference that your life as a child of God is going to make to the people around you now and eternally. We've said this before, but let me just bring this truth in again tonight, that we belong to him. He has a right to use us in whatever way he chooses. If he wants you or I to sit in a prison for four years, unjustly accused, a political prisoner, and yet that's the way that he wants to use us to get his gospel message out, he has a right to do that. Because he's God. And we're his servants. Can the clay say to the potter, why have you made me thus? And like Paul, instead of being frustrated or having self-pity or even bitterness, if we ever find ourselves in circumstances like that, and it may not be imprisonment, but just circumstances that we would not choose for ourselves, but God chooses for us, our response should be rejoicing, because God is at work. Not only is the gospel preached widely, you know, later on in the New Testament we have a book entitled Philemon, a letter that Paul wrote to Philemon about a man, a slave by the name of Onesimus who came to Christ when? When Paul was in prison. Somehow Onesimus ends up there with Paul and Paul leads him to Christ. Onesimus comes to Christ because Paul's in prison. The gospel is spreading wide. The people are getting saved. But also, Paul wrote many of the letters to the churches while he was in prison, whether it was these two years in Caesarea or the two years in Rome. But he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. He wrote Laodicea. Is that one in your Bible? Is there a book of Laodicea in your Bible? No. In Colossians 4.16, Paul talks about a letter he wrote to the church at Laodicea. So Paul wrote, you know, only four of his letters that were written from his imprisonment were preserved as scripture, but there were other letters that Paul wrote as well to help the churches while he was in prison. And not only that, but probably during this time Luke wrote the gospel in the book of Acts. And so let me close with this word from the psalm, from the psalmist. Psalm 37, verses 23 and 24. It says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. It may look like we have fallen down and that we're in danger of being utterly cast down, never going to get up, but we're not down and out. because the Lord is holding us up. And even if we found ourselves unjustly imprisoned, a political pawn, God's still in control. My steps are still ordered by the Lord. The Lord is still delighting in my way. And though it looks like I'm down and down for the count, I'm not gonna be cast out. I'm not out because the Lord is upholding me and the Lord is using me and the Lord is glorifying himself. And so I just need to trust the Lord and be faithful for him. Well, let's stand together, we'll pray, and then we'll sing a closing hymn. Our Father, again, we thank you for the life of Paul, the things that we can learn as we study his life, as we see the events of the latter years of his life, the things that he endured. I pray, Father, that you would encourage us, help us to remember these truths, we'll find ourselves in some kind of situation or circumstances where we'll need to know things that we talked about tonight. We'll need to remember those things, learn from them. You're allowing your truth to guide our reaction or response to the circumstances of our life. So, Lord, just remind us of these truths. And Father, if there is even here tonight one who has been under conviction that they need to be saved, But they never have actually believed on Christ as their Savior. I pray that your Holy Spirit would draw them again, that they would put their faith in Christ. Now is the accepted time. Today is a day of salvation. Lord, may they not put it off, but seek you out even tonight. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.