Good morning. In a moment, I'll be reading from Psalm 89. If you'd like to use the Bible to bench in front of you, that would be on page 586. So as we gather here this morning to worship our Lord and to end the fellowship, which we've been doing, we want to remember that the focus is on our God and how mighty he is. Reading from Psalm 89, beginning with the first eight verses, I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I said, steadfast love will be built up forever. In the heavens, you will establish your faithfulness. You have said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant. I will establish your offspring forever and build your throne for all generations. Salah. Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the Holy Ones. For who in the skies could be compared to the Lord, who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the Holy Ones, an awesome above all who are around him. O Lord, God of hosts, who is mighty as you, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you? Let's pray. Father, we thank You for the wonderful privilege of being able to gather in this place together to worship You. I ask that You would help us to still our minds and to focus on You. I ask that You would draw us close to You, Lord, and by being in Your presence that You would change us this morning. Thanks for Your love and Your kindness, Your Son. It's in His name, Lord, we recognize only through Him we're allowed to come before Your throne in prayer. Amen. All right, well, welcome, church. So glad to see you here this morning. Would you stand? We're going to open up with a song together. After all I cannot comprehend, the agonies of Calvary. You, the perfect Holy One, crushed your sin. You drank the bitter cup reserved for me. Your blood has washed away my sin, Jesus, thank you. The Father's wrath completely satisfied, Jesus, thank you. Who wants to let him be? Now seated at your table, Jesus, thank you. Perfect sacrifice I've been brought near Your enemy, Your faith, Your friend Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace Your mercy and Your kindness know no end has washed away my sin. Jesus, thank you. The Father's wrath, completely satisfied. Jesus, thank you. Once your enemy, now seated at your table. Jesus, thank you. Mother of my soul I want to live for you Mother of my soul I want to live for you One more time Mother of my soul I want to live for you. Your blood has washed away my sin. Jesus, thank you. The Father's wrath completely satisfied. Jesus, thank you. Once your enemy, now seated at your table. Jesus, thank you. once your enemy now seated at your table Jesus name Light of the world, you step down into darkness. Open my eyes, let me see. Beauty that made this heart adore you. Hope of a life spent with you. So here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me King of all days, oh so highly exalted, glorious in heaven above. Humbly you came to the earth you created, all for love's sake we came forth. So here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me And I'll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross. I'll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross. So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, all together wonderful to me. So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my God. You're all together lovely, all together worthy, all together wonderful to me. you This song ends with a line. To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus. All the glory evermore to him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not I, but through Christ in me. It's nothing that we do. It's all Christ. We cannot in any way compare to him. So let's sing that together. What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give. He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom. my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace. To this I hold my hope is only Jesus, for my life is wholly bound to His. O how strange and divine I can say, All is mine, yet not I, but through Christ in me. The night is dark, but I am not forsaken, For by my side the Savior He will stay. I labor on in weakness and rejoicing, For in my need His power is displayed. To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me, Through the deepest valley He will lead. Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome, yet not I, but through Christ in me. O faint I dread, I know I am forgiven The future sure, the price it has been paid For Jesus pled and suffered for my pardon, and He was raised to overthrow the grave. To this I hold, my sin has been defeated. Jesus, now and ever, is my plea. All the chains are released, I can sing I am free, and not I, but through Christ in me. With every breath I long to follow Jesus For He has said that He will bring me home And day by day I know He will renew me Until I stand with joy before the throne Through this I hold my hope is only Jesus, all the glory evermore to Him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not I, but through Christ in me. To this I hold my hope is only Jesus, All the glory evermore to Him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, Yet not I, but through Christ in me. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, Yet not I, but through Christ in me. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. I want to remind you that I'm not here to pray for you. I'm going to pray to lead us in prayer. So, as I pray, I will pause and hesitate for you to pray more effectively, and let's approach God's throne together. Lord God, You are a mighty God, You are a wonderful God, and You are good. Lord, You provide sovereign care and control in the world that we live, and we praise You for that. Father, I also praise you that your gospel plans cannot be stopped. And we are so appreciative of your love for us as a race that you reach out to us and provide it for us. Lord, you do these things for us, but yet we are so focused on ourselves, and we ask your forgiveness for that. Forgive us, Lord, for too often failing to take an eternal perspective. Lord, also too often we fail to speak gently or offer an act of kindness to those around us. Forgive us for this, Lord. Help us to be your instrument of your gospel. We thank you for providing for this local church, both spiritually, physically, and materially. And Lord, we thank you for placing us in history where we can openly worship you. Lord, as we look at the weeks ahead, and even this week as schools begin, we pray for the students, the families, school staff, as the year begins, that you will be glorified through this new school year. We pray particularly for the ministry at Madrone Elementary School, asking that we would be an encouragement to them, asking for you to provide gospel opportunities and asking that we could see the fruit of your work there. Lord, we ask for guidance to both Adam Schneider and Kevin Hawkins in their new roles. We thank you for their willingness to be used by you and to serve you. Bless them and guide them, Lord. We pray for wisdom for the leaders you have placed in this local church. And we ask for effective ministries of our missionaries, particularly those that we have partnered with, Lord. We pray for our government leaders, that you will draw them to you, that you will keep your hand on this country, and that you will be honored through the things that happen on this land. And Lord, now we ask you to speak to our minds and to our hearts. with the words that you have given Chris this morning. Lord, we are not worthy to come before you. It's only by the blood of your Son. And we thank you for that. We praise you for that. And we thank you for, through him, allowing us to come before your throne and bring these prayers to you. Thank you so much, Lord. Amen. Good morning. So I had kind of a weird experience this morning. I went to the closet to choose a pair of pants to wear. And I was looking at the different selections I have in there, and I reached in because I saw some blue ones, which I assumed were the ones that I was reaching for. And I grabbed them, and I went, oh, that's a different material. I was kind of surprised. And I pulled them off the rack, and I said, I didn't even know I had these pants. I bought them apparently before I went on a trip, and I was going to take them on the trip, and I never took them on the trip, but I hung them up. And so I was kind of surprised because I was looking at a bunch of things that I thought were going to be kind of ordinary. I'll find something in there that I can wear this morning. And I found some new pants. Now the reason I tell you this story is because if you read our text in preparation for this morning, you probably looked at it and thought to yourself, hmm, what on earth is he going to preach on? Because it is just pure historical narrative. It's just, there's no gospel in it. There's no preaching in it. There's no teaching in it. There's no redemption in it. There's no glory in it. There's no heaven. There's no hell in it. It's just a story of Paul's life. But what we are going to discover is there was a message in it. And the message is simply this. God is always providentially involved in our lives. We don't even know it. I think it's John Piper who said, God is doing a thousand things, and we only know of one or two. Paul had no idea what was going to happen to him after the Lord appeared to him the previous night. So this morning, we're going to spend some time looking at this very interesting text in Acts 23, and it's verses 12 through 35. Now, if the devil had a motto, I don't know if he does, but if he has a motto, it might be this, desperate times call for desperate measures. Now why would I say that? I say that because the devil knows his days are numbered. He is well aware of these truths we find in the Scriptures, like Genesis 315, where it was prophesied that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the seed of the serpent. From the very beginning of our Bible, his demise was predicted. And of course, as you read through the Bible, you discover all kinds of things about his demise. It's kind of in stages. For instance, because of his rebellion in heaven, he was booted out of heaven for his mutiny. And because of the cross upon which Jesus died for us, he technically is a defeated foe. And thirdly, because he was confined or will be confined to earth during the tribulation, no access to heaven at all, he will be a submissive foe. I like what Martin Luther said about the devil. He said, the devil is the devil, but he is the Lord's devil. Meaning he only operates under his submission to the ultimate ordained plans of our God. He knows his days are numbered because he knows one day he will be chained in the abyss during the millennium and he will be a restrained foe. And because he will be thrown into the lake of fire at the end of time, he will be a forever conquered foe. He knows his days are numbered. So he desperately works to impede and impair the progress of the gospel. And that's what we see in our text this morning. He is very much alive and well on planet earth. Have you discovered that this morning? But, we need to know this, even though he opposes God at every turn, attempting to derail the advancement of the gospel, depriving desperate sinners of hope, he is the ultimate hope crusher. In the end, he will be conquered, and in the end, God will triumph. And we even see that in this story in Acts 23 because we see an example of how the devil aggressively, desperately endeavored to keep Paul's evangelistic efforts from going forward and the good news of the gospel being spread. Satan will stop at nothing to impede and impair the spread of the good news of the gospel. I want you to know that this morning. He's a powerful, brilliant enemy. And we see how he works in the text before us this morning. I want us to look at three phases of an assassination plot that was against Paul, the apostle. My first point is the plot conceived. You see it in verses 12 through 15. The plot conceived. Secondly, we're going to look at the plot exposed. That's in verses 16 through 22. And then finally we're going to come to the plot spoiled in verses 23 through 35. Now previously Paul's preaching the gospel in Jerusalem, if you'll remember, it created a riot with the Jews. And they were attempting to kill him even then, right then and there. But the Romans intervened. And in an effort to try and understand what the uproar was all about, they just created yet another frenzy amongst the Jews. And so they took Paul into protective custody, and that is where he is. He's in the fortress of Antonia, which was near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and that's where the Roman soldiers were garrisoned. And there's cells where they would keep violators of the law. So that's where he is at this time. Now that night, He was taken into custody. The Lord stood by him, we're told in the verse that precedes our text. The Lord stood by him, literally stood by him. And he encouraged him with these words, take courage. So these are the words of Jesus to Paul, knowing these events are about to transpire. So he's preparing him for the events. He says, take courage for as you have solemnly witnessed to my cause at Jerusalem, here comes the most important part of this encouragement, so you must witness at Rome also. It's a guarantee from the Lord Jesus to the Apostle Paul, no matter what happens next, just be assured you will get to Rome and you will preach the gospel. So let's take a look at our first point here, the plot conceived. The plot can see, verses 12 through 15. Let me read verses 12 and 13. It says, and when it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and they bound themselves under an oath, saying they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. And there were more than 40 who formed this plot. Wow. That's a picture of intense hatred. Hatred of a man and hatred of a message. So early the next morning, some of Paul's Jewish adversaries secretly gathered together, and they created a plan. And the goal of the plan was simple. Let's assassinate, let's take out the Apostle Paul. Their identity isn't given to us in the text, but it's speculated that they may have been members of a party that was amongst the Jewish sects. You had the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Herodians, and then you had the Zealots. And it's possible these guys were Zealots. They were more of a political party than a religious party. They were rabid in their views, and they desired to liberate Rome excuse me, Israel from Roman occupation. And they were not only haters of all things Roman, but they also were haters of any Jew who cooperated with the Roman Empire, with the Roman government. And they were often violent and aggressive in their mission, which is the case in point here, right? They're going to take a man out. They're going to assassinate a guy. One particular group amongst the zealots was a group called the Sicarii. literally the dagger men. And they were called the dagger men because they went around Israel with hidden daggers, and they would kill Romans and then disappear into the crowd. So it's conceivable that that's who these guys were. Today we have a name for them. We call them what? Terrorists. These were terrorists. And the group was plotting this ambush, and this group was quite large. It says in the text, more than 40 of them. More than 40 of them. They made a vow. This is how committed they are to this. They made a vow to God. Literally, it is they anathematized themselves with an anathema, and that's a Greek word meaning to curse. They promised before God that they wouldn't eat or drink until they succeeded in their mission to kill Paul. That's how devoted they were. And if they failed, the vow called upon God to curse them." It's a super strong statement of their devotion to this murderous plot. These men were deadly serious. Look at verses 14 and 15. It says, they came to the chief priests and the elders and they said, we abound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now therefore, You and the council notify the commander to bring him down to determine his case by a more thorough investigation. And we, for our part, are ready to slay him before he comes near the place. So the conspirators clandestinely meet with the chief priests and the elders. And the chief priests and the elders consisted primarily of Sadducees, one of those religious Jewish sects, not many Pharisees, if any at all. And the Sadducees were the upper class, the wealthy, the aristocrats of the nation of Israel. And as we learned last week from Josh's sermon, they were the religious liberals, if you will, of Judaism. They only believed in the five books of the Torah. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And if you know your Old Testament, there's 39 books, so that means they just dispensed with 34 books. They weren't interested. That's who they appealed to. Now remember the Pharisees back in chapter 22. The Pharisees, once they heard that Paul was a devoted Pharisee, they defended him. And take note of the fact that in the text here, there are no Pharisees or scribes called upon because most of the scribes were also Pharisees. It's the chief priests and elders. They unfold their deadly strategy to take out Paul. They're mutually hated religious nemesis. And they communicate the depth of their devotion to the mission by telling them, we have sworn an oath to God. But they have a problem. They need some assistance. They need the Sanhedrin's cooperation to make this happen. So they ask the Sanhedrin, or this council that ruled the nation of Israel. When you think of the Sanhedrin, consisted of 70 men, and think of it as the executive, legislative, and judicial branch of our country, all wrapped up into one organization. That's how powerful they were. So they are appealing to that council because they want that council to ask the Roman Tribune, who's in charge of Paul, to bring Paul back to that council under the pretext that we want to do a further investigation just to make sure we're giving him a fair trial. What a big, fat lie. The plotter's part was simple. On his way from there to here, we will ambush and we will take him out. But they need the council's cooperation. Now, there's a closeness here to understand. The fortress of Antony, I told you where it was. It was near the Temple Mount. And just a short distance away is where the council met. So their plan was, as the soldiers bring the apostle Paul to the council meeting, then they would, through the narrow passageways and walkways of ancient Israel, they would ambush him and kill him. Now, what's interesting about this text is it drips. It absolutely oozes with hypocrisy. And why do I say that? Well, all these men, I'm sure, would have considered themselves to be devoted and loyal Jews. Absolutely. And yet nothing could be further from the truth. The Apostle Paul described them in Romans chapter 10 when he said, they have zeal, but it isn't according to knowledge, meaning their zeal isn't governed by God's Word. It's uncontrolled zeal. Now, uncontrolled zeal is not a good thing. We have all seen it. Go back a few years ago to Minneapolis, the George Floyd incident, and you had uncontrolled zeal nearly burning down the city of Minneapolis. These men had uncontrolled zeal. It was not governed by God's Word. Why do I say that? Well, because, first of all, they were violating one of the Ten Commandments. What's the Sixth Commandment? You shall not murder. meaning you are not to premeditatively contemplate, make a plan to kill someone intentionally and deliberately. So they're in violation of one of the Ten Commandments, which by the way was in the Torah. They just chose to ignore it. In addition to that, They engage in numerous forbidden acts outlined by Solomon in Proverbs 16. I want you to turn there for a second because I want you to see how hypocritical these so-called zealous, devoted, faithful Jews were. Look at Proverbs 6, and I'm going to just pull some things out from a few verses there, verses 16 through 18. So Solomon writes, there are six things which the Lord hates. Now when Solomon said that, and you're reading it or you're hearing it, your ears ought to perk up. These are six things that God hates? As a matter of fact, he goes on and says, actually there's seven which he perceives as abominations. So these are things God despises. These are things that disgust God. What are those things? We'll read on. Look at verse, the next verse, haughty eyes. refers to arrogance, pompousness, prideful behavior. Note the next thing, a lying tongue. These guys were lying. The council had to lie to the tribune to get Paul in the pathway over to the council so they, the plotters, could kill him. So they're liars in addition to being plotters. And he talks about the plotters here. He says, haughty eyes, these are things God hates, a lying tongue, and listen to this, and hands that shed innocent blood. Paul was completely innocent. We're going to discover that. He was guilty of no violation of Roman law, and he was guilty of no violation of God's law. So he's an innocent, but they're planning to take out an innocent man, just like they did Jesus. A heart that devises wicked plans. Well, that's what they've been doing. They've been scheming and plotting, conspiring to come up with this assassination attempt. A heart that devises wicked plans and feet that run rapidly to evil. They are about to do just that, or they think they are. This just oozes and drips with hypocrisy. Now what's really going on here? What's really going on here? If we could somehow pull the curtain back, what's really going on behind the scenes here? Well, there's a greater force behind this evil scheme. You know that. I know that. The devil is the manipulative influencer on these men, and he's moving them to plot Paul's death. The devil has a lot of names, right? One of them is Satan, and do you know what Satan means? It means adversary. Someone who opposes, and we see him being an adversary here at opposing the Apostle Paul, the man, and the Apostle Paul's message, the gospel. Paul had something to say to us about the devil, our enemy. If you go to Ephesians chapter 6, turn there, I want to just pull out a few truths from some verses here. This is Ephesians 6. Look at verse 10 with me and the verses that follow because I want you to understand that this is a blatant, outright, intentional, deliberate effort of Satan to thwart God's plan, God's plan being to evangelize with the good news of the gospel people who are lost and hopeless and desperately in need of salvation. Listen to what he says, verse 10 of Ephesians 6. He says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Don't be strong in yourself. Don't be strong in who you think you are, and don't be strong in what you believe are your gifts, and your talents, and your abilities, and your temperament, and your education, and your money, and your supplies. No. Understand this. If you want true strength to combat the devil, then you need to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. If you read on with me, he says, put on the full armor of God. so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. This was a man's scheme, but it had behind it the devil as the ultimate schemer. And look at verse 12, he says, our struggle isn't against flesh and blood, it's not against ultimately humans. Instead he says, but it's against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places and therefore put on the full armor so that you can resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm. We face a powerful enemy. He's the one behind this scheme. And it's just another attempt by him to somehow thwart the plans of God. Now, just a little practical insight here as you think of your own life. I want you to know that Satan is relentless in his opposition to the Lord and his gospel. He's relentless. And so a half-hearted effort on our part to oppose him and to resist him is never gonna be enough. I love the words that Peter gives to us in 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9. Turn there, 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 8 and 9, and listen to what Peter admonished his readers to do, and he's admonishing us to do this this morning, and I might say, I'm admonishing you to do this this morning. In verse 8, this is 1 Peter 5, he says, be of sober spirit. Meaning, have a clear head. Have a clear head. Think clearly. Be on the alert. That just means stay awake. Don't be asleep at the switch. Stay awake. And then he tells us why. Your adversary, there's our word. Satan, the one who opposes God, the gospel, and in this case, Paul. Who opposes Paul? He says, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Is that a graphic picture of our enemy? He prowls. He's on the prowl like a cat, like a lion, like a leopard, like a jaguar, looking for lunch or breakfast or dinner. And you and I are it. So he says, be of a clear mind. Stay awake. and resist the devil because he's on the prowl. He's on the prowl in the city of Jerusalem in the first century in our story this morning because he wants to thwart, he wants to hinder, he wants to impede the plan of God and the promotion of the gospel. Look at verse 9, he says, but resist him, this is Peter's admonition, but resist him, oppose the devil. As he opposes you, you oppose him. Firm in your faith, that is not Your saving faith, the way this is written in the Greek, it's be firm in the faith, the content of your belief system. We would put it this way, be firm in the Word, the Bible, Scripture, God's Word. Get it into you and get into it. How did Jesus resist the devil out in the wilderness? You remember how? It is written. It is written. It is written. And what was the result of that? The devil fled. But the devil is relentless because it tells us even in that text that what? He would return at a more opportune time. The point is we resist but we have to keep on resisting because the enemy will be back. was a victim here ultimately of the devil because he wants to shut this evangelism program of the apostle Paul down. He's the sent one to the Gentiles, taking the good news not just to Jews but to the rest of us. Now let's look at our plot exposed. Now we begin to see something happen. Verses 16 through 22. Let me start with the first couple of verses there. But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, leave this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him. Now the silence of God is deafening in this text, as I said at the very beginning. You don't see God talking anywhere in this text. Paul received no communication whatsoever after the previous night's divine message. As we go through this text in Acts chapter 23 to the end of the chapter, there's no communication from the Lord to Paul. There's no vision, there's no dream, there's no voice, nothing but crickets. No voice of God. But God's providential fingerprints are all over the circumstances that are unfolding. Francis Schaeffer years ago wrote a book called The God Who Is There. You know what Paul knew because of the message he got previously? He knew even in these circumstances God was there. God was there. Paul's nephew just happened to be in Jerusalem at this time, and somehow he learned of the zealot's plot. Now by the way, this is the only reference to any family of the Apostle Paul. His sister is mentioned in the text, and her son, which obviously would be his nephew. Paul grew up in Jerusalem, we know that from his testimony, and maybe his sister married and remained there, or possibly his nephew, though having moved from Jerusalem like Paul, returned to obtain some schooling. We don't know why he was there. I just want you to know it wasn't fate, it wasn't chance, it wasn't coincidence. I've heard people read this and say, oh, how coincidental? No, it's not coincidence. It's the sovereign hand of God, God providentially involved in his people's lives. He's called a young man. The word for young was used to refer to someone in their 20s. He's a very young man. And we're not told how he heard about the conspiracy. Some have suggested, based on the King James translation of this verse, that he was present when the plot was hatched. We don't know that. And many believe that Paul was ostracized from his family when he converted to Christ because in Philippians 3.8 he said, for the cause of Christ, I have lost everything. And that certainly had to include his family. Whatever the case, we see the Lord's hand providing a sympathetic family member to learn of the conspiracy and then immediately run to Paul and alert him to what he heard. Is that not the hand of God? Oh, there's no word from God per se, but I can assure you, God is in the story. The apostle, without hesitation, summoned a centurion to come and then take his nephew to the tribune, that was the commander, because he had something very important to tell him related to Paul's case. And once again, we see God's hand. What's that famous verse we all quote when Stuff goes bad in our life. Romans 8.28, right? But God causes all things to work together for good to those who are called of God, to those who are His own, to those who are His. This man, Paul, was called of God. God is in the circumstance providentially. It's interesting, out of great respect, the soldier promptly comes and hears Paul out. I don't know if that jumped out at you. Why would a Roman soldier come at Paul's beck and call? But he does. Paul was a Roman citizen, hadn't been charged with any crime against the empire, and therefore, he was treated respectfully and honorably. And clearly, that's a picture of God's sovereign hand, so that the centurion would come, and he'd be able to communicate to him, take this boy, take him to my commander because he needs to hear something that's very important. It reminds me of how the Lord protected and strategically moved Joseph and Daniel into powerful positions in foreign governments back in the Old Testament. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers at the end of the book of Genesis? He said, you know, you meant this for evil, but God meant this for what? Good. And in that case, they were able to get food and survive, and they came to Egypt. And of course, that's the beginning of a great story about the nation of Israel. Well, that's what's happening here. God is strategically, in these circumstances, protecting His apostle, whom He said, you will go to Rome. You will preach the gospel before Gentiles. That's my promise to you. That's my desire for you. And therefore, fear not. Look at verses 18 and 19, so he took him and led him to the commander and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you. The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside began to inquire of him privately, what is it that you have to report to me? So the centurion, a Roman officer in charge of 100 soldiers, this is not a lackey, this is not a buck private. He's in charge of a hundred other soldiers. But he immediately took Paul's nephew to see the tribute. The soldier gives an explanation to his commanding officer as to why he has come. And again, we see God's sovereign fingerprints on the circumstance. Without pause, the commander pulls the young man aside. the nephew of Paul, into a private place, and he invites him to relay to him the message. And clearly we see the Lord once again showing Paul his divine favor. Why do I say that? Well, think about it. First of all, he's a young man. He's probably a guy in his 20s. What would a Roman tribute have to give any time? Why would he have to give any time to a 20-year-old young boy who comes with some kind of cock and bull story? About a plot, assassination plot against this Roman prisoner. He's a Jewish boy. Romans and Jews didn't get along. And he is a relative of a Jewish prisoner. And this, who's his commander? He's called a Kiliarch in the Greek text. A Kiliarch, you know what a Kiliarch is? Someone who's a commander of a thousand soldiers. He was a high-ranking officer. He was the equivalent of a United States Army Lieutenant Colonel. Powerful military figure. And yet, the boy has his ear. The young Jewish boy whose uncle is in prison has his ear. You don't think God's in that plan? God is in the plan. God is in the plan. Look at verses 20 through 22. And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. So don't listen to them, for more than 40 of them are lying in wait for him, who had bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him. And now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you. So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, tell no one that you have notified me of these things. So Paul's nephew calmly, I love this, he's a young man, but he calmly gives an accurate, detailed report of the planned ambush to this lieutenant colonel, including the role the conspirators saw him, the commander, playing in their conspiracy. He strongly admonished the Roman Tribune. I find this interesting. He strongly admonished. Let's say he's 20 years old, he's speaking to a lieutenant colonel, and he strongly admonished him. You don't do that every day, unless you want to slap him in the face or be thrown into the brig. He speaks. He gets listened to. He finishes his report by noting that the hitmen We're just waiting for the officer to agree to their request and dispatch Paul to the council. Now, having previously witnessed the wrath and violent action of these Jews towards Paul, I'm sure the Tribune had no problem believing the report the young man brought him. The Tribune released Paul's nephew with only a simple but clear instruction. Don't tell anyone what you've told me. We've got to keep this thing secret. We have to keep them in the dark. Now look at the plot. Spoiled. I love this part of the story. Verse 23 and 24. And he called to him two of the centurions and said, get 200 soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea with 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen. They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor. So with great urgency, what does the commander do? What does this tribune do? He summons two of his subordinate officers. Those are centurions. They have 100 men underneath them, each in charge of those 100 men. And he commanded them to assemble their troops. And these would have been foot soldiers. These would have been heavily armed legionnaires. And the Roman soldier of the first century was the best trained and the best outfitted soldier on planet Earth. There's 200 of them. And then he commanded them to also bring 70 members of the cavalry detachment. These are horse soldiers. They are to be included in the escort. But he's not done. And he ordered an additional 200 lightly armed specialists in throwing javelins or spears, spear chuckers. He commanded all of them to assemble at 9 p.m., 9 in the night, 9 in the evening, because this trek would be made under the cover of darkness to prevent detection. And they were to make post haste to the provincial capital of Caesarea. Herod the Great built a palace there, and now it's the headquarters for the Roman governor. 60 miles from Jerusalem on the Mediterranean coast. And they were ordered to provide horses for Paul as well. Stop and think about that. This is 500 soldiers, nearly, that are commanded to guard this Roman citizen, who happens also to be a Jew, who happens also to be a member of the Way, this new sect. That's half of the lieutenant colonel's force. He has a thousand soldiers at his disposal. He takes half of them to protect Paul. You don't think the hand of God's in that? The hand of God is in that. In addition to that, they want to make sure Paul can keep up. So they provide him with a horse and another horse probably for his supplies. And their mission was simple. Deliver Paul safely to Felix, the Roman governor of Judea. And it's evident how serious the commander took this threat. He used half of his battalion to ensure Paul's safety. An overwhelming force to guarantee that the apostle will arrive safe and sound and in one piece. He didn't want a Roman citizen killed on his watch. He's kind of kicking the can down the road. I don't want to deal with it. We've already dealt with it to some extent here. So I'm kicking it down the road to Caesarea to the governor. Look at the next few verses, verses 25 through 30. And he wrote a letter having this form. Claudius Lycius, to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings. When this man was arrested by the Jews, that's Paul, and was about to be slain by them, I came up. to them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their counsel, and I found him to be accused over questions about their law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment. When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before you." So this commander, this tribune using the standard Greek form for written communications. He identifies himself as the sender. It's for Felix, the recipient. There's a salutation, greetings, most excellent Felix, and then he gives the purpose. The commander drafts the letter. He sends it with the military escort, and he states in the letter Paul's case. This is why I'm sending him to you. And we learn he actually has a name, Claudius Lysias. Claudius was his Roman name. He was named after the emperor. And then Lysias, or Lysias, was his Greek name. You know what I like about the Bible? You know why I believe it's God's Word? Because it's real. It's about real people in real places. in real time. Real stuff happens to them. This really happened. This really happened. His letter is a mixture, though, of facts and fiction. In all probability, he wrote it this way, to paint himself in the best possible light to impress the governor. I mean, we tend to do that, don't we? But he played fast and loose with the truth. And why do I say that? Well, let me just recount a few things for you. First of all, going back to the previous chapter of Acts, he didn't come to Paul's rescue because he knew Paul was a Roman citizen. He learned after he came that Paul was a Roman citizen. He didn't go there because, oh my goodness, one of our citizens is in trouble. We need to go rescue him. No, no, he learned it after the fact. He fails to mention that here. He came with his men at the request of others who were concerned for Paul. And thirdly, he mistakenly thought Paul was a notorious Egyptian terrorist. And finally, he failed to also mention that he was prepared to flog Paul, to whip Paul, to uncover why the Jews were so homicidal toward him. He never included any of that in the letter. But the most important part of the letter is the fact that he says, I have found this man innocent. He had not violated any Roman law meriting prison or death. As a matter of fact, the point of contention he makes mention of to Felix, the governor, was a matter of Jewish religion, not civil Roman law. He informed Paul's accusers that if they desired to bring charges, they needed to make their way to Caesarea. He disclosed in the letter as well the conspirators' plot as the reason he sent Paul to Felix under such heavy guard. It was for Paul's protection, to guarantee Paul could get a fair trial as a Roman citizen there with the Roman governor. And who's this Felix guy? The only Felix I know is Felix the cat, or Felix Unger from The Odd Couple. Who was this guy? Well, he was a former slave who became a freedman, and later he was appointed governor. Tacitus, the Roman historian, identified him as one who wielded, and this is a direct quote, the power of a king with all the instincts of a slave. And by the way, that is not a compliment. He wasn't a good guy. Look at the final verses here, verses 31 through 35. Let's see what happens. So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul, brought him by night to Antipatris. But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the barracks. And when these had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul to him. And when he had read it, the letter, he asked from what province Paul was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also, giving orders for him, that is Paul, to be kept in Herod's praetorium. So under the cover of darkness, this squad of nearly 500 soldiers marches through the night to a Roman military rest stop named after Herod's father, Antipater. It's called Antipatris. It's nearly 40 miles from Jerusalem. So they made this march of 40 miles through the night. This portion of the trip was the most dangerous because it was rugged terrain with winding roads, and it was a heavy Jewish population there. And for those two reasons, it would have been ideal for the assassins to carry out their ambush because the terrain was perfect for it. The balance of the trip, 20 miles more to Caesarea, was much more friendly territory. First of all, it was Gentile territory, it wasn't Jewish territory, and it was flat, wide-open country. And that's why the foot soldiers returned to Jerusalem, and just the cavalry detachment finished the escort, the 70 horse riders. And they arrived safe and sound at the coast that reported to the governor. He read the letter, and he asked one clarifying question to ascertain the province from which Paul came from, because he wanted to make sure this is under my jurisdiction. He learns that he's from Cilicia. Cilicia is kind of south and eastern part of Turkey, and it was part of Judea which this man oversaw. Actually, it was part of Syria. Judea was a part of Syria. He oversaw this entire area. And so he said, okay, I'll accept the prisoner, and I promise a hearing once his accusers get here. And then they placed him in custody, housed him in the palace. That's what the praetorium is. Now just a few theological observations as you look at this little story. What an incredible picture of God's sovereign, providential involvement in Paul's life. The night before he heard a very encouraging message, and God gave him that message because God in His omniscience knew what was coming. But during the circumstances that unfolded, the assassination plot, there's no word from God, none whatsoever. But the Lord assured Paul at his conversion that he was his chosen instrument and that he would preach the gospel before Gentiles and kings and Jews. That's Acts 9.15. And the night before he was promised that he would be a witness at Rome just as he had been in Jerusalem. That's verse 11 of our chapter. I love this idea of God being sovereign. It's a big theological concept and I know it scares people because It's like, God is so big and powerful, and what if he's a mean God? What if he's a fickle God? What if he's a capricious God? What if he's a bad God? And he has that kind of power? Of course, he isn't any of those things, is he? But he is a God who's in control. He is a God who's in charge. And we see that in this story. This is what Paul ends a theologian said of God. He said, God is the supreme ruler and authority. He ordains whatever comes to pass, and that his divine purpose is always accomplished. Paul was going to be in Rome. And along the way, he would be witnessing And when he was in Rome, he would be witnessing. And even when he was in prison, he would be witnessing and accomplishing the purposes God had ordained for him. And this is so powerfully demonstrated by God using the authority. Stop and think about this. In this story here, God is using the authority and the might and the power of the Roman military machine to ensure Paul's safety, to make sure he gets that fair trial. God's ordained purposes for the apostle would not be thwarted by man or by Satan. I've always loved these verses in the book of Daniel. Daniel, the fourth chapter, and this is verse 35. And listen to what Daniel writes. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. But he, God, does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and listen to this, and no one can ward off God's hand or say to him, what have you done? Don't you love that your God's that big? A.W. Tozer wrote this, and I quote, when it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes, there is a God who hasn't surrendered his authority. And this morning I read, you've ever read Harry Ironside's Never throw out those old books. Harry Ironside, the Bible pastor or Bible teacher from decades ago, listen to what he said. God is often behind the scenes, but he moves all the scenes that he's behind. He does. We see that illustrated in our story this morning. Let me just give you an application and we'll wrap things up here. and difficult times are inevitable in all of our lives. Now, you may not believe that yet because you haven't had them yet, but I can assure you it's a fact of life that eventually you will have dark and difficult days. You guys know I was six years old when my little brother died. He was five. I was 19 years old when my mother died. She was 48. I was 22 years old when one of my best friends died. It happens, bad days, hard days, dark days, tough times. I like what Job said, Job 5, 7, for man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward. Trouble is inevitable. Paul encountered it here. Dark days were the rule, not the exception for Paul. Can I take you back to his testimony again in Acts chapter 9 and listen to what Jesus said to him? We read a part of it. He said, you're my apostle and I've sent you and you're going to represent me and before the Gentiles and before kings and sons of Israel. Look at the next verse. For I, this is the Lord speaking, I will show him, Paul, how much he must suffer for my name's sake. So not only was it predicted and planned by God that Paul would indeed carry the gospel to all of these Gentile places, and he'd speak before kings, but they would be tough days, difficult days. Dark days were the rule for Paul. If he called you to join him on one of his journeys, I wonder how many of them thought twice about it. Do I really want to jump into this caravan knowing what Paul has gone through and will go through? But God took care of him, didn't he? We see that in the story here. If you don't take anything else out of here, take this. Even in the hard times, God took care of Paul. Guess what? Even in your hard times, God will take care of you. It doesn't matter what the hard time looks like. God will take care of you. That same Harry Ironsides, he wrote this. He says, God is never closer to his people than when they cannot see his face. Paul couldn't see his face. He couldn't hear his word. but he knew he was with him. As a matter of fact, the night before the plot was revealed, God gave Paul a word of comfort and encouragement, and I suspect the apostle Paul was meditating on that word, and he believed that word as he learned of this plot and was wondering what is God going to do here in the midst of all of this. He has promised, he will get me to Rome, so I'm going to trust. I'm going to trust that. I'm going to believe that. I'm going to rest in that. He will get me there. What do you do? What do we do when we face similar times, hard times, tough times, dark days? What do we do? Well, I think we should follow Paul's example and live as we feast on God's word. You're not gonna have Jesus stand next to you tonight at your bed. He could if he wanted to, but he doesn't really need to do that. You know why? Because he gave you 66 books. Just open it up and read it and let Him speak to you through the pages of Scripture. That's what brought Him comfort, I suspect, in the midst of all of that. And that's what can bring us comfort in the midst of all of our pain. God's Word, we need to saturate our souls with His promises. And I want you to remember something when it comes to God and His promises. Your circumstances, as harsh and bitter and hard as they may be, doesn't change who He is or the promises He made. I want you to believe that. Because I think when we go through trial and tribulation, we don't think that way sometimes. Paul believed it, rested in it. And that's because Paul understood a truth that, praise to God, was recorded for us. I don't know if Paul wrote it, but it's in Hebrews. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Never changes. His promises are good today, and tomorrow, and next week, regardless of the circumstance. There's an old song, an old hymn, and the title of it is, God Will Take Care of You. And I want to read the lyrics to you. And by the way, this isn't an admonition, but just because something's old, don't write it off as irrelevant. And just because something is new, don't write it off because you think it's irrelevant. Here's an old song that's pretty relevant. I don't know what your circumstances are this morning, but listen to the song. Be not dismayed, what error be tied, God will take care of you. Beneath his wings of love abide, for God will take care of you. Through days of toil, when heart does fail, When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you. All you may need he will provide, nothing you ask will be denied. No matter what may be the test, lean weary one upon his breast, God will take care of you. You know what Paul was doing in that jail that night? He was leaning upon the breast of the Lord Jesus. What did Jesus say to him the previous night? Take courage. I'm with you and you're gonna make it to the end of the trip. And then the chorus, God will take care of you through every day or all the way. He will take care of you. God will take care of you. Do you believe that? I hope you do because it's the absolute truth. And we see it illustrated in the life of Paul in Acts 23. So we've learned Satan will stop at nothing to impede and impair the spread of the gospel. And though the adversary made great effort to stifle the advancement of the gospel through Paul's preaching, the Lord protected him, didn't he? We see his fingerprints all over those circumstances, his providential, sovereign involvement in his life. Now, I've been talking about the gospel this morning and you might be here going, I have no idea what that is. What does that word mean? It's simple. It means good news. Okay, what's the good news? For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will never perish, but have everlasting life. That's the good news. That's the news Paul was preaching, because he wanted a hopeless people to have hope. He wanted a people that were not reconciled with God to be reconciled with God. He wanted people to have peace with God, and the peace of God. The Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's all of us. The Bible says, for the wages or price of sin is death. It tells us, for by grace are we saved and that not of ourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. And then it says, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. What we must believe is we're sinners. We need a savior. Jesus Christ is that savior. His death paid your debt, my debt, because he lived the life we could not live. And when he died on the cross, he died the death you and I deserved to die. And the end result of it is he who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus through simple faith. that He did that for me. And He rose from the dead. Our Savior is alive. He rose from the dead, proving He was the Son of God and God's justice has been satisfied. That's the gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And I admonish you this morning, I encourage you this morning, I beg of you this morning to recognize you need a Savior and praise God there is one. And His name is Jesus. And that's the message Paul was taking to the world, and that's why the devil worked so desperately and aggressively to keep him from sharing that good news. Aren't you glad somebody shared it with you? I share it with those of you who may be here or watching, that you may trust the Lord Jesus and come to know that God will take care of you. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for the word. Thank you for the comfort we find in it. And Lord, even a story that just, as we looked at it on the surface, it just, we wondered, I wondered as a preacher of it, what in the world am I gonna say? And yet, Lord, there you were, your sovereign, providential hand, guiding and directing, protecting your servant, so that the gospel could advance. And it did advance. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Help us to remember that as Christians. Help us to resist the devil. Stand firm. And Lord, for anyone here without Jesus, I pray this morning they would put their faith and trust in Him. Just simple belief. I need you, Jesus, because I'm a sinner. And I believe you died for me. I believe you rose again, and I'm just resting in that. I don't understand everything, but I don't need to. I just need to know that you love me and you proved it by dying for me. And may they put their faith in you, Lord. And Lord, for those here this morning who are hurting, because there's dark days that have enveloped them, And they feel you might be remote and not interested in their lives anymore. May they take from this story, nothing could be further from the truth, because you're the sovereign God of their circumstances, and you are a good God, and you have nothing but their very best in mind. Give them grace to sustain those hard and difficult days, Give them promises from your word that will encourage them and comfort them. May you walk with them each step of the way. And one day may they look back and say, wow, he was there working as always to bring glory to himself and good to me. And we ask all of this now in Jesus' name, amen. Church, would you stand once more as we close in song? How deep the Father's love for us How vast beyond all measure That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure How great the pain of searing loss The Father turns His face away As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory Behold the man upon a cross, thy sin upon his shoulders. Ashamed I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that held him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished Not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom All right, church, I pray you have a blessed day. You are dismissed.