Let's stand together for the reading of God's word. Continuing forward together in the book of Acts, chapter 24, we'll be looking at verses 22 through 27. I'll read from verse 10 of chapter 24 through to verse 5 of chapter 5. Brothers and sisters, please listen very carefully because this is God's holy and infallible word. Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered, And as much as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain that it is no more than 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city, nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. Now, after many years, I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council. Unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. But when Felix, having heard these things, when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, when Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case. So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him. And after some days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, He sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now, as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you. Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore, he sent for him more often and conversed with him. But after two years, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix. And Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. Now, when Festus had come to the province after three days, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul and they petitioned him asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem while they lay an ambush along the road to kill him. But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself was going there shortly. Therefore he said, let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man to see if there is any fault in him. Thus ends the reading of God's word. Amen, amen. Please be seated. About a year or two prior to this event, Paul wrote to the church at Corinth emphasizing the wisdom and the power of God in and through human foolishness and weakness. Real wisdom, real power, brothers and sisters. These things belong to God. They come from God, not from us, weak and foolish men. And we see this great gospel theme at work in today's text. Here's what Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Is not God made foolish, the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews, request a sign, and Greeks, seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. So Paul, in today's text, is God's precious and powerful A pawn. He's disguised as a pawn, but he's really reigning with Christ. He's in the garb of weakness, but he is mighty in the Gospel. He's clothed as one in captivity, but he is the freest of all men. So today's sermon, God's Precious and Powerful Pawn. First, we're going to look at Felix, this ruler. But he's really a pawn. And then we're going to look at Paul. who appears to be upon, but he's really reigning with Christ. We're going to see that all these ways that God has arranged this whole scene and shows that Felix is fully and completely under God's control. He has a more accurate knowledge of the way. We'll see that he adjourns to await Lysias, for various reasons, in his own soul. And he gives Paul this comfortable custody. He's married to a Jew, Drusilla, with all these connections. She's the sister of Agrippa. And we're told, we're given the key to understanding him in verse 26, that he has these corrupt motives. And he's convicted by the gospel. Paul never trembles before him, but he trembles before Paul, showing where the real power is. And he's being disciplined by Rome, we know from history. And he needs a favor from the Jews. And God puts all this together to keep Paul in custody. And then we see Paul reigning with Christ. This great ministry success he has while he's there at Caesarea. We'll look at that. And the power of God present there in Herod's Praetorium. The gospel going forth. People coming to Christ there as a part of the palace guard and members of Caesar's household. And we see in contrast to Felix and his unrighteousness and his corruption and his greed, Paul could have gotten free pretty quickly by just giving Felix the right amount of money. But he doesn't. He walks in righteousness as one who reigns in Christ, who is the righteous one, trusting in Christ, not in human arm of the flesh types of approaches. And we see that he is a pawn who's being protected by the rulers and that glorious place has made a gospel headquarters of all the Roman world for those years. And then of course, along the way and at the end, some questions to know and to love and to obey God. Do you understand that you reign with Christ in the earth? And do you have faith to see that and to understand the reality of the world in which we live in and to see by faith? Or are you cowed Do you cower? Are you afraid? Do you tremble before the supposed power and wisdom of this world? So first of all, Felix, the ruler is upon, he has this more accurate knowledge of the way we're told in verse 22, having a more accurate knowledge of the way he adjourned the proceedings. Kaiser tells us there were already members of the Herodian family who were becoming Christians during the time of Jesus. In Luke 8, 3, we see this list, Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Herod's steward, as being one of the followers of Jesus who supported Jesus and the 12 out of her riches. In Acts 13, verse 1 speaks of Manan. He's this godly prophet within the church who had also been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch. This means that Manan was a foster brother to Herod. The Herod referred to as Herod Antipas, the youngest son of Herod the Great, So there were definitely Christians within the Herodian family and other contacts that could have been made. God apparently wanted Felix to find out about these things so that he would not fear Paul or consider Paul a threat. He had a better understanding of Christians and Christianity and what true Christians were about instead of the caricature that was being put up by the Jews. He apparently had no interest in Christianity, that's Felix, But all that needs to be in play is that he did not fear Paul. So God has been setting up the board in a way that will give Felix this false confidence. He thinks he's in charge. He sees Paul as a bargaining chip, a piece on the board for him to move about. And this better knowledge of Christianity is a part of how God is controlling Felix decisions. We next see he's a pawn by the way that he adjourns without ruling. to await Lysias. He puts this idea out as Lysias really is kind of an excuse because Lysias already gave him his testimony in writing in the letter that he had sent ahead to Felix. So what we know about Felix is probably just a delay tactic. He has a simple strategy throughout the whole thing we see with him is to delay. That's often the case with those who are in power and who abuse their power. It keeps all their options open. So this serves all of his selfish purposes. We know, as we've talked about before, that Felix is an unrighteous ruler. And let's remember, compare this to Paul's righteousness as a pawn, never offering a bribe to Felix for at least two years, we're told. Commentary says it was a disappointment to the high priest and the elders that Paul was not condemned or remitted back to their judgment, which they wished for and expected. But thus, sometimes God restrains the wrath of his people's enemies by the agency, not of their friends, but of such as are strangers to them. God can make the enemies of his people act for their good. He is God. Next, we see he's a pawn in God's hand. He grants comfortable custody to Paul, a place where Paul can be strong and rested and fed. and comfortable and able to minister from a place of physical and emotional strength, having visitors. So see, Felix is not likely to be sympathetic to Paul's cause, but God puts him to use for the kingdom purposes. This is a glorious thing, giving Paul this safe and comfortable place to minister the gospel. And this was a palace. It was a sprawling, glorious location with courtyards and views and comfortable places. And it appears as though he had liberty throughout the majority of this structure. So this Roman headquarters in Judea became Paul's gospel headquarters for those two years. So what they had meant for evil, God meant for good. The Jews have got all these plans to kill him, but instead the Romans, the pagans, those who don't have any claim to the gospel, to the Messiah, like the Jews do, God uses them to protect his people. Commentary says, he took care he should be a prisoner at large. His keeper must let him have liberty, not bind him nor lock him up, but make his confinement as easy to him as possible. Let him have the liberty of the castle, and perhaps he means liberty to take the air or even go abroad upon his parole. And Paul was such an honest man that they might take his word for his return. The high priest and the elders grudged him his life, but Felix generously allows him a sword of liberty, for he had not those prejudices against Paul in his way that the Jews did. He also gave orders that none of his friends should be hindered from coming to him. The centurion must not forbid any of his acquaintances from ministering to him. And a man's prison is as it were his own house if he has but his friends about him. Look at this, what has been provided for him. The lodging, the safety, the comfort, the encouragement of his friends. It appears as though that all that had to be provided for Paul was just his basic daily necessities of food and drink and maybe some clothing and maybe some writing materials. We know, I think it's, the evidence seems far more persuasive that he wrote his prison epistles while he was here in Caesarea. Next we see God has made Felix a pawn. Remember, Felix was a slave. It's a rare story of how he was freed from slavery and worked his way up in the Roman government. He had friends back in the Roman Senate. So he's married to this Jewish woman, Drusilla, who is the sister of King Agrippa, who we're going to see in Chapter 26, and I think Chapter 25 as well. Felix has a very close connection to the Herodian family and its ongoing hatred of Christianity. Members of this family and this household, or Caesar's household, which are connected to this family, have become Christians. And so we've already talked about Felix has seen that. But that is not the main flowing sentiment towards Christianity. We know how evil Herod and that family line have been throughout the Gospels. Killing all of those children at the time of Christ. Beheading John the Baptist. Killing James. In verse 24, we find that the wife of Felix is Drusilla. And how they got together is a fascinating story in its own right. She was another king's wife who ran away to marry Felix. But his marriage explains why he is a friend of King Agrippa. He's married to Agrippa's sister. You see, Agrippa married his own sister, and Agrippa, Bernice, and Drusilla are from the same family. Drusilla is the youngest sister of Agrippa and Bernice in chapter 25, 13. So yes, Agrippa is married to his own sister. That verse says, and after some days, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. So this means that King Agrippa is a brother-in-law of Felix. Well, King Agrippa's dad killed James in Acts chapter 12 and then was miraculously killed, you recall, eaten by worms. He was killed by God himself. Now that must have left an impression upon Agrippa. His uncle Herod Antipas had beheaded John the Baptist and interrogated Jesus. So Felix has all these connections in place that make him aware of all these tensions that are going on. He's a pawn and he's filled up with corrupt motives and these corrupt motives by God's grace are put to use for his kingdom. Verse 26, meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him. This is flattery. It's very likely he's given Paul all this liberty and all this ability to move around and all this comfort to try to gain a relationship with him and to give him a sense that if he did hurry up the trial, because you know, there's a lot of things bargaining here. Hey, I can bring your trial faster. No guarantee of the outcome. Or I can bring a trial faster and I think we can probably work out a good outcome too. There's all these bargaining chips on the table and Felix was known to be this kind of schemer in order to advance his own interests. So this verse gives us much help in understanding his motives. Even when the wicked seek their own advancement by abuse of power, do we see that happening in today's world? They cannot thwart God's plan for his kingdom. but rather instead are pawns in the Lord's hand to advance His glory in the earth. The very act of trying to stab God and His people in the back, the knife ends up in their own back and the people of God are delivered. The pit they dig, they fall into themselves. The gallows they want to swing us from, they swing from themselves in God's plan. Josephus relates that Felix bribed the best friend of Jonathan, the high priest, to arrange for the murder of Jonathan. Lucius Albinus, Festus' successor as governor of Judea, took bribes. Felix evidently expected Paul to give him money to get a quicker trial or even a favorable verdict, assuming that Paul was materially well off, or at least that Paul could gain access as leader of an empire-wide Jewish movement based in Jerusalem to considerable financial resources. Paul remained in custody for two years because of his principled resistance to the possibility of offering bribes, accepting the delay of the legal proceedings and the prevention of an early release. You know, this is a, I got a story to tell you about this. I was in South Sudan and some of my gear that I took there with me was stolen from me by the officials there. And I was like, look, I got the paperwork. All this is good to go. There's no reason I can't bring this into the country with me. And they're like, oh, well, we better call the USAID or call the embassy. And so all these Americans in country start showing up. And we're sitting there in this dark room, no kidding, like with one naked bulb and a picture of the dictator on the back wall and barefooted teenage soldiers with machine guns. It was not a comfortable scene. And I'm just sitting there saying, look, I have the papers, you know. And this was, I don't know, maybe an hour and a half, maybe two hours of this going on. And about time to get on the plane. They had kept it during my trip and said they would give it back to me before I got on the plane. So I get there and they're not giving it to me. Probably already sold it. And I'm like, well, OK, never mind. I go to get on the plane. And then they call me back again. And they say, no, no, tell him to come back. We're going to give it to him. So I go back in the room. And then they start asking me all these questions again. And they don't give me the gear. And I'm like, look, I'm getting on my plane. Thank you very much. Goodbye. And I left and got on the plane. Well, I discovered later they wanted me to bribe them. Like, all I would have had to do is just ask them what the administrative fee was. It never dawned on me. And I'm so thankful to God that it never even crossed my mind. Right. And so they got my stuff and I hope it's being used for righteousness. But, you know, that's the way the world works. Right. It's going to be corrupted when corrupt people are in power and black markets development. And you just have to grease the skids everywhere you go in a corrupt and a corrupt culture. That's where Felix is. But he's convicted by the gospel and we begin to see the power of God on display here because It says that he was afraid after he heard the gospel. He heard Paul, he and his wife both heard Paul concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid. Instead of repenting, the Bible tells us, he answered and said, go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you. You know, like many people, Felix is thinking that God has guaranteed him another heartbeat. Felix is thinking is that tomorrow will be just like yesterday. The Roman judge, he's the judge. He finds himself before the judge of the earth and his ambassador, the one who reigns with Christ, is standing before him and telling him about a day of judgment to come before the creator of the earth. And in this, Felix tastes of his own smallness for a moment. And the grandeur of God for a moment, like Pilate when he was speaking to Jesus. Perhaps even, perhaps even Felix is remembering what happened to the Herod who killed James. You know, many are going to think, well, he got the worms, right? Worms kill people from time to time. But there was probably a stream of thought that he had heard amongst the Christians that God had struck him dead. I wonder if he's remembering Acts 12, so on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. He thinks he's the ruler. And the people kept shouting, the voice of a God and not of a man. But who is the one true God? Who is the one with power? Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died, but the word of God grew and multiplied. Brothers and sisters, do you fear God? Do we have a reverence for who He is and His glory that He sees everything and that He would be fully righteous to strike any one of us dead in a moment if He chose to? And that there's no guarantees that your life is going to continue another minute, another hour, or another day? Do we reverence our holy God and worship Him for the grace of every heart? And now Felix is discovering here that he has no righteousness of his own. He's talking to him about righteousness. He's tasted of his own lusts and his own lack of self-control. This is what everyone who comes to Christ goes through. And he is exposed to the reality of his own mortality and a moment of sure judgment he cannot escape, he cannot hide from, he cannot delay it, he cannot bargain his way out of it. He will stand before his creator like every single one of us. And Felix is afraid and you should be afraid too. But not unto repentance, but rather unto escape and procrastination. This is not godly sorrow, this is worldly fear. Now Felix trembles before Paul, but Paul never trembled before Felix. Paul is God's confident, bold, powerful pawn who trembles only before the God of the universe. He fears God and not men. The power of the word of God when it comes with commission, so God has anointed the speech of Paul. He has filled it with the fire and the power of the Holy Spirit, and Felix is hearing it, and it is pounding his soul. It is searching. It is startling. It can strike a terror into the heart of the most proud and daring sinner by setting his sins in order before Him and showing him the terrors of the Lord. So this is the great first step in true conversion is finding yourself alone and naked and exposed completely before the God of the universe who is holy, holy, holy. and be terrified of being in that place on your own. So what does he do? Well, he certainly doesn't follow the faith of Christ. He doesn't repent. He doesn't look to that moment of judgment and try to find a way out. He just runs from considering it. You know, when we talk about the faith of Christ that Paul would have presented to him, we know he would have spoken to him about the resurrection from the dead. We know that he would have spoken to him about Christ on the cross and the atoning death of Jesus Christ for his sins. We know that he would have given him the glad assurance that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, that there's no sin so great as the glorious deliverance available through Christ our Savior. He would have preached the gospel to him. But instead, he delays and he persists in his wickedness. See, he trembled and that was all. Paul's trembling in chapter nine and the jailer's trembling in chapter 16 ended up in their conversion, but this of Felix did not. Many are startled by the word of God who are not effectually changed by it. Many are in fear of the consequences of sin and yet continue in love and in league with sin. They hear the gospel message, this moment of reality of facing the creator who's made them, who sees everything and no place to hide comes to them. And they're afraid, and they deal with it by playing Call of Duty, or watching football, or whatever form of other escapism and delay and procrastination and distraction that they can run to. It's true for us as well, brothers and sisters. When God convicts us Christians of our sin, will we continue in a life of repentance? You see, has your fear of God caused you to avoid Him? and pridefully delay dealing with your sin? Have you come to Christ? Have you come to Christ? Have you seen yourself standing there before the throne of God's perfect justice and found terror in that moment? And instead of running from it, fleeing to Christ and hearing the promise of Jesus on the cross, suffering for your sins. He was made sin for us. Your sins, if you trust in Him, placed upon Him. And the terror and wrath that you deserved, Jesus took for you. The substitutionary penal atonement is what the theologians call it. And you're free. We sang it, didn't we, today. His robes for mine. This is what Paul would have taught him. And brothers and sisters, today is the day of salvation if you've never confessed your sins to God. I don't care how old you are. You are never too young to confess your sins to God. You're never too old to confess your sins to God. I don't care what you've done. I don't care how many times you've lied or cheated or stolen or committed adultery or lusted in your heart or had violence in your heart. Whatever it may be, confess your sins to God. He will forgive you all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This is the proclamation of the gospel message that is the power of God and that takes down all the strongholds of the devil and the powerful sin of our souls. We then as workers together with him, Paul says in 2 Corinthians, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. I'm doing that today, brothers and sisters. I'm sure Paul would have done the same thing with Felix. Do not receive this grace of God that you are hearing in vain. For he says, in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Call upon him. And you will be born again and washed clean from your sin, call upon him, confess your sin to him, and you will be forgiven over and over again as you walk with him throughout the joys and the glory of this life in his presence. Jesus said, repent and believe that's the way into the kingdom, and that's every every day in the kingdom, repent and believe, repent of your sins and believe in the grace of God to you in Christ. Oh, I could just go on forever in the sweetness of the gospel, brothers and sisters. He is so good to us. Well, Felix is not only delaying and convicted of his sin, and God shows his power there, and he's just a pawn. He's there to show the whole world the power of the gospel for us to see as the gospel goes forth in the Word of God. But also, you know, he's in trouble with Rome. He's in trouble with Rome. He needs a favor from Rome. Verse 27. After two years, Porteous Festus succeeded Felix, and Felix wanting to do the Jews a favor left Paul bound. Now, why did he want to do the Jews a favor? Because he was in trouble. He needed their great money and great influence in the Roman Empire to help him with his upcoming examination. He's failed in his leadership. And Judea is on the verge of a popular uprising because of his evils. He's in trouble with Rome. So needing assistance with his upcoming examination, he again delays any decision regarding Paul. This guy's a schemer from start to finish. He's got all of his connections, all of his messages with everyone in Rome. He's got his connections with the Jews. He's hoping to get some help from the Jews, and he knows he's going to need it. Kaiser tells us that Paul was Felix's insurance policy, and here it looks like it has paid off. We know from secular history that Felix got into major trouble with Rome for his brutal killing of a crowd of Jews. Rome recalls him to answer for his crimes, and Felix tells the Jewish leaders that if they will testify on his behalf, they can have Paul. Now, that's conjecture on Pastor Kaiser's part, but it makes sense. But he's not going to give him over until they testify. And Pastor Krauser says, I think that's what's going on behind the scenes. You can see it's more speculation and deduction of behind the scenes. But there is evidence in the next two chapters that Felix got Festus and Agrippa, his brother-in-law, to sign on to this deal because they're going to come and engage with Festus. Now, we see how God has shown us that this ruler is really his pawn. But now we see that Paul, who appears to be just a pawn in the hands of Felix, he reigns with Christ, and so do you, and so do I. We see his great ministry success at Caesarea in verse 23. He commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide or visit for him. We've already spoken about this a bit, but now we're focusing more on Paul. Think of Paul. the place of power and influence and leadership and reign and rule with Christ in the earth that he is afforded and he's in the palace of the Roman ruler as he rules for Christ. Isn't that beautiful? The apostate Jews want Paul dead and persist with active plans to have him killed. We know that. We've seen it before. We see it again now. They want to bring him back and kill him again. The Jews are murderers. The Jews are murderers in their heart towards Paul. We've seen it. But God wants Paul alive. And God persists in his invincible plan to keep Paul alive, ministering in safety. God keeps Paul alive. Look, you cannot leave this earth until the day God has appointed for you to go. Fear no man. Walk in the boldness of God's protection as you walk in his ways. And even in comfort and liberty within the praetorium, Paul can receive any visitor. And his needs are constantly met by his visiting friends, likely from amongst the church of Caesarea, which you've already seen. In the book of Acts, there's a church there. In addition, it's likely that Paul's, what we typically call the prison epistles, which most interpreters believe that they were written from Rome later than this. But I do think the evidence points more to the books of Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians being written while in Caesarea. In either case, his ministry is flourishing there. Listen to Philippians 1, 12 through 14. But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Now, you know, Paul, when he was in Rome, he had a rented house that he lived in. He was far more free in that sense than when he was in Caesarea. And this idea of palace guard means praetorium. It's the same word used in Acts 23, 25. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's praetorium. Now it is true that word was used for other Roman outposts in Jerusalem and in Rome. So it's not decisive, but there are a lot of clues that he probably wrote these letters while he was in Caesarea. Next, we see that Paul is reigning by the power of God, which is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right? Psalm 110. Rule in the midst of your enemies. That's what Paul is doing. Through the preaching of the gospel, as an ambassador of the King of Kings, he is ruling with Christ in the midst of his enemies. God provides for Paul to preach the gospel extensively to Felix and his Jewish wife, Drusilla. This was no quick 60 second elevator version of the gospel. Each of us should have that. You should be able to give the gospel in an elevator if you need to, right? But that's not what we've got going on here. Paul explains to Felix the need for faith in Christ surely would have testified that Jesus of Nazareth, this man, not an idea, not a piece of Roman philosophy, this man, flesh and blood, walked amongst them and was the foretold Jewish Messiah. and would have told Him of His wondrous life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection, and ascension to power over all. He would have told Him about the life of Jesus, about His glorious miracles, and that there was no one like Him who had ever lived. And He would have talked about Him weeping, and He would have told of His voluntary death upon the cross, and the sin of all who trusted Him being washed away through His blood, and the resurrection from the dead that then is belonging to all, not just to Jesus, but to all who are in Him. And His ascension to the right hand of the throne of God at that time when He ascended, being made King of kings and Lord of lords, we're told by John in the book of Revelation, that He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He would have explained all of this to him. And he would have called him to submit himself to the judgment of Christ and confess his sin, that he had broken God's law. So, the law of God comes to mind when you hear the word righteousness. It should. There's no vague righteousness. It's not something that you and your heart get to decide what it is. He would have explained to him the law of God, which we read Lord's Day after Lord's Day. And we seek to understand the righteous requirements of God given to us in his word and which Jesus took even deeper in the Sermon on the Mount, showing us that we must obey all of these commandments gladly from the heart every single time, every single day, all day long. None of us can do it. so that therefore all men will be judged. He would have talked to him about the misery of our fallen estate and our enslavement to sin. That's what he's talking about when he talks about self-control. There is no self-control for you if you're outside of Christ. You are nothing but a slave to your sin outside of Christ and thus doomed for judgment and never matching up to the righteousness of God. And then there's this perfect judgment to come where Christ will lay will judge every soul on the final day. The book of God's righteous requirements will be opened up and the book of your thoughts and your deeds throughout the course of your life. And there will be a perfect comparison made by the perfect judge who shows no favoritism and all will be found wanting and under his wrath. But I'll tell you, Paul wouldn't have stopped there, as I've already said. He would have spoken to him about what Martin Luther called that great alien righteousness, that God provides for us in Christ, that he places on us, Luther talked about, we are caterpillars inside a ring of fire and the only hope is from above. He would have taught him about this. And brothers and sisters, what you are hearing here today, this is the power of God. When you think of the power of God, you should think of, Everything created in a moment by his word from nothing. You should think of his preserving power of everything that we see throughout all the universe. We know from physics that everything should just burst into flames, but he is maintaining all things, preserving all things by the word of his power. And yet we are told the gospel is the power of God. Do you rightly understand and appreciate the power of the word of God that you can preach the gospel and speak the gospel? And do you trust in this for your own life, for your family, for your relationships, for your friendships, for your work for him in the earth? The gospel is the power of God. Paul trusted it. Do you? Paul said in Romans, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Oh, this message, this glorious message. Think of it, that he would allow such tongues and lips as ours to speak such precious words, to preach such things to others. You know, we can give way to other things. We can start using other techniques. We can start using reason. We can start using man's wits and observational powers. All these are good things, instead of relying simply upon what the Word of God says and preaching the Gospel. Next, the commentary says, From this account of the heads of Paul's discourse we may gather, and you'll see there's a list here that Matthew Henry gives us. First of all, that Paul in his preaching had no respect to persons For the word of God which he preached has not. He urged the same convictions and instructions upon the Roman governor that he did upon other people. So he did not show favoritism in how he preached or to whom he preached, do you? Next, that Paul in his preaching aimed at the consciences of men and came close to them, sought not to please their fancy nor to gratify their curiosity, but led them to a sight of their sins and a sense of their duty and interest. It is not a comfortable thing to tell another human being that they are in danger of eternal judgment and hellfire. And to warn them and to seek to have their consciences engage with the reality of the jeopardy of being outside of Christ. That is not a comfortable thing to do. Paul was unafraid to go there. Are you? Next, Paul preferred the serving of Christ and the saving of souls before his own safety You see, he lay at the mercy of Felix, who had power, as Pilate had said, to crucify him, or, which was as bad, to deliver him back to the Jews, and he had power to release him. Now, when Paul had his ear and had him in a good humor, he had a fair opportunity of ingratiating himself with him and obtaining a release, nay, and of incensing him against his prosecutors. On the contrary, if he disobliged him and put him out of humor, He might do himself a great diskindness by it, but he is wholly negligent of these considerations and is intent upon doing good, at least discharging his duty. You see, Paul is loving this man. He is leading this man to Christ out of love for his soul, out of true goodwill for him, not with any aim towards his own safety or his own well-being. He's obeying God and testifying in spite of the risks, do you? Is this your life? Next. Christ in Paul, we see righteousness, the fruit of the gospel in his life. He not only preaches the gospel as an ambassador reigning with Christ, I've talked about this already, but also with freedom available to him via his own actions. See, he could have bribed. Instead, Paul resists the temptation and never offers a bribe to Felix. Righteousness exalts the nation. See, Paul is reigning, ruling with Christ here, and he's going to do this in righteousness. He knows he can trust God to do what is needful. He doesn't have to come up with his own schemes. He doesn't have to use arm of the flesh. He doesn't have to twist arms to get what he wants. So he rests in God's power and love instead of giving way to self-reliance. Next we see he's reigning with Christ because he's protected by the so-called rulers. Lord God uses the corruption and troubles of Felix to accomplish his goodwill for Paul. In verse 27 we see that. Felix sees Paul as his own bargaining chip with the Jews and he wants to use Paul for his own purposes. So we can see, we've talked about how Felix is God's pawn, but in that we can see how that is used by God to raise Paul up. Felix thinks he's in charge. He's wrong. Paul's reign with Christ makes Felix the pawn in God's plan. And Paul is the ruler in disguise in God's plan. We have to see with the eyes of faith. And at his trial, Jesus told Pontius Pilate, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. And that's not just true for Jesus Christ. It's true for every one of his people throughout all of history. There is no power over any Christian that is not placed there by God. is there by God's design for the glory of His kingdom. So I have some questions, more than usual, to have us consider our view of things in light of the way Paul was living. So the first question is, do you walk by faith or by sight? By sight would mean you see the wickedness in the church and puppets filled with evil deceivers, doing wicked things and promoting wicked things throughout the earth. You see political rulers who are embracing murder and violence and deception and corruption and godlessness in every form. And you feel it in your life. You experience it in your life. You look around and you see what's happening and you see these things. You see the wisdom of this world and their ability to know things about you and see things about your life that are almost limitless. It is limited. And their power to come with long guns to your home and take you out of your house. If you happen to go and stand in front of an abortion mill where they murder babies and call out for them to not do it, because that's what's happened in our nation, is it not? These are peaceful protesters who had men come with guns to their homes and take them out of their homes in front of their wives and children. So you and I see these things happening in our world. But do you walk by faith or do you walk by sight? Do you not only see that these people will be judged if they do not repent and they cannot escape God's judgment, but do you also see that everything they mean for evil is meant for the good of God's people? And that even in the devil's attempt to destroy the kingdom, he just advances it. Do you have that kind of faith to see who's really in charge and to see where the real power is? The power to see every thought and note every motive and to actually change hearts and rule in hearts and make people into his glad servants and the one who has real wisdom and real power. Do you walk by faith or do you walk by sight? So do the evident powers and pomp of this wicked generation influence you more than the power and the wisdom of God, the almighty and gracious creator and redeemer? Do you look to their power, controlling the education of the vast majority of this generation and the generations that have come before us, and teaching them wickedness and hatred of God? Or do you rest in the glory of Christ and the work of His people and the families of believers that He is using families like you and other righteous family to raise up godly seed who will serve Him and do His will in this corrupt and evil generation? Because that's a good description of the generation in which we live. So, do you walk by faith or do you walk by sight? 2 Corinthians 5, 7 says, we walk by faith, not by sight. And Hebrews 11.1 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So we, when we have faith, we have a substance that God places in us that what He has promised is coming to us. And this faith gives us a foretaste of it in our souls. In spite of what we see around us, we know something else is coming. And this faith in us serves as evidence that these things that are not seen are real. Not only the things that are real now that we can't see, but the things that have yet to come to place that God is going to do when he destroys his enemies from this earth. And when he delivers his people into a glorious day of rejoicing. Next, related to this, are you more in awe of the finite limited power and wisdom of humans than you are of God? You know, when you see the Starlink satellites going by in perfect order across the sky, and you look up and you see the satellites just arching everywhere through the sky, and you hear about however many megatons of nuclear materials pointed at one another now, And they're and they're just limited ability to come against you. And then the glorious structures they build in the pop and the power that they display. Are you more in awe of that or of God? Do you see with your mind's eye Mount Zion, with Christ upon the throne of grace, surrounded by angels and the departed saints who've gone before us as the headquarters of all reality, and He is sending forth His Spirit and His angels, conquering His enemies as we speak, and none can stand against Him. Do you? Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Psalm 146, three and four. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man in whom there is no help. His spirit departs. He returns to his earth. In that very day, his plans perish. The biggest idol in our world today is statism. Trusting in princes, putting your trust in the government, going to the government for things that we should never go to the government for. Having a government that does things that should not be doing. Statism, the worship of the state. This is what I'm talking about. Do you fear God or do you fear the state? Hebrews 1.8, but to the son, he says, you see, because it's passing away. I mean, you remember the disciples, they sat there, they looked at the temple. They said, oh, look at this. Look at this. It's so wondrous. And Jesus said, not one stone will be left on another. The things that we build, but what God builds, it will stand. But to the son, he says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. There are no threats to the throne room of God. There is no power that can withstand the extension of his righteous scepter in the earth. Do we walk in this reality in our lives? Next. Are you at peace? So these are important questions. for us to consider along the way here because, you know, this is a practical thing that I want you to take home with you, okay? These things, as you can see, I've written out a lot more questions than usual because I wanted you to have them to take home. Next, are you at peace with gratitude and contentment being the off-scouring of this world because you love and obey Jesus Christ and seek first his kingdom? Are you at peace with that? See, because this is how Paul describes himself in 1 Corinthians 4. To the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we labor working with our own hands. Being reviled, we blast. Being persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. We've been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things. And that means dirt rubbed off, filth removed and thrown away as disgusting. And this word for filth here is refuse. And it means the most abject and despicable. of men, no, no, don't listen to the pastor who will tell you you can have your best life now, especially when we live in a wicked and depraved generation. In a generation like this, when you go out into the world and obey Jesus Christ, you will be, depending on, it'll vary from city to city, town to town, place to place, but essentially in our nation, we are in such a wicked time, you should expect to be able to say this with Paul and have this experience in your life. Are you OK with that? Or do you have some fantasy belief that if you trust in Christ enough, you're not going to be mistreated? So next, see, Paul understood this. He was OK with it. Next. Are you content to be a refuse pawn in the eyes of the world? And in this situation, can you walk by faith as one who reigns with Christ as one of his princes in the earth? So not only are you okay with this reality of what may be happening to you, but in that context, will you have the faith to continue to walk in confidence towards him and to reign in this earth to take up that which is yours through the preaching of the gospel to be his priests and kings in the earth? Revelation 5. Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song saying, and this is what the saints said to the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father upon his ascension in A.D. 30. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. and have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth. When you do God's will on this earth and you advance His kingdom as His ambassador, you are reigning with Him on this earth and you are participating with Him in what we pray for in the Lord's Prayer, that His kingdom would come and His will would be done in this earth. Next, are you tempted to give way to unrighteousness as a way of dealing with unrighteous rulers? You see, we talked about that with Paul. He was thinking about tempted, I'm sure, maybe not, but at least the idea was there, bribery, right? When wickedness is in place, there's going to be these temptations for us to join in. It's all around us. It's a little thing. Justify it. Psalm 125. Three for the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity. So when a land is becoming more and more filled up with unrighteousness, the temptations for Christians to engage in unrighteousness as a response. So in other words, a non gospel response to the wickedness. That temptation increases. So are you tempted to that? Do you understand what's going on? So don't give way to that temptation. Don't take the bait. Every provocation of the devil is intended to bring you into sin so that you can then be struck down. Every response to every evil provocation can be used against you. So make sure your response is a righteous response. We know the Department of Justice has been weaponized in today's world. And recently, the leader of the Department of Justice came out and said, we will not take, we will not stand for these types of accusations and falsehoods against the Department of Justice. Right? You see what I'm talking about? So these things are then being reframed as threats against government agencies, which they're not. They're simple statements of fact. So don't take the bait. Walk in righteousness. Live like Paul lived. Don't give way to those temptations. So all of that leads to this final question. How do we reign with him on the earth? That's what it said. I'm going to give you a list of some things. This is not complete, but this is important. First of all, you need to understand that his reign has already begun. It is not a future thing. He's not going to become the king of this world in the future. He is currently on his throne. Revelation 1.5, Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth, and that was spoken about Him from chapter 1. Next, He must reign within us so we can then overflow with love and obedience. You're going to hurt yourself and others if you go out and try to do His will in your own power, rather than as an overflow of your love and your gratitude to Him. We must walk as a disciple of Christ from the heart, Paul puts it this way in Colossians 3, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful. So if you're going to participate in Christ's rule in the earth, you have to first submit wholly and completely to Christ's rule in your own life. That word rule there is like an umpire to decide or to determine or to direct or control. Next, you must commit yourself to preaching the gospel as his ambassador everywhere you go. There's no place you go where his kingship, where his glory, where the gospel does not belong. He commands all men everywhere to repent and you are called to be a part of bringing that gospel everywhere you go. Now, then we as we are ambassadors for Christ, Paul says to the Corinthian church. as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf. Be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Be an ambassador. Preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in season and out of season. Everywhere you go, have the power of God flowing through your words in your life. Next, you need to obey His law in every sphere of life. There's some really bad theology out there that says that Jesus Christ is not ruling over the political realm by the law that is in His Word. But that rather, God the Father is ruling through some vague thing called natural law. And there's other types of heresies out there that try to separate the law of God from everyday life. And we read it together, didn't we, in our liturgy? Not one jot, not one tittle. Right. Will by any means pass away. So Jesus said until all is fulfilled. And that's every John title of the old covenant writings is what Jesus was referring to. Do not think that I came to destroy the law of the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." Brothers and sisters, know God's law. Study God's law. Understand the Ten Commandments. Understand the case law and the old covenant writings that God in His gracious kindness laid out before Moses and gave Him practical examples in real life of what that law looks like. Know God's law of love and live it. Love it. Understand it. Be the wise who understand what God's law looks like in every sphere of life and obey His law. Let us grow up in this. Next, and this is in no particular order. I'm sure you could order it in better order. Take up spiritual warfare in the battle of the ages. Brothers and sisters, take up spiritual warfare in the battle of the ages. Do you understand, parents, how strong the sincere worshiping voices of your children are in the conquest of the realm of darkness? Do you understand that? That's what we're told in Psalm 8. the strength, the praise of these little ones. Engage in spiritual warfare inside your home. Worship God inside your home and understand that God is putting you to use to tear down the strongholds of darkness and to put the demons of hell under His feet through your worship. God does this. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So we have a spiritual enemy that we can't see. And we fight a fight that God teaches us how to fight with His weapons against these spiritual enemies. And they're described this way. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Okay? So our primary battle is not against other human beings. Yes, they can be controlled by darkness. Yes, they're going to be brought into judgment. Yes, as you're going to see, we're going to rejoice when God does it. But our ultimate enemy as we fight in this world is against the spiritual forces, against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. We saw it earlier, didn't we, where Jesus cast out that demon. You see, demons are real. Fallen angels are real. And in cultures and societies that are not protected under the gospel, demonism, demonic behavior will flourish as it is in our nation right now. You think that there's thousands and thousands of people walking around, millions of people with tattoos all over their entire bodies, and it's just by accident? With piercings and holes and destruction of their body, and it's just by accident? And that women are agreeing to have parts chopped off, and young men as well? You think that's just bad ideas? That is demonic. You think babies being murdered by the millions every year is just bad ideas? That is truly Molech child sacrifice. Why is this happening in our world today? Because we've turned our backs on God. And if we repent, He will restore our land. So this spiritual warfare will even include imprecatory prayers like in Psalm 58. Listen to how it ends. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked so that men will say, surely there is a reward for the righteous. Surely he is God who judges in the earth. Listen, there's going to come a day when we're going to be rejoicing because we can see it's going to be in glory. It's all behind us. We're going to see His glory. We're going to rejoice in His goodness and His grace and in our forgiveness. But brothers and sisters, part of that rejoicing is right here. Surely, He is God who judges the earth and He has made every right wrong. And He will destroy the wicked and cast them into everlasting fire, along with all the demons and Satan himself. Now, we must do all that we do, brothers and sisters, and I've alluded to this already, having our hearts conquered. So we must do this with Christlike love and all that we say and do. Listen, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. What is his purpose for you? For whom he foreknew, he also predestined, here it is, to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. So as we are reigning with him, we must embrace being made like him, being sanctified together, which is the will of God for us. This is how we reign with him. Next, in Christlike humility and boldness, with gratitude and contentment and praise at all times. Brothers and sisters, this cannot be overemphasized. that as we worship Him and we praise Him and we give Him thanks for what He has done for us in faith, knowing that He inclines His ear to us because of Christ, as we worship Him in this way, as we're going to do in just a short moment when I finish this sermon, as you're doing now, God receives our praises, we are changed, the world is changed, and our praise subdues and throws down the powers of this world. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So we will be bold in this world, will not be afraid. Therefore, by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. We're going to be those who praise him and to give him thanks at all times. And you're going to be broken down under our own sin and knowing that he must increase and we must decrease. And we need to do this every day to the end. Never forsaking what you're doing right now. Never forsaking the gathering together. You cannot rightly reign with Christ if you are not rightly worshiping Him together with His people in biblically regulated worship of the God of gods, the King of kings, the Lord of lords in the name of Christ. at His appointed time, with His people. Let us hold fast the confession, author of Hebrews writes, which I think is Luke. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some. Do you want to be in that? You want to be in that kind of remark in your life? Do you want to be in that? Little ones, listen to me. Listen to me, little ones. Joseph, listen up. When you grow up, are you going to be a member of a church? I would say yes. I would say yes. Little ones, when you grow up, are you going to be a member of a church and commit yourself in covenant promises to the love and service of the saints of God? Or are you going to be like this and just as is the manner of some? Which is it going to be? but exhorting one another in so much the more as you see the day approaching. Brothers and sisters, as we do this, I hope that you will constantly be trusting in Christ's complete victory over all His enemies before His return. Psalm 110, verse 1, the most quoted scripture in the New Testament. David saw the enthronement of Jesus Christ that took place in AD 30. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. David saw the Father speaking to the Son and saying, sit here at my right hand. How long? When's He coming back? Until I've put all of your enemies under your feet. Until I've conquered all your enemies. That's how long Jesus will be in that position of the mediatorial reign of God in the earth. We're told this in the New Testament, two different places. Hebrews chapter 10, but this man, that's Jesus, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God. Here comes the timeframe. From that time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. Waiting for what? Waiting for the end. Waiting for the very end. And here it is, Paul talking about 1 Corinthians 15. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order. Christ the firstfruits. Afterward, those who are Christ's at his coming. Then comes the end. When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father. When he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. See, you hear that? That's a reference to what we already read in Ephesians 6. For he must reign, how long? Till he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For he has put all things under his feet. Praise be to God. Let us pray. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, how we praise you and thank you, Lord, for your good work in the life of Paul and how you and your great and awesome sovereignty and power and infinite wisdom arranged this entire setting here the way you did, showing that Felix is but your pawn who thinks he was a ruler and that Paul really is co-reigning with you, even as the world thinks he's but a pawn. Oh, God, grant us such faith and grant that we may walk with you as those who understand that you have made us your priests and kings in the earth as we walk in humility before you. Oh, bless us to reign with you in this earth, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.