Island of Adventure

“Island of Adventure”
Acts 28:1-10
August 24, 2008

Island of Adventure

 

Today, we pick up the story with the weary travelers having all made it to shore, as God had promised the apostle Paul; not one was lost to the storm at sea.

I. Maltese Hospitality - :1-2
Malta is an island in the Mediterranean, about 18 miles long and 8 miles wide, situated 58 mile south of Sicily and 180 miles north and east of Africa. It was a territory of Rome, but one granted a significant amount of autonomy to govern its own affairs. Augustus Caesar settled a number of military officers on the island, as well as placing a governor there; we learn in this passage that when this shipwreck took place, the governor was a man named “Publius”, who also founded the grocery chain Publix. Or not…

I’d imagine that many of the villagers had watched from the hills as this ship had broken apart, as folks swam and floated to the shore; we can easily imagine some of the folks from the island venturing into the surf to help rescue the weary travelers. And when they heard the people speak, the stranded travelers didn’t recognize the dialect they spoke, so the people there spoke the language of kind deeds, kindling a fire and making it plain that it was their intent to help the sopping wayfarers.

II. Maltese Fickleness - :3-6
These natives were not uncultured barbarians, but they were superstitious believers in the gods, and the Greek goddess Dike was apparently venerated by these Maltese islanders. Dike was “the personification of justice and revenge” (Stott). Their assumption that Paul’s being latched onto by the viper was that, though he’d cheated fate on the high seas, he couldn’t get away with the murder that he’d undoubtedly committed.

But Paul didn’t die; shaking the viper off harmlessly like a fuzzy caterpillar, and then showing no signs of swelling, the superstitious natives declared just the opposite, that he was a god. Obviously, this man was no murderer, but rather a god, impervious to the poison which would snuff out the life of a mere mortal! Luke is amused by the fickleness of the crowd.

III. Maltese Blessing - :7-9
Publius, wishing to treat the shipwrecked lot with kindness, brought the survivors, at least some of them, including Paul, to his estate for three days while their situations were sorted out. Good news travels fast, and word of the healing of the father of the “first man of the island” spread quickly, such that other sick folk were brought to Paul for him to minister to them, and according to Luke, these were healed by the power of God operating through Paul. Supernatural cures were a part of the ministry of Paul the apostle, and both in the case of Publius’ father, and in the case of the islanders, God worked through him to effect cure!

IV. Maltese Gratitude - :10
And so as the voyagers began their journey that would lead to Rome, the islanders showered them with gifts of appreciation for all the blessing that Paul had been to them. They had received from the hand of God, and it was natural for them to be thankful for the blessings of Providence, provided through the hand and life of the apostle Paul. Thankfulness in our lives is so critical!

I want to spend the rest of our time together talking about

The Always-Prepared Believer
I believe that this term accurately described the apostle Paul. Here was a man who had been through a very trying couple of years. If you remember, he had well-meaning, Spirit-filled brothers and sisters in Christ telling him not to go to Jerusalem, and yet convinced that this was the plan of God, he went anyway. After a week there, he began to experience persecution and was nearly killed, followed by two years locked up in prison. Then, after appealing to Caesar, Paul and other prisoners are placed onboard a ship bound for Rome, and after a considerable journey with some difficult, the final two weeks are night-and-day typhoon, followed by shipwreck on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean. But if you think back with me, one thing we’ll recognize is that

• Paul was never “off-duty”.
In whatever situation Paul found himself, he was doing the work and will of God. There was never a point where Paul said, “I can take a break from this ‘Christian thing’. There was never a time when Paul took a vacation from the demands of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let me hit you with some of the ramifications of that:

• Everything you do matters to God. Everything matters in the sense of worshipping God. Everything you do, and every place you go, and every word you speak, and every thought you have, and every motive that motivates you, and every attitude you display: everything matters to God.

• You can bring God as much glory by doing your work “as unto the Lord” as you can standing here singing His praises or sitting here taking notes.

• There is not one standard for the workplace, or the ballfield, or the bedroom, or the movie theater, or the TV set, or the neighborhood, or the internet, and a different standard for the “religious stuff” we do. There’s not one standard for a certain group of people you’re around that’s different from the standard you use around Christian folks.

• Paul was willing to minister in whatever situation he found himself.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I really don’t like the idea of not being in control. I want to steer the ship; I want to know what the agenda is going to be; I want to lay out the plans and then execute. And yet, that’s the opposite of what was taking place in Paul’s life. And yet, Paul had a prior commitment, a non-negotiable priority, to be a minister of Christ in whatever circumstance he found himself. He’s drug before an angry mob, and he tells the story of Jesus. He has an audience before the governor, and then before the king, and he gives witness for Christ. Then he’s put onboard a ship, and though a lowly prisoner, he ascends to a position wherein he ends up taking significant leadership, and I have little doubt influenced people toward Jesus Christ. Now, he’s on an island in the middle of nowhere, one which he hadn’t planned on going to, and he finds opportunity to share the love of Christ with the folks that God has brought into his path.

• Paul was prepared for divine appointments.
My point here is this, and it hearkens back to something I said a moment ago: if God is truly in control of the circumstances and events of our lives, then we need to ready ourselves for what can only be described as “divine appointments”. God places people into our lives, and it’s up to us to seize upon those “divine appointments” in such a way as to leave a winsome witness for Jesus Christ. Do we view the people in our lives as God’s divine appointments? Further, might I suggest that we pray that God make us more and more sensitive to the divine nature of the connections we make with people, that we pray with an eagerness that God send us divine appointments, make us aware of them, and then act as Christ’s representatives.

The tiny island of Malta, though not on Paul’s itinerary, proves to be an island of adventure, as the unleashed Holy Spirit of God works through Paul to spread the name and the fame of Jesus Christ, just as He desires to work through you and me in 2008 to do the same.

God in the Storm

“God in the Storm”
Acts 27
August 17, 2008

God In The Storm

Today’s message is an epic story of survival against overwhelming odds, of life-and-death struggle, of despair and hopelessness turned to hope, and of a God in control. We’ll consider some of the ways God was at work in that storm, ways in which He works in the difficult times—the storms—of our lives. For a little added fun, we’ll set today’s outline in a 60’s theme…

I. A Three-Hour Tour (sort of) - :1-8
With apologies to our friends on Gilligan’s Island, this was the beginning of what I’m sure all hoped would be a relatively event-free trip to Rome. But like the Professor and Mary Ann and all the rest, it was to be anything but…

Finding a ship on its way east, in the direction of Rome, Julius, his men, Paul, and others set sail. Luke is back on the scene here: “we”. It’s likely that Luke, as well as Aristarchus, to whom we’re introduced, and whom Paul mentions in both Colossians and Philemon, served as servants to Paul, traveling with the status of “slave” even; this would have explained a bit better the deference shown to Paul by the centurion Julius. And the text is all the more vivid because of the fact that Luke was on board, that he’d undergone the tumult and trial along with Paul instead of just hearing Paul recount it over dinner somewhere. Despite fighting some strong winds, the rest of the trip goes pretty smoothly.

The first part of the journey ends at Myra, one of the chief ports of the region. A ship from Egypt was in port there, on its way to Rome, and they board this ship. This is not the easiest voyage, but the ship finally reaches the harbor of Fair Havens, on the island of Crete, probably still 800+ miles, as the crow flies, from its destination in Rome. This is when it gets interesting…

II. (Everyone Knows it’s) Windy - :9-20
The “dangerous season” for sailing fell between mid-September and mid-November; after that, no one sailed until winter was over. It had been a long trip to this point; the sailing was dangerous because of the weather; it was mid-October. Apparently for these reasons, a council was called onboard ship, which included Paul, being the seasoned traveler that he was. But the centurion, who as the ranking military officer onboard a ship that was doing the business of Rome, had the final decision, went with the “wisdom” of the pilot and the ship’s owner, and decided that the ship would try to make it forty more miles to the port of Phoenix, a place that would be, in their estimation, more favorable for wintering in.

Everything started out well, with a gentle breeze that promised, in a matter of hours, to carry them to their desired wintering spot. But it didn’t last long: there quickly arose a violent northerly wind; the Greek is “typhonikos”, from which we get our word “typhoon”. The storm got so bad that cables had to be passed under the ship to hold the hull together.

According to Luke, this state of affairs continued for a total of two weeks! Clouds and wind and storm; they didn’t see the sun by day, nor the stars by night, and thus they had no way of knowing where they were, as the sun and stars were used as navigational instruments. The situation was bleak, and uncertainty reigned. Enter Paul, and his words:

III. People, Let Me Tell You ‘Bout my Best Friend - :21-26
There was likely little food to prepare, as some had probably been tossed overboard, and other rendered inedible either by the seawater or by the beating of the containers against the ship due to conditions; the conditions for preparing it must have been difficult; anyone who’s ever dealt with seasickness can probably relate to an aversion to eating amid choppy seas anyway!

Paul’s words that followed, on the heels of a somewhat smart remark, were words of hope and authority, hope because of the message and authority because of the Source of the message, an angel of God. His words previously, about the potential for loss of life, were spoken as an experienced traveler; his words now, confident words that no life would be lost, were the words of a prophet speaking forth the truth of God.

God made a promise, and what He promises, He performs!

IV. A Hard Day’s Night – :27-38
Finally came the call of “Land ho”! The sound of breakers beaching violently caused the sailors to know that land was near, and in the middle of the night, they didn’t want to run aground, so four anchors were dropped, and then they turned to the only Source they knew; they “prayed for day to come”. Wonder if this was as a result of Paul’s influence?

Disregarding the safety of anyone but themselves, the sailors tried to make a run for it under the pretense of laying anchor. Paul alerted the centurion to their actions, and the centurion stopped them dead in their tracks. Paul knew that the accomplishment of God’s plans required the “means” of the efforts of sailors. Notice that faith in God doesn’t deny the importance of using good sense!

Paul knew that all hands would need energy for what lay ahead, and thus he counseled the taking of food. What remained could be prepared more easily, now that the ship was at anchor, and they’d be glad they ate after such a long fast. Then, because they wanted the ship as light as possible for when it ran aground, with the desire that it run aground far up the beach, the remainder of the wheat was thrown overboard.

V. Beyond the Sea - :39-44
Julius, by this time, had taken quite the liking to Paul, felt a deep debt of gratitude to this man whose God had spoken to him, and he forbade the taking of any life, but rather gave instructions to those on the ship as to how they could save their lives, by swimming of by floating on planks and pieces of the ship. And thus, as God promised, all hands made it to shore.

God in the Storm
God is working through the circumstances to accomplish His purpose; He is in the storm, not outside it, or unaware of it, and the same is true for the circumstances and situations of our lives.

Notice one of the things God has done: He has molded the character of His man, Paul, to be His agent in the storm. The storm helps to forge Paul’s character, sure, but it also serves to reveal it, and the same is true for. Note

• The Character of Paul

o An Agent of Hope

Paul was a man who combined faith with works, spirituality with common sense, a man of God and a man of action. Here, he is an agent of hope, both in words and actions, buoying the spirits of his fellow travelers with his words of God-inspired wisdom and confidence. Am I a bringer of hope, speaking and acting as though I believe God is sovereign?

o An Agent of Peace
Knowledge of the fact that God was in control produced calm assurance in Paul, even when others were panicking and abandoning ship.

o An Agent of Wisdom
Paul was a man with common sense, in part because he studied much to understand life. Wisdom is more than knowledge; it is knowledge applied to the circumstance and situations of life.

o An Agent of Witness
There is no “sermon” in this narrative, but Paul lives out his testimony, putting in words here and there that mark him as a man of God. He interjected God into everything he did, because God was there, and Paul’s words and demeanor onboard ship gave tremendous testimony to God.

o An Agent of Love
He had a concern for not only the lives, but also the wellbeing, of all concerned. What a motley crew this was: Roman soldiers; selfish sailors; condemned men who’d face the lions soon in the Roman arena. His compassion was a witness for Christ.

But this story is about God in the storm, not Paul in the storm. See

• The Grace of God
God doesn’t keep us from storms. He gives us grace to deal with them.

o People
Julius/Luke/Aristarchus/church in Sidon: God’s grace-gifts to Paul. And God was gracious to all on board by giving them Paul!

o Purpose
God made clear that Paul’s purpose in going was to give testimony before Caesar, that Paul would accomplish the high calling and purpose God had given him. God’s purpose would not be frustrated. And God, I’d remind you, has a purpose for your life, else you’d not be able to fog a mirror any longer!

o Promises
“Paul, you’ll stand before Caesar, and I’ll give you the lives of all these people as well.” Such were the promises of God, evidences of His grace amid the ferocious storm. And the promises of God from His Word are many to us in the storms of life as well.

Crazy Like A Christian

“Crazy Like a Christian”
Acts 25-26
August 10, 2008

Crazy Like a Christian

Prologue: A Crazy Scenario – Acts 25
Here’s chapter 25 in a nutshell, a chapter which serves to set up the events of chapter 26, a crazy scenario involving the continuing trial of a man who by all rights should be free: Paul. The arrival of Porcius Festus in Palestine was a welcome event, following as it did on the heels of the disastrous administration of the ruthless governor Felix. He spent only three days getting settled into his quarters in Caesarea before heading to Jerusalem. When he got there, the Jewish religion boys again attempted to cook Paul’s goose, by asking Festus to bring him to Jerusalem. After he’d been in prison for two years, their hatred for him still burned hot. Another attempt would be made at an ambush, to kill Paul; failing that, they reasoned, perhaps they could get him into a Jewish trial before the Sanhedrin on the single charge of profaning the temple, and they could convict him and execute him on that charge. Festus instead invited the religion boys back to Caesarea to try him there, and similarly to what we saw in the last chapter, they ended up unable to prove their charges. But instead of releasing Paul, Festus gives him the option of going back to Jerusalem for trial there. Paul claims his ultimate right as a Roman citizen: he appeals to Caesar in Rome.

We’re introduced in :13 to King Agrippa, who is the ruler of the kingdom that adjoined to the north that of Festus, and so he and his sister Bernice come to pay their respects to the new governor. Since Rome considered Agrippa an authority on the Jewish religion, Festus decided that maybe Agrippa could help figure out what to do with this sticky Paul fellow. After laying out the whole scenario to Agrippa, Agrippa decided he’d like to hear for himself what Paul had to say. And so in come Agrippa and his sister, Bernice, with great pomp, arrayed in purple and with golden crowns on their heads. The power of the state, in all its splendor, comes face to face with the power of God represented by the humble prisoner Paul.

I. A Crazy Opening - 26:1-3
What made this opening crazy? Consider the heritage of King Agrippa, as Paul stood before him. His great-grandfather, Herod the Great, had plotted to have the infant Jesus put to death. His grandfather, Herod Antipas, had beheaded John the Baptist. His father had put James, brother of John, to death with the sword. He was a vile man, living in an incestuous relationship with Bernice, his full-blood sister. And here he sits in royal pomp, listening to this physically-unimpressive prisoner give an oration, a prisoner who represents the very movement that his family has been instrumental in persecuting for generations. A lesser man would have been quite intimidated, but Paul was ready, armed to the teeth with the life-changing power of the gospel, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, armed and ready to confront the entire lot with the message of Christ, from the pompous king to the rest.

II. A Crazy Irony - :4-8
How ironic that the charges brought against Paul were brought by Jews, people who above all others ought to know that there was more to this life than this life, who of all people ought to know that the God Who had brought them into existence was a God big enough to raise to life those who were dead. Paul is on trial because of his hope. We need to be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us. Ours is a sure hope. We hope in the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth, and in His Son, Jesus Christ.

III. A Crazy Zeal - :9-11
Before his conversion, though Paul accepted the resurrection of the dead, he did not accept the idea that Jesus had risen from the grave. And the fact that others did—when he considered Jesus to be an impostor—made him furious, and drove him, in his zeal, to desperate acts against the Way.

IV. A Crazy Testimony - :12-18
Think about how crazy this must have sounded to the ears of a secular pagan such as Festus. King Agrippa had heard some of this before, but Festus may well have been getting this firsthand for the first time. A blinding light on a backroad? A dead man, speaking? And even crazier, Paul, a seemingly rational guy, telling this story in the first person? Small wonder Festus reaches the verdict he’ll reach!

Christ not only appeared to Paul to bring him from darkness to light, but He gave Paul a mission—something that He does for each of us, albeit not generally as dramatically as a blinding light and an audible voice from Heaven.

V. A Crazy Mission - :19-21
In the previous verses, Paul’s call is clear: he is to be a servant and a witness, a servant of both Christ and people, and a witness of Christ to people. In the power of God, eyes blinded by sin will be opened; those wandering in darkness will see the light for the first time. Those under the power of Satan’s influence will find themselves forgiven members of the family of God. Now, in these verses, we hear Paul give testimony to his faithfulness to the call of God. His is a mission to the Gentiles, directly, a crazy idea to the pious Jews who thought they had God in a box.

Notice something else that is true about the message Paul preached: conversion is more than simply adding eternal fire insurance; it involves a radical reorientation of our lives around a new life purpose, because our lives are now organized around a new Master. The entailment of the gospel of Christ is changed lives. Paul speaks of “deeds in keeping with repentance”. This is always the case: those who have been saved by the power of God evidence the reality of their salvation by living lives committed to Him, lives characterized not by old-lifestyle words and deeds, but by doing the will of God.

VI. A Crazy Message - :22-23
Though the Jews had opposed him in taking the gospel directly to non-Jews, Paul testified that he had received the help and comfort of God, and had testified to everyday people as well as, now, to kings about the fact that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah promised by the Old Testament prophets. Paul includes the basics of the gospel story: the necessary sufferings (and death), as well as the resurrection, of Christ, and His proclamation of light to the whole world, Jews and Gentiles alike.

Isn’t this a crazy message? One writer speaks of “what a challenge the resurrection of Christ is to any human worldview… If, in general, resurrections do not happen, then what is claimed about Jesus did not occur. But if it did happen to Jesus, then a central feature of one’s worldview, belief about what happens after death, must be radically reoriented.” This is what Paul was preaching, that something which is utterly foreign to our experience—resurrection from the dead—had happened to Jesus Christ, and that further, it happens to all people, a life after this life, lived forever in either Heaven or hell. And for all of humankind, the watershed moment, the turning point, the rise-or-fall dividing line, is the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.

VII. A “Crazy” Verdict - :24
Festus’ words are similar to words echoed down through the ages by people so preoccupied with what can be seen that the idea of the supernatural is offensive to them. Let’s face it: a resurrection contradicts common sense, does it not? It sounds…crazy! We don’t see these things happening; when we attend a funeral, none of us expect to see the dead person rise up from the casket and begin walking and speaking. Some people call us crazy…are we?

VIII. A Crazy Challenge - :25-29
Crazy? “Au contraire”, is Paul’s response. Jesus’ death and resurrection were widely known, and had been preached for three decades now throughout the region. Now, the prisoner becomes the interrogator: “surely, King, you believe the prophets?” In other words, “compare what the Old Testament prophets said with what you know to be true of Jesus. Search it out! Really take a look at it!” Paul had done what could scarcely be imagined by the observers: he, the prisoner, had put a deeply-personal question to the king himself; had ever a prisoner acted with such impertinence as to call the king to examine his own life?

This question embarrassed Agrippa and put him on the defensive; doubtless he had not expected to be himself put in the crosshairs of Paul’s testimony. Agrippa, searching for an answer, evades the question; not wanting to really have to answer publicly in front of others as to the state of his own heart, he parries Paul’s advance by asking, “do you think you can so quickly persuade me to become a Christian?” Paul is ready on the draw with a comeback: with extreme politeness, he replied that it was his prayer that in time, his hope was that Agrippa would become like himself. Undoubtedly, this hope and prayer extended as well to all the other dignitaries seated there. Then, recognizing sheepishly that he had a chain attached to him, he probably raised the shackles in the air and said, “oh, uh, except for these chains!”

Crazy…that’s what they called Paul, for believing in a dead Man Whom Paul said was risen from the grave, for wasting his life, undergoing persecution, pain, imprisonment, and ultimately execution because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Are we…crazy?

Of Guilt and Innocence

“Of Guilt and Innocence”
Acts 23:12-24:27
August 3, 2008

Of Guilt and Innocence

As Paul remained in prison in Jerusalem, the events that would take him to Rome in time were set in motion, not by Paul himself, by his friends, or by the leaders of the Jerusalem church, but instead by Paul’s bitterest rivals! Of course, as we talked about last week, behind the scenes, the invisible hand of God was working to accomplish His perfect, sovereign will. And the plot line is one filled with intrigue and deceit, cunning and deliverance, flattery, pomp, and vindication.

I. Ambush – 23:12-15
More than 40 fanatical Asian Jews took an oath to ambush Paul and murder him in the narrow streets of Jerusalem, a fish-in-a-barrel situation. What they needed were accomplices to get him out of the fortress so that they could kill him there.

Note:

o The fanatical devotion of some Jews to killing Paul

o The complicity of the “religious leaders”
Their supposed zeal for the law of Moses did not preclude them from being willing accomplices to attempted murder.

II. Deliverance – 23:16-35
A. God uses a kid
God often works in surprising ways; this time, he works through a young man about whose family we know almost nothing, but one who was willing to take a risk to save his “Uncle Paul”.

B. God uses the Romans
The tribune couldn’t afford to have a Roman citizen such as Paul murdered on his watch, and sensing that Paul would never be safe as long as he was in Jerusalem, arranged for the apostle to be transported under heavy guard for the sixty miles or so that lay between Jerusalem and Caesarea.

And we’re reminded again to ask the question: Did Paul’s nephew save Paul’s life? Did a scrupulous pagan Roman tribune save Paul’s life? Or did God save Paul’s life? Yes. There is no contradiction between saying all three of those things are true.

III. Accusation – 24:1-9
Paul had nothing to fear, he believed, because though he was caught between the military might of imperial Rome, and the religious power of Jerusalem, and though he was accused by the Jews in Jerusalem of blasphemy and by the Jews to Rome of being a treasonous threat to the state, Paul knew of his innocence on both counts. To the Romans, he would write Romans 13 about the tremendous importance of submitting to the authorities raised up by God, the government, and he would write as well of how the Law was upheld by the gospel (Romans 3:31). Certainly, Rome could abuse its political power, as have nations from the beginning of time, and the Jews could misuse the Law, trying to make it into a means of salvation. But the gospel of Jesus Christ supports the legitimacy of governments and fulfills the ultimate hope of the Jews. Paul is guilty of neither sedition nor sacrilege; the same ought to be true of Christ-followers today.

The high priest Ananias, still smarting from Paul’s injudicious verbal attack, was so serious in his intent to see Paul silenced that he made the sixty-five mile trip some five days later accompanied by some of his peeps as well as a skilled rhetorician, one Tertullus. Tertullus’ case consists basically of three things: Paul’s a

A. “Pest”
B. “Pioneer”
C. “Profaner”

Basically, Tertullus attempted to play to Felix’s instability and willingness to deal swiftly and mercilessly with any whom he considered a threat to the peace. Perhaps, Felix wouldn’t be patient enough to concern himself with actual facts, but would rather just drop the hammer on this troublesome Paul and be done with it.

IV. Defense – 24:10-21
A. Contradiction
Paul begins by disputing the things that are being falsely said about him, a substantive and specific reply, in contrast to their generalities.
• Paul’s purpose in coming to Jerusalem: worship!
• Paul’s length of stay before apprehended: less than a week (hardly time to foment much of a rebellion)
• Paul’s status when accosted: alone (hardly leading a mob!)
• Paul’s response to the charge of desecration of the temple: no evidence!

Paul then follows with a

B. Confession
He didn’t back away at all from declaring that he worshiped the God of Israel, that he shared with Israel a belief in the entire Law of God and the Prophets (what we would call the Old Testament), and that he shared with them as well a belief in the resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

Paul
• Served the same God
• Believed the same truths
• Shared the same hope
• Held the same ambition for holiness

His contention is that “the Way”, Christian faith, stood in continuity with the Old Testament’s teaching, that the OT pointed to the coming of the Messiah, and that Jesus was that Man. His faith in Christ stood in direct correlation to what he had always believed: the witness of the Law and the Prophets.

Surely this would be enough to clear him, right? Wrong!

V. Access – 24:22-27
Felix knew something of Christianity, though we can only speculate as to how. But he knew that the charges against Paul were religious in nature, trumped up with the pretense of sedition against the state. Felix was on the horns of a dilemma; he couldn’t convict Paul due to the paucity of evidence, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to acquit him either, because he wanted to curry favor with the Jews (plus, as we see here, he wouldn’t have minded Paul greasing his palm with a bribe either!).

Finally, we are introduced to an episode where Felix and his wife Drusilla, apparently at Drusilla’s urging, call Paul in to help them gain a greater understanding of this thing called Christian faith. Little did they know what they were in for! Paul seized the chance, not to give them some dispassionate discourse on the finer points of theology, but to cut straight to the heart of the matter, putting his finger on what it meant to live a righteous life, how the lack of self-control—which cut them to the heart—worked against that right living, and how God would one day be their judge as well, that if Felix feared the wrath of Rome if he didn’t govern rightly, how much more ought he fear the wrath of God if he didn’t live rightly!

Note the effect on Felix: he was “alarmed”. The KJV says, “terrified”! Kent Hughes points out two tragedies in the life of an individual. One, never trembling at the thought of God’s judgment; two, trembling but, like Felix, avoiding faith in Christ. And sometimes, as in the case of Felix, to tremble and turn away leads to not trembling the next time the message is heard!

Felix was recalled eventually by Rome, but in order to keep in the good graces of the Jews, he left Paul in prison, and the new governor, Festus, would have to deal with him.

The apostle Paul went through the mill in this passage, but he boldly stood for Christ even when his life was on the line, counting his life as of less value that the proclamation of the gospel, backing up that gospel good news with a life lived in integrity before God and men.

The Invisible Hand SERMON SHORT

“The Invisible Hand”
Acts 22:22-23:11
July 27, 2008

The Invisible Hand

From Wikipedia: “The invisible hand is a metaphor coined by the economist Adam Smith. In The Wealth of Nations and other writings, Smith demonstrated that, in a free market, an individual pursuing his own self-interest tends to also promote the good of his community as a whole through a principle that he called “the invisible hand”. May I suggest that the lives and destinies of followers of Christ are guided as well by an “invisible hand”, if you will, the hand of a sovereign God. God works through the good and the bad, even through sinful circumstances, to accomplish His will.

I. The Invisible Hand in Paul’s Citizenship - 22:22-29
The strong response of Paul’s hearers was provoked by what they believed to be a transgression of God’s holy name, a blasphemy committed by Paul. Parenthetically, we’d do well to take the name of God as seriously ourselves.

But because he could not understand what was going on, the Roman tribune decided to torture Paul in order to get at the truth once and for all, his earlier graciousness turning to brutality as his patience began to wear thin. Fortunately for Paul, flogging was a punishment that could not be inflicted on a Roman citizen, at least prior to conviction of a serious crime. Paul tells the tribune that his citizenship is natural; Roman citizenship was passed from father to son. This changes everything; the Roman tribune shudders to think that he’d nearly treated Paul with this severe punishment. Now, instead of beating the truth out of the prisoner, the Roman tribune takes legal steps to get answers.

Do you see the sovereign hand of God working in Paul’s life before he was even born? God so ordained events in Paul’s life that someone in his family line, his father or grandfather, was able to secure Roman citizenship, pass it down the line to Paul by blood, and spare Paul a life-threatening beating.

God was sovereignly working before you were born.
Psalm 139:13-16 makes it clear that God knew us before ever we were born. Do you understand, do you really grasp, that there are no accidents in your life, that nothing surprises our God, that in fact every day of your life, every facet of your life, was written in God’s book before you were born?

II. The Invisible Hand in Paul’s Sin - 22:30-23:5
But what about my sinfulness? How does God work even when I sin? We see the answer in Paul’s life.

Paul begins his defense before the Sanhedrin, the 71-member “Supreme Court” of ancient Israel; this is the “council” referred to here. Paul uses the term “brothers”; some of these men had begun down the same path as Paul, his Pharisee friends, zealous for the law of God as he had been—and yet, with the coming of the Christ encounter, Paul’s life had moved in a different trajectory.

Paul then makes a bold claim, that his conscience is clear before a holy God. For Paul, though, his ultimate righteousness was a clear conscience, but rather the work of Christ on his behalf (Philippians 3:9). Interesting that his clear conscience was about to quickly, but only momentarily, become sullied!

This Ananias, the high priest, was according to FF Bruce, “one of the most disgraceful profaners” of the office, a man who held the position for 11-12 years, a greedy man who seized for himself some of the tithes that ought to have gone to support the common priests. He was greedy, treacherous, and ruthless.

There are several questions that emerge from this passage:

What enraged Ananias? Likely, because of the claim of Paul that he could be both a good Jew and a committed follower of Christ.

Why did Paul cry out as he did? Because he had not been found guilty, and yet had been ordered to be smacked in the mouth, a clear violation of the law. Paul was a passionate guy, and in this instance, his passions got the better of him, though what he said was an accurate description; a “whitewashed wall” was a wall that was tottering but had been painted over to make it appear strong and sturdy, a façade which obscured the ugly truth that lay behind it. This was a quite fitting description of a “high priest” who was anything but priestly!

Why did Paul not recognize Ananias to be the high priest? Several different reasons have been advanced, but it makes little difference, though I do believe that Paul spoke impetuously here, and that in his words are a sincere apology for his rash action.

God sovereignly works even when you fall short.
Several truths:
• God doesn’t write Paul off because of his hasty remark.
• Truthfully, the remark was a prophecy; though I’m not sure Paul meant it to be one, he had spoken truth, as Ananias would indeed be struck by God!

Your sin has not disqualified you! Philippians 2 says it’s God Who is working in you to will and to do His good pleasure!

III. The Invisible Hand in the Unusual Means of Paul’s Defense - 23:6-10
Paul had been raised a Pharisee, and he placed himself on the side of the Pharisees, who believed in the resurrection; it’s interesting that Paul grounds his belief in the resurrection of Christ in his general belief that dead people would themselves be raised from the grave (I Corinthians 15). The hope of Israel was tied up with resurrection to eternal life.

Paul lobs a verbal hand grenade into the midst of the assembly. The Sadducees were the majority party in the Sanhedrin, and Paul’s words made them madder than ever; the Pharisees, on the other hand, used his words to determine that “this Paul character isn’t so bad a fellow after all.” This led to a full-blown ruckus such that nothing resembling order was going to be gotten out of this assembly. And so Paul would not be literally ripped to shreds, the tribune decided that this had been a bad idea after all and ordered the soldiers to get him out of their so as to save his life.

Notice how God saves Paul:
• Pharisees come to Paul’s aid
• Roman soldiers again come to Paul’s rescue

God sovereignly works sometimes in surprising ways.

IV. The Invisible Hand in Paul’s Encouragement - 23:11
Paul’s mind is filled at this point with all sorts of things, many of which bad; is he pretty discouraged, questioning, despairing? And it is just at this time that the risen Christ appears to bring him cheer and courage. This is not the first time Christ would appear to Paul at just the right moment!

God sovereignly gives us what we need when we need it.
He knows what you need. Maybe He doesn’t always give us what we want—though sometimes, He does that as well. But He always gives us what we really need. Paul was at a low point, and Jesus appeared miraculously to him.

God wasn’t through with Paul; despite difficult circumstances; despite Paul’s sin; despite all that had gone on, God wasn’t finished with him, but rather encouraged him to press on, which he did, of course. And that same invisible hand of that same sovereign God is always working in and through His children to accomplish His purposes!

Five Good Questions
1. What practical differences does it make to know that the “invisible hand” of God is there, guiding our lives?
2. In what ways can you trace the invisible hand of God working in your life—before you were even born?
3. Does it strike you as unusual that the invisible hand of God can work even through your sin? Is there a “fine line” to walk between acknowledging that, on the one hand, and justifying or celebrating sin, on the other? How do we walk that line?
4. What kinds of boxes do people try to put God in? Have you ever been surprised by how God “broke out of your box”? Share that with the group.
5. What are some of the ways in which God has given you what you need at “just the right time”?

Looking Ahead
Next Sunday, we study a long passage: Acts 23:12-24:27. Read the passage together to get a grip on the basic story line.