The Honorable Judge Festus Presiding ("On Trial" series pt 5)

Thank you. We're continuing a series here at Cross Connection called "On Trial" in the book of Acts. We are following the Apostle Paul as he was on trial in a number of different venues, declaring praises of the Lord and speaking about the righteousness that he had from God. There are many things that we can learn about the way we are to live in this world from this passage in Acts 25.

If you have a Bible, open to Acts 25 and follow along with us. God bless. Would you open your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 25? Please stand with me for the reading of God's Word. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. If you don't own a Bible, you can keep that as our gift to you today.

We are actually going to start reading one verse before chapter 25, in Acts 24:27. There, the author Luke records, "But after two years, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix. Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound there in prison in Caesarea."

Now Festus had come to the province, and after three days, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. The high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they petitioned him, asking a favor against Paul, that Festus would summon him to Jerusalem while they lay in ambush to kill him on the road.

But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself was going there shortly. Therefore, he said, "Let those of you who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man to see if there is any fault in him."

When he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.

While Paul answered for himself, he said, "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all."

Father, we pray that you would teach us this morning. We believe, as we stand here, that your Word is living, that it is powerful, and that it is sharper than any two-edged sword. God, you have given it to teach us. Lord, we know that your Word is useful.

For doctrine, for reproof, sometimes correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that we would be equipped and ready for the good works that You prepared for this next week, for Monday and Tuesday of this week. God, we pray as we're here today that You would use this passage of Scripture to speak to us. Make us ready as Your ambassadors in this world, Lord. Transform our lives so that we would shine more brightly for You in this world. We ask this in Jesus' name. All God's people agreed, saying amen. You can be seated.

This last week, we experienced a series of events here in San Diego County. While not completely unique to this area, they are, in a sense, unique to this area. Having lived here for most of my life—34 years here in North County—I have a heightened sense of awareness. Perhaps you can relate to this: when you wake up in the morning and look outside, it's a bright sunny day, which is not abnormal here, but the winds are out of the east and it's dry and hot.

When I see that, I know at least two things are likely to happen within the next several hours. First, I’ll probably get a bloody nose. It’s a part of my genetic makeup; my dad handed it down to me, thank you very much for that. My poor son Ethan has it too, and my grandfather had it. So, just about any time there's dry weather like that, I know that within 24 hours, I'm going to have a pretty bad bloody nose.

One of the other things you begin to look for, though, is that you will likely see some dark smoke on the skyline rising up into the sky. When the Santa Anas start here, the conditions are just right. The brush around here is thick, and it burns quickly. So, when it's dry, windy, and hot, it's almost as if the fire bugs just wake up, and all of a sudden, you have fires spreading throughout the county.

This week was abnormal for it being this time of year. Normally, this happens in October. We had big fires in 2003 and then again in 2007, both of those in October. But this is May. I have a lot of friends in the fire department, and as a chaplain with the fire department, they are looking forward to the summer, saying, "Man, this is not going to be a good summer for fire here in San Diego." So, just so you know, be prepared. Have things ready. Just as a practical note, if you're called upon to leave—did anyone evacuate this last week?

Evacuated, lift up your hands. Be ready for that. We know that we live in a place that is like a tinderbox. When you look at the hills all around us, you see that it is just ready. When the conditions are just right, when the winds are as they were this last week and the humidity has dropped really low, especially a couple of days into that, all you need is a small spark. The next thing you know, you have this huge blaze that is inflamed.

In the year 60 A.D., when Festus became the governor of the region of Judea, there was a tinderbox there in that region as well. The political and spiritual conditions were similar. As he came into that position, there was the perfect storm just ready to go. Festus moved into that post as procurator of Judea at a time when the Jewish individuals in that region were pushing back against Roman rule more than at any other time in their history. They had been dominated by the Romans for many years, but in the last several years leading up to Festus's governorship, they had started to push back against their power.

For a long time, the Romans had given a lot of leeway to the Jews to rule themselves, to lead themselves, and even to use their own money in their capital in Jerusalem, which was totally out of order normally within a Roman province. However, now the Romans were starting to tighten their rule in that place, responding to the fact that the Jews were pushing back and trying to start a rebellion against them.

Festus came in on the heels of Felix, who had been ruling for about eight years. Felix was not a good governor; the way he kept peace was by giving bribes. He essentially did whatever whoever could pay him off wanted. Now, with Felix removed, Festus had to take over this challenging situation.

In the midst of all this, the Jewish historian Josephus tells us that there was a group in Jerusalem of religious zealots called the Sakari, which meant "daggermen." They were assassins trying to incite violence against Rome and provoke an uprising. When Festus came in and evaluated the situation, we know that he only ruled for about two years. Perhaps the stress of everything, trying to keep the peace, which was an impossible task, contributed to his short tenure.

The stress got to him because, two years into his rule, he died. He only ruled from AD 60 to AD 62, and he sought to pursue vigorously the Sakari. He tried to get rid of these individuals because he was trying to protect the interests of Rome. As the governor of a Roman province, he was tasked with safeguarding Roman interests while also keeping the peace with the local population. He attempted to appease the religious leaders and manage the various issues that arose during his tenure.

This context is essential for understanding the passage of Scripture in Acts 25. Two years prior to his becoming governor, around AD 58, Paul was taken captive in Jerusalem and brought down to Caesarea. He appeared before the previous governor, Felix, as we discussed a couple of weeks ago and again considered last week. Felix found himself in a difficult situation; the Jewish religious leaders wanted Paul dead, but he knew that Paul had done nothing wrong. Compounding the issue was the fact that Paul was a Roman citizen, which made Felix hesitant to act against him.

Felix decided to leave Paul in limbo, hoping to receive a bribe or some form of payment that would allow him to extricate himself from this predicament. However, nothing materialized. After a couple of years, Felix was called back to Rome, where he was to stand trial himself due to his poor governance in that area. He left Paul bound, as noted in the last verse of chapter 24, which states that Felix did this to do the Jews a favor, trying to appease them.

When Festus arrived in the province after three days, he went up to Caesarea. This newly appointed governor came to the capital of the Judean province, a beautiful Roman city on the Mediterranean Sea. Like any new official, he evaluated the situation. He likely spoke with his commanders and ranking officials to understand what had been happening in Caesarea during the previous administration. One of the pressing issues left on the books was the case of Paul, who remained stuck in the Caesarean jail, a Roman holding place.

There in the city, he had to deal with various issues. He was in Caesarea for a few days, evaluating the situation. Then he realized, "Well, I'm going to have to go up to Jerusalem." Although Caesarea was the political capital of Judea for the Roman Empire, Jerusalem was the religious capital of the Jews. Since the Jews were the populace of that place, he had to go up and deal with them. He needed to meet with the chief priest and the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Judaism.

He went up to Jerusalem with a desire to find a bargaining chip. He wanted to discover some common ground, some unity, where they could say, "Hey, we know we don't agree on all these other things, but we agree on this." He hoped they might find a way to cooperate, even if it required some compromise.

In Acts 25:2, it says, "Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed Festus against Paul and petitioned him, asking a favor." They said, "Listen, Festus, we understand that you want to find some common ground. We know you want to compromise and see how we can work together for peace. We know you've got a bit of a mess on your hands, but if you want to show your willingness, if you want to demonstrate that you're really interested in helping us out, we have a small request. It's an easy win for you; you hardly have to do anything."

They continued, "There's this guy named Paul down in Caesarea. He broke our law, and we don't like him. He's a pestilent fellow, as we've said before. We would just like to try him according to our law because he broke our law. We didn't break your law, but would you just move him from Caesarea up to here? Do us a favor and make this easy."

In verse 3, they asked that he would summon Paul to Jerusalem. Luke provides some insight behind the scenes: they laid an ambush along the road to kill him. The amazing thing is that two years had passed from the last chapter to this one. We know that two years prior, when Paul had been in Jerusalem, they had already devised a plan to move him from the Roman garrison's praetorium to their courthouse, intending to ambush and kill him. You may remember that Paul's nephew found out about this and brought it to the attention of the Roman commander. Now, two years later, the situation had not changed.

There's still so much anger and indignation towards Paul that they are trying to figure out how they can kill him. Remember the guys who wanted to kill him? They had taken an oath that they would not eat until they had accomplished their goal. I imagine they probably broke that oath. I'm thinking they haven't been fasting this whole time, but they still want him dead. They may be a little thinner than they were before, but they want him gone.

So they say, "Listen, this is an easy thing for you. He broke our law. If you want some common ground, if you want some compromise, show us that you're really willing to work with us and that you're not just here to dominate us. Show us that you recognize we still have some authority, some leadership, and some rule here. He broke our law; send him up here."

Point number one on your outline in your sermon guide, if you have it handy: Christ and His followers are at the center of world conflict. Whether it was nearly 2,000 years ago in the year AD 60 in that region of the Middle East or now in the year 2014, this animosity really makes no sense. As you look at it, you wonder why it is that they seem to be in the midst of this world conflict so often. Why would followers of Christ cause such a stir, such anger and hatred?

This is the same group of people, followers of Jesus, who are told by Jesus that we should strive for peace. When someone strikes us on the right cheek, we should turn to them the other also. If someone bids us to go with them one mile, we should go carrying their stuff two miles. If someone sues us at the law, we should give them our cloak also. This is the teaching that Jesus gives us, and yet we find ourselves oftentimes in the middle of conflict.

Not just in the teachings of Jesus, but in the last letter that Paul wrote before these events took place, the book of Romans, Paul says, "As much as is possible, as it relies upon you, live at peace with all people." So how is it that if we are actually fulfilling the words of Jesus and the teaching of Paul to live at peace with others, we find ourselves so often in the midst of conflict? Not just to the Romans, but to the church in Thessalonica, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:11.

Christians should aspire to live quiet lives, working with our hands to take care of ourselves. We have the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of Paul that we should seek for peace and try to live at peace with people. Yet, so many times, Christians find themselves in the midst of conflict, as Paul does here. We have talked about this a number of times over the last several weeks because it is coming out of the text.

It is important for us to consider the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 18, where He said, "If the world hates you, know that it hated me first." This point has been emphasized as we go through this passage of Scripture, where we see Paul on trial not for anything bad that he had done, but for the fact that he was a witness for Jesus Christ. The world, because of its opposition to Jesus Christ and His kingdom, will oppose you as an ambassador of His rule.

You may not have realized this when you said yes to putting your faith in Jesus and receiving His free gift of grace and salvation. The Bible says that in that moment, when you were born again by the Spirit of God, you became an ambassador of His kingdom. Second Corinthians, chapter 5, states that we are ambassadors of God, representatives of His kingdom. Paul also says in Philippians, chapter 3, that we are citizens of heaven. Wherever we go, we represent our King, the King of Kings, Jesus, and His rule. Since the world hates Him, they will turn their hatred towards us as His representatives.

The Christian is constantly in the middle of conflict in the world, not because of anything they have specifically done, but because of who they represent. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; there is no way to get out of this. If you are a Christian, that is what you have signed up for. There will be conflict, and if you are going to be a Christian who lives like Christ in the world, you will experience it all the more. We are seeing this take place more and more in our nation.

Why? Because our nation is undergoing a cultural shift. There was a time when people would default to answering, "Yes, I am a Christian," if you asked them about their spiritual heritage or religious beliefs. However, less and less, that is the case.

Reality becomes clearer as we understand who we are. Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter 3 that men love darkness rather than light. However, as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, we have the Light of Christ in us. If people hate the dark or hate the light, they are not going to like us. We will find ourselves in the midst of that kind of conflict. Paul was experiencing this, and as long as a Christ follower is in the world, they will experience conflict. If you are looking for a life without conflict, this is not it. The way of Jesus is not free from conflict.

As much as possible, we should seek to live at peace with all people, as much as it relies upon us. We should try to turn the other cheek when they direct their hatred towards us. We should seek to display the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus, which is completely antithetical to the way of this world. Yet, this is what God has called us to. Paul is embroiled in the midst of this conflict.

In Acts chapter 25, verse 4, it says that Festus answered Paul, stating that Paul should be kept in Caesarea. The Jews had asked Festus to bring Paul up, secretly planning to kill him. However, Festus refused their request, saying that Paul should be kept in Caesarea and that he himself would be going there shortly. He planned to return in a week or so after evaluating the situation. Caesarea was his capital, his office, and his home.

Therefore, Festus said that those who had authority among them, who could make decisions on this case, should go down with him and accuse Paul to see if there was any fault in him. For one reason or another, Festus was not going to agree to the request. There may have been other considerations he was trying to balance for peace. It is interesting that 2,000 years ago, people were trying to negotiate peace accords in the Middle East, and it still hasn’t changed much. I suggest that it will not change until the Prince of Peace returns.

Perhaps Festus already knew that this plan or plot had been in place before. Maybe it was in the brief he had received on the Apostle Paul, indicating that the Jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill him and had bound themselves in a pact to do so. We do not really know what it was, but perhaps he did not want the hassle of having to extradite Paul back to Jerusalem. Since he was going to Caesarea anyway, he simply said no.

We're not going to do this point number two on your outline: God providentially works His plan in this world. I think this is an important reminder for us because, although it's quite popular for Christians to quote verses like Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose," many believers have committed that verse to memory. They quote that verse when they are talking with someone who's going through a trial, when they're standing next to the woman who's been in a car accident in the hospital bed, and they're talking with the husband.

Well, we know that all things work together for good. It's really easy for us to say that verse when Rich Gary gets the call from his doctor. We say, "Hey, and we know that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose." However, although we can memorize verses, quote them, and put them on greeting cards, there is the reality that in many of our lives, although we know how to quote that verse, we don't actually live it. We don't live like we confidently believe it.

There are a lot of Christians who essentially live like practical atheists. They say with their lips, "I trust that God is in control," but they live as if everything depends upon them. We have people who have made up verses that they attribute to Scripture, saying things like, "God helps those who help themselves." You know that one; it's not in the Bible, but that's the way many Christians live. We say with our lips, "God's in control; He's going to take care of this. All things work together for good," but we say with our lives, "God helps those who help themselves." We act as if it really depends more upon us and what we do in this situation.

The Apostle James, one of the first books of the New Testament that was written, we believe, was written by James. You can turn there near the end of your Bible; it's right after the big book of Hebrews. In James chapter 4, the Apostle James had something to say.

That is along these lines in verse 13 of James 4. Speaking of Christians, James says this: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there, and we'll buy and sell and make a profit.'" To the planners in the room, James says, "Hey, listen up! You who say tomorrow we're going to go to this place, we'll do this, we'll do that for a year, we'll buy, sell, and make a profit."

Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow, for what is your life? How many of you had plans this week that got disrupted on Wednesday by black smoke in the sky? You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is not even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

Now, two things: number one, I'm not saying this just to you; I'm speaking to myself here. Secondly, I'm also not proclaiming that we should not plan. The Book of Proverbs makes that very clear: "By wise counsel wage war." We are given many exhortations in the Scriptures to make plans, to count the cost, and to ensure that before you start building, you're able to finish. Jesus says, "Who goes out to war with ten thousand without evaluating first that he can take care of the guy who's got twenty thousand?"

So, there is a measure of planning, but there's also the recognition that we may plan our way, but God directs our steps. He is sovereignly working behind the scenes, doing something oftentimes that we don't recognize or see. God is providentially working His plan in the world.

Now, I wonder, and I probably don't need to, because Paul was human like us. He was not some sort of superhuman super saint. There he is in Caesarea, this guy who, from all accounts, was type A. He was driven; he had a plan and things he wanted to accomplish.

As he was going to Jerusalem, Paul planned to stop there, drop off some money, and then head to Spain. He intended to stop off in Rome. If anyone had a five-year plan, Paul did. However, God said, "Nope," and Paul found himself sitting in Caesarea for two years. Can you imagine Paul, just waiting in limbo, in Caesarean purgatory for that long? I'm sure there was a part of him wondering, "What's going on, God? What are You doing? I'm not quite sure what's happening."

During this time, no letters were written by Paul that we have record of. We can only speculate about what was going on in his mind during that period. Was he just waiting there? Then, all of a sudden, things started moving again. God was providentially working behind the scenes, doing something even though Paul may not have seen it.

In Acts 25, we read that when he had remained among the people in Jerusalem for ten days, Festus was there for a little more than that. After two weeks, he came down to Caesarea. The next day, sitting on the judgment seat, the bema seat, the authority and power of the Roman province of Judea was present, and he commanded Paul to be brought before him.

Point number three on your outline is that God's timing is always different than ours. How many of you would admit today that this point bothers you? There is a part of it that just drives us crazy. God's timing is always different than ours. Sometimes, when we read the Bible, we forget that moving from one chapter to the next can represent a large chunk of time. Two years passed from Acts 24 to Acts 25, and Paul had just been sitting there in that Caesarean purgatory.

Some of you sitting here today feel like you're in the same place. You feel like you're in your own personal Groundhog Day. Every day is the same: the same song wakes you up, the same cup of coffee in the same cup, the same route to the same office, and you sit in the same seat. You deal with the same email that seems to come back every single day, and you think, "I thought I dealt with this." Is anyone else feeling this way? You're questioning whether or not...

God, are You doing anything? Where are You in this whole situation? The answer to the question is yes; yes, He is doing something. However, His timing is different from ours. The reality is that sometimes a day with the Lord seems like a thousand years. You've been there; you've experienced that. I believe that God has a special exhortation or encouragement for us today if you're in that place.

Galatians chapter 6, verse 9 says, "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not." Let us not get tired of doing the right thing, for in due season, you're going to reap a harvest if you don't faint.

How many gardeners or farmers are in the room? If you have a garden at home, lift up your hand high so I can see you. Just a few of you. We don't exactly live in that culture anymore. You've got Jimbo's down the road; why do you need to do that?

When I was 14 years old, I decided to get a job. Down the street from my house was a farm stand, so I went down there and asked them if they'd give me a job. They said yes and took me out to a field several acres behind the farm stand. They said, "Here's your job; you're going to farm this." I didn't know anything about farming, but they assured me they would show me. They plowed the field and gave me a little tool to cut furrows down the field. Then they showed me how to plant, how to irrigate, and all the different things to do, including how to set up the lines for the tomato plants, bean plants, and okra—the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted in my life. I know some of you like it; my wife loves it, but it tastes like snot.

Anyways, I planted those seeds, watered them, and went down there every morning and evening to weed and make sure everything was going well. As a 14-year-old, I wanted results immediately. It takes time. Jesus said, "Don't say yet four months, and then comes the harvest." The reality is there's time between when you plant and when you harvest, and sometimes it can test your patience. There are so many things in our lives that put us in that situation where our patience is tried, and we're asking in the middle of it, "Really, God? Is this really what You're doing?"

And now, in a moment, Paul gets the knock on the door.

Paul Festus will see you now. The chief priest is here; the Sanhedrin is here. It's time to go in. I can almost see it in my mind: the court is now in session, the honorable Judge Festus presiding. Will the defendant, Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul the Apostle, please rise? And there he is.

Now the prosecution appears to state their case. In verse 7, we read that when he had come, the Jews had come down from Jerusalem, stood about, and laid many serious claims against him. Remember, the last time there were just three charges. They have had a couple of years to build up the charges a little bit. Last time, it was just that he was a pestilent fellow, that they didn't like him, that he was the leader of a sect called the Nazarenes, and that he tried to defile the temple. They were not cool with him.

Now they come with many serious claims. They probably had all kinds of witnesses they had been pulling from everywhere, recalling things from Paul's past. "Oh yeah, I remember this one time he did this thing," and "Oh yeah, let's write that down." They have been deposing people in Jerusalem for two years, building their case. Now the day has come, and they just unload their accusations. There is Paul standing before them, and I love this: they laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. Underline this in your Bibles: they could not prove it.

Point four for us: be guilty only of righteousness. As they laid these many serious complaints against Paul, they could prove none of them. Then they give Paul an opportunity to answer. In verse 8, Paul answered for himself, saying, "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all." I love this defense. They are standing there, who knows how long this proceeding went on—hours. They are laying many serious charges, and there is Paul. They say, "All right, the defense or the prosecution rests." Paul responds, "I have not broken any of the law of Moses, I have not broken any of the customs of the temple, I have not broken any of the laws of Caesar and Rome." The defense rests.

What an awesome statement! Two years prior to this, when Paul was at a trial in Jerusalem, he said in Acts 23, verse 1, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." Then, a short time after that, when he...

Paul appeared before Judge Felix in Caesarea, where he testified in Acts 24:16. He stated, "I myself strive," using the Greek word that means to exercise myself. He labored and strived to have a conscience without offense toward God and man. Now, two years later, he stands before Festus and says, "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything."

As Christians and followers of Jesus, we need to strive and exercise ourselves to live righteously; it doesn't just happen. We have been made righteous by God through imputed righteousness from Jesus. God sees us as blameless. The book of Ephesians, which Paul will write shortly after this, affirms that God sees us as blameless. However, the reality is that we know we are not. Therefore, the Christian, by the power of God, needs to exercise themselves toward righteousness, being guilty only of righteousness. When someone looks at my life or your life, they should say, "There’s no charge that we can bring against them," because we know that person lives righteously. They live with honesty, integrity, self-control, and the fruit of the Spirit; all those things should be evident in their life.

We Christians need to work at actually being righteous and doing the right thing. That is what it means to be righteous. In a later letter that Paul would write, in 1 Timothy 4, he says to Timothy, "Bodily exercise profits little." How many of you can relate to that? Bodily exercise profits little, but godliness—implying exercising godliness—is profitable unto all things, both in this life and the life which is to come.

So, there is an exhortation to "beat your body" as stated in 1 Corinthians 9, to bring it under your control and subjection. You should define what your body does, rather than allowing it to dictate how you live. We need to strive to live righteously and work rigorously to do what is right, all the while recognizing that God is also working. God works, and we work.

A great proof text for this, and probably my favorite verse in the Bible, can be found in Philippians 2. Would you turn there just briefly? Philippians 2, verse 12 states, "Therefore, my beloved..."

Verse 12 of Philippians 2 states, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." This emphasizes the importance of doing the right thing, both when someone is watching and when they are not. We are called to exercise our salvation in reverence towards God.

If the verse stopped there, we would all be left in fear and trembling. However, it continues in verse 13: "For it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure." The New International Version expresses this as, "It is God who works in you to desire and do what pleases Him." He gives us the desires and the ability to do what honors and pleases Him.

When you are born again, you experience a transformation. For example, Victor and Gabby just had a little baby, Kevin, this morning. When that baby was born, it instantly had new desires, such as the desire to breathe, which it did not have before. It also had a new desire to suck and eat. These desires will never go away in this life. Similarly, when you become a born-again Christian, you instantly receive new desires, one of which is to follow and obey God. He empowers you to do so.

It is important to recognize that God works in us, and we also have a role to play. Some people believe that everything depends on them, which is incorrect. Others think they have to do nothing because God does everything, and that is also wrong. The truth is that God works, and we work. This is what the Scriptures show. You can be a Calvinist or an Arminian, but the fact remains that God works, and we have a responsibility. He is sovereign, and we must ask God to help us do what is right and honorable before Him.

Paul states, "I have lived in all good conscience before God and men unto this day." I pray that I can say the same thing.

In verse 9, we see that Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, faces a dilemma. As a politician, he must rule over these people, and he knows that Paul, a Roman citizen, has done nothing wrong. He is in a difficult position, needing to find a way to make peace with the Jews. He feels the pressure to find a bargaining chip, and this is all he has.

All they give me is Paul. Wanting to do the Jews a favor, he answered Paul, "Hey Paul, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be judged before me concerning these things? I'll be the judge. We'll go up to Jerusalem, and basically, we're going to stand up in Jerusalem, and you're going to stand up, and all I'm going to say is 'not guilty.' Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to do that?"

So Paul said, "I stand at Caesar's bema judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I've done no wrong, as you very well know. For if I am an offender or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying. Awesome! But if there's nothing in these things which these men accuse me of, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar." This is his Roman right to do so. "I appeal to Caesar. I appeal to the Supreme Court. I'm at the Appellate Court. I want to go to the Supreme Court."

Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, "You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go."

Point number five, the last point: always be ready to give a defense. Always be ready to give a defense. If you're only guilty of righteousness, this is not hard. Always be ready to give a defense to be able to stand before whoever God calls you to stand before, who will cast judgment upon you. Be ready to give an answer, to give a defense.

We already know going into this life as Christians that we will be at the center of conflict because we represent the King and His kingdom. We know that God is providentially working behind the scenes. He's doing a work in the world, and He's using us. His timing is oftentimes not our timing, but He has a plan that He's working.

As He's working behind the scenes, we need to be working in the realm of humanity, doing what is right and honorable before God. There is going to come a day when He will call upon you, out of the monotony of everything that you experience day in and day out. There will come a moment when He calls upon you to give a defense for the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear. Are you ready? Are you ready?

Well, Paul certainly was, and this text is instructive to us to be also ready as he was. Amen.

Hey, let's stand together; we'll close in prayer. God, it is clear that there are some standing here in this place right at this moment.

We pray for those who are in the midst of conflict for Your namesake, not because of anything they did, but because of their representation of Who You Are. Lord, we ask that when someone comes against us, they will be ashamed because we have lived in a way that is in all good conscience before You and before humanity.

I pray for my brothers and sisters who might be here in this place today, waiting on You. They may feel like You are not doing Your part or keeping up Your end of the bargain. Lord, would You help them not to grow weary in doing what is right and to trust that at the right time, You will bring a harvest?

Help us to trust that it is true You work all things together for good and to walk in that without anxiety, casting our cares upon You, knowing that You care for us.

When the day comes, when the knock at the door arrives and we are called to account, Lord, help us to make a defense with meekness and fear for Your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name.