Well, today we're going to cover what I believe to be the most obscure chapter in the New Testament, Acts chapter 25. I have never heard nor delivered a sermon on this chapter. To the best of my knowledge, and I could be wrong, but to the best of my recollection, I've never used a verse in this chapter as a cross-reference. And to be honest, before this week began, I was, in large part, unfamiliar with the content of this chapter. Although, as we go through, there's one thing that I'm going to point out about this chapter which is unique. But I don't think that I'm the only one in the room with a vague knowledge of Acts chapter 25. To set it up, the Apostle Paul is incarcerated in Caesarea. He's been there for two years because Felix, the Roman governor, failed to render a verdict in his case. The reason he ended up in Caesarea to begin with is because back in Jerusalem he was charged by the Jews and he was charged of bringing a Gentile into the temple, something which he did not do. As a result, a mob of them tried to kill him, and they would have killed him, but the Roman governor, Claudius Lysias, saved his life and transported Paul to Caesarea for safekeeping and for a trial. Now, at that trial, Paul made his case, Paul won his case, but as I said, Felix refused to release him. Two years later, which is where we are right now, Felix himself was released from his duties as governor by Caesar, and he was replaced by a man by the name of Festus. And that's where we pick up the story. I'm going to read the chapter in its entirety. I'm going to make a few comments as we go, and then we're going to come back and we're going to look at three overriding themes in Acts chapter 25. Here we go. Now, when Festus had come to the province, he's just taken over power there, Felix has been relieved. After three days, he didn't waste any time, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, climbing in elevation even though he is going from north to south. Then the high priest, and this is a different high priest than had been there two years previously, but still one that hated Paul, Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews, that is the Sanhedrin, informed him against Paul. You have a prisoner there and let me tell you about him. And they petitioned him, asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem. The reason they wanted Paul to come to Jerusalem for the trial was not because there was anything special about Jerusalem as a place of the trial. Notice the end of verse 3. What was the reason? While they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. They didn't even want there to be a trial. As you're transporting Paul, they were going to kill him. Verse 4. But Festus answered that Paul should be kept in Caesarea. Now, why this is true, we don't know. Whether Festus had heard that they wanted to ambush him, or Paul had told him that, or someone had told him that, we don't know. He'd only been on the job for three days. I would like to believe it's just the sovereignty and the providence of God that was protecting Paul. And that he himself was going there shortly, that Festus was going there shortly. Therefore, he said, let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man. Let's go there together and let's have a trial to see if there's any fault in him. Verse six. And when he, Festus, had remained among them there in Jerusalem more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day, that is the next day after arriving in Caesarea, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. Verse 7. When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about, in other words, sort of a semi-circle there, or even a circle with Paul in the middle, and laid many serious complaints against Paul. They are really throwing the book at him, but Luke tells us they could not prove them, which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, Here's what he said, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all. You don't have any case against me. But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, just as Felix had done the Jews a favor, and by the way, let me say this, Felix as a politician was a horrible man. Felix as a moral man was a horrible man. Festus as a politician was a terrific man. Festus as a moral or upright man was pretty upright. In fact, he is said to be the greatest or the most honest of all the Roman governors that had ever ruled at that time. So you have a contrast, yet what they have in common is they both wanted to do the Jews a favor. Baptist, wanting to do the Jews a favor. Why would he want to do the Jews a favor? Well, because he has to rule over those Jews, and since he has to rule over those Jews, it's good to get off, start off on the right foot. Wanting to do the Jews a favor. Answered Paul and said, okay, are you willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things? And Paul said, are you out of your mind? I know that they want to kill me and that the reason why I'm not in Jerusalem to begin with is because they want to kill me. And so then Paul answers knowing that here are Paul's options. His options are he can go back to Jerusalem knowing that he probably will be killed along the way. knowing that even if he does make it to trial, what he will do is he will be found guilty and the Jews will have the right to execute him. Or, he has another option, and that is that he would go free, and if he went free, as soon as he left the jailhouse, the Jews would be waiting there to kill him. So, his only option is to be transported to Rome. Reading on. So, Paul said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, and that means that Caesar's judgment seat is the Roman Empire, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I have done no wrong. You know, as you know very well. So there's no reason why you should send me back to the Jews, because you know that they have not made a case against me. Verse 11, for if I am an offender or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying. But if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. And if he thought he was safe at that point to walk out of this jailhouse in Caesarea, then what he would have said is, so since I am innocent, set me free. But he doesn't say that. He says, I appeal to Caesar. And next week, Lord willing, in chapter 26, the conclusion that King Agrippa is going to make after he hears Paul is this. If this man had not appealed to Caesar, he would have been set free. But it's very important here in the sovereignty of God that Paul, and strategically to keep Paul alive, that he appeals to Caesar to go to Rome. Verse 12, Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go. And after many days, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to meet Festus. Now, who is King Agrippa? This is Agrippa II. Stick with me for a second here, let me tell you who he is. He is the last in the line of the Herods. He died in about the year 100, and he died childless. So, there were no more Herods. His father was Griffith I, who had killed James, the brother of John, the son of Zebedee, and had threatened to kill Peter, and had imprisoned Peter, and was eaten by worms. You remember that? As he stood, and they said, the voice of a god and not a man, and immediately, because he did not give glory to God, he died on the spot. That was his father. His great-uncle was Herod Antipas, the one that beheaded John the Baptist and the one that tried Jesus. His great-grandfather was Herod the Great, who tried to kill Jesus when he was a baby. And in order to see that he could kill Jesus, he killed all of the babies two years old and younger in the area of Bethlehem. So that is Herod the Great. Now a lady by the name of Bernice is mentioned here. She's an interesting character. She is his sister. but it was widely rumored and chiefly believed that she was also his lover. So there was incest going on there. She had tried for the sake of public opinion to go and to be with some other men, but as she would go and be with other men and marry them, she would quickly divorce them or leave them and come back to her brother. They're together here. Now, next week, We're going to learn in chapter 26 that this man, Herod, is an expert in Jewish law. And a little bit later, in the year 66 AD, when the Jews are going to revolt against Rome, Herod is going to try to convince the Jews not to do that, but when they do that, he sides with Rome as a traitor against his own people. Here we have Bernice and Agrippa. They are coming to Caesarea to greet Festus, who is the new Roman governor over that region. And so, politically here, you would have Festus being over Agrippa. Agrippa as the king of the Jews, but sort of everything is underneath Rome. So, Festus is above Agrippa, and they come, and they want to greet each other, and they want to meet. Verse 14, When they, Bernice and Festus, had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, there is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, and I need some advice about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me when I was in Jerusalem asking for a judgment against him. So to them, I answered. It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him. Therefore, when they had come together, without any delay, the next day, I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. And he's just recounting the trial here. When the accusers stood up, They brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed. Verse 19 is key. But had some questions against him about their own religion, and that word religion there can be interpreted superstition, get the point here. Felix doesn't have any regard whatsoever for Judaism. Their own religion, their own superstition against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus. not the Lord Jesus Christ, but a certain Jesus, a guy named Jesus, whoever he might be, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive, but I don't know anything about that. That's really none of my concern. And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus. Now, Augustus here was a generic name of the Caesars that was taken on by most of the Caesars, but the actual Caesar that we're referring to here at this time is Nero. It says, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesarea. In other words, when he said he wanted to go to Caesar, I said I would send him to Caesar and now I'm waiting to send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Festus, well, I'll help you out. I also would like to hear the man myself. Tomorrow, he said, you shall hear him. Verse 23. So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, they're all dressed up, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders of the prominent men of the city. And Festus, at Festus' command, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all the men who are here present with us. You see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he is not fit to live any longer. But when I found out that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, to Caesar, to Nero, I decided to send him. Now, here's the dilemma that Festus finds himself in. When Festus sends him, he's going to have a reason for sending him. Every time I was sent to the principal's office, and it was many, I had to go with some sort of a note, or I had to go with some sort of a message. Okay, Eddie Moore, why are you here today? Well, I pulled the chair out from under so and so, or I did such and such. But the teachers couldn't just send me to the principal's office for no reason. There had to be some reason that I was being sent to the principal's office. Well, how much more? A prisoner is being sent to Augustus, or to Nero, to be judged. Here's one thing Nero's going to want to know. Why is this man here? What is he being charged with? Why am I taking my time to hear this case? So here's the dilemma. The reason that Festus brings Agrippa in is because Agrippa is an expert in the law And hopefully Agrippa can give Festus some good reason that he can write in the letter to say, Dear Nero, here's why I'm sending this man. So that's what we have. Verse 26, I have nothing certain to write to my Lord concerning him. Therefore, I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, because you know your stuff, Agrippa. So that after the examination has taken place, I might have something to write. In other words, this is all about me. This isn't about guilt or innocence. I'm going to be in big trouble if I send a prisoner to Rome and I don't have a note to go along with it. For it seems to me unreasonable. Hang on to that word unreasonable. For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him. Okay. Long chapter. We've read it. I know that some of you are in the same boat that I was in before I began studying this week, that it's a fairly obscure chapter. What are we going to do with it? Well, with it, I would like to do this. I would like you to notice three overriding themes that are weaved into the fabric of this chapter from beginning to end. And here are the themes. Hostility, integrity, and sovereignty. Hostility, integrity, and sovereignty. The Jews, that is the Sanhedrin, particularly the Sadducees, are hostile toward Paul. Why? Because he belongs to Christ. Number two, Paul demonstrates that he has lived a life of integrity. They can't bring a charge against him. Why? Because he belongs to Christ. He is a very valuable testimony of integrity. And number three, God's sovereignty and God's purposes are being worked out in the life of Paul in these seemingly or unreasonable adverse circumstances because he belongs to Christ. Now, that is not to say today that non-Christians do not experience hostility. They do. And it is not to say that non-Christians aren't honest or don't have integrity. Some of them do. And it is not to say that God isn't ordering the steps sovereignly of the ungodly. He is. But what it is to say is that these three elements of hostility, integrity, and sovereignty are worked out in a unique way, in a special way, in the lives of God's children for God's glory and for our good. So in the time that remains, I want to show you the unique nature of hostility, integrity, and sovereignty as they relate to the believer. First of all, hostility. When you're in an argument with someone, you might come to the point where you say, what do you have against me? With emphasis upon the word against. Do you know that the unique feature, which I was able to detect, of Acts chapter 25 is this. More than any other chapter in the New Testament, it contains the word against. In fact, the word against appears 11 times. There is a hostile vendetta against Paul. So much so that they want to transport him back to Jerusalem so that they can ambush him and that they can kill him. As soon as Festus arrives in Jerusalem, Paul is on the minds of the chief priests. They want to know what are you going to do with him. They are against him. Verse 2, and just glance through with your eyes. They are against him. Verse 3, against him. Verse 7, many serious complaints against him. Down to verse 15, against him. Verse 16, against him. Verse 18, against him. Verse 19, against him. Why the redundancy? Luke is not an author with a limited vocabulary. He's a very, very intelligent doctor. What he's doing here by using and reusing the word against over and over and over again, he is demonstrating the intentionality that the Sanhedrin and the Sadducees have against Paul. They are hostile toward him. They want him silenced and they want him dead. And the reason is clear. It's because of his identification with Christ. You see, they hate Paul, but at the end of the day, they don't hate Paul for Paul's sake. They hate Paul because Paul belongs to Christ. And because he speaks up for Christ, and he speaks out for Christ, and he is speaking of the resurrection, and the Sadducees believe that there is no resurrection. But there was a day, you know, when The Sanhedrin loved Paul. In fact, they loved him so much that they employed him and they sent him out to do murdering for them, the killing of Christians. But now, Paul is in love with Christ and so, since he is in love with Christ, they hate him. And this is a consistent message of the New Testament. I'm going to put five passages of Scripture up on the screen behind me. We're not going to take time to read all of them. But this I'm putting up on the screen for this reason, so that you get the idea that the gist, that the consistent message of the New Testament is that if you belong to Christ, you'll be hated by the world. First of all, our Lord himself in the Sermon on the Mount said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. We are to rejoice and to be glad because great is our reward in heaven. And it happened to the prophets who were before us. The next passage is from John chapter 15, Jesus said this, If the world hates you, you know that it hated you, it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith, in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer. So don't be surprised. 1 Peter chapter 4. Beloved, don't think it's strange. Don't be surprised. Don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. That's the key that we're going to, when we make our application point, come back to, that this is something strange or unique. But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you also may be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. But let no one of you, none of you, suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a busybody in any other people's matters. But, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. And Paul simply says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, Yes, all who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. Hostility. And nothing has changed. The ACLU exists very deliberately as a hostile organization against Christ and decency. Even Festus, and the reason why is they don't understand the gospel. Even Festus says, this certain Jesus who supposedly was raised from the dead, but I really don't know anything about that. This week, I went in to register my son at Bayside High School, and I noticed that there was a school newspaper there, the magazine written by and for youth, Facing Moral Choices. Facing Moral Choices. So you have a student here looking up at sort of a subway thing, courage, loyalty, determination, and boldness. So one would think that we would like to build a sense of morality in our students. Here's a poll taken of six students. Do you think gay marriage should be legal? All six say yes, of course. That's a silly question. As you move on, we see that there is a full page ad here and it's the summer condom program. And so this is where our kids can get their condoms. Let's move on a little bit. What do we have next? Oh, here is the talk. A review of sexual health sites for teens. Sexual health means everything from, I won't graphically go into it. And then here's one, but there is a religion section in this. The religion section. is good. Atheists can go to heaven too. So, everything in this, cover to cover, and I have just skimmed it, there is nothing of any social redeeming value whatsoever in this at all. Everything in this is against Christ and against His Word. Everything. Now, Paul's opponents were against him. Here's the key. Here's where we can apply this today. Here's where this can be of some help to you. Here's where that one little word, against, mentioned 11 times can be of help to you. This is the key. It doesn't surprise Paul. It does not surprise Paul. He is concerned for his life, but never once does he shrink back or cower or say that's not fair. Paul understood and even anticipated that he was going to be hated and hunted and eventually beheaded for Christ. And I firmly believe that our testimony as Christians is weakened. And listen to this, please. because we cannot fathom the reality that people would actually dislike us or tell lies about us or talk behind our backs and have a hostile attitude toward us. So we do everything we can to either protect ourselves or to remain silent or to become invisible or to compromise or to do whatever we can to avoid conflict and rejection and hostility. But Acts 25 over and over and over, says, against, against, against. And Matthew 5 and 2 Thessalonians 1 and 1 Peter 4 and 2 Timothy 3 and John 15 said, if you belong to Christ, you are going to be hated. You can't avoid it. Part of being a Christian means that you will have people that will be against you. Maybe even in your own family. My point is this, if we would stop trying so hard to be liked, and I want to be liked, and you want to be liked, but we've made an idol out of it, and we value it so much, and if we would stop trying so hard to avoid conflict, and simply believe and accept that all who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution, then we will rest better at night, and we will be more effective witnesses for Christ. In other words, our problem is simple. We have a false expectation, which is unfounded in Scripture, which says this, you can expect people to love you. And whoever told you that, you were going to be loved and liked and treated fairly, even though they may have been well-meaning, They were grossly misinformed and if you now believe them, you too are misinformed. Now, this information that I've just given you, for most of you, this is helpful and it's applicable material. Why? Because the majority of you are non-confrontational and you need to destroy the idol of peace at any cost. However, there are some people that this is the message that you've been waiting for. And the reason why is because by nature you're a jerk and you love to carry a license around in your pocket that says, because I'm a Christian, I have the right now to rub people the wrong way. Well, point number two is for everybody, but it is especially for you. And here's point number two, integrity. You get point number one. Point number one says we have a church full and a nation full of Christians who are doing everything they can not to rock the boat and to rub people the wrong way because they want to be liked and they are non-confrontational. When Jesus and the apostles have demonstrated that if you belong to Christ, you are going to be hated. So stop trying to be hated for righteousness. Point number two says this. Integrity. Paul could not be convicted or charged with anything substantial, and the reason why is because he had not committed any crimes. It says in verse 7 that they could not prove their point. And notice how Paul uses the word against to his favor in verse 8, chapter 25, verse 8. Well, he answered for himself, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all. He uses the word against three times and says, I haven't done anything against you guys. I haven't done anything against the temple. I haven't done anything against the law. I haven't done anything against Rome. I haven't done anything against anybody. Integrity. And he's so confident in verse 11 that he says, if you can make a charge stick against me, you can kill me. If I've done anything worthy of dying, I don't mind dying. Go ahead. Put me to death. Man, I don't think too many people would take the stand and say that unless they were really confident that they were innocent. When Festus is speaking to Felix, throws his hands up and says, I don't know what to write. I don't have anything against this guy. Integrity. He didn't break any religious laws. He didn't break any civil laws. They said plenty of bad things against him, but none of them were true. Now, here's where it applies. The problem with some Christians, and I'll use that term loosely, that I've known, is that they do not live lives above reproach. They are not law keepers. They do not have They are not courteous. They are not polite. They are not normal, but they are weird. They are not loving. They are not gentle. They are not helpful. And as a result, they are either hated or marginalized or dismissed by the world. And they come back and they say, everybody hates me because I'm a Christian. But the fact of the matter is, it has nothing to do with Christ. It has nothing to do with faith. It has nothing to do with righteousness. They would hate you if you were a Muslim or a Buddhist. They hate you because of you, not because of Jesus, because there is no integrity in your life. Don't blame Jesus for your own lack of integrity. Again, 1 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16. You know verse 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. But how are we to give this apologetic defense with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, Those who revile your good works and your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Why would they be ashamed? They would be ashamed because you're answering back in a gentle way. They would be ashamed because when they are saying bad things about you, quite simply, they are not true because you have lived a life of integrity. We are not saved by good works. We're saved by faith alone in Christ alone. However, our testimony is maintained by good works. And what you need to discern is this. Are you being excluded from all the reindeer games because you love Christ and walk according to his ways? Or is it just lack of integrity? And if the problem is you, then my challenge to you this morning is this. By God's grace, you need to seriously, through the sanctification process of the gospel and the word and discipleship and the Holy Spirit, change you. Paul had a clear conscience and testimony and integrity before the people because he lived that way. Which brings us to the third point today, God's sovereignty. Again, look in verse 27. Festa says, for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not specify the charges against him. They can't come up with any charges. Guess what, Festus? You have hit the nail on the head. This entire debacle is unreasonable. Circumstances look very bleak. Paul has now twice flawlessly defended himself and yet he's still in prison waiting another trial. And worse yet, nobody even knows what the charge is. In a fair world, he should be set free, but he's still under lock and key. What's up with that? Here's the key of application for us today. God's ultimate purpose for Paul was not that he go free. It was that he go to Rome. Several years earlier, Paul wrote in Romans 1.15, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. Later in that same book of Romans, Paul writes this, but now no longer having a place in these parts. I'm done here. I'm finished here. And having a great desire these many years to come to you. I want to come to Rome. We see in the book of Acts, chapter 19, verse 21, when Paul was in Ephesus. When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Holy Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem saying, after I have been there in Jerusalem, I must. By the Holy Spirit, I must also see Rome. And then you remember, just a few weeks ago, we looked at chapter 23, verse 11. But the following night, the Lord stood by Paul and said, Be of good cheer, Paul. For as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. Big picture, God wants Paul in Rome. What is God doing? We know what God is doing because we have a completed copy of the scripture. We get to read the end of the story and we get to see it. But put yourself in a jailhouse in Caesarea and you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. You see, what is God doing is a question we would ask ourselves often and the answer, more often than not, comes back He doesn't always tell us. In fact, He seldom tells us, and He is under no obligation to tell us. And I want to add that if He were to tell us the reason behind every discomfort, then we would not be walking by faith, but we would be walking by sight. But as it stands right now, we must walk by faith. not knowing the specifics. That's what it means to trust in the sovereignty of God. Trusting in the sovereignty of God does not mean that you can recite and defend the tulip. Trusting in the sovereignty of God means that you are resting and trusting in God that he knows what he's doing and that what he's doing he's doing for a purpose. Romans 8.28 Don't miss the first three words. And we know. And we know. And we have this confidence. And we are assured. And we can live in rest and in peace. And we know that all things, having two trials, which you've won, yet still being incarcerated. And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. And then Psalm 138, verses 7 and 8. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. And your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the works of your hands." Now, none of you right now are in jail unjustly because you are Christians. But guess what? Today, not 2,000 years ago, but today, there are people who are behind bars right now, and the reason why they are behind bars is because they are Christians, and they have done nothing wrong. That's the point. Why are these people there? What is the purpose in them being there? That's the point. God knows the purpose why they are there and God does all things well. News flash. The economy stinks. Some of you have lost your jobs. And you don't know why. Neither do I. But God does. And He has a purpose in it. And the question for you today is this. Are you okay with that? Some of you are sick or facing sickness. And you don't know why. I don't know either, but God knows and He has a purpose. Are you okay with that? Some of you have experienced some losses in your life, failures in your life, flaws in your character, mistakes that you've made, even sins that you've committed. Not sins that you've committed so that grace may abound, but sin has overtaken you. Some of you right now can't stand the person that you're married to. It's just miserable at home. And you don't know why. And neither do I. But God knows. You okay with that? God has a purpose in it. Are you okay with that? You see, here's the key. The key is not that we know what the future holds. or why things are happening. But the key is that in faith we trust the One who controls the future. And we cannot trust Him unless we know Him. You're sitting here today and you're listening to this and you're saying, this is really bizarre. The reason it's bizarre is because you don't know Him. He is merciful and He is kind. And He is so merciful and so loving and kind that He sent His Son to die for sinners like you and me. How can you question a God that would give His Son in your place? Jesus died for sinners. Sinners like you and sinners like me. He rose from the dead. And today He lives to be your Savior. He is a knowable God. All who come to Him through faith in Christ will be saved. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But this can't make sense to you unless you know Him. Finally this morning, finally, I want to preach a word of the Gospel to those that are saved. Because there is a dangerous teaching that has arisen in recent years called Open Theism. Here's what I say in closing this morning. Open theism is the teaching that God cannot foreknow the good or bad decisions of people he created until he creates these people and they in turn create the decisions. That's a direct quote from an open theist by the name of Greg Boyd. Boyd goes on to say this, when an individual inflicts pain on another individual, I do not think we can go looking for the purpose of God in that event. In other words, things are happening, God doesn't know what's going to happen, so the future is going to surprise God. He's kind of making it up as He goes, but there is no purpose in anything. Another open theist by the name of John Sanders writes this, God does not have a specific divine purpose for each and every evil occurrence. That's how a lot of the world thinks. Things are happening randomly, apart from any control. And if there is control, it is control on the part of evil men or the part of Satan. In other words, there is no purpose for my suffering, for my sickness, for the loss of my job, for the struggle in my marriage. God is not sovereign. I hope it works out, but really I have no guarantee. But the sovereignty of God says this, Paul, you're in that prison and you're in that prison for God's glory and for your good, and the ultimate purpose is that you are going to go to Rome and preach the gospel. And this is how I'm going to get you there. Now, what's the danger of open theism, other than the fact that it is non-biblical and heretical? Here's the danger in open theism. It serves to hide the idolatry which is in our hearts. And here's how. John Piper, writing on Open Theism, said this, Open Theism does not encourage us to see or savor the merciful designs of God in our pain. Therefore, We may be so angry with Satan or an evil person that we fail to ask whether our anger reflects an excessive attachment to what we just lost. You see what Piper's saying? He's saying, if when something goes wrong in your life, you can attribute it to Satan and say it's just random, or to some goofball person who caused it, then the blame goes to that person and you are no longer looking at God and you're no longer looking at your own heart. Whereas, if you were looking at God and you were diagnosing your own heart when you lost something that you loved, let's say it's a job, and you become angry and your joy is gone, what happens then is something that is good. It reveals to you that you love your job more than you love God. It reveals to you that you love your relationship with your wife more than you love God and that your joy is found in your wife and not in God. When calamity happens to us, it reveals to us the idolatry in our hearts. But if we can just point to the devil or point to someone else, then that idolatry will never be exposed and we will continue to be idolaters and to seek something else which will make us happy and we will not go to the true source of life and joy which is God Himself. Now let me illustrate this from Deuteronomy 8.3. Deuteronomy 8, verse 3. If we can punch that in, Dan. It's the word that Jesus used when he was speaking to Satan. Man shall not live by bread alone. So he, Moses is writing to the people, so he, God, humbled you. And He allowed you to hunger. Everybody that's going through something that is bad or wrong or uncomfortable today, I want you to look at these words. He allowed you to hunger. God allowed you to hunger. And then He, God fed you with manna. which you did not know, nor did your fathers know. Why did God do this? Why did God put a hunger in your belly and then feed you? That He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. What is the point? Piper goes on to say, here's the point. God ordains hard times. He lets you hunger to see if we have made an idol or a God out of good times. And here's the question. Do we treasure God and trust His good purposes in pain, or do we love His gifts more and get angry when He takes them away? You see, Biblical Christianity says this. My loss tells me how much I really love and treasure God. My loss reveals the idolatry of my heart. The open theist says that there is no constructive design in pain at all. I'm saying to you this morning, you are going to experience pain and loss. Regardless of your theological position, you're going to experience pain and loss. But the big question is this. Even though you may not know exactly what is going on or why it is going on, do you believe that God has a purpose in it? Romans 8, 28. And, do you see how it can reveal the idolatry of your heart showing you that you love things and comfort more than God Himself and His wisdom in taking them away? You say, isn't it a bad thing that idolatry would be revealed in my heart? No, no, no. To have idolatry in your heart is a bad thing. To have idolatry in your heart revealed is a good thing. Because when that idolatry is revealed, then you know your need for the mediator. And you know your need for Christ. And you know that you need someone to save you and to forgive you. So, for the saved today, I say this. May your disappointments, and especially your reaction to those disappointments, drive you to the cross. May you say, God, thank you for putting this hunger in me. God, thank you for knocking me down. Lord, thank you, because it reveals the idolatry of my heart, and now I confess that all I need is Christ. And I believe in your sovereignty, Romans 8, 28. Hostility, integrity, sovereignty. All of these in the life of a believer because we know Christ. Do you? Do you know him?