In the 23rd chapter, that's Acts chapter 23. I'm going to begin reading in verse 11 and I'll read through verse 22. So verses 11 through 22 of Acts chapter 23. Remember at this point, remember Paul has been before an angry mob, a mob that wanted to kill him. But the government, the Roman government rescued him. But then they sent him before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Sanhedrin to be examined. What did this guy do? Well, last week we saw then the Sanhedrin become so mad at Paul that they're about to tear him apart. And so once again the Romans take him and save his life. And then we come to verse 11 and here's what God's Word says. It says, But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, Take courage, for as you have solemnly witnessed to my cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also. When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. And there were more than 40 who formed this plot. And they came to the chief priests and the elders and said, we have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now, therefore, you and the council notify the commander to bring him down to you as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation. and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place. But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. And Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him. So he took him and led him to the commander and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you, since he has something to tell you. And the commander took him by the hand and, stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, What is it that you have to report to me? And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. So do not listen to them, for more than 40 of them are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse, not to eat or drink until they slay him. And now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you. So the commander Let the young man go. Instructing him, tell no one that you have notified me of these things. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we do indeed thank you for your word that is before us. And we ask, Lord, now your blessing upon the preaching of your word. Lord, may your word go forth powerfully for your glory and for our good, we pray. In Jesus Christ's name, amen. You may please be seated. As you all know, this last Thursday was the 13th anniversary of what we just simply call 9-11, of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. And what 9-11 did, among many, many other things, but it pounded into our vocabulary a word that is just now a household word for all of us. And that word is terrorist. And men and women, what is a terrorist? In other words, how is a terrorist different from, say, an Iraqi soldier? Well, I think you know. First of all, they're secretive. They don't wear a uniform. They blend in. You don't know who on that airplane is actually a terrorist. Second, they are violent. Third, they have a total A total disregard for the laws. And fourth and most important, they will do virtually anything. Anything. necessary to accomplish their goal, even flying an airplane into a building. Well, terrorists have been with us for centuries. In fact, you can go all the way back to the first century and you can see some terrorists. In the first century, though, they weren't called terrorists, they were called zealots. And remember, the Jews were under Roman occupation. They hated the Romans. They hated being under Roman authority. And the zealots were Jews who were basically just that, they were terrorists. They were Jewish terrorists that would do anything to get the Romans out of the way. Well, coincidentally, I just think it's amazing that on the Sunday right after 9-11 we meet some ancient terrorists. We meet some of those zealots here in this text. And what you're going to see here As we go through this, it should bring great comfort to all of you. It should bring comfort to all of you who are going through any kind of dark days, any kind of trials in your life right now, because here you're going to see that even in our toughest circumstances, even when things seem the worst, God is there and God ultimately will bless. William Cowper said it this way, the hymn writer. He said, behind a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face. You're going to see that great truth here as Luke records for us how God worked in Paul's life at this very difficult time for him, how he worked with encouragement, with provision, and ultimately with a smiling providence. So first thing look at God working in Paul's life with encouragement. Where did we leave off last week? Do you remember? Last week Paul had been rescued from an angry mob. The angry mob was once again about to kill him. But then he went before this Jewish court. Jewish court ends up being so angry at him that they are going to tear him to pieces God's word says. The men and women, that can get very old very quick. If everywhere you go people keep wanting to kill you, people keep being so angry at you that you have to be literally rescued, that gets very discouraging. I had the misfortune of being a soccer ref for one season of nine-year-olds. I was just a whistle. I was a ref for nine-year-olds. Trouble is, you've got family on this side of the field and families on that side of the field, and every time you blow the whistle, somebody's mad at you on one side or the other. Every time a kid falls, some parent is yelling at you that you should have blown the whistle, that Johnny got pushed or whatever. And after an hour of that, you just want nothing to do with it anymore. It's a horrible thing. Well, you multiply that times perhaps infinity, and you see what Paul is going through, where people literally want to tear him to pieces. They want to kill him. Well, so what happens? Verse 11, But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, Take courage, for as you have solemnly witnessed to my cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also. Christ graciously appears to Paul at night to encourage him. And this, by the way, If you've been paying attention, this is now the fifth time as we have gone through Acts, the fifth time that Christ has appeared to Paul to encourage him. The first time was on the road to Damascus, if you remember. But then in chapter 16, he tells him not to go to Macedonia. Well, don't go there. Not now. Chapter 18, he tells him not to be afraid to go on speaking. Chapter 22, he tells him to get out of Jerusalem. Then you have him appearing here. He's encouraging him. We're going to see it again in chapter 27. And you may say, well, Christ never appears to me. You know, I've gone through difficult times. He's never appeared to me at night to comfort me. No, but He has given you His Word. He has given you His Word and His Word says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. His Word says all things work together for good. His Word says God ordains whatsoever comes to pass that He knows what He is doing. God's word says, for to you it has been granted, and that word granted is literally gifted, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer. That even our sufferings are gifts from God. No, He doesn't appear to us in a dream at night, but He does give us His Word. In fact, James Boyce said this, he said, and I'm quoting, he said, There are those dark times when we seem merely to be plodding along in some weary path from day to day, and we wish somehow we could break out of it. What do we do in these times? We live by the words that we have received from God earlier. And what that means in our case is that we are to live by the Bible. for that is where God has spoken and continues to speak. You have just seen Christ working in Paul's life with encouragement. Now I want you to see God providing for Paul in this situation. Look how he provides. Verses 12 and following says, When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. In other words, they're quite serious in their intent to kill Paul, and they think it's going to be done quite soon. As a matter of fact, before lunch. Verse 13, there were more than 40 who formed this plot. They're zealots. Verse 14, they came to the chief priests and the elders and said, we have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now, therefore, you and the council notify the commander to bring him down to you as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation. And we, for our part, are ready to slay him before he comes near the place." Men and women, I think you can recognize that for what it is. It's nothing more than an assassination plot. It's nothing more than lying in wait and saying, here, have him come out. And when he comes out, we're going to assassinate him. Remember the Sanhedrin, whom they're referring to here, whom they're asking. Remember the Sanhedrin hated Paul for his teaching. And if the zealots, for whatever reason, if these terrorists, for whatever reason, if they wanted to kill him, well, then the Sanhedrin's willing to cooperate. And so, men and women, let me ask you this. How hard could this be? How hard could it be for 40 zealots, 40 terrorists to kill Paul when they bring him out? Well, it's actually impossible. It's absolutely impossible if the Lord of the universe won't allow it. And He won't. So God provides. Verse 16, But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. Now people, let's pause here for a moment because I think this is fascinating. It actually raises a whole lot of questions that we perhaps wish Scripture answered. So far in Acts, have you noticed we haven't been given any information about Paul's family? We don't know anything about his family. We know he had a father who was a Roman citizen. We saw that just a couple weeks ago. We know they were Jewish. But what I want to know is how did his family react when he became a Christian? Remember, he had gone to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel. That's as good as it gets. You're at the height of education there. So his family probably had means, means enough, money enough to send him to Jerusalem to give him this great education. We know he had at least one sister and at least one nephew, but did he have more sisters? Did he have brothers? And if so, how did they react when he became a Christian? We know he was a rabbi. We know he was a member of the Sanhedrin. It's no small thing for him to become a Christian. What was their response? And of course, the question I've always wondered is, what happened to his wife? And you may say, well, Paul's not married. No, he's not. But he was. We know he was because he was a member of the Sanhedrin. And one of the requirements to be in the Sanhedrin is to be married. So we know at one time he was married. And we know now he's single. What happened to her? And everybody that you talk to, every commentator and so forth just seems to say, well, she died. Well, I guess that's possible. But there's another possibility, isn't there? Another possibility that I've often wondered about. Did she leave him? When he became a Christian, and she's used to the life of being married to a member of the Sanhedrin, to a rabbi, and you have a certain life like this, and now he has become a Christian? Now he's way down here? Now he's enduring the scorn and everything of a Christian? Did she leave him? I don't know. Remember Paul says to the Corinthians, He says, if any of you have an unbelieving wife and they consent to live with you, don't send them away. But if they leave, let them leave. You're not bound in such a situation. Is he taking that from personal experience? Can we add that to his multiple sufferings? You know, physical sufferings are bad. Emotional, relational sufferings are horrible. And when Christ said, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake, was there emotional suffering there as well? We don't know, we're not told. But this much we know, he had at least one sister and we now know he had at least one nephew. And the God who provides, provides for Paul through his nephew. Verse 17, Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, lead this young man, his nephew, to the commander, for he has something to report to him. So he took him and led him to the commander. and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you. And the commander took him by the hand and stepping aside began to inquire of him privately, what is it that you have to report to me? And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the council as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. So do not listen to them, for more than 40 of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him. And now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you. So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, tell no one that you have notified me of these things. Men and women, not only do you see God providing for Paul, his nephew just happens to be in Jerusalem. His nephew just happens to be in the right place at the right time. God provides. But have you ever noticed how God oftentimes delights to use the small things to accomplish His purposes? How He delights to use Abraham, who was a nobody, to be the father of the Jewish nation. How he delights to use a young shepherd boy from a nothing family named David to be the greatest king Israel ever had. How he delights to use a young girl from a nothing family, poverty family if you will, to give birth to the Savior. And if he delights to do that, isn't it good news? that He can use you and me as well to accomplish His purposes. So what happens? Well, remember last week I said we have an example of government acting as government should act. Government should act for justice and government should act for protection. Look at verses 23 and 24. It says, And He called to him two of the centurions and said, get 200 soldiers ready for the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen. And they were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him, notice, safely to Felix, the governor. That's government's job. His protection, to bring him safely I said at the beginning that you'd see three things. We've seen Christ comforting Paul and He comforts us today through His Word. You've seen God providing for Paul in just a simple little way with His nephew. Now I want you to see the smiling providence of God. That God knows what He's doing in even this situation. Look ahead to verse 31 and following. says, So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatrus. But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the barracks. And when these had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. And when he had read it, he asked from what province he was. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also, giving orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium. There it is, people. I will give you a hearing. Paul has now been moved to Caesarea, been moved there for his own safety. But now he's able to speak about Jesus to kings. And think back to 20 years before this. 20 years before chapter 23. You have chapter 9. In chapter 9, verse 15 says this. It's the call of Saul, who becomes Paul. It says, But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, now listen, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. And now, 20 years later, that promise is beginning to be fulfilled. Because in Acts chapter 24, he is going to be speaking before Governor Felix. In Acts chapter 25, he's going to be before the Governor Festus. And eventually, we will see in Acts 26, he's before King Agrippa. So in the providence of God, Paul is in this horrible situation right now. People want to rip him apart. And he has 40 zealots, or 40 terrorists, if you will, waiting for him outside. And by the way, it is thought by many that Judas was actually a terrorist. That Judas was one of those zealots. Why? Because he's Judas Iscariot. You know what Iscariot means? It means assassin. He's Judas the assassin. And it is even reasoned this way, you know, that Judas thought, here, this guy Jesus Christ, he's going to get rid of the Romans just like us zealots want. And so he's with them and then when things don't work out like he thought it was going to work out, when he finds out Jesus Christ has a whole different plan and that plan is to give his life, to suffer and die and give his life a ransom for many. When he finds out that's the plan, he doesn't want anything to do with them. He's upset. He's frustrated. And so he's ready to betray him. But men and women, what did we just see here? God is a God of the little things, little details. Paul's nephew is there in Jerusalem. Paul's nephew is in the right place at the right time. Well, if God is a God of little details, as we see here, why did Jesus call Judas the assassin in the first place? Why did He call him to be a disciple? Didn't He know? Well, of course he knew. And one of our former pastors from long ago, A.W. Pink, gives five reasons why Judas was called. The first reason is the most obvious because it was prophesied in Scripture. Back in Psalm chapter 41, verse 9, that was prophesied that there'd be one who would be lost, doomed to destruction. So it fulfilled Scripture. That's enough. But A.W. Pink goes on and he says also, second reason, is the choice of Judas. And think about this, provided an impartial witness to Christ's moral excellence. You know, you have that testimony from the Father. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. You have that testimony from John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You have that testimony from his believing disciples. But God saw to it that even an enemy would testify to the sinlessness of Christ. Do you remember what Judas said? I have betrayed innocent blood. Even his enemy testifies to his sinlessness. Third thing, the choice of Judas gave an occasion of just how awful sin is. And we've seen that in the news, haven't we? Just how horrible sin can be. Fourth, the presence of Judas among the disciples shows us that we may expect to find hypocrites among the followers of Jesus. Expect it. Expect to find them. And then fifth, the presence of Judas supplies us all with a solemn warning, doesn't it? And the warning is this. that a person can experience the closest possible contact with Jesus, but still not come to Him for salvation. That's a warning to all of us. So men and women, how do we apply this chapter, this text to us? Well, I think it should be fairly easy. None of you have 40 terrorists waiting for you outside this church, lying in wait for you to come out and they're gonna get you. None of you, I think, have things that bad. But actually you do have a much more difficult foe. The Bible tells us that our enemy, the devil, is like a prowling lion looking for those whom he can devour. And he's even more dangerous than 40 terrorists more dangerous because he works through deception, because he's spiritual. And that's why it's important that you look again at what Paul calls his hope. Do you remember it from last week? Look again at verse 6 when he says, I'm on trial today for the hope of the resurrection of the dead. That was Paul's great hope. It's the resurrection of the dead. And remember, again, that word hope means a present assurance of a future reality. Remember, Paul was very educated. And he says his hope is in this resurrection. Well, he knew logic, he knew philosophy, certainly he knew theology. I want you to see what he says in 1 Corinthians 15. And so I want you to go ahead and turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, this is where we will close today. We won't come back to this text, so you don't have to keep your finger there. But 1 Corinthians, next book is Romans. The next book after that is 1 Corinthians. You're not far away. 1 Corinthians 15, I want you to follow Paul's logic. This educated man who knows philosophy, who knows logic, Verse 12, he says this, 1 Corinthians 15 verse 12. Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? How can you say that nobody rises from the dead? Now follow his logic, verse 13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. That's logical, isn't it? Yeah. If there's no such thing as anybody being raised from the dead, well then, obviously Christ hasn't been raised. And that has implications. What are the implications? Paul tells you. Verse 14, And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, and your faith also is vain. Well, duh. We're running around telling people that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and if He didn't rise from the dead, then it's just futility. that I'm preaching. And if our preaching is in vain, then our faith is in vain. That's completely logical. Why is it in vain? Because it profits nothing. Are there any other implications? Yes. Verse 15, Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. That's perfect, impeccable logic. Now notice though, verses 16 and 17, For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ, has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. Your faith is worthless. You're in your sins. You have no basis for justification. You're still on your own and you're on your own regarding your sins because your mediator is dead. Your sin bearer is dead. He's lying in a grave somewhere in Palestine as he has been for the last 2,000 years. He can't help you. That's what Paul is saying, which brings even more implications, verse 18, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. Do you understand that? Your mother, your father, your husband who has died in the Lord, When they died, they perished. That's the reality. They perished. You have no hope of ever having a relationship with them. You have no hope of ever having a relationship with someone who has died. It's final. Now, men and women, are you familiar with Pascal's Wager? The French philosopher, 1600s, Blaise Pascal. who in that whole debate about, you know, is there a God or is there not a God? And people are debating that in the 16th, 17th century. And Pascal had what's called today Pascal's Wager. He said, well, you know, you don't know. Is there a God? Is there not a God? Well, if you say there's not a God and it turns out there is a God, well, then you're going to suffer eternity in hell. But if you believe there is a God, and there is a God, then you're gonna go to heaven. And if you believe there is a God, and there isn't a God, well then, all that happens is, you know, you've at least had a fruitful and meaningful life. And so his, make a wager, better just believe in God. As simple as that. Do you agree with Pascal? I sure hope not. Because the Christian life is not a life of, okay, I'll just believe. The Christian life is a life of self-sacrifice. We saw that in the reading of the law, our daily walk. It's a throwaway life. It's a life of putting up with persecution, as many of our brothers and sisters are doing in the Middle East right now, of submitting yourself. It's a life of long-suffering and possible martyrdom. Men and women, what does Paul say? Does he say, well, hey, if Christ is not raised from the dead, well, at least we had a good go at it anyway. At least we lived for something. No, he says, verse 19, if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. He says we should be pitied because we've thrown away any possibility of value that we might have been able to create for ourselves. We've thrown it away. Have you ever noticed how Christians are hated? Why are Christians hated and not Baha'i? You know, not people of the Baha'i faith or something. Christians are hated. Paul would say, you know, don't hate me. Don't dislike me. You should pity me. Look at me as just a poor, deluded soul who believes that Christ rose from the dead. Verse 31 becomes even more clear. Verse 31, still of chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians. I affirm, brethren, that by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. That, by the way, is the Christian life, not Pascal's wager. I die daily for Christ. It's confessing Christ as Lord and it's dying daily to Him. And Paul says, and, you know, I did this. I fought with wild beasts. But if there's no resurrection, well then, verse 32, if from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. That's perfect, impeccable logic. Of course, if Christ didn't rise from the dead, just live for ourselves. So why doesn't Paul eat, drink, and be merry? Well, he tells you at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15. Look at verse 3. He says, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also." Do you see that? You see what Paul is saying? He's saying, I give testimony. I testify to you that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. I give evidence that He rose from the dead. He's appeared to more than 500 people, and He's appeared to me. I've been an eyewitness. I've seen Him. Christ rose from the dead. And then you can work backwards from everything He had said. And that means then, well, what about your wife or your husband or your mother or your father who have died in Christ? What does that mean? It does mean that you will see them again. It does mean that the relationship will continue. It does mean that your sin bearer is not in a tomb in the Middle East somewhere, that he is at the right hand of God. And Paul says, I give testimony to that. I bear witness of that. And that's why he stands before them and says, I'm on trial today for resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the hope of the resurrection of the dead. That's what motivated him. How did he go through all this? Everybody wanted to rip him apart and kill him and beat him with sticks and stone him to death and all of those things. Because he's looking to the reward. Looking to that place that God has prepared. And so should we. And so I'll close with this from Donald Barnhouse. Donald Barnhouse and his wonderful commentary. At the end of this chapter he says this, I cannot tell you what God is doing in your circumstances. I cannot see the future any more than you can. But God is doing something in your circumstances. And if you're going through dark times as Paul was, if you are discouraged, if the way seems dark, if you are weary with the struggle, The message of this chapter is to continue to trust in God and serve Him regardless. His purposes for you will be accomplished. The day will brighten and the will of God will be done. Let's pray. Father in heaven, how grateful we are for your goodness to us. How grateful we are that our sin bearer, our mediator, your son, Jesus Christ, is not in a grave somewhere in the Middle East, but he is at your right hand and will come again one day to judge the quick and the dead. And Lord, how grateful we are that we can stand up to your judgment because of Jesus Christ, who credited us with his righteousness as he bore our sin upon himself. Lord, may we, like Paul, give testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ May that be our hope looking toward that day when we are with you. Lord, we thank you and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.