So it's going to be Romans chapter 15, starting with verse 30 to 33. A sermon I've entitled, A Call for Supporting Prayer. And this is what it says, to God for me, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints, so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. On a wing and a prayer. Have you ever heard that phrase before? According to the Farlex Dictionary, the idiom speaks of some hoped-for outcome that has only a slight chance of being realized. For instance, she packed up her guitar and headed to Nashville on a wing and a prayer, hoping to make it big. Now the phrase itself, though, traces back to a popular song from World War II that tells of a story of a bomber plane returning after a successful mission. But the problem was that the plane has been badly damaged, and so the lyrics go like this. One of our planes was missing, two hours overdue. One of our planes was missing with all of its gallant crew. The radio set was humming. We waited for a word. Then noise broke through the humming, and this is what we heard. coming in on a wing and a prayer, coming in on a wing and a prayer. Though there's one motor gone, we still carry on coming in on a wing and a prayer. What a show, what a fight. We really hit our targets tonight. How we sing as we limp through the air. Look below, there's a field over there. With just one motor gone, we can still carry on coming in. on a wing and a prayer, coming in on a wing and a prayer, coming in on a wing and a prayer with our full crew on board and our trust in the Lord, coming in on a wing and a prayer. I'll bet for a mother who had a son who was on a bomb air crew in World War II, that song meant a lot. But isn't it odd that the phrase on a wing and a purse come to mean a slim hope for something considering that in that song, it spoke of assurance and returning safety with a full crew on board and our trust in the Lord coming in on a wing and a prayer. Now, sometimes when things look helpless and hopeless, people will say, well, all we can do now is pray. But you know, prayer is not supposed to be the last resort, but the first order of business for Christians, especially when it comes to ministry. Folks, listen carefully. God's work must be done in God's way by God's power, which comes to the Christian in answer to prayer. And yet every Christian knows that it's a real challenge to pray regularly and consistently. Now the Apostle Paul was a man of constant prayer, and he knew the value of praying for himself, but he also knew the value of having others pray for him. And that's why in these four verses, Paul gives a call to the Roman Christians to support him in his ministry by interceding with prayers to God on his behalf. Well, because prayer is so vital to the work of the church and the spiritual health of individual Christians, we want to consider what the Bible says in this portion about prayer. And to do that, we should probably start by praying. Father, thank God you do pray for grace and mercy. Help us as we look at this to see what's being taught here and the way that you answer these prayers for Paul. So bless us now, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well, what do we see in the text related to supporting prayer? Well, the first thing Paul gives is the motivation for it, the motivation. Second, he makes a plea. He makes a plea. Third, we find the petitions that he asked for. And finally, a benediction. Now, before we get into the text itself, perhaps we need to stop and actually think for a moment about what prayer is. And what are the components of prayer? Well, what is prayer? Well, it's simply talking to God. There are two sides in communication with God. Through his word, he speaks to us. And through our prayers, we speak to God. You know, when NASA set up the Apollo rockets to the moon, they were in constant communication with the capsule. But there's that short period of time when the capsule goes around the backside of the moon, and for several hours, communication is cut off. And I've heard that was always nerve-wracking for the ground crew below during that time. Now, as believers, we never want to be spiritually on the dark side of the moon, so to speak. Jesus said we're supposed to abide with him, that is, stay close to him. And we do that by maintaining our communication with him through prayer and hearing the word. Now, one of our missionary's wives that we supported, she wanted to get in shape. She was at that age where she thought, you know, maybe she should start running. And I remember when she was staying at our house, she asked Suzanne about this. She said, you know, how do you run? What do you mean, like where and when? No, like how do you actually do it? Well, you just do it. You just get out there and you move your legs and you swing your arms. Well, when we talk about prayer, There's a sense in which it's just do it, right? You open your mouth, you start talking to God. But just like running, there's a little bit more to it than that. There are components to prayer. I mean, maybe you've heard them use this acronym, ACTS. Well, the A, and that relates to prayer. The A in that, speaks of adoration. In prayer, we should always be starting with acknowledging who it is we're speaking to, God, our creator, our lawgiver, our ruler, our judge. We should praise him for his attributes, his omnipotence, his omniscience, the fact that he knows all things and controls all things, that he's holy and just, and yet he's gracious and merciful. He's kind, he's generous, he's patient with sinners like us. That's the way you should start and open all your prayers, acknowledging who God is. and adoring him. The C stands for confession. We need to admit that we're sinners who've fallen short of the glory of God. And you know, when you're praying, you should be naming off your sins individually, because the problem is I've never committed a general sin in my life. They've all been specific. We need to tell him that we know that we failed to honor him and give him the obedience that he deserves. The T stands for thanksgiving. As a believer, you should first and foremost thank God for your salvation. Jesus died for your sins. God opened your heart to respond to the gospel. We should thank him for all the gifts that he's given us, spiritual and physical. John Hyde was a missionary to India. He was an incredible prayer warrior. He used to pray for hours on a time. He was known in history as Praying Hyde. And people would come from miles away to ask him to pray for specific things because almost everything he prayed for, he got. But I read John Hyde said that he never really had that kind of success in prayer until he started spending half of the time he was praying and thanking God for the things he had already done. I mean, you like to be appreciated for the good that you do for people. God likes to be appreciated for the good that he does for us. Well, the S is for supplication. Now, a supplicant is a person who is of inferior status who comes to one of greater status humbly seeking help. And our supplication is our prayer in asking God to intervene to help us and give us the things that we need. And so every time you pray, those components should be part of your prayer. Paul told us in Philippians 4, 6 and 7, he says this, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. In other words, just go to him with all the troubles, tell him what you're feeling, and you'll be amazed that somehow you're gonna have peace in the midst of all these things. Well, here Paul wants the Roman Christians to join him in making requests to God, known to God through their prayers. That brings us to the next point, or the first point though, the motivation. The motivation for a prayer. He says, Now notice that each member of the Trinity is mentioned here. The Father is being prayed to. He mentions the Spirit's love. and the Lord Jesus Christ. And catch how he doesn't just merely suggest us that we should do this, but that he urges them to join them in prayer. Now the Greek word that's translated urge here, parakaleo, it could be translated admonish, encourage, implore, beg, beseech. Paul really, really wants the Roman Christians to pray for him. Now companies, they try and find ways to motivate people, don't they? They give their employees bonuses, Profit sharing, gift cards, company picnics. When I was a kitchen manager in restaurants, you know, the guys that work in the back, especially in the summer, oh, what a miserable job it was. I mean, it's hot and it's humid and you're standing above a grill that's 350 degrees or 500 over here. It's about 140 degrees where they're working. You know, so occasionally, I would go across the street to Dairy Queen, and I'd buy a couple of boxes of Dilly Bars, and I'd bring them back, I'd hand them to the cooks and say, guys, I know that it's miserable, I can't change that, but I love you, here's a Dilly Bar. And you would not believe how that would motivate them. Well, Paul doesn't hold out an ice cream treat as an incentive. Rather, he urges them to prayer by mentioning our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit. Now, by specifically calling my Lord Jesus Christ, he could mean I'm using the authority of Jesus, because Lord means master. But I think it's more likely that rather than appealing to authority, he's appealing to what Jesus has done for us. I mean, didn't Paul say elsewhere, he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose on his behalf? Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because He first loved me. And speaking of love, Paul mentions that in connection with the Holy Spirit. Paul told us earlier in chapter five of this book, he said that for the Christian, our hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who's been given to us. I mean, Christians know that they're loved by God because they actually feel it in their hearts. It's communicated to us without words that God loves us. And of course, as believers, God's love for us flows over into our love for others, especially other Christians. The relationship that we have with each other because of Christ and the love we experience for each other through the Spirit should be sufficient motivation for us to pray for one another. Brings us to our second point, though, the plea. What is Paul urging them to do? I mean, what is his plea? It's that they would strive together, he says, with me in your prayers to God for me. Paul wanted these people to pray for him. And you know, when you're going through tough times, occasionally you get people who will send you a card saying, you know, thinking about you, which is nice, or they'll say something like, I prayed a little prayer for you. First of all, when that comes from an unbeliever, I usually think they probably didn't actually do it. And I'm pretty certain they're not a believer because that's not the way we say it. Believers put it this way, I am praying for you or I will be praying for you. For us, it's not a once and done thing. It's a constant reminding God of the things that they need. I mean, Paul didn't want the Roman Christians to blow some bubble prayers up into the heavens hoping they get there before they pop. He wanted them to strive together, he said, in their prayers. And the word that's used for strive here, sunagonidzamai, it's a word that we get agonized from. That's the root. The word was used of the strenuous effort of an athlete in his competition. And I have to tell you, folks, if you want to be a real prayer warrior, it takes determination and discipline. Why? I mean, why is it, if you're a Christian, that consistent prayer is so difficult? I mean, if it's really as simple as talking to God, I mean, that should be able to be done by anyone after just a couple of weeks of being a Christian, especially if you're an Irishman, because the gift of gab comes naturally. But it's work, isn't it? Even in our church, where we put a great emphasis on prayer, many people are involved in prayer groups. Don't you still find that it's easy to let it slip? Why is regular, consistent prayer so hard to pull off? Well, the first reason is because the devil opposes it. The devil opposes it. He understands that prayer brings God's power into your life. To put it in Star Trek language, the devil knows that if your dilithium crystals are shot, you're gonna have to limp along on impulse power. You need to spend time in prayer if you want warp drive power, right? I heard Chuck Swindoll once say that the devil will do anything he can to distract you from prayer, even if it's something as simple as adjusting a lampshade. The apostle understood the priority of prayer. When complaints arose in the church in Jerusalem over some of the widows that were being neglected, they brought the problem to the apostles and they told them, you know, choose for yourself some godly people. But listen to what they said. But we, as the apostles, will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. That was their priority. And notice of the two priorities, prayer actually came before the ministry of the word. Paul wrote to Timothy, he said this, in 1 Timothy 2, 1-4, he said, first of all, I urge you, in other words, as your top priority, that entreaties... prayers, petitions of Thanksgiving be made on behalf of all men for kings and all those who are in authority that we might lead quiet and tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." By the way, it's through prayer and preaching of the Word of God that we enter into spiritual warfare. Do you remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter six, 10 to 12? He said this, finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Listen to what he says, put on the armor of God, he's using a word picture here, so that you can stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against powers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. You know, in our church, the guys get together once a month for what we call prayer and fasting. We fast all day, then we come and we pray, and then we eat when we're done. We've been doing this for about 22 years now. Do you know why we started it? Years ago, when we were going through some real tough times at the other church, our family started dealing with a lot of demonic stuff. My kids were getting weird skin conditions. Brought my older son to the doctor in town here. He brought in the other doctor. He had these weird small bumps all over his stomach. And the doctor said, I have never seen anything like this. Asked the other doctor, no, I've never. We're gonna send you to a dermatologist. This is weird. And we're walking out and I said to Jason, I said, Jason, why do you have that skin condition? He said, because of all the demonic stuff we're going through. I said, yeah. I said, we're not gonna go to the dermatologist, we're gonna pray. My daughter ended up with some skin thing that only men get, basically. It was weird. I was at church one time and one of my kids called me and said, Dad, can you come home? I said, yeah, I'll be home in a little bit. He said, no, you need to come home now because me and my brother were hearing an old woman outside calling at us and there's nobody out there. Well, one night I was sleeping and as I was, it's kind of a half in and out of a dream, I heard this really loud pounding on the door. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And at the same time that I heard that, I heard this very guttural voice spewing out all this obscenity. Now, Suzanne heard the pounding, but not the voice. And my daughter heard the pounding, but not the voice. Suzanne went to the door because the dog was going freaking like this, scratching the door really bad. She let the dog out, and the dog shot out of the entryway outside, wouldn't come back in. Matter of fact, the dog would not come in for about another two months. So when that happened, I was bolted awake. I remember praying, and then it stopped immediately. I told that to somebody about four or five days later, and I was telling the story. I said, when did that happen? I said, well, it was Wednesday night about three o'clock in the morning. He said, Doug, at Wednesday, three o'clock in the morning, I was sleeping. I was just like, I'm absolutely awake. And I had this overwhelming sense I needed to pray for you. He said, I was on my face at three o'clock in the morning praying for you. Now, I want you to think about this. God could certainly have protected me without the prayer of that person. But notice he didn't, because he wants his people coming to him, asking him for help. And notice he put it on his heart, woke him up in the middle of the night to protect me and our family. Prayer warriors are warriors. It takes work. The devil stops and turns to flee when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees, because he's terrified by it. And by the way, there's another reason why this is so hard, because our flesh is weak. You remember Jesus said, he said, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He was in the garden, he was praying, because he knew what was coming upon him. And he told the disciples, he says, you're gonna be entering into a time of temptation. You need to stay awake, you need to pray. And then he went off and he came back. Oh, I'm just tired, it's gonna be a long day. Wake him up. No, you need to pray. Goes back. He prays again. Comes back. They're asleep. They're asleep. Of course, then the temptation came. They fled. It wasn't one of their better moments. Another reason it's so hard to pray is because we get discouraged when we don't see immediate results. One of the guys that I know, the same guy who had prayed for me, he was on a pastoral search committee interviewing candidates. And he asked one of the pastoral candidates, he said, so tell me about your prayer life. And the guy said, well, you know, I used to pray, but I never really got any answers, so I kind of gave up on it. Okay, well, we won't be calling you. I mean, discouragement is just a temptation, a great temptation. That's why Jesus told them this parable to show that they should always pray and not give up. He said to them, there was a certain town, a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with a plea, grant me justice against my adversary. For some time he refused, but finally he said to himself, even though I don't fear God and I don't care what people think, yet this woman, this widow keeps bothering me. I'll see that she gets justice so that she won't eventually come and attack me. And the Lord said to her, said to him, Now in the context, this has to do with the last days, right before Jesus returns and the persecution of the Christians. But there's a principle that comes out just the same. If an unrighteous judge will give people what they want just because he doesn't wanna be bugged, how much the God of justice, the God who cares about you, the God who sent his son to die for you, won't he give you exactly what you need? But you gotta ask. Sometimes the problem, folks, is that we lack faith. I know God could if he would, but I don't think he will, so I won't ask. Other times, it's just the fact that we're lazy. It's amazing how people have time for almost everything. Swiping on the phone. But when it comes time to pray, no. Let me stop and give you a moment for self-evaluation here. If you're a Christian, would you characterize your prayer life as one of striving? How often do you pray? Daniel was the prime minister of an empire and yet he found time to pray three times a day. Do you pray at least every day? Do you pray every couple days? Maybe once a week? Seldom? This is one of the main disciplines of the Christian life. As I said at the beginning, it's one half of the communication process with God. I've heard it said that a prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian, but it's actually worse. Listen carefully. A prayerless Christian is not a Christian at all. Follow the logic here. If you're not praying, you're not looking to God for anything. If you're not looking to God for anything, you can't be trusting him. And if you're not trusting him, by definition, you're not a Christian. All Christians pray. That's what defines a person as a believer. But we know if you're a believer, it's still a struggle. to do it. Let me give you some three practical things that help. First of all, set out a specific time, set aside a specific time, and guard that time. If you get up in the morning, that's a good time for you to pray, then pray. But don't let something get in the way. Or if you just pray at night, for me, it's much better that way and reflect on the day. But you gotta set that aside because here's what you're gonna do. Otherwise you're gonna say, oh yeah, I'm kind of tired now. I know what I'm gonna do. I'll pray when I come home from, but then you come home, it doesn't happen, does it? Because something always comes up as a result. And then the devil smiles. Here's the second thing. Keep a list of the things that you prayed for. I knew one guy, he kept a list for 40 years of the things he prayed for. And what he would do is he wrote it down and then he would mark off when it was answered. And he had things that he had prayed for 30 years before and then he marks off on this day here. Now that's an incredibly smart idea because it gave him a record of the faithfulness of God. So when he got discouraged, he'd go back and say, well, look, there's 220 things he answered here. Here's the third one, it's really important. Join a prayer group. Our church pushes prayer groups. Why? Because when you're with other people. My brother Jeff always says, I guarantee this, if I pray with them, they will at least pray for me when they're there. Right? And when you're there praying with people, they're bearing your burdens. They're praying for you. One of the great things about being a pastor is every Christian in church prays for their pastor. But that's why I pray for all you guys by name. And even some of your visitors, I pray for you regularly. Why? Because I want God to bless you. When Paul says strive together in prayer, isn't he at least suggesting you're doing it with other people? Well, Paul had to trust God and he did because he knew that there was no way he could do God's work that God had called him to do without God providing the power to do so. And as we said, the power comes to us as a result of the prayers for us and for others. That brings us to our third point though, the petitions. Titian means the requests. The three specific things that Paul wants the Christians in Rome to pray for him about. The first is this, he said, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea. He's praying for protection. He's talking about his countrymen, the Jews. Paul was planning on going to Judea before heading to Rome, and he knew that the Jews there would be gunning for him. I mean, the first time he was in Jerusalem after being converted, some Jews tried to kill him. You remember Jesus told him, his disciples, he said, the day will come when those who are putting you to death will think they're doing God a favor. Much of the opposition and persecution that's come to believers over the centuries have come from religious people. The Zoroastrians in Persia, the Hindus in India, from Muslims throughout the Middle East, from the church against true believers. When the army is advancing into enemy territory, it helps if you have air cover. When the Christian is going into hostile territory, it helps if we have prayer cover. Paul wanted the Romans to provide prayer cover for him for his days when he was in Jerusalem. There was an older lady in our church years ago, and she was a wonderful saint. And one time when I was visiting her, she said, you know, I have a question for you. I said, what's that? And she said, when you write your sermons, what day do you write them on? And I said, well, I work on them through the week, but I said, I almost always end up writing them on Saturday. She said, oh, that would explain it. I said, explain what? She said, I always have this overwhelming sense that I need to pray for you on Saturday. Once again, notice how God puts it in the hearts of his people to pray for things that he intends to have happen. You know, if you really were to come home from a bombing raid on a wing and a prayer, you'd want people were really praying for your safety. Well, the second thing Paul asked for, the second petition, is he says that my service in Jerusalem might prove acceptable to the saints. Now, Paul was bringing a collection from Gentile Christians from around the region back to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem to help them out because they were struggling. And Paul was hoping that this sacrifice of love would draw the Jews and the Gentiles even closer together so that the unity that he had been urging upon him earlier in the book of Romans would be realized throughout the entire church. The third thing he asked for is this, he said, so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. So he wants to get back to them. He said, the first two, by the way, have to take place before this third one can. So Paul is really hopeful that after all these years of wanting to go to Rome, he's finally gonna get there. Well, here's the question though. Did these Roman Christians actually pray for him? He asked them. We don't know that for certain. And were these petitions, these prayers answered? Well, all Christians know we need to pray, not just for us, ourselves, but for others. So I'm assuming that they did pray. But how about this question? Did God answer the prayer? Well, yeah. I'm gonna show you that in just a minute. But I wanna tell you something. He didn't answer it quite the way you would think. And that reminds me of a story I heard a guy tell. His name is, last name is Thompson. And he's in a church, Texas Corners Church in Michigan. And he told about a woman that he had read about who had decided, she was a school teacher. I don't know if she was retired yet, but she decided she was gonna take a trip across the United States. So she got in her camper, she'd drive into, and when she got someplace in California, the water pump went out on her truck. And so she's pulled over to the side, and she's a little worried and scared, and she doesn't know anything about this and whatnot. And she said, cars are zooping by. And all of a sudden, she said, God, send somebody. Send me an angel to help me with this. And it would be nice if they were mechanically inclined. And she said a few more places, and all of a sudden, about three minutes later, she said, a guy stopped by, comes in on a motorcycle. He says, long beard, you know, and tattoos, and leather, and chains, and all this stuff, and didn't even say anything. Just opened up the hood, this, this, and that. All of a sudden, he gets on the phone or whatever, calls somebody, and they get a truck, comes in, they haul it off to the side, and the two guys work on it together. And so she's pretty impressed with this. But this guy, this motorcycle rider, knew that she seemed a little uneasy, especially when she saw on his back it said, hell's angels. You get what I'm saying? Some of you haven't got it yet. She had asked that God would send an angel. And he said to her, ma'am, don't judge a book by the cover. Now that's not the way she thought it would happen, but that's the way God thought it should happen. Now let me tell you about Paul. Take your Bible and turn to Acts 21. We're gonna start at verse 17. I want you to see this, because to me, this is amazing. Acts is just the book right before Romans. So it's Acts 21, starting with verse 17. Listen as I read. Okay, this is Paul when he gets to Jerusalem, right? It says, after we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren, meaning the Jewish Christians there, received us gladly. That's a good sign, isn't it? Because he's bringing an offering. And the following day, Paul went in with us to James, that would be Jesus' brother, and all the elders were present. And after he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles. So he's telling all the great things God's doing among the Gentiles in his ministry. And when they had heard this, they began glorifying God, and they said, you see, brothers, how many thousands among the Jews there are who have believed, and they're all zealous for the law. Now here we see that Paul's greeted warmly, though if you read a little farther into that chapter, you'll find out there was still some apprehension about having Paul there, because Paul was a lightning rod. He was a firebrand. And there was a lot of cancel culture going on right then, too, and a lot of slander that was going on about him. And so they were concerned that he was there, though they was glad that he was there. But later in Acts 24, 17, we read where Paul's defending himself before Felix, the governor. He says this, now, after several years, I came to bring alms to my nation and present offerings. So evidently he brought them and he gave it to them and they received it. So that prayer is answered, yay. Next one though. So evidently that's what happened. But then look at verse 27 of Acts 21. See what happens next. When seven days were almost over, so he had a nice week of time and fellowship with all the other people. When seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up the crowd. They laid hand on him, crying out, men of Israel, come to our aid. This is a man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and against the law in this place. Besides, he even brought Greeks into the temple, which by the way, was on penalty of death. And he defiled this holy place, for they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was provoked and the people rushed together, taking hold of Paul. They dragged him out of the temple and immediately the door was shut. Now that does not sound like the answer of a prayer for safety, does it? But Paul didn't pray for safety. He prayed specifically that he would be rescued from the hands of those who would want to harm him. So look what it says in verse 31. When they were seeking to kill him, while they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort and all Jerusalem was in confusion. At once, he took along some of the soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. So Paul's already getting a beating on this. Then the commander came up and took hold of him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. And they began asking him what he had done. But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing, another shouting another. They couldn't find out the facts because of the uproar. He ordered him to be brought into the barracks. When he got to the stairs, he was carried by soldiers because of the violence of the mob. For the multitude, people kept following him, shouting, away with him. So get what's going on. He's already rescued. They put him in chains. They put him in jail. Now that's not the way I would have done it, but I'm not God. But then it goes on to, by the way, Paul convinces the commander to allow him to go back out and address the crowd. It says, as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to him, to the commander, may I say something to you? And he said, do you know Greek? He said, yeah. Then you're not that Egyptian some time ago which stirred up a revolt of the 400 men of the assassins of the wilderness. Paul said, I'm a Jew of Tarsus, of Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city, and I beg you that you'll let me speak to the people. When he had given him permission, Paul was standing on the stairs, he motioned to the people with his hands, and when there was a great hush, he spoke in the Hebrew dialect. So when he speaks in Hebrew, they calm down from it. And then he goes into this long thing, and they're listening to it intently until he gets to a part where he says that Jesus told him that, I'm going to send you to the Gentiles, and they'll listen, and they freak out again. They start to riot, and they take him away, they put him in jail, and then he's held in jail until he comes before the governor, Felix. And then at that time, Felix decided they were gonna transfer Paul to someplace else. But when they were gonna do that, they had some Jewish people who were gonna assassinate Paul and kill the soldiers along the way. But Paul's nephew happens to hear about this and goes to the governor and tells him. So they send like 200 troops and they can't do it. By the way, those guys said, you know what? We're not gonna eat anything or drink anything until Paul's dead. Well, I hope they didn't. So after that, you know, he goes, he speaks at the Sanhedrin. He gets that opportunity. Finally, he's put in jail. He's there for about two years. And then King Agrippa is there along with the new governor Festus. And he says, you know, I got this guy here. I don't know what to do with him. He brings him out. They listen to him. And they're just about ready to let him go. But the problem is Paul's appealed to go to Caesar. He said, we could have released them, but that is his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. So we're going to send him to Caesar. So they put him on a ship. And on the ship, Paul tells him, I don't think we should go. I don't think this isn't going to turn out well. No, no, we'll go anyways. What do you know? You're a missionary. And then they end up with this big shipwreck. They end up on the island of Malta. And they, on the shore, everyone's cold. And so Paul starts a fire. And as he does that, a viper comes out and bites him. And people are like, oh, he's going to get it now. I mean, he's escaped the sea. Obviously the gods are getting him back. Paul shakes the thing off and he keeps going. Finally, they get him into Rome. He's there. They put him between Praetorian guards, who he's chained to. And some of the people from the church come visit him. Now, would you have thought that's the way? Was that what Paul was asking for? No. But isn't that what God gave him? Yeah. You say, wow, what a man. I say, no, wow, what a God. God says, you know, my ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts. He says, as high as the heavens are above the earth. We're almost done here. I want you to stick with me. Who would have thought? that the answer to the world's evil and sin was for God to become a man in the person of his son and die the greatest injustice hung on a cross so that sin could be dealt with. Let me give you one quick one for those Star Trek fans of ours here. In one of the episodes, they have this planet killer that's going through the universe, galaxies, smashing everything. They're trying to destroy this thing, but you can't destroy it by shooting at it from the outside. But someone gets the clever idea, if you can't destroy it from the outside, maybe you can destroy it from the inside. And so they take one of their starships that's just about destroyed anyways, and they go right down the middle of it and explode it from the inside. Now, I want you to think about it. Let that planet killer represent death. Who would have thought that the way to destroy death was for Christ to enter into it. We have a line in the scripture that says, you know, death is swallowed up in victory. You know what happened? Death tried to swallow Jesus and gagged. Here's what I'm telling you. God has his ways of doing things. They're strange to us. Sometimes they're hard for us, but he knows exactly what he's doing. But we have to pray. The Bible says you have not because you ask not. I wonder what it's going to be like when we get to heaven and Jesus said, you know, I would have given you a lot more if you would have asked me. But you never asked. Well, all the excitement, all the opportunities, all the last minute rescues came as a result of God's people praying for Paul and supporting him. Blessings come when God's people pray. Let us be men and women, boys and girls of prayer, and let me finish by giving you the benediction Paul gave them. Now may the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father in God, we have become a church of prayer, but even in our church, there's people who used to pray get together with others, they don't do it anymore. There's people in our church, Lord, who used to be more diligent and now have let it slack. And I think all of us know that that's true for us to a degree. So Father, we pray that you would help us to redouble our efforts and to expect great things from you just because we ask you and you're good and you like to give good gifts. But Jesus told us many times to pray and to not lose heart. And we don't want to lose heart. Our country's in a mess, the churches are in a mess, and we need your grace. But it's gonna come to us as we pray. So bless us now, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.