Welcome to Unveiled Faces, a Redeemer Presbyterian Church podcast. Please enjoy our feature presentation. Our Father, that is our prayer. You have been so faithful to us. even this day by bringing us together in your name, giving us the strength to be here, and the faith in you to be here. We thank you that you are faithful even when we're not, that you remain faithful, you cannot deny yourself. So we praise you today, we rejoice in you, we thank you for the wonderful gift of your spirit who's with us today, and the gift of your word. that we will share in today. Thank you for the presence of your Son, Jesus Christ, here in spirit with us. Thank you for your power that is with us today to guide this time. We rejoice in you and in your faithfulness, in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. In a moment, we'll be reading from Acts chapter 25, starting at verse 23 and going slowly all the way to chapter 26, verse 32. What a joy to be here with you today. It's a great honor and privilege to bring God's Word to you. As you may know, I lead a ministry at the California State Capitol to our government leaders, our elected officials, their staff and the lobbyists and everybody else who's there that I'm able to get access to. And I'm there not for political purposes. but for the purposes of introducing them to the Lord by His grace and teaching them His Word if they're willing to listen. And so I reach out to all, regardless of party, regardless of how I might feel about the laws they're making or that kind of thing, and bring that one message of good news to everybody there. And I've been doing it for seven years, and it's a great honor to do so. But when people hear what I'm doing at the Capitol, I've noticed that I receive mixed reactions, even among people who profess faith in the Lord. Many are, of course, very encouraged and excited about that when they hear that I'm doing what I'm doing there. And in fact, I'm part of a group of people where we're doing this in many state capitals across the United States, raising support as missionaries to be in the capital doing this. But others who profess faith in Jesus are not as enthused. And as I talked to them about it, I realized that they were hoping that I would say that I'm there for political purposes, that I'm there for political action, that I'm there to stop the other political party or to promote the candidates that they like. to rally the churches to the cause of political action. And so when I explain that there are lots of other people who are doing that kind of thing, but that I'm bringing the good news and the word of God to our government leaders, regardless of their political persuasion, and encouraging the church to do the same, some of them are disinterested or even disappointed. I didn't expect that when I started in this ministry seven years ago. It kind of caught me off guard. But I realized that many of them seem to think that we can best change the world through politics. And I think there's something about that that is unfortunate because the truth is that what our world needs the most is not politics, but it is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is the Word of God. And that's what our government needs the most also. And it's what every sphere of our society needs the most. So not to say that there's no value in civic action or political action, there is. In fact, that's why I'm there reaching out to those people is because they are valuable and what they do is valuable. But there's something that we can be a part of that's even more important. And so one part of God's word that speaks to this, that encourages me in this is in Acts chapter 25 and 26. And in this passage of the Bible, these chapters and even the earlier chapters, we read how the Apostle Paul interacted with government leaders in his day. And it gives us a window into how we can respond to the sinful unbelievers around us, government leaders or otherwise. It especially demonstrates, I think, the power and priority of the gospel, of the good news of Jesus. So look with me, if you will, at Acts chapter 25, beginning in verse 23. Acts 25.23. It says, So on the next day, when Agrippa came together with Bernice, and made great pomp and entered the auditorium accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. Let's just pause there for now. I want to give you a little bit of the context and the background of this. This is about the year AD 59, about 26 years after Jesus' resurrection. And it involves the Apostle Paul. I'm sure you remember him. Much in the Bible about him and much of the book of Acts is about him. Paul, we know, had been a devout Pharisee, which meant that he was exceedingly focused on the law of God. He had persecuted Christians because he believed that they were not of God. And then the Lord set him straight, didn't he? Because Jesus appeared to Paul, who at the time was called Saul, while he was on the road to Damascus to persecute some believers. And Jesus appeared to him miraculously and opened his eyes to know the truth. And then we see Paul traveling the world proclaiming this good news of Jesus. And he goes to many capital cities, interestingly, of the Roman Empire. That's something I hadn't known before I stepped into ministry in the state capital, that many of the places that Paul traveled to were capital cities. And then now as we come to this section, he has gone to Jerusalem, to the Temple Mount, as we call it today in Jerusalem, where the temple is. And as he was there to worship God at the temple, Some of the Jewish worshipers who were there saw him, and because they were opposed to Paul, not because of his past of persecuting Christians, but now because of his present of proclaiming the gospel, there was a riot that ensued, and some of them set out to kill him. And we see then that the Roman soldiers came riding in on their horses to put a stop to this riot around the Apostle Paul. And so they took him into custody, really rescuing him from the hostile crowd. And then they took him to the coastal city of Caesarea, which was a beautiful area there on the beach, but also a center of government. for the nation for that area and there we see that he was titled a hearing before Marcus Antonius Felix who is the Roman governor or procurator and then Felix was removed and Rome appointed a new procurator who was Festus And we see that Festus was going to release Paul to the Jews in Jerusalem, send him back to them for trial. And Paul said, no, I appeal to Caesar, which means I want to go to Rome. And as a Roman citizen, he said, I have that right to not be sent back to the Jews who wanted to kill me, but to go to Rome and hear my case heard by the authorities at the capital city. Why did Paul appeal to Caesar? On the one hand, I'm sure he did not want to be released to the Jews in Jerusalem. But there was more going on here because Paul was never one to be particularly concerned about his own safety. And in fact, he had known when he came to Jerusalem that he was going to be arrested. People had prophesied that and he expected that. But it seems that Paul recognized that if he were sent off to Rome it would be a divine opportunity for him because it was the supreme capital of the Roman Empire. And he wanted to testify about Christ there. And he knew that that was the Lord's will for his life. Look back in the book of Acts at chapter 19 verse 21. There we see, it says that now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem, this is 1921, to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. And then in Acts 23, 11, It says, the following night the Lord stood by him and said, take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome. And then in Romans 1, 15 and 16, he writes to the people in Rome, Italy and says, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. So Paul wanted to go to Rome and he knew that God wanted him to go to Rome. And that was no doubtedly because it was the supreme capital city. It would be like saying, I've got to go to Washington, DC. But even more so because the Roman empire was the empire ruling so much of the world. And so Paul appealed to Rome and was granted that appeal and now while still under house arrest before being sent off to Rome, or under the arrest of the authorities I should say in Caesarea, while still planning to go to Rome he has one last chance to speak to the government leaders in Israel. And that's what we're reading here in these chapters in Acts 25 and 26. So what is Paul going to say to these government leaders? Now, in verse 23 there, we saw who they are. It said there that Agrippa came together with Bernice, Great Palm, Enter the Auditorium, the commanders, prominent men, Festus was there. Who are these people? Well, they were government leaders again. Interestingly, both Jewish and Roman, because the Romans had occupied Israel as they occupied most of the world, we see it was the government leaders. It says they were also commanders, or the English Standard Version says military tribunes. So military leaders, high-level military leaders. And it says there were prominent men. So who's that? That would be probably business and community leaders. And it says they came together with great pomp. The Greek word translated great pomp is the word, interestingly, fantasia, which you may have heard. It means a grand, showy pageant. And so you can imagine that they were there putting on their grandest, showiest form of dress and flowing robes, probably a lot of royal purple robes, elaborate jewelry, fancy military uniforms. There would have been music, trumpets, and maybe some entertainment of some kind, and ceremony. And then they bring in Paul. Who was he? Well, he was described by his adversaries in 2 Corinthians 10.10, he says, as unimpressive in appearance. One 2nd century writing describes him as a short, bald-headed man. I'm not sure what's wrong with that part. That must have been a compliment. But he was short, bald-headed, with bowed legs, a long nose, and a unibrow. That was a second century account, paraphrased. And here he stands in chains, probably in old clothes, because now he had been in prison there for years. And who there would have guessed that little Paul would be the one who is known throughout history today. And that his Messiah that he spoke of is the greatest figure in the history of our world. And it's a reminder that he who kneels before God can stand before anyone confidently before them. So these were powerful leaders that Paul stood before. And it's helpful to know that they were also immoral sinners. Sometimes people say to me, yes, but our leaders are so immoral today in our country. How can we not make that our emphasis in the church, to fight against the corruption and fight against the immorality and bring in other people? And again, there's certainly value to being involved politically, but we have to remember that government has always been corrupt. throughout most of the world's history, and immoral. And that was certainly the case with these leaders Paul stood before. One of them, it says, was Festus. Let me tell you about him. His full name was Porcius Festus. He, as I mentioned, had just been sent by the Emperor Nero in Rome to replace Felix as the new Roman procurator of Judea. You can read that in Acts 25.1. Procurator means that he was in charge of the finances. all the tax collection and the money that was sent back to Rome. And he was determined to keep order. He was a high authority. He reported directly to the Emperor. And at that time a crisis was starting to brew because the Jews were protesting Roman over-control and immoral taxation. Sound familiar? And much of the taxation Here the religious Jews in Israel are being taxed and the money is being sent back to Rome for greatly immoral causes. And the fact that Festus was Roman just meant to the Jews that he was immoral and engaged in filth. And he represented the current Emperor Nero, who, as you may know, was a madman of the first degree who engaged in every conceivable kind of impurity and debauchery and violence publicly and privately and was a brutal tyrant. So they weren't a big fan of Festus, these Jewish people like Paul. And Agrippa, who was there, was Marcus Julius Agrippa, also known as Herod Agrippa II. He was about 31 or 32 years old. He was the seventh and last king of the family of Herods who had been ruling Israel for a long time. You may know about his great-grandfather who slaughtered the babies of Bethlehem in an attempt to kill Jesus. And you've probably heard of his father who beheaded the Apostle James and imprisoned Peter. Oh, and his great-uncle beheaded John the Baptist. This is Agrippa and his wonderful family. And so he infuriated the Jews, not only those who were followers of Jesus, but all of them, because he was corrupt. He appointed and deposed many high priests without reason. He lived a lavish lifestyle as his country's economy declined. He lived an immoral life with many drunken, immoral parties that lasted for weeks. He sided with the ungodly Romans, he supported the excessive Roman taxes, and basically he was a puppet of Rome. And some years later, during the Jewish war, he was one who actively supported the Roman army as they came in to destroy Jerusalem. He even sent 2,000 of his own soldiers to help them to overthrow his own people, and then threw a big party to celebrate their victory over his people. So definitely a puppet of Rome, even though he was Jewish. And then it mentions one other person there, verse 23, it says, they came together with Bernice. Bernice was Agrippa's sister. She was married three times, but at this time, it was commonly thought that she was in an incestuous relationship with her brother, Agrippa here. And she later would become the girlfriend of the Roman general and future emperor Titus Flavius Vespasenius, who in 70 AD led the fierce attack against Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem. So she was not somebody that the Jews were thrilled with either. You get the idea? As far as the Jews, including, I would expect Paul, were concerned, these leaders he stood before were corrupt, immoral, godless, hypocritical, arrogant, deceitful, murderous, lying, thieving, traitorous politicians. That sound familiar? So how does Paul respond to them? Starting at verse 24. We read what happened next. Festus said, King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he ought not to live any longer, but I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death. And since he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to send him. Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my Lord, meaning the emperor, therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seemed absurd to me in sending a prisoner not to indicate also the charges against him. And Agrippa said to Paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself. So now they're saying, Paul, what do you have to say for yourself? And notice Paul's response. It says, Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense. This is verse 1. And he said, In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today, especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently." Notice that Paul is respectful, even though they're such immoral unbelievers. And that fits with what he wrote in Titus 3, 1 through 2, by the inspiration of the Spirit. He said, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid crueling, to be gentle, to show perfect courtesy towards all people." And here he models this respect for immoral government leaders even because of their position, knowing that God is the one who has appointed them and allowed them to be there. Isn't that interesting that God raises up our rulers ultimately? We have a vote, but ultimately God dictates the outcome of that vote. And Paul focuses, as we read on, on one thing we see. He had already appealed to Rome, so he was guaranteed a trial there before Caesar. He realizes this is his one chance to say whatever he wants. He could, if he wanted to, speak up about their offenses and their immorality. Now that may have come back to him in some way, but ultimately he's going off to Rome to be heard by other people. So, that may not have hurt him. And again, Paul wasn't one to shrink back from speaking the truth. He could have corrected their corrupt practices. He could have told Agrippa and Bernice to stop their immoral relationship. But he doesn't. As we read on, we see what he says in chapter 26, starting at verse 4. This is a long section that's a quote from the Apostle Paul. He says, so then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation at Jerusalem. Now Acts 26.5, since they have known about me for a long time, if they're willing to testify that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. And he goes on to recount his life and his history. He talks about how he persecuted the followers of Jesus. And then starting in verse 12, 26-12, he talks about how the Lord appeared to him. He says in verse 13, At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, Why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goats. And I said, who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet. For this purpose, I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness, not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you. Notice, rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me. So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those at Damascus first and also at Jerusalem, and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. For this reason, some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. so having obtained help from God I stand to this day testifying notice both too small and great so here he is before many who are considered great stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was to take place that the Christ was to suffer and that by reason of his resurrection from the dead he would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles And again, remember here he's standing before leaders of the Jews and the Gentiles. And so what does Paul say to the leaders, the government leaders of his day? In fact, many of the most prominent leaders who were in his country. He shares his testimony. He shares what God did to get hold of him. He shares how his eyes were miraculously opened through Christ. That's a great example for us. Did God get hold of you? Did He open your eyes through Christ? If so, this is a story He wants you to tell. And I hope you're used to telling it, that you do so frequently. There's a lot of value in sharing our story of what God did for us. We see Paul modeling that often. And as he tells the story of what God did for him, he declares the gospel, the good news of Jesus. Notice in verse 18, he says this wonderful, it's a wonderful explanation of the gospel, that God opens people's eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, the dominion of Satan to God, receive forgiveness and sins and an inheritance among those who've been sanctified by faith in him. And then also verse 22 and 23, he says, He's declaring what the prophets and Moses said, so he's referring to the Bible there, showing its authority. And then verse 23, that the Christ was to suffer and then rise again from the dead. So he declares the death and resurrection of Jesus as atonement for our sins. And so when we share our testimony, we weave in, don't we, what God did for us through Jesus and how others can be saved. And again, he addresses it in verse 22, to small and great. It's for all people. The same message for all, including the most senior leaders or the lowest servant. And so how often do we share, how often do we pass up the opportunity to share, to tell people about the Lord? And for me, in a setting where I'm around a lot of leaders, it's often intimidating. to go up to somebody I don't know well and try to weave in and talk about the gospel. I know I won't always get many opportunities, so I have to move quickly with some of them. But what better message could I share? And so then Paul calls for a response. Notice verse 24, while Paul was saying this in his defense, it's interesting, in his defense, he didn't even talk hardly at all about His legal case, his defense was really just proclaiming his testimony in the gospel. While he's saying this, Festus said in a loud voice, Paul, you're out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad! Oh boy. I've had people react similarly. But Paul wasn't intimidated. He said back, I'm not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth. For the king knows about these things and I speak to him also with confidence. And so I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice. And this has not been done in a corner. Oh, I pray that God will give me that boldness to proclaim his word openly and confidently as the Apostle Paul did. King Agrippa, now notice how he points it right at him, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? So this is a Jewish leader now. Do you believe the prophets? Do you believe the Bible? I know that you do, he says. And Agrippa replied to Paul, and I think he may have done so with a chuckle, probably embarrassed about how other people are going to perceive this conversation now. He says, oh, in a short time you'll persuade me to become a Christian. Maybe some nervous laughter. Paul, you really think you're going to persuade me? But Paul said, I would wish to God that whether in a short or a long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, who's that? An auditorium full of commanders in the military, leaders of the government, not to mention security officers, servants of all kinds, all kinds of, probably hundreds and hundreds of leaders, that all who hear me this day might become such as I am, except for these chains. Wow, he calls them to salvation. Why did he do this? Why didn't he speak to them about morality or politics when he had the chance? Because he knew his time was limited, his opportunity was limited, and he knew that the gospel is more important than anything, including politics. It's a higher priority, and it is more powerful, it is more permanent. He knew this. Let me talk about that. First, he knew the priority of the gospel. He was a Pharisee, which was basically an activist in a religious and moral political party. But now in Christ, he had a higher calling. And he was crystal clear in his focus. In 1 Corinthians 2, he says, I determined to know nothing among you, what? Except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And God had told him that he was called to share the good news with non-believing government leaders. In Acts 9.15, it says, the Lord said to Ananias regarding him, go for he, Paul, is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel. So part of Paul's calling was specifically to go to government leaders, and he knew that. And so he, I'm sure, had that always in mind, that that was part of his calling. Do you know your mission that God has called you to? We who know the Lord and love Him must remember that we've entrusted with the greatest message in the history of the world, the gospel of Christ, the Great Commission, as explained in Matthew 28. And it is better than politics. It is better than morality. Morality can be a false gospel. People think if we can just get these sinners living right, just get them to stop sinning so much, then the world will be fine. Galatians 1.6, Paul says, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel. And the gospel was there one of morality and the law. And so just because someone is conservative politically or socially doesn't mean they know the Lord. And we need to remember that as we think about politics and especially in an election year like this. And there's so much talk about politics and who to vote for. Just remember that regardless of what they represent, politically or socially, it doesn't necessarily mean there's a connection with the Lord. Even if they say so, by the way. I met with one state legislator one day years ago, and he had many things in his office that represented faith in God. I won't get into specifics, he's no longer there, but I try to keep things as anonymous as possible. But he had some pictures, and he had a Bible on his desk, and he had various things that would represent strong faith in the Lord. And so I said, Assemblyman, tell me about that. So you have many things here about the Lord. He says, yeah. He says, but Frank, there's really nothing there. I said, well, I'm not sure. Maybe you didn't understand what I'm saying. I noticed you have the Bible, you have this picture, you have these other things about Jesus. He says, no, you understand it. He said, there's just nothing there. I said, well, why do you? Look, he says, a long time ago some things happened, but it's been a long time and there's nothing there anymore. Oh, okay. And so what was going on? Well, he knew that it was politically advantageous to represent himself still as a Christian, even though privately there was nothing there. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said back in the 19th century in London. He said, quote, man's fall, his need for a new birth, forgiveness through an atonement, and salvation as a result of faith—these are our battle acts and weapons of war. We have enough to do to learn and teach these great truths, and it cursed be that learning which shall divert us from our mission, or that willful ignorance which shall cripple us in its pursuit. More and more I am jealous lest any views upon prophecy, church government, politics, or even systematic theology should withdraw one of us from glorying in the cross of Christ. Salvation is a theme for which I would feign enlist every holy tongue. I am greedy after witnesses for the glorious gospel of the blessed God. And Patrick Henry, one of the founding fathers of our nation, said, quote, I think religion is of infinitely higher importance than politics. And of course, by religion, he meant trust in Christ. And so if we who are believers substitute anything for the gospel, then who will proclaim it? No one. It's a message that is uniquely ours. It is our priority. And Paul knew that, and he knew the power of the gospel also. The power of the gospel, that Christ solves our greatest need. Our greatest problems are sin problems of the heart, not moral or political problems. Politics, government are wholly unable to solve the problems that we face because they are problems of the heart and out of the heart flows the immorality that we see going on in the world and the injustice. Psalm 118.9 said, it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Romans 1 16 Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek and so we know that once a person is really saved through Christ their life changes everything changes including their morality including their politics Their behavior. I've seen this personally. Haven't you? You share about the good news of Jesus with somebody, God does a miraculous work, and everything changes. Years ago I was the senior pastor of a church up north, and this was a small town church. Everybody knew each other in town. And someone came to me and said, Pastor, there's a couple up the street. I'm not going to name who they are, but they're a young couple. They live about five houses up. They have two children. They've been coming to the church for about six months, you know, and they're shriving everything about them. I said, yes, yes, I know who you are. I'm not going to say who they are. OK, well, I know who you mean. And they said, well, you don't know it, Pastor, but this couple aren't married. They're living together in sin. And I said to this person, I said, you know, I said, you may not know that that couple just professed faith in Jesus recently. They'd been coming to the church and they didn't even claim to be believers. And God has done, I think, a real miraculous transformation in their hearts. He's awakened them to who He is, and they're trusting in Him, and it seems to be genuine. So let's just watch and see what the Spirit of God does, because I know that over time, as the Word of God is taught and they grow in the Lord, they're going to change, if it's genuine. Let's see what happens. And sure enough, it only took a short time. And then this couple came out public, said, you know what everybody, we haven't been married, we'd like to have a wedding ceremony. I didn't even talk to them about it. But they just knew, now that God was working in their heart, that they should be married, that they had some things they needed to change in their life. And as God sanctified them, He changed them. And that man today is an elder in his church. And it's the same with politicians. If they know the Lord, they will grow in Him. If they're seeking Him, they'll be sanctified, they'll make better decisions. And if they're in government, they'll make better, more moral laws. Proverbs 21.1 says, the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he wishes. Proverbs 29.2, when the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan. but connection with God through Christ. John Adams, one of our country's earliest leaders, said this, he said, Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. And then we see in the Bible that sometimes our problems are different than what we might think. Ephesians 6.12 says, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. And by the way, I think in the context Paul might have been implying there, our struggle's not against Nero, who's the evil leader of our empire. Not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness. against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. He's saying behind all this corrupt government is a spiritual battle and that certainly was true with the leaders of Paul's day and it seems likely with some of ours today. So Paul preached the gospel to Festus in Agrippa. Again, Spurgeon, quoting him, he said, it's a great act of mercy toward nobles and princes when they have the opportunity of hearing a faithful gospel discourse. And of this, he said, Agrippa was much favored, though he scarcely appreciated the privilege to listen to so earnest an advocate of the gospel of Jesus as Paul the apostle. And indeed, to their shame, it would seem that Agrippa and Festus did not heed Paul's message. But who knows what God was doing at that moment? Maybe planting seeds that took root later, or maybe speaking to somebody else in the auditorium. Isaiah 55.11 says, God's word doesn't go forth void. Maybe it was the soldier who was there. Maybe it was the servant. Maybe it was a guard who was wiping away the tears as they heard Paul's testimony, and their heart was awakened to the Lord. Who knows? God's Word doesn't go a fourth void, so we keep proclaiming it. Paul knew that, that it had power, and he knew its permanence. People dream today of a political solution, but political leaders come and go, and the political solutions never seem to last, do they? And so was the case here. Here Paul preached to them, things were going to change. Two years later, Festus would die in office. And six years later, Agrippa and Bernice would leave Israel because the people rose up against them. And 10 years later, the entire nation of Israel would be wiped out by the Roman Empire. And centuries later, even the mighty Roman Empire would pass. And so we don't want to hope in even a restored America. Empires rise, empires fall, leaders come and go. This world will never be heaven. We're citizens of a higher kingdom that is eternal. Jesus said in Matthew 24, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. So does this mean we retreat from the world? No. Again, it's good to be involved in the system. We're fortunate to live in a country where we can be involved in the way we can. I urge you to vote. And let me tell you, if you don't vote, you certainly have no right to complain about what happens afterwards. That's the motivation, isn't it? And we need godly people to be involved in government. We should pray for that and do what we can to that end. We want followers of Christ involved in all spheres of society, in the media, the arts, athletics, the military, schools, et cetera, and government. And we see many biblical examples of men and women of God who led in government, right? You can think of lots, Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Esther, et cetera, and all of them, interestingly, served in pagan lands and did it to the glory of God. So it's good to be involved politically, and it doesn't mean we never discuss morality or politics. But our main concern is the morality of the church, not the world. Have you thought about that? John Stott wrote this. He said, our Christian habit is to bewail the world's deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay. We criticize its violence, dishonesty, immorality, disregard for human life, and materialistic greed. The world is going down the drain, we say with a shrug. But whose fault is it? Who is to blame? Let me put it like this. If the house is dark when nightfall comes, there's no sense in blaming the house. That is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, where's the light? Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there's no sense in blaming the meat. This is what happens when bacteria are left alone to breed. The question to ask is, where's the salt? Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline until it becomes like a dark night or a stinking fish, there's no sense in blaming society. That is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves and human selfishness is unchecked. The question to ask is, where is the church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society? It is sheer hypocrisy on our part to raise our eyebrows, shrug our shoulders, or wring our hands. The Lord Jesus told us to be the world's salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is largely our fault, and we must accept the blame." That was John Stott. Good words, I think. And that's why we do what we can to bring the gospel to all, including government. And so a little bit of an epilogue, what's the rest of the story after what we read in Acts? Well, we know that Paul made it to Rome. God used him greatly there. He was under house arrest. But quite a bit of good came out of it. He wrote some letters. Did you know that? Have you heard of them? Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. God used that arrest. He reached out to the Praetorian Guard, who were like the secret service. He says in Philippians 1.12, he says, I want you to know that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and everybody else. He thought that was a wonderful opportunity. And so when I'm in the Capitol, some of my ministry is to the sergeants at arms. He inspired the others to share the word of God. In Philippians 1.14, he says that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. And he even reached Caesar Nero's household, his family, perhaps, or his servants. He says in Philippians 4.22, all the saints greet you. And then this is like his celebration, especially those of Caesar's household. Bam! The gospel had made it right into Caesar's house. Did he save the empire? People say to me, do you think you're going to save America, Frank? Well, he didn't save the empire, not immediately at least. Persecution actually intensified greatly. Nero executed Paul. And subsequently, he and other emperors subsequently executed many, many thousands of believers. But eventually, as the gospel spread and was preached, hearts were changed one by one. And eventually, even the godless Roman Empire was changed into an empire that spread the gospel even more. And so, in conclusion, I think Paul chose wisely to preach the good news when he had the chance, don't you? How different would it have been if he had chose not to? And so we can learn from Paul's example. To keep the gospel of Jesus first, even above politics, it's the greatest message in the whole world. It's been entrusted to us. It's what the world needs most to hear. Would you pray with me? Our Father, we are grateful, extremely grateful, exceedingly grateful that you have opened up the eyes of our hearts to appreciate and understand the good news of Jesus. To know that you, despite our sinfulness, reached out to us by sending your Son to die as atonement for our sins. and that we can have a connection with you through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and stand before you spotless and clean because of His righteousness that's been imputed to us. God, we know that anything good in our life is because of that, and any goodness that we do is because of that. Lord, help us to recognize opportunities to pass that on to others. personally or to encourage others who are doing so throughout the world, to continue to make a focus of that, knowing that that is the lasting message, the one that we'll be glad that we shared a century from now in the next life. We pray that you'll use us to be your mouthpieces, that you'll use us to encourage the brethren in this, that you'll strengthen us as we go forward proclaiming the good news of Jesus that has been so good to us. We thank you so much, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. This has been a presentation of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. For more resources and information, please stop by our website at visitredeemer.org. All material here within, unless otherwise noted. Copyright Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Elk Grove, California. Music furnished by Nathan Clark George. Available at nathanclarkgeorge.com.