Chapter 23. Just a reminder, every week with the sermon I construct a children's church bulletin that follows along in the sermon. So if you're a child or a parent and you'd like your kid to be able to follow along, those that sit in during the service, I would encourage you to pick it up. If you struggle with attention as a grown adult, These are also good because it gives you kind of an outline of the sermon and you can take notes in there. So I do have those. Those are always up front when you walk in. So some weeks it doesn't seem like that many people are taking them, but I think you would benefit from them, especially the younger people that are here. So we are at Acts chapter 23. That's Acts chapter 23, and we are going to pick up at verse 12, and then, Lord willing, we will read through the end of the chapter. Would you stand with me as we read God's word together? When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. There was more than 40 who made this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. Now, therefore, you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you as though you were going to determine his case more exactly, and we are ready to kill him before he comes near. Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him. So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, Paul, the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you as he has something to say to you. The tribune took him by the hand and going aside, asked him privately, what is this that you have to tell me? And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more precisely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than 40 of their men are lying in ambush for him. who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed Paul. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent. So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, tell no one that you have informed me of these things. Then he called two of the centurions and said, get ready 200 soldiers with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter to this effect. Claudius Lysaeus to his excellency, the governor, Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him. Having learned that he was a Roman citizen and desiring to know the charge for which they were accused him, I brought him down to their counsel. I found that he was being accused about questions of their law but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him. So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. And on the next day, they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Sicilia, he said, I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's Praetorium. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. You may be seated. Now, being the President of the United States comes with a lot of headaches, but it also comes with a lot of perks. One particular perk that the President, the Vice President, other pretty high-level officials and their families, they have a perk that you and I, as average citizens, do not have. And what is that perk? They have secret service. They have paid professionals, trained and skilled to protect them at all costs. So no matter what the circumstances are, no matter how dangerous, no matter how difficult, They find themselves in, it is their calling, it is their job, it is their duty to protect and to keep safe and secure, even if their own life happens to be taken as a result of this. And I would say, and I'm assuming, in a chaotic world that's so dangerous that we live in, it has to be a source of peace of mind for the president. for the family members, for those political leaders, knowing that they have capable people right next to them, that the moment it gets dangerous, they have somebody that is going to go to bat for them, that they have somebody that's gonna stand in the way and even risk their own life to keep them alive. Now, I know the spoiler alert, most of us here will never have Secret Service. I'm not saying everybody, because one of you will end up becoming president one day, and you'll look back, you remember that sermon where you said we would never have, well, boo, look, I have Secret Service. Good for you. But the reality is, We have something far greater. We have our own secret service. And it's actually no secret at all. We have the creator of heaven and earth intervening on our behalf. His sovereign hand wields protection as he sees fit upon his children. And that's what we're gonna see today in our passage. We have almighty God protecting his child. Almighty God protecting his child. As we break down the passage, think of it as a three-act play. Act number one, we're going to see the conspiracy. We're going to see this plot that is birthed by these wicked men trying to figure out how in the world can we get rid of this Paul guy. So we're going to see the conspiracy. Act number two, we're going to see the intervention that God sovereignly orchestrates and provides a way to foil the plot of these evil men. And then lastly, we're going to see the aftermath. And we're going to see that what these men intended to bring harm and to bring problems actually was a blessing, it actually propelled him even closer towards Rome and towards God, fulfilling his purposes in Paul's life. So we're gonna look at those three acts. Let's pick up at verse 12, I want us to see the conspiracy. Now if you remember, last week we ended with the comforting and encouraging words of verse 11. Look at verse 11 with me. 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 also testify in Rome. And we saw that God promised him that he was not done, that even though it looked like Paul's life hanged in the balance and there was a good chance, he was not going to be leaving Jerusalem alive. God gave him the comfort that, no, I'm not done. I'm gonna get you to Rome. It's going to happen. In the midst of it, he also gives him his presence. And I think those truths are gonna be key as we see the situation going from bad to worse. So first of all, in the conspiracy, I want us to see that sin spreads. Sin spreads. Read verse 12 with me. So it says, when it was day, the Jews had made a plot and bound themselves by an oath, neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. Now, if you remember, last week with Paul, he had successfully divided the Jews. He had figured out a way. He noticed that half of the group was Pharisees, half the group was Sadducees. And they typically didn't get along that well. Sadducees didn't believe really in the spiritual realm. They didn't believe of a life after this life. They believed in the first five books of the Bible, and that's about it as far as the connection. And then the Pharisees, they would at least believe in a resurrection. They believed in kind of a spiritual realm. Well, Paul figured that out, that they were divided there. got the Pharisees to side with them and the Sadducees and the next thing you know they have this fight to the point that they were afraid they were going to rip Paul to pieces. Well, it looks like the group has regrouped from their initial division and now they have a second shot at trying to take Paul down. And the thing I want us to see is that sin gains momentum. Do you understand that? That sin gains momentum. It has the snowball effect that it will continue to grow left unchecked. If you've ever seen a train, how quickly can a train stop if it's going fast? Some trains, if they're going fast enough, it can take a good mile, imagine that. a mile for that train to finally get to a halt, to a stop. And you see, that is an example of sin. James 1.14 says, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, then desire, when it is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death. And we see this. What was their initial thing? This guy has to go. He has to die. He doesn't deserve to live. And now they went from he deserves to not live to we're gonna kill him. Initially, they kind of wanted Rome to deal with them, but now it's progressing. It's getting worse. Unchecked sin gets out of control like that. Well, are you putting sin to death in your life? How far is sin going to lead you? Adultery doesn't happen overnight, for example. It's that slow, subtle acceptance and tolerance of sin in your life that leads a husband or a wife who was faithful to turn their back on their spouse and their covenant before God. And that's just a glance of all sin, that sin is constantly looking for ways to snowball, to gain momentum, to wreak havoc, because not only is it gaining momentum, the intent is to kill you. Just as they wanted Paul dead, Satan wants nothing but your life to be destroyed. 1 Peter 5.8, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. We went to the zoo too much. We've been to the circus too much. And we see lions and we're not intimidated by them as much. We think they're cuddly and what a majestic animal. They are a killing machine. And friends, Satan is that way. He's not your friend. He's gonna convince you that he's your friend. Remember in the garden? Did God really tell you to do that? You know, if you eat from this, you're gonna become like God. God is trying to be a fun stopper. God is trying to hold you back. I'm here to help you. I'm here to let you be who you need to be. And what happened when they bought into that lie? Their life was forever impacted. All of eternity was impacted. Don't be mistaken. Satan wants your destruction. Well, are you naive to the intent of Satan and the world? Are you living foolishly? Are you keeping your eyes open? Are you on check? We live in a wartime. Think of that spiritually. That sin spreads. Too many Christians, it breaks my heart pastorally to see Christians who live lives with unchecked sin. And then I have that conversation after the fact, when their marriage is apart. We're on the cusp of going to jail, or whatever the case may be, and they don't know how it got there, and they got there because they didn't take seriously that there is a very real enemy in their life that desires nothing less than to destroy them in every capacity. So we see sin spreading, but then secondly, we see Satan scheming, Satan scheming. Read verse 13 with me. There was more than 40 who made this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. Now, therefore, you along with the council give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you as though you were going to determine his case more exactly, and we are ready to kill him before he comes near. First thing, I am curious if they ended up dying from starvation and thirst. I wonder how long the oath went. I remember we moved when I was in seventh grade, and I was so upset, I told my parents, I am never eating again unless we go back to my school. And I made it to dinner. And I was like, I'm hungry, I guess. I caved, I caved. Going without lunch, that was rough for like a 12-year-old. All right, so Satan, he schemes. Take note of this. So they're going to have him come down. He's going to be in a vulnerable place. They're going to have 40 men ready to ambush, to assassinate Paul. And that's just the world. The world lies. It cheats. It steals. That's its MO. That's how it works. There's a Craigslist scam I've unfortunately been able to see firsthand. You're trying to sell an item. they contact you and say, hey, I really wanna get the item. And then they're gonna pick it up, and then all of a sudden, every detail starts getting changed. So they're gonna come pick it up. Next thing you know, in the next day in the mail, you get a certified mail, open it up, and you've got a check. Now, the check is for a significant amount more money than you sold the item supposedly with. And then they contact you and say, here's the deal. Rather than ship it, I'm going to have somebody pick it up for you. I want you to just pay them the difference. Like, well, that makes sense. It's more than what you offered to buy the item. So with this extra money, we're going to give some random person The money. So that's how it works. So people do this. So you give them the item you're selling. You give them, let's say, $900 to the person who's picking up. And then you end up with this check where you ended up with some money. Here's the deal. Two weeks later, the bank contacts you and says the check was a fraud. So now you're out the item, out the money. Isn't it ridiculous that we have to live in a day and age where those kind of scams prey on people that are a little bit more naive? And that is the world that we live in. Ephesians 6, 11 says, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil in all circumstances. Take up the shield of faith, which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. You see, the world we live in is scheming, it's lying, it's cheating. God's people are schemed against, not just in the sense of dealing with just the effects of the fallen sin, but Satan and his world, and let's understand this, you're either for God or against him. So even if the people aren't painfully aware that they are an instrument of the evil one, they in fact are according to scripture. What are ways that the world is scheming against the church today? What obstacles are the world? We're gonna see it again and again and more and more often in our country with regards to the government. It's gonna find ways to try to squelch and quiet the faithful. It's gonna find ways to try to keep us not speaking truth. It's gonna find ways to maybe make life a little bit more difficult and that is the name of the game around the world. It's just we're kind of new to it in America. As we prayed, we have missionaries on the front line that it's becoming more and more difficult. In the particular country they're in, they've just recently banned the Bible being sold online. So you cannot buy or sell the Bible online. All these other religious books are supported and okay, but something about the word of God is too controversial. You see, that's how Satan works. Psalm 2, why did the nations rage and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves up and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. Are you on the lookout for his schemes? Are you that naive person who's letting somebody pick up the item you're selling and giving them more money than you just received? Are you mindful? Are you on the defense? Here's the scary part of it. Satan often will, the scripture teaches, will disguise himself as an angel of light. Often the schemes of the devil will not be so blatantly obvious. What do we say? Wolves will often come in what? Sheep's clothing. And that is the precarious circumstances that you and I find ourselves in as we try to live out the gospel. When we see the conspiracy that sin spreads, that Satan schemes, but let's now look at the intervention. The future looks really bleak for Paul if we were to stop right there. You've got 40 plus men who have vowed that they're not going to eat or drink until this man is dead. What's gonna happen? And we're gonna see, as always, but God. God steps in in a way only that he's capable of. First of all, I want us to see God's providence in our passage. Read verse 16. Okay, first of all, it says, now the son of Paul's sister, so his nephew, heard of their ambush. Nephew of the year, right? We don't know how, we have no idea, and God didn't feel that it was necessary for us to figure out how this happened, but one way or another, the nephew hears about the plot, that your uncle was going to be killed by these men. And I want us to see that God uses people to do his bidding. God uses people to do his bidding. Romans 9, 17, think of the extreme case of this. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this purpose I have raised you up so that I might show my power in you that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Do you understand God uses Pharaoh, God uses Paul's nephew, God uses the centurions, God uses the tribune. Everybody plays a role in God's history writing, in the drama. Where has God placed you? How is God using you to carry out his purposes? Who has God placed in your life to carry out his will in your life? Relationships matter to God and God doesn't have them happen by chance. So think about that. Take that very seriously when you consider the lot in life that you have, where you are. Because only you can be you. Only you can play the role that you play in history. So think about that with your coworkers, with your neighbors, with the family that God has given you. How can God, how is God using you? to be that divine intervention in people's lives. But not only just that God uses people for his bidding, God always has the right timing. Think about this. We don't know the circumstances, but if Paul's nephew shows up five minutes late or five minutes early, he doesn't hear about the plot. If he doesn't hear about the plot, nobody warns the tribune. They come. They don't think anything about it. They take Paul down. Paul is now ambushed by 40 men. In likelihood, he would be killed. You see, timing matters. You cook something too long, what happens? You burn it. You dry it out. You cook it too little, you're gonna have some sick people. Timing matters. Think sports. You swing that bat too early, too late, you don't make contact to the ball. Timing matters. God intervenes for his people at the right time. Think of Esther 4.14, the story of Esther, one of the great examples of this. Listen to what Mordecai says in, who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Do you understand what he's saying? He's like, of all the times in history, of all the people, why did God place you, Esther, here? Why did you get favor with the king? Why? Maybe it was because of this particular moment that you would be the means by which God's people are not wiped off the planet. There's no such thing as chance or luck. Well, can you testify of God's divine timing in your own life? Can we trust this timetable? I think that's probably a struggle for some of you. God's timing is great when it's our timing. Amen? Can I get a hallelujah? But when God's timing is not our timing, we struggle with it. We question it, we don't like it, we're disappointed, we're discouraged, we're defeated. So we see God's providence in our passage as we see the intervention, but then also I want us to see sin's exposure. Read verse 20 with me. So the boy tells them, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than 40 of their men are lying in ambush, obviously with weapons, who have bound themselves by oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent. So the tribune dismisses the young man, charging him, tell no one that you have informed me of these things. You see, not only do we see God using people in His perfect timing to foil the plot of the Jews, we see their wickedness exposed. And when we think of sin, when we think of evil, when we think of schemes, when we think of plots, a couple thoughts. One, God knows. Luke 8, 17 says, You understand that? God knows. God is aware completely of the scheme before they even came up with the scheme. He knows the evil desires of the hearts. He's not surprised by their crafty plan. I think we have this misguided understanding sometimes of God that he gets caught off guard because he's so busy being God. He's got billions of people and galaxies and in the midst of all that, every now and then he kind of gets distracted. And that's not the case. God, he knows. Not only does he know the evil desires of the wicked, he knows your own heart. Does such knowledge scare you? Does his intimate knowledge of you impact how you live? I mean, think of Joseph. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? That was his filter for his choices and what he did. Not that he might get in trouble, not that your husband might kill me, no, it's like how could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Because God not only knows, God exposes. Evil will reap what it sows. So one of my boys has a science, it's not a science project, they're doing scorpions. And if you didn't know, some scorpions can glow in the dark. So what we did is we got these glow-in-the-dark markers. They're invisible though. So kids being kids and very thoughtful, what did they do with the markers? Drew all over their faces. And they couldn't see anything. They thought it was hilarious. And I said, let's turn the lights off. So they did. And we got the black light out, the UV light. Guess what happened? They started panicking because their face is just covered in this. And then they wiped it off. And after 10 minutes of wiping off, they did the light again. And guess what? Still pretty strong there, and then they're like, instant, like, is it ever gonna come off? I'm like, you just need to never go anywhere where there's a black light. And we're good, you won't be exposed. Do you understand? God is the UV light of sin and wickedness. He will expose it. He will either in this life or in the next, but he will expose it. I know it's sometimes very trying for us to believe that. Because we can give evidence and examples of times that just, the wicked, they always seem to prosper, they always seem to get away with murder even, literally. And that's why Psalm 73, the psalmist is complaining about it, but then God gives them a glimpse of the future, of the judgment, of the condemnation that awaits, and rather than envy in them, he pities them. 1 Corinthians 4, 5, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, because he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and he will disclose the purposes of the heart. This is a serious matter. Sin will not go unchecked, unpunished. Even if you are the victim, who endures hardship and suffering at the hands of the wicked, and you feel like God has forgotten you, He has not forgotten you. He never will forget you. He will never forsake you. Nothing can separate you from Him. And He will most certainly. deal and expose that sin? Like I said, in this life or the next, he will do it. Are you taking for granted God's grace? Are you putting confidence in the flesh? Do you think you can trick God? Do you trust that he will expose sin? He's a good God, that doesn't change. So we've seen act number one, the conspiracy, sin spreads, Satan schemes. Act number two, we saw the intervention, God's providence, he uses people in perfect timing, and we see that sin is going to be exposed. Sin is exposed by God, but the story is not over. God is still at work as we look at the aftermath. Read verse 23 with me. I want us to see that the plan backfires, the plan backfires. Then he called two of the centurions and said, get ready, 200 soldiers with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. How do you like those odds now against 40 men? And 40 men, I think it's a pretty good, fair guess. Those 40 men aren't trained military professionals. They're just a bunch of angry mob, a part of the Pharisees or Sadducees. They just want this man dead. Now they're going to be going against basically Navy SEAL kind of deal. They're going to be dealing with trained military men. Verse 24, also provide mounts for Paul. So he protects Paul, makes it easier on Paul. Now Paul is probably physically beaten up still, so him taking that trek would have been difficult. So him riding on a horse is gonna be God's grace and favor. Brings him safely to Felix, the governor, and he writes this letter as Claudius Lysias to Felix, and he tells him what is going on, and he said, In verse 30, and when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against him, I sent him to you, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him. How does the plan backfire? First of all, it leads to greater protection. It actually made it more difficult to kill Paul. If they would have just kind of waited and not even had a plot, he might have stuck around Jerusalem for a little bit longer. Jerusalem probably would have been a location where it would have been a little bit more easy access to get to Paul. Instead, he gets put in a safe haven. You see, God keeps his people safe as he ordains them to be safe. Romans 8, 28, one of my favorite verses in all the Bible. God works all things good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. And we see this in our passage. Well, can we trust God with our protection, with our life? Parents, can you trust your children with the lives of your kids? How about not just the lives, their spiritual lives? Can you trust God with the salvation of your grown child? Can you trust Him when we are in dangerous situations? Has God ever done anything in your life that would make you question whether or not He is trustworthy? Because not only does it lead to greater protection, it leads to greater gospel growth and progress. God not only protects them, it advances the kingdom. So he's going from Jerusalem, he goes to Caesarea, he's continuing on a path that's going to eventually lead him where? Rome. God is advancing. We're going to see him at the next location, stay there for a significant period of time, two years. And not only does he go there for two years, he's given ample time to minister. It's almost like a halfway house. He's not really in like full-blown prison. He's able to have people come and go. Do you understand that God is putting him in fertile soil? to preach Christ. What did those people want him dead for? Because he preached Christ. So they plotted to stop him from preaching Christ, and instead, it backfired on him. I've seen this happen, especially when I was in college with like pranks, where somebody tries to do a prank to get somebody, and the prank backfires. I remember one person was using water on a chair, A door, so when the room would open, the water, the old ha, ha, ha. Well, it didn't do it. So they went in to check to see what, and when they opened it the second time, it baptized them. This is way beyond a prank. They want the man dead. They want him to be quiet. They want to mute him from preaching Christ. And God says, yeah, that's not gonna happen. He actually puts him in a better place to preach Christ. It's very much the idea of Joseph, Genesis chapter 50. His brothers sell him into slavery, they betray him, and he finally reveals himself, and he says, do not fear, for I am in this place by God. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. And that's our God, that's how he works. What's the greatest backfiring of plans? The crucifixion. We're gonna do away with the Savior, and God's like, you're only beginning. You're only starting the process because by crucifying him, that's gonna be the means by which I truly redeem and truly forgive. Well, is the furthering of the gospel your focus? Are you available to God that God can use affliction and heartache and suffering and loss in your life to grow the kingdom, to advance his cause? This is not for the fainthearted. It's not for the person wavering in their faith, because the truth of the matter is, God wants you to embrace a life of cross-bearing, where it's going to be tough, it's going to be difficult, but it's gonna be worth it in the end, because not only does the plan backfire, the prisoner remains. Read verse 35 with me. So he finally gets there. He says, I'm gonna give you a hearing when your accusers arrive, and he commands him to be guarded in Herod's Praetorium. The truth of the matter is God saves him, but he does not free him. Did you get that? God saves him, but God doesn't free him. And I think that's a difficult pill for us to swallow. Because it's kind of a surprise to us. It doesn't make sense. If you were told that God had a surprise ending for Paul, what would we assume the surprise would be? We would expect that God would free him. I remember when I turned 16, my dad had a surprise gift for me. What would you assume it's gonna be? 16 years old, everybody. Car, God took me on a cruise. Did I say God or Dad? I might have said God. God did through my dad. And it was great, I mean, not woe is me, but I was just kind of surprised when I got the gift, because I'm like, how can I drive this? And you get to share in this gift, like the car, it's me, it's like kind of a both gift. Deliverance doesn't always look like we expect. Paul shared this in 2 Corinthians. Three times, he's got this thorn in the flesh and he pleads with God, please remove it, please remove it, please remove it. And three times, what does God say to him? No, no, and no. My grace is sufficient for you, for in your weakness, my strength is made perfect in you, Paul. God will often leave sickness in our life, He'll often leave fragmented, broken relationships in our life. God will leave that difficult person in our work environment. God will leave the strained relationship with your child. God often leaves those things. God often will answer our prayers, no, or not right now. Jeremiah 29, 11, he says, I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for welfare, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. And we love that verse. We put it on our coffee mugs, we put it on our bumper stickers, but the shocking component to that truth is God is writing to people in exile. And if you read the whole passage, it says your children's children. are gonna have children while in exile. In other words, I know the plans I have for you people, and my plans include you being in captivity for 70 plus years. And that just doesn't make sense to us. Because we think if God really loves us, if God really cares for us, he is going to make our life perpetually easier. He's gonna answer every prayer. He's gonna give us everything. He's gonna shuttle, He's gonna care for us. He's gonna put us in kind of a bubble where we never endure hardship, persecution, suffering, loss, affliction. And we really feel somehow in our warped mind that as God does that at the end product is it's gonna be a really mature version of you. And that would be us being God, but praise the Lord. God is not a God in our own image. He is the God of his image, and he knows what's best for us. Well, has God answered you with a no lately? How are you processing through this? Because here's the other part of it, and I wanna be, shepherding and pastoral. God knows if you're disappointed today. Don't put on a front, don't pretend. Don't put the smile on your face like the bubbly cheerleader that life is great and if you're really being candid, it's kind of stinking right now. Be honest with them. I love the vulnerability and the transparency in the Psalms. Because some of the psalms, I think if you and I were guiding the psalmist, we'd say, that's a little too intense. You need to dial it down a notch. You're being a little too honest with God. And God wants us to be. I'm not saying we need to go down the direction of complaining, but you and I need to be willing to just be open with God and say, God, I'm not understanding. I don't know why this relationship is the way it is. I don't know why my dear friend has terminal cancer and it looks like this is gonna be the end. I don't understand what you're doing. But do you trust him? Who cares more about you than the Lord? No one. Also, could God change your circumstances in a moment's notice? Has there ever been a cancer that God can't heal? I mean, God is God. He spoke creation into existence. So if God is that sovereign and that in control, and you are currently in the situation that you find yourselves in this moment, that means, let's do the math, you're there because God wants you to be there. He's got a reason behind it. And maybe part of the reason is it's going to be the gateway to grow you in Christ, to bring glory to his name, and to bring other people into the kingdom. Are you willing to trust him? There's this one particular part of imagination station where your kids will get wet. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Well, there's in the wet area, I don't know if they label it the wet area. That's how I think it. Like you need to bring extra clothes if your kids go in that part because they're going to be soaking wet the rest of the time complaining that they're cold. in the air condition well the one part there's this water barricading experiment and what you do is you have these like little rectangles of wood and as you put them in these various slots it directs the path of the water and your kids can kind of experiment that as you kind of dam up the water and move it in different directions you can really funnel all the water to the end to the destination that you want to place the water You see, on a much larger scale, God uses the wood barricades in this world to direct the flow of your life. At times it might appear out of control, it might look like a giant mess, a disaster, a train wreck, but the Lord has not gotten off of his throne. He's still ruling. He's still reigning. He's still working for your good. He's still bringing glory to his name. If one hair falls from your head, that's part of his plan and purpose. So even if it means the end of a friendship, even if it means heart disease, cancer, even if it means unemployment, even if it means bankruptcy, even if it means your imprisonment. for the sake of Christ, even if it means your martyrdom, the death of you because of your faith in Jesus, even if that happens, that is God directing the water to get you to the destination. You see, we're all here, all of us, we're on a journey. And God has a very clear end for all of us here who trust in Christ, and that is to one day to get to heaven, to be in the presence of him. And God is going to do what he needs to do to get you there, and to get you there in a level of maturity and growth, and he's gonna do what it needs to do. And here's the end, here's the spoiler, the preview. Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and deaths shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. That, friends, is the hope that you and I have in Christ. That is the destination that we persevere today, knowing that tomorrow, that's what we look forward to. And if that means we're in prison with Paul, we're in prison with Paul. If that means that we one day have to give up our life because of our faith in Christ, so be it. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. And friends, it will be worth it. Say it with me. It will be worth it. when he's wiping away our tears, when he embraces us and says, well done, good and faithful servants, great is your award, you're not gonna look back and say, this is spectacular, but man, you could have made my path a little bit easier. The journey was a little bit rough, a little too much turbulence. No, you're gonna be amazed that you're even there in the first place. And can we trust him to get us there, let's pray. Father, we come before you right now, we acknowledge and ask for forgiveness for how often we find your will for our lives bitter. How often in our self-righteousness and our arrogance and pride, we look at you and question your goodness, we question whether you even know what you're doing. Oh, Father, forgive us. Forgive us for such foolishness and such ignorance, and we thank you, God, for your grace and mercy. We thank you that you do not give us a life of ease and comfort, because we know full well the life that is often easy and comfortable is a life of independence. It's a life where we don't need you. It's a life where we don't sing, Lord, I need you. What do we need? We have it all. But Lord, in your grace and mercy, in your infinite wisdom, you allow us to go through this life being well aware that it is difficult, that it is tough, that we need you moment by moment, minute by minute, and that is your tender love on display. So I pray, God, for each and every one of us that we would leave here dependent upon you, reliant upon you, and available to you. God, that we would just trust you even in the midst of the storms, that we would acknowledge that you are better at being God than we are, that even if we're hurting today, even if we really don't understand why you have us where we are in this moment, we pray that you would help us to overcome our unbelief. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Would you please stand as we respond? with a song of worship.