Well, if you would take your Bibles and open them up to the book of Acts, chapter 25, Acts 25. And thank you, Darren, one of our elders who led us in a prayer of thanksgiving, an intercessory prayer. As Darren prayed for Pastor Garrett, I thought, do we have a guest preacher this morning? And if you're visiting this morning, my last name is Garrett. I just most often am referred to as Pastor Perry, and I thought, oh, I'm not preaching this morning. Here I thought, here I thought I was preaching, picking on my brother. Couldn't happen to a better guy, Darren, wherever you are. Acts 25, and we have the privilege of continuing to walk through this Spirit-inspired book of the New Testament. And when you arrive there, because this is the word of the living God, and you are the people of God on the Lord's day, would you please stand if you are able to hear from the God who still speaks? Acts 25, and we will read verses one through 12. Luke wrote, as he was carried along by God's spirit, these words, beginning in verse one. Now three days, After Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, asking as a favor against Paul, that he summon him to Jerusalem, because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. So, said he, let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him. After he stayed among them not more than eight or 10 days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. Paul argued in his defense, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor. said to Paul, do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me? But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried. To the Jews, I have done no wrong as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them, I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with his counsel, answered, to Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. Church family, you may be seated. Well, this morning, we arrive at a passage in our exposition of the Book of Acts that includes many of the same concepts we have already observed, especially over the last few chapters. In fact, if you've been with us over the previous few sermons, this passage may feel like a rerun, a repeat. So by way of review, let me just unpack a few things for us and remind some of you. of some of the truths lately. Paul the Apostle was arrested in Acts chapter 21 and taken into the custody of the Romans. And since that time, he has appeared before authorities and offered various defenses for the gospel. First, he stood before an angry Jewish mob and defended the gospel. Then he gave his defense before the Sanhedrin, and the Sanhedrin was the highest religious council among the Jews at this time. And so he stood before the Sanhedrin and boldly defended the gospel. After this, he appeared before Governor Felix. Well, in our passage this morning, Paul stands before Governor Festus to make his defense. I'm going to try diligently, vigilantly throughout this sermon not to mistake Festus for Felix. You can imagine how difficult that might be. In our text, it is Festus, no matter what I say in a few moments, okay? So in our passage, he appears before Festus to make his defense, and throughout these chapters, that is chapters 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, Luke highlights many of the same concepts, because the situation, of course, is so similar. As Samuel Johnson once said, man needs to be reminded more often than he needs to be instructed. And so this morning we are going to be reminded perhaps more than we are going to be instructed. So what is Luke reminding us of? And I think central to what Luke is writing is this concept we could refer to as the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty. of God. Throughout Paul's arrest, Paul's imprisonment, and all of Paul's trials, God is fulfilling his sovereign plan. As we make our way through the text, Luke wants us to see the unfolding of God's sovereign plan, even through the opposition of some to Christ, and the opposition of some to the apostle Paul, as a result. So if you're taking notes, We are going to walk through this text in four stages. Four stages this morning. First, we will note the persistence of the Jewish leaders. The persistence of the Jewish leaders. We're going to see in a few moments, it's been two years and nothing has changed. with regard to the Jewish leader's relationship and disposition toward the Apostle Paul, and of course, ultimately, toward Christ. So first, the persistence of the Jewish leaders. Second, we will identify the partiality of festus. This governor we are introduced to. Actually, we were introduced to him at the conclusion of chapter 24, but in chapter 25, Luke unpacks this man's role a bit more. And so we will discover the partiality of Governor Festus. Third, we will observe the patience of Paul. The patience of Paul. And then finally, after the persistence of the Jewish leaders, the partiality of Festus, and the patience of Paul, we will settle in together and really summarize the entire text under the theme of the providence of God. The providence of God. Young worshipers, just as a reminder, we have included a couple of questions for you and your worship aides. to help you throughout the sermon. And so parents, grandparents, if you have younger worshipers in the room and they don't have one of those worship aids, you are welcome to stand up now and go back and grab one of them. There are these wooden boxes in the back. We call them, what do we call them? Connection boxes, that's what I'm told. Connection boxes. And so there on the side of those connection boxes, you'll find those worship aids. You can grab one of those and there'll be a couple of questions about the sermon for you in those worship aids. Well, let's begin with our first point, the persistence of the Jewish leaders. Look down at the text with me, verses one through three. Verses one through three. Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem. from Caesarea. So Festus goes up to Jerusalem. He's just arrived in the providence of this area where he's actually the province, rather, of this area. He's going to rule, he's going to govern. He is known as the procurator or the governor of this area after Felix. Now verse two, and the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul. And they urged him, that is, they urged Festus, asking as a favor against Paul, that he summon him to Jerusalem because, notice, they were planning an ambush to kill Paul on the way. As has been the case for a few chapters now in the book of Acts, the Jewish leaders are in opposition to the apostle Paul, and they're in opposition, ultimately, to Jesus Christ. fierce opposition and rebellion. In fact, they still desire to kill Paul. If they can convince Festus to summon Paul, as it were, from Caesarea to Jerusalem, their plan is to ambush Paul on the way, and any Roman soldiers, perhaps, who are going to be escorting Paul along the way, and to kill Paul on the way. In verse seven of our text, we learn additionally, that this opposition of the Jewish leaders takes the form of many and serious charges against Paul when he appears with them again in the presence of Festus. Now, there's a play on words in the text. I want you to see this because it's lost in our English translations. It is a difficulty, by the way, to capture some of these play on words in the Greek text, and so I just wanna make note of this briefly for you. Back in Acts 24, verse 14, Paul confessed that he worshiped God, and here was the language, according to the way, according to the way. And Christianity throughout the Book of Acts is often known as the way. Of course, as a kind of play off of the Lord Jesus's words, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Additionally, rooted in this promise in Isaiah chapter 40 of the way. And so Christianity very early on in the Book of Acts became known as a movement that referred to itself as the way. And so Paul said, back in 24, I worship according to the way. And then in Acts 25 verse three, look down at your English translations if you don't mind, Acts 25 verse three, the Jewish leaders plan to kill Paul. And they plan to kill Paul according to the English Standard Version and doubtless many other English translations while he's on the way. You see that? On the way. So while Paul is traveling on the way, they're gonna kill Paul. Actually, the Greek text reads according to the way, which is interesting. On the way is an easy thing to write in Greek, but here it's according to the way. What is Luke doing? Luke is showing us that the opposition the Jewish leaders have against Paul is direct opposition to Christianity as a whole. And it's direct opposition and rebellion to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. So that's what's happening in the text. This is not fundamentally about any hatred or animosity between the Jewish leaders and Paul. It's more fundamentally about hatred and animosity between the depravity of humanity and Jesus Christ. And that's what's happening in the text. Now again, remember how long Paul has been in prison in Caesarea. It's now been two years. And we're going to highlight that in just a moment with Paul's patience. It's been two years, according to Acts 24, verse 27. You would think, wouldn't you, that tempers would have cooled by now. But no. No. Human depravity does not naturally cool. Hear me, church family. The remedy for human depravity For human sin, for rebellion against God is not time. The remedy is God's grace in Christ alone. And so it is here in the text. So we find the persistence of the Jewish leaders. Second, I want you to notice the partiality of Festus. the partiality of Festus. At the conclusion of Acts 24, I mentioned to you a moment ago that Luke introduced us to this new governor. And the new governor that replaced Felix is a man named Festus. Our text provides more information about this new Roman leader. Look with me at verses four and five, where Festus responds to the request of the Jewish leaders. Remember, the Jewish leaders have requested now, hey, would you please bring Paul to us? We can try him here. And of course, they're desiring to ambush Paul along the way and to kill Paul. And in response to this request, Festus replies, verse four, that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. Verse five, so, said Festus, Let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him. Now, at first glance, and I actually thought this at first glance, one of the things I do early on as I'm preparing for sermons is I will often read the text over and over and over and over again in the English translations. in addition to spending some time translating the text in Greek. And as I read through the text in the English translations, I just received the impression that Festus was not giving the Jewish leaders what they wanted. That Festus was resisting what the Jewish leaders wanted. And there's a sense in which that's true. Festus, after all, is constrained by Roman political processes and expectations. So that's true. However, the language that Luke uses at the beginning of verse four communicates a bit more continuity between Festus and the Jewish leaders. So Festus' response is not, when they come and they ask him, Governor Festus, bring Paul to us from Caesarea to Jerusalem to be tried, of course, because Luke tells us they intend to ambush Paul along the way and kill him. They're asking for this favor. Festus' response is not no. There's more continuity between what Festus thinks and what the Jewish leaders think. He's not apparently opposed to their request. And consistent with this, by the way, verse nine, look down at verse nine. A bit later in our text, Festus wishing to do the Jews a what? A favor, it's the same word. Remember, the Jews asked, the Jewish leaders asked Festus, do us a favor, bring Paul from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Now in verse nine, what does Festus seek to do? The Jews a favor. And he says in verse nine, Paul, don't you wish, right, you wish to go to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me? In an attempt, of course, to do the Jews this favor. In other words, he considers doing precisely what the Jewish leaders have requested of him. Festus is partial, and that's how Luke portrays him. As Luke is carried along by God's spirit, he's partial to pleasing the Jews. He's willing to compromise justice in the name of diplomacy. A little background on Festus might prove informative here. Just a bit, not much. The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, spoke well of Festus. You may remember this if you were with us recently. Josephus does not speak well, and others don't speak well of Felix, the predecessor of Festus. But Josephus does speak well of Festus. Apparently, Festus was peaceable, generally, with the Jewish people and even allowed them to appeal to Caesar at times. There's an instance where there's a high wall that the Jewish people built in the midst of the temple courts so that others can't see into the temple and see what's going on in the temple. And Festus was not in favor of this, nor was Agrippa. and the Jewish leaders appealed to Caesar, or desired to appeal to Caesar, and Festus allowed them to do so. Caesar overturned Festus' decision, and Festus upheld it, and allowed the Jews to keep the wall. He was peaceable in relationship to the Jews. He was fairly diplomatic. He was politically expedient, in other words. When it serves his purposes, he would support them. And that's what's happening in the text. Don't miss that. He's corrupt. He is corrupt. And his corruption ends up being suggestion to the Apostle Paul to make his way from Caesarea to Jerusalem. And of course we know because Luke tells us that would have set Paul up for death. It's not of course what ends up happening because Festus is not in charge. God is. And we'll see that in just a moment. I don't want to get too far out there. Well, in contrast to the persistence of the Jewish leaders and the partiality of Festus, we find the patience of Paul finally a good example in the text. The patience of Paul, Paul is positioned to continue explaining and defending Christianity before others and before a watching world. Look with me at verse eight. Paul argued in his defense, and Luke just summarizes, as you might imagine, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. So Luke is clearly summarizing what Paul says here, but I want you to notice that there are these three consistent accusations against the Apostle Paul, and Paul consistently answers each of these three accusations, and the accusations are this. One, Paul teaches against the law. We found earlier on in Acts 21, that the accusation against Paul was that he taught Jews to reject the law of Moses. And so this is consistently an accusation they're bringing against Paul. And Paul responds to this accusation, of course, by saying, I'm not against the law. In fact, when you found me in the temple, what was I doing? I was living in obedience to number six, that is in the law. in purifying myself according to the law of the Nazarite. Second accusation that we find over and over and over again in our text and previous texts is that Paul seeks to profane the temple. He was falsely accused at one point of bringing a Gentile, Trophimus, into the temple, which he did not do, but he's accused of seeking to profane The temple, of course, Paul argues against this in a number of ways, not the least of which is, when you found me in the temple, I was purifying myself as a worshiper in the temple, quite contrary to the accusation. And then the third accusation Luke mentions here, Paul answers, is that Paul is an opponent to Caesar and a threat to Roman peace. We unpacked this at length recently. This, of course, was potentially a crime that would have been met with death, capital punishment. And Paul argues, contrary to the accusation, no, no, I seek to live in submission to Caesar because I believe in a God who has actually appointed and chosen Caesar as an authority. Here, brothers and sisters, we find it really helpful reminder of the role for apologetics. You may be familiar with this word apologetics. Apologetics is the study of, the discussion of, the defense for Christianity, at least in a Christian context, apologetics. Offering an apology for, that is not I'm sorry, but a defense for the faith. And here we find that the Apostle Paul, as he does the work of defending the faith, He actually does more work explaining Christianity than he does defending Christianity. And I love that. Because I tend to think, especially as a young Christian, I became fascinated with apologetics and reading so many of others that would argue, let's say, for substantiating the existence of God. and the reliability of Scripture, and the historicity of the resurrection. And there is a role and a place for all three of these things, don't get me wrong. But here in the text, Paul doesn't do any of these three things necessarily. What does he do? He just explains Christianity. He does what Spurgeon argues we ought to do at one time or another. He just opens the cage and lets the lion out to defend itself. And so I just want to encourage Those of you who are here that may not feel as if you are adequately equipped to defend the faith, Christ doesn't need you technically to defend Him. He simply calls on you to proclaim Him, to explain Christianity as best you can, and to trust the Spirit of God to do with the Spirit of God alone. can do, and so that's what Paul does as he's defending Christianity. And did you notice, did you notice that Paul in our text never requests release? I don't know about you, but if I were the Apostle Paul, and God in His sovereign benevolence did not choose this to be the case, if I were the Apostle Paul, I would have been tempted at various points Whenever someone implied that I was innocent to say, well, then release me. Let me out of here. I would be tempted to want to escape suffering for the name of Christ. And Paul does not exude this desire, this escapism from suffering. Rather, what Paul exudes is patience. Amid suffering, endurance, perseverance. He never argues on account of his innocence. He argues for his innocence, but he doesn't argue on account of his innocence that he ought to be released. Why? Because he knows that his imprisonment and suffering is a part of God's sovereign plan. His imprisonment and suffering is a part of God's sovereign plan for Paul to take the gospel to Rome. And so it is through the sinful machinations of men and the corruption of political leaders that Paul will make his way all the way to Rome as a prisoner for the gospel. And this is the power behind Paul's patience. It's not that Paul was just, An outstanding man. No, it's that Paul trusted in the sovereignty of God, rooted, rooted. That is, his patience was rooted in this deep belief and trust that God was sovereign and God is benevolent. If Christ were good and not sovereign, Paul might wonder if Christ's plan would be fulfilled. If Christ were sovereign and not good, he might wonder whether Christ's plan would be for Paul's good. Paul knows and trusts in a risen and ascended king who is sovereign and benevolent. Sovereign and good. I think we often lack patience, or at least I do, because we lack trust. at the root of my impatience really is unbelief. And so it's appropriate, isn't it, even on the Lord's day to request of the Lord, I believe, but please today help my unbelief. Now we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but it's important to begin to transition to the providence of God and to see Paul's patience directly related to God's sovereignty and God's providence. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, I read one of his sermons this last week, as I tend to, I tend to read Spurgeon on a pretty regular occasion. Spurgeon, who ministered in the 19th century in a sermon covering the topic of God's providence in Ezekiel chapter one, observed that when we isolate instances or even seasons of our lives, and we evaluate those seasons apart from the whole, Okay? It may seem to us to be a delay or a hindrance from God accomplishing His purposes. So for example, if I just evaluate today as an isolated and excised instance, or if I evaluate this month or even this year as a standalone, I may be tempted to believe that this day or this month or this year is nothing more than a hindrance, than a delay in my life. and in God's good plan for me. Spurgeon goes on to give the example, Joseph was cast into a pit by his brothers. Joseph was sold into slavery. Joseph sat in prison and was even overlooked for a season. And if we isolated each of these instances, we might be tempted to believe, ah, God's plan has been thwarted. God's plan is delayed. However, Spurgeon goes on to argue, when we look at the whole of God's providence, right, we look at the whole plan instead of a week or a day, instead of a month, even instead of a year, we look at our lives. We look at the lives of saints around us. We were praying earlier for a dear sister who was 101 years old. And we look at the lives of these saints and the broader picture is a vivid and convincing testimony of God's good providence in our lives. And Paul knew that. He knew this. So take the time here and there to reflect on years of God's faithful sovereignty in your life. So this brings us really to this final observation in the text that we are calling the providence of God, and we'll spend the remainder of our time here. Let's begin by defining the term providence, all right? We need to define this term, we've used it a few times. What does providence mean? And by the way, younger worshipers, this is one of the questions, I believe, in your worship aids. What does providence mean? Providence means, I'll say this a couple of times, that God sovereignly, it's kind of a big word, isn't it, to define another big word, God sovereignly preserves and directs all things according to his good plan. I'm gonna say that again. What is providence? Providence is a way for us to summarize this belief that God sovereignly preserves and directs all things, not some things, all things according to his good plan. God's providence is not partial, friends. He's not preserving and directing some things. He's preserving and directing all things. Every modicum of existence fits underneath God's work of preservation and governance or direction. All of it. This is one of the primary themes of this section of the Book of Acts. As we began this morning, we accented this reality. So the persistence, let's kind of review this, the persistence of the Jewish leaders, we've seen that. The partiality. of festus to keep Paul in prison, Paul's patient endurance to bear witness to Christ, all of this takes place as a part of God's providence. All of it. Not just Paul's patience. We'll say things like this. That was providential. When something typically pleasant happens. to us. And that's a true statement. It was providential, as is everything that happens. Everything that happens is providential. God, through Christ, by the Spirit, is preserving and directing everything. And that's the message through these chapters in Acts. In Acts 23, verse 11, Luke informed us that Jesus appeared to Paul and told him, take courage for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome. And so we've heard this. By the way, we've heard that multiple times if you've been with us since Acts 19, actually. We've heard that same message. God has planned for Paul to go to Rome. Well, what's happening? God now is preserving and directing all things such that in part, Paul will end up in Rome proclaiming the gospel. Paul must go to Rome because it is God's plan and God is capable of providentially guiding even the sinful decisions of humanity to bring about his good purposes. That's good news, by the way, church, to rip off the title of a book written many years ago on a different topic. If your God is not strong enough to providentially guide the sinful decisions of humanity, your God is too small. The God of Scripture governs all things according to his infinite wisdom while remaining free from the stain of sin. while exuding perfection as the one who alone is thrice holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. And scripture consistently affirms this glorious truth. Let me give you a few passages, okay? Just a few passages, if this isn't enough for you. Genesis 50 verse 20. Genesis 50 verse 20, after Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers and rose to a position of authority over his brothers, he said these words, as for you, you meant evil against me. And the words are important here. Joseph goes on to say, but God meant it for good. Meant what for good? Your sin. My slavery. Your rebellion, you meant all of that for evil. God intended, you don't know this, but I'm telling you now, God intended that for good. Exodus 9 verse 16, God says to Pharaoh, for this purpose, I have raised you up. Who raised up Pharaoh? According to Exodus 9 verse 16, God did. God did. This doesn't exempt Pharaoh from responsibility, but God raised up Pharaoh, Exodus 9, 16. For this purpose, I have raised you up to show you my power so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. By the way, you may not know the story of Exodus. Pharaoh was not a good guy. He was one of the bad guys. He is the bad guy of the book of Exodus. Proverbs 21, verse 1, just a few, OK? Proverbs 21, verse 1, the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He directs it wherever he desires. The president's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He directs it wherever he desires. This is the God who is sovereign over all the results of any election. This is the God who holds the current president's heart in his own hand. It's also the God who will appoint the next president for his eternal glory and for our eternal good in Christ. Not the eternal good of everyone, but for the eternal good of the church in Christ. There's no room for crying out, the sky is falling. as followers in Jesus Christ. There's no room for this, Christian. It's okay to be a bit sad, but don't stay there. Look to the one who is enthroned in heaven and does whatever he pleases, who has claimed you as his own through Christ. Okay, one more passage, okay? One more passage here. The most apparent example of God providentially using the sinful intentions and behavior of human beings to bring about his benevolent purposes. The clearest example of this is the death of the incarnate Son of God. Who planned the death of God the Son incarnate? Acts chapter four, verses 47 and 48. Peter prays. Praying to the Lord for truly in this city, they were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed. Well, who was gathered together against Jesus? Peter prays. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. That's everybody. Verse 28, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. The most egregious and heinous act ever committed among men, and it was committed among and by men. who are responsible for what they choose to do. But the most egregious and heinous act ever committed among and by men, the murder of the incarnate Son, was purposed by the Father. Why? For a rescue. and his eternal glory. This is why the prophet Isaiah can say it pleased God to crush him. Friends, you may be here this morning and you may not know this God about whom I speak. I have good news. You can know him this morning through Christ. You can know the God who is sovereign over all things, who providentially guides, governs, directs all things for his eternal glory and the eternal good of his people. You can know this God through faith in the one he sent to purchase his people out of sin, death, and hell by means of his own death and resurrection from the dead. That is the work of Jesus Christ. If you'd like to talk a bit about this, what does it mean to trust in Christ? What does it mean to place your faith in Christ? What does it mean to surrender to Christ, to come to know this God and to serve this God and to experience joy in relationship to this God? We would love to visit with you after the service. And so if that's where you are, whether you think that you've come to trust in Jesus, maybe for the very first time this morning, praise God for that. Or you have questions, praise God for that. Stay after the service and have a conversation with us. You can exit one of these double doors behind you and take a left. And on the right hand side out there is a room called Crossroads. Walk up to that room, there will be an elder or other church leader who will be standing there who would love to meet you and come alongside you and perhaps even you alongside of us as we come to church. treasure the God who is sovereign and good and has shown us this climactically in Jesus Christ. Friends, if God can wield the murder of his incarnate Son for your greatest good, and his greatest glory, don't you think, don't you think you can trust him with the rest of your life? Don't you think he's able to use the suffering you endure as a dad or a mom? The anxiety you experience as a grandparent the diagnosis of stage four cancer, your death, a common cold, a stopped up nose, everything in between for you and for his glory. That's the news consistently, the good news throughout scripture. One of the greatest, I'm gonna start landing, okay? Some descents are slower than others, depending on how high you got, right? We'll see how slow this one is. One of the greatest theologians of the Protestant Reformation was John Calvin. And John Calvin wrote these words, tremendous words. Listen carefully what he said in Book One of the Institutes. He wrote, quote, When the light of divine providence has illumined the believer's soul, the believer is relieved and set free. not only from the extreme fear and anxiety which formerly oppressed him, but from all care. This I say, Calvin goes on, this I say is his comfort that his heavenly father so embraces all things under his power, so governs them at will by his nod. so regulates them by his wisdom that nothing takes place save according to his appointment. And then Kelvin continues, ignorance of providence is the greatest of all miseries, and the knowledge of it the highest happiness. So it is for the believer in Jesus Christ. I shared this recently, but it bears repeating today, I think, Johnny Erickson Tata, as many of you know, dear sister in the Lord, lost the use of her arms and legs as a young woman in a diving accident. I believe she was still in her late teens. I don't remember exactly how old she was. One of you nodded, so I think I'm gonna trust that, late teens. She tells the story of a dear friend of hers. His name was Steve. who helped her think through this terrible and life-changing, even life-absorbing accident. She spent the rest of her life since that time without the use of her hands and legs. Steve shared with her something that she continues to quote. I even read her quoting it to the present. And I've shared this with you, I'm gonna share it again. Here's what Johnny Erickson Tata says, quoting her friend Steve. God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves. That's a big God. God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves. We could say it with a bit more theological commitment. God sovereignly directs what he hates to accomplish what he loves. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, thank you for the comfort of your word and your promises. Thank you that you are able and indeed do wield all things according to your counsel to accomplish your benevolent purposes in Christ and by the Spirit. As we observed in the text, you wielded the persistent rebellion of the Jewish leaders against Paul and against Christ to accomplish your purposes. You wielded the partiality of Governor Festus to accomplish your purposes. You also wielded the patient endurance of the Apostle Paul to accomplish your purposes. All of these things materialized and eventuated under your providential care. Supremely Father, we thank you that you have wielded the death of your son and his subsequent resurrection to rescue us out of sin, death, and hell. Teach us today that we can trust you and forgive us when we doubt. Cleanse us afresh even now such that we can leave here a confident people. A people trusting in the God who governs all things for us and for your glory. Through Christ we pray, together by the power of the Spirit and all God's people confidently said, Amen.