WEBVTT 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:15.519 Welcome to Sermons from the Way Church KC and the community of listeners and saints in Kansas City following the way of Jesus and pushing back and our message together. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:22.480 Good morning. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:25.359 Good morning, Zach. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:32.079 Today we are in Acts 23, 12 through 25. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:35.679 35, excuse me. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:36.320 35. 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:38.240 12 through 35. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.719 Would you guys stand for the reading of God's word today? 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:55.280 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. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:59.039 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:08.319 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:21.200 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune and 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. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:29.359 Now the sons of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:35.599 Paul called one of the centurions and said, Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:44.640 So he took him and he 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. 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:52.159 The tribune took him by the hand and going aside asked him privately, What is it that you have to tell me? 00:01:52.319 --> 00:02:01.840 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 closely about him. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:13.680 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for them, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.639 And now they are ready, waiting for your consent. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:22.159 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, Tell no one that you have informed me of these things. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:33.439 Then he called two of the centurions and said, Get ready, two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:38.400 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:45.439 And he wrote a letter to this effect, Claudius Lysius, to his Excellency the Governor Felix, greetings. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:53.919 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. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:58.879 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to the council. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:06.159 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:15.680 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. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:21.520 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:26.159 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:31.680 And when they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:35.360 On reading the letter, he asked what the province he was from. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:44.080 And when he learned that he was from Sicilya Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:48.080 And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:49.280 This is the word of the Lord. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:50.560 You may be seated. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:54.319 Great job. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:56.479 Well, hello, everyone. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:57.120 Good morning. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:00.719 Welcome everyone to the Waychurch KC. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:08.400 If we have not met yet yet, my name is Zach, and I have the privilege of being a pastor here at the Way Church. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:16.639 And we are a two and a half-year-old church plant who exists to follow the way of Jesus and push back darkness together. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:22.319 So the Lord's had us on this journey for a couple years now, and it's been a sweet, crazy, faith-filled adventure. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:24.079 And I wouldn't trade it for anything. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:28.319 And we we also got like some exciting stuff going on at our church right now. 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:44.000 Number one, we sent Rachel Mossman to Bandun, Indonesia last week, where she is spending this next week serving on mission with Rachel Kelly, who is our missionary. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:44.959 We sent out there. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.680 So the Lord is doing some cool work globally through our people. 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:53.439 Number two, less missional, but still pretty cool. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:54.959 Something I'm super pumped about. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:04.079 The other side of that wall right there, the outside of it, we got it painted this past week, which is a monumental thing for our church because it was looking rough. 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:15.199 And you know, if if uh what I told the the guys that ran this paint company is like, hey, I want the outside to reflect what the Lord is doing on the inside. 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:22.319 And what I believe is the Lord's doing a beautiful work here at the Way Church, and I want our building, our city set on a hill to reflect that. 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:25.360 And so now it is reflective of that. 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:32.079 Um and the coolest part is um this paint company um donated um the job. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:33.439 So that's a huge win. 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:35.040 Yeah, we can stop for that. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:39.279 Number three, and this is the last name. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.240 A lot of stuff celebrated, maybe more than three, but there's three things I'm gonna hit. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.120 Um I want to just give a shout out to John and Jerry Orr. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:56.879 Um so I don't know, I didn't tell you all I was doing this, but on Friday, they went and served with a church plant that is yet to launch up in the Wyandotte High School area up in KCK. 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:01.360 I'm friends with a guy named David Cato who's planting a church in KCK. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:10.480 Um and they reached out and um John and Jerry went and did snow cones for this church plant um at an apartment complex. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:12.720 They're adopting this apartment complex. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:24.720 So, Jerry and John, thank you guys for your servant-heartedness, your your missional hearts to serve our city, um, whether it's our church, whether it's another church, or whether it's a uh church plant that hasn't even been launched. 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:25.519 So, thank you guys. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:26.639 Let's give it up to them. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:32.399 So, if this is your first time here, welcome. 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:33.279 We're glad you're here. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:36.959 We'd love for you to jump in and be a part of our Way Church family. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:42.800 Um, God's doing sweet work, and there's a lot of awesome people for you to get connected with, and I hope you will. 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.399 Um but we're just gonna jump right in the text today because we have a lot of ground to cover. 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.680 This morning we're gonna be continuing in our Acts sermon series. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:58.160 We've been walking verse by verse through the book of Acts and looking at the early church and seeing how they lived by the Spirit and followed the way. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:04.560 Um this morning we'll be in Acts chapter 23, verses 12 through 35, as Glenn read. 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.480 And before we begin, I want to ask you a question. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:16.800 Have you ever found out years later that somebody spoke up for you in a room that you were never in? 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:22.319 You know the situation when it's like, hey, you're not even there, but that person had your back. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:31.839 That person was um going to war on your behalf, they were um encouraging you when you weren't even there to hear the encouragement. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:37.199 They believed in you when you weren't around to receive that. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:49.920 Um maybe it was a job, like you got the interview, you landed the interview, and it wasn't until way down the road that you learned that somebody had put your name on the list so that you got that interview. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:51.519 You never knew, right? 00:07:51.680 --> 00:08:02.399 Or maybe it was a coach who almost cut you, but somebody said, No, we gotta keep that guy on the team, or we gotta keep that girl on the team. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:17.120 You know, I think of like um some of our guys that were football players, and it's like, hey, you were very nearly going to get cut, but your safeties coach Roman said, no, let's keep that guy on the team, and you never even knew it. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:24.639 Uh maybe it was somebody who prayed for you by name for years and years and years, and you never knew it. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.519 And you didn't find out until years later. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:29.680 I think that's like a big piece of my story. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:45.039 Uh I had a praying mama, I had a mother who uh petitioned the Lord for me before I was following Christ for years and years and years, and I believe that a big piece of why I'm standing here today is because the prayers of my mom that I never even heard. 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:49.360 And so, with that, it's like let's take it a layer deeper. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.559 Uh I want to pose another question to you this morning. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:09:02.879 Have you ever, have you ever considered how much of the grace in your life happens out of your earshot? 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:10.639 How much of the grace in your life, the grace of the Lord in your life happens beyond your eyesight? 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:15.519 Now, most of the grace what we know about, right? 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:19.600 We we can see it because we can see, hey, this is where we were and this is where we are. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.919 But I'm talking about the other kind. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:47.919 The conversations you never heard, the prayers that you never knew were prayed, the disasters that didn't happen because of a loving and gracious Lord, the things that you never even saw coming, the things that you never even saw being avoided, and those things happening, occurring, or not occurring because somebody somewhere said something to the Lord on your behalf. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.679 And the thing about that is we can't answer that question, right? 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.240 That's the whole point of what I'm trying to get at. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:00.480 Um but but in this this morning, like the chapter 23 of Acts speaks to this. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:07.440 God, he pulls the curtain back one time and he lets us watch what is happening to the Apostle Paul. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:17.120 We see one overheard conversation, we see one kid in a hallway, and we see a rescue that the man being rescued did nothing to arrange. 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:24.159 So let's set the scene before we dig in, because everything this morning hangs on one verse that we covered last week. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:38.399 Uh remember, Acts 23, verse 11, it read, 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. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:45.600 So Paul, he is in custody in Jerusalem, and in two days, two different crowds have tried to kill him. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:54.159 There's been a mob in the temple, and then his own Supreme Court, which turned so violent that the soldiers had to pull him out of there by force. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:11:06.480 And then at night, alone in the barracks, the risen Christ stood in the room and said, Take courage, for as you have testified in Jerusalem, so you also must testify in Rome. 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:07.840 And that was last week. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.919 That's the promise that was made by the risen Christ in the dark. 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.240 You must testify in Rome. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:19.600 And I told you last week that that word must is God's settled purpose. 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:20.879 It's not a hope. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.000 It's not a, hey, you might testify about me in Rome. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.320 It's a this is as good as done. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.000 It is accomplished already. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:28.960 Not a maybe. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:33.600 It's like you will testify in Rome because the Lord has said it so. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:40.639 And so this week, what we're going to look at is what that promise that was made to Paul is up against. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:51.600 Because when the sun comes up the next morning after Paul spends the night in prison, what we see, 40 men are already organizing to try to make Jesus a liar. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:57.679 And I need us to notice something that's kind of strange about today's passage when we read it. 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:07.360 There's no sermon in it, there's no vision, there's no miracle, at least not the kind that we'd put on a flyer, like that we've seen throughout Acts. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:11.600 Paul he speaks one sentence this whole time, and it's to a centurion. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.960 What the author Luke is doing, he's slowing way down. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:27.519 He's slowing way down, and he's given us 24 verses of just like narrative of plot mechanics, a conspiracy, a leak, a military transfer, and a piece of government paperwork. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.919 That's kind of like what we're looking at today. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:31.840 And why is that so? 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:37.279 Because I think Luke wants us to see and watch how God keeps a promise. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:41.200 And it doesn't look like anything that we'd expect. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:46.240 It doesn't look like stories we've previously looked at in the book of Acts. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.960 And so, with that, here's our big idea this morning. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:54.000 Our big idea is this is that Jesus keeps the promises he makes. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:58.559 And he usually keeps them in the dark through people nobody's watching. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:06.320 Jesus keeps the promises he makes, and he usually keeps them in the dark through people that nobody is watching. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.200 With that, there's three movements in the text that we're going to look at. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.440 One, we're going to see 40 empty stomachs. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.519 Two, we're going to see the kid in the hallway. 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:16.159 And three, we're going to see the empire on the night shift. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:18.480 My points this week kind of feel like a C.S. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:21.600 Lewis book title or a The Last One feels like to me. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:26.159 I was like preparing and I was like, that kind of sounds like a, you know, an ex Star Wars title. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:29.440 The Empire of the Night Shift, but we're rolling with it. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.240 So you'll see why in a sec. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.080 Let's pray and then we'll dig in. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.080 Lord, we love you. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:36.879 We praise you. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:43.519 We thank you for a room of people who are hungry to dig into your word, who delight in worshiping you. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.000 God, I just pray that you continue to do a mighty work in and through us, Lord. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:59.840 Lord, I pray for the things that happen beyond like this room, for the things that happen on Mondays when we're at our jobs and we have the opportunity to share the gospel with the coworker. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:04.480 Or the times that we're gathering together and we're lifting one another up, Lord. 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:09.440 God, I just pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:15.440 God, I pray that many people in Kansas City would hear the good news of your son Jesus. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.039 Would you go before us, Lord? 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:18.159 We love you, we praise you. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:19.840 It's in the mighty name of Jesus I pray. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:23.840 And all God's people said, Amen, amen. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:25.120 So let's dig in. 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.759 Point number one is 40 empty stomachs. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:29.759 Forty empty stomachs. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:31.679 We have 40 empty stomachs in the room. 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:33.360 Everybody ate breakfast this morning? 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:36.159 I didn't. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:38.159 I usually don't eat breakfast. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:41.279 But anyway, verse 12 through 15. 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:48.320 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. 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:51.279 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:58.639 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. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:14:59.679 Verse 15. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:08.159 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. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.440 And we are ready to kill him before he comes near. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.200 So that's pretty wild. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:15.120 The first thing, when it was day. 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:16.639 So this is the next day. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:21.120 This is following what we read last week. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:27.600 This is the night before, the following night, verse 11, Jesus stood in Paul's cell and promised him Rome, like I said. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:34.320 And then the very next morning, when it was day, more than forty men bind themselves under a curse. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:38.000 That's no food, no water, until Paul is dead. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:38.960 That is wild. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:41.200 You've got to really dislike somebody to do that. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:53.039 And they don't know it, but what they're actually doing is they're swearing an oath against a promise that's already been made, against a promise that the Lord Jesus has already made to protect Paul. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.440 And look at let's look at how serious this is. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:16:03.120 The word Luke uses, it means that they put themselves under an anathema or a self-curse. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:09.360 Meaning, may God do to us what we're planning to do to Paul if we fail. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:16.000 This is not 40 guys that are just like, hey, venting a little off the side, off-the-cuff discussion. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:19.440 No, they're organized, they are disciplined. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:21.120 They're fasting. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:28.960 And fasting is like the thing that you do to seek God, but they're fasting as fuel for a murder. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:32.399 And then it gets worse. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:33.519 Verse 14. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:41.679 They take the plan to the chief priests and the elders and the clergy, the religious leaders, sign off and approval. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:43.120 Sit with that. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:44.799 Like let's sit with that this morning. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:55.200 The men in robes, the men whose whole job was the house of God, hear, we've sworn to assassinate a prisoner, and their answer is, how can we help? 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:56.960 The plan is simple. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.240 Request another hearing, make it sound official, determine his case more exactly. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:03.360 Like they have a plan to assist in this plot. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:12.319 And somewhere in the narrow streets, their plan is to have 40 blades finish off Paul. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.920 And church, I want us to be honest about what we're looking at. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.920 Because the fact of the matter is, darkness is not lazy. 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.519 Darkness can be and often is organized. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:31.359 It recruits, it plans, it gets up early. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:33.839 And here's the part that should unsettle us. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.839 The most dangerous darkness in this chapter is not the 40 men hiding with the knives. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:43.440 It's the man in the robes who blessed it. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:49.200 Quoting scripture, twisting scripture to kill Paul. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:54.559 They have this absolute certainty that they were serving God. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:01.440 And here's the truth for us this morning: zeal is not the same thing as truth. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:05.920 These men had all the sincerity in the world. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:10.559 But sincerity has never once made someone right. 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.200 But here's the thing: here's what the 40 men do not know. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.920 And what we, the readers, do know. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:25.519 This is one of Luke's favorite tricks that we see in both the gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts. 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:27.440 He lets you see it. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:29.839 He let us see verse 11. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:36.880 And so we, church, know something that the 40 men fasting to assassinate Paul do not know. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.960 We know that the Lord Jesus has promised him that he would reach Rome. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:52.319 They're actually plotting against a sentence spoken by the risen Son of God that says, You must testify in Rome. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:19:03.440 Which means the question that this passage is asking us is not how strong is these men's plot against Paul. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.599 Like 40 men, it's seemingly a strong plot. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:10.799 But the question is, has God spoken? 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:20.640 And if he has, then the oath against the promise of God is just a hunger strike against something that's surely going to come to pass. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:22.000 Like, you know, think about it. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:29.920 Like if they they were sh if they were striking against, going on strike against the sunrise, like they're not gonna stop the sunrise from coming up. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.839 Like it's gonna happen assured day. 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:35.599 It is like signed, sealed, delivered, it's happening. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:39.920 And that's the truth of the matter with the promises of Christ. 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:47.039 Because Paul is assuredly going to go and testify in Rome for no reason other than the Lord said it would happen. 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:50.880 And here's the thing: this is what I find pretty crazy. 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:57.519 Like, there's nowhere in the text that we see that Paul ever finds out about any of this. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.680 He probably never learns most of it. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:05.440 And um, we don't see in the text nobody starve in Jerusalem, right? 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:18.640 Um the rabbis, this is just kind of a side note, the rabbis ever practical, they had a release clause for vows that you were prevented by constraints from keeping. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:24.240 And so 40 very hungry men quietly went back to their dinner tables, most likely. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.960 The oath had an exit for them. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:31.279 And the thing is, the promise of the Lord Jesus did not. 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:40.640 Um Charles Spurgeon, he puts it this way: this is better than any of us could put it, um, and he's talking about death itself and referencing Psalm 23. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:44.480 Um, this is kind of a lengthy quote, but I'm gonna read it to you because I think it's really good. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.799 And I think it speaks to what we're reading about in Acts 23. 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:53.920 It says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:58.400 Observe that it is not walking in the valley, but through the valley. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:03.599 We go through the dark tunnel of death and emerge into the light of immortality. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:08.079 We do not die, we do but sleep to wake in glory. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:13.839 Death is not the house but the porch, not the goal, but the passage to it. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:24.079 And then it is not the valley of death, but the valley of the shadow of death, for death in its substance has been removed, and only the shadow of it remains. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:29.440 Someone has said that when there is a shadow, there must be light somewhere, and so there is. 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:37.440 Death stands by the side of the highway in which we have to travel, and the light of heaven shining upon him throws a shadow across our path. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.480 Let us then rejoice that there is a light beyond. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:46.160 Nobody is afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a man's pathway even for a moment. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:53.359 The shadow of a dog cannot bite, the shadow of a sword cannot kill, the shadow of death cannot destroy us. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.720 Let us not therefore be afraid. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.519 So what we're seeing in the text is there. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.880 More than 40 men, 40 swords sworn against Paul that morning. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.359 But not one of them ever touched him, right? 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:17.200 And so the truth of the matter is for the man or woman inside the promise of Christ, the ambush is only ever a shadow. 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:23.759 So for Paul, these 40 men are only ever a shadow of death. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.559 So that's the truth for us this morning as well. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:37.920 For those of us who are in Christ, for those of us who are inside the promise of Jesus, anything that comes against you, all it can ever be is a shadow. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:43.839 Because we know that death is not the end, that we have eternity with the Lord Jesus. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:48.000 So how does this shadow fare against the Apostle Paul? 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:49.920 Well, let's now look at point number two. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.000 Point number two, the kid in the hallway. 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.559 The kid in the hallway. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:23:03.519 Verses 16 through 22, the word says, Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:09.839 Paul called one of the centurions and said, Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:18.400 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. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:25.039 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that you have to tell me? 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:34.400 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 closely about him. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:47.599 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty 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 him, and now they are ready, waiting for your consent. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:55.119 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, Tell no one that you have informed me of these things. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:59.920 So here's the situation. 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:06.319 We still got these forty trained, oath-bound men, and the high court is in on it. 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:10.720 A Roman commander is about to walk straight into the trap that is being said. 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:14.799 Because the request, it looks like something completely routine. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.480 But heaven has a promise on the line. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:21.359 So what's God going to send? 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:24.720 Well, well, we we know that he can send. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:39.440 Peter was in prison in this same city, and God sent an angel of the Lord. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:52.240 There's a bright light in the cell, chains fell off his wrists, an iron gate swung open by itself, and Peter walked out of a maximum security prison, like we'll walk out of here later today after service. 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:53.839 Like with these, right? 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:56.720 So where's Paul's angel? 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:00.240 Where's the prison door swinging open for Paul? 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:01.839 Verse 16. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.400 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush. 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:08.319 That's Paul's seemingly, like, who's God sent? 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.759 A son of Paul's sister, his nephew. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:12.960 A kid. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:13.519 Right? 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:18.240 The Greek language, like, it shows that it's like a younger kid. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.839 No older than teenager, but most likely younger. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:24.079 That's the intervention that the Lord's sending. 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:28.319 There's no light, there's no chains falling, just a kid. 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:32.079 And then the tribune takes him by hand in verse 19. 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:34.319 So that's how young he reads. 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:36.480 Who happens to hear something. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:39.599 This kid, Paul's nephew, happened to hear something. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:44.640 And he had the nerve to walk into a Roman barracks and open his mouth. 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:50.480 And what's really crazy, this is the only relative of Paul that we ever meet. 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:52.799 In all of Scripture. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:26:00.319 Thirteen letters that are written, half the book of Acts, and the man's entire family tree shows up for seven verses. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:03.359 A nephew, no name, never seen again. 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:06.000 He saves the apostle Paul's life. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:07.359 That's wild. 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:11.279 And he doesn't even get his name mentioned in the story. 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:17.200 And let's feel, family, let's feel how ordinary this rescue is. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.519 Luke doesn't even tell us how the boy heard the plots. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:28.000 And a plot that's that big that 40 people are in on, like, words got to spread a little bit. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:29.279 And what happens? 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:32.640 Somebody talked within the earshot of this kid, and that's it. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.839 That's the miracle. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:40.559 It's a leak of the information, a leak of the plot to somebody that went and told Paul. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:45.920 A boy who knew that it was worth the risk of speaking up. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.480 And here's what I want us to see this morning. 00:26:50.640 --> 00:27:00.000 What we have here is the same God in the same book of Scripture, in the same city, as we saw in Peter's rescue. 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:03.119 And we see two completely different rescues, right? 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:14.079 One, a bright light, one an angel of the Lord, prison doors swinging open, the other, a kid speaking up in order to preserve Paul's life. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:15.839 Peter got the angel. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:17.680 Paul got his nephew. 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:24.160 And Luke puts them both in the book of Acts so that we don't make the same mistake. 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:29.599 We don't make the mistake of thinking that one of them is God working and the other is just plain luck. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:30.559 Right? 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.680 Here's the truth for us. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:37.359 Most of our life looks more like Acts 23. 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:44.640 Most of our life looks like Acts 23, looks like the ordinary rescue, not the Acts chapter 12. 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:47.759 Most of the time, God is not going to blind you with light. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:49.359 Can he? 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:49.839 Yes. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:50.960 Does he mostly? 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:51.519 No. 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:54.079 He's going to have somebody overhear something. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:59.279 He's going to put one person in one hallway at one moment with enough courage to speak up. 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:08.240 And it will look so ordinary that you can walk through the middle of a miracle and call it a coincidence. 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:19.039 Guys, like we got to put our Holy Spirit glasses on, if you will, to where we can see the Lord moving in the ordinary. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:25.200 May we never be a people who call the things God's doing in the ordinary a coincidence? 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:28.559 May we see God moving in the ordinary. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:34.000 And so remember the question that I asked you at the beginning. 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:39.359 How much of the grace in your life happens out of your earshot? 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:44.160 Paul, he went to the grave. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:45.839 I'd bet on it. 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:50.799 Not knowing the half of what God did in these 24 hours. 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:53.759 He heard the plot secondhands. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:55.839 He never saw the 40 men. 00:28:56.319 --> 00:29:00.559 He slept through his rescue's most important conversation. 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:02.880 And the same is true for us. 00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:11.519 This side of heaven, this side of heaven, we will never know how many of our rescues were arranged by the Lord in rooms we were never in. 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:17.759 We will never know who prayed for us, who interceded on our behalf before the Lord. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:23.119 We will never know who made the phone call to another person to encourage us. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:26.720 We'll never know who happens to be in the hallway. 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:31.839 You know, maybe it's your sister's sister's nephew or sister's kid, like it was for Paul. 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:47.599 And for all of us, if if you've walked through some difficult days, which I would venture to say that most of us have, like life's not all sunshines and happiness, like there's tough days that come. 00:29:48.720 --> 00:30:03.200 And if that's you, you know this in your bones, that somewhere back down the line, maybe somebody said something about you to the Lord on your behalf. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:06.640 Maybe it's somebody that wouldn't stop praying like my mama. 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:12.319 And I didn't hear it, but we're here because of it, right? 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:22.240 And so let's flip that on its head for a second. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:32.640 Because like the easy application for us is like, hey, wait for the wait for the nephew to come, wait for a nephew to come in your life, wait for the kid that's gonna speak on behalf of the Lord. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:36.160 Like and that could be, like, that's yes, an application. 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:42.960 But we can flip it and say, hey, let's be one. 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:46.799 Let's be someone like the nephew of Paul. 00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:54.319 Because I think the fact of the matter is that the kingdom of God runs on people who are faithful in the unknown. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:56.720 Just like Paul's nephew was. 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:02.799 Like, whatever it is, insert whatever stories come into your heart there. 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.920 And the thing is, like, nobody's filming any of that. 00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:09.519 There's no name that's attached to most of it. 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:11.440 Same as verse 16. 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:14.640 And heaven doesn't miss a second of it. 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:19.200 God is not unjust so as to overlook your work. 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:21.759 That's what Hebrews chapter 6, verse 10 says. 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:24.319 Anonymous in the story, hear this. 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:27.759 Anonymous in the story is not anonymous to the author. 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:30.079 The Lord knows your name. 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:35.839 You're not anonymous to the Lord, and he sees the work that you're doing to build his kingdom. 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:43.359 So, point number three, our last point. 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:47.440 It's a Star Wars sequel, The Empire of the Night Shift. 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:49.440 The Empire of the Night Shift. 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:51.680 Verses twenty-three through thirty-five. 00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:52.799 Let's read it. 00:32:53.359 --> 00:33:04.319 Then he called two of the centurions and said, Get ready, two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 00:33:04.720 --> 00:33:09.119 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the Governor. 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:11.279 And he wrote a letter to this effect. 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:17.200 Claudius Lysius, to his excellency, the governor Felix, greetings. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:32.079 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 accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:38.960 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:48.480 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. 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:54.240 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:58.960 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:04.640 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:08.159 On reading the letter he asked what province he was from. 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:14.159 And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive. 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:18.719 And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's Praetorium. 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:23.519 So let's start, let's do some some math. 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:25.360 Let's do some math. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:29.599 Because Luke wrote it down. 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:31.360 So let's do the math. 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:32.480 I'm not a mathematician. 00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:34.079 There's some on here here that are. 00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:38.320 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen. 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:45.760 Okay, that's 470 armed men at 9 o'clock at night for one tent maker. 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:47.199 For one Paul. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:54.320 That's a lot of soldiers against these 40 men who are bound against Paul. 00:34:54.880 --> 00:35:04.559 The commander of the army hears one kid's report, and he empties out a huge chunk of his garrison to move a single prisoner about 60 miles. 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:09.360 40 men swore an oath. 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:14.079 So God counters with 470. 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:19.440 And though it's crazy is the empire, the Roman Empire, paid for all of it. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:23.440 And Rome, they think they are managing a security problem. 00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:34.320