I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me into the book of Acts 23:12. This is where we will be picking it up here this morning. And you can even pull out your handout if you want to take some notes, and you'll see a map on there that we are in Jerusalem, or Paul is in Jerusalem at this point of Acts. And Jesus just told him to “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” And so, if you look at your handout, you can see that we're going from Jerusalem to Rome. And that's going to be quite an adventure, going across the known world at that time, pretty much the Roman Empire. We're going to get on a boat, we're going to set sail, and that's what we're going to be studying together in the rest of the book of Acts. Now, I'm sorry that all you get when you come to this service is just this handout. In the kids’ ministry, you get this whole wheel of trouble. That's what they're doing down the hall right now. I'm sorry, we don't have crafts, everybody. I feel like I need to apologize. We're not as cool as the kids’ ministry. Because the kids’ ministry, they're teaching our kids the same Bible passage that we're learning here this morning. Isn't that awesome that our kids’ ministry is doing that I'm so thankful for them. And so, they come up with these crafts, this is like the wheel of trouble, all the obstacles that are going to come. I think we have some of the images, like a shipwreck. That's one that's going to happen. And so, your turn, oh, sorry, child, you got a shipwreck. Now it's somebody else's turn. Why don't you spin the wheel of trouble? Okay, you spin. Oh, snake bite. Ouch. You just got bit by a snake. Sorry, rough day, kids, man, you know. And then there are these guys … these guys are my favorite, that the title is Opposition. Don't those guys look like someone who's going to take your lunch money right there? Right? That's what we're here to talk about today is there's a plot of some opposition. So, men who want to kill Paul. So as soon as Jesus says, you're going to go to Rome, there's a whole bunch of men who say, no, we're going to kill you. And so, I want to read that story together and see what God does. So out of respect for God's word, I'm going to invite everybody to stand for the public reading of Scripture. We're going to start in Acts 23:12, and we're going to go all the way to the end of the chapter. I want to invite everybody watching online, everybody out there on the front lawn, if you would stand with us. And let's just really hear what happens here in God's Word. Let's give this our full and undivided attention, because clearly the way God rescues Paul is meant to be an example to us. So, this is Acts 23:12-35.
“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 were more than forty 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 it 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 closely about him. 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.’ 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 two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred 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 Lysias, 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 accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 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 Cilicia, he said, ‘I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.’ And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.”
That's the reading of God's Word. Go ahead and have your seat. I don't know if you've ever gotten a fight when you were growing up as a kid. I don't know if you've ever even had something intimidating and scary, like a death threat. But can you imagine if over forty men took an oath, that they're not going to eat or drink until they killed you, until you were dead by their hand. That's what we have here. I mean, imagine if there were forty people who all decided that you needed to die, that would seem like a lot of people coming after us. And when I really started studying this, you can see that word oath is there in verse 12. It's mentioned again in verse 14 there that they've got this oath. And when I studied that, it wasn't the Greek word I was looking for. I was thinking of the Greek word that means like, take a vow, or you swear by something. But it was actually this Greek word anathema. Maybe you've heard that before. This idea if someone is anathema, like people who reject Jesus, are anathema. People who preach a different gospel than the gospel of Jesus, are anathema. It's a word that means to be cursed, and like God is going to curse you. So, these guys aren't just making a pact together, like we're going to, we're in the brotherhood of killing Paul, these guys are saying, God curse us if we don't kill Paul before we eat again. So, these guys are actually in this warped and twisted mindset that they think killing Paul will be a way that they can serve God. Like, we'll be wrong with God if we don't kill Paul before we eat again. Now, the irony of this is that Paul, although he's our hero that we're going along with to Rome, Paul, when we knew him as Saul, he actually was introduced as the villain; not the hero, but the bad guy of the book of Acts.
Go back to Acts chapter 7, and let's just remember. Here in Acts 7:58, how when you and I met Paul, he was going by a different name Saul, before he met Jesus, before he got baptized, before he added testimony. He was actually the guy who oversaw the murder of the first Christian martyr. Now he's got over forty men who want to oversee him getting killed. Well, he actually started that there in Jerusalem. Maybe you've heard the story of Stephen, the first martyr of the church. And this man, Stephen, what great faith he had, how he called out the Jews for their rejection of God and, and they got so mad at Steven here at the end of Acts 7, and they were crying out, they were stopping their ears. They were rushing at him, and it says this; this is Acts 7:58. “Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” So, he was the ringleader when they killed the first Christian. Now he's got over forty guys wanting to kill him, because he's bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. And look how Steven, look how Steven died. This is so powerful here in verse 59: “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Or he had died. So, here's Steven, as he's being killed, he has faith that Jesus is going to receive his spirit, and he's praying that this sin will not be held against this man who are killing him, specifically Saul, who now we have seen, his sin was not held against him. He's been forgiven, and now he's in the spot where forty men think they're going to serve God by killing him. So, this is how twisted evil can get in our world, what people will, they'll flip it around to where they'll call evil, good, and they will call good, evil, and people will be killing someone thinking that's what God wants them to do. And Saul, he got saved out of that and became Paul. And now he's right back into that as men are seeking to kill him.
And go over to John 16, just a few pages to the left and look at what Jesus said about this. And John 16:1, this is exactly what Jesus prophesied was going to happen. And we're now reading this fulfillment. Jesus said this at the Last Supper here, his last teaching to his disciples on the night before he died. He warned them that it was going to go like this. Look at John 16:1-4: “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” Have we seen going through the book of Acts, have we seen Paul get kicked out of many synagogues? Okay. Now we are seeing men try to kill Paul, thinking they're serving God, exactly what Jesus said. And you need to pay attention to why Jesus said. Go back to verse 1, “I have said all these things to you to keep you from” what does he say there? “keep you from falling away.”
There's going to be so much evil in the world. There are spiritual forces of evil Satan and the rest of the demons, the whole system of the world has been corrupted and evil, the whole world is cursed, and there's so much evil that can happen. Even with disease, even in our broken relationships. I mean, there's just going to be so much evil out there that there's going to be a temptation to fall away from the faith, because who can stand firm in such an evil day? And Jesus, he wants you to have the right expectations. I'm telling you, they're going to kick you out of the synagogues. They're going to come and kill you. And the reason I'm telling you this ahead of time is so when it happens, you'll be able to remember, hey, I told you it was going to be like this.
If you're taking notes, let's get this down for point number one: Expect evil. Expect evil. That's something we have been learning over the last couple years when we went through 1 Peter, and we saw the persecution is coming for every one of us. Suffering is included in the Christian life. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? It's just something we need to learn. And I think even now, when it feels like, hey, we're coming out of some of the bad things that have been going on, and maybe things are getting a little bit a little bit better, hey, are happy days going to be back again? Hey, let me just tell you, you know, they're not going to be back again. I'm all for happy days. I'm all for sunshine and rainbows, just as much as anybody else. You know what I mean? Let's go walk on the beach. Let's go eat ice cream. I'm all for happy times. But that's not what you and I should expect. And I keep getting this impression from brothers and sisters here at our church like, well, we've been through some hard times, we've been through some bad things, but maybe now it's all just going to be smooth sailing from here on out. And I don't think that's the expectation that Jesus is trying to teach his disciples here in John 16. That's not what we've seen in the book of Acts. No. We should expect that persecution might even increase in our lifetime, that suffering might even become more intense. And then people might start coming after us and thinking they're doing the right thing by persecuting Christians. People might be thinking, they're right with God, rather than we're right with God, when they want to kill us. This is what has happened throughout the history of the church. It's happening in other parts of the world this very day. People think they're serving God by hating Christians. And so, we should expect that, we should be prepared for that. But here's what's good news for us is the word of over forty men is not stronger than the word of Jesus. If Jesus says you're going to Rome and forty men plus say they're going to kill you, who's going to win that? Jesus every single time.
What Jesus says is going to happen. Jesus promised us that even though they may hate us, even though they may kill us, he is going to build his church, and not even the gates of Hades can stop him from doing it. And so, Jesus, he said, Paul's going to Rome, so look what happens. Go back to Acts 23. And even though these men rise up, pronouncing curses on themselves, look what's going to happen here. And I remember reading this story when I was growing up or I better say my dad reading this story to me when I was growing up. And I remember after hearing this story a couple of times, maybe I asked my dad: What happened to those forty guys who took that oath? And so, they would never eat again until they killed Paul, but they don't kill Paul. So, like, what happened to them. Dad? And I remember my dad saying something like, well, I would imagine they probably ate some food at some point. And I just remember being so disappointed by that answer. Like, they didn't get cursed and shrivel up and die or something. They just ate something like, just the swarm of shame or something is what happened, like, I was just trying to figure out what happened to these guys because they don't kill Paul. Their whole God curse me if we don't kill him. Well, then that's exactly what ended up happening. Because look at Acts 23:16. “Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush.” Like, who even knew Paul had a sister, you know what I mean? Like, all of a sudden, he's got a sister. Every time I read that line, I think of that line from Star Wars: Sister. You have a sister, right? Like, I just hear that voice, like, Paul, I didn't know you had a sister; you've been holding out on us all these chapters. Your sisters got... You got a nephew. Wait a minute, Paul, your nephew just happened to be where these forty plus guys are bragging and asking God to curse them if they don't kill you, and they're not going to eat food. And they're talking all tough. And one of the people who just happens to hear that is your nephew. Like, what are the chances of that just happening in Jerusalem? Well, you've got a sister and she's got a son, and he knows the entire bad guy plot. Well, isn't this a convenient narrative here in the story, right? You see, you see how this is working like God, in His Providence, he always has his people in the right place at the right time.
I mean, God, how many people are here today? Because you had a believer who was a coworker and invited you, because you had a family member and this was their church, and they asked you to come here. See, God always has his people in the right places. Last night, we heard a testimony that was so awesome. The way that she heard about coming to our church was somebody at the gas station next to her was playing their Christian music really loud. And they were unashamed of their Christian music at the gas station. And so, she went up and asked them, where do you go to church, and she got invited to come here. And we were rejoicing last night, that gas prices aren't the only things being turned up at the gas station these days, that Jesus is being cranked up and people are coming to church and hearing about him. See, I mean, just think about that. What I like here was a lady praying God, I need to know who you are. And she just happens to be right next to somebody at a gas station, who's worshipping Jesus Christ, because they're already filled up before they even get gas, and she happens to meet that person and come and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. See, there's no way we can read about Paul suddenly having a sister who has a son who just so happens to hear the plot that's going to protect Paul from these forty guys out here, bragging and asking God to curse them. Well, God's already got his guy to help with the rescue. See, God doesn't even need miracles to save you. God has this thing called Providence, because he is actually in control of all of the circumstances of your life, all of the persons, places, and things he actually is over it all. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. He upholds the universe by the Word of his power, like everything is under the sovereign control of God. You can't control the rain, you can't make the wind stop blowing. You can't wish the storm away, but God, he is above all of the clouds in our lives. And he's got this guy right there ready to hear this plot, ready to bring it to the barracks, to bring it to the Tribune. I mean, Paul's nephew is not just by coincidence in this place. And it reminded me of another example.
Go to Esther chapter 2. I don't know if you've been reading through Esther and Daniel and Ezra and Nehemiah but everybody, can you find Esther with me? Esther chapter 2. It's right before Job there and in your English Old Testament. But if you can find the book of Esther, maybe you know about Mordecai and Esther, the heroes of the Jewish people here in this story, and how there's this man Haman who's the bad guy, who wants to kill the Jews. And there's this part of the story that, when I was studying Paul's nephew just hearing the plot about how they want to kill him. I was reminded of Mordecai here in Esther 2:21, if you can turn there with me, Esther has become the queen with King Ahasuerus, and Mordecai, who's related to Esther. And I look at verse 21 of chapter 2: “In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.” So again, here's another situation where Mordecai just happens to hear about a plot to kill the king, and his relative just happens to be the queen. And so, the queen goes and says, hey, Mordecai I'm related to, he just heard this plot, and these two guys are going to kill you. And he says in verse 23, “When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.” And if you read through Esther with us, you know that later on, the king is going to read that book of Chronicles. And that's going to be a big plot twist later on in the story of Esther, because he's going to remember Mordecai saving his life; he's going to do something to honor Mordecai. And so, this is a really significant thing.
So, you’ve got to see that a lot of these things that happen in our lives, they don't just happen. God is making them happen. God is introducing people to one another and putting certain circumstances together so that life happens a certain way. And when there's a plot to kill somebody that God doesn't want to die at that time, it just so happened, somebody's there to hear and spoil the plot. In fact, look how Mordecai says it. Turn over to Esther 4:14. This is the famous verse from the book of Esther. But look what Mordecai really says here. This is Esther 4:14. He's encouraging Esther to go before the king, because Haman has the plot to kill the Jews, and she needs to stand up for her people. So, he says, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” That's the famous part. Like Esther, you're here in your spot for this time for this moment. So, you could go and make an appeal to the king. But that's maybe not even the biggest thing that Mordecai says in that verse. Notice what he said earlier in that verse, he is confident that “relief, and deliverance will rise for the Jews.” If you don't go and say something about it, the Jews are going to be rescued, the Jews will find relief, like God is going to save his people. So, you could be a part of it. Esther, if you speak up at such a time as this, but even if you don't, Mordecai believes God will rescue his people. See, this is the expectation of Scripture that God puts a hedge of protection around his people; God will protect his people from every evil. And if he allows some storm to come into our life, that's because he is going to use what is evil and he's going to take it and work it for good.
Point number two: You can put your confidence in God's Providence. You can put your confidence in God's Providence. God can do, he doesn't even need to do it in a miraculous way. He can do it through the course of the events of your life, by bringing the people into your life and getting you in that right place at that right time. And just these examples of Paul's nephew or Mordecai, overhearing a plot to kill someone and how God can use that happenstance that what might seem like a coincidence, no, the word in theology we would use is Providence. And this is God governing the affairs of our life, God being in control. I just got to say this here this morning, that so many of us are trying to take control of our lives, as if we can tell when the rain is going to fall, or when the wind is going to blow. And there is only one who can control the storms in life, and it's not us. And we need to acknowledge that he is in control. And I'm going to stop trying to take control of things myself. I'm going to stop freaking out because life is out of control, from my perspective, and I'm going to put my confidence in the one who is in control of all things, one who has sovereign reign over all the circumstances of my life. I believe that he is for me, for my Good and he will protect me. I'm expecting evil things to come my way, but God will protect me in his Providence, and I'm putting my confidence in him. And that's what happens. I mean, that's what happens in our story.
Go back to Acts 23, and you will see that forty plus men, they think they know what's going to happen to Paul. Well, they're even in there boasting about their plot. It is overheard, it is revealed. And then we get this man that we've been talking about here for a little bit. Now, this Roman Tribune Claudius Lysias is the guy who's in charge of the barracks there in Jerusalem. He receives the message from this young man, he seems to be even caring for the young man telling him, don't tell anybody you told me this. And then look what Claudius Lysias does here in verse 23. He calls two of his centurions. And if you know about how the Roman army kind of worked, you know that centurions were over hundred soldiers. And so, he gets two centurions, and he says, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen.” Plus, and I love this part right here: “two hundred spearmen.” Now, I used to play army men back in the day, the little green guys, I don't know if anybody else did this. I used to set up battles with my brothers. You might know one of my brothers around here. And so, I would set up my army men on one side of the room. I don't know if I'm talking to anybody here. And he would set up his army men. And I'd be looking at his setup. And I'd be looking at my setup. And I would think I got this guy every single time, right? And then we would spend the next hour of our lives arguing about who got who and who really won the war. Well, if he was coming at me with forty plus dudes, and I started lining up two hundred soldiers, seventy horseman, and two hundred spearmen, I'd be feeling pretty good about the superior forces that I had, compared to these guys. Do you see what Claudius Lysias does here? He gives an overwhelming display of force. If there are forty plus guys over there, well, if you do some quick math, let's put four hundred and seventy guys over here. That's ten to one, everybody. That's such a superior force. These Jews when they see that army, they're not even going to try to fight them. That's what Claudius Lysias is doing. I mean, look at how in God's Providence, he is sending an army to protect Paul from those who are trying to kill him. I mean, I love the part where he says in verse 24, let's get some mounts for Paul, like Paul is riding out of town on horseback, everybody, I would imagine with a massive smile on his face under his military escort. Good luck getting me guys as I ride out of here on a horse with my army; see you guys later in Jerusalem. So, you’ve got to see in his Providence, God protects. I mean, what a hedge of protection he puts around Paul so that this evil cannot happen to him. And he writes this great letter and look at verse 29. We see that the Roman Tribune has come to his conclusion about Paul, verse 29, “I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment.” Like he comes to the conclusion that Paul is innocent, that this is actually just the Jews trying to kill him. This is not anything that he has done. So, he sends him to Felix the governor, and he ends up in Herod’s praetorium. You can rest assured that these forty plus guys aren't breaking into Herod’s Praetorium and killing Paul. And so, Paul ends up having an army escort him to one of the safest places there in Israel at that time, where he can make his defense because Claudius Lysias knows that Paul is innocent.
Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge that when God wants to protect you, He will send out an army. I mean, this is awesome. Right? Here are four hundred and seventy soldiers. What an escort to get him to Caesarea. And I wonder how many times has God protected you? How many times has evil come against you, and there was like a hedge of protection around you? There was like a forcefield. You are invisible because God’s hand of Providence was upon you, and how much evil has tried to come against you and you didn't even know about it, but God protected you. How many times have angels been around you, protecting you from some kind of harm, whether physical or even some kind of spiritual attack by the forces of evil in the realm that we can't see, are somehow trying to come and get you, the fiery darts of the evil one coming against you. And yet they're all extinguished as the Lord protects you. What a great picture of an army taking Paul out of town. That's a picture of God's protection for his people.
And so, we can have confidence that evil is coming. And we can have even more confidence in God's Providence. And there's a word that he uses here. Look back at the first verse of his letter, verse 26, when he says his name Claudius Lysias, he's writing to Felix. We're going to meet Felix in the next chapter. And then he says in verse 27, “This man was seized by the Jews, and what's about to be killed by them.” Remember that mob, they're in the temple. How they brought him outside the gates, and they were trying to kill him. And when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, that's a key word. Now I want to talk to you about this idea that the Roman Tribune here is saying, hey, I rescued Paul's life when I brought him out of that mob, maybe you can even remember that the soldiers had to pick Paul up and carry him out of there because of the violence of the crowd trying to kill him. And he's like, yeah, we rescued him out of that. See, that's what we are all going to need. Evil is coming, and God in his Providence, he is going to rescue us from evil. And when you start doing a study on this idea, you can see that Jesus had already promised Paul that he was going to be rescued. In fact, Paul had already prayed that he would be rescued. And the means that God is using to accomplish his rescue is here actually government doing what it's supposed to do, which is punish the evil and protect the good. And they've decided that this man is innocent, and they're actually protecting him from evil, and God uses this man, this Roman, to rescue Paul.
Just turn over a couple of chapters to Acts 26. I can't wait till we get to Acts 26, because Paul's going to give his defense for the third time. He's going to tell his testimony for the third time. And he adds more to his testimony. He gives us more of what Jesus said when he met him on the road to Damascus, than we've ever heard or studied before. Maybe you know how he said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And he said, well, “Who are you, Lord?” This is Acts 26:15. And the Lord said … let me just read what Jesus said here because not all of this has been recorded for us yet. He says, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” That's the part we already heard. And what a great word that is that when people come to persecute us, Jesus takes it so personally, like they're persecuting him. That's the relationship we have with Christ in the evil system, run by Satan, this world. If they come after us, Jesus takes it like they're coming after him. What a great thing. But then he goes on to say this in Acts26:16-18: “But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ What an amazing thing that Jesus says there that he's going to use Paul to do. But notice verse 17, underline it circle it. A lot of times this idea of delivering and rescuing, they're coming from the same Greek words. Do you notice that Jesus said that he was going to deliver Paul from your people, and at this time, Paul was the ringleader of the Jewish persecutors. He was on his way to Damascus to go arrest more Christians. And no, Some day, Paul, you're going to need to be rescued, to be delivered from your own people, and even from the Gentiles that I'm sending you to. And I am making you my witness. I'm making you my servant, and I'm going to appear to you and I'm going to send you, and I will deliver you. If Jesus says, he's going to deliver you, you can expect an army escort. That's what we're finding out here. These forty men never had a chance, because Jesus had already spoken, even though it shows up later here in Acts. This is Paul telling us what Jesus had already said to him, that he would be rescued. Now we see how he did it through the Roman Tribune and through the army, and that's how he got delivered from his people.
But Jesus had promised a rescue for Paul. And now we're seeing it play out. And Paul, not only did he believe this promise of Jesus, but he asked people to pray about this. Turn with me to the book of Romans chapter 15, just a few pages over to the right here. Romans, chapter 15. And we're going along on the journey with Paul to Rome. And once we get to Rome, we're going right into the book of Romans. Anybody excited to start studying the book of Romans together here at the church? So, we're going along on the adventure to Rome, and then we're going to read what he wrote to the church in Rome. Sixteen chapters we're going to go through here of real meaningful instruction, that we're going to get to study together, Lord willing. The book of Romans, we're going to get into it. Now he wrote this letter, though, at some time when he knew he was going to Rome, because he talks about coming to see them. But he also wrote it before he got to Jerusalem. So, the book of Romans has already been written before these forty guys say they're going to kill Paul. So, he's already written this. And look what he asked them to pray for here at the end of the book of Romans. Romans 15:30, as we come to the end, he says, “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.” So, he's making a strong appeal in the name of Jesus: “and by the love of the Holy Spirit,” I'm appealing to you to pray for me. And notice how he describes prayer here. He says, we can strive together, if you pray for me. We will be striving together like prayer is really doing something for somebody else. When you pray for somebody, that is the best thing you could possibly do for them. You are right there with them, fighting the war with them, striving together with them, when you pray. I am so sick and tired of the way Christian people devalue prayer in their conversation. Well, I guess there's nothing we can do now. But pray. You ever heard somebody say that before? Brother and sister, that is the most important thing we could have done from the beginning and the middle, and definitely right now is ever to pray for somebody. God is the only one who can really do the work to rescue other people. And if you want to really help somebody the best, the first, the most important thing you can do for them is to pray for them. Can I get an Amen from anybody on this? Okay?
So, we're going to talk about how you pray right now. And we're going to talk about the fact that some of you are frustrated with other people. And I just got to ask people that you're frustrated about how much you pray. And for those people, who are really striving together with other people in prayer, like you go before God and you say, God on behalf of so and so I'm asking, I'm making an appeal on their behalf that you would…, then you're praying for this for so and so. Paul thinks that if the church in Rome, if they pray for him, they're going to be right there in the middle of it with him, striving together. And so, he gives them this prayer request. And look what it is verse 31, “that I may be delivered” or rescued “from the unbelievers in Judea,” which is the area there around Jerusalem, “and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” Wow, what does he ask them to pray for? He needs a rescue is what he asked them to pray for. See, at this point, he knows he's going to Jerusalem, and then he's hoping to go to Rome, and that he knows from the warnings that he's receiving, people are telling him, when you go to Jerusalem, you're going to get arrested; when you go to Jerusalem, and you're going to suffer, you should expect evil to happen to you in Jerusalem, Paul. And so, he writes a letter to the Romans. And at the end of the letter, he says, I need you guys to pray that all get rescued out of Jerusalem, because otherwise I'll never see Rome. So, he wrote this before they arrested him, before all the Jews tried to kill him. And now just think about Paul, how he must feel when he's riding on a horse with seventy horsemen around him and two hundred soldiers and two hundred spearmen. And he's getting a military escort out of town, and he asked the Roman church to pray for a rescue. You think he's smiling because his prayers have been answered? You think he's smiling because he's like, look, he's thinking to himself, those Romans they must have really prayed about this one. Look at how God answers their prayers. And he says so by verse 32: “so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.” The only way I'm going to make it to Rome is I'm going to need deliverance, I'm going to need rescue, the Jews are going to come after me. They're in Jerusalem and Judea. And if God doesn't deliver me, I won't get to come and be refreshed in your company and encourage one another with our mutual faith. And so, he asked for prayer. And we think that they must have prayed for him. And look at the rescue that God gives with the whole Roman army here, taking him up to Caesarea. Now this isn't just something we can learn and be inspired by about how God rescued Paul out of those who wanted to kill him in Jerusalem.

Go to Matthew chapter 6. This is how Jesus taught you and me and everyone who would ever be one of his disciples. This is how he taught us to pray. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” Matthew 6:13 Amen. If everybody here could write down this verse, if everybody here could circle this, could underline this to memorize Matthew 6:13. That's our homework. That's our assignment, and not just to know it, but to really make sure that this is the way every single one of us learns how to pray: lead me not into temptation but deliver me from what I need a rescue – from evil.
Now, the context here, the deliverance from evil that we're talking about in the Lord's Prayer is not necessarily salvation. Okay? That's not what we're talking about here in context. Now, all of us need to be delivered from our sins, and we need a rescue of salvation. We need God with His mighty hand to reach down and save our souls. And so, I sure hope that there was a moment where you came to the end of yourself that there was a moment when you realize that you were not going to be able to save yourself by your own deeds of righteousness, that that was not going to be a real thing, self-righteousness, and you needed the righteousness that could only come from Jesus. And so you cried out to God, save me, deliver me, rescue me. I sure hope that God has saved you and if he hasn’t, today is the day that you need to admit you need help in this life. You are helpless without God, you are unable to do it in your own strength. I promise everybody here that the storms of this life are going to prove themselves more than you can bear. You will not be able to stand up unless you are standing on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. The wind and the waves will knock you down unless you cry out for deliverance starting from your sin. So, I hope you've cried out to God for salvation. But in the context, Look back at verse 11, where it says, “Give us this day our” – how often do we need bread? Daily. So, this idea here of like, hey, I need daily provision of my physical needs, I need daily to confess my sins, and be forgiven, and deal with the things that are going wrong in my own heart. And then on a regular basis, I need you to lead me not into temptation. I need to be on guard against the sin that could rise up from within. And then I also need, on a regular basis, I need you to rescue me from all of this evil that you've taught me to expect, from all of this persecution, this way that's coming towards me from all of the twistedness, and the way people think they're serving you by coming against me and their spiritual forces of evil. And the whole world system is evil. And the curse of sin is upon the whole planet. And I need you to deliver me, not just once in my life, but every single day in my life. I need a rescue.
And some of us here in this room are too proud to admit that we need that from God on a daily basis. We think here's what you're saying when you don't pray to God. If there's a whole day that goes by and you don't pray, what you're saying by your silence to God is you're saying, I got this. I think I can handle what's going on today. I think I can manage. I think I can get through. I think I'm going to make it on my own. When you go and you pray, what you're saying is, I don't got it, God. I can't do it, Lord. And there's only one who has the Providential hand. There's only one who's in control. There's only one who can see accurately all the evil that's coming against me, and comport all of it, and protect me from it. And so, I'm coming to you and I'm saying, I don't have it, I need you. Please, will you rescue me from evil today? You could even really translate it, rescue me from the evil one, that there is a lion prowling around, and he is looking for souls to devour. He walks to and fro, and he has all the demons working with him, and they would just love to destroy our faith and to turn us away, and to get us to fall into sin. And that evil, those spiritual forces, they are coming for us, and I'm not ready to handle them by myself, I need you to rescue me. See, do we have that humility? Do we have that honesty, that we're going to God on a daily basis, and we're saying, God, I don't have this. And I'm actually here praying this morning, Father, because I need to declare my absolute hundred percent dependence on you. If you don't do it through me, if you don't do it to protect me, apart from Jesus Christ, I am not capable of doing even one good thing. If I'm the guy preaching at church here this morning, I just want to be very clear to everybody here, I need a rescue. And I'm praying for God to rescue not just me, I'm praying for God to rescue us that even if we are his saved people, even if he has delivered us from our sin, and how we would die in our sin, and how we would be judged for our sin, even if we've been saved, out of all of that there is still so much evil all around us in this world that we need God to deliver us on a daily basis. Am I speaking anybody here this morning? See some people, they don't want to ask for help.
And let's get this down for point number three: You need to learn how to ask for help. Learn how to ask for help. See, this is where pride kicks in when we think, oh, I've already learned this. I've already got this. I don't struggle with that anymore. I'll already be fine in this situation. Yeah, I think it could go wrong this way. I’ll be okay. He who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. No, see, I'm not trusting in myself to rescue myself. I'm trusting in God to rescue me. And so, I need to come to the Lord and say, Lord, will you please help me; in fact, if you don't help me, I don't even know how it's going to happen.
And so, I don't know where this idea kicks in. But there is this idea of self-sufficiency of self-reliance. And when you think that you are too busy to pray, when you think that you're just going to take off into another day, on some level, what you're saying is you're saying, I think I can do this day, I can just get through it, I can just make it by myself. I don't need to prioritize spending time with God and asking him for a rescue today. Because whatever evil comes my way, I'll just deal with it, and get through the day. And we wonder why things like anxiety and worry and stress and fear are at an all-time high. It's because of our pride, thinking we can handle it, we can take control and then it comes at us. And we realize I ain't got control of this. And that's where all the worry and fear come from. And if we had been crying out for a rescue, if we had been asking for deliverance preemptively, before the storm even came in, before the wind even started to blow, before that wave rose, the waterline went way above our head. Before all of that we already assume that evil was coming. We already put our confidence in His Providence, and we already asked him for help before the storm even came. See, then we would have faith in the eye of the storm. But when we don't pray the way that Jesus taught us, we are unprepared for the storms that inevitably come for us. And that's why we're afraid. See, we pride in thinking that you can do it, meeting reality that you can't do it. That's what leads to so much worry and fear and anxiety. And if I had started by humbling myself under the mighty hand of the Lord, he would lift me up in his time. If I had just come and said, I need directions from the beginning, I need help, you're the one who has to rescue me. I mean, there's so many ways that we all need to be rescued from the spiritual war that can happen in our own home, from the evil that can come at us from the world, from just conversations we're going to have with other people where we don't know what to say, situations that we're in that we need God. And God, I need you to help me get out of this situation. I don't know what to do. There are so many ways that we need to declare our dependence upon God, God, will you please deliver me? And he's ready to do it on a daily basis. But are we asking him to do it?
Go to 2 Timothy chapter 4 and, and look what Paul says here at the end of his life. We'll end with this. Because this is how Paul ends in 2 Timothy chapter 4. You know, he's going to make it to Rome, we know he's going to make it because Jesus told him he was. So, this is an interesting story we're studying because we know the end from the beginning. That's the whole point. All of these obstacles, he will be rescued out of, every single one. And one obstacle that we get to that's not even written in the book of Acts is when he actually has to stand on his defense on trial before Caesar. So, we're going to make it through the shipwreck, through the snake bite, through the forty man who take an oath to kill him. Know what God's going to rescue him through all of that, and he's going to get in front of the man who is running the world at that time, the leader of the Roman Empire. And Paul says that when I stood to make my defense before Caesar, no one was standing with me. He talks about that here in 2 Timothy 4:16: “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me.” And then notice how Paul has now become Stephen. Notice what it says, “May it not be charged against them!” Here he is, at the end, praying that people would be forgiven for deserting him. And he says, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So, I was rescued from the lion's mouth.” Who's the lion that he's talking about there, everybody? He said, when he gets to Rome, and he's there, and he knows he's going to have to speak before Caesar, like there's a spiritual war going on. There are forces of evil . Like Paul's basically saying, he felt like Satan was right there at that trial. And that there was some kind of force, some kind of evil, trying to get him to not share the full witness of Jesus there in the presence of Caesar. And he says, no, the Lord rescued me. If the Apostle Paul, at the end of his life, when he's the strongest in his face, if he needs a rescue in his final witness of Jesus, how much do you and I need a rescue every day so we can be witnesses of Jesus. And he says this great verse in verse 18: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
See, when you try to do it yourself, and you make it through a day, you know what you're doing, you're taking the glory away from God. If you could admit you can't do it, and your expectation is God needs to rescue me today, when he rescues you at the end of the day, you'll be saying, Praise the Lord for what he did in my life. To him be the glory, forever and ever. And as we see Paul get rescued all the way to Rome, we can grow in our confidence that God will rescue us all the way, till he takes us home. To be with Him, God is going to rescue us from every evil deed and bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom. Let me pray for us:
Father, we come before you and we confess that we do not pray as we have been taught, as we ought to pray. We confess that sometimes we try to face the day in our own strength. Sometimes we have the pride to even think I've got this, or it's just work. It's just this thing going on. It's just this today. I don't need God's help with that; I can do it. We may not say that to ourselves, but that's what we're acting like before you, Father. And so, we want to confess our prayerlessness. We want to confess, not realizing how important our prayers really are, that we can pray for, for one another here at this church. And Father, we want to come today, and we want to ask that you would this week, this very hour that you would lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Inspire us by how you rescued Paul, how you gave him an army escort, how you kept your promise to deliver him, how you answered the prayers of the Romans, to rescue him. Inspire us and teach us the way that every one of us needs to pray, that when we go before you, at the beginning of the day, we need to say Father, I need a rescue. The only way today is going to happen is if you come through. And Father, we thank you for your hand of Providence in our lives. We thank you for your hedge of protection around us. And we pray that we will stop relying on ourselves We will trust fully in the rescue that is available to us in your Son, Jesus Christ. God, please change the way we pray here today. Humble us under your mighty hand. And whether we think things are going well, and we're singing from the heights, or whether we're having the hardest time and we're in the eye of the storm, and we're in the depths, let us be people who praise you. Let us be people who trust you, because we know the God of rescue, and we have confidence that you're going to come through, and that no one can snatch us out of your hand. No one can keep us from getting to where we're sailing. We're like a ship in a bottle and we're going to make it home because you will rescue us from every evil deed. Please give us that faith in Jesus’ name. Amen.