Formosa Baptist Church
2026-06-28

      • Proverbs 1:7-9ESV

  • Big Idea for the Series: In the book of Acts, we see God advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church.
    FCF: Sometimes the world seems to spiral out of control and we find ourselves threatened on all sides by forces beyond our control. But nothing is beyond God’s control, and he is at work advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church. So we can take courage knowing that we cannot die until our work here is complete.
    Intro: Last week, we saw that Paul had returned to Jerusalem where the prophecies that were made about him in Acts 21 were fulfilled. Just as the prophets Agabus and others had warned him, a mob broke out accusing Paul falsely of all kinds of things. They beat him and he was rescued by some Roman soldiers stationed there in Jerusalem, but he was arrested because they assumed he must have instigated the riot somehow.
    Paul got a chance to clear his name and preach the gospel, but that only made the crowd angrier, because Paul insisted that God had commissioned him to preach to the Gentiles. So, the tribune has to, again, whisk Paul away from the mob who still wants him dead.

    Background

    So, in this passage, we see that Paul’s ordeal is far from over. (In fact, this arrest ends up being such a significant and lengthy process that it will end up occupying the remainder of the book of Acts.)
    Now, there’s a lot of historical background stuff going on in this passage so, unless you’re a history buff, it might be a little difficult to fully understand what’s going on. And, from this point on in the book of Acts, Paul is going to get bounced around from one court to another, so it will be very helpful for you to have a basic understanding of how some of these political and religious processes worked.
    So, I’ll try to break down the basics for you before we read the passage so that you can understand what you’re reading.
    The Tribune, or “commander” (NIV), who is holding Paul, we will find out in Acts 23:26 in his letter to Governor Felix, is named “Claudius Lysias.” Based upon his title in Greek, chiliarch, he’s a commander over up to 1,000 soldiers.
    Tribune (gk. chiliarchos)—a Roman commander/captain of a “cohort,” a unit of ideally 1,000 soldiers.
    So Lysias, the Tribune, orders “the Council” to meet (Acts 22:30) so that he can try to figure out what—if anything—Paul has done wrong.
    “The Council” is a reference to the Sanhedrin Council, the highest religious court in Judaism, consisting of the High Priest along with 70 Jewish elders.
    Some of these elders are Pharisees, like Paul once was, and the others are Sadducees. The Sadducees seem to have had a majority, or at least more influence, in the Sanhedrin.
    Pharisees:
    Ran the local Synagogues
    Believed entire OT plus Rabbinic Tradition
    Middle class, laypeople, craftsmen
    Pro-Israel; sympathetic to the people
    Extremely devout, meticulous Law keepers
    Liked by most Jews
    Believed in bodily resurrection
    Sadducees:
    In charge of the Temple in Jerusalem
    Believed only in the Law of Moses
    Extremely wealthy, powerful, aristocrats
    Pro-Roman
    Extremely corrupt; superficially religious
    Disliked by most Jews
    Did not believe in bodily resurrection
    You could sort of think of these two groups as religious denominations or political parties—they were kind of a mix of the two. The Sadducees were the ones who were primarily in charge of the Temple system.
    The Sanhedrin didn’t have the legal authority to execute people—only the Roman government could execute people. But, they had a lot of leverage over the Roman governors because of their power over the Jewish people. This was the same court that had conspired to crucify Jesus. They leveraged their power to get Pilate, the Roman governor, to crucify Jesus.
    While they couldn’t legally execute people, they could whip them. (c.f. Ac. 5:40) They had whipped and persecuted the Apostles all through Acts, and they had been the ones who had commissioned the persecution of the Christians, which Paul had been engaged in before he converted.
    The Sanhedrin Council was led by the High Priest. The High Priest was the highest ranking religious official in the Jewish faith—you can sort of think of the authority that the Pope has over Catholics, for example. The High Priest at this time, Ananias, was a Sadducee.
    High Priest—The leader of the Sanhedrin court, highest ranking religious figure in Judaism; the only individual authorized to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple.
    The High Priest was prescribed in the Old Testament as God’s appointed leader of the Jews. He was supposed to represent them to God, and represent God to the people. He had to be holy, and have godly character so that he could stand before God and not be struck dead. He was supposed to bear their sins into the Holy of Holies once a year and atone for them, to get forgiveness for the people. Because of this, it was a highly respected position.
    God demanded that the people show respect to the High Priest and the elders.
    Exodus 22:28 ESV
    28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
    But, by Jesus’ day, this position had become corrupted. It went to the highest bidder. And instead of lasting for life, it changed hands according to political intrigues and who paid off Rome the best. So, in Jesus’ and the apostles’ time, there might be several former High Priests still living and exerting influence.
    Chief Priests—All of the living High Priests, both current and former; most of them continued to have influence and participation for life even after leaving office. (c.f., Acts 4:5-6)
    And so, this is the context where we find Paul. Caught in the middle of a web of power struggles, violence, and hatred.
    And this poor Roman tribune, Lysias, is just trying to figure out what is going on and why everyone seems to want Paul dead...
    Acts 22:30–23:35 ESV
    30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. 1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” 6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” 12 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. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 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. 15 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.” 16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 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.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 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. 21 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.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.” 23 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. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect: 26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. 27 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. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 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.” 31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium.
    Prayer
    Now, the reason I gave you all that background is because I want you to understand the seriousness of Paul’s situation. Paul is in a very dangerous spot. He’s drawn the attention of the highest religious leaders in Judaism—the High Priests and the Sanhedrin—equivalent to our Senate and Supreme Court rolled into one.
    And his case is getting passed higher and higher up the Roman chain of command.
    Lysias has been unable to figure out what’s going on, and now with an imminent death threat and conspiracy, he’s had to pass Paul along to the Governor of the whole region, a man named Felix.
    Paul has faced difficult circumstances before, but this is different. He has people that are now following him wherever he goes. He’s now got a band of 40 armed assassins who have taken a vow to kill him.
    And the only people who have any power to stop any of this and save his life are Romans—pagans who don’t care anything about the details of Paul’s theology.
    It’s unlikely that you’re going to find yourself in a situation that looks a lot like this. But, you are likely to find yourself in situations that are beyond your control. You are very likely to find yourself in danger or at risk because of forces that are more powerful than you and seem set against you. And in those kinds of situations, you will face a temptation to compromise, to shy away from standing for the truth and proclaiming the gospel.
    And it’s in situations like that when we need to take to heart what Jesus said to Paul in verse 11:
    Acts 23:11 ESV
    11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage...”
    Now, the Greek word there is a command, an imperative, so you could translate this a bit more directly as...

    Be Courageous.

    Why did Jesus tell Paul to be courageous? Probably because he was afraid.
    We tend to build up our Biblical heroes in our minds as superhuman. But Paul was just a man. We might even get a glimpse of a very human outburst in v. 3 after Ananias orders Paul to be struck:
    Acts 23:3 ESV
    3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”
    Now, Paul might just be speaking prophetically. Jesus called the Pharisees “whitewashed tombs,” after all, and that clearly wasn’t Jesus losing his temper. But, there’s also no reason to suppose that Paul couldn’t have lost his temper. He was human. He was a sinner. And it ultimately comes down to what was in his heart when he said it, which we can’t judge.
    He’s been through a lot, and he probably realizes that he’s not going to get out of this scrap quickly like he has all the others.
    We tend to assume that Paul and other biblical heroes had no fear. But that isn’t true.

    Courage is not the absence of fear.

    Paul was probably afraid, and for good reason.
    His best efforts to disarm the crowd had failed miserably. He’d already been beaten by the mob—people that used to be his friends and colleagues.
    He’s probably pretty discouraged. He’s preached his heart out to them, and they just won’t listen.
    And, he’d already been told by several prophets and by the Holy Spirit himself that great danger and suffering awaited him in Jerusalem, so he had every reason to be afraid.
    We have a tendency to look at heroes of the faith in the Bible, famous missionaries whose stories we read about in books, and think that they were courageous because they weren’t afraid of anything. But that’s not courage. Absence of fear in the face of death isn’t courage, it’s foolhardiness.
    And if you’re in the middle of a situation that feels like it’s spiraling out of your control, and dread has overwhelmed you, and you feel like there’s no escape this time, and you’re afraid, that’s ok. It’s ok to be afraid.
    In fact, you can’t be courageous if you’re not afraid.

    Courage is not the absence of danger.

    Paul does find out when Jesus visits that he’s not going to die right away, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to suffer. In fact, he will suffer greatly along the way to Rome and beyond.
    There was very real danger. The conspiracy to kill Paul was real. Ananias was well-known for his vicious reputation.
    And, even though it wasn’t legal, the Sanhedrin did occasionally have people killed. In fact, according to Josephus, the High Priest that is mentioned here—Ananias, aka “Ananus”—had quite a reputation for extrajudicial killings.
    The Works of Josephus: New Updated Edition Chapter 9: Concerning Albinus under Whose Procuratorship James Was Slain; As Also What Edifices Were Built by Agrippa

    ...this younger

    If ever there was a deep state cabal, this is it. Most of these guys are corrupt, wicked, wealthy, and powerful, and they’re headed up by the worst of the worst. Josephus even goes on to tell us that Ananias was so bad, and so greedy, that he literally robbed, beat, and starved to death some of the other priests under him.
    The Works of Josephus: New Updated Edition Chapter 9: Concerning Albinus under Whose Procuratorship James Was Slain; As Also What Edifices Were Built by Agrippa

    ...

    And now, Paul has gotten their attention. They’ve got their sights set on him. They had already crucified Jesus, beaten the apostles, stoned Stephen to death, persecuted the church and driven most Christians out of Jerusalem, and now they’ve locked onto Paul.
    And the Roman government, while they don’t really care much about Jewish religious Law, they care a lot about keeping the peace. And Paul seems to be a threat to that peace.
    The danger was very real.
    Courage isn’t running around through life like you have some kind of invincibility potion that renders bullets harmless and makes you immortal.
    When we first went to PNG, I used to think that I was brave and that my wife was fearful. She always struggled with plane rides, fear of venomous snakes, and stuff like that—things that I really never gave a second thought to.
    But, then when she got sick and nearly died, I had to face the fact that death absolutely could touch me. It almost did. And as I read the stories of famous missionaries that I respected and admired I realized something that they all had in common—they were all dead, and most of them died serving the Lord in the mission field.
    Adoniram Judson—the first American Baptist foreign missionary who translated the Bible into Burmese—lost all three of the children born to him and his first wife, Ann, on the mission field. All three were age two or under. Ann, his first wife, also died on the field. His second wife, Sarah, died while en route back to America for medical treatment. Adoniram himself was imprisoned in Burma and tortured barbarically, and ultimately died during his return voyage to America for medical treatment after an extended, brutal illness and was buried at sea. His third wife, Emily, also died from tuberculosis.
    And at some point it dawned on me that if they were not invincible, then I certainly am not, and neither are my wife and kids. All of us have a date that the Lord has already determined when our life here on earth will be over. Serving God doesn’t grant you invincibility. In this life, in this fallen world, the good guys don’t always win.
    And it isn’t courageous to pretend that you’re invincible. I came to respect my wife over time, because the dangers really were real, and the fear she felt was real. She didn’t get on the plane because she thought she was invincible. She knew that she wasn’t...and yet, she got on the plane anyways. That’s courage.

    Courage is acting on faith in spite of fear.

    There is a very real temptation to recant in the face of such trials. Paul could have recanted and made his life a lot easier. He felt the fear, sensed the danger, but he chose not to act out of fear but out of faith.
    The Christian life is not a call to ease and comfort. It’s a call to faith and courage. Be courageous!
    Hebrews 10:32–39 ESV
    32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
    When fear overwhelms you and danger surrounds you, choose to act on faith, not fear.
    You need to be courageous because...

    You must testify.

    Acts 23:11 ESV
    11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

    You are an ambassador of Christ.

    You must testify.
    We have a sacred duty, a sacred privilege. We are under obligation, but it is a privileged obligation.
    1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV
    16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
    2 Corinthians 5:18–20 ESV
    18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
    You’ve heard me say—and I’ll say it again—that the message of the gospel is not a duty but a privilege, and I stand by that. What I mean is that ministry should not feel to us as a duty and obligation that we do not want to carry out. But, it is most certainly an obligation and a sacred duty.
    How can we who have been transformed from death to life withhold that life from others? How can we not give our all for the one who has given all for us?
    Christ has appointed us as ambassadors for his Kingdom. We have a job to do.

    You have a message to deliver.

    You must testify. To testify means to bear witness, to speak of what you have seen and heard and come to know with those who have not seen it, heard it, and do not know it.
    I often hear people quote this saying, which is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:
    Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.
    Saint Francis of Assisi
    Most scholars seem to doubt that he ever said that, and if he did, he was wrong.
    The idea that our lives ought to display and back up the gospel that we preach is certainly true. Your life had better be consistent with the gospel.
    But, no one, merely by looking at your life, is going to be able to to tell that Jesus Christ is Lord, that they are a sinner under condemnation by a holy God, that Jesus has died for their sins and rose from the dead, and that if they place their faith in him they can be forgiven and saved.
    To use the metaphor of an ambassador that Paul used, how effective an ambassador of the United States would someone be if they simply moved to the foreign country, made friends with the ruler there, and then just lived a normal, American life there but never communicated a word of US foreign policy to the rulers?
    Imagine that ambassador defending himself to the president when he gets fired and saying, “Well, I lived an American life! I lived according to American principles of freedom and liberty and capitalism. I was friendly and welcoming to them.”
    Would the president not reply, “That’s all well and good, but I gave you specific instructions and a message to communicate! I sent you to this country because our relationship isn’t good, we’re at the brink of war, and I appointed you to be a mediator, to help communicate our foreign policy with them so that we don’t have to go to war! And you just sat around and had beach parties!”
    You cannot merely show the gospel, you must speak it.
    They were not offended by Paul’s life; it was his teaching, his doctrine, his gospel that offended them.
    Acts 21:27–28 ESV
    27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place...”
    Paul was on trial because of what he believed and taught about Jesus.
    Acts 23:6 ESV
    6 “...It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
    Now, Paul is pretty clever, and he knew good and well that dropping the resurrection in the middle of a bunch of Pharisees and Sadducees would get them to turn against each other instead of him. So, he’s definitely making a clever move here.
    But, it did more than that. His words were true, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ really was the fundamental aspect of Paul’s preaching that made them hate him. By throwing out this theological grenade he was also forcing them to consider the legitimacy of the claim of Christ’s resurrection, to get beyond the smokescreen of his dealings with the Gentiles and force them to consider Christ.
    And if you haven’t communicated Christ and his resurrection, then you haven’t testified about him. You haven’t been a faithful ambassador if you don’t pass along the message from your King.
    Now, there’s one more thing we need to keep in mind. You must be courageous, and you must testify, but you also need to know that...

    Your work is not yet complete.

    Acts 23:11 ESV
    11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
    Now, if you’re Paul, sitting in a cell while powerful people that hate you plot to murder you, this is pretty encouraging. If Jesus says that Paul must testify in Rome, then that means he can’t be killed in Jerusalem yet!
    Now, we don’t have a divine revelation telling us “you must also testify in Rome.” Most of us probably have not been commissioned as missionaries to Rome, nor has God revealed his plans for our lives or guaranteed us many more years of life.
    Some of us may have decades left to testify. Others may have only a few years. Some in this room may not make it to 2027. None of us know how long we have left. But one thing is certain...

    As long as you are alive, you have unfinished work.

    One day, you will indeed die. God does, indeed, number our days. But, that also means that until that day comes, nothing can kill you!
    Henry Martyn was a missionary to India and Persia, who died at the age of thirty-one, in October of 1812. A few months earlier, in January 1812, he wrote this in his journal:
    To all appearance, the present year will be more perilous than any I have seen; but if I live to complete the Persian New Testament, my life after that will be of less importance. But whether life or death be mine, may Christ be magnified in me! If he has work for me to do, I cannot die. Henry Martyn, Journal and Letters of Henry Martyn (New York: Protestant and Episcopal for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge, 1851), 460.
    Many have paraphrased this quote as “I am immortal till Christ’s work for me to do is done.”
    And in a sense, that is true of all of us. We are not truly immortal in this life, of course, but since nothing can thwart God’s plan, and since God’s plans for us are always for our good, we don’t need to sit around worrying about when we’re going to die. God has that date fixed in his calendar and it’s on a need to know basis, and we don’t need to know!
    What we need to know is that so long as we are still breathing, there is work to be done.
    When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was obviously in some kind of trouble. Most scholars think he wrote this letter while in prison in Rome in the early 60’s AD.
    He appears not to know for sure whether he’s going to make it out of prison or not, but look at his attitude toward the situation.
    Philippians 1:20–26 ESV
    20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
    Jesus’ words to Paul in Acts 23:11 are a reminder that wealthy, powerful, evil men like Caiaphas and Ananias are not as powerful as they think they are.
    Acts 23:11 ESV
    11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
    They may plot and scheme, they may take oaths, sharpen their swords, pay off officials, and lie in wait.
    Acts 23:12–15 ESV
    12 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. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 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. 15 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.”
    But God can use a boy, Paul’s nephew—a nobody, whose name we never learn, who appears to have no position of prominence or status—to thwart the plans of the most powerful men in the country.
    Acts 23:16 ESV
    16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.
    When forces beyond your control conspire against you, even if the most powerful men in the world set you as their target, they are not in control. God is.
    Psalm 2:1–6 ESV
    1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
    Wicked rulers don’t determine the course of history. God does. When the richest and most powerful men scheme and plot and all humans tremble in fear, God laughs.
    When storm clouds gather and lightning flashes and thunder rolls, and the boat rocks and creaks with the waves, and the waves crash over the sides of the boat and we think that all hope is lost, Jesus is asleep in the boat with us. He’s not concerned. He’s not worried or anxious.
    And in the moments we cry out,
    Mark 4:38–40 ESV
    38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
    With three words (actually, two in Greek), Jesus quiets the storm.
    Mark 4:38–40 ESV
    39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
    But, there will be a day that comes when our work here is done.

    Night is coming.

    Jesus warned us to watch the time. He said,
    John 9:4 ESV
    4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
    Paul’s promise was not that he would go one as an apostle and ambassador forever. His term of service was limited. Paul did not live forever, and neither will you in this life.
    Writing near the end of his life, a few years later, Paul said this:
    2 Timothy 4:6–8 ESV
    6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
    Conclusion:
    Do you love Christ’s appearing? Do you long for his return? Can you say with Paul, “Whether I live or I die, it’s for Christ? If I live, then I’ve got work to do for him and his church. And if it’s my time, then to die is gain. I’m ready to see Jesus and get my crown.”
    This life is hard, and this world is broken by sin. Sometimes it all seems to spiral out of control and we find ourselves threatened on all sides by forces beyond our control.
    But nothing is beyond God’s control. He is at work advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church in ways we often can’t see. Are you a part of that? Are you being used by him to testify wherever he sends you?
    Be courageous. Don’t shrink back in fear, but act on faith. Testify about Jesus, and rest in the confidence of knowing that we cannot die until our work here is complete and Jesus takes us home.

      • Exodus 22:28ESV

      • Acts 22:30–23:35ESV

      • Acts 23:11ESV

      • Acts 23:3ESV

      • Hebrews 10:32–39ESV

      • Acts 23:11ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 9:16ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:18–20ESV

      • Acts 21:27–28ESV

      • Acts 23:6ESV

      • Acts 23:11ESV

      • Philippians 1:20–26ESV

      • Acts 23:11ESV

      • Acts 23:12–15ESV

      • Acts 23:16ESV

      • Psalm 2:1–6ESV

      • Mark 4:38–40ESV

      • Mark 4:38–40ESV

      • John 9:4ESV

      • 2 Timothy 4:6–8ESV

Formosa Baptist Church
jason_hill@formosabaptist.com
https://www.formosabaptist.com/
9 members