Can you see me okay? This just
feels better. Turn with me to Acts 23. Acts
chapter 23. Let's pray together. Our Father, thank You. You who are the God of all mercy. How we thank You that You've
allowed us the privilege to be here this evening. Father, we ask You for Christ's
sake, and only by Him and through Him, as revealed to us by God
who is the Holy Spirit, teach us of Yourself. Teach us of Christ. Teach us of hope. We pray that you would be magnified
and honored. May, Lord, this Gospel be to
the good and the comforting of your people. For Christ's sake
we ask. Amen. There we go. Thank you, Mike. The Apostle Paul has been brought
before the Sanhedrin. Now, just this very event that
he was there is a fulfillment of the Word of God and the omniscience
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to Matthew 10. Matthew
chapter 10. And listen to the words of our
blessed Master, Matthew 10, 16. Behold, he said, I send you forth
as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be you therefore wise as serpents,
harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will
deliver you up to the councils They will scourge you in their
synagogues, and you shall be brought before governors and
kings for My sake for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you
shall speak. For it shall be given you in
that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not ye that
speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Stop and realize how real, that's what we're talking
about, how real this is. He said, when you brought before these councils for my sake, he said, Don't worry about what
you're going to say. Take no thought. It will be given
you. It's not you that's speaking.
The Spirit of God will bring back to memory those things that
I told you. You know, it is so comforting
to realize, even right here, I've tried to make a little preparation,
write down some notes, try to have some consistency to it. But I realize this. When it comes
time to preach, I want to stay with the Scriptures that the
Spirit of God has given, in the order that He's given. It's honorable
to preach the Scriptures the way the Holy Ghost had men as
the means to write it. It's the Word of God. Men penned
it, but it's not men's words, God's words. But even right now,
to know this, that it is the Spirit of God that speaks, that
causes our minds to be brought to hear He teaches. He speaks of Christ. We hear
of Him. Don't worry. The Lord said, I'm
sending you forth. I sent you. Paul was not before
this group of Jewish rebels by accident. He wasn't there just,
man, happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. No,
he said, I sent you forth. I sent you there. This is a cold,
unfriendly, and cruel world against God's people. But you remember
this one thing. Our innocence in this world is
no protection from abuse, from trials, from tribulation, from
afflictions. We're kept, but He sent us. We're here by appointment, here
by God's good pleasure. Be as wise as serpents. As I've said before, a snake
will try to get away from you. A rattlesnake will try to let
you know he's a rattlesnake. He'll tell you. Try to hide. Try to get under
a rock. Be wise as serpents. Don't go
looking for trouble. Don't try to entice it. Don't
go looking for a fight. Romans 12, 18, If it be possible
as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men, be harmless
as doves. Simple. We don't try to provoke anger
and maintain that appearance of innocence. Seek after Him. Long after Him.
Don't go looking for trouble. Beware of men, though. That's
what the Lord said. Be on your guard. Be on your
guard, especially toward those that you would detect a resentment
toward the Gospel. Be careful. Be watchful. Lord willing, this Sunday, we'll
be looking at a passage of Scripture that warns us concerning those
that would be the enemies of the gospel. Be as wise as a serpent,
as harmless as a dove. Keep your eyes open. Watch. They are going to deliver you
up to the council, scourge you in the synagogues, brought before
governors for a testimony. for my sake. Don't worry about
what you're going to say. Persecutions and the offense
of the cross are never going to cease in this life. Let me
tell you this. Our Lord promised that these
things would be so. And I'll promise you, and you
write this down, that if these things were to cease, We'd lose one of the great evidences
of the Gospel. You'd lose one of the great evidences
of the truth of the Gospel. If these things were not so,
men despise free, sovereign grace. Just give me a little bit of
something to do. Give me a little bit of honor.
Just give me a little bit of glory. Just give me a little
something that I can pat myself on the back. It doesn't have
to be much. Just give me a little bit so that I can say salvation was
by grace, but I accepted the grace. Men, by nature, hate sovereign,
saving grace. Paul was there by the appointment
of Almighty God, and he stood before this council as an evidence
of the Lord's persecution. And Paul spoke to him, and he
said in verse 1, Paul earnestly beholding the council, and he
said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience
before God until this day. Now, here's one thing you can
rest assured. When Paul the Apostle said that, he said that under
the inspiration of the Spirit of God. And you can rest assured
that if Paul said, I've lived in all good conscience before
God right up until right now, he meant exactly what he said.
Before he was converted, turn over to Philippians. We've read
this, but look at this again. Philippians 3. Before he was
converted, Paul said, I had a good conscience. It was an evil conscience. To
him, it was good. It was, you know, before he was
converted, he said, this is how I live before God. Philippians
3, 4, Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any
other man thinketh that he hath whereof, he might trust in the
flesh, I more. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin. Hebrew the Hebrews
is touching law. Pharisees concerning zeal. Persecuting
the church. Touching the righteousness which
is in the law. Blameless. What kind of confidence did I
have before I was converted? Let me ask you this. What kind
did you have before you were converted? What kind do you think I had? I went to sleep every night just
prior to going to sleep. It didn't matter if I came in
from partying. It didn't matter. I said my prayers
every night. I said my prayers every night. I lived in good conscience before
God. The God of my imagination. How are you doing Marvin? I'm
doing very well. That had been my answer. Have you got a hope? I sure do. Why? Gave my heart
to Jesus. Baptized. Member of the Kingsville Baptist
Church. Good conscience. But Paul says, But what things
were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless
I count all things but lost, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." Let me tell you where man will
settle down is when he begins to think Salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is all of grace. Pat,
I'm not trying to think back 40 years ago, trying to think
how I felt when I walked down the aisle, how sincere I was.
I'm not trying to remember that anymore. I'm not trying to remember
how sincere I was or how much did I really Did I really mean
it? Was I sincere? Did I pray through? All those other religious terms. Did I do all that? Did I cover
all my bases? Did I close all the I's? Did
I cross all the T's? Is there anything I've left out?
Is there some hanging chads out there somewhere that I'm not
sure of? Paul said, I count all of this.
All this confidence, everything that was gained of me, I counted
but lost. Have you ever found yourself
wondering, I wonder if I was converted back before? I wonder if I was
converted. Let me ask you something. What
think ye of Christ right now? All of that's under the bridge.
That's water under the bridge. What think ye of Christ now?
Now. As Gabe said in his message last
Sunday, today is the day of salvation. Not yesterday. Yesterday's gone. You know when I'm going to meet
the Lord Jesus Christ? It's going to be today. You say,
is it going to be today? I don't know if it's going to
be this day. But I can tell you this, when I meet Him, it'll
be today. Paul said, I've lived in all good conscience before
I was converted. Oh, and he said, but after I was
converted. 2 Timothy 1, 3, I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers. That means in the spirit of my
forefathers. He said the way that my forefathers,
Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, He said these, my forefathers, that
God Almighty was gracious to. Those that Almighty God called
out of darkness and gave them a heart after Him and those that
followed after Him and longed after Him and loved Him and sought
Him by grace. I thank God whom I serve from
my forefathers with pure conscience and that without ceasing. I have
remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day." Paul said, I
had a false confidence before. And I did too. And you did too.
There's not a person sitting in this room tonight that can
tell me that you did not believe that you had some hope. Something. You had something. It was nothing, but to you it
was something. You went to sleep every night
believing that somehow you had done something before God to
merit a righteous standing before God. And when Almighty God called
you out of darkness, for the first time in your life, you
realized, my Lord and my God, had you left me to myself, where
would I be? Lord, all of that that I thought
was gain, I thought, it's dung, it's nothing, it's refuse. What
is that? Paul told them, I've lived in
all good conscience before God until this day. And about that
time, and I'll just look at this verse of Scripture and we'll
stop for tonight. About that time, that high priest,
Ananias, commanded them that stood by him to smite him on
the mouth. Why? Why did he do that? Well, let me tell you why. Carnal
man hates to be told that he is a sinner before God. Carnal
man hates to be told that he is wrong. before God. Paul now stands before the governing
body that gave him permission to arrest
those who were of the way. He is standing before the council.
And back in Romans 9, he had received letters from the council
to come and get those who were of the way. Christians, get them,
imprison them, put them out of their misery. And these men have
heard what Paul has been preaching, his confession of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Knowing that Paul now says, I
have lived with all good conscience before God until this Knowing
what he was now preaching and saying, I have a good conscience
before God Almighty right now. Knowing that Paul had renounced
what they stand for. That's where he got those letters. And when Paul made that statement
and said, I stand in good conscience before God today, that high priest
He said, you slap His face. I'm not going to hear that. Paul
was recanting what they believed. And I'll tell you this, you speak
against a man's God, and that man will hate you. You speak against a man's God,
and I'm telling you, it affects. everything about your relationship
with that person. It carries over to every avenue. And don't you think it don't?
You can say, well, we've just agreed to not agree. Let me tell you, two cannot walk together unless
they be in agreement. And it will absolutely split. It'll split. and families, it
will split everything. I live in good conscience before
Almighty God. God Almighty in His infinite
mercy and grace has caused this man to stand and proclaim the unsearchable
riches of the One that loved Him, bought Him, died for Him. And they hated Him. Let's just
look at one more. Then said Paul unto him, God
shall smite thee, thy whited wall. For sittest thou to judge
me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to
the law? Let me tell you three things
in closing that I know about that passage of Scripture. Paul
said after they slapped his face, Paul says, God shall smite thee. This is what I know. Almighty
God is a just God. Almighty God is going to judge
every offense against Himself. Every offense that you're aware
of and every offense that you weren't aware of. If it has not
been put away by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to offend
in one point is to be guilty of all. God Almighty is just. God's Word is sure. Paul said, God shall smite thee. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves,
but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance
is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Judgment and punishment,
it belongs to God. Whenever we try to take that
place to avenge ourselves, retribution, and oh, how hard it is. Let me
tell you, you have a nature about you that is not converted. You have a nature about you that
is not changed. You have a nature about you that
is prone to disrespect whatever God Almighty has to say. And
I'm promising you this, that old nature has got one thing
on its mind when I'm offended. I'm going to get you. I will
get you. Oh, the grace of God. When they
walked up and slapped him upside the head, Paul said, God's going
to smite you. Paul believed God. Paul believed
God. Secondly, here's what I know.
Salvation is of the Lord. Sovereign grace. Salvation is
by God's sovereign grace. God shall smite thee, thou whited
wall. You know, Paul used almost the
same words that the Lord Jesus Christ did of some Pharisees. Woe, Matthew 23, 27, unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like unto whited sepulchres,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full
of dead men's bones of all uncleanness." Men want to look pretty. They
want to look nice on the outside. They want men to pat them on
the back, and they want men to tell them how wonderful they
are, Paul knew, God shall smite you, you whited wall. Salvations
of the Lord. Here was Paul, a Pharisee, dug
out of the same pit this guy was. Wasn't an ounce of difference
in where they came from. Same lump of clay. Saw of Tarsus,
Ananias the high priest. Not a bit of difference, humanly
speaking. Oh, but God, who is rich in mercy. Almighty God, before the foundation
of the world, chose one Paul and set his affection on him
and left another to himself. because it pleased Him. And what
are you going to say? Who art thou that replies against
God? God Almighty is just. God will smite thee, thou whited
wall. God is sovereign in salvation.
And thirdly and lastly, man exalts himself in rebellion But in the
day of judgment, there will be no place to hide. He said, you
sit, Paul said, thou citizen, to judge me after the law. You're
hiding in religion. I think you said, Brother Scott,
that's one of the most, to men, one that they think is the safest
place to hide is in religion. Hiding in religion. Thou seest
to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary
to the law." He did. Here was a high priest,
one that was supposed to be an upholder of the law. Smiting Paul, uncondemned, an
uncondemned man. Leviticus 19.35 says, You shall
do no unrighteousness in judgment. That is inverted. In meteord,
M-E-T-E-Y-A-R-D. That means standard of measurement. An inch, a foot, a yard. In weight, an ounce, a pound,
a ton, in measure, a cup, a bushel. Be fair. Be fair. Be fair. Be fair. Be honorable. If you tell a man
Tell him. Tell him the truth. Because I'm
telling you, Almighty God is just. No place to hide. This high priest, unrighteous
in judgment, had Paul smitten with that due process of reward.
Deuteronomy 25, verse 2, It shall be if the wicked, that is, the
guilty criminal, If he is worthy to be beaten, that the judge
shall cause him to lie down and be beaten before his face according
to his fault by a certain number, as many stripes as his crime
deserves. But this high priest had transgressed
the law of Almighty God, stood in a place in rebellion against
God. And here was Paul, wise as a serpent. Harmless as
a dove. Trusting God. Waiting on Him. Whenever you find yourself, as
the Apostle Paul did, and as we do in different situations,
remember these trials, these tribulations, standing before
that council, whatever it is, It's never for our pleasure. It's for God's honor and for
our good. And what is happening is there's
a proving of your faith. There's a proving of it. Paul's
faithfulness, the faithfulness of God was proven to Paul. God didn't leave him. Oh, they
slapped him, but God didn't forsake him. Almighty God, who everlastingly
has loved His own, will surely do them good. Even in the midst
of that trial right there, Paul was the great, great benefactor
of that. He saw the grace of God. Gary,
won't you come?