Just because something is not working out smoothly doesn't mean it's not the will of God. Dr. Tony Evans says God's direction doesn't always follow the path of least resistance. God often uses the bad.
He uses stuff going wrong to make stuff go right. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. When life feels chaotic and out of control, it's easy to wonder if God is still at work. In Acts 22 and 23, Paul faced trials, persecution, and imprisonment. Yet even in the midst of that turmoil, God was guiding his steps. Today, Dr. Evans shows us how God's purpose is often revealed in the process, reminding us that even when circumstances seem uncertain, his plan remains firm. Let's join him in the book of Acts.
Paul begins to unleash his history, his testimony, if you will. He says, I'm a Jew. In other words, I'm just like you. Born in Tarshish, brought up in this city.
I know you people. Educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law, so I was raised religiously like you were. He says, verse 4, I persecuted the way... I persecuted Christians, referring to those who followed Christ. I persecuted the way to the death. So I was committed to our history and to our faith and to anything that would interfere with Judaism.
As also the high priest and the council of elders, the leaders can testify. They knew how on fire I was. But then he gets personal. He says, but it happened. That as I was on my way, approaching Damascus, about noon time, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? I ran smack dab into Jesus. He says, I was committed to the wrong until I ran into Jesus. When I ran into Jesus, he says, he identified himself in verse 8, I am Jesus of the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting. Because when you're messing with my people, you're messing with me. You're persecuting me because you're persecuting my followers, my disciples. And those who were with me saw the light, but they didn't understand what was going on. He told me, verse 10, to get up, to go into Damascus, and I would be told what I have appointed for you to do. He revealed himself to Paul because I've got something for you to do.
What's my point? You are saved for a purpose. We are his workmanship, Ephesians 2.10, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he has created beforehand that we should walk in them. You have a job.
You say, but I don't know what my job is yet. Well, neither did Paul. He told him, go to Damascus until it's revealed to you. So do what you know to do until he shows you more that you ought to do. Some of us will never find out what we're supposed to do because we do nothing. God hits a moving target.
If he hadn't gone to Damascus, he would not have gotten more information. So move in what you know to do. Then verse 17, he says, I returned to Jerusalem. I'm praying in the temple.
I fell into a trance. So God is moving in Paul's life. And I saw him saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly because they will not accept your testimony about me.
So here we have warning in a dream or vision. The Bible is complete. There's no more scripture. The end of Revelation is the end of the book of God's inspired word. But he does use people and circumstances to illuminate our understanding about our direction. So even though the Bible is complete, the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not.
And it is unique to every individual. My point is, God's not writing more Bible, but he is giving new guidance, new illumination, because the Bible doesn't answer every situation. The Bible gives the rules for every situation, but it doesn't give you particular applicational guidance for every situation. That's the Holy Spirit. I'm going to send you somebody who will lead you, the Bible says.
That's why the Holy Spirit's all over the book of Acts, because that's his full-time job of steering us. But if you never even think to look for him, God, is this you? Are you saying something to me? Is this somebody you brought my way? I mean, all that's happening all the time.
And I'm sure all of us have done this to some degree. We've all probably missed God, and he was staring us right in the face. He was literally answering a prayer, but we were not tuned in to see it, because we weren't oriented that way.
Well, Paul is oriented that way, and so God is moving. God is giving him divine information, in this case, a warning. And so I said, Lord, verse 19, They themselves understand that in one synagogue after another, I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you. But he said to me, verse 21, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. They listened to him up to this statement, because he's speaking, he's defending himself to the Jews. When they heard him say, God is going to send me to the Gentiles, they lost it. It says, they raised their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live. They were crying out, verse 23, and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust up in the air.
In other words, they losing it. Okay, that's basically what that is. The commander ordered him to be brought to the barracks, because they had to try to protect him from this mob that was getting ready to come at him, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him. Which is an interesting way to find out why they're shouting against him.
We're going to scourge you. So they're stretching him out to whip him. Paul says to the centurion, Is it lawful, verse 25, for you to scourge a man who is Roman and uncondemned?
This is shrewd. This is Paul using his citizenship to challenge their action. He's using the politics of the day to challenge illegitimate persecution.
My point is, it is totally legitimate to use government and your relationship to it to plead your case. They were getting ready to do something illegal. You could not punish a Roman citizen without a trial.
He had had no Roman trial. So they were getting ready to do something illegitimate. And he said, Whoa, it's like us saying, I'm a citizen of America. I'm a citizen.
Okay, you can't put me out of the country. I'm a citizen. You're claiming your legal right. He says, Is it lawful? That's a legal claim.
Okay, so it is totally right to address the law on behalf of what's right. So he does that. And the commander came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes, because he had just told him that. The commander answered, Well, I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money. Paul said, Yeah, well, I was born one.
I'm going to up you one. You had to buy yours. I came out of my mama's womb in Rome. So you have no legitimate authority. Therefore, those who were about to examine him, verse 29, immediately let go of him. Because if you were found punishing a Roman citizen without a trial, you came under judgment. So they said, Whoa, we can't do anything here.
We can't do anything with him. When they found out, verse 29, that he was a Roman and because he had been put in chains. That is put in chains and legitimately. On the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priest and all the council to assemble and brought Paul down and set him before them. So they're trying to find out what is all this fuss about over this man. You know, y'all Jews getting all upset.
Now we got, it's hard for us to visualize this. Well, maybe you can visualize it even in our own culture because there's this battle in our own culture between church and state and religious freedom versus the law. So the commander who's representing Roman law is saying, Wait a minute, you religious folk, y'all got this thing against Paul. What's that got to do with Roman law? Because the man just said he's lawfully a Roman. Y'all got a religious complaint.
So I got to hear your complaint to see whether it crosses over to a legal issue that's got something to do with us. So he finds himself in a mess. Now, God is allowing, remember a public master, he's allowing this mess because it will create new opportunities for Paul to preach the gospel. So God is going to allow a negative for a positive. So I want to say this as we go on here. Don't automatically dismiss a negative.
Let me go one step further. Don't automatically dismiss an unfair negative because he's not being treated fairly. He hasn't done anything wrong. Ask God, is he using this for a greater purpose? See, you've got to begin to ask God these questions when things happen and not just react, not just immediately complain, but say, God, are you up to something here? Because now that's getting you in touch with God as a way of life. When Dr. Evans returns, he'll show why a clear conscience before God matters more than approval from people.
Stay with us. I urge you to take this course. Dr. Craig Evans, renowned expert on the New Testament, serves as the special guest lecturer for the Tony Evans Training Center course on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. That covers very important ground, what they are and what they're not. One of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide unparalleled insights into the accuracy of the Bible. These ancient manuscripts offer a treasure trove of historical and spiritual significance. They preserve for us the Hebrew Bible and shed light on the teaching of Jesus and the major contributors to the New Testament. The scrolls open a vivid window into the life and beliefs of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus. You will understand the Bible and Jesus and Christian origins better than you ever have before.
Take your first step as an honorary amateur archaeologist. Dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls with special guest lecturer, Dr. Craig Evans. Discover this and other fascinating biblical studies at TonyEvansTraining.org. Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere. The message we've been hearing today from Dr. Evans is the final installment we'll be presenting on the air from his 14-part sermon series on the book of Acts.
Through these messages, Tony has been recounting the early church's journey, highlighting the faith of the apostles and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, revealing timeless principles that inspire and empower believers even today. You can get the complete series on CD or digital download today as our gift in appreciation for your generous donation toward the work of the alternative. And as a special bonus, we'll also include a copy of Dr. Evans' insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, a valuable resource that will help you uncover your unique calling and point out practical steps to fulfilling your God-given mission. This is the final day we'll be bundling these resources together, so be sure to contact us right away. Someone in our resource center is always available to help you when you call 1-800-800-3222. Or you can make the arrangements online by visiting TonyEvans.org. I'll repeat that contact information for you after Part 2 of today's lesson.
Here's Dr. Evans. So Paul claims his right as citizen. The commander wants to know what are the facts, leading us to chapter 23. Paul looks intently at the council, the Sanhedrin, brethren, because he's a Jew like they are, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day. So he's gonna start off basing his argument on his own relationship with God. I feel exonerated from heaven. The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. And Paul says, God is going to strike you.
Do you sit to trial me according to the law and in violation of the law order me to be struck? But the bystander said, do you revile God's high priest? Are you starting the high priest?
Absolutely. He's not my high priest. He may be your high priest. For it is written, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.
So if I spoke evil of him, that's because he's not a ruler. Paul began crying out to the council, brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial for hope and resurrection of the dead. Now that may not mean much to you, but that was a shrewd move by Paul. He sees two groups, Sadducees and Pharisees. And he says, well I'm a Pharisee and I want to talk to y'all about the resurrection. When he says this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And the assembly was divided.
Why are they divided? Verse 8. For the Sadducee says there is no resurrection, nor angels, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledged them all. So the Pharisees say there is a resurrection.
Sadducee says there's not a resurrection. So they're going back. They're going back and forth. They're supposed to be fussing against Paul.
Man, they're fussing at each other. And it got worse, verse 9, because there arose a great uproar. And some of the scribes of the Pharisee party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, we find nothing wrong with this man. So the folks who sided with Paul said, ain't nothing wrong with this man, because Paul is helping them against this other group.
All right? It says there's a great dissension. The commander was afraid Paul would be torn into pieces with all this chaos. So he orders the troops to go down and take him away by force and bring him to the barracks. So he's taken out of a situation before he even gets the full trial in. On that night, immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, Take carriage, for as you are solemnly witness to My cause at Jerusalem, you will also witness at Rome also. See, he's just leading this man step by step, because Paul's goal was to go to Jerusalem and to go to Rome.
But watch this. God is going to get him to Jerusalem. God is going to get him to Rome, but He's going to get him there through trial and error. Just because something is not working out smoothly doesn't mean it's not the will of God. But you've got to be in touch with God to know He's using the bad to take you to the next step. God often uses the bad. He uses stuff going wrong to make stuff go right. But if you don't have that view of God, if your view of God is, Because I'm walking with God, it's not supposed to go wrong. You've limited God's methodology, because God has to work with evil people to get His will done. He has to work with evil forces.
He has to work with evil people. And here God says, you take carriage. I know this is all crazy, but I'm taking you somewhere.
But if you don't believe in a God who's taking you somewhere, even when you are going, things are going left, then you miss Him. So when it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath. We'll finish chapter 23 here. Saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. So Paul's nephew heard about the ambush, and he comes and he entreats the barracks and told Paul. Paul called the centurions to him, verse 17, lead this young man to the commander, because the man has been kind of protecting Paul from the Jews. So they took Paul's nephew to the commander. The commander took him in, and he began to inquire privately, what is it you have to report? He said, well, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the council, though they were going to inquire something more thoroughly about him.
So they're going to ask you to do this. So do not listen to them, for more than 40 of them are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him. And now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you to bring him down so they can kill him.
So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, tell no one that you have notified me of these things. Again, God knows how to have the right place at the right time, even when you don't know what other folk are planning against you. You can't put God in your box. It's too small.
Your box is too small. God continually blows my mind. He called him, verse 23, two of the centurions, and said, get 200 soldiers ready.
Whoo! Wait a minute now. We started off with 40 problems. You get 200 soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed into Caesarea with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen. We're going to take care of this. They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor. Oh, Paul going to get out of here. He going to get out of here safely.
He going to get out of here tonight. So we're going to send him to Felix. So Felix is the governor. So he writes a letter. Excellent Governor Felix. Now he's going to use the word I eight times.
He's going to say I eight times because he wants to look good. He says, when this man was arrested by the Jews and about to be slain by them, I came to them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. I'm covering the Romans. And wanting to ascertain the charge, what was against him, I brought him down to the council. I found him to be accused over questions about the law. You know, they accused him about the law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment. When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I, oh Lord, sent him to you at once. Also instructing accusers to bring charges against him. In other words, Felix, I just want you to know I've been doing my job. He wants to look good for Felix because Felix is the governor. So he wants to say, look, if you want to give somebody some credit, I'm looking after the law here.
So I just want you to know what I did. So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took him and brought him that night. The next day, they go back to the barracks. And when they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul to him. When he had read it, he asked from what province he was. So he answers and he said, I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also, giving orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium. So now, Paul starts off with the commander. He's a Roman citizen.
He's now with the governor. And he's getting ready to make his appeal to Caesar. What did God say? I'm going to take you to Rome. So God is letting one negative thing happen with the commander that kicks it upstairs to the governor that's going to kick it upstairs to Caesar because I told you, I'm taking you to Rome. Now, there's going to be some ups and downs when you get into Rome, but I'm taking you to Rome. So you stick with me, even during the down days. Because God would say what we would say, I'm going somewhere.
I'm going somewhere somebody. So God is huge. And he gives us the narrative of the life of Paul to show how he manipulates things, circumstances, people, problems, difficulties to move us from where we are to where we ought to be. So the challenge of us is to stay connected so that no matter what happens, it gets plugged into his divine purposes. Dr. Tony Evans, talking today about how God's plan remains firm even when our circumstances seem uncertain. Well, as I mentioned earlier, today is the final lesson we'll be presenting from Tony's study on the book of Acts. If you've missed any part of this series or want to have the entire collection for your personal study, I highly recommend taking advantage of the special resource bundle we've put together for our listeners. It includes all 14 messages from both volumes of Dr. Evans' teaching series, along with his insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, which helps you find and follow God's divine calling for your life. These resources are our gift to you when you make a donation to this listener-supported program. To make the arrangements, simply visit tonyevans.org or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where our team is ready to assist you 24-7. That's 1-800-800-3222. Or visit us online at tonyevans.org. In a world full of distractions, it's easy to lose sight of what truly matters. Well, tomorrow we'll begin a series of messages from special guest, Pastor Jonathan Evans, who will take us back to the basics, challenging us to refocus on what God values most. Be sure to tune in.
