[Mr. Darris McNeely] From his house imprisonment in Rome, the apostle Paul had received a report of heresy going through the church. One of the churches is in Asia Minor, the church in Colossae. Turn if you will over to the book of Colossians with me. This is the letter that the apostle wrote to the church at Colossae after a messenger had come to him with news that the members of the small congregation, likely a house church—30, 40, maybe 40 to 50 people, probably more than that, but still a thriving congregation—they had become mixed up on certain teachings. And as you look at the book of Colossians, the letter of Colossians, you can get an idea of what it was that they had their problems with. They had gotten mixed up about God, the nature of God. And so, Paul, in the first chapter, starts to talk about God and how all things were created through Christ, and the preeminence of Christ. And so, they were mixed up on God and Christ, which we know from church history, and even into our modern current church history, can still get people mixed up. God and Christ can create problems if people don't properly read the scriptures. But Paul addressed those in some very clear teaching here.

They had another problem. It appears that some were teaching about the worship of angels, and so Paul deals with that here. It's very clear that the beginnings of a lot of gnostic teaching were coming in and filtering into the church. Probably some of the members were thinking, "I'm not being fed at church. We're not getting good meat. So I’ve got to find some other idea that excites me." And so they were listening to other teachers and then coming to church and talking about that and being influenced because of whatever was going on in their mind and life not being grounded in scripture, so Paul deals with that.

In chapter two, he talks about the Sabbaths, the festivals, and not so much from a...trying to prove it, but to show why we keep the festivals, why we keep the Sabbath, why God's teaching on that was important for a Gentile to understand and to move away from all the other festivals and days that paganism had, and he basically shows them why.

And then, in chapter three, he moves into some very clear teaching about Christian living and principles. So you see in the first few chapters of Colossians that Paul deals with some pretty heavy doctrine - God, Christ, angels, Sabbaths and festivals, all of which are, with the exception of angels, we have fundamentals of belief that cover. We don't talk about angels in one of our 20 fundamentals. We do believe in angels. We have a booklet on angels, but it's not embedded in our 20 fundamentals, other than if you want to talk about the doctrine about Satan. But we cover God and Christ. We cover the festivals, the holy days. And doctrine is very, very important, and Paul goes to great lengths to show this here. And when you get down into chapter three especially, he begins to talk about some of the practical application of when you have proper doctrine.

One of the things I teach, I teach the fundamentals of belief, the doctrines of the church at ABC, and we'll be getting back into that here in a couple of weeks now as we begin the next year, and I always try to show students that doctrine is more than just a list of scriptures to prove something. It is much, much more than that. It's truth, but it also should have a practical application.

And Paul shows that here in Colossians and why, when you get God right, when you get the Sabbath right, then you get a lot of other things right in your life. And it goes to great lengths to show the practical beneficial benefits that come out as a result of doctrine and getting it right and having it working properly within the church. And so Paul writes then, through three chapters in this way, and he wrote this letter, interestingly, when he put it all together while he was a prisoner in Rome under what we would call house arrest. He had a lot of freedom to have people come and go. You find that at the very end of the book of Acts. And he had traveled there after a very long journey on the sea, which two chapters in Acts talk about. And on that, Paul had learned a great deal about God, God's grace, and God's guidance to get him as a prisoner from Israel to Rome, being shipwrecked and everything upon the sea that that story talks about there. And so he knew God's hand was upon him and it was upon any and all of his people.

And I think when he writes this letter, Paul was writing it from a wealth of experience including what I just mentioned here, and I think that it can help us as...we're going to focus on a portion of this letter, just understanding to see the guiding hand of God in our lives, something that we really do need to focus on more than ever, I think, right now. We've come through and we're still in an interesting period of time. There's been a great deal of stress, mounting stress, it seems, with the shutdown, the pandemic, uncertainty, fear that has been created, a lot of change.

The isolation. I mentioned, you know, it's good to see a lot of you. We hadn't seen each other for a while. And, you know, to get back into fellowship and services is essential for the body of Christ. But there's a lot that we're facing, job loss and the uncertainty of the future. We've turned the Feast of Tabernacles upside down. Not that we have changed the feast. We're going to keep the feast, but all these sites that have been cancelled, new ones coming on. Debbie and I are still going to our original site which has been canceled, and it's going to be interesting. It's going to be what we call a boutique site now. Oceanside is an unofficial boutique site. Boutique it means just kind of small, exclusive, beachside, California, sandals, palm trees, and things like boutique. It's an inside joke with this, but anyway, all of this has come upon us this year. Scott Moss is here visiting and he's just telling me that he'd seen something somebody had written that the biggest mistake that the guy made this year in 2020 was buying a planning calendar. Think about it. How many plans have gone awry as a result of what we put down and thought we were all going to be doing at the beginning of the year? I thought a lot of things at the beginning of the year, and then it just all kind of changed.

And so, along with this comes a lot of stress. Now, Paul came to a point, I think, in this letter. If you look at chapter four, beginning in verse two, I think he laid down his quill after writing a lot of heavy doctrine, and he thought, "What do I need to say to put a close to this letter, this heavy letter?" And I think what he did, under God's guidance, as God inspired this to be written, I think that he put down a few verses here that seem to be a practical summation. Five verses beginning in Colossians 4:2 that sum up what it means to know the true God and Jesus Christ, the creative order of life, angels, the festivals. And he begins to turn to certain things that in... amazing in five verses. I've kind of centered on this a few weeks ago and just kind of reading through this passage of Colossians, and I thought, "Wow, there's a lot right here in these few verses to encourage you to focus on practical steps that, in a sense, activates the doctrine that he would have been writing about and the practice that we have. In these five verses, he talks about prayer and he talks about watching. He talks about Christ, talks about time, and he talks about grace. Let's read them very quickly, and then we're going to look at them more in-depth, beginning in verse two.

Colossians 4:2-6 He says, "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Meanwhile, praying also for us that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I also am in chains, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with Grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

And then he closes with a few more verses that mentions people and what some of his plans and thoughts are and then closes it out. Five verses, beginning in verse two, that to me stood out here, and looking at this that activate, if you will, the doctrine that he was talking about, kind of the heavy topics that he had to discuss in the earlier verses and chapters of this letter. So let's take a few minutes and let's go through these verses and let's kind of dig into it a little bit to see what Paul is really saying and the benefit to you and I right now in our own life as we deal with whatever it is that's stressing us out, with what we have been through and learned a few lessons as a result of this. And so, looking back in verse two. Let's go there.

Colossians 4:2 He said to "continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." Prayer, be vigilant, continue earnestly in prayer. Now, I think Mr. Tannert mentioned the importance of prayer as a pillar in his sermonette here earlier. We understand prayer is a very important tool of Christian development and Christian growth. We all pray, and we have our times and our ways and our methods of how we pray and where we address God and how we pray, and that's a very personal, very intimate aspect of our life and our relationship with God that we cultivate, develop. Sometimes we are very earnest in prayer and sometimes we might slack off in prayer. But Paul says to continue in prayer, to continue in that.

You know, in the early days of the church, we read that the church grew exponentially there in the book of Acts, and the caring, the needs of the church just grew. One day, it dawned on the apostles to tell the church, "Look, find a group of men, a group of people, and separate them, men who are led by the Spirit, who are wise and understanding, and let them take care of a lot of the administration of the church while we will ourselves continue in prayer and in the Word."

And so, they created this class of people we typically called deacons today to take care of a lot of the physical details of the church so that the apostles would, as they said, continue in prayer. They recognize the nature of their job and their role, but in that, it's the same word here, that Paul says to continue earnestly in prayer. We have to continue on in prayer and in our approach to God. The Apostle said that, "Find some capable people to help out while we continue with the Commission that Christ gave to us." And so, they organize the church and the routine of the church so that they could prioritize, in that case, their work or their spiritual work to prayer and to the Word.

And so, as Paul tells us here in verse two, "Continue in prayer, stay with it. Order your life so that you're staying with that prayer." It's a good thing for us to look at and to examine ourselves on. Is our lives ordered in such a way that we are able to continue in prayer? Prayer is really the first step toward grace, if you will, because it establishes that relationship with God as we talk to him and say so much to him about our life and our requests and our needs and our praise to God.

Ask yourself whether, in your prayer, do you pray so that you can move on to other things in your day or do you get things done so that you can pray? Ask yourself that. To continue earnestly in prayer. In other words, is our life organized around our conversations with God and our petitions to him? I think that that's a part of the meaning here that is inherent in this idea of continuing in prayer, and one of the commentaries that kind of breaks this verse down, it shows that it is really is meaning to persist in the siege. To persist in the siege is what continued means. It's interesting when I saw that. A siege, we all understand, if we played Risk, or watched any type of movie, it's when, you know, two armies are fighting, a city is under siege. The walls are keeping the enemy out. The enemy, or the good guys, or however it's all set up, trying to batter down the walls, get through the gates. And Christ said to his church that the Church will batter down the gates of hell. Prayer is our siege with God. If you will, that battering around that we have to just keep slamming against the gate, to open up our life, to open up a relationship with God, to break down the gates of this world that work against us. Persist in the siege as we pray to God.

I think Paul meant that prayer was the battering ram that goes against the gates and against the walls. He considered himself at war. He wrote about that in Ephesians 6, a spiritual war, and prayer was his chief weapon, and it's the only weapon that he had. When Paul stood accused in the court of the Roman Empire, the only weapon he had was prayer. He didn't have any legions, he didn't have any Centurions for him, he didn't have a band of men that were fighting for him. All he had was prayer, all he had was God, and that's what he organized his life around.

Remember, he's writing this letter of Colossians from prison. And so he tells them to continue earnestly in prayer. Prayer is our offer of grace to God. The latter part of verse two here.

Colossians 4:2 He says, "Being vigilant in it with Thanksgiving." Vigilant. The New King James will say vigilant, if you have an Old King James on your lap, it will say, "Be watchful," and both are legitimate. The term watchful we may be familiar with as we see that term used in Scripture. Ezekiel was to be a watchman. God appointed him as a watchman to Israel to stand on the walls and to report an oncoming calamity. Jesus uses the term quite a bit in his messages to the church and in the gospels, to be watchful, to be praying, to watch and discern.

One of the more interesting parts of it, and I think it applies here, you remember on the night that he was arrested after they had been in the upper room, they'd had the Passover meal, they went out into the garden, and he told them, his disciples, "Wait here for a while. I'm going off over here," maybe across, you know, the distance of the lawn here, halfway, like there. He left them in a spot, he went off, and he prayed for a while. Then he came back, and what were they doing? They were asleep. And he said to Peter, "Couldn't you have even watched with me for an hour?" It's the same word that is used right here telling us to be watchful, vigilant in prayer.

There's calamities that can come upon us. We can slip in our spiritual lives. There can be tests and trials and matters that come quickly upon us. We can enter into a period of stress like we have had during this period of time, we have to be vigilant. We have to be watchful in prayer, first of all, and in other ways as well, but we have to stay awake. We have to stay awake to what is in front of us. Remember that, again, Paul here in this letter to the Colossians, he lays out the order of the universe, all created by God, by Jesus Christ, and God's purpose was being brought to pass in that. And "Christ is our hope of glory," he tells in chapter one. And he lays out the whole order of the cosmos in describing how the created order works.

And God is aligned, the Father and the Son are aligned in a purpose and all life has to be in alignment with that mind as God has laid down that plan. And this is what Paul is showing and saying, as you continue in prayer, you persist in the siege, be watchful, be vigilant to it all. And the doctrine, the teaching about God, the Holy Days, and you can throw in every other part of the teaching that we understand, sin and law, tithing, and baptism, the sacrifice of Christ, and everything that lines up this order of God's purpose and plan we call truth. That is not only the framework of our life and of the house that God is putting together, it's everything behind the walls, the plumbing, the electricity, the lines that run mechanically to make the building work. And in this case, the house, the body, the church, the people. When the doctrine is right, taught properly, understood, adhered to by the people, then there's an alignment. And as we are in watchful tune to that, we know that it works.

You know, nothing can be more upsetting than to go through your home, you flip a switch and nothing comes on. I guess that's what happened today. You flipped the switch here and nothing came on, right? Wow. I'm glad that got fixed for us this afternoon for many of our brethren this morning, especially with no air conditioning. Must have been a hot sermon so... But if the light doesn't come on, uh-oh, what's happened? Ninty-five degrees outside and the air conditioning goes off. You turn up the water faucet and there's no water. Something goes down in our house, we got a problem, you got to get on it right away. It gets everything out of alignment. We all know how that can upset our routine in our life in our house. Look at the truth, teaching, doctrine, everything that we know about what God teaches us about himself as he's revealed Himself to us, and how we are to worship him, how we are to relate to him, everything from honoring him with the first 10th of our substance and all the way down the aspects of teaching, that lines us up with God, and life then goes well. Life then goes right. Paul is saying be vigilant, be watchful. Keep your house in order. Be prayerful. Be vigilant about what you know, believe, and how you walk. Live a holy life. Live in an orderly holy life, the structure will function properly as it should.

Living a life of grace requires that we are vigilant about what we believe, what we teach, and then how we conduct ourselves and how we live. And then he says, "Be thankful about that with thanksgiving." Paul's awareness of what God was doing for him in prison in Rome was never far from his lips, and you see that in his writings. When we have God's truth revealed to us it opens our minds to see the key to the mystery of life. And for that, we should always be thankful. And it's a good practice to practice that. My wife, we were talking about this point this morning before coming over and she reminded me of her routine, part of her routine. She's had kind of a study journal that she's used and a few of them trading in and out through the years, but one of them made the point continually to write down in the journal every day something to be thankful for. And when, as she said, you do that, you're mindful of being in a state of thanksgiving, and you have to find something in your life to be thankful for, and it helps to order your life. Sounds trite, and it sounds like, well, you know, nice, but maybe it doesn't always work, but you know that it does because the Scripture tells us to do that and to find something in our world, in our life, and among ourselves, regularly, daily to be thankful for. That's what Paul says to do as we persist in the siege, and as we are watchful for what we are involved with.

Colossians 4:3 "Meanwhile, praying also for us." Now, remember, Paul's in prison. If you were in prison, what would you be praying for? To get out of jail free. You want that get out of jail free card, wouldn't you? You wouldn't want to be in prison. Now trust me, Paul wasn't in the worst of a Roman prison. As again, I said, Acts tells us he was in a house and people could come and go. So it's not like he was chained to a stone wall somewhere and just, you know, left to rot, which a lot of Roman prisoners were. Their prisons were basically... in Rome, if you go to see what is called the Mamertine Prison where Paul spent his second imprisonment, it's a hole in the ground, and that's not what he had this time. But still, he would have wanted his freedom. He would have wanted to be released, but that's not what he asked for.

He says, "Pray for us that God would open to us a door for the word to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in chains." And from prison, that's where his heart was, to be praying, asking members to pray not for his release, not for a better lot of food to be brought in, but for God to open a door for the Word. That's an amazing thing to think about. He actually was doing quite well, if you read again the latter part of Acts. We find that a contingent of the Jewish community came in and he spoke to them. At the end of Philippians, Paul sends his greetings to the church at Philippi and he says, "Those of Caesar's household say hello." Now, what that might mean, scholars discuss and debate, but it would say that there were some in the household of the Caesar who were of the faith and likely had had contact with Paul.

Paul, you know, he was always told by God, it's from the very beginning, "You'll stand before kings." Did he stand before Caesar? We don't know for sure. That's a speculation he may have. He may have even had access to the court or to the home of the Caesar probably and very likely through at least members there, and he says they send their greeting. But Paul wanted a release for broader activity, and that's what he asked the church to give to him.

You know, today, the collective work of the church, what we do in preaching the gospel through all the various forms of media that we have, through the transmission of the words of explanation that you, the members, provide to people who ask what you believe, or through the example that you set as a Christian. The collective work that we do needs our prayers continually, fervent prayers, continuing, persisting in the siege. If there's one metric for success to measure the value of what we do as a church in preaching the gospel, it really does come down to the prayers of every single one of the members of the body of Christ and the church, and the active support, the prayers and the active support. What do I mean by active support? I mean the words of encouragement. I mean, the words in prayer to God for help and the words that we talk about of each other about our church and about our message and about what we do as we proclaim the message of the truth on all the various truths of the Scripture for us to be supportive of that. That's what is the biggest metric for success that we could ever have because God will honor that.

Every time that, you know, we like to get letters of request for literature, we like people to come on our website and click through and order this, download that. We air the "Beyond Today" every week and we look at those numbers that come back and we have what we call a CPR, a cost per response. And we've talked about that not really being the true measurement of how successful we are at what we do with the dollars that are allocated toward the direct preaching of the Gospel. I think that there are other metrics that we don't always measure. Sometimes they're just not measurable, but this one to me is probably the most important that I've mentioned, the prayers of you, the support in private and in conversations of the work that we do, to be in a sense proud of what we do as a church, and that total effort is what I'm talking about, that we do offer the truth and we make it available in all the forms that we do on the web, in print, and we seek to help people to understand God's purpose, God's plan, this world, this life, this craziness, and how to access God in the very way that Paul was talking about.

Paul knew that he could rely on the members and Colossae. They had his back. They had his back. He knew that, and that's the biggest metric of success that he probably had. His preaching...he was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. Do you know that? That's why he wound up there. He was there because he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, which when you study what Paul did and what he said, it was a message about a coming King to whom all obedience was due now, at that time, and in the Roman period, that was a message of sedition or treason. It upset the order of Rome. It also upset the order of the Jews. We read that his biggest clashes initially in the church were with the leadership of the Jews in Jerusalem. With the apostles John and Peter and the church there, and then Paul, they followed him all over the place. Paul went into a city, the Jews would get stirred up. He'd get kicked out. He'd go on down the next city, start preaching. A few days later, they'd follow in, get everybody stirred up, and get Paul kicked out again.

Sometimes, you know, what is needed to be understood when you really understood that the hierarchy of the Jewish community of the first century—I'm talking about the chief priests, the Sanhedrin that we read about, the ones that engineered the death of Christ, the persecution of the church, the imprisonment of Paul that finally got him up against the Roman Empire—the Jewish hierarchy was nothing more than a mafia clan. They were the ancient equivalent of the mafia. They were corrupt. They had a form of religion, but they didn't have the truth and they were as corrupt and vile as you could imagine. Murdering each other, political. It's a horrendous story from that period. Paul was a threat to them. That's what got him into prison because he threatened the order of all of that. And he understood that, but he kept a positive approach in that he didn't let it get him down. And he said, "Pray for us that this will continue to be...there will be open doors," and looking back at verse three, "to speak the mystery of Christ, the mystery of Christ for which I am also in chains." Again, the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that's what he preached and it got him in chains, but he wanted to be able to do it more, stronger.

The mystery of Christ, you know. He understood that Christ's life, death, and resurrection were the missing parts of the picture of God's plan that had come into place. That's why he calls it the mystery of Christ here, not that it was still a mystery. Paul understood it from the very moment that he was struck on that road to Damascus and came face to face with the resurrected Jesus Christ, he got it. Everything fell into his place. It wasn't some radical conversion. He was already keeping the Sabbath, he was already keeping the holy days, he already believed in the God of Abraham. He got Christ. That's why Christ said, "Why have you been working against me?" He got it. And from that moment, it was all locked in. The puzzle in front of him made sense in living color, and that's all he could do. And that's why he was where he was. It was the mystery of Christ, the life, death, and resurrection. The God who reveals mysteries that Daniel talked about when he went up to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter two of Daniel and Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar, "There's a God who reveals mysteries." Paul knew that God, and he had come face to face with him, and it was no longer a mystery. The true understanding was what he had said back in Colossians 1:26 and 27, "Christ in us, the hope of glory."

That was it. That was the very essence of the Gospel that electrified Paul and ignited his passion. That was the heart of the Gospel message and is still is, that the Word had become flesh, had lived the perfect life, had died for our sins, and was resurrected. That Christ resurrection had opened the path for mankind to be fully formed in the image of God and through a resurrection to be born into the family of God. That's the mystery of Christ. Or put another way, that the eternal spirit had been joined to flesh so that flesh could become spirit. Let me say that again, the eternal Spirit had become flesh so that flesh, you and I, could become spirit. That's the mystery of Christ. That's it. That is what should get us out of bed every day. That's what we should live by. That is the atheist dilemma. That would put and stop the mouth of every gainsayer, every atheist who could see in the life of a Christian, of a follower of Christ, a firm conviction of that very truth, that very mystery of people who live each day with that belief and live like they believe it. That's how we should be living. That brethren, is what it means to be woke. It really is. You know, it comes from Ephesians 5, "Awake, you who are dead in Christ," is what Paul says. That's what it means. Have our lives awaken and to understand and believe. That's the point. That is the mystery of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 4:4-5 "That I may make it manifest as I ought to speak." He wanted more opportunity to preach that. And in verse five, he says, "Walk in wisdom, toward those who are outside redeeming the time." Redeeming the time. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside. Paul is building towards something here. That should tell us how we relate to people that are outside. Who's outside? Who's outside? Well, we have our own terminology for that being in the church or out of the church, converted or unconverted, to explain ourselves, to explain the world, those that are not in the church, those that are not called, et cetera, those that are not firstfruits. But Paul says walk in wisdom toward them. We have to and we do deal with people all the time, family and neighbors and co-workers, to walk in wisdom toward people. To understand God's purpose and plan, not to think that we're better, because we're not. Not to think that we are more righteous of ourselves, because we're not, but to have an understanding about those who are, if you will, outside, and those that are the opposite, if you're going to use the term, inside. We should be wise about what we say and how we think about those that are outside or not in the church, and to walk in wisdom toward them. Like so many of us, I read a lot of commentaries and other works by biblical scholars and teachers, theologians that have written many, many libraries full of books about scripture, God, the Bible, Greek, Hebrew, etc, and I find some that are very good. I actually find some that they say parts of the truth.

And I'm reading along and I'm thinking, "Wow, they get it." This page, this paragraph, this half chapter could probably pass doctrinal review in The United Church of God." But then two chapters later, they're talking about the Trinity. Okay. And I find that all the time, so I take what is valuable and inside, and I recognize this. And I guess through the years I've concluded that, you know, there are certain, as I said earlier, basic truths that have to be lined up, God, Christ, who and what is God, that He's not a Trinity, in order to have it all, the whole package and everything functioning and working together, so I can learn from someone who has studied scripture and studied cultural context and background and all of the matters of theology and I can learn from them, but I don't have to become a Sunday keeper. I'm not a Trinitarian. I don't throw my belief out the window. And as I've done that through the years, I recognize that, yeah, Paul says we have to walk in wisdom toward those. It comes back to the mystery of Christ.

That is really the key that. Through the Spirit of Christ in us, God is bringing many sons to glory and that is a defining doctrine for the first fruits of God as to why now, why this calling is now rather than later, that is a defining aspect, and God opens the mind to understand that, but it takes an alignment of the truth for it all to come to an understanding. Great understanding the Psalm says, "They who will obey or keep the law." And so we have to obey, we have to have it all in a complete package, and God does His work there then to open our minds to truth and to doctrine and to a practice that others can't see completely. And we understand that in the purpose and the plan of God that it all begins by knowing the one true God, and Jesus Christ who was sent, and understanding that without the idea of a Trinity.

He says here as well, the end of verse five, “Redeeming the time.” Redeeming the time. You know, Paul had a lot of time on his hands in prison. By the time he wrote this letter, he'd already been in prison for more than two years because... Before he ever left Israel, Judea, he was imprisoned for a period of time in both Jerusalem and then down in Caesarea. And essentially what God did with Paul was to just kind of pull him off the track. "Pit," he said. "Time to pit. You need to rest."

And Paul had time then to kind of step back and to survey the work that he'd been doing. He'd been running around Asia Minor and Greece and starting churches, doing this. doing that, busy life. And it came to a stop. And he had time to write, he had time to think and do a lot of other things that we might not see normally from what we're told here in the scripture, but he had time to think and to write some of his best stuff from prison. He was downshifting in that sense and focusing in a different way, kind of like what we have done in recent months. We've downshifted. We've had to pit. Shelter in place, shut down, whatever. It's been good, been great. It really has in some ways.

What have you learned? What have you learned during this period of time? About yourself, about God, as you look at the world, what have you learned during this shutdown? This long period of examination? I think God's given it to us in one way and it's been a gift of God, so it's part of the grace of God. It's the beginning of this when we finally closed up here at the office and taught the last day at ABC and I pulled a bunch of notebooks and files from my office and walked out the door realizing I didn't know when I was going to come back, maybe a few weeks, and it turned into a few months. And I said at the beginning...I told my wife, "I was built for shutdown. I can handle this, all right. Just lock me in my room, give me my books, and I was built for this." Okay. And first weeks, man, I loved it, you know, shorts every day, t-shirt, no commute, and work actually got busier than I ever had been, and you meet with Zoom and everything else.

But you know what? After a few months, a couple of months, I began to get stir crazy. I said, "I need somebody other than my wife." And she was saying, "I sure need somebody other than you." And when we finally opened up, man was I glad to come back that first Sabbath and see some other people that I hadn't seen in a few months. It's good to see a lot of you. And we need each other. We're not built for shut down forever. We kind of need to go off for a weekend or whatever, and retire or not retire, but just retire from the routine. And in some ways, Paul says redeem the time. It means to buy back your life.

So what I'm saying is don't let this opportunity pass that we've had, look at it as an opportunity, even during the times of stress and trial that we've had. We've not necessarily been robbed of time, but we've been given an opportunity to recalibrate. And hopefully, we will use our time more wisely with each other and appreciate certain things or what we have been through. Make a list for yourself as to what makes your life worth living. I was talking with my eldest son a couple of weeks ago. He's not in the church and he's going through his own life and he was locked out of his office for a while and things were back into a normal routine there, but we were just talking about how it all was going and he realized and he said, "Dad, people aren't going to put up with this ongoing forever and ever because it robs people of the things that make life worth living." Whatever that might be for each individual, contact, a baseball game with real people. I mean, have you seen the cutouts that are in the stands? Give me a break.

I look at movies. When I watch a movie anymore and I see all these...even if it's made two years ago and I'm looking at a movie, I'm realizing that was a different time. Things have changed. And I find myself thinking about that, and you think there has been a big change. But what is it about your life that really makes your life worth living? Find that. Appreciate that. Cultivate that. Don't let it be ripped away. We've been in what is... One writer called a dress rehearsal during this period of time. I think that's a pretty apt description, a dress rehearsal for bigger things to come. So what have we learned? We're really only running with the footman right now. The horses are coming over the hill yet. We're still running with the footman. And then in verse six, Paul goes on to conclude this passage.

Colossians 4:6 He says, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." This scripture has always fascinated me. I've only heard one other sermon given on this scripture in my whole history of the church, and that minister just focused in on verse six and gave a whole sermon on it. But let your speech always be with grace seasoned with salt. That word grace there is the word Charis, which means kindness, attractiveness, pleasant charm, and all that we would think about with the term grace.

Again, in my research, Blue Letter Bible is really great for opening up very quickly a lot of behind-the-scenes meaning of these words. There was one meaning there that said this grace seasoned with salt is describing what they called a hallowed pungency. A hallowed pungency. I had never thought of it that way, never heard that put together, a hallowed pungency. So I looked up, what's pungent? Okay. What is pungent? Well, it means strong, powerful, something that's pervasive, it kind of fills the room. Penetrating is another way to understand pungency. "Let your speech be with grace seasoned with salt," and we know what Christ said about “we are the salt of the earth,” and salt is, you know, a very important seasoning. You know how many kinds of salts there are. There's lots of salt. We used to occasionally go into this little salt place there in Jungle Jam, Colonel D's...is that what it's called where they had all?

And we'd splurge every once in a while and buy some exotic salt. And I remember looking at one salt there, and a guy told me what it was. It was a Norwegian smoked salt. Wow, Norwegian smoked salt. Where did they get that out of? Did they dig up some Viking ship that had been down there for hundreds of years and there was salt there? Well, then he explained it all to me but there are all kinds of salt and there's some very good salt that just opens up food in a right way. But pungency.

You know, the other day, we said, "Let's make a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch." That's another great thing about being home, you can just, you know, have lunch with your wife at home. All right. Well, we've had three or four different cheeses. We pulled them out, and I said, "Hey, let's make an adult grilled cheese sandwich. Let's slice real thin some shallots, and let's cook them with some olive oil real slow and kind of caramelize them."

And you know what happens when you do that on a stove? You get this pungent odor going through the kitchen, through the house of cooking onions. It's great, isn't it? That's what pungent means, and try it. It really made a great grilled cheese sandwich. Paul says let your speech be kind of like that. It's strong. It's powerful. It's pervasive, you know. It lifts. It's good. Your speech should be like that. Mine should be like that as well. To give an answer, to speak to people, to engage people with words that are graceful, kind, uplifting, encouraging, yet strongly salted, if you will, in a right way with just enough. To be kind, but strong and direct. Gets to the point so that we know how to do that. And when you stop and think about that to give an answer in the right way, it means to speak with good language, but it also means to listen well so that when we do answer, because this is what he says, "That you may know how you ought to answer each one. We have to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. We do have to respond to each other as we engage with each other, and at times, in some very strong, direct pointed conversations from time to time. It means not only to speak with grace, seasoned with salt, but we have to listen first to be able to understand so that then we can speak to the need, speak to what the person is saying, speak to what the person really should hear, but do it with grace seasoned with salt.

When I think about this verse, I think of a lot of things. I think of the speech of a gentle kind person whose words have meaning. I think about speech that covers the other person I hear with kindness and hope and courage, words that banishes fear, uncertainty, speech that lifts the spirit, speech that's kind of like the sun that breaks through the gloom of a cloudy day, or like the sun that pops through rising on a clear morning after a night of rain, speech that motivates you to be a better parent, a better employee, a better Christian, speech that just lifts you kind of like a good song. You know, you can't hear a peaceful easy feeling without tapping your feet or just being lifted momentarily. You can't. I dare you. You just can't. The other day, a song popped up on my iTunes list. I don't know why. I guess I have it in my own personal collection, but it popped up. I hadn't listened to it for years. It's a song called "Voices on the Wind" done by an obscure group called Little Feat, but Linda Ronstadt did the vocals with them, "Voices on the Wind."

I heard that song 30 years ago, and it was at a time when I had a dip, all right. We had just moved to a new church area. The church had been kind of abused. We were brought in, and they didn't like me just for walking in the door before I even said anything. And so, there was a tension that I had to deal with. My dad was dying of cancer, and I was at that point in life, and I thought, "Oh, man, I just went into a dive for a few...a couple of three months." You know, just cloudy day, every day. And that song I found, "Voices on the Wind." I found a few other things, a lot of prayer and a lot Bible study, but I found that song and I started listening to it and along with everything else, it kind of helped me pull out of the dip. We all have those things that do that.

That's what it means to me to have words of grace seasoned with salt. We're in an interesting period of time and Paul wrote this letter to help the church pull it all together and to say, "This is how you get through it. This is how you maintain your faith, get your doctrine right, hold it all together. be prayerful, be watchful, keep Christ as the center of your hope, the sacred center of your life, use your time well, and live a life filled with grace. And doing that Paul is saying here we'll get through it all. It'll be all right. It's a good letter. It's a good passage. Good points for us all to keep in mind as we deal with our life.

If you’ve ever been in jail or visited a prison of some kind, you know, brethren, how very difficult those conditions are and how depressing those environments are. I’ve been in various county jails, state facilities, federal prisons over the years as a visitor and I’m very glad to get out and I’m very sorry for those that have to stay there. You know, that whole system will change in the Kingdom of God but I did want to talk about a gentlemen who wrote inspired letters to God’s people, God’s elect, while he was in jail. In fact, some of the most encouraging words, brethren, in the Bible, in the New Testament, are written by a man who was incarcerated for years. Now, that’s an astounding thing, which I think often is lost as we read through those three Prison Epistles. We take them out of context historically and we read them - in a sense - the way they shouldn’t be read. I think, to really glean the true historical, spiritual significance of any book of the Bible, you have to put yourself in the author’s mind and in the author’s place. And I want to cover those three Prison Epistles with you. I think you all know who wrote them — and that, of course, was Paul, the Apostle Paul. They are known as the ‘Prison Epistles’. They are written about in many different commentaries and books. We haven’t covered that in quite a while, but I wanted to especially note the historical background and not necessarily the exegetical analysis of those three books.

So, let’s talk about the historical background; paint that for you first. And I do want you, brethren, to understand that when you read those three epistles or letters of Paul you should think about where he was at the time. Think about his mind-set, his environment. Most of you, brethren, and I have not been in jail or prison for any length of time where there are perhaps visitors visiting occasionally and encouraging those who need encouragement, but Paul was there. He was literally bound by some kind of chain — a very short chain according to the commentaries — to a Roman soldier the entirety of the two years he spent in prison in Rome. Now, he had virtually no privacy day or night because the interesting thing with the Roman system is that it worked. They had a very interesting way of demanding loyalty from the Roman soldiers who were very undereducated for the most part. And that is, if a prisoner escapes on your watch, guess what? You die! You get early retirement at the behest of the Roman Empire. You know that put all these soldiers on alert. ‘If I allow this prisoner to escape while I’m watching him, then that’s it for me.’ So even if you’re a little sleepy, a little bit indifferent, or maybe even thought the inmate, the prisoner was innocent, you weren’t about to let him go because it meant your life. So, these Romans were ruthless, but they were also very astute and they had a way of insuring that when you became a prisoner in the Roman Empire, you were a prisoner until they released you. There weren’t too many escapes, I dare say, from that system. There was Paul chained from his wrist to the soldier’s wrist for over two years — or around two years according to the book of Acts. Of course, I don’t think he really wanted to escape. He wanted to let God work this out and have its full course of action. But when he went into prison, brethren, he had no idea if he was going to get out of prison dead or alive — like the old TV show. He had no idea. We know from the book of Acts and other letters of history that he was released after that imprisonment. But at the time, of course, he didn’t know what the recourse was going to be or what the outcome was going to be.

So, let’s read these three letters of Paul. They are called the Prison Epistles. What are they? The books of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. We are going to read them in that order as they are in the New Testament. But let’s start with some background in the book of Acts, chapter 28 and verse 16. The 28th chapter of the book of Acts gives us some brief historical background of why Paul was in prison and some brief circumstances surrounding that. Actually, if we had the time, we could have a very interesting discourse, I think, earlier in the 28th chapter of Acts because remember he was on the island of Malta and this poisonous snake came out of the limbs or the sticks and latched onto him. I don’t know about you, but there is one critter in God’s creation that I just don’t like and that’s snakes. I just don’t like them. I don’t have any use for them. They’re wonderful, I’m sure, in their own way, but this viper latched onto him. He shook it off and the barbarians around him said, ‘Well, obviously, this man is bad. We’ll just let him go. We won’t help him.’ You know, nice friends, right? He didn’t feel any recourse or any disease coming into his system. The venom just was neutral. God evaporated it or whatever. But that is kind of a background on his journey to Rome. It wasn’t, certainly, on a cruise-line coming into Rome for a nice ten-day cruise. He got to Rome and notice what happens now next in verse 16.

Acts 28:16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was...allowed or...suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. So I believe that God was in that, God directed all of that.

Verse 17 It came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. So, he said, I’ve done nothing to merit this kind of treatment. Paul wasn’t there because he was a criminal, he was there because, frankly, there was hate among the Jews and God allowed Paul to go there in order to further the preaching of the gospel. And a wonderful witness it was in Rome for two years.

Then in verse 20. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.There it was. He was chained to a Roman soldier.

And then over in verse 23, And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; of whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. Brethren, this is mind-boggling to me that a man, whose fate is in the balance has such tenacity and faith, ‘I’m going to continue to do the work even though this is a very hard circumstance.’ Chained to a soldier, not knowing whether he was going to be alive in days or weeks ahead, he preached the kingdom of God to everyone around. Some believed, in verse 24,the things which were spoken, and others did not believe.

Dropping down to verse 30, Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house... we would call it house arrest today but that’s a very, I think, complimentary term or situation compared to what Paul really had. He wasn’t home. He wasn’t home, he was in Rome and he was with a guard all the time and, of course, that system was anything but a just system. But he did...receive all that came in unto him.

Verse 31, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, and no man forbidding him. Brethren, this is a zealous apostle. This is a zealous man of God. We need to be that way. We cannot let Satan hinder God working though us and I’ve never, ever been in that circumstance. I’ve never been chained to a guard. Never really been in prison. But I hope, brethren, we appreciate what Paul is going to write about during those two years. They are called the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. So that’s the background, historically. And, you know, I’d tell you, my human nature at that time would say, ‘Steve, the Work’s over. Let’s roll the sidewalks up. I’m in prison. Why would God allow this? Therefore, I can’t do anything.’ And the other reaction would be, ‘Where is God? God, I’m a faithful servant, why have you allowed this?’ And I would have the world’s biggest pitty-party for myself. ‘Woe is me! Hasn’t God loved me? Why has God allowed this.’

Now, that’s how my human nature would react to all of this. Not Paul. He zealously gave the truth during those two years of imprisonment. So let’s turn over to the first Prison Epistle, the book of Ephesians. In chapter 3 - we, of course, can’t go verse by verse in a sermon - but we will hit a few of the highlights of each of the three letters written from Rome while he was under house arrest (and that’s putting it nicely) under arrest in a carnal system, perhaps could lose his life at any time. And now we read chapter 3 verse 1 of Ephesians.

Eph. 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles... That’s all I want to read here in this particular section. I want, brethren, to highlight the phrase, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Not once did Paul ever say, I am a prisoner of Rome! Not once did he ever infer that or write that or dictate that. He said, I’m a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Brethren, it’s all about perspective. It’s all about our perspective. If Paul had been less than the minister and apostle he was, he could have said, ‘Paul, a prisoner of Rome — pagan, deadly Rome. You know what they do to people like me? You know, there’s no human rights here — there’s no civil rights, no human rights — there’s no Amendments to the U.S. Constitution in Rome, two-thousand years ago.’ Brethren, he said, ‘I am a prisoner of Jesus Christ and I'm happy to be one of His prisoners.’ That’s an astounding truth. You see, today mankind wants to be free. I don’t want any enshacklements; I don’t want anyone chaining me down. Well, Paul understood, brethren, that it’s a privilege to be committed to Jesus Christ as one of His people, one of His saints. He never said, ‘I’m a prisoner of Rome.’ He always had that unique perspective of a saint of God who is close to God.

You know, things can happen in your life and in mine and other people’s lives, but we all react differently to it, don’t we? We all react a little differently. It’s interesting, in a room you all see the same thing happen or you hear the same news at the same time and then to go around the table and hear each other give a discourse on or evaluation of the same material. It’s all about perspective, brethren. Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ - that’s quite a perspective and that’s what he is saying to the church here at Ephesus. We are, brethren, to serve Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean that every day will be a bed of roses. There will be ups and downs. And here, Paul was a prisoner and said, you know these are not the best of circumstances, but on the other hand, God can work and He was working through these things.

This glass of water probably can’t portray it as well I’d like, but you know we use something like this to visually demonstrate that it’s all in your perspective. I guess I could drink some of this to being half full but I won’t. I want you to use your mind. Is this glass half full or half empty? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? You know, to Paul - he just saw basically full glasses. What can I do with that glass of water? He didn’t bemoan the fact that it wasn’t full of water or that it wasn’t artesian well, Perrier water — he just said, what can I do with what I have to do with. How can I serve God with what He has given me? I think it is a very interesting perspective and he certainly had the mind of Jesus Christ in that. So, brethren, the attitude really changes things in peoples lives. I tell you, it’s all about attitude. It’s all about perspective.

The same chapter of Ephesians, chapter 3 and verse 10. Let’s run over there. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God... now, instead of writing about his own circumstance, do you know what he was doing? He was preaching truth to God’s people and lifting their spirits. I don’t know how many times I have gone to someone’s home when they were going through a trial. I was thinking, well maybe I can encourage them a little bit through the visit. I leave that visit encouraged by someone going through really depressing times. And that’s what Paul was doing. He could have been depressed and really heavily in the blues, but he was giving truth and encouragement to those that he was writing to.

Notice, in verse 12. Eph 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

And yet, as he was dictating this letter — probably Paul was dictating it and not writing it as he often did — he had this Roman guard listening to these words of the Gospel. I don’t know how long their shifts were, perhaps ten or twelve-hour shifts. He might have had two different soldiers every day, every twenty-four hours. And, I imagine one or two of them got to be very close to Paul — not only just physically. What is he saying here? We can have boldness and we can have confidence in Christ? Well, who is this Christ? Are you crazy Paul? Do you know who you are? You are a prisoner of Rome! You have no rights. Of course, he was a Roman citizen and he was appealing on his Roman citizenship rights, but that’s a different — set that aside. He was still an inmate, still a prisoner.

It will be very interesting to talk with these guards in the Kingdom, won’t it? What was it like? What was Paul’s perspective? Did he ever get discouraged? They might say, well you know on occasion, but he would come right out of it. He was a dynamo, I think, is what they will tell us. He was a real man of faith, real charged up.

Well, chapter 4 is a chapter, and I guess the first fourteen, fifteen, sixteen verses we often turn to in God’s Church, talking about unity. And I guess, as a minister, I’ve turned to it dozens and dozens of times in sermons and Bible studies and you’ve heard it from many ministers over the years, brethren. But, you know, when we are going through what we would call a life-changing experience, it does just that. It changes you. And most of you of any age at all have been through some real life-changing circumstances. A severe trial. A test. It might have been a health problem. It could have been a financial problem. It could have been something else, but you know what happens when you go through some of those? Your perspective changes as I mentioned earlier. You get down to the brass tacks, as we say. What’s really important? Not the peripheral, not the extraneous, not the physical, you get down to what’s really important. And here Paul, in this letter, a Prison Epistle is telling the people of God in spite of his circumstances — was he going to live or die — he says, brethren, unity is very important. You’ve got to have that in the Church. You’ve got to stay unified. And that’s what he was telling the Church at Ephesus. Without unity, you’re going to have problems. That was what he was telling the Church at Ephesus. In fact, God inspired this and God put it in the Bible and it is for people of God for all times. Unity is extremely important to God!Disunity / disharmony is not, brethren, pleasing to God. He is pulling the Church together. He is pulling His people together. The Kingdom of God in the future, brethren, will not be a disunified, disjointed Kingdom.

Now we do read - I guess it’s in Zechariah chapter 14 - about Egypt, one nation who says, ‘We are going to pull out of the Kingdom of God. I mean, let all those nations serve Christ, have a representative go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles like we’re told to do, we’re not going to do that. We’re different. We’re going to have disunity here.’ And God did not say, ‘Well that’s fine, I like disunity. I like some keeping my holy days and others don’t have to.’ That’s not going to happen! Oh, we know, brethren, what happens in the future as Zechariah 14 outlines that. So, when you really get down to it, unity is something Paul was saying was very important for God’s Church. We can’t really grow the way God wants us to grow without it.

I’ve given the story - and I heard it from a minister some years ago — at a world’s fair around the turn of the century (I’ve given that a couple of times locally) and they have this pull between mule teams. Now, that’s something you wouldn’t see anymore, they are now usually tractors. But, way back when, almost a hundred years ago, they had these mule teams pull. Well, the winning mule team, I guess they were in pairs, pulled perhaps (and I don’t remember exactly — didn’t bring my notes on it) maybe about 9,000 pounds. The second place team pulled maybe 7,000 pounds. That’s about 16,000 pounds combined, isn’t it? And so the audience, after the first pull said, why don’t you hitch up the two top mule teams. Let them harness together and pull together as a team. Well, you say, okay maybe they pull together 16,000; maybe they could pull 20,000. No, it was something like 30,000 pounds together. Now, we call it the law of synergy. You know, brethren, five of us can produce more than one or two of us. If you have a family of five you can do a lot more as a family of five pulling together than individuals of one. It’s just a truism, a fact of nature, a fact of reality.

So Paul was saying, harnessed together, working together, you grow a lot more - you produce a lot more. You know some brethren, and I think Satan is behind this, I think Satan can say the Gospel then, the true Gospel, can become basically narrowed down to parochial issues — a few little issues that somebody is upset about. I mean, the whole Gospel narrowed down to a couple of minor issues, but that become major. And I think that’s a shame. Paul exhorted these brethren to see the big picture and not let the petty issues hurt their zeal, their vision and their attitudes. Don’t listen to someone else who is reducing the Gospel down to a handful of personal issues. I mean, they are making the Gospel their few issues and they are trying to influence others. Well, brethren, it’s the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and that’s brought to us by Jesus Christ and God the Father. It’s their Gospel, not ours. We can’t pick away at it; we can’t diminish it into parochial, local or regional issues. That’s just wrong. So the Gospel is the Gospel and not to be reduced on a few minor issues from one person to the other.

Notice in Eph. Chapter 4 and verse 24 in this unity chapter we can say, Paul is saying ...put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. This is what Paul wanted the brethren to be working on: changing and growing and seeing the wonderful opportunity for it. They weren’t in prison. They had jobs, they had health, they had opportunities - even though they were in the Roman Empire. He says, you can grow in Jesus Christ. You can develop. God will help you to do that.

In Eph. 6 and verse 11 he begins a very interesting section here - actually as he concludes the book, but he includes this, I think, rather interestingly. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. He said, our wrestling match is not physical, it’s spiritual. It’s real, he said.

Now, picture this, brethren, as you read these three books, again, where he was and the circumstances. As he is dictating these words about putting on the whole armor of God, he is chained with this short chain to a Roman guard, probably a grizzled veteran of wars. This guy has killed people; maimed people probably; has no concept of the true God. And yet, here is an apostle of Jesus Christ dictating the truth and saying, ‘You know I’m going to give a spiritual analogy about your armor and I can teach God’s people that way.’ And so, Paul begins to dictate what we are about to read. It’s a very interesting analogy. So, as he is dictating this he is looking up and down this guard of his for basically the inspiration.

It’s not noted here, but I want to talk about the Roman javelin. Paul talks about the Roman sword, but the Roman javelin was quite an invention. It was barbed to stick fast in its target. A lot of you have gone fishing and you know what a fishing hook is like. It has a barb on it. And this Roman javelin had a barb in it so it would stick fast in its target, the shaft bent upon impact so the weapon was too damaged to turn against the thrower. Again, why was Rome #1 one militarily for hundreds of years? Well, they had wonderful weapons. These superior weapons and this knowledge made the Romans invincible for centuries.

Let’s go back here to Eph. chapter 6 and let’s start in verse 14. Eph. 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth... so one thing that he starts with here is the belt, the belt wrapped around the soldier’s tunic and, of course, the sword hung from it. So Paul saw the tunic, but he also saw the leather belt. That way, that tunic would not get in the way of the soldier as he moved around. And, of course, it held the sword, which was a very primary offensive weapon. And then he compares that leather belt, he says, to the truth. Brethren, we have to have God’s truth wrapped around us. It’s not just a Sabbath thing. It’s not just for the festivals of God. This is us. It is what we are. The truth is what we believe in. In John 17, verse 17 Christ said, your word is truth. Your word is truth! Living by that word, having it anchor us and gird us and, in a sense, protect us because we are living that truth, we know that truth. We live by it. We appreciate it.

So Paul is talking about the truth of God, how important that is — to know it, to live it, to have it a part of us. Then he says in Eph. verse 14 ...having on the breastplate of righteousness. So he looks at the guard and says, obviously, you have this massive breastplate guarding your vital organs — very important. I mean, it only took one javelin, one flaming dart, to if not kill an enemy soldier to at least take him down to the point where he could not fight. So it made sense to protect the vital organs: the heart, the stomach, the other vital areas of the torso. So they had this plate of armor, sometimes mail armor - years and years later it was mail otherwise it was usually brass — to go around the body to protect those organs. Now, breastplate in the Greek here is thorax - thorax, one of our English words.

So what is, brethren, the breastplate for God’s people? He says, the breastplate of righteousness. Brethren, that is the confidence, the godly confidence of living the truth, having a close relationship with God and knowing that and living that way. The breastplate of righteousness. Someone, and certainly the enemy, cannot throw a fiery dart at you because you have a breastplate of righteousness on. You are one of His saints. You have faith in that. You pray about that. You’ve prayed for God’s help - His blessing and He gives you that. So the breastplate of righteousness, brethren, is that deep sense of companionship with God. Not a seared conscience, not ragged living, not up and down, but a day to day, week in and week out, month in and month out companionship and relationship with God.

The next analogy, Paul is looking at this guard, looking at his clothing and how he is decked out. He says in verse 15, And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Well, maybe we don’t think too much of shoes, but back then a Roman soldier was no better than his sandals. You know, they did not fight on Astroturf. They fought in very rocky, hilly areas. They could easily hurt their feet, cut their feet, damage their feet. And once a soldier did that, he wasn’t worth much at all. He couldn’t continue the battle. So footgear was very important back then; it still is today. I know, in World War II there were many soldiers in the dead of winter - in the Battle of the Bulge, you name it - who got fungus, jungle rot in the Pacific area and they had to go back for R & R for weeks. It took them out of the front lines. So they had sandals — well-designed sandals — to protect their feet so that they could stay mobile and Paul compares this to the gospel of peace. And I liken that, brethren, to having good relationships, positive relationships, relationships that are good for you and not poisonous for you. Sometimes we get into what are called toxic relationships. They immobilize us. It’s just like a foot that has a sore on it or a deep cut — you can’t move. So I think Paul could be writing about a sense of the gospel of peace — peaceful relationships, positive relationships with family, our spouse, God’s people — keeping those things right and solid and healing. So, the gospel of peace, he says, is important to the true Christian.

Then he goes on in verse 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. The shield of faith. Paul is not writing here, brethren, about the small, round shield sometimes you see. He is talking about a very large piece of wood. They glue these two large pieces of wood together and it was thick enough that it would stop the fiery darts — literal fiery darts that were shot at them by the enemy or javelin spears that were thrown at them. He says, Above all, taking the shield of faith... You know, there was a soldier in one of the commentaries that I read, they named him by name, and the battle he was in. He counted the number of darts in his shield after the battle. Two hundred and twenty darts in the shield. You know, any one of those could have killed the man or immobilized him.

Now you wonder how many fiery darts we’ve had thrown at us over the years. How important, brethren, that shield of faith is! Sometimes you sense that this was quite a day, quite a week. Your shield of faith had to come into play a lot. I think I’ve felt that way at times; I think you have as well. So, the shield for any soldier was vitally important. It truly saved his life. I’ve seen on various television shows over the years, they basically could hide under that shield as the soldiers threw everything they had at them and they survived to go on and win the battle. Paul is drawing a very literal analogy between us as God’s soldiers and this Roman soldier who probably had a shield right there, probably had used it in battle to save his life. He says, ‘Christians, we need a shield of faith! Don’t go out into battle with Satin without one.’ We have to have faith. If you don’t, brethren, you’re going to get nicked and hit and those fiery darts of Satan, just like Paul said, are going to inflict you.

Now back then, two thousand years ago, even a fiery dart that just nicked the body generally was lethal. That wouldn’t be the case today. You would go into a clinic, they would put in some antibiotics, they would clean you up and put a bandage on and out you go — maybe a tetanus shot or two. But the idea was to immobilize, just to injure that soldier. And that soldier didn’t die that day. He maybe died three or four days later, though, of infection, of blood loss and shock.

So, Satan doesn’t care, brethren, necessarily in terms of killing the soldiers of God whether it’s in one day’s action or whether we’re wounded and die off a year later. It doesn’t matter to him because the injury is there. We’ve let down the shield of faith, and we’re a victim. We’ve been hurt. We’ve been hit. We are a casualty of that spiritual war. So you cannot say enough about faith as one of God’s elect. You’ve got to have faith. If you don’t, Satan is there; fiery darts are there.

Let’s talk about a fiery dart and what it was like and how they made them. One of the most dangerous weapons in ancient warfare was the fiery dart. It was a dart tipped with tow, in other words hemp or yarn, dipped in pitch. The pitch soaked tow was set alight and the dart was thrown. The great, oblong shield was made of two sections of wood glued together. When the shield was presented to the dart, the dart sank into the wood and the flame was put out. And I mentioned how one soldier had two hundred and twenty hits on his shield. I don’t know how many hits you’ve had on your shield of faith — or me either, I guess we don’t have that. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if it’s been hundreds. How many do you think you’ve had? Thousands? Some weeks you might think, I’ve had a hundred even today! But Paul isn’t just making this up. He’s got a literal soldier next to him, he’s looking at his garment and saying, ‘brethren, we need — we need to fight.’ Just like this Roman soldier, we need to have the right instruments and the right garments to do the job.

Next, Paul talks about the helmet in verse 17 And take the helmet of salvation... What is that about? Of course, our helmets today for soldiers are a lot different from two thousand years ago. Generally, a Roman soldier wore some kind of brass helmet. Before that, they were leather. But obviously, the head is very exposed, very vulnerable in battle. That’s one place you don’t look forward to getting hit, having an eye taken out or something like that. You can bleed a lot. You can be taken out of the battle. So a soldier always had a helmet and Paul likens that to salvation. You know, brethren, salvation is all over us — just like a helmet. It covers us head to toe. That’s the salvation of Jesus Christ. It protects us. It guards us against sin and eventually, eternal death. Without salvation through Christ we would not have life, we would not have spiritual life. So, salvation belongs on the head. It takes care of the entire body. It takes care of the soul, so to speak. Out eternal life is on the line. And so, have that helmet of salvation. Know that you have a Savior. Know that you have repented of your sins and know, brethren, that you are a begotten son of God.

And the next thing Paul writes about is the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. He tells us exactly what that sword symbolizes spiritually, but the sword generally was worn on the left side of the soldier. Why the left side? Well think about it. If you are right-handed, and your sword is over here on the right side cinched up to your leather belt, how fast can you get that sword out of the sheath? Try that right now. You’re all thumbs. In the meantime, while you are trying to get your sword out somebody’s put their sword into you. So it’s worn on the left side if you are right-handed. You just swing the right hand across the chest, grab the handle and out it comes in one fast movement. So, even as you take it out, it’s an offensive weapon just that fast. So if you were good, if you were trained well, if you were physically fit, this could be done within less than a second — have your sword out. It meant the difference between life and death.

Now the sword was not only an offensive weapon, but defensive. They often just clashed swords until they got the edge and then in they went. So, he says, our sword, brethren, is the living Word of God, the Bible. This is the Word. This is the Word. Christ was the Word and this is His written Word. Now we have to be ready for this. We have to be ready to take the Bible out of its sheath. In other words, in the sheath it is not going to help you — that sword. It’s not going to be offensive or defensive. We’ve got to know this Bible and use it. We’ve got to blow the dust off as we were told many years ago and study God’s Word. Study God’s Word. There’s a gold mine of truth here. We have to know what the Bible says about marital relationships, child rearing, finances, what are the basic doctrines of God, what about some of these so-called difficult scriptures - Colossians 2, Galatians 4 for a couple of them. Can we rightly use the Word of God to dispel those fiery darts of Satan and doubt? We’ve all been tested in recent years in some of those areas. No doubt, there will be other heresies try to make their way into the Church of God. So, yes, study the Word of God. We have Bible studies, we have the Good News Magazine, we have twenty-eight booklets so far, we have the correspondence course, we have sermons and Bible studies, we have ABC tapes coming out. There is so much, brethren, available to us. There are so many wonderful truths that we can learn about. But read the Bible. As you are reading these booklets and magazines, don’t forget — read the Book. Know that. Put it together.

So those are parts of what Paul wrote in the first Prison Epistle and I think it’s an amazing story. Though Paul was chained to a Roman soldier he says, I’m going to write about your garments. There’s a lot to be said, a lot of truth just in that last chapter of Ephesians. Let’s go to the next prison epistle, Philippians, chapter 1 and let’s notice verse 6.

Phil. 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

I think Paul was saying Christ will return in his lifetime. Later he realized that wasn’t going to be the case, but it is still appropriate. Christ, brethren, does not let us down. He does not forsake us when He begins to call, the Father calling us; Christ does not let us down. That’s what he is saying. Look at this. This is written by a man in prison, under house arrest. He never felt Christ had forsaken him. He didn’t doubt that. So I don’t care whether our circumstances, brethren, are rosy or not so rosy. There is faith; there is that shield of faith.

Verses 12 and 13 of this same chapter, verse 12 But I would you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened to me... all of these could be looked on as negative circumstances and sore trials, but he says they ...have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; (13) So that my bonds in Christ are manifest... or clear, evident...in all the palace, and in all other places.

Now what is that all about? Is he just making this up? Is Paul kind of the Pollyanna of his day? I mean, here’s a real veteran apostle who, in fact, doesn’t have many more years to live. He’s been through a lot — fastings, shipwrecks, stonings — you know, all of that. And here he is saying in spite of this trial the Gospel is being preached more powerfully than I could ever imagine it could be preached. Well Paul, while he was a free man, never had a chance to witness and preach the gospel in Rome like that, not to Caesar’s court certainly.

Now there is some discussion, what does it mean, Caesar’s court? Palace in the Greek is praetorian and this verse in the Revised Version says my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout all the Praetorian Guard and to all the rest. I do think that’s a proper translation looking into it. Sure there are a couple of possible applications of what it means for palace, but for my money, I think it means the Praetorian Guard, which was the Imperial Guard of Rome. Now, this is a very high echelon, Roman guard. You were hand picked, hand selected by Caesar and by his top generals for staffing certain areas around Caesar’s palace and Caesar’s court and also, at times, the rest of Rome. So this is the elite of the corps, the Roman corps and here Paul is saying, I’ve had a chance actually to tell some of these men about the Kingdom of God. It’s not that I preached to them day and night in the sense of just throwing out the truth, but he says, look I’m going to preach the gospel to those that are willing to listen, those who are coming to this house and of course, I have a guy always chained to me anyway. So he’s going to get a lot and he is going to pass it on to his friends. Can you imagine, brethren, being one of these guards? And here, Paul is all excited about the gospel. He is preaching to some of the visitors coming into his house and that man gets off duty and he goes to some of his friends and he says, look, I’ve never seen anything like that. That guy is either crazy or he is truly special because he is talking about a whole different government, he is talking about the Creator God, he’s talking about faith, he’s talking about my shield and helmet and my shoes as being something about spiritual protection. I don’t understand spiritual, you know. Can you imagine conversations some of these fellows had with their friends off duty? Oh, he couldn’t have done that if Paul was a free man because you couldn’t get into those areas — didn’t have access to them. So, brethren, again, it’s perspective. Paul is writing as a prisoner and doing the work.

A little more about the Praetorian Guard, they had been instituted by Augustus and were a body of 10,000 troops. Later, they were dispersed throughout Rome — later on, Tiberius concentrated them just in Rome and built a fortified camp for them. Later on they were increased to sixteen thousand and they served for twelve and later for sixteen years. At the close of their term, they received Roman citizenship and a large pension. So it was a wonderful thing for any of the soldiers to be picked for the Imperial Guard for Caesar. That’s the kind of person that Paul was dealing with day in and day out.

Notice in verse 18 again in chapter 1: Phil. 1:18 What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached... Now he was just talking about some of his trials and perhaps other things people were going through, but he said, What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. That’s a powerful man of God.

Then he says in verse 19, For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ... Brethren, he is saying, ‘I am going to depend on you, brethren, to pray. I want you to pray for me. I want you to pray for my protection and I know that is going to actually help because you are going to get more of God’s spirit — a supply of God’s spirit when you are praying, when you are praying for others, you are doing this selflessly.’ So he is saying, ‘I want you to join the team, be a part of this ministry and a part of this work going on right here in Caesar’s court.’

Chapter 2 and verse 1: If there be any consolation in Christ, if there be any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, (2) Fulfill you my joy, that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.

Brethren, the title of my sermon is ‘Paul’s Prison Epistles — Short on Complaints and Long on Praise’. We haven’t seen any complaints yet, but a lot of joy, a lot of praise, a lot of thanksgiving by Paul. Short on complaints, long on praise - Paul’s Prison Epistles. Indeed, what a perspective!

Chapter 4 of Philippians, verse 1: Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy my crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Imagine getting a letter from Paul, whether you are a member at Ephesus, Philippi or Colosse, and Paul says, I am an apostle of Jesus Christ and it’s really tough. I don’t know, brethren, if God is going to save me and this is really bad and it’s just really negative and I just don’t know what to do. Imagine how that would negatively influence hundreds of people, as they would have these epistles read to them on the Sabbath day. But here, Paul in Philippians is especially screaming out of the top of his lungs saying, ...you are my joy. Stand fast in the lord, my dearly beloved. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t back off. Verse 4, Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. What an astounding approach and perspective.

Sometimes this book has been called the book of joy or the book of praise because Paul so often in Philippians writes about joy and praise and thanksgiving. And again I just remind you, brethren, whenever you read these three letters, remember where Paul was. I think that’s pretty amazing — the power of God’s spirit — if we let God work, it is an amazing thing!

In verse 8 he talks about the positiveness of God’s spirit dwelling on those things that are true — and let me save some time by just highlighting the keywords. So he says, highlight - think about - those things that are true and honest, you might say honorable today, those things that are just, pure, and those things that are lovely, those things that are of good report. And then he says, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, then he says, meditate — think - on those things. Again, a positiveness. Paul could have talked about the negative, the discouraging, the divisive, the rumors, the negativism because he had it. He could have said, boy, these soldiers stink, they ought to bathe occasionally, you know. They’ve got horrible breath. They’re foul mouthed. They’re talking about, you know, doing away with somebody. They’re telling about all the people they’ve hurt and massacred over the years. I mean, they’re negative guys. That’s all we have here. That’s not what he said in verse 8. He wasn’t dwelling on those things.

Then in verse 11 Not that I speak in respect of want... He says, I’m not complaining, just explaining. ... for I have learned... he said, I’ve already learned that... in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content...

Whoa, where was he? Rome? Not a really good place, not a fun place, a very pagan place, a very dangerous place for Christians. And where was he in Rome? Was he going to the Circus? Was he going to nice dinners? No! He was under arrest, waiting trial. Waiting trial, brethren, and guess who his judge ultimately would have been and was? A man by the name of Nero. You know Nero from church history. He was a guy who looked out his balcony one day and he got upset with all the slums he saw. He was offended by the slums. These poor Romans. Can’t they do better than that. They stink. I don’t like the view. This is my penthouse. I want a nice view. So he hired some people to torch these slums. Rome burned and, it says, while Nero fiddled. You know, it reminds you of a mad man in our day and age. Right? Killing others and not caring, saying he has done good. Then he had Rome rebuilt according to his master plan. This is not a man, brethren, you want to be judged by. So that’s what Paul had in his future. He didn’t know if he was going to make it through this arrest at all.

So he says in verse 11, I have learned to be content. Now, there is a word very close to content that is the opposite of it and what is that? He didn’t write, I have learned to be contentious. Now that is what life can teach a lot of people. I know some very contentious people out there. They’re hardened, they’re pretty obnoxious, they’re very verbal, they’re very abusive. They’ve learned to be contentious in life. That is what life has taught them to be. And the bumper sticker says ‘I get even’. I just don’t take it. I get even. I mean, that’s the carnal, satanic world out there. Do it to them before they do it to you. Paul said, look, I’m not contentious. I’m not fighting God. And you know who is in control of my attitude? I am. Paul never let these guys get the best of him. He never let the Roman system get him down because he was above that system. He was above it. That is what he was saying.

Notice, verse 12, I know both how to be abased... and he was being abased right there ...and I know how to abound... he was also abounding at the same time. And then he says, ...everywhere and in all things I am instructed... I learned, he said, I grow ...both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (13) I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. So what a perspective! What a special perspective Paul had. But anyone can have it. It’s available to all of God’s elect.

Let’s drop down to verse 22: All the saints salute you... as he concludes ...chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. That’s an interesting sidelight, that there were God’s people working on Caesar’s house staff. They might have been administrators. They could have been housekeepers. They could have been whatever. But they were God’s people. He said, right here - saints of God that are working in the house. Now Caesar could have had hundreds of people working, but he said some of them were God’s elect and they salute you. They greet you. And Paul knew them, was very close to them. I’m sure they were a very great comfort to him.

The last Prison Epistle — and again, the epistles are short on complaints and long on praise - short on complaints and long on praise. The book of Colossians. Turn with me over to chapter 4 and verse 3.

Col. 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open to us a door of utterance... he said, would you pray with us that God would continue to open doors for us to preach the gospel, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. He said, ‘That’s why I am here. I’ve preached Christ, I’ve preached the truth and that’s why I’m here in arrest. Let’s pray’ he said, brethren, ‘for the truth to go out.’ That’s our job today too, brethren, pray that God would show us what to do and how to do it and for others to be called according to the Father’s design and according to His will.

So he didn’t complain. Didn’t complain. He was always thinking on the brethren, his mind was on God, on doing the work. No pitty-party for Paul. He didn’t want it, didn’t want to go there. He knew how dangerous that could be and how lonely he could be if he allowed himself to go into that approach and that mind-set.

Well, brethren, we know as we said in Acts chapter 28 at the beginning of this sermon that Paul was there for two years. He was tried, found innocent and released. He was released for a very short time to continue to do God’s work and then he was imprisoned a second time and he was executed at that time — evidently beheaded. Evidently beheaded. That’s how he lost his life while under arrest for the second time. That could have happened in 64 A.D. - 63 A.D. up to maybe 67 A.D. - but it was only perhaps a year or two after his release and then he did die as a martyr of God.

So we’ve seen briefly today, brethren, how these Prison Epistles were remarkable, they teach many truths to us today. We don’t have to be in prison, though, to learn these things. We can learn the truth of God as Paul knew that truth of God, being short on complaints and long on praise - valid truth for us today. We can learn to be more grateful, more full of praise to God in spite of our ups and downs and to see the big picture and not, brethren, see the small things. Let that armor of God really protect us. Let that shield of faith protect us as soldiers of Jesus Christ.

[Scott Delamater] In the first century, in Palestine, the Jewish people were eagerly expecting a Messiah. They knew that the time was right. They were expecting a Christ, a King. They were expecting someone that would come and usher in this new age, this new era, this new kingdom for Israel. Let's turn over to Luke 3. We'll get a little glimpse of their expectation. Luke 3:15, here, it's people who have come to see John the Baptist, and they're, kind of, wondering about this guy. Who is this guy? What is this guy? They know he's something different. He's something special. In Luke 3:15, it says, "Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was a Christ or not," he goes on to confirm that he's not the Christ. But you can see it says here, "All the people were in expectation." There was this expectation of a Messiah. They knew the time was right. Is he the Christ or is he not? Because He's got to be showing up here somewhere, sometime soon. They expected it. They had various expectations.

The ideas that were around what this Messiah would be and who He would be, they varied some. But generally, they expected a King coming from the line of David. They knew from the prophets that this would be a King that was from David's lineage. He would be endowed with power, and with wisdom, and with might, and He would be this human. It would be a man who would come, and who would conquer, and who would restore Israel, and make them a special nation once again, Let's go to… turn a few pages back to Luke 1. Because even the prophecies that we read about Jesus Christ in the New Testament, you can view them through this lens. You can read them through this lens of this great king who's going to come, and conquer and restore Israel to greatness. Luke 1:33, here this is the angel Gabriel coming and giving a message to Mary, about Jesus. It says, "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” He's going to come and reign over the house of Jacob. He's coming as a King. He's going to come and He's going to rule."

If you go down later in the chapter in verse 68, Zacharias, John the Baptist's father, is prophesying here. And in verse 68, he says, "Blessed it is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant, David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us." This was the expectation that they had, that there would be a Messiah who would come and save them, who would save their nation and restore them.

So it's not surprising when we turn over to the book of Acts that we see a very interesting question. Let's go over to the book of Acts 1. And let's look at something the disciples ask here. Now, this is after Jesus Christ has been resurrected. This is just prior to His ascension, just before He's going to leave the earth. And they have this expectation, right, this great expectation that here now He's risen. Okay. Now, this is time. This is time for this King to come in and restore the nation.

And so they ask him, in Acts 1:6, "Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’” You know, we look at this and maybe we give them a little bit of a hard time because we know where the story goes from there. We know how it unfolds. And we see the great purpose that God was working out. And so we can, kind of, look back and chide them a little bit maybe. They had the right Guy, though. They did have the right Messiah. They had the right King. They knew who the King was. They had identified Him correctly. There were other people who had identified other messiahs, other people, right, incorrectly. And when Peter had identified Jesus Christ correctly, Jesus Christ commended him for it. So, they at least knew and understood Jesus Christ was the Messiah. He was the King, and they believed that fully. So we can give them credit for that. But we give them a little bit of a hard time for thinking that the next big thing that would happen is that He would make them a great nation. But that was their expectation.

It reads to us as very nationalistic. It reads as something that it's like, well, really you're thinking, you're just going to have this guy come who's going to restore your nation? Who's going to kick out the Romans? Who's going to make life good for you here and in the Holy Land? And that's the purpose of Jesus' coming? Their idea of salvation, right, if that's what salvation was, right, that He would save the nation and that He would make this little corner of the world, right, something that was great again, if that was the idea of salvation, we can look back at that and say, "Well, that's a little short-sighted, a little bit myopic." Right? Salvation is so much bigger than that. They had the right King, but they had the wrong kingdom. They were thinking about their little kingdom there. They knew the prophecies about that kingdom, and there are prophecies still yet to be fulfilled about restoring Israel as a nation. But it's in the context of something far, far greater than just national importance.

And it wasn't just about getting the Romans out of there. That was a very small piece of what God was doing. And so Jesus answers them in the next verse, in verse 7, "And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.'" He just waves them off completely. All right. He had told them before that only His Father knows the day and the hour that He will return in power. So, He, kind of, just waved him off. He says, "That's a bad question. Let's not worry about that right now. I have something else in mind." And He goes on, and He answers them, but not answering them. He's not answering, when is this going to happen? He's giving them a different answer. He says, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." He's telling them, there's something far, far greater that He has in mind here, something bigger that He has planned.

Expositor’s Commentary points out, it says, "In Jewish expectations, the restoration of Israel's fortunes would be marked by the revived activity of God's Spirit, which had been withheld since the last of the profits." So, remember, just before His crucifixion, He has told them that He's going to go to the Father and send this comforter, send this Spirit that will be the Helper for them. And so they're thinking, "Well, God's Spirit is going to be revived. The nation is going to be revived. And we're going to be this great and powerful nation again." It hadn't been since the times of the prophets, right? They had, sort of, gone into decline and they were barely identifiable as a nation. So that's what they were expecting and hoping even with the giving of His Spirit. So when He tells them here, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you," they go, "Okay. Great. This is exciting." But again, He's not pointing to their national greatness. He's not pointing to what's going to happen to them in that context. It's a very personal address that He gives them here. He doesn't say, "You this nation is going to have this." He identifies them individually and specifically. He says, "You." Three times here in this verse," He says, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me." He's not talking about the nation now being a witness and a light to the nations around them. He's talking about them as individuals receiving God's Spirit in them individually and being witnesses to the world around them, the whole world, not just in Jerusalem, not just in Samaria, but to the whole world.

He's talking about a very personal thing that was going to happen, not a national thing, but an individual thing. So, in that sense, He kind of blows up their whole idea of salvation. But if their whole idea was national greatness, He kind of obliterates that and lays it aside for the moment. He says "No, no, no. Here's what it's going to be for now. For now, what I have in mind for you is something very different. And it has far greater scope. It's not just Jerusalem. It's not just Samaria, it's to the ends of the earth. It's the whole world." They had the right King, but they had the wrong kingdom in mind. And so here He is clarifying what that kingdom is going to be. He starts planting the seeds of the scope of that kingdom and how big and how broad that kingdom would be. "Witnesses to the whole world," He calls them. This is how the book of Acts is introduced. This is the beginning of the book of Acts. It's Jerusalem and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. That's really, sort of, the introductory statement to the book. And then you see the book unfold. And it goes from Jerusalem into Samaria, and then on outward to the whole empire. Rome was the world in a way at that point in their life, in their context. And so we see it expand. We see the gospel taken out, individually by individuals, right, God working through them and it expands into the whole world.

We see this, especially, in the life of Paul. So I want to look at the life of Paul today, and I want to look at a couple of incidents in particular because Paul vividly demonstrates this idea of becoming witnesses to the whole world, this purpose that Jesus Christ laid out there. When they looked to their king and they looked for the restoration of their kingdom, He did give them an answer. And His answer was that they would be witnesses to the whole world. Paul goes on to show us how that connects into this kingdom. He shows us through his life and through his examples that there's a very strong connection here to how that kingdom unfolds and what that kingdom looks like. Let's look at Paul's life here for a little bit. We'll consider one story from his ministry in particular. But let's start out as a little bit of a background. Let's go back to Acts 9:1. Acts 9:1, it says, "Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them down to Jerusalem." So, we understand that Saul is somebody who is persecuting the Church. He's actively going after the Church, right? He is not somebody who even identified Jesus Christ as the King.

He didn't have the right king. He didn't really have a kingdom. He was just persecuting. He was very zealous for this way that he lived. Right? He was a Pharisee. His parents were Pharisees. Pharisees were a very nationalistic sect. They believed very much in Israel and Israel's national greatness. And that was Paul's history and upbringing. So he was very passionate about his country. And he understood the threat that this new way introduced. And so he was very zealous about making sure that it didn't spread. And he went out and he found these people and beat them, and in some cases, had them put to death. Verse 3, "As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. And then he fell to the ground, and he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' And he said, 'Who are you, Lord?'" Again, he didn't recognize who this King was. He didn't have a king.

This was the King that he was working against. This was somebody that he thought was a heretic. He didn't recognize Him. “He said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” Here, Paul receives a very interesting lesson that I think we'll see come into play a little later, but Jesus Christ doesn’t… It's so curious that He doesn't scold him here. He doesn't tell him, "You're being so awful. You're a rotten person for persecuting people and killing people." He just identifies that it's hard for Paul to do what he's doing, Saul, at this point, right? It's hard for him to do what he's doing. He identifies some sort of inner conflict within him and says, "This is hard for you." And so, it's a very sympathetic statement in a way. Right? He's identifying with Paul and saying, "You know, I love you. I'm concerned about you. I see that this is hard for you. I have something else in mind." And so in verse 6, “So he," Paul, "trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?" So immediately, we see here this transition. He understands that this is not just, you know, some weird vision that he's seeing. Right? He understands that this one that He had been persecuting and going against is indeed a King.

Paul would have understood the notion of a Messiah. He was looking for, expecting a Ruler, expecting the Christ. And so, here just in this moment, we see it flip immediately. And he recognizes Jesus Christ as King. He understands that this is the Messiah, this is the King. And he submits to Him immediately and says, “'What do you want me to do?’ And then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told that you must do.’" And so that's what he does. We read on and we see that Jesus appears to Ananias in a vision and says, "I need you to go to this guy because he's seen a vision of you." And Ananias basically says, "Are you sure you've got the right person?" And Jesus says, "Yep, this is the guy." And He sends him to him. Notice what He says in verse 15. He says, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake."

He was a chosen vessel for the same purpose that Jesus had described to His disciples back in chapter 1 when He says, "You will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in Samaria, and in the whole world." Right? This was the same purpose that He had in mind for Paul. He said, "This is a person that I have singled out to go and do this in a very big way, in a very powerful, in a very meaningful way." And He also adds that note that, "I'm going to show him how many things he must suffer for Me." There was both. So here, we want to take a look at one of those stories. We'll see a story here that demonstrates, sort of, all of these qualities. It demonstrates Paul going out and being willing to go to the ends of the earth, about him being able to witness to others, about him suffering when he needed to suffer. And then, he has a lot to say about it in retrospect. Let's go to Acts 16 and we will dig into this story.

Acts 16:11, “Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. But we were staying in that city for some days." Some commentaries or some historians have described Philippi as Little Rome. They called it Little Rome. This city Philippi was in Asia Minor in present-day Turkey. And it was the site of a famous battle during the Roman civil war in 42 BC. This is where… So after Julius Caesar had died and he left his empire to four generals, two fought two, right? And Mark Anthony and Octavian who later became Emperor Augustus, the two of them defeated Brutus and Cassius, right, at this major battle. And this here in Philippi was where that battle had occurred. So it had status in a military sense as a famous site. As a result, many Roman veterans retired there. Philippi was the site of their retirement. And so there were a lot of ex-military guys living here in Philippi.

It had also been designated as a Roman colony, which is something that was a very distinguished thing. There were not many cities that were actually designated as an official colony of Rome. Being an official colony of Rome gave you a little bit of a stamp of pride, right? You were a real colony. You didn't report… As a colony of Rome, you were not obligated to the local authorities. The local authorities had no control over your city. You were responsible directly to Rome. So the authorities there in Philippi were directly connected to Rome, proud of their Roman heritage, many who had served formerly in the military or had that history in their families, right? These were people that were very Roman. They were very proud to be Roman. So here, we find Paul, and Silas, and Luke, they're there in Philippi, and they're going there to preach, going there to teach. They get themselves in a little bit of trouble though. Let's go to verse 16. "Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, 'These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.'" You all remember, in Jesus' day, there were demons that would identify Him as the Son of God.

And they'd call that out and they'd identify Him, they'd make this, sort of, real public statement, and Jesus Christ would cast those demons out because they weren't doing it from good intentions and from a pure heart. Right? Demons are not good-intended, good-hearted beings. Right? They're doing it to cause trouble. They're doing it to wreak havoc on those people and on their purpose. And so that's what this demon was doing through this girl. "And this she did for many days." So this wasn't a single event. This girl was following them around, right, after, "And for many days," it says, following them around, screaming this out after them, right, not announcing this in in a great way, but announcing this in a harmful kind of way. So after many days, Paul was greatly annoyed.

We know Paul had… He could get a little bit fired up. We see that in some of his other stories. So, kudos to Paul for putting up with her for many days. But here he's greatly annoyed and he "said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities." So, they do something that is ultimately in this girl's best interest, a very loving thing that they did here for this slave girl but it meant that her masters were going to lose a whole bunch of money. So, they weren't too happy about that and they were trying to get their revenge.

In verse 20, "They brought them into the magistrates, and they said, 'These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city.'" This was not a good accusation. The calling them out as Jews was something that would immediately get the magistrates ruffled. Claudius had recently expelled all of the Jews from Rome. So there wasn't a lot of love for the Jews in the Roman Empire, especially in this era. The people there would not have been very happy to hear about Jews coming in and stirring up trouble. Verse 21, "And they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe."

Remember there are many Roman citizens here living in Philippi. And Roman citizenship was extremely rare. So you have a bunch of Roman citizens in a very Roman city, very proud of their heritage. And they've got these Jews that have come in and now are stirring up something that's contrary to what Rome taught. In verse 22, it says, "Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods." Now, Roman law actually forbade beating. It was forbidden to beat a Roman citizen without a public accusation and a public trial. And both Paul and Silas were Roman citizens but here they are beaten and thrown into prison without any of that. So we see that the law has been violated here. And for whatever reason, Paul didn't identify himself as a Roman prior to the beating. Maybe he didn't have an opportunity. Maybe the crowd was too loud. We don't know.

But Paul didn't identify his Roman citizenship before the beating. We see him do that in a later instance. Over in Acts 22, you can find an instance where he does. He identifies that he was Roman and he avoids a scourging. But here, he doesn't do that. He doesn't call it out. And so he's beaten. Verse 23, "When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. And so, having received such a charge to make sure they're secure, make sure these ones have no shot of getting away, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks." The inner prison was really a cold, sort of, torturous place. And the stocks were pretty terrible instruments of torture in themselves. If somebody was put in the full stocks, your arms, and your head, and your feet could be put into these things, and you'd be forced into some horrible, awful position for a long time, which could really wreck your body. Here, he only puts their feet in the stocks, which is maybe a little bit merciful.

But still, here's Paul and Silas, laying in a prison, right, probably laying on their backs, feet in the stocks. Their backs are beaten and destroyed. They're all bloodied and broken and bruised. Their bodies are probably still in shock. This is, kind of, a cold, dungeony place that they're now cast into. And when you're in the stocks, by the way, you don't get a bathroom break, right? So, you're just there and you go where you are. That's the kind of environment that they're in.

Let's go to verse 25. "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,” so we find them coping with this situation in the best possible way that they can. They're praying to God. They're singing hymns to God “and the prisoners were listening to them.” Here we get a little glimpse of what they're doing. They're not just there enduring. They're actually they're setting an example to the other prisoners in this prison. Right? They're there as witnesses, in a sense, right? They've been put into this awful situation. And in spite of this awful situation, they are witnesses to all of the people around them.

Verse 26, "Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we're all here.'" Right? The keeper of the prison was responsible for every prisoner in his charge. And if a prisoner was found to be not in his charge, the keeper of the prison would almost certainly be executed, possibly tortured beforehand. So here, he's hoping to avoid some torture and he's ready to just off himself. But Paul says, "Wait, stop, don't do that. We're all still here. Nobody has left," which is, kind of, mind-blowing. Like, why did nobody leave? We'll talk about that a little more later. "And he brought them out and he said…"

Well, so verse 28, "Paul called with a loud voice, saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.' Then he called for a light, the jailer, and he ran in, and he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and he said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household." This is the calling. So when Jesus Christ says we’re to go and be witnesses that He wanted to call those to be witnesses of Him, that this is exactly what Paul does here. He is a witness of Jesus Christ to his jailer. He sets that example because this is the purpose that he was called to go out and be a witness of Jesus Christ and of His kingdom to the world.

Let's keep going, verse 35, "And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, 'Let those men go.' So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, 'The magistrate has sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.' But Paul said to them, 'They've beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No, indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.' And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. And then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city. And so they went out of prison and entered the house of Lydia; before they left Philippi. And when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed." Paul here used his Roman citizenship to his advantage. Right? They came and they were going to get rid of him, and he says, "No, no. I know what's gone on here and I know what's been done." And he asserts his Roman citizenship because now it gives him leverage over the administrators in this city, the magistrates in this city that he can use to make sure that the church there is going to be left alone.

They had done something to a Roman citizen that was illegal, unlawful for them to do. Right? And they could be punished for it. They could be killed for it. There were laws about beating Roman citizens, and this was not allowed. So Paul has leverage over them now. And he uses that to make sure that the Church there is going to be okay. It worked out for the Church's advantage. And so he goes and he meets with the Church before leaving. And certainly, he tells them the story. He tells them what's going on. That's the backdrop of Paul's story in Philippi. He wrote a letter to the Philippians.

Let's go back to Philippians 3. So that's sort of the… This was his first encounter in Philippi and the establishment of the Church. And he's thrown in prison, and wrongfully beaten, and miraculously rescued, and then he leaves. And that's the backdrop to his letter to the Philippians.

In Philippians 3:3, let's look at verse 11. He talks about where "There is neither Greek nor Jew, there’s neither circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all in all." Here, he's talking about this identification that we have. If you remember going back, he was a Pharisee. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees and he was a nationalist, right? That was Paul's identity. That was who he was. In verse 5… I'm in Colossians. That's why I'm so confused.

There we are. Philippians 3:3… We'll get back to Colossians. We really will. Philippians 3:3, "We are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit." Philippi was being… They were trying to be convinced to go back into Judaism, to become circumcised, that that was an important part, a critical part of following Jesus Christ. But he says, "We are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Here's where he talks about his past and his history. He says, "I'm also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he might have confidence in the flesh, I'm more so." Now, he's going to give us his credentials. He's going to tell us why he is qualified. He's circumcised the eighth day, right? He is doing it right. He was not one of these proselytes who came along and was circumcised later to become part of Judaism. He was “circumcised the eighth day,” the way that it was commanded, right, the way that God commanded Abraham. He got off to the right start.

He was “of the stock of Israel,” probably referring to the fact that both of his parents were Jews. He was full-blooded Jewish is what he's saying. He was of the stock of Israel. He wasn't a convert. He wasn't a proselyte. He had every reason to be able to identify as Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin, you'll remember, was the one tribe that aligned itself with the house of Judah when the kingdom split, and they split into two. There were the 10 northern and then the two southern kingdoms, right? Benjamin was the tribe that stayed with Judah. And so he's saying, "I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. I'm not just an Israelite. I'm one of the good Israelites that stayed on board," right? He was one of the good guys, “a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee.” Again, we talk about that, that this was the nationalistic party that saw Israel as being the thing, the most important thing that God was going to come and restore. He was going to restore their kingdom. He was also a Roman citizen, we remember, right?

So he was both a very good Jew and a Roman citizen. He had these two identities that he could align himself with, that were very valuable in both of their contexts. And he had these two things that he could say, "These are my qualifications. I'm better than anybody in the Empire," he could claim maybe. But he continues. In verse 7, he says, "But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." It's very likely that Paul lost everything that he had, that he would have been perhaps disowned by his family. There's speculation that he may have been married, and that he would have been abandoned by his family.

So, here, when he says that he counted all these things loss that had once been gained to him, he's talking about everything, right? He had lost all of that. And he considered these things too, his identity as a Jew, his identity as a good Israelite, right? He counted that as loss, He counted his Roman citizenship as loss. "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him."

He loves his people. He's not disowning his people. If you look back in Romans 9, he wishes himself accursed on behalf of his people. He wishes fervently that the Jewish people would believe in this King, right, and would follow Jesus Christ. He wishes that he could give up his salvation for their sake. And so it wasn't that he didn't love Israel. It wasn't that he didn't love his people, right, but he counted his identity as a Hebrew, as a Pharisee, as an Israelite, he counted it as nothing. And he counted his Roman citizenship as nothing. All these things he counted as nothing.

Let's drop down to verse 17. Verse 17, he says, "Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern." So he's encouraging them to follow his example. "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ."

It's very likely, it's very possible that these who are enemies of the cross of Christ were people who had formerly been a part of the church, maybe even still considered themselves to be a part of the church. All right, it's speculated that this is why he was weeping. He's telling them with tears, right? These weren't just people who were enemies, as so many of the people that you would encounter in these towns would be. These were people who had been a part of the Church, who now were walking according to a different way. They had something else in mind, "that they're the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame— who set their mind on earthly things." We want to think about that idea, especially here today. These are those who set their mind on earthly things, on the things of this world and its kingdoms, right? This world has many kingdoms, right, many physical kingdoms. There are many ways that you could set up your own, sort of, little kingdoms now in this world, but they're all earthly kingdoms. They're all earthly ideas. And this is what people build their lives around is, sort of, these earthly kingdoms.

And Paul is lamenting that so many had turned away from the true King and the true Kingdom. And we're now focusing on earthly things, things that really are only pertaining to this world that are going to be eliminated, ultimately burned up, things that are going to be replaced when Jesus Christ returns as King when He establishes His Kingdom. Here, he says, "These people who set their mind on earthly things," in verse 20. So, I think, generally we kind of know this verse, and it's one that we can, kind of, read and, kind of, rattle off. But read it from now the context of his experience in Philippi, right, recognizing what he understood about national identity, about citizenship, right, what the people in Philippi understood about citizenship and the value of citizenship and its importance, right?

The example that they had seen him set, right, in how he used his citizenship to their advantage, that's the backdrop for this verse. He says, "For our citizenship is in heaven,” it's somewhere far off. It's not Roman. And this is something that the Philippians may have even especially identified with being a colony. They understood they were citizens of a place that was very far off that they could not see. So, they would have understood this concept, that citizenship meant belonging to something that was not necessarily there yet. He says, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." This is the citizenship that he valued most. This was the important one. There were other citizenships that he had that were of extreme value in his world. But this citizenship is the one that was most valuable. He's not saying this as some, sort of, ethereal loose idea of citizenship. He's not using citizenship as a metaphor and saying, "Oh, it's kind of like this thing." This was the citizenship that mattered. Today, on this Feast of Trumpets, right, we are looking forward to a time when we have a King who's going to come and set up a Kingdom. And he's saying, "We're citizens of that Kingdom." It's a Kingdom that already exists. It's a Kingdom that's not here yet but when it gets here, it will rule over the whole earth.

But we already have opportunities to be citizens of that kingdom to claim citizenship there. He said that should be our focus. He contrasts that with those who set their mind on earthly things and on earthly kingdoms. He says our focus should be this heavenly Kingdom, the one that exists in heaven right now that will be here, eventually. That's the citizenship that we should care about. Let's go back to Mark 1:14 because I think sometimes it can be a little bit easy to still even think of citizenship as being a theoretical thing, sort of, this lofty idea. But if you look at the message that Jesus Christ wanted His Church to carry, that He wanted His Church to preach, that Paul carried and preached as a witness, we'll learn a few little things just in these couple of verses. Mark 1:14, "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God." That's the gospel that we preach. That's what our whole being is about in this period, right, is seeing the advancement of the gospel of the kingdom of God.

And he says, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand." Why was it at hand? It was it at hand because the king was there. Here's the king. He's presenting this message. He's the one proclaiming it. The kingdom is at hand because here is its king. And he's telling you about it. He says, "Repent and believe in the gospel." Jesus Christ didn't come as some like emissary of this kingdom who's coming to, sort of, look your country over, and visit your museums, and tell you how nice things are. And He wasn't, sort of. that kind of diplomat coming from this kingdom. He was coming as a king essentially declaring impending invasion. That's what he was doing. That's what got Him killed. He was coming as a king. When he says, "Repent, the kingdom is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel," that's a borderline threat. Right? There's judgment coming. He says, "There is judgment coming and you need to repent because the kingdom is coming." And it's going to invade this world and it's going to tear down all of these kingdoms. His idea of kingship was not an ethereal one that was, kind of, this nice idea. It was a literal kingship that He came, and lived, and died for. It was a foundational reality, that He was a king of a kingdom that will come, right?

By comparison, citizenship is that same thing. If He is coming as a real King, Paul is telling us we are real citizens of a real Kingdom. Okay. Let's go over to Colossians 1. Colossians for real this time because he talks about this idea with the Colossians as well. Colossians 1:13, he says that "God has delivered us from the power of darkness." And in the New King James, it says, "He's conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of His love." Expositors Bible Commentary on this says that conveyed here or some translations will just say brought, that He has brought us into the Kingdom, It says it translates this word that was “used in secular literature in reference to removing persons from one country and settling them as colonists and citizens in another country." I'll read that again. "Used in secular literature in reference to removing persons from one country and settling them as colonists and citizens in another country. It might be rendered reestablished. The tense of the verb points to the time of conversion.”

Not to the future time. It points to the time of conversion. So when we are converted, we are reestablished. We're relocated. We're resettled as citizens of whatever our earthly kingdoms were and we become citizens of this new kingdom. As truly as He is king, we are citizens in His kingdom. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he actually… We won't turn there, but he wrote to them and he says, "Conduct yourselves worthy of the gospel of Christ." But the verb he uses there, it literally means live as citizens. It means live as citizens of the kingdom of God. Live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. One translation renders that it says just one thing. "As citizens of heaven live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ." He's writing to them about this very real citizenship that we have. The Feast of Trumpets forces us to consider our citizenship. Are we like Paul? Are we like Paul who embraced his status as a citizen of that Kingdom? That was his primary identity. He used his other identities for the advantage of the Church at times, but his primary citizenship and his primary identity was as a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

Are we like that or by contrast are we, kind of, like the pre-conversion disciples? Are we like the disciples were before they really understood before they had God's Spirit before they really got what Jesus Christ was doing? Because we look back at them and we, kind of, laugh at how small scale they were looking. Just you think Jesus Christ came to make Israel a great nation again? Like, is that what they thought it was all about, right? But will we look back on ourselves today and look at the things that we are promoting and look at the Kingdom that we stand by, and look at ourselves the way that we looked at them? Will we look at ourselves as being very small-minded, as not getting the picture, as not really understanding what it was that Jesus Christ was doing here in our lives? I sure hope not. I sure hope that we're able to look back at where we are today and on our lives, and see that we're growing in that understanding of our citizenship and our purpose.

Let's turn over to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11:13 talks about those who went before us, and it says that "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, they were assured of them, embraced, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." They didn't have an identity in the kingdoms of this world. That's what a pilgrim is. That's what a stranger is. Somebody who doesn't really have an identity as a national, as a citizen somewhere. That's what strangers and pilgrims are. "For those who say, such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland." They're seeking a kingdom. “And truly, if they had called to mind the country from which they had come out, they came out of a country. They had an identity, right? There was some sort of identity that they had associated and tied to the kingdoms of this world. But they had come out of that. It says, "If they had called those to mind, they would have had opportunity to return. But now, they desire better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them," a capital of that kingdom.

When we really internalize what it is to be a citizen of that kingdom, our lives are going to change drastically. We will allow the government of God to rule in us first, right? It has to change us. The government of God is a really curious one because all human governments are these outside-in governments, right? It's the government that's established and imposes its rules on its citizenry. The Kingdom of God is different. It's an inside-out government. It's a government that has to be imposed internally, self-imposed, right, that we have to individually be willing to submit to, and then it grows out from there. It's the complete opposite of the kingdoms of this world, of the governments of this world. We have to accept Jesus Christ as our King. Most of us will… If you're baptized, you have done that. You've accepted Jesus Christ as your King. We have to also accept His Kingdom. And then, as members of that Kingdom, as citizens of that Kingdom, He expects us to live our lives as witnesses of Him. That's what He's called us to. That's what our purpose is.

Sometimes we talk about being emissaries, or ambassadors, or representatives. You can't be a representative of a place that you're not a citizen of. And so we are citizens, witnesses in foreign lands. It's what all of us are, by our words, by our presence, by our actions, by our whole lives. We are witnesses of Jesus Christ. Earthly citizenship is different. If we're citizens of this world, it'll look different. Citizens of this world reject God's authority or the scarier part is that maybe they partially accept God's authority, but reject some of it. Citizenship in this world rejects, to some degree, some of God's authority. It rejects His sovereignty. And it looks to others in some part for that sovereignty. It looks to maybe God is your main King, and then we have these other little kings that we establish here and there that we look to that become our kings, that become our, our rulers, our guides, our teachers. Maybe we look to somewhere else for deliverance. And it's an election year and there are a lot of people looking for deliverance in some, sort of, human king. For citizens of this world, we're going to allow the principles of this world, the governments of this world, the agendas of this world, to be the thing that rules in our hearts, that dominates our hearts, our desires. And that's going to change us.

In the same way that God's government in our heart will change us, submitting to the agendas of this world. The governments of this world will change us. And we'll end up serving as witnesses of this world's purposes. We'll be emissaries of this world's governments and this world's agendas. We can get so caught up in those things that they can become our kingdom. This world's issues and ideas, and we can dress them up in Biblical ideas if we want. We can make them look however we want them to look, put Biblical terms around them, right, but they're still the world's agendas and the world's issues. And the result is that we end up putting our focus on something else. We set our mind on earthly things, as Paul said. We end up lending our time, our energy, our voice to those purposes, and those agendas, instead of the purpose that our King has given us. And the result is in the long-term, you end up serving some other king. If we have the wrong kingdom, if we're building our lives around the wrong kingdom, we'll end up serving the wrong king.

Let's turn back to Acts 16. Paul lived… He lived his life under pretty severe government oppression. He lived in an environment that I think we can only imagine. The oppression was far heavier than anything we've experienced but he wasn't focused on that system. And we don't see anything in his… And we don't see letters piling up about, you know, he's railing against the Roman government for all their injustices or whatever it is. That wasn't his focus. That's not even on his radar. We get a few verses where he says, "Submit to authority. Submit to the authorities over you." He understood his citizenship. He understood the Kingdom that he represented. He understood the purpose for his existence. He had the right King and he had the right Kingdom. When we look at Acts 16:25, we'll go back… Let's go back through this story, just sort of this little bit in the middle here because I think it's very instructive.

So here in verse 25, “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying, and singing hymns to God.” At midnight, most people would be sleeping. But when you're in the state that they were in, sleep was probably impossible. They've been beaten and there probably just couldn’t…   There wasn't any human way to get comfortable. They're in shock, right? They were likely still naked, laying on the ground in a dungeon, their feet in the stocks. But they're praying and singing hymns to God. Verse 26, "Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were loosed." So here they have this miraculous freedom. They had been oppressed by the powers that were over them. They had been put down and they were given miraculous freedom. Now, if I'm in that situation, and I see that there's this great earthquake and this great miracle, I'm going to assume God is getting me out of a jam. And I'm up and out.

I'm not sticking around to find out what happens next because I'm just assuming God did this. He caused this great miracle. There's no other way this could have happened. He must want me to go. And so, I'm leaning over to Silas and saying, "Let's get out of here,” and we run. That's not what Paul did. His first thought was not escape. His first thought was not self-preservation. His first thought wasn't, "Let's get back to normal." His first thought was about being a witness of Jesus Christ. Verse 28, "Paul called with a loud voice, saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.'" Maybe Paul kept everybody there. Maybe he encouraged them all to stay. His first concern was for his jailer, which is certainly not where my first concern would be. But Paul's first thought was witnessing for Jesus Christ, was being a citizen of that Kingdom to the man who had put him there. That was his understanding of his purpose was to use that opportunity, to use that freedom, to use that miracle and that liberty to represent Jesus Christ to somebody else.

That's the kind of, focus that we want to have on our own purpose, individually. All of the politics that we're going to see in the coming months ahead, all the issues, and all the stuff going on in our world, it's all just a sideshow. It's all a distraction, right? Today, this day reminds us that in a moment, all of that is going to be rendered meaningless and irrelevant. It's going to be replaced by a Kingdom that's never going to end. And we have an opportunity to claim citizenship in that Kingdom. We have the privilege to claim that as our own and we have the privilege to claim that now. Let's claim it.