Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. Here you'll find practical, relevant, biblical information.
The Bible will be broken down verse by verse so that you get the full context of the scripture to better grow in your relationship with Jesus.
Hey everybody, welcome to the sanctuary. It's great to have you with us as always.
Now, before we get started, I'd like to remind you real quick if you have any questions, something you'd like to hear discussed,
maybe something that's been discussed but you'd like to have it elaborated on a little bit more, and even your prayer request.
Definitely keep those coming in to us. Our contact information is posted on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org
or you can find us on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary. I'd love to hear from all of you.
Now, with that said, we're going to keep going in our series on the centurions of the Bible and their men.
Today a little bit more so their men. But nonetheless, we'll still be in the book of Acts as we move forward today.
Now, in the military especially, but not just there, you know, any job really, but the military a lot, a lot of times,
and even, you know, in first response, it's not uncommon to find yourself on a detail that you may find questionable, right?
Those details, you know, that are even a waste of time, you know, or flat out even, you know, you have so many people
or so many of one thing or another that is overkill, right?
Other times you wonder if you have enough manpower, let alone the resources to get a job done.
You never feel that you're properly equipped, supported, or that things are properly planned out though.
However, when a mission comes, you go. That's just the way it is, right?
You know, and these things, it happens a lot. And unfortunately, you know, a lot of times
we get caught up in things where it's just very humdrum, just doop-da-doo, doop-da-doo, you know?
All the way up until that moment that it's not anymore.
Now, turning to Acts chapter 23.
As we begin, I'm going to briefly go over several verses here.
However, I do encourage you, go back, read it yourself. We should all be like the Bereans, you know, and do what they did.
And study the Word for ourselves.
Now, in Acts 23, verses 1 through 11, alright, Paul stood before the Sanhedrin and, you know,
basically called the Sanhedrin out for their sins, their hypocrisy.
And then he spoke as to why he was standing before them.
And by, you know, when he did it, he caused some dissent.
Things got heated, to say the least. In fact, it became so heated that in verses 10 through 11,
the Word tells us the dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them.
He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.
The following night, the Lord stood near Paul and said,
Take courage, as you have testified about me in Jerusalem. So you must also testify in Rome.
So, the commander was on site, right? He had feet on the ground. He was there.
And things got so fired up that he felt he had to intervene in order to protect Paul.
A commander! This is someone who had put in time, had knowledge, experience, respect from his men,
though not as high as the centurion, but getting there.
You know, for someone of this status to be rattled to the point of taking action, this is no small feat.
You know, modern military, you get troops who haven't deployed before, the slightest sound or alarm has them all jumpy, right?
However, for those that have been in the field for a while or redeploying back to it, not to downplay it,
but at a certain point it's no big thing, it's just another day in the life, right?
Nothing to get worked up over.
And they'll sleep through the various alarms like a baby. They only wake up for certain things.
And when they do need to move, they move like it's just another day.
It's like, okay, let's do this. Right?
The commander here, he's the latter of the two.
At this point, he's on high alert, which is showing things have gotten serious, so much so that he has to take action.
Now, for Paul, the situation is going to get a little bit worse, right?
Verses 12 through 22.
Paul learns that there's an ambush being set to kill him, that's being set up by the religious leaders,
and that the Roman soldiers are going to be lied to in order to accomplish this.
So he sends a messenger to tell the soldiers, what's up?
And this is sent right up the chain of command to the centurion, and all the way up to his commander as a result.
So this is a big deal, right?
The Roman army, they didn't mess around, and to escalate things like this is a big deal.
It's serious business. You know, 40 men were waiting to take Paul out, right?
And in order to do so, they'd have had to have taken him from the soldiers that were escorting him.
So most likely, they'd have killed the soldiers that Paul would have been with as well.
So let me ask you this.
How well do you think that would have gone over with the higher-ups?
The last thing anyone serving wants is for something to happen to the troops they serve with.
You ask anyone that served in the military, you ask anyone in law enforcement, EMS, fire, you know,
depending on what kind of security certain people do, same thing there.
However, they're being told at this point that that's exactly what's going to happen.
You want to upset some lawyers who were trained and made a career in a vocation of violence?
This is a fast way to do it. This is how you tick people off.
The troops at this point are now on high alert.
And I will tell you, when troops are on edge and assessing the area around them for immediate threats,
things can escalate a whole lot quicker than you think.
As far as they're concerned, it's already go time, baby. Let's do this, right?
They're fired up. They're ready to go to it and do what they've been prepared to do.
This is why the commander tells this kid not to say anything else to anyone.
He doesn't want to tip off the would-be assassins for one,
nor does he want his troops to hear something that could trigger hostilities
while things could still be dealt with in another way.
So keeping the peace, in other words, right?
Something else to note here.
Often, we like to think kids are just kids.
The little, right? What do they know?
We forget, especially in countries like ours, we forget just how valuable they can be as assets.
Not just in the military, but in the civilian world.
I'll give you an example from when I was still in law enforcement.
I can remember early on in my career at that point,
I was being told, and I'm trying to put this in terms that are easy for everyone to understand.
Basically, our pre-shift briefings, right?
The beginning of shift, you'd go into a room, you'd have a briefing, this is what went on, da-da-da, so on and so forth.
But our sergeant would be there and he'd say,
don't sit in your cars waiting for something to happen.
Get out of them, walk around, be proactive, and get to know the people in your area.
Now, he was absolutely correct, and there's a reason for this.
Unfortunately, we don't get to see this a lot in policing today.
The world's changed, unfortunately. The way policing itself has done has changed.
At some point, we still see this, but not as much as we used to.
But when you get out there and you start talking to people,
you get to know them, and they get to know you, they know what you're about,
and they know that they can trust you.
They're no longer seeing the badge, they're no longer seeing that shield, they're seeing you.
And when they hear things or they see things, you know, or even when the rumor mills kicked up,
they tell you about it.
And youth are a great source of intel.
And this child just happened to be in the right place and knew who he could speak to.
So to say the least, he was instrumental in saving his Uncle Paul's life.
The Lord definitely knew what he was doing there.
Our children, they're important.
They are important, and we are remiss when we forget this.
Matthew 18, verses 2 through 6, the word says,
He called a little child to him and placed a child among them, and he said,
Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,
and whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
If anyone causes one of these little ones, those who believe in me, to stumble,
it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck
and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Being that they're this important to God, you better believe
they'd better be important to us.
It's talking like it'd be better for them to be drowned like this,
just for causing a child to stumble.
Imagine, something worse, what the punishment is?
Oh my goodness, no.
Like I say, you need to believe that our children are important to us.
And for those of you who have strained or even non-existent relationships with your children,
this is your call to do everything you can to address those issues.
Now, we won't always agree with the things that our youth do,
but then again, our elders didn't always get us either.
They didn't always agree and still don't agree with everything that we do.
This is to be expected.
However, they are the future, as are each generation that comes
until Jesus returns and calls us all home.
So we need to ensure that they know the Lord, that they know the Word,
and how much they are loved by Him,
that they know about having a relationship with Him
and are guided so that they can come into that relationship.
There's no price that can be put on this.
This is one of our greatest missions in life.
I digress here.
Picking back up our reading Acts 23 verses 23 through 24.
So that's Acts 23 verses 23 and 24.
The Word says,
Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them,
Get a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen,
to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.
Provide horses for Paul, so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.
Wow.
So, safety measures have been deployed.
Not one, but two centurions were sent under the cover of darkness
in force to extract a Roman citizen and escort him to the safety of Caesarea.
This is how highly born citizens were regarded.
They were doing everything they could to ensure the safety of Paul and their soldiers.
But just in case, they're ready to go to battle within the city if need be.
To go to war, right?
And this is how God feels about each and every one of us as his children.
It's interesting to note that while they were in Jerusalem,
which was the Jewish government hub,
you know, that's where the Jewish government resided,
they went in and they extracted Paul to Caesarea.
Now, Caesarea is important because that is where the Roman headquarters
for the area was located, all right?
So, today it'd be like pulling somebody out of Washington, D.C.
and then securing them in the Pentagon.
Are you seeing the gravity of this yet?
Of all the ways that God could have interceded on Paul's behalf,
he sent an army to take care of him.
Not one, but two centurions and a whole lot more.
So now you know what's picked up.
You don't just have one, but you have two with extra forces.
They have backup, they have reinforcements, the whole nine yards.
All right, continuing on in Acts 23 verses 25 through 30 now, the word says,
He wrote a letter as follows,
Claudius Lysius, to his excellency, Governor Felix, greetings.
This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him,
but I came with my troops and rescued him,
for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.
I wanted to know why they were accusing him,
so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.
I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law,
but there was no charge against him that deserved death or even imprisonment.
When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man,
I sent him to you at once.
I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.
So a flag's been thrown on the play and a foul has been called.
A quick and concise summary has been made.
A Roman citizen with no charges against him had to be pulled from a lynch mob.
So now, not only is Paul being extracted and sent to a safe zone,
but his accusers have also been summoned to give account for all the shenanigans that have been ongoing.
So say, hey, you know what, you wanted to do this,
but now you've got to stand tall before the man and you've got to answer.
Now, I'll remind you, everything that's going on up to this point has been absolute chaos.
A lot of heated things happening.
I'll remind you that God is a God of peace and order.
Peace and order.
1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 33, the word says,
For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace,
as in all the congregations of the Lord's people.
And he has provided Paul with just that blanket of comfort here, right?
A situation that started off as just another humdrum day to most,
escalated to the point of reacting in force to ensure the safety, order, and discipline of the area was being maintained.
God used men, the Roman soldiers, all the way through the centurions,
who were viewed as worthless, not worthless, but ruthless warriors to protect his sheep, as we're seeing.
Now, under normal circumstances, the Jews were allowed to govern themselves.
And if Paul hadn't been a Roman citizen, guess what? He probably would have died pretty quick there.
However, it was the governor who was in charge of the army and maintaining the peace.
So we're going into the homestretch here, everyone.
So let's go back to Acts 23. We're looking at verses 31 through 35 now.
So that's Acts 23 verses 31 through 35.
And the word says,
So the soldiers carrying out their orders took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipateris.
The next day, they let the cavalry go on with them while they returned to the barracks.
When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.
The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from.
Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said,
I will hear your case when your accusers get here.
And then ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.
Seeing this, some might say Paul was a made man.
And to a certain degree, they'd be right. You know, he knew people, right?
He's escorted under heavy guard, you know, just this massive detail that most couldn't even fathom, let alone, you know, they're seeing this happen.
It's like, holy moly, right? And then not only that, but he was kept under guard.
Essentially, he had his own security detail assigned to him. So why? Why keep security around him at this point?
Well, think of this way. The Jews were set to kill a man without charges, really without cause, other than they were just angry with him.
They didn't like what he was saying, right? He had offended them.
Gee, that sounds familiar today, doesn't it? You know, not only that, but they're looking to take out a Roman citizen.
They were willing to take him from the soldiers that were escorting him.
And they were enraged and willing to ask in haste. It was a hot situation. It was a hostile situation, something that would have been viewed as an act of war against Rome, against the Romans.
Meanwhile, the Romans were doing everything they could to de-escalate things, to de-escalate the situation and maintain the peace.
The Roman soldiers who were the so-called ruthless conquerors, they were the ones that were actually doing the right thing and securing Paul, showing compassion, showing mercy.
Not the first time an occupying military force has been viewed this way, either, you know, is it? Nor is it the last.
You know, Romans, they weren't leaving anything to chance here. They were doing everything possible to calm the fire of the Jews while ensuring the right thing was being done for the right reason.
You know, there's so many things in our lives that we become complacent with. We start looking for shortcuts, ways around things, ways to get out of things.
You know, we try to justify our actions in our own heads. You know, even little things, things like speeding or not stopping for a school bus, a stop arm, you know, budging headcounts, skipping a medicine count.
You know, dozens of little things every day in every person, in everyone's lives. You know, I don't care if you're a stay at home, you know, mom or husband or whatever, everyone, in everyone's lives.
But, you know, things are in place for a reason. Rules are made for a reason. Things that typically aren't going to cause harm, but, you know, there's that one time where it does.
Now, it's never wrong to ask why. Why do I have to do this like this? What's going on? Why do I even need to do this? The whys are important, right?
We need to know the whys of things. However, it's more important to follow the standards that are set even when we don't agree with them.
Because what might be menial one day could be huge on another day. Absolutely huge.
You know, it's those things that we do where it's like, ah, it's never going to happen to me, all the way up to the point that it does.
See, what we need to remember is at the end of the day, it comes down to service, your service, my service, all of us, our service.
See, God's not only interested in how you serve Him, but why you do it.
Colossians chapter three verses 23 through 24, the word tells us, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
Since you know, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward, it is the Lord Christ you are serving.
And in second Corinthians chapter nine, verse seven, the word says, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.
And finally, in Matthew six, verse 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
It's not about what you have or what you will get.
What the word's telling us here is, you know, well, it's already told us our rewards are stored in heaven.
In heaven, not here, in heaven.
And when we work, when we give, when we serve, all of these things, it's all to be done in the love of Jesus.
If you're just doing something simply because you've been told, oh, you have to do it, it's a command, you have to do it.
And especially, you know, you're doing it under duress, this is why it's saying don't do it under compulsion.
Guess what? When you're doing it simply because you've been told you have to, you've neutralized what you've done.
You've castrated it.
God only wants what we give him willingly, willingly, with a happy heart, with a joyful heart.
You know, it's like, hey, you know, I got this. I want to do this. I want to give this.
Anything less is legalistic and worthless in the eyes of the Lord.
Our actions, every single one of them, need to be done in love.
And not just in love, but in love of him, in love of Jesus.
So make do with what you have. Do the best thing that you can with what you have.
Without expectation of receiving anything.
Be bold.
Adapt and overcome.
Because God will bring you through to the other side.
Do the right thing for the right reason and do so in the love of Jesus.
That is where your focus should be.
Especially when you're questioning what's going on in the world around you and what you need to do, why you need to do it.
Alright, that's our time for today. Remember, you are loved and you are blessed.
Now go and be the church.
Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.
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We look forward to hearing from you all. God bless.