God Raises the Dead

Good morning. This morning we're going to be challenged with hope. Hope is very important for us as who we are. We live with the hope that things are well and can be well. Hope is something that is important for us because we need something to long for and to look forward to. Hope is good for us. It's very important that we put our hope in the right place though. Hope can easily be misplaced. We can put our hope in our financial security, our success, our health, our reputations, our relationships. All these things are good to seek security in and stability, but they're also going to be shifting. Those things are going to be changing. They're all circumstantial. But this is what is really unique about Christianity. It offers a clear hope that goes beyond our circumstances. It offers us a clear hope that is eternal, forever, indestructible, and immutable. It's hope in God. What He has said, what He's done, and what He's doing. So we're thinking about hope, and we can easily put hope in all these different things. And when we put our hope in these circumstantial things, it's a circumstantial hope. When they change it, it shakes us up. Our power, our success, our money. Things don't always work out. And really what's amazing about hope in these things is sometimes our hope is shaken because they don't work out. When things don't turn out the way we hope they do, we become hopeless and then we get turned. But sometimes it's even worse than that. The things we hope for, they actually come to fulfillment, and we realize how unfulfilling they are, and that causes a worse hopelessness when they're put in the wrong place. This morning, we're going to think about the one true hope that never disappoints. It's Jesus Christ. It's His great love, His great power, His great healing. He is the God of all gods. We're getting to see that there's been promises made, promises kept, and forever He keeps His word. Yeah, we're gonna suffer disappointment. We're gonna go through difficulties. We're going to have things that change, but we're never hopeless. Our message this morning is this. Our hope is in the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ. If you stay with us in Acts, if you're new with us, we've been walking through the book of Acts. We're coming to the end very, very quickly. And I wanted to just point out the key verse. If you're wanting to write down one verse, if you're a child looking to write down one thing on the children's handout, it's verse 23 of chapter 26. Turning to Acts 26, verse 23, I'll go back to 22 just for context. But this is the key verse we're really gonna spend most of our time on this morning. This is Paul proclaiming before King Agrippa. To this day, I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and to great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. And this is the hope that has always been promised and is now fulfilled, that the Christ must suffer. And that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people, the Israelites, and the Gentiles. That's our hope. Christ has died. Christ has risen. He's now our light in the midst of our darkness. That is our hope. And so we're going to walk through, and we're in a trial here. And so we need to go back and give some context. We're going to be looking at all of chapter 25 and 26 this morning. And I wanted to say, Paul has been our primary character for the second half of Acts. It's important to see Christ save Paul. If you go back to Acts 9.15 later today, you can see these things. But Acts 9.15, at Paul's conversion, Jesus states that he's the instrument by which he's going to save Gentiles and kings. Jesus says, even at the very beginning at His conversion, Paul, you are going to suffer greatly, proclaiming me to Gentiles and to kings. In Acts 18.9, Paul is told, do not fear by Christ. He's going to suffer persecution. You have to keep proclaiming me. I will protect you. I have people who belong to me that I have purchased with my blood. Do not fear. In Acts 21.11, the Spirit reveals to Paul, through Agabus, to be bound by the Romans. He's going to be going to Rome. Paul has been promised he's going to suffer, to proclaim to Gentiles and kings. He's been told not to fear. He's now given a direction. And in chapter 23, Paul appears again to say, I'm sending you to Rome to testify about me. This is why Paul has great confidence. His hope is placed in the right person, in the right mission, in the right truth, in Jesus Christ. Our immediate context is this, Paul was, he returned to Jerusalem, he went to the temple, he was minding his own business, he was doing his own purification as a good Jew who believed in God, and the Jews dragged him out of the temple and began beating him, seeking to kill him. The Romans had to come and save Paul from his own people who were seeking to kill him. In the midst of the Romans trying to figure out what has gotten these people all worked up? What is going on? They can't figure it out because there's so much confusion among the Jews who are seeking to beat Paul to death that the Tribune ends up taking Paul aside and he's gonna flog Paul until he gives an answer. He's going to beat a confession out of him because nothing makes sense. So then Paul reveals that he's a Roman citizen. It's illegal to beat a Roman citizen, like this is taking place. And so this changes the course of action. The Jews then seek to kill Paul, a mob at night. He's sent to Caesarea, and there Felix, the government, he hears the charges and he declares, there's no guilt here. Paul has done nothing worthy of prison or death. This is merely a difference of interpretation and understanding of the Jewish law. And Paul makes it very clear, I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection. Felix ends his time as governor. There's a new governor in place, which brings us up to our current section. The first thing we see in chapter 25, verses one to 12, what Hannah read earlier, is Paul's appeal. There's a new governor, Festus, has been introduced as Felix's replacement, and I believe Luke actually represents him as a no-nonsense, competent governor. The Jews are still plotting to kill Paul outside of legal parameters. Again, they're supposed to be the light to the nations, and they're breaking every rule that the nation sees as right and good. And Festus, he doesn't fall for it. And so he goes to Caesarea, and notice he goes down. Well, Caesarea is north of Jerusalem. Jerusalem's always where you go up to and go down from. Let's go down to Caesarea so we can know this man. So he goes before Paul to hear about him. And what Luke includes here is very important. Verse eight, Paul argued in defense, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. Paul has a clear conscience. He believes that the law has always promised a resurrection, and he is only merely proclaiming the resurrection that Moses promised. He has not profaned the temple. He is only declaring what the temple is truly pointing to, that Christ's body would be crushed so that temple curtain that keeps people out from the presence of God would be torn into so that we can go in to know God. And he has not broken any of Caesar's laws. He defends himself. And then we look and we see what Festus says. Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried? He's trying to appeal to the Jews and possibly just be done with this problem that he's inherited from the previous governor. And here's what drives what's happening next. Paul in verse 11, I appeal to Caesar. He's made it clear that he's a Roman citizen, that changed some direction, but now this is the significant hinge. He's going to Rome as Christ promised. I appeal to Caesar, Festus declares, to Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go. Now let me be clear about what Paul is saying. His appeal to Caesar is a legal defense. His hope is not in Caesar. His hope is not in Caesar. His hope is in the King of Kings who has Caesar under control. Caesar is a puppet under the Lord Jesus Christ who's going to do what Christ wants him to do. Paul knows this and he's merely rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. Caesar, a king, has the proper job of implementing justice, to making just decisions. He's supposed to rule with justice. Now, let's just do a little background. The Caesar at this time is Nero. Nero is a wicked Caesar. He's going to set Jews and Christians on fire. This is early in his reign. This has not yet happened. But Paul at this point is still simply saying, I trust Christ. My hope is in Christ. My hope is in God who protects me, who's going to make sure I proclaim him until he's ready to call me home. His appeal to Caesar is simply saying, I'm going to put justice in his hands, not in the hands of the Jews. He trusts the Romans more than his kinsmen. Again, the main focus of this is sending Paul to Rome. His appeal to Caesar is a hinge that turns the tide on this continued false accusation trial. Let's go to the next section. That was Paul's appeal, it was to Caesar, but now let's look, and really what we see in this next section, the end of chapter 25, is Paul's innocence. We see next Paul's innocence. Listen from 13 to 27. Now in some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, there is a man left prisoner by Felix. And when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priest and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had an opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. So they came together, here I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. Listen to what the Roman governor says about Paul. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case as such evils as I supposed. Rather, they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. But when Paul had Appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor. I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Hephaestus, I would like to hear the man myself. Tomorrow you will hear him, he said. Let's just pause here and take into account what Luke is doing. He just put a declaration of innocence on the governor's lips himself. Paul is not guilty of anything. He actually can't believe the kinds of charges that are being brought up in verse 18. The only thing I see is this man thinks somebody has risen from the dead. That's his hope, and that's what Paul has been declaring throughout this trial. Let's look at verse 23. So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp. Luke wants to make sure we understand this is a true Roman court. There's great pomp. And they enter the audience hall, the military tribunes, and the prominent men of the city. It's a great gathering. Then at the command of Ephesus, Paul is brought in. Vestas said, King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. We now have the governor's dilemma. But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable in sending a prisoner not to indicate the charges against him. See, Festus has quite a situation on his own hands. He served at the mercy of the emperor. He wants to make sure he is a competent ruler in the eyes of the emperor, and if he's going to send a prisoner to the emperor, he has to have something to say about him. But as he has investigated himself, he has nothing. Look at verse 25 again. I don't see anything that Paul has done, the governor says, that's deserving of this imprisonment or of death. I need you, King Agrippa, to help me out because I've got to write something and I don't want to look like an idiot before the Caesar. Help me not look so stupid when I send Paul, who's done nothing wrong, to Caesar. Now, what's amazing is Luke has continued to do something here. Over and over again, on the lips of a Roman authority, after a Jewish mob has brought Paul, trying to kill him, a Roman authority has come and said, if this man has done something deserving of prison or death, let him be brought to a proper court. I don't hear this man has done anything wrong. Over and over and over again. It's a clear, proper Roman trial with great pomp. Paul has appealed to Caesar, now he's gotta figure out what to do. Some people have actually hypothesized that what Luke is doing here in the end of Acts is giving Paul a legal defense. He's trying to set up legal precedent. So that whenever this book would reach the courts, that possibly they would see that over and over again, Paul's been declared innocent, Paul's been declared innocent, Paul's been declared innocent. Now I find that very appealing because it makes sense of what Luke has included here, but I think Luke is trying to do something more than that. Luke wrote this for us, the church. Luke wrote this so that we would have some teaching, something to be edified by. He wrote this primarily for us, and I believe his primary message is that we too can trust in the promised resurrection Savior. We can have great hope that gives us great confidence no matter what happens, because Christians are going to read this, Lord willing, most likely, who are going to know that they might suffer under the burning flames of Nero later. This has been written so that Christians will stand firm, no matter what their circumstances are, in the Savior who was risen from the dead. It is a declaration that Paul is innocent, but most of all, it's a declaration that Christ, he's our hope, the risen Savior. So let's look to that particular hope. I think the way Luke has set this up, Paul has made his appeal to Caesar. He's going to be going to Caesar, but now Paul's been declared innocent. Let's hear what Paul has to say about his hope. And I want you all to see that this next section, where we're gonna spend most of our time, this is Paul's declaration of the gospel, where we, by definition, are gonna spend most of our time. I want you to see the organization of what Paul does. It's a formal Roman trial with great pomp, and Paul treats this as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel. So some of you have taken speech and debate in the past, or maybe even presently, and I want you to see something about the rhetorical form of what Paul does. He does a classical piece of rhetoric here. If you look at verse two and three, you have the prologue. That's where he appeals to King Agrippa as an authority. He's showing great, great, great grace to him. And then we see verses four to 18, we have the narration. He tells the story of what's happened. In 19 to 20, that's a declaration of confirmation. This is the truth. Verse 21, a key hinge of his declaration, a refutation. He denies, or he actually makes an accusation against the Jews. And then a concluding appeal. So we have a prologue, narration, confirmation, refutation, and concluding appeal. This is Paul showing his rhetorical brilliance here. So the prologue, again, is just showing respect to Festus, or Agrippa. I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. King Agrippa is a Jewish man, kind of. and nationality, but he's not a man of faith. He is not a true Jew who has followed the ways of Abraham and Moses. What I really wanna focus on is this narration. And notice it's broken up in different parts here. Look at verse four, the first section of the narration. My manner of life from my youth spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem is known by all the Jews. Paul is a popular man. They have known for a long time, as they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I have lived as a Pharisee. He's a very conservative Jew. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our 12 tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope, I am accused by Jews, O King. Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? A key part of what Paul is continuing to say is his hope. Let's go back to chapter 23 real quick. Look at verse six. Chapter 23, verse six, in a previous trial. And now Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees. He cried out in the sound soul, brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. Look over to chapter 24, verses 14 to 15. But this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written to prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of dead, the just and the unjust. Let's listen again to what we just heard, chapter 26, six to eight. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope and the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope, I am accused by Jews, O king. Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? And then finally turn to chapter 28, verse 20, what we'll look at next week. For this reason I therefore have asked to see and speak with you since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain. Paul has placed his hope in the promises of God. Paul has placed his hope that these promises have been revealed and finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ who has risen as the one true Savior. He's making it clear that he's a conservative interpreter of God's Word. He's a Pharisee. He has placed his hope like all other Jews have placed their hope in what God has said, and it declares that God raises the dead. This is central to what Paul has declared. Then verses nine to 11. I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme. And in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities." Paul here is saying, I'm like these guys. I was like these guys who were accusing me at one point. I had believed the word of God, but I had not actually seen what God was doing and what God had promised and what God has done in Jesus Christ. I once was like them, with rage and fury, seeking to put out the name of Christ, but then something happened. Look at verse 12. In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests to kill Christians. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven. brighter than the sun that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the gods. And I said, who are you, oh Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. but rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins in a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Paul here makes a great appeal. A vision has come to me, King Agrippa. King Jesus, the one true King. He is the light that showed up to me on the road to Damascus. I was seeking to kill his people and he asked me, why are you persecuting me? And he restored me. This is an amazing story about what Jesus does. He seeks out those who hate him to restore them. That's the loving King of glory, Jesus Christ. Paul is stopped in his tracks in rebellion. Jesus reveals himself. He recorrects Paul. He restores Paul. And then he sends Paul on a mission. You're going to be turning people from darkness to light, just as I've turned you from darkness to light. You're gonna be turning people from Satan to God, just as you're turning from Satan to God. so that they who receive me might have forgiveness of sins and sanctified by faith in me. It's in Christ, it's our faith in Christ that finally frees us from sin and cleanses us from sin and restores us to God. Paul is telling Agrippa, I have seen this King Jesus, there is nothing I can do but believe in him because I've seen him risen. There's nothing I can do but to obey him because I've heard his voice and I know him. He's a true light. Only in him can we have forgiveness. Only in him can we have sanctification. Then he turns, verse 19, the confirmation. Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. How could he do anything but obey and believe what has been revealed? But I declare to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day, I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and to great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. The confirmation. Verses 19 to 20. I've seen a vision. I've done nothing but declare what I have received. With a clear conscience, again, Paul is saying, I have done nothing but what has been revealed to me and what has been commanded me of God. Verse 21 is a key hinge here. The refutation. It's because I've been obedient to the risen Jesus, the one who's appeared to me, that these Jews have taken me out of the temple and tried to kill me. He's refuting the claim of the Jews. He has not defiled the temple. He's not defiled the law. He's not defiled Caesar. He's not denied Caesar. He's simply believing in what God has always said. And then it's concluding a pill. I have done nothing but believe what Moses has said, what the prophets have said. But my hope, as he's already stated, is in what has been promised. And I've seen it fulfilled because Jesus himself appeared to me. And look at verse 23 again. That Christ must suffer. And that being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and the Gentiles. Christ must suffer. He must come and die for us because our sin is that bad. He is risen again because he gives us new life. And now he is proclaimed to be light to all people. Our people there is referring to the Jews and the Gentiles. He is a king for all people. Notice how Festus responds. Festus is a Gentile Roman. Gentiles, as Paul has learned, they believe the cross is foolishness. And this is how Festus responds. And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are out of your mind. Your great learning is driving you out of your mind. He thinks he's crazy, he thinks he's foolish, but Paul responds, I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I was speaking boldly, for I'm persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Akripa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. Paul is, he's been promised he's gonna proclaim the kings, here he is. He's proclaiming the gospel, he's now putting the pressure on the king to believe the gospel, and here's how the king responds. In a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian? It's a very disappointing answer. He's saying, I don't believe. He's realizing that this could be very persuasive as to what Paul is saying, but his hard heart is refusing. He is like Naaman that we heard about earlier. He hears the healing solution, but refuses to obey it. And Paul said, whether in short or long, I would do, sorry, let me get my verses correct. In short and in long, whether short or long I would go, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become as such as I am, except for these chains. Then the king rose and the governor and Bernice, that's the king's sister, and those who were sitting with them, and when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment. And King Agrippa said to Festus, this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Again, we see that at last end. He's innocent. He should be set free. He's done nothing deserving of this treatment that he's receiving in terms of having death threats and being in prison, but he's appealed to Caesar. Christ and His sovereignty is driving Paul to proclaim Him in Rome, the capital of the Gentile world, because He is the man that God has called to be the proclamation of Christ to the Gentiles. Let's conclude with some application. First, our hope is in a promised Savior. Our hope is in a promised Savior. Christianity is not new. This is actually one of the earliest difficulties the Christians had with proclaiming Christ. People in the first few centuries, they were very suspicious of anything new, and so one of the jobs of Christian apologists, those who gave answers, the pastors, the preachers, one of their chief duties was to make it clear that Jesus wasn't something new, new on the scene, never heard of before. But no, he's been promised. Everything that's been declared to Adam and Eve and Noah and Moses through Moses and the prophets, everything has been built up for thousands of years. God's word is reliable and steadfast. Jesus is only new in that he's changed the way we get to approach God. He was promised. Paul makes his final appeal that these churches be dismissed because he's saying, I am under the law of Moses, I am only believing what he has said. So that early culture that the gospel was trying to appeal to, they were suspicious of everything new. Our culture is kind of different, isn't it? We're kind of suspicious of anything old. We always want the newest gadget. We always want the newest thing. We're always believing these commercials that are lying to you that if you just buy this newest thing, you'll have a satisfactory life. We buy into it. We put our hope in the things that we think we can get that are going to make us happy, and they never do. But here's a promise. A promise as old as the history of humanity. Here's a promise and a hope that has been forever given to us by God, that is always fulfilling, that fulfills our greatest longings, is Jesus Christ. Don't believe the lie that you always need something new. No, you need a renewed love for that one God who's always been seeking and pursuing us. Who always seemed to always want something else. We need to be challenged with what our hope is. Not only is it something new, but let's just be honest, comfort is king in America. We love comfort. We've got padded pews to prove it. But we love comfort. We wanna make sure we're as comfortable as possible at all times. And this is that circumstantial hope that we have. We want financial comfort. We want relational comfort. We want everything to be working around the way we live. And what that means is we want to be God. If everything just falls into place and everyone is just doing what we hope they are to do so that we are most comfortable, we're happy. We're not God. Our circumstances are always going to be changing. And our hope, if it's in what is around us and our comfort, we're worshiping something that is not God. No, Paul is teaching us that when our hope is in the resurrection, it doesn't matter what your circumstances are. He's in jail under false accusation and yet he is fully content. He's fully content. He's rejoicing in his circumstances because he gets to proclaim Christ. Whether it be in the worst circumstances, you're on a beach, on a vacation, you can be content in Christ. but we have to first cling to the promises that have always been declared for us. So first, our hope is in a promised Savior. Second, our hope is in a crucified Savior. Again, we're focusing here on verse 23. This is the hope that has always been declared, that Christ, he's going to suffer. And this is beautiful for us because his suffering takes away our suffering. This is amazing. God himself had to come and die in our place. That's how bad our sin is. That's how far we've removed ourselves from God, that he had to come to bring us back. Christ had to suffer. And God, because He is a great God of love, He came to suffer for us. That is the greatest love we can know. We have made ourselves enemies of God, and He gave us everything to bring us back into His proper love. We need to save from our sins. That's who we are. We need salvation because we're sinners. We're constantly not doing everything we should do. We're constantly doing things we shouldn't do. We're constantly not saying the things we should say. We're constantly saying the things we shouldn't say. This is why Christ came to die. He died to take on the shame and the pain that are ours. You see, the cross is a wicked way to die. It's shameful. You're open publicly to the world, almost naked on the cross. That the shame where people are mocking Christ, saying, you say you can save others, why can't you save yourselves? The spitting, the yelling. He was mocked and openly, publicly shamed. Then the pain. The pain of the cross is that he's nailed hands to a piece of wood and feet to the piece of wood, and that's not the most physically difficult pain he has to suffer. See, the cross is designed so that you suffocate. As you continue to go down on the cross, you have to push up from those feet that have a nail through them. So in order to live, in order to breathe, he has to push up on the nail on his feet. This is the physical shame and the physical pain, and while that is excruciating to think about, it's nothing compared to the shame and the pain that stood before him as he faced his Holy Father with our sin on him. See, Christ looks at us and he sees what would happen if we stood before a holy and righteous father. He sees the shame. We would be silent because of all the things we've said and done. The way we've dismissed God and shown indifference to God and even hated God. He would see the pain because the holy, righteous wrath of God will be upon us forever. And he said, I'm going to go and I'm going to take that on myself so they never suffer it. We proclaim a suffering Christ because he took our suffering. That is what the good news of Jesus Christ is. This is a great salvation because we are great sinners and he has paid it all. Christian, you can have great assurance that your great sin has been taken away by a great Savior. You can have great assurance and hope that you will never have to answer for your sin because Jesus has paid your ransom, as we've already sung. He's washed you. And He did this by taking your sin upon Himself and suffering in your place as your Savior. Our hope is in a crucified Savior. The next thing we see is our hope is in a risen Savior. He's no longer dead. Verse 23 again, He's a suffering Christ. He's the risen Christ. Three days after he was crucified, he rose from the dead. He has victory over death. Death no longer is scary. I'm looking at a lot of people who are gonna die. And death, whenever you don't know what's next, is terrifying. Whenever we have a diagnosis, and let's be honest, we all have a diagnosis, we're going to die. Matter of when and how. Death can be terrifying. But Christ has conquered death. He died in our place. Death could not hold Him. He has now risen to give us His indestructible life so that we live forever. There's no fear in death. That's why He's not afraid of these Jews and their accusations or the Romans. Our hope is in a risen Savior because He has victory over death. Our hope is in a risen Savior because He has victory over sin. Sin's enslaving. When he rose again, he broke the power of sin over us. You see, before Christ, if you're not a Christian, you may not realize it, but you're only doing what your sin tells you to do. Sin has a power. When we choose it, it enslaves us and has a power over us. When Christ rose, he broke the power of sin so that those who are in Christ now can actually say no to sin and yes to God. We can reject sin so that we know God in a more purified way. We can see how sin is deceptive. We can seek a pleasure beyond sin. A pleasure in the glory of God. Our hope is in a promised Savior. Our hope is in a crucified Savior. Our hope is in a risen Savior. And our hope is in the power of the gospel for all people. Every person. We have to hope for all people. And this is one of the key themes throughout Acts. Remember, Jesus was a Jew. He was a promised Savior of the Jews. He came to be the Jewish Savior that then spread the gospel to all people. All over this terrestrial ball, as we saw earlier. To Gentiles and to kings. This is how Acts is going to end, that the gospel is going to go out to the Gentiles. It's important for us to remember today that our hope in the gospel of grace that saves us is the same hope that we need to have for all people. See, it's easy to get discouraged. It's easy to see that somebody who has been indifferent to the gospel, it's easy to see somebody, it's too easy to lose hope that the gospel is the power of God to save even them. Your child, your friend, your neighbor, your co-worker who continues to reject Jesus Christ. Do not lose hope for them. The gospel is God's power to save every kind of sinner. The gospel was good enough to save us. His grace was sufficient to save us. Do not lose hope for your beloved, your loved one who keeps rejecting Christ. Keep hope by prayer, by perseverance. The gospel is the fuel of perseverance. Trusting Christ and His grace for others. Our gospel hope has to give us hope for others. Finally, if you're not a Christian this morning, What I hope you walk away with a clear question, what is your hope? What is the truth that you're basing your life upon? What is that that you long for and know is going to come true? I want to tell you that Jesus come to die for sinners, that your hope can be secure, that you're forgiven, that you have an eternal Father who will love you and care for you, that one of our greatest fears that causes us to be hopeless is the fear of not being loved. We have a great fear, will I be loved? And this is why we are so consumed with self-love, because we don't trust anybody else is going to love us. So we're consumed with a self-love, which makes us God in our own mind. Put down that effort. It's never going to satisfy you. This is what will satisfy you. The eternal love of God the Father, who sent his son to die in your place so that he can show you his forever protective, perfect love to provide for you. But you actually have to stop trying to love yourself to bring that fulfillment. You have to trust that Christ is the great love who can heal you and care for you. He's risen to show you that love. Christian, our hope must be on Christ. Well, one of the most challenging ways to think about what Paul is going through is in Philippians. If you'll turn there with me. Philippians chapter four. It's found on page 982 of your Pew Bible if you're using one. Paul says in chapter four, verse four, he's writing this from this imprisonment. Rejoice in the Lord always. In case you didn't get it the first time, I'll say it again. Paul says, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Paul's not ignoring his circumstances. He's been almost beaten to death. He is suffering physically. He knows that Caesar could declare he's going to die. He knows that Jews could try to create another mob to break in and beat him to death. He realizes his circumstances are difficult, but he's not going to stop hoping. Because he knows the risen Savior. He can rejoice. He can have peace. He can, with prayer and supplication, always give thanks to God. Kind of makes all the problems that we complain about kind of petty. When we think about what Paul is saying in his circumstances. Let's go on to verse eight. Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. In the God of peace, We'll be with you. What Paul's doing here is simply seeing himself and his circumstances through the lens of the resurrection. He refuses to let his circumstances be the primary interpreter of his life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the primary interpreter of his life. That's why he can think about all these things that are true and honorable. He's focused on what is right, what God has said, what God has declared, what is true forever, not his temporary circumstances. This is hard work. Because our circumstances are always pressing in on us. It's hard work because sometimes there's real difficulty and real pain and real dilemmas. But the resurrection, if we remember it, it removes our anxiety. It removes our fear. It removes those things that are always bringing a sense of hopelessness. It gives us a renewal of that one true hope, Jesus Christ, our risen Savior. As we conclude, where is your hope? Your hope is tied to your worship. Is it in what you think you can do? Is it in one of your circumstances? Or is it God has said he loves me? He sent his son to demonstrate this great love for me? I can trust him. That is the one hope that will always lead you to rejoicing in peace because you know that God is with you. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you for giving us hope in a very hopeless world. So many things try to appeal to us, to give us hope that things can be better. And Lord, we're tempted by them. Sometimes we're delighted by them. And I thank you that in your good grace, they always prove unsatisfying. And you and your grace and your glory always prove so true and glorious, fulfilling. Help us, Lord, to be faithful, to worship you, to exalt you, to trust you, so that we might enjoy your peace and the hope you've given us in Jesus Christ, our risen Savior. In his name we pray, amen.