Missional Gospel Part 5: Surrender: Paul's Strength  Acts: 25:1-12
Part of Missional Gospel Part 5 - Books of Acts
February 26, 2021

Title: Missional Gospel Part 5: Surrender: Paul’s Strength
Scripture:  Acts: 25:1-12
Date: 02282021
Bible Version: NKJV

BOTTOM LINE: When we surrender to God, he can use us in ways we could never have imagined.

Intro:
As we have seen with Paul and his ministry, there was a wide variety of places and environments Paul had been in. He had already been on missionary journeys for over a decade. He had been beaten, run out of cities. He had also given up his previous life as an up and coming Jewish leader probably on his way to being a prominent leader based on his education and standing as a pharisee.

However in a moment, Paul’s life took a 180 degree turn when Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul at that moment made the decision to follow Jesus which dramatically changed the course of his life.

At that moment Paul decided to follow Christ. From that moment on, God was able use Paul in extraordinary ways to spread the gospel.

Paul had unique qualifications to share the gospel.

  1. He was born a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. He was educated in Jerusalem by Gamaliel  as a pharisee. 

  2. He was a Roman citizen when it was a very unique combination. This gave him rights that many did not have.

This combination of Paul’s background gave him the ability to share the gospel with many different types of people including kings, governors, Jewish leaders, and gentiles. Paul was uniquely qualified to do what he did

Acts 25:1-3 NKJV
Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2 Then the [a]high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, 3 asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.

Porcius Festus was a new governor taking over for Antonius Felix. He was considered a just man and a good leader.

This is a good reminder for us to always be on guard. It is easy for our morals to slowly deteriorate and suddenly we are far from where we should be

When you are surrounded by others who do not have truth, if you are not careful, your truth can deteriorate. 

Acts 25:4-5 NKJV
But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.”

God was protecting Paul from the bad intentions of the Jewish leaders. God works in many ways and many times in ways we don’t know about. 

God sometimes asks us to give up something  or to surrender in order to do something great in us.

Acts 25:6 NKJV
And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought.

Paul was once again on trial for being accused by the Jewish leaders and being tried in a Roman court. At this point this was old news to Paul. 

Acts 25:7 NKJV
When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove,

Acts 25: 8 NKJV
while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.

The Jewish leaders brought many accusations against Paul which they could not prove.

Paul confidently responded with defending himself quite similarly to how he did 2 years previously. He knew he had done nothing wrong legally or against the religious law. 

Acts 25: 9 NKJV
But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

We can all face times when we feel like we are being wrongly accused. If we are honestly following after God, we can have confidence that God’s sovereign will will be done.

Although Festus was considered a good leader, even he was willing to potentially use unjust tactics to appease the Jewish leaders and keep the peace. 

At this moment, it was God’s child who had a mission from God, vs the jewish leaders and a governor


Who can abide with God?

Psalm 15: 2-5 NKJV
2The one whose walk is blameless,  who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor,  and casts no slur on others; 4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

This passage of scripture describes the complete opposite of the Jewish leaders and Festus. Paul could have peace and confidence  knowing that he was living blamelessly before God. The Jewish leaders and Festus were not. 

When we are on mission from God We can have the same courage that Paul had if we live fully surrendered lives to God. It takes a fully surrendered heart to do so. 

Acts 25:10 NKJV
So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.

Paul knew that he was innocent on all accounts. More importantly he knew that he was blameless in the eyes of God and was willing to stand up for his integrity. 

Acts 25:11 NKJV
For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

It would seem that Paul saw through the plot against him and that Festus was potentially willing to appease the Jewish leaders by sending him to Jerusalem. 

Paul knew if he was sent to Jerusalem he would be killed. So he took the only way out he had. A potentially fair trial in Rome.

Paul was able to use his unique standing as a Roman citizen to invoke the right to a trial before Caesar in Rome. 

Acts 25:12 NKJV
Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

Festus had no choice but to allow Paul, a Roman citizen, to have a fair trial as requested. So he approved the request. 

It was probably a relief to Festus that he no longer had to make a decision about Paul. It was officially out of his hands once Paul invoked the right to appeal to Caesar. 

In Acts 23:11 Jesus told Paul that we would “bear witness to him in Rome”.
Paul knew that appealing to Caesar would send him to Rome which was fulfilling what Jesus had told him. 

Closing-
Paul was uniquely qualified to share the Gospel. However, he never would have been able to use those gifts if he had not fully surrendered to God and let God lead him. 

From that mentality, Paul truly saw every circumstance as an opportunity to spread the gospel. He did not let his surroundings deter him from taking advantage to share his testimony and the gospel.

In this instance, Paul saw a way to fulfill God’s plan to take the gospel to Rome even though he was imprisoned and in Roman custody. 

In order for us to live out the life God has for us, like Paul, we have to fully surrender to him. This means honestly surrendering all aspects of our lives to him. When this happens he is finally able to fully use us to our full spiritual potential. 

“God wants you to keep turning from yourself and continually be turning over to Him all that you are and all that He has placed in your hands to work with. It is from this place of surrender that your life is transformed and you become the expression of God’s unique mission for your moment in history.”
-Crawford Loritts

James 4:10 NIV -
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Challenge:
If you have never believed in God or Christianty and you are hearing all this about surrendering, it probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to you. Why would anyone surrender themselves to living a life where they simply submit to God for everything? That doesn’t sound very fun or much like freedom. 

You understand a couple things. 

  1. You need to know that you were created by God for a purpose.
  2. That purpose can only be fulfilled when you accept that surrendering to God is the only way to allow God to work in your life and lead you. God made us to live in a close, loving relationship with him and the only way to do that is by trusting him.


You can’t be in a loving relationship without an element of trust. The more we surrender to God, the more trust we need which develops a deeper love.

If you are a Christian….
You need to take a serious look at yourself and see what aspects of your life are not surrendered to God. 

Consider surrendering these to God and ask him to use you however He wills. Then watch God work in your life. 

It takes a lot of courage to take a first step of surrender. You might have to give up something. But the benefit of surrendering is that you gain a life of God leading you.