God Our Defender
Text: Acts 23:23-35
Introduction
1. “God’s protection is a covering that NO weapon can break through.” (David Webb).
2. “This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.” (Ps. 91:2-4).
3. The life of the Apostle Paul is proof that we can trust God to protect and defend us in our greatest time of need.
4. There are 30,000 of God’s promises in the Bible, and many of them have to do with God’s protection.
5. Acts 23:23-35
Transition: Let’s follow Paul on the road to Caesarea.
I. On the Road to Caesarea
A. The previous section tells us about an assassination plot against Paul. So, now the commander steps into action. Luke tells us in vv. 23-24, “Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. 24 Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.”
1. To say that the commander took matters into his own hands here is an understatement.
2. He orders two of his officers to send out 200 soldiers, two hundred spearmen, and 70 horsemen. So, a total of 470 men to protect Paul from the would-be assassins.
3. Therefore, it would 40 against 470 trained Roman soldiers. Again, it was like trying to stop a tank with a broom handle!
4. The commander wanted to make sure that Paul would not be harmed under his watch.
5. In the meantime, this must have been quite amusing to Paul. Remember he had just had a personal visit from the Lord guaranteeing that he would go and preach the gospel in Rome.
6. With the Lord on his side, Paul would have walked into an army, knowing he wouldn’t get a scratch.
7. But the commander wanted to make sure, from his point of view, that Paul made it to the governor.
8. This reminds me of the story of Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Once after a tremendous battle, one of Jackson’s officers asked how he could be so calm when things all around him were in chaos. Jackson, a strong Christian, responded, “My faith, tells me that I am as safe on the battlefield as I am in bed.”
9. If God is on our side, we have nothing to fear. It has been said that God works in mysterious ways. In this case He used the Roman army. We must always remember that God’s ways are not like our ways. He can do things in ways that we cannot.
10. We need to learn to trust God and stop trying to fix everything ourselves.
B. Now, in order to fill in the governor, the commander writes him a letter to explain the situation. We find the letter in vv. 25-30, which reads, “Then he wrote this letter to the governor: 26 “From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings! 27 “This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety. 28 Then I took him to their high council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him. 29 I soon discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law—certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. 30 But when I was informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.”
1. Now, you might me asking yourselves how Luke knew what was in the letter? Well, let me tell you, he didn’t guess. One thing we know about Luke is that his facts were impeccable. In fact, once a professor with a PhD in Roman history told me Luke’s facts were so accurate that they had to re-write history books because archeology proved Luke right and the books wrong.
2. Luke used many sources to ensure to what he was writing was accurate. First of all, this letter would have been read out loud in court when Paul appeared before Felix.
3. Furthermore, as a Roman citizen, Paul would have been given a copy of the letter as a courtesy.
4. The person to whom the letter was written was Felix, the Roman governor over Judea from A.D 52 to 59.
5. This is the same position that was held by Pontius Pilate when Jesus was crucified.
6. You’ll notice that the commander leaves out a few details, like putting Paul in chains, and threatening to beat him to death. So, he went to great lengths to make himself look good.
7. However, he also makes it clear that Paul wasn’t guilty of anything, and certainly nothing that deserved imprisonment or death.
8. This is something that the early readers of Acts, these would be encouraging words that they could use in their own struggles with the Jews and the Roman law.
C. After writing the letter, Luke tells us in vv. 31-32, “So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris. 32 They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea.”
1. Apparently, this was a forced march at night to Antipatris, which was about a thirty-five-mile trip.
2. Being that far from Jerusalem, the soldiers, other than the horsemen, are released to return to the fortress, for surely Paul would be safe from the assassins.
3. The last few miles into Antipatris were terrain that would have been a good place for an ambush, which is why the larger contingent stayed until they arrived there.
D. Finally, the horsemen “arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix. 34 He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered. 35 “I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters.”
1. Once they arrived, they gave Paul and the letter to Felix. He read the letter, then asked what province Paul was from, and when he found out he was from Cilicia, agreed to hear his case once his accusers arrived.
2. The stage was set for the rest of Paul’s journey to Rome. That’s the key, for this was all orchestrated by God to get Paul to Rome to preach the gospel.
3. The gospel was advancing to the most important place on earth at that time, and it was all done by the sovereign hand of God.
4. “The Providence of God is the great protector of our life and usefulness, and under the divine care we are perfectly safe from danger.” — Charles H. Spurgeon
Transition: So, what do we learn from Paul’s journey to Caesarea.
II. What We Learn
A. With God as our defender and protector we have nothing to fear.
1. “But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” (Is 43:1-2).
2. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.” (Ps. 4:8).
3. If you have God as your defender, there is nothing you have to fear.
4. You have nothing to stress over and nothing to worry about.
5. God will always watch over you and He will always be your place of safety.
B. Stop worrying and start trusting God.
1. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7).
2. Illustration: Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. (Corrie Ten Boom).
3. Worry can be defined as a lack of faith.
4. It’s a lack of trust in God’s providence and provision.
5. In essence, we are saying, “God, you can’t help me!”
6. But the truth is that God can handle anything that life throws at you.
7. There is nothing that is going to happen to you that takes God by surprise. He has already developed a way to help you.
8. Feed your faith and your worries will starve!
C. Never forget that God cares about you!
1. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Pet. 5:7).
2. Here’s the bottom line, God cares about you, and therefore, everything else is meaningless.
3. We don’t have to worry about the light bill, because God will provide for it.
4. We don’t have to worry about your car breaking down, because God will send you the right person at the right time to take care of it.
5. Whether it’s provision, protection, or guidance, God has got you covered!
What’s the point preacher? With God as our defender, we have nothing to fear. Trust God and He will take care of you.
