Innocent Before The Court

Innocent Before The Court Acts 25.24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. As followers of Jesus we obey the law. Those who break the law are not good examples of His followers. I Timothy 1. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me. There are some who keep the law of the land and think that is going to earn them a place in Heaven. My goodness is not enough. I have never murdered anyone. I do not steal. I give to a charity. Paul, the apostle, kept the law. In his own words, Romans 7.7b For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. In the present case here, Paul, like Jesus, had done nothing deserving of death. Jesus was sinlessly perfect.. Paul was not Neither are we. Before the Sanhedrin different Jesus Paul Jesus was silent. Paul was not. Acts 23.1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people. What Paul said was true. The way he said it to the High Priest was not respectful. Probably because of his eyesight problem he didn’t realize it was the High Priest. We misspeak. We ask forgiveness. We ought to seek to be blameless. An overseer must be. This is a message on us being citizens of Heaven being good citizens on Earth. Paul, the Apostle, was a Roman Citizen. He also was a citizen of Heaven. Philippians 3. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, We have duel citizenship. We are American Citizens. Wherever you are around the world, you are a citizen of that country. You see this plainly when you show your Passport. We have an obligation * A Good Citizen Keeps the Law of the Land In Which He lives As we get our taxes done… Been told twice now by preparers, “You don’t have to report this income.” To the one 35 years ago I said, “Oh yes I do.” To which he replied, “I knew you were going to say that.” Our church buildings are in code. We cannot, as Christians, violate Town of Islip codes. That would be so wrong. I know of one church that did, flagrantly, and their building was condemned. They violated, among other things, the Fire Code, endangering children. Horrible. Very unlike Jesus. They lost the building. Paul did not violate the code of the Temple. He kept it carefully. He tried to win his enemies over. He had Timothy circumcised as a young adult man. He made a vow and kept it according to the law of Moses. He learned that if someone hates you or a group hates you and they cannot find grounds to have you arrested they will make up false charges. Learn a lesson here. If you try to make friends out of your enemies you will get beat up sometimes. Mrs. D’ Nofrio in Bellmore. My Mom showed us how to love her. What do we, as followers of Jesus, do? Those who falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. * You do not respond. I know what it is to have people say, “You have got to defend yourself!” “You need to say something.” No we do not. We know what the truth is… and far greater than that so does God. Years ago the Word of the LORD came to me in such a situation, “The Battle belongs to the LORD.” At first I had to endure. However right up to this day, the LORD is setting the record straight without me saying a thing. * You rejoice. If it is difficult to keep your mouth shut, this is even more difficult. Rejoice?! Be glad, Be well, Thrive From your heart. If you are not there yet, keep seeking to obey. The sinful nature dies slowly. But what freedom when you count it dead. * You realize you are in good company. The prophets Your own self respect Jesus Jeremiah 38. 7 When Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch who was in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the pit —now the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin— 8 Ebed-melech went out from the house of the king and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, in that they have thrown him into the pit, and he will die there because of starvation, for there is no longer any bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying, “Take with you these thirty men and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the pit before he dies.” I am not up to Jeremiah yet. They haven’t thrown me into a pit. I could have fallen into a pit of despair. It is hard to get out of that. On Tuesday I shared with a group of pastors in India who are suffering persecution there. You do not do that lightly. Only a few among us know what that is. * A Good Citizen of Heaven Keeps the Law of Love Love the LORD with all your might and all your soul and all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself. -Jesus Matthew 22.36-40 Our lives are witnesses to the love we have for Jesus. I have a habit of greeting people. I did this way back at three years of age. I held the door for people at the Dining Room at the headquarters of the church where my Grandmother worked. I greeted them with a cheerful, “How are you today. Good Morning!” My parents told me later I made my Grandma shine with joy. The other day I was with my friend, Ray Toca. We were outside. A young lady walked by where we were standing and I greeted her with, “Good Morning! What a beautiful day!” I waved and she ignored me. Then she began to let out a string of obscenities. Whew! At first I thought she was talking into the phone she was carrying but after she passed she let us know it was me. I was really surprised. Then I remembered the words of Jesus, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Who can live like that?! You say that is impossible! Yet it is what Jesus calls us to. Not some wise comment. Pray for them. Obviously something was wrong in this poor girl’s life. She has some deep issues that are manifesting in anger. * The LORD has promised to stand with us in Trials Whether it is before the court or in life itself. II Timothy 4. 16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. We ought to live lives that if we ever have to stand in a court nothing could hold up. I like what an old Preacher I knew used to preach, “If you were put on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you? We are on trial. We say we love Jesus. He is our LORD. From time to time we will be falsely accused. Other times people will see we are not perfect and will call us on it. Humble yourself. Be a peacemaker. Learn the discipline of being like Jesus. Learn to not respond in the flesh but in the Spirit.