Is it okay for Christians to demand their rights?  The whole idea of “rights” isn’t really in the Bible in the way that we tend to think of it.  Certainly Jesus was firm in the manner in which He dealt with the Pharisees; but love was His motive and He never demanded that He be given His rights.  He knew about and then responded to circumstances that came His way.  He rested in the truth that His Father was in control.  The Bible teaches that God sovereignly positions Christians in places of influence.  I have heard Christians say things like, “It is my goal to make lots of money or to gain this position of authority so that I can use the money or the position to spread the gospel.”  However, as I look at the Bible, God seems to be the one to place people in positions of authority and supplies us with whatever financial resources we may have.  If there are committed Christians who are led by the Lord to run for a political office, then I say, “Praise the Lord!”, because we need Christians in every sphere of our culture to stand for true justice and truth.  Yet, I don’t believe we are to make things happen in our flesh.  In other words the end does not justify the means.  This is a Muslim view, but not a Christian view.  Praise the Lord when He calls you to a place of authority or opens a door for you to lead in a particular place.  This is God given influence.  In fact, every person here this morning has a level of influence given to them by God.  I am not speaking about official positions, which should, but don’t always carry influence.  You may not have any official position in this church family, but you may still carry a lot of influence with others.  Our God given influence, whatever and wherever that resides, is to be used to build God’s Kingdom, in any way He opens a door for that to happen.  We do have a God given role to build His Kingdom as He directs us.  This is what we are going to see in the Scriptures this morning.

Don’t forget the main themes we have already seen in this study in Acts:  how the Holy Spirit established the church; how the Holy Spirit empowered Christians to live the supernatural life of faith– which is still true for us today; how the Holy Spirit selected and sent people out with the gospel to the nations;  how the Holy Spirit directed Christians each moment of their day;  the relevance of the gospel for all peoples of all times, and the sovereign plan and rule of God over us and all peoples.  This morning we are looking at Using our God given influence to build the Kingdom of God.

I.  Using What God Has Given to You to Proclaim the Gospel.

Last week we ended the sermon as we looked at how Paul sacrificed everything to share the gospel, even with those who were trying to kill him.  Paul quieted the crowd who was trying to kill him, and with permission from the Roman commander, proceeded to speak with the people about his testimony– what Jesus had done in his life.  The crowd remained quiet while he spoke, until he got to the point in his life when Jesus called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.  The Jews who were listening, received this as a rejection.  They thought Paul was saying that they were being replaced by the Gentiles in God’s economy, which was not the complete truth of what Paul was communicating.  The crowd goes into an uproar against Paul once again, so the commander orders that Paul be taken inside the barracks and beaten.  The problem with the commander’s plan was that it was illegal to beat a Roman citizen, or do anything which would degrade them, especially without a trial and sentencing from a judge.

When the centurion hears that Paul is a Roman citizen, he stops the beating before it starts, and goes to report to the commander.  The commander knows that he could lose his position or worse if he beat a Roman citizen without trial, so he stops the punishment.

I want you to notice what Paul does and does not do here.  He does not yell at or curse those who are following their orders.  Paul does know enough about the law to question what is taking place, to raise doubts in the centurion’s mind so that he is concerned enough to speak to the commander, who would have ultimately been responsible for anything that happened in the barracks and even in his precinct.  Paul does this through a well placed question to the one in charge of the proceedings.  There is no record of Paul getting angry, or of him making threats, but he simply states what he knows to be true, and is released by the commander because of this. 

As you come up against opposition of any kind, pray and ask God for wisdom about how to respond.  Making threats to sue or angry responses do not reflect the love of Christ in us.  If Paul had been beaten, as he was at Philippi, even though this was difficult, it would have opened the door for the gospel to be shared.  How we respond as those who have identified themselves with Christ, does effect how open others will be to the gospel.
Back in 1998, we took a team to Argentina for a short term mission.  We arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires in the middle of a downpour.  The roof of the church leaked, so when we arrived at the church, there was an inch of water across the whole cement floor of the building.  You could tell that the Argentines were embarrassed.  We had been traveling for over 24 hours, but I knew that this was an opportunity.  Instead of ignoring it and allowing the Argentines to work at it by themselves, we took off our shoes, rolled up our pant legs and began to clean the floor.  When members of the church arrived to see us cleaning the messy floor of the church, it left a strong and lasting impression on the people.  The Lord used this to open many doors for ministry the rest of our time with the church.  This was an opportunity to serve, a door the Lord gave to us to increase our ministry in our time there.  No one begged us to help them, but we simply made the choice to do so. 

Most of you know that Paul and Elizabeth Branch, in obedience to Christ, serve on the mission field in Argentina.  When Paul and Elizabeth Branch were confronted by Argentines about what the USA was doing in Iraq, or even received angry responses from Argentines who had a very different perspective on the war with Iraq, they had to respond to these things wisely, for the sake of the gospel.  Paul developed a response he would often use to deflect the issue, “You know what, as an American citizen, President Bush has never once called me to ask me my opinion on the war with Iraq.”  Paul Branch did not want Argentines opinions about the war to hinder them from hearing the gospel.  This was a wise response.

Notice that the whole attitude of the commander changed when he found out that Paul was a Roman citizen, something which was valued in that culture.  What has God given to you which is valued in this culture, and how might the Lord use this as a means to spread the gospel?  When we arrived in the Philippines in 1989, Megan was just a baby, about 8 months old.  As we learned about the culture and the people to whom we were ministering, we found out some of the beliefs of the local people.  They greatly valued children, especially fat, happy and lighter skinned children.  The culture put a value on these things, because many of their babies died before their first birthday.  To be fat meant the baby was well fed, and to be happy brings joy to the whole family.  The culture valued lighter skin because of prejudices which many people carried.  When we found these things out, we asked some friends what would be appropriate for Megan’s first birthday.  We wanted our neighbors to meet folks from the church.  God had given us a happy, fat baby, who could charm the socks off of people without trying.  So, we went to the market and bought food for a huge party, inviting neighbors, and new friends at church to celebrate with us the 1st birthday of our daughter.  One neighbor who was a cake baker, made a special cake and we had a blow out party.  We were very happy that it was Megan’s first birthday, but we were really looking for the opportunity to meet neighbors and have neighbors meet others from the church, with the hope that we or others from the church could share the gospel with our neighbors.  God worked out all the details.  All we did was to listen to the Lord, buy food, pray and invite neighbors and friends to come.  Megan was our natural, God given drawing card for people.

What has God given to you, which may be a natural vehicle, a God made opportunity through which you can share the gospel with another.  Don’t say to me or yourself, “I don’t have anything like that.”  You may have yet to see it, but everyone has gifts, strengths and interests which can open the door for the gospel.  It may be a hobby, a talent, the place God has put you at work, the place God has put you in your neighborhood, or something you have yet to consider.  I don’t know, but God will show you how He wants to use you as you ask Him to show you and as you step out in faith to use what He has given to you.

Mark was a campus minister who worked as an intern under me in his first year on Staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.  Mark was also a gifted musician.  He had played bass in a band before coming on staff with InterVarsity.  One of the open doors for the gospel for Mark was in the Friday evening jam sessions at one of the local bars, where the jam sessions often happened.  He was good enough to jump in with about anyone and play, which developed respect for his talent and an open door to find out who he was.  Mark used this as a means to share the gospel.  How about you?  What has God given to you that He will use as a natural vehicle to share the gospel?

II. Know What You Believe and Why.

Paul is ordered to appear before the commander and the Sanhedrin, to give reasons for his part in the unrest and disturbance in the city.  Paul knows who he is in Christ; he knows who he was as a Pharisee; he knows what he believes to be true about the Scriptures; he knows where he differs with Pharisees, where he differs in beliefs from the Sadducees, and where they disagree with one another.  There were a couple of key and very powerful differences between these 2 groups on the Sanhedrin, kind of like the differences between Republicans and Democrats in the Congress today.  Although their differences were theological, so probably were more strongly held than many of our differences.  Paul knew what he believed and why.  His convictions came from his personal study of the Scriptures, and from the revelation which was given to him by the Lord.  Paul uses the knowledge the Lord has given to him, through his diligent study, to turn the focus off of him and onto areas of disagreement between these 2 groups which represented the Sanhedrin, the ruling council in Jerusalem. 

I believe that the Lord gives us insight into these types of things, as we pray and as we seek Him.  I was playing in a pick-up basketball game one day at a local park.  I loved basketball and needed the exercise, so I came to this park when I had the chance.  After we lost a game so had to sit out and wait for the next game, another guy on the team told the rest of us about a Jehovah Witness who had come to his door the previous day.  He asked if we knew anything about Jehovah Witnesses.  Immediately, I knew that this was an opportunity, so I jumped right in and asked if he knew what Jehovah Witnesses believed, or if he knew what the Bible really said, which was different than what they believed.  He said he didn’t know much about either, so I asked if I could explain the differences between what the Bible taught and what people in this cult believed.  As I explained the gospel to this young man, several others on the team who were waiting to play were listening.  I could do this because I knew what the Bible taught and I knew what Jehovah Witnesses believed and the differences between these 2 beliefs.

One of the great weaknesses in the church today is that most Christians do not know what they believe and why.  They cannot answer many basic questions that the culture is asking about the Bible and about Jesus.  Questions like, “What about all the mistakes in the Bible?”  My answer to that one is I hand them my Bible and say, “Show me what mistakes you are talking about.”  Or “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?  Couldn’t God have figured out a better way, a less brutal way to forgive sins?”  Or “How do you know the Bible is true– there are other religious books which claim to be just as true?”  Or “Aren’t all religions just different paths to the same God?”  Or, “Why are Christians so judgmental towards gays and others who have chosen a different lifestyle?”  These are all good questions and there are good answers to every question that can be asked.  There is nothing new under the sun.  We were talking in our small group last Sunday about the claim that the grave of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, his wife and their son, Judas has been found and there are bones still in them.  This was disproved 25 years ago.  The only reason it has hit the media again is to sell a new book which has been written.  Money, not truth, is the motive behind this current fiasco. 

There is no reason why you cannot learn the answers to every question which has been asked.  There is a desperate need for Christians to think through issues and questions which are facing our culture, so they have a clear answer when asked.  Paul was this way, and it served him very well.  Yes, it takes time to study.  But this is how you grow in your faith, people of God.  We put forth the effort to know Christ, to know His Word and to know what we believe and why.  If every person here could answer all the questions I raised a few moments ago, questions people in our culture are asking, then we would see more people coming to faith in Christ, because we would step in and give answers to questions which will come up in the natural course of conversations.  This is even more true when we have an election year.  Christians should carefully and prayerfully think through what they believe on issues, and why, and be able to clearly communicate why they are voting for the people they believe should be in office as leaders in our country.  This will open up many doors to the gospel, if we study now, and then carefully choose our words when the topic arises at the water cooler or coffee pot at work.

III. The Lord is Our Defense. 23:11

Actually, we have seen a similar idea earlier in the book of Acts.  Paul has tried to clearly communicate the gospel to Jews until they refused to listen any further.  The Lord wants to encourage Paul to keep testifying all the way to Rome.  This is the Lord’s plan for him.  So the Lord comes and “stands by him.”  This same word is used in Acts 22:20, when Paul testified that he was standing near Stephen, giving his approval as Stephen was stoned to death, was martyred by the Jews.  The Lord was present with Paul, speaking to him.  This must have been a powerful experience for Paul, and was intended to strengthen him and to encourage him to continue to faithfully speak about Jesus in the midst of tremendous opposition. This would ahve given Paul assurance that he was not going to be killed in Jerusalem– God was not finished using him yet.  Notice that Paul did not specifically ask the Lord for this or demand anything from the Lord.  Paul was seeking to be faithful to proclaim the gospel, and there is no doubt in my mind that Paul was in prayer during the night in the barracks when the Lord came to Paul.  In an earlier passage in Acts, we were told that the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision in the night.  We aren’t told, in this case, whether Paul saw a physical presence of the Lord as John did in the book of Revelation, or whether it was a vision again, or exactly what this experience was like.  We are only told what was said by the Lord Jesus.

Whether or not the Lord chooses to reveal Himself to you or to me in some fashion as He revealed Himself to Paul, the truth about the Lord’s presence is still the same– the Lord has promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  We know, as those who have been born again, that the Spirit of God dwells inside of us and marks us as those who are His.  We too, can know beyond a shadow of doubt that no circumstance which may happen to you or to me will knock the Lord our God off of His throne as God.  These same truths should move us to press on, in our faith and not to waver at all in the face of any difficulty or trial.