Paul was not a Cowboy

0:01 We are continuing in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 26, and like I did last week, we'll start, we'll read the whole passage, and then we'll come back and make some comments. Acts chapter 26, starting in verse one. "Agrippa said to Paul, 'It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.' Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 'Concerning all that I am accused of by the Judean leaders, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that it is before you that I am about to make my defense today,

0:46 since you are especially knowledgeable about all Jewish customs and issues. Therefore, I beg you to listen patiently to me. Now all the Jewish people have known my manner of life ever since my youth, starting from the beginning of my own nation and also in Jerusalem. They have known about me for a long time, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. Yet now I stand here being judged for the hope and the promise made by God to our fathers. It is the promise that our 12 tribes hope to obtain as they earnestly worship night and day.

1:32 And for this hope I am accused by Jewish people, O King. Why is it judged incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? In fact, I myself thought it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Yeshua HaNotsriti, and that is what I did in Jerusalem. Not only did I lock up many of the Ketoshim in prisons by the authority I received from the ruling Kohanim, but I cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. I tried to cause them to blaspheme by punishing them often in the synagogues. In furious rage against them, I persecuted them even in foreign cities. While journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the ruling

2:21 Kohanim, at midday, O King, I saw on the road a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, "Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Then I said, "Who are you, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appointed you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things you have seen as well as to the things I will yet

3:07 reveal to you. I will rescue you from your own 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 release from sins as well as a place among those who are made holy through trusting in me." Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Rather, I kept declaring first to those in Damascus and 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 consistent with that of repentance. For this reason, some Judeans seized me in the temple and

3:54 tried to put me to death. Since I have had God's help to this day, I have stood here testifying to both small and great.' I am saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen, that the Messiah was first to suffer, and after that, being first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the nations.' As Paul was thus making his defense, Festus says with a loud voice, 'You're crazy, Paul. Your learning is driving you insane!' But Paul declares, 'I am not insane, most noble Festus, rather I am speaking the sober truth. For the king knows about these things, and I speak freely to him, since I am

4:43 convinced that none of these things escape his notice. For this was not done in a corner, King Agrippa. Do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.' And Agrippa said to Paul, 'In a short time you're trying to persuade me to be a Messianic?' And Paul said, 'Whether short or long, I would pray to God that not only you but also all those who hear me today would be as such as I am, except for these chains.'" So that's where we'll stop for today. So just as a reminder, I just want to again remind us where-- I know I just read it, but we'll talk about a few highlights from last week.

5:31 Paul starts building his case to Herod Agrippa II, and he starts his case by starting with his early life. It's so funny, I was reading it today, and don't misunderstand me, I'm not comparing myself to Paul, but I was reading it and it says, "Now all the Jewish people have known my manner of life ever since my youth." And as I was reading it, I was like, "Oh, I can actually say this in front of most of you. You guys have all known my manner of life since my youth." Well, maybe not all of you, but some of youHaving grown up in the congregation, it's both a positive and a negative.

6:17 Because some of you know too much- ... about my youth. Anyways, here Paul is starting to build his case with his early life, both in Tarsus, in Cilicia, and also in Jerusalem. And he claims that everybody who knew him through all of those periods of lives knew that he was from the strictest sect of Judaism, and that he lived as a Pharisee. And he continues after that by defending the hope of Israel and connecting the hope of Israel with the resurrection of the dead. How does he do this? He connects the resurrection of the dead through our fathers who are in the past, with this hope of the resurrection of the dead for a yet-to-be future. He connects the current worship of the 12 tribes, the current worship for him, so

7:04 this is 2,000 years ago for us. The current worship for him of the Lord is connected to what is yet to be the promised future of the kingdom of Israel. And so you can see that his argument is relying upon the past, the present, and the future, all through the connection with the resurrection of the dead. And he connects this worship of the 12 tribes because it's a promise that they yet hope to obtain. He recognizes in this statement, as Luke records it, he recognizes that the kingdom of God is not yet here. It's something yet to come. It's something yet to be attained,

7:51 and it has to be attained through the resurrection of the dead. And again, we'll get to it in a moment. But before we get to it, we're going to have today some shall I call them rabbi trails? We're going to go off to different parts multiple times because I want to make several notes along the way that may or may not have to do with the text. In a commentary, it would be called an excursus. So you're going to get a little bit more of those today than usual. And I'm going to start here. Because Paul says something and Luke records it, and none of us notice it.

8:39 He says, "The current worship of the 12 tribes of Israel." So this is post-Yeshua, Yeshua's time on Earth, and Paul is recognizing that the 12 tribes are currently in existence at that moment. Why do I say this? I say this because there are some misbeliefs that when the northern kingdom of Israel was carried away into exile in 722 BCE, that those 10 tribes became the lost 10 tribes, that they were lost to history, and all that remained was the southern kingdom. But here, 700 and call it 780 years after the

9:27 northern exile, Paul is saying that the 12 tribes are currently still in existence and known. Why do I say that? Well, first of all, I say that because those tribes were never lost. God has always known and continues to know where they are. But secondly is this. There are some theological errors that are built upon the concept of having lost tribes, and this is one of my rabbi trails that I'm going to take today, and it's really before I even get into today's text.

10:14 So I'm going to name off some of these, which I don't normally do in service. But I'm going to name them off because I believe that they're theological errors that are outside of our tent. First, this one is a, shall I call it an oldie but a goodie. It's called British Israelism or British Israelites. It is the belief, and it was common in the British Isles probably 150 years ago. It's the belief that they are the physical descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. I do want to point out, what happens in all of these cases is that when these beliefs are

11:00 taken, it's at the loss or the displacement or the replacement of the rest of the Jewish people. So these replace the rest of Israel. This is what I'm telling you. So that's one. There's another one called the Ephraimite error, and it comes in a few different forms. All of these come in different forms, but they have some generalities. This is the belief, it boils down to the concept that non-Jewish followers of Yeshua are the lost tribes of Ephraim or the north. And when you read Ezekiel 37, the second half of Ezekiel 37, it's bringing together the Ephraimites and the

11:46 Judahites and bringing them into one people. By the way, not to jump into Ezekiel 37 for too long, but that is simply talking about creating a people that is identified as one people and no longer a two-part kingdom, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, Israel and Judah. In part, I feel like we see that todayThere is one kingdom of Israel today. There's no longer two. There's no longer the north and the south, but there's one nation of Israel. Maybe I shouldn't use the word kingdom, because then somebody might think there's a king. But there is a king, and he's a Jewish king, but he's still in the

12:32 heavens. Anyways. Woof. Just got out of that quicksand real quick. Yeah. Anyways, there's another one called the two-house theology, and this is the idea, it's related to the Ephraimites. It's the idea that Christians or followers of Yeshua are the lost tribes of Israel rather than remnants of the nations, remnants of their own nation. When they accept Yeshua, they become the lost tribes of Israel. There's another one which is becoming prominent today. Again, it's probably over 100 years old, 150 years old, but it's becoming more prominent today, and it

13:18 goes by several names, but more commonly it's called Black Hebrew Israelites or Black Israel or something along those terms. And they believe that they are the true Jews, not white Jews. Now, I just named a few, and I'm sure I stepped on everybody's toes at some point or another. But I'm saying this because theology can lead to, shall I call it malpractice or bad practice. Some theology may have some decent ideas, but when enacted and put into practice, it becomes wrong.

14:06 So any time, I'm just going to say this as a blanket statement, and very rarely are any blanket statements always right, but I'll say this as a blanket statement. Any time the Jewish people are replaced by someone else because they want the promises but they don't want the curses, that's when it becomes wrong. Amen. And we commonly call that, and if you've sat through our new members class, we call it replacement theology. And it becomes insidious. It sometimes is so small that you don't notice it until it becomes big. But I do want to say, I know...

14:54 Sorry, I just was reminded of a joke I say, but I'm not going to say it, about different types of Jews. Anyways, this is what I will say. There is a tribe in Africa. In fact, there's multiple, but I'll just share one story. There's a tribe that's called the Lemba tribe, and it's primarily in Zimbabwe and in South Africa. The Lemba tribe, their oral history is so fascinating. Their oral history, if you've read through the Bible and you read the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah, when Ezra gets up and says, "Those of you priests who are

15:42 married to women from the nations," and he said, if my memory is correct, he says, "Either divorce your wives, and if you won't, leave us." And there was a portion of them that left, and that portion migrated down the Arabian Peninsula across, well, it's one of those fought-for straits today, where Yemen goes across to, I don't know, what is that? Sudan, Eritrea area, kind of the Horn of Africa. They migrated across and then down the eastern side of Africa, of the continent, and they settled in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and that's the Lemba tribe.

16:29 The fascinating thing, their oral history matches with some both biblical timelines and genetic- Markers ... markers. Yeah, that's the word I'm looking for. And they're doing this, when you ask the Lemba, they're not saying, "We're a Jewish people, and nobody else is Jewish." They're recognizing they are a part of the nation physically. They're the descendants of a part of the nation. So there's a difference between what I just labeled theological errors and true physical claims.

17:16 Okay. I know that was a long excursus. We're coming back to Paul in our review. The hope of Israel is directly connected to the resurrection of the dead. This is where we were last week, and Paul sets himself up last week as one of the chief guardians of this idea of the resurrection of the dead being the hope of Israel, and he says, "This is why I persecuted followers of Yeshua." He was out to preserve the holiness of God, trying to get these others to blaspheme. He recognizes the bedrock of Judaism, and

18:01 here's the problem, he was mistaken about Yeshua. But he was out there to be a guardian for all of Israel, which is why he was persecuting Yeshua's followers. Okay, so nowThat's the setup. I know it was like a 20-minute setup. That's the setup. So he continued, he says this to King Agrippa, "While journeying to Damascus..." Just as a reminder, he just said, "I was one of the chief persecutors of all of the followers of Yeshua." And now he says, "While I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and the

18:48 commission of the ruling Kohanim, the high priests, at midday, O King, I saw on the road a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. When we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'" Here Paul is, he's actively guarding the temple and all of religious Jewish expression at the time by going to Damascus and persecuting followers of Yeshua. He had the authority and the commission, or the power if you will, of the ruling or the high priest. Religiously, he has the greatest amount of authority in all of Israel at this

19:36 moment. And he tells Agrippa, he says, "It's at midday, O King, that I saw a light from heaven, and the light shined all around me and all around those traveling with me, and I fell off my horse." By the way, this is how you know Paul wasn't a cowboy. He wasn't Texan, because he fell off his horse. No, I'm just playing. The voice said to him, in Aramaic or Hebrew, it depends on how you translate it, "Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you to kick against the goads." In other words, you're fighting fate. Stop it. The harder you kick, the more it's going to hurt you.

20:23 Okay, let me take another rabbi trail for just a moment. It's been a while since I've done this one, but I figured because it's been so long, I'll share it. We have here Yeshua saying, "Shaul, Shaul," or your text may say, "Saul, Saul." I want to remind us, I know I've done this at least a half a dozen times, I want to remind us, Saul does not equal bad, and Paul does not equal good. Shaul or Saul is Hebrew, Aramaic, and Paul is Greek. It's not bad and good, because if it is, then it would be Hebrew, Aramaic, Jews,

21:08 bad; Greeks, good. Do you see how going down this line could lead you to a bad place, both theologically and physically? Paul doesn't become a Christian and leave Judaism behind. He doesn't become a Christian and become good and have the name Paul and leave Judaism and the name Saul behind him. Rather, he continues forward through life as both Saul and Paul. It depends on his audience, it depends on where he is primarily as to which name will be used. Notice, I want you to notice which name Yeshua uses.

21:53 Yeshua uses Shaul. Why? It's the Jewish culture. You don't go to Israel and be like, "Is there a Xerxes here? Can I get a Xerxes?" No, you find Shauls, you find Davids, you find all of the different names which simply have an English translation also. We come now to what, though in our text this week it's not central, if you look at the entire chapter, this is actually the center point of a chiasm. Now, I didn't draw it out for you, and maybe I'll do it for the next time. But this chapter actually has a chiastic flow,

22:38 which means that it has these ideas or themes. There's one at the beginning and one at the end, and then there'll be another one, and another one at the end, and you get closer to the middle, and it points to the central element. And the central element is right here in verse 15. Paul says, "Who are you, Lord?" And this is the central element. The Lord said, "I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting." This is the center of the passage. And it's at this center point that it becomes the most important element for the entire passage. So when Yeshua responds, yes, he responds, "I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting," but the way Luke

23:25 is presenting it for all of his audience, Luke is presenting it as this is the most important element. Yeshua says, "Get up and stand on your feet," he continues in verse 16, "for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to anoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen, as well as to the things I will yet reveal to you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive release from sins as well as a place among those who are made holy through

24:13 trusting in me." He is getting course correction directions here. Course correcting directions from Yeshua. Number one, he's on the ground. He's fallen. PaulHave you fallen and you can't get up? Get back on your horse. Get back on your horse. No, it doesn't say that. He says, "Get up and stand on your own feet." Why did Yeshua appear to Paul? Yeshua could have let Paul continue on, but why did Yeshua appear to Paul? He tells him right here. He says, "I appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things you have seen." I just want to say, this is quite ironic,

25:00 because Paul is blind at this moment. He says, "I've called you to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things you have seen, as well as to the things that will yet be revealed, or will yet be seen." He's talking to Paul in this seen language, and Paul is blind. It's a little insensitive, don't you think, of Yeshua? Like, he should know Paul has feelings. And then he tells Paul, if that's not enough, he says, "Paul, by the way, I'm going to have to rescue you from your own people. And not only that, I'm going to have to rescue you from the Gentiles."

25:53 Perhaps we don't think so much in terms of the severity here, but this is, "I'm going to have to deliver you or pull you out from Egypt like I did my own people. I'm going to pull you out. I'm going to rescue you or save you from death," is what he's saying. The severity here is to the extreme. And now Paul, by the way, if you haven't been paying attention reading Acts up until this point, Paul has survived death multiple times, and yet he has multiple death surviving moments yet to happen in the last three chapters or two and a half chapters of Acts.

26:39 He's going to rescue him from his own people and from the Gentiles because he's being sent to the Gentiles. Yeshua's telling him, "By the way, I'm sending you there, and I'm going to have to rescue you from them, but you still have to go." Why? Why is Yeshua going to rescue Paul? Why does Paul have to do all of this? He says, "So that they may open their eyes. That they can turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and that they may receive release from sins and a place among those who are made holy through trusting in Yeshua." This is quite

27:24 fascinating, that they may open their eyes and be taken from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and receive release from their sins. I just wonder if embedded here, whether Yeshua through his words or whether Paul through his hearing, is there's a personal conversation going on also, because Paul is blind. Paul, you're going to go to the nations so that they can open their eyes. It's time for you to open your eyes. Stop seeing the darkness and start seeing the light.

28:13 Turn from the power of Satan to the power of God and receive release from your sins. You see, Paul is experiencing exactly what he is going to proclaim to others that they need to experience. Some of us only learn through experience, and it's a very unfortunate thing. And I don't know, I do think it might perhaps run more in the male gender, but I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. I just know there's just certain things, especially as a child, and I still do it today. In fact, I watched an Instagram video, I think it was yesterday, of wives who told their husband the pot on the

29:01 stove was hot, and then the husband went and touched the pot. Like, it's really hot. Like, why do we always have to learn like this? It's really painful. But I'm telling you, Paul learns this way, too. Here he is, blind. He's supposed to go to other people, Gentiles. I want you to remember, Paul is from the strictest, most observant sect of Judaism, and he has ascended to the top rank. He can speak to any Jewish person in the world about any Jewish subject in the world. And he's to go to the Gentiles. And here's Peter,

29:47 who knows how to fish and other things. And to jump. He knows how to jump real quick. And Peter goes to the Jewish people, but also Peter goes to Gentiles as well, but just think of the irony here of Paul. But not only that, I've been telling you, I think Paul is the most learned Jewish person alive at this point. Or if he's not the most, he's very nearly. He's in the top, I don't know, top 10When these words are spoken,

30:35 I can almost guarantee you that Paul thinks of scriptures, other scriptures where those are also found. So let me give you a couple. There's one in Isaiah 35. Both Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 42 speak about the eyes of the blind being opened and turning from darkness to light. Isaiah 42 is one of the servant passages in Isaiah, and the traditional interpretation is that the servant in Isaiah is the people of Israel, the Jewish people. An additional interpretation is that the servant passages are referring to Yeshua himself. I say an additional because I think they're both right.

31:23 I think there's legitimacy to both views, and I don't think they're mutually exclusive. Because if we view Yeshua as the physical embodiment of Israel, and he has to do everything that Israel does perfectly, then why wouldn't a passage that's referring to Israel and him be referring to him and Israel? Sounds like it could be both. So this passage in Isaiah 42 refers to the Lord being praised and then given glory from all the places of the earth. The remote islands, the desert, there on the tops of the mountains, and those who go down to the sea.

32:10 I want you to think about this in Paul's context. He's going to the Gentiles, the remotest parts of the earth. The remote islands, the desert, those on top of the mountains, and those who go down to the sea. There's a little bit of connection going on between personal Paul and Paul's mission to other people. So we continue in verse 19, "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Rather, I kept declaring first to those in Damascus, then Jerusalem, throughout the region of Judea, and also the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with that of repentance." Paul's explaining that he's obedient to the heavenly vision.

32:56 How does he declare his obedience? He says, "I went to those in Damascus," that's his first place because that's where he's going. He's already on his way there and he goes to Damascus. Also, he has to get his sight back in Damascus. But then he goes to Jerusalem. He spends time in Jerusalem, then he goes to all of Judea, and then to the nations. Does this sound familiar? It sounds exactly like what Yeshua said as his final words as he's being elevated, lifted up into the heavens, and he says, "Wait here. You'll be given power to go make disciples,"

33:42 where? "In Jerusalem, Judea," and he says, "and Samaria, and to all of the nations." Here, Paul is saying, "I'm doing this." And now, actually, we have a record of this. Here we are in Acts 26, the previous 13 chapters, 14 chapters, are essentially Paul's records of this element that he's talking about. He has performed deeds through all of these places consistent with his repentance. You see, Paul first personally takes what Yeshua is

34:29 saying, and then he moves it outward. He goes to all of these places consistent with his manner of repentance. In other words, he's being obedient because he repented. We continue in verse 21, "For this reason some Judeans seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. Since I have had God's help to this day, I've stood here testifying both to small and great. I'm saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen, that the Messiah was to suffer, and that being first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the nations." Paul's obedience to the vision of Yeshua is the reason

35:15 some Judeans seized him in the temple and tried to put him to death. This is what Paul is saying. He's saying, "Look, this is what my obedience cost me." Okay, I'm going to make another excursion or rabbi's note here. I told you today's full of them. Number one, when it says some Judeans, is he indicating here that it's the entire Jewish world against him and or all Christians? Or is it more indicative of a minority group that was vocal and had influence? I don't want you to be confused. Wow, I sound like Paul. Don't be confused, brothers. Don't be confused. When you read verses,

36:03 especially in the text, when you read verses and it says, "All the Jews were against me," or all the Jews this or all the Jews that, first of all, you need to understand the context. Everybody's Jewish. It's not like today. It's not like we're in Dallas, Texas, where maybe there's, I don't know, what is it, 100,000 Jews or something like that in Dallas, Texas, out of nine million in the metroplex?Something like that. It's not that case. We're in Jerusalem. Everybody's Jewish. So when Paul says, "All the Jews are out to get me," he's literally feeling it from everywhere.

36:49 Why? Because everywhere is everywhere. I also want you to remember whenever you read those verses, that right before the destruction of the First Temple, there are now sources that indicate that the followers of Yeshua, by percentage in Jerusalem, were up to around 50% or 55% of the populace. That there were greater than 100,000 Messianic Jews in Jerusalem, living there as a part of the Jerusalem community shortly before the destruction of the Second Temple. So when Paul says, "All the Jews are out to get me,"

37:34 he's not really meaning all the Jews. But also, I want you to understand a singular principle, which is funny because I'm going to tell you this is always true, and what I'm telling you, it contradicts it. But here it is. When you are led to believe that all the Jews everywhere or anywhere are of a singular opinion, in this case against Christians, and they should be treated in a poor manner, I want you to understand one thing. When I am alone in my house,

38:21 I am not of a singular opinion. So if you multiply that to all of the Jews everywhere, it's impossible for all the Jews everywhere to be of a single opinion because we all have at least two- ... on any given subject. That's just the way it is. So don't take a mass generalization about a singular group to be true. The funny thing is, this is actually true about anybody. It's true about any culture. We hear so often, "Well, all these people are this," or, "All those

39:07 people are this," or da, da, da, da, da. Whatever the generalizations you hear. Okay, maybe some people are like that, but they're not all like that. Well, I shouldn't say that one. Never mind. Okay. Where was I? Yeah, okay, the prophets. Okay, here we are. What did Paul experience? Paul's going to Damascus to persecute the followers of Yeshua, perhaps even for blasphemy, as he's already said about others.

39:52 Paul was blinded by the light of Yeshua and had his eyes opened from darkness to light, like we previously mentioned. Paul's declaration that Yeshua is the Son of God, the promised Messiah of Israel, that would provide redemption of sins, this is what gets him persecuted. And he says, "God has been the one to guide my steps and allowed me to testify before small and great." It actually reminds me remarkably, the way Paul handles this situation, of Joseph. When Joseph, he finally reveals to his brothers, and they said,

40:40 "Oh my goodness, we're so sorry." And he says, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good." He said, "God sent me ahead of you to prepare the way." Paul is handling it in the exact same way. "God is directing my steps. He's guiding me." And he says, "But I'm telling you, I'm not proclaiming anything that's contrary to what the prophets and Moses have already said was going to happen." Subtly right there is, except we missed it. So what did he say? The Messiah was to suffer. He would be the first to rise from the dead. He would proclaim light to both the Jewish people and the nations.

41:26 By the way, this is exactly what Yeshua did. Yeshua suffered. He proclaimed light to both the Jewish people and to nations. You read any of the gospel accounts and you find this. You find elements of both the nations and the Jewish people. And it's what he instructs his followers to do, to proclaim light to both the Jewish people and to nations, to be willing to suffer for his namesake, and they will see him again. If we will see him again... Well, let me stay with the disciples. If they will see him again, it necessitates what? The resurrection of the dead,

42:13 because he's not here yet. I'm sorry, it's been 2,000 years. I think they're all dead, or at least mostly dead. There has to be a resurrection of the dead for them to be able to see him again. But Yeshua says, "You will see me again." So it has to happenLast week we ended with the significance of the resurrection of the dead for Jewish theology and eschatology. This week, we see that Paul built that argument for the purpose of making it hinge on the fact that Yeshua is the first to rise from the dead.

43:00 He built all of last week's argument just so he could say, "This is talking about Yeshua." In other words, the promise that our fathers were waiting for has come. He not only has come, but he's also risen from the dead. And if he's come and risen from the dead, it indicates that his kingdom will certainly come. Do you understand my logic here? If Yeshua has come and he's been raised from the dead, both of which were necessary

43:46 in this argument, then his kingdom has to come because he said it will. Does that track? You guys understand that? Yeah. The kingdom is certainly to come. We're not sitting here in despair waiting for the kingdom to come, because the kingdom will come no matter what, because he said it will, and he died and rose again from the grave, and he was the first fruits of the dead, first fruits of the resurrection, and therefore it proves what is yet to come will come. Yes.

44:31 And it indicates to Paul, it requires Paul and us to be obedient to his directions in our lives, which is to go proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the nations. I know you can say, "Well, you're just doing some circular reasoning." Well, this is exactly what just happened. So what does this mean for us? We'll finish the chapter next time. What does this mean for us? Well, I'm going to leave you with several questions. All of which, if you have the handout, they're all in the handout. Number one, it's a

45:16 rollover from last week, which is, what is the foundation of your hope? Because I think this is one of the most key questions that you can ever ask yourself, which is why I'm asking you two weeks in a row. What is the foundation of your hope? Secondly, is there an area in your life where you are resisting the Lord's direction? In other words, maybe you're riding a horse going to Damascus. What you should do, and the funny thing is, even if you don't do it, the Lord will do it for you, because Paul wasn't asking. But what we can do is we can ask Yeshua for

46:02 Yeshua's clear revelation and direction in our lives, and then be obedient. I'd rather not fall off the horse. I'd rather not get blind. Let's not have to learn by experience, though some of us do. Another question, Paul centers everything in this passage, and really I'm going to say Luke does this. Luke centers the entire passage on Yeshua and what it means to make Yeshua the central part of your argument and your life. So what does it mean practically to you to make Yeshua the central aspect of your life? And, so here's the follow-up question, in what ways can others see or not

46:48 see that Yeshua is the central aspect of your life? Because when Yeshua is the central point, it becomes evident, and when he's not, it also becomes evident. I'm asking you, what are those evidences in your life? How do you know, and how do others know? Finally, where have you clearly seen the hand of God at work in your life? Perhaps you're sitting there thinking, "I've never seen the hand of God at work in my life." Well, be careful because you might fall off the horse soon and realize that it's been God working the whole time.

47:35 You have to look, and if you ask the Lord, "Lord, where have you been working in my life?" All of a sudden, it becomes quite apparent. You don't have to look long. In fact, you just have to say, "I survived the drive on 635 to get Baruch Hashem today." Or 35, or 75, or the tollway, or any other highway in the Metroplex. Or any of the drivers in the Metroplex, whether native or imported. Because I don't know why it is, but drivers are bad now, and I think they've always been bad. Everybody's now going quicker, and it's like 80 miles an hour. I mean, sorry, it's like 65 miles an

48:23 hour. So where have you clearly seen the hand of God at work in your life? What does it mean to walk in the footsteps of the Messiah in your daily life? And are you willing to embrace not only his mission but also his sufferings, and what might that look like in reality? So these are questions for you to ponder for the week and to see if the Lord put something in front of you this week. Avinu shebashamayim, our Father in heaven. Lord, I thank you for Paul. I thank you for his living example. Lord, I thank you for his desire to always live for you.

49:12 Lord, I thank you for the radical change that you did in his life, and Lord, I just ask that you would do it in each and every one of our lives today. We bless you and praise you. In Yeshua's name, amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Yevarechecha Adonai ve'yishmerecha.

50:00 Ya'er Adonai panav elecha veichuneka. Yisa Adonai panav elecha ve'yasem lecha shalom. Beshem Yeshua, mashicheinu. In the name of our Messiah, Yeshua. Shabbat shalom.