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to this day, I thank you for your word, Lord, and I just ask that you please bless Pastor with your spirit as he preaches from your word, and bless us with attentiveness as we listen. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen, all right, we're in Acts chapter 24 this evening, and we are continuing with Paul's predicament here. Now if I were to title this sermon, it would be called The Prosecutor, The Pestilent Fellow, and The Prefect. And the reason for that is because three of the main characters found in this chapter is Tertulus, who is the prosecutor of Paul, we have the pestilent fellow known as the Apostle Paul, that's what he's calling him, and then the prefect, which is the governor, Felix, the Roman governor, and this chapter primarily deals with these three people here, and so we'll get into that in just a bit. Now in chapter 23, if you remember from last week, we see that he's basically providentially protected by God through the Roman chief captain, Claudius Licius. We know that people are persecuting him, the Jews are persecuting him, and they wanna put him to death. There's 40 men who basically said they have a vow on them, and they're not gonna eat, they're not gonna drink until they have killed Paul. So they're so malicious and so violent and so hateful towards Christians that they wanna just take out the Apostle Paul and kill him, not eat anything. And obviously, it doesn't work. Their plan is basically destroyed by God through the chief captain there. And I always think to myself, what happened to those 40 guys? If they weren't gonna eat anything or drink anything until they have killed Paul, but they never killed Paul, did they cheat? You know what I mean? You kinda wonder, right? But 40 men had a vow on their head that they would neither eat or drink till they had killed Paul. Paul's nephew catches wind of this conspiracy, and he brings it to Paul. Then Paul basically gets word to Claudius, who's the chief captain, who then basically escorts him to the governor through a military escort with 470 soldiers, okay? And it's just like, man, is this guy really that dangerous that you need 470 soldiers to protect? Well, really what it is is just God showing himself strong on his behalf because you have 40 men who wanna take his life, and so God's like, I see you're 40. I'm gonna bring 470, basically showing that obviously God was able to deliver him from that. So that's where we find ourselves here. And so they're delivering him up to the governor, Felix, and they're basically gonna try him. They're gonna have a trial there where the Ananias, the chief priest, is gonna come and accuse him and basically try to prove to Felix why he deserves the death penalty. Now, let's go to chapter 23 and verse 32 to get some context here, and then we'll read into chapter 34. It says in verse 32, On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him and returned to the castle, who when they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was, and when he understood that he was of Cilicia, I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall. So basically Paul's just waiting for these Jews to basically bring whatever evidence they think they have, have Ananias the high priest come and accuse him so that they can basically punish him. Look at verse number one of chapter 24. It says here, And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertulus, who informed the governor against Paul. So this is the prosecutor, okay? Now I want you to notice that basically, first and foremost, that Ananias the chief priest, he was there when he heard Paul teaching. Tertulus was not. So it's like, why does Ananias the chief priest have to bring some sort of lawyer, an orator? Well, because of the fact that he has nothing on Paul. You know, Paul is not teaching damnable heresy. In fact, he's mad at Paul because Paul is teaching the resurrection, which is something that the chief priest rejects because he's a Sadducee. They don't believe in the resurrection. They don't believe in angels. They don't believe in spirits. And obviously he caused that dissension between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The guy's still mad about that. So he's coming down, but he hired an orator to come and basically condemn him. Now, notice that it calls him an orator. And what that means today, we would say basically he's a public speaker, right? He's eloquent in his speech. He's able to deliver. He knows how to speak well and to communicate. But when it comes to law, an orator is just another name for a plaintiff, okay? Basically someone who's gonna persecute this guy or prosecute him and bring a suit against him in court, okay? Now here's the thing is that there's really nothing wrong with being an orator, right? An orator is just someone who knows how to communicate well. They know how to put the cookie on the bottom shelf. And if you think about it, every pastor and every preacher should learn how to be a good orator as well. You know, we should try to refine our preaching and our delivery, our utterance. And in fact, the Bible talks about that very often. You know, the apostle Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, he tells them that he wants them to abound in their utterance, their ability to speak, to preach, to communicate. Why is that? Well, because of the fact that if we have this treasure in earthen vessels, we wanna make sure that we make it as simple as possible, that we're able to preach with clarity where we don't leave doubt in the minds of the hearers of what we're talking about, what we're preaching about, right? So it's important that we grow in utterance. And I would say this is that any pastor or any individual who wants to be a pastor, you gotta keep in mind that the Bible says you have to be apt to teach. And that not only means know what you're talking about, but it also means be able to speak it well, be able to deliver the truth of God's word well. Don't be some boring preacher, some Presbyterian boring preacher who's just reading a bunch of facts, or he needs, like, you know, by the way, I have notes, but there's preachers out there who literally write their entire sermon and all they do is just read from their notes. They don't speak from the heart. Why? Because number one, either they're false prophets and they don't wanna slip up, because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, or two, they just haven't grown in their utterance. They don't trust themselves. They don't have the truth internalized and therefore they need to just read 100% off their notes, you know, and not basically get off of that, okay? So it's not bad to be an orator. Every preacher should be a good speaker, okay? And look, I struggle sometimes and, you know, I'm constantly trying to refine my preaching and obviously, you know, being a good orator is not at the exclusion of being spirit-filled. You know, we're supposed to be spirit-filled, have the power of God upon our lives, speak with boldness, and it's not at the exclusion of being spirit-filled. It's what we can do on our part to make sure that we speak well, okay? Now the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 4, 2, Paul speaking here says, "'But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully.'" Okay? So he's saying, look, he's an orator, he's a speaker, but the difference is this, is that he's not trying to be deceitful. When he preaches God's word, he's not trying to handle the word of God deceitfully in a crafty manner to teach false doctrine or to coerce people into believing what he believes. You know, he's just plainly preaching what the word of God says, okay? And he's saying, look, false prophets on the other hand, they have to use the word of God deceitfully because they have their personal agenda that they want to carry out. And so, Tertulus is an example of this because he's trying to steer the conversation in such a way that he can condemn Paul and convince the governor that Paul is a really bad guy. Okay? Now look, if this was taking place in the Old Testament, Tertulus would be put to death. Because why? What does Tertulus want to happen to the apostle Paul? He wants him to die. They're trying to put him to death, right? Whereas in the Old Testament, if you brought a railing accusation like that towards an individual and you had no evidence for that, you would actually receive the same punishment that you were trying to inflict upon that individual. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 19, 18, and the judges shall make diligent inquisition. And behold, if the witness be a false witness and have testified falsely against his brother, then shall you do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother. So shall thou put away the evil from among you. So he's saying, look, if you are a false witness and if you falsely accuse someone in order to inflict some sort of punishment, whether it's stripes, a beating, or even the death penalty, and they find out that you are a false witness, then you actually receive the punishment that you wanted that individual to have. And that was supposed to deter lying. False witnesses, right? You would have a lot less false witnesses today if this was still implemented. And so according to what we see here, if Tertulus was under that type of system, he would be put to death, he would be crucified, or however they want to put him to death by scourging, by examination, according to the Romans, because he's a liar. So he's being hired by the Jews to bear false witness against the apostle Paul. Now, here's the thing, he has zero evidence against Paul. He wasn't even there. The guy's not even there, okay? Ananias was, but Tertulus was not there. And I know for a fact that Ananias hired this guy. I know for a fact that he's paying this guy to basically lie about the apostle Paul. Why? Because that is the way of the Jew in the Bible. I mean, think about it. When Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave, the stone was rolled away, and you had the two soldiers who they're like, the stone was rolled away, an angel came down, and then what did the Jews do? They came to them, paid them, and said, look, if anybody asks, you just say the disciples came in and took that body away. And if this come into the ears of the governors, we'll secure you. Just this complete false witness, just a lie. They're paying someone off to just completely bear false witness about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And look, it was effective, because that saying was basically come abroad even unto this day, the Bible says. A lot of people believe that that's what happened because of the fact that that was commonly reported amongst, whether the Romans or the Jews, that, oh, the disciples came and they took his body away. He didn't really even resurrect. They just stole his body away to make it seem as though he resurrected, just lying. So this is basically what's happening with Ananias. He's bringing this guy, this orator, this lawyer, this great speaker, in order to convince Felix that, hey, Paul's a really bad guy, et cetera. Now, how does he open his case against the apostle Paul? Does he bring facts? You know, does he bring, does he say, look, this is the evidence that this guy is a heretic, he's teaching damnable heresy. No, he starts off his prosecution with flattery. Not with facts, flattery. Why, because when you don't have facts, what else are you gonna rely on? You know, you have to try to pervert the judgment of the listener by flattering them. Look what it says in verse two. And when he was called forth, Tertulus began to accuse him, saying, seeing that by thee, speaking to Felix, the governor, we enjoy great quietness. Just kissing up, right? And that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence. We accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix with all thankfulness. Oh man, this is just like swelling words of vanity is what it is. Now, withstanding that I be not further tedious, I don't wanna, I'm not trying to bother you. I'm so sorry we have to do all this. I'm so sorry to be so tedious. I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words. What is clemency? His graciousness, his compassion. So he's just caking on the flattery. Why? Because he's trying to win Felix over through flattery, not through facts, through flattery. You know what, preachers, we don't use flattery when we preach God's word. Because we're not trying to convince you of some personal agenda that we have or something. We're trying to convince you of God's word and therefore we use God's word. We use the truth. We preach with clarity, okay? Only wicked individuals flatter their audience in order to try to get them to believe what they believe. The Bible says in Psalm 5, nine, for there is no faithfulness in their mouth and their inward part is very wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulcher. They flatter with their tongue. Psalm 12, verse two says, they speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. Hey, be careful when people are flattering you. Let that be a red flag when people come to you and they're like, oh man, you are just so godly and man, you just got everything in order. I just want to be just like you and that sermon was awesome. By the way, I'm not saying you can't compliment the sermons, all right? But there's certain individuals that they cake it on so much, it's very insincere. To the poor, it's just like, I don't really think you like the sermon. It doesn't really sound like you really like the sermon. It's a very shallow type of a comment. Whereas, you know, I get people, sometimes they'll compliment me on my sermons and they'll say the specifics of that sermon. This point that you made right here was really good. This point, this, you know. That's obviously not flatter, that's being complimentary. But there's people who literally just flatter because they're trying to deceive you, okay? And there's pastors out there that do that. He has to flatter the governor in order to deceive him and this is a tactic that's still used today. It's used to pervert judgment and let me just go out and just say it. Manly Perry is a perfect example of that, okay? Where he literally flatters people, you know, this pastor over in Texas, in order to get them to believe his damnable heresy that the people don't burn in hell or whatever. And let me just, let me share this example about Manly Perry's flattery, okay? Before he was even found out to be a heretic and when he was kind of going out the door a little bit and he seemed a little contentious or something but we just really didn't know anything about it. He was at the Red Hot Preaching Conference and at the Red Hot Preaching Conference, all the pastors went out to eat, we're having lunch together and I was at a table with Pastor Jimenez, Pastor Thompson and Manly Perry, okay? And the topic of Bob Gray Jr. came up. Now Bob Gray Jr., he's an old IFP pastor. He used to go to our old church and he preached at the youth conference. I heard the gospel from him. He invited us to come down to the altar and when I came down to the altar, there was a soul winner there, led me to the Lord, I got saved, thankful for his ministry. So you know, I was like, yeah, he seems like a good guy and I really like him, you know, I'm really thankful for his ministry and he just began to just criticize him and say all manner of evil against him and it was just like a really awkward conversation because I'm like, oh man, okay, so we differ on opinions on Bob Gray Jr., obviously. Well, a couple weeks later, he gives me a call, Manly Perry and he's like, you know, answered the phone and then he's like, hey, brother. And I'm like, hey, Pastor Perry and he's like, Pastor Perry? No, brother, call me Brother Manly, preacher. You know, don't call me Pastor Perry, it's so formal. You're a lot cooler than that. Just call me Brother Manly, call me by my first name, Brother Manly, it's called Flatter, okay? And he was basically telling me, he's like, hey, did you talk to Bob Gray Jr. about our conversation? I'm like, no, I haven't talked to him in like a long time. And he's, oh man, because I'm trying to call him, he's not answering my phone calls and I'm just wondering, maybe you mentioned something to him, you know? So basically, he's afraid that the reason he's not answering the phone is because he knows he's talking crap about Bob Gray Jr. And I thought that was very strange, but I just remember that conversation where he's just like, don't call me Pastor Perry, call me Brother Manly. This is flattery, folks. And look, that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his nonsense, okay? You know what Paul the apostle said? For neither at any time use we flattering words as ye know nor cloak of covetousness, God is witness. You know the kind of preachers we need today is the kind of pastors that just are not afraid to say it how it is, not afraid to offend their congregants, just say the truth. And look, the congregation will respect you that much more if you just tell the truth. If you say it like it is, if you don't use flattering words. Trying to pay off your people to follow you. It's nonsense, folks. You're a servant of man, not a servant of Christ. So this is how he comes. He comes to the door, flattering Felix, oh noble Felix and all this and you're just so gracious and your clemency and we just have great quietness because of you and now let me go ahead and condemn this individual since I got your attention. Look at verse five. For we have found this man a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes who also had gone about to profane the temple whom we took and would have judged according to our law. So what does he call him? He calls him a pestilent fellow. Basically he's calling me like a diseased individual. This guy's like a disease. He's just everywhere. He's like the coronavirus. He's just everywhere. I mean you put your mask on, it still gets through. You socially distance, it still gets through unless you go between the front of the entrance of the restaurant and you can get to your table then you can take your mask off and then at that point there's some force field where it can't get you or something you know. He's just this pestilent fellow because he's just spreading his doctrine everywhere. He's pestilent. Now look, obviously he means this as an insult but it kind of shows that Paul's just doing his job, right? Because the Bible tells us an unjust man is an abomination to the just and he that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. He's like you're like a disease. You're like an abomination to us. You're like a pestilent fellow. Well that's how it should be. But what's unfortunate is that an unjust man is no longer an abomination to the just. You know a lot of just people accept abominable people whether in their church or associations and friends. They're willing to just befriend these wicked individuals because they're no longer an abomination. Well folks, you know, he that forsaken the law praise the wicked, the Bible tells us, okay? When an individual forsakes the law what's an indication that they forsook the law when they begin to praise the wicked? You know, but the people who keep the law they contend with them according to the Bible. Why are you so contentious against these false prophets? I'll tell you why, because I keep the law. Because I'm keeping the word of God. But this brings new meaning when he calls him a pestilent fellow to what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 4, 13. He says, being defamed, we entreat. What does it mean to be defamed? Just to be reviled and railed against and falsely accused. He says, we entreat. So look, if they're accusing him of heresy he's like, I'm willing to just stand up for myself and say, hey, let me defend myself. I'm not teaching heresy. Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, he says, a pestilence and are the off scouring of all things unto this day. And look folks, this shows us that when it comes to the Christian life you're not going to be able to please everyone. So our goal should never be, well, let me just see how I can make everyone happy in this world. Every Christian in Christianity, you know, whether new IFB, old IFB, you know, whether they're Presbyterian or Calvinist or Methodist, I'm just going to try to make everyone happy. It doesn't work that way. It does not work that way. Because if you please everyone and no one thinks that you're the filth of this world then you're compromising. You went from preacher to politician, right? You've gone from preacher to politician because a politician seeks to please everyone all across the board. But you know what the problem with that is? Is that a politician lacks integrity. Because how are you going to please everyone if everyone has a different opinion? That means you got to speak out of both sides of your mouth. That means you got to tell group A what they want to hear even though they disagree with group B. And when you're with group B you say what group B wants to hear. Folks, it doesn't work that way. Not with preachers, not with men of God. As men of God, we need to make sure that our yeas yay, our nays nay, we need to make sure that we preach God's word. And if there's people out there that think, oh, you guys are just the outscouring of this world. You're the filth, you're a pestilent fellow. So be it. You're just confirming that what I'm doing is right. We can't be the kind of Christians that say, well, I don't want anyone to hate me. I don't want to have problems with anybody. Then you've chosen a wrong occupation then, okay? Now for a Christian just in general, you should not be that way. But surely not for a pastor. For a pastor, you need to go into the pastorate recognizing that people are going to hate your guts if you preach the word of God, okay? Why? Because we testify that the works of this world are evil. At least we're supposed to, right? That's one of our jobs is to preach the word be it's the in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. Folks, who are we reproving? Who are we rebuking? Well, false prophets, false doctrine, things that are contrary to scripture. We know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully, knowing that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers, murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them to defile themselves with mankind, for man stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. It's like just in case I missed anything, let me just say this, anything that is contrary to sound doctrine, that's what the law is for, okay? And that's what we're supposed to be preaching, you understand? The Bible says in 1 Peter, you don't have to turn to chapter four, verse 14, says, if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, sad are ye, bummed out are ye, depressed are ye, no, happy are ye. He's not telling us to be happy, he says you better be happy, you are happy. Happy are ye. Put a smile on your face. Why? Why, because you got enemies? No, because for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. That's why. So when there's individuals out there that reproach you because of what you believe, they hate you, you're the pestilent fellow, you're the off scouring of this world, happy are ye. Smile! Why, because at that point you recognize the spirit of Christ is on me. It's on me. On their part, he's evil spoken of, but on your part, he is glorified. You know, on their part, it's just like, they're just reviling God and Jesus and the Bible, and they're just saying all manner of evil against that way, but for us, it's like, man, God is being glorified. Oh, you're being a bad testimony. Here it says we're glorifying God. Yeah, but you're not gonna get people saved like that. How does that hinder our soul winning at all? How does that, how does preaching hard hinder our soul winning? It doesn't. That's a straw man that people throw out there. Oh, if you preach like that, you're not gonna reach anybody. Says who? Folks, we don't reach people by just being nice people. We reach people by soul winning. By preaching the gospel. Oh, you're just, what kind of spirit do you have that's called the Holy Spirit? You know, meet the Holy Spirit. I know it's foreign, I know he's foreign to you. I know if you've never seen this side of the Holy Spirit, because you're too busy, you know, reading commentaries and making, you know, these commentaries that try to portray the Holy Spirit as being feminine and just soft and all these things. Folks, the Holy Spirit reproves the world of sin, the Bible says. He bears witness. It says, but let none of you suffer as a murderer, as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody, nor the man's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. Are you being judged today by the world? If so, then that's the priority. Judgment must begin at the house of God. Yeah, but that doesn't sound very pleasant though, pastor. Like judgment must begin with us. Yeah, well it says, and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? So don't worry. You know, God will recompense you. But you know, don't have this mentality that, well, I just need to make sure that I please everyone and you know, I just want to make sure that everyone is happy with me, that I can just befriend every single individual, old IFP, new IFP. I want to be able to reach into both groups. And you know, you might be able to do that to some people, but the vast majority of them will reject you. Those who are worldly, those who are wicked, you will be an abomination unto them. Think about it. Remember when Joseph brought his family to Egypt? They had to sit at a different table. Because the shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. And then Joseph just used that to his advantage. He was like, look, I'm going to put you guys in Goshen and you just make sure you say you guys are shepherds. Because shepherds are an abomination unto the Egyptians, so he's not going to think twice to let you just go to Goshen. Away from them because they're an abomination. Let's use it to our advantage. Let's use the fact that the world hates us and thinks that we're pestilent fellows to be more separated from them. Right? We should use the fact that they think we're just a disease and the off-scouring of this world to be that much more different than them. Let them think that. I don't care. So he said, he's a pestilent fellow, governor. Look at verse seven. Here come the lies. But the chief captain, Lysias, came upon us and with great violence took him away out of our hands. You liar. He's saying that Claudius Lysias came and just like whooped all the Jews and just grabbed Paul and just took him away with great violence. No violence took place during the capture and the rescuing of the apostle Paul. They left at midnight when everyone was sleeping. Who are the ones who are really trying to be violent? The Jews. Oh, did you forget to mention that little detail where they weren't going to eat or drink until they killed Paul? Oh, you left out that little detail. Didn't you? Did you leave out that little detail that you guys caused an uprising and tried to take Paul's life simply because he believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead? That there's 40 guys who want to take his life yet you're saying that Claudius Lysias was the violent one? Just because he brought 470 men, he's protecting Paul from your violence. Liar. Commanding his accusers to come unto thee by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things whereof we accuse him. Oh, and the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so. He said, oh yeah, all the Jews, they agree with all this that happened. They'll testify that this really happened. Why, where are they at then? Here's the interesting thing, folks. He's claiming that all these people know all these things about the apostle Paul and they have the evidence too, but no one shows up. Why is it that Ananias, the high priest, is the only one there? And Tertulus, who wasn't even there? Oh, we got all kinds of, there's all kinds of pastors that agree with me. I'll get into that in just a bit. I don't want to steal my thunder for that point. Look at verse 10. Then Paul, after the governor, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, for as much as I know that thou has been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. That's a proper way to speak. He's not being, he's not trying to flatter him. He's like, I know that you're the judge here. You've been this judge of this nation for many years. I'm just gonna talk for myself. Because that thou mayest understand that there are yet but 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship, and they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city, neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. He's like, I didn't do any of this. And they can't even prove of these so-called accusations, they can't prove it. They can't. And it's funny, if you have 40 guys who are trying to take your life, you would think one of them has evidence. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worshiped by the God of my fathers. He said, look, the only thing I'm guilty of is worshiping God. The only thing I'm guilty of is believing what the Bible actually says. Believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. So look, that was a great answer right there. He said, the only thing I'm guilty of is believing the Bible. Oh, that sounds familiar today. You guys are so wicked and evil, you believe people should be put to death and all these things. So what are we guilty of, believe in the Bible? You guys are so mean and you guys say all these manner of evil things. What are we guilty of, just preaching the Bible? We can literally just read a verse and we're just guilty. That's not like Jesus, even though we're quoting Jesus. That's not Christianity, even though we're preaching from that which Christianity comes from, which is the word of God. So what are we guilty of, being Christians? Being legitimate, potent Christians, right? This is what Paul's saying. They can say whatever they want, they have no evidence that I did any of that. The only thing I'm guilty of is believing the word of God, believing the prophets, believing the Psalms, believing Jesus, believing everything, the prophecies which went before on me. That's the only thing he's guilty of. And you know what, guilty is charged. And people come, oh, did you say this on this day, on this sermon? Yep. Guilty. It's like when they try to persecute Daniel. Then said these men in Daniel chapter six, verse five, says we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. He's so squeaky clean that we would have to actually prosecute him regarding the law of God. And how it contradicts some law of the land, basically. That's the only thing he would be guilty of. But even then, in the eyes of God, he's not guilty. Look at verse 15. And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. So what is he saying here? He's like, look, having hope toward God, which they themselves also allow. You know, because the Pharisees believe in the resurrection. So it's funny, you have a group of individuals out there in that council, known as the Pharisees, who believe in the resurrection, yet I'm being condemned for believing the resurrection. Ain't that funny? Right? How can we apply that today? It's like this, it's like, oh, you guys, all you do is preach the reprobate doctrine. You know, when our so-called brethren out there, independent fundamental Baptists, King James users, want to say, oh, you guys preach all this hate, it's like, well, I'm using the same Bible to use. Does my Bible say something different than your Bible? Says the same exact thing. Here's the difference. I actually read that portion, and you don't. Amen. Paul is so savage. Have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow. Which they themselves also allow. This is another sermon for another day. I just want to let you know they believe the same thing. That there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. What is this referring to? Well, you know, there is a resurrection, not just on our part for believers, but there's actually a resurrection of unsaved people as well. Okay. Well, how can that be if, you know, there's no body in the current hell? Well, that's because the lake of fire, which is also known as hell according to Jesus Christ, is going to be the place where he relocates the current hell, and where body and soul shall be cast into. We shouldn't call the lake of fire hell, or we're going to confuse people. No, you're confusing people. Amen. Let me just call out another preacher. Joe Major. He's an idiot. Let me just go on and say it. The guy is a complete fool. You know why? Because this guy was a conference, a KJV, King James, conference speaker. That means he's for the King James. That means he believes every word, supposedly. Yeah. Yet he wants to get up and teach that the lake of fire should not be called. It's not hell. The lake of fire is not hell. You know, you don't burn forever in the current hell because it's going to be relocated to the lake of fire. The lake of fire is not hell. Well, Jesus said that it is hell. So how do you explain that? Because if he says in Matthew chapter 10, that both soul and body shall be cast into hell, that's referring to the lake of fire. Because there is no physical body in the current location of hell right now. Only souls. There are only souls in the center of the earth. I just lost like all the flat earthers right now. I'll click out, thumbs down. The earth is flat. Here's an article. Currently at this moment, hell, which is in the heart of the earth, there are souls there, there are no bodies. So what is Jesus talking about when he says both soul and body? Well, that's referring to the lake of fire. Which is opened up and is, you know, is open for vacancy at the end of the millennial reign. So at the inception of the millennial reign, the false prophet and the beast are cast into the lake of fire alive. They occupy the lake of fire known as hell for 1,000, they get it to themselves, for 1,000 years. Once those 1,000 years are expired, you have the battle of Gog and Magog, and then God basically collects all the wicked individuals of this world with Satan himself, and they are all cast into the lake of fire. And the Bible tells us that the books were open, the sea gives up their dead. Now look, hell gives up its dead, referring to the souls, but it also says the sea gives up their dead. So what is that referring to, the bodies? Because there are no, there's no like, souls in the sea, folks. You know, we don't believe in this Pirates of the Caribbean nonsense or something, where there's like, people die out at sea and they just want, there's a ghost ship out there somewhere or something. What is that referring to? It's referring to the people who have died out at sea whose bodies are still there. That's what it's talking about. That's so, what in the world, that's so stupid. You really believe, they've been eaten by sharks, and you know, what about the people in the Titanic? Those people are gone, the bodies are no longer there. Yeah, God is able to reunite the cells of that body, the skin, the bones, the flesh of that body, to be reunited with that soul to be cast into hell. But he's God. Folks, if you question that, then you're gonna have a hard time believing our resurrection. Because that's what happens to us. Do you know there's people that have been dead for thousands of years who have been saved? Their bodies are decomposed. How about the ones that were burned at the stake? Are you saying that God can't gather their bodies together and resurrect them? You know, that's heretical for you to say something like that, because God is able. He's God. God is powerful, he's almighty, he's able to do these things. And look, you say, well, why would God do that then? Why would he put both soul and body in hell? Because the resurrection of the dead is a contrast to the resurrection of the saved. Because right now in heaven, I mean, other than the exception of Elijah, Enoch, everyone who's up there, their soul is up there. Their bodies are sleeping in the grave, or they're in the sea or wherever they died. And at the resurrection, which is the rapture, their bodies shall meet their soul in the air, shall meet the Lord in the air. You know, their bodies shall resurrect, and then they will be glorified, okay? They will receive their transfigured, celestial body at the resurrection, to live forever. And look, it's not like we get our bodies at the resurrection, and then we just part ways, like, hey man, nice to meet you. Man, you look good. Man, you look great. I wish I would've looked like this when I was down there on earth or something. And then we just part ways. No, it's joined together forever. Well, in like manner, the resurrection of the dead or the damned, they are also reunited with their physical body, and they burn forever. This is why the Bible says that hell, referring to the lake of fire, is a place where the fire is not quenched and the worm dieth not. The worm is referring to the physical body, okay? Go to Isaiah 66. Let me just chase this rabbit here real quick. Make some stew. Isaiah 66, and look at verse 24. It's the last chapter of the book of Isaiah. Look at verse 24, it's the last verse. It says here, and they shall go forth, Isaiah 66, verse 24, and they shall go forth, and look upon the what? Carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die. Neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be in abhorring unto all flesh. So the carcass is synonymous with the worm. So when the New Testament quotes this, it's referring to Isaiah 66, verse 24. The fire is not quenched, the worm dieth not. So why is there a resurrection of the damned? Well, because of the fact that God's gonna resurrect them, cast them into the lake of fire, and they will burn forever. Impossible, brother, I think it's just gonna burn up, it's just gonna disappear. Manly Perry, exactly, I feel the same way, son. He's right, you get it, you got the joke. How is that even possible? Well, you know, there's something called the burning bush that was on fire but never consumed, not consumed. It was not burning up. God, in his power and his excellency, is able to create a fire that burns but does not consume the object or whatever is being burned. And don't tell me what God can and can't do. Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it? Why hast thou made me thus? Why are we gonna question God's ability in his power? At that point, question why a soul never burns, right? It lives forever somewhere, it exists somewhere. So we see there that when he talks about, he's telling them about the resurrection of the just and the unjust. He's basically getting ready to preach the gospel unto them. Go back to Acts 24. So I wanna show that there because people, I mean, we're living in the last days, folks. When people are bringing up damnable heresy, they are teaching doctrines of devils. They're being seduced by spirits and doctrines of devils. They're departing from the faith saying that hell's not forever. You're not gonna be in hell forever. Joe Major says that you're not gonna be, hell's not forever because the current hell's gonna be relocated to the lake of fire and therefore hell's not forever. This is such a stupid teaching. They wanna be so special and so unique that they end up teaching just heresy, false doctrine, and they just look stupid, okay? You say that's such a basic doctrine, why do you gotta go over it? Because, I mean, pastors who are supposed to be apt to teach are teaching that. Let's move on, look at verse 16. And herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void to offense toward God and toward man. Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation and offerings, whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude nor with tumult. So what is he talking about? He's referring back to when he first arrived to Jerusalem. And if you remember, he basically took a Nazarite vow and James told him, hey, go with this guy, make an offering at the temple, so you're gonna placate the Jews. That's what he's referring to. And he said, look, these Jews from Asia who followed me down here to Jerusalem, they saw me purified in the temple, neither with multitude nor with tumult. In other words, you can ask them, when they found me in the temple, I didn't have my gang with me. I wasn't mobbing, I was just in the temple. Verse 19, who ought to have been here before thee? What is he saying? He goes, by the way, those guys should be here testifying against me since they were there. And object if they had ought against me. Or else let thee say, excuse me, verse 20. Or else let thee same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me while I stood before the council, except it be for this one voice that I cried standing among them, touching the resurrection of the dead I am called and questioned by you this day. So what is he saying? This is great. The Bible is so relevant, folks, to today. He's saying, look, where are all those guys that are claiming that I did this? The only one you got is this one guy, referring to Ananias. So do we know the names of the other guys? Who's the only name that we know? Ananias. You know why? Because they're lying. So, oh, man, did that happen sometime? Oh, yeah, that's right, Manly Perry. You know, he's been teaching this doctrine, oh, Judas got people saved, right? Judas is a superstar. He got people saved, and he put out this document on Facebook. Can't make this stuff up. I mean, he made it up, but you can't make up how stupid this is up, okay? He put out this document, and he's like, I contacted seven pastors who have no affiliation with the new IFB, no affiliation with any of us or any of the new IFB or any, you know, Baptists, or I don't know what he said. I know for sure he said new IFB. And he goes, and this is the question that I asked him, and he put this in quotes. So basically, he's saying, he's quoting himself. And he basically asked these preachers, hey, preacher, do you believe Judas had converts? I don't, you know, and that's what he said. And then he put the responses of those seven pastors on that document. He said, who are they? I don't know. They didn't have names, except for one. Just like these guys. There's 40 people, supposedly, who have all this evidence backing up, you know, these guys or whatever, but they're not even present to testify. We don't even know if they really exist. And then like Paul said, oh yeah, but there's one voice here. Now who is the one voice for Manley Perry? Bob Gray Jr.? So it's funny, he doesn't name any of the pastors in that thing, he just says pastor from Texas. Probably himself. Pastor from Virginia says this. Doesn't name anybody, but conveniently names Bob Gray Jr. And Bob Gray Jr. basically stated, yes, he had converts because the nature of false prophets is to evangelize, right? And he says that, that was him agreeing with him. But here's the thing, the reference said in Matthew 23 verse 15. What does Matthew 23 verse 15 say? Well, it's a quote from Jesus to the Pharisees saying, won't you scribe Pharisees hypocrites for you can pass land and sea to make one cross light and after he is made, you make them twofold more a child of hell than yourselves. So even his one witness, win this against him. Because Manley Perry didn't even check the Bible. So I called Bob. Because I've known him for a couple years and I called him. And I said, I called him last Friday and I said, hey, did you have this conversation with this guy? And he said, yeah, I had a conversation with him. And I say, well, what'd he say? He said, but he didn't mention anything about Judas. He didn't mention Judas at all. Really? What did he mention? Well, he asked me, do you believe in false prophets? And I said, yes. And then the follow up question was, do you believe false prophets have converts? To which I replied, yes, because the very nature of false prophets is to make proselytes. Rev. Matthew 23, verse 15. And he went on further to say, and you know what? That's why they try to infiltrate churches to make converts of the congregation. Because that's what they do. And I asked him, I said, so do you believe, like, did Judas, like, got people saved? He said, look, this is what he told me, okay? He said, in the Bible, you have examples of apostles preaching the gospel, but you also have examples of apostles bringing other people to Christ. Like, Peter's brother brought him to Christ, like, literally brought him. He's like, why do we even have an example of Judas doing that? There's not even one example of him doing that. And look, he, like many other old IFP pastors, probably believed that false prophets could get people saved. You know why? Because a lot of times, folks, let me just break it to you. Old IFP pastors are just kind of shallow in their doctrine. And they don't really go down deep when it comes to this doctrine of false prophets. I already knew that. And I didn't call him to find out, hey, do you believe this, and why do you believe this, and all this, no, because I already knew what he believed. I wanted to verify if this was true. Which it was false. But isn't it interesting that all the other pastors, it's like, hold on a second. If these guys have no affiliation with the new IFP, why not just name them? Right? Think about that. If they have zero affiliation with the new IFP, why not just drop their names? What harm will that do? You know why? Because it's Michael Johnson, another false prophet. It's Joe Major. It's Manley Perry, Perry Manley, and whoever else. And let me just go on record once again, Manley Perry is a false prophet. And I told that to Bob Gray Jr. He asked me, he's like, do you believe he's a false prophet? I said, absolutely, and this is why. And I'm not going back on that. He's had enough dandable heresy for me to see and prove according to the word of God, this guy is a wicked false prophet. He's teaching dandable heresy, and you know what? The guy is not saved at all. So, man, Paul's like doing a great job here. He's like, who ought to have been here before thee? So where are all these guys at? Where are all these pastors from Texas, pastor from Virginia, pastor from this state? Where are they at? Why aren't they commenting on here? Saying, yeah, it's actually me. And by the way, if they are real people, they're still weaklings, right? Hey, if you're gonna quote me, put my name on it. Because if that's what I believe, why would I be afraid to say it? That's why we put our sermons online. That's why we even chop them up and put the hottest part of the clip online so that you know this is what I believe. This is who I am. Why go back on it? And look, folks, this is a major difference between the old IFP and the new IFP. I'm reading through second Samuel right now. There's this conflict between Saul and David. And there's a statement that just stuck out to me as I was reading it this morning. It said this, it said, the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker, and the house of David grew stronger and stronger. And the house of Saul is a picture of the old IFP. And the house of David is like the new IFP. And look, David is constantly trying to reach out to Saul, trying to get him to get right, love him, reach out to him, just unwilling to do it. Wants to kill David, is jealous of David, doesn't like the way David deals with things, is just has this agenda against David. And what does the Bible tell us? It says that his house begins to grow weaker and weaker. You know what I see, in my observation of the old IFP, it's grown weaker and weaker as the years go by. You know, my father-in-law is incapacitated. And I told my wife, I said, look, I'm not glad that your dad's incapacitated, but I'm glad that he finished his life well. Or his ministry well, should I say. Because I have no, you know, we never saw any compromise from him. It's like he never had a chance to even come to that point where he could potentially compromise. He just finished strong. But you know what, the same cannot be said of other pastors. Well, I'm greatly disappointed in, to be honest with you. It's getting to a point where it's just like, who could I look up to? I guess no one else other than the Lord, amen. And it's getting to a point where it's just like, well, I guess we got to take this bull by the horns and just lead the way. Because the previous generation, the house of Saul is growing weaker and weaker. And folks, I don't want our church to be weak. I don't want our doctrine to be weak. I don't want our stances to be weak. Be strong. Say like it is, preach hard, win souls, expose false prophets, love people, do it all. Out in the open. And look folks, God is a God who wants everything out in the open. Everything. Names called, what you're talking about. He wants nothing to be done in secret. And let me just give you an extreme example of this, okay? Genesis 19, which is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed. We often think, well, maybe it was just done at night or something. It was done in the morning. In broad daylight. He's like, do it in broad daylight when everyone can see. He's not hiding it. He's like, well, just do like a, you know, three o'clock in the morning when no one can see and they just wake up and they just see all this rubble and they don't know what happened. No, he wanted everyone, everyone to see what he did. He's not ashamed of it. It was a righteous act. It was a just act. You know, most old IFP preacher would be like, God, can you just do that at night, please? So as to not to offend Laish. So as to not to offend the surrounding cities. We're trying to win them over, Lord. But their glory is not good. Be ashamed of what the Bible says, amen? Never be ashamed of what the Bible says. Stand up for the truth. Don't compromise. And look, if you make a statement, stick with it. Stick with it. Now, obviously, if you're wrong, you're wrong. Change it, don't be stubborn. But look, I'm talking about making a statement where it's like, this is the truth. Don't buckle under the pressure of outside forces trying to get you to compromise. You tell that guy to go jump on the lake of fire. Retain your integrity. Look at verse 19. Or I've already ripped on Manly Prairie, nevermind. Verse 22, and when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them and said, When Lycias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter. He commanded us in turn to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him. So, you know, Felix, he's not like a reprobate or anything. I think he's just an unsaved ruler. Because he's being gracious to the apostle Paul. He's like, let his people come and see him, and talk to them, don't forbid them. Look at verse 24, and after certain days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. So, Paul's like preaching the gospel to him, he's trying to win him over. So, he's open-minded. But then look at verse 25. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, Hold thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. So, what does that mean? He's just fearful. So, he's here and he's like, oh man, this is scary. Don't call me, I'll call you. Don't call my people, I'll call your people. I'll call you when it's a convenient time. I'm not trying to hear this right now. I'm about to make my third round to the vomitorium or whatever. He's like, I need to go do other things. I'm a ruler, I don't want to hear of these things. He's just fearful, okay? And look, Paul's reasoning of righteousness, temperance and judgment, he's preaching the gospel to him. Why? Righteousness, there's none righteous, no, not one. Judgment obviously is the judgment to come regarding hell. Temperance, I believe what he's referring to there, temperance is what we would describe as being self-control, right? But when it comes to us as humans, we often view that as temperance as in self-control from inner inhibitions, sinful habits that we may have, or just trying to control the flesh, right? That's what we would say to be temperate. But really what it just means is just restraint. Self-control, so I think what he's referring to there is the fact that God is compassionate, he's gracious, he's restrained the wrath of God upon that person's life. His mercies are new every day. So it's just like, hey, you're alive today because God allowed you to be alive, you know? Kind of thing, so he's seeking, he wants to seek the truth when it's convenient. And then lastly, he's just your good old fashioned politician look what it says in verse 26. He hoped also that money should have been given to him by Paul, that he might lose him. Look what it says, wherefore he sent for him the oftener and communed with him. What does that mean? In other words, he's just like, this guy's not getting the gist here. Where's that bribe? So like when he's in his cell, he's like, hey, bring Paul over here again. And he's like listening to him, he's just like, you know, I like what you're saying. I get what you're saying, you know, I think you might be innocent, but if you could just, you know, and Paul's not, you know, he's not gonna bribe him. But this guy's probably used to taking bribes. He's like, if you just, you know, give me a couple of shekels or some denarii or something, maybe we could just forget about this whole thing. So he's often calling for him, I mean, over a lengthy period of time. And Paul's just like, you know, either Paul's broke or he's just not trying to do it, you know? But after two years, Porcius Festus came into Felix's room and Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. So Porcius Festus is gonna take the place of Felix's authority. And, you know, often when people come out of office, they release people, they pardon people. Well, not Felix. You know, Felix is just like, yeah, pleasing the Jews to keep this guy in here, we're just gonna keep him in here. So that's where he finished off and will continue next week. By the way, this was written a long time ago, but isn't it just relevant today? You know why? Because it's God's word, that's why. It's timeless, amen? Let's fire our heads in on our word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, thank you for Paul's boldness. And although there's people out there that maybe we might lose respect for because they compromise or they fold, they buckle under the pressure, and maybe we don't have people that we can look up to, Lord, we have people in the Bible that we can look up to. Apostle Paul being one of them. We're like one of him and he's like one of us. He told it like it is and he finished his life well, Lord, and so thankful for his boldness and his stance and his unwillingness to compromise. In the face of adversity, when many people are against him, he's standing before magistrates and he's got to tools trying to condemn him. You got the high priest there backing that guy up and yet he's still holding fast his integrity. Lord, help us to be the same way. I pray that as we grow older, that we would not sway, that we would remain steadfast, unmovable, running in the work of the Lord. And I pray that, Lord, for myself that I'd be a harder preacher as I grow older. Think of Jack Hyles, he just got harder the older he got. And I pray that, Lord, you do the same for me, Lord. May I not compromise in my old age, Lord, and I pray, Father God, that you just making me so much the more fireier. And the same thing with everyone else. As years go by, help us to draw nigh to you and to hate sin that much the more and to love righteousness. We love you so much and we thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.