AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor knows how to wait on the Lord. Felix, the Roman governor who was now responsible for Paul’s future, was a man whose power was based on payment from people who depended on him for their well being. He and his wife sent for Paul so they could hear what he had to say. Paul presented the Gospel to them. However, Felix wanted more than words to free Paul; He wanted money.
Paul was still a prisoner and Felix sent for Paul frequently, hoping to get money from him. Two years went by and Felix was replaced by another governor named Festus. To keep the Jews happy and the landscape peaceful, Felix purposely left Paul in captivity.
The text doesn’t tell the reader what Paul did while he was a prisoner but, there was probably a little church made up of those who took care of Paul that developed during those two years.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today by waiting patiently on Him.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor takes care to have a clear conscience toward God and man. Paul was brought before his accusers, the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem, with the Roman governor Felix as the judge. The charges brought against him were stirring up riots around the world, and desecrating the temple.
Paul’s defense was that he had not stirred up the crowds in Jerusalem but, Jews from Asia created the chaos in Jerusalem causing his arrest. Then when he had a hearing before the Roman tribunal, the Jewish council began fighting among themselves because of a statement Paul made about the resurrection. The summary of Paul’s defense was I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today as you try to have a clear conscience before God and man.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor knows that God is in control of all circumstances in life. Paul’s life seemed to be controlled by the actions of the Jewish leaders and Roman governor’s. The Jewish council wanted to kill Paul and the Roman tribune needed to protect Paul to maintain his position in the government. To prevent Paul from being killed in Judea, the Roman tribune sent him to another region governed by Felix.
In the process of this transfer Paul was given a new audience for the message of the Gospel; two hundred soldiers who were sent to protect him as he travelled, the guards in Herod’s praetorium, and Felix. Even though the passage does not name names of who Paul shared the Gospel with, we know Paul was faithful to his calling in these circumstances. It also seems that he was given a lot of freedom, even though he was
incarcerated.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy our sovereign God today.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor lives within the protection of God’s grace and sees all things working together for good. Paul was a prisoner of the Roman tribune to protect him from the wrath of the Jewish leaders. These leaders were not happy that Paul was being protected and that they could not rid themselves of him. A plot was devised to have Paul sent to the Jewish council allegedly to question him more, but these men did not intend to question Paul. They had taken a vow not to eat or drink until they killed Paul.
God allowed a young man, Paul’s nephew, to hear of the plot. He immediately went to Paul and informed him of the ambush planned by the Jewish leaders. Paul sent his nephew to the tribune to inform him of the plot. The young informer was sworn to secrecy. God’s protecting grace was at work.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God as you see His protecting grace surround you.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor faces the future with courage given by God. The Roman tribune needed to know why the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Paul, so he brought Paul before the council made up of Pharisees and Sadducees. These two groups of Jewish leaders interpreted Scripture differently. The Pharisees believed in angels, spirits, and the resurrection of the body; while the Sadducees did not acknowledge these in their beliefs.
Paul, knowing the differences, very wisely made this meeting about these two belief systems which created chaos. The Pharisees and Sadducees began to violently fight among themselves when Paul stated, it is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. Paul was quickly removed from this dangerous setting by the Roman tribune who feared that Paul would be torn to pieces. The tribune would have a difficult time explaining Paul’s mistreatment to Roman superiors. So he protected Paul.
After a wild day before the Jewish leaders God spoke to Paul. The message was, be courageous because you will be facing the same type of encounters in Rome.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today as you live your faith with courage from God.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor can say I have lived my life before God in all good conscience. This was Paul’s defense to the Roman tribune and Jewish leaders. The tribune wanted to know why the Jews were accusing Paul to the point of wanting him dead. Paul’s statement angered the high priest so much that he instructed the men around Paul to strike him.
Paul responded to this abuse of authority by telling the high priest he was a hypocrite by his actions. Unaware that Ananais was the high priest, Paul’s response set him up for criticism. He had spoken ill of a ruler.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today as you live before Him in good conscience.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor uses the providence of heritage to spread the Gospel. Paul boldly shared the account of his life changing experience on the road to Damascus. His audience was the crowd of angry Jews whose plans to kill Paul had just been thwarted by the Roman Tribune. This crowd had the same heritage as Paul and he pointed out this connection in his speech.
They listened to Paul until he told them that God had sent him to the Gentiles. This statement made it necessary for the tribune to rescue Paul once again from an audience that was preparing to kill him. In an attempt to find out what made the crowd so angry the tribune decided to beat Paul to get this information.
Paul asked if it was lawful to punish a Roman citizen without due process of law. Then he informed the tribune, who had bought his citizenship, that he was a Roman citizen by birth. The tribune had broken Roman law in his treatment of Paul and risked losing his position of power. The providence of Paul’s heritage was genetic, Jewish, and geographical, Roman.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify God today as you enjoy the heritage He has given you.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor lives within the rights of citizenship, utilizing the benefits of government to spread the Gospel. Paul was arrested by the Roman tribune to protect him from the angry mob of Jews that wanted to kill him. As he was taken to the barracks to be held until the Romans decided what they should do with him, Paul requested to speak to the crowd following him.
The tribune gave him permission to speak. Paul seized this opportunity to tell the crowd how much alike they were. He proceeded to give the account of his life in rebellion against God until God changed his heart.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today as you pray for those who are a part of the government in our country.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor is protected by Providence. Jewish people from all regions of the Roman Empire travelled to Jerusalem to participate in the Feast of Pentecost, a national Jewish festival giving praise to God for the harvest. Jews from Asia, who were extremely opposed to the Gospel and the messenger of the Gospel, Paul, brought their hate to Jerusalem. They stirred up other Jews to the point of Paul being dragged from the temple to be put to death.
But, God had other plans for Paul. The Roman ruler of Jerusalem was informed of the chaos in his city and intervened by sending in troops to rescue Paul. The soldiers had to pick Paul up to take him away from the angry crowd. In order to carry out this rescue the ruler had Paul arrested so the Jews would be satisfied. As Paul was carried away the hate filled cry, away with him, echoed through the streets.
A few years earlier another Messenger of the Gospel had been taken to a Roman governor in Jerusalem with angry crowds screaming, away with Him. Paul praised God that He was counted worthy to suffer as Jesus had suffered for the sake of the Gospel. He knew that all things work together for good, Providence.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today as you see Providence at work in your life.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!
AWE FACTOR LIVING
The awe factor heeds the counsel of godly people. Paul was greeted with deep love and respect when he arrived in Jerusalem. He met with the church leaders and related the work that God had done in other areas of the Roman Empire. They praised God for His faithfulness.
These Christians lived in the center of Jewish rule and were concerned for the welfare of Paul and his team in Jerusalem. They knew the high ranking Jewish leaders wanted to destroy Paul. His presence in Jerusalem would make him an easy target. So the church leaders devised a plan. Paul and his team would put themselves through Jewish rites demonstrating publicly that they observed the law. Thus, they would be protecting themselves and other Christians from the wrath of the Jewish leaders.
What is God telling you about Himself and how should you respond?
Glorify and enjoy God today as you heed the counsel of the godly people in your life.
HAVE A BLESSED DAY
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