Video Transcript: Missions and Politics

Hi, I'm David Feddes. And this talk is about missions and politics. I want to reflect with you especially on the book of Acts and how it shows that interaction between missions and politics and I want to highlight six things. First, God outranks rulers. Second, rulers need the gospel. Third, missions sometimes upsets opponents. Fourth, holy hearts use smart heads. Fifth, Christians are citizens and Sixth, eternity is the top priority in all of this. 

So let's begin by looking at the fact that God outranks rulers. It's a danger sometimes for Christians to think that they always must conform to everything the governing authorities say, or to think that Christianity is bound to shrivel up and die if we don't receive favored treatment from the government or if the government decides to go against us. But the Bible clearly shows in the book of Acts that Christianity can thrive even when the rulers are against the Christians. And if there are times when Christians must depart from and disobey the ruling authorities. When the authorities told Peter and John that they had to stop proclaiming Jesus, and announcing the resurrection of the dead through him, Peter and John said we must obey God rather than men. Normally, according to the Bible, we should obey the governing authorities except when they're telling us to do something different than what God tells us, then we must obey God rather than men. 

Sometimes we find that the rulers tried to stamp out the Christians, but it doesn't work. Acts 12 tells how the wicked King Herod executed James, and then tried to execute Peter. But God delivered Peter through the work of an angel. And then when Herod was giving a speech, and was receiving praise of himself, God sent an angel and struck Herod down and worms ate at his guts and he died. And after he was dead, Acts adds, these words, with the Word of God increased and multiplied. Herod, the wicked ruler is dead, God's word lives on and increases and multiplies. The apostle Paul and his traveling companions often faced opposition. But wherever they went, and God's still would use them mightily the churches were strengthened in faith, and they increased in numbers daily. And this isn't because they're receiving favored treatment from the government. It's often in spite of attacks from various kinds of rulers. God outranks rulers, and he accomplishes His purposes. And we see that in the book of Acts, and it's no less true in our own time. If you're in a country that once had rulers who were more favorable to Christianity, but the situation is changing, as it has, perhaps in Europe and in the United States, where Christianity is not as favored or supported as it used to be. Does that mean you give up no. God outranks all those rulers. And when you're being persecuted, when you're being ordered not to spread the gospel not to carry on God's mission anymore? Who do you listen to? We must obey God rather than men, God outranks them all. 

Second, those rulers, whether they're seeking something or whether they're opposed to the Gospel, whatever the case is, they need the gospel. And so as we read through the book of Acts, we find time after time, that the apostles and other ambassadors of Christ are communicating the truth of Jesus and the need for salvation to people in authority. Peter and John are hauled in before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, and they declare the resurrection of Jesus and call for repentance and faith in Him. When an Ethiopian Treasury Secretary a very important official is traveling along the road and God brings Philip to him, Philip gives them the gospel, and that official believes and carries the gospel back to Ethiopia with him. Captain Cornelius is told to invite Peter and Peter comes to his house and Cornelius and his household welcom them, and Peter tells him the gospel and they receive Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. Sergius Paulus, the ruler of Cyprus is addressed by Paul and Barnabas with the gospel of Jesus Christ and he becomes a believer. A Philippian jailer, not maybe a great judge or a ruler of an island but nonetheless an important government official is suicidal, but he asked Paul and Silas what must I do to be saved? And they say Believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved you and your household and they explain the gospel to him more fully. 

Felix and his wife Drusilla, Felix is a Roman governor. And Paul talks to them about God's judgment and about the need to be saved. And they don't believe they like to listen to him and they're kind of shaken by what he says. But they don't actually turn to Him. Festus hears the gospel. He's another Roman governor. And he says, when Paul speaks of the resurrection, your great learning is driving you insane. And Paul says, No, I'm not insane, most excellent Festus. But I do want you to believe and right well, Festus is listening. Herod Agrippa II is also listening. And he says, Paul says to him, King Agrippa, I know that you understand the Old Testament scriptures, you should consider these things. And Herod says, Well, you almost persuade me. You think in short, such a short time, I'm going to be a Christian. And Paul says short time or long, I wish you were like I am, he says to Herod, and to Festus. So no matter who they are, no matter how important they are, even if they hold the power of life and death over him, these rulers need the gospel. Pubilius the ruler of Malta is the governor of an island where Paul and his people are shipwrecked. And there too, he sees Paul's miraculous work he treats Paul and his companions very kindly. We don't know whether he became a believer or not. But we know that the apostle wanted to communicate the gospel to him. 

And even when Paul appealed to Caesar, and was taken to Rome, and had to appear before Nero, very wicked person, very cruel to Christians, Paul was excited because now he was going to get to present the gospel to the Emperor himself. All through Acts, the rulers needed the gospel, we need to keep that in mind. Rulers are people too, jailers are people too, policemen and soldiers are people too, everybody who represents government power, you may think that they're very powerful and think of yourself as weak, you may think that they're the oppressor, and you're the one who has the hard time. But if they're without Christ, and you have him, they need the gospel. And we see that in the book of Acts. And it's told there not just for us to know about things that happened long ago, but to say to us, hey, even now, don't just hate your president or your Prime Minister. Don't just hate your representatives or be angry about judges who are doing things you think are not right. They need the gospel. And so look for ways pray for them. The Bible urges us to pray for those who are in authority, pray that they may come to know Christ, and pray too that they'll have wisdom from God to do their governing well. 

Now, the thing that we see again and again, throughout Acts, is that missions, upset opponents, when Stephen is speaking to the leadership and to those who are in the Jewish ruling council. He speaks of Jesus. And he speaks of how the scriptures have told of Israel's history were very often they resisted God's spokesman and misunderstood, and he says, then you've done the same thing, you killed the Lord of Glory. But God raised them to life. And when they hear these things, they're enraged, and they became an even angrier when Stephen says, I see Christ standing at the right hand of God, he has a vision of heaven, and they're furious and they kill him. They're so enraged by what he tells them about their history, and about their own sin and about the reality of Jesus, they're upset by that. 

We hear when the apostles go to various cities throughout the empire. They're accused of turning the world upside down. And they come to a new town and it's said these men who have turned the world upside down have come here too and when you're in the business of turning the world right side up. Then people are standing on their heads, they're going to accuse you of turning it upside down missions’ upsets opponents. They get to Ephesus and the sale of the little idol figurines of the goddess Artemis, also called Diana. Sales of the little figurines, the little idols are drying up, and Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen get furious. And they scheme and they are mad about Paul. And but soon they get the whole town into an uproar, yelling and rioting and screaming great is Artemis of the Ephesians most of them don't even know why they're there, or what the riots about but hey, a riots going on? So we're going to go wild too. But behind it all are some guys making money who are really ticked, this sales are down and sometimes when you're serving the Lord Christ, and during times of revival, especially when many people are flocking to the Lord, and God is changing their lives in amazing ways. Those who were making money off of their sin, whether they reminded, making money off of drunkards making money off of gamblers, making money off of prostitution, making money off of peddling other religions. When their money starts going down, they get angry, and they get upset, and they will try to throw a riot. 

When the apostle is speaking to people back in Jerusalem, they listened to him for a while. And then he speaks of God sending him off to the Gentiles of Christ, calling him to preach the gospel to non-Jewish people. And when they hear this, they are just furious. And the Bible says they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and slaying dust in the air. Because they were so furious, that God would care about non-Jews whom they as Jewish people hated. And so the mission upsets people for a variety of reasons, sometimes for financial reasons, sometimes, because they're bigots, and just don't want to believe that Christ accepts people of a race that we hate, as well as accepting us. And so for a variety of reasons, missions will upset opponents. So if you're in God's mission, plan on some people being upset with you, once in a while, nobody's ever upset at you. There's probably something wrong with your mission. If everybody thinks you're just this wondrous sweetie pie, and that there's nothing you ever say they could disagree with, you're probably not speaking the Word of God truly, or living with the courage that God calls you to live with. On the other hand, if you're living to the Lord, and you're running in opposition, be glad rejoice and be glad says Jesus, because that's how they treated the prophets before you. And Acts shows that that's how they treated the apostles before you. And so in our own time, we should expect to upset a few people, not because we're trying to upset them or make them angry, but because we're different. And we carry a different message that they need to believe. And it's a message that as our Lord Jesus put it shines light on them. And people who are doing wrong things prefer to operate in the dark, where it's not so obvious that what they're doing is wrong. 

And as you face that kind of difficulty, Jesus said, Hey, Rejoice and be glad. And we see that in the book of Acts. Peter and John are whipped and scolded and intimidated and told not to preach anymore. What did they do? They left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name, they rejoiced. And then they went right back to preaching. We read later on that the disciples faced intense opposition. They were driven out of a town. How did they react? Did they have a pity party? Did they say boohoo Poor me? The Bible says the disciples were filled with joy. And with the Holy Spirit, Paul and Barnabas are whipped and flogged and locked in stocks in the worst dungeon of the jail. And how do they react? About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. And then God sends an earthquake and does a marvelous deliverance of the jailer and brings them to salvation but comes while they're singing. So, you see again and again, there's rejoicing. Sometimes when people are converted, they rejoice. The  Ethiopian government official, the Treasury official, the Bible says he went on his way rejoicing. When the Philippian jailer puts his faith in the Lord Jesus, the Bible says he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household. So new converts were filled with joy. But not only the new converts are filled with joy. But the missionaries, when they face intense opposition, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, or just being filled with rage at those who are hurting them. They rejoice because now they're sharing in the mission of Jesus and they're sharing the suffering of Jesus, they rejoice. 

At the same time, holy heads use, holy hearts use smart heads. missionaries are called to be holy. They're called to be like Jesus, to obey, obey Jesus and everything. And sometimes, we may tend to think and that means, therefore, that they don't ever have to think they don't ever stand up for themselves. But that's not the case. We read the book of Acts, and Paul is dealing with Felix and Felix at first is kind of shaken by the gospel message and about the words of righteousness and judgment and the need to repent. And then after a while, he just gets Paul because he finds them an interesting curiosity wants to listen to him, and he's hoping Paul will offer him a bribe, or to flatter him and Paul just won't flatter him. He won't pay him off. And so he sits in prison for two years, rather than paying him off. He may say, Well, I wasn't using a smart head, but I mean, he had a smart head because he saw right through Felix. He saw after a while he was no longer interested in the Gospel that he just wanted the money, but he just wouldn't pay because that's not what Christ wanted him to do. 

Another time Paul uses his very shrewd mind when he says he's in front of a crowd of people who are all very upset at him.  And they're really angry at him and they're willing to give them a bit of a hearing. So the first thing he says is, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. While in the crowd, there are a bunch of Pharisees. And there's a bunch of people from other parts of the Jewish people such as Sadducees, who disagree very much with Pharisees about a lot of things, including whether there is a resurrection. So Paul says, I'm a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. And I'm on trial because I believe in the resurrection from the dead. And right away the Pharisee say, I let's listen to this guy's not so bad. And the Sadducee says, He's terrible, and pretty quick, the Pharisees and the Sadducees are bickering with each other. And they're not focusing all of their animosity towards Paul anymore, Paul used his smart head to divide his opponents against each other, and to get out of a very sticky situation. 

There's another time when Paul is told by his nephew of a group of people who have a plot to assassinate him. So Paul called one of the centurions, and said Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him. And then Paul's nephew tells the Tribune, the military leader, what's going on. And they arranged for special protective detail to keep Paul hundreds of horsemen and soldiers so that he can't be killed by the assassins. We know and all of this, you have a very shrewd intelligence that's going on. Jesus said, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves, Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. So be smart as a snake. But don't take on a snake’s personal characteristics be a peaceful, kind dove, but still be shrewd. And part of that we've already seen and now let's just look at another thing that again and again, they know when to run, they know when to get out of town. And when they don't, maybe some of their fellow believers get them out of town. 

When Paul was first converted, he preached about Jesus, there was a plot on his life, and they shut up the gates of the city of Damascus to trap him. But Paul escaped in a basket when some fellow Christians let him down on a basket and a rope over the wall and he escaped town and escaped being killed. When King Herod killed James and then tried to kill Peter was rescued from jail by an angel. So did he just go back out and hang out and preach there again and say, well, the angel will rescue me again. No, he went back to the believers told them he was still alive and how he'd been delivered. And then he got out of town in a hurry. Many times over and over and over and over. Paul fled towns to avoid mob violence. That's part of having a wise mind a smart head, while you still have that holy heart. 

Well, during that Ephesus riot, where they're yelling, great is Diana of Ephesians, with 1000s of people in an uproar, and furious, Paul thought, You know what, there are 1000s of people in a stadium. That's an audience that I can preach to right now. And the other disciple, said, Paul, no, this is not the time. And they prevented him from trying to preach during that riot and instead, rescued him from himself, in that particular case. There's another time when Paul is getting ready to sail, but he hears that There are assassins out to kill him. So he changes the route of his voyage and goes to different towns and then get on a different ship, so that the assassins won't get him. So again, part of the missionaries to realize sometimes there can be threats on your health and on your life and don't be ashamed to use your smarts to avoid as many of those problems as you can. If you tried to avoid danger altogether, of course, you wouldn't be in mission, and you'd be too chicken to witness to Christ at all. Paul faced many difficulties, but he didn't face unnecessary difficulties. He knew when it was time to get out of town, and some of the other disciples did, too. 

In all of this, we need to realize that Christians are citizens. And you sometimes need to declare your rights as a citizen. When the Apostle was in jail in Philippi, and had been beaten Paul and Barnabas or Paul, Silas, sang hymns to God, and they rejoice, and they gave the gospel of a jailer and let him and his family to Christ. But then the officials of the town said, Okay, now you're free to leave. And the jailer said, hey, they say you can go now. And then Paul says, not so fast they beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison, now do they want us to get rid of us quietly? No, let them come themselves and escort us out. He's saying, You know what? They could be in huge trouble for beating a Roman citizen without a trial. And now they want us to sneak out of town. No, they will do it publicly with a public apology. And maybe they'll treat citizens a little differently in the future.

Later on Paul's back in Jerusalem, and there's a Roman military officer that just orders him flogged. And Paul says, is it legal for you to flog the Roman citizen, who hasn't even been found guilty, and immediately, that Roman officer says, oh, I didn't realize you as a citizen, I better I better back off and immediately the person with the whip withdrew and the whipping was avoided. If we're citizens today, we don't have to take whatever a mob throws at us. We don't have to endure every attack. I was in Israel with Jews for Jesus. And when I was talking with some of the people from Jews for Jesus, they said, you know, not just in Israel, but especially when they're in some parts of the United States, when they're speaking about Jesus, they get attacked, and people will punch them or hit them. And they said, We never strike back. We don't do things to defend ourselves. But we do press charges, if we're assaulted. Because when you're a citizen, you have the right not to be assaulted by your fellow citizens, or by police brutality. And so you can stand up for your rights as a we're citizens, you don't have the right to treat us that way. And so in the book of Acts, and that relationship between missions and politics, if citizens have certain rights, then be ready to use your rights. 

The apostle is on trial before the chief priest, and the chief priest orders him struck. And Paul says God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall, because the priests did not have the right to order that. But then someone else says, what do you talk that way to God's high priests? And Paul says, Oh, I didn't realize he was the high priest or I would have talked quite that way. But maybe he was also implying, hey, if he was really behaving like a high priest, he wouldn't have given that order in the first place. Later, the apostle is being told that I'm by Felix, and then by Festus just go back to Jerusalem and have a trial there. Well, Paul knows that there's assassins waiting to kill him there. So he says, if I'm a wrongdoer and I've committed anything for which I deserve to die. I don't seek to escape death. But if there's nothing into their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar. And as a Roman citizen being charged with claims that he ought to be executed, he had the right to go straight to the top. So he appeals to Caesar. And right away, the governor says, Well, you've appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go. So again, Christians are citizens. And we don't have to be shy about using the rights that we have under the government, as citizens not to be assaulted, not to just endure every miscarriage of justice when we can appeal to our rights as citizens. 

And yet in all of this, eternity is the top priority. Paul would talk with Felix, we see as Paul reasoned about righteousness and self-control in the coming judgment. Felix was alarmed. And Agrippa a little later says to Paul, in such a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian, and we've seen how it's just the fact that rulers need Christ to they need the gospel to and  people need the gospel, not just the rulers, but the non-rulers. And so even if missions upsets people, even if rulers don't want to listen, and some did, but some didn't, we always keep eternity in mind, everybody's going to have to stand before Jesus, that he's going to say to them, either welcome in and enjoy forever with me, or Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared to the devil and his angels, eternity, joy in the new creation, or damnation in hell forever. This is what's at stake and mission. And therefore, it has to be our great priority to honor God, the Eternal God, and to focus on the eternal destiny of the people whom we addressed. 

So, in considering missions and politics in the book of Acts, let's realize again, God outranks rulers. We don't need to depend on favoritism from the government or help from the government in order to spread the Gospel. And when they are even actively opposing the spread of the gospel, even that can’t stop the gospel. Rulers need the gospel. So let's share it with the police with the soldiers with those in positions of governance wherever we can. missions will upset opponents don't be shocked when it does be ready for it. And at the same time, be ready to keep on singing, ready to keep on praising God instead of becoming bitter. And feeling sorry for yourself. When you do face opposition and keep using your head. Keep a holy heart focused on the Lord. Being wise as serpents harmless as doves. Keep using your heart and your head, realize you're a citizen. And don't be ashamed to stand up for your rights when that's appropriate. And at the same time, keep in mind, Heaven and Hell is at stake, the honor of the eternal God, that of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be exalted. So make that your top priority in missions. Do not be afraid of those who can destroy the body and after that can do more, do no more. Fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. That's how Jesus tells us to focus our priorities. He says, What does it profit if a man should gain the whole world and lose his soul? Politics is a lot about this world. The Gospel changes this world, it upsets some people, but ultimately it saves the soul and the body forever. And so eternity is always the top priority of those who are proclaiming the kingdom of God.