SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE, 9 August 2026
Sermon Series: “The Acts of the Apostles” (#41)
Sermon Text: Acts 25:1-12
Main Points:
Introduction
I. Through Festus’ decisions, God directs His witness
II. Through Paul’s chains, God advances His witness
III. God’s purpose beyond the expectations of His servants
Conclusion
This is now the sixth sermon since ch. 21 centred on Paul’s trials. By now, you may be thinking, ‘Another trial? Haven’t we heard this before?’ It may seem as though Luke is simply repeating the same story.
But that is not the case. These accounts are not redundant. As Paul says in 2 Tim. 3, they are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Think back to the earlier chapters of Acts. Luke records Paul’s three missionary journeys, and at first glance, they may also seem repetitive – Paul travels from city to city, preaching the gospel, facing opposition, and establishing churches. But, each journey teaches us something distinctive, while together they proclaim one great truth: the Holy Spirit advances the mission of the risen Lord Jesus Christ through His servants.
The same is true of these later chapters. Paul is arrested in Jerusalem, speaks to the Jewish crowd, stands before the Sanhedrin, is transferred to Caesarea, and appears before Governor Felix. Now, Felix has been replaced by Festus, and once again Paul finds himself on trial.
These are not unnecessary repetitions. Together they show us how the Holy Spirit is fulfilling God’s saving purpose and the promise Christ made to Paul. Everything that has happened since then – even Paul’s imprisonment, the hostility of the Jews, the decisions of Roman officials, and the delays that seem so frustrating – is moving towards the fulfilment of that promise.
That brings us to the message of our passage this morning – that is, ‘God’s purpose directs His witness.’
Therefore, God’s servants must fix their eyes not on changing circumstances but on the God who faithfully accomplishes His purpose. His plans are never frustrated, His promises never fail, and His witnesses are never outside His sovereign care.
This is the confidence expressed in Ps. 57, which we read earlier, that says, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” The storms may rage, but the child of God remains sheltered beneath the shadow of His wings.
So, let us come to God’s Word together and hear what the Spirit of God has to say to us today.
I. Through Festus’ Decisions, God Directs His Witness
Now, we come to Festus, the newly appointed Roman governor of Judea. Compared with his predecessor Felix, Festus appears to have been a more conscientious and fair-minded administrator. He inherited a difficult situation. Felix had governed Judea for several years, but relations between the Jewish people and Roman authorities had deteriorated significantly. Festus therefore entered a province already marked by considerable political tension.
Naturally, one of his first tasks was to understand the situation under his jurisdiction. Soon after taking up his office, he travelled to Jerusalem, met with the Jewish leaders, and heard their concerns.
And one of their first concerns was Paul. Paul had already been held in Caesarea for over two years. The chief priests and leading men of the Jews presented their case against him and requested that Festus order Paul to be brought to Jerusalem for trial. But, Luke tells us that Festus refused. Instead, he instructed them to come down to Caesarea, where he would sit as judge and hear their accusations.
Now, why did Festus refuse their request? Luke, the human author of Acts, does not tell us why. We could speculate about his political calculations or legal considerations, but that is not the Spirit’s concern. What the Holy Spirit wants us to see is not primarily what was happening in Festus’ mind, but what God was accomplishing through Festus’ decision.
From a human perspective, this was simply an administrative decision made by a Roman governor. Festus was carrying out his responsibilities. But from God’s perspective, something far greater was taking place.
The Jewish leaders wanted Paul brought to Jerusalem because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Yet, Festus’ refusal frustrated their plan. Without knowing it, this Roman official became an instrument in God’s hand to preserve God’s servant and witness.
And, this is the same providence we saw through the Roman tribune in ch. 23. People make decisions according to their own responsibilities, interests, wisdom, and purposes. Governments make policies. Leaders make judgments. Authorities exercise their offices. But, above all these human decisions stands the sovereign God, directing history according to His perfect purpose.
Festus thought he was simply managing a difficult legal case. In reality, God was using his decision to protect God’s servant and to move His witness one step closer to Rome. The Roman tribune had done something similar earlier; and now Festus does the same.
And this does not apply only to Festus and that tribune. Every ruler and authority in this world make countless decisions every day. They act according to their own understanding and purposes, but none of their decisions stand outside the providential hand of God.
There are, therefore, two strands of activity unfolding in history. One is the work of human beings: people pursuing their own desires, responsibilities, ambitions, and obligations. Yet, above and through all of this is the work of God: the sovereign Lord weaving together human actions to accomplish His eternal purposes.
What men do is limited, temporary, and often unclear. But what God does is universal in its scope, unfathomable in its wisdom, and immeasurable in its grace! God accomplishes His purposes.
Therefore, the confidence of God’s people does not rest on our ability to understand every human decision around us. Our confidence rests on knowing that God’s purposes are never fragile and never threatened.
Even the decisions of those who do not acknowledge God – including rulers, governors, presidents, and prime ministers – remain within the hand of God’s providence. The God who directed Festus’ decision to preserve Paul’s witness is the same God who continues to direct all things for the fulfilment of His purpose and the good of His people.
II. Through Paul’s Chains, God Advances His Witness
Let’s now turn our attention from Festus to Paul, the witness of Christ.
Luke does not tell us what Paul was feeling as these events unfolded. So, we should be careful not to put words into his mouth. But Paul was not a man without emotions. He was a real man, with real thoughts, real disappointments, and real struggles. He knew the risen Christ. He had heard His voice. He had received Christ’s commission. Yet, he remained a man of flesh and blood, living under difficult circumstances.
And those circumstances had been difficult for a long time. Paul had now been in custody for more than two years. Felix was leaving office. Paul may well have hoped that the change of governor would finally bring his imprisonment to an end. But Felix left without releasing him. Then, a new governor arrived – Festus – and Paul was still there.
We should not be surprised if Paul found this difficult. Perhaps he wondered why the Lord was allowing another change of governor without any apparent change in his circumstances. Perhaps, like the psalmist, he could’ve cried, “How long, O Lord?”
Then, only a few days later, a new trial was convened. Paul stood before another Roman governor, and once again the Jewish leaders stood on the other side. And what were the charges? Essentially, the same charges that had been brought against him before: that he had defiled the Jewish law and the temple, and that he had stirred up opposition against Rome.
Humanly speaking, it must’ve felt like the same story all over again. Two years had passed, yet Paul was standing before another governor hearing essentially the same accusations. Nothing seemed to have changed.
Can you imagine the frustration? Paul had wanted to go to Rome. He had already expressed his desire to preach Christ there. More importantly, Christ Himself had told him that he must also testify in Rome. Yet, instead of Rome, Paul was still in Caesarea. Instead of freedom, he still had chains. Instead of preaching in the streets of Rome, he was defending himself in the same courtroom.
From human perspective – I say this often today, but consider the situation from human perspective, because that is the perspective most of us usually see the circumstances we’re in. So, from human perspective, it could’ve looked like two years had been wasted.
And perhaps that is where we sometimes find ourselves. We pray, but nothing seems to change. We labour, but the fruit seems no greater. We wait, but the door does not open. We wonder whether all those years have accomplished anything.
A minister might think, ‘How many years have I prayed for this church? How many years have I preached and laboured? Yet, the congregation does not seem to grow. What am I accomplishing here? What is God doing?’ A Christian may look at a long-standing circumstance in his or her life and ask, ‘Why am I still here? Why has God not changed this?’ We look at the circumstances and conclude that nothing is happening.
But Acts 25 teaches us to be very careful about that conclusion. Paul’s chains did not mean that God’s purpose had stopped. His imprisonment did not mean that Christ’s promise had failed. And his delay did not mean that God’s plan had been delayed. On the contrary, God was advancing His witness precisely through the circumstances that appeared to be holding Paul back. And then, Paul makes his appeal: “I appeal to Caesar.”
Why does Paul do this? We should not turn this into a dramatic moment in which Paul is supposedly overriding God’s will through his own determination. Nor does Luke tell us that the Holy Spirit specifically commanded him to make this appeal. What we do know is that Paul refuses to be sent back to Jerusalem and exercises his legal right as a Roman citizen. And through that decision, the path to Rome takes another phase.
This is remarkable. Paul’s chains seemed to keep him from Rome, but they were the very means by which God was taking him there. Paul did not know the route or the timing; he simply knew Christ’s promise. This is faith – not knowing how God will fulfil His promise, but trusting the God who gave it.
So, do not mistake delay for abandonment, or difficult circumstances for God’s absence. The very things that seem to hold us back may be the very means by which God is advancing His purpose.
III. God’s Purpose Beyond The Expectations Of His Servants
Now, let me briefly talk about God’s purpose as our last point. God’s purpose is beyond the expectations of His servants. God’s purposes often appear delayed because He is arranging circumstances we cannot see.
Imagine that you’re travelling somewhere. You’re sitting at the airport, and your flight is delayed. You become frustrated because you cannot see any progress. You look at the departure board and think, ‘Why are we still here?’
But you cannot see everything that is happening. Perhaps the crew is being changed. Perhaps the aircraft needs to be checked. Perhaps another aircraft is being brought in. Perhaps the airline is arranging another part of the journey. From your seat, it looks like nothing is happening. But the journey has not necessarily stopped. Things are being arranged that you cannot see.
Sometimes God’s providence is like that. We see only the delay. God sees the destination and everything that must happen between here and there.
What if Paul had reached Rome earlier, but the circumstances were not yet ready for the witness God intended to give there? What if the people who needed to hear the gospel had not yet been brought into place? What if Paul’s arrival had come before the moment God had appointed?
And what about us? What if God answers our prayer, but we’re not yet ready to recognise God’s grace in the answer? What if what we call a delay is actually God preparing us – or preparing circumstances around us – for something we cannot yet see? We see the waiting. God sees the whole purpose. We see the present moment. God sees the destination.
And therefore, when we cannot understand His timing, we can still trust His wisdom. That is why Paul himself can say so boldly and firmly in Rom. 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?”
Conclusion
My dear friends, faith does not mean knowing every step ahead; faith means trusting the God who already knows the destination. His purpose directs His witness.
In conclusion, let me read to you Paul’s own testimony, recorded in Phil. 1:12, which Paul wrote while under Roman imprisonment: “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” What a testimony of faith! May we also trust that whatever God brings into our lives is under His wise and gracious providence, and that He is accomplishing His good purpose for us through Jesus Christ! Amen. ***
St Columba's Presbyterian Church 