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His Sovereign Watch

His Sovereign Watch
Words of Faith 8-2-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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Acts 23
[12] The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. [13] More than forty men were involved in this plot. [14] They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. [15] Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here."
[16] But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.
[17] Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him." [18] So he took him to the commander.
The centurion said, "Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you."
[19] The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?"
[20] He said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. [21] Don't give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request."
[22] The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me."
[23] Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, "Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. [24] Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix."
[25] He wrote a letter as follows:
[26] Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
[27] This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. [28] I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. [29] I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. [30] When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.
[31] So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. [32] The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. [33] When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. [34] The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, [35] he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers get here." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.

This passage of scripture reads a little like a spy novel filled with conspiracy, intrigue and subterfuge!
Forty assassins made a vow to ambush and kill Paul at any cost. A mysterious long-lost nephew of Paul’s appeared to give warning! The commander in charge of Paul finally assigned 470 men to protect him as he was transferred from Jerusalem to Caesarea on the coast! The detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen was a massive unit for moving a single prisoner. And Paul got his own horse for the ride!
What we do not want to miss is the remarkable sovereign care of God. God was clearly not yet finished with Paul! Who would have thought that Paul would be transferred to the office of the governor by armed detachment? Who could have arranged such a thing? Only the Lord. The Lord was slowly moving Paul toward Rome as He had promised and He would used whatever resource was necessary to get Paul there.
The thing to observe today is that you are no less in the sovereign care of the Lord. The Lord commands the resources of nations. His protection is beyond our ability to comprehend. The Lord has at His ready a multitude of angelic warriors. His provisions are magnificent.
As we walk through our days, we may not even see the calamities He prevents from coming our way. We may never know plans against us that have been thwarted. His plans for us will not be frustrated or interrupted.
This does not mean that only “good things” will happen to us. The Lord allows trial and difficulty our lives just as He did in the life of Paul. Paul experienced shipwrecks, starvation and beatings, yet God brought him through to the place where He wanted him. But these trials were intended in various ways to refine and strengthen Paul but the Lord never let of the goals He had for Paul. He is doing no less in our lives.

Lord, I rejoice this day in the knowledge that You are in control of my life. You are watching over me. You are fighting battles of which I am not even aware. You are clearing the way for Your plans to be complete. I love You. I trust You. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.