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God who kept Paul

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[Acts 23:12-13]

The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves

with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

More than forty men were involved in this plot.

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Paul, who took the lead in persecuting those who believed in Jesus,

was once recognized by the Jews.

However, after meeting Jesus, Paul became a person who preached Jesus to others and

became the most disliked by the Jews.

4

The Jews who decided to kill Paul found him in the temple of Jerusalem.

The Jews grabbed him without sin to kill Paul and then dragged him out of the temple.

5

While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that

the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.

He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd.

When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

God protected Paul through the commander.

6

The commander arrested Paul and bound him with two chains.

The crowd acted wildly when the commander climbed the stairs to take Paul into his unit.

People shouted, “Kill him!”

7

Before entering the army, Paul asked the commander for an opportunity to speak to those

who tried to kill him. Paul, who barely survived, still wanted to share the Gospel.

The chief commander listened to Paul's request.

8

Paul stood on the stairs and shook his hands to quiet people.

Paul began by telling himself that he originally persecuted those who believed in Jesus.

And he also told himself that he went to Damascus to catch those who believed in Jesus.

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And while he was going there, he said that Jesus appeared in a strong light.

He also said that Jesus told him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.

Paul preached Jesus to the people there.

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The Jews who were hearing these words became more angry. “This man should be killed.”

They shouted, threw their clothes off, and reacted violently.

11

While Paul was being held by the commander, people did not stop the plan to kill Paul.

There were about 40 people of them who swore that they would not eat anything

 until they killed Paul.

12

They went to the chief priests and elders and vowed.

“We will not eat any food until we kill Paul.”

They also discussed plans to kill Paul.

They took Paul out of the commander and told them to kill him secretly.

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There was one person who overheard their conspiracy.

He was the nephew of Paul, and his nephew informed Paul of the plot they were devising.

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Paul sent his nephew to the commander to tell the news. The commander was surprised.

Also, when he found out that Paul was a Roman citizen,

he found a way to protect Paul from the mob.

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The chief commander hastily called two centurions and gave orders.

“armed with two hundred soldiers, seventy cavalrymen,

and two hundred soldiers in spearheading,

prepare to leave for Caesarea at nine o'clock tonight, and provide horses for Paul so that

he may be taken safely to Governor Felix”

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That night Paul was able to escape safely. and they arrived in Caesarea the next day

with the governor Felix. The conspiracy of the Jews to kill Paul failed.

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The Jews attempted to kill Paul many times.

They tried to arrest him and to kill him in the temple,

but God sent a commander to save him from death.

And 40 people conspired to kill Paul, but God protected Paul through his nephew.

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God, who kept the Apostle Paul long ago, keeps and protects us who believe in Jesus today.

We believe in Jesus and are God's loving children.

Let us have the courage to believe that God is guarding us no matter

what difficulty we may have because of our faith in God and Jesus.

I want all my friends to be proud of God's gospel without being ashamed in any situation.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)