Serpents and Doves

Jesus instructed His disciples to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. In Acts 22:22-29 (NIV) the apostle Paul is living these words. He was lynched in the Temple and then arrested and at no point did he fight back or physically defend himself. He was gentle. And now, he's about to be tortured by the Roman state when he asks a soldier, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?" It's a shrewd question. Paul knows it's illegal for a Roman to be flogged when they haven't been proven guilty in a court. He's leveraging his privileged status as a citizen to advance the Kingdom. In our current cultural moment, it's a timely lesson for all of us. This week Pastor Shaq Hager walks us through what it means to be gentle and wise, willing to sacrifice our bodies, like Paul, for the sake of the Kingdom.