Pastor: We have the opportunity to consider the Word of God again. We are making our way through the book of Acts. We are in chapter 26 this morning of the book of Acts. If you have a copy of the Scriptures with you, I'd encourage you to turn with me to the book of Acts. If you happen to forget your Bible or didn't bring one? Well, in God's providence, there's one right before you, so feel free to grab that and follow along. We're going to be looking at the entirety of chapter 26 before we read Let's go again to the Lord in prayer. Let's pray, Our Heavenly Father. We thank you that you are not silent, but that you speak to us. We know that the heavens declare the glory of God. But Lord. As we come to Your Word, we hear of our very Savior, the Lord Jesus, Christ, Lord, as we come to this account of Paul being a witness of Christ, Lord, I pray that we will hear the gospel, that we will rest in its truth, and that you will transform us and form us to be your faithful witnesses while we wait to go to our heavenly home, where we will see Christ face to face, Lord, I pray that You would open up our ears now to hear our eyes by faith, to behold the Lord Jesus Christ, and soften our hearts to receive Him, Lord, we need your spirit to do all of these things, lest we are here in vain. Lord, we thank you that the Word is living, and it is sharper than any two edged sword, and it What does not return void, Lord, do your work among us now we pray in Jesus's name, Amen.
Pastor: People of God, hear God's word for us this morning from Acts chapter 26, So Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense. I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews.
Pastor: Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. My manner of life, from my youth, spent from the beginning, among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I have lived as a Pharisee, and now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by our God to our fathers, to which our 12 Tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day.
Pastor: And for this hope, I am accused by Jews. O King. Why is it thought incredible of any of you that God raises the dead. I, myself, was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, and I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme and in Raging fury against them, I persecuted them, even to foreign cities.
Pastor: And that this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from Heaven brighter than the sun that shone around me and those who journeyed with me, and when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in he in the Hebrew language, Saul.
Pastor: Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said, Who are you Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen, to which you have seen me, and to those to which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan To God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those whom are sanctified by faith in me.
Pastor: Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea and also to. The Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day, I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass that the Christ must suffer, and that by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light, both to our people and to the Gentiles. And as he was saying these things, in his defense, Festus said, with a loud voice, Paul, you are out of your mind.
Pastor: Your great learning is driving you out of your mind. But Paul said, I am not out of my mind.
Pastor: Most Excellent Festus, but I'm speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him, I speak boldly, For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. And Agrippa said to Paul, in a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian?
Pastor: And Paul said, whether short or long, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am, except for these chains.
Pastor: Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them, and when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, this man is doing nothing deserving death or imprisonment. And Agrippa said to Festus, this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Pastor: He who has ears, let him hear God's word. Please be seated.
Pastor: If you were here last week, you would recall that chapter 25 it concludes, and nothing is really resolved at all. In Paul's case, Paul was before Felix, and then he was before Governor Festus, and there is no verdict given, there is no release, and there is also no justice. And so as we come to chapter 26 we see again, an innocent man still in chains.
Pastor: Chapter 26 begins where we left off it chapter 25 and 26 really go together. I could have done it all in one sermon, but it would have been a longer sermon, so I broke it in two, but Governor Festus has shared with now King Agrippa, who is aware and almost like an expert of Jewish customs and controversies, as Paul will say, to advise Nero and people in the region of these Jews and How we can keep peace. And so Agrippa is brought in and Paul is brought in again to talk to Agrippa, not because justice is finally going to happen, but simply because King Agrippa is curious to talk to Paul. So we have another courtroom scene.
Pastor: And if you were in prison like Paul and chains Would would you maybe be tempted to come out and say anything that just might prompt your release? What can I say to King Agrippa simply that he'll let me go. But Paul reminds us here that there is something again, more important than even this life itself, even more important than liberty and freedom, and that is the very Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, not simply knowing it intellectually, but believing it. Paul is not the one who is ultimately on trial. Here it is the truth that is on trial. It is Christ who is on trial. It is Jesus who was on trial, who is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE that no man comes of the Father apart from him. So is it true that Jesus has risen from the dead and is now reigning? That's really what is ultimately trying to be decided here. The question is not, what will Agrippa do with Paul, but what will he do with that truth that Jesus indeed is risen, that Jesus in fact is reigning. And that is also the question that is not only posed to Agrippa, but it's also posed to you this morning.
Pastor: What will you do with the truth that Jesus reigns? What will you do with the truth that Jesus is risen and reigning, and also one day coming again to judge the living and the dead? And it is my hope, as it was Paul's hope to Agrippa, my hope is. You too will believe that you will accept the truth, to not push it aside, to not delay it, but to believe it. Agrippa gives now Paul the floor to speak, and then Paul motions with his hands to make his defense. And you can just imagine as he makes a gesture with with his hands, you hear the clinking of the chains, the chains probably not giving him the mobility that he might like Paul starts Agrippa, you will be more familiar than most Romans of what I'm about to say, because you know the customs and controversies of the Jews. Now as I speak to you about these things, I simply ask that you patiently, listen, be patient. I want you to think. I want you to use your reason and to patiently listen as to what I'm about to say to you. And now Paul begins to talk about what he used to be like in verse four and five, he says, I lived as a Pharisee, I was strict, I was serious, I was respected. Everyone knew it. The people here in this courtroom, they have known me since my youth. I was the Pharisee of Pharisees. I was the golden child, if you will, of Jerusalem. And I was prominent.
Pastor: I was respected. I went to the best of schools. And Paul continues, and only being a Pharisee, not only as a Pharisee, but also many Jews, the Jews, we hope in the promises of God that were made by our fathers. We find those promises that God made to our fathers and in the Old Testament, and those promises were written down, and I'm on trial here today because of the hope of those promises that only Pharisees, but all the Jews are hoping in the very hope that they are waiting for is I'm simply declaring to them that that hope has been fulfilled, that hope has come, the hope that the Messiah has come. He has come. The hope that they've waited for for hundreds of years is finally here. It's Jesus. The Old Testament said the Messiah would come, he would die, he would rise again from the dead, and that's what's happened, just as the word said it would. Why is this so surprising? Well, why is this so incredible that God would raise someone from the dead? Have you read your Old Testament? Have you read Genesis? God made everything from nothing by the Word of His power. Why is it so incredible that he would rise someone from the dead, raise someone from the dead? Why is that so incredible?
Pastor: He's God, after all. Now, I didn't believe it at first myself. In fact, I was so convinced that I was wrong, that this Christianity thing was wrong, I did everything, everything, everything in my power to wipe this away from the face of the earth, like those who have brought me here today on trial, they're simply trying to do the same thing that I was trying to do myself, and I didn't persecute casually. I was not a mere protester. I was violent. Paul says, I locked Christians up. I cast my vote against them to die. I punished them. I tried to make them blaspheme. You can imagine Paul running up to your children and saying, I will give you $20 if you curse the name of Jesus. Go ahead. Do it. $20 kid. How about 50? 100 if you curse the name of Jesus? This is the kind of person Paul was trying to make Christians blaspheme and curse Christ. Paul was so extreme in his hatred, he was also willing, as he says, To travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to stomp out this religion. This was his life. This was his passion, and everyone knew it, and that's what Paul is saying. Ask anyone, everyone here, they know who I was. And then one day, Paul continues on my way to Damascus to stomp this way out. And I was given, by the way, permission.
Pastor: In from the authorities and chief priests, who, again, are here. They can tell you they gave me permission to do this, to hunt down Christians. Now in Damascus, it was midday. The sun is at the highest point, shining the brightest that the sun could shine in the middle of the day.
Pastor: And then all of a sudden, there was a light from heaven that was brighter and more intense than the sun. It was so intense that I fell down, and everyone else around me fell down on the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, Saul. Saul, why are you persecuting me? And remember, Paul doesn't simply say, Well, I wasn't persecuting you, per se, I was persecuting these other these other people.
Pastor: Notice Paul doesn't respond in that way. Because when Jesus says me, here, he is reminding Paul, as well as us, that he is united to his people, that to attack Christians is to attack Christ Himself. To mock Christians is to persecute Christians. Is to mock and to persecute Jesus Himself. And I want you to think about that, not only the fine comfort in that, that of your union with Christ, that an attack on you, in a sense, is an attack on Christ of your beliefs. But also, I want that to be a challenge to you, that anytime we are unkind to our fellow, brother or sister, in the Lord that is being unkind or cruel to Christ, Christ is united to his people. Verse 14, it is hard for you to kick against the goads.
Pastor: The goads were a sharp stick used to direct an animal like a prod with a stick, sharp point on the end. Stop behaving like a foolish animal who keeps kicking against a sharp stick. You're only hurting yourself. Paul, you can't win. Paul, you can't overcome Christ. You can't overthrow him. Stop resisting.
Pastor: Just submit to the truth that is before you. You know and children, God has lovingly surrounded you with many goads in your life. If you're here in this church and you're a child, he's put parents in your life, scripture in your life, sermons, prayers and even your very own baptism. And in many ways, that is like a goad telling you to listen to truth, to not be foolish, to be wise, stop resisting God. By resisting God, you only hurt yourself. And you can ask your parents, and you can ask older adults who are around this congregation, and they can tell you of times when they have tried to resist God and they have kicked against the goads, and they will no doubt be able to tell you that it didn't go well with them. Isn't that true anytime you have tried to resist God, anytime you have tried to be disobedient to God's commands to not submit yourself to the truth found in His Word, it doesn't go well. It doesn't go well. So don't be foolish. Be wise. Submit to the Lord, because you won't be able to escape. He always wins.
Pastor: Remember, Jesus sits on the throne. He'll never be removed.
Pastor: And so Paul says, I said, Who are you Lord? Now I Paul, I'm pretty sure I know who it is, but I better ask. He says, The Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Jesus goes on to say, but rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me, and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith and May. And so you see Paul's progression.
Pastor: So far, he's talked about who he was, a life and sin apart from Christ. And then, by God's grace, God has opened up his eyes, and now what he is now commissioned and called to do.
Pastor: He says, God has sent me to open people's eyes up the sending people to calling them to turn from darkness, to turn to the light, to turn from the power of Satan to God, to receive forgiveness, to receive the gospel, to receive Christ.
Pastor: Christ, Paul will write to Timothy in chapter one of his first letter to Timothy, he says the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ, Jesus, came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost that will be Paul's message that this is why Christ has come. This is our purpose to declare to you that Christ has come to save sinners, of whom we are the worst, we're the foremost, and everyone who turns though is forgiven, everyone who believes is justified and sanctified. That is your sins being washed away, and that the unrighteousness of Christ is imputed, that is credited to your account, and you are sanctified, set apart as holy to God, and more and more, putting off the old and putting on the new. You see, as Paul says, Jesus is not dead. He is speaking, he is confronting, and Jesus is saving. That's why I'm here. That's why I cheerfully make my defense. Paul says I was obedient to the Lord. I went to Damascus, then to Jerusalem, then throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles. My life was now about Christ. I declared to you and to others to repent, to turn to God, to live a life in obedience to Him, that and what was the result of my obedience to God and sharing this message of hope and forgiveness that is found in Christ. Jesus, verse 21 for this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple, and they've tried to kill me. Verse 22 to this day, I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass that the Christ must suffer, and that by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light, both to our people and to the Gentiles. I do think it's very interesting here. Paul says, God has helped me. Paul is in chains. He says, God, I have had God's favor. And Paul's in prison. Because, again, Paul's life is not about I have God's favor in my health and wealth and prosperity in this life, God know. Paul knows that he has God's favor, not simply if he has liberties or reputation, but if he has Christ and if he has the opportunity to share Christ, that was his mission and his priority. And he says, God has shown his favor towards me that I have now have the opportunity to be a witness to you, and that's our priority now, as a as Christians and as a church.
Pastor: Isn't that our commission to go into the world to be comfortable and remember, get your retirement accounts all put in place. And isn't that our priority in life that Christ has given to us believers? What is it that we are witnesses of Christ? That is why we are here.
Pastor: That is why we have not yet been drawn home, because we are called to proclaim Christ crucified for sinners. This is our mission, just as it was Paul's. Every one of you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are witnesses of Christ to this world. We are to be that light and salt. Paul says, These chains have given me the opportunity to advance the message of Christ in a way that I would not otherwise have had, or I would have thought to have had. It's given me an opportunity to now even speak to you King Agrippa, I'm not proclaiming an invented message.
Pastor: This is exactly what Moses and the Prophet said would happen, and it has happened. The Christ has come, he has suffered, and he has risen, and he has risen indeed. And I'm proclaiming the light to both our people and to the Gentiles. This is not mythology. This is history. This didn't happen in a dark corner somewhere. This Jesus lived publicly. He died publicly. He rose publicly. Hundreds of hundreds of people saw the risen Lord Jesus, Christ. People knew, people saw people were even paid money to try to cover up the truth that he was risen. The issue is not a lack of evidence of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The issue is suppressing the truth. The issue is kicking. Against the goads and not submitting to the king.
Pastor: At this point, Governor Festus, he interjects, and he interrupts Paul with a loud voice, Paul, you are out of your mind. Your great learning is driving you out of your mind. Now, Paul is not rattled by that. He's not disturbed by such an outburst by Festus. And he says in verse 25 I'm not out of my mind, most excellent Felis, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him, I speak boldly, For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice for this has not been done in a corner. This isn't madness, Paul says, This is reality. It's sober, rational words of truth, and King Agrippa knows it. Now Paul turns directly to King Agrippa, and he says, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets. I know that you do. I know that you know that everything I said is true. Agrippa, what will you do?
Pastor: What will you do with the truth?
Pastor: Now, Agrippa responds to Paul in a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian? It's kind of a sarcastic statement there.
Pastor: It's not a serious statement.
Pastor: Paul has really backed him into a corner. Agrippa knows what Paul is saying is, in fact, true, and Paul has pointed out the fact that he knows that what he said is true. So what does Agrippa do? How does he respond?
Pastor: Was a very good politician. He deflects, he delays, he he avoids, he doesn't answer Paul, and that is such a dangerous response to the gospel, not outright rejection, but again, delay. He doesn't simply say, No, you know, not right now. Can you imagine someone standing in the road and they can clearly see a truck is coming, and they say, I'm going to move later.
Pastor: Give me, give me a little bit more time. Why would you do that? Isn't that foolish? The truth is right before you, why would you be so foolish? And that's what's happening here to Agrippa, and the truth is also presented to you. What will you do? Agrippa? He is not confused.
Pastor: He's unwilling. You see, you can know the truth. You can understand the truth. You know even the demons know the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is God's Son, that He is risen and reigning and one day coming again to judge the living and the dead. The demons believe that they know that truth. And you can know the truth, and you do know the truth, and you can feel the weight of the truth, and yet you can still walk away not believing the truth that is a very dangerous place to be.
Pastor: Paul says in verse 29 whether short or long, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am, except for these chains. You see, Paul's goal is not to get out, but to bring them in, because Paul knows his freedom is in Christ, but Agrippa and those who have rejected the Gospel are really the ones who are enslaved and enchained to sin and Satan into this world. You know, people often say, Well, Paul, you know, if only God were to show me a sign, a vision from heaven, like the Damascus Road, if I could hear God speak audibly to me, then I would believe. But God has spoken. The creation itself is declaring to you every single day, every single hour, every single minute, the very existence and power of God, His glory, His Holiness, abounds everywhere you go in creation, you cannot escape it, and God has spoken to you this day through his word. He has spoken to you through the gospel.
Pastor: You've heard it now the very Word of God himself, and sometimes even the very words of God come from the lips of children. You ask a child in Sunday school, who is God's Son?
Pastor: What's the answer, Jesus? How are your sins forgiven? Jesus?
Pastor: And you see that is not a lesser answer, because Jesus is the answer. He is not the Sunday School answer that we outgrow.
Pastor: He is not a theory. He is reality. He is the risen Lord, and one day it will not matter what you almost believed. It will matter what you have believed and what you believe in. Now, do not delay. Do not procrastinate. Very few know the day of their death, many go to sleep, even this very night, and they will not wake up. Many go to exercise on a normal day and their heart gives out. Many head to work or school and they do not return home, the same Jesus who confronted Paul on the Damascus Road is confronting you now, not to destroy, but to save, to Wash, to cleanse, to redeem, to forgive, to cleanse you. Could I persuade you to become a Christian? Could I I can't. I can't. God must do it.
Pastor: He must work in your heart. He must work in your heart to bring you life. But if you feel God tugging at your heart, do not harden your heart. Pray now that the Lord, the God of mercy, would grant you mercy and grant you forgiveness, that pray to Christ to rule over your life, that you would stop kicking against the goads and simply submit and rest in your Lord Jesus Christ. No more excuses, no more delays. Believe, believe, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Let's pray our Heavenly Father. We, thank you for giving us your word. We thank you that you are not a silent God, but that you have spoken Your word is indeed powerful Lord. We have heard the truth and we know the truth. I pray that you will not let us suppress the truth in unrighteous hearts, but by the power of your spirit, let us embrace it. Grant us life. Let us draw nearer to Jesus. Allow the things of this world to grow strangely dim to us that we would see the most important thing of this world is not our physical freedom, is not our finances, there's not even justice in this world, but it is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because in Christ, all right, all wrongs are made right. In Christ, there is mercy, there is forgiveness. And Lord, we long for the day we we are reminded that we are vapors.
Pastor: We are mists. We are here for a little while, and then we are gone, and then we will all stand before the judge. We will all stand before Christ, and our only hope is to be found resting in Christ, believing in Him by faith. Lord, help us believe.
Pastor: Let us rest in Him, in Jesus's name. Amen.