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the stage real quick so that you can get caught up and maybe frustrated as well,
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along with everyone else. When Paul returned to Jerusalem from his missionary journeys,
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his opponents falsely accused him of treason, both against the Jewish state and against the
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Roman laws. So he's tried first in the court of public opinion before a mob in Acts chapter 22.
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He's then tried before the Jewish council in Acts chapter 23. After a plot to assassinate him is
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uncovered, he's moved to Caesarea to be tried by the Roman governor Felix in Acts chapter 24.
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Felix finds nothing worth punishing in him, but he's hoping to get a bribe from Paul,
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so he keeps him in prison for two years. But after those two years, Felix is recalled to Rome
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and is replaced by a new governor, Festus, who in Acts chapter 5 examines Paul.
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Festus found Paul innocent in the Roman system, but he has no knowledge of the Hebrew system,
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and so he doesn't know how to deal with that one way or the other, those religious charges.
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So we're in a quandary here, and to get the ball rolling, Paul appeals to Caesar for justice. He's
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been in prison for two years. Caesar's kind of like the Supreme Court in the ancient Roman world,
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and so he can get a hearing with him and finally get his case disposed. But Festus can't just send
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a prisoner to Caesar without any indication of why the prisoner is coming to him, and since he's not
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guilty of anything in the Roman system, he has to give him some sort of religious charge in the local
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laws. But again, he doesn't know what to do with that. And so he brings in Agrippa, and that's where
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we've come. We've already heard Paul defend himself a few times now. Why another? And we're not just
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slogging through another repetition of the same thing over and over again. Today, this passage is kind of a
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climax of sorts. You see, Paul defended himself often, but he's never been able to defend himself
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fully. Every other time he's defended himself, someone else has set the agenda. Someone else
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either directed the flow of the conversation, they interrupted, or they otherwise ran the conversation.
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Paul had never got a chance to make his full defense until now. Have you ever had something
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important to say in a conversation, but you just can't get it in there? You're bringing it up, you're
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leading up to it, and then someone interrupts or changes the topic, or a crowd walks into the room
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and completely just tramples over your conversation? That's what's been happening to Paul. He keeps
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getting interrupted. The crowd shouted him down in Acts chapter 22 before he could get to his core
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message. In Acts chapter 23, the council gets off into a religious debate before they ever get to hear
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what he has to say. They're arguing about the resurrection before he can invite them into the
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resurrection life with Christ. His defense before Felix keeps him busy against the Roman charges,
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but never gets to the reason that he's actually there. So he's been able to defend himself against
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the accusations, mob justice, but he's been continually blocked and barricaded from doing the thing he's
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actually in Israel to do. To call dying people to a living Savior. And with that in mind, he begins his
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address in verse 1. So Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul
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stretched out his hand and made his defense. I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa,
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I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you
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are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me
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patiently. So who is this Agrippa? And why is Paul happy to talk to him? This is Herod Agrippa II.
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Now if the name Herod sounds familiar to you, you're not far off. He's the grandson of Herod the Great
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from Jesus' birth narrative. Not an altogether lovable man, if you'll recall from that account.
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The Herod family were puppet kings instated by the Roman government to kind of placate the Jewish
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people. They appointed the high priests and were generally involved with keeping the populace calm
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through the religious control of the religious leaders. And as such, they were actually quite
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knowledgeable of the Jewish religion. And so he's a very capable person to hear Paul's religious
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defense. He represents both the Jews and the Romans. And so kind of he is the world leader in the sense
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here. And so that's why Paul says he's fortunate to defend himself before Agrippa. He already has the
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background to know whether or not Paul is teaching against Jewish law. And unbeknownst to Agrippa,
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it also serves as the launch pad for Paul's real mission to invite him to join him with the
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resurrected Savior. That's his purpose. So Paul continues in verse 4,
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my manner of life from my youth spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem is
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known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to
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the strictest party of our religion, I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my
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hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly
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worship night and day. And for this hope, I am accused by the Jews, O King. Why is it thought
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incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? Paul was a Jew. He was the strictest kind of Jew.
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And his belief in Christ's resurrection was in line with exactly those strict beliefs. But the other
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Orthodox Jews were saying that he's going off the rails. And his reply is, I'm the only one still on the
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rails. Why would anyone be surprised when the God who spoke the universe into being, who rules the
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nations, parted the seas, raised his son from the dead? Especially when that's exactly what he promised
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to do. What was inconceivable for Paul was that the Jews who so fervently prayed for God's fulfillment
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of the promises would accuse him of being faithless when he's the one who believed those promises.
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The Jews believed in the resurrection, fervently hoped for it, but then rejected Paul's conviction
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that it had begun in Christ. And don't we hope for resurrection as a society? Even if we don't give
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voice to that hope. We don't talk about it, but we show that it's on our mind all the time.
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We have shrines to vitality in our spas and our gyms. We eat foods with antioxidants. We've created the
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heaven of retirement. We've removed death from our sight by sending people to die in hospices out of
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sight. We don't even say someone died anymore. We have all sorts of other words and phrases that we like
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to use instead. These all reveal just how much we hate death. We love life and long for resurrection.
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But it's not always by distancing ourselves from it. That's what we do. Some cultures think the ancient
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Egyptians spend lots of energy on solving death. They build great monuments and incredible religious
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systems to avert death, to conquer it through their incantations. Whether we ignore it or can't
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stop thinking about it, either way, the hope of every human culture at every time is that immortality,
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is the hope of resurrection. It is in our hearts. We long for it. And what Paul is saying here amounts
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to this. The God of Israel has promised that he would defeat death. And now he has done it in Christ.
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So how can I be the faithless one for celebrating that? That's not how Paul's life started out.
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Read with me in verse 9.
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I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
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And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving
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authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
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And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme.
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And in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
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So far from embracing the news that God had begun the resurrection from the dead in Christ Jesus,
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Paul originally hated him, hated his people. He spent his days trying to kill the young Christian
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movement. And Paul wasn't content to simply end his pursuit of Christ in Jerusalem.
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He wanted to stamp out the name of Jesus from the face of the earth. And to that end, he traveled to
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foreign cities. But on one of these journeys, on a road to Damascus, it wasn't Jesus' name that was
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stamped out at all. It wasn't Christ's name that perished. It was Paul's. He explains in verse 12.
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In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
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At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun that shone around me
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and those who journeyed with me. And when we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me
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in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Is it hard for you?
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To kick against the goads. And I said, who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are
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persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose,
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to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I
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will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you,
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to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to
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God so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith
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in me. Finally, Paul gets to say what he has been in Jerusalem and in Caesarea in prison for two years.
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This is what he came to say. Here's his message. He went to Damascus to stamp out Christ's name.
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But Jesus' name wasn't eradicated in Damascus. Paul's was. He traveled to foreign cities with his
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original name, Saul, to stamp out the name of Christ from the world. He left still traveling to foreign
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cities, but with the name Paul. And now to proclaim the name of Christ to the whole world.
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He had hoped in the resurrection, and now he had seen the blinding glory, physically blinding glory of the
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resurrected Christ. And it was that light that he would spread to the whole world. The hope of the resurrection
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was for everyone who longed for life, real life, life that is renewed, life that lasts. And we see that
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hope alive and well today in our society. The answer to that life is not found in spas or gyms or
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antioxidants. It's found in Jesus Christ himself. In the words of verse 18, Paul had his own
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eyes opened to see that Jesus was the great hope promised in God's prophets. He had turned the
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darkness, or excuse me, Paul had turned from the darkness of Satan's plan, making war against God,
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into the light of God's presence. One who said, let there be light, and I am the light of the world.
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He received forgiveness for his murderous sins and became holy through his faith in Christ.
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Paul is telling Agrippa, I went to Damascus to destroy the name of Jesus. Instead, my old life,
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my old prominent position, my old war against Christians, even my old name Saul, that's what
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was destroyed. I have a new name, a new life, a new mission. And what is Paul's new mission?
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It's to proclaim this message of the risen Lord, to deliver new realities to anyone who will hear.
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First, to open people's eyes, verse 18, to the beauty of the Lord, to show them that he alone is
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the hope for new life, for lasting life, for life lived with real purpose. To tell them, secondly,
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to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, only when God opens our eyes
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to see that Jesus is Lord, that he is beautiful, that he is worth living for, will we be able to turn
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away from our darkened ways towards God? When we live on our own path, we won't, we don't have the light
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of the resurrection life. Only when we're living to God does this light and life shine on our path.
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So, if you're not a Christian today, you need to live to God for that to happen. There is no other
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way. And if you are a Christian today, but you're walking on a darkened path that is one away from
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him, you will not be experiencing his resurrection life until you return to him.
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Third thing we see in verse 18. The third new reality is that the power of sin might be completely
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broken in us. If you read carefully, you'll see that there are two things going on. First,
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that they may receive forgiveness of sins. God is completely and forever undoing the guilt of sin
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in those who enter into Christ's resurrection life. And secondly, a place among those who are being
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sanctified by faith in me. That resurrection life is a life where the power of sin no longer reigns.
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I want to pause here and point out something very important from verse 14.
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When Jesus first spoke to Paul in verse 14, he asked a very interesting question. He said,
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why are you persecuting me? Paul was hurting Christians, not Christ himself. So what's going on there?
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When Jesus makes you his, he identifies himself so closely with you that an attack on you is an attack
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on him. The metaphor the Bible often uses is one of marriage. Jesus is the groom, the church is bride,
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and he has wedded our fortunes together. We have his unimaginable love and riches. He has our suffering.
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This means that if you're suffering today and you're a Christian, no matter what's going on and how alone
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you feel, you're not alone. Your sufferings are his sufferings. His tears fall next to yours.
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And the redemption he is working in this world, he is going to work in you. That's the only way Paul
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could waste away for two years and still give this defense happily before Agrippa.
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Christian, your sufferings do not belong to you alone. They belong to Christ.
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Christ. Now, this isn't the main point of Paul's speech here. So we do have to move on. But if you
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need to hear more of this message, if this has struck a chord with you, if you're a Christian who
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needs more of that particular light today, or if you're not a Christian and this message is drawing
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you towards a God who cares enough to walk alongside you, talk to me, one of the other pastors here at
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Trinity, so we can explore it with you. I don't want to move on before we've said that.
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But then again, that is not Paul's main thrust here today. So we are going to move to verse 19.
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Verse 19.
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To this day, I have had the help that comes from God. And so I stand here testifying both to small
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and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. That the Christ
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must suffer, and that by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our
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people and to the Gentiles.
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If you're not familiar with Christian lingo, you might not know what we mean when we say the word
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testimony. Typically, when we say the word testimony, we're referring to someone's story of
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their old life, how they came to meet Christ, and what their new life is after they've met Christ.
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So it follows a pattern of, this is how I was, this is how I came to know Jesus, and this is my life now.
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Often, it ends with, and now life's great.
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I once heard a song that characterized it this way, saying,
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And now I'm sunny with a high of 75, since you took my heavy heart and made it light.
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Now, there's quite a bit of truth to that lyric.
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Christ radically transforms our lives, so we can look at everyday situations and see joy.
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But, anyone who's been a Christian
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for more than an hour knows that that's not all our life is.
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Sunny with a high of 75
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is a nice sentiment, but it's our future hope.
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It's not always our present experience.
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And Paul's testimony
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doesn't end with, and now my life is so great.
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Here's what he says. He says,
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Here's what I was like.
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Zealous for the Bible, and zealous to persecute Christians.
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Then he moves to how he met Jesus.
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Stopped in his tracks.
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But he doesn't focus the end of his testimony story
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on, now everything's great.
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He focuses on,
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Now I obey.
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He concludes his testimony,
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not with how great his life is,
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but how he has turned from his old life,
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that is repentance,
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and lives in line with God's will.
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That's obedience.
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Paul's resurrection life
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is a life of resurrection obedience.
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And Paul's message
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wasn't just about his own obedience.
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It has impacts for us,
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because it requires us
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to live a life,
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everyone to live a life,
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performing deeds
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in keeping with their repentance.
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That's how he says it.
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So how do you know
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if you're a faithful Christian or not?
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Not because you call yourself one,
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or because you show up at church.
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We all know words are cheap.
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It's no special thing,
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doesn't take resurrection life
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to arrive here on a Sunday morning.
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We know we're Christians
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when our lives are changed
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and we obey Christ.
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One pastor put it this way,
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one of the first marks of our conversion
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is that we obey Jesus Christ.
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Are you obeying Jesus?
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Jesus said,
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why do you call me Lord, Lord,
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and do not do what I say?
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And I love how he puts it this way.
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People who have heard the voice
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of Jesus Christ,
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just do not ignore it.
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We receive today
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the voice of Jesus Christ
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through Paul and his testimony.
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Will you hear it?
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Or will you ignore it?
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The two men in front of Paul
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hear it
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and respond in two different ways.
00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:43.279
Verse 24.
00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.299
As he was saying these things
00:22:47.299 --> 00:22:48.059
in his defense,
00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:50.620
Festus said with a loud voice,
00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:51.200
Paul,
00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:53.099
you are out of your mind.
00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:55.079
Your great learning
00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:56.660
is driving you out of your mind.
00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:57.680
But Paul said,
00:22:57.819 --> 00:22:58.940
I am not out of my mind,
00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:00.120
most excellent Festus,
00:23:00.120 --> 00:23:01.799
but I am speaking true
00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:03.299
and rational words.
00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:06.819
Festus here interrupts Paul
00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:07.940
to tell him
00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:09.440
how crazy this all sounds.
00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:11.139
He's actually doing
00:23:11.139 --> 00:23:12.480
two things here,
00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:13.240
probably.
00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:15.159
First,
00:23:15.379 --> 00:23:16.720
he's rejecting the gospel.
00:23:16.919 --> 00:23:17.240
He's saying,
00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:18.139
you're insane,
00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:19.059
this makes no sense,
00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.019
I want no part of it.
00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:21.500
And that's
00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:24.740
absolutely part of his philosophy,
00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:25.339
but he's also
00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:27.659
probably doing something else too.
00:23:27.659 --> 00:23:29.579
He's giving Paul an out.
00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:33.960
It would be truly crazy
00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:35.200
for Festus
00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:36.940
to send a madman
00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:37.659
to Caesar
00:23:37.659 --> 00:23:38.980
and waste Caesar's time like that.
00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:39.359
That would be
00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:40.419
political suicide.
00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:41.419
So,
00:23:41.659 --> 00:23:43.480
if Paul is crazy,
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:45.200
he can get rid of this problem
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:45.960
altogether
00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.220
and just put him away.
00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:49.819
But Paul
00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:50.879
doesn't
00:23:50.879 --> 00:23:51.539
take
00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:52.319
the out.
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:53.639
He could be done,
00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:55.119
but he doesn't.
00:23:56.099 --> 00:23:57.019
He's concerned about
00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:57.899
someone else
00:23:57.899 --> 00:23:59.799
and their reaction
00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:00.419
to the message.
00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.619
Verse 26.
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.759
He turns
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.680
away
00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:06.399
from Festus
00:24:06.399 --> 00:24:07.200
and towards Agrippa
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:07.680
and he says,
00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:08.680
for the king,
00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:09.579
that is Agrippa,
00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:11.859
knows about these things
00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:12.720
and to him
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:13.539
I speak boldly.
00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:15.299
For I am persuaded
00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:16.680
that none of these things
00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:17.759
has escaped his notice.
00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:19.839
For this has not been done
00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:20.419
in a corner.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:22.579
King Agrippa,
00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:24.680
do you believe the prophets?
00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:26.659
I know that you believe.
00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:29.299
And Agrippa said to Paul,
00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:30.619
in a short time,
00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:31.419
would you persuade me
00:24:31.419 --> 00:24:32.019
to be a Christian?
00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:33.000
And Paul said,
00:24:33.219 --> 00:24:34.599
whether short or long,
00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:35.919
I would to God
00:24:35.919 --> 00:24:37.339
that not only you,
00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:39.399
but also all who hear me
00:24:39.399 --> 00:24:39.919
this day
00:24:39.919 --> 00:24:41.559
might become such as I am.
00:24:42.219 --> 00:24:43.179
Except for these chains.
00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:47.099
What's interesting
00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:47.859
to note here
00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:49.719
is that Paul
00:24:49.719 --> 00:24:50.899
has stopped
00:24:50.899 --> 00:24:52.059
defending himself.
00:24:53.399 --> 00:24:55.079
He has turned the tables
00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:56.220
and he has put
00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:56.819
Agrippa
00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:57.839
on trial.
00:25:00.919 --> 00:25:01.899
While Festus thinks
00:25:01.899 --> 00:25:02.899
the idea of resurrection
00:25:02.899 --> 00:25:03.859
is insane,
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:05.179
Agrippa,
00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:06.039
familiar
00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:07.279
with God's promises
00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:07.819
to Israel
00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:08.899
and well aware
00:25:08.899 --> 00:25:09.939
of what Jesus did
00:25:09.939 --> 00:25:10.899
all over Israel,
00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:11.980
couldn't escape
00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:12.819
this conclusion.
00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:14.259
Jesus
00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:15.899
had perfectly fulfilled
00:25:15.899 --> 00:25:19.240
all of God's prophecies,
00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:20.980
centuries of them,
00:25:21.679 --> 00:25:22.379
in his ministry.
00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:24.120
and finally,
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:25.180
in Jerusalem,
00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:26.600
he had defeated death
00:25:26.600 --> 00:25:27.880
for all mankind.
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:30.320
But,
00:25:31.320 --> 00:25:34.040
believing that the resurrection
00:25:34.040 --> 00:25:35.180
happened
00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:36.640
is not enough.
00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:39.300
Agrippa heard these things
00:25:39.300 --> 00:25:40.880
and may have believed them.
00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:42.700
He didn't even try
00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:43.440
to refute them.
00:25:44.760 --> 00:25:46.220
But instead of repenting
00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:48.120
and turning towards God,
00:25:48.520 --> 00:25:49.680
he dodged the question
00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:50.640
with a question
00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.060
of his own.
00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.500
In a short time,
00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:54.440
would you persuade me
00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:55.700
to be a Christian?
00:25:56.820 --> 00:25:57.320
He said.
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.480
It's not enough
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.620
to believe
00:26:01.620 --> 00:26:02.140
that Christianity
00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:02.759
is true.
00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:03.799
You can go through
00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:05.180
your whole life
00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:07.220
believing it's true
00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:08.259
and that Jesus
00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:09.420
is risen from the dead.
00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:10.580
But if you,
00:26:11.560 --> 00:26:12.360
in verse 20,
00:26:12.860 --> 00:26:13.660
don't repent,
00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:16.140
turn to God,
00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:18.019
performing deeds,
00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:19.740
keeping with your repentance,
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.720
you have no part
00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:22.379
with Christ.
00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:30.319
If that's you today,
00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:31.960
if you know Christ
00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:32.440
is risen,
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.859
I'm so scared for you.
00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:40.000
If you know Christ
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:40.299
is risen,
00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:41.480
but you haven't repented,
00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:42.920
haven't turned
00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:43.839
towards God,
00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:45.259
aren't living a life
00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:46.720
of resurrection obedience,
00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.279
you are at the same
00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.339
crossroads
00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:51.180
as Agrippa.
00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:53.319
God has set,
00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:55.319
he has set before you
00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.039
life and death.
00:26:58.740 --> 00:26:59.740
Blessing and curse,
00:27:00.259 --> 00:27:00.660
therefore,
00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:02.599
choose life.
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:06.140
This was me,
00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:07.119
personally,
00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:07.940
for many years.
00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:09.579
I grew up
00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:10.460
in a Christian home.
00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:11.240
I believed
00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:13.160
that Christianity
00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:13.759
was true,
00:27:13.840 --> 00:27:14.640
that Christ was risen
00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.279
from the dead,
00:27:15.360 --> 00:27:17.019
that he was the Lord,
00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:18.140
that he was coming
00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:18.860
back again.
00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:21.100
I believed
00:27:21.100 --> 00:27:22.019
that he offered
00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:22.720
life
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.140
to all who
00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:24.900
would come to him,
00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:26.140
turn from themselves,
00:27:26.360 --> 00:27:27.180
turn towards him.
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:31.120
And I didn't want to.
00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:32.000
I wanted to live
00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:32.440
for me.
00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:35.819
In his
00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:37.279
great grace,
00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:38.779
he was patient
00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:39.240
with me.
00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:42.920
He kept me
00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:43.359
breathing
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:45.519
until a day
00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:46.379
when he had
00:27:46.379 --> 00:27:47.519
finally softened
00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:48.319
my heart enough
00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:49.460
that I could
00:27:49.460 --> 00:27:50.119
repent.
00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:57.039
I had the time.
00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:00.039
Will you?
00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:08.720
Paul is on trial
00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:09.720
for his life.
00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:11.759
Festus
00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:12.200
gives him
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:12.639
an out.
00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:15.059
Not guilty
00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:15.500
by reason
00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.000
of insanity,
00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:16.519
basically.
00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:19.059
But Paul
00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:19.599
is concerned
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.359
with someone else.
00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:22.700
It's not
00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:23.480
his own life
00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:24.440
that concerns him.
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:25.559
It's
00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:26.399
Agrippa's
00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:26.920
soul
00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:29.420
that he cares
00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:29.720
about.
00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:31.019
He throws
00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:31.659
his chance
00:28:31.659 --> 00:28:32.200
at freedom
00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:32.559
away
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:34.639
to pursue
00:28:34.639 --> 00:28:35.399
Agrippa's
00:28:35.399 --> 00:28:35.720
heart.
00:28:37.639 --> 00:28:38.359
He puts
00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:38.720
his life
00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:39.279
on the line
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:40.279
to obey
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:40.859
Christ's
00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:41.299
instruction
00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:42.039
in verse 18
00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:44.139
to open
00:28:44.139 --> 00:28:44.559
their eyes
00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:44.980
so that they
00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:45.460
may turn
00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:46.339
from darkness
00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:46.799
to light
00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:47.099
and from
00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:47.480
the power
00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:47.899
of Satan
00:28:47.899 --> 00:28:48.379
to God
00:28:48.379 --> 00:28:51.279
so that they
00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:51.839
may have
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:52.359
resurrection
00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:52.980
life
00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:54.119
in Christ.
00:28:55.539 --> 00:28:56.079
And the crazy
00:28:56.079 --> 00:28:56.639
thing here is
00:28:56.639 --> 00:28:56.859
here,
00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:57.799
Paul didn't
00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:58.319
like
00:28:58.319 --> 00:28:58.899
Agrippa.
00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.319
This wasn't
00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:01.279
oh, I'll do
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:01.619
a favor
00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:01.899
for my
00:29:01.899 --> 00:29:02.079
buddy,
00:29:02.159 --> 00:29:02.480
I'll stick
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:02.980
my neck
00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:03.440
out for
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:03.879
a loved
00:29:03.879 --> 00:29:04.200
one.
00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:04.859
No,
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:05.559
no,
00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.379
anything but.
00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:06.839
Agrippa,
00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:07.299
again,
00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:07.859
he's the
00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:08.639
puppet king.
00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:10.159
He's run
00:29:10.159 --> 00:29:10.740
by the
00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:11.599
Roman government.
00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:12.519
He was a
00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:13.180
pretender
00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:14.279
to the throne
00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:14.899
of Israel
00:29:14.899 --> 00:29:15.659
and an
00:29:15.659 --> 00:29:16.359
offense
00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.899
to people
00:29:17.899 --> 00:29:18.519
like Paul
00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:18.919
who were
00:29:18.919 --> 00:29:19.480
zealous
00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:20.359
for the
00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:20.639
Jewish
00:29:20.639 --> 00:29:21.460
religion.
00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:23.079
It would
00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:23.640
be like
00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:26.759
if Russia
00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:27.519
invaded the
00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:28.319
United States,
00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:29.579
Vladimir Putin
00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:30.480
installed an
00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:31.279
ex-KGB
00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:32.160
agent as
00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:33.059
our president
00:29:33.059 --> 00:29:34.240
and then
00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:35.100
he had a
00:29:35.100 --> 00:29:36.819
dynasty of
00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:37.299
presidents
00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:39.539
who persecuted
00:29:39.539 --> 00:29:40.480
Americans
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.420
generation after
00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:41.940
generation.
00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:42.460
That's
00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:43.140
basically
00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:44.799
the Herod
00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:45.279
dynasty.
00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:47.799
We wouldn't
00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:48.279
think too
00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:48.920
kindly of that
00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:49.500
man standing
00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:50.180
in the shoes
00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:50.940
of George
00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:51.460
Washington
00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:52.600
and Abraham
00:29:52.600 --> 00:29:53.460
Lincoln carving
00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:54.039
his face
00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:54.480
onto Mount
00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:54.900
Rushmore.
00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:56.640
And that's
00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:57.120
the man
00:29:57.120 --> 00:29:57.519
for whom
00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:57.940
Paul is
00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:58.820
throwing away
00:29:58.820 --> 00:29:59.340
his chance
00:29:59.340 --> 00:29:59.700
at freedom.
00:30:03.080 --> 00:30:03.799
It didn't
00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:04.220
matter to
00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:05.600
Paul that
00:30:05.600 --> 00:30:06.140
Agrippa was
00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:07.160
a pretender
00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:08.039
king.
00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.700
It didn't
00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:10.160
matter to
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:10.560
Paul that
00:30:10.560 --> 00:30:11.259
he was a
00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:11.799
puppet of
00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:12.100
the Roman
00:30:12.100 --> 00:30:12.539
government.
00:30:13.060 --> 00:30:13.640
What mattered
00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:14.180
to Paul was
00:30:14.180 --> 00:30:14.340
this.
00:30:14.560 --> 00:30:15.140
Agrippa was
00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:15.740
a man who
00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:16.620
needed his
00:30:16.620 --> 00:30:17.380
eyes opened,
00:30:18.380 --> 00:30:19.740
who needed
00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:20.059
to turn
00:30:20.059 --> 00:30:20.460
from darkness
00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:20.779
to light,
00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:21.960
who needed
00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:22.900
to turn
00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:23.380
from Satan
00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:23.759
to God,
00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:24.279
who needed
00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:24.920
to receive
00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:25.599
forgiveness
00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:26.180
of sins,
00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:26.740
who needed
00:30:26.740 --> 00:30:27.400
resurrection
00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:28.220
life.
00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.000
Agrippa's
00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:32.880
soul was
00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:33.480
worth more
00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:34.279
to Paul
00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:35.359
than Paul's
00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:36.599
life was.
00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:39.200
And your
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.339
soul is
00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:41.819
just as
00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:42.180
important.
00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:43.279
It's just as
00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:43.519
precious.
00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:44.420
And I'm not
00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:44.920
risking my
00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:45.259
life here
00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:45.519
today.
00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.519
but I am
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:49.039
pleading with
00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:49.240
you.
00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:51.700
Be
00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:52.579
reconciled
00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.339
to God.
00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:54.940
It is more
00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:55.660
important.
00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:56.960
It is more
00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:58.180
important than
00:30:58.180 --> 00:30:58.980
life and
00:30:58.980 --> 00:30:59.240
death.
00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:03.920
And if you
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:04.579
belong to
00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:05.259
Christ today,
00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:06.740
I wonder,
00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.839
would you do
00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:09.299
the same
00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:10.579
as Paul?
00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:10.679
Paul,
00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:12.519
resurrection
00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.619
obedience
00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:16.819
is first
00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:18.419
obedience to
00:31:18.419 --> 00:31:19.720
report the
00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.579
resurrection of
00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:21.220
Jesus Christ.
00:31:24.019 --> 00:31:25.939
Will we
00:31:25.939 --> 00:31:27.259
risk doing
00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:28.039
uncomfortable
00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:30.759
things to
00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:31.139
share the
00:31:31.139 --> 00:31:31.679
gospel with
00:31:31.679 --> 00:31:32.359
people we
00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:32.859
don't naturally
00:31:32.859 --> 00:31:33.279
like?
00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:36.180
or will
00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:36.539
we let
00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:37.019
that get in
00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:37.700
the way of
00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:37.859
our
00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:38.279
resurrection
00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:38.720
obedience?
00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:43.299
Now, if
00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:43.899
you don't yet
00:31:43.899 --> 00:31:44.559
belong to
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.099
Christ, you're
00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:46.200
probably asking
00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:47.039
a question
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:47.720
much like
00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:48.319
Agrippa's.
00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:50.899
How can
00:31:50.899 --> 00:31:51.519
we believe
00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:52.599
Paul's
00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:53.299
testimony?
00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:54.700
How do we
00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:54.980
know it's
00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:55.399
true?
00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:57.200
Resurrection
00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:58.039
from the
00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:58.720
dead is,
00:31:59.240 --> 00:31:59.920
as Festus
00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:00.259
said,
00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:01.420
insanity.
00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:05.399
There are
00:32:05.399 --> 00:32:06.099
two kinds
00:32:06.099 --> 00:32:06.619
of witnesses
00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:07.279
that I
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:08.399
tend to
00:32:08.399 --> 00:32:08.759
believe.
00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.819
First, I
00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:12.539
believe something
00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:13.680
when I see
00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.359
its effects.
00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:16.759
We see the
00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.720
effects of
00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:18.039
Christ's
00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:18.740
resurrection in
00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:19.420
Paul's life.
00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:20.460
He threw
00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:21.319
away all of
00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:22.279
his prestige,
00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:23.460
everything he
00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:23.700
had.
00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:24.460
He counted
00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:24.839
loss.
00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:27.440
He was in
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.039
prison for
00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:28.740
two years
00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:29.319
just to make
00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:30.000
this speech.
00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:32.180
I think it's
00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:32.639
fair to say
00:32:32.639 --> 00:32:33.000
there was a
00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.000
dramatic effect
00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:35.259
of Christ's
00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:36.619
resurrection in
00:32:36.619 --> 00:32:37.160
his life.
00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:38.859
And second,
00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:40.079
I believe
00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:41.839
witnesses whose
00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:42.920
throats are
00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:44.319
slit for their
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:44.720
testimony.
00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:46.640
We don't read
00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:47.299
about it here,
00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:48.160
but Paul,
00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:49.220
like most of
00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:49.539
the other
00:32:49.539 --> 00:32:50.640
apostles, was
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:51.660
martyred for
00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:52.319
their testimony
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:52.900
to Jesus
00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:53.240
Christ.
00:32:55.160 --> 00:32:55.859
If you're
00:32:55.859 --> 00:32:56.839
willing to
00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:57.500
tell a message
00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:58.299
that brings you
00:32:58.299 --> 00:32:58.880
nothing but
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.599
pain, I'm
00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:02.059
inclined to
00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:02.500
believe you.
00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:05.759
But not
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:06.039
Agrippa.
00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:07.220
We read in
00:33:07.220 --> 00:33:07.700
verse 30,
00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:09.119
Then the
00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:09.779
king rose,
00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:10.740
and the
00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:11.019
governor,
00:33:11.819 --> 00:33:12.339
and Bernice,
00:33:12.859 --> 00:33:13.440
and those who
00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:13.759
were sitting
00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.179
with them.
00:33:14.899 --> 00:33:15.379
And when they
00:33:15.379 --> 00:33:15.980
had withdrawn,
00:33:16.619 --> 00:33:17.159
and they said
00:33:17.159 --> 00:33:17.819
to one another,
00:33:18.399 --> 00:33:19.519
this man is
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.220
doing nothing to
00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:20.980
deserve death or
00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:21.899
imprisonment.
00:33:24.259 --> 00:33:24.940
And Agrippa
00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:25.759
said to Festus,
00:33:25.980 --> 00:33:26.720
this man could
00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:27.200
have been set
00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.460
free if he
00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:29.039
had not appealed
00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:29.480
to Caesar.
00:33:32.899 --> 00:33:33.720
Instead of
00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:34.899
answering Paul,
00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:36.460
Agrippa
00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:37.639
stands up
00:33:37.639 --> 00:33:39.079
and walks
00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:39.359
away.
00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:43.259
He declared
00:33:43.259 --> 00:33:44.359
Paul innocent,
00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:44.859
but the
00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:47.079
tragedy is
00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:47.279
that he
00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:47.879
didn't take
00:33:47.879 --> 00:33:48.559
the time to
00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:49.259
render judgment
00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:50.319
on himself.
00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:54.240
He heard the
00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:54.659
message of
00:33:54.659 --> 00:33:55.700
Christ, he
00:33:55.700 --> 00:33:56.299
knew its
00:33:56.299 --> 00:33:57.399
truth, and
00:33:57.400 --> 00:33:58.140
he avoided
00:33:58.140 --> 00:33:59.480
its implications
00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:00.740
for himself.
00:34:02.560 --> 00:34:03.080
And as a
00:34:03.080 --> 00:34:04.860
result, he
00:34:04.860 --> 00:34:06.120
was in a
00:34:06.120 --> 00:34:07.380
far worse
00:34:07.380 --> 00:34:08.900
position than
00:34:08.900 --> 00:34:09.740
Paul was
00:34:09.740 --> 00:34:11.000
sitting in
00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:12.119
prison in
00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:12.619
chains.
00:34:14.500 --> 00:34:15.460
If you're not
00:34:15.460 --> 00:34:15.860
a Christian
00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:16.440
today, I
00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:17.720
plead with
00:34:17.720 --> 00:34:18.059
you.
00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:19.639
I plead with
00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:19.800
you.
00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:21.000
Do not
00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:21.619
stand with
00:34:21.619 --> 00:34:22.900
Agrippa any
00:34:22.900 --> 00:34:24.059
longer.
00:34:24.059 --> 00:34:24.119
Agrippa.
00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:26.719
And if
00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:27.019
you're a
00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:28.400
Christian, I
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:28.779
plead with
00:34:28.779 --> 00:34:28.960
you.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:30.960
Don't be
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:32.380
comfortable when
00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:33.079
others around
00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:34.179
you stand
00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:34.840
with Agrippa.
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:38.119
The only
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:39.500
safe place to
00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:40.639
stand is
00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:41.340
with Christ.
00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:43.039
Will you pray
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:43.400
with me?
00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:52.539
Father in
00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:54.460
heaven, you
00:34:54.460 --> 00:34:55.079
have given
00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:56.380
us access
00:34:56.380 --> 00:34:58.559
to your
00:34:58.559 --> 00:34:59.720
life,
00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:00.400
resurrection
00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:01.240
life in
00:35:01.240 --> 00:35:01.579
us.
00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:04.200
I pray
00:35:04.200 --> 00:35:06.559
that anyone
00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:08.760
here who
00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:09.559
has not
00:35:09.559 --> 00:35:10.280
heeded
00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:10.880
Paul's
00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:11.360
words,
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:14.280
would turn
00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:14.720
to you.
00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:16.800
From
00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:17.400
darkness to
00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:18.220
life, from
00:35:18.220 --> 00:35:19.019
themselves to
00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:19.300
you.
00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:23.180
And Lord, I
00:35:23.180 --> 00:35:24.500
pray that they
00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:25.019
would not
00:35:25.019 --> 00:35:26.519
stand with
00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:27.079
Agrippa, even
00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:27.760
if it feels
00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:30.260
comfortable, it
00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:31.519
is a
00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:32.180
crossroads,
00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:36.240
slowly
00:35:36.240 --> 00:35:36.880
succumbing to
00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:37.980
a flood that
00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:38.500
will drown
00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:38.780
them.
00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:42.820
Lord, I
00:35:42.820 --> 00:35:43.280
pray for
00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:43.640
those of
00:35:43.640 --> 00:35:44.340
us who
00:35:44.340 --> 00:35:44.760
do know
00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:46.680
you, who
00:35:46.680 --> 00:35:47.220
do have
00:35:47.220 --> 00:35:47.559
your
00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:48.180
resurrection
00:35:48.180 --> 00:35:48.820
life.
00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:51.320
Lord, that
00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:51.620
we would
00:35:51.620 --> 00:35:53.940
be men
00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:54.340
and women
00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:54.599
of
00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:55.059
resurrection
00:35:55.059 --> 00:35:55.980
obedience,
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.440
and that
00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:00.760
we would
00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:01.519
not pass
00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:02.760
Agrippa by,
00:36:04.180 --> 00:36:04.700
but seek
00:36:04.700 --> 00:36:05.160
him out,
00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:06.340
risk
00:36:06.340 --> 00:36:07.039
ourselves,
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:09.119
to draw
00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:10.860
others into
00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:11.300
your
00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:11.860
resurrection
00:36:11.860 --> 00:36:12.759
life and
00:36:12.759 --> 00:36:13.179
resurrection
00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:13.619
obedience.
00:36:14.659 --> 00:36:15.340
We pray
00:36:15.340 --> 00:36:16.039
these things in
00:36:16.039 --> 00:36:16.960
Jesus Christ's
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.679
name, and
00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:18.480
for the sake of
00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:19.059
his glory,
00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:19.820
amen.
00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:19.920
Amen.
00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:19.960
Amen.
00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:19.980
Amen.
00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:20.000
Amen.
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:20.019
Amen.
00:36:20.019 --> 00:36:20.039
Amen.
00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:20.059
Amen.
00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:38.039
Amen.
00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:38.300
Would you
00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:38.820
stand and sing
00:36:38.820 --> 00:36:39.119
with me?
00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:39.599
Amen.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.620
the stage real quick so that you can get caught up and maybe frustrated as well,
00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:10.000
along with everyone else. When Paul returned to Jerusalem from his missionary journeys,
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:15.620
his opponents falsely accused him of treason, both against the Jewish state and against the
00:00:15.620 --> 00:00:22.640
Roman laws. So he's tried first in the court of public opinion before a mob in Acts chapter 22.
00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:31.179
He's then tried before the Jewish council in Acts chapter 23. After a plot to assassinate him is
00:00:31.179 --> 00:00:37.260
uncovered, he's moved to Caesarea to be tried by the Roman governor Felix in Acts chapter 24.
00:00:38.659 --> 00:00:44.000
Felix finds nothing worth punishing in him, but he's hoping to get a bribe from Paul,
00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:51.159
so he keeps him in prison for two years. But after those two years, Felix is recalled to Rome
00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:56.739
and is replaced by a new governor, Festus, who in Acts chapter 5 examines Paul.
00:00:58.879 --> 00:01:05.000
Festus found Paul innocent in the Roman system, but he has no knowledge of the Hebrew system,
00:01:05.259 --> 00:01:09.400
and so he doesn't know how to deal with that one way or the other, those religious charges.
00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:16.420
So we're in a quandary here, and to get the ball rolling, Paul appeals to Caesar for justice. He's
00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:21.700
been in prison for two years. Caesar's kind of like the Supreme Court in the ancient Roman world,
00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:27.760
and so he can get a hearing with him and finally get his case disposed. But Festus can't just send
00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:33.299
a prisoner to Caesar without any indication of why the prisoner is coming to him, and since he's not
00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:39.379
guilty of anything in the Roman system, he has to give him some sort of religious charge in the local
00:01:39.379 --> 00:01:46.519
laws. But again, he doesn't know what to do with that. And so he brings in Agrippa, and that's where
00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:55.159
we've come. We've already heard Paul defend himself a few times now. Why another? And we're not just
00:01:55.159 --> 00:02:01.159
slogging through another repetition of the same thing over and over again. Today, this passage is kind of a
00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:08.639
climax of sorts. You see, Paul defended himself often, but he's never been able to defend himself
00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:18.579
fully. Every other time he's defended himself, someone else has set the agenda. Someone else
00:02:18.579 --> 00:02:25.679
either directed the flow of the conversation, they interrupted, or they otherwise ran the conversation.
00:02:28.279 --> 00:02:35.959
Paul had never got a chance to make his full defense until now. Have you ever had something
00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:41.340
important to say in a conversation, but you just can't get it in there? You're bringing it up, you're
00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:46.920
leading up to it, and then someone interrupts or changes the topic, or a crowd walks into the room
00:02:46.920 --> 00:02:52.439
and completely just tramples over your conversation? That's what's been happening to Paul. He keeps
00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:58.540
getting interrupted. The crowd shouted him down in Acts chapter 22 before he could get to his core
00:02:58.540 --> 00:03:04.420
message. In Acts chapter 23, the council gets off into a religious debate before they ever get to hear
00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:09.439
what he has to say. They're arguing about the resurrection before he can invite them into the
00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:20.259
resurrection life with Christ. His defense before Felix keeps him busy against the Roman charges,
00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:25.500
but never gets to the reason that he's actually there. So he's been able to defend himself against
00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:32.639
the accusations, mob justice, but he's been continually blocked and barricaded from doing the thing he's
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:43.419
actually in Israel to do. To call dying people to a living Savior. And with that in mind, he begins his
00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:51.479
address in verse 1. So Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul
00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:56.919
stretched out his hand and made his defense. I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa,
00:03:56.919 --> 00:04:02.939
I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you
00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:09.479
are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me
00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:18.259
patiently. So who is this Agrippa? And why is Paul happy to talk to him? This is Herod Agrippa II.
00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:24.659
Now if the name Herod sounds familiar to you, you're not far off. He's the grandson of Herod the Great
00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:30.580
from Jesus' birth narrative. Not an altogether lovable man, if you'll recall from that account.
00:04:31.140 --> 00:04:39.480
The Herod family were puppet kings instated by the Roman government to kind of placate the Jewish
00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:47.900
people. They appointed the high priests and were generally involved with keeping the populace calm
00:04:47.900 --> 00:04:53.400
through the religious control of the religious leaders. And as such, they were actually quite
00:04:53.399 --> 00:05:01.099
knowledgeable of the Jewish religion. And so he's a very capable person to hear Paul's religious
00:05:01.099 --> 00:05:07.139
defense. He represents both the Jews and the Romans. And so kind of he is the world leader in the sense
00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:13.779
here. And so that's why Paul says he's fortunate to defend himself before Agrippa. He already has the
00:05:13.779 --> 00:05:19.560
background to know whether or not Paul is teaching against Jewish law. And unbeknownst to Agrippa,
00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:27.680
it also serves as the launch pad for Paul's real mission to invite him to join him with the
00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:32.600
resurrected Savior. That's his purpose. So Paul continues in verse 4,
00:05:33.340 --> 00:05:38.860
my manner of life from my youth spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem is
00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:45.199
known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to
00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:52.399
the strictest party of our religion, I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my
00:05:52.399 --> 00:06:00.500
hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly
00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:08.459
worship night and day. And for this hope, I am accused by the Jews, O King. Why is it thought
00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:19.379
incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? Paul was a Jew. He was the strictest kind of Jew.
00:06:20.419 --> 00:06:26.959
And his belief in Christ's resurrection was in line with exactly those strict beliefs. But the other
00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:33.959
Orthodox Jews were saying that he's going off the rails. And his reply is, I'm the only one still on the
00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:41.519
rails. Why would anyone be surprised when the God who spoke the universe into being, who rules the
00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:48.339
nations, parted the seas, raised his son from the dead? Especially when that's exactly what he promised
00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:57.459
to do. What was inconceivable for Paul was that the Jews who so fervently prayed for God's fulfillment
00:06:57.459 --> 00:07:03.859
of the promises would accuse him of being faithless when he's the one who believed those promises.
00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:11.060
The Jews believed in the resurrection, fervently hoped for it, but then rejected Paul's conviction
00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:21.579
that it had begun in Christ. And don't we hope for resurrection as a society? Even if we don't give
00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:27.279
voice to that hope. We don't talk about it, but we show that it's on our mind all the time.
00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:36.979
We have shrines to vitality in our spas and our gyms. We eat foods with antioxidants. We've created the
00:07:36.979 --> 00:07:44.359
heaven of retirement. We've removed death from our sight by sending people to die in hospices out of
00:07:44.359 --> 00:07:51.079
sight. We don't even say someone died anymore. We have all sorts of other words and phrases that we like
00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:59.240
to use instead. These all reveal just how much we hate death. We love life and long for resurrection.
00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:05.839
But it's not always by distancing ourselves from it. That's what we do. Some cultures think the ancient
00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:11.699
Egyptians spend lots of energy on solving death. They build great monuments and incredible religious
00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:22.379
systems to avert death, to conquer it through their incantations. Whether we ignore it or can't
00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:29.819
stop thinking about it, either way, the hope of every human culture at every time is that immortality,
00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:36.220
is the hope of resurrection. It is in our hearts. We long for it. And what Paul is saying here amounts
00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:44.580
to this. The God of Israel has promised that he would defeat death. And now he has done it in Christ.
00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:55.100
So how can I be the faithless one for celebrating that? That's not how Paul's life started out.
00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:57.639
Read with me in verse 9.
00:08:58.160 --> 00:09:05.240
I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:11.799
And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving
00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:17.440
authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:23.360
And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme.
00:09:24.560 --> 00:09:28.680
And in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:38.639
So far from embracing the news that God had begun the resurrection from the dead in Christ Jesus,
00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:45.919
Paul originally hated him, hated his people. He spent his days trying to kill the young Christian
00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:51.779
movement. And Paul wasn't content to simply end his pursuit of Christ in Jerusalem.
00:09:51.779 --> 00:10:00.459
He wanted to stamp out the name of Jesus from the face of the earth. And to that end, he traveled to
00:10:00.459 --> 00:10:11.220
foreign cities. But on one of these journeys, on a road to Damascus, it wasn't Jesus' name that was
00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:19.259
stamped out at all. It wasn't Christ's name that perished. It was Paul's. He explains in verse 12.
00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:27.720
In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:34.700
At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun that shone around me
00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:40.840
and those who journeyed with me. And when we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me
00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:48.700
in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Is it hard for you?
00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:55.580
To kick against the goads. And I said, who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are
00:10:55.580 --> 00:11:01.060
persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose,
00:11:02.060 --> 00:11:08.360
to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I
00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:13.680
will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you,
00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:20.639
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to
00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:26.439
God so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith
00:11:26.439 --> 00:11:36.219
in me. Finally, Paul gets to say what he has been in Jerusalem and in Caesarea in prison for two years.
00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:43.540
This is what he came to say. Here's his message. He went to Damascus to stamp out Christ's name.
00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:51.639
But Jesus' name wasn't eradicated in Damascus. Paul's was. He traveled to foreign cities with his
00:11:51.639 --> 00:12:00.200
original name, Saul, to stamp out the name of Christ from the world. He left still traveling to foreign
00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:07.379
cities, but with the name Paul. And now to proclaim the name of Christ to the whole world.
00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:15.800
He had hoped in the resurrection, and now he had seen the blinding glory, physically blinding glory of the
00:12:15.800 --> 00:12:22.800
resurrected Christ. And it was that light that he would spread to the whole world. The hope of the resurrection
00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:32.559
was for everyone who longed for life, real life, life that is renewed, life that lasts. And we see that
00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:42.159
hope alive and well today in our society. The answer to that life is not found in spas or gyms or
00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:52.779
antioxidants. It's found in Jesus Christ himself. In the words of verse 18, Paul had his own
00:12:52.779 --> 00:13:00.079
eyes opened to see that Jesus was the great hope promised in God's prophets. He had turned the
00:13:00.079 --> 00:13:07.100
darkness, or excuse me, Paul had turned from the darkness of Satan's plan, making war against God,
00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:12.899
into the light of God's presence. One who said, let there be light, and I am the light of the world.
00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:19.759
He received forgiveness for his murderous sins and became holy through his faith in Christ.
00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:30.299
Paul is telling Agrippa, I went to Damascus to destroy the name of Jesus. Instead, my old life,
00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:36.879
my old prominent position, my old war against Christians, even my old name Saul, that's what
00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:46.340
was destroyed. I have a new name, a new life, a new mission. And what is Paul's new mission?
00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:55.840
It's to proclaim this message of the risen Lord, to deliver new realities to anyone who will hear.
00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:03.600
First, to open people's eyes, verse 18, to the beauty of the Lord, to show them that he alone is
00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:11.780
the hope for new life, for lasting life, for life lived with real purpose. To tell them, secondly,
00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:18.120
to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, only when God opens our eyes
00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:28.740
to see that Jesus is Lord, that he is beautiful, that he is worth living for, will we be able to turn
00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:37.120
away from our darkened ways towards God? When we live on our own path, we won't, we don't have the light
00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:46.039
of the resurrection life. Only when we're living to God does this light and life shine on our path.
00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:54.179
So, if you're not a Christian today, you need to live to God for that to happen. There is no other
00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:59.820
way. And if you are a Christian today, but you're walking on a darkened path that is one away from
00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:06.680
him, you will not be experiencing his resurrection life until you return to him.
00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:17.500
Third thing we see in verse 18. The third new reality is that the power of sin might be completely
00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:23.680
broken in us. If you read carefully, you'll see that there are two things going on. First,
00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:33.519
that they may receive forgiveness of sins. God is completely and forever undoing the guilt of sin
00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:42.299
in those who enter into Christ's resurrection life. And secondly, a place among those who are being
00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:53.599
sanctified by faith in me. That resurrection life is a life where the power of sin no longer reigns.
00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:01.539
I want to pause here and point out something very important from verse 14.
00:16:03.979 --> 00:16:09.899
When Jesus first spoke to Paul in verse 14, he asked a very interesting question. He said,
00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:19.719
why are you persecuting me? Paul was hurting Christians, not Christ himself. So what's going on there?
00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:33.240
When Jesus makes you his, he identifies himself so closely with you that an attack on you is an attack
00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:41.379
on him. The metaphor the Bible often uses is one of marriage. Jesus is the groom, the church is bride,
00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:51.100
and he has wedded our fortunes together. We have his unimaginable love and riches. He has our suffering.
00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:58.519
This means that if you're suffering today and you're a Christian, no matter what's going on and how alone
00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:08.039
you feel, you're not alone. Your sufferings are his sufferings. His tears fall next to yours.
00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:16.039
And the redemption he is working in this world, he is going to work in you. That's the only way Paul
00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:21.960
could waste away for two years and still give this defense happily before Agrippa.
00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:32.460
Christian, your sufferings do not belong to you alone. They belong to Christ.
00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:41.819
Christ. Now, this isn't the main point of Paul's speech here. So we do have to move on. But if you
00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:46.279
need to hear more of this message, if this has struck a chord with you, if you're a Christian who
00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:52.259
needs more of that particular light today, or if you're not a Christian and this message is drawing
00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:58.920
you towards a God who cares enough to walk alongside you, talk to me, one of the other pastors here at
00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:04.080
Trinity, so we can explore it with you. I don't want to move on before we've said that.
00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:11.160
But then again, that is not Paul's main thrust here today. So we are going to move to verse 19.
00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:41.140
Verse 19.
00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:47.880
To this day, I have had the help that comes from God. And so I stand here testifying both to small
00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:55.279
and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. That the Christ
00:18:55.279 --> 00:19:01.740
must suffer, and that by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our
00:19:01.740 --> 00:19:03.779
people and to the Gentiles.
00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:14.019
If you're not familiar with Christian lingo, you might not know what we mean when we say the word
00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:20.259
testimony. Typically, when we say the word testimony, we're referring to someone's story of
00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:26.359
their old life, how they came to meet Christ, and what their new life is after they've met Christ.
00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:34.199
So it follows a pattern of, this is how I was, this is how I came to know Jesus, and this is my life now.
00:19:36.719 --> 00:19:40.519
Often, it ends with, and now life's great.
00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:46.419
I once heard a song that characterized it this way, saying,
00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:54.160
And now I'm sunny with a high of 75, since you took my heavy heart and made it light.
00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.539
Now, there's quite a bit of truth to that lyric.
00:19:58.580 --> 00:20:03.279
Christ radically transforms our lives, so we can look at everyday situations and see joy.
00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:07.599
But, anyone who's been a Christian
00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.099
for more than an hour knows that that's not all our life is.
00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:13.720
Sunny with a high of 75
00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:18.000
is a nice sentiment, but it's our future hope.
00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:21.000
It's not always our present experience.
00:20:23.139 --> 00:20:25.139
And Paul's testimony
00:20:25.139 --> 00:20:27.680
doesn't end with, and now my life is so great.
00:20:29.139 --> 00:20:30.220
Here's what he says. He says,
00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:32.160
Here's what I was like.
00:20:32.860 --> 00:20:35.759
Zealous for the Bible, and zealous to persecute Christians.
00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:38.400
Then he moves to how he met Jesus.
00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:40.160
Stopped in his tracks.
00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.600
But he doesn't focus the end of his testimony story
00:20:44.600 --> 00:20:46.519
on, now everything's great.
00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:49.000
He focuses on,
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:51.900
Now I obey.
00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:55.759
He concludes his testimony,
00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:57.779
not with how great his life is,
00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:01.779
but how he has turned from his old life,
00:21:02.139 --> 00:21:02.940
that is repentance,
00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:06.720
and lives in line with God's will.
00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:07.539
That's obedience.
00:21:08.420 --> 00:21:11.119
Paul's resurrection life
00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.740
is a life of resurrection obedience.
00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:19.000
And Paul's message
00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:21.359
wasn't just about his own obedience.
00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:22.880
It has impacts for us,
00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:24.579
because it requires us
00:21:24.579 --> 00:21:27.099
to live a life,
00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:28.319
everyone to live a life,
00:21:28.579 --> 00:21:29.740
performing deeds
00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:31.380
in keeping with their repentance.
00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:32.920
That's how he says it.
00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:35.740
So how do you know
00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:36.700
if you're a faithful Christian or not?
00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:39.240
Not because you call yourself one,
00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:40.380
or because you show up at church.
00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:42.640
We all know words are cheap.
00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:46.460
It's no special thing,
00:21:46.620 --> 00:21:48.000
doesn't take resurrection life
00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.240
to arrive here on a Sunday morning.
00:21:51.040 --> 00:21:52.300
We know we're Christians
00:21:52.300 --> 00:21:53.680
when our lives are changed
00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:54.820
and we obey Christ.
00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:58.120
One pastor put it this way,
00:21:58.280 --> 00:22:00.700
one of the first marks of our conversion
00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:02.660
is that we obey Jesus Christ.
00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:05.440
Are you obeying Jesus?
00:22:06.280 --> 00:22:07.100
Jesus said,
00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:09.759
why do you call me Lord, Lord,
00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:11.580
and do not do what I say?
00:22:11.579 --> 00:22:13.859
And I love how he puts it this way.
00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:16.939
People who have heard the voice
00:22:16.939 --> 00:22:18.439
of Jesus Christ,
00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:20.539
just do not ignore it.
00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:25.379
We receive today
00:22:25.379 --> 00:22:27.539
the voice of Jesus Christ
00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:29.539
through Paul and his testimony.
00:22:30.699 --> 00:22:31.599
Will you hear it?
00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:33.740
Or will you ignore it?
00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:38.799
The two men in front of Paul
00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:39.799
hear it
00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:41.859
and respond in two different ways.
00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:43.279
Verse 24.
00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.299
As he was saying these things
00:22:47.299 --> 00:22:48.059
in his defense,
00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:50.620
Festus said with a loud voice,
00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:51.200
Paul,
00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:53.099
you are out of your mind.
00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:55.079
Your great learning
00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:56.660
is driving you out of your mind.
00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:57.680
But Paul said,
00:22:57.819 --> 00:22:58.940
I am not out of my mind,
00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:00.120
most excellent Festus,
00:23:00.120 --> 00:23:01.799
but I am speaking true
00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:03.299
and rational words.
00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:06.819
Festus here interrupts Paul
00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:07.940
to tell him
00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:09.440
how crazy this all sounds.
00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:11.139
He's actually doing
00:23:11.139 --> 00:23:12.480
two things here,
00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:13.240
probably.
00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:15.159
First,
00:23:15.379 --> 00:23:16.720
he's rejecting the gospel.
00:23:16.919 --> 00:23:17.240
He's saying,
00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:18.139
you're insane,
00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:19.059
this makes no sense,
00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.019
I want no part of it.
00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:21.500
And that's
00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:24.740
absolutely part of his philosophy,
00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:25.339
but he's also
00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:27.659
probably doing something else too.
00:23:27.659 --> 00:23:29.579
He's giving Paul an out.
00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:33.960
It would be truly crazy
00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:35.200
for Festus
00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:36.940
to send a madman
00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:37.659
to Caesar
00:23:37.659 --> 00:23:38.980
and waste Caesar's time like that.
00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:39.359
That would be
00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:40.419
political suicide.
00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:41.419
So,
00:23:41.659 --> 00:23:43.480
if Paul is crazy,
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:45.200
he can get rid of this problem
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:45.960
altogether
00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.220
and just put him away.
00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:49.819
But Paul
00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:50.879
doesn't
00:23:50.879 --> 00:23:51.539
take
00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:52.319
the out.
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:53.639
He could be done,
00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:55.119
but he doesn't.
00:23:56.099 --> 00:23:57.019
He's concerned about
00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:57.899
someone else
00:23:57.899 --> 00:23:59.799
and their reaction
00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:00.419
to the message.
00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.619
Verse 26.
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.759
He turns
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.680
away
00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:06.399
from Festus
00:24:06.399 --> 00:24:07.200
and towards Agrippa
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:07.680
and he says,
00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:08.680
for the king,
00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:09.579
that is Agrippa,
00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:11.859
knows about these things
00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:12.720
and to him
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:13.539
I speak boldly.
00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:15.299
For I am persuaded
00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:16.680
that none of these things
00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:17.759
has escaped his notice.
00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:19.839
For this has not been done
00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:20.419
in a corner.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:22.579
King Agrippa,
00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:24.680
do you believe the prophets?
00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:26.659
I know that you believe.
00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:29.299
And Agrippa said to Paul,
00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:30.619
in a short time,
00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:31.419
would you persuade me
00:24:31.419 --> 00:24:32.019
to be a Christian?
00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:33.000
And Paul said,
00:24:33.219 --> 00:24:34.599
whether short or long,
00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:35.919
I would to God
00:24:35.919 --> 00:24:37.339
that not only you,
00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:39.399
but also all who hear me
00:24:39.399 --> 00:24:39.919
this day
00:24:39.919 --> 00:24:41.559
might become such as I am.
00:24:42.219 --> 00:24:43.179
Except for these chains.
00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:47.099
What's interesting
00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:47.859
to note here
00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:49.719
is that Paul
00:24:49.719 --> 00:24:50.899
has stopped
00:24:50.899 --> 00:24:52.059
defending himself.
00:24:53.399 --> 00:24:55.079
He has turned the tables
00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:56.220
and he has put
00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:56.819
Agrippa
00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:57.839
on trial.
00:25:00.919 --> 00:25:01.899
While Festus thinks
00:25:01.899 --> 00:25:02.899
the idea of resurrection
00:25:02.899 --> 00:25:03.859
is insane,
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:05.179
Agrippa,
00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:06.039
familiar
00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:07.279
with God's promises
00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:07.819
to Israel
00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:08.899
and well aware
00:25:08.899 --> 00:25:09.939
of what Jesus did
00:25:09.939 --> 00:25:10.899
all over Israel,
00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:11.980
couldn't escape
00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:12.819
this conclusion.
00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:14.259
Jesus
00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:15.899
had perfectly fulfilled
00:25:15.899 --> 00:25:19.240
all of God's prophecies,
00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:20.980
centuries of them,
00:25:21.679 --> 00:25:22.379
in his ministry.
00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:24.120
and finally,
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:25.180
in Jerusalem,
00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:26.600
he had defeated death
00:25:26.600 --> 00:25:27.880
for all mankind.
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:30.320
But,
00:25:31.320 --> 00:25:34.040
believing that the resurrection
00:25:34.040 --> 00:25:35.180
happened
00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:36.640
is not enough.
00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:39.300
Agrippa heard these things
00:25:39.300 --> 00:25:40.880
and may have believed them.
00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:42.700
He didn't even try
00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:43.440
to refute them.
00:25:44.760 --> 00:25:46.220
But instead of repenting
00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:48.120
and turning towards God,
00:25:48.520 --> 00:25:49.680
he dodged the question
00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:50.640
with a question
00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.060
of his own.
00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.500
In a short time,
00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:54.440
would you persuade me
00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:55.700
to be a Christian?
00:25:56.820 --> 00:25:57.320
He said.
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.480
It's not enough
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.620
to believe
00:26:01.620 --> 00:26:02.140
that Christianity
00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:02.759
is true.
00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:03.799
You can go through
00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:05.180
your whole life
00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:07.220
believing it's true
00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:08.259
and that Jesus
00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:09.420
is risen from the dead.
00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:10.580
But if you,
00:26:11.560 --> 00:26:12.360
in verse 20,
00:26:12.860 --> 00:26:13.660
don't repent,
00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:16.140
turn to God,
00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:18.019
performing deeds,
00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:19.740
keeping with your repentance,
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.720
you have no part
00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:22.379
with Christ.
00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:30.319
If that's you today,
00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:31.960
if you know Christ
00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:32.440
is risen,
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.859
I'm so scared for you.
00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:40.000
If you know Christ
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:40.299
is risen,
00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:41.480
but you haven't repented,
00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:42.920
haven't turned
00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:43.839
towards God,
00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:45.259
aren't living a life
00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:46.720
of resurrection obedience,
00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.279
you are at the same
00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.339
crossroads
00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:51.180
as Agrippa.
00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:53.319
God has set,
00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:55.319
he has set before you
00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.039
life and death.
00:26:58.740 --> 00:26:59.740
Blessing and curse,
00:27:00.259 --> 00:27:00.660
therefore,
00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:02.599
choose life.
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:06.140
This was me,
00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:07.119
personally,
00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:07.940
for many years.
00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:09.579
I grew up
00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:10.460
in a Christian home.
00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:11.240
I believed
00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:13.160
that Christianity
00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:13.759
was true,
00:27:13.840 --> 00:27:14.640
that Christ was risen
00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.279
from the dead,
00:27:15.360 --> 00:27:17.019
that he was the Lord,
00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:18.140
that he was coming
00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:18.860
back again.
00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:21.100
I believed
00:27:21.100 --> 00:27:22.019
that he offered
00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:22.720
life
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.140
to all who
00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:24.900
would come to him,
00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:26.140
turn from themselves,
00:27:26.360 --> 00:27:27.180
turn towards him.
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:31.120
And I didn't want to.
00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:32.000
I wanted to live
00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:32.440
for me.
00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:35.819
In his
00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:37.279
great grace,
00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:38.779
he was patient
00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:39.240
with me.
00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:42.920
He kept me
00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:43.359
breathing
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:45.519
until a day
00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:46.379
when he had
00:27:46.379 --> 00:27:47.519
finally softened
00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:48.319
my heart enough
00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:49.460
that I could
00:27:49.460 --> 00:27:50.119
repent.
00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:57.039
I had the time.
00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:00.039
Will you?
00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:08.720
Paul is on trial
00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:09.720
for his life.
00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:11.759
Festus
00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:12.200
gives him
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:12.639
an out.
00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:15.059
Not guilty
00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:15.500
by reason
00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.000
of insanity,
00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:16.519
basically.
00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:19.059
But Paul
00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:19.599
is concerned
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.359
with someone else.
00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:22.700
It's not
00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:23.480
his own life
00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:24.440
that concerns him.
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:25.559
It's
00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:26.399
Agrippa's
00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:26.920
soul
00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:29.420
that he cares
00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:29.720
about.
00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:31.019
He throws
00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:31.659
his chance
00:28:31.659 --> 00:28:32.200
at freedom
00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:32.559
away
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:34.639
to pursue
00:28:34.639 --> 00:28:35.399
Agrippa's
00:28:35.399 --> 00:28:35.720
heart.
00:28:37.639 --> 00:28:38.359
He puts
00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:38.720
his life
00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:39.279
on the line
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:40.279
to obey
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:40.859
Christ's
00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:41.299
instruction
00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:42.039
in verse 18
00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:44.139
to open
00:28:44.139 --> 00:28:44.559
their eyes
00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:44.980
so that they
00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:45.460
may turn
00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:46.339
from darkness
00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:46.799
to light
00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:47.099
and from
00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:47.480
the power
00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:47.899
of Satan
00:28:47.899 --> 00:28:48.379
to God
00:28:48.379 --> 00:28:51.279
so that they
00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:51.839
may have
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:52.359
resurrection
00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:52.980
life
00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:54.119
in Christ.
00:28:55.539 --> 00:28:56.079
And the crazy
00:28:56.079 --> 00:28:56.639
thing here is
00:28:56.639 --> 00:28:56.859
here,
00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:57.799
Paul didn't
00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:58.319
like
00:28:58.319 --> 00:28:58.899
Agrippa.
00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.319
This wasn't
00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:01.279
oh, I'll do
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:01.619
a favor
00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:01.899
for my
00:29:01.899 --> 00:29:02.079
buddy,
00:29:02.159 --> 00:29:02.480
I'll stick
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:02.980
my neck
00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:03.440
out for
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:03.879
a loved
00:29:03.879 --> 00:29:04.200
one.
00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:04.859
No,
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:05.559
no,
00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.379
anything but.
00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:06.839
Agrippa,
00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:07.299
again,
00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:07.859
he's the
00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:08.639
puppet king.
00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:10.159
He's run
00:29:10.159 --> 00:29:10.740
by the
00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:11.599
Roman government.
00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:12.519
He was a
00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:13.180
pretender
00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:14.279
to the throne
00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:14.899
of Israel
00:29:14.899 --> 00:29:15.659
and an
00:29:15.659 --> 00:29:16.359
offense
00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.899
to people
00:29:17.899 --> 00:29:18.519
like Paul
00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:18.919
who were
00:29:18.919 --> 00:29:19.480
zealous
00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:20.359
for the
00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:20.639
Jewish
00:29:20.639 --> 00:29:21.460
religion.
00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:23.079
It would
00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:23.640
be like
00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:26.759
if Russia
00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:27.519
invaded the
00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:28.319
United States,
00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:29.579
Vladimir Putin
00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:30.480
installed an
00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:31.279
ex-KGB
00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:32.160
agent as
00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:33.059
our president
00:29:33.059 --> 00:29:34.240
and then
00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:35.100
he had a
00:29:35.100 --> 00:29:36.819
dynasty of
00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:37.299
presidents
00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:39.539
who persecuted
00:29:39.539 --> 00:29:40.480
Americans
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.420
generation after
00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:41.940
generation.
00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:42.460
That's
00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:43.140
basically
00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:44.799
the Herod
00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:45.279
dynasty.
00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:47.799
We wouldn't
00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:48.279
think too
00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:48.920
kindly of that
00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:49.500
man standing
00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:50.180
in the shoes
00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:50.940
of George
00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:51.460
Washington
00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:52.600
and Abraham
00:29:52.600 --> 00:29:53.460
Lincoln carving
00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:54.039
his face
00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:54.480
onto Mount
00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:54.900
Rushmore.
00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:56.640
And that's
00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:57.120
the man
00:29:57.120 --> 00:29:57.519
for whom
00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:57.940
Paul is
00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:58.820
throwing away
00:29:58.820 --> 00:29:59.340
his chance
00:29:59.340 --> 00:29:59.700
at freedom.
00:30:03.080 --> 00:30:03.799
It didn't
00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:04.220
matter to
00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:05.600
Paul that
00:30:05.600 --> 00:30:06.140
Agrippa was
00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:07.160
a pretender
00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:08.039
king.
00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.700
It didn't
00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:10.160
matter to
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:10.560
Paul that
00:30:10.560 --> 00:30:11.259
he was a
00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:11.799
puppet of
00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:12.100
the Roman
00:30:12.100 --> 00:30:12.539
government.
00:30:13.060 --> 00:30:13.640
What mattered
00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:14.180
to Paul was
00:30:14.180 --> 00:30:14.340
this.
00:30:14.560 --> 00:30:15.140
Agrippa was
00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:15.740
a man who
00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:16.620
needed his
00:30:16.620 --> 00:30:17.380
eyes opened,
00:30:18.380 --> 00:30:19.740
who needed
00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:20.059
to turn
00:30:20.059 --> 00:30:20.460
from darkness
00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:20.779
to light,
00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:21.960
who needed
00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:22.900
to turn
00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:23.380
from Satan
00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:23.759
to God,
00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:24.279
who needed
00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:24.920
to receive
00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:25.599
forgiveness
00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:26.180
of sins,
00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:26.740
who needed
00:30:26.740 --> 00:30:27.400
resurrection
00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:28.220
life.
00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.000
Agrippa's
00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:32.880
soul was
00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:33.480
worth more
00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:34.279
to Paul
00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:35.359
than Paul's
00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:36.599
life was.
00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:39.200
And your
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.339
soul is
00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:41.819
just as
00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:42.180
important.
00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:43.279
It's just as
00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:43.519
precious.
00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:44.420
And I'm not
00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:44.920
risking my
00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:45.259
life here
00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:45.519
today.
00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.519
but I am
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:49.039
pleading with
00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:49.240
you.
00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:51.700
Be
00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:52.579
reconciled
00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.339
to God.
00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:54.940
It is more
00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:55.660
important.
00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:56.960
It is more
00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:58.180
important than
00:30:58.180 --> 00:30:58.980
life and
00:30:58.980 --> 00:30:59.240
death.
00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:03.920
And if you
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:04.579
belong to
00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:05.259
Christ today,
00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:06.740
I wonder,
00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.839
would you do
00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:09.299
the same
00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:10.579
as Paul?
00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:10.679
Paul,
00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:12.519
resurrection
00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.619
obedience
00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:16.819
is first
00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:18.419
obedience to
00:31:18.419 --> 00:31:19.720
report the
00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.579
resurrection of
00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:21.220
Jesus Christ.
00:31:24.019 --> 00:31:25.939
Will we
00:31:25.939 --> 00:31:27.259
risk doing
00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:28.039
uncomfortable
00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:30.759
things to
00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:31.139
share the
00:31:31.139 --> 00:31:31.679
gospel with
00:31:31.679 --> 00:31:32.359
people we
00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:32.859
don't naturally
00:31:32.859 --> 00:31:33.279
like?
00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:36.180
or will
00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:36.539
we let
00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:37.019
that get in
00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:37.700
the way of
00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:37.859
our
00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:38.279
resurrection
00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:38.720
obedience?
00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:43.299
Now, if
00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:43.899
you don't yet
00:31:43.899 --> 00:31:44.559
belong to
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.099
Christ, you're
00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:46.200
probably asking
00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:47.039
a question
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:47.720
much like
00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:48.319
Agrippa's.
00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:50.899
How can
00:31:50.899 --> 00:31:51.519
we believe
00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:52.599
Paul's
00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:53.299
testimony?
00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:54.700
How do we
00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:54.980
know it's
00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:55.399
true?
00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:57.200
Resurrection
00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:58.039
from the
00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:58.720
dead is,
00:31:59.240 --> 00:31:59.920
as Festus
00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:00.259
said,
00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:01.420
insanity.
00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:05.399
There are
00:32:05.399 --> 00:32:06.099
two kinds
00:32:06.099 --> 00:32:06.619
of witnesses
00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:07.279
that I
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:08.399
tend to
00:32:08.399 --> 00:32:08.759
believe.
00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.819
First, I
00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:12.539
believe something
00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:13.680
when I see
00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.359
its effects.
00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:16.759
We see the
00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.720
effects of
00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:18.039
Christ's
00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:18.740
resurrection in
00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:19.420
Paul's life.
00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:20.460
He threw
00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:21.319
away all of
00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:22.279
his prestige,
00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:23.460
everything he
00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:23.700
had.
00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:24.460
He counted
00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:24.839
loss.
00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:27.440
He was in
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.039
prison for
00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:28.740
two years
00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:29.319
just to make
00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:30.000
this speech.
00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:32.180
I think it's
00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:32.639
fair to say
00:32:32.639 --> 00:32:33.000
there was a
00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.000
dramatic effect
00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:35.259
of Christ's
00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:36.619
resurrection in
00:32:36.619 --> 00:32:37.160
his life.
00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:38.859
And second,
00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:40.079
I believe
00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:41.839
witnesses whose
00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:42.920
throats are
00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:44.319
slit for their
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:44.720
testimony.
00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:46.640
We don't read
00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:47.299
about it here,
00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:48.160
but Paul,
00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:49.220
like most of
00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:49.539
the other
00:32:49.539 --> 00:32:50.640
apostles, was
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:51.660
martyred for
00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:52.319
their testimony
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:52.900
to Jesus
00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:53.240
Christ.
00:32:55.160 --> 00:32:55.859
If you're
00:32:55.859 --> 00:32:56.839
willing to
00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:57.500
tell a message
00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:58.299
that brings you
00:32:58.299 --> 00:32:58.880
nothing but
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.599
pain, I'm
00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:02.059
inclined to
00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:02.500
believe you.
00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:05.759
But not
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:06.039
Agrippa.
00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:07.220
We read in
00:33:07.220 --> 00:33:07.700
verse 30,
00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:09.119
Then the
00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:09.779
king rose,
00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:10.740
and the
00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:11.019
governor,
00:33:11.819 --> 00:33:12.339
and Bernice,
00:33:12.859 --> 00:33:13.440
and those who
00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:13.759
were sitting
00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.179
with them.
00:33:14.899 --> 00:33:15.379
And when they
00:33:15.379 --> 00:33:15.980
had withdrawn,
00:33:16.619 --> 00:33:17.159
and they said
00:33:17.159 --> 00:33:17.819
to one another,
00:33:18.399 --> 00:33:19.519
this man is
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.220
doing nothing to
00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:20.980
deserve death or
00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:21.899
imprisonment.
00:33:24.259 --> 00:33:24.940
And Agrippa
00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:25.759
said to Festus,
00:33:25.980 --> 00:33:26.720
this man could
00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:27.200
have been set
00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.460
free if he
00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:29.039
had not appealed
00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:29.480
to Caesar.
00:33:32.899 --> 00:33:33.720
Instead of
00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:34.899
answering Paul,
00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:36.460
Agrippa
00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:37.639
stands up
00:33:37.639 --> 00:33:39.079
and walks
00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:39.359
away.
00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:43.259
He declared
00:33:43.259 --> 00:33:44.359
Paul innocent,
00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:44.859
but the
00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:47.079
tragedy is
00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:47.279
that he
00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:47.879
didn't take
00:33:47.879 --> 00:33:48.559
the time to
00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:49.259
render judgment
00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:50.319
on himself.
00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:54.240
He heard the
00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:54.659
message of
00:33:54.659 --> 00:33:55.700
Christ, he
00:33:55.700 --> 00:33:56.299
knew its
00:33:56.299 --> 00:33:57.399
truth, and
00:33:57.400 --> 00:33:58.140
he avoided
00:33:58.140 --> 00:33:59.480
its implications
00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:00.740
for himself.
00:34:02.560 --> 00:34:03.080
And as a
00:34:03.080 --> 00:34:04.860
result, he
00:34:04.860 --> 00:34:06.120
was in a
00:34:06.120 --> 00:34:07.380
far worse
00:34:07.380 --> 00:34:08.900
position than
00:34:08.900 --> 00:34:09.740
Paul was
00:34:09.740 --> 00:34:11.000
sitting in
00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:12.119
prison in
00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:12.619
chains.
00:34:14.500 --> 00:34:15.460
If you're not
00:34:15.460 --> 00:34:15.860
a Christian
00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:16.440
today, I
00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:17.720
plead with
00:34:17.720 --> 00:34:18.059
you.
00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:19.639
I plead with
00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:19.800
you.
00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:21.000
Do not
00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:21.619
stand with
00:34:21.619 --> 00:34:22.900
Agrippa any
00:34:22.900 --> 00:34:24.059
longer.
00:34:24.059 --> 00:34:24.119
Agrippa.
00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:26.719
And if
00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:27.019
you're a
00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:28.400
Christian, I
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:28.779
plead with
00:34:28.779 --> 00:34:28.960
you.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:30.960
Don't be
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:32.380
comfortable when
00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:33.079
others around
00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:34.179
you stand
00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:34.840
with Agrippa.
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:38.119
The only
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:39.500
safe place to
00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:40.639
stand is
00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:41.340
with Christ.
00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:43.039
Will you pray
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:43.400
with me?
00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:52.539
Father in
00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:54.460
heaven, you
00:34:54.460 --> 00:34:55.079
have given
00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:56.380
us access
00:34:56.380 --> 00:34:58.559
to your
00:34:58.559 --> 00:34:59.720
life,
00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:00.400
resurrection
00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:01.240
life in
00:35:01.240 --> 00:35:01.579
us.
00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:04.200
I pray
00:35:04.200 --> 00:35:06.559
that anyone
00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:08.760
here who
00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:09.559
has not
00:35:09.559 --> 00:35:10.280
heeded
00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:10.880
Paul's
00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:11.360
words,
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:14.280
would turn
00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:14.720
to you.
00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:16.800
From
00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:17.400
darkness to
00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:18.220
life, from
00:35:18.220 --> 00:35:19.019
themselves to
00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:19.300
you.
00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:23.180
And Lord, I
00:35:23.180 --> 00:35:24.500
pray that they
00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:25.019
would not
00:35:25.019 --> 00:35:26.519
stand with
00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:27.079
Agrippa, even
00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:27.760
if it feels
00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:30.260
comfortable, it
00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:31.519
is a
00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:32.180
crossroads,
00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:36.240
slowly
00:35:36.240 --> 00:35:36.880
succumbing to
00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:37.980
a flood that
00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:38.500
will drown
00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:38.780
them.
00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:42.820
Lord, I
00:35:42.820 --> 00:35:43.280
pray for
00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:43.640
those of
00:35:43.640 --> 00:35:44.340
us who
00:35:44.340 --> 00:35:44.760
do know
00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:46.680
you, who
00:35:46.680 --> 00:35:47.220
do have
00:35:47.220 --> 00:35:47.559
your
00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:48.180
resurrection
00:35:48.180 --> 00:35:48.820
life.
00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:51.320
Lord, that
00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:51.620
we would
00:35:51.620 --> 00:35:53.940
be men
00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:54.340
and women
00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:54.599
of
00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:55.059
resurrection
00:35:55.059 --> 00:35:55.980
obedience,
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.440
and that
00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:00.760
we would
00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:01.519
not pass
00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:02.760
Agrippa by,
00:36:04.180 --> 00:36:04.700
but seek
00:36:04.700 --> 00:36:05.160
him out,
00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:06.340
risk
00:36:06.340 --> 00:36:07.039
ourselves,
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:09.119
to draw
00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:10.860
others into
00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:11.300
your
00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:11.860
resurrection
00:36:11.860 --> 00:36:12.759
life and
00:36:12.759 --> 00:36:13.179
resurrection
00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:13.619
obedience.
00:36:14.659 --> 00:36:15.340
We pray
00:36:15.340 --> 00:36:16.039
these things in
00:36:16.039 --> 00:36:16.960
Jesus Christ's
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.679
name, and
00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:18.480
for the sake of
00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:19.059
his glory,
00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:19.820
amen.
00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:19.920
Amen.
00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:19.960
Amen.
00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:19.980
Amen.
00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:20.000
Amen.
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:20.019
Amen.
00:36:20.019 --> 00:36:20.039
Amen.
00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:20.059
Amen.
00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:38.039
Amen.
00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:38.300
Would you
00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:38.820
stand and sing
00:36:38.820 --> 00:36:39.119
with me?
00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:39.599
Amen.
