1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:03,560 Well, open up your Bibles this morning to Acts chapter 25. 2 00:00:05,110 --> 00:00:12,290 We're gonna read the end of 25 and, and make the trek all the way through 26. 3 00:00:12,939 --> 00:00:16,770 Uh, we are actually almost finished, like two more chapters after this. 4 00:00:17,170 --> 00:00:20,830 And as I've mentioned a, a number of times now, we are still following 5 00:00:20,830 --> 00:00:24,470 the Apostle Paul's prison ministry. 6 00:00:25,290 --> 00:00:28,370 Not that he's going to visit prisons and minister to the prisoners. 7 00:00:28,380 --> 00:00:30,579 No, he's in prison himself. 8 00:00:30,579 --> 00:00:33,410 And as I said, this is, uh… 9 00:00:33,419 --> 00:00:37,940 God has ordained to use the Apostle Paul through this process. 10 00:00:38,450 --> 00:00:41,659 Uh, being in prison, not the best situation in life, 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,300 but still being used by God. 12 00:00:44,950 --> 00:00:46,759 Uh-oh, where's my church notes? 13 00:00:47,439 --> 00:00:48,929 Sorry, my sermon notes. 14 00:00:49,700 --> 00:00:53,052 I might be using my phone Sorry. 15 00:00:53,842 --> 00:00:55,372 That deer in the headlight moment. 16 00:00:56,902 --> 00:00:57,412 Okay. 17 00:00:57,942 --> 00:00:59,282 Dude, I must have dropped them somewhere. 18 00:00:59,832 --> 00:01:00,562 All right, hold on. 19 00:01:02,062 --> 00:01:02,622 Hold on. 20 00:01:02,662 --> 00:01:03,342 Time out. 21 00:01:03,882 --> 00:01:04,572 Oh, they're right here. 22 00:01:04,831 --> 00:01:05,662 Okay. 23 00:01:06,832 --> 00:01:07,702 Under the bulletin. 24 00:01:08,472 --> 00:01:10,042 I was gonna have to use my phone. 25 00:01:10,512 --> 00:01:11,202 All right. 26 00:01:11,592 --> 00:01:13,442 I still use paper notes, yes. 27 00:01:14,282 --> 00:01:14,702 All right. 28 00:01:14,712 --> 00:01:17,602 So as I said, we're gonna be in chapter 26 this morning. 29 00:01:17,762 --> 00:01:21,962 Now let me ask you a, a, a question here, or, or just something to think about. 30 00:01:22,122 --> 00:01:26,492 Are there not moments in our lives when we have to make a decision about something? 31 00:01:26,942 --> 00:01:27,792 Like you can't… 32 00:01:28,232 --> 00:01:29,972 You can put it off, right? 33 00:01:29,972 --> 00:01:34,962 There's sometimes you can put it off or by changing the subject or doing something 34 00:01:34,962 --> 00:01:36,422 different, keeping yourself busy. 35 00:01:36,422 --> 00:01:39,952 You're like, "I don't wanna make this decision at this very moment. 36 00:01:39,962 --> 00:01:45,932 I want to, uh, distract myself or prolong it, or put it off until tomorrow 37 00:01:45,942 --> 00:01:50,241 or next week, or maybe not even make a decision about it altogether." 38 00:01:50,982 --> 00:01:53,472 But there are times when we're confronted with things that 39 00:01:53,472 --> 00:01:54,882 we have to make a decision. 40 00:01:54,932 --> 00:01:57,012 We can no longer put it off. 41 00:01:58,632 --> 00:02:02,882 And we have to say, "What am I gonna do with the information or the situation 42 00:02:02,882 --> 00:02:05,002 that's presented itself before me?" 43 00:02:05,702 --> 00:02:10,452 We're gonna see this in the text this morning in, in Acts chapter 26. 44 00:02:10,681 --> 00:02:15,702 We're gonna see how Paul stands before a governor, a king, a- 45 00:02:15,712 --> 00:02:19,922 and military commanders and prominent people in the city. 46 00:02:21,192 --> 00:02:25,442 And, and Paul is going to do something remarkable. 47 00:02:25,452 --> 00:02:29,982 He, he doesn't spend time, uh, talking, right, talking about, 48 00:02:29,982 --> 00:02:31,312 "Hey, why am I in prison?" 49 00:02:31,312 --> 00:02:32,552 And talking about himself. 50 00:02:33,012 --> 00:02:39,502 Instead, he's gonna use this platform that he has to tell other people about Jesus. 51 00:02:40,012 --> 00:02:44,112 He's gonna tell them how the Messiah had to suffer and had to rise from the 52 00:02:44,112 --> 00:02:48,742 dead, and that the entire scriptures, and at this time he's speaking of the Old 53 00:02:48,742 --> 00:02:53,082 Testament, 'cause that's all that there was, had testified about these things, 54 00:02:53,091 --> 00:02:55,792 had told the people about these things. 55 00:02:56,402 --> 00:02:59,802 And in the midst of everybody that hears those things is confronted with 56 00:02:59,802 --> 00:03:04,762 that truth or that reality, and they come to the point of like, what are 57 00:03:04,762 --> 00:03:06,522 you gonna do with that information? 58 00:03:07,011 --> 00:03:11,371 As we'll see, one person dismisses it, another person 59 00:03:12,002 --> 00:03:14,312 hesitates to make a decision. 60 00:03:16,424 --> 00:03:21,004 But Paul himself embraces that, as we'll see, and he's devoted his entire life 61 00:03:21,254 --> 00:03:23,404 not only to that, but to proclaiming it. 62 00:03:24,194 --> 00:03:28,864 And that's why this passage isn't merely about what P- what happens to Paul, right? 63 00:03:28,864 --> 00:03:32,764 'Cause we're gonna read about this episode in his life, but it's not all about Paul. 64 00:03:33,554 --> 00:03:36,484 It's about how the people respond to the truth of the gospel 65 00:03:41,103 --> 00:03:44,774 And it's even eventually about us. 66 00:03:44,954 --> 00:03:49,004 How do each and every one of us respond to the gospel or to 67 00:03:49,004 --> 00:03:50,554 the facts that are presented? 68 00:03:51,494 --> 00:03:52,574 What do I… 69 00:03:52,853 --> 00:03:55,654 You can ask yourself, "What do I really believe about Jesus? 70 00:03:56,474 --> 00:03:59,704 And does my life demonstrate what I believe?" 71 00:04:00,234 --> 00:04:03,444 'Cause we're gonna see all that unfold in the text this morning. 72 00:04:03,934 --> 00:04:07,634 So let's start in verse 23 of chapter 25. 73 00:04:09,484 --> 00:04:12,444 And if you remember, we left off where, uh, King Agrippa was like, 74 00:04:12,474 --> 00:04:14,204 "I wanna hear the Apostle Paul. 75 00:04:14,204 --> 00:04:15,964 I wanna hear this man who's in prison." 76 00:04:16,954 --> 00:04:18,694 And so this is where we are. 77 00:04:18,694 --> 00:04:24,974 We're gonna read, uh, through verse 27 about this, up to the end 78 00:04:24,974 --> 00:04:26,774 of the chapter 25, I should say. 79 00:04:27,454 --> 00:04:30,214 And it says this, "And so the next day, when Agrippa had 80 00:04:30,214 --> 00:04:31,794 come together with Bernice…" 81 00:04:31,804 --> 00:04:36,604 So this is King Agrippa and his sister Bernice, "… amid great 82 00:04:36,624 --> 00:04:41,624 pomp, and entered the auditorium accompanied by the commanders of 83 00:04:41,624 --> 00:04:43,214 the prominent men of the city. 84 00:04:43,694 --> 00:04:47,254 At the command of Festus Paul was brought in." 85 00:04:47,254 --> 00:04:49,014 So there's this great procession, right? 86 00:04:49,224 --> 00:04:53,824 The king's coming, and his sister, and all the commanders, and they're going into, 87 00:04:54,064 --> 00:04:57,524 uh, the auditorium to hear this case. 88 00:04:58,754 --> 00:05:02,834 And verse 24 says, "And Festus said, 'King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen 89 00:05:02,844 --> 00:05:08,754 here present with us, you behold this man about whom all the people 90 00:05:08,764 --> 00:05:13,614 of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring 91 00:05:13,614 --> 00:05:17,334 that he ought not to live any longer. 92 00:05:18,004 --> 00:05:21,414 But I found that he had not committed anything worthy of death. 93 00:05:21,974 --> 00:05:25,574 Since he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to send him. 94 00:05:26,654 --> 00:05:30,404 Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. 95 00:05:30,963 --> 00:05:36,424 Therefore, I have brought him before you, and especially before King Agrippa, so 96 00:05:36,424 --> 00:05:41,124 that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. 97 00:05:41,704 --> 00:05:48,524 For it seems absurd to me, in sending a prisoner, not to indict 98 00:05:49,284 --> 00:05:51,594 also the charges against him.'" 99 00:05:52,514 --> 00:05:55,324 So if you remember, Festus here is in a dilemma. 100 00:05:55,324 --> 00:05:58,763 He has a prisoner but no crime, is what he's saying. 101 00:05:59,874 --> 00:06:00,214 Right? 102 00:06:00,474 --> 00:06:03,993 Paul was presented to him as committing a crime, and in his investigation 103 00:06:03,993 --> 00:06:05,494 he doesn't really find one. 104 00:06:06,934 --> 00:06:10,754 But Paul says, "Hey, I'm gonna appeal to Caesar," because he felt that Festus might 105 00:06:10,754 --> 00:06:12,854 send him off to the Jews to be tried. 106 00:06:13,154 --> 00:06:16,973 And if you remember from last week, the Jews were setting an ambush, and 107 00:06:16,974 --> 00:06:18,253 they wanted to kill the Apostle Paul. 108 00:06:18,254 --> 00:06:20,444 He was never gonna make it to court. 109 00:06:22,738 --> 00:06:25,758 And so Paul said, "I appeal to Caesar," right, to the highest court. 110 00:06:25,798 --> 00:06:29,718 And f- and then King Agrippa came to town, and Festus is like, "You know what? 111 00:06:30,388 --> 00:06:32,698 I'm gonna tell King Agrippa about my dilemma." 112 00:06:33,048 --> 00:06:35,457 And then King Agrippa hears it and goes, "I wanna hear the man, and that's 113 00:06:35,457 --> 00:06:37,088 what we have before us right now." 114 00:06:37,718 --> 00:06:41,648 So Festus has not found Paul guilty of anything, and so he's like, "How 115 00:06:41,648 --> 00:06:45,038 can I send him to the emperor if I don't have anything to accuse him of?" 116 00:06:46,348 --> 00:06:50,678 And so he's like, "Okay, maybe King Agrippa can help me with this situation," 117 00:06:50,678 --> 00:06:58,588 because, as we'll see, King Agrippa is familiar with Jewish laws and the Jewish 118 00:06:58,598 --> 00:07:01,318 religion because he himself is Jewish. 119 00:07:01,868 --> 00:07:06,748 And that takes us to chapter tw- So let's look at chapter 26. 120 00:07:08,638 --> 00:07:13,468 "And Agrippa said to Paul, 'You are permitted to speak for yourself.'" 121 00:07:13,468 --> 00:07:16,638 So now the Apostle Paul gets to stand up and present his defense 122 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:20,230 This is what he says. 123 00:07:21,710 --> 00:07:26,580 He says, "Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense: 'In 124 00:07:26,590 --> 00:07:31,300 regard to all the things of which I am accused of by the Jews, I consider…'" 125 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:31,850 Excuse me. 126 00:07:32,030 --> 00:07:35,560 Yeah, "'I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I'm about to make 127 00:07:35,590 --> 00:07:41,320 my defense before you today, especially because you are an expert in all the 128 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,640 customs and questions among the Jews. 129 00:07:44,010 --> 00:07:47,310 Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. 130 00:07:48,230 --> 00:07:53,050 So then, all the Jews know my manner of life and my youth, youth on up 131 00:07:53,050 --> 00:07:57,850 from which the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem. 132 00:07:58,300 --> 00:08:02,640 Since they have known about me for a long time previously, if they are willing 133 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,110 to testify that I lived as a Pharisee, according to the strictest sect of 134 00:08:07,110 --> 00:08:09,420 religion, and now I am defending…'" 135 00:08:09,460 --> 00:08:09,820 Excuse me. 136 00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:14,280 "'I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our 137 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:19,190 fathers, the promise to which our 12 tribes hope to attain as they 138 00:08:19,250 --> 00:08:21,790 earnestly serve God night and day. 139 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:28,100 And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by the Jews. 140 00:08:28,740 --> 00:08:35,100 Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?'" 141 00:08:35,850 --> 00:08:39,890 So the Apostle Paul is presenting his defense to King Agrippa and to 142 00:08:39,950 --> 00:08:46,340 everybody standing there, and he is going to try-- he's gonna prove, 143 00:08:46,340 --> 00:08:50,650 actually, that Christianity is not a rejection of Israel's story 144 00:08:50,650 --> 00:08:55,820 of the Old Testament, but it's a fulfillment of Israel's story, right? 145 00:08:55,820 --> 00:08:57,910 And he begins by describing his youth, right? 146 00:08:57,930 --> 00:08:58,740 He's like, "I've been here. 147 00:08:58,740 --> 00:09:00,830 It's been publicly known who I am. 148 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,980 I've-- I haven't lived a secret life. 149 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,420 I've lived among my own people, and I've lived publicly here in Jerusalem." 150 00:09:10,618 --> 00:09:14,878 I was even a Pharisee, the sh- one of the strictest sects within his 151 00:09:14,888 --> 00:09:17,548 religious, uh, religious belief. 152 00:09:18,098 --> 00:09:23,238 And he said, "I'm standing on trial because I believe the promises that 153 00:09:23,238 --> 00:09:26,748 were made to his own people," meaning these guys that are accusing me. 154 00:09:28,478 --> 00:09:28,588 Right? 155 00:09:28,638 --> 00:09:31,528 I believe the same thing they believe, but they're accusing me 156 00:09:31,548 --> 00:09:34,088 of something different, and we'll get into that in a few moments. 157 00:09:34,378 --> 00:09:39,798 He's saying, "I believe in the promise that was promised to us, our fathers, 158 00:09:39,798 --> 00:09:42,268 our ancestors, the 12 tribes of Israel." 159 00:09:42,948 --> 00:09:46,138 And we'll see in a few moments it was the promise of the resurrection. 160 00:09:46,858 --> 00:09:49,858 The nation of Israel believed in a future resurrection. 161 00:09:49,858 --> 00:09:52,588 He's saying, "This is all I'm preaching, and I'm standing before 162 00:09:52,588 --> 00:09:56,468 you today on trial for that belief." 163 00:09:58,696 --> 00:10:01,776 It sounds silly, which is why Festus is like, "I, I don't know 164 00:10:01,776 --> 00:10:03,146 what we're accusing this guy of." 165 00:10:03,916 --> 00:10:07,606 And so Paul's saying, "Hey, I believe the same things my accusers believe." 166 00:10:08,966 --> 00:10:14,086 It's the promise, he says, that has fueled us to serve God day and night, and 167 00:10:14,086 --> 00:10:16,556 it's for this hope that he stands trial 168 00:10:18,952 --> 00:10:21,292 And he, he asked a question, verse eight. 169 00:10:21,302 --> 00:10:22,042 Look at that question. 170 00:10:22,042 --> 00:10:28,372 He goes, "Why is it considered incredible among you people," right, 171 00:10:28,422 --> 00:10:32,082 to the audience and probably to the Jews, the Jewish leaders, I should 172 00:10:32,082 --> 00:10:34,882 say, "if God does raise the dead?" 173 00:10:34,892 --> 00:10:36,522 Because that was his message, right? 174 00:10:36,962 --> 00:10:39,702 That Jesus was raised from the dead by God. 175 00:10:39,832 --> 00:10:44,322 He's like, "Why does that seem so incredible to you guys that God raises 176 00:10:44,322 --> 00:10:48,552 people from the dead since we believe it," he's saying, "Since that's our hope?" 177 00:10:49,182 --> 00:10:51,052 Seems kind of ridiculous, does it not? 178 00:10:53,608 --> 00:10:54,398 So he goes on. 179 00:10:54,488 --> 00:10:55,848 Let's start in, in verse nine. 180 00:10:56,718 --> 00:10:58,168 So he leaves them with that question. 181 00:10:58,168 --> 00:11:02,048 Then he goes on and describes his testimony. 182 00:11:03,168 --> 00:11:08,288 He goes, "So then I thought myself that I had to do many things hostile 183 00:11:08,288 --> 00:11:09,898 to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." 184 00:11:10,108 --> 00:11:13,378 So he's talking about before he was converted, right? 185 00:11:13,428 --> 00:11:18,688 As a, as a, as a Pharisee, he thought he had to be hostile to the name of Jesus, 186 00:11:18,688 --> 00:11:19,928 which is what they are doing, right? 187 00:11:20,118 --> 00:11:22,418 They are hostile to the name of Jesus. 188 00:11:23,038 --> 00:11:26,438 He says this, "And this is just what I did in Jerusalem. 189 00:11:26,598 --> 00:11:30,708 Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received 190 00:11:30,708 --> 00:11:35,128 authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to 191 00:11:35,128 --> 00:11:37,678 death, I cast my vote against them. 192 00:11:37,868 --> 00:11:42,158 And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them 193 00:11:42,158 --> 00:11:46,358 to blaspheme, and being fiercely, furiously enraged at them, I kept 194 00:11:46,958 --> 00:11:50,058 pursuing them, even to foreign cities." 195 00:11:50,628 --> 00:11:53,448 So he's saying, "I'm doing what these guys are doing. 196 00:11:53,448 --> 00:11:56,378 I used to do that, and matter of fact, I was better than them, right? 197 00:11:56,378 --> 00:11:58,028 I actually had people killed. 198 00:11:58,088 --> 00:11:59,328 I cast my vote against them. 199 00:11:59,458 --> 00:12:00,368 I captured them. 200 00:12:00,368 --> 00:12:01,658 I chased them down. 201 00:12:02,218 --> 00:12:03,938 This is exactly what they're doing." 202 00:12:05,832 --> 00:12:07,272 But he was successful. 203 00:12:08,382 --> 00:12:11,422 But then something happened, and we see in verse 12. 204 00:12:12,032 --> 00:12:13,292 Let's, let's read on. 205 00:12:14,932 --> 00:12:19,962 He says, "While thus engaged as I was, journeying to Damascus with the 206 00:12:19,962 --> 00:12:24,742 authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O king, I saw on 207 00:12:24,742 --> 00:12:28,902 the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me 208 00:12:28,902 --> 00:12:30,662 and those who were journeying with me. 209 00:12:30,852 --> 00:12:34,162 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to 210 00:12:34,162 --> 00:12:39,402 me in the Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? 211 00:12:39,942 --> 00:12:42,372 It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' 212 00:12:43,902 --> 00:12:44,972 And I said, 'Who out thou… 213 00:12:45,352 --> 00:12:45,822 Who out… 214 00:12:46,062 --> 00:12:47,422 Who art thou, Lord?' 215 00:12:47,932 --> 00:12:52,282 And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.'" 216 00:12:53,112 --> 00:12:58,402 So in the midst of, of Paul's chasing down of the saints, of the Christian 217 00:12:58,402 --> 00:13:04,952 believers, he is knocked down, he says, and a bright light shines all about him. 218 00:13:06,132 --> 00:13:09,442 And then God speaks to him, and he recognizes that it's God, because 219 00:13:09,442 --> 00:13:11,902 he says, "Who are, art thou, Lord?" 220 00:13:11,902 --> 00:13:13,832 Or, "Who are you, Lord?" 221 00:13:15,512 --> 00:13:16,732 And what does the voice say? 222 00:13:16,842 --> 00:13:18,362 He says, "I'm Jesus. 223 00:13:18,952 --> 00:13:21,022 I'm the Lord Jesus, whom you're persecuting." 224 00:13:22,692 --> 00:13:25,782 So right then and there, Paul's confronted with a decision. 225 00:13:25,782 --> 00:13:31,362 Does he go on to continue to persecute the one he says he believes in, or 226 00:13:32,072 --> 00:13:34,232 does he give his life to the Lord? 227 00:13:35,892 --> 00:13:36,912 Let's continue on. 228 00:13:38,712 --> 00:13:42,082 This is what the Lord says to him in verse 16. 229 00:13:42,082 --> 00:13:44,642 He says, "But arise, stand on your feet. 230 00:13:44,892 --> 00:13:49,732 For this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you to be a minister and a 231 00:13:49,732 --> 00:13:54,422 witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things 232 00:13:54,422 --> 00:13:59,472 which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the 233 00:13:59,472 --> 00:14:02,382 Gentiles, to whom I am sending you." 234 00:14:02,422 --> 00:14:06,122 So right from the very beginning, we're told that he told me I was 235 00:14:06,122 --> 00:14:10,452 gonna be persecuted as a believer, but He's gonna deliver me, and 236 00:14:10,462 --> 00:14:11,602 he's living it out right now. 237 00:14:11,602 --> 00:14:16,271 We're seeing this, uh, play out in full display through the Book of Acts. 238 00:14:16,782 --> 00:14:21,022 Verse 18 goes on, "To open the eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light." 239 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:27,150 And from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness 240 00:14:27,150 --> 00:14:33,130 of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me." 241 00:14:33,450 --> 00:14:34,730 So God commissions him. 242 00:14:34,730 --> 00:14:39,270 He says, "Saul, you're gonna go out and be my witness to all the things 243 00:14:39,270 --> 00:14:43,210 I'm gonna show you in your life, and I'm gonna deliver you in the 244 00:14:43,210 --> 00:14:47,580 process, and you're gonna speak to people, calling them to repentance." 245 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,450 And so as I mentioned, Paul has a decision to make. 246 00:14:51,910 --> 00:14:55,200 And we know the decision he made, but he's telling all those who 247 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:56,700 are listening to him what he did. 248 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:57,950 Look at verse 19. 249 00:14:58,660 --> 00:15:03,850 This is what he says: "Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove 250 00:15:03,860 --> 00:15:06,680 disobedient to the heavenly vision." 251 00:15:07,570 --> 00:15:09,680 He's saying, "I answered it in the affirmative. 252 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:11,420 I was obedient." 253 00:15:11,430 --> 00:15:17,170 He goes, "But, but kept declaring both to those in Damascus first, and also to 254 00:15:17,170 --> 00:15:21,110 Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, 255 00:15:21,470 --> 00:15:27,170 that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds to repentance. 256 00:15:27,420 --> 00:15:32,920 And for this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. 257 00:15:33,780 --> 00:15:39,350 And so, having obtained help from God, I stand this day testifying both to the 258 00:15:39,350 --> 00:15:45,650 small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said is going to 259 00:15:45,650 --> 00:15:51,420 take place: that Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection 260 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:55,350 from a dead, from the dead, He should be the first to proclaim light both to 261 00:15:55,350 --> 00:15:58,430 the Jewish people and to the Gentiles." 262 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:03,810 So Paul says, "Okay, I was confronted with the Gospel. 263 00:16:04,140 --> 00:16:05,280 I got knocked down." 264 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:06,750 Right? 265 00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:07,370 Or, "I got… 266 00:16:07,410 --> 00:16:08,730 You know, I fell down. 267 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:13,780 Great light came, gave me a commission, and I responded in the positive. 268 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,180 I believed it and I did what I was commissioned to do." 269 00:16:17,180 --> 00:16:17,340 Right? 270 00:16:17,340 --> 00:16:21,580 He says, "Instead of pursuing after people to throw them into prison, He 271 00:16:21,580 --> 00:16:25,820 pursued after them to release them from the prison that Satan held them in." 272 00:16:26,890 --> 00:16:27,120 Right? 273 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,010 He says, "I went everywhere, to the Jews and also to the 274 00:16:30,010 --> 00:16:33,350 Gentiles, telling them to repent." 275 00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:37,950 Repent means to change your mind, to turn around, right? 276 00:16:38,140 --> 00:16:39,910 He's, uh, he's calling them to turn 277 00:16:42,056 --> 00:16:42,956 To turn to what? 278 00:16:43,436 --> 00:16:45,636 To turn to God, right? 279 00:16:45,665 --> 00:16:49,716 It means to change the direction and the orientation of their life. 280 00:16:49,726 --> 00:16:53,386 He was literally going one way, God stopped him, he's turned 281 00:16:53,386 --> 00:16:54,586 around and went the other way. 282 00:16:55,096 --> 00:16:56,816 That's what repentance is. 283 00:16:57,176 --> 00:17:00,286 I like what Pastor John MacArthur says about repentance. 284 00:17:00,906 --> 00:17:05,346 He says, "Repentance involves a change of mind which results 285 00:17:05,366 --> 00:17:07,376 in a change of behavior." 286 00:17:08,256 --> 00:17:09,445 That's true repentance. 287 00:17:09,465 --> 00:17:12,506 It's not saying, "Oh, I'm sorry I got caught," or, 288 00:17:12,516 --> 00:17:13,786 "Sorry I did something wrong." 289 00:17:14,056 --> 00:17:18,106 It's agreeing with God and the thing that you did was wrong, and then turning 290 00:17:18,106 --> 00:17:21,736 from it and changing your behavior. 291 00:17:21,736 --> 00:17:22,246 Right? 292 00:17:22,246 --> 00:17:26,006 That's why he said in verse 20, "Performing deeds 293 00:17:26,056 --> 00:17:27,955 appropriate to repentance." 294 00:17:28,356 --> 00:17:31,636 If you repent, then you turn from it. 295 00:17:31,996 --> 00:17:34,236 It doesn't mean you won't do it again, but your orientation 296 00:17:34,236 --> 00:17:35,506 is like, "I'm not gonna do it. 297 00:17:36,256 --> 00:17:37,046 I'm not gonna try to. 298 00:17:37,216 --> 00:17:38,856 I'm not gonna pursue after it." 299 00:17:41,884 --> 00:17:46,544 And he goes on to, and he acknowledges, hey, that God is the one who saved me. 300 00:17:46,854 --> 00:17:48,904 God is the one who brought me here before you. 301 00:17:49,274 --> 00:17:52,614 Again, as I mentioned over and over the past few weeks, it may seem 302 00:17:52,614 --> 00:17:57,544 repetitive, that God puts us in situations so that we can be used by Him. 303 00:17:57,804 --> 00:18:00,054 And so instead of saying, "Woe is me. 304 00:18:00,284 --> 00:18:02,884 Look at the bad thing that's happening to me," the Apostle 305 00:18:02,884 --> 00:18:03,604 Paul says, "You know what? 306 00:18:03,874 --> 00:18:06,064 God's gonna use me in this situation. 307 00:18:06,214 --> 00:18:07,304 How can He use me? 308 00:18:07,504 --> 00:18:09,224 I'm gonna stand before kings. 309 00:18:09,244 --> 00:18:10,864 I'm gonna stand before governors." 310 00:18:11,134 --> 00:18:16,744 And eventually, he's gonna stand before the Roman Emperor proclaiming the Gospel 311 00:18:19,204 --> 00:18:19,234 Right? 312 00:18:19,244 --> 00:18:21,144 So he tells them, "Hey, I'm s- this is the crowd. 313 00:18:21,144 --> 00:18:22,304 I have a captive audience." 314 00:18:22,304 --> 00:18:23,054 And what does he do? 315 00:18:23,274 --> 00:18:26,994 He talks about the Messiah who was tol- who's gonna suffer, who's gonna 316 00:18:26,994 --> 00:18:31,164 raise from the dead, and who's gonna be a witness to everybody, first to 317 00:18:31,164 --> 00:18:34,224 the Jews, and then to the Gentiles 318 00:18:36,552 --> 00:18:37,762 This was God's message. 319 00:18:37,762 --> 00:18:42,242 He says it's the same message that the prophets and Moses had proclaimed before. 320 00:18:42,852 --> 00:18:45,522 I'm just telling you about it now. 321 00:18:46,692 --> 00:18:48,672 It's nothing different from the Old Testament. 322 00:18:48,672 --> 00:18:53,432 If you think about this, the scriptures always look to include both Jews and 323 00:18:53,772 --> 00:18:57,002 Gentiles in the divine blessings of God. 324 00:18:57,862 --> 00:19:07,322 If you remember in Genesis 12:3, when God spoke to Abraham, he said this, "And 325 00:19:07,322 --> 00:19:12,972 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse." 326 00:19:13,772 --> 00:19:18,962 And look at this, "And in you," only the Jews will be blessed. 327 00:19:19,952 --> 00:19:20,942 Is that what it says? 328 00:19:21,802 --> 00:19:22,412 No. 329 00:19:22,962 --> 00:19:24,292 That's the wrong scriptures. 330 00:19:24,782 --> 00:19:28,932 "In you all the families of the earth will be blessed." 331 00:19:29,482 --> 00:19:30,112 Abraham, the… 332 00:19:30,702 --> 00:19:32,782 He hadn't even called the Jews yet, right? 333 00:19:32,832 --> 00:19:34,902 Abraham, we haven't even got to that part. 334 00:19:34,902 --> 00:19:37,812 It is all the families, Jews and Gentiles. 335 00:19:38,122 --> 00:19:41,372 You could follow that message throughout the Old Testament. 336 00:19:42,812 --> 00:19:46,902 The Jews were to be the light to all the world that God would use, and 337 00:19:46,902 --> 00:19:51,362 when they failed, right, they were disciplined throughout the Old Testament 338 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:57,440 And so Jesus has come, has fulfilled all that, and now He 339 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,330 is the light to the Gentiles. 340 00:20:00,710 --> 00:20:04,100 And now He uses the church, both Jew and Gentile believers, 341 00:20:04,100 --> 00:20:06,080 to be a light to all people 342 00:20:08,392 --> 00:20:09,732 This is what the Apostle Paul is saying. 343 00:20:09,732 --> 00:20:12,432 He's like, "Hey, I'm just preaching what we already believe and what 344 00:20:12,432 --> 00:20:15,902 these guys believe who are putting me before you and wanting to kill me. 345 00:20:15,992 --> 00:20:17,702 I'm not saying anything different." 346 00:20:19,652 --> 00:20:24,352 And so verse 24 through 32, we have the reactions now of what has just been said. 347 00:20:24,372 --> 00:20:25,482 Look at verse 24. 348 00:20:26,132 --> 00:20:29,932 "And while Paul was saying this in his defense," so mid, you know, 349 00:20:29,932 --> 00:20:34,272 Paul's mid-speech, "Festus," who's the governor, "said with a loud voice, 350 00:20:35,192 --> 00:20:36,572 'Paul, you are out of your mind. 351 00:20:37,762 --> 00:20:40,992 Your great learning is driving you mad.' 352 00:20:42,202 --> 00:20:45,452 But Paul said, 'I'm not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, 353 00:20:46,202 --> 00:20:48,842 but I utter words of sober truth. 354 00:20:50,602 --> 00:20:52,862 For the king knows about these matters.'" 355 00:20:52,882 --> 00:20:53,772 Now he points to Agrippa. 356 00:20:53,772 --> 00:20:55,882 Agrippa's like, "I'm just minding my own business. 357 00:20:55,882 --> 00:20:56,812 Why are you calling me out?" 358 00:20:57,452 --> 00:21:01,192 "'For the king knows these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence 359 00:21:01,202 --> 00:21:06,172 since I'm persuaded that none of these things escape his notice, for 360 00:21:06,172 --> 00:21:08,392 this has not been done in a corner.'" 361 00:21:08,702 --> 00:21:10,422 He's like, "This is public knowledge. 362 00:21:11,892 --> 00:21:14,672 It's not some secret knowledge that I ha- that I schemed up. 363 00:21:14,672 --> 00:21:18,532 You think I'm crazy and I came up with these ideas all on my, all by myself? 364 00:21:19,042 --> 00:21:21,752 Like this secret learning that only I know? 365 00:21:22,142 --> 00:21:23,942 I'm coming up with some new doctrine?" 366 00:21:23,942 --> 00:21:25,682 No, it's, he's not, he's not doing that. 367 00:21:26,322 --> 00:21:27,182 He says, he said… 368 00:21:27,182 --> 00:21:31,392 And then he goes, "King Agrippa," verse 27, "do you believe the prophets?" 369 00:21:32,442 --> 00:21:35,242 Now he's, like, pinpointing, locked in on King Agrippa. 370 00:21:35,492 --> 00:21:36,912 "Do you believe the prophets? 371 00:21:37,812 --> 00:21:39,182 I know that you do," right? 372 00:21:39,182 --> 00:21:40,052 He's Jewish. 373 00:21:40,322 --> 00:21:42,372 He's been called in because he's an expert. 374 00:21:43,592 --> 00:21:46,942 "And Agrippa replied to Paul," verse 28, 'In short time you will 375 00:21:46,942 --> 00:21:49,092 persuade me to become a Christian?' 376 00:21:50,092 --> 00:21:56,002 And Paul said, 'I would to God that whether in short or long time, not 377 00:21:56,022 --> 00:21:59,672 only you, but all those who hear me this day might become such as 378 00:21:59,672 --> 00:22:01,932 I am, except for these chains.'" 379 00:22:01,932 --> 00:22:05,672 He's like, "I want everybody that hear to become a Christian, to be just like 380 00:22:05,672 --> 00:22:07,702 me, except in the chains that I'm in." 381 00:22:09,862 --> 00:22:11,202 And the king arose. 382 00:22:11,842 --> 00:22:14,662 So he's still speaking, the, the king's like, "I'll- I'm out." 383 00:22:15,092 --> 00:22:18,912 And the king arose and the governor and Bernice and those 384 00:22:18,912 --> 00:22:20,612 who were sitting with him. 385 00:22:21,162 --> 00:22:24,432 And when they had drawn aside, they began talking to one another saying, 386 00:22:24,812 --> 00:22:29,122 "This man has not done anything worthy of death or imprisonment." 387 00:22:30,182 --> 00:22:34,182 And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man might have been set free if 388 00:22:34,182 --> 00:22:36,482 he had not appealed to Caesar." 389 00:22:37,272 --> 00:22:40,842 So the outcome is like this guy's, he hasn't even done anything wrong. 390 00:22:41,442 --> 00:22:43,622 He's proved his case to Agrippa. 391 00:22:43,632 --> 00:22:46,692 But because Paul earlier said, "I'm- I appeal to Caesar," they 392 00:22:46,692 --> 00:22:48,732 have to send him to Caesar. 393 00:22:50,512 --> 00:22:55,692 So Agrippa was gonna let him off, but that's not to be the case. 394 00:22:56,222 --> 00:22:58,492 And so we'll end our text there 395 00:23:02,590 --> 00:23:08,720 So the reaction to Paul, again, uh, as we see as he gives his testimony before 396 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:13,350 the authorities, Festus himself-- Again, going back to Festus, how did he reply? 397 00:23:13,570 --> 00:23:15,160 He thought, "Paul, you're out of your mind." 398 00:23:15,630 --> 00:23:15,750 Right? 399 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,100 "Nobody believes in such things as a resurrection." 400 00:23:19,370 --> 00:23:24,380 Festus, being a Roman, would have thought, "Us Romans do not believe in such things." 401 00:23:26,438 --> 00:23:30,378 And this is a sentiment that was expressed earlier in the Book of Acts, in Acts 402 00:23:30,398 --> 00:23:37,438 17:18, when the Apostle Paul was speaking to some of the, uh, to the philosophers of 403 00:23:37,438 --> 00:23:39,598 the day, the Roman and Greek philosophers. 404 00:23:40,358 --> 00:23:45,738 In the marketplace, Luke records this after that, and it says, "And 405 00:23:45,738 --> 00:23:49,668 also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with 406 00:23:49,668 --> 00:23:51,718 him," were conversing with Paul. 407 00:23:52,108 --> 00:23:56,258 Some were saying, 'What would this idol babbler wish to say?' 408 00:23:56,938 --> 00:24:02,828 Others, 'He seems to proclaim, to be a proclaimer of strange deities.' 409 00:24:03,198 --> 00:24:03,618 Why? 410 00:24:03,638 --> 00:24:07,058 Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 411 00:24:08,218 --> 00:24:11,158 So thinking somebody's strange about believing the 412 00:24:11,158 --> 00:24:13,008 resurrection was common, right? 413 00:24:13,008 --> 00:24:14,658 They're like, "What is this guy talking about? 414 00:24:14,838 --> 00:24:16,528 He's bringing these strange teachings." 415 00:24:16,818 --> 00:24:18,668 Festus is saying he's out of his mind. 416 00:24:20,218 --> 00:24:21,988 Is this not an accusation? 417 00:24:22,028 --> 00:24:25,618 This is an accusation, I should say, against all believers, right? 418 00:24:25,618 --> 00:24:27,568 The foolishness of the resurrection. 419 00:24:27,568 --> 00:24:27,878 When you… 420 00:24:28,178 --> 00:24:31,488 You know, we talk about going out and proclaiming God's Word, and sometimes 421 00:24:31,488 --> 00:24:32,948 we're afraid because of that, right? 422 00:24:33,228 --> 00:24:37,448 People are gonna think we're foolish that we li- that we believe that God 423 00:24:37,448 --> 00:24:39,258 could raise somebody from the dead. 424 00:24:39,698 --> 00:24:43,178 That was the question the Apostle Paul posed, remember back in verse eight, 425 00:24:43,508 --> 00:24:48,878 "Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?" 426 00:24:49,468 --> 00:24:50,548 Think of this for a second. 427 00:24:50,798 --> 00:24:53,698 What did the Jewish people already believe about God? 428 00:24:55,128 --> 00:24:56,418 He parted the Red Sea. 429 00:24:56,898 --> 00:24:58,878 He knocked down the walls of Jericho. 430 00:24:59,238 --> 00:25:01,688 I mean, we could go on about all the miracles of the Old Testament. 431 00:25:02,058 --> 00:25:05,098 What's so hard about God raising somebody from the dead? 432 00:25:07,318 --> 00:25:10,048 You today, if you believe God created the heavens and the Earth, 433 00:25:11,708 --> 00:25:14,638 what's so hard about believing God could raise somebody from the dead? 434 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:23,650 Paul later would attest in 1 Corinthians 1:18, he says, "For the words of the 435 00:25:23,650 --> 00:25:29,640 cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us, we who are 436 00:25:29,650 --> 00:25:32,250 being saved, it is the power of God." 437 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:32,970 Right? 438 00:25:32,970 --> 00:25:37,390 We as believers, I hope you believe in the resurrection 439 00:25:39,528 --> 00:25:46,378 That it is what's God used to save us, but to others outside of not being a, 440 00:25:46,408 --> 00:25:48,348 that aren't believers, it's foolishness 441 00:25:51,144 --> 00:25:51,264 Right? 442 00:25:51,264 --> 00:25:53,044 And Paul responds like, "This isn't foolishness. 443 00:25:53,064 --> 00:25:55,334 I'm of a sober mind, as I mentioned already." 444 00:25:55,864 --> 00:25:57,734 And then he, he points out to King Agrippa. 445 00:25:57,734 --> 00:26:00,454 And what was King Agrippa's response to these words? 446 00:26:01,604 --> 00:26:01,914 He… 447 00:26:02,244 --> 00:26:04,024 Many believe he was, it was sarcastic. 448 00:26:04,024 --> 00:26:06,604 He's like, "You're trying to convince me with such few arguments?" 449 00:26:06,884 --> 00:26:09,364 And then he, he walks out, right? 450 00:26:09,574 --> 00:26:10,184 We don't know. 451 00:26:10,194 --> 00:26:11,504 Was he getting convicted? 452 00:26:11,984 --> 00:26:13,114 Was he like, "Hey, that's enough. 453 00:26:13,114 --> 00:26:14,544 I don't wanna hear anymore"? 454 00:26:16,024 --> 00:26:19,164 He didn't wanna get involved, just like every other leader. 455 00:26:19,164 --> 00:26:20,684 They didn't wanna make that decision. 456 00:26:21,324 --> 00:26:22,154 We don't know 457 00:26:25,666 --> 00:26:28,866 And so we leave this again with different responses, right? 458 00:26:29,636 --> 00:26:34,656 And let's look at those responses a- as we go to our application, because I go 459 00:26:34,656 --> 00:26:40,876 again to, uh, chapter 26 verse 8 and ask each and every one of us this morning: 460 00:26:42,006 --> 00:26:46,406 Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead? 461 00:26:46,636 --> 00:26:48,946 Each and every one of us have to answer that question. 462 00:26:49,386 --> 00:26:50,866 Does God really raise the dead? 463 00:26:50,966 --> 00:26:52,246 Do you really believe that? 464 00:26:53,896 --> 00:26:58,516 How do you respond when the resurrection, that truth, confronts you? 465 00:26:58,536 --> 00:27:02,946 Because each and every one of us has to make a decision, and I think 466 00:27:02,946 --> 00:27:06,696 there's, there's four examples in the text this morning that can 467 00:27:06,696 --> 00:27:08,036 relate to each and every one of us. 468 00:27:08,046 --> 00:27:10,466 We respond in one of these ways 469 00:27:14,482 --> 00:27:19,012 And I would say in a, in an exhortation to us, number one, let the 470 00:27:19,012 --> 00:27:21,072 resurrection change what you believe. 471 00:27:22,712 --> 00:27:27,452 Right, the Jewish leaders claimed to believe in the resurrection, but they 472 00:27:27,452 --> 00:27:29,882 rejected the resurrection of Jesus. 473 00:27:31,462 --> 00:27:31,962 Why? 474 00:27:33,192 --> 00:27:33,982 They believed in it. 475 00:27:34,402 --> 00:27:36,782 Why would they reject the resurrection of Jesus? 476 00:27:38,142 --> 00:27:42,262 I think because accepting it would require them to reconsider 477 00:27:42,262 --> 00:27:46,802 what they believed about Jesus, about scripture, and about God. 478 00:27:46,852 --> 00:27:47,482 It would have to… 479 00:27:47,482 --> 00:27:50,422 It would transform their whole entire theology 480 00:27:53,202 --> 00:27:53,392 Right? 481 00:27:53,392 --> 00:27:58,362 And some people in our lives that you may have confronted, they don't 482 00:27:58,362 --> 00:28:00,342 want the resurrection to be true 483 00:28:03,516 --> 00:28:06,836 Because that would mean they too would have to change what they believe 484 00:28:06,866 --> 00:28:11,256 about Jesus, about scripture, and about God if the resurrection is true 485 00:28:14,632 --> 00:28:17,452 But because it's true, I'm saying this morning, let that 486 00:28:17,452 --> 00:28:19,782 resurrection change what you believe. 487 00:28:20,932 --> 00:28:22,882 Let it change what you believe about God. 488 00:28:23,182 --> 00:28:27,072 Let it change your understanding about the claims of Jesus. 489 00:28:28,372 --> 00:28:31,982 Let it change what you believe about the scriptures that we read this morning. 490 00:28:32,242 --> 00:28:36,482 If Jesus rose from the dead, then all that He said is true, and what 491 00:28:36,482 --> 00:28:40,312 He said about God is true, and what He says about scripture is true, and 492 00:28:40,312 --> 00:28:42,182 therefore, that should transform you 493 00:28:45,192 --> 00:28:45,453 And it should also transform what we believe about the future if 494 00:28:45,453 --> 00:28:46,992 the resurrection is true, 'cause that means people rise from the 495 00:28:53,502 --> 00:28:53,952 dead. 496 00:28:55,142 --> 00:28:57,852 And we'll get into this a, a few mo- in a few moments. 497 00:28:58,422 --> 00:29:01,112 But if people rise from the dead, that means there's a future 498 00:29:01,122 --> 00:29:04,802 hope, that death isn't the end 499 00:29:07,016 --> 00:29:11,606 Second point, don't dismiss the truth because you don't 500 00:29:11,606 --> 00:29:14,436 like its implications, right? 501 00:29:14,706 --> 00:29:18,446 Festus doesn't seriously engage Paul's argument. 502 00:29:18,686 --> 00:29:20,786 He just dismisses that you're crazy. 503 00:29:22,346 --> 00:29:25,136 As I mentioned this earlier, people today say the same thing about us, 504 00:29:25,156 --> 00:29:26,706 pro- you believe in a resurrection? 505 00:29:26,706 --> 00:29:27,176 Come on. 506 00:29:27,436 --> 00:29:30,736 There's no evidence that God raised somebody from the dead. 507 00:29:31,936 --> 00:29:34,616 That's a coping mechanism that you have. 508 00:29:35,076 --> 00:29:36,646 It's wishful thinking. 509 00:29:36,936 --> 00:29:38,996 They equate it to believing in Bigfoot. 510 00:29:39,236 --> 00:29:41,956 Sorry for those of you that believe in Bigfoot, he's not real 511 00:29:45,608 --> 00:29:46,988 Some people believe in the resurrection. 512 00:29:47,308 --> 00:29:49,638 Like, like that's like a fairy tale 513 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:55,130 For those that think that, I would ask you this: Have you honestly 514 00:29:55,150 --> 00:29:59,890 considered the claims of the gospel, or have you simply just dismissed them? 515 00:29:59,890 --> 00:30:01,450 Like, "That's … It's not true. 516 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,040 That can't happen, so I'm not even gonna listen anymore." 517 00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:04,620 Right? 518 00:30:04,620 --> 00:30:05,720 That's what Festus did. 519 00:30:05,790 --> 00:30:07,020 "You're crazy, Paul." 520 00:30:07,020 --> 00:30:09,300 He, he cut him off in the middle of, "You're crazy. 521 00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:10,320 You're out of your mind." 522 00:30:11,700 --> 00:30:15,560 For us as believers, though, let me ask you this. 523 00:30:15,650 --> 00:30:17,410 Maybe you believe the resurrection. 524 00:30:17,450 --> 00:30:18,250 I hopefully you do. 525 00:30:18,250 --> 00:30:19,830 I'm sure you do if you're a believer. 526 00:30:21,170 --> 00:30:23,910 But what about other truths that scriptures confront you with? 527 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,110 Do you dismiss those because accepting them would mean you'd 528 00:30:28,110 --> 00:30:32,650 have to change what you're doing, what you're involved in, right? 529 00:30:32,790 --> 00:30:35,210 Some people will say, "Well, that's not true in the Bible," or, "That 530 00:30:35,210 --> 00:30:39,010 doesn't mean that," or, "That was for that time or that church." 531 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:42,150 'Cause they don't wanna be … They're confronted with 532 00:30:42,150 --> 00:30:43,760 this truth, but they push it away. 533 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,130 They, they dismiss it. 534 00:30:46,030 --> 00:30:47,190 Don't be that person 535 00:30:49,424 --> 00:30:55,634 Or another way that we are, uh, can respond to is it, respond to it, or 536 00:30:55,634 --> 00:30:59,814 I would encourage you not to respond to it, is that don't walk away when 537 00:30:59,814 --> 00:31:02,304 God's word confronts you, right? 538 00:31:02,344 --> 00:31:05,904 Agrippa, whether he was convicted or not, we're not sure, but he walked away, right? 539 00:31:05,914 --> 00:31:09,844 He got up, which means trial's over, and everyone else got up, and he went to a 540 00:31:09,844 --> 00:31:12,594 side room to discuss, and Paul was done. 541 00:31:12,604 --> 00:31:14,604 We have nothing l- else said of Paul. 542 00:31:14,604 --> 00:31:17,704 We don't even know if Agrippa ever made a commitment 543 00:31:21,128 --> 00:31:24,018 But maybe some, some of you do that today, right? 544 00:31:24,018 --> 00:31:26,918 When you hear, when you're confronted with God's word, you 545 00:31:26,918 --> 00:31:29,758 say, "Mm, I think that's enough. 546 00:31:31,178 --> 00:31:32,358 I don't wanna hear anymore. 547 00:31:32,728 --> 00:31:34,168 I close my Bible. 548 00:31:34,448 --> 00:31:35,678 I don't come to church anymore." 549 00:31:35,678 --> 00:31:36,578 Whatever the case may be. 550 00:31:36,688 --> 00:31:38,238 "I turn off that radio." 551 00:31:38,538 --> 00:31:42,008 Uh, maybe you were listening to a sermon and, and the word convicts you. 552 00:31:42,008 --> 00:31:43,278 You're like, "Ah, I don't wanna hear that. 553 00:31:44,198 --> 00:31:45,248 I'm gonna change it." 554 00:31:45,618 --> 00:31:47,528 We all do that to a certain extent. 555 00:31:48,458 --> 00:31:50,588 But don't walk away when God confronts you. 556 00:31:50,598 --> 00:31:52,788 God is trying to do something with you. 557 00:31:52,788 --> 00:31:56,478 He's trying to say something to you, trying to have you 558 00:31:56,488 --> 00:31:58,768 reorient your life for a purpose 559 00:32:02,512 --> 00:32:06,252 Again, I ask you, is there something God is asking you to surrender 560 00:32:06,472 --> 00:32:08,392 that you keep walking away from? 561 00:32:09,172 --> 00:32:10,192 That you shut Him off 562 00:32:13,050 --> 00:32:13,590 Are you like Agrippa? 563 00:32:16,496 --> 00:32:20,156 I would say that the best way to respond to all of this is to let 564 00:32:20,156 --> 00:32:22,046 the resurrection transform you. 565 00:32:23,636 --> 00:32:28,096 Remember Paul, he heard the truth of the resurrection, and he was transformed. 566 00:32:29,286 --> 00:32:29,426 Right? 567 00:32:29,436 --> 00:32:33,556 He committed his life to serving God, and he committed his life to telling 568 00:32:33,576 --> 00:32:37,936 everyone about the salvation of God, as we see in the text this morning. 569 00:32:38,606 --> 00:32:38,726 Right? 570 00:32:38,736 --> 00:32:41,426 He says, "I, I've c- I haven't been disobedient to that call 571 00:32:41,426 --> 00:32:42,686 that God has called me to do." 572 00:32:43,056 --> 00:32:47,366 Even when I'm locked up unjustly in prison, he didn't focus on the, the 573 00:32:47,376 --> 00:32:48,496 bad things that happened to him. 574 00:32:48,496 --> 00:32:52,476 He said, "No, I'm gonna use this as an opportunity to proclaim what the 575 00:32:52,476 --> 00:32:54,766 truth, what God has called me to do 576 00:32:56,872 --> 00:33:00,372 So I would say let the, if you believe in the resurrection, let that 577 00:33:00,372 --> 00:33:02,552 transform you in the following ways. 578 00:33:04,282 --> 00:33:08,302 One, live according to the ways of God now. 579 00:33:08,792 --> 00:33:13,402 Scripture says this in, uh, Romans 6:4 580 00:33:15,868 --> 00:33:22,348 The apostle Paul writes this: "Therefore, we have been buried with Him through 581 00:33:22,358 --> 00:33:26,208 baptism into death, so that," right? 582 00:33:26,208 --> 00:33:28,758 We, we baptize into Him, we're, we're saved. 583 00:33:29,348 --> 00:33:29,818 Why? 584 00:33:30,458 --> 00:33:34,268 "So that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of God, so we 585 00:33:34,318 --> 00:33:37,358 too might walk in newness of life." 586 00:33:38,028 --> 00:33:41,538 He's saying when you're a believer, you've died to your old ways, now you're 587 00:33:41,538 --> 00:33:43,388 walking according to the ways of God. 588 00:33:43,648 --> 00:33:45,328 That's what the Apostle Paul is doing, right? 589 00:33:45,438 --> 00:33:49,968 He literally said, "I'm no longer gonna pursue after killing Christians. 590 00:33:50,378 --> 00:33:52,318 I'm gonna help make Christians. 591 00:33:52,638 --> 00:33:53,838 I'm gonna proclaim God's word." 592 00:33:53,858 --> 00:33:56,008 That's, that's the, the total opposite. 593 00:33:56,008 --> 00:33:57,818 That's true repentance right there. 594 00:33:58,858 --> 00:33:59,938 Good picture of that. 595 00:34:00,898 --> 00:34:03,938 Number two, live for God. 596 00:34:04,138 --> 00:34:06,978 Not only just live for ourselves, but live for God, meaning let Him 597 00:34:06,988 --> 00:34:12,128 be, uh, the, the number one person in your life that you live for. 598 00:34:12,578 --> 00:34:14,228 It's no longer about you, right? 599 00:34:14,228 --> 00:34:16,608 The Apostle Paul, again, is a great example. 600 00:34:16,608 --> 00:34:18,047 It's not about the Apostle Paul. 601 00:34:18,257 --> 00:34:19,757 He's locked up in prison. 602 00:34:20,118 --> 00:34:21,138 He's left alone. 603 00:34:21,158 --> 00:34:24,328 We learn later from his, um, from his letters to the 604 00:34:24,338 --> 00:34:26,027 churches, his friends leave him. 605 00:34:27,978 --> 00:34:29,128 It's just him and God. 606 00:34:30,668 --> 00:34:37,268 I love this verse, 2 Corinthians 5:15, 'cause it really gives purpose 607 00:34:37,288 --> 00:34:39,108 and meaning about the Christian life. 608 00:34:39,797 --> 00:34:45,318 It says this: "And He died for all," speaking of Jesus, "so that they 609 00:34:45,328 --> 00:34:50,558 who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died 610 00:34:50,578 --> 00:34:52,518 and rose again on their behalf." 611 00:34:53,447 --> 00:34:56,658 Paul's telling the Christian church, "You no longer live for yourself. 612 00:34:56,998 --> 00:34:59,038 Christ died so that we could live for Him." 613 00:34:59,498 --> 00:35:02,658 Not for our purpose, not for our goals, not for our desires, but 614 00:35:02,658 --> 00:35:04,488 we live for God and God alone now 615 00:35:06,898 --> 00:35:11,498 Which leads us to our th- our third point, pursue what matters in life. 616 00:35:12,288 --> 00:35:13,788 Pursue what matters in life. 617 00:35:15,108 --> 00:35:18,638 If you let the resurrection transform you, it changes your mind, it changes your 618 00:35:18,638 --> 00:35:20,908 focus, it changes your outlook on things. 619 00:35:21,468 --> 00:35:23,838 Now, I'm not saying you can't go out and enjoy things. 620 00:35:23,838 --> 00:35:25,238 That's not what I'm saying at all. 621 00:35:25,388 --> 00:35:27,828 But that can't be what we pursue after. 622 00:35:28,318 --> 00:35:32,008 That can't be like, "I live for Fridays" type of thing, right? 623 00:35:34,216 --> 00:35:37,686 The Apostle Paul writes to the Colossian church in chapter 624 00:35:37,716 --> 00:35:39,926 three, verses one and two. 625 00:35:40,816 --> 00:35:45,016 He says this, "Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ," 626 00:35:45,016 --> 00:35:50,506 right, if you're a believer, "keep seeking things above, where Christ 627 00:35:50,526 --> 00:35:52,926 is, seated at the right hand of God." 628 00:35:53,336 --> 00:35:58,026 And then he says, "Set your mind on the things above, not the 629 00:35:58,026 --> 00:35:59,706 things that are on the earth." 630 00:36:00,116 --> 00:36:04,996 Again, your, your priorities in life are now, uh, framed by God. 631 00:36:05,196 --> 00:36:08,746 What God wants, that's what I want, because I live for His glory, I live 632 00:36:08,746 --> 00:36:12,996 according to His ways, and I'm gonna pursue what He wants in my life. 633 00:36:14,046 --> 00:36:16,666 And Scripture talks about that all the time, within your families, 634 00:36:16,666 --> 00:36:20,206 within our workplace, within our hobbies, all those things. 635 00:36:20,426 --> 00:36:23,826 Whatever we do, whatever we eat, do it all for what? 636 00:36:25,106 --> 00:36:26,406 For the glory of love? 637 00:36:27,246 --> 00:36:27,756 No. 638 00:36:27,866 --> 00:36:28,966 For the glory of God. 639 00:36:29,366 --> 00:36:31,526 We do it all for the glory of God. 640 00:36:32,306 --> 00:36:38,656 And lastly and finally, we'll end here, and I, I, I alluded to this 641 00:36:38,686 --> 00:36:43,376 earlier, let the resurrection transform you that you live with assurance. 642 00:36:44,086 --> 00:36:47,476 I could say hope, but assurance is a better word for that hope. 643 00:36:49,246 --> 00:36:51,906 In 1 Peter 1:3, the Apostle… 644 00:36:51,966 --> 00:36:55,816 or Peter writes, not the Apostle Paul, he says, "Blessed be the God 645 00:36:55,816 --> 00:36:57,866 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 646 00:36:58,546 --> 00:37:04,436 According to His great mercy has caused us to be born again," look at 647 00:37:04,436 --> 00:37:09,606 this, "to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead." 648 00:37:10,296 --> 00:37:11,486 This is what the Apostle Paul says. 649 00:37:11,486 --> 00:37:12,616 We have this hope, right? 650 00:37:12,796 --> 00:37:16,026 Our fathers had it, the 12 tribes of Israel had it, the 651 00:37:16,026 --> 00:37:17,806 resurrection of the dead. 652 00:37:18,546 --> 00:37:22,136 And he's saying because Jesus rose again, we have that assurance 653 00:37:22,136 --> 00:37:23,576 that we too will rise again. 654 00:37:23,586 --> 00:37:24,656 Do we not believe that? 655 00:37:26,196 --> 00:37:29,466 Those who have died in Christ, we look forward to seeing them 656 00:37:29,466 --> 00:37:31,196 again, being reunited again. 657 00:37:31,426 --> 00:37:34,846 That's why the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians, "We don't 658 00:37:34,856 --> 00:37:36,866 grieve like those who have no hope." 659 00:37:38,416 --> 00:37:39,576 But we have hope, right? 660 00:37:39,576 --> 00:37:43,166 When that last trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ will rise, and we 661 00:37:43,306 --> 00:37:45,655 who are alive will rise as well. 662 00:37:46,246 --> 00:37:47,066 That is our hope. 663 00:37:47,076 --> 00:37:48,236 That's our future, right? 664 00:37:48,686 --> 00:37:51,646 If there, if there is no resurrection, right, doesn't the Apostle Paul 665 00:37:51,646 --> 00:37:54,866 write to the Corinthian church, "Then we're to be pitied of most people if 666 00:37:54,876 --> 00:37:56,256 Christ doesn't rise from the dead." 667 00:37:56,256 --> 00:37:57,466 That means there's no hope. 668 00:37:57,816 --> 00:38:02,116 Let us eat, drink, and live for tomorrow what? 669 00:38:03,116 --> 00:38:03,536 Who knows. 670 00:38:03,576 --> 00:38:04,326 We die. 671 00:38:04,516 --> 00:38:05,366 There's no hope. 672 00:38:05,826 --> 00:38:09,166 But the Christian has hope, or better yet, assurance. 673 00:38:09,306 --> 00:38:09,856 And why? 674 00:38:09,886 --> 00:38:15,016 All because Christ rose, and this is what Paul was preaching before r- governors 675 00:38:15,016 --> 00:38:17,926 and kings, and he preaches to us today. 676 00:38:18,156 --> 00:38:21,366 And each and every one of us this morning need to make a, a decision. 677 00:38:21,366 --> 00:38:24,286 Are we gonna be transformed by the resurrection, or are 678 00:38:24,286 --> 00:38:25,706 we gonna keep pushing it away? 679 00:38:26,646 --> 00:38:29,966 And that's the only decision that each and every one of you can make this morning. 680 00:38:30,446 --> 00:38:31,086 Let's pray. 681 00:38:33,086 --> 00:38:38,806 Lord God, we thank you so much for your assurance that you've given us through the 682 00:38:38,806 --> 00:38:41,886 resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. 683 00:38:43,176 --> 00:38:47,566 Because of Him, Lord God, salvation is offered to all people. 684 00:38:48,246 --> 00:38:51,836 And this morning, Father God, as we sit here this morning, each and every one 685 00:38:51,836 --> 00:38:54,766 of us has to examine our own hearts. 686 00:38:55,926 --> 00:38:57,916 Do we believe in the resurrection? 687 00:38:58,566 --> 00:39:03,246 Do we believe that you died for our sins, and you've called us 688 00:39:03,446 --> 00:39:11,206 to repentance and to turn from darkness to light, from Satan to God? 689 00:39:11,856 --> 00:39:15,626 I pray, Lord God, this morning that each and every one of us, as we examine 690 00:39:15,626 --> 00:39:20,606 that, would answer in the affirmative that, "Yes, Lord, we want to follow you. 691 00:39:20,856 --> 00:39:24,426 We want to be transformed by the resurrection." 692 00:39:25,286 --> 00:39:29,216 I pray, Lord God, this morning that you would give us boldness, as you 693 00:39:29,216 --> 00:39:34,146 did with the Apostle Paul, to proclaim your truth no matter what situation 694 00:39:34,146 --> 00:39:39,496 we find ourselves in, that we would live for your glory and your glory 695 00:39:39,496 --> 00:39:42,916 alone, and we thank you in Jesus' name. 696 00:39:43,506 --> 00:39:43,956 Amen.