Crazy For Jesus Series

CRAZY FOR JESUS

Text: Acts 26:19-32

Introduction

1. Illustration: A few years after I gave my heart to Christ, my brother, who was away at college working on his master’s degree, came home for a visit. He asked my mother, “So, is Mark still a Jesus Freak?” To which my mother replied, “Well, I’d rather him be a freak about Jesus than a freak on drugs!” Go Mom!

2. Maybe you’ve never been called a “Jesus Freak” before, but maybe you’ve been called a “religious fanatic,” or a “Holy Roller,” or a “Bible thumper!” But the point is that people in the world find us and the life we’ve chosen to live offensive. However, the truth is that we are a threat to their sinful way of life. They see the us and the life we live, and they are convicted of their sinful lifestyle. But we must continue to walk in the truth, just as Paul did.

3. Read Acts 26:19-32

Transition: Let’s follow along as Paul shares the simple truth of the Gospel.

I. Paul’s Message

A. So far, Paul has been telling King Agrippa about his testimony of coming to faith in Christ, and how the Lord called him to be a witness to both the Jews and the Gentiles.

B. Now Paul tells Agrippa in vv. 19-20, “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven. 20 I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.”

1. Paul tells Agrippa that he had been obedient to the call he had received from heaven. That he had preached the Good News to both the Jews and the Gentiles everywhere he went.

2. Imagine how dumbfounded the people in Damascus where when Paul came to town. They were expecting him to drag Christians away in chains, but now he is declaring that he has become a Christian!

3. Once he was an enemy of the Church and of Christ, but now he is telling people to repent of their sins, turn to God (and that’s what the word repent means — to turn from your sins and turn toward God), and to show that they have become new people.

4. And many did just that!

C. Now Paul tells the king, “Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. 22 But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen—23 that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

1. Paul tells him how people arrested him in the temple for preaching this Good News and tried to assassinate him for it.

2. Paul also talks about how, through all of his trials and troubles, God has protected him through it all.

3. He also points out that he had only preached the truth from the Hebrew Scriptures about the Messiah, and that the Messiah would suffer and die, but that he would rise again from the dead.

D. Now look what happens, in vv. 24-27 it says, “Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!” 25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. 26 And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner! 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”

1. All of the sudden, the governor jumps up and says, “Paul you’re crazy! Too much study has made you mad!”

2. Remember that Festus was not a Jew, and the whole reason he called in Agrippa was that he didn’t understand Jewish beliefs.

3. For him to wrap his mind around the fact that a Jewish Messiah would be killed by his own people and then would rise from the dead must have seemed a little crazy.

4. But Paul, not only defends himself, but reminds the governor and the king that all of what he said took place in the open.

5. Everything the church did was not done in secret, but rather it was out in the open for everyone to see.

6. And certainly, the king, who was responsible to oversee the temple and the activities in Jerusalem, would have certainly known everything that had happened.

7. Then Paul turns to King Agrippa and asks, “do you believe in the Prophets?” Don’t forget, Agrippa was part Jewish and would have been taught what the prophets had predicted.