Acts 26:19-25
What’s the CRAZIEST thing you’ve ever done? Ask yourself this. What is it you’ve done that people would say, “You’re crazy man” or “You’re crazy lady.” Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask you. I was reading about some of the craziest, most insane things people do.
(1) 1/2 of all kids who are injured while falling out of windows are found to be wearing spider man suits. Man that’s crazy!!
(2) The things people do when their driving. I've heard of people doing everything from changing a babies diaper to playing a keyboard in the seat next to them!
(3) Gary Banning of North Carolina died in February of 2012 after going to a friends house and drinking an amber colored liquid that was setting by his mechanic buddies sink. It wasn’t an alcoholic beverage....it was gasoline the guy used to clean his hands with. He spit out and probably would have been alright if he wouldn’t have lit a cigarette to calm his nerves. He died the next day from severe burns. Man that’s crazy!!
That’s basically what we find Festus saying here to Paul in verse 24. “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” Paul that’s crazy!!! You’ve spent way too much time studying this thing out. I’m sure he was thinking. “Paul what are you saying, what are you doing. You had it made before you got caught up in this Jesus stuff.” “You need to chill out” “Calm down” “Quit talking crazy”
Folks, the Bible is full of people who the world considered crazy. Moses gave up a life of ease living in Pharoh's house to eventually lead God's children out of bondage. David faced Goliath with a sling and five stones. Gideon faced the entire army of the Midianites with just three hundred men. CRAZY!!! This morning, I want to look at just a few of them.
(1) Noah READ Genesis 6:13-22 In Genesis 6:3 it says “And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that also he is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” II Peter 2:5 calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness.” I don’t know exactly how long it took Noah to build the ark but it was 120 years or less. I believe all those years Noah was a preaching machine. Warning the people. Repent, you better repent. The rains a comin. God’s judgment”s a comin. You better turn your life around before it’s too late. There’s gonna be a flood. AND ALL THE WHILE THE PEOPLE WERE PROBABLY SAYING “OLD MAN, YOU’RE CRAZY’ “YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MARBLES” “YOU’RE ONE BRICK SHY OF A LOAD” Up until then they’d never seen a drop of rain much less a flood. Here he was building a huge boat on dry ground. Making rooms and pens to house animals. Storing up food for them. Yeah, they really thought he was crazy, but that didn’t make it any less true. As we know according to the Bible and according to archaeological study it happened just like Noah preached to them it would.
Folks today like to “believe” in God. That’s cool. It’s ok. But don’t go crazy on me. Don’t go preaching that hell fire and damnation stuff. Don’t start telling me I’m going to hell. DON’T JUDGE ME.
Folks, maybe it’s not cool. Maybe people think you and I are CRAZY. But just as sure as Noah’s message was true back 4000 years ago, it’s true today. You see, I’m crazy like that. I actually believe the literal interpretation of this book. I really believe God wrote the Bible. CALL ME CRAZY. I believe the Bible does teach that there is a coming judgment. I don’t care if you’re premelinealist, omolinealist, or panmilenealist. I think we can all agree that judgment is coming. Jesus Christ is coming back. Though the world may think us crazy, it’s gonna happen. READ Matthew 25:31-33
(2) Jeremiah READ Jeremiah 13:1-11 I want you to think about what we just read. Think about what God told Jeremiah to do. LINEN GIRDLE-WEAR IT-DON’T WASH IT-NOW, TRAVEL 250 MILES-EUPHRATES RIVER-STICK IT IN A HOLE OF A ROCK-NOW, AFTER MANY DAYS, GO DIG IT UP AND BRING IT BACK. 1000 MILES This was done to symbolize the condition of the people of Judah and the people of Israel. After God was finished pouring out His judgment upon them they would be just like this linen girdle. People must have thought he was off his rocker, totally crazy. I can hear them now, “That fellow Jeremiah needs to go to the looney bin.” “Something just ain’t right with him.” “He sure does some strange things.”
Folks, you know what God said that He wanted His people to be? Let’s read 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Do you see what He’s saying here. He says we’re not really like the rest of the people around us. We’re a little different. Maybe at times a little weird. I know some of you are. Some might even say, A LITTLE CRAZY. The things we do as followers of Jesus Christ just don’t make a lot of sense to some. Going to church on sunday instead of the lake. HE’S CRAZY. Blessing our food before we eat it, even in public. WACKO. Dressing in modest clothing even at the pool. GOOFEY. Folks, most of the time I’ve gotten past what other people think of me. Most of the time I don’t care. I guess I have my weak times but I thank the Lord everyday for putting me where He has. SOME MIGHT THINK I’M CRAZY. SOME MIGHT THINK YOU’RE CRAZY. But I’d rather be thought of as crazy and be in God’s will than to be thought of as the coolest guy in the world and be away from the One who created me.
The Rich Young Ruler READ Matthew 19:16-22 What did Jesus tell him to do? KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS!!!! The rich young ruler says o.k. Which one? Then Jesus goes into them leaving the greatest of all the commandments out.
THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS
HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER
THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF Then Jesus dropped the bomb shell. GO AND SELL EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, GIVE IT TO THE POOR, COME AND FOLLOW ME. "What Jesus, are you crazy?" "I've got a lot of stuff" "I can't do that" "That's too much to ask" VERSE 22 "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions." What was Jesus saying? I want total commitment. The greatest of all the commandments. Folks, of the people we've talked about this morning, this guy takes the cake. He turned down eternal life in heaven, for a little comfort here on this earth. He turned down eternal life in heaven for some silly possessions that weren't even his after he took his last breath. Can you grasp what I'm saying here? THIS GUY OWNED NOTHING…….HIS STUFF OWNED HIM. This has got to be the CRAZIEST thing I've ever heard.
It's crazy alright, but it happens everyday. People of all ages, races, nationalities let STUFF get between them and the God of this universe. Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal;" "But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal;" "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Let me ask you something this morning. Where is your treasure this morning? Is it in the things you own? Maybe the car you drive? The house you live in? The rings on your fingers? The money in your bank account? If that's true, That's the CRAZIEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE!!!!!!!!
AS WE CLOSE THIS SERVICE LET'S LOOK AT THE THREE DIFFERENT FELLOWS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING. People thought Noah was totally bezerk for building a big boat, on dry ground, with no rain in sight. But God's judgment was coming. Today, I'm here to tell you that God's judgment is coming. It won't be a flood but fire. ARE YOU READY? II Peter 3:10 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
People thought Jeremiah a total fool for some of the illustrations God called him to do, like the linen girdle. They probably thought he was crazy for preaching repentance to the people of Judah and Israel. They no doubt thought he was totally intolerant for preaching of only one true God. They probably thought him one odd peculiar fellow. Folks, I want to tell you something. As crazy and weird as people may have thought him, HE PLEASED GOD. People today may look really good. Really cool. They really fit in but here's the sad thing. Their lives don't please God. That's the most important thing we can ever do in this life. Please God. Jeremiah goes on to say in 17:5 "Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord."
The rich young ruler came to Jesus with a question. I hope it's a question every one of us has asked. What do I have to do to go to heaven? The answer Jesus gave was simply total commitment. He walked away and very likely is still regretting that decision today. It was the craziest thing he ever did. Now I'm gonna ask you. What's the craziest thing you have ever done? I hope it's something besides turning down the free gift of salvation. What would you rather have this morning? Stuff or eternal life?
READ Acts 26:26-28 King Agrippa was almost persuaded. What about you this morning? Don't make the rejection of Christ's gift the craziest thing you've ever done.
