Reading: Acts chapter 26 verses 26-32.
SERMON OUTLINE:
Meet the Cast:
(1). Festus, the Roman Governor.
(2). King Agrippa.
(3). The Apostle Paul.
Meet the Need:
(1). “It is the Bible that gives our message its content” (vs 26&27).
(2). “It is the Bible that gives our message its authority” (vs 25-26).
(3). “It is the Bible that gives the message its power,”
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Your trivia question this morning is…
• What is Dutchman Hans Lippershey credited for inventing it in 1608?
• The answer is… the telescope.
• Some people point at this optical instrument and say, “It’s a telescope!”
• Some might see it as a valuable antique worth hundreds of pounds,
• But both of them have missed the point,
• It is not what it looks like that matters,
• A telescope has one main purpose, it is designed for people to look through it!
• And if you correctly look through a good telescope,
• You can see worlds beyond!
• TRANSITION: The Bible is like a telescope.
• Some folks see a Bible and say, “It’s a book!”
• But they have missed the point,
• The Bible is something we look through to see beyond our world.
• To discover the God of the universe,
• The God who made us and wants to be involved in our lives.
• This morning our subject is, ‘The importance of explaining the Scripture’.
• If we believe that God speaks to us clearest of all through this book,
• Then we need to make sure that we explain it clearly to people!
Ill:
• Albert Einstein is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time,
• Yet he would explain his theory of relativity this way.
“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour.
Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.”
• TRANSITION: Chances are you will remember that illustration!
• Because good communication sticks!
Ill:
• Think of letters and parcels in a post Office Depot.
• They are not put randomly into the bag or van of a postman/woman.
• They are organized so they can quickly and efficiently reach their destination.
• Words are like parcels – packages of information.
• If they are going to reach the correct destinations quickly and efficiently.
• They need arranging, they need some kind of order, they need to be orchestrated.
• TRANSITION: That is the job of the communicator.
• To be clear, to be understand, to transfer truth from one person to another.
Background:
• Let’s meet the main characters involved in this passage:
• There are three of them that we need to know.
(1). Festus, the Roman Governor.
• Festus is a typical high-class Roman of his day.
• According to chapter 25 and verse 2 he is the ‘new kid on the block’.
• The Apostle Paul had been kept prisoner for over two years by his predecessor,
• A Roman Governor called Felix.
• But in chapter 25 he is moved on and replaced by a new Governor called Festus.
• But straight away, before he has time to settle into the job,
• We are told in chapter 25 and verse 2 that the Jews are in to see him,
• They are demanding Paul be delivered over to them.
• The Jews of that city hate Paul,
• Because Paul had been one of them!
• But now he was preaching the good news of Jesus!
Ill:
• Over lockdown I have regularly gone up to speakers’ corner on a Sunday afternoon,
• It is a hive of activity between the good, bad, weird and ugly.
• The bulk of people there are representing Islam or Christianity.
• But there are a couple of people who the crowd really hate,
• And I mean hate, aggressive, abusive language and at times violence.
• The ones who are hated are the Moslem converts to Christianity.
• TRANSITION: The Jews hate the apostle Paul because he used to be one of them,
• Yet he now preaches another gospel, another message and they cannot handle it.
The Emperor Nero has made Festus the new Governor of Syria and Palestine.
• He has been brought in as a fixer.
• To try and clean up the mess his predecessor had left behind.
• His predecessor was a man called Felix – who made a number of bad decisions.
• The apostle Paul shared his testimony and the gospel with Festus.
• But Festus was a proud Roman and his stumbling block was the resurrection,
• As a Roman he knew that when you are dead you are dead.
• So, he listened to Paul until he mentions the resurrection of Christ,
• But in verse 24 he rejects the message and calls Paul a mad man!
“At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. ‘You are out of your mind, Paul!’ he shouted. ‘Your great learning is driving you insane.’”
(2). King Agrippa.
• This King Agrippa was a Herod – he was from the family and clan of Herod.
• His full title was King Herod Agrippa II.
Note:
• The Herod family and clan in the New Testament.
• Were often opponents to the things of God.
e.g., 1:
• His great grandfather, was Herod the Great,
• He ruled all of Palestine.
• He was the Herod who killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem.
• Shortly after Jesus was born.
e.g., 2:
• His great uncle, King Herod Antipas, ruled in Galilee.
• He beheaded John the Baptist.
• This same uncle.
• Was the Herod that was in Jerusalem on the Passover when Jesus was crucified.
• He interviewed Jesus before sending him back to Pilate.
e.g., 3:
• His father, King Herod Agrippa I, is found in Acts 12.
• He ruled all of Palestine.
• He was the one who had James the apostle executed.
• He was the one who put the apostle Peter into prison.
Note:
• For the apostle Paul to stand before a Herod:
• Would be a courageous thing to do.
• This Herod (King Agrippa) sad to say was also a rogue and a rascal.
• His story would make a perfect reality TV show for today,
• Or the perfect plot line for today’s TV soap operas.
• The reason being, alongside him on the throne was a lady called Bernice.
• Bernice was actually Agrippa’s sister.
• Bernice had already been married to her uncle and she had deserted him.
• Bernice was also married a man called Polymon and she run away from him.
• Now Bernice is living in an incestuous relationship with her brother Agrippa.
• So, they are biologically brother and sister,
• But they are living and sleeping together as man and wife.
• So, for the apostle Paul to stand before a Herod & Bernice as God’s representative.
• Would be a courageous thing to do.
• There was a name for people who upset royalty – victim!
Agrippa’s capital was Caesarea Philippi,
• Which he renamed Neronias in honour of Caesar Nero.
• Agrippa II called himself “Great King, pious Friend of Caesar and Friend of Rome.”
• He was the last of the Herod’s, and he died in A.D. 100 at the age of 73.
(3). The Apostle Paul.
• Paul was born Saul and at one time was an opponent of Christianity.
• He was determined to destroy all Christians and their false message!
• But one day he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.
• And the persecutor turned preacher.
• And his preaching got him in trouble with those who did not like his message.
• It even caused riots to break out!
• Quote: Tony Campolo:
• “When Paul preached it was followed by a riot,
• When we preach it is followed by a cup of tea!”
• Remember that the apostle Paul had done nothing wrong.
• But because the Jewish people of that city did not like his message – they reacted badly!
• As a result, Paul was put in prison.
Now on 3 separate occasions between chapters 24 and 26:
• Paul would stand before different audiences to defend himself,
• And often he stood alone!
• The audience that he stood before was made up of unbelievers,
• Many of whom were hostile and rude.
Question: Do you know the method Paul used each time in witnessing?
Answer: His personal testimony.
• Each time he spoke he simply shared how his own life had been changed,
• By the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ
• ill: chapter 26 verses 4-18.
• Now when I was given this passage to speak on,
• I thought the emphasis might be on ‘how to share your testimony?’
• Rather than, ‘the importance of explaining the Scripture!’
Question: Why did he share his testimony?
Answer:
• Because one of the most convincing,
• Unanswerable argument on earth regarding Christianity is one’s personal story.
Ill:
• One of my favorite New Testament characters is the blind man in John chapter 9.
• When questioned by the religious leaders, nobody believed his words,
• But they had no answer for his changed life.
• TRANSITION: so, on 3 separate occasions between chapters 24 and 26,
• The apostle Paul shared his testimony.
• And although important when witnessing,
• It must also be accompanied by scripture, the Word of God.
• A testimony is subjective, it is our experience,
• Another person may also have a story to tell based on a different experience.
• So, to give substance and authority to our story,
• We need something objective, something tried and tested,
• Something that can be examined and probed and shown to be true.
• That something is the Word of God (The Bible).
Notice: the apostle Paul has one purpose in these verses.
• And his eyes are only focused upon one man in the room.
• His eye is on Agrippa.
• Earlier on in this situation, chapter 25 verse 23 tells us who else was present:
“The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking officers and the leading men of the city”.
• This trial is a big occasion; anybody who is anybody is there,
• Including all the leading men of the city!
• ill: Preacher Nigel Lee,
• Wo made sure he looked everyone in the eye at least once when he preached.
Yet, it would appear that the apostle Paul is focused directly on one man, Agrippa.
• He mentions his name all the time during his defence.
• He did it in verse 2, verse 7, verse 13, verse 19 and verse 27.
• Although other people are present, the apostle is specifically talking to one man.
• There’s no doubt, what was in Paul’s mind; he was after the soul of this man.
• So, he kept addressing himself personally to Agrippa!
• Now remember Agrippa was a Herod, a tyrant,
• But the apostle Paul was not intimidated or scared to confront and challenge him.
Ill:
• Hugh Lattimer was Bishop of Worcester in the time of King Henry VIII.
• He had to preach a sermon with King Henry present.
• King Henry was not impressed,
• In fact, he was greatly displeased by the message of Latimer’s sermon.
• He ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday.
• And to also apologize to the king for the offence he had given.
• The next Sunday, after reading his text,
• He began his sermon:
• “Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak?
• To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty,
• Who can take away thy life, if thou offendest.
• Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease.
• But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest—upon
• Whose message thou are sent?
• Even by the great and mighty God,
• Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways;
• And Who is able to cast thy soul into hell!
• Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”
• He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday.
• Only this time with considerably more energy.
• TRANSITION: Like Lattimer the apostle Paul represented a bigger king than Agrippa,
• And that would influence what he said.
Now:
• Let’s relate the title for this talk, ‘The importance of explaining the Scripture.’
• To the passage.
Quote: John Stott (author, Anglican minister and theologian)
• “Evangelism without the Bible is inconceivable,”
• He then gives three main uses of the Bible in evangelism.
• “It is the Bible that gives our message its content,
• Christ crucified, risen and reigning.
• It is the Bible that gives our message its authority.
• so that we proclaim it with deep conviction.
• And it is the Bible that gives the message its power,
• as the Holy Spirit reinforces the Word in the experience of the hearers.”
• TRANSITION: Let’s see those three truths that Stott points out,
• Illustrated for us in this passage.
(1). “It is the Bible that gives our message its content” (vs 26&27).
“The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.”
• The apostle Paul preached historical events.
• That Christ died and three days later rose again from the dead (vs 23).
• These events were the talk of the Jewish world,
• Which is why the apostle can say to King Agrippa
• “…none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.”
Notice: that the apostle Paul also links these events to ‘the prophets’ (vs 27)
“King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.’”
• Agrippa was familiar in Jewish affairs and the Jewish scriptures.
• The Herod dynasty was tied to the Jewish religion,
• With Herod Antipas (who beheaded John the Baptist), the first to convert to Judaism.
• The apostle Paul is forcing Agrippa to make a stand,
• Agrippa would not repudiate, would not deny what every Jew believed.
• But if he made that affirmation, he must then face the question,
• Is Jesus the one these prophets spoke about?
Now we are not told what scriptures the apostle Paul quoted or read:
• e.g., Psalm 22 or Isaiah chapter 53,
• That Jesus is the promised Messiah, he must suffer, and he must die for our sins,
• And he will be raised to life again on the third day!
• TRANSITION: It is the Bible that gives our message its content.
• In the book of Acts, we have seventeen sermons recorded,
• All of them quote the Old Testament scriptures.
For evangelism to be successful evangelism it must be rooted in the Word of God.
• The root of the word evangelism, evangel, is derived from the Greek word, ‘euangelion’,
• Which is translated as, ‘good news’.
• From that same word, we derive the word, ‘gospel’.
Ill:
• One of my Christian heroes is William Tyndale (born c. 1490–94, died 1536).
• Tyndale, who was a great English Reformer and Bible translator
• Tyndale was the first to translate the Bible into English from its original languages.
• Tyndale gives us insight into what the word, ‘gospel’ means,
• To him it signified,
“good, mery, glad and ioyfull tydinge, that maketh a mannes hert glad, and maketh hym synge, daunce, and leepe for ioye.”
• It truly is Good News!
• So, when evangelising let’s make sure we include some biblical content!
• Because the word itself speaks of the act of spreading a message.
• Remember Christianity is a taught religion – it involves proclamation and explanation.
• The gospel is preached but it must also be clarified to those who hear it.
(2). “It is the Bible that gives our message its authority” (vs 25-26).
Ill:
• Years ago, when I had hair on my head and regularly visited a barber,
• I got to know the people who were the cutters in the shop.
• On one occasion shortly after I had moved down South to Hampshire,
• So, I was about 26 or 27 years old.
• The barber asked me what I did for a job and so I told him.
• “I am an evangelist, a preacher, I tell folks about Jesus!”
• He thought for a moment and said,
• “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are the folks in your Churches older than you?”
• I replied, “yes, many of them are.”
• He then said,
• “Well why should we listen to you after all,
• Many have them have far more life experience and knowledge than you!?”
• A good point, so I replied.
“If I was just giving my opinion and insight into life, they have a perfect right to dismiss it,
But when I preach and teach I am explaining the Bible, they can look into their own Bible to see if that what it says, the authority is not in the messenger but the message!”
Question:
• Why do you think the apostle Paul challenged Agrippa? (vs 27)
• “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.’”
Answer:
• Because the more light a person has,
• The more responsible he or she is to make a right decision.
• Sadly, Agrippa knew the truth, he believed in the Jewish prophets,
• But he was unwilling to apply that truth to his life.
• ill: He was like a sick man refusing to take the medicine that could heal him!
Note: The Bible that gives our message its authority
• We see that illustrated in the life of Jesus,
• Again, and again when Jesus preached,
• He took people back to the Old Testament scripture.
• e.g., #1: Jesus and Isaiah’s Prophecy (Luke chapter 4 verses 17-19 & 21).
• Jesus stood up to preach in his hometown synagogue,
• He applied the Old Testament prophet Isaiah’s message of hope to himself:
"And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” . . . Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
• e.g., #2: The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapter 5 verse 21).
• Again, and again in this sermon Jesus upheld Old Testament commands,
• For example, Exodus chapter 20 verse 13 when he said,
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment’”.
• e.g., #3: Regarding marriage (Matthew chapter 19 verses 4-6).
• Jesus goes all the way back to the created order that is revealed in the book of Genesis, Particularly Genesis 2:24.
"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."
(3). “It is the Bible that gives the message its power,”
Ill:
• American evangelist Billy Graham was one of the great preachers,
• According to his website,
• Graham preached to live audiences of 210 million people in more than 185 countries.
• In the year 2000 he was unable to attend,
• The Amsterdam 2000 Conference for Preaching Evangelists.
• So, he recorded a video message that was played,
• In that talk he said,
“Our authority comes from the Bible, the Word of God. When our message is based on the Word of God, just quoting from Scripture gives an authority. The Bible has its own built-in power. That’s the reason I use the phrase, ‘The Bible says.’ When I say, ‘The Bible says,’ I notice there’s a new attention from the audience.”
Ill:
• Well David the Psalmist would say Amen! To that statement.
• Psalm 119 verse 105.
• “The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. entrance.”
Ill:
• The writers of the New Testament would agree,
• Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Ill:
• The Bible specifically says that the power of Word of God aids in the conversion process
• The apostle Paul stated (2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 15).
• “The Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation”.
• The apostle Peter said, (1 Peter chapter 1 verse 23).
• “…you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable,
• through the living and abiding word of God”
And Finally:
Quote: Bernard Shaw
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
• When it comes to ‘explaining the Scripture,’
• Remember it is not what gets out that counts but what is received.
Ill:
• Garrison Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humourist, and radio personality.
• He is best known for his. ‘Lake Wobegon Days’ books.
• In his biography he relates the story,
• (I am remembering the story so I may have a few details wrong)
• One summer he got a job as playing records on a local radio station,
• He played classical music and he knew his audience was small.
• At the end of the summer, they discovered that there was a problem with a transmitter,
• So, each weekend he played the songs, but no one was listening!
• TRANSITION:
• Remember it is not what gets out that counts but what is received.
• That is communication and that is our task!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=KpgIXmhLM999LqHQd15Q6PjUQcKCXNN0
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/ABWyTHE2BAo
