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.
E. Then Agrippa comes back at Paul and says, “Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” 29 Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”
1. Essentially, Agrippa was fighting back and defending himself. If he had said he didn’t believe in the prophets, he would have lost respect with his Jewish subjects.
2. If he said he did believe in the prophets, he would have to accept Paul’s message and become a Christian.
3. Like most people we try and witness to, he didn’t want to have to give up his life of sin. Paul had painted him into a corner, and he had to decide whether he was going to follow Jesus or stay the same.
4. So, he says, “not so fast Paul!” But Paul says it doesn’t matter if it is fast or not, he wants him and everyone who was listening might be just like him in every way except his chains.
5. Paul is telling them that no one is so far away from God that they cannot turn to God and be changed.
F. After all of this, “Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left. 31 As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”
1. Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice all discussed Paul’s case in light of his testimony deciding he had not done anything that deserved to death or be imprisoned for.
2. But he had appealed to Caesar, so he had to go to Rome.
3. However, this is what Paul wanted to do because Jesus had promised him, he would go and preach the Gospel in Rome.
Transition: So, what can we take from this story of Paul’s declaration of the Gospel?
II. Things We Need to Know
A. It’s better to be crazy for Jesus than to be crazy for the world.
1. “If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor. 5:13-15).
2. I can honestly say, I have never been ashamed of Jesus. Since the night I gave my heart to Him, I have never looked back! In fact, I used to have an old pair of jeans, back in the day, with a patch on them that said, “I am a Jesus person!”
3. As Paul says in Rom. 1:17, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
4. It is my prayer that this holds true for you too! My desire for you is to wear your faith on your sleeve, or in my case my pant leg!
5. Never be ashamed of Jesus or the Good News that saved you!
6. Never be afraid to tell someone what Jesus has done in your life!
7. Never be afraid to stand on the truth of the Bible!
8. Because what Jesus offers you is so much better than what the world has to give you.
9. Stand up for Jesus even if they call you crazy!
B. No one is so far from God that the grace of God cannot save them.
1. “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Tim 1:15-16).
2. Illustration: Another incident I remember from those early days of my walk with Jesus, happened in high school. I went into our classroom, and I saw a friend of mine just starring out the window looking totally lost. So, I walked up to him and started to share Jesus with him. He said, “don’t waste your time, Mark, I’m a hopeless case.” Then I said to him, “Jesus has no hopeless cases, and I’m living proof!”
3. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, or where you came from, you will never be so bad that Jesus can’t save you.
4. His grace is endless. His mercy is endless. And His forgiveness is limitless.
5. There is nothing you can do to earn these things, but the Good News is, you don’t have to, because Jesus already bought them for you on the cross.
6. Billy Graham said once, “I know that if I died tonight, I would be in heaven, not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus did for me on the cross.”
7. You are not so far from God that he can’t bring you back.
C. Some people are going to have “Festus Syndrome.”
1. Some people are going to ridicule you for what you believe. Just get used to it.
2. Others are going to tell you that the Bible and the story of Jesus is a myth. They will tell you that the Bible is full of inaccuracies, and that it is unreliable.
3. They will call you names like “Jesus Freak, Holy Roller, and Religious Fanatic, or even a fool.
4. But remember the words of modern-day martyr Jim Eliot, “He is no fool who gives us what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? The Gospel demands a response. You can be a mocker like Festus, resistant like Agrippa, or fully committed like Paul. Choose to be like Paul!
