MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
BROWNSVILLE, TX
A. There is a familiar passage of scripture that I want us to consider this morning. It is found in 1 Corinthians 1:25. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, & the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength."
ILL. A classic example of that is David & Goliath in the OT. Here was a shepherd boy who trusted in God, fighting a mighty warrior, & yet the boy wins.
It is almost the same way in Acts, chapters 24, 25 & 26. Let me tell you what is taking place. The Apostle Paul has been a prisoner now for two years.
Two years ago in Jerusalem, a mob had tried to kill Paul, but Roman soldiers arrived in the nick of time. They arrested him & took him away to save his life. But the chief priests plotted together & petitioned the Roman Governor, Felix, to put Paul on trial for his life.
They lied about Paul & said, "We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect & even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him." (Acts 24:5)
But Gov. Felix allowed Paul to speak in his own behalf. And when Paul was through, Acts 24:22-23 tells us, "Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. ’When Lysias the commander comes,’ he said, ’I will decide your case.’ He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs."
By the way, there is a familiar passage of scripture that involves this Gov. Felix. Listen as we begin with the 24th vs. "Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul & listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified & said, ’That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’" But the more convenient time for Felix never came.
B. Now notice vs. 27, "When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison."
Then Festus takes over as Governor, & immediately Paul’s enemies plot again. Acts 25:3 says, "They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way."
So Gov. Festus sends for Paul, & vs. 9 says, "Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, ’Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem & stand trial before me there on these charges?’"
Paul answered, "I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"
Vs. 12 tells us, "After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ’You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’"
C. But the problem is that Festus doesn’t know for what crime to charge him. There is no legal reason why Paul was even a prisoner. So he is in a quandary, trying to decide what to do.
As he deliberates, King Agrippa comes down to welcome the new Governor. Now Agrippa is a Jew, ruling over the northern part of Israel. He meets Festus & in their conversation, Festus mentions his problem concerning Paul.
Festus tells Agrippa, "When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests & elders of the Jews brought charges against him & asked that he be condemned. I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers & has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges."
"When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day & ordered the man to be brought in. When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion & about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive."
"I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem & stand trial there on these charges. When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."
"Then Agrippa said to Festus, ’I would like to hear this man myself.’ He replied, ’Tomorrow you will hear him.’" [Acts 25:15-22]
Gov. Festus was eager to receive King Agrippa’s help & advice. So he jumped at the chance to let King Agrippa meet Paul.
D. Now let me read vs. 23 to set the stage for this royal gathering. "The next day Agrippa & Bernice came with great pomp & entered the audience room with the high ranking officers & the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in."
Here comes King Agrippa & Bernice dressed up in royal robes & wearing golden crowns. Trumpets are blowing. With them is the Governor & the high ranking officers & all the influential people of the city. Everybody who is anybody is here for this command performance. All the things that insecure people need to make them feel secure are in prominent display here.
And Paul is brought right into the presence of this group. He has been a prisoner for two years. He is clothed in prison garb & shackled in chains.
Now tradition tells us that Paul was a short man, & that he was probably stoop-shouldered, bald headed, & weak-eyed. Yet something about Paul drew people to him. Maybe it was the Spirit of God shining through.
E. It’s David against Goliath all over again. Instantly they begin to question him. And Paul begins to give his testimony. He doesn’t argue the claims of Christ with them. He just gives his testimony. If you try to argue religion you’ll always find somebody ready to argue back. But a testimony is awfully hard to refute.
While Paul is still speaking, Festus interrupts him by shouting, "You are out of your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane." [26:24]
You know, the world can put up with many church members with no problem at all. If you don’t make waves with your faith the world will tolerate you. You can go to church once in a while. That doesn’t bother anybody. And you can be nice to other people & that doesn’t bother anybody, either.
But if you get serious about Christianity - If you start coming to church even on rainy days or Sunday evenings - if you read your Bible & pray regularly - if you begin to change the way you think & speak & live - if you start tithing your money - if you do a few fanatical things like that, the world really has trouble understanding what it is all about.
That is exactly what happens here. "Paul, you’re insane. You’ve let this Christianity thing go too far. Your much learning is driving you mad."
ILL. Sometime ago on a weekly TV detective program the storyline was about some people who were demonstrating against an abortion clinic.
In the story the woman who led the demonstration was arrested. And when the two stars in the show talked about her they said, "She has always been into demonstrations. She is a serious whacko. She is into the Bible & all that kind of stuff."
Now whether you approve or disapprove of demonstrations, the point is, the way the media & the world see committed Christians is as "serious whackos. Into the Bible & all that kind of stuff."
That is exactly what Festus was saying, "Paul, you are insane!" Paul responds in vs. 25. "He said, ’I am not insane most excellent Festus. What I am saying is true & reasonable.’"
I. THE GOSPEL IS TRUE
A. Let me share three facts this morning about the Gospel. Number one, the Gospel is true. The world has always said that science deals with facts & that Christianity deals with morality & ethics. I disagree. Paul is saying that we deal with facts, too. We’re dealing with solid evidence.
Listen to what he says in vs. 26. "The king is familiar with these things, & 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."
It was all done out in the open & King Agrippa knew it. "Jesus did die upon a cross. He was buried, & on the 3rd day He was raised from the dead."
How else can you explain the change in the life of the Apostle Paul, or in Simon Peter? How else can you explain the change in James, the half?brother of Jesus?
They were preaching the same message about the resurrection of Jesus. Paul is saying, "Agrippa, all you had to do to prove us wrong was to open the tomb & produce the body of Jesus."
"But not one single person did that. It all happened before your eyes. You saw it. You heard it, & you know I am telling the truth."
ILL. In January, 1989, the Dallas Morning News published a list of the major events of 1988. One of them was that scientists had announced that they had uncovered evidence to prove that 65 million years ago a 300-foot high tidal wave hit the coast of Texas.
They can "prove" that it happened 65 million years ago? What kind of eyewitnesses did they have? It takes more faith to believe that than that Jesus lived & died & rose again.
Paul says, "It didn’t happen in a corner. It happened before your eyes."
B. In vs. 27 he uses a second approach. "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do." Agrippa was a Jew. He knew what the OT said.
Do you realize that there are more than 300 prophecies in the OT that were fulfilled in Christ? Hundreds of years before Jesus was born prophets said that He would be born in Bethlehem of a virgin ? that He would be crucified on a cross (& this was before the world had ever heard about crucifixion) - that His side would be pierced - that He would be buried in a borrowed tomb & on the third day be raised from the dead.
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born prophecies were given that were fulfilled to the letter in the person of Christ.
Paul says, "What I share with you is true. It’s not just a philosophy or ’pie in the sky.’ It is based upon fact, & King Agrippa, you know it too."
II. THE GOSPEL WORKS
A. Secondly, it works. The Gospel of Jesus Christ works.
Now one of the problems in our world today is that we are constantly trying things that don’t work. We have some of the most intelligent people in the world trying to figure out what to do about drugs & crime & abortion & AIDS.
They are simply throwing money at them, trying to legislate these problems out of existence, & it doesn’t work.
ILL. A man flew into Chicago & hired a taxi to take him downtown. As he was riding along they came to a red light & the driver went right on through the red light.
The man said, "Hey, the light was red. You’re supposed to stop." The driver said, "Yeah, I know, but my brother does it all the time."
Soon they came to a second red light & again he went right straight through. The passenger said, "You’re going to get us killed. That light was red. Why didn’t you stop?"
The driver said, "Don’t worry about it. My brother does it all the time."
Then they came to a green light & he stopped. The man said, "The light is green. Now is the time to go. Why don’t you go on through?"
The driver answered, "I know it’s green. But you never know when my brother may be coming through."
Sometimes it seems as if all the world is going through on red & stopping on green. We’re constantly trying things that don’t work. But the Gospel works. Folks, the Gospel works.
ILL. There is a long line of people who have been saved from alcoholism by the Gospel. There is a long line of people who have been saved from drugs by the Gospel. There have been marriages put back together, & homes that have been brought into harmony by the Gospel.
SUM. Do you realize that if we would listen to the great commission of Jesus & became serious about winning the whole world to Christ we wouldn’t have to worry about AIDS? We wouldn’t have to worry about abortion. We wouldn’t have to worry about drug trafficking. We wouldn’t have to worry about crime & rape because the Gospel works.
III. THE GOSPEL IS NEEDED
A. Thirdly, the Gospel is needed. "Then Agrippa said to Paul, ’Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ Paul replied, ’Short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." [Acts 26:28-29]
Some people say that the only ones who need the Gospel are those who are weak & who need a crutch upon which to lean. The world says, "If you are mentally disturbed you need a psychiatrist. If you are economically stricken you need welfare. And if you are emotionally unstable, you need religion. So go out & get yourself a good dose of religion."
But Paul was saying to King Agrippa, "Not only you, but all who hear my voice need to follow Jesus."
ILL. Albert Speer was one of the 24 top-ranking Nazis imprisoned after World War 2 for war crimes. He was not involved in the gas chambers & all that, but he was a mechanical genius. He kept the factories humming, producing the weapons of war. He was tried & found guilty & sent to prison for 20 years.
After he had served his time & been released, he was interviewed on Good Morning America by David Hartman. They were discussing a book that he had just written about the War. Then Hartman asked him how he felt now.
Speer said, "I spent 20 years in prison. I paid my debt to society. Now I am a free man. But I still carry the burden of guilt. I can still see the faces of millions of people who were led to their death in Hitler’s Germany."
Hartman asked, "Do you think you will ever be free of the burden of guilt?" And Speer replied, "I think it is impossible. I think I will never be free of the burden of guilt." Three weeks later Albert Speer died.
How tragic! If only he had heard the message that ’though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.’" The hymn says, "What shall take away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."
B. Paul says, "The Gospel is needed because it is the only thing that can take away our sin & bring us into the presence of God."
ILL. One day a man was talking to his grandson right after he had graduated from high school. And he asked, "My boy, what are your plans? What are you going to do with your life?"
The grandson said, "I plan to go to college & then graduate from college. His grandfather said, "Great, what then?"
"After I get out of college I plan to start my career." "Fine," said grandpa, "what then?"
"Well, I guess I’ll get married & settle down & have a family." "Fine," said the grandpa, "what then?"
"To be honest with you, I really want to make a lot of money, & have enough to save for a rainy day." "All right," said the grandpa, "what then?"
"Well," he said, "If I can, I plan to retire early & sit back & enjoy life. We’ll travel & see the world."
"All right," said the grandpa, "What then?"
"Well," said the boy, "I guess like everybody else, someday I’ll grow old & die." "All right," said the granddad. "But what then?"
The Gospel is needed because it is the only thing that answers the question, "What then?"
It is true & reasonable, & it is the power of God for our salvation. That is what Paul shared with King Agrippa, & it is what we are sharing with you this morning, too. It is the only thing that works.
So we offer it to you. God is still saying, "Why do you delay? Arise, & be baptized & wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
That’s God’s offer & you’re not going to find a better one. We offer you the wonderful love of God through Christ our Lord, & pray you will respond to it as we stand & as we sing.
