2024-02-04- Sunday School- Wholehearted Religion

Paul is standing before Governor Festus and wants to go before Caesar. Festus explains the situation to King Agrippa. Paul is on a mission to spread the gospel and is not afraid of the Sanhedrin. The Bible puts us in the conversation between Festus and Agrippa. We should cherish the Bible as it contains everything we need to get to heaven. Jesus prayed for us in John 17, asking God to give us the same love He had for Jesus. It is a precious and intimate moment. Thankful for the victory in Jesus this morning. It's a good way to start the service. I turn with us to Lesson 10 this morning. We're still in the life of Paul. We was kind of joking this morning in the back about the way the Sunday School has been laid out. We've been in Paul for quite some time. It's kind of the theme that he stood before Felix and before Festus and now before Grippa and the angry mob. It's kind of like he's a consistent man. It's like, OK, how's he going to act in front of this man? But he acts the same. I guess that's the point we should take from that. And we'll turn loosely over in Acts 25 and 11, I believe is where we stopped. But the topic this morning in Lesson 10 is wholehearted religion. The theme says, half-hearted religion costs little and does little. Paul was an example of complete devotion to God. His goal was to bring sinners to that same dedication. The introduction this morning says, earlier Paul had been compelled to appeal to Caesar's judgment. This was granted, and he was left bound until his departure. Chains did not keep Paul from trying to convert those most unlikely to receive Christ. He was in great need, yet he turned to help those more bound than himself. His example and message has commitment throughout it. Paul could not convince Agrippa and Festus altogether to become Christians. Possibly he can inspire us to be more wholehearted in our service for the Lord. I'd like to remind you once again, if you haven't listened to John Brock's persuasive preaching on this, it was the Smoky Mountains Ministries Conference. It's tremendous. This text right here really reminds me of that. Last week we left off, like I said, in Acts 25 and 11. If you want to turn with me there, we'll move through a little bit of that rather quickly to catch us up to the point of our lesson today. Just as a reminder, Paul is standing before Governor Festus at this time. Festus was wanting to please the Jews. He asked Paul if he would go to Jerusalem and be judged. But these were spiritual matters, and they wasn't like criminal wrongdoings, Brother Quentin. So it really wasn't a matter for Festus, Governor Festus. He didn't feel like he just didn't really understand. So he wants to bring him back. He wants to take him back to Jerusalem. At first he said, no, I'll judge him. But now he's figured out what's going on, and he's kind of confused. And he said, this might be more of a matter for the Sanhedrin or the council. So he's wanting to send him back. The problem was that the Jews wanted Paul dead. The reason why they wanted him back to Jerusalem is that they was going to ambush him and kill him along the way. So keep in mind that these Jews that are wanting to do this, that's the high priest and these elders, they make up the Sanhedrin. And they were in place to represent and uphold the Mosaic Law. In Exodus, we get one of the shortest versions in the Bible. It is commonly referred to the sixth commandment. Exodus 20 and 13 just simply says, thou shall not kill. We all know that commandment. That's the sixth, we call it the sixth commandment of the Ten Commandments. If you turn with me to Exodus 21 and 12 and 4. God kind of talks about the difference between premeditated murder and kind of more of an accidental murder. Exodus 21 and 12 says, he that smiteth a man so that he die, shall be surely put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand, then I will appoint thee a place where he shall flee. But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him for mine altar, that he may die. So the law is clearly against murder and especially premeditated murder. Anyone that commits murder should be put to death themselves. And this is exactly what the Jews wanted to do to Paul. Acts 25 and 10 says, Acts 25 and 10, I think I told you to go to 11, we'll go to 10 and we'll back up. Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die. But if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. Paul was at a Roman court and states that that is exactly where he should be. He's done nothing wrong to the Jewish people. Festus then grants him his wish to stand before Caesar. But before Festus gets his chance to send Paul to Caesar, he gets a visit by a couple named Agrippa and Bernice. And Acts 25 and 13 says, And after certain days, King Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus. As they're visiting and doing whatever the rich folks do, Festus catches them up on what's going on with this man named Paul. He tells them, I got this man named Paul that Felix kind of stuck me with. The Jews wanted him, but I wouldn't let him go to Jerusalem until I heard what was going on. He's not being accused of anything that I even assumed of. He believes that a man named Jesus is alive, and these Jewish people believe that he's dead. And Felix said, I just don't get it, so I want to send him back to Jerusalem. But Paul insisted on standing before Caesar. But why does Paul want to go, that's paraphrasing of course, but why does Paul want to go before Caesar? Is he afraid of the Sanhedrin? I don't believe he's afraid of them. We've read it a couple times already, but Acts 9 and 10 says, And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, Acts 9 and 10, and there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And unto him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias, and he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, or Tarsus. For behold, he prayeth. And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. So Paul is on a mission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to anyone that he can, including kings. Some say that the theme of Acts is from Jerusalem to Rome, as in Paul took the gospel from Jerusalem and took it to Rome. He's on a mission. And this is fascinating to me. When we're reading inspired word of God, we're placed in a Roman governor's festive house. We hear the conversations that he has between Helaman and King Agrippa. I think that's amazing. They think they're just casually talking about politics and their affairs. But God is in complete control of this conversation. And we get a glimpse. I mean, the Bible puts us right in there to hear what's going on. This is why having and knowing the inspired, preserved word of God is such a luxury to a Christian. God did not have to provide all of this, but he wanted us to have it. And here lies all we need to get us to heaven. We should cherish this Bible. One of the most vulnerable private things that we'll ever do is pray to our Heavenly Father. There are times that I wouldn't mind somebody to hear me pray, Brother Austin. There's things that I say I wouldn't mind. But there are other times that it gets so personal and so intimate that I don't even really want to speak it out loud. And God knows our hearts. If I knew that I had moments to live, that's a prayer that I probably, just to be honest with you, that's a prayer that I probably wouldn't want anybody to hear. You know, I'm going to set my affairs in order. I'm going to make sure, hopefully I already have them in order, but I'm going to reiterate some things that I really probably don't even want to bring up. But through the divine power of the Holy Ghost in John chapter 17, if you want to turn there, it tells us everything that Jesus praised before meeting Judas in the garden. This is his final prayer. First, you'll notice that he prays for himself. And then next is the disciples. But his final words were a prayer for me and you. John 17 and 20. John 17 and 20, he's praying to God about us here. Neither pray I for these alone, talking about the disciples, but for them, us, also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as though Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. And I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. He asked God to give us the same love that he loved Jesus with. Is that not precious for us to know this morning? Those intimate words that the Bible says that Jesus' sweat became as drops of blood. This was a very, very intimate moment that I probably can't even comprehend, but his final words to his Heavenly Father before he went to the cross was reserved for me. I just think it's precious that we get that look. I mean, the Holy Ghost places us in their house. How else would John know what Jesus had been praying? And we've got it all right here. Turn back with me to Acts 25 and 22. Acts 25 and 22 says, Ephesus tells Agrippa the story, and then Agrippa said unto Ephesus, I would also hear the man myself. Tomorrow, said he, thou shalt hear him. 23 says, So we have King Agrippa here and Bernice. They come strutting into the courtroom. The Bible says with pomp, as if they're this great royalty. They're surrounded by soldiers and all these important men. If you were important in Caesarea, you would have been at this hearing. That's another thing about to inspire the Word of God. It's quick to shed light on hypocrisy and vain glory. And 24 says, Both at Jerusalem and also here. For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him. Ephesus presents Paul to the crowd and tells Agrippa, I've heard the case, and I can't find any reason to kill this man. And actually, I feel kind of silly just sending him to Caesar without any charges. And he says, I'm hoping you can find something against him, I'm paraphrasing Brother Ronnie, that I could put in a letter to justify me sending him to Caesar. Basically saying this whole thing just kind of seems crazy to me, but it's what the people want. We're in less than ten, wholehearted religion. Some of these laws that get passed, there's got to be, I'm talking about in today's society, in today's politics, some of these laws today, there's men that can't feel good about some of these laws that they're passing along. But they feel the need to go along with the majority, with the people. There's no way that some of them think that abortion is okay. And there's hypocrisy on both sides. I'm not trying to be political. I can remember, and this ain't really a law or nothing, but I can remember when, back in 2016, and some of it was comical and some of it was just a shame, Trump, he was pretty crass at times, and he went after the character of people or maybe even the looks of people. I remember he said something about Ted Cruz's wife, and Ted Cruz obviously had a problem with that. But just a couple of months later, he was endorsing Trump emphatically. I mean, just because he had to. But there's hypocrisy in today's government. We can relate to these situations here. Getting into the lesson, I'll read the objective. I don't think you guys, maybe some of you don't have the objective. I usually don't read that, but it says, Billy Sunday said that an excuse was the skin of the truth stuffed with a lie. Some people's religion is a poor excuse for Christianity. They have skins of truth without a true heart of service. We want to promote religion that is wholly true to God. That's our objective this morning. He mentioned Billy Sunday. Are you all familiar with Billy Sunday? Have you all done a lot of reading or anything on him? He was pretty interesting. It's not part of my Sunday school lesson, but in the turn of the century, in the 1900s, he was a preacher. He was a baseball player turned preacher, and he was, I guess, really theatrical and anointed, and he caused quite a stir. People will credit him to the Prohibition Act. When they prohibit, they legalized the sale and manufacturing of alcohol in America, and that's pretty amazing that a preacher had influence like that in America. I mean, when's the last time that a preacher has had influence over an election or something like that or even a law that was passed? But he's pretty interesting if you get a chance to look him up. They said he was they act like he was vulgar. He was very plain spoken, and he would mention things on immorality and fornication in a way that they couldn't even publish it in the papers. They said that grown men at any given time in his sermon would faint and pass out at some of the things that was being said. Of course, our society is so desensitized now to stuff like that it has hardly none effect, but I think that's pretty amazing on Billy's Sunday. I read about him maybe a couple years ago. But God and people will know it if we're not truly sold out to him. We must always practice what we preach. I've taught before out of Hebrews 12 and 1. It says, I think I mentioned that in my first Sunday School message, and those cloud of witnesses I believe that he's talking about is referring back to the chapter before that, the heroes of faith, that Moses and Abraham and even some of the New Testament. But there is another cloud of witnesses that we must always be conscious of. That is the lost souls that can pass us every day. They're a witness in our lifestyle. They see what we say and do. They see the places that we go, the things that we choose as entertainment. They're bearing witness to our conduct and our Christian character. They might not even know it, but they're making a judgment whether they prefer our lifestyle over theirs. We don't want to harm our ministry or chance of winning those souls to the Lord by some careless action or deed. What kind of religion does your life promote this morning? Is it separation from this world, completely sold out, or is it on the fence? If we want to win souls, we must be careful. If you live holiness because your wife or husband expects it, people will notice. If you live holiness because you're church affiliation, people will notice that. We must live holiness because our heart tells us to, Brother Ronnie. Ephesians 3 and 14, let me point you there. Ephesians 3 and 14 says, For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye be enrooted and grounded in love. We must have Christ in our hearts by faith, rooted and grounded in love. The Pharisees were grounded in laws and traditions. That is why it didn't work. Romans 6 and 6 says, if you turn back to Romans 6 and 6, it says, Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, doth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. While we're at it, let's skip up to Romans 8 and 1. Just a couple of chapters. Romans 8 and 1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh, God sent in his own Son in likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The strength of the law is based on man's ability to follow it, while grace was paid in full and abounds over sin. The Pharisees not only went by the Mosaic laws, but as we discussed a couple of weeks ago, they added to those laws, Sister Allie, because even they could see men were having trouble obeying the laws. So what was the obvious answer? You can't obey laws, let's make more laws. Romans 7 says, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taken occasion by the commandment wrought in me, all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and died. And the commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taken occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. There was a hotel, Brother Ronnie, I read a story one time, that overlooked a beach. And the hotel owners was concerned that people would try to fish off that balcony. And so they put a sign up that said, No fishing on this balcony. And sure enough, just within a matter of days, they had like hooks and sinkers, and sinkers was busting out windows, and hooks was all over the lower balconies. But they got smart at some point and just took the sign down. They realized that they were just giving the people the idea to do that with that sign. Man is born in sin and prone to fall. Our fallen state can misconstrue the law as a temptation to sin. That's why Paul says, For sin, taken occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. But was the law wrong? Paul says, God forbid. I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. That's Romans 7 and 7. The law exposed sin in man. So it was not sin or wrong, but God saw that man needed more. So he gave his son for us. The Pharisees said, Men aren't obeying laws. Let's make more. Some have referred to those as fence laws. I got this, I read somebody talking about fence laws. It's Joe Amaral in a book called Understanding Jesus. He's a minister in Israel, and he works closely with archaeologists, and he's into Jewish history and things like that. I don't know if y'all have heard of fence laws. These men refer to them as fence laws, and this isn't Bible per se, but these Pharisees, it's what these oral traditions and these laws that they come up with, people are calling them fence laws. And what it is is the process was if a man was given to temptation, why not make a law that keeps man further from doing that thing that they're tempted from, thus putting a fence law around that law so that you would have to hop the fence to go to the Mosaic law. In theory, it doesn't seem like a bad thing, but it wasn't God's plan. God's plan was grace by Jesus. Grace was the answer. I thought to kind of put it in context, it would be like if, let's say, Brother Tim noticed that, and God forbid that pornography was infiltrating the church and people were falling to it, and he said, no more internet in the houses, no more cell phones. It seems like a good idea. But that's a law that he put in place so that men would be abstaining from pornography. They wouldn't have a chance to look at it. But that is adding a law to a law and putting a fence over that law, and we know that pornography is bad and we should abstain from it. But that's more along the lines of legalism. It will never work. We have to abstain from pornography because we want to, because it's wrong to do that, that Jesus died on the cross for that sin, and we should have it in our heart not to do that. It's not by legalism that's going to keep us from doing those things. But Jesus is the answer. Matthew 11, 28 says, Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. It's not a hard way, but if there is something that you are struggling with, Jesus' grace is sufficient for that very thing. We do have an obligation to turn our back on sin and pursue peace, however. Turn to 1 Peter 3 and 11. I heard somebody preaching this week and said, Don't ever apologize for reading the Bible. I feel like we're reading a lot. We do have an obligation to turn our back on sin and pursue peace. 1 Peter 3 and 11 says, Let him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue it. If we have wholehearted religion, which is the title of our lesson this morning, we will not have a problem doing that. We don't go looking for sin and turn around and say, Where are you at, God? You should have kept me from this. We are to ensue peace. Ensue in Greek is dioko, and it means to pursue, follow after, and press toward peace. Anxiety and depression, I believe, is a real thing. I've experienced some of it myself. I'm grateful saying that because I know some people have it way worse than I do, even though there was times that I really, really battled it, and it can be crippling. The Hodge, my cousin Darren died, and we had his funeral this week, and I love being around the Hodge family. But we are, people can tell very quickly that we are very anxious people. We're full of anxiety. That's just a Hodge thing. We have that nervous laugh that usually follows after every sentence. I can remember my mamaw, she's the sweetest lady in the world, but she would laugh at everything, and we have that. I mean, I have it. My cousins, we'll say something, and we'll all laugh, and people kind of make fun of us about it. But that's just our nature. I remember my mamaw, she would find a reason. She had the hardest life of any lady I've ever met, but she was like an angel. I mean, she was built like a baked potato. I mean, she was, and you wouldn't think she was a pretty woman, but when she smiled or laughed, you would forget that, Brother Ronnie. She was like an angel, you know, and she would laugh at anything. I don't know if it was a defense mechanism or what it was, but I can remember talking to her about my Aunt Julie that died of pneumonia when she was six months old, and my mamaw would tell you about it, and then she would stop, and there would be a little dead air for about ten seconds, and then she would just laugh real hard. It's just the way she was, and we're built like that. We're all like that, but anxiety and depression is a very real thing, and self-medication doesn't fix it. You have to pursue peace. It's something that you have to work towards. Laying in bed is not pursuing peace. If you're full of anxiety and depression, just hiding and being a hermit at the house, it won't help it. Self-medication will not help it. You have to pursue that, and you pursue that with prayer and with fasting, with reading your Bible, with going to church and through testimonies. We overcome things like that, and it may be a battle. I don't know if anybody else battles with that, but I surely do. To me, I'm the world's worst to be a Sunday school teacher, but you have to fight against those things. Acts 26 and 1 says, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, give me time to turn back, Acts 26 and 1, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee, touching all things whereof I am accused of the Jews. Reverend Vance points out in the Holiness Heritage that King Agrippa seems to be over Governor Festus in rank because Agrippa is over this examination. From what I gather, the hierarchy at this time would be first Nero, Claudius, Caesar, Augustus, Germanicus, or simply Nero is what we hear is Roman emperor at the very top. Second would be King Herod Agrippa II. The name Herod has shown up a couple of times throughout the Bible. They were Edomites, descendants of Esau. Their close ties to Judaism made them, in the Romans' eyes, perfect to be the king over these Jews. But they were corrupt people. This is Herod Agrippa II. Herod Agrippa I was his daddy, the man that killed the apostle James with a sword in Acts 12 and 2. James was the first apostle to be martyred. The first Herod we come across in Matthew 2 was the grandfather. He was the one that tried to kill Jesus by having every child under the age of two killed in Bethlehem. Third in command would be the Roman governor, Porcius Festus, that we've been reading about. Fourth would be like the high priest of the Sanhedrin and the council. To me, that seems to be the hierarchy at this day and hour. Paul states that he's happy to state his case to King Agrippa. He was straightforward, but he never flattered, as we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, as Tertullus did. But he was respectful. He was always respectful. Most of the time, he greeted mobs and accusers as men, brethren, and fathers. As flattery will not get you very far, rudeness won't either. Concerning Jesus in the book of Luke, after Mary found the young Jesus in the temple talking with the doctors, Luke 2 and 52 says, Jesus and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. It's hard to win someone's soul if you don't first have their heart. Everyone was there to try Paul, but Paul was there to win souls. Whether we go to court, work, the grocery store, a gas station, as a child of God, your top priority of any interaction realistically should be to win a soul. That's our role and should be our dominant position in life. You play many roles in your life. I'm a father. I'm right now a college student. I'm a son. I'm a brother. First and foremost, Brother Ronnie, I'm a Christian. I'm a child of God, and that's my dominant role. And that should always be in my mind that when I meet someone, that is a soul that I could win for the Lord. The task at hand is secondary. If we truly believe that we're just pilgrims passing through, that's the mindset that we will have, and I do feel that myself. And I remember Brother Gerald, and I can't remember what the order of business was, but there was men that come to his house for something. I remember Brother Mark either testifying or telling me about this, but it touches my heart every time. They was there to do something for Brother Gerald, and I can't remember it, but Brother Gerald told them, said, boys, that can wait. He was like, let's, he said, we need to talk about your soul. And I just think it's amazing. I feel that I need to do better at that, but I can't remember what they was there for, but that story always touches me. Acts 26 and 3, there's quite a bit of reading there. Let's go ahead. Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Wherefore, I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life for my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews. Let's read this right here. Acts 26 and 5, does that look right, what I'm reading? Okay. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise are 12 tribes instantly serving God day and night hope to come, for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? I barely thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them often, every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme, and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities, whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests. At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and them which had journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But arise, and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things, in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn from the darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them, which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but she first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the cost of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. So Paul, once again, he gives his testimony, and the change that Jesus' death and resurrection made in him. And this time, Governor Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice, chief captains, and principal men of the city were there. Acts 22 says, Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both the small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people and to the Gentiles. The main point that Paul wanted to get across in this verse 23, I believe, Jesus died and rose again for the sins of every soul, Jew or Gentile. In 24 says, And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad. Let's read In Your Holiness' Heritage, Paul Accused of Being Mad. I like what he said there. Y'all see that? Paul accused of being mad, 24. Thou art beside thyself. It says, The apostle was probably overtaken with emotion while he was preaching. Governor Festus had never seen someone speak with such fervency and conviction. As Paul preached under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, Festus became upset. He could not understand what was taking place. Therefore, he interrupted Paul's message and accused him of being a lunatic. This very accusation displays the way that the world reacts to wholehearted religion. It is all right to feel strongly about other things, but not about God. If an individual is emotional about a ball team, that is one thing. To have a more fervent passion for Jesus is counted strange. It ought to be strange for men to be more excited over something so trivial while they are bored about eternity. Nevertheless, when one has a love for the world, they cannot have this love for God. They will not understand it, but will persecute it and make fun of it. There is a saying that he who screams like a Comanche Indian at the ball game Saturday night will sit like a wooden Indian in Sunday morning church. I never heard that. It was funny. The reason relates to the love in a person's heart. John Wesley's mother told him that anything that cools your affection for God is worldly. Christian friends, let's keep our passion for Christ burning beyond the world's understanding. When the world cannot figure out our devotion, it may be a sign that we have wholehearted religion. If we are sewed up to God, Brother Ronnie, we will find little excitement in this world's entertainment. Paul has been locked up for years. He tried before a Jewish council and two governors and now on a whim, Brother Tim, a king with Bernice and more on that later, waltzes in with an army parade and a big to-do to hear this one man which Festus openly admits, I don't see that he's done anything wrong. And even still, Paul begins by saying, well, King Agrippa, I assure you I'm happy to get this opportunity today. And Festus has the nerve to say, Paul, I think you've gone crazy. Okay, so Paul's poured his heart out to them once again, only to be mocked. Surely this time Paul will tell him like it is. But Acts 26 and 25 says, But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. He calls him most noble Festus. That kind of makes my blood boil. But as Reverend Vance so rightfully points this out in Matthew 5 and 44, But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. That's hard to do sometimes. We should never leave the house without the spirit of the Holy Ghost going with us throughout our day. Much less when we know we're headed for a confrontation. It's hard enough sometimes when you're checking out your groceries and you get a cashier that's in a rotten mood. I know the stakes are way higher than that, but I try to relate it to my everyday situations. Have you ever been through a grocery line and you're being as nice as you can be, and it just seems like they can't stand you just for breathing the same air? That's happened to me a couple times recently. But you just have to be what you're supposed to be, you know, be a Christian. They may just be having a bad day, and it's not for us to give it back to them. I thought there's sometimes, you know, it used to be that a man would hold the door open for a woman. You know, that was customary. I don't think that really happens anymore. You know, we've got this equality thing going on. But sometimes you don't know whether, you know, this world wants you to do it or not. But I try to hold the door open for people, no matter if they're a man or a woman. But sometimes there's a little bit of a distance there, and you're thinking, well, should I do it or not? And you go ahead and do it. And then sometimes they just walk right past you without even acknowledging that you've done anything for them, or they won't even smile or say thanks. And it really can be aggravating sometimes. But we have to be a Christian character. We have to show our Christian character no matter how we are treated in this world. People may not even give us a notice or even notice that we're being a Christian or whatever or acting a certain way, but it's not for us to treat the world the way we are treated. Let's see where I'm at. I'm sorry. Let's keep a right spirit about us. Hebrews 13 and 2 says, remind us to be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. I think that's pretty exciting. Like I said before, this is inspired word of God saying that. That's not some superstition. Festus would say that that's the words of a madman, but I don't think so. Some have entertained angels unawares. Let's read 26. The king knoweth in the wholeness heritage. Got a couple more minutes here. Paul had proof that his words were not the vain babbling of an insane man. Agrippa could speak as a witness about these things. The apostle was confident that something this important was known by the king. It was not done in a corner. Christ was publicly crucified, and the empty tomb was where all could see it. The seal of Rome had been placed upon it to make it distinguishable. All of Jerusalem could testify to the verity of the apostle's claims. But Paul had nothing of which to be ashamed. His message was intellectually solid. It was also historically correct and anointed with the Holy Ghost. Put these together with a heartfelt experience, and it will produce a powerful testimony. Does a Christian have anything of which to be ashamed? Truly, we don't. Then let us all be wholehearted for Christ. One of my favorite scriptures in Paul says to the Romans in Romans 1 and 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, that the just shall live by faith. Reading on in our text, Acts 26 and 27, King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. Paul, I believe, being led by the Holy Ghost, and the only man in the room that truly knew the magnitude of the situation, Brother Ronnie, makes an altar call here, directly to Agrippa first, and then opens it to everyone else. We're not told if any hearts were changed that day, but I like to think so. I would like to persuade men altogether, Brother Austin. If I never do, I want to say that I've tried. So as we're nearing the end of Acts, what is the point, I like to think about, what is the point of Acts? We read Acts 9 and 16, For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. Who is the subject matter of the book of Acts? Is God mad at Paul for kicking against the pricks? Is he making him suffer, going from jail to jail, beat upon, left for dead, shipwrecked for no reason? Is God sitting on his throne like a king with a magnifying glass over some ants, just making him suffer? We know better than that. Paul was simply a witness for the Lord to get the message of Christ to as many parts of the world as possible. The message that salvation is for anybody. But suffering was a large part of Paul's mission. He helped to convert many. But how many of these people in the past several Sunday school lessons that Paul reached were saved? A few people that Paul's witnessed directly to or in front of that we read about in the past couple weeks, there was the high priest who was a hypocrite, Jewish elders which were Pharisees looking to kill Paul, a free mob outside the temple, more Pharisees, more Sadducees, a Roman chief captain, a centurion, Felix, a corrupt extortionist, Festus left Paul in jail and looking to please the Jews, Drusilla, a Jewish adulteress, principal men of the city, more chief captains, and now Agrippa and Bernice. Agrippa, from a long line of corruption in Jewish history, states that Drusilla, if you remember her, Drusilla and Agrippa and Bernice are brothers and sisters. Agrippa, Jewish history tells us that Agrippa and Bernice were in an incestual affair. There's a whole lot of people here. But guess what? They are the subject matter of the book of Acts. I believe that. It doesn't seem that Paul won any of these souls. It doesn't seem like it. His success was not based upon the response of these individuals, but rather his obedience to God. As vile as these men and women were, God loved them, and that meant that they had to hear the gospel. If we're not careful, we will read this book and see a good man versus evil man. But Paul didn't see it that way. If we read it like that, we're missing the point. God loved them, and Paul was willing to be used however the Lord saw fit to get the gospel to them. Let's be careful not to look at people today as us versus them. It's easy to have that outlook. We hear it said all the time. It's a dark hour that we're living in. But we are the light of the world. If it's a dark world, then our light should shine that much brighter. And I'll close with 1 Peter 4 and 10. It says, Every man hath received a gift, even so minister the same once another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.