WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.540 Thanks so much, guys. That's great. Let me pray before we dive into that passage together. 00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:15.140 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in suffering is this. 00:00:15.780 --> 00:00:24.679 Your promise preserves my life. Lord, I pray that this morning by your Holy Spirit, as we spend time in your word, you would give us hope. 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:34.740 That we would find comfort in our suffering and that we would rely on and enjoy the promises that you make to us. 00:00:35.480 --> 00:00:38.240 In Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:48.740 You always loved to visit Tudor Manor. Dr. Black was a fabulous host and he invited the most interesting guests. 00:00:48.740 --> 00:00:54.820 Professor Plum and Miss Scarlet and Colonel Mustard, the whole gang. 00:00:55.380 --> 00:01:07.159 But this weekend, well, you just don't know who you can trust anymore because your host, Dr. Black, has been murdered and no one knows who done it. 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:10.540 Maybe that's a familiar story. It's Cluedo, right? 00:01:10.579 --> 00:01:14.159 The famous board game, the detective story turned into a game. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:19.739 I love detective stories. The Sherlock Holmes stories, I think, in particular, are especially good. 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:27.379 I just love the way, as you watch or you read and the events unfold, you're constantly guessing and trying to work out who the murderer is. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:28.359 Who done it? 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:34.840 You're using all your skills of observation to try and see what Sherlock sees. 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:36.979 But here's the thing. 00:01:37.259 --> 00:01:39.439 You can guess all you like. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:41.239 It's what makes it so gripping. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:43.159 We want certainty. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:46.899 But with those detective stories, you never can be sure. 00:01:48.379 --> 00:01:52.120 But certainty is important to us, isn't it, I think, in life. 00:01:53.159 --> 00:02:01.159 For something to be rational and to make sense, to be true and reasonable, to know that one plus one equals two. 00:02:01.259 --> 00:02:03.900 Maybe the mathematicians here are going to take me aside for that one later. 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.900 But this is much more profound than that, I think. 00:02:07.520 --> 00:02:12.780 Because we also want to know, don't we, is there any certainty in the Christian gospel? 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:19.599 A certain hope that once we die, we might really live. 00:02:20.860 --> 00:02:23.040 That's the promise of Christianity. 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.800 Is it true and reasonable to believe it? 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:31.880 We're in this series in Acts. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.719 It's the second part of a two-part volume written by Luke, the doctor historian. 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:38.080 And this is why he wrote. 00:02:38.320 --> 00:02:41.480 In the first chapter of that first volume, he says this. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:46.860 I, too, decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 00:02:47.380 --> 00:02:51.980 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:58.259 Luke is writing to his mate Theophilus so that he might know, so that we might know, 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:03.819 the certainty of these things, that is, the hope of life after death through Jesus. 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:10.539 And we've been in this second volume, Acts, and we keep coming back to that verse in chapter one. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:11.280 It's verse eight. 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:13.099 You're probably bored of hearing it by now. 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:17.539 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, 00:03:17.620 --> 00:03:23.259 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:03:23.299 --> 00:03:26.759 And we've seen that happen as we've been in this book together, 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:31.219 as the apostles receive the Holy Spirit and that message, it begins to go viral. 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:37.919 And then with Paul, when Paul meets Jesus, it begins to make this move towards the ends of the earth. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:42.079 Paul, he takes the gospel to the Greek-speaking world. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.719 But that's not quite the ends of the earth, that, is it? 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:49.240 What he really needed to do was get to Rome, 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.840 because Rome is the hub of power in the ancient world. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:56.640 Get to Rome, share the gospel there, and it really will go global. 00:03:58.260 --> 00:04:00.580 In fact, that's exactly what Jesus told Paul to do. 00:04:00.660 --> 00:04:04.480 Just a couple of chapters before the one we're in this morning, if you remember it, 00:04:04.540 --> 00:04:07.140 the risen Jesus, he appeared to Paul, and he said to him, 00:04:07.140 --> 00:04:08.000 Take courage. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:13.379 As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome. 00:04:15.219 --> 00:04:18.779 Except if you've been here the last couple of weeks, it doesn't look so good, does it? 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:23.920 Because where we join the story, as we said just before the reading, 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:25.639 Paul, he's in prison. 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:28.680 He's being passed from one official to another. 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:30.339 He's always on trial. 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:33.139 This plan to get to Rome, it looks like it's in tatters. 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:39.699 Last week, we saw Paul being accused by the Jews before this governor Felix, 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:40.919 the Roman governor Felix. 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:44.519 And now, this is two years later, Felix has retired, 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:46.459 and this is where we join the story. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:51.019 Felix is succeeded by this guy Festus, read for us by Beth. 00:04:51.219 --> 00:04:55.180 And Festus seeks the help of King Agrippa, read for us by Matthew. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:58.339 The help of King Agrippa in Paul's case. 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:04.979 And I hope as we see Paul before this king, we're going to see four ways that this gospel message brings certainty. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.859 Firstly, because it is power without pomp. 00:05:10.179 --> 00:05:12.299 Because it has hope at its heart. 00:05:12.919 --> 00:05:14.879 Because that is a hope for all to hear. 00:05:15.239 --> 00:05:17.139 And because it relies on a response. 00:05:17.419 --> 00:05:18.839 We'll just walk through it together like that. 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:20.879 So first, power without pomp. 00:05:20.979 --> 00:05:23.319 Let's dive in at verse 13 with this king. 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:26.079 King Agrippa, he's ethnically Jewish. 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:30.699 He's reigning as the local king, but under Roman rule, as we said. 00:05:30.819 --> 00:05:33.180 And he visits Festus, the Roman governor. 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.839 And Festus tells Agrippa all about the argument between the Jews and Paul. 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.620 But see in verses 18 and 19, read those with me. 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:47.759 They, that is the Jews, did not charge him, Paul, with any of the crimes I had expected. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:57.560 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus, whom Paul claimed was alive. 00:05:59.180 --> 00:06:02.099 Well, see, this is what it really all hangs on for Luke. 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:03.599 This was Paul's defense. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:04.539 Jesus died. 00:06:05.539 --> 00:06:07.539 Jesus is alive. 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:10.560 And the king is interested. 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:12.439 See what he says in verse 22? 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:16.019 I would like to hear this man myself. 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:21.379 And so Paul is to defend himself again now before the king. 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:26.160 And I just want you to picture the courtroom as it's described in these verses. 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:30.240 As Agrippa and Bernice, they enter with great pomp in verse 23. 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:36.000 They'd have been adorned in the deep purple of royalty, their cloaks trailing behind them, 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:39.639 followed by a great procession of high-ranking military officials. 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:43.879 Picture them all in their ceremonial dress and all the prominent men of the city. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:49.759 And then there's Festus, no doubt out-pumping them all in the red regalia of the Roman official. 00:06:50.459 --> 00:06:54.099 If you're struggling to picture that, I guess it's something similar to what we might see today. 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:59.419 Right at a royal wedding or the jubilee or whatever, as the queen is there in her royal robes, 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:03.860 followed by all the big-wig military guys and all the politicians in tow. 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:05.620 This is the pomp. 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:08.019 And then comes Paul. 00:07:08.780 --> 00:07:10.819 In verse 24, Festus said, 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:14.100 King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man? 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:16.959 Can you guys picture Paul? 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:18.040 Do you see this man? 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:20.560 By all accounts, he was an unimpressive man. 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:24.019 He was short and balding and bandy-legged. 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:28.600 But even beyond that, he's been in prison for two years. 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:31.280 Picture what he must have looked like. 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:38.839 Unshaven, unwashed, maybe a bit like me, but wrists and ankles in chains. 00:07:39.659 --> 00:07:39.879 Right? 00:07:39.919 --> 00:07:43.479 He couldn't be in more contrast with the pomp that is around him. 00:07:44.679 --> 00:07:46.759 But remember what Paul's message was. 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:48.519 Why is he there in the first place? 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:53.659 It's all because Jesus died and rose again. 00:07:53.879 --> 00:08:00.000 It's because he follows a risen savior who is all about power without pomp. 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:02.879 In some ways, I don't think that should surprise us. 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:04.719 We kind of love that story, don't we? 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:09.759 And what is it about Sherlock Holmes that we find so fascinating about him as a character? 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:11.199 I mean, yeah, he's a genius. 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:12.620 He has a powerful mind. 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:17.139 But in some ways, I think it's the surprise of that because he's also addicted to opium. 00:08:17.699 --> 00:08:19.019 He's a scruffy dresser. 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:21.160 He's massively antisocial. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.540 I think something about us is attracted to that sort of power without the pomp. 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:30.420 And Jesus, well, he's the God of this universe. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.200 He is infinitely powerful. 00:08:33.060 --> 00:08:35.600 He is the word by which the world was created. 00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:38.220 He is the word by which you were created. 00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:39.299 I was created. 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:46.159 And yes, his courtroom in heaven is infinitely more glorious than anything the Roman Empire could have conjured. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:53.500 And yet he became flesh, not as a worldly king, but as an ordinary child. 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:58.359 Born in the outhouse of an inn, placed in a manger. 00:08:59.179 --> 00:09:00.859 He was from a backwater town. 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:06.419 And he conquered evil, not with the sword, but by dying on a cross. 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:15.099 And then when he rose again, he didn't appear with trumpets and an army, but to ordinary men and women, his friends. 00:09:16.219 --> 00:09:19.219 You see, this Jesus is all about power without pomp. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:26.000 And I just find that so reassuring today, because no matter how hard we try to dress it up, 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:31.519 to increase the production value and demand excellence in everything we do at church, 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:38.660 to carry influence in the world, to have the appearance of power, worldly power, to look good to those outside the room. 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:43.000 Maybe even if we want to see regular miraculous power here. 00:09:43.539 --> 00:09:46.839 Well, how discouraging it is when that's what we've been looking for. 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:49.299 Because we're not going to find it here. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:52.259 The truth is, what we're doing here is pretty unimpressive. 00:09:54.439 --> 00:09:58.279 Christ's church doesn't look like much, and it's not supposed to. 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:04.459 Because we follow a savior who demonstrated his power by dying on a cross. 00:10:04.579 --> 00:10:06.360 It's power in weakness. 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:09.759 It's power without the pomp. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:16.759 And that is so encouraging, because it means we don't need this thing to look powerful in order to have certainty about it. 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:20.980 Instead, we see this is how God works through weakness. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:25.399 Ordinary men and women like you and like me. 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:30.159 Just notice, and I'm going to break all the rules and jump right to the end of our passage. 00:10:30.539 --> 00:10:33.059 In verse 32 of chapter 26. 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:36.179 Agrippa said to Festus, 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:40.980 This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. 00:10:41.740 --> 00:10:44.019 You see, Paul always wanted to go to Rome. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:46.860 Jesus had told him that that was where he was going, 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:50.340 to the center of power in order for the gospel to go global. 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:52.840 And yet this is how he got there. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.220 Bound in chains. 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:59.379 A prisoner of the empire simply appealing to Caesar. 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:05.059 You see, even when things seem to be going totally pear-shaped for the spread of the gospel, 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:10.259 even when it looks as though Paul's mission to get to Rome is totally failing, 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:13.199 God is powerfully at work. 00:11:14.459 --> 00:11:17.059 And there's a wonderful comfort for us in that too, isn't there? 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:23.559 I know that I am most prone to doubts, to questioning the certainty of the gospel when life isn't going to plan. 00:11:24.619 --> 00:11:25.879 I guess that's pretty normal. 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:27.299 It's often trivial. 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:31.239 I'm really just annoyed at God for not letting my plans come to fruition. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.039 But it can look more serious than that. 00:11:34.119 --> 00:11:35.159 It was for Paul. 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:39.199 Think if I was thrown into prison for proclaiming the resurrection, 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:45.179 if that was where I found myself, I'd definitely be facing doubts about the certainty of the gospel, wouldn't you? 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:50.539 And yet it's through Paul's chains that God is at work. 00:11:50.539 --> 00:11:59.399 It's when Paul's plans to go to Rome seem most unlikely that God is going to get in there and that the gospel is going to go viral. 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:06.639 And so in that moment, when we are most tempted to doubt the certainty of the gospel, 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:15.899 we need to know this is how God is at work, through weakness, through power without pomp. 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:20.860 The gospel message also brings certainty with hope at its heart. 00:12:20.939 --> 00:12:23.699 This is our second heading, hope at its heart. 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:25.959 We're into chapter 26. 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:31.939 Paul is given the opportunity to defend himself and he's grateful to be before Agrippa. 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:36.159 See in verse 2 of chapter 26, he counts himself fortunate. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:36.679 Why? 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:43.679 Well, in verse 3, it's because Agrippa is well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:48.659 So Paul, he's appealing to Agrippa's Jewish heritage. 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:54.039 And so he says in verses 4 to 6, basically what he's saying in those verses, 00:12:54.239 --> 00:12:57.879 I am a Jew and I've always lived as a faithful Jew. 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.620 More than that, as the strictest sort of Jew, a Pharisee. 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:08.399 What Paul's doing there, he's establishing his credentials because he knows that Agrippa respects the Jews. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:12.360 And so he's saying it so that what he says next has a foundation. 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:14.399 See what he says next in verse 6? 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:15.899 This is key. 00:13:17.459 --> 00:13:23.659 It is because of my hope in God, in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.439 He sort of repeats that in verse 7. 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:31.919 It's the promise that the 12 tribes, just Israel, are hoping to be fulfilled. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:36.059 It is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:38.959 What is this hope? 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:46.959 Well, it's the hope that God would do something to defeat evil so that his people might live with him forever. 00:13:47.099 --> 00:13:48.519 It's the hope of eternal life. 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:55.719 But this hope is fulfilled in a surprising way, as we've seen, not by some great battle, but through death and resurrection. 00:13:55.939 --> 00:14:01.539 See here again, the resurrection of Jesus remains at the heart of Paul's defense. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:03.379 Have a look at verse 8. 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:05.179 It's a brilliant question. 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:09.120 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:11.279 It's a really good question, that, isn't it? 00:14:11.979 --> 00:14:14.419 I mean, the resurrection is impossible. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:18.459 For many, I think this is the stumbling block to Christian certainty. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:20.879 Jesus seems like a good guy. 00:14:21.459 --> 00:14:23.639 His sacrificial death is inspiring. 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:26.519 But resurrection is impossible. 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:29.199 And so it can't be true. 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:37.000 But according to Luke, the resurrection is key to the certainty that he wants to give. 00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:41.480 You know, there really is, there's great evidence that Jesus didn't just stay dead. 00:14:41.900 --> 00:14:45.120 But before you accept that, you have to acknowledge this, don't you? 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:51.660 If God exists, and if he is the loving creator of the world, if he has that sort of power, 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:54.740 well, then of course he has the power to raise the dead. 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:57.600 Why should any of you consider that incredible? 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.060 Maybe you're here this morning and you're interested in Christianity. 00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:04.100 Maybe you don't know loads about it. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:09.580 Or you've been around for a while, but you struggle with doubts about this, about the truth of it all. 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:14.919 If that's you, can I encourage you to just keep coming back to this? 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.379 Because this is a question that's really worth pushing at. 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:21.120 Did Jesus really come back from the dead? 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:28.980 Really, just personally for me, it's this question that convinced me of the truth of this faith of Christianity. 00:15:29.439 --> 00:15:30.860 Maybe it could do that for you too. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:32.399 Keep pushing at it. 00:15:33.700 --> 00:15:37.399 In our text, Paul, he goes on to tell his own story. 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:42.840 In verses 9 to 11, he tells Agrippa just how opposed he was to Jesus. 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.519 In verse 11, he was obsessed. 00:15:47.379 --> 00:15:49.780 He literally hunted Christians. 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:51.639 It's just worth noticing. 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:55.639 See that Paul isn't scared to tell this uncomfortable bit of his story. 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:59.700 He's not scared to tell Agrippa about what he was like before he met Jesus. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.580 I've just finished reading a brilliant book about a man called Brownlow North. 00:16:05.060 --> 00:16:09.740 North was an aristocrat in the 18th century and he lived just however he pleased. 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:14.399 He was infamous for his ability to drink and smoke and gamble the night away. 00:16:15.539 --> 00:16:21.919 And then he met Jesus and he became one of the most well-renowned preachers in Scotland in his day. 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:29.100 And one Sunday, he was due to preach to a large congregation when he received a letter from an old drinking partner. 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:33.259 And the letter accused him of deep hypocrisy. 00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:39.419 It outlined some of his grievous sins that he had committed in the past. 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:48.539 And it threatened to literally stand up in that worship service and reveal to tell the truth about who Brownlow North was if he dared to preach. 00:16:48.539 --> 00:16:57.379 And so when North did get up to preach, the first thing he did, he opened that letter and he read it in front of the church, 00:16:58.079 --> 00:17:05.460 admitting all of his past sin and then going on to explain how meeting Jesus had totally transformed his life. 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:09.779 Friends, we must not be scared to admit what we once were. 00:17:09.779 --> 00:17:18.000 And whether you have a dramatic story like that or not, if you're here today and you have encountered the risen Jesus, 00:17:18.139 --> 00:17:23.420 and we simply do that as we spend time in his word and as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:27.579 if you know Jesus, you have a wonderful story to tell. 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:29.359 Why? 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:34.559 Well, because the world that we live in is without hope. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.159 We live in a hopeless world. 00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:40.960 We all live in the valley of the shadow of death. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:47.179 But if you know Jesus, you know the man who faced that death and yet came through the other side. 00:17:48.139 --> 00:17:51.519 And so now you have a certain hope that you might do the same. 00:17:52.419 --> 00:17:55.519 You've moved from hopeless to hopeful. 00:17:56.179 --> 00:17:59.659 And there is no greater story than this. 00:18:00.379 --> 00:18:02.259 Because it has hope at its heart. 00:18:02.259 --> 00:18:02.759 Right? 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:07.680 We see that the gospel message, it brings certainty because it is power without pomp. 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:10.299 Because it has hope at its heart. 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:14.420 And that hope is hope for all to hear. 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:19.920 Our third heading this evening, this morning, sorry, hope for all to hear. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:25.559 As Paul encounters the risen Jesus, he's given a job to do. 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:26.900 He's given a purpose. 00:18:26.900 --> 00:18:29.480 See in verse 16, as Jesus speaks to Paul, 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:37.700 I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:44.860 The purpose of encountering the risen Jesus is that Paul might become a servant. 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:51.500 That his life might be transformed from persecuting Jesus to serving him in worship. 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:58.680 And more than that, to being a witness, to sharing this encounter that he's had with Jesus. 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:03.339 Paul's is a life transformed into worship and into witness. 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:06.319 And exactly the same is true of us today. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:09.819 If you have encountered the risen Jesus for us, 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:13.559 it is so that our lives might be transformed too. 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:16.740 Into a life of serving him in worship. 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:22.019 Guys, Jesus's purpose for the Christian is so much more than turning up or tuning in on a Sunday. 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:25.799 But to get stuck in at church, get yourself on a rotor, 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:28.380 help with the teas and coffees or with the youth ministry, 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:31.920 join a small group, volunteer at food bank. 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:35.380 As we serve one another, as we serve our community, 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:38.000 we serve and we worship Jesus. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:44.599 And not only that, because Jesus also has a purpose for us to witness to a watching world, 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:48.940 to actively seek to share the good news of Jesus with the people around us, 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:53.519 to tell his story from hopeless to hopeful. 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:57.539 It's the purpose of every Christian to worship and to witness. 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:02.319 But Paul is also given a very specific purpose. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:07.059 See in verse 17 and 18, he is sent to the Gentiles. 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:08.419 That's just non-Jews. 00:20:08.419 --> 00:20:12.919 To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:14.940 This is huge, guys. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:20.099 Without this commission, you and I would never have had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:23.480 This is such a key piece to our story. 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:28.500 See in verse 20, Paul is fulfilling Acts chapter 1 verse 8. 00:20:28.859 --> 00:20:33.539 He shared it in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:20:33.539 --> 00:20:39.159 He goes to the Gentiles because this message, it's hope for all to hear. 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:44.399 In verse 22, that looks like the small and the great alike. 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:47.200 We've seen that again, haven't we? 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:51.039 As we've gone through this series, the gospel shared with all sorts of people. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:56.579 An Ethiopian eunuch, humble tent makers, Athenian philosophers, Judean kings. 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:59.000 It's hope for all to hear. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:00.319 It's hope for me. 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:02.279 It's hope for you. 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:08.259 And so I guess of most importance this morning, do not write yourself off from this hope. 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:12.619 If you're here today and you think you couldn't possibly be a Christian, 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:17.759 that the stain of your past is too deep, for whatever reason, you need to know, 00:21:18.099 --> 00:21:20.099 it doesn't matter who you are. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:22.319 It doesn't matter where you come from. 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:24.759 It doesn't matter how you feel about yourself. 00:21:24.899 --> 00:21:26.200 It doesn't matter what you've done. 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:28.000 There is hope for you in Jesus. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.480 Jesus is more than sufficient for you. 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:39.759 Would you take your eyes off yourself and what the world says about you and your sins and fix your eyes on Jesus and his mercy? 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:42.059 For he will not disappoint. 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:44.940 I just love that song. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:46.799 Our sins, they are many. 00:21:47.639 --> 00:21:49.740 His mercy is more. 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:54.059 And if you're here and you've written someone else off. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:57.720 I've said this before, but it's so important. 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:02.620 If you've decided that for whatever reason, someone you're trying to share the gospel with, 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:06.740 or someone you're friends with, or someone you know could never be a Christian, 00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:10.599 you need to know that Jesus is more than sufficient for them. 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:14.419 And who are you to give up on them? 00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:19.799 Would we continue to share the gospel with the most unlikely people? 00:22:19.919 --> 00:22:21.799 And would we get on our knees and pray? 00:22:21.959 --> 00:22:24.219 This is hope for all to hear. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:31.019 The gospel message, it brings certainty because it is power without pomp, with hope at its heart. 00:22:31.199 --> 00:22:33.819 And that is a hope for all to hear. 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:39.319 As we come into land and we think about what to do with this message, 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:43.139 we need to see that it relies on a response from all of us. 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:49.879 You see, this is hope for all to hear, but it is not counted as hope by all who hear it. 00:22:50.899 --> 00:22:57.839 Because not everyone will respond by submitting to Jesus and accepting the free gift of eternal life. 00:22:58.439 --> 00:23:02.399 There will be those who scoff at the gospel message. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.660 And there will be those who simply sidestep it. 00:23:06.300 --> 00:23:08.400 Those are the responses we see in the passage. 00:23:08.620 --> 00:23:13.280 See in verse 24 of chapter 26, as Festus shouts at Paul, 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.519 You are out of your mind, Paul. 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:18.680 Your great learning is driving you insane. 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.019 You're mad, Festus scoffs. 00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:26.880 Maybe you're here this morning, and if you're honest, this is really your heart response. 00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:30.880 I suspect you're probably a bit too polite to actually laugh at us. 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:34.200 But you can't help but think it's all a bit ridiculous. 00:23:35.540 --> 00:23:39.300 If that's you, consider how Paul replies in verse 25. 00:23:40.580 --> 00:23:41.340 I'm not insane. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:44.980 What I'm saying is true and reasonable. 00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:49.120 See, Paul has certainty about what he has seen. 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:49.960 It's true. 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:53.940 He says, I've seen it with my own eyes, but it's also reasonable. 00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:57.660 C.S. Lewis said it like this. 00:23:58.620 --> 00:24:02.559 I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:09.700 Not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else. 00:24:11.100 --> 00:24:13.980 Not only because he's seen it, but because it's reasonable. 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:16.940 It makes sense of the world that we live in. 00:24:16.940 --> 00:24:19.779 But Festus scoffs. 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:21.860 What does Agrippa do? 00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:23.299 Well, Agrippa sidesteps. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:26.380 See, in verse 28, Agrippa says to Paul, 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:30.320 Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? 00:24:32.059 --> 00:24:34.440 See, that's not really a response at all, is it? 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:35.720 He's heard the message. 00:24:35.840 --> 00:24:38.259 He has everything he needs to respond. 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:40.440 And he's decided to delay. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.039 To sidestep the issue. 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:45.079 Which is crazy. 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:47.660 It's like, imagine playing Cluedo. 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:50.859 If you know how the game works, if you don't, forgive this analogy. 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:53.440 But you've collected all the evidence that you need. 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:57.619 You know that it was Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick. 00:24:58.059 --> 00:25:00.279 But you think, I'll just keep playing the game for a bit. 00:25:01.140 --> 00:25:02.240 I'm having a good time. 00:25:02.299 --> 00:25:04.319 I don't need to do anything with this knowledge yet. 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:09.059 Doing that, if you understand Cluedo, would just make no sense. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:10.819 You have everything you need. 00:25:10.899 --> 00:25:11.759 Why delay? 00:25:14.379 --> 00:25:17.079 And Paul's response to Agrippa in verse 29. 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:19.419 Short time or long. 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:25.519 I pray to God that not only you, but all who are listening today may become what I am. 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.200 They have everything they need, these guys. 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:30.299 They've heard the message. 00:25:30.299 --> 00:25:34.319 And yet, Fester scoffs and Agrippa sidesteps. 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:38.480 But the response that the gospel message relies on is to submit. 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:45.819 As we've seen, it's submitting to live a life of worshipping Jesus and witnessing to what you've seen of him. 00:25:47.159 --> 00:25:51.059 When I was at university, I lived something of a double life, if I'm honest. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.059 I'd grown up in a Christian home. 00:25:54.059 --> 00:25:57.839 And so when I got to university, I felt a natural sort of attraction to church. 00:25:57.879 --> 00:26:00.579 And I went along most Sundays. 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:05.039 I don't know what brought you here this week, but I was there every week. 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:07.259 And I think I believed what was being taught. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:10.980 But I was also living like all the other students around me. 00:26:11.679 --> 00:26:13.399 Heavily involved in the rugby club. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:15.379 No different to any of the other guys there, really. 00:26:15.659 --> 00:26:17.279 It's not that I scoffed at the gospel. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:21.119 But I definitely wasn't living in submission to Jesus. 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:25.220 Mine was not a life of worship and witness. 00:26:25.879 --> 00:26:27.440 Because I'd done the sidestep. 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:31.339 And then one day, this Christian guy, he sat me down. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:32.619 He's now a very good friend of mine. 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:33.899 And he really challenged me. 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:36.779 He said, do you really believe this message? 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:39.559 Because if it's true, it relies on a response. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:40.879 What are you going to do with it? 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:48.840 And so I decided that in that moment, what I really needed to do was commit to working out whether I really believed it was true. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:57.740 And, you know, the more questions that I asked of the Christian faith, and this remains true today, the more answers I found. 00:26:58.580 --> 00:27:03.900 The more I push the power without pomp, hope at its heart, hope for all to hear. 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:10.400 The deeper I swim in the waters of the gospel, the more true and reasonable it seems. 00:27:11.840 --> 00:27:14.580 And so can I urge you this morning as we finish. 00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:20.900 Wherever you're at in response to this message, if you've been a Christian for 50 years or for five, 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:25.680 or if you're just thinking about these things for the first time, don't stop pushing at this. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:28.620 Don't just laugh it off. 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:30.580 Don't sidestep the issue. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:33.140 But seek answers to your questions. 00:27:33.140 --> 00:27:39.780 Because I really believe that this message is true, and it's reasonable, and it makes sense of the world that we live in. 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:44.240 And the best thing that you can do with your life is to submit it to Jesus. 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:51.399 Allow him to take your life and shape it into one of worship and of witness. 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:56.200 Because this is the only place that you're going to find a certain hope. 00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:04.539 The truth is, however true and reasonable this message is, though, you and I, we're humans and we're weak, 00:28:04.539 --> 00:28:10.299 and we desperately need the spirit of Jesus to help us to respond to this message rightly. 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:13.680 And we're about to sing this wonderful song. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:15.420 Would we make it our prayer together? 00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:17.980 It goes like this. 00:28:18.060 --> 00:28:22.940 When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast. 00:28:23.580 --> 00:28:28.960 When the tempter would prevail, he will hold me fast. 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:33.480 And so just before we sing and as the band come up, let me pray. 00:28:33.560 --> 00:28:34.259 Shall we pray together? 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:54.259 Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for Jesus, for his death, for his resurrection, for the promise of hope, of life after death. 00:28:54.259 --> 00:29:03.559 But Lord, we confess we are prone to doubt as we struggle through life. 00:29:04.339 --> 00:29:08.019 Prone to forget the true and reasonable gospel. 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:20.240 And so would you, by your Holy Spirit, be present to us this morning and make your gospel known to our hearts, 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:25.059 that we might worship you and witness of what we've seen. 00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:29.480 In Jesus' name, amen.