Preaching the Gospel from Acts (Part 2 of 2)

The apostle Paul was imprisoned had opportunity to speak in front of high-ranking government officials, but instead of pleading his own case.

Paul felt compelled to deliver a more urgent message today on Truth for Life. Alastair Begg examines what we can learn from Paul's passion to proclaim the gospel were in acts chapter 26 the humble apostle stands before or this representative of the morally corrupt house of heretics. Agrippa has been clear that he would like to hear. And so here he will.

He gives permission to Paul to speak and notice the little eyewitness observation. So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense so he gives this explanation.

When you have explanation then you get into the journalist approach, which is the who, what, why, where, when, and so if you get that then you can begin to put your paragraph together. So sometimes I comes on like this. I just use the same questions right! Question number one why why why was I doing this King. Why did I all of a sudden get out and start doing this answer because I was appointed because I was appointed. That's why where appointed where you read it in verse 20 in Damascus and Jerusalem and Judea, to the whole world hello world. Wesley said the world is my parish will go where were sent. We will do what were asked we will stay and do as we're told, what, why, because I was and where everybody sent me what's what is it that I am on about where you got it very clear there.

Verse 18 I I'm just trying to encourage people to to learn how to vote properly. I'm seeking to register them so that we cannot overturn the implications of the Roman Empire.

I am and I'm dealing with the problems of homosexuality in the Roman Empire.

II want to address that I'm seeing to get a movement on the go in relationship to a number of these things.

I'm putting together very know know know what what is it what is it that you're on about what I have been sent to open their eyes to turn them from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith is greater calling is to open their eyes, let me ask you how many people's eyes.

Have you ever opened spiritually not that's right. I'm glad you know that how many people if you turn from darkness to light, not how many spiritual resurrections of you presided over zero. Why only God raises the dead. So when you preach what possibility is that if that happened of people's eyes being opened of people being brought from from darkness into light of people being resurrected to new life.

One can plant and another can water, but only God can make things grow, who said that the same Paul who said this is what I'm doing.

I'm opening people's eyes or you are and you aren't right because God redeems people to salvation, but he also remains the means whereby they come to salvation and he uses our words and are stumbling in our bungling. Otherwise we would've any place that's all in the economy of God's redemptive purposes to great privilege, but we got to know our place at all.

He says I've been doing is in keeping with the profits. You can read them for yourself is nothing novel. He says I am come up with anything.

Do these people want to know that I am come with a new bag of tricks. Resist the temptation to think for a minute, especially younger fellows that the congregation is dissuading you for you to get out there with the greatest in the newest idea. There is a new idea under the sun, and what accommodations need is not so much novel or new information as they need to be reminded of what the prophets of written they need to be reminded of what the Scripture says and that's why Paul and Peter do it all the time Nintendo was to remind you of these things so that after my departure.

You may build to bring them to my remember your creator in the days of your youth. Remember, remember, remember, I says Paul not coming to you without any novel or new why because I'm sent where everywhere what in keeping with the profits nothing novel basic Christianity and to whom verse 22 to I have had guards help to this very day and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike to small and great alike. Here's another fallacy that you read about.

You won't be able to preach to anybody unless you've actually experience what experience I you will build it because you have to build to contextualize the thing to the individual. If you think about that. We want to talk to how large a congregation going to be one person to person, maybe three people how you talk to factory workers in working factory hi Mike, I talked to the cardiac surgeons at the number one cardiac hospital in the world. The Cleveland clinic. I'm not a cardiac surgeon to speak to the musicians of the Cleveland Institute. I can play the cello when we know that whether it is Romania, Bulgaria, Korea, China, India, France, Germany, the United States, the heart of man is desperately wicked in the framework in which that man lives no matter how much we endeavor to bridge the gap into where he lives at the end of the day we speak the same message to small and too great alike.

The same message to the intellect the same message to the child, the same message that in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is the one who has come to bear all of our alienation. All of our sin. All of our rebellion. We tell it to the children in the Sunday school. We sit with the attorney in Cleveland. See, it announces the fight that is that he's climbed to the top of his lighter and he doesn't know why he feels the way he feels. With such a sense of futility and emptiness and we say to them. Have you ever consider the possibility that you prop your letter against the wrong wall.

What is that me well here, and what we do we tell the same story. Now, at this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense this grade is not so, actually, and in their in the morass of my notes.

I've now moved from an explanation to that is clear and the explanation involves wife where what Andrew now we have this interruption, which is in verse 24 perhaps Festus was beginning to feel the impact of Paul's words. Perhaps he was regretting the opportunity that he created to have Paul speak. Maybe the whole deal really did fire sound crazy to.

Certainly that's what he does, you're out of your mind Paul you're off your rocker figured you're too clever for your own good. I know this is finals week are getting close to it. Some of you might wish.

The final phrase of five verse 24 was really true of you.

Your great learning is driving you insane. I was sneaking suspicion that maybe the absence of your great learning that striving you and say but I don't want to unsettle you, especially this point in the morning, there's plenty of time left in the day so you got an interruption. What you do with an interruption while here is Paul you notice first of all, that if his explanation is clear. His response to the interruption is kind is kind. You notice he deals with it. Respectfully, I'm not insane.

Most excellent Festus okay is not unkind. He deals with are not only respectfully but candidly what I'm saying is true, and reasonable that the reason that some of his rubber gum tree is because what were saying is only vaguely true and it sounds horribly unreasonable. The apostolic pattern is rationality on fire. It is Augustinian is faith seeking understanding is both true and reasonable response. Respectfully, he responds candidly, he responds skillfully notice what he does the perfect lawyer here.

He divides to conquer he's speaking to Festus and he says the king is familiar with these things, not not unlike yourself. Apparently he doesn't say that this thereby influence the king is familiar with these things and I can speak freely to him. I always again speak freely to you because you're the one who's interrupting you to say that he just knows it festers up with the pieces together. I can speak freely to him. I'm convinced that none of this has escaped his notice.

Unlike your notice of Festus, boy, because it was not done in a corner is a great phrase that is because it wasn't done in a corner. This is an opportunity for us to say that there is light, that there is transparency to the Christian gospel into the Christian message. This is not Scientology where on State Street in Santa Barbara. When you find the Scientology place and you look at it from the outside, you say I'm going in there and it's probably a good idea because when you go in you go in and then then it gets darker, it gets deeper and gets more desperate, like a Mormon Temple darker deeper more secretive, more desperate, not remotely Christian. The closer you get in the Christian life. The closer you get to light and to transparency and to openness and Paul was able to say the Kings gets this because it wasn't done in a corner so the explanation is clear he deals with the interruption in a way that is kind and finally his application is then compelling. His application is compelling. He's referred to the king in the third person and now he breaks the bounds of normal accepted practice and while the king does not sit in the formal position of it as a judge. Nevertheless, he is really assuming the role. On the one thing the one thing the prisoner doesn't do is address the judge directly but Paul is so much committed to his agenda. Now that he breaks the bounds of propriety and he says to the king. King Agrippa, do you I've got a question for you. Do you believe the prophets do believe the prophets, you know, the prophets, you know what the prophet said let me ask you, do you believe the prophets, that's one of the things we consider our Jewish friends. We speak do you believe the prophets buying anything over their heads some good questions are legitimate? Do you believe the prophets, the fight of the matter is most my Jewish friends don't even over the prophets. What they never even read what they said and many times it was ever really know the prophets, then we have an opportunity to say that this is what they said they said that a king would come to rule over all of our rebellion. They said that a priest would come to deal with the predicament of our sin. They said that a prophet would come to speak to our ignorance.

Do you believe the prophets, and then notices little notch. I know you do is go.

Do you believe the brothers are probably not know. Do you believe the prophets, I know you. There's something about Winsome Nissen preaching that can be taught and the way we read this out loud will determine the way in which we understand Paul's approach. So, for example, if you imagine that he was some kind of remote aggregators or products.

I also possible. I don't think so. He was Jewish. I know you do. Paul is a question for Agrippa Agrippa has a question for Paul presumably caught off guard. He responds in standard political fashion. If you don't know how to answer the question you asked respond to the question of your own, Agrippa said to Paul, do you think that in such a short time, you can persuade me to be a Christian. While, as we call a layout now always going to have to do is catch it and just slam it right down through the hoop.

And that's exactly what he does.

Casting his gaze around the room and perhaps with a wave of the arm with which he had motioned in the beginning perhaps we don't know. With both of his arms seeks to gather his listeners to Christ short time along Agrippa. I pray that not only you but all were listening to me here. I become what I think except for these chains. The king rose the door of Providence had swung open for him to hear. For Paul to preach dialogue, explanation, interruption, clarification, invitation, all present Winsome this boldness, urgency I tell you what if you never read this before you get to the end he got all manic to believe that with this finish all the king rose and within the governor burners and those sitting with them and they left the room. If you watched you know any movies from Britain. You know that when the king rises or the Queen rises everywhere else right if you remember Mrs. Brown, the Judy Dentsply Queen Victoria. You know if she if she took her soup spoon everybody to preserve and she put it down.

Everybody put it she starts everyone start she stops everyone starts is unbelievable. Something about much authority and that's exactly what you have LME I dealing you can make me a Christian in such a short time. I'll tell you what I like me, your Christian everybody in the room Christian. The king rose were done now all rise was that they were so start that they wanted out was that they were completely unaffected.

They were bored. It had enough they wanted to move on. They arrived with great pomp. They now leave and Luke tells us the kind of conversation that was going on as they walked out. You know you know the end of a graduation when you when the faculty walkout in on their kind of embarrassed because everybody's still looking at them. The other dumb hat on and the walking down the walking on the delivery. Whatever the say you said to each other. And here they said they left the room and while talking with one another. They said this guy hasn't done nothing to deserve death forces is not. I couldn't agree more.

You know you just overhear a little snippet of the conversation and Agrippa.

He says to Festus, skanky to been set free for an appeal to Caesar know when I was looking in commentaries I found a commentator who said that the imperfect tense whichever one it is the imperfect tense describes the eager conversation all the dignitaries about Paul's wonderful speech might how do you get that from an imperfect tense. The imperfect tense describes the eager conversation of the dignitaries about Paul's wonderful speech. I don't think so. I think it describes the routine jibber jabber that happens every time you preach the gospel every time you lay your heart every time you proclaim the news in such a way that people may have their eyes opened, may have their heart start may be brought from darkness into light may be given forgiveness in the place with those who are sanctified and within an nanosecond of the man of the benediction.

The people are saying are you going to Arby's's or were you going to go for lunch. Did you notice he wore the green tie this morning. I'm surprised I thought he usually wore the blue with the gray suit at that.

The game starts at 2 o'clock what you think we should do. Are you going to be back at 4 o'clock, or will you be my dear friends, it would be enough to drive you to complete distraction when it not for the fact that you believe that God's word. Does this work. This is the apostle Paul. This is the commission servant of God. This is him laying out the story to the best of his physical human ability, and they walk out the door addressing legal technicalities is a bit like a love song of J. Alfred Prufrock is knitting T.S. Eliot and all the people come and go with talk of Michelangelo. How would you finish less if I were preaching this to my congregation.

I would say to them, how are you going to leave. I how are you going to leave, will you bow down as Paul bowed down and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord and King, or will you simply stand up and walk out the door this Sunday, as you've done on so many Sundays passing off what is being said in a way that is trivial, and in a way that is extraneous and then I would've said please don't do that, I beseech you on Christ's behalf don't – off to deal with these trivial matters until you first dealt with this great matter for nothing matters more than this matters, I beseech you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God that our duty is discharged each one of us is called to know how to proclaim a clear gospel message listing to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. Alister will be back close this program with prayer in just a minute, so please keep listening our message today reminds us that the apostle Paul had strong convictions and he wasn't afraid to share his faith with others, but he didn't just preach with urgency. He prayed with boldness to there's a lot we can learn from his example. That's why we want to encourage you to request our current book offer to book title. Pray big. Learn to pray like an apostle. It's a book written by Alister the short book that examines Paul's prayers for the Ephesian church and teaches us how to put Paul's approach to prayer and the practice there's a tremendous amount.

We can learn by studying what Paul prayed for how often he prayed in the confidence with which he came before God in prayer. Whether you pray in public or on your own with your family with your Bible study group will benefit from the book pray big requester copy when you donate today the book comes with a corresponding study guide. Simply click the image in the app or call 888-588-7884. Now here's Alister to close today with prayer.

Our gracious God, how we thank you for the Bible that it really is a lamp to our feet and a light tarp. I thank you that were not left with time magazine and Newsweek in a bunch of crazy nonsense to try and dream up something to say thank you that if we were to expand our whole life's teaching the Bible we would never completed. We would never run out of material we would never exhaust the immensity of its truth. The wonder of its loving impact and I pray for those who are the students of your word who are in the process of being set apart to the ministry of your work that you will free them from all sense of personal preoccupation grant that together we might look away from ourselves to Christ, who is ultimately the preacher is ultimately the great teacher. So help us to this end, we pray, thank you for this time for one another for those whom we represent.

May the grace and mercy and peace from God the father and the son and the Holy Spirit rests upon and remain with each one today and forever more about the pain. Join us tomorrow as Alister concludes the series by turning to the final book of the Bible, seen in the book of Revelation when we see a great multitude that no one can count your face pictured in that crowd was Tuesday Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life Learning is for Living