 Today, here we are. We'll move into our study. We're in Acts chapter 25, and we're also going to go into chapter 26. I'll be honest with you. Let's see if that happens. What I will do is I will be doing a lot. Chapter 25 will be almost just short clips, short statements. When we move into chapter 26, we're going to continue doing that because they're traveling through a lot of territory today. But at certain places, I'm going to rest. I'm going to share some things that I think have practical application. And so this is a bit different. Most of you already know the style of teaching I have. This is a bit different than what I normally, how I normally teach, but I saw that chapters 25 and 26 connected. And so I'd ask you to have some patience with me as I work through this, but we will be getting into application as, especially as we enter into chapter 26. So let's begin at verse 1 here. Acts chapter 25. I'll read to verse 3, and we'll get into our study. Acts chapter 25. I chose to entitle this. This is Paul's trial, but I'm calling it a missed opportunity, and you'll see why in just a moment. Acts 25 beginning at verse 1. Now when Festus had come to the province after three days, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they petitioned him, asking a favor against him that he would summon him to Jerusalem while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. So as we enter into our study, let me give you a little bit of a context, a little summarization, and then introduce what we're looking at. We know that that Felix has been replaced by Festus as governor. According to chapter 24, verse 27, Paul had been in what we would call house arrest for two years. So during this time, Felix had heard Paul often. And yet as we saw last time, he never showed any conviction, because according to verse 26 of chapter 24, his real motive in listening to Paul all this time was his hope to receive a bribe. Well, he didn't receive that bribe. So wanting to do the Jewish authorities a favor in order that he might appropriate influence, he left Paul in jail. Now, part of the reason why he wanted to curry favor with the Jewish authorities is because he had crushed an outbreak in the place called Caesarea. He had intervened with troops and he had killed Jewish leaders. So he wants to satisfy their concerns about Paul and that's why he left them there. And that's why he's treating them in the way that he has been treating them. Well, according to verses one through three, Festus comes now and after three days, he goes up. So his goal is to meet with the Jewish leadership. That would be the high priest in the council. He had just been installed in office. So he's trying to, they're trying to influence him. And so what they do is this, the high priest and all come in, they begin to speak to him and they want to influence him concerning Paul. Even after two years, they haven't forgotten about him. And they're asking that Paul be sent to Jerusalem under a pretense of wanting to give him a trial. But what they're really doing is they're wanting to kill Paul by ambush. They already wanted to do that. As we've seen earlier, they wanted to do that two years before. But as this is taking place, verse four, Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself was going there shortly. Therefore, he said, let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man to see if there's any fault in him. And when he had remained among them more than 10 days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. And so the proper place for Paul to be tried would have been in Caesarea, not in Jerusalem. So he's simply saying, if you desire, you can come there and you can present your case against Paul. It says again in verse six, when he had remained among them more than 10 days, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove while he answered for himself, neither against the law of the Jews nor against the temple, nor against Caesar. Have I offended in anything at all? So all he's doing is he's dealing with the fact that these are serious charges, yet they're non verifiable. And he says, I haven't broken the law. I haven't offended the law of Moses, nor have I profaned the temple. I'm not guilty of sedition, which was the original charge. And so he's basically defending himself. But again, verse nine, Festus wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things? Festus is proposing a compromise. Will you go to Jerusalem to be judged is the compromise. But notice Paul's response in verse 10. Paul said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I've done no wrong as you very well know. I'm not willing to accept your compromise because they're not seeking justice. They're seeking my life. And Paul is upset that justice is not being served, and thus he rejects the compromise. He's simply saying, I'm a Roman. I expect Roman law to be served right here where it ought to be served. And if I've done something worthy of death, then I do not refuse to die. He says in verse 11, if I'm an offender or have committed anything deserving of death, I don't object to dying. But if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. And then he says, I appeal to Caesar. If you will not serve justice properly, I will go to the highest court, the court in Rome. Well, when he says that verse 12, Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, you've appealed to Caesar, the Caesar, you shall go. That was sarcasm. That was he was upset with what he was saying. And so he says, listen, I'm more than willing to release you to Caesar because that relieves me of any pressure. But I know that in a Roman trial, it doesn't mean you're going to have a fair judge. It doesn't mean you'll have a quick trial, and it doesn't even mean that you'll receive proper judgment. But seeing that you want to go there, you've made the decision, it's up to you, you can go. Verse 13, after some days, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. I had a cousin named Bernice, but it's not the same one. When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king saying, there is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix about whom the chief priest and the elders of the Jews informed me when I was in Jerusalem asking for a judgment against him. And so what we have here, and let me introduce to you these two characters, we have Agrippa and Bernice. This Agrippa here, if you take notes, is actually Agrippa the second. He is the son of Agrippa the first. Agrippa the first is the one who killed the apostle James as is recorded in chapter 12 of Acts. Bernice is not his wife. Bernice is his sister. But they're involved in an incestuous affair. Now, John MacArthur said, Bernice would occasionally leave her brother and lover for another man. She was also the mistress of Emperor Vespasian and later of his son Titus, but always returned to Agrippa. Now, he did not govern in Judea, but he did have control of the temple treasury. And he was considered by Rome to be an expert on Jewish affairs. And so that's who you're looking at here. In verse 14, it says, when they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king saying, there's a certain man left a prisoner by Felix about whom the chief priest and elders of the Jews informed me when I was in Jerusalem asking for a judgment against him. To them I answered, it is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him. Therefore, when they had come together without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. And so he begins to give to him some of the details. It's not that he wanted a fair case, but he really wanted judgment against Paul as he's speaking this. So in verse 18, when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, notice, who had died whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Now I expected to judge a civil matter, not a religious one. And this is what's taken place is this is really a question of religion. I want you to notice what he says in verse 19. We'll look at that for a moment. He says it's concerning a certain Jesus who had died whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Once again, what we're dealing with is the resurrection. Does the resurrection matter? I was taking a class in a Christian college years ago now and the professor asked the question, does it really matter whether Jesus was literally resurrected? And the way he asked the question actually revealed that he didn't think it did. And that to me is an amazing thing that a Christian professor, at least a professing Christian professor would ask the question of whether or not the resurrection in literal form actually happened, whether that mattered. Because the bottom line is is all Christianity and your Christian faith rests on the resurrection. If Jesus Christ died and remained in the grave, then your gospel message is a lie. And thus there was one who said, I believe it could have been C.S. Lewis who said that Jesus is either a lunatic, a liar, or he's the Lord. Because Jesus Christ made such claims concerning his whole life as it related to him being Messiah that his claims to be Messiah would be justified. They'd be demonstrated to be true by his resurrection. So when you have the question here that's being presented and he's speaking concerning the resurrection, and he says, well, Jesus died, but Paul says he's alive. That's the real core of your faith. Jesus Christ died was buried the third day resurrected from the dead. That's what we preach. That's what we celebrate every Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And from the very beginning, the resurrection was attacked. And from the very beginning, the belief in the resurrection was rejected. And you even see that in the case of the Apostle Paul, who's standing before one, who is going to be making judgment concerning him. And as they're preparing for that particular trial amongst themselves, they're saying, Paul says that Jesus is alive, but we know he's dead. It's a question of resurrection. So the teachings of Christ all rest on that one event. Never forget that. It all rests on that. In John chapter two, verses 18 through 22, the Jews answered and said to Jesus said to him, what sign do you show to us since you do all these things? Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up. The Jews said it has taken 46 years to build this temple. And will you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking of the temple. Of his body. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them. They believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said from the beginning of his ministry. When he cleansed the temple for the first time, they said, by what authority do you do this? Destroy this temple in three days. I will raise it up. How are you going to raise this temple on? They've been working out for 46 years and in three days, but then we see he spoke of the temple of his body. Jesus' entire ministry rests on the resurrection. And that's what is being debated here when he says, a certain Jesus who had died whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Verse 20. And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judge concerning these matters. But when Paul said, judge concerning these matters, but when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar. And so he's saying we're holding him because he wants to go Caesar. Verse 22. Agrippa said to Festus, I also would like to hear the man myself tomorrow. He said, you shall hear him. So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, I don't know who he is, but he sounds important, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city. At Festus' command, Paul was brought in. You've got to look at this for just a moment. What we have here is an incredible scene. We don't understand pageantry, though we have some forms of it today. But during this day, this would have been an incredible scene. You have Agrippa, you have Bernice, they come into a hall. There are five tribunes who are high-ranking military officials or commanders of cohorts. A cohort is made up of 500 soldiers. So you have what are called tribunes, five of them. And you have the prominent leaders. Agrippa would have been wearing royal purple robes. He would have had a golden crown. He'd have been wearing gold rings. He may have been carrying a royal scepter. And you have Bernice coming in. She would be dressed in royal colors. And they're seated. And as they're seated in verse 23, they command Paul to be brought in. And here comes Paul. There are very few descriptions of the apostle Paul and none of them are flattering. The descriptions that ancient writers gave concerning Paul the apostle. And to me, I have to be honest with you, I won't give you the descriptions for a moment until I say this. When you think of heroes of the Bible, very often you may be thinking of majestic types. Big, strong, well-built, long hair, tattoos. No, just an air of nobility. Somebody who walks in with confidence. The kind of person who when he walks in the room, everybody becomes quiet. And that's what you would think because Paul, this man who is willing to go throughout the world and courageously preach the gospel to any who would hear him. This man who had been beaten, this man who had received stripes, this man who had been rejected by so many, this man who had received a stoning to the degree that some commentators say that it may very well have died in that stoning and the Lord brought him back. Well, when you picture him, you might picture him as just a stunning character, a figure that would draw attention. But when you look at the descriptions of him, they say that he was short. They say in describing him that he was balding. He speaks of himself in 2 Corinthians, some of the charges that were made against him that in physical manner he was unimpressive. His speech was unimpressive. And you see this man, some have said that he may have been a bit hunched over. Some say they had a large nose and protruding eyes and he comes in and he's handcuffed. And what a contrast between what is important in the world and what is great in the sight of God. The apostle Paul, the small balding Jewish man, unimpressive in every way physically. And these others who are there in their robes and their gold and their crowns with all of these soldiers around them in all of this pageant. And what happens when Paul walks in is the pomp and circumstance of the world is revealed as worthless. In Hebrews 11, 24 through 26, it says this, By faith Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he looked to the reward. Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Moses was in line to become Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses was not only instructed in the philosophy and various educational things that Egypt had to offer, but he was also a military man. I've shared this with you before, but he was an impressive man. Even as a baby, he's described as a beautiful baby. He would have been a very handsome man. And he was a warrior. When he saw the Egyptian taskmaster abusing one of the Hebrews, he looked to the left and he looked to the right just to see if there were any witnesses. When he saw none, he went and properly killed the taskmaster. When you read your Bibles, you know, as I, you read and you don't really realize what just took place until you understand that the Egyptian taskmaster was the roughest and toughest that Egypt could put in that position because they were overseeing the slave laborer. And so you wouldn't put somebody in that position who did not cause fear to be in the hearts of those that they were guarding. So these taskmasters were very rough. They were very bad. And yet Moses, there's not an indication at all that he showed any interest whatsoever in how bad, how powerful they were. Just as he looked to the left and looked to the right to make sure that there was nobody watching, and then when he dusted the guy, he killed him. Then he buried him. It's all done. You know, he thought that the children of Israel would realize that he was the deliverer by this action. But in fact, it got him banished into the wilderness for 40 years because he tried to demonstrate his leadership skills through acts of the flesh. It took him 40 years to learn all the things that he had to unlearn in the next 40 because he was banished to a wilderness. And what did he learn? That the riches of Egypt are nothing compared to the surpassing riches of Jesus Christ. The one is to come. And that's how you make your decisions, by the way, and that's what matters. It's not what I have right now. It's what I have waiting for me. It's what the Lord has prepared for those who love him. And that's what drives you and motivates you in your service to him. So all of this pomp and circumstance, and you have all of this grandeur, and then you have a little Jewish man who is handcuffed standing in front of these people. And so in verse 24, Festus said, King Agrippa, and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer. But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. I have nothing certain to write to my Lord concerning him. Therefore, I have brought him out before you and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place, I may have something to write for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him. So he rehearses the situation to all who are assembled. Paul was not legally bound to be there. He had already appealed to Caesar, but this gives him an opportunity to do something, and we're going to see this. Paul took this as an opportunity to preach. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 2, Paul was speaking to his young protege, a young passer by the name of Timothy, and he's giving him final orders. This is something all of us need to learn from because Paul is speaking to him, and by the way, 2 Timothy is the last letter that Paul ever wrote. Chapter 4 is the last portion of that letter that he wrote, and what's he saying in its conclusion? Preach the word. That's what he said. Preach the word. Be instant in season and out of season. That's what he says there. He says, when you get the opportunity, when God opens a door, trust the Lord to fill your mouth with things to say concerning the glories of the kingdom and watch what God will do. You need to be ready to give an answer concerning the hope that lies within you. You need to be prepared to share the things of God with others when given the opportunity, and sometimes the opportunities come and you say you wouldn't expect, even when you are actually sharing, sometimes God will even change that moment, and he'll give you something fresh to say at that moment, and I'll tell you what I mean by that. Many years ago here in this room here, we were having a funeral service. I believe it was in this room, it may have been in another room, but anyway, we were having a funeral service. A young lady had had an argument with her boyfriend, her boyfriend had driven away, they were high schoolers, and the young lady didn't want to let it go, she wanted to pursue it to a conclusion, so as he drove away, she climbed in her car and drove after him, and he was a distance away, they were on Riverside Drive up here, going into Ontario. She began to pass cars to catch him, and she ran headlong into a mother driving the opposite direction with her two children, and they all were killed. We were given a call, we were asked, can you do the funeral for this young girl, this high schooler? And we said we would. So I went out to do the funeral, and the room was filled with high school aged kids, and I had prepared a funeral service. I didn't know the young lady, I just wanted to give her honor and memorialize her, but as I was sharing, the high school kids, and the place was filled with high schoolers, they were her friends. They were kind of giggling amongst themselves, kind of, because young people do that when they're nervous, I understand. But they were so distracted, and I had my notes in front of me, and I just folded my notes and put them back in my Bible, preached the word, the instant, in season and out of season. I just put my notes, these were all prepared, I felt they were from the Lord, and I shared from what he was placing in my heart at that moment, and it was pretty direct, I have to be honest with you, and they got quiet, and they began to listen. People say that young people won't listen, that's not true at all, they do, and these kids did, and I told them, your friend is dead, she died, but so will you. You need to know where you're going, you need to know where your eternity is, because it is appointed unto men to die once, and after this the judgment, just shared with them the gospel. I didn't give an invitation, I just closed it, it was silent, I felt it was appropriate, years ago, now, because this happened a long time ago, in this room, this happened in this room for sure. A woman in our church approached me, and she said, because I shared that story, and she said, Pastor, let me tell you something, my brother was the boyfriend of the girl that you mentioned today, and what you didn't know is that when you gave that message, he got saved, and he's been serving the Lord ever since, I thought I ought to let you know. When you're given the opportunity to share, take the opportunity, that's what Paul's about to do here, he's going to share. I was in a college class, and we were all told in this particular class that each one of us, there were 30 students, each one of us, it was a secular school, a non-Christian college. We were told that the professor would bring us to the front, and in front of the other students he would give us a word, and we were supposed to take that one word and share what that word means to all the students, and for several days he called all the students, and they would share whatever the word was, and they would share their thoughts, it was kind of a spontaneous thing, and so he called me up, it was finally my time to come up, and I'm standing in front of the class, again it's not a Christian class, and he says, David, your word is freedom, so I said freedom. I said, when you say freedom, well first you need to understand that every man in this room, every woman in this room is in bondage. You need to know you're all sins, sinners, and you're in bondage to sin, but you also need to know that Jesus Christ came to set you free, and it's through the freedom that you receive through Christ that you can have everlasting life, and I preached the gospel, and everybody's just sitting there going, what's this all about? Then I received an offering, it was just a great day, but see, when given an opportunity, and the professor said, you don't say anything, but when you say something, you really say something, and there was one other Christian in the class, how do I know, because she yelled out hallelujah, so I knew there was one, and they're with us. When given the opportunity, Lord, fill my mouth with words to give praise to you, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak, and when you're in the Word, the Word will come out. Paul is there, and he's now standing, he's given opportunity to speak to all of these people who think they're in control, but he's going to show them who really is. Verse 26, the grip is said to Paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself, so Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently. In other words, I am pleased to speak to someone who understands some of the concerns that we have, so I ask that you would listen in a patient way, because I want to give to you a complete answer. You see, what he really wants to do is he wants to give the gospel to King Agrippa and those who are present. So his desire is not to defend himself, his desire is to preach the message of the gospel, and that's what he'll do. In verse 4, From my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise, our 12 tribes earnestly serving God night and day hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? That's a great question to ask. Why do you think this is incredible? You see, the issue here is belief in the resurrection. And I find it incredible that I am being judged on such a commonly held belief in Israel. Again, why would it be incredible that God raises the dead? You see, two attributes of God stood plunge to produce resurrection. One is His truth. His truth in which the promise is founded. And second, His power, which is unlimited. And so what happens is Paul is confronting hypocrisy. The Pharisee, hypocrisy of believing in resurrection, yet denying that it happened. You see, faith is expressed through practice, not just correct intellectual doctrine. And the Lord Jesus Christ had more than one conversation concerning this. So he says in verse 9, Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem and many of the saints I shut up in prison having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them, often in every synagogue, compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly enraged against them. I persecuted them even to foreign cities. I followed them. I went after them. I hated them. If I couldn't kill them, I would have them tortured. I would do whatever I could to provoke them to recant their faith. In 1st Timothy, we've been going through 1st Timothy on Sunday morning. Remember in 1st Timothy 113, he said, I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. He says in verse 12, Well, thus occupied as I, journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests at midday, oh king, along the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goats. And so he's giving his testimony and he's remembering what Jesus said. He said again in verse 14, why are you persecuting me? Why are you doing that? You see, when you reject the Lord, you resist His Holy Spirit and in doing so, it leads you to live a life that rejects others, especially those who follow Christ. And so as this is taking place, verse 15, I said, who are you, Lord? He said, I am Jesus whom you're persecuting. But rise, stand on your feet, and I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I'm saving you for a purpose. You're going to be a minister and you are going to be a witness. Again, that's, by the way, every believer's ministry. We're his witnesses and we share the faith with those we have opportunity to speak to. Peter said in Acts 4, verse 20, we cannot but speak the things which you have seen and heard. Let me say this again and I'll say this briefly. I've said it already before during our study in the Book of Acts. I believe that the Lord wants His name to go out throughout the earth. That's what the Bible teaches and we know that. Jesus gave the Great Commission, go out into all nations, He said, and make disciples. He said, go out and evangelize. Bring conversion. And develop them in their understanding of me so that they may be able to go out, do the same thing and continue to make disciples until Jesus returns. That's our job. I had a meeting yesterday with 25 Calvary Chapel pastors and we were talking amongst ourselves about what's going on in the church today, the church at large. And some of the Calvary pastors were speaking concerning the fact that it seems that many people in the churches that we pastor don't seem to get it yet, don't seem to understand that we've been called by God and equipped by God not to keep the gospel to ourselves but to trust Him and present it to other people. And so we were conversing about that and because I think what has happened in some ways is we have sadly become more adopted. We're adopting this idea that only experts should go out and do the work of ministry. Only experts should preach the gospel. After all, who am I and what do I know? This is who you are. You're a person who is lost and now you're found. This is who you are. You were blind but now you see. This is who you are. You were lost. You were blind. You were deaf. But now you're saved. And you've got something to say. And it's not about you anyway. It's about Jesus. All you need to do is get close to Him and He has a way of pouring out of you. And what we're doing today is we are making the mistake of thinking only other people can do this. That's not true. You can do it. God can use you to bring your mom to Christ, to bring your dad to Christ, to bring your brother to Christ, the sister to Christ, a co-worker to Christ, a neighbor to Christ. Here's the question you have to ask yourself. Why not you? Why not you? Do you have the Bible? Yes. Do you have the power of the Holy Spirit? Yes. Do you have a relationship with God? Yes. Were you lost? Yes. Do you understand what it means to be lost? Yes. Do you know what the answer is? Yes. What is the answer? Jesus Christ. How does that apply? God, give me wisdom. But all of us, all of us are called to not just do witnessing, but to be witnesses. That's why Jesus gave the Holy Spirit. He says, you shall receive power. After that, the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. See, what makes us Christians and what makes us evangelical Christians is the belief that other people need to know Jesus Christ. And here the world is telling you, believers, to shut up. And many of us have because we don't want to offend people. This Sunday, as we gather together, I'm going to be sharing some things with you out of 1 Timothy. Because there are laws that are passed in the United States that actually are intended to put muscles on you. And it's been going on for a long time. We had a lady in our fellowship 20 years ago, over 20 years ago, who approached me and said that she works in a school, in the Chino Unified School, just to get that time. She said, I brought my Bible to read at lunchtime on my free time. She's not even a teacher there. She's an employee in the school. And I had someone approach me saying to remove your Bible. It's offensive. She said, do I have to do that? I said, what you need to do is you need to pick up the Bible and hit her with it. No, I said, let's say it the Lord. No, I didn't say that. You may think I did. I better watch myself. I said, no, you don't have, you don't have to take that Bible off of your desk because somebody's offended by it. But you know what? We are so caught up being afraid of offending people that maybe we're offensive to the Lord because we're denying him. And maybe we need to awaken and say, you know what? I don't want to be offensive. I do not intend to be an offensive person. I want to live with peace with all men. But at the same time, I have in this country, and I thank God for it, the right to believe in Jesus Christ. I also have the right to have my Bible with me. I have certain rights that are mine. Paul appealed to Caesar because he had certain rights as a Roman. We have rights as Americans. Not that we should use them or abuse them in such a way that we cause people to, you know, to have an actual case against us. But at the same time, we need to be ready because a lot of Christians have hidden in closets when the world's sin has come out of that same closet. So we need to have the courage to know that these things are true. I guess the bottom line is, do we believe them? You know, the Pharisees said, we believe in resurrection, but when it happened, they said, couldn't have done. Couldn't have happened. Well, I wonder if we really believe that what we have is the truth. Because if what we have is the truth, then God help us to be open about this and to share it and to live it. Thank you for your powerful spirit who lives within us. Thank you that we're living testimonies of your grace and transforming power. Give us opportunity to open our mouths and to speak. And that's what's taking place here is he's having an opportunity. You see, the Lord said that he was making him a minister. And that word minister speaks of a servant, which is what he wanted to be regarded as. In verse 16, he's a witness. He's a witness both of the things which he has seen and the things which would be revealed later. You're going to be somebody who speaks concerning the things that I've shown you. And there are things that you will see in the future that you'll be a witness to also. He also goes on and says in verse 17, I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you, to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Now he's saying this in front of a Jewish audience and they must have gotten angry. But he says, I am to speak. God is with me. He protects me as I go out attempting to turn people from the darkness. In John 3 19 and 20, Jesus said this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Everyone practicing evil hates the light. It does not come to the light unless his deeds should be reproved. So he says returning them from darkness and bringing them to light. In verse 19, therefore King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea and then to the Gentiles that they should repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance. So God's call on my life to preach was immediately acted upon and according to verse 20, I preached from the place I was saved basically and I moved on from there and that's what you do. He got saved and from that place he began to share and that's what you do. Some people say I'd like to be an evangelist. I want to go throughout the world while your evangelism begins in your home. It begins with those whom you know the best. As I've shared with you so many times when I came home the day I got saved and I came home and I walked into my parents' den and I walked in and said to them my two sisters Madeline and Becky were in that room with mom and dad and that's when I said mom, dad, Becky, Madeline, I love you, praise the Lord. And that was unheard of in my home and so when I walked out and my mom went and did a rosary for me because she was so sure that I had lost my mind when she went to her room and literally she did, she did a rosary for me and all my sister Madeline looks at me and she says to me, what happened to you? My sister Madeline, what happened to you? And I told her, who do I know? I was blind and now I see, that's all I knew. I said, I heard an evangelist, his name's Arthur Blessed. He shared about giving our hearts to Christ. I knew that I was a sinner in need of God's forgiveness and Madeline, I asked God, I said, God be merciful to me a sinner and I can't explain it, but he came into my life and I'm changed and I know it because of him. That's basically all I knew and she told me later, she says, David, you didn't know this? She said, I went to my room that night, I put my head on my pillow that same night and I said, whatever you did for my brother, Jesus, please do it for me. And that's what God does. A brand new Christian just saying, God can forgive you. Repent, may your life change. Because by the way, when you come to faith in Christ, your life does change. Because he's saying, change your mind, change your direction and change your way of living. And so the message is when that, when acted upon results and changed lives. He goes on and he says in verse 21, for these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me, therefore having obtained help from God to this day I stand, witnessing both the small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come. In other words, I am just giving you the word that the Christ would suffer, that he would be first to rise from the dead and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. Now, as he thus made his defense, Festus said with the loud voice, Paul, you're beside yourself. Much learning is driving you mad. But he said, I'm not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason for the king before whom I also speak freely knows these things. I'm convinced that none of these things escapes his attention since this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe. Oh, isn't that bold? That's bold. Do you believe the prophets? That's strong, man. That really is. You know, it's easy to give a general word. It really is. But when you ask somebody a direct question, that's when the hackles go up in their back. They'll nod in agreement because most people, most Americans, if you ask them on a survey, are you spiritual? Because that's the word they use today more often. They don't want to call themselves religious. But the youth especially refer to themselves as spiritual, meaning there's a spirituality about them. But for them, the spirituality is kind of like it doesn't really matter as long as there's a belief in a spirit or a God or something of that nature. You know, that love triumphs over evil. That's spirituality for many people today. But when you say, but do you specifically believe, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? That's when people get upset because they'll agree with you to a point until you say, but what do you believe? I have people say this before. Well, you know, I can't really buy into all of that Christianity stuff. I just can't. It's beyond me. And then they'll say this. I've said this. This is actual conversation. What about the heathen in Australia? You know, the aborigines. What about them? What about the heathen in Australia who's never heard of the gospel? What about them? And my response is always the same. I say, you know, the Lord has a way of dealing with heathens in Australia. But you're a heathen. What about you? And they don't like it. I don't know why they take it personally. But it's true. I mean, and I've said this to them in conversation and they give me permission to do it. I mean, it's not like I'm being rude or anything. It's conversation. Say, it's interesting to me that you have such a concern for heathens in other places and you're not concerned about your own heathen life. You know, the real bottom line is not worrying about whether they heard. But now the question is, what are you going to do now that you've heard? See, that's the question. You know, I allow God to be God. God makes judgment as God makes judgment. The judge of the whole earth does what is right. But see, now you are liable because you have information. What are you going to do with it? And so when Paul speaks and says, do you believe? I know you believe. He's saying to him, you're aware of all of these things. I'm simply presenting to you what the Bible has said concerning the Messiah. But his response is saying to speak of men rising from the dead is sheer madness. And as you've been reading all your books, it's actually led not to sanity, but insanity. Paul's response, well, my words are true. And my words are sober-minded. Not only that, you are familiar with what I'm saying because the things that have been done have not been done in secret. So do you believe? A grip of your familiar with Scripture and you profess to believe, what do you really believe? And then notice verse 28, a grip is said to Paul, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. Now, when you read that, it may sound, well, upon first reading it, it may sound like you say, no, I'm so close, don't push me, I'll fall in. But that's not what it's literally being saying. What is being said? What is being said in the literal translation is this. You are trying to make a Christian of me with very few words on slender grounds. That's the literal translation. It's not that you have persuaded me is saying you haven't given to me enough proof or evidence. You're using few words and you think that's going to cause me to believe. What he's really doing is rejecting. You think I can be convinced with one message is what he is saying. You almost persuade me to become a Christian. You think with few words that's going to make me believe? Paul said I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am except for these chains. When he had said these things, the king stood up as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them. And when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves saying, this man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains. Then Agrippa said to Vestas, this man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Missed opportunity. Not for Paul, but for them. Paul was settled. He was willing to not only go but also to die for the gospel of Jesus. It was a missed opportunity for those who were hearing the word, hearing the proclamation and still rejecting it. But the bottom line is Paul appealed to Caesar. Agrippa said I would have let him go but now I can't. But the real missed opportunity wasn't for Paul's freedom. It was for their freedom. They're the ones who remained in bondage even though Paul was the one in chains because sin keeps you in bondage.