Acts 26 is our text this morning. And I want to ask you a question. For those of you who are Christians, for those of you who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ, my question to you is this. What is your testimony? If someone were to come to you and say, you know, I understand if you're a Christian, would you tell me what that means? Would you tell me why? Why are you a Christian? What would you say? What would be your story? What would be your testimony? Some people's testimonies are elaborate. Some people's testimonies are very simple, such as the simplicity of the blind man in John 9, when the Pharisees come to him and say, give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner, referring to Jesus. The blind man then said, whether he's a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. That was the simplicity of his testimony. I don't know a whole lot about this man, Jesus. I can't answer every question that you're going to throw at me. But this I do know, that when I met Jesus, He opened my eyes and I've never been the same. So whether your testimony is elaborate, long story of how God worked in your life to bring you to conversion, or whether it is a very simple story, I hope and pray that the very guts of your story is this. I once did not know Jesus. I met Jesus, and since I met him, I've never been the same. Because if you can give a testimony of coming to know Jesus and really not knowing how you're much different now than you were then, I wonder what Jesus you met. Because the Jesus of the Bible, no matter what contact you have with Him, He leaves you unchanged. He leaves you not the same. He cannot leave you unchanged. You cannot leave unchanged when you meet Jesus Christ. You find that throughout the Gospels. Every person who had an encounter with Jesus responded in one way or another. There was no neutrality. There were simple sinners like the woman at the well who bowed before the Savior and the Lord. And there were rich young men who were filled with pride and love for riches. who did not bow before the Lord and Savior. But nobody meets Jesus and walks away neutral. You just, you can't do that. Because when you meet Jesus, you meet God. And so you either reject Him or you bow before Him. Now the rejection of some is not always in your face and very bold and brash. Sometimes it's very polite. And sometimes the rejection in time is overcome by the Holy Spirit of God who brings the person to faith in Christ. But it's either rejection or it's reception. So what's your story? What is your testimony? Well, I love Acts 26 because I love the way that the Apostle Paul gives his testimony, his story of how he came to know Christ. Now, you remember from last week that he is now before King Agrippa. King Agrippa is the last of the Herods, the last of the prominent Herods of the New Testament period. He is the son of Herod Agrippa, who has killed the Apostle James and imprisoned Peter. He is the great-grandson of Herod the Great, who was alive and ruled when Jesus was born. This was the Herod that sought to kill the Lord Jesus. This is a very prominent and powerful leader. that now Paul stands before. Now you remember from last week that Festus couldn't come up with anything to write against Paul in order to send him to Rome with some specific charges. So he's not on trial anymore. This is not technically a trial in chapter 26, because there are no charges. What we have here is Paul's appeal to Caesar being used by God to providentially place him before this king named Agrippa. And now he gives his testimony before he then, in chapter 27, begins his trip to Rome. So we can divide chapter 26 into two parts. The first part is Paul's testimony, and that's the first 23 verses. I want you to walk through his testimony with me and see what we learn. He begins with some kind words of introduction. Notice verse 26. Agrippa said to Paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense. In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today. This is genuine sincerity. This is kindness. Paul's not being sarcastic. He is very thankful. to the Lord, he's very thankful to Agrippa that he now has this opportunity to stand before this powerful king and to give him his testimony of salvation. Verse 3, especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews, therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. So he kindly introduces himself to King Agrippa. He appreciates the fact that Agrippa has a strong knowledge of the Jews and what the Jews believe. This is important because later on in Paul's testimony, he's going to make a connection to that. So unlike Festus, who didn't really know a whole lot about the Jews, Agrippa was very familiar with them. So I want you to see how Paul now unfolds his testimony. And as is true of every testimony of true conversion to Christ, there are three basic parts to the testimony. There is before salvation, there is how salvation occurred, and then there is what has now changed after conversion. Those are the three basic parts of every salvation testimony. Before, during, and after. Basically, before I knew Christ, how I came to know Christ, and now how is my life different having encountered Jesus Christ. So notice first of all, the first part of Paul's testimony is, before I was saved by Jesus. That's Paul's first part of his testimony, before I was saved by Jesus. And that's verses 4 through 11. And there are three points under that, three parts to that before I was saved story. First we notice, he basically says, I was raised a very religious boy. That's what he says in verses 4 and 5. Notice what he says. So then all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem. Since they have known about me for a long time, if they're willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion." Paul's basically saying, before I was saved by Jesus, I was raised a very religious boy. The Jews know me. They know who Saul of Tarsus is. They know my religious upbringing. They know that I received the finest education that any Jewish parent could give to his son. In fact, in chapter 22, you might remember, he said this, I am a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel. strictly according to the law of our fathers, being jealous for God, just as you all are today. Paul says, I was raised a very religious Jewish boy. In fact, even more than that, I sat at the feet of Gamaliel. Gamaliel was the most prominent Jewish rabbi living at this time, to be able to go to school and sit under the maleol was the dream of every Jewish boy who wanted the top education. And he got it. He was religious. He was very educated. In fact, he says in verse five, he was a Pharisee. Now this is an important part of his testimony because he's making connection to the accusations that have been brought before him that he has somehow trampled upon the Jewish law and the Old Testament and all that the Pharisees held dear. So he says, I was a Pharisee. In fact, in Philippians 3 he calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was the top Pharisee, in his mind at least. So, first part of his pre-Christ life was, I was a very religious boy. Second part he says, verses 6-8, he basically says, I was a faithful Jew looking for the promised Messiah. So not only was I raised a very religious Jewish boy, but I was also a faithful Jew. And I was looking for the hope, I was looking for the promise of the Messiah, verse 6. And now I'm standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. The promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. So Paul says, Hey, I know the promises God made to our fathers, to the twelve tribes. I have been hoping, just like all of Israel has been hoping for the promise of the Messiah. And now I am being accused by the Jews. Verse 8, Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead? Now notice again, he comes back to the resurrection because that is the real issue. That is what he is basically on trial for, being accused for. That's the main reason. All these other things are trumped up charges. The real issue is he is preaching that Jesus Christ is the Messiah who was crucified and was resurrected. He is the hope of Israel. He was a faithful Jew. He knew the Old Testament. He knew what it said about the promise of God. Then part three of his before Christ testimony, verses 9 through 11, he basically says this. I was a chief persecutor of the people called Christians. I was a chief persecutor of these people called Christians. So I was raised a very religious boy. I was a faithful Jew. I had the best education a Jew could ask for. I was looking for the hope of the Messiah. And not only that, but I was also the chief persecutor of the people that I am now a part of. That's a beautiful way to tell your story, because that then is just going to whet the appetite of the person listening to you as to what in the world happened. Agrippa must be thinking, Paul, what happened to you? You were raised a Jewish boy, faithful Pharisee, and you were a persecutor of the Christians, and now the Jews are accusing you because you are a Christian? What happened? That certainly is a great question for someone to ask, isn't it? I was a chief persecutor of the people called Christians. Look at what he says. So then I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Because I was a Jew looking for the promise of the Messiah, I had to do something against these people who were proclaiming this Jesus. And this is what I did in Jerusalem, verse 10. Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death, I cast my vote against them." You remember from Acts 8, what it says about Saul, when Stephen, the first martyr of the church, was being put to death, it says, Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day, a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women he would put to death. He would put them into prison so that they would be put to death. It says that when Stephen was stoned, Paul, Saul, was holding the cloaks of the men who stoned Stephen. He was the chief cheerleader of Stephen's death. Paul says, I was a chief persecutor of the people called Christians. That is Who I was, that is what I was, before I was saved by Jesus. That's the first part of his testimony. Go back to Acts 26. We'll see the second part of his testimony, which is verses 12 through 18, and that is this. He basically says, how I was saved by Jesus. So he just described what his life was like before he was saved by Jesus. Now he says, this is what happened to me. This is how I was saved by Jesus. Look at verse 12. While so enraged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priest, remember what it said in Acts 8, he was ravaging the church. So he's traveling to Damascus in great fury and wrath. He is ready to be the fire behind the persecution of the church. And this is what happened. At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus who you are persecuting. So the first part of this, first element of this second part of his testimony is he says, Jesus confronted me with who he is. That's verses 12 through 15. So the second part of his testimony is how I was saved by Jesus. And there's two basic parts to that. First is, Jesus confronted me with who he is. O King, I was walking down the street, traveling to Damascus in the middle of the day, and this bright light came to me, brighter than the sun. It shone all around me and all around those who were journeying with me. We fell to the ground, and I heard a voice. Only Paul heard this. Only Saul heard this. because it was directed just at Saul. Jesus spoke to him in the Hebrew language, verse 14 says, and he says this, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? That's an interesting question, because at this point, Saul didn't even believe in Jesus. And yet Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? The reason is because there's a connection between God's people and Christ. In fact, there's an inseparable connection between Jesus and God's people. Jesus and Christians. Because he was persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Jesus. Because he hated Christians, he hated Jesus. That was what was really going on in his heart. And so, Jesus confronts him with who he is. And then he says, it's hard for you to kick against the goads. A goad was a sharp pole, a sharp stick that was placed behind cattle as they were being used in the field so that if they were to kick backwards they would hit that sharp stick and that would deter them from going backwards. They would continue to go forward and do what they were told by their master. And Jesus says, it's hard for you to kick against the goads. What's the point? The point is, Jesus Christ was confronting Saul, turning his life around, and he would never be the same. Saul's natural tendency would be to kick against God. To kick against Jesus. to kick against the Lordship of Christ. What is Jesus doing? Jesus is confronting Saul with who Jesus Christ is. He is calling him to surrender to Jesus, not merely as Savior, but also as Lord. It's hard for you to kick against the goads. There's an issue of submission that's going on here. The Holy Spirit, Jesus, are at work in Saul's heart. And you see his response in verse 15. Who are you, Lord? That's the first time Saul has ever called Jesus Lord. He has not believed in Jesus up to this point. He has hated Jesus. He has been fighting against Jesus. He has been killing Jesus's people. And Jesus is saying, this is who I am, Saul, and this is who you are. And you see that fleshed out more fully in the second part of this middle part of his testimony, in verses 16 through 18. Not only does Saul say, Jesus confronted me with who he is, but he says, Jesus called and appointed me to preach the gospel. So look at what he says in verse 16. The Lord says to Saul, Get up and stand on your feet for this purpose. I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness, not only to the things which you've seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you, rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. Why? Verse 18, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God and that and that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me." So Saul says, not only did Jesus confront me with who He is so that I would call Him Lord, but then He said, this is My will for your life. My will for your life is to take this gospel which you have been opposing and use it to open the eyes of people who are right now in the bondage of Satan. They're being kept in blindness. They will be turned from Satan to God. They will receive forgiveness of sins that they will become an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. What's Jesus saying? Jesus is saying, Saul, this is who I am, and this is my will for your life. You will be used by me to call people to be sanctified to Jesus. The word sanctified means set apart. It comes from the Greek word hagios, or holy, means set apart. God has set apart people for himself. God would now use Saul to preach the message that then sets them apart to Jesus Christ by faith in Him. Look with me at another of Paul's testimonies, or another version of his same salvation testimony in 1 Timothy 1. 1 Timothy 1. This testimony just amazes me. I feel very close to the Apostle Paul when I read this testimony because, like Saul, I was raised in a religious home. I knew about God. I didn't know God. I knew about Jesus. I didn't know Jesus. And when I did finally encounter Jesus in the spring of 1984, when Jesus confronted me with who He is, something happened. Something changed. that now can never be the same. First Timothy, chapter one, verse 12, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. This is another version of his same salvation testimony. What was he like before salvation? He was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a violent aggressor. That is, he attacked the church with rage. He was a violent man. Yet, I was shown mercy. This is the how he got saved. I was shown mercy. The grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. And then the after. Verse 16, after I found mercy, Jesus then revealed to me that he called me so that he would demonstrate his perfect patience in me as an example for those who believe in him. Before I was saved, how I was saved, how my life is different now after I was saved. And it all revolves around verse 15, who Jesus Christ is. He came into the world to save sinners. And this is what I love about Paul. The older he got, the more sinful he became in his own eyes. I am foremost of all. He said, I am the worst of all sinners. That was Paul's mindset. Go back to Acts 26. We'll see the third part of his testimony. We've seen him describe before he was saved by Jesus and then how he was saved by Jesus. Now he says, this is what I am after I was saved by Jesus. Verses 19 through 23. And there are two parts to this final part of his testimony. So, King Agrippa, Verse 19, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision. I did not prove disobedient to what happened to me on the road to Damascus. I did not prove disobedient to to God's calling upon my life. but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea and even to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. For this reason, some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. So having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place, that the Christ was to suffer and that by reason of his resurrection from the dead, he would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. Let's look at this part of his testimony. First, he basically says, I have obeyed God's will for my new life. I have obeyed God's will for my new life. And I really hope that you look at your Christian life that way. As a new life. Because if you just look at it as a continuation of your old life with a few changes, you don't really get it. There are many people today who call themselves Christians, and what they've actually done is they've just added Jesus to their original life. And so now it's not just my life, but it's my life plus Jesus, instead of thinking biblically, which is, I don't have a life anymore, except the life that I have in Christ. That's my new life. Old things passed away. Behold, new things have come." So he says to the king, I have obeyed God's will for my life. In fact, that's what has gotten me into so much trouble. I have been preaching repentance to the Jews and to the Gentiles. And then secondly, he says, my message is in full agreement with the Old Testament. Verses 22 and 23. He says, I didn't say anything except what the prophets and Moses said. I didn't preach any new theology. I just preached the fulfillment of what the prophets and Moses had already taught. Now this is very important as he's talking to a man who has a very strong knowledge of Jews. So this man is now probably beginning to wonder, why is this man, who was raised a Jew, as a very religious Jew, as a Pharisee, who now is teaching, but he's still teaching according to the law and the prophets. Why do they hate him so much? Well, of course, because of Christ, because of the resurrection. So here is Paul's testimony. Before I was saved by Jesus, I was a religious boy. I was a faithful Jew. And I hated Christians with all my guts. That's what he says. But then something happened to me. I met Jesus. Jesus confronted me. And I bowed to him. And I believed in him. And now I have a new life. That's his testimony. Is that your testimony? Is that your testimony this morning? That you know what you are as a sinner? That Jesus Christ has so changed your life from the inside out that you can look back and you can see you are not the same person you were before. Can you see that? When Jesus confronts us, He leaves us changed. And the glory goes to Him. It doesn't go to ourselves. And that's what I love about Saul's testimony. Saul was not going to Damascus intending to find Jesus and become a Christian. Some people say, well, I became a Christian because I just thought, you know, it's just the thing to do. And so I I just decided one day I'm just going to go and become a Christian. That was the farthest thing from Saul's mind. He was headed in this direction. And it was a direction of sin and hatred and animosity toward Jesus. And Jesus stopped him dead in his tracks, turned him around 180. Now he's going this direction, and there's only one explanation, and it is Jesus Christ. That's the only explanation for the changed life in Saul. He didn't get religious one day. No. He got confronted by the Lord that had created him. And he would never be the same. What a great testimony. Now, look at the response that we see to this testimony by both Festus and Agrippa, both. First, we see the Festus response and then the rest of the passage, it is Agrippa While Paul was saying this in his defense, verse 24, Festus said in a loud voice, Paul, you're out of your mind. Your great learning is driving you mad. So the first part of the response is unbelief, unbelief concerning Christ. Festus says, Paul, you are nuts. You are one crazy man. But Paul says, verse 25, I'm not out of my mind. I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth." See, Festus was beside himself now. Now he didn't know what to do. He had no charges to write on paper to send with Paul back to Rome. Now, what's going to happen in the eyes of Rome if Festus sends him there with a writing saying, I want you to try this lunatic? This guy's mentally ill. He's crazy. Well, that would be absolutely ridiculous. So Festus is beside himself. He has no idea what he's going to do. Paul says, no, this is this a sober truth. For the king knows about these matters, verse 26, that is Agrippa. And I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice, for this has not been done in a corner." So King Agrippa knows about all this. This story has been heard before. And he says in verse 27, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do. Doesn't even give him a chance to answer the question. I know you do. I already know that. You do believe the prophets. And then Agrippa replies in verse 28, In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian. Actually, there's a better translation to that verse. It's actually more of an accusation. Basically, Agrippa is not confessing that he is on the verge of repenting. He's basically saying, Do you really think, Paul, after such a short time, after just giving me your testimony, that you are going to convert me? And that's the more accurate understanding because of what you see in the next verse. And Paul said, I wish to God that whether in a short time or a long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am, except for these chains. Paul says, I wish to God that I could convert every one of you. I wish to God that I could convince every one of you of who Jesus Christ is and that he deserves your allegiance. I wish that everybody would be such as I am, Paul said. What does he mean by that? Totally consumed by Christ. That's what he means. A new creature. Except for these chains. I don't wish that on other people. So the first part of the response is unbelief concerning Christ. The second part of the response is regret concerning Paul. Because now again, for the second or third time, they've come to the conclusion that the accusations are not true. Now, what do we do with the guy? Well, since he's appealed to Caesar, now we have to send him to Rome. So the king stood up and the governor and Bernice. So Agrippa, Festus and Bernice all stand up. And those who were sitting with them, And when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying this man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment. He's not guilty. And Agrippa said to Festus, this man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Well, fact is, he did appeal to Caesar, and we know that, and that was all in the providence of God, so that chapter 26 would take place. that Agrippa and Bernice would hear the salvation testimony of Paul. And so that then Paul would be sent to Rome, where he would take the gospel again, and then he would lose his life for the sake of the gospel. Turn with me to Philippians 3. I want you to see One more version of Paul's testimony. And this, I think, is my favorite of all the times in which you read of Paul's testimony in the Scriptures. This is my favorite of all of them. Because he really gets to the heart of what was going on inside of him when Jesus confronted him. and then how the basis of his faith changed. The basis of his faith before he met Christ was his religious upbringing, his great Jewish education, and what he was doing on behalf of the Pharisees to condemn Christians. So his faith was in his own righteousness, his own works, his own religion, his own goodness. What happened when Jesus confronted him is Saul came to an understanding that he was spiritually bankrupt. He had nothing to offer to Jesus, regardless of his upbringing, regardless of the Jewish family that gave him a great Jewish education, regardless of sitting under the teaching of Gamaliel, regardless of being filled with fervor Pharisaical fervor to work against Christians. He was bankrupt. And there was only one way that he could be changed. And that was to have the basis of his faith changed. So look at Philippians 3, verse 1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evil workers. Beware of the false circumcision. For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh." Basically he's saying, beware of the Pharisees who are false teachers, is basically what he's saying. Now he says, I was one of them. I was once one of them. Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. Now here's his resume. This is Paul's religious resume. Saul's at this point. Circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel. I was of the tribe of Benjamin. I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the law, I was a Pharisee. As to zeal, I was a persecutor of the church. And as to the righteousness which is in the law, I was found, what? Blameless. That is the basis of his faith before he was confronted by Jesus. The basis of Paul's faith before he met Jesus was everything that he had done Everything he possessed as a religious Jew, and everything he was doing as a zealous Pharisee. But, verse 7, something changed. Whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish that I may know Christ and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, Do you see what happened to Paul? Paul was raised as a good little religious boy, who then became a good, young, faithful Jew, who then sat under the teaching of Gamaliel, who then became a super zealous Pharisee. But he was lost. He was lost and he was on his way to hell. But Jesus confronted him. And Jesus basically said this when he confronted him. Saul, will you change? Will you exchange the basis of your faith from yourself to me? It's basically what it boils down to. Will you exchange your religion for me? Is what Jesus was asking Saul. And of course we know the answer because Paul says, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. All those things that I did before I knew Christ are rubbish, they are dung, I consider them to be garbage on the dump pile. Because all I have that is worth an ounce of my faith and confidence is Christ. Jesus Christ. Say it another way, Saul exchanged self-righteousness for the righteousness of Jesus. Self-righteousness that comes through works, that was exchanged for true righteousness that comes by faith and only by faith. And that changed Paul forever. It's changed Saul to become Paul. And now look at what kind of a man he is now after this encounter with Christ. This is the drive of his life, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. In order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Do you know what the driving passion of Paul's life was after that encounter? It was to become like Christ, no matter what it took. I want to know him. And I want to know the power of His resurrection. And I want to know the fellowship of His sufferings. I want to be conformed to His death. Paul said, I want to be conformed to be like Jesus so much that I'll take any and all suffering that is needed to conform me to His death, to bring me to the point where I am like Jesus. Is that the drive of your heart? Or do you want a cozy, comfortable, American kind of Christianity that doesn't tamper with your lifestyle? Or do you want Christ? And do you want Christ so much that you want to know Him and you want to fellowship with Him so deeply that you're willing to fellowship with Him in suffering that you might know the power of His resurrection? Do you want to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Do you want that more than anything else in your life? Is that your testimony? These passages of scripture are incredibly challenging to us. They challenge us to look at our lives and say, OK, you call yourself a Christian. Are you different than you were before? How has your life been transformed? And how are you right now being transformed from the inside out? And what is what is your drive? What is the drive of your life? What is it that motivates you and moves you? That's the challenge that the Lord has brought before us through this gracious work that he did in the life of a great sinner. And that's all of us here today. We are great sinners. I hope you really believe that. There are times I am so overcome by the greatness of my sinfulness, I wonder, Lord, how could you love me? How could people around me love me? And I go to the same place. I go back to Christ and the cross and his grace. And I say, that's the only reason. Grace is the only reason. There's no other reason that you love me, Lord. There's no other reason. It wasn't that I woke up smart one day and decided, oh, I think I'll become a Christian. That seems like the wise thing to do. Jesus confronts sinners and when he confronts sinners and they bow before him as who he is, they will never be the same. Never. Doesn't mean we don't still have our struggles. Doesn't mean we're sinless, but it does mean that foundationally everything in our lives changes. Because God has done a work inside of us that he will not stop doing. until we see him face to face. Father, we thank you and praise you for reminding us of the glory of Jesus and his resurrection power, the power of his gospel. Lord, I thank you that we do not serve a dead Savior. We have a Savior who died on the cross, such a horrible, humiliating, brutal death. He was buried, yet three days later he rose from the grave. And now those who trust in him, those who exchange their self-righteousness for his righteousness, now experience resurrection power that begins to transform our lives from the inside out. And we are never the same. Thank you, Father, for this incredible work of your grace in our hearts. And I pray, Lord, that you would cause us to be consumed by Christ. consumed by a passion for Christ and living for Him, to be driven by a love for Him and a desire to know Him and fellowship with Him, to be like Him. Father, help me, Lord. Help this to be true in my life. Help this to be true in the lives of everyone here today. May You speak to each of our hearts. bringing us to the same place at the foot of the cross in submission to Jesus, who is so gracious and merciful to us as sinners. In his name we pray, Amen.