Well, as we continue our journey through Acts tonight, I'm going to ask you to turn back with me and your Bibles to Acts 26, Acts chapter 26, where Paul remains in the city of Caesarea, which again is another reason why we don't have the screen down, because he's been there for a couple of years and he's still there as a prisoner of the Roman Empire in bonds and in chains. Of course, as we've seen in the previous chapters, the Apostle Paul had committed no crimes, no crimes whatsoever. As he stated back, if you go back to chapter 25, just briefly in verse 8, he said, neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar have I offended anything at all. That was his claim, claim of innocence, complete innocence, but neither the Jews nor the Romans were able to produce any witnesses to prove otherwise. Again, chapter 25, verse 7. It says that the Jews, which came down from Jerusalem, stood round about, laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. Couldn't prove it. But since Paul sensed that he would not find justice in the courts of that Roman official Festus, whether he was in Caesarea or back in Jerusalem, he claimed that right, that right of a Roman citizen. In verse 11 of chapter 25, he appealed unto Caesar. And now Paul was assured of a trip to Rome, just as the Lord had promised him on that long and lonely night back in Jerusalem over two years before. But since the Roman governor Festus didn't know what to tell Caesar about this prisoner that he was about to deliver on his doorstep, Festus took advantage of a visit by a neighboring Jewish ruler and his sister, who he met last Sunday, King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice, and that is the setting. Chapter 25 is the setting for chapter 26. Paul is not on trial here. The trial is going to wait for his time in Rome, but he is given another opportunity to witness. And this time it is to the very last king of the Jews. And so I'd like for us to read this chapter without interruption as we hear Paul's testimony and defense of his faith for the second time from his own mouth. Picking up there in verse 21 of Acts chapter 26. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee, touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews, especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Wherefore, I beseech thee to hear me patiently, My manner of life for my youth, which was at the first among my known nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews, which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify that after the most straightest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers. unto which promise are 12 tribes instantly serving God day and night hope to come. For which hopes sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which thing I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon, as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, At midday, O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick. against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise and stand upon my feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou has seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but showed first unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the coast of Judea and then to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance. For these causes, the Jews caught me in the temple and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue on to this day, witnessing both the small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself. Much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up and the governor and Bernice and they that sat with them. And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed unto Caesar. You could just sense the passion of Paul in his words, his words to Festus and his words to the king Agrippa, a passion for the truth Passion for the Lord and a passion for that man and those people that were sitting right there before him. A passion. But the cause of Paul's passion is what I'd like to focus our attention tonight. The cause of Paul's passion is what he calls back in verse 19, this heavenly vision. This heavenly vision. a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ who is alive and well and full of glory there on the road to Damascus. And in this address, before Festus and Agrippa and Bernice and other important dignitaries there in Caesarea, Paul gives even more detail of this heavenly vision and what Jesus said personally to him. So for the rest of our time tonight, I want to look a bit more closely at this heavenly vision of Paul's. to see that really his vision is our vision. His vision is Christ's vision, not just for this apostle, but for all of his church, for all of his people, for you and for me tonight as well. And that we too must not, as Paul said there in verse 19, we must not be disobedient unto this heavenly vision. Because the first thing that we see from this vision is that the heavenly mission of Paul is our heavenly mission. It's our heavenly mission. It is the mission described by Jesus himself when he said again, look at verse 16. But rise, Paul, rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose. Why? To make thee a minister and a witness both of those things which thou has seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. to use you to deliver thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom I now send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." This was Paul's mission from Christ. And really, Paul's mission is our mission. Now, what does this mission entail? We see that it is a mission to heal. It is a mission to offer healing to those who are in spiritual blindness. Again, verse 18, the first part, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light. Now, this is an interesting verse because Jesus is not here saying that he will open their eyes. Jesus is saying that he will use Paul to open their eyes. So Paul was the divine tool and the divine instrument that Jesus was going to use to bring light into the darkness of men's souls. It's kind of like the tools that you might have lying around the house. That tool is something that you need in order to hammer in a nail or to pull out a screw. And we see that this is what Jesus was intending to use Paul and to use all of us for. Tools to open eyes. Yes, Jesus does it, but He uses us. He uses us as His tools and instruments. And you must not forget that you too are God's chosen instrument and tool to open the eyes of lost sinners to the light of the glory of Jesus Christ. Do you remember the tool that God used to bring you to that light? The instrument, the person that God brought into your life to lead you and to open your eyes to the truth of the gospel? But He has also given you a mission to help, we see. A mission to offer help to those who are in spiritual bondage. In the next part of verse 18, Jesus says to Paul, and from the power of Satan unto God. I think that too many times we forget that the reason people sin, even in unspeakable ways, is because they're sinners. And they are still under the power of Satan himself. sinners sin. And we as Christians shouldn't be too shocked by that because they are in the hands and the power of the devil and they need help. They need God's help and they need your help. We need to pray for each other that the Lord will give us a greater heart of compassion for those who are in bondage to sin and bondage to the devil himself and seek to help them and turn them around to God. because this is our mission as well. He's also given us a mission of hope, a mission of hope to offer hope to those who are spiritually broken. In fact, it's a hope that can only come from the forgiveness of sin. As Jesus himself said in the next part of verse 18, it's so that they may receive forgiveness of sins. You know, forgiveness is one of those tender words in the English language. In fact, the word forgiveness reveals the tender heart and the thoughtfulness of God Almighty towards sinners. Forgiveness. Do you know someone who needs the hope of forgiveness tonight? Maybe someone at work? Maybe someone in your school? Maybe someone in your own family? Do you know someone? Now, they may not know it yet, They may not think that they need forgiveness, but you do. Won't you, like Paul, go to them and show them that to the Lord our God belongs mercies and forgivenesses, even though we've rebelled against him? This is the kind of hope that we have and the kind of hope that we ought to present to sinners like us. God wants your heart and your arms to be as open to sinners needing forgiveness as his are. Because he has also given you a mission of heritage to offer a heritage, a home, a family for spiritual castaways. You know, the devil is a hard taskmaster. In fact, if someone is under the bondage and under the control of the power of the devil, it is not a pleasant thing. They are spiritual castaways, even though they don't know it. And through you and your witness, God can bring many sons and many daughters unto glory so that, as we see in the rest of verse 18, sinners might then receive an inheritance, an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. That word inheritance implies something that is valuable, something that is rich, something that you would want, something that you could hold on to. And that is what God himself offers to these spiritual orphans who need him. This is the mission that Jesus has given not just Paul, but all his people, but you and me. His heavenly vision ought to be our heavenly vision. After all, isn't this what Jesus himself came to accomplish? In Luke chapter four, verses 18 and 19, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61 and describes his own mission. Jesus said, The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Really, Jesus extended his mission to Paul. And he extends that same mission to you and I. We have the same mission, don't we? And Jesus can use you to accomplish his work. One writer who's there in your message guide, I'm not sure if I could pronounce his name properly, but he said this, we believe and we know that all the work All the gospel work hinges, therefore, upon the opening of the blind eyes, which is a work of sovereign power and grace. It's God's work. But the truth is, any blind Bartimaeus can cry, Have mercy on me, Lord, that I may receive my sight and all God's plans. All God's plans in the gospel, in the church, and the ministry are to this end to grant all these saving blessings freely. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to offer all these to a sinner just like we were offered before we came to Christ? So do not forget your heavenly mission. Do not forget that Paul's mission is our mission. But also, second, I think we see that we must not forget our heavenly message. our heavenly message, that all the healing, all the help, all the hope, all the heritage that a sinner needs can be received, again at the very end of verse 18, simply by faith that is in me, Jesus says. That's all someone has to do, is believe in me. And they have healing. They have help. They have hope. They have a home. They have a heritage. Jesus can say this because he is the one who paved the way. He is the one who paid the price necessary for all these spiritual blessings and benefits. And so our message as Christians and our message as a church is to be like Paul's message, the message that he gives there in verse 23 to King Agrippa, that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should show light unto the people. and to the Gentiles. We see three things that our message should entail. The message of the gospel. First of all, the love of Christ. The love of Christ is still to be our message. Even as Paul said there in verse 23, that Christ should suffer. Now, the world might see suffering and not think love. They might see suffering and think injustice. They might think suffering and see foolishness. But a Christian sees suffering, the suffering of Christ, and sees love. Because the suffering of Christ demonstrates and proves his love. Jesus said this in John 15, 13, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And yet, didn't Jesus display an even greater kind of love? Romans 5 8. While we were yet sinners, we weren't even as friends. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Paul says this is how God demonstrates his love. His suffering displays his love. The love of Christ must still be our message. We also see that the life of Christ must still be our message. The life of Christ, again, as Paul says to Agrippa there in verse 23, and that he, Christ, should be the first that should rise from the dead. Now, this does not mean that others had not been brought back to life because there had been others. We go to the Old Testament. There were people that came back to life. There were people in the New Testament. Jesus even brought some back to life. When Jesus rose from the dead, there were hundreds that were brought back to life. This means that Jesus Christ was the first to rise to immortality. He was first to rise, never to die again. Even Lazarus, when he said, Lazarus, come forth out of the grave, and he came out, and he said, you gotta unbind the guy, Lazarus still died again. A natural death, but not Jesus. When he rose again, he came back to life, never to die again. That's what he means here, that he should be the first that should rise from the dead. The first groups, even as Peter preached in Acts 2.24, it was not possible that he, Jesus, should be holden of it, death. Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and he that believeth in him, though he were dead, yet shall he live. The life of Christ is still our message, just like it was for Paul. Because what hope is there in a dead Messiah? What hope is there in a dead Savior? There's no salvation power in someone who is dead, but in someone who is living in Christ. But then Paul adds the message of the light of Christ, his love, his life, and then his light. And the light of Christ must still be our message. Again, as Paul says there in verse 23, that Christ should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. The people here, he's talking about the Jewish people, and then the Gentiles talking about the rest of us. Every single one of us. The light of Christ shines forth like the sun into all the world, calling all people to trust in him. Isn't that a wonderful thing about the gospel? It's one size fits all. Because anyone and everyone can trust Christ. And anyone and everyone can find their light and salvation in Him. It doesn't matter what their pedigree is. The light of Christ is for all nations, and all kindreds, and all people, and all tongues according to Revelation 7-9. It doesn't matter their pedigree. It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Gentile. It doesn't matter if you're an American, a German. Asian doesn't matter any of these things. It doesn't matter what your position is. There is Paul telling Agrippa that his message was not just for him. It wasn't just for the king of the Jews. It wasn't just for the Roman governor. It was for everyone. Look at verse 22. He says, Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day witnessing to both small and great. It doesn't matter their position. I'm not impressed by you, King Agrippa. I'm not impressed by you, Governor Festus. I'm here to tell everyone, small and great, say none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. But something else about this message. It doesn't even matter what someone's past is. It shouldn't matter what someone's past is. Because in heaven, there will be all kinds, all kinds of sanctified sinners. Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 6, 9. He begins by listing a whole bunch of sins. And a lot of those sins we would look and say, yeah, that's pretty bad. That's pretty dark. That's pretty sinful. But then listen to what he says. in verse 11. Paul goes on, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? That is part of the gospel. No sinner can enter into the heavenly kingdom without having that sin taken care of. No unrighteous person shall inherit the kingdom of God. Again, it doesn't matter your pedigree, it doesn't matter your position. He goes on, Be not deceived, neither fornicators, sexual sin or idolaters or adulterers or effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And of course, we need to say amen to that because it's true. But Paul doesn't end there when he's writing to this church, he says, and such were some of you. There is no sin so great that the gospel light cannot penetrate and bring that sinner to sanctification and salvation. Paul says, Such were some of you. You were a fornicator. You were an idolater. You were an adulterer. Go on. Such were some of you. But that's not the way you are now. That's not who you are now. But ye are washed You're sanctified, but you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. So it doesn't matter someone's past. You share the gospel with them because it's the same solution for your past. So we must ever point others and never get over that old, old story of Jesus and his love, his love, his life, his light. Do not forget your heavenly message. What Paul was to give, we are to give. But then I also want to add third. Do not forget our heavenly madness, our heavenly madness. As Paul was making his case to Agrippa, as we read earlier, Festus thought he was nuts, that he was crazy. In fact, in verse 24, as Paul thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself. Much learning doth make thee mad, crazy, nuts. Get the straitjacket. Of course, Paul wasn't mad, but he was motivated, wasn't he? And people could interpret that motivation for madness. He was motivated to witness the truth. and even to win his austere audience to Christ. And so with great zeal, great passion, with a heavenly madness, Paul makes a strong appeal, a strong and final appeal to Agrippa there in verse 27. He says, King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Here the questioned, Paul, becomes the questioner, and here a king is on trial before his prisoner. Surely Paul had to be mad to think that he could speak to and win such a man as Agrippa and Bernice, his sister, and the governor Festus. And the thing is, Agrippa knew what Paul was up to. He had listened. He had heard. And his heart had been pricked. So that's why we see a strong answer from King Agrippa himself. In verse 28, he said, almost Thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Now, this has been a challenging statement for Bible translators ever since there have been Bible translations. It's not a textual issue, it's a translation issue. What did King Agrippa mean when he said this? Because the word, almost, in the King James translation is one way, just one way to translate a phrase that literally means, in a little. or in a few. Does he refer to Paul's words that he was just speaking a little bit? Does it refer to the time in which Paul was speaking? Was it just a small short time period? Or does he refer to his own response? Almost you are persuading me to be a Christian. Some translations put Agrippa's words in the form of a question, but it seems best to see it more as a statement because he was trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation. He was making a response and a retort, but still, we're not really all that certain what he meant. Have you ever just said something and you didn't really know what you meant yourself? I think that's what was going on here. He's just trying to get out of this uncomfortable situation. Paul is asking him a pointed question. Don't you believe? He says, What am I going to say? My sister's here. The governor's here. There's all of these other dignitaries here. I got to get out of this somehow. But even though we're not exactly certain what he meant by what he said, what is clear is that Agrippa was not ready to be a Christian. He resisted the clear message of the gospel. from Paul's lips. You cannot get any clearer from Acts chapter 26 what the gospel is all about. As John Calvin once described it, Agrippa's meaning is that he will not willingly become a Christian, yea, that he will not be one at all. Almost. Philippi Bliss, who wrote the song that we read the hymn story earlier, also wrote a hymn titled Almost Persuaded. Almost persuaded now to believe. almost persuaded Christ to receive. Seems now some soul to say, Go spirit, go thy way. Some more convenient day on thee I'll call. Almost persuaded. Come, come today. Almost persuaded. Turn not away. Jesus invites you here. Angels are lingering near. Prayers rise from hearts so dear. Oh, wanderer, come. Almost persuaded. Harvest is past. Almost persuaded. Doom comes at last. Almost cannot avail. Almost is but to fail. Sad, sad, that bitter wail. Almost, but lost. Almost. But you know, that did not dissuade Paul at all. In fact, he makes one final passionate plea to his king there in verse twenty nine. Paul said, I would to God. I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, we're both almost use the same term, same phrase and all together, such as I am a Christian, except these bonds, these chains. But with that, the moment given to Agrippa to receive and to respond to the gospel vanished. And from history, we do not believe that Agrippa ever came to faith in Christ. Almost persuaded means he was not ever persuaded here. And that broke Paul's heart. It broke his heart. Oh, that the Lord would give us the same kind of heavenly madness for the souls of others. Even as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5.11, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. We want sinners to fall into the hands of a living God in judgment and in death and perpetual destruction. No, I hope that's not your heart. So tonight, take away from this chapter this truth that the mission of Paul is your mission. The message of Paul is your message. And even this heavenly madness of Paul ought to be your madness because the heavenly vision of Paul belongs to you as well. Do not be disobedient. unto your heavenly vision. Let's pray. Father, we thank you again for how you have shown to us that this vision that you gave Paul is really a vision that should extend to us all. And I pray, O Lord, that tonight we will not be disobedient unto this same heavenly vision, that, Lord, you will give us the same heart that you have for sinners who are lost so that, Lord, we might be your tools, your instruments to offer healing and help and hope and even a heritage to those who are lost. And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.