Please turn with me once again to the book of Acts chapter 26 and with God's help we continue our way through the book of Acts and we return now to the conclusion of Paul's third trials, the third time that he is brought before authorities. And now we have come, we have considered last Lord's Day, how the Apostle Paul engaged in witnessing about the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life before Festus and King Agrippa, but now we see a more personal engagement. We move from a speech to kind of a dialogue, an interaction, and as we come to this interaction, we notice that the trial comes to its conclusion. And what we are going to notice in these verses, verses 24 through 32 of Acts 26, is the importance of being prepared to give an answer. We are once again being encouraged by the word of the Lord of this crucial importance of knowing what to say, being prepared to speak, to teach, and to lead, as we have just sang, so that others may see the glory, the beauty of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So please, with this in mind, turn your attention to the reading of God's holy word, Acts 26, verses 24 through 32. This is God's holy inerrant and inspired word. Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself. Much learning is driving you mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things, for I am 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." Then Agrippa said to Paul, You almost persuaded me to become a Christian. And 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 Festus, this man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Let's start a reading of God's holy word. Let us pray. Almighty God in heaven, as we seek to be instructed, O Lord, as we seek to be guided and edified and exhorted and instructed by Your Word this morning. Lord, our hearts and souls are hungering to hear Your voice. Lord, we desire once again to be pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ and to be encouraged in our Christian walk. And therefore, Lord, we pray, visit Your people mightily through Your Word. May Your Holy Spirit, O Lord, guide us unto all truth and all understanding this morning. And as we, O Lord, delight in Your Word and Your revelation, May the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Church, be glorified and may He be treasured even more in our hearts. In His name, Lord, we pray these things. Amen. You see, our King told us that the gates of hell would never prevail against the church. He promised that, and as he promised that, he was also warning us as believers, as the bride of Christ, as the church of the Lord Jesus, that conflict would be ahead of us. We will be victorious in this conflict, but there will be conflict. There will be conflict against a world that is enraged against the Holy One. We read that and we learn that very easily in Psalm number 2, that the kings of the earth, they conspire together against the Lord and against His anointed. Well, it is very fitting that the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, with whom the Lord Jesus is united, who is the body and the Lord Jesus is the head, that the body of Christ would experience the very same animosity and conflict. that also implies that we must be ready. That's one of the reasons why apologetics is so important. You see, it's very common for you to visit bookstores and there is a huge section on apologetics, which means to defend the faith, to give an answer to those who question the Christian faith, to those who question what we believe, and to equip Christians with biblical grounds and reasonable answers to defend the faith of the saints. That's what we see the Apostle Paul doing in these verses. He's giving to everyone an answer. Agrippa raises his questions or makes his statements, he gives Agrippa an answer. Festus also raises his comments and he gives Festus an answer. And in this way the Apostle Paul is encouraging us that we would be ready to give everyone also an answer. We hear this very same call later on through the writings of the Apostle Peter who reminds us that we are to be ready to give an answer to those who question us regarding our faith. And as we read then these verses we are encouraged in this. We are reminded of our calling as Christians. As Christians we are called to be ready to answer to those who question our faith. And we are ready, we are to be ready to refute their arguments, but also to affirm our testimony as we do so. So this is what we learned this morning as we visit these verses. As we consider its message, what we learned this morning is that the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to respond to those who question our faith. We do that refuting their arguments, but we do that as well affirming our testimony. Our testimony that we are the people of the Lord. We consider then three headings this morning as we understand this text. First we notice that we answer to refute the pride of intellect. We see that that's how Faustus argues against the Apostle Paul. He's prideful of his intellect, and then we notice the Apostle Paul addressing him on that specific regard. Then we notice in verses 26 to 29 that we answer to refute the pride of position. That's where Agrippa places himself. He takes pride on his position and he answers based on it and then Paul refutes him on that. But lastly, we notice that we respond to refute the pride of opinion. Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice gather together to lessen the Apostle Paul, perhaps fostering notions about who the Apostle Paul would be and what the Apostle Paul would say, but their pride is then destroyed as they come to the conclusion that Paul is innocent. So we answer to refute the pride of intellect. We answer to refute the pride of position, and we answer to refute the pride of opinion, as the people of the Lord Jesus Christ, our King, calls us to respond to those who question our faith, refuting their arguments, but also affirming our testimony that we are saved by the Lord. So as we turn our attention to the first two verses, we notice then that there is a reaction to Paul's speech. Now, it's very important for us just to consider briefly what was the content of that speech. Remember how Paul used his personal testimony to magnify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He began speaking about who he was, that's the entire first section of chapter 26. That he was a Pharisee, that he also persecuted the faith, and yet he had this powerful encounter with the resurrected King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ. While he was seeking to persecute the Christians, the Lord came from heaven and met with Paul at the road to Damascus, reminding us that it is the Lord who comes to the encounter of sinners and not the other way around. And that when the Lord comes to the encounter of sinners, there is a great revolution that happens in their lives. So in this way, the Apostle Paul was really magnifying the Lord Jesus. He was basically saying, the one that you Romans killed, He is resurrected. He is alive. He's the true God of heaven and earth. And He came to me for He was gracious and merciful with me, not only forgiving my sins, but raising me to work for Him. Well, Festus then reacts. And what is his reaction? In a nutshell, this is what Festus is saying, verse 24. Paul, you're crazy. What you are saying is irrational. What you are saying is completely madness. Look again, he uses two expressions there in verse 24. Number one is, you are beside yourself. In other words, you are out of your mind. You are insane. And then he confirms that by saying, well, I acknowledged that what you're saying is really full of learning. I'm not saying that you are dumb. But what I'm saying is that what you are saying is beyond reason. It's not according to human reasoning. Now this is very interesting for a Roman to say that. Not to say ludicrous. If you know anything about Roman civilization, boys and girls, let me call upon your studies on Roman civilization. Do you know what the Romans believed regarding the beginning of the Roman Empire? What was the common knowledge of a common Roman of how did the Roman Empire came? How did it begin? Well, a regular Roman would say that the Roman Empire began with two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned as infants close to the banks of the Tiber River, that they were nursed by a she-wolf. And out of these two brothers, the nation of Rome was formed. Two infants, two babies, who were found by a she-wolf, nursed by a she-wolf, and then the Roman kingdom came to exist. This is the man who is accusing Paul of madness. Kind of like what people do with us these days. When we say that the Lord created all things in six days and all very good, they say, that's madness. Don't you know that things were evolved in billions and billions of years? Don't you know that everything began with bacteria and then we evolved into some sort of ape creature and here we are? This is what reason looks like. Your belief that God created all things in six days and over, that's madness. You see, it doesn't change. The attacks that don't change, it's exactly the same. Festus is questioning Paul's rationality. But listen to Paul's response. First of all, he responds very respectfully. I want, first of all, you to notice that. He responds very respectfully. He says, first of all, I'm not mad, most noble Festus. There's no insult. There's no provocation. But he begins with a very simple apology. Look, your impression about me is wrong. It's almost as Paul would be saying, Festus, you are claiming to be a rational man and you are attacking me with an ad hominem argument? You're not refuting my statements, you're simply accusing my person. That's what a fallacy, again, boys and girls, you who are in high school studying different logical fallacies, that's the fallacy of the ad hominem, the attack against the person. Festus is not addressing what the Apostle Paul said. He's not addressing the resurrection of the dead. Remember, that's the main reason why this whole trial is taking place. He's not addressing that fact. He's not addressing Paul's encounter with the Lord Jesus. He's not addressing Paul's new transformed life. These are all facts. Festus bothers in no way, shape, or form to address those matters, but he attacks Paul. You're mad. You're dumb. You're stupid. Paul says, well, that's just ad hominem. You're not addressing my argument. But listen to what he does later, verse 25. He uses two very important words that should capture our attention. The first thing that the Apostle Paul says is that I speak words of truth. What I am saying is verifiable. That's what the Apostle Paul is saying. What I'm speaking to you is according to history, is according to reality. The first way that the Apostle Paul refutes Festus in his saying, or answers Festus in what he's saying, is proclaiming that what he's saying is real history. Are you doubting that Jesus of Nazareth existed? Well, you are the ones who executed them. How the Romans would execute a man that never existed? And are you doubting that the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead? Well, it was you Romans who were guarding His tomb. Now go and ask the soldiers, where is the body? Is the tomb still there? Is the body still there? Was the tomb empty? Was the stone rolled supernaturally? Did an earthquake took place? What I am narrating to you is all according to fact. And you're questioning if this reason, Lord, was really seen by me? Okay. What about all the thousands of witnesses who saw the Lord Jesus alive after He was publicly crucified at the cross? You see, the Apostle Paul is saying, what I'm saying to you, Festus, is according to fact. It's true. This is the word of truth. It's real history. It's not myth, like the myth where your kingdom came from, but it's reality. But the second thing he says also should really grab our attention. And especially you high schoolers and those who are in college, let me bring this to your attention. The second thing Paul says is that this is a word of reason. This is a word that is according to human logic. This is a word that does not contradict logic. It may be beyond logic. It may be beyond natural explanations which point us to a supernatural reality, but it's not contrary to logic. You see, if you study a little bit of logic in school, you know that there are three main laws of logic. There is a law of identity that states that a proposition is true, and If it is true, it must be true, but if it's a proposition is false, then it must be false. So either one thing is true or false, they can't be both things at the same time, which leads us to the second law of logic, which is the law of non-contradiction. The law of non-contradiction says that something cannot be and not be at the same time, in the same place, in the same way. That's where we get our saying, you can't have your cake and eat it too. That's breaking the law of non-contradiction. Either you have the cake or you eat the cake. You can't have it and eat it at the same time. There's also a third law, that's the law of the excluded middle. And basically, the law of excluded middle says that a statement such as, it's raining, it's either true or false. It cannot be something in the middle. It's either true that it's raining or it's false. Now, apply these three rules of logic to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The statement that Jesus resurrected from the dead doesn't contradict any of these three laws. It's not unreasonable. But let me tell you something that is unreasonable, and you probably heard that a lot, especially in 2020, is that the only thing we can know is that which has been proven by science. Science, they say. Trust in the science. Make science your God. Unless you believe in that which is tested in a laboratory or proved by mathematical equations, these are the only things we can believe, and unless things can be tested or quantified, they should not be believed. Well let me tell you five things that science cannot prove and cannot account and it's very reasonable to believe. Are we ready for this? Let me give you five ways in which science can't prove things and yet it's very, very reasonable to believe these things. For example, number one, it is You know, it's logic and mathematical factors or logic and mathematical proofs are not proven by science. Science begins with those things and then make its own experiments, but they don't prove the logic and mathematical truths. They are based on it. You see, science can't prove logic and mathematical truths. Second thing, science can't prove metaphysical truths. Science can prove, for example, that the external world is really real. It begins with the presupposition that the external world is real, but it can prove it. You can prove by science that you're not a brain in a vat. Imagining the outer world as reality. We experience that sometimes when we have dreams that are so real that we think we was real, but they were just dreams. You see, you can't test the dream through science. You can't test metaphysical truths through science. Number three, you can't measure ethical truths by science. You can't test in a laboratory the thesis that killing people in the Second World War in concentration camps was mathematically approved. It's mathematically true. You can't prove that. Science is unable to do these things. Fourthly, science cannot tell us what is beautiful. You can't test something that is beautiful in a laboratory. You don't hold beauty in a research tube and you put in different areas in your laboratory. That which is beautiful is something true and yet not scientifically proven. But lastly, and this is the most interesting one, you cannot prove science through science. You can't prove that a statement, the only thing that we know, is through scientific experiment. You can't prove that by a scientific experiment. You begin with that. So you see, what the Apostle Paul is really destroying Festus, in his thinking, is that, Festus, you are the one who believes that Rome came out of two babies who were nursed by a she-wolf. I am coming from the ground of the only true God who created heaven and earth and whose son took upon himself flesh. And he not only died for his people, but he resurrected because of the supernatural power of the all-powerful Almighty God. Paul says that unashamedly. Paul says that with great conviction, truth and reason belongs to Christianity and to nothing else. Christian, are you ready to say those words to those who question your faith? Perhaps you have already encountered those who say, oh, you know, Christian, you Christians are really irrational. You Christians don't like science. You're just a bunch of ignorant people. And these are exactly the very same ones who believe in statements like, if it can't be proven by science, it should not be believed. Well, did that statement was tested in a laboratory? Did you test that? Did you quantify that by the scientific method? Christians, we are called to answer and to refute the pride of intellect. The Lord has called us to bring all mind and thought captive to the Lord Jesus Christ. For in Him, as the Apostle Paul says to the Ephesians, is stored all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. But secondly, we also are called to refute the pride of position. And that's what we see now in verses 26 to 29. The first thing we notice here is Paul's boldness. Do you notice that he puts Agrippa, the king, in a corner? Do you notice that? How bold he was? Here is this man in chains in front of this great pompous multitude. And verse 26, it says, hey, the king knows what I'm talking about. Festus, you're just a pagan who believes that two infant kids were nursed by a she-wolf, and that's how the Roman Empire came to be. But the king, he knows the Bible. He knows the prophets. He knows the prophecies about the Messiah. He is the one who knows these things, and not only that, he knows about Jesus. Look at the end of verse 26. He says, for this thing was not done in a corner. In other words, what I'm telling you all this morning is public knowledge. People know these things, especially in the area, in the region of Jerusalem and Judea. It was not done in a hidden place that nobody knows of. Agrippa knows this. And look at the boldness in verse 27. The one who is being questioned is the one who begins to make questions. Look at that, verse 27. King Gragrippa, do you believe the prophets? You see, here the apostle Paul is reminding us how to deal with those who claim to be spiritually minded, who claim to be religious, but with their own lives and with their own lips, they contradict the very thing they say they believe. Agrippa, as a representative of the Jewish people, remember, that's the main reason why Agrippa is in this setting. The reason why Festus called Agrippa is that Agrippa would help him to write a report to Caesar. Agrippa, as the Jewish king, would be able to understand what Paul is talking about and then help Agrippa, help Festus to write his report. So the Apostle Paul is really calling Agrippa to his responsibility. Agrippa, you know these things. You have heard the Scriptures. You know what the prophets say. You know that there was a Messiah to come. How do you respond? Do you believe these prophecies? See, the Apostle Paul is helping and encouraging us to tell those who believe in Jesus, to tell those who profess to be Christians, do you believe in the Bible? Do you really believe in the words of Christ? You who say, who is a Christian, but your life is a mess. Your life is destroyed by corruption and sin. Do you really believe what is written in the Word of God? Do you really believe in the words of the one you say is your Savior? You see, that's the question that Paul is pressing against the grip of. But notice how he responds. He responds with the pride of position. He says, you almost persuaded me to become a Christian. Depending on the translation you're reading, perhaps you are reading, in a short period of time, would you make me a Christian? Or perhaps you may be reading, in a short period of time, you almost made me become a Christian. Agrippa is saying, look, Paul, Do you really think that in 10, 15, 20 minutes that you have been speaking here, you're going to convince me, the king? As you said, I have knowledge of the prophets. Should I be persuaded by you whom I don't know where you come from? I don't know your credentials. I don't know your background. Do you really think that you could convince me, the king, In a short period of time to become as you are, that's the pride of position, isn't it? That's equivalent to saying, you know, what you say, what you are expressing through your lips may have soundness, may make sense, and yet I am too important to believe what you're saying. I have other things that I should value and treasure more than your message. I have a position to keep. And this is a very short period of time in which you could persuade me one way or another." Well, here's how we answer to that sort of claim, verse 29. We remind those who are appealing to their position that we have not the ministry of convincing anybody. This is not my call, Christian. This is not your call. Look at what Paul says, verse 29. It's interesting to notice that the Apostle Paul uses the very ideal of short time, the almost, that Agrippa used in his statement, he uses against Agrippa. You notice that? In other words, the Apostle Paul is saying, you know, King, if it's in a short time or if it's in a long time, my prayer is that God will make all such as I am, except for my chains. The Apostle Paul is saying that it's not up to him to convince anybody. I would to God, he says, I pray God would make in a short period of time or in a long time all those who are hearing me as I am. That sounds like Moses, doesn't it? The Apostle Paul will say similar words writing to the Romans. that he wished his own people, all his own people, the Jewish people, would indeed embrace faith in Christ. Notice the disposition of the heart, the desire of the heart of the Apostle Paul, a missionary desire, an evangelistic desire, but a submissive desire. It is God who does that, not me. I'm not here to convince you or to manipulate you or to make you believe in something. It is God who does that. And you see, in this way, Christians, we are reminded that that's how we respond to those who question the faith that the Lord has given us. We respond to the pride of intellect reminding that in Christ is all treasure of knowledge and wisdom. If there is anything reasonable and truthful is the Christian faith. Anything else may be false, but the Christian faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who came upon this world, took upon himself flesh, died for his saints and resurrected from the dead and will come again, these are all truthful and reasonable beliefs. There's nothing against reason and there's nothing against truth. To the pride of position we respond by reminding those who oppose that it's not our duty to convince them. Our duty is to proclaim the truth, but it is for the Lord to change their hearts, if that's the Lord's blessed will. Now one temptation that we have as we give a testimony, as we give a witness, as we give an answer, the temptation that we face sometimes is to be frustrated or to be angry or to give a response in a rash, harsh manner. But as we notice in the very last verses of this text, we are reminded that we must subdue this sin, the sin of harshness, the sin of aggressiveness, we must subdue it with the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the way we respond will cause an impression. on the people who hear. Look, verses 30 and 32, 30 through 32, we notice that those who got the whole meeting together, they are now conferring with each other. Bernice, Agrippa's sister, Agrippa himself, the king, and Alphaestas, look at what they say. Verse 31, this man is doing nothing deserving of death or chance. The way Paul responded and the words, the wisdom with which Paul responded left Bernice, Agrippa, and Festus completely without a response. But this man is innocent. We notice how the Apostle Paul addressed Festus as noble Festus. with respect and honor. We notice how he challenged King Agrippa, and yet in his challenge, he didn't go overboard. He addressed the king respectfully, and the answer he gave was also humble and respectful. And notice the consequence, as the truth was proclaimed, the consequence is that we may not believe what this man is saying, but this man is innocent of any crime. Calvin, reading these verses, he says the following. It says, because of Paul's testimony, the essence of the gospel was again powerfully upheld and spread abroad. You see this understanding that this man is innocent. Look again at verse 32, the restatement. He says, this man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Well, Fastus is placing himself in a position of guilty. Because now he's saying, I should have set this man free. I should have not given him a chance to appeal to Caesar. I should have simply released him from his chains. He is almost a confession of guilt coming from Festus himself because all of them now, after hearing Paul's testimony, after hearing Paul's interaction and answers, they have no guilt to place upon the apostle but a sentence of innocence. And in this way, Paul is not upholding himself. He's upholding the gospel. He's upholding the truthfulness of his message. as nobody can found him guilty. This man is not guilty of being unreasonable. This man is not guilty of falsehood. This man is not guilty of trying to force anybody into his own faith. He's trusting in the Lord to bring his message to people's hearts and souls. This man is innocent. His gospel is true. His Christ is true. That's the necessary implication. You see, we don't know what the opinion that Agrippa and Bernice had before coming to this meeting. Before they came, perhaps they came just out of curiosity. They wanted to hear what the Apostle Paul had to say. Perhaps they came with the desire of really finding something to pin the Apostle Paul against the wall, although the contrary was precisely what happened. So we don't know what kind of opinion they came to that meeting. One thing we know from verses 30 to 32, whatever that opinion was, it was replaced by one and only, this man is innocent. There is nothing in Him that we can condemn. We can condemn His message. We can condemn His person. We can condemn His actions. We can condemn His speech. There is nothing in Him He is guiltless. And that's a good reminder for us, isn't it? As we seek to give everyone an answer. We give everyone an answer with this main goal that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the person of the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified. Just like John the Baptist said that he would increase and I would decrease. That the focus and attention of those who are listening to me would be back to the Lord of glory, back to the Calvary, back to the cross, back to the empty tomb, back to the resurrected Lord, not to me, but that the gospel of Christ and His kingdom would be upheld and elevated. So how can we use this text practically in our lives? Let me give you three applications this morning, three applications. Number one, let us be reminded, first of all, that the Lord has set us free from falsehood. I would suggest that this is the main teaching of this passage. Here are they, the most important, intelligent, relevant people of that time. and they are all blinded to who Christ is and to the power of His gospel. Their own sin blinds them, but not Paul and not us Christians. This text is really reminding us of the great mercy and grace of the triune Lord towards me and you, who out of all tribes, tongues and nations and peoples has gathered us, not because we think reasonably, not because we articulate truthfulness, not because we have important positions to boast about, but because of His grace and mercy, He has set us free from the bondage of sin and He has drawn us to the Lord Himself and He has submitted us and subdued us to the kingship of Christ. Otherwise, we would be nothing but equal to Bernice, Agrippa and Festus. The best they can do in the blindness of their sin is to see that there's nothing wrong with Paul. But they can't see the glory of Christ. If you sit here this morning rejoicing in your salvation, If you sit here this morning glorifying in the Lord Jesus, delighting in what Christ has conquered for you and has applied in you through the power of His Holy Spirit, the only reason why you have that joy is because the King of glory gave it to you. Praise it be His name. For different from Agrippa, Festus and Bernice, the Lord desired that we would be like Paul. The light in that this morning, Christian, the light in your salvation, the light in the sight that Christ has given you, that you are not by His grace like a Festus, like an Agrippa, like a Bernice. But secondly, we also, second application we see from this verse is that we are called to give an answer. We are not to be intimidated by the attacks of the evil one and of his evil kingdom. Look, the Lord Jesus Christ has granted us all that we need to give a reasonable and truthful answer about the faith that we have. We should not be shy about it. We should not be intimidated about those who say, science, science, believe in it, or there is no belief at all. We are to challenge them in what they say. We are to remind them that the Lord of wisdom calls them to repentance and faith. We are to proclaim unto them that they are lost in their sins and in their trespasses and they are called to come immediately to Christ in all submission to the King. Let us be ready for that. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel. Let us not be intimidated by those who have all sorts of letters before their name. BHDs, DDDs, ODDs, there are so many. It's almost like an entire alphabet, isn't it? And they are the ones who hold the truth. No. The Lord is the one who holds all truth. And we go to Him to know the truth. But Leslie, Leslie, as we give an answer, let us not forget who we are. We are sinners saved by grace. Our answer must come with humility. Our answer must be given with reason, with truthfulness, with candor. That's the example the Apostle Paul sets for us in these verses, isn't it? That's not only the example of the Apostle Paul, it's the work of the Holy Spirit in us, isn't it? Right into Galatians chapter 5, isn't one of the fruit of the Spirit in us meekness, long-suffering? And are we not to use meekness and long-suffering as we interact with those who oppose the Christian faith? We are. Or we are not showing Christ to them even as we respond to them. You see, Christians, as we are challenged and questioned about our faith, we must be ready to give them an answer, but we also must be ready to give them an answer in the Spirit of Christ, knowing that we don't convince anybody. Not seeking to turn people's hearts because that's the work of the Holy Spirit, but telling them the truth in love, as the Word itself commands us to. You see Christian, the gates of hell will never prevail against the church. But that implies that we are called to give an answer. You are called out of darkness into the light of Christ to be in the midst of battle. Be ready for it. Be ready to give to everyone an answer. To those who are pride in their intellect, to those who are prideful of their position, to those who are prideful of their opinions, we give them an answer. Trusting that if the Lord will, their hearts will be changed. Trusting that Christ is sovereign upon His people. And in His own timing, He will bring them to Himself. And as we give an answer, we answer. as He would answer in lowliness and meekness. May He help us, all of us in this. Let us pray together. Great God in heaven, we thank You for Your Word and for all the instruction we have this morning. Lord, Your Word encourages us to love apologetics, to love to defend the faith, for it's the truth, for it is reasonable. For it destroys all pride and all position, and it brings all sinners to their own level, those who are in need, desperate need, of Your grace and mercy revealed in Christ and applied through His Spirit. Lord, we pray that You would grant us that courage, that You would grant us that wisdom, as You promised us that through the Holy Spirit You would grant us wisdom. But help us as well, O Lord, to be prepared, to desire, to seek wisdom, to respond those who ask for our faith. But Lord, most of all, we thank you. We thank you for removing the blindfold of our eyes. We thank you, Lord, for meeting us, not necessarily at the road to Damascus, but meeting us in each of our own circumstances. For unless you have sought us, O Lord, We would have never sought You, and therefore, Lord, we rejoice that You have reached even to us and that now, like the Apostle Paul, we profess that Christ is King, Lord, and Savior. Help us to live by our profession, we pray in Jesus' name.