Turn with me please to Acts chapter 26. Acts 26. Then preaching through a series of messages on folks that were close to heaven, but not close enough. They were lost. And we've looked at four individuals previously who were in that category. We saw the man who walked with Jesus but missed heaven. Talking about Judas Iscariot. Can you imagine walking with Jesus three and a half years? Jesus is right there. And not have Him in your heart. Not believe on Him as you should. We have the moral self-righteous man, the moral self-righteous man who walked away from the righteousness of God that was standing right there before him, the rich young ruler. Last time we took a look at the opportunist and procrastinator Felix. Before that we saw the gambler who took his chances, that unrepentant thief on the cross. Today I want to look at a man who had head knowledge. He knew all the facts. but he didn't know the Savior. He knew all the facts, but he didn't know the Savior. And it's possible to know that. We see in Acts 26, really it's a Part of the story that we dealt with, we saw Paul brought before Felix, and in the last message that we looked at, there's one area of Scripture here we're not going to deal with. left office, and Festus took his place. And Festus is another individual. We will see him mentioned in the passage of Scripture we're going to read this morning. But I'm not going to deal with Festus, but I want to deal with King Agrippa, who Paul was before. These guys were politicians. And it was not politically expedient for any of these three to resolve Paul's case. Felix walked the fence like a cat. Festus found Paul to be irritating like a festering sore. And Agrippa, we'll see he failed to get a grip on the situation here. Acts 26, let's read, begin reading verse number 1. And I want you to see Paul's effective testimony here. So then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. And Paul stretched forth the hen and answered for himself. He said, 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 from my youth, which was at the first among my own 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 our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews." Now this hope he's talking about is the hope of the resurrection. The Jews of the Old Testament, they were looking for that hope of the resurrection. Verse number 8 says, Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? I want to just pause there a minute and think about that question. Why would we think it would be incredible for God to raise up Jesus Christ from the dead? We think that it's an incredible thing. If you believe that God created the world, and He did, God gave life to everything that has life, and He did. If He gave life to it one time, can He not give life to it again? He most certainly can. He's God. He can do what He wants. Verse 9, he said, I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. He's talking about the time before he was saved. He says, 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, being exceedingly mad against them. I persecuted them even under strange cities. In other words, Paul is saying, hey, I did just what these guys were doing. until I saw the light. That's basically what he's gonna say here. Look at verse 12. Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priest, 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. Now I want you to think about midday. Sun's at its highest peak, right? The sun is bright, and yet this light that he saw was even brighter than the sun. He saw Jesus is what he saw. Verse 14, And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, 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 thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things into which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, and to whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, 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 unto 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. In other words, you're just crazy, man. You don't know what you're talking about. You're crazy. Look at verse 25. 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 Thestas, This man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed unto Caesar. So we see this Testimony of Paul. Paul had an effective testimony before this king Agrippa. Paul stood in chains before Agrippa just as he stood before Felix to testify of God's grace in his life. When you take a look at the apostle Paul, Paul used every situation, every opportunity that God presented him to share the gospel of Christ. Paul used this difficult situation to share and to witness to what God had done in his life through Jesus Christ. You know, when Christ is real in one's life, then sharing what Jesus means is always a powerful and persuasive testimony. The Apostle Paul here urged this very powerful king to become a Christian. Now, we see throughout this encounter with King Agrippa, as with anyone else, Paul, might encounter with the gospel, all the elements of an effective testimony are seen. First of all, Paul testified of Jesus Christ regardless of the difficulties or consequences it might bring to him personally. He wasn't concerned really with his release as much as he was concerned about preaching the gospel of Jesus. Amen? Proclaiming the gospel always brings about, though, one of two responses from the laws. Turn with me, please. Hold your place there in the book of Acts. Turn to 2 Corinthians. It's not too far over. Book of 2 Corinthians, chapter number 2. I want you to see these two responses as Paul noted to the Corinthian church. 2 Corinthians, chapter number two, and I want us to look at verses 14 through 16. 2 Corinthians two, verse number 14. Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet saver of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are the saver of death unto death, and the other the saver of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? You know, as we preach the gospel, some will accept the gospel by repenting toward God and having faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives. And that's the only way that anybody can be saved. They must repent of their sin and turn and trust the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross of Calvary. On the other hand, the vast majority that we share the gospel with will respond with rejection and rebellion. They'll reject the gospel and they will rebel against God trying to work in their heart and in their lives. What we need to realize is that the results belong to God. Our assignment is to preach the gospel so that all people will be brought either to receive Him or reject Him. We see not only Paul testified of Christ regardless of the circumstances or difficulties, but secondly, Paul urged his hearers to receive Christ whether they responded rightly or not. We see that he's urging here King Agrippa. Now, I'm sure that he had his doubts about whether Agrippa would receive the Lord Jesus Christ. He probably knew that Agrippa had enough politics about him that, you know, he wasn't wanting to stir the stuff up with these Jews. And if he had trusted Christ and said, you know, I'm going to put my hat in the basket and become a Christian. I'm going to become a Christian like you, Paul. He would have really had some difficulties with these Jews that had come to seek Paul's demise. 2 Corinthians 5 verse number 11, Paul said that we persuade men. He said, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. And he was using persuasive testimony here to try to persuade Agrippa to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just to let him go, but to come to know how Paul got to where he was at. Because Paul takes him from the time when he was in his lost condition God dealing in his life, how God changed his life, and then what that change brought forth in his life to share the gospel with whoever. 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 20 says, Thou within we are ambassadors for Christ, and that's exactly what Paul was. As though God did beseech you by us, he said, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Acts 18 verse number 4 says that he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, Paul did, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. Paul was about persuasion. He was persuading folks that this is the Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus arose from the grave. He died for your sins. He was buried in a grave, but he came forth three days later. And this was not something that was, as he said, done in a corner. This was something that was widely known at this time, what had happened. Paul pressed on no matter what others might think or what others might say. Look there at verse number 24 again in our text, Acts 26 verse 24. We see here that Paul pressed on no matter what Festus had to say, amen? He said, and he does speak 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 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 accord." You know, the things that we preach were not done in secret, were they? Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind. He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and he did arise from the grave. We see that God told the prophet Jeremiah to be a bold witness in the face of those who would oppose him. In Jeremiah 1, verse 17, The Lord told him, Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee. Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. Now Paul was the kind of witness that Jeremiah was. He knew it might get him in trouble. He knew that it might bring some hardship, but he spoke it anyway because he had been told to speak forth freely the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, in 1 Thessalonians chapter number 2, let me read you a few verses here. Paul talked about the kind of witness that he was. He says in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse number 1, for yourselves, brethren, know our interest in unto you, that it was not in vain, but even after we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated, as you know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention." He's talking about they faced some hardship, But it didn't make them quit. They went ahead and they preached the gospel wherever they went. He says, For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak. not as pleasing men, but God which trieth our hearts." And I believe that what we see here in Acts 26, Paul was not trying to please men. He did not have in his mind that King Agrippa might think that he was a great speaker, or Thestas either one. He didn't have in mind that they might hold him in high esteem. What he had in mind was preaching the gospel of Jesus and seeing these gentlemen get saved. That's what he had in mind. He wanted God to be glorified. Paul was a great witness. and God honored his testimony. We see Paul's effective testimony, but I want you to see also history's recorded testimony. There in 1st Number 26, he talked about how none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done in a corner. As I said, this is something that happened in history. The things of the gospel, the gospel we preach, It actually happened in history. Christ actually was a person. He was actually the man, the God-man who came down from heaven in the manger in Bethlehem, was born and he lived And he began his ministry at about age 30, and he preached about three years, three and a half years there. And he went around showing through miracles who he was. Only someone who was of God could do the things that he did. And then he willingly went to the cross for our salvation. History has a recorded testimony. There's the testimony from Calvary, the scripture that was fulfilled. Isaiah 53 is one of the main scriptures that was fulfilled. There's many others that we could go to. There were 29 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled the day of Christ's crucifixion, dealing with his betrayal, his trial, his death, and his burial. 29 separate Old Testament prophecies. These prophecies were by many different voices during the five centuries from 1000 B.C. to 500 B.C. Yet all of these were literally fulfilled in Jesus Christ in one 24-hour period of time. We see not only the Scripture that was fulfilled, but we see the grace that was displayed. He prayed, Jesus did, He prayed for the very ones who crucified Him. You know, that's not something a man does. I'm talking about somebody who's just a man. I mean, as they were nailing Him to the cross, that which most men would have been cursing and yelling and screaming at their crucifiers. He prayed for them, Luke 23, 34. Then said, Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Then there's the testimony from the centurion in Mark 15, 39, who said, looking at everything there that day, He was there on guard, no doubt one of the ones that was used to see that Christ got nailed to the cross, got crucified along with these two other male factors. And as he viewed all of the happenings on the day that Christ was crucified, he said, truly this man was a son of God. Truly this man was a son of God. What I'm saying is there's the testimony from Calvary. There's also the testimony from the empty tomb. There in our passage we see that verse number 6, I mentioned it when we were reading, Acts 26 verse 6, Paul said, And now I stand, and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers. What was the promise? We've mentioned it's the resurrection. Believe on the Lord. And there is a resurrection, verse 7, unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's 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? There is the testimony of the empty tomb. A tomb that was securely guarded by more than one soldier ends up empty. How do you explain that away? Oh, they tried, didn't they? They tried to explain it away, but they could not. There's the testimony from the witnesses that were there in the days that followed. We talked about the witnesses that were there that day, but I want you to think about the testimony from witnesses as Christ walked on this earth. Christ didn't just show up one time and show himself arisen from the grave and that was done. No, for 40 days. Acts chapter 1 verse number 1 talks about how that for 40 days Christ showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs and we know that Paul himself spoke of this time and when he wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter number 15, 1 Corinthians 15 verse number 5, listen to these words. And speaking of Christ says, And he was seen of Cephas, talking about the resurrected Christ now, he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, Cephas by the way is Peter, he was first seen of Peter, then of the twelve, after that he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once, and said, he added on this, he says, for whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. In other words, some of them had died, but not all of them had died. There was a greater part of them that were still alive and that could give testimony that they saw the risen Christ after He arose from the grave. He says in verse 7, after that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and he says, and last of all he was seen of me also as one born out of due time. So we see the testimony from the witnesses and the testimony from Paul. Paul gives the testimony. of how he was riding into Damascus there in verses 9 through 18. He talks about how that he had been an antagonist to the gospel. He had been an antagonist to Christ and those that preached the gospel of Christ. And he was going about to try to have some more of them arrested and tried and put to death. But as he was going to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priest, right in the middle of the day, he sees this light that outshines the sun. And we know that God gripped his heart that day. God gripped his heart. He talks about the change, the life change that took place when God gripped his heart. Agrippa knew that the resurrection of Jesus was historically undeniable. He wasn't going to be able to argue it from history that it was, you know, he didn't say, well, you know, there's nothing written, there's nobody around that can say these things. You're just one man saying these things, Paul. No, Paul wasn't just one man saying these things. There were many folks who had seen the resurrected Christ. We see the scriptures fulfill testimony. Look at verse 27. Acts 26 verse 27. King Agrippa, this is Paul addressing King Agrippa. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? In other words, do you believe these things that these boys wrote years ago that make up the Old Testament? And he must have knew, King Agrippa knew that he did believe these things because he says, I know that thou believest. Paul's question, though, placed Agrippa on the horns of a dilemma. If he said yes, then he would have to acknowledge Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies. The Old Testament gives these prophecies, and they were fulfilled. They were fulfilled in the person of Christ. Just as the probabilities of that happening in one person, all of those Old Testament testimonies, it's astronomical. In other words, it's undeniable that Jesus is the Christ. All of those things that were spoken of the prophets came true in the Lord Jesus Christ that day. How are you going to deny that? Well, if He said He believed, The Old Testament prophecies, he would have to acknowledge Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies. But to say no would have put him at odds with the Jews. And this was a politician. He didn't want to be at odds with the Jews. We see Agrippa's failing testimony there in verse 28. Then Agrippa said unto Paul the sad word, Almost. He said, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. There's an invitational hymn that's in our hymn books. It's written by Philip Bliss. It's going to be what I play for the invitation here in just a few minutes. I think it's 379 in the hymnal. It says it best, and it's written regarding this passage of Scripture. 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. O 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. Then look at verse 29. With this I close. Paul said, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day." Those that were there that day, they were the fellow Pharisees, if you will. These that were wanting to accuse Paul. Paul was wanting them to get saved. He had no ill will toward them. He wanted them to get saved. Festus, he called him crazy, but he wanted Festus to get saved. Agrippa, he wanted me to get saved. He said, I would that 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. Now Matthew Henry said of this verse, he said, many are almost persuaded to be Christians. who are not quite persuaded. They are under strong convictions of their duty and of the excellence of the ways of God, yet do not pursue their convictions. I wonder, my friend, how about you? How persuaded are you? Are you a Christian, or will you remain close to heaven, but lost? I trust that if you don't know Christ today, that you will have more than just head knowledge. It's with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. It's with the mouth that confession is made unto salvation. Get out of the almost category. Come to know Jesus if you don't know Him today. Let's pray. Father, we ask You to just take control of this invitation. In time, Lord, You're the one that knows the hearts. I do not. But Lord, if there's one here today that doesn't know You, for it may become not and almost Christian, but Lord, help them become a true Christian. Lord, those of us that know you, may you give us boldness to speak for you, the holy boldness that we see in the Apostle Paul, because we're surrounded by many folks who either are not persuaded or they're almost persuaded, but they need us to give a bold testimony of Jesus Christ. Give us that boldness, we pray. Help those that do not know Christ around us. Come to know Jesus before it's everlasting too late. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand please.