Let me turn in the word of God to Acts 26. The theme this evening is entitled, From Madness to Sanity. From Madness to Sanity. Martin Luther put forward the idea that whenever God means to move decisively in his church, he raises up a wonder man, a hero a great individual leader to be his instrument. We on reflection would say Luther was himself such a man. But as we read through these chapters of the book of Acts, it is Paul who is the classic biblical example of a wonder man, an instrument in the hands of God to do a work. in this world. And as you read and study Paul, you cannot help but admire such a champion of the Christian faith. Two things were combined in Paul. He had great intellect, but he had much grace given to him by God. And it's all displayed for us here in chapter 26. Now we mustn't skip over verse 1 in our haste to get to the start of Paul's defence. We note some fascinating details as recorded by Luke. We note in verse 1, then Paul stretches forth the hand. This is Paul taking the traditional or the classic stance of an orator standing before a particular assembly. If you look at some old paintings of orators and Greek philosophical schools, you see that classic stance with the hand outstretched as they proceed to make their statement before the assembly. And that's what Paul is doing. He's taking that classic stance that all are aware of in Roman and a Greek times. And then it says, and answered for himself. This word gives us our English word apologetics. He's making his defence, the word is used again in verse 2, because I shall answer for myself and then again in verse 24 as he does speak for himself. He's going to make a great apologetic, a great and masterful defence of the Christian faith and of all about himself and why he exists. So let's follow section by section. First of all, his life, verses 2 through to 11. Paul stands before an august assembly, an assembly of royal, military, and civil authorities. As one commensator puts it, it was a grand gallery for a grand finale. And he begins with a direct appeal to King Agrippa himself, reminding Agrippa of his own heritage, of his own birth, of his own upbringing, because remember, Agrippa was a Jew. His father we met in Acts 12, group of the first, his grandfather, you will know from the Gospels, Herod the Great. So this is the grandson and he's familiar with his background. And we see that Paul's life was not insignificant. He was well known, he tells us, for his strict and persecuting religiosity. Verse 5 he tells us, he lived a Pharisee, the straightest sect of our religion. In verse 10 and 11 we see his persecuting zeal. In verses 6 through to 8, We see the theological mind of Paul. Now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise are twelve tribes instantly serving God day and night, hope to come, for which hope say King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? Here is the theological mind of Paul as he wrestles and explains all that has happened in this happening. You see, the central truth for Paul, as we've noted in previous defenses, was the resurrection. And Paul makes it clear that this was a doctrine distinctly taught in the Old Testament by God. The promise made of God unto the fathers. Now what is astonishing is the very rejection of this truth by the Jews, by these twelve tribes. They are accusing him for teaching what their fathers were taught. God taught their fathers these very things. In fact, not only that, their entire religious life focused upon this great truth of the resurrection. It's what the whole nation lived for and worshipped for, serving God day and night for this hope to come. But they no longer believed what their religion taught. That's the tragedy. Verse 8. Should it be thought a thing incredible with you? He shouts this question to them. He challenges them. Here's our history. Here's the revelation that God has given. And yet you don't believe it, he says to them. You don't believe it. Why? Should it be thought a thing impossible, incredible, that God could raise the dead? It's what God taught our fathers of old. And Paul, of course, goes on to say in verse 9, I myself was just like you. I verily fought within myself. I was just like you. And that was his problem, of course. It's every sinner's problem. They think within a closed system. Their minds are closed. They think within themselves. They make no allowance for revelation from heaven, from God into this world. It's an entirely closed system. That's every sinner's problem. And the reason why Paul fought and acted as he did was because he reasoned within himself. His reasoning did not include the Lord Jesus Christ. And that led him to do dreadful things, as he says in verse 10. And there's a fascinating little comment made at the end of verse 10, I gave my voice against them. When they were putting Christians to death, I gave my voice against them. The idea behind that phrase is to cast a pebble. I cast my pebble as it were against them. In ancient courts, the accused was either declared guilty But the judges casting black pebbles are innocent by casting white pebbles. Paul says, I cast mine against them. I cast my vote. I used my voice against them. My testimony, my witness was all against the Christians. I supported not only their condemnation, but their execution. And that's what he was doing that day in Acts 7. In Acts 7, verse 58, we have the people crying out, and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul. Chapter 8, verse 1, and Saul was consenting unto his death. He cast his pebble against him. He used his voice against Stephen and he never forgot the impact of that moment upon him after he was converted. It never left him for the rest of his life. I did these terrible things, he says. I persecuted him. I killed him. I harassed him. I was the one responsible for the death of I gave my voice against him. But then secondly, verses 12-18, his conversion. Now as you read through this particular bit of the narrative, Paul's emphasis in relating this is striking. There are things he leaves out, and then there are other things he emphasises. And when you take this narrative and compare it with others, you can see that there are things that it was necessary to leave out and were not relevant, as it were, to this particular occasion. For example, he makes no reference to Ananias because it wasn't relevant to his defence. But other things he focuses upon. Look at verse 16. Rise and stand upon thy feet. The one thing you notice in these verses is that looking back to the phraseology of the Old Testament. Because this phraseology recalls the commissioning of Ezekiel after he had seen visions from God. That's what Paul is describing. He has seen a vision from God. He has seen the Lord Jesus Christ. And now comes the word of command, of commission. Rise and stand upon thy feet. But now he gives the reason. Here is to be Paul's distinctive role in the purpose of God. 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 in which I will appear unto thee. Two things stand out in Paul's witness. A witness of what he has seen He has seen the risen Saviour, a witness of what he shall learn. In other words, not only has he been the recipient of a specific revelation from God of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he will be the recipient of ongoing revelation. Things that Christ will continue to reveal to him. thereby showing that he was indeed part of that unique apostolic circle. Verse 17 tells us he would receive much opposition. He would receive opposition from both the Jews, the people, and from the Gentiles. And lastly, his prophetic mission to the Gentiles itself, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light. Verse 18 is a theological explanation of this new role in the purpose of God. He was converted specifically for this, and he tells us that in the course of his preaching, God would be pleased to convert sinners. And there's a passivity to the Greek that Paul uses, that God would give to them forgiveness of sins. that God would sanctify them. Those who would put their faith in Christ, God would sanctify them. There's a passivity in Paul's language. God, the absolute sovereign one, would do these amazing and supernatural things in the lives of sinners. And all the while he's using the language of the Old Testament from Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In other words, Paul is setting out for us that his mission is a continuation of the mission of Old Testament prophets itself. This is what Christ has done. He has changed him, that he would do these glorious things to bring the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. And then thirdly, his obedience, verses 19-23. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. Paul describes for us now how he carried out this mission and he uses the very words of Christ from the previous section to describe this mission. Verse 16, there's the word witness, which is repeated in verse 22, witnessing. In verse 17, delivering. In verse 22, help from God. Also in verse 17, the people and the Gentiles. He repeats in verse 23, the people and the Gentiles. In verse 18, turn to God. Verse 20, turn to God. And also in verse 20, light he refers to, which he repeats again in verse 23. So the very language of Christ become the descriptors of Paul's own view of his mission. And then Paul gives us the geographical scope of this mission. From verse 20 he speaks of Damascus, then Jerusalem, and then to Judea, and then the Gentiles. Verse 21, for these causes, for all of these reasons, the Jews caught me in the temple. Why was I in the temple? Because I was on this mission. I was obeying Christ. He who died and rose again. That's why I was in the temple. And they caught me and accused me and even went about to kill me. Paul then concludes with a theological reference in verse 22 and 23. Notice what he says in verse 22, God kept his promise, having therefore obtained help of God. What did God say through Christ in verse 17, delivering thee? God kept his promise. And what is more, God enabled him to testify, witnessing both the small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say. the Old Testament teach? Paul says it taught us three things about Christ. First, the Old Testament taught that the Messiah, Christ, should suffer. Second, that Christ, the Messiah, should rise from the dead. And thirdly, that Christ, the Messiah, would show light to the Jews and Gentiles. That last one, of course, has been confirmed over and over as well. If we go back to Acts chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, Luke begins, The former treaties have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began, both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that, He continued to do and teach through the Holy Ghost unto his apostles whom he had chosen. So here is the Saviour. He's still doing this. He himself brought light and life. The risen Saviour continues to bring light and life. through these apostles, empowered by the Holy Ghost. Here Paul is reminding us that this mission is first and foremost Christ's. It's not Paul's. It belongs to Christ. He's the author of it. He's the one who keeps it and sustains it and maintains it. He's the one who directs it. It is all his mission. And the purpose of this mission is to bring light to Jew and Gentile. And then fourthly, verses 24 to 9, his desire. It is at this climactic moment we have this astonishing testimony from Paul all along His testimony has been gripping and thrilling and persuasive. And I suppose there was a certain tension in the air. Not a voice was heard but pause as he gives this defense. No one interrupted him. He's come to this climactic point. The mission is Christ's. He is the one who sent me to Jew and Gentile. And at that moment, it's all broken by Festus. Festus said with a loud voice. See, Luke's emphasis describes the kind of voice that Festus used. Paul, thou art beside thyself. Much learning doth make thee mad. best as Bursite it would seem, in the heat of the moment. Such was the gripping power of Paul's reasoning, his explanation, his theological description of what has happened. Verse 24 reflects, does it not, the gripping reality of the hour. Festus sees Paul's brilliant intellect on display, sees his passion as he speaks, and he's moved to respond. How should we understand these words by Festus? I think sometimes they're often viewed as an insult. Maybe they are, but We mustn't forget the view of Greek philosophy. Plato once said that without mania, mad as it's translated, no one could be a true prophet or a true poet. Without mania, there was that belief that those who were truly great philosophers and poets had a certain madness about them. So maybe he's not being derogatory. Maybe he's been swept along with Paul's reasoning. He's proclaiming that Paul is indeed a great champion of the Christian field. Paul replies in verse 25, I am not mad. I don't possess that many. He was once mad. Look at what he said in verse 11. Being exceedingly mad. I was once possessed of that mania, he said. That's exactly what I was like before I met Christ. Before Christ came to me and arrested me, I was indeed mad. I was burning with madness. Filled with madness. My madness was persecuting. It was passionate. Oh yes, Thessalus, there was once you could say I was mad, but not anymore. No, no. Now, he says, I speak forth the words of truth and soberness. Sanity has come. Reason has come. Enlightenment has come. Christ has done a work in my mind and in my soul. Truth and soberness reign. And it is at this point that we again see Paul's brilliance because he seizes the moment to make a personal appeal to King Agrippa himself. Look at what he says. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness, for the King Agrippa knoweth of these things. Before him also I speak freely, for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done on a corner. He seizes the initiative to turn the entire exchange into an evangelistic opportunity. Follow it carefully. Verse 26, he has let out this point. The king, he says, knows these things. Christianity was not the product of madness, he says. The king knows this himself. Agrippa lived through all these years. He was born about A.D. 27. Born a Jew in a Jewish context. Josephus himself tells us that this Agrippa kept himself fully informed of all events going on in Judaism. He clearly knew about the rise of Christianity and all that was happening. Paul says, you know what I'm saying is true. You know this. I am persuaded, one of Paul's favourite phrases, I am absolutely convinced this was not done on a corner. You know, that's the whole point of the book of Acts, isn't it? The whole point of Luke's history is to show us Christianity did not arise in a hidden corner, out of sight. Everything about it is public. It's before the world. Luke's history is written to show us it wasn't done in a corner. Verse 27, King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. I know you believe what the Old Testament scriptures teach. Then we have this astonishing statement from Agrippa, verse 28, Agrippa admitting that if Paul continued, that even he might end up a Christian. By the sheer force of his reasoning, the force of truth bearing down upon him, Now there's some discussion as to what exactly Agrippa is saying. Well, he's admitting either Paul is trying to make him a Christian, or were Paul to continue, he would indeed become a Christian. Well, whichever way we take it, I think it's all come back to the same point, doesn't it? As he sits there. And as the word is proclaimed to him, he feels its impact and its force, and given what he knows of scripture, you can almost hear him saying to himself, if this fella continues, if he keeps on going, even I will end up like him. Paul shows to us in verse 29 that his vision includes not just Agrippa, but every single person in that audience that day. I will to God, oh he cries out, oh that God would even come into this gallery of people and turn the hearts of every single person that they would all be persuaded to be Christians. Oh, that they were all persuaded. There is the heartbeat of the apostle. Brilliant intellect, yes, but a man passionate for the souls of men and women to be converted and brought to King Jesus. And then finally, very quickly, verses 30 to 32 is innocence. What can they but do but say he's entirely innocent? No fault can be found, no charge can be led. This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. You've heard his defence. He's innocent. Let me finish, naturally, with some applications of this and there are quite a number of things that we must very quickly draw from it. And the first thing that strikes us, given what Paul says about these Jews, the danger of formalism in religion. To have only the shell of religion without a heart. That's the tragedy of these people. This was the problem with these Jews. Why did they not believe in Christ? Because they had rejected the very truth that God had given to them. That was the problem. They had rejected the truth. Oh, they still kept up their religious devotions and practice. They were very passionate and diligent about this. Instantly serving God day and night. Morning and evening they worshipped God, but it was all external. And here we are reminded that the great need is for every generation not only to hear the truth, but to know it experimentally for themselves. Why is it that churches decline over a period of time? Because there arises a generation and they don't know the truth for themselves. It's all external. They haven't got a heart for it. That's what we concern ourselves with, do we not, about the next generation. Oh, that the next generation know the truth experimentally. Then secondly, Christ's messianic mission confirmed and continued by the apostles. And we turn back to Luke's Gospel, Luke chapter 4. We read in verse 16, And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for it to read. What did he read? It was delivered unto them the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has 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." Here we have Isaiah being quoted, the Savior fulfilling the servant role of Isaiah. But the work didn't stop with Christ. In Acts 1,8, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. So when Paul comes in Acts 26, verses 16-18, And he quotes this terminology principally from Isaiah. You know what he's saying? The mission of Christ continues. The mission of Christ continues. It hasn't ended. Which brings me to a follow-on point, thirdly, preaching the word of God is Christ's own mission. Christ raises up witnesses to himself, and that witness is by preaching. Look at Paul, he says, preaching none other than what the Bible teaches. The mission didn't cease with the apostles. It continues. This is the glorious thing about the Church of Christ. Christ's mission continues. The word must be heard, it must be proclaimed. Men and women must go out and bear testimony to the world concerning Christ. What is it they need? Paul tells us, their eyes opened to turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God. that they may receive forgiveness of sins. The mission continues. This is why preachers should never feel tired or weary in the work of God. Yes, physically they may get tired and weary, but you know, they're always, I trust, excited and I trust that you are always excited and that you show that yes, the mission continues. No matter what this world will do, this mission continues. It's never going to end. It will end when Christ comes back. It shall continue. And every anti-Christian culture always views Christianity as destructive of the nation. And yet Paul says it's a message of hope. That's what he's bringing, a message of hope. But all the forces of the world have a negative attitude to the gospel, to Christianity, to Christians. They think they're all troublemakers. You're going to ruin the nation. Well, we can rightly turn around and say, see what has happened to our nation. And it's anti-Christian bias. The nation is wracked. What it needs is a gospel. And the gospel is a message of hope. And then fourthly, preaching the Old Testament. Paul says in verse 22, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. There are far too many evangelicals who think the New Testament is wholly and radically different from the Old Testament. That is not true. all reminds us the Lord Jesus Christ is its central theme and its central focus. And in particular these three things about Christ, that he should suffer, that he should rise from the dead and that he should bring light to the people, to the Jews and to the Gentiles. And that's what we pray for, isn't it? Oh God, we pray, may thy light go forth and may sinners be brought from darkness to light. It's a supernatural thing itself, but it's described in supernatural terms. We must never cease to forget that Christianity is wholly supernatural. from death to life, from darkness to light, from Satan to God. How can this change come about? God brings it about. And so far from the Old Testament being irrelevant, it is wholly relevant. All the vocabulary of the old is simply carried forward into the new. It's got one thing and one focus, and that is Jesus Christ. And fifthly, Christianity needs wondermen, doesn't it? At least, I think it does, in light of chapter 26. Indeed, we can prove that going through history, can't we? God has raised up extraordinary men who have come at unusual times from usual backgrounds, with unusual gifts and abilities, and they seemed to come like meteors. Think of Andrew Gray, the Scots preacher. He was only a young man of a steady walk like a meteor. He just seemed to have arrived, and he preached, and multitudes were converted, and then he passed away. Get the same with Binning and others. Have it in this land, century after century. Oh, we need to pray that God will send us champions and heroes of the Christian faith. Men with brilliance, but with great grace and humility who are submissive to the Word of God, who believe its truth, but who have that extraordinary blessing from heaven. draw multitudes from Satan onto Christ. I think it's what the hour requires, isn't it? And that brings me finally to say that the work of conversion is a glorious work. Paul describes it as going from madness to sanity, from a lie to truth, from madness to soberness. It's an extraordinary thing. And you know the best description we have of it, the best example we have of it is that man in Luke 8, 35. Here is this man in a dreadful case in the country of the Gadarenes. Do you know all about what Luke describes him and the dreadful situation that he was in? And then we read in verse 35, Then they went out to see what was done, and came to Jesus and found a man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. A complete revolution. He's sitting He was previously running through amongst the tombstones and headstones and running wild. He couldn't be tamed. But he's sitting. And he's clothed. Previously he was naked. And he's in his right mind. Before his conversion he was mad. Do you know sinners are mad? And there's a madness within them. That's why they're so passionate about even trivial things, vain things. There's a madness within them. It is a glorious thing to see a sinner changed. Our sadness is that we do not see as many conversions as we would like. But that is in the hands of Christ. The world I know sees Christians as mad. We need to tell them it is you who are mad. You're mad. Absolutely mad. Look at Paul living in the grip of madness until Jesus arrested him. What a transformation. from a persecutor to a follower of Christ. When Christ came into his life, he went from madness to soberness. And then all those abilities that God had bestowed upon him, they now begin to shine. And he uses those abilities for Christ. On what is his driving ambition, he tells us, I would to God that not only thy, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds of his driving ambition, that everyone he heard would simply believe. May God bless His Word to our hearts.