Used to be a kind of a vagrant that run in the streets of London,
England. Folks made fun of him. And he said, I'm only a sinner and nothing
at all. But Jesus Christ is my all in
all. Pretty good testimony, wasn't
it? Here in Psalm 149, it says, Praise
ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song
and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice
in him that made him. Let the children of Zion be joyful
in their king. Let them praise his name in the
dance. Let them sing praises unto him
with the timbrel and the harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure
in his people. Now try to remember that. The
Lord taketh pleasure in his people. What in the world could be in
his people that would call the attention of God to
it? when we're nothing but a mass
of sin. But He takes pleasure in His
people. His people that are in Him. He put His people in Christ before
the world ever was. That's amazing, isn't it? before
the world ever was. He knew exactly what he was doing. And he put his people in Christ. Now you listen to me. Where he
put them, he kept them. Once they're in Christ, they'll
always be in Christ. He that put them there keeps
them there. For the Lord taketh pleasure
in his people. He's pleased with them. Not so much with their sinful
self, but he's pleased with him who's in Christ. He will beautify
the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their
beds. Let the high praises of God be
in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand, singing
and fighting to execute vengeance upon the heathens, and punishment
upon the people, to bind their kings with chains, and their
nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgment
written. This honor have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord. Father in
heaven, merciful and loving Father in heaven, Father and God of
the Lord Jesus Christ, we do join together here, join
our hearts together, Father, this evening to honor and to
glorify you. to bow before You and acknowledge
Your greatness and Your glory. And thank You for Your grace
and Your mercy. Thank You, Father, that once
we were lost, but now we're found and kept forevermore in Him who
loved us and satisfied the holy justice of God, had not only satisfied justice of
God, but was made sane that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. We have so much, Father, to thank
you for. We thank you. that you enabled
us to gather together here this evening. We thank you that our
brother got good news as to his body. We thank you for all that's gathered.
Bless this church, Father. Bless the Katie Baptist Church
with your truth and help us to hold on to it until the day we
die. In His name, Amen. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Acts, chapter 26. Acts 26. A while back, I started writing
down, and I've got a record of it. There'd be times that I'd
be talking to Brother Scott. And he'd make a statement to
me. And maybe to him, it'd just be
a statement to him. But it hit me like a ton of bricks. And I'd go write it down. Make
a list. I got a list. Stuff. Things that
he said. That's what I entitled it. Thoughts
from Brother Scott. It's one of them. He told me
one time, he said, whenever you stand up
to preach, he said, you tell the people what the Lord has
done for you. That's good advice. See, that
makes you a witness. That makes you a personal witness.
That makes you the one that has entered in to what you're talking
about. It's not hearsay. Tonight in the book of Acts chapter
26, the Apostle Paul, who has stood back and listened to some
false accusations And King Agrippa has come now
to listen to him. That's what Agrippa said. I want
to hear what this man's got to say. And the Scripture says that he
and his... I guess it was his wife. Bernice
Agrippa's... It was his sister. It was his
sister. He was letting them win. This is a horrible situation. And he comes and he wants to
listen to the Apostle Paul. And he comes before this man
of God. As I said last week, this man
that was in Roman chains, but he was the only free man in the
bunch. If the Son of Man makes you free, you're free. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior,
our Lord, our representative, our substitute, our advocate,
on and on and on, our husband, our prophet, our priest, our
king, our friend. He has made us free. We're not married anymore, obligated
to the law. anymore for obedience under righteousness. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth. We were married at one time to
another, and we died with Him. Death separated
us from the obligation that we had to the law. And when we died in Christ, we
were no more bound to the law, to the fulfillment. When Adam
rebelled against God, he was obligated to fulfill every title
of the law. It's lost. And now, free in Christ, we're
free to be married to another at freedom. that we possess is
what Paul is going to talk about. King Agrippa said, Paul, verse
1, 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
touching, before thee, touching all the things whereof I am accused
of the Jews." Paul is going to give a personal
word of testimony. He is going to do just exactly
what the Spirit of God has led him to do. He is going to tell
these people what the Lord had done for him. He begins by setting forth his
life in religious blindness. He says in verse 3, 4, and 5,
he says, especially because I know thee to be an expert in all customs
and questions which are among the Jews. Wherefore, I beseech
thee, hear me patiently, my manner of life from my youth, which
was at the first among my own nations. 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." Now Paul was not an immoral man. Paul was dedicated. He was a dedicated religious
man. Philippians 3, 4, and 4 through
6 talks about, you know, he was born of the tribe of Benjamin. I was after him. He said, in
my opinion of myself, I was blameless before God's law. I had not deviated
one bit. I was blameless. Can you imagine
a man thinking that he's blameless? before God's law. Zealous in the studies of the
Scripture. Zealous in worship. Zealous in
prayer. But this man was lost. Lost. He was a lost, zealous Pharisee. I said last week he believed
in divine sovereignty. He believed that Almighty God
had elected, predestinated the Jews. And I'm telling you, these
Gentiles that were following after this Jesus of Nazareth
that claimed to be the Messiah, He was going after them. Everybody
that was of the way. But I can tell you this, though
Paul, studying the Scriptures, a student of Scriptures, a student
of devout religion, the law of God was his life. But this man, though he had a
great head knowledge, of doctrinal truth. The problem with Paul,
as all lost religionists, he trusted in himself that he was
righteous. You remember a Pharisee in the
publican went up to pray. And this is what was said about
the Pharisee. He trusted in himself that he was righteous. He trusted
in himself. He trusted in himself. Every man, every woman, that
feels as though they've done something in order to establish
a righteousness before God. You're trusting in yourself.
You're trusting in yourself that you're righteous. Something that
you've done. Now, the problem with Paul was
not the Scriptures that he said he formerly believed. Look at
verses 6 and 7. Agrippa, 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." What the apostle was saying here was
that, he said, God Almighty promised the fathers, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, all the objects of God's mercy and hope in Christ. He
promised them life, righteousness, salvation by the imputation of
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He said it was promised that
the Messiah would come and He was going to redeem His people,
that He would die. I mean, all of the types and
the sacrifices in the temple taught that. In the Old Testament,
under the Levitical priesthood, those sacrifices, that was a
picture, a type. Now, only those that God opened
their eyes to see that that was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some just trusted in the rituals of Him, going through the laws,
going through, you know. He was going to be a substitute
for His His people. Paul is saying the Scriptures
taught that. Abraham took Isaac up on the
mountain, and the Lord told him, He said, I want you to sacrifice
your son, make him a burnt offering unto Me. Abraham took him up,
raised that knife, and I'm telling you, that boy in Abraham's mind
was dead. He was convinced that God raised
him up. Abraham believed in the resurrection. Paul said these
scriptures, King Agrippa, the scriptures taught substitution. They taught the death and the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jonah. In the book of
Jonah, the prophet Jonah. Do you not see the death going
into the depth? of the belly of that whale and
the whale vomiting him up upon the seashore, the resurrection. Paul was saying these Scriptures
are taught. This is what we believe. This
is what we know. Agrippa, well-versed in the religious
teachings of the Jews, leaning toward the Sadducees. And the
Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. Then Paul said,
knowing what he had just said, listen, Agrippa in verse 7, under
which promise are twelve tribes instantly serving God day and
night, hope to come? For which hope's sake, King Agrippa,
I'm accused of? He was accused of preaching the
resurrection. That's what he said back a couple
of chapters ago. Then he said to Agrippa, you
that say that you believe these Scriptures. Verse 8, Why should it be thought
a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? Why do you think that it should
be strange that the Scriptures teach this? And this is what
these Jews are after me about. Why do you think this is a strange
thing? Paul was here today. He was given
an opportunity today not to defend himself. Paul was here in defense
of the Gospel, in the defense of the Lord Jesus Christ, to
give a good testimony. Speak for yourself, Paul. What
have you got to say, Paul, about these things? King Agrippa? I'm thankful. I'm thankful that
you've given me an opportunity to preach. I'm going to tell
you just exactly what the Scriptures say. I'm going to tell you just
exactly what the Scripture says about what all the prophets have
taught, what the law and the prophets have all taught. This
is what the issue is today, King Agrippa, and I'm glad that I've
got an opportunity in defense of the gospel, and this is what
Paul had to say, in the defense of the gospel of Christ, there is an acknowledgment of
my original and bitter ignorance and resentment toward the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus
of Nazareth. In defense of the gospel, whenever
someone is going to give and speak in defense of the gospel
of Christ. They're going to start off, they
should always start off with telling people, this is where
I came from. Let me tell you a little bit
about me. Verse 9, this is where he said, he said, I barely thought
with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name
of Jesus of Nazareth. Speak for myself? Yes, sir, I
will. This is where I came from, King
Agrippa. The Lord said in Psalm 69, 4,
they that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my
head. Now, I sat down for a little
while and I began to think. The Lord said that, He said,
you'll be hated for My namesake. But remember, they hated Me before
they hated you. And when I thought on that Scripture,
I thought, what is the reason? What reason will a man give? You know, I read a Scripture
the other day. The Lord said, He said, the reason that you're
hated. Do you remember the reason that
we read in Scripture? What was the reason that the
Scripture says that God's people are hated? The Lord says, because
I've chosen you. Because I chose you. That's the
reason they hate you. They hate you because I am sovereign
in election. The reason they hate you is because
I have the right to show mercy to one and to pass by another. That's the reason they hate you. Let me ask you this. When it
comes right down to hating the Lord Jesus Christ, what does
He say is the reason that men hate Him? You know what He says? He says, they hated Me without
a cause. Give Me one reason why. Why? You give Me one just reason
why men should... I know they hate Him. I know
they hate Him. They hate His sovereignty. They
hate His power. They hate His wisdom. They hate
His goodness. I know they do. But give Me one
just reason why. There isn't one. Tell me one just reason why men
and women will not bow to the Lordship of Christ Jesus. Give me one reason. They don't
have one. They hated Me without a cause. There's no cause for it. Causeless. Tell me one reason
why a man should not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
be saved. Give me one reason why he shouldn't. There is not
one. Not a reason. Tell me one reason why a man
would not call out to the Lord for mercy. Give me one reason
why he wouldn't cry out his blind Bartimaeus, Jesus, Thou Son of
David, have mercy on me. Give me one reason why. There
isn't one. There's no reason why a man will
perish. There's no reason for a man to
perish. There's no just reason, Neil. Not one just reason. Why would you perish? I know men resent Him. I know
we hate Him, but He said, They hated Me without a cause. They that hate Me without a cause. Paul said, I thought with myself
that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus
of Nazareth. I think back on my life and I ask myself this,
why is it that for so long I hated God's holiness, God's justice? Why did I hate his decrees? Why
did I hate his sovereignty? Why did I hate his right to choose
one and pass by another? I didn't have a reason. I have
no reason. Paul's resentment toward the
Lord Jesus Christ and to his people made him attempt to drive
them to blaspheme." That's what he said in verse 11. I punished
them oft in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad against
them, I persecuted even into strange cities. I'd tell them,
you blaspheme His name or I'll kill you. I'll cut your head off. I'll
throw you in prison. Don't you dare give honor to
that name. I've compelled them, but I'll
tell you this. Grace, peace, mercy are given
to those who are sustained by Him who's able to keep you from
falling. I think, how is it that those
that have been sawn asunder and burned at the stake and fed the
lions and persecuted and risen. Why do they continue to go? Why do they continue to give
a testimony of confidence in the Lord Jesus because they kept?
Paul said, this is where I came from. I tell you this, this is
a man made honest by the grace of God. 1 Timothy 1, 12, and 13 says, I
thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that
he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but
I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly, Paul said in unbelief. I thank God. that He took this
sinner and made him what he is by the
grace of God. Secondly, in defense of the gospel. The first in defense of the gospel
is man acknowledges. This is where I came from. Here's
the second point in defense. When it pleases God, He calls
His own out. out of spiritual darkness by
irresistible grace. Paul says, whereupon, verse 12
to 15, 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. 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." Here, in defense of the gospel of Christ, a man's
been honest about where he's come from. honest about what
he was by nature, what he is by nature. And he sets forth this, Whenever
the Lord called me out of darkness, I wasn't looking for Him. Here is the time of God's convenience. You know, Felix told Paul one
day when Paul preached unto him righteousness and judgment. He said, I'll hear what you've
got to say, Paul, but I'm going to have to do it on my terms.
I'm going to have to do it on my time. Whenever I've got a
convenient season, Paul, I'll call for you. And he never called. This is when God said, this is
the time. Paul, on the way to Damascus,
God Almighty stopped him. The Lord was looking for him.
He knew where he was. He found him. Paul wasn't looking
for the grace of God. God's grace found him. Isaiah
65, I am sought of them that ask not for me. That's so plain. I am found of them that sought
me not. No man seeks after God. No man is going to get honor for
salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. I said,
Behold me! Behold me unto a nation that
was not called by my name. That is how God saves men and
women. He calls them out of darkness. This was the place of God's Predestinating
grace. Saul's steps were ordered by
the Lord. God Almighty put him to do exactly
what Paul wanted to do. I'm going to go get some of these
people that are of the way. And I'm going to bring them back
to Jerusalem. I've got letters right here.
Letters of authority. The Lord stopped him. That's the third and final point
of the message this evening on the defense of the gospel. Here's
the defense of the gospel. Salvations of the Lord. Salvation
is of the Lord. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the Word of God. When we were all fallen to the
earth, I heard, I heard a voice speaking unto me. You know, that's something that
you'll never convince an unbeliever, that they hear the voice of the
Master. They say, how do you hear Him? I hear Him by faith. I hear Him by faith. I have ears to hear. They said,
I've never heard of such. Well, if He ever gives you ears
to hear, you'll hear of such. Because He said, I give them.
Hearing, hearing and seeing, I give them both. And I'm telling
you, His voice is sweet. And His voice is personal. And
His voice is real. It's the voice of grace. The voice of compassion. It's
the voice of tenderness. And I tell you, you just don't
drum it up. The voice of the shepherd. My
sheep hear my voice. Now you know you can have people
say all day long, you're just making that up. He said that
I hear. Now this hearing is not like
The men of this world understand hearing. I'll grant you that. He said, I will cause you to
see. And His people see. They perceive. Saul heard the voice of the Master. Saul saw. Why persecutest thou me?" The Lord calls with a personal
call. This is the defense of the Gospel.
My sheep, they hear my voice. That call is effectual. I have never with this carnal
ear, I've never heard the voice. I've had people tell me things,
you know, I was in my bedroom and I was asleep and I was in
a trance. I don't know. I've never heard
with this carnal ear. But I'll tell you this, by the
ear of faith, I hear His voice. You hear this. Let me ask you
this. Do you believe these Scriptures?
You believe these Scriptures. You hear His voice by faith. And I'll tell you this, this
call, Paul in the defense of the Gospel, it's a revealing
call. Paul says, Who art thou, Lord?
I'm ignorant of Him. Who art thou? This is life eternal. that they might know Thee." To
know Thee. To know here means to possess
a relationship whereby he who knows the Lord Himself, and that which
is known is of value. When He gives me, you, when He
gives His people a heart to know Him, He is then precious to you. He's real. He's alive. 1 Corinthians 8.3 says, If any
man love God, the same is known of him. That means he's precious. That's what Brother Scott just
read. that we are precious in His sight. What is man, David
said, that thou art mindful of? When I consider the heavens,
what is man? The stars are not precious in
His sight, not clean, not pure. He puts no trust in His angels. He puts none, no trust, none. And he looks upon objects of
mercy. To speak for myself, King Agrippa,
I'm thankful that you've given me an opportunity to speak for
myself. Because this is what I've got
to say concerning myself. What Brother Scott just said,
I'm just a sinner. Nothing at all. And Jesus Christ
is all in all. He took this wretched sinner
and stopped me on my road to despair, on the road of desperation,
thinking that I was something when I was nothing. And He stopped
me and called me by His grace and revealed Himself to me. And
I who stood in these synagogues all these years and made all
kinds of claims to be blameless before God's law, and I didn't
even know Him. To speak for myself, King Agrippa,
I will. The Lord Jesus Christ, the One
set forth in the Holy Scriptures, who came into this world and
died under the judgment of Almighty God, being made sin for all that
He had everlastingly loved, called me out of darkness. He who absolutely is God Almighty
loved me before the foundation of the world and put me in Christ and kept me there. And when it
pleased Him on the road to Damascus, He called me out of darkness
And King Agrippa, he has kept me until this day. And I stand
before you tonight, a man, and Paul can say this, and every
man, every woman that God Almighty has called out of darkness, they
can say this tonight. I stand here by the grace of
God. By God's grace, I am what I am. Gary, would you come later?