May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we can conclude our meditation in the
26th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. So it's the 26th chapter
of the Acts of the Apostles, and we'll read from verse 27. The Apostle Paul speaks, and
he asks the king, King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets?
I know that thou believest. Then King 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 all together, such as I am,
except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken,
the king rose up, and the governor, and Benici, and they that sat
with them, And when they were gone aside, they talked between
themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death
or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus,
This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed
unto Caesar. So we come to the end of this
interview that Paul had before King Agrippa. And we see his
concern and we see the effect that the words that the Apostle
had spoken had on this great King. And the Apostle asks the
King this question. It's worth noticing that Paul
was a learned man but he was a prisoner. And yet he's bold
enough to turn to the king and ask the king a very relevant
and a very important question. And so he comes and says, King
Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Well, he was aware that King
Agrippa had, of course, been brought up in the Jewish tradition
and would have been familiar with the Scriptures. And therefore
the apostle is right in saying that the king no doubt believed
those things which he had read. But the real difficulty was that
this king had just absorbed no doubt the truths that he'd read
and heard about into his mind, but it had not penetrated down
into his heart. And the response from the King
is really a very sad one. He listened to the Apostle Paul
most eloquently speaking about his conversion and how he'd preached
and what he'd been condemned in, and so great were the words
that Agrippa says, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. So near and yet so far. And how tragic it is when people
come and hear the Gospel preached. Perhaps they come week after
week and hear the Gospel preached. but it has no real effect upon
their heart. They come and they go. And they
might perhaps answer in a very similar way. Just like a gripper,
almost, thou persuadest me to be a Christian. There always
have been, no doubt there always will be, those people who are
not Christians but who are almost Christians. They come so far. and yet they lack the vital knowledge
of themselves as a helpless sinner and flee to the Saviour as that
One, the only One, who can deliver them from all their sins and
from the wrath to come. And so we have such a testimony
here in the Word of God to be a great beacon, a warning to
many people that it is not sufficient to just hear the great truths
of the Gospel. The great and important issue
is to be blessed with that faith to believe. You see, Paul asked
the question, Believest thou the prophets? I know that thou
believest, but his eyes hadn't been opened to behold the glory
of Christ in the Old Testament. and therefore to observe that
now, as the Apostle spoke about the Saviour, to realise that
this was the Christ, the Almighty Son of God. Well, the Apostle
listened to what Agrippa said, and what was his response? We
can see the response from his heart, can't we? When he 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." He was able to confirm that he had been blessed
as he had spoken to the King of that wonderful conversion
he'd experienced on the Damascus Road. And so now he says, and
he comes, he prays, doesn't he, like this, I would to God that
not only thou, there was Agrippa, but there was also the company,
all those people who'd sat or stood and listened to the words
of the Apostle, and his great concern was for the salvation
of their souls, like it had been in the many journeys he'd made,
in the many sermons he'd preached, in the many arguments he'd had,
in the many discussions he'd had with people here and there,
in varied places, his great concern was that they might come to know
the Saviour and to be able to realise this great truth. But
also all that hear me this day were both all-mercantile, all
together, such as I am. He was a converted man. And that's what he desired. There
might be all those who heard him that day might know the Lord
as he knew him. And how important is that today,
is it not? Amongst those we mix with in
our churches, in our daily calling, our great concern should be that
they might indeed know the same blessed God that we know, and
we know through His grace, not because of anything good in ourselves,
but because of His love toward us. So the Apostle speaks these
powerful words, I would to God. It was only that God could come
and bless. Paul has spoken the words. Indeed,
as we read, Paul may plant a pollis watered, but it's God that must
give the increase. It's God that must apply the
word. And therefore, that's really
what the Apostle is saying here. 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. accept these bonds? Well, the
Apostle had spoken very faithfully, hadn't he? And we see he hadn't
got annoyed, he hadn't got irate, he'd spoken very level-headedly,
but yet he'd spoken the great truths of God, and yet how these
people did not receive the great and glorious words. And then,
having spoken like that, He wasn't then offered the opportunity
to speak anything more. And we read, 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. Of course, what were they talking
about? Whether Paul was worthy of death
or not? It doesn't seem that they were
really moved by the Holy Spirit of God. It doesn't seem that
they had any real effect upon them, those gracious words and
testimony that the Apostle had shown to them. But now they'd
gone aside, and what they were considering was whether this
man doeth anything worthy of death. And then having discussed
it, they came to this conclusion, this man doeth nothing worthy
of death or of bonds. And that was so. The law at that
time, there was nothing against preaching Christ. There was nothing
against proclaiming the great and glorious gospel. We know
from history that very shortly after, of course, Nero passed
a law that anyone who was a Christian should be executed. But at this
time it was not so. There was that freedom and therefore
he could not be rightly condemned under the law. Then said Agrippa
under Festus, this man might have been set at liberty if he
had not appealed unto Caesar. We might think, well, perhaps
Paul would regret appealing unto Caesar. But we must not forget
that God had told him that he was to appear at Rome. And he
knew he had to go there. And this was perhaps the way
that he would go there. And we therefore read nothing
about him regretting those things that he'd asked for, that he
should be tried in Rome. But he was willing to hear the
words and to go along with them. realising that he was under the
influence of the blessed Holy Spirit. Well, we should be thankful
tonight that we have such an account in the Acts of the Apostle,
and the detail of it, the clearness of it, and the faithfulness of
the Apostle Paul, and in the way he demonstrated the great
truths of the Gospel. May we each be able to take heed
to these things and remember them. And may they help us in
our daily life to also testify clearly the things of God, not
for our glory, but for the honor and glory of God and, of course,
for the salvation of souls. Amen.