Paul's Testimony Before Agrippa

Q: What does the Bible say about persecution for preaching the gospel?

The Bible states that those who follow Christ will be hated and persecuted for His name's sake, as seen in scriptures like John 15:18-20. The scriptures clearly teach that persecution is a reality for those who faithfully preach the gospel. Jesus warned His disciples, saying, 'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first' (John 15:18). This tension is reflected in the life of the Apostle Paul, who faced imprisonment and threats on account of the gospel. Furthermore, our Lord reassures us that we should expect such treatment, reminding us that it is not just a possibility but a certainty for believers: 'You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake' (Matthew 10:22). This serves to affirm our faith, as suffering for Christ should not surprise us but instead deepen our understanding of His glory and the privilege it is to suffer for His name.

Q: How do we know the gospel is the truth?

The truth of the gospel is revealed through the power of Scripture and the transformative experience of believers, as emphasized in Romans 1:16. The gospel is substantiated by its historical grounding and the transformative power it has in the lives of those who believe. As Paul stated, 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes' (Romans 1:16). This emphasizes that the gospel is not merely an idea but a divine power that changes hearts and lives. Additionally, the coherence of the gospel message across the entire Scripture reinforces its truth, as witnessed by the prophets and apostles who preached Christ. Thus, evidences of changed lives, fulfillment of prophetic scriptures, and the revelation of God through Jesus Christ all affirm the gospel's authenticity.

Q: Why is the resurrection of Christ significant for Christians?

The resurrection is crucial for Christians as it confirms Jesus' victory over sin and death, providing hope of eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). The significance of Christ’s resurrection cannot be overstated in the life of a Christian. It represents the victory over sin and death, as Paul articulates in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22: 'But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.' This resurrection assures believers of their own resurrection and eternal life, as it is the basis for Christian hope. Without the resurrection, our faith would be futile, as noted earlier in the same chapter. Therefore, it is in Christ's victorious resurrection that Christians find assurance of salvation and the ultimate promise of eternal life.

Q: What does it mean to be called God's elect?

Being called God's elect means being chosen by Him for salvation, as affirmed in Ephesians 1:4-5. The concept of being God's elect is foundational within Reformed theology, signifying that those who are saved have been chosen before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4-5 states, 'Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.' This doctrine emphasizes God's sovereignty in salvation, underscoring that it is not based on any foreseen merit but purely on His grace and purpose. Understanding ourselves as God's elect instills humility and gratitude, knowing that salvation was not a product of our choosing but of God's mercy and love.

As we already said and have seen in
here studying Acts, the Apostle Paul was in prison for preaching
the gospel. That's why he was in jail. It was the gospel that made the
people mad at Paul and wanted to kill him. And our Lord tells us in the
scriptures that it will be no different with us, that the time will come when
they kill you, or would want to. and do it in God's name. In fact, they do in God a favor. Brother Walt Barnard said, if
you preach the gospel clearly enough, somebody is going to
get mad. He said, men will get mad. He
said, actually, there will be three reactions. They will either
get mad, and they will get sad, and they will get glad. I've added to that before, I've
added that the people who get mad, they get mad because they
don't like what they're hearing. Some people, though, get sad
because they realize, hey, I haven't heard that before, and if that's
true, then I'm not saint. But those people now, I believe,
they get sad. will one day be made glad by
that same gospel that made them sad. But some believed the gospel
that Paul was preaching. Some did. Some believed, thank
God. But most people got mad and sought
to kill him. Our Lord said that would happen.
And he said to his disciples, past, present, and future, you
shall be hated. He didn't say you might be. He
said there might be a possibility that you'll be hated. He said
you shall be, didn't he? You shall be hated of all men.
In other words, wherever you go, to whatever people you go
to, whoever you encounter, somebody's going to hate you, for my name's
sake, for the gospel's sake. and not love you and receive
you, but to hate you for my name's sake, my authority." His name
is his authority, his Lord, his power, his purpose, his success. And just as the truth, the truth
is usually in the minority. It usually is. Noah and his family. On and on it goes through the
scriptures of the children of Israel, compared to the world, the apostles. And there are few, the scriptures
say, that are chosen to believe this gospel. That's the reason I say with
all sincerity that if you believe this gospel, then it's the greatest
gift. that you could have received.
It's given unto you to believe. It's not given unto everybody.
And that's the reason we should esteem this, what we're doing
right here, as more than a church service. But esteem it as what
it is. God speaking to us. God dealing
with us as friends, letting us in on the mysteries of heaven.
That God's not ashamed to be called our God. Not ashamed to
call us brethren. and let us in on the mysteries
of heaven, to come and commune with us, meet with us, the Lord
of Glory, who has more important things to do, to come and meet with us. Why,
we should esteem it as what a privilege, what a fellowship, what a joy
divine, what a blessed high calling and blessed privilege. and esteem
it as such. Shouldn't we? I know the spirit is willing
and the flesh is weak, but, you know, if you that believe
the truth, if you do, it's because of the grace of God. If you believe,
it's because of the grace of God. That's it. That's the only
reason. Well, Paul went about, in our
story here, Paul went about preaching the gospel. All he did was tell
the truth. That's all he did. Did you catch
it there in his testimony? He said, I'm calling question
for thy hope. I'm not telling a story here.
It's a story, but it's the truth. I'm not making something up.
We haven't devised, Peter said, cunningly devised fables for
telling you the truth. I'm not preaching a sermon this
morning. I'm trying to tell you the truth." Paul said, I'm called
in question to that. That just tells me, doesn't it
tell you, that men don't want to hear the truth. The reason
we don't have more here. Paul said to young Timothy, they
turn away their ears from the truth. They don't like that. Men don't like to be told what
they are, do they? We don't like to be set in our
place. We like to be exalted. Bless God, you know, I said I
make a lot of sin here, but Scripture sure does, doesn't it? Scripture says whoever is abased,
he'll be exalted. The man or woman who exalts themselves
will be abased. Whoever is ashamed of themselves
now will not be put to shame before God. But whoever is proud
of themselves now will be very ashamed of themselves before
God. Now, Paul is in jail, and he is about to appear before
another Roman ruler. He is about to appear before
another one of these fellows and a bunch of Jewish accusers.
Look at chapter 25, verse 23. On the morrow, when a gripple
was come, the king came and Bernice, his wife, with great Pop and show, great pop, pageantry
and parade. This kind of reminds me of some
modern-day church services. It's no different. People come in
with great pop, the preacher does. The only reason a man could
want to wear a robe, I believe. The only reason. not come in to really hear the
preacher, but come in to be seen. Come and grace the place, as
well as critique the preacher. Paul is brought in. Here comes
this great processional sitting down, and everybody acknowledges
them, the king, and bows and scrapes and kisses his boots. They all sit down, and then they
bring Paul in. And Bernice entered into the
place with the chief captains, principal men of the Sidney.
There were somebodies here. Anybody with somebody came here.
And at Festus' commandment, Paul was brought forth. They brought
Paul in. He probably was in shackles and
chains and some kind of little prison garment, perhaps, probably. And Thestis said, King Agrippa,
and all men which are here present with us." You see, this man, he's the one that's all this
is about. Everybody's crying the killing
of this man. And I'm sure Agrippa, when Paul
walked in, you know, Agrippa heard about this fella and heard
about all the commotion and all that, and Agrippa thought, he
said this, Mark, he said, I want to hear this fella myself. I
need to see and hear this man about whom the whole world is
turned upside down about. Bring him in here. And they brought
him in, and Agrippa thought, well, he ain't much. Is this the man?" The outcast
said, This is the man. And you know, that's generally
the case in the preaching of the gospel, isn't it? The preacher
is not much to look at. The preacher, your calling wasn't
much, but his gospel was. And that's the reason the Lord
does it like that. Not in any wise, mighty, or noble cause.
Why? Because people will go away thinking, well, wise, mighty,
or noble. But foolish and base and who does this? He can't talk
right. What's he going to say? You just
wait. God speaks through his mouth.
I'm going to leave that. The man wasn't much, but boy,
his message sure was. Look at verse 24 and following
that, and the King of Griffith said, this is what all the professors
said, the whole world, Jerusalem, everybody crying out that he
should live no longer. Verse 25, I found nothing worthy
of death in him, and so he appealed unto Augustus Caesar. I determined
to send him there to Caesar. Verse 26, and then he began to
put a plug in for himself. But I don't have anything to
write about him, my Lord, the King. I haven't put anything
down on the report. Wherefore, I have brought him
forth before you, and especially before you, O King Agrippa, that
after examination had, you might tell me what I could put in the
report about this man, what I should write." Verse 27, it seemed to
me unreasonable to send a prisoner to Caesar and not have anything
to say about him. What's he here for? I don't know.
I don't know. Nothing can be laid to his charge, and neither can anything be laid
to the charge of God's elect. They live exemplary lives, but
I tell you what, the only thing the world has against God's people
is they believe the truth. Well, he believes the truth. which men hate, and they call
heresy. All right, now, verse 1 of chapter 26, and Grippa said
to Paul, Paul was standing there before him, or Grippa. King of
Grippa spoke and said, Paul, thou art permitted to speak for
thyself. What do you have to say? Paul had been telling the same
story. He had been called before kings
and priests and peoples and Jews and Gentiles and Roman rulers
and captains and soldiers and just everywhere he went. He had been imprisoned and brought
out, and one little fellow said, Now, what's all this about? And
Paul is telling the story. And then they'd throw him in
prison again, take him somewhere, throw him in prison again. And
that little fellow over there, like Felix, he'd say, Now, tell
me your story, Paul. And he'd tell it, and he'd tell
his story, and he'd tell the truth, and he'd tell what happened.
And then he'd be brought before Festus, and Festus would go through
his little spiel, and the people would go, and Festus said, Now,
tell me your story, Paul. And Paul would tell him his story.
And now he's brought before Agrippa, and this ain't the last fellow
he's going to tell it to. He's brought before Agrippa,
and Agrippa says, Now, Paul, tell me your story. You'd have thought Paul would
have said, I've told it time and time again. Everybody's heard it by now.
Huh? No, that's not what he said.
Now, when Paul stretched forth the hand and answered for himself,
verse 2, he said, I'll just tickle pink to tell you my story. I think myself happy. Oh, I'm
so happy, I'm so glad. I thought you'd never ask. I've told you again and again
and again after appearing before king and priests and captains
and rulers and peoples and countless people, court after courtroom,
telling the same things over and over again, the same old
story. He said, I'll just tickle Pete
to tell it one more time. One more time. I think myself
happy. I'd just be delighted to tell
you about my Lord. I asked Brother Bill Clark one
time to sing when he came here. And, you know, most of us in
here are reluctant to sing when we're asked to, for whatever
reason. Pride's generally behind it.
But nevertheless, I asked Brother Bill, I said, Brother Bill, would
you sing for us? You know, you've got that lovely Irish tenor,
and he sings from the heart. And he said, oh, he said, Oh,
it would please me to sing about me, Lord. Not, oh, I can't sing. Everybody
knows none of us are Luciano Pavarotti. No! But if Christ is in your heart,
the love of God is shed abroad in your heart, it would please
you to sing about your Lord. And Paul said, I think myself
happy to tell it one more time. That same story. I'm not going
to deviate from it, not going to change it in a bit. I'm going
to tell you about my Lord and what great things he's done for
me. John, that's what we're supposed to do. You know what? We're not
going to sit to go out and argue with gainsayers. If we'd learned
that, we'd be happier, wouldn't we? They'd be better off. And
not hit them over the head with various things. Oh, we're all
guilty of that, aren't we? Christ said to those disciples,
he said, you go out and tell what great things the Lord has
done for you. Tell them what a great Lord you've
got and what great things he's done for you. And Paul said,
you want to hear it? I'd just be happy to tell it
to you. And that's, you know, we're waiting for people to ask
us. We are. We're waiting for those open
doors, anyway, to tell it. If you go from the presence of
a man when you perceive not in him the way of understanding,
go from a gainsayer, you're not going to do any good. Go from
those swine that you keep testing those pearls before and they
keep trampling. Get out. Leave them alone. Find somebody
that looks like they might want to hear. Okay? And Paul said, I just never grow
tired of thinking about him or telling about him. I just never
grow tired of it. What are you going to preach
on this morning? Somebody asked me the same thing. What do you
all want to hear this morning? You're old. You've been young.
You're now old. What do you want to hear this
morning? You've heard a lot of messages. What do you want to hear? About
him. About him. Well, Paul tells it
then. He said, now, the King of Agrippa,
verse 4, he said, My manner of life, now let me tell you a little
bit about myself first. My manner of life for my youth,
which was at the first known among my nation, they all know
me, and if you'll permit me to tell my story again, would you,
this Paul? Not this Paul now, but this Paul.
And I was the same way. I was religious. brought up a
son of a Baptist, brought up in sovereign grace circles and
so forth. I studied at the feet of Barnard,
better than Gamaliel, Ralph. I heard him with his own two
saddles. He dandled me on his knee, and I heard him time and
again, or Mews and Fletcher and you name it. I heard brought
up religious, raised religious, known by so many, but lost. Lost. Verse 6, he said, Now, but now
I stand, here I stand, and am judged for the hope. I have a hope, but now here I
stand. Paul said, though I was raised in religion, yet I was
without God, without hope. I was a fallen son of Adam, but
now I stand. I stood tall in religion, but
I was small before God. But now I stand on Christ. But God, who is rich in mercy,
has given me hope through a knowledge of his Son. And I am the same
way. Lord has delivered me from religion
and delivered me into the hands of my Deliverer, to meet Christ."
Verse 7. And he said it's this hope, the
hope of God, the hope of mercy that's in Christ, the hope of
the gospel, there's no other, the hope of the promise made
under our fathers, which promise, verse 7, our twelve tribes constantly,
every day, serve God, day and night, hoping for it to come. For which hoax saith King Rupert,
I am accused of the Jews." You see, Paul said, I believe the
same thing that our fathers believed. Nothing new. If I believe something
new, don't hear me. There is nothing new under the
sun. If I come telling some new-fangled thing, and the world is delighting
in hearing it, don't hear me. Don't hear me. I'm just coming
and telling the old, old story, the old way, the old path, where
it is the good way that the prophets preached. I'm not telling you
anything but what the Scriptures doesn't say, Paul said. I'm not
wanting to preach anything but what hadn't already been preached
before by Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Elijah and all
the way back to Moses and all the way back to that Abel. The old, old story of the what?
Of the promises. The promises of God. The whole
Old Testament scripture are full of promises. Promises of what? Health and prosperity? No. No. The promised one. The coming
Messiah. The whole Old Testament talks
about somebody coming. Paul said, that's what I'm going
to tell you about. I'm not talking about our Jewish
religion or what we must do. I'm telling you about somebody
that came from God. Emmanuel has been with us. God
with us. A man has been approved by God
and come to us to reveal the Father unto us. This is what
the prophets were saying. Somebody's coming. Somebody's
coming. King Nebuchadnezzar, he's been
here. in human flesh, walked this planet. And he established a righteousness
that men so desperately, they only hope of being accepted with
a holy God, a righteousness. Our Jewish religion, which God
which God ordained and God purposed and all, it wasn't all that we
might be made righteous before God. All these ceremonies and
types and symbols and laws and things that God told us to do,
they weren't that we might live before God someday. They were
to show us we're guilty and to point us to somebody who's righteous. That he's coming to fulfill all
righteousness for us. to establish the law, to establish
righteousness for us, and die. Agrippa, all of the prophets
say he came to die. Isaiah said he came to die. The Messiah. If these Jews would
just bother to read it, they'd see for themselves. He didn't
come to establish an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one.
And the way he did that was by dying. to pay the penalty of
our sins. We've all sinned to come short
of the glory of God, he said, without the showing of blood.
That's what a group of, that's what all these types of lambs
slain and bullets and rivers of blood talk about, death before
a holy God. You know what those were all
about? To tell us that God demands blood. Without blood there's
no remission of sin. He came. You see, the blood of
bulls and goats won't remit our sin, won't take it away. We have
not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin. He knew it. God
hath laid on him the iniquity of all his people. He was made
sin for us, and God saw him one day on Calvary's tree. Yeah,
we was wicked hands, took and crucified him, but we did what
God determined before we were done, to crucify his Christ. Our hope, God killed him a good
one. Shed his precious blood, which
is powerful, is able to cleanse us from all our sin. Shed his
blood, and that blood puts away all the sins of all of God's
people. You know what the proof is? You see, those lambs and turtles,
they stayed dead. They had to kill another one.
This man, after he'd offered one sacrifice for sin forever,
rose from the grave. They put him in a tomb, thought
he was dead, thought he was just a man. No, he's God's man, he's
my Christ, he's your only hope. He came out of the grave, and
the angels applauded, and I gave to him my hope, hope of earth
and hope of heaven, joy of heaven. Jesus, that's who it was. Go
ahead and burn in the corner, Agrippa. You've heard the stories
that he rose from the grave. You've heard that. And he did. And now he ever lives to make
intercession for his people. That's all I'm saying. Not by
works of righteousness which we have done. Not our religion.
Not our strivings. Not our doing. No, it's not good
enough. Him. Him. My hope. Your hope, Agrippa.
Everybody that hears me now, our only hope. And that's why
I'm called into Christ, that's why men hate me. Oh, somebody's
coming. Well, Paul said, but you know,
at first, verse 9, in verse 8, he said, Why should it be thought
a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? Why
don't you believe that? And I'm made to ask the same
thing. Why should men think it a thing
incredible that God's God? Why do we . . . I've beaten my head up against
the walls, Mark. Why should we constantly talk
about and preach and declare that God is God? He does it throughout
the Old Testament. I'm the Lord. There is no else. He says it time and again. You know, we keep saying that,
we keep pounding that, I keep declaring it, you keep declaring
it to people and so forth. Why? Men don't believe it. That God's God. Even we don't
believe it at times. That message Sunday, what is
it, Wednesday night, was an encouragement to us to believe God that He's
God, Deborah. That if you're God's, then you're
God's. Not your own, right? No way. Why should it be thought
a thing incredible that God is God? Why should it be thought
a thing incredible? What a verse, what a text. Why
should it be thought a thing incredible that Jesus Christ
saves everybody there for? Huh? Why won't people believe
that? He said it on come that they
might have life. Why should it be thought of being
incredible that anybody did it more than once? Why should it
be thought of being incredible, huh? That the blood of that man
cleanses. Doesn't try. It actually gets
the job done. It's powerful. There's power
in the blood. They like to sing it, don't they?
Do they believe it? You all knew it with their lips.
Their hearts far from believing that. What is it? It's the blood
that maketh atonement for the soul. Whose blood? Not mine,
not yours. His blood. Fire in it. Why should
it be thought a thing incredible? It's whose blood it is, right?
Why should it be thought a thing incredible that I'm saved for
eternity, that I'll never perish? I'm not a slave! Why should it
be thought a thing incredible in our generation that Jesus
Christ can save and save them for eternity? That's who he is. Call his name Jesus. He'll save
them. I'm going to call his name Jesus.
And glory in a precious name. Oh, how sweet. Jesus. It means something to me. I'm
not going to say it unless it means something. Why should it
be thought of as being incredible? Verse 9, Paul says, I barely
thought with myself. That's where you get in trouble,
isn't it? Start thinking with yourself. This is what I think. Wrong. Not. I thought that I ought to do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus. So did I. So did you.
Everybody in here that was religious or heretical or whatever, you
thought that you believed the right way, and all these gracers,
you know what they are, don't you? Kind of like lepers, gracers. They're wrong, and that can't
be right, and that man's a heretic. Well, I thought the same thing.
I ought to do many things, though in the name of Jesus it was contrary
to it. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem. Many of the saints did I shut
up in prison. You know, and this fellow, me, I used to think,
you know, when I got to about 18, I started to say, I used
to think. No, I stopped thinking when I
got to about 15, and didn't begin thinking again until I was about
21. But I used to think, when I hit
about eighteen, that I knew some things, and I remember flat out
telling some people, my old cronies and all, that I knew more than
my father, and that all of his religion that he'd been preaching
for years was a bunch of nonsense, that I'd been enlightened now.
I know something. And Paul said, I did shut up
people in prison. I remember going to hear preachers
and wishing they'd shut up. And verse 11, he says, I punished
them often in every synagogue, compelled them to blaspheme.
You know, all those people that I was around and influencing
my cronies and all that, man, I was leading them the wrong
way. Compelling them to blaspheme. That along with me. Being, verse
11, exceedingly mad. I was a madman then. Stephen,
I thought I had knowledge. I thought I was somebody. I thought
I knew something. I thought I was intelligent.
I thought everybody else was crazy, but I was cool. You young
people, I thought I was cool. Everybody else was square, you
know. I found out later I was the uncool one. I was the crazy
one. I remember as a young teenager,
older teenager anyway, not much difference, but I remember looking
down on those simple people. The children of the church, the
children of the people where I went to church, looking down
on them like they were square. They ain't nobody. Well, I'm
somebody over at the high school. Jennifer, I thought I was cool,
you know, I was on the football team, tennis, and then I got
in the hippie movement, and then I was really cool, buddy. I was
really cool, and I looked at all the little squares, you know,
those old-fashioned people, the children of religious folk who
went to church, simple, nice young boys and girls, you know,
that continued to go to church there when I quit. You know,
they're simple. They don't know anything. They don't know what
I know. Dismissing them. I remember coming at times to
hear the gospel, you know, because, like I told you, I had my eye
on a girl. I wasn't wanting to get religion. How's about that?
It's too cool for that. But there was a good-looking
girl there, and I'd do anything to get her. This is my story. There was a
man at church who owned a construction company, very rich, very prosperous,
a good construction company. I needed a job, Rick. Cut my
hair, made my act up, got me a job. He liked my daddy. He
loved my daddy. He was a deacon, a member of
the church. He esteemed my dad highly, and he said, uh, that
boy ain't much of his, but, uh, since I like his daddy, I'll
give him a job. Got me a good job, found me a
girl, had my eye on her. That's the only reason I came
to church. The only reason. I absolutely
didn't have anything for this old-fashioned religion. Nobody
is cooler than us. That's exactly right, you know?
That's exactly right. All cool people go to a very
hot place someday. That's where God puts all cool
people. Cool is another word for pride, you know? It's another
word for pride, and God says, I hate that worse than anything.
But He said, I hate it worse than that. Pride, look. And if
He was on my face, Well, you know, one day something
happened to me that happened to the Apostle Paul. Same thing
happened to one Paul happened to another. And he wasn't looking
for it. He wasn't seeking it. He didn't
want it. He was happy. He was doing what
he wanted to do, going where he wanted to go, seeking what
he wanted to seek. He was not seeking, wanting this
thing to happen. Thank God somebody crossed his
path. He came in contact with a person. A person. Somebody stopped him
on his wild career and said, here's a tune, have you come?
No further. You're headed for hell at breakneck
speed with everybody else. You're going a broad road that
all your cronies are going. Peer pressure. Peer pressure
is hell pressure. I'm going to take you right down
with them. That's where you're headed, Paul. But I'm going to stop you." Paul met somebody. That's what's
going to have to happen to our young people. They're going to
have to come face to face with a man. I mean, a real man. He's
just tougher than they are. And us, the older people, that
same thing is going to have to happen. We'll quit being religious,
and all the doctrine in our head, and we're going to meet a person,
and we're going to quit kicking against pricks, and we're just
going to bow and submit. Well, it's hard to kick against
these pricks. I've got this prick pulled. I've got this prick pulled.
I've got this pulling against me, and I've got this pulling,
and this friend, and this world, and this and that pulling against
me." And you meet a person. He said, I've drawn you. John
went pfft all around you, buddy. Who wins the polls? Talk about
a son of a bitch. Huh? Oh, I had it in my head
for a while, you know. Time to hang on to the world
and hang on to religion, still get the girl, you know, and hang
on to it. He said, I've gone to you with cords of my own,
the Holy Spirit, gospel one day, cords of a man, of that last
sovereign, powerful man in the gospel, of the person. He said, I've bought you, I've
loved you with an everlasting love. You're not your own. I've
bought you with a price. There's no pearl any more in
the world. I might do a little tug, turn
around, let's see what it is. Hey, nothing. Christ is out. Right? Ain't no decision to be
made, Christ or my cronies. That was made for me. I didn't
have to decide, well, I'm going to quit associating with these
people. That's why I love Christ so much.
They couldn't stand to be around me. Sitting there drinking beer one
day beside the pool with my cronies one day, and I was reading the
Bible. And one of them said, what's he reading that damn Bible
for? Drinking beer, of all things.
And I thought, you know, of all things, that is crazy. So I tossed the beer curtain.
There wasn't no decision to be made. Huh? Christ is always nothing at all.
Right? Yeah. Let's not hang around not
inviting him over anymore. He's going to tell you about
Christ. Don't want to hear that. That would ruin the party. And after a while I thought,
I don't want to go there anymore. I'm going to go where they're
worshiping. I hear there's a Bible talk. Twenty-one-year-old boy
driving on Saturday night for a hundred and fifty miles to
hear the gospel preach. What all my buddies are saying,
they're down drinking at the bar. Who did that? I didn't want
to ask. I'm telling you this thing is
real. Like a man stood in my living room one day and said,
I'm telling you, grace is real. You're looking at it. That story
of the prodigal son ain't just some parable. It's real when
you're looking at him, who wasted his substance in wantonness,
when all my father's house had plenty. And the Lord God, the Heavenly
Father, drew him with cords of love back and fell on his back. Shouldn't have. Kick him out! What's he doing
here?" All those folks at church, you know, when I came back, I
thought, they're going, you know, when the Lord started dealing
with me. There's one thing that, you know, that kind of made me
hesitate about coming back. I thought, you know, they're
not going to receive me. Oh, little did I know about God's
people. It was like I'd never done anything.
They never brought it up. It's like I'd been there all
along. They treated me like a somebody. Oh, in my heart. You know, with
that proud look, it's not all gone yet, but I tell you, my
head began to hang after a while. And those blessed people had
lifted up. Don't hang your head. We're all
just like you. We all came from the same place.
We all met the same person. And now, you know, my old friends
call me mad. Much studying has made you mad.
He's gotten emergent. No, I used to be crazy. That's
what Paul said there, didn't he, Stan? He said, I used to
be crazy. I was mad. Getting mad when I heard the
gospel. Getting mad. I was crazy, though. That's what
the word means, mad. I was crazy. I was out of my
mind. I was out of my foolish mind, destroying myself and not
knowing it. That's a crazy man, isn't it?
A man that just absolutely destroyed himself and doesn't know it.
That's a crazy man, isn't it? You know, talking about that
hippie movement. I remember looking back at some
pictures of myself. I was mad, you understand? I
was crazy. I thought I looked cool. I can't believe it. I went to my sister's wedding.
You're getting in the flesh now, Preacher, so be it. Maybe there's
a sense of sense in some of our teenagers. I went to my sister's
wedding. I was about 19, 20, and I wore I had a beard, a very long beard,
and I wore a white leisure suit jacket with a blue turtleneck
and blue and white checkered pants, big checks, and platform
shoes. You remember those platform shoes?
The heels were twelve inches high. Laugh at me. I was laughable. Terry laughed
at me. I was mad! Crazy! I look at some of the kids today
and I say, did you run out of money? Crazy! Now I'm clothed. You say, those
aren't very cool clothes to leave. Maybe not. But I'm clothed and
in my right mind, at least spiritually. At least spiritually. I got the
mind of Christ now. You know, I think of things with
the mind of Christ. Not my own thinking, not with
the world. You know, there's a way that seemeth right under
the world. If I go that way, young people,
please listen to me. If you follow your peers, you're
going where they're going. If you let their pressure get
through you, you're going where they're going. Let the God you are desire. No, I don't want you to lose
your hair." Paul said, no, not these chains, but knowing this
Christ. And anything I can do to, anything
I can say, I'm going to say it and do it. Save yourselves from this untoward
generation. It's untoward. Oh, boy. Really, I can't do a thing. I
cannot do a thing. That's what's so frustrating
about this job. A politician can convince some
people. You can get up and cry. That's what Christ said, didn't
He? He said, we have weeped and you haven't mourned. We've laughed
and you haven't danced, piped, and you haven't danced, no reaction. It's so frustrating. I would
that you were as I am. Not like me, but what God has
done to me, you see. I hope as a young boy up here
that God does the same thing as he did for me. He didn't have
to. Joe, he didn't have to. That
young rebel named Paul Edward Mahan, he should have been kicked
out on his rear end and never heard from again. Right, John
Schubert? Now, here I am by the grace of
my Almighty God. A person, Jesus Christ, came
and said, as far as you go, buddy. You're mine. You're going with
me. Isn't that glorious? You're going with me. You're
not going with the world, you're going with me. Stand up.

Paul's Testimony Before Agrippa

What does the Bible say about persecution for preaching the gospel?

How do we know the gospel is the truth?

Why is the resurrection of Christ significant for Christians?

What does it mean to be called God's elect?

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Paul's Testimony Before Agrippa

What does the Bible say about persecution for preaching the gospel?

How do we know the gospel is the truth?

Why is the resurrection of Christ significant for Christians?

What does it mean to be called God's elect?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

More from Paul Mahan

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