message. I feel it's timely. I feel it ought to be preached.
I just wish that I had a larger audience to wish to preach it. But that's all in the good providence
of God also. You can't tell this story without
humor. because there's a lot of humor
involved. And you can't tell this story
without a broken heart and tears, because we're living in a very
sad day. The title of the message tonight
is The Follies of Fundamentalism. The Follies of Fundamentalism. And 1 Corinthians 11, verse 19, It says, for there must, this
is one of God's must, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. He must needs go through Samaria. Of the sheep I have,
them also I must bring. And this, when God speaks here,
he says must. For there must be also heresies
among you. there must be heresies among
you, that they which are approved, that they which are genuine,
not so much they as what they preach, as they who are genuine and those
who have sent of God and those whose message is true, that they
might be made manifest, that you might see the difference,
that you might clearly discern the difference. Now what the
Apostle Paul is saying here is there will always be divisions
and factions and heresies, rank heresies, in religion, in churches, and among men. One reason is
because Satan is always busy sowing tares. Satan is the enemy
of Christ. He's the enemy of truth, and
he's called in the scripture, your enemy. Your enemy. Like a roaring lion, he goeth
about seeking whom he may destroy. And in his subtlety and craftiness,
he uses any means and methods to destroy. Another reason why
there will always be divisions, always be factions and heresies,
even among you, is because false prophets and false preachers
are plentiful. I would have you turn to 2 Peter
chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2. You see, unscrupulous men see
religion as an opportunity. Not so much a refuge, but an
opportunity Not so much a hiding place, but an opportunity. They
see religion as an opportunity to gain. To gain recognition,
to gain fame, to gain possessions, to gain notoriety. Religious figures are well-known
men and women. And it says here in 2 Peter 2,
verse 1, as but there were false prophets even among the people.
Old Testament Israel, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, there shall, another one of God's shalls, there shall
be. And they'll privately bring in
damnable heresies, damning heresies, even deny the Lord that bought
them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And here's
the sad thing, many, many shall follow their pernicious ways. by reason of whom the truth,
the way of truth, shall be evil spoken of, and through covetousness."
This is what motivates them, covetousness. You see, designing
unscrupulous men see religion as an opportunity for gain. They're
motivated by covetousness, selfishness, personal gain. And through this
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise
of people. People mean nothing to them.
God means nothing to them. His glory means nothing to them.
And people are just a means they use to gain their end. That's
all. You've got so much merchandise.
You're a statistic. You're a number. You're a supporter. You're a partner. You're somebody
that keeps them on the road. Somebody that buys their next
meal. That's all you are. It's all I am to them. But whose
judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not, God'll take care of them. Turn to Isaiah 56. Here's a scripture
I read on television recently. I read it again to the men the
other night in the study. In Isaiah 56, verse 10, God's
talking about these preachers. Preachers, preachers, preachers.
We've got preachers everywhere. And people just won't quit ordaining
them. They won't quit giving them the license to preach and
sending them out everywhere. And he says, verse 10 of Isaiah
56, they're blind. They don't see the glory of God
or the gospel of God. They're ignorant. They're all
dumb dogs. They cannot bark. Sleeping, lying
down, loving to slumber. Yeah, they're greedy dogs. Greedy.
Never have enough. Never, never, never. Turned on
the television just the other night. Another telethon, another
begging session. Darth said, is that all they
do? I said, that's all they do. They never have enough. Never.
You ever know one have enough? Never have enough. And there are shepherds that
cannot understand, and watch it, and they all look to their
own way. Everyone for his gain, for his
gain, for his gain. That's all they're interested
in, from his quarter. You see, religion affords men
an opportunity to get notoriety and gain and
recognition. And I'll tell you why there'll
always be divisions and factions, because Satan is active, and
because false prophets and teachers are plentiful, notorious men,
and because human nature, human nature is so weak and wicked
and gullible. Old Barnum of Ringling Brothers,
Barnum and Davis, that is a sucker born every minute, and a religious
fellow standing there waiting to take his money. It's amazing. Human nature is so gullible,
so weak, so wicked, so easily misled. It ain't nothing to it.
Our Lord said, I come in my Father's name, and you won't receive me.
Let another come in his own name, bearing his own name, blaring
out his own name, putting his own name on everything, and in
you follow his own name. And the more he uses that name,
the more men follow his name. Men will believe and follow religious
lie rather than follow the truth. And that's evident as you look
at these little churches here, see the empty seats here tonight.
Man read the scripture, beautiful trios sung about the glories
of Christ from Newton's great old hymn. I'm reading the scriptures
preaching from the Word of God, That doesn't attract the attention
of people like if you put on a show. Give away something. Have some kind of abracadabra
and heal somebody, you know. That just attracts this old flesh.
We just love it. We just wallow in it. Human flesh
is so weak and wicked and gullible. Easily misled. Rather have a
lie any day than the truth. And the bigger the lie, the bigger
the following. How do you suppose that one maniac
preacher got 970 people to commit suicide? Now you think about
that. How in the name of common sense?
But he did it. But 1 Corinthians 11, 19, look
at it again, there must be heresies. There must be heresies. must be. So these things do not
come to pass by chance. These men are not where they
are by chance. That's right. They're there through the good
providence of God running. That's right. God said they'd
be there. He said to Pharaoh, I raised
you up for this same purpose, that my name might be glorified.
I raised you up, I put you there. Through the good providence of
God, who allows Satan to show himself, who allows men to vent
the evil of their own hearts, who allows false preachers and
teachers to flourish, God allows them to, according to his own
purpose by his own good providence, to accomplish his own will. It
must be. Turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 and listen to this. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, starting
with verse 7. We talk about the mystery of
the gospel, the mystery of God's kingdom, but here he talks about
the mystery of iniquity. The sly, subtle, evil smell of
iniquity. It doesn't already work. Verse
7, 2 Thessalonians 2, "...only he who now let it will let, until
he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all
power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish." because they receive
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for
this cause, God will send them strong delusions,
that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned,
who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. David said, The wrath of man
will praise the Lord, and the rest of the wrath he'll restrain. Peter, Satan hath desired thee,
that he might sift thee as wheat, permission granted." Think about
that. On the day when the sons of God
presented themselves before the Lord, Satan appeared among them,
and God said, Have you considered my servant, Job? None like him. Satan said, Well, you've hedged
him about and blessed all that he has and prospered everything
he touches. Put your hand on his flesh and
he'll curse you. Let me have him for a few days.
Permission granted." That's divine providence. Understand
it, I do not. Preach it, I do. And back to
our text. Well, there must be heresies. There must be divisions and factions
among you. There must be in all of this,
watch it now, that they, that they, in order that they, which
are approved, which are genuine, who are truly sent of God, who
have the true message, might be recognized plainly among you. As I said, not so much they,
because no man is of any importance to God, only in Christ, only
as an instrument of His grace. but that their message might
be manifest, that their message might be revealed. In Matthew
chapter 24, I would have you look over there for a moment,
in Matthew 24. It says this, now listen. In Matthew 24, verse
23. It says, Then if any man shall
say unto you, Lo, here is Christ. Lo, there is Christ. For there shall arise false Christs
and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders,
insomuch that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. But the elect are not deceived. True believers are not deceived.
True believers are of God. True believers are of God, and
true believers know God's Word. They know God's Word. and they
know the gospel. And true believers can discern
between the false and the truth. And when true believers see the
false, it makes the truth shine more brightly. There must be heresies, there
must be divisions, there must be factions among you. that they
which are proved, those who are genuine, those who have God's
message, might be manifest. And the spiritual man has discernment
and understanding. The elect will not be deceived
nor be taken in by false religion. They can see it. They can compare
the two. Now, today's religion I want
you to listen carefully. Today's religion is on the front
page of every newspaper as never before. The evangelists, the organizations,
the super churches, the super preachers, the super powers in
religion are on the front page of every newspaper. If you pick
up the Ashland Daily Independent tonight, Half of the front page
is devoted to religious articles. In other words, we're all tuned
in to a giant religious soap opera. And all the great names are involved
in this. That's what's interesting. Everyone
is playing his part on the stage in this giant soap opera. No
one's left out. Baker, Roberts, Graham, Swigert,
Shuler, Orwell. And all of us have a stage-front
seat to observe and to look in on the follies of fundamentalism. See what you learn. See how you respond and how you
react to all of it now. To all of it. In all of this, the people of
God, those who are the elect, those who will never be deceived,
in all of this, the people of God are going to see as never
before the corruption of today's religion. And the truth to them, the true
message which God has sent to them and taught them and revealed
to them is going to be more precious and more wonderful and clearer
than ever before. And they're going to rally to
encourage those who are preaching the message. They're going to
rally to support them, and pray for them, and help them, and
encourage them, and not be a weight about their necks. And they're going to be done
with this folly and foolishness of fundamentalism that we're
reading about today. That's right. The deceived, they're
going on playing the game. They're going on playing the
game. They're going on believing what they believe and yet giving
a little credit even to these gentlemen. Now let me ask you a question.
Now you think, you've been reading the headlines. Not a one of you
have missed the headlines, have you? The stories, they're interesting.
I read every word of them. I never read anything like this
in my life. I ask you this question. Can
you even vaguely, even vaguely, even remotely, imagine the apostles
of Jesus Christ making the headlines in this fashion? Even vaguely? Pick up the paper in the morning.
John and James will conduct a telethon over most of the television stations
in Antioch to raise money to support the disciples' drive
for decency in Rome. Would you ever read anything
like that? Or perhaps you'd read this tomorrow
evening. Timothy will speak to a group
of protesters on the lawn of the Capitol in Jerusalem on purity
in politics and abolishing abortion in our day. Can you imagine Timothy
having even been mentioned in a headline like that? Or perhaps Luke is fasting in
the upper room. after declaring that God has
threatened to kill him if he doesn't raise eight million dollars
for the students in his med school. Dr. Luke. Or maybe you'd read this when
the Republicans gathered together for their convention. Paul announced
today his Republican candidacy for emperor of Rome. Paul has declared that he has
the support of the Colosseum crowd, especially those scheduled
for the next lion fight. They'd all back it, wouldn't
they? Barnabas today announced plans
for a multi-million dollar amusement park, shopping mall, hotel, health
spa, super church building seating 30,000, featuring all of the
things that vacationing Christians love to do. I like this headline, Timothy.
Timothy has resigned his position as president, pastor, and promoter
of the Tim and Tammy Enterprises. That goes good, doesn't it? Saying through his lawyer that
he had been paying blackmail for sexual indiscretion. And
then Timothy announced the next day that the real reason he resigned
is because Peter was trying to steal his ministry. I said you're going to like it,
but can you even, why are you laughing? It's an impossibility. So Peter is trying to steal Timothy's
ministry and he was now placing Paul in complete charge. And
that evening, Peter denied the allegations of Timothy, and Paul
came to Peter's defense, although Peter declared that Paul should
not have anything to do with Timothy, because he and Silas
discovered the indiscretion and told Paul in the first place. You say, that's mixed up. This
is, too. The lawyers of all these men
will settle the matter in court. That's what I read. That's the follies of fundamentalism.
You turn to Matthew 23. Our Lord gives a picture of them,
too, in Matthew 23. If you can't imagine the apostles
of Christ having anything to do with this sort of thing, then
why would you imagine His modern-day preachers and prophets would
have anything to do with this sort of thing? Why would it enter
your mind? God's the same, the gospel's
the same, people are the same, the message is the same, the
need is the same, salvation is the same. Our Lord said in Matthew
23, listen, verse 1, Then spake Jesus to the multitude and to
his disciples, saying, These scribes and Pharisees sit in
Moses' seat. Yes, they are the prophets, they
claim to be. But he said, verse 5, All their
works they do to be seen of me. That's the first mark of a Pharisee. And secondly, verse six, and
they loved the uppermost rooms at the feast. They campaigned
for high offices. Not too long ago, there was a
vigorous campaign on for presidency, the presidency of the Southern
Baptist Convention. Can you imagine the apostles
campaigning for an office among the early church? having their
sides and having debates and ballots, instead of praying,
seeking God's hand to be put upon some individual? Verse fourteen, Woe unto you,
scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, you devour widows' houses for
pretense, make long prayers. I read in the Ashland Daily Independent
tonight, page four or five, Mr. Baker has a home in California
that costs $330,000. He has a home in South Carolina
where all the enterprises is located called the Parsonage.
It costs PTL $350,000. He has a condominium in Florida
that costs the organization $370,000, and they paid $300,000 to have
it decorated with gold-plated fixtures. He has a new home in Gatlinburg,
Tennessee that cost $150,000 and in the process of remodeling
it at a cost of $35,000, which brings it to over $800,000 in
personal real estate that he owns, not counting the other
things. Who paid for all that? The widows. And you have respect
for people like that? And you mean you would defend
them in opposition to some poor, sovereign, great preacher that
has to squeeze every nickel he's got to pay his bill. I think people who defend those
people are going to hell with them. I really do. I don't care who
it is. They devour widows' houses, and
for a pretense they hold hands around the circle and pray for
the sick. Make pretense of long prayers. In verse fifteen, they're not
satisfied to spew out their own poison in their own circles,
but woe unto you, you compass-seeing land, to make one proselyte.
You've got to add somebody else to this list of condemned souls. And after you've made him, he's
twofold more the child of hell than you are. Just serve him. In verse twenty-three, woe unto
you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, you pay tithes. They're always
talking about, well, a man robbed God. You've got to send your
tithe. We tithe. We tithe. We tithe. We tithe
mint and anise and cumin and herbs, and you've omitted the
weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. You strain in a net and swallow
a camel. Verse 25, and you make clean
the outside of the cup. This amazes me that these fellows
are making so much to do over Jim Baker's so-called indiscretions,
and yet they're turning around and excuse lying and thievery
and all kind of things. Misrepresentation. I see them
offering these cassettes. We know what cassettes cost.
Well, we get them 70 cents a piece, and then the making of them,
you know, and so forth, runs about $2, but they're offering
these cassettes for $15, saying, we're letting you have them for
what they cost us. And we know what Bibles cost.
And here I see them advertising this family Bible. They let you
have it for a donation of $49, $50. And we lose money on these. They're lying. They're liars
and thieves. But they don't smoke or drink. They'll steal the nickels off
a dead man's eyes, but they don't smoke or drink. I'll tell you what they are,
the Lord said, verse 27, they're whited sepulchers, which appear
beautiful outside, but within are full of dead men's bones
and all kind of uncleanness. Even so, outwardly, they appear
righteous unto men, but within they're full of hypocrisy and
iniquity. And then I hear them bragging,
they're giving away Spurgeon's books, talking about great men
like Calvin and Luther and Knox and Whitfield. And our Lord said
they would, verse 29, He said, You scribes, you Pharisees, you
hypocrites, you build tombs, you go out here and build monuments
to the prophets who are dead. You decorate the sepulchres and
graves of righteous men who are dead. And you say, if we had
lived in the days of our fathers, we would have supported those
preachers and prophets. We wouldn't have been partakers
with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore, you be witnesses
to yourselves, that you are the children of them that killed
the prophets. Heal ye up, then, the measure
of your fathers, you serpents, you snakes, you generation of
vipers." Who's preaching? This is the Lord Jesus preaching.
How can you escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I
send you true prophets and true wise men and scribes, and some
of them you've killed and crucified. Some of them you've scourged
in your synagogues and kicked out of your organizations and
persecuted them from city to city. And I'm telling you, upon
you may come all the righteous blood shed on this earth from
righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barakatis,
whom you slew between the temple and the altar. Yes, sir, Christ
said, I'm going to pull from your hand the blood of every
preacher that's ever died, ever since Abel. And you're going
to bear the judgment of it. Whew, I tell you. But I jotted down some headlines
that might appear in the newspaper in Paul's day if they had been
interested. in what Paul was doing. Paul's story, I think, would
have read something like this. It wouldn't have read like what
we're reading today, but it read something like this. It would
have. This would have been the headlines of the Jerusalem Times
on Monday, 45 A.D. World famous religious leader,
Dr. Saul of Tarsus, declared today
that for the first time in his life of forty years, he now knows
God. He said he met the living God
in the person of his son, Jesus of Nazareth, who was recently
crucified in Jerusalem. Dr. Saul declared that prior
to this day, his ministry was one of error, deceit, and contrary
to the Word of God. He is quoted as saying, I now
denounce my heritage, my ancestry, my denomination, and all my seminary
training and accomplishment as so much rubbish that I may win
Christ and be found in Him. Saul further declared that he
was less than the least of all preachers and believers. And
he also said he was not fit to be a preacher, really, because
he persecuted the church. And he said he guessed he was
the chief of sinners. He also added that he had no
righteousness or works of his own worth noticing, but he believed
that his standing before God was solely on the merits of one
Jesus Christ, his Lord. Jewish denominational leaders
took steps today to rescind his ordination. They also say that they will
excommunicate him from their ranks and he will not be allowed
to preach or pastor any recognized denominational church from this
day forward. That's what the paper would have
said. Page two would have this note,
a call was put through to Dr. Sounding Brass dean of Gamaliel
University and Seminary, and Dr. Sounding Brass declared that
Dr. Saul was probably influenced
by a sect called the Sovereign Gracers, who, according to Dr. Brass,
are hyper-Calvinists, a rather dangerous group of men who take
the scriptures literally and believe in an ancient theology
which he said declares that salvation is of the Lord. Dr. Bryce said that these sovereign
gracers who have made great inroads into many denominations also
believe and teach such heretical teachings as total depravity.
That is, that they believe that in Adam all died. And they also
teach an unconditional election that God did from all eternity
elect the people and gave them to Christ in what he called an
everlasting covenant. He said they also believe in
a particular redemption, that is, that Christ died for the
elect, and that his redemption was effectual to their salvation.
And all for whom he died would be saved. He said also that this
group believed in an effectual calling, that it takes the Holy
Spirit to give life to a dead sinner. It takes the Holy Spirit
to give hearing to a deaf sinner. and the Holy Spirit of God through
the Word of God to give light to a blind sinner. And Dr. Bryce said also that they believe
that all the saints will persevere. Dr. Tinkling Semble, you ever
heard of him? Sounding Bryce and Tinkling Semble,
they teach together at the same school, Bethlehem Seminary, Charlie,
known as BS. But Dr. Tinkling Semble declared that
while most of our ancient fathers believed these truths, and most
of the ancient fathers taught these doctrines, and really the
seminary was founded on these doctrines, but we no longer believe
them, nor are they accepted by the leadership or the people. the end of that article. That'd
make good reading, wouldn't it? That's the way they would have
reported Paul. Well, I wrote this little article on Paul.
This was written on Tuesday. This appeared in the Athens Tribune,
A.D. 50. Saul of Tarsus, now known as
Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ, addressed a large crowd of local
leaders and people on Mars Hill last evening. And Paul told the
shocked multitude of the city's finest that after seeing all
their shrines and churches and altars and temples, that they
were too religious. He actually used the word superstitious. He also declared that they did
not know the true God, that they were worshiping ignorantly. and
that all of their services were emotionalism, entertainment,
and ignorant religious superstition. And he further declared that
God created the world and all things in the world.
And he said that the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth did
not dwell in our temples and our cathedrals and our churches,
but that he lived in the hearts of believers in the person of
his Son. And the crowd was particularly
upset when Paul declared that God needed nothing from any man. And they didn't care for the
statement, no man in the flesh could please God. And Paul said
that God was the giver of all things, even spiritual life,
to whom he would. And that life was in Jesus Christ. And he closed his sermon by declaring
in plain, unmistakable words that God had made from one blood
all nations, Jew and Gentile, and in Adam all were created
and all fell. And he said that God was sovereign
over men, over all events, and appointed the times and the bounds
of all men. And it was clear to all present
that Paul was preaching that God would have mercy on whom
He will have mercy and whom He will, O Lord. But those who've heard him before
reported that he's just preaching what he always preached. He continues
to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only righteousness
and redemption that God will recognize. He also said in that
same sermon that God had appointed a day in which He would judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom He ordained and
whom we crucified and whom God raised from the dead, Jesus Christ. The article closed. Paul, unlike our ministers, gave
no religious altar call, and there was no rush to the front
to make decisions, but most of the crowd left upset and angry,
especially the religious leaders who mocked the preacher and his
message. However, some expressed a desire
to hear him again. I want you to turn to Acts chapter
26. Well, there might have been the
last article on Paul in Acts chapter 26. This would
have been found in the Caesarean Chronicle, probably A.D. 56 to 60. after Paul had spent two years
in prison down in Caesarea. The article would say that Paul
the Apostle of Jesus Christ, after two years in prison, appeared
the day before King Agrippa and Governor Festus at the request
of King Agrippa himself. And Paul's entire defense rested
on the fact that he preached Jesus Christ and him crucified.
And below is the full text of his defense, Acts 26, verse 1. Then Agrippa said to Paul, I
have committed to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his
hand and answered for himself. 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 an expert in all customs and questions which
are among the Jews. Wherefore I beseech you 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. And if they would
testify that after the most straightest sect of our religion, I live,
the Pharisees. And now I stand and judge for
the hope of the promise made of God to our fathers. I stand on trial for believing
that God gave Christ to sit in us. Unto which promise our twelve
tribes instantly serving God day and night hope to come. For
which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I'm accused of the Jews. Now,
King, why should it be thought a thing incredible to you that
God should raise the dead? I barely thought with myself
that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus
of Nazareth, which things I also did in Jerusalem. And many of
the saints did I shut up in prison, having received the piety from
the chief priest. And when they were put to death,
I gave my voice against them. And I punished them often, every
synagogue, and I compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly
mad against them, I persecuted them even to strange cities.
Whereupon, as I went to Damascus with authority and commission
from the chief priest, at midday, O King, at midday, I saw in the
way a light from heaven above the brightest brightness of the
sun shining round about me and them that journeyed with me.
And we were all fallen to the earth. I heard a voice speaking
to me and saying, in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against
the bricks. And I said, who art thou, Lord?
And he said, I'm Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise, 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 you've seen. and of those things into
which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people
and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee, to open their
eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan
to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Wherefore,
O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, But
I showed first to 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 from God, I continue
to this day, witnessing both to the small and great, saying
none of the things in 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 Paul thus spake for himself,
Festus spoke up the governor with a loud voice, and he said,
Paul, you're crazy, you're beside yourself. Much learning hath
made you mad. But Paul replied, I'm not mad.
I'm not mad, most noble Festus. I just speak the words of truth
and soberness. The king knoweth of these things,
before whom also I speak freely." I'm persuaded that none of these
things are hid from the king. This thing wasn't done in a corner.
Jesus Christ didn't die behind the door. King Agrippa, do you
believe the prophets? I know you believe. And the king
said to him, Paul, almost. I'm persuaded it's 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 for these chains
I wear about my wrist. And when Paul had thus spoken,
the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they beset with
them. And when they were gone aside,
they talked between themselves, saying, And they all agreed that
this man doeth nothing worthy of death or chains. And Agrippa
said to Festus, well, we might have set him free, but he appealed
to Caesar. His doom is sealed. For what? Preaching the gospel. And I'll
tell you, if we ever make the headlines, let it be for the
preaching of the gospel. If we're ever persecuted and
hounded from city to city, let it be for the preaching of the
gospel. If men have ought against us, let it be for the preaching
of the gospel. This is faith. This is faith. What I'm reading today is poly,
poly or fundamentalism. Maybe God will use this to help
us, encourage us, strengthen us, but whatever. Let's pray
together.