Shalom and welcome to Israel. If you ever get a chance to come here, you could feel the refreshing breeze coming off the Mediterranean Sea. One of the places to go is Caesarea. These are the ancient ruins of a palace that Herod built. And there is an amphitheater at the place where Paul gave his defense of the faith in Acts 25 and 26. A skilled man in sharing the gospel, he stood before a governor and the king and this is it. This is Paul's appeal in Caesarea. Who wants to go there right now? Anybody want to do that? I invite you to open up your Bible. Turn with me to Acts 25, and we will join Paul there before King Agrippa and the Roman Governor Festus. And Paul is going to give one of the great speeches on all of the history of the church. And so, turn with me to Acts chapter 25. Paul was left here in Caesarea as a prisoner for two years by the previous governor Felix, and now the Romans have a new governor Festus, and so he is going to pick up the trial of Paul. And as they resumed this trial, we really get to Paul's third time he shares his testimony. Third time he gives a defense of his faith. Really, this is the ultimate speech of the apostle Paul that we're going to get to hear here together today. So please follow along as I'm going to start reading. This is Acts 25. I'm going to read the first 12 verses to get us into the context here. Follow along with me as I read.
“Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ‘So,’ said he, ‘let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.’ After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. Paul argued in his defense, ‘Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.’ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, ‘Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?’ But Paul said, ‘I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.’ Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, ‘To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.’”
So, when we get into the context here, you notice there's a phrase that kept showing up and it's right there in verse 1 that you would go up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. Now if you know where Caesarea is, that's on the northern coast of Israel, and Jerusalem is down south, in Israel. Usually when you're going from a place in the north to the south, you say you're going down from Caesarea to Jerusalem. But Jerusalem is the city on a hill. If you've ever been to Jerusalem, even if you've gone there in a bus, you go at a tilt for a long time to get up to the elevation of Jerusalem. The Hebrews would have songs that were songs of ascent that they would sing as they were going up to Jerusalem. So, there's only one way to get to Jerusalem. You’ve got to go up. And Jesus, when he talked about going up to Jerusalem, it became this kind of ominous phrase because he said, I'm going to go up to Jerusalem and the chief priests and the elders of the Jews, they're going to mock me, they're going to flog me, and they are going to do kill me, and on the third day I will rise. He said this in Matthew and Mark and Luke. When he was going up to Jerusalem with the disciples, he pulled them aside and said, hey, I am going to suffer and die, and then I'll rise from the dead. And they couldn't even believe that; they had a hard time comprehending that that would happen to Jesus. Well, Paul, he's had the same, like when he went up to Jerusalem, his friends were all telling him, don't go up there; you're going to suffer, they're going to throw you in prison. We've seen these passages in the book of Acts where people are like, Paul, don't go up to Jerusalem, it's going to be bad. And he went anyways, and they attacked him. They tried to kill him. And he got rescued by the Romans. And they brought him out to Caesarea. And now the new governor is saying, hey Paul, do you want to go back up to Jerusalem? And so, because Paul realizes he will be killed if he does, he appeals to Caesar. So, Paul was willing to go up to Jerusalem, he was willing to even die in the name of the Lord Jesus. But then Jesus said, hey, you've been my witness in Jerusalem. Now you're going to go to Rome. And so, at this point, Paul knows the plan is not back to Jerusalem. The plan is Rome. And so, he appeals to the authority of Caesar. So, though this is at the time of the Roman Empire, Caesar is the highest authority you can appeal to. He's the one who's acting like he is the Lord. He is the master, the boss of everything. And so, when Paul can sense that he's not going to get justice here, he makes his appeal to Caesar so that he will end up going to Rome and being tried there.
And so, if you've got our handout in the bulletin, if you want to pull that out, if you want to jot down some notes here today as we're breaking down our passage here in chapter 25:1-12. We see Paul's appeal to Caesar. And Paul makes his appeal to Caesar if you want to write that down. And we know Paul was willing to go up to Jerusalem, but Jesus told him, no, you've been my witness in Jerusalem, now you're going to be my witness in Rome. And so, Paul, he makes this appeal to Caesar because he can see the Jews are still trying to kill him. And if he gets sent back to Jerusalem, that will be it. So he appeals to Caesar. Now, that's not the end of our story, though, because then King Agrippa shows up. Okay? So, we're going to read now about this king showing up, and he at this time is the king of the Jews. So just to make it clear, Festus is the Roman governor. Paul is going to go to Caesar. But Agrippa is the king of the Jews, the king of Israel at this time. And so, look what happens when he shows up in verse 13.
“Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, ‘There is a man left prisoner by Felix, and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.’ Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear the man myself.’ ‘Tomorrow,’ said he, ‘you will hear him.’ So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, ‘King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.’ So Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense.”
And so that's where we're going to get into the fact that I'm not really preaching even here today. Paul's going to preach to us here at this place, but I just want to make sure we understand that this is a very unique context. Look back at verse 23. The King is here with Bernice, his sister, and they came with great… does everybody see what that word is right there? What's that word? Pomp. That's a fun word to say, everybody. I don't know when the last time you went anywhere with great pomp; you may have never gone anywhere with great pomp in your entire life, but these people, they came with great pomp. And it's this idea of like Fantasia is the Greek there. It's like this idea of a show production. Hey, everybody, look at me coming in. Right. And so you've got like the who's who come in through the king, his sister, prominent people, high people in the military at that time, maybe some fancy people that were Romans, some fancy people that were Jews. But it wasn't just the fancy people that were there. You can see that in verse 23, when it says, they entered the audience hall. That's a place for hearing. You can picture that amphitheater that we saw in the video, a place where there's going to be a lot of people to hear what Paul has to say.
Jump ahead into Acts 26. And look at verse 22. Look what Paul's going to end up saying, he says, “To this day, I have had the help that comes from God. And so, I stand here testifying both to small and great.” So, he's aware that he's talking to the king. He's aware that the governor representing Rome is there. And he knows there's these important people, they're the great people. But Paul, he's speaking to the servant in the back. He's speaking to every single man, woman and child old enough to understand. He is going to do a speech here where he's going after every single soul, anyone who has ears to hear what he is saying. He has been waiting two years for this moment to give a defense, and he is going to give it. Now look at verse 23, where he says the gospel “that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” He would proclaim life light both to the Jews and to the Gentiles or the Romans. So, it doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, whether you would be small or great, whether you would be Jew or Gentile, Paul right now, if you can hear him, he's going to speak.
So, let's get that down for the rest of our context. Acts 25:13-27, Paul appeals to whoever will hear when they bring him into the place of hearing. So, there's an understanding here that he's going to give a defense and everyone there great and small, Jew and Gentile, they're going to hear what Paul has to say. And so, we've been with Paul now, for really 13 chapters. We've been following this guy. He gave a message in Acts 13, and he gave it in the synagogue to the Jews. Well, now he's giving a message, and there are Jews there; there are Gentiles there's high up important people, their servants, tending to their masters. I mean, this is the most perhaps eclectic group of people that you could gather together that Paul is about to speak to. And so, let's just pay attention to what Paul says and let's have Paul speak to us here today. This is Acts 26:2.
“’I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. ‘My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” And I said, “Who are you, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
I’ve got to stop right there because we’ve got to see what's going on here. It’s Paul's speaking, he's sharing his testimony, like we heard some testimonies here today. And he's sharing how he met Jesus on the road. But notice, as he says, what Jesus said to him, these people at this point, they're not just hearing Paul speak, they're hearing Jesus speak. I don't know if anybody here has a Red Letter Bible. Anybody here got a Bible where all the words of Jesus are in red? Do you have red letters here in Acts 26? See what what's happening here by him sharing his testimony and what Jesus said that he was going to do through Paul. Well, now he's speaking, and he's speaking straight to the king. Notice how he keeps talking to the king over and over, like he's calling the king out. He's making a dangerous amount of eye contact with the king. At this point, I don't know. If you've ever experienced that where it feels like somebody's speaking right to you, like, they're not just speaking information, or speaking to a crowd, they're speaking to you will. That's what Paul's doing. But Paul's not just speaking of his own thinking of his own story, he is speaking to them the very words of Jesus. And as they hear Paul speak, Paul is speaking to them, but they're really hearing from Jesus himself. The message of Jesus is, open your eyes, you can go from the darkness to the light, you can go from the power of Satan to God. The work of conversion that God wants to do in your soul. It is a mighty experience that is often underestimated by people these days. We don't just want people to believe in Jesus, we want Jesus to save your soul and give you an entirely new life. That's what we're talking about people's eyes being opened. So, you can go to church for a long time. You can know the Bible for a long time. But that's not the same as your eyes; I'm talking about the eyes in your head. I'm talking about the eyes in your soul, who you really are, seeing who Jesus really is, seeing yourself and all of your sin, and seeing a God and all of His holy splendor, and realizing that God loves you so much, he sent His one and only Son to die for your sin, to rise again. And you start to get like, this is good news. This is what I need. I need a new life. I need to get out. I am lost in the dark, and I need Jesus. See, that's what he's talking about. And Jesus said, that's what he was going to send Paul to do. Now, notice these key words here in verse 16, where he says, I will appoint you a servant and witness. Do you see that? He says, hey Paul, I'm going to make you my servant and witness. Now those are some key words that Jesus gives to Paul, because we've already seen those words used about Jesus.
Everybody, grab your Bible and turn with me to Isaiah 42. And there's a bunch of prophecies here in Isaiah, in the 40s chapters, even going into the 50s. There are these prophecies of a servant that God is going to send a servant, and the servant is going to suffer. He's going to be pierced for our transgressions. He's going to be crushed for our iniquities. He's going to be despised by people, rejected by men, and he's going to be a man of sorrows. But this servant God says, he's going to send him. Who's the servant that God's going to send, everybody? It's Jesus. But Isaiah is writing about him 700 years before Christmas, 700 years before Jesus is born. And so, there are the songs of the servant. They're referred to in the chapters here in Isaiah, these prophecies of God's servant. Look at Isaiah 42:1. It says, “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen.” This is God speaking here in the first person, “my chosen, in who my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon Him, he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
There's only one who's going to bring forth justice to the nations and it's not Caesar. You know, what I'm talking about? It’s Jesus. So we know this about Jesus. And look what it says in verse 6, this is God speaking about Jesus that Jesus is His servant. And he says, “I am the Lord; I have called you[b] in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
So, this is getting layers deep. Now you're hearing my voice read to you a message, but actually, it was a message that Paul gave in Caesarea. But actually, it's a message that God gave to Jesus. God said to Jesus, you're going to be my servant, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring people out of the darkness and into the light, to set the prisoner free. And now Jesus is saying to Paul, no, you're going to be my servant, my witness, and when you speak, eyes will be open, and people will go from the darkness to the light. And now those people are hearing Paul speak. But really, it's like they're hearing Jesus speak through Paul.
Let's get that down for Acts 26:1-18. Jesus makes his appeal through Paul. These people heard more than Paul speak there in Caesarea that day. They heard from the prophet Isaiah the words that God said to Jesus, that Jesus then passed on when he sent his servant out, Saul who became Paul that day. This is what the word of Jesus does. It opens the eyes. It takes the blind and gives them the ability to see; it takes those who are in the dark and it calls them into the light. So, if you go back to Acts 26:18, is a verse worthy of memorization for every single person here. This is either what has happened in your life, or it's what you desperately need to happen in your life where your eyes are opened, and you see yourself for who you are, and you see God for who He is. And you actually turn … notice that line there. It's really kind of a disturbing line when you really think about it, “so that they may turn from darkness to light from the power of” – who everybody? Satan – Where you need to go from the power of Satan to God. Now, that's a disturbing thing to come to realize is that people who have not had their eyes open to see Jesus, people who haven't yet responded to the good news of Jesus are currently under the power of Satan. Satan is not the kind of guy you want having authority over your life. He is the god of this age that we are living in, of this evil world system. And he's no god at all. He's just a fallen angel. He's just one of the demons. But, Satan, he is a sinister kind of evil. God will tell you, don't eat from this fruit, don't eat from that tree. If you eat of that tree, you will die, and Satan will look you in the eyes and he'll tell you, you're not going to die. Really, when Satan tells you you're not going to die, that's exactly what Satan wants to happen to you. He wants you to die. Satan wants to steal your life. He wants to destroy your soul. And he wants you to burn in the lake of fire with him forever. He is on a search and destroy mission for the souls of people, and people are under his power. That is disturbing when you think about it. It's disturbing to think that Satan right now has an influence over many souls, people who think they're doing fine, they're all right. They’ve just got a few problems. They'll try a little harder. No, you're under the power of Satan, and you need to be delivered out of that to the power of God. You want Jesus running your life because Jesus is willing to die for you, not one who's trying to lead you to death yourself? And so, this is such a powerful thing. And people today talk about it like, yeah, I believed in Jesus. No, no, if you have your eyes open to see Jesus, you will never be the same. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? I mean, you go from the dark to the light, you go from the power of Satan to God. I mean, there is a power in conversion, when people say, I'm saved. This is what you're saying, when you say you’re safe. You're saying, your eyes are open to the spiritual realm, that you see who Jesus really is as the Son of God, and that you are no longer lost in the dark, you're in the light. And once Jesus turns the light on in your life, you never go back to the darkness. Once you get delivered to the power of God, you are a partaker of the divine nature. God gives you a new heart. He puts His Holy Spirit within you. And the Spirit then causes you to walk in newness of life. You can't go be the same person you used to be, not when your eyes have been opened to see Jesus.
It says here you have been forgiven for your sins. All the things that you shouldn't have said or thought or done, they have all been wiped clean, and they have been washed as white as snow. Yet, what a joy to know that all of your sins have been forgiven, and you've been sanctified. You have a place among those who are sanctified. By faith in me, you've been set apart, along with all of God's people throughout the history of those who have believed in him. You've been set apart. You're no longer in your sin. You now have a new life, and you now live for God's purpose in your soul. That's what he means here. And so, he's saying that to those people, and those people are hearing Paul speak, but they're really hearing Jesus, the servant of God, say to them that they could come out of the dark and into the light if their eyes could be opened.
And go with me to Colossians chapter 1, a few pages over to the right, and look how Paul's going to write about this epic conversion that we experience. When Jesus saves us. This is Colossians 1:12. And some people I'm speaking to today, you know what I'm talking about. You know that your eyes were opened, you've got a testimony, just like Paul sharing, just like we heard here earlier. Like you can remember when you are in the dark, and how Jesus brought you to the light. You can remember when you were under the power of Satan, and now you have the power of God. Praise the Lord, you're no longer who you used to be. You're a new creation in Christ. And we should be reminded here today what an epic work God did when he gave us that new life in Jesus when you got converted, when God did His work of regeneration, to bring life to your soul, to open the eyes of your soul, so that you could see. Here's a description of that in Colossians 1:12, “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Anybody want to thank the Father for saving their soul here today? I mean, you have now an inheritance, you now dwell in light. You will see God in all of his glory. And you are one of the saints. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever put St. in front of your name? That might seem a little proud to do that, right? I mean, we don't celebrate a day after you. You know, like, we just had St. Patrick's Day. I don't know what you know about saints, but what the Bible clearly teaches is that every single one of us who believe in Jesus, and have been saved by his blood, we are all saints. Okay, nobody's more holy than anybody else because we're all righteous in Jesus Christ. We've all been set apart from who we are in our sin. And we all now live for the purpose of the Lord. We're all now new, clean vessels ready to live for him. And so, you could call yourself a saint, you could put it down on the calendar if you want to, because you're just as much as Saint as Patrick ever was, I'll tell you that. All right. We pick whatever color you want to wear. You know what I mean? Like everybody here, there is no hierarchy in who is more holy than anybody else. We’ve got two kinds of people in the room, people who are not holy and people who've been made holy by Jesus Christ. And all of us who have been made holy by Jesus, we are saints, not because of anything we did, but because of what Jesus did for us. And so, we give thanks to the Father that we have the inheritance with all the rest of the saints of those who now have been called out of the darkness into His marvelous light. And here's what it says in verse 13: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” So, everybody here, at some time in your life, you need to be transferred from the darkness to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus. And it could happen on a day like today when you're hearing Paul speak to you, and you realize it's not just Paul speaking, it is the very words of Jesus. And Jesus, he's not speaking just at you, he's speaking to you. He's speaking straight to your soul.
Go back to Acts 26 and look at how Paul just brings it home to the king and to everybody else in that place of hearing. He is speaking to them the words of Jesus. And Jesus is making his appeal through Paul. Pick it up with me in verse 19. I mean, this is some preaching right here, Acts 26:19: “’Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.’ And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.’” That's when you know, you're preaching right there when people think you're crazy, but notice he doesn't think he's not making sense. No, he says, your great learning like he understands. Paul seems to know what he's talking about, but it's just so beyond what Festus is comprehending. It's just so beyond what he understands. And Festus, he's saying, Paul, you're out of your mind. And Paul replies, verse 25: “’I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.’” And then look at this, just picture him looking right at the king. “For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
This isn't giving a defense. This is Paul going on the offense right here. He's calling out the king. He's looking right at the king. So, this guy is King Agrippa. He is the son of King Herod. Okay? And the whole line of Herod's King. Herod we met in Acts 12. He had James put to death with the sword. He had Peter arrested. In fact, some of the people were worshipping Herod like he was God, and he did not give God the glory, but acted like he was God, and an angel struck him. Does anybody remember, he died? Okay, we read that and acts 12. This is his son, King Agrippa, okay. And his son is the king of the Jews. Do you believe the prophets King, I know that you believe. You're the king of the Jews. These prophets are all Jews telling the story of the Jews. If you're the king of the Jews, you can't say you don't believe in your own prophets. That's not going to go down very well, with the Jewish people, I don't believe. But Paul has made it very clear that what the prophets prophesied was that the Christ, the Messiah, that everybody's waiting for, that he's going to suffer, and he's going to rise on the third day, and it was actually this man, Jesus of Nazareth, that Paul's preaching here in his name. And so, if he says, he believes the prophets, then it's going to sound like he's agreeing with Paul. But if he says he doesn't believe the prophets, he's going to be bashing his own people's heritage. And so, Paul has just put the king in a very difficult situation, because he has to acknowledge the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the king does what many people do when they're confronted with the reality of the gospel. The king avoids the question completely. That's what he does. And he says in verse 28, “And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’” This is a second time that the word Christian is used in the book of Acts. When you think I'm going to become a Christian right now, Paul, says the king. “And Paul said,” – look at Verse 29: “And Paul said, ‘Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.’” I'm not just going after you, king, I'm going after everybody in the room. That's what he says. I mean, that phrase right there, “I would to God,” you could also translate that “I wish to God” or even “I pray to God,” I'm praying that not only you king would believe in Jesus, but I'm praying that everybody here would believe in Jesus. I want everybody to be a Christian like me, except I don't want him to be a prisoner like me. But I wish that everybody would have the eyes of their hearts opened, I want everybody to go from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, I want all people's sins to be forgiven so that they can be one of the saints set apart for a new life in Christ.
So I mean, he goes, let's get this down for Acts 26:19-32. Paul appeals straight to their souls. I mean, he's going right after the people. He's preaching to them the message of Jesus, and he's speaking straight to them. And He's appealing to them. See, that's really the key word of our whole two chapters that we've gone through here today is this appeal. In fact, look what happens then after. I mean, they don't know what to do now. They don't dismiss Paul; they dismiss themselves. They came in with pomp, they leave at this time, verse 30, “Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, ‘This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.’ And Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” So, these guys, they're not necessarily walking out of the room saying they're going to believe in Jesus, but they understand, hey, this guy does not deserve to be a prisoner, he does not deserve to die. And in fact, we should really be setting this guy free is what Agrippa says. But he's already – key word of our chapters – appealed to Caesar. He has already called upon Caesar’s authority. And so, he's going to go now to Rome, to Caesar. But that's what is happening here is they're talking about Paul's appeal to Caesar. But Paul was making an appeal to them for Jesus. And in fact, Jesus was making his appeal through Paul that they need to call on a higher authority, they need to call on one who can save them from death, they need to call on the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved. In fact, maybe you've heard that promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved. That's the same word as appeal here in our text. This idea of appealing, it's this word epikaleo. In the Greek it means to call on. You might have heard of the word parakaleo before, which means to encourage, to call alongside of someone. Well, this means you call on someone like on an authority. So, Paul, when he realized that if he went back to Jerusalem, he was going to die. He appealed, he called on the name of Caesar so that he wouldn't die. Well, what Paul's really saying here is these people need to call on the name of Jesus, so they won't die. So they will be saved. And so, this is a powerful appeal, not just to Caesar for his justice there when the Jews are trying to kill him, but he's appealing to these people that they need to call in the name of Jesus.
Go back with me to Acts chapter 2 and let me show you this theme. That’s the response when you hear about Jesus, you need to call on his name. That's what Scripture is telling you to do. You need to make an appeal to Jesus. If you haven't already done it, then today is your day to call on the name of the Lord and be saved. This is the consistent message of God throughout Scripture that everybody who calls on his name will be saved. And so, Peter here in Acts 2:21, when he's preaching the first sermon of the church in Acts 2:21, he quotes Joel 2. So that's actually where this promise comes from, the prophet of Joel, chapter 2. And he says here, this is Acts 2:21, quoting Joel, Peter says, “’And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” You can't take the one who is the author of life, the creator of earth and think that he's going to stay dead. Jesus showed us who he really is. He went up from the grave. He arose on the third day. And you can you imagine, Peter looking at that crowd, you guys killed him, but God raised Him up. You're supposed to call on his name to be saved, but you were calling on his name to be crucified, and God delivered him. See, this is the moment where people realize that the reason Jesus died, wasn't because Jesus deserved to die, but because we deserve to die, and he died in our place. And if you don't want to die in your sin, you need to call on the name of the one who died for your sin. You need to make an appeal to Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And when you make your appeal to Jesus, everyone who calls on his name is saved.
So, let's get that down for number one: You need to make your appeal to Jesus, the Lord, make your appeal to Jesus the Lord. If you have never called on the name of Jesus, this is your opportunity. You are hearing the defense of the apostle Paul, you are hearing Jesus speak to you through Paul, saying that your eyes could be opened; you could see your sin for what it is. And you could go from the darkness to light; you could go from the power of Satan to God. Your sins could be forgiven, and you could be set apart to a new life, if you will just call on the name of Jesus, you will be saved.
And go with me to Romans chapter 10, where Paul writes about this same idea. This is one of the main themes, that you need to make your appeal to the highest authority, and the one who's the Lord of heaven and earth, the one who has all authority over all nations over all peoples. His name is Jesus. And Paul says that here in Romans 10:12, if you can turn there with me, we're going to go with Paul to Rome in the book of Acts. And then we're going to read what Paul wrote to the church in Rome in the book of Romans. We're going to be starting that study. In just a couple of weeks, we'll be getting to the book of Romans. And look at what it says here in Romans 10:12, he says, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Make your appeal to Jesus, and watch him save you, because Jesus is your Lord. It really doesn't matter who you are, if you are a male or a female, if you are rich or poor, if you are one of the great ones, or one of the servants in the back. It doesn't matter what nation you were born in. It doesn't matter where you grew up, what language you natively speak. It does not matter where you come from. Wherever you come from, Jesus is the Lord of there, too. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. And someday every knee is going to bow, every single tongue is going to confess, every different nation and tribe, they're all going to say all together that Jesus is the Lord. And you want to call on his name now so that you can be saved, before you realize too late who life was really all about, that there was a higher authority that you could have appealed to, and you could have been saved from death. But you never called on his name. And here you are today hearing the apostle Paul make his appeal at Caesarea, and you realize it's not even any man speaking to you. It's not me. It's not Paul. It's not Joel. It's not Peter. It's not whoever one of those guys, it's the same person speaking through all those guys, throughout all history. It's God speaking to you here today. And he wants to know if you're going to call his name or not. And I'm just saying, why put it off? Why are people choosing … like we just heard this great testimony of the struggle that we go through, that we experience as human beings, where it's like, I'm not satisfied by my sin, but I still want my sin. But then I'm hearing about Jesus over here. We're hearing about how he loved me, how the Father sent in His one and only son, and Jesus shed his blood, and he was crushed for my transgressions. He was pierced for my iniquities. He died in my place, and I'm hearing about Jesus, but I'm over here wanting my sin. See, that's where people are at in this room right at this very moment. Why would you go out of here still on your way to death? Why would you go out of here under the power of Satan and choose darkness rather than light?
Go to Acts 22 with me and look at what Paul says was said to him. Here is another one of his defenses, another one of his testimonies. This is a verse that some people here in this room right now need to hear. This is Acts 22:16, and asks a question, and now why do you wait? This is what somebody said to Paul. Now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, wash away your sins, calling on his name. When you call on his name, your sins are washed away, you get baptized, you're one of the people of Jesus. Why would you wait to call on his name when you could be saved from death and judgment today? Why put it off? I remember one time, when I started really working at church, there was this young man and he seemed very fired up for Jesus. But over time, he drifted away. And even over time, he went back to the darkness, he went back to the power of Satan, he went to his old life of sin. And I tracked him down and I showed up at his house. And I asked him, hey, all those times when you were hearing those sermons, why did you not listen to those sermons? Why? Why did you let your sin define your life? Why did you fall away? And I remember so clearly what he said. I was just thinking about it after the last service because he said, “I thought you were talking to somebody else.” The truth is, I'm not even the one talking. Truth is it's not even Paul, that it's a message from God to you that He sent His Son Jesus, and you've got one way out. You either call on the name of Jesus and you are saved, or you're going to die in your sin. And I'm talking to everybody here, but I hope you can see this isn't my message. This is Paul's message. And it's not even really his message. It's Isaiah’s message. And it's not even really Isaiah’s message, it's the word of God coming to you today. And God, he's gave His Son for you, and he's expecting you to call on his name. In fact, look at how it happens.
This is Romans, chapter 10. Go back there with me. We didn't finish the passage there in Romans chapter 10. Because everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Well, how does that work? What is going to inspire you to call on his name? Well, verse 14 says, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?” So, the reason you call is because you believe. Well, how do you believe? “And how are they to believe in him of whom they've never heard?” So, hearing leads to believing, and then believing is why you call. Well, and how are they to hear without someone? What's the word there, everybody? Preaching. So this is how it's going to go down. This is how eternal souls are decided with like a squeaky air conditioner vent going on in the back. I don't know if anybody can hear that right. Some guy up there talking. But you're in the place of hearing. And you realize that this is how this word faith comes from. Faith, it says right there in verse 17, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of” – who? “Christ”.
So, if you let me just make this very clear, if you wait to call on the name of the Lord Jesus today, I'm guessing there's a few people here who know that you are still in your sins. And you're hearing me say to you, call on the name of the Lord, but you decide, I'm going to wait to do that. Well, what are you waiting for? Because this is how it works. You hear it preached, you hear it, you believe it, your eyes are opened, you can see it, you know it to be true, and you call on his name, and you get transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is exactly how it's meant to work in a place of hearing like this, where the word of Christ can go straight to you, and you can hear it, you can believe it. You can call on his name, and you can walk out of here, saved today. But so many people today, they're waiting to write a feeling into the kingdom of Jesus. Feelings don't lead you to Jesus Christ. Don't wait for your feelings to tell you that you should call on his name. No, your feelings are under the power of Satan, who might deceive you all the way to a place of death. Don't wait for your feelings. Some people are waiting to hit rock bottom. Let me just tell you, I've seen some people hit rock bottom and keep on digging rock bottom. Alone does not make people turn to God. Rock bottom alone does not open people's eyes to see their desperate need for Jesus Christ. It is hearing the word of Christ that opens your eyes. You're in the best possible place to get saved right here, right now. Squeaky AC and all. This is for you. All right? This is for you to hear it. And if you decide I'm going to wait, I don’t know what you're waiting for. That's your life. That's your soul you are taking in your own hands.
Jesus is saying that you could have your eyes open. You could go from darkness to light, your sin could be forgiven. You could no longer be in the power of Satan. God could do a mighty work in your heart right here. And I'm saying you need to call on the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved. And if you feel like I don't know exactly what to do, right after this service, there's a Compass Connect booth out there; there are people ready to talk to you. When this service ends, run, don't walk, and go talk to those people. If you don't know that you've called on the name of Jesus to be saved, this is where it happens. You hear the word of Christ in a place of hearing, and faith comes from hearing a message like this. Watch, the promise is true. I guarantee if you call on his name today, you will be saved. That's what the scripture says. It could be right now where your eyes get opened and you see who Jesus really is.
Now, go with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, a few pages over to the right here. Let me talk to everybody who has called on the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved. Let me show you what Paul says. One of my favorite verses here 2 Corinthians 5:20. And I want you to see how Paul says, he says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.” Okay, now who did he say was an ambassador for Christ? Who's he writing to here? He's writing to church full of people. So, I understand that Apostle Paul is a special, unique man in the history of Christianity. I understand that he saw Jesus in a way where he fell down to the ground. That's what happens when you see the risen Lord Jesus, and all his glory. Everybody falls down when they see Jesus like that. And Jesus spoke to him words and brought him up, and he made him a servant, a witness. He was a unique apostle, but here's the thing. Paul wants to make it clear; “we” are all witnesses of Jesus Christ. We are all official representatives of Christ here on planet Earth. Now he says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through” who? “us”. So, everybody here, you're like, well, my eyes have been opened. I've been transferred into the kingdom of Jesus; my sins have been forgiven. I have a new life in Jesus Christ. Well guess who Jesus wants to speak through now, everybody?
Let's get this down for number two: Jesus makes his appeal through you. Jesus makes his appeal through you. This is still the way that the word of Christ is ringing out to this very day. When people speak the words of Christ, it's not just them speaking, it's Jesus speaking through them. We are here for Easter 2022. We could be worshipping God in all of his glory, we could be dancing in the light, we could be just singing about how marvelous His glory really is. We could be worshiping Him in His presence, beholding His power and His majesty, but we're here. And the reason we're here is because He wants to make his appeal through jars of clay like us. He wants to speak through people who've been cleaned up, who've been set apart. You have a purpose. You know what your purpose is that Jesus would make his appeal through you, that you would go and speak to people, that you would bed with them, that you would implore them, that you would speak like Paul did that . You would make dangerous eye contact with other souls, and you would tell them that Jesus wants to open their eyes, and he wants to bring them out of the dark into the light, that Jesus wants to give a powerful work in their lives, to rescue them from Satan and bring them to God, that all of their sins could be forgiven. And at some point, when you're speaking to somebody, you realize it's not even you speaking, it is actually God making his appeal through you. And if you are blessed to see somebody call on the name of the Lord Jesus right there in front of you, they hear the word and they call on his name to be saved. You're not going to think, oh, I'm so glad they listened to me. You're going to think, oh, I'm so glad they heard Jesus. Like, I'm telling you, it's Easter. It's our time. It's 2022. We've been through the two years of darkness that in most of our lives, and now it is the time to tell people, hey, is it really that incredible that God would raise someone from the dead? He is after all God. And it's what the prophets said he would do. And it's what the Apostle said happened. And it's good news. And when you go telling people this good news, you might find yourself actually being a mouthpiece for a holy God, speaking straight through you. And you might actually see people's eyes get opened. When how many neighbors, how many coworkers, how many family members are represented in this room right now, people who have not called on Jesus as Lord to be saved. And if they do not call on Him, they are waiting to die? Have you made your appeal? Have you let God make His appeal through you? And that's why we're here on Easter 2022. Let's pray.
Father, we come before you, and we're so thankful that we could gather here in Huntington Beach. And we're so thankful that we could go to Caesarea and hear Paul speak. They are in the place of hearing where there was the Roman governor and the Jewish king and great people and servants in the back. And they heard a man speaking to them. And they really heard the words of Jesus Christ. And it doesn't tell us if people believed. It doesn't tell us what the end result was, except that Paul got sent to Rome. But Father, I pray that we would hear the words of Christ here today. I pray for those who are blind, for those who are in the dark, for those who maybe even while we're speaking here today, they can see their sin for what it really is. And maybe there's some here who even had the chilling realization that they're under the power of Satan. God, I pray that you would open their eyes. And I pray that even now, that they would call on the name of the Lord Jesus. And then you would save them, that you would take them out of the darkness and bring them into your glorious light, that you would put them in the kingdom of your Son, Jesus. I pray that today the guilty would be forgiven, that those who have been burdened by sin for so long would have that burden removed, and that they would be set apart from who they used to be, set apart as saints who dwell with you in glorious light. So, God, we praise you for being the God of our salvation, we want to thank you, Father, for saving people like us. Father, we pray that this Easter, this season, this time that we have right now, that you would speak through our mouths, that you would give us the words to say, that you would open doors for us to be in a place of hearing. Maybe we won't be before governors and kings, but we might be before family members and neighbors. And we pray that Jesus will make his appeal through us, and that people will hear the words of hope, the words of eternal life, that there is one who came to save us, there is one who died in our place. There is one who rose to give everyone who believes in him eternal life, and all they need to do is call on the name of the Lord Jesus and they will be saved. So, Father, we pray that you will make your appeal through us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.