Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Acts 26:12-28
Acts 26:12 “On one of these journeys I was going to
Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon,
King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than
the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and
I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “ ‘I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your
feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of
what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own
people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes
and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are
sanctified by faith in me.’
19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to
the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in
Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they
should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.
21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small
and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said
would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from
the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the
Gentiles.”
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense.
“You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving
you insane.”
25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul
replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with
these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this
has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in
such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
-- Since the 1940s, the Ad Council
has been the leading producer of public service announcements – but over that
long history of encouraging public action for the good of the nation and its
citizens, the ads called, “Don’t Almost Give,” have proven to be the most
powerful and memorable of all
-- these haven’t been aired in a
while, but most of us are of an age where we probably remember them – there was
one ad showing a man with crutches struggling to go up a flight of concrete
stairs -- The narrator says, "This is a man who almost learned to walk at
a rehab center that almost got built by people who almost gave money." -- After
a brief pause, the announcer continues: "Almost gave. How good is almost
giving? About as good as almost walking."
-- Another
ad showed a homeless man curled up in a ball on a pile of rags – the only thing
he had to cover himself from the cold winter night was a ratty bed sheet -- The
narrator says, "This is Jack Thomas. Today someone almost brought Jack
something to eat. Someone almost brought him to a shelter. And someone else
almost brought him a warm blanket." -- After a brief pause, the narrator
continues: "And Jack Thomas? Well, he almost made it through the
night."
-- and,
finally, there was an ad showing an older woman sitting alone in a room,
staring out a window. -- The narrator says, "This is Sarah Watkins. A lot
of people almost helped her. One almost cooked for her. Another almost drove
her to the doctor. Still another almost stopped by to say hello. They almost
helped. They almost gave of themselves. But almost giving is the same as not
giving at all."
-- Each ad
ends with a simple, direct message: "Don't almost give. Give."
-- the old
cliché says, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” – and this
implies that a lot of people almost did something good – they had a good
thought – they had an idea of how they might help – but in the end, they did
nothing
-- “almost
people” – those people who “almost” commit to doing something or being
something – never change their lives or the lives of those around them
-- and with
social media, it has become all too easy to be “almost people” – people who see
an injustice or a crisis or a disaster and who comment on social media, “This
is not right – someone should do something” – but that’s all they do
-- they
almost reach the point where their caring turns into action – but they seldom
do – and so nothing ever changes
-- as we
are continuing on in our sermon series on the Book of Acts, we find ourselves
confronted with the most famous “almost person” in the world – King Agrippa
-- and as
we’ll see, his failure to do something with what has been shared with him lives
in infamy and stands in stark contrast to the Apostle Paul, who heard the same
word calling him to salvation but who took action on the message he received
-- Agrippa was
almost persuaded, but in the end, he walked away from Jesus
-- so,
let’s look at this passage together now and see what we can learn from Paul’s
trial before Festus and King Agrippa
II. Scripture Lesson -- Acts 25:9-12 and Acts 26:12-28
Background and
Context
-- as this
passage opens, we find Paul still imprisoned in Caesarea – if you remember what
we have studied, Paul had been taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea by the Roman
commander Lysias to save him from the Jews, who were going to try to kill him
in an ambush when he appeared before the Sanhedrin
-- Paul stood trial before Governor
Felix, who found Paul to be innocent of any charges deserving of death – but
because he was trying to curry favor with the Jews, Felix kept Paul confined in
Herod’s palace, although he gave him quite a bit of freedom and allowed Paul’s
friends to visit him and meet his needs
-- when last we left off, Felix was
replaced by Porcius Festus as the Governor over this region of Judea – but
instead of freeing Paul, he left him imprisoned for Festus to decide his case
-- as soon as Festus took office
and visited Jerusalem, the leading Jews met with him and pressed him to have
Paul transferred to Jerusalem for trial – but Festus disagreed and told them
that they could follow him to Caesarea, where he would hear Paul’s case and
determine if there was enough evidence to condemn Paul
-- a couple of weeks later, we see
Paul standing again before the Roman governor – on trial because of his faith –
as we have discussed over the last few weeks, the Jews had originally had Paul
arrested because they alleged he was not following the Jewish law and was
teaching Jews to do the same – but this charge did not hold up in the court of
law
-- instead, Paul demonstrated that
the whole controversy hinged on his faith in the resurrection of Jesus – and
how this resurrection proved Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah
-- these leaders of the Sanhedrin
were primarily Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead
and they adamantly refused to accept Jesus as Messiah – so they kept pressing
the issue, first appearing before Felix and now before Festus
-- once again, they asked Festus to
have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, because they were planning on killing him
while he was being moved back to the city – but Festus didn’t know this – and
so, he asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there
-- look at Acts 25:9-12
Acts 25:9 Festus, wishing to
do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and
stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 Paul answered: “I am now
standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any
wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty
of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges
brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me
over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus had conferred
with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will
go!”
-- I want you to see that there is
more going on here than just a decision on where Paul is going to stand trial –
when Festus asks Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to stand trial there,
Paul tells Festus that he has done nothing deserving of death – and he does
something amazing here – he tells Festus , “I am now standing before Caesar’s
court, where I ought to be tried – I appeal to Caesar”
-- and, upon hearing this, Festus responds, “You have appealed to Caesar – to Caesar you will go”
-- it is obvious that Paul has done
nothing wrong – the Roman Commander Lysias saw this – Felix and his wife
Drusilla saw this – and now Festus has seen this – everyone is in agreement that
Paul is innocent of any charges and should be freed
-- in a concession to the Jews,
Festus says, “We’ll go back to Jerusalem and try you there in your home” – this
would be a way for all the Jews to see the truth of Paul’s innocence – no one
would ever doubt him again – no one would ever try to oppose him again
-- but Paul refuses and appeals to
Caesar – why?
-- because this means Paul has to
go to Rome – remember what the Lord told Paul when he was in prison in the
Roman barracks? – “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem,
so you must also testify in Rome”
-- after
Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness where He was tempted by
Satan to take up His position as ruler of this world without having to go to
the cross – that was such an attractive option -- that would have been the easy
way – that would have let Jesus become King on earth and rule from Jerusalem
and make everything right now
– He wouldn’t have been persecuted
– He wouldn’t have been beaten and put on the cross – He wouldn’t have been put
to death – this scenario from Satan looks like the perfect answer – it was the
easiest and simplest way for Jesus to get what He was supposed to get – what He
was destined to get
-- but that wasn’t the plan – and
to take that short-cut would have caused Jesus to bypass the cross – He would
not have died for our sins – He would not have conquered sin and death by
giving His own body and own blood for us – He would not have shown the world
His power over death once and for all in His resurrection
-- what looks easy – what looks
right – what seems to make perfect sense – isn’t always the right choice – as
the cliché says, “All that glitters is not gold”
-- and what we see here is Satan
dangling that same false hope and choice before Paul – he’s offering Paul the
easy way out – “Hey, you’ve been in prison, but now you can go back to
Jerusalem and you will be vindicated – you will be proven innocent in a court
of law by the Romans – you’ll be set free and you will have even greater
opportunities to preach the gospel in Jerusalem – maybe one day you’ll even go
to Rome – this is the path – this is the answer you are looking for”
-- but Paul saw this open door for
what it was – a temptation from Satan that would divert him from what God was
calling him to do – yes, he could have gone back to Jerusalem and served God
there, but that wasn’t what God had called him to do – God was calling him to
more
-- so, in order to get to Rome as
God intended, Paul appealed to Caesar – and he used the Romans and their
justice system as the means by which he would get to Rome
-- and that is why it is so
momentous that Paul appealed to Caesar, even though Festus was trying to
release him
-- a few days after this trial,
Festus was visited by King Agrippa and his wife Bernice – King Agrippa was the great-grandson
of Herod the Great – that means that Agrippa was ethnically Jewish and
understood Jewish laws, customs, and religious debates – although, there is no
evidence that he was a practicing Jew
-- and I want to pause here for a
second to talk about an issue that has been in the news this week – the singer Macklemore
was scheduled to be the opening act on Ed Sheeran’s new tour – during the first
leg of that concert, Macklemore shouted, “Free Palestine,” and called the war
in Gaza a genocide
-- immediately, people accused him
of antisemitism, and he was dropped from the tour – and Ed Sheeran has tried to
walk a tightrope all week to keep himself out of trouble politically and
socially
-- and just like with Macklemore,
throughout this whole conflict in Gaza, a lot of the people who spoke out
against Israel or condemned their actions there have been accused of being
antisemites
-- but here’s what I want you to
know – antisemitism is hatred toward the Jewish people – it is the persecution
and discrimination against people simply because they are Jewish – and this can
take the form of verbal attacks or physical attacks – this is the simple
definition from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
-- but pay attention to what it
says – it is hatred towards the Jewish people – the people – the people who are
ethnically Jewish – that is not the same as the Government
-- to speak out against the actions
of the Israeli Government without hatred directed towards the Jewish people is
not antisemitism – the government can be critiqued, judged, applauded, or
spoken against – that is not antisemitism
-- and so, what Macklemore shouted
on stage was his opposition to the actions of the Israeli government – that was
not antisemitism
-- so, don’t confuse the two –
hatred towards Jews – persecution of Jews – verbal denigration and physical
harm to Jews – that is wrong, wrong, wrong – those are antisemitic actions
-- but speaking out against
Government policies, even by the nation of Israel, is not antisemitism
-- sorry for the derail here, but
noting that Agrippa was ethnically Jewish made me think about the controversy
of this week
-- let’s get back on track
-- when King Agrippa and Bernice
come to visit Festus, he had Paul brought before them so they could hear Paul’s
story themselves
-- knowing that Agrippa was
ethnically a Jew and familiar with the Jewish traditions and cultures, Paul
begins by sharing about his background as a Pharisee and persecutor of
Christians
-- let’s look now at Acts 26:12,
and pick up Paul’s story as he shares about his experience on the road to
Damascus
Acts 26:12 “On one of these journeys I was going to
Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon,
King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than
the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and
I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “ ‘I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your
feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of
what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own
people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes
and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are
sanctified by faith in me.’
-- Paul
begins by talking about the reason why he was on the road to Damascus – and
this is not only a reminder of who Paul was before he came to Christ, but also
evidence of his Christian faith
-- the man who stood now before
Festus and Agrippa was not the same man who started on that journey to Damascus
-- his life had been irrevocably changed -- his passions had been redirected --
and his life was now eclipsed by the shining light of Christ that met him at
that place
-- Paul had
an experience with the living Christ that changed his life forever -- Jesus
told Paul that He was going to use Paul to open the eyes of those living in
darkness -- to help them see the light of Christ -- the truth of the gospel --
and to help them turn from the power of Satan -- from being held in bondage to
sin -- to living with God
-- the word
"gospel" means "good news" -- and here we see the good news
of Christ clearly spelled out -- this is the reason why we are here this
morning -- our gathering on Sunday mornings in worship is a proclamation of our
belief in the mystery of faith: Christ has died -- Christ is risen -- Christ
will come again
-- this is
what we believe -- this is what Paul is saying here to Festus and Agrippa --
Jesus came and died in our place to free us from the bondage of sin -- He rose
on the third day to free us from the chains of death -- and He will return in
glory to bring us to heaven
-- verse 19-23
Acts 26:19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not
disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to
those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that
they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their
deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to
kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify
to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and
Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to
rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to
the Gentiles.”
-- I want
you to see something right here -- in verse 19 Paul says he was "not disobedient"
to the vision he received from heaven
-- that means that Paul had a
choice on that road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him -- he could either
be obedient by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and going out to witness to
others – or he could be disobedient and turn his back on Jesus
-- when
Jesus appeared to Paul on the road that day, Paul was probably the least likely
of all those alive to believe and to accept Jesus -- he not only didn't believe
Jesus was the Savior, but he was actively killing those who were Christians --
yet, he says that he made his choice there on that road and he accepted Christ and
he never looked back -- and, even now, about 20 years later, Paul could stand
before Festus and Agrippa and tell them the very moment he made that decision
-- the instant his life changed forever
-- our
lives are determined by the choices we make -- who we are today is the result
of choices we have made in the past -- and who we are going to be in the future
is based on the choices we make from this point on
--
salvation is a choice and that choice has to be made by you and you alone --
Paul chose to say yes to Jesus on the road to Damascus -- and we have to choose
to receive the gift of salvation and choose to walk in obedience to Christ --
every day when we wake up, we have to make a decision to follow Jesus -- in
salvation and in obedience to His word
-- verse 24-28
Acts 26:24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s
defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is
driving you insane.”
25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul
replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with
these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this
has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in
such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
-- in
Paul’s testimony to Festus and Agrippa, we are introduced to the four types of
people in the world
-- first, there are the Sauls – the
people who are like who Paul was when he set out on the road to Damascus --
these are the ones who hate Jesus and want nothing to do with Him or His
followers -- who actively persecute Him and are opposed to the church and to
His word
-- in reality, there aren't many
people in our country who are like this -- I've met a few -- I've talked with a
man who was actively trying to get the Bible banned in America -- he wanted to
see all the Bibles burned -- and, of course, there are a few atheists who are
militant and who not only don't believe in God but are opposed to those who do
-- but, these are few and far between here in America
-- in other countries, these people
are more prevalent, especially in countries hostile to Christianity, like the
Muslim countries
-- second, there are the Pauls as
he was after his experience on the Damascus Road -- these are the ones who have
experienced the risen Christ and who have made a choice to receive Jesus as
Lord and Savior and be obedient to His word – these are the ones who have been
changed through the power of grace
-- looking around this room, this
is us -- this is the church of Christ -- the true believers who know Jesus --
who have a relationship with Jesus -- and who are trying to live for Him in
this world today
-- true, many of us need to mature
-- we need to grow stronger and deeper in our faith -- but our faith is real
none-the-less – we are similar to Paul because we are Christians, saved by
grace and believing in faith in Jesus
-- third,
there are those like Festus -- these are the people who don't believe in God or
anything spiritual -- these are the ones like Jesse Ventura, the former
Governor of Minnesota, who made fun of Christians and said they were weak and
idiotic because they believed in God -- they think we're out of our mind for
believing in a supreme being
-- they're
not actively persecuting Christians -- they're not attacking us -- they just
don't believe and don't understand those who do believe – they think we’re
insane, just like Festus thought of Paul
-- finally,
there are the Agrippas -- the ones who have some sort of spiritual belief – who
are cultural Christians – who may have grown up in church or attended with
their parents or grandparents – those people who say they believe in God or
some supreme power -- but who don't really accept Jesus as their Savior – they
just believe in a concept of God and do not have a personal relationship with
Jesus
-- they're
not necessarily opposed to Christians -- they're not necessarily opposed to
Jesus -- in fact, most of them will tell you they like Jesus – but they like
the idea of Jesus as the friend of sinners and not the Jesus who calls them to
do better
-- people
like Agrippa remind me of that old Doobie Brothers' song, "Jesus is Just
Alright with Me" -- they sing about Jesus being their friend and being
"just alright" with them, but being "just alright" is not
the same thing as being completely alright
-- people
like Agrippa and the Doobie Brothers have never come to the point in their
lives where they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior -- where they
have made a choice to follow Jesus
-- King
Agrippa gave us a good description of what to call these type of people in
verse 28 -- these are the "almost" Christians – these are the “almost
people”
-- Agrippa
says here that he was "almost persuaded" -- almost convinced -- by
what Paul said -- he almost believed, but he wasn't there yet
III. Almost Persuaded
-- Let's talk for a moment about
that word, "Almost" -- what does "Almost" mean?
--
the word "almost" means not quite there -- it means just slightly
missing the mark
--
we often use the word "almost" in sports and in games and in school
-- we say things like "I almost won" -- "we almost beat them
today" -- "I almost passed the third grade"
--
it means close, but not quite there – Ohio State almost beat Texas this year,
but that just means they lost
--
but you know, no matter what we're talking about, "almost" doesn't
cut it -- it means you failed, and you're just trying to make yourself sound
better
--
do you remember what you used to say as a kid when you were playing a game and
someone said they "almost" beat you or they got close to beating you?
-- "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades" -- in other
words, "almost' doesn't cut it
--
and, if you think about it, the reason why "almost" doesn't cut it is
because there's really no such thing as an "almost" anything, even
though we say it all the time
--
actually, you either you are or you're not -- either you won or you didn't
--
you can't be "almost" pregnant -- either you are pregnant or you're
not
--
you can't be "almost" married -- either you are married or you're not
--
think about it like this -- a cloud is 100% water -- a watermelon is 92% water
-- you could say that a watermelon is almost a cloud -- it only missed by 8% --
but that doesn’t change the fact that a watermelon is not and never will be a
cloud – even if it has almost the same amount of water that a cloud does
-- so, what
does it really mean when Agrippa says here that he was "almost"
persuaded -- that he was "almost" a Christian?
-- we've
got to remember that the context of this passage isn't about grades or sports
or games -- it is about the state of a man's soul
-- to be almost a Christian is to
be totally lost -- to be almost a Christian is to be on your way to Hell -- as
Adrian Rogers says, "you're either a saint or an ain't -- there's no other
choice"
-- and, as Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Almost
persuaded to be a Christian is like the man who was almost pardoned, but he was
hanged -- like the man who was almost rescued, but he was burned in the house
-- A man that is almost saved is damned.”
-- an
almost Christian is someone that is not saved -- someone who has never made the
choice to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior
-- they can look like a Christian
-- they can talk like a Christian -- they can come to church every Sunday and
know the words to every hymn -- they can be a good old boy or a good old girl
-- but if they have not received forgiveness for their sins from Jesus, they’re
not almost a Christian -- they are totally lost
-- John
Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination, once admitted in a sermon
that he had spent the early part of his life as an "almost Christian
" -- he said that he had the appearance of Godliness -- he followed all
the rules -- he went to church -- he read the Bible -- he prayed -- he took
communion -- he ministered to the poor and to chose in prison -- he gave to the
church financially
-- but he had never actually
received Jesus as his Lord and Savior -- he had never actually asked Jesus to
save him and forgive his sins -- he had never trusted in faith in the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus on the cross or in the power of the resurrection over sin
and death
-- he
looked holy on the outside, but he was not truly saved -- he was
"almost" a Christian, just like King Agrippa
-- Jesus
continually warned about the dangers of being an "almost Christian"
-- in Matthew 13, Jesus shared the parable of the wheat and the tares -- Tares
were one of the curses a farmer had to struggle against -- they were a weed
called "darnel" -- they were poisonous, and if you ate them it would
cause dizziness and sickness -- so you didn't want them in the field with your
wheat
-- but the problem was, when they
were young, they looked just like wheat -- it was impossible to tell one from
the other -- and by the time that you could tell the true wheat from the
imposter, their roots had become intertwined and you couldn't pull up the tares
without hurting the wheat -- so the owner of the field told the servants not to
pull up the weeds but to leave them until the harvest at the end when they
could be separated from the true wheat and burned
-- When His disciples asked Jesus
to explain the parable, He told them that the wheat was the Christians and the
tares represented those who did not accept Him -- the "almost
Christians"
IV. Altogether Christians
-- so,
what's the alternative to being an "almost Christian?" -- it is to be
an "altogether" Christian
-- an
"altogether" Christian is someone who has stood on the Damascus Road
like Paul -- faced with a choice on whether to believe in Jesus or not -- and
who has said "Yes" to Jesus --when this happens, an
"almost" Christian is transformed into an "altogether"
Christian
-- an
"altogether" Christian is someone who believes in and has experienced
the transforming power of Jesus -- they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and
Savior and just like it says in verse 18, their sins have been forgiven and
they will live with Jesus in Heaven forever
--
an "altogether" Christian is characterized by three things: Faith,
Hope, Love
--
Faith in Christ -- trusting that they will go to Heaven simply because Jesus
died for them
--
Hope in Eternal Life -- hope in the resurrection because of the empty tomb on
Easter morning
--
Love -- love for God and Neighbor as they become examples of the transforming
power of Christ in their lives
-- what
does it take to be an "altogether Christian?" -- simply saying
"Yes" to Jesus' offer of forgiveness and life
-- as it
says in Romans 10:9-10 -- If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
-- Agrippa
didn’t do that – and Agrippa went to his death an “almost” Christian – totally
lost
V. Closing
-- let’s bring this to a close -- many
years ago, a man named Walter took his friend Arthur to see some land in the
middle of nowhere -- this was open ranch country where cattle were idly
grazing.
-- Walter explained to Arthur that
he had a dream for developing this area -- He told his friend that in time the
area would be surrounded by restaurants and hotels and convention centers
-- but he told Arthur, his plan
would take all of the money he had, and he needed others to come alongside him
and donate their money to help develop the surrounding area and make his dream
come alive -- He wanted his friend to have the first opportunity to buy into
this project.
-- Arthur was almost persuaded to
give Walter some money -- But he thought to himself, "Who in the world is
going to drive twenty-five miles into the middle of nowhere for this crazy
project?" -- He told Walter that he would think about it and make a
decision later.
-- "Later will be too
late," Walter cautioned Arthur. -- "You'd better move on it right
now."
-- And so, Art Linkletter turned
down the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become
-- Life's like that -- King Agrippa
had the opportunity to accept Christ and become a Christian -- He was almost
persuaded by Paul that day -- but he turned it down
-- Judas had one of the greatest
opportunities in all history to become a follower of Jesus -- but instead, he
betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver
-- The two thieves who were
crucified with Jesus also had the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal
life -- one accepted – but the other didn't.
-- Life
offers all of us many opportunities -- We all have the opportunity to become
followers of Jesus and to be a part of what God is doing in the world today --
we all have the opportunity to become an "altogether Christian" and
to lead others to make that same choice in their lives
-- we can't
forget why we are here -- we can't forget why Paul was standing before Agrippa
and Festus
-- we are
not here to just enjoy the fruits of Christianity and the graces of God -- we
are here to pass on His message of life and love to others -- to share with
them the opportunity to become altogether Christians -- to persuade them to
make the choice Agrippa would not make
-- so, as
we close, let us pray for all of those who are “almost Christians” -- let us
pray that they would be open to Christ and to His offer of salvation and
forgiveness -- let us pray that they would make the choice to become altogether
Christians
-- and
let's pray that God would lead us to make the choices in our lives that will
influence others for His kingdom
-- let us
pray
