Evangelizing to the Elite
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
As he was saying these things in his defense - Acts 22-25 shed some light on the context, in summary - Paul was in Jerusalem after preaching the gospel literally up to the word ‘Gentiles.’ because of the Jews rioting, nearly flogged by Roman soldiers until he mentioned his Roman citizenship, (Acts 22:22-29). From there he was accompanied with mounted troops protection from a murderous plot(23:12-24) on the way to Caeserea (23:33) to be tried before the governor Felix, this went nowhere pretty much, and Paul was imprisoned with liberty for 2 years until Festus succeeded Felix as the governor (24:26-27). Acts 25 explains to us the 2nd attempt at Paul’s life Jews trying to convince new governor to transport Paul back to Jerusalem (25:3), and where Paul appeals to Cesar before Festus hearing him for the first time. ‘Many days’ after is when King Agrippa and Bernice have showed up and Festus hears Paul the second time with them, which is where we find ourselves.
24 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.”
Responding to Mockery
Responding to Mockery
The First thing we will examine today from the scripture is How to respond to mockery, when evangelizing to the elite.
-Again, examining the context, what was Paul saying that triggered the response from Festus that Paul was mad? ‘as he was saying these things’ —-what things?
How do we find that out? The verse prior to to find out what ‘these things’ Paul was saying was -
22 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.”
So, as Paul is proclaiming the gospel here,
-Governor Festus, loudly interrupts Paul, saying he is ‘out of his mind’, in the greek, used only 5x in the NT, and it is used in the context of the demon posessed, or what unbelievers will think if they enter an assembly of several speaking in tongues at a church gathering.
-Festus then states that Paul’s great learning is what has turned him over to insanity. The greek wording here for great learning is POLY, which means many, and GRAMMA, which means sacred writings, actually used as the word for scriptures in 2 tim. 3:15
What to note here:
Some people will think you’re crazy if you STUDY and BELIEVE and PROCLAIM the truth of scripture! This begs the questions I would bring to you:
Do I read and study enough to know what the scripture teaches and therefore know what I believe to be true?
Romans 10:17 “17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Am I taking God-given opportunities to proclaim said truth?
Do some people think I’m crazy because I am outspoken and they know exactly where I stand and in WHOM I believe?
Another cool thing to note is how Paul uses the opportunity to share the gospel. What do I mean? You don’t need a pulpit or a tent or a massive crowd in order to share the gospel of Christ.
In SOM, prayer, one way to share
even something small in my XP like someone ‘Jesus Christ’ ‘is LORD’.
How many know who Phillip is in the NT? Helped manage finances, care for widows, wait tables
Acts 26:24 “24 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.””
25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.
Paul’s name means little, and we see his humble response to the loud Festus here, by properly addressing him as ‘most excellent’.
Some might confuse this with flattery, but such is not the case.
I don’t know about you, but I think the natural or carnal response to having been called crazy would be to revile back, stop ministering to the person, etc. But, by the Spirit, Paul maintains a calm and humble address, keeping in line with BEING a witness by honoring authority.
1 Peter 2:13–15 “13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”
The main point when it comes to witnessing to people here, is that effective evangelism is not merely words, but paired with a life bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
Take note, some of the LORD’s final words before ascending
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
It does not say you will witness. He says you will BE my witness. Anyone wanna guess what the word for witness is there?
mar-toos (martyrs) Which is where we get our word -
not all believers are called to die a martyrs death......
Matthew 16:24 “24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Notice how this also applies to catching souls. Our job is to follow Him. He is the one who makes us fishers of men.
Second point in evangelizing to the elite is how to confront the fence riders
Confronting the Fence Riders
Confronting the Fence Riders
26 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 is literally acquainted with these things. Paul speaks to the king freely and with boldness, how? Because he has confidence that the king is fully aware of the historical facts surrounding the events of Jesus, for this has not been done in secret.
After a short and to the point response to Festus, Paul directs the conversation to one of the governor’s ‘peers’ because Paul knows this peer is acquainted with the gospel.
It’s like the driving force of Paul’s address is to convert whoever will listen.
Paul could’ve easily given up sharing, like maybe many of us do, once he realized ‘this guy thinks I’m crazy’. But always remember, just because “he” won’t listen, doesn’t mean ‘they’ won’t.
this reminds me of Jesus’ command to his apostles....
Matthew 10:14 “14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.”
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
-Paul confronts the king directly. Do you ‘consider the OT prophets to be true?’
I know or literally I can perceive with the eyes that you do believe.
Paul was probably used to confronting people with this rhetorical question at this point, as scripture shows in several places how he had tried to reason with the Jews through the scriptures. Probably very common and popular back then to believe the prophets, and Paul knew to really believe the prophets would eventually lead to believing in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
—-If I were to ever be given the opportunity to witness to a Jew, would I be able to lead them to Christ using only the OT and prophets?
This is what they used back then!
My encouragement to you; when talking with the fence riders, do not be afraid to confront their beliefs and call them to make a decision.
i remember trying to share with a guy at work.… ‘as long as you decide the day before you die’
even sharing ith my brother in the truck....
Be clear when sharing the gospel. Oftentimes people will say things like ‘I believe in God’ or ‘I went to church’ and we, I myself have been guilty of leaving it at that. Will those things save them?
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Thirdly, we will see the importance of not being partial when evangelizing to the elite
No Partiality
No Partiality
28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
Agrippa shows where he is really at.… close perhaps, but close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades
But notice that a Christian is someone you be
— Agrippa knew Paul’s intentions, trying to persuade him. It’s amazing, this may have only been a 5 minute back and forth, yet Paul took perhaps the only opportunity he would get with this king agrippa to try to produce another follower of Christ.
-Perhaps a short conversation or time is all we will get with certain individuals. will we use it to try to produce Christ followers?
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.”
Paul’s prayer to God - ‘I would’, is that each and every individual would be Christians like himself, minus the chains.
-Paul responds very clearly to agrippa. ‘Whether short or long’ Paul’s goal is not to break records in seeing how many or how quickly he could persuade someone. Paul also made it clear that he was NOT picking and choosing whoever he wanted to limit sharing the gospel to. Paul’s heart for the lost is evident here, not only does he desire they know and are known by Christ like himself, he wants even better for them, that they would be Christians without the chains and suffering he had experienced.
The point, do not be partial with the message. I can think of numerous times personally -
trying to minister to my little bro yrs ago in my mind - his friend - bystander, was really soaking it up.
Imagine if the people you heard the gospel from were picky that day and did not want to share with you because in their minds they wanted someone else to hear.
Thank God He is nothing like us!
Finally, we will see the listener’s conclusion after having been evangelized to
Listener’s Conclusion
Listener’s Conclusion
30 Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them.
31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.”
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Bernice we don’t know much about from the scripture, other than she is always with Agrippa.
They left the room and determined amongst themselves that Paul had commited nothing worthy of death.
The last phrase there literally translates that he had the power himself to be released, had he not called upon Caesar as his judge.
Caesar of course being the Roman emperor, whom Paul eventually shared the gospel with (Acts 27:24, Phil. 4:22)
Here the listeners conclude Paul’s innocence, and talk about ‘what could’ve been’ which begs the question:
-Was this God’s will here, that Paul could’ve been set free had he not appealed? Maybe some would challenge that, and say Paul’s appeal to Caesar was NOT God’s best plan or will for his life, right? I mean it certainly doesn’t line up with the health wealth and prosperity teaching.
To that, I would say this:
In the next chapter God tells Paul not to fear for he must stand before Caesar (27:23-24)
God used Paul’s circumstances to further the gospel message.
In Paul’s letter to the church in Phillipi, it is clear that many of Caesar’s household had been converted! (4:22)
To conclude:
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
There comes a point in our walk with the LORD, on many occasions I believe, where we come to a crossroads and tend to lean on human reason or intellect rather than with simple and child like faith trust God’s Word so much that we actually just obey what He says and watch Him work and sort everything out.
I wanna play a short clip to leave you all thinking about just that.
My prayer- That You would help us God, as Your Word says in Prov. 3.5-6......
