A Sermon Fit For A King!

           A guest speaker was somewhat overwhelmed by an excessive, overdone introduction which listed his accomplishments and lauded his charm and ability as a public speaker. Finally he was allowed to rise and face his audience. He began his speech: "Ladies and gentlemen, after that intro’ I can hardly wait to see what I’m going to say!" In Acts 25:22 King Agrippa told Roman governor Festus, "I also would like to hear the man [that is, the apostle Paul] myself." And so, as reported in Acts 25:23 all the way through Acts 26:28 Agrippa did hear Paul. So what did the passionate apostle of Christ preach to Agrippa? Surprise, surprise – he preached a sermon fit for a king! We can’t be absolutely certain as to what the King expected to hear from Paul . . . but there is no room for doubt what Paul was eager to preach to him. According to Acts 26:22-23, Paul insisted that from the time Christ had commissioned him to be an apostle, he [Paul], had "obtained help from God," and that "to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come – that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people, and to the Gentiles." The hub to which all the spokes in Paul’s preaching wheel connected was the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ!

So what does a sermon fit for a king – or anyone else – look like? Paul proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 26:8, 23)! He preached the Christ he once persecuted and sought to destroy (26:9- 11, 15). He preached about the day he "saw the light" (26:12-14). He preached about the heavenly commission that authorized his gospel message (26:15-17). In Acts 26:19-20 he preached that people should "open their eyes" and "turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God" – he preached people should "repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance" – and he preached about forgiveness of sins, inheritance, sanctification, and faith in Christ! He also preached about how some who tried to hurt and hinder and even kill him for doing what Christ auhtorized and sent him to do (26:21) – reminding us preaching Christ was a high-risk job when Paul preached. He preached how God helped him (26:22). And smack dab in the middle of the sermon, after he preached Christ suffered and rose from the dead, he was interrupted by Roman governor Festus and accused of being insane – "Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad (26:23-24)! Undeterred, Paul went on to insist the gospel is true and reasonable and that "this thing was not done in a corner" (26:25-26). He next appealed to King Agrippa to believe the prophets and become a Christian (26:27). The sermon was fit for a king – and Agrippa was "almost" persuaded! What could be better than being a king? How about being a king who is a Christian?! Paul wanted this king to improve his life by becoming a Christian, and he used all his persuasive powers to get him to do just that! Acts 26:18 summarizes all that becoming a Christian accomplishes for a king or anyone else who trusts and obeys Christ. What do you think sermons fit to be preached to a king or anyone else ought to look like today? Just asking. 

By: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN