NO VACANCY

Acts 26:22-29

Many of you have probably seen or read some of the best- selling books of Lee Strobel, one of the leading Christian apologists today. Some of his most popular books are: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator.

Lee, prior to becoming a believer of Jesus Christ was a professing atheist. Being a graduate of Yale Law School, and working as the legal editor of Chicago Tribune, he has always thought that the Bible will not be able to stand up to scrutiny, and that Christians are somewhat arrogant in declaring that there is only one way to heaven. However, after his wife got converted to Christianity and demonstrated some positive changes in her character and values, he became very intrigued about Christ and his claims in the Bible. This prompted him to embark on a serious investigation of the claims of Christianity. Being a great journalist and lawyer, he carefully examined all the evidence related to Jesus Christ for nearly two years and eventually became an earnest believer and follower of Jesus in 1981. Today, he has dedicated his life to turning skeptics into believers of Jesus.

Time and again, God allows us to encounter people like Lee Strobel. It is possible that some of you are here this morning and you are struggling to fully embrace Jesus because of some doubts in your heart. I would like to begin a series entitled RESERVATION so I can address some of the issues that hold people back in pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ. In this series, I will cover topics like skepticism, conflict of interest, poor image of Christians, peer pressure and others. Just to spice it up a little bit, the themes are compared with making a hotel reservation. That's why when you look at the themes for the following Sundays, they seem to suggest reasons for not pursuing a hotel reservation. In a way, the point is: If something keeps you from Christ, it also keeps you in making a reservation in heaven.

This morning it's NO VACANCY. For many people, it's their skepticism that's keeping them to pursue a relationship with Jesus. Just like Lee Strobel, they may have some negative assumptions about Jesus Christ that must be confronted and straightened out. Lee took the time to investigate and was won over to Jesus, but for many it is not that easy. In our text, we have Festus, the Roman governor in Caesarea, King Agrippa, the Jewish king, and his sister Bernice who had the privilege of listening to Apostle Paul narrate how he became a believer of Jesus Christ. If you go back to the earlier verses of chapter 26, Paul carefully shared his conversion experience starting on the road to Damascus and his special calling of leading people to receive forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. After hearing everything that Paul had said, they all ignored Paul's testimony and dismissed him as someone who had lost his mind because of so much knowledge.

If you are here this morning with some doubts about Jesus Christ and you are not sure whether His claims are valid or not, I hope you won't be like Festus, King Agrippa or Bernice in dismissing everything without careful investigation. Let's take the time this morning to address your skepticism and its implications. Allow me to highlight three important challenges for you:

I     RECOGNIZE THE SKEPTICISM IN YOU:

A skeptic is someone who is doubtful concerning basic religious beliefs. In relation to Christianity, you would often meet two kinds of skeptics: The closed-minded and an open-minded skeptic.

The closed-minded skeptics are people who have already made up their mind about what they believe and are not particularly interested in seeking further. Their kind of skepticism may merely scoff and ridicule what Christians believe. They may even enjoy arguing though you can quickly discern that they're not really looking for truth. They are often merely interested in maintaining a position in which he/she is comfortable. They are the skeptics that cannot be convinced regardless of the evidence.

They are like the man who thought he was dead. His family tried their best to convince him that he was not dead, but he would not be persuaded. Finally, in desperation, they took him to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist tried various tactics, but nothing worked. Finally he decided, "If I can convince him of one fact that contradicts his belief that he is dead, that should cure him." So he decided to use the simple truth that dead men do not bleed. He gave the man some medical texts to read, had him observe some autopsies, talk with embalmers, etc. Finally, after several weeks, the man said "O.K.! O.K.! you've convinced me! Dead men do not bleed!" Immediately the psychiatrist stuck him in the arm with a needle, and the blood flowed. The man looked down at his arm with a shocked look on his face and said "Wow! Dead men do bleed after all!" Let's face it. Some are like Festus and King Agrippa; they simply will not be convinced regardless of the evidences presented to them.

Then, there are open-minded skeptics. They may have some serious doubts about Christianity, but they are sincere in knowing the truth. If they knew there are a lot of evidences with regards to what we believe, they are willing to scrutinize them and make conclusions based on them. In our text, Paul himself fits this category. He started out as a hostile skeptic against Christianity, and he did his best to persecute everyone who followed Christ. But when he met the risen Christ personally, he moved from being a doubter to a believer.

What kind of a skeptic are you? I hope you are an open-minded one. I believe God welcomes questions, and He's not intimidated even when you're asking difficult questions. Just be sure you're willing to embark on investigating the evidences which are available about Christ and His claims.

II    RESEARCH THE EVIDENCES AVAILABLE:

When Paul presented his arguments in behalf of Christ and Christianity to his distinguished audience, there were three major evidences he emphasized:

A. Changed Life:

Beginning from verse 4, Paul narrated what his life was prior to meeting Jesus personally on the road to Damascus. He told them how he grew up under the strictest training of the Jewish religion becoming one of the Pharisees. Back then, he was so convinced with what he believed that he strongly opposed Christianity:

What changed the direction of his life? If you continue to read verses 12-18, he talked about meeting Jesus personally on the road to Damascus through a glorious vision. This experience was so powerful that he was persuaded that Jesus is the true messiah for all people both Jews and Gentiles.

The change in Paul's life can be a compelling argument for validity of Christ's claims. Why would a man like him leave a religion he knew and was very committed to since he was a child? Why would he follow Jesus, the person he was very much against? There's only one obvious answer - He found the truth in Christ. Of all people, Paul would be the last candidate to be a follower of Christ. Yet, he risked everything even his own life for the sake of testifying for Him.

Just like Paul, I hope you and I will take advantage of our personal testimony of how Christ changed us. Some of your loved ones and friends may be wondering what brought those positive changes in you. Don't fail to point them to Jesus.

B. Christ's Resurrection:

Without question, the miracle of Christ's resurrection is considered the most important proof for the reliability of Christ. Paul himself shared its value in 1 Corinthians 15:14:

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

Why is Christ's resurrection important? This truth validates the following:

1. Integrity Factor - In several occasions, Jesus Himself prophesied His own resurrection (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19). If he did not resurrect, then He was a liar and simply delusional.
2. Divinity Factor - His resurrection proves that he possesses powers that belong only to God like the control over life and death.
3. Redemptive Factor - Because death is the penalty of sin, to triumph over death through resurrection means to He has the power to bestow eternal life (Romans 4:25 "raised to life for our justification.").

Part of Paul's conversion testimony was seeing the resurrected Christ. This became one of the principal subjects of Paul's faithful preaching (1 Cor. 15:1-4). But not just Paul, it is also true with the other apostles who were once discouraged and afraid after Jesus died. They all became courageous preachers of Jesus Christ because they were all eye-witnesses of His resurrection.

Of course, you probably heard the accusation against them that they fabricated everything by stealing the body of Christ. Please know that this accusation does not have any basis. How can these fearful disciples steal the body when the tomb was carefully sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:65-66)? Absolutely impossible! According to tradition, there were probably around sixteen Roman soldiers who rotated in guarding the tomb; four would stay awake every three hour block. Also, the seal on the tomb signified that it was owned by Roman government. The disciples who went into hiding during the crucifixion would be the last people to steal the body. This does not add up. Simon Greenleaf, founder of the Harvard School of Law, after a thorough investigation of whether or not Christ rose from the dead wrote:

"It was therefore impossible that (the disciples) could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact . . . The resurrection of Christ is the most verifiable fact of ancient history." (Alex McFarland, The 10 most common Objections to Christianity, p.124)

C. Fulfilled Prophecies (vs. 22-23)

In addition to Paul's changed life and Christ resurrection, Paul also made reference to fulfilled prophecies in the life of Christ. King Agrippa being familiar of Old Testament Scriptures was familiar with the prophecies about the Messiah. Paul clearly declared that Christ was the fulfillment of all these prophecies (vs. 22-23).

For our lack of time, we cannot open to all the Scriptural references but here are some of them. First see the Old Testament reference. Then, connect it with the New Testament fulfillment:

• As a seed of a Woman (Gen 3:15 - Gal. 4:4
• As a seed of Abraham (Gen 17:7 22:18 - Gal. 3:16)
• As a seed of David (Ps 132:11 Jer. 23:5 - Ac 13:23 Ro 1:3)
• Being born of a virgin (Isa.7:14 - Matt. 1:22-23)
• Being born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2 - Matt. 2:1 Lu. 2:4-6)
• Suffering of the Messiah (Isa. 53 - Matt. 27)

Bible scholars agree that there are at least 300 fulfilled prophecies in the life of Jesus Christ. Some are quick to dismiss them as coincidences, but 300 coincidences would be too much. We are safer to believe that it happened in the life of Jesus to prove the fact that Jesus is the real Messiah who was promised from the Old Testament.

I hope these three evidences will help convince the skeptics who are here today. The fact is: the claims of Jesus could be corroborated by compelling evidences.

III   RESOLVE TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION:

Our text clearly shows how Festus and King Agrippa had both treated Paul's testimony with contempt. Knowing this was a life and death issue, Paul made a final appeal by expressing an earnest prayer to God for both of them in verse 29.

Everyone who had the privilege of examining the evidences about Christ must consider the important decision of either rejecting or receiving them. There are only two possible decisions - either Jesus is liar or Lord. If He is truly Lord, then we have to fully surrender our hearts to Him.

Making the right decision is required because the right decision can bring you tremendous blessings, while the wrong one can lead you to destruction. I really believe that the greatest decision we need to make in life has to do with what we are to do with Jesus Christ. This decision is done once and it changes the entire direction of our lives.