Paul Before King Agrippa

Passage: Acts 25:23-26:11

Introduction.

The Bible is truly the most remarkable book ever written.  There is no other book like it, which stands to reason since it is written by God.  As you know the Bible is a

Detours.  Did any of you have to take a detour from your normal path to church?  I am not a fan of detours.  They interrupt my plans; they slow me down from getting where I want to go.

I had to take a detour off I-5 at Slater Road last week because traffic was backed up.  There have been several detours in Lynden this past summer, on Grover, on Badger and there is still one on Main.

But I shouldn’t be complaining.  Paul has been on a detour for over two years, and I don’t hear him complaining.  Have any of you been on a two-year detour you had not planned, not anticipated, didn’t see going?  Or maybe you feel like you are on a longer one?

Paul had a plan to carry the Gospel to Rome.  He had an idea of how and when he would do that.  And then he ran into a huge detour.  He was arrested on false charges and ended up going through several trials before a Roman tribune, a Jewish high priest, two governors Felix and Festus, and now before the king of Palestine, King Agrippa.

God thinks nothing of changing the course of history, and He thinks nothing of changing the course of our lives.  Actually, He does think about it and when He does it, it is because He has thought about it and has very good reasons for doing so.  Reasons related to redemption, to salvation, to bringing us to faith or increasing our faith, for our good; or to make us to be without excuse because of our lack of faith.

Detours and interruptions are all acts of God, God is always up to something, they are acts of God’s grace, reminding us our lives are not our own, we belong to God; or making us face our sin, or showing us our dependence on Him, how He wants to transform us some more.