SUNDAY - AUGUST 23, 2026 "An Old Hope" Acts 26:1-11

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God bless.

We'll be in Acts chapter 26 this morning, looking at verses 1 through 11.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

I don't know if any of you are Star Wars fans, uh, but bear with me for a minute, because I am.

All right.

In the Star Wars saga, uh, episode four is entitled A New Hope.

And so how it happens, we won't get into originals and all that kind of stuff, but in the Star Wars story, okay, there is a force that has a light side and a dark side, and they're always at war with one another.

And in the in these movies, there is a chosen one who is supposed to come and bring balance to that force.

For a long time, a kid named Anakin Skywalker was believed to be that chosen one who was going to bring balance to the force.

But at the end of episode three, Anakin chooses the dark side over the light side and turns evil.

And so now the hope that people have wanted for a long time has gone away.

But at the beginning of episode four, a new person arises, none other than Anakin's son Luke, but a new person arises and provides a new hope for people, for someone to come and bring balance to the force.

Well, we're not dealing with the force.

Thank goodness.

But as Paul comes today in chapter 26, he is standing before Festus and Agrippa, and Paul testifies to Agrippa that his hope in Jesus was not a new hope.

It is an old hope.

It is the hope that Israel has had for centuries that a Messiah would come who was going to save the world and fulfill God's promises.

And this was an old hope, Paul believed, that we saw coming to fruition in Jesus Christ.

And listen, today our hope, our hope should lie in the same person in whom Paul and Abraham hoped.

His name is Jesus.

We should find our hope in him.

And we have to understand, though, that we're just reading the first 11 verses of chapter 26, but chapter 26, verses verses 3, all the way down to verse 23 is a complete sermon given by Paul.

And in that, we to find our challenge, we need to flip over and see the challenge of the whole sermon.

I think we find that in verses 19 and 20, and here's what it says.

So there's our challenge for today.

The challenge that Paul laid out through his whole sermon is to repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with our repentance.

So we're going to see today why Paul hoped in Jesus and why he believed Jesus was the fulfillment of that hope.

I invite you, if you're able, this morning, to stand with me as we give honor to the reading of God's Word.

Acts chapter 26.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

We're going to read verses 1 down through verse 11.

So Agrippa said to Paul, You have permission to speak for yourself.

Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense.

I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa.

I am going to make my defense today against all accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews.

Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews.

They have known for a long time if they're willing to testify that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee.

And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly worship night and day.

And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O King.

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

And I did so in Jerusalem.

I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, and I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them, I persecuted them, even to foreign cities.

Let's pray together.

God, we are so thankful for your word.

We're so thankful that you have revealed yourself to us through your word, and we pray that now, now as we have opportunity to study, that we will see you.

Jesus, it's in your wonderful name that we pray.

Amen.

So remember where where Paul is.

We ended chapter 25 with Festus, the governor of the region.

He is sending Paul to Caesar in Rome, but he needs a reason to send Paul.

He needs to tell Caesar why he's sending him.

So he's asked Agrippa for help.

And so today, where we find Paul is Paul is standing before Festus and standing before Agrippa and going to give his defense of why he is there.

So we come today and see what Paul, I think the, I think the crux, I think the central idea of this section of Paul's message is found in verse 6 when he says, My hope in the promise made to God, I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers.

He is standing here because his hope in Jesus.

And we're going to see today why Paul hoped in Jesus.

The first thing I think we see here is very interesting.

It's found in verses 2 and 3.

Now, in verse 2 and 3, we don't find this deep theological treatise that tells us exactly what Paul was thinking.

But what we find in verses 2 and 3 is a subtle hint of a deep truth.

Because here's what he says.

First, we see the opportunity that he's providing to Paul.

He's providing an opportunity for Paul to testify about Jesus Christ.

Remember, he's not really standing here today before this group to defend himself against charges.

Really, all the charges, like Festus has not found any charge worthy of holding Paul.

And he has told Agrippa the same thing.

I don't really find any reason to hold him, but he's appealed to Caesar, so I'm going to send him to there.

I need you to help me.

I need you to help me find something to tell Caesar to send him.

So now Paul is standing here before Agrippa and he says, I consider myself fortunate.

I don't know if fortunate is the word I would use.

Remember, Paul was beaten in chapter 21, and this is just in recent history.

We've seen it more in Acts, but in chapter 21, Paul was beaten by the Jews.

And in chapter 22 and 23, there were threats, 22 and 25, there were threats made against Paul's life.

And we also see Paul has been held in prison for over two years now with no charges really by which they should hold him.

And now he's standing before Agrippa, and he finds himself fortunate.

Now we can see that he says it, I feel fortunate that I'm standing before you, Agrippa, because you know the customs, you know the ways that Jews think, and this is kind of a uniquely Jewish problem that Paul has presented to Festus here.

And so he's excited that Agrippa can identify with this.

But I think it goes deeper than that.

He finds himself fortunate to stand before Agrippa and all these in this room because he has the opportunity to tell about Jesus.

He has the opportunity to be a witness to the kingdom of God before all these people who are here.

Despite being wrongly held, despite threats being made against his life, I think he feels fortunate because he understands that the sovereignty of God has placed him right here at that time, at that moment, to share about Jesus.

And he finds himself fortunate to testify.

He has an opportunity to testify.

I think he also points to the fact that Agrippa has the opportunity to listen, to hear the gospel message.

You know, where we are today in our society, where where we live right here, not across the world, but where we live right here, I think we take that opportunity for granted often.

We have the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ, that he came, that he lived a perfect life, that he died on the cross in accordance with scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with scriptures.

We have the opportunity to hear that, and for that we should be thankful.

Listen, as an unbeliever, you should be thankful that you have the opportunity to hear the gospel.

You have the opportunity to hear that Jesus came and that he lived a perfect life and that he died on the cross, taking upon himself the judgment, the punishment that you deserve, that he was buried and that he arose from the grave.

And when we believe in him, he places on us his righteousness.

You have the opportunity to hear that, and you are not promised another opportunity.

I pray that today you take advantage of this opportunity and respond, and you will not just hear, but listen to the gospel message.

Second, as believers, we should find it fortunate.

We should find ourselves fortunate, I'll use Paul's word, to listen to the gospel message.

You may say, Grant, I'm I'm a believer.

I don't need it.

Oh, yes, you do.

We all need to hear and be reminded of the depths and the lengths that Jesus went to so that we could be in a relationship with a holy, righteous, almighty God.

We should be thankful that we have the opportunity to be reminded that Jesus, that God so loved the world in this way that he sent his only son to die for us.

It should challenge us.

We have the opportunity to be challenged.

And as he says at the end of this thing, for believers and unbelievers alike, as he said, as we read, we have the opportunity to repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with our repentance.

Paul, I think, he hopes, places his hope in Jesus because he gives him opportunities to testify and to hear testimony about the kingdom of God and to bear witness to the kingdom of God.

Paul is grateful and he's hopeful in Jesus because of those opportunities.

I also think Paul is places his hope in Jesus because he has a past.

Let me see if I can explain it.

Like you you you've heard it.

I've I've heard I've heard preachers even say, you they they do something or say something, you go, preacher, and they say, I haven't always been a preacher, you know.

They have a past.

We have things in our past, things that that we have done that we may regret, things that that we've done that that we have regrets, regrets made, things that we've done that weren't God honoring, and things like that.

We we have a past.

We have things behind of us.

All of us have those, and Paul has a past.

We've seen it.

Let's let's look.

We see in verses four and five, we see his background, that he was born in Tarsus, raised in a, or brought up in a Jewish community.

It seems like early on in his life, his family moved to Jerusalem because he talks about how he was raised in Jerusalem, how he was a, he became to the of the strictest of the law, he became a Pharisee, he was a Jew of Jews.

He goes in Philippians chapter 3, or chapter 1, verses, or chapter, sorry, Philippians chapter 3, verses 4 through 6.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention Philippians 3:4–6

He says this about himself.

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.

Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Paul, Paul considers himself, he understands that he has a passing.

So while some of these things are good things, it was good that he was circumcised on the eighth day.

It was a great thing that he was of the people of Israel.

It was a great thing that he was born of the tribe of Benjamin, that he was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

But there are some things also that he he regrets.

As to Zil, a persecutor of the church.

That's something he regrets.

We see it even back in Acts chapter 8 in verses 9 through 11 when he talks about how he is convinced that I must say he was convinced that he ought to do many things opposing the name of Jesus, just like his accusers are doing to him.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

He considered them to be blasphemers.

He had them locked in prison to those who were who were killed, such as Stephen.

He agreed with the penalty of death.

He has a past.

You say, Grant, how why would it be great that he places his hope in Jesus because he has a past?

It is great that he places his hope in Jesus because it is only in Jesus that he finds forgiveness for his past.

And it is only in Jesus and in the sovereignty of God where God can use his past to bring himself glory.

Only God can do that.

Understand, it is because of Paul's past that he is standing right where he's standing, being fortunate to have the opportunity to testify about Jesus Christ.

Listen, there were other Jews, there were other Christians who were doing some of the same things that Paul was doing.

Where's Barnabas?

Where's Silas?

Where's Timothy?

Where's John Mark?

They all traveled with Paul.

No, Paul is here because God has used Paul's life.

He's used his past.

He's used things in his life to bring him right to this point.

And Paul is hopeful in Jesus Christ because it's in Jesus that he finds forgiveness for his past, and he finds the God who can use his past to bring God glory.

He is hopeful.

It's not a new hope.

It's an old hope.

It's an old hope that a hope in Jesus because Jesus provides has provided opportunities.

It is a hope in Jesus because He had a past and we have a past.

And God can forgive our past.

And he can use it just as he used Paul's.

Let me explain.

When I say he has a history here, it is something that goes far deeper than himself.

When I say it's a past, it's things that Paul has done.

But when I say a history, I'm saying that Paul is united to something greater than himself, something bigger than himself.

Paul was a Jew of Jews.

He was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

If you go back to verse 6 that we've already talked about, he says this, and now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers.

There's a history there.

There's a history.

Now I don't know that I can't tell you.

I know he says promise singular there that I don't, I can't tell you the singular promise that he's talking about here, but I know the promises that God has made to the people of Israel.

Way back in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, God promised that he would send one who would crush the head of the serpent while the serpent bruised his heel.

Genesis 3:15

If you go back to Genesis chapter 12, God promised Abraham that he would be a blessing, that his descendant would be a blessing to the world.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

If you go to Exodus chapter 19, God promised Moses that the people of Israel, if they followed him, God said, if the people of Israel will follow him, they will be his treasured possession, a kingdom of priest for the nations.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

God has made so many promises.

God promised David.

In 2 Samuel chapter 7, verses 12 through 15, God promised David that one of his descendants would reign on the throne forever.

2 Samuel 7:12–15

God has made promises after promises to Israel.

Promises that they were looking forward to.

Promises that night and day they were praying to be fulfilled.

And when it says right there, I love how it says in verse 7, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly worship night and day.

That phrase night and day reminds me of a passage back in Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 2, if you're familiar, you probably are.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

That's where we read about the birth of Jesus.

But towards the end of that chapter, starting in verse 22, what we find here is that Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple in accordance with the law.

Remember, Paul was circumcised on the eighth day.

There were things they had to go to the temple to do.

And as they walk into the temple, they meet a man named Simeon.

Simeon had been promised that he would see the Lord's Christ before he died.

When Mary and Joseph came into the temple, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he took the baby Jesus and praised God because he knew this was the fulfillment of that promise.

Later in the same chapter, down towards the end in verse 36, we find that there was a Prophetess named Anna.

She was of the tribe of the Benjamin, and she was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84.

Now listen to this.

She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

Just as Paul said, their fathers had been doing, and the twelve tribes have been doing, worshiping night and day, Anna had been doing the same thing.

There is a difference, though, in Anna from many others.

In verse 38, it says, And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem because she knew Jesus was the Christ.

She placed her hope in him.

Paul is saying he is hopeful because he believes Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of God.

And there is one, one, one great evidence to that.

Know what it is?

The resurrection.

That he arose, that death couldn't hold him in the grave, that sin couldn't keep him down, that he arose from the grave, giving us life, defeating, destroying death, destroying sin, bringing redemption, not just to Israel, but bringing redemption to all who believe in him.

For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The resurrection is evidence.

It is proof.

It is why we can trust in what Jesus said.

It's why we can have hope in Jesus because he is not still dead.

He is alive, sitting at the right hand of the throne of the Father, interceding for us.

He is praying for you and praying for us that we would believe, that we would trust in him.

The resurrection gives us evidence.

It gives us proof.

It's what gave Paul proof.

It's what gave him proof to stand and testify and to find it fortunate that he has the opportunity to testify to Agrippa and to Festus.

It is the resurrection.

We can trust him because he is alive.

What does this mean for us?

What does this do for us?

You know, there is another promise that I didn't mention.

It's called the New Covenant.

In the new covenant that God gave to Jeremiah that he is going to enter into it with Israel, he says, This, I'm going to write my law on their hearts.

And he says, I will forgive their sins and it will be remembered no more.

Under the new covenant, it was not dependent upon the people getting to God like the old covenant.

Under the new covenant, God came to the people.

He came and he lived and he died and he arose and he offers us forgiveness, true forgiveness for our sins.

And in him we hope.

We hope not just for tomorrow that we'll get to be in heaven with him one day, but we hope for today.

That whatever comes our way, whether we are threatened with death, whether we are beaten, whether we have persecutions against us, whether our life is in shambles or not, whatever we face today, Jesus Christ is not just our hope for tomorrow.

He is our hope for today because he has defeated sin and he has defeated death and he is at work in our lives.

And we know it, we trust it because he is alive today.

Listen, I don't know where you are.

But if you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, oh I pray that today will be the day of salvation for you.

That today you will place your faith in Christ.

You have had the opportunity to hear the gospel message, and you are not promised another opportunity.

Oh, please take advantage today.

Or maybe you have.

Maybe you have, but life is just getting the best of you right now.

Listen, here's what he says.

Repent.

Turn to God.

Repent.

Turn to God.

Performing deeds in keeping with your repentance.

If you are not living there today, you need to repent and turn to God.

Maybe this morning, if you've trusted Christ for your salvation, but now you need to trust Him for your sanctification.

You need to do so today.

We're about to enter into a time of invitation.

I'm going to pray for us.

We're going to stand and sing as we do so.

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, we invite you to come.

We would love to pray with you.

There will be counselors who can take you out and share with you how you can trust in Christ.

If you have, but maybe you just need to repent and perform deeds in keeping with your repentance.

Maybe you need to repent because you're not doing that this morning.

We would love to pray with you.

You can come kneel at this altar.

Maybe this morning you need to unite with our church.

I say it every week.

The church is a gift because we don't have to do this by ourselves.

God has given us each other to help each other, to pull each other along.

If you need to unite with the church, we would love to have you at DeSoda Hills.

In just a moment, as we stand and sing, however, God is leading you, we invite you to come.

Let's pray together.

God, we thank you.

We thank you for this opportunity that we have now to respond to your word.

God, there is hope in this opportunity.

There is hope because you are giving it to us.

There is hope because we have a chance to respond.

So, Father, help us.

Give us the faith that we need to hear your word to respond to you.

Jesus, it's in your name that we pray.

Amen.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at DeSotoHills.com.