ACTS 25 HOW TO WITNESS LIKE PAUL2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 25 How To Witness Like Paul

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017.

And we're going to continue our journey through the book of Acts and watching the Apostle Paul go through these series of trials and hearings and everything that he has to go through as he's on his way to Rome. And so we're going to begin in Acts chapter 25 looking at verses 1 through 8. And so I'll read through that and then we'll jump into the message that the Lord has for us. Acts chapter 25 verse 1 says,

Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they petitioned him, asking a favor against him that he would summon him to Jerusalem while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. Therefore he said,

Verse 6. Verse 7.

While he answered for himself, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I offended in anything at all. As we look at Acts chapter 25, again, we're jumping into the middle of what's happening in the life of the Apostle Paul. After he came back to Jerusalem, after being away for many years, he was...

taken by the Jews there in the temple area and they were attempting to kill him and the Roman soldiers came in and put a stop to it but took Paul into custody and ever since then they've been trying to figure out what to do with Paul.

because the Jews wanted to kill him desperately, and the Romans couldn't find any real reason for that type of sentence, and yet at the same time were unwilling to just let him go. And so he was in the custody of the commander that rescued him out of that crowd. He was taken up to Felix,

the governor at the time in Caesarea and was on trial there and had a hearing. And same thing, there was a big kind of riot that took place as the Jews were upset and he was left in custody. And Felix, at the end of chapter 24, left Paul in custody for the last two years of his reign.

And then now we see in chapter 25, a new governor is appointed, Festus. And so he's going to now figure out what's going on and understand the situation and have to deal with this man, the apostle Paul, and the things that are going on there. Now, as we look at this chapter here in Acts chapter 25, I've titled the message, How to Witness Like Paul.

Because as we walk through this account of Festus kind of uncovering and trying to figure out the whole situation with Paul, what I'd like us to kind of focus on and pay attention to is

the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Now, I think a lot of us, we could easily look at the Apostle Paul and think, you know, it'd be awesome to have ministry like that, right? To be able to have that kind of influence, that kind of impact, to be used by God in that way. And there is some insights into how we can do that as we look at the account here in Acts chapter 25. And so there's four points that we will walk through.

just a quick sneak preview, how to have a ministry or how to witness like the Apostle Paul is probably not the straightforward way that we would want or we would think. But actually, there's some different things and different ways that God would use to cause us to be effective as witnesses for Jesus. And so the first point we find here in these verses we read, verses 1 through 8, is

The first step to have a witness like Paul is to be patient in difficulty. Now, I say that that way because as we get into verse 1, we understand already Paul has been in prison for two years. He's been confined. He's been bound. He had some freedoms, but he was bound in prison for the past two years.

Now, during the past two years, he's been sitting there in prison, realizing, recognizing, testifying he's innocent. There's no real charges against him. But at the same time, there's no real reason for him to hope that he didn't have a clear plan or path out of this situation. He was here stuck under Roman authority, and Felix the governor was arrested.

curious, interested. He would call for Paul from time to time and hear about the gospel, but he

But Felix, it says in chapter 24, was really hoping that Paul would bribe him so that, you know, just give me some money, Paul, and then I'll let you go. And so Felix was not really a good guy, and he was not willing to let Paul go. And so Paul's there stuck in this situation, being imprisoned, no real charges, being innocent, no reason to hope that anything is going to change. And now this new guy comes on the scene.

Now, what's not recorded here in the book of Acts is Festus is now governor over this region because Felix was called to account in Rome because he was not a good ruler. Because of his wickedness and his corruption, he actually was called before the Caesar to give an account and he was removed from authority because of his misconduct. And so now Festus is given authority.

And so he is brand new to the scene. He's coming into the region with no information about the history. He has no idea what's gone on before. Brand new leader in the area. It tells us in verse 1, when Festus had come up to the province, after three days, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

And so Caesarea was where Paul was located. It was the primary hub for the Roman Empire. That was kind of their station, their capital of the area was there in Caesarea. And so that's where he was stationed. So he goes, first of all, to the White House in Caesarea, and he kind of just gets acquainted there for a couple of days. And then he goes down to the most important city in his whole territory, and that is the city of Jerusalem.

And so he begins with a short stay at Caesarea, but then he needs to go make the rounds and connect with the leaders of the area and get introduced to the high priest and the Sanhedrin and those Jewish leaders. And so that's what he's doing. He's making the rounds, getting to know everybody. Now, Felix, the guy before him, was known for his wickedness.

But Festus, here in the text as well as in the writings of Josephus and such, he was known as a good ruler. He wasn't a wicked and corrupt guy like Felix was. But the thing that was interesting about Festus is that he really didn't understand, he didn't know much about Jewish culture. So as he's going into this, he's kind of learning as he goes some of the history and the things that were going on there with the Jewish people.

And so as he goes down to Jerusalem, it tells us in verse 2 that he meets the high priest and the chief people of the Jews, the chief men of the Jews, and they inform him about the Apostle Paul. And they give a petition asking...

hey, would you do us a favor and bring Paul to Jerusalem so that we can continue the trial that we began two years ago? But it tells us in verse 3 some insight. They were actually planning not to have a trial, but to ambush and kill Paul on the way, on the journey from Caesarea to Jerusalem. And so you can see that the Jews are still very upset with Paul. Even though two years has passed, even though some time has gone by, they still are upset.

you know, really wanting to get rid of Paul. They are still radically opposed to his message, to his ministry, to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They do not want that to continue.

And so they're planning, they're hoping, we have a new guy. Here's our opportunity to kill Paul. You might remember, they tried this initially. They were going to have the commander who rescued Paul bring him back, and he was going to be executed on the way. They were going to ambush them and kill Paul at that time. But they got wind of that plot, and so that's when the commander sent him up to Caesarea to Felix.

And so they've been trying this now for the past couple of years. They've been trying to get rid of Paul. They've attempted to kill him a couple of times. And now they're planning to do that once more.

But Festus had some wisdom, and we don't know if he knew about previous situations or just that, hey, he was a stickler for the process. No, he needs to be on trial there. And so he says, no, I'm going to be back in Caesarea. He should stay there. And then you guys can come up to Caesarea and we'll have a trial. In verse 5, he says, let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man to see if there is any fault in him.

And so he hangs out in Jerusalem for a few days and then returns back to Caesarea. And it tells us in verse 7, the Jews come and now are going to present their case. In verse 7, it says, when they had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. I love that Luke includes that last little phrase, right? So there's all these complaints, like we've seen in the previous accusations against Paul, many serious complaints against

But still, the overall theme was there was no proof. There were not witnesses to testify of the things he accused Paul. There was no proof that he actually did anything wrong. They're in the temple area. They're towards the Jews. They're towards Rome. There was no accusation that stuck. No evidence, no proof for all of the things that they accused Paul of.

Now, there's much more that happened, you know, than what we just read in verse 7, but Luke just kind of summarizes it in this way, that they laid many accusations, and none of them had any substance. There was just a lot of threats, a lot of hatred, a lot of bitterness, you know, a lot of accusations, but no proof for anything that they said against Paul.

And then Luke summarizes Paul's response. Paul is acting as his own defense attorney, and he says, And Paul's defense is basically, I have not done anything wrong. And again, there was probably more to what Paul said, but this is the summary of it, that

He was innocent. He hadn't done any of the things that they accused him of, and he hadn't violated any laws against the temple, against the Jews, or against Rome. Now, as we look at these first few verses, again, the point is to be patient in difficulty, because as we look at this, I think it's easy to see that Paul demonstrates great patience throughout the midst of this.

great patience as he is dealing with the Jewish people who hate him, although they're his people, he's a Jew, but they hate him and they're wanting to kill him. They're trying different ways and different routes, you know, whether it's by ambush or whether it's by false accusation or whether it's by, you know, literally just pulling his limbs apart as they attempted to do on the Temple Mount. He's dealing directly with these people who hate him so much that

And yet what you see demonstrated through Paul is great patience. Great patience as he responds to them in these false accusations. Great patience that Paul demonstrates. That is part of his witness. It's part of his testimony. It's part of the power of what we're seeing take place in his life. Well, we also see Paul demonstrate great patience as he's stuck in an endless cycle of trials.

I mean, if you're keeping track, he was on trial there before the Jews under the Roman commander. He was on trial again the next day by the Roman commander. He was sent up to Felix. He was on trial there with Felix. Now he's on trial again with Festus. This is the fourth time that these same charges, these same things, it's an endless cycle of trials. And then, of course, he's been in prison for the past two years, right?

As a result of all these things, with no real accusation, with no real reason for him to be imprisoned. And yet, Paul demonstrates great patience. Again, I'm sure there was much more that Paul said than what we have recorded in verse 8. But in this summary, as Luke provides it, notice there's no name-calling.

Now, if you're stuck in prison for two years and then called to the same people that, you know, put you there and laid crazy accusations against you, and here they are again laying these same accusations against you.

I don't know about you, but I'd be real tempted to, you know, really kind of lose it. You know, I mean, maybe I held it together the first couple of trials, but now it's been two years. I've been sitting there thinking about all the things I would tell you if I saw you at your face. You know what I mean? Like I would tell you to your face if I saw you all of, and I could just imagine my own thoughts, my own heart wanting to just spew out

All of these things against these Jews who are now accusing him yet again. But there's no name calling that Luke records or alludes to. There's no evidence of bitterness. There's no frothing at the mouth or, you know, just like losing it and throwing things. Paul is demonstrating great patience. Think about it this way. How easy would it have been for Paul to blow his witness here in this place?

hearing in this trial. It would have been super easy to just blow up and explode and just go crazy. And I think any of us would have been tempted to do that. But here Paul, his witness and part of the power of his witness and his testimony and his ministry to the Jews and to the Romans was his patience in the midst of all of this difficulty. Again, I would say that

Although we might look at the ministry of the Apostle Paul and desire to be used by God in that way and to have that level of influence, I think sometimes if we were given the option, we would choose to go a different way.

We wouldn't want the ministry or the witness that's provided by upset, unreasonable people, you know, tormenting us for the past two years. That wouldn't be the route we would choose, right? Well, give me an audience and let people sit there and listen to me for two years. I'm good with that, but don't let people accuse me and bring accusations against me and throw things at me and treat me unjustly. No, that's not the kind of witness that I want to have, right? But

but that was part of the way that God was working in Paul's life. It's not the route that we would choose, but it is a route that God might choose for us. And we need to go back to and remember and hold fast to the reality that God is on the throne and that even in the midst of difficulty, well, God has charged us to be witnesses to Jesus, to be a testimony of his love, of his righteousness, of his character and nature.

I like what Warren Wiersbe says about this. He said, God's people sometimes are treated like the guilty, even though they are innocent. And he points out a couple. Remember Joseph, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, not to mention our Lord Jesus Christ. As you look at the godly men and women of the scriptures, you'll see a long history of people who were faithful to God, who were

who were patient in the midst of difficulty, treated unfairly, treated poorly. Joseph, the one that Warren Wiersbe mentions, you know, he was hated by his brothers, thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, then falsely accused and imprisoned for many years under this false accusation. All the while, he's faithful to God. He was a man of integrity, of a man of uprightness, but God was orchestrating that and

allowed that to accomplish his plans, and Joseph became used mightily by God. David, King David, you know, before he was King David, he was little David who was hated by Saul, pursued by Saul, spears thrown at him by Saul, and chased through the wilderness for years. All the while, David, he was a man of integrity. He didn't do anything wrong, but

Even when he had opportunity to retaliate, he refused because he knew that this is in God's hands and I need to let God handle these things. Daniel, the prophet, hated by his peers and they tried to find some way to accuse him. They tried to find some way to put him to death and get rid of him. But

But they couldn't, and so they decided, well, it's only if he's, you know, in regard to his worship of God that we're going to find an accusation. And so they convinced the king to sign a law to make it illegal to pray in

And then as Daniel was faithful to pray, he was thrown into the lion's den. Again, treated unjustly, unfairly, treated as if he was guilty. Jeremiah was hated by the false prophets, the Jews in authority. He was imprisoned and attacked. And then, of course, the example of Jesus, hated by religious leaders and ultimately crucified. This is the history. This is the legacy for men and women of God.

And so I want to encourage you this evening to be a witness for Jesus. And that means that you should expect difficulty and you need to be patient and you need to demonstrate the character and nature of God in the midst of it so that you can be, well, the man and woman that God has called you to be. So how to have a witness like Paul, first of all, be patient in difficulty. Secondly,

Very simply, verses 9 through 12, we see that we need to be innocent. If you want to have a good witness like Paul, if you want to have a ministry like Paul, you need to understand, well, there does need to be that integrity, that character like the apostle Paul had. Looking at verses 9 through 12, here's what it says.

But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things? So Paul said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. For if I am an offender or if I have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying.

But if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, you have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go. Here as we continue to look at this account and understand the struggle that Festus had, he really did have a conflict here.

There was some tough choices he was going to have to make because here's this guy clearly hated passionately, but there was no proof of any wrongdoing. But he's hated so much, if he sets Paul free, well, the Jews are going to hate him. And they're going to be really upset over this. And it would be easy for us to look at it and say, well, who cares, you know? Do the right thing. But let me ask it this way. Who wants to upset all of the people that they have just been charged with early into their reign?

without any reference to current political events, right? Who wants to be in that scenario? It would have been very difficult for him to upset his whole, you know, area that he was now charged with. Brand new. He's only been in the office for a few days.

And now they're going to all be in an uproar against him. And we've talked about that a few times, that Rome did not put up with uproars. They did not treat that kindly. And again, Felix, the guy who was right before him, just a few days earlier, he was in charge. But he upset the Jews. He was called to Rome to give account for it.

And he was a wicked man, so it was appropriate. But it was the Jews who were calling attention to Rome about this situation, and he lost his position. And so Festus now stepping into that scenario, it's not just an easy thing to say, well, there's no, you know...

charges really that stick with Paul. Let's just let him go because that's going to cause some riots. That's going to cause some issues. And he can't afford to have that in these first few days of his reign. But at the same time, Paul is a Roman citizen who has rights as a Roman citizen. And so Paul can't just be delivered over to the Jews. He can't just stand by and let the Jews kill Paul.

Although that's what they want to do. And so he's in this dilemma. And so it tells us in verse 9 that Hephaestus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, he's trying to appease them.

He's trying to not mess too much with Paul's rights. He's trying not to cause too much of a scene. So wanting to do the Jews a favor, he says, you know, hey, Paul, what do you think? Would you be willing to go to Jerusalem and have this? He has to ask permission because Paul has rights as a Roman citizen. So again, he's trying to balance all these things.

As I was thinking about this conflict and the things that Festus was going through, it reminded me of that saying that we have. It's an American saying, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? Or the squeaky wheel gets the oil. And that's what really we see happening here, that these Roman rulers, Festus, Felix, all of these, even Pontius Pilate, they go to great lengths to try to appease the Jews who were very loud. They were the squeaky wheel.

We see this happen in our society as well, that there are people who cry loudly and make a big show. They're not right, but they get the attention. And so often that sets authorities in opposition to God's people. And that's what we see happening here. Festus wants to do what's right, but there's a loud squeaky wheel. And so he's trying to quiet that down. Again, he's a much better man than Felix was. He's trying to do the right thing and trying to balance that.

But Paul answers and says in verse 10, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I have done no wrong as you very well know. And so in the midst of this, Paul stands up and says, look, maybe it's a tough spot for you to be in Festus, but going to Jerusalem would not be helpful. And Paul already, he knew about that previous plan to attack him on the way. And he probably suspected, no, if I go to Jerusalem, they're going to try to kill me on the way.

And so he boldly declares to the Jews, I have done no wrong. And he tells Festus, as you very well know, he's really standing up against the injustice here and saying, I am innocent and you know I'm innocent. And so for me to go to Jerusalem, to send me there would be wrong. In verse 11, Paul goes on to say, look, I'm not a rebel anymore.

He says, if I'm an offender, if I've committed anything deserving of death, I don't object to dying. I don't object to all of this process. I don't object to these things. But if there's nothing in these charges, if I'm innocent, then no one can deliver me to them. That's not right for me to be delivered to them. And so Paul says, I appeal to Caesar. Festus, I don't trust you actually to resolve this because I'm innocent. And so he's now calling out to Caesar.

Caesar to make a decision on this case. I think it's interesting here as you look at this that Paul was not a rebel. He was not opposed to authority. He was not, you know, just advocating anarchy. He was not opposed to government. We see that in his letters as well. And even he did not oppose the death penalty. He says, look, if I deserve it, then that's fine. I don't object to that, but I'm innocent. And so to do anything else would be wrong.

to bring any punishment, to turn me over to them and to go down, it would be wrong. And so now he exercises his right. There was this right that Roman citizens had to protect them. They could appeal to Caesar. But when they were experiencing some type of injustice or some type of thing in court proceedings, they had a right as Roman citizens to say, you know what, I'm gonna let Caesar decide this case.

And they could appeal to Caesar. It's kind of like our appeals process today. You know, if a court decides something and, well, you don't like the results, you can appeal that decision. And if you do that enough, you get to the Supreme Court. And, well, Caesar, the Roman emperor, that was the Supreme Court of the day. And so Paul is just taking it directly to the Supreme Court. Just, we got to deal with it there. Let the Supreme Court decide the case.

And so Festus, it says in verse 12 that he conferred with the council. He talked to his advisors and said, okay, you've appealed to Caesar and to Caesar you shall go. And so he's going to now begin this process of being transferred to Rome and he's going to stand before Caesar and present his case, which of course, as we know this, as we look at it, is an incredible opportunity for Paul to present the gospel to the Roman emperor.

But he was able to have this witness. He was able to have that opportunity to stand before Caesar Nero, who was the Caesar at the time, and share the gospel because it came back to the fact that Paul was innocent. Paul expressed this also in Acts chapter 24 as he was giving his defense before Felix.

He's talking about the resurrection in Acts chapter 24, verse 15 and 16. And he says, look, because there's a resurrection and we're going to stand before God, he says, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. Paul says, I live my life

striving to have a clear conscience so that I don't violate God's law and that I don't violate man's law, but that I try to be faithful, to be a man of integrity, a man who is upright, a man who does not do things that are wrong, the things that are illegal, things that are shady, things that have to be, you know, shameful of or questioned, that, you know, if called to an account, Paul is able to say, I am clear. I am clear.

And you very well know this, Festus. None of these accusations are true. And that is an important aspect for us to have a witness like the Apostle Paul. We need to be innocent. We need to be men and women who do what's right. And we talked about this a little bit last week with Felix. Felix knew what was right. He knew Paul was innocent. All the while, he hoped Paul would bribe him so he could let him go. He knew Paul deserved to be let go. But

But he didn't have the character and the integrity to do what's right, even if it would be costly. Because doing what's right, being innocent, is not going to be an easy thing. Being innocent is not the default thing. You know, if we just kind of go through life without making a hard stand, we're not going to be innocent.

There's always going to be the push and the pressure to do things that are not right. And having a clear conscience before God and men, that's not a natural condition for us. That is a life that's lived on purpose, living out a walk with God, living out a relationship with God. And so being innocent is something that we are called to do. It's a decision we have to make.

And even as Lizette was sharing, it's a decision we have to make every day to be that new creation that we are in Christ, to be ongoing the man or woman of integrity that God has called us to be. And as you combine these two points together, to be patient in difficulty and to be innocent, again, this is a powerful witness, a powerful testimony that is used by God and is blessed by God. Let me remind you of what Peter said in 1 Peter 2, verse 20.

He says, what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good or when you're innocent and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. To sit in prison for two years and experience all these false accusations, of course, you have to know it would be incredibly frustrating, incredibly difficult, but it's commendable before God. And God says, good job, Paul.

God says, you're going to be blessed, Paul. It's going to be worth it. And Paul would later on say in Corinthians, I consider that all the trials and all the afflictions are earning for me a greater weight of eternal glory. That in eternity, it's going to be worth it. It's one thing to suffer when you've done wrong and take it patiently and handle that well. But to suffer when you're doing what's right, when you're innocent, if you do that patiently, God says that's commendable.

The rulers were always doing the Jews favors. Again, not willing to do what's right and suffer for it. Festus, not really willing to do what's right and just let Paul go, even though he's like, okay, well, how about can we negotiate? Can I take you down to Jerusalem? And, you know, maybe we can work it out there. Pontius Pilate, remember, he knew that Jesus was innocent, but he caved into the pressure of the Jews and delivered Jesus to be crucified.

Felix, we saw, we talked about him a couple times. He left Paul in prison as a favor to the Jews, it tells us. Now here, Festus wants to do another favor to the Jews and bring Paul down to Jerusalem. And so you see this pressure. To be innocent is not easy. You're gonna have to stand up to those kinds of pressures and do what's right, even though it's incredibly hard. But that's what God has called us to do, to be men and women of character. It's worth it to suffer for doing the right thing.

It's worth it. Well, moving on to verses 13 through 22, here we have point number three, and that is clearly present the gospel. Verse 13 says, and after some days, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king saying, there was a certain man left a prisoner by Felix.

about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me when I was in Jerusalem asking for a judgment against him. So Festus, still it's early in his office. And so King Agrippa, who is the ruler that was north of Festus. And so, you know, he came down to just kind of congratulate him, get to know him. Hey, we're going to be ruling, you know, nearby areas. And so it's good for us to know each other.

And so here Festus, as he's hanging out with Agrippa, you know, recognizes he's kind of stuck. You know, he's in this brand new reign. He's not sure what to do about the situation. And so he takes advantage of this opportunity to get some input from King Agrippa.

Now Agrippa, he is the great-grandson of Herod the Great. So you might remember Herod the Great from Matthew chapter 2. He's the one who built the temple for the Jews, or beautified it at least. He was the one who was alive at Jesus' birth and then gave the command for the newborn boys in Bethlehem to be executed because he was afraid of that promised king. So he's the great-grandson of that guy. But he was raised in Rome, and

although he's part Jewish, and he's been ruling over the territory north of Israel for some time. And so he had some insight into Jewish culture. In fact, he was the one who had authority to appoint who the next high priest is going to be. That was his authority from Rome because he was familiar with the culture and the community. And so he was involved. And so Festus says, you know, I have some

opportunity here to get some insight from this guy. So he explains the situation about Paul and the trial that took place, the accusations in verse 16. He says, "...to them I answered, it is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face and has the opportunity to answer for concerning the charge against him."

Therefore, when they had come together without any delay the next day, I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed. But they had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Here is Festus explains the situation to Agrippa. You could see that he was surprised by how it unfolded.

First of all, you know, he's like, no, we're not just going to release Paul and, you know, let you do what you want. There needs to be a real trial. And so he describes the trial, but he's looking at Agrippa and he's saying, they didn't bring accusations that I imagined that they brought against him. You know, I heard about this guy and there was all these, you know, things that they said about him and this, you know, he was deserving of death. They were crying out for his execution. And he's like, no, we're not just going to release Paul and let you do what you want.

And so you can imagine Festus, as he begins the trial, he's expecting some hideous crimes to be described. But he kind of summarizes all their arguments. He says they had questions about their own religion, about a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. And here Festus is expressing, this seems to be much more trivial than what I was expecting, some crime of the century.

But it was this trivial little thing about their own religion, their own doctrines. I don't even understand why this is a trial, why this is a case. And he's perplexed by this. But what I'd call your attention to here in these couple verses is look at his presentation of the gospel. Here's a guy who doesn't know anything about their culture. He doesn't know anything. This is his first introduction to Judaism, to Christianity, to

And he's able to clearly pass on the message of Paul to Agrippa. A certain Jesus who had died and Paul affirmed him to be alive. A certain Jesus, a very specific man named Jesus who had died.

who has risen again. And Paul says, I've seen him and I know him. And here you see clearly Paul has brought forth the gospel message. Festus has heard the gospel so much so that, I mean, it's rudimentary. I mean, it's not like super elaborate, but he's able to communicate that this is what it's about. There's this guy named Jesus. He died, but he rose again from the dead. And Paul says he's seen him.

That is the gospel message. That certain Jesus, the son of God, who became man, who died upon the cross and rose again, proving and authenticating all of his claims to be God and to be the savior of the world. It's pretty cool. He's able to communicate that because Paul's message was clear. He clearly presented the gospel to him. Verse 20, he says, "'And because I was uncertain of such questions, "'I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem "'and there be judged concerning these matters.'

But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Festus, I also would like to hear the man myself. Tomorrow, he said, you shall hear him. So as he continues to express his perplexity to Agrippa, he tells him what happened. And Agrippa said, you know, I'd like to hear him. And so...

That's setting the stage. Next week, we'll go into chapter 26 and we'll see Paul stand before them. We'll see the assembly happen in the next few verses. But Paul's going to have an opportunity again and he's going to clearly express his testimony and the gospel message to King Agrippa and all those who have gathered. But again, I see here in this account that Paul has clearly presented the gospel.

So much so that a pagan king who doesn't know anything, it's his first time, he's able to turn around and communicate three essential parts, three essential elements of the gospel message to Agrippa as he's trying to figure out what to do with the situation. And I think it would be good for us to consider that and to understand, you know, to think about how would people in your life

summarize your message? You know, if they could narrow down three things that you're about, you know, three things that are the most important, you know, number one, he was a Star Wars fan, you know, number two, you know, whatever. What would be the important things? And for Paul, the gospel always came first. The gospel is always the most important thing.

In fact, in Philippians, this is for when he's in prison later in Rome, he writes the letter of Philippians and he writes to the Philippians and he says, look, I want you to know that the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. I'm imprisoned in Rome, but the gospel has benefited. The gospel has grown in

He says in verse 13 of Philippians 1, so that has become evident to the whole palace garden, to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.

That I would suggest all of those guards that were charged to keeping an eye on Paul, they were able to present the gospel also. Yeah, there was a certain Jesus who died and Paul affirmed to be alive and that's why he's here in prison. That's why I have to guard him. And that's what they tell their friends and that's what they tell their families when they go home at night. That the gospel message was clearly declared through, well, Paul's patience in the difficulty. Yeah.

Again, it was part of the power of his testimony of his witness and of the work that God did in his life. And so we see these are important things to have a witness like Paul, to be patient in difficulty, to be innocent, and then to clearly present the gospel. Well, finishing it up in verses 23 through 27, here we have the fourth point in how to witness like Paul, and that is to repeat the gospel often. In fact, you could just go back to points one, two, and three.

It's kind of like, you know, washing your hair, you know, like lather, rinse, repeat. You know, that's what you do. It's you be patient in difficulty, be innocent of charges and continue to clearly present the gospel message. Verse 23. So the next day when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city at Festus' command, Paul was brought in.

And Festus said, King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he is not fit to live any longer. But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. I have nothing certain to write my Lord concerning him.

And we could all say, yeah, that does seem unreasonable, right? To

To kind of just relate to Festus a little bit, I mean, he is in quite the predicament. There is this tense situation. He is, you know, the new ruler, and now he's going to have this guy going to Rome, and Caesar, I'm sorry, I don't know why we're sending him to you. We just couldn't, I couldn't figure it out. You know, I couldn't figure out how to resolve the case, and how embarrassing that would be, and how unreasonable that was.

And so he gathers together this group. So he brings in Agrippa and Bernice, Agrippa's wife, which is actually Festus' sister as well. I'm sorry. No, Agrippa and Bernice were brother and sister. Anyways, so they come with great pomp, it says. Now, when it says that they come with great pomp,

Just imagine all the ceremony that you can imagine. You know, formal attire, trumpets. It was the Academy Awards at Caesarea. I mean, it was red carpet. All the, you know, celebrities were there. It says all the prominent men of the city. And so, you know, there's just this huge to-do, this huge ceremony. And they're all called. And so the city is, the auditorium is going to be filled with all the important people of the city, all the popular people, all the famous people of the city. And they're all going to be there.

And it's pretty cool. Paul now in the next chapter is going to have this opportunity to just share clearly the gospel message to all of these people. But before he gives Paul an opportunity to share, he explains the situation.

you know, we've got to figure out what to say. I need something to write. And so maybe you guys can hear his testimony and then tell me what to write. And especially before you, he says to Agrippa, because, you know, you understand these things and you know the differences between Pharisees and Sadducees and all this stuff. And I don't get it, but maybe you can help me. Notice in verse 24 that Festus here explains also the Jews continue to call for an execution, but he clearly says in verse 25,

He's committed nothing worthy of death. So it doesn't measure up. What they're calling for, there's nothing that merits that. I found Paul innocent is what he's saying. So what do I write as I send him to Rome? Now, again, I would ask us to consider how easy would it have been for Paul to blow his witness here?

as he's called in before this now assembly. I mean, how easy it would be for him to just lose it and just start throwing things and just start spewing stuff. And man, once again, having to give an account when I'm innocent. But we recognize as we look at these things that this is the fulfillment of God's plan. It may not be the method that Paul had in mind when he heard about God's plan, but

But this is the fulfillment of it. In Acts chapter 9, when Paul is converted and God gives Ananias the message to go to Paul, he says, go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Here he is before King Agrippa. He's standing before kings in fulfillment of God's promise, in fulfillment of what God said would happen. Again, maybe not the way that Paul envisioned it happening.

But even through the difficulty, even through the trials, even through the accusations, even through the persecution, it was part of God's work that Paul would be a witness to Jesus. In Acts chapter 26, we'll see it next time in verse 22, Paul, as he is testifying on his own behalf, he does, he goes right into the gospel and he says, to this day,

I stand witnessing both to small and great. And here's where I bring back to the point, repeat the gospel often. Here he has another occasion. Here in chapter 26, we'll go there next. This is his fifth time giving the gospel just from this one series of trials and things that happened that began there in the Temple Mount as the Jews tried to kill him.

And over and over, repeatedly, every opportunity, whether he's standing before great or small, he's presenting the gospel. And notice he says, having obtained help from God, filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered by God, he's being faithful to repeat the gospel, to share the gospel over and over again, no matter how much injustice is done to him, no matter how much time he's had to wait in prison, no matter how much he's gone through, being faithful to put the gospel first.

to honor the Lord, being patient in difficulty, being innocent, and presenting the gospel repeatedly as he's given opportunity. Warren Wiersbe says, being a prisoner and enduring the hearings were difficult for Paul, but he used his opportunities wisely. And that's what I want to encourage us to do as well, to have a ministry like the Apostle Paul, to be a witness like Paul,

And there's going to be some difficulties, but to use those wisely, to put the gospel first, to put the representation of God first, so that we are patient in difficulty, that we are innocent of charges before God and man, and clearly presenting the gospel as we have opportunity.

We're going to finish up our service this evening with some worship. And so Noah's going to come up and lead us in worship. And as he does, I would just encourage you to be seeking the Lord on those opportunities that he's given to you and asking him for help. Just like Paul said, with his help, he's able...

before small and great to be able to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what he's called us to do. And so we can call out to him for help. And as we always do on Wednesday nights, we want to give you the opportunity also to minister to one another. And so during this song, if you'd like to call out to the Lord for help together, if you'd like to encourage someone in their relationship with God or pray for one another for needs that are going on, we want to give you that opportunity as we worship the Lord to minister to one another, to encourage one another.

to share with one another the things that God's put upon your heart. So let's worship the Lord and ask for His help in witnessing and being His representatives to the world around us. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.