ACTS 26 TRUE AND REASONABLE TESTIMONY2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 26 True And Reasonable Testimony

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. Well, this evening we're going to be looking at Acts chapter 26, continuing along the saga with the Apostle Paul and his imprisonment.

where Rome intervened in the mob that was trying to kill him on the Temple Mount and took him into custody to protect him and keep him safe while investigating the situation and finding out why the Jews were so upset at Paul that they wanted him dead. And now he's ended up here in chapter 26 saying,

before this hearing, before Festus, who is the governor, a neighboring ruler named King Agrippa, and he is standing before them to give an account of his testimony and what he has seen and heard and has done so that they have something to write because he has appealed to Caesar and

Things were not getting worked out in the previous trials. This is like the third, fourth, fifth time around for Paul in this incident. And so things were not getting worked out. And the Jews, you know, kept demanding certain things that, you know, Paul be transported. And it would be a very dangerous thing for him to agree to. And so he appeals to Caesar that Augustus Caesar, the emperor of Rome, is going to decide his case. And that's his right as a Roman citizen. But

The problem is Festus, the governor, has nothing, no charges to say against him. So he has to send him to Rome. He's obligated to send him to Rome because he's appealed to Caesar, but he has nothing to write. There's no crimes that have been committed and nothing has been charged. And so Festus puts together this hearing that we're about to look at this evening to try to determine what am I going to write about?

to, you know, the Roman emperor about this case and about why I'm sending this guy to him. And so he has Agrippa there, and Agrippa was known as an expert on Jewish customs. And so Festus is hoping, Agrippa, you know, you can hear this, and then you can help me figure out something to write as we send Paul to Rome. And so let's pick it up in Acts chapter 26 and look at verses 1 through 8 together, and then we'll dig into what the Lord has for us this evening.

Verse 1 says,

which have to do with the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers."

As we jump into Acts chapter 26 here, we are looking at Paul's testimony at this hearing. He is giving an account of what has brought him here and why he is standing before God.

before them. And last week we saw, as we finished up chapter 25, that there was this big to-do, that Festus the governor, King Agrippa, all the prominent men of the city, it says they came with great pomp. And so it's like I described it as the academy words, you know, of Caesarea. There was, you know, the red carpet was out and everybody was, you know,

dressed up all, you know, ridiculously. And there was all the photographers and, you know what I mean? There was just all the trumpeters and all of that was going on. And so now they're in this theater and standing before them, Paul is giving his testimony. Now, it's interesting because I ended up having jury duty this week.

And this is the fourth time I've been on a case, and I don't know why they keep picking me. And I try to get out of it, but they just want me on the jury for some reason. So I'm on this trial, and I can't talk about it because it's not over yet. But during this process, during the trial process, the main thing that's going on throughout the whole trial is, well, it's referred to as testimony. Okay?

And I think it's interesting that, you know, the Lord has us here looking at Paul's testimony. I've been listening to this testimony all day. And then I...

get off from jury duty to get ready for tonight and I'm reading testimony. And then to begin the service, we're having Brent share his testimony. And it is related, even though you might kind of have a disconnect, you know, that, well, that's like the courtroom testimony. And then, you know, that's a different kind of testimony, but really it's not. A testimony is that eyewitness account of

that you are sharing what has happened to you or what you saw or what you observed. And this is what Paul is sharing here in this hearing. Very boldly, he's sharing very clearly his experience with God and the gospel message and presenting the gospel through his own experience and encounter with the Lord. And so I've titled the message tonight, True and Reasonable Testimony.

And it comes from verse 25, where Festus, the governor, shouts out, kind of interrupts Paul that you've gone crazy. All of your studying and learning has driven you crazy. And Paul responds in verse 25 and says, I'm not mad, most noble Festus, but speak words of truth and reason.

And as we talk about the testimony, as we talk about, and as you would consider your testimony and your encounters with the Lord, you need to understand that, well, the words that we share and the words that we have to give and our experiences with the Lord are valid. They're true and reasonable things to share and reasons for people to believe in Jesus and to turn to the Lord themselves. Hey,

And so what we have before us this evening is Paul's testimony, which is true and reasonable. It is the truth. It is reasonable to believe in Jesus. And Paul is expressing from his own experience why that is the case. And so we're going to walk through four points here in Paul's testimony, looking at how it is true and reasonable.

The first point is found in the verses we just read, and that is verses 1 through 8. And point number one is God promises his people resurrection. Here in this first few verses, Paul really gives a brief kind of summary introduction, just like a little overview into his testimony, into this case, as he begins to share these things with the group that is gathered there.

In verse 1, it tells us Agrippa, that's the king, he says to Paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself. So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself. And I would ask you to pay attention here in verse 1. Notice who Paul is permitted to speak for. And then notice who Paul answered for. He was permitted to speak for himself. And he answered for himself.

This again, it's the very definition of testimony. It is speaking for yourself. This is what I have experienced. This is what I have seen. And in fact, throughout the trial this week, I've got to witness that myself, that anytime there is any kind of things coming from a witness that are not directly things they experienced, there's an objection. Objection, hearsay, your honor.

If I, you know, am testifying and I say, well, Harvey told me that so-and-so, there would be an objection. Objection, Your Honor, hearsay. That you didn't hear that yourself. You didn't see that yourself. You can't testify of that. To testify that somebody told you or that you heard, that's called hearsay.

Paul here is given permission to speak for himself. And he doesn't say what happened to James. He doesn't say what happened to Peter. He doesn't say what happened to John. He doesn't say he speaks his own experience. And as we consider this whole concept of a testimony, I want to encourage you to consider that that is what we're talking about. It's your own experience. It's your own experience.

And we all need to have our own encounter and our own experience with the Lord. Brent was sharing in his testimony how he ran into this girl and it was like as if she knew the Lord personally. Like she had this, she spoke about him differently than others.

than how he knew God. And that's that personal testimony. And so we see this demonstrated here by the Apostle Paul. He had an encounter with the Lord. And again, this is why I want to just continue to encourage us to be thinking about and be ready to share

Our testimony, which may be our initial conversion experience, that's a testimony, but we have encounters with the Lord throughout our week, throughout our months, throughout our days, throughout our walk with God. And we're not necessarily charged with telling people what other people experience, but we are charged with sharing how God has worked in our life. You are permitted to speak for yourself. You're not responsible to speak for other people.

But you're permitted. You're allowed. You're encouraged. You're commissioned to speak for yourself. Well, as Paul begins this testimony, he addresses King Agrippa and he says, you know, I'm happy to appear before you today because, well, he says, you're an expert in verse three. He says, especially because you're an expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently.

King Agrippa was known as an expert in Judaism. In fact, he actually practiced Judaism. Although nationally, he was from Edom, but he converted to Judaism. He practiced Judaism, and he was respected and known by the rabbis as an expert in the scriptures, as an expert in the things related to Judaism.

And so Paul is addressing and he says, hey, I'm happy to talk to you, Agrippa, because I know you know the scriptures and you know these things of which I'm going to be sharing with you. He starts in the beginning in verse four. He says, from my manner of life, from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first if they were willing to testify that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.

And so Paul goes back to his younger years, talks about how he was raised within the nation of Israel. He was trained up in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. He testifies to that in a different place here in the book of Acts. But here what he's kind of emphasizing is that all the Jews know me because I grew up here. I grew up in the same neighborhood as them. And we were around each other. And he says, all the Jews know this in verse 4.

In verse 5, he says, they knew me from the first. And if they were willing to testify, they're just not willing to testify. They're not willing to take the stand and admit that they knew me and that they knew that I lived as a Pharisee. They're not willing to admit that, but they know me. They knew how I lived. They knew how I was. And the result now, even though they're not willing to testify against me, the result in verse 6, he says, I stand...

And here Paul is alluding to the promise of resurrection. He says in verse 7, this is the promise that all the 12 tribes, the whole nation of Israel, earnestly serves God night and day, hoping to attain salvation.

That everlasting life, that walk with God. Remember the one who came to Jesus and said, you know, hey, what good thing can I do to inherit the kingdom of God? I'm striving to attain that promise. I know it's a promise. I know it's there. Eternal life has been promised by God, but they're striving to attain it, hoping to attain it. And Paul said, I'm standing before you today, and really it's for nothing other than that same hope that everybody else

is seeking to attain as well that hope of eternity, that hope of everlasting life. He's alluding to that promise of resurrection and the testimony, the statement that Jesus resurrected from the dead. And so in verse 8, he says, why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Why is it such a big deal? Why is this, you know, such a big issue, this concept of resurrection, when all of the nation Israel hopes in the resurrection? That's what Paul is saying. Well, why would you think it's incredible that God raises the dead? Now, I think if you and I were involved in a situation where someone who was dead was resurrected,

Incredible would be an appropriate word to use, right? We'd be, wow, that was incredible, right? It's incredible for us. But when you think about God, he says, why should it be thought incredible that God raises the dead? The reality is it's not really incredible for God to raise the dead.

He doesn't have to work hard at it. He doesn't have to work harder at raising the dead than he does at healing a headache or, you know, letting the sun rise tomorrow. It's not like it's effort. It's not like it's incredible for God to do that. It's not difficult for God to do that. So why should it be thought incredible that God raises the dead? We all have this hope, Paul says, that

So why is it such a big deal that I declare that Jesus has resurrected from the dead? Because that's the promise we're hoping for, and that's what we're striving towards. And so as you think about true and reasonable testimony,

Things that you can share personally and from your own experience. Here's one aspect where we start from. Here's one aspect that we, at the get-go, and what we're working towards and where we're coming from is this whole promise of resurrection, of everlasting life. That's the core of the gospel.

Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 spends a great deal of time talking about the resurrection and he says, look, if the dead are not raised, we're of all people most pitiable. If there's no resurrection, there's no point in living the Christian life. There's no point in trying to live a moral life, trying to live a good life, trying to walk with God. There's no point if there is no resurrection, but there is a resurrection.

And as we looked at last week, there is an accounting that will stand before God. And so because of that, well, there is the need for us to seek after God, to pursue God, and to walk with God. And you and I, well, we should have something to say for ourselves regarding this resurrection. There needs to be some type of testimony that you can share today

where you have encountered the promises of resurrection, where you have contemplated life after death, where you have considered everlasting life and this promise of resurrection. And this is an essential part of the gospel message.

Well, moving on in verses 9 through 16, here we have point number two, and that is that God reveals himself to people. And so as you think about a true and reasonable testimony, again, I want to encourage you to be thinking about your own experiences and what could you testify about God's promise of resurrection, how you've encountered that, how you've interacted with God over that, and how that has ministered to you. But now looking at point number two, that God reveals himself to his people, again, I would be encouraging you to consider that.

What encounter have you had with the Lord? What kind of revelation have you experienced with God? Because what Paul is going to describe now is his own experience where the Lord revealed himself to Paul. In verse 9, he starts kind of with the dark backdrop. He says in verse 9, Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

This I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. And we've talked about this

testimony, this account of Paul's life as we've gone through the book of Acts. This is the third time that this aspect of his testimony is being declared and told by the apostle Paul that he lived a life of just absolute destruction against the church.

And he made it his life's mission to destroy Christians, to put them to death, to compel them to blaspheme the name of Jesus. He describes himself as being exceedingly enraged against them. He's pointing out that he had authority from the high priest. So again, they knew me. They know my story. They know that I was involved in all these things.

But he's talking about the backdrop. This is how I was. This is the condition I was in. This is the state I was in. In doing so, Paul is somewhat really expressing, I understand where you're coming from. Agrippa, fascists, those who are not Christians, even the Jews who have been so upset with me that it's brought us to this point. I understand where they're coming from.

Because I wasn't always where I am today. I wasn't always where I am with the Lord. I didn't always understand what I understand today. But I came from that background. And I thought I was doing the right thing in all of this. But then he had an encounter with the Lord. Verse 12. While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me with those who journeyed with me.

And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. So I said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet.

For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and the things which I will yet reveal to you. And so here Paul describes this encounter with the Lord. He's on a mission. He's persecuting Christians. He's putting them to death. He's enraged against them. And while he's headed to Damascus with authority to do the same things in Damascus, there was this bright light.

It's shown around him. It's shown around all his companions. They all fell to the ground and God spoke to Saul. Saul is the Hebrew form of the Greek Paul. So Saul, Paul, that's his same name. But God speaking to him in Hebrew says, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? All this fighting that you've been doing and the persecuting of Christians, it's a fight against me.

There's this conviction that's happening within Paul. There's this turmoil within as the Holy Spirit is working in his life and he is fighting against that and it's manifesting itself. This fight that's going on within is manifesting itself in this outward persecution of the followers of Christ. And so Jesus introduces himself and says, hi, Paul, I'm Jesus whom you're persecuting. And he has an encounter with the Lord.

God reveals himself to Paul. This is what God does. You know, God is incredible. He is incredibly huge. Again, why do you think it's incredible that God raises the dead? It's not really an incredible thing for God to raise the dead because God is all-powerful, the creator of the heavens and the earth, and yet God is all-powerful.

The most incredible thing about God is not how powerful he is. The most incredible thing about God is that he reveals himself to people, that he even cares about who you are or what you're going through or to have a plan for your life or to want to work or to want to talk or to want you to know him. That's what's really incredible. When you consider how big God is and how little we are, that's the most incredible thing there is. But this is the reality.

God loves people. He loves you. He loves the people around you. And he loves us so much that he is actively at work and involved in revealing himself to people. Now, not everybody has this kind of, you know, experience with a bright light and a voice from heaven that Paul experienced in God's revelation to people. But in different ways, God speaks to us.

He reveals himself to us. Sometimes he puts a verse in your mind and then has it on the radio later on and reminds you, hey, I'm revealing myself to you. One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Samuel 3, verse 21, where it talks about there in the early days of Samuel that the Lord revealed himself by the word of the Lord. And it is amazing how God's word is, well, it's powerful and it's useful by God to

in revealing himself to those who spend time in his word. And again, as we talk about a true and reasonable testimony, I would be encouraging you to consider the revelation of God that you've experienced. And if you haven't experienced, well, then, you know, there's work to do. You need to spend some time with God and seeking God. And yet I know also many times we just kind of move on and we forget that

And it's appropriate for us to stop and reflect and remember, hey, not everybody is, you know, where we are today. And we weren't always where we are today. And so I appreciate that Paul continues to go back and remember, hey, this is where I was. This is where I came from. But this is how God intervened. And this is how God revealed himself to me. In verse 16, as Jesus is having this encounter with Paul, he says, rise and stand to your feet.

For I have appeared to you for this purpose. And so notice this. There's a revelation of Jesus to Paul, but it's not just random. It's not just for no reason. It's not just, you know, for the introductions. It's for a purpose. What's the purpose? He tells us in verse 16. I've appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness. Isn't that interesting? Here's why God reveals himself to us.

to make us ministers and witnesses. Again, what does a witness do? Well, they share their testimony. They share their own account. This is my encounter with God. He says in verse 16, you're to be a witness of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. Paul, your job for the rest of your life is to be a witness of my revelation to you. The things that you've already seen right now. You've had an encounter with me right now, Paul.

So be a witness of these things. Tell people about this encounter with me. But Paul, this is not going to be the last time I reveal myself to you. This is not going to be our last encounter. I'm going to continue to reveal more to you. And your job is to be a minister and a witness of those things that I will yet reveal to you.

And as we think about, you know, the Great Commission, as we think about our testimony and the sharing of testimony on Wednesdays that we're doing, it's for our benefit, and we benefit from hearing the story of things that God has done in Brent's life and other people's lives as they're sharing. But it's also to keep us in this mindset and to remind us that this is our job. This is what God has set before us, and he's called us to be

God's witnesses to Jesus. That we would be able to share from our own experience that God promises his people resurrection. And that we would be able to share from experience God reveals himself. And I would ask you to be considering, again, as we continue on Wednesday nights to give people opportunity to share a testimony, how has God revealed himself to you? That's what this is about. What encounters have you had with God? Where God has broke through and you can share about, well, this is how I was.

This is this encounter, and this is how it changed my life, and now I'm a witness to this revelation of God and from God. That's what a testimony is. And again, God hasn't charged us with sharing other people's testimonies. He's called us to testify for ourselves. You have permission to speak for yourself. And there's power in that. So much power that, well, it is the primary substance of the court of law, that testimony

It's based on the testimony of people. This is what I saw. This is what I experienced. And that's what I testify to you. And that's what God has called us to do, to have interaction with God for the purpose of, it's not the only purpose, but one of the purposes is that then we would testify of that and be a witness to those facts, to those truths, to the world around us.

Well, moving on to verses 17 through 21, we continue with Paul's testimony here. And here we see the point is God commissions people for service. Not only does he reveal himself, but then he enlists us to serve, to be a witness. In verse 17, Jesus still speaking here says, I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you.

to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

As Paul explains why he is standing before them,

He works into his testimony this accounting of his experience with God, how the Lord met him on the road and revealed himself to him. And part of that encounter was a commissioning that Paul experienced. In verse 17, Jesus tells Paul, I'm going to deliver you from the Jewish people and

And I'm going to deliver you from the Gentiles. So I'm going to offer some protection for you, Paul. You're going to have a dangerous life, dangerous ministry, but I'm going to deliver you. But notice at the end of the verse, he says, to whom I now send you. So I'm going to protect you, Paul. By the way, I'm sending you to the Gentiles. Now we've talked about this before. It's like an unlikely commissioning, right? Paul was the perfect candidate for ministering to the Jews because he knew the Jews, right?

He was raised in their culture. He was raised in their heritage. He was a Pharisee of the strictest kind. And he knew all of those things, but God had a different type of service for him. And he sends him not to Jews, but to the Gentiles. And his primary ministry is to the Gentiles for the rest of his life and his ministry. Notice in this commissioning, God describes what that entails.

Here's your job in verse 18. He says to open their eyes. Paul, I'm sending you to the Gentiles and here's your objective. Help them to see. I think this is really important when you think about the opportunity to share and specifically sharing our testimony that the objective is to help people to see. The objective isn't necessarily to make people feel bad.

The objective certainly isn't to make people feel stupid. The objective is not to beat people up or to confuse people or to impress people. The objective is to open their eyes. And again, that's the power of a testimony.

is it's not pushing truth on someone directly necessarily, but it's the testifying of this is my experience. This is my encounter. This is what has happened in my life. I know this to be true from my own experience that God has promised resurrection and he reveals himself to me and he's called me to serve him. He calls us to open their eyes.

And the Lord tells him what that results in. What is the opening of their eyes result in? In verse 18, he says, in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. And so here you have pictured, there's people caught in the enemy's grip. But your job, Paul, and our job as his people is to help people open their eyes that they would be set free from the power of Satan.

and to experience the power of God. That they would be called out of darkness into the glorious light, just like you were called out of darkness and into the glorious light, as Peter says. That there would be this transformation, this releasing, this freedom that is brought from the opening of their eyes. But he also says in verse 18 that they may receive forgiveness of sins.

So another result of the opening of their eyes as they recognize who Jesus is and the reality of his resurrection and life, not only does it deliver them from the power of the enemy, but it enables them to receive the forgiveness of sins because as they believe in Jesus, well, the scriptures tell us, whoever believes will be forgiven and washed and cleansed. That when we believe in Jesus, we're

Well, because he received the penalty for our sin, we get to have and receive the righteousness of Christ. But that's not all. To open their eyes is to deliver them from the power of Satan and that they might receive the forgiveness of sins, but also that they might receive, in verse 18, the inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. The inheritance. Again, the promise of

of eternity and resurrection and eternal life that God offers. And so to help people experience deliverance, forgiveness, and the inheritance that God has for them, well, he commissioned Paul that their eyes would be opened by his testimony, by him being a witness of what he has seen and what the Lord would yet reveal to him. Again, it's the same commissioning that you and I have. God commissions people for service.

He entrusts us with the same ministry. Now, it's not our responsibility to pry people's eyes open when they, you know, want to force them shut, but to help them to open their eyes is our responsibility. And God has equipped us to do that with the testimony, with our own experiences, with our own encounters with God, with our own relationship with God. God equips us to open their eyes and

that they would be delivered, that they would be forgiven, and that they would have the promise of everlasting life. And so Paul tells Agrippa in verse 19, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. What would you have me do? Would you have me disobey what God directly told me to do? I couldn't do that. I didn't do that, King Agrippa. And so I've been faithful.

He says in verse 20, I declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea and then to the Gentiles that they should repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance. I think this is interesting to consider. How do you accomplish the opening of eyes? Paul says, here's what I did. I declared they should repent, they should turn to God and they should do works befitting repentance.

This testimony of Paul was coupled with a call to repentance, a call to turn to God, a call to live a transformed life, to do works befitting repentance. So not just, you know, have an emotional experience, not just say a prayer, but to have a changed life. And so the idea is Paul was commissioned to be a witness, to open people's eyes, and to call people to join him.

In this new and transformed life that's offered by Jesus Christ. It's the commission that Paul received. It's the commission we all receive. Well, finishing it up in verses 22 through 32, we have point number four, and that is God helps people testify. This is the good news because we all get freaked out about testimonies, except for Brent. He wasn't nervous at all. He was just cool and collected. No sweat, right? We all get freaked out.

Even, you know, when you're going through the jury process and you're standing before the judge and the microphone gets handed to you and, you know, you explain why you should be excused from jury service. Man, people were, you could hear the microphone go, you know, it just, it was, it's freaky. And you're not even the one on trial, you know, you're just the juror, you know, but it's freaky. And we get freaked out in sharing our testimony. But the good news is that, listen, God helps you testify. Right?

He helps you not only in providing you the strength and the resources and the revelation and all of that, but also something you need to know is even after you've done the testifying and you think, man, I just really just fell short. I didn't, you know, share it well. I wasn't coherent. I wasn't complete. And, you know, what's amazing is that God takes all of our fumbled efforts and he fills in the gaps and he does the work, but he doesn't.

And involving our testimony gives us the opportunity to participate in that. Check out verse 22 and verse 23. It says,

I don't know about you, but you know, I look at the Apostle Paul and it's easy for me in my head to think he doesn't need help. But Paul says, having obtained help from God to this day, I stand, what is he doing? Witnessing both the small and great. What is he witnessing? The things that God has revealed to him, that encounter with the Lord and the things that God revealed to him later. Paul says, I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful.

God has helped me and he's brought me to this point. And notice what he says. He says, I stand witnessing both to small and great saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come. And so you hear, you see that the intertwining of, well, the testimony, the revelation, the personal accounting of an experience with God. And it's nothing different than what the Bible has already declared. Right?

Now, there's an issue when your personal experience is contrary to what the Bible says. That's a whole separate thing. But Paul is saying, look, my testimony and everything I'm sharing with you, everything I share everywhere I go, it's exactly what the Word of God says. I'm not telling you something radically different than what is revealed already in the Word of God. It's, well, it's kind of like with two or three witnesses, a word is established.

You have my testimony, my experience, and you have the word of God and they line up and it provides this credibility to the testimony that this is what the word of God says and this is what I've experienced in this life. Paul has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised to his followers and said, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you'll be empowered to testify of me.

You'll be empowered to be a witness, to give true and reasonable testimony of the promise of resurrection, the revelation you've experienced with God and the commission from God that you've experienced in him calling you to share. And in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you receive the help to testify, to be a witness in the way that God has called you to. Well, Paul gets interrupted in his message at this point. In verse 24, it says, now, as he thus made his defense,

Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself. Much learning is driving you mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king before whom I also speak freely knows these things. For I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. It's very clear from this chapter that

Paul had a direct line on King Agrippa. I mean, this testimony was tailored for King Agrippa. He keeps addressing King Agrippa by name, you know, referring to him, and he's going to call him to respond in just a moment. But Festus, who doesn't know anything about the Jews, he was newly appointed to the region. We talked about that last week.

He's just like, you're crazy. Like, this is all nonsense. What are you talking about? Why are you believing these things? But notice that Paul says, I speak the words of truth and reason. Again, the Christian faith is, well, first of all, it's a true faith. It's the only true faith. But it's a reasonable faith.

This is not just crazy blind faith that just, well, don't ask for any proof. Don't ask for any evidence. Don't ask, you know, just believe what I tell you. No, it's exactly the opposite of that. Experience for yourself the revelation of God. It's reasonable. You have the opportunity to have an encounter with God, to have a walk with God, to have a relationship with God. It's not

madness. It's reason to believe in Jesus Christ and to walk with him. In verse 27, Paul addresses King Agrippa and he says, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe. And then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. Paul, again, he has this direct line on King Agrippa and he says, do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? It's a call to action. It's a call to

to confess Jesus Christ and to believe in Jesus Christ. This is a boldness that Paul had by the help of God. Going back to verse 24, having obtained help from God, this day I stand witnessing. And King Agrippa, I have this boldness empowered by the Holy Spirit. Do you believe the prophets? Notice he doesn't even say yet, like, do you believe in Jesus? But King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? Because everything I've been sharing, it lines up with the prophets. And

And Paul's like working his case, you know, to be able to bring Agrippa to the point of confessing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He's working towards that. He says, I know that you do believe. Now Agrippa responds and says, well, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. That's pretty persuasive, Paul. I mean, you've got some pretty reasonable arguments, pretty good evidence. One of the most frustrating things about Paul

A testimony about being a witness is that it's not always received the way that we would want or the way we would hope. And even with the clearest, most accurate, most reasonable evidence, there's still that choice. And we see here Agrippa, it's like, you know, I understand what you're saying, Paul. I get it. I'm just not ready yet.

to accept it. And there's all kinds of speculation about King Agrippa and his lifestyle and his relationship with his sister and all of that. Perhaps, you know, were things that prohibited him and we don't know exactly, but

He knew the truth. You know, we saw that. I forget the name of the guy. Maybe was it Felix? The guy before Festus who was trying Paul. And he would call for Paul regularly. But, you know, he'd get convicted and say, okay, go away, go away. I'll get you and talk to you later on. But he was hoping that Paul would pay him off and, you know, that he could let him go free. That he knew the truth, but he's just not willing. There's that element of choice that God provides every one of us.

And in order to experience a true and reasonable testimony for ourselves, we have to make the choice to choose God, to pursue God. Paul responds to Agrippa and says, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains. And so Paul says, you're almost there. Well, that's good. But you know what I really want? Not only you, Agrippa, but everybody here.

Not just that you would almost be a Christian, but that you would all together be as I am, except for these chains. In verse 30, it says, when he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them. And when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, this man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains. Then Agrippa said to Festus, this man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.

And so they conclude the trial. They include the hearing. There is no reason to send him to Caesar. They haven't found anything or uncovered anything. He actually should have been set free, King Agrippa says, but he appealed to Caesar. He exercised his right as a Roman citizen, so we have to send him, even though there is nothing to say. Paul here shares a true and reasonable testimony.

Again, setting an example for us. And I want to finish up just looking at verse 29 once again. It says, and Paul said, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains. Two things I want to just wrap this up with. First of all, this is what God has called us to do, to be like Paul.

And if he were able to speak to us today, he would say these same words. I would to God that all of you living water who hear me today would not just almost be like me, but all together be like me. That we would follow this example and have a true and reasonable testimony. That we'd be able to express ourselves.

And declare from our own experience, God promises his people resurrection. And he reveals himself to me. And he commissions me to serve him. And he helps me to testify. That we would be able to share these things just like Paul. That's what Paul would share with us this evening. It's what we need. It's the direction that God wants us to go.

But also I want to ask you to consider it in this way, that we would then be able to take these words and turn it around and share it with the world around us. That we'd be able to share in the workplace, that we'd be able to share within our family, that we'd be able to share in our neighborhood and with our friends, and that I would to God, not only you, but also all who hear me, would become not just almost like me, but all together such as I am, except for these chains. And that's

It speaks to that desire, you know, for others to know the Lord and to be delivered from the power of Satan and receive forgiveness and have the inheritance. But also it speaks about the call for us to live a life that is the example for others to follow. And that's what I want to leave you with this evening. Can you look to the world around you and say, you know what? My desire is for you guys to live like me.

except for the chains, you know, you might be in chains or you might have, you know, some difficult situations. I'm not wishing my pain upon you, but my desire is that you would have the character that I have, that you would have the relationship with God that I have, that you would have the walk with God that I have, that you would have the encounters with God that I have, that that is what God has called us to do. Again, it goes back to this testimony.

that you would have what I have. It goes back to us having a real relationship with God, an encounter with God, and then sharing that and being a witness to that to the world around us in such a way that we're able to say, I wish, I wish that you lived your life the way I live my life. I wish that you knew God the way that I knew God.

And that would be hard for some of us to share. And at different seasons in our life, that would be hard to share, right? Because, well, maybe you don't know God very well. Maybe you're not doing what's right. Maybe you're not, you know, there is that responsibility that we have then to live lives that are examples, that represent Christ well, to live lives, well, as a living testimony, to be able to turn around to the people around us and say, I would to God,

that you would not just be almost, but all together, completely and totally, just as I am. Let's pray. God, I pray for each one of us, Lord, as we consider this great, bold statement of the Apostle Paul, as he often shared, that we are to follow him as he follows you. Lord, I pray that you would help us to follow his example. Lord, to have a walk with you and real relationship with you, to pursue you and seek you, to know you and

God, I thank you that you're so faithful to reveal yourself to us. I pray, God, that you would be faithful just as you promised you would to help us express that relationship with God and those encounters that we have with you to the people around us. And help us, God, to live lives that are exemplary. Lord, that we'd be able to call people to live like us, to walk with you the way that we do, to know you the way that we do.

Lord, not that everybody will express that exactly the same way, but to have those encounters, that relationship, to receive the forgiveness and the deliverance that you offer. Help us, Lord, not to allow things in our lives to just continue and to settle with things that we know are wrong. Lord, I pray that you would help us to turn from sin and to love you with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.

that we could be able to call people after us and say, come, let's love God together. Let's love God in the way he deserves to be loved. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 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.