How to Tell Our Christian Story - Part 2
The Book of Acts - Part 85
Acts 26:1-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - May 31, 2015
BACKGROUND:
*Last week we began to focus on how to give our Christian testimonies, and tonight, in Acts 26, the Apostle Paul will give us some more help. Remember that back in Acts 21, Paul had arrived in Jerusalem. He went there to worship the Lord, and to deliver a generous love offering for the poor Christians in the city.
About a week later, Paul was almost killed by a mob of Christ-hating Jews. He was rescued by Roman soldiers, but also put under arrest. Then Paul was transferred to the governor's headquarters in Caesarea, mostly for his own safety. By the end of Acts 24, Paul had been in custody for two whole years, even though he was totally innocent of any wrong doing.
*By that time, Paul had already gone through at least 3 trials. And in tonight's Scripture, Paul went through the fourth trial for his life. With this background in mind, let's read Paul's testimony from Acts 26:1-23.
MESSAGE:
*Tonight, I want you to think about five minutes that can change eternity. Church: That's what our Christian testimony can do. A few minutes, and a few sentences from us can change someone else's destiny forever. That's why God wants us to learn how to give our Christian testimonies.
*In these verses Paul stood before King Agrippa and the new Roman governor Festus. Paul was on trial for his life, but he gladly used this crisis as an opportunity to share his Christian testimony. And Paul shows us what to do.
1. First: Tell a little about your life before you met the Lord.
*Tell a little of your life story before you got saved. Paul began to share his story in vs. 4-5, when he said:
4. "My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know.
5. 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."
*Then in vs. 9-11, Paul admitted how messed-up and misguided he had been. There Paul said:
9. "I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10. 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.
11. 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."
*God reminds us here that it is important for us to admit that we are sinners. We don't want to give off a holier-than-thou attitude. We don't want people to think that somehow, we deserved our salvation. That's why we need to admit that we are sinners.
*Now, we don't have to go into all the gory details. And the best testimonies don't have a lot of gory details, because by the grace of God, you got saved before you got into all of that mess. It's a lot better to get saved at 6 than 26.
*If you got saved as a kid in VBS, hopefully you avoided a lot of the junk some of us stumbled into. But all of us are sinners. We were all born with a sinful nature because of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. And we need to admit that we are sinners who needed to be saved.
*Professor Carlyle Marney helps us understand. One day a student asked: "Dr. Marney, where was the Garden of Eden?" The wise old professor put down his pen, turned to the college freshman and replied: "I can tell you exactly. In Tennessee, 215 South Elm St. in Knoxville, Tennessee." "Ah, c'mon, you're kidding me," said the student. "It's supposed to be somewhere in the Middle East, isn't it?"
*"Well, you couldn't prove it by me," Dr. Marney replied. "For it was there on Elm Street, when I was a boy, that I stole a quarter out of Mama's purse. I ran to the store, and bought a bag of peanuts clusters, and ate it as fast as I could. Afterward, I was so ashamed that I came back home to 215 Elm St. and hid in the closet. Mama found me and asked, 'Why are you hiding? What have you done?'"
*Commenting on that story, Pastor Wesley Tracy later asked, "Do you need any help locating your own Eden? It's the place where you first betrayed the noble, the good and God. Your Eden was that situation in which you discovered that you suffered from the deadly spiritual disease called sin." (1)
*Christians: We all have a story about our sin. You may have been raised up in the most spiritual home in town. But we are all sinners who needed to be saved by the amazing grace of God. We must talk about life before we met the Lord.
2. Then mention how God got your attention.
*The Lord certainly got Paul's attention in an amazing way. We see this truth in vs. 12-14, where Paul said:
12. "While thus occupied (i.e. while I was occupied going around to persecute and punish Christians), as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13. At midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.
14. 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.'"
*I used to wish something like that would have happened to me. Maybe you have too. But I've changed my mind on that wish. The truth is that there are a lot less terrifying ways for the Lord to get our attention. I hope I don't have to get knocked to the ground and struck blind for the Lord to get my attention!
*There are some easier ways: How about by an inspirational song I hear at church? How about seeing someone else's life turned around by Jesus Christ? Maybe the Lord could get our attention by bringing a special blessing into our life: A new job or some other financial blessing. It might be meeting your future husband or wife. It might be having a new baby or grandbaby. It might be finding a new friend, being healed from sickness, or just seeing a beautiful day. Many times, the Lord can use good things to get our attention.
*Sadly, sometimes it does take a train wreck for God to get our attention. I would never have said this to my brother in 2008, when he was dying from his awful cancer. But the Lord really did use that to get his attention, and Jon's life was changed forever.
*How did God get your attention? That's an important part of our story, and God wants us to talk about it. Mention how God got your attention.
3. And share what the Lord has said to you.
*In vs. 14-16, Paul told those people what Jesus had said to him. And through God's Word, the Lord speaks to us today.
[1] One of the main reasons why the Lord speaks is to bring us under conviction.
*We can see this happening in vs. 14-15, where Paul said:
14. . . "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.'
15. So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.'"
*The Lord spoke to Paul there to bring him under conviction for his sins. Jesus was trying to help Paul see that he wasn't just hurting those poor, persecuted Christians. Paul was also hurting God. In fact, Paul was mainly hurting the Lord. "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME?" Jesus asked.
*Paul was mainly hurting the Lord, but Paul was also hurting himself, so Jesus also said, "It is hard FOR YOU to kick against the goads." The KJV says "kick against the pricks." The original word was used for a sharp cattle prod, but was also was used for a sting, like from a bee or a scorpion.
*How foolish and hurtful it would be to kick against those sharp, pointed sticks. But that's what Paul was spiritually doing when he stubbornly resisted the Lord. Jesus was speaking to Paul to bring him under conviction for his sins. And through His Holy Spirit, God does the same thing to us.
*Pastor Jeff Simms gave a good example, when he said: "The first sermon I ever preached was in Yerington, Nevada in 1988. It stands as the worse sermon in recorded history.
*There were about 20 people present in that little desert church to hear me. I said everything I intended say in about 5 minutes. Then, I said it again and looked back down at my watch, and only 5 more minutes had gone by. I went on for another minute or two, and then went back to my seat and sat down feeling completely worn-out tired.
*I felt like I had been wrestling with the devil himself. I remember the pastor coming up to me afterward and saying, 'You said "uhh" 57 times.' I thought he was going to be mad at me for such a bad sermon. I didn't even use my own material that morning.
*Then he told me about two teenage girls who were touched by the Holy Spirit. They were under so much conviction that they had left the room crying. I thought they were crying because my sermon was so bad.
*God had worked in spite of me. They were in foster care and were going back to their natural parents the next day. They had been lied to by the devil, but God's Word had spoken directly to their need." (2)
*God brought those young ladies under conviction. And that's what Jesus did with the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus.
[2] God will bring us under conviction too, but the Lord also speaks to bring inspiration.
*That's why in vs. 16, Jesus said this to Paul: "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 of the things which I will yet reveal to you."
*The Lord doesn't speak to us to beat us down. He wants to lift us up. His goal is never to hurt us, but to help us! Jesus wants to inspire us. There on the Damascus Road, Jesus began to inspire Paul with God's plan for his life. And if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then yes, He has brought you under conviction. But surely God has also given you His inspiration. When you give your testimony, share what the Lord has said to you.
4. Also bring up the basics of the gospel.
*This is what Paul did in vs. 17-23. He spelled out some basic truths about Jesus Christ. For example, in vs. 17-18, Paul quoted Jesus saying:
17. "'I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
18. to open their eyes and 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.'"
*What is the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ about? It's about opening blind spiritual eyes, so people can see that they need Jesus. It's about helping people turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. The gospel is about receiving forgiveness of our sins and an inheritance in Heaven. And all of these amazing things come through faith in Jesus Christ!
*In vs. 20, the gospel is also about a changed life, so Paul talked about how people "should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance."
*But most of all, the gospel is about the cross of Jesus Christ, so in vs. 22-23, Paul said:
22. Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come
23. that the Christ would suffer (i.e. would suffer and die on the cross for our sins), that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.''
*When we tell our story, we must include the basics of the good news about Jesus: Who Jesus Christ really is, what He did on the cross for us, that He rose again from the dead, what He has done in our life, what He can do in their life, and what He calls us to do. When you give your testimony, bring up the basics of the gospel.
5. And talk about your walk with the Lord.
*Our testimony is not just about what the Lord did in our lives 5 years ago, or 50 years ago. It's a testimony of our ongoing experience with the Lord. It's a testimony of spiritual growth: Learning to walk with the Lord, learning to follow Jesus, learning to trust and obey.
*What is Jesus doing in our lives today? The Lord anticipated this part of our testimony in vs. 16, when He told Paul, "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 of the things which I WILL YET REVEAL TO YOU."
*Then Paul talked about his walk in vs. 19-20, where he said:
19. "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20. but 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."
*Paul talked about his walk. And God wants us to talk about what is the Lord doing in our lives today. Pastor Bill Bouknight gave this report: "A few months ago one of you shared with me a wonderful declaration of faith written by a friend. This person was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and sank into dark depression.
*In desperation she turned to God and was transformed. The cancer has not vanished, but is under control. And now she is in Christ and no long thinks in terms of 'I' but 'We.' Listen to the affirmation of faith she wrote:
-'There are things ahead which I truly fear, but we don't.
-There are obstacles that I cannot face, but we can.
-There are loads that are too heavy for me, but not for us.
-There are sorrows that I cannot bear, but we can.
-There are times I simply grow tired of the fight, but we don't.
-There are barriers that I have no strength to climb over, but we do.
-I can't walk the Christian life, but we can.
-I am so grateful that I'm no longer an "I". -- I am a "WE!"'" (3)
CONCLUSION:
*God gave that woman an inspirational testimony. And Christians, He is writing the same kind of testimony in our lives. Think about it, pray about it, and then be sure to let it out.
(1) Adapted from homileticsonline.com - 03/27/1994 - Originally from Dynamic Preaching
(2) SermonCentral illustration submitted by Jeff Simms
(3) Sermons.com sermon "The Master at Prayer" by Bill Bouknight - Luke 22:39-46 - 2002
