testimony – Judy in the Sky

Read Acts 26 – Every reason to share your testimony is a good thing – King Agrippa invites Paul to speak, and he opens with a compliment. Knowing your audience, knowing their starting point of knowledge is very useful.

Paul reviewed his childhood foundation, his resolute belief in the Scriptures and the fact that he is on trial because of his hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises made to their ancestors (:6). He spoke of his original persecution of anyone who believed in Jesus (:9-12)…. Beloved, don’t shy away from the worst thing in your past, the thing that brought you to repentance. God can bring beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3); let the Holy Spirit use your story to open the eyes of the blind.

Paul shared his incredible road to Damascus experience with Jesus and all the good fruit that resulted from it, circling back to the prophecy found in Scripture (:23). Festus interrupts, calling Paul crazy from too much study. King Agrippa interrupts, asking if Paul is trying to persuade him to become a Christian. Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” :29 And with that, the men, Bernice and all the others stood and left.

How close to salvation were they to have been almost persuaded. What causes a person to get so close and turn away? It is tragic. They left knowing Paul hadn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment, yet because Paul had appealed to Caesar, to Caesar he would go.

Read Acts 22 – We left off with Paul, having been rescued from the chants of, “Kill him! Kill him!” (21:36), on the steps, addressing the angry crowd.

Paul speaks in the Hebrew dialect to the Jewish crowd, and silence washes over them. He tells his story, his testimony, who he was, where he came from, the encounter with Jesus that changed everything, and what he was to do with it.

The crowd must have been captivated because Paul speaks fluidly for 21 verses… but that 21st verse: “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’’ That sent them over the edge, and the riot started back up. The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him whipped to coerce a confession as to why the crowds were so agitated. But Paul uses his Roman citizenship for immunity. Nobody better mess with a Roman citizen. The commander knew it; he paid a great price to obtain his, but even greater, Paul was a citizen by birth(:28).

Beloved, there is so much to learn about God and his purpose for you in these verses. The Lord knew Paul before he was born and used every event in Paul’s life for His divine purposes – and the same is true for you. Paul gave his testimony. Beloved, your testimony is irrefutable. It’s yours. You may feel ill equipped with Scripture references, yet, your story is yours to display God’s gracious, merciful, saving love. Now, who can you tell today?😍🙌🙏💖🙏🙌😍