Welcome to this podcast from Harvest Community Church of Huntersville, North Carolina, where our vision is to make disciples who make disciples. I'm your host, Liz Stefanini. Testimony or telling one's story. has always been a powerful means of communication. And it's, it's being embraced more and more in a lot of quarters, including in the secular world, all over the United States and Canada in recent years, these groups have been springing up that are based on people just telling their stories, telling their accounts. For example, One nonprofit group called the Moth facilitates confessional style storytelling of average people. And the statistics that are as recent as last year showed them staging over 500 shows a year across America. In 2009, they created the Moth Radio Hour. And in the process, it grew to more than 500 public radio stations. And on their podcast, their podcast had 73 million downloads annually. So it's a very popular thing. The executive director, Sarah Haberman, told Forbes Magazine this, no matter where you're from and whatever your background, Your story has the power to unite people, to break down walls, even when you can't be in the same room. And author Richard Wagamese wrote, all that we are is story. It is what we arrive with. It is all we leave behind. We're not the things we accumulate. We are not the things we deem important. We are story. Sharing your story has been a vital part of Christianity from the beginning. And the author of the book of Acts, a man named Luke, certainly understood that and embraced it. In fact, three times during the book of Acts, he told Paul's story about how Paul was converted to Christ. And the passage that we're going to look at today is one of those. So I invite your attention to Acts 24, 25, and 26. Three chapters today, that's a lot of material. We're gonna use that hour of extra sleep we got. This is the third account of Paul's conversion. It's tucked in there. There's a lot here. We're not going to be able to read all of the verses in Acts 24, 25, and 26, but I'm going to kind of tell you the story and I'm going to read some key verses. And as we're going through this, let me set the stage for what it is. After Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, because of safety concerns, he was transferred to Caesarea for his trial. And then Acts 24 to 26 explains Paul's defense during several trials. So he got back to Jerusalem. He was arrested unjustly and unfairly. And people were trying to kill him. So they took him to another city, Caesarea, for his own protection. And now he is going to appear before three rulers in Acts 24, 25, and 26, and he's gonna give his defense. But as he gives his defense, you notice that word is in quotes. Because he does defend himself and says, basically, I'm not guilty. But he doesn't only try to defend himself legally, He tells his story. He tells about Christ. He tells about the gospel of Christ, the good news of Christ, and we're going to watch what he does now. Basically, as I walk through this, I want you just to make some observations in particular. I want you to think about what is Paul doing in these three chapters? And what are the rulers doing? Their names are Felix Festus and Agrippa. And then Ultimately, what is God doing? So think about what is what is Paul doing? What are the rulers doing and What is God doing? So let's start at Acts 24 now at Acts 24 the high priest Ananias had come down from Jerusalem and Because the high priest in the Jewish group there, they were against Paul. They didn't like Paul's message. They wanted Paul to be arrested. He asked the governor Felix if he would bring Paul back to Jerusalem for a trial. But notice, we'll pick it up in verse five. Here's what they said about Paul. We have found this man to be a troublemaker. stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple. So we seized him. Now some Jewish people joined in these charges. They went along with the high priest and in fact they had a plan. It was yet another plan to kill him. But At this point, Paul is going to start to give his defense. And he basically says to Felix, look, yeah, I was at the temple, but I was alone. I was by myself. I wasn't stirring up any trouble. There was no one with me. I was ritually pure. I was in keeping with all of the Jewish law. So there were some Jewish people that came from Asia who stirred up the crowds and they accused me of doing it. So he didn't cop to any of those charges, but he did cop to one thing, something very, very important that we see in verse 14. However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the way, that's Christianity, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the law and that is written in the prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, so I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. And so Paul then chose to tell them about his coming to Jerusalem and why he came to Jerusalem. As Paul was ministering all throughout the Gentile world, far away from Jerusalem, it was in jerusalem where the church started that was the mother church and they sent these missionaries out to all these places and now people who weren't jewish were becoming christians they were called gentiles and as paul told people about christ and they got saved and they formed churches there was a great famine in jerusalem and paul started collecting money from these gentile christians to take back to the jewish believers in jerusalem and that's what paul says That's what I did. I came back not to stir up trouble. I came back to bring financial gifts it was Jewish people from Asia that followed me and Made these false accusations against me Notice what Felix this governor how he replied in verse 22 Then Felix who was well acquainted with the way and adjourned the proceedings. When Lysias the commander comes, I will decide your case. He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs. Several days later, Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listen to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. This is amazing. This is not a good man. Felix Felix was brutal. In fact, Felix was known for murdering, crucifying, actually, many people who had raised up insurrections. And this is what Paul was being accused of. And so Paul, yeah, defends himself a little bit, but basically, look what he tells him about. Look what Paul chooses to tell him about. He wants to tell him about faith in Christ Jesus. The Roman historian Tacitus said that Felix was a master of cruelty and lust. He's there with his wife Drusilla. Drusilla was raised as a Jewish person, but not following all of the Jewish practices. She originally was married to the king of a small kingdom in Syria, but She was enamored with Felix and she got this magician to help her put some kind of spell supposedly on Felix. And so Felix, she, she seduced Felix and this, this was now Felix's third wife. Paul's not teaching Sunday school here. Think about where he is and the moral environment he's in, and what does he choose to do? He preaches Christ. Verse 25, as Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, that's enough for now. You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you. This was a crossroads moment for Felix. He was living this terrible life and God sent him a man, Paul, who could tell him about the truth. It would require great humility, but he could have in those moments said, you know what? This is what I need. This is the truth. This is right. But rather than doing that, he said, Paul, when it's convenient, I'll send for you. Now, I used to read this and always thought, well, Felix was just putting him off. But notice the next verse, in verse 26. At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him. probably was very common in that day. I mean, that was Paul had no chance, basically. I mean, he's, he has no chance, hardly of a fair trial. And so Felix is like, well, I'll keep, I'll give him more opportunities. I'll talk to him more and more, and maybe he'll bribe me. But Paul, of course, doesn't do that. And this goes on for a while. Verse 27, when two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portia's Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison. Think about Paul now two years, he's innocent. He's falsely accused. He's wanting a trial. And okay, let's put it off, and let's put it off, and let's put it off. And Felix keeps bringing him in, hoping he'll bribe him. Nope, he's not going to do it. You know, that happens in the third world a lot today. A lot of these countries you travel to, the way to get what you want is if you have enough money, you know, you can work through the kind of, quote, legal system. That's not going to happen here. Paul is not going to do it. But for two years, And then when he's, Felix knows he's innocent. He knows he hasn't done anything worthy of death, but he wanted, he knew the Jews didn't like Paul, Paul's message. So he's like, all right, let me just leave him in jail. And then we come to Acts 25. Now in Acts 25, Felix is succeeded by a man named Festus. This is not the Festus from Gunsmoke. The tension from the Jews was high, so naturally, naturally, you would think that, okay, if you're a new ruler, even though you're in charge, you want to do things that will make your subjects happy, and that seemingly is what Festus is going to do with Paul and these Jewish people. When Festus arrived in Jerusalem, the chief priests came to him basically, and they wanted him to bring Paul back to Caesarea because they had a plan. They were going to ambush him. Speaking of gun smoke, it was like one of those Western ambushes, right? They're in the Far East, so let's call it an Eastern ambush. They're going to ambush Paul. They're going to kill Paul. Festus even though he wanted to grant favor to him. He's like no. No, we'll have this trial in Jerusalem and so The plot is foiled again I mean we'll have this trial in Caesarea because I'm going to Caesarea soon and he said here's what I'll do for you You can take some of your leaders with me and they can make their charges and we'll have the trial. So verse 7. That's what happened When Paul came in The Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them. Then Paul made his defense. I've done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar. Festus wishing to do the Jews a favor said to Paul are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and Stand before me there on these charges Paul Was not stupid Paul was very smart Paul knew that the chances of him surviving that trip, or the chances of him getting a better, fairer trial anywhere around these locals was slim. So watch what Paul does. Paul answers him in verse 10. I'm now standing before Caesar's court where I ought to be tried. I've not done any wrong to the Jews as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar." What? There was a custom, if you were a Roman citizen, you had the chance in the legal system to appeal to Caesar. That was going to Rome. So Paul, knowing that he's not gonna get a fair trial here, And also knowing if you remember, if you've read through Acts or you've been here when we've talked about it, in Acts chapter 23, the Lord appeared to Paul and said, just like you testify to me in Jerusalem, you're also going to testify in Rome. So Paul knew God was gonna have him testify in Rome. So what does he do? I appeal to Caesar. In other words, I want this trial to go to Rome and I wanna be before the emperor. I wanna be before Caesar. So verse 12, after Festus had conferred with his counsel, he declared, you have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you will go. Now at this stage, Festus doesn't really interact with Paul a lot. I mean, it's not much to say, but he gets some visitors. King Agrippa, a man named King Agrippa and King Agrippa's wife, Bernice, Visit him and you know, they're talking about it and and Festus is probably one night Over dinner or whatever. He's talking saying, you know, I've got this prisoner here and The Jews are all upset about him, and I don't think he's done anything wrong I'm not he's appealed to Caesar I'm not sure what's gonna happen or what to do and and King Agrippa says hey, I want to hear this man and So there's Felix, the governor, and Festus, the governor, and now there's King Agrippa. Well, this was King Agrippa II. He was part of the Herod dynasty. You've probably heard about his great-grandfather named Herod. Remember when Jesus, the story we're going to be talking about coming up at Christmas, when Jesus was going to be born, the King Herod that killed all of the babies that were two years and younger, all the baby boys, that was this Agrippa's great-grandfather. His father, or his grand-uncle murdered, is the Herod that murdered John the Baptist. And his father, Agrippa I, had put James to death and Peter in prison. Again, these are not nice people. Paul is not teaching Sunday school. These are the people he's dealing with. And his wife, Bernice, the text calls her his wife, it really was his sister. She married her uncle, and now she was living incestuously with her brother, Agrippa. So it is a moral cesspool that Paul is in the middle of right here. In fact, Acts chapter 26, is going to tell us what Paul does in his defense before Agrippa. Now, Paul approached it autobiographically, biographically. He told his story. For the third time in Acts, we hear about Paul being on the road to Damascus. And on the road to Damascus, he was on the road to Damascus because he was persecuting Christians. He was putting some of them in jail and some of them to death. But as he was doing that, he saw this great light and it was Jesus appearing. It was the risen Jesus appearing to Paul. Paul was saved and Paul was also called in that moment to go be the apostle or the messenger to the Gentiles. That's what a testimony simply is. It's three parts. So if you're a Christian and you're wondering about how do I tell people about Christ, will I have all the answers? None of us have all the answers. All of us have to say sometimes, you know, that's a good question. I'd like, I'll look it up and I'll see what I can get back to you with. But here's what people can't deny. They can't deny what happened to you. Your story, past, present, future. What's the past? What was your life like before Christ? Then second part is how did you meet Christ? How did you come to know Jesus personally? And then now, what does Christ mean to you? A testimony can be very, very simple. Here's what my life was like before Christ, here's how Christ met me and I met Christ, and now here is what he means to me. This is what Paul did. And when he said that to Agrippa, picking up in verse 19, He said this, so King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. That was when on that road to Damascus, Jesus gave him that vision to go preach to the Gentiles. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. That is why some Gentiles or some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. It wasn't because he was stirring up a riot. It wasn't because he was ceremonially unclean. It was because he was telling them, you need to repent and put your faith in Christ. And that stirred them up. But God has helped me to this very day, so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen, that the Messiah would suffer. and as the first to rise from the dead would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles. And at this point, Festus now gets involved. Festus interrupted Paul's defense. You're out of your mind, Paul. Your great learning is driving you insane. I am not insane, most excellent Festus. Paul replied, what I'm saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice because it was not done in a corner. And then Paul's turns to Agrippa. I love what he does. Festus says, you're out of your mind. He's like, I'm not out of my mind. It's true. It's reasonable. And I think the king believes this. And so he turns to Agrippa. And now he's going to address King Agrippa directly. Verse 27 King Agrippa. Do you believe the prophets? I know you do. And then Agrippa said to Paul. Do you think that in such a short time? You can persuade me to be a Christian. Paul's not really interested in that moment about being released from jail, is he? He wants these incestuous, power-hungry, terrible people to be saved. He wants them to become Christians. In fact, here's what he replies. Short time or long, I pray to God that you, not only you, but all who are listening to me today may become what I am. except for these chains. I want everybody to become Christians like me. I want them to be exactly like me, except, well, not the chains. We could do without that. The king rose. And with him, the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them, after they left the room, they began saying to one another, this man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment. And Agrippa said to Phaecus, this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Now, next week's a special Thanksgiving service at Harvest, so we'll take a week off of Acts. Lord willing, we'll come back in the last two chapters of Acts for the first two Sundays in December, and we'll see Paul's trip to Rome and what happened there. But let's think about this. What is God doing? What is God doing with Paul? What is God doing with the rulers? And and what is God doing? I want you to take like two or three minutes to turn to somebody that you came with somebody near you and Just think think that through for a second. It's a lot of material But as as Paul went before Felix and he went before Festus Then he went before Agrippa What was Paul doing? What were the rulers doing And what was God doing? Take two or three minutes just to discuss that among yourselves, and then I'll come back and wrap it up. If we had more time, it would be interesting to hear what some of you guys are coming up with. Let's take a quick look. Let me give you one or two things that each one of these are doing. Paul, what we see in Paul is bold witnessing for Christ on every occasion. I mean, every occasion. It doesn't matter how many people are around. We've seen this in Paul's life. If it's just a few people, if it's just one, if it's before very powerful people, people that you might try to curry favor with in some way, you might be tempted to compromise the truth with or whatever. No, he spoke directly to them. He was bold. He told them about Christ on every occasion Paul was going to witness, period. He also was persevering in the will of God and he was doing it with integrity. Remember chapter 24, verse 16, we read this verse, when they accused Paul of these things, Paul said, no, I didn't do it. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Paul knew that his verbal witness would not be effective if his life said differently. So when we talk about bold witnessing, we're not talking about somebody that's just excited to tell other people about Jesus and they're living a compromised life. We're talking about integrity, and Paul had that. Paul also was persevering in doing God's will. I mean, he kept running into brick wall after brick wall after brick wall. You know, there was Felix, there was Festus, there was Agrippa. He was taken here, he's left for two years. I mean, He could have easily gotten tired or discouraged and given up. But Paul is persevering through the will of God. And the question is. How can how can somebody do that? I mean, let's let's face it, sometimes we don't face anything near what Paul faced, and we're scared to tell people about Christ, right? We're hesitant. We don't want to offend people or we don't want to be seen as that person that's overbearing or bigoted or prejudiced or canceled or whatever. I mean, let's face it. We we can have a hard time doing what Paul did here, being a bold witness for Christ. And yet that's what God's will is. God's will. If you're a Christian, God wants us to be bold witnesses. So where did this come from? How did Paul do this? And how can we do it? Those of us who are followers of Jesus today, where can we find the resources to do this? Let me remind you, this is not the first information that we get about Paul in the book of Acts. Paul was passionate about Jesus. His whole life was given over to Jesus so that he could say to one of his other churches, for me to live is Christ. So that's where he's coming from here. He's coming from a full commitment to Christ, but notice what he said to the Philippian church in chapter four. I know what it is to be in need. And I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this, read the next two words out loud with me, through him who gives me strength. That's the only way Paul could do it. That's the only way he could keep persevering. That's the only way he could boldly witness. It was not in his own strength. It was through him, so Christian, if you hear this message, hopefully you'll go away and say, man, I want to be a bold witness for Christ. But hopefully you will not hear that I am encouraging you to go out there and try to do that as hard as you can. In your own strength, because. We're just going to fail. but through him, we can do all things. You know, this is not, this is a scripture that's been missed, taken out of context so many times, like, okay, gather the team around, we've got this big game, I can do all things, we can win this game, that's not what this is about. This is about persevering in the will of God. This is about being a bold witness, and Paul said, Something similar that lets us really see it in Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but read it with me out loud what's underlined Christ lives in me The wife I now live in this body. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me So if Paul were standing here today and He wouldn't say, hey, you guys look at me. He would probably say what he did say to one church, follow me as I follow Christ. He would always put the focus on Christ and the spotlight on Christ. And he'd say, it's only as Christ lives in me. And I've got good news for you today. If you're a Christian, Christ is living inside of you. And he's got all the power you need. He'll give you all the help you need. He'll help you overcome the fear or worry about talking to someone. He will provide the words in the moment Christ is living in you. That's what Paul was doing. What are the rulers doing? The rulers, they're listening to the message, but they're not responding in faith. Felix, come back when it's more convenient. Maybe you'll give me a bribe. Festus, Paul, you're out of your mind. Agrippa, Paul, do you think you can convince me so quickly to be a Christian? So they're listening to the message. Even great godly people like Paul, did not always see their words received favorably. And that's gonna be true of us. Not everybody you tell about Jesus is gonna necessarily say, yeah, I wanna be saved. This is what the rulers were doing. Number three, God is sovereignly protecting Paul and opening doors for him to witness to all kinds of people, Jews and Gentiles, crowds and rulers. Not very likely that a missionary is going to get a hearing with two governors and a king. But God sovereignly worked all that out. So let me give you some ways to apply this truth. Number one, receive the message of the gospel completely. If you're hearing about Jesus today, whether you're here in person or watching online, if you're hearing about Christ, you're hearing about the message of Christ, Paul's message was very clear. It's repent and believe in Christ. And I wanna urge you to receive that completely. Don't be like, These rulers who were like, either total rejection, you're insane, or well, almost, or maybe, or come back later. No, receive Christ today by faith. And for those of us who are Christians, I want you to still receive the message of the gospel completely. And the message of the gospel is it's not about you, it's not about me, it's about Christ living in us. And he is in you. Second, Share the message of the Christ boldly or the message of the gospel boldly. Share the message. Just tell your story. Do like Paul. Here's what my life was like before. Here's how I met Christ. Here's what Christ means to me. And in third, continue praying for persecuted Christians. continue praying for persecuted Christians. The month of November is a month that churches all over the world join our hearts and pray for our brothers and sisters who live in countries that are hostile or restricted to the gospel and pray for them. We really focused on that a lot last Sunday, but hopefully it's not just a one-day thing. It's something we'll keep doing. We'll pray for those who are persecuted, just like Paul. Some of them are facing the same things that Paul faced because of their faith in Christ. So God's building his church. We see it through the book of Acts. And when God builds his church, he sovereignly uses bold witnesses for Christ. God sovereignly uses bold witnesses for Christ. So harvesters. Let's let God live in us and through us. And let's be those bold witnesses for Christ. So, in one of his sermons, a man named David Ward told about a crazy occurrence that happened on the shores of Panama City Beach in Florida. It seems that there was a family there, there were two boys that were out playing in the water, and they got caught up in a riptide. and they started going out and the mother saw it and she's like, oh, I'm gonna go try to rescue them. So she goes out there, but she started getting pulled out. And then one by one, more and more family members were out there and they all were getting pulled out. And so there was one witness there that said this, There's a guy in the water saying, man, they're all stuck out there. The riptide's pulling them out. I tried to go out there. If I go any further, I'm going to get stuck. That was a man named Derek Simmons. So his wife thinks quickly and starts gathering other people. None of them who know this family and they start locking arms with each other and they make this big, long human chain and they wade out into the water and they start pulling them back in and rescued these boys from drowning. People they didn't even know. And that is such an incredible picture of what God wants the church to do and be. Not rescue people from drowning necessarily physically in water, but people who need Christ, people who are headed towards an eternity without Christ. To lock arms with each other. And to reach out to them. And be bold witnesses and tell them about Christ. We've looked at Paul. Paul did this all by himself in this instance. And this is part of the beauty of the church. God has given us to do it together. Let's be that kind of church. Let's bow our heads please.