Giving Our Testimony for God
The Book of Acts - Part 78
Acts 22:1-16
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - March 15, 2015
BACKGROUND:
*In this Scripture, Paul and his mission team have finished Paul's third missionary journey, and they have arrived in Jerusalem. Paul had traveled hundreds of miles through Greece and Turkey spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. He also discipled the believers and strengthened the churches.
*On top of that, Paul and the Gentile churches collected a large sum of money for the poor Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Then Paul travelled many more miles to bring the gift to Jerusalem. But instead of being treated with gratitude and honor, Paul was treated with suspicion and disrespect.
*In Acts 21:20-26, the Jewish believers at Jerusalem accused Paul of heresy based on nothing but rumors. So, the church leaders at Jerusalem asked Paul to go through a purification ceremony as a good-faith gesture against the accusations. They also asked Paul to pay the expenses for four local believers who were planning to go through the purification. And Paul did exactly as the elders asked, even though he had to buy a dozen prime animals for the sacrifices, along with other expenses. (1)
*Paul was simply trying to do the right thing. But Acts 21:27-40 tells us that a terrible riot broke out when some Jews from Asia saw Paul in the Temple. And Paul would have been beaten to death by that mob, if the alarm hadn't been sounded for the Roman soldiers to break up the riot.
*Paul was rescued by the soldiers, but he was also placed under arrest. He had now entered a period of trials and tribulation. All of Paul's travels from now until the end of Acts will be as a prisoner of Rome.
*At the end of Acts 21, Paul pleaded with the Roman commander for permission to speak to the crowd. And Acts 21:40 closes the chapter by saying "when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language. . ."
*Tonight, we will begin to explore what Paul said to the crowd. Let's begin by reading Acts 22:1-16, and as we read please think about giving our testimony for God.
MESSAGE:
*Paul gave his Christian testimony to that angry mob. But what about us? Do we have a testimony to give? If we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then the answer is certainly "YES!"
*1 John 5:9-12 says this to all Christians:
9. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
10. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
11. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
*When we believe God's testimony about His Son Jesus Christ, He gives us a testimony! And He wants us to share it. One reason why is because there is such a great need. People need to hear what God has done in our lives. There are billions of lost people in the world today. God wants us to help reach as many of these people as we possibly can, and our testimonies can help. Your testimony can help change people's lives for all eternity.
*But God wants us to speak up, even if people don't respond in a positive way. They didn't always believe Paul's testimony, and they won't all believe ours. Some people will respond positively, and some won't. As one author said: "They will either be glad, -- or mad." (2)
*I remember an incident years ago when I worked at Robins Air Force Base. About 7 or 8 of us were in the corridor for a few minutes. It must have been right after a meeting. And the conversation was very pleasant, -- until the conversation turned to Jesus. Almost as soon as His name was mentioned, it was like the waters parted, with the scoffers on one side, and the believers on the other.
*Everybody is not going to be thrilled to hear your story. But God wants us to tell it. How can we do it? How should we do it? Let's look at Paul's story and see.
1. First, we should attempt to connect with our listeners.
*In vs. 1-3, one of the main things Paul tried to do was connect with his listeners. There the Apostle said:
1. "Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defense before you now.''
2. And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:
3. "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today."
*Notice Paul's tone in vs. 1: "Men, brethren, and fathers." Is that how you speak to people who are trying to beat you to death? Well, it generally is, IF you are trying to win them to the Lord.
*By the way, this is also the way God wants us to treat each other. One great example is in 1 Peter 3:8-11, where Peter wrote these words to us:
8. Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9. not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10. For "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile;
11. let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
*God wants us to give this same kind of courtesy to those outside the faith.
*Then notice Paul's choice of language. When he spoke to the commander just a few verses before, Paul spoke Greek, but now he speaks to the crowd in Hebrew. He was making every effort to communicate to them in the best way possible.
*There were also two very different groups of Jews in that crowd: The Hellenists and the Hebrews. The Hebrews were the Palestinian Jews brought up almost in the shadow of the Temple, very strict. The Hellenists were the Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire, and they were much more influenced by Greek culture.
*There was tension between these two groups, even in the church. And this was the underlying cause of the contention in Acts 6 that led to the selection of deacons. So Acts 6:1 says: "Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution."
*Here in vs. 3, Paul said, "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia." There Paul was connecting with the Hellenists. But then Paul also connected with the Hebrews by saying that he was "brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law." Next, Paul tied the Jews all together by saying that he was "zealous toward God as you all are today."
*Just like Paul, God wants us to try to connect with our listeners. I'm not talking about watering down God's Word or compromising the Gospel in any way. I'm talking about being sensitive in the way we address people.
*We should be looking for ways to connect with them. Paul certainly did this, and we should do too. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22:
19. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;
20. and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;
21. to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;
22. to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
*God wants us to bend over backwards to connect with people so that they can get connected with Jesus.
2. When we tell our story, we should attempt to connect with our listeners. We should also admit our faults.
*Paul admitted his faults in vs. 4-5, when he said:
4. "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,
5. as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished."
*Paul had a special reason for telling them this. Again, he was trying to relate to them. Paul wanted to remind them that he used to think just like they were thinking. But something had happened to him, something life-changing and wonderful had happened to him.
[1] Admitting our faults partly has to do with our history.
*Everybody has a story of your life before salvation, and we need to tell it. Sometimes we are impressed when someone has lived a horrible life, and then was dramatically saved. Those are wonderful stories.
*But some Christians actually feel inferior because they don't have that gruesome past. Let me tell you again that the best testimony is the person who got saved as a little child, and never went through all of that mess! I wish I had gotten saved when I was 5!
*But we are all sinners and we need to admit it. It's part of our history. But also notice that this does not mean we have to air out all our dirty laundry. Many times, it's best not to let it all hang out, because that can be a distraction from the main thing. And the main thing is Jesus! The main thing is what Jesus did for us on the cross, and what He has done in our individual lives.
*But we do need to talk about our life before Christ. We need to let people know that we are all sinners.
[2] Admitting our faults partly has to do with our history. But it also has to do with our hearts.
*I say that because when we are talking to people, we need to approach them with a humble heart. What is the biggest complaint unchurched people have with Christians? One survey showed that 72 percent think the church is filled with hard-hearted hypocrites. So, God wants us be like Paul. God want us to humble ourselves and admit our faults. (3)
3. When we tell our story, we should admit our faults. We should also tell people how we became aware of Jesus.
*Paul wanted that mob to know how he became aware of Jesus Christ. How he became aware of the truth about Jesus: Who Jesus is, what He did for us on the cross, and how He can save our souls. That's what Paul began to do in vs. 6-8, where he said:
6. "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.
7. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'
8. So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'"
*Does our story have to be as dramatic as Paul's? Of course not, or the Lord would have knocked us to the ground too. But also remember this: Anytime we have an encounter with the Living Lord, it is a miraculous thing! This is true when He knocks us to the ground. But it is just as true when the Lord whispers to us with His still small voice. God has many ways of getting our attention.
*I like the story King Duncan told about one man who had fallen away from his church. A friend of his decided to give him a call about a tennis match they were scheduling later that week. This was before everybody carried a cell phone, and the friend called from a church where he was at a meeting. The meeting was at Christ the Lord Lutheran Church, and when the backslidden man looked at his caller I.D., it said he had a call from "Christ the Lord." (4)
*That turned out to be a real wake-up call for that man. God has all kinds of ways of getting our attention. How did He get yours?
4. When we tell our story we should tell how we became aware of Jesus. We should also tell what actions we needed to take.
*We see Paul doing this in vs. 9-10, where he said:
9. "Now those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.
10. So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.'"
*I love Paul's question in vs. 10: "WHAT SHALL I DO, LORD?" That ought to be one of our questions every day! That ought to be one of the first things we ask when we get up in the morning. And it ought to be one of the last things we ask when we lay down at night: "What should I do, Lord?"
*Whenever the Lord starts working on our heart to save us, He will tell us to do something. God does that, because He wants us to start following Him. He wants us to start living in obedience to Him. Jesus Christ is much more than our Savior. He is our Lord!
*Maxie Dunnam told a story from World War II about this kind of obedience. It happened in the South Pacific, when one of our airmen was shot down and crashed at sea close to an island. He made it to shore and tried to hide in the bushes, but he was found by the natives. To his amazement, they lovingly cared for him while his injuries healed.
*In a conversation with the chief, this fighter pilot was told that on this island, where he would once have been boiled and eaten, there had not been a single murder during the chief's lifetime. There were no jails, no poverty, no drunkenness, no divorce, no prostitution, and practically no disease.
*When the airman asked the reason for this extraordinary state of affairs, the chief gave him a disappointed look and said, "You ought to know. Your ancestors sent us missionaries. We are Christians. We have taken Christ seriously." (5)
*May God help us to take Jesus Christ more seriously every day! But what did the Lord tell you to do when He started working in your heart? That can be part of your story. Tell how you started following Jesus.
5. When we tell our story, we should tell what actions we needed to take. And we should tell how we were assisted along the way.
*That's what Paul did in vs. 11-16, and there he said:
11. . . "Since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12. Then one, Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,
13. came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.
14. Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.
15. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.
16. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'"
*Paul couldn't have even made it down that desert road without some help. And we may be able to fool ourselves for a while, but we are not able to make it in this world alone. God uses people to help us. And this is certainly true when it comes to salvation.
*Jesus could have given Paul the whole story on the road to Damascus. But the Lord didn't do that. God chose to use Ananias to give Paul the rest of the story. But all the glory goes to God! All the credit goes to our wonderful Savior!
*Jesus Christ is the only one who could have ever died on the cross for our sins. And He did! But through His infinite wisdom and His marvelous grace, God chose to use one of His humble servants to help Paul get saved. And there in vs. 16, Ananias told Paul to call on the name of the Lord.
*I wonder if Paul was thinking back to that great day, when He wrote Romans 10:10-13:
10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
11. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.''
12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13. For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''
CONCLUSION:
*God used Ananias to help Paul get saved. And God loves to use people like us to help other people get saved. He wants to use you and me!
*And our testimony can help. Do you have one? If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then the answer is "YES!" God gives a testimony to every believer, and He wants us to give our testimonies to other people.
*As we go to God in prayer, let's ask Him to help us do it.
(1) Adapted from EXPLORING ACTS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Caesarea: Be Sure" - Acts 21:1-17 and "Jerusalem: Be Submissive" - Acts 21:18-26
(2) Original source unknown
(3) Baptist Press News 01/09/2008 - Source: Church Leaders Intelligence Report 01/30/2008
(4) Sermons.com sermon "A New Calling" by King Duncan - Matthew 4:12-23
(5) Sermons.com sermon "Saints in The Light" by Maxie Dunnam - Colossians 1:1-14
