Over the last several weeks, I’ve talked about the basics of Christianity. We’ve talked about Bible reading and prayer.
This week, we move out from simply doing Christianity for ourselves and begin proclaiming the gospel to others.
We are encouraged to witness. Many times we would witness if we just knew how.
And we try to use that as an excuse.
But, the Bible doesn’t say, “learn then go”. The Bible says simply “go”.
It is the same as it is here in the Second Infantry Division. We don’t seek to be ready to “Train tonight”, we seek to be ready to “Fight Tonight!”
It is the same way with “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19) We are to “Go”.
So this morning, through looking at Paul’s life, I hope to point out how natural witnessing can be.
So with your Bibles this evening, please turn to acts 26.
Acts 26 recalls the story of Paul before King Agrippa. And the story of how Paul came before Agrippa is interesting.
To best under stand this story we must turn back a couple pages, to Chapter 21:
Acts 21.27 begins the story.
Paul was in the Temple a mob surrounded him. They grabbed him,
Verse 28
28yelling, “Men of Israel! Help! This is the man who teaches against our people and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and he even defiles it by bringing Gentiles in!” (Acts 21.2, NLT)
And they began trying to kill him, until the Romans Soldiers came out to settle the people down. The commander arrested him and asked the crowd who he was and what he had done. The commander later found out that Paul was a Roman Citizen.
So the Romans brought Paul to the High Council of the Jews and went up the chain to Felix the Governor of the region.
Felix left him in prison for two years, until he was succeeded by Festus.
And when Festus took over, he didn’t know what to do, so he passed the case to King Agrippa.
Paul had talked his way all the way up to the King of the Region.
And, this is key, at every single level on the chain, the leaders heard Paul tell the same story.
The story is found in Act 26, beginning with verse 9
Paul first told about his life before he accepted and believed in Jesus. He then told about how he came to believe in Christ and how he turned away from his sin and followed him. And then he concluded with how his life was different since coming to Christ.
The principle that we need to pay attention to is that Paul told this message repeatedly. He told the story all the way up the chain.
It was well rehearse and given as often as he had the opportunity.
We see Paul telling the same story in chapter 22 , when he spoke to the original crowd we mobbed him. Then he defended this story in chapter 23 to the Jewish high council.
And now he shares his story with Festus and Agrippa.
And we have a story to tell. If you had been saved by Christ you have a story to tell.
Many times in this age of reality TV and sensational stories; we think that we have to be an ax murderer before we come to know Christ in order for our testimony to be good.
But the angels celebrate at every conversion.
Why they celebrate? Because every conversion is equally important. There is no greater or lesser testimony from any of the others.
Every single person here is a man or woman whom Christ died for. It is a miracle every time someone turns his life over to Christ.
Jesus said that it was harder for a rich man to enter heaven. Why because his life was all taken care of! It is a great miracle when someone who has there life put together, in human terms, to repent and to turn to Christ.
Every testimony can be used to share the gospel.
Your testimony has life.
You can read any book about anything but to hear first hand about what happened, that is where the interesting takes place.
Over the years, I have gained an appreciation for History.
And I can read book after book on an event, but what do I like most? Biographies. I don’t just want to know what happened, I want to know the people that it happened to.
I want to know what they thought about while they were making history—how they felt, where was their family, how did they walk through their days.
And this is true for your testimony as well.
People can go into any library or web site and find out about Christianity. In this internet age, the facts of Christianity are easy to find.
But what makes a difference is a person’s true story—how their lives were changed.
“I was lost but now, I’m found!”
We need to share our stories to those that are around us.
You and I have a story to tell.
But, how do we tell the story—what do we say.
In sharing your story you can use a simple formula. The same formula that Paul used in his story.
First, you tell about your life before Christ.
Look with me in Acts 26:9;
9“I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.?
10Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. 11Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Christ. I was so violently opposed to them that I even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands. (Acts 26:9, NLT)
Paul simply told the story of what he was before he met Christ. Many people during that time knew this to be true.
As a matter of fact, the Christians have a hard time believing his conversion because he was so dangerous. And they knew the details were true.
But it was important for Paul to remind them.
We have a short memory.
We forget where we came from, many times.
So it’s good to remind people that, yes, you too were separated from God.
And you have a similar story. Before you knew Christ there was something sinful in your life.
We all experience sin. Sin is anything that we think, say, or do that makes God unhappy. It isn’t elaborate. It is simply living in rebellion against him and his law.
This is where we run into trouble. We think we need a good story to really drive the point home—how bad we were. But the truth is—we all deserve death and hell!
It is a blessing when anyone turns from their sin to Christ.
What we see is the stark contrast between what we were then and what we are now.
It is important to show people what Christ has done in your life. And the only way to start is to share about what it was like before you met Christ.
Second, you tell about how you met Christ.
Look at verse twelve,
12“One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. 13About noon, Your Majesty, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. 14We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,? ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to fight against my will.?‘ (Acts 26:12-13, NLT)
Paul shared about how Jesus came in spoke to him. He spoke about a light from heaven brighter than the sun.
And Jesus spoke to you as well.
Maybe it was not a light. But he spoke.
He called your name. For the first time in your life you heard him say “sinner repent”.
And that is an important part of the message of how you became a Christian.
The interesting thing of how people come to know Christ is that, in Jesus speaks to us. Yes, in many times someone was there to guide us through the process. But it was Jesus who was speaking. Jesus who is calling their name.
And that is an important port of witnessing to remember.
That we are not in the business of pushing our religion on anybody. We are obedient to Christ command to go. We tell the story. But it is Christ who draws the net.
We talk about having big churches. We should not be concerned about the numbers. Numbers are important. Because numbers represent people. And numbers are something to rejoice over.
But the numbers is God’s business. Our business is obedience. We are to go.
We are not there to convinces anybody—we are there to go and share our story and watch what God will do in people’s lives.
So in your testimony, remember the time when Jesus spoke to you.
He may have spoken through a friend.
He may have spoken through a book.
He may have spoken through a TV ministry.
He may have spoken through a preacher.
It may have been a moment that all of these questions came together in one point—in a still moment in the field.
Or you may have simply come to the point of knowing that you are a sinner in need of a savior.
And it is this time that you can share the points of the gospel.
You can say:
I was a sinner.
I was doomed to die as the Scripture teaches.
But I came to realize that Jesus paid the penalty for me.
But I had to accept it. And you can tell, in your story that you did.
This is what we share! We share how we were lost and then we were found. We share how the message became undeniably clear to us that Jesus was calling us.
While in our society, we can hear the facts of Christianity. We can also hear the skeptics. But one thing that we cannot deny is what happen to us.
Jesus spoke to us; we know this. This we can share, it is the best defense we have. It is the miracle of conversion.
After we have shared about our life before Christ and about how we came to believe in Christ,
tell how your life has been different since coming to Christ.
Look down in verse nineteen,
19“And so, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to that vision from heaven. 20I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must turn from their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do. 21Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. (Acts 26:19-21, NLT)
Paul takes time to explain how his life change after he accepted Christ. It is key to say and that Paul was not disobedient following his conversion.
And while he still encountered temptation and even sin, his goal was to be obedient to Christ. And once you have accepted Christ, you are a new creation.
The old life is gone. And the new life is here. This is a distinct difference in the old nature and the new nature. And in your testimony, take time to make it clear, this difference.
And once you have given your testimony you can ask a key question:
“Have you ever had a life changing experience like that?
And would you like to meet Jesus also?”
Witnessing is as simple as telling your story. Everyone likes a good story.
And you can tell them your story.
We have been talking this morning about sharing our personal testimony.
You cannot share a message that you do not have.
Can you look back in your life and see a point of decision, a turning point in your life where you turned from sin and turned to Christ?
I’m not lost on the fact that there are those here that may be sitting in chapel week after week and never turning their life to Christ. Chapel makes you feel better, it makes your family happy, but going to chapel does not save you.
Only by believing in Christ can save you—placing your faith in the one died on the cross, in your place, and accepting that payment.
You can know for sure that you have accepted Christ into your life.
You can be sure when you ask Jesus into your life that you will spend eternity in heaven.
Would you accept Jesus today? All your sin has been paid for. All you have to do is accept it. If there is a doubt, will you clear this up this morning?
Jesus says “behold, I stand at the door and knock”. Will you open that door today?
Let us pray.
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This sermon was preached at Warrior Chapel at Camp Red Cloud Korea, 4SEP16.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.