Act Twenty Six

Paul's Testimony (v.19)

Paul’s Testimony (19)

Our life is a story. Our life is the story of what we did with Jesus Christ and what He did with us. Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing.” A story without God is a story about nothing. Paul had a story to tell. His and ours are called a testimony.

Paul loved to tell his story. His, like that of every believer’s story, has a before, a when, and a since I met Christ part. Paul describes his early life as being part of “the most straitest sect of our religion.” He said, “I live a Pharisee.” The Pharisees thought that none were better than they were. Even if that were true, Paul found out that, that was just not good enough.

On the Damascus Road Paul (then known as Saul) discovered that Jesus Christ was very much alive and that He was the Lord of Life. What remained of Paul’s life was to be dedicated to doing the will of the One who created him.

That vision on the Road to Damascus was the beginning of a life of purpose and passion. Toward the end of his life he gave his testimony to king Agrippa (v. 19) and said “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” To be less than obedient is to miss the reason we were born. Then Paul went on to say, “Having therefore obtained help from God, I continue unto this day….” This is every faithful Christians goal: to find God’s will and do it regardless of the cost, and regardless of the obstacles. The secret of Paul’s life and that of every obedient believer is found in the words, “Having obtained help from God.”

When Paul finished, the king said “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” To this Paul replied, “I wish.”

The Bible says (in John 1) that the “Word became flesh.” The Word is Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago the Word of God came to our planet. What men did with and to that Word is the story of the New Testament. It is enough here to say that God shall have the last word in the story. Your life is a chapter in the larger story of the Word. The story of your life is the story of what you did with the Word of God. What have you done with the Word of God, and what have you allowed the Word to do with you?