Acts 25:23-26:32

“Swapping Stories”

January 27, 2008

Associate Pastor Doug Forsberg

The pastor of the church where I grew up loved to tell stories.  He had a story for every situation, and everything that Jesus did reminded him of a story he’d heard somewhere or other.  Jesus got left behind in the temple as a boy; Dr. Anderson got left behind one time too.  Jesus’ disciples caught lots of fish; Dr. Anderson caught a lot of fish too.  Jesus’ feet were anointed by a harlot . . . come to think of it Dr. Anderson never had a story for that, but he did love to tell stories.

Every year on Christmas Eve, he repeated one story that was especially dear to him.  Believe it or not, it only took me 10 or 12 years to figure out that the Christmas Eve sermon was the same every year, for each year Dr. Anderson would stand before the congregation and retell the most important story of his life: he would tell us how he had come to be a follower of Jesus Christ and a pastor.

You see during World War II, he was on a troop transport ship in the North Atlantic.  On Christmas Eve, a German U-boat shot a torpedo that hit his ship.  The ship was taking on water and was sure to sink.  In the midst of the chaos, Dr. Anderson came to believe in Jesus and he then told God that if he survived that night, he would become a pastor and share the Good News with as many as possible.  More than half the men on the ship drowned, but Dr. Anderson survived and he was true to his promise. 

Every Christmas Eve we gathered and heard this story with all of its details and the amazing escape from death that Dr, Anderson made.  Every year, the sanctuary was completely silent as he told this story, silent because somehow Dr. Anderson’s story connected with our stories, silent because it was obvious that Jesus’ story had impacted all of our lives and made our stories worth telling.

Last week Bill noted that Paul faithfully spoke of Jesus whenever and wherever he was sent.  In the text before us today, we find Paul standing before the political and military elite of Palestine.  He’s not on trial; he’s standing before a fact finding task force that is trying to come up with a report for the emperor that includes their reasons for sending Paul on to Rome.  It is as if Paul is before prosecuting attorneys gathering evidence for a case.

Paul doesn’t feel as though he’s on Law and Order though.  He doesn’t have anything to hide, so he’s not anxious or nervous, and while he does want his imprisonment to end, he also sees this as an opportunity to do something that Jesus said his disciples would do.  Jesus said, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (Matt 10:19-20).

As Paul stands before the political and military elites, he does something that we should notice.  He shares the Good News.  There he is, suffering in prison and facing the possibility of a trial before the Roman Emperor and instead of simply defending himself, he proclaims the gospel to his audience, speaking God’s message of love and hope, addressing Festus and Agrippa personally and authentically with the story of his life and the way in which Jesus Christ had completely changed him.

As Paul addresses Festus, Agrippa and the other dignitaries assembled in that room he sets an example for us to follow as we seek to share our faith.  As Jesus said, we need not worry about the specific words we will use when sharing our faith, but if we are going to be prepared to share our faith in a faithful manner, then we should pay attention to the structure of Paul’s message and we would do well to follow his example.

One of the first times that I tried to share my faith I failed miserably and would have been helped by Paul’s example.  I was a sophomore in college, and my roommate had invited a friend of his from home to stay with us for a weekend.  By Saturday night it was clear that this friend didn’t know Jesus, so we decided that by Sunday he would.  There he was trapped in a forsaken dorm room with two zealots who didn’t know job from Job.  We went at him for hours, refuting every argument he could think of, defending the faith, hammering him with scripture and fighting the evil one. 

Unfortunately, in our zealousness, we forgot who the evil one was.  Looking back on the experience now, I’m embarrassed to say that we didn’t even ask him why he’d come nine hours to be with us.  I imagine that if we had shown the slightest bit of interest in who he really was, our sharing of the faith would have been more faithful.

Faith in Jesus Christ is never shared in a vacuum.  Another person is always present when we share our faith and in the most basic of ways we are seeking to bring the story of Jesus into the story of their life.  When we share our faith, we share one and only one thing and that is Jesus Christ and the way in which his story has impacted our own story.  Sharing our faith is personal; it reveals who we are and offers others the opportunity to reveal who they are.  Let’s look at Acts 26 and see the way in which Paul shares his faith.

The first thing we should notice as we look at this passage is that Paul speaks directly to King Agrippa.  Six times Paul address the king by his title (2, 7, 13, 19, 26, 27) and three time Paul includes Agrippa’s name (2, 19, 27).  Although he was speaking to many people, Paul directed his story to King Agrippa in a personal way meant to move Agrippa’s heart.  One reason for this might have been that Agrippa, according to verse 3, understood the Jewish faith and knew the Old Testament scriptures (v. 27).  He was prepared to hear of this new thing that God had done in Jesus Christ.

This is not to say that Paul’s story wasn’t meant to be heard by the others gathered in that assembly.  Surely, Paul was aware and able to reach out to that whole crowd of people, but he did so by addressing his story to one man, the man who could receive it and share it with the others, the man who happened to be king and in control of the Jewish nation.

After begging Agrippa to listen to him patiently, a plea that any preacher can identify with, Paul begins to reveal his story to Agrippa.  Verses 4 through 11 offer a summary of the kind of life that Paul used to live, a life that was in opposition to the Lordship of Jesus.  Paul relates how he had been raised in the Jewish faith and had become a Pharisee.  He reveals that as a Pharisee he looked forward to the resurrection, for that was a hope that all Pharisees shared.  He goes on to tell Agrippa that as a Pharisee he led the way in opposing those who followed Jesus; he even put Jesus’ disciples in prison and voted to have some of them executed.  Every fiber of Paul’s being was focused on wiping out Christians and their faith.  Paul would have nothing to do with Jesus.

But as Paul relates in verses 12-18 a funny thing happened on the way to Damascus.  As he shares his story with Agrippa, he moves from telling of his life before following Christ to focusing on how he came to believe in Jesus.  He tells Agrippa that he went to Damascus to persecute any followers of Jesus who were there when suddenly a light from heaven blazed around him and his companions causing them to fall to the ground.  Paul hears a voice questioning him; and then Paul asks who is speaking.  Jesus then reveals himself to Paul.  Jesus gives Paul a special mission, sending Paul out to serve and proclaim all he has seen and will see.

No doubt, this is a dramatic conversion.  If only we had eyes to see that every conversion is dramatic.  Every time a person encounters Jesus and offers their life in service to him, something amazing has happened.  What gives this story power is not lights from heaven, it is Jesus at work in Paul’s life, at work in your life, at work in my life.

When those who encounter Jesus respond in faith to him, they are changed; they are converted.  This is the next part of Paul’s story found in verses 19-23.  Paul goes from living in direct opposition to the Lordship of Christ to sharing the Good News in Damascus, Jerusalem, and all Judea.  He obediently follows where Jesus bids him to go, proclaiming that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and that he offers life to all those who follow him.

So we see this very simple structure for sharing our lives and faith with others: 1. honestly speaking of who we were in the past, 2. telling of our encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and then 3. relating the way in which our lives demonstrate our conversion.  When faith is shared in this way, those with whom we speak can’t help but respond.

In verse 24 Festus responds by interrupting Paul and accusing him of insanity.  Surely, there are many who look at those who follow Jesus and think the same thing as Festus.  For whatever reason, such faith makes no sense to them and the only explanation they can think of is that Christians are out of their minds.

Paul then makes an appeal to Agrippa, saying that Agrippa knows that such faith is not unreasonable.  Paul knows what he is doing here.  Those gathered trust Agrippa.  If he says that such faith is reasonable; they may accept this word.  Paul is also making a direct appeal to Agrippa to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

As faith in Jesus is shared, an invitation to believe must be made, for it is not true that every way of life brings equal access to the Living God.  The only way that allows such access is through Jesus, this is why his story demands a response and seeking a response can be difficult for us because when we share our faith with others and they reject Jesus, they also reject his work within our lives, within our story.

Do you know what I love about this account?  I love the fact that Paul fails to bring Festus and Agrippa to faith.  For their own sake, I wish they had come to faith, and perhaps they did later on, but not in this moment.  Not everyone that Paul shared his story with chose to accept that story.  Paul, Apostle that he was, didn’t have a perfect recruiting scorecard, but he did faithfully share his story no matter the situation in which he found himself.  The way that those we share our stories with respond is a matter that is between them and God; our faithfulness is found in truthfully telling others of Jesus’ work in our lives in a way that they can hear it.

Chances are that right now there is someone in your life that needs to hear the way in which Jesus has been at work in you.  They need to know the hope that you have; they need to know that the darkness they face is not the final word; they need to be introduced to Jesus, and God has put you in their lives so that this introduction would occur.  Will you share your story with them?

It may be that some gathered here this morning are not followers of Jesus.  Perhaps Paul’s story has moved you this morning, perhaps you have been persuaded that Jesus’ story has everything to do with your story and you are ready to offer your life in service to Christ.  After worship, Bill and I are available to speak and pray with you so too are those gathered in these pews.  Don’t miss this opportunity to respond to Jesus.

May it be Lord.  May it be.  Let us pray.