 Acts chapter 22, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 3, Brotherhood and fathers, hear my defense before you now. And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said, 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 father's law and was zealous toward God as you all are today. And so we're going to be looking at a testimony, the power of a testimony. Now some people have yet to have a testimony because they're not saved and you may not understand what we're looking at today but I would ask you to give a listen and grow to understand a little bit about the power of what is called a testimony. Now I want to lay the foundation here by reminding us of a few things. Remember when Jesus Christ had prepared his men for ministry, he had taught them to expect resistance. He had made it very clear they're about to enter into spiritual warfare. They're going to enter into hostile territory and as they enter into this kind of territory, this opposition that they are to expect rejection, even persecution. Now the reason that they would be rejected, the reason that they would encounter persecution is because they're giving a message, a message that is resisted by Satan. It's a message called the gospel, a message of freedom from sin and freedom from bondage and as messengers of this gospel they're entering in to hostile territory, to enemy territory. When John was writing the Apostle John in 1 John chapter 5 verse 19, this is what he wrote. He said, we know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. And so they're embarking on a rescue mission to set free those who have been taken captive by Satan and the message that they're going to bring is going to be the message that rescues them because it's a message that opens the spiritually blind eyes of the prisoners. Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4 said, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. So Jesus knew that the enemy would not let go of his prisoners easily. He had said in Luke chapter 10 verses 2 and 3 he had said, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest. He said, go I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. So he's preparing his men for the attacks from the enemy and he's saying it when you take this message out into this hostile environment that is under the control this way of the evil one, Satan, expect persecution as a price for preaching the gospel. He said in Matthew 10 22, you'll be hated by everyone because of my name but the one who perseveres to the end he said will be saved. So rejection and even persecution is part of the price for preaching this message of salvation. When we rely on the Lord then what happens is he will give us the strength that we need. He'll give us the words that we need to speak. In Luke 12 11 and 12 he said when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say he went on to say for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you want to say. Paul was prepared. The Spirit had given him words of preparation for the suffering that he's going to endure earlier in chapter 20 of the book of Acts. He had said in verses 22 and 23 he said see now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem not knowing the things that will happen to me there. He said except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city saying that chains and tribulations await me. And so he knew he was going to suffer many things for the name of Christ and these are the things that can happen when you want to live for Christ. It's part of the cost that we need to be willing to pay as we go on this rescue mission. Somebody said suffering for Christ's sake is to be viewed as a privilege as God has bestowed the gift of salvation. So he has also bestowed the gift of suffering. Where would you get that idea from? Well Philippians 1.29 it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for him. And so Paul was ready to do that and Paul is experiencing what he's been prepared for. Now last time we were together when he was in the temple he had been falsely accused of bringing into the temple a Gentile. That was an offense worthy of death and a crowd had set upon him in order to kill him. They had thought that he had brought a Gentile into areas that were prohibited to the Gentile. Now there was a sign I mentioned this to you that that was placed in the court of the Gentiles. That was the only place a Gentile could go into. It was four different courtyards. The court of the Gentiles, the Gentiles could enter in but they could not enter in any further than that and there was a sign that said no Gentile may enter within the screen and the enclosure around the temple whoever shall be caught doing so shall be responsible for his own death which follows. Well they had seen him there with the man by the name of Trophimus who was an Ephesian and they said he's brought a Gentile into the temple and it was a near riot ensued and as that happened the commander had come intervening and rescued Paul and the violence was so great that Paul had to be carried by soldiers and when he was about to go into the barracks he had begged for permission to speak. Now the commander had thought he was an Egyptian leader of 4,000 assassins but after discovering who he was he gave him permission to address the crowd and that's where we're picking up our study. Now in verse 40 of chapter 21 it says when he had given him permission Paul stood on the stairs motioned with his hand to the people and when there was a great silence he spoke to them in the Hebrew language saying brethren and fathers hear my defense before you now. Now Paul begins what is called a defense and I want you to notice and I'm going to develop this with you I want you to notice that it was a defense that was given with respect to those who were listening in other words he respectfully is asking them to hear him as he speaks. He says in verse 1 of chapter 22 hear my defense. Now I mentioned to you last summer together that the word defense is a Greek word the New Testament is written in what is called koine or common Greek and so the word defense is a Greek word it's where you get the word apologetics from. Apologetics is a reason statement or an argument concerning Christian doctrine and so he's giving a reason statement of the things he most surely believes he's giving a defense of the gospel and he's about to answer the charges that have been brought against him and he's using his circumstances as his opportunity to preach the gospel to them. Now we see that various times in Scripture how something is happening and is used as a platform for preaching Jesus is going through a place called Samaria as he's entering into this region called Samaria he's by a well it's the well of sicker and as he's there by this particular well a woman comes with a water pot we all know this story and as she approaches to draw some water and it's noon time and all Jesus begins to speak to her concerning a need for water and he uses that particular instance in her life a circumstance so that he can preach the message of salvation to her God will give us opportunities in circumstances something that's happening sometimes in the ordinary way of life where we're able to begin to share and that's what's taking place here Paul is using the circumstances to give him an opportunity to preach the message of the gospel now they have given charges against him he saw him in chapter 21 verse 28 they had said that he spoke against the Jews the law as well as the temple so he's about to refute those charges but first he wants to share concerning his miraculous conversion he's about to preach the gospel to his people and these are people that he loves deeply so when you share when you give your testimony when you witness witnessing doesn't begin with the desire to win an argument there are so many who want to win arguments you can win an argument and still lose a person when I was a young believer I didn't know that so I studied up on things and then I would approach those who held certain beliefs with an argumentative heart and the Lord said to me as in an earlier days he said you may possibly win an argument but you're losing the person with your attitude you see witnessing doesn't begin with the desire to win an argument it doesn't begin with the desire to impress people with your eloquence or your intelligence and witnessing and giving testimony is enrooted in anger towards the loss for ruining everything you like which I think is happening a lot today we're angry at the people who have ruined this wonderful nation and all of that well it doesn't begin there with anger it doesn't begin that way at all it begins with a concern in loving heart because those who are doing such things are lost and you see that in scripture Jesus is approaching Jerusalem and it's on Palm Sunday and Luke tells us something as he's approaching the city when he says in Luke 19 verse 41 as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city he wept over it the heart of evangelism begins with a heart that's broken the heart of evangelism isn't going to be found in the anger we feel about how things are though I think there's a time for righteous anger of course but the heart of evangelism is rooted in a broken heart because the people who are doing such things don't know the Lord and thus are doing things to fulfill whatever desires they may have that they think may make them fulfilled or make them happy the heart of giving a testimony the heart of a witness begins by being broken in Psalm 126 verses 5 and 6 the Psalmist said those who sow in tears will reap in joy he who continually goes forth weeping bearing seed for sowing shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him it's seen that something is going to take place like when Jesus was weeping over Jerusalem if you had only known this your day the moment of your visitation and now things will be destroyed because you rejected the one who came bringing peace back in ancient history moment here for you 2004 there was a tsunami all of us were aware of it those of us who were alive at that time and aware of things going on in the world there was a tsunami and part of that that tsunami affected Thailand and I had the opportunity with others to go to a place called Phuket in Thailand and to scout it out and to see the damage and then we were involved in helping to to restore and to do work and to plant churches to plant ministries there and this fellowship back then in 2004 without me ever receiving an offering I simply said if you want to help those people we received in today's dollars about a quarter million dollars in three weeks never taking an offer never receiving an offering I just said if it's on your heart and we were able to do a lot of work in Thailand and all of that it was terrible it was a terrible thing and at that time something was circulating a video that I had opportunity to see perhaps some of you may if you cast your memory back there you might remember it but there was a man who was on top of a roof as he was watching the wave coming towards the shoreline and he was yelling at the people who were by the shore and he was yelling because he could see the wave as it was approaching the people down below could not see it and he was yelling for them to get off the shore the wave is coming the wave is coming and what happens and some of you know this perhaps some don't tsunami waves can travel in open sea up to 500 miles an hour they're not just going like the waves we see in Huntington or wherever these are 500 mile an hour 30 plus feet a wave that can outrun jets there have been reports of people in commercial jets as they're coming a tsunami is moving that is outrunning the jet itself that's how fast they go and when they hit the shore it's not some small wave it's a 30 foot wave that's building up in intensity so when it hits the shore everything that is in its path is churned it's like being dropped into incinerator you used to call them whatever that thing is called now or a blender I'll use the word blender all of us know what that is and you're gone it's just that fast and so he's yelling get off the shore he's screaming because he sees the tsunami he sees the wave and you know what happened when it's about to hit the water recedes from the shoreline and builds that's what it does and there was a man and you can see this this man who saw all the fish that were left behind as the wave was receding and he had a basket and he ran out and he was picking up all these fish because he sold fish in a market and he was thinking what a blessing look at all of this I don't even have to cast a net and the guy is yelling and he's saying get off and the wave hits him and this is the last you'll ever see of that man for fish on the sand ministers of the gospel will preach like that they'll say what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul what will you give in exchange for your soul that man was willing to exchange his soul for some fish that he thought was his benefit or his blessing that day ministers Paul is on the roof looking down crying to people dangerous coming judgment is coming save yourself and that's the heart of evangelism it's a passion it's not out of anger it's out of concern it's a heart that's been broken in Romans 9 1-3 I'm not lying my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for I could wish that I myself were cursed cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers those of my own race Paul isn't rude Paul isn't preaching arrogantly he's not aggressive he's not belligerent he's not self righteous he's sharing a message and he's going to do so with respect, humility as well as passionate urgency he writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 verse 24 a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach in patient and that's what he's doing now he's showing us how when you give a witness when you give a testimony the heart should be broken and the speech should be controlled restraining any anger and anything that could be perceived as arrogance and belligerence it says brethren and fathers hear my defense before you now in verse 2 when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language they kept all the more silent and he said I am indeed a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city not according to the strictness of our father's law and was zealous toward God as you all are today and so notice his speaks in verse 2 of how he spoke to them in the Hebrew language now as he was doing that by speaking in Hebrew he was bypassing their cultural dislike for the Greek language the Greek language was all over the city of Jerusalem and throughout Israel the Jews preferred Hebrew and so they don't like that because the Greek language carries with it the connotations of Greek culture and your language, the words that you choose to use to describe the things you believe in their containers that are actually opened up to expose the things that you most surely hold fast to so the Hebrews preferred the Hebrew language over the Greeks you remember the Greek language remember that the first controversy the church had to do with the Greek cultured Jewish women and the Jewish women themselves who were born and culturally Jewish it was involved over the Hellenization of these Greeks the Greeks were not received well by the Jews and so he chooses to use the words that he speaks he chooses to use the words that are Hebrew and not Greek they had a preference of Scripture being quoted in Hebrew also and not the Greek and so what he's doing here is he's speaking a language that the Romans will not necessarily understand this is a private language if you will when I grew up on occasion when my mom wanted to say something to my brother and me and I'm not a fluent Spanish speaker let me say that immediately I can order in a Mexican restaurant and I can get in trouble but I'm not fluent I thought my middle name is a stupido for the longest time so I'm just telling you but my mom when she wanted to say something that was kind of private though we were in public we knew enough Spanish as children for her to speak to us in Spanish why did she do that because my mom and dad felt that it was rude to speak a language that others around you couldn't understand so on occasion my mother would speak in Spanish to us because she wanted us to know something and so that made it a private conversation even though it was open that's what's happening here the Romans are there but they're not understanding the language that Paul is speaking that immediately connects him with the people that he's addressing and so he begins by saying again in verse 3 I'm a Jew I was born in Tarsus of Cilicia but he was brought up in the city so as a Jew he's saying this and this is important to see how he's beginning his defense as a Jew I know better than to bring a Gentile he's saying into the temple now he's saying that I'm Jewish I was raised here I understand it's intended to open a door he's basically saying I understand I identify with you I'm one of you now that also answers the charge that he had brought a Gentile into the temple he's making it very clear that cannot be true I was raised here I understand that so he's giving his testimony he's giving a personal testimony now what is the testimony a testimony is a personal story of the love of God and God's grace to us a testimony is intended to encourage and to inspire as well as to connect people to the message of salvation a testimony is a witness of God's work in our life it's a story that's intended to contrast what we were with what we have become by the grace of God it's a story for the purpose of bringing glory to God and not the sinner it's intended to cause people to desire the one who saves and not to be enthralled by the things you've done sometimes when we listen to people's testimonies you get caught up with all the evil they've done and you fail to see the good that God has done and a testimony is not supposed to exalt the sinner it's a show how rancid and sin that person was and the grace of God that set you free from those things and that's what he's about to do he's given a story to contrast what he was to what he has become the grace of God in 1 Timothy 1 12 through 15 he said I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry although I was formerly a blasphemer a persecutor and an insolent man but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Jesus this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief what is the testimony it gives glory to God and I want you to notice when he was saying this to Timothy he said I was formerly I was formerly a blasphemer persecutor insolent man I obtained mercy you were but you're not now keep that in mind I was in a sociology sociology class at Cal Poly Pomona and it happened that I went to the class early and there was another young man there who was with me this many years ago now and so he seated across from me nobody else is in the class the class hasn't yet hasn't begun yet and he begins to speak to me and I used to take the opportunity in circumstances like that to share and so he says well who are you in this and that and we began to speak again we're in a sociology class and I gave him my testimony and I shared with him what I was and what I've become and as I'm sharing with him about these things he says to me oh because I was an alcoholic so I told him I said yeah I love to drink I wasn't a I wasn't a social drinker I was the one who drank and over drank until I was inebriated I didn't even know what it tasted like I was too busy just drinking and I shared with him I was an alcoholic and then I said I came to faith in Christ and I am no longer an alcoholic and he says oh I see because now he's putting into the things we're learning in the class and so he says oh I see he said you had a conversion experience and I said conversion experience I said what I am it's a new creation if anyone is in Christ they told him he's a new creation all things are passed away behold all things are become new I said I haven't been conversion experienced I've been born again by the blood of Jesus Christ and see that that's preaching the gospel it's not going by man's way that we like to talk about experiences everybody has their own no this is a born again and that's what Paul is talking about I was once a drunk but I'm not I was once a drunk I'm not I was once an angry I'm not I'm none of those things because I'm brand new in Jesus Christ and that's the whole thing we need to understand I was formerly a blasphemer there are people to this day who say well they're born again but they're still an alcoholic no you're not you've been set free in the Lord Jesus Christ His Holy Spirit dwells within you you're a brand new identify for what you are not what you were and Paul didn't say I am a blasphemer he says I was a blasphemer but no more see that's what it means to be converted so he's giving his testimony it magnifies the grace of God and it gives him an opening to share he wants to share the loving grace of God through these spiritually lost people so he says in verse 3 he was born in Silicia but he was brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel so what are you saying Paul well in his testimony he is saying I am not an outsider there are those who say well he doesn't value Israel he doesn't value Jerusalem so he's saying though I haven't been born in Israel I've been brought up in Israel as a matter of fact verse 3 my parents loved their faith and they even had me tutored by Gamaliel now Gamaliel was one of the most respected pharisaic rabbis it's giving an insight into his conservative training he intends to silence those who had said that he spoke against Moses and the temple and it also gives us insight he speaks to them in the Hebrew language he wants to identify with them helping them to realize that he understands so he was born he says in verse 3 in Tarsus but was brought up in the city at the feet of Gamaliel my Jewish credentials are without question I was taught the law he's saying I belong to Israel's most conservative denominations now remember during that day there were two major denominations in Israel there were the Sadducees and there were the Pharisees the Sadducees had been influenced by Greek philosophy Greek thinking but the Pharisees were the separated ones so word Pharisee speaks of the separated one so they were the ultra-conservative and that's what he's saying I was a Pharisee later on in chapter 26 according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee in Philippians when he's sharing his testimony again in chapter 3 verse 5 he says he was circumcised the 8th day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin he said I'm a Hebrew of the Hebrews concerning the law of Pharisee and when you said that you were really laying your credentials and Gamaliel highly respected Pharisee he's identifying in this way and so he says in verse 3 I was zealous for God as you all are today now notice this he doesn't accuse them of being without God he accuses them of being zealous when you're sharing with people and you discover their religious background whatever it may be they tell you I'm a this or I'm a that you might have a desire to just jump in it and tell them all the things that are wrong with that particular denomination there are quite a number of people who do that I was raised in the Catholic Church when my friend Bill got saved he found it was a good thing for him to attack the things that I had been taught and it just didn't open the door for me because I got angry at him why are you attacking me why are you attacking the things that I've been taught I didn't like it and so we have to be careful these people to know Jesus that's what you're wanting so he's saying I was zealous for God as you all are today as a matter of fact I'm not saying that you're without God what I'm saying is you're very zealous but I was too I was so zealous that I hunted down Christians because they were heretics now in the New Testament you might find this interesting perhaps I've already shared this or you've heard this in the New Testament Gentiles are referred to as those without God those without God in Ephesians 2 verse 12 when Paul was speaking to the Gentiles of Ephesus he said at that time you were without Christ being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel strangers from the Covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world so the Gentiles were referred to as being without God they were idolaters separated from God but the Jews are referred to as having a zeal for God but without knowledge when he was writing to the Romans in chapter 10 verses 2 through 4 he said this he said I can testify about them that they are zealous for God but their zeal is not based on knowledge since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own and not submit to God's righteousness Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes so the Jews are referred to as having a zeal for God but without knowledge and that's why he's so zealous to proclaim Christ and he speaks about this verse 4 he said I persecuted this way to the death binding and delivering into prisons both men and women as also the high priest bears the 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 and he continues by saying I was a persecutor of this way when he says I was a persecutor of the way well this way is the way of Christ it speaks about the Christian faith how Jesus is the truth he's the way he is eternal life and so he's making it very clear that his religious zeal prompted him to persecute believers he believed that there were heretics and they needed to be dealt with in Galatians 1.13 he said you heard of my former conduct in Judaism how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it he believed their heresy was worthy of capital punishment again in chapter 26 verse 10 that is just what I did in Jerusalem on the authority of the chief priest I put many of the Lord's people in prison and when they were put to death I cast my vote against them so Paul is saying listen as you have taken me and I have been taken and beaten as you wanted to do that to me I have done the same I have done that to others he said in verse 5 the high priest can bear witness now it was raining at that time it's not the same high priest who had known of his efforts previous this is a different high priest but this new high priest would have been aware of what Paul's life was like as was the council and so he's speaking in this way and in verse 6 continues and says it happened as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me and I founded the ground and I heard a voice saying to me oh, Saul why are you persecuting me so I answered who are you Lord and he said to me I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting he gives the time that this happened and the location he came near Damascus suddenly is about noon a great light shone around you notice how he remembers you might want to mark this notice how he remembers when he came to faith in Christ now there are those who have been raised in the church and perhaps just will say you know I honestly can't give you a particular day because I was raised in the faith of Christ at a certain point they knew for certain that I had a relationship with them but there are others who can tell you the exact day for me December 27, 1970 I can tell you that day that my darkness was turned into light and he's able to say that too he's able to say that this happened at this time and notice in verse 9 he says 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 I want to point something out here they saw the light they were afraid they didn't hear the voice now what he's doing is he's referring to witnesses who can substantiate his claim as an actual truth in Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 it says one witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed or a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses and so he's using these as witnesses who can speak on what had happened in Deuteronomy concerning that now at first glance this could seem to contradict something we had seen in chapter 9 because in chapter 9 when the event was written for us to read and to study in Acts chapter 9 verse 7 it says very clearly the men who journeyed with him stood speechless hearing a voice and seeing no one so one verse says they heard a voice the other says they did not hear the voice so I mean is this a contradiction in Scripture we are told as believers very often that while your Bible is filled with contradictions perhaps some of you who have taken the time to share have had somebody say that to you the Bible is full of contradictions well most of the time all you need to do is hand them the Bible and ask them to show you what because normally they can't because they're simply repeating something they heard in one of the classes in school or in discussion with friends filled with contradictions normally you can do that but is this a contradiction no let me share something very briefly with you again one verse says they heard a voice the other says they didn't hear the voice the word here the word here in the Greek language means to comprehend or to understand in other words they did not understand what was being said that's when he's saying the voice but saw no one they heard but did not comprehend well why would you say that well one the word means to understand or comprehend that's what it means but two we have another example of hearing but not understanding in John 12 27 through 29 now my soul is troubled what shall I say father saved me from this hour but for this purpose I came to this hour father glorify your name then a voice came from heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it again therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered others said an angel has spoken to him they heard but did not understand and so that's the word that's being used here they heard but did not understand well it says verse 10 so I said what shall I do Lord the Lord said to me arise going to Damascus and there you'll be told all things which are appointed for you to do and 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 in other words the glory of the Lord temporarily had blinded him verse 12 then a certain ananias a devout man according to the law having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there came to me and he stood and said to me brother Saul receive your sight and at the same hour I looked up at him and then he said the god of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will see the just one and hear the voice of his mouth for you will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard and now why are you waiting arise be baptized wash away your sins calling the name on the name of the Lord and so he speaks to him and notice how ananias has referred to in verse 12 as a devout man and it had a good testimony that means that he's establishing his credibility by calling on this man's reputation and so verse 13 says he came to me and he stood and said receive your sight so he's saying I was healed I received my sight the foundation has been laid I began to preach and then he goes on in verses 14 and 15 and speaks concerning the ministry he's received and what is it to be a witness notice to all men that's an important point we'll be looking at that in just a second now I'll touch something with you real quickly verse 16 why are you waiting be baptized wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord now let me touch that for a minute is this saying that your sins are washed away by water baptism now why is that well because baptism is an act of obedience but it is not something that's saved you're not saved by being water baptized in verse Peter 321 water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God it saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ baptism is a portrayal of death burial and resurrection that's the point you've identified that the one who died on behalf of you was raised from the dead who now gives you life your water baptized the old man is dead and you have a newness of life in Christ that's the picture that you have why because even if it's a very special and religious thing to do it isn't what is saving you Titus 3.5 says not by works of righteousness which we've done but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration the renewing of the Holy Spirit so salvation results from faith in Jesus Christ and him alone for by grace you saved through faith and that not of yourself it's a gift of God and not by works of the Holy Spirit so baptism is an act of obedience that results from salvation not in salvation it's an outward demonstration of an internal faith so as he's sharing in verse 17 it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple I was at a trance and saw him saying to me make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly for they will not receive your testimony they know that in every synagogue I am present and beat those who believe on you and when the blood of your martyrs Stephen was shed I also was standing by consenting to his death guarding the clothes of those who were killing him so he begins to share concerning these things he says when I returned verse 17 to Jerusalem he was praying in the temple this would have occurred a few years later I was there in the temple it's pointing out that he didn't dishonor the temple he still honored it and he says I was in a trance the Lord spoke to me by sharing this with them it makes it clear his mission is ordained by God it reminds them of the vision that Isaiah in chapter 6 it had when it says in Isaiah 6 8 through 10 I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will go for us shall I send me and he said go tell this people be ever hearing but never understanding be ever seeing but never perceiving make the heart of this people call us make their ears dull and close their eyes otherwise they might see with their eyes hear with their ears understand with their hearts and turn and be healed so the narrative implies that Jesus appeared to him in the temple in a vision special command he used to go to the Gentiles even though the Jewish people who are to receive the word are rejecting it now it goes on to say we'll move towards our conclusion verse 19 pick it up at verse 19 when the blood of martyrs Stephen was shed I also was standing by consenting to his death guarding the clothes of those who were killing him he said to me depart for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles up to that point things were going okay surely the Lord changed me you know that in every synagogue I imprisoned people I was consistent with the death of the first martyr I was passionately in favor with it and so he's speaking of his zeal and his Jewishness but then when he says in verse 21 I will send you far from here to Gentiles that was it for him to say I'm going to the Gentiles well that triggered the response they listened verse 22 until this word Gentiles were not equal to Jews Jews in their mind are the chosen people when he said he went to the Gentiles it outraged them this in their mind is proving the charge that Paul brought a Gentile into the temple what did they do as a response to that verse 23 says they listened to him until this word they raised their voices and said away with such a fellow from there he is not fit to live they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that he should be examined under scourging so that he might know why they shouted so against they went crazy they were so upset they were preparing by tearing off their clothes they were going to stone him and when the commander sees this he doesn't understand so he has them brought into the barracks we're going to have to discover what's happening why are they so upset verse 25 he found him with thongs with leather straps Paul said to the centurion who stood by is it lawful for you to scourge a man who's a Roman and un-condemned when the centurion heard that he went and told the commander saying take care of what you do for this man's a Roman the commander came and said to him tell me are you a Roman he said yes the commander answered with a large sum I obtained the citizenship Paul said I was born a citizen immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman and because he bound him and the next day because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews he released him from his bonds commanded the chief priests and all their accounts to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them so he's being prepared for scourging but he appeals to his rights as a citizen you see to scourge Paul in this way could result in the loss of the commander's life so in the discussion the commander says well I purchased citizenship probably by a bribe but Paul says I was born a Roman citizen and that carries much more weight now as they're speaking about this I want you to notice verse 29 immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him why is that they didn't want anything to do with this you could almost see them very slowly kind of moving back into the shadows and going out the door leaving the commander there with Paul because they had violated Roman law in binding a citizen who had not been charged with the crime so what he has to do now is he has to further examine him and that's what we'll be seeing as we continue but what is it we see as we conclude this portion of our study well one we see that Paul is a great example of a believer who's under trial one he accepts what is happening to him as being from the Lord he had been prepared and he was ready he knows that this is from the Lord too he used his circumstances as his opportunity so even though he knew where he was going and things were about to get even worse he was still faithful to preach the word of God which is why he had come to Jerusalem and finally even when he had been unjustly taken in this fashion he didn't respond with threats but he did make use of his proper rights which is what we even at this day do when people will say we are doing it much more now it's just it's not even hidden anymore this antagonism to the gospel you need to be quiet you can't congregate and if you do congregate you can't do it indoors and if you congregate outside you can't sing and if you're there outside not singing then you have to have six feet between you that is unless you're getting a tattoo if you're getting a tattoo that's okay or that is unless you're going to a strip club because if you're going to a strip club that's really okay that is unless you're gathering in a protest because if you're gathering in a protest with no mask that's still okay but you Christians you need to keep your mouth shut Christians you cannot congregate on Sunday you Christians you can't sing you Christians cannot have fellowship you Christians need to be isolated if you didn't see that was taking place let me remind you that it did and so what do we do we didn't shake our fist in the face of the government people wanted to gather and we gathered we gave you a little separation to give you a little comfort we didn't want to be stupid we don't bow our knee to Caesar we bow our knee to Christ and Paul was doing that Paul was making use of the rights he has as a citizen and that is never inappropriate it's the attitudes that we have it's a pugnacious it's in belligerence and sometimes we can have what we need to do is it's just follow the Lord and do the best that we can and to be as honest as we can as loving as we can as compassionate as we can caring as we can the best citizens that we can be but if you're telling me I can't worship the Lord Jesus Christ you've crossed the line I will worship Jesus Christ that's what you do and Paul was doing that he used his rights so he could proclaim the message that sets people free we need to be aware of that ourselves the rights that God gave to you not pugnaciously and belligerently but properly exercise those rights and take the opportunity because if there's anything this nation needs now it's revival and the church has to first be revived to ignite the world to come to faith in Christ exercise your rights do it properly do it with respect but exercise your rights you have them for a reason