Acts 26-2.7.2022
When They Call You Crazy
Scripture:
Acts 26:24-26
Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!” But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!”
Observation:
Paul had been driving the chief priests and elders of the Jews into a frenzied furor over his preaching about Jesus as Messiah and by demonstrations of the power of God. They angrily labored to find cause to charge Paul with a crime. When they did so Paul immediately exercised his right to request that he be tried before Caesar himself. The charges filed against Paul were flimsy, so short on criminal status that Festus, like a prosecution attorney who understood how weak the case was, consulted with King Agrippa about what to do. Agrippa was intrigued and told Festus he wanted to hear Paul for himself, like a pretrial hearing. While Agrippa listened intently as Paul shared the story of his miraculous conversion and calling, when on the road to Damascus, Festus became so frustrated that he interrupted Paul and mocked him, deriding him as out of his mind and insane. It was a moment of tense confrontation and accusation. Paul was presented with an opportunity to respond. Would he retaliate with like anger and hostility? Would he wilt under the accusatory pressure? Or, would he calmly refute the accusation and point out truth? How does a follower of Jesus respond when unbelievers insinuate or ridicule him or her as crazy?
Understanding:
It is a common human trait; mock or deny the authenticity of a thought, concept, or truth by belittling the person who proclaims truth. Truth can threaten or undermine a sense of control. A need to control is often hidden behind a mask of superiority. Some things never change: If you can’t deny or argue against truth then mock the testifier of it. Defensive and personal accusations expose insecurity. Suddenly, the accuser is revealed as having nothing more with which to refute truth than denigrating the carrier of truth. Spiritual and intellectual nakedness are then on full display. The accuser hides behind a wall of belligerence rather than seeking to understand and consider truth.
Life Application:
How should you respond if confronted by a “crazy” accusation when you sincerely share truth about Jesus and serving Him?
Fighting fire with fire only works against forest fires. In most other situations, if you try to fight fire with fire – you just get a bigger fire. Instead of firing off a counter charge like, “And you are a nitwit yourself, Festus,” Paul refuted the accusation with a calmly and humbly confident, non-escalating response: “I am not insane.”
Honor your accuser with kindness. Paul referred to him as, “Most Excellent Festus.” Instead of countering hostility with more of the same, Paul disarmingly short-circuited it.
Humbly and confidently declare the nature of the truth. Paul described it as “the sober truth.” He did not become defensive or threatened. He calmly held course and (by contrast with Festus) explained that he was not embellishing or reacting out of anger or the influence of anything else. “Just the facts, Jack.”
Appeal to a common foundation as a bridge for understanding. Paul invited Agrippa (looking past Festus) to recognize what Paul had shared because Paul knew Agrippa was aware of the public nature of what had transpired. Everything was out in the open and, because of that, Paul said he could speak about it boldly. Look for a bridge of connection with truth.
“Thank you for helping me, Lord, to keep my heart and wits calm when accusations are made against me for standing up for you. Guard my heart and tongue that I may be an even more effective witness of your love when faced with confrontation. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for guiding and directing me.”
-Randall A. Bach serves as president of Open Bible Churches. He and his wife, Barbara, refer to their life-long journey of service to the Lord as, “Our adventure together.”
Acts 25-2.4.22
Scripture
Acts 25:25
I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.
Observation - What does it say?
While in prison, Paul had appeared on different occasions to stand trial before the Sanhedrin, Governor Felix, Governor Festus, and also was given audience with King Argippa. In each instance charges were brought against Paul, then he made his defense and shared the gospel with everyone present. At the final trial before Festus, Paul appealed to Caesar. In each instance, neither governor nor the king found that he was worthy of death or imprisonment.
Understanding - What does it mean?
In order to fulfill our God-given destiny we may be wronged unjustly and find ourselves in positions of discomfort that we wish to escape. If it weren’t for this imprisonment (lasting years!) Paul wouldn’t have had opportunity to stand before governors, kings and all these people of influence and present to them the gospel. How often do we make it all about us? In our immaturity, not recognizing God's purposes are much more important than our comfort, we complain and play the victim. “I can’t believe I’m here.” “I don’t deserve this.” “God, I’m so frustrated at you.” How can God use us when we make it all about us and what we want and feel we deserve?! What if we're in that situation because we prayed and asked God to use us, and so he sent us there to bring his love and truth. Paul chose to rejoice because he recognized his chains could actually serve to advance the gospel and bring people to Christ (see his letter to the Philippians which he wrote while in prison)! I doubt he was excited about the chains, but he was more than willing to endure them because he was excited about the possibility of being used by God to save the lost.
Life Application
Rather than looking at work or home or church or the DMV through the lens of, “Do I like it here?” I should be looking through the lens of God’s will, “God, I’m here for a purpose, help me to see what it is. What are you doing here and how do you want me to partner with you?”
Ephesians 5:16a,18 Make the most of every opportunity… do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.
God, in every situation may we not look through the lens of personal preference but kingdom purpose. Give us eyes to see what you’re doing and help us, like Paul, to make the most of every opportunity. Amen.
- Pastor Levi Thompson
Psalm 95-2.3.22
Scripture:
Psalm 95 NIV
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.
Observation
Psalm 95 is a Passage on how to Worship.
In this Psalm we are challenged to:
-A call to rejoice
-A call to reverence
-A warning
Understanding
-The beginning of this Psalm verses 1-5 we are challenged to bring praise to the Lord. We are told to shout, to bring thanksgiving and to extol Him with music and song. I know for many this can be intimidating. The enemy whispers to us that we aren’t the best singer, or that we will look and sound dumb. Maybe we look around and no one else is shouting so we feel uncomfortable. However as I read this Psalm I’m challenged to be joyful, to shout, to come with a thankful heart. Imagine what our worship service would look like if we stopped thinking about ourselves and gave God what He deserves. Something that has always challenged me to be a worshipper is when the Lord said to me that I can be loud and shout at football games or other things like concerts etc. How come I’m not embarrassed then but I can’t be all out in worship?
-The next thing I’m challenged with is this call to reverence in verses 6-7. Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord. I think as Christians we have lost this art of reverence. I know scripture describes God as a friend, a loving father, etc. But we forget He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I was recently studying and have really been focused on the fact that the thing that sets Jesus apart from any other region and their God, is that Jesus defeated death and the Grave. This was the enemy of God, death. Jesus rose on the 3rd day proving He was the king of the world. Wow, come on!! I mean this alone should cause you to bow down and kneel before God in worship. It’s time we come back to giving God reverence.
-This Psalm serves a warning in verses 8-11. It tells us that when we fail to worship God it is one of the main causes of a hardened heart. They saw what God had done, but they never really knew His ways. When we learn to praise God because He’s worth it, not because we feel like it, our perspective is changed. Worship is giving God His worth. It changes our focus and ultimately changes our hearts. When Paul was prison in Acts 16, he didn’t sit and complain that this wasn’t what he expected or that he was hurt and upset. No, he chose to praise and worship God anyways. His praise broke him free from his prison. See we have a choice to make: let our prison (the things we are dealing with) break our praise, or let our praise break our prison. What was the thing satan wanted, to be like God. So of course he doesn’t want us to worship God.
-This passage challenges us to not just worship God in the church, but also worship God in our obedience. We are called to shout praise, as well as our persistent trust and obedience which is evidence of our true worship. The scripture says in verse 7 that we are the people of His pasture and the flock under His care. If we worship God as our Shepherd, we must follow as the sheep of His pasture. Obedience is key!
Life Application
Two things I am challenged with.
Give God all you have in worship. Sing, shout, kneel. Whatever you need to do to ascribe God his worth. Don’t hold back, come with a heart after God.
Obedience is key to true worship. Learn to obey the little things.
-Justin Eaves