On Trial

On Trial
Words of Faith 7-26-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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Acts 22
"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense."
[2] When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: [3] "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. [4] I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, [5] as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
[6] "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. [7] I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'
[8] " 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.
" 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. [9] My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
[10] " 'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.
" 'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' [11] My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
[12] "A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. [13] He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.
[14] "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. [15] You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. [16] And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'
[17] "When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance [18] and saw the Lord speaking. 'Quick!' he said to me. 'Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'
[19] " 'Lord,' I replied, 'these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. [20] And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'
[21] "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

In the next few chapters of Acts, we will see Paul go through five separate trials.
– Before the People 21:37-22:30
– Before the Sanhedrin 23:1-11 (Religious)
– Before Governor Felix 23:31-24:21
– Before Porcius Festus 24:27-25:12
-- Before King Agrippa 25:13-26:32

We can learn a great deal from the trials that Paul went through. What we find here is Paul’s defense in his first trial, which was before the crowd of Jewish people in Jerusalem. It is interesting to see the way that Paul sought to build bridges to Jewish thought and mindset.
First, Paul spoke in their language, Aramaic. This was a form of Hebrew that developed among the Jewish people during their years of exile in Babylon. Hebrew was primarily a written language so Aramaic was a language of the heart to Jews.
Second, Paul gave his personal testimony. The power of personal testimony cannot be overestimated. Paul could have talked all day about the second-hand experiences of Peter or James and he would never have reached as deeply into the hearts of hearer as he did with a personal account of his experience with God in Jesus.
Third, Paul was careful to set his testimony within the trappings of Judaism. He pointed out his zeal for persecuting heretics. He pointed out through various phrases and emphases that he was indeed a Jew and that his experiences fit within the frame of Judaism. He even pointed out that Ananias was an observant Jew.
We can build bridges to people to whom we witness in much the same way.
We must attempt to communicate in the language of the people or person. For a missionary, this means tediously learning the language of the people but this is an effort we must all make. We start by listening before speaking. Paul had “listened” his whole life to the language and culture of Judaism. He was in a perfect position to communicate to the Jewish mind and heart. We must listen to the language of the culture we are attempting to reach.
We must give personal testimony. Nothing is as important as what God has done in your life. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a personal experience is often worth a thousand sermons. (And a sermon that shares personal experience is exceedingly powerful.) Don’t be afraid to share what God has done in your life.
We must sometimes set our thoughts within a context that connects with the culture and trappings of the person that we are trying to reach. This does not mean we change the truth or genuineness of our testimony. It does mean that if you speak with an engineer you need to communicate with that culture in mind. A teacher? A tradesperson? A person with a religious background? A person with no knowledge of Scripture? All of these are different settings to which we must tune the “defense” of our faith.
So for today? Listen. Listen for the opportunities that God is developing for you to give a reason for the hope that is in you. Listen for the language. Think about the wondrous things that God has done in your life. Hear the culture of those around you and be ready for His call.

Lord, I may never give my testimony before crowds but I want to be ready when You call. Give me ears to hear You and a heart that will hear the needs of those around me. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.