Message: In Acts 26 Paul was standing in front of King Agrippa giving his testimony. He was not only testifying in defense of himself in a court setting, but he was also sharing his personal testimony of growing up as a Jewish Pharisee and meeting Jesus on his way to persecute the church. Paul’s testimony amazes me every time I read it because I’m both amazed by the encounter Paul has and horrified at the possibility that we could live a devout life fighting against God so religiously with such an intense dedication to him. Paul really believed he was fighting the battle on behalf of God. He was determined and unmoved until he had an encounter with Jesus himself. As Paul stood before each crowd and testified in front of each leader he was trying to convince them of what he knew by relating to them. I don’t think he considered the fact that they would be as difficult to convince as he was. Before his encounter he had heard the testimonies and he was not moved by them at all. What changed everything was his personal encounter with Jesus. He had no argument in the way. His words were “who are you Lord?” and God revealed himself through Jesus. In the same way we often think we can logic people into believing the truth when what they really need is an encounter with Jesus.
