{"id":32538,"date":"2024-09-19T22:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T05:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts-25_13-27-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-08-06T21:32:49","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T04:32:49","slug":"acts-26_1-32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts-26_1-32\/","title":{"rendered":"Speak To The King Who Understands You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 26:1-18 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 26:1-18.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 26:1-13 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-13:\u00a0 As Paul addresses King Agrippa, a small part of Paul probably hoped that King Agrippa would understand where Paul was coming from, since King Agrippa was a Jewish ruler who understood the customs, controversies, culture and religious thinking of the Jews, as opposed to Governor Festus who knew very little about these matters and had already secretly been siding with Paul\u2019s opponents.<\/p>\n

I say\u00a0a small part<\/em>\u00a0of Paul probably had this hope, because at the same time Paul\u2019s ultimate hope didn\u2019t rest in any fallible person, but in his God.\u00a0 It\u2019s a reminder that as much as we think certain people might be able to help us, we must place our hope not in them but in the God who is always faithful and knows best.<\/p>\n

To the extent that Paul hoped King Agrippa would understand where Paul was coming from because King Agrippa was Jewish like Paul, let it be a reminder that you and I have a king who knows exactly what it is like to live in our shoes, because He did.\u00a0 Jesus Christ, our great high priest and king, sits at the right hand of the Father and is able to relate to and sympathize with all that we go through.\u00a0 That\u2019s what makes Jesus the perfect mediator between us and God, and the perfect intercessor on our behalf.\u00a0 As Hebrews 4:15 says \u201cFor we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.\u201d<\/p>\n

What a gift that we get to stand in the court of a powerful king and speak to him about our struggles, knowing that he understands where we\u2019re coming from.\u00a0 As Hebrews 4:16 goes on to say,\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u201c<\/sup>Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 26:14-16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-16:\u00a0 What is the meaning of that saying in verse 14 \u201cIt is hard for you to kick against the goads\u201d?\u00a0 This was a phrase found in ancient Greek and Latin literature.\u00a0 A \u201cgoad\u201d was a thin rod made of timber that was pointed on one end.\u00a0 Farmers would push the pointed end of the goad into their cattle in order to push them – \u201cgoad\u201d them \u2013 into going in the direction the farmer wanted them to go.\u00a0 If the cattle resisted going in the farmer\u2019s direction, the more the cattle would get \u201cgoaded\u201d even more.\u00a0 Thus \u201cit is hard for you to kick against the goads\u201d suggests that idea that it\u2019s tough to fight against God\u2019s will.\u00a0 Or, in sci-fi movie terms, \u201cresistance is futile\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0God is sovereign and it is ultimately more painful for us to resist God\u2019s will than to follow it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Acts 26:17-18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0 When we believe in Jesus Christ, how He died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the grave, we \u201creceive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in\u201d Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus promises forgiveness of sins and a place in heaven with God\u2019s family for those who trust in Him.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0So instead of trusting in your own finite efforts and imperfect performance, place your trust in Jesus to save you and sanctify you\u00a0<\/strong>(i.e. make you holy and blameless in God\u2019s sight).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, thank You for being the King I can come to and pour my heart out before, knowing that You know my story and understand where I am coming from.\u00a0 Thank You that in You I have forgiveness and a place in Your kingdom.\u00a0 Since it is more painful in the end to resist Your will than to obey it, may I go Your way.\u00a0 Not my will, but Yours be done. In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 26:1-18.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nActs 26:1-13 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,
\n3\u00a0\u00a0and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-13:\u00a0 As Paul addresses King Agrippa, a small part of Paul probably hoped that King Agrippa would understand where Paul was coming from, since King Agrippa was a Jewish ruler who understood the customs, controversies, culture and religious thinking of the Jews, as opposed to Governor Festus who knew very little about these matters and had already secretly been siding with Paul\u2019s opponents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32541,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32538\/revisions\/32541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}