Acts 26 – Day 1: “Paul Before Agrippa part 1” (V1-8) Make sure that you start your study time today by quieting your heart before the Lord in prayer. “The Master says that men of strong faith are men of much prayer.” -Andrew Murray Read Acts 26:1-8 Digging Deeper: (V1-2) King Agrippa’s family had been in Roman leadership for generations and they had many run-ins with Christians. His great- grandfather tried to kill Jesus as a baby by declaring that all of the male babies two years old and younger were to be killed (Matthew 2:16-18.) His grandfather had John the Baptist beheaded (Mark 6:14-29.) His father killed the first apostle, James (Acts 12:2.) Paul stood before a man who came from a long line of opposition towards Christians. Agrippa, the highest authority in the room, told Paul that he was allowed to go 1 ahead and speak. Paul was happy, because he got to share the Gospel with everyone who could hear. This was the beginning of fulfilling the promise that God had giVen him to preach before Gentiles, Kings, and Jews (Acts 9:15) (V3-4) Agrippa was the expert of Roman Leadership in understanding the Jewish Law and customs, and Paul acknowledged that here as he began to speak. He let Agrippa know that he really wanted him to hear what he had to say. Paul was born in Tarsus, which was around 700 miles from Jerusalem. At some point during his youth, he made the moVe to Jerusalem to be brought up in the school of the Pharisees. All of the Jews knew who he was, and about his upbringing. (V5-6) The Pharisees are an interesting group of people. As Paul mentioned, they were known as the strictest group of Jews in Israel. They had a lot of rules that they were expected to follow, and from what we know, young Paul was a star student. Paul mentions here that in his heart, he is still a Jew. He was being accused of abandoning the Jewish law and traditions, but he 2 maintains that he trusts in Jesus, yet he is still Jewish. (V7-8) Paul explains that God made a promise to the Forefathers of the Jewish people. The promise was to all 12 of the tribes, and the promise was that they would have a Savior who came to the earth and set them free. Paul knows that Agrippa knows what the Jews belieVe, so he asks him why it’s so crazy to teach the resurrection from the dead. Agrippa should haVe been familiar with this teaching, because it was talked about in the Jewish Old Testament and taught to eVery generation. Application Questions: 1.) Paul spoke to Agrippa with respect and saw him as authority. Rather than keeping quiet, due to fear, or overreacting to the pressure of the situation, Paul stayed composed. A.) How do you react in tough situations? Be honest, and explain here. _________________________________________ _________________________________________ 3 _________________________________________ _________________________________________ B.) How do you wish to react? What changes need to be made in your life to get you to the place where your reactions reflect your heart for God? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ C.) Read the following verses, and explain what they speak to your heart: 1 Corinthians 10:13 - _________________________________________ _________________________________________ Proverbs 16:32 - _________________________________________ _________________________________________ 2.) Paul maintained that he neVer abandoned his Jewish roots, even though many of the Pharisees had abandoned him. When we follow Christ with our whole heart, some of our relationships with others can become difficult and we may feel like Paul did, abandoned. 4 A.) Has this happened to you, or someone close to you? Explain. _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ B.) Read 2 Timothy 3:12. what does this verse speak to you about your situation? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ C.) Read 1 Peter 4:12-14. What does this passage encourage you to do? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ 5 Prayer for the day: Father, Even when I feel abandoned by others, I remember that you will never leave me and never forsake me. I pray for a comfort in my life in this season, and that when I feel abandoned, I would remember your great love for me and how you saved me. I am not alone, you’re always with me! Amen 6 Acts 26 – Day 2: “Paul’s Testimony” (V9-18) Start your study time with prayer. “God warms his hands at man’s heart when he prays.” -John Masefield Read Acts 26:9-18 Digging Deeper: (V9-10) Paul reminds eVeryone who he used to be. Before he was converted to faith in Jesus Christ, he thought it was his job to go against Christians. He had actually gone to the chief priests and asked for permission to go into the homes of Christians and arrest them and bring them to the prison. When these Christians were put on trial, Paul would cast his vote to see that these Christ followers were executed. He was an absolute enemy of the Christian faith before Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. (V11) Paul would actually go into the place where Jews were worshipping, and pick out 7 the Christian belieVers, and force them to denounce their faith. Paul explains that he had some serious anger issues, and that he would get so angry with the Christians that he would threaten them and strike fear into them until they would leaVe the city. DaVid Guzik points out: “His great rage showed that his relationship with God was not right…” Paul (when he was still Saul) had a religious personality, but his anger reVealed that he lacked a relationship with God. (V12-14) Paul begins to tell the testimony of his conversion. He was on his way to Damascus with authority from the religious rulers to arrest and persecute Christians. He saw a light, so bright that it was all around him! The light was so bright, and it came upon them so suddenly that they fell to the ground. On the ground in shock, they began to hear a voice speaking to them in Hebrew. The voice asked why Saul was persecuting Him. (V15-18) So Paul inquired as to who was speaking to him. That is when he found out that it was the Voice of Jesus speaking to him and asking him about why he was going to persecute his followers. Jesus asked why Paul was fighting against Him. So, Jesus told 8 him to get up, because he had better plans for Paul’s life! He would become a witness to everyone and tell them that Jesus Christ is the Son of God! Notice that Paul didn’t sugarcoat this account at all, he told this auditorium of non-believers exactly what had happened in his life! Application Questions: 1.) Before he became a believer, Paul thought that he had a relationship with God. Yet the account of his anger problems in chapter 26 reVeal that he lacked a relationship with God. If we are living in anger, we may be neglecting our relationship with God. Let’s diVe into some personal inventory in the area of trusting God. A.) What triggers anger or frustration in your life? Be Honest. __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ 9 B.) Read Proverbs 3:5-6. What does this verse speak to you about God being in control? __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ C.) Read the following verses and write down what they speak to you: Psalm 112:7 - __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Joshua 1:9 - __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Isaiah 26:3 - __________________________________________ __________________________________________ 2.) Paul told the account of his conVersion to Christianity. This story was his Testimony. Each of us have a story, what is yours? A.) Take some time to think through how you would tell someone your testimony. Write down some bulletin points if you need to, or you can even write it out on a separate sheet of paper or on your computer. 10 _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ B.) Read Revelation 12:11. What does this verse speak to you about the power of a believer’s testimony? __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Prayer for the day: Father, thank you that you are in control of my life, and thank you that you are working all things together for good. I pray that today I can give you more control, and that you would keep me from anger, and from the trap of Sin. I love you, and I thank you for all that you’ve done! Amen 11 Acts 26 – Day 3: “Sneakin’ in the Gospel” (V19-23) Make sure that you start your study time today by quieting your heart before the Lord in prayer. “I believe that the greatest form of prayer is praise to God.” -Billy Graham Read Acts 26:19-23 Digging Deeper: (V19) Paul made sure to tell Agrippa and those who were listening to his testimony that he was being obedient to the vision that he had received from Heaven. Jesus had died, been buried, and then resurrected from the dead. After reVealing himself to the disciples (See John chapter 20) and reVealing himself to many others (see 1 Corinthians 15:26.) He ascended to heaVen and took His seat at the right hand of God (See Mark 16:19.) The Vision that Paul had of Jesus was in fact the same Jesus who had ascended into Heaven. It was a miracle, 12 and Paul wanted them to understand where he was coming from.