The View From Here - What's an Acts 26 Witness?

First of all, I wanted to share with you some news about Blacksmith Ministries: we have been accepted as "ministry partners" with World Renewal. (www.worldrenewal.org) I know many of you are familiar with the World Renewal organization and its founder Gary Wright. World Renewal is a registered 501-c3 organization and as ministry partners we can now operate under their legal and financial umbrella giving us the fiscal oversight and legal standing we need with the IRS, but more importantly, the World Renewal board will be our biblical authority and provide something every ministry and every Christian needs: accountability.

What's an Acts 26 witness?

About 20 years ago, while serving as a local pastor, I took a day-long prayer retreat to seek the Lord and ask Him for direction. I spent time worshipping, praying and reading scripture as I asked the Spirit of God to give me a biblical passage that would reveal His will for me. "Lord, what's my purpose? What do you want me to be doing and saying?" As I prayed and studied, the Holy Spirit directed my attention to the words of the Apostle Paul as he stood before King Agrippa. Of all the things Paul could have said to this powerful ruler who held sway over his fate, Paul was led to share his personal testimony. We read about these same events in Acts 9, but in Acts 26 as Paul tells his story again, we get some additional details about that pivotal day on the Damacus road that are not in the earlier account.

"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We 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.’ “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘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 and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to 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." (Acts 26:12-18)

As I read this passage, the words of Jesus jumped off the page at me. I knew that each time the Lord said "you" to Paul, that day he was talking to me! He has appointed me.... He has promised me... He has sent me! But what has He appointed me to do? the same thing he has appointed all His followers to do! Simply be a witness. (Acts 1:8) Be a witness of what we have seen of Jesus and what we will see of Him - what He will show us.

Ever watch Perry Mason or some other courtroom drama? When they call a witness to the stand, what they testify to is what they have personal knowledge of - what they have seen. what they have heard. John wrote, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth!" (John 1:14) Then, in the very next verse, the beloved disciple John relates the witness of another man named John, this time it is John the baptist that is called upon to take the witness stand and testify about Jesus, "John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” (John 1:15)

Jesus has not asked us to be experts, or scholars, or orators, He does not expect us to answer every question or win every debate. What he has called us to do, is to be a witness of what we have seen of Him. What have you seen? What do you know about Him? What could you state beyond a shadow of a doubt is true, because you were there, it happened to you? What would you be willing to stake your life on?

Peter said it this way, "For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty!" (2Peter1:16) And at the end of his gospel, John wrote about all he has seen and what Jesus had shown him, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31) "This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written!" (John 21:24-25)

I know that's what I've been called to do, to be an "Acts 26 witness" of what I have seen, of what he has shown me of him and what He will show me in the future. How about you? I want that to be the focus of Blacksmith Ministries - to testify to the power of Christ and the truth of the gospel. I want to build a "witness stand" for both you and me to speak from. So, in the future... I may very well call upon you to share what you have seen!

As I have been thinking about all this, the Lord gave me a confirmation before I even asked him for one! After I had settled on the name "Blacksmith Ministries" I figured I better check and see if there were any other ministries operating under than name so I could make sure I didn't step on anybody's toes or cause a problem. Sure enough, there was one other ministry I found using that name, an anointed courageous man named Richard Wilson, in ...

Mechanicsville, VA! Are you kidding me?!?! Of all the places in the world, he grew up in and now lives in the very same town where I pastored for 17+ years from 1993-2010! I connected with Richard on FB and he said - "Oh Yes! I was actually just thinking about you the other day! I remember the "View From Here" articles that you wrote in the Local!" Richard is a Hanover County Sheriff's Deputy and has a ministry of prayer and encouragement that includes a weekly message that he delivers on Face Book Live and You Tube (I think?). Last week when I spoke to him, it "just happened" to be the anniversary of a powerful encounter he had with Jesus when the Lord delivered him from a decades-long bondage to a sinful and destructive addiction, on that anniversary day he used his video message to tell his story - to witness of what he had seen of Jesus! At the end of his message, he quoted Acts 1:8, "You will be my witnesses" and talked about how he had to tell everyone what Jesus had done for him - and we should too! It was a big confirmation to me of what God had already been telling me. With Richard's permission, I'm going to post a link to his "Acts 26" witness here, for a couple of reasons, first, it's just a powerful testimony and secondly, its a great example of what I hope to do by providing a "witness stand" with this blog and future possible podcasts. Here's the link to his testimony: https://fb.watch/mUFGDOfhV5/

*********************************************************************************************************

Next up: How should we respond to and interact with people's testimonies?

Also: I will try to have an update about a dedicated Facebook page