A missionary told about an African man to whom he had given a copy of the Bible. The African was deeply grateful for the Bible and thanked the missionary profusely for the gift. Several months later the missionary saw the man again. The missionary was puzzled because the Bible that he had given the man was battered and torn. It looked as though many of the pages were missing.
"I thought you would have taken better care of the Bible I gave you," the missionary remarked. "I assumed you wanted it."
The man replied, "It is the finest gift I have ever received. It is such a wonderful book that I gave a page from the book to my father and a page to my mother. And then I gave a page to everyone in the village."1
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What a marvelous testimony to the power of the Word of God! The Word of God is so powerful and wonderful that it compels you to want to give it away, to share it with those around you.
At the heart of our faith is a call to share the Word. It is a common call that we share as the people of God.
Paul encountered God on the road to Damascus. God gave Paul a challenge to share the Word, and he never tired of doing that.
The account of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus is recorded in
Acts 9. Then twice more in the Book of Acts, in
Acts 22 and in
Acts 26, Paul gave his testimony. In that testimony he recounted the events of his conversion.
On this occasion, recorded in
Acts 26, the new Roman governor Festus, invited Agrippa to Caesarea to hear Paul's case. So Paul stood before Agrippa and again recited the story of the great events which occurred on the road to Damascus.
Paul told of going to Damascus to arrest Christians and to bring them back to Jerusalem. At midday a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, suddenly began shining upon Paul. He heard the voice of the Lord. And in those moments, prostrate upon the ground, Paul moved from unbelief to faith.
The voice of the Lord directed Paul to rise to his feet and to bear witness to Christ among all people. He was to carry the life-giving Word throughout his world.
In
Acts 26:19, Paul gave this testimony to Agrippa: "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." In obedience to that vision he walked through his world giving away the Word, calling people to light and life in Christ.
I would say to you today that...
I. We Need a Heavenly Vision.
We need a vision of reaching our world for Christ. That was the vision which God planted in the heart of Paul. In
Acts 26:17, God said to Paul: "[I will deliver] thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee."