Paul, in representing himself and giving a defense of the charges made against Him in Acts 25 and 26, does something that makes the governor of the Judean province, Festus, accuse him publicly of being crazy— he objectively articulates “his defense” without making it about himself, but rather, about the objective truth of Jesus Christ and the Way.

When we consider similar scenarios in our own lives, maybe not so intense, but scenarios nonetheless where we might be misrepresented, or face unfair treatment for being narrow and Christ-conscious- how do we typically respond? Do we see an opportunity to represent truth, or do we see an opportunity to exalt ourselves?

Paul didn’t try to manipulate, finagle, scheme, or exploit anyone in his audience to feel something for him; he did not curb his message to make it more palatable to those who would be offended; he didn't attempt to make it about himself and the injustice he’d experienced over the past 2 years. His defense was not about exonerating himself, which was something that he was capable of and could have very easily done.

Instead, Paul chose to set those things aside and double down on the one thing that had gotten him in trouble in the first place—the Gospel—specifically the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and the power of the transformed life Christ gives to both Jew and Gentile who turn from sin and trust Him.

In today’s lesson, we’ll talk more about how this mindset enabled Paul to see “his chains” as being a far better place to be than all of those people who were in that gathered assembly with Herod Agrippa II, in Acts 26.

In addition to this, we'll look at how much of the adversity you and I seem to face isn't really any kind of adversity at all, but the result of our response to our own idolatry.

Lastly, I'll give you 5 practical things I’m doing these days to cultivate and maintain the same Spirit-controlled mindset the Apostle Paul possessed.

Join me in listening today.

Note: This lesson is the 3rd part of the introductory series entitled: An Introduction to Philippians by Way of the Narrative Account of Pauls Ministry in Acts.

The reason we are taking the time to examine the Apostle Paul's life in Acts 16-28 is so we might have a more thorough understanding of the historical context for Paul's letter to the Philippians, and that in acquiring this understanding we might be better prepared to properly interpret the intent and meaning of Paul's letter to the Philippian believers.