Christ's command to his followers before his ascension to heaven was for them to be his

witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.

Our Lord did not intend for the good news of his death and resurrection to stay local,

but instead it was to be taken globally.

In this third section of Acts, the adventure continues as the gospel is taken to the ends of the earth.

Let's join Scott Pauley now for today's study.

In a world of spiritual warfare, you can be very sure of this. At times, Christians are going to be under intense pressure.

I think for so many years in certain parts of the world, we have lived in relative ease and comfort and convenience and prosperity. And we have forgotten that the Apostle Paul wrote that all that live

godly in Christ Jesus

shall suffer persecution. So I'm convinced that the Lord's people are going to have to learn

how to deal with difficulty, how to face opposition, and how to answer the hard questions.

And who better to give us an example of this, outside the Lord Jesus Christ,

than the Apostle Paul, because Paul repeatedly had to stand before people

who were adversarial, who were not excited about his message or his ministry,

and answer for himself.

We pick up the story today in Acts chapter 25, verse one,

where the Bible says, now when Festus was come into the province, after three days, he ascended

from Cessarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul

and besought him and desired favor against him that he would send for him to Jerusalem,

laying weight in the way to kill him.

Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Cessaria, and that he himself would depart shortly

thither.

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