Isaiah 45:21-23 English Standard Version

21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is none besides me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

The Captain of the Starship Enterprise gives an order to be carried out by uttering “Make it so!”

When we read these verses and agree with God we say “Amen” but what we really mean is “God make it so.”

We do not see it immediately no matter how much we believe, hope and obey. Obedience is the issue here because Christ is the Captain of our ship and when He says make it so, it is up to us to do our duty on the good ship Hope.

There is no higher authority than God the Father who sent the Son and poured out His Spirit upon us.

Matthew 24:35 English Standard Version (ESV) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

John 5:24 English Standard Version (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Philippians 2:16 English Standard Version (ESV) holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

If we believe it then we must obey. He is the Captain of our souls.

Acts 26:12-18 English Standard Version

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

All that Paul has confessed to King Agrippa before his witnessing Christ is written in detail before this account. Rather than going into details of all that transpired let us look to one special aspect of Paul’s encounter with Christ. These are Christ’s own words from the Throne of Heaven.

 “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you”

Ponder for a moment those words.

Has it sunk in yet?

We are not just witnesses to what Christ has done for us, to us and through us, others will see Christ in us and we will see Christ in others.

Do you believe that?

Paul’s witness is compelling. I don’t pretend to match it, but mine is just as real.

24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.”28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”