1 00:00:00,610 --> 00:00:03,030 Father, God in heaven, how we thank you 2 00:00:03,030 --> 00:00:05,650 that it's possible for your kingdom to come 3 00:00:05,650 --> 00:00:07,790 to be within us here upon earth. 4 00:00:08,730 --> 00:00:11,710 And how we thank you, Lord, that you 5 00:00:11,710 --> 00:00:14,010 do bow down your ear, as it were, 6 00:00:14,090 --> 00:00:15,210 and listen to us. 7 00:00:15,490 --> 00:00:17,450 That when we pray to you, we're not 8 00:00:17,450 --> 00:00:20,590 sending prayers across to the outer reaches of 9 00:00:20,590 --> 00:00:24,330 the universe, but we're speaking right into your 10 00:00:24,330 --> 00:00:24,730 ear. 11 00:00:25,470 --> 00:00:27,710 And you hear every word we have to 12 00:00:27,710 --> 00:00:28,330 say to you. 13 00:00:28,330 --> 00:00:30,690 You even know the thoughts of our hearts. 14 00:00:31,170 --> 00:00:33,570 So, Lord, as you know the thoughts of 15 00:00:33,570 --> 00:00:35,990 our hearts this morning, look upon them. 16 00:00:36,870 --> 00:00:38,690 Holy Spirit, we ask that you would take 17 00:00:38,690 --> 00:00:41,710 your word, make it alive, apply it to 18 00:00:41,710 --> 00:00:45,010 our hearts, invigorate our souls, and give us 19 00:00:45,010 --> 00:00:48,510 that spiritual food that we need to grow 20 00:00:48,510 --> 00:00:51,930 up into the measure of the stature of 21 00:00:51,930 --> 00:00:53,650 the fullness of Jesus Christ. 22 00:00:53,950 --> 00:00:56,290 And we ask it in Jesus' name. 23 00:00:56,670 --> 00:00:57,270 Amen. 24 00:00:58,550 --> 00:01:02,650 This message is entitled The Ultimate Conversion. 25 00:01:02,790 --> 00:01:05,110 It is all about, in Acts chapter 9, 26 00:01:05,190 --> 00:01:09,610 the conversion of Saul of Tarsus into the 27 00:01:09,610 --> 00:01:12,110 apostle Paul as we know him. 28 00:01:12,710 --> 00:01:14,610 I'd like to read through the text in 29 00:01:14,610 --> 00:01:18,050 chapter 9, verse 1 down to verse 9. 30 00:01:18,570 --> 00:01:22,690 Then Saul, still breathing out threats and murder 31 00:01:23,180 --> 00:01:26,930 against the disciples of the Lord, went to 32 00:01:26,930 --> 00:01:30,250 the high priest and he asked letters from 33 00:01:30,250 --> 00:01:33,710 him to the synagogues of Damascus. 34 00:01:34,250 --> 00:01:41,650 Now, Damascus, you must understand, is 200 miles 35 00:01:41,650 --> 00:01:43,350 away from Jerusalem. 36 00:01:43,990 --> 00:01:45,870 You may think reading your Bible, it's just 37 00:01:45,870 --> 00:01:46,650 down the street. 38 00:01:47,350 --> 00:01:50,290 He's persecuting people around Jerusalem and now he's 39 00:01:50,290 --> 00:01:52,570 sort of exhausted all those to arrest and 40 00:01:52,570 --> 00:01:54,550 imprison and kill there, so he just wants 41 00:01:54,550 --> 00:01:56,970 to go down the street to Damascus. 42 00:01:57,550 --> 00:02:01,090 He needs to go 200 miles now to 43 00:02:01,090 --> 00:02:04,710 find more Christians to arrest, persecute, and murder. 44 00:02:05,190 --> 00:02:07,889 That's how thorough his persecution has been. 45 00:02:08,770 --> 00:02:11,090 He is, you might say, the devil's champion 46 00:02:11,090 --> 00:02:13,130 on planet Earth at this point in time. 47 00:02:13,190 --> 00:02:16,950 Without question, he is the devil's champion and 48 00:02:16,950 --> 00:02:20,150 he is the most unlikely human being on 49 00:02:20,150 --> 00:02:22,870 Earth to be converted because he is the 50 00:02:22,870 --> 00:02:25,910 greatest persecutor of Christianity in Jesus Christ. 51 00:02:26,390 --> 00:02:28,290 Verse 3, and as he journeyed, he came 52 00:02:28,290 --> 00:02:29,230 near Damascus. 53 00:02:30,290 --> 00:02:32,470 Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven 54 00:02:33,190 --> 00:02:35,130 and then he fell to the ground and 55 00:02:35,130 --> 00:02:37,410 heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, 56 00:02:37,570 --> 00:02:40,930 why are you persecuting me? 57 00:02:41,690 --> 00:02:44,090 And he said, who are you, Lord? 58 00:02:44,170 --> 00:02:45,850 And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom 59 00:02:45,850 --> 00:02:46,830 you are persecuting. 60 00:02:46,910 --> 00:02:49,310 It is hard for you to kick against 61 00:02:49,310 --> 00:02:50,030 the goats. 62 00:02:50,670 --> 00:02:56,590 So he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what 63 00:02:56,590 --> 00:02:57,770 do you want me to do? 64 00:02:58,390 --> 00:03:01,750 Then the Lord said to him, arise and 65 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:03,790 go into the city and you will be 66 00:03:03,790 --> 00:03:05,010 told what you must do. 67 00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:07,810 And the men who journeyed with him, a 68 00:03:07,810 --> 00:03:12,010 large entourage of powerful men that would be 69 00:03:12,010 --> 00:03:15,670 used to help him capture Christians, arrest them, 70 00:03:15,730 --> 00:03:17,710 and bring them bound back to Jerusalem. 71 00:03:17,830 --> 00:03:20,490 So it's a large entourage of tough men, 72 00:03:20,830 --> 00:03:22,190 temple police soldiers, whatever. 73 00:03:23,410 --> 00:03:26,390 These men who journeyed with him, verse 7, 74 00:03:26,610 --> 00:03:29,470 stood speechless and they heard a voice, but 75 00:03:29,470 --> 00:03:31,490 they saw no one. 76 00:03:31,970 --> 00:03:33,510 Then Saul rose from the ground when his 77 00:03:33,510 --> 00:03:34,250 eyes were open. 78 00:03:35,350 --> 00:03:38,050 He saw no one, but they led him 79 00:03:38,050 --> 00:03:40,170 by the hand and brought him to Damascus. 80 00:03:40,270 --> 00:03:43,050 And he was three days without sight and 81 00:03:43,050 --> 00:03:45,550 neither ate nor drank. 82 00:03:45,710 --> 00:03:47,910 We'll stop there for today because there's so 83 00:03:47,910 --> 00:03:48,650 much there. 84 00:03:49,970 --> 00:03:51,150 As I said to you, this is the 85 00:03:51,150 --> 00:03:54,630 most unlikely individual to be converted, I think, 86 00:03:54,670 --> 00:03:55,850 on the face of the earth at that 87 00:03:55,850 --> 00:03:56,090 time. 88 00:03:56,150 --> 00:03:57,910 But this is the kind of thing God 89 00:03:57,910 --> 00:03:59,290 specializes in. 90 00:04:00,390 --> 00:04:04,350 The Lord loves to rescue sinners. 91 00:04:05,870 --> 00:04:09,010 And the whole process of salvation is so 92 00:04:09,010 --> 00:04:11,790 marvelous to behold, it really is. 93 00:04:12,410 --> 00:04:14,770 How many of you know the hymn Amazing 94 00:04:14,770 --> 00:04:15,310 Grace? 95 00:04:15,510 --> 00:04:15,970 Do this. 96 00:04:16,930 --> 00:04:17,490 Very good. 97 00:04:18,230 --> 00:04:19,470 Do you know who wrote it? 98 00:04:20,250 --> 00:04:22,530 You say Amazing Grace, it's a great song, 99 00:04:22,650 --> 00:04:24,690 must have been a wonderful saintly man. 100 00:04:25,830 --> 00:04:27,090 He was a man by the name of 101 00:04:27,090 --> 00:04:27,710 John Newton. 102 00:04:28,730 --> 00:04:32,070 John Newton went to sea, like most sailors 103 00:04:32,070 --> 00:04:34,170 of his day, at a very young age. 104 00:04:35,230 --> 00:04:40,730 And he worked on slave ships, slave trading 105 00:04:40,730 --> 00:04:41,310 ships. 106 00:04:41,470 --> 00:04:43,350 He would go back and forth from Britain 107 00:04:43,350 --> 00:04:46,330 to Africa and then around to countries where 108 00:04:46,330 --> 00:04:47,890 he would sell the slaves. 109 00:04:48,690 --> 00:04:50,850 For a while, he worked on slave ships 110 00:04:50,850 --> 00:04:53,290 and then he began to be the captain 111 00:04:53,290 --> 00:04:54,270 of one himself. 112 00:04:55,130 --> 00:04:58,510 He sank into the lowest kind of debauchery 113 00:04:58,510 --> 00:05:01,810 and evil and sin in his life imaginable 114 00:05:01,810 --> 00:05:05,010 and became a horrible person. 115 00:05:05,090 --> 00:05:07,310 In fact, at one point in a brawl 116 00:05:07,310 --> 00:05:10,890 on board ship in a storm, the fellows 117 00:05:10,890 --> 00:05:13,150 on the ship that hated him took him 118 00:05:13,150 --> 00:05:16,990 and threw him overboard because they hated him 119 00:05:16,990 --> 00:05:17,670 so much. 120 00:05:18,730 --> 00:05:21,070 Another one of the guys on the ship 121 00:05:21,070 --> 00:05:23,150 wanted to rescue him. 122 00:05:23,610 --> 00:05:24,730 So he get this. 123 00:05:24,810 --> 00:05:28,730 He took a harpoon and he harpooned him 124 00:05:28,730 --> 00:05:31,450 and drug him back onto the ship. 125 00:05:31,530 --> 00:05:34,890 We're calling this debauchery because that's what it 126 00:05:34,890 --> 00:05:35,290 is. 127 00:05:35,670 --> 00:05:37,370 And in the process, saved his life. 128 00:05:37,510 --> 00:05:39,910 He sank so low that eventually he became 129 00:05:39,910 --> 00:05:42,630 the slave of slaves and was chained up 130 00:05:42,630 --> 00:05:44,250 and ate his food out of what was 131 00:05:44,250 --> 00:05:47,890 something like a dog bowl chained to the 132 00:05:47,890 --> 00:05:50,910 ground by this person he was a slave 133 00:05:50,910 --> 00:05:51,070 to. 134 00:05:51,150 --> 00:05:52,270 He finally got free. 135 00:05:52,770 --> 00:05:54,650 And along the way in his life, a 136 00:05:54,650 --> 00:05:56,730 couple of women back in England began to 137 00:05:56,730 --> 00:05:57,730 pray for him. 138 00:05:58,490 --> 00:06:00,930 Then someone gave him a copy of a 139 00:06:00,930 --> 00:06:05,250 book by one of those old writers, one 140 00:06:05,250 --> 00:06:07,550 of those books that continues to be published. 141 00:06:07,990 --> 00:06:10,490 The book is called The Imitation of Christ. 142 00:06:10,590 --> 00:06:12,370 The author is Thomas Akempis. 143 00:06:13,450 --> 00:06:17,090 He read that book and got all of 144 00:06:17,090 --> 00:06:19,330 the knowledge into his head, but he did 145 00:06:19,330 --> 00:06:20,730 not come to Jesus Christ. 146 00:06:21,010 --> 00:06:23,170 He carried the knowledge around in his head 147 00:06:23,170 --> 00:06:25,010 and continued to sink into his sin. 148 00:06:26,450 --> 00:06:29,770 Finally, he was in the storm at sea 149 00:06:29,770 --> 00:06:33,030 and the Lord quickened all that knowledge of 150 00:06:33,030 --> 00:06:37,090 Christ from Thomas Akempis book to his heart. 151 00:06:37,750 --> 00:06:39,670 And he came to know Jesus Christ personally. 152 00:06:40,490 --> 00:06:42,430 Then God, in the great wonder of the 153 00:06:42,430 --> 00:06:45,370 process of salvation, when he went back to 154 00:06:45,370 --> 00:06:48,870 England, introduced him, made the Lord made sure 155 00:06:48,870 --> 00:06:51,590 that he became friends with John and Charles 156 00:06:51,590 --> 00:06:56,930 Wesley, George Whitfield, William Wilberforce. 157 00:06:57,050 --> 00:06:58,450 And these are the kind of men that 158 00:06:58,450 --> 00:07:00,250 he was able to, quote, hang out with 159 00:07:00,250 --> 00:07:01,110 the rest of his life. 160 00:07:01,570 --> 00:07:03,990 He became a great pastor during that time 161 00:07:03,990 --> 00:07:06,870 of the Great Awakening in Great Britain. 162 00:07:08,030 --> 00:07:09,990 When it came time for him to die, 163 00:07:10,050 --> 00:07:11,690 he said, I want to write the words 164 00:07:11,690 --> 00:07:15,310 that will be on my tombstone. 165 00:07:15,390 --> 00:07:16,850 I want to write them myself. 166 00:07:17,030 --> 00:07:19,350 And this is the epitaph that he wrote. 167 00:07:19,610 --> 00:07:23,530 And it's there on his tombstone today, says 168 00:07:23,530 --> 00:07:28,130 this John Newton clerk, once an infidel and 169 00:07:28,130 --> 00:07:33,970 libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was 170 00:07:33,970 --> 00:07:36,830 by the rich mercy of our Lord and 171 00:07:36,830 --> 00:07:44,890 Savior Jesus Christ preserved, restored, pardoned and then 172 00:07:44,890 --> 00:07:50,290 appointed to preach the faith he had long 173 00:07:50,290 --> 00:07:52,730 labored to destroy. 174 00:07:53,430 --> 00:07:56,270 I look at that account and I can't 175 00:07:56,270 --> 00:07:57,850 help but think of the man in our 176 00:07:57,850 --> 00:08:03,430 text who is suddenly converted after he had 177 00:08:03,430 --> 00:08:06,450 long labored to destroy the faith of Jesus 178 00:08:06,450 --> 00:08:07,090 Christ. 179 00:08:07,750 --> 00:08:09,850 In this passage that we've read, I see 180 00:08:09,850 --> 00:08:12,930 basically four things that happen in a great 181 00:08:12,930 --> 00:08:14,010 conversion. 182 00:08:14,770 --> 00:08:17,150 First of all, there's the contact with Christ 183 00:08:17,150 --> 00:08:17,850 and his people. 184 00:08:19,030 --> 00:08:22,390 Secondly, there's the conviction that happens, then the 185 00:08:22,390 --> 00:08:27,910 conversion and then the consecrated life to Christ 186 00:08:27,910 --> 00:08:33,090 after contact, conviction, conversion and consecration to him. 187 00:08:33,150 --> 00:08:33,909 That's how it happens. 188 00:08:34,070 --> 00:08:34,830 Let's talk about it. 189 00:08:34,870 --> 00:08:37,909 First of all, the contact, the contact that 190 00:08:37,909 --> 00:08:41,250 Saul of Tarsus had with Christianity and with 191 00:08:41,250 --> 00:08:44,190 Christ brought pretty much a violent reaction. 192 00:08:45,850 --> 00:08:49,010 And that is because initially of his beliefs, 193 00:08:49,290 --> 00:08:51,950 you see, as a Jew, he was a 194 00:08:51,950 --> 00:08:52,930 Hellenistic Jew. 195 00:08:53,270 --> 00:08:57,570 As a Jew, he believed and was looking 196 00:08:57,570 --> 00:09:00,290 for believed in and was looking for a 197 00:09:00,290 --> 00:09:01,990 Messiah who would come, who would be a 198 00:09:01,990 --> 00:09:04,390 militant Messiah, who would throw off the yoke 199 00:09:04,390 --> 00:09:05,970 of the Roman government. 200 00:09:07,050 --> 00:09:08,930 They were all looking for that kind of 201 00:09:08,930 --> 00:09:10,270 Messiah at the time of Jesus. 202 00:09:10,410 --> 00:09:11,710 That's why they rejected him. 203 00:09:13,070 --> 00:09:15,230 So wanting a Messiah who would throw off 204 00:09:15,230 --> 00:09:16,430 the Roman yoke. 205 00:09:17,550 --> 00:09:21,870 And knowing that Jesus Christ claimed to be 206 00:09:21,870 --> 00:09:25,550 the Messiah and the son of God, to 207 00:09:25,550 --> 00:09:29,890 then see him die on a Roman cross 208 00:09:29,890 --> 00:09:34,630 in humiliation and defeat made it impossible for 209 00:09:34,630 --> 00:09:37,030 him to believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah. 210 00:09:37,790 --> 00:09:39,930 It was a contradiction of terms to him, 211 00:09:40,610 --> 00:09:42,230 flew in the face of everything he believed. 212 00:09:43,350 --> 00:09:46,190 That is the reason he wrote later in 213 00:09:46,190 --> 00:09:51,270 writing to the Corinthians that he said to 214 00:09:51,270 --> 00:09:53,990 the Jew, the cross is a stumbling block. 215 00:09:54,270 --> 00:09:57,970 That's why, because they were looking for a 216 00:09:57,970 --> 00:10:00,290 Messiah who would throw off the Roman yoke 217 00:10:00,290 --> 00:10:01,870 and be a conquering king. 218 00:10:01,950 --> 00:10:03,830 Instead, he died as a criminal on a 219 00:10:03,830 --> 00:10:06,470 cross and weakness and defeat, a stumbling block 220 00:10:06,470 --> 00:10:08,490 to the Jews, he said, because it was 221 00:10:08,490 --> 00:10:09,030 to him. 222 00:10:10,450 --> 00:10:12,710 And he said foolishness to the Greek. 223 00:10:14,630 --> 00:10:18,310 Because who is going to want a Messiah 224 00:10:18,310 --> 00:10:20,970 or a savior who can't even, quote, save 225 00:10:20,970 --> 00:10:24,130 himself, but that's to misunderstand the heart of 226 00:10:24,130 --> 00:10:26,230 God, to misunderstand the cross and to misunderstand 227 00:10:26,230 --> 00:10:28,830 the resurrection and to misunderstand who he was 228 00:10:28,830 --> 00:10:30,530 and the plan of redemption. 229 00:10:31,110 --> 00:10:33,470 So because of his beliefs, he rejected Christ. 230 00:10:34,470 --> 00:10:37,650 And you find him in Acts, chapter six. 231 00:10:37,770 --> 00:10:39,230 If you just hold your place, turn back 232 00:10:39,230 --> 00:10:40,710 to Acts, chapter six, verse nine. 233 00:10:41,470 --> 00:10:42,690 He was disputing. 234 00:10:43,690 --> 00:10:49,700 These beliefs in the synagogue that he attended, 235 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,040 which was the synagogue of the freedmen. 236 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,160 And there, Acts six, nine, it says there 237 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,680 arose some of what is called the synagogue 238 00:10:58,680 --> 00:10:59,620 of the freedmen. 239 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,920 That would be Cyrenians, Alexandrians and those from 240 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:03,500 Cilicia. 241 00:11:03,900 --> 00:11:10,250 That's where Paul was from, Cilicia, Tarsus and 242 00:11:10,250 --> 00:11:10,570 Asia. 243 00:11:10,590 --> 00:11:12,690 And they were disputing with Stephen now because 244 00:11:12,690 --> 00:11:15,830 Saul was the champion of all these people, 245 00:11:15,970 --> 00:11:20,050 the smartest, the fastest and the one who 246 00:11:20,050 --> 00:11:21,550 had been tutored by Gamaliel. 247 00:11:21,950 --> 00:11:23,710 You know, he would have been the foremost 248 00:11:23,710 --> 00:11:25,490 one to dispute with Stephen. 249 00:11:26,750 --> 00:11:28,310 And he lost. 250 00:11:29,030 --> 00:11:30,110 He lost the debate. 251 00:11:31,610 --> 00:11:32,990 Geniuses are sore losers. 252 00:11:34,310 --> 00:11:36,110 Not that I would know personally, but I 253 00:11:36,110 --> 00:11:36,930 have known some. 254 00:11:38,270 --> 00:11:40,870 So he lost the debate and it infuriated 255 00:11:40,870 --> 00:11:41,310 him. 256 00:11:41,690 --> 00:11:42,950 And in verse 10, it says they were 257 00:11:42,950 --> 00:11:45,150 not able to resist the wisdom and spirit 258 00:11:45,150 --> 00:11:46,530 by which he spoke. 259 00:11:48,090 --> 00:11:50,630 And then they secretly induced men to say 260 00:11:50,630 --> 00:11:52,770 we have heard him speak blasphemous words against 261 00:11:52,770 --> 00:11:55,970 Moses and God, and that becomes in Stephen's 262 00:11:55,970 --> 00:11:58,230 sermon his answer to all of that, which 263 00:11:58,230 --> 00:11:59,150 was all false. 264 00:12:00,090 --> 00:12:03,670 So because of their beliefs, they rejected Jesus 265 00:12:03,670 --> 00:12:06,030 Christ and the Christian message. 266 00:12:06,410 --> 00:12:08,250 They could not believe and Saul could not 267 00:12:08,250 --> 00:12:10,910 believe Jesus was the Messiah and the son 268 00:12:10,910 --> 00:12:12,950 of God because he had died on the 269 00:12:12,950 --> 00:12:15,370 cross and defeat his beliefs. 270 00:12:16,110 --> 00:12:20,590 His beliefs then generated within him his belligerence 271 00:12:20,590 --> 00:12:22,350 that was just unbelievable. 272 00:12:23,410 --> 00:12:26,930 This man realized that Jesus Christ in his 273 00:12:26,930 --> 00:12:27,810 mind was dead. 274 00:12:28,430 --> 00:12:29,990 However, his movement was not. 275 00:12:30,590 --> 00:12:33,130 So he made it his life's work to 276 00:12:33,130 --> 00:12:35,070 exterminate Christianity. 277 00:12:35,650 --> 00:12:36,870 Christ is in the grave. 278 00:12:37,030 --> 00:12:39,390 I'll make sure all other Christians end up 279 00:12:39,390 --> 00:12:40,530 dead and in the grave, too. 280 00:12:40,910 --> 00:12:44,090 I will personally lead a movement to exterminate 281 00:12:44,090 --> 00:12:44,830 Christianity. 282 00:12:45,110 --> 00:12:47,330 And that is what he gave himself to. 283 00:12:47,410 --> 00:12:51,470 So in Acts nine, one, you read, then 284 00:12:51,470 --> 00:12:54,510 Saul still breathing threats and murder against the 285 00:12:54,510 --> 00:12:57,170 disciples of the Lord, went to the high 286 00:12:57,170 --> 00:12:59,770 priest and asked for letters from him to 287 00:12:59,770 --> 00:13:01,690 the synagogues of Damascus. 288 00:13:01,950 --> 00:13:03,850 So if they found any who were of 289 00:13:03,850 --> 00:13:06,150 the way, that's what they called Christianity in 290 00:13:06,150 --> 00:13:09,450 the beginning, because Jesus said, I am the 291 00:13:09,450 --> 00:13:12,870 way, truth and the life, whether men or 292 00:13:12,870 --> 00:13:15,830 women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 293 00:13:16,690 --> 00:13:18,210 He didn't care if you're a man or 294 00:13:18,210 --> 00:13:20,570 if you're a woman, he would still seek 295 00:13:20,570 --> 00:13:24,390 to bring you bound to Jerusalem and breathing 296 00:13:24,390 --> 00:13:25,130 out murder. 297 00:13:25,270 --> 00:13:27,270 It says here, bring you to your death. 298 00:13:28,270 --> 00:13:30,510 His belligerence knew no bounds. 299 00:13:30,810 --> 00:13:33,590 He was at this point, sadistical, driven by 300 00:13:33,590 --> 00:13:38,350 darkness and by Satan himself and gone to 301 00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:39,830 the extreme of even going all the way 302 00:13:39,830 --> 00:13:40,770 to Damascus. 303 00:13:41,770 --> 00:13:44,230 He is such a fascinating man to study, 304 00:13:44,910 --> 00:13:50,730 because if you look at his background, he 305 00:13:50,730 --> 00:13:53,210 was born a Roman citizen. 306 00:13:53,890 --> 00:13:55,890 Cilicia was a Tarsus. 307 00:13:55,990 --> 00:14:00,530 Tarsus was a Roman province born a Roman 308 00:14:00,530 --> 00:14:01,170 citizen. 309 00:14:02,530 --> 00:14:04,650 Thus, he had the freedom to travel all 310 00:14:04,650 --> 00:14:07,870 around the Roman Empire later, born a Roman 311 00:14:07,870 --> 00:14:11,850 citizen, but raised his father was a Pharisee, 312 00:14:12,290 --> 00:14:15,350 raised in the way of Judaism, even to 313 00:14:15,350 --> 00:14:17,450 the point that he was tutored by the 314 00:14:17,450 --> 00:14:20,730 greatest rabbi the Jews ever had, Gamaliel. 315 00:14:21,450 --> 00:14:24,150 It is said that when Gamaliel died, the 316 00:14:24,150 --> 00:14:26,690 reverence for the law of God died with 317 00:14:26,690 --> 00:14:26,950 him. 318 00:14:28,190 --> 00:14:31,250 That's very believable, because if you recall, when 319 00:14:31,250 --> 00:14:34,470 we studied acts earlier, the Sanhedrin, the ruling 320 00:14:34,470 --> 00:14:38,570 body of Israel, was made up of almost 321 00:14:38,570 --> 00:14:41,410 entirely Sadducees by the time of Jesus Christ 322 00:14:41,410 --> 00:14:43,930 and the Sadducees, as opposed to the Pharisees, 323 00:14:44,410 --> 00:14:46,890 did not believe in the afterlife, did not 324 00:14:46,890 --> 00:14:49,030 believe in anything supernatural, did not believe in 325 00:14:49,030 --> 00:14:51,170 angels, not believe in miracles. 326 00:14:51,490 --> 00:14:53,090 They were utterly liberal. 327 00:14:53,710 --> 00:14:56,010 They were the ones that stepped forth to 328 00:14:56,010 --> 00:14:59,050 be the rabbis in the future and thus 329 00:14:59,050 --> 00:14:59,510 liberal. 330 00:14:59,830 --> 00:15:02,530 So Gamaliel, you remember, stood up among them 331 00:15:02,530 --> 00:15:02,790 all. 332 00:15:02,870 --> 00:15:05,090 And it was Gamaliel who said when they 333 00:15:05,090 --> 00:15:09,330 were taking the apostles and mishandling them and 334 00:15:09,330 --> 00:15:11,730 wanting to kill them, Gamaliel said, leave them 335 00:15:11,730 --> 00:15:16,230 alone, because if this movement is of God, 336 00:15:17,030 --> 00:15:18,590 you want to be careful lest you'd be 337 00:15:18,590 --> 00:15:21,790 found to be fighting against God himself. 338 00:15:21,970 --> 00:15:25,730 Gamaliel, though not converted to Christianity, had a 339 00:15:25,730 --> 00:15:26,830 great reverence for the law. 340 00:15:27,150 --> 00:15:29,490 He tutored Saul of Tarsus. 341 00:15:29,990 --> 00:15:31,410 So his background is amazing. 342 00:15:31,490 --> 00:15:32,610 He's born a Roman. 343 00:15:32,750 --> 00:15:34,410 He's tutored by Gamaliel. 344 00:15:34,630 --> 00:15:35,730 He's a genius. 345 00:15:35,850 --> 00:15:38,930 His writings reveal an intellect that is monumental. 346 00:15:40,150 --> 00:15:44,150 Further, to add to this interesting blend, he 347 00:15:44,150 --> 00:15:47,350 was schooled in Tarsus at the university there, 348 00:15:47,470 --> 00:15:49,350 which was one of the three great universities 349 00:15:49,350 --> 00:15:50,010 in the world. 350 00:15:50,590 --> 00:15:53,550 You had Alexandria, you had Athens and you 351 00:15:53,550 --> 00:15:54,210 had Tarsus. 352 00:15:54,930 --> 00:15:57,130 And he was schooled there as a Greek. 353 00:15:58,330 --> 00:16:02,690 Greek culture, Greek education, Roman citizen tutored by 354 00:16:02,690 --> 00:16:04,870 Gamaliel, Pharisee of the Pharisees. 355 00:16:04,950 --> 00:16:07,390 So he's the ultimate Jew, the ultimate Roman 356 00:16:07,390 --> 00:16:09,310 citizen and the ultimate Greek. 357 00:16:10,090 --> 00:16:11,930 No wonder he ends up the apostle to 358 00:16:11,930 --> 00:16:12,710 the Gentiles. 359 00:16:13,510 --> 00:16:17,270 It is amazing to contemplate how God sovereignly 360 00:16:17,270 --> 00:16:19,150 works in your life before you're ever born 361 00:16:19,150 --> 00:16:21,490 again, looking toward what he's going to do 362 00:16:21,490 --> 00:16:23,430 in your life after you are born again. 363 00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:28,430 The truth is salvation begins in eternity past. 364 00:16:29,530 --> 00:16:32,830 The truth is we're saved out from eternity. 365 00:16:33,870 --> 00:16:36,210 God knew you from eternity past, the Bible 366 00:16:36,210 --> 00:16:36,650 says. 367 00:16:36,790 --> 00:16:37,870 We'll study that in the future. 368 00:16:38,150 --> 00:16:40,410 You know, talk about predestination for knowledge and 369 00:16:40,410 --> 00:16:40,910 so on. 370 00:16:41,690 --> 00:16:43,410 So all those light subjects. 371 00:16:45,050 --> 00:16:47,390 Thought I'd toss out a little distracting teaser 372 00:16:47,390 --> 00:16:47,970 right here. 373 00:16:48,610 --> 00:16:50,630 But you look at the background of this 374 00:16:50,630 --> 00:16:54,110 individual and he has this incredible blend and 375 00:16:54,110 --> 00:16:56,650 he's so brilliant and he can move in 376 00:16:56,650 --> 00:16:58,890 all circles of life and he does in 377 00:16:58,890 --> 00:16:59,410 the future. 378 00:16:59,670 --> 00:17:01,630 And, you know, something just before I move 379 00:17:01,630 --> 00:17:01,950 on. 380 00:17:02,010 --> 00:17:03,230 I just want to say this. 381 00:17:03,430 --> 00:17:05,190 If you're born again today, you know, Jesus 382 00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:07,089 Christ, you can look back at your life 383 00:17:07,089 --> 00:17:09,069 and you can see the hand of God 384 00:17:09,069 --> 00:17:11,329 upon your life before you were ever born 385 00:17:11,329 --> 00:17:13,589 again, molding and shaping you. 386 00:17:13,950 --> 00:17:16,030 And he's he's using it all now toward 387 00:17:16,030 --> 00:17:18,230 what he's called you to in your life 388 00:17:18,230 --> 00:17:19,369 here with him on this planet. 389 00:17:20,130 --> 00:17:22,270 Salvation is a wonder to behold. 390 00:17:23,530 --> 00:17:26,069 His beliefs caused him to reject Christ. 391 00:17:26,530 --> 00:17:29,290 His belligerence caused many people to die and 392 00:17:29,290 --> 00:17:29,970 be imprisoned. 393 00:17:30,570 --> 00:17:33,570 His background is phenomenal and amazing and was 394 00:17:33,570 --> 00:17:35,850 used in the rest of his life in 395 00:17:35,850 --> 00:17:36,430 his ministry. 396 00:17:37,030 --> 00:17:38,370 One thing I want to mention at this 397 00:17:38,370 --> 00:17:41,730 point before we go on to the conviction 398 00:17:41,730 --> 00:17:44,650 on the Damascus Road is I don't know 399 00:17:44,650 --> 00:17:46,810 how you imagine Paul at this point, Saul, 400 00:17:47,650 --> 00:17:49,950 but I look at a guy like this 401 00:17:49,950 --> 00:17:51,370 and I look at his background and I 402 00:17:51,370 --> 00:17:55,270 look at his influence and I picture a 403 00:17:55,270 --> 00:17:56,570 man of huge stature. 404 00:17:58,330 --> 00:17:58,790 Huge. 405 00:17:59,250 --> 00:18:01,130 I mean, he's got a gigantic intellect. 406 00:18:01,290 --> 00:18:02,410 He is so influential. 407 00:18:02,590 --> 00:18:04,670 I picture a William Wallace type. 408 00:18:05,630 --> 00:18:08,030 William Wallace, the great braveheart in Scotland. 409 00:18:08,350 --> 00:18:10,390 They say he was seven feet tall. 410 00:18:11,010 --> 00:18:12,090 You say, no, that's legend. 411 00:18:12,270 --> 00:18:12,850 No, it isn't. 412 00:18:13,130 --> 00:18:15,230 I have been to the Wallace Monument in 413 00:18:15,230 --> 00:18:17,290 Scotland and I've stood in front of his 414 00:18:17,290 --> 00:18:19,810 Claymore sword that they have in a glass 415 00:18:19,810 --> 00:18:20,230 case. 416 00:18:20,410 --> 00:18:21,850 He was seven feet tall. 417 00:18:22,110 --> 00:18:22,770 How do you know that? 418 00:18:22,810 --> 00:18:25,370 Because they made your Claymore sword by measuring 419 00:18:25,370 --> 00:18:27,170 from your chin down to the ground. 420 00:18:27,510 --> 00:18:29,090 And that's how long your sword was. 421 00:18:29,790 --> 00:18:31,190 And I have a copy of his sword 422 00:18:31,190 --> 00:18:33,070 in my office. 423 00:18:33,310 --> 00:18:35,190 So don't ever mess with me. 424 00:18:37,870 --> 00:18:40,670 So I imagine this William Wallace type. 425 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:46,400 The amazing thing about Paul is that he 426 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:53,240 was for ten historians. 427 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:54,740 Give us this information. 428 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,080 He was about four ten and he had 429 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:58,340 kind of a hunchback. 430 00:18:59,540 --> 00:19:01,900 So take four ten, bend him over and 431 00:19:01,900 --> 00:19:03,120 you get him down around four feet. 432 00:19:03,260 --> 00:19:06,020 I mean, he's already funny looking at very 433 00:19:06,020 --> 00:19:09,040 bushy hair, which sort of wrapped around his 434 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,960 face because he had such bushy eyebrows that 435 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:13,740 they write of him as having one eyebrow. 436 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:14,820 You know, the one eyebrow. 437 00:19:14,940 --> 00:19:16,340 Look, you don't see it too often these 438 00:19:16,340 --> 00:19:16,600 days. 439 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:17,780 And I hope we don't have it here. 440 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,100 But pick up some tweezers at Walgreens after 441 00:19:22,100 --> 00:19:23,560 and get some help. 442 00:19:23,940 --> 00:19:26,540 Anyway, he he's got this bushy hair, this 443 00:19:26,540 --> 00:19:28,480 one eyebrow crosses face. 444 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,440 They say he had very buggy eyes. 445 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:31,760 He stooped over. 446 00:19:32,140 --> 00:19:32,960 He's four ten. 447 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,820 And they said he had really skinny, spindly 448 00:19:36,820 --> 00:19:38,320 legs with knobby knees. 449 00:19:38,940 --> 00:19:41,560 So just imagine this guy running around through 450 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:42,820 a froggy individual. 451 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,780 That is so amazing to me because he 452 00:19:46,780 --> 00:19:49,740 had this huge intellect and yet he was 453 00:19:49,740 --> 00:19:53,920 so funny looking and even references that in 454 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:54,880 some of his writings. 455 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:56,960 You know, I'm not this great presence when 456 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,100 I'm among you and everybody's like, yeah, tell 457 00:19:59,100 --> 00:20:00,480 us about it, you know. 458 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,380 So what that says to me is this. 459 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,680 When you look in the mirror, you know, 460 00:20:08,740 --> 00:20:09,960 I don't know what your reaction is. 461 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:11,300 A few of you are the beautiful people. 462 00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:12,160 You probably love it. 463 00:20:12,340 --> 00:20:14,240 But for the rest of us, when you 464 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:15,460 look in the mirror, you look at your 465 00:20:15,460 --> 00:20:17,200 life and you look at what you are, 466 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:18,800 you think, oh, how could God ever use 467 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:19,060 me? 468 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:21,940 Well, look at how God used this funny 469 00:20:21,940 --> 00:20:23,580 little man. 470 00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:24,660 So funny. 471 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:26,220 And his appearance. 472 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,860 And how touching that later in his life, 473 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,920 by the time he died, that little body 474 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,520 of his was scarred from head to toe, 475 00:20:36,020 --> 00:20:39,540 literally the scars he had from the blows 476 00:20:39,540 --> 00:20:41,120 that were meant for Christ that fell on 477 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:41,360 him. 478 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:43,760 Whatever you look like, whoever you are today, 479 00:20:43,940 --> 00:20:47,980 God can use you and he wants to. 480 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,340 So here's this man and his contact with 481 00:20:51,340 --> 00:20:51,840 Christianity. 482 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Let's go to his conviction. 483 00:20:53,220 --> 00:20:56,580 He's traveling now down the road, probably went 484 00:20:56,580 --> 00:20:58,980 out the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem and down 485 00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:01,040 that old road that's been there for so 486 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:02,760 long, all the way back to the days 487 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,080 of the Silk Roads that ran back into 488 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,760 China and everything else, the trading caravan routes. 489 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,520 And he goes down this road to Damascus 490 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,680 and he's traveling along and you can just 491 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:15,280 imagine him strategizing. 492 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,660 And he is in his life at the 493 00:21:17,660 --> 00:21:20,360 peak of his hatred for Jesus Christ and 494 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:20,880 Christianity. 495 00:21:21,260 --> 00:21:24,640 He has never been, in a sense, farther 496 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:25,700 from being converted. 497 00:21:27,460 --> 00:21:29,780 So it's not as though he's going down 498 00:21:29,780 --> 00:21:32,000 the Damascus Road thinking, you know, maybe when 499 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,720 I get to Damascus, I'll check out Christianity, 500 00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:36,920 go to a Bible study and think about 501 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:38,000 coming to know Jesus. 502 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,180 No, bear in mind, he's going to Damascus 503 00:21:41,180 --> 00:21:43,840 to get people, arrest them, take them back 504 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,740 to Jerusalem and see that if he can 505 00:21:45,740 --> 00:21:49,100 have them killed, if possible, as he's journeying 506 00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:52,480 along in this state, the conviction of God 507 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:53,300 comes to him. 508 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,480 By the way, conviction is only something God 509 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:57,000 can bring. 510 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,300 Conviction and condemnation are two different things. 511 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,740 Do you know that it's helpful to understand 512 00:22:01,740 --> 00:22:04,680 that condemnation is woe is me and nothing 513 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:05,260 but allows. 514 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:06,360 I'm just a crumb. 515 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:07,720 I'll never be any good. 516 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:08,660 I messed up. 517 00:22:08,740 --> 00:22:09,700 God doesn't love me. 518 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:10,600 That's condemnation. 519 00:22:11,020 --> 00:22:12,020 And that's very unhealthy. 520 00:22:13,300 --> 00:22:16,260 Conviction is the light of God shining into 521 00:22:16,260 --> 00:22:17,100 your soul. 522 00:22:17,660 --> 00:22:20,500 A holy God showing you your condition before 523 00:22:20,500 --> 00:22:20,920 him. 524 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,360 And always with the conviction of God comes 525 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,860 the light to find the way out of 526 00:22:25,860 --> 00:22:28,100 your sin into his light and his love. 527 00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:29,740 OK, understand the difference. 528 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,780 So we come to his conviction and that 529 00:22:32,780 --> 00:22:34,060 always has to happen to bring you to 530 00:22:34,060 --> 00:22:34,780 true salvation. 531 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:37,020 He is suddenly, as he's traveling along, bathed 532 00:22:37,020 --> 00:22:40,100 in the light of the living Christ, who 533 00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:41,020 he thinks is dead. 534 00:22:42,020 --> 00:22:43,780 Acts nine three, as he journeyed, he came 535 00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:50,200 near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around 536 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,500 him from heaven and then he fell to 537 00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:56,180 the ground and he heard a voice saying, 538 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:02,440 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 539 00:23:03,740 --> 00:23:06,360 He is on a long journey, suddenly interrupted 540 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:09,080 with the light of God, and that is 541 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:10,540 how it happens in life. 542 00:23:11,540 --> 00:23:13,600 You're on your journey in your life. 543 00:23:13,740 --> 00:23:14,940 You're living out your deception. 544 00:23:15,100 --> 00:23:18,120 You may even have the light of the 545 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:21,280 gospel in your head, but not in your 546 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:21,500 heart. 547 00:23:21,540 --> 00:23:25,100 And suddenly Christ comes to you in such 548 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:27,040 a way that it makes all the difference. 549 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,080 It is what you could say the ultimate 550 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,300 life changing revelation of Jesus Christ to your 551 00:23:33,300 --> 00:23:33,720 heart. 552 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,360 And so suddenly he's bathed in the light 553 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:37,440 of the living Christ. 554 00:23:37,540 --> 00:23:38,060 He's not dead. 555 00:23:38,140 --> 00:23:39,040 He finds out he's living. 556 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,400 You realize, of course, it would be his 557 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,000 greatest nightmare to discover that Christ was alive. 558 00:23:47,180 --> 00:23:48,540 His greatest nightmare. 559 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,060 I mean, it unravels everything about his whole 560 00:23:51,060 --> 00:23:51,720 life now. 561 00:23:54,010 --> 00:23:56,880 And now he finds out suddenly this light 562 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:58,100 shines around him from heaven. 563 00:23:58,420 --> 00:24:00,240 In verse three, when you read the light 564 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,640 shone around him from heaven and then he 565 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,160 fell to the ground, that light, as he 566 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,740 describes it, because his conversion is described three 567 00:24:09,740 --> 00:24:10,860 different times in Acts. 568 00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:14,140 That light is brighter than the noonday sun. 569 00:24:15,620 --> 00:24:16,780 Imagine how bright that is. 570 00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:20,000 So that light suddenly shines around him and 571 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,600 no wonder he falls to the ground and 572 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:24,440 he hears a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why 573 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:29,380 are you persecuting me now at this point 574 00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:30,000 in time? 575 00:24:30,940 --> 00:24:33,780 You have to realize where his mind is 576 00:24:33,780 --> 00:24:34,120 at. 577 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,040 He knows the gospel. 578 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:41,820 He knows the gospel. 579 00:24:43,180 --> 00:24:45,760 And he we know that he knows it 580 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,300 because when they stoned Stevens, he was standing 581 00:24:49,300 --> 00:24:51,680 there holding the coats of the individuals who 582 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:52,540 were throwing the rocks. 583 00:24:52,580 --> 00:24:57,700 Remember that Stevens sermon in Acts chapter six 584 00:24:57,700 --> 00:24:59,180 is absolutely flawless. 585 00:24:59,180 --> 00:25:03,260 It's the longest sermon on Christ in the 586 00:25:03,260 --> 00:25:05,700 book of Acts, and it is the most 587 00:25:05,700 --> 00:25:07,760 detailed, the most detailed. 588 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,900 And he was there and he heard that. 589 00:25:11,860 --> 00:25:13,540 And he didn't just hear it. 590 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:15,280 He never forgot it. 591 00:25:17,330 --> 00:25:18,570 You know how I know he never forgot 592 00:25:18,570 --> 00:25:18,970 it. 593 00:25:20,030 --> 00:25:21,950 Because who wrote the book of Acts? 594 00:25:22,870 --> 00:25:23,430 Luke. 595 00:25:24,450 --> 00:25:26,630 Luke was not there in that sermon. 596 00:25:27,790 --> 00:25:31,470 Luke was Paul's physician who attended him in 597 00:25:31,470 --> 00:25:34,590 his ministry because he was always getting stoned 598 00:25:34,590 --> 00:25:36,790 to death and shipwrecked, things like that. 599 00:25:37,330 --> 00:25:38,790 So he had his own private physician. 600 00:25:40,370 --> 00:25:44,810 Paul gave that sermon back to Luke word 601 00:25:44,810 --> 00:25:47,570 for word to write down in Acts chapter 602 00:25:47,570 --> 00:25:52,390 six because he never forgot one word of 603 00:25:52,390 --> 00:25:52,610 it. 604 00:25:52,610 --> 00:25:54,910 So he had that photographic memory. 605 00:25:55,070 --> 00:25:56,950 He had that kind of brain. 606 00:25:57,090 --> 00:25:58,790 You only need one exposure to it and 607 00:25:58,790 --> 00:25:59,650 stays there. 608 00:25:59,890 --> 00:26:02,850 So he had the sermon word for word 609 00:26:02,850 --> 00:26:05,850 of Stephen in his mind with every Christian 610 00:26:05,850 --> 00:26:07,210 he sent to their death. 611 00:26:08,530 --> 00:26:10,390 And there it was in his mind. 612 00:26:11,150 --> 00:26:13,030 But you know how when you hate something 613 00:26:13,030 --> 00:26:14,370 and you want to get rid of it 614 00:26:14,370 --> 00:26:17,890 and as you're there, you're just you have 615 00:26:17,890 --> 00:26:19,630 that thing in your mind going around, around, 616 00:26:19,750 --> 00:26:20,430 around, around, around. 617 00:26:20,430 --> 00:26:22,830 The very thing that you don't like is 618 00:26:22,830 --> 00:26:24,550 going around and around and around in your 619 00:26:24,550 --> 00:26:24,930 head. 620 00:26:25,650 --> 00:26:27,950 Every time he persecuted a Christian to their 621 00:26:27,950 --> 00:26:30,170 death, the gospel was going around and around 622 00:26:30,170 --> 00:26:30,790 that sermon. 623 00:26:30,790 --> 00:26:31,650 It was going around and around. 624 00:26:31,810 --> 00:26:33,450 And he had never in his whole life 625 00:26:33,450 --> 00:26:35,050 seen anyone die like Stephen. 626 00:26:36,410 --> 00:26:36,770 Never. 627 00:26:37,550 --> 00:26:38,790 He sent a lot of people to his 628 00:26:38,790 --> 00:26:39,050 death. 629 00:26:39,330 --> 00:26:41,330 You know where we read in the first 630 00:26:41,330 --> 00:26:45,210 few verses and then saw still breathing out 631 00:26:45,210 --> 00:26:46,150 threatenings and murder. 632 00:26:46,150 --> 00:26:50,810 The Greek word there that's translated murder is 633 00:26:50,810 --> 00:26:53,870 the Greek word for knows she's 10 times 634 00:26:53,870 --> 00:26:54,650 in the New Testament. 635 00:26:55,990 --> 00:26:58,750 And it's translated murder in almost every place 636 00:26:58,750 --> 00:27:00,350 except Hebrews 1137. 637 00:27:00,550 --> 00:27:01,190 I think it is. 638 00:27:01,610 --> 00:27:02,450 But here's the point. 639 00:27:02,650 --> 00:27:04,290 When you put the phrase together that's in 640 00:27:04,290 --> 00:27:07,010 the original Greek, it is literally he was 641 00:27:07,010 --> 00:27:08,330 inhaling murder. 642 00:27:09,290 --> 00:27:11,010 He was inhaling murder. 643 00:27:11,430 --> 00:27:14,390 And so as he is treating God's people 644 00:27:14,390 --> 00:27:17,570 like this, it's with the whole time, the 645 00:27:17,570 --> 00:27:19,330 whole sermon of Stephen in his head. 646 00:27:19,690 --> 00:27:22,590 So when the light of the glory of 647 00:27:22,590 --> 00:27:25,530 God and Jesus Christ suddenly shines on him 648 00:27:25,530 --> 00:27:28,370 and knocks him to the ground into the 649 00:27:28,370 --> 00:27:31,770 dirt, it took that kind of revelation and 650 00:27:31,770 --> 00:27:34,310 light from Jesus Christ to take the light 651 00:27:34,310 --> 00:27:37,110 of Christ from his head to his heart 652 00:27:37,110 --> 00:27:39,850 as he slammed down into the dirt. 653 00:27:39,850 --> 00:27:42,930 The truth of Christ is effectively slammed down 654 00:27:42,930 --> 00:27:43,610 into his heart. 655 00:27:44,070 --> 00:27:46,370 And finally, he believes it. 656 00:27:47,310 --> 00:27:49,530 Finally, he believes it in a moment of 657 00:27:49,530 --> 00:27:50,110 time. 658 00:27:50,970 --> 00:27:54,150 Thoroughly then convinced of his sin, which was 659 00:27:54,150 --> 00:27:54,530 what? 660 00:27:54,870 --> 00:27:56,210 Rejecting Jesus Christ. 661 00:27:57,430 --> 00:28:01,150 What is the one sin that will shut 662 00:28:01,150 --> 00:28:01,810 you out of heaven? 663 00:28:02,330 --> 00:28:04,490 One sin rejecting Christ. 664 00:28:05,170 --> 00:28:07,450 So in verse four, says then he fell 665 00:28:07,450 --> 00:28:08,950 to the ground and he heard a voice 666 00:28:08,950 --> 00:28:13,510 saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting? 667 00:28:15,390 --> 00:28:17,270 My people, does it say that? 668 00:28:17,630 --> 00:28:18,610 No, it says me. 669 00:28:19,430 --> 00:28:21,250 Why are you persecuting me? 670 00:28:21,430 --> 00:28:23,390 You see, that's the point that he realized 671 00:28:23,390 --> 00:28:25,770 everything I've been doing has been against him 672 00:28:25,770 --> 00:28:26,890 and he's alive. 673 00:28:27,430 --> 00:28:29,810 Not only is he alive, he's right here. 674 00:28:30,430 --> 00:28:31,950 He's right above me. 675 00:28:31,950 --> 00:28:34,170 And he's just got his face in the 676 00:28:34,170 --> 00:28:34,530 dirt. 677 00:28:34,690 --> 00:28:36,710 He's in the ultimate point of brokenness and 678 00:28:36,710 --> 00:28:37,350 humiliation. 679 00:28:38,030 --> 00:28:39,350 Why are you persecuting me? 680 00:28:39,450 --> 00:28:41,430 And so there is the conviction. 681 00:28:42,670 --> 00:28:45,690 The moment you come to realize that the 682 00:28:45,690 --> 00:28:49,210 greatest sin in your life is rejecting Jesus 683 00:28:49,210 --> 00:28:52,730 Christ and that God will hold you accountable 684 00:28:52,730 --> 00:28:55,710 for that, that's the moment you can be 685 00:28:55,710 --> 00:28:56,250 saved. 686 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:01,250 And you must, with all your soul, feel 687 00:29:01,250 --> 00:29:03,630 the guilt of that sin. 688 00:29:03,950 --> 00:29:04,930 Does that make sense to you? 689 00:29:06,050 --> 00:29:07,570 Now, follow this very closely. 690 00:29:08,370 --> 00:29:11,290 To then design a church where nobody ever 691 00:29:11,290 --> 00:29:17,360 goes out the door feeling guilty is to 692 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:18,620 emasculate the gospel. 693 00:29:19,460 --> 00:29:24,340 Because until you feel your guilt through your 694 00:29:24,340 --> 00:29:28,460 whole soul for rejecting Christ, you will never 695 00:29:28,460 --> 00:29:31,520 be born again. 696 00:29:33,590 --> 00:29:36,530 How sad it is today that so many 697 00:29:36,530 --> 00:29:39,610 pulpits are designed to keep people from ever 698 00:29:39,610 --> 00:29:40,830 really feeling guilty. 699 00:29:41,190 --> 00:29:43,870 They're keeping them out of the kingdom of 700 00:29:43,870 --> 00:29:44,250 God. 701 00:29:45,750 --> 00:29:47,430 Now, I don't think we should make people 702 00:29:47,430 --> 00:29:50,610 feel rotten and worthless and guilt in that 703 00:29:50,610 --> 00:29:52,350 sense, send them out the door, you know, 704 00:29:52,410 --> 00:29:53,550 feeling like losers. 705 00:29:53,890 --> 00:29:54,930 That's a different issue. 706 00:29:55,250 --> 00:29:58,570 But we must all feel our guilt of 707 00:29:58,570 --> 00:29:59,410 rejecting Christ. 708 00:29:59,510 --> 00:30:02,890 To come to him, be rescued and then 709 00:30:02,890 --> 00:30:05,010 cleansed of all that guilt. 710 00:30:06,570 --> 00:30:08,210 And then we have the peace that passes 711 00:30:08,210 --> 00:30:09,150 all understanding. 712 00:30:10,570 --> 00:30:14,170 Salvation, the conviction, why are you persecuting me? 713 00:30:14,170 --> 00:30:15,470 You know, there's one other thing here. 714 00:30:16,850 --> 00:30:18,050 And that is when he says, Saul, Saul, 715 00:30:18,090 --> 00:30:19,990 why are you persecuting me? 716 00:30:20,250 --> 00:30:22,730 That says that Jesus Christ takes the persecution 717 00:30:22,730 --> 00:30:27,450 of his people very personally, very personally, so 718 00:30:27,450 --> 00:30:31,230 that whatever happens to you from others because 719 00:30:31,230 --> 00:30:33,750 of your love for Christ, know this, he 720 00:30:33,750 --> 00:30:34,490 feels it. 721 00:30:35,930 --> 00:30:38,430 My Bible tells me that Jesus Christ is 722 00:30:38,430 --> 00:30:39,770 on the right hand of God and he 723 00:30:39,770 --> 00:30:42,390 ever lives to make intercession for me, right? 724 00:30:43,270 --> 00:30:45,770 That means his eye is ever on me. 725 00:30:45,890 --> 00:30:48,290 He knows everything that's happening to me so 726 00:30:48,290 --> 00:30:49,990 he can intercede for me. 727 00:30:51,630 --> 00:30:54,290 Thus, when I am persecuted, when the devil 728 00:30:54,290 --> 00:30:58,390 assaults me, he takes it personally because really 729 00:30:58,390 --> 00:30:59,450 it's against him. 730 00:30:59,530 --> 00:31:00,590 It's because of him. 731 00:31:01,750 --> 00:31:04,850 Hebrews 725 says, therefore, he is also able 732 00:31:04,850 --> 00:31:06,650 to save to the uttermost, to the full 733 00:31:06,650 --> 00:31:09,730 extent those who come to God through him, 734 00:31:09,770 --> 00:31:13,290 since he always lives to make intercession for 735 00:31:13,290 --> 00:31:13,670 them. 736 00:31:14,550 --> 00:31:17,050 So when I am persecuted, when I feel 737 00:31:17,050 --> 00:31:18,910 the pain of the fiery darts of the 738 00:31:18,910 --> 00:31:21,910 devil, when I feel the insults and and 739 00:31:21,910 --> 00:31:24,790 the rejection and the betrayals of all the 740 00:31:24,790 --> 00:31:26,970 Judas types around me in the body of 741 00:31:26,970 --> 00:31:28,630 Christ, he feels it, too. 742 00:31:29,210 --> 00:31:31,370 I thank God I have a high priest 743 00:31:31,370 --> 00:31:33,970 who is not untouched my infirmities, with my 744 00:31:33,970 --> 00:31:35,930 pains that I go through and he is 745 00:31:35,930 --> 00:31:37,310 able to minister to me. 746 00:31:37,510 --> 00:31:39,990 Why are you persecuting me, he says. 747 00:31:40,270 --> 00:31:42,130 And right here, the theology of the body 748 00:31:42,130 --> 00:31:44,650 of Christ was born in the heart of 749 00:31:44,650 --> 00:31:45,150 this man. 750 00:31:45,250 --> 00:31:47,150 And later he unfolds it in First Corinthians 751 00:31:47,150 --> 00:31:47,950 and Ephesians. 752 00:31:48,770 --> 00:31:49,970 Touch the head to touch the body. 753 00:31:51,170 --> 00:31:53,910 So he is flooded with the light of 754 00:31:53,910 --> 00:31:56,030 God, deeply convicted. 755 00:31:56,250 --> 00:31:57,730 And you know what the shock of all 756 00:31:57,730 --> 00:31:58,610 of it was, I think? 757 00:31:58,630 --> 00:32:01,210 To find out that he was fighting God 758 00:32:01,210 --> 00:32:01,710 himself. 759 00:32:03,310 --> 00:32:04,210 Don't forget here. 760 00:32:04,330 --> 00:32:06,530 This man is you'll never find a more 761 00:32:06,530 --> 00:32:07,930 religious man in your whole life. 762 00:32:09,170 --> 00:32:12,130 He is steeped and flooded with religion. 763 00:32:13,850 --> 00:32:15,830 And in verse five, he said, who are 764 00:32:15,830 --> 00:32:16,510 you, Lord? 765 00:32:17,970 --> 00:32:19,770 And the Lord said to him, I am 766 00:32:19,770 --> 00:32:22,430 Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 767 00:32:22,450 --> 00:32:24,150 It's hard for you to kick against the 768 00:32:24,150 --> 00:32:24,850 goads. 769 00:32:25,830 --> 00:32:27,890 It's really hard for you to deal with 770 00:32:27,890 --> 00:32:30,510 that sermon of Stephen that echoes over and 771 00:32:30,510 --> 00:32:31,830 over in your head, isn't it? 772 00:32:31,970 --> 00:32:33,610 It's really hard for you to see his 773 00:32:33,610 --> 00:32:36,990 smiling angelic face as you held the coats 774 00:32:36,990 --> 00:32:38,410 of the men that stoned him to death 775 00:32:38,410 --> 00:32:40,250 and you watched his blood stain the dirt. 776 00:32:40,470 --> 00:32:41,010 It's hard. 777 00:32:41,230 --> 00:32:43,390 You're the most miserable man on the face 778 00:32:43,390 --> 00:32:43,990 of the earth. 779 00:32:44,210 --> 00:32:45,150 It's hard, isn't it? 780 00:32:45,190 --> 00:32:46,570 Yes, Lord, it's hard. 781 00:32:47,490 --> 00:32:49,290 And his misery ends at that point because 782 00:32:49,290 --> 00:32:50,370 he quits fighting God. 783 00:32:50,750 --> 00:32:52,770 But, you know, he came to realize something 784 00:32:52,770 --> 00:32:54,650 very powerful beyond even that. 785 00:32:55,990 --> 00:32:57,190 Who are you, Lord? 786 00:32:57,250 --> 00:32:57,910 What does he say? 787 00:32:59,210 --> 00:33:03,130 Well, I'm from Nazareth and did a few 788 00:33:03,130 --> 00:33:04,250 miracles in my day. 789 00:33:04,370 --> 00:33:05,290 You may have heard of them. 790 00:33:06,070 --> 00:33:06,450 No. 791 00:33:06,710 --> 00:33:07,570 Who are you, Lord? 792 00:33:07,650 --> 00:33:08,370 I am. 793 00:33:09,650 --> 00:33:12,710 I believe there's a long pause there. 794 00:33:13,590 --> 00:33:14,670 Who are you, Lord? 795 00:33:15,030 --> 00:33:16,250 I am. 796 00:33:17,290 --> 00:33:18,910 Moses standing at the burning bush. 797 00:33:19,530 --> 00:33:20,490 God says, I want you to go to 798 00:33:20,490 --> 00:33:21,590 Egypt and be the deliverer. 799 00:33:21,610 --> 00:33:23,330 Well, who should I tell them has sent 800 00:33:23,330 --> 00:33:23,530 me? 801 00:33:23,690 --> 00:33:24,830 I am. 802 00:33:25,870 --> 00:33:27,150 Who are you, Lord? 803 00:33:27,310 --> 00:33:28,110 I am. 804 00:33:29,230 --> 00:33:31,610 Gamaliel back in the meeting with the Sanhedrin. 805 00:33:31,770 --> 00:33:34,150 Be very careful how you handle these men, 806 00:33:34,370 --> 00:33:36,430 lest if this movement is of God, you 807 00:33:36,430 --> 00:33:39,450 be found to be fighting against God himself. 808 00:33:39,810 --> 00:33:40,810 Who are you, Lord? 809 00:33:40,930 --> 00:33:41,690 I am. 810 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,660 I'm fighting the I am God. 811 00:33:49,780 --> 00:33:51,820 Jesus Christ is the I am. 812 00:33:52,340 --> 00:33:53,360 He is God. 813 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,160 And this is why he never refers to 814 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:57,420 him as Jesus of Nazareth. 815 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,560 And his writing, always the risen Lord, always 816 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,800 the risen Lord, because this is where he 817 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:04,220 met him. 818 00:34:04,780 --> 00:34:06,580 He met him as God, the I am. 819 00:34:07,100 --> 00:34:09,060 And he realized he was fighting against God. 820 00:34:09,179 --> 00:34:11,239 The moment you realize you're fighting against God 821 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:12,620 is a moment. 822 00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:15,659 You're ready to stop because guess what? 823 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,260 Everybody that fights with God loses. 824 00:34:20,219 --> 00:34:22,100 Your arms are too short to box with 825 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:22,420 God. 826 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:24,920 You will lose every time. 827 00:34:26,300 --> 00:34:28,020 And he's loving enough to do what it 828 00:34:28,020 --> 00:34:30,159 takes to bring you to the point where 829 00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:32,060 you can be rescued as Saul was here. 830 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:33,239 And I thank God for that. 831 00:34:33,540 --> 00:34:34,719 I thank God for that. 832 00:34:35,620 --> 00:34:36,800 So listen to this. 833 00:34:36,900 --> 00:34:39,340 When this individual was most convicted, he was 834 00:34:39,340 --> 00:34:42,600 most violent and then he was suddenly saved. 835 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:45,480 When you're praying for people in your life 836 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:47,139 that you know and love and they seem 837 00:34:47,139 --> 00:34:48,820 to be getting worse, Lord, I've been praying 838 00:34:48,820 --> 00:34:49,179 for them. 839 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:50,360 All my friends are praying for them. 840 00:34:50,420 --> 00:34:51,179 They're getting worse. 841 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,520 Lord, evidently, this person would never be saved. 842 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:56,240 They can't be. 843 00:34:56,380 --> 00:34:57,540 They're only getting worse. 844 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,900 They may be the closest they've ever been. 845 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:05,380 So the contact with Christ and his people 846 00:35:05,380 --> 00:35:06,460 comes to the conviction. 847 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:08,480 And now the conversion happens. 848 00:35:08,660 --> 00:35:10,100 He has said, who are you, Lord? 849 00:35:10,340 --> 00:35:12,580 He tells him now, verse six. 850 00:35:12,620 --> 00:35:15,120 So he trembling and astonished said, and here's 851 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:16,140 his profession of faith. 852 00:35:16,260 --> 00:35:18,880 Lord, he is now his Lord. 853 00:35:19,340 --> 00:35:21,680 Lord, what do you want me to do? 854 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:23,740 Later in Romans 10, he says, you want 855 00:35:23,740 --> 00:35:24,220 to be saved. 856 00:35:24,340 --> 00:35:26,960 Believe in your heart on the Lord Jesus 857 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:28,940 Christ and confess with your mouth. 858 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,280 He is Lord and you will be saved. 859 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:31,640 That's what he did right here. 860 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:33,720 He didn't say, who are you, Savior? 861 00:35:34,100 --> 00:35:36,280 He didn't say, Savior, what would you like 862 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:36,980 me to do? 863 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:40,740 It's wonderful and fantastic to know Christ as 864 00:35:40,740 --> 00:35:41,400 your savior. 865 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,200 But he's called Savior very few times in 866 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:48,140 comparison to how many hundreds of times he's 867 00:35:48,140 --> 00:35:49,560 called Lord in the New Testament. 868 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:51,000 Who are you, Lord? 869 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,780 He immediately surrendered his life to the Lordship 870 00:35:53,780 --> 00:35:54,740 of Jesus Christ. 871 00:35:55,060 --> 00:35:56,200 There wasn't any for Paul. 872 00:35:56,300 --> 00:35:56,880 There wasn't any. 873 00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:58,600 I'll take you as Savior now. 874 00:35:58,720 --> 00:35:59,860 Thank you very much. 875 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,600 Put a bumper sticker on my chariot and 876 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,580 maybe later I'll make you Lord, you know, 877 00:36:05,580 --> 00:36:08,040 get around to some discipleship type stuff. 878 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,180 But I'm just not ready for that kind 879 00:36:10,180 --> 00:36:11,340 of commitment now. 880 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,300 So, Savior, what would you like me to 881 00:36:14,300 --> 00:36:14,560 do? 882 00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:15,740 And I'll think about it. 883 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:16,300 It's optional. 884 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:16,820 I know. 885 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,240 No, Lord, I'm yours. 886 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:23,620 Everything I am. 887 00:36:24,820 --> 00:36:28,100 Everything I got, everything I am, everything I'm 888 00:36:28,100 --> 00:36:28,340 not. 889 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:29,880 What do you want me to do? 890 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:30,500 And you know something? 891 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,580 He never stopped asking that question. 892 00:36:35,900 --> 00:36:37,640 And that's why from the day of his 893 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,000 conversion to the day an axe flashed in 894 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,520 the sun and his head was severed from 895 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,640 his body in Rome, the day of his 896 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:46,020 death. 897 00:36:46,820 --> 00:36:49,020 You followed Christ and his will for his 898 00:36:49,020 --> 00:36:49,440 life. 899 00:36:49,700 --> 00:36:51,080 Would you have me to do, Lord? 900 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:53,240 May God help us to ask the Lord 901 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:55,380 that every day that we live and he 902 00:36:55,380 --> 00:36:56,860 will lead us as here. 903 00:36:56,900 --> 00:36:58,000 He says, here's what I want you to 904 00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:58,280 do. 905 00:36:58,580 --> 00:37:00,000 We'll keep it simple up front. 906 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:01,660 Arise and go into the city and I'll 907 00:37:01,660 --> 00:37:02,560 tell you what you must do. 908 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:05,000 Radical conversion. 909 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:06,140 What do you want me to do? 910 00:37:06,420 --> 00:37:07,320 Go on into the city. 911 00:37:07,860 --> 00:37:08,500 I'll tell you there. 912 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,820 So that's how the Lord changed him. 913 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:14,520 But what is amazing to me is how 914 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,360 the Lord chose him. 915 00:37:16,820 --> 00:37:18,380 You may not see this here at first 916 00:37:18,380 --> 00:37:18,940 glance. 917 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,120 Look at verse seven. 918 00:37:22,420 --> 00:37:24,720 As the men who journeyed with him stood 919 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:28,760 speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one 920 00:37:30,260 --> 00:37:31,740 saying no one. 921 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,020 The Greek word they're saying in the Greek, 922 00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:38,680 the word is theoreo means to stare when 923 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:40,360 you stare at a movie, you get our 924 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:41,480 English word theater from it. 925 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:43,640 They're staring and staring and staring. 926 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:46,700 They see nothing, but they hear a voice. 927 00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:47,980 They don't understand it. 928 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:49,540 These men are not converted. 929 00:37:49,860 --> 00:37:51,160 They do not see what he sees. 930 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:52,820 They do not have the experience he has. 931 00:37:53,420 --> 00:37:55,140 This is the way God does it in 932 00:37:55,140 --> 00:37:56,500 evangelism and salvation. 933 00:37:56,740 --> 00:37:58,860 You can have hundreds of people hearing the 934 00:37:58,860 --> 00:37:59,260 gospel. 935 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,700 One suddenly sees and understand and is converted 936 00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:05,120 and arises and goes forth in Christ. 937 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:06,820 The rest just walk out unmoved. 938 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:09,200 Let me happen here today. 939 00:38:09,660 --> 00:38:11,980 I hope it doesn't happen to you where 940 00:38:11,980 --> 00:38:14,460 the person next to you is totally moved 941 00:38:14,460 --> 00:38:16,500 and you're just off in La La Land 942 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:19,640 thinking about the burger you're going to order 943 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,900 after church as soon as you screech out 944 00:38:21,900 --> 00:38:23,200 of the parking lot in your car. 945 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:28,800 They stood hearing a voice, but seeing no 946 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:28,940 one. 947 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:30,240 Maybe you hear a voice right now, but 948 00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:31,540 you do not see Christ. 949 00:38:31,660 --> 00:38:33,560 I pray that God opens your eyes and 950 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:34,640 your heart to him. 951 00:38:35,940 --> 00:38:38,200 God is sovereign and salvation is what I'm 952 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:39,980 saying, and he does it in his time. 953 00:38:40,420 --> 00:38:42,040 We don't know if they were converted later. 954 00:38:42,140 --> 00:38:43,280 We do know that he was the only 955 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:44,080 one that day. 956 00:38:44,780 --> 00:38:46,080 And so he says, OK, I want you 957 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:47,820 to now go on to Damascus. 958 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,200 And so after his conversion, this is what 959 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:50,840 always follows. 960 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:51,720 It works like this. 961 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:53,640 You have contact with Christ and his people. 962 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,240 You have deep conviction for your sin that 963 00:38:56,240 --> 00:38:57,480 leads to real conversion. 964 00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:59,880 And then what always follows in the Christian 965 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:01,540 life is consecration to God. 966 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:03,200 You're separated in your life to him. 967 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:05,160 Go to Damascus and wait. 968 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:07,920 And God made it very convenient for him 969 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,400 to go and be separated to him because, 970 00:39:10,740 --> 00:39:12,420 verse eight says, then Saul arose from the 971 00:39:12,420 --> 00:39:14,460 ground and his eyes were open. 972 00:39:14,620 --> 00:39:15,920 But he saw no one. 973 00:39:16,740 --> 00:39:17,920 Greek word there is blepo. 974 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:21,660 From which we get, I don't know what, 975 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:24,680 but he saw. 976 00:39:24,860 --> 00:39:25,260 Just kidding. 977 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:26,500 He saw no one. 978 00:39:26,700 --> 00:39:28,760 What is amazing is that he saw everything. 979 00:39:29,350 --> 00:39:30,460 He saw everything. 980 00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:32,020 They stared and saw nothing. 981 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:35,300 He now is looking and he sees everything, 982 00:39:35,420 --> 00:39:36,460 though he is blinded. 983 00:39:37,420 --> 00:39:40,880 He's blinded because the light of God in 984 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:44,060 the face of Jesus Christ was so bright 985 00:39:44,060 --> 00:39:45,700 it affected his eyes. 986 00:39:45,980 --> 00:39:48,240 And after three days, when Ananias comes to 987 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:49,960 pray for him, it's as if scales fall 988 00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:50,900 off of his eyes. 989 00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:52,940 So they led him by the hand into 990 00:39:52,940 --> 00:39:53,720 Damascus. 991 00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:54,480 What a scene. 992 00:39:55,260 --> 00:39:57,280 You can see him charging down that road. 993 00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,460 I am Saul, the persecutor. 994 00:40:00,020 --> 00:40:01,560 When I get to Damascus, we're going to 995 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:02,460 arrest some people. 996 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,420 We're going to see some people die. 997 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,840 And then now, after charging in front of 998 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:09,200 the entourage, all arrogant. 999 00:40:10,700 --> 00:40:13,580 All smart, erudite, influential champion. 1000 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:16,160 Now they're leading him by the hand. 1001 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:19,120 A little 4'10 guy hunched over. 1002 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:21,520 Oh, thank you. 1003 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:22,020 Thank you. 1004 00:40:22,340 --> 00:40:23,300 Oh, thank you very much. 1005 00:40:23,540 --> 00:40:25,060 Then they drop him off at this house 1006 00:40:25,060 --> 00:40:27,460 in Damascus and take off. 1007 00:40:28,220 --> 00:40:30,600 And he's just sitting in there till Ananias 1008 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:30,920 comes. 1009 00:40:31,660 --> 00:40:33,240 So for three days, he has no food 1010 00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:33,820 and no water. 1011 00:40:34,340 --> 00:40:35,400 And he's blinded. 1012 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,980 You ever have somebody take your picture and 1013 00:40:37,980 --> 00:40:40,880 the flash goes off and that thing is 1014 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:41,760 there, the light? 1015 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:52,590 Imagine out of nowhere, the light of God 1016 00:40:52,590 --> 00:40:56,170 and Jesus Christ goes off right in your 1017 00:40:56,170 --> 00:40:56,670 eyes. 1018 00:40:56,810 --> 00:40:58,550 No wonder he was blinded. 1019 00:40:58,650 --> 00:41:00,650 That's all he could see was the light 1020 00:41:00,650 --> 00:41:01,430 of that face. 1021 00:41:01,730 --> 00:41:03,690 The last thing he saw before he went 1022 00:41:03,690 --> 00:41:08,070 blind was the glorious living face of Jesus 1023 00:41:08,070 --> 00:41:08,730 Christ. 1024 00:41:09,490 --> 00:41:12,370 So for three days, he sat there contemplating 1025 00:41:12,370 --> 00:41:14,270 what had happened to him, who he had 1026 00:41:14,270 --> 00:41:14,750 seen. 1027 00:41:15,310 --> 00:41:16,970 And you know what had to have happened 1028 00:41:16,970 --> 00:41:17,290 to him. 1029 00:41:17,710 --> 00:41:19,330 The Lord not only took him aside for 1030 00:41:19,330 --> 00:41:20,810 three days, he took him and turned his 1031 00:41:20,810 --> 00:41:21,870 world upside down. 1032 00:41:23,110 --> 00:41:24,650 And you know what else he had to 1033 00:41:24,650 --> 00:41:26,110 have taken him because he took him from 1034 00:41:26,110 --> 00:41:29,050 darkness to light back across to everything he'd 1035 00:41:29,050 --> 00:41:32,750 ever learned in the Old Testament from Gamaliel. 1036 00:41:33,150 --> 00:41:34,850 He had a great reverence for the law, 1037 00:41:35,250 --> 00:41:36,410 but didn't have the light. 1038 00:41:37,270 --> 00:41:40,710 And so when Paul is converted and God 1039 00:41:40,710 --> 00:41:44,410 gives him the light of Jesus Christ, when 1040 00:41:44,410 --> 00:41:48,350 he starts to write his epistles, no one 1041 00:41:48,350 --> 00:41:49,210 can equal him. 1042 00:41:49,650 --> 00:41:52,250 Peter, who lived three years with Jesus Christ 1043 00:41:52,250 --> 00:41:54,450 physically on this earth, said, when I read 1044 00:41:54,450 --> 00:41:57,070 the writings of Paul, some of them are 1045 00:41:57,070 --> 00:41:57,870 hard to understand. 1046 00:41:58,010 --> 00:42:00,730 Some of them I can't even understand. 1047 00:42:00,730 --> 00:42:02,370 They're so deep. 1048 00:42:03,030 --> 00:42:08,110 This man, radical conversion, a Jew by birth, 1049 00:42:08,190 --> 00:42:13,290 a citizen of Rome, education, Greek, completely unique, 1050 00:42:13,390 --> 00:42:15,710 it seems, but totally suited for what God 1051 00:42:15,710 --> 00:42:18,470 had called him to not so big physically, 1052 00:42:18,630 --> 00:42:20,030 but gigantic spiritually. 1053 00:42:20,970 --> 00:42:22,410 You know what all of this tells me? 1054 00:42:22,450 --> 00:42:23,170 It tells me this. 1055 00:42:23,250 --> 00:42:25,870 God can convert anyone, even you. 1056 00:42:26,750 --> 00:42:28,750 And it tells me God can use anybody, 1057 00:42:29,230 --> 00:42:29,830 even you. 1058 00:42:30,570 --> 00:42:32,410 It tells me that no matter how big 1059 00:42:32,410 --> 00:42:34,370 or little you are, he can make you 1060 00:42:34,370 --> 00:42:35,810 gigantic for you. 1061 00:42:36,830 --> 00:42:40,590 Paul, the apostle, became gigantic for who he 1062 00:42:40,590 --> 00:42:42,450 was spiritually. 1063 00:42:43,510 --> 00:42:45,510 God doesn't want you to become Paul. 1064 00:42:45,650 --> 00:42:46,590 There'll never be another. 1065 00:42:46,710 --> 00:42:48,690 He wants you to become gigantic for who 1066 00:42:48,690 --> 00:42:49,170 you are. 1067 00:42:49,170 --> 00:42:51,070 And he has every intention of leading you 1068 00:42:51,070 --> 00:42:53,750 into that, to where you fill out in 1069 00:42:53,750 --> 00:42:56,050 your lifetime before your work is done here, 1070 00:42:56,130 --> 00:42:58,990 the full sphere of your life that God 1071 00:42:58,990 --> 00:43:02,410 has planned for you, containing all of Christ 1072 00:43:02,410 --> 00:43:05,270 that you can possibly contain and your life, 1073 00:43:05,350 --> 00:43:07,990 containing all the works that he has for 1074 00:43:07,990 --> 00:43:10,530 you, ordained from before the foundation of the 1075 00:43:10,530 --> 00:43:10,850 world. 1076 00:43:10,850 --> 00:43:15,490 For you are saved by grace through faith 1077 00:43:15,490 --> 00:43:21,010 that not of yourselves, but it is of 1078 00:43:21,010 --> 00:43:23,790 God, the gift of God, lest any man 1079 00:43:23,790 --> 00:43:32,290 should boast for you are his workmanship created 1080 00:43:32,290 --> 00:43:37,250 in Christ unto good works. 1081 00:43:37,830 --> 00:43:39,890 And those are the things that you will 1082 00:43:39,890 --> 00:43:42,750 do for the glory of his name in 1083 00:43:42,750 --> 00:43:43,650 your lifetime. 1084 00:43:44,570 --> 00:43:47,790 And they are many and they are wonderful. 1085 00:43:48,670 --> 00:43:49,850 Let's pray, shall we? 1086 00:43:49,930 --> 00:43:53,990 Thank you, Jesus, that you are a rescuing 1087 00:43:53,990 --> 00:43:54,570 God. 1088 00:43:55,510 --> 00:43:59,230 Thank you, Lord, that there isn't any sinner 1089 00:43:59,230 --> 00:44:01,970 so deep in the darkness that you cannot 1090 00:44:01,970 --> 00:44:03,290 bring them out into the light. 1091 00:44:03,350 --> 00:44:05,230 And thank you, Lord, for saving us. 1092 00:44:06,510 --> 00:44:08,690 Lord, for any here listening to this message 1093 00:44:08,690 --> 00:44:10,490 today that doesn't know you, may this be 1094 00:44:10,490 --> 00:44:12,610 the day you open their eyes and bring 1095 00:44:12,610 --> 00:44:15,650 them to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 1096 00:44:16,590 --> 00:44:19,090 If you don't know him today, give your 1097 00:44:19,090 --> 00:44:20,190 heart to him right now. 1098 00:44:21,490 --> 00:44:23,690 Tell him, Jesus, take me, I'm yours. 1099 00:44:24,690 --> 00:44:25,890 And then follow him. 1100 00:44:26,750 --> 00:44:29,570 Turn from your sins and follow Christ and 1101 00:44:29,570 --> 00:44:30,490 he will lead you. 1102 00:44:31,290 --> 00:44:33,290 Lord, we thank you for this time and 1103 00:44:33,290 --> 00:44:36,130 we ask you to continue to cause these 1104 00:44:36,130 --> 00:44:39,810 truths to affect and to alter our lives 1105 00:44:39,810 --> 00:44:40,710 into your image. 1106 00:44:40,790 --> 00:44:42,550 And we ask it in Jesus' name. 1107 00:44:42,690 --> 00:44:43,070 Amen.