0:04 We want to look to this morning at the conversion of Saul of Tarsus as it's written in the book of Acts chapter nine verses one to 22. We'll begin by reading from verse one through verse nine. Acts nine verse one. Then Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.
1:00 Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. So he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do?
1:26 Then the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. But they led him by the by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank.
1:59 Here's the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. It's also mentioned in the book of Acts chapter 22 and the book of Acts chapter 26. This chief of sinners who became the apostle Paul, the greatest apostle, teacher and preacher, Christian thinker, theologian, and an author of at least 13 epistles. We read of him first in the book of Acts chapter seven. There he was when Stephen was being stoned.
2:55 Acts chapter seven verse 58. And they cast him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a of a young man named Saul. Saul was raised in a city of Tarsus on the Turkish Syrian border, a city that had thousands of Jews. One of the important cities of that day had a great university, one of three great universities of that day. The University of Rome, the University of Alexandria, and the University of Tarsus.
3:43 He was a Jewish of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Pharisee. His father was a Pharisee, and I'm sure he was 13 years old. His parents celebrate his Bar Mitzvah, and I'm sure you know what is a Bar Mitzvah is. A Jewish boy when he turns 13, he becomes the son of the law.
4:06 He is expected to observe the law, and maybe then his father would send him to Jerusalem to study law at the hand of Gamaliel, one of the greatest authorities of the Bible of that day. That man was called by that name the beauty of the law. This is how they named or they called Gamaliel the beauty of the law because when he preached the law, he made it so beautiful, so they called him the beauty of the law. After Saul finished his education, we don't know what happened to him. The Bible's silent, and for sure he wasn't probably in Jerusalem during the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
4:47 But then later probably he heard of a new sect, the followers of Jesus. Being a Pharisee, He hated anything, anyone against the teaching of the Pharisees. Maybe then he went to Jerusalem to defend his faith. But not just that, to persecute the followers of Jesus and kill them if possible. And then we see him first, as I said, in Acts chapter seven.
5:24 When Stephen was being stoned, I think he was even a leader, an organizer of that mob while putting their clothes at his feet. And then in chapter eight, we see him again in the beginning of the chapter. Now Saul was consenting to his death of Stephen. And listen what it says, at that time a great persecution arose against the church which was in Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles and devout man men carried Stephen to his burial and made a great lamentation over him. Verse three, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church.
6:11 Havoc is a word is used in the Greek there to mean to destroy a city or like an animal taking a prey and mingling it, destroying it. Of the church entering every house and dragging off men and women committing them to prison. This is Saul. This is Saul. And now, I guess, after he finished his work in Jerusalem and the Christians are scattered, he heard there are some Christians where?
6:46 In Damascus. He could not stay still. I need to follow those who are in Damascus. I need to find him. I need to imprison him.
6:57 I need to kill them, men and women. No difference. And listen what how how the chapter starts. And then Saul still breathing threats and murder. Breathing.
7:11 There was no conviction of sin. He saw Stephen being murdered asking for forgiveness, yet there was no conviction of sin. He was still breathing. Threats and murder. Threats and murder were not just part of his life.
7:29 They were they were his life. He could not live without that. Nothing was more important to him than this evil mission. Now there are disciples in Damascus. Let me go and find him.
7:50 So he goes he goes to the high priest and asks, verse two, letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus that if he found any who were off the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now Damascus was about 150 miles away. Of course, depends on on the route he was taking. He didn't care how long he has to walk. Even if he had to crawl there, probably, he would do it to imprison the believers.
8:27 He need an authority from the high priest, and the high priest at those days was, like, the president of the Jewish state in regard to their internal affairs. He was given that authority by the Romans. So he went there. He asked for letters, for permissions to go to Damascus to arrest those believers. City of Damascus had tens of thousands of Jews, had 30 synagogues those days.
8:54 How many synagogues today? Zero? Okay. To arrest people of the way, the believers were called the way. In acts nineteen nine, in acts nineteen twenty three, in acts twenty two four, they are called the way.
9:15 Now I think this is a very good name. Right? Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and believer were known as the way. Now there is, by the way, something in Judaism called halakha. Now halakha, interesting, is the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the written and oral law.
9:41 Halakha is based on biblical laws, subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic law, and the customs and traditions compiled in many books. One of the books called Shulhan Arokh, which means a very long table. Now literally, halacha means halach, if you know Hebrew, means to go. Halacha means a way to go or a way of walking. Now those people or most Jews probably live by a way of walking, but this group of believers were what?
10:19 They were the way. Not a way of walking, not halacha, but they were the way, the lord Jesus Christ himself. Not many traditions and commandments of men, but one person, Jesus Christ, the way. Now then verse three, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
10:50 Now persecuting me? Now I wanted to read with me or to compare this to what's written in chapter 26 of the book of acts, verses 14. Verse 14. And when 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 gods.
11:26 Why are you persecuting me? I think this is the greatest testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ on the unity between Him and the believers. Why are you persecuting me? But but I'm persecuting some followers of you. But Jesus looking and telling him, why are you persecuting me?
11:51 Jesus is alive. Oh, because he lives. We're saying today, I can face what? Tomorrow because I know He holds the future. It's not because I have a good retirement plan, not because I have a secure job, not because I have a stable economy and safe country, but because He lives.
12:15 And Jesus, the living one right now, reveals Himself to Paul or to Saul of Tarsus and tell him, Why are you persecuting me? This is a so precious truth we need to dwell on. But we see that that Jesus is speaking to Saul in the Hebrew language. He's telling him, Why are you persecuting me? And he's repeating that.
12:45 Saul, Saul, and in the New Testament a repeat means is for rebuke. Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Martha, Martha, Simon, Simon. He's telling him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And what is the answer of Saul to this question?
13:03 He has no answer except who are you, Lord? How can he answer such a question? Why are you persecuting me? I hate the Christians. I hate the faith.
13:14 What answer he has? Why are you persecuting me? Now quite interesting, quite interesting, in the book of Acts chapter five, after the arrest of the apostles and the meeting of the Jewish council, Gamaliel stood up and said these words in verse 38. He said, and now I say to you, to the rest of the council of Saint Hadrian, keep away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing.
13:57 But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it lest you even be found to fight against God. And now Saul has realized that he is fighting against God himself. Then he fell on the ground, and the rest of those who were with him fell on the ground. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Remember king Saul of the old testament?
14:36 Remember him? He was pursuing king David. He was seeking to kill king David, and we have now another soul, Saul of Tarsus, pursuing the believers, pursuing the son of David, the lord Jesus Christ. Oh, he has to understand that every evil word he spoke against the church, Every pain he inflicted on believers he inflicted on Jesus himself. When they arrested Stephen, when they stoned Stephen, when they killed Stephen, they were killing Christ again.
15:25 That is how serious is this? Why are you persecuting me? Who are you, Lord? Mi ata That's speaking Hebrew. And he answered, I'm Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
15:44 It is hard for you to kick against the goats. I'm I'm sure we understood everything. Right? We just translated that. I want you to you to feel the language that Christ is talking with Saul.
16:08 That's the real language he talked to him with. I'm Jesus. I'm Jesus. It is hard for you to kick against the pricks or the goats. Now this was a familiar Greek proverb.
16:27 Goats with a d, or pricks. They were sharp sticks for prodding the cattle. Now a stubborn or unyielding ox will resist the prick, and by doing so, it's hurting only itself. It's driving the prick further inside its flesh. The analogy, I think, is very clear here.
16:57 To resist the power that altogether superior to our own is profitless and foolish, and it only harms us. And this what Saul was doing. He's resisting Christ who has the power that's far superior than his. It's foolish. You're just hurting yourself.
17:20 Saul, you are hurting yourself but why do you care? Yes He cares. Remember, Christ not just caring for the others, for His church. No, but even He cares for Saul Himself. Even when he was on the road to persecute and arrest a Christian, this is the love of God.
17:41 This is the love of Christ. He cares for sinners even when they are on their evil machine, He cares for their salvation. I can think maybe maybe some believers probably prayed for the salvation of soul. Others did not have that spiritual standard and said, Lord, please take him away. Kill him.
18:09 And just imagine if Christ has answered that prayer. Oh no. God had a different plan. Christ appeared to him. God saved him.
18:23 This is the power of the cross. Now maybe Christ is telling Saul, you are like a stubborn and unyielding ox, even worse than that. Because oxen usually or oxen usually obey their masters and do the job that they need to do, but Saul was not doing that, was exactly doing the opposite. And his answer was, Lord, what do you want me to do? Lord, Adonai.
19:07 Lord. Now he confesses Christ as Lord. He calls him Lord. What do you want me to do? Up to this day, Saul did not have to ask anybody what to do.
19:24 He was a leader. He was organizer. He went to the high priest. He would do all what he want to do, but right now when Christ revealed Himself to him, he is no longer his own. Now he acknowledges Christ as Lord and Master.
19:44 Lord, what do you want me to do? I no longer have my own will. It is your will in my life, Lord. How about us? Did Christ become the day we received Him Lord in our life also, Master?
20:02 His own will in our lives or our own will? Lord, I pray this is our prayer today. Lord, what do you want me to do? I'm not my own any longer. I'm Yours, Lord.
20:17 I'm Yours, Lord. And Christ's instructions are very very clear. He tell him, arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. And what he must do, verses fifteen and sixteen, we see we read that, but the Lord said to him, go for he is a chosen vessel, he speaks to Ananias, of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. I'm not revealing to you what you should do now, but go to the city, and I will let you know what you must do.
21:10 Verse seven. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Now chapter 22 verse nine, just to compare. Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking with me. All heard the voice, but only Saul heard the voice of Jesus.
21:48 All saw the light, but only Saul saw Jesus. We have a similar instance in John chapter 12 verses 28 to 30. The Lord our law was praying, father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Verse 29, therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.
22:27 Others said an angel has spoken to him. Jesus answered and said, this is a voice that did not come because of me, but for your sake. Saul heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him, and Saul saw Jesus, and we see that in verse 17. Ananias speaking to him, and he's telling him, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the way on the road to Damascus. Verse 27, Barnabas took Saul with him to Jerusalem, and he said, Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he had seen the the Lord on the road.
23:13 All have seen the light, but only Saul saw Jesus. All have heard a voice, but only Saul heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him. Now Saul was not seeking God. He was seeking something else. He was seeking to hurt the children of God.
23:38 He was not seeking God, but God was seeking Saul. In fact, in Romans chapter three verse 11, Paul writes, there is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. Oh, that is the mystery of election. That's a mystery.
24:01 I'm not seeking you, but you are seeking me. I pray God will stir our hearts today that we also will seek him. Verse eight and nine. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were open, he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus, and he was three days without sight and neither ate or drank.
24:35 What was Jonah doing when he was in the belly of the great fish? He was praying. Right? He was praying. And what Saul was doing during these three days, he was praying, and you will see that later.
24:57 He was praying. Christ tells Ananias, go to the house of Judas in Damascus. Find Saul of Tarsus. He is praying. Oh man, these three days he could see nothing.
25:14 He was just reflecting on what he has done. He was repenting. He was communicating with God. He was praying, he was pouring himself, confessing his sins and he was being forgiven, being given a new life and a new heart. Now he's a changed person, a different person immediately, suddenly.
25:44 This is the power. This is the power of the cross. Verse 10. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. To him, the Lord said in a vision, Ananias.
26:00 And he said, here I am, Lord. Now we have three Ananias in the book of Acts. One in chapter five, Ananias and Sapphira, one in chapter 23, Ananias the high priest. And we have here the disciple whose name is Ananias. Christ is talking to him.
26:21 What does he say? Here I am. Here I am, Lord. Remember Abraham in Genesis 22, God speaks to him. And what does he say?
26:33 He here I am. And then God tells him, take your son, your only son, the one you love, and offer him a burnt sacrifice. This is harsh. This is harsh. Abraham rose in the morning.
27:00 He went to sacrifice his son. Here I am, but God approved himself to be not a harsh God but a loving God. He will not allow this to happen. But he looked at the attitude of Abraham who said, Here I am. Isaiah in chapter six, God asks this question, whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
27:27 What was the response of Isaiah? Here I am. Send me. God is waiting for people who say here I am. Let me tell you something, God did not call Ananias because of his ability, but he called him because of his availability.
27:56 God did not call Ananias because of his ability, but he called him because of his availability. How many great men with a great ability God would never use? Yes. And how many men and women who thinks they are unable God will use in a tremendous way because He is able, and that is sufficient. Don't belittle yourself or what God has given you because God is evil.
28:38 All of us probably heard of Charles Spurgeon. Who did not? But who won Charles Spurgeon to the lord? How many of you would know? Please.
28:55 What's his name? Alright. I don't know if it was illegal or not. His name was John Ignor. We don't know much about.
29:04 Correct? All of us know who was the Al Mudi. Right? Who won the Al Mudi to the lord? A man by the name of Edward Kimball, unknown.
29:21 All of us know who is Billy Graham. Who won Billy Graham to the Lord? Mordecai Ham. I don't know how many John Iglar or Edward Kimball won how many people won the one to the Lord? Maybe the only man Edward Kimball won to the Lord was Moody, but Moody won millions of people to the Lord.
29:54 They are unknown, but they were available. They were unknown, but they were available. And by the way, who won Edward Kimball to the Lord? And who won the one who won Edward Kimball to the Lord? I don't know.
30:18 But when we stand, when we stand there for our reward, oh, Christ is gonna tell you, I'm going to put this on your account. I'm telling you, you don't know how many people came to the Lord through you. Through me? I remember maybe just one. Maybe that's true.
30:39 But this one, one another one. And that one, maybe two hundred, three hundred years later, one hundreds, maybe thousands to the Lord. Don't belittle your ministry. You might not have the gifts, but are you available? God is looking not for ability but for availability.
31:01 Are we available for the ministry of the Lord? Verse eleven and twelve. So the Lord said to him, arise and go to the street called Strait. And by the way, I heard in Damascus, even today, there's still a street by the name of Darbel Mustaqim, which is exactly this name. And inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold he is, he is praying.
31:37 And this is always this is always the immediate action of a new born Christian. He want to communicate. He want to speak to he want to spend some time with God in prayer. If you have not experienced that, I want to ask you today to examine your life. Please examine your life.
32:01 This is always the case for true born again Christians. When you receive salvation, when you are being changed by Christ, you're going to you would have this desire, deep desire. That's the immediate reaction of a new born believer to pray. He is praying. In a vision He has sent a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight.
32:37 Verse 13, Then Ananias asked the Lord, I have heard from many about this man. What did you hear? How much harm He has done to your saints in Jerusalem? Here he called him saints. Believers are called saints.
33:01 In verse two, the believers are called the way. In verse 14, they are called who call on your name. In verse 17, they are named or called brothers, Brother Saul. In verse 19, they are called the disciples. I've heard what he has done.
33:24 You know, the news in the Middle East spread very fast. Those who are from the Middle East know that. I've heard what he has done. The whole community knew what this man has done, what he's there in Damascus to do. And here, he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name, verse one and two.
33:49 He went to the high priest. He got letters that he might have authority to go to Damascus, arrest those who call on the name of Jesus, and bring them to Jerusalem. Even here he has this authority, and Lord Jesus, I am one of those. This man is seeking to arrest, and now you are calling me to go and seek Him. Verse 15, but the Lord said to him, go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
34:28 He is a chosen vessel. Not all of us know what's a vessel. Right? A vessel is a container you carry something with. That's a vessel.
34:41 A container is the first instance this word is is is really mentioned in the New Testament. Saul is a chosen vessel to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's a chosen vessel to bear my name to gentiles, to kings, and the children of Israel. In Romans eleven thirteen, Paul writes, I'm an apostle to Gentiles. Second Timothy one eleven.
35:13 He says, I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. To Gentiles, but also to kings. In Acts 26, he spoke to King Agrippa, and maybe he spoke to even Emperor Nero and the children of Israel. Wherever Saul went, the first thing he did you know what? First thing he did, he preached the gospel to the Jews.
35:43 He went to the synagogues, Acts nine twenty, Acts thirteen forty six, Acts twenty eight seventeen. He would go and preach the gospel, the good news to the Jews. He was an apostle to Gentiles. He would preach the gospel, the Jews, the Gentiles in front of kings. He is a chosen vessel of mine.
36:03 Who chose him? Jesus chose him. In Galatians one:one, Paul writes, Paul an Apostle, not from man nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father. Christ has chosen him there on the way on the road to Damascus. Ananias did not win Saul to Christ.
36:34 It was a direct revelation from Christ himself. His conversion is as unique as His calling. His conversion is as unique as His ministry. Now most of us came to Christ, I believe, gradually. I'm sure.
36:51 How many of us came to Christ gradually here? You heard the gospel. You might have resisted it first. You had many questions. You start searching for the truth, and God started revealing His truth to you little by little.
37:10 You become enlightened more and more. You become convicted of your sin slowly, slowly, after weeks, maybe months, maybe years. Now you are converted. Now you are new creation, but not it's not the case with Saul. It wasn't immediate on the way, on the road to Damascus.
37:34 Some say, oh I'm sure when Saul was there during the stoning of Stephen, I'm sure something has happened in his heart. God was working in his heart and and and just touching his conscience and being convicted of his sin. I don't think. I don't think at all. That's why chapter nine begins, Then Saul is still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.
38:05 He was still breathing. No conviction of sin. No work in the of the Holy Spirit in his heart. His heart is as stone as ever before. Yet Christ decides to reveal Himself to him on the road to Damascus.
38:30 In Acts 20 three:one, this what Saul says. He said, I have lived among the council. He said, I have lived all in all good countries before God until this day. Listen, he says this, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. He was persecuting the believers, and he was killing them in his good conscience.
39:01 He was thinking he is doing a service to God, and God reveals Himself to him through just Christ and save him. And verse 16, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. How many things? How much? You can go at home and see how much looking at second Corinthians 11 and other places, I will show him.
39:40 Some say the hour has come for Saul to pay the price of his persecuting the Christians. Oh no. Oh no. The hour has not come for Saul to pay the price of persecuting the Christian. Christ has paid the price, and if the price is paid once cannot be paid again.
40:08 Every single sin we have done in unbelief and in ignorance, Christ has paid for. What Saul is going to pay is not the price of his sins but the price of following Christ. Persecution is the price of following Christ. I will show him how much he must suffer for me. So writes in one Timothy one thirteen, he said, Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief.
40:54 He was forgiven. He was forgiven, and now it's time for him to suffer for the sake of Christ. And you know, by the way, quite interesting that suffering is a gift. Do you know that? Suffering is a gift.
41:12 The letter of the epistle of joy, which is the Philippians, listen to what Paul write there and says in one twenty nine. He says, for to you, it has been granted It's a privilege. For you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. Wow. To suffer for his sake.
41:43 Let's go in verse seventeen and eighteen. And Ananias went his way and entered the house, and laying his hands on him, he said, brother Paul or brother Saul. Beautiful. Right? Brother so now he's a brother.
41:59 First time he hears this word from, from a Krishna, from the follower of Christ, brother Saul. The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, they fell there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he rose and was baptized. I want you to look at this order of this verse 18. Immediately, there fell from his eyes something like scale.
42:34 Scales fell from fell from his eyes. Secondly, he received his side, and there thirdly he stood. He rose and what? Got baptized. And spiritually speaking, you cannot be baptized until first, until first the scale, the scales of ignorance and unbelief fall from your eyes, and then you come to know Jesus, to see Jesus, and then you will rise and get baptized.
43:10 Think of the Philip and the eunuch. They were both in the chariot, and then there is a water, and the eunuch says, I believe. Why should not I get baptized? And Philip told him, if you believe from all your heart, it can be done. Both went out of the chariot.
43:37 He got baptized and came back to the chariot. Here, Ananias could have gone and took some water and sprinkle on his head, but, no, he did not do that. What did he do? He arose and was baptized, and I want to say this is the only legitimate way of baptism through immersion. Through immersion.
44:00 Nothing else biblically speaking because it does signify death and burial with Christ and resurrection with him. Sprinkling does not signify any of that at all. So when he had received food, he was strengthened and souls spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately, he preached a Christ in the synagogues that he had. He is the son of God.
44:35 There's much more to say, but I will stop at that. He preached Christ immediately after his conversion. He's a changed person. He has Christ in his heart. He has a new mission.
45:00 Wow. Look at the mission. Three days ago was a mission of persecution and killing. Now is a new person, new creature, and new mission. Don't we all have this that same mission?
45:18 To preach Christ, to worship Christ, to love Christ, to speak about Christ. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, how great God you are, lover of sinners. Lord, you reached to Saul. You reached to us, and you are still reaching to some of us who have not yet.
46:01 Softened our hearts. You reach to us in mercy and in love, in compassion, and yes, sometimes in rebuke. Lord I pray that you awaken us today. Those who love you, awaken us to follow you, to serve you, to speak of your love. And those who still on the road, they have not reached yet their destiny.
46:38 They have actually they are still on the road searching. I pray, Lord Jesus, that you reveal yourself today to them. Reveal Your love to them. You reveal what You have done for them on the cross. Reveal Yourself to them, Lord Jesus.
46:56 I pray that they might come to You assaulted, calling upon You, calling You Lord and Master. Lord help us follow Your commands, follow your instructions, love you with all our hearts. In your name, Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.
