Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24443 - No One Is Beyond The Reach Of God - Acts 9:1-9

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#24443 - No One Is Beyond The Reach Of God - Acts 9:1-9 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace, Media, or to tune into our live stream
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Services. Visit us online at Calvary,
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co.'s Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Amen, take your Bibles. Open them to Acts chapter 9 Acts
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chapter 9. As we start a new chapter, in
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our verse-by-verse study of Acts and the title of our Bible
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study. Today is no one is beyond the
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reach of God. And it's something we just need
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to acknowledge and hold fast to the truth.
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That no one's beyond the reach of God.
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And certainly, I think we can survey our lives and our
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families today. And at least find one person
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that we have thought. Is beyond the reach of God.
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Like you just look at them and you say, no way, they will never
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believe in Jesus, they will never change their life.
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And I'm sure there's a battle to inside of us is not like we want
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the think that it's not like we wake up in the morning, like who
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can we write off today? But when we examine their lives
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and our interactions with them, they are just so messed up.
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And so internally damaged that they have such hard-heartedness
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Arts at the bottom line is that would take a miracle to save
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them and that's exactly the work that God does.
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When we come to that conclusion, it's exactly what God does
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salvation is always miraculous. It requires a work of God in
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their lives and so you may have a friend that doesn't know, God
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and really, you can't ever see them in church.
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Praying you never see them carrying a Bible but it's great
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to be reminded today that no one is beyond the reach of God.
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One not one person and while we might write someone off and God,
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forgive us for that. God never writes anyone off.
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He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
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to repentance and truly. Sometimes the people that we
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think are so far away, are actually a lot closer than we
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think. They're right there on the edge.
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And as you're inviting people to church and they say no, it's
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important that we learn to lovingly.
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Consistently and persistently be used of God and available to God
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to pursue them, you know, because of response sometimes
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like you know, I know you found God, you needed God, I don't
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quite need God because there's a hardness and a wall that's been
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built up a wall of resistance. But ultimately what it is is
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it's just a wall of Pride, and Pride is very is a wall.
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That's hard to tear down. It's hard to tear down if you're
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on the outside of it. And it's a Actually hard to tear
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down if you're on the inside of it, but God loves to use his
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word and the loving care of men and women to tear the wall down
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and bring a person to a place of conviction of sin.
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Even with great resistance, I mean, there was always great
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resistance. I remember as a new believer, as
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I was sharing the gospel with people are as working with
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their, they weren't so excited that I became a Christian and
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they definitely weren't excited to hear any of the messages or
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any of the words I had to share with them.
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Them. And I remember specifically on
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one occasion as I was walking from the office to the parking
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lot, where my car was one guy was particularly upset with me,
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walked up to me, knock my Bible, out of my hand and said, take
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that Bible boy and you know, he's very he it's really good.
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That we didn't a Bible boy, didn't jump all over that guy
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and the parking lot, because I was super close to the old, Ed
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back then, and very upset. But there was that resistance
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Since of I don't want anything to do, it might be good for you
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but I don't want anything to do with whatever you're into
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especially if it's the Bible or God and there's just so much
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resistance. Sometimes those do that protest
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the most and argue the most and put up the biggest defense are
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actually very very close to the kingdom of God.
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Let me step back, just for a moment and allow you here today.
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To consider that some listening to me, were the very ones giving
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that resistance some listening to me.
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Were the very ones that were on the other side of that.
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You were the one knocking the Bible out of my hands and
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calling me Bible boy to keep me away and maybe not me.
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But there was that girl in your eye Bible.
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Girl, Bible boy, bible thumper all the names you could think of
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that was you and what did God do?
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But Paul you Out of the Miry clay and rescue you from the pit
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and set your feet on Solid Ground.
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If not, you somewhere in the heritage of your family, that
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happened somewhere along the way, God intervened in your
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family line to bring it about. As it is this day salvation has
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entered your home and you may have fallen into that category
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of people that thought you would never amount to anything a drain
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on Society of pain in your Me a strain in the neighborhood but
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now you have a testimony, a story of God's work in your
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life. And it's interesting in our
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little family of churches, known as Calvary Chapel.
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It's not exclusive to our family of churches, but because it's
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our family, I'm very familiar with many of the men that God
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Called to fill the pulpits of Calvary, Chapel's around the
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world. And when Pastor Chuck set out to
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write Pastor, Chuck Smith was the founder that God, the man
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that God used to start Calvary Chapel when he Went to put in
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writing some of the testimonies of that first generation of men
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that launched off to plant and Pastor churches, he wrote it
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this way on the subtitle of his book.
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He wrote and I quote gang members drug addicts.
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Mental patients, society's, rejects, Chuck, Smith's amazing,
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story of Calvary Chapel and the unlike likely leaders, that God
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called, but it didn't start with Chuck Smith.
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It started with God in the First century, Paul writes to the
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church in Corinth and he says, God has chosen the foolish
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things of the world to put to shame the wise and God has
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chosen the weak things of the world.
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To put the shame, the things that are Mighty and the base
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things of the world, the things that are despised God has chosen
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and the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that
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are so that no flesh should glory in his presence.
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And I hope I now I've made my case that that no one is beyond
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the reach of God. However, we need a guy that if
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he was alive in our day with the testimony that we read of today,
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we may conclude the guy needs to be eliminated.
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He doesn't need to be saved, although, we might have that
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because we might be in that sense of, you know, I still want
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to be a follower of Christ and I still want to hope all things
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and believe all things and so Lord, save him.
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But if you don't save them wipe I'm out because he's doing great
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damage and he's causing great difficulty.
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And we mean a man by the name of Saul notice in verse 1.
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Says, in chapter 9, then Saul still breathing threats and
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murder against the Disciples of the Lord, went to the high
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priest and he asks, letters from him to the synagogue's of
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Damascus. So that if he found any, who
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were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound
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to Jerusalem. So we're reintroduced now to the
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powerful famous and really Infamous Saul.
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All of Tarsus and this again is one of those places, one of
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those texts were you just have to suspend what you already know
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is going to happen to him and let it happen.
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Real time Saul is a very huge part of the damage that families
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are feeling in Jerusalem in this moment.
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Your remember, Stephen, as we've studied earlier had an
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opportunity before the religious leaders, to share the gospel and
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to answer all these false accusations And instead of
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defending himself he took the opportunity in the occasion to
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share the gospel. It was a powerful history lesson
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of the nation of Israel of each of the Patriarchs that God has
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shown himself faithful up into Messiah who was murdered by
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these very religious rulers. The reward for His stunning
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message was that they took up stones to kill him and they like
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they did with Jesus murdered. Stephen saw was their casting
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his vote in lot into this murderous rage.
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He was there hearing every single word he was here.
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Receiving he was there. Receiving everything that was
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being said. Watching it all.
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Go down. And it affected him.
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Now, solve Tarsus was a Roman by citizenship, Highly Educated
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within the Greek system. He knew Roman law was familiar
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with Greek philosophies, but he was also Jewish and he was
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raised with a strong religious foundation so much so that he
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became a Pharisee. Now, when you think of Pharisee,
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I know, by the time that Jesus comes on the scene and we're
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introduced to the Pharisees, they had long left their
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Foundation, but the Pharisees were Very conservative group of
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men, who dedicated themselves to diligent study of the Bible.
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They started out well, but by the time Jesus came, they had
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long left their love of God. Their true pure love of God, and
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their commitment to the word, and they became very religious
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and controlling and political and All About The Money.
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Unfortunately, and resistant to the truth of Jesus.
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Well, that was Saul, he was committed to the word of God and
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he lived as a fair Rassee becoming a part of the
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Sanhedrin, the part of the religious rulers.
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And today, we meet him as exhibit one as someone who we
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could conclude would never get saved.
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I mean, he's responsible for all the upheaval in Jerusalem.
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He's responsible for all the difficulties.
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I mean, if you think about it we kind of read over it really
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quickly here, but he goes to the high priest.
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He's so upset, he goes to the high priest and a For authority
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to continue to do damage outside of Jerusalem.
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Hey, I want to go to Damascus. And if I meet any Christians,
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along the way, I want to destroy their lives.
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I want to arrest them. I want to remove them, but this
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little this little thought, like, you don't want to miss
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this. God puts it in there for us, in
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verse 2. He says that he wants to take
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care of them and notice whether men or women.
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I mean, this is a religious ruler one.
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That would uphold the love of God.
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God, and in his misplaced religious Zeal as willing, not
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only to arrest men, but to hurt women, which is extremely
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contrary to the heart of God. I mean, he's in a murderous
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Rage. That's what really is being
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described here in verse one, still breathing.
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I mean, if you think about this illustration with breathing you
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and I breathe 24 hours a day 7 days, a week, there isn't a time
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when we stopped breathing. It is an involuntary.
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Arie continual. Action in our lives and it also
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implies breathing in, you know, inhaling exhaling, inhaling
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exhaling, and Saul is described as inhaling and exhaling murder.
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Hatred. From within sight of him
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threats, it really speaks like breathing does of his whole
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life. He is a man consumed with the
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destruction of this religious sect.
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You could literally feel it in his presence.
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It was palpable. You could see it, you could feel
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it. It was his manner of Life,
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something snapped in Saul at the stoning of Stephen.
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As they were laying the coats at his feet, he was shaken in his
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own beliefs. And this happens, many times in
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people's lives. Like it's not a lack of
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knowledge, it's a wall of Pride, it's not a lack of understanding
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although there are some things to be explained in questions to
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answer for sure, but it's really an unwillingness to separate
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themselves from themselves. The battle is often selfishness
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for Saul. He knew what Stephen said, Said
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was true. He knew it.
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He knew his, he was listening, he would have to agree.
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Have to agree. Have to agree, and then bringing
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them all the way to the conclusion.
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He wouldn't, it's not that he couldn't agree.
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It's that he wouldn't agree with the conclusion.
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Again, we don't have time to develop that particular thought
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right now, but I just want you to consider so many times in
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your own life, when you're confronted with a truth.
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It's not that you can't believe it's that you won't believe.
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And what great damage that brings to your life.
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It's not like you're in it. Unable, you've done it before.
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It's not like you don't Ascend to it.
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It's not like you don't understand it.
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It's not like you haven't stepped out in faith before.
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You're just in a place today where you won't And it brings
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great damage even greater damage.
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This episode in Acts chapter 9 is so significant that in the
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book of Acts it's repeated three times.
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Three times in Acts chapter 26, Paul would describe himself this
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way in verse 11. He said and I punished them
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often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme
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being exceedingly enraged against them I persecuted them
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even to foreign cities. That's where he is, what he's
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doing right now, breathing threats and murder is defined as
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being in exceedingly enraged, making people blaspheme and
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persecuted them even to foreign cities.
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And if you imagine the scene that day, You know, just think
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of just this moment, he's on his way to Damascus.
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I mean, it's hard to conceive that you look at this whole
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thing from the outside and say, you know what saw your a couple
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moments from getting saved? You're just a few moments.
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Like your life is about to change and we wouldn't be able
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to say that because we don't see what's going on on the inside.
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There's so much going on that we just don't see a what God is
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doing Among Us and force. All this was the last thing he
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planned on this day. I was to yield his life to
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Jesus. So not content with the stoning
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of Stephen. He's now willing to go, 150, 200
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miles up to Damascus and disrupt.
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All of the Believers that he finds on the way.
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Which by the way, if he decided to take the shorter route then
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he would find himself heading through Samaria.
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Which remember we learned there's a great revival going on
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in Samaria because God sent Philip there with the gospel.
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So along the way, he's just going to be enraged in enraged
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and enraged and enraged. Now before we get to verse 3 I
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want you to mark this phrase in verse 2.
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If you haven't already the Believers right now are not
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known as Christians. That's going to happen later but
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notice how they are described by Saul they were of the way.
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That was their description even today, churches will use the
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phrase, the way, or the way fellowship or the way
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congregation to describe themselves as a gathering of
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Jesus followers. And I believe this is a direct
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reference to the very statement of Jesus.
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Remember, when he described himself, John chapter 14 and
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verse 6, he declares. I am, the way, the truth and the
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life and no one comes to the father, except me through me.
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So here, The followers of Jesus. At this stage are just known as
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followers of the way, which could be.
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As you notice in the new King James, the word way is
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capitalized which speaks of, perhaps their personifying it,
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that it meant a personification they were following Jesus.
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He was the way I love that. Now verse 3 Now as he journeyed,
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he came near Damascus and suddenly a light Shone around
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him from heaven. And then he fell to the ground
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and heard a voice saying to him. Saul Saul, why are you
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persecuting me? Why are you persecuting me?
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So he's near an about Damascus. Now, almost there and then Mark
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this word. Again, if you like to write in
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your Bibles, you want to mark it on your phone or your iPad.
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I want you to mark this the word suddenly, it's a beautiful
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reminder of how fast God can work in your life.
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Now, we know things can change very suddenly often will think
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of sudden changes as some of the negative things that have
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happened in our lives. Where we wake up, we lived eight
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life. You know on Monday and things
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change. So suddenly on Tuesday things
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change with a phone, call with a text message with an email
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things can change. Suddenly however, things can
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also change suddenly for the positive things can change very
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quickly. We don't know when things will
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change. So when God has us in a position
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of waiting, we're waiting for that.
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When we experience it all the time, we've been waiting will be
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forgotten because God can work suddenly.
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You can work suddenly in Salvation in the lives of people
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that you love Saul. If you were looking at him from
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the outside, you would have never been able to predict this
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was the moment suddenly within 100 miles. 150 miles saw your
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life, will be completely radically changed.
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And so suddenly God intervenes this light suddenly appears
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again in chapter 26, Paul the Apostle.
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And sometimes, if I say saw or Paul and you're new to studying
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the Bible, you're going to like, which guy is it?
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It's the same guy. So, if I say, Paul, it's by
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accident because later his name is going to be changed right
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now, we know him as Saul but mostly we know this man as Paul
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the Apostle, his name adopted after after he is saved right
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now. We know him as Saul and here's
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saw is interrupted. Added as he nears Damascus.
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Which you can think. You know, as you're getting
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closer and closer to your destination, like he is just
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ready to just unleash it but God was ready for him and here he
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is. To Agrippa later in chapter 26.
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He says that the light was brighter than the sun and it
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stops him here dead in his tracks, he falls to the ground
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and he hears a voice and the voice is asking him a question.
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Saul Saul. Why are you persecuting me?
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Don't miss that word me. This is a personal encounter.
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If you have a Bible that is a red-letter Edition The red
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letters, reflect the words of Jesus.
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You'll notice that these are in red letters.
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It was Jesus Christ. That met him personally, here
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nearing Damascus. And what we learn here in verse
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4 is that Jesus reveals a very sweet and unique relationship
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with his church. I like that.
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It's good to be reminded of that when Jesus uses church, he sees
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himself in it, in US among us today.
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There's a deep spiritual connection between you and
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Jesus, and us as a local congregation Jesus, is the head
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of the church and he is personally pained.
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Why the herd of his flock, it's kind of like when you stub, your
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toe in the middle of the night and what hurts when you stub
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your toe, it seems like everything hurts.
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You just hit your toe on the corner of a table, but it just
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shoots throbbing pain through your body or if you have a
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headache at the pillow Tate's, you it's isolated in your head
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but at the pillow Tate's, the rest it just makes you miserable
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and frustrated. And Jesus Associates with the
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pains that you experience especially when people come
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against you. And that is a familiar refrain
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in all of us. The difficulties with others,
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especially as it relates to the difficulties you and I
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experience because of our faith in Christ.
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The resistance that we get in our culture or in our family and
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so Jesus meets him. He says why are you persecuting
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me? I mean, it's a, an important
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question that Saul needs to answer.
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And I wonder if saw was a little afraid to ask who the me was,
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although I think he already knew.
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I think, deep down inside, as he was processing through his anger
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and frustration, trying to push away the testimony of Stephen.
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The conclusion of Stephen, the stoning of Stephen.
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The fact that he participated in an all and the fact that he knew
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it was all true from his own studies verified from his own
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understanding of the Bible. I wonder if he knew it was Jesus
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all along. And notice in verse 5, he does
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respond and he says, who are you Lord?
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And that word Lord. Is that Curry Oz.
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It's a, it's in the Greek. It speaks of a submission to a
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King to a Lord says, who are you Lord?
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And the Lord responds, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting
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and then he says it's hard for you to kick against the goads
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and this is one of the reasons I believe that.
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All knew what was happening here.
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Saw knew what was happening in his life.
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He's been and Jesus uses this phrase, kicking against the
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goads. It's a hard phrase for us to
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understand today because not many of us have seen held or
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even know what a goad is, but a goad was an 8-foot long stick.
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That was sharpened at the end that was used to move oxygen
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along when they were doing their work and paused and didn't want
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to do their work anymore and so they would be working out in the
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fields and someone be walking. Alongside of them.
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They'd get distracted start. Eating starting to stop in their
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tracks and they would be poked very gently with the go to move
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them on poke gently to move them on sometimes not.
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So gently with saw this illustration is used that there
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has been a prodding of the holy spirit in his life for quite
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some time now and he has been fighting it.
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Which reminds us that there is a lot going on under the surface
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in people's lives, that we don't know anything about it might be
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coming out in anger and it might be coming out in frustration and
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it might be coming out in resistance and it might be
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coming out in a variety of different ways but truly under
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the surface, the man, the woman that you're ministering to the
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son. The daughter is fighting the
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work of God. That what you shared in planting
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a seed is working and what God is doing to water.
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That is working and there's a fighting and infighting that is
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why not only do walls of pride get built between you and
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people. And they want to separate from
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you, get mad at you, sometimes you're the object of their
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anger, but also their hearts just gets so hard.
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It doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen through a long
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series of kicking against the goads.
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What we might refer to as resisting the Holy Spirit.
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What we might say is fighting against God.
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And we can surmise what these goals were for force.
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All here, I'm sure. Number one was the powerful
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testimony. Testimony of Stephen.
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A secondly, I think watching a young man died for no reason, be
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murdered right in front of his eyes.
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Why in the name of religion in the name of God?
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Not only that, but this young man died.
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He had the appearance of an Angel.
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The Bible says, not only that this young man died with truth
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on his lips. Not only that this young man
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died Not only would truth, but he died sounding very similar to
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Jesus very gracious. And forgiving doesn't try to
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defend themselves. I think another goad that saw
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was fighting. We're all the testimonies of the
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Christians. He was attacking as they prayed
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for him or accepted it, or allowed him to do, whatever he
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wanted to do to their families and their lives.
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And it's true church. There are many people who seem
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hard to reach the intelligent, the religious.
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I mean, I think of how many times a testimony Has been
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shared in our own congregation, maybe even from you where you
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grew up in a very religious home, in a very religious
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church. And your attachment was more to
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the religion than it was to the god that inspired that religion
26:53
and religion. What I mean by that is just a
26:55
system of belief that takes the place of a personal relationship
26:59
with God. And many people are attached to
27:03
their Church. They're attached to their
27:05
religion and don't think that's outside of this room either.
27:08
Happened here as well where we can it be attached to a set of
27:12
beliefs or system of thought, or a family of churches, more than
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we're attached to the intimacy and closeness of Jesus, who gave
27:22
himself for us. And the testimony is, you know,
27:25
when I started hearing the Bible and we started praying and
27:28
singing, I've grown more in knowing god and just a few
27:31
months than I did in all these religious, but it was hard for
27:35
you. It was challenging for you.
27:38
You put up a fight you kicked against the goads because you
27:43
had to come to a conclusion in your own life and I remember
27:46
talking to my dad about this, I don't remember the exact words,
27:49
but I remember it this way. It was like my dad as an older
27:53
man. Look me in the eye and said, are
27:55
you telling me? Are you saying to me that I've
27:58
lived my whole life wrong. And it was a hard answer to
28:04
weave to my dad, to listen to basically say yes, Dad.
28:09
As good and is up Ryan and his moral As You Are.
28:13
You must be born again. There's just no other way to
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which my father receive that and I know I'll be reunited with him
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very soon as he has gone home to be with the Lord many years ago.
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Like the truth is hard as it is to deliver was set a person free
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and will penetrate their hearts. And although we don't get an
28:36
immediate response and that's discouraging.
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We have to remember. There are other things going on,
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we don't see. We don't know and we trust God
28:43
with the end result. And it's important.
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We share the truth. It's important, we yield to the
28:49
truth. Even though there are hard
28:51
people, there are people that are hard to reach and hard
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people that are hard to reach those that are kicking against
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the goads. The sharpened stick of
29:00
conviction of the Holy Spirit, the sharpened stick of their own
29:04
conscience and the truth of the Gospel.
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I mean look that the gospel message the revelation of our
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separation from God is not the hard part.
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Of the Gospel. I mean, most people even though
29:19
they kind of say but I'm a good person, they're always comparing
29:22
themselves to some horrific person so I can, you know, I'm a
29:25
good person but compared to. So and so you know, I might have
29:28
problems but compared to the soul and so I'm super good.
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Well, in that process of thinking there is an
29:34
acknowledgement That they know they're not as good as they
29:40
could be. There's an acknowledgement that
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like the gospel. The fact that we are sinners, it
29:46
may be hard to accept, but it's not hard to understand that we
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have failed. God, we've separated from God,
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we'd Wander from God, we've denied our creator on and on the
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list goes that that's not the biggest barrier to the gospel.
30:00
To someone believing the biggest barrier is there kicking against
30:04
the goads. They're prideful clinging to
30:09
their own way of life and I could be you today.
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Could be you listening on the radio or watching online that
30:15
kicking against the goads. As interesting as a phrase, it
30:18
is is exactly the manner of your life.
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You're fighting everything there is that is drawing you to God.
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Everything that's been on everything that's been shared.
30:32
And likes all, you know, the truth is right and like saw it
30:37
makes sense to you, but also likes all here, you're fighting
30:41
so hard against the truth because it's penetrating and you
30:45
simply don't want to change your lives.
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But saw encourages us today that God has a Salvation plan for
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every single person on the planet Earth and there is no
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one, absolutely, no one outside the reach of God's love notice.
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Now in verse 6, back in Acts 9, the response is he trembling?
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And astonished said Lord, what do you want me to do?
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And the Lord said to him arise and go into the City and you'll
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be told what you must do. And the men who journeyed with
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him, stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no one, then
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Saul arose from the ground. And when his eyes were opened,
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he saw no one, but they let him by the hand, and brought him in
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Damascus. And for three days, he was
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without sight and neither ate nor drank.
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So, this man breathing in and out threats and murder in a,
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just a brief moment and instantaneous moment.
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He is now astonished and trembled.
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That's how fast God can work. And he's asking for directions
31:55
and I love this. In this moment, saw, I believe
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is Born Again. In This Moment, he is saved in
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an instant, which always leads to the question.
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Wait a minute, Pastor. You're making salvation way too
32:11
simple here and too quick. It's got to be harder than that.
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And I would say to, you know, it is that simple and quick
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because, you know, things have been added to Salvation over the
32:24
years that need to be removed. You say, well, wait a minute,
32:27
that doesn't he have to say certain words?
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No. I mean, does he have to take a
32:31
class to learn how to be saved? No, doesn't have to join a
32:35
church. No doesn't have to sit before
32:37
the elders and be grilled and pass a test in order to be
32:41
saved. No, no, no, and no.
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The work of Salvation is Thoroughly, work of God.
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To be born again, is a work of God in your life.
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You know, one of the most common one in our culture today is that
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salvation can happen after you change your life.
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And so, we have such a great emphasis on the outward, the
33:07
outward, the outward. Stop this, don't do that.
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Don't start, you know, well, all of this behavior modification,
33:15
but you know, many people over the years, have a lifestyle of
33:18
behavior modification, and have never been changed on the
33:21
inside. His never really fully
33:24
surrendered their life to Christ.
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Never yielded through repentance and acknowledgement of their
33:31
sin. It's important that you realize
33:35
that you've sinned against a holy and righteous God.
33:38
That Jesus Christ came to die for your sins that he rose again
33:42
the third day, Jesus Christ is alive now.
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Drawing you perhaps even been goading you for some time and
33:52
today's the day you stop fighting and kicking against the
33:54
goads because he knows the oxen would be pro quo.
33:58
They would kick away. It's like no I am set in my ways
34:02
and yet the master behind him would move it around to make
34:05
sure that the aux did what they were supposed to do.
34:10
And so God will creatively draw you to himself through the
34:14
conviction of the holy spirit so that you might surrender your
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life now. In other Bible studies.
34:22
We do know that there is a broader definition in the
34:27
scriptures of Salvation. I'm going to give to you a very
34:30
brief understanding of that. But if you're interested in a
34:33
more in-depth study, I went through these words that I'm
34:37
going to share with you right now.
34:38
This process of Salvation in much more depth like I spent
34:42
weeks on just the definition of these words that I'm going to
34:45
give it to you in about 60 seconds and so you can study
34:48
more in the Book of Romans you can These words up in the search
34:51
bar of our website or on our app.
34:54
But for us today, let's just look at some layers of
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Salvation. Number one, salvation at a
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theological word to describe the instantaneous Act of Salvation
35:05
is the word justification. Justification is the beginning
35:11
of new life for the believer. So in one sense, salvation is an
35:17
instantaneous act and We refer to that theologically as
35:22
justification, that is a legal term that refers to the erasing
35:27
of sin and shame and guilt through the blood of Jesus
35:31
Christ and gives us a right standing.
35:33
A legal statement that gives us a right standing before God, a
35:39
great way to remember this word is just to let it sound out, so
35:42
justification could be defined as just as if I never send,
35:49
that's the Instantaneous act immediately.
35:53
However that begins a process and so salvation on the other
36:00
hand can also refer to an ongoing change.
36:04
There's another big word that we use to describe that.
36:07
It's the word sanctification and it's this confusion between
36:11
justification and sanctification that creates so much angst in
36:16
Christians. Some of you right now you just
36:18
like one of the reasons why you doubt yourself.
36:20
Ovation? One of the reasons why you
36:22
think, man, I can't believe it. Look at my life.
36:24
I'm still doing this. I'm still thinking that one of
36:27
the reasons why you begin to doubt.
36:28
Your salvation is, you forget that there is a process of
36:32
change taking place in your life.
36:35
That God is truly working on the inside.
36:37
What he has begun in the spirit, he is faithful to complete it.
36:41
It's just not completed yet, and there is an ongoing work of God,
36:45
changing your life. Listen, if you weren't upset
36:48
about different sins and things in, Our life.
36:50
Then I would say you never been Justified because only Believers
36:54
care about the struggle in their life.
36:57
Only Believers care about the ongoing bondage of sin.
37:00
Why? They seem to never be able to
37:02
leave it behind, why? It seems to creep up at times.
37:05
Y at times, there are temptations that overwhelm them,
37:08
it's the sanctification process, the ongoing change of you and me
37:14
into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
37:17
And this is the truth. You're just not Not there yet.
37:21
Anyone, I amen. That you're just not there yet
37:24
and I'm not either. And you know what's happening
37:27
right now there is a battle going on inside of you between
37:31
the spirit of God and your flesh, and your flesh, the
37:36
spirit lusts against the flesh, the flesh against the spirit.
37:39
So that you don't do the things that you wish.
37:42
Some of you are living more in the flesh, like, Romans chapter
37:45
7, others of you are living in Romans chapter 8 and in Victory,
37:49
some of you Going 7 8 7 8 7 8 7 8.
37:54
And it's just like oh Lord, help me deliver me from this body of
37:59
death, like, Paul's would later say in Romans that battle of the
38:04
flesh is real. And when difficult times, come
38:10
many of us will revert to our flesh.
38:12
Now, if you're new to the Bible, remember, or for the first time,
38:17
you're learning, when I use the word flesh, I'm not speaking
38:19
about like our skin and bones on occasion.
38:23
The Bible might use the word that way to describe someone's
38:26
body, but most of the time, when the word flesh is used in the
38:30
Bible, it's used to describe your default when difficult
38:35
times arise. Your default or as one author
38:38
said it, I adopted it as my own he described the flesh as your
38:42
old sinful habit patterns. So instead of responding the way
38:48
God would lead you to respond Lovejoy.
38:51
Mercy kindness gentleness the fruit of the spirit you respond
38:55
like you have in previous times apart from God.
38:58
This is especially alive in those of us that were born again
39:04
later in life. Because when you were born again
39:07
later in life, you developed an incredible habit of living in
39:13
sin. And so your responses were
39:16
always, send, send send send sin.
39:19
And in the moment you were Justified, you were born again,
39:22
you became a new creation in Christ, old things have passed
39:25
away, behold, behold, All Things become new except when you look
39:28
in the mirror, you look exactly the same.
39:31
And if they did a MRI on your head, your brain is the same.
39:35
And it has all of these habits that have been developed, you
39:39
know, something silly, like you're driving down the highway
39:42
here in Colorado, it's I-25, but wherever you're listening, you
39:45
can pick your own Highway of wherever you are and you get cut
39:48
off. And as you get cut off your
39:50
immediate response is to cuss the guy out.
39:54
And I mean you're just going to town words.
39:56
You haven't said and forever and then finally, you catch yourself
39:59
and go. What am I doing?
40:01
I can't believe it and you repent real briefly there and
40:04
you go you start beating yourself up and then you move on
40:06
and you get to work except that you forgot that what you used to
40:10
do is not just cussed them out but then you would speed up and
40:14
then cut them off but you're not doing that anymore because God's
40:18
growing you and some of you are not cussing out loud.
40:21
You're cussing in your head. God's growing you, you're not
40:25
responding the spiritual way. I mean the spiritual way is
40:28
well. You cut me off.
40:29
Will please have the rest of the road.
40:33
Would you like my cup of coffee? You know like the spiritual way
40:36
would just be, it's no big deal. Why do I care?
40:41
What's the, what why would I like the spiritual thing is
40:45
like, okay Lord, I didn't like this but let's go on with the
40:49
day, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness and you can
40:53
think of that in many different ways of how the flush is
40:58
pressing in sanctification, you're being changed and then
41:02
there's a third word. Word, is that that is the final
41:05
essence of Salvation is a word known as glorification.
41:09
Let me just let you in on. The good news, there is coming a
41:12
day. When you will shed this Earthly
41:14
body, you will be in the presence of the Lord, and you
41:16
will never ever again, deal with the flesh or sin for all of
41:21
eternity. Now, back is something to look
41:23
forward to that's coming and that's the word glorification,
41:27
where you will be in the presence of God.
41:29
Because what he started, he has promised to Finish and so solve
41:36
follows the directions but he's not breathing murder anymore.
41:39
When he finally arrives to Damascus because God can take
41:43
you where you think you're going but change you on the way and
41:46
you will end up where you want to go, but you'll end up a
41:49
different woman and a different man and I'm sure there's a major
41:53
Revolution going on in the mind of Saul right now, an immediate
41:57
understanding of everything that he's learned, I mean, he's going
42:00
to grow, he's going to understand it, he He's going to
42:03
grasp it, he goes through the process just like we did, he's
42:07
not superhuman. And as a matter of fact, as you
42:09
read through the life of Saul who becomes Paul, as you read
42:12
through his letters, it seems like the farther and longer he
42:15
walk with the Lord, the more acute his understanding of sin
42:19
was in his life. He's like, man I've been walking
42:22
with the all these years but I feel farther from God than I
42:26
ever have been because there's this Keen awareness of the
42:30
Holiness of God and the unholiness of Man and that's not
42:34
unusual. If you found that in your own
42:36
personal walk, it's like you see more of God's holiness but also
42:40
in light of his Holiness you see more of your unholiness.
42:45
His whole world was turned upside down and a new world is
42:48
opening to him. He goes on his way.
42:51
Angry Eyes, Wide Open Letters From The Authority, destroy the
42:56
church. These Believers followers of the
42:59
way in the name of God. But how does he end up going
43:02
into Damascus? Blind and being led like a baby?
43:07
Because God can humble you in a second?
43:10
It doesn't take much for God and it would be painful and
43:13
dramatic, but God can do that work of humbling in your life
43:17
youth can too, by the way. You can humble yourself before
43:22
the mighty hand of God, he'll lift you up or you can continue
43:26
to kick against the goads and God will humble you, what
43:30
humility is the endgame of God humility.
43:34
Humility. In our lives means we see God
43:36
for who he is, and we see ourselves for who we are and it
43:40
leads us to a life of worship and appreciation and adoration.
43:44
And that's where Saul that's what begins here on the road to
43:48
Damascus. And maybe in the - and the
43:50
Darkness of it all being led into the city, not even know
43:54
what gate he's going in or anything like that.
43:56
Maybe it's this verse that God brought to his heart, those who
44:00
wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
44:03
Mount up like wings with wings like eagles, they shall run and
44:07
not be weary. They shall walk and not faint,
44:10
it's Isaiah 40 verse 31. You know, he's going to be three
44:14
days. He doesn't know when he doesn't
44:16
know what's going on. His whole world has been rocked
44:20
and he doesn't know how it's going to end.
44:22
We do he doesn't yet and so he just sits there and darkness
44:26
waiting for a bright light. Waiting for what God's going to
44:30
do. And again, when it happens it's
44:33
going to be very quick just like in your life as you're waiting
44:37
on the Lord, the answer from God, it's going to come very
44:39
quickly very clearly very thoroughly and today we're
44:45
reminded no one's beyond the reach of God.
44:48
Amen. So father, thank you for the
44:51
reminder today in the life of Saul the reminder of our own
44:54
lives, God, and the work that you want to accomplish We pray
44:58
for your spirit to make it come clean.
45:00
Make it become clear to us. And as you receive us and our
45:05
prayers and adoration or remembrance of your body and
45:09
blood today. Be glorified Among Us in Jesus
45:12
name. Amen.
45:14
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible.
45:17
Study delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church for
45:20
prayer. Call us at 877, 30 Grace.
45:25
That's eight 77304, 2:53 to listen to this message in its
45:31
entirety or to join us for our Live stream Services.
45:35
Visit us online at Calvary Co dot church or download our free
45:40
Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.
45:33
Live stream Services. Visit us online at Calvary Co
45:38
dot church or download our free Calvary Church app be blessed as
45:42
you worship Jesus this week.