The proof is that Paul was persecuted for his declaration that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus says, Be not afraid, only believe. This is indeed what Paul means even if we admit that we dont really understand it. When they refer to a specific individual they mean the anointed One, and that is the one promised in the Old Testament as the ultimate fulfillment of Gods promises. Denomination: Now if the enemies of the gospel had been able to produce the body of Jesus Christ in those days, they would have done it because nothing would have destroyed Christianity as quickly, or as thoroughly as that. Peter answered them in front of the congregation that the church would not disperse. The government thinks if they close down our meeting place, they have shut down the church. One thing is that he had received an extraordinary education. Because of the fear that we will have an impact, and deep down they really recognize some of the truth that we speak. The fact is, we are changed by salvation, 2 Cor. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. The reason it was called the way was because it was a way of life to live. Acts 9:15-17 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. God knew what Pharaoh would do and every move he would make. At one point he tries to imagine this eternal weight of glory that outweighs all our present trials. Every Christian in Jerusalem knew who Saul was. The apostle John had not had his vision of the revelation of Jesus Christ during the time Paul was alive. Numerous times the idea of She approaches a judge again and again, asking him to grant her justice against her opponent. But he has no answer for it, no hope beyond his own coming death. When we are going through great suffering, it rarely seems either light or momentary to us. Now since Paul was now back in Gentile territory one would think that he began his missionary activity at once, but as a matter of fact he did not. Later in his ministry when he was on his own in hostile areas of the world, he must have thought of those days and rejoiced that God had made him one in spirit with the other apostles who are back in Jerusalem. The young people seem a lot younger than they used to. And so a friendly argument ensued. He told the church in Smyrna that they could expect an end to their tribulation (Revelation 2:10). Upon our conversion we cease to do what we want to do, or at least we should, and begin to do what Christ wants us to do. But while he was on his way north, God picked up Phillip from Samaria and leapfrogged him over Saul, sending him down the Gaza road in the direction of Ethiopia. C. The conversion of the apostle Paul was one of the great foundational occurrences in the history of Christianity, however intending to discredit Christianity, secular critics and even liberal theologians argue that Pauls conversion to Christianity never really happened. Years ago (this illustration will date me) we used to sing Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Its not that every day seems sweeter or feels sweeter or that every day is a bed of roses. Memory: Galatians 6:9, Let us not become weary in doing good, for Jesus makes the point that God, like the judge, will "grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night," and he encourages his followers to be like the widow, praying persistently and faithfully. Each of us wants to go to heaven and we know if we quit the hope of that reward goes away. Now registering in the religion department, it was a thorough study of religion. You said "I give up!" True he was still young in the faith and needed time to learn and that is one reason why he went to Arabia and spent three years there. And it had evidently been there a long time. C. All suffering will have an end (Matthew 24:9-13). Now what can we say about this man? If He was just a man, His death would be no different from the death of any other human being. God is the God whose ways are not our ways. Psalm 38 expresses similar frustration. Paul would have closely read and studied all these kingly Old Testament scriptures and more. Why would they persecute us if they did not think we mattered? While others kept their distance, he stood his ground. It came to represent an obstinate and stubborn disposition and course of conduct. If He tells us God is a certain kind of God we can believe it because He is God Himself and speaks truthfully. Even so we die in this life and rise with Christ our King. Newsprint keeps getting smaller and smaller! The explanation must come from his exposure to Stephen at the time of Stephen's death. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormentedof whom the world was not worthy. Later, in Acts 13-14, it says he traveled with Paul on his first missionary journey. But we sing on anyway. If we insist on regarding a person with suspicion, we will end by making him do suspicious things in our own mind. Paul says this is Gods plan for all of his childrendaily spiritual renewal. Saul was trying to stamp out Christianity in one direction while God was advancing it rapidly in the other. No one believed in people as much as Jesus did and it should be enough for us as His disciples that we imitate our Lord and Master. We have to ask: who would have deceived him? They will have to find a new place to meet. Sunday A.M., May 26: Preached on street. His kingdom is forever. When Jesus offered the bread of life to a crowd with an appetite that only literal bread would appease, many refused to walk with Him another step. When that happens to us, we end up thinking and talking like Woody Allen instead of like Christian believers. The world will know that what we believe comes from some other place they cant understand, cant see, and can never duplicate. Saul was trying to stop a plague of false religion, possibly this is one of his justifications, but I do not know. Right now dead people dont rise. Does that explain Paul? Sunday P.M., May 5:Preached in St. Johns. On the other hand others ask who are you, Lord? and they are the speculative ones, the theologians. If this life is all there is, then Woody Allen is right in his grim assessment. What is the conclusion? He summarized the last week in one powerful sentence. We have God's own promise and assurance in Psalm 55 which says: Psalm 55: 22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; he shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Sometimes when people are talking about their conversion they say things like well Im converted but I want to be inconspicuous about it, I want to be a silent Christian. Is that really possible, to be a silent Christian? For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. II Corinthians 4:16-18 DO NOT LOSE HEART. Acts 9:23-24 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. Now Saul would have been somewhat impressed with Stephens final words. We tend to see what we want to see. However, this need for preparation does not mean that Paul was not ready to speak for Christ. But youd trade all of that for being 35 again. We can be encouraged to know that what's there in front of you is there because (1) God has allowed it; and (2) He won't put more on you than you can handle. If Satan can make you busy he can make you sin. Psalm 38:20-22 Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good. Deacons called special meeting, and said I couldnt return. No one can escape it. Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus who sold his property and gave the proceeds to the early church. They thought that the Messiah was going to be a political figure who would rally the nation and drive out the Romans. You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him.. "NEVER GIVE UP" not immediately; we don't mind being put on the hold button for a while. The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11). So that is what Saul must have thought. Now one of the most delightful things about the Christian life is getting to know the kind of people God calls and saves because they are generally not the kind you would expect. Whenever I feel like I want to give up, I just need to look up. us that any hardships we endure are only temporary. The true statement that Jesus is the Son of God has been redefined by progressive theological scholars in our day and beyond for hundreds of years, as we are hearing from John Ritenbaugh in his commentaries. They do not want to know what to do, they want to know what to think and this is not necessarily a form of true Christianity either. Because if Jesus is the Son of God then Jesus is God. We tend not to see what were not looking for. Like many people, she loved a cup of coffee in the morning and in the afternoon. There He is the King of kings and Lord of lords that is occupying the same place that YHWH occupies in the Old Testament passages that speak about His kingship. During a dark moment of my own life, when I felt myself going under and could see no ray of light, no hope at all, and could hardly think of a reason to go on, this one thought sustained me: My trials, grievous though they may seem to me, cannot abolish whatever is true about God and the universe. Three years Paul needed to be prepared for what God was having him do. John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. It tells us that the believer in Christ dies into glory (what a wonderful picture). When you are 18 and just graduating from high school, you feel like your whole life is stretched out before you. This type of resistant conduct opposes common sense to one's own injury. A. Satan wants you to believe that there's no way out and the walls are closing in (v. 3). If Paul had gone to such lengths as to invent this story and then try to persuade others of its truthfulness, why would he do it? For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (v. 18). They cannot shut down the church because it belongs to God., Peter seemed relaxed when I talked with him. Given 30-May-15; Sermon #1270; 71 minutes. Now the result of Christs kingship is found in Revelation 19:16 and Revelation 17:14. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. The early Christians were preaching the resurrection in the very city in which Jesus tomb was located. When God spoke to him, Ananias was strong enough to believe God and do what He said. We tend to see what we want to see. Ten thousand came. Now the verses in Acts 9 about Pauls early ministry describe events that appeared to happen very quickly. How do you feel about the aging process? Sunday P.M.. June 2: Preached in a pasture. He took the man who had been doing the most harm to the church and turned him into the man who did the most to build it up. Sometime during this period Paul went into Arabia and then return to Damascus. They get used to being in that situation. But, God is still on the throne and He hasn't given up on you and don't you dare give up on him. It doesn't matter how long you have a problem the power of God is still able to turn it around. The ox would not injure anyone but himself and neither would he gain anything by kicking at it. Maybe with the technology of today you could fake a little bit of it, but back then they certainly could not fake that, not enough to deceive Paul anyway. Was he just continuing his tendency of being virtually out of his mind, an off-the-wall fanatic? Someone has well said the mark of 26 times, Ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. But the Christians in Jerusalem did not understand it and were afraid of him. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day (2 Corinthians 4:16). He was up against probably the worst audience anybody could have. "Sir. Turn to Luke 18. They diligently worked to give Christianity a humanist acceptance. The apostle Paul describes, not only what he went through, but also what many other saints have had to endure. Now we will experience God in a new way.. Paul was a very bright man and a had a great deal of biblical understanding. Jerry Vines. I want to remind you of something about Satan, Gods word says he is a liar in John 8:44. Parallel accounts are generally not quite identical and the variations usually shed light on one another or on the meaning of the passage in which each occurs. A. Im glad about that because it means that death is temporary. It had started in Jerusalem and Saul was doing everything he could to stamp it out there but he heard rumors that the faith was taking root in Damascus, a Gentile city in Syria. One night, Jesus was in a somewhat somber and down cast mood. When Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached on this text, he said the greatest need of the church today is for Christians to live as though these things are true. Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. A flock follows its shepherd to pastures and streams, true Christians not only obey Christ but we imitate Him. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last. Q. B. Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake. [speaking to Saul, at the time.]. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Well, Im against it. These later accounts are not mere summaries of Sauls conversion, they are full accounts, each with its own particular emphasis. All the misunderstanding, He thought that the power was coming from Stephen, but it was actually Gods Spirit empowering Stephen with the proper words. She was a widow and she had no husband to speak for her. When the Christian life Nevertheless Paul knew the Messiah would be the sovereign King because of his knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures. Acts 9 also gives another glimpse into another kind of suffering, not the kind of outright suffering that Paul frequently suffered from overt enemies of Christ, from those who would have killed him if they could. They love doctrine but they are not very interested in practical matters. He did indeed have to suffer many things for Jesus sake. Jesus is saying, Jesus Christ found some use for this intense zeal as He struck him down on the way to Damascus, diametrically reorienting Saul's priorities, forcing him to ask "Who are you?" Your sorrows or the vast and immeasurable promises of God, made in his Word, guaranteed by the Spirit, and purchased for us in the death and resurrection of our Lord? God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. Acts 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Dont give up If We if we ask God for bread God will not give us a stone, Dont Give Up if we ask for fish God will not give us a snake. As I thought about it later, it occurred to me that this sort of insight comes only through times of trouble. A. In fact, its more than a hang in there, its a keep moving, keep praying, dont give up, trust Me to do what is right. Saul was not yet called by God and did not have God's Holy Spirit. All the heartache, If God could do that with Saul, God could do the same thing today with anyone. [We can say yet, but they will upon the resurrection.]. There was one person who was not of that belief. So we sing on, we preach on, we pray on, and we keep on believing. II Peter 3:15-16 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvationas also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his [Pauls] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You lost at least 50 billion cells yesterday, youll lose at least that many today. It is one of the curious facts of life that ordinarily we see our own reflection in others and make them what we believe them to be in their own minds. Jesus must be a prophet, the last and greatest of the prophets. 2022 SermonSearch. The plan of God, Picking up the story here in verse 11, Acts 9:11-14 So the Lord said to him [that is Ananias], Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake. And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, 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.. Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! We should be greatly encouraged that God saved Saul in such a way. All the evil we encounter, This incident is a witness to Pauls courage and also to the effectiveness of Pauls preaching. I like that. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. SermonSearch.com is an online resource for sermon outlines and preaching ideas. About ten years had passed before Paul finally emerged again at Antioch and was chosen by God. Cant go back there either. But the sweetness of Jesus may be seen in his goodness to us in the midst of our trials. God wants us to be diligent in our lifting of requests to the Lord. Is there a greater assurance of safety than that, if we can continue to be obedient and to overcome? It is remarkable, but not surprising, because more than any other individual in these early years, Saul of Tarsus promoted the gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming of Kingdom of God throughout the Roman Empire. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. He saves the most unlikely people. is a FREE sermon outline that will open your churches understanding of how to cause the impossible to become possible. It is a dramatic story and when Paul had returned from his time and Arabia, the Jews conspired to kill him. The sovereignty of God, A voice that Saul believed to be the voice of God? You come to understand life and accept things. We are falling apart. That is what I want to talk about this morning. At this time the disciples were born from above by the Holy Spirit marking the beginning of the New Testament church of God. We should be clear about one point. What is seen is temporary. Some think it is the best thing he ever wrote. But there is another reality at work within us. But far more exceeding. He had only died into glory as the stars die at sunrise.. Christianity begins with the question who are you, Lord? and that is because the deity of Jesus Christ is the foundation for everything that follows. but God saves his children in stages, not all at once. True, he had been trained along spiritual lines in his home, he knew who God was he could see that YHWH was the only God. Ah, but we want so much more-something the books on aesthetics take little notice of. Ive experienced that thing where you wake up in the middle of the night and you start to think about your own mortality and envision it, and it gives you a little shiver. It must be a trick.. Don't Give Up (25 of 33) Series: PowerBook. E. We dont give up because we want a reward as well (John 14:1-3). Second, Jesus is the Christ. 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