how much evil he hath done to thy saints ******* Acts 9:13 – 38 ~ Our last report in the Spiritual Safari left a converted Saul of Tarsus wondering what in the world had happened to him. We also saw the remarkable way in which the Holy Spirit used the Word of God to work through the man of God, Philip, to convert the Ethiopian Eunuch in that last leg of our safari. You will recall I said all three things are required; that is, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and the man of God, are required to complete any conversion that will ever take place. So, someone is bound to ask how that applies to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus? That’s a legitimate question and I will answer it. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Saul in that account. You must remember that the Lord Jesus said before He died that He was going away and that He would not leave us as orphans. Jesus said the one thing the Holy Spirit would do is take the things of Christ and show them unto us. When Jesus appeared to Saul He opened his eyes spiritually and closed them physically! That was the only way Saul was ever going to see the Lord Jesus! So, the Holy Spirit was definitely at work there. Saul was a Pharisee and he already knew a whole lot about the Word of God. If any man was saturated with Scripture it was Saul of Tarsus! When we get to Saul’s, that is, Paul’s epistles we will see he was more than well-versed with the Old Testament and all the language and doctrine in it. Alright, we also said that a man of God had to be involved but there was no human instrument present on the Damascus road at the conversion of Saul. So, how are we going to reconcile that? In previous reports we learned that the early church was really a youth movement. There was a young man named Steven and when Steven met Saul that one time they were diametrically opposed enemies. Remember, Steven said he saw Heaven opened and Jesus standing there at the right hand of God to receive him at his execution. Saul looked up and said he didn’t see anything. Well, Saul had looked into the eyes of Steven and Saul knew Steven saw something. That was the human instrument that led to the account of Saul on the Damascus road! My premise that all three elements are required for the conversion of any individual stands, friends. Without those three things – the Spirit of God using the Word of God through the true man of God - you just aren’t going to have a true conversion – not EVER! That’s the reason you and I need to cast our influence for the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere – even when we are around those who hate us and who would kill us if they had the chance! So, we followed Saul last time as he was led into Damascus on the street called Straight and we saw the brilliant man named Saul become extremely confused. That’s when the Spirit of God sent Ananias over to pick Saul up, dust him off and give him some help. The Lord had appeared to Ananias in a vision and the Lord spoke to him and told him to go out and find Saul. Of course, Ananias must have been questioning whether or not God was serious…. 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my names sake. ~ God called Saul and chose him as a vessel for two very definite reasons: First, and foremost, Saul was to bear the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. At this time, Saul is NOT called to witness for Christ. That’s because Paul never knew Jesus when Jesus was a man here on earth. Saul was present at the crucifixion but he would have known nothing about the earthly ministry of Jesus. The first time Saul met Jesus was down in the dust on a road outside Damascus. The Name that Saul was to bear is the Name we are to bear today, too! Saul is told he is going to go before three different groups of people: the Gentiles, kings and the nation Israel. When we see Paul go out we will see him always use the synagogue as a spring-board into the community and into the life of the particular city he was in, too, by the way. The second reason Saul was chosen as a vessel for God is that God was going to show Saul the great things he must suffer for His Names sake! No one has ever suffered as much as Paul the apostle suffered – you can just write that down. Paul’s suffering prevents any one of us from ever saying that no one has ever suffered as much as we are suffering right now. Many people say that and they ask why God would let trouble happen to them. Well, if you are reading this report the Lord will have you know you have never suffered anything near what Saul is going to suffer for His Names sake! ~ 17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. ~ The filling of the Holy Spirit is essential for service to God. That is the experience or experiences that are revealed in the life of a believer. Saul was baptized by the Holy Spirit out there in the dust of the Damascus road and he was saved there. However, it’s not until this man, Ananias, came to him that Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit; because that must happen in order for Saul to become a witness for Christ! Of course, Saul is going to have to physically see again and he regains that sight at the same time…. 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. ~ Of course, we are speaking of water baptism in verse eighteen. The water baptism is a sign and seal of identification of his conversion and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As with us, the water has nothing in the world to do with his salvation. Saul was saved out there on the Damascus road. Well, as soon as Saul can stand on his own two feet again he immediately began to witness for Christ by preaching Him as the Son of God in the synagogues. Now, my friends, you MUST know Who Christ is before you can ever truly believe what He did by dying for us for us on the cross. There’s just no other way around it. The only reason Jesus could die for our sin is because He was the Son of God! I couldn’t die for your sins; you couldn’t die for mine! We cannot die for our own and still receive redemption. That’s all perfect non sense. We have to know for a certain that Jesus was the Son of God before we can ever begin anywhere with Him. Well, this is where Paul begins…. 21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ, the very True Messiah! ~ So, let’s make sure we know exactly who Saul really is: he is number one in suffering; he is number one in the capacity of a missionary; and Saul is number one in the intelligence quotient department, too! Saul is a brilliant genius and, I personally, just do not feel there was ever any man smarter than Saul was. As we read his epistles we are simply going to see truths with the depths that none of us would have ever realized on our own; again, you can just write that down! Many are still trying to tackle Paul intellectually today; and Paul’s writings are still confounding those people! Well, of course, if you can’t win the argument then why not just kill the man? ~ 23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: 24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. ~ I’m sure this experience was thrilling and humiliating for Saul. Interestingly, we don’t find Paul running around the Roman Empire giving lessons or lectures about going over a wall in a basket! That ought to be a real lesson for those of you who constantly deal in sensationalism. We need to always keep our own experiences in check and never let them get in the way of presenting Christ! When our person gets in the way of His Person then we simply fail to present Him properly, correctly and completely. There is a very pious prayer of yesteryear that says, ‘’hide the preacher back behind the cross!’’ Oh, no, my beloved readers – you are to help the preacher or teacher who truly believes God to present the Person of Christ in such a way that the Spirit of God can take the things of Christ and make them real to and show them unto others! That is so important to understand! ~ 26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. ~ Naturally, the people were a little skeptical of Saul; and they thought he was being deceptive and trying to worm his way in to find out who the believers were so he could identify and kill them! They had some experience with Saul and others like him who had done exactly this! Simon the sorcerer was a little worm and these believers knew the Christian-haters would use any tactic at their disposal to infiltrate their group surreptitiously. Well, along comes Barnabus, whose name means the son of consolation and comfort! ~ 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ~ It can be a great witness and even an entire ministry to simply put your arm around some new Christian and give them a chance. Helping the newly converted is a ministry that is severely neglected and is desperately needed today. All I seem to see are negative posts about either unbelievers going to hell or pointing the fingers at so called ‘’false teachers’’ and ‘’false prophets’’ – well, friends, that type of talk just doesn’t happen to save anyone, it will never encourage anyone to believe, it certainly does not edify you and does absolutely NOTHING for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ! ~ 28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. 29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. ~ So, now we see Saul back in Jerusalem with the Israelites. The ‘’Grecians’’ are not Greeks – this means Jews; and the only way they thought they could deal with Saul was to eliminate him. Saul here is getting a little taste of his own medicine! Alright, after this, Saul is going back to his hometown. I think he went back to tell his mother and father, brothers and sisters and relatives all about the Lord Jesus Christ and about being saved. Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about any of them; Paul does mention some of his relatives in the epistle to the Romans but we know practically nothing about them! ~ 30 Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied. ~ The church is continuing to grow in this passage. Now, I know there are many people that only read these reports to try to find an error in my teaching because what I say is usually way different than what they have ever been taught about the Bible. That’s okay with me because I recognize the Bible is just not understood today; even some of the seemingly most educated pastors in the world just happen to be totally and completely ignorant of the Word of God. Well, friends, I don’t guess at the Bible. I just thought this would be a good time to let you know that! ~ 32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. 33 And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. 34 And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. 35 And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. 36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. ~ Simon Peter had the sign gifts of an apostle because he was an apostle. The only gift that Tabitha, or Dorcus, had was engaging in the social service of sewing! That was her gift and it was a gift from the Holy Spirit! Even something as seemingly mundane as sewing clothes can be a gift of the Spirit of God! Too many Christians are seeking for some exciting fleshly gift these days and the things that are really needed, like sewing some clothes, is simply neglected! These types of things are deemed to be beneath most believers these days. Everyone wants to be the teacher – or more! Some want the self-appointed holy spotlight of being the one that heals! It’s shameful, friends! Instead off babbling in tongues that does no one any good and no one understands – including yourself – why don’t you get a gift that is practical and that can be shared? Sisters, learn to sew since you can’t speak in tongues! Men, learn to financially support the man that DOES actually have the gift of teaching instead of usurping something that you just aren’t called to do! Dorcus likely never gave a speech at a woman’s Bible class and I highly doubt she ever attempted to teach the Word of God. Even so, she was a better saint than most of us. Well, our safari ends today with the proper preparation for the burial of the dead in verse thirty seven and in verse thirty eight we see these people certainly expect Simon Peter to raise her from the dead. Simon Peter had that gift – and anyone that has the gift of tongues – or healing – my friends, you better have the gift to raise the dead, also; otherwise, you’re nothing but a phony and a fraud! In the next leg of our expedition we will see the raising of this woman, Dorcus, from the dead. I hope you will all read along next time! ~
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 13:11:23 +0000
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