Let's thank the Lord this evening. Our Father, in your infinite
wisdom, you have ordained that your people would ask for that
which you have eternally purposed to do. Lord, you said, that we have not because we ask
not. We ask tonight. Would You bless
this Word? We know that You're going to
do that which You've purposed. Lord, in the eternal counsels
of Your will, You have purposed to place it within our hearts
to ask You as a Father. So tonight we do so. Help us. Lord, I thank you for this people.
Thank you for this place. Thank you for this faithful pastor
that's been here so long that you've kept. Thank you for your
goodness and grace and mercy. Bless this word we ask you tonight
for Christ's sake. Amen. The Apostle Paul has been providentially rescued
by a group of Roman soldiers. That's what we looked at last
time we met. And in that rescue we saw a glorious
picture of salvation. That's what salvation means.
Rescue. Rescued. Well, I know that that rescue
was obviously according to the Lord's good pleasure Because
the Scripture says, He worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. That means He's operative. He's
doing it. He does it. He worketh. He moves. He guides. He directs everything that happens. He works all things. He's going
to accomplish what He's eternally purposed to do. So He works everything that His will be done. Everything. He puts men in places of authority. He moves. He directs. And everything. He puts men and women together. They have children. He works. He operates. It's not our place to question
the Lord's workings. It's not. To do so is to doubt
His will, to doubt His purpose, His wisdom, His good pleasure
to do His people good. It's not our place, Bob, to question
Him. I wish I'd remember that. I'm so bad about just, you know,
wondering. Coming home last night, the weather
was deteriorating. I was on the phone. Gary Bourne, I like what you
say. You know, you saved my life.
Gary Bourne was my eyes out in front of me telling me what was
going on. I wondered. Myself, why didn't
I leave about an hour and a half earlier? Well, I was right there,
but I'll tell you one thing. You'd be surprised how quickly
we're reminded to ask. Lord, you help me. Well, Paul, by the grace of God,
we ended in verse 40. He had asked that Roman soldier,
he had said, In verse 37, he said, May I speak to you? Can
I ask you something? And that Roman soldier gave Paul
some liberty to speak. And we pick up right there in
verse 1 of chapter 22. Paul is going to give a full
account of himself from his conversion. That's what he wants to talk
to these. He's going to preach the gospel to them. That's what
he's going to do. These Jews had taken him. They were going to beat him to
death. That's what they were going to
do. They were going to just kill him because of their resentment
and hatred of the God that he loved. They were going to kill
him for that. And he started off in verse 1. And he said, men, brethren, and
fathers. Not spiritual brethren, obviously,
but Paul wanted these people to know that he had not renounced
his relationship to the Jewish nation. He was a Jew. He was
a Jew by birth, wherever the Lord saves a man unless God shows
you differently. Serve Him right there. If God
called you, Mark, in the job that you are in, serve Him right
there until God shows you differently. Serve Him where you are and He
will direct you. He will lead you. Paul wanted
to talk to these people hated Paul. But Paul knew that God
had a remnant according to election, according to grace. There was
a people, and God was going to call some Jews out, some Gentiles
out. And Paul knew the only thing
that was going to help these people was for the gospel to
be preached. He was going to have to preach
Christ to them. And the scripture says in verse
2, he said, men and brethren, hear my defense which I make
now unto you. And when they heard that he spake
in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence and
he saith. Now he used some great wisdom. Now he just spoke to a Roman
centurion back in verse 37 in Greek. And he had just spoken in Greek,
and that Roman said, You speak Greek? You're not an Egyptian? No. He
said, I'm a Jew. I'm Tarsus, said he. But when he began to speak to
these people that were beating him, he spoke to them in Hebrew. And when he spoke in Hebrew,
they really perked up their ears. He was speaking to them in a
language that they understood clearly. You know, whenever the
Lord calls one of His own out of darkness, and He is going
to talk to them, He speaks to them in a language that they
truly understand. Look at Hebrews 1, 1 and 2. Hebrews 1. What language does
a believer really, truly understand? Hebrews 1, 1. God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by... Look at the word His. It's italic. He's spoken unto us by son. whom He hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also He made the worlds." This is the language
that God, by His Spirit, speaks this evening. It's a special
language that a believer understands. It's the language of Son. And
that's what believers are listening for. They want to hear the language
of Son. They want to hear the gospel.
of God's grace. They're listening. They're intent
on hearing. They don't want to hear just
religious talk. There's a language that they
understand, and it's got heart to it. It's life. They're listening, and they know
the difference. They know it when they hear it. They're listening for Him. Those
folks knew and they understood Hebrew. Now Paul, he's going
to speak to them. He spoke in Hebrew and they heard
it. They kept the more silence. And
he began to speak. And while he spake unto these
people, He's getting ready to relate to them his conversion
on the road to Damascus. Now, that's an interesting defense
when Paul gives this personal word of testimony. It's actually
what it was. But this testimony of Paul's
conversion is noted three times in the Scriptures. So obviously,
the Spirit of God has something to say. Well, when it occurred,
it was told us. And then it's right here, it's
told us. And in chapter 26, it's also
related. But the Spirit of God is pleased
to repeat that event for our learning in God's glory. And
that's what I want to talk about for just a minute tonight. Paul's
conversion. Three lessons we learn. Now, Paul is going to tell them
what happened. But in the telling of it, it's
not just the wording of the event. It's the message in it. That's
what we're looking for. How do we see the gospel in it? Three things. Number one, here's
the first one. Salvation is not according to our family's association. It's not according to the will
of our own personal human nature or even the persuasiveness by
the powers of preachers to be able to twist and to draw and
to entice your mind. Salvation is not by the will
of man. Verse 3 says, I am barely a man
which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought
up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according
to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous
toward God as ye all are this day." Paul said, I was a Jew. I was born in Tarsus. I'm a direct descendant of Abraham. I can trace my lineage back,
Paul says, to Abraham. Stock of Israel, tribe of Benjamin,
Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee. But grace does not run in the
blood of men. Paul told him, he said, I was
born a Jew. He said, I possess smart teachers. In fact, he said, I was brought
up at the feet of Gamaliel. But you know, grace doesn't flow
as the product of culture, carnal learning, education. under the
feet, at the feet of a man. Brother Scott preached. How many of you here sat and
listened to him for years and years and years and years and
years and years? And one day, God was pleased
to impart life to you. And for the first time, you heard
what the Spirit of God had to say. You heard Brother Scott,
the instrument, Man can be ever learning, but never able to come
to a knowledge of truth. It's not by the will of man,
not by the will of the flesh. It's of God. Paul was acquainted
with the letter of the scriptures. He said, I was taught according
to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers. But grace
is more than mental illumination. I never cease to be amazed at
some of the knowledge that knowledge that people have of the Scriptures. I mean, I've actually heard words
that come out of the mouth of men or women, and what they're
saying is absolutely true. But the tenor of their life is
not consistent with a believer. Paul said, I was taught the Scriptures. The Pharisees
knew the letter of the law. They knew what the Bible says.
But they didn't know Christ. They didn't know Him. How do
you know that that wasn't so? Paul was on the road to Damascus
and the Lord said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And
what Paul says, who are you? Who are you? Paul was devoted, he was consecrated,
and he was zealous in performing his religious duties. He said,
I was zealous toward God as you all are this day. Zealous. Paul was a zealous Pharisee. His religion wasn't a sham. He
didn't take the things of God, the God that he knew, he didn't
take that lightly. He meant business. If he was
going to serve the God that he served, he was going to serve
Him in all of the capacity that he had. He knew. He was going
to take these Christians, those of the way, and he was going
to bring them to prison. He was going to throw them in jail.
And I mean, he meant business. It wasn't hit and miss with Paul.
I was zealous in what I was doing concerning his love for what
he believed. was the right thing. The law,
he said, I was blameless. You couldn't find anything wrong
with what I did. You'd try to catch me in not
keeping the law. He said, no, no, no. He was devoted,
devoted. But grace does not come to be found or attained
by external Performances, it's not of works. Paul said in verse four and five,
I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering
into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest doth
bear me witness in all the estate of the elders. What he was telling
me, he said, listen, he said, y'all know what I'm saying is
so. You gave me the letters. That's what he told me. I got
them from you. whom also I received letters
unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring them which
were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished." So we realize
from those first five verses, a person can be wise in his own
conceits, he can be devoted in his own dead works, and he can
be zealous in his religion and be lost. Be zealous. I mean religious folks. or zealous. They can be very zealous. Here's
the second thing I know. That's the first thing. Salvation
is not of works. Second thing I know, salvation
is of the Lord. Paul said in verse 6, It came
to pass that as I made my journey, come nigh unto Damascus about
noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about
me, and I fell to the ground. I heard a voice saying unto me,
Saul, Saul, Why persecute us thou me? And I answered, Who
art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw
indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the voice
of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do,
Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus,
and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed
for thee to do. And when I could Not see for
the glory of the light being led by the hand of them that
were with me. I came into Damascus and one
Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good report
of all the Jews which dwelt there, came into me and stood and said
unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. In the same hour,
I looked up upon him. I want you to notice that everything
positive dealing with Paul's salvation was by God's grace,
God's power. Paul said, I was on my way to
Damascus to get some, and all of a sudden there was a light
shone about. And he said, then I heard a voice
say to me, Saul. He said, I said, who are you?
Paul said, I was ignorant. I didn't know anything. You see,
Paul had formerly counted his birth as far as being a Jew,
to be a great asset. Man, I was born in the line of
Abraham. So what? So what? Our first birth carries
no weight with God. Man, my mom and daddy and my
grandparents and on and on and on. They were faithful, faithful
people. That does not mean anything. You must be born again. Paul said, I was born a Jew. You've got to be born from above.
A man and a woman can produce a Jew that's born in Tarsus,
but only God can make a new creature, one born, chosen, accepted in
the Beloved. That takes God to do that. Man that is accepted in the Beloved
has been everlastingly loved of God. Paul said, I said at
the feet of Dr. Gamaliel, And I was taught man's
wisdom. But salvation is evidenced by
being taught of God's Spirit. Who's Gamaliel? He's just a man. But to be taught of God's Spirit.
John 14, 26, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom
the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to you, to your remembrance, And he said,
And whatsoever things I have said unto you, those will be
taught by God's Spirit. I can't teach you anything. I
can't teach myself anything unless God's Spirit teaches me something.
Paul said, I was born a Jew in Tarsus, and I sat down at the
feet of this great teacher. And he said, And also, he said,
I practiced, I was taught according to the perfect manner of the
law of the fathers, strict adherence to the law. And by that action,
he thought he was righteous before God. But in salvation, a believer
knows that Christ is the end of the law. Here a man born in
Adam, a Jew, Tarsus, sat down at the feet of a doctor, Man,
it's got all kinds of degrees. Who cares? If he doesn't know
God, it's just things, mess, and stuff. And it's all going
to burn up. It has no meaning whatsoever.
But for God's Spirit to teach me that Christ has fulfilled
the law for me, and that God has charged me with His righteousness
than me trying to fulfill the letter of the law causes me to
realize the foolishness of my old thinking. I tell you, the carnal mind thinks
that the law is something that can be obeyed to produce salvation,
but a spiritual acquaintance with the law is actually made
when a sinner admits the law to be holy and just and good. And I'm unable to keep it. Salvation
is of the Lord. Paul thought he was a great defender
of God because he was persecuting the church. But whenever a sinner
is called out of darkness, I'll tell you, he will change his
attitude toward those that he formerly despised and he'll love
them. They're his brethren. They're bonded together with
him. Paul said, I was zealous. just
like you are today, but now He loved the brethren. Thirdly,
the truth of God's electing grace is despised by carnal man. Three things. We're going to
look at this third. The first one was salvation is not the
product of man's birth and man's will and man's family. I was
a Jew. Born in Tarsus, he was traced
back to Abraham. And I sat down at this doctor
and I said, that's the first thing I know. The second thing
I know is salvations of the Lord. Paul said, I was so smart. I
was just, man, I was doing God's will, I thought. And all of a
sudden, he knocked me off my high horse and he brought me
down. He revealed himself to me. And I didn't even know who
he was when he called me. He had to reveal himself to me.
I wasn't nearly as smart as I thought I was. Oh, I was educated, but
I was a dummy before God called me out of darkness. Salvation
is of the Lord. Thirdly, this truth is despised
by everyone that God has left to Himself. Verse 14. Scripture says, The God of our
fathers, Ananias was talking to him. He said, The God of our
fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will,
and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast
seen and heard. And now, why tarryest thou? Arise,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name
of the Lord. And it came to pass that when
I was Come again to Jerusalem. Even while I prayed in the temple,
I was in a trance and I saw him saying unto me, Make haste and
get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy
testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that
I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed
on thee. And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed,
I also was standing by and consented, consenting unto his death and
kept the raiment of them that slew him. And he said unto me,
Depart. For I will send thee far hints
unto the Gentiles." And when he said that, this verse 22,
this will be the last one we'll look at, when he said that God
told him, he's talking to a group of Jews, and when he told them
that God who had chosen him and appointed him and ordained him
to be a preacher, when he told them that God said, I will send
thee far hints unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto
this word, or until he said that. And then lifted up their voices,
and they said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for
it is not fit that he should live." Whenever Paul the Apostle
told them, God Almighty that does as He will, chooses who
He will, calls who He will, ordains who He will, appoints who He
will, and that He calls out Jew and Gentile. They said, wait
a minute. Hold on. Five things God revealed through
that apostle, and especially in those first two verses, 14
and 15, that God had chosen. John 15, 16, You have not chosen
me. Men say, I don't believe. I don't
believe in election. Well, God said it's so. You have not chosen me. I have
chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth
fruit and that your fruit should remain. Ephesians 1, 4, According
as he have chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Election is of God. Secondly, Ananias said that thou
shouldest know His will. You know, there's a lot of things
we don't know about the will of the Lord, but I will say this.
When it comes to the will of God concerning salvation, we
do know this. Salvation is of the Lord. John
6.39, This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all
which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up at the last day. And Ananias said thoroughly,
he said, that you should see the Just One. I tell you, everyone called out
of darkness has got some spiritual eyes. And they see Him. You see Him. I know you do. You see Him. By the eyes of faith,
the eyes of your understanding. That's what Paul said. You understand,
you perceive. You see him through a glass darkly,
but you see him. And he said, and shouldest hear
the voice of his mouth. That's the fourth thing. My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. You know
what you're listening for tonight. You're looking for and listening
for. I want to hear whether or not Christ, God Almighty, the
author and finisher of my faith, I want to hear whether or not
He set forth. That's what you're listening
for. That you should hear the voice
of His mouth. And here's the last thing. For
thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen
and heard." That's what a witness is, somebody that has actually
seen and heard. If you saw something or if you
heard something personally, not secondhand, but if you've heard
it and you've seen it, then you can be a witness. You actually
experience something. And this is what God's people
do. They're witnesses. God called you out of darkness.
You know something. You know it firsthand. I didn't
convince you of anything. God's preachers are the means. They're God's ambassadors. Ambassadors
for Christ. But I'm telling you, Paul said
some of us water, some of us plant, some of us water, but
who gives increase? God gives increase. In that last
verse, They heard what he said. He said, God told me, he was
going to send me to the Gentiles to preach. You know, men will
hear other men until they sit down and clearly proclaim that
salvation is by sovereign grace, according to God's will, God's
purpose, God's calling, God's ordination. Man by nature He
wants to glory. He wants to glory in His own
salvation. But God Almighty is not going
to share His glory with anybody. And you know what? A believer
likes it that way. He loves it that way. I don't deserve any glory. I will say this, and you're like
this too. I know you are because you're
just like me. There's a nature that you're born with that wants
praise. And there's a nature about you
that despises people trying to give you glory. And you fight
about it with yourself. These folks, they despise what
Paul said because he told them, he said, God's going to call
out of darkness Whomsoever he will. Boy, when he said that,
they said, hold on, hold on. I don't think so. But you know
what? He preached the gospel to them.
He was a friend to them. They hated him, wanted to beat
him up. You know something about that, don't you, Scott? But I'll
tell you this. Men, they despise you, reject
you. hate you until God calls you
out of darkness. And then those that you formerly
hated, you realize they were the best friend you ever had.
They told you the truth. I pray the Lord bless this to
your heart. Teach us something of ourselves. Let's have a word
of prayer. We thank You that You've given
us just a few moments to be able to come together and to look
into Your Word and to consider the wonder of Your sovereign
grace. And Lord, the thing that amazes
us is to realize that You would call one of us, give us a heart. We're lost. in the marvelous
wonder of that thought. How is it that God would show
mercy to me? I pray, Lord, that You would
keep us, those of us that will be traveling. Lord, we ask You
for traveling mercy and we pray that You would teach us of Yourself
as we come to the end of this year. We thank You. for what
You've taught us this year. And we ask You to bless the Word
that was preached tonight to Your glory and to our good. For
Christ's sake, Amen.