All right, now turn with me to
Acts 21. We're going to pick up where
we left off in verse 37 and we're going to
go down through verse 11 of chapter 22. And in this account, I didn't
read this for our scripture reading, this is Paul telling what the Lord did for him when
he came to him on the road to Damascus and knocked him off
of his horse. Look at verse 11, and when I
could not see for the glory of that light, The glory of that light. That's
what I titled this message, the glory of that light. But in our
scripture reading there in first Timothy one, Paul said he was
a pattern. He said he was a pattern to them,
which should hereafter believe on the Lord to life everlasting. He said, I'm a pattern. I obtained
mercy. And I'm a pattern. What we're
about to see here in these verses is, number one, the true condition
that men and women are in, the condition they think they're
in, and the condition God puts them in when He shows them the
glory of that light. So leading up to this, Paul has
just been severely beaten. by this mob of Jews. And the
Roman soldiers heard that all this commotion was going on and
they came down and they drug Paul away from these Jews and
they're carrying a man who is almost dead into the castle. And that's the true condition
of every man and woman born into this world. They are almost completely
dead. Now the reason I said almost
completely dead is because this flesh cannot understand what
it means to be totally spiritually dead. It just cannot enter into
what that means. Men and women are totally spiritually
dead, but God has given us a little bit of physical life. He quickened
us with this fleshly life, some movement, some thinking,
some feeling. Everybody has a little bit of
physical life. And you tell them that they're
dead in trespasses and sins, and they all say, I just don't
see it. You tell them you're dead in trespasses and sins.
And they think you're a crazy man on a street corner somewhere,
crying the end of the world. They're like, dang, he's crazy.
We're not dead. I don't see it. But after about
70 years, After about three score and ten, if men and women are
left in the condition they were born in, they're born into a
condition, and if they're left in that condition, they will
at that point be completely, totally, spiritually, and physically
dead. Absolutely dead. And I'm not
just talking about men and women who join motorcycle gangs. I'm talking about soccer moms. That's who I'm talking about.
There's a lot of fine people in this city. I'm serious. There's a lot of
nice, we know a lot of nice people. I like them. I like them. Through the girls, we met a lot
of nice soccer moms. She played soccer. They drive
nice minivans, SUVs. They're nice. They work hard. These women work
hard to get their kids involved in activities, keep them out
of trouble. They dress them well. They feed them well, healthy
food. They're responsible. These people are responsible. I'm talking about men who try
to stay in shape. and wear expensive athletic gear.
You see them in their nice athletic gear, and I think, man, that
looks nice. They work hard. Both men and
women working hard to pay their bills. They're not looking for
a handout. Talking about men and women who
try to be honest, sincerely honest. good examples to their children,
teaching them not to say bad words, don't tell lies. I'm talking about men and women
who try to do right by their fellow American, truly kind. Give to charities. I'm talking
about families who make a town enjoyable. When we moved here,
we said this is a nice place to live. If you drive through
McDonald's, it's a pleasant experience. They're so nice. Families who make this a good,
honest, clean place to live, good citizens. Men and women
who attend church regularly. Those men and women and those
boys and girls are on the verge of death. They're all on the
verge of death and it breaks my heart. Jeremiah was called
the weeping prophet and I get it. It breaks my heart. It breaks my heart. If God does
not move and lay hold on them and drag them out, They're all going to die in their
sins, as nice as they are, and as kind
as they are, as kind to us as they've been. God have mercy
on us all. God have mercy on us all. Okay,
now look here at Acts 21 verse 37. It says, And as Paul was to be
led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I
speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian which
before these days madest an uproar and leadest out into the wilderness
four thousand men that were murderers? This Roman soldier mistook Paul
for another man. His name was Thutis, back in
Acts chapter 5, verse 39. But Paul said, I am a man which
am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean
city, no small city. It was a big city. And he said,
I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. And when
he had given him license, Paul stood on the stairs and beckoned
with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great
silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue saying, now
Paul is about to preach. That's what's about to happen.
And I love his humility. He asked this Roman soldier here. I can just see him. They're dragging
him. And he said, can I speak to you? And he said at the end
of verse 39, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.
Paul made sure that it was the gospel that was the offense and
not him. That's what he made sure of.
The gospel is an offense to this flesh, but not him. And he's about to preach to these
Jews who had just beaten him. He's about to preach the gospel.
Here he is being drug away from a crowd of people that just beat
him. And he said, would you hold on just a minute? Is there any
way I could just preach the gospel of peace to them for just a minute?
Do we not see the grace of our Lord in that? While they were
crying, crucify him. He was saying, father, forgive
them. They know not what they do. Last
Sunday in our Bible study, Paul said, to the Jews, I became as
a Jew. I don't know of a better example
of that than this right here. To the Jews, he's about to tell
how great things God did for a Jew. Chapter 22, now verse
1, he said, men, brethren, and fathers, Hear ye 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, I am verily a man which am a Jew born in Tarsus, a city
in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel. Gamaliel was the most well-known
religious leader of that day. And Paul said, I attended the
biggest and the best. I went to the biggest and the
best in town. I was a who's who. That's what these nice families
are in this social religion. Centerpiece of religion. That's
what Paul said I was. I was right in the middle of
it. And he said in verse 3, I was taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous toward God as
you all are this day. I was in the same boat you all
are in right now. I was in the very same boat.
He said, I knew what the law said, and I tried to keep it. I tried to do what right. My
wife tried to do right. We tried to teach our kids how
to do right. That law says, do unto others
as you'd have them do unto you. And I knew what it said. We tried
to keep it. Verse four, and I persecuted
this way. What way? The way of Christ. The one true and living way. There is one true and living
way. The only way that does not lead
to destruction. Dear people, dear families, there's
only one way that does not lead to destruction. It's the only way that leads
to life. Verse 4, he said, I persecuted this way unto the death, binding
and delivering into prisons both men and women. I killed them. I imprisoned them and I killed
them. Verse 5, as also the high priest
doth bear me witness and all the estate of the elders, the
Sanhedrin right here in Jerusalem. He said, from whom I also received
letters unto the brethren, and I went to Damascus to bring them
which were there bound unto Jerusalem for to be punished. I thought,
now here's the important thing to think about Paul. He was not
what he sounds like. He was a fine religious man who
thought he was doing God a favor. That's what I thought I was doing.
I thought I was doing God a favor. I thought I was holy. I thought
I was right. And I thought I was just in His
eyes. I thought He was happy with me. That's what I thought. I thought
He was happy with me. That's the condition I thought
I was in. And that's the condition that
all of these soccer moms think they're in. Bless their hearts. Bless all
of our hearts. That's the condition that these
men who work hard trying to support their family, that's the condition
they're in. These boys and girls, these young men and young ladies
who have learned to not say bad words and be respectful to elders,
that's the condition they are in. And they all think God is
happy with me. That's what they think. I'm doing
right. And God is happy with me. Go with me over to Philippians
3. Philippians 3, look at verse
4. Paul said, though I might also
have confidence in the flesh, though I might be proud of myself,
proud of what I've done. He said, if any other man thinketh
that he hath whereof, he might trust in the flesh, I more. circumcised
the eighth day, exactly on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel. I'm an Israelite. Of the tribe
of Benjamin. And Hebrew of the Hebrews, as
touching the law, literally, I was one of the Pharisees. Concerning
zeal, persecuting the church. He's saying, I didn't look at
those who were in the gutter and say, You're not living up
to my standards. He's saying, I looked out in
the pews everywhere I went, and I said, you are not good enough. Not compared to what I'm doing.
Not compared to the standard I'm setting. Verse six, he said,
concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness
which is in the law. Outwardly speaking, he said,
I would blame us. But one day, I saw Christ. That's what happened. All that
stuff, all that good stuff, all this and all that, one day I
saw Christ. I saw the absolute confidence
that can be had in His flesh. I saw a true righteousness. that was outwardly and inwardly
absolutely perfect, perfect, blameless. Verse 7, he said,
but what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. My good, my morality, my keeping
of some laws, some of the laws. One day Christ came to me. And he tore all of my righteousnesses
straight to the ground. All my nice clothes, all my good
words, all my good thoughts. He tore every bit of it straight
to the ground and he put me in a condition that showed me I
need one thing. I need one thing. Now go with
me back to Acts 22. Verse six, he said, and it came
to pass that as I made my journey, he said, I made my journey. That's
what Paul thought he was doing. That's what everybody thinks
they're doing. Frank Sinatra said, I did it my way. Verse six, it came to pass that
as I made my journey and was come nigh unto Damascus about
noon, high noon, Suddenly there shone from heaven a great light
round about me. It engulfed me. It absolutely engulfed me. God
told his disciples that he would make them fishers of men. And
God's preachers do not use a line and a hook. They use a net. And it's wonderful. When it's
thrown, when God throws that net, it engulfs every single
sinner God chooses to engulf. Every single one of them. Verse 6, he said, It came to
pass that as I made my journey and was come nigh unto Damascus
about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round
about me, and I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying
unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest 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." They saw this light and they were
afraid, but they did not hear the voice. Paul said, God stopped
me in my perfect little path, this little self-righteous path
that I was on. God stopped me and He arrested
all of my attention. He engulfed me. He put blinders
on me. And He arrested all of my attention
and that put me down in the dirt. Thank God. God did great things
for me. God did great things for me.
He did great things for me. He stopped me in my tracks, He
got all of my attention, and He put me in the dirt. He made
me cry, Lord, Lord. And he said, they that were with
me saw the light, but they didn't hear the voice. Why not? Go over to John 10. John 10 verse 2 says, But he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calleth his own sheep
by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his
own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. Verse 11, he said, I am the good
shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse
14, he said, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known
of mine. As the father knoweth me, even
so know I the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. and
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be
one fold and one shepherd. Verse 26, he said, but you believe
not, because you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." No man. Paul
said, none of them that were with me heard the voice, but
I did. I did. Thank God I did. He spoke to me. Go back to Acts
22, verse 7, he said, And I fell unto the ground, and
heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? You're persecuting my people.
You're persecuting me. You do it to them, you're doing
it to me. But you're not going to be able to pluck them out
of my hands. Verse 8, he said, And I answered, Who art thou,
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. The man is God. God is this man. Verse nine,
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? What shall I do, Lord? I'm finding
myself right now in the condition of being a beggar. I find myself
right now in the condition of being a servant, a sinner, a sinner who's fallen into the
hands of an angry God. Verse 10, 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 that light being led by the hand of
them that were with me, I came into Damascus. God said, arise,
and Paul arose. When God says come, sinners come. And I wish so badly if our Lord
would be willing and be kind. I wish he would say to men and
women in the gutter, I wish he would say to men and women in
the pew, come, come. Come out from all of this mess.
Come out from your rebellion, your ignorance, your religion,
your ceremony, and you come to me. If any sinner comes, he's going
to come just like Paul did. Blinded. Absolutely blinded to
everything but the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything. He said in verse 11, when I could
not see, I couldn't see anything. Paul couldn't see anything. He
said it was like scales were on my eyes. I couldn't see my
own flesh. my own good deeds, my own morality,
self-righteousness. He blinded me to the world, the
riches of it, the fame of it, the honor of it, and he put me
in a condition that absolutely stripped me. That's what he did
to Paul is he stripped him of all his ability. All of his self-reliance, all
of his self-worth. He put me in a condition where
I couldn't see anything but the glory of that light. Thank God. Thank God. He said in verse 11,
when I could not see for the glory of that light, go with
me over to Exodus 33. Paul was a pattern. He said,
I'm a pattern for every chosen sinner that would be saved after
him. He said, what God did for me,
God will do for you. And once you see the glory of
the light of Christ, once you see that, God and His goodness
will blind you to everything but that. Everything but that. We see it on every page. Everything but that. Right here
in verse 18, Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And God said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee. And I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee. And will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. and will show mercy on whom I
will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see
my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord
said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon
a rock, and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth
by, that I will put thee in a cliff of the rock, and will cover thee
with my hand while I pass by. Now, as I read this, Do we hear
the voice of our Lord telling us how He will save us? Or do
we hear, yes, I hear that, and along with my good deeds, I'm
going to make it to heaven. What do we hear? He said, it shall come to pass
that while my glory passes by, I will put you in the cliff to
the rock and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. And
I'll take away my hand and thou shalt see my back parts but my
face shall not be seen. Now chapter 34 verse 5 says,
And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there
and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by
before him and proclaimed the Lord The Lord God, merciful and
gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. That's what God said as he passed
by. He put Moses in the cleft of
this rock. He said, I'm going to put my
hand over it because this light is so bright, no man can see
it and live. Paul said, I'm crucified with
Christ. I died. Nevertheless, I live. But God said, I'm going to put
my hand on there. And as I walk by, I'm going to cry the Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth. And then I'm going to take my
hand away and you're going to see me. Mercy, mercy, absolute mercy,
Paul told these Jews. I lived my life in religious
ignorance. That's what he's saying to him.
I lived my life, a good person, in religious ignorance, just
like you're doing. I know exactly where you are,
but God had mercy on me. He blinded me to me. He blinded me to me by showing
me His glory. The glory of God in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul said, because of my
inability, I had to be led. Led by His voice, led by His
word. And that's what God's Spirit
does for every single one of His people. He blinds them to
everything and He leads them to Christ. And I'm going to close,
we're done. Go back with me to Acts 22 and
I'll stop with this. I love this. Acts 22 verse 11, he said, when
I could not see for the glory of that light being led by the
hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. Paul was
going to Damascus to slay everybody. And on the way, God slayed him.
And people can come in here trying to disprove this whole thing
if they want to, but sometimes along the way, God slays them. And he's now telling all these
Jews Quit glorying in things that in the end have no glory
at all. Nothing. There's one hope for salvation.
If any man glory, let him glory in the Lord. Let him glory in
the glory of that light. The absolute glory of that light. The cleft of the rock, the blood
of the lamb, the mercy of Christ. That's something to glory in.
I hope the Lord will blind us to that. just blind us to everything
but that. Maybe he will. All right, let's
stand together.