He cannot turn away. All right, go with me back to Acts
22. Thank you, John and Sherry. Most in here know the story of
Paul. We've looked at it several times
together. You have read it. His conversion. How the Lord
saved him. Everywhere he went, he told this
story. This was his story. This is what, or rather who,
that Paul gloried in. Not in himself. Not in his apostleship. Not in his preaching or any of
that. Miracles. He worked miracles.
Not in any of that. He said, God forbid that I should
go over anything save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. And he said over in 1 Timothy,
chapter 1, he said, this is a faithful saying. Right after he said that,
it's a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. He said,
I am, not was, but I am the chief. And he said, for this cause,
the cause of Christ, this is why Christ came to save sinners,
and he showed how he saves the worst of the worst. He said,
I'm it. And for this cause, he said, I obtain mercy that in
me first, Jesus Christ would show forth all longsuffering,
how long he would put up with the worst rebel of all, the worst,
the one who hated me more than anybody. And he said, I'm a pattern. I'm
a pattern. to them which should hereafter
believe on Christ to life everlasting. He said, I am a pattern. The
way God saved me, he saves every single one of his people. The
circumstances are a little different, but the story is the same. Christ
came to him. Christ revealed himself to him.
Christ brought him down to lift him up. Christ sent a preacher. And the message that the preacher
gave, preached, is the message every single child of God is
going to hear. Salvation. Alright, this is his
story. And we read it, verses 1-3. Men and brethren, he said, Father,
hear my defense. He's not defending himself here, necessarily. He said, I'm set
for the defense of the gospel. Who he is defending, rather,
is the truth against all of their charges. They heard him speak in the Hebrew
tongue. He was a gifted man and spoke several languages. They
heard him speak in Greek first, as the Romans did. Now the Jews
hear him in Hebrew, and they were very quiet. And he said
in verse 3, he said, Born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia,
brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, the most noted
Bible teacher of this day. He said, I was taught according
to the law, the perfect man of the law, the father. He said,
I was zealous toward God, as you are. He's looking at a crowd
of religious people, Jews. And he said, I was just like
you. So I was raised up just like
you in religion, in Orthodox religion, Judeo-religion. The Law, the Ten Commandments,
the Bible. And I was zealous, he said. I
was moral, he said. I had a zeal for God. I was very
enthusiastic about God, about my religion. But in Romans 10,
he said, I didn't know God. I was lost. And he said, look at verse...
and you know, many in here were raised in orthodox religion. Baptists, in so-called Christianity,
weren't you? Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians,
Pentecost, whatever. Just like Paul. Saul, that is. and zealous perhaps for your
religion, thinking you were moral, thinking that you knew who Jesus
was, who God was, thinking all of that, didn't you? Many in
here, if not most in here. Just like that. Now Paul said
in verse 4, he said, and I persecuted this way. This way. That is, the way that he said
is the only way. Jesus Christ. Over in Acts 28,
when they brought him to Rome and preached the gospel, he comes
to Rome and chapter 28, it says in verse 22, the people said
to him, we desire to hear what you think concerning this sect,
this cult that you're a member of, because we know everywhere
it's spoken against. Everybody in organized religion,
we all believe the same way. We all believe the same God.
We all believe salvation's this way. But you're saying something
entirely different. And everybody's against it. But
we want to hear what you have to say. So that's what Paul said. He said, I did too. I hated it. Hated this way. What way? Salvation. 100%. 100% of the Lord. From the choosing of the people
to the calling of those people. to the bringing of those people,
to the redeeming of those people, to the teaching, leading, guiding,
directing, the birth of those people, the keeping of those
people, the restraining of those people, to the final glorification
of those people and change of those people is of the Lord,
100% of the Lord, Him. That they had nothing to do with
it. Nothing to do with it. Salvation is of the Lord. Paul said, I hated that. When
I heard these preachers talking about nothing you do will merit
anything before God. Nothing you do, all the religious
things that you've ever done, all the good deeds you've ever
done do not count for anything to God. I hated that, he said.
I hated that because I'd given my life for this religion. I sacrificed for my religion. Later on, Paul said, if I give
my body to be burned, it doesn't matter. If I don't love Christ. He said, I hated this way. Salvation God's way. The only
way. Salvation by sovereign grace. When God said, I'll be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. It's not up to you. It's not
up to man. Completely 100% up to the will and the choice of
God. Paul said, I hated that. Hated
that! God's will. God choosing the
people. We don't choose Him. He chooses us. Paul said, I hated
that. Because I did, Paul said. I made a choice. Salvation by Jesus Christ. His
blood and His righteousness. Paul said, I hated that. His
righteousness. He said, I went about for years,
zealous of the law, keeping the law, trying to keep the law perfectly. Abstaining from everything, doing
this and doing that, trying to keep the law. And he said, I
did. He even said, I was blameless, according to the law. He thought.
I said, I was blameless. Nobody could charge me with anything.
Show me a law. And he said, I've kept it from
my youth up. And then when somebody told me,
when I heard them say that they're preaching down there that by
the deeds of the law, so no flesh be justified, I hated that. I
hated that. He said, I'm going to put them
out of business. And they said, it's only by Jesus Christ being
a substitute. By Jesus Christ coming to this
earth. This man, that's not God, that's
just a man like me. He's no better than I am. He's
just a man. I'm as good as he, Saul thought.
But no, they said he's God. I don't believe that. Well, they
said that he came to this earth, and what he did, he did it for
his people. But he lived according to the
law for his people. And only by him doing that, being
their substitute, will they be accepted by God. Nothing they
do, it doesn't matter what they do, they won't be accepted by
what they've done, but only through him. He's the only one that can
get them in heaven. He said, I hate that. I'm going to put him out of business.
Here's what I'm going to do with this Jesus fella. I'm going to put him and everybody
who believes in him out of business. Like Acts 2, I mean Psalm 2. Psalm 2, those of you who know
it. It says, "...the kings of the
earth were gathered together against the Lord and against
His anointed, saying, Let's cast our bands asunder. And he that
sits in the heavens laughs." Laughs. You know, all men and
women love their way, and they hate God's way. Yes, we do. All men and women by nature hate
God's way. It's the only way. One way. Men and women and young people
love sin. They hate holiness, true holiness.
Men and women and young people love lies. They hate the truth. They don't want to hear the truth.
Men and women and young people love themselves. They don't love
God. Oh, no. I'm talking from experience.
Men and women and young people love their own glory and their
own righteousness, and they hate God. They don't like this gospel. And neither did Saul of Tarsus. In verse 6, he says, So it came
to pass I made my journey. He's on his way somewhere. He
was going somewhere. He purposed this. He planned
this to go down and get hold of a bunch of these believers
and bring them back to Jerusalem and punish them and make an example
out of them. He was on his way. He had this journey all planned
out on his way. It was a way that seemed right
to him. If the Lord had left Saul alone, he would have perished. He would have died in his sin.
He'd be in hell right now. If the Lord hadn't come to Saul,
Saul would have never come to him. Saul would have never believed
him. If the Lord hadn't stopped him, he would have perished. And so it is with every single
son of Adam that God said, there is a way that seemeth right,
but the end is destruction. Most people, if you ask them
something about religion, they'll say, well, this is what I think.
Well, God said in Psalm 50, thou thoughtest. You think. That I'm just like you, but I'm
not. That salvation is your way, but it's not. There is a way
that seems right, but it ends in death. Oh, we, like sheep,
have gone astray. We've turned every man to his
own way. And Saul said this in verse 6.
He said, I was on my way, and I came nigh to Damascus about
noon. High noon, when the sun's at
its peak. How significant. The sun was
at its peak. Suddenly there shone from heaven
a great light round about me. Suddenly a great light surrounded
me. Paul didn't say, I saw the light,
did he? He said, a light surrounded me. A great light, as if brighter
than the sun. A great light. Isn't that what
John said when he described the Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation
1? You know, people have this silly picture of some Caucasian
that they think is supposed to be Jesus, and that's not him
at all. In Revelation 1, it declares him, it describes him, and it
says, His countenance is as the sun that shineth in all its strength,
as brass that burns in a fire. And his voice is the sound of
many waters. People say, Jesus spoke to me, and I saw Jesus.
No, you didn't. Because he dwells in light which
no man can approach unto. Just as we can't look into the
sun for any time at all, we can't see Christ now as He is. We can only see Him, I think.
But Paul did see Him. You see, Paul was an apostle.
To be an apostle, it required three credentials. Number one,
you had to actually see Jesus Christ. He did. Number two, you
had to receive your orders, your commission, your ministry from
Jesus Christ. The Lord gave it to them and
said, you're going to do what I tell you to do. You're going to go
where I tell you to. And thirdly, they had the gifts given to them
by Jesus Christ. Languages, healing, and so forth. Even some of them even raised
the dead. There are no more apostles anymore.
And nobody has seen Jesus Christ anymore in the blood as he is. We will, but not in this flesh. Paul did. And Christ came and
the scripture says he surrounded him. Suddenly a great light shone
around about him, surrounded him, apprehended him. One time
he said, I've been apprehended in Philippians. He said that.
Now remember I said, Paul said, I'm a pattern. I'm a pattern
of how God saved people. When the gospel comes to you,
when God comes to you through the preaching of the gospel,
when Christ comes to you and speaks to you, you didn't find
him, he found you. You didn't lay hold of him, he
laid hold of you like old Jacob. was on his way, and the Lord
Jesus Christ came and found him and wrestled with him, and brought
him down to the ground like he did Paul. Look at it. He said
in verse 7, I fell unto the ground. When the Lord Jesus Christ surrounded
him and is about to reveal himself to him, Paul hit the dirt. He fell down. He came down. He
was brought down. The first step in salvation.
Every single person whom God saves, whom Christ deals with,
He brings them down. Down. Humbles us. Strips us. Here's what the Scripture
talks about. To be clothed, you've got to
be stripped. You've got to be naked. To be found, you've got
to be lost. To be made alive, you've got
to be dead, don't you? Humbles up. Brings us down in
the dust to see that we're nothing. Paul thought he was something.
He was nothing. Now he realizes he's nothing.
He fell down. He says he heard a voice, verse
7. He said, I heard a voice saying
unto me, Saul, Saul, Christ said, my sheep hear my voice. And as the article says, if the
preacher's voice is the only voice you hear, nothing will
come out of this. But every single one of God's
people, when Christ finally comes to reveal Himself to them and
saves them, they're going to hear His voice. Through a man,
yes, but not an audible voice, but the voice of the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they're going to believe it's Him speaking
to them. And it is. It is. And He'll bring them down. That's the first thing. Bring
them down. Strip them. Naked. Guilty. Worthless. Dead. Guilty. In the dirt. Like that name in
Assyria. So he said, I fell down. And
then I said in verse 8, Who art thou, Lord? Somebody, one of the old preachers
one time said, Paul didn't know who he was. He's about to find
out. But he did know this. Whoever
brought him down in the dust is Lord. The one now at whose
feet he lies is Lord. He's Lord. And the Lord said
to him, I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecuted. I am Jesus
whom thou just thought was a man. I am Jesus whom you thought you
were going to do something with. I am Jesus whom you thought you
were going to put out of business, whom you thought was just a man
and an imposter. I am Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, a man, but now you see I'm
more than just a man, don't you? And you're fighting and you're
persecuting. You're against not just a man. You're against God.
You're fighting against God. He said, they that were with
me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the
voice of him speaking. Many say they see the light. Hank Williams said that. Boy,
he sure did. Many say they do see the light.
You know, people actually go through these so-called experiences. You read about it all the time,
that somebody dies. I read of some little boy, some
little boy who was on the operating table or something, and they
couldn't resuscitate him. His heart stopped. And after
it was all over, he told his story about seeing Jesus. And
he sat on his lap and so on and so forth. And everybody just
gave him a hearing and just listened to what he was saying and just
thought, what a wonderful thing. And listen to a little boy who
won't listen to the Word of God. He didn't see Jesus. He didn't
see the Lord Jesus Christ. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Paul was scared to death. He
was afraid. He was afraid. These saw the
light, but they didn't hear his voice. And then that telling. Christ said, my sheep hear my
voice. The voice of Christ is the gospel, is the truth. And
he said, some turn away their ears from the truth, but not
my people. He said, they'll hear my voice. They'll hear the word
of my power, the gospel preached. And Saul is just going to hear
it preached here in just a minute. And that's how we're born again
by the word of God. Of his own will beget he us with
the word of truth, the gospel. And look at verse 10. So Paul
said, here's what Paul said. He said, what shall I do, Lord? He says, what are you going to
do with me? See, before, Paul was talking about what he was
going to do with Jesus. Before, Paul said, this is what
I'm going to do. Talking about his way, his will,
his decision. I decided, this is what I decided.
Now that he's met the true Christ, now he's saying, oh, what are
you going to do with me? Now he realizes that this Jesus
is not in his hands to accept or reject, that he is in his
hands to accept or reject. That this Lord Jesus, see, none
can really call him Lord, except by the Spirit of God. He knows
now that Jesus Christ is Lord. Lord over all. Sovereign over all. Sovereign
over him. Him. Over his soul. Over everything. And he says,
what are you going to do with me? What are you going to do
with me? And look at what the Lord said
in verse 10. The Lord said, Arise and go into Damascus, and there
it shall be told thee of all things that are appointed unto
thee today. The Lord never asked Saul one
thing here. He never asked him one thing.
Neither did Ananias when he came to him. Saul, would you accept
this Jesus as your... No, sir. The Lord didn't ask Saul anything.
He's telling him what he has already purposed to do. He said,
you're going to go and it's going to be told you what I've already
appointed to be done for you and to you and through you. It's
all appointed. It's all been predestined by
me. That's what Jesus Christ the
Lord said. Saul, you go where I tell you
to go and it's going to be told you what you're going to do because
it's all appointed. That's the Christ of Scripture,
who orders all things, and they're sure, who worketh all things
according to His purpose, and none can stay His hand. Look
at verse 11. Paul said, When I could not see
for the glory of that light, I was led by the hand of them
that were with me, and I came to Damascus. I couldn't see for
the glory of that light. When the Lord Jesus Christ revealed
Himself to Paul, it blinded him to everything else but the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. See, I couldn't see for the glory
of that life. Scripture says, in one place,
Ichabod is written over the door. The glory has departed. Religion
today, there's no glory. No glory of God. God's not. They
don't glorify God as God, but were vain in their imagination.
Made up all sorts of things. Made God into a man. Just like
brought God down to the place of a man that God wants to and
tries and can't do anything unless you let him. The glory has departed. The glory of God is that he is
God. The glory of God, the scripture speaks of, is that he does as
he will, with whom he will, because he will, and none can stay his
hand or say unto him, you can't do that. He said, I'm the potter
and you're the clay. That's the glory of God. The
glory of Jesus Christ is He came down here to do a work, and He
did that. He didn't try to do it. He came
to do it for a particular people, and every single person He did
that for are saved. That's His glory. The glory of
God is that He sovereignly loves a people. They don't deserve
that love, but He set His love on them, though unlovely, though
undeserving, but He set His love on them. Not all people, but
some people. Many people, yes, but some people. And those whom God loved, undeserving
though they may, God in glorious love said, I'm going to keep
you, I'm going to save you, and nothing's going to prevent that. That's His glory. The glory of
Jesus Christ is that all that He did, He took and He charged
it to someone else, to His people. and He Himself took their blame,
took their sin. Oh, that's His glory. It's not
what you do with Jesus. That brings Him down. It's not
something we decided for God. That brings Him down. It's His
choice, His will. Oh, my, the glory hath departed.
Paul said, when I could not see for the glory of that light.
God shone in his heart to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he was led around by the hand. He was blinded. He used to think
he was something. Now he can't see anything of
himself. He used to think the temple was
great. He can't see it now for the glory of Christ. He used
to think that his robes and all were... He can't see anything. He's blinded. All he can see
is sunspots. The glory of Christ. Now look
at verse 11. He says, I was led by the hand. Now Paul is one of God's elect.
How do you know? Because he said to the Thessalonians,
we know your election, brethren, your election of God, because
our gospel came unto you. God sent a preacher to Paul.
this Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good report
of all the Jews which dwelt there. He came unto me, and he stood,
and he said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. In the
same hour I looked up upon him." Before, Paul was a Pharisee,
a member of the Sanhedrin, on his way up the religious ladder,
and he looked down on these silly fishermen, these ridiculous,
unlearned fellows, with no credentials. He looked down on them. Now he's
looking up to them. Now he's like a little child.
He needs to be taught by this fellow, this unknown preacher. And here's the preacher's message,
all right? Here it is. He said to Saul, verse 14, that
God of our fathers hath chosen thee. Election. First thing he said to him. Which
religion denies, but those who claim to believe it, Southern
Baptist some, say they believe it, but they don't preach it.
But they say, you sure don't go out, and that's not the first
thing you talk about. And us did. Why? Because that's God's glory. That's
God's glory. And Paul realizes it. If he hadn't
chosen me, I wouldn't have chosen him. If he hadn't chosen me to
show mercy on me, I'd have perished. If he hadn't stopped me in my
wild career, if he hadn't chosen me, there were many Pharisees,
but the Lord didn't save very many of them, did he? He saved
a few, Nicodemus and Saul, maybe Nicodemus, but Paul realized
if God hadn't chosen me, I would never have chosen him. That's
God's glory. Our Lord kept telling His disciples
that, you didn't choose me, I chose you. They all knew that to a
man. It's not a doctrine. Say, must
you believe that election be saved? You must believe that God chose
you, yes. You cannot believe that you chose
Him, that you have anything to do with it and be one of God's
own. This man came to Saul, and he knows, doesn't he? He knows.
He hated this way. And the first thing out of the
preacher's mouth was, God elected a people, and by His mercy and
grace, you're one of them. He said, glory, hallelujah. I'm
one of the elect. I hated that before. I hated
that election. Hated it. Couldn't stand it.
Stand the sound of it, predestination. And he just told him, God's ordered
everything concerning me. It's all been preordained. He
said, I hated that before. Now I'm so happy. I'm so glad. God's chosen you. Oh, thank God,
because I never would have chosen him. I was going my way. What did he choose you to do,
Paul? Saw this? And the last goes on,
that you should know His will. Everybody says, I'm trying to
find the Lord's will. That's a baloney. Look over at
Daniel chapter 9. God's people know His will. Daniel
chapter 9. Go over there. You have a Bible.
Daniel chapter 9. All of God's people know His
will. What is His will? Nebuchadnezzar
found out. Nebuchadnezzar, like Saul of
Tarsus, was this big, high and mighty and glorious king who
thought he was somebody and done some things and had no use for
God, didn't know God. And look at this, you have it,
Daniel chapter 4, Daniel 4 verse 30, the king said, Is not this
great Babylon I have built for the house I built for the house
of the kingdom by the might of my power, for the honor of my
majesty. While I was saying, he said,
while the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven. Who's this? Jesus Christ. O kingdom Nebuchadnezzar, to
thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. They shall
drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts
of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen. Seven
times shall pass over thee, until thou knowest that the Most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whosoever he
will." It's not your will. Can a person
know Christ, know God, who believes in free will? No. No. that you may know his will. What is that? That he doeth all
things according to his will. And read on. He said that same
hour Nebuchadnezzar was driven from men, verse 33, ate grass
as an oxen. His body was wet with the dew
of heaven, and his hair was grown like eagle's feathers, his nails
like bird's claws. At the end of the days, I and
Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven. Mine understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised
and honored Him." Him, not my will, His, not my choice, His,
that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
His kingdom is from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. And He doeth according to His
will. in the army of heaven among the
heavens of the earth, and none can stay his hand and say unto
him, What doest thou? At that same time, my reason
returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and
brightness returned unto me, my counselor, my Lord. And down
in verse 37, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the
King of heaven, all whose works are true, his ways, his judgment,
and those that walk in pride, he is able to obey. Saul, the
Lord has chosen you to know His will. What is that? That it's
His will, it's not yours. It's not yours. Look at the next thing. He said,
the Lord has chosen you to know His will, that you should see
that just one. Well, I need more time. And this is not a play on words.
But God is just. God is holy. Man is unjust. Man
is unholy. Man is a sinner. God is holy.
It must be perfectly accepted. Something's got to be done about
our sin. Sin must be punished. God will punish sin. You must
be holy to enter heaven. As holy as God. And you can't
do that. But God sent forth His Son. To
declare, I say, at this time, Romans said, His righteousness.
Sent forth His Son. The only one that God is well
pleased in. And He did that for His people.
God, Christ, did that for His people. Lived this holy life
according to God's law for His people and charged it to them.
And if God charged Christ with their sin, God who is just, who
by no means cleared the guilty, made Christ guilty, and poured
out on him his wrath, that God might be just and justifier of
them that believe on Christ. To declare, I say, of his righteousness,
that God might be just. There is not a just man on earth
that doeth good and sinneth not, except Jesus Christ. And God
is only pleased with him. That's a fact. And Paul knew
that from this day on. Paul knew that. And that's who
he preached. He said, my righteousness? Filthy
rats. Away with that. All my religion,
all my decision, all my whatever I did, it's done that I might
win Christ and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God
by faith in Christ. He knew that from then on. that
Christ is my justifier. And he said, and you're going
to hear his voice. He's chosen you to hear his voice. What you're
hearing this morning, we hear a lot. How blessed we are. Few people
hear it. And if they do, they turn away
their ears from it. They think it's too hard. It's too dogmatic. It's too bold. And you become
their enemy for telling you the truth. And from this day forward,
when Paul said, now, listen, I was just like you. I was ignorant. I didn't know God. I was lost
like you. Listen to me now. And they said, no, we hate this
way. And I hate Paul. And then an old man and I said
to Saul, he said, why are you tarrying? Get up. Arise, my soul,
arise. And be baptized. Confess Christ
and believers baptism. Renounce your religion. Renounce
your past. Renounce everything about you,
everything you've ever done, and confess the Lord Jesus Christ
as your God." And Saul said, OK. Paul began this day riding in
splendor, proud and high. He ended it in the dust, meek
and lowly. He began this day calling Jesus
just a man. He ended up calling Him Lord.
He began this day seeing everything, knowing everything. He ended
this day not seeing anything, not knowing anything. He began
this day leading men. He ended this day being led by
men. He began this day breathing out
threatenings and slaughters against the truth. He ended this day
crying for mercy. He began this day bragging about
what he was going to do. And he ended this day asking
the Lord what He was going to do. He began this day looking
down on these ignorant preachers. He ended this day looking up
to these wise men of God. He began this day against God's
people. He ended up with them coming
and going. He began this day above them, their superior. He
ended this day by being less than the least not fit to be
called a disciple. He began this day wanting this
way to die. He ended this day wanting to
die for this way. This is what Jesus Christ does
to everyone that He saves. Everyone, without exception.
Without exception. Have you seen Him? His glory? Have you heard His voice? Have
you been brought down? I pray to God that He'll do that
for you. Okay. John, come and lead us
in closing here. Son, have I a vision of what
I will see? Greatness, blissfulness, desire
to be Trust me in this pride I crave Son, I'm only a sinner,
say what I pray Only a sinner This is my glory to God, His
glory is my home, He is there, saved by grace. A touch of His
Holy Spirit fills my heart, Calls me my first angel from God's
beautiful heart. Jesus has found me, He's happy
in my case, Only a sinner, saved by grace. Only a sinner, saved by grace. This is my glory, this is Godly
glory. I'm only a sinner, saved by grace.