Coming And Going With The Church

Q: What does the Bible say about conversion?

The Bible indicates that conversion is a sovereign work of God where He changes the heart and draws individuals to Himself. Scripture teaches that conversion is not merely a change of mind or an emotional experience but a profound transformation brought about by God's sovereign grace. This is evident in the example of Saul of Tarsus, whose dramatic conversion illustrates that God intervenes in a person's life at His appointed time, as seen in Acts 9. Saul, who persecuted Christians, encountered the Lord and was changed forever, demonstrating that true conversion results in a new life focused on Christ and a desire to join with His people.

Q: Why is church community important for Christians?

Church community is vital for Christians as it provides support, accountability, and spiritual growth among believers. The community of the church is essential for the growth and maturity of believers. In Acts 9, we see that after Saul's conversion, he integrated himself into the church community, coming in and going out with the disciples. This signifies the importance of mutual support and encouragement in faith. The church serves as a place where believers can foster accountability, share in fellowship, and receive teaching that helps them to grow in their walk with Christ. Hebrews 10:24-25 urges believers not to forsake assembling together, indicating that community is foundational for spiritual edification.

Q: How do we know that God's grace is sovereign?

God's grace is sovereign as He chooses whom to save, overriding human will and effort. Sovereign grace refers to God's unmerited favor bestowed upon individuals according to His own will and purpose, independent of any foreseen merit. This is illustrated in the theological understanding of conversion as a divine act. In the case of Saul, it was not Saul's decision that led to his salvation but God's initiative to reveal Himself to him on the road to Damascus. Ephesians 1:4-5 explains how God predestined believers for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, affirming the truth of His sovereign grace in salvation.

Q: Why is assurance of salvation important for believers?

Assurance of salvation is important as it provides peace, confidence, and a deeper relationship with God. Assurance of salvation is crucial for believers because it allows them to live confidently in their faith, knowing they are secure in Christ. The promise of God's faithfulness assures believers that their salvation is not based on their performance but on Christ’s finished work. In Proverbs 24:16, it is stated that a just man falls but rises again, emphasizing that even in failure, God’s grace enables a believer to return to Him. This assurance fosters a profound relationship with God, allowing believers to grow in trust and love toward Him, free from the fear of abandonment.

Q: How does the church support believers during persecution?

The church supports believers during persecution by providing encouragement, fellowship, and a sense of belonging. The church plays a critical role in supporting believers during times of persecution, as demonstrated by the experiences of Saul in Acts 9. After converting, Saul faced significant opposition, yet the church rallied around him. They provided not just spiritual support but also practical help, as seen when they helped him escape dangers in Jerusalem. This illustrates the importance of communal support in the Christian life, particularly for those who face hostility due to their faith. The body of Christ is tasked with caring for one another, helping to bear burdens, and uplifting each other in prayer and fellowship.

And. I guess part of my little question
about that hymn is it sounds like it's all about the hymn. It's a little too much. The first
verse has it right. All the things, and that's the
spirit. God has to move in spite of us
whether we pray or do anything or not. God has to win those who are
enlisted, and we pray for the Holy Spirit to bless our gathering. It seems that every time I talk
about what a blessed time I had studying a message, I don't have
any liberty in preaching it, so I'm not going to tell you
what a good time I had studying it. Now, I do marvel at the Lord's
providence in giving me messages at times. At times when I look at passages
of scripture, And I see nothing. I just see nothing. There are
advantages and disadvantages of going through a book. The
advantage is you know where you're going to preach from. You don't
have to search and hunt and worry about finding a message in a
text. But the disadvantage is when you're forced to preach
on a certain area and it doesn't strike you. Well, then that makes you call
on the Lord that much more, I guess. But, uh, the time when I look
at a passage like this one, and I looked at it and looked at
it and looked at it, and I saw nothing, and then all of a sudden
it just opened right up. And that is a real blessing every
time. And the Lord often used means,
circumstances, or people. More than, more than a few times
I have been looking at a passage of scripture and the and a brother
or somebody called me, a sister called, and suggests something
to my mind, and we began to talk, and then the meaning is opened
to me. And that's what happened this time. A brother called me
right in the midst of trying to prepare this. I hadn't put
anything down yet. And we began to talk, and the
meaning of this passage was suggested to me. All right, beginning with
verse 23. through thirty one. Verses twenty three thirty three
thirty one is where our text is. Tonight these verses tell
us of Saul. Saul he had the Lord hadn't changed
his name yet but Saul soon to be called. These were the first
days of of his conversion, early days,
early years of his conversion, and the first days with the apostles,
with the disciples, and it tells of their reaction to him and
his reaction to them. And this is much like the early
days of a believer. I think you're going to see your
experience mirrored in this one. Many young believers in here
tonight, I thank you. This will be a blessing to you.
Now, looking at these verses, my attention was directed at
one verse in particular, verse 28. And this is where I got my
title. I like titles. The message is
fersented to ease of remembrance. I generally make a title. And
the title of this message is Coming and Going with the Church.
First twenty eight is all of all was with him coming in and
going out. I mean and go where they were. Something there and there's a
message here I think the message of real help. For the first time I would say
all of now. As we have seen in this study,
Saul of Tarsus was just like most folks by nature. He was
a well-respected man, a good citizen, a well-respected man. He had friends, he had family.
He was married, but nevertheless he had blood relations. He was religious. Every good
old boy is somewhat religious. Paul, Saul was bordering on fanaticism
by his prediction, and there's a lot of people like that. But
he, like most people, he claimed to love God, but as we saw in
another place, he hated this way. Like most people, he loved
God, but he hated the gospel of God's sovereign grace. Then
one day, the Lord, in sovereign mercy, love, and grace, crossed
Saul of Tarsus' path. And that's when a man will be
saved when the Lord decides, not when that man makes his decision.
But when the Lord stops his wild career and brings him down and
humbles him at his feet and reveals Christ to him, everybody is saved
the same way, the same way, one way. And that's what happened
to old Saul. The Lord stopped him, stopped
him in his tracks, brought him down off his religious high horse,
off of his proud horse and brought him down in the dust to bow down
to the Lord Jesus Christ and revealed Christ to him in his
majesty and his power. And Saul was not the same man
from this day forward. He was not the same man from
this day on. He was still a man and he was
still a sinner, but he had met Christ and he had seen Christ's
glory And now, Saul was taken up with Christ. He was taken
up with Christ and his gospel, and he was now constrained to
follow Christ and Christ's people. His affections had been turned
180 degrees. And like all of God's people,
like I was reminded of Ruth, her testimony to Naomi, when
I thought about Saul here, You remember what Ruth said to Naomi?
She said that wherever you go, I'll go. Wherever you lodge,
I'll lodge. Your God will be my God. Your
people will be my people. This is exactly what Saul said
in so many words and what he felt and what all of God's people
feel when the Lord reveals Christ to them. That Christ is now my
Christ and Christ's people are my people. And the whole thing
is changed. My life has been changed. My
friend, my former friend, and now a new friend, new family,
and so forth. Well, when this happened, when
Saul met the Lord and the Lord made this change in him, he immediately
experienced persecution. We read that in Matthew 10, didn't
we? The Lord said, it is enough that the disciples be as his
Lord. They hated me. They're going
to hate you. That's a promise. If they would
have received and believed my words, they'd believe you. But
they didn't. So they're not going to believe
you, and they're not going to persecute you. And Saul experienced
persecution at the hands of his old friends and his family. Now
let's look back at it. Verse 21. After this happened,
Paul, verse 20, he preached to Christ in the synagogues that
he is the son of God, verse 21. But all that heard him were amazed
and said, well, we know him. We know this fellow. Is this
not he that destroyed them, that called on this name in Jerusalem
and came hither for that intent that he might bring them down
under the chief priests? In other words, that when the
Lord saved him, his former friends and family, They knew something
had happened. Something had happened. They
recognized it. But they were confused. And the
same thing will happen with you if the Lord really deals with
you. Saul hadn't just got religion.
He didn't just get religion. He met Christ. There's a difference. A vast difference. A difference
in life and death is what it is. And verse 22, Saul increased
the Moor in strength and confounded the Jews, which dwelt at Damascus,
proving that this is very Christ. In other words, all Saul wanted
to talk about from this day forward was Christ. That's all he wanted
to talk about. Before, he talked of religion,
but now all he wanted to talk about was Christ. Now, verse
23. And after that many days were
fulfilled. The Jews over in Galatians one
Paul said years. Three years. But verse twenty
three says after many days were fulfilled the Jews took counsel
to kill him. After a while his former friend
and his family they had enough. They put up with him for a while.
listening to him for a while, and they thought, well, he'll,
you know, he'll come out of this, hopefully. He's made changes
before, and this won't last either. And we'll just wait it out. He'll
get just some kind of little fad he's got on, and he'll come
out of this. Well, three years went by, and
they said, we've had enough of this, all this talk about Christ,
and they took counsel to kill him. Get rid of it. Now people,
and y'all have experienced this, and everybody in here has experienced
this, if indeed the Lord has done a work in you, a true work.
People don't mind if you're religious. Your friends and your family
are glad, really, if you get a little religion. If you go
to church, you know, you put your drink in and you touch them,
and you chew. Well, you don't have to put your
chew in, but, you know, if you get I'm really fanatical about
it, but fishermen at the back of the state like Virginia, you
know, their governor even chews tobacco now. But they're glad
if you get a little religion, you know, start going to church,
clean your life up a little bit, live a good moral life and so
forth, but they just don't want you being all carried away with
Christ. Don't just don't get carried
away. You don't want don't want you to don't want Christ to be
your life. Get religion and go to church
on Sunday, especially ladies. It's especially true of ladies
who are married to an unbelieving husband and vice versa. Generally, it's it's the way
with ladies that husbands You know, while they can be as wild
as a buck, but they still want their little wives to be nice
and religious, you know, nice and pious. It's kind of, they're
religious for their husbands, you know. Husbands kind of think,
well, I'm going to get in on the coattails of my wife's religion,
you know. She'll go to church for me and
say, let's pray for me, honey, you know. And, but I want you
wild. I want you to, you know, be wild
at other times. You know what I'm saying? That's
exactly right. Get religion. That's fine. But
don't let Christ steal your life. Right? Be religious. Be a part-time Christian. But
don't be a full-time disciple. Now, where all you talk about
and all you live for is Jesus Christ. Don't do that. I don't
want that, they'll say. And neither did Saul's friends
and family. And that's The sign of the Lord
truly doing a change in somebody's heart. Where Christ is there. They've got a new master. They've
got a new love over and above their family people. All right, verse 24. And it says
that they laid a weight. Laying a weight was known of
Saul. And they watched the gates day
and night to kill him. They watched to kill him. And,
you know, the first day, the first years of a young believer,
a new believer, are some of the roughest at the hands of his
friends and family, some of the roughest. He doesn't know a lot. A young believer, a young convert
doesn't know a lot, can't answer all of the questions of people
fire at him or fire at her, friends and so forth. And they still
feel the tuggings of past life, you know. They're in a quandary,
sort of, their friends and their family. Yet there's a real change. There is a real change. This
new man, this new woman, new creature within, their new desires
that cannot be denied. Truly new desires. Things that they once wouldn't
have been taught they're doing. Things they truly have a desire
for and love, such as the word of God and hearing the gospel
and fellowshipping with believers and so forth, things that just
had no appeal to them at all before, are now very real, very
real desires within them. And their thoughts have changed,
their principles, their directions, their motives, their purposes,
everything has changed. And it's not an overnight thing.
It's a slow thing. It's not an overnight thing.
Yet, the root of it, the principle of it is there. It's very real.
And yet there's this pull. And former friends and family,
just like the analogy here I'm making is that former friends
and family will wait to catch you. They'll wait to catch you. Try
to catch you up in your own way. Right? They couldn't try to catch
you. They watched you real carefully.
Co-workers, friends, family, tried to prove you wrong. Said,
try to disprove your conversion. Disprove it. Try to accuse you. Said, try to accuse you. Try
to say, ah, I thought you were... You know, they catch you. Stumble
you, fall, they catch you. And they say, ah, yeah, I thought
you were... They changed you. You didn't
change. And a young believer has a rough time of it, and he
makes mistakes, she makes mistakes, they slip, they stumble, they
fall backwards, you know, the old saying, one step forward
and two steps back. That's the way they feel, isn't
it? Did you feel that way? Do you
feel that way? And the friends and family laugh and say, see,
you're no different, you're no different, there's been no change
in you. And sometimes he or she says,
well, maybe I'm not. Maybe I really hadn't meant to
work with a conversion in me. But then they come back, David.
You remember David came back to the temple and heard the preaching,
heard the word read. And this believer comes back
and the sound of the gospel again. He hears the gospel, she hears
the gospel afresh. The gospel which says, you're
a chosen vessel unto me. You're not your own, you're bought
with a price. And I started this thing. Faithful is he that calls
you, you will finish it. He that hath begun a good work
in you, you'll perform it. And a young believer hears the
gospel afresh anew. The first gospel that called
him, he hears the same message. And it calls him again. It calls
her again. They say their heartstrings are
pulled again, drawn with cords of love. And the Lord said, Now
I started this thing, and don't you worry. I'm going to finish
it. You just trust me. You're mine. No, you don't feel
like it, but you're mine. That's what the gospel comes
back to comfort a believer with. And through God's word, the Lord
comforts him or her and bears witness with their spirit that
I'm his and he's mine. Now, I want you to turn over
here. Everybody turn to Proverbs 24. This is one of the most blessed
passages in all of the Bible for a weak believer, or a strong
believer, for every believer. Proverbs 24. I love this passage
of Scripture. A believer now is going to fall. I'm so thankful the Lord records
the failures of all of God's people in the Bible. All of them,
all of them, the Lord reveals the passion, with exception of
maybe one or two. I can't see much in Joseph's
life or Daniel's life, with the exception of those two men, John
the Baptist. There's a few exceptions. But
for the most part, all of God's people, the Lord in the Scriptures
reveals their sinfulness. And sometimes, terrible falls
if they go, terrible falls if they go through. And a believer will fall, a believer
will sin, and they mourn their sin, they doubt their salvation. A believer will fall, but here's
the blessing thing. And here's what reveals life.
They don't stay down. They keep coming back to Christ.
They'll get up. And they'll come back to Christ
and Christ will comfort them all over again. You want to know you're a child
of God? So if you fall, you call on the
Lord and he comforts you again. The law of suffering the Lord
is salvation. Keep coming. Look at verse 16.
Proverbs 24, 16. If you haven't underlined this
yet, you will now. A just man But the wicked, they fall into
mischief. In other words, they stay down,
and they fall there down to the count. But a believer will fall
in seven times here, people. It's not just seven times. That's
just a number with infinite I remember when Peter came to the Lord and
said, How many times shall I forgive my brother for his trespass?
Seven times the Lord said, Seventy times. And if a believer of a
just, who's a just man? How's anyone just before God? Well, you live a good life, you
live a moral life, you try your best, you know, you be faithful. No, a man is justified by the
blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lot, you would
have never known that Lot was a believer unless the Lord had
said in the scriptures, just Lot. He's a just, he's a just
and a righteous man. If you'd have seen him down in
Sodom, you'd say, there's, there's one of those Sodomites. You would
have never known the difference in that. If the Lord hadn't said
it, he wouldn't have said it. Now that's not, That's not encouraging
anybody in their sin. He got burnt. His hair was stained. His family
suffered because of it. His daughter, his wife, everybody. He suffered because of his sin. But he was saved. The Lord saved
him. But you would have never known
by his life, really, unless the Lord has said he was a just man.
Who is he that condemned him? It's God who justifies. That's
how you know. And God says he's just. Well,
he's a sinner. No, he's just. He's just. He's just when I see the blood.
When I see the blood. So when a just man, those who
God calls just, And all those who come to God by Christ are
justified from everything, from all things, where he should not
be justified by law, Paul said. He should do it. God justifies
from all things, just by applying the blood of Christ to you, the
righteousness of Christ. If you fall 70 times 748 billion,
he'll rise again, and he'll come to Christ. It's the same with
older believers, believers who've been walking with the Lord for
years. They stumble and fall, too. David had his greatest trial
or sin. He made his greatest fall when
he was in his fifties. He started walking with the Lord
at his teen years. And when he was in his fifties,
he committed his greatest sin, perhaps. I don't know, but perhaps. The only one reported anyway.
the greatest one recorded. And he suffered a terrible fall,
didn't he? The Lord said, I'll not take
my covenant from him. He's mine. David was never the
same after that. He was pretty much useless after
that. His ministry was gone after that. But he was a saved man. And he
came right back to Christ, and Christ said, I don't remember
anything about that. Your sins and iniquities, I don't
remember. He remembered, David remembered it the rest of his
days, and caused him to be humble before the Lord, didn't he? That's
the reason we remember our sins. That's the reason, John, the
Lord suffers us to remember our sins. To keep us humble before
Him. But he doesn't remember. That's
what matters. That's all that matters. And
they keep coming. An older believer keeps coming
back to Christ because they know. Now here's the difference between
assurance and shaky faith. Assurance says this, I know whom
I have believed. And I'm persuaded he's able. I've been persuaded a long time
I'm not able. But when I finally came to the
full, fully convinced and persuaded that he's able, That is His faith,
His faithfulness. Him keeping me unkept by His
power. That no matter how sinful I get,
no matter how often I fall, if I keep getting up and coming
back to Him, He'll receive me. I'm persuaded. He's able, and
He's willing. He's willing. And His mercy endures
forever. Let's put that on our wall. His
mercy endures forever. But we need to know Him. It's
over and over in the scripture. His mercies are new every month,
and dure forever, all the day long. And a believer, even an
older believer, keeps getting up and coming back. The difference
between an older believer and a young believer is the young
believer says, well, I'm gone now. The older believer says,
well, I'm a sinner, but I'm going to come back to Christ, and He's
always received me. And I believe we'll do it again.
We'll do it again. If somebody could take that and
run with it and say, well, I've given us a license to sin, you
know better. I'm trying to encourage a sinner
to keep coming to Christ. Sin shouldn't keep us from Christ.
It ought to drive us to Him. Right? Sin shouldn't keep us
from Christ. It ought to drive us to Him. Here's where the disciples come
in, in Saul's life, all right? Look at this, look at verse 25.
And so they watched the gates day and night to kill Saul, and
the analogy I made was that your friends and family watch you
to try to catch you up, and you make them fall and so forth,
and they are great accusers of you and so forth. When others
tried to catch him and kill him, verse 25, the disciples took
him. Then the disciples took him. They took him in. And when your friends and your
family forsake you, God's people forsake you. When your friends and family
forsake you, God's people will forsake you. There's a first
line of a hymn to write there. God's people will take it. It
says they let him down by a basket, by the wall in a basket. Does
that remind you of anything? A story? Turn over to Joshua
chapter 2. We just studied this not too
long ago. Joshua chapter 2. You remember the story of Rahab
the harlot? The Lord revealed himself to
her and knit her heart to himself, knit her heart to his servants,
to his people, and look at her testimony. Just like Saul, just
like Ruth, just like all of God's people. Joshua chapter 2, verse
11. As we had heard these things,
this is Rahab talking, as soon as we had heard these things,
in other words, as soon as I heard this gospel, this news, our hearts
were melted. Neither did there remain any
more courage or strength in us because of you, humble before
the Lord your God, he is God, in heaven above and in earth
beneath. That's a good testimony. That was Rahab's testimony. The
Lord revealed that God is God. That was her testimony. Go down
to verse 12 and 13. And she said this, I pray you.
She was talking to these spies, remember? I pray you, swear unto
me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you
will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me
a true token. and that you will save alive
my father and my mother and brother and sister and all that have
all that they have and deliver our lives from death. In other
words, I need grace and I need salvation. And the Lord heard
her prayer. That's the reason he sent these
men to her. He sent these men, messengers of good tidings to
her. Verse 14, And the man answered
her and said, I am alive for you. And Christ is called the messenger
of the covenant, isn't He? And Christ gave His life for
sinners. And you know what? Once Christ
does that, Christ gives His life for sinners, and He makes a radical
change within them, a new person, they in turn turn around and
will lay down their lives for Christ. Right? Yes, they will. Come on, nothing
to weigh in. Huh? Yeah, you will. Lay down your life for the brethren.
The tithe of thine is that scarlet line, that blood, that blood. The blood of Christ is that blessed
tithe of thine. Verse 15 says that she let them
down by a cord through the window. Her house was upon the town wall.
Let them down. She believed. She let them down, or that is,
she believed, let them down by that scarlet line. That's a picture
of her faith in Christ, and she let them down, and they weren't
about to let her down. And God's true people, back to this text,
God's true people can be trusted now. God's true people can be
trusted and depended upon. They can be trusted and depended
upon not to save you. You don't look to any man to
save you. But they can help you. They'll help you along the way.
Remember me telling you about Brother Bell and I climbing up
the peaks of Auburn? I was reminded of that the other
day. We started on that journey. Neither one of us had been up
that mountain. We looked at it and thought it
wasn't going to be too bad. And so we got out and started
walking, and had no idea how long it was. We didn't read the
signs. You know, idiots don't read directions, you know. Young
believers don't have much sense. We start walking, and oh, we're
talking. That was good old times. After a little while, buddy,
we started getting tired. And we got up, and there was a sign
at the end. And finally, we said, there's
a sign. It can't be too much farther. We got up to the first
sign. It said, you've come one-eighth of a mile. You've got a mile
to go. And Donnie said, oh, he said,
oh, let's go back. I can't take this.
I said, no, Donnie, I'm as far as going. I hear it's a beautiful,
beautiful thing. Let's go on, let's go on. And
he said, come on, we can make it, sure. He said, all right.
You don't know me. All right. So we started walking.
It wasn't another, about another eighth of a mile, I said, let's
turn back now. It's just getting too tough.
He said, no, let's go on. We had to do that to one another
the whole way up. You know, he'd ready to quit
and I'd ready to quit. We helped one another the whole
way. And finally, we got to the top. And it was worth it. So we wasn't amazed with that
one another. We wouldn't have made it. We'd have quit. One
or both of us would have quit. And we got to the top, and you
know we forgot all about the climb. On the way, our legs were
aching, our lungs were, you know, we were panting hard, but we
got to the top and beheld that beautiful view. We forgot all
pain was gone. All weariness. It was worth the
climb. I'd say I'd do it all over again. No, I might take the bus. But
the analogy is this walk through life, you know, tribulation.
Christ said you must go through much tribulation. That's what
the brethren are for. Help you along the way. Help
you along the way. God's true people, they, you
know, I thought about this. All the building, who was I talking
to back there? One of you brethren. All the
building rests, what holds up the building? The whole building.
The whole building is held up by what? The foundation. And that's who? That's Christ.
Everything rests on the foundation. If it weren't for the foundation,
the whole thing would fall. Right? We're built up on that
foundation, which is Christ, the Lord, His blood, His righteousness,
His person, His work. The foundation holds it all up.
But do you know every single brick is You know that there is no need to
every single break. A sport each other and the scripture
says this over and over again we're members one of another
we're laborers together. We're building up our sales in
this whole thing. Listen to these verses. He says,
exhorts us with lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, forbearing
one another. Forbear means to pick up and
carry. Forbear. Forbear. Forbearing one another. Forgiving
one another. It says comfort yourselves together. Edify one another. It says exhort
one another daily while it's called the day. It says, don't
forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some
is, but exhort one another. And I encourage you, and somebody
may disagree with me on this, but if a believer, somebody is
on the outs and they've been missing for a while, go up to
them, call them, find out what's wrong. Tell them you miss them. Don't approach them necessarily
to say, listen, you need to go, we need you. Come on back, come
down with us, we'll give you good. Exhorting one another so
much more as you see the day approaching. We need so much.
This world is becoming so apostate, so vile, so we need each other
more than ever, more than ever. And professing believers is a
problem of the way, sir. We need each other more than
ever, more than ever. We need one another, people. And if a
little play on words, you'll forgive me, won't you? They let
him down by the wall in a basket. If a believer does let you down
at times, don't become a basket case. All right? Consider the fact
that he or she is a man. Forbear and forgive, even now.
Just like you want them to do. Right? Well, look at the text
again. Now, the church was skeptical
of Saul at first. Weren't they? They were skeptical
of it, they were afraid of it. Verse twenty-six, when Saul was
come to Jerusalem, he is saved to join himself to the disciples.
And that's significant, folks. He made a real effort to join
himself to them. And they were afraid of him.
They were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was
a disciple. And understandably so, understandably so, Judas
was fresh on their minds, wasn't he? And by this time, many false
brethren, false prophets, false people have been coming and going,
and so forth. Lots of trouble. A lot of trouble. Our Lord is fresh on their minds,
what He said, that the brother will deliver up the brother to
death, and so forth. And it's understandable why they
were afraid of Him. This was a man who was, well,
you understand that, can't you? I've known preachers and older
believers to be generally skeptical of new converts and understandably so. Especially
preachers who see so many people come and go, you know. See people
come and go. There have been about as many
people leave here as have come here since I've been here in
five short years. So it's only smart not to get
to take. A new. Freedom way. For the land so far. All turned
out to be. He turned out to think. Come
in there recommended him to the church to thank look at this
is good first place to thank. First twenty seven Barnabas.
Took in this man with a. A called minister of the gospel
Barnabas A man with a great deal of wisdom and spiritual discernment. And Barnabas took him and brought
him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the
Lord in the way. And he'd spoken to him, the Lord
had spoken to Saul, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus
in the name of Jesus. A discerning disciple recognized
a real change in this man. He'd heard and seen his testimony,
Saul's testimony. And most of the time it will
become obvious in time. It will become obvious to especially
mature believers that the Lord has done a work in somebody.
It's generally obvious. Look at verse 28. Here's the
second thing. Verse 28. And he was with them coming in
and going out of Jerusalem. If they didn't know before, they
knew now. He proved himself to others by joining with them. He was gathering with them, wherever
they were, he was with them. He was gathering with them. He
wasn't scattering abroad, he was gathering with them. He had
become one of them, in all things. Because he was with them, coming
and going. And this involved so many things.
Submitting oneself to the authority of, and the ministry of, the
church. Submitting oneself, being in
subjection to them. And with them whenever and wherever
all saw wherever and whenever they met together all was there.
And I just think he didn't have much time. Yeah much so they
had a man made it all. And if they had about the whole
thing. If they had time to work around
church and all of that. If they met if they got the impression
where all of that. He was with them, coming and
going, coming and going. And I wrote this note down again, that though loving, cordial,
and friendly, the disciples, though they were loving, cordial,
and friendly, I'm sure, they didn't lay hands on this man
suddenly. Saul remembered this later on, he said that he and
Wisdom, I think Jordan's young tenant here, instructed him along
the same line. Like I said, Judas was fresh
on their mind, and when he finally proved himself to be one of them,
to be for them, gathering together with them, building up with them,
not tearing down, but building up with them, He was faithful
in a few things, and the scriptures say he was faithful in a few
things. Wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he's faithful, he's
submissive, he's a servant, he's a helper, a helpmate. Faithful in a few things. That
was Saul. Finally, the Lord made clear
that his hand was upon this man. Verse 29. And he spake boldly
in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians,
but they went about to slay him. But when the brethren knew, they
brought him down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus.
The Lord equipped this man, and the others acknowledged him. They soon saw him. Like I said,
he was faithful in a few things, and the Lord eventually made
him ruler over them again. My, my. What he did with this
man. My, my. He is least among you
will be the greatest. Our Lord said he will be the
servant. That was Christ wasn't it? That
was Christ. So no doubt Saul was a meek and
mild and submissive and a man under subjection and he was supportive
of the apostles. He did not usurp them. He did
not. He worked together with Hildren
of and supported them, said he spake boldly in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and he supported them in their preaching and so
forth, passing out faith. Paul passed out faith, and bragged
on the apostles and so forth, and submitted himself. All right,
the Lord equipped him to speak, and then finally made him ruler
over many things. And look at this verse. This
is the closing verse. This is good. This is a blessing. Then, at the church's rest, throughout
all of Judea and Galilee and Galilee and Samaria, and were
edified. Rest, edification, walking in
fear, the fear of man, the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort
of the Holy Ghost, and were multiplied. There's a lot of blessings in
that one verse, isn't there? Rest, edification, walking with
the Lord, comfort of the Holy Ghost, And the churches multiplied. And it all had something to do
with unity of spirit, unity of the brethren, too. Rest, edified,
fear, comfort, multiplied, time of blessing, built up. Paul was
a Bible part of it all, I'll tell you what. He was with them
coming and going. Coming and going. And I'm reminded,
I'm reminded of of Joshua. Joshua said that, come down with
us. Moses said that, come down with us. And we'll do you good. And Paul in another place says,
follow us. Here you follow unto me. Didn't
he? He said that. He said, follow
me. Why? Why should I follow you?
I'm following over you. Get in line. You can follow me. Follow us. I'd like to come in
here and follow these people, and what we're doing here as
being scriptural, as being God's glory, as being our good, as
being for the cause of Christ, and follow everything that's
going on. Amen. Coming and going. Are you with us? I mean. This thing that now. One eighty
seven.

Coming And Going With The Church

What does the Bible say about conversion?

Why is church community important for Christians?

How do we know that God's grace is sovereign?

Why is assurance of salvation important for believers?

How does the church support believers during persecution?

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Coming And Going With The Church

What does the Bible say about conversion?

Why is church community important for Christians?

How do we know that God's grace is sovereign?

Why is assurance of salvation important for believers?

How does the church support believers during persecution?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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