I'm glad to see you. I'm glad to be here. I just was thinking there as we were listening to the songs and to the message we already heard that isn't it absolutely glorious, isn't it wonderful that God would show to us in such a short time here in the book of Acts the rich blessings of the shed blood of Jesus Christ in paying for the sins of His people.

We get to chapter two and we have the great preaching day that went on where there's 12 preachers at one time preaching in 12 different languages. And then we read about the results of that. God saved about 3,000 that one day. And then we move along and we find out that there was, and you know, I think about those people, those were probably really dedicated Jews because they were in Jerusalem for Pentecost. And then we move along a little bit, and we find out that there was a man that came from Ethiopia. Now, he was probably a pretty decent fellow, or he would not have had the place in the government of Ethiopia that he did. He was a trusted fellow. But you know what?

Everybody that God has ever saved has been a sinner before God, and a sinner that He causes them to understand that they're a sinner. And now we've reached chapter 9, and we read about a REAL sinner, Saul of Tarsus, that God is going to save by His free grace.

You know how many people have been saved by the grace of God in the book of Acts up to this point? I can tell you exactly how many were saved up to this point in the book of Acts, and it will continue on to the book of Acts the same way, the same method. While you're in the book of Acts, turn to the book of Acts chapter 13 and verse 48, and I'll tell you exactly how many people have been saved here in the book of Acts up to this point. Here it tells us very clearly in the book of Acts chapter 13, and someday we'll get here, but in verse 48 we just want to jump ahead a ways and find out exactly how many God has saved up to this point in the short time that we've been studying the book of Acts.

An exact number is brought up. Now it's not an exact number to me, but it is an exact number to God. It says here, and when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. Now read the rest of the verse with me. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Now that's the exact number. However many that is, God knows. There's a number that no man can number, but He has everyone. He knows those that belong to Him.

Well, let us go over to the ninth chapter of the book of Acts, and we're dealing with a real criminal. We're dealing with a real cheat. We're dealing with a real murder. We re dealing with someone who has the power to have people thrown into jail and have them executed because they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has that authority. But God has something else in store for him, and thank God for it.

In the book of Acts chapter 9, we re going to read verse 6, 7, 8, and 9 just to begin with, and it shares with us that on the road to Damascus, This man, a hateful man, a terrible man, a man who heard something from a prophet, from a preacher of grace that he had condemned to death as a result of hearing his message, that was Stephen. He heard that message, and he had Stephen condemned to death for preaching that message. He hated him so much, and he hated the gospel that he preached so much that he had him killed, and now he is in a wreck of a life. He's headed down to Damascus with the authority paperwork in his hand to have more arrested and brought back to Jerusalem, and hopefully he could have them also executed.

Well, God had a purpose, and that purpose is being carried out in the life of Saul of Tarsus. On his mission to go down there, God met him in the most powerful way. He stopped him. He arrested him. He brought him to a halt. And as a result of this, we find out that Jesus Christ was revealed to this Saul of Tarsus, and now it's such a plain, such a dramatic way that God illustrated how he saves his people. Now Saul is later going to write that in 1 Timothy 1, he's going to write that he was a pattern. Saul was a pattern of how God saves his people. From Abel to the last one God ever saves, this man is a pattern.

Now God is going to stop us in our tracks. Spiritually speaking, he's going to stop us in our tracks and arrest us and cause us to see the way we're going, what we believe, what we've been dying to declare to someone has been a lie. And he has the truth to reveal to us, and that truth is in Christ Jesus the Lord. Notice here, and he trembling and astonished said, Lord, What wilt thou have me to do? And the LORD said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. You know these men that were with Saul? Saul was their hero. They went along with Saul because he was in charge. He knew what he was doing, and they didn t give him any guff because it could happen to them, just like happened to Stephen.

So they re traveling along with him, and when God saves Saul on the road to Damascus, it tells us that these men They stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. As we mentioned last Sunday, this is the first time in Saul's life that he's ever trembled. This is the first time in Saul's life he's ever been led anywhere. He's always been in charge. He has been in command of his life.

And it tells us there in verse nine, and he was three days without sight, neither did he eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple. Now, I just find it so intriguing, and this is so proved throughout the Bible, all over, we find this proved throughout the Bible, that when God works a work of grace, he has people lined up to go to them. My goodness, how God blesses when He has for His people that He intends to save from the very beginning before the creation of the world, He also has somebody marked out to go to them and be with them. This, He has someone to preach to them. He has also someone there to comfort them. And here we have Ananias.

Now, he is on Saul's list. to be arrested. He's on Saul's list to take back to Jerusalem. He's on Saul's list to be executed. He's on Saul's list. And God calls on him a certain disciple. It's so interesting that God has everything worked out for everyone that he's ever gonna save. He knows who's gonna take the gospel to them. He knows where they will be. He marks it out. He crosses their line. He crosses their path with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He crosses them, brings them unto the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He regenerates them.

And then he gives them somebody Somebody. You know that Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing? I'm sure he went down there to Ethiopia and he started talking about what had happened to him and someone, God revealed to him, and they became friends. in the gospel.

All right, there's a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And he said, the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, behold, here am I. Now he's going to bring up something that's going to make Ananias really nervous. But let's drop down here in verse 13 for just a moment, in verse 13. We're going to find out that Ananias goes from walking by sight to walking by faith. We walk by sight of so much.

We look ahead and say, oh my, you know, I was going through a channel last night and this guy came on there and he had a map of the United States behind him with a bunch of blinking lights. And he just shared with me, he said, now these are cities in the United States and their potential targets. And then he quoted a verse of scripture completely out of context, and he says that there in the end days there will be wars and rumors of wars. And I said to myself, that's true to a point, because we've been in the end times since Christ ascended back to the Father, and there has been wars and rumors of wars ever since.

It's the nature of man. We're just seeing it played out. The nature of man is being played out. So, that was his message for today. He's going to go over that map and talk about being in a position. Now, run to some safe place. And I just said, where's that? All right. Notice with me here in verse 13.

Then Ananias answered and said, I have heard. I have heard by many of this man, I have heard. Now, had Ananias ever met Saul? No, no. You know, he's going on hearsay. I've heard. He's going on stories. Now, there's probably a lot of truth in what he's heard, but he has never met Saul. He's going on hearsay. He's going on what someone else said. And now we find out that God's appearing to him and gonna share with him his truth about this. He's heard some gossip about this man. He's never met Saul and he responds by sight.

And God is going to give him faith. Now when God saves his people, he gives them faith. It's just a gift that God gives to us. I've been told recently, I don't know how many times, that the faith that it takes to be saved is your faith. And I can tell you just as many times I've told those folks, no, it's not. Because the Bible tells me that he's the author and finisher of my faith. And my faith isn't worth a nickel, and that's a wooden nickel. my faith falters all the time. His faith is positive all the time.

I walk by sight, He causes me to walk by faith, and that s what He does. Turn with me, if you would, over to the book of I Corinthians chapter 5 as we look here for just a moment what God does, and He s going to do that for Ananias. He's going to reveal unto him that this man is a chosen vessel unto me. He's going to reveal unto this man that I've known him before the foundation of the world. He's going to share with him, I had him marked out for salvation before the foundation of the world. I had him in my trust in the covenant of grace, and I had my son come and die on the cross for him. And Ananias is going to believe those words. because he's gonna go to this man and call him something he's never called anybody like this before.

We'll get there in just a moment. 1 Corinthians 5, would you notice there in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 7, the Bible says, uh-oh, I did it again. 2 Corinthians. There we go. Maybe if I'd quit using Roman numerals and forget one of the lines. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 7. For we walk by faith and not by sight, Now, that's the most important walk that God gives us is the walk by faith, trusting the Lord.

All right, let's travel over here again to Acts chapter 9 and read about the Lord coming to Ananias and sharing with him the truth about what was taking place here. In Acts chapter 9, and there in verse 15, Let's back up to verse 11. The Lord said unto him, unto Ananias, arise and go into the street which is called straight and inquire in the house of Judas of one called Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth and hath seen a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord I have heard many of this man. how much evil he hath done for thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from the chief priest to bind all that call on thy name. But Jesus the Lord said unto him, go thy way.

Now, what was it that caused Ananias to understand that it would be okay to go over and talk to this man? He is, for he is a chosen vessel unto me. He is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and children of Israel. He is a chosen vessel unto me, for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my namesake. Now notice verse 17, and Ananias went his way.

Instantly, he was convinced as God gave him the ability to walk by faith and not by sight. He went over to that house instantly. He traveled across town. He went to that street named Straight. He entered a house that was owned by a man by the name of Judas, and inside of there is a man that God Almighty had spoken to him about by the name of Saul of Tarsus. He went over there completely satisfied that this was of the Lord, and we know that by the very first words He called Saul of Tarsus.

Now, when we read about Ananias� report of Saul of Tarsus, he is a really bad man. He's coming down here to arrest me and others just like me. He has been coming from Jerusalem with papers and he is a terrible man. And the Lord God Almighty appeared unto him and shared with him that he was a chosen vessel unto him.

And what were the first words that Ananias used towards Saul of Tarsus? It says right there. He entered into the house and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, what kind words he said. You know what that meant? He is one of this way. Ananias had been accused of being of this way. And Saul went down there to capture those of this way. What is this way?

That is, Jesus Christ is the only Savior. And He is not a Savior because we permitted Him to be the Savior. He is Savior because He commands the position. I come to save my people from their sins. They shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He is the commander in charge of salvation. He's not the submitter. Who's the submitter? Those he saves. We're the submitters. We have been caused to submit unto him.

And so Ananias went his way and entered into the house and putting his hands on him said, brother Saul, you are of this way. You are going to be a chosen, you are a chosen vessel unto the Lord. Called him brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus. hath appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest. Isn't that interesting that Ananias would use the term the Lord?

Even Jesus hath appeared unto you in the way. that appeared camest unto thee, and sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes." You know, there's one thing about this whole scene God shares with us. Turn with me, if you would, to the book of Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one. In Philippians chapter one, there in verse six, we read these words. Being confident, Ephesians, Philippians chapter one and verse six.

Called Saul. I've been working there, the Lord said. I've been working on him. I've been working on him as he traveled. I was working on him when I put him in front of Stephen. I let him hear the gospel. You know, God permitting us to hear the gospel is one of the richest blessings that God could ever give us. I don't know about you, but I've done some travel in Europe and there is just a pale, I mean a pale. It is a covering. There is a thick darkness there that religion, and you know what?

Except for the grace of God, there go I. If it wasn't for the rich mercy of God, He put me in the same kind of predicament, and I'd have never got out of it. It wouldn't have mattered what I'd have done, but God was rich in mercy to me and permitted me to be in the path of a preacher of righteousness, just like Noah was, just like Moses was, just like Joseph was, just like Joshua was, just like Christ was a preacher of righteousness. It tells us here being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. God Almighty had worked all that time, if you please. Time is irrelevant to God. Day of the Lord's a thousand years, a thousand years is a day. It's irrelevant. He's not trapped by time. We are. But God had all of that, we call time.

He had in mind to save this one person on the road to Damascus, and he had in mind someone down in Damascus that would go to him and say, Brother Saul. He hath begun a good work, he will do it to the very end, and that's his promise. Jesus shares with us my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and I will give unto them eternal life We he will show us this in If you turn with me to the book of Galatians chapter 1 Later Paul, that's who Saul of Tarsus became, later Paul writing in the book of Galatians, he writes about this very thing that just took place with him. And then he found out that it had started long before his trip to Damascus. What does it say here in the book of Galatians chapter 1? Saul of Tarsus is writing as the apostle Paul to the saints in Galatia, a province. We look at it as mostly Turkey today, but there were churches all over there that he had been to and visited and preached to.

And some of them had adopted something that is not the gospel, and that is, we are saved by works and grace, and that's a lie. We're saved by grace, not by any works. We can't work our way. It's a lie. All right, it says here, Paul, when he recounted about himself, and my friend, These words are good for us, too. But when it pleased God.

You know, after the Lord saved me, I was 35 years old, and after the Lord saved me, I was down in the dumps for just a short time because I said, Lord, why didn't you save me sooner? I just, I lied about you. Lied all about you in my preaching. It would have been so much better if you'd have saved me sooner. And you know what?

This verse of scripture was handed to me when it pleased God. That's when we're saved. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, what's he saying there? He knew all about me in my mother's womb. He knew the day that I was born physically into this world, and he knew the day I would be born again by the Spirit of God there on the roads of Damascus. And call me by His grace. And what was the result? To reveal His Son in me.

We're not asking Jesus into our heart and we've never been asked to give our heart to Jesus. He doesn't want it. It's lousy. There's no fixing it. There's no way to make it better. In fact, we read, I'll give you a new heart. And then something really happens. We have a heart that we're able to worship the true and the living God and quit worshiping ourself.

You know, I have a view about Satan that probably most people don't. We read over there, it says, the God of this world, you know, and you just go to the commentaries and they're saying, well, that's Satan right there, that's Satan right there. I don't believe it. You know who the God of this world is? Our will. That's our God. We worship Him every day until God saves us by His grace. And then we found out that our will was totally broken. It could only choose evil. It could never choose good. It would never choose Christ. It'd never choose God. It'd only choose going downhill.

Then when He saves us, we find out that He intervened. He stopped us on our way, on our plight, and brings us, what does it say right there? To reveal His Son in me. that I might preach among the heathen. Immediately I conferred not with flesh or blood. He revealed his Son in me." What a glorious thing that God did for him.

And then it tells us, going back over there to the book of Acts chapter 9, if you would join me there in Acts chapter 9. We find these words recorded for our benefit, and it tells us about what happened there in that house that was owned by Judas when Ananias came in.

You know, why didn't Judas help him out? Because he wasn't called. Why did Ananias help him out? Because Ananias was called. God was in charge. Here it says in Acts 9, there in verse 17, it says, And Ananias went his way, he entered in, called him brother Saul.

And then it says in verse 18, And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales. You know, and arose and was baptized. There was something over his eyes. You know, he is a pattern of everyone that God has ever saved. Now, you and I probably did not have physical blinders on. You and I probably were not caused to be blind when God revealed himself to us, but Saul of Tarsus was. Now, he was an example to us Let's look at this from a spiritual standpoint, and we find out that these scales were an emblem or a representation of the scales of absolute ignorance about God.

He pretended to know God, but he was absolutely ignorant of God. He was blind to God. He was blind to God's salvation. He was blind to God's Savior. He was absolutely ignorant of everything. And he was later going to admit it. In fact, he said, all that great pile of stuff that I counted my righteousness was nothing but dung. I was ignorant.

I was in a store the other day that had one of those Sunday school pens. I almost bought it because I threw mine away. You know, the first, you got that pen and then after a year you got a wreath around it and then you got the bar and you kept getting bars down there. That was just a real, oh my goodness. I think about all of that, how foolish, how foolish, how foolish.

All it was was a way that churches paid money to somebody. They got rich over it. Here we are. We're showing everybody that we're a Christian and hating God. But here we find God takes away the ignorance. He removes the scales. of himself. He removed the scales about Saul himself. He realized what we read over there in the book of Ezekiel chapter 36, after he does so much for us, then he shows us what a corrupt person we are by nature, and that he saves sinners and nothing else. He saves nobody but sinners, and he declares us to be the sinner. He saved him of sin. You know, Saul of Tarsus had a terrible view about sin. He was a murderer, but it was okay. He was a keeper of the law.

You know, if it ever bothered him, all he had to do, and we just find this happening in churches all the time today. All he had to do was go down to the temple and pay a few shekels for a lamb, and go to the priest and say, you know, I've done wrong.

Here, take this and sacrifice this lamb for me, and I can go home clean. What happens in churches today? Rededicate your life, come right down here to the altar and rededicate your life and get it straightened out with God. I've got a sister, I bet she's rededicated her life 700 times. That's all you have to do.

Well, when those scales came off, he found out that he was a sinner. He also found out where real righteousness is. Not in His works. It's not works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saves us. Christ is our righteousness. Oh, my goodness, over there in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30, He's our righteousness and sanctification. He's everything that God ever requires. He has all of it summed up in Himself, and He gives that to us.

Oh, and you know, the darkness that Saul of Tarsus had about the law. You know, the law never saved anybody, and the law is not kind. You break one, and you deserve death. And how many have we broken? All of it. None of it can we keep. We just can't do it. All you have to do is make a New Year's resolution. You find out how far you can go with the law. Lord, help me to lose 10 pounds in a month. Uh-oh, I missed that one. Well, if you can't do that, you can't keep the Ten Commandments. The ignorance fell off of the law, and the ignorance of the gospel fell off.

He saw the gospel was the person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus as the Messiah. You know, Saul of Tarsus had been taught all his life about a Messiah. All through the Old Testament, they'd been taught about the Messiah. The Messiah is coming, the one to take away our sin. Isaiah 53 declares the Messiah. When Eve had Cain, I've received a man-child from the Lord. You know what that means? I've received Him who's going to take away our problem. Well, it wasn't Him, was it?

It took 4,000 years later, but everybody knew something about the Messiah. Even Saul of Tarsus knew it. But when Stephen said, you've crucified the Messiah, oh man, that slammed right in his face and said, if that be true, I'm wrong and I'm never wrong. I'm always right. Well, when those scales left his eyes, he was wrong. And now he was right, because he knew the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Unbelief in him had fallen away, and pride, and error, all of these things had fallen away when he lost those scales. You know, it may take some time.

God's gonna teach us over time, but he never has to renew anything. He just continues to show us what he gave us when he saved us by his grace. He gave it all. There's nothing held back. There's not one iota of salvation that He ever holds back. He may take us six months, a year, or ten years to show us some of the true facts about it, but it's still all ours. and false doctrine. Did he have a parcel of that? And God came along and took that scale of false doctrine away from him and said, my doctrine is not written down. My doctrine is Christ. He is my doctrine. He's my righteousness. He's my doctrine. He's my teaching. He's my Savior. He's my hope. He's my peace. Turn with me, and we just have a very short time.

We want to do the communion service, but turn with me, if you would, to the book of Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1, for just a moment, as we find here, Ephesians 1, verse 16. Read with this me. Ephesians 1, verse 16. Oh, what a glorious thing is here in the book of Ephesians. Chapter 1. I'm going to say it again.

If you can't appreciate chapter 1, you have no business reading chapter 2. If you don't appreciate God doing all the work, you have no business reading chapter 2. Chapter 1, verse 16, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, Paul's prayer for him, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Now, spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, not in trifles, not in nonsense. We heard read about the unknown tongues mentioned there in the book of Corinthians. That word unknown is not in the original language. He's talking about languages there, don't get carried away.

Notice here verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us were to believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named. Not only in this world, but also which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to behead over all things to the church. What does that say? Your eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you might know the greatness of his power to us word according to the working of his mighty power.

Wow. It's all in his hands. Well, Saul of Tarsus met his match. No, it wasn't a match. No way God's even going to think about loosing that one. You know, they talk about that match between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, wasn't even a match. They could do nothing and he had God. Well, we're going to stop there for today and we're going to pick that up, Lord,