Now, you see what I mean? That
song, and the man who authored the words of that song, he's
singing about exactly the same thing that happened to Saul of
Tarsus. He met God Almighty. And, like Saul went to the mountain,
went to the law, I've kept the law. And God said, that law is
no hiding place. By the deeds of the law, shall
no flesh be justified." And then mercy appeared. Mercy appeared. That's salvation, mercy in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. We saw last week that the eunuch,
this black man from Ethiopia, heard the gospel, God gave him
grace to believe the gospel, and it says in verse 39 of Acts
chapter 8, and he went on his way rejoicing, rejoicing. That is the theme of a believer's
life, rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the true Israel
of God, which worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. That's a good way
to live, rejoicing, rejoicing in the Lord. And then we see,
secondly, that Eunuch went on his way rejoicing. Philip, verse
40, went on his way preaching the gospel. He went passing through
the cities. He preached in all the cities
till he came to Caesarea, passing through. He went on his way preaching
the gospel. Everywhere he went, he went preaching. And then we see old Saul of Tarsus. He went on his way too. Now he
was doing exactly what he wanted to do. Loving darkness and hating
light. This was the most religious,
zealous, religious man of the tradition. He was zealous of
the tradition of his fathers, and he went breathing out threatening
and slaughter against God, against the Lord, against the Lord's
people. But in essence, it's against
God himself. He thought he knew God. He didn't know God at all. And
then he went to the high priest and desired of him letters. He
wasn't satisfied staying in Jerusalem and in Judea, persecuting believers
who called on the name of Christ. He wanted to go out of town,
north to Damascus, north to Syria. Remember, they were scattered.
They went everywhere preaching the gospel because of persecution
and salt. They said, well, I'm just going
to follow that crowd, and they won't run from me. I'll catch
them. I'll put them in prison, and
we'll sentence them to death. And he desired of him letters,
that is, the high priest, to go to Damascus, to the synagogues
there, that if he found any of the way, the way of grace, the
way of Christ, the way of mercy, that he might bring them bound,
bound, tie them up, men and women, just tie them up like an old
slave trader would do, tie them up, bring them back to Jerusalem
for execution. Now who could imagine after reading
this man's story in chapter 8 and chapter 9, who could imagine
that this man, so vile, so evil, so full of destruction, was chosen
of God. Look what it says in verse 15,
when he said to Ananias, you go thy way unto old Saul, he's
a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name. I bet there wasn't one
in Damascus whoever thought Saul of Tarsus was one of God's elect,
one of his chosen. This man was so full of destruction,
so full of hatred. Aren't you glad that election
is unconditional, that salvation is by the free favor of God?
This man could have never merited God's favor, and yet God had
mercy on this man when he was at the height of his rebellion
against God. Chosen of God in eternity to
believe the gospel, to preach the gospel. What can grace not accomplish? Salvation with man is impossible,
but not with God. With God, all things are possible.
Anything too hard for God? Is there a nut that He can't
crack? Is there a rock too hard for Him to break? No. He is God. He is God. And we have illustrated before
us what we call sovereign grace. And all who are saved are saved
by God's sovereign grace. Sovereign grace. Almighty grace.
Redeeming, electing, loving God's grace. The same mouth that spews
out slaughter against the Lord a day later proclaiming, Salvation. What happened? Well, you know,
he just turned, he walked the aisle and made a decision for
Jesus. That's not salvation, is it?
This man had a radical change in his heart. God operated on
this man in his heart. And here's a persecutor. And
this is the title of this message. The persecutor becomes a preacher.
at the amazing grace, at the amazing grace. Now look at verse
3 down through verse 6, and let me point out a few things here.
As he journeyed, this was his journey, journey of rebellion
and destruction and hatred and enmity against God. As he journeyed,
for he came near to this group of believers. God had some people
in Damascus. And as he came near, suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell
to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, you know
me, he knows me, Saul. He knows his sheep by name, doesn't
he? Doesn't he call his sheep by
name? Lionel! Chris! He knows them by name. Matthew, follow me. Zacchaeus,
up that tree. Come down. A couple of things we see here.
The people at Damascus, believers at Damascus, were spared and
protected from this raging maniac, this religious man. God will
protect his people. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. Saul of Tarsus. The old timers
have a phrase that they use, and it's called, Saul of Tarsus
was unhorsed. That is, he was riding along
on his horse. God unhorsed him. God put him
in the dust. In the dust. In fear, in humility
before God Almighty. That's who appeared to him. Because
it says there, it says there, And there shined round about
him a light from heaven. A light from heaven. Now who
is this light? This light is a great light.
Find chapter 22. Chapter 22. And here's Saul repeating
his experience on that Damascus road. And this is his defense
before this council. In Acts 22 verse 6, And it came
to pass that as I made a journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus,
about noon, this is high noon, suddenly there shone from heaven
a great light round about me, a great light, a great light. Now turn to chapter 26, Acts
26 verse 13. At midday, O king, now this is
another time that he gives his testimony before King Agrippa. At midday, O King, I saw in the
way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining
round about me, and them which journeyed with me. And when we
were all fallen to the earth, these other men were struck down
too. I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying in the Hebrew
tongue, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who is this light
here? We'll find 1 John. 1 John. 1 John. You remember from our Bible
study? 1 John chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1. This then is
the message we which we've heard of him and declaring to you that
God is light. Who is this that appeared to
him? God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Now I want you to find John chapter
8 verse 12. Now look at this. The Lord Jesus
Christ. God is light. In him is no darkness
at all. This is a great light above high
noon sunshine. The sun in its brightness paled
in comparison to this light of light. God is light. Who is this? John chapter 8. Look at verse
12. Then spake Jesus again to them,
saying, I am the light of the world. Who is the Lord Jesus
Christ? He's God. I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life. I'll tell you what happened to
Saul of Tarsus this day. From his own testimony, I want
you to find 2 Corinthians chapter 4. From his own testimony, what
happened to him that day? Here's what happened. 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he says
in verse 5, We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your servant for Jesus' sake. For God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. What happened to Saul that day?
God illuminated his heart, his life, his mind with the light
of the gospel. Now find Galatians, Galatians
chapter 1, and here again his own testimony,
Galatians chapter 1. What happened that day on Damascus,
going through Damascus? Tell you what, Christ revealed
himself in Oh, Saul of Tarsus. Galatians
chapter 1. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb, called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me,
that I might preach Him among the heathen, immediately I conferred
not with flesh and blood. You see, it's the revelation
of Christ in your heart. In your heart. That's what happened
that day. He had a revelation of the glory
of God. in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now back to Acts chapter 9. And the Lord, do you know what
the Lord called him by name? Saul, look at verse 4. And when
he fell to the earth, and he heard this voice calling unto
him, Saul, Saul. How long did the Lord know this
man? Jeremiah, he said to Jeremiah,
before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. I loved you with
an everlasting love. You see, he knows his sheep by
name. He calls them by name. It's a personal call, a powerful
call, an irresistible call of God. This is what the old timers
called the effectual call. There is that general call when
the gospel goes out. These other men, they heard something. They saw the light. They heard
something. They heard a general call. But
God didn't call them irresistibly. He called Saul that day. Now,
look at verse 4, back to the text. Why are you persecuting
me? Me. Now, we learn something here. We see the union of Christ with
his people are one. Saul went about to persecute
believers, but the Lord said, when you persecute believers,
you're shooting right at me. You see, what's true of the head
is true of the body. We had a wedding here yesterday.
I was sitting right over there waiting for everything to take
place, and I always try to read from Ephesians chapter 5 about
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and
gave himself for it. And he is the Savior of the body. The Savior of the body. You see,
Christ and his people are so one. They're in union, one with
another. What is true of the head is true
of the body. And when you persecute a believer,
you persecute God himself. Saul's hatred was against the
true and living God, the I am that I am. Why do you persecute
me? Me. Saul's hatred was vented
out against God himself. You see, the carnal mind is enmity
against God. Men don't love God. They love
darkness rather than the light. I know people are always talking
about Jesus this and Jesus that. And God this and God that, but
I tell you, they've got another God, they've got another Jesus,
and they've got another gospel. Now, that's just so. That's just
so. The God we worship, the true
and the living God, is not the God that's preached in these
other places. Not at all. They've got a God
that has done all He can, and He's waiting on you. Please,
won't you let God have His way? That's no God at all. That's
a peanut God. That's not a savior. He couldn't
save a flea. God is God, almighty and sovereign,
and you can't take that too far. I'd like to be guilty of doing
that. Evidently, there's some in this community. You know,
I have a, my wife ran into someone at the store the other day. And
they got talking about something, and religion came up, and she
mentioned my name, and the man goes, oh, that's that hyper-Calvinist
over there. And then he said, he's on our
prayer list. I'll say it. I was quite encouraged, though. Our message is different. I'm
glad that I'm walking in one with this religious world. Our
message is different. Saul, why do you persecute Me,
the true and the living God, Me who loved you from eternity,
Me who chose you? God hath from the beginning chosen
us unto salvation. Me who died to effectually put
away your sin. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law. Me, who ever lived to intercede for you, me, your
hatreds against me, the Lord Jesus Christ. I like what he
says here in verse 5. Look at this here. And he said,
Lord, I don't know you. Well, wait a minute, Saul. You've
been a religion all your life. You've been a Jew. A Pharisee. And you don't know who God is?
That's what he's saying. He's admitting he doesn't know
God. Who are you? Well, he's about
to find out. And the Lord said, I am. I am. This is the same I am that was
articulated and pronounced in that burning bush when Moses
went up on the mountain and that bush burned and burned and was
not consumed. And the voice out of that bush
came, I am that I am. I am the way, the truth, the
life. I am the door. I am the way. I am the water of life. I am
the light. I am salvation. I am Savior. You see that? I am Jesus, the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who are you? I'm the Savior. I'm the just one. I want you
to turn back to Acts 22 and look at this phrase here. Acts 22.
When he gives his testimony, look at this phrase right here.
Acts 22. And I would encourage you to
read Acts 22 and Acts 26 to try to get the whole picture here.
But in Acts 22, verse 14, Verse 14, and he said, The God
of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his
will, and see that just one. Who's that just one? Well, there's
only one just God and Savior. And that you should hear his
voice, the voice of his mouth. He was ignorant of the true and
the living God, but he met God that day in the person. He met God, the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. No wonder he writes in the book
of Timothy and Titus when he says, God, my Savior. Did you ever notice that? That's
what he's saying here. I'm your Savior. I'm God, your
Savior. Jehovah Jireh. Jehovah Sid Canu. Jehovah, God, my Savior. Whom you persecute, you're persecuting
me. Because I am the absolute sovereign,
you're going to find it impossible to rebel against my purpose."
You see, God had a purpose in this man and his salvation. Turn to Acts 26. You know, God
never saved a sinner by accident. You know that? Everyone whom
He wisely saves, He saves on purpose. Purpose. Purpose. Look at this Acts 26 now. Here's
God's purpose in this. Acts 26, 15. And I said, Who
art thou, Lord? And he said, I am the Savior
whom you persecute. But rise and stand up upon thy
feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose. Here's
God's purpose. God saves us with a purpose.
His purpose and grace to make thee a minister. A servant. a witness both of the things
which you have seen and of those things in which will I appear,
which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the peoples
and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to open their
eyes." How are you going to open their eyes? Preach the gospel,
the power of God unto salvation, to turn them from darkness to
light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sin and inheritance among them which are sanctified
by faith. that is in Christ, that is in
me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I
was not disobedient unto that heavenly vision. Could he have
been? Could he have been disobedient?
No. Thy people shall be willing when? Well, when I get good and ready,
when I make a decision, no, thy people shall be willing in the
day of God's power. We believe according to the working
of God's mighty power, and that's what's going on here. Saul of
Tarsus went from an unbeliever and an unregenerate man and an
ungodly man to a saint, a believer, one resting in the Lord Jesus
Christ for all of his salvation. He says he is the Lord, now my
righteousness. Remember he said in his testimony
in Philippians 3 that he counted everything else lost and dumb
and ruined. that he might win Christ and
be found in him, not having his own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ alone. Now look at verse 6. And here's
those arrows of distress that you sang about. He trembling
and astonished said, Lord, Every knee is going to bow, every tongue
is going to confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. He is Lord. God had made that
same Jesus whom you crucified, God had made him both Lord and
Christ. He trembling and astonished said,
Lord, what do you want me to do now? Well, he's a willing
servant now. And you see something of the
stripping of God, the convicting work of God, the power of God
taking this man who thought he was so important and somebody,
and putting him in the dust, making his headquarters in the
dust, and confessing that the Lord Jesus Christ is his King,
his Savior, his all in all, and trembling, said, Lord, I'm ready
to serve you. And he went preaching the Lord
Jesus Christ. You read the rest of this. And straightway he preached Christ
in the synagogue that he is God only begotten. Well, beloved
son, here's the surrendering and stripping of a sinner by
God's sovereign grace. He was cut to the heart and filled
with the sense of his own sin against the Lord and loaded with
guilt. In his own testimony, I was before
a blasphemer, an injurious man, but God had mercy. God had mercy. Remember, his guilt has overwhelmed
him. I put people to death. I stood
at Stephen's execution and laughed as they dashed out his brains.
You know, that had to prick his conscience, didn't it? But you
know where he found comfort? The blood of Christ cleanses
us from all sin. Lord, I'm your willing servant
to bow to your purpose, willing to forsake my righteousness,
willing to embrace you. Oh, the wonder of God's grace.
No wonder Newton said, you know, if you watch that history channel
about the slave traders. You know, John Newton was one
of those slave traders. before God saved him, made him
a preacher of the gospel, that man who wrote amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. He knew something about that
wretchedness, and he knew something about amazing grace. God's mercy
to sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ. What do you want me to
do, Lord? Just tell me anything. I'll do
it. I'm yours. You bought me. You died for me,
you put my sin away, I'm ready to serve you. And the Lord said
unto him, Arise and go into a city, and it shall be told you what
you must do for me, where you must go, and what you must say,
and what you must endure. Now watch this, look at verse
7 now. And here we see another example of sovereign mercy, sovereign
grace. The men which journeyed with
him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one."
No one. The men with Saul were in league
with him in his purpose to exterminate Christians, to exterminate the
gospel. And they were all knocked to
the ground, as we read earlier. They saw a light. They heard
something. Turn back to Acts 26. They saw
a light and they heard something. Acts 26, 13 and 14. The light
shined round about me and them which journeyed with me. You
see, they saw the light. They heard something. We were
all fallen to the earth and I heard the voice speaking to me. They
heard something. But they didn't hear that call
of God. It's like this example. I'll
give you an example of that. Turn over here to John chapter
12. They were knocked to the ground,
they saw a light, they heard something, but they were not
affectionately called. There was no work of grace performed
in their heart. God sovereignly called out one
man, Saul of Tarsus. God's chosen. These others were
left in their rebellion, in their sin. And it's like this occasion
here in John chapter 12, verse 28, Father, glorify thy
name. And there came a voice from heaven
saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood
by heard it and said it thundered. They heard something. Others
said an angel spoke. They heard something. And the
Lord said, this voice came not because of me, but for your sake. Now is the
judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all unto me. That word there, men, has
been added. You see, they heard something
that day, but they didn't hear God speak affectionately to the
heart. These men were left to wallow
in their sin. God chose a man, a sinner, Saul
of Tarsus, and made him a new creature in Christ Jesus. This
once proud, arrogant sinner, look at verse 8 and 9, and Saul
arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened, he couldn't
see anything. He couldn't see no one. You see, these others weren't
even blinded. They had to lead him by the hand, and they brought
him to Damascus. And he was there three days without
sight, couldn't see, blinded. He couldn't eat, had no appetite,
couldn't drink, didn't want anything. What was he doing? It said down
here, verse 11, Behold, he's praying. He's praying now. He's thanking God for mercy.
He's asking God for mercy, for help, for grace. Once this proud,
arrogant, self-righteous Pharisee, so stripped before God and men,
he had to be led by the hand, dependent now upon his friends
like a little child. Would you lead me by the hand?
He lost his physical sight, but he gained spiritual sight. He
lost his natural appetite, but God gave him a spiritual hunger
and thirst for the bread of life and for the water of life, and
now he's praying. And the next day, he starts preaching. Now, I get a little bit worried
if someone said, well, I've been converted and I'm going to start
preaching tomorrow. Now, this man was taught of God. This was
God's apostle. God's apostle. The persecutor
becomes a preacher. Well, the rest of the story,
as Paul Harvey would say, and now for the rest of the story.
In verses 10 down to verse 16, the Lord sends Ananias to Saul. Who is this man, Ananias? Why
didn't God send John and Peter down there? Or why didn't God
pick up Saul and send him back to Jerusalem to the College of
the Apostles? He sent this nobody. He sent
a nobody with a message from God. This man Ananias heard from
God, had God's message and was sent to this man Saul of Tarsus
on purpose. Some say this man later became
the first pastor at Damascus. There's no gospel in that city
and no gospel preacher in that city today that I know of. Maybe
one day there will be. But notice how the Lord works.
He sent this simple man to declare God's message. We have this treasure,
an earthen vessel, that he might receive all the honor and glory. The Lord Jesus, he says in verse
17 and verse 18, the Lord Jesus sent me and Ananias went his
way and entered into the house and putting his hands on him
said, I love this phrase right here, brother. Brother Saul, we're one in Christ. We're of
the same faith. We're of the same family. We're
of the same gospel. Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus,
the Lord Savior, He appeared to you in the way as you came. He sent me to you that you might
receive your sight. You see, God uses means and men
to accomplish his purpose, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I believe this refers to the gifts of the Spirit. And immediately
there fell from his eyes, as it had been scaled, and he received
his sight. He could see. But I tell you,
he was seeing the world in another light. He took those old religious, that religious eyesight
was gone and he was seeing things in a light he had never seen
before, illuminated by the power of God. And he arose and he was
baptized. The scales fell off, it says
there, the scales of ignorance and self-glory, the scales of
unbelief and pride and all the scales of, you think of all his
religious baggage that this man had. They all fell off. He trusted in nothing but Christ. Remember, he said he counted
all but dumb that he might win Christ. Seeing Christ in the
gospel, he was obedient, confessing his Lord in believer's baptism. Verse 19 down through verse 22,
we read, I like this phrase here, then Saul was certain days, then
was Saul certain days with the disciples. He was one time against
the disciples. Now he's with them. He's in agreement
with them. He loves them. Those he came to persecute, now
he's one with them in the cause of God and truth. Preaching the
faith he once sought to destroy, loving the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 20 says, in a straight way, he preached Christ in the
synagogues that he is the only begotten, well-beloved Son of
God, God the Son. But all that heard him were amazed
and said, Is not this he that destroyed them which called on
this name in Jerusalem? And came hither for that intent
that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests. But Saul
increased, he increased, he grew in grace and in the knowledge
of Christ. He increased the more in strength
and wisdom and glory and mercy and grace, and he confounded
the Jews which dwelled at Damascus, proving that this is the very
Christ. Proving. How did he prove? How did he
do that? How did he prove that this is
the very Christ? What did he use for evidence?
What did he enter in for evidence? Tell you what he used. He went
right back to Genesis. He said, do you remember that
seed of woman we used to read about? You know, that's the Lord
Jesus Christ. You remember that special son
that Abraham, God promised Abraham Isaac, and in Isaac all thy children,
all thy seed will be blessed? You know that seed, that special
son? You know, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how he did
that. He took the very Word of God
and showing them by the Scripture, this is the very Christ of God. And they were all amazed. Truly
God's grace is amazing, is it not? Our great and gracious Lord
is still regenerating the hearts of dead sinners and rebels like
Saul of Tarsus, making them new creatures in Christ. We say with
David, the king of Israel, this is the Lord's doing. Salvation
is of the Lord. He said, this is the Lord's doing
in Psalm 118. This is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes. It's marvelous in our eyes. Is it not? Oh, the mighty grace of God. I'm glad that God is God, that
He's almighty, able to save to the uttermost. Aren't you glad
and thankful that God is God, that He is able to save?