The light brighter than the sun.
The light brighter than the sun. Let's open our Bibles first to
Acts chapter 7. We first meet Saul of Tarsus
at the stoning of Stephen. That's the first mention. Saul
of Tarsus. The stoning of Stephen. Let's
look at it a moment. Acts 7 verse 54. When they heard these things,
that is, the testimony of Stephen, they were cut to the heart and
they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of
the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory
of God. And the Lord Jesus, standing
on the right hand of God, said, Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they
cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran
upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and
stoned him. And the witnesses laid down
their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And he kneeled
down and cried with the loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin
to their charge. And when he said this, he fell
asleep. Now Saul of Tarsus, his path
of hatred and persecution continued from this moment. In fact, showing
great strong opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at it
here in chapter 8 now. He continued on this evil path,
opposition to Christ. Chapter 8 verse 1, And Saul was
consenting unto Stephen's death. And at that time there was a
great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea
and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen
to his burial and made great lamentation over him. And as
for Saul, now watch this, he made havoc of the church, entering
into every house and hailing men and women, committing them
to prison. Therefore they that were scattered
abroad went everywhere preaching the word." Now when you read
these four verses about this man's terrible hatred for Christ
and the people of God, you would judge by reading this that this
man was a profane man, that this man was a political power, that
this man was a power man, mad heathen. But not so. Not so. This man, Saul of Tarsus, in
his own opinion, and in the opinion of most others, was a very, very
religious man. A very, very moral man. Blameless before the law. And
a very, very self-righteous man. Let me show you that in Philippians
chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3, look if
you will with me at chapter 3 of Philippians and verse 4. He describes his religious convictions
in Philippians 3 verse 4. Brag it about himself, listen
to it. Though I might have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh him that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more than anybody. I was circumcised
the eighth day of the stock of Israel, and of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee, concerning
zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness, which
is of the law, blameless, a blameless man. This man believed in God. I didn't say he believed God.
The Bible says Abraham believed God. But Saul believed in God. Yes, he believed in God. He believed
in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not only that, but
he read and studied the scriptures. And not only that, but he outwardly
obeyed the moral law. He kept the Sabbath day to the
letter. He tithed 10% of everything he
owned. He fasted twice a week. He kept
the Passover. Passover feast. He kept the law. He was a very religious man.
But Saul's wrath, Saul's opposition and hatred revolved around one
thing. One thing. One issue. And that
was, who is Jesus Christ? That's what it's all about. Who
is Jesus Christ? How old was this man? When was
Saul born? Saul of Tarsus. When was he born?
He was born in 5 A.D. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was
born in Bethlehem's manger, was five years old when Saul of Tarsus
was born. I want to show you this in Acts
chapter 22. Acts chapter 22, turn over here,
Saul of Tarsus was born in A.D. 25 to A.D. 5 and he was about 28 years old
when Christ died on the cross. So this man, look at Acts chapter
22 verse 3, speaking of himself. I am verily a man which am a
Jew. I was born in Tarsus. a city
of Cilicia, I was brought up in the city at the feet of a
man called Gamaliel. He was the teacher of Saul of
Tarsus. In Jerusalem and in Tarsus and
other areas, Saul was brought up at the feet of this man. There were two great teachers
in that day and Gamaliel was one of them. And he went on and
said, and I was taught according to the perfect manner of the
law of the fathers, and I was zealous toward God as you are
this day." So Saul, when Christ died on the cross, 28 years old,
going about Jerusalem, Judea, and all these places, and knew
about the life of Christ, the disciples of Christ, the miracles
of Christ, and the works of Christ. It's like you sat there, it wasn't
done in a cult, it was done right there in front of this fellow.
And Gamaliel, this man Gamaliel, made a pretense of defending
the apostles when Christ died on the cross and these apostles
were put in prison. Gamaliel, this man, this teacher
of Solitaisis, he made a show of defending these men. Let me
show you that. Turn, if you will, to Acts 5.
Acts chapter 5, Gamaliel was involved in this sort of thing.
Acts chapter 5. Now listen carefully to this.
Acts chapter 5 verse 29. Then Peter and the other apostles
answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men. They
told the disciples, now don't preach in this name anymore,
this name of Jesus, this one who died on the cross, just don't
preach in that name anymore. So they said, we've got to obey
God rather than men. Now verse 30. And the God of
our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a
tree. Him hath God exalted to his right
hand to be a prince and a savior. and to give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sin, and we're his witnesses of these things.
And so also is the Holy Ghost, whom God had given to them to
obey him. And when these Pharisees heard
that, when they heard that testimony from the apostles, listen, they
were cut to the heart, and they took counsel to slay him. And
then stood there up in the council, who? But Gamaliel, Saul's teacher. He stood up to defend these men. I don't understand this, but
nevertheless, listen. A doctor of the law, who had
in reputation among all the people, and he commanded them to put
the apostles forth a little space. He said, now give these men some
room. This man had power. Gamaliel. He said, leave these
men alone right now. Now listen. Listen to his speech. He said unto them, you men of
Israel, Take heed to yourselves what you intend to do is touching
these men. For before these days arose Thutis,
boasting himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about
four hundred, joined themselves. He was slain, and all as many
as obeyed him, they were scattered, brought to nothing. After this
man rose up, Judas, it's not Judas Iscariot, this is another
Judas, Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing, he drew away
much people after him. He also perished, and even as
many as obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, refrain
from these men, Peter, James, and John. Leave them alone. For
if this counsel or this work be of men, it'll come to naught."
He wasn't actually taking their part. He was just saying, leave
them alone. Just leave them alone. If this
is not of God, it'll come to nothing. It won't mean a thing.
But now listen to the next statement. But if it be of God, you cannot
overthrow it, lest haply you be found even to fight against
God. So Saul of Tarsus, about the time our Lord was walking
this earth, he was too. Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee,
a member of the Sanhedrin, educated, powerfully educated, fully aware
of what took place in Jerusalem, fully aware in the day of Christ.
He certainly did. He knew all of these things.
He was moving among the Sanhedrin, among the Pharisees, among these
great teachers, Gamaliel and the others. I can't think of
the other one's name. But this was his attitude. Now
watch this. It wasn't that Saul wasn't exposed
to the gospel of Christ. He was. He saw it. He heard what they had to say.
But now here's his attitude. Turn to Acts 26. I want you to
look at this comment from his own mouth. In Acts chapter 26,
verse 9 and 10. Here's his whole problem. In
Acts 26, verse 9 and 10. Here's what he said. I barely
thought. You got it? Acts 26, 9. I barely
thought with myself. So he had some thoughts, didn't
he? Yes sir, he was exposed to the disciples and Christ and
all of these workings of God. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Nicodemus
knew Saul of Tarsus. But this is what Saul said, I
felt with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to
the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I hate him. That's the problem.
I thought about this man, but I sought to do everything I could
contrary, just opposite of what he does. Opposite of what he
had to say. Contrary. Listen to the next
verse. Which thing? I also did where? In Jerusalem. In Jerusalem. The very thing,
contrary to Jesus Christ, I did in Jerusalem. And many of the
saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from
the chief priest. And when they were put to death,
I gave my voice against them." You talk about hatred. You talk about violence of spirit
against Jesus Christ. This man was his greatest enemy. He was a Jew. He didn't need
a mediator. He didn't need anyone to reveal
God to him. He knew God. He was a Jew. He was a moral man. He didn't
need mercy. I fast. I tithe. I give alms. I'm blameless before
the Lord. I don't need any atonement. I
don't need any mercy. He was a righteous man, and I
thank God, like the Pharisees said, I'm not like other men. And that's what he believed.
He was righteous before the Lord. Well, when you face this, we're
going to turn to chapter 9 now. One of two things must be done
to a man like this. One of two things. must be done
by the Spirit of God in regard to a man like Solitascus. One
of two things. Number one, leave him in his
false religion. Leave him there. Leave him in
his self-righteousness. Leave him in his blindness. Just
leave him there. And not only leave him there,
but because he hates the truth and receives not the love of
the truth, send him some more strong delusions that he'll believe
a lie and be damned for it. God can do that, and God does
do that. And the second thing is to awaken
him, to break him, to humble him before
God. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in trespasses and sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, for by grace are ye saved through faith." That's not of
yourself, it's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should
boast. God is able. So let's see what
the Lord is pleased to do. Acts 9, verse 1, and Saul. yet breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord. That was his enemy, Christ. Breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against Christ. As much as you've done it to
the least of these, you've done it to me. Breathing out threatening.
He went to the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus,
to the synagogue, that if he found any of this way, What way
is that? That's the way of faith, the
way of grace, the way of Christ, the way of salvation by grace.
Whether they were men or women, doesn't matter, bring them bound
to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came
near Damascus, and suddenly, and suddenly, there shined round
about him a light from heaven. What time of day was it? It doesn't
tell us here, does it? But if you turn to Acts chapter
26, it tells you what time of day it was. In Acts chapter 26,
verse 12. Acts 26, 12. He said in Acts
26, 12, got it? Whereupon as I went to Damascus
with authority and commission from the chief priest at midday,
noon, high noon. in that hot country, it's high
noon, the sun beaming down in all of its glory. And midday,
O King, I saw in the heavens, I saw a light from heaven. What was it like? Above the brightness
of the sun. It put the sun in shame. Above
the brightness of the sun at noonday, shining round about
me. and them that journeyed with
me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice
speaking to me in the Hebrew tongue, the Hebrew tongue. And we know who spoke, we know
what language he spoke, we know to whom he spoke, and he called
him by name, his Hebrew name, Saul. My persecutor stopped me. You see, light's the first thing.
In this thing of leaving men alone in their blindness, that's
darkness, no light. But the first thing in the old
creation and in the new creation is light. God supplies the light,
a light brighter than the sun. That's right. A light is the
first thing in the new creation as it is in the old creation.
And let me tell you about this light. I want you to turn to
Matthew 17. I want you to turn to Matthew
17. Let me tell you about this light. The light brighter than
the sun. In Matthew 17, where, where,
what's its, what's its origin? Where did it come from? Matthew
17. Came from the heavens, I know
that. Matthew 17, verse 1 and 2. After
six days, got it? Matthew 17, verse 1. After six
days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth
them up into a high mountain apart, and he was transfigured
before them. And his face did shine as the
sun. brighter than the sun. His raiment
was white as light. His face did shine as the sun. And God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
us the knowledge, the revelation in the face of Jesus Christ. His face did shine as the sun. That's salvation. That's redemption. Well, let's go on. Acts 9, verse
4. And Saul, verse 4, he fell to
the earth. He fell to the earth, not being
able to bear the light. I understand, don't you? Not
being able to bear the light, much less the divine glory and
majesty of Jesus Christ. Think about it. And he heard
a voice. This was a real voice. This was
a real voice. This was the Savior's voice.
He appeared to Saul, did you know that? The Lord Jesus Christ,
right then, appeared to Saul of Tarsus. He was seen by the
Lord Jesus Christ, right then. And he called him, Saul, Saul,
in the Hebrew tongue, the voice from heaven, the voice of Christ. Let me show you how the scripture
tells us that Christ appeared to Saul. Turn to Acts 26 first. Acts 26. He literally absolutely
in that occasion appeared to Saul. Let me show you this. In
Acts 26 verse 16. Acts 26 verse 16. Listen. In verse 15, Paul is recounting
this experience later, in Acts 26, 15. And I said, Who art thou,
Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom
thou have persecuted. But rise, listen, stand on your
feet, for I have what? Appeared unto thee. I appeared
to thee. For this purpose, to make you
a minister. and a witness, both of those
things which you've seen and of those things in which I'll
appear unto you later." Let me show you this in 1 Corinthians
15. Same thing, same thing about
this Christ appearing to Paul. See, a disciple not only had
to be called of God, and made apostle of Christ, but he's got
to learn the gospel from Christ, and he's got to see the Lord.
And Paul saw the Lord in one born out of due time. Listen,
in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 8, listen. Verse 7, chapter 15,
verse 7, 1 Corinthians says, After that he was seen of James,
then of all the apostles, and last of all. Last of all, the
rascal, that's what he was. Last of all, he was seen of me. Also was one born, an abortive
birth, out of due time. I was born out of due time. Listen to this voice. Chapter
9, verse 5-4, listen. And he fell to earth, and he
heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul! Christ called his name twice. You want to know, why are you
doing this to me? Saul, Saul! When our Lord was
rebuking Martha, he said, Martha, Martha, what's wrong with you? You ever do that? Talking to one of your children,
Adam, Adam, what's wrong with you? Saul, why persecutest thou me? I've been your surety from all
eternity. I was your Savior who chose you
and loved you and gave myself for you, shed my blood for your
sin. I'm right now at the Father's
right hand, interceding for you that great grace might be bestowed
upon you. Saul, come on! Oh, this is going on. What's
this man thinking? Well, this is what he's thinking.
Who are you? Who are you? He didn't know.
Somebody might think right here at this time, well, he's thinking
about the Lord Jesus. No, not on your bottom dollar. He had despised Jesus Christ
ever since he heard about him. He wasn't, he wasn't, somebody
said he was, when they stoned Stephens, he was all upset over
Christ. Why, he went down and stoned some more. He wasn't upset. Who are you? Is this God speaking? Is this an angel speaking? Who
is this? That's what he said. Saul didn't
know who was speaking to him. He didn't know Christ. He didn't
love Christ. He never expected the voice of
Jesus Christ to ever be spoken again or heard again. They put
him in a tomb. They buried him. He didn't expect
to hear from him. Saul was in a state of total
ignorance and total, total ignorance concerning Christ. And so the
Lord Jesus walked in, revealed himself to him. Listen, and the
Lord said, I am Jesus. And when he said this in Acts
22.8, he added this. See, I'm not adding to the word
of God because Paul gave this account himself. He said, actually,
he said, I am Jesus of Nazareth. That's what he said. I'm Jesus
of Nazareth. He didn't sit and say, I'm God.
He didn't say I'm an angel. He identified who Christ is.
God in human flesh. Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, son
of Mary. Jesus, Redeemer of the sheep. Jesus Christ who came to this
earth, despised and hated and offended of all people. Died
on the cross, buried and rose again. Rose to sit at the right
hand of God. That's who I am. I'm Jesus of
Nazareth. That's who I am. Paul said that in Romans 4. I
can't quote my scripture like I used to, but he says this.
He said, Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ, who was made of
the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be
the Son of God by power. And one old Puritan said, Till
God in human flesh I see. My thoughts know comfort fine.
The holy, just, and sacred three are terrors to my mind. But if
I see Christ, born of a woman, made of a woman, and declared
to be the Son of God, if I see Christ in the flesh, in God,
redeeming me, I got some of them. And that's the way our Lord revealed
himself to Saul of Tarsus. I'm Jesus of Nazareth, whom you
persecute. And what's this next line? It's
hard for you to kick against the pricks. What is that talking
about? Well, this is a proverbial speech
taken from oxen or slaves. Years ago when they used to use
goads, that is sharp pointed spurs or sticks to drive oxen. They put these goads around these
oxen and they just goad them and once in a while make them
work harder, push harder, those pricks, and they used to do that
to slaves, according to what I read. And when this ox or this
person resisted, resisted, It just hurt him more. It didn't
hurt the folks that were doing it, it was hurting him. And that's
what Saul is saying. Saul! It's hard for you to kick
against the pigs. God, you're just hurting yourself.
That's all you're doing. You're just hurting yourself.
You're just doing these things to yourself. I can't think of the scripture
that talks about to tell you Folks don't understand salvation because
they just become enemies to themselves. They become enemies to themselves. And that's what we are when we
don't know Christ. We are our own worst enemy. And Saul, look
at the next thing in verse 6, and he trembling. and astonished. Trembling and astonished. He
met this person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Met the Savior. Met the Savior. A light brighter
than the sun. A voice from heaven. And the
very appearance of Christ, but especially these words made him
tremble and astonished. Who art thou? I'm Jesus of Nazareth. Let me show you five things here.
And this has to happen. This has to happen if God's going
to save a man. God's going to really convert
a man or a woman. It's got to happen. It's what
happened to this man. Number one, Saul began this day riding
in splendor. He finished this day in the dust. In the dust, biting the dust.
And that's where you'll get to. Number two, Saul began the day
calling Jesus Christ of Nazareth an imposter. He finished the
day. Lord, what would you have me
to call him Lord? It's finished. It's done. He knows. He knows now. So began
this day. He thought seeing all things
and knowing all things. He was a smart aleck of the last
badge. He finished the day seeing nothing. and knowing nothing, and that's
where we come. I don't see anything, I don't
know anything, nothing. Saul began this day as a leader
of men. Boy, he had it right out front
there, everybody found it, leader of men. He finished this day
being led by men, by the hand, blind as a bat. couldn't find
his way. I couldn't find my way. Lead
me in the path of righteousness. I can't find my way. Show me
thy way. I'll never find it if you don't. And he began this day breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against Christ and his people.
And Ronnie just read it, and he paused when he read it. He
closed this day. Behold, he prayeth. He's prayin' now. He's prayin'. Well, verse 6 said
this, Well, Lord, he trembling, astonished, said, Lord, what
would you have me do? He's willing to do anything.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. He wouldn't
do anything to atone for his great evil against Christ. But here he is still laboring
under the covenant of works. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? Well,
the Lord tells an awakened sinner, a guilty sinner, a helpless sinner,
the only thing he can do. He said, you arise and go to
the city and it will be told you what to do. In other words, the Lord will
send a preacher with some gospel to tell you what to do. Let's read about that over in
Acts chapter 22, Acts 22, verse 12, 16. And this man Ananias came to
Saul of Tarsus in verse 12 of Acts 22. And one
Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report
of all the Jews which dwelt there, he came to me and he stood and
he said, Brother Saul, receive your sight. Who gives sight?
The God does. Saul couldn't do anything about
that, nothing for him to do there. Same hour I looked upon him,
and he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee. Well, there's
nothing for Saul to do there. God chose him. That you should
know his will. Not that you should do, but that
you may know. What is his will? His will of
redemption. His will of salvation. And that
you might see. See who? The just one. the one who's just and justified. And you should hear the words
of his mouth. Hear it! Either hear it, my word,
and believe in him that sent me, have everlasting life. Not
doing anything. Just hear it. But I'll tell you what you will
do because of what he's done for you. Verse 15, you'll be
his witness. unto all men of what you've seen,
what you've heard. They're going to hear from you. They're going to hear from you.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed
from the hand of the enemy. They'll hear from you. But God
will do it. Let me show you one more verse
and I'll close. And Ananias in verse 17, Acts
9 verse 17, skip down to verse 17, I'm just telling you what
Paul's already said about that other Acts 22. Verse 17, Ananias
went his way, entered into the house, put his hands on him and
said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus that appeared to thee in
the way as thou camest, he sent me that you might receive his
sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And suddenly, immediately,
They fell from his eyes as it had been scales. This man was
totally blind, and they fell from his eyes as they had been
scales. That's what God does when he
saves a sinner. He gives him sight, understanding,
and his old scales fall. What are these scales? Self and
pride? Ignorance of himself and Christ?
and the gospel, unrighteousness before God, superstition and
tradition, malice and bigotry, it just fell from his eyes. I
experienced this in 1950. I was 24 years old. I was religious
like Saul of Tarsus. following a religion of works,
all these things, didn't know Christ. But a preacher, God sent
a preacher, and I heard this message. And when I heard this
message, it just fell from my eyes as scales. All this works
for salvation, etc., etc., just fell from my eyes as scales. Sounds along.