We continue on our look at the life of the Apostle Paul. Let me read to you from Acts chapter nine, beginning at verse three and going on through verse 18. Now, as he went on his way, he being Saul, he approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you'll be told what you are to do. The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus, and for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he said, here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight. And at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Ananias departed and entered the house and laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized. So we know, we know that Even people that are outside of Christianity sometimes experience unusual changes in their lives. But Christian conversion is unique in the way that the Bible describes it. It's not just a change of mind based on this traumatic event, although it certainly may include these natural environmental and emotional dynamics. But when all is said and done, true Christian conversion is supernatural. The Bible over and over testifies this experience as passing from eternal life, eternal death to eternal life. to eternal life. It is moving from darkness to light. We see that in 1 Thessalonians 5, 5. And Jesus explained it as being born again, not in a human sense, but as being regenerated by the Holy Spirit. That's seen in John 3, 3-9. So we have three detailed accounts about this. The Lord definitely wanted us to know the specific details regarding Paul's salvation experience. And so he inspired Luke to give us three detailed accounts in the book of Acts. The first account is the author's report. The second is Paul's testimony, first person before the Jews in Jerusalem. And this happened years later. And then that third account is another first person testimony as Paul is speaking to governor Felix and King Agrippa. And so they emphasize some basic elements. First, Paul saw a brilliant light. He's so floored by it, he literally falls to the ground. The risen and ascended Christ spoke directly to Paul and said, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And then Paul responds to that revelation with the words, who are you, Lord? Jesus responds to Paul's question by saying, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And then Paul responded with this question, well, what shall I do, Lord? And then Jesus told Paul to arise, go into Damascus where he would receive further instructions. And so we have here Paul's born again experience. And when was Paul actually converted? Well, it happened at the moment when this one that had been persecuting Christians acknowledged that Jesus Christ was his Lord. And that took place between the time he fell on the ground heard Jesus' voice and then cried out, who are you Lord? He's not simply using that word Lord as this nice greeting, rather he is literally responding to Jesus just as the blind man responded after he was healed and thrown out of the synagogue because he had confronted the group called the Pharisees. So Jesus found him and asked, do you believe in the son of man? And right at that moment, he had never seen this person, this healer face-to-face, but he certainly knew his voice and he knew in his heart that Jesus was from God. See that in John 9, 33. So afterwards he asked, well, who is he, sir or Lord? And he simply needed assurance that this was the man who had healed him and that he was the one who claimed to be the son of God. So Jesus reassures him that he is the savior. And at that moment, the man who could now see physically had his eyes open spiritually. And he said, Lord, I believe, and then he worshiped him. And so in the same way that happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. He falls to the ground, he saw a bright light from heaven, and he hears the voice of Jesus Christ. He says, who are you, Lord? Instinctively, he knew at that moment who Jesus Christ was, but he wanted a confirmation. And he received that confirmation when the Lord spoke again and said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And at that moment, Paul was born again. He knew and believed in his heart that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God. He suddenly realized he had been resisting and fighting against the true Lord. Through faith, that resistance suddenly disappeared and he now understood that the conflict within his soul was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And he experienced this true repentance and he moved instantly from death to life. And so though Paul's conversion experience was very similar to the blind man's that's described in John nine, his physical condition was reversed. Jesus first opened the eyes of the blind man and later opened his eyes spiritually. In Paul's case, Jesus first blinded his eyes physically and then opened the eyes of his heart. And so after his dramatic conversion, the Lord told him to go into Damascus and there he would discover the next step that he should take as a Christian. And Paul obeys and he arose from the ground. He and his traveling companions, they led him into the city and he was there for three days and he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. See, God had already been preparing a man in Damascus to be the person that would help Paul. His name was Ananias. The Lord appeared to him in a vision, instructed him to go to the house of Judas on straight street and asked for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. So the Lord told Ananias that he had already revealed to Paul that Ananias would come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. So understandably, Ananias was anxious about that message. He had heard about Paul's murderous activities and that he had come to Damascus to arrest Christians and take them back to Jerusalem. So the Lord immediately puts him at ease and told him that Paul was this chosen instrument to preach the gospel among the Gentiles. So Ananias obeys. And when he arrives, he places his hand on Paul and immediately something like scales falls from his eyes and he could see again. And so we see a conversion. We see then a change that comes over Saul. It's exciting to see that and look forward to how God is gonna use that story in your life.