If you will take your Bibles please as we continue in the book of Acts. This morning we're in Acts chapter 9 again. Last week we looked at Paul's conversion as it's recorded in Scripture. And let me just re-emphasize one thing here before we get started. And I'm more inclined to hold to the possibility of this theory that Luke wrote his gospel and this account of the early church in order to provide background material that was needed for Paul's defense before Caesar. It's written about that time. And one of the reasons why I hold to that is because there are three full accounts of Paul's conversion in the book of Acts, which is highly unusual. We have this one in the ninth chapter, which is Luke's description of it. And then in Acts chapter 22, Paul rehearses his conversion to the Jews who are angry with him, thinking that he has somehow desecrated the temple. And then the third account is before Felix and Agrippa in Acts chapter 26 as Paul is appealing to them to appear before Caesar to give his defense. So now we're moving past that and we're coming into Paul's early ministry which is in Damascus and Jerusalem. I'm taking Damascus this morning. We'll cover Jerusalem a week from next Sunday. Let's look at the Scripture here. beginning with 19B, for some days, Luke says, for some days. We know from Paul's own account there in Galatians chapter 1 that it was three years. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. Damascus, the capital city of Syria. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue saying, He is the Son of God. Notice, immediately. There was no period in which the apostle here is waiting to serve the Lord, he begins immediately to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues saying he is the Son of God. But Saul increased all the more in strength, that is spiritual strength. He is growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord in this period of time. and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. Three years, see, have elapsed. So the Jews were now plotting to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. But his disciples took him by night, and led him down through an opening in the wall, and lured him in a basket. And from there he fled to Jerusalem." We'll stop there by way of introduction. Here this morning, Saul, the persecutor of Christians, and that's why he's going up to Damascus, Syria there, was in order to oppose the message of Jesus. fervent, ardent persecutor of the church. He raised havoc with the churches according to the Scriptures. On the road there to Damascus, he met Jesus. This blinding light flashed down upon them. Jesus heard a voice saying to him out of the brightness, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And Saul said, Who are you, Jesus? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. At this point is when Jesus lifts the spiritual blindness from his eyes. In 2 Corinthians 3, verses 14 and 46, it says, But their minds, their Jewish minds, were hardened for to this day When they read the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted because only through Christ is it taken away. This is what Pollux is experiencing here. Concerning himself, the Apostle writes in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, For God who said, Let the light shine out of the darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So Saul then continued on to Damascus and fulfilled his original intention, which was to visit the synagogues. But not with his original purpose to persecute, rather he declared to them that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Saul's abrupt reversal amazed and bewildered all who heard about him. According to verse number 21, and all who heard Him were amazed." The word actually there has the idea of praise being lifted to God. These are disciples who feared the apostles coming, and now when they hear Him proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, they are raising an acclamation of praise and adoration of God for this. They are amazed and saying, is this not the man who made havoc in Jerusalem? of those who called upon his name? And has he not come here for that purpose, to bring them bound before the high priest?" Yet, the Lord changed all that. This abrupt reversal. Saul no longer belonged to himself. In fact, he says, Who are you, Lord? And from that point on, his life is characterized by full obedience. He testifies to Agrippa in this 22nd chapter, verses 19 and 20. He said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. He is now a new creation. He says in 2 Corinthians 5.17, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. He gives us his testimony in several places throughout Scripture. In Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Can you say that? Can you honestly confess that in your own life? in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 10 and 11, right after he spoke about how the light shined in his heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. For we are always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be made manifest in our bodies. for we who are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our mortal flesh. Then he says in Philippians 1, verses 20 and 21, It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed but that with full courage, now, as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death, for me to live as Christ and to die as gain." In Philippians 3, verses 8-11, he said, I count everything after he has rehearsed his own experience in Judaism. He said, I count everything as loss. Because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things. What have you lost? What have you counted lost? What have you suffered for His glory? What have you suffered for His honor? Paul says, I've suffered the loss of everything in order that I may gain Christ. Is that what you desire more than anything in all the world? To desire to gain Christ and be found in Him? See, the knowledge of Christ. I want to know more about Christ. I want to learn more about who He is. I want to find out everything I can about Jesus Christ. He is the single goal of my life. That's what Paul says. Is that what you say? Can you say that? to be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. The righteousness from God that depends on faith that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share in His sufferings. Becoming like Him in His death that by any means possible I may attain. unto the resurrection of the dead. And I think he means there that I can share in and be part of that which pertains to all that God has with respect to the resurrection of the dead. That is in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. That brings us to this. Is Saul's experience of salvation extraordinary? We tend to think that. We tend to put him on a pedestal up here and we say, Paul experienced Christ in a way that others just do not experience Him. And he is different. Somehow he's special. And we're doing our best, but we'll never be like Paul. Paul was just extraordinary. Is his experience extraordinary? Or is it normal? And I would say it's normal. And the Apostle said, follow me even as I also follow Christ. He expected in the salvation of others exactly what he experienced himself in his own salvation. He said this is it. This is the norm. This is how it's supposed to be. And if you belong to Christ, this is how it will be. And if it is normal, Then what about today's substandard Christianity? Evangelicalism today is so wishy-washy, mushy and fluffy that it is worthless and it is having absolutely no impact in the world. None. That brings us then to the first point here and we're going to look at Saul's life as Luke details it immediately following his conversion. First, we're going to look at it with respect to the beginning of his ministry there in Damascus, the three years that he was in Damascus. His proclamation to Christ and his persecution for Christ. So these two points. And so we come to the first point, and that is his proclamation of Christ, and the content of Paul's proclamation. And Luke summarizes it here for us. This is a summary of the message. And that is simply this. He is the Son of God. As I say, Luke is merely summarizing the message that Paul preached. But that summary raises some interesting questions. And here are the questions. First of all, how does Paul arrive at this conclusion. Now remember, he's just gotten saved on the Damascus road. He comes into Damascus, he goes to the synagogues, and immediately, Luke tells us, begins to proclaim Jesus to them that he is the Son of God. And the question here is, how does he arrive at this conclusion since the Old Testament and Paul was an expert He was a scholar in Old Testament Scriptures. He knew them backwards and forwards. Now he is preaching something that the Old Testament did not even declare that the Messiah would be the Son of God. Nowhere in the Old Testament Scriptures is it clearly established that the Messiah would be the Son of God. How does Paul arrive at this conclusion? I believe it's implied, and I believe that Paul's understanding of scripture is such that it became clear to him, even from the implications. How is it implied? First of all, in the Davidic covenant, in 2 Samuel 7, we read, When your days are fulfilled, and you lie down with your fathers, the Lord is speaking here to David, God says, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom. Notice, your offspring after you. David had a number of offspring. But God singles out one. And He says, I'm going to establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of this kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men." Now, did Jesus commit iniquity? Absolutely not. But what is he talking about? He's talking about Solomon here. He's not talking about Jesus. He's talking about Solomon. But Solomon is the prophetic picture of his greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom I think ultimately this refers to. Solomon. When he commits iniquity, and he did, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you, and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me, for your throne shall be established forever." Now, as we were discussing that from Stephen's message, The interesting thing here is that God says to David that He is going to establish his house forever. But when He speaks to Solomon, He says to Solomon, I am going to establish your house if you will obey My words and keep My commandments. Solomon didn't. And God cut him off. And God cut off the house of David in a real essential sense because of the sins of David's descendants. But to David, God makes this promise. I'm going to establish your son a kingdom and a house forever. The only way that that can be fulfilled is through Jesus Christ. That's the only way it can be fulfilled forever. That brings me to this. Here it's very clearly implied, particularly in that 14th verse where he says, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son, and in the eternal nature of the house that he is going to build. And then secondly here, in the promised Emmanuel, according to Isaiah 9. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish in the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has the light shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil, for the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken, as on the day of Midian, every boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for the fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon him, his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. And then there is a third place here where it is clearly implied, and that is the servant of Yahweh, Isaiah 59, verse 15. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede. Then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head, He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak according to their deeds, so will he repay and wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies, to the coastlands he will render repayment. So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the east, and his glory from the rising of the sun, for he shall come like a rushing stream which the wind of the Lord drives, the breath of the Lord, the spirit of the Lord drives. And a Redeemer will come to Zion to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the Lord. He is the servant of the Lord. Well, let me just read verse 21. As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord my Spirit. that is upon you. My words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring, says the Lord from this time forth forevermore." And I'll let you read his other references. These clearly imply that Yahweh is going to send a son. Now the possibilities, and we have to understand Paul needs discipleship just like anybody else. He may be smart, he may be one of the most highly schooled Pharisees of his day, but he still needs to be discipled in the things of Christ. Because all of his learning in his previous days didn't count for him for anything because he didn't recognize Jesus. He didn't recognize Him at all. Now he knows Christ. And now he has to have some kind of discipleship. And the possibilities of Paul's discipleship in the shaping of his understanding for Jesus are as follows. First, his own understanding of Jesus' claims must not be discounted since Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. In Matthew 26, and I selected There are some references here which I think are pertinent to the facts. In Matthew 26, verses 63-65, "...but Jesus remained silent, and the high priest said to him, I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Messiah..." And notice, "...the Son of God." So the high priest here has clearly put the two together. Do you claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God? Jesus said to him, you have said so, but I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy." They were saying that Jesus claiming to be the Son of God was a blasphemy. Go back to John 10. In verses 30-38. That was at his trial that we just read. And here in John 10. I and the Father are one. The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him, It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy. Why? Because you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods? If he called them gods to whom the Word of God came, the Scripture cannot be broken. Do you say of him whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, you are blaspheming because I said I am the Son of God?" He claimed to be the Son of God. Then over in John 19, verse 7, and again, at this time of his crucifixion. The Jews answered him. We have a law, and according to that law, he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God. They understood this to be a matter of deity. 2. In the Gospels, there is a clear connection between Messiah, Christ, and the Son of God. We noticed one of those already, but let's notice some others here in John 1.45-50. This is when Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael to be disciples. He found Philip and said to him, follow me, and now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him, Can any good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said, Behold an Israelite, indeed, in whom there is no deceit." Nathanael said to him, Now how do you know me? Jesus answered, Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. Jesus answered him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Son of God, Son of Man. These two in juxtaposition here. And then notice in John 11.27, Jesus asks Martha, she said, do you believe this? He said that he was the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" And she said to him, Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. So she understands that. You go back over to chapter 20, verse 31. John is writing here. He understands that. Of course, we understand he's writing after the resurrection. But notice what he says here in verse 31 of chapter 20. But these are written, the things in his book here, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life through His name. And then finally, Matthew 27, verse 54, which says here, And when the centurion and those who were with him keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, truly, this was the Son of God. There is a clear connection here between the Messiah and the Son of God that we find in the Gospels. So then Paul probably learned something from Ananias and the other disciples living in Damascus. He was with them for many days. They have the assurance of Christ Himself that Paul means them no harm. But it's interesting now, and I come to this, Paul claims that he didn't get his gospel from human sources. Galatians 1 is Paul's own record of his early ministry. I believe Galatians was one of the first books that he wrote. In verse 11 of chapter 1, he says, For I would have you to know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Does that mean then that he didn't get anything from Ananias and the other disciples? Well, I don't think that's what he means at all. What is he saying here? Remember, he's contrasting his own experience with that of the false teachers that he is combating here with the Galatians. And if you know anything about any false doctrine, there's usually one person there that's at the center of it that claims a special understanding that nobody else has. Jehovah's Witnesses, for example. I remember back years ago reading their founder, who said, basically, you can read the Bible as much as you want to. You can read it, memorize it, you can study it all you want to, but until you read my writings in conjunction with it, you'll never come to the truth. What arrogance! that a man thinks that God has singled him out of all the other people in the world and given him some special understanding that unless you follow His understanding of the Scriptures, you will never come to the truth. I think this is what the Apostle is saying here. I think he's saying, you guys claim a special edge to the truth. I'm trying to tell you that the Gospel that I got, I got from Jesus Christ Himself. And that my Gospel is just as available to you if you'll search the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. And they are they which testify of me. That's what Jesus said. So you want to know about Christ? Go to the Word of God. I think that's what the Apostle Paul is talking about when he claims he got his Gospel from Christ. Christ opened his eyes. According to his own testimony there in 2 Corinthians 3, that the Jews can read the Old Testament until doomsday, but they can't understand it because God Himself has put a veil over their eyes and they cannot see it. But when Christ takes the veil away, the truth becomes evident. Christ took the veil from Paul's eyes. He could see the truth as it was clearly taught in the Word of God. And he knew the Bible. He knew the Old Testament. He knew it well. And if other disciples in the Gospels have an understanding that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, why can't Paul have that same understanding? And it doesn't need to come from some special revelation. You see, there are some scholars who argue that the Apostle got it from some special schooling that he got from Jesus in the Arabian desert. Because he says, concerning his own testimony, that he went into Arabia. From Damascus, he went into Arabia. Well, where is Arabia? Syria borders Arabia. Damascus is on the eastern border of Syria. You go out of the city limits of the city of Damascus, you're in Arabia. It's just that simple. Look at a map. Where did he go when he was in Arabia? I don't know. He spent some time in Arabia. I don't know why he went there. The Scriptures don't tell us. Paul doesn't tell us. But I don't think he went over there to get some special schooling from Jesus. Go to Jesus Seminary over in Arabia and get schooling nobody else ever gets. He doesn't need to. The Scriptures are sufficient. The Scriptures themselves are enough. But I can tell you one thing. The Bible holds its secrets. It will not reveal its truth all the time. Search the Scriptures, Jesus said. You know, the more I'm in this book, the more I receive, the more I understand, the more it comes to me. It's just incredible how the Lord teaches you from His Word. I can't wait to get back into it so I can learn some more. And it's an unfathomable depth I don't think eternity will be sufficient for us to gain everything that we need to know about our blessed Savior. When Paul claims that he didn't get his gospel from human sources, he's really saying that Jesus said to the disciples, when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall take of mine and show it unto you. Paul had the opportunity of having the Holy Spirit of God teach him the Scriptures just like you have the opportunity to have the Spirit of God teach you the Scriptures. And I think that's what he means by that. Then number five, Paul's development of his gospel message was far more involved than the four or five points and proof texts in a gospel tract. that is so prevalent today. People think, I don't need to know much. I hear preachers say, I don't need to know more of the Bible, I just need to practice what I know. Yes, that's true, you need to practice what you know, but I'll tell you what, you need to know more. I'm afraid that too many Christians today are scripturally ignorant. They need to get in the Word of God. But some folks are dissatisfied with a few little perfunctory points and a few scriptural proof texts to back it up. And that's all they want. That's all they claim to need. I really wonder how some people like that could even be saved. But this brings us to number two. Luke shows how Paul's grasp of the Gospel was such that he confounded his opponents. Now remember, he's dealing with Jews who, like himself, probably have a great knowledge of the Scriptures. Probably not to the extent that he had, but certainly they had a great grasp and knowledge of the Scriptures. And the Scripture says he confounded them. That Greek word is an interesting word. It means to trouble the mind. It means to get people worked up and agitated. We're hearing Paul preaching and explaining and defending the Scriptures to them to prove that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that he was indeed the Messiah that God had promised and had sent to them. And he was doing this by proving, and this is interesting, that word proving there means to join facts together to a conclusion. to take facts and join them together to a conclusion. It's interesting, I was studying this and I was checking my email there and there was an article that came by Kevin Vowder who used to be the president of the seminary there that I went to. He wasn't there when I was there, but he writes these articles and they are excellent. I really enjoy his articles, but this one was on facts and truth. and how people claim that they have arrived at truth because they have accumulated facts. The question is, you can have all the facts in the world, but if you're not careful, the facts won't necessarily lead you to truth. He gave an interesting illustration. He talked about a principal in a town that had a rival team across town and that they had had a tournament, and so the principal reported to his school how their basketball team had done in the tournament. He said, we came in second. But our rival across town came in second from last. He neglected to tell them that there were only two teams in the tournament and that the rival team had blown them off the court. He gave them the facts. Yes, the rival team did come in second from last. And yes, they did come in second. He presented those facts in such a way to distort the truth and lead to a different conclusion. Paul didn't. Paul took the Word of God and put these facts together to such a way as to conclude that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Number 22. So over a period of three years, according to Galatians 1, verse 18, it was three years. In fact, this is where he tells about it. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem. Let me go back to verse 17. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. So he went to Damascus. For some reason, he went to Arabia. We don't know when he went to Arabia. We don't know how long he was in Arabia. He went back to Damascus. And after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit with Peter. Visit Cephas. And remained with him fifteen days. So over this period of three years, Paul's understanding of the gospel grew. This is what I think Luke means when he said he was strengthened. He was strengthened. He was growing spiritually, growing in grace and knowledge, growing in his understanding of the Scriptures, growing in his understanding of who Jesus Christ was to the point that he was becoming a real powerhouse for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The expectation of Messiah was very high among the Jews, but the Jewish understanding of it was flawed due to their misreading of the Old Testament. What? This veil of darkness that God had placed over their eyes, according to 2 Corinthians 3, verse 14. They believed that the Messiah would be the Son of David, but not divine. They also expected that he would be a warrior who would overthrow the enemy, reestablish David's kingdom, reign on David's throne in Jerusalem. When they crucified him, they knew that this Jesus could not be the Son of God, because they could not conceive of the Son of God dying on a cross. That brings me to this, and very briefly here, the timeline of Paul's early ministry, Galatians 1. I'm not going to read the whole passage. I'll let you look at that for yourself if you want to. Paul remained in Damascus for three years. During this time, he spent some time in Arabia, as we said. Paul went to Jerusalem after he was forced to flee Damascus for his life, according to verse 18. Luke tells us that the Jews were seeking to kill him. That's going to bring us to the second point, Paul's persecution for Christ. Remember, the persecutor now has become the persecuted. Jesus explained to Ananias, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. He said, well, I'm glad I don't have to suffer. No, no. If you are living godly in Christ Jesus, you will suffer. you will, if you're not suffering. We're in an unusual position here in this country. And it has cost us dearly. Jesus announced, remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Paul persecuted Jesus. Now Paul is going to be persecuted. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. The nature of persecution arises from the religious nature of mankind. Why do men persecute others? Even the ungodly world sees that. And it comes from religion. The religious nature, and everybody is religious. Somebody says, I'm an atheist. That doesn't mean anything. Your religion is atheism. You're religious. Everybody is religious. When we were made in the image of God, God made us religious. And there is not a person born on the face of the earth who is not religious. And the religious nature and its stubborn claim to hold truth while fearing any contrary opinion is the basis of persecution. Why did the Jews persecute Paul? Because they were agitated to the point of frustration. We don't know how to overcome this man's arguments. When you deal with anybody, you talk to anybody, and when your arguments reach the point where they're frustrated with their ability to answer your arguments, they will turn angry at you. They're not going to humble themselves and say, you know, you're probably right, and I'm going to convert to Christ. This idea of free will salvation is a hoax. People are not convinced to be saved. They are saved when the Spirit of God works in their heart, and not until. But when they see the truth right up face-to-face, full-blown in all of its technicolor, they will angrily resist it, and they will try to destroy the messenger. This is just the nature of it. Paul's zeal in persecuting the church stemmed from his observation of its power and invincible spread. This is why Paul became an ardent persecutor. When he saw that you couldn't just stop the gospel, that every effort to stop the gospel only expanded it, that the people that were persecuted held no animosity towards you, They were loving and kind. That frustrated him. And the more he tried to stop it, the more it grew and spread. So that Jesus said to him, according to his testimony in Acts 26, verse 14, it is hard for you to kick against the goats. And we spoke about that last week. It's a reference to the stick that the plowman used when he was plowing with oxen. Oxen don't like to plow. And so they're going to kick back and try to destroy the object that they don't want to be pulling. Or the person who's behind the plow that they don't want to be pulling. So they'll kick back. That can be destructive. So the plowman has a long stick with a sharp point on it. So when the ox kicks back, he puts that point right into the ox's hoof as he's coming back with it. And it hurts! Pretty soon the ox learns not to kick back. Paul was kicking back. And the goats were hurting. It's hard for you, he says, to kick against the goats. Paul could not stop what he believed was wrong. And the more it spread, the worse he got. Paul would now face the kind of persecution that he gave. He said, I'm going to show him what he must suffer here for my sake. The Jews became confounded when they could not overcome Paul's arguments. That threatened them both spiritually and politically. So now what are they going to do? They're going to kill Paul. They determined the only course to beat Paul was to kill him. So they watched the gates day and night, seeking to kill him. But Paul escaped by the providence of God. In 2 Timothy 3, verses 11 and 12, an interesting passage there that Paul recounts a little of his experience in persecution. In 2 Timothy 3, verses 11 and 12, let me just quickly share them with you. My persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, which persecutions I endured. Enduring here really has the idea of not only suffering them, but also seeing it through to the end, that is, surviving them. In fact, I would translate that, survive. Which persecutions I survived, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. How is your life different since you believed? When you came to Christ, how did it change? And how different is it today than when you first came to salvation? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? You need to think that very carefully, what Paul means there. Paul says, I'm not living my own life anymore. My own life is gone. I was crucified with Christ. Crucified means to be put to death. My life ended on that Damascus road when I met Jesus. It stopped! From that point on, Jesus is my life. All that he wants. All that he cares about. All that his goals are. All that pertains to the Lord Jesus Christ suddenly became my interest and my goals. Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Can you prove your claim on Christ from Scripture as Paul did? I think that's Paul's whole thing. When he goes into the synagogues, what is he doing? He's going to take the Word of God and he's going to prove that his experience on the road to Damascus is the truth. And he's proving it from Scripture. I've met a lot of people who claim to have accepted Jesus Christ into their heart and their life. But their interest in the Bible left off at that point. Because when I tried to talk to them and say, could we sit down with the Scriptures and deal with it? Well, I don't know much about the Bible. What do you mean? According to your own testimony, a Christian for 30 to 50 years, and you don't know the Bible after that amount of time? There's something wrong with your salvation. You need to prove your claim on Christ from the Scriptures. That's, I think, what Paul's doing. Jesus said to him, stop persecuting me. Paul says, I'm not going to trust an experience that I had on the Damascus road. I'm going to get in the Bible and find out if it's the truth. The Word of God is the truth. Jesus said, Thy Word is truth. Number four, how do those who know you testify to your claim to know Christ? If you were brought up on the charge of being a Christian and brought into a court of law, would your friends stand as witnesses to the truth of your claim? Number five, do you follow the Christian religion? I said, every one of us are religious by nature. And Christian religion is flourishing in the country today. It's evidenced by regular church attendance, by regular giving of one's income, by praying, by Bible reading, daily Bible reading, and Bible study. People go to Bible studies. They want to learn by spiritual interest. and a host of other things. That's Christian religion. And you can do every one of those things and be as lost as a goose in a snowstorm and find yourself waking up in hell. The real question is, does Christ live in you? Paul said, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Don't you know that Christ is in you unless you have believed in vain? And if Christ is in you, what happens? Your life is ended and He lives His through you. And if He's not living His life through you, you haven't been born again.