And if you'll turn to Acts chapter 26, this morning, Acts chapter 26, you can follow along your Bible while I read the text for the message this morning. Acts chapter 26, beginning in verse 13. Paul is talking to King Agrippa and the governor, giving his testimony. And it says in verse 13, At midday, O King, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? it is hard for you to kick against the goads. So I said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but declared first to those in Damascus, and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. Would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we come to You in prayer, thanking You once again for another portion of Your Word that shows us how we can be saved, how we can have eternal life. And I pray, Lord, that there's someone here today that needs to make that commitment to Christ, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will work in their hearts. And as others hear this message afterwards through television, through internet, I just pray, Lord, that You would save souls. And so fill me with your Holy Spirit, help me to communicate well the Gospel. And I pray and ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. One time a wealthy young man came to Jesus and asked Him, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Some years later, the Philippian jailer came to Paul and Silas and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Well, this morning, we're going to see the answer to that important question. You know, the older we get, the more we realize how short life really is. Your life on this earth is not that long. And I tell you, you're going to want to know there's more than just this. And there is. And it's through faith in Christ, and we'll talk about that. Now, this message of salvation that Paul proclaimed to the king was not something he dreamed up. In fact, according to the book of Galatians chapter 1, he said, the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Right here in Acts chapter 26, we have the account of when Christ first revealed His call upon Paul to proclaim the gospel, and He revealed to Paul what the gospel is. And it's right before us in the text that I've just read to you. So this morning, not only has God called Paul to proclaim the gospel, He has called me to proclaim the gospel. And I want to share with you this morning how you can have eternal life. Now most in this audience have already received Christ. You already have eternal life. You need to listen also that you may be better equipped to tell others how they too can have eternal life. And I want to share three basic steps toward becoming a Christian, receiving eternal life. And the first is this, you must be convicted of your sins. Now what does it mean to be convicted of our sins? It's when you become painfully aware of the fact that you have sinned against a holy God. and that there are consequences for sinning against God. And when you realize that you're a sinner, it is only then that you realize you need a Savior. And so, this is the first step toward anyone becoming a Christian. Now I believe the Apostle Paul came under conviction of sin. He was a self-righteous Pharisee. He didn't even see himself as a sinner. And so note how Paul was convicted of his sins as we see in this text of Scripture. First of all, it was by a bright light. In verse 13 he testifies saying, At midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun shining around me and those who journeyed with me. He saw a light from heaven and that light from heaven began to expose the sin in his own life. Now that light from heaven was the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But that light was not only to reveal His glory, to reveal that He is the Son of God, but that light also shined deeply into His heart and helped the Apostle Paul realize that he was indeed a sinner. Yes, you may think that you're righteous. You may think that you don't need a Savior. But when you're standing in the presence of a holy God, you know that you're a sinner. In Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, the apostle Paul wrote that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. in light of the glory of God where all fall so far short because we are indeed sinners. Now how do we apply this today? Because God is not likely to reveal His glory to us. Jesus is not likely to confront us with all of His radiant glory. Well, there's another light that the Bible talks about, and that is the light of the Word of God. If you will hear the Word of God, if you will read the Word of God, the Word of God will shine its light into your heart. It will show you right from wrong. It will help you to know that indeed, you are a sinner in need of a Savior. In fact, James likens the Word of God to a mirror. And when you look in the mirror, if there's something that's not right, if there's dirt there or what have you, your hair's out of place, that mirror is going to reveal it and show it to you. And the Word of God will show you your faults. It will show you your sins. I think most of the ladies in this room are familiar with a lighted makeup I mean, not only does the light shine on your face more brightly, but they're also magnifying mirrors. They show your imperfections and problems even better. and you ladies can just put on that makeup and cover it all up. You know, make yourself just look gorgeous and all the imperfections are gone, but you know, the light of the Word of God will show you your imperfections very clearly if you'll read it, if you'll hear the Word of God. But not only was Paul convicted of his sin by that bright light, but also by Jesus calling out his name. Notice in verse 14, it says, When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You know, Paul was not alone. If Jesus had not called him by name, he might have thought that he was speaking to somebody else. But when Jesus called him by name, not once but twice, it was very clear that He was speaking to Him. He was addressing Himself to Him. It was as if He was alone standing in the presence of Jesus Christ. When I was a child, I did wrong from time to time. as children do. And when my mother found out that I had done wrong, she would call me to account. and she would call me by name. And she would not just call me by name, she would call me by my full name. Stephen Frederick Felker, you get in here right now because she has some business to take care of. Well, that's the kind of picture I get here when Jesus called Saul not once but twice to get his attention. Yes, in the book of Revelation. Jesus also wrote some letters to specific churches, seven specific churches. Now if He had not said to the church of Laodicea, perhaps that church might would have thought, well, He's talking about somebody else, some other church. But to five of the seven churches, He had to deal with sin and problems in the church. And he wrote specifically to those churches about those problems. And if Jesus Christ were to write you a letter, if Jesus Christ were to write me a letter, He knows that there are some things in our lives that are not right, that perhaps we're not dealing with. It's just us and the Lord standing before Him. When we realize that that is the case, He knows all about us, that is when we come under conviction of sin. But we also see that He was brought to conviction of sin by a penetrating question that we find in the last of verse 14. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Why are you persecuting me? He confronted him with a particular sin that was a glaring sin in his life. According to Acts chapter 9 and verse 1, He was breathing out threatenings and murder against the disciples of the Lord as He was traveling this Damascus road. Oh, He thought He was so righteous, but His heart was full of hatred and murder. And not just hatred toward the disciples of Jesus, but to Jesus Himself. which is why He said, why are you persecuting Me? But you know, even though His sin was against the disciples, His sin was against Jesus. said in Psalm 51 verse 4, against you and you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. Well, he had just sinned against Bathsheba. He had just sinned against Bathsheba's husband, but he saw himself as having sinned first and foremost against God. And it's when we realize that we have sinned against a holy God, that is when we are brought under conviction. And so we see how Paul was convicted of his sin, but we also see from our text how we should respond to this conviction, and not the way Paul was responding. Jesus says in the last of verse 14, it is hard for you to kick against the goads. Now what's the picture that Jesus is painting here? It's an agricultural picture of plowmen behind oxen, an ox or two. And let's say the ox is pulling that plow and it gets tired and decides to quit plowing. And so the plowman takes a long spear and pokes the hind side of that oxen. Now normally that would get him moving right along pulling that plow. But sometimes the oxen would be stubborn and just kick against the goad. Well you know what happens when the ox does that? It may injure its foot. Or, probably more likely, the plowman just pokes him harder. It's just futile to kick against the goat. The plowman is going to win that battle. Well, I want you to know that the Holy Spirit had been pricking at the conscience of the Apostle Paul when he witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen and his confident faith that he was entering into heaven. He was pricked in his conscience as he tried to make believers blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ, and he had to admire their zeal in refusing to do so. And now on the Damascus Road, once again, he is being confronted by no less than Jesus Christ Himself, and he normally would have once again been kicking against that conviction, and Jesus is saying, Don't do it. It's a battle you can't win. In fact, one commentator that I read pointed out that this phrase, it's hard for you to kick against the goats, is found in Greek literature to convey the futility of fighting against the gods or against fate. And it certainly applies in this situation. Because God had a purpose for Paul, and he could kick if he wants to, but ultimately God's going to win that battle. And I tell you what, it is foolish to fight God. You can't win that battle. When the Holy Spirit is dealing with you, you might as well yield your heart to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Many of you are familiar with Aaron Burr. He was a hero of the American Revolution. He was almost elected as our third president. His granddaughter went to an evangelistic meeting and gave her heart to Jesus. And she went to her grandfather that evening, told her what she had done, and encouraged him to give his heart to Jesus. And he said, Granddaughter, when I was a young man, I also went to an evangelistic meeting. I heard of God's grace and mercy and felt that draw to give my heart to Jesus, but I walked out not doing so. And when I got outside, I looked up into the heavens and saw the stars and said to God, God, if you will leave me alone, I will leave you alone. And God has kept His side of that bargain, and I'm not going to bother God now. He never gave His heart to Jesus as far as we know, and though His life started out well, His life did not end well. He entered a duel with Alexander Hamilton and killed him in that duel. He was charged with murder. Later he was charged with treason. And though he was acquitted of both of those charges, he went into exile into Europe. Eventually he came home to practice law in New York, but he spent the rest of his life largely a recluse. Oh yes, you can fight against the conviction of God if you want to. But it's a foolish fight for you to enter into. Oh, it's better to give your heart to Jesus. But you know, we have a problem to overcome. Sinners have a problem to overcome. In verse 18, it says to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light. Jesus says the eyes of sinners are blind. They're in darkness. They don't see their sin as a big deal. They don't see themselves as a sinner before a holy God. Their eyes are blind. And that's why we need to proclaim the truth of God. that the truth and the Holy Spirit may break through and open their eyes and help them to see that they do need Jesus. They do need a Savior. We need to help them overcome their blindness and rescue them from the power of Satan. And so unsaved people need to come to conviction of sin. They need to recognize their need of a Savior. Only then will they turn to the Savior. But not only must you be convicted of your sins, you must also be converted from your sins. In verse 18, He says there, "...to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light." Yes, sinners need to turn from darkness to light. Salvation is a conversion which literally means to turn. When I was in high school I played in the marching band. And my senior year I became the master sergeant and during practice we would have drills and I had a company and I would give orders. For example, I would say, about face! And everyone would about face and turn the other direction. And that's what it is to become a Christian. It's a serious turning in your life. It's a complete turnaround in your life that is required. And so, what is involved in turning from your sin? Well, it means you must repent of your sins. That is mentioned in the last of verse 20. That they should repent, it says there. The word repent means to change your mind about doing wrong. And say, I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to stop that. God, with Your help, I'm going to repent from this day forward. There is no salvation apart from repentance. Jesus said in Luke 13, unless you repent, you will perish. Any gospel presentation that lacks repentance is not the true gospel. You may be familiar with a book by C.S. Lewis entitled The Great Divorce. It pictures a mountain representing the kingdom of heaven. And pictures people going toward that mountain. And people have to make a decision in order to enter into that kingdom. One person was approaching the mountain and yet he had a large lizard on his shoulder. And a large angel confronted him and said, you cannot enter the kingdom of God with that on your shoulder. That lizard represented the sin of lust. And hearing that, the man turned away. The angel said, don't you want to enter into heaven? To enter heaven, I must kill that lizard. He says, oh no, but if you do that, you'll kill me. The angel said, I will not kill you, just the lizard. But I must have your permission. He hesitated. as the lizard was growing larger and larger and the man was growing smaller and smaller. The urgency of the moment caused him to relent and to allow the angel to do his work. And sure enough, the angel grabbed that lizard with its fiery hand and slew it and threw it to the ground. The man cried out in pain and said, I thought you said it wouldn't hurt me. I did not say it would not hurt you. I said it would not kill you. Yes, it's difficult. Sometimes painful to turn from your sin, but it must be done if you're going to enter into the kingdom of heaven. An amazing thing happened. from the remains of that lizard sprung up a great white stallion. And the man began to grow once again. He was clothed with white raiment. He mounted that white stallion and proceeded to enter into the kingdom of God up that mountain. But it was only after he was willing to put to death that sin in His life. Yes, we must repent. Have you truly repented of your sins? Have you repented perhaps of the sin of lust, the sin of drunkenness, the sin of pride, the sin of lying, the sin of stealing, and I could name so many more. Yes, we must repent if we're going to have eternal life. But furthermore, you must turn from the life of sin. Again, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. You must turn from your sin. And it's described, this life of sin is described first of all as a life of darkness. Indeed, it's darkness in two different ways. One is that sin is likened unto darkness. John chapter 3 says that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. But there's also the darkness of spiritual ignorance. So many people do not know God's Word and God's will for their lives and they are in spiritual darkness. We must be willing to turn from darkness, the life of darkness. Yes, until you're saved, you're walking in darkness. Turn from the darkness. But also, it's living under the authority of Satan. He says, and we need to turn from the power of Satan to God. Do you realize, until you become a Christian, you are living under the authority and power of Satan? You know, He has authority and power over this world. This is why this world is so sinful and so evil. And there's so much war and heartache in this world. It's because of Satan. In fact, Colossians chapter 1 verse 13, Paul thanked God that He had rescued us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. And likewise, in Ephesians 2.2, you once walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Now I want to ask you, which is better, to live under the lordship of Satan or under the lordship of God? I tell you, you know the answer. Satan is like a thief who has come to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus said in John 10. But He said, I am come that you may have life and have it more abundantly. Turn from darkness. Turn from the power of Satan over your life. But you know, Entering into eternal life is not just repentance, it's not just turning from darkness and sin. We must also turn to God, turn to Christ. And so the last step of salvation is you must commit to Christ by faith. We must put our trust in Him. Notice the last of verse 18, that we will receive forgiveness and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. It's faith in Christ that saves us. Our faith must be directed to Jesus. Why is that? Because Acts 4.12 says, "...neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." The only way you're going to have eternal life is to trust in the One who died that you might be forgiven and have eternal life. Our faith must be directed to Jesus. If your faith is in yourself and your own religious accomplishments, your own self-righteousness, your membership, your baptism, whatever else you might imagine, anything other than Christ will not save you. We must put our faith in Christ if we're going to be saved. Have you done that? Have you repented of your sins and put your faith in Christ? But furthermore, true faith will change your life. In the last of verse 20, Paul says there that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. Don't just talk about repenting. Prove that you have repented by your life. This was not original to Paul. John the Baptist talks about works fit for repentance. Jesus talks about producing works fit for repentance. If we're going to be saved, we need to have a kind of faith and repentance that is demonstrated in our lives. There were some missionaries in Haiti sharing the gospel. And one Haitian in that group came forward to declare that he wanted to trust Jesus as his Savior and follow Him in baptism. He and his family had been involved in the voodoo religion and his family tried their best to dissuade him from leaving their faith and embracing the Christian faith. But he proceeded to come on and be baptized. He entered into the water. to be baptized. And then all of a sudden the man turned around and walked right back out of the water. And the missionaries thought that he had decided not to be baptized. to go back to the voodoo religion. But actually what was happening was when he got on shore, he reached into his pockets and pulled out voodoo charms and trinkets and cast them onto the shore and then turned around and was baptized. And it illustrates what I'm talking about that our repentance has to be accompanied with action if it's genuine. Well finally, we see the blessings that Jesus will bestow if you repent and trust in Jesus. He talks in the last of verse 18 of two blessings which will be yours. One is the forgiveness of sins. Do you see it in the last part of verse 18? The forgiveness of sins. Romans 4.8 quotes the Old Testament. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute trespasses. Oh what a blessing it is that in the records of heaven, our sins are no longer there. God has removed them. God has forgiven them. No matter what you have done, what you have said, what you have thought, all of your sins are forgiven because Jesus paid for every one of your sins. What a blessing to be forgiven. to be forgiven. It's yours in Christ. And also an inheritance with God's people is yours in Christ. And an inheritance among those who are sanctified. Some of you have received an inheritance. And you know what a blessing it is. A free gift. Just given to you. Bestowed freely from someone who loved you. Well, Jesus through Paul is saying that if you trust in Me, I will give you an inheritance. In 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 4, it talks about an inheritance, undefiled, that never fades away, reserved in heaven for you. Romans 8, 17 says that we are joint heirs with Christ. That is a wonderful concept. Not only do we get a share, a small share, but we are joint heirs with Christ. All that Christ has, we shall have forever and ever in a place called heaven. The choice is very clear. A person can go to hell. where they will get nothing that they want or they can go to heaven where they will have everything they could want or need. Yes, If you have not come to that place in your life where you have turned from sin, repented of sin, and given your heart to Jesus, then why not today? Why not give your heart to Christ today? You will be forgiven, you will have eternal life, you will have an inheritance with Christ. forever and ever. We're going to sing an invitation, and if you're ready to make that commitment to Christ, then why don't you come forward at the very first note. Or if you need to recommit your life to the Lord, or just come to the prayer altar and pray about problems in your life, or join with this church, then you come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, in this time of invitation, I pray that Your Holy Spirit would work as powerfully as He worked in the life of Saul of Tarsus. May you save souls through this message, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.