TH140612/An Unexpected Conversion

Brought to you by harvest partners receive free email daily devotions or to become harvest partners, please visit us online@harvest.org now and turn to chapter 8 chapter 8 in the title of my message is an unexpected conversion. By the way the sun they were back in our God came near, series which is look at the four Gospels chronologically were coming to a very exciting series in the series. In fact, you could describe this is the greatest message ever preached. I won't title my message that it would seem very self-serving, but is now my message. I'm in a duet us a series on the sermon on the Mount and starting with the Beatitudes, which effectively tell us how to be happy. It's really the worldview of Jesus Christ. I don't know of a better worldview than that you so that will be this Sunday but right now we look at acts eight. This is part of our series that we call the greatest stories ever told me start with the question, does it ever seem impossible to you that God could save certain people mean just use your imagination, promote think of someone you know that you can imagine them carrying a Bible you can imagine them lifting their hands and praise the God you can imagine them bowing their head in prayer to God. You can imagine them telling other people about Jesus Christ alone to the know something that no one is beyond the reach of God.

I don't care who they are.

I don't care how notorious they are as a sinner. I don't care what things they have done. God can transform them and change them right on a radio broadcast award featuring a book by a man who was a member of the mob's name is Michael friend Z. Michael was a member of the Colombo crime family.

He was a captain in the family live rankings and the mom and there's the boss. And then there's underboss and then there's the Consiglio very Robert DeVol Godfather that guy.

And then there is the captain and the symptoms to be multiple captains, then their soldiers. Michael was a captain on his way to becoming the boss of the family or the Godfather might say he lived a life of crime.

A life of sin. He was very successful in his field if you will. They call them the yuppie Don of the Prince of the Mafia, a Rudy Giuliani personally went after Michael frenzies and citified convicted you, you would've spent 100 years in prison. Well Michael was convicted and sent to prison and the word was put up by the authorities that he was going around out his friends and when you're in the mob. You don't ever want to do that or you will get whacked okay and that means are going to kill you for it. But Michael never did inform on anybody and he served out his term and he was released. But here's the amazing thing while he was in prison I made man a member of the mob.

A good fella came to Jesus Christ. That just doesn't happen.

And it happened because a guard gave him a Bible is.

Michael spent time in solitary confinement, also known as the whole and while he was in there someone give him a Sony Walkman.

This tells you how long ago was that he started listening to our radio show and he told me of how hearing our broadcast helped him so much in that time and so after he got out he was out sharing his story in churches and summits again. This is because used to be in the Mafia that says that he is the listening on the radio and he wants to meet you. You want to meet him. Unlike he was in the actual Mafia guy wants to meet you.

Oh, okay. So I wasn't all that excited principle number one method. I was afraid I was a little bit skeptical because this could really be converted, and when I met him I knew within a few meant moments that this is the real deal and now he travels around train is for. In fact, the interview on Friday night at the Crusade this year. But here's my point.

Why bring up Michael frenzies that doesn't just happen. That's an unexpected conversion right will performance here in the book of acts is the ultimate unexpected conversion. This is a story of a man named Saul of Tarsus amend that was hell-bent on destroying followers of Jesus and the church itself. This man Saul went out of his way to hunt down Christians like wild animals and imprisonment. This was the man who presided over the death of the first martyr of the church young Stephen this is Amanda went from bad to worse, and when he was converted his conversion was met by a lot of skepticism and suspicion, but it was real as people would see, but up to this point when people heard the name Saul of Tarsus, it would send a chill down your spine. Little did they know that this man was going to become the great apostle Paul. It's just absolutely mind blowing. Paul's conversion with such an unlikely event that a British agnostic of the last century, but it should not be difficult to disprove. And in doing so he felt he could show the rest of the New Testament was unworthy of credibility also. This he thought would undermine the whole foundation of the Christian faith. So George Lloyd Littleton went to work in his book that he titled observations on the conversion and apostleship of St. Paul.

But here's the problem on his way to disproving it.

It proved Christianity to Littleton and so instead of being a book, then ended up undermining the Christian faith or attempting to undermine it. The came out as above supporting the Christian faith is conclusion was and I quote Paul's conversion and apostleship alone duly considered our demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a divine revelation." And after his conversion, Saul of Tarsus, later to become the apostle Paul left behind and so many churches and converts. He preached some philosophers Pharisees rulers soldiers sorcerers sailors slaves and probably to Caesar himself. It is not an overstatement to say the apostle Paul change the world. He was called to bring the gospel to his generation and of course there was never a dull moment with Paul wherever he went. There was action man. There were things going on.

One of my favorite stories that involve Paul was when he was preaching to the believers and they hadn't heard from them for a long time so they were very excited. The room was packed. They were there were hanging literally out of the windows and Paul like a good preacher went on for a while, you know we have a lot to say. In fact, it was 12 o'clock at night and he was still talking in a grinding unit just was sitting up in an open window any down out of the window to his death.

They come up. Always preaching is a Paul excuse me I'm preaching with Paul.

We want preacher Paul what this guy was listening to you fell out of the window. We died. Okay where is. So he goes over to Utica he prays for them raises of sperm raises them from the dead. He goes back and finishes his sermon. I love this guy at the true story right from the book of acts.

He was used so powerfully next to Jesus and so Paul was arguably the most effective communicator of the gospel teaching of Scripture of all time. That's a pretty amazing statement to make. When you consider his background prior to his conversion. Saul was a cold hearted bigoted people murderer.

He was a man that as I said, hunted down believers out. He never did anything halfhearted. He came from Saul or from Tarsus, rather he was called Saul of Tarsus, which by the way, was a very important city in the Roman world. Tarsus was famous for its university, which ranked among Athens and Alexandria as among among the most prestigious in the Roman world. He was rolling in citizenship and by education. He was Greek I and then he gave himself to the study of the Hebrew Scriptures of this guy had it all going on. He was an intellectual.

He was an orator. He was a scholar and then he decided to become a Pharisee was an extremely disciplined student of the Scriptures, and he was schooled in the famous Gamaliel, who was known as the teachers teacher. He just had this ravenous hunger for truth and then he went on to become a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin which was sort of like the Supreme Court of the day that ruled in civil as well as religious matters, so this young man went to the top of the class.

This young man get the top position and as a member of this Jewish counsel Saul, later to become Paul enjoyed being an influence so we had it all happening but yet instead of his religion, softening his heart, his religion made him hard mean and hostile and we seem to have no religious person that is just angry and bigoted and sometimes even uses their religion as a weapon against others.

It's amazing to me how people can claim to be Christians to be filled with so much hate how people who claim to be Christians can spend so much time trying to bring others down and cause division. If only they would channel that energy into preaching the gospel and sometimes I even wonder some of these people even our Christian I think it's religion and Saul was a very religious man but everything changed when he came into encounter with God and begin a relationship with Jesus Christ.

So here are Noah's solids were introduced to them.

He's chasing down believers.

He is secured orders from the high priest to actually go out of Jerusalem and find Christians wherever they are and bring them back so he's on his way to Damascus, which by the way, is 140 miles away. That's a pretty good distance even today, but imagine back in the day when there was no there were no automobiles or there were no trains or planes that was a long journey but he was so driven by heat. He covered this great distance to get Christians arrest Christians to torture Christians to execute Christian but he says later. I did it ignorantly in unbelief. So let's read this story now. Acts chapter 8 on a read verses 1 to 4 and I'm reading from the new living translation.

Saul is one of the witnesses and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen a great waiver persecution began the day sweeping over the church in Jerusalem and all the believers except the apostles were scattered to the regions of Judea and Samaria, some development came and buried Stephen with great morning, but Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house dragging out men and women throw them in the prison, but the believers who were scattered preach the good news about Jesus wherever they went so. There so right about were told that stall. Saul approved of the murder of young Stephen but I might also add, it broke the heart of the church would give verse two it says something about Ben buried Stephen with great morning.

They were morning. No, I think sometimes I'm having the hardest time of the stupid button, hot up here. Is it feel warm out there. Can we turn the air down only get a: who would like to go do this wonderful thing for us and waiting for someone to move just anyone moved there we go there doing it right now. Thank you so much. The church is mourning the death of Stephen and I bring this up to make a very important point. I think sometimes as Christians we think that when a fellow believer dies, we should just be rejoicing and praising God and not feel sad. That's actually not biblical. And that's not even human. Okay so I know little bit about this, having lost her son six years ago and well-meaning Christians would come up to me and say, rejoice. Your sons in Yemen. They would say this like you know days after that, why you so sad looking be happy he's in heaven you know that can almost like be like putting salt in the wound of a person I never wanted to be a spokesman for morning people, but in a way I am. I have a platform and so I speak for them because I'm one of them and when you know someone who's lost a loved one. Don't ever see something like that to the don't say to them, don't be sad because they're going to be said and if you lost a loved one, you'd be said to it if he didn't feel said, did you even love them.

The Bible says there is a time to mourn, and godly men mourn over Stephen.

They were godly member great weight doesn't the Bible say will be reunited with loved ones who died in the Lord. Yes, but it says there's a time to weep and there's a time to laugh know the Scripture also tells us we don't mourn as those who have no hope. We mourn with hope we don't mourn hopelessly. We mourn hopefully. But we still mourn it if you don't mourn. By that I mean cry and feel sorrow and feel lost in process that as you cling to the Lord to get through it. I think you can get sorted, messed up a little bit and sign you have to process this thing and so these men mourn the godly young Stephen oh yes he was in heaven. So Jesse gave a powerful witness there before the Sanhedrin. Oh yes, he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of father but he was a great guy and they were going in this so there was morning, and here is Saul doing such a wicked thing yet despite his worst intentions God was at work.

Saul was unwittingly doing the work of the kingdom before he was even in UC. The church was not going out of.

Hopefully the great commission Jesus told them at the end of Matthew going to all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature making disciples of all the nations. Hello, I'm with you, even to the end of the world there like hallelujah amen and they never left Jerusalem.

There just hanging out. It's like a little holy hovel they don't want to break free.

There was comfort there but now along comes Saul breathing up threats against the followers of Jesus and they spread out everywhere. So in a way he helped get the work of God done, as is the Christian spread out. They started sharing the gospel. Here's a question. What drove Saul to such hatred for Christian you know later on after you converted Jesus says to them it's hard for you to kick against the goat. Remember I told you a goat was a sharp stick that you used to get your animal movie hey Saul, Jesus is think it's hard to kick against the sharpened stick is in.

I think there were a number of goads are sharp, instinctive sharpened sticks. If you will, in Saul's life. One clearly had to be that wonderful young man, Stephen with a face of an angel glorifying God and praying for God's forgiveness to the people who were doing this for him. Certainly it must've been the believers that seek chase them. They would continue to follow the Lord and serve the Lord and not denying their fate.

So here's the thing, he was driven by hate. But God was after him and the word of God had been planted in this life. You see the word of God is like to see God says, my word will not return void will prosper in the place I sent it. When you plant a seed does a plant glow grow immediately before your eyes. You are there with your little plan for a flower or your little seed or whatever it is or bowl to put it in there and I was more that doesn't happen, and it does even happen overnight, and it does even happened in two days, but maybe after little bit of time passes. There's a little chute coming out of the ground just a little one. Then after a while that shoot branching out a little bit in others a little, but there's a little blossom and pretty soon it is that flower you planet no and Contras weeds will go anywhere you can work on your little plant in your garden of me that there is a crack in the sidewalk that like Jack in the beanstalk. The next day right but the point is, it takes time for growth. They happen so you take the seed of the word of God and the planet is you see nothing.

I brought them to church to hear the gospel they didn't come to Christ. It was a failure you serious the seed is there.

Let me change my metaphor and go from a seed to a time bomb.

Okay when you put the gospel in someone's life.

It's like a time bomb it's going to detonate later and maybe it's not in church.

Maybe it's a week down the road and they're going to bed at night they wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning & those things you said of them are doing in their mind and they believe in Jesus right there on the spot. God's word will not return void keeps on it and keep watering the seed with prayer. The seed was sown in Saul's heart when Stephen gave his life. Now the seed was going to break ground now. The timebomb was going to detonate. Now the hunter was going to become the hunted. Now the one with honey non-Christians would become their champion. He would carry on the work of young Stephen, whom he marred acts nine verse one of the most amazing stories in the Bible. One of the greatest stories ever told me while Saul was uttering threats with every breath I was eager to kill the Lord's followers so he went to the high priest who requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus asking for the cooperation and the rest of any followers of the way he found there. He wanted to bring both men and women back to Jerusalem in Shane as he was approaching Damascus on his mission. A light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me who are you, Lord saw last the voice replied I am Jesus whom you're persecuting now get up and go to the city and you'll be told what you must do the memo. Saul stood speechless.

They heard the sound of someone's voice but saw no somnolence and Saul picked himself off the ground.

When he opened his eyes he was blind, so his companions led him with a candid Damascus, the remainder blind for three days did not eat or drink. There, at this moment of his life.

Saul was out of control. Verse one says he was uttering threats with every breath, or literally breathing it in and out as it oxygen needs which is me as an athlete needs oxygen to keep going. Saul lived on a diet of hatred and bitterness which kept him going. The wording here alludes to what Wilde beast seeking out this praying is it your Kill.

The He Was on the Search for God, but for the Followers of God's Heart Was Filled with Hatred in His Mind Was Poison with Prejudice. It Is Own Words.

He Later Said in Acts 2611 a Raging Fury Possessed If You Would've Met Him As He Left Jerusalem and Someone Told You Know What before This Man Gets to His Destination He Will Be a Follower of Jesus Christ. You Would've Thought They Were Math but with God All Things Are Possible.

I Want to the Notice of the I Love This Description of the Christians in Verse Two, Yes for the Cooperation in the Arrest of Any Followers of the Way He Found There.

He Wanted to Bring Them Both Men and Women Back to Jerusalem and Changed Any Followers of the Way, Did You Know That the Christians Did Not Call Themselves Christians There Recall Followers of the Way the Word Christian Was Given to Them Later. Not As a Compliment but As a Description.

It Meant Followers of Jesus, and It Was Given to Them First in a Place Called Antioch, but They Were Known As the Followers of the Way or That Come from Will Probably from John 14 65 Jesus Said I Am What the Truth Them A Lot.

I Love the Fact That This Is a Distinction of the Christians. Followers of the Way It Was a Time When People Were Challenging Christ Being the Only Way to God. This Is Still Challenged.

You Know, If You Say to Someone You Know I Believe in Jesus. He Sort of My God of Choice. He Works for Me. But If You're into Another God. That's Cool Enough You Want to Pray to Allah You Want to Pray to Christian or You Want to Go through Buddha or Make up Your Own God. It's All Good Because All Roads Lead to God and Have No Problem with but Also What You Just Said Is Completely Incorrect. Biblically, but If You Dare to Say. You See I Believe Jesus Christ Is the Only Way to the Father Because He Was Fully God and Fully Man and Died on the Cross in Our Place and I Believe He's the Only One Who Was the Truth and I Believe This Is the Only Way to Know God's People Are Going to Get Very Angry with You Right and This Is a Distinction of the First Century Church.

They Were Followers of the Way so It's Afternoon, the Sun Is Shining and below Verse Three As He Is Approaching Damascus a Light from Heaven Suddenly Shone down around Him and He Fell to the Ground in Order to Avoid Saying Saul so Far. You Persecuting Me It's Daytime Analyte, I Must've Been a Bright Lights to Be Seen in the Day and Here's an Interesting Twist, Those Who Were with Saul Heard the Voice of the Lord but They Could Not Make It out. Actually, 27, Says Paul Saw Jesus but the Fellow Persecutors Saw the Light Only, so They Heard Some Sound but They Didn't Know What It Wants. What Is Because When God Speaks Listen Is She. His Voice, but Others Don't and That's How Two People Can Come and Hear a Sermon and One Hears the Voice of God Speaking through It and Believes in Jesus and Another by the Damages Gobbledygook Is Just Blah Blah Blah Blah. And in Their Mind and Thinking Get This Thing over with so I Can Leave This Place Their Heart Is an Open to God They're Not Seeking God for the Person a Man. The Woman Who Really Is Seeking the Lord. They Will Hear His Voice and Saul despite His Activities Was Actually under the Conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes When a Person Is Coming to the Conviction of the Spirit. By That I Mean Were God's Words Beginning to Work on Them.

They Will Become the Most Hostile Outspoken Critics of the Faith, Because They're Fighting with God.

At That Time. So If You Know Someone That's Always First with an Argument Always in Your Face Always Disagreeing Actually Hostile and the Things They Say That My Be a Person. It's Closer to the Kingdom of God Than You Think. So Here Comes This Voice. Saul, Saul, Why Are You Persecuting Me so Thinking Okay. Who Are You, Lord, Don't See Jesus Don't See Jesus Dosage I Am Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Did Echo Echo Echo Echo Whom You Are Persecuting Salsa.

I Think Deep down in His Heart He Knew the Whole Time I It Was the Lord Himself.

The God He Thought He Was Serving. He Was Opposing His Religion and Turn Them against the Very God. He Thought He Knew. Notice Jesus Is Why You Persecuting Me Then Interesting. It Would Seem That the Boys Would Say Why Are You Persecuting My People. But Jesus Didn't Say That Diddy Said Why You Persecuting Me. He Said It Because When People Persecute Us.

They Persecute Him When They Speak out against Us Because of Our Faith. There Speaking out against Him. Jesus Said Listen, the Servant Is Not Greater Then His Master That They Persecuted Me, They're Going to Persecute You, and so Jesus Is Basically Saying I Know about the Suffering of My People Jesus Identifies with Us in Our Affliction. Nothing Escapes His Attention. I Want to Persecutor Raises a Hand against Us Is in Effect Raising a Hand against Jesus Christ Only Give You a Warning You Christian Mockers You to Go Out Of Your Way to Make Christians Miserable You That Tried to Bring down the Faith of a Follower of Jesus. God Takes It Personally. You Better Be Careful Because When You Persecute His People. Your Persecuting Him and That's Not a Good Idea Now Is Go to Acts Chapter 9 Verse 10. Another Was a Believer. Damascus Named Ananias, the Lord Spoke to Him in a Vision, Calling Ananias Yes Lord, He Replied, Lord, to Go over to Straight Street to the House of Judas When You Get There. There's a Man from Tarsus Name Saul He's Framing Me Right Now. I've Shown Them a Vision of Amending Ananias Coming in and Laying Hands on Them so We Can See Again. I Love the Statement, but Laura Explains Ananias.

I've Heard Many Terrible Things about This Man. What He's Done of the Believers in Jerusalem Is Authorized by the Leading Priests to Arrest Everyone That Calls upon Your Name of the Lord to Go for Saul Is My Chosen Instrument to Take My Message to the Gentiles in the Kings As Well As to the People of Israel Underline Verse 16. If You Would All Show Him How Musty but How Much He Must Suffer for My Namesake. So Ananias Went on Solidly Laid His Hands on Them and Said Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, Who Appeared to You on the Road Has Said to Me That You Might Regain Your Sight and Be Filled with the Holy Spirit. Instantly Something like Scales Fell from Saul's Eyes and He Became the Site and He Got up and Was Baptized Afterwards. Eat Some Food and Regained His Strength. Saul Stayed with the Believers in Damascus for A Few Days and Immediately He Began Preaching about Jesus in the Synagogue Same. He Is Indeed the Son of God Follow Her to More Amazing Isn't This the Same Man Who Caused Such Devastation among Jesus Followers in Jerusalem and Didn't Come Here to Arrest Them and Take Them in Chains to the Leading Pre-Saul's Preaching Became More and More Powerful and the Jews in Damascus Couldn't Refute His Proofs That Jesus Was Indeed the Messiah Menu Go to Give A Lot Of Credit and I Mean Imagine How It Came up to Him.

I Want You to Go to the House of Saul, Saul. Who Goes Where and to What and It's Funny Because Ananias Is Safe, but Lord, I Don't Know If You're up to Speed on This, but This Is the Killer.

This Is the Persecutor of the Churches Is the Guy That Had Stephen Killed the Lord's Is Ohno's Mind Now You Go to Him and Men. Ananias Did Know Ananias Is One of the Unsung Heroes of the Bible What's in Unsung Hero, One of the Ones That Really Get the Credit That They Deserve. Now Only Think of Ananias. Most of You Probably Never Even Heard His Name or View. He Reverted in Passing, I Mean Even Write a Book of the New Testament and Perform a Miracle Even Raise Someone from the Debtor Preaching the Notable Sermons Are Recorded in the Book of Acts, but He Took Two Men under His Wing, Who Did All of What I Just Mentioned and More. He Discipled the Newly Converted Saul of Tarsus. It Was to Become the Great Apostle Paul, the Greatest Preacher and Church History. Ananias Was the Right Man at the Right Place at the Right Thank God for Those People That Work behind the Scenes for the Kingdom. The Ananias Is Who Helped the Paul's or the Andrew Teresa Simon Peter's the Ones We Never Hear about Two Very Important Things You Know One Day Will More and Have Rewards or to Be Given out and All Those People You Share the Gospel with God Is Duly Noted That I Think You Might Be Surprised How Powerful Your Testimony Was Because You Might See Oil Five Never Really Lived in the Woods of the Lord Maybe Two People Three, Possibly in an You Know I Really Question Even That Way. The Second You Don't Know What's Happened yet. If You Been a Faithful Follower of Jesus and Eve Sewn the Seed of the Word of God and You Share the Gospel When You Could You Leave the Results in the Hands of God and How Do You Know That Your Little Boy That You Let the Christ Will May Be 60 Years from Now. I Figure and Kevin Lead Someone Else to Christ Who Will Share the Gospel with Someone Else Who Will Become the Great Preacher of Their Generation Who Will Reach Millions. And Guess What, That's All Fruit to Your Account When James Dobson Was with Us Here on Monday How Many Became a Your Doctor Wasn't That Amazing Is Another Great but If You Missed It. Dr. Dobson Talked about Leaving the Family Legacy. He Told the Story of the Conversion of His Great-Grandfather, Who Was Very Resistant to God and Came to Faith and He Told the Story of His Grandfather Who Had a Gun It Was on His Way to Kill a Guy He Was Mad at Came across a Christian Meeting Walked in, Heard the Gospel and so He Raised by His Son the Way of the Lord.

James Dobson Senior That's Jim's Dad Who Was Very Resistant to Serving the Lord and Wanted to Instead Be Professional Artists, but the Lord Finally Got a Hold of Him and in James Senior Dedicated His Life to Christ and Then Raised Little Jim in the Way of the Lord and Little Jim Went on to Become Dr. James Job Dobson Was Reached Millions and Millions of People and Not Dr. Dobson Is a Non-Passing That Legacy on Any Distinct and Then There's an.6 and Did Her Parents Raise Bitter Children and Sinful People Raise Sinful People and They Press at Godless Legacy on I Could Give You Illustrations of This but I Don't Have Time Right Now but the Point Is What You Do Goes on in Time and Eternity in the Party Isn't over till It's over and That's When You Stand before God Is Not over till the Fat Lady Sings Who Is This Fat Lady You See Here Tonight, Please Send It Know Don't but That's an Expression Right It's Not over till It's over.

So You Don't Know What You've Accomplished so Here Is Your Marching Orders. You Just Be Faithful and You Just You Would Gotta Simple for You and You Leave the Results in the Hands of God. Ananias, We Don't Know A Lot about Them. We Know This Much, He Will Be God and Took the Newly Converted Saul of Tarsus under His Wing and No Wonder He Was Written up Reluctant. I Mean, That Would Be like Your Marines in the Newspaper Auto News Website You Read This Headline Atheist Richard Dawkins Preaching the Gospel. Click yet Read That Story. Why Does Richard Dawkins Is a Man Is Committed His Life to Debunking the Mythology in His Life of Christianity or Any Other Belief System. You Know He Wants to Disapprove This and Then You Read Monday. He's a Christian Is Not Impossible. Nothing Is Impossible Would Be Front of the Bill Marr Was Talking about Jesus on His Television Program Where You Found out That Ozzy Osbourne Started a Bible Study Lady Gaga's Leading Worship. What You Think That's Impossible Say We Love Because It Seems Absurd and I Said, in a Way to Be Kind of Funny to but I Am Bringing up Names You Would Not Normally Associate with the Christian Faith to Point out No One Is beyond the Reach of God to Be Taken a Step Further, That Would Be like the Lord Coming to a Jew in World War II. St. Adolf Hitler Believes in Jesus. Now Go Pray for You Adolf Hitler Is He Even Savable Sure He Could Have Been Saved. He Wasn't My Point Is Going to Be on the Reach of God, Not Michael Frenzies Made Men of the Mafia, Not Thief on the Cross, He Was No Doubt Guilty of Murder Who Believed in Jesus in the Last Moments of His Life, Not Anybody You Know. Either God Can Reach Him so We Should Never Give up on Them. We Should Always Be Praying Right.

Let's Wrap This up.

We Have the Classic Results of Conversion of the Story, Three Things out. Bring Your Attention.

Number One, Paul Was Praying Verse 11.

When You Become a Follower of Jesus, You Will Be a Person Who Learns to Pray Wonder What He Prayed.

Bobby Prayed for the Forgiveness of Sins Is the Full Weight of What He Had Done to Stephen Came upon Him All My God, I Presided over the Death of That Young Man Lord Forgive Me for That. So Sorry I Did That I Didn't Know Lord but I Am so Sorry.

And This Prayers Probably Included Worship Because Now He Knew the God He Wanted to Know. He Tried to Know God to the Keeping of the Law but He Failed. That Is Why Paul Later Wrote in Romans 815. We Haven't Received the Spirit of Bondage Again to Fear One of Adoption, Whereby We Cry, Abba, Father, He Was Seen Effectively. Hey, I Tried to Know God to the Law.

I Couldn't Keep All of the Law, but Now He's My Father and I Can Approach Them at Any Time. I'm Sure Also That He Prayed for Strength. Now What Was He Going to Do What What's Ahead. The Same Method to Be Breathing out Murderous Threats against the Followers of Jesus Was Not Breathing Appraised and Worship God in Prayer. Paul Himself Wrote If Any Man Be in Christ Is an Altogether Different Kind of Person the Old Things Are Passed Away. Behold, Everything Becomes Fresh and New. He Also Wrote Later.

Forgetting the Things That Are behind and Reaching Forward with the Things That Are before I Press toward the Call of the High Calling of God. Press toward the Mark.

Rather, the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus Have Nothing to Be Crippled by My past Policy Have Done Some Really Bad Stuff, but I'm Not Gonna Let That Hold Me Back God's Forgiven Me, Even Though I Effectively Murdered a Man, Probably Other Suit Because He Hunted Them Christian so We Probably Murdered a Number of People, but Now He Was Going to Move Forward. He Was Praying Never to He Was Preaching Verse 20 He Was Preaching the Bible Says to Whom Much Is Forgiven That One Loves the Much More the Heart of Thanksgiving He Couldn't Keep It inside. Paul Sums It up This Way. First Timothy 113 Even Though I Use This Comp of the Name of Christ. I Hunted down As People Harming Them in Every Way I Could but God of Mercy on Me, Because I Did It Ignorantly in Unbelief.

Oh, How Kind and Gracious Lord Was He Filled Me Completely with Faith in the Love of Jesus Christ.

This Is a True Saying and Everyone Should Believe It. Jesus Christ Came into the World to Save Sinners and I Was the Worst of Them All. So There It Is from the Horses Mouth.

He Was Praying He Was Preaching the Mrs. One Verse 18. He Was Suffering He Was Suffering. Remember When God Said, Ananias, I Will Show Him How Much He Must Suffer for My Namesake Was Sure Paul Was Going to Pray for Healings and Miracles for Others Guided by the Holy Spirit, He Would Write down Epistles That We Call the Very Word of God Today, He Would Boldly Preach the Gospel to Thousands of People Including Government Officials and Probably Caesar Himself, but He Also Would Suffer Part of the Religious Leaders React When They Saw That Solid Become a Preacher While They Didn't Give Him a Standing Ovation of the Day. 23 Says after Many Days Were Passed, the Jews Plotted the Chill of This Is Not Good. We Cannot Have Saul Talking about Jesus. This Is Bad for Our Cause. We Must Stop This Man. He's a Threat That Surprise You Were Told in the Book of Timothy All That Live Godly in Christ Jesus Will Suffer Persecution.

Listen to This Agreement to Be Used by God to Begin to Take a Stand for Him. You Will Be Attacked but God Can and Will You Suffering for His Glory. Let Me Say Something Little Controversy. Fisher Fallen Asleep on One of the Top Preachers in America Made This Statement Recently in a Stadium. It Was Pronouncement of Faith, He Said, Lord, I Pronounce His Declaration Than the Name of Jesus Are Right Now, You're Releasing Us from Defeat in the Victory, Releasing Us from Sickness into Hell Releasing Us from Depression and Enjoy Releasing Us from Addictions and the Freedom Releasing Us from Dead and Lack into Abundance, Releasing Us from Everything That's Holding Us Back from Total Victory. I Declare Every Chain Is Loose.

Every Stronghold Is Coming down Your Gonna Step into a New Level of Your Destiny in Jesus Name.

If You Can Receive It. Same Sounds Good but It's Wrong. Some Parts of It Are Good, Some Parts of It Are Wrong, but It's Not Biblical Know the Misunderstanding I'm Not an Advocate for Depression.

Depression Defeat in a Ditch Unlocking a Prayer Prayer All Addicted Defeated and Depressed.

No, God Want You to Be Free from Those Things He Does Want to Live in Depression or in a Defeated Way, but to Equate Sickness and Death, and Lack to These Things Is Wrong. Why Do I Say That Because Sometimes God Will Heal You and I'll Tell You Why He Won't Heal You Because He Has a Plan for You Because He Loves What What God Love Me He Would Heal Me Really Member the Story of Lazarus, Who Is Sent. They Sent Word to Jesus Lord, the One That You Love Is Sick and Then We Read Because Jesus Loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha, His Sisters, He Had Delayed His Arrival Because He Loved Them. What Is That Mean What Jesus Did Want to Merely Do a Healing Jesus Wanted to Do a Resurrection, but Here's My Bigger Point Sometimes God Will Allow Sickness for His Glory What'd He Say about Saul. He's Going to Suffer for My Namesake, God Was Going to Be Glorified.

The Suffering of Salt so You Can Declare It Gone in the Name of Jesus, but Your Effectively, Praying against the Will of God.

So Should We Pray for Healing Absolutely.

Don't Be Afraid to Come and Ask Me to Pray for You to Be Healed, Not As Congruent to Pray You'll Pray I Get Sicker Know I Will Guy Came to Me Years Ago Friend of Mine Said, Would You Pray for Me and Really Nauseated.

I Did Pray for Many Got Sicker When I Threw up and He Said I'm Never Asking You to Pray for Me. Again, Sorry It's up to God How He Answers Those Prayers He Hears a Review of What Paul Went through in Life. These Are His Own Words from First Corinthians 11 to Solicit I Worked Harder Been Put in Jail More Often. I Been with Times without Number.

I Face Death Again and Again Five Times the Jews Gave Me 39 Lashes Three Times I Was Beaten with Rods, Once I Was Stoned Back in the Stone. He Was Literally Stone and Probably Was Left for Dead. Three Times I Was Shipwrecked Once They Spent a Whole Minded Date Adrift at Sea.

I Traveled Many Weary Miles. I Faced Danger from Flooded Rivers and from Robert. I Faced Danger from My Own People, the Jews, As Well As the Gentiles-based Danger in the City's Danger in the Desert and on the Stormy Seas.

I Faced Danger from Men Who Claim to Be Christians but Are Not. I Live with Weariness and Pain and Sleepless Nights.

Often I've Been Hungry and Thirsty and Gone without Food. I've Shivered with Coal without Enough Clothing to Keep You Warm. Besides This, I Have the Daily Burden of All the Churches Are Getting along. This Was God's Will. Why Would God Allow Suffering like This in the Life of the Apostle Answer so God Could Get the Glory. One Day, the Apostle Paul Was Stoned for Preaching the Gospel. He Was Thought to Be Dead. It's Probably at That Moment He Went to Heaven. That's Right, Paul the Apostle Actually Want to Get It by the Way He Did Write a Book about It but Didn't Say A Lot about It.

He Just Said I Was Caught up to the Third Heaven and Everything so Astounding They Cannot Be Told Only Ask You Question If You Would Gone to Heaven. Like Paul, You Think They Could Make You a Little Arrogant As a Christian, I Mean I Would Be Sent to Brag about. I Guess What I Got to Heaven and You Haven't Seen It All. He Never Did That.

So Here's What Happened Because This Happened in This Life, and He Was Allowed to See Glory of Thorn in the Flesh Was Sent to Him Pulses. There Was a Messenger of Satan Sent to Buffett D without Born in the Flesh. Now This Would Thorn Can Be Translated to State Something a Little Tiny Thing X Know This Is like a Steak, You Know, Big Painful Hard and We Don't Know What This Thorn Was. Some People Think It Was Maybe Some Kind of an Injury from One of These Experiences, We Are to Read about W Been Beaten with Rods and with an Shipwrecked and Stone. I Have Some Bumps and Bruises and Maybe an Arm That Doesn't Work Anymore. Losing Hearing in One Ear or an Eye That's Gone or Something like That.

So We Had to Go through Life with These Disability God Allowed It. So We Pray to Jesus Taken Away and Eroded Second Rent Installment Lesson Every Time I Prayed That Jesus Said My Gracious Favor Is All You Need.

My Power Works Best in Your Weakness. So Pulses on Glad to Boast about My Weaknesses of the Power of Christ May Rest upon Me.

Yes, Paul Suffered but God Allowed It for His Own Glory. Listen to This God Can Work Powerfully to Human Weakness and Suffering He Can Work Mightily through Disability, Sometimes Even More Effectively Than through a Person with No Ability or No Disability Disability Can Turn into an Ability How Well Ask Nick for Who Was Born without Arms and Legs and Was so Bullied in School. He Wanted to Commit Suicide in Us As Father to Help Him When He Was in the Bath One Night and God Got Hold of Little Nick and Changed His Heart and Spoke Human Phenomena Usually Mounted Voided Checks Travels the World Bringing Inspiration to People. He Wrote a Book Called No Arms, No Legs, No Worries, He's up, but He's Very Funny He's Very Witty, but He's Very Serious and God Chooses Disability That Could God Use Nick If He Had Arms and Legs. Of Course, He Could Have, but God Chose to Allow This in His Life to Bring Glory to His Name. So I Come Back to This Statement Will Lord You Know We Just Take Victory over Any Kind of Illness or Any Kind of Sickness. When You Talking about Here Is What You Pray. Lord I Pray You'll Heal Me. I Pray I'll Be Healthy and Strong.

I Pray You Will Provide My Needs, but If You Have Another Plan That Will Bring More Glory to Your Name.

I Would Say Do Not My Will but Yours Be Done by Had My Way I Would Say Lord I Want My Son Back Right Now.

Right Now God Didn't Give Me That. So All I Can Do Is React. Hopefully Appropriately. Lord I Can't Control What Happened. I Can Change What Happened, but I'm in a Seek to Glorify You through This Tragedy in My Life and Maybe Bring Some Hope to Others Who Are Suffering This What We Just Have To Take the Hand Were Dealt into the Best We Can Do and Bring Glory to God's Will Is Not Be Praying for All These Crazy Things That May Not Be the Will of God… Trust the Lord. Paul Suffered but He Was Used Mightily by the Lord. If so, Here's My Close. I'm Actually at the Close. I Am in Pain at the Rosie's Picture of the Christian Life Tonight Know Have Made You Commission You Might Become a Christian Leasing like Happy People That They Seem to Be Enjoying Life and in Woe They Suffer A Lot Man.

When the Second Yelling Suffer When Nonbelievers Suffer to, but Here's a Different One. A Nonbeliever Suffers, What Hope Today Well When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade. Really. Yes, That's What I Really Okay When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Get Going Now. Whatever. I've Got a Better One.

All Things Work Together for Good about the Love of God and of the Called According to His Purpose. Now That Were What Is That Mean and Mean Pain, Hardship, Suffering Comes into Everyone the Christian, the Non-Christian, Sometimes in a Way That's Inexplicable. One Thing I've Learned As a Preacher Is It's Okay for Me to Say I Don't People Tell Me What Heaven Is under No Wine and I'm so Sorry It Happened to You. I Don't Feel I Have To Have the Answers That You Should Amend Me When I Was 21 Years Old. I Had All the Answers. I Knew Everything Released.

I Thought I Did, and Now at the Age of 40, I.E. Why Is What I Do. I Live Stuffing My Face. 66. You're Sated to Me That Insultingly 6066 61. Locate Time Manager.

Here's My Point. I Try to Be Honest with You Suffering Will Come in the Every Life. The Bible Says the Rain Falls in the Just and the Unjust. But the Believer Has a Hope That despite with Pain or Hardship Comes into Their Life. God Can Still Be Glorified through It and Listen. One Day If You've Suffered for Him He Will Reward You for It. In Eternity One Day You'll Make It up to You If You Want Something or Someone for Him. Jesus Promises He'll Make It up to You. So It's All Gonna Work out the Listen to This for the Christian. This Is As Bad As It's Ever Going to Get You Some of Such a Pretty Good Great for the Non-Christian. This Is As Good As It's Ever Going to Get Socket to Get Any Better. On the Other Side Is Going to Get a Whole Lot Worse Because There's a Judgment so We Have Hope. We Have Hope beyond This World and beyond This Pain Know It's Interesting Jesus Called Saul of Tarsus and Saul Heard His Voice, but the Others Who Are around Him Heard Nothing Again Exit 7 the Menus Were with Saul Stood Speechless.

They Heard the Sound of Someone's Voice but Saw No One Check This out on Speaking Right Now He Speaking the Hearts Leasing. I Love You I'm Calling You to Come to Me, but God's Given You a Free Will.

He Won't Force You to Come Isn't That You're Going to Come, You Come Now Shut up, You Have Nothing to Say about Noises Whosoever Will Let Him Come. If You Thirsty, You Can Come You That Are Heavy Laden Week You Can Come. Come on Now Come Come to Me Jesus As but I Can Say No, Jesus Is Our Rental Portion I've Really Want to Become Numb to Keep Calling You over the Person That Says No Hark It's a Little Bit Harder. You Can Get to a Point Where You Don't Even Hear His Voice These Guys. But Saul Did.

Despite His Wickedness.

Are You Hearing God Speak to You Soon. When Hearing God Speak to Me Talking about an Audible Voice.

No, Not at All. There's Just the Sort of Inner Conviction and Sentence inside of You That This Is All True That Because God's Holy Spirit Is Sort of Taken the Blinders off Your Eyes like He Took Them up Quality of Those Scales Is Syrup All of Us on What What Will This Is All True This Thing That I've Laughed at This Thing That I've Rejected the Thing That I've Never Believed and I Realize I Know This Is True.

Jesus Is the Son of God That You're Getting Close but You're Not Home yet Even to See That Jesus Is the Way Even This Evening.

Jesus Now You Gotta Take the Next Step Believe in Its Possible to Believe Everything about Jesus and Everything the Bible Says and Still Not Be a Christian Dress to Come That Moment When You Say Lord Come in on My Life and Forgive Me of My Sin. My Question to You Is to Be Done and If You Haven't Would You like to Maybe Didn't Come Here Tonight to Become a Christian. Maybe You Came Here Tonight to Mock Christians or You Came Because Someone Invited You to What You Really Want to Come but God's Been Speaking to You, I Suggest You Respond and You Be Glad You Did Because He'll Forgive You All of Your Sins, Just like You Did for Paul so Let's Bow Our Heads Now for a Prayer Father, Thank You for Loving Us so Much That You Sent Your Son Jesus Christ to Die in the Cross in Our Place. Now, Lord Jesus. We Pray That You Will Speak to the Hearts of People That Are Here and We Pray That Your Holy Spirit Will Convict Them and Convince Them of Their Sin and Help Them to Come to, You Know, We Would Ask in Your Name or Heads of God for a Moment and Her Eyes Are Closed and Were Praying.

How Many of You Would Say, Then I Greg I Want to Believe in Jesus.

I Want Him to Forgive Me of My Sin.

I Want to Know That When I Die I Will Go to Heaven. I Want This Hope You Been Talking about Tonight. Pray for Me. I'm Ready to Say Yes to Jesus Christ Affect Your Desire. Wherever You Are If You Want God to Forgive You of Your Sin If You Want to Go to Heaven When You Die If You Want to Believe in Jesus, Would You Raise Your Hand up and Let Me Pray for You of Your City Lifted up, I Reckon. See Please God Bless You Publishers Lift up Your Hand Will Pray for You, Bless You. Anybody Else You Want Is Forgiveness Tonight, but She's There in the Back. Bless You Raise Your Hand above. Pray for You. God Bless Each One of You One Final Moment Want Jesus to Come in Your Life You Want to Know Him in a Personal Way You Want to Go to Heaven When You Die Raise Your Hand. I'll Pray for You, Bless You Publish What I Have Just about Maybe Some of You Would Say Have Been Running from the Lord.

I Know It's Right. I Know He Wants Me to Do and I've Been Rebelling against and I Want to Come Back to Him. I Want to Return to the Lord This Evening. Pray for Me That Your Desire Would You Raise Your Hand You Want to Come Back to Jesus Christ. When We Pray for You Accomplish. God Bless Each One of You, and Ask Everyone of You That a Raise Your Hand If You Would Please I Want You to Stand Your Feet Stand up, Lead You in a Prayer of Commitment or Recommitment to Jesus against NW the Razor Handstand That That's Right.

Stand up, Then Right We Are. Don't Be Embarrassed. Others Are Standing Not the Only One God Bless You Stand up Here among Family and Friendship. This Is the Place to Do It Really Anybody Else You Want to Make This Commitment to Christ You Didn't Raise Your Hand, but You're Ready to Do It Stand up on a Lead You in a Prayer Bless You Anybody Else Then to Your Feet. Bless You Guys Understand One Final Moment Anybody Else You Want to Stand, Stand up, You Have a Choice in the Matter, Forces in Your Life You Wanted to Give You His Forgive Stand Anybody Else Right Publish You Know You That Are Sent and I Want You to Pray This Prayer out Loud after Me. This Is a Prayer Where You Are Asking Jesus Christ to Come into Your Life Again As I Pray Pray This out Loud after Me. Pray This with Me If You Would Know out Loud, Lord Jesus, I Know That I'm a Sinner but Ask You to Forgive Me of My Sin I Choose to Follow You from This Moment Forward As My Savior and Lord Is My God and My Friend. Thank You for Not Giving up on the Lord, Thank You for Forgiving Me Jesus in Your Name I Pray.

Amen. God Bless You Guys