"A Study of the book of Acts" by Neal Pollard - Part 5

Good morning. We are in the book of Acts. We haven't said this to this point, but I

think it bears mentioning as we are studying Acts from a specific standpoint. Chris Young

did an outstanding job, and if you go back and watch Bible class on YouTube, I would

recommend that you go back and look at the two quarters that he taught the book of Acts.

It was the last quarter at Lehman, if I'm right. Is that right, Chris? And the first

quarter here. And so he did more of an expository approach, where he's walking through verse

by verse. You'll notice today, and I originally was supposed to be Acts 8-11, Hiram and I

talked and said that's just really, I don't want to frustrate y'all or me, so we're going

to shrink that down. Acts 9 is pretty long, so we're going to spend some time in that,

and then it's a good break, and he'll pick up in chapter 10. But what we see as we look

at the book of Acts is something that we see when we look at the Cumberland Church of Christ.

And that is that it is never the case that we are dealing with one challenge at a time.

Now maybe as the church gets started in Jerusalem, the problems haven't really begun. There's

challenges, sure, to try to get a message out that had never been heard before, to get

people to believe something that they had rejected just a few days before that. And

so I get that, I understand, but it doesn't take them long to be a community who are seeking

to accomplish the will of God until they start having a variety of challenges. You've got

to learn how to juggle as God's people because those challenges are coming from different

directions. And I don't know we see it any more clearly than we see it when we get to

Acts 8 and 9. Now the challenge that had begun in Acts chapter 6, the struggle with the needs

Acts 6 · chapter mention

being met, and then immediately one of the servants who looks a lot like a deacon goes

out and he begins to share the gospel in the community because a physical servant who's

chosen by the church needs to be a spiritual person as well. He goes out and he tangles

with the religious establishment in the community. And as a result of that, ultimately he gives

his defense and he gives up his life. And the challenge that has started with trying

to penetrate hearts with the gospel and unbelievers who aren't ready to hear it causes things

to escalate and intensify. And out of that, that challenge is not yet resolved, but it's

going to be resolved. And we're going to see one kind of challenge here. So we'll think

for a moment, it's not a parallel to us exactly. It's hard for us to walk in the sandals of

the Jerusalem Christians who are leaving their homes and are leaving their homelands, their

hometowns, and they're forced to go somewhere else. So we're going to find in Acts chapter

Acts 8 · chapter mention

8 in verse 1 the two reasons for the challenge here. First is the death of a faithful, beloved

Christian. I don't know how long the church has been in existence when Stephen loses his

life, but I do know that there's loud lamentations made over him. There's great sorrow because

of his loss, maybe because of what they thought it might mean for them, and that now the pressure

is going to be turned on them. But that's the first part of the challenge. And the second

part of the challenge is the guy who's toting the coats has now become the chief persecutor.

And he has set his sight on the church as it existed. It only existed in Jerusalem at

that point. And that he is ravaging the church. We're going to look at some other statements

made about Saul later on in the class today. But he is just, you can almost see a lion,

can't you, with his teeth bared and going after a prey. That's what Saul is doing. And

he is getting the permissions from the highest authorities outside of the Roman Empire that

he can. And he's gotten permission to go into houses, and he is dragging out Christians,

pulling them out of their houses, and carrying them off bound to prison. So what are they

going to do? How are they going to respond to that? So that's going to be one challenge.

And we're going to look at two different challenges that are completely different from this when

we go to Acts chapter 9. So as we get into Acts chapter 8 and we see how does this challenge

Acts 9 · chapter mention Acts 8 · chapter mention

resolve? Challenge. Saul is persecuting the church like it's never been persecuted before.

What's the solution? How do they solve it? Okay, in Acts chapter 4, they pray. We see

Acts 4 · chapter mention

that when Peter and John are first pulled into some adversity with the chief leaders

of the Jews. They go somewhere else. Alright, Acts 8 and verse 4 is the solution. They,

those that were persecuted, went everywhere preaching the Word. Alright, and so the response

to the challenge that we're going to see today is going to come out of that. Now remember,

Acts chapter 8 and verse 4, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching

Acts 8 · chapter mention

the Word. This is in the result to responding to Saul's persecution. The Holy Spirit is

going to press pause and it's going to hit play again in Acts 11 and verse 19. I want

you to keep that in mind because when you go to Acts 11 and verse 19, it says, out of

the persecution, the scattering that was caused by the persecution regarding Stephen, and

then it's going to pick up where they're going and sharing the gospel in those places. So

what's happening in between 8-4 and 11-19? Well, just kind of a condensation of that

is we're going to look at one example of a Christian who goes everywhere preaching

the Word. And that Christian is who? Philip. Alright, so we're going to see Philip as he

focuses on a group, the city of Samaria, and on an individual, the Ethiopian eunuch. Alright,

that's going to carry us through most of chapter 8. And then in chapter 9, we are going to

see something that's more connected to chapter 1 and verse 8 than chapter 8. Do you remember

when Jesus has the apostles gathered together in Jerusalem? He's about to step on the cloud

and he says, you'll be my witnesses. What does he say after that? Anybody remember?

You'll be my witnesses beginning in Jerusalem. And then? Okay, let's don't skip the middle

part. Who is it? Samaria, Judea, and then the uttermost parts of the world. Alright,

so that's a road map for the book of Acts. Now what's happening in Acts chapter 8? Philip

Acts 8 · chapter mention

is going where? Samaria, part 2 of the mission that the apostles are given. And where does

Peter go in Acts chapter 9? Kent. It's not Samaria, it's not Jerusalem, and it's not

Acts 9 · chapter mention

the uttermost parts of the world. It's Judea. And so we're going to focus on his ministry

in Judea. And as a part of that ministry, in that general part of the world, who is

he going to encounter in chapter 10? We won't get there today. Cornelius. Alright, so the

gospel is going to go to the Gentiles. So Luke is going to focus on the remainder of

Peter's significance to the Great Commission. And you can almost split the book of Acts

in half, can't you? First half is devoted to whose ministry? Peter's. Second half? Paul's.

So when we get to chapter 12, we're going to see Peter one more time. Acts chapter 11,

Acts 11 · chapter mention

we're going to glimpse a little bit, a little bit of a more of an introduction to the new

Christian Saul of Tarsus and how Barnabas encourages him. And then starting in 13, it's

the missionary journeys and the gospel goes to the whole world. Now what I want us to

do in the first part of this class, we're going to see three things, hopefully, three

challenges. And again, if you haven't caught up with us, we've adapted our approach to

the challenges. Instead of saying that chapters indicate specific challenges, we're looking

at challenges as they arise in the book of Acts. And so the challenge here in Acts chapter

Acts 8 · chapter mention

8 is the challenge to responding to persecution. If you want to say adversity, if you want

to say resistance so that we can make better application to our lives, we're not facing

what Stephen and the other Christians were facing at this moment in time to where we

go out the door, we share Christ with a co-worker, a family member, a friend, a person in government

that we may encounter. We don't have to worry about going to jail or losing our lives at

this point. But we're going to face some costs associated with that. I want us to see something

in what Philip does here that serves as a pattern for us. Now it's interesting that

there are some distinct differences between the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch. If

you were to try to contrast them, what would you say are the differences from each other?

What do you know about the Samaritans? The Assyrians, that's right. The Assyrians,

okay. And so those who would be less kind would refer to them contemptuously as the

half breeds. Those who, they might in their terminology, though the culture would have

been different, would have said those that were biracial. But this was not so much about

skin color as it was culture and religion. But they are first cousins. They are related.

They come from the Semites. They're all, they kind of share the same blood, mostly.

What about the Ethiopian? Different race. How do the Samaritans worship? Up to this

point, remember the Samaritan woman? They're worshiping up in the mountains. How about

the Ethiopian eunuch? What is he? Jew or Gentile? It's a trick question. He's a Jew. He's a

Jew. Is he a Gentile? He was born a Gentile, but what does he appear to be based on what

Luke tells us? A convert, a proselyte. He's been to Jerusalem to worship and now he's

on his way back. And so you have these contrasts, but do you notice that Philip approaches them

the same way? Now I want us to notice those things in Acts chapter 8. By the way, which

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Philip is this? There's two Philips. Is this the Apostle? Can we textually prove it's not

the Apostle? Yes. If you have your Bibles open to Acts 8, 1 through 4, you have the

answer. How do we know it's not Philip the Apostle? When everybody was scattered and

whenever we're preaching the Word, who's the exception? The Apostles, alright? So this

Philip is who? He's one of the seven. Again, a man with a physical task who is able to

do spiritual work. What a template, what a guide, what an example for those who would

serve as deacons today. Alright, so let's look at his similarities. There's a similarity

in how Philip began. How does Philip begin with both of these groups? It's simple. He

goes up and he speaks up. You look at verse 5 and verse 30. It begins with his going up

and opening his mouth and proclaiming the Gospel. That's how he began in both places.

It's where we begin. We've said before, sometimes we overcomplicate evangelism. We think that

we've got to intricately weave this relationship with somebody that takes months and years

to curate and cultivate. And yet those who have had such success in evangelism will tell

you that oftentimes it's just a matter of going up and saying, what? Okay, that's what

Philip does. It's another way of saying, would you like to study the Bible with me? Is it

that simple? Should we try that? Should we make that a test, congregation? Let's set

a goal of all of us saying at least three times between now and the end of December,

somebody in our life, would you like to study the Bible with me? I would love to see the

statistics. I know it's not going to be 100%. Do you think it might be 33%? Do you think

one out of three might say yes? And if so, we're going to have to have some special classes

on how we can all sit down and make these Bible studies work. He goes up to the Samaritans

and he begins to share the Gospel. So far as we can tell, nothing deep and intricate

about this, but especially when we see what's going to happen in response to that. And he

goes up to the eunuch who is a ripe opportunity, this nobleman, and he just has this discussion

about studying the Bible. And I want you to notice also what Philip did. There's something

that he does in both cases that I want us to notice. In both cases for him, the teaching

began with the miracles that he did. You'll notice in verse 6 and verse 7 that he casts

out unclean spirits out of those. He cleanses them. He heals the paralyzed and the lame.

But why is he doing this? What's the purpose? Sure, it benefits those people who receive

that. Can you imagine? It's to get their attention. It is to get them to listen to what it is

he has to say. Now, how does he do that with the eunuch? What's extraordinary? What would

have been extraordinary to the eunuch about Philip? Where is the eunuch when we meet him?

OK, we'll talk more about that in just a minute, but we want to find out where he is first.

What part of the road is this? Is this a cluttered... It's a desert place. There's indications that

if there's anybody else in the scene, we're not told about it. And so there's not a big

crowd here. And so here you are, reading the book of Isaiah, you're coming back in your

shoes, and all of a sudden, here comes this guy. Would that get your attention? And then

when he comes up out of the badristry waters, man, wouldn't that be something? I want you

to imagine that, right? Whoever's doing the baptizing, they come out of the water with

the person, the person's rejoicing, and then the baptizer disappears. I mean, not slips

past you, they're gone. They're somewhere else. Surely that got his attention. In both

cases, it was to confirm, to make the message more powerful. Now, why don't we have that

today? I mean, it would certainly make the Bowling Green Daily News if we healed a paralyzed

or lame person. Why doesn't that happen today? So Acts chapter 8's going to show us that

Acts 8 · chapter mention

because Philip's not able to pass those gifts along. The apostles have got to come and impart

those gifts. That's how the miraculous gifts were transferred, and the apostles have long

since died. John would have been the last to die at the end of the first century, but

more than that, they couldn't do this. I know that the nobleman from Ethiopia had the Old

Testament scroll, but he didn't have the New Testament. And so this new covenant that was

being brought by the ones who are sharing the gospel of Christ, they're verbally teaching

a message that they have got to get solidified in people's minds as truth by some means.

God's still doing that. He's still using supernatural means, and that is, He's given us the message.

It's complete. And so we have a record of what's there, but we have a completed word

that we can share, and time has proven that it gets people's attention. All right? So

he, yes ma'am? Yeah. No. So the Spirit, that's a great point. I'm glad you mentioned that

lest I move past it. The Spirit functioned, obviously, in what took place with Philip

here. He is empowering the miracles that take place. And what's the Spirit's role in the

Word today? I mean it's all over the New Testament. God convicts us. God speaks to us. God communicates

His will. God turns our heart through the Word, not through a direct operation on our

hearts, but through the power of the Word. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12. So the Spirit

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

definitely is communicating through the Word, as Jesus said He would, John 14, 26 and John

16, 13. All right. So in both instances, the message is accompanied by signs, and in both

instances, Philip took the message in the same direction. Yep, go ahead. Absolutely.

And whenever we're teaching something like that, people need to see, especially when

they're long entrenched, we're going to see that in Acts chapter 9 with Saul of Tarsus,

Acts 9 · chapter mention

that this definitely is from God and not from men. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah, because we have

a countercultural message. It's different than what is being preached in the world.

It's even different if we're following New Testament Christianity from what the religious

world as a whole is teaching. And so how do we codify that? How do we get that firmly

in the minds of people? Those principles still operate. That's good. Now I want you to notice

something else. What Philip does with the Samaritans, he does with the eunuch. He takes

the message in the same direction. Look at verse 12 if you have your Bibles open to Acts

Acts 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8. It says that Philip preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name

of Jesus Christ. Obviously, there's a lot of details left out. We don't have the particulars,

but if we are curious about what that might be, let's just go back to Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and let's read Philip's sermon. Let's see the consistency. Even read Acts chapter 7

Acts 7 · chapter mention

in Stephen's sermon. Look at Paul's sermon to Antioch of Pisidia in Acts 13, and all

the way through, you're going to see a consistent message that's taught. And as the result of

the message, they believe, they believe the good news about the kingdom of God and the

name of Jesus Christ. Just in verse 35, we see that Philip told the good news to the

eunuch about Jesus. Now, what was involved with the good news? Created faith, verse 12

and 13, and also verse 37. By the way, this is not a textual criticism class, but how

many of you see verse 37 missing in your text? Does it go from 36 to 38? I think if

you have an ESV or a New American Standard, that's true, right? New King James, you have

a footnote? You have a study Bible that says something about verse 37? Just in there. It's

in brackets, all right? Harry, you are a graduate of a school of preaching. What is that? Some

of us may see those brackets and have no idea. Is that just set apart? What does that

mean? It means some people, I'm going to say some, think that manuscripts, it's not. Okay,

all right. So that's why I wanted you to see that. If you didn't hear what Harry said,

some say because it's not in some of the ancient manuscripts that it doesn't belong in the

Bible. We could talk about the different grades, A through D, as to whether it belongs in the

text or not. I'm going to make a point about that, but Mike wants to make a point. Okay,

so basically then all of your versions are saying that. Don't let that get you concerned

in any way. So let's say that we can at least say there's a possibility that it doesn't

belong in the text. Does it change anything? That's why I want to connect it to the parallel

in verse 12 and 13. When Jesus is taught and the good news of the kingdom is presented,

is there evidence that the eunuch believes? What's the evidence? Okay, he's reading from

the Old Testament, so he's a believer, that's for sure. But Vivian, what did you say? He

says, look, here's water. What prevents me from being baptized? Why? Why would he have

a conviction strong enough to stop the chariot in the middle of nowhere to get baptized in

the water? And so let's... the same thing is being taught, the same thing is happening,

and the same result happens. But what we would do at this service if we didn't spend a moment

and say is, why, when the Samaritans believed, did the eunuch believe? Why did the eunuch

were men and women baptized? And Simon the sorcerer baptized? And when Philip preaches

Jesus from Isaiah 53, and as the result of their study together, the eunuch sees water,

why does he say, what prevents me from being baptized? I know that for some or many of

you, this may be Fundamentals 100, but we don't need to miss an important point given

the climate of our religious world as a whole. What does it tell us? Okay, go back to Acts

238, and it is, it's that, that's the 100 point right there. First time he's preached,

Acts 2, they say, what shall we do? Peter's response matters. He says, repent and let

each one of you be baptized for the remission or forgiveness of sins. What does that tell

us about those who did not gladly receive the world and their sins? It tells us a lot

of things. They didn't act on their faith. It also tells us what about their sins. They're

not forgiven. So when Philip goes and he preaches to the Samaritans and when he preaches to

the eunuch and he shares the good news of the gospel of the kingdom, they know their

sins need to be forgiven and that God's means, his point, where he does this is in baptism.

Is baptism more important than faith? No. Is faith more important than baptism? No.

It's like saying, here's what God says is essential to do. What can we leave off the

list? Later on, we're fixing to look at Saul in chapter 9. In Acts 22 in verse 16, we have

another definitive statement where Ananias is going to preach to Saul of Tarsus. He has

met the Lord on the road to Damascus. He goes to Damascus and there's Saul. And as a part

of what he says, he says, and now why do you delay? Arise and be baptized and wash away

your sins. What does that tell us? If Saul is not baptized, is his sins washed away?

Are his sins washed away? No. It's an important theme in Acts. And I only say this to say

guys, this is not our doctrine. This isn't our view. This is the biblical view. And Philip

is spreading the gospel. He's one of the ones who are scattered abroad, going everywhere

preaching the word. And this is what you do when you share the gospel. Regardless of whatever

we see in the religious world as a whole, we've got to go back to the New Testament

and see what the church did from the beginning. Again, I know that is a very basic point,

but it's still so missed by the majority of sincere, wonderful folks who are trying

to follow Jesus. Yes, sir. So often, he has the kind of heart, we'll talk about that,

that is needed in order to help somebody obey the gospel, is that heart of humility. You

know, receive with meekness the implanted word, James 1 and verse 21. Laura?

And we talk that, we call that follow-up sometimes. And we're going to see that in

Acts chapter 9. That's a great point. If I can hold on to that. I'm trying to be an efficient

Acts 9 · chapter mention

clock manager and I'm not even trying to be overly ambitious. I'm just trying to do two

chapters today. We're still in chapter 8. So let me hit this really quick here. We want

to see what the hearers did. The hearers did the both thing in both places. And the thing

I want to emphasize is what they always seem to do when they obey the gospel, they rejoiced.

And that's so key. We talked about that a few Sunday nights ago when a lot of you were

at camp. But that's such a part of the book of Acts, is when people obey the gospel, there's

joy. What I want to just notice real quick are some lessons from Acts chapter 8 before

Acts 8 · chapter mention

we leave it. And that is, first of all, that adversity should never mean apostasy. You're

going to have setbacks in your Christian life. There are things that are going to happen

that are very difficult. Unless we begin to wallow in self-pity, we don't see the early

Christians doing that. When they are being driven out of everything they knew, their

comfort zone, in an extreme way, they didn't turn away from the Lord. And so whatever we're

struggling with, we should remind ourselves of these Christians and say, because things

are going hard in my life, should not mean that I give up on the Lord. Because of so

many folks who have been through so much who have held on. Yes, sir?

In the moment, when bad things happen to people, we turn inward and think it's because God's

got some problem with me and he's punishing me. But most of the time, God takes bad and

turns it into good. And he took that bad, what seemed to be terrible, and turns it into

good. And that's the cycle of Acts. It's when we

are given a challenge and we respond in a God-honoring way. We do what God says to do.

Success follows that. I don't know if any of you ever, I know some of you have, hit

your some digit with a hammer or maybe accidentally stapled yourself with a gun or something.

In that moment after that, if you can remember, guys and then girls, do you remember seeing

anything? Anybody ever seen spots? In that moment, and it lasts for a little while sometimes,

that's all you can see. Or maybe I just have high blood pressure, I don't know. But anyway,

it's happened to me on multiple occasions. You lose sight of the project, of everything

else around you as you tend to that injury. And sometimes I think it's what we do spiritually.

Man, we get smacked in that moment and all we can see is that. Not God at work, not how

others may be positively impacted as the result of what happens to that. God's not punishing

us. He's not doing something to hurt us. It may not be God at all. God's providence is

going to be at play to work through that. But if we'll just hold on, we'll see what

He's at work to do. Number two, put the emphasis on the Word. I'll just say, go through Acts

Acts 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8 and see the emphasis on the Word. Verse 4, verse 14, verse 25, and that's where

it always needs to be. Not what I think, what you think, how I feel you feel. Put the emphasis

on the Word. Man, we can agree on that. Number three, old struggles can resurface. You'll

notice we're not picking on poor Simon the sorcerer, but he's a reminder to us that if

you grew up in the church, you still had struggles in your pre- and post-Christian life. Isn't

it amazing? Those things tend to come back around. You conquer one, another one comes

along and you're still working on that. Simon the sorcerer is a great example of somebody

who had a problem. He was known as the great in town. He holds people captive. He humbles

his heart, verse 10 through 12. He obeys the gospel. He wants salvation. And then he sees

Philip first and then he sees Peter come and lay his hand on folks and that's all he can

stand. He says, I want to buy it. And Philip says, you're back where you were. That's us

so often. I've never looked down on Simon the sorcerer because I've been there. And

each of us have that. Number four, a humble hearer helps to make an effective teacher.

You see that with Simon. Man, how does he respond to the rebuke of Peter? It's a humility

that says, please pray to God that none of these things happen to me. And you certainly

see that with the eunuch. Here comes Philip up to the chariot and says, do you understand

what you're reading? You know, have you ever had that tendency? Oh yeah, I got this. I'm

fine. Look, I'll figure it out. He doesn't do that. He says, how can I except some man

should guide me? Let's pray that we all always maintain that spirit. I don't care how long

you've been a Christian. To be able to say, I want to have a humble and open heart because

that makes every teaching more impactful. Just a random example that came to mind. If

there's ever a sermon on or a Bible class on gossip, how about orient your thinking

a little differently? Instead of picking out in your mind the three people you think are

the most gossipy people that you know, why not say, hmm, when did I do that? How have

I done that? Is this a temptation for me? How do I know? Let me listen. Maybe I'll learn

some things. They'll tell me what gossip is, how to deal with it, so forth and so on. And

that's what's happening here in Acts chapter 8 is all I'll say. Joy accompanies obedience.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

We've already said that. That's Acts chapter 8 from the perspective of the challenges.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Anybody got in some very, very, very, very, very brief comments they want to make before

we move to Acts chapter 9? All right, Acts chapter 9. We're going to see a challenge

Acts 9 · chapter mention Acts 9 · chapter mention

of changing here. And of course, this is the conversion of Saul. I can't think of anybody

who had a more drastic change in their life than Saul did. We meet him as a man holding

the coats of the killers of Stephen, and he goes off the scene praising God for his grace.

2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 22. Is there something in your life that you want to change?

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Is there something in your life that needs to change? If so, then I think that Saul of

Tarsus in his story, though there are some elements of it that may have no bearing on

where you are right now in your spiritual life that helps because above everything else,

the challenge that Saul shows us here is the challenge of changing. And it seems like that

challenge goes in three directions. First of all, he's got to change religion. He's

got to change his relationship with God, and we see this. And one of the things that strikes

me, if you have your Bible open, go to Acts chapter 8. I want to show you a series of

Acts 8 · chapter mention

verses real quick. And this is the number of statements about Saul's pre-Christian

life and his attitude toward Christians that shows what a dramatic change of religion that

he makes. Look at 8.1. Saul approved of Stephen's execution. Look at verse 3. Saul ravages the

church. Same verse. He enters house after house. Same verse. He dragged off Christian

men and women, and he put them in prison. Go over to chapter 9 and verse 1. Picks up

the story of Saul. It says, he was breathing threats and murder against the disciples.

Same verse. He goes to the high priest, ultimate religious authority in the Jewish world, asks

for the power to take Christians out of the synagogues, multiple, plural, of Damascus,

and bring them bound to Jerusalem. I hadn't thought about that. Here's what he's saying.

I want to go up. Damascus is a good distance from Jerusalem. I want to go all the way there.

I want to go into the synagogues. I don't know if kind of as a plant, where he's just

hiding there and he's just waiting to hear that they're Christians. And then hearing

that, knowing that, having the evidence, he can bring them bound and take them all the

way to Jerusalem. Does he parade them? Does he make a show of this? That's before he changes.

Look at verse 4 and 5. What does Jesus say? Here's the most condemning verdict. You're

persecuting me. Then in verse 13 of chapter 9, he did much harm to the saints at Jerusalem.

And then verse 14, Ananias is conversing with the Lord and he refers back to Saul's power

from the high priest to bind Christians. And then in verse 21, he destroyed in Jerusalem

those who called on the name of Christ. Now, all of this was an expression of his faith

in God. So how does that have to do with you and me and the changes we need to make? Anybody

see any possible parallel or connection? Alright, we're going to see some things about Saul

that, and of course he has some pretty good persuasion. The Lord speaks to him on the

road to Damascus, but when he sees his need to change, he does. Yes, sir?

I always like to see the big picture, you know, of God at work, but we just need to

be aware too, think about this. Paul's persecution of the church actually was part of the catalyst

that's led to the church's expansion, you know, out into other areas.

Absolutely.

I like to see the big picture, so even though after Paul's conversion, but his persecution

was a motivator and a catalyst to the expansion of the church.

Absolutely. Yeah, you're going to see that all the way through. No action of the devil,

no action of any opponent of Christianity, including the Jews, is going to stop God's

purpose from being realized, because God has the benefit of perfect foreknowledge, of omniscience,

and so he's already seen this. I don't know if y'all play chess, I'm not much of a chess,

I was in the chess club in sixth grade, there was a pretty girl in there, and I still know

very little about chess, sorry, but she's long since gone.

Can you imagine playing chess with a grand champion master who is almost like they're

reading your thoughts, they already know ten moves ahead? That's God, through all these

things that are going on, he's not going to be fooled or stymied by the opposition. Yes,

ma'am?

I was just thinking about Galatians 1.15, when it says that God set him apart in his

mother's womb, I don't know what that means.

Okay, so I'm not sure I can explain that in eight minutes, but it may be a good question

and answer for this month, but she asked how did God separate out Saul from his womb, of

course that's assuming his cooperation with the will of God, just like Pharaoh, God forced

Saul and used him knowing how he was going to be, to me it's a cool point. Does God look

at our lives before we're born, was that just something that belonged to the miraculous

age? And the thing is, am I going to cooperate with his purpose? What could God be doing

with my life if I am on board in serving him with the talents that God gives me, the doors

that God opens to me, and that's what happens here. Alright, but we can give a fuller answer

maybe later. What made it hard for Saul to change? There's so much, I want to encourage

this, we're going to look at maybe, I'm going to kick the can down the road, we're going

to look at Acts 22 and Acts 26 and we're going to see this again and see what a radical change

this was for him, to leave what he knew was right, why is that so hard for us to make

a change?

But we all want our way, and we have been told all of our lives to change from that,

you know, it's got to be hard because I've talked to my sister in law once and she could

not make the change because she said, you don't understand how hard it is for me to

leave what my parents have taught me all of my life. And we all want our way, and that

is why it's very hard to change. Absolutely, absolutely. That's a good point.

Yes.

He needed to be taught himself as a master teacher.

That's the thing we're going to find in Acts, is people acting in ignorance. Look at how

invested he was. I mean, look at this, this is not a guy sitting on the sidelines of Judaism.

He is up front and he is involved. He was convicted that he was right. Go to Acts 23

Acts 23:1

verse 1. Brethren, I've lived with a clear conscience before God to this day. I wasn't

out there trying to do wrong, I was trying to do what was right. Keep that in mind. I'm

talking about if you're studying with somebody else, that people aren't trying to do contrary

to God's will. They're convinced that they're right. He already had a community, and he's

shining that. It's hard to turn away from the community in which you find yourself.

And he had to face, somebody said this, that he was wrong. Anybody else have a problem

doing that? Saying I was wrong? I may not have been right in this. I don't know, why

is that? That's a philosophical question. I don't know if we'll answer that.

My mother was baptized at 87 years old. She had come out of denomination.

And she lost children because of it.

So it goes back to the cost.

Yeah. And she said, I didn't lose anything

because I'm going to put Jesus first. And she had to be convinced, if you know what

I mean. And she read, and Brother Bennett spoke with her. But anyway, she told us, she

said, do you know what it feels like when all of your life, you were that committed

and you were convinced you were right? Yeah.

And you were actually wrong? That's tough.

And she said, I know how it felt. That's what I remember her telling me that.

That's incredible. You know, Paul said, the things that I gained, I counted as lost.

That I may gain Christ, Philippians chapter 3. He had to change relationships.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

But he had a changing relationship with the Jews. They were, he was the golden boy.

But now that he's preaching Christ, they're after him.

Until the day he dies, they're after him. And then he has a changing reputation.

How do the disciples first see him when he first becomes a Christian in Jerusalem?

I'm not sure he's really on our side. And you can't blame him.

How many faces is he looking into of families whose lives he changed forever?

Maybe just weeks before. So let's give him a pass there.

It's a little hard, but I also want you to find out the change.

And this is, study Barnabas. Look at verse 27.

There is so much that is help to us.

Because of what Miss Laura said, when folks become Christians, they need our help.

When they've made all these changes, like Saul of Tarsus did.

Get personally involved. Barnabas doesn't say, hey, somebody needs to go

and catch up with this new Christian. He takes it on himself, as he often does.

Connect them with the leaders. In this verse, it's the apostles.

And he shows, he brings him to the apostles and gets them connected.

We need to get them connected with the church leadership.

Get to know their history. How is it that Barnabas, he knows all of Saul's story.

How do you get that? You don't just get that reading the bulletin

or saying hi to somebody at church. You've got to get in their lives.

Advocate for them. Believe in them. Don't we all need that?

Don't we want folks who will come along and be our cheerleader and say,

I think this person can do X, Y, or Z. That's what Barnabas does for Saul.

And then notice their growth. He says, man, look at what he's already been doing here.

Let's capitalize on that. Now, I want to just say this.

Boy, I wish I had time. Just look at 28-30

and see what the church gave Saul. All of this is part of the solution.

This is what he gave them. They gave him.

They did. They changed their way of thinking and they extended to him fellowship,

whereas at first they were afraid to. They trusted him.

Now, I'm not saying we should give a blanket trust to people who have

a particular sin problem. We're talking about specifically in the realm of religion

where exhibited change has occurred that maybe there's guardrails,

there are training wheels, but you don't

put people on the shelf forever. I'd say when somebody

has made a mess of things in their Christian life

or maybe there's a bad moment in their Christian life.

So often if we're not careful, what we do is we say they're on a lifetime of probation

whereas we're hurting them, we're hurting the church, and we're hurting

ourselves because that's not what we need to do. We need to recognize the change

that people are trying to make in their lives and that's what the church does here.

And then they offer him assistance. Yes, ma'am?

...

...

...

...

Well, and unfortunately

people can be people sometimes and that's the how not to

do it. That's not the ax model for sure. I want to just

say this in the last 20 seconds I have. The challenge of loss

we don't want to gloss over. I would urge you

to go back and read Acts chapter 9 verse 32 through 43 and it's so cool

Acts 9:32–43

I think Barrett taught on Barnabas and I think that Hillary

taught on Tabitha, Dorcas

and I want you to think about people that we've lost here.

I had a list of names but I thought, you know, I'm not going to be exhaustive, I'm going to miss some folks

but there are people who when they leave this earth, they leave a hole in their wake

and that's Dorcas and we know that this was

a loss they were dealing with. It's evidenced by their emotion and I just want to share

the first point and I won't hold you beyond that. There's evidence

of their deep emotion. Verse 38, they plead.

They go 17 miles. They send two people to go and beg

Peter to come back and to raise her from the dead. Another evidence

is seen in their care of the body. I don't know anywhere else in Scripture where they

wash the body. Jesus' body is anointed but they wash hers

a sign of great respect and honor and another

is they place the body in the upper room. In the ancient

world, how quickly do they bury folks? So you're going to go out the door

they go upstairs, why? Faith, expectation

that Peter will come and do this and of course there's the weeping, the mourning

which was very common. Here's what I'm going to do

I think I may drop this in Daily Bread because I was

geeking out over Dorcas. That was pretty cool and I'm not able

to teach much of it. We've got too much Acts left so look for Dorcas

Tabitha in the Daily Bread this week. Alright, thanks very much for your attention.