? (Theme Song) ? ? Jesus is worthy ? 00:00:01.30\00:00:08.30 ? oh yes, he's worthy ? ? worthy of all... ? 00:00:08.30\00:00:16.86 ? all the praise... ? Pastor Byrd: Saul of Tarsus. 00:00:16.86\00:00:24.10 A Roman citizen by birth, but a Jew by descent. 00:00:24.10\00:00:26.73 Saul, regarded by the rabbis as a young man 00:00:26.73\00:00:30.53 of great promise. 00:00:30.53\00:00:31.76 Saul, elevated to membership in the Sanhedrin, placing 00:00:31.76\00:00:35.13 him in a position of power. 00:00:35.13\00:00:36.86 Saul, who had taken a prominent place in the trial 00:00:36.86\00:00:40.43 conviction of Stephen, claiming that Stephen 00:00:40.43\00:00:42.70 was a blasphemer and that the Christ whom he had spoken 00:00:42.70\00:00:45.33 of was nothing but an imposter. 00:00:45.33\00:00:47.03 Saul, because of his education and because of his prejudices; 00:00:47.03\00:00:51.96 Saul, because of his respect for his former teachers; 00:00:51.96\00:00:55.70 Saul, because of his pride and his popularity; 00:00:55.70\00:00:59.36 Saul who became bitter in his opposition 00:00:59.36\00:01:02.46 to the doctrines taught by the disciples of Jesus Christ, 00:01:02.46\00:01:05.40 became active in causing holy men and women 00:01:05.40\00:01:08.53 to be dragged before tribal courts, where some 00:01:08.53\00:01:11.63 were condemned to prison, others sentenced to death, 00:01:11.63\00:01:14.63 solely because of their faith in Jesus Christ. 00:01:14.63\00:01:16.76 It was Saul. 00:01:16.76\00:01:19.20 Then I like what the Bible says in Acts, chapter 8, 00:01:19.20\00:01:22.66 verse number 4. 00:01:22.66\00:01:24.76 The Bible says that those who were driven from 00:01:24.76\00:01:28.86 Jerusalem by this persecution, they went everywhere 00:01:28.86\00:01:34.50 preaching the word of God. 00:01:34.50\00:01:35.86 They weren't scared of Saul. 00:01:35.86\00:01:37.03 They weren't stopped, I should say, because of Saul 00:01:37.03\00:01:40.33 or anybody else. 00:01:40.33\00:01:45.80 They continued to preach, they continued to teach, 00:01:45.80\00:01:49.00 and they continued to spread the Gospel. 00:01:49.00\00:01:52.93 And the funny thing is that the more they were 00:01:52.93\00:01:56.30 persecuted, the more they preached. 00:01:56.30\00:01:59.46 The more they preached, the more they grew. 00:01:59.46\00:02:04.76 Let that be a lesson for us today. 00:02:04.76\00:02:07.73 Anytime the people of God are afflicted, anytime 00:02:07.73\00:02:11.56 the people of God are persecuted, they more they're 00:02:11.56\00:02:14.30 afflicted, the more they grow. 00:02:14.30\00:02:17.66 You see, you would think that we would grow best when 00:02:17.66\00:02:22.63 things are going well. 00:02:22.63\00:02:24.63 But that's not necessarily true all the time. 00:02:24.63\00:02:27.36 When God wants you to grow, God will send an enemy 00:02:27.36\00:02:31.86 to afflict you. 00:02:31.86\00:02:33.53 Let me say that one more time. 00:02:33.53\00:02:35.53 When God wants you to grow, God will send somebody 00:02:35.53\00:02:40.10 to afflict you. 00:02:40.10\00:02:42.66 That's why when you see the enemy coming, somebody ought 00:02:42.66\00:02:45.93 to get ready to rejoice, because that means something 00:02:45.93\00:02:49.03 is about to happen in somebody's life. 00:02:49.03\00:02:51.50 You all don't hear what I'm saying. 00:02:51.50\00:02:53.50 Let me tell you this. 00:02:53.50\00:02:54.50 The church shouts at the wrong time. 00:02:54.50\00:02:57.33 We shout when we come out of trouble. 00:02:57.33\00:03:00.70 But you ought to shout when you go in trouble because 00:03:00.70\00:03:04.63 some way, somehow, the more the enemy afflicts you, 00:03:04.63\00:03:08.80 the more you grow in God. 00:03:08.80\00:03:10.06 That's why the Bible says it's good that you were 00:03:10.06\00:03:14.16 afflicted, because you wouldn't have grown to what you've 00:03:14.16\00:03:16.90 grown to if you hadn't gone through what you 00:03:16.90\00:03:19.30 went through. 00:03:19.30\00:03:20.33 Let me illustrate. 00:03:20.33\00:03:21.33 Somebody's still not getting it. 00:03:21.33\00:03:23.33 Let me loosen you up just a little bit. 00:03:23.33\00:03:25.33 Growing up as a boy in my home, we had chores. 00:03:25.33\00:03:30.30 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:03:30.30\00:03:34.13 And we used to get allowance for doing chores. 00:03:34.13\00:03:39.83 Vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, cleaning our rooms. 00:03:39.83\00:03:47.86 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 00:03:47.86\00:03:51.03 And let me throw this in. 00:03:51.03\00:03:52.70 We got an allowance in the later years, 00:03:52.70\00:03:54.70 but in the early years I had to do all that, and I didn't get 00:03:54.70\00:03:57.46 an allowance. 00:03:57.46\00:03:59.63 My daddy believed that if you ate, you had to work. 00:03:59.63\00:04:03.93 Do I have a witness in this place? 00:04:03.93\00:04:06.30 So my brother, my sister and I, we rotated on who washed 00:04:06.30\00:04:12.13 the dishes, who cleaned the bathrooms, who vacuumed 00:04:12.13\00:04:16.90 the floors. 00:04:16.90\00:04:18.06 And I'll be honest today, I don't understand young 00:04:18.06\00:04:20.16 people today who grow up and don't clean their rooms, 00:04:20.16\00:04:23.00 who don't do dishes, who don't vacuum. 00:04:23.00\00:04:25.00 You all don't like it, but I'm going to tell it anyhow. 00:04:25.00\00:04:28.00 They expect Mama and Daddy to do all the work. 00:04:28.00\00:04:30.00 Let me tell you something: you better make them work. 00:04:30.00\00:04:32.43 You're hurting them and you're not helping them when 00:04:32.43\00:04:35.43 you give them everything and they don't have to work 00:04:35.43\00:04:37.43 for it. 00:04:37.43\00:04:38.43 Even in college, I understand some of 00:04:38.43\00:04:40.43 the students today, I know they ain't going to like this, 00:04:40.43\00:04:43.16 I'm going to stay it anyhow: I don't understand students 00:04:43.16\00:04:45.30 who don't want to work. 00:04:45.30\00:04:46.73 Now, if there are no jobs, that's one thing. 00:04:46.73\00:04:49.43 But if you don't want to work, that's a problem. 00:04:49.43\00:04:51.43 Let me tell you, young people, when you come 00:04:51.43\00:04:53.43 to Oakwood there are four things you do. 00:04:53.43\00:04:55.43 You study, you eat, you go to church, and you work. 00:04:55.43\00:05:00.93 When I came to Oakwood I did four things. 00:05:00.93\00:05:02.93 I studied, I ate, I came to church, and I worked. 00:05:02.93\00:05:07.36 Those are four keys to success. 00:05:07.36\00:05:09.36 Remember that, now. 00:05:09.36\00:05:10.36 But growing up in my home, we had chores. 00:05:10.36\00:05:15.03 And on Fridays, one of the things we had 00:05:15.03\00:05:18.36 to do was wash the cars, plural, so the cars would be ready 00:05:18.36\00:05:23.73 for Sabbath. 00:05:23.73\00:05:26.60 And my daddy would make sure we washed the car, because 00:05:26.60\00:05:30.70 he was from the old school that he said a hard head 00:05:30.70\00:05:33.03 made a soft bottom. 00:05:33.03\00:05:34.03 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 00:05:34.03\00:05:36.43 And so we were the Byrd car wash. 00:05:36.43\00:05:43.80 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:05:43.80\00:05:45.80 We didn't go to the car wash for somebody else to wash 00:05:45.80\00:05:50.13 the car. 00:05:50.13\00:05:51.56 We washed the cars. 00:05:51.56\00:05:54.73 We didn't have a lawn care service to come cut our 00:05:54.73\00:05:58.86 grass. 00:05:58.86\00:06:00.50 We cut the grass. 00:06:00.50\00:06:03.03 We were the Byrd Lawn Service. 00:06:03.03\00:06:08.00 And so we had to wash the cars. 00:06:08.00\00:06:10.00 Now, we had a water hose, but we didn't always have 00:06:10.00\00:06:14.93 a nozzle on the hose. 00:06:14.93\00:06:17.90 Either we had broken it, we lost it, or we dropped it 00:06:17.90\00:06:22.36 somewhere, so we didn't always have a nozzle, but we still 00:06:22.36\00:06:25.93 had to wash the car. 00:06:25.93\00:06:29.00 So when we got ready to rinse the car, we had 00:06:29.00\00:06:34.06 to squeeze the water hose. 00:06:34.06\00:06:37.06 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 00:06:37.06\00:06:39.43 To increase the water pressure, to make the water 00:06:39.43\00:06:43.76 shoot out so we could rinse the car. 00:06:43.76\00:06:47.36 And the more you'd afflict the hose, the more you'd 00:06:47.36\00:06:53.10 squeeze the hose, the more pressure you applied 00:06:53.10\00:06:58.76 to the hose, the further the water would shoot. 00:06:58.76\00:07:02.53 Somebody's going to get this in a minute. 00:07:02.53\00:07:04.53 The more you'd afflict the hose, the further the water 00:07:04.53\00:07:08.93 would shoot out. 00:07:08.93\00:07:10.46 That's why I don't understand the devil. 00:07:10.46\00:07:13.30 Because the more he squeezes me, the more I shoot out, 00:07:13.30\00:07:18.90 the more he pressures me, the more I shoot out. 00:07:18.90\00:07:24.10 If the devil had any sense, he wouldn't squeeze me like 00:07:24.10\00:07:27.90 this, because when you squeeze me like this, 00:07:27.90\00:07:30.06 that just means I'm going to shoot a little further. 00:07:30.06\00:07:33.83 Today I don't know who I'm talking to. 00:07:33.83\00:07:36.53 But there's somebody up in this place, you are up under 00:07:36.53\00:07:41.00 attack right now. 00:07:41.00\00:07:42.26 And the enemy thought that he was going to kill you. 00:07:42.26\00:07:46.36 But isn't it strange, friends of mine, that 00:07:46.36\00:07:49.33 the more the enemy afflicts you, the more that you grow, 00:07:49.33\00:07:53.93 the more that pressure is applied to your life, 00:07:53.93\00:07:57.30 the more you grow. 00:07:57.30\00:07:58.86 What the devil means for evil, God means for good. 00:07:58.86\00:08:02.93 And let me throw this in. 00:08:02.93\00:08:04.90 Talking about God's word and God's church and God's 00:08:04.90\00:08:06.90 people growing. 00:08:06.90\00:08:07.90 Don't think that the work of God cannot go on without 00:08:07.90\00:08:09.90 you. 00:08:09.90\00:08:10.90 Some of us think we can stop the work of God. 00:08:10.90\00:08:12.90 That's going on in the church right now. 00:08:12.90\00:08:15.46 They're trying to stop the work of God. 00:08:15.46\00:08:18.83 We think we can stop the progress of God's church. 00:08:18.83\00:08:23.06 The church needs me. 00:08:23.06\00:08:24.86 The church is not going to make it without me. 00:08:24.86\00:08:27.53 Let me tell you something. 00:08:27.53\00:08:28.56 The cemetery is full of folk who thought the church 00:08:28.56\00:08:31.03 couldn't make it without them. 00:08:31.03\00:08:33.03 The work of God will always triumph and prevail. 00:08:33.03\00:08:35.36 God's word will always stand. 00:08:35.36\00:08:38.36 God's truth still marches on. 00:08:38.36\00:08:41.16 I've never seen the righteous forsaken 00:08:41.16\00:08:43.36 nor his seed begging bread. 00:08:43.36\00:08:45.73 If it be of God, can't nobody overthrow it. 00:08:45.73\00:08:49.63 If God be for us, who can be against us? 00:08:49.63\00:08:53.43 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into all 00:08:53.43\00:08:56.93 the world, as a witness until all nations, 00:08:56.93\00:08:59.06 and then shall the end come. 00:08:59.06\00:09:01.26 Saul is on that Damascus road. 00:09:01.26\00:09:04.76 Going to persecute some Christians. 00:09:04.76\00:09:07.20 Saul desired to persecute the Christians so much, 00:09:07.20\00:09:09.30 the Bible says that literally he breathed the arrest 00:09:09.30\00:09:12.76 and slaughter of the Christians. 00:09:12.76\00:09:14.76 He could smell persecution a mile away. 00:09:14.76\00:09:17.10 By any means necessary, Paul was willing to go 00:09:17.10\00:09:19.40 to extreme limits to stamp out the hated 00:09:19.40\00:09:21.63 Christian teachings. 00:09:21.63\00:09:22.63 He didn't care if the church folks or Christians were 00:09:22.63\00:09:25.00 male or female. 00:09:25.00\00:09:26.70 He didn't care if they were rich or poor. 00:09:26.70\00:09:29.13 He didn't care if they were black or white. 00:09:29.13\00:09:31.70 The Bible says he just wanted to bind them up 00:09:31.70\00:09:34.06 and take them back to Jerusalem. 00:09:34.06\00:09:36.06 But, the Bible says, that as he neared Damascus, at about 00:09:36.06\00:09:44.23 noonday, God planned road construction, as Saul 00:09:44.23\00:09:50.50 and his entourage looked over the city of Damascus. 00:09:50.50\00:09:58.73 The Bible says that suddenly there shined round about 00:09:58.73\00:10:04.00 him a light from heaven. 00:10:04.00\00:10:07.33 Blinded and bewildered, Saul fell to the ground. 00:10:07.33\00:10:11.53 What did Saul see? 00:10:11.53\00:10:14.13 Why did Saul fall? 00:10:14.13\00:10:15.66 Saul hears a voice. 00:10:15.66\00:10:17.63 "Saul, Saul, why persecuteth thou me?" "Who art thou, 00:10:17.63\00:10:22.26 Lord?" "I'm Jesus, whom thou persecuteth." Saul now 00:10:22.26\00:10:29.23 is made to see what his teacher Gamalial in Acts, chapter five 00:10:29.23\00:10:32.16 said, that to persecute the church was to persecute 00:10:32.16\00:10:39.00 Jesus. 00:10:39.00\00:10:40.00 To persecute Jesus was to fight against God. 00:10:40.00\00:10:42.83 No man, none of us, have seen God at any time. 00:10:42.83\00:10:47.13 It is further written that no one can look upon God's 00:10:47.13\00:10:49.93 face and live. 00:10:49.93\00:10:52.10 And so therefore Paul said in Colossians 1:15 00:10:52.10\00:10:54.90 that Jesus, being the express image of the Father, 00:10:54.90\00:10:58.43 is the visible image of the visible God. 00:10:58.43\00:11:00.96 Which means if you would know what God is like, 00:11:00.96\00:11:07.13 look at Jesus. 00:11:07.13\00:11:09.10 If you want to know God, you must first know Jesus. 00:11:09.10\00:11:14.23 If you would have the grace of God, seek Jesus. 00:11:14.23\00:11:19.76 If you want the love of God, you've got to love Jesus. 00:11:19.76\00:11:24.23 If you would have the blessings of God, 00:11:24.23\00:11:26.66 you gotta tell Jesus. 00:11:26.66\00:11:29.06 If you want to know the will of God, you've got to tell 00:11:29.06\00:11:32.86 Jesus. 00:11:32.86\00:11:33.86 And if you want to live with God, then you've got 00:11:33.86\00:11:37.13 to live in Jesus. 00:11:37.13\00:11:38.86 For what the Father is, the Son is. 00:11:38.86\00:11:41.70 What the Father does, the Son does. 00:11:41.70\00:11:43.90 What the Father decrees, the Son decrees, and what 00:11:43.90\00:11:46.80 the Father wills, the Son executes. 00:11:46.80\00:11:50.13 Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:11:50.13\00:11:55.06 Saul replies, Lord, what would thou have me to do? 00:11:56.53\00:12:02.93 Lord, what do you want from me? 00:12:02.93\00:12:09.80 I've done it my way for so long, and now I know that my 00:12:09.80\00:12:16.26 way was wrong. 00:12:16.26\00:12:19.86 Candor makes me comment here that at least Paul 00:12:19.86\00:12:22.23 acknowledged he was wrong. 00:12:22.23\00:12:25.30 How many of us do wrong, plan wrong, are wrong, 00:12:25.30\00:12:32.33 and aren't scared of the consequences 00:12:32.33\00:12:34.56 of our wrong? 00:12:34.56\00:12:36.50 Some of us would rather die than say we were wrong. 00:12:36.50\00:12:41.93 At least Paul said, I was wrong. 00:12:41.93\00:12:46.23 What wilt thou have me to do? 00:12:46.23\00:12:51.96 Jesus says, Get up. 00:12:51.96\00:12:55.83 Now, any time Jesus wants you to do something and 00:12:58.03\00:13:00.50 he wants you to do it right away, he says, get up. 00:13:00.50\00:13:06.46 He told the man at the pool of Bethesda, quit talking 00:13:06.46\00:13:10.63 about what you don't have, claim what you do have, 00:13:10.63\00:13:12.73 and get up. 00:13:12.73\00:13:14.56 Saul, get up. 00:13:14.56\00:13:16.80 Go into the city and it will be told to you what you 00:13:16.80\00:13:25.80 should do. 00:13:25.80\00:13:26.80 Now, I could preach a whole other sermon on following 00:13:26.80\00:13:29.83 God's direction, but that would take too much time. 00:13:29.83\00:13:33.20 I could preach a whole other sermon on what happens when 00:13:33.20\00:13:35.63 Paul gets to the city and the importance of walking 00:13:35.63\00:13:38.13 in the will of God, but that would take too much time. 00:13:38.13\00:13:40.86 I could preach a whole other sermon on the fact that when 00:13:40.86\00:13:43.06 Paul got to Damascus, he was blind for three days, 00:13:43.06\00:13:45.66 the Christians thought he was faking, so they refused 00:13:45.66\00:13:48.16 to give him sympathy. 00:13:48.16\00:13:49.16 I could preach on how the unconverted Jews whom Paul 00:13:49.16\00:13:56.00 planned to join in persecuting the Christians, 00:13:56.00\00:13:58.40 they didn't even want Paul to tell his story. 00:13:58.40\00:14:03.10 I could preach how God changed his name from Saul 00:14:03.10\00:14:07.86 to Paul, and how he became the greatest writer 00:14:07.86\00:14:10.90 of the New Testament. 00:14:10.90\00:14:12.53 I could preach all of that. 00:14:12.53\00:14:14.56 But I'm here to preach road construction, so I've got 00:14:14.56\00:14:16.56 two points to tell you, and then I'm going to sit down. 00:14:16.56\00:14:19.76 Number one, when you have a spiritual road construction, 00:14:19.76\00:14:27.56 you will be brought directly into the presence of God. 00:14:27.56\00:14:33.33 And God will stop you, so God can save you. 00:14:33.33\00:14:40.23 God will blind you so that God might bless you. 00:14:40.23\00:14:46.20 God will delay you so that God can deliver you. 00:14:46.20\00:14:51.83 I've learned in my life that delay is not denial. 00:14:51.83\00:14:56.36 Delay is not God withholding his blessings. 00:14:56.36\00:15:00.06 Delay is not no, delay is just not just right now. 00:15:00.06\00:15:04.43 Somebody today, you're on your Damascus road. 00:15:07.10\00:15:12.86 God has stopped you dead in your tracks. 00:15:14.66\00:15:19.03 You can't move forward, you can't move backward, 00:15:19.03\00:15:26.36 you can't move sideways. 00:15:26.36\00:15:29.63 You can't do anything because God has stopped you. 00:15:29.63\00:15:34.73 You were doing a bunch of nonsense, you were doing 00:15:34.73\00:15:38.63 some foolishness in your life, you were doing your 00:15:38.63\00:15:42.13 own thing, and God had to stop you so that God 00:15:42.13\00:15:46.90 could save you. 00:15:46.90\00:15:47.90 Sometimes God has to knock you down. 00:15:47.90\00:15:53.10 You wonder why sometimes we get sick? 00:15:53.10\00:15:55.46 You wonder sometimes why we lose our jobs? 00:15:55.46\00:15:59.20 Why we lose loved ones? 00:15:59.20\00:16:00.30 Because sometimes God has to allow us to get knocked down 00:16:00.30\00:16:04.56 where all we can do is look up. 00:16:04.56\00:16:08.00 Sometimes we gotta fail a class. 00:16:08.00\00:16:11.76 Sometimes we gotta fail a test. 00:16:11.76\00:16:14.80 So that we're knocked down so that all we do is look up. 00:16:14.80\00:16:18.40 Sometimes God has to get your attention. 00:16:18.40\00:16:22.86 God has to blind you. 00:16:22.86\00:16:25.00 Sometimes God has to cripple you. 00:16:25.00\00:16:27.33 Sometimes God has to put you in a hospital bed. 00:16:27.33\00:16:30.16 Sometimes God has to allow you to hit rock bottom. 00:16:30.16\00:16:33.60 Sometimes you gotta lose a loved one, lose a job, 00:16:33.60\00:16:36.06 lose a house, lose a car. 00:16:36.06\00:16:37.13 Sometimes you even gotta lose a marriage. 00:16:37.13\00:16:40.36 But in order for God to bring you into God's 00:16:40.36\00:16:42.36 presence, God has to knock you down. 00:16:42.36\00:16:45.70 But Lord, if that's how you have to save me, God, 00:16:45.70\00:16:52.00 if that's how you have to deliver me, God, if that's 00:16:52.00\00:16:55.60 how you have to fix me, any way you bless me, 00:16:55.60\00:17:00.96 I'll be satisfied. 00:17:00.96\00:17:02.43 Because in your presence there's fullness of joy. 00:17:02.43\00:17:07.13 And at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. 00:17:07.13\00:17:12.26 So God, if you have to reconstruct me on this 00:17:12.26\00:17:15.46 journey, on this road, make me over again. 00:17:15.46\00:17:19.63 God, if you've got to rebuild me, make me over 00:17:19.63\00:17:22.66 again. 00:17:22.66\00:17:23.80 God, if you have to patch me up, make me over again. 00:17:23.80\00:17:27.06 God, if you have to fill the potholes in my life, God, 00:17:27.06\00:17:34.16 make me over again. 00:17:34.16\00:17:36.46 I've gotta be in your presence. 00:17:36.46\00:17:39.23 And when you come into the presence of God, you'll have 00:17:39.23\00:17:42.23 an encounter with Jesus and never be the same again. 00:17:42.23\00:17:44.80 Number two, everybody can learn something from 00:17:44.80\00:17:55.33 somebody. 00:17:55.33\00:17:56.33 Let me say that again. 00:17:56.33\00:17:59.00 Everybody can learn 00:18:01.06\00:18:03.06 something from somebody. 00:18:04.13\00:18:09.26 Paul saw a light, it blinded him on the road. 00:18:09.26\00:18:13.03 The men who saw him said God commanded him to go 00:18:13.03\00:18:18.80 to Straight street, to get some instruction. 00:18:18.80\00:18:25.53 God then appears to a man named Ananias, and in vision 00:18:25.53\00:18:31.16 he tells Ananias that he's in need of him. 00:18:31.16\00:18:35.36 Ananias is also instructed to go to Straight street 00:18:35.36\00:18:38.96 in Damascus, put his hands on Saul so Saul could receive 00:18:38.96\00:18:42.33 his sight. 00:18:42.33\00:18:43.33 God performed the work of revelation and conviction, 00:18:43.33\00:18:46.10 but now Saul-listen to me good-is in a condition 00:18:46.10\00:18:50.03 to learn from somebody who God had ordained to teach 00:18:50.03\00:18:53.03 his truth. 00:18:53.03\00:18:56.00 Now, at first Ananias is scared to see Saul, 00:18:56.00\00:19:02.50 because Ananias remembers Saul back then. 00:19:02.50\00:19:05.80 And when you remember somebody from back then, 00:19:05.80\00:19:08.76 it's hard to believe who they are now in God. 00:19:08.76\00:19:15.00 Moral failure has easy recall. 00:19:15.00\00:19:19.73 We hold people accountable for stuff they did 20 years 00:19:20.83\00:19:26.83 ago. 00:19:26.83\00:19:27.83 God instructs Ananias to instruct Saul. 00:19:27.83\00:19:32.50 But what if Saul had said, I'm not going to see anybody? 00:19:32.50\00:19:40.66 What if Saul had said, I can't learn anything from him. 00:19:40.66\00:19:53.20 What if Saul had said, I know what I need to know, 00:19:53.20\00:19:57.06 and I don't need to know anything else? 00:19:57.06\00:19:59.13 What if Saul had said, I'm who I am and I'm not 00:19:59.13\00:20:02.60 changing for anybody? 00:20:02.60\00:20:05.70 What if he would have blocked his blessing 00:20:05.70\00:20:11.30 and missed out on what God had in store for his life? 00:20:11.30\00:20:15.53 Everybody can learn something from somebody. 00:20:15.53\00:20:25.66 Women can learn something from men, and men can learn 00:20:25.66\00:20:32.70 something from women. 00:20:32.70\00:20:36.36 Children can learn from their parents, and parents 00:20:36.36\00:20:41.36 can learn something from their children. 00:20:41.36\00:20:46.40 The young can learn from the old, and the old can 00:20:46.40\00:20:51.33 also learn from the young, because everybody can learn 00:20:51.33\00:20:55.90 something from somebody. 00:20:55.90\00:20:59.66 Sometimes we think that we've got it all together, 00:20:59.66\00:21:02.63 and we don't need to hear from somebody else, 00:21:02.63\00:21:04.43 but everybody can learn from somebody. 00:21:04.43\00:21:05.80 Obedience to the voice of God, the Bible says, 00:21:05.80\00:21:07.90 and Ananias goes to the house of Judas, lays hands on Saul, 00:21:07.90\00:21:11.16 and says, "Brother Saul," the Bible said that, 00:21:11.16\00:21:14.76 "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared 00:21:14.76\00:21:21.33 unto me in the way as thou camest, he hath sent me, 00:21:21.33\00:21:24.40 that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled 00:21:24.40\00:21:28.30 with the Holy Ghost." 00:21:28.30\00:21:29.66 And immediately, the Bible says, "there fell from his eyes, 00:21:29.66\00:21:33.60 as if it had been scales, he received his sight, 00:21:33.60\00:21:37.83 arose and was baptized." Now, as I close, when the Holy Ghost 00:21:37.83\00:21:45.06 comes on you, you will know it and you will never 00:21:45.06\00:21:51.06 be the same again. 00:21:51.06\00:21:52.96 Somebody says, how do I know I've got the Holy Ghost? 00:21:52.96\00:21:55.30 You will know if you've got the Holy Ghost. 00:21:55.30\00:21:58.70 Saul was not the same. 00:21:58.70\00:22:01.60 His name was changed to Paul. 00:22:01.60\00:22:03.96 He preached with Holy Ghost power. 00:22:03.96\00:22:06.43 He wrote with Holy Ghost power. 00:22:06.43\00:22:08.73 He lived with Holy Ghost power. 00:22:08.73\00:22:10.96 Praise God for road construction. 00:22:10.96\00:22:13.60 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 00:22:13.60\00:22:16.00 I've just seen Jesus and I'll never be the same 00:22:16.00\00:22:19.90 again. 00:22:19.90\00:22:20.90 He stood at my door and knocked. 00:22:20.90\00:22:24.53 When I opened the door, he came in. 00:22:24.53\00:22:28.96 He communed with me. 00:22:28.96\00:22:31.66 Then after road construction you gotta go and you gotta 00:22:31.66\00:22:38.33 tell somebody what God has done for you. 00:22:38.33\00:22:47.16 [music] That's why I get happy sometimes. 00:22:47.16\00:22:50.76 That's why I cry sometimes. 00:22:50.76\00:22:57.23 That's why I shout sometimes. 00:22:57.23\00:23:03.93 That's why I clap my hands sometimes, and I lift 00:23:03.93\00:23:08.16 my hands sometimes. 00:23:08.16\00:23:09.16 That's why I nod sometimes. 00:23:09.16\00:23:11.16 That's why I praise the Lord, because the Lord 00:23:13.46\00:23:17.80 had done something in my life. 00:23:17.80\00:23:20.10 I was blind but now I see. 00:23:20.10\00:23:26.10 I was lost but now I'm found. 00:23:26.10\00:23:33.30 And I will never be the same again. 00:23:33.30\00:23:35.63 This is why every time Paul got the chance he told 00:23:35.63\00:23:40.46 of his Damascus road experience. 00:23:40.46\00:23:42.90 Every time he got up to defend the gospel on Sabbath 00:23:42.90\00:23:45.66 morning, he told them what the Lord had done for him. 00:23:45.66\00:23:48.70 Every time he could say a word, he said a word 00:23:48.70\00:23:52.40 for the Lord. 00:23:52.40\00:23:54.06 I can do all things through Christ. 00:23:54.06\00:23:56.23 I know in whom I have believed. 00:23:56.23\00:23:58.16 I beseech you brother, by the mercies of God, 00:23:58.16\00:24:00.70 present your bodies a living sacrifice. 00:24:00.70\00:24:03.16 For we know that if our earthly house of this 00:24:03.16\00:24:05.66 tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, 00:24:05.66\00:24:10.13 an house not made with hands, eternal 00:24:10.13\00:24:12.13 in the heavens. 00:24:12.13\00:24:13.13 He was able to say, I let nothing separate me 00:24:13.13\00:24:16.30 from the love of God. 00:24:16.30\00:24:18.13 I know that I've been released from the fetters 00:24:18.13\00:24:20.13 of sin. 00:24:20.13\00:24:21.13 I know I am no longer separated from God. 00:24:21.13\00:24:26.33 I know that Jesus is the center of my joy. 00:24:26.33\00:24:30.06 I know he's the rock of my salvation. 00:24:30.06\00:24:35.46 I know he's the wheel in the middle of a wheel. 00:24:35.46\00:24:38.60 I know that he picked me up, turned me around, placed my 00:24:38.60\00:24:44.10 feet on solid ground. 00:24:44.10\00:24:45.56 I know I was blind, but thank God I can see. 00:24:45.56\00:24:48.63 Paul was able to say, therefore, if any man 00:24:48.63\00:24:50.63 be in Christ, he is a new creature. 00:24:50.63\00:24:54.26 Old things are passed away. 00:24:54.26\00:24:58.86 All things become new. 00:24:58.86\00:24:59.90 I am a citizen of God's kingdom, and I've got rights, 00:24:59.90\00:25:05.46 and I'm going to claim those rights. 00:25:05.46\00:25:12.00 I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. 00:25:12.00\00:25:14.23 I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, 00:25:14.23\00:25:18.60 very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. 00:25:18.60\00:25:24.10 But the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry, 00:25:24.10\00:25:31.93 from the waters lifted me, now safe am I. 00:25:31.93\00:25:41.36 I know I've been changed. 00:25:41.36\00:25:43.26 I know I've been changed, and I know I've been changed 00:25:43.26\00:25:52.50 because the angels in heaven, they chime my name. 00:25:52.50\00:26:00.13 I've just seen Jesus, and I will never be the same 00:26:00.13\00:26:09.36 again. 00:26:09.36\00:26:11.33 >: The Breath of Life gift offer this week is 00:26:11.33\00:26:13.40 "Surprised By Love" by pastor and international 00:26:13.40\00:26:15.63 speaker Elizabeth Vierra Talbot. 00:26:15.63\00:26:18.03 Find out how people in the Bible were surprised 00:26:18.03\00:26:20.03 by God's love. 00:26:20.03\00:26:21.13 Adam and Eve were surprised. 00:26:21.13\00:26:22.40 The deceitful serpent and the Pharisees 00:26:22.40\00:26:24.60 were surprised. 00:26:24.60\00:26:25.60 It surprised the disciples and even the heavenly 00:26:25.60\00:26:28.20 angels. 00:26:28.20\00:26:29.20 And God's surprises of love continue all around us 00:26:29.20\00:26:31.93 today. 00:26:31.93\00:26:32.93 Journey with Elizabeth as you get a fresh view 00:26:32.93\00:26:34.93 of the greatest story ever told, from the kidnapping of God's 00:26:34.93\00:26:39.63 children to the rescuers, from the ransom 00:26:39.63\00:26:42.06 to the reunion. 00:26:42.06\00:26:43.06 "Surprised By Love" is yours for a gift of $5.00 or more. 00:26:43.06\00:26:45.06 Just call our toll-free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 00:26:45.06\00:26:47.96 That's 877-265-6333. 00:26:47.96\00:26:52.73 Please have your credit card ready when you call. 00:26:52.73\00:26:54.73 Or you may write to us to request your copy. 00:26:54.73\00:26:56.86 Just send your check to Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 00:26:56.86\00:27:00.16 Newbury Park, California 91319. 00:27:00.16\00:27:03.26 Get your copy of "Surprised By Love" today. 00:27:03.26\00:27:06.33 Be encouraged and touched by the unexpected rescue 00:27:06.33\00:27:09.73 of God's children. 00:27:09.73\00:27:11.73 PB: Thank you very much for tuning in and watching 00:27:12.40\00:27:14.00 Breath of Life today. 00:27:14.00\00:27:15.00 We do hope that you were blessed by our ministry 00:27:15.00\00:27:18.50 and that we gave a healing word in a hurting world. 00:27:18.50\00:27:23.13 In order for Breath of Life to continue ministry, 00:27:23.13\00:27:25.56 we need you. 00:27:25.56\00:27:26.76 We need your prayers, we need your support. 00:27:26.76\00:27:29.43 We want you to know that any and all donations, small 00:27:29.43\00:27:32.56 or great, they are sincerely welcomed and appreciated. 00:27:32.56\00:27:36.63 To contact us or to make your donation, please feel free 00:27:36.63\00:27:39.80 to give us a call at 877-BOL-OFFER. 00:27:39.80\00:27:44.30 That's 877-BOL-OFFER. 00:27:44.30\00:27:51.06 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 00:27:51.06\00:27:56.46 Newbury Park, California 91319. 00:27:56.46\00:28:00.80 P.O. Box 340, Newbury Park, California 91319. 00:28:00.80\00:28:06.03 Or log onto our web site at www.breathoflife.tv. 00:28:06.03\00:28:08.56 PB: Anytime the people of God are afflicted, 00:28:08.56\00:28:15.83 anytime the people of God are persecuted, they more 00:28:15.83\00:28:19.03 they're afflicted, the more they grow. 00:28:19.03\00:28:21.56 The work of God will always triumph and prevail. 00:28:21.56\00:28:26.00 God's word will always stand. 00:28:26.00\00:28:26.83 God's truth still marches on. 00:28:26.83\00:28:28.50