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00:11 Let's face it,
00:12 it's not always easy to understand everything 00:15 you read in the Bible. 00:16 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 00:20 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 00:23 To get biblical straightforward answers, 00:25 call into Bible Answers Live, 00:27 a live nationwide call-in radio program 00:29 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 00:32 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 00:34 For times and stations in your area 00:36 or to listen to answers online, 00:38 visit bal.amazingfacts.org. 01:08 Good morning, friends, and welcome once again 01:10 to Sabbath School Study Hour, coming to you 01:12 from the Granite Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church 01:14 in Sacramento, California. 01:16 I'd like to welcome our online members 01:18 and also our friends who are joining us 01:19 across the country and around the world, 01:22 and also the members and the visitors 01:23 right here in Granite Bay, 01:25 always good to see you Sabbath after Sabbath, 01:26 studying the Word together. 01:29 Well, our lesson quarterly is on the Book of Acts, 01:32 and we're on lesson number five 01:33 that's entitled "The Conversion of Paul". 01:36 So we'll be beginning today here in just a few moments. 01:39 For those who are joining us online 01:41 or if you're watching this program later on, 01:43 our free gift today is a book entitled "Riches of His Grace". 01:48 And if you'd like to receive a free copy of this book, 01:51 call 866-788-3966 01:55 and you can ask for offer number 152. 01:59 If you'd like a digital copy of the book 02:01 instead of getting it in the mail, 02:02 just downloading it from the internet, 02:05 all you have to do is text the code "SH056" 02:10 to the number 40544, 02:13 you'll receive a link 02:14 and you'll be able to download the book Riches of His Grace. 02:18 I think you'll really enjoy reading that book 02:20 and learning more about God's grace 02:23 and how He saves individuals. 02:25 Well, before we get to our lesson, 02:27 we always like to begin by lifting our voices in song. 02:30 I'd like to invite our song leaders to come forward. 02:34 It's that time where we get to sing with you, 02:36 and we're so excited. 02:37 We know that you love to sing and we do, too. 02:40 So we're going to sing a song 02:41 that goes along with our lesson today, 02:43 "Open My Eyes, That I May See". 02:46 You're going to find this 326 in your hymnal. 02:50 So if you have one at home, pull it out and join with us, 02:52 we're going to sing all three stances, 326. 05:36 I hope that today, right now, 05:38 in this week that will be your prayer, 05:40 Lord, open up my eyes, that I may see. 05:43 What is it that He wants in your life and in mine? 05:46 Let's just be open and willing for whatever that is. 05:50 At this time, Pastor Ross will have our opening prayer. 05:54 Dear Father, once again we are grateful 05:56 for the opportunity to gather together 05:58 and open up Your Word. 05:59 We're going to be looking at just a fantastic, 06:02 inspiring story how You called Paul... 06:05 First Saul, and then he became Paul, 06:08 and great apostle, 06:09 one who took the gospel to lands far away. 06:13 Lord, we pray that we might have 06:14 that same commitment to You, 06:16 that same conversion experience, 06:17 not just once but on a regular basis 06:20 as we enter into Your presence, in Jesus' name, amen. 06:24 Our lesson study today 06:25 is going to be brought to us by Pastor Doug. 06:29 We're continuing through the Book of Acts, 06:31 and today we're dealing with lesson number five. 06:34 And some of you, who are watching this live, 06:36 let me explain it, I do this from time to time. 06:39 We study the lesson about three weeks 06:42 in advance of the rest of the world church, 06:45 and the reason for that is that it is then broadcast 06:48 'cause we're recording it in front of our live audience 06:50 on Sabbath morning, 06:52 and we broadcast it live on satellite 06:54 on a number of different networks. 06:56 And in order to edit the programs, 06:58 and put in the closed captioning, 07:00 and send the tapes out to the different satellites 07:02 or different stations, 07:04 we need to do it a little in advance, 07:06 so we're in the future. 07:08 So some people who are studying online, 07:09 they go, "I thought we were on lesson two, 07:11 what are they doing on lesson five?" 07:14 Well, that's why when you watch it live, 07:15 we're actually living in the future. 07:18 So we're on lesson five, 07:20 and this is a great study, whatever time it is. 07:23 It's dealing with 07:24 the conversion of the Apostle Paul, 07:27 and it's going to be... 07:30 Mostly, we'll spend our time in Acts 9, 07:33 but we have a memory verse, 07:34 and the memory verse is from Acts 9:15. 07:37 Acts 9:15, if you have your Bibles 07:39 and you want to say it with me, that'd be great. 07:42 You ready? 07:43 Acts 9:15, 07:45 "Go! This man is my chosen instrument 07:49 to proclaim my name to the Gentiles 07:52 and their kings and to the people of Israel." 07:56 God said that Paul had been chosen 07:58 in a special way as a unique instrument. 08:02 Now the incredible thing about Paul 08:04 is you have a story of somebody who starts out... 08:06 And this, of course, is in your first section, 08:08 where it talks about persecutor of the church. 08:11 He goes from a persecutor of the church 08:14 to a believer and a missionary, 08:17 starts out as a missionary for the devil 08:19 and he ends up becoming a missionary for the Lord. 08:22 Paul's conversion is a very dramatic conversion, 08:26 where the Lord personally intervened 08:30 to capture his attention. 08:31 Now while most of us do not go through an experience 08:34 exactly like Paul's, 08:36 there's a lot of things we can learn 08:37 about conversion from Paul's experience. 08:40 I'll give you a little quiz. 08:43 Can you think of another Old Testament character 08:45 that starts out as a persecutor and turns to a believer? 08:52 What did I hear? 08:53 Isaiah? 08:54 Isaiah? 08:55 No, I don't know that he was ever a persecutor 08:58 of the church. 09:01 He was one of the kings. 09:04 Nebuchadnezzar, actually I hadn't thought of him, 09:06 but yeah, Nebuchadnezzar. 09:08 Manasseh, I heard somebody say it. 09:10 Let me read something to you, 09:11 just so you know that it's not the only time it happens. 09:13 If you look in... 09:15 Well, I'll start out in 2 Chronicles. 09:17 If you go to 2 Chronicles 33, 09:20 "Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, 09:23 and he reigned fifty-five years." 09:25 Longest reigning king in Judah. 09:27 "He reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem, 09:29 but he did evil in the sight of the Lord 09:32 according to all the abominations of the nation 09:34 who the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. 09:37 For he rebuilt the high places 09:39 which Hezekiah, his father, had broken down 09:42 and he raised up the altars for the Baals 09:44 and he made wooden images 09:45 and he worshiped all the stars of heaven 09:47 and he served them. 09:48 He built altars in the house of the Lord, 09:51 where God had said, in Jerusalem 09:52 shall be my name forever. 09:54 And he built altars for all the host of heaven." 09:56 All the different gods of the zodiac. 09:59 "And in the two courts of the house of the Lord, 10:00 also, he caused his sons to pass through the fire 10:04 in the valley of the son of Hinnom." 10:07 Some of his sons were sacrificed to pagan gods. 10:10 "He practiced soothsaying, 10:12 and witchcraft, and sorcery, 10:14 and consulted mediums and spiritists." 10:17 He was like a warlock, 10:18 I mean, this was a wicked spiritualistic king 10:23 who just all out said, 10:24 "I think I'm going to worship the devil." 10:27 Now not only did he do this, 10:29 I want you to just notice here, it says in... 10:31 You know, you read about Manasseh 10:33 in Kings and Chronicles, you get two different accounts. 10:36 One thing it says in Kings 10:37 that does not say in Chronicles, 10:39 "Moreover, Manasseh..." 10:40 And this, by the way, is in 2 Kings 21:16. 10:46 "Moreover, Manasseh shed a very much innocent blood, 10:51 until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other, 10:54 besides the other sins he made Judah sin." 10:57 So he persecuted the prophets. 10:59 Josephus tells us that Manasseh... 11:02 Josephus is a Jewish historian, 11:03 it's not in the Bible but it's in Jewish history. 11:06 Manasseh was the one who killed Isaiah the prophet. 11:09 And the tradition is 11:10 that he placed Isaiah in a hollow log 11:12 and had him sawn asunder, which you read about... 11:16 You do read that in Hebrews 11. 11:18 Now go back to 2 Chronicles 33, 11:24 it says, "And the Lord spoke..." 11:25 And this is verse 10, 2 Chronicles 33:10, 11:28 "And the Lord spoke to Manasseh, and to his people, 11:30 but they would not listen. 11:32 Therefore the Lord brought upon him 11:33 the captains of the army of the king of Assyria 11:36 who conquered them, he took Manasseh with hooks." 11:39 That means he put a ring in his nose 11:41 like you do when you carry around a bull. 11:43 "With bronze fetters 11:44 and carried him off to Babylon." 11:45 Notice, "Now when he was in affliction, 11:49 he implored the Lord Jehovah, his God, in a humble..." 11:54 He went back to the God of Hezekiah, his father. 11:56 "And humbled himself greatly before God of his fathers, 12:01 and he prayed to him. 12:02 And he, God, received his entreaty." 12:05 Now if there's a king you're not going to forgive, 12:06 who would it be? 12:09 I mean, you know, makes your children 12:10 pass through the fire, 12:12 wicked king, kills the prophets. 12:15 "As he humbled himself, God forgave him, 12:19 and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. 12:23 Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God." 12:26 And after this, it says, he got rid of the false gods 12:29 and began to offer sacrifice to the Lord, 12:32 and he went from being a persecutor to a believer. 12:37 So can the Lord change even people that look hopeless? 12:41 Yeah, and that's what the story of Saul is. 12:44 So turn with me in your Bible to the Book of Acts 9, 12:49 and we're going to be looking 12:50 at a number of important points, 12:53 I think you're going to see in the lesson here. 12:55 I'm not sure whether or not 12:56 our studio may be putting up a couple of questions 12:59 that are coming on this subject online. 13:01 Right, so first, 13:02 he's a persecutor of the church. 13:03 Now he says this by his own admission, 13:06 you read in 1 Corinthians 1:23, 13:10 it says, "But we preach Christ crucified, 13:13 to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness." 13:16 So the belief in Christ, 13:18 it was a stumbling block for the Jews 13:20 and Paul was Exhibit A of that. 13:23 How could the Messiah die on a cross? 13:25 They thought He would be sitting on the throne of David. 13:28 And you read in Acts 8... 13:30 Now you remember what happened in Acts 7? 13:33 Who is executed? 13:35 Stephen, he is tried and executed. 13:37 And who is a witness and leads out in his execution? 13:41 Saul. 13:43 I know, it gets confusing 'cause he starts out 13:44 being called Saul, he's later called Paul, 13:48 and Simon is later called Peter, 13:50 and you've got a few examples in the Bible 13:51 where people had a couple of different names. 13:55 And you read in Acts 8:3, 13:57 "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church." 14:02 Now he is not persecuting, he is on a rampage. 14:05 He's like a pit bull locked in a car on a hot day 14:07 that's tearing the seats apart. 14:09 I mean, Paul was on a rampage going through the church, 14:13 "Entering every house, and dragging off men and women, 14:17 committing them to prison." 14:20 Now you can read Paul's own testimony 14:22 about what he did. 14:23 When he's sharing, he gives a little more detail. 14:25 Acts 22:3, 14:28 he said, "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, 14:32 but I was brought up in this city 14:34 at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according 14:36 to the strictness of our fathers' law, 14:39 and was zealous towards God as you all are today." 14:42 So what do we know about his background? 14:45 He grows up, he says he was a Jew of the Jews. 14:48 He was like Hebrew of the Hebrews. 14:50 He was Exhibit A of a Pharisee. 14:53 You read in the book, Acts of the Apostles, 14:54 he actually was promoted to the Sanhedrin. 14:58 He was probably one of the youngest members 15:00 of the Sanhedrin. 15:01 You know, they were basically the Jewish Supreme Court. 15:06 That's the group that had condemned Stephen 15:08 in the previous chapter. 15:11 Look in Galatians 1:14, again Paul is saying, 15:14 "And I advanced in Judaism 15:17 beyond many of my contemporaries 15:19 and in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous 15:22 for the traditions of my fathers." 15:25 So he says, "Look, you can't really tell me 15:28 that I don't know what it means to be a Jew and reach a Jew." 15:31 Said, "I was a Jew of the Jews." 15:33 He said, "I was just as entrenched 15:36 in anti-Christian Judaism as anybody could be." 15:42 And then you go to Acts 22, he's showing his testimony. 15:45 I think Paul shares his testimony of his conversion 15:48 three times in the Bible, 15:50 and he alludes to it in several of his books. 15:53 What's the one sermon everybody ought to know how to preach? 15:58 What did Jesus do for you? Right? 16:01 Your testimony. 16:03 You might say, "I'm not very good 16:04 at giving Bible studies, and I can't preach a sermon 16:07 or I'm afraid to teach a class." 16:09 One thing we teach people 16:10 when they come to our AFCOE training is, 16:12 "Do you have a testimony?" 16:14 They say, "Oh, well, you know, Pastor, 16:16 I didn't live in a cave or used drugs or..." 16:18 You have a testimony. 16:20 If you're a Christian, you have a testimony. 16:22 Your testimony is, "I was lost and now I am found. 16:24 I was dead and now I am live. " Right? 16:27 Something happened in your life, 16:29 even if it's as simple as saying, 16:31 "I made a decision one day that I don't want to be lost, 16:34 and I gave Jesus my heart." 16:35 Everybody has got a testimony. 16:37 Tell people that, 16:39 someone will always be able to relate to your testimony. 16:43 So you read in Acts 22, he says in verse 4, 16:45 "I persecuted this Way." 16:49 I remember there being a translation. 16:52 It wasn't a translation, a paraphrase Bible 16:54 called "The Way". 16:55 Any of you remember that version? 16:57 And they get that from this phrase. 16:59 Christianity was sometimes called The Way. 17:02 "I persecuted this Way to the death." 17:04 Now not only did he cast men and women in prison, 17:07 but what else, by his own testimony, 17:08 what else did he do? 17:10 He persecuted them to death, 17:14 and not just Stephen. 17:16 Again, I was reading this morning 17:17 in Acts of the Apostles, 17:19 and there were others where he, 17:21 not only had them condemned to prison 17:23 but somewhere executed. 17:25 So this where it's serious as it gets, 17:28 and he had innocent blood on his hands. 17:30 "I persecuted this Way to the death, 17:32 binding and delivering into prisons 17:35 both men and women, 17:37 also the high priest will bear me witness." 17:39 Now he says this before the high priest. 17:41 "And all the council of the elders, 17:43 from whom I also received letters." 17:45 Now how did he get the letters to go to Damascus 17:47 to arrest Christians? 17:49 Go to Acts 9, 17:52 "Then Saul, breathing threats and murder 17:55 against the disciples of the Lord." 17:57 Well, what does that mean? 17:59 Breathing threats and murders? 18:01 He was just constantly mumbling under his breath, 18:03 and if anybody said anything to him, 18:05 he was just filled with hatred. 18:08 Why was Paul so rabidly against Christians? 18:13 What do you think? 18:18 When a person's under conviction of the truth, 18:23 one of two things happens. 18:25 They either surrender to the conviction 18:27 or they become more entrenched and fight it. 18:31 Have you ever seen that? 18:33 Who will be the greatest adversaries 18:37 of our church in the last days? 18:41 Those who ones walked with us that went out. 18:45 Because of the conviction, 18:46 they will become the fiercest adversaries. 18:51 So Paul is under conviction, 18:52 and so he's fighting this conviction 18:53 in his conscience by being even more zealous. 18:57 And it says, "Breathing threats and murder." 19:00 There, again, you got not just prison but killing. 19:03 "Against the disciples of the Lord, 19:05 he went to the high priest and he asked letters." 19:08 So did the high priest say, 19:09 "Who can we get to deliver the letters?" 19:10 So Paul say, "Give me documents 19:13 so I have permission to go to foreign cities." 19:17 And because there was a covenant 19:18 between Rome, and Jerusalem, and Damascus, 19:21 he could be authorized. 19:23 And the Judaism was still in good standing 19:25 with Rome back then, he could get authorization 19:28 to arrest people who were "part of this cult". 19:32 And so he needed to get permission. 19:35 "He asked letters 19:37 to go to the synagogues of Damascus." 19:39 Go where? 19:41 Now why would you go look for Christians in a synagogue? 19:45 What day of the week did the Jews meet? 19:48 Sabbath, and where did they meet? 19:50 Synagogues. 19:51 What day of the week did the Christians meet? 19:54 Sabbath. 19:56 Nothing says they had it smothered... 19:58 You know, went from house to house 20:00 and studied the Word of God, 20:01 but they still kept the Sabbath, 20:03 and they still gathered with the Jews. 20:05 And so when Paul wanted to arrested Christians, 20:07 he went to them the very same place 20:10 and same day that the Jews worshiped. 20:13 Now some will argue, 20:14 well, the only reason he went to the synagogues 20:16 is that's where the Christians were trying to reach the Jews, 20:19 and there's some truth to that. 20:20 When Paul went to a new city, where did he go first? 20:23 Synagogues, but I submit, 20:25 Christians were keeping the same day. 20:28 Does that make sense? 20:30 Okay, let's keep going here. 20:33 And it says, as... 20:36 All right, "So he's going to the synagogues of Damascus. 20:40 So that if he found any that were of this Way, 20:43 whether men or women, 20:44 he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." 20:48 He can arrest and bring them back to Jerusalem. 20:51 "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus..." 20:56 And they came over the hill, perhaps he's on a horse, 20:59 he's got some other with him, 21:00 maybe he's got a couple of deputies 21:01 that have come with him or couple of other people 21:03 from the church that have come and, 21:06 but there is definitely yet at least two, 21:08 there may have been, 21:09 you know, four or more people traveling with him. 21:12 And they're looking at the beautiful valley 21:13 where Damascus is, and there's a river nearby, 21:16 and it looked very different 21:17 probably then than it does today. 21:21 "And he sees a light suddenly..." 21:23 You notice some things happen suddenly? 21:27 When Elijah and Elisha were walking together, it says, 21:30 suddenly, a chariot came out of the sky 21:34 while they were just walking and talking together. 21:36 How is the Lord coming? It's going to be suddenly. 21:39 How was the Holy Spirit poured out? 21:41 They were praying together in Upper Room, and suddenly... 21:46 So everything looked fine, 21:47 and all of a sudden, everything changed. 21:50 "Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 21:54 And he fell to the ground, 21:56 and he heard a voice saying, 21:58 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'" 22:01 And later he says, this was in the Hebrew language. 22:04 Now, why did He say "Saul, Saul?" 22:08 Why twice? 22:10 Can you think of anyone else in the Bible 22:12 God calls their name twice? 22:17 I heard someone say. 22:18 There's several men in the Bible God calls them twice. 22:22 "Abraham, Abraham," 22:24 "Samuel, Samuel." 22:27 Can you ever find a place in the Bible 22:28 where God calls a women twice? 22:31 Someone arguing, 22:32 "That's because they hear the first time." 22:38 But in Hebrew, 22:40 you know, there's different ways of creating emphasis. 22:45 In Hebrew, the way they created emphasis 22:48 was by saying something twice. 22:51 How many times did Jesus say 22:52 verily, verily, meaning truly, truly? 22:57 You and I put exclamation marks after our words 23:01 or we might raise our voice, 23:04 but for the Hebrews, 23:05 they would do... 23:06 They underlined things by repeating it. 23:09 And so when He says, Saul, Saul," 23:12 He's saying I have a message for you. 23:15 This is very important. 23:16 "Do I have your attention now? 23:18 Why are you persecuting me? 23:22 He said, 'Who are You, Lord?'" 23:23 Now this is going to go along with our sermon 23:26 later this morning 23:27 where we're talking about how you know you're Christian 23:29 because there are a lot of people 23:30 that think that they're saved and they're not. 23:36 Isn't that right? 23:37 Did Paul think that he was serving the Lord? 23:41 Does Jesus say, I think it's John 16, 23:44 the hour is coming in which those who kill you 23:47 will think they are offering service to God. 23:51 Here's Exhibit A, 23:52 Paul thinks he's serving... 23:53 Doesn't he think he's serving God? 23:55 Who is he really serving? 23:58 Was Paul a church member? 24:00 Were the Jews his people? 24:02 You mean, there can be someone 24:04 who is a member of the church that's serving the devil, 24:06 and they think they're serving God, 24:08 but that only happened back then, 24:09 that could never happen today. 24:12 He says rhetorically. 24:16 Could that happen today? 24:18 Did he think he knew the Lord? 24:21 He thought, "Yeah, I'm on a mission for God." 24:23 And all of a sudden, he meets God along the way. 24:26 He says, "You're not helping Me, you're hurting Me. 24:30 You're not working for Me, you're working against Me." 24:34 Talk about a convicting moment to have the God of creation 24:39 call you by name, and say, 24:43 "Why are you persecuting Me?" 24:46 Now Paul was thinking or Saul, he's thinking, 24:50 "I would never persecute you." 24:52 But what does Jesus say? 24:53 "In as much as you have done it unto the least of these, 24:57 you've done it" what? 24:58 "Unto me." 24:59 And so when someone persecutes 25:01 one of Jesus' followers, who is he persecuting? 25:04 He's persecuting Jesus at the same time. 25:07 "Why are you persecuting Me?" 25:08 Now, when a person goes through a panic like this, 25:12 how much is going through their head? 25:15 They say that, you know, if you face death, 25:17 your whole life flashes before you. 25:20 And all of a sudden, the Lord was able, 25:22 I think, to bring an awareness to Saul 25:27 that he had been on the wrong side. 25:29 Now one reason this happened, 25:31 and I think one reason God did something extra for Saul. 25:35 Saul was sincere. 25:36 How many would agree with Saul was sincere? 25:39 Is sincerity all that matters? 25:42 No, but does it matter? 25:45 I think God looks on the heart. 25:47 Paul, when he saw Stephen die, and he saw the peace, 25:52 and he saw the dignity, 25:53 and he saw his face shining like an angel 25:55 there in the assembly, 25:56 and he heard his sermon, his heart burned, within, 25:59 he was stirred, and he had a lot of doubts. 26:02 Let me read something to you from the book, 26:04 Acts of the Apostles that talks about this. 26:08 "Saul had taken a prominent part 26:10 in the trial and conviction of Stephen, 26:13 and the striking evidences of God's presence 26:16 with the martyr had led Saul 26:17 to doubt the righteousness of the cause 26:19 that he had espoused against the followers of Jesus." 26:22 He was having doubts. 26:24 "His mind was deeply stirred. 26:26 In his perplexity he appealed to those in whom 26:29 he thought wisdom and justice he had full confidence," 26:32 like the high priest. 26:34 "The arguments of the priests and the rulers 26:37 finally convinced him 26:39 that Stephen was just a blasphemer, 26:41 and the Christ whom the martyred disciple 26:45 had preached was an impostor, 26:47 and those ministering in holy office must be right." 26:50 He thought, "Well, you know, they are the pastors, 26:53 they must know. 26:54 How could they be wrong? 26:56 And so that's the mistake 27:00 that happens from time to time. 27:03 All right, so he admits 27:05 that he was a persecutor of the church. 27:07 Now someone's going to read for me 1 Timothy 1:13, 27:11 you'll have that? 27:12 All right, just before you do that, 27:13 I'm going to read Acts 26:11. 27:15 "Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things 27:18 contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 27:21 This I also did in Jerusalem, 27:23 and many of the saints I shut up in prison, 27:26 having received authority from the chief priests. 27:29 And when they were put to death..." 27:30 Does he say when he was put to death 27:32 or when they were put to death? 27:35 "When they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 27:39 And I punished them often in every synagogue 27:42 and I compelled them to blaspheme." 27:45 Now what does that mean? 27:47 He would sometimes force them to deny Christ. 27:53 He became like a Jesuit inquisitor 27:57 against Christians. 28:01 He said, he persecuted them. 28:03 All right, go ahead and read first few verse. 28:05 "Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, 28:09 and an insolent man, 28:11 but I obtained mercy 28:12 because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." 28:15 Now have you ever heard that song before? 28:18 Chief of sinners though I be 28:22 I can do low in the morning. 28:25 Where do you get the phrase chief of sinners? 28:29 Paul referred to himself as a chief of sinners, didn't he? 28:32 Why? 28:33 Because he was killing Christians, 28:35 he says I... 28:36 It says bad as it get. 28:37 "I got Christians to blaspheme and deny Christ, 28:40 I put them in prison, men and women. 28:42 I hunted them down, I put them to death." 28:45 And then God took somebody like that and forgave them 28:49 and turned them around. 28:51 Now, it wasn't without a struggle. 28:54 Matter of fact... 28:55 Well, I'm getting ahead of myself here. 28:58 God told him that was going to happen. 29:00 Let me read one more thing, Philippians 3:6, 29:03 "Concerning zeal..." 29:04 It says, "If you want to know about my zeal, 29:06 persecuting the church, 29:08 concerning the righteousness of the law, blameless." 29:11 According to the law, 29:13 I was blameless. 29:14 He says, "I was living to the letter of the law." 29:17 All right, now on the Damascus road, says, 29:20 he was going down, and he has this... 29:22 He sees the light. 29:23 Have you ever heard the expression, 29:24 "He saw the light." 29:27 Have you ever heard the expression, 29:28 "He had a Damascus road experience." 29:31 Of course, that all comes from this. 29:33 Now, does everybody in their conversion 29:36 have a Damascus road experience? 29:39 No. 29:40 Is that the norm or the exception? 29:44 Was Paul looking for Jesus? 29:46 He didn't know he was. 29:48 It is hard, maybe he was trying to justify it. 29:53 "Search for me and you'll find me." 29:56 But, you know, God actually intervenes 29:59 in some people's lives to save them. 30:01 Matter of fact, 30:02 Paul was on his way to Damascus to hunt Christians, 30:04 and Jesus stops him like a blockade. 30:08 I see many times in the Bible where God interrupts a person 30:12 to try to save them. 30:14 He gets in their way. 30:17 Have you ever had the Lord get in your way? 30:19 You're trying to do something wrong 30:20 and He tries to get in your way through circumstances, 30:22 all of a sudden, grandma calls on the phone says, 30:24 "I feel impressed to pray for you or something." 30:26 You know, God just gets in your way. 30:29 How many of you remember 30:30 the story of Naaman and the leper? 30:33 And he got mad when Elisha would not come out and see him 30:36 but he sent his servant, said, "Go wash in the Jordan River." 30:38 So he storms off to go home. He's going back to Damascus. 30:42 And on his way back to Damascus, 30:44 he has to ride by the Jordan River, 30:47 and the Lord was getting in his way. 30:51 He kept hearing, "Wash in the Jordan, 30:52 wash in the Jordan, wash in the Jordan." 30:54 Finally, his servants could see 30:56 that he had slowed down a little bit. 30:57 They said, "Why don't you do it? 30:58 You've tried everything else." His servants got in the way. 31:02 God does things to try to keep us 31:04 from destroying ourselves. 31:07 The cross stands in our path 31:11 as an obstacle to our self-destruction. 31:15 Jesus is always trying to keep us 31:19 from our self-destruction. 31:21 And so the Lord did something special here 31:23 for Paul and got in his way. 31:24 Now there is a problem. 31:27 And a lot of people have noticed. 31:29 If you look here in his testimony, he says, 31:33 "The Lord said, 'I am Jesus who you are persecuting."' 31:37 Now, can you imagine the shudder 31:39 that went through Paul when Jesus said, 31:41 "I am Jesus." 31:46 It's like where Jehovah says, "I am that I am." 31:49 And Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." 31:52 And they took up stones to stone Christ. 31:55 So whenever Jesus says, "I am," 31:57 that's a pretty prominent statement. 32:00 "I am Jesus who you are persecuting. 32:03 Is it hard for you to kick against the pricks," 32:06 where it says in the King James, 32:07 if you've got the New King James, 32:08 it says, "kick against the goads." 32:11 Growing up in New York City, 32:12 I didn't know what either of those things meant. 32:15 But when you used to move oxen along, 32:17 we didn't do that in New York. 32:19 When you move oxen along, you have a prong, 32:23 you might have a sharp stick, 32:24 you might have a couple little prongs 32:25 on the end of it 32:26 and now they've got these cow prods, 32:29 it's a pole that's full of the batteries 32:32 and you press a button, and you'll get 32:34 two little probes on the end of it 32:36 and that cow will jump pretty high 32:39 when you, you touch on to them, and you press the button, 32:41 it just, it does something where it amplifies the voltage 32:45 and it gives it like a 200 volt shock 32:50 and that means move. 32:52 And so when you're trying to get the oxen to pole 32:55 or to plow and they weren't moving very fast, 32:57 you had this sharp stick, 32:58 and they used to just poke their flanks a little bit. 33:02 And then that sometimes they kick it 33:05 and they cut themselves on the goad kicking against it. 33:09 And so this is in America, if Jesus had appeared to Paul 33:13 and He was on His way to Sacramento, 33:15 He might have said, "Is it hard for you 33:16 to hit your head against the wall?" 33:17 We all understand that, right? 33:20 What he was doing, he's saying, 33:22 "You're just fighting the guidance of the Lord." 33:25 The person was trying to guide 33:26 and direct the ox with the little goad 33:28 and he's kicking against it and he's hurting himself. 33:32 And so Jesus uses this illustration. 33:35 So He trembling and astonished 33:39 said, "Lord," immediately, he calls Him Lord, 33:41 he's not going to argue with Him, is he? 33:43 "What do You want me to do?" 33:45 That's one of the signs of conversion. 33:47 What's one of the first thing that happens 33:48 when you have an encounter with Jesus? 33:52 "What should I do? What is Your will? 33:54 Where do I go from here?" 33:56 So I've heard preachers say before 33:59 that when you're converted and you come to Christ, 34:01 there's nothing you can do. 34:02 The first thing you want to know is what do I do. 34:05 Of course, there's something you can do. 34:07 Even if it's believed, that's doing something, right? 34:10 People say, "There's nothing you can do but believe." 34:12 Well, that's something. 34:14 And so immediately the response 34:16 when you have an encounter with Jesus, 34:17 you realize you've been doing your own will, 34:19 you've been going against God's will. 34:21 You want to know, Lord, what is Your will? 34:23 What do You want me to do? 34:25 And shouldn't that be the desire of every Christian? 34:27 Find out best what pleases the Lord, 34:29 discover what His will is. 34:31 Isn't that why we study the Word? 34:32 Yes. 34:33 Not everyone that says, "Lord, Lord, 34:35 but they that do the will of My Father." 34:39 And so Paul was saying, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" 34:42 And the Lord said, 34:43 "I'm not going to tell you everything. 34:46 I'll tell you the next step." 34:48 Isn't that interesting? 34:50 He said, "I'm going to use a human. 34:52 I've made a special appearance here, 34:54 but I'm not going to continue to give you a verbal guidance. 34:58 I'm going to do that through people 34:59 because that's My designed normal method." 35:02 He said, "You go to Damascus 35:05 and someone will tell you what to do." 35:08 So he trembling in a style and he says that, 35:10 "Arise and go to the city. 35:12 You had a mission in Damascus, 35:14 it's just going to change a little bit. 35:16 You're going to do mission work for the devil, 35:17 now you're going to do mission work for me." 35:20 "And the men who journeyed with him 35:22 stood speechless hearing a voice 35:25 but seeing no one." 35:27 Now that's a little problem because look in Acts 22. 35:32 "And those who are with me." 35:33 Paul is telling the story, he says, 35:35 "Those who are with me, indeed, saw the light 35:37 and were afraid but they did not hear the voice." 35:40 Now wait a second, 35:41 we just read in Acts 9 where it says, 35:44 "They heard a voice but they didn't see anybody." 35:47 Here it says, "They saw a light, 35:48 they didn't hear anything." 35:50 How many of you have seen this before? 35:54 Is there an answer? I think so. 35:58 First of all what he's saying is in Acts 22, 36:04 to hear something doesn't mean just to hear it audibly, 36:07 it means to understand it. 36:08 Let me illustrate that. 36:10 Use the Bible to interpret the Bible. 36:11 Go to John 12:28, 36:15 Jesus says, "Father, glorify Your name." 36:22 Jesus says, 'Father, glorify Your name.' 36:24 Then a voice came from heaven saying, 36:26 'I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again.'" 36:29 So he hears this voice from heaven. 36:31 "And therefore the people who stood by and heard it, 36:34 they said that it had thundered, 36:36 others said an angel had spoken to him." 36:38 Could they tell what was said that day? 36:41 Some heard it. 36:42 That's why John wrote it down, 36:43 others heard thunder, someone said it was an angel. 36:47 They didn't really understand it. 36:49 And that depend upon the person. 36:51 So the men who were with him, 36:52 first of all, there's more than one man, one might say, 36:54 "I heard something, but I didn't understand it." 36:56 Another one might say, "I heard a light, 36:57 but I don't know what it was, things got brighter." 37:01 And so he's just saying, they were sort of clueless 37:03 about what was going on. 37:05 So, I know, it sounds like a contradiction 37:08 but really they're saying the same thing. 37:10 Now they did hear something, 37:11 but they couldn't understand it. 37:13 They did see a light, but they didn't see anyone. 37:16 That's all he's saying. 37:18 Paul wouldn't, of course, not contradict himself. 37:21 So you can read his testimony 37:24 in Acts 26:14. 37:29 "When we had all fallen to the ground, 37:31 I heard a voice speaking to me 37:33 and saying in the Hebrew language, 37:35 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 37:39 He said, 'Who are you, Lord?'" 37:41 Now the answer Jesus gives in Acts 26 37:44 is more than you find in Acts 9. 37:47 So when Luke records the conversion of Paul, 37:51 he doesn't record everything Jesus said to Paul 37:53 You read Paul's own testimony, he expands on it. 37:57 That's not unusual. 37:58 Sometimes a person gives 37:59 the condensed version of the story. 38:01 Listen to what Jesus said to Paul 38:02 in the Acts 26:14 version. 38:06 Actually starts in verse 15, 38:09 "I am Jesus, who you are persecuting. 38:12 But rise and stand on your feet 38:14 for I have appeared to you for this purpose, 38:17 to make you a minister and a witness, 38:20 both of the things that you have seen 38:22 and the things that I will yet reveal to you. 38:25 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, 38:27 as well as from the gentiles to who I am now sending you 38:31 to open their eyes in order." 38:33 And this is one of the greatest verses in the Bible. 38:35 "To turn them from darkness to light 38:38 and from the power of Satan to God 38:41 that they may receive forgiveness of sins 38:44 and an inheritance among those 38:46 who are sanctified by faith in Me." 38:49 Amen. That is a great verse. 38:52 The whole message of salvation is encompassed in that verse. 38:57 Do you hear it? What does God want to do? 39:00 "Open our eyes, turn us from darkness to light, 39:04 from the power of Satan, 39:05 where you're just a captive to your sins, 39:07 to get the power of God, the Holy Spirit, 39:09 that you might be forgiven of your sins 39:12 and you might have an inheritance, 39:13 you can look forward to being in the kingdom 39:15 among those who are sanctified," how? 39:18 "By faith in Christ." 39:20 Isn't that a great verse? 39:22 You see, He told Paul, "What I want you to do 39:23 and I'm going to tell you the message." 39:25 Everything Paul ever did was summarized in this message. 39:28 And by the way, 39:30 part of his preaching was that... 39:34 you remember when Elymas the sorcerer, 39:39 he was turning away Sergius Paulus 39:42 and Paul said, "You're going to be blind now." 39:45 He struck him with blindness because of that. 39:48 You get the battle between light and darkness. 39:51 And then what happened to Paul's vision 39:53 after he saw the Lord? 39:57 He had some kind of cataracts or something that took place. 40:00 So let me keep reading. 40:01 Go back to Acts 9, 40:03 and someone's going to read for me 40:06 1 Corinthians 9:1 in just a moment. 40:10 You got that. Okay. 40:14 So if you go back to Acts 9, so trembling and astonished, 40:19 then you see here, go to verse 8, 40:21 "Saul arose from the ground, 40:22 and when his eyes were opened he saw no one." 40:25 All he could see... 40:26 Ever see a bright light 40:27 and the only thing you see is that light is left. 40:29 "But they led him by the hand, he's suddenly blind." 40:33 Does Jesus talk about the blind leading the blind? 40:37 Paul starts out on his way to Damascus, 40:39 he thinks I've got great spiritual light, 40:41 I'm a Pharisee of the Pharisees, 40:42 here let me lead you guys to Damascus 40:44 and I'll show you what to do. 40:46 And after he sees Jesus, he realizes he's blind, 40:48 they're leading him now. 40:50 Interesting. 40:54 And so they let him by the hand, 40:55 they brought him into Damascus, 40:56 and he was three days without sight. 40:59 He neither ate nor drank. 41:02 And so, he was going through a real struggle there. 41:07 Now some... 41:08 Paul in his letters, 41:09 he later refers to himself as an apostle. 41:13 What was the criteria of being an apostle? 41:17 Do we have apostles today? 41:23 Well, and Bible says, "He's appointed these in the church, 41:26 apostles, prophets." 41:28 But have you ever had anyone 41:30 in our church introduce themselves to you and say, 41:32 "Hi, I'm Apostle Batchelor?" 41:37 No, because there were people who were leaders in the church, 41:41 and they kind of held these offices of leadership. 41:44 But the ones who are apostles 41:46 were specifically people who had actually seen Jesus. 41:50 So Paul sometimes had a dispute with some of the church, 41:52 they said, "You're not really an apostle." 41:54 He said, "Oh, yes, I am." 41:55 Why? Go ahead and read that for us. 41:58 "Am I am not an apostle? 42:01 am I not free? 42:02 have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? 42:06 are not ye my work in the Lord?" 42:10 So Paul is telling the readers, 42:12 he's saying, "Look, I have every much right 42:14 to be an apostle as the others." 42:15 He said, "Jesus met me personally. 42:19 He spoke to me. 42:20 He called me just like He called Peter and the others, 42:24 except He did it from heaven." 42:26 But on many occasions, the Lord appeared to Paul. 42:30 Matter of fact, Paul was caught up to the third heaven. 42:32 He refers to it as another man, 42:34 but most believe it was actually him. 42:36 And another time the Lord appeared to Jesus, He said, 42:38 "I have many people in the city." 42:40 And so he had a pretty good relationship. 42:43 He was a prophet. 42:44 And the Lord appeared to him on several occasions. 42:46 And so he was definitely an apostle. 42:49 Did the apostles prematurely pick a replacement for Judas? 42:52 That's a good question. 42:54 You remember, when in Acts 1, 42:56 when they pick someone to replace Judas, 42:58 did they prematurely pick a replacement for Judas 43:01 when God's plan was for Paul to be the 12th apostle. 43:06 Well, you never hear from Matthias again. 43:08 They pick between two men, Matthias was chosen. 43:10 You never hear his name mentioned again in the Bible. 43:14 But little later, you do see 43:16 Paul becomes extremely prominent writing, 43:18 you know, like, almost 43:19 a third of the New Testament after that. 43:22 And some have wondered, maybe they were jumping the gun, 43:24 but I think they were meant to do what they did 43:26 because immediately after you have 43:29 the 12th missing apostle replaced, 43:32 and they've got the number 12 again. 43:34 The Holy Spirit is poured out. 43:36 It's the next thing that happens. 43:37 It's like there was something needed to be complete 43:39 and that number 12 was important. 43:41 There were 120 in the upper room, 43:43 which is 10 times that or, you know, it's 12. 43:47 And so there's some special significance there. 43:51 I think that the 144,000 are connected 43:54 with 12 times 12 in the last days 43:56 when the latter rain is poured out. 43:58 So I would not dismiss it. 44:01 I don't think the church leaders 44:02 should always cast lots 44:03 when we have board meetings and make decisions. 44:07 Would you agree with that? 44:08 But they were the whole... 44:10 They were the apostles, 44:11 they had spent 10 days in praying. 44:13 We believe that they were following God's guidance there. 44:18 And so that's a good question. 44:22 Someone is asking, "Is it true that the teachings of Paul 44:25 are contrary to the teachings of Jesus?" 44:27 Now you might be surprised by the question, 44:29 but there are actually theologians that say that. 44:31 They say, "Well, Paul says one thing 44:32 and Jesus says another." 44:34 For example... No, I don't believe. 44:36 I believe that Paul... 44:37 His teachings are consistent with Jesus. 44:39 But I'm telling you why some people believe that. 44:41 Do the apostles say, "Abstain from idols. 44:44 Don't eat those things which are sacrificed to idols?" 44:47 And then Paul says, "The idol is nothing. 44:50 If it's going to make your brother stumble, 44:52 don't do it. 44:53 But otherwise it doesn't matter. 44:55 Pray over it and God will bless your food." 44:59 And so some people say, 45:00 "Well, he's teaching something different." 45:01 No, he's teaching the same thing. 45:02 He's explaining the reason the apostle said not to do it 45:05 is it makes people stumble. 45:06 If you're with someone that's going to stumble 45:09 and then, you know, there are some other areas where, 45:11 even Peter. 45:13 Peter said, 45:17 "As our beloved brother..." 45:18 This is 2 Peter 3. 45:20 He says, "Even as our beloved brother 45:21 Paul has written to you, in all his epistles, 45:24 saying in them some things that are hard to understand, 45:28 which those who are unlearnt, and unstable rest, twist 45:33 as they do the other scriptures 45:35 to their own destruction." 45:36 Peter refers to Paul's writing as scripture. 45:40 And so... 45:41 But he said there are some things 45:42 that are difficult in Paul's writing. 45:44 Now why were some things that Paul wrote difficult? 45:48 Because he was the most educated of the disciples. 45:53 And the theologians get deeper. 45:56 And so, now, he's got some of the richest things, 45:58 but no, it's all in harmony with the Bible. 45:59 Okay, we're going to get back to the lesson here. 46:01 And... 46:03 Oh, man, look at a clock, I better hurry up. 46:06 So let's go right to the Bible, want us to read this. 46:11 It says, "He was three days without sight. 46:13 He neither ate nor drank." 46:16 That's what you call a severe fast, 46:18 no food or water, he is in great repentance. 46:21 He's not only been fighting the Lord, 46:22 he now sees he's got innocent blood on his hands. 46:26 Now, he thinks he's gone too far, 46:29 maybe he remembers the story of Manasseh, 46:31 who was forgiven. 46:33 "Now there was a certain disciple 46:35 at Damascus named Ananias..." 46:37 Unlike Ananias and Sapphira, this is a good guy. 46:40 "And to him the Lord says in a vision, 'Ananias.'" 46:43 He's just a disciple, God gives him a vision. 46:46 "Here I am, Lord." 46:47 Like Samuel. 46:48 "So the Lord says to him, 46:49 'Arise and go to the street called Straight.'" 46:52 Where do conversions happen? 46:53 On Straight Street. 46:55 "And inquire at the house of Judas 46:57 for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold..." 47:00 Now, isn't this interesting? 47:02 You got an Ananias, who at one point was bad, 47:05 but there's a good one here. 47:06 And you've got a Judas, 47:08 who at one point in the Bible was bad, 47:09 but he's good here. 47:10 And then you got a Saul, 47:12 who commits suicide in the Old Testament, 47:14 but this Saul becomes good. 47:16 So it's like telling us 47:17 about conversions can happen among bad people, 47:19 just the names that are all mentioned here. 47:23 "He is praying." 47:25 Does God see when we pray? 47:27 He says, "Behold, he's praying." 47:28 God says, "I'm not answering him 47:30 but I'm answering you that I see him praying." 47:33 "And in a vision he is now seeing a man named Ananias 47:36 coming in and putting his hand on him, 47:38 so that he might receive his sight." 47:40 Now, Ananias protests a little bit. 47:41 "He says, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, 47:45 how much harm he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem.'" 47:48 Paul had a reputation already. 47:50 "And he is now here 47:51 with authority from the chief priests 47:52 to bind all who call on Your name. 47:56 But the Lord said to him, 47:57 'Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name 48:01 before the gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 48:05 For I will show him how many things 48:07 he must suffer for My sake.'" 48:08 Paul would do some of the greatest work 48:10 of any Christian missionary in history, 48:13 and he also suffered greatly. 48:15 So when you think, I want to do great things for God, 48:18 do you know what you're asking? 48:21 How does God prepare His vessels? 48:23 Puts them in the fire and bakes them. 48:26 And, I remember, I went to school, 48:28 and I had a teacher that taught us 48:29 how to make porcelain. 48:31 We start out with clay, and then we glaze it, 48:33 and then we put it in, and we bake it. 48:35 So that's how God prepares His vessels. 48:38 So Ananias, he obeys. 48:40 He goes to Straight Street and there's Saul blind. 48:43 He enter the house, he lays his hands on him. 48:46 He says, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 48:48 who appeared you on the road, has sent me 48:51 that you might receive your sight 48:52 and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 48:55 And immediately... 48:56 You notice that how many times they laid hands on people 48:58 and they were filled with the Holy Spirit? 49:00 The apostles went to Samaria, we read, 49:02 they laid hands on them, 49:03 and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. 49:05 This is one of the things that they did. 49:08 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. 49:12 It's like these cataracts had blinded him 49:14 that maybe from his vision of Christ 49:16 had scorched his eyes. 49:17 They fell off and he received his sight at once, 49:21 and he rose, and he was baptized. 49:22 Now many speculate his sight was never perfect 49:25 from that point on 49:27 because he often just mentions struggling with his vision. 49:31 So when he received food, 49:33 he was strengthened. 49:35 Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus, 49:38 and immediately he preached Christ. 49:41 What's one of the first things you want to do 49:43 after you're converted? 49:44 You start telling other people. 49:46 He preaches Christ in the synagogues 49:48 that He is the Son of God, 49:50 then all who heard him were amazed and said, 49:53 "Is this not he 49:54 who destroyed those who call in the name of Jesus? 49:57 And he's come here for that purpose 49:59 that he might bring them bound to the chief priests." 50:02 And Saul increased all the more in strength 50:05 and confounded the Jews, who dwelt in Damascus, 50:08 proving that this Jesus was the Christ. 50:11 Can the Holy Spirit teach you more in five minutes 50:15 than all the higher institutions 50:17 of learning can in five years? 50:20 All of a sudden when the Spirit of the Lord came to him, 50:23 those three days he was praying, 50:24 all the scriptures that he knew all started making sense. 50:28 And he also studied beyond that. 50:32 So he starts to preach. 50:34 Well, now they plot, here's the Jews in Damascus, 50:37 his own church members tried to destroy him. 50:39 So he has to escape. 50:41 "After many days, they plotted to kill him." 50:44 I'm in verse 23, 50:47 "But their plot became known to Saul, 50:50 and they watched the gates day and night to kill him." 50:53 There's several occasions 50:54 where they are sworn to kill Saul. 50:57 But didn't God protect him over and over? 50:59 He protected him. 51:01 "And they led him down through the wall 51:03 in a large basket." 51:05 Does that remind us that God can save a basket case? 51:09 "And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, 51:10 he tried to join the disciples, 51:12 but the church is afraid of him." 51:14 At this point, I mean, he had a bad reputation. 51:17 But Barnabas... 51:18 You know Barnabas' name means? 51:20 Bar means son of, Barnabas means son of consolation. 51:25 He was a consoling person. 51:27 He took him in, 51:28 he brought him to the apostles, he said, 51:30 "You can trust him. 51:31 He's really converted. 51:32 He's not a spy, he's not infiltrating." 51:35 And he declared to them how he'd seen the Lord on the road, 51:38 and how he'd spoken to him, 51:40 and then where he had preached boldly at Damascus 51:42 in the name of Jesus. 51:43 So he was with them at Jerusalem, 51:45 coming in and going out, now, 51:47 he's freely mingling with the church, 51:48 and he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, 51:51 and disputed against the Hellenist 51:53 like Stephen had done, 51:54 the very one that he killed for doing it, 51:57 but they attempted to kill him also. 52:02 And when the brethren found that out, 52:05 they brought him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus." 52:06 They said, "You better get out of town." 52:08 They want to save his life. 52:09 While here you've got a wonderful story 52:11 of the dramatic conversion of Paul. 52:15 It was so radical that, at first, 52:17 the church couldn't even believe it. 52:19 And the first thing Paul did after he was converted, 52:22 he starts to reach people right where he is. 52:25 When you come to the Lord, are you supposed to then go off 52:27 to a mission field or reach people right where you are. 52:30 And that's what he did. 52:31 Well, we have run out of time for today's lesson. 52:33 I want to remind you that we do have a free offer. 52:35 It's called Riches of His Grace. 52:38 It talks about conversion. 52:39 And you can get free offer here by calling, 52:42 that's one way, and ask for offer number 152. 52:45 Call 866-788-3966. 52:48 We'll be happy to send that to you. 52:49 That's 866-Study-More, 52:51 and again, ask for offer number 152. 52:54 And the screen will even show you a way you can text 52:57 and get your free copy of that book. 52:58 If you've not read that before, you'll be blessed by it. 53:02 Just text the code "SH056" 53:05 and here's the number to 40544, 53:09 and you can even download a copy right now. 53:11 Thank you for studying with us, friends. 53:12 God willing, we'll study His Word together again next week. 53:15 God bless you. 53:17 Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study? 53:20 You don't have to wait until next week 53:22 to enjoy more truth-filled programming. 53:24 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 53:30 At aftv.org, 53:32 you can enjoy video and audio presentations 53:34 as well as printed material all free of charge, 53:38 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 53:40 right from your computer or mobile device. 53:42 Visit aftv.org. 54:00 For over 60 years, 54:01 Jeepneys have been the virtual king of the road 54:04 here in the Philippines. 54:05 These unique vehicles 54:06 that are festive with colorful stickers, 54:09 lights, and chrome have grown 54:10 into the chief source of transportation in the country. 54:13 Let's go. 54:19 These iconic four-wheel-drive military vehicles 54:22 made by the Willys Company were known as Jeeps 54:25 because it stood for general purpose. 54:27 But it also came from a character 54:30 in a Popeye cartoon 54:32 that was known as Eugene the Jeep. 54:34 He was an imaginary dog 54:35 that could crawl across the ceilings and the walls, 54:38 and these jeeps could go anywhere. 54:40 When the Americans left the Philippines 54:41 following World War II, 54:43 it was just cheaper for them to leave 54:45 these thousands of military vehicles behind 54:47 rather than to transport them back to the States. 54:49 The creative Filipino people 54:51 modified these military vehicles 54:53 by extending the frame about six feet. 54:56 They added a couple of cozy inventions 54:58 that are designed to carry about 18 people. 55:01 They put a cab over it 55:02 to prevent the water from coming in, 55:05 but I've seen what looks like 20 to 25 people 55:08 hanging on every possible edge and ledge of a Jeepney. 55:11 They're jumping off, they're jumping on 55:13 as it goes through congested Manila traffic. 55:17 Every Jeepney is little bit different. 55:20 Some are just held together 55:21 with patches of daily wire and bubblegum, 55:23 a little bit of duck tape. 55:25 Some are little more ornate and modern, 55:27 they've got chrome and stainless steel. 55:29 And there's good reason that the ceilings are padded. 55:35 When one of the local Filipinos wants to ride on a Jeepney, 55:37 they just flag them down, 55:39 they shout, they tap on the hood, 55:40 and then they jump on board. 55:42 They may not even slowdown when they do this. 55:44 Then they pay about 8 pesos 55:46 which is equivalent of 16 cents for us. 55:49 It's by far the most economical way 55:51 to get around in the country. 55:57 Some Jeepneys are even equipped with an old emergency privy. 56:03 One little downside to the Jeepneys is 56:05 because the cabs are open like this, 56:07 they're not air-conditioned, it gets very hot in summertime 56:10 and all the fumes from the street coming in 56:13 which can make it an exhausting experience. 56:17 One of the downside of the Jeepney 56:18 is they don't have all of the modern safety features, 56:21 no seatbelts. 56:22 You have to take advantage of the padding 56:24 if you hit a hard bump. 56:25 And if there is a serious accident, 56:27 there is no airbags 56:28 other than the friends that might be sitting around you. 56:31 And that's the upside of the Jeepney 56:33 because you're up close and personal with everybody, 56:35 you make some new friends. 56:37 Riding on a Jeepney requires teamwork. 56:39 If you buy something from one of the vendors, 56:41 you all sort of pass it back to each other. 56:43 And when passengers get on board, 56:45 you just pass your money upfront. 56:53 Thanks a lot. 56:58 Friends, it's safe to say there are no two Jeepneys 57:01 that are exactly the same. 57:03 They're all unique and distinct and so are you. 57:06 Have you ever felt that you get lost in a massive humanity 57:10 and God doesn't notice you? 57:11 The Bible tells us that He knows your name, 57:13 the very hairs of your head are numbered 57:15 and He hears your prayers. 57:17 More than that, the Lord wants to take you to His kingdom, 57:20 you just have to get on board. 57:35 Did you know that Noah was present 57:37 at the birth of Abraham? 57:39 Okay, maybe he wasn't in the room, 57:41 but he was alive 57:43 and probably telling stories about his floating zoo. 57:46 From the creation of the world 57:48 to the last day events of Revelation, 57:50 biblehistory.com is a free resource 57:53 where you can explore major Bible events and characters. 57:56 Enhance your knowledge of the Bible 57:58 and draw closer to God's Word. 58:00 Go deeper, visit biblehistory.com. |
Revised 2018-07-31