Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180031A
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00:32 And we do welcome you to 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel.
00:35 I'm Mollie Steenson and today, we are studying out of 00:38 the Book of Acts in our Sabbath School Quarterly. 00:41 We're on Lesson #5, but let me encourage you to go 00:44 now to your computer and download this lesson 00:47 if you don't already have a copy of it. 00:50 It's very simple to download, 00:53 just go to: ABSG.Adventist.org 00:56 and download it - go ahead and download next week's as well 01:00 so that you'll have it available next week... 01:03 But, you know, there's another way for you to receive 01:06 the Sabbath School Quarterly, and that's to go to your 01:09 local Seventh-day Adventist Church and tell them, 01:12 "I'm studying your Sabbath School Quarterly on 01:15 the Book of Acts and I would like to have a copy." 01:18 They would be so happy to get a get a copy for you 01:21 and you know something else they would do? 01:23 They would invite you to come and study that Sabbath School 01:26 Quarterly with them as well. 01:28 That would be a good thing for you to do. 01:30 So get your Sabbath School Quarterly, get your lesson, 01:33 let's study along together. 01:35 Now let me introduce to you the teachers that we 01:38 have for you today of this lesson on... 01:41 "The Conversion of Paul" 01:43 To my left, I have Shelley Quinn. 01:45 Shelley, it's always a joy to have you with us. Thank you. 01:48 And then Pastor John Dinzey, A pleasure. 01:52 And our local theologian here on staff at 3ABN... 01:57 CA Murray, thank you. 01:58 And next to him is our dear precious sister, Jill Morikone. 02:03 Jill, always a joy to have you here. 02:04 Jill, you always encourage me with your knowledge of 02:08 God's Word and I'd like to ask you now, if you will, 02:11 to open up in prayer. Absolutely! 02:13 Holy Father, We come before you in the 02:15 name of Jesus and we just thank You for the privilege of 02:18 opening up the Word of God. 02:21 We thank You that it's inspired. 02:23 We thank You for Your Holy Spirit and we ask that You would 02:27 give us an extra portion of Your Spirit just now as 02:30 we speak and share from Your word and for our friends 02:34 who are at home watching and listening just now, 02:37 we ask for an anointing of Your Holy Spirit 02:39 that Your Word would go forth with power - that lives 02:42 would be convicted and converted and changed, 02:45 and we thank You in Jesus name... Amen, Amen 02:50 It is our heart's desire, isn't it panel, that this word will 02:53 will go forth powerfully and will touch every one of us 02:56 and change us into the image and likeness of our 02:59 Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen! 03:01 Well again today we are looking at the conversion of Paul. 03:05 Now the conversion of Saul of Tarsus - who becomes Paul 03:13 is one of the most remarkable events in the history of 03:17 the apostolic church. 03:18 He was an enemy of the church who became a genuine Christian. 03:24 I mean, that was an amazing event. 03:28 There was something innate within Paul, 03:32 whatever he did, he did it with all his heart. Yes 03:37 Now that's a good quality when it's 03:39 directed in the right direction. 03:42 He had been an incorrigible opponent of the early believers, 03:49 and the harm he could have done to the infant church was 03:53 enormous. 03:55 He had both self-determination, 03:58 that's motivation on his own, and the official support 04:03 of the religious leaders to destroy everyone who 04:09 who called themselves a Christian. 04:11 So he was motivated of himself to do it and he had the 04:15 backing of the church leaders to destroy everyone 04:20 that would call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ... 04:23 But something happened to him 04:25 and that's what we get to study today. Amen 04:27 We get to study, look at, be encouraged by, 04:32 what happened to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. 04:37 Well, Sister White tells us, from among the most bitter 04:41 and relentless persecutors of the church of Christ 04:45 arose the ablest defender and most 04:49 successful herald in the gospel. 04:51 You know he wrote more of the New Testament books 04:54 than anybody else. 04:56 He was not just a powerful preacher, 04:58 he was good with pen and paper as well... 05:01 as we're all so thankful for. Amen! 05:04 Paul was converted and Christianity changed forever. 05:10 Let's look at our memory text ladies and gentlemen... 05:12 It's Acts 9:15... now this is our Lord and Savior 05:18 Jesus Christ speaking to Ananias, so let's 05:22 read this together... "Go, this man is My chosen 05:27 instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings 05:32 and to the people of Israel." 05:35 So, talking about the Apostle Paul, well I've got Sunday, 05:39 and I get to talk to you about the persecutor of the church. 05:44 Now who would that be? 05:46 Who was the #1 persecutor of the church? 05:48 This same man that Shelley gets to share, 05:51 and his conversion, but I get to tell you about 05:54 some of the things he did as the persecutor. 05:57 First let me tell you a little about Paul... 05:59 He was a Hellenistic Jew. 06:01 Now, did I say that word right "Hellenistic Jew?" Okay 06:04 To me, that just sounds awful. 06:07 Just that word, "Hellenistic," but all that means is... 06:11 A Jew who spoke Greek and adopted, to some extent, 06:17 a great way of life, but I think because it's got 06:19 the word "hell" in it. 06:21 It just makes me uncomfortable! 06:24 but that just defined his origin of birth. 06:30 That's what a Hellenistic Jew is - someone who spoke 06:34 Greek and adopted some of the Greek ways of life. 06:38 Paul was also a Roman citizen. 06:41 His birthplace was Tarsus, that's why he was called 06:44 "Saul of Tarsus" and that's the capitol of Cilicia. 06:48 But, he was by race a Jew, born of Jewish parents, 06:53 raised in a Jewish home, raised in the Jewish faith, 06:58 and he was educated in the Jewish educational system. 07:02 As-a-matter-of-fact, at a very young age, he was brought to 07:05 Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel - did I say that 07:09 correctly? Gamaliel... the most influential 07:13 pharisaic teacher at the time. 07:17 Paul was a Pharisee and he would tell you very quickly, 07:20 "and I'm the son of a Pharisee." 07:22 Now a Pharisee was strictly Orthodox... 07:27 It's one who adheres to most strictly to 07:30 traditional beliefs and practices. 07:33 He was zealous - that's that drive in him, 07:37 to the point of fanaticism, he strongly upheld 07:42 what he believed to be true. 07:44 Now is that a bad thing? 07:46 Don't we strongly uphold what we believe to be true? 07:50 Okay, Acts 26, I want to read this, verses 9-11. 07:55 Act 26:9-11... Paul says about himself, 08:00 "Indeed I, myself, thought I must do many things 08:06 contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 08:09 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints 08:13 I shut up in prison, having received authority from the 08:17 chief priest and when they were put to death, 08:20 I cast my vote against them. 08:21 Verse 11. And I punished them often in every synagogue 08:26 and compelled them to blaspheme, and being 08:29 exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them 08:33 even to foreign cities." 08:36 Now, why was Paul doing this? 08:40 Because he believed in what he was doing. 08:44 He believed he was doing the right thing. 08:47 Now Paul says this... in 1 Corinthians 1:23, 08:51 this is a statement from the Apostle Paul and I'm 08:54 gonna ask - why did he make such a statement? 08:57 1 Corinthians 1:23, "The preaching of Christ 09:03 is a stumbling block to the Jews." 09:06 Now a stumbling block... what's a stumbling block? 09:10 It's something that will make you fall 09:13 on the path that you're walking on - is it not? 09:16 Make you slip and fall. 09:18 You see, Jesus didn't fit the traditional 09:22 Jewish expectation of the Kingly Messiah. 09:26 Let me ask you this... Is Jesus the Kingly Messiah? 09:30 Yes He is, but He didn't fit their traditional expectation, 09:36 so that means that their expectation was skewed, 09:42 does it not? Okay. 09:44 So when things are skewed, it's like your teeth 09:47 being out of alignment. 09:49 When you have crooked teeth, what do you get put on them? 09:51 Braces. They put braces. 09:53 Okay, if you just put those braces and go (noise) 09:56 straighten them up, what happens? 09:57 It kills every tooth in your head. 10:00 So things were skewed and what God had to do 10:05 was put His people in braces and bring them 10:09 out of the wrong mindset, into the right mindset 10:13 because Paul truly believed what he was doing 10:17 was the right thing to do. 10:19 The religious Jews couldn't by any means accept 10:22 the idea that the one who had died on a cross? 10:26 Could be God's Messiah? 10:28 For the Scripture says in Deuteronomy 21:23... 10:31 "That anyone who is hung is"... what? 10:35 Under God's curse. 10:37 To the Jews, the crucifixion was the clearest 10:41 evidence that the early church's claim 10:44 about Jesus was false. 10:47 Paul was basing his persecution of the early church 10:52 on what he truly believed, even though 10:56 what he believed was error. 11:00 Now, let me tell you something about "present truth," 11:03 what does the Scripture say about present truth? 11:05 "We are to be established in present truth," 11:09 and here we have the Messiah, Jesus Christ, His death, 11:14 His burial, His resurrection, His ascension 11:17 to the right hand of the Father. 11:19 Did this bring present truth into the Jewish community? 11:25 Let me tell you something about present truth... 11:28 Present truth never does away with past truth. 11:32 What does present truth do every time? 11:34 Present truth builds on and enhances past truth. 11:40 But here is something else about present truth... 11:43 Present truth will always expose past error. Yes. 11:48 And what we have happening here is - people that are 11:52 operating in error, thinking that they're doing God's will, 11:56 so God is in the process of exposing the error and God 12:03 never wants to expose the error to condemn... 12:07 everything God does is redemptive. 12:09 He exposes the past error to bring you gently 12:12 into present truth. Amen! 12:15 Okay, now... let me say this to each one of us sitting here 12:19 before we get holier than thou... 12:20 None of us would ever do that. 12:22 So like Paul, each one of us base our actions 12:27 on what we believe... is that the truth? 12:29 Well let me ask you... Have any of you 12:32 ever zealously upheld a matter... 12:37 Shelley and I can both say we have... 12:40 and later had to change our mind? Why? 12:42 Because we received the truth! 12:45 And in the light of the truth, 12:47 error is exposed every time. 12:49 Okay, Acts 9:1-2... "Then Saul still breathing threats 12:57 and murder against the disciples of the Lord, 12:59 went to the high priest and asked letters from him 13:02 to the synagogues of Damascus, Where? Damascus! 13:06 so that if he found any who were in the Way, 13:09 whether men or women, he might bring them bound 13:12 to Jerusalem." 13:13 With these letters from the high priest, 13:16 head of the Sanhedrin, the highest supreme council 13:19 in Jerusalem, they had the power over religious, 13:23 civil and criminal jurisdiction, 13:27 Paul became... this word, "shaliah," 13:32 with authority to arrest any followers of Jesus 13:36 and bring them to Jerusalem. 13:37 Now I found this interesting, in Greek, the equivalent to 13:41 "shaliah" is what word? "apostolos" 13:45 from which the word "apostle" is derived. 13:48 And he is who - He is the Apostle Paul, is he not? 13:51 Thus before being an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, 13:55 do you know what Paul was? 13:57 He was an apostle to the Sanhedrin. 13:59 Now, he has this letter and why was he going to Damascus? 14:04 It says that he is about to go to Damascus, 14:07 and I'm gonna leave Damascus alone because 14:09 I'm gonna get him on the road to Damascus, 14:11 and then Shelley is gonna take it from there... 14:13 he was breathing out threats, he was breathing out 14:17 anybody that called on the Lord Jesus Christ 14:22 he was going to arrest them. 14:23 That's why he was going to Damascus and bring 14:26 them back to Jerusalem. Sister Shelley... 14:28 Thank you Mollie Sue! 14:31 It is so interesting to me, my lesson is Monday, 14:35 "On The Damascus Road." 14:37 It is so interesting to me how someone can go out 14:41 breathing murderous threats, traveling with his companions. 14:45 This misguided Saul of Tarsus trying to round up 14:50 Christians ready to rid Jerusalem and the 14:55 Jewish religion of what he thought was a dangerous 14:59 heresy and have his life changed just like this. 15:03 But it was because he had a personal encounter with 15:07 the Lord Jesus Christ and you can experience that as well. 15:11 I think many of us have. 15:13 So on the road to Damascus, what happens is that 15:17 Jesus calls Paul to be a minister and a witness. 15:20 I want to read two accounts. 15:21 I want to read Luke's account of Saul's encounter 15:26 with Christ and then I want to read Saul's accounts, 15:29 so here we go... Acts 9:3-9 15:33 "As he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly 15:36 a light shoun around him from heaven. 15:38 Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 15:41 "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 15:45 And he said, "Who are you Lord? 15:48 Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus who you are persecuting. 15:52 It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 15:55 So he, Paul, trembling and astonished said, 15:58 "Lord, what do you want me to do?" 16:00 Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, 16:03 and you will be told what you must do." 16:06 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, 16:09 hearing a voice, but seeing no one. 16:13 Then Saul rose from the ground and when his eyes were 16:15 opened, he saw no one, but they led him 16:19 by the hand and brought him into Damascus." 16:22 He was there three days without sight and neither ate nor drank. 16:27 Now I'm going to add something because I love Paul's account 16:32 and that's found in Acts 26:9-20. 16:35 And in Acts 26:9, He is speaking now before King Agrippa, 16:42 and he says, he has just told him how he was out 16:46 with this murderous intent, and he said, 16:50 "Indeed I thought myself, I must do many things 16:54 contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, this I also did 16:58 in Jerusalem and many of the saints I shut up in prison 17:01 having received authority from the chief priest when 17:04 they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, 17:06 and I punished them in every synagogue... and he's going on, 17:09 and then he says in verse 12, "While thus occupied, 17:13 as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission 17:17 from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along 17:21 the road I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun 17:26 shining around me and those who journeyed with me." 17:30 Christ said, "I am the light, did He not?" Yes 17:35 And he's saying this light was brighter than the sun and it was 17:39 as it were - he got knocked off his high horse. Laughter 17:44 Here's this hate mongering, religious zealot, 17:49 and he has a face-to-face encounter with Jesus. 17:53 And he says, "And when we all had fallen to the ground, 17:57 I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew 18:01 language, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me." 18:08 So what he finds out here... is that by attacking 18:12 believers, he was attacking Jesus Christ, 18:15 and we need to remember that. 18:18 And then he said, "It is hard for you to kick against 18:20 the goads," now this is a proverb that was common 18:24 to the culture of the day, and what it's referring to... 18:28 it pictures an ox's legs, you've got the tender - the one 18:33 who is herding him along, with a stick that had a chain 18:38 and then this metal ball that had pricks on it... 18:42 And what he would do when the ox wasn't moving rapidly 18:47 enough, he would flick that against it and if the ox 18:52 ... this got the ox to move a little faster, but if the ox 18:55 kicked against it, he ended up wounding himself. 18:58 So now he says... if I can find my place, 19:03 So, here Jesus has said, "You're kicking against the goads. 19:07 And he said, "Who are you Lord?" And He said, "I'm Jesus 19:11 whom you are persecuting. 19:14 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared 19:16 to you for this purpose, to make you a minister 19:18 and a witness both of the things which you have seen 19:21 and the things which I have yet to reveal to you. 19:24 I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as 19:28 from the Gentiles to whom I now send you..." 19:32 And wait a minute, here is the Pharisee of the Pharisees; 19:38 here is someone who will not 19:41 have anything to do with the Gentiles, and who does Jesus, 19:45 of all people - who is He going to send Saul of Tarsus 19:49 to minister to? The Gentiles! I love this! 19:54 And now, listen to why He says He is sending him, 19:58 what the message is? 19:59 And this is one of my favorite scriptures, Acts 26:18... 20:03 Jesus said, "I'm sending you to open their eyes, to turn them 20:07 from darkness to light, from the power of 20:09 Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins 20:13 and an inheritance among those 20:16 who are sanctified by faith in Me. 20:18 Faith has sanctifying power when we believe in the 20:22 Lord Jesus Christ, it will set us apart - that belief 20:27 helps set us apart from sin and it's so amazing because 20:32 what we see here... Paul had mentioned to the 20:34 Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15, He said that Jesus had been 20:40 buried, rose again and on the third day that He appeared 20:43 to Cephas, which was Peter, the twelve, 20:45 then He appeared to over 500, then to James and the rest 20:49 of the apostles and he said that He was seen by me 20:53 also, last of all, as one born out of due time." 20:59 What Paul is saying here is... "I had a face-to-face 21:03 encounter with Jesus Christ," and let me tell you something... 21:06 a personal encounter with Jesus Christ will change your life. 21:11 Paul responded to the heavenly vision, 21:16 and his beliefs changed, his attitudes changed, 21:21 how he viewed others changed, the murder Saul became 21:29 the Apostle Paul and he became God's greatest ambassador 21:34 for grace and righteousness by faith. 21:36 He ALSO became God's ambassador for sanctification! 21:41 I want to read this, 1 Corinthians 15:10... 21:44 He says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, 21:48 and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored 21:51 more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace 21:55 of God which was in me." 21:57 In these few seconds, let me give you the seven takeaways 22:02 that I see in this lesson... 22:04 If we attack God's people, we're attacking Him. 22:07 We've got to be careful in the church and realize 22:11 what we're doing. 22:12 Don't kick against the goads, don't resist 22:16 the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had been working in Paul's life, 22:20 but he was resisting Him, so we don't want to 22:24 be guilty of that sin. 22:26 Don't be a religious zealot, be intellectually open 22:30 and honest; be like a Berean who is searching the Scriptures 22:34 to make sure that what you are zealously defending 22:39 is the truth. 22:41 Remember that an encounter with Jesus Christ brings 22:44 true faith, but don't be just devoted to the cause of Jesus, 22:49 be devoted to the Person of Jesus. 22:54 Active faith has sanctifying power. 22:56 Power to set us apart for God's purpose is to turn us away 23:01 from sin, make us Holy and learn to be like Paul, 23:05 who developed this personal relationship with the Lord 23:08 was totally dependent upon Him - just as each of us 23:13 are totally dependent upon grace. Amen, Amen! 23:16 I know you have more to share! I do! 23:19 But it's amazing what God does in the human heart that is 23:22 willing to receive what the Holy Spirit is guiding 23:27 him to do and it's marvelous. 23:30 Paul's conversion is a story that is such a blessing, 23:34 and it's interesting because Paul was sincere in what 23:40 he believed, but he was sincerely wrong... 23:44 to the point of that he was actually doing the devil's work, 23:47 because he was persecuting God's children, 23:51 and he had great conflict in his mind, 23:54 but the Holy Spirit was working in his heart 23:56 and when you hear Paul ask "Who are you," 24:01 he had Jesus Christ who you are persecuting. 24:04 He realized right there and then, I've been doing wrong, 24:09 because he asked the question, "Lord, what do you 24:11 want me to do?" 24:13 That reminds me of the question addressed before 24:16 in the Sabbath School Lesson when Peter was preaching, 24:19 and he told the people about how they had crucified 24:23 the Savior, the Messiah. 24:25 They said, "Lord, what do you want me to do, 24:28 what shall we do brethren?" 24:29 And here Paul is asking something very similar... 24:31 So I would like to take this up in Acts 9:10-19. 24:36 I want to ask Sister Mollie Sue to help me read Acts 9, 24:40 and will you please read from verse 10 thru verse 14. 24:44 "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus 24:48 named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, 24:53 "Ananias," And he said, "Behold I am here Lord." 24:59 And the Lord said unto him, "Arise and go to the street 25:02 which is called, "Straight," and inquire in the house 25:05 of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold 25:09 he prayeth. "And has seen in a vision, a man named Ananias 25:13 coming in and putting his hand on him that he might 25:18 receive his sight." 25:19 Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard by many of this 25:23 man, how much evil he has done to the saints at Jerusalem. 25:28 And here he had authority from the chief priests to 25:32 bind all that call on Thy name." 25:35 Isn't that interesting how Ananias thinks he's giving 25:39 information that Heaven doesn't know. 25:43 But he was so shocked at hearing that Saul was 25:47 converted that he had to go talk to him that he... 25:49 "Wait a minute, I've heard... you know... 25:52 like he's telling something new to the Lord. 25:55 But look at verse 15... "But the Lord said to him, 25:59 "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name 26:04 before the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel, 26:08 for I will show him how many things he must suffer 26:11 for my name's sake." And Ananias went and entered 26:14 the house and laying his hands on him, he said... notice 26:19 "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you 26:23 on the road as you came, has sent me that you may 26:27 receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 26:30 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales 26:34 and he received his sight at once and he arose 26:38 and was baptized." Amen! 26:40 Wow! This is a marvelous, marvelous Scripture... 26:43 This is Saul that was persecuting Christians, 26:46 and now he has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, 26:51 and is baptized! 26:53 And so, verse 19- remember he had not been eating, 26:57 so when he had received food, he was strengthened. 26:59 "Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus." 27:06 So what is happening here is something very powerful, 27:09 and very interesting that we need to consider and that is... 27:12 that the Lord is speaking to Saul and he says, "Lord what 27:16 do you want me to do?" God has to connect Saul 27:20 to the church - He says, 27:24 you will be told what you have to do." 27:25 The Lord could have told him right there that 27:27 Saul, this is what I want you to do, do A, B, C, E, F, G and.. 27:31 No, he connected Saul to the brethren, to the 27:34 Christian family and so he was going to be told 27:38 what to do by the Christian family... 27:41 the church at that time. 27:43 And so, Ananias came and noticed that he spent several 27:48 days with the disciples at Damascus and there he learned 27:52 what his mission was to be and that's what the Lord 27:57 had told him would happen. 27:59 Now notice something interesting that it is written in 28:05 Galatians 1:11-12 concerning the gospel itself... 28:11 In Galatians 1:11-12, Paul makes this statement... 28:17 "But I make known unto you brethren, that the gospel 28:19 which was preached by me, is not according to man, 28:23 ...is not of origin of man... it is of divine origin. 28:27 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, 28:31 but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. 28:35 Marvelous - it's a marvelous thing to consider here... 28:38 and imagine - here's Paul, he's persecuting Christians, 28:41 he's killing Christians; which one of them 28:43 would knock at Paul's door and say, "Paul, I'd like to 28:46 do a Bible study with you?" 28:47 How many would survive that? 28:50 And so the Lord had to use a means that Paul 28:54 was able to recognize - that he understood that it was God 29:00 talking to him and this is why this remarkable conversion 29:04 takes place - he's on his way to kill Christians, 29:06 but the Lord took him from that mission - to another mission, 29:10 and that is to convert people to Christ. 29:12 And I want to read this from a book called: 29:15 "Acts of the Apostles," because I am concerned 29:19 that there are some Christians that think they have 29:22 to be the "Lone Ranger Christian," that they have to 29:25 be out there having their own church, 29:29 form their own denomination; you see, God has a body 29:33 of believers and He has a church on earth. 29:37 And this is in "Acts of the Apostles," a book by 29:40 Sister Ellen G. White, p.122. 29:44 It says, "And immediately there fell from his eyes 29:48 as there had been scales and he received sight forthwith 29:51 and arose and was baptized, according to the Scriptures... 29:54 And then Ellen G. White says, "Thus Jesus gave sanction 29:56 to the authority of His organized church 29:58 and placed Paul in connection with His appointed 30:01 agencies on earth. 30:02 Christ had now a church as His representatives on earth, 30:06 and to him belong the work of directing the repentant 30:09 sinner and the way of life. 30:10 Many have an idea that they are responsible to Christ alone 30:14 for their light and experience, independent of His 30:16 recognized followers on earth. 30:18 Jesus is the friend of sinners and His heart is touched with 30:22 their woe. He has all power both in heaven and on earth, 30:25 but He respects the means that He has ordained 30:28 for the enlightenment and salvation of men. 30:31 He directs sinners to the church which He has made a 30:34 channel of light to the world." 30:36 And so this is a message that we have here in this story 30:41 for us concerning Paul and his conversion experience. 30:45 And God is still doing conversions 30:48 in such a mighty way, I've heard so many stories 30:50 about 3ABN, I am tempted to tell a story concerning this 30:56 because we have heard of some powerful, powerful conversions. 30:59 Now when you think of Saul and what he used to do... 31:04 I want to bring this point out... 31:05 What he used to do - there were many Christians 31:08 that Paul gave his vote, as he said - now when we all 31:12 get to heaven and Stephen is there and he sees Paul 31:17 coming up to him, he's going to be shocked! 31:20 There will be many, many surprises in heaven. 31:24 People we thought, "Oh no, there's no way that person 31:27 is going to be there," they will be there because 31:29 God is working in human hearts leading them to surrender 31:35 so that they can become active members of God's 31:38 community of the laborers. 31:40 And likewise, there are also some that appear to be 31:43 great lights, but unfortunately, they will be led astray. 31:48 You have the scribes and the Pharisees... 31:51 at some point or another, they had great lights, 31:54 but something the devil did distracted them 31:58 from their mission and now they became active in 32:02 persecuting Christians. 32:04 And so that's why the Bible says to us, "Let every man 32:07 examine himself to see whether or not he is in the truth." 32:11 And I am so glad that 3ABN has been chosen by the Lord 32:15 to bring a message of salvation to the world. 32:19 We are members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 32:21 we support the Seventh-day Adventist Church 32:23 in the work of bringing the gospel to the world, 32:26 and 3ABN has been used by God in so many ways. 32:31 I've heard of witches being converted 32:34 to the Lord Jesus Christ, drunkards and drug addicts 32:37 being converted to the Lord Jesus Christ through the 32:39 ministry of 3ABN, but all of these people, 32:42 they go to Seventh-day Adventist Churches, 32:44 and they say, "I'm ready for baptism." 32:48 And there are some pastors that say, "Oh, well 32:50 we'd like to study the Bible with you." 32:51 I've been studying with Pastor Doug Batchelor, 32:54 and Stephen Bohr and that's because they've been watching 32:56 3ABN for so long and so God has a marvelous, 33:01 marvelous work that is being done even today, 33:03 and I'm encouraged to see that even people like Saul 33:07 can be converted to Christians powerful workers for the Lord. 33:11 Amen, Amen... Well said! Thank you so much Johnny. 33:14 One of the things that we are beginning to see here 33:18 is that God is organizing a fraternity that is going to be 33:24 called very soon "The Christian Church," 33:26 the "ekklesia - the called-out ones." 33:29 He is going to put together a group of people filled 33:33 with the Spirit which are going to take the gospel 33:36 message throughout the world, and this is necessary because 33:40 soon, rules are going to come in and we've talked about 33:44 this in past lessons, Judaizers are going to 33:48 come in, opposition is going to come in, 33:50 so very early on, God is purifying to Himself 33:54 a group of Holy Spirit-filled people and Paul is 33:58 again in that number. 34:00 And the same way in the history 34:01 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church... when we first came 34:04 out of the various churches, there was a call not to be 34:07 too organized - they said it's not good to be too organized 34:09 because then we're going to be Babylon. 34:11 So they wanted to keep it loose and kind of 34:13 nonstructured, but then they realized that there were 34:16 people coming in teaching things that were not, 34:18 can I say "kosher?" And so that were not 34:22 "kosher," and so they said, "We're going to have 34:24 to organize and try to put some structure here 34:27 because everybody can't claim to be in the tent 34:29 if you're not teaching the right thing. 34:31 And so, we can see this here and Paul is another one of 34:36 these Holy Ghost-filled persons who has had a 34:40 personal encounter with Jesus, and it is that personal 34:43 encounter that gonna take him through a lot of bumps and 34:47 lumps and all kinds of stuff in the next several years. 34:50 I want to pick this up... we are in Wednesday of course, 34:54 and in chapter 9 of the Book of Acts and I will begin 34:58 reading at verse 20, just 5 verses... 35:01 Then I've got some extensive things on the 35:03 "Spirit of Prophecy" because Ellen White has much to 35:05 say on this particular chapter... 35:07 "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogue, 35:13 that He is the Son of God, then all who heard were amazed 35:17 and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called 35:23 on His name in Jerusalem" and has come here 35:27 for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound 35:31 to the chief priest?" 35:33 So his reputation had preceded him. That's right. 35:37 But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded 35:43 the Jews who dwelt in Damascus proving that this Jesus 35:49 is the Christ. 35:50 And after many days were past, the Jews plotted 35:54 to kill him... there's that same pattern again... 35:57 But their plot became known to Saul and they watched 36:01 the gates day and night to kill him. 36:04 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down 36:08 through the wall in a large basket." 36:11 First of all, I think that is so cool...laughter 36:15 They're afraid of this guy. 36:18 He's got a bad reputation, but there's enough of the 36:21 Spirit moving in the hearts of these men - let's do the 36:25 will of the Lord and let him out and get him away from here. 36:28 So Paul is being pressed by Jews who don't want to hear, 36:32 who want to kill him and would be proselytes and Christians 36:37 who were just afraid of this guy because if we accept him, 36:43 if we let ourselves be known to him, 36:45 we might end up in chains heading back to Jerusalem... 36:47 so he's got this double whammy as it were. 36:51 Ellen White has a lot to say and I to want to 36:53 just touch on something real quick because 36:54 we're going to come back to this in just a little bit. 36:57 I'm in verse 20... "Immediately he preached the Christ 37:01 in the synagogues that He is the Son of God." 37:04 That became Paul's missionary pattern, to go to the 37:08 synagogues, meet with the people and preach. 37:10 And we're going to see a little bit later, 37:13 he broke that pattern though in a very, very sharp way 37:15 when he got to Athens because of some other things, 37:17 but this is fabulous. 37:18 I want to read some things that Ellen White said. 37:22 Again we're in the book, "Acts of the Apostles." 37:24 Ellen White informs us that Ananias' words found 37:27 resonance with Paul when He said to Paul, "God has selected you, 37:32 God has called you to be a special vessel unto Him. 37:36 This really found resonance in Paul's heart, 37:38 and perhaps the idea that he was a persecutor of Christians, 37:42 now God is calling me - as you well said, He's call me to 37:46 be a herald for him - this is almost more 37:49 than my mind can take, but God has called me 37:52 through all of this history that I have, 37:54 yet the Lord is using me. 37:57 Ananias said to him, "The God of our Fathers has chosen 38:01 thee," then he told him to arise and be baptized. 38:05 Paul took these words very seriously... 38:07 As he pondered these things in his heart, 38:09 Paul understood more and more clearly the meaning of his call 38:14 to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. 38:18 So he wasn't called by a group or a man or a committee, 38:21 this call came directly from our Lord. 38:23 The greatness of the work before him led him to 38:27 give much study to the Holy Scriptures 38:31 in order that he might preach the gospel - not with the 38:35 wisdom of words, but in a demonstration 38:39 of the Spirit and Power of God. 38:41 So Paul realizes that I've got to unlearn what I've learned... 38:48 ...we've heard that before, we've got to sort of strip 38:52 ourselves down and I've got to start all over again 38:56 as a brand new baby. 38:58 What I think I know, I don't know, 39:00 so I've got to study. 39:03 Now Galatians 1:17 tells us that he spent some 39:07 time in Arabia. Yes 39:09 Paul says, preparing for this... You know when you 39:12 have a big load to carry, you need to get your mind right. 39:15 Christ went off into the wilderness for 40 days; 39:17 Paul went to just think this thing through. 39:20 I remember when I first got the call to ministry... 39:22 Well I got the call to ministry at age 10, 39:25 but when I was in college and I had to begin to change 39:28 my course work, I fasted for 8 days, from Tuesday 39:34 thru to the next Tuesday because I wanted to make sure 39:38 that what was moving me was not, you know... 39:41 I had a college professor come into my room... yeah, 39:44 they want it to be of human origin - thank you. 39:49 It wasn't of human origin, but my college professor, 39:52 he came in and said, "You know God is calling you." 39:54 "He said you're going to end up like Jonah," you know, 39:58 and he said, "I've seen this in you," Dr. J. J. Beal, 40:01 bless his heart, came to my room about 7 o'clock 40:04 at night and stayed until sun up. Wow! 40:06 All night long - we went thru Scripture, 40:09 and then I went into this fast because he said, 40:11 ...I gave just a little talk... He said, I see it, I see it, 40:14 I see it, I see it... and I'm going to stay here 40:17 until you see it. 40:19 So at 7 o'clock in the morning, I told him, 40:21 "I see it." I don't know if I saw it or not, 40:23 but I needed to get some sleep. 40:25 So Paul is doing the same thing, he's preparing 40:28 for ministry - orienting his mind because he's taking 40:32 this thing very, very seriously and he's devoting 40:35 himself to study. 40:37 As Paul searched the Scriptures... 40:38 I'm back in Acts of the Apostles... 40:39 "He learned that throughout the ages, 40:43 not many wise men, after the flesh, not many 40:47 mighty men, not many noble men are called, 40:50 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world 40:53 to confound the wise and God has chosen the weak things 40:57 of the world to confound the things which are mighty, 40:59 and the base things of the world and the things which are 41:02 despised hath God chosen, yeah and things which are 41:07 not to bring to naught things that are." 41:10 So this became what was in Paul's heart. 41:14 This is what he was studying; this is what was moving him 41:18 from that point on. 41:20 So he goes now to Damascus, goes to the synagogue, 41:23 he gets stronger and the Bible says, his arguments 41:27 confounded those that were there who tried to dissuade him. 41:32 And the word for "confounded" in the street Greek 41:36 the Koine Greek is "sugono." 41:38 Now two things had happened 41:40 when someone has an argument that strong... 41:42 The argument can shut you up to the point where you just 41:44 sit and think or the argument can make you so 41:48 upset that you don't know what to do with yourself, 41:50 and this is what happened to Paul. 41:51 To use modern parlance Paul, as young people say, 41:54 "We kinda blew the place up," he just threw them in an 41:57 uproar - everybody was just in an uproar. 42:00 He totally rocked their world with this new gospel, 42:04 and this new idea, and so he moved on and got 42:08 stronger and stronger and God blessed him. 42:11 I want to close with this verse quickly... 42:12 Paul talks about his life and in 2 Corinthians 11:32-33, 42:18 he catalogs his trials. 42:19 He talks about his battles and in 2 Corinthians 4, 42:24 also we see this - pressed but not crushed, 42:28 perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, 42:32 struck down but not destroyed. 42:35 Paul had a tough, tough life, but he was a great 42:39 stalwart for the Lord and God, through His power, Jill, 42:43 sustained him and he became a leading light 42:47 in the New Testament and in the early church of God. 42:49 Amen! Thank you so much Pastor CA. 42:53 What an incredible journey to see what God did in Saul's life; 42:57 persecutor in the church turned to Paul. 43:00 I think this is one of my favorite stories actually, 43:03 to see that God can take anyone, no matter where we are, 43:06 no matter how strong we are against the truth, 43:08 God can turn that around and God can make us the strongest, 43:12 and most ablest and most able to defend the truth 43:17 and the word of God, so that's just incredible. 43:20 My passage is Thursday, "Return to Jerusalem" 43:24 and we're going to pick up with Acts 9:26-30, 43:28 but before we read that, I actually want to jump over 43:31 to Galatians - Paul chronicled this journey, this conversion 43:35 experience and some of his story in several different 43:38 passages in Scripture. 43:40 So turn with me to Galatians 1:17, Pastor CA 43:46 referenced this, he went to Arabia and returned 43:51 again to Damascus and this was his, as we could say 43:54 "wilderness experience," Mollie, where he spent those 3 years 43:57 learning and relearning, unlearning everything 44:01 he had learned before and relearning under the power 44:03 and anointing of the Holy Spirit. 44:05 And then verse 18 says, "After three years, I went up 44:10 to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him 15 days..." 44:14 So after 3 years, Paul - his name is Saul at this point, 44:18 Saul wanted to go up to Jerusalem, after this time of 44:22 study, after this time of preaching in Damascus, 44:24 But when he got to Jerusalem, the brethren weren't 44:27 very ready to receive him... we find that in Acts 9. 44:31 Let's go back to Acts 9:26, "And when Saul had come 44:37 to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples... 44:41 remember Galatians 1 tells us he wanted to go 44:43 to see Peter, remember? So it was important to him. 44:46 Peter was a leader in the early church and he's saying, 44:49 "I want to go see Peter, I want to meet the rest 44:51 of the apostles - those who walked and talked with Jesus." 44:55 Because now Paul (Saul) is in love with Jesus and he says, 44:59 I want to go to the Jerusalem church. 45:02 And when he tried to come and tried to join the disciples; 45:05 but they were all afraid of him, and did not 45:10 believe that he was a disciple." 45:11 Now this is three years after his conversion experience, 45:15 and in three years, even though communication is not the 45:17 same way it is today, but in three years you 45:19 would think that the news had traveled to Jerusalem, 45:22 and that they had heard that Saul had changed and now 45:25 he is preaching for the Lord Jesus. 45:27 But in spite of that, whether they thought it was just a 45:29 rumor mill or whether they weren't convinced themselves, 45:32 they were still afraid of him and it took someone 45:37 someone special named "Barnabas" to bring 45:40 Saul to the apostles there. 45:43 Verse 27... "But Barnabas took him and brought him 45:47 to the apostles." 45:48 I want to stop just a moment there and look at who 45:51 Barnabas is - let's turn back to Acts 4. 45:54 Acts 4 is the first time where we see mention of Barnabas. 45:58 This is in the early church. 46:01 Acts 4:36-37, and Barnabas is a Hellenistic Jew, 46:07 Molly, you started with Paul being a Hellenistic Jew, 46:09 and Barnabas was as well, but he became one of the 46:12 early converts of the new church. 46:14 It says... "And Joses...that's also known as "Joseph," 46:17 who was also named Barnabas by the apostles which is 46:22 translated "Son of Encouragement," a Levite 46:24 of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and 46:27 brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet." 46:30 So he was a Greek-speaking Jew who was not from native 46:34 Palestine, he was from Cyprus. 46:37 But he had become a follower of the way, 46:39 he had become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 46:42 His name means, "Son of Encouragement," 46:45 and the word in the Greek for encouragement is kind of a 46:48 spinoff of the word "parakletos." 46:51 We know Parakletos is used many times to refer to 46:54 the Holy Spirit - "One called alongside another." 46:57 It's translated other times this word as comfort, 47:01 encouragement, consolation, exhortation... 47:05 And so Barnabas was a man of encouragement, 47:08 and for whatever reason, he took a risk on Saul, 47:13 and he brought him to the apostles. 47:15 Let's read the rest of our passage here in Acts 9, 47:18 and then I want to look at my remaining time 47:20 at some of the qualities of Barnabas. 47:23 Acts 9, we're in the middle of verse 27. 47:25 Barnabas brought the Apostle Saul to the apostles, 47:30 and he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the 47:33 road and now Saul has the opportunity to have his 47:36 personal testimony with the apostles 47:38 and the brethren at Jerusalem. 47:40 He shared how the Lord had spoken to him; 47:42 how he had preached boldly at Damascus 47:44 in the name of Jesus. 47:46 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in 47:49 and going out, and he spoke boldly in the name of 47:52 the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists 47:55 those were them who... they were obviously there 47:58 in Jerusalem and he's disputing with them, 48:01 but they attempted to kill him. 48:03 When the brethren found out, they brought him down 48:06 to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus." 48:09 So Saul had a short span of time where he got to be with the 48:13 brethren at Jerusalem, he got to share his testimony, his story, 48:17 he witnessed and boldly proclaimed the Lord Jesus. 48:21 There was opposition that arose against him and the 48:24 disciples said, "We're going to send him away because 48:27 of this opposition and he went to Tarsus which is actually 48:31 where he was raised and where he grew up. 48:33 I want to look here - we see in the story of Saul, 48:38 we see the influence of Barnabas in this story. 48:43 Barnabas to me, is one of the unsung heroes of the 48:47 New Testament. Amen! We hear a lot about 48:49 Paul, we hear a lot about Peter, we hear a lot about 48:52 John, but I think Barnabas is one of the unsung leaders. 48:55 To me, this is a broad definition 48:58 of a Christian leader... 49:00 "You are a Christian leader to the degree that you 49:03 shape others toward the image of Christ," and so 49:08 in that sense, all of us are Christian leaders. 49:11 Every single person has an influence on someone else 49:14 to shape them, to influence them, to accept Jesus, 49:18 and to become more like Jesus. 49:20 So I want to look at five marks of a Christian leader 49:22 from the life of Barnabas... 49:24 #1... He was a risk-taker. We saw that here. He took a risk 49:29 on Saul. He took a risk on him in saying, "No, I'm 49:33 trusting you, I'm trusting your story, I'm going to introduce 49:36 you to the brethren, the apostles here in Jerusalem. 49:39 He also took a risk on his cousin John-Mark and you 49:43 see that later throughout the Book of Acts - that he took a 49:45 risk with John-Mark, remember he left and went back 49:48 and Paul said, "We don't want anything more to do with him." 49:51 And Barnabas said what? "No, I want to take a risk on 49:55 him again," and later John-Mark proved worthy. 50:01 #2... I see that he is an encourager. 50:08 He visited the church at Antioch and we see this over 50:12 in Acts 11 which is for another day, but in Acts 11, 50:16 Barnabas went to the church in Antioch - when he came, 50:19 he saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged 50:22 them all - that with purpose of heart they should continue 50:26 with the Lord. So he encouraged the brethren. He saw who 50:30 they could become in Jesus. He encouraged people. 50:34 #3... I see his humility. What did he do when 50:37 his ministry was flourishing in Antioch? 50:41 We're still in Acts 11- the ministry was flourishing, 50:44 the church had sent Barnabas there to Antioch. 50:47 The ministry is flourishing, many people were added 50:49 to the Lord. And then, when everything is going well, 50:53 you would think he'd want to consolidate his leadership. 50:56 You would think as things are going well in the church in 50:59 Antioch - he wants to set himself up as this leader, 51:01 and instead what does he do? He goes and he finds 51:04 Saul and he brings him from Tarsus to Antioch. 51:08 He, as it were, saw someone younger, someone with gifts 51:14 and ability, someone that God was going to use and he brought 51:18 him into the work and pushed him forward. 51:21 To me, that's humility. 51:23 #4... He's patient with the mistakes of others. You see 51:28 with John-Mark, as John left, remember he left the work 51:33 of Paul and Barnabas and he just said, "I'm going back 51:36 to Jerusalem and I'm done with this, but yet Barnabas was 51:39 patient. He gave him another chance. He took, as it were, 51:43 another risk with him. 51:45 #5... And finally, we see that he's free from materialism. 51:49 He loved people, but not necessarily money. 51:53 In Acts 4, the first time when we were actually introduced 51:56 to Barnabas, he sold land - remember? 51:58 And he laid it at the apostles' feet, but in addition to that, 52:01 this is probably 20 years later, Paul is writing 1 Corinthians, 52:06 and in 1 Corinthians 9, he says, "Do we have no 52:09 right to eat and drink? Do we have no right to take 52:12 along a believing wife as do also the other apostles, 52:15 the brothers of the Lord and Cephas - meaning Peter, 52:18 or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to 52:22 refrain from working?" So in that sense, 52:25 Paul was even saying - he and Barnabas were laboring, 52:28 were supporting themselves as we know Paul was a tent-maker, 52:32 supporting themselves to help support the work in the 52:35 ministry of the gospel. Barnabas was not ministering 52:39 for money - he was ministering and laboring for souls. 52:43 So to me, and this passage, what I see - is the pivotal 52:47 work that Barnabas played, the role that he played 52:51 in bringing Saul to the brethren there at Jerusalem, 52:56 and in helping to launch his ministry as well. 52:59 Amen! Thank you Jill, and thanks to all of you. 53:01 You know, I think and I think somebody mentioned this 53:05 earlier - one of the most encouraging stories 53:08 in the Word is the story of the conversion of Paul. 53:12 Doesn't that give us all hope? Amen! 53:15 Because I think about this... 53:17 Now who is the #1 persecutor of the church? 53:20 That would have to be Paul. 53:21 On the road to Damascus - do you know instead of 53:24 knocking Paul off his high horse and bringing him 53:28 to conversion, God could have killed him. Yes. 53:31 But you know what God says about Paul? 53:33 He says, "You're a chosen vessel to bear My name 53:38 to the Gentiles." 53:39 So what God saw in Paul was the thing that makes him 53:43 so powerful - it's that tenacity to what he believes in... 53:47 he's going to give his whole heart to it. 53:49 And then, not only does God take Paul out of the hands 53:56 of the enemy - it says he could have done horrendous 54:00 damage to the early church, but He brings him into 54:04 that early church and he does horrendous damage 54:07 to the kingdom of the enemy. 54:09 And so that's like a double whammy 54:13 on behalf of the kingdom of God. 54:15 Well each one of you brought such a beautiful message, 54:18 Shelley, you know, this is what I heard you say... 54:20 If we attack God's people, we're attacking God 54:24 and that's powerful! 54:26 And Brother Johnny, there are no Lone Ranger Christians. 54:30 We all need to be in the safety and the security 54:34 of the established church. 54:35 And Brother CA, make your calling and election sure. 54:38 I'm not sure those were your exact words, but it was 54:41 give yourself even if you have to pray to 7 o'clock 54:44 in the morning - to the ministry God has called you to. 54:47 And Sister Jill, you are a Christian leader to the degree 54:52 that you shape others into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. 54:55 All of those were so beautiful, and we still have 2 minutes, 54:59 so that's a long time. 55:01 Shelley, I want to start with you 55:02 What was your take-away from all of them. 55:04 My favorite Scripture, Acts 26:18, what Jesus said 55:08 to Paul was... "I am sending you out to open their eyes 55:13 to turn them from darkness to light and from the power 55:15 of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness 55:19 of sins AND an inheritance among those who are 55:24 sanctified by faith in Me." 55:26 And I want you to know that God can do that for you, 55:30 pray, claim Acts 26:18, pray it over your children 55:34 or anyone who needs to know the Lord. Amen! 55:39 Building on that, you know, I'm reminded of 2 Peter 3:9. 55:43 "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all 55:46 should come to repentance," and some of us have 55:48 brothers and sisters out there in the world... 55:51 Paul was persecuting Christians, no one would think he would 55:52 think he would be converted, and we have family members 55:56 and friends and there's hope 55:58 and God is trying to reach them. Amen! 56:01 Amen, Pastor CA... Amen! 56:02 Paul says in 2 Corinthians, "Therefore do no lose heart, 56:07 even though our outward man is perishing, yet inward man 56:10 is being renewed day by day." 56:13 We can always be renewed in Christ Jesus, don't lose hope. 56:16 Amen! I think we live in a world of 56:19 discouragement - we live in a world of fear, 56:21 and God is calling you at home, God is calling each one of us 56:25 to be encouragers for other people... 56:28 to speak a word in season, to believe in what God 56:31 can do in and through the lives of those around us 56:35 How many of us, Jill, like to be around 56:37 discouraging people? 56:38 No, I appreciate what you're saying - we all want to be 56:41 around people that bring courage to us. 56:44 This is what an encourager does... 56:47 They take courage and they put it on the inside of you, 56:50 but this is what a discourager does... 56:52 they take the courage that you have in you, 56:55 and they pull it out of you. 56:57 So it is so vitally important that we surround ourselves 57:00 with people and continue in God's word because God's 57:04 word will bring in you so much encouragement... 57:07 Just this story of the Apostle Paul that went from being 57:12 Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul - one of the 57:16 greatest ambassadors for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ 57:20 in the early church. 57:21 So I want to encourage each of you - you know, 57:23 join with us again next week, get you a Bible Study 57:27 Guide - download it and then you'll be prepared 57:30 to come and sit with us next week and together 57:33 we will study God's word! |
Revised 2024-07-22