PAUL, CHRIST MADE NEW AN UGLY CHARACTER ACTS 9.

Saul breathed out more than carbon dioxide when he fumed “ threatenings and murder “. ( v1 ) He had witnessed the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr, and consented to his death, while guarding the clothes of the assassins. ( 7:58, 61 ) Out of his inmost being flowed rivers ( murky streams ) of vile hatred and planned slaughter. He did not oppose villains, rather the gentle disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest, for endorsement, even the same person, who had orchestrated the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Saul was a malicious character. And the high priest was a villainous one, having repaired his official garment, furiously torn in the degraded trial of our Lord.

Saul requested letters authorising him to arrest any who followed the Way, the title given to those who followed the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In the underground church in China, with 60-75 million believers, the followers are known as “the Way”, which is a lifestyle founded on a crucified Saviour and a glorified Lord. ( v2 )

Saul disregarded the sex or condition of his objects, for he must arrest all believers, whether women were pregnant, nurturing their babes or where gentleness was expected. Nor would age grant remission from his fury. He would shatter home life, and leave children unprovided and uncared for. This firebrand would later write the tender words of Ephesians 5, “ Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church “. Hell raged as unrequited fire burned in Saul. He planned to drag the survivors bound with chains and cords 130 kilometres from Damascus to Jerusalem.

The ugly character, who trampled the flock of God under foot, would soon meet the Great Shepherd. God would surely intervene in the life of Saul, even though Damascus was in sight. The towers of the city gleamed in the soft light, while the synagogues stood out. Saul zealouslysuffered these hardships for the King of darkness, while the believers in Damascus trembled at the thought of his coming. Families huddled together weeping, praying, and embracing. Tense!

God stepped in as “ a light shone from heaven” ( v3 ). Saul later said that it was more intense than the noonday sun, blinding him. God had met Moses with scorching.light when Moses turned to view the burning bush. The children of Israel were flooded with heavenly light when they travelled through the wilderness. Truly the Shekinah glory of God covered them. Elijah had witnessed this light when

the fire fell from heaven devouring the sacrifice, the altar, wood, stones and water. As a brilliant scholar, Saul knew that God dwelt in unapproachable light. This was the same radiance. .

Saul lost his dignity, intellectual superiority and religious pride, as he was prostrated to the ground. ( v4 ), With all his senses alert, he heard a voice speaking to him. Saul did not hallucinate, as a cynic contended, when I challenged him with Saul’s conversion by the risen Son of God.. Some of the most gracious men and women in Christ were once ‘as tough as nails’. Now Christ has made them as gentle as a lamb. . God created man from the dust, so He was recreating Saul, squirming in the dust, to become the mighty Paul as he cried,” Lord, what will You have me to do?”

The Lord said to him, “ Arise, and go to the city and it will be told you what you must do.”’ Obedience was the Father’s first demand in the garden. Disobedience was Adam and Eve’s first rebellious act. God expected obedience from Saul, even as He requires it from us.

Kruschev, hard-hearted Communist leader of Russia sentenced his saintly wife to Siberia . He came from retirement to speak to God’s people convening near the Black Sea, declaring his faith in the Lord Jesus. He recalled the Scriptures, learned during student days in France. All the conference was momentarily petrified as he moved to the rostrum, until they saw his gentle face, and knew that the Lord had removed the callous heart, and given him a new nature.

The team accompanying Saul stood speechless, for they heard a voice or sound, but they saw no man. (V 7) They were dumb, and numb with fear. It was no hallucination. A supernatural, all-powerful God worked to change the life of this renegade murderer. We do not know how many of these men were later won for Christ as they heard Saul open the Scriptures, and reveal the mysteries of Christ’s salvation. When he told how the heavenly light had struck him down, they would shout their agreement, “ We were there. We heard the voice as no earthly person could speak. We saw the change in our leader. It was all true. He met the risen Lord. So did we. “

Saul rose from the dusty earth, and saw no man, even with opened eyes. (v 8) Arrogant, rabble-rousing, hot-blooded Saul was meekly led by the hand as a little child into Damascus. The synagogue authorities marvelled at the brokenness of this once-monster. Meanwhile, the believers cried to God, not knowing the inner change and the humble nature of the new Saul. .

How long was Saul sightless and fasting from food and fluid? How long did Abraham and Isaac travel together, planning the sacrifice of Isaac? How long did the Children of Israel wait before crossing the flooded River Jordan? How long did Queen Esther pray and fast? How long was Noah

in the belly of the great fish? How long after His sacrificial dying did our Lord emerge as the mighty Conqueror of death, grave and Satan? Yes, three days..

Saul, blind, hungry and thirsty, bowed to his God during those seventy two hours, He must relive in his spirit the mighty events when the Saviour accomplished our redemption. In those momentous hours, the prophecies of the 39 books of the Old Testament were pin-pointed by the Holy Spirit. Saul had surely memorised Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Zechariah 9 , the Passover of Exodus 12 among many passages. They were now ablaze with heavenly truth. So crystal-clear was the vicarious death of the Lamb of God; that Saul then understood why the Messiah suffered.

The Old Testament lived. He knew that this despised Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Years later Paul wrote, “ I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet, not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God Who loved me, and gave Himself for me”. ( Gal 2:20 ) The Son of righteousness had risen on Saul. A new day had dawned.

Has the Son of righteousness risen in your life? Does He flood your entire being?

PAUL-2 CHRIST MADE NEW AN UGLY CHARACTER.

The Word of God did not tell where Saul stayed during that period. The spiritual awakening was obvious, for the change was internal, not external; rather eternal not temporal.

Who could possibly counsel a fellow like Saul? God had His man, as He always does. Ananias was the one, whose name means “ that the Lord has been gracious”. ( v10) The Lord spoke directly to him in a vision. He responded immediately to the call with “ Yes, Lord”. “ Arise and go into the street called ‘straight’ and enquire in the house of one called Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold he prays”. “ Oh, no Lord - not Saul. Anyone else except that blackguard. “

How could a would-be-murderer be praying to the Father through the risen Son?

Saul was also prepared, for God had shown in a vision that Ananias would visit him, and lay his hand on him that he might receive his sight. ( v12 ). God wants to bring entire salvation to a man. . Saul, the brilliant scholar under mentor Gamaliel, needed sight. . He longed to get into the scrolls, searching with a thousand, challenging queries, even though his personal encounter with the living Lord satisfied him then. The new-born have an insatiable hunger for the Word of God An Indonesian high school boy read his New Testament for seven days and nights, sleeping only when the electric power failed early each morning. “ Could I borrow this amazing book for a few more days?” forced me to write his name in the book as a gift. He became a pastor in a city of ten million.

Ananias pleaded with his God, having heard of all the evil Saul had done to the saints in Jerusalem, and that the high priest authorised him to bind all that called upon the Lord’s Name. ( v13,14 ) Naturally, fear gripped him, overwhelmed by the immense task. God’s grace was sufficient for Ananias, as He had promised.

The Lord talked with Ananias, comforting and reassuring His special servant. He did what Nathan did to turn the wayward David with “ You are the man.” The Lord was reassuring to his child, “ Go your way. He is a chosen vessel to me, to bear My Name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my Name’s sake. “(v15,16) Ananias’ heart must have missed a beat- or two - to hear that God would chose such a former ‘beast’ to carry the royal Name before such distinguished peoples. He must call Saul to a life of suffering and endurance and chastening – all for His dear Name’s sake.

Ananias must have anticipated that sparks would fly as he laid hands on this person. He addressed him as “ Brother Saul”, showing that he was a child of God and a brother in the faith. Saul must have quivered with excitement on hearing “ the Lord even JESUS Who appeared to you in the way ( your sword still dripping with blood ) has sent me.” Little wonder that Saul loved to preach on this powerful name. He was commissioned of God “ that Saul might receive his sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Please notice the early restored sight, so that the scholar could get into the Old Testament, Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word . God’s order was perfect. The Holy Spirit enlightened Saul and interpreted the blessed Scriptures, and filled the new life, which had been a cesspool of malignant, toxic hatred and contempt for God’s own. Miracle !

Saul recalled David’s cry in Psalm 51 “ Take not away Your Holy Spirit” ( I must surely read the whole Psalm, he mused ) while Ezekiel’s prophecy told of God’s creation of a new heart, putting His Holy Spirit into the former heart of stone. ( chapter 36 ) Oh, how he longed to refresh his memory and drink in the glorious scriptures. His greatest need was to be filled with the Holy Spirit, Who was the Spirit of the Father and the Son, Whom Saul had furiously and incessantly resisted, and persecuted. He longed now to be possessed with the gracious Life of the Spirit, which he had strenuously tried to destroy. God changed all things in that dramatic hour. He can change your heart !

“ Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he recovered his sight.” (V18) Saul was

overjoyed when his sight returned, longing for the beloved scrolls. . Eventually he spent three years in Arabia, presumably poring over the entire Old Testament and seeing the glories of his deeply-prized Saviour and Lord. During my medical experience in the Second World War, I studied God’s Word early every morning for three years in Egypt, Israel, Papua New Guinea, which were my Arabia. Where is your’s? God wants to train you in the Scriptures.

Saul arose and was baptized. ( v18) How Baptism would stir Saul, crucified with Him; buried with Him, and rising to walk in newness of resurrection life. He really understood the meaning, living out the events of the crucifixion, burial and rising again of his now-crowned Lord.

Saul needed food, remembering that 72 hours had passed since he had eaten or drunk.( v19) Saul knew that natural laws still applied, with sight returned but now hungry, thirsty, and regaining strength. He remained several days with the saints at Damascus. Who led the Bible studies? Who asked the questions? Who quoted freely from the Old Testament, astonishing the saints.? Who hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and was filled, even as our Lord Jesus promised?

What was Saul’s first preaching after the home Bible studies with the disciples? He went into the synagogues ( note that there was more than one ), and “ preached that Christ is the Son of God”.

( v20 ), showing Christ as the Anointed One, Prophet, Priest and King. Saul vigorously showed how this anointed one was not only Jesus, the Babe of Bethlehem, the Saviour of the world, but also that He was the SON OF GOD. All that heard him were amazed claiming “ he, who had destroyed them who called on this Name in Jerusalem, had come here for that intent, that he might bring them bound to the high priest. “ (v21)

“ Saul kept on being endued with power to a greater degree, and he bewildered Jews, residing in Damascus, proving that this very PERSON is the CHRIST. “ (Wuest )

Already the knives were out for Saul, for the Jews conspired to slay him. He knew it would cost him his life to follow the Lamb wherever He led. ( v23)

Are we willing to follow the same Saviour, Messiah?