Acts 9 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Acts chapter 9 verse 1.
2. 0:02Now Saul, still breathing threats and
3. 0:06murder against the disciples of the
4. 0:08Lord,
5. 0:09went to the high priest
6. 0:12and asked for letters from him
7. 0:14to the synagogues at Damascus so that if
8. 0:17he found any belonging to the way, both
9. 0:21men and women, he might bring them bound
10. 0:24to Jerusalem.
11. 0:26As he was traveling,
12. 0:29it happened that he was approaching
13. 0:30Damascus
14. 0:32and suddenly a light from heaven flashed
15. 0:36around him.
16. 0:38And he fell to the ground
17. 0:40and heard a voice saying to him,
18. 0:43"Saul, Saul,
19. 0:45why are you persecuting me?"
20. 0:50And he said,
21. 0:51"Who are you, Lord?"
22. 0:55And he said,
23. 0:57"I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
24. 1:02But get up and enter the city
25. 1:05and it will be told you what you must
26. 1:07do."
27. 1:09The men who traveled with him stood
28. 1:12speechless,
29. 1:13hearing the voice but seeing no one.
30. 1:17Saul got up from the ground and though
31. 1:20his eyes were open,
32. 1:22he could see nothing.
33. 1:24And leading him by the hand, they
34. 1:27brought him into Damascus.
35. 1:31And he was three days without sight
36. 1:34and neither ate nor drank.
37. 1:38So here we have the picture
38. 1:41of the ringleader of the persecution.
39. 1:45The man who is so zealous, so angry
40. 1:49at the Christians,
41. 1:51so triggered
42. 1:52that he is going beyond Jerusalem all
43. 1:55the way to Damascus
44. 1:58in Syria
45. 2:00in order to arrest those who are
46. 2:02believers and drag them back
47. 2:05to Jerusalem.
48. 2:08And while he's walking, while he's going
49. 2:12on the road this light shines.
50. 2:16Now, we ask
51. 2:18who is speaking to him?
52. 2:20It's Jesus.
53. 2:22It says, "I am Jesus whom you are
54. 2:26persecuting." But who was he
55. 2:28persecuting?
56. 2:29He was persecuting the church.
57. 2:32Jesus is making a complete
58. 2:34identification
59. 2:36between himself and his church.
60. 2:39When you do it to the least of these, my
61. 2:41brethren, you do it to me.
62. 2:44And it's fascinating that Jesus does not
63. 2:47give Saul the plan of salvation. He does
64. 2:51not stand there. Very few people have
65. 2:53ever had an audience with Jesus where
66. 2:55they could have a conversation like this
67. 2:57after his ascension.
68. 2:59But when this occurs
69. 3:02he does not give Saul the plan of
70. 3:04salvation. He sends him to a man.
71. 3:08Because he's not interested merely
72. 3:11in helping Saul personally. He's
73. 3:14interested in connecting him
74. 3:17in an interdependent community of
75. 3:20relationship with and through God.
76. 3:23And he sends him to Damascus and he
77. 3:26tells him, "You will be told."
78. 3:28Why didn't Jesus tell him?
79. 3:30Because Saul needed to be in
80. 3:31relationship with the church.
81. 3:35So, Saul goes forth as the leader to
82. 3:38arrest, but he comes into Damascus blind
83. 3:42needing to be led by the hand.
84. 3:44The imagery is very powerful.
85. 3:48He's blinded by his certainty
86. 3:51but he's going to receive his sight
87. 3:53through the church.
88. 3:56Saul got up from the ground and though
89. 3:58his eyes were open, he could see
90. 4:00nothing. And leading him by the hand,
91. 4:02they brought him into Damascus, and he
92. 4:04was there 3 days without sight and
93. 4:07neither ate nor drank.
94. 4:09Now, there was a disciple at Damascus
95. 4:12named Ananias,
96. 4:14and the Lord said to him in a vision,
97. 4:17"Ananias."
98. 4:18And he said, "Here I am, Lord."
99. 4:22And the Lord said to him,
100. 4:23"Get up
101. 4:25and go to the street called Straight
102. 4:30and inquire at the house of Judas
103. 4:33for a man from Tarsus named Saul,
104. 4:36for he is praying."
105. 4:39Saul wasn't just sitting there stewing.
106. 4:41He was praying for those 3 days when he
107. 4:44wouldn't eat or drink.
108. 4:48The Lord continues, "And he has seen in
109. 4:51a vision a man named Ananias come in and
110. 4:55lay his hands on him so that he might
111. 4:57regain his sight."
112. 5:00So, Saul is praying and he has a vision
113. 5:03that somebody named Ananias is going to
114. 5:05come help him and pray for him. And the
115. 5:07Lord tells the Ananias, "It's you.
116. 5:10You better go help him."
117. 5:12But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have
118. 5:15heard from many about this man,
119. 5:18how much harm he did to your saints at
120. 5:21Jerusalem.
121. 5:23And here, he has authority from the
122. 5:24chief priest to bind all who call on
123. 5:28your name."
124. 5:30But the Lord said to him,
125. 5:32"Go,
126. 5:33for he is a chosen instrument of mine
127. 5:37to bear my name before the Gentiles and
128. 5:41kings and the sons of Israel.
129. 5:45For I will show him how much he must
130. 5:48suffer for my name's sake.
131. 5:54So, Ananias departed and entered the
132. 5:57house.
133. 5:59And after laying his hands
134. 6:02on Saul,
135. 6:04he said,
136. 6:06"Brother Saul,
137. 6:08the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on
138. 6:10the road
139. 6:12by which you were coming,
140. 6:14has sent me so that you may regain your
141. 6:17sight
142. 6:18and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
143. 6:23And immediately there fell from his eyes
144. 6:26something like scales.
145. 6:29And he regained his sight.
146. 6:32And he got up and was baptized.
147. 6:35And he took food and was strengthened.
148. 6:40Now, in the book of Job, we're told that
149. 6:45Satan
150. 6:47is the monarch of the children of pride.
151. 6:51And that he is Leviathan,
152. 6:54and he has scales of pride as his
153. 6:57protection.
154. 6:59So, the imagery is that scales fell from
155. 7:04Saul's eyes.
156. 7:07Scales of pride.
157. 7:09Scales of hatred. Scales of fear and
158. 7:12protection and reaction so that he could
159. 7:16see the face of Jesus.
160. 7:19And the face that he saw was the face of
161. 7:21the body of Christ. But it was Jesus
162. 7:24saying, "I am Jesus, whom you are
163. 7:26persecuting."
164. 7:28It's pretty beautiful that Ananias would
165. 7:30say, "Brother Saul," just on the word of
166. 7:34the Lord,
167. 7:35that this guy
168. 7:37has seen a vision, that this guy is
169. 7:38ready to receive
170. 7:40the truth. The promise was that Saul
171. 7:43would receive the Holy Spirit.
172. 7:48and receive his sight.
173. 7:50Now, for several days, he, Saul,
174. 7:53was with the disciples who were at
175. 7:55Damascus.
176. 7:56And immediately, he began to proclaim
177. 7:59Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is
178. 8:03the Son of God."
179. 8:05All those hearing him continued to be
180. 8:08amazed and were saying, "Is this not he
181. 8:11who in Jerusalem destroyed those who
182. 8:15called on his name?
183. 8:17And who had come here for the purpose of
184. 8:20bringing them bound before the chief
185. 8:22priests?"
186. 8:24But Saul kept increasing in strength and
187. 8:27confounding the Jews who lived at
188. 8:30Damascus by proving that this Jesus is
189. 8:34the Christ, the Messiah.
190. 8:38So, as soon as he received his sight, it
191. 8:40says he got strength, but he kept
192. 8:42increasing in strength. I think this was
193. 8:44a different kind of strength. It was the
194. 8:46strength that came when he received the
195. 8:48Holy Spirit. When many days had elapsed,
196. 8:51the Jews plotted together to do away
197. 8:54with him, with Saul.
198. 8:57But their plot became known to Saul.
199. 9:00They were also watching the gates day
200. 9:02and night so that they might put him to
201. 9:05death.
202. 9:07But his disciples took him by night and
203. 9:09let him down through an opening in the
204. 9:11wall, lowering him in a large basket.
205. 9:16So, the people who were had become his
206. 9:18disciples, who were being trained by
207. 9:20him,
208. 9:21they said, "Saul, you're about to get
209. 9:24killed. Let's put you over the wall
210. 9:26through an opening
211. 9:28in a basket."
212. 9:30Now, this causes This is one of many
213. 9:33scriptures that makes people believe
214. 9:35that
215. 9:37Saul, Paul, was not a very large man.
216. 9:40He also says in one of his letters that
217. 9:42he is unimpressive in stature.
218. 9:45So, if he fits in a basket, and it's
219. 9:47worth mentioning that he is unimpressive
220. 9:50in stature, he was likely a small man.
221. 9:53But, he had a sharp pen, and he had a
222. 9:56sharp anointing and ability to confront
223. 9:59people with the truth.
224. 10:01So,
225. 10:02you'll notice that Luke is using his
226. 10:05Hebrew name,
227. 10:06and that is Saul. That's the English
228. 10:08rendering of Shaul.
229. 10:11Um and that's his name.
230. 10:13And that remains his name. But, the
231. 10:15Greek rendering of that same name is
232. 10:18Paul.
233. 10:20So, Paul and Shaul, Saul, Paul, it's all
234. 10:24the same thing. And there's not really
235. 10:25any significance to be derived, that I
236. 10:28can tell, from whether he's called Paul
237. 10:31or Saul.
238. 10:32When the Lord speaks to him, he usually
239. 10:35uses his Hebrew name, Shaul.
240. 10:42So,
241. 10:43Saul is spared and let out of the city
242. 10:46through a hole in a basket, and he does
243. 10:49not run away into the wilderness, he
244. 10:51goes straight to Jerusalem.
245. 10:53When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying
246. 10:56to associate with the disciples,
247. 10:59the believers there.
248. 11:01But, they were all afraid of him, not
249. 11:03believing that he was a disciple.
250. 11:08But, Barnabas
251. 11:10took hold of him,
252. 11:11and brought him to the apostles, and
253. 11:14described to them
254. 11:15how he had seen the Lord on the road,
255. 11:18and that he had talked to him,
256. 11:20and how at Damascus he had spoken out
257. 11:23boldly in the name of Jesus.
258. 11:27So, there were a bunch of believers who
259. 11:28were saying, "We don't want this guy.
260. 11:30Get him out of here."
261. 11:31And it says, Barnabas took hold of him.
262. 11:34Grabbed him. And said, come on. I'm
263. 11:36going to go vouch for you. I'm going to
264. 11:38go tell the apostles what I saw.
265. 11:41I can be a witness.
266. 11:43It's a beginning of a friendship here.
267. 11:48And he was talking and arguing with the
268. 11:49Hellenistic Jews, but they were
269. 11:52attempting to put him to death.
270. 11:54But when the brethren learned of it,
271. 11:56they brought him down to Caesarea and
272. 11:59sent him away to Tarsus.
273. 12:01So, the church throughout all Judea and
274. 12:04Galilee and Samaria
275. 12:06enjoyed peace,
276. 12:08being built up and going on in the fear
277. 12:10of the Lord and in the comfort of the
278. 12:13Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
279. 12:17So, Saul is a turning point.
280. 12:20And instead of it causing more
281. 12:22persecution for a season, it causes
282. 12:25peace and it and the church flourishes.
283. 12:29Now, as Peter was traveling through all
284. 12:31those regions, he came down also to the
285. 12:34saints who lived at Lydda.
286. 12:37There he found a man named Aeneas, who
287. 12:40had been bedridden eight years, for he
288. 12:43was paralyzed.
289. 12:45Peter said to him,
290. 12:47"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up
291. 12:51and make your bed."
292. 12:53Immediately, he got up.
293. 12:55And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon
294. 12:58saw him and they turned to the Lord.
295. 13:01Now, in Joppa, there was a disciple
296. 13:04named Tabitha, which translated in Greek
297. 13:06is called Dorcas.
298. 13:09This woman was abounding with deeds of
299. 13:12kindness and charity, which she
300. 13:15continually did.
301. 13:17And it happened at that time that she
302. 13:20fell sick and died.
303. 13:22And when they had washed her body, they
304. 13:25laid it in an upper room.
305. 13:27Since Lydda was near Joppa, the
306. 13:29disciples having heard that Peter was
307. 13:31there, sent two men to him, imploring
308. 13:34him, "Do not delay in coming to us."
309. 13:38So, Peter arose and went with them.
310. 13:41When he arrived, they brought him into
311. 13:43the upper room, and all the widows stood
312. 13:45beside him, weeping and showing all the
313. 13:47tunics and garments that Dorcas used to
314. 13:50make while she was still with them.
315. 13:53But, Peter sent them all out, and knelt
316. 13:56down, and prayed.
317. 13:58And turning to the body, he said,
318. 14:01"Tabitha, arise."
319. 14:03And she opened her eyes, and when she
320. 14:05saw Peter, she sat up.
321. 14:08And he gave her his hand, and raised her
322. 14:11up. And calling the saints and widows,
323. 14:14he presented her alive. It became known
324. 14:17all over Joppa, and many believed in the
325. 14:19Lord. And Peter stayed many days in
326. 14:22Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
327. 14:27So, here we see that through the
328. 14:30miraculous
329. 14:32power of God,
330. 14:34people are gaining faith. And sometimes,
331. 14:38the believers in a certain area
332. 14:40face a crisis that no one in their
333. 14:42region has the faith
334. 14:45to resolve.
335. 14:47Nobody had the faith to raise this
336. 14:48woman, so they sent for Peter.
337. 14:51But, Peter had the anointing, the gift,
338. 14:53and the faith to do what none of the
339. 14:55other believers
340. 14:56had the grace to do.
341. 14:58That's okay. The same thing happened in
342. 15:01the previous chapter
343. 15:02when Philip had the faith to preach the
344. 15:05gospel to the Samaritans, to baptize
345. 15:07them, to perform miracles,
346. 15:10but he didn't have the anointing or the
347. 15:11grace
348. 15:13to pray for the people to receive the
349. 15:14Holy Spirit. So, Peter and John came
350. 15:16down. It's beautiful to see how nobody
351. 15:19is everything.
352. 15:22Some are stronger at certain things and
353. 15:24others are stronger at other things, but
354. 15:26they're working together as a body, as
355. 15:28the body of Christ.