Saul of Tarsus meets Jesus Christ and is blinded by the
Light of His Glory on the Damascus Road
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St. Paul preaching Jesus Christ and His Gospel to the
philosophers on Mars Hill at Athens
THE MAN THAT GOD CALLED
TO CHANGE THE WORLD!
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
The
conversion of Saul of Tarsus was so amazing and nation shaking, I compare it to
Osama bin Laden meeting Jesus Christ
in a blinding light and immediately preaching to Muslims everywhere that Christ
is the Only Saviour of the world, and that believing in Allah is meaningless.
Osama bin Laden’s story, however, is very different! How unfortunate
that no-one reached him with the Gospel! Eternally lost with Satan's other footmen, having rejected the Son of God, Who purchased Eternal Life for all who REPENT and CONFESS Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. How very sad!
The BIBLE records: “And Saul, yet
breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,
went unto the high priest. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the
synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or
women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
“And as he journeyed, he came
near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from Heaven:
and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?
“And he said, Who
art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said,
I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to
do? And the Lord said unto him,
Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
“And the men which journeyed with him
stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man, And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no
man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was
three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
A
CHOSEN VESSEL UNTO ME!
“And there was a certain
disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, I am
here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in
the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold he prayeth.
“And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting
his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of
this man how much evil he hath done to Thy saints at Jerusalem.
“And here he hath authority from the chief
priests to bind all that call on Thy name. But,
the Lord unto him, Go thy way for he is
a chosen vessel unto 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.
And Ananias went his way, and entered
into the house; and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even
Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou came, hath sent me, that thou
might receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
“And immediately there fell from his eyes
as it were scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose and was baptized.
And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days
with the disciples which were at Damascus. And
straightway he preached Christ in the synagogue, that He is the Son of God.
“But all that heard him were amazed,
and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in
Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound to
the chief priests? But Saul
increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at
Damascus, proving that This is VERY CHRIST.
“And
after that many days were fulfilled,
the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their laying await was known of Saul.
And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took
him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he
assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and
believed not that he was a disciple. But
Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that He
had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly in Damascus in the name of
Jesus.
“And he was with them coming in and going
out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
disputed against the Grecians: but they
went about to slay him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down
to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
“Then
had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were
edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy
Ghost were multiplied.” (Acts 9: 1-31)
St.
Paul, without doubt, was the greatest theologian to preach the Gospel. He was
called from his mother’s womb to be the leading crusader and build Christ’s
Church. He alone had the right to call the Gospel “my gospel”. (Rom.2: 16)
Why
is that so? He was taught by Christ Himself. He
was apprehended by the resurrected Christ on the Damascus Road, tutored
personally by our Lord Jesus in Arabia after his conversion, carried up into
Heaven and allowed to see and hear things that he was not allowed to reveal.
To him alone was revealed the Mystery of the Gospel, Christ in the believer
the Hope of glory. And that God would make of the Jews and Gentiles one new man
in Christ! To Paul alone was given the Mystery of the harpazo, jerking up,
carrying away, rapture of the Church.
Had
not ST. PAUL been instructed by the Lord Jesus to go to the
Gentiles, there would be no Church today. The JEWS eventually rejected the
Gospel of Christ, and the murderous barbarians under MOHAMMED killed and
enslaved most of the Christians in (Asia Minor) the Middle East and Turkey.
Our
Lord KNEW that Europe was the KEY to
evangelizing the world so He sent Paul to Macedonia. He knew that MARTIN
LUTHER would shake up the corrupt Roman
Catholic Church. And from Europe the Gospel would be spread across the globe by missionaries from Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and other
European nations.
He KNEW that the United States and Canada would
be raised up to herald the Gospel of the Crucified and Resurrected Lord Jesus
Christ across the world in some of the GREATEST Revivals known to man, so
He opened the DOOR for persecuted Europeans to settle North America!
Our Lord KNEW that Western Europe would become irrelevant in the spread of the Gospel because of their backsliding, and that the Muslim hordes would begin to dominate there.
He also KNEW that when the poor people of AFRICA and the
persecuted CHINESE and the liberated Catholics of LATIN AMERICA got a taste of the true Gospel, nothing would stop them! THEY WOULD WILLINGLY DIE FOR CHRIST!
The power of the Middle East Terrorists, China’s
Communists and Washington’s anti-Christian Lobby pale
into insignificance when compared to the power of our Crucified, Risen and
Glorified Christ who will soon descend from Heaven, with the shout of the
Archangel, to rapture the Church and judge the Living and the dead! (1 Thes. 4: 13-18; 1 Cor. 15: 50-54)
To God be all the praise, honour and glory forever and ever! And now may the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ, the LOVE of God the Father and the COMMUNION of the Holy Spirit be with us all until Jesus comes again. Amen.
