125 Acts 22:9-15 PAULS ACCOUNT OF HIS CALL TO PREACH Introduction: In our previous text the Apostle Paul gave an account of his conversion to Christianity. In our text today he will give an account of his call to preach. I. A review of Paul’s account of his conversion We will first do a brief review of Paul’s account of his conversion. While the Apostle Paul was in the Hebrew courtyard of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem, someone angrily shouted out accusations against him. He accused Paul of speaking against the Jewish people among the Gentiles. He accused Paul of speaking against the law of Moses. He accused Paul of polluting the temple by bringing Greeks into the Hebrew courtyard of the temple. Almost instantly the large crowd within that courtyard became an angry mob attacking Paul. They attacked began beating on him and would have beat him to death had he not been rescued by Roman soldiers. The soldiers bodily lifted Paul up and carried him through the angry crowd. They carried him up a stairway which led up and over the temple wall and into the barracks of the Roman soldiers. When they reached the top of the stairs Paul had permission from the Roman chief captain that he might speak to the crowd of Jews who had attacked him. In our previous text he stood at the top of the stairway and told that great crowd of Jews how he had come to be a Christian. He related to them that he had actually been on the road to Damascus for the pulpose of arresting the Christians who were there. But just before he reached Damascus, someone from heaven spoke to him and also made a serious accusation against him. That person had asked, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest me?” Paul asked, “Who art thou Lord?” whereupon that person in heaven identified Himself as Jesus. It was at this time that he, Saul of Tarsus, the fierce persecutor of Christians became a Christian and a believer in Jesus as the Christ of God. He had seen the resurrected Jesus in heaven and heard him identify himself as Jesus. So how could he not believe in Jesus? II. What appears to be a contradiction clarified V. 9, “ And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.” This verse at first appears to be a contradiction to Acts 9:7. Acts 9:7 reads, “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” In the King James translation there appears to be an outright contradiction. Acts 9:7 spoke of the men who accompanied Paul as “...hearing a voice...” Acts 22:9 said that the men “...heard not the voice...” Acts 22:9. One verse said that they heard the voice and the other said that they heard not the voice. In our English translation this sounds like a clear contradiction. But in the Greek language the contradiction is cleared up. You see, in chapter 9 the Greek word that was used in the original writing means that they heard the sound, but did not understand what words were being said. Here in chapter 22 a different Greek word was used which means that they did not hear the voice with understanding. Keep in mind that when Luke wrote the book he wrote in the Greek language. So actually Luke said the same thing in both verses and there was no contradiction. The men who accompanied Paul heard the voice of Jesus as He talked with Paul. They heard Paul talk to Jesus and they understood the words that Paul used. They also heard a different voice, the voice of Jesus, as He talked with Paul, but they did not understand what words He said to Paul. Therefore, they did not the meaning of the words that Jesus said to Paul. Now that we have cleared up that little matter, let us take a look at what Paul said in our text about his call to preach. III. Paul’s inquiry about the will of God for his life V. 10“ And I said, What shall I do, Lord?...” Please note that Paul did not ask Jesus, “What shall I do to be saved?” If Paul had been asking, “What must I do to be saved” the answer would have instructed Paul to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Savior whom God, through the prophets of old, had promised would come. But Paul had already accepted the fact that Jesus is that Christ. He had already believed in Jesus and acknowledged Him as Lord. When Paul called Jesus “Lord” in verse he did not know that he was talking to Jesus. But when he called Jesus “Lord” in verse 10 he already knew that he was talking to Jesus and he now believed that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Savior. In other words, Paul, at this point, is already saved and he does not need to ask, “What must I do to be saved?” In essence, he is asking, “Lord, now that I believe in you --- now that I am saved --- what would you have me to do?” You will note that when Jesus answered the question, He answered it from that point of view. In essence, what Jesus was saying was, “Now that you are saved, here is what I want you to do. At least, here is the first thing I want you to do.” (V. 10), “And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.” Jesus said, “The first thing that I want you to do is to go on into Damascus. Then in Damascus you will be informed of the other things that I want you to do.” You will note that when someone gets saved, God does not immediately lay out to him everything that He wants the new convert to do. Rather God gives him a little bit of information about the kind of life that God wants him to live and then when he is able to receive it, God will give him more information concerning the will of God for his life. So Paul gets up off the ground to go into Damascus and there to await further news from the Lord concerning the will of God for his life. L Paul’s account of his call to the ministry V. 11, “And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.” When Paul arose to his feet he could not see anything. He could not see the men who were with him. He could not see the road. He could not tell which direction to take to go to Damascus or which direction would lead back to Jerusalem. The brilliance of the light from heaven had blinded his eyes --- at least temporarily. He had looked directly at Jesus Christ in heaven. By this time Jesus was in the fullness of His glory. The light which came from Jesus was brighter than the light of the noonday sun. Even the light of the sun can temporarily make it difficult to see even if you look only for a moment at the sun. But this light was brighter than the light of the sun. It was about noon when the light appeared from heaven and even at noonday when the sun is at its brightest, when the light did shine down on Paul from heaven that it immediately caught his attention. This was a light that did stand out even in the noonday sunlight. It was brighter than the noonday sunlight. It appears that Paul was the only one in the group who had looked directly at Jesus and, therefore, the only one who was completely blinded by the light. The others were able to see well enough to see that Paul was having difficulty in seeing and they could see well enough to lead him on into Damascus. V. 12-13, “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt [there], Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.” There may have been several days which went by before Paul made any contact with any of the Christians in Damascus. But the Lord sent a good Christian man to him to inform him of the things that God wanted him to do. God sent a Christian by the name of Ananias to him. Ananias was a Christian man, but he had apparently been brought up in a Jewish home and in the Jewish religion. He was a Jew who had a good reputation among all the Jews who knew him. He was a Jewish man who had had good instruction in the Law of Moses. He was a Jew who had great respect for the Law of Moses even after he became a Christian. He was a Christian man who still had great respect from his fellow Jews even after he became a Christian. I suspect that if Ananias was still living he was somewhere in the city of Jerusalem right at the time that Paul was speaking to the mob of Jews who were so angry at him. If anyone desired to know whether or not Paul was telling the truth, they could seek him out and he would verify what Paul was saying. Ananias came to Paul and said to him, “Brother Saul, receive thy sight.” One of the things that the Lord wanted Paul to do was to regain his eyesight. There is evidence in the New Testament that Paul had some difficulty with his eyesight for the rest of his life, but his eyesight returned enough that he would be able to do the things that God wanted him to do. He would even see well enough to make tents and sell them to help him stay on the mission field. But in the next two verses the information comes that Paul had been waiting for ever since he was blinded, ever since he was saved. He had asked Jesus, “What shall I do Lord? What is it you want me to do?” Now the answer comes: V. 14-15, “And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.” Paul was told that he had been chosen be a witness for Jesus to all men --- that is to all races of men --- even to the Gentiles. V. Paul’s defense That great mob of Jews in the Temple courtyard were raging with anger at Paul because Paul preached to Gentiles telling them that they could be saved by placing their faith in Jesus as the Christ of God. They were angry that Paul would tell Gentles that they could have their sins forgiven and they could go to heaven without coming under the Law of Moses. They were angry that Paul would tell even Jews that they could not be saved by trying to keep the law. He would tell them that they must repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Now Paul presented to them his only defense. He had see Jesus with his own eyes and he knew for a fact that Jesus had arisen from the grave. He had seen the glory of Jesus with his own eyes and he knew for a fact that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the promised Christ, the promised Savior. Like the writer of one of the great old hymns, Paul could say, “I once was lost, but now I’m saved; was blind, but now I see.” Why do I preach Jesus to both Jew and Gentile? Because Jesus saved me and Jesus called me to preach the gospel to all men. That is my only defense.” VI. Now listen! I, too, was lost, but now I’m found. I was blind --- spiritually blind, but now I see. I once was headed for the fires of hell, but now I’m headed for the portals of eternal glory. I was saved by the same Lord Jesus Christ who saved the Apostle Paul. I, too, have been called to preach. I have been called to preach the same gospel message that Paul preached. I am here to tell you that God loves you and wants you to be saved. I am here to tell you that you cannot be saved by trying to keep the Law of Moses nor by any works of righteousness which you may do. God wants you to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to be merciful and save your soul. God has promised that whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved. Your Christian mother or daddy or grandmother or granddaddy cannot save you. The church cannot save you. Church membership cannot save you. Baptism cannot save you. The Ten Commandments cannot save you. Being honest and paying your bills will not save you. Being kind to others cannot save you. Trying your dead level best to live good and do right cannot save you. But if you will trust Jesus Christ to save you He will cleanse you of every sin and save your soul. Conclusion: Are you ready to turn your eternal destiny over to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?