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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's word will empower you to live a full impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in. Then Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest. This may surprise you, but the first round of persecution against the church was not state sponsored. It was mostly religious. And in this period, Saul was the rising star. He was really the scarface of the Jewish religious establishment. In Acts chapter 7 and 58, we see the first mention of Saul, or how we know him as Apostle Paul, it says, and they cast him, speaking of Stephan, out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man, probably in his late 20s, named Saul. And the fact that they laid his clothes at his feet let us know that not only did Saul agree, but he was probably the ringleader in the stoning. And I want to begin today by saying Saul was a very, very bad man. In First Timothy chapter one and verse 15, Paul, whose Hebrew name was Saul, but his Greek name was Saul, said this about himself. He said, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. Meaning everybody says this about me. And the rumors are all true. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. When you read verses like that, don't tell me who. God cannot change. If God could not touch the chief of sinners, it should give average sinners like you and I a whole lot of hope. No sin is greater than God's mercy if we would just humble ourselves and bring them to him. Acts 9:2. After the stoning of Stephan, the persecuting of Christians became Saul's thing. It was his claim to fame and it was how he was moving up the ladder and making a name for himself amongst the religious establishment. How many of you know ambition is good, but it can become very dangerous if we sacrifice conscience for achievement. Please go ahead and climb the highest mountain, but never, never compromise or sacrifice your integrity on the journey to reach the. And I have a lot of friends that have lost their way doing this. And Saul asked letters from the high priest, the same high priest that crucified Jesus and he wanted to expand his reign of terror. He wanted to move out of Jerusalem into Damascus. And the Bible says so that if he found any who were of the what way back then they didn't call themselves Christians, they called themselves people of the what way? And one of the reasons they did that was because if you really became a Christian, it changed the way you live. And there's nothing wrong with the title Christian, but we also need to still be people of the way. We need to be living, loving, and doing things in a way that pleases God. Then he says, whether men or women, that he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Saul was a beast. He spared no age. He spared no gender. He was just almost rabid to satisfy his blind ambition. But Paul was playing a very deadly game. And to play this game, we're going to see this in a moment. He had to reject the advice of his mentor, his teacher, and his wise counselor. This is important. Pay attention to what godly people say, because warning always comes before destruction. I want you to listen to Paul's testimony. He said, I am indeed a what Jew. Folks that look down on Jews feel sorry for them. They don't know what they're doing. They don't know the spirit behind that. Born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel. I want you to remember his name, because this man, Gamaliel was Saul's teacher. And he was also one of the most respected Jewish leaders in all of Jerusalem at that time. Acts 5:34 tells us a little bit more about his influence as well as his philosophy. Let's go there. But a Pharisee named the same Pharisee, Gamaliel, a teacher of the Jew who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin. And what did he do? He ordered. So clearly, Gamaliel was a boss. He was a leader. And he had a strong enough reputation to tell these other. Very dignified. I mean, these were. I mean, they had so many initials behind their names. These were the most educated, powerful men in all of Israel. But he stood up and ordered these 70 men that the men be put outside for a little while. And he was referring to the twelve apostles that they all wanted to kill. And by the way, if no one ever wants to harm you, you're probably not doing very much for God in your life. Then Gamaliel addressed the Sanhedrin. I want you to watch how he ended this address. Because Saul was his leading disciple, and because of that, he was probably in the room when he spoke. Because it was not only a disciple's job to imitate his teacher, it was also their job to follow their master everywhere that person went. And that's what happened with Jesus, Disciple. It was just part of the culture. Skip to 38. Gamaliel is speaking. He said, therefore, in the present Case, I need to strongly advise you, leave these 12 apostles alone. Sometimes help can come from strange places. Then he said, let them go. And you see an exclamation point because he was very passionate and firm about what he just said. But watch what he continues and says, for if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. Now, this is not always true, but in this case it was absolutely prophetic. Failure is often a part of success. I like the way Michael Jordan put it. He said, I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games in my life. 26 times. I was trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. He said, and I have failed over and over and over and over again. And that's why I succeed. Never confuse a single failure with a final defeat. 39 but if was to let you know he was leaning in a certain direction. If he really wanted to please the rest of the Sanhedrin, there'd be no if. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stand or stop against the or stop these men. You'll only find yourself what, fighting against God? You can't fight against God's people and not fight against God at the same time. Now, early tradition says Gamaliel became a Christian shortly after this and was water baptized. He said he was baptized by Peter. Now, I can't vouch for this. We don't know this in the scripture. I don't know this for sure. But one thing I do know, he understood. Don't play with God. Acts 9:3. As Saul journeyed, he came near Damascus. And by this time, he was a super villain. He was a sworn villain of everything Jesus stood for. But is anything or anyone too hard for God? Despite his despicable behavior, despite the wickedness, the pride, the conceit in his heart, suddenly out of nowhere, a light shone from heaven. I believe that some of us are going to experience some suddenlies. Out of nowhere, God's going to show up and do the thing we would just never imagine he would do. Get the picture? He's riding on his high horse. He has his phylacteries. He has on, you know, he's a doctor. I mean, he's under Gamaliel. He has on robes with thick tassels. And you know, when you were wealthy and powerful, people saw you coming. He's sitting on this high horse. But then he suddenly fell to the ground. And this is what I want to tell you today. God still knows how to knock a brother out if he has to, Sometimes God will let you hit rock bottom, so there's no other place to look but up. And he heard a voice saying to him, saul, Saul, watch this. Why are you persecuting? Notice he didn't ask Saul, why are you persecuting the church? He said, why are you persecuting what? Who, me? Jesus takes whatever we do for or against his church very personally. So if you can't be constructive, be quiet until you can. And he said, who are you, Lord? This was the learned Pharisee. If anyone should have known who God was, it was the religious rulers and leaders. But after he was knocked off his horse. And sometimes God has to do that. I don't know why you're experiencing, exactly why you're experiencing, but sometimes God has to remove you from high places. Sometimes God has to take you down from your arrogance and your pride and he has to put your face in the dirt. So you'll stop asking, what do people say about me or think about me? But get in touch with the cry of your own heart and ask, what really was the most important question any person could ever ask. It's who are you, Lord? Are you Allah, Brahma, the universe, my inner child? Or whatever else might be popular at the time. So Paul, trembling, shaken and astonished because the answer to that question was standing right in front of him. You know, we play games with ourselves, but everyone knows in the pit of their stomach who God really is. Otherwise he couldn't hold us accountable. If we didn't know, we could not be judged. The reason we don't believe is ultimately because we don't want to obey. If people really didn't believe in God, exploring Jesus wouldn't really be such a threat to them. Here we have this monster of a man, this powerful man, trembling and astonished, totally shaken up because nobody who fights against God wins. But I want you to understand, surrendering to God doesn't weaken us, it only strengthens us. But here's my question to you. How much longer are you going to resist the inevitable? You cannot win in your fight against God. Then he said, lord, what do you want me to do? The first most important question is, lord, who are you? But the second most important question is, Lord, what do you want me to do? God answered this question in my 20 year old life. It's the only reason I stand before you today. And I believe he wants to answer that same question for everybody in this room, if you'll simply come to him. Verse 9. And Saul was there three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. He probably couldn't drink, thinking about the families and the lives he had destroyed. He also probably couldn't eat or drink because of the magnitude of the mercy he had just received. You know, it's interesting, I didn't read it all, but Jesus said to Saul, he said, saul, it's not good for you to kick against the goats. Now, if I was Jesus and he was killing my people, I wouldn't even care what was good for him. But I want you to understand the mercy of our Savior. He was an enemy of God. But Jesus said, it's not good for you. You're only hurting yourself. The longer you fight with me, the more bruised you become. In fact, the imagery was of a farmer that had a long poker. Oxes were powerful animals. And often, in order to oxen could get stubborn. You know, animals could be moody. And they're not like the cartoon characters. I mean, they got moods too. And sometimes they just didn't feel like working. Or they're big animals, they could just revolt against you. And sometimes the farmer would have to poke the ox with the rod. But the worst thing that can happen when that happened is if the ox kicked against the rod. So imagine this pointy, like spear thing and then you kick against it how it would pierce you. So what had happened was he was there at the stoning of Stephan. His face shone like an angel, the Bible said. But Saul hardened his heart and he resisted again. He kicked against it as he was killing Christians. He heard their confession, he heard them singing songs and worshiping and really experiencing the power of God. And he'd harden his heart and he would kick against, kick against, kick against. And you would think that God would be through with him. But when Jesus appears, he says, it's hard for you, is it not, to kick against the goats. And Ananias, who was just a regular guy. And by the way, everyone doesn't have to be a church leader to make a difference. All you need is some courage and some faith and God can use you. And Ananias went his way and entered the house. And watch this laying his hands on a man that was sent to kill him. Imagine the faith, but also see God's reversal. I also want you to notice here that the laying on of hands was about to accomplish two things. Healing and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Saul had already been saved on the road to Damascus because he called Jesus Lord twice. And my Bible promises that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved if you believe it. From your heart, you shall be saved. So obviously he believed in a resurrection. Jesus was standing in front of him. He experienced the power of God. Knocked from the horse down, a light shining. Of course he accepted Christ. But then Ananias has to come to release him into next. And sometimes God can't take you into the next thing till he heals you from the last thing. He said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, he sent me that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. So Saul was saved, healed and filled. God's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He wants to save you, heal you, and fill you with even today. Salvation occurs when the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us. But the infilling of the Holy Spirit occurs when we invite God's presence to come upon us to serve others. One is just God coming inside us. The other overflows out of us and impacts those around us. So a drink of water in a cup is precious to me, but when water starts flowing out of a cup, it starts impacting everybody around me. God wants to save you, but he wants you to be so overflowing with his presence and power that you will have an impact on others. And this was the mission that God gave Paul in his life. Verse 19. So when he received food, he was what? Strengthened? As horrible as Saul was, despite all that Saul had done, he was strengthened. Here's the question. Why didn't God punish Saul? After all, he was a bad man. But can God punish someone who doesn't exist anymore? Yes, he was same on the outside, but my Bible said he was a new creation on the inside. God is a spirit, and those that worship him must worship him in spirit. And the Bible said that we cannot enter the kingdom unless we are born again. And then Nicodemus said, can I enter another time into my mother's womb? He's like, dude, what are you talking about? If you can't understand what I'm talking about, man. Man, how'd you get. Where did you get your degree from, dude? You're supposed to be a leader in Israel and you can't discern spirit? I'm a spirit. The new birth happens in the spirit, not in the body. It's a spiritual thing. So as bad as Paul had been, God looked at his spirit. And deep down in the core of who he was, he was as fresh as a newborn babe. And God takes care of his babies. When you get born again, it's not just a religious thing. You are not just forgiven. God forgave people in the Old Testament. The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that we become new creatures in Christ. That the deepest part of us is changed. Let me read it this way. In Galatians 2:20, Paul said this. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Pay attention. Saul no longer lived. And many of us are stuck in our past talking about what happened to us when we were child. What I did and I got arrested. That you are no longer. Listen, when you're baptized, it's a funeral. Typically the funeral is held after the death. It's not held at the moment of the death. And what happens with a funeral is you're acknowledging the fact that that person's passed. So those of us who have been baptized into Christ, we're baptized into his death. But we rise in newness of life. We're new creatures in Christ Jesus. The very core of us has been changed. The old Derek is dead. I can't find him. He doesn't exist anymore. Salvation is not just God rubbing some nice stuff on you. It's him reaching down to the deepest, darkest part of you. Snatching out the sin factory and making you God's workmanship and. And listen, if God created you or recreated you, do you think he recreated you? A sinner? No. Now your soul got issues. Your mind, will and emotions got issues. But my spirit. God's a spirit. The new birth is spiritual. He puts the image of Christ in my spirit. So deep down underneath all this personality and all this confusion in my brain is Christ. No longer I who live, but Christ in me. For God to reject you, he'd have to reject Christ. Because in the Spirit, your spirit looks just like him. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. This is why gatherings of disciples like the one you're in is so important. People who have made mistakes in life, people who need a church to go to where they can learn, grow and live out the change is absolutely necessary. Immediately he Watch this. He preached to Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. By proclaiming Jesus the Son of God, I want you to realize he was renouncing everything he had so violently opposed, so violently stated across all of the areas of the Middle east he had traveled. Now here's the deal. You will never grow until you can own your stuff. It takes time Listen, it takes guts to admit your mistakes. But better admit you walk through a wrong door than spend the rest of your life in the wrong room. Then all who heard were amazed and said, is this not he who destroyed those who called on the name in Jerusalem and has come here for that same purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? What we see here is God could take the very worst thing you ever did and use it for his glory. It's not that God will make good bad or bad good. It's if we repent, he'll use our bad for good. St. Augustine said it this way. God judges it. Better to bring good out of evil than not to allow it to exist. We need to understand that God is bigger than the devil. Satan cannot outdo God. Anything the devil does in our life, God can make it more than worth it. Pay attention to what I'm saying. So God in his wisdom said, listen, I'm not gonna make it so there's no evil. I am just big enough to make good come out of evil. And see. Some of you say, well, because that happened. There must not be a God. What book are you read? The Cross was the worst day in history. I mean, the worst thing that could ever happen happened on Calvary Tree. But God turned that into our salvation and our victory. Verse 23. Now, after many days were passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. So here the cat became the mouse and the shoe was on the other foot. But. Pay attention. But their plot became known to Saul. And does it say that he was feeling so guilty about his past that he surrendered and let them capture him, thinking he was only getting what he deserved? After all, he killed all those people. Such a bad man. No. You either died with Christ or you didn't. You're either a saint or an ain't. You are either a new creation or religious imitation. You either believe the gospel or you don't. Stop punishing yourself for things God's not trying to punish you for and things you cannot change. And they watched the gates day and night. Watch this. To kill him. So the devil put a hit out on Paul. Just like some of us might feel the devil put a hit out on us. But the same way God got Paul out, he's about to get you out. Then the disciples took him. It's important. Number one, your way of escape may include other people. Matter of fact, some of the people you once despised may become your dearest friends in your way of escape. But that's why it's so important to Build relationships with other disciples, because otherwise you won't have anyone to hold your rope when your time comes. Then the disciples took him by what night number two. Sometimes God waits until it's darkest so that he can shine the brightest. And they let him down through the wall in a large what basket number three. This is important. I need you to humble yourself. Your way of escape may not be as grandiose as you thought. God often used the simple and the ordinary things. Yes, he can do extraordinary things. But don't miss the ordinary miracles. Moses, life was saved because his mom and dad put him in a little basket and floated him down the Nile past Pharaoh's daughter. A widow was gathering a few sticks in a basket and cooked a last meal so her son might eat and die. But God used that to feed her, her family, and Elijah till the famine ended. We're often looking for the spectacular. But that was the same thing with Elijah. He saw the earthquake, he saw the lightning flash and the tornado. The wind blew. But God wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the storm or in the quake. He was in the still, small voice. And sometimes we miss God looking for the spectacular when he's in a simple basket. My prayer today is that you discern your basket. Don't be stressed over your past because there's nothing you could do to change it. Focus on your presentation and you can change your future. Every moment wasted looking back is the energy we need to move forward. As bad as Saul was, he was able to let go of what everybody else said he had coming and he deserved. As bad as Saul was, he became a new creation in Christ, part of the family of the living God. And if a wicked man like Saul, who the Bible called the worst of sinners and another translation chief of sinners, how much more should just folks that are just ordinary sinners like you and I to be encouraged that I died with Christ? Nevertheless, I live. I'm not punishing myself anymore for what I used to do, what I used to be. Because the most important part of me has become brand spanking new. My prayer this summer is that you get a revelation of the new birth, that it's not just a religious term, that you really realize I've been born into a new family. I have new spiritual DNA. What used to be is not anymore. Yes, I'm in the same body and God's working on my soul and improving it and making me better. But that most essential part of me, that spiritual part of me, that part of me that's made most in the image and likeness of God has been transformed into the image of Jesus. And later on there's coming a day when my body will catch up and my soul will catch up. But until that day, I am just grateful that the earnest of my salvation, the Holy Spirit, has been placed in my spirit. And I have become and you have become the temple of the living God. You are not just you, you are the temple, mobile temple of the living God. And just like Jesus, the Holy Spirit was in Jesus because of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is in you. And as sure as Jesus will be with the Father forever, that's as sure as you will be with the Father forever too. For where he is, we shall be also. You are not who you think you are. You are so much more than you are part of the beloved. And my prayer is this, that as you go forward this week, act like it. You're not like everybody else. You don't have to fear like everybody else. You don't have to fret and sweat like everybody else. As surely as God was committed to Jesus, you are the body of Christ. And if you're in the body, you're part of Christ. He's as committed to you as he was to Jesus. So begin to pray bigger. Begin to pray stronger. Begin to pray like God is really your Father. Not just out there beyond the but he's really your Abba. Abba. Father, the Holy Spirit is in us crying abba. Daddy, as much as Christ Jesus called on God as Father, you and I can do it today because of the cross. Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekreer.com by clicking the link in the description.