The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 9, verses 1 through 5.

Tony Clark: If Jesus is not the way you're going to live, then don't bother to try to follow the way. A term that no doubt they got from Jesus in John 14 and verse 6, when Jesus described himself as the way, the truth, and the life. Today these believers would have said, "Hey, are you about that way? We're about that way. What about you?" How would you have answered them if they would have come to you and said, "Hey, are you about that way?" How would you answer them?

Well, what happened next? Look in verses 3 through 5. It says as he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" Then the Lord said to him, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."

Now, in these verses, we see Saul still making his way to Damascus with letters in his possession from the high priest, which gave him legal rights under the Jewish law to arrest those who were of the way and bring them bound back to Jerusalem and receive the same sentence that Stephen received, which was death by stoning. And so as he was on his way, verse 3 says, "Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven."

We must realize that this event was unusual because God doesn't normally confront a person's life with a bright light and a voice from heaven. We know from Acts 26 and verse 13, Paul reveals that it was at midday or noon when the sun is at its brightest when this event took place. But the heavenly light was brighter than the sun. God was going to use extraordinary means to reach this hardened religious leader.

Maybe you're here and you know someone absolutely hardened to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe you work with them or are married to them. And the Lord has unique ways of breaking through to them and shining his light on them unexpectedly. Oh, I say unexpectedly because verse 3 says "Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven." In other words, they were not expecting for God to invade their lives at this time, and Saul definitely wasn't expecting it.

And so don't lose heart, like Galatians 6:9 says. It says, "Don't grow weary in well-doing, for in due season you will reap if you don't lose heart." I wonder how many things God wanted us to reap but we lost heart and stopped asking in prayer concerning the salvation of someone we know. When I think of this subject, I'm reminded of Daniel in Daniel chapter 10. He provides an awesome example of this principle of not losing heart in prayer.

He had been fasting and praying for 21 days. And on the 21st day, the angel reached him and said in Daniel chapter 10 and verses 11 through 14, it says, "O Daniel, greatly beloved by God." He said, "The first day that you set your heart to pray, I was sent with the answer, but I was hindered from reaching you." And once I got free, we know from the context that Michael the Archangel had to come and help him out and free him to get the answer to Daniel. He says, "I'm here with the answer now."

What an amazing set of verses that gives us insights on prayer. The angel told Daniel that he was hindered from getting to him. Oh, this gives us a peek behind the scenes on what takes place when some of our prayers are delayed in getting answered. We don't realize that the spiritual realm is just as busy as the physical realm. There are things that are going on around us now spiritually that we have no clue about.

And we wonder why some prayers are hindered, some prayers are delayed in getting to us. Hey, these verses give us some insights on why that is true. Now what if Daniel had stopped praying at day 10 and said, like we do, "Well, must not be God's will for this to happen or for that to happen"? What if he had stopped praying at day 15? What if he had stopped praying at day 20? He would have missed out on what God had for him.

There are some people who have lost heart on praying for a spouse, a co-worker, or a family member because you've been praying for their salvation for weeks, for months, or maybe even for years, and they have not come to Christ yet. Don't lose heart because God wants to see them saved. In 2 Peter 3:9, it says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. And this includes the people you're praying for.

The reason why you're constantly praying for them is because God wants to see them saved. This is why he has placed them on your heart. When you start to be burdened in prayer for someone's salvation, just know that God wants to see them saved too. This is why they are constantly on your heart. So when that light shone around Saul, what happened next? Well, verse 4 says he fell to the ground. Oh, not in worship, but in fear.

Then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Oh, the repetition of Saul's name is emphatic in the Greek language. It speaks of Saul being rebuked, intended to bring anguish of soul so he would realize how wrong he had been so that guilt would overwhelm him. I'm amazed at how today we're trying to and people are trying to rid us of guilt.

Guilt is a wonderful mechanism that God has given us. He's given us this mechanism called guilt. You know why? Because we're guilty of something. That's why. And they want you to sit in somebody's chair or lay on someone's couch and rid you of the guilt. No, the guilt is good. It's to let you know that you're guilty about something, you've violated your conscience about something.

And that's why that mechanism is blinking in your life and saying you're guilty. It's because we're guilty of something. We are. That's why. And this is the reason why God mentioned Saul's name twice. Oh, you know that you're in trouble when God calls you twice. It's like when you were young and your mother called you by your full government name. "Anthony Duane Clark, come here right now!" Oh, I knew I was in trouble. She called me by my full government name.

Well, when God calls you twice, you know that you're in trouble or that he has something important to say to you. For example, Abraham, Abraham; Samuel, Samuel; and here, Saul, Saul. Or it may be like God has something important to say to you like he said to Martha, "Martha, Martha, you're worried and troubled about many things." And so God also says things twice because most often we didn't get it the first time.

I said turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 9, many husbands looked at their wives and said, "Now what chapter?" because we need to hear it twice. What blows me away is what God tells Saul in verse 4. He says, "Why are you persecuting me?" In other words, Saul, in your persecution of Christians, you're really doing it to me. Oh, this is a great word for us being Christians.

Whether you believe it or not, we are also called the bride of Christ according to 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 2. And the Lord doesn't take too kindly when someone mistreats his bride. And when they persecute you on the job for being a Christian, they're really doing it to Christ. He takes it personally as any husband would. On the other hand, be very careful when you come down on someone who loves Jesus Christ and may do things maybe a little bit differently because in doing so you're coming down on the bride of Jesus Christ.

And this is why Isaiah 54, verse 17 says no weapon formed against us shall prosper. Please realize this truth whenever we come down on a pastor, a church, or believer who loves Jesus but does things maybe just a little differently. You have become a weapon formed against them and realize you will not prosper. And there has been many, many who have become a weapon formed against me, this church, and they have not prospered.

And I have been a weapon formed against people who have left here, and God had to remind me of these verses and I hurried up and repented. Because I understand when I come down on the bride of Christ for some reason, I'm coming down on the bride of Christ and I have become a weapon formed against them and I will not prosper. Oh, I think somebody needs to hear this today because there are many people who are very critical of pastors, very critical of churches, very critical of someone who does things a little differently, and you have become a weapon formed against them and realize you will not prosper.

I am amazed at how critical folks are of pastors and sermons and different things, and they never went to a Bible school, never went to a seminary, never been anywhere, but they're very critical and can pick apart this and he. Just realize you're a weapon formed against them. You will not prosper when you put your lips on the bride of Christ for some reason. Now there are some who deserve it. There are some who just fooling around and they deserve it.

However, realize, just realize, you better leave them in God's hands. Because when you think that you have become the court to convict them of their guilt, you will not prosper. I'm talking to some people here. You won't prosper. And you wonder why things are falling apart in your life right now because you're very critical and you're very critical of folks that's in the body of Christ. And you see them and you're like, "Them and him and boy, I tell you."

Just realize what you're doing. No weapon formed against us is going to prosper. I'm telling you, people do it to you, they will not prosper. You're part of the body of Christ, for those of you who are. You will not prosper. Trust me when I say this. And I've seen this happen over and over and over again. Folks try to put their mouths on some pastor, some church because of something they didn't like or whatever little thing.

You will not prosper and you wonder why things are the way they are in your life and you're like, "What's going on?" You have put your mouth on the bride of Christ, and he takes that very seriously like any husband would. And God is speaking to some people now about this very issue. Keep your mouth off of the bride of Christ. When you do, you will not prosper. Trust me. That goes for me, it goes for any of you here. You will not prosper.

Oh, God is speaking to some folks because you were just talking about people recently. That's why I always step back. I always step back when folks try to be critical of me about different things. I step back and let God deal with them. And God usually deals with them because, hey, I'm not going to defend myself. If I defend myself, then God said, "Oh, you got it? Okay, I'm going to let you have it then."

No, no, I'm telling you, God is speaking to some folks. You better get your mouth off of it and if you have, you better apologize, you better repent. You better repent because you're not going to prosper. Now so here is Saul stopped in his tracks by the bright light of the Lord, showing that God will stop that hard-hearted person in your life as well. Trust me, God knows how to get folks' attention. He knows how to get their attention, no matter how hard their hearts may seem.

Saul here became the great Apostle Paul. God knows how to stop folks. He knows how to stop hard-hearted people in their tracks. Paul said he was the chief of sinners. He is saying that "I am the chief, anybody and everybody else falls under me." So if God stopped the chief of sinners in his tracks and saved him, then everyone else under that he can stop, no matter how hard their hearts may seem.

It's an old saying, you throw a rock in a pack of dogs, the one that barked the loudest is the one you hit. That's Saul of Tarsus was hit, and God got a hold of him. So as Saul is on the ground out of fear, he manages to say in verse 5, "Who are you, Lord?" Then the Lord answers and identifies himself and said, "I am Jesus whom you're persecuting." And notice he says, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Oh, if you have an old King James, it says kick against the pricks.

Now what are the goads? Now goads were a sharp instrument placed in the back of plows because oxen would have the tendency of kicking back and injuring the owner. And when they kicked back, they would kick this sharp instrument and think twice about kicking back again. What the Lord was saying is that Saul, it is hard for you to kick against the sharp instrument of your conscience poking and telling you that you are wrong in the way that you have been treating my people.

In other words, Saul, you know deep down inside that what you are doing is not right. And this shows once again that the testimony of Stephen in Acts 7, verses 59 and 60, affected Saul deeply, that he was kicking against his guilty conscience. Are you kicking against something God has told you to do and called you to do? Is your conscience pricking and sticking you about something? Maybe it is to say you're sorry to your spouse or to your children.

Maybe it is an old friend you got into an argument with and you have not spoken to them in years. There's folks here fooling around, got mad at each other or someone got mad at them and not even talking to them here at the church, here fooling around with that kind of stuff. Your conscience is pricking you about that and you need to get it right. You know who I'm talking to, get it right. Stop fooling around with that.

See somebody on one side of the room or, you know, or see somebody walking down the hall and you're doing like this, you know, not even trying... quit fooling around with that kind of stuff. Your conscience is pricking you. Or maybe you're here and your conscience is pricking you about receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you've been fighting it. You've been kicking against it.

If this is you, then let today be the day you put an end to you kicking against the goads of your conscience by making that phone call, by saying "I am sorry" or by receiving Jesus Christ. For Saul, his day came for him to make Jesus his Lord and Savior. What about you? Is today your day? The Bible says today if you would hear his voice, don't harden your heart. That's why the Bible says today is the day of salvation because tomorrow isn't promised, yesterday is gone.

I know you got plans, well next week I'm going to do so and so. You're not promised the next moment. Oh, we're hearing about the sudden death of all kind of folks just around here. You're not guaranteed another moment. All you have is right now. As we were praying for you guys last night and I was praying about for you this morning, all you have is today to get something right. And it's not like, "Well, this evening," you don't know if you're going to see this evening.

So whatever it is you need to get right, you need to get it right. We used to say many years ago, you don't know around what corner death is. And he can just capture you and then you looking crazy when you standing before God. Get it right. Make that phone call, send that text message or whatever you do, tweet... I don't know what you do. Whatever you need to do to make it right, you need to make it right because all this is doing is hurting you.

It's killing you. It is so true, bitterness is the poison you drink expecting the other person to die. It's you poisoned and you don't realize that you are... you're poisoned. Get it right. Get it right with God, get it right with people. I remember hearing about how a pastor who had been in ministry over 60 years, he says, "What's hindering, what do you think is hindering revival?" He said, "The failure of people getting right interpersonal relationships."

He said, "That is hindering revival, the failure to get relationships right." And we hold on to the unforgiveness, we hold on to the bitterness, we hold on to it. And that hinders revival. That's hindering a work of that God wants to do in our lives as a church and it hinders what God wants to do in your life. Whatever it is, get it right, people. Get it right. You don't want to be that one when the person is stretched out horizontally in front of some church and you the one that's carrying on, weeping and carrying on, falling all over the casket and all kind of stuff.

That's because you got regrets. That's why. And you the one going to the cemetery and all that kind of stuff, weeping and falling all on the ground because you have regrets. Get it right. Get it right while you can. Today is the day to get it right. "Well, they the ones..." stop. Get it right. Make it right. If they don't receive it, then it's out of your hand. The ball is in their court. You're free. You're free.

Some of you need to get some stuff right because it's hindering your walk with the Lord. Many of you, it's hindering you from coming to the Lord. Get it right. So here it is. Saul knocked to the ground by a bright light and God challenging him, saying, "You know, why are you persecuting me?" He said, "Who are you, Lord?" He said, "I'm Jesus." This had to blow him away.

You know why this had to blow him away? Because remember when they were about to stone Stephen in chapter 7, Stephen looked up and said, "I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God." And all of a sudden they just couldn't take that any longer and they just rushed at him and just started rocking him to sleep. And here's the thing. Now this light and a voice speaks and when he says, "I am Jesus," I knew that that had to have freaked Saul out.

So what did he do right after that? What did he say? You got to wait until next week as he begins to answer when the Lord says, "You know, I am Jesus whom you're persecuting." Well, they're going to continue the conversation and we'll pick it up, God's will, next time. Let me conclude with this: God can reach anyone. This means your spouse, your wayward children, or your hard-hearted co-workers.

Pray that the light of God will suddenly stop them in their tracks like he did with Saul. No one is beyond the reach of God. And as you begin to pray every day for them, just realize they're going to continue to kick against the goads of their conscience until they finally surrender to Christ. Who can resist God convicting them like that? Who can continue to resist as you're interceding for them and praying for them? They're going to eventually surrender.

Well, maybe you're here today, maybe you're Saul of Tarsus and you're here today. Then you need to come forward and repent of your sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, surrender your life to the one who died for your sins and rose again because to constantly kick against the sharp object of your conscience, that hurts. To kick against something sharp, that hurts. So surrender today because today is the day of salvation, not tomorrow, not yesterday. That's gone, that's done.

Yesterday is done. It's done. That hurt, that disappointment, that failure, it's done. It's over. It's yesterday. All you have is today. And I'm just going to ask where is your relationship with the Lord today? Not where it was last week. "Well, I was doing good last week but..." no, where is it today? Where are you today? And here's an opportunity for you to get things right with God today. Let's pray.

Father, thank you so much for your word. We pray, God, that your Holy Spirit would move in our midst. God, that you would do a great work in us, that your Spirit would draw your people to you. Lord, these are your people. Lord, they belong to you. And I pray, God, that your Spirit will move in their midst. Oh God, I pray for those who are here who have never repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. I pray that today would be the day of salvation for them. Draw them to you by your Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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