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 Bible to Acts chapter 26, verses 12 through 18.

Tony Clark: The voice that Paul refers to in verse 14 is also recorded in all three accounts, and what this voice says to him is the cornerstone of his entire experience. It spoke to him in the Hebrew language—it was really the Aramaic language. Aramaic is a slang for Hebrew, or a slang language of Hebrew, should I say? It is a language Paul spoke according to Acts 22 and verse 2. This just goes to show us that God knows how to speak to each one of us. It doesn't matter what language anyone speaks or how people need to hear the gospel message. God knows how to speak to each one of us.

Then the voice called him, notice, by his Hebrew name—not once but twice: "Saul, Saul." Notice what the voice says: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Not persecuting some heretical, insane group that the Jews thought Christians were, but "you are persecuting me." Please keep in mind—you’ve heard me say this many times, and so this is for you by way of reminder—whenever anyone is mistreating or persecuting you because you are a Christian and because you belong to Christ, they are not persecuting you per se; they are persecuting Jesus.

This is why 2nd Thessalonians 1:6 says it’s a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. Romans 12:19 says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. In other words, leave people in God’s hands because He knows how to deal with the Sauls in our lives that are persecuting us because we belong to Jesus. There is something I want to bring to your attention, and that is the phrase, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." That is at the end of verse 14.

This statement is omitted from the other two accounts of Paul’s testimony. Even though this was a proverbial statement in Greek culture, it was also very familiar in Jewish cultures as well. The goads, referring to the ox goads, was a sharp instrument used to guide cattle, especially oxen. It was on a plow, or it could be separated from it or detached, but most often it was found on the plow itself. When the owner is trying to plow in a certain direction and the oxen wanted to go in a different direction, the oxen would normally kick back at the owner and injure him.

But because they had this goad there, which is a sharp instrument called the goad, he would kick back and kick into this sharp instrument and think twice about kicking back again because of the pain it experienced. This shows us that God had already been trying to work on Paul previously, and this is why He says, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." God had already been working on him. I believe that Paul was under great conviction as the stoning of Stephen took place in Acts chapter 7.

Especially when he heard Stephen say as they were stoning him, "Father, do not charge them with this sin" in Acts 7 and verse 60. I just wonder—I hope one day we can get to a place where we can pray the same thing when people are stoning us. A stone is something that's hard and something that hurts. When people are saying hard and hurtful things to us and about us, I pray that one day we can get to a point where we can pray and say, "Oh Father, don't charge them with this sin."

I'm not there yet—I'm trying to get there—but I want us to be able to get there. This is what Stephen said in Acts 7 and verse 60, and I believe that pierced Paul's heart when he heard that. Here we are stoning this man, and this man, instead of praying, "Lord, get them to stop," or "Lord, stop the rocks and have those rocks come back on them"—no, it was none of those things. It was, "Father, don't charge them with this sin." So it was a sin that he was getting stoned, and he said, "don't charge them with this."

It's amazing to me. So here it is, God was trying to work on Paul, trying to steer him in the right direction, but he was kicking against it and he disguised the pain by displaying his anger towards Christians. And so Jesus said enough is enough, and He stops Paul's madness on the road to Damascus with a bright light and a voice from heaven and told him that it was hard for him to continue to kick against the sharp object of his conscience.

I just wonder, is this happening to you? You know that you need to stop doing something or surrender your life to Jesus Christ, but you're kicking against your conscience like Paul was doing. He knew exactly what the voice was talking about. There are loved ones in our lives that we are constantly praying for that are doing the same thing that Paul is doing. They are kicking against their conscience as you share with them, as you live the life of Christianity in front of them.

All of a sudden, they are just blown away and instead of surrendering their life, they are kicking against the sharp object of their conscience. Here is the thing: don't stop praying for them. It's easy to stop praying for them even if it looks like they're getting worse. Because that's during the time we normally say they aren't going to come to Christ. No, they're kicking against the sharp object of their conscience. They're kicking against the goads.

And why is it that God has burdened your heart to pray for them? Because God wants to see them saved. That's why. That's why they keep being on your heart. God wants to save them. And so don't stop praying for them even if they're kicking against it and they're displaying their pain and their anger on you. Don't lose heart. Somebody needs to hear that, maybe online. Don't lose heart. They're kicking against the goads. That's what they're doing—kicking against the goads.

Now, what else did the voice say? Look at verses 15 and 16. "So I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he says, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.'" Paul continues to give the details of his encounter with this voice and asks for him to identify himself by saying, "Who are you, Lord?" in verse 15.

The voice identified himself as Jesus, whom you are persecuting, at the end of verse 15. Now, this must have been a total shock to Paul because he considered Jesus to have been a false teacher and a false Messiah who deserved to be crucified for his blasphemy, just like his followers would soon be dealt with. I can see King Agrippa and those there in total disbelief in their minds because Jesus was dead and the disciples stole his body away while the soldiers were asleep according to Matthew 28:13.

And now that Paul knows that this voice is Jesus, He now instructs him in verse 16 to rise and stand on his feet because they were knocked to the ground by the bright light in verse 14. The Lord told him why He appeared to him: "I have appeared to you for this purpose: to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and the things which I will yet reveal to you." Notice the Lord doesn't give it all to us at one time.

He said there are some things I will reveal to you as you walk with me—yet to be revealed to you. The Lord told Paul that He appeared to him to make him a minister. Paul confirms this in 1st Timothy 1:12, which says, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, putting me in the ministry." Paul never said, "I put myself in the ministry." No, he said Christ Jesus, notice, enabled me. Endunamoō is the Greek word. It's an amazing Greek word.

It means filled with power, strengthened, to make strong. The root of that word is where we get dunamis from, where we get power, dynamic from. He said Christ Jesus empowered me, enabled me, putting me in the ministry. Now notice the Greek word used for minister is not diakonos that is normally used. That's not the word. Huperetes is the Greek word that's used, and it means an under-rower. It means an under-oarsman.

It refers to the slaves at the bottom of the ship rowing like in the movie Ben-Hur. It refers to a subordinate executing official orders, operating under direct specific orders. This is all we are as ministers. We are under-rowers. That's all we are, keeping the ship of God's church on course. That is all we are. We follow the direct and specific orders of the Captain, Jesus Christ. The problem comes when we think that we are more than an under-rower.

Major problems occur when we think that we are the captain of the church or that it is our church or our ship to steer. No, we're just under-rowers. And this is what Jesus told Paul He was making him. He also said that He was making him a witness. The Greek word for witness is martus, and it means an eye or ear witness, meaning we are only to tell people what we have seen and heard. No more, no less.

When someone is a witness to a crime or an accident, all the police officer wants to know is what did you see or hear. This is all that Jesus wants us to tell people: what we have seen and heard Jesus do in our lives. What I want to show us is that Jesus knows how to get all of our attention, no matter what. He spoke to Paul by knocking him down with a bright light and a voice from heaven.

He got Moses's attention and spoke to Moses—spoke to him through a burning bush in Exodus 3 and verse 4. He spoke to Belshazzar by having a man's hand appear and write on the wall in Daniel 5 and verse 5. God spoke to Balaam through a donkey in Numbers 22 and verse 28. And Balaam spoke back to the donkey! I would have been like, "Hold it. What are you doing talking?" Let's get that straight first. No, he began to converse with him.

He said all these years I've served you, I've never disobeyed you. He said, "I'll beat you with this stick." He said, "I've been a good donkey to you, so why do you want to beat me like that?" I would have been like, "Okay, can we stop here? Am I being punked?" What is this donkey doing talking? That would have been me, but God knows how to speak to us. He spoke to Elijah in a still small voice in 1st Kings 19 and verse 12.

The writer of Hebrews confirms the different ways God has spoken to people. In Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2, it says, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds," or the ages. People ask me all the time, why doesn't God speak to people anymore like He did in Bible days?

Well, He does speak to us, primarily through His word like He's doing now. Hebrews 10:7 says, "In the volume of the book it is written of me, to do your will, O God." So the Bible is all about Jesus. Every type, every symbol, every metaphor, simile, every feast day—everything speaks of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the rabbis even got more radical. They said even the space in between the letters has a meaning to it, speaks of the Lord in some kind of way.

So when we read it, study it, and meditate on it, God is speaking to us. It says in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me." The Greek word used for search was a word that was used to describe when a dog is sniffing out the scent of blood. And therefore we are to go through the word of God sniffing out for the blood.

The blood of Jesus—as we're reading through the pages of scripture, we're sniffing out like a bloodhound sniffing for the blood. And this is how we should go through the scriptures. And this is why we take you through the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation: to show you how Jesus Christ is in every symbol, every metaphor, every feast day, every simile. It doesn't matter what it is in the Bible, it speaks of Jesus Christ.

And this is why we take you through the word so you can see Him, so you can fall more and more in love with Jesus Christ, the one who came here to take our place on Calvary's cross and to give us eternal life when we place our faith and trust in Him. Jesus gives Paul further instructions that he easily recalls in verses 17 and 18. Look at what he says there.

"I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Jesus told Paul in verse 17 that He would deliver or rescue him from two groups of people: number one, the Jewish people; and from number two, the Gentiles.

Now, this had to be very sobering for Paul to hear, that his ministry that Jesus called him into would experience a level of danger to the point that he would need divine intervention. He would need for God to rescue him from his own people, the Jews, and from the Gentiles, whose court he was now in, and Caesar Nero that he was about to go to in Rome. I wonder how many of us would still follow Jesus if He told us at the beginning every bad thing we would encounter in our lives as Christians?

How many of us would have said, "Hey Jesus, no thanks. No thanks, bro, I'm good. My life is already a mess without Christ; I don't need to come to you and experience more mess." I just am wondering. I ask because many people have stopped following Christ when they started to experience some tough times. Unfortunately, there are many people who stopped following Christ since the pandemic.

It's unfortunate, but there are people because they experienced some tough times, they experienced some hard times—we all have—and they stopped following the Lord and stopped following Jesus Christ. It's a sad thing, but it's very true. Now, why did God allow for Paul to go through this? Notice, verse 18 says, "to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me."

What a powerful and insightful verse. I'm telling you, I could have easily spent the entire time on this one verse alone because of the truths in it. So let me just dig a little deeper and not go as deep as I would want to, but just a little bit deeper. Jesus told Paul that He was sending him, notice, to open their eyes, which implies that people are blinded. This is everyone's spiritual condition without Christ: there is a spiritual blindness.

2nd Corinthians 4:3 and 4 says, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose mind the god of this age"—referring to Satan—"has blinded, who do not believe." Those who don't believe in God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, are blinded by Satan, "lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." They need the gospel, the light of the gospel, to shed light in their dark life.

Notice, to turn them from darkness to light. Spiritually those without Christ are in darkness. This is why John 3:19 says, "And this is condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." People don't want to come to Christ because they love the darkness that they are in. House parties, clubs, are always dark. Have you noticed that? They're always dark.

When they turn on the lights, people see their dark deeds, and it is an indication that it's time to go home. When they turn the lights up in the club, it's time to get to the house! Folks stop doing their deeds and it's time to go home. Oh, and when you hear the light of the gospel, it's time to cease from your evil deeds and it's time to come home to Jesus Christ. That's what time it is.

Then Jesus told Paul to turn them from the power of Satan to God. We don't realize that before Christ, we were under the power of Satan. This is a very sobering idea. 2nd Timothy 2:26 says, "and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." Before Christ, we thought that we were doing our own wills when in reality we were doing the will of Satan.

Finally, Paul was told to tell people about the inheritance that they were going to receive in heaven. 1st Peter 1:4 says, "to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." Yes, we may go through some things here on earth, but we have an inheritance reserved in heaven for us. And this is why I love Romans 8 and verse 18, how it says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

And we will see how Paul tells King Agrippa the ways Jesus Christ changed his life, God's will, next time. Let me conclude with this: tell your story again. God will give you and me opportunities to tell people our stories again and again. Why? Because you have people you know who are blind in their sin, sitting in darkness under the power of Satan, and need forgiveness and rescuing from their sins.

I mean, just think of it. It's one thing to be blind, and it's another thing to be blind and sitting in darkness. That's a double whammy right there. And this is how many of your friends and your neighbors and people you know—this is the condition that they are in. There are many people who fall into this category. Will we keep our stories to ourselves? Not true Christians.

Or will we tell our stories to people again and again, no matter how many times they've heard it? If you've been here for any length of time, you heard me tell about my conversion experience in Okinawa, Japan. You've heard it. Why? Because God is giving me opportunity to share my story again and again and again, showing that what God did for me, He can do for you.

Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word. We're so grateful that you've given us your word to share. You've also given us our lives that you've changed. Thank you, Lord, so much for rescuing us. Lord, thank you for enabling me, putting me in the ministry. It's your power, it's your anointing, it's your ministry. I'm only an under-rower.

And that's all we are, Lord—getting our orders from you. Let us know our place in your kingdom. Yes, we're sons and daughters of yours, but all we are is under-rowers. Help us to do it faithfully for you. And Lord, if there is anyone here who has not repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, if this is you today, just pray this prayer after me, even online:

Lord Jesus, forgive me. I believe you died on a cross and were buried and rose again. Come into my heart. I now make you my Lord and Savior. Help me to live for you by the power of your Holy Spirit from this moment forward. In Jesus's name, Amen.

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